#everything is at least all good and dealt with on the romance front

[cescalr]

Well, at least the teen wolf movie frees up those involved in a post canon staleo themed ending

[consistentlyamess]

Wild Sweetness ⎮ Chapter 1 - Actin' like a sweet car crash

[2.9K]

pairing(s): luca x fem!oc MJ

summary: MJ has just settled in after opening back up a bakery in Chicago when some unexpected news

warnings: not much so far, takes place during and after season 3, 18+ , MDNI, swearing, eventual smut, second chance romance, pining, slowburn, flashbacks in italics, lmk if i missed anything!!

A/N: heeelloo!! this idea has been sloshing around in my head since i watched season 2 and started working on it while waiting for season 3. comments, likes, reblogs are appriciated as always or just come chat at me! And as always 💜💜💜 TY for reading!!!!💜💜💜

Fic Masterlist I Previous Chapter I Next Chapter

London, 5 years earlier 

Everyone warned her about the harsh English autumn dawns. It would be cold and dark and dewy. And it was. But it was also cosy and quiet and nice. She liked that every now and then a grumpy early bird smiled back at her after she handed them their order, she liked that she had a steady trickle of people for a about an hour before the morning rush flooded in and she liked the thought of being done by 3 pm and still getting to go for a walk or sit in the library and study for her classes. But not all of it was fun. Not all the time anyway. There was always one asshole. And sometimes she could deal with them just fine. With a cold but persistent smile on her face. But sometimes they just struck a nerve. 

‘Hi! Welcome to Crumbly Delights, how can I hel- oh, Marcie, hi!’ 

‘Hello, sweetheart, how are you doing?’ 

‘Oh, I’m good, how are you? Long night?’ 

‘You know it. We’re re-organizing the whole kids book section and it just feels like a never-ending task.’ 

‘Woof, I can only imagine. What can I get ya’ darling? And knock yourself out, it’s on me.’ 

‘Oh, now I can’t possibly accept that!’ 

‘Yes, you can and you will! Come on, don’t break the heart of a generous American. And besides, how many times have you let me stay after closing? Or waived late fees?’ 

‘Alright, alright, just this once. I’ll have a raspberry-vanilla danish and a cappuccino to go then.’ 

‘Atta girl, coming right up!’ she said with a warm smile. She didn’t miss the man who walked in with a serious look on his face. Even though he had this boyish streak to him, his eyebrows somehow made him look like he was perpetually stern and concerned about something. She didn’t pay him any mind until she heard him mutter under his breath. 

‘It is waaaay too early to be this chipper in the morning.’ 

She dealt with assholes every single day. She knew how to take care of them, she knew how not to take it personally. But in front of Marcie was another thing. The nicest, wisest British lady, who saved her on so many lonely nights. Not with her. 

‘Well, fuck you too! You wanna try again?’ she replied with a cutting tone. 

They all froze for a moment. Her, fixing this douche with a glare, Marcie, with rounded eyes and a hand raised in front her mouth in surprise, and the douche with a slight embarrassed blush and mouth moving like a fish’s, stranded on shore. She raised an eyebrow that said, ‘try me you dick’. 

‘Uh, uhm’ he started stammering. ‘Shit, sorry, fuck I-uh, I’m sorry! I’m- i’m a chef and I have early mornings and I never, ever wanted to greet anybody like this, at 5 in the morning. I was taken aback a bit, I think, I’m sorry.’ 

‘I’m not a chef, I just work here and I’m paid to be cheerful and nice with dickheads like you all day. So, if you want to buy something, the least you can do is keep your mouth shut if you din’t have anything nice to say.’

‘We- You’re right. I’m sorry. Everything you just said was right. I’ve had a rough week, which is not an excuse, just an explanation. I’m not usually like this.’ 

‘Apology accepted. So, what can I get you today?’ 

‘I’ll just have a coffee and a croissant. Please.

‘Great, coming right up!’ she said, still with a smile on her face. She shot a ‘this fucking guy’ glance at Marcie and got to work on the on orders.

‘Have great day darling, I hope I’ll see you soon at the library.’ Marcie said as she left. 

‘Oh, don’t you worry, you will! Have a great day Marcie!’ The coffee she was making for the douche (she decided, she’ll just call him that) was ready but she thought she’ll take her time with it. 

‘Alright, here’s the croissant and the coffee, it’ll be 5,50 please.’ 

‘Right’ the douche said. He started searching for change in his pocket and she was somewhat ashamed to admit that the flustered haze pleased her a little bit. He eventually put a 10 pound bill on the counter. ‘Here.’ She started looking for change before he said: 

‘No, no-no, I don’t want the change, sorry. I was a dick and this is the least I can do.’ 

‘Well, thank you.’ She started to feel a little bad now. ‘I’m sorry that I snapped at you. It is early and even though you were being a dick, I shouldn’t have.’ 

‘Given the circumstances I think you were remarkably merciful. So, again, sorry, uhm Ma-’ he was looking at her nametag. 

‘Oh, Marjolaine. It’s French. But no one really calls me that.’ 

‘Really? It’s a beautiful name.’ 

‘You already gave me a tip, you don’t have to keep buttering me up. You’re forgiven.’ 

He chuckled at that. 

‘I actually think it’s a beautiful name. And I’m honestly surprised you didn’t spit in my coffee. The servers I worked with definitely would’ve done that.’ 

‘Well, you would’ve seen me do that. Sue us for healthcode violations or just never come back here. Can’t really risk losing business here.’ 

‘Oh, I definitely would’ve come back. Even with the spit, my conscious will only be clear, if i can leave you a tip like three more times’ 

It was now her turn to chuckle a little bit. 

‘Are all chefs such smooth talkers?’ 

‘Most of them are- how should I put this? They do tend to find some enjoyment in uhm, smooth talking and conquests.’ 

She blew raspberries as she laughed in surprise.

‘Conquests? Where are you from? The 1800s? You guys fuck the servers. Everybody knows this since the Kitchen Confidentials, there’s no need to be coy about it.’ 

‘You Americans and your straightforwardness.’ 

‘You guys and your weird prudishness.’ 

‘Well, this is where the Victorian values started. Also, not all chefs shag anything that moves. Pastry chefs generally tend to be a little more tender.’ 

‘Ah, pastry chef, huh?’ 

‘Yup, a late one at that. I better get going.’ He started leaving and she found herself wanting to say something that would make him stay. Almost as if hearing her thoughts, he turned back before stepping out. 

‘I’m Luca by the way. If you’re ever in the neighbourhood, come check out the Mimosa, my treat. Have a nice day.’ 

‘Thanks, you too.’

Chicago, Present day

The first time MJ moved into the small apartment above the bakery she immediately fell in love with the kitchen. It was probably the biggest space in there, wide counters, big fridge, small pantry that definitely made up for the lack of a bathtub. But the absolute knockout had to be the fact that it had not one but two windows. On two different sides making sure that sunshine and light could always get in. A far cry from the gloomy little London apartment she used to have. A far cry even from her first Chicago apartment from like two years ago. Coming back to the States was difficult enough, feeling like she had to start everything over at almost thirty. But there was something about the kitchen and the curtains with the small flower print that immediately had her heart. After moving in, the first thing she did was bake a peach pie. After the frenzy of moving, the uncertainties of starting a new job - the only thing she could think of at that moment, finally stopping after a gruelling month, was baking something. Nothing was unpacked, boxes filled nearly every surface area. Except for the kitchen. Getting ready to bake back then involved setting up her workspace for the first time, which finally filled her with some excitement. Feeling the space, deciding where the pots and pans should go, which drawer should store the cutlery, the cutting boards, the napkins and the clean towels - almost a form of meditation. Peach pie was always the first thing she baked in every new oven she came across. The baking of the crust gave her a general idea about times and temperatures, hot and cold spots in the oven, if it came out burnt or underdone was maybe even better if it turned out perfectly. Gave her more information. The peach had to get a little colour but not too much for it not to get mushy, the sugar or honey glaze on top browning a little but too much. 

She’s made a lot of peach pies since then but none of them felt like this. It was frenetic, hurried, it felt more like something she had to do, not so much something she wanted to do. She was always messy but this went over anything she’s ever done before. Flour everywhere, some eggshell made it into the better, trying to roast the peaches a little turned into burning them quite badly. She huffed and puffed and just couldn’t get her mind to shut off. Her hands weren’t cooperating because she wasn’t really paying that much attention and she knew it. She knew it and hated it. The tense muscles, the tightly shut jaw, her breath in her throat that just would not go deeper, the shakiness of her exhales, the headaches she gets when she can’t relax her face for too long. Everything went on autopilot but that also seemed to be glitching.

Even hours later, running errands, stepping into the bakery to help out, nothing worked. It was stupid. Down right idiotic, really, if she wants to be honest. Which she doesn’t, hence her current predicament. Pacing up and down in the kitchen, waiting for Sophie to finish her shift. Curses being murmured, no use for that of course, but still. She’s hoping that maybe if they keep coming out in these strings, maybe she’ll exorcize something, that maybe the tightness of her chest and the grip of her stomach will eventually go away. Maybe a miracle will strike and she’ll get out of this.  A long shot for sure but which one of us hasn’t hoped for one in times like these? 

‘You okay, boss?’ Sophie asks, finally wandering back to the kitchen. She noticed it earlier for sure but not wanting to hit a nerve, she ignored it. Also hoping that whatever was going on would sort itself out, that she would sort it out, which she somehow always managed to do. Apparently not this time. MJ contemplates for a minute, with a long sigh, with arms wrapping around herself. Cuticles and nails long gone due the anxious gnawing and tearing she’s been keeping at for the last two weeks. 

‘Hm? Oh, yeah, sorry, I’m- you know just-’ 

‘Okay’ Sophie interjected, putting the plates in her hand down. ‘Look, I wasn’t gonna say anything ‘cause maybe it’s none of my business but what the fuck is going on?’ 

She should’ve seen this coming for sure. Sophie always figured it out. She’s been with her since they started the renovations, through the opening, through money troubles, through broken fridges and missed deliveries. If she was being honest, Sophie was as close to best friend as she managed to have in her adult life. She absolutely should’ve known that there was no way of hiding this from her. 

‘Jesus Margo, you’re starting to scare me.’ 

‘I- fuck me! It’s not a scary thing, I promise, it’s just’ Everything comes out in huffs, in between heavy breaths and she kind of hates it. ‘Okay’ steadying breath, palms pressing into the cold metal of the counter while Sophie stays there, waiting. 

‘Do you remember that guy I told you about? The one I met in London?’

‘Sexy pastry chef guy. Of course I remember, still haven’t shown me a picture.’ 

‘Well, you’re in luck. You can see for yourself in, like, 2 days.’

‘What?!’ Sophie’s voice rises, along with her eyebrows, eyes growing big and she simply cannot blame her. ‘But, wait- that’s-’ The wheels are turning and she’s patient. She‘d much rather Sophie put it together for herself than her having to spell it out anyways. ‘No. Are you kidding me?! Sexy pastry chef guy is Luca?’ 

‘Yeah.’ 

‘Luca, from Copenhagen.’ 

‘Yup.’ 

‘Marcus’s mentor, who, I’m still not sure he’s not in love with, Luca?’

‘Yeah, Sophe, that’s all him.’ 

‘But- What?! How’s that even possible? Why the hell didn’t you say anything?’

‘I just- I don’t know, okay? When Marcus first mentioned him when I was too shocked and I couldn’t say anything and then I kept not saying anything while we became friends, thought it would be really weird, and then suddenly almost a year passed and I thought, well, now it would be really fucking weird to say anything and I just kept on not saying anything and then Marcus said he was visiting and- I don’t know, it all just got away from me a little.’ 

‘No shit.’ Sophie can’t even be mad. The fear and the sadness that settled into her MJ’s eyes is more than enough for her to know that this is not the time for scoldings you could’ve told mes and the like. ‘Again, how’s that even possible?’ she asks, still wanting to understand at the very least. 

‘It’s not that complicated, really. I was in London for two years during college, with a scholarship. We met there, my scholarship ran out, he got Noma, I moved back here, he went to Copenhagen and we broke up not too long after that.’ Still vague, still no details, still hesitant and a little closed off. Sophie nods. Not the time for prodding either. 

‘Do you want to close up, get really drunk and continue this after?’ 

‘Absolutely, I do.’ 

‘Good.’ 

***

After going through the motions, closing up shop, it’s still just 7PM. Perks of running a bakery. 

‘Is it okay to ask how you see this playing out?’ Sophie finally chimes over her third glass of Pinot. 

‘No fucking clue.’ They both laugh because this is ridiculous. Absolutely hysterical.

‘Maybe he doesn’t even remember me, you know? It’s been a while.’ 

‘Yeah, fat fucking chance of that happening.’ 

‘Yeaaaah, I’ll just have to suck this one up, I think.’ 

‘You still could just talk to Marcus, you know? Tell him not to bring him to the bakery or work something out, change shifts, bring him when you’re not there. Or you can still just get the fuck away. Make an excuse about someone’s cat dying or whatever.’

‘Sure, not suspicious at all. Also Marcus is so excited. And it’s already eating me up that I didn’t tell him earlier.’

‘How has he not figured it out though? Luca, I mean, not Marcus. Your name is a pretty huge giveaway. It’s not like there are a shit ton of Marjolaines running around Chicago.’

‘Well, Luca never knew that I ended up in Chicago. When I moved back, I went back to San Francisco. It wasn't until a couple of months that Dylan called me about the bakery. And as for the name, Marcus was the one who started calling me MJ. My best guess is he calls me that with him too and he ever felt the need to explain how that happened.’

‘Right.’ They fell silent for a while. MJ loved these nights. Hanging around for a couple more hours, for a couple more drinks. The bakery was closed, but the smells still lingered. The sweetness of vanilla, the fattiness of butter, the slight bitterness of cooked or baked fruit, lights out, most of it leaking out from the kitchen and seeping in from the streets. Lower, softer, warmer twinkles that would only stop the hardest of stone-cold hearts from opening up a little. Even now, when the jig was up and she had to actually face what was coming her way, which did kind of feel like watching a car crash in slow motion.

‘Is it okay if I ask questions about him?’ Sophie asked eventually.

MJ just nodded, eyes a little hazy. Of course she can. When, if not know? Memories being stirred up and tongue loosening from the wine. She still appreciates it. The checking in, the earnestness and caution of this younger generation.

‘How long were you guys actually together?’

‘About two and a half years.’ 

‘Did you love him?’ 

‘Shit, Sophe, big fucking questions tonight.’ 

‘Sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just- you never talk about him. And until now I thought it was because it was just kind of a fling or something. Hot pastry chef, college years, you know, the works. But seeing you now, I’m starting to think it might have been the opposite.’ 

‘Meaning?’ 

‘You know what I mean, bitch.’ Sophie pushed her shoulder a little and a laugh spilled out of her despite the ache in her chest that not even the wine could dull down.

‘It’s been such a long time. But yeah, yeah, I loved him.’ 

Sophie just hummed. 

‘Why did you guys break up?’ 

MJ just groaned as if she pulled a muscle she didn’t really use. 

‘Can I plead the fifth on that one? Just for tonight. It’s a long and sad story and-’

‘Hey, of course, you don’t have to explain.’ 

‘Okay, look!’ she slammed her glass down, turning towards her, wine splashing up on either side. ‘We can do this, alright? ‘ I’m sure Marcus will understand, and as for that douchebag-’

‘He’s not a douchebag.’ 

‘Well, he fumbled you, so he will have to try and prove that to me. So. As for that douchebag, you can handle it, and I’ll be here with you, the whole time. How long is he staying?’ 

‘I don’t know, I didn’t have follow-up questions.’ 

‘Nevermind, it doesn’t even matter, we’ll get through this, okay?’ 

MJ nodded. Sophie’s confidence was moving but she wasn’t nearly as sure of that as she was.

[jhuzen]

Me the Waman guy, i love Wamans, happy women's day to all. My Ask would be affectionately asking for M!Reader returning from a mission completely wounded, going to the kitchen, giving a kiss in (Character you feel comfortable writing) and saying he missed her and refusing to let her go

beauty in simplicity [m.reader]

IM SO DANG LATE FOR THE WOMEN’S DAY. BUT BUT HERE IT IS SJAIDMCIWDC. lmao this fic’s process is just me recalling what it’s like to romance the only woman i dated after eating half of the men population because i cannot for the life of me write an m/f in a breeze. good times. ANYWAY. I’M A SIMP FOR THE TRAVELERS. SO I CHOSE LUMINE 😭 except there’s a catch,,, tis abyss lumine <3

𖦹 angst (moderate to heavy), death, fluffy in the end, abyss lumine, fairytale allusions

“Sire, the opposing force have been dealt with.” the Abyss Lector behind you had a hint of somberness in its voice. And even then you can understand why — your current expedition in accordance to the current plan of the Abyss Order did not exactly go off so well. There were vision holders brave enough to fend off you and your comrades.

Though it took their fickle lives away in the end, that did not mean your party suffered some collateral damage. It wasn’t the prettiest battle after all, and as your greatsword stayed planted on the ground littered with gallons of spilled blood from either parties, you can only grieve for your comrades.

“…Okay. Thank you.”

“Shall we get you treated, sire? You’re in quite a bad shape.”

You drew in a deep shaky breath as your long gone adrenaline aided you in feeling the most excruciating pain all over your body. You weren’t a clumsy man on the battlefield, but some of the weaker links had to be protected, and you figured it’s either them or you — and a captain never yields in front of his comrades, nor does he allow them to perish when he’s close by.

But even then you couldn’t find yourself completely able to treat these wounds, allowing them to fester within you like a parasite that gnawed and destroyed your body from the inside out. You’ve had plenty of battle scars already, that much you couldn’t particularly deny — but it’s the sheer fact that today was somehow managed to hit you harder than the most, that there was a blatant realization of the fact that today, you lost many of your men.

You honestly wondered how you can even sleep at night at this point. Your fellowmen, cursed with the eternity of immortality and with you all the same — for centuries you’ve had to witness everything, every death, every betrayal, and every conundrum knock you down.

But you would endure it for her. Your princess. And as her knight, you would do well in not dishonoring her name, you would keep waking up in that accursed morning if it meant you could aid your beloved princess in her mission — even if it meant you had to bear these scars your whole life… until this curse is lifted from you, until you can’t take it anymore.

Your silence was enough to worry the Abyss Lector, you were normally on the move, constantly walking around to check on whoever survived, supervising every little thing, mourning your fallen comrades. But today, you were so quiet, and even the Abyss Lector could barely hear your shallow breathing despite the little distance between the two of you. Concern lingered on your subordinate as you stewed in silence.

“Sire? Shall I carry you to the infirmary?”

Taking one last breath, you shook your head, “No, thank you. Let me bear the wounds that my brethren bled for a little while longer.” Your hand grasped the handle of your greatsword, pulling it out of the ground, with a consistent strength that you could never lose even after the most tiring battles. “It’s the least I could do.”

If your subordinate could openly express himself to you right now, you would’ve seen the way his eyes softened yet gleamed with pride for you. No doubt that the princess choosing you as her champion was not a mistake in the slightest. For the great strength that you bore came with absolute sympathy for the men around you — leading them to victories with your quick-witted strategies and boosting their morales with the glory and valor you emanated.

Truly the princess deserved someone like you.

Slinging the greatsword over the sheath that hung on your back, you finally turned to your subordinate, eyes glinting with determination and persistence like always, “…Alright, let’s get to work. Run me the statistics of all results, I need to see how many survived and how many died, we can base our next counterattack against vision holders from there. Bury the casualties in a grave… as despicable as they are… they still deserve a proper one.”

The Abyss Lector had no problem adhering to your commands as well as everyone else who can still move and do your bidding — and just like that, with the captain up and running again, the Abyss Order was back on its gears, ready to complete the mission.

Out of all the things that happened, you managed to accomplish the mission that was given to you, heading back into the depths of abyss to aid your wounded comrades, still refusing the many help offered to you from your other subordinates. The princess was nowhere to be found, no doubt making some arrangements herself somewhere else. And much after tending to everyone else, you finally found yourself walking back to your own home.

Perhaps there was something relatively odd at the sight of the great captain of the Abyss Order lugging around his greatsword deep in the woods. You should know, considering the fact that the Abyss became your home. But the humanity left in you was enough to convince the larger part of you that was consumed in darkness to retain some form of normalcy, to live like any other human right now, despite being completely ostracized from the society.

Your home was quaint and peaceful, deep enough so that no wandering adventure would stumble upon it. You’ve heard plenty of stories from some others — apparently some of them had the audacity to loot through some villager’s crates and even steal some root crops.

Nevertheless, it was the escape that you sought from your work. You never needed a little abode like this, you were perfectly fine in the depths of abyss, stewing in it, facing any harbinger that might have descended into it and some poor unfortunate soul that stumbled in unknowingly.

But what you didn’t expect was the smoke coming out of that tiny chimney protruding from the roof of your home. And as if there was a switch flipped within you, suddenly you regained your senses and could smell the faint aroma of that familiar herbal tea that you often shared with your beloved princess.

“Ah… she’s home…”

Your pace picked up and entered your home quick, and you were facing the illustrious princess of the abyss — your beloved, the woman you would absolutely die for and only live to ever serve, was there brewing some tea.

Lumine was far into her own world as she basked in the silence of your shared home. Admittedly, she was surprised when she saw that you managed to make enough time to construct a formidable home in the midst of the tasks she delegated on you. And when she was faced with such a place, warmth only managed to spread through, greatly reminding her of her times with her brother.

She had known you far before she woke Aether up, standing in as the personal knight of one of the most prominent noblemen in Khaenri’ah, protecting him and his lonesome self. Many times had she encountered you when she and Dainsleif had to cross blades with you before because of your neurotic employer.

Who would’ve thought that you would end up working under her in the Abyss Order — much less for you to be her most cherished person now other than her brother; with the countless nights she has spent in your arms, limbs entangled with each other and the bedsheets, living through this quiet forest like a carefree couple.

Lumine jolted as she felt a pair of arms snake into her waist, holding her tight. The familiar warmth engulfed her back and she couldn’t help but lean into your tender hold, closing her eyes with a content smile.

Up until she smelled a faint scent of blood — her eyes flew open and looked down to see your arms that embraced her form, your sleeves torn apart and hacked away with dried blood. She grimaced at the sight of your wounds that would no doubt leave yet another mark on your skin.

“Hey…” her soft murmurs reaches your ears and you can feel Lumine’s gentle hands tracing against your forearms, “You didn’t get yourself patched up?”

She never bothered asking if something went south. She’s intuitive, she can infer that beyond your exhaustion, there was somberness in your arrival. And she can only imagine what happened in that assignment that she sent you and your subordinates back on.

She would mourn them for you and with you. They were her comrades too, after all.

You can only stay silent as the bitterness that enclosed your heart gnawed away at your insides like a pest. Your grip around Lumine tightened as flashes of your men dissipating in ashes appear in your mind like a flash of a kamera, drawing in a shaky breath, you can only nuzzle your nose in your beloved’s soft blonde hair, inhaling that familiar scent that never failed to bring you solace.

Lumine pressed herself further into you as she understood your refusal to let go, her hands slithering under yours before bringing them up, leaning down to brush her lips on your wounds into a sweet kiss — it won’t be enough to heal, but it’s enough to make you feel much safer and better.

“Look, the sunset is directly in view of our window,” Lumine calls onto your attention and you were quick to look up from her tufts of hair, your gaze finding itself fixated on the setting sun that peeked through the tiny window of your kitchen. “I believe that’s everyone about to go to sleep with the stars. They’re saying goodbye to their captain.”

A laugh escapes your parched throat, “Don’t make this any sadder, love.”

“I’m not. It’s a resolution,” you can feel her head shift to the side and lean on your shoulder, her eyes glued on your face, “Something that you need.”

You shook your head, “You know me so well.”

“It’d be crime not to after a good five hundred-odd years.” Her laugh tinkled and the pain that you harbored was slowly being alleviated, leaving you completely breathless yet so full of life at the same time. It was why you admired her so much, and why you of all people are willing to go with her until the ends of this god-forsaken world.

“Now come on, let’s get you cleaned up. It’s almost tea time.”

You stilled in your place despite Lumine’s words, staying rooted as you continued to bask in the lovely orange hues that filtered through the windows of your home, head lolling to drop on her shoulder before you pressed a kiss on the side of her neck.

“Just a little while longer.”

“…Until the kettle starts screaming.”

“I can deal with that.”

It’s times like these that can have you forgetting the fact that you weren’t a cursed being, that you weren’t serving under an Order that’s paving a path of vengeance and salvation. It’s as if you were back in Khaenri’ah, back before the cataclysm, back when you first felt your heart thrum against your chest the day you and Lumine clashed blades against each other.

For once, there was peace and tranquility that nestled in your heart.

And even amidst the whistling kettle, that couldn’t stop you from planting a kiss on her forehead, “I missed you, Lumi.”

But even Lumine thought a forehead kiss was a bit too cheap, as she grabbed onto your cheeks pulled your head further down, meeting your lips halfway with a chaste and tender kiss.

“And I, you, my love.”

This is a testament that even fairytales can come true, with the princess and her knight in shining armor finally settling down in a nice home to hold their love and memories with each other.

[youwouldntbelievehowigothere]

@zelinkcommunity

Chapter 4 of untitled arranged marriage oot child timeline Zelink story. Forgot to add in this blurb that it has eye patch Link for those who like that. This chapter also does have something to do with the prompt by sheer coincidence.

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CH 4: HAND IN HAND

The next day, the two were called into her father’s solar to discuss plans for the future. Zelda, feeling as though the night before had been some strange dream, was surprised when she ran into Link in the hallway. Both were so lost in their thoughts they didn’t realize the other was there until their hands reached for the door handle at the same time.

Zelda felt her cheeks go ruddy and averted her eyes. Right, none of it was a dream. Link took the initiative and opened the large double doors, revealing her father sitting at his desk, as pleased as the cat who got the cream. 

“Ah, come in, come in, there is much to talk about,” her father started, waving them over to sit at the two chairs in front of his desk. “The first being, you were both very good at acting surprised when I announced it, I think the people enjoyed that very much.”

…Her father thought they were acting? Well, it wasn’t like it was a complete surprise for her hand to be offered, but she was legitimately surprised when Link accepted! She dared to sneak a glance at her new fiance. The eye covered in an eyepatch was on her side, and she couldn’t guess what his stoic expression meant. He had been surprised, he’d said as much before, right?

“In general, I’ve heard many people express excitement over such a wedding. It has been some years since your mother and my’s wedding after all. With the peace we’ve had since dealing with that whole Ganondorf business all that time ago…” Her father trailed off, and Zelda once more couldn’t figure out how to tell him the ones who’d attacked Link had gotten away, and were perhaps still at large. Many were still unhappy with how ‘leniently’ the Gerudo were dealt with, and if they knew a hopefully rogue faction had attacked their prince-to-be… well… it wouldn’t be good. 

But there was also a good chance they were dead. Or lost in the woods, which was as good as dead.

Link said nothing, so Zelda kept her own mouth shut. 

“So, I was thinking we could have the ceremony coincide with the summer solstice. I believe a priest said it would be an auspicious time.”

Summer was only a few months away.

“And it would give us enough time to prepare without pushing anyone too hard. I hope that’s not too long a time to wait…”

He glanced at the two of them meaningfully, and Zelda finally found her tongue. “No, we wouldn’t want anything to be rushed. If anything, should anyone need more time that would be–”

“Nonsense, I already put out feelers for these things before I arranged everything. If all goes to plan you two will be married on the summer solstice.”

Zelda smiled, a small and nervous smile. She didn’t futility check Link’s expression again. 

Her father looked expectantly between the two of them, and Zelda knew she had to say something. Unfortunately, all that came to her were too formal platitudes that her own father had taught her! She was happy, she really was, she just… didn’t want to leave her heart too vulnerable. Being too eager was never the wise spot to be… though she supposed love was different than battle. 

Besides, she was terrified! Her feelings had always been so strong to him, to acknowledge them was almost overwhelming. 

“Oh, no need to be shy, I know you’ve both held these feelings for some time. While my marriage was arranged, and it worked well enough, I’m glad that my daughter can have a love match.”

Love match? 

Well, it was at least half a love match, but what exactly was her father expecting them to do? Especially in front of him? What were fiances who held a secret love for each other supposed to do? 

Zelda knew what she’d read in stories, but courtly romances didn’t seem like a realistic spot to start. 

“Forgive us, Your Grace,” Link finally said, “I think this is all just very new.”

“Oh of course,” her father said with a laugh. “You’re both such good kids, I know it must’ve been hard to stay so proper all the time, but I mean it when I say you can let loose a little. Not too much mind you, but it does set the peoples minds’ at ease to know their future rulers are happy with each other.”

And on that note, they started discussing important details like the color scheme of the future wedding.

…

They left her father’s solar after a light meal and a heavy hinting about future grandchildren names. Zelda had never been so mortified, so it was to her surprise that Link pulled her aside once the meeting was over.

“I’m sorry he’s so,” she searched for the word, “like that.”

“No, it’s no problem,” Link replied easily. “Though what has given him the impression that we have been carrying on in secret?”

At that, Zelda shut her mouth and avoided his eye. What indeed? As subtle as she believed herself to be, even her father must’ve noticed how she pined and sighed when the Hero was away. He must’ve seen how she lit up whenever Link was in the room. And knowing how confident she was in every other aspect of her life, assumed her feelings must be reciprocated, but unable to be truly consummated because of Link’s humble origins. A simple man couldn’t ask a princess to marry him.

But to say all of that would be the same as confessing. And even affianced, Zelda couldn’t do it. 

“And what has you turning away, hmm?”

She knew her face was red when he leaned in in such a teasing way. He must not like her to be so able to tease. He must view her like a good friend. How to answer so he wouldn’t know how pathetic she was? But it had to be something embarrassing, as to cause her current state…

Ah! She had it!

