#fic: sugar and spice

[heechwe]

❝ Harder, god, harder ─ ❞

action 7

location 19

with sunghoon

<33

Your chest is pressed flat against the long table, the sounds of your lovemaking filling the room. Sunghoon keeps you down with one hand on the center of your back as he plows into you, the other hand gripping onto one of your hips tightly.

You would be mortified if any of your coworkers could see you in the position you were in now with your shift supervisor.

Thankfully, everyone has gone home for the day, leaving the two of you to fuck on every surface of the expansive work area, your first stop being the conference room Sunghoon was leading a team meeting in ten hours prior.

You swear you can see the glass windows around the room fogging up.

“Harder, God, harder Hoonie. Please,” you beg. His pace increases once he puts his other hand on the opposite hip, now slamming into you with reckless abandon and making the table shake under your body.

“Anything you want, princess,” Sunghoon grunts, the slap of your skin against his making his mouth water.

He may be an unapologetic dick in the light of day, but he can’t say no to you when you ask so nicely.

hosting a drabble game; come request one! 🤍

[libraryofloveletters]

chapter nine: secrets come back to haunt

Sebastian Vettel x Fem!Reader

Warnings: old faces return, seb's world is turned upside down, secrets are revealed, hidden relationship status so to speak, y/n is trying her best here, a bit of bashing, mentions of postpartum depression, a lot of back and forth, a small bit of crude/flirty humour from seb, dragging up the past, sadness - this is a really emo chapter sorry.

Word Count: 3.8k

Author’s Note: again, I'm sorry for disappearing. there's a lot going on lmao, but I'm back (for now) so take this :)

sugar and spice; all things nice masterlist

--

Sundays were reserved for racing, they always have been.

Since Sebastian was 3 years old, all he's known was the race track. He'd spend hours with his family, going round and round on the track until he was forced out of his kart. Even as a grown man, it was the same; fighting for race wins and championship titles, Sebastian Vettel found himself surrounded by mechanics, loud cars and screaming fans.

Sunday mornings were a bit different now.

The scent of oranges and peaches filled the air, the clattering of shopping cart wheels were a change in pace from the ones he was used to. Amelia tugged her father's hand, getting his attention.

"What about this one, papa?" She asked her dad, blonde curls unruly and framing her face. Sebastian looked at what she was showing him, an apple with no bruises or dents, and nods.

"Perfect."

Milly dropped the apple into the bag she was holding, looking for another one as her father watched her.

It was quiet in the store, a few people shopping as well as the workers chatting as they did their jobs. Sebastian's mind drifted to you as he watched Milly pick out apples. Never would he have envisioned his life this way after everything that happened; happy, content.

There was a feeling building in his chest, not one of happiness but as if he was being watched. He lived a normal life now that he's retired but it's not abnormal for him to be noticed. More often than not, the person would say hello and ask for a photo, then they're on their way.

Today, for some reason, Sebastian couldn't shake the feeling.

This was a bad feeling.

Sebastian tries to shake off the thought, thinking it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. But no matter where he went, that feeling stuck with him like a stubborn shadow.

Unable to shake it off, Seb glances over his shoulder and his heart stops, skips a beat, and drops to his stomach all in the matter of a second.

He wasn't certain if he was seeing right or if he was imagining things.

Brown hair cascaded over the woman's shoulders, her eyes scanning what was in front of her for a moment before she looked up - as if she felt him looking at her.

As he lived and breathed, he didn't think he'd ever see her again, let alone at the grocery store on a Sunday morning.

The woman smiles at him, Sebastian turns away and his attention is back on Amelia. "Sweetheart," he calls out to her, the little girl puts the bag with apples into the cart and looks at her dad.

"Hm?"

"We need to go," he grabs her hand and her brows furrow, confused by her father's sudden actions. "What? What's going on papa?" She asks, following her father as he walks towards the exit with her.

The shopping cart abandoned in the middle of the produce section, Milly's little legs moving as quick as they can as she follows her father out of the store.

"Papa," she calls out of him, the man helping her into the car.

"I think I left the oven on," he fibs, the concern on his face was enough to sell it. A small oh left her lips as he shuts the door and gets in himself, the two of them heading back to the house.

Sebastian lets her in, Milly stays by the front door as Sebastian walks to the kitchen. The girl follows behind her father, peeking from the doorway to see that the oven was in fact off.

"It's not on," she tells him, brows furrowed as they were before they left the store. Seb hums, shrugging. "Better safe than sorry, hm?"

She pouts, "can we go back to the store, papa? I wanna get cookies!"

"We're already home, love bug." He walks over to her, scooping her up in his arms. Sebastian twirls her around, her giggles settling his feelings - all the worries melting away. "How about we order something for lunch and then we can go over to y/n's? I'm sure Liv would love to make cookies with you."

She nods, a big grin on her face - granted a tooth or two that were missing. "Yeah!"

Sebastian puts her down, kissing the top of her head before she runs off to the living room, putting the tv on.

It takes Sebastian a minute to gather himself. All of the thoughts running wild and the most horrifying feeling passing through him when he saw her in the store today. A million different things happened at once and he wasn't sure what to do, or how to react, or if he should go up to her or not.

He couldn't think of putting Milly through that situation yet again, it was hard enough when she started growing up and asking for her.

The doorbell rings, and once again Sebastian is paralyzed with fear.

Fear of what's to come, what she could possibly want, what he would tell Milly if the situation were to escalade.

He never moved, the same house they started to build their life in was the same house she walked out of and never looked back. Why would she come back now?

There's a knock this time, small and gentle but loud enough for him to hear.

Walking to the door, he sees not one but two figures on the other side of the frosted panel. One taller and one smaller, he smiles when he realizes who it is.

"Hi Mr. Seb!" Liv smiled at the man, he smiled back at her. "Hi sweetheart, come in." He steps aside from her to come in and all the noise alerts Milly that someone was at the door.

"Hi Liv! Hi y/n!" The blonde girl waves to you, you wave back to her as she and Liv run upstairs to her room to play.

Sebastian pulls you into a hug after you shut the door, his hands slipping under the hem of your shirt - you're here, you're real, you're home.

"Are you okay?" Your question comes out quietly, your own fingers tangled in the unruly curls at the nape of his neck - you should remind him to get a haircut soon.

Sebastian hums, sighing as he lets you go. "I'm okay, just needed a hug." He says, now holding your hand as you two walk to the living room. He sits down, pulling you into his side and the sound of SpongeBob's laughter breaks the silence in the room.

Despite Seb assuring you that he's fine, you still felt as if he was hiding something from you. An arm stretched over the back of the couch, mindlessly twirling his hair.

"Seb?" You called.

"Yes honey?" He turns to look at you, a soft smile on his face.

"What's on your mind? You look.. tense."

"Nothing a good back rub won't fix," he says, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

"Sebastian.." You rolled your eyes playfully but your tone was enough to let him know you weren't fond of his change in topic.

He takes a deep breath, his eyes shifty and his chest rising and falling as if he had just finished a race. "I uh.." he starts, taking another deep breath. "I saw Lilly."

Your brows furrow; it takes a moment for you to connect the dots but when you do, your jaw hangs open, looking at your boyfriend. "You saw.. Lilly?"

"Yeah." He says, nonchalantly.

"Where- um.. did she.. where did you see her?"

Seb sinks back into the cushions, looking at you. "She was at the grocery store. Mils and I were shopping and I felt someone staring at me. I turned around and there she was, alive and well."

"Did you talk to her? Did she come over to you guys?"

"No, I grabbed Milly and left before she got a chance too. I don't even know if she really registered that it was me or if she was just looking in my direction."

You nodded, going quiet for a moment. "Do you think.. maybe she'll come looking for you guys? I mean, I know you looked for her after she left but, did she ever try to reach out to you guys?"

