#classes switch teachers there instead of students so they’d be more likely to remember him in that context

[zombiemollusk]

i really love this scene because we’re supposed to think it’s weird that they don’t remember who this guy is

but this is exactly how i was with my classmates

“hey i know you!…what was your name again?”

[starshine583]

New Girl on the Block (9)

(Happy New Years everybody!!! I know that was two days ago, but still! I hope all of you are doing well, and please enjoy this new chapter! also feel free to check out the mini series connected to this called Journal Entries!)

Ch.1 / Ch.8 / Ch.10

Chapter 9: Let’s Try That Again

“Claude, I’m not sure about this..” Marinette remarked, tentatively leaning over the brunette’s shoulder.

Claude waved off her concerns as he grabbed for the various chemicals on their shared desk. “Don’t worry! There’s no way I can mess this up twice.”

Marinette frowned. “Twice?”

He nodded and pulled out a plastic bag that they’d been given to hold the chemicals. “I took this class last year too, but I only got halfway through before they transferred me for being too disruptive.”

Marinette pulled her lip between her teeth, her concerns growing by the second. “Define ‘disruptive’.”

“Oh, you know,” Claude shrugged, carelessly throwing the chemicals into the plastic bag, “You try to listen as best you can, but there are so many chemicals to look at! It’s hard to pay attention. Anyway, one spill ends up in a gas explosion, and another shaking-instead-of-stirring ends up in acid all over the beaker and the desk, and after a while, Mlle Arquette decided that I might be able to pay more attention in Chemistry next year.”

“A-A gas explosion?” Marinette squeaked. She knew Claude could be chaotic from time to time, but she had hoped that his antics in the classroom wouldn’t range anywhere beyond ‘classic class clown’. 

“Yeah, but it wasn’t toxic,” Claude insisted, “Just thick. Besides, we have this lab gear to protect us! We’re fine.”

Marinette clutched the sides of her lab coat. Sure, they had lab gear, but exactly how much could it protect them?

“Claude-”

“Alright, it’s shaking time!” Claude announced. He held up the now-sealed bag with a grin and started shaking it as hard as he could. Marinette flinched back, covering her face despite already wearing goggles. She had a bad feeling about this.

The phenol red inside the bag quickly mixed in with the Sodium Bicarbonate and Calcium Chloride, but he didn’t stop shaking until the plastic bag was almost completely red. By that time, the chemicals had merged into a deep red color, and the plastic bag had inflated to its maximum capacity.

“Hey, check it out!” Claude said, holding up the bag. “It looks like it's starting to bubble up.”

Marinette peaked between her fingers, though she still couldn’t see what he was talking about from her angle. She did, however, notice that the bag looked like it was about to explode any second.

“Um, Claude?” She began cautiously. “I think you’re supposed to let some of the air out now.”

“Oh, yeah.” He pulled the bag back down, getting ready to pull it open. “I almost forgot about that.”

Marinette gasped and stepped forward. “Wait, you need to be care-”

The bag popped open, and the poor pair weren’t able to react as fast as the chemicals inside. Everything shot up within a matter of seconds, splattering chemicals all over the desk and the students. Thankfully, it didn’t burn, but Marinette deeply lamented the fact that they were only in third period. Was she supposed to go through the rest of the day as a mess?

“Claude Herolds!”

Marinette and Claude’s gazes snapped upwards to their Chemistry teacher, Mlle Arquette. She fixed them both with an equally cross and tired glare.

“How many times do I have to tell you to open the bag slowly?” 

Claude offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Mlle Arquette.. Would it help if I told you that it kind of popped open on its own?”

The teacher narrowed her eyes. “No, it most certainly would not. Because that means you didn’t mix it correctly, and the amount of chemicals on your clothing suggests that you put too much into the bag!”

“...I couldn’t remember which measuring spoons to use for the chemicals..” Claude admitted, reaching up to rub his upper arm.

Mlle Arquette sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “That’s why I gave you a list of instructions. Didn’t you read them?”

Marinette and Claude both tensed. In the heat of the moment, they may or may not have forgotten that they were given specific instructions on what to do. Well, Marinette remembered. It was just that Claude seemed so sure of himself that she forgot to check the instructions. 

The teacher took their silence as an answer and shook her head. “Claude, I don’t know how to get it through your head that you need to do what you’re told. So for now, I’ll give you detention and hope the extra time has you put more value on focus.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “D-Detention?”

She’d never gotten detention before, not at Rosemary anyway. Was it different from Dupont? Would it knock down her grades? Would she have to do extra homework on top of it?

“Not you, Marinette.” The teacher assured. “I’m letting you off with a warning since this is your first incident.”

Marinette blew out a sigh of relief, but Claude groaned.

“Awe, man! I’m gonna be in detention all by myself?”

Marinette gasped. “You want me to be in detention?”

“Oh, no!” Claude hastily amended. “No, it’s just so boring being in there by myself.”

“Maybe the lack of company will give you incentive to be more cautious during our next class session.” Mlle Arquette cut in. “Now use the sink to wash up.”

Marinette and Claude moved to the front of the classroom as told and took turns using the sink. Unfortunately, Phenol Red is not known for coming out easily. They used as much soap as possible, but their lab coats remained stained, along with their cheeks..

“Well,” Claude said as they walked back to their desk, “since our cheeks are stained anyway.. Wanna try again?”

Marinette pursed her lips. At the very least, it couldn’t get any worse, right?

“Okay, but this time I’ll mix the chemicals.”

“Deal!”

~~~~~~

Felix blinked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. When he went to get Marinette for their next shared class, he expected her to be the same way she was when he’d left her earlier that morning. What he found instead, however, was a couple of classmates that had both their hands and the lower halves of their faces covered in red, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask why.

“Hey, Felix!” Claude greeted casually, as though he and Marinette didn’t look like walking tomatoes. “You look a little surprised. Is it my new haircut?”

“Oh, you got a new haircut?” Marinette asked, genuinely curious.

The brunette nodded and reached up to touch the curled tips of his bangs. “Yeah, but I didn’t do much. They just trimmed me up.”

“I thought something looked different.” Marinette hummed. “It looks nice.”

“Why, thank you.”

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Felix finally cut in, “why, exactly, are you two covered in red?”

Claude pulled a sheepish smile, and Marinette chuckled nervously, neither of which gave Felix any clarity.

“I kind of.. made some chemicals explode again.” Claude admitted.

Felix’s eyes widened. “You what?”

“Okay, not really explode.” Claude said. “They more of splattered everywhere.”

Felix’s gaze darted to Marinette, briefly scanning over her figure for injuries. She didn’t appear to be in pain, but that didn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t. What type of chemicals did they use? Were they toxic? Was anything ingested? The red on their faces didn’t look like burn marks.

“We’re fine.” Marinette assured, noticing his concern. “Mlle Arquette had us wash off right after it happened, so the only thing that affected us was the Phenol Red.”

Felix sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Phenol Red? No wonder their skin was dyed. “And what was Mlle Arquette's reaction to this?”

“Oh, she gave me detention,” Claude said point blank, “but I don’t blame her. I know I can be a bit much.”

Felix rose a brow. “Just you?”

The two nodded.

“She let me off with a warning.” Marinette explained.

Felix hummed. That sounded like Mlle Arquette. When he had to be Claude’s partner for Chemistry last year, the teacher had been extremely understanding then too. In hindsight, he probably should have warned Marinette about Claude’s tendencies in class. “Well, at least she was reasonable enough to know you weren’t at fault.”

Claude scoffed and crossed his arms. “You weren’t even there! How do you know she didn’t give me the wrong instructions?”

“Call it a hunch.” Felix replied flatly. He pulled a handkerchief out of his vest pocket and handed it to Marinette. “Here, use this to wipe off the chemicals.”

“Oh, no thank you.” Marinette politely declined. “I already washed it off as best I could.”

“Yes, but have you tried using a cloth yet?” He asked. When she shook her head, he continued, “Then some might still be able to come off. Rosemary holds their student’s presentability in high regard. I’d recommend trying.”

Marinette held up a hand insistently. “Thanks, but I really don’t need it. The dye’s already settled by now anyway, and I don’t want it to ruin your handkerchief if I get more off.”

Felix shrugged, tucking the handkerchief back into its respective pocket. “Mother’s gotten rid of worse, but I won’t force you.”

“I could use a handkerchief.” Claude spoke up.

Felix rolled his eyes. “Find your own.”

“But you were going to let Marinette use it!” Claude remarked, a grin growing on his lips despite his accusatory tone.

“She didn’t make the mess, did she?” Felix shot back.

Claude waved a hand at the remark. “Yeah, yeah. I can see how far our friendship goes.”

Marinette giggled, drawing the boys’ attention back to the ravenette.

“As fun as this is, I need to stop by the lockers before class.” She said with a smile. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“I’ll walk with you.” Felix replied, stepping forward. “I need to switch out a few books as well.”

“As if you wouldn’t walk her anyway..” Claude muttered under his breath behind him.

Felix glanced over his shoulder at the brunette. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Marinette asked, turning back as well.

“Oh, nothing.” Claude said, averting his gaze with a slight smile. “I’m gonna head to my next class too. See you guys later!”

Felix narrowed his eyes. He’d heard what Claude said. He just didn’t understand it. Or rather, he didn’t understand the tone. Felix walking Marinette to her classes was common knowledge at that point, yet Claude stated it as though it were some sort of secret. Why? It’s not as though the others didn’t walk her to classes as well. Claude himself would fight over whether he got to drive Marinette to different locations or not.

The class bell shook him from his thoughts, along with Marinette’s light call, and Felix moved to follow behind her. As they walked, she rambled on about the full story behind her red-colored cheeks, which allowed Felix to push Claude’s strange comment to the back of his mind. There was no reason for the brunette to have a hidden meaning in his speech anyway. So there was no point in overthinking it.

~~~~~~

Ah. The Cafe de Flore. Claude’s favorite place to eat. It had the best sandwiches, delicious pastries- tough not at good as Mlle Sabine’s -and wonderful, customer service. He’d always received a welcoming smile when he visited. 

He drew in a deep breath, relishing in the smell of chocolate and dough that wafted through the air. It made his mouth water and his stomach growl with anticipation. His food should be ready any minute now, and he could hardly wait.

A giggle brought his attention to the line behind him. Marinette was shuffled in with a few of the other customers, happily chatting with Felix, who’d gotten in line with her. 

Claude narrowed his eyes at the blond, remembering their talk at the aquarium. He’d been so insistent that he had no idea what Claude was referring to, but he wasn’t fooling anyone. Felix never took the time to talk to people, never listened or sympathized or smiled the way he did with Marinette. Every action, every sentence, everything he did around her screamed that he liked her. Normally, Claude wouldn’t care, since everybody had one good friend, but Felix didn’t like anybody. Heck, they’d been with him for three years, and he still fought tooth and nail before he agreed to do anything with them. But the one time Marinette, the person he's only known for three weeks, decides to ask him to something, he agrees immediately. No fuss. No arguing. Nothing. His crush on her was so obvious that when he played dumb last weekend, Claude nearly tore his hair out in frustration. How stupid did Felix think they were?

“I’ve got a BLT for a Claude Herolds?” 

At the waitress’ call, Claude whirled around to grab his food with a ‘thank you’. He then moved back through the other customers to get to the group table, where Allegra and Allan were already seated. Marinette flashed him a smile and said ‘hey’ while he passed, but Felix merely rolled his eyes at Claude’s presence. 

Of course, that didn’t stop the blond from turning right back to Marinette, all traces of annoyance washing away in an instant.

Yeah, he definitely had a crush on her. 

“Tell me you’ve noticed.” Claude said to Allegra as he plopped down in the seat next to her. He couldn’t keep this to himself any longer, or he was going to explode like those chemicals in Chemistry class this morning. 

Allegra glanced up from her soup questioningly. “Noticed what?”

Claude scoffed. As if she didn’t already know. Allegra was twice as observant as he was. If he saw something interesting, she was bound to have already seen it at least ten minutes beforehand. 

“What else?” He replied impatiently. “Felix’s crush on Marinette.”

Allegra and Allan both gasped and shot up from the table, slapping their hands onto Claude’s mouth.

“Are you crazy?” She hissed at him. “Why would you say that out loud? What if they’d heard you?”

Claude pushed their hands away. “What does it matter? We all know.”

“Yeah, but they don’t.” Allan pointed out. “Even if they did, you can’t just say stuff like that without permission.”

Claude furrowed his eyebrows. “You expect me to believe that Felix doesn’t know about his own feelings towards Marinette?”

He could understand Marinette being oblivious. She hasn’t known Felix as long as they have, hasn’t heard the snide remarks and snaps and sarcastic comments that used to shoot from Felix’s mouth on a regular basis, hasn’t seen the constant glares they used to receive. (Emphasis on used to. They still get looks and snarky replies, but it's not nearly as venomous as it was before Marinette showed up.)

Claude didn’t blame Felix for liking Marinette- there was no doubt about her being a literal saint -but to say that Felix had no idea that he liked her was insane.

Allegra shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Felix clearly hasn’t had a crush before, and he’s extremely logical. He probably just thinks that she’s more fun to be around than we are.”

Claude tisked and crossed his arms. “He would think that, wouldn’t he?”

“To be fair, she doesn’t push his buttons as much as we do.” Allan commented.

“..Yeah, that’s true.” Claude admitted, a small smile coming to his lips. “She doesn’t push anyone’s buttons. She’s great like that.”

Allegra nodded in agreement. “Which is why we should try to figure out if she likes him too.”

Claude’s eyes widened. He.. hadn’t thought of that. How did Marinette feel about Felix? 

As if on queue, all three of them subtly turned to glance at the pair. They were at the front of the line now, helping each other pick their food. Felix held another small smile, causing Claude to grip the edge of his chair with slight scowl. Love can do strange things to a person, but after three years of friendship, one would think that Felix could be a tad nicer to them too.

Marinette smiled brightly up at the blond as she always did. She seemed to enjoy talking with him, but then again, she enjoyed talking to everyone. That could hardly be considered a sign of love or affection. The only thing that might be related to a crush was that time in the library when the two shared headphones. She got all flustered and embarrassed after getting really close to Felix, but in all honesty, Marinette tended to blush rather often. When embarrassed, when bashful, when caught off guard- It was just another quirky thing about her that they all loved.

“We wouldn’t want to force this on her.” Allan said, taking the words from Claude and Allegra’s mouths. Marinette was too kind and sweet to be put in such an uncomfortable position. 

“So how do we find out? Should we ask her?” Claude questioned, twisting back to face the table again.

“Yes, but we need to be subtle.” Allegra cautioned. “Crushes can be a sticky business, especially when someone isn’t quite aware of their feelings towards another.”

“In other words, Felix can’t know we asked,” Allan added, “and Marinette can’t know about Felix’s feelings. At least not until he knows that he has them, and we know that they’re requited.”

Claude nodded thoughtfully. “That still doesn’t tell me how we’re going to ask her.”

“Ask who what?” 

The trio jumped at the sound of Marinette’s voice, each snapping to look at her for a reaction. She couldn’t have been there long, right? How much had she heard? Where was Felix?

“Uh..” Claude gaped. “N-Nothing. I mean, we were-”

“We were going to ask my mom about a sleepover.” Allegra cut in. “Do you think you’d be up for it?”

Claude couldn’t help the smirk that curled onto his lips. Clever Allegra. Having a sleepover meant everyone would get together, but it also meant the boys and girls would be separated by the end of the evening. That would leave Marinette and Allegra alone for a good eight hours if they played their cards right. Plenty of time to ask about Marinette’s feelings towards Felix, and plenty of time to ask Felix about his feelings towards Marinette.

Clever, clever Allegra.

“Oh, a sleepover?” Marinette echoed, a spark of interest gathering in her eyes. “At your house?”

“Yeah!” Allegra smiled. “We’ve all been to your house. I want you to come to mine.”

Marinette returned her smile, but before she could respond, Felix spoke up behind her.

“You’re having another sleepover?”

Marinette flinched, just as Claude and the others had done moments prior, and Felix took a step back as a silent apology.

What a considerate thing to do, Claude thought. If only Felix were that considerate towards literally anyone else.

His bitter thoughts were pushed aside when Allegra nestled her chin in her palm, saying, “Don’t act like I have a sleepover every other day. Our last sleepover was on New Years Eve.”

“Yes, and that sleepover is exactly the reason why I won’t be attending another one.” Felix stated with a scowl. “That permanent marker didn’t come off of my face for a week.”

Claude stifled a laugh. That mustache and monocle drawing had easily been the best part of the evening.

Marinette full-on giggled at the remark and sat down in the chair between Claude and Allan, amusement and curiosity seeping through her tone as she asked, “You guys drew on his face?”

Felix’s scowl deepened- he hated being called out on embarrassing things -and his gaze shifted to the side. “While I slept. It was absolutely dreadful.” 

“Oh~ it was a joke.” Allegra cooed, waving off his bitterness. “You know you want to come.”

“Why would I?” Felix scoffed as he sat between Allegra and Allan. “The hours I’m forced to spend with you on a daily basis are torture enough.”

Claude smirked. Bold words for someone who was crushing hard on the newest member of their group.

“Because deep down in that cold, shriveled heart of yours, you know you love us.” He said, subtly wrapping an arm around Marinette’s shoulders as he said ‘us’. “Besides, we’re all going to be there. You don’t want to miss out, do you?”

Felix shot Claude daggers, but Claude only gave an innocent smile in response. He knew that he had the blond cornered. Marinette would be expecting him to go to the sleepover, the same way she’d expected him to go to the aquarium. Felix said yes to her then, and he would say yes to her now. Because he liked her.

Slowly, Felix’s gaze slid to Marinette, the spite in his eyes fading away as he glanced at her. Claude’s smile widened. He was thinking it over, contemplating whether it would be worth it to ‘suffer’ an extra night with them or not for Marinette’s sake. 

This was the moment. This was the moment where Felix’s true motives would be revealed, even though he was doing his best to hide them from everyone else, including himself.

“Fine.” The blond relented, just like Claude knew he would. “But I better not wake up with marker on my face again.”

Allan smirked. “Don’t worry, man. We promise there won’t be any markers for you this time.”

“Nope.” Claude Grinned. “Just some quality time between friends.”

Tag List:   @artbyknigit @athena452 @nickristus-dreamer @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @arsaem @abrx2002 @neakco @pawsitivelymiraculous @too0bsessedformyowngood @nathleigh @lusicing @officiallydarkgeek @all-mights-asscheeks @tbehartoo @woe-is-me0 @raeuberprinzessin @lazuli-11 @miss-chaos27 @trippingovermyfeet @sadpotatoondrugs @ladybug-182 @jaggedheart11 @marinahrasauce @i-need-blog-ideas @thewheezingbubbledragon @crazylittlemunchkin @unabashedbookworm @moonystars14 @sunflowers-and-mooncakes @2confused-2doanything @magnificentcrapposts @moonnette @nickristus-dreamer @vixen-uchiha @casual-darkness @luxmorningstarr @jjmjjktth​ @kaithehero  @itsme1598

[mirohlixie]

"On your knees and suck." (Prof. Lee Know)

Teacher! Lee Know x Student! Reader (gender-neutral) Genre: Smut, College AU Words: 1,5k Summary: Before they knew they'd be professor and student in the same class one day, Y/N and Lee Minho had a one-night-stand. No Y/N is failing his class and needs to find a way to fix their grade. Luckily, they have an idea in mind...

Content Warnings: Degradation, Humiliation, Oral Sex (Male Receiving), Face Fucking, Unprotected Sex, Spanking, Dom! Lee Know x Sub! Reader

----------------------------------- o --------------------------------------"L/N, one moment please," Mister Lee said as he stopped Y/N from leaving the room. "We need to talk about your grades." Y/N stopped dead in their tracks, turning around with an indifferent look in their eyes, sucking on the sucker they'd just opened seconds before. God, what could it be about this time? The skirt that was too short? The knee socks that were too high? It wasn't their fault men couldn't keep their eyes off them. "Yes, Minho?" They taunted, looking at their professor with a challenging look in their eyes. They knew they weren't supposed to use their professor's first name, but after that one night stand they'd had before Y/N found out they were their teacher a couple of days later, they couldn't help it.

After they found out Minho had clearly told Y/N that it would be that time only and that nobody could ever know they’d had sex. If it came out, he’d probably be fired, if not arrested. Y/N found it a shame, considering they’d had a lot of fun that night.

“It’s Mister Lee to you and you know that,” he snapped, seemingly uninterested. Y/N rolled their eyes and sighed.

“Fine, Mister Lee. What did you need me for?” They sat on the desk, waiting for what their professor had to say. Minho also rolled his eyes and pulled some paper out of his bag.

“You’re failing this course,” he said matter-of-factly, his eyes trained on the paper. “So far you’ve had bad grades for all your assignments and I also never hear you in class. Therefore, your participation grade is also insufficient as we speak,” Y/N hated the way he spoke about them. So business man-like. As if the two of them hadn’t shared the bed only weeks ago. He hadn’t cared about them at all, which strangely kinda hurt. However, Y/N decided to push that thought away for now.

“So?” They asked instead.

“So? You’re not going to be able to graduate at this rate,” Minho said, clearly frustrated.

“Why do you care?” Y/N asked. “Not like you showed any kind of worry the past few weeks.”

“You know-” Minho stopped himself, lowering his volume. “You know I cannot give you any special treatment because we slept together once, Y/N. Don’t play dumb now. We’ve been over this,” he sat on his desk too, looking at them expectingly.

“Well…” you paused. “How am I going to fix it, then? You gonna tutor me?” Y/N played with the sucker in their mouth, swirling their tongue around it absent-mindedly.

“It’s too late for that. The final exam is in a week,” they looked at their professor, sighing. How the hell were they going to get that grade up then? Tutoring was the only thing that crossed their mind in this instance. “Besides, I don’t think it’s a good idea to put you and me in the same room after school, all alone,” Minho muttered, straightening the collar of his dress shirt.

“Why not, Mister Lee?” Y/N asked, making their voice sound seductive. “Afraid you won’t be able to keep your hands off of me?” They leaned into him slightly, whispering the last part in his ear.

“Don’t say shit like that around here,” he grunted. “If we get caught it’s over.”

“Oh but professor,” a devilish smile played around their lips. “How will I ever get my grade up? Maybe I could do something for you… A little… something,” Y/N licked their lips and looked their professor in the eyes.

“A little something?” He questioned, visibly shifting in his place. “Like what?” Y/N strutted to the door and closed it, turning the key in the lock before closing the shutters. Minho bit his lip, looking at the student in a mixture of surprise and arousal.

“Oh well I don’t know, I mean…” Y/N started palming their professor through his dress pants. “I know some options that are definitely not authentic, but you tell me, Mister Lee,” they bit their lip, watching Minho’s reaction in anticipation. They needed to get their grade up and this wouldn’t be too bad. Even better, they were very willing to do a little something for the hot professor.

“Fuck,” Minho cursed. “Fine, have it your way,” he grabbed the student’s neck and pulled them closer to him before smashing his lips on theirs. Y/N was a little taken back by that, but feverishly kissed him back after a short moment of realization. Minho’s lip swiped over their bottom lip and they opened their mouth as the professor’s tongue forced its way into their mouth, fighting for dominance.

Y/N moaned quietly, feeling their knees go weak at their professor’s dominant demeanor. They hadn’t seen it since that one-night-stand weeks ago. Y/N fumbled with their teacher’s buttons, but he withdrew. His eyes had turned ten shades darker as he watched them.

“On your knees and suck,” his voice boomed. When Y/N didn’t immediately give in, due to the shock, he pushed them down to their knees. “Do I need to repeat myself? Princess knows daddy doesn’t like to repeat himself,” Y/N quickly shook their head and unbuckled his belt, pulling the man’s pants down as fast as they possibly could.

His large member was already erect and slapped against his stomach, making Y/N gasp. They remembered him being big, but not this big. They hesitantly took the cock in their hand and started pumping it quickly, regaining confidence as they did so.

“Don’t be shy darling,” Minho grinned. “Nothing you’ve never done before is it?” His attitude had gone through a total switch and Y/N was not complaining at all. They nodded quickly and licked the tip teasingly before sucking on it slowly. They loved looking up and watching the professor’s reaction to their mouth. His eyes squinted for a moment and his face relaxed when the tension in his member was finally being relieved. By the looks of it, he had wanted it as bad as they had.

Y/N wrapped their mouth around the cock and started bobbing their head slowly, making sure to swirl their tongue around it in their movements. The quiet moans they elicited with this simple gesture were already enough of a reward to keep going. Minho tangled his fingers into the baby’s hair and softly tugged on the roots while Y/N sped up, hollowing their cheeks to make sure they were applying a lot of pressure.

“Fuck-” the professor exclaimed, biting his lip to stay quiet. Y/N giggled a little around him before speeding up even more, swirling their tongue around him faster as they lightly grazed their teeth over the shaft. “Like that kitten,” Minho’s grip on Y/N’s head became more firm before he slightly started to buck his hips into their mouth. The poor brat gagged as the tip hit the back of their throat harshly, the suddenness of it making them moan. Minho saw this as a sign to keep going and started thrusting, fucking his subby student’s mouth roughly.

All they could do was hollow their cheeks and swirl their tongue around occasionally, completely overwhelmed by the large object that was shoved into their mouth over and over again. Not much later, Y/N felt that familiar twitch; he wasn’t going to last much longer.

“Shit-” Minho groaned between gritted teeth. “I’m close, doll. Are you gonna be a good one and swallow it all?” They couldn’t answer, but nodded their head to their best ability and hummed around Minho, indicating that they could.

A couple of rough thrusts later, hot spurts of cum shot down their throat and Y/N choked as they tried to swallow every single bit of it. When Minho pulled out, they gasped for air shortly and licked their lips.