“You may not recall, but there may have been a time after Princess Ruto arrived that I… loudly declared you would never marry her because you had promised yourself to me… and my father overheard.”

“All the way since then…” he said, almost amused. “Did I really say something like that? I don’t recall.”

“I… may have been stretching the truth about knight’s oaths.”

“Ah, that makes more sense. I do remember doing that around that time. Princess Ruto really bothered you that much?”

His teasing roused her temper. “She was just so possessive of you. I had been your friend longer and yet she made it seem as though you were in love with her. I knew you weren’t.”

At the time she had hoped that was the case. She glanced up to see if she was close to the truth.

Link’s sole eye squinted with a fondness, and he said, “I suppose I can keep relying on you to stop women from getting too familiar.”

“That will be your job too!” she burst. 

He laughed at her anger, and it only stoked the fire. 

The lack of denial, or real addressing of his feelings did nothing to quiet the uncertainty within her. Would he cheat on her? No, even if he wasn’t in love with her, he respected her enough to remain loyal. 

“Some kings are allowed to take mistresses,” she said, “but Hyrule does not. It would bring great shame to the royal family.”

Link sobered slightly. “When I give my word, it means something,” he said.

Zelda regretted douring the mood, and added, “This does mean you can interfere in my social affairs with other men as much as you want, which I’m sure you’ll have great fun with.”

He did perk up at that. “I hadn’t thought of that. Perhaps that’s also why your father thought we were…” he trailed off, unsure.

Link’s protectiveness hadn’t been restricted to danger, he’d at one time gotten in a fist fight with a son of a nobleman over what she could only gather had been an inappropriate compliment to her. She later found out through snooping that it wasn’t an isolated incident. Her fourteen year old heart had been aflame with certainty of reciprocity until she’d confronted Link about it. 

He’d responded that she was the Princess. She ought to be respected. 

After a long silence, he started again.

“...Your father, and everyone else, they all think we’re in love. I think… that is, if it’s not too forward…” She watched him with wide eyes. Link finally spat it out. “I don’t see a reason to correct them.”

Zelda blinked. Of course, they hadn’t corrected her father, and what use would it be anyways? “I agree, if anything, it's easier if they think we’re a love match. No one will question our motives, and it leaves less blame on not pursuing a more political match.”

He nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. And if we’re to seem like a love match, I was thinking we ought to…”

Her face burned at all the thoughts of what a love match would do. 

“Shouldn’t we seem more at ease with each other?” he asked.

She nodded. Right, they should seem more at ease with each other. He held out his hand and without thinking she took it. It wasn’t too much, holding hands. They used to do so as children, not for affection, but to drag one another into trouble. And even now as adults they would touch each other there on walks and such, as was appropriate. Hardly ever in time alone though. 

When she glanced up to see his expression, she was surprised to catch the moment of… something under his eye. Just a glimpse of some of that sadness before the mask came to cover it once more. 

“I feel at ease with you like this,” she murmured, “shouldn’t we ought to…”

She trailed off, feeling almost dirty to think to suggest they… 

To suggest they kiss. 

But they were engaged, it… it wouldn’t be wrong to do such a thing, would it? Maybe he would fall in love with her properly if they kissed! 

That was a fanciful notion. She glanced at his lips and a frightful thought came to her. 

What if she was bad at kissing and didn’t know? What if he had kissed others and– And she wouldn’t compare. What if he resolved himself to her because he didn’t know how to say no?

Her rational mind mitigated her fears, as she recalled that she’d never heard of someone being bad at kissing. 

While she was preoccupied with kissing, Link apparently had been thinking much more above board thoughts, and after some strategizing, placed a hand on her waist in a familiar way. The touch brought her back to reality and she was sure her face was an even deeper red. Tentatively, she reciprocated, putting her own hand at his waist. 

Their bodies weren’t flush together, but they were still closer than usual, and she could feel the faint heat of his form. Especially where his hand touched her waist. 

He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Is this too much?” his breaths caressing her ear. She held back a shudder and shook her head, not trusting her voice to come out in any dignified fashion. 

As exciting as it was, being in his arms also came with a sense of rightness, as if that was where she belonged.