"No, never. After she left, she never looked back. I searched for her, hired PIs, called her family, I did everything I could but she was gone. I don't know why she's back, I didn't care to find out."

You understood where he was coming from. You felt the same way about Olivia's father but after all, Sebastian is his own person with his own feelings.

"Maybe she's got her reasons, and like you said, maybe she didn't even register that it was you. Perhaps she's back for something that has nothing to do with you and Milly." You say, squeezing his shoulder softly.

Sebastian nods, leaning into your touch. The two of you sat there in silence for a bit, not bothering to change the cartoons Milly had left on until Sebastian stood, announcing that he was off to take a shower.

You left him in the living room, off to make yourself some tea when he hugs you from behind. His chin on your shoulder, "wanna join me?"

"Join you where? In the shower?"

"Yeah," he whispers, kissing your neck softly.

You roll your eyes, "keep it in your pants, Sebastian. We've got children upstairs."

"It's okay, we can use the bathroom down here, and they won't hear anything over the water."

You laughed, "how sweet of you to come up with a solution. Go shower, I'll see you after." You turn, giving him a kiss before sending him off his way - begrudgingly if you asked him.

As he disappeared up the stairs, you made yourself busy and cleaned up the kitchen a bit. You loved Sebastian but between his affinity for trying new things and his messiness, the kitchen was a disaster zone. Something resembling pancake mix sat almost empty on the counter and there was a stack of plates in the sink, utensils sticking out between them.

If you cleaned up a bit, the four of you could head out for an early dinner with the girls and perhaps catch a movie afterwards.

Hands covered in soapy water when the doorbell rings, you didn't think Sebastian was expecting anyone. Perhaps it was his parents coming for a visit or a neighbour seeking out something. There's a knock, yet a few seconds after the bell rings. Well they're rather impatient, you think.

"Coming!" You shouted, wiping your hands on the hand towel, slinging it over your shoulder as you made your way to the door.

Upon opening the door, you're met with a woman. Slender and tall, brown hair tossed over her shoulders and brown eyes to match. Her face shows an expression of confusion as she tries to look past you into the house.

"Hi, can I help you?" You asked, shifting slightly to block her view of the entryway.

She looks you up and down, before making eye contact with you. "I'm looking for Sebastian."

"Sebastian.." You trailed off, not 100% sure if she meant your Sebastian or just any random man off the street named Sebastian. Well after all, she probably meant your Sebastian as she was at his house.

"Vettel," she says, her brows furrowed and her face seems displeased with your answer. "Sebastian Vettel, does he live here?"

You aren't sure how you're supposed to handle this. What if she was some stalker? You're not gonna tell her yes.

"Can I ask why you're looking for him?" Yet again, you're met with a look of displeasure and annoyance.

"I'm Lilly, his wife."

Your heart drops to your stomach; his wife. It was obvious to the woman standing outside that you knew who she was now, that you knew Sebastian and clearly you weren't aware he was married.

"I- give me a moment." You tell her, shutting the door and heading up the stairs.

You find the bathroom door unlocked and Sebastian turns to see who came in, towel wrapped around his waist. He smiles when he sees you.

"What? Decided you wanted a piece of this after all?" He gestures to himself, making an obscene face while wiggling his eyebrows.

You shook your head, "she's downstairs."

"What? Who's downstairs?"

"Lilly. Lilly's downstairs. She's outside, looking for you. She also said-" You shook your head, sighing. "Never mind."

Sebastian gives you a look, getting dressed as quickly as he can. "What? What did she say?"

"She said she's your wife."

His forehead wrinkled, clearly confused. "We weren't married. Engaged, yes, but she left. I haven't thought about that in years."

There was more to the story, you didn't want to press him, at least not right now. "Okay," you nodded. "What do I tell her?"

"I'll deal with her," he says, stepping past you.

You follow him down the stairs, Sebastian heading towards the front door and you were off to the living room, feeling slightly out of place. He grabs your hand, "where are you going?"

"I don't-" "No, I want you with me." He says, holding your hand as he leads you back to the front door.

He takes a deep breath, opening the door to see Lilly there. You're stood in the doorway, door pulled half way shut behind you and Sebastian steps out onto the porch with Lilly.

"Hi honey," she says to Sebastian, her words laced with sweetness. You swallowed, watching the exchange between the two of them. Sebastian was a few feet away from her, "hello Lilly."

"So formal," she smiles at him, almost teasingly. He doesn't react. "How are you?"

He's straight to the point. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you, and Milly."

"Amelia," he corrects her, "you don't get to call her that."

"Why not?" She asks, "she's my daughter, Sebastian."

He can't help but scoff, shaking his head at the woman. "You can't call yourself her mother if you haven't been in her life, Lilly. You've been gone 6 years, do I need to remind you of that?"

Lilly's eyes widened, feigning a look of surprise - as if she wasn't expecting Sebastian to say that, as if he'd just let her walk back into their lives.

"What do you need? Money?" He asks her, unsure as to what her actual motive was.

"No," she shook her head, huffing. "I'm here to see my daughter, and you."

"You can't see her."

"Why not?" She fought back, stepping closer to him. Sebastian takes a step back. "I need to see her, Sebastian."

"I'm not letting you see her, Lilly. You walked out of our lives, out of her life and you don't get to walk back in just because you feel like you're ready to be a mother."

Lilly rolled her eyes at the man. "I am her mother."

"Only biologically."

There's a noise from behind you, all three of you turning to see what it was. Milly and Liv were coming down the stairs, looking for you and Seb. You glance at your boyfriend and he nods towards the girls, you take that as you sign to leave them and head inside. The door shut behind you, the silhouettes of the two people on the porch seen through the panel of frosted glass.

"Who's outside?" Liv asks you, the girls look towards you for an answer.

You fib, "just a neighbour, they needed Seb's help with something. How about a snack ?" You ushered them towards the kitchen, glancing over your shoulder to the door before walking away with the girls.

The brown haired woman looked through the panel, seeing you with the two girls. "Is that her? Milly?"

Seb glances to see the blonde girl sharing something with her best friend and he nods.

"So who's the woman? My replacement?" Lilly looks towards him for an answer. Her tone ignited an anger in him but he bites his tongue.

"She's not a replacement, you've been gone for 6 years. I'm allowed to move on with my life. Don't speak about her that way."

Lilly raised her eyebrows, yet again surprised by Sebastian's feistiness. "Is that so?"

"She's my girlfriend, have some respect. She's been in Milly's life long before that, treating her as if she was her own. She's more of a mother to her than you are."

"You have another woman raising my child?"

"You didn't raise her, so frankly I don't think you have a say in that. She's been nothing but good to Milly, she loves her and cares for her. She's a good influence, and never has she ever done anything to make anyone think otherwise."

Lilly asks the question he knew was coming; "Do you love her ?"

It was a simple question, really. He didn't even need to think about the answer. It was instinct.

"Yes, I do."

It goes quiet for a moment, Sebastian can see the hurt on Lilly's face. A part of him feels bad but he also shouldn't feel bad as it's not his fault they're in their situation, is it?

"Why are you really here, Lilly?"

"I told you," she starts, "I want to be a family, Seb. I want you and mil- Amelia," she corrects herself, "back. I want us to be together again. I know I left, but you have to see with me, it was so hard. You were never there, Seb. It was me and Amelia by ourselves, it's so hard caring for a baby, especially one that cried and screamed all night. I was restless and tired, and upset that you weren't there for me, I couldn't do it anymore. I didn't know what else to do."

It breaks Seb's heart to see her like this, after all she is Amelia's mother and once his fiancée, but it's not fair to him or to Amelia either.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, I really am but I did the best I could, you have to understand my side of things too." He sighs. "I had a job, you knew how demanding it was, you knew I'd be away from home a lot. I didn't party, I didn't go on lavish trips with the team, I turned down events and brand ambassadors so I could have as much time as possible at home with you two. I tried, Lilly. You think I didn't want it to work? For us to be a family?"