“You taste amazing, sir,” they smirked a little, satisfied that they’d managed to convince their professor to do this. After all, this was a treat to both of them. “So… that will be a B?” Minho chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

“Fine, I’ll turn that F for your most recent assignment into a B,” he stated, pulling up his pants and looking at the flushed baby in front of him. “But only that one,” Y/N frowned a little, knowing that wouldn’t be enough to pass the exam and the overall course in the end.

“And maybe I’ll have to consider tutoring you the coming week, to prepare you for the exam, after all,” a small smirk formed around his lips. “How about my house at seven each night, starting today?”

Y/N’s eyes lit up. Did that mean he was finally admitting that he wanted to see them again? They nodded briefly before getting up and fixing their outfit.

“I’ll be at your place at seven tonight,” they confirmed before grabbing their bag and unlocking the door, leaving the classroom without looking over their shoulder. This was going to be interesting.

----------------------------------- o --------------------------------------

[quixotic-writer]

Lesson Plans and Challenges

Summary: Q thought it’d be funny to poke some fun at his girlfriend who works as a teacher. She makes him put his money where his mouth is and challenges him to work a day at her job.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

It started as him joking around about me organizing my lesson plans for the week saying ‘what are you stressed about? Coloring book page due?’ Then I challenged him to a day at my workplace. I went easy on him though, telling him he could come during a shift at the after school program I do for extra pay and he agreed. Here we are waiting for school to get out, classroom doors open with students looking outside at us with eager smiles.

“It can’t be that hard. I mean, you just spend these few hours outside and kids are constantly getting picked up so the population is always slowly lowering.”

“Coming from the man who doesn’t know how to talk to kids. Everyone knows this Bri. It’s very clearly shown on your little show you have.” I playfully banter with him.

“I have nieces and nephews, I know how to interact with kids.”

“Have you handled 38 at once?” His demeanor quickly drops the moment I give him a number and I start giggling, “It’s a whole grade level and it’s the largest group too. Did you not take that into account love?” He shakes his head and I see his nerves rise. “I’m sure you’ll make it out alive. The kids will find you hysterical. Just be sure to watch your foul mouth. PG settings on for today.”

“No promises that something won’t slip out.” I roll my eyes and the school bell rings and a flood of students make their way outside.

“Better clean up your act then because here they come.” I say with a smile and crack open the attendance book getting my pen ready with a wide smile as familiar faces run over to greet me.

“Ms. Sparkle! Ms. Sparkle! Look I have glasses now and I can see the board in class now!” One of the young ones jumped for joy as I marked him down as present in the attendance book.

“Well careful there Micah. Don’t want to break them right after you got them do you?” He shakes his head with a cheeky grin until his eyes dart over to Brian.

“Ms. Sparkle? Who the heck is this guy?” He points over to Brian and I try and stifle my laughter. “Who are you? Do you work here now? Most helpers are young and you’re too old to be here.” I couldn’t help but laugh audibly at that blow. Brian’s eyes went wide.

“And what makes you think i’m so old, kid?” He asks in a joking tone.

“Lots of gray hair and you have a huge beard.”

“Okay Micah, go take a seat and I'll dismiss you guys to play in a bit.” He smiles and trots away to go sit down against the wall and patiently waits for others to arrive. I shake my head and smile as I continue taking attendance. The wonders of working with kids. They just speak their honest mind and have no filter. It always makes for the most interesting conversations that I treasure.

“What’s with the ms. Sparkle thing?” Brian asks.

“Oh anyone that works in the afterschool program gets their own personalized nickname. I was dubbed Ms. Sparkle. Sami, another helper who works here, is called ms. raccoon because the kids said she looks like a human raccoon since she has dark bags under her eyes and the dark clothes she wears. Can’t wait to see what the kids come up with for you.” The line of kids continues as I check everyone off in the attendance book and they all line up on the sidewalk and talk amongst each other. Every student that comes and goes looks at Brian sideways before going off to the rest of the group. Some were more persistent with questions before I had to tell them that I'll be explaining shortly. Once everyone was accounted for, I turned to face the countless smiling faces. “Good afternoon guys, how was your day?” A mixed chorus of responses flood from all of them. Brian stands close to me and all their little eyes direct towards him. “So I have a special announcement to make for today guys.”

“Is that guy your boyfriend Ms. Sparkle?” My train of thought was quickly derailed as a student blurted out that question. A chorus of ‘ooh Ms. Sparkle has a boyfriend!’ comes from the students and Brian turns red and I snicker.

“This is Mr. Quinn, he’s my helper for today. We all remember how we treat others right?”

“The way we want to be treated!” They all respond. I smile and beam with pride.

“Awesome guys. You are all dismissed!” Just like that, the kids are quick to their feet and they all take off running to the playground. Both Brian and I stand together and watch as the kids congregate into their little groups and do their own things. Some were running around for a game of tag, some sat under the tree nearby with their toys and imaginations, and some sat near their bags with their noses in a book.

“So… What now?” Brian leans in and whispers to me.

“Well, make some rounds! Scope out the scene and keep an eye on them. Baseline rules are to be kind to each other, no bad language or toilet talk, no dangerous stunts on the playground.” I wave him off and with hands in his pockets he circles around the playground looking at all the kids unsure of how to start a conversation with any of them since they all seemed occupied with their own things. Around the corner pops in my usual helper, Sami. She gives a smile to me as she approaches and places her bag down. “You got an easy day today y’know.”

“Why’s that?” She asked as her eyes naturally darted around the playground making sure all the kids are in proper order and not getting into any mischief. I nod my head over to Brian who’s talking to a couple of boys off on the side of the playground.

“Brian came in to help for the day.” Sami snickers.

“Uh huh. And what do you mean by ‘help’?” She continues chuckling knowing all the stories I've told her about Brian’s history with kids. As I look up, I see kids climbing all over Brian like a jungle gym. One is riding on his back, two hanging and swinging off of each arm, and another connected to his leg like glue. He laughs as he tries to move about the playground with kids attached to him, each of them hollering out and laughing just as loud as he tries to shake them off. He seemed to be doing perfectly fine with the kids and something about that made my heart overflow with a river of love. Sami strolls off to give Brian a hand with the kids. With a few quick words the kids peeled off of Brian like water off a duck’s back, relief washes over him as he chuckles. My attention is quickly redirected to a few girls standing before me, the cute little clique of the sassy sweet ones.

“Hello girls, how was school today?”

“Ms. Sparkle, is Mr. Quinn your boyfriend?” Had a feeling this is what they’d be asking.

“Yeah! Do you like… Kiss and hold hands.” They all lean in with eager anticipation. I wasn’t sure how to answer this. I mean, it wasn’t a bad thing to tell the kids that I do have a boyfriend, but I wasn’t sure how far or how weird the questions were going to be. Kids just ask anything without a second thought.

“Mr. Quinn is my boyfriend. I love him very much.” Short, sweet, and to the point.

“Maybe you should date someone younger Ms. Sparkle. He has too much gray hair.”

“Well I like his gray hair. I think my boyfriend is very handsome as he is.” There he was with a bright smile on his face, talking away with a kid sitting on the rock wall.

“Gross.” And just like that, the girls were off to go and gossip elsewhere. I shake my head and laugh.

Time goes on and I watch with a smile as Brian starts warming up more and more to each of the kids as the hours pass. I didn’t interfere much or bother him because I wanted him to flourish by himself like I knew he could. He had a hard time keeping up with their more physically active demands such as games of tag, Brian being a human jungle gym, and showing off how strong he was by lifting kids with little to no effort. I’d occasionally see him hunched over catching his breath or scrunched down in attempts to take heaping gulps from the kid’s water fountain. It was funny seeing him, a fully grown man, crunching himself down a few sizes in desperation for some hydration.

He’d socialize with the kids too, answering some of their strange and unfiltered questions, telling stories about when he was a kid, and just listening to kids tell him all about their favorite things. Shockingly, it wasn’t all strictly firefighter stories like I expected it to be. Of course he did have a few of those stories to share, but instead he built off of what the kids were talking about and eased into the conversation rather than redirecting it entirely.

They dubbed him “Mr. Grizzly” because apparently reminded them of a bear. Very fitting in my opinion. My teddy bear.

Of course, there isn’t a day that goes by without a little bit of conflict. Part of me wished it was just a simple disagreement between two kids, a normal occurrence that’s easy to mediate and resolve. The wails of pain distinguished this as my other fear: an injured child. Immediately my head whips around to find where the cries are coming from and I see a circle of students right next to the walkway which told me exactly where the problem was. I quickly run over into the center of the circle to see Brian and Sami kneeling down with a kid that has a nasty gash on her knee from falling over. Tears were plentiful and cries of pain filled the silence. My heart broke as my adrenaline rose.

“Sami, grab a first aid kit, some paper towels both wet and dry.” Brian quickly took charge of the situation, as he tried calming down the student with calming words of ‘hey, it’s okay, i’m gonna fix you right up.’

“What happened?” I quickly asked.

“Seems Lily here took a nasty f–” the ‘f’ was dragged out. I knew exactly what he had been planning on saying, but he quickly switched up his words back to PG family friendly mode, “fall here on the sidewalk running.” Sami was quick to bring over everything Brian had asked for and he took them all in hand. “Thanks Sami. Now, let’s get to cleaning this up, okay?” He washed away all the blood, patting it with a wet then a dry paper towel. He dug through the first aid kit to grab some neosporin and a band aid and quickly patched Lily up.

“There… We… Go!” With a smile he leans away to take a look at his handiwork. His eyes look back up to Lily’s. She thankfully wasn’t crying anymore and he took another paper towel to carefully dry up her tears. “Does that feel better now?” She nods her head, still frowning a bit. “Oh now we can’t have a sad face on you anymore. I know what’ll help though!” He holds out his arms to her and she jumps right in with a smile as he wraps his arms tight around her and rocks her back and forth, “Mr. Grizzly bear hug!!” Lily was giggling and smiling as she was encased in his arms and I couldn’t help but smile and laugh along. Soon he released her and she was back to her old self and took off running to rejoin her friends.

“Look at you Mr. Grizzly.” I tease his new name and he smiles. “You handled that super well you know. I’m proud of you.” He lights up and if he were a dog, I just know his tail would be wagging like crazy.

“Well working in the FDNY has helped prepare me for times like these. No big deal.” Kids call to him and just like that, he was pulled back in to entertain the little ones.

The day flew by a lot quicker after that. No more incidents, no more sad faces, nothing but smiles and laughter came from the kids from then on. The day came to a close and the last kid finally went home, waving goodbye to me and fellow staff members they recognized before hopping into their car and riding off home. I place my binder away and file away everything from today that I needed to. I said goodbye to everyone and sent Sami on her way. Bri and I got into the car and he eased back into the seat of the car.

“What’s wrong honey bear? Did the coloring book page tire you out?”

“You too with the bear names?” He chuckles. “You know what, I see what you mean babe. That was tiring as hell. I almost slipped a few swear words here and there. I know for sure I'm gonna be feeling it tomorrow, felt like a human jungle gym. The kids were all over me. And you do this every day?”

“Mmm, I don’t do the after school thing every day. Just sometimes because I know the after school program is understaffed on certain days. It’s easier than actually teaching. That’s a horse of another color.”

“I bet. After this, I don’t think I can imagine that.”

“But you know, I love every moment of it. Good or bad. I wouldn’t trade this job for anything.”

“I would.” We both burst into laughter.

“Well you did great today Mr. Grizzly, you did everything just right.” With that we decided to head on home. I made my point today that my job wasn’t coloring books and glitter, but I also brought out a side of Brian that I never thought I would. One that actually does love kids despite him being too stubborn to say it.

[travoltacustom]

HypMic School Headcanons Part 2: MTC, MTR & DH

I genuinely enjoyed this ask! Anyways, this is being split between MTC, MTR and DH with BB, FP and BAT in the previous post. Thank you for your patience!

Read under the cut for MTC, MTR and DH

ー　MAD TRIGGER CREW　ー

Samatoki

Favourite Subject: Social Studies - History

Disliked Subject: Maths

Grade: Middle C

Club: Baseball Club

He was genuinely good at baseball, and enjoyed it. However, with his homelife, it meant that he had to skip practice a lot. Nobody knew of his circumstances so they just figured it was a shame that someone who could’ve been a star never ‘put in the effort’.

High school was rough. In between his home life and getting into fights at school, Samatoki didn’t have much going for him. He was bright, but his exams would let him down when the things he had had little time to study for would appear. If he’d had the support at school, maybe he would’ve been someone people actually acknowledged.

Jyuto

Favourite Subject: English

Disliked Subject: Social Studies - Geography

Grade: High A

Club: Student Council. Vice president

A generally dislikeable kid once you got to know him. He was a kiss up to the teachers, but not so bad as to rat someone out on homework. He was a ‘too good for his own good’ kind of person - Jyuto was an annoying know-it-all that hung out with his kind.

He had the general ideas of ‘do well now and get into uni’, but nothing beyond that. Once he hit his final year of high school, Jyuto became severely aware that there was more to life than school and genuinely struggled getting through exams despite how good he was for the entirety of his academic life.

Rio

Favourite Subject: Home Economics

Disliked Subject: English

Grade: High B / Low A

Club: ‘Wilderness Survival Club’

Rio was good at English since it was spoken at home. The class was boring as hell for him because most of the words were just things that he KNEW nobody would use. ‘When do we need to know someone’s favourite animal? We just need to know how to order food, right?’

This kid founded the school’s wilderness club. It was dedicated to wildlife preservation, gardening and anything outdoorsy. Though there were only a few members, they managed to hang with each other even during school holidays.

ー　MATENRO　ー

Jakurai

Favourite Subject: Science - Biology

Disliked Subject: Art

Grade: High A+

Club: Jazz band. Played the piano.

Jakurai does not know how to revise. Things always came to him naturally so he’d only look at material a few times before he knew how to do something. When things got hard, he would be frozen with frustration because he didn’t know how to deal with roadblocks.

This is why art was the worst class for him. He can’t draw, let alone paint. Of course, Jakurai can talk about how beautiful a work is, but if you asked him to draw something, he would politely decline. His art books are the only books ‘missing’ from highschool.

Hifumi

Favourite Subject: Social Studies - History

Disliked Subject: Maths

Grade: Low B

Club: Volunteering. He went to multiple clubs but never stayed in them.

Hifumi’s interests would switch every other week. He ended up volunteering instead because it meant he could meet way more people. However, the club he might’ve stayed in if he had the attention span would be the film club cause he likes talking about them.

He’s always had a magnetism to him. Not exactly the popular kid, but definitely not someone under the radar. Hifumi is friends with everyone, but never invited to parties unless they were REALLY friends. 

Doppo

Favourite Subject: Maths

Disliked Subject: Japanese

Grade: Low A

Club: Student council. Treasurer.

He’s always been good at organising and handling money. Not someone who spoke up too much but would get the job done, Doppo was a valued member of the student council. He didn’t make any decisions, but people appreciated how he would always tie their plans together. He was brought here against his will.

Doppo was definitely known around school. He’s always been a little too reliable and people would often ask for favours. However, nobody would take advantage of him because the people around him would stick up for him if he wasn’t able to vocalise a protest.

ー　DOTSUITARE HOMPO　ー

Sasara

Favourite Subject: Literature

Disliked Subject: Maths

Grade: Low B

Club: Comedy Club

He SUCKS with numbers. Sasara freaks out at the thought of algebra, so don’t you dare ask him how much something costs. He only managed to pass because all of his friends banded together to beat the Maths into his head. As soon as exams were over, he forget what numbers were.

No, Sasara was not the ‘funny guy’ in class. Sasara could never call out rude things in the middle of class. He was just the funny guy in people’s friendship groups. He was definitely a social butterfly, but this also meant he didn’t have a solid group of his own.

Rosho

Favourite Subject: Maths

Disliked Subject: Drama

Grade: Middle A+

Club: Student council. Treasurer

Drama class was HELL. Of course he could analyse set texts, but it was almost impossible to gauge an audience reaction! Grades were everything to Rosho at the time, so being in a class like drama meant that he couldn’t guarantee top marks no matter how hard he tried.

Being in the student council was a decision enforced by his mother. It was a role where he wouldn’t do too much but was still seen as important. Out of all things in highschool, it is the experience that Rosho remembers the least.

Rei

Favourite Subject: Science - Biology

Disliked Subject: 

Grade: High A / Low A+

Club: Student Council

This entire student council was a bunch of scammers. Their biggest plot was putting vending machines around the school, but they’d pocket all the money from the vending machine in the busiest place. The rest of the money went to the school, but because everything was so well thought out, they never got caught.

He was effortlessly smart. Rei barely revised and only attended study sessions to hang out with people - namely a girl. They were on the same level so they swore that it was only worth studying with each other... and they were lucky that they got more than staying in contact after highschool.

[weallsimpfordabi]

Switching Sides (Part Two)

Find the other parts here

A/N: More people are excited about this than I thought! Thank you for the support, guys, I really do appreciate it, more than you know 🥺

Pairing: Dabi x Reader, Ex!Bakugou x Reader

Word Count: 2,467 (got a little carried away)

Warnings: Cursing, choking, mentions of possible death, Dabi

Tag List: @platinumbelle @sweet-bunny-writing @bunbunsblog

“We want you to get any information you can about the school itself. If you hear about any faults in the security system, any teachers being sick, anything like that, you are to report to me and only me, kitten. Don’t trust anyone else here with that information, okay?”

———

As you fought off your grogginess the next morning, you had hoped that everything was a dream. Although, when you finally opened your eyes and saw Katsuki’s room, you sighed softly, rolling over to look at the ceiling. The night before had actually happened. You really had been kidnapped by a crazy and dangerous villain, forced to help them get information about the people you hold dear, otherwise they’d all die. And the cherry on top, of course, was a text waiting for you on your phone when you looked at it.

Master: Morning, kitten. I took your phone while you were sitting all pretty and gagged with my belt. Don’t forget what we talked about last night. I’ll know if you try to tell someone, so don’t. Meet me later on your patrols, same place. I’ll be waiting.

You rolled your eyes, changing his name immediately. There was no way you’d ever call him that, nor would you allow him to think that he was your master. You got out of Bakugou’s bed, walking over to his desk where a note was sitting, waiting for you.

Hey Idiot,

You looked really tired so I didn’t bother waking you up. I’ll tell the teachers you’re not feeling well. Don’t stay out all night again, I won’t cover for you again, dumbass.

We need to talk later. Don’t make me worry about you like that, teddy bear.

-‘Suki

You smiled softly, reading over the note again. Even after everything, you knew that he cared about you. He even used the pet name. Though it’s rare now, it still makes your heart melt. You folded the letter, putting it in your pocket before heading to your room. Your uniform had gotten quite wrinkled the night before, but luckily you always kept a few just in case. You changed into a fresh outfit, checking the time so you knew which class to get to.

On your way to your class, you heard footsteps behind you. You kept walking until you heard your last name called. You stopped, looking behind you to see All Might walking up to you, a worried look on his face. You fully turned towards him, a weary smile on your face as you waited to see what he was gonna say.

“Y/L/N, I heard you weren’t feeling well. Are you okay?” He seemed so worried about you, which of course he was. He told you last year that you were one of the most promising students at the school and that he was excited to see you become a pro hero one day. You cherished that moment, even to this day. You nodded, hoping that was everything he wanted to say. Of course it wasn’t. “Well, I need to talk to you, come to the teachers lounge with me.”

Your heart dropped to your stomach as you nodded once again, following his footsteps. Maybe he had found out that you were with the League of Villains last night. Maybe somehow he knew that you were a mole and you were about to be arrested. You fully expected to see the principal accompanied by the police force when the door opened.

Luckily for you, when the door opened, there were just a few teachers inside. All Might lead you to the green couches, offering to make you some tea. You thanked him, fidgeting with your thumbs as he did so. You looked around the room, taking in the decorations as you were sure the next scenery that would surround you would be a cell. All Might sat across from you, setting down two cups of tea.

“Y/L/N, we got notice from your agency that you never reported back from patrols last night. What happened? Did you run into any trouble on your route?” He took a short sip from the steaming tea, keeping his eyes on you. You shifted slightly, grabbing your cup so you had just a little more time to come up with something believable. You had a good record with the teachers, so they’d probably buy whatever you were about to sell them. After your scolding and torturously long sip, you set the cup back down and crossed your ankles.

“I’m sorry for worrying you, All Might. I did run into a little trouble, actually, but nothing too terrible.” Be careful, you thought to yourself. You were very close to just spilling everything. You knew you probably should have, but the image of All Might lying bloody and dead in front of you suddenly shot into your mind. You cleared your throat and All Might suddenly had a stern look on his face. “There was a kid whose mother had let go of his hand. He just started crossing the street without looking, and there was traffic. I barely got to him before he was hit. I guess I was so shaken up that I just came back to the dorms and went to sleep.” He hummed, his sternness quickly melting into sympathy.

“Oh, I see. Well, I’m glad you and that child are okay. But you know if you want to be a pro, you can’t let things get to you that way. Remember what I told you when we first met? You have to seem brave-“

“Even if you’re terrified.” You both finished together, a smile spreading both of your lips. He stood slightly, reaching his hand to grasp yours. You held it, your grip becoming a little tighter than you had meant it to. He looked down at your hand, his eyes glazing over with what seemed like deep thought. You kept your eyes on him, feeling your brows furrowing in desperation. You wanted to tell him, you needed to feel like you could be safe. Your knuckles turned white, and you realized you were probably hurting him. You let go, standing quickly. “I’m sorry, All Might. I’ll let my agency know when I go back out there after school.” He nodded, sending you on your way. You got out of there as quickly as you could, almost running to your class.

———

“So glad you decided to follow my orders. Such a good girl for me, aren’t you, baby doll?” Dabi smiled smugly as you glared at him. How could he be so cocky? You rolled your eyes, keeping a few feet of distance between the two of you. He held his hand out to you, a warp gate appearing behind him. You took a deep breath, then took his hand. He kissed the back of your hand before pulling you into the warp gate, squeezing you against him. When you two appeared in the hideout, you escaped from his grasp and pushed him away.

“Don’t touch me, it’s completely unnecessary, Dabi!” You whined, making sure to keep the distance this time. He chuckled, shaking his head before walking over to the couch and falling onto his back. He spread his thighs apart, one leg over the top of the couch and the other hanging off as he put his arms under his head.

“Oh, kitten, we’re really gonna have to work on that attitude. I guess I’ll have to be the one to fix it for you.” He smirked, sending a cold chill down your spine. You crossed your arms, and his eyes traveled to your chest. You immediately uncrossed your arms, fighting back the urge to throw something at him. “What information did you get for your master today?”

“First, I got no information. You wanna know why, Dabi? Because I got chastised instead since you thought keeping me here past my check in time was a good idea. I was supposed to report back to my agency before I went home, so now I’m in trouble. Second, you’re no one's master, but you’re especially not mine!” Your voice had gotten higher in volume than you meant, and Dabi’s demeanor changed very quickly, making you nervous. He stood, walking over to you. You froze again, cursing yourself for being so weak. His fingers squeezed your face, making your lips pout, his thumb starting to run over your bottom lip.

“Careful, little mouse, you are about to piss me off if you don’t watch that tone. And trust me,” he leaned in so close that you could smell the faint scent of a cigarette on his breath, “you don’t want to push me to that point. I’ll make sure you forget everything except my name.” You felt your knees get weak, which just confused you. You decided to push your luck a little more, a deviant raise of your eyebrow giving him a warning.

“Little mouse? What happened to ‘kitten’? Have I been demoted? What a shame.” He chuckled darkly, grabbing your hip with his free hand. Next thing you knew, you were pressed against the wall, his strength not holding back at all.

“Quite the opposite, baby doll. With that little stunt you just pulled, I’ve decided that I want to become the cat instead.” He looked over you, drinking in your expression as realization set in. He’s now the cat, and you’re the mouse. You whimpered, his hold on you starting to hurt. He leaned his head in, his lips brushing over your ear. “It doesn’t matter how much you wanna fight me, little mouse. The chase will continue until I have you begging for me.”

“That’ll never happen. Especially if you keep holding me here until after dark. They’re gonna get suspicious and find out everything, and then you’ll be in jail, where you belong,” you spat. He hummed, the vibrations of his voice sending more chills through your body. Though, it seemed they had a different destination than your spinal cord.

“I’ll accommodate that, then. I’ll have you back on time. Just don’t abuse my kindness. I’ll find out if you’re double crossing me, I have ears all over the place. Get me any information regarding what we talked about, no matter if it’s just a sentence or a whole speech. Anything helps both of us.”

“You’re insane.” You spoke without thinking, and you closed your eyes, ready for any impact. Instead, his body retreated from yours, his warmth no longer there. You opened them, looking at him. His hands were suddenly in his pockets, his gaze falling towards the floor. You tilted your head slightly, wondering what just happened.

“It’s six, you need to go back, right?” You nodded, still confused by this side of him you were seeing. He held up a finger to you, ordering you to wait while he walked away. You leaned back against the wall, your hand going to your face where he had his hand. Before you could really process anything, he walked back in and the warp gate opened. He nodded towards it, urging you to leave. You didn’t need much convincing, so you headed towards it. When you were inches away, he grabbed your wrist, lookin right at you with those eyes. “Check in with me when you get back to UA. I want to know where you are, so I expect at least a text when you go anywhere. Be good, little mouse, I’ll find out if you aren’t and punishment from me is probably the last thing you want.” He kissed the back of your hand once again before softly pushing you through the gate.

———

When you did get back to the dorms, you saw that everyone had already eaten and gone their separate ways, except the few people in the living room area. You made some small talk, assuring everyone you were okay before heading to Katsuki’s room. He had welcomed you in, bowls of tonkotsu ramen waiting for the both of you to eat. A sense of relief washed over you as you walked in, immediately going for the food.

“So, you wanna tell me what you were doing last night, dumbass?” He asked between bites, making you sigh and put your bowl down. You should have known better, of course you wouldn’t be able to just relax. You looked over at him, deciding to just eat anyway. You didn’t want to talk about it with anyone, but especially not him. He always had a way of getting things out of you and you didn’t need that right now, not if it meant his life would be in immediate danger.