The training ended shortly after.

~~~~~~~~~

<- Previous Chapter | First Chapter | Next Chapter ->

[underscore-jude]

can you go more in depth on how you would’ve changed kourt’s anxiety storyline and her storyline with jet I would love to hear more about that!

yes yes yes ofc i was just getting sooo angry while writing my last post that i decided to leave it where it was lololol

(also the more I wrote this the more i realized I either literally am Kourtney or I just project onto her a lot. lol. lmao. sorry about that but this is MY version of hsmtmts after all. and i added a keep reading cause this got fucking long goddamn)

so we've been told but not really shown that Kourtney, Ricky, Nini, and Big Red have been friends since grade school and then Ricky and Nini's dating and subsequent breakup split them apart, and im a sucker for childhood friendships, so i really want to lean into that

in addition to the inherent heart rate increase of anyone with anxiety (or at least, in my experience with GAD), Kourtney has a lot to be worried about over the summer. My childhood best friend and I clung to each other in anxiety-related situations a LOT, so I can really relate to Kourtney and Nini from that standpoint. So first of all, she's without Nini and Michelle, the two most important people in her life, and also the two people who have dealt with her Kourtney-ism the most in the past year. Big Red and Ricky used to be good at all that, but then the Big Bad Summer of 2019 happened and she just hasn't been as close to them, y'know?

She's never been one for romance. Nini was always the desirable one, she was fine to be the one in the background, the funny best friend who gave all of Nini's suitors the shovel talk, and now she's got Howie and they call each other boyfriend and girlfriend- they're not gonna see each other for two weeks. In my version, Howie isn't just randomly a senior even tho he was a junior in s2- he's away doing a residency at a professional theatre. She doesn't get to talk to him a lot, because he's super busy, but she's sure that things between them are just fine. Right? He'd never forget about her like that. Right? A song can mean everything. Isn't that what Ricky always said? But she knows all too well how that ended for him and Nini...

And then she learns that the performance is going to be filmed and put on Disney+, something that millions of people watch every day! She's going to be everywhere- and then she learns that she's going to be everywhere as ELSA! The first black Elsa on TV! She, Kourtney Greene, the Ultimate Best Friend, is going to be front and center in the iconic sparkly blue dress and singing one of the most legendary Disney songs ever...

So yeah, Kourtney has a lot to be nervous about this summer.

Ashlyn and Gina offer their support, but it's notoriously hard for someone with anxiety to open up and allow someone new to be their support system after feeling like they've burdened others for so long with it. So early in rehearsals, she sings the song "Monster". It comes across as a little too real. She leaves.

After letting her have some time by herself, who comes to check up on Kourtney? Ricky! He makes his case. It's been a year. A lot has changed. He knows that things will never be the same but you can't take away eleven years of friendship, and Ricky knows Kourtney well enough to know that something's up. For as long as the group had been together, they'd really just referred to it as her Kourtney-ism and whatnot, but it really doesn't feel right to talk about it that way anymore. RECONCILIATION TIME!!! GIVE ME THESE TWO AS BESTIES, T*M!!!! AAAAAAAA

So, slowly, Kourtney learns to open up to those around her- not just Ricky, but Carlos, and Gina, and Ashlyn, and all of her friends who make it clear that she's not alone. When she gets her Color War phone call, she calls her mom. Tells her that she wants to start seeing a proper therapist. She has a lot of tics, like picking at her nails, so she and Carlos take to repainting their nails together almost nightly- she's not gonna get over it immediately, but her friends do what they can to make her as comfortable as possible. Thus explaining why Carlos and Kourtney had different nails almost every single day at camp lol

So the elephant in the room would be Jet. He's playing Kristoff this time around, remember- just something you might want to keep in mind for later, lol.

So, as a massive massive lesbian, I fell in love with Kourtney pretty much the moment she appeared on my television screen, and Jet, getting to meet her in person, would probably fall even harder. Now, Jet is just... so very unaware of what to do when he actually has a crush, and he'd probably do something like what my autistic ass does whenever I have a crush- MAKE THINGS WEIRD AND SAD

So Jet purposefully avoids most of the people because he does not want to be there. However, he does have a habit of agreeing with Kourtney, hanging around Kourtney, being so so very awkward around Kourtney, like in the Real Campers of Shallow Lake episode but dialed up to eleven.

Ricky, being Kourtney's closest friend at camp and Jet's only friend at camp, notices something is up pretty much right away and considers playing matchy matchy matchmaker before deciding to be an annoying "good friend" instead and slyly mentioning to Jet that he should be open if he has a crush, but also mentioning that if anyone were to ever break Kourtney's heart he'd kill them. This, obviously, does not make Jet feel any better, so while he's trying to get Maddox to trust him again, he starts talking about little sibling things, such as the fact that he has a crush and his big sister might be just the person to help him figure all that out, etc. As their relationship improves over the season, the amount of gentle ribbing about each other's crushes also grows. To the extent where Maddox almost straight up says something about Jet and Kourtney in front of the whole group and Jet nearly dies on the spot.

As he continues to come out of his shell, Kourtney does start to really like Jet- as a friend, at first. Romance just doesn't come first to her mind, really (kourtney is an ace icon wbk, and she's not necessarily aro but somewhere on that spectrum. it's canon cause i say so) and she is more focused on releasing herself from the burdens of her own brain as best she can because she doesn't exactly have access to a therapist or medication yet. But soon, feelings start to arise. The other girls will tease her, and the boys urge Jet to ask Kourtney for a dance at the camp prom, and when he ultimately can't do it, Carlos is the one to say it's okay- he knows you shouldn't push yourself to do things you're not ready for (such as some traditions. it all connects you see, i'm a genius)

It's really easy to just say "if you like them, just go ask them out" to someone who is not dealing with the constant barrage of thoughts that every second you're not asking them out you're wasting your life away but you also can't face the possible embarrassment of being rejected, so you resign yourself to a life of pining from the wings (literally).

So this time around, it's Jet singing Kristoff's Lullaby during the Frozen performance and giving Kourtney meaningful looks, rather than the tired old dragged out love triangle we got in the original season!

So when the doc premiere happens, and everyone is left with the wreckage of what they've been edited to look like, Kourtney has to ask Jet what that meant. His confession couldn't have been edited that much- he said what he said. And Jet owns up to it- he's had a dumb little schoolboy crush on Kourtney since he first laid eyes on her and has only come to fall even harder after learning that she's compassionate, funny, kind, and talented in addition to pretty. And that all he wants is to know if she could ever consider feeling the same.

And Kourtney... doesn't know. She's not used to opening up her heart. She's not used to being desirable- people actually having feelings for her is something she's still having a hard time accepting as possible. Everything has been such a whirlwind since first arriving at camp. And that's exactly what she tells Jet. That she doesn't want to jump headfirst into something despite the fact that there's definitely a part of her that wants to. Jet wants to be mad. He wants to be so angry. But he's also managed to grow up a little bit. So he says that he'll always respect Kourtney, no matter what. But he'll also always love her.

When Kourtney gets home, confusion abounds. She's got enough "real" problems to talk about her therapist with that she doesn't exactly feel like boy problems are the right thing to be taking to them. She heads into work and waiting at the staff door to give her a kiss on the cheek and welcome her home is Howie. Her heart stops. Her brain is full of fog again.

And vine boom kourtney's s3 arc ends ;)

[thelittlethings66]

The Guest

We look at a man in the back seat of the car. 'He would've bled out'. Rick says as we sit around discussing what to do with Randall. 'It's gotten bad in town'. Glenn says. 'What do we do with him? Andrea asks. Hershel walks in. 'I repaired his calf muscle as best as I can but he will probably have nerve damage, won't be on his feet for at least a week'. 'When he is we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road and send him on his way'. 'Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers'. Andrea says. I look over and notice Daryl has walked in standing at the back. He looks Carol and nods his head, then glances at me. 'He knows where we are'. Shane says. 'He was blindfolded the whole way here'. Rick says. 'Rick you killed three of his men and left one for dead'. 'They left him for dead, no one is looking'. 'We should still post a guard'. T says. 'He's out cold right now, will be for hours'. Hershel says. Shane walks out the room in a huff. 'You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet.' Hershel says to Shane as he walks out. 'Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all. This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favour. Keep your mouth shut'. He finished talking and Shane walks out. 'Everyone lets just cool off, have a breather'. Rick says.

'How's your head today Ash?'. T asks as we walk out. 'It's alright at the moment thanks. Hopefully I stay upright today'. He laughs. 'Well if you feel funny let us know'. 'Thanks T'. 'What happened? Daryl asks when we are on our own. 'I um....fainted again yesterday. When we were cleaning up the.... bodies'. 'Why didn't know one tell me? 'I don't know, didn't know where you were. 'Shoulda found me for that'. 'What would you have done? Watched me sleep'. I smile at him. He scoffs. 'Next time you'll be the first to know....um I know you like to be on your own sometimes but could you at least I don't know stay in sight. So we know where you are'. 'I can take of myself'. 'I know, but just humour me. Please'. 'Alright'. 'Thankyou. Did you argue with Carol again? I noticed something'. 'God women, you see everything'. I smile. 'It's fine...' 'Ok then. I decide to leave that alone. He looks at the ground. 'Um...you hungry? ' Uh yeah'. 'Got some squirrel? I smile. 'Yeah alright... just please cook it this time'. I say as we walk over to his little camp. He smiles this time. 'You should smile more you know'. He blushes as he starts cooking.  'I get it'. 'What?' 'Why you like being over here. Away from all the drama it's nice'. 'Exactly, it's like a damn romance novel over there'. 'Yep'. ' And now there will be a baby'. He nods. 'I hope it's Ricks'. I say as I finish eating. He looks at me. 'Me too'. I smile back. 'Thanks for the food. Your a good cook'. 'S'alright'.

After lunch with Daryl I decide to go and check on Beth. Even though I haven't really spoken much to her I am worried about her. She is sat alone in her room. Crying. 'Hey, hey'. Your alright'. She doesn't look at me. 'I know how hard it is. My mum died last year'. Now she looks at me. 'It's just so pointless'. 'You have Maggie and your Dad. Patricia, Jimmy. You're not alone, you gotta stay strong for them. We have just got to get through this. And by the way I don't like Shane. Like at all. Can't stand the man'. She smiles and looks at me. 'Thank you'. 'You wanna go for a walk, get some fresh air'. 'Alright'. 'Good, come on then'. She gets up slowly and grabs hold of my arm. 'Beth, your up'. Maggie says as we walk into the kitchen. 'Thought I'd go for a walk'. 'Ok then'. Maggie says looking surprised she mouths thankyou as we walk past and out the front door. 'Just tell me if you need to sit alright'. 'Ok'. 'Can I ask you something? She says to me after walking for a few minutes. 'Yeah'. 'How did your mom die?' 'Breast cancer, she had it for years'. But it was too aggressive and spread everywhere'. 'I'm sorry'. 'It sucks but she was in so much pain, she looked... at peace in the end'. 'You were with her?' 'Yeah at home. She didn't want to die in hospital'. 'Was she English like you?' 'Yeah. We were in the UK. But my dad is American'. 'So you came to see him when this started'. 'Yeah, with my brother'. 'He's gone?'. 'Yeah, just me now'. 'But you can find your dad right? You know where he is?' 'I do...but it's um complicated'. She smiles back. 'You're not alone either'. She says as we sit down back on the porch at the house. 'Thanks'. She gives me a hug. 'Where's Rick? It's too quiet out here'. She asks. 'Him and Shane have taken that kid Randall somewhere'. 'They're just gonna leave him'. 'I guess so. He might be a danger'. 'Still doesn't feel right though'. 'I know, but they are just trying to protect us'. 'Look there they are'. I point as a car comes down the driveway towards the house. As they get out the car. He is still with them, tied up once more.

Everyone starts walking over. 'I'm gonna put him in the barn. We can all discuss this calmly'. Rick says as he walks straight past everyone. He nods at Daryl when he walks on so he follows behind. 'So what you gonna do? Lori asks when Rick comes back. 'We'd all feel better if we knew the plan'. 'Is there a plan? Andrea asks. I notice Daryl walking back over. Blood all over his knuckles. 'We gonna keep him here? Glenn asks. 'We'll know soon enough'. Rick replies. 'Boy there's got a gang, 30 men'. Daryl says. 'They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead'. 'And our women, they're gonna...they're gonna wish they were'. 'What did you do? Carol asks. 'We had a little chat'. She looks at his hands. 'No one goes near this guy'. Rick says. 'Rick what are you gonna do? Lori asks her husband. 'We have no choice he's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat'. 'You're just gonna kill him? Dale asks. 'It's settled. I'll do it today'. Rick replies. 'You can't do this'. Dale says. 'You don't wanna do this. I know you don't'. Dale follows Rick as he walks off and I watch them argue in the distance. 'Daryl, did you believe him? I ask. 'What? 'Did you believe the kid?' 'Yeah, you don't? 'I don't know, what if he is just saying all of this to scare us'. 'Why would he do that, it makes it worse for him'. Shane says. 'Trying to make himself seem intimidating or something, put up a front. Or he is killing time'. Shane rolls his eyes and looks away. 'But I'm probably being stupid and paranoid though'. 'Your not stupid, but he is. If he is lying'. Daryl replies. Shane walks off towards the barn and Andrea follows so I follow them. I walk quietly behind them and hide  round the corner of the barn. ' So what are you gonna do? Rick's the leader of the group'. I overhear Andrea says. 'Maybe we oughta change that'. Shane replies. 'What, you gonna lock them in a room and take their guns'. He doesn't reply. 'I don't know that could get out of hand'.  'No it won't, I won't let it. I don't want anybody to get hurt. Rick's my friend, Hershel... he's all right by me. I just wanna know what it's like to not sleep with one eye open'. As I listen I can hear talking inside the barn so I hold my ear up to the wood. 'Hey, that's a sweet hat. I'm Randall, what's your name? 'That sheriff guy that your dad?' Shit. I run round to the front and open the doors. 'What the hell you doing girl?' Shane asks. 'Carl's in there'. Shane runs in and grabs Randall's throat. What did you say to him? What did you say? 'I didn't say nothing!'. 'I will shoot you. Open your mouth. Open your mouth.' 'Shane stop it!'. Andrea shouts at Shane. While I stand with Carl. Shane puts his gun away then looks at Carl. 'Get your ass out this door. Let's go'. He pulls Carl out the barn. 'What the hell you doing?' 'Please don't tell my parents'. ' Carl, you could have gotten hurt man'. 'I can handle myself'. 'Let me tell you something, you do not go near him. Do you hear me?'. 'Carl, just go back to the RV yeah'. I say. He nods and runs off, Andrea follows behind. 'How'd you know he was in there? He walks up to me. 'I heard them. I heard both of you, having a nice....chat'. He stares me down and walks slowly towards me. 'Are you threatening me? You don't wanna do that'. 'No, it's nothing'. 'Good choice'. I turn and walk away and he grabs my arm. 'Let go of me! That hurts!' I break free and run off  heart beating quickly.

I run over to Daryl's little camp. Wanting somewhere quiet to calm down. Heart beating quickly. I sit down on a log. Hold onto my necklace. Hands shaking. Eyes closed. Tears in my eyes. 'What you doing? Out here on your own? Daryl says making me jump. 'Sorry...' I say standing up. 'Why you crying?' 'I'm not'. 'Ya are, sit down'. He says then sits in front of me. 'What happened?' 'It's nothing'. 'It clearly is, ya shaking'. 'Um...I heard Shane and Andrea talking by the barn, bout what to do with Randall, Rick being in charge, taking the guns oh and Carl was in the barn so he was pissed about that. He didn't like that I was listening and apparently I threatened him but I didn't mean too, he didn't like that either. Sorry I didn't mean to ramble. He just scared me...that's all. I'm overreacting'. He looks at my arm, a red mark already showing. 'He do that'. I look down. 'Uh yeah'. 'Imma kill him!'. He stands up and starts pacing around. 'Daryl'. He starts walking off. 'Daryl, please don't do anything, just sit down'. I go after him and grab his hand to stop him. 'Just calm down. Please. Don't start anything, it's not worth it'. He turns and looks at me biting his lip. 'Fine but we telling Rick'. 'Ok, just not yet. I need to calm down first. Don't wanna cry in front of him'. 'He wouldn't care'. 'I meant Shane'. We sit down once again. 'Dale came and talked to me'. Daryl says. 'Bout Randall? 'Yeah and Otis'. 'How he killed him'. I say back. 'Yeah, how'd you know? 'It's obvious, story doesn't add up. It's something I can see him doing'. 'Yeah, that's what Dale said'. 'I knew I liked him'. He scoffs. 'He doesn't want us to kill Randall'. 'What do you think?' 'Don't matter'. 'Yes it does, people listen to you. I do'. He smiles and looks down. 'Come on, need to talk to Rick'. Daryl says as he stands up'. 'Ok'.

You both walk over to the house. Rick and Lori are talking on the porch. 'Hey Rick'. Daryl says to the Sheriff. 'Everything alright? 'Na it's not, look at her arm'. Daryl says. 'What happened? 'Shane'. I say quietly. 'He did that? 'Yeah, it's a long story'. 'You gonna say somethin to him? Daryl asks. 'Daryl it's fine'. 'Na it's not alright'. 'I'm so sorry Ashley, I will talk to him'. Rick says. 'That's all your gonna say'. 'Daryl, I will sort this out, just don't talk to him'. Everyone starts walking over to the house. 'We are gonna have a meeting now about our guest, we'll talk about this later'. He says as he walks inside. 'You alright? Daryl asks. 'Yeah I'm fine, let's go in'. Daryl follows me inside.

[veryblazedreamland]

SCHIZOPHRENIC HINATARD

@animegirls-love

Lmao! Why so aggressive? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA😂

Thank you for your efforts! Much appreciated. I feel loved.❤

You called me a hypocrite when your hypocrisy is showing in every content that you post. Even came to the point of disregarding Naruto and Sasuke's friendship and solely focusing on Naruto and Hinata.  And how they were really made for each other. 🤭 uwu.                          

Clearly you’re mad of what I just said. That’s understandable. You hate everything about Sakura. I appreciate Hinata for sacrificing herself for Naruto. I appreciate everything she did because we all know she loved him. I hate her character but at least I tried to appreciate her kindness to the MC. So try to understand Sakura as well so both sides could be respected okay? If you don’t want to then okay. Stay close-minded and eat shit about my NaruSaku content. Walakompake

I thought you were worth arguing with. Turns out you’re that kind of Hinatard. I’ve dealt with much better Hinata fans and you’re just plain funny and idiotic. So disappointing.

Providing evidence which u think is credible to prove your point from an obvious biased source. Or did you make it yourself? You showed panels that included Sakura’s flaws and ignored everything else. Hypocrite.

*sigh*

I was right. You’ve had a somewhat rough childhood. I feel sorry for you. And now you’re lashing out on me. Calling me stupid for mistaking comic relief and what you call abuse. You don’t understand the dynamic do you? Did it show that Naruto suffered from her hits? Did it show in the other panels? Where? Did you see any flashbacks of Naruto telling "Oh kami help me. Sakura hits me all the time. I'm suffering because of it" It’s for comic relief for God’s sake. Who hurt you?

You’re forcing me to stop liking NaruSaku because of your personal ideology about NaruHina? I’m defending NaruSaku because of gatekeepers like you. It's true that they ended up together and had kids but you forcing us to stop and shut up? Who are you? A Hinatard for sure. We have the freedom to support who we want. And what you gonna do? Post shitty content about us and Sakura? Add to your list: Brain Check. Just like you don’t want to stop yourself from supporting NaruHina, I want to support NaruSaku all the way. I want to understand you. I really do. However, most of your explanations make no sense and were purely based on personal beliefs. Trying to justify everything. Which is actually pathetic. Turning Naruto into a romance anime is what you’re implying based on your posts. 

I was not referring to NaruSaku in the movies because I know they’re all fillers. I’m referring to them in the actual manga while most of the NaruHina moments were in a movie or anime fillers.

You are stuck at Sakura part 1 while everyone moved on. You’re too focused on Sakura’s flaws when a true Naruto fan understands her. Kishimoto said that Sakura reflects a person’s traits in real life. The reality. The true nature of a human being. You saying she is trash basically translates you’re stuck in a delusion of perfect hinata. You ignored everything good involving Sakura and focused on her flaws, her strong personality is her strength. Or maybe you feel inferior when someone shows a strong personality. Inferiority complex? You turned a blind eye when it came to her saving and protecting Naruto and tried to argue that it was all for Sasuke only. When clearly Hinata’s the one who only focuses on one guy and practically ignores everyone. Almost in every panel she appears she could only say, “N-Naruto-kun”.

In the war arc where poor Neji died (he didn’t deserve to die for the sake of NaruHina), his corpse was lying in front of Naruto and Hinata and the girl had the time to think about Naruto’s big and strong hand. *cough cough* …that's screwed…

You said she was the only and first one who stood by Naruto’s side? HAHAHAHAHAHA please tell me you’re joking. I thought you read the manga?Oh maybe it was from the Last. hmmmmm. Not a great weapon to use in an argument though. And the love based on the rivalry thing? Hmmmmm. Really? You’re gonna use that? You’re underestimating Naruto’s friendship with Sasuke. Why? Too absorbed with Hinata? They spent time as a team, yes but for how long tho? I’m starting to believe you’re a troll. Therefore not worth my time. 

Since they were young Hinata follows Naruto almost everywhere, hiding and just watched😁 She never really knew Naruto because she didn't have the nerve to talk to him. She was in love with the idea of him. When she gathered up the courage to approach him, this was regarded as friendly by Naruto. Not romantic. She in love with the idea of him and his kindness towards her because no one else did these things for her before.

Again you keep on underestimating Naruto’s ability to love like other Hinatard. Because he didn’t receive love first hand? Are you disregarding Iruka? Mr. Jiraiya? And any other characters who showed him what love truly meant? He truly loved Sakura but couldn't confess because he felt unworthy because of the promise. It was said in the manga chapter 457-549. Then was confronted by Sai which led to her "fake" confession even if it meant Naruto hating her afterwards. Overall, Naruto feels unworthy of Sakura's love because he couldn't fulfill his promise to her and Sakura feels unworthy of his love because she knows she hurt his feelings and was clueless about how much of a burden the promise of a lifetime really is. Sakura wanted to lessen the burden and carry it all to herself. All for Naruto.

Don't get me started with the fight against Orochimaru when Naruto turned into 4 tails because of Sasuke. Sakura knew this was hurting him and chose to charge at him even though she absolutely knew that she was going to get hurt. All for Naruto.

Sakura has this habit of blaming herself once in a while because she knows her mistakes. She’s perfectly  aware of how she treated Naruto back in the genin days. But did she deserve all the hate? No. The problem with some people is once they see something wrong, they refuse to see the improvement of that person. Close-minded I should say. The important thing is she learned and she was just a child. Gosh the repetition and the ignorance of Hinatards. What I was pointing out was that in order to save Naruto’s life, Sakura contributes by offering her skills which are her medic skills. If it was not because of her determination to keep him alive, Naruto would be long gone. Did you not understand that? That’s your problem.

We love Sakura because she’s grown from her fangirl self to a selfless woman. She’s strong. The strongest kunoichi in konoha rather. She’s kind and funny. Always straightforward. She used to be weak but her fierce determination made her the admirable woman that she is today. Sakura’s willing to accept the hate if it means of protecting both of her teammates.

You’re annoyed at young and teen Sakura and I’m annoyed at young, teen and adult Hinata. Suck it up.

Everyone knows Sakura claps Hinata. Stay mad HAHAHAHAHAHAAH

In that one pic where it said that it’s all about Naruto being happy and not Hinata getting what she wants. Yeah I can totally see that he’s really happy in Boruto… Very much…*cringe

Some NaruHina Fans admits that their ship was forced so. 😗

The lies you tell. The manipulation. Disgusting.

Anyways, I know that this will be ignored again because you’re egocentric. If you don’t like my NaruSaku content, that’s okay. We NaruSaku fans don’t gatekeep you Naruhinas because we know we all have our own perception about our ships so try to be a decent human being and stop being so self absorbed. You're sounding like Amber Heard.

Taenammo langkwenta ung mga pinagsasabi mo. Ambobo.

Okay much love! Thank you for the entertainment! I enjoyed it! Stay tuned for my NaruSaku content then you can talk shit about it for all I care HAHAHAHAHAhA Oh you forgot to gatekeep me from the NaruSakuMonth post that I made. Please do. It would be my pleasure. Here's the link : Thank yoowww❤✨️

[writtenmarauder]

The Other Potter (James and Male!Sibling Potter)

Summary: Both Potter siblings loved the gorgeous redhead. That wasn’t going to be an issue at all... That was sarcasm. It was terrifying.

Warnings: Swearing, threats, unrequited love, sibling rivalry, self esteem issues

A/N: This is wholesome family moment. No romance. 

Masterlist: here

Being the second born Potter wasn't easy. He was a gifted wizard. I was average at everything or at least that's what I observed. My brother had the marauders. I had my roommate. But the one thing that hurt the most was Lily Evans. Every guy knew Lily was off the table. She was a goddess. James met her first. He couldn't stop talking about her. For years. I avoided the couple, it was too difficult. James and I had a lot of arguments about this. Sirius sat next to me.

"Hey, Potter, what's with the long face?" "It's nothing, Sirius." "You've been acting weird ever since Prongs and Lily started dating." "Have I?"

Sirius sighed and sat in front of me.

"Listen here, Potter. You can't fool me. So you say the truth now."

"I love Lily. My brother has a goddess and here I am 7 years of crushing on the one person I can't have." "Does Prongs know?" "Don't ask stupid questions. No, he doesn't and he will never know not from me, not from you. You keep this secret to yourself and we just forget it exists." "Forget what exists?" James asked.

I looked like a stag in headlights.

"Nothing, we're just messing around." "Hey, mate you alright?"

Lily sat between me and James.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

Sirius looked at me and nodded his head. I just gave him poisonous looks. James was looking at us while Remus and Lily were reading a book.

"Okay enough, somethings going on here and I need to know what it is," James said. "Just forget it! Everyone... just everyone get off my back." "Y/N, I'm sorry -"

Lily tried to talk but I just had to get out. I walked passed them out of the cart.

"What the fuck was that?" James asked. "What do you mean?" "Lily was being nice to you and you walked out." "What do you want from me?" "I want you to like her. You mean the world to me. So stop being a prick and at least try and be a good brother. I dealt with the Slytherin. Why can't you put effort into liking my girlfriend and very soon, my Fiancée."

Daggers through my heart. I sighed and nodded.

"I'll try." I sighed. "Thanks. You're my brother it means so much to me." "Any day." I smiled.

We walked back and I sat back in my position at the window. Sirius tried to read my expression but I just closed my eyes and dozed off.

"What is your problem?" Lily shouted. "My problem? Where to even start!" "I'm nothing but nice to you." "You chose my brother!" "You never liked me so what does it matter to you."

I kissed Lily and she kissed back. I shot up. This was wrong. I was back on the train and stormed out. This time Sirius followed.

"What the hell happened?" "I had a dream." "Yeah so?" "I kissed Lily in it." "That is bad." "Bad? Padfoot this is beyond bad. If my brother ever discovers that I ever just even dreamed it, he's going to kill me." "Hey. Focus it didn't really happen, snap out of it." "He's going to propose to her." "What?" "He told me earlier. Padfoot what do I do?" "You do what every gentleman would do. Nothing."

I sighed.

"Look we're almost at the train station. You and I will do something fun, get your mind off the situation." "Like what my parents want family dinner at home first." "we'll go out afterwards."

We were sitting around the table. I looked at Sirius. James and Lily were all lovey dovey. My parents mainly focused on them cause he asked her and she said yes.

"Oh isn't that great, Y/n?" "yeah it's fantastic," I smiled, "I'm going to get some more wine."

I got a bottle out of the kitchen and tried not to cry.

"What the hell dude? I thought we had a deal?" "I'm trying." "Try harder." "James I'm pretending the best I can. The only thing left for me is telling her how much I like her. How much I can't stop thinking about her since the moment I laid eyes on her. I am Amortentia levels of crazy about her, but you met her first. You called dibs since the very first year. That's just how this works. James Potter, the star, the favourite. I am nothing!"

I sighed and went to the garden. It all just slipped out. The door opened. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry..." I sighed. "No I'm sorry."

I looked at James and hugged him.

"You're my brother. I should've known or realised something." "You couldn't I purposefully hid everything. you all think I hate her when all night I've been wondering if she would love breakfast in bed or if she hates food on the bed. I wonder what her lips taste like, but I can never know. I'll be alright. I will move on, at least that's what Sirius said. However if you hurt her I will slap you back to last century and if you don't then I will be the happiest guy on earth cause she ended up with the greatest person in all of existence. My brother." "Hey we'll find someone for you who is your Evans." "Do you honestly believe there are two of her out there?"

James chuckled.

"There has to be cause there are two of us."

I looked at James who was wearing his signature smirk. I pushed him softly and laughed.

"Thank you." "Hey, talk to me, cause that was about so much more than just Lily." "James, you don't have to do this." "I have to look after my brother."

I nodded and looked back to the garden.

“All my life I’ve felt second to you. You’re smart. I’m average. You’re quidditch captain I can not make the team to save my life.” “Stop it. You’re a potter, you’re great at loads of things. You are excelling at Care of magical creatures. I can’t even keep my owl to like me. You are the most loyal and brave person I know and I know Sirius, his patronus is literally a dog.”

We laughed.

“Thanks, but you’re just saying that.” “I’m not. I speak the truth. Like sure I got the quidditch genes, you got the strategic brain just a smidge more then I do. You stop me from being an idiot, you helped me get Lily...” James cleared his throat and turned to the house, “You sacrificed so much for me and I’ve probably done nothing but be an asshole, right?” “Only just a bit.” “You weren’t supposed to agree!”

We laughed and our mother opened the door.

“Is everything okay here?”

I looked at James and he looked for the right words.

“Not really, I was a lousy brother, but we will figure it out.”

Sirius was behind her and smiled to me. I took a deep breath and let James’ words sink in. maybe I didn’t have to be good at the things he was. I could be my own Potter.

[expectingtofly]

What It Means to Love, 3k

established dean/cas, hurt/comfort, post 15x20, human!cas

day 2 of @thiscastielhasflown and i's follower celebration

prompt: hurt/comfort

“Dean, I am perfectly fine, I—” Cas paused, face scrunching up, then he sneezed before he could finish his sentence.

Dean took a step backwards. “Dude, gross! Seriously? Sneeze into your elbow. That’s like preschool 101.”

“Oh, then it’s so great that I went to preschool,” Cas said, managing to sound sarcastic even with his nose stuffed up. Dean winced as he wiped his nose on the sleeve of his trenchcoat. “It’s not like I haven’t been a human for only three months.”

Right. “Yeah, well, guess this is the perfect introduction." How the hell did Cas manage to still look so adorable slumped against the kitchen counter, clothes wrinkled and nose red? “Welcome to humanity, you have a cold. Here, stop that.” He couldn't watch Cas wipe his nose on his sleeve again. They didn’t have tissues in the kitchen, but he grabbed a napkin and handed it to him. Dutifully, Cas took it and blew his nose. “What you need is to get in some comfier clothes, lay down, and get some sleep.”

Violating the few feet he'd put between them to stay clear of the germs, he stepped closer to loosen Cas' tie. Cas let him, saying, "I can still help research—"

"No, no." Cas leveled him with a glare, but it had lost its bite now that Dean knew he couldn't strike him dead with his angel grace. Okay, it was still pretty menacing. "I'm trying to save your ass. Sam will kill you if you sneeze on his laptop or precious books. Come on, take off the coat, you gotta be burning up."

He was helping Cas slip it off when Sam walked into the kitchen. “Ew, gross," he complained, covering his eyes with his hand, and Dean realized he was essentially undressing Cas in front of the kitchen island. "Get a room."

"Grow up," Dean said, draping Cas' coat and tie over his arm. Okay, so maybe they’d given Sam a reason to be on-guard now, but, "It's not what it looks like."

Sam lowered his hand, then frowned at Cas. "Woah. What happened to you?"

"I'm sick," Cas answered, as if that wasn't obvious enough by his glassy eyes and disheveled appearance.

"Well, uh, wash your hands," Sam said, stepping back as Cas started for the door, Dean following. "Don't wanna spread any germs. And try to stay out of the library."

"Told you," Dean whispered to Cas as they went down the hallway. In their room, he gestured for Cas to sit on the bed as he rummaged through their dresser. “T-shirt and sweatpants,” he said, handing them over.

Cas unbuttoned his white button-down which was identical to the dress shirts he always wore as an angel. Apparently old habits died hard—in this case, an affinity for business casual. Actually, maybe Cas getting sick and out of his old clothes was a good thing. Dean didn't know the last time the trenchcoat had been washed.

Collecting Cas' shirt and pants, he said, “I’ll get rid of these disease-ridden clothes.” He thought he caught Cas rolling his eyes as he pulled Dean’s sweatshirt over his head. "You watch TV or something, I’ll go see if we have cold medicine.”

After starting a load of laundry and raiding the medicine cabinets in the bathroom and cabinets in the kitchen, he returned to the room to find Cas sitting cross-legged under the covers of the bed, remote in his hands.

“Here, you go,” Dean said, handing over a warm mug. Ancient Aliens played on the TV; one of Cas' favorite pastimes was refuting every crazy claim and theory the show presented with his own recollections of the ancient times. “Sam said this tea will help. He ran out to get some medicine.”

Eagerly, Cas took the mug from him and took a large gulp, then coughed. "Ow. It's hot."

"Drink it slowly, idiot."

Cas took a more hesitant sip, then squinted up at him. "This tea is incredibly flavorless."

Dean snorted. "’Cause your nose’s clogged up. And you probably burned your tongue. Another joy of being human."

Groaning, Cas dropped his head back on the pillows and stared at the ceiling. "Why is being human so difficult?"

Dean inwardly winced at that. Or thought he did so inwardly, but his expression must've revealed something because Cas glanced over at him, then straightened up, nearly spilling his tea. "Dean, I didn't mean anything by that."

Clearing his throat, Dean shrugged and sat down on the other side of the bed. "No, it's fine. You're right, being human sucks."

"And I wouldn't trade it for the world," Cas said.

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

Cas seemed about to say more, but then he sneezed. Into his elbow this time. Progress.

Ancient Aliens finished, and they got halfway through an episode of UFO Hunters before Cas started to nod off. Dean took the mug from him, and his eyes fluttered open, head jerking up. "I'm fine," he said.

"I know you're tired because you missed them saying aliens created the lost city of Atlantis."

Cas sniffled. "That's ridiculous. Everyone knows Atlantis was formed by—" He was interrupted by a yawn, and Dean made a mental note to return to that subject later.

“Come on, take a nap.”

“I am not a small child, Dean,” Cas protested, but he settled down anyway. Dean couldn’t resist adjusting the covers, essentially tucking him in. He wasn’t trying to baby him, but it was second nature seeing how miserable the guy looked. Turning off the lights, he went to the door. "You good? Need anything else?"