She looks at him, it felt like it did 6 years ago, the two of them fighting over the things they can't change, the impossible circumstances in which life had dealt them.

"Had you told me you needed a break, that you needed to be alone for a bit, we would have figured it out but you didn't. You left, Lilly. Snuck off in the middle of the night without so much of a warning. I didn't know what else to do. I looked for you, for months, calling you, your family, begging for them to tell you to come home and you never did. I'm sorry but I can't let you walk back in after all of that. It's not only you that went through a rough time, so did we."

"We were engaged," she says, words coming out quietly. "Does that mean nothing to you?"

He looks at her, heart in his hands, the feeling weighing heavy on him. "No," he shakes his head, words just as soft and full of sorrow. "Not anymore."

She lets out a shaky breath, nodding. There's a feeling of despair, perhaps even disappointment lingering. The idea of what could have been, what life would have been like had she stayed, the good and the bad. Who's to know if they'd still be together after all of it if she had stayed or if they'd be on the same path they were on now.

That's the harsh reality of life.

"Tell her I love her," Lilly tells him, stepping off the porch. "I always have."

"I know," he nods, "she knows that too."

And with that, she's off. Much like the first time, yet so different. All the things that should have been said were out in the open and a weight was off of Sebastian.

He stepped back into the house as the girls were headed back upstairs. "What did the neighbour want, papa?" Milly asks her dad, her sweet face looking up at him.

"Nothing really, baby. Just needed my help to move something from the garage into their house."

She nods, she and Liv head back up to her room to play. Sebastian sees you leaning on the counter, arms folded over your chest as you watch him with your daughters. He smiles sweetly at the girls before making his way down the hallway to you.

"Everything okay?" You rub his back softly as the man collapses into you.

"Yeah," he whispers, holding you a little tighter. "Everything is okay."

"Has she left?" You let him go, he moves to stand beside you and mirrors your lean on the counter. "Mhm hm, I don't think she's coming back."

You hum, unsure what the right thing to say is. If you say good, it seems like you want her gone. If you say okay, it seems like you don't care. A hum is simple, an answer in itself.

Sebastian can see the wrinkles on your forehead, his finger pointed as he counts. "One, two, three, four.."

"What are you doing?"

"Counting your wrinkles," he says with a smile. You laugh, swatting his hand away. Sebastian pulls you into his side, an arm slung over your shoulder. "What's on your pretty ol' mind? Penny for your thoughts?"

"My thoughts cost more than a penny, Sebastian."

"Well, lucky for you y/n, money is no objective."

You give him a small smile, shifting to look at him. "Why did you never tell me you were engaged?"

He takes a moment, before shrugging. "It's not that I was hiding it from you but it was a long time ago, it's not something I like to talk about. It just reminds me of a bad time in my life, that's all."

It was a fair enough answer, you don't need to know everything about his life. He didn't know everything about your life.

He nudges your shoulder, "why? Do you have a secret engagement you're hiding from me?"

"Oops, did I forget to tell you?" You play a look of shock, a hand over your mouth. "The prince of Dubai and I are set to get married next weekend.

Sebastian smiles, "you know, I've met the prince of Dubai, he's a really nice guy. I think you'll be very happy in your marriage."

You laugh, swatting his arm. "I'm sure I will be."

---

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[imagionationstation]

“Can you listen?”

Raph’s world tilts, the same way it always does when he uses that tone of voice. “What?”

“Can you listen? Just, listen?”

He closes the comic immediately. “If I gotta.”

Mikey enters the room and sits. His head rests against the edge of the bed as Raph puts his feet on the floor. His brother stares at the roof, solemn.

“I think it’s my fault,” His voice doesn’t have the Mikey tint to it. It’s burdened and stiff. He hates it. “That no one likes me.”

Raph’s pinches his arm to stop the impulse to open his mouth.

Mikey’s eyes are distant. He’s faraway, stuck in thoughts that he hardly ever has, in a sluggish moment that makes his movements slow and each word pronounced. “I know I care be weird. And loud. And- and I see them. The looks. From.”

He stops, as if he can’t remember if there was more to that statement. Or maybe he doesn’t want there to be.

Mikey’s supposed to be an open book. And yet, sometimes even he can’t bear to flip his own pages.

“We’re different. I know that. Humans won’t like us. Because we’re... Monsters.” Mutants, he wants to correct, in the same way that he does when Donnie whispers the hateful freak to the mirror.

He digs his fingers into the sheets. Why does he have to watch, time and time again, as it spreads like a plague between them? “And- And not ‘cause we are. We just… It’s just that way for us.”

He looks up. Raph nods, a stiff motion. Not talking. Listening. 

“And I can be different. ‘Cause of my head. And my- my-” He waves vaguely to explain what they both already know. “And it’s not bad. But it can be. Bad. Annoying. And it’s okay. Donnie’s-” Another wave. “It’s not bad. It’s just us. But it’s. For me, it’s like.”

He looks at the ground. “I think. I think if you weren’t my family, I’d be alone.”

Don’t say it- “There’s Leatherhead.” DARN IT- 

“Yeah,” Mikey agrees, soft. Raph exhales, relieved. “Leatherhead’s my best friend.” 

There’s so much defeat. Raph bites his tongue. Mikey mutters, “I don’t know.” 

He waits. Mikey says, “Maybe he shouldn’t be.” 

Raph scoots down to the floor. Mikey doesn’t react. “He’s great. I don’t know what I’d do if he wasn’t. I don’t like thinking about it.”

The lost gaze drifts across the roof. “Sometimes I think I’d be better if I wasn’t me. If I was different. And then I want to change, but then Leo gives me the perfect opportunity for a sneak attack, and then he’s glittery and embarrassed and it’s… Fun. I have fun. But it can also be mean. And make people mad. And I don’t want to change. I don’t want to. But maybe I should.”

He leans on Raph’s shoulder, weighed by defeat. “Raph?”

Raph’s awful at this. He knows that. But he has to say something.

“Don’t know anything about should or shouldn’t. I know you’re my little brother. Don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t. You are. That’s all that matters to me. Which means we’re stuck with each other. You don’t want to change? Don’t.”

He hesitates, scanning his face for any hint that his words are having the right impact on him. “Nobody’s the boss of you but you. World sucks. Humans suck. Some people’ll like you for stupid and some people won’t. Leatherhead’s been around this long. Don’t see him running off any time soon.”

Mikey smiles, briefly. It falls.

Raph follows his gaze to the poster.

He mutters, “Thank, Raphie.”

Raph swallows the bubbling worry and says, “Sure, Mike.” 

They stay there until Mikey gains the strength to retreat to his room.

[moon0shadow]

The Five Beasts X Beast! Reader but Beast! Reader was actually the first virtue to be corrupted and set off the chain reaction of the others becoming Beasts as well.

[bloodibambiidoll]

Sugar and Spice: Part 2

(E.M. x Fem!Reader x S.H.) Part 1 Series Masterlist.

Summary: You come to terms with your feelings for both boys, movie night with the gang brings out some jealousy, and Steve finally gets the courage to ask you out. 18+MNDI

Warnings: Eventual smut, Angst(Minor..For now.), Reader Steve and Eddie all having thoughts of self doubt, hurt/comfort, No upside down, mutual pining, eventual Steddie x Reader, No use of Y/N so a ton of pet names (Eddie calls reader “Bunny” and she calls him “Teddy” there’s a cute little backstory behind this that I’ll explain in a later part). I will update each chapter but I think that’s it for this one, lmk if I missed any! WK: 6.3k

A/N: thank you for all the love on part 1 of this fic!! I know it took me a lil longer than I intended to get this part out, I had it all mapped out in my head but I was having a hard time actually writing it down. It definitely took a different direction than I intended but they should be coming out faster now! At least once a week. Next part will have some ✨spice✨ divider by: @firefly-graphics

“You like Steve, right?” Robin reiterated

“W-why would you say that? Like what brought that on? I thought we were talking about Eddie.” You tried to keep your voice even but they could hear just the tiniest shake in it when you spoke.