“‘Suki, can we please talk about this tomorrow? I’m really tired and I still have to walk across the dorms to get to my room.” You took a long drink of the broth, the warm liquid soothing your throat. He let out a short but angry breath, doing the same as you.

“Fine. But don’t think you can escape this conversation again. I mean it.” He gave you a stern look, and you just smiled at him. You stopped being intimidated by him during your relationship. You reached over, holding his cheek in your palm. He instinctively leaned into your touch, his anger melting away.

“Don’t worry so much about me, ‘Suki, I’ll be okay. We can talk about it tomorrow. Thanks for the food.” You stood, grabbing both of your bowls so you could take it to the kitchen and wash them. He stood, his soft hand running down your arm. You turned your head to look back at him and he sighed.

“I can’t not worry about you, dumbass. No matter what, you’re still my teddy bear.” He bit his lip, then got that stern face again. “Just don’t go repeating that to anyone, dumbass.” You turned around, pressing a kiss to his cheek before leaving his room.

As you laid your head down on your pillow, you started thinking about what happened at the hideout. You called Dabi insane and suddenly he just got quiet. Like you had hit a nerve. You pulled out your phone, texting him that you were at the dorms now. As much as you didn’t really want to keep in touch, you felt an obligation to. Though, when the text tone sounded off, your heart felt as though it skipped a beat.

Asshole: Good to know. Go to bed, little mouse, and don’t forget to dream about me.

You groaned, putting your phone on the nightstand beside your bed. You needed to stop thinking about him, he’s just a nuisance and you didn’t want to waste time thinking about him. Though, that’s the only thing you could do until you fell asleep.

[captainseaweedbrains]

Ship: Everlark #48

Thank you so much for sending me a prompt! I hope you enjoy! As always, drabbles don’t exist in my world. So it’s a bit longer than I anticipated. :P 

Prompt: Meeting again at a high school reunion AU

Ao3: X

Send me a ship and a prompt and I’ll write a fic/drabble!

“If you don’t go over there and talk to him, I’m going to and you know I won’t edit out any embarrassing details,” Madge warned when she saw Katniss looking over at the Welcome table yet again. 

Katniss scowled, the alcohol clearly not kicking in yet. “I don’t need your help, Madge.” 

“You’ve been sitting here for twenty minutes, Katniss,” her friend pointed out, “watching that table like a scared hawk.” 

“Can a hawk be scared?” Madge glared at her and she conceded. “All right, all right. Yes, I am acting like a scared, made-up hawk, but I can’t help it! I made a total ass of myself back in high school. I’m afraid he’ll remember.” 

“Of course he’ll remember.” 

“You’re no help. Why’d I bring you as my date again?” 

Her friend smiled a winning smile and rubbed her swollen stomach. “Because my dearest husband decided a fishing trip with his brothers was more important than coming with me to our ten year high school reunion and he bribed you with anything you wanted from his store as thanks.”

“Right, right,” she laughed. “So why are you trying to pawn your date off on some stranger, Madge Hawthorne?” 

“Please!” Madge scoffed. “Peeta Mellark is so not a stranger to you. How many times did you two hook up in high school? In the band room, under the stage in the auditorium, the Home Ec room, and correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you two do it in Abernathy’s office?” 

Popping the maraschino cherry from her drink into her mouth, Katniss smiled. “I’m not confirming, nor denying, anything of the sort. We were total saints in high school.” 

“Uh huh.” Madge sighed and readjusted herself in her seat. “If you were total saints, why not go over and talk about your sainthood with Peeta, then?” 

Because she had broken his heart? Because 18-year-old Katniss panicked and ruined a great thing? Because she knew for a fact, thanks to Facebook and small town busybodies, that Peeta had just gotten out of an engagement with some gorgeous blonde who looked like a model and showing up now felt like cutting open an old scar? Because she was scared of telling him how she really felt then? And how those feelings haven’t really gone away and seeing him there, smiling and laughing next to Delly Cartwright as they welcomed old classmates, reminded her those feelings were definitely still there?

“Because he’s busy working the Welcome table,” she said instead. “Don’t you hate when people chit chat you up while you’re trying to work a table?” 

“No, but that’s because I’m not weird about people like you are.” 

“I miss the shy, barely-spoke Madge from high school,” Katniss teased, bumping her foot against Madge’s. “What happened to her?” 

“I joined a sorority in college and had to do three years of recruitment,” was all she said, still giving Katniss a pointed look. “Go talk to him, Katniss. Rip the band aid off.” 

She looked over at the table and frowned. “What if he tells me off? I don’t think I can handle that kind of rejection.” 

“He won’t,” Madge comforted, resting a hand on Katniss’ knee. “But you won’t know until you go over and say hello. Here,” she tore off her name tag and ripped it in half, handing the two pieces over to Katniss. “Ask for a new name tag for me as your excuse to talk to him.” 

She gratefully took the stickers and stood up, glancing over at the table. Two people were in line, the first person animatedly talking to both Peeta and Delly she didn’t recognize from behind. Yes, she can do this. With one long shot of her drink, she went and stood in line, Madge giving a whoop of cheer in support. 

The wait wasn’t long. Five minutes tops before she was walking up to the table, the two pale blondes smiling up at her, reminding her of all those times in high school they’d be managing the ticket table at lunch for Student Council or the ticket booth for football and basketball games. 

“Katniss Everdeen!” Delly welcomed in her high-pitched squeaky voice that hasn’t changed a bit in ten years. “I thought I saw you around! You silly goose, how are you? What have you been up to? How has life been treating you? How is that lovely sister of yours?”

“Delly,” Katniss smiled. Even now, after all these years, it was hard not to reciprocate the woman’s warmth and energy. “Life’s been good, thanks. Can’t complain. Still living at home with my mom and sister. Prim’s fine. Going to school to be a doctor.”

“That’s amazing! And you’re a teacher now, I hear, right?” 

“Um—yes, I am.” Her eyes shifted to Peeta, who was all smiles as well, before focusing back on Delly. “I’m a high school choral director at the high school next town over.” 

“You did always have a beautiful voice,” Peeta stepped in and her legs almost turned to jello at the sound of his familiar yet somewhat deeper voice. “Inspiring students to find their voices.” Ever the wordsman, Peeta Mellark was. 

“Yes,” she blushed, unable to help herself. “Um. That’s a really nice way of saying I spend half my time telling my classes to quiet down so we can get some work done.” They laughed and that helped calm some of her anxiety. “How are you both? I haven’t seen either of you since we all left for college!” 

Delly answered first. “I’m a proud Stay-at-Home-Mom—” 

“Don’t get her started on her triplets or else we’ll be here all night,” Peeta teased, happily accepting Delly’s shove. 

“Wow,” Katniss breathed. “Triplets. That’s—that’s a lot of babies!” 

“That’s what Thom says—you remember Thom, right, Katniss? We all had gym together in eleventh grade. Well, he’s my amazing husband now and he’s always joking how we nailed it out of the park on the first try.” She held out her phone to show a picture of three chubby toddlers, two girls and a boy, smiling cheekily at the camera in nothing but their diapers. “Gretchen, Analise, and Tommy,” Delly explained, pointing to each happy baby. “They just turned three last month and boy, are they keeping me busy!” 

Katniss nodded. “They look adorable, Delly. Look just like you.” 

“Thank you. That’s what everyone says.” She put her phone away. “Anyone in your life, Katniss?” 

“Oh, um. No.” She looked down at the stickers in her hand, realizing she didn’t need it now with Delly talking a mile a minute. “Work keeps me pretty busy and most guys don’t understand why I prioritize a bunch of high schoolers over—well, everything.” She laughed, feeling a bit awkward now talking about her non-existent love life. 

Delly looked over at Peeta, a knowing look in her eyes. “Peeta knows exactly how that is.” 

“Delly,” he said, rolling his eyes at her. “I’m a high school art teacher,” he explained to Katniss. “And I run the school’s debate and speech teams for some extra money. So I get prioritizing your students over everything else.” 

Oh. She didn’t know he was a teacher, too. Well that made a lot of sense why it was a pain hunting him down on Facebook. How had she not put two and two together? “Elective teachers unite,” she joked half-heartedly, feeling nervous again now that the attention was on him. 

“May our program budgets always just barely make the cut,” he joined in, all smiles. She smiled back, unable to help herself. His smiles, familiar despite time away, always made her feel more at ease. 

“You know, ever since I had the triplets, my bladder has never been the same,” Delly abruptly said standing up. “I have to visit the potty. The bathroom,” she corrected herself. “We’re working on potty training right now. Peeta, guard the table while I’m away?” 

“Oh. Uh, sure thing, Dells.” 

“You keep a close eye on him, Katniss. Make sure he doesn’t cause any mischief,” Delly warned with a wag of her finger before walking away, waving to those she knew as she went, which seemed to be everyone.

Katniss stood there for a moment, forlornly watching their buffer leave. She barely knew Delly, but now as the curly-haired blonde left, she felt a bit of a betrayal of being left alone with Peeta. 

“You don’t have to watch over me,” Peeta said, her attention snapping back to him. “Delly was just teasing.” 

“Oh no, it’s okay.” It wasn’t, not really, but admitting that would make things ten times more awkward. “Madge is my supposed date tonight, but she’s been spending more time in the bathroom than with me. So it’s fine. Um.” Just get it over with! “How are you, Peeta?” 

“I’m fine, Katniss. Thank you for asking.” 

“Of course, of course.” Wishing she’d consumed more alcohol before pursuing this quest, she went forth, “I heard you moved back into town. With your brother?” 

He shook his head. “I forgot how small this town is. Yeah. I moved back. Go on and ask.” He motioned at her, rolling his eyes. “About my engagement. Everyone’s been asking about it.” 

Katniss winced. “I didn’t want to pry, but yeah, I heard.” 

“As did many others.” He sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I’m fine, really. I broke it off with her, actually. Wasn’t a right fit,” he explained. “I didn’t think it fair to either of us to continue further, but it still hurts a little.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Peeta.” But was she really, though? Was she seriously happy about a guy she hadn’t spoken to in over ten years being single again? God, she was a horrible person. “But it sounds like you did the mature thing. Breaking it off like that.” 

He shrugged. “That’s what everybody tells me.” 

Someone came up behind her and she stepped aside as Peeta snapped into greetings mode. It was amazing watching him change so swiftly like that. Some people truly never changed, she realized, remembering how quickly he seemed to change moods at the flip of a switch. He did it the day she broke things off with him. How his eyes cascaded down in disappointment and she’d wondered if he might cry after confessing how he felt about her for all this time, but then someone had walked in, calling out to them, and he became all smiles and acted like nothing drastic had happened between them.

It was a bit unsettling, the more she thought about it now. 

The line of late comers started growing and Delly still hadn’t returned. Deciding to keep her promise, Katniss took a seat next to Peeta and smiled as another former classmate stepped up, ignoring the quizzical look he sent her as they were asked questions about times for the planned events and how they both were doing. Many assumed they were married now, remembering how close the two were in high school, and thank god for Peeta stepping in and saving her stumbling tongue, explaining how Katniss was just keeping Delly’s seat warm until she returned and that they hadn’t seen each other until tonight. 

After the third or fourth classmate assumed their matrimonial union, Katniss laughed, picking at the ripped sticker she’d stuck to her skirt for safe keeping. “I didn’t realize so many people remembered us together.” 

“Small town school,” he reminded her, his tone light and joking. Like she didn’t stupidly break his heart. “I’m not surprised they remembered you. You forget how much of an effect you have on people, Katniss.” 

Her cheeks warmed. “I think you mean yourself there, Mr. Popular. I was that awkward band and choir girl with the braces who never shut up about why the Baroque style was far superior to Classical.” 

“I remember those rants fondly,” Peeta laughed. “Your face would get all pinched because I barely knew what you were talking about, so I couldn’t offer any opinion. And I loved those braces! The silver brackets really brought out the silver in your eyes.” 

She rolled her eyes, remembering that line he used to pull every time she complained about her teeth. “Well I’m happy to say those days are gone. I’ve been metal-free since college.” 

“Took that long, huh?” 

“I’m pretty sure my orthodontist was just milking it for my money those last three years,” she laughed. “My teeth looked pretty straight to me.” Katniss smiled widely, showing off her white, straight teeth she suffered many mouth cuts and rubber band snaps to achieve. He joined her and wow. It really did feel like no time had passed between them. Like they were just a couple of teens back in high school, making fun of a teacher or a douchey classmate. 

Peeta looked down at the table, tapping his pen in thought. “You know,” he said after a moment, still looking down, “I am free from this table at 7.”

“That makes sense,” she nodded. “If people haven’t arrived in the first hour and a half, that’s their loss.”

“It is,” he smiled, glancing up at her. Yes, his eyes were still as clear blue as she remembered, and was it possible for eyelashes to grow? His looked longer now. “If you’d be fine with it, Katniss, I’d like to catch up with you some more.” Was it her imagination or did he seem nervous? That made no sense. She broke his heart. If anyone should be nervous, it was her. And she was. The constant flutter in her stomach more noticeable now with her sitting so close to him. 

“Oh. Um.” It was her turn to look down at her hands. “Okay. Sure. Yeah, that’d be great.” 

Peeta seemed uncertain, though. “Are you sure? Was I too forward just now? Sorry, ever since my break-up, I seem to be a bit rusty talking with people.” That was hard to believe. 

“No, no!” Katniss rushed to assure him. “I just—didn’t think you’d really want to catch up after how we ended things.” There. She mentioned it. Old heartbreak was out there now. “I know I messed things up pretty badly.” 

To her surprise, Peeta laughed, shaking his head. “Trust me, that is water under the bridge, Katniss. I was stupid and should have picked up on the vibes you were sending me.” 

“And I was stupid, too,” she said, a bit shyly. 

“High schoolers can be pretty stupid.” 

“I don’t know,” she smiled. “Mine seem a lot smarter than when we were that age.” 

“Mine too.” He pretended to think. “Perhaps we were just idiots and it has nothing to do with how young we were.” 

She laughed. “Maybe.” 

He tapped her pen with his. “To being idiots?” 

“To being idiots.” She tapped his pen back. 

And at 7 o’clock sharp, Peeta declared it was time they drank until they got so drunk, it was like they were back at Finnick Odair’s Friday night after-game parties. Katniss happily agreed, sternly reminding him she wasn’t going to make out with him tonight like they used to do in the toolshed during those parties, causing him to burst out laughing. Quickly scrawling out Madge’s name on a new sticker, she told Peeta she’d meet him at the bar. 

“I have to give my date her sticker.” He told her the booze waited for no one and headed to where a group of their classmates were chanting for someone to “Chug! Chug! Chug!” She smiled and went back to Madge, who was chatting with Leevy Anderson, an old friend of hers. 

“Well,” Madge asked after Leevy excused herself. “You were gone an awful long time. Did you get my sticker?” Katniss handed it to her with a smile. “I take it things went well? Or were you just sputtering out nonsense.” 

“It went very well,” Katniss told her, glancing over at the bar where Peeta stood, holding two drinks out, one clearly being hers. “We’re going to get crazy drunk now because this night has been extremely long for both of us. I hope you’re fine driving me?” 

“One of us needs to get crazy drunk tonight,” Madge laughed, patting her stomach. “Drink for me, too?” 

“Of course.” 

“Going to make out with Peeta Mellark like old times?” her friend teased, noticing Peeta now. “I’m sure there’s a closet you two can sneak into.” 

Katniss scoffed at her friend’s blatant assumption. “No, we’re not making out tonight, Madge.” Madge nodded, taking a sip of her pop. “We might next Friday, though,” she added a bit coyly. “He’s taking me out to dinner.” And she walked away before her friend could say anything further.

[koeyohte]

It’s bright in the hallway.  Sunlight streams in from the expansive glass doors and windows just a few steps away in the atrium.  The campus has received many remodels in the past few years and I’m fortunate to be taking two of my semester’s classes in this airy building.

    I’ve never been good with school.  Other students could casually discuss what they’d learned or cram their study session in the night before an exam and do just fine.  I’ve always needed extra help - after hours work from the teachers, tutors, extravagant memory solutions.  I’d finished high school last year and now was waiting, alone, outside a closed wood door where my english literature class would take place; not for a while though, I think, glancing down at my phone.  I’m always early to class.  For now, I’m sitting on the floor, plucking at stray fibers of material from my jean shorts and wondering if wearing leggings would have been a better idea.  The tile is a cold shock to my skin whenever I touch it.

    I’ve been taking this class for three weeks now - two days in each of those weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I look hopefully down the hallway, toward the atrium.  There’s usually a quiet young man who arrives early and waits across from me.  He keeps to himself and is always reading something.  I think he’s nice to look at, though I would never admit it out loud.  He’s a bit unusual looking - angular features compliment a frame that’s thin and wiry, but with broad shoulders that make him appear larger than he likely really is.  His hair falls just past his shoulders, which is unusual around here.  I’ve never seen a man around my age with long hair.  When I’m sitting on the floor, he seems rather tall, but when I’m standing, he’s actually about the same height as me.  I don’t know anything about him but it’s nice to share the otherwise lonely wait in the hallway with him.  I feel like there’s something calm and even comforting about him, though I’m not really sure why.

Twice, I’ve switched up what side of the hall I stand on, just to see what he’ll do.  He stood farther away during the first week but after I accidentally dropped my notes and he picked them up for me in the second week, he’s been standing a little closer, still always across from me.  I remember noticing a narrow but long scar across his wrist when he handed me my notepad.  His hands were rather rough when they brushed mine.  He hardly met my eyes and was quick to move away again, like he was uncomfortable with being near me.  The dark circles under his eyes were much more apparent up close.

I look up when I hear the doors of the atrium open and my heart skips a beat.

    He’s buried in his phone just like he has been every day before.  He makes his way down the hall, barely looking up even once, and comes to lean against the wall opposite me like he always does.  He looks past his phone to nod at me, which I wasn’t expecting.  I try to smile at him but it comes out like more of a grimace.  He doesn’t seem offended and brushes his long hair from his face while he continues to read.  His hair is a strange, dark blond color and it frames his sharp features in a way that makes it difficult for me to look away. He doesn’t seem to attract much attention from anyone else but I realize as I stare at him that I find him oddly handsome.

    I guess that explains why I’ve randomly thought about him more than a few times this past week.  That’s new for me.

    Confused by my revelation, I look away before he can notice.  I don’t even know his name.  There’s a subtle smoky scent that I now recognize is coming from his bag.  It’s sweet and herbal rather than stale and dusty.  His clothes are the same as always - a button down, earth-toned shirt with dark grey slacks.  He looks like he should be working in an office.

    He doesn’t say much and he won’t speak unless spoken to. I’m not sure if that’s just how he is, or if it’s a manners thing, or if he actually despises small talk.  He seems too buried in deep thought for it, from my observations.  He’s always reading something, whether a book in his hand or something on his phone.  I can tell they’re not text messages by the way he brings the phone up and stares at it while occasionally scrolling for the entire 20 minutes we usually stand in the hallway.

    It’s surprising and a bit bewildering to admit that I like looking at him, but it’s true.  That being said, I find just about everyone nice to look at in some way.  It’s confusing sometimes.  I’ve never felt anything more for anyone, though, despite being pursued more than once.  It just hasn’t happened yet I guess.  I’m in no rush, so it’s alright with me.  Unintentional flings don’t seem enjoyable and I can’t imagine being so intimate and open with someone who doesn’t plan to be there in the future.  Unlike Sun, I think to myself - she’s been with lots of people, and while some of them still spend time with her just as friends, others have left a bad taste in my mouth.  She’s easily forgiven them.  Or forgotten.  Maybe both.

    Someone else walks between us and when I glance up, I’m surprised when the man across the hall looks quickly away from me.  I watch him for a moment, wondering how long he was staring.  Maybe he wasn’t.  Instead of looking back at me, he scratches at his chin and tucks his phone away, looking at something over my head.  I find myself glancing upwards, assuming there’s a flyer I must have missed, but there’s nothing there.  When I look back at him, he’s watching me again, but he startles.

    “Sorry,” he mutters and looks away.  He sticks his hands into his pockets and avoids my gaze.  I’m not sure what to say.  That it’s okay?  That sounds weird, possibly even creepy.  Should I ask him if something’s amiss?  That might be weirder.

    He’s looking at me again and this time, he doesn’t shy away from my own gaze.  His light eyes trail down to my knee, where I realize he’s eyeing a small cut from where I had banged it on one of Sun’s short coffee tables last week.  He looks like he wants to speak but he’s holding himself back.

    “Ran into a table,” I say awkwardly, gesturing at the wound.  It’s just a small red line now.  The man looks back to my eyes and nods.

    “Looks recent,” he says after a moment.  His voice is mellow and lighter than I expected it to be.  He sits in the first row, close to me in our class, yet I’ve rarely heard him speak; certainly not more than a simple yes or no.  “Not from this week, though.”

    I tilt my head at him, surprised he can tell.  “How’d you know?”

    Something passes across his face.  He looks almost disappointed - or angry?  “I’ve seen a lot of… cuts,” he mutters.  He shakes his head but falls silent again.  His expression is mellow as he stares at the tiles between us.  Relaxed, he’s very nice to look at.

    I feel myself start when he blinks up at me again.  I’m wracking my mind for something to say.  There’s a palpable tension in the air - either that, or I’m just incredibly nervous, for some reason.

    “What happened to your wrist?” I blurt, glancing at the pale pink line that reaches over his skin.  He pushes his hand further into his pocket and I fear I’ve crossed some invisible boundary with him.

    “Nothing,” he responds quietly, voice hardly more than a whisper.  His posture is stiff now and he’s avoiding my gaze, so I don’t press him.

    “What do you do?” I ask, hoping a change in subject will make him feel more at ease.

    “Metal shop,” he mutters simply.  He’s still not looking at me.  Deciding he’s done with the conversation, I just nod and go back to my phone.  Sun’s sent me a picture of some plants she wants to buy for her patio.

    “What about you?” he asks after a moment.  I’m glad that he’s not giving up so soon.  He still looks upset, or frustrated, but his posture’s relaxed a bit.

    “Just… this right now.  I’ve been around.”  I pause, realizing how that sounds.  “I mean - I’ve had a few odd jobs.  Nothing serious.  Coffee shops, library, things like that.”

    At mention of the library, the man perks up.  “What did you do there?”

    “Just inventory, organizing shelves, scheduling shipments from one branch to another.”  I watch his features change, almost dramatically, from brooding and gloomy to fascination.

    “I assume that means you like to read?” he asks, standing up straighter.  He takes his hands from his pockets and folds them.  He crosses one leg over the other and suddenly appears much more comfortable than he ever has in the hallway.  The newfound engagement on his face makes him much nicer to look at.

    “I do,” I begin, but before he can ask me what most everyone does, I hurry on, “but mostly nonfiction.  I had to focus on school for so long, I hardly had time to read for fun reading.  I’m just now getting into it again.”

    To my surprise, he nods as if he understands.  Most people find what I’ve said to be ridiculous, or a poor excuse to avoid reading as a hobby.

    “I’m like that sometimes, too,” he says.  “I’m always reading something, though reading purely for enjoyment is something I only very rarely get to do.  I’m….”  He tilts his head to the side and sighs as though he’s about to tell me something ludicrous.  “I’m in the midst of a collection of European cavalry history, right now.”

    I nod, unsure of what to say.  It doesn’t sound particularly appealing to me, but I can understand the draw for someone who knows more already than I do.  I try to smile in place of empty words, and the man drops his gaze to the floor again.

    I notice a tear in the belt loop of my shorts and start to pull at it.  They’re one of my favorites, as they actually fit.  I have exceptionally wide hips, so everything is either too tight in the thighs or too loose everywhere else.  I grumble when the string gets caught on my ring.  I wear a thin silver band around my ring finger on my left hand - I grew tired of people trying to hit me up.  Free from the devious string, I glance down the hall, but first I steal a glance at my classmate.

    I nearly startle when I notice his eyes are resting on me again.  It looks like he meant to just glance at me but upon noticing my staring, now he is too, in an effort to hide his intention.  Whatever it was.

    My heart is pounding in my ears.  I can feel my pulse in my chest.

    “Jeans,” I say weakly, shrugging at the string in my hand.  The young man nods once.  I see him swallow and lower his phone from his face.

    “I had a sister who wore a lot of them,” he says slowly, as though he’s considering each word before he speaks.

    I notice how he chose his words - “had” a sister.  I offer him a polite smile.

    “I’ve never had a sister.”

    “Brothers?” the man asks.  I shake my head.  He shrugs.  “More resources for yourself.”

    I open my mouth to respond, then realize that nothing natural comes to mind.  What an odd thing to say.

    “I suppose,” I finally say.  He had started to look at his phone again but when I speak, he pauses.

    “You suppose?”

    I look away.  There’s an edge to his tone that wasn’t there previously.  He seems frustrated with my comment.  His brows lower and the creases along his mouth deepen.  Whatever attraction I did feel toward him fades slightly.  The man straightens himself up and tucks his phone into his pocket.

    “You don’t get anything to yourself with six siblings,” he elaborates.  A subtle, tired smile flashes across his face at my expression of surprise.  “That’s all I meant.”

    Realizing that he noticed my disenchantment with his tone, I begin to feel guilty.

    “It’s alright,” I manage, hoping he’ll forgive my reaction.  I’ve always been sensitive to people’s behavior.  I assume it has something to do with a handful of particular years during my childhood.  My mother went through something that I was too young to understand, but I didn’t miss the things she did and said to me before she found herself again.  I’m quick to assume the worst from people rather often.  It’s something Sun likes to remind me about, if she isn’t criticizing my willingness to help people.

“Seven of you?” I ask, realizing the man is still watching me.

    He nods.  “We’re fosters… so, none of us are really related.  Different ages, come from different places….”  He looks suddenly uncomfortable and trails off, looking away.  He sticks his hands back into his pockets, shoulders slumping.  He looks like he wishes he hadn’t told me.