"No." Cas squinted one eye open to look at Dean over the blanket pulled up to his shoulders, and, fuck, if he wasn't still the most beautiful man Dean had ever seen, even sick as a dog. "Thank you."

A tiny alarm went off in Dean's brain about germs, but he returned to the bed to kiss Cas on the forehead anyway. True love, and all that. God, he was getting sappy in his old age.

Cas looked marginally better when he woke up from his nap. If marginally better meant pillow hair and pillow lines on his cheek. Well-rested, at least. He swallowed down the cold medicine Sam had brought home, complaining that he could taste enough to know the flavor was not, quote, "similar to anything occurring organically in nature."

"Whaddya wanna eat?" Dean asked him as he drained his glass of water. "And don't say PB and J," he added before Cas could speak.

Cas set his glass down on the nightstand and slid further down under the covers. "Anything that won't make my throat hurt more."

"My, uh, mom used to make me soup when I was sick."

"That sounds wonderful."

"Whatcha making?" Sam asked, coming into the kitchen. He lifted the lid of the pot on the stove and Dean snapped him with the towel.

"That's for Cas, back off."

"Wow," Sam said, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms. "Look at you."

"Look at me what?" Setting aside the pot lid, he scraped the celery he'd been dicing from the cutting board into the pot.

Sam shrugged. "Taking care of Cas, making dinner, you're almost domestic."

Dean turned red and scrambled furiously for a comeback. "Yeah, and you're, you're still a little shit." Nailed it.

Sam laughed. "Wasn't an insult. Just meant, I don't know. Different for you, I guess."

Dean eyed him, stirring the soup. "Don't have much of a choice. Poor guy just turned human and he's already going through it."

"I think he's dealt with worse than a cold before."

"Yeah, well, wish he didn't have to deal with any of it." Any of it meant plenty. Between Dean’s own fuckups, world apocalypses, and near-death and actual death experiences, Cas had been through the ringer several times over. And now he was human—which, by all counts, wasn’t the worst thing he’d been through, but it wasn’t ideal. It’d been a rough transition, anyway.

Cas seemed better recently, though, since getting somewhat used to being human. And things were going well between them. Getting sick was just one tiny wrinkle compared to everything they’d been through, right?

He stared at the soup and startled when Sam straightened off the counter with a comment that Jack was out with friends, he was leaving for Eileen’s, have fun giving Cas a sponge bath. Dean flipped him off as he headed out the door.

When the soup was finished, he ladled a bowl full and returned to the bedroom. Cas looked up from his phone when Dean entered with the bowl of steaming soup. “Hear from Claire?” Dean asked, nudging the door shut with his foot.

“She says she and Kaia have almost closed up the case." He set his phone aside. “They’ll be able to visit soon.”

“You tell her you’re sick?”

“She was incredibly non-sympathetic—thank you." Cas took the bowl from him. “She seemed to find it amusing that I once ruled garrisons and now can’t go five minutes without sneezing.”

Dean tensed, hoping Cas wasn’t hurt by the comparison, but Cas didn’t look offended. “Sounds like her.”

"Yes.” He breathed in the steam coming from the bowl. “This smells incredible.”

"Family recipe," Dean joked, sitting down next to him. "Well, someone's family. Straight from some blog online. Think it's pretty close to what my mom would make." He watched Cas pick up his spoon, and added, "Don't tell Sam." He'd never hear the end of it if Sam knew he was reading mommy blogs.

"Your secret is safe with me."

Dean picked up the remote as Cas ate, wondering if he should give Claire a piece of his mind. Sure, Cas was pretty easy-going about the whole giving up his grace thing, but no need to rub it in his face. Becoming human had to feel pretty pitiful after ages of being an angel.

He was trying to make it better where he could, though. “You wanna watch a movie tonight? I'll let you pick because you're bedridden."

"I am not," Cas protested, though he looked more than a little pleased at the idea of getting to choose. Dean braced himself for whatever ridiculous romance or musical Cas insisted on watching now—to date, he'd been subjected to La La Land , the ending of which had reduced Cas to tears for the rest of the night; Pride and Prejudice, okay not too bad, though he'd never admit it; and You’ve Got Mail, dammit not bad enough for him to hate either.

Instead of suggesting a movie, though, Cas said, "You're very caring, Dean."

"Uh." Dean turned from cycling through the movie options on the TV to look at Cas. He felt himself turn red under the look Cas was giving him, head tilted, that fond almost-smile he got. "Yeah, uh. What I do."

"Yes," Cas agreed. "It is what you do. You're very good at taking care of others."

"Oh, God, don't start that." By that, he meant the long compliments Cas so shamelessly gave him now, like he'd been storing them up for a long time and was finally able to hand them out. It was like the dam had broken that night when Billie and the Empty—

But he didn't want to think about that. Not when all the events since that day had led to Cas now sitting in bed blowing his nose, the trashcan by the bed overflowing with tissues. Poor bastard; he'd gone through one whole Kleenex box already.

"I'm only going to stop because talking hurts too much," Cas told him, tossing a tissue at the trashcan and missing sorely. Dean grimaced.

They nearly got through Mama Mia before Cas dozed off, head resting on Dean’s shoulder. It wasn’t the most comfortable position and Dean’s arm was half-asleep, but he refused to move. The mere fact that they were sitting together in bed, pressed against each other, was still enough to send him into shock anytime he thought about it too much. Cas—a literal former angel—had fallen in love with him. It was almost too good to be true.

But Cas was currently slumped against him, drooling on his shoulder, so he guessed it really was true.

As the credits rolled, he turned off the TV and touched Cas’ forehead with the back of his hand. Not as warm as before. At his touch, Cas blinked awake.

“It’s over already?”

“Whaddya mean, already? I just had to sit through two hours of singing and dancing.” It hadn’t been that torturous, but he couldn’t admit that—he had a reputation to uphold. Straightening, Cas rolled his eyes. “Feel any better?"

Cas’ expression turned thoughtful, as if taking stock of every physical sensation in his body, and Dean had to grin at his seriousness. He nodded. "Yes."

"Great.” He glanced at the time on the clock and realized it was later than he’d expected. “You probably wanna get some rest.”

Cas nodded with a yawn. "You don't have to sleep here if you don't want to."

Dean froze in the middle of pulling back the covers, mind immediately spinning out. "What?" They'd only started sharing a room a month ago, oh God, he'd known it was too good to be true, Cas was sick of him—

"I want you to," Cas said quickly, as if sensing Dean's downward spiraling. "I just don't want you to get sick."

Oh. Oh. Feeling a little sheepish for immediately jumping to the worst conclusions—one of his greatest talents, if he did say so himself—he shook his head. "Nah, I have a great immune system."

Cas' expression turned guilty and Dean narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"About that..." Cas started slowly. Dean gave him a look. "Well, uh... Your immune system isn't quite as healthy as you think. I've been giving it a boost for the past several years, every time you started to get sick."

"What?" Looking back, it was pretty remarkable that he'd never gotten even a common cold with all the other shit they dealt with. "Fuck."

"Sorry."

"No, don't apologize. I should be thanking you. So, uh. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Of course Cas had been taking care of him for years, Dean thought, when they settled in bed and he turned off the lights. Cas told him he was caring, but it was Cas who was the caring one. He’d sacrificed his life for him, for Christ’s sake. Then gave up his grace to return to Earth because he wanted to be with Dean and Jack and Sam and everyone. The guy didn’t have a selfish bone in his body.

The thought should’ve been a comforting one, but instead he felt antsy, unable to stay still, shifting under the blankets.

Turning onto his side, he nudged Cas, whose eyes had fallen shut. With a grunt, Cas opened his eyes and looked over at him.

“You alright?” Dean asked, which wasn’t really what he wanted to say, but he wasn’t sure how to say it.

“I was when I was falling asleep,” Cas grumbled. But he shifted to face Dean. In the faint light coming from the bunker hallway, Dean could see the concern in his eyes. It sent a pang through him. Cas had given up so much, and Dean was doing all he could to make sure he never regretted it, and Cas told him all the time that he was content with his choice, but still the worry sat heavy in his stomach.

"Listen,” he started. “I just wanna let you know that being human isn’t all bad. I swear it won’t be miserable forever. I know you've been introduced to the bad shit first, but—"

"That's not true," Cas interrupted, touching Dean’s hand resting between them. Dean raised an eyebrow. "Dean, being human has been the single most rewarding experience in my entire life second only to raising Jack. It started with you rescuing me from the Empty and revealing my feelings weren't unreciprocated like I thought. I would say that's far from miserable.”

"Yeah, but you had to adjust to living without your grace, and eating food, and getting sick..."

"It's been difficult, yes. I won't lie and say I enjoy bodily functions or sneezing or headaches. But I do enjoy being with you and eating chicken soup and watching absurd TV shows. I wouldn't change this for anything. Whatever happened in our lives, it led us here. And I’m happy with where we are.” He studied Dean for a moment before asking, quieter, “Are you happy?”

“Yes, yeah, of course,” Dean hastened to say, because it was true. Fuck, it couldn’t be truer. “Of course. Just feel bad, I guess. That you gave up your grace and all that. Feel like I’ve hardly done anything.”

Castiel’s expression softened. “You’ve given me more than I could’ve ever dreamt of. And anyway, it’s not a competition, Dean. I take care of you, you take care of me. That’s what love is.”

Throwing that word around, love, still made Dean’s heart skip a beat. But it was true. He loved Cas and he’d do anything for him. The same, he knew, was true on Cas’ end.

Cas said it best, so he settled for lifting Cas’ hand and kissing his knuckles.

“I would kiss you," Cas said, smiling, "but I don’t want to get you sick.”

“Screw it," Dean said, and propped himself up on an elbow to kiss him. Then he shifted, turning over and pulling Cas’ arm to wrap around him. Even if the bastard was sick, Dean was making him be the big spoon.

"For the record,” he said, feeling Cas curl around him. “I wouldn't change anything either."

And he meant it. Even when he woke up the next morning with a sore throat and stuffed up nose. Cas—who seemed to have gotten over the worst of his cold—took only one look at him before declaring it was his turn to play doctor, throwing extra blankets at him and demanding the chicken soup recipe in a flurry of activity.

He’d take care of Cas, and Cas would take care of him. It sounded like a good life, Dean thought, settling back against the pillows with a smile. He wouldn't change a thing.

[crazyyanderefangirlfan]

Living up to the Name pt 3

"Out of all possible scenarios, he chose this," Jack grumbled. As he and Ruggie tried to concentrate on finding a familiar smell.

"Don't be a buzzkill, Jack. Besides, she looked excited." The hyena pointed out. Recalling how the girl bounced excitedly at Leona's suggestion.

"Still, This feels wrong." He retorted.

Leona decided to move their training to the forest, in his words 'to give a fair advantage.'

"Oi! Jack, be quiet. You'll give away our position." A jaguar upperclassman harshly whispered. He and two more students were sniffing the air, then the jaguar froze.

"Shit, she-" A kick to his face cut him off before he could finish. The figure leaped up and landed on a tree branch high up.

"You guys have to do better than that to catch me~" A sing-song voice called from above.

Valerie smiled sweetly above them, but her mocking glare proved otherwise.

Thanks to her transformation, all her abilities have been drastically enhanced. She was faster, her kicks were more powerful, and her danger sense, or what she likes to call 'Bunny sense' was dialed up to a 100. Making it easier to avoid predators, aka Savanaclaw.

"Gotta go. I have more faces to kick and prides to ruin." She blew them a kiss and disappeared through the thicket of the trees.

"She's so hot."

Heads' snapped to the bear first-year, whose glazed eyes still stared at the spot she's been on.

"Fangirl about her later! We're still in the middle of something." The jaguar snapped at him. The bear blushed and muttered incoherently under his breathe.

Ruggie ran his fingers through his hair. They need a strategy to catch her, which involves teamwork, and knowing how NRC students are, this will be hell.

"I wonder how that lazy lion is doing?" He mused.

She was better at hiding than Leona gave her credit for.

The first half-hour of their training was spent looking for the girl. Which wasn't hard, with that delightful scent of hers. It leads them farther to the forest, where the foliage is dense enough to hide a dead body.

Clever, Herbivore. But not enough.

Honestly, he was a little disappointed with her idea. He was expecting a challenge since she loved giving it to him.

Tearing through the thicket, he and his dorm mates prowled the area. Each of them in various corners, in an attempt to locater her better.

"Senior Leona." A jackal beastman spoke up.

"What is it?"

"It's miss Valerie's scent. Something's up." He replied, sniffing the air.

Leona took a whiff, and sure enough, it smelled faint and all over the place?

"Masking your scent with mud. Herbivore? Heh, at least your trying."

The lion nodded to his dorm mates, who proceeded to split up and try to find their prey the girl.

The jackal perked up when the sweet aroma was much more potent. Nudging to a leopard beastman who seemed to realized as well.

As quietly as they could, they snuck up to a large hedge that permeated with her scent.

They crept closer and closer and closer...

They pounced. Once the students felt something soft, their hold tightened.

Leona paused from tearing another bush. Happy shouts were clear as day.

Good, they found her.

He jogged his way over to his fresh babies. However, as he got near, there was a change in the atmosphere. Silence replaced the noise; it was almost ominous.

Valerie's scent changed the most; it was so faint and different.

He finally reached the clearing. Their backs were turned to him, and he couldn't see what they were holding.

"Oi."

The jackal and leopard rapidly turned to face him, hiding their captured prey behind their back.

"S-Senior Leona!" The leopard stammered.

"What's up with you two? Didn't you shout you have her?"

"Uhh...W-wait! Senior Leona!" The jackal exclaimed in surprise when the lion marched towards them. Pushing them aside to see the girl-

That's not Valerie.

In front of him was a large and plump brown rabbit, and it was wearing her vest.

Everything up till now began to make sense, causing Leona to chuckle.

"So that's the real plan, huh?"

His ears twitched as the wind picked up. His eyes narrowed.

"Move back!" The lion ordered. Jumping to the shade of the trees.

But it was too late. The freshmen were down before they could do anything. Standing on top of their bodies was the very girl they were chasing.

"I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out. You really are losing your edge, Kitty."

Valerie giggled at Leona's snarling face. She tugged her vest off the rabbit; before disappearing.

Leona could feel his blood boil. From frustration or excitement, he wasn't sure at this point, but he does know one thing.

Valerie just cemented her role as prey.

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

It's been hours, and not one of them had a chance to catch her. There were a few close calls, but she always managed to be two steps ahead of them. It doesn't help that she mocks them for every failed attempt. One of them got angry enough a tried to bite her, but Valerie kicked his jaw before he could.

On the bright side, the boys could feel their bodies improving. They still have a long way to go, but it's progress.

Valerie nimbly landed on the ground, catching her breath. It's been a long time she did something like this.

A wistful smile formed on her face as she remembered the times she and her mom played tag. Her mother used the game as a form of training for her speed, stamina, and agility. Being a competitive child she was, she got too into it.

'Thinking about it now, mom used a lot of ordinary games as a form of training.' The opal-eyed girl mused.

Wiping her brow, she glanced at the sky. She couldn't tell how much had passed, but she could guess it was nearly noon.

Suddenly, her ears stood up. There was aloud howling in the distance, followed by more animalistic sounds, till it became a wild symphony.

"The hell?" The brunette muttered in confusion. She winced and held her head. The downside of having enhanced hearing is that everything is louder, and this wild symphony giving her a headache.

"Pull it together, Valerie. You dealt with worse." She mumbled, even slapping her face for good measure.

With new vigor, Valerie pushed forward through the forest, even as her whole body screamed to find somewhere to hide.

Sigh, prey instincts.

Though she kept her opal eyes ahead, she in-tuned with her surroundings. Her ears now worked as antennas, constantly on high alert to warn her of predators.

Her ears twitched; she jumped left just in time to dodge a pouncing jaguar beastman. A low growl escaped the jaguar's throat and pounced again.

Valerie waited till he was near enough and delivered a front kick beneath his jaw. He staggered back in pain, giving her enough time to rush forward, and low swept him. He groaned in pain once his back felt the impact.

"You predators are really losing your edge if you kept getting your asses beaten by a rabbit. But then again, it's me" The girl deviously smiled at the fallen student.

The girl sensed another presence behind her and jumped to the trees. She narrowed her eyes at the culprit.

"Such an arrogant statement coming from a tiny herbivore. Looks like we have to put you in your place."

Leona emerged from the thicket with a cocky smirk in place and an unreadable glint in his eyes.

Valerie remained silent, simply assessing the number of beastmen present. There were seven of them; easy. There was also no sign of Jack and Ruggie, but they could be hiding.

"How can you call my words arrogant? I'm simply stating the truth." She retorted, smirking down at him.

"Let's just see how true your words are when I have my fangs on your neck."

"Before that, perhaps should I suffocate you between my thighs?"

"Heh, only after I crush your legs."

"Are...They flirting?" Questioned a bewildered ocelot beastman.

"I thought she was stupid when it comes to romance?" Added a dingo.

"Try not to think about it." Advised a lynx.

"Sorry, kitty kay, I may have agreed to help you guys in training, but I'm not going to bow down to you."

"Likewise, Herbivore."

A mischievous smile formed on her face. The girl launched herself out of the tree and aimed a kick to his face, but he blocked it. Valerie quickly switched to jabbing his left side.

Leona slammed his eyes shut, a deep growl resonated within him. He attempted to grab her arm. But she leaped up and delivered a front kick to his chin, pushing him away from her. However, she was now surrounded by other beastmen.

Valerie avoided an oncoming punch from the dingo and delivered one to his gut. He recoiled in pain and clutched his stomach. Her ears twitched and sidestepped, just in time for a charging lynx to crash into him.

Twitching again, she turned around and caught the ocelot's leg; she spun him around while knocking out three more before throwing him.

Satisfied that she took care of the beta males, she turned her attention back to the alpha. Only to realize that he disappeared.

Her whole body was on high alert. She took a battle stance, surveying her surrounding. She cursed herself for being so careless; he used them as decoys. Like she did.

"Touché, Kitty." She muttered.

Deciding she stayed long enough, she ran in the opposite direction.

Valerie bit her bottom lip once she heard footsteps behind her.

He really wanted to turn this into a real hunt.

Fine, she'll give him one.

Increasing her speed, she sprinted through the area utilizing the trees as boosters.

She glanced behind her and clenched her jaw. Leona was nowhere in sight. She had two ideas: Either he took a detour and was waiting to pounce on her or, she lost him; she hoped it was the latter.

Biting her inner cheek, she was about to take a turn when she heard footsteps. She jumped back, narrowly avoiding a claw to her face.

"I was wondering where you were, never thought you actually risk an ambush." The opal-eyed girl remarked as she kept her distance from him, taking up a fighting stance.

"If I'm up against you? I'll try anything." The male retorted mirroring her movements.

The wolf and rabbit glared at each other, waiting for one of them to make a move. It was as if the area went still around them, blocking out all noise; only the thumping of their hearts was heard.

Jack was the first to move. He ran forward with the girl following the suit, but once close enough, she leaped up and stomped on his head. He staggered back, gritting his teeth and holding his head. Valerie landed behind him, giving a swift kick to his side; the wolf fell to his side, hissing at the impact.

A deep growl escaped his throat when he heard her laughter; he swiped underneath her legs. The girl fell back, wide-eyed, and internally cursed herself for letting her guard down.

Picking himself up, he grabbed her ankle and flung her to the trees. The girl shrieked in pain, coughing; she found specks of blood on the ground, her blood. Although she struggled to stand up, she had enough energy to avoid Jack's next attack.

Jack swung his fist to her face, but she intercepted by grabbing his arm and flipped him to the ground. He grunted in pain when Valerie placed her foot on his chest.

"I thought I might return a favor fluffy." She smirked at his fallen body. He glared up at her. She was about to make another comment when her ears twitched, frowning; she leaped up to the trees and glared at the intruder.

"Damn, and here I was going to surprise you. Then again, those ears of yours work just like satellites, shishishishi." Ruggie laughed as she strolled through the area.

"I keep getting more surprises."

Just like lighting, she sprung herself out of the tree and delivered a direct kick to Ruggie's gut. The poor hyena coughed up blood upon the impact and curled up into a ball once he fell on the ground. All the while groaning in pain.

"And here I thought he would at least withstand half of it, oh well." She ducked down, already sensing Jack's incoming punch, and kicked his chest.

It knocked him a few feet away from her; Jack felt something dribble down his chin, wiping he found bits of blood coating it.

Clenching his fist; a low growl erupted his throat; charging, he swung his fist narrowly, hitting her face. Valerie responded by front kicking his chin; Jack grunted but didn't falter in his movements.

Valerie unleashed a barrage of kicks, driving him back until he felt the tree behind him. Jack gritted his teeth but bared with it; he waited until he found an opening between her kicks. She paused for a second, but it was all Jack needed. He socked her in the gut, successfully pushing her back.

She gasped at the impact, wincing at the pain on her stomach that she failed to notice Jack grabbing her body and slammed her to the ground. He reached to grab her ears, but the opal-eyed girl rolled away and swiped under his legs. Jack fell back, glaring up at the now standing girl.

"You know you can't beat me." She panted.

Blood was dripping down at the side of her face. The sun was behind her forming a shadow over her eyes giving them a glow. She looked like a predator.

"I know, but he can." He countered.

Before Valerie could decipher his words. She was lifted up again, but this time pinned to the ground.

"Looks like you forgot something, Herbivore." Hot breathe tickled her face as familiar hands kept a firm grip on her.

"A lion always waits for their prey to lower their guard."

________________

"Ughhh, it hurts." Ruggie groaned. He laid on a bed with an ice pack on his stomach.

He and the rest of the Savanclaw students are in the infirmary. Each of them was the victim of the girl's brutal beatings.

"How the hell is someone so tiny is that insanely strong?" The leopard beastman muttered, nursing his jaw.

"The question is, is she even human?" The ocelot commented, bandages covering his body.

Speaking of her...

Valerie hissed when the ghost rubbed a special ointment of her back to heal the swelling. She was behind a curtain, giving her the privacy she needed.

"And there we go, you can put your shirt on and make sure to not put too much strain on yourself, young lady. I heard from the ghosts in Ramshackle you're the reckless type." The ghost gave her a mirthful smile. She chuckled.

"Yeah, I will."

"No, she won't." Grim chimed in.

He sat next to her on the bed and shot the girl a knowing look, to which she laughed nervously.

"I promise, really."

"You better, and you call me troublesome."

"Okay, okay, let's go." She picked him and stepped out of the curtain. She winced a bit when she saw how badly bruised they all looked.

"You really went all out on them." The cat monster commented; almost half of them were covered in bandages and band-aids.

"You know me, I always love a challenge." Her grin was filled with mischief.

She walked up to her favorite Savanaclaw trio. Jack was getting his face treated since she kicked there the most while Leona sat next to Ruggie since he had minor injuries.

"Hey, guys, who are you feeling?" She asked.

"Like a truck ran me over." The hyena retorted. The girl nervously laughed.

"Right, sorry."

"Don't be. You went all out; it's insulting if you didn't." Jack interjected. He hissed when the swab touched his hips lower lip.

"Don't talk, young man." Scolded the ghost.

"You were pretty good out there, Valerie. But you let your guard down too soon. Your lucky it was only training. Otherwise, you would have gotten eaten up." The lion smirked.

"As if I let you." She huffed.

"But, it has been a good experience. Might as well do this again next time." He added.

"Sure, I love to kick your butts and win next time." She gave a devil-like smile.

"Anyway, I have to wash up and head to Heartslyabul." She turned around, only bumped into the beastmen.

"Ah, I'm sorry-" She didn't get to finish when he briskly walked past her. Valerie observed his appearance; he had a pumpkin-colored reptile tail with burgundy fins and bronze horns. His body was wrapped in gauze and had bandages covering his arms.

"Don't take it too personally. He's still not used to being beaten by a woman." Leona spoke up.

"Mm? What do you mean?" The girl was puzzled.

"You see the guys with dragon tails?" He asked. Glancing around, she did notice a few of them. She locked eyes with one, he immediately looked away.

"They're from Cloud Valley; in their culture, women are treated lesser than men, always expected to be submissive, fragile, and obedient. The complete opposite to the women in the Afterglow Savannah." He elaborated.

"So it's a big shocked for them to know such a tiny prey can beat them so easily."

That filled her with pride. Her family raised her to be independent and strong; and above all, never take shit from misogynists.

"Oi! Kemonohito!" A voice boomed. Valerie winced at the frequency of his voice. Everyone's heads turned to see a dragonkin with a scarlet tail and white fins standing in front of her.

"I demand a re-match! Your abilities were just enhanced because your half rabbit. I refuse to acknowledge defeat by a woman!" He boomed.

"Maybe next time." She simply replied.

"Oh? What's this? Already backing down? Expected for a female to be too scared-"

"No. I already have plans this afternoon, not to mention your too injured. The opal-eyed girl interrupted, taking note of his bandaged face and body.

"This is nothing! Fight me!"

"Young man, no shouting." One ghost staff scolded, quickly leading him away from the girl and her monster.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go. See you guys."

________________

Valerie hummed a random tune as she dried her hair. Thanks to Amane giving her his credit card, she was able to buy the things she desperately needed, such has extra cleaning supplies , bathroom necessities and a hair dryer.

Putting the hair dryer down, she examined herself on the mirror. She wore a Heartslyabul uniform, switching out the pants with a pleated thigh length skirt, a white thigh-high on her right leg, a white crew length sock with black diamond pattern on her left and red and white sneakers. She also tied her ears with a black ribbon around them.

"Are you almost done?" Grim lazily drawled. He was sprawled on the bed, his pudgy stomach on display.

"Already am." She answered.

"Good, cause your phone was ringing." He rolled to his left, revealing the girl's phone. Picking it up and opening it to her messages, the sender read 'Braincell 1'

'Yo Val, you and Grim have to walk here by yourselves. Me and chicken boy can't pick you up cause we have an emergency and it requires all dorm members cooperation.'

She texted back

'k'

Picking up her little gremlin, strolled out and headed downstairs.

"Where Ace and Deuce?" questioned Grim.

"They have an emergency which required all dorm members." She answered, walking out of the house.

"Huh, probably something related to food." The cat proclaimed, as he climbed up to her shoulders and draped himself there.

She merely hummed.

They arrived in mirror hall. As she stepped in, Valerie almost got knocked down by a rushing students.

"S-sorry, miss Valerie." He apologized before running again.

Glancing at each other, the Ramshackle duo continued their journey, all the while watching students tripping over their feet looking for something. It wasn't long before they spotted a familiar redhead and bluette by the bushes.

"Damn it, where are they? They couldn't gotten that far." Ace muttered.

"Maybe we should try a different spot." Suggested Deuce.

"Guys?" A feminine voice snapped them out and turned around.

Their eyes bulged out when they saw her ears. A palpable silence overtook them, until...

"Pffftt-"

All eyes turned to Ace as he covered his mouth with right arm, and shaking. Finally he blew up.

"HAHAHAAHA! Oh great seven this hilarious! You're an actual rabbit!" He kept on laughing. Deuce had small blush on his face when he stared at her, she looked like a porcelain doll.

"You know very well I hate those." Valerie monotonous voice rang out. A displeased look covered her face from being compared to an item she hated the most.

Crap, he thought out loud.

"I-I-I'm so sorry!" Deuce bowed, which made Ace laughed louder.

"Its fine." She huffed. "Anyway, what happened? What's the emergency?"

Ace shut up and Deuce tentatively bit his lower lip.

"Its the hedgehogs, they broke out in their cages again. The unbirthday party will start soon and no one has found them yet." The peacock-eyed boy answered.

"Riddle almost lost control when he found out, and its not getting any better." The cherry-eyed boy added.

"I could help." The girl offered. "My ears are practically antennas, and they've been a great help in dealing with Savanaclaw, I think I can find the hedgehogs in no time."

They seem to contemplate her words, before nodding to each other.

"Alright, Princess, we're counting on you." Ace grinned.

The girl gave a mock salute before taking Grim off her and dropping him on Ace. She sprinted away, she picked a small clearing.

Valerie crouched down and closed her eyes. She blocked out the noise surrounding her, focusing on the chitter and footsteps of the hedgehogs. Breathing softly she waited for even the faintest noise.

Instantly her ears twitched, perking a bit she turned to the left. Sprinting off she found a red and blue hedgehogs under a tree. Valerie slowly made her towards them and crouch to their height.

"Hi." She gently called out. Slowly reaching her hand out, it sniffed it before coming near and rubbing itself on it.

"You guys are bunch escape artist huh?" She mused, delicately picking it up. Her ears perked up, catching a faint conversation. Following till she found herself with two mobs.

"M-miss Valerie!" They exclaimed in surprised, especially to her ears.

"Here." She placed them on their hands.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Now if you excuse me, I got more to find."

She did this a few more times: She would listen to the hedgehogs, find them and give them to a nearby Heartslyabul student. So far she found at least 20 or so for half an hour.

Valerie huffed and fanned herself using her shirt, she having a particularly hard time in finding these guys. The tiny things were master on invasion and giving her a good challenge. Inhaling she concentrated once more, walking silently as she did in hopes to hear the better.

Finally, soft rustling in the bushes caught her attention. Nimbly making her way to the source, she pulled it back to to find a red, green and orange hedgehogs staring up at her.

"C'mere." She scooped them up and made her way to the nearest students, whose hair perfectly matched the hedgehogs she's carrying.

They blinked at the sight before them, heat rising to their cheeks at the adorable sight.

"V-Valerie." Riddle stuttered, clearly didn't expect this.

"Yeah, hi." She sheepishly grinned.

"This is an interesting turn of events?" Commented Trey, fixing his gaze on her ears.

"Vally, you look so cute!" The strawberry blonde gushed, taking out his phone and snapping pictures of the girl.

"Haha, thank you Cater." She did cute little poses. Holding the hedgehogs up to her face.

"#Cutie! #Rabbitears #foundthehedgehogs #livinguptothename." He quickly uploaded it.

Riddle quickly regained his composure and took the hedgehogs out of her hands.

"Thank you, Valerie now we can resume the unbirthday party."

"So." Deuce started. "What happened to you?"

After placing the hedgehogs in their cages, everyone was seated on the tables and enjoying the party, and were quite curious of her ears.

The girl summarized on what happened yesterday and this morning. Ace snickered at the end of her explanation.

"Jeez, Val, your a total disaster magnet." He ran his finger on her ears.

"It gets worse when I'm with you guys." She teased.

"Your so mean, Princess!" Ace dramatically placed his hand over his heart, 'hurt' by her words.

"But you look so cute! Look how much likes your photo is getting." The leaf-green eyed male showed her his phone, which was gradually getting likes.

"They don't make you uncomfortable, do they?" Trey asked, as he handed her another strawberry tart. Which she gratefully accepted.

"Besides having more sensitive hearing, I'm good" She replied. She moved her hands up, away from Grim's greedy outstretched paws. Trey handed him a blueberry cheesecake.

"This transformation has been a great help, especially when dealing with Savanaclaw. You should have seen the amount of students I sent in the infirmary." She added with a giggle.

"There was even a dragon there that wanted to challenge her. But he got dragged off." Grim chimed in, taking large bite of his cheesecake.

"A dragon?"

"He brushed off my abilities because of the potion." Just remembering his words gave her a headache.

Ugh, if mom was in Cloud Valley she would have made every man there submit to her.

"But in the end, you still sustain injuries." Riddle interjected, examining her bandaged arm. He sipped his tea as the girl's face flushed.

"T-that's a mistake in my part. I got ahead of myself, I would have still beaten Leona if I had been more aware of my surroundings." Frustration crinkled her eyes, with those ears of hers should would have heard him and at least give him a black eye.

Mom would have scold her for her carelessness.

"Aww, don't make that face Vally; let's just enjoy the party." Cater coaxed bring her and Grim for a selfie, which was soon joined by Ace, Deuce and Trey who grabbed Riddle with him.

"Say cheese!"

________________

"Miss her ears already." Deuce mumbled, as he stared at the girl.

As promised, Crewel gave her the antidote and she reverted back to her normal self. Although, some were beginning to miss her ears.

They just looked so cute on her.

It was P.E and they were doing some warm up stretches. Valerie was just doing splits when a shadow fell over her.

"Kemonohito! Re-match now!"

This guy...

"We're in class. Can we do this later?" She reasoned.

His face twisted in anger, before a whistle blew.

"Alright! I prepared an obstacle course! Whoever reaches the finish line first in the shortest amount of time will receive a plus points!"

One by one the boys took the course, Vargas always saved Valerie for last cause he knows that she might destroy everything.

Vargas focused his gaze on Valerie.

"Kemonohito you're up!"

As she took her position, she examined the field. High walls, mannequins, vaults and beams, perfect for her rabbit self, but it wasn't there anymore. She shook her head, she trained for years, she didn't need it.

The whistle blew

She blurred through the field. Destroying the mannequins and jumping over the high walls with ease. By the time she finished it, she left a path of destruction.

"2:05s! The fastest one yet! Fantastic job, but next time don't destroy everything. Seriously I just got this raise." The man grumbled more as he scribbled on his clipboard.

Meanwhile, her idiot trio stared at her, shock written on their faces. When she walked up to them, they bombarded her with questions.

"How did you do that!?"

"Can you teach me!

"I thought you weren't a rabbit anymore."

All she could do was shrug.

"Maybe I got the leftover DNA. But whatever the case is, I love it."

She had a wide smile on their face, oh this was going to be good.

A/N: Cloud Valley belongs to @phoenix-manga

@poisonapplecakes1312

[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts and Reaction to Gang of Secrets!