“Well… you know how I asked what you would do if you met someone you really liked? It’s kinda because I figured you liked Steve. There’s just a vibe there.” She shrugged.

“What do you mean ‘there’s just a vibe there’ I feel like he and I are pretty neutral with each other. I don’t know where you got this idea in your head that I LIKE him, I can barely tolerate the guy.”

“Suuuure, is that why you’re always making goo goo eyes at each other? Or what about when you sit on his lap? Or when he’s all ‘I got you honey’” she said that last part in an attempt to sound like Steve which made you snort. “And you’re all ‘oh Stevieeee thank you soooo much’ kinda seems like a little more than neutral if you ask me.”

“Okay so say I did like Steve? Which I fucking don’t, but if I did it wouldn’t matter anyways. He would never go for a girl like me.” You made sure to let out a laugh that you hoped was convincing enough to hide your slight disappointment at your own words.

“Pft! That’s a joke right?” Nancy said.

“No? Why would I be joking? He literally thought my entire friend group were a bunch of satanist freaks in highschool and I’ve seen the kinds of girls he dates. I mean, look at YOU, I’m nothing like you. But it doesn’t matter either way because I. Don’t. Like him.” You were trying your best to keep up your facade but they could tell you were cracking.

“Well, then you’re just blind. Steve ALWAYS liked you. Even when we were together I’d catch him gazing at you sometimes, and when all of his friends would shit talk you? He would stand up for you. JUST you. ‘She’s really not that bad guys seriously, she just doesn’t surround herself with the right people’” she did the same terrible baritone impression of Steve that Robin did, making you laugh this time.

“Whatever, there’s no fucking way. I don’t understand why we are even still talking about thi-”

“STEVE LIKES YOU! HE TOLD ME!” Robin blurted out before covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide. She was fully in meddling territory now and there’s no going back.

You looked back at her with a similar expression, your jaw dropping. “What…?”

“Oh my god ROBIN! Why would you SAY that!?” Nancy snapped at her and you know Robin was responding to her but all you could hear was the blood rushing through your ears. There was no way you heard her right. Steve couldn’t like you?… could he?

A hand waving in front of your face snapped you from your thoughts “HELLLOOOO? Anybody in there? I know I definitely shouldn’t have said that… but you were so sure Steve could never like you that you weren’t even entertaining the idea and you said your thing with Eddie wasn’t official and isn’t going to be so even though I definitely told Steve I wouldn’t meddle I wanted you to know that he does like you because you were so insistent that he didn’t and it just kind of came out and-“

“ROBIN!” You grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly to get her to look at you. “Can we just calm down for a second? I can’t even compute what’s happening right now. Just take a deep breath.” You started taking a breath in and she took the hint and inhaled along with you. Once you had both taken a few deep breaths you dropped your hands from her shoulders and looked at her.

“You good?”

She nodded in response.

“Okay, so, Steve likes me?..”

“Yes! He does! And Nancy was right, he has always liked you. He’s got this like total schoolgirl crush on you dude. It’s honestly pretty cute how he talks about you.”

Steve talks about you? Steve actually likes you? That can’t be true. But why would Robin lie? She’s his best friend she would know more than anybody..

“Hey! I can see you spiraling, don’t. I’m not lying or whatever reason you’re trying to come up with to convince yourself it’s not true, he actually likes you.”

“That’s… fucking horrible news, FUCK!” You dropped your face into your hands and groaned.

“What!? From how you were talking I thought you were finally going to admit you liked him too!!”

“Robin…” Nancy said before turning to you with a sympathetic look on her face. “I think I get it. You like Steve right? But you never thought he would like you back so you figured it didn’t really matter, you could push it to the back of your mind. But now that you know he does like you, you can’t do that. Which in a normal situation would be a good thing. But this isn’t normal, is it? Because you love Eddie?”

“What, are you a mind reader or something? UGH! This is so fucking stupid. This is exactly why I didn’t entertain this! THIS right here! I don’t want to think about this, I don’t want to think about if Steve likes me or not because then I have to think about what would happen with me and Eddie and that’s the last thing I want to think about EVER! So can we just please watch the fucking movie now!?”

You threw your head back against the couch cushion and sighed. “Fuck, I’m sorry for snapping. I just… can we not talk about this anymore right now or preferably ever please?”

Robin came and sat right next to you, resting her head on your shoulder. “Don’t be sorry babes, I’m sorry for pushing. We don’t have to talk about it anymore, but just know if you do want to, I’m here okay?”

Nancy patted your leg on the opposite side of you “Exactly, you can talk to us any time. We aren’t just Eddie’s friends, we are yours too. Maybe even more so now. We love you. Now let’s look at Patrick Swazye’s ass in those tight jeans…”

You haven’t seen Steve or Eddie since your conversation with the girls but tonight was movie night at Steve’s house so it was pretty much inevitable unless you decided to veto going all together. Which you knew wouldn’t go over well because if you faked being sick Eddie would come check on you and see that you were in fact, not sick. Then he would ask you a million questions about what’s wrong and know if you were lying, you wanted to avoid that. If Eddie noticed you were acting weird he would get it out of you one way or another and you absolutely did not want him to find out about your feelings for Steve.

So as you got ready, you mentally prepared to be around them both at the same time. It was already almost unbearable before but now that you have spoken your feelings out loud you had no idea how to act. Eddie was picking you up and would be at your apartment any minute so you checked your outfit in the mirror a final time before taking a deep breath and going to the porch to wait for him.

You only sat there for a few minutes before you heard him speeding down the street, metal music blasting through his old vans speakers. He pulled into your driveway with a screech before hopping out to greet you.

“Hey Bunny!” He said as he bounded over to you, extending his hand to help you up off the porch steps and pulling you into his arms. “I missed you.” He mumbled into the hair at the crown of your head, placing a small kiss there.

“Hi Teddy, I missed you too. Even though I saw you two days ago.” You chuckled, nuzzling your face into the soft material of his worn out Black Sabbath tee. A wave of calm washed over you as his familiar scent filled your nostrils. You could do this, it was just like any other movie night you’ve had with the gang since you’ve been home.

“Two days too long!! I always miss you the second I’m away from you.” He looked down at you smiling, placing his hands on either side of your face before nuzzling his nose against your own.

“Can I take you home tonight?” Fuck. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as you thought.

“Y-yeah of course, I always want to go home with you.” You smiled sweetly at him, it was the truth after all.

The drive to Steve’s was like every other time in the car with Eddie. Both of you singing along to and yelling over his music to talk, giggling at each other's dumb jokes. When you pulled into the driveway you didn’t bother getting out, letting Eddie come around to open your door. “Princesses don’t open their own doors.” He would always say.

“After you, your highness” he bowed dramatically as you exited the car, making you laugh.

“Why thank you, muh lord!” You both giggled at each other as you walked up to Steve’s door.

Eddie made sure to grab your hand and place a kiss on it, he wasn’t planning on letting you out of his grasp or sight tonight. Not after that conversation he had with Steve. It’s been eating away at him for days. Was he seriously going to ask you out? Would you say yes? He doesn’t think he could handle it if you said yes. You don’t know it but Eddie has been trying to think of a way to bring up being official to you for weeks now. What Steve said only lit a fire under his ass. Why the fuck did he tell Steve he was scared to be with you? He should’ve just been honest, he probably would’ve backed off. It’s not too late to tell him he was full of shit. Maybe he would let you out of his sight tonight just once, so he could talk with Steve.