    “That must be difficult.  I can’t imagine that.”

    “Hmm.”  The young man looks back to me.  “It can be.”

    A few other classmates are starting to arrive.  I’m disappointed that we don’t get the hall to ourselves anymore.  The man pulls his phone back out and resumes his reading like I’m not there at all.  I get the distinct impression that his foster family is something he doesn’t speak about much and probably didn’t mean to offer to me.

    The rest of the wait goes by as usual.  Relative silence in the hall is replaced by shuffling shoes, the rustling of paper, the clamoring of heavy books against tile, and chatter.

The door to the classroom opens, the last of the previous class files out, and the professor beckons us inside.  I take my place in the front row, all the way over to the right, where I’ve made a corner against the far wall.  The man follows and sits two seats away like he always does.  The professor does all the talking, until discussion time.  My quiet companion and I aren’t exactly fans of speaking to the class.  The professor hasn’t called on us yet and she doesn’t this week, either.

    Once dismissed, I gather my things and wait patiently for the young man to take his so I can leave.  He’s shuffling papers in his bag and muttering to himself.  He looks upset, so I pretend to read a message, but am glad to see one from Sun to respond to anyway.  She’s got some exciting news about a new girlfriend, it seems.  I begin to type a reply but the man groans and moves aside, pinning himself uncomfortably against the table.

    “Sorry, I’m sorry.  Go ahead.”  He waits for me to pass him and I notice how he recoils further as I do, as if being near another person disgusts him.  His knuckles are white against the table and he’s turned his head away from me like he’s afraid I’ll look too closely.  I try not to think too much about it, hoping it’s not personal to me.  I pause just after him when I notice the way he paws frantically through his things.

    “You okay?” I ask, lowering my phone.  He looks up.

    “Yes.  I just… lost something.”

    “Can I help?”  I start to move closer but he quickly straightens up, picks up the bag and sighs heavily.

    “No.  Thank you.”  Clearly frustrated, he strides past me toward the classroom door.  I’m surprised when he holds it open and looks expectantly at me.  I thank him and sweep out into the hall.

    “You sure you’re okay?” I ask again when he trudges past me.  He frowns.

    “I’m fine.”

    “Okay.”  He doesn’t seem fine.  He seems to be silently fuming.  His brows are low and the creases in his face are deep.  I remind myself that I don’t know him and it’s best to leave him be.  Despite the way my feelings get carried away so easily, I have to remind myself that they shouldn’t choose my decisions for me.  It’s very difficult, especially when I see someone upset or in need.  Sun likes to tease me about it, telling me I’ll spread myself thin trying to provide more attention to everyone I’ll ever meet than I ever do for myself.

Some days, I think she’s right.

I leave my disgruntled classmate behind and go to stand outside, waiting for my mother to pull the car up.  We share the vehicle, so she dropped me off today.  She had work for a few hours while I was on campus and doesn’t always get off on time.  I could be waiting here awhile.

    I look up when someone comes to stand next to me.  It’s my classmate, and he’s fidgeting like he’s distressed or like something is wrong.  His hands are flexing like he’s in pain and he’s gritting his jaw.  I don’t ask him this time if he’s okay.  He’s staring straight ahead as if I’m not there.

    “You getting picked up?” he asks suddenly.  I nod and ask him the same.  He barely hides a scoff.  “Ah - no.  They would never… no.  I just....”  He frowns and looks down.  “Nevermind.”

    “Wait.”  I follow him as he steps back toward the building.  He looks strangely on edge, like a frightened, injured animal.  I feel myself hiding an eye roll at the way he stares at me like I’ve caused him further upset.  “Don’t worry, I won’t ask if you’re alright - but... do you need anything?”

    He looks offended until he realizes why.  “I’m sorry,” he begins, turning around to face me again.  His voice is thin and suddenly soft.  There’s something gentle in the way he speaks to me now.  “I didn’t mean to be rude.  It’s not… socializing isn’t my strong suit.”  He looks sheepishly away again, hand anxiously rubbing at the strap of his backpack.  I can see how worn it is there.  “You don’t… have a lighter, do you?”

    That’s what the herbal smell was.

    “Sorry, no.”  I don’t have anything against smoking, but I’ve never done it myself.  Sun does, sometimes.  I’ve sat in her room in the cloudy, sweet haze while her company languished around, discussing things they weren’t ever quite relaxed enough to allow themselves the luxury of doing before.  It’s a great time it seems, but I won’t try it with so many strangers around.  I trust Sun with my life, but she has a lot of strangers in her room sometimes.  Some come and go swiftly and others stay for weeks.

    The man casts me a small smile.  I hate how charming he looks like that.

    “Darn.  Hope you won’t think any less of me for it, anyways.”

    “What makes you so sure I’m thinking about you at all?”

    I’ve spoken before thinking.  I feel my face flush bright red.  He blinks at me for a moment, then looks away.  Neither of us say anything for several breaths.  The tension is stifling.

    I close my eyes and shake my head at myself.

    “That - that was… I didn’t mean it like that.”

    The man laughs quietly and I see him reach up to scratch distractedly at the back of his neck, ruffling his hair.  He looks shabby but in a confusingly enticing way.

    “‘S alright,” he mumbles.  I allow myself to look at him for a moment while he’s busy looking anywhere else but at me.  His face is lightly shadowed and his sharp features cast sunlight across his forehead and the bridge of his hooked nose.  His eyes are light, unlike my own.  As I look, I notice pretty, almost yellow centers.  I’ve heard of heterochromia but I can’t tell from here if that’s what’s there for sure.

    He looks at me again and I notice out of my peripheral vision that my mother’s little blue car is turning into the driveway.

    “My mom’s here,” I announce, unsure of how else to proceed.  The tension is still there but it’s not as taut.  The man looks up and backs away from me as though he shouldn’t be seen so close.  He’s chewing his lip but as the car pulls up to a stop, he just looks away from me again.

    “See you,” he says, and turns back into the building before I can even respond.  I open the passenger door and climb in, not allowing myself to stall, and glad when my mother doesn’t ask any questions.

[carelessannie]

maybe it goes like this: steve builds his pack (part 1)

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

Read on A03

Read the Tony courts Peter wip

Stucky focus (Steve x Bucky)

A sweet, slightly angsty backstory in three parts (ending in Stuckony).

Major warnings: D/S Au, A/B/O Au, Middle/High School Au, talk about family death, public non-sexual submission, steve beats the shit out of some bullies

---

Maybe it goes like this:

Steve can’t remember life with a pack, but knows for certain that his Ma grieves for them. Ever since he was a boy, he would catch his Ma staring at fading photos of strangers, wiping tears from her eyes, and denying it when Steve would ask why do they make you cry.

It’s not until later in his life that Steve learns the truth about pack bonds, about the decision an Alpha makes in life to form a familial or an intimate bond with their packmates. His Ma refuses to let him learn about packs from school, instead sitting him down across the table, like an adult, Steven, and he learns about orientations and secondary genders when he’s nine years old.

His Ma explains the way kids will turn into adults: first establishing their orientation as Dominant, Submissive, or Versatile, and later in high school, presenting as Alpha, Beta or Omega. She threads their fingers together, and asks Steve if he can notice what she is, and he concentrates real hard, trying to decide, as his Ma laughs.

It’s okay, Steven, you won’t be able to tell what other people are until your own body has developed.

Steve nods, pretending like he understands, and asks his mom about her presentation. She gives him a sad— sad? — smile, and says she’s a Submissive Beta.

It’s silent as Steve puts those two things together with the strong, beautiful woman he admires as his Ma, and is still confused. He asks about packs, and Alphas, and what intimate and familial packs are— gaining an amused shake of the head from his Ma.

Why don’t I just tell you about my pack, yes?

Steve nods eagerly, desperate to hear the story of a family he never had,

My pack was intimate, Steven, which means we all loved each other very much and decided to live together. I met my— our Alpha when I was in nursing school, before you were born. She was already mated to two Omegas, and they had been searching for a Beta to join their pack. We fell in love. I met her Omegas, and all four of us were very compatible— do you remember what that means, hun?

Mhm, like when you know you belong with someone even more than anyone else.

Right, good, so we all belonged to each other, understand? We lived in our Alpha’s house, and all of us worked jobs in the city. About a year after joining her pack, I met your Pa. He transferred to the hospital I worked at, and he was also a Beta, like me, but he was Dominant. I introduced him to my pack, and they loved him too. Within a year, we were mated and I had you. Makes sense, Steven?

Yes, Ma. But… What happened to them?

At this, his Ma goes silent, breathing deeply before finishing the story for her son.

Do you remember the difference between packmates and bondmates, Steven?

Um. One is forever, right?

Yes, good, if you are in love or committed to a pack, they are your packmates, whether you are intimate or not. But sometimes, two people, or a whole pack, want to make their relationship last forever, and they become bondmates. All people have the private part of their necks, remember? You have to know, sweetheart, the only way to start a bond is to bite each other there while mating. We’ll wait to talk about mating until you’re in middle school, okay hun?

Yes, Ma.

Good boy. Now. The other important thing about bonding is that it ties your soul to another person’s forever. Any person of any orientation can bond with whoever they’d like, as long as they’re compatible. But you have to know, and this is so important, that once you bond, your souls become one. My whole pack was bonded, but… Daisy… hun, our Alpha died of cancer. She got very sick, and died. And when one bondmate dies, everyone who shares the bond gets sick and dies too.

… Ma, but. Why didn’t you die?

I decided, once I got pregnant with you, that I didn’t want to risk bonding to my pack. Your father and I loved each other so much, and you were the symbol of our love, not a bite. And I’m thankful, sweetheart, because I get to be your Ma and watch you grow up.

Do you miss them, Ma?

Every day, Steven.

Steve doesn’t remember his Ma mentioning her pack again after that day, but he did start to notice that she would get sad a few times a year, around forgotten birthdays and anniversaries. She would spend all of her days working hard to provide for the two of them, and always made sure Steve knew he was loved and valued, even when she denied herself the opportunities to find a new pack.

Looking back, Steve can see that they didn’t have a lot of luxuries or comforts, and definitely didn’t live in the best part of town. He had a few friends in Bushwick, growing up in the nineties it was a poor place to live, but they were perfectly happy to play in the streets during the day, and lock their doors tight at night.

As he ties up his laces, he thinks about his small family and is immeasurably happy. There’s no one he loves more in the world than his Ma. He hates the thought of getting on the bus and driving far away to switch middle schools, but his Ma reassures him that he will love meeting new kids and making new friends.

So he grabs his backpack, tightening the knots holding the straps in place, and hops down the stairs, only sparing one look to his Ma on the front step.

It’s a long bus ride to the school, more than thirty minutes. Over the summer, his Ma found out that the school system wanted him to transfer to a better school because of budget... something and overcrowding—? He’s actually not quite sure why he can’t go back to his old school, but his Ma made it seem like William Alexander Middle School thinks he’s special and has asked for him specifically. So yeah, Steve is really excited.

He’s going into Seventh grade, and gets his own locker, and gets to go to art class.

Steve spends the whole bus ride reviewing the schedule he already has memorized, and comparing it with the school map that his Ma printed for him, tracing his finger around from class to class. Bus to Nurse to Homeroom to Algebra to English to Nurse to Lunch to Gym to Art to Nurse to Bus.

The day passes this way, Steve confidently following his map around the school and taking notes in his small notebook. It’s not until Gym that he gets nervous, remembering his last asthma attack, and hopes the nurse told his gym teacher about his restrictions as he files into the gym and takes a seat on the floor.

“Steve Rogers?”

“Here.”

“No, Steve, I need to talk to you,” Steve looks up and sees his gym teacher, a really large man with a beard, waving him to the front of the class. The other kids turn to whisper to each other as Steve walks forward.

“I— did—”

“Steve, I have a note here from the nurse, saying you cannot participate in most exercises because of your health issues. Because of this, I’m going to suggest you join the sixth grade class, which will go at a better pace for you, and let Mr. Howlett help you further, okay?”

He feels his entire face flush dark red as the other students behind him whisper and laugh. He’s a seventh grader, not a baby sixth grader. He holds eye contact with the gym teacher, folding his arms across his chest, but still grinds out a, “Yes, Sir,” like his Ma would want him to.

“Good, it’s settled. Here, Mr. Howlett has sent James to show you where to go.”

Steve turns to find a small, smiling boy waiting for him at... parade rest? What—

“Alright Stevie, let’s go,” and the boy turns on his heel, marching across the gym as Steve scrambles to keep up.

James slows down slightly, letting Steve catch him, “First things first, my name is James Buchanan Barnes, but most people call me Jamie. I hate it, but it’s better than nothin',” he looks over at Steve, eyeing him up and down, “Second, Mr. Howlett is friends with my dad. You stick with me, and this class will be a breeze, capiche?”

Steve swears his eyes are falling out of his head, and he nods his affirmation.

“Good,” is all Jamie responds with before grabbing his hand, tugging him to join a younger, smaller group of kids in the gym. As they approach, Jamie lifts their hands in triumph, “I found him!”

Feeling betrayed, Steve rips his hand free in embarrassment, but Jamie just smiles wider and pulls him towards their gym teacher, Mr. Howlett.

How this man could be bigger and scarier than the last teacher, Steve doesn’t know, but refuses to hide behind Jamie as they approach, and instead stands up even taller. Mr. Howlett makes a grunting noise, flipping through a few papers on his clipboard, before looking up at the two boys.

“Rogers?”

Before he can respond, Jamie pipes up, “Yeah! Here’s his note from the nurse, and he’s my friend and— and can I help him out? Please?”

It’s pretty clear that Mr. Howlett couldn’t care less either way, but all Steve can see is the raw, eager look in Jamie’s face as he begs their teacher to help Steve.

Huh, he thinks, the only other time I've seen this look is when Ma begs the pharmacist to refill my inhaler prescription when her paycheck's late.

“Whatever, Jamie, just keep outta trouble, ya hear?”

“Yes, sir!” Jamie delivers, with a crisp solute to match, and pulls Steve towards the back of the class.

They settle down, and Jamie keeps holding onto his hand. Steve glances over and sees Jamie quickly look away, suddenly shy.

“Jamie?”

The smaller boy looks over, hopefully, “Yeah, Stevie?”

“Thank you, I didn’t think I’d get a friend on my first day, much less the best one in the school.”

Jamie ducks his head again before turning his brilliant smile in Steve’s direction, and Steve continues before he has a chance to respond, “and Jamie?”

“Yeah, Stevie?”

“I swear, cross my heart, that I’ll find you a better nickname.”

Jamie’s eyes widen, and then he’s laughing, loud and doubled over. He grips harder onto Steve, who can’t help laughing along, even as they get funny looks from the class and a gruff, c’mon, quiet down, from Mr. Howlett.

Shaking his head, Jamie tries to catch his breath as he responds, “ I— I think— I’d love that— Stevie.”

And all Steve can do is smile back.

---

It takes a week for Steve to settle on Bucky, and when Bucky says he loves it, Steve runs all the way home to tell his Ma.

---

Steve and Bucky have Gym class and Lunch together almost every day for a year, and spend the whole summer waiting for their schedules to be mailed, hoping for at least two classes together.

They get their wish.

---

Halfway through eighth grade, Steve gets sent home with a stamped letter from his guidance counselor. For the past few weeks, the guidance counselor has asked him and Bucky to have lunch in her office, and the boys always shrug and agree. Today, after finishing lunch, she hands both boys an official letter for their guardians to discuss with them.

“Whaddaya think’s in it, Stevie?” Bucky asks, squinting at the letter as he holds it up to the light. The boys are heading straight from lunch to the nurse’s office to get Steve’s medicine, like they do every day, and Bucky grips tight to his hand, intertwining their fingers, like he does every day.

“I dunno, Buck. Maybe she’s gonna tell your Ma that you smell and needa bath,” the comment earns Steve a light shove, and an affectionate, “Punk,” in response.

“Jerk,” Steve replies, a reflex, and reaches out to pull Bucky closer, “I wouldn’t worry ‘bout it, Buck. She’s been real nice up ‘til now—”

“Yeah, I know, I just don’t wanna bother my dad if it’s somethin’ bad.”

They fall silent for a moment, both boys knowing how busy and strict Bucky’s dad can be. Steve sees Bucky’s head drop, lost, as he looks at the letter in his small hands. He slows them to a stop, turns Bucky around to face him in the school hallway, and hums in approval as Bucky meets his eyes and slowly tilts his head back. He grabs onto both shoulders, squeezing lightly, and pulls Bucky up close. Fingers tighten in the back of Steve’s shirt as Bucky clings to him, and he nuzzles into his best friend's hair, comforting, while rubbing across his shoulders.

“So sweet, Bucky. There’s no way your dad could be mad at you, alright? Believe me?”

He gazes down into soft, glazed gray eyes, and freezes. Bucky is slightly trembling against him, looking at him like he’s a revelation. Steve feels a calm settle into his bones as he reacts purely on instinct, reaching up to grip Bucky around the neck.

A few things happen in quick succession.

First, Bucky’s eyes roll up into his head, breath leaving his body in a woosh along with a high pitched whimper.

Second, Steve widens his stance, straightening his back, and Bucky sinks, fast, to his knees, gripping onto Steve’s thighs for balance.

And then, out of the haze—

“STEVE ROGERS, YOU RELEASE THAT BOY IMMEDIATELY,” and the trance is broken.

Steve is horrified to see Bucky curled up on the floor, and he stumbles back. Large arms wrap around him, herding him away from—

“STEVIE, no, please—” the voice of his best friend, his Bucky, follows him down the hallway along with small broken cries, and Steve fights hard against the strong arms that hold him,

“C’mon, kid, it’s okay. Just gonna call your Ma and getcha settled,” but Steve doesn’t care.

His boy is back there, somewhere, calling for him, needing him, and he can’t get back, he can’t protect, he can’t save, he can’t— breathe.

---

It’s okay, hun. Shh, sweet boy, it’s okay.

— Sarah, he had Jamie on his knees, submitting—

— no, I don’t think Jamie has stopped crying yet—

— only a few more months, it’ll be fine—

---

Steve wakes in his bed at home, confused.

“B— bucky?”

“Hey, sweetheart,” his Ma pushes past the door, “you up alright?”

He blinks his eyes a few times, disoriented, “Where… what—”

“Shh, hun,” she holds out a glass of water, which Steve takes gratefully,

“Ma, where’s Bucky?”

His Ma looks nervous, and straightens the sheets on the bed, “Steven, Bucky is just fine. How much do you remember about what happened?”

The memories are sticky, “I was just hugging Bucky. He was scared that his dad would be angry about the— oh! The letter from the counselor. Ma, I have an important letter for you. Officially stamped and everything,” his Ma just nods, so he continues, “I dunno, I was hugging Bucky in the hallway, and then something was… different. Like really heavy between us? And all I wanted was to keep him safe, but then… Then they took him, and—”

Steve looks into his Ma’s eyes, suddenly horrified, “I hurt him, didn’t I?”

He must’ve, that would be the only reason they knocked him out and separated him from his— from his—

“No, Steven, not like that. You absolutely did not hurt him,” then what... “You were the perfect Dominant, hun, and it’s not your fault, okay sweetheart?”

“Dominant? Ma…”

“Hush, Steven. I’m going to tell you something important, and you’re going to listen to me,” he nods once, so she continues, “the letter from your counselor was very important, Steven. Remember how boys and girls start to present around your age? Your guidance counselor has been monitoring signs of presentation between you and Bucky, signs that were confirmed today in the hallway. Steven, today you presented as a Dominant, and Bucky submitted to you. Do you know what this means?”

“T— that we’re… compatible?”

His Ma nods solemnly, “Yes, exactly. The doctors are not sure yet if Bucky is Submissive or Versatile, but you are a strong Dominant. My strong boy.”

“But Ma, why was it so bad?”

She sits on the edge of the bed, scooting so that she can pull Steve closer,

“Because, hun, both of you dropped.”

“Dropped...”

Ma hums, finding the words to explain,

“A lot of times, when a Dominant and Submissive are together, they go into a headspace. It’s calm, it feels right and certain and instinctual. Usually a Dominant will take more control, and the Submissive will allow it, naturally. If this doesn’t happen in a safe, private space, or if it’s interrupted, both parties are at risk of dropping. That means you could feel sick, lost, and upset— and even panic or become depressed,”

Exactly like what happened to me, Steve thinks,

“— and with you and Bucky, you both passed out from the stress. That’s why I need to know if you’re okay, Steven,”

It makes sense. Now that Steve knows what to look for, he can easily recognize not only moments where Bucky has submitted easily to him, but also moments where Bucky challenged him and he ended up claiming Bucky’s submission in an argument. His best friend, the boy who fights for him and is always at his side— it’s overwhelming. All Steve wants to know is—

“Ma, please, what happened to my Bucky?”

“Steven, don’t—“

“I need to know—“

“He’s still in a drop, hun.”

Steve swings out of the bed, “How? It’s been hours,” he hears his Ma stutter out something, but feels a resolve settle, “I’ve gotta be with him, Ma.”

“No.”

“But—“

“I said no. His pack is sending me updates, but was very clear that they want you to stay away from Bucky for now. He needs time to recover and understand what’s happened, as do you. And, as your principal recommended, both of you are switching lunch periods and transferring classes, to help reduce the stress of being around each other, is that clear?”

Not even sure he’s heard right past stay away from Bucky, Steve drops back into bed in shock. No more Bucky? He can’t even comprehend what his day would look like without his best friend next to him, and just like that, he’s destroyed one of most important relationships in his life.

Hot, wet tears fall through the night as he wraps around his sheets, wishing he was holding onto a smaller, dark haired boy with crystal blue eyes.

—

There are only two months left until summer, and they feel like two years without Bucky.

Steve cries himself to sleep for the first week.

In the second week, he tries talking to the adults in charge, all of whom give him pity and suggest he’ll get over it and move on.

By the third week, Steve is angry. He snarls at classmates, teachers, anyone who looks at him the wrong way. He gets sent home with a note about his behavior, and his Ma just gives him more useless pity.

During the fourth week, he’s walking the hall to his last period of the day, when he hears a plea for help and the slamming of a door echo from the boy’s bathroom. He runs inside, ready to take down a bully, and sees two eighth graders pinning someone to the bathroom stall. He steps in just as they punch the boy across the jaw,

“Hey assholes, why don’tcha pick on someone your own size?”

The boys whirl around and sneer, dropping the smaller kid in a heap on the ground.

“Look what we have here, a pint sized savior,” the larger of the two smiles wickedly, as he sizes up Steve, and the other one delivers a kick to their initial target for good measure, “Wonder where you got the balls, tiny?”

Steve throws his fists up, and the boys smile even wider, amused. The larger bully lunges for him, suddenly, and Steve absorbs his tackle, trying to roll them around on the floor to get on top. He delivers a well aimed elbow to the guy’s throat, which has him sputtering, and drives his knee down between the kid’s legs, earning him a satisfying howl.

“Yo, kid, it’s okay, c'mon it was just a joke—“

The other boy’s words barely register as Steve lands one, two, three hard right hooks to the bully’s face, before pushing off his chest and standing to his feet. The second kid scoots past Steve, hauling his friend up and escaping out the entrance.

“St— Stevie?”

All of the rage expels from Steve’s body as he turns to find Bucky smiling up at him from the floor where the bullies had dropped him just moments earlier.

He approaches slowly, and notices just how bruised Bucky is, just how tired he looks. Steve catalogs the blood on his face, dark circles under his eyes, possibly dislocated shoulder, and gaunt expression with care, touching as little as possible.

“We should— we should go to the nurse, Buck. It doesn’t look good.”

Bucky nods and attempts to get to his feet, but lets out a weak groan and sinks back down to the floor.

“C’mon, jerk,” Steve teases, trying his best to hide concern and devastation, pulling Bucky back to his feet on his good side, “do I hafta carry ya the whole way?”

There’s a weak laugh that could also be a sob from Bucky, and Steve tries to take more of his weight as they limp towards the nurse’s office.

He feels hopeful after hearing a barely whispered, “Punk,” in return.

---

The nurse lets the two boys cling to each other on the small cot, and proceeds to call both of their packs, asking for both kids to go home early for the day.

Steve glares at the nurse the whole time, knowing that he only has a few precious moments with his best friend before they’re separated again.

“Bucky?”

“Yeah, Stevie?” the younger boy looks up adoringly, “you okay?”

“I’m fine, Buck, how— are you okay?” He does his best to hold back tears that are welling up in his eyes, and enjoys the solid feeling of Bucky, safe and warm in his arms.

Small fingers run over his cheeks, wiping away a few stray tears that had slipped free, and Bucky’s smile just grows, “So much better now, that’s for sure.” He wiggles a bit, and Steve laughs lightly, gripping his friend’s waist tighter.

He leans down, brushing his nose against the shell of Bucky’s ear, and whispers, “Nothing has been the same without you, Bucky.”

A shiver goes through Bucky’s body, Steve feels it by proximity, and Bucky remains silent, until Steve hears one hitched breath, then another. He pulls away slightly, looking into Bucky’s face as the smaller boy dissolves into tears. Bucky pulls himself closer, burying his face in Steve’s neck as great, giant sobs tear him apart. All Steve can do is shush him gently, kiss him on the head, and rock them back and forth, waiting for his Bucky to calm down as the minutes pass in silence.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,”

Steve looks up, turning his body to guard Bucky’s vulnerable one, and sees Bucky’s Beta father and Omega mother standing in the doorway, expressions both shocked and resolved.

“Steve, can you tell us what happened?”

It takes a few minutes for Steve to explain how he saved Bucky, and when he finishes, he watches the Beta and Omega exchange a knowing look, before they take a seat near the nurse’s cot. Neither move to take Bucky away, which is perfectly fine with Steve, who just holds his friend closer. A quick glance gown confirms Bucky has stopped crying and fallen asleep, sniffling lightly.