I'm very late today at writing this because life ;-; You know it's a bigger episode when they start off with a problem. Ladybug doesn't want to detransform so she's desperate to find reasons to remain Ladybug. I love how the entire time, Chat Noir knows something's wrong and wants to get her to talk about what it is, but she just tries to pretend she's fine. If anything, Chat Noir would probably be the best person to talk to considering everything he's dealt with too both with Kagami and his responsibility as Chat! She could mention that she was seeing someone but they broke up because of her secret, and she could tell him how much being the Guardian's having an affect on her. All perfectly well and good without exposing any identities or things like that with questions for details asked. Instead she puts up a front with him and pretends she's okay in front of him and it's just so sad. :/ I understand why she doesn't, probably because she doesn't want him to know how much she's struggling. But ugh my heart hurts for her. Chat: I know where we can go where we won't have to talk! Ladybug: Yes, take me there Chat! *in the theater* Ladybug: You lead me into a trap. I MEAN HE'S NOT WRONG THOUGH! Not many places you can go where it's okay or encouraged to not talk without there being an awkward silence. But that cracked me UP. Also that casual attempt to wrap his arm around her lolol still hasn't give up, I see. I also find it simultaneously hilarious and extremely depressing that Ladybug's ranting like that in the theater because of a romance movie. When your heart is broken, that's probably the last thing you want to be doing. And Chat Noir yanking her down asking that she be quiet 😂 Literally just rants her entire love life out for everyone including Chat to hear in that theater. CHAT NOIR, YOU BETTER BE LISTENING BECAUSE SHE'S TALKING ABOUT ADRIEN HERE "She takes a long time to tell him and stutters and blah blah blah" lol sound familiar, sunshine? If anything please have him recall this later and be like, wait, didn't Ladybug say girls stutter around a guy when she likes him? BAM. Then he's off on his path towards Marinette. I can dream. Ladybug: And how do you know if he loves her? IMPOSSIBLE. Adrien: No, Marinette couldn't possibly be in love with me. *eyetwitch* But at the end of the day. This is Marinette ranting to Adrien about how she had to give up on Adrien and then couldn't make things work with Luka because of her secret. Ooof. And poor Chat having to apologize for everyone because Ladybug's disturbing them XDD THE GIRL SAVES EVERYBODY'S LIVES PRACTICALLY EVERY DAY AND THEY'RE PISSED SHE'S RUINING A MOVIE THEY CAN JUST REWATCH? 😂 She's clearly having a hard time right now, c'mon people! Chat can tell she has a broken heart. This boy is so sweet. He wants her to at least admit that and talk about it so she can feel better but you know, Ladybug's stubborn. I WANT TO GO SWIMMING LET'S GO SWIMMING CHAT, WOO HOOOOOO! Ladybug acting like Chat to hide her pain just like how Chat acts like Chat to hide his pain. YOU KNOW WHAT, IT'S FINE. :') It doesn't matter how much pain she's dealing with, those pictures mean too much to her to remove them. x3 Thanks Juleka for showing us how sad Luka is now, that's very helpful. Marinette's been going into the bathroom at school to cry, and then had planned stupid looking glasses to hide her tears so people wouldn't have to know she's cried because wearing a ridiculous pair of glasses that's embarrassing is better than being asked what's wrong. Because the pain I feel for her wasn't already enough. Ugh I adore Trixx. Trixx being the voice of reason when Tikki's not there, trying to help and letting her know that Tikki may need to rest too when she's so upset it doesn't cross her mind. And the tears in her eyes when she apologizes to Tikki for not thinking of her like she should. ;-; SO MUCH PAIN. OH DANG Alya was literally a second away from seeing a detransforming Marinette lol But she did say DETRANSFORMATION or well in the English dub it'll be "Spots

off" I love Rose, she's really sweet. and considerate But she also shouldn't be touching things in others rooms like that. I never liked it when my friends went around my room touching stuff. Also didn't help that a couple of them stole from me... but it's just not a cool thing to do. Would've probably ended up much better had she not had to desperately hide an exposed Miracle Box. But then we wouldn't have had what happens so it's all good c: Marinette saying she doesn't want to be friends with the girls anymore

It hit Alya deep. Everyone else is like *le gasp* but her eyes all shrunken like that, you can tell it really got to her hard.

This entire exchange right here. Alya's glance at her in the first picture is piercing, like I can feel that OOF feeling in my chest when I see it. The new music dramatizes it so well that a lot of people probably didn't pay attention to it the first time around. Can we just appreciate how these animators got all these emotions so right and did such a good job animating everything for us? And those that work on the music too? Everything's so spot on. Marinette's red-rimmed eyes is so well done. "No, it can't end like this!" Awww Alix getting super upset too x3 I honestly think Alix could be the next one.... you know what I mean BUT I'll wait until the end to talk about it. Trixx pulling a Plagg and rescuing Marinette! x3 I seriously love Trixx, I really do. I know the other Kwami's got mad, but if he hadn't done that it would've been disaster, probably. And the episode wouldn't have ended how it did! And Plagg knowing it was Trixx who caused the Eiffel Tower to be all weird xD Why do I get the feeling the relationship between Trixx and Plagg would be like that of Chat Noir and Rena Rouge? And I want to point out, we got 7 whole seconds of Adrien again! Aren't we lucky? The last time we got so little of Adrien in an episode was when we had his parallel episode Lies. I don't think that'll happen this time but I do hope it means more Adrien later on. Ladybug: They're after Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Chat Noir: Okay but remember everybody likes her (so don't go thinking she's a bad person for causing their akumatizations) Yes, I read between the lines. Ladybug being able to get through to Lady Wifi and have her deakumatize herself was absolutely amazing! I know Chloe was the first to fight off being akumatized but once you're akumatized it's obviously extremely hard to break. That says a lot about Alya. "Because you're an incredible friend, Ladybug." One, AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Two, did you notice the little jerk of her head, gesturing to Ladybug like that when she said it?? It's the little details guys that make this so good. 😍 "Chat Noir, nooooo!" Guys, we got our tiny little Marichat scene! It's not actually real, but still! (okay but why do I also get this really weird feeling like something like this may end up being real later?) Alya giving Ladybug that hug 😭 Marinette has such good, supportive friends. I love them all. x.x YES THANK YOU. Alya's finally realizing there are more things going on with her than just boys. One of the things that's always irked me since Chameleon is that any issue Marinette has, be it with Lila or otherwise, she always assumes it has to do with Adrien. Of course, at the time she didn't know she was Ladybug but she should've still listened and realized there's something else up. But now she finally is noticing and I love how she was going to respect her regardless and not push. Pushing has always been one of Alya's characteristics, but she knew whatever it was was something too big and serious to push her on. "Marinette, I'm your best friend, and I always will be." 😭😭😭 This episode brought me so close to tears so many times. Marinette admitting she's keeping secrets, lying to everyone. Admitting that that's why she draws a line between her and Adrien, and why her and Luka didn't work out. Alya saying however heavy it is, they'll carry it together (MY HEART) And then Marinette saying "If I tell you, things between us will never be the same. It's going to destroy everything, change it all." It sounds like this girl is thinking about Chat Blanc and oop there's the sound of my heart breaking again. So much paaaain. "Je suis Ladybug." YESSSSSSS Why they had to leave it off on a cliffhanger But YESSSSSSS First, the expressions she had flash on her face, the gasp 😮, then the expression like she's trying to get her mind to process. Then if you notice, Marinette gives a little nod, as if letting her know that it's true. Then the way her eyebrows furrow and pulls her into the hug as she understands all that she has on her shoulders as that music plays. I'm getting

emotional just writing this. 😭 This episode is just so amazingly good in so many ways, I don't think I can actually cover it all. I'm very impressed. I've loved nearly every episode this show has put out, even those that a lot of people seem to hate. But this one, I don't see how this could actually be hated if you're trying to think of everything that happened from Marinette's point of view, her thoughts, feelings, struggles, depression. I will say, personally I hoped Chat Noir would learn who Ladybug is first. He's been such a good partner, very thoughtful, always putting his life on the line. He's also been dealing with a lot of the same struggles. I felt like he deserved to know first. However, this isn't about who deserves what, it's about what Marinette needs. It's not that she doesn't want to tell him who she is! Don't misunderstand. There are many times throughout the past 3 seasons where she wants to or regrets not being able to. But now, Chat Blanc's in her mind. She knows what could happen if she tells him with Hawk Moth still there, so she can't do it. So instead, she tries to pretend in front of him that she's fine even though talking to him about everything would help and fix so much. In her mind, that's not an option. I just hope that when he finds out she told someone else first, he doesn't think that she doesn't trust him enough to tell him. Next I thought maybe Alix. That way it'd be more understandable to Chat that she'd know, after all future Bunnyx clearly knows and said to Ladybug that she chose her because she's capable of keeping secrets (notice how Alya said that to Ladybug in the alley? I bet Alix will find out in the near future. Maybe not this season, but she'll find out.) But that's for another time. But now Alya knows! Her best friend, the one to have her back and will no doubt have it even more so now! Watch out, Lila. Alya doesn't hold back so I can imagine how vicious she could be to her (and I can't wait). And that brings up a very interesting thought. Alya will realize Adrien has been the only one to have her back in Lila situations. Why would he do that, hmm? When everyone else was so sure Lila's an angel and Marinette must be bad for saying anything negative about her. Journalist Alya, incoming! There's also the matters of Alya bringing up Marinette's feelings for Chat Noir because duh, everybody can see how much she loves him! There are even photos of them kissing, one of which happened in front of Alya's own eyes! Though affected by an akuma, they all know that kiss didn't happen because of it. And of course, Alya has brought up twice in the show so far that Adrien and Chat Noir could be the same person. And last time Alya said that neither of them could be Ladybug and Chat Noir. Except, she's now found out that Marinette is Ladybug. So maybe Adrien could after all be Chat Noir. I look forward to seeing how their new dynamic is. I wonder how this affects their relationship with the other girls. And I'm most curious about how Nino and Adrien may react to this change. I thought during Truth and Lies both that their best friends were going to find out about their breakups. Gang of Secrets was Alya finding out. Even though I feel like another parallel episode is just wishful thinking, I can't help but think it may be a possibility. Nino and the boys are going to wonder what's up with Adrien too. They're going to wonder why he's not with Kagami anymore so suddenly. So what if i the end, Chat Noir ends up telling Nino? I could see it, if this takes place shortly after Gang of Secrets, where she tells Chat that she's confided her identity in a very close friend and somehow they agree that he can tell someone too that he trusts to make it fair. It'd be an amazing way to exercise Ladybug's trust in Chat Noir too. Then we'd have both Alya and Nino in on it, keeping their best friend's secrets for them without knowing about the other one. Oh that'd be so beautiful! And also let them keep their Miraculouses too after the charms are given to them and Alya has the ability to break

free after being akumatized. I adore Rena and Carapace so much I'd be ecstatic if they kept them. 😭 Anyway, so much potential can come out of this episode and I honestly cannot wait until episode 4!!

[fallout-drabbles-n-stuff]

Hello! Hope you're doing great! I love your blog ❤️

I was wondering how romanced and non-romanced companions would react to Sole being ass grabbed without their consent by a random dude. Thank you!

Romanced (❤️) and Non-Romanced (✨)

Cait:

❤️-

“Oi- look here for a sec..”

Unlike how some may assumed she would act, she would first sneak up on the asshole- waiting until he turned and gave her a nasty sneer before swiftly swinging her fist and making contact with a *crack* to the son of a bitch’s stupid nose. However once Cait got ahold to something, she doesn’t really let go. One punch wouldn’t be enough- this asshole just assaulted you- right in front of her face! Before she knew it, she had reduced the sick fuck into a groaning, swollen pile of bruises and blood. She just couldn’t stop.

✨-

“Hey dickface! I fuckin’ saw that!”

Flashes of the sleazy raiders she knew too well would be the first thing that came to mind- sending cool shivers of terror all throughout her body.

That’s when the adrenaline kicked in.

She’d still beat their ass, whether you like it or not.

Curie:

❤️-

“Excusez-moi, i don’t believe that is proper behavior- oh never mind, I doubt you even comprehend what proper means...”

She wouldn’t outright hurt someone- but damn, she sure wanted to then. Instead of doing it though, she just got all up in the man’s face, sticking her finger in his chest and telling him off. Much alike Tinkerbelle if you squint.

✨-

Kind of the same thing here tbh. I just don’t foresee Curie being the type to be excessively violent.

Danse:

❤️-

“What twisted thought made you think you had the right to do that? No- actually there isn’t anything you could say that would justify violating someone..”

Yes, Danse is composed- but no, he would not just sit idly by and watch someone do such a thing to his love. His automatic reflex is to go into protective mode, which involved him promptly shoving the man away from you- letting the perpetrator fall to the ground- only to pick him back up by the collar of his shirt and practically seethe and he confronted him. Had he not been in the right state and fear causing a too big of a scene- he just might’ve roughed the man up worse.

✨-

“That was an extremely poor decision, civilian.”

Similar to a romanced Danse, he would still be hella

Protective over you. Instead of letting his heart speak too much though- he’d simply grab the little shit and pull him aside, giving him a harsh glare and the promise of being crushed by a power armour boot.

Deacon:

❤️-

“Like how that feels, dickbag? Didn’t think so..”

Instead of causing a huge scene by slitting his throat, Deacon smoothly pressed into the man from behind- his hands leaving an imprinted bruise from how harshly he grabbed the man. It caused said man to yell and turn- but he didn’t do anything- he understood. As a matter of fact, he would shamefully apologize to you, silently pleading for you to tell your lover to stop violating him as well.

✨-

“See? Now we’re all uncomfortable..”

Unlike his demonstration shown above, Deacon would go for the more mild “return ass grab”. A quid pro quo, an uno reverse card if you will. Who even knows how to respond to that? No one. It just leaves the whole lot of you with a mural feeling of discomfort and awkwardness where usually rage and violation would’ve taken place.

Gage:

❤️-

“Shit, betcha wished you would’ve done something else- huh? Just think about it this way, now you can go into early retirement with your little situation..”

Gage is ruthless.

As soon as the man laid a hand on you- as soon as he saw the look of fear and embarrassment that graced your face..he grabbed the poor sack of shit’s hand and cut it off- leaving him to bleed and cry out. Most likely to die..after all, no one would dare help the man that just tried to cop a feel on the boss.

✨-

“Wrong move, shit stain. *chuckle*, Get ‘em boss.”

He’ll intervene if you do nothing- but honestly Gage just wants to see how you punish the man. Best you set a good example.

Hancock:

❤️-

“You know, it takes a special person to do that...*chuckle*.”

You remember what he did to that man that tried to distort you? That was before he fell in love with you- so what I want you to do is take that event and triple the brutality. It’s exactly that.

✨-

“....damn, think I’ve got a little something on my shirt.”

Again- he stabbed a bitch just for fucking with y-

Macready:

❤️-

“Are you serious? I’ll give you the count to ten, best start running- I’m pretty good at long range target practice.”

It would take every fiber of his being not to beat the man’s face in with the butt of his rifle...so making his life easier and not risking sitting in jail, Mac just threatens the man and proceeds to load his gun.

✨-

“Haha, Youre so funny- bet you get all the ladies by showing them how small your cock is without them even having to see it.”

Have you ever notice how mean Macready can be? Well, now you can hear it for yourself. The man such words were directed too would likely try to beat Mac up for saying it- which by doing so Mac would have no problem whopping him. Remember, he’s scrappy.

Maxson:

❤️&✨-

“I assume you enjoy having hands, correct? If so, I advise you to get as far away as humanely possible this instant.”

Had he been any other person, Maxson would’ve surely knocked teeth out- but seeing as he was so painfully aware of the reputation he must uphold, he restrained himself. If the man was someone in the brotherhood though, he would show no mercy- being court martialed for sexually assaulting a higher ranking officer would be the least of the perpetrators worried.

Nick:

❤️-

“How dare you..?”

Nick is thankfully a very well thought out and morally unquestionable individual. Thus being said, he will do everything within his power to make the man who touched his lover in such a horrid way pay. He may not kill them..but who ever said that death or being beaten is the worst thing to happen to a person? Regardless, remember ghat Nick has connections with the fallout version of the mafia.

✨-

“Dontcha got a better place for that hand?”

Even though he might’ve seemed a little too calm, Nick would be sure to shoo off the perpetrator and have him dealt with later.

Preston:

❤️&✨-

“Look you piece of trash- I don’t know what ever made you think you can just do whatever you want, but there are consequences for being so stupid.”

Despite his peaceful and gentle way of being- Preston would have absolutely no problem throwing hands with someone who threatened the General of the Minutemen.

X6-88:

❤️-

“.....”

Have I mentioned that X6 is borderline obsessive? Have I also mentioned that he can be entirely ruthless? Hope so- because someone sexually assaulting you is a sure fire way for a bullet to find its way into their head with absolutely no hesitation. He wouldn’t even flinch as the blood sprays and soils his clothes- only seeming phased and slightly annoyed whenever he had to take his shades off and clean the gore.

I don’t advise that you reprimand him for such eggless behavior either.

✨-

“Why did you do that?”

Although he was calm, his words soft like rain- the actions that followed shortly thereafter were anything but relaxed. As soon as the man turned to mouth off and say it was “just a joke”, X6 grabbed his hand and squeezed- watching as the appendage turned red and the poor assailant turned victim tried to desperately get away. Poor thing- he wasn’t going to go until he provided an answer that X6 accepted.

Trick is- nothing would satisfy the brutal, still man.

[atiny-dazzlinglight]

Red Strings of Fate - Chapter 3

Genre: Fantasy, Fluff, Angst, Slight Humor, Romance

Rating: PG-13

Au/Tropes: Supernatural AU, Demons AU, Monster AU

Pairing: No pairing, Eventual OT8

WC: 14.9K

Chapter Warnings: Symptoms of PTSD mentioned, Jealousy, Manipulation, Implied Smut (at the end but no graphic details)

Ao3 Link

Notes: As I said in the last chapter notes, we are back into Hongjoong’s pov and we are continuing from where we last left off. So please enjoy!

Taglist located at the bottom. Fill out this form if you want to be added.

Last Adventure☜︎☜︎ Next Adventure☞︎☞︎

Hongjoong eyes widened as he felt the other male bring his arms in front of him, stretching them both out in front of him.

He watched the prince’s hand touch the hilt of his sword and that’s when Hongjoong squirmed.

“ I asked a question. Your left hand or your right hand?” He drew his sword closer as he bent down.

“ Please! Don’t do this! I do anything else! Just don’t cut off either of my hands.” Hongjoong pleads, his heart beating fast and damn near in his throat. He hasn’t felt this type of fear since Liam and Elijah. His body started to feel numb as Seonghwa sat there as he decided which hand he wanted to cut.

Hongjoong squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to think of something other than the fact that he’ll be losing a hand. The advisor was holding his forearms firmly and out the way as his sword hovered before selecting his left hand.

Seonghwa nearly brought the sword down and through the flesh and bone of his wrist when he stopped. The faintness of aura seeped into the air and had his body hesitate. It was nothing great from the array of beings he dealt with before, but it’s more so the fact of that type of malicious aura coming from a human.

The prince used his free hand to lift Hongjoong’s chin, “ What are you?”

Hongjoong was confused as he looked up at is blue eyes, “ What?”

“ Don’t try to lie to me. I asked you what you are?” He watched his brows get furrow, clearly a tad annoyed from his first answer.

“ I’m a human.”

“ Don’t lie to me.” Seonghwa grit through his teeth as Hongjoong shook his head back and forth.

“ I swear! I’m just a human man who has human parents and average human strength. There is nothing else to me. A simple peasant boy and nothing more!” Hongjoong yelled at him, his voice firm as he felt his head get pushed down near the ground.

“ Watch your tone.” The man above him said as Hongjoong tried to shake his hand off of him.

Seonghwa had glanced at his advisor. Hongjoong watches them have a silent conversation through their eyes for a minute before Hongjoong gets pulled up off the ground and made to stand on his feet. The bag he stole snatched off his hip as he watched the prince hang it from his belt.

He walked past Hongjoong, and the shorter male watched him before he shoved him to follow. The brown-haired elf gave him a look when he turned around. Hongjoong huffed as he just followed him, knowing very well that he can’t outrun them again. His legs were still screaming at him due to their soreness.

Hongjoong walked through the less crowded area that he ran through just some moments ago. He looked around at the brick structures, covered with vines, a few flowers blooming that he didn’t notice before that he found pretty.

“Don’t even think about trying to escape from us again.” He heard the elf behind him say as he turned his head behind to look at him.

“ Can I have your name?” Hongjoong asked, and he can tell that he threw the wood elf off. His brows raised enough to give himself away.

“Why would you want to know?”

“Well, it’s annoying to try and talk to someone without addressing them with at least a name. I was raised better than that.” Hongjoong watched the man’s face before he slowly opened his mouth.

“It’s Yeosang.”

“Well, Yeosang, I would like to tell you that I have no plans to escape because my legs are still screaming at me even now as we walk, so no, I don’t plan on escaping,” Hongjoong spoke, watching him all the same as he noticed they made it back to the Main Street of where he first ran from them.

Hongjoong watched the prince head back to the stands, and when Hongjoong went to follow, his shoulder was gripped tightly and turned in the opposite direction.

“I thought we were following the prince,” Hongjoong asked as he forced him to go in the direction of a carriage, opening the door to move him inside. He watched the elf say something to the driver before getting in himself and shutting the door.

“ We will be staying here until the young prince comes back from finishing his errands he was supposed to do before you foolishly stole from him.” Yeosang spat out, obviously still passed that he had to bring him here.

“Again, I am sorry for what I did, but I truly needed the money.” Hongjoong watched as that only made the other man more upset.

“You don’t have to steal from people to gain money. There are always other options. It’s the lowest of lows to steal from others.” Yeosang criticized him, and it slowly started to make him irritated.

“You know I have been trying to get a regular job since I traveled here three years ago. I did everything I could for a job and was denied every second I tried. I was forced to be homeless for six months, and I still struggle to find a solid job, even after someone was kind enough to offer me a home. I wasn’t raised to steal by my parents, but when the people and the city are so unforgiving to me every chance they get, am I supposed to accept it?”

Yeosang wasn’t expecting him to speak to him like that, and he tried his best not to have that shred of pity for him show on his face, “ Everyone has a hard time at some point in their lives. You haven’t seen anyone steal here.”

Hongjoong scoffed, and it made Yeosang turn his attention back to him, “ Just because you don’t hear or see anything doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. I’ve seen plenty of them because we can all recognize each other.”

“It’s not that many of them. There’s always a group of bad people in a sea of good.” Yeosang rebuked, but Hongjoong was quick to respond.

“The line between good and evil and what is right and wrong can be blurred, and if you work in that damn castle, then you should know that very well. Not all the people who steal are bad because they have to choose to steal to make ends meet simply. If stealing were such an issue, there would have been reports about such, yet they never make a fuss because what’s pocket change to you is a fortune for us. Our values and lifestyles are the opposite of each other, so just because you can’t fathom the idea doesn’t mean you are right.”

Hongjoong didn’t care how reckless his tongue was. He wasn’t going to let some uppity wood elf, who only knows how to kiss the ass of the rich that has gold endlessly, fall into their hands. He can royally fuck off.

He saw it in his face.

He saw that he wanted to argue back with him, and he was ready for him to, but then the door of the carriage opened to reveal the prince holding a few things. He looked between the two of them with a raised brow.

“ Was there something that I missed?” He asked, looking at Yeosang, waiting for a response.

Yeosang gave him another look before turning back to the prince, “ Everything is fine. Do you need any help?”

Seonghwa nodded, passing the flowers and bags of fruit to Yeosang, telling the driver to head back to the castle before climbing inside next to Yeosang. Hongjoong felt the carriage move as he huffed.

He should have just listened to Eden. He told him not to get too greedy, or he would deal with the consequences.

But what else was he supposed to do?

Eden stuck his neck out to help him instead of living on the street for the rest of his life. Eden started by stealing until he could have enough to open his tavern. Since then, he had a simple life, and even when following the proper protocols, the city takes most of his earnings and barely has enough for his expenses.

He even makes sure to feed him and make sure that he’s well-nourished and is clean.

All he wanted to do was give the man that helped him start a new life after being forced to start over again, and he couldn’t even do that.

Hongjoong didn’t want to look sad in the carriage with the two elves, but the shift in his demeanor and facial expressions didn’t go unnoticed by the prince that stayed silent.

Seonghwa couldn’t wrap his head around what gave off that malevolent energy from the supposedly human male. It didn’t look like he could use magic, and he gives off no type of physical distinctions of being nonhuman. So what could it be?

He couldn’t help his c,urious nature about it. He hasn't come across someone like him, and he just had to figure it out for himself before he disposed of him.

The carriage stopped and Yeosang was quick to open the door for the prince and Hongjoong tried his hardest not to roll his eyes at his eagerness. The Prince stepped out first, and Hongjoong followed after Yeosang retrieved the purchases they made in town.

Hongjoong eyes scanned the massive structure in front of him, eyes glancing at the fountain in front of the building, slowly walking along the perimeter, mouth slightly agape.

He has always seen the manor from the tavern, and it was always quite beautiful from there, but seeing it in person was something different.

It was elegant and refined. It was truthfully exquisite, curious and Hongjoong found himself angry that he would have dreamed of something like this.

“If you're done daydreaming, follow me,” Yeosang said, making the smaller man turned to him. They both started to walk inside, and Hongjoong rushed to follow behind them, ignoring the side glances that the guards had given him.

The walls were massive, ceilings high with the sun gleaming on the stained glass from the colorful windows above them. Paintings of other high elves mounted on the wall that Hongjoong admired before he nearly bumped into the back of Yeosang.

He watched Seonghwa walk away down the hall, hair flowing behind him as Hongjoong found him watching the prince's body get smaller before he was plucked in the center of his forehead. Looking up, he saw the wood elf scowl at him.

“ Follow me, and don’t you dare try any unnecessary crap.” He scolds, and he ticked Hongjoong off for how he acted towards him.

“ I’ll follow if you tell me where exactly we are going.”

“ I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“ Then I’ll stay right here in this hall.” Hongjoong moved to the wall before sitting down on the floor, enjoying the irritated look on his face.

“ By the Gods, why are you humans so damn difficult?” He berated and it made Hongjoong give a dry laugh.

“ By the Gods, why are wood elves so damn stuck up?” Hongjoong retorted with a smile as he watched him get angrier, “ I promise I can be such an easy guest here and for you, but if you continue to be such a prick to me, I’ll make everything worse for you.”

Yeosang walked over to him and reached for his arm, pulling him up, “ I promise that I’ll cut your tongue off with my sword if you keep running your mouth like this.”

“ If you or the prince wanted to do something, you two would have done that by now. But instead, you brought me here. I don’t know why you both had brought me here against my will, but I do know that if he didn’t tell you to do anything to me, then you can’t.” Hongjoong shook out of his grip as they both stared at each other, “ Now start treating me with some common decency and then this can be easier for us both.”

Yeosang looked at the man up and down, thinking over what he said before mumbling something that Hongjoong couldn’t hear and walking away from the human, “ Just follow me to the living quarters.”

Hongjoong taking his time to follow behind him, a few feet behind him as he stared into the back of the wood elf’s head, “ Why am I going to the living quarters?”

“ Would you prefer the dungeon instead? You living with the other servants of the family sounds too generous in my eyes.” Yeosang looked over and nearly laughed as Hongjoong quickly shook his head, “ So, as I said, that is where I am taking you for now.”

Hongjoong was confused. He tried to steal from the prince and he didn’t lose any limbs. The dungeon would be the most appropriate place for him to be, but he will stay around the other workers who also live in this massive estate. It didn’t make sense to him, and it made him a bit uneasy since he feels that there’s an ulterior motive for doing this.

Hongjoong was led far down the corridor, passing other workers that greeted them and waved at Yeosang or ask him for quick advice that he happily answered. He could tell that they all looked up to the elf and valued his input. Yeosang also looked genuinely happy and satisfied to help them. So maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t as bad as Hongjoong seemed.

Yet again, the harsh behavior could be due to his sticky fingers grabbing the heavy bag of gold and running away when they gave him a chance to return it with no issues.

“ This will be your room until the prince says otherwise.” Yeosang pushed a door open and stepped to the side to let Hongjoong step inside. Hongjoong quietly walked inside, mouth slightly open as he looked at the beautiful room. He walked around the bed, admiring its size as Yeosang watched him from the door. Hongjoong hand touched the sheets and was amazed by how soft they were.

Hongjoong felt like this room cost way more than his life and his next two lives too.

He’s never been in such a place before and he couldn’t help but be stunned by its elegance.

“ Thank you.” Hongjoong’s voice was low, but Yeosang heard him, a tad intrigued by his reactions.

“ If you plan to thank anyone, then thank the prince when he comes by the room. Stay in this room until he comes back and tells you what you can and cannot do. I have other tasks to take care of, so I will be leaving you here alone. However, that doesn’t mean that you can do anything stupid and try to escape. If you try to leave, I will personally come after you myself. Do I make myself clear?” Hongjoong nodded as Yeosang spoke to him.

Hongjoong watched Yeosang close the door and his footsteps leading down the hall before it got quiet.

Hongjoong let out a deep sigh as he took his boots off as he looked around the room, his toes wiggling in the plush carpet underneath his feet as he never felt something this soft. He wondered what animal the fur came from.

He pushed it all to his mind as he walked around the perimeter of the room, hands dragging across the wooden dressers.

He pulled open the drawers to find some clothes sitting inside. He wasn’t sure if he should touch them or not. He doesn't want to give the tawny-haired elf any type of motivation to yell at him. Not that he cared, but more so that he didn’t feel like dealing with that.

So Hongjoong silently walked back to the bed and hesitantly sat down on its expensive sheets. They were soft to his touch. Fingers gliding with ease as he somewhat became enthralled with the material that he never experienced before. It was then that he decided to lay down on the bed completely.

He felt his body slightly sink into it, almost welcoming him with such ease that he closed his eyes for a minute.

Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know how long he would be able to touch such luxury. He exhaled before inhaling the strong smell of fresh cotton from the bed, and Hongjoong felt his aching muscles from running sigh along with him.

He would do anything to be with Eden and laugh around with the patrons of his tavern because that’s his home, but he can’t help but wish to be entangled in this lifestyle just a bit longer.

The moment Hongjoong’s body started to quiet down and convince him to relax in this unfamiliar place, the door opened suddenly, and it made him open his eyes and immediately sit up in the bed.

He greeted him with the face of the prince, who happened to be alone this time. You couldn’t see Yeosang at all from where he sat, and he didn’t see him in the hall either before he shut the door behind him.

It was quiet.

Both of them were staring at each other. Hongjoong, not knowing what to expect from the prince, sat back near the headboard of the large bed. Seonghwa's eyes were piercing him as it felt like he was planning something that Hongjoong had no idea of.

“ It’s good to see that you got comfortable enough for a nap here, but now I have business to talk to you about.” His tone was harsh, and Hongjoong knew that he better pay attention to what he had to say. “First off, I’ll introduce myself. I am the first prince of Crescent Hill and next in line to the throne, Park Seonghwa. What is yours?”

Hongjoong swallowed before answering him, “K-Kim Hongjoong.”

“So Kim Hongjoong is the name of the man who was foolish enough to steal from me in broad daylight?” Seonghwa started as he walked away from the door and made his way to the center of the room. Hongjoong’s eyes following him the whole time he moved, “ But this is now besides that point of you being a petty thief.”

“Then what is this about?” Hongjoong asked him as he adjusted himself on the bed. Hongjoong admiring his side profile before he stopped his pacing and turned his head in his direction.

“ What did I ask you out in the alleyway?” Seonghwa hinted at and watched Hongjoong rake up his brain for the answer before looking back up at the high elf.

“ You had asked me what I was?”

“ And I still need an answer to the question.” Seonghwa turned his body to face him completely.

Hongjoong huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, “ I did give you an answer. Whether you find the answer I gave earlier efficient enough is a problem for you and not myself.”

It was then that Seonghwa crossed the room very quickly and had slammed his hand beside Hongjoong’s head on the headboard. It startled Hongjoong enough to jump and stare up at the prince with wide eyes. His blonde brows were furrowed and his eyes were sharp.

“ You may have human strength and some human agility, but your aura says differently. I know I’m not wrong in this.” Seonghwa argued and he saw the confusion in Hongjoong’s expression once more.

“ What is an aura?” He questioned, a slight tilt of his head as he waited for an answer from him.

“ Aura is this very distinctive atmosphere that surrounds and is generated by a person, place, and thing. Whether it is small or big, there’s some type of aura surrounding everything around us. So that also includes humans, but usually, it’s a tiny amount of aura that’s produced from them, and they are all generally the same.” He explains in great detail as Hongjoong listens.

“ So, what is the problem with my aura?” Hongjoong looked up at the elf, now curious in his reasonings.

“ Despite it being faint, I sensed such evil and tainted aura coming from you that wouldn’t be possible for a regular human to generate. As much as history knows, it’s completely unheard, yet here you are.” Seonghwa gritted through his teeth, and it made Hongjoong glance down.

None of this made any sense to him. He was strictly human and nothing less.

How could he be walking around with a ‘tainted’ aura like this?

It made his head spin as the back of his head rested against the headboard. Seonghwa pulled his face away but was still fairly close as he sat down on the bed. He was still staring at him when he looked up.

“ I seriously don’t know how to answer your assumptions about me. I was born by human parents and was surrounded by nothing but humans for the most part. I wouldn’t know how this could happen.” Hongjoong’s eyes were cast down, still lost in thought as Seonghwa tried to think of some possible explanation.

“ You said you were surrounded by humans ‘ for the most part.’ So I can assume that you are around other beings besides them. If that is true, then can you tell me what type of species you commonly stayed around.”