The door opened before you could knock, revealing Steve, looking as fine as fucking ever with his hair perfect as always, his stupid fucking red crew neck and jeans fit him perfectly and you wanted to scream. Why did he have to be so goddamn pretty all the time? If he could just be ugly, or even maybe if he would be an asshole like he used to be you wouldn’t have to feel so torn looking at him. You wouldn’t feel like Eddie’s hand suddenly felt heavy in yours.

“Hey guys! You’re the first ones here, I saw you drive up.” He smiled at you as he walked over and when you reached him he grabbed your hand and pulled you by it causing your opposite hand to fall from Eddie’s, wrapping his arms around you in a welcoming embrace.

“Hi Stevie, it’s nice to see you.” You wrapped your arms around him and squeezed, his scent invading your nostrils. It was comforting, not in the same familiar way as the smell of Eddie, but still comforting nonetheless. Eddie noticed the way you leaned into Steve, how the hug lingered just a little too long and he felt like someone poured acid on his insides.

“It’s nice to see you too honey. You look really pretty today.” He smiled down at you, still holding you in his embrace.

“Oh, thank you Steve.” You felt your face warm at his compliment, ducking your head into his chest in embarrassment.

“Hi Harrington.” Eddie sounded anything but pleased and your stomach whirled with a combination of anxiety and excitement. Was he jealous?

“You gonna stand there and flirt with my girl all night or are you gonna let us in?” His girl, it wasn’t the first time you heard him say that, and you knew it wouldn’t be the last, but god did it make your heart skip a beat. This time for more reason than one, you felt Steve tense at Eddie’s words and something in you wanted to comfort him, tell him you weren’t Eddie’s girl. But at the same time, you couldn’t, because it was kind of true, wasn’t it? You were his girl, in a sense.

“Your girl huh?” Steve snorted, but didn’t elaborate. Instead he released you from his hold and stepped to the side to make room for you to come in. The minute Steve let you go Eddie grabbed onto your hand again, dragging you inside behind him.

Steve was nervous to see you, he'd been rehearsing how he was going to ask you out for days. Robin told him a little bit about her conversation with you (yeah, she totally abandoned the prospect of not meddling in this situation at this point) at first he wanted to freak the fuck out on her for telling you that he liked you but when she further explained he was almost thankful. She didn’t tell him everything, but she told him enough. Enough to give him hope he had some semblance of a chance with you. When she told him that you thought he would never like a girl like you he felt like shit, because who wouldn’t love you? But of course you felt that way based on his track record. He wanted nothing more than to prove you wrong. He wanted to show you how amazing he thought you were, how amazing he always thought you were.

When he heard Eddie’s van drive up he peaked out the window and instantly almost wished he didn’t. Eddie was opening the door for you, bowing dramatically and making you giggle in that cute way that Steve had committed to memory at this point. He grabbed your hand and kissed it, you smiled up at him with a look of love in your eyes. God he wanted you to look at him like that. He decided not to waste anymore time stewing and walked over to the door to open it before you could knock. When he did, he suddenly forgot who Eddie Munson even was. You looked beautiful, you always did, but he had never seen that skirt before. It was the cutest baby pink mini skirt that had little bows on the sides. You were wearing a little white tank top that had a pink bow that matched the color of your skirt, the cutest white and pink thigh high socks, and of course your big chunky boots and studded choker that made the whole look uniquely you.

He couldn’t help but pull you away from Eddie and into his arms. He couldn’t help but tell you how pretty you looked. He had to at least say that instead of dropping down to his knees and worshiping you like he really wanted to. He also wanted to tell you how fucking good you smelled but he stopped himself, not wanting sound like a creep. He probably hugged you for a little too long, but you didn’t seem to mind. He was so lost in you he totally forgot Eddie was even there for a second before he shattered his illusion with those two simple words “my girl”.

“You got any beer Harrington?” Eddie held your hand tight as you trailed behind him towards Steve’s kitchen.

“Yeah dude, in the fridge.”

You went to release his hand so he could get his drink but he held on tighter as he used one hand to open the fridge, grab a beer, and open it. When he was done he released your hand and you started to walk towards the living area to set your bag down and check out what movies Steve got for tonight but he laced his arm around your shoulder before you could even move and tucked you into his side.

“Eddie, I’m trying to go put my stuff down, why are you being weird?” You laughed and tried to walk off again but he didn’t answer, just held you tighter. “Oh my god Eddie, seriously what’s going on??”

You looked up at him and his jaw was clenched, brows furrowed, eyes set into sluts, glaring. You followed his gaze and saw Steve looking back at him with a very similar expression.

“You guys? What the hell is going on-“ you were cut off by the sound of the doorbell and a chorus of knocks. Steve didn’t say anything, just turned around to open the door.

“UGH! What took you so long!?” Robin groaned when Steve swung the door open, she walked in followed by Nancy, Jonathon, and the kids.

“You were knocking for like two seconds and you rang the doorbell once.” Steve rolled his eyes at his ever dramatic friend before turning to greet everyone else.

Snacks were handed out, drinks poured, and pizza ordered. Everyone was cozied up around Steve’s living room on various couches and bean bangs. You of course ended up on the three person couch between Steve and Eddie and you couldn’t decide if it was a blessing or a curse to have them both this close. All that was left to do was decide on what movie to watch, which was always a battle on nights like this.

“DUDE! You made us watch freakin Pretty In Pink last week and we’ve all seen it a million times, I’m NOT watching Ghost.” Eddie rolled his eyes at Nancy and shot daggers at Steve. He was not going to sit in a room with you and him and watch another fucking romance movie. Pretty in Pink was bad enough, he’s always hated that movie because he disagreed with the ending but now that he felt like he could end up just like Ducky he despised it even more.

“Okay well it’s not up to you MUNSON. If everyone else wants to watch it then you don’t get to bitch about it.” Steve scoffed. “You literally only ever pick horror movies and don’t give any of the other ones a chance because of your pretentious bullshit.”

“Okay well if you didn’t want to watch a horror movie why the hell did you even rent any!?” His voice raised a bit at the end, a little more than it would with their usual banter and everyone felt the tension immediately.

“Umm because she likes them, dumb ass.” Dustin butted in, pointing at you. Steve’s face went red and Eddie’s jaw clenched, the veins on his neck protruding. You felt an outburst coming on and you were not about to let him ruin movie night with his dramatics and what has become apparent to you now, jealousy.

“Okay okay how about this…Steve, you want to watch Ghost, right? And Eddie, you want to watch Child’s Play 2 since it just came out and you’re excited?” They both just nodded, like puppies listening to their owner tell them what to do. “So how about we compromise, since Steve wants romance and Eddie wants horror… How about we watch Edward Scissorhands? It’s got a little of both and I missed it in the theater so maybe we could watch that one?” You and everyone else in the room looked between them expectantly, just wanting to choose a movie at this point.

“Fuckin fine.” Eddie grumbled, crossing his arms and borrowing deeper into the leather of the couch cushions.

“Okay honey, if that’s what you want to watch I’m sure we will all enjoy it.” Steve smiled over at you, placing a hand on your knee before getting up to put the movie in.

“‘Okay honey if that’s what you want’ mehmemehe shut the fuck up.” Eddie mumbles loud enough for only you to hear.

“Oh my god, are you seriously mad right now because he agreed to stop arguing with you? I was literally about to tell you we should ask him if we can take child’s play and watch it back at your place later but if you’re gonna be a dramaaaa queeeen about it then I don’t knowwww” you said playfully rolling your eyes, trying to lighten his mood.

“Okay, fine, but only because I’m the one that gets to take you home and devour you later…” he said the last part in a hushed voice, breath tickling your ear causing a shiver to run down your spine and straight between your legs. Fuck.