“We need to talk to you, Steve,” he hears Bucky’s dad call for him, and reluctantly looks up at both of them, noticing the guidance counselor also waiting in the doorway. He nods to allow them to continue,

“I’m afraid we haven’t handled this situation well, son,” Bucky’s dad continues, “and it seems to have hurt both of you boys. I’m sorry, and want you to know we only wanted the best for Jamie.”

“I get it, sir,” Steve shifts slightly, uncomfortable with the sudden attention. “Does this mean I can see Bucky again?”

The Beta leans forward on his seat, making sure to focus on the younger boys, “Yes, Steve, we want you and Jamie to keep being friends, at least until you go to high school next year.”

He can’t even help the relieved sigh and small smile that take over his face, letting his eyes fall shut as he relaxes back onto the bed. Good. He doesn’t even spare a thought for their friendship after middle school, completely convinced that in this moment, him and Bucky will be together, forever.

---

Steve and Bucky fall back into their old routine, classes and lunchtime back to normal, and the news of Steve’s fight spreads like wildfire throughout the school. Both boys find themselves surrounded by new friends, many of whom knew Bucky but hadn’t hung out with Steve before, and he enjoys watching his best friend thrive in newfound popularity.

As summer approaches, Bucky starts talking more about going out for football in eighth grade. Steve always knew he loved sports, and had often encouraged Buck to keep playing baseball when the younger boy would get frustrated, so he naturally pushes his friends to try out. What he isn’t prepared for is how little he sees of Bucky over the summer. He barely notices at first, still seeing Bucky a few days a week, but then he starts to get rain checks on his invitations.

“Sorry, Stevie, rain check— I’m doing drills with the guys all day,”

“Aw man, rain check? I’m at conditioning every day this week and literally can’t get free,”

“Maybe rain check for this weekend? The guys are running plays all day, and I just gotta be there,”

“— you understand, right Stevie?”

And Steve does understand. He decides to give Bucky a little more space, only asking to hang out once a week, if that, and focuses on preparing for high school. He spends more time with his Ma, and she helps him pick out a brand new backpack from Walmart. When he protests, saying his old backpack is just fine, she shakes her head and insists on buying a product that will last. He fills it with notebooks and new pencils and pens and even a pack of colored pencils with a shiny dual sharpener.

It’s a few weeks before school starts that his Ma receives a letter from the school system. He’s decorating the cover of his notebook, laying across their living room floor, when his Ma comes and sits next to him on the floor.

“Steven, I have something to tell you.”

“Okay, Ma, one sec,” he takes a few moments to gather his pencil shavings, packing up his colored pencils, putting them in the correct order, and closing his notebook, stacking everything neatly on top.

“What’s wrong, Ma?”

“Remember when you went into middle school, and the government had to move you to William Alexander because the school closest to us was overcrowded?” Steve nods, he does remember, “Well, they don’t have the same issue with the high school here. So you’re going to be going Bushwick High, which is just a couple blocks away from us.”

“Oh, I thought I was gonna be going to school in Park Slope again, near Bucky?”

“I know, Steven,” his Ma gives a small pat to his head, before standing up and heading for the kitchen, “why don’t we have a snack and talk about it more? They sent a list of classes, and you get to choose electives and everything.”

Steve tries calling Bucky that night, eager to tell him about his news, but just gets the answering machine. He tries two more times that week, and comes up blank.

Within a few weeks, Steve is walking into Brooklyn High, confident and proud, and barely spares a thought about missing his best friend at his side.

[emmy-writes-sometimes]

No Shame

You get into a fight with one of the people who accused your brother of killing Ben Rifkin, and your dad actually takes it pretty well. Your mom, though, is a different story.

-

           “Are you sure you want to go?” Your dad asked you as you unplugged your laptop from the kitchen counter and shoved it into your backpack. It had been a week since Ben Rifkin’s death, and almost a week since they arrested your brother, Jacob, for a night. They’d offered to get you a tutor, too, so you wouldn’t have to go back, but you’d said you wanted to look normal and finally they’d agreed.

           The harassment was where it got rough. Normally you were fine at just taking it. You just let them have at it because you knew Jacob was innocent, despite what he was saying on social media. And you let them have at it because they knew that you’d throat punch someone if they really got in your way. Your brother was your best friend, your twin, your confidant, and you were there to defend him just as much as your dad was. Only you were taking on a harder audience; teenagers.

           “I’ll be fine,” you assured him. “If I’m not, I’ll come home at lunch and we can do the tutor. But I think we need to look normal, at least until the trial in May.” Your dad nodded, sighing, rubbing his eyes from lack of sleep. You knew he had barely slept because you’d been in the kitchen until 1 A.M. doing homework and he had just had a cup of coffee at that time.

           “Alright. Just be careful, alright? Anything you say, anything you do, can be used against us. Maybe not shift the blame to you, but it’ll make Jake look guilty.”

           “Yeah, Y/n, don’t make me look guilty,” Jacob said with a smirk as he reached into the freezer for waffles. You rolled your eyes and playfully pushed him out of the way. He may be ten minutes older than you, but you were ten times as likely to tell him when to shut the fuck up.

           “Hey,” your dad interrupted. You looked over at him to see that he wasn’t smiling, even though you and Jacob were. “At least let me take you. I don’t want you walking by yourself. Especially after all this.” You nodded, knowing he was right, and waited for him to put shoes on and get the car keys.

           Fifteen minutes later and you were reassuring your dad that everything was fine, trying to get him to let you out of the car. Everything was most certainly not fine; people were starting to make jokes saying that Jacob killed Ben over you, or he was taking the fall for you, but he wasn’t. Most people were able to see that it was just a stupid rumor and there was absolutely no evidence to back it up. But some people, like Derek, who you honestly thought did it, didn’t seem to care.

           You and Derek had been at odds for years. Your best friend was Sarah, but your least favorite person by far was Derek. And lately Sarah had been on your side, thankfully, and tried to get him to back down. But you knew that it was getting closer to trial, it was the week after spring break, and you knew that Derek was going to try to say something.

           “How do you feel?” Sarah asked you as she saw you walk up to the locker that was right beside hers. You un-did your combination, a little surprised you still remembered it with everything going on, and looked over at her.

           “Awful,” you responded. “I told my dad everything was fine, but I just wanted to get out of the house. It’s like, Mom definitely thinks he did it but she just won’t talk to anyone, and Dad’s so worried about the trial that he’s not even sleeping, and then Jake’s acting like everything is fine and the only things he says about it to me are when he’s crying in the middle of the night over it right before he posts something stupid on social media.” You sighed. “I’m sorry.”

           “No, it’s fine. I get it. Just… You should know that Derek is spreading rumors again.” You rolled your eyes.

           “Of course he is.”

           “He knows about the locker room. With Ben. I had no idea and I kept telling him it was wrong, but he wouldn’t listen. I think he must have looked through the phone.” You were waiting for your dad to catch up on the Ben’s phone was stolen thing, but honestly it might take awhile. But it bought you time to get away from the rumors that you and Ben had done something in the locker room two days before his murder. Or, rather, what he’d done to you. You tried not to think about it. Could it hurt the case? Yeah. It could be a motive. You just needed it not to come out until after the indictment. If that even happened.

           “We only talked about it once and he un-sent the messages. Are you sure?”

           “I don’t know how he knows, but he knows.” You sighed. Suddenly you could feel everyone’s eyes on you a little bit more than usual. “I’m sorry, Y/n. I tried to tell him not to tell anyone, that if it made its way back to the cops…”

           “I’ll just tell my dad later.” Sarah ran a hand up and down your arm, trying to comfort you for a second, before giving you a half smile and walking toward your homeroom. Homeroom didn’t go too terribly; people were looking at you, but luckily you had a teacher who didn’t seem to care and put people in their place when they were talking about you. But it was Chemistry where you had trouble. You and Sarah were usually lab partners, but today the teacher switched it up, and even though you were on a list of people not to put with someone else, she put you with Derek.

           “If it isn’t the killer’s sister,” Derek said to you. “I’m surprised he’d kill for you. Doesn’t seem like he’d do that for a lot of people. Or maybe he’d just do it for anyone.” Derek shrugged, smirking when he saw the look on your face, but you just started getting the solvent in the syringe. He bumped your elbow, causing you two get two drops of iodine in the tube instead of one, and you glared at him.

           “Just shut up, okay? I don’t want to talk about it. And I can always call the DA and come clean if you want to come clean too.” That shut him up for the time being. But after a few minutes of you doing all the work, as usual, he started at you again.

           “But really, though. Did you ask him to do that to you? Because if that was against your will, it was called the r-word. And the r-word is a really great m-” You turned around, pulled your sweater up your sleeve, and punched him with all of the strength you’d learned in the self defense classes the school had called in.

           “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Miss Barber!” The teacher said, looking back at you. You’d knocked Derek off the bench and completely onto the floor. His nose was bleeding. And you knew you were in trouble. With your dad, with the school, and probably with the DA.

           “I’ll go to the office,” you sighed. You gathered your books in your bag, took off your safety gloves and lab coat, and started walking to the office. You pulled your phone out and sent a quick text to your dad – You’re going to be called to come get me in about five minutes. Just so you know.

           “Miss Barber,” the principal said as he saw you walk into the office. “Your teacher called me. She said you punched another student? Derek?”

           “Yep,” you responded. “I’m not answering any questions, so just go ahead and suspend me. I already told my dad he’s going to have to come get me.” You never used to be in trouble. You were always so bold that you told people what you thought and no one else had the courage to say anything about it. But now you were too stupid to care about anything. You wanted all of it to be over, and if it meant coming clean because you were too stupid not to restrain yourself…

           “You broke another student’s nose.”

           “I’d say a week’s suspension should do it. Or, honestly, I might not even bother coming back.” The principal looked at you with wide eyes – why did you want to be punished so bad? Probably because everything with Ben was your fault. At least, that’s what everyone would say once they figured it out.

           “If you want a week’s suspension, a week’s suspension you’ll get. You’re to report back here next Monday at 8 for further punishment. And don’t think I won’t be calling your father to tell him the full story.”

           “I’ll tell him the full story first,” you said. Just as you said that, your father burst into the office. He sighed when he saw you in the chair and waved his hand for you to come along. You could see that he was seething with anger, he was frustrated, and he was extremely pissed off.

           “Y/n,” your dad said to you as he grabbed your arm, walking you out of the school. “Don’t look at anybody else. Just get in the car.” He opened the door for you and you sat down, watching as he crossed to the other side.

           “I’m sorry I couldn’t control myself,” you said to him. He sighed.

           “Babe, you have to be careful with this. He…”

           “I only punched him because he knows something that would be detrimental to the case. And now he’s going to tell everyone else.” Your eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, Dad. I just got so mad and scared and…”

           “Let me call the lawyer. She’ll meet us at the house and you can tell her everything.”

           “I wanna tell you first.” He sighed, calling the lawyer to come over, and then he pulled away from the school. He was going to take the long way home. “The week before Ben died, I was in the girls’ locker room after soccer. I was the only one there. Sarah had already left to get us a table for dinner. I was playing music so I didn’t hear him come up behind me. Until he turned me around. And he… you know,” you said. “Tried to go farther than he should have. I kicked him in the balls and left, but…” Your dad sighed, looking over at you with sad eyes.

           “You should’ve told me about that the moment it happened. Sweetheart, that’s called…”

           “I know what it’s called,” you responded. “And people will think it was Jacob’s motive. Which it wasn’t, because Jacob didn’t kill him, but… When I came home and I told Jake about it I made sure not to mention Ben’s name. So unless someone else told him, he didn’t know it was Ben who did that to me.”

           “This could’ve been bad,” he said as he pulled into the neighborhood. “This could’ve been really bad. But if you can prove that Jacob didn’t know it was Ben at the time, then maybe it won’t be as bad as it looks.” He took your hand from where it was sitting. Your dad was the first person you’d told about it in so long that you were trying not to start crying. It was the last thing you wanted anyone to know, but if it would help Jacob, you needed it to.

           “Are you mad?” You asked him as he pulled into the driveway. He didn’t answer you at first. But as he was about to open the front door, he shook his head.

           “No. Not at you. I’m mad at that kid for doin’ something to my daughter. I’m mad at the stars that had to align for all of this to happen. I’m mad that I put you in a position to confront that again. Just promise me you’ll tell the truth. On whatever stand. No matter how bad it looks. We’re here to protect you just as much as we are to protect Jake.”

           “Okay,” you said softly. You walked into the door to see that Jacob’s tutor was packing up to leave for the day, and Jacob looked confused as to why you were home. You gave the tutor a minute to leave and as soon as she did, Joanna pulled into the same spot.

           “Where’s Mom?” Jacob asked.

           “I don’t know, but I’ll tell her later. Right now we just need to figure this out. Come on, both of you.” The three of you sat down in the living room, waiting for Joanna. She walked into the house and immediately she knew something was wrong.

           “What now?” She asked, shutting the door behind her.

           “Y/n has something to tell you. It’s going to come out, but I think there’s a way to make it not reflect on Jake,” your dad said. Joanna looked at you, and then at Jacob.

           “Does he know already?” You nodded. “Does everyone know already?”

           “No, but it’ll get out soon. Because I punched Derek over it.”

           “Oh, God. Just tell me what it is and we’ll figure it out.” You started telling Joanna the story and she started writing everything down, occasionally looking up at you or at Jacob. Both your dad and Jacob shifted uncomfortably, multiple times. And you were crying by the time you finished, knowing how bad it would be. You looked up at Joanna.

           “Thank you for telling me, Y/n. It’s not easy, I know that. Especially in a situation like this. I’ll need some time to figure this out, but I think Andy’s right. If Jacob didn’t know it was Ben that did that to you, then there’s no reason you should be worried.” Your dad gently rubbed at your shoulder, feeling how tense you were. He said goodbye to Joanna and she left, and then the only person that you were going to have to deal with was your mom. You and your mom were already at odds about everything – you were just closer to your dad. It was probably because you were so much like your dad.

           “Jake, why don’t you go upstairs? You shouldn’t have to hear this again.” Jacob nodded and went up the stairs, probably to go play video games to drown out what would inevitably be a full-blown argument. “You want me to talk to your mom first?” You nodded.  

           “I have to own up to it. But maybe you should tell her who I punched.”

           “I’m proud of you for coming to us. I’m not so proud you punched Derek, but I probably would have lost it too. I can’t blame you for that.” Your mom pulled into the driveway and you sighed. She walked in the back door and saw you sitting on the couch with your dad. Your dad stood up.

           “Laur, Y/n needs to talk to you.”

           “About what?”

           “She got in trouble for punching a kid today. I had to take her home. But that’s not what we need to talk about. It’s what it was about.”

           “Why are you being so cryptic? And what the hell, Y/n? You punched another student? Right now? Do you know the possible consequences?”

           “I did it because he was saying stuff about Jacob that wasn’t true. But he was threatening me with something that he wasn’t supposed to know. Nobody was supposed to know?”

           “Know what?” Your mom yelled. “Andy, Y/n, I swear, you have to stop keeping secrets.”

           “Like you don’t have any secrets?” You said back. Your dad jumped in between you.

           “Hey! Both of you. Just sit down and we’ll talk this out, alright? God, you two.” Your mom shut up and sat down on the couch. Waiting for you to start talking. Your dad stood beside you and waited. Throughout the story your mom’s face paled. You could see her get angrier and you wondered if it was the same kind of angry as your dad was. If it was at you or at Derek or at Ben.

           “You just jeopardized your brother’s entire future,” she said to you.

           “I know. But he told me not to tell anyone so I didn’t.”

           “Leave Jacob out of this.”

           “I’m trying to, but it involved Ben.”

           “I’m so ashamed of you, Y/n. For everything. You should think about what you could have just done to your brother’s case.” She stood up and her heels clacked across the floor as she went upstairs, leaving you and your dad. He sat down in front of you, taking your hands.

           “How can she be ashamed of me for…”

           “Not for that. You should never be ashamed to tell someone this happened to you because it did. We’ll figure it out with the case, alright, you don’t need to worry about that. This comes down on you, not your brother, and we’ll deal with it. Like we always do.” You nodded. “And besides. I think it’s kind of awesome that you broke a kid’s nose first try.”

           “It was those extra self defense classes,” you responded. He chuckled.

           “Come on. I’ll put in a frozen pizza and we can watch a movie or something. And I’ll get you some ice for your hand, it’s still pretty swollen.” You looked down to see your knuckles were black with bruises. You hadn’t even noticed. You’d been running off of pure adrenaline since you realized what you’d done.

           A few minutes later Jacob came down, your mom following. She didn’t meet your eyes. But Jacob extended an olive branch and let you get the last soda from the twelve pack in the garage.

           “I didn’t do it,” Jacob said softly as he looked at you. “But if I’d known back then I might have.” You looked down and watched as he went back to the house and tried not to cry because you’d really screwed up, hadn’t you? You sniffled and walked into the house, where things were as normal as they could be, and tried to face the fact that your brother’s case was going off the rails because of you.

           A/N: This is suuuuuuper angsty and I changed the storyline a bit from what you asked but I hope you like it still! I tried to make it fit in with the story a little more.

[winryofresembool]

Things We Lost in the Fire, ch 16

aka Caleo uni au

Fic summary: Calypso starts studying at a new university, but to her annoyance her new flatmate is a loud mouthed mechanic who also likes to sneak his dog in whenever. But as she learns to know him better, she realizes they might have more in common than what she first thought. Eventually, even the darkest secrets come out…

Chapter summary: Game night at Leo and Calypso's flat.

A/N: So sorry for the delay with this chapter, but better late than never, right? This chapter was both fun but also challenging to write, because I wasn't sure how much game description I can have without making it boring. I myself am a big Pokémon fan (among other things) so adding that was very self-indulgent of me, but I hope that even those of my readers who aren't that familiar with Pokémon will be able to enjoy this chapter. I tried my best to explain some of the most important terms in the author's note on ao3 so you can check that if you want to.

Now, please enjoy and let me know what you think! I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately so comments would really cheer me up! (Ps. since it's already Sunday, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to update next Thursday but I'll try)

Characters in this ch: Calypso, Leo, Piper, Jason, Annabeth, special guest appearance in the end ;)

Words: 2900+

Genre: romance & hurt/comfort

Warnings: none

previous chapter / next chapter / AO3

…

Saturday came and Leo still hadn’t heard anything from his professors, which he took as a bad sign. Maybe they were still considering if such a problem student would ever be able to go through the tough education. He hadn’t even talked to Jo and Emmie after the incident, claiming that he was currently busy but he’d call back when he had time. He was still determined to try to get over his fear because his flatmate believed in him and thought that he could do it. And if not for anything else, Jo and Emmie hadn’t adopted him just so he would waste the opportunity. Calypso and he had agreed to continue the training the upcoming week, but now, they had something different in their minds: the game night.

Jason and Piper arrived first. They brought their Switch, some games and snacks with them and seemed about as confident about winning their battles as Leo was. Annabeth had told the group she would be arriving a bit late as she had promised to tutor a pupil that afternoon but that arrangement suited everyone well since she wouldn’t be able to participate in the Pokémon tournament anyway.

The group decided to have three battles and the team winning two of them would win the whole competition. Unfortunately for Team Flatmates, Jason and Piper won the first battle quite clearly, causing Calypso to throw annoyed glances at Leo.

“Mister Pokémon Master, I thought you had a plan,” she growled at him while their opponents were highfiving each other.

Leo leaned closer to her, attempting his sneakiest expression: “Just trying to make them feel comfortable, Sunshine. And when they think they got it…”

“You’re either an evil genius or simply an idiot.” Calypso shook her head.

“Hey, what are you two whispering there?” Piper asked loudly from her seat. “One would think that you’re plotting something… Maybe even cheating.”

“Just a mandatory team meeting, Pipes. We don’t cheat. I feel offended that you’d even consider that.” Leo put his hand over his heart to feign innocence.

“Yeah, right,” Piper rolled her eyes. “We almost believe that.”

The second battle was much more even than the first one. In the end both teams were down to one Pokémon, but Leo’s Charizard was faster than Jason’s Magnezone and it managed to finish it off with one final Flamethrower.

“See, Sunshine, if it hadn’t been for my Charizard…”

“Oh my gods, Leo. You just happened to get lucky that Tyranitar’s Rock Throw missed it earlier. Otherwise you’d been done for.”

“Well, they say that even luck has to be deserved,” Leo smirked.

“So that’s what your strategy is?” Jason asked. “Luck?”

“Do I hear complaints? You guys just don’t respect the genius in his element.” Leo protested.

“Well, I guess the final battle will decide who really is a genius and who’s not,” Piper noted and that was the group’s cue to stop trash talking and continue playing.

...

Jason and Piper’s team got a strong start in the last battle. They took down two of Leo and Calypso’s Pokémon before they got any major damage done. But after that Leo showed that sometimes he did have luck on his side; he took a small risk by making Luxray use Thunder against Jason’s flying type and it was worth it. The attack didn’t miss this time and Braviary went down in one hit. After that Leo took another risk by telling Calypso to use a water type Slowbro against Piper’s grass type Lurantis. He had planned ahead though by using a move that made Slowbro faster than Lurantis, and his Pokémon also knew a fire type move Flamethrower, which caused Lurantis to go down after two hits.

From then on the battle progressed more evenly. Charizard and Venusaur were Leo and Calypso’s last Pokémon to stand against Piper and Jason’s Manectric and Umbreon. Calypso suggested they’d try to use Venusaur against Manectric but Leo claimed his Charizard might be able to beat it with one hit. He miscalculated, though. Manectric was still faster and its Discharge was enough to take the Charizard down. Calypso looked at Leo with a ‘what did I say’ expression and took over. Her Venusaur, which was resistant to electric moves, managed to win Manectric, and Calypso couldn’t hide her smug smile when Jason and Piper switched to their last Pokémon.

In advance the last match up seemed pretty even, apart from the fact that Venusaur had already taken a bit of damage in the previous battle. Both Pokémon kept slowly chipping the other one’s energy and then healing up again for a good while until finally, Venusaur got a critical hit with its Giga Drain and made Umbreon faint.

“YES!” Calypso yelled probably louder than Leo had ever heard her yell in the short time he’d known her. Before he had time to react, he felt her arms wrap around him.

“Woah! Someone’s excited.” Leo mumbled against her hair.

“Sorry,” Calypso blushed. “I may have overreacted a bit. But we did it!”

“A critical hit, huh? Those need some luck, don’t you think?” Leo asked her smugly once Calypso had removed her arms from around him.

“Yeah, I guess…” she said, wondering where he was going with his comment.

“I’d advise you to check Venusaur’s held item.” Leo winked and Calypso clicked Venusaur’s data open.

“Dire Hit?” she asked in disbelief. “Did you predict this would happen and that’s why you gave him that? To boost the critical hit ratio?”

“Well, I told you the luck has to be earned sometimes.” Leo’s grin was about as wide as it could get. Calypso didn’t know if she should punch him or hug him again. Her hand remained still in the mid air for a while before she finally decided to put it down, in the small gap between his and her thigh.

“You could have told me that earlier, you frustrating, evil…” She started scolding him.

“Yes? Finish your sentence, please.” Leo challenged, leaning a bit closer to her.

“Not genius,” she said quietly, not able to look him in the eyes.

“Has anyone ever told you guys you’re adorable?” Piper asked all of a sudden and it was then that the flatmates remembered that Jason and Piper indeed were in the room too. They flinched for a moment and then jumped farther from each other.

“Hey, what are you implying?” Leo casted an annoyed look at his friend.

“Pretty sure Mister Genius knows what I’m implying,” Piper said back and caused Leo to groan loudly.

“No way. No. We’re not… I mean I wouldn’t… She wouldn’t…”

“No one understands you, Leo,” Jason stopped his stuttering.

Leo wasn’t about to admit his defeat quite that easily, but luckily he was stopped by the buzzer. Annabeth had finally arrived and Calypso rushed to open the door, trying to put her poker face back on.

“Hi! Sorry I’m late, the pupil had quite a lot of questions this time,” Annabeth explained, glancing at the clock on the wall that showed that the four others had been playing for almost an hour already. “And of course Percy had lost his swimming goggles again and we were searching for them for at least 15 minutes. I promise to kick his butt for that later tonight.”

Calypso was still too distracted by the earlier situation to pay attention to the name Annabeth had mentioned.

“No worries, you probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it anyway. The boys were getting a bit enthusiastic about Pokémon,” she told Annabeth.

“Excuse me, who was literally just screaming and glomping people because she won?” Leo retorted back and Annabeth chuckled at his reaction a bit.

“Hmm, to me it sounds like I’ve missed a lot.” She smirked. “Moving on, though, what are you guys thinking of doing next?”

“We were planning to play Mario Kart,” Calypso gestured towards the console, as she went back to her seat.

“And this time we won’t be playing in pairs so it should be interesting to see how these two will be behaving,” Piper meddled in.

Both Leo and Calypso pretended they didn’t hear her, instead starting to trashtalk each other.

“Okay, Repair Boy, let’s see how far luck will get you in this game.”

“Sunshine, if you think I need luck in Mario Kart… you’re as wrong as my middle school teacher who claimed that my jokes were bad and threw me out of the class just because of that.”

Jason had to disagree with that statement, though. “For me you told that that joke was about the teacher himself and that it was kind of inappropriate. So your teacher was right.”

Leo turned to Calypso. “Why did we invite these two again?” He nodded towards Piper and Jason. “They’re ruining my stories.”

“I think they are just telling the truth,” Calypso chuckled.

“Oh yeah? Let’s see who laughs last when they win this contest.”

“Alright, children,” Annabeth stopped them. “This is fun to listen to but I think the only way to find out who really can play is to play.”

“Annabeth’s right, as usual,” Piper said too. “Let’s do it.”

The friends shared the remote controls and put the game on. Before they got to the character picking, though, Calypso confessed something.