Hongjoong gave an empty laugh as he looked back up at the prince, a look of agitation in his eyes, “ My old home had a small number of nonhumans who lived there peacefully, but there was a pair of demons who decided to make my life a living hell because I stopped them from hurting someone.”

Hongjoong crossed over his chest as he chewed on his bottom lip as he thought about, “ It was always stupid things and nothing serious, but the last time, they crossed the line and hurt me real bad.”

His mind flashed to that brutal beating. He heard their morphed voices and laughter echoing in his head until it overlapped, and he wanted to leave his mind. He was hearing Ava screaming for them to stop and to leave him alone. He was feeling incapable of breathing since he got slammed down. Remembering how weak he felt, how tiny he truly felt, and how hopeless he felt.

Seonghwa watched the look of pain and terror rise to his face, and it took him by surprise. The smaller male was squeezing his arms so tightly that he could see his blunt nails slowly dig into his skin. He could see him holding his breath and never exhaling.

“ Kim Hongjoong?” He questioned, hesitantly reaching forward to tap his leg.

Hongjoong was so deep in the nightmare replaying in his head that when he felt something touch him, he jumped back. Panicked, he looked forward and realized who was in front of him.

Wasn’t he in the alley?

“ Are you okay?” Seonghwa grew concerned for him. He knows nothing of what those demons did to him, but for them to cause a reaction like this from just thinking back to it.

Hongjoong finally took a deep breath and released his hold on his arms as they fell to his sides. He couldn’t find the strength to look up at him after all of that. His hand reached up to wipe away the tears that almost threatened to fall in front of the prince. It made him angry with himself.

Hongjoong didn’t want to show this man his weaknesses, but I’m guessing he couldn’t control himself as his mind had spiraled out of control. But maybe it had brought some clarification to him.

He was a human, but his aura was ‘supposedly’ evil.

Hongjoong had finally looked up at Seonghwa, who was patiently waiting for him to respond to him, “ Could aura be transferred to another person?”

Seonghwa brought up his hand to rest his chin in, “ Most of the time, beings that can control their auras usually place them on valuables or their territories, so no one bothers them. I haven’t heard of them placing their auras on other people.”

Could that explain everything? It could be the reason why it is so faint and why most people wouldn’t notice it. But again, what if he is just trying to trick him into escaping? Seonghwa doesn't think that he is that much of a fool, but he did steal from him.

Seonghwa looked back up at the man, “ When did that situation happen?”

Hongjoong ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to calm himself down slowly, “ I was 18 when it happened, and I’m 21 now.”

“ That sounds more than just aura. Do you regularly hang around such demons?” Seonghwa questioned him, watching his body finally ease itself against the wooden bed frame.

“ Demons and nonhumans never really scared me before, even after that incident. I haven’t been around any of them since I was here, but then again, some kinds hide in plain sight, and I wouldn’t know. Does aura not stay attached for that long?” Hongjoong tilted his head, and it made him look more childlike to the prince.

“ It’s unheard of as far as my knowledge, but I’ll figure that out for myself,” Seonghwa stood up from the bed and walked back to the center of the room, “ Because of my need to learn and comprehend everything, I want to figure out the mystery of this dark aura that surrounds you. You’ll be under surveillance for as long as that takes. I won’t bind you to this room and you're allowed to walk throughout the premises and you will be fed and bathed. Try and escape and I will put you down and just examine your corpse if need be. Do you understand, Kim Hongjoong?”

“ B-but what about my life outside of here? I can’t just stay here!”

Hongjoong is grateful that they aren’t killing him or taking any limbs from him, but he would rather be back in the tavern with Eden and the rest of the tavern’s patrons.

“ You should have thought about that before you committed the deeds that you did. Try if you must, but it would only result in death.” Seonghwa gave him a stern look. He knew he was serious.

Hongjoong couldn’t just run like how he did in town. This was a heavily guarded place with trained guards. He was royally screwed.

“ Oh, before I forget,” Seonghwa watched the smaller man process his words as he walked back to the door before looking over his shoulder. A grin that gave no sense of calm to Hongjoong’s nerves

“ Welcome to the Park Estate, Kim Hongjoong. I do hope you enjoy your stay.”

THREE WEEKS LATER

Several days had passed since he was invited ( very much forced) to stay in the royal family’s estate who ruled over the town he lived in.

It was honestly better than what he had initially imagined. The staff was told that he was new help, so he simply joined in with some of their duties.

With him joining with the help, he traveled throughout the massive home and had a bit of an idea of where everything was.

The left side of the estate was where the King and his family, meaning Seonghwa, lived. Some higher-up employees, such as Yeosang and some generals in charge of warriors, stayed there as well. There were some standard rooms like the study, the library, and meeting halls, but he knows nothing as far as anything else.

The center of the estate is where the main hall room was located and the kitchen and a few other rooms that he didn't know about. He only passes some of these rooms because he has to go clean some of these areas.

The right side of the estate was where he and the other staff members lived. Everyone had a bedroom, storage, and bathrooms, while some shared a common area. It was shocking to see so many staff there that were genuinely eager, let alone happy, to work for the prince and the family. Even though Hongjoong says that he can’t blame them when he bears witness to how well they are treated.

While Hongjoong truly wants to be back home with Eden, he did make friends with some of the other staff that managed to keep him hopeful and happy.

One of the friends he made was a young man named Subin. He’s been working there for a little over a year. Even though his main job is cleaning-related, he never voices any compliments and is usually in a good mood whenever he speaks. It’s always nice talking to him, and he gives him a good laugh when he needs one.

Hongjoong pretty much did a little bit of everything, even though he wasn’t supposed to. He was usually just supposed to clean a particular area that he was assigned for the day, but he would always end up helping the staff in the kitchen or tending the vast gardens. He even helped some of the warriors polish their weapons after battle and sparring.

Neither Yeosang nor Seonghwa predicted how fast Hongjoong would become well-liked at the estate, but that was just Hongjoong’s personality and friendly nature.

It was just another day Hongjoong had finished his tasks for the day and bored out of his mind. He was walking by the stained windows as he gazed outside into the town, wondering if he could see the tavern again before he heard loud giggles echoing the halls along with fast pitter-pattering of feet.

Hongjoong turned his head in the sound direction before he felt something bump into his legs and let out an ‘oof. Looking down, he saw two children, one on the floor and the other one catching up the other.

“I told you to be more careful!” The taller one yelled as the other one rubbed her nose.

Hongjoong squatted down to be her height as he tried to make sure she had no wounds or marks on her body, “ Hey, are you okay?”

The tiny child looked up at him and nodded, “ My nose hurts, but I’m okay!” She rubbed her nose before looking up at Hongjoong.

Hongjoong gave her a soft smile and also offered his hand to help her stand. The bigger child had watched Hongjoong help her up, “ Are you new?”

Hongjoong nodded as he looked at her, noticing how the younger of the two stared up at his face, “ I’m Hongjoong. What’s your name?” Hongjoong kept his tone light and friendly as the little girl smiled at him.

“ Elva!” She yelled, and it made Hongjoong giggle.

“ What a pretty name,” He looked up at the other child, “ And yours is?”

“ I’m Estel. She’s my little sister.” Estel watched her younger sister reach for him; arms stretched that had Hongjoong shocked himself. She watched him hesitantly lift the girl, and she smiled the moment that he did. Hongjoong had her body resting on her forearm.

“ Can you take us to the kitchen, please? We were on our way to get us some snacks.” Elva giggled as she waited for him to answer.

“ Well, you asked so sweetly, so how could I say no to you?” Hongjoong said as he started to turn his body before looking at the older of the two, “ Will you still be joining us?”

Estel shook her shock as she nodded as Hongjoong started to head for the stairs, Estel looping her arm when he walked. Estel watched her sister talk the man’s head off, still shocked that she trusted and got comfortable with the random man so fast in so little time.

Estel knew her sister was usually wary of any new person for a while, whether she met them or not. But this was the first time either of them had seen the man Hongjoong, yet there she was in the kind man’s arms.

Hongjoong didn’t notice the other sister’s stare as the younger talked his head off about the different foods she liked to eat, nor did he notice how some of the staff glanced at him to see the sister’s so close to him when he was barely in the castle for a month.

But they continued to walk down the stairs and made their way to the kitchen. Hongjoong used his shoulder to push the door open and peek inside, seeing a familiar face. The man turned his head after hearing the door, and he watched the man sigh.

“ What do you want now, Hongjoong?” He put down the knife he was using and stared at him.

“ Well, I missed you too Jin, but I wanted to get some snacks for myself and these two,” showing both sisters, and it made Jin widen his eyes.

“ Didn’t I give you two snacks earlier? Why are you back here, and you brought him back too.” Jin pinched the bridge of his nose as Hongjoong put Elva down.

“ Can’t we have a bit more Mr. Jin? Please?~” Elva ran over and clung to his leg.

“ If I keep giving you sweets and you fatten up, your mother and the prince will have my head!” Jin exclaimed as he rubbed his throat, and it only made her giggle.

“ We would never let him hurt you” Estel smiled as she eyed the desserts on the table that Hongjoong’s eyes also caught as he moved closer to the tray.

“ Jin, what type of dessert is this? I haven’t seen those before.” Hongjoong tore his eyes away for a split second to look at Jin with a childlike gaze.

Before Jin could speak, one of his assistants, Jaemin, came inside with an empty tray, “ Those are peach puffs.”

“They look fluffy and soft and look delicious~” Estel added as she and Hongjoong stared at each other and looked back at the tray. Elva was heading back to them, asking for Hongjoong to pick her back up, and he did.

Hongjoong knew the look that she had. It was the very same look he gave when he decided to steal from the prince.

Without a second thought, Estel snatched two puffs in her tiny hands, “ Grab one for Elva!” Estel yelled as Jin tried to run over to them.

Hongjoong hesitated for a split second before taking a puff as well and rushing out the door, hearing Jaemin’s laughter and Jin’s nagging.

“I make it up to you tonight, Mr. Jin!~” Hongjoong shouted as he followed behind the girl with her giggling as they ran. He knew Jin wasn’t going to chase him and just smack his hands when he sees him again.

They slowed down and sat down in the hall by the steps on the floor. He gave Elva her puff before placing her in his lap, smiling when she started munching on it. Estel handed Hongjoong his own, and you all ate the puffs quietly in the halls.

There was a sort of peace as you three ate the stolen food on the floor enjoying the silence as they enjoyed the sweet treat. The peaches were fresh, and the cream was fluffy. Hongjoong was enjoying his time with the sisters as his eyes were closed.

“Ddeonghwa!”

Hongjoong’s eyes opened as he watched Elva scurry out of his lap and run towards the blonde prince; his blue eyes were staring at Hongjoong, a stoic look on his face until Elva drew closer and he gave her a sweet smile.

A smile that Hongjoong didn’t know the man could take.

“ Now, what are you doing out here? Are you and Estel causing trouble? ” The prince’s voice was soft, maybe even delicate as he crouched down, opening his arms as she ran right into them.

“ We ate some peach puffs with Hongjoong!” She yells as she goes to feed the last bit of puff she had to Seonghwa, who chuckled and opened his mouth.

“ It does taste delicious.” Seonghwa smiled as Hongjoong watched with wide eyes.

Estel had gotten up as well, a big smile gracing her face as she ran over to hug him as well, “ Are you busy with duties for the rest of the day?”

“ No, I just came back from finishing my tasks for the day.” Seonghwa tucked her dark hair behind her ear as he spoke.

“ Can we go to the gardens then?” Elva asked with big doe eyes, hoping that the man would say yes.

“ Of course we can go. Would you like to go now?” Seonghwa tilted his head as she jumped up and down with excitement, a clear yes by her actions.

“ Oh! Can we bring Hongjoong with us too?” Estel asked and both Hongjoong and Seonghwa weren't expecting her to ask that. They both had looked at each other, not initially knowing how to answer it.

Hongjoong tried to help the prince as he’s stood up, “ Maybe I shouldn’t go with you all-”

“ Nooooo,” Elva runs over to him, clinging onto his leg, “ Please come with us, so can I show you the flowers there pleaseeeee.” She begged and Hongjoong felt like he couldn’t tell her no.

“ Join us, Kim Hongjoong. It’s quite hard to tell the little one no.” Seonghwa spoke, looking at him with eyes that were unreadable as Hongjoong eventually agreed.

The sisters eventually pulled both of them out towards the gardens, Seonghwa sitting on one of the benches as the sisters pulled Hongjoong around to the flowers that they found were pretty. Hongjoong stared at the white camellias and pink roses that Hongjoong found himself getting so enthralled in them as he reached out to touch them all.

Seonghwa watched from where he sat, watching Hongjoong’s movements as he noticed the childlike gaze he had just for the flowers, and Seonghwa found his face softening a bit.

They were just flowers. They weren’t too memorable or unique, but here was the tiny human being memorized by some vibrant flowers.

Seonghwa immediately found it foolish and childish in his mind, but something in the back of his mind found his reactions adorable, and the moment that it crossed his mind, he froze and shook his head back and forth to get rid of the thought.

He looked back up and realized that the sisters were pulling the man before, having him sit right beside him. He smiled at them as they told them they would get them both a surprise and ran away before either of them could say anything.

The moment the girls were far enough away from them, Seonghwa’s smile dropped, and he turned to face the shorter man, “ What ulterior motives do you have, Kim Hongjoong?”

Hongjoong giggled, his legs crossed as he leaned back onto the bench before turning to look him in the eyes, “ I was waiting for you to say something to me. I wasn’t expecting you to do it so soon, though.”

“ Answer my question.”

Seonghwa watched him roll his eyes before looking back at him, “ There’s no motive or planning. I like my life very much. Those lovely children ran into me in the halls after I finished my duties for the day. Elva asked for me to come with them to the kitchen.”

Seonghwa stared at him, nowhere near satisfied with his answer, “They don’t usually warm up to any new faces so fast. Perhaps, you used some type of magic on them.”

“ Wouldn’t such a high-ranked elf like you would have noticed any magic traces on them as you did with the tiny amount of dark energy on me?” Hongjoong raised his brow and it took everything in him not to laugh at the look on the prince's face.

It was a mix of shock and maybe a pinch of flustered as he watched him scramble to try and respond to him, his mouth opening and closing, not knowing what to say.

Hongjoong found that face more fitting on him than the stoic one he walks around with.

It makes him look younger. It made him look youthful.

It made him look cuter.

Huh?

“ I guess you're right….” The prince mumbled, not looking at him anymore

Hongjoong, being lost in his thoughts, nearly missed what he said, “ Did you just say I was right?”

“ I did,” Seonghwa answered, feeling Hongjoong lean closer to him.

“ Say it again.”

“ What?”

“ Say that I was right again.” Hongjoong pushed, moving closer to the elf, feeling their thighs touch.

“ No,” Seonghwa turned to the side. He felt the man close the distance between them again, and he was ready to yell at him when he turned his head around, but his voice died down when he noticed how close their faces were.

Hongjoong wasn’t expecting him to turn around either, and he knew the prince could see him visibly swallow as he also took note of their closeness. The last time he had his face this close to his face was when they were in his room, and he was threatening him with the sword.

But now, there were no weapons in sight. It was just the two of them, up close and personal. Hongjoong couldn’t stop his eyes from looking over the handsome face. He found himself admiring his cheekbones, the shape of his nose, and daringly eyeing his lips.

They looked pretty and soft before his eyes glanced back up to catch the pair of bright lapis staring back at him.

He was waiting for the man to yell for his staring and the lack of personal space, but it never came. He just kept eye contact with him, and Hongjoong wasn’t sure what he should do. He knew that he could see the faintest of blush coat his cheeks, and he was going to lose it.

By the gods, he was lucky to be broken from the trance as he heard the sisters yell for them as they got remotely closer to them.

Hongjoong was quick to move back to where there was a reasonable amount of distance between them, and he heard Seonghwa clear his throat and turned his head back away from him.

Hongjoong smacked his cheeks a bit before quickly putting on a smile as Elva ran over to him, her hands dirty from the soil as Estel came over with some flowers in her hands. Hongjoong picked the younger sister up and sat her on his lap, and Estel sat in between him and Seonghwa, which he was grateful for. “ What were you two up to for you both to have such dirty fingers?”

Hongjoong’s tone was light and bubbly as he took out a cloth from his pants pocket and gently took her tiny hands to clean them.

“ We found some pretty flowers and we pulled two up for you both!” She squeals as Estel hands them both a flower. It was a red Gardenia and Hongjoong brought it to his nose to smell, smiling when he did.

“ This is a beautiful flower. Thank you.” He gave them a big smile that they quickly returned, not catching Seonghwa looking at him once more with a smile that went unnoticed by the party as the children talked both of their ears off, but they didn’t mind as they sat in the gardens with them.

They both stayed there with them, idly talking and playing with the children, as they were watched from the window, their earlier interaction not going unnoticed as a brow twitched before walking away.

ONE MONTH LATER

It’s been about six weeks since Hongjoong was made to stay there in the castle, and the time he was having there was completely different from that initial week.

Especially when it came between him and the prince of the estate.

He found his eyes lingering on the prince whenever he walked past him, or he caught him after a lesson or meeting. Sometimes, he would see the prince meeting his gaze, and it would immediately make his face flash and have him quickly walk away.

He didn't know why he started to get so nervous around the elf prince, but he did. Ever since their trip to the gardens with the children, he hasn’t been able to look at him calmly.

Speaking of the sisters, Estel and Elva always tried to steal him away while he was doing his tasks for the day. Whether it was bringing in shipments from other cities to him having to clean the floors and windows thoroughly, they tried their best to steal him away.

The other workers found it amusing, never really minding if they stayed out, not as they worked since they never really caused anyone trouble, but they did find it odd how much they went to strictly Hongjoong and no one else.

Hongjoong had just managed to avoid the sisters, both feeling mischievous as they were messing with Subin before quickly asking where the small brown-haired man was.

It wasn’t that he didn’t love their company, but he just didn’t have the energy to play with them. Sadly, they didn’t give up that easily, and they were chasing him.

Hongjoong had some reasonable distance between these girls, them both giggling and smiling as they were trying to catch up. “ Hongjoong, where are you going?” Estel giggles and it took everything in him not to laugh.

He glanced around the halls, spotting a wooden door and quickly opening and shutting it silently as he pressed his ear against the door. Hongjoong heard the girls go past the door, quickly stopping when they couldn’t hear his steps or see him since it was a long hallway.

“ Where did he go?” Elva asked, confused as Hongjoong backed away from the door. He knew their hearing was better than his, so he tried his best not to make any sounds. His eyes never leaving the door until he bumped into something and a hand quickly covered over his mouth.

Hongjoong’s heart jumped into his throat as he tried to turn around and was greeted by those same hypnotizing blue eyes as he leaned to his ear, “ Say calm if you want the girls to leave.”

His voice was low and it sent a shiver down his spine, but he stayed still and quiet. He could still hear the girls talking right outside the door.

“ You think he went into here,” Elva asked, pointing to the door that indeed had Hongjoong right behind it.

“ I don’t think he did. No one is allowed in there and that includes Hongjoong,” Estel thought for a bit before the two heard a sigh. “ We lost him, Estel, so let’s go and get some snacks from Mr.Jin!”

Hongjoong heard Elva make this happy noise as she started to run off to the kitchen, Estel right on her tail as the footsteps and laughter slowly went away, and Hongjoong let out a sigh, unconsciously resting his head against his body and Seonghwa stiffened a bit.

Seonghwa stared to the top of his head, staying completely still and not knowing what to do for a minute.

Hongjoong, unknowing of him stiffening behind him, turned around to face him for a split second before looking past him, “What room is this?”

Seonghwa snapped out of it for a split second before turning around to look in his direction, “This is the castor room. This is where I study and learn new magic.”

Hongjoong walked deeper into the room, eyeing the tree and wood decor in the room, his eyes trailing to the colored glass that brought in the light that illuminated the room. Hongjoong eyes landed on the book that must have been where Seonghwa was sitting.

“So you plan on staying here, even though the young ones left you alone already?” Seonghwa walked past him as he sat back in the chair that Hongjoong was eyeing. He turned in his seat, leaning back to look at him and wait for his answer.

“ I won’t touch anything. I just want to watch you work. I finished my task for the day and I have never seen magic before, so I’m a bit curious.” Hongjoong admitted as he eyed the chair that was next to him.

Seonghwa thought it over, tempted to send him off so he could enjoy his time alone like he usually does. But glancing at the look on his face and eyes made him sigh and turned back around. “ Sit in the chair and don’t touch anything.”

Hongjoong sat in a chair, far away from Seonghwa and his work. Hongjoong eyes scanned the table and saw the books and vials that were over most of the table. His eyes were trailing up to look at the elf prince, who was focused on the text in the book.

His blonde hair pulled back this time in a ponytail, a few loose hairs as his eyes scanned over the text. His hand reached for the feather and dipped it in ink before writing some notes on his own, him noting how pretty his handwriting was as well before looking back up to his face.

Hongjoong doesn’t know how he found himself staring at his profile as he worked, despite wanting to bother him just a bit. He was just enamored with how the gods decided to sculpt such a beautiful-looking man.

He had to be honest. He found Seonghwa attractive. Yeah, he tried to kill him and take his fingers from him, but he was still hot.

Hongjoong chuckled to himself and the sound drew in Seonghwa’s attention, “ What’s so amusing over there?” He asked as he got up, grabbed some materials from a shelf, and brought them back to the table.

“ Would you prefer that I be honest?” Hongjoong asked.

“ I don’t like being lied to, so yes.”

“ I was sitting here thinking about how handsome you are.”

He almost dropped the materials in his hands.

“ Pardon?”

“ You told me to be honest and I said I was sitting here thinking about how handsome you were. Do you not know that you are handsome?” Hongjoong tilted his head, eyes glancing back at the other vials, his fingers tempted to reach out and touch them.

“It’s not that I don’t know that I have good looks, but that’s not what I was expecting to hear. But why would that have made you laugh?”

“ I thought that despite you threatening to take off any type of limbs, I couldn’t lie and say you aren’t attractive. I don’t think I can be good-looking anymore if I lose an arm.” Hongjoong smiled as he dragged his fingertips over the vials, despite being told not to touch anything.

“ A missing limb wouldn’t make you less attractive,” Seonghwa said bluntly, and Hongjoong wasn’t expecting that type of response. It made him stare at the icy blonde prince.

“ I’m sorry, what was that?”

“ I know you heard me loud and clear, but maybe those human ears of yours aren’t too good, so listen closely,” Seonghwa grabbed his collar, making Hongjoong yelp as Seonghwa ghosted his lips by the shell of Hongjoong’s ear, “ I said a missing limb wouldn’t make you less attractive, Kim Hongjoong.”

Hongjoong felt the blush cover his cheeks and a shiver run down his spine from having his voice and breath so close to him. His voice sounded more profound than usual, or was that just his mind playing with him? But this man. This prince had called him attractive and he didn't know how to react to that.

Seonghwa enjoyed the silence from the man as he let go of his collar and went back to focusing on the magic in front of him. He watched from the corner of his eye at how Hongjoong adjusted himself before getting comfortable and watching him work once more.

He enjoyed the sort of “ peace” that befell them both. It was comfortable and relaxing as the only thing Seonghwa could hear was him mixing the elixirs and potions and the glasses occasionally clinking together. But then his ear picked up on a sound that made him look over again.

He saw the tiny man with his head resting in his arms, lightly snoring. He watched his shoulders rise slowly with every breath, and tossed his hair slightly to the side.

Seonghwa marked where he was at last and closed his book before turning to face him fully. He slowly reached over and moved his hair out of his eyes. He pulled his hand back when Hongjoong moved before going still again.

Seonghwa found himself gradually leaning closer, basking in the scent that was rolling off of him. He couldn’t put his finger on it. He never had the chance to figure out what his smell was when he got close the last few times.

Seonghwa didn’t even realize how close he had gotten to Hongjoong’s sleeping face. His nose was almost brushing against him, and he didn’t fully grasp the idea that he wanted to kiss his forehead. But that sounds….wrong.

He shouldn’t desire to do such a thing, especially someone who should just be treated like a common thief. Everything in Seonghwa’s mind told him not to do it, and he knew his lips were inches away. All he had to do was inch a tiny bit forward and he would do it.

Just a tad bit closer and that’s it. Just that simple. But it still felt wrong.

It took a few seconds, but Seonghwa relaxed and looked back at the sleeping man before backing up in his seat. He knew better and he wouldn’t. Whatever urge he had will be swallowed and locked away since he knows it was wrong.

But at the very least, he petted his head and couldn’t stop the small smile as he leaned into his hand a bit.

Seonghwa enjoyed the feeling before he heard a quick knock on the door before it swung open. Seonghwa pulled his hand away fast and went back to grab his book, almost doing it in such a calm and collected manner as if he wasn’t petting the sleeping man.

Yeosang turned around and brought Seonghwa his tea with a smile before he stopped, his eyes immediately locking on the Hongjoong.

Yeosang did his best not to have his face falter as he walked over to the table, sitting the tray of fruits and tea down on a nearby table, “ I brought you some fruits and tea. I didn’t know you would have a guest, or else I would have brought another cup of tea.”

“ This wasn’t planned, but there is no need for that,” Seonghwa reached over and grabbed a strawberry and took a bite from it, letting out a tiny hum as it touched his tongue, “ But I appreciate the snacks. I was a bit famished.”

“ Then you should be eating something more filling.” Yeosang quipped, boldly stealing a grape for himself and popping it into his mouth as he saw the prince smile.

“Then do you know what is being prepared for lunch, Yeosang?.”

“ I can find out if you’d like.”

“ There’s no need for that,” Seonghwa stood up and went for another book on the shelf, “ You do enough for me as it is.”

Yeosang looked back at Hongjoong, sending the sleeping man a look that Seonghwa couldn’t see before fixing it as the prince turned around. Yeosang watched the head back to the table, seemingly comfortable with having Hongjoong stay beside him like that.

“ Yeosang, do you know what the rest of my day looks like? I didn’t meet with the King recently.” Seonghwa asked, eyes glued to the new book in his hands.

Yeosang stepped forward, on the opposite side of the table from Hongjoong, “ As far as today, you have to spar with the general and Lady Nora before dinner. Your schedule is quite free beside the event the King had planned that needs your actual attendance.”

Yeosang watched the man tsk as he looked at him, “ It is coming up, isn’t it? I don’t want to be there.”

“ I don't either, but you know we have no say for this one. You already have some attire being made; the seamstress is almost finished with that. You have the fitting tomorrow, and then the event is two days from now.” Yeosang explained as he heard another deep sigh from Seonghwa.

“ I don’t want to be in the faces of so many nobilities, especially with most of them being fools and not wanting to listen. You ask how to improve things, I tell them, and they don't listen or just resort to saying I’m a spoil and know-it-all brat that understands nothing. But if that's the case, why ask me for my input to begin with? This happens all night long, and you know this.” Seonghwa allowed himself to slip into his chair just a bit and Yeosang gave a small smile at the action.

“I’ll assist you the best way I can.” Yeosang bows slightly and Seonghwa gives a smile of his own before his head turns around when he hears a groan coming from his left. He watched Hongjoong stretch and sat up from where he was, yawning and stretching his arms. Hongjoong turned and looked over at Seonghwa before his eyes turned to look at Yeosang.

“ I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep here.” Hongjoong rubbed his eyes a bit and the prince thought it made him more childlike as he watched him.

“ I would have woken you up if it was a nuisance for me.” Seonghwa pointed out a comment that didn’t go unnoticed by the advisor, “ Also, while I’m thinking of it, there is an event that will be happening in two days, and you will also have to attend.

“Why?” He wasn’t expecting both Hongjoong and Yeosang to say it at the same time.

“ Only you and I know the real reason why Kim Hongjoong is in this castle, but to others, he is a mere worker. Just like the rest of them, he will be working and most likely be a server to the guests.” Seonghwa pointed out and Yeosang got quiet. Choose to say no.

Hongjoong knew he was right, and he didn't have a choice to say no in this type of situation. “I’ll do my best during this event.”

“ I expect you to.”

TWO DAYS LATER

“Never knew you could clean up so well, Hongjoong. Almost didn’t recognize you.” Subin teased, adjusting his clothes as he smiled at him.

The two of you had spent the day together getting everything ready for the event that’s happening tonight. You expected not to see the Prince and his advisor until the evening, and so far, you’ve been correct. After all the necessary preparations, the workers were all told to change and hurry back before the guest arrived.

Hongjoong eyed himself in the large mirror, admiring his appearance. He never dressed in something like this before, primarily to him not being able to afford something like this. He was dressed in white. A long-sleeved flint-colored top that was buttoned as that top before split down the center passed his belly button and stopped at his knees with delicate gold details that could go unnoticed. White pants that were a bit scrunched at the ankle due to his height, but nothing too bad to where he would walk on them. A high necked vested jacket latched at the top before flowing down and stopping at his thighs. The latch was gold, the edges of the material, and some white and gold shoes to match.

It was pretty simple in appearance, but it indeed was the fanciest thing he had worn. Subin was wearing the same color scheme but was designed differently. “ So funny, now let’s hurry up because we have to go back.”

“ Do you remember how to get there?”

“ No, not at all, so hurry up so you can show me how to get there.” Hongjoong laughed with Subin as they walked out of the room, following other staff that had to work.

If Hongjoong was honest with himself, he didn’t want to help any rich and stuck-up assholes tonight, but he knows he can’t say that out loud. Luckily, Subin would be there with him to brighten the mood.

Jin told them to station a table on the end, and you two were happy to be stuck together.

You both watched how quickly the hall filled up, countless demons, monsters, and humans all dressed in the finest of silks and fabrics to impress each other, and it took everything in Hongjoong to not roll his eyes. He believes that they might get stuck in his head if he did so.

But he did what he was told along with Subin, serving any and everyone that approached their tables. He was a bit shocked when some thanked them but wasn’t surprised by the judging looks he did receive.

Hongjoong found himself getting tired fast, having Subin kick his shin once in and while to keep him up. But soon enough, that kick felt like nothing.

“ Hongjoong, wake up! The prince has arrived!” Subin whispered yell as they both turned towards the more oversized doors.

Hongjoong straightened up and had his eyes glued as he finally got his first look at the King and Queen, Seonghwa’s parents. His father gave off a regal aura; His hair flowed down to his mid-back. He was dressed in black, white, and gold. Hongjoong could see some of the finest jewels adorning his neck apart from his attire.

His eyes went to Seonghwa’s mother and she must have been the most elegant woman he has ever seen, dressed in layers of silk and expensive fabrics that flowed around her beautifully. Her beautiful headdress and intricate hairstyle made her shine like an actual jewel.

But then his eyes landed on the prince, and it felt like his breath got caught in his throat. He was adorned in all black, a great contrast to his pale skin and blonde hair. His attire was flowy as well, similar to his mother’s. As he saw them walk past, he noticed embroidery of dragons on the sleeves and along the collar and hem of his clothes.

His eyes followed him as he walked behind his parents, having Subin smack his arm once more to gain his attention once he noticed some guests walk to their table. But no matter how many times Subin had to slap his arm, he found his eyes going back to Seonghwa.

Maybe it’s because admiring the prince’s beauty made him focus enough to stay up now after seeing countless forgettable faces. But then it became something more familiar when he noticed Yeosang heading to the table.

His pants were plain and straightforward and just white in color. He was dressed in this black vest with a high collar. The seams are traced in white trim, and wearing black and gold cuffs on his wrists. This other piece was a fabric matching his shirt and had a white border and some gold.

“ Mr.Kang, I wasn’t expecting you to come by,” Subin said with a smile, and Hongjoong watched the corners of Yeosang’s lips curve upwards.

“ It’s good to see you as well, Subin.” Yeosang turned his head to look at Hongjoong, and he noticed a slight change in his gaze, “ Nice to see you too, Hongjoong.”

“Anything that you would like?” Hongjoong asked him as Yeosang’s eyes scanned over the array of foods, leaning over to look at it all before standing up once more.

“ I’ll come back later since I’m not quite hungry yet. I plan on seeing you two later then, so make sure you two enjoy yourselves later on.” Yeosang told them before heading off just as quickly as he arrived.

Subin was distracted for a split second when another guest missed the quick change in Yeosang’s face. His eyes narrowed, a frown on his lips before turning his head once more to head back to Seonghwa.

Hongjoong found it odd. He knew the advisor wasn’t fond of him and would prefer if he was dead, but the look in his eyes this time seemed more intense than before.

He just pushed it to the back of his head before he felt Subin smack his arm once more, this time to get his attention as Jin arrived. “

“ You both are done for now. Eat and relax. Just don’t cause any trouble for me, or I’ll have your head. “ He threatened before pushing both of them away, Hongjoong laughing a bit.

“ Now you know you would mourn my death. I’m quite fun to be around.” Hongjoong joked as Jin kicked his ankle as they both stumbled away laughing.

Hongjoong and Subin had made their way to some of the other workers that were switched out to eat. It was away from the more high-status guests, but Hongjoong preferred that.

He has fun and enjoys his time with them. Maybe it’s because this was something that he wished he could have back in his hometown with Ava. Perhaps he’ll get some money and get her to visit.

He knows that’s not a realistic plan, but he could dream.

“ Did he zone out? Oi Hongjoong!”

Hongjoong looked up and realized that Eric, one of the other coworkers that he has made friends with, was calling him. “Hm? What is it?”

“Did you hear anything that I just said?” The younger asked and Hongjoong gave a sheepish laugh before saying no. The boy rolled his eyes before giving him a look.