Steve came and sat back down and you swear they were both sitting as close to you as possible. Steve’s Jean clad thigh is pressed up against one of your bare ones, Eddie’s on the other. Eddie has his arm around your shoulder and he’s absentmindedly playing with hair at the nape of your neck and the tips of the fingers of the hand on Steve’s thigh keep grazing along your skin. You felt dizzy, and maybe a little sweaty. You couldn’t even focus on the movie you’ve been dying to see, hyper aware of every move they made. Eddie’s hand trailed down your shoulder to caress your collarbone and he accidentally bumped Steve’s arm, noticing his hand touching your thigh. His nostrils flared and he held back the possessive growl that was building in this throat. He brought his hand under your butt and scooped you into his lap between his thighs causing you to let out a little yelp in surprise and look at him wide eyed.

“Mmm much better, just where you belong my lil bunny.” He wrapped an arm around you and possessively gripped onto the thigh Steve had been touching. You look up at Steve and he looks pissed. His breath is ragged as his eyes stare daggers into Eddie’s. Eddie just looked back at him smugly, like he was daring him to say something.

Okay something is definitely up with them and you didn’t know how to feel. Your fight or flight activated and in that moment you chose flight.

“I need to go to the bathroom, don’t worry about pausing it, I can just watch it again later.” You said abruptly getting off Eddie’s lap and dashing out of the room.

“Nice job, idiots” Nancy rolled her eyes at them.

“Yeeeahhh dude… kinda not cool.” Jonathan agreed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Pause the fuckin movie Steve.” Max scoffed.

“WHOAAAA LANGUAGE!!” Steve shouted.

“Well? You guys are idiots, she really wanted to watch this movie and you’re both silently fighting over her like we don’t all see exactly what’s going on!!” Max was not only the most upfront of the kids (aside from Dustin), but she was your kid. You and her had bounded instantly and felt very protective of one another.

“Fighting over her? What do you mean? She’s mine, there’s nothing to fight about.” Eddie said matter of factly.

“Dude!! No she fucking isn’t!! You don’t get to just-“

“Annnd there you guys go AGAIN, Max is right, we all see it and it’s getting in the way of movie night now so you guys need to figure it the fuck out! And stop fucking messing with her!!” Dustin snapped at his two older friends. The ones he’s supposed to be taking girl advice from, and here he is, giving it to them instead.

“Steve, you should go talk to her.” Robin hinted, wiggling her brows at him.

“No the fuck he should not! I’M going to talk to her because she’s MY bestfriend!!” Eddie started to get up but Steve was faster, pushing him back down by his shoulders and running down the hall after you.

“Eddie… you are always always there for her, and you introduced us to her so she would have some other people in her life that would be there for her too. Maybe just let Steve take this one, yeah?” Nancy tried to reason with him as he stood up to follow after Steve.

“That’s not what he’s doing though! He isn’t there for her as a friend, he wants more than that! She needs me right now. Her best friend, I always make her feel better.” The way he said it was like a child who got their favorite toy taken during recess.

“Now maybe it’s time to share that burden, don’t you think? Steve’s got this, just let them talk.” Robin smiled at him with what he thought was supposed to be reassurance but he felt anything but. This is exactly what he was trying to avoid all night, Steve getting you alone. Would he be better at making you feel better than he is? Was he going to ask you out? Were you going to say yes? If you did, what did that mean for you and him? He was spiraling fast.

“Whatever. I’m going to smoke.” He snapped before going out the front door and slamming it behind him.

Steve knew you didn’t really need to go to the bathroom, he’s spent enough time observing you at this point that he knows you were just overwhelmed and needed to get away. He walked past the downstairs bathroom just to be sure, but just as he thought the door was cracked and the lights were off. This had happened once before when everyone was over, it was a bit bigger of a get together, some coworkers and friends of friends so you didn’t know everyone. He could tell you were nervous from the beginning of the night so he kept an eye on you and at one point it had been a while since he’d seen you so he went looking.

He found you that night just like you are right now, sitting on the back deck on the ground, back leaning against one of his moms over expensive lounge chairs. Your legs tucked up under your arms, chin resting on your hands. You were staring off in the direction of the pool but he could tell your mind was elsewhere. He stood there for a moment, allowing himself to just admire you.

“I can feel you staring at me Steve.” You chuckled but didn’t look over at him.

“I- how did you know it was me?” He asked as he walked towards you, sitting down next to you with his legs crossed.

“I could just sense you with my super secret Steve detector, obviously.” You snorted out a laugh.

“Really? I thought I was the one who had a device to detect you, didn’t know the feeling was mutual, babe.” “Oh my GOD Steve, that was so fucking cheesy shut up.” You playfully smacked his arm. “I saw your reflection in the pool, nerd.” You pointed toward the pool, the glare of the back door shining on top of it.

“Oh, well I meant it. I feel like I can just feel your presence. Even if that’s cheesy.” He shrugged and gave you a nervous smile. “But I came out here to see if you were okay?”

It took you a second to process what he just said, did he really feel that way? You’re starting to notice how perceptive he is of you, maybe Robin and Nancy were right. “Oh uh- yeah… I’m all good. I was just getting kind of warm and overwhelmed, needed a second to myself.” You smile at him, but it doesn’t reach your eyes and of course he notices.

“If there’s something else bothering you, you can tell me, you know that right? I know we weren’t always… friends. But I’d like to think we are now, and I like to be there for my… friends.” You don’t miss the way he chokes on that last word.

“I guess I’m just… confused? You and Eddie are being really weird, that’s not just me right?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I guess we kind of are being weird. I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on? Did something happen with you guys? Did I do something?” The look on your face broke him, you looked so confused and honestly a little bit hurt by their actions.

“No honey, you didn’t do anything. Maybe I did? I think maybe it’s my fault. I… I told Eddie I liked you, and I don’t think he’s very happy about it.” He didn’t look you in the eyes when he said it, he couldn’t, he didn’t want to see your face when you inevitably rejected him.

“I kind of figured it was something like that. Fuck.” You put your face in your hands and sighed.

“Hey, it’s okay if you don’t like me back, I totally don’t blame you if you don’t. Plus Eddie told me you guys kind of have a thing going on and I’m not going to get in the way of that. But I do like you. A lot actually.”

“God fucking damn it Steve, you just had to say it didn’t you?” At first he thought you were about to go off on him but before he could apologize you continued talking “Of course I fucking like you! It’s just- it’s complicated, okay? I’m so afraid to like you, first of all. I know you aren’t who you used to be, I know that person was never even the real you and I know you’re a good kind hearted man. But I’m still scared, I still have the memories of the things you said to my friends, and I’m just like them. How could I not think you think that way of me? Even still? It terrifies me. And then there’s Eddie… I don’t think I even know where to begin with that.”

“You like me?” He was smiling like a kid on Christmas, did he not hear anything you just said?

“Is that all you got from that? Because I said several other things after that.” You huffed.

“No I heard you, but I don’t care about any of the other stuff. All I care about is that you like me back, that means I have a chance.” He smiled at you sweetly, eyes full of hope.

“Why are you making this so much harder? With your stupid pretty face and your dumb sweet words, always checking on me and shit. UGH!” You threw your head back against the lounge chair with closed eyes.

Steve honestly loved it when you got irritated like this, even at him, he wanted to kiss your grouchy lips until you smiled.

“Listen… I know this is a complicated situation. I know Eddie like loves you or whatever and I know he’s going to get pissed off at me for telling you I like you but I don’t really care. If he isn’t going to make you his girlfriend I’ll do everything in my power to make you mine.”

Your eyes widened at his statement. I’ll do everything in my power to make you mine. And Eddie loves you? You know he does, but does he mean that he loves you for real? Did he tell him that? Fuck.

Steve noticed the way you were picking at your already chipped sparkly black nail polish, while you chewed your lip so hard it looked like you were going to break the skin, the moon reflecting off the pretty little rings that adorned your fingers. Some silver, some starting to bronze from how long you’ve been wearing them without taking them off.