“I have to admit that I haven’t played this game before. Well, I haven’t played most of the games before. Pokémon was easy for me to understand because it’s one of the few games I did play as a kid.”

“Wait… what?” Leo turned to her, his eyes wide. “You have only ever played that game as a kid and did that well?

“You created the team, I only picked what felt good in that moment.” Calypso waved it off. “Without that Dire Hit…”

“Looks like progress has been made between those two,” Annabeth whispered to Piper who snorted at her comment.

“One could say that,” she said with amusement.

“Alright, guys, let’s focus on the relevant things here. It’s time to pick your characters.” Jason ordered and the others had to listen to him. Leo picked Mario, Calypso Princess Daisy, Jason and Piper Toad and Toadette and Annabeth Yoshi (she claimed it reminded her of her boyfriend). Leo had to instruct Calypso briefly on the functions of the remote control for this specific game, but after that the group was ready.

It took Calypso a while to learn to use the remote control but Leo had to give it to her, she really gave it her all. In the first race she was the last, but she slowly started getting better until finally she was fourth, managing to win Piper while Leo, Jason and Annabeth were still better.

“At this rate you’ll win the guys before they notice it,” Annabeth complimented Calypso. “But don’t expect me to be as easy as they are.”

“How are you that good?” Calypso asked her, knowing she had meant what she had said.

“I guess I just do a lot of things that develop my hand-eye coordination; I draw, play some sports, and believe it or not, my mom also wanted to make sure I’d be good at knitting and weaving so she started teaching me at a young age. Now I haven’t seen her in a long while but I’m still trying to maintain the skill.” Annabeth shrugged.

“In that case, I’m going to continue my hobbies too. Imagine seeing Leo and Jason’s faces when we both win them,” Calypso said, causing the boys to protest.

“The next Cup will decide who wins, OK?” Jason tried to solve the situation after some bickering between the parties.

“Fine,” the girls agreed, but Leo’s face told that he was very ready to show Calypso who the teacher was.

By the last race of the Cup Annabeth was in a clear lead, Jason was second, leading Leo with 5 points, Leo third and somehow Calypso had sneaked to the fourth place 7 points from Leo. In the last round of the last race Leo was leading, others close behind him, when Jason managed to get a blue shell, shooting it at his friend’s car.

“Hey! That’s so unfair!” Leo yelped as he watched his car getting knocked over. Unfortunately for Annabeth, he was situated on the road in a way that she had to slow down a bit when she passed him, but Calypso and Jason had the space to drive on the full speed on the other side of the road. They were already close to the finish line and if the track had been any longer, the race would probably have ended differently, but Leo didn’t have enough time to bounce back after the collision. Jason ended up winning the last race, Calypso being the second, which meant she gained seven points more than Leo did. That, on the other hand, meant that they ended up with exactly the same amount of points in the Cup.

After Leo said a couple of quiet curse words in Spanish, he dared to look at Calypso from the corner of his eye. She was looking at him too and seemingly trying to figure out what she should tell him. He wasn’t able to stay mad after that.

“Guess we’ll be on the podium together,” he went first.

“Yeah,” Calypso nodded. “Hey, you’re not a half bad teacher.”

“Half bad?” A smile spread on Leo’s face. “Hey, guys, did you hear that? Coming from Calypso, that was a big compliment!”

“I can also take it back, if you want,” she said calmly but couldn’t stop herself from smiling as well.

“Good game, Cal,” both Annabeth and Piper told her, giving her high fives.

“Thank you! Next time, I’ll even try to challenge the champion.” Calypso nodded towards Annabeth.

“Good luck with that!” she responded. “I promise I won’t go easy on you.”

“I wouldn’t want that,” Calypso said before turning her attention back to the screen again.

Silence fell into the room as the group watched the award ceremony. Annabeth’s Yoshi rose to the highest podium, Jason’s Toad followed and Leo and Calypso’s Mario and Princess Daisy shared the third one.

“We don’t look that bad together, huh?” Leo noted while drumming his fingers in the same rhythm as the background music. At first he didn’t realize there was anything weird in his words, but the others’ chuckling and Calypso’s pink cheeks woke him up.

“Hu-huh?” she asked, flustered.

“I mean… our characters! They look pretty neat!” He yelped and folded his arms. The others had to bite back their smiles but Piper decided to be kind and change the topic.

“So, we’ve played Pokémon and Mario Kart now… what next?”

Calypso seemed relieved by her question. “I forgot to mention I prepared some presents for the top three! I made some cupcakes and I thought the winner would get three, the second one two and the third one… Don’t worry, Piper, I think I should have one extra cupcake in the fridge.”

“You wouldn’t have had to, I could have eaten Jason’s extra,” Piper said but accepted the cupcake nevertheless when Calypso started sharing them.

Leo wasn’t very willing to give up on his cupcake that he was supposed to share with Calypso.

“So you had an extra cupcake but we still have to share?”

“You already ate one last night! And I don’t have more of them with the frosting right now, the rest are in the freezer.” Calypso protested.

“Such a cold hearted woman,” Leo muttered and snatched the last cupcake from the plate. Calypso didn’t have time to stop him before he had already split the bottom part in half with a knife that had been resting next to the plate. Then he put the other half on the top of the cake and took a huge bite of it.

“Leonidas, what are you doing?!” she exclaimed and tried to reach the cupcake in his hand.

“Eating my share, of course!” he said as he stuffed more of the cake into his mouth.

Calypso was prepared for Leo to run away from her like he had the other day after the chili incident but to her surprise he stayed in one spot. Leo started laughing at her baffled expression.

“Open your mouth,” he ordered her, putting the remains of the cupcake near her face.

“What?” Calypso asked, not expecting that reaction.

“What what, do you think I won’t give you your share of the cupcake? You deserved it!” he said, his eyes gleaming mischievously.

“But you bit that already!” Calypso tried to protest.

“Are you 8? I can always cut this in half with this knife if that’s what you want.”

“Fine,” she finally said, waiting for Leo to finish the cutting before letting him feed her. They didn’t notice that Piper was whispering something to Annabeth and Jason. The group seemed to agree about something, but their whispering was interrupted when there was a knock on the front door.

“That’s probably just Percy, he must have gotten out of his practice by now.” Annabeth said and went to open the door.

“Hi, I tried to call you but I guess you didn’t hear your phone or something,” a male voice could soon be heard in the hallway. “Someone let me in downstairs while I was… you?”

Everyone was now able to see the newcomer who stopped in his tracks when he recognized Calypso. She had frosting all over her face, Leo’s hand on her shoulder when she turned to look at him. “Percy?”

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 14: A Fusion Too Far (originally published on April 19, 2021)

AN: Well, time to get this big elephant out of the room before we move onto the big Part 2 finale. I'll be honest, I was kind of disappointed we didn't get any closure on Jasper and Lapis's relationship and that they'd turn into Vegeta and Goku respectively. But then again, I'm here to fix this myself, so here we go.

Synopsis: Steven helps Lapis and Jasper try to make up for the past.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Zuli, Diopside

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper, Cherry Quartz

Estelle as Garnet

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon, Diopside

Ian Jones Quartey as Snowflake Obsidian

Auli'I Cravalho as Orange Spodumene

Featuring Esmé Bianco as Malachite

--

"Okay Gems, Steven left me in charge of his interpretive dance class since he left, so I'm gonna need you all to work hard for him." Lapis ordered a class made up of Zuli, Cherry Quartz, Teal Zircon, Snowflake Obsidian, and Orange Spodumene while she set down a boombox and tightened the sweatband around her head. "Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" the class of Gems shouted with a salute.

"Ooh, this is gonna be so much fun!" Zuli muttered cheerfully.

"I know, right?" Teal Zircon replied just as eagerly.

"Are we ready?" Lapis asked rhetorically as she switched on some music. "A five, six, seven, eight!"

"Same as it ever was, same as it ever was. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was." The stereo began playing as the class began copying Lapis's moves. When she twirled left, they twirled with her. When she jumped up and landed while pumping her fist in the air, they jumped up too. "Same as it ever was, same as it ever was. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was."

"I'm having so much fun!" TZ exclaimed excitedly as the class began freestyling, but her gem began glowing without her knowing.

"Me too!" Zuli replied as her gem began glowing as well. Suddenly, as the two stood dancing back to back, they transformed into a large mass of light and then, into a massive fusion bearing traits from both Gems. Unlike an average fusion, this one was a lot more deformed due to the accident that caused it.

"Uh, guys?" the fusion of Zuli and Teal boomed nervously as the rest of the class gazed in shock at her. "A little help here?"

"Uh oh, we got another fusion accident." Snowflake declared worriedly.

"I'll go get Amethyst and Pearl, hopefully they'll know what to do." Orange Spodumene stated as she raced to get help.

Lapis was just as stunned at the sight as her students, but for far different reasons than the rest. A Lapis fusing with another Gem that results in a big problem? That seemed all too familiar to her. "Uh, you know what? Class dismissed."

"Wait, Lapis!" Cherry Quartz cried out as their teacher flew away. "What about TZ and Zuli?!"

"Amethyst and Pearl got this covered!" Lapis called back to Cherry. "I just need to settle some problems of my own."

As Lapis continued flying, the fusion of Teal and Zuli continued standing there, contemplating what just happened. "So, anyone want to ask me what the weather is like from up here?"

--

"Now just breathe in, and out." Garnet instructed Steven as they took a private yoga class at the tower. "Let these troubled thoughts know that you won't let them take you over."

"Don't let them take over, don't let them take over." Steven repeated to himself while shutting his eyes, but he did let one thought take over as he heard someone land behind him. "Lapis?"

"Hey Steven, hey Garnet." Lapis greeted the two Gems.

"Did class end early for you?" Garnet asked the waterbender as she got up to face Lapis.

"Yeah, but there was a little problem." Lapis answered. "Teal Zircon and 2F8D accidentally fused during class, which really reminded me of a certain incident."

"You came to us because that reminded you of Malachite, right?" Steven asked. "You know, I've already made a mental note to get you and Jasper to make up for what happened while you were fused."

"I like that you want to help them amend for the past," Garnet smiled to Steven. "But I feel they won't forgive each other, since their time as Malachite was torture for both of them."

"Yeah, remember?" Lapis reminded Steven. "Jasper tormented me because I forced her to stay fused with me, but then I tormented her because she tormented me, and it was all one big cycle of abuse and toxicity until we were separated. I feel like if I really want to move on, I need to make up for at least some of my past actions."

"I know, no need to remind me of stuff I already know." Steven said. "But I still feel you two can make up somehow!"

--

"Absolutely not." Jasper declared angrily as Steven and Lapis stood before her in the forest later that day.

"Garnet warned you." Lapis cautioned Steven out of the corner of her mouth, but he didn't listen.

"Aw come on Jasper, Lapis really wants to apologize for torturing you while you two were fused as Malachite!" Steven begged Jasper to listen to him.

"Oh really?" Jasper raised an eyebrow in disgust. "The way I see it, I came out as far more stable once you freed me from her!" she bragged. "But I think a bit of my attitude may have rubbed off on the brat here. I mean, what has she done since we de-fused?"

"That's a bit personal." Lapis replied in shock at Jasper's accusations. "Also, YOU came out a little more stable? The first time we met since the island, you were begging on your knees to fuse with me again AND you started hunting down corrupted Gems just to get that feeling, which led to you getting corrupted yourself!"

"I think that's enough of this kind of back and forth for right now!" Steven got between the two Gems. "Why don't we try some trust exercises, like an icebreaker?"

"An icebreaker?" Jasper replied in confusion. "Well, there sure isn't any ice around here."

"No, it's not that kind of icebreaker." Lapis corrected her ex-fusion partner. "It's like you ask people questions to try and get to know them better. I'll start." She then cleared her throat. "What do you like to do in your free time?"

"Training, brooding, terminating all kinds of Earthlings that try to invade my territory." Jasper responded. "What about you?"

"A lot of stuff." Lapis replied. "I really like making meep morps, collecting leaves, dancing-"

"What on Earth is a meep morp?" Jasper interrupted Lapis. "Sounds like some dumb human ritual."

"It's what she and Peridot call art." Steven informed the larger Gem. "Now Lapis, please continue."

"Gladly." Lapis said. "I also love watching this show with Peridot called Camp Pining Hearts. It's a Great North drama set in a summer camp where all the campers compete against each other in Color Wars."

"Sounds dumb, kind of like you." Jasper rudely declared, which got Lapis mad.

"Now you see here you big lug!" Lapis yelled. "Camp Pining Hearts is good-natured, cheesy dramatic fun! Well, except for Season 5, that was utter garbage."

"Kind of like your attempts to try and "make up" with me." Jasper replied in air quotes.

"Okay, maybe icebreakers aren't working very well but hey," Steven interrupted the bickering pair. "Why don't we try something different, like trust falls?"

"What's that?" Lapis and Jasper asked in unison.

--

Steven would soon answer that question by having Jasper stand with her back facing towards the edge of a cliff, with Lapis spreading her arms out down below. "It's exactly what it sounds like." Steven explained. "One of you has to fall over and put their trust in the other person to catch them."

"Yeah, I don't buy this." Jasper snarled as she turned around to face Steven and Lapis from above. "I could easily crush her, as much as I really want to."

"For once, I think I'm gonna side with Jasper on this one." Lapis agreed with the larger Gem, making herself sick to her stomach. "I never thought I'd say that."

"Okay, change of plans." Steven suggested. "Lapis falls and Jasper has to catch her, sound good?"

"That makes more sense." Lapis obliged and flew up to the cliff while Jasper dropped down to meet Steven.

"Okay, now close your eyes Lapis, and let Jasper catch you." Steven commanded the ocean Gem.

"Alright then." Lapis replied as she shut her eyes. "Are you still standing there Jasper?"

"Yes, yes I am." Jasper responded with her arms spread out. "Now fall already!"

Lapis did as she was told and leaned off the edge of the cliff, allowing herself to start falling to the ground. But when she came close to returning to solid earth, Jasper casually moved out of the way, letting Lapis instead fall back first onto the grass.

"Jasper!" Steven scolded the bigger Gem.

"What, you never said how to catch her." Jasper grinned nervously, and Steven returned it with an irritated glare. Lapis just facepalmed as she got up off the ground.

--

"Okay, let's try another team building exercise." Steven stated while walking Jasper and Lapis through the forest. "Here's the deal, one of you has to wear a blindfold and walk through the woods while the other one has to give instructions." He opened up his jacket and pulled out some cloth to serve as a blindfold. "Now who wants to go first?"

"Give me that." Jasper ordered as she snatched the cloth from Steven's hand and tried to wrap it around her head. Unfortunately for Jasper, the knot she tried to make wasn't very good. "Come on, stay on my head you stupid Earth material!"

"Guess that means I'll have to tell her what to do." Lapis realized while Steven tied the blindfold around Jasper's head for her. "For once."

"Okay, are you ready guys?" Steven asked the pair as he finished tying a tight knot on the blindfold.

"Uh, yes." Lapis nervously said.

"Uh, where are you two?" Jasper asked while facing away from Steven and Lapis. "I can clearly hear you, but I can't see you. What kind of torture device is this?!"

"I can see you're already getting the hang of this." Lapis grinned snarkily. "Okay, first, you gotta walk towards those trees over there." She pointed over to a group of trees lined up nearby. "Got that?"

"What trees? All I see is white!" Jasper barked before Steven put his hands on her hips and guided her towards the trees.

"Okay, next, follow the trees until you hear rushing water." Lapis grinned mischievously while Jasper did as she told and she and Steven followed her. "I can see you're getting warmer."

"And I have a bad feeling about this." Jasper muttered while following the sound of racing water. The source of the sound came from a nearby raging river, and Jasper was about to fall over before Lapis gave her next command.

"Okay, stop!" Lapis ordered, telling the big quartz to halt in her tracks before she gave one last order. "Now that we found the source of the rushing water, jump in."

"I don't know where this is going, but if you say so." Jasper obliged and jumped into the river, but she realized too late what she got herself into. "What is this?!" Jasper yelled as she ripped the blindfold off her face and realized she was drifting down the stream. "Lapis, you tricked me! I'll get you for this!"

"Lapis!" Steven scolded Lapis, who just replied with a shrug.

"I punched her sky high and she turned out fine." Lapis responded. "She can survive this." Despite her protests, a disappointed glare from Steven forced Lapis to fly up and race after Jasper to save her from the river.

--

"If this is payback for letting you fall, I understand why but this is totally disproportionate!" Jasper yelled as the force of the river continued carrying her throughout the forest. "Um, can anyone please help me?"

Jasper's prayers were soon answered, though not in the way she wanted. Lapis soared over the drifting Gem and prepared to pick her up with the river water, but Jasper instead grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down. "Oh no, you don't! You started this, and now you're coming with me!"

"I was only trying to help you!" Lapis yelled crossly. "Though Steven forced me to do it, but still!"

"You help me?" Jasper said before she let out a loud cackle. "Maybe when I get shattered!" The big Gem kept on laughing much to Lapis's irritation, but she was soon cut off when she realized the river was going to lead to a waterfall. "Uh oh.

"Don't tell me, we're going to go over a waterfall." Lapis deadpanned.

"Indeed." Jasper confirmed just as deadpan.

"Sharp rocks at the bottom?" Lapis then asked.

"No, unfortunately."

"Doesn't matter, bring it on."

And just like that, the bickering pair put aside their differences and came together screaming as they went over the waterfall.

--

As soon as Lapis and Jasper got out of the mountainside lake that the waterfall led to, Steven stood there with his arms crossed and crossly tapping his foot. "You two are unbelievable!" he chastised the two. "I just want you to forgive each other for Malachite and at least be friendlier to each other! Is that too much to ask?!"

"Steven, you have to learn that sometimes, even when two enemies become friends," Lapis said to Steven. "there's no chance they'll instantly treat the horrible things they did to each other in the past like someone stole forty cakes or something."

"I concur." Jasper nodded.

"See, another thing you two can agree on." Steven nodded in exasperation. "How about this? You say at least one nice thing about each other, and that's it. Understand?"

"Okay, if it makes you chill out a bit." Lapis shivered at Steven's current behavior and turned to Jasper. "Well, I'll give you this Jasper. You may not have wanted to do all those activities, but at least you didn't just give up on them."

"Kind of like how you never gave up on treating me like trash." Jasper harangued in reply, stunning Steven and Lapis. "Just look at you Lapis. Even years after we split, you keep on refusing to treat me with kindness."

"What kindness?" Lapis growled. "You never treated me like that, so what makes you think-"

"LET ME FINISH!" Jasper boomed. "You abused me, and what do you get? A nice life with that Peridot, being a member of the Crystal Gems and living at that stupid Little Homeworld! Meanwhile, I've spent my entire life neglected and tortured on this worthless planet, yet you get off scot-free for all the horrendous things you've done! Let's face it, you may think everything's all okay, but I'm still the only one who's seen you for the monster you are."

Throughout Jasper's furious lecture, Steven stood there in shock at how nothing had been going his way today. All he wanted to do was help two enemies become friends, but nothing had worked. And as Jasper kept on accusing Lapis, he slowly began to turn pink until finally, he snapped. "ENOUGH!"

"Again?!" Jasper yelled at the sight of Steven turning pink again.

"This is new!" Lapis exclaimed.

"I just wanted you to make friends, but neither of you are listening to me!" Steven yelled as the force of his tantrum knocked the two Gems off their feet and back into the lake. "Why can't anything go the way I wanted to FOR ONCE?!"

With a single stomp of his foot, Steven almost caused an earthquake, and the mountain above them began to violently shake until it resulted in a rockslide. As he came back to his senses, Steven realized just how bad he had made things. "Oh no!"

"Steven!" Lapis cried out and tried racing to rescue Steven, but Jasper held her back.

"Leave the kid, he can survive this!" Jasper discouraged Lapis from saving her friend.

"But he's one of my best friends, and your Diamond!" Lapis replied. "You wouldn't want to see him get hurt too, right?"

"Correction, Pink Diamond is my Diamond." Jasper admonished snootily. "That right there is just her son who thinks he can walk around making people do what he wants just because of his lineage."

"But still, you wouldn't want Pink to die again, right?" Lapis said when she got an idea. "Wait a minute! Let's fuse!"

"You're joking, right?" Jasper said in utter disbelief.

"We got no other choice, please!" Lapis begged her ex-fusion partner while reaching her hand out. "Come on, just say yes!"

Lapis was right, they did have no other option, though Jasper believed she was making things up just to make Steven happy. But regardless, Lapis did make a good argument.

"Fine." Jasper finally relented and took the blue Gem's smaller hand. "But we are never doing this again, capiche?"

"You got it." Lapis obliged before she was twirled around and caught by Jasper in a dip, and then they started glowing as their forms began to merge.

--

"Of course something horrible happens when I try to do good." Steven admitted in defeat as the rockslide began to get closer. He didn't even try thinking of escaping or protecting himself, believing that this was to be his fate. "Lapis, Jasper, everyone. I'm sorry."

Just then, a massive turquoise figure with two sets of arms, one dainty pair and one burly, came flying from the lake and landed in front of Steven. He could see that on her back was Lapis's gem and when the Gem turned to face him, she had Jasper's gem on her face. The more graceful hands picked Steven up while the bigger hands got to work on forcing the rockslide back with a seemingly infinite series of massive punches. "RAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Lapis?!" Steven gasped at what he was seeing. "Jasper?!"

"Yes, it's us!" Malachite said. Unlike the last time Steven saw the fusion of Jasper and Lapis, she instead had a British accent of sorts. However, Lapis's softer tone could be heard until she suddenly switched to Jasper's rougher tone. "Now keep quiet while you're being saved!"

Steven did indeed stay quiet as Malachite held him in one pair of hands while the other pair finished punching the last of the rocks away. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Steven panted nervously.

"Good, let's go home." Malachite smiled, when her head suddenly twitched and Jasper started taking control of the fusion. "Seriously, how did he not try to run or protect himself?!"

"Really ruining the mood here!" Lapis's side of Malachite argued as she began to fly away from the lake.

--

The two halves of Malachite's personality kept on arguing while she flew Steven back to Jasper's cave, until they finally touched down and de-fused.

"I still can't believe it!" Steven exclaimed happily. "You guys fused, and neither of you was forced to do so!"

"Well to be fair, Lapis kind of forced me to fuse with her because she kept convincing me you were her Diamond, like everyone else does." Jasper said as she decided to return to her cave.

"But still, it was nice to have something to work together on, right?" Lapis said.

"Okay, I'll admit, it was nice to have a common goal for once." Jasper agreed. "Look, like you said, the past can never be forgotten. But I think that might be a good first step."

"Yeah." Lapis replied.

"Well, guess we should be going now." Steven said while he and Lapis prepared to leave. "See you again soon Jasper."

"Whatever." Jasper groaned while fully retreating into her cave.

"So, how was it?" Steven asked Lapis while they walked back to Little Homeschool.

"It was real weird at first, especially when we became Malachite again." Lapis admitted. "Even though we still were fighting for control, I think we may have made a breakthrough on Jasper. Who knows, maybe you're right and we could become friends one day."

"Yeah, who knows." Steven sighed happily until he came to a realization. "Hey, speaking of fusions, how are Zuli and TZ doing right now?"

--

"Uh, still need a little help here." The fusion of Zuli and Teal Zircon, now dubbed Diopside by the other Gems, called out while everyone gathered to gaze at the new fusion. "Is there any way to turn this off?"

--

I have a feeling this chapter is going to divide people, but I feel like it was finally time to deliver a reconciliation that was as in-character for both Lapis and Jasper as I could, and give us a slightly more stable Malachite that was more Two-Face than monstrous depiction of a toxic relationship. Speaking of which, did you know malachites become less toxic when sealed? But enough talk, next chapter is the beginning of Part 2's big finale, and I am so excited to finally focus more on a certain Rutile and her Topaz.

[halcyon-writings]

claude von riegan x reader: comfort and confidence

for @petalpetal I hope you feel better <3 

my requests are currently closed!

You really didn’t feel like facing anyone today. After the horrendous mission the last moon, you were beginning to dread whatever the next one would end up being.

You hoped that the professor would at least let you be back up, rather than being a part of the main lines. Besides what did you have to offer anyway? You could barely remember doing more than doing your best to dodge enemy attacks and miss any attacks you had attempted towards the bandits you were facing.

Classes had ended for the day and while mainly everyone had remained in the classroom to discuss the upcoming mission (an escort mission seemed tamer than dealing with bandits but then again you’d rather not hold anyone back). Your classmates were good people, but just the thought that they too agreed that you’d be better off not doing anything scared you.

As much as Professor Byleth tried to assure you, the doubt wouldn’t simply go away. 

Currently, at the library, you were reading up on a book, hopefully, to find some way to memorize some of the spells inside to include them in your arsenal and maybe find a way to not be so bad compared to the rest of your class.

Seeing as it was the middle of the afternoon, the library did have a few people in there as well, you spotted Linhardt napping in the corner, various books that you were sure about crests laid out all around him, Claude was reading something, but that didn’t surprise you either, as he practically made it his job to know everything about everyone and everything. 

But that wasn’t the only thing that caught your attention. You felt yourself perking up when you heard your name from the two students having a conversation some feet away from you at another table. 

“Can you believe it? That mercenary rejected me, me, from joining his class!” One girl exclaimed, frustration evident in her tone, her friend listening in sympathy, “But what does that mercenary know anyways? Lady Rhea probably hired them out of pity.”

You purse your lips, they shouldn’t talk about the Professor like that, they knew what they were doing, or at least they acted like they did.

But before you could interject in the defense of your teacher, what they said next was...hurtful.

“But sure they have ____, still in their class, apparently one of the knights said they did awfully bad for the last couple missions. Yet for some reason, they’re still in Golden Deer! Can you believe it?” “Seriously?” Her friend asked, surprised, “You’d think their professor would see the lack of progress as a sign or something. A spot there is wasted on someone useless like that.”

Useless. 

Yup, that’s exactly how you were feeling. Since they could see that, you were certain that everyone else did too. 