“ I said that soon with have to go from table to table and collect and dishes and trash from them,” Eric explained, and Hongjoong couldn’t stop the look that appeared on his face.

“ Why can’t they get rid of their trash?” The words flew from his lips quicker than necessary.

“ Look, it's a party for the rich and they are all guests of the family. They aren’t supposed to lift a finger for anything as trivial as cleaning up after themselves.” Eric says sarcastically, a grin on his face as he ate more food, “ You knew what you were getting into when hired here, Hongjoong, so don’t get stupid now.”

“ Aren’t I older than you? Who are you calling stupid?” Hongjoong brow raised and gave him a look that Eric wasn’t fazed by.

“ If you know you aren’t stupid, don’t get offended by it. But seriously, Jin or someone higher up will have your head if you're disrespectful to them. So even if they do something, bite your tongue.” Eric gives him an honest look and Hongjoong huffed.

Subin pats his shoulder, “ It should be fast since most of us are doing that, so don’t worry too much. Okay.” Subin gave a dimpled smile and Hongjoong let out a small smile of his own.

He enjoys this. Bickering and smiling with each other felt very on end and it’s a bit bittersweet that it’s with people that he just met and not his parents. Well, with his mother, yes, but it would be nice if his father were included in that as well.

Before he knew it, they were all splitting up which tables they were going to and grabbed some carts before heading off.

Hongjoong took a deep breath before putting on a fake smile and approached the first table. His greeting was friendly and respectful as he asked if anyone was done with their plates. Some raised their hands and he came over and collected everything that they were finished with. He made sure not to make eye contact with them despite a few leering into the side of his head.

Hongjoong was quick to bow before leaving and dropping his smile the moment he was gone. He nearly mumbled something under his breath before remembering that no humans were sitting at these tables.

So Hongjoong continued this pattern with a fake smile, cleaning and leaving until he reached this last table. He could tell that he was an elf by the pointed ears, and the man was sitting there all alone.

“Excuse me, sir, but are you finished with your food? I'm here to collect your dirty dishes if so.”

The man tilted his head up and gave a light smile, “ Don’t your cheeks hurt from smiling like that? I gave you no reason to smile and neither did those other snot-nosed nobles. Relax and treat me like normal.”

“ I’m sorry, but I-”

“ I may be a royal, but I'm nobody to them. I would rather be treated regularly than a noble,” He turned in his seat before putting his dirty plate on himself as Hongjoong just stared at him, “ I didn’t catch your name. What is it?”

He shook his head as he looked at him, “ my name is Hongjoong.”

“ Hongjoong. That’s a different name, but I like it. I’m Prince Gerold, but I don’t need any formalities. Gerold is just fine.”

“ How could you tell that my smile was fake?” Hongjoong asked, stepping a bit closer to the man.

“ Cause you gave the same type of smiles that I do.” He rested his head in his hand as he glanced back to Hongjoong, “ Please sit, or you can’t waste any time chit-chatting with me?”

“ Well, I’m not supposed to do anything that would upset the ‘royals,’ but since I’m not upsetting you, it should be fine.” Hongjoong watched the smile grow a bit bigger on his face.

“ Well, then let’s sit and chat only for a little while. Maybe this event won’t be as boring as anticipated.”

༄༄༄

Seonghwa was tired.

He was ready to call it a night the moment he stepped into the grand room. But of course, being the son of the current king kept him occupied and busy.

He had to answer to some neighboring townships as well, as they praised him with cheers about what a great king he’ll be, and by the gods, was Seonghwa tired of the repetition.

There were questions on what he would do once his father steps down and how many children of his own he plans to have or if he has selected a queen.

Soon to Seonghwa ear’s, their voices became inaudible and would only pick up a few words that would remind him of what the bloody hell they were talking about.

While some of the guests started to talk to themselves, Seonghwa’s eyes swelled across the crowd as he was quick to stop once he saw a familiar brown hair at a table.

He watched him talk to one of the nobles. It didn’t seem like it was anything terrible because Hongjoong looked utterly relaxed.

But the more he stared, the more he realized that he looked a tad bit too relaxed.

He was able to see how close they were to each other as they talked about whatever. He could see the other person putting his arm on the back of Hongjoong’s chair and give a grin.

He couldn’t read their lips, but he did know that something had made Hongjoong laugh, and the smile was genuine. It made his heart jump a tad bit before remembering that it wasn’t directed towards him. It was someone that he just met and made him smile big like that.

Fascinating.

“ Prince Seonghwa?”

Seonghwa turned back to look at the guests in front of him, “ Yes, what is it?”

They pointed to the glass in his hand, and his eyes followed suit and noticed how tight his grip was on the glass. It caught him off guard cause he never saw his grip tightening. He placed the tall glass down on the table.

“ Are you okay, Prince Seonghwa? Did we say something to upset you?” Seonghwa could see the concern on their face and he snapped out of the slight haze he was in.

“No, it wasn’t you. However, I do have some business that I need to handle. Please enjoy this event to the fullest.” The prince gave a slight bow and smiled before quickly heading off, his feet with a mind of his own.

༄༄༄

Maybe nobles weren’t all too bad.

Hongjoong knew he was supposed to be working, but he couldn’t find himself getting up and ending this conversation. Prince Gerold had a charm about him that just made him stay. Maybe it’s because he was somewhat of an outcast among the nobles and he just seems a bit more humble in a sense.

He found himself smiling and laughing as they talked, not noticing how close the man had gotten or how friendly they would look to any guests. He was just hoping that he wouldn’t get into too much trouble.

“ Hongjoong, can I asked you something?” Prince Gerold tilted his head as he looked at him.

“ Of course. What is it?”

“ Would you like to leave this party? It’s not quite as interesting as you.” Prince Gerold grinned.

Hongjoong wasn’t expecting him to ask such a question. He wouldn’t mind being with him a bit longer, but he knows very well that if he leaves after all this, he might get killed by Jin. or even worse. Get killed by Yeosang.

“ Oh, I don’t think I can. I’m supposed to be working right now, to begin with, so if I leave, I’ll get in tro-” Hongjoong breath hitched when he was pulled a bit closer to him by his chair, catching him off guard.

“ Come on~ We could walk through the city or the gardens and just have a good time. You don’t wanna spend that time with me?” Prince Gerold’s smile was sweet, but maybe it felt a little too sweet that made Hongjoong want to leave, but he couldn’t. It felt like his legs were made of steel.

“ B-but I have to-”

“ I thought we were having fun together. Just for a little bit. I promise to bring you back before this shit of a party is.” Prince Gerold grabbed his hand gently, a complete opposite from the tone, despite being laced with sweet words. His thumb rubbed over his knuckles before bringing his hand to his mouth. He placed tender kisses on each one. Hongjoong wanted to pull his arm away, walk away and deal with all forms of scolding from Subin and Jin, then stay here. Even though he thought that he couldn’t move. Was it fear? Was he scared again? He just wanted to leave.

“Let’s go. I’ll sneak you out to avoid any trouble.”

“Well, it’s a bit too late for that now, is it?” Hongjoong watched how quickly his eyes looked up and passed him, and despite still not being able to move, he knew who was behind him. He knew that voice well enough.

“Ah, Prince Seonghwa. A great party you have here. Not my cup of tea, though, so I planned to leave here with this lovely muse, so if you don’t mind.” Prince Gerold stood up, still holding Hongjoong’s hand. He wasn’t expecting to stand up with such ease when he struggled to do it with his willpower. Hongjoong finally glanced over at Seonghwa as Prince Gerold tries to walk past him.

Hongjoong felt his shoulder get gripped on, and it felt like lightning struck him the moment the elf prince touched him. It made his ears ring, then his spine tingled, and his toes curl before he was finally able to pull his arm away. He faced Seonghwa in shock, but his gaze was rigid set on the other prince in front of him.

“ You went out of your way to compel him? You lured him in with such a fake smile and tried to snatch him off somewhere else. Truly pathetic.” Seonghwa's voice was cold, and he enjoyed the way his lip twitched as he spoke to him, “ You have some nerve bothering my workers.”

“ Now you're saying that as if you care about all of your workers.” He smirks as he crossed his arms.

“ Why wouldn’t I? Their hard work made this event as successful as it is. I owe them all some proper gratitude for their efforts, and it’s just a shame that they still have to deal with something as rotten as you.” Seonghwa stepped forward, right in front of Hongjoong and gave him such a cold glare that made the smirk fall from his face and replaced with a scowl.

“ You watch who you're talking to!” He growled out and Seonghwa laughed in his face.

“ Oh, and what would you do? Did you forget that part of the land that your father owns was a gracious gift from us? Did you forget how much we helped you and your father get to where you are? We hand-fed you everything, and it would be just as easy to make you starve. Be foolish enough to doubt my bluff, and I will personally ruin you. You need us. We don’t need you.” Seonghwa’s aura crackled, and it made the other Prince step back even more from them.

“All of this fuss and threats over one of the hundreds of workers?!”

“ For your information, I hand-picked this one, so yes. Now I suggest you leave like previously intended,” Seonghwa grabbed Hongjoong’s rest and started to walk away. Hongjoong turned around to at him before Seonghwa’s voice cut through the air, “ Don’t look at him.”

Seonghwa walked fast and scouted the area before stepping up to Subin and tapping his shoulder. Subin turned around and nearly dropped the plates he had in his hands. “ Prince Seonghwa! W-what can I do for you?”

“ Take care of the rest of Hongjoong’s work if you don’t mind. I need him for something else more important.” It was then that Subin noticed Hongjoong behind him, and it looked like Subin was trying to get a sense from him about what happened, but Hongjoong sheepishly looked away.

“ Of course! I’ll get right on it.” Subin bows before heading past them and Seonghwa continues to pull Hongjoong out and out the doors, not going unnoticed by the prince’s advisors as he gives a sharp gaze with furrowed brows.

Once Hongjoong believes that they were far enough from anyone, he spoke up, “ Seonghwa, where are we going?….”

“ Just wait. We're almost there.” Seonghwa gave a short response as he guided them through halls that Hongjoong had never been down before; he opened a door and pulled them both inside before shutting the door. That’s when Seonghwa finally let go of his wrist and slumped against the door.

Hongjoong watched how the prince’s back and shoulders slouched before looking up at him. “ Are you okay?”

Seonghwa made a small smile, “ I should be asking you that. A nonhuman just compelled you. The longer you stayed there, the more control he would have had on you.”

Hongjoong looked at his hands and legs, moving them slightly, “ I thought it was fear again. I thought I was that scared and couldn’t move. Not because of magic.”

Hongjoong missed the soft look he gave him as he stayed by the door, “ No. It was magic that a good variety of nonhumans know. If you can use magic or have any items to help you comply, it is quite easy to do. Humans usually fall prey to it naturally. Folks of magic sense other magic, so it would never have worked.”

Hongjoong gave a tiny smile, “ That’s good to know, but that just reminds me of how much weaker I am to everything.”

Seonghwa pushed himself off the door and stood in front of him, “Humans can learn magic too if they practice hard enough. The only way you can stop being weak is if you put the time and effort into being strong. You don’t just need to be physically stronger to beat someone. There are other ways, and I'm sure you would be capable of it.”

Hongjoong looked up at his eyes and let out a laugh, “ Who would have thought that your words would give me some comfort,” Hongjoong rubbed the back up his neck and stared at the ground, “ Thank you.”

“ There’s no need to thank me.”

“ Yes, there is. I found myself in some trouble and I was lucky enough that you were there to help me. I’m sorry for causing trouble and making you leave the party. I’ll—I’ll take whatever lecture or punishment for everything.” Hongjoong stared at his hands.

It could have gone a completely different way and Hongjoong didn’t even want to think what would happen if no one came over to stop him.

“ I was forced to attend this party. I’m the next in line to the throne, so of course, I had to be there. I would have rather hid than talked the same nonsense with all of those guests. And did you think I dragged you all the way here just to lecture you?” Seonghwa raised a brow as he gave him an amused look.

Hongjoong looked back with a confused look, “ Then why did you drag me here? Was it just a chance for you to get away from this event?”

Seonghwa walked past him and headed towards the window, the moon illuminating his skin in hair and almost making him glow, “ Maybe you do have some magic because I don’t know why, but you have been compelling me all on your own.”

Hongjoong slowly walked towards him but kept some distance, “ What does that even mean? Whatever you have to say, just say it.”

Seonghwa never turned around, “ I’ve developed some feelings for you.”

It was silent. No sound was made as they both stood in the same spot. Seonghwa expected this type of reaction and silence, so it took the silence to elaborate more.

“ I don’t know when it started, but I can be honest enough to say that I have developed some type of feelings for you. Maybe it started when I watched how caring and nurturing you were with Estal and Elva and how much they genuinely adored you. I was worried about you manipulating them, but they seem smitten with you. Most people don’t like them because of their mother, but they’re innocent in that matter.”

Hongjoong quietly walked over as Seonghwa continued to talk, just listening to the words that came out of his mouth.

“ Then I started to notice the little reactions and thoughts I would have about you. I didn’t think I could do it after stopping the last time I had feelings for someone. But then you came along, stealing from me in broad daylight and slowly stealing away my heart before I even knew it.” Seonghwa turned slightly to see Hongjoong just a couple of inches behind him.

The prince turned to face him, “ I came over there not because I knew you were in danger. I originally came over there cause my heart couldn’t stand the image of you smiling at someone else. I nearly shattered a glass when it ran through my mind. Like I couldn’t allow it and that’s out of character for me.”

Seonghwa could sense it. His honesty was overwhelming Hongjoong and that’s not what he wanted at all. He could feel and see how tense he was as he stood there.

“ I’m not asking you to recuperate my feelings. I threatened you into staying here and I can’t blame you for hating me. I…I just wanted to get these words off my chest. Don’t feel inclined to return them. You have my word on that.”

Hongjoong finally looked up at him, “ I don’t hate you.”

“ You don’t?”

“ I don’t. Everything you did was logical, especially after what I’ve done. I just don’t know how to take someone saying they ‘care’ for me.” Hongjoong walked towards the window, looking out at the moon-casted town as Seonghwa watched him.

“ Did you not come from a loving home?” Seonghwa asked as he saw Hongjoong frowned at first before giving a smile.

Hongjoong pressed his hand to the glass, “ In the end, my mother cared the most about just one other person and me. So in a sense, yes, I did. But I’ve never had someone admit having feelings for me. I just don’t know how to respond.”

“You don’t have to. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” Seonghwa gently placed a hand on his shoulder and was happy that he didn’t tense up from it.

“ You sure?”

“ I swear on it.”

Hongjoong turned around to face him. They both stared down at each other, but Seonghwa’s eyes glanced down to his lips before forcing himself to look away, “ What is it?”

Seonghwa shook his head, “ I don’t want to ask that of you. I can’t ask that from you.” He was speaking more to himself and was about to ramble until Hongjoong gripped his chin and made him look back at him.

“ What did you want to ask me?” Hongjoong’s voice was as firm as it could be as he looked up into those ocean eyes of his.

Seonghwa stares for a while longer before letting out a sigh, “ Can I kiss you?”

Hongjoong was hesitant as he twiddled with his thumbs, “ I haven’t kissed anyone before...”

“ Then maybe you shouldn’t waste that on me. I just wanted to ask.” Seonghwa turned around and started heading towards the door, “ You can stay here until the party ends. I must head back to-”

“ It wouldn’t be a waste….” Hongjoong shifted on his heels

Seonghwa stopped, “ That’s not a yes. I’m no creep. I won’t do anything to you unless you give me a solid yes.”

“ That’s embarrassing for me to say!”

“ Embarrassing to want consent?” Seonghwa raised a blonde brow and Hongjoong grew quiet. He took the silence as an answer and as his hand reached the doorknob.

“Please!”

Seonghwa looked back at the man and noticed the faint blush on his face.

“ You...you can kiss me.”

Hongjoong listens to Seonghwa’s footsteps as he walked towards him again. “ Look at me.” He heard Seonghwa’s voice as he slowly looked up at him. “ Are you sure about this?”

Hongjoong hasn’t felt this nervous before. He wasn’t being pressured into anything. He had complete and utter control of this situation, and as much as he was worried about this, he found himself wanting it as well. “ I am, but you might have to guide me.”

Seonghwa gently tilts his face up and Hongjoong’s eyes looked up at him, “ You can tell me to stop at any time.”

Hongjoong nodded as Seonghwa slowly closed the distance between them. His eyes fluttered close when he felt his breath against his lips. He knew he could probably hear his heart pound. Seonghwa stroked his cheek with his thumb as his lips pressed to his.

His lips were soft against his. Hongjoong felt himself relax as Seonghwa pulled back slightly, opening his own eyes, and found Seonghwa staring back at him. They were quiet as they looked back at each other before Hongjoong leaned forward and Seonghwa leaned back in to kiss him again.

Seonghwa moved his lips slowly, so Hongjoong could learn how to kiss. Hongjoong tried his best to follow him, steadily getting better as Seonghwa cupped his face. Hongjoong found himself slowly reaching up to grip his shoulders. He relaxed more as he started to kiss him with a bit more force, catching Seonghwa off guard a bit.

He pulled away to look at Hongjoong, panting a bit as before speaking, “ Maybe...that’s enough for now.”

“ B-but…”

“ I’m afraid that I’ll do something more if we keep going, so let’s not continue this.” Seonghwa put some more space in between the two.

“ I want to keep going, though.” Hongjoong found a small amount of confidence as he looked at him and Seonghwa gave him an unreadable look.

“ Don’t say something like that to me. I’m trying to have some self-control. Don’t do this because of me admitting my feelings. What you're doing is more than enough. Don’t feel pressured to do anything with me.” Seonghwa's voice was harsh sounding, but Hongjoong wasn’t offended by it.

“ I’m not asking you to have self-control. I want more too. I’m not pressured. I feel comfortable and relaxed right now. I have the confidence right now to say this out loud, so don’t let it go to waste.” Hongjoong stared at him with flushed cheeks before slowly walking to the bed and sitting on it, “ I’ll tell you to stop if I have to. Just make sure your self-control is as good as you say it is.”

Seonghwa gave him a look before walking to him, standing in front of him, slowly pushing his body down on the bed and hovering above. Seonghwa could see how relaxed he was and could sense how confident he was in his choices right now. He feels hesitant, despite Hongjoong giving him all the consent he would need. His fingers flexed beside his head, and now he felt his heart pound. It was only when Hongjoong gently grabbed his wrist, forcing him to look at him.

“ It’s alright. I told you it’s okay. Don’t chicken out on me now, or I’ll feel silly about all this.” Hongjoong gave him an awkward chuckle as he reached to cup his face and brings him closer to him.

Seonghwa closed his eyes for a split second before looking back at him with a soft smile, “ Don’t go regretting this in the morning, Kim Hongjoong.”

༄༄༄

Tagging: @atiny-piratequeen @gettin-a-lil-hanse @queen-of-himbos @jacksons-goddess-gaia @kimnamshiks

༄༄༄

©atiny-dazzlinglight 2021. do not repost, translate, or use my works without permission

[gryffindorcls]

Midnight Resolutions

Summary: After an accidental reveal, Marinette has been avoiding Adrien for months. Alya noticed, and with the help of their friends, she's been working hard to get Adrien and Marinette to admit their very obvious feelings for each other. Unfortunately, all their plans have ended in disaster! Now, it's almost midnight on New Year's Eve, and the class has one last plan.

Length: 2, 638 words This is my present for @toothlessthecatnoir for the ML Secret Santa Exchange by @mlsecretsanta​! You asked for fluff, romance, hurt/comfort, and a happy ending, and I hope this fits the bill! Sorry for posting this at the literal eleventh hour! lol Happy Holidays! I hope you enjoy it! (A shout-out to my super awesome beta @misscongenialityofmlb for taking a look at this!)

— AO3

Fanfiction

“You all remember the plan?” Alya stared down the group of people gathered in her living room. “Because if you have any questions, now is the time to ask.”

“Honestly, I don’t think anyone was listening just now.” Alix rolled her eyes and huffed. “We’re exhausted, and we've been at this for weeks. What makes this plan any different?”

Alya knew her friends were tired, but she had to remain resolute. If she wanted her team of helpers to finish what they’d started, she knew that she needed to be the confident and optimistic leader they needed. Besides, this was the night that all their hard work would come to fruition.

It had to be.

Right?

She took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. “This time we’re keeping it simple. They’ll kiss for sure!”

“But that’s what you said about the winter carnival, the history project, the Secret Santa, and the mistletoe.” The jovial aura that usually surrounded Kim was noticeably missing, sending a pang of guilt through Alya’s chest. “Nothing has worked.”

Alya did her best not to cringe at the memories of their various mishaps. True, her previous plans had been a little intense, but it was worth the sacrifice. Marinette had done so much for all of them in the past, and Adrien deserved some happiness in his life. It was the least they could do for their friends.

“And let’s not forget the time we tried to lock them in that closet.” Alix’s frustration seemed to grow as she spoke. “Marinette sent Kim to the emergency room after that!”

Kim shuddered. “Don’t remind me. If I hadn’t run away, Marinette would have broken my arm for sure. I still can’t figure out how she busted down the door that fast. We were lucky that I walked away with a mild concussion instead of a cast.”

“Look, I know we’ve been at this for months, but trust me! It’s going to work this time.” Alya clenched a fist in front of her. “I just know it will.”

Removing his glasses, Nino pinched the bridge of his nose. “Babe, don’t get me wrong, it hurts to watch those two, but I don’t think we can handle another disaster. Every time we put those two together, Marinette flips.”

“Yes, but it’s not like we haven’t dealt with a jumpy Marinette in the past.” Panic began to settle in her gut as the energy in the room slowly died. “It’s just a little more than what we’re used to.”

“A little?” Nino closed his eyes and sighed. “Ms. Mendeleiev is still pissed about the fire in her lab last month, and we’re lucky that the museum isn’t making us pay for the broken windows.”

“Not to mention Juleka lost her eyebrows...twice,” Rose piped in from the back of the group. “I highly doubt she wants to lose them a third time.”

“They grew back,” Juleka mumbled, “It’s fine. Marinette and Adrien need us.”

“Yes! Thank you, Juleka! We can’t stop now!” She could hear the desperation in her own voice. “They are perfect for each other, and you know it!”

“Yes, and I want my bro to be happy. I really do.” Slumping in his seat, Nino looked defeated. “But at what cost?”

“You know as well as I do that it was even worse before we started doing all of this. Marinette wouldn’t even look at him, and Adrien walked around like a kicked puppy.” Giving up was not an option...not when they were so close.

“Yeah, I remember.” Nino collapsed onto the couch. “Adrien was so tight-lipped about the whole thing, and I thought he was going to burst into tears at any second. But this is getting dangerous, babe. You gotta admit that.”

“If only we knew what happened between them that made them act so weird around each other.” Alix chuckled. “Well...weirder than they usually are.”

“All we have to do is get them to sit on this couch together all night.” Alya couldn’t back down...not now. “No complicated schemes tonight. We just need to put the snacks in the right place so Adrien sits next to them. That boy is always hungry.”

Kim shook his head. “Okay, that’s great and all, but that only takes care of Adrien. How do you plan on getting Marinette to stay in one spot? What makes you think that she won’t leave the couch?”

“All of us are going to pair off and make it too awkward for her to join any group.” She was proud of this plan, but the hesitant looks on the faces around her planted a seed of doubt in her mind. “She’s getting here before Adrien, and I know she’ll retreat to the couch when she sees the rest of us already engaged in our own conversations.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m with Kim. That is the weakest plan I’ve ever heard.” Alix plopped onto the couch next to Nino, grabbed a pillow, shoved it against her face, and screamed. “This nightmare is never going to end!”

“No, it’s the perfect plan. Marinette is the kind of girl who is too polite to ram her way into a conversation between two people. My girl has class, and she hates being a third wheel.” Ignoring the uncertainty, Alya stood her ground. “Trust me.

“Well, I still think it’s a longshot, but it doesn’t involve fire or glass this time, so I guess I’m in.” Alix pointed her index finger toward Alya. “But this is the last time. After tonight we have to let them figure it out on their own.”

“Fine.” Once again feeling her confidence grow, Alya smiled. “But it’s going to work this time.”

“Whatever you say!” Alix said with a flippant wave of her hand.

It was going to work.

It had to.

What could possibly go wrong?

***

CRASH

With an outstretched hand, Adrien watched a punch-covered Marinette spring from the couch, run into Alya’s bedroom, and slam the door behind her. Where had he gone wrong?

It had been exactly three months, seventeen days, two hours, and twenty-eight minutes since Marinette, the love of his life, had accidentally revealed her identity to Chat Noir.

Her words from that day replayed in his head like a broken record. “I fell in love with a boy who apologized by giving me an umbrella after I thought he put gum on my seat.”

When everything clicked into place, he couldn’t not tell her who he was. At least that’s what he had thought at the time.

Perhaps pulling her into an embrace, whispering her name into her ear, and detransforming was not the best way to handle the situation, but how was he supposed to know that she would react so negatively? Not only was he her loyal partner, but he was also her crush. It seemed like a win-win! Right?

Wrong.

If he had known that she was going to avoid him for months on end, he would have done things differently. But the past was in the past, and he could only hope for a better future. Marinette was his lady, his light, his love. How was he supposed to declare his love if she kept running away?

“Follow her,” Alya whispered into his ear, pulling him away from his thoughts.

“What’s the point?” Adrien wanted to cry. “She told me that she loves me, but I’m not so sure that she does anymore.”

“Wait!” Holding up a hand, Alya had silenced the room with one word. “You’re kidding! That’s what happened? That’s why my girls been wigging out for months?”

Careful to avoid talking about the other reveal from that night, Adrien continued. “Yeah. It was a few months ago. I don’t think she meant to tell me.”

“Did you reject her or something?”

“No, not at all! I was overjoyed when I found out, but she ran away before I could respond.”

“That explains so much.”

He buried his face in his hands. “Maybe I’m scaring her off or something? I don’t know. Can you help me?”

Taking a seat next to him, Alya put a hand on his shoulder. “Would you like me to talk to her first? I can try to calm her down enough for you to talk to her.”

Hope fluttered in his chest. “That would be great. Thank you so much!”

He had the best friends.

“Wait here, Sunshine.” She hopped off of the couch and disappeared into her bedroom.

It felt like hours before Alya finally returned with the go-ahead for him to enter the room. He hopped off the couch, approached the door, and gave a tentative knock. His heart did backflips when he heard the soft “come in” from the other side of the door.

He turned the knob, slowly peeked his head in, and scanned the room. His elation was quickly replaced by concern when his eyes landed on a teary and disheveled Marinette sitting on the edge of the bed.

Despite the towel wrapped around her shoulders, she was still soaking wet with red punch. She looked miserable, and Adrien wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and tell her that everything would be alright. But he was just here to talk.

Only talking.

For now.

“Hey,” he called out, closing the door behind him.

She sniffled and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Hi.”

He was pleasantly surprised when Marinette didn’t react as he crossed the room and took a seat next to her on the bed. So far so good.

Without thinking, his words tumbled out. “Marinette, we really need to talk.”

Her head shot up, and she turned to look at him. Her bottom lip trembled, and fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” she croaked out, “I messed everything up!”

“What?” Adrien couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “How?”

“Not only did I fail as Ladybug and reveal my identity, but I made everything awkward between us!”

“But you didn’t make anything awkward! I did!”

“No, it's my fault! Not yours. I’ve turned you down for two years because I was in love with you as a civilian. I ruined everything!”

“Oh, Marinette, no. Finding out about your crush was the greatest thing that ever happened to me...well, right after learning that my lady and the coolest girl I know are the same person.”

The corners of her mouth twitched into a smile. “Really?”

“Yeah, really.” He nodded. “I love you, Marinette.”

“You do?”

“I love you so much, and I’ve been trying to tell you for months. I didn’t think I could love a person more than I loved Ladybug, and then she turned out to be you, and I’ve never been so happy to have been proven wrong.”

“And all this time, I thought you were going to get mad at me.”

“Mad at you? No! Not at all!” He couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m overjoyed, but you kept running away from me, and you split up our patrol routes. I thought you were mad at me for telling you that I figured out your identity.”

“You thought I was mad at you?” She sobbed into her hands. “This really is a disaster.”

Screw it.

He was in love with her.

He couldn’t let her sit there and cry.

In one swift motion, Adrien leaned over, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into an embrace. She momentarily stiffened before collapsing against his chest and continuing to cry.

Hoping to calm her down before any purple butterflies paid them a visit, Adrien rubbed her back with his palm. “I’m not mad. I promise. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Her voice was small and thick with tears, but they were the sweetest words he’d ever heard.

They sat in silence, allowing him to revel in the embrace. When Marinette eventually calmed down, she snuggled into his chest. It was a good thing that he wasn’t standing because if he had been, he would have definitely fallen over. She was so close and so beautiful. He could hardly contain his joy.

It was a beautiful moment that he wished could last forever...until she shivered.

Oh, right. She was covered in punch.

Here he was, enjoying the moment, letting his (hopefully) soon-to-be girlfriend freeze in wet clothes.

Refusing to let go, he rested his forehead against hers. “Hey, what do you say we get out of here?”

She shook her head. “But...it’s almost midnight, and I think Alya is expecting us to rejoin the party.”

“I think she’ll let it slide.” He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “After all, we wouldn’t want one of Paris’ heroes to get sick, right?”

Marinette giggled. “Yeah, okay.”

She was too cute.

The sound of her laughter was more beautiful than a symphony, and he would do anything to hear it again. He pulled her to her feet and laced his fingers between hers. They managed to leave the party without any qualms from their friends, and soon they found themselves standing on the sidewalk in the cold winter air.

When her teeth started chattering, his grip tightened around her hand before he quickly dragged her into an alley.

“Adrien!” she squeaked, “What are you doing?”

“Plagg, CLAWS OUT!” His transformation illuminated the space around them. “My lady, would you allow me the honor of escorting you home?”

She giggled again. “What’s gotten into you, you silly cat?”

He almost melted on the spot. She was going to kill him. Adrien was but a mere mortal. How was he supposed to survive if she kept being so freaking adorable?

“I’m taking you home the express route.” He held out his hand. “If you’ll let me, that is.”

She nodded and took a step toward him. Adrien swept her into his arms, knees nearly giving out when she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck.

All too soon, they touched down on her balcony; however, even after he lowered her feet to the ground, she didn’t let go.

Goodness, he was so in love.

“We should really get you inside,” he whispered, resting his hands on her waist. “You should put on some dry clothes.”

“Not yet.” She bit her lip as she looked up and met his gaze. “It was soaking wet when I fell in love with you, so it’s only fitting that I’m covered with punch when I do this.

He swallowed. “D-do what?”

Her hands cupped his face as she drew closer. “This.”

The world came to a screeching halt as her lips met his. Her fingers moved to the back of his head, deepening the kiss. It was everything he’d ever dreamed of and more. Her breath became his lifeline, his soul dreading the moment they had to part.

They smiled under the kiss, causing their teeth to clack and their noses to bump, but it was perfect nonetheless. This was his lady, the girl under the mask he swore he’d love no matter what.

When they pulled apart, they fell into a laughing heap on the ground. Cheers erupted around them as fireworks lit up the sky. It was as if the universe itself was celebrating with them.

“I guess that’s one way to ring in the New Year.” She turned her head towards the sky. “This year, we should definitely kiss like that every day.”

“I think that’s one resolution I can definitely keep.” He kissed her forehead. “And maybe we could even kiss more than once a day?”

“I’d like that.” She grabbed his bell and pulled him down to her level. “Let’s start now.”

Adrien was more than happy to oblige.

[pishufics]

study date(s)

"Bertholdt knows that he needs to start trying. It’s junior year, and he’d rather not stay stuck in the same class next year as a senior. If he fails the next test, he’s in some shit. So, he's going to ask you for help."

pairing - bertholdt hoover x reader

tags - high school au, fluff, humor, texting

warnings - none

author’s note -  this was just a one shot but i kept writing lol it kind of switches between you and bertholdt, but i don't directly say his thoughts, it's kind of like 2nd person omniscient if that's even a thing LOL

lmk how the texting reads, i'll change it if it's weird

reblogs and comments are appreciated ! mwah

ao3 

chapter 1 - two days

reinah: I swear if you don’t just ASK her

Do you want to be held back?

bertoto: relax okay i’ll do it :(

r: Okay, okay

Lmk how it goes

b: i never said i was asking today

Bertholdt sighs and locks his phone once he sees Reiner start to type a reply.

Bertholdt is struggling with English, which surprises him. He’s a good student in every other class, but the moment Mr. Ackermann starts talking, he finds himself dozing off, missing the lecture. Recently, though, he’s awake in class, but still not paying attention. All his focus is on you, who sat in the middle of the classroom while he sat in the back, due to his height (he didn’t really mind, though; better chance of not getting caught asleep).

One day, due to some miraculous occurrence, the short, stern teacher actually had the boy’s attention, but not for long.

“Does anyone have number three?” Mr. Ackermann asked. Bertholdt definitely didn’t. He hoped someone would raise their hand so the teacher wouldn’t resort to calling a random name.

To his relief, you did.

“I think what the author was trying to convey was…”

Bertholdt didn’t really get what you were saying, but he admired your intelligence. You knew the material and could explain it in detail, while he couldn’t even recall the book's name in question.

He started to admire more of your traits - he gazed as you would lightly, but briskly, tap your foot in frustration when you didn’t know an answer and smile at the way your face relaxed when you finally got it. Seeing your motivation in class kickstarted his.

Bertholdt knows that he needs to start trying. It’s junior year, and he’d rather not stay stuck in the same class next year as a senior. If he fails the next test, he’s in some shit.

So, he's going to ask you for help.

...Tomorrow.

-

“Girl, I don’t have any more fucking gum. I drove up to Costco, bought the value sized pack, and you somehow managed to chew all of it.” You say exasperatedly, shutting your locker.

Sasha pouts. “Are you sureeee? There’s prolly half a stick left in your front pocket…”

You swat her hand away. “There’s. Nothing. Left. I promise.” She continues to stare at your bag.