Without a word, you stood, your chair squeaking against the wood floors, exiting the library as quick as you can, your book left behind. The two gossips had gone silent as you walked past them without a word.

-----

Now Claude likes to think that he knows his classmates pretty well, seeing as how he’s the house leader and all. He cares for them (but he wouldn’t tell them that to avoid the teasing) and would gladly defend them. So, of course, he’s thinking of ways to get back at those two for talking smack about Teach. 

His pranks are relatively harmless after all.

But when he hears what they say about you, that makes him angry. So seeing you leave the library and seeing the small tear leave your eye, he’s livid. 

Instead, he returns the book he was leafing through back to its proper spot, and approaches the two gossips with that usual smile on his face (and if that smile had more teeth than usual then that was no one else’s business but his own).

“C-Claude!” One squeaks in surprise. He would laugh if he wasn’t so annoyed with them.

“This seems to be quite the conversation you’re having, mind if I join you?”

-----

You probably should’ve headed over to see Professor Byleth right away. Maybe they would let you sit out, or at least give your spot to someone more deserving and definitely not as useless as you.

But instead you find yourself wallowing in your room, you can’t believe you nearly cried out there, yes their words were hurtful, but you refused to give them the satisfaction of making you cry.

Before your self wallowing party continued, a knock on your door interrupted your self-loathing.

You wanted to ignore it, hopefully, whoever it was would just think you weren’t here and they’d leave you alone. But the knocking continued, so with an annoyed noise, you reluctantly got up and answered the door.

It was Claude with his usual ‘too-friendly-to-be-actually-friendly’ smile on his face. You had half a mind to close the door. As much as you appreciate them, you weren’t in a particular mood to be a part of his schemes. 

Your face must’ve shown as much, as his smile softened. You being the pining person that you were, took a lot of pride in the fact that your face wasn’t flushed a deep red.

“Are you alright?” He asks gently once you invite him in. He sits at the chair near your desk while you unceremoniously laid down on your bed, using a pillow to cover up your face because by the goddess did his smile do things to you.

“Not at all,” Is your muffled reply.

There’s a good amount of silence for a moment or two, before your voice pipes up:

“Hey, Claude? Do you think if I ask nicely enough, the professor will switch me out during the next mission?”

You keenly ignore the sudden snort from him. 

“What do you mean? Teach wouldn’t switch you out,” Claude reassures, mirth in his voice.

You move the pillow down so that at least your eyes are visible, “Claude you wouldn’t get it, I mean, you’re the house leader and everything! You’re just naturally good at everything!” You say, frustration very clear, “I literally sucked so bad last time, I don’t know why the professor kept me on the front lines.”

“What do you mean, you knocked one of the bandits right out that the ones surrounding him ran away in fear!” Claude’s surprised and he grins, you give him a blank stare, “No one can flail like you can.”

“Thank you so much for that, Claude. That’s exactly what I needed.” You cover your face with the pillow. You’re sure that he means well but currently, you feel like shit.

“Why would you guys want someone useless like me?” Your voice is quiet but sad, and you don’t see his face (lucky for Claude, if you did, you totally would’ve seen the adoration in his eyes for you, and the empathy too).

Instead, you feel a dip in the bed, and when you move the pillow from your face, you’re met with his green eyes looking into your own as Claude is laying down right next to you,, and you almost choke on air from the proximity and the surprise. But you don’t, and you feel very proud of yourself for not totally embarrassing yourself in front of him.

“I think you’re great.” Claude says, and you know he’s not just acting like the charming grandson of Duke Riegan, “If you’ll believe it, I was a total mess in the beginning too. I wasn’t always this skilled you know.”

You can’t help the small chuckle of disbelief.

“I was! Honest!” He says laughing along with you.

He turns on his side, “Besides Golden Deer wouldn’t be the same without you. Regardless if anyone incorrectly says otherwise.”

You can’t help but blanch at that. Right...he was at the library too, but there was no way that he heard them, right? *Right?* With your luck he probably did, oh great he probably did see you nearly cry too.

“You’re probably just saying that,” You murmur looking away from him.

“Nope,” He replies popping the p. 

“You’re awesome out on the front lines, so what if you had a rough time the last time? Don’t you remember a few moons back? We had to go after it rained for two days straight and everyone was practically slipping around in the mud every other step? You didn't fall on your backside like the rest of us and you managed to defeat some bandits while looking good doing it.” He looks like he freezes for a second, before continuing anyways. 

“One bad mission doesn’t mean you’re not good at what you do ___,” He promises, “You’re really talented, don’t let what those two said back there get to you.”

Although you don’t say much about it after that, Claude remained in your room, talking to you about the hijinks that he and Hilda had gotten into, all while not getting caught either. You appreciated what he was trying to do.

Thankfully Claude was right, it was just one difficult mission. The upcoming one wasn’t as awful as you thought, even the Professor had told you that you had done a great job. They didn’t throw around praise for nothing. 

But there was a bit of a curious rumor, as there were apparently a student or two that had suddenly come up with the stomach flu. But apparently it had only been two particular students. Which was oddly curious in itself.

When you had questioned Claude about it, he simply acted completely innocent but you were certain that your hunch was correct but you left the topic alone.

But when you thanked him for coming to your defense, his smile proved it.

[zukuthehero]

Schedules and the Big Three

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || AO3

##  Doctor POV ##

I studied the readings on the project All for One requested.

It was a delight to get to work on such a difficult piece, the unique combination of quirks, plus its appearance demands. It’s extremely delicate still, but soon it will reach the time for the next stage.

I grinned, everything is still holding steady, looks like I can add the next quirk.

##  Aizawa POV ##

I groaned as I rearranged the papers in front of me.

Not only do I have to grade all the homework from last week, make up a full training schedule for my students, make sure they’re on top of their normal classes, and make sure they all get therapy, now I also have to be a quirk counselor for Midoriya, change his schedule around to fit the classes Nedzu was demanding for him, and deal with an obnoxious hero constantly popping in to make sure I’m no ‘overdoing it’.

This is so tedious.

Plus, I also still need to watch the press conference release, didn’t get the chance when I was in the hospital and certainly not since I got out.

I can turn it on while I finish changing Midoriya’s schedule.

Of course, that requires grabbing the remote.

I glared at the offending object, just out of reach.

Stupid bandages.

I could use my capture scarf…

I stiffened when I heard knocking on my door, turning slowly to glare at it.

Now I have to get up.

I grumbled and slowly moved over to the door, opening it and glaring more.

“Hello Aizawa-san, how are you? I brought you something to eat.” All Might in his shrunken form stood there, holding up a bag, presumably holding food.

It took all my self-control not to slam the door in his face.

“Yagi what do you want?”

“Just thought I’d check in, make sure you’re doing alright. I told Nedzu I’d help you with the grading.”

Damn it Nedzu.

I glared some more, “Fine, but we’re gonna talk about how you know Midoriya then.”

He blanched, and I hid a smirk, stepping aside to let him in.

“Ah, haha, uh, sure…” He moved inside, still stupidly tall.

I moved back to the couch, grabbing the remote and turning to the press conference (thank goodness Mic recorded it for me).

All Might awkwardly sat, pulling two bentos out of his bag.

They smell delicious damn it.

“So what are you doing right now?” All Might handed me one of the bentos as he studied the papers.

“Don’t try to change the subject.” I grumbled, taking the bento with as much grace as I could with my movements so stiff from the bandages.

I watched as the press conference started.

“Well uh,” He looked anywhere but at me.

“How do you know Midoriya?”

“Uh…”

Nedzu started speaking.

‘Today during the first practical course for Rescue training for Class 1-A villains attacked the USJ.’

“He’s… I… Well…”

I turned to glare at him again, “Don’t give me an excuse, just tell me how you know my student.”

‘-split up around the facility by the warp villain-‘

“I must ask you to keep this top secret Aizawa-san.”

My eyes narrowed, “Alright…”

‘-fought off the villains and headed back to the entrance to rendezvous-‘

“I’m-“

“Yes?”

“I’m his, uh, uncle! Yes, his uncle! Uh, but you must not tell anyone. It’s top secret and all.”

I stared, “His uncle?”

‘-creature had multiple quirks and managed to take down one teacher-‘

“Yes!”

I thought about Midoriya greeting him, seemed to stumble over it. Hmm.

“I see. You’d best not be giving him favoritism, are you related through his mom?”

“I would never do favoritism!”

Liar.

‘-the students came to aid All Might, though unnecessary it was very brave of them and helped-‘

“And no, it’s uh, through his dad! Yes, his dad and me are brothers. Hehe…”

He quickly started eating.

I hummed, turning back to the screen. I’d double check with my problem child but despite his nervousness I don’t think he’s lying. Just nervous about revealing it.

‘-and the creature known as Nomu was captured, along with the majority of the villains. Unfortunately due to the nature of his quirk the warp villain was able to get away with the leader of the villains-‘

The detective is a friend of All Might’s too, so makes sense that he would know Midoriya, even if they’d never met.

‘-the students had minimal injury, only one needing medical attention which he received from Recovery Girl-‘

I dug through the papers, looking for his file.

The vagueness surrounding his dad would make sense if the number one hero was trying to protect his family, guess that answers that question.

‘-escaped and we do warn the public to be aware of this. The police are trying-‘

“Well uh, anyways… how are you?”

I frowned, glancing back at him, “Fine.”

He nodded, “Uh, any grading I can help you with?”

‘-but the public should remember to be on guard as they are still at large-‘

“Those papers need grading,” I motioned to a pile at the edge of the table I’d been saving for later.

“I’ll just… do those then.” He murmured, picking up the papers.

‘-whether sports festival will still happen is uncertain at this time but we will make an announcement when it has been-‘

All Might started working on the papers while went back to Midoriya’s schedule, putting the bento aside.

Okay so Nedzu said to toss out his strategy class entirely and put him down for Private Lessons with Nedzu instead, lovely the world will burn.

That means that he’ll have Nedzu on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday… That’s way too much Nedzu in my opinion.

The class had their first strategy class yesterday, it would’ve been just opening up the subject though, they would’ve done that last Saturday, but they had the day off.

‘-promise that we will take care of the students mental health, a schedule is being made to speak with our on-site therapist-‘

I shuffled through to check his English grade, Nedzu recommended cutting that class out and using it for quirk counseling, since it’s one of my free periods. I teach Human Theory and Communications for the upper years, so I need to make sure the class switched out works, and unfortunately English does.

I’ll have to have Problem Child test out of English, at least first year English, or he’ll have to do self-study. But if Nedzu says he’ll be fine then he probably will.

‘-setting up new security measures to insure the safety of our students-‘

Right so, I checked again and raised an eyebrow. Have him test through Geometry and stick him in Pre-Calc? Really? If he continues Maths after that he’ll have to take them with the business classes…

I sighed, well, Nedzu says to so. I marked him down for that then shuffled through the stack, he’ll be taking it with Class 3-A it looks like. Joy.

‘-are there any questions?’

Okay so the schedule looks settled, it will take a bit to adjust, Midoriya will start with Pre-Calc tomorrow so it’ll be right off the bat. I’ll have to show him to his new class just to be safe.

“What are you working on?”

‘-if it happens again?”

I looked over at All Might, “What?”

“The papers, are you grading?” He was studying the mess of papers around me curiously.

“No, right now I’m finishing Midoriya’s schedule. Nedzu is having it changed up.”

‘-excellent question. We are implementing-‘

He frowned, “Why?”

“Because he doesn’t need some classes and does need others.”

He nodded, “I see.” He shifted, marking something on the page.

“Do you know about his quirk?”

All Might broke into a coughing fit, bringing his hand up to stop the blood from getting all over the papers.

‘-being done to compensate the family of the student that was-‘

“Wha-What?”

I stared, “You okay?”

“Fine, what did you say?” He wiped at his mouth.

“Do you know about his quirk? It just recently evolved apparently.”

‘-and furthermore there will be a memorial service held for him-‘

He coughed again, lighter this time, “Ah, yes, I do. I helped him train with it some. Helped him build up muscle and the like. It works a bit similar to my own so…”

I nodded, “What can you tell me about it?”

He coughed, “Uh well, I’m not certain that my advice will be much help, my quirk has never hurt me the same way so…”

I nodded, scowling. I’ll have my Problem Child give me an analysis of his own quirk, he seems pretty good at them.

Now to make a training schedule.

##  Izuku POV  ##

Aizawa-sensei just dropped me off at the pre-calc class after homeroom. How fun.

I swallowed, apparently I tested out, who knew?

I stood awkwardly to the side while Aizawa-sensei talked to Ectoplasm (who’s ability to create clones is apparently very useful since he’s also teaching Algebra for my class).

I was sent to a seat behind a blonde-haired kid with blue eyes, I swear I remember him from the sports festival I just need a minute to think about it, and beside a black haired who ducked his head.

I shifted nervously.

“Alright class, Midoriya Izuku has tested up to Pre-Calc, he’s from class 1-A. Please give him a warm welcome, he’ll be in our Pre-Calc class for the rest of the year.”

I offered a nervous smile to the class.

“I’m sure someone would be willing to catch him up on what he missed last week and on Monday. Now then, moving on.”

He started writing on the board, “Let the domain of a function be this set of values: A = {0, 1, 2, −2}”

The chalk moved across the board and I scrambled to start writing notes.

The class was stressful, I was missing some of what we’d learned, but I’d also done some of this before because Dad wanted me to. So at least I wasn’t totally behind.

Class passed almost in a blur, we had a mini quiz, but I was excused from it for this week, next week I’d have to start taking them though.

I stretched when the bell rang and started to pack things up.

“Hi!”

I nearly jumped out of my skin, the boy in front of me had turned around.

“Um, hi?”

“I’m Mirio Togata, it’s nice to meet you Midoriya-kouhai!”

“Um,” I tugged the first part off my pen, “Nice to meet you…”

“Mirio, too bright.”

“That’s Tamaki Amajiki.”

“Hi,” I whispered.

“Hello! Are you really from Class 1-A? What was it like getting attacked by villains? Is your hair naturally green? What’s your quirk?”

I shrunk away.

“Nejire! We’re not supposed to ask about the villain attack.”

“Oh yeah, oops,” She offered me a grin, “I’m Nejire Hado!

“Midoriya Izuku,” I mumbled

“So why are you in our class now?”

I shifted, remembering the story I made plus the test I had to take, “Well uh, I tested out of the lower level math’s, um, the Principal had me take some tests, uh, my quirk… I um learned something new about my quirk which is why I took the test so…”

“Cool! We’re happy to have you! Tamaki has the best notes too so if you need any don’t hesitate to ask him!”

“Oh, um, thanks,” I peered at them shyly, “If it’s not too much trouble…”

Tamaki nodded, hiding behind Mirio. “I’ll make copies and give them to you tomorrow,” he whispered.

I smiled brightly, “Thank you.”

He blinked before hiding his face in Mirio’s shoulder, “Too bright.”

I tilted my head confused.

Nejire laughed and hooked an arm with mine, “What’s your next class?”

I straightened, glancing at the clock, “Ah! I’ve got to go, or I’ll be late!”

“Well where is it? We’ll take you just to be safe, we have English next.” Nejire dragged me out the door and Mirio grabbed my bag with a laugh.

“I have Modern Art Hero History next.” I stumbled as Nejire dragged me down the hall.

“Oh, with Midnight! How fun. I remember that class, it was so fun learning about art and how it’s changed since heroes became a thing! What’s your favorite class? Is it math? I hate math, it’s so hard! I much prefer the language classes personally, one of the options for electives is a self-study language. They used to have an actual language class, but no one took it. Now we have to do it ourselves! Isn’t that crazy? I’m also taking business now as an elective, it’s hard but useful for when I graduate. Have you considered what kind of hero you want to be? It’s important to figure it out so that you can pick your courses based on it, or just take fun ones! Tamaki is taking the painting class cause it’s calming to him, except the deadlines. Aren’t deadlines annoying? I just want to be able to do it in my own time but nooo, we have deadlines! Its so- oh look we’re here!”

I blinked, was that what it was like to talk to me? Wow.

“Um, thanks for bringing me.” I quickly bowed, “I really appreciate it.”

“No problem!” She chirped.

“Here’s your bag, see you tomorrow!” Mirio handed me my bag and the three headed off.

I stared after them for a moment, wow.

I shook my head and focused back on the door, getting inside and to my seat just as the bell rang.

“Hey Deku!” Uraraka chirped, “How was your new class?”

Kacchan scoffed in front of me.

“Um, it was good, harder but it seems fun…”

“Really? That’s great! How-“

“Alright class!” Midnight stood at the front, “Time to get to work!”

With that class started and everything was a haze.

Lit was much the same, scrambling to take notes as we were assigned our reading, all the teachers were trying to catch us up after we got the end of last week off.

Computer Tech was fun, I’ve never really worked with computers except for research purposes, I’ll see if I can’t find more for it later.

Then came lunch.

“YOUNG MIDORIYA!” All Might skidded to a stop as I exited the room, “WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE LUNCH WITH ME?”

The other students stared, I flushed.

“Ah- sure.”

I followed him to the teacher’s lounge to eat, pausing in the cafeteria to grab lunch since I only brought snacks today (pop-tarts are delicious I’ve found).

We sat down and nibbled on our food quietly for a few minutes.

All Might cleared his throat.

“Ah, I must apologize to you young Midoriya. Aizawa was questioning me on how I knew you and I panicked and told him I’m your uncle.”

I froze with my food half-way to my mouth.

“… What?”

He coughed, “Ah, yes… I’m terribly sorry, if I’d known he’d corner me like that I would’ve discussed with you what cover you would be comfortable with, he hasn’t questioned you on it yet?”

I slowly shook my head.

All Might said… said he was my uncle.

All Might said he was my uncle.

ALL MIGHT SAID HE WAS MY UNCLE!!

“I’m sorry if this upsets you Young Midoriya, I should’ve spoken with you first-“

“NO! I mean,” I flushed, straightening my plate from where I’d knocked it aside, “it’s okay, I don’t mind. Um… what should I say if I’m asked about you? Should I use that as the cover too?”

He relaxed, “If you want. I told him I’m your uncle on your dad’s side, if you could just not disprove that, and maybe tell me a few things about him…”

“Oh yeah sure.” My dad, wow what to say, “Um, his quirk is fire breath, he calls it dragon’s breath said it sounded cooler. Let’s see, he works in a private company, I’m not supposed to talk about his job and I’m not supposed to know it either so…”

“That’s fine! Anything that you can’t share I wouldn’t be able to either, so you don’t have to tell me anything like that.”

I nodded, relaxing. “Okay um, he likes spicy food, he had a brother? He died a long time ago though, he doesn’t talk about him much.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“No, I never knew him, just knew that dad loved him a lot even though they apparently were fighting when he died.”

“Ah, well still.”

I nodded, “Right um, he likes analyzing quirks like me, his hair is white, he’s really smart… He hasn’t been home for a long time…. He doesn’t like corrupt heroes but I don’t think anyone does. He likes books a lot, sends me a bunch and uh, his shoe size 26 shoe size, his hand writing is really neat and I have all his old letters. He’s really good at getting rare comics. He’s busy a lot, doesn’t have a lot of time to call but he tries. I don’t know, it’s been a long time since he was home.”

All Might nodded, “Thank you my boy. That should be enough to let me cover for us.”

I nodded, “Should I call you anything different?”

All Might frowned, taking a bite, “Well, in front of people who we give the cover to I suppose calling me Uncle Yagi, at least in my shrunken form works. And if you want Uncle Might when I’m in my hero form.”

I nodded, “Right.”

He sighed, “I’m going to tell my friends about the cover, they’ll go along with it, they know you’re my successor. Or at least some of them do. The one’s that don’t I’ll be telling… I’m not sure.”

“You could say, if you’re trying to keep the story as close as possible for all of them if they aren’t in the know, that you didn’t tell them about me because I was previously diagnosed as quirkless and you worried that I might get targeted for it and now that I’m in UA and my quirk has evolved to the point that I can fight with it that you feel more secure in the knowledge that I can sorta defend myself and if not I’m surrounded by pros so it should be okay… Only if you wanted too of course!” I squeaked, waving my arms.

“That’s an excellent idea young Midoriya! Though what do you mean evolved?”

“Oh! That’s the cover I’ve come up with for One for All. I’ve named it Enhancement and I’m saying that it enhanced me mentally before and that’s why I was diagnosed as quirkless, it’s basically invisible. Then the stress from the villain attack plus all the training I did after caused my quirk to evolve to enhance me physically as well!”

He blinked, “That’s…. an excellent cover. I never thought of doing something like that. The previous quirk evolving is the normal cover for the previous holders I believe, but your explanation works a lot better than the one Nana-“ He coughed, “Right, well, that’s a good explanation.”

I peered at him, who’s Nana?

“Anyways, did you have any thoughts or questions Young Midoriya?”

I considered asking about Nana but… he seems to not want to talk about them.

“Um, if I’m supposed to call you Uncle Yagi around the others you should probably call me Izuku or something… er, if you want of courseyoudon’thavetoyoucanjustignoreme-“

“No that’s true, if you don’t mind me doing so?”

“It’s fine!” I squeaked, clutching my bowl as I stared down at the Katsudon.

“Alright then… Izuku… is that too impersonal? Do your parents have a nickname for you that I should use? Or is that too much? That’s probably-“

“Dad calls me little dragon sometimes, off of his quirks name… the only other nickname I’ve had is Deku, Kacchan calls me that.”

All Might nodded, “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. Anyways, I did want to see how you’re doing after… everything.”

I shifted nervously, reaching to take a drink from my untouched water, “Well… It’s hard? I mean, I’m doing okay! But I couldn’t do much to help. I need to get stronger, improve this quirk you gave me. I need to make it mine and get strong enough to defend everyone.”

He nodded, “I think you’re doing well so far. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but for a beginner you’re not doing bad.”

I smiled shyly, I’m glad he thinks I’m doing better. But it’s not enough, I still have to improve a lot.

“I’m able to hold it in my hands now! So that’s that at least.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh!” I moved my bowl away, I was basically done anyways.

I focused for a moment, holding my hands out, and called the well of power up. I carefully scooped the little bit that I needed into my hand and grinned as the red lines wound over it and the green sparks brightened to a glow.

“See!”

I looked up to see All Might staring wide eyed.

“Young Mid- Izuku, that’s… very impressive. I’ve never seen the quirk do that before. How are you doing that?”

I frowned, “I’m just, reaching for the power and scooping it into my hands?”

He stared, “I’m sorry, I’ve never done it that way before. And… my predecessor had it mastered long before we met so I’m unsure if… they had a similar phenomenon.”

I blinked, peering at my glowing hands, “Oh, strange. I wonder why it does that? Maybe like you said it gets stronger each time and now it’s just too much to not have a visible change? Your eyes glow blue so maybe its something like that? Maybe my eyes will start to glow? Maybe it’s that my body can’t handle the full power, so the glow and sparks are the excess? Maybe it’s how I’m visualizing the power that causes that? Maybe-“

“Woah there Youn- Izuku. We can’t know right now but do take note of the event and see if you can make it… less flashy in time. But there’s not rush yet.”

I peered up at him, “Are you doing okay? After the USJ incident…”

He sighed, “Sudden subject change, but alright. My time limit has gone down, I can stay in my strong form for about an hour a day now. A little under really. That fight did damage.”

My stomach sank, “That’s not good!”

“No, but I still have enough time and strength to train you! And to teach the students. Though I have to be careful, I have two classes to teach a day and each is three hours. I’m having to have another teacher assist me, so I’m sorry if I’m not active in your classes as much.”

“No no, it’s okay. I understand. You should take care of yourself now, recover as best as you can. You can’t help anyone if you’re not healthy!”

He smiled, “Don’t worry Young Midoriya, I’m alright.”

I nodded, faltering when the door opened and Aizawa-sensei came in.

He paused, “Yagi, Midoriya.”

“Hi Aizawa-sensei,” I murmured.

“Hello Aizawa.” All Might coughed.

“I thought you said you weren’t showing favoritism Yagi?”

I flushed.

“I’m not! I’m just having lunch with- with Izuku.”

Aizawa eyed him, “Is that so, Problem child?” He turned to look at me.

“Yes! Um, yeah, I’m just having lunch with Un-Uncle Yagi.” That was strange to say. But it was nice.

“Right, well… Problem child I’ll need you to write me a report on your quirk, what you know about it and what you hope to accomplish while I help you with quirk counseling. Have it ready by tomorrow.”

RING

“Looks like class is about to start, you have Rescue Theory next, better head off.”

I nodded, scrambling to grab my things, “Yes Aizawa-sensei! Bye A-Uncle Yagi!”

I hurried to the door.

“Don’t forget you have lessons with Nedzu after Rescue Theory!”

“Yes sir!”

I closed the door.

“Lessons with Nedzu!?” I heard All Might cough.

I headed off to Rescue Theory.

[galaxystiel]

Under The Oak Tree (AO3)

Summary: Five times Castiel wept underneath the old oak tree, and one time he laughed. 4.1k

100 Ways To Say ‘I Love You’ #31: “Don’t worry about me.”

Also written for the Writers of Destiel ‘Writer’s Choice’ Bingo for the prompt ‘under the oak tree’.

Thanks to @fangirlingtodeath513 for being a fantastic beta!

1.

Beneath an old oak tree on the outskirts of town, Castiel wept into his hands, uncaring of the snot and blood that smeared across his face as he cried. He couldn’t go home yet, even though he knew his parents would be expecting him. If they saw the blood on his face, they’d know exactly what had happened.

If they found out he was being bullied again, they’d make him switch schools. For the second time. Castiel had started at the fancy private middle school across town, but he’d been miserable there. His friend Dean had gone to the local middle school—where Castiel was now enrolled—and he didn’t want to move someplace else. He wanted to stay with Dean.

Dean had been pretty good about protecting him from being pushed around so far, but he couldn’t be around all the time. Their schedules were too different to facilitate that. Castiel’s older brother, Gabriel, had moved with him too, but where Castiel was a social outcast, Gabriel was a social butterfly.

It was only a matter of time before Gabriel found out about the bullying and rained Hell down on them, but Castiel didn’t want that. Gabriel wouldn’t be able to fight his battles forever.

“You okay, Cas?”

Castiel jumped, his heart thudding in fright. He’d been so wrapped up in his tears that he hadn’t even heard the sound of his best friend arriving. Truth be told, Castiel hadn’t expected to be found here. He’d only stumbled upon this hill accidentally when the sidewalk had turned into grass and he’d lost track of where he was. 

“I’m fine,” he sniffed, taking the tissue that Dean held out to him and cleaning the worst of the blood from his face. “Thanks.”

“No problem. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to stop it. Michael again?”

Castiel shrugged. “It’s fine. How did you find me?”

“I followed you from school. I tried to call out, but you didn’t hear me. I guess I was too far away.” Dean shifted awkwardly. “You should tell someone, you know.”

“That’ll just make it worse,” Castiel mumbled. “I can handle it.”

Dean shook his head, but Castiel knew he was just upset with the situation and how neither of them could think of a way to fix it. It wasn’t like he enjoyed being slammed face-first into his locker door every day.

“You want to come over to my place?” Dean asked, eventually. “My dad will help patch you up, then your mom will never know.”

Castiel nodded, brightening instantly at the invitation. He took Dean’s hand to pull himself up and didn’t let go immediately, taking an extra second of comfort before they ran down the hill to start the long walk home.

 2.

Castiel swiped quickly at his eyes as he heard footsteps approaching behind him. He knew who it was. Only one other person ever came out here—only one other person knew he came out here—and he’d already heard the rumbling sound of the Impala.

Dean sat down beside him, shrugging out of his leather jacket and draping it over Castiel’s shoulders. The warmth and familiar scent were a relief in the cool evening, and Castiel let more tears flow from his cheeks until there was nothing left to cry.

“Thanks,” he rasped finally, leaning back against the huge trunk of the oak tree.

This was his hiding spot, whenever Castiel needed to get away from things he would come here. Far on the outskirts of town, Castiel had found this little piece of paradise completely by accident. Atop a large hill, under the shade of a towering oak tree, Castiel had a perfect view of the luscious green fields dotted with wildflowers and red brick buildings of his hometown.

It was his sanctuary.

Only Dean knew of its existence, and he’d pinkie-swore to keep it a secret. He hadn’t even told Sam about this place. It was their secret, Dean’s and Castiel’s, and they’d commemorated that six months ago, etching their initials into the old bark with Dean’s penknife.

“Any time,” Dean said simply.

“How’d you even know I’d be here?” Castiel muttered.

Dean shrugged. “You didn’t answer my texts, so I stopped by your place. Gabriel told me your parents had been fighting with him again, and I guessed you’d be here.” He hesitated. “You want to talk about it?”

Castiel shook his head, feeling moisture threaten his eyes again but he was all cried out. He didn’t think he could talk about it, not even to his best friend. His parents taking their fury and bad moods out on his brother was too much to deal with right now. Gabriel was just about to finish up his senior year, and his GPA hadn’t quite met their parent’s standards.

Castiel, in his sophomore year, had a perfect GPA. His parents doted on him just as intensely as they excluded Gabriel. It strained the relationship between Castiel and his brother, but he did everything to fix it.

“You want me to go?” Dean asked softly.

Castiel shook his head again and shifted closer so his head tilted, resting on Dean’s shoulder. “Stay?”

“You know I will. As long as you need me to.”

Silence descended upon them, but neither of them felt obligated to break it. After years of friendship, they were used to companionable silences. They didn’t feel the need to force conversation. Just being in each other’s company was enough.

Dean being there for Castiel was enough.

 3.

“Mr. Novak, you absolutely cannot go in there!”

A ruckus in the hallway caught the attention of the entire senior AP Literature class and Castiel’s eyes widened when he heard the sound of his brother being addressed. He rose, intent on seeing what was going on, but it appeared Gabriel beat him to it.

The door to the classroom burst open and Gabriel strolled in. His usual trademark grin was gone, his expression solemn except for a slightly manic look in his eyes. He scanned the classroom, his gaze finding Castiel easily. His head jerked back towards the doorway, signalling for Castiel to follow him.

“Mr. Novak, you’re no longer a student here, you cannot just barge into a classroom!” Principal Adler shrieked, his pompous, smug face now apoplectic.

Gabriel barely spared him a glance. “Just did, big boy. You might want to come too,” he added, his eyes fixed on Dean. “He’ll need you.”

Castiel was already stalking towards his brother, and he heard rather than saw Dean get up and follow him. He felt a rush of affection for his best friend, even over all of the confusion and anxiety he was feeling. What was so urgent that Gabriel had just driven here and stormed into his classroom. Was it something to do with their parents?

Trying to quash the rising tide of panic that threatened to overwhelm him, Castiel ignored both his teacher and principal screaming at him that he would be suspended if he left the classroom. Instead, he just focused on following his brother out to the parking lot, having to almost run to keep up with Gabriel.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m leaving.” Gabriel told him, gesticulating wildly. “I can’t take it there anymore, Cassie. I can never do anything right, they hate me. I can’t do it anymore. I just came to say goodbye.”

Castiel blinked in confusion, and then he registered Gabriel’s meaning. “Gabriel, what happened? You—you can’t just leave. They don’t hate you—"

Gabriel let out a scornful laugh, harsh and broken. “Yes, they do. I’m the black sheep of the family. You’re the only son they’re proud of.”

They reached his car and Castiel stood in front of the driver’s seat, blocking Gabriel from getting inside. Even from here, he could see all of Gabriel’s belongings scattered in the back seat and overflowing from the trunk. He wasn’t kidding around.

“Don’t go,” Castiel pleaded, his voice breaking. “Please don’t go. You’re my brother, I need you.”

“You’ll always have me,” Gabriel promised, a hitch in his own voice. “I just… need to be on my own for a while. I just have to get out of here. I would have gone years ago if it wasn’t for you. I tried so hard to stay until you went to college, but I can’t do it. Every day I’m around them, a little more of me dies. I have to leave.”

Castiel’s lip trembled and he threw his arms around his brother. “Where will you go?” he whispered.

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll call you as soon as I’m settled. Six months. Maybe a year, tops.” Gabriel nudged Castiel to one side, easing him out of his way so he could get into his car. He pulled back from the embrace. “You take care of yourself, you hear me?”

Stunned, unable to believe this was really happening, Castiel could do little more than nod. He stared at Gabriel the entire time he was in sight, watching the car drive away until it rounded the corner and was gone. Castiel didn’t truly know how to react in that moment. His chest felt hollow, lost, his attempts at breathing didn’t seem to fill his lungs with enough oxygen.

Castiel was distantly aware of an arm wrapping around him, leading him further into the parking lot. “M—my car,” he began, and stopped quickly. Was that stammering sound coming from him?

“We can pick it up later,” Dean soothed. “Come on.”

From that point on, everything was a blur. He was sure Dean spoke to him, but he couldn’t remember anything up until the point where Dean pulled up at the bottom the hill, the towering oak tree a familiar sight above him. It felt like only seconds had passed. Castiel sank down in the grass at its base, staring down into his lap.

“You’ll get in trouble at school for ditching with me.”

“Cas,” Dean sighed, winding an arm around him. “Don’t worry about me. You just had a big shock, you know? You should process that.”

Castiel nodded, tiredly. “I will. I just don’t really know how to right now.”

Dean didn’t say anything, which Castiel was grateful for. He didn’t want to talk yet. He just wanted time to make sense of everything that had happened. Castiel had no concept of how much time passed up there on that hill. He just felt Dean’s presence and clung to the support offered to him as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky.

He knew Dean should be at home by now. That he’d no doubt be missing family commitments or spending time with Sam, but if Dean even thought about it, he never said a thing. Didn’t even make an attempt to move, or leave Castiel to it.

“He was right, you know. Gabriel, I mean.”

Castiel could feel Dean’s eyes on him as he eventually broke the silence. “About the way they treated him.” It wasn’t a question.

Castiel nodded. “Nothing he did was ever good enough. They called him a disappointment. They were ashamed to have him as their son. Why wasn’t he more like me? What he endured… I can’t imagine how hard it must have been. I’m surprised it took him this long to leave.”

“He stayed for you,” Dean said simply. “He loves you and he didn’t want you to think he resented you.”

“He’s my brother.” The tears came all at once, unbidden. Castiel couldn’t stop them if he tried and he didn’t even have the strength to attempt it. “I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. How I’m supposed to forgive my parents when they drove him away.”

Dean pulled him into a fierce hug. “You will. And if you don’t, that’s okay too. You can’t help how you feel, Cas. And I’m here for you no matter what.”

Castiel sobbed into Dean’s shoulder. Despite the pain, the loss, the frustration, Dean’s presence helped. Just knowing that he had someone he would always be able to rely on sewed the initial sutures into Castiel’s broken heart.

 4.

The evening was cold, like the chill that had settled in Castiel’s stomach as he climbed the hill. When Dean had called and asked to meet him here, instead of either of their homes, he knew something had to be wrong. The second phone call had confirmed it.

They were jetting off to college in two days time, both of them accepted into Georgetown—Dean being pre-med, and Castiel being pre-law.

It was the beginning of the rest of their lives.

Castiel stood in the shade of the oak tree, squinting in the darkness. “Dean?” he called out. “Are you here?”

No words greeted him, but there was the sound of a stifled sob that answered his question.

Castiel approached the trunk of the towering oak tree and peered around the side. Dean was sitting on the floor, his back against one of the lifted roots. Silent sobs were shaking his shoulders.

Dropping to his knees, Castiel pulled Dean into a hug. Fear tendrils spread across his insides, pushing the chill through his body. He’d never seen Dean cry before, not once in all of their years of friendship. He didn’t ask what was wrong, knowing Dean would talk in his own time. Castiel didn’t even tell Dean that he already knew, that Sam had told him, just saved the words for when Dean was able to speak.

He might not have seen Dean cry before, but Castiel had seen him upset, and he knew Dean had problems with talking when he was grieving.

After his mom had died, Dean hadn’t said a word. Castiel had a vague memory of their teacher in kindergarten saying something about him working through his feelings. Lots of Dean’s former friends had abandoned him, too young to understand his grief. Castiel, at least according to his parents, had toddled up to Dean with some paper and crayons and chatted enough for both of them. They’d been inseparable ever since.

Now, Dean had another parent to grieve, and the complicated relationship they’d had meant Dean was no doubt feeling a veritable cocktail of emotions.  

“Dad died,” Dean pulled back, swiping his hands over his face. He couldn’t look Castiel in the eye.

“I know,” Castiel whispered, carding his fingers through Dean’s hair. “Sam called me. Who’s looking after him now?”

“Missouri. She’s… she’s helping make all the arrangements and stuff.” Dean fell silent.

Castiel didn’t know what to say. His own eyes grew wet, his best friend’s anguish settling over him like a blanket of emotion. “I’m sorry, Dean. You know if there’s anything I can do, you just have to ask, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

They lapsed into silence again and Castiel continued to stroke Dean’s hair, hoping to convey any comfort he could through touch alone.

“I have to look after Sam now,” Dean broke the silence eventually, staring off into the distance. “Dad didn’t have a lot of money to leave us. I won’t be able to come with you to Georgetown, Cas.”

Castiel’s stomach lurched. He pushed away the feeling of horror, guiltily. This was about Dean. “There’ll be some sort of scholarship or financial help you can get for having a dependent—”

Dean shook his head. “I thought about that already. I can’t uproot Sam from his life, not when he already lost my dad. He has friends here, he’ll need them. I gotta think about Sam. Maybe college is something I can look at in the future. I… I guess it just sucks that it’s not something I get to experience with you.”

“Then I’ll stay too,” Castiel told him gently. “And apply to KCU. We might not be there together, but I’ll still get to see you.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” Dean sniffled. “All I want is for you to be happy.”

Castiel’s hand slipped from Dean’s hair and he touched his cheek, feeling a tear slip down his own cheek against his best efforts. “Dean, you’re the only person in my life that has always been by my side. What makes you think I could be happy without you?”

The profound nature of the words echoed around them in the silence, crackling with energy. For the first time since Castiel had arrived, their eyes met, charged with a tension that had always hung between them. They were teetering on the precipice of something huge, something that would change and define them.

But this was not the moment for that.

Castiel let his hand slip away and he looked down at the town. In the darkness it was almost impossible to see, but for the lights. Signs of families settling into their nightly routines.

Dean’s head tilted down and rested on Castiel’s shoulder, a flare of warmth in the cold, cruel world they lived in.

 5.

Castiel dried his eyes angrily, stalking back and forth in front of the oak tree and trying desperately to find the rationality that he clung to most of his life. But in this moment, it seemed to have deserted him, leaving him twisted and overcome with petty jealousy.

He knew he was out of line, acting this way. Dean had never made him any promises. They’d never even talked about the feelings that had been lingering between them since their last year of high school.

Technically, Dean was free to pursue someone else if he wanted to.

Castiel had just never expected him to. It had been more than a year since John Winchester had passed away. The moment that had burned between Dean and Castiel on this very hill was still fresh in Castiel’s mind, as if it had happened only yesterday. It was the closest either of them had ever come to acting on it, but Castiel had never dreamed that Dean’s feelings may have changed.

But everything had changed since then. Castiel had other friends, college friends. Dean had started working at Bobby Singer’s autoshop to pay the bills and had his own circle of friends too. Naturally, it hadn’t affected their friendship at all. Castiel had still carved out the majority of his social time for Dean. He’d naively thought Dean had done the same thing for him. He’d barely mentioned his work friends.

He’d never mentioned her.

She wasn’t even that pretty, Castiel thought bitterly, although he couldn’t deny her pale complexion and cropped red hair were a striking combination. He just hadn’t thought she was Dean’s type at all.

The roar of the Impala’s engines caught Castiel’s attention and he floundered. After he’d run out of Dean’s place, terrible excuses about a prior engagement on his tongue, he hadn’t expected to be followed. But it was clear that Dean hadn’t been fooled by his lame mutterings at all. Not that Castiel had expected him to be.

Oh God.

Panic gripped him as he fumbled for any reason at all why he’d felt the need to run out of Dean’s birthday party. Anything that would stop Dean from hating him forever.

Castiel looked up, dumbly, as Dean cleared his throat. He opened his mouth and closed it again, swallowing audibly. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Dean leaned against the tree, fixing him with an almost-amused look. “You finish your prior engagement?”

Castiel felt a flare of anger. Was Dean finding this funny? He straightened up. “You—,” he began heatedly.

“I only ask,” Dean cut him off, talking loudly. “Because you rushed out of there because I could introduce you to my friend, Charlie. Her girlfriend couldn’t make it today.”

Castiel blinked, owlishly. “Her—?"

“Girlfriend,” Dean supplied helpfully. “You know. Lesbians,” he pronounced the last word slowly, significantly.

Dean was giving him an out, a way to save face. By addressing Castiel’s issue without actually addressing it, he was giving them a means to avoid the long overdue conversation they’d yet to have. As everything clicked into place, Castiel felt smaller than an ant. The redhead was a lesbian. She wasn’t Dean’s girlfriend. Dean wasn’t interested in her.

He wasn’t sure what to say. “Oh. I see.”

“Yeah.” Dean shrugged. “You ready to come back with me so I can introduce you properly?”

Castiel stepped forward, his legs shaky. “Not yet.”

Frustration flitted over Dean’s face and he sighed. “Cas—”

“Wait,” Castiel interrupted. “Please, just thirty seconds. I just… I want to give you your birthday present before we go back.”

Dean’s expression cleared and he looked mildly interested, even excited. His eyes darted around, looking for something that Castiel might have hidden.

Castiel took the opportunity to close the distance between them in a single stride, capturing Dean’s lips in a tentative first kiss. It wasn’t exactly the gift he’d planned to give Dean that morning, but his heart had always truly belonged to Dean and it was more than time that he made that abundantly clear.

Even though he had to have been taken by surprise, Dean caught on quickly, responding to the light kiss. His lips were coaxing against Castiel’s, igniting a low flame and extinguishing it into a thousand butterflies of steam all at once. His hand snaked around Castiel’s waist, pulling them flush together even as their lips parted.

“Happy birthday to me,” Dean smiled, pressing their foreheads together. “Would it be too much of me to ask for a second gift?”

Castiel laughed breathlessly in response, pulling Dean in for a second kiss, and a third, and a fourth, until he lost count entirely.

 +1.

The sun shone down on the old oak tree, thin beams of light streaming down between its leaves and illuminating the ground below.

Castiel brushed his fingers along the bark until they reached the familiar etchings. His initials and Dean’s, carved almost ten years ago now. While Castiel regretted their secret act of vandalism, damaging the beauty of the magnificent oak, there was something profound and warming about the eternity of their story. Their initials would still be here long after they were gone.

“I’m getting too old to climb this hill,” Dean grumbled, trying to catch his breath. “We need a clandestine meeting place at ground level.

Castiel tilted his head back and laughed. “You’re not even thirty, Dean. Besides, this isn’t a clandestine meeting place anymore. We’ve got thirty guests and a minister arriving in a couple of hours to set things up.”

He turned to see Dean in his tuxedo, looking uncharacteristically nervous. His tie was all askew, no doubt from where he’d been tugging on it all morning. Castiel sighed in mock-exasperation and reached out to fix it for him.

“I thought it was unlucky for you to see me before the service,” Dean mumbled.

“Neither of us is in a dress,” Castiel pointed out wryly.

“Unfortunately for our guests. I’ll have you know I look fantastic in a gown.”

Castiel laughed again and pecked Dean on the lips. “I’m sure you do. But I much prefer you like this, in a dashing suit. What time is Sam getting here?”

“Any time now. What about Gabriel?”

Castiel checked his watch. “In about an hour. How are you feeling?”

“Me? Fine…” Dean paused, narrowing his eyes at Castiel. “Are you asking if I have cold feet?”

“Well, do you?” Castiel asked, hesitantly. “This is your last chance. If you run away after Gabriel gets here, he might shoot you.”

Dean smiled. “I’m not going anywhere. You?”

Castiel shook his head, returning the smile. “My feet are toasty warm.”

“Lies. They were pressed against me all night and they were anything but toasty. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you refrigerate them before coming to bed.”

Castiel laughed again and took Dean’s hand in his own. In a matter of hours, they’d be married, ready to start the rest of their lives together. It was only fitting that they have the ceremony here, a place that had seen them through so many times of sadness, but also joy.

 “What are you thinking?” Dean asked, curiously. “You’ve got that look on your face like you’re thinking of something sappy and poetic.”

Dean knew him so well. Castiel glanced over at his soon-to-be husband, his eyes filled with love and happiness. “I was just thinking that I can’t wait to marry you.”

He cut off Dean’s attempt at reciprocating the sentiment with a kiss, that was soon followed by the kiss that marked the beginning of the rest of their lives.

And it all happened beneath the old oak tree.

Masterpost

[straw-of-the-hat]

would you perhaps be interested in writing a one-shot between our dear lovely Harper and sero?preferable with some angst in it if you can. It would be awesome. you dont have to of course its your choice but uh yeah please?

Harper x Sero

Something I never thought I'd be writing, but here we are. This one-shot belongs to this book! Expect typos I'm writing this on my phone and fucking light speed and then passing out—

When Harper first met Sero, it was as a new student. Nezu was bringing her in to track down the traitor he was convinced was amongst them, and Harper wanted a life that was more than stoners and teachers who were only there for the pay. She wanted to make her parents proud, and to help. As much as she tended to dislike people, she'd still said yes. And god damn was it a headache.

Looking at Harper, Sero never would've assumed. Not in a million years. She was tired, and lazy, and not keen on making friends. Why someone like Harper had been brought in and added to the already-full Class 1-A was something the Tape Quirk user couldn't for the life of him figure out! He'd reported it to Shigaraki, who listened only vaguely to his report before brushing the new girl off without so much as a grunt. And in all honesty, Sero had brushed her off too.

Harper Rye came off as lazy and uncaring. She put effort into things, but not too much effort. She wasn't mean, but she wasn't nice. She appeared to be as average as they came. A boring individual with little drive who'd no doubt go on to live a mundane life, with her mundane quirk. She was written off neatly, just like a majority of the students at UA, save for a select few of interest.

It wasn't until the whole UA Staff incident that he finally became suspicious. He jumped to the closest conclusions as soon as the cop cars showed up. Harper had very conveniently disappeared while it was happening, and after that, the gardener was taken in! Someone they'd brushed over completely. He went squealing like a pig to Shigaraki, only to be scolded a few days later when the lead came up dry.

The buzz of fear and adrenaline faded when he realized he'd been wrong. That Harper Rye had not in fact been the one to expose the traitorous UA Staff, but was instead just rushing out to greet her father. It made perfect sense. Her father, a detective, had obviously come into the scene. It was oh-so very interesting to learn her father was in the force. Would Harper join one day, too? Become just another officer? That's what it seemed like.

There were other peculiarities she presented. Foolishly, he pushed them off to the side. He'd been convinced she was nothing. A lazy, pessimist teenager who didn't value all she had. Just another ungrateful living at the top of it all. She talked a lot with teachers, but she was new, and it made sense in his mind and in everyone else's. He'd brought her up a few times with the peer group he'd fallen in with, but they just shrugged her to the side as he'd been doing. Save for Kirishima, but that was a different circumstances.

It wasn't until the Sports Festival that the harsh reality he'd been denying came crashing over him. The pieces clicked into place as she looked him in the eyes. Her eyes were like steel doors. If she didn't want emotion to escape through what were supposed to be the doors to her soul, then none would, simple as that.

He was knocked out and taken away. He refused to speak. He'd been discovered. No longer was he a useful pawn in Shigaraki's game. He'd been knocked off the board. The League would be looking to get rid of him completely. Sero panicked. He thought about his life before, and about the box. Only he wasn't quite sure what the box was, or what his life before was even like. Brief flashes of blood, and a younger sister he was sure he loved so dearly. His parents, dead on the floor. A river. A box. Screaming, and the desperate calling of his name.

He was mad at himself for getting caught by someone as incompetent as Harper came off. Aloof, tired, and seemingly always irritated, she hadn't come off as a threat. She still didn't! Thinking back, all she'd really done was sat there. She wasn't a great fighter, but not the worst. She didn't have much stamina, but wasn't completely out of shape. Everything about her was average, average, average!

Only, it wasn't, was it? It wasn't until Harper Rye stepped into the interrogation room he'd been forced to sit in day after day, that he truly saw who she was. It was a mere glimpse, but enough to knock the air out of him. He'd been silent since his capture, answering no questions. But now, he had a million of his own he wanted to inquire about.

Harper came in looking as she always did, if you excused the cat ears and trench coat. Only she was so much different. He could see in that moment that she was a ball of fire with icy eyes and nerves that couldn't be easily shaken. She was prepared: open, but guarded at the same time. A masterpiece of a human being. One hidden behind a thin, yet securely constructed veil. One she'd cultivated for years, just as he had his own.

She dug into him. He didn't know how she managed to get to him. It wasn't the information she had, or even the way it said it. Something about Harper almost made him want to talk. The rise into a threat, and then her descent into reassurance. It was immaculate and entirely intoxicating to experience. She knew what she was doing. She knew how to get under his skin like no one ever had before, and his curiosity soon knew no bounds.

He thought he wouldn't be seeing her much. She didn't appear to want to be there, but then again, it didn't seem like she ever wanted to be anywhere that wasn't her bed. So when she came in to see him a second time, he was... Surprised. A little happy for some competent company.

He thought she'd be asking questions. But instead, she sat down, kicked back in her chair, and launched into a rant about how shitty her day was.

It was such small things, all built up into what sounded like a migraine. Everything collected into what sounded like a truly rough time. Her coffee didn't have the right amount of sugar, and Kaminari electrocuted Tsuyu while they were sparring, so Harper had to take her to the infirmary. Mic accidentally threw her English book out a window, and Ochako made her desk float. Aizawa made her stay after class for "some dumb shit" as she'd put it. She only got three hours of sleep the night before, and didn't have time to nap before coming to see him.

Small, mundane, ordinary.

Interesting.

Sero didn't have much else to do but get wrapped up in Harper Rye, who was deceptive without even trying. He'd had a panic attack, and felt she was the only one who could calm him. And she was. She sighed on the phone, but cared. She promised to get his guards switched out. And she did. Anything she said she'd get done, she got done. It was admirable. He was glad she'd come visit.

They'd joke, and laugh, and okay games like Uno and Monopoly that would end in arguments that were refreshing rather than infuriating. She came to see him, not to pry out information, but to talk to him. See if he was okay, and ask how his day was. She kept him updated on the outside world, and showed him meaningless videos on her phone that he'd cackle at, while she shook her head in amusement.

No one had cared for him like that before. Not that he could remember. He felt such a connection with Harper. She knew who he was and what he'd done. He'd been a member of the League! But she still talked to him, and trusted with him. She'd smile and roll her eyes in a well-mannered sort of way. Sneak him fast food and groan about the small inconveniences that had built up in her day, as well as the large ones.

A few things happened all at once. Harper trudged in, dead on her feet, and said she was going to take a nap. And she did. She set her phone in the table, rested her head on her arms, and fell asleep.

He knew the password to her phone.

She'd left the door to the room wide open. As if it were inviting him to escape.

Her backpack was there, full of things he was not allowed to have.

But the only thing Sero could focus on was Harper. Because she'd walked in, and put trust in him. An immense amount. She was asleep. The back of her neck was exposed. It would be so easy to end her, right then and there.

Sero stared for a moment. And then he smiled, in a sad sort of way, and folded his arms onto the table so that one of them was pressed firm against one of Harper's. He stared a little longer, and let out a long breath of air.

He laid his head down on his arms, and fell asleep smiling next to someone he knew he could never really have.