“Fuckin-” You mutter, reaching into your bag and pulling out a snack-size bag of Cheezits. They’re one of your favorite snacks, but you know you can’t win when it comes to Sasha and food. You reluctantly hand the bag to her.

“Thanks, y/n!” She smiles and tears open the bag.

“Yknow, you can be annoying as shit, Sasha.”

She winks at you and eats her stolen prize. You turn to leave and head to 3rd period. English.

Hm. You’re usually greeted by your other best friend around now-

“Yeoooo!!” Oh, there he is. Connie daps you up before wrapping his arm around your shoulders. “What’s good?”

“I don’t really wanna go to 3rd," you answer. "Sasha stole my Cheezits."

“Does anyone really wanna go to any class? And that's your fault, you know you can't bring food without Sasha's fatass taking it,” Connie replies, and Sasha punches his shoulder.

“Okay, I know...have you started studying for the test?”

He blankly stares at you. Guess not. You have the same teacher, but different periods, so you can’t keep an eye on him.

“Nevermind. I’ll see y’all later.” You throw up a peace sign and head in the opposite direction.

It’s not like you’re bad at English, but you just don’t like school in general. You go to class to get your participation grade, then go home.

There might be another reason you tolerate 3rd period, though, and it isn’t the professor. (He is pretty fine, but he's an adult, so you don’t let your thoughts escalate).

-

Mr. Ackermann didn’t like assigning things online, so most of the work in this class was on paper, contrasting your other classes where everything was digital. Kind of annoying, but you’ve learned to deal with it.

You mainly use mechanical pencils because you hate the way wooden ones write, but one day, to your slight dismay, you forgot them at home. Just your luck.

There’s a container of pencils and a sharpener in the back of the classroom, so you stand up to go retrieve one and notice a tall boy asleep in a desk not too far back from yours.

Bertholdt Hoover.

You knew him, of course. You find it a little rude to not know your classmates' names; you’ve dealt with numerous “who?”s in previous years and don’t want to put anyone through that, so you make sure to pay attention during introductions.

You chuckle at sight. The class has barely even started, and the guy is already dozing. In an awkward position, at that. One of his long legs is across the other, cramped underneath the desk. His head was laying on his right arm with his left against his hair. You thought to wake him up, but he looked so peaceful, you couldn't bring yourself to do it, plus, it's not your business. Mr Ackermann somehow didn't notice either, so Bertholdt always had a good rest in 3rd period English.

Every time you walked into class, you checked to see what weird position he would be sleeping in. You found yourself looking forward to it- he looked kinda cute when he was sleeping- but he stopped one day. You were a little disappointed, but glad to know that he was starting to pay attention in class. You still glanced at him as you walked in- he's a pretty attractive guy. No harm in just looking...

-

You shrug your backpack off and sit at your desk, stretching your legs out a bit. The walk from your locker to this classroom was kind of far. You reach into your bag, get your mechanical pencil out, and wait for Mr Ackermann to pass out the first assignment.

Just then, you hear someone walk up to your desk, and you glance over.

‘Oh, it’s Bertholdt. I don’t think we’ve ever spoken.’ You feel your face heat up, wondering what he wanted from you.

“Hey, y/n…” He nervously starts.

“Hey. Need something?”

“Yeah, actually...about the upcoming test.”

You hum in curiosity. “What about it?”

He clears his throat. “I’m lowkey failing this class, and if I mess up this test, I’ll have to retake this class next year. Do you think you could, uh…”

Bertholdt inhales in an attempt to calm himself down. It doesn’t really work.

“Could you help me study?” Phew. He managed to get it out pretty well and made a mental note to give himself a pat on the back later. But he hasn’t fully succeeded yet; you still need to agree.

You weren't opposed to the idea. You kind of figured he would be struggling in class a bit since he used to sleep all the time. It’s alright with you, and you wouldn’t mind a potential new friend. Sasha and Connie were exhausting at times.

“Yeah, sure. When?” You pause. “Actually, just text me.” You hold out your hand, asking for his phone.

Bertholdt was practically shaking in his sneakers as he reached into his pocket and handed you his unlocked phone with the contacts app open. You actually agreed! And you were giving him your number! Reiner was going to be so proud, he smiled to himself.

As you type in your info, you appreciate the cleanliness of his phone. That shows you that he’s at least hygienic.

“Aight. Here you go,” you return his device. “See you later.” You smile.

Bertholdt can’t believe this is happening.

Mr Ackermann’s voice interrupts his thoughts. “Oi, Hoover. Sit down.”

Startled, he jumps back a bit at the sudden acknowledgement. He was focused on you and tuned everything else out.

“Sorry, sir.” Bertholdt gives you a quick grin and turns to go back to his desk. Once he sits, he looks down at the new contact:

y/n :)

xxx-xxx-xxxx

Bertholdt can’t help but smile. Just seeing your name and number on his screen made him giddy, and he thought that the smiley face you added was adorable.

His thoughts are interrupted yet again, but not by the teacher. He looks down at his phone, which just buzzed.

| Messages

reinah

Did you do it yet bruh

Good timing. Bertholdt taps on the notification and goes to type a reply, but decides to send him a screenshot of your contact…with your number scribbled out. Reiner was a flirt, and he didn’t want to risk anything.

r: YOOOOOOOOOO HOLY SHIT U ACTUALLY DID IT

Bertholdt rolls his eyes and puts his phone in his backpack. He was going to pay attention- for real - today. He didn't want to seem too clueless when you tutored him.

“Can anyone tell me what rhetorical strategy is being used here?” Mr. Ackermann asked.

Bertholdt certainly could not. But that was changing soon, with your help.

--

“Okaay, we got Ms. Tutor over here now,” Sasha smiles in between bites of a burger.

“Do you even know how to, like, teach, though?” Connie gives you a skeptical look.

“It prolly isn’t too hard. All I gotta do is help him study. If he needs help understanding a concept, I’ll just explain it,” you defend yourself. “We still have two weeks. Ion mind making flashcards or something.”

“You’re getting into it, huh?” Sasha laughs.

Your face heats in embarrassment. “Girl, you know it isn’t like that.”

“And why not? You’re always bitching about how lonely you are. High school isn’t gonna last forever…” she replies.

“I have no recollection of saying anything like that.” You glare. But she isn’t exactly wrong. You’d like to experience the “high school romance” you’ve heard so much about, and Bertholdt is pretty cute. It’s not like dating is a significant concern, though.

“I’m always here as an option, y/n,” Connie winks as he takes a sip of his soda.

“Hell nah.”

Across the cafeteria, Bertholdt is trying to eat a sandwich, but Reiner won’t leave him alone. He was right about Reiner being proud, but Bertholdt almost forgot how persistent the jock could get.

“I didn’t think you had the balls, dude. I was ready to see English 3 on your schedule again next year,” He grins, arm around his taller friend's shoulders.

“...Can I eat?” Bertholdt sighs and shrugs his friend away.

“Have you texted her yet? What day are you gonna hang out with her? You gonna bring her anything? Flowers or somethin’? Girls like that kinda stuff.”

Bertholdt didn’t really think that was true.

“First off, no, not yet. I need to see when I can actually go. Second, no, I am not bringing her anything. I didn’t say it was a date. She’s going to help me study.”

“Fine, man. At least try to seem more interesting, yknow, so she can like...be interested in you.”

“Are you saying I’m boring? Ouch,” He jokingly pouts and rolls his eyes at Reiner’s double usage of ‘interesting.’

“You said it, not me.”

“Okay, I don’t wanna hear that from you...if it came from Annie, then I’d believe it.” Bertholdt looks in the blonde’s direction. She took a bite from her burger, looked up from her phone, and shrugged.

“Damn, for real?” Bertholdt sinks. He didn’t think he was that dull. He did lots of interesting stuff, like…

Like…

Bertholdt sighs in defeat.

“It’s fine. Maybe y/n likes boring,” Bertholdt huffs, taking another bite from his sandwich.

“Yeah, okay, keep telling yourself that and see where it gets you…” Reiner mumbles.

“Come again?”

“Nothing, man…”

School's been over for an hour or two. You’re aimlessly scrolling through your phone when you feel a buzz, and glance towards the top of the screen.

| Messages

xxx-xxx-xxxx

hey

it’s bertholdt 😁

where should we meet up?

Your heart starts to beat a little faster. ‘Relax, girl… don't act like he's asking you out or something,’ you tell yourself.

y/n: hey!

how abt the library?

+  what day/ time works for you?

You add his number to your contacts as you wait for his response.

bertholdt :^)

is saturday at 3 okay?

y/n: yep

do you need a ride or anything?

b: no, but thank you

see you then ☺️

y/n: alrighty :)

You smile at his use of emojis, send what he requested, then swipe down on your screen to check the day (what? It's normal to forget sometimes.) Wednesday. Two days.

You feel like it would be awkward to study with Bertholdt considering you aren’t really friends, so you decide to text him a little more so it isn't too bad when the day arrives.

----

“See? That wasn’t so hard!” Reiner exclaims. “You could’ve tried to talk to her more, but it went good!”

“I think it would’ve been weird if I did say anything else. Best to leave it at that…” Bertholdt exclaims, trying to calm himself down. He had two days.

He wonders what he should do now. Study so he could impress you? Do something to make himself seem more interesting? What would he even do...?

Bertholdt taps back onto the conversation to reread it for the 6th time. Was there anything he could’ve said different? Should he try asking you someth-

Oh, wait-? You’re typing?

“Oh shit- Dude, she’s saying something else. What do I do?” He begins to panic. Did you suddenly decide he wasn’t worth your time? Were you cancelling?

y/n: sooo

how’s your day been?

Whaaaaaatttt?? You actually...care to ask?

Bertholdt stared at his phone in surprise.

“What’d she say? Cmon! Don’t just look, dude!”

“She...asked how my day’s been-”

“-You gotta reply now! You were on the chat when she said it, so she knows you’ve read it!” Reiner urges.

Shit. He doesn't have enough time to think of a good reply.

good, but better since i’m texting you 😉|

The hell? No, that’s weird. And too soon. He tries again...

pretty good, thanks!

kinda stressing over the test, haha

how’s your day going?

There we go. He twiddles his thumbs as he waits for your reply.

y/n :)

oh, dw, it’ll be fine !

my day was okay

sasha took my last bag of cheez its :(

b: ah, i'm sorry abt that :(

+ yeah, you're right

have you as my tutor :)

“Nice job man! That was...kinda flirty? You’ll get there!” Reiner ruffles his hair in encouragement, and Bertholdt shoos him away. He stares at his phone in anticipation. Was that too much?

----

i have you as my tutor :)

You lean your head on your pillow and feel your face heat up at the compliment ( was that a compliment?)

It’s not like you’re dumb, so he’s not wrong to think that. Your lips curl into a smile as you reread the message. But how do you reply? Should you compliment him back? You don’t really know.

if you’re saying i’m smart, thank you :))

hoping that wasn't sarcasm lol

You wait a minute, and he doesn’t reply, so you decide to ask another question.

is there anything specific you wanna focus on?

You cringe at the double texting, but hope that it doesn't make him think you're weird. You swipe away from the conversation and scroll on various apps as you wait.

b: ofc it wasn’t sarcasm, you're really smart, y/n!

i'm mainly struggling with rhetorical strategies and logical fallacies, but i could

use a general review too

if that's okay with you

You bury your almost overheating face into your pillow. Why is something like that getting you flustered, you wonder. You sit up, take a deep breath, and focus on the second part of his message. You're pretty good with what he needs work on, and a general review should be easy to put together.

y/n :) okay, we can focus on the first 2 on saturday

we can review the unit on other days

see you at school:)

At this point, you really don’t know how this conversation could go any further, so you ended it. Bertholdt returns your goodbye.

You exhale and sit up in your bed. Hopefully tutoring him won’t be too awkward now that you’ve spoken to him a bit, and there's still tomorrow at school to speak to him. You find yourself excited for the study date tutoring session, since you could get your homework done too.

"Two days," you smile.

[xbunnybunz]

the devil is always cold [jimmy bae x reader x jack kang]

Summary: You and Jimmy used to be close, or at least, as close as the public eye would allow. After he is defeated by Ben Park, he grows distant. As you struggle to hold onto the last pieces of yourself and the fourth strongest member of the Union, Jack Kang reaches out to you. Loving the devil has never been easy.

Genre: Angst, Romance

Date: November 27, 2020

------

The act of loving goes far beyond things we hear from others.

Jimmy Bae is ferocious, people whisper. A person of violence, of destruction, of pride. He’s merciless, a real devil. Instead of a hot pitchfork, he saunters around Yoosun with a wicked grin and a balled fist. He punishes the good and the bad and everything in between.

Fire springs from the ground his feet have kissed, and making eye contact—even from a distance, has said to cause temporary loss of bladder control. (Noted from the Shuttle Patch itself.) His knuckles never fall dull upon any jaw, anonymous writers post. They say the crack can be heard resonating through the school lot, through the local park, through Yoosun alleyways.

He’s a dangerous man.

Jimmy Bae the fearsome, they say. Jimmy Bae the heartless.

And to some extent, you guess it’s true. You’ve seen the look in his eyes before, the life that sparks like an electrical fire right before the first swing—that look that completes Jimmy Bae’s desperate drive for adrenaline like a missing puzzle piece.

But to you, Jimmy Bae was none of those things. To your ever-expanding universe, he was the raging sun. He had a gravitational pull on you, managed to suck you in with nothing more than a look or a few words. A magnetizing man, a killer man, a lovely man.

You were no stranger to the rumors floating around Jimmy, but those words will always stay just words to you. After all, you’d seen firsthand how he cared for his closest friends. Cared for both you, and Jack Kang.

Jimmy knew of his reputation of course, and had a strange and lingering adoration for it. And so the affection that was dealt to both you and Jack was always subtle, always something that would appear like a wisp of smoke. There for one second and gone the next. It was always appreciated for the ephemeral moment it would show itself, and though Jack didn’t seem to mind the brevity, you always secretly yearned for something more.

At night alone in your room, you’d bundle yourself up nice and warm in blankets. Staring at the ceiling, thinking about Jimmy. Wondered if he did all this because he was fearful of losing claim to his title.

Jimmy Bae, fearful. Anyone else would’ve laughed at the incredulity, but you weren’t anyone else.

So you wondered more, pondered further. Wondered if he was afraid that he couldn’t convince himself he was a cold-blooded predator if he allowed himself to love, even just a bit. If he realized he hadn’t embodied the mask people had carved out for him, would everything he had been fighting for become a charade, gone up in smoke?

You both stir yourself from peace and lull yourself to sleep on these thoughts, in vain. Your concerns and curiosities did nothing to answer your questions. The most you can bring yourself to do is observe and understand.

So when he snarks you, feet propped on the table in the pools place for the third time that week, you do nothing but smile at him.

“What do you mean Jimmy?”

He groans and gets up, rolls his eyes like you’re a waste of his time and space.

“I told you I fucking hate coke. Pepsi, dumbass. Pepsi!” He taps the cold metal can on your head, but it doesn’t hurt and you’re not scared despite his looming height.

You’re sure he said exactly the opposite last time, but when you catch sight of Eunjang uniforms by the cue sticks, you swallow your words.

“Ah Jimmy, sorry about that. I totally suck, huh?” You laugh and let him keep pestering you with the can.

You glance at the Eunjang kids again and pause when you catch Jack’s gaze, eyes dark and hard like shining onyx stones. You recognize the look. It’s the shimmer he gets in his eyes when anyone talks shit about Jimmy, the twinkle that possesses him the moment his fingers itch to form a fist. Strangely, it’s been growing in him recently. Stranger yet, it seems to surface more frequently when Jimmy speaks.

Your eyes fall into a lock with his, and his brows are furrowed just slightly. Perhaps a bypassing detail for anyone else, but for the ever-reticent Jack Kang, this was a telltale sign of a temper quickly boiling over.

You soften your eyes and wink at him. This simple gesture is enough to derail him from his previous growing anger, simmering down to flickering embers. Jack turns away from the scene, but his fists are still balled.

It didn’t always used to be like this. You’ve found yourself reminiscing on the older days more than you care to say aloud. It was something you did in private, so you could pretend you didn’t notice Jimmy changing.

You recall when Jimmy used to loop his arm around your shoulders when the three of you strut down the street. His body was always pressed to yours, large and warm in the summer, arm weighing on you like a heavy blanket. The arm migrated to your back as the leaves turned crimson, then your waist when the wind blew harsher.

You would never say, but you ached for the feeling of his fingers on you again. It used to be so effortless, he was a casual man. A friendly pat here, and a loving ruffle of your hair there. It was addicting, he was a passionate man.

Once he had brushed his fingers along your jaw when examining a bruise you had gotten in the crossfire of a fight. Gossamer touch, but leaving searing skin in it’s wake. You remember the look on his face like it was singed into the back of your eyelids. A slight smirk, cocked head, eyes gleaming auburn—a kindling fire waiting for a forest to burn.

Jimmy Bae wanted you. You felt it with every aching fibre of your being, and you so desperately wanted him too. So you leaned in and let the flames consume you.

He reciprocated as much as he dared, which was enough to turn heads in public. Induce hushed voices asking who that was, standing so close to Jimmy Bae? The whispering was widespread, but no solid evidence of a relationship could be forged from any amount of blurry cellphone pictures, or firsthand accounts. This was, of course, because Jimmy Bae and you were stuck in the limbo between friendship and perhaps something more. Whenever you wanted to ask, your eyes meet his and there’s always a silent plead—sloppily hidden as a command—to never ask.

So you didn’t.

Somewhere between the brawl with Ben Park and Jimmy Bae, Jimmy had grown cold. Harsher on you, more secretive to Jack. Both of you asked, but he would say nothing worth noting. Always throwing red herrings, making shitty jokes. Brushing you off, brushing Jack Kang off, brushing you both off. Even smaller things, like his phone, would always be flipped upside down. Never answered when ringing. Never noticed when vibrating, at least, not around the both of you. A smile plastered on his lips like a dare to even fucking ask. Soon, all you and Jack had was each other.

You recall the week things shifted, even thinking about it left a creaking throb in your chest.

Jimmy had flaked out on Jack for a while and completely avoided you altogether. He’d be busy, he said. Union things, he muttered, before stalking away. He was always occupied now, always too focused on everything and anything but you and Jack. A month of diverted gazes, shifty feet and shitty grins later, he finally called you and Jack out again.

“How much of that shit are you gonna drink?”

You blink and look up at Jimmy, sitting across you with a sneer and some bruises on his pretty face.

“I’m sorry?”

He leans in and sucks his teeth audibly, almost obnoxiously. When he speaks, it’s slow like ridicule.

“I asked, when the fuck are you going to lay off on those sodas?” He scoffs and points at the drink in front of him, then at you. “You know how slow you’ve been getting?”

Jimmy laughs and elbows Jack, who sits stiffly beside him. “They think it ain’t shit enough that all they can do is run!” Jack does not utter a word. You can see his adam’s apple bob when he swallows, his jaw tense when he clenches his teeth. But he says nothing.

Jimmy doesn’t seem to mind. He turns to you again, gesturing in the air.

“Do us all a favor and get rid of that, will ya?”

All you can do is watch the words form and fall from his lips and nod. They descend deep into a cavern in your heart, which consumes it eagerly regardless of the sour feeling it leaves behind.

Jimmy was tenser. Meaner. More eager than ever to defend his title.

You forgave him, because he never seemed really happy about it. His eyes didn’t crinkle the way they used to when he made a jest, his teeth never flashed a smile quite the same. But the words that used to be just words still echoed in your mind.

Jimmy the wretched, Jimmy the heartless. Jimmy Bae, the real devil.

But not all was lost. Almost immediately, Jack caught onto your plight. He noticed the hurt in your eyes when you laughed at a particularly cruel joke Jimmy made about you, hears the drag in your tone when you’re asked to do another chore suit for a shuttle.

Jack Kang is a quiet one. He’s silent, but ever watchful. This makes him a hard opponent to read, a hard opponent to fight, and an even harder opponent to hide things from.

“It doesn’t bother me at all,” You say, picking at your fingers. “I hadn’t even noticed.”

You press your back into your bedroom wall, kicking your feet absentmindedly off the bed and hoping to recede into the cracks, away from his umber gaze.

He clicks his tongue and sighs, shoulders dropping, brown eyes piercing straight through you.

“’Doesn’t bother you?’ ‘Haven’t noticed?’” He sits beside you and the bed creaks under his weight, movie on the television long forgotten. He reaches out and places two hands, almost familiar, on your shoulders. “Tell me what’s going on. Doesn’t this…”

He hesitates, like he’s wondering if ‘hurt feelings’ is something he should talk about. Like he’s wondering about the implications between you and Jimmy, about the space he had to wriggle in between the both of you and ask. You hate that he figured you out. Hate that you even had feelings to be hurt in the first place. You despised that Jack and Jimmy were so hardened by the streets that even emotions were embarrassing to speak about in private, let alone display in public.

You place a hand on his wrist and feel his bone and tendons under your fingertips. Somewhere beyond that, there’s a faint pulse, quiet and steady, just like him.

“Jack, I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” You smile at him and hope it’s enough reassurance, but one look at him and you know otherwise.

Jack holds your stare. He’s calling out your bluff without speaking, and for some reason that hurts more than all the horrible things Jimmy has said to you. You never lied to Jack, because you never had a reason to. As close as he was to Jimmy, he was to you. He had unwavering loyalty to anyone he trusted, brutally honest and always genuine. You couldn’t ask for a better person to be by your side.

Jack hadn’t spoke much when you first met and that put you on edge. His gaze was too intense, eyebrows always set in a deep furrow. There was no way to read this man, and yet no way to read him wrong—don’t mess with him, and he won’t mess with you. You avoided him, much like everyone else does when they first meet Jack, until the day you watched him fight.

It was an accident. Your eyes were always on Jimmy, always following his bouncing feet, flying jabs and dirty mouth. Then Jack crossed your vision, and you were unable to look away.

He was fierce, hits landing hard, fast, and always right on target. Jack was like a machine, churning away at making the best hits with the fastest recovery times. Most shocking to you was, unlike Jimmy, he never lashed his tongue even once. He made no promises to take his opponent down, no taunts or mockery to discredit their fighting style. For what Jack lacked in banter, he made up for in actions.

It was then you noticed the way he purchased hot drinks for you after a cold day, how he offered you the spare motorbike helmet each and every time, opting to ride without one even if it destroyed his gelled hair. “I like the wind.” He’d say. But you knew he was lying the moment he looked in the first rear-view mirror you came across, re-styling stray pieces.

Even then, you hadn’t cared for him much. All your mind and body was dedicated to Jimmy, until one day you found Jack glancing over his shoulder in the middle of fights, something Jimmy never did, seeming to search for something in your direction.

It irritated you at first. Made you feel self-conscious, but then you realized he was checking to ensure you were safe from harm. He was sweet in a subtle way that was different from Jimmy, the sparseness in his care was due more to nativity than selectivity.

You learned to trust him, understand him through actions and not words. Jack always found the time to be with you. He’d listen to your doting on Jimmy, nodding along, pretending to be intrigued and only falling asleep once. From your time together, you had learned Jack was always honest, always straightforward, always speaking his mind.

You appreciated his commitment to tell the truth, which is why your inability to reciprocate was so painful now.

“Seriously.” You slide your hand from his wrist up his arm, the muscle rippling like a tide under his pressed white shirt. His eyes travel to the movement, stare weighing heavily between you two.

“I’m alright, Jack.” You try to pry him off you gently now that he was distracted.

“Confess to him.”

You stop short. “What?”

You look back up at Jack and he’s got those steely eyes trained on you again, pinning you to the spot.

“You like Jimmy, so confess to him.”

You falter for a split second, then create a diversion with raucous laughter. “Oh Jack, I thought you were being serious for a second. Geez dude!” You slap his chest lightly but he doesn’t budge an inch. “Confess? You already know how deep the Union’s got him.”

Jack remains unfaltering and you try your best to hide how it unnerves you, reminds you of when you knew so little about him.

“Do it. You have nothing to lose.” His words slice through you like a hot knife and it breaks your heart just a little bit more. Nothing to lose?

Jack’s lips are set in a straight line, like always. He’s always so monotonous, but when you speak it sounds like a squeak of the mattress springs, “Jack... Are you alright?”

He’s got a look in his eye you can’t understand. “He’s hurting you and I hate it. Tell him how you feel. If he likes you then it’ll stop.”

You almost want to laugh at how easy he makes it sound, how he just ignored years of your strife and struggle just to hold onto a piece of the ever-elusive Jimmy Bae. But when you look at Jack, you can’t bring yourself to do anything but shrink away.

“…I’m scared of what’ll happen after.” You say.

He looks at you, really looks at you, and like always, you feel so transparent around him, so naked and bared to the bone.

“Me too.” He says.

Before you can make anything of this, he pulls you into a hug. He’s much larger and envelopes you too easily, all the sharp edges of his bones and firmness of his muscles and the pounding of his heart boxed into one embrace.

Jack Kang was the turbulent one. The tricky one, calm on the surface and storming underneath.

You’ve seen him throttle men twice his size with no trouble at all, a fierce energy blazing through him thirsting for more bloodshed. His fists are iron, and he’s fast as a bullet. But in this moment, he holds you tenderly, carefully, as if you’d splinter and shatter under his callous touch.

“Jack…”   You return the hug and wrap your arms around his shoulders, pushing your face into his neck. He smells like motorcycle gas and hair mousse. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.” You say.

He swallows a lump in his throat, you can feel him gulp against your shoulder. When he speaks, his voice cracks. “You didn’t.”

“Jack?” You knit your brows together, using your hands to pry him away so you can get a closer look at him. “Jack, what’s wrong?”

He holds on tight for a long second, constricting his arms around your torso like it was the last thing keeping him afloat on a storming ocean, trying to drag him deeper, deeper, deeper. But he pulls back eventually, and it’s so sudden your teeth click with the motion.

His hair is disheveled, falling across his forehead and brushing his dark brown lashes, close enough for you to count, so close you can see the pang of desire, of reservation in his eyes, shining like wet gems, feel every single warm breathy exhale on your lips.

“…Jack?”

He doesn’t reply, holds you there, just watching, oozing restraint. Despite his stiffness, you become aware of the soft duvet beneath you both, aware of the deepening orange sky across the horizon, bleeding past your curtains, washing over the room, and the chill that comes with it.

His grip on your arms tightens and then relaxes, tightens then relaxes, like he’s debating something. You watch him, entranced by the way the sunset put embers into his chocolate eyes.

“I…” He begins, voice low, lower than you’ve ever heard, almost a whisper. “I…”

He cups your face with his fingers, just barely daring to touch you. Everything he does is done with hesitation. The moment feels fragile, like glass. Like a pin dropping, or just a fragment of doubt would shatter it into a million pieces, but now, this second, he was here. Moving closer so slowly, pushing his forehead against yours, eyes searching, breathing heavy and mingling with yours.

You were confused still, conflicted. Jack was so close, so warm, so enticing, and yet Jimmy lingered in the back of your mind, his auburn hair, chesire grin and cheeky personality burning a hole into your heart and shooting tremors through your hands. What would he say about this, about you, about Jack? And darker still, a thought slipped into the cracks of your heart: would he even care? Did you even mean anything to him anymore?

You knew Jack was thinking the same, knew he was keenly aware of his proximity, aware of how he was waltzing along the edge of no return—not just for himself, but you as well.

And this may have been what stopped him short. Pausing, he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, each seeming longer than the last. Then he pulls away, the space between you put a cold ache in your chest.

Jack puts his face in his hands, twisting his body away from you, like he can’t bear to see you.

“I’m… Sorry.”

You still feel an icy tundra washing over your body, but couldn’t understand why if Jimmy was the one you were thinking of. Still, for whatever reasons Jack had, you wanted to be there for him. You reached out a hand, caressing his back.

“It’s alright,” You say. “We’ll always have each other.”

He says nothing, but you think he leans into your touch just a bit more.

After this moment, Jack makes it a point to sit beside you, much to Jimmy’s surprise.

“Picking favorites now are we?” Jimmy would joke, but his laughter was always hard around the edges. Like he knew he missed something vital. “How the tables turn.”

Jack wouldn’t respond to him, instead finding your hand under the table to give it a squeeze. Just a simple action, fingers interlocking with your own.

This was enough to keep you going for another month—the time it took for you to find Jimmy squatting behind the school, smoking a cigarette and palming at his eyes.

It was chilly out, almost nearing the end of the winter. A thin sheet of snow covered the floor, and though you were bundled up, Jimmy was wearing the same old Union jacket Na had assigned to the Yoosun district. You learned a lot about that jacket, learned to love how Jimmy beamed, wearing it for the first time back in middle school, learned to hate how Na used it as a chain to keep dragging Jimmy back into the dark. Those harrowing nights he’d return from always beat, bloodied, but never defeated.

“Jimmy,” You start, and flinch at how your voice echoed, louder than you’ve heard it in months. You clear your throat, adjusting your volume. “Jimmy, what are you doing out here?”

He doesn’t respond immediately. Only exhales through his nose, something between a grunt and a gritty chuckle scraping past his lungs. He palms at his eyes for a few seconds more, turned away from you, spine curved into a lazy cove.

Then he looks up at you. His eyes are gleaming in the winter sun, bursting with something like adrenaline, anchored down by something so heavy, so deep in those spiraling fiery eyes.

His words make a puff of smoke in the air, mingling with the cold mist seeping from his lips, “The fuck do you want?”

You cringe at his tone and look away, sticking your hands into your pockets, swaying about.

“I was just…” You trail off, because you’re scared, that’s what you are. Scared of making him mad, scared of making things worse, scared of being pushed away. “…Wondering if you were cold.”

He gives you a look and shakes his head, turning back to face the furnace, gray smog exuding from the pipes.

“The fuck? Why would I be?”

You say nothing. His voice is clipped. Sharper than it usually is, and although you’re used to the pain, it cuts deep. You can tell he isn’t interested in speaking to you, that he’s telling you to leave in the subtle way Jimmy Bae always does, in the subtle way he used to hold you, touch you, worship you.

But you know what this means. You can feel the end creeping up on you like a shadow when dusk looms, rising from the grave you’ve dug so deep for it, hoping to never see it in the light of day again. If you leave now, you’ll never get the chance to speak to him again. He was closing you out, so slowly you hadn’t even recognized it at first. Looking back now, he had given you all the signs.

“Jimmy, I really—” Your voice flickers in and out like a dying flame. “I have something to tell you.”

He sighs. A deep, heavy, burdened sigh. You’ve never heard him sound like this before, you think he must be just as heartbroken as you, maybe, but then he flashes his teeth like he’s laughing at a joke.

“Listen. Babe.” He pivots himself, now facing you completely. He rests his elbows on his knees, propping an arm up and resting his chin on it. “Babe. You’re killing me here. People drift apart, you know that, don’tcha babe?”

He takes a drag from the cigarette, sucking so deep into his lungs you swear he’d turn purple. Pulls it away from his lips, chapped from the cold.

“I’m sure everyone else has noticed, catch my drift?” He cocks his head at you and suddenly you’re thrust back in time, back when he first looked at you like that under a spring sky. Eyes on fire, man on fire, Jimmy Bae and you, on fire. Then you’re back, standing frigid in the ice, snow dusting your lashes, your hands, your cheeks. Just you, in the cold.

“You’ve been pissing me off, babe. Clinging like a bitch. And I know ya know better than that, so I’m gonna ask you nicely, listen real fuckin' close.” He leans in like he’s telling you a secret, an eyebrow quirked up. “Give me some space, and I won’t take out your two front teeth.”

He takes another lengthy inhale of burning tobacco then drops it alongside the numerous other cigarette butts on the floor, crushing it underfoot his new sneakers.

Grins up at you. “Nothing personal though, right babe?”

You’re stupefied at first.

Jimmy bae, the fearsome.

So shocked and numbed that you can barely feel anything but your bursting heart.

Jimmy Bae, the heartless.

It itches like a fresh scab stretching across all the flesh of your insides, thrumming for the moment you reach the end of your rope, thrumming for release.

Jimmy Bae, the real devil.

You take the first faltering step backwards, and the spell he had over you is finally broken. Another shaking step, another, until you turn and run back towards the school, running past a blur of leafless trees and a halted figure, leaving Jimmy alone by the furnace.

Jack unsticks himself from the ground, wrenching around to watch your retreating figure, brows shooting upwards. “What the hell?” He spots Jimmy, a loose smile playing at the corners of his lips. “What did you…?”

Jimmy combs a hand through his hair and shrugs sluggishly.

“What? Don’t tell me you feel bad for them?”

Jack freezes, watching Jimmy. “Fuck,” He mutters, squeezing his eyes shut, harder and harder until he sees stars, sees your silhouette fading into the distance, sees himself telling you to confess. “Fuck!”

He opens then, shooting Jimmy a look that he’s never once in his life had the anger to muster. Jimmy hums, amused, as Jack takes off after you.

He hears the echoes of Jack calling you ringing in his head, ringing in that small enclosure, carrying long and far from the tiny alley leading to the school.

Only when he’s sure that both of you are long gone does he let out another exhale, body uncoiling and falling into itself, crumpling like paper. He pats his hair free of the snow and rubs at his reddened nose, snowflakes falling upon his face, melting instantly. Walking up to the furnace, he warms his hands and pulls the Union jacket closer to his body. Pulls out a cigarette and a lighter.

Click. Click. Click.

“Ah, forget it.”

He pockets the lighter and just lets the cigarette dangle from his lips, crossing his arms over his body, letting the frigid air slow his mind, his pulse.

Jimmy stands there for a long time, until the sun falls below the horizon, until the shadows cast by the trees consume him, all alone. He doesn’t mind. He conditioned himself to be alright with it last year, right before the fight with Ben Park. Right after he saw the way Jack looked back at you.

He takes out his phone, switches it on. The light is blinding for a second, like the sun, then his eyes adjust. About a dozen messages from Kingsley Kwan, a few from Phillip Kim.

Trash to him. Amber eyes search beyond that, swipes a finger to clear notifications.

Jimmy stands there, reveling in the image, basking in the light it sweeps over his face. The last bit of you he had to hold onto, a photo taken earlier last year. Just you, Jack and him sitting around a trashfire in the Yeongduengpo Local Park. Simpler days, easier days.

His eyes drift to your face, then to the arm he had wrapped around your waist. Hears the wind bellow, feels his fingers twitch, colder than ever.

“Hah, shit.”

He shoves the phone into his back pocket, shaking his head and speaking to no one in particular.

“I’m freezing my ass off here, you dense motherfuckers.”