“I can see you thinking from here.” He grabbed both your hands in one of his, stopping your movements and running his thumb over the back of your hand, soothing you. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to go to the bookstore at the mall with me this weekend? I know that new Anne Rice book you wanted to read just came out and we could get some trashy food in the food court. Maybe even catch a movie if there’s anything good. Whatever you want.” He continued rubbing your hand, grounding you.

“Like a… date?” You looked at him with raised eyebrows, was he seriously asking you out after all of that? And he remembers the book you mentioned weeks ago in passing? Fuck. You were so fucked.

“Yeah honey, like a date.” You opened your mouth to respond but he brought his finger to your lips gently silencing you. “Let me finish before you answer, please?”

You just nodded at him.

“It doesn’t have to be anything serious if you don’t want, it doesn’t even have to be a date, would I like it if it was? Yes. But ultimately I’d like to get to know you, for you to get to know me, just us. We can figure out all of the other stuff later. Just give me a chance to show you how much you mean to me. Please?”

Well how were you supposed to say no to that?

“Okay.” You grabbed his hand and smiled at him, this one reaching your eyes. “Let’s give it a try, one date, and we go from there.”

“Okay sweetie, whatever makes you comfortable, I’ll do it.” He smiled back at you, his eyes flashing down to your lips for a moment and you were sure he was going to kiss you. You wanted him to, so you started to lean in and just as you felt his breath against your lips you heard it. Eddie’s voice.

“Are you guys going to come watch the movie or what!? We paused it for you!!!!” He did not sound very happy. Steve stood and offered you help up, walking towards the house with you following behind him. Eddie stopped you before you could walk into the living room, grabbing you by the hips.

“You okay bunny? What was that about? I was worried.”

“Yeah Teddy, I’m okay, just got a bit overwhelmed.” You decided to wait to tell him about your date with Steve until after you left, the night was already drama filled enough. He studied your face like he didn’t believe you, but he didn’t say anything. For now at least.

“Let’s go finish this movie so I can take you home and we can ‘watch child’s play 2.’”He rolled his eyes. “Yeah riiiight, you know the only thing you’re going to be watching is my head between your thighs.”

Your breath hitched as he placed a gentle kiss on your jaw, cheek, and then finally your lips. He deepened it and you immediately fell into him, letting out a little moan. You let yourself get lost in it for a second, not wanting to think about anything other than kissing Eddie. But he broke away before you felt ready, and your face fell.

“Don’t worry bun bun, there’s plenty more where that came from when we get back to my place later.” He winked at you and placed a final kiss on your lips before gesturing you back toward the living room. Now all you had to do was sit between him and Steve for the next hour without acting like you were about to spontaneously combust and then go home with Eddie and tell him about your date with Steve.

When you walked back into the living room Steve patted the middle seat on the couch and smiled up at you, his caramel eyes twinkling like you hung the moon.

“All good honey bee?” He set his hand on your thigh and ran his thumb over the skin there and smiled at you sweetly. Honey bee? Jesus Christ, that was new.. he was officially trying to kill you.

“All good.” You smiled back and patted his hand before letting it drop at your side. But his hand didn’t budge, resting right on your thigh like it belonged there. It kind of felt like it did, if you were being honest.

Eddie walked in the room seconds behind you and sat down next to you, putting his arm around your shoulders with a huff. His eyes shot daggers at Steve’s hand on your thigh before he brought his that wasn’t around you to your opposite thigh, but much higher up. His pinky played with the hem of your skirt while he squeezed the meat of your thigh. You looked down at your lap with wide eyes and your mouth agape. Two large veiny hands rested on each of your legs, one adorned with the rings you loved so much, the other decorated with an over expensive wrist watch and the weird thing was that it felt so right. You felt like your whole body was on fire, subconsciously clenching your thighs together while you let out a shaky breath. Praying neither of them noticed.

But they definitely did, you felt both their hands tense in that exact moment. Steve let out a shaky breath through his nostrils and Eddie groaned slightly in the back of his throat. You refused to make eye contact with either of them, eyes glued to their hands on your thighs, entranced. Eddie ducked his head into your neck so he could whisper in your ear.

“You like this don’t you princess? Both of us touching you like this? I can tell. You’re clenching your thighs and breathing in that way you do when you’re turned on.” Oh fuck. You don’t know what you were expecting him to say but it most certainly was not that.

“I think you do, you like the thought of us both touching you, huh?” Steve must’ve heard him because he’s whispering in your other ear and you can’t even comprehend what’s happening right now.

They’ve been at each other's throats all night and now they’re ganging up on you? You honestly don't know which is worse. Now all you can think about is both of them all over you, not that you haven’t thought about it before but in this moment you had never wanted anything more than for them to just take you. A few minutes ago your head was swimming with thoughts of anxiety and now the only two thoughts you can form in your head are their names. Eddie and Steve.

[everettswritings]

i saw the post about closing requests, but i just wanted to leave this here- dont feel pressured to do this one, you can finish whatever you have left first! i can wait :] anyway, for the request itself:

I NEEEEED MORE LEE SHADOW MILK PLEASEEE WHETHER ITS READER OR JUST CANON CHARACTERS WHATEVER JUST GIVE ME MORE 🙏🙏🙏🙏 AAAAA

This was definitely a while ago, so you definitely get a cookie after the wait 🍪. And YES! WE NEED MORE LEE!SHADOW MILK! I want this twink completely WRECKED by 4:00. (NSFW/Kink accounts DNI) Also, this is pre-imprisonment

The Five Heroes, now known as the Five Beasts. It feels like just moments ago they were reigning in an era of peace that would last for eons to come, but now their powers were being used to crumble the freshly-baked world around them. However, did this corruption completely strip them of who they once were? Maybe not���

They were all gathered at the Ivory Pagoda, discussing who would do what with their respective pieces of land. As per usual after his corruption, Shadow Milk Cookie was figuratively and literally bouncing off the walls, acting like a butterfly hopped up on sugar. He was cracking jokes, finding it impossible to keep still, and everyone was starting to grow annoyed. Even Mystic Flour Cookie’s apathetic persona was faltering, her expression souring as if she ate a lemon.

Eternal Sugar Cookie sighed “Always active, like usual… Why not let the comfort of sloth envelop you? Why not let it all go and-“ Shadow Milk Cookie interrupted her “WHY’D THE SLOTH CROSS THE ROAD?!” He didn’t await a reply “HE DIDN’T! HE WAS TOO SLOW TO CROSS!” He started laughing at his own joke, meanwhile the others didn’t even crack a smile. The Beasts shot each other knowing glances, like they were forming a plan without even speaking; they always had a bond like that, even in madness. Without a word, Silent Salt Cookie snuck up behind the jester without making so much as a single sound and grabbed him. Shadow Milk Cookie gasped at the sudden grip on his arms “O-Oh! Hello, Silent Salt Cookie! S-Still giving us all the silent treatment?” They chuckled nervously, subconsciously knowing what was about to come.

The other three gathered around as Shadow Milk Cookie had his arms lifted above his head, “Shadow Milk Cookie,” Mystic Flour Cookie addressed him “Your antics may be welcomed elsewhere, but not in my sacred temple. We are all fed up with you acting so childishly; now you get to pay a price you know all too well.” The Beasts readied their hands and the jester squirmed wildly, though he was unable to break free of Silent Salt Cookie’s grasp. “W-Wait! Guys!” Their voice cracked with panic, but as the others approached, they knew their fate was sealed “Uh oh.” Was all they could say. Seconds afterwards, the jester started to howl with crazed laughter; but not laughter at his own jokes.

Burning Spice Cookie was roughly scribbling all over his stomach, Eternal Sugar Cookie was lazily scratching at his armpits, Mytic Flour Cookie was running her fingers across his sides and ribs, and even Silent Salt Cookie joined in by rubbing against the jester’s palms.

“AHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA! HEHAHAHA! HEHEHEHEHEEE!! STOHOHOP! NO!” Shadow Milk Cookie squealed, instantly overwhelmed by the other Beasts attacking his spots this way. Their methods were so different, but equally vicious! “MERCHEHEHEHEY! HAHAHAHAHAHA! AHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! NO MOREEE!!” They pleaded onto deaf ears, but it was ultimately useless, the others wouldn’t stop for a good while.

After what felt like hours, but what was most likely a couple minutes, the others let the jester go. Shadow Milk Cookie flopped to the floor, unable to speak or breathe without wheezing. The other four sat beside him, tiny smiles on their faces. To answer that question from earlier: maybe they didn’t lose who they were, even in this state of madness. If only that sense of camaraderie had been enough to save them…

I can’t wait for the other Beast cookies to come out, this was all headcanons because there’s literally NOTHING about them besides Shadow Milk and Mystic Flour! I NEED MY SILLY LITTLE AGENTS OF CHAOS! Anyways, hope you enjoyed. That’s all, have a good one 🫶

[arun-armand-amadeo]

Sugar & Spice - A Sugar Daddy Aziraphale/Sugar Baby Crowley AU

Chapter Six: Pretty In Pink

Rating: Explicit (See AO3 tags and chapter summaries for more details) Link: AO3 Chapter Length: 11,906 words

Chapter Summary: Crowley seems stressed out lately so Aziraphale buys him something to try and encourage him to relax and to hand over full control. It goes wonderfully even with the bit of miscommunication afterwards. Unbeknown to them, however, is that they're soon going to have far more pressing concerns...

Story Length (so far!): 57,123 words

Haven't started reading Sugar & Spice yet? Go straight to Chapter One [HERE] and enjoy!

[kassandras-one-braincell]

Kassandra is such a movie critic. You snuggle up to her on the sofa, choose something on the telly, but don't pick anything with a semblance of a historical context around her because she'll be mumbling the whole time about the inaccuracies. Want to watch 300? No, you don't - you won't be able to focus on the film over her improvised lecture on the Battle of Thermopylae. Disney's Hercules? Don't even hit play. Save yourself.

But she's so heatedly passionate about history cough nerd cough that while you do regret not choosing some cheesy modern day romcom, you do love how her eyebrows furrow and her nose wrinkles at certain discrepancies. And she's never still throughout whatever you choose to watch together, always lightly fidgeting with your clothes, playing with your hair, or running her fingers along your skin where she can reach, mapping out the tiniest variations in texture. She doesn't even realise, otherwise completely focused. You wouldn't change it for the world.

[lefemmerougewriter]

Some of my favorite fics

This will replace my last pinned post, for High Guardian Space series, which has ended. This featured many recent fics, all of which I wrote:

Crossovers

Claire and Rae Meet the Aang Gang

(ILTV / ATLA crossover)

Rae and Claire finally get a chance for a respite. Unexpectedly, they encounter an emotionally-driven waterbender, a blind earthbender, an emotionally unstable firebender, and a master of all the elements (Water, Earth, Fire, and Air) known as the "Avatar." Intrigue, romantic entanglement (in some ways), and demonstrations of their bending (and magical abilities) await them all, with an encounter which will influence them for days, months, and years to come.

A Responsibility to Prevent Genocide?: Royalty, Revolution, and Bloody Zionists

(many series)

One bright morning, Daphne Blake serves as the guest host of C-SPAN's Washington Journal, and she brings in two guests (Princess Rapunzel, CEO of the Corona Foundation and Mara, chief weapons specialist for Renegade Services) to talk about the brutal Israeli bombing of Gaza. While some callers are openly hostile toward the guests, others are more favorable, with Daphne, Rapunzel, and Mara having to find their way through the morass and make their viewpoints heard, even if they don't always agree with what each other has to say.

When You Put Out Love, You'll Get Love Back: Lunella's Visit to Hansberry Heights

(Karma's World / Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur crossover)

One day, Karma meets a girl, only a few years older than her, with a unique style at a local diner in her neighborhood, who acts very generous to the chef. She is taken by her. When she tries to track down this cool kid, she can't find her, until she comes across Moon Girl, a superhero from the Lower East Side...

From Angry Zionists to International Popstars: Meet the Mess Discusses the Gaza War

(many series)

Nristen Snelker had only recently become a host of Meet the Mess, with the network glad they had chosen someone who was a woman of color, rather than a White man (who had been hosts for over 50 years). She faced with one of the toughest discussions of her career about Israel's brutal and genocidal assault in Gaza, complete with angry Zionists, international popstars, and legal analysts. Can she hold it together or will it all fall apart?

Cassandra and the Catgirl from the Sky

(Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure / She-Ra and the Princesses of Power crossover)

A young woman, trying to make amends for the errors of the past, and the harm she caused, comes across a catgirl who fell from the sky in an escape pod. She isn’t sure what to expect. Both become closer than either one had intended. As a result, this young woman, a former lady-in-waiting, begins to have some romantic feelings for this mysterious catgirl, while the catgirl hopes to get in contact with her blond-haired girlfriend after her radio gets busted.

A Red Moonstone Shines Brightly

(Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure / Carmen Sandiego crossover)

Cass thought about her past as she walked across the rolling hills on the edge of the last kingdom in the Ever Realm she hadn’t visited yet, Enchancia. Suddenly, a wormhole opened in front of her. She walked through without realizing it... In a new world, Cass finds an unlikely companion, a former (and well-known) international thief. Both bond with one another even though they come from vastly different circumstances.

Rise of the Scarlet Wildcat

(She-Ra and the Princesses of Power / Carmen Sandiego / Steven Universe crossover)

Catra tells Adora to break-up with Pearl and it goes badly. She gets thrown out. Adora tries to search for Catra, with the assistance of friends, and is unsuccessful. One day, everything changes for the wildcat when she meets someone, dressed in a red trench-coat and fedora, that... she never expected. They have a much deeper connection than either had originally anticipated.

Joabana and the Specter of Doofatanian Intervention

(many series)

Tensions in Joabana are peaking. Two women, Elena Castillo Flores and Adora Eros, have come together to debate this issue on public access television on a program hosted by a Latina woman, Amanda Lopez. Can they both keep their cool and debate this civilly, or will it descend into pandemonium? Furthermore, are Elena and Adora really foes of each other…or do they have a secret life they aren’t telling their viewers…is this all just for show?

One-shots

Korra and Asami's Swim in Manarola's Natural Harbor

Korra and Asami take a break from their duties in Republic City and have a nice time in the natural harbor of Manarola. They arrive in Manarola after to hitching a inter-dimensional ride on some robots with a funky flow. They enjoy each other's company more than expected and receive unexpected relaxation, something both of them sorely need.

Greta, Saga, and a Cheek Kiss Which Changed Everything

Saga has been trying to cheer herself up after the departure of snow fairy, Sugar, following the blooming of her flowers, and the two other fairies (Salt and Pepper) leaving as well. Saga knew this would happen, she still felt a bit lonely. Even so, she remained grateful to her friends and her classmate Greta, who tried to bring her mother’s piano to her house in an ill-fated plan. All the while, Greta has been thinking about Saga a lot, more than a "rival" is supposed to do...

Wyverna Dretch, Archives on the Dimensional Plane, and Typical Drudgery

One day, Wyverna Dretch, the resident demon teacher at High Guardian Academy, and an archivist (among other responsibilities) decides to show her ethics class about the school’s archives. After some class discussion, she brings them to this hallowed institution in a glass elevator, showing them what she does, while Snap and Rose are drawn closer together, either by purpose or accident, and Snap is curious about the "transition magic" section.

A Firenze Gelateria and Carmen's Delight

Carmen has a nice time in Firenze (Florence), Italy, enjoying her stracciatella gelato, while Ivy eats a pizza that tastes like cardboard, and Player is jealous of Carmen's gelato, in this short, but sweet, slice-of-life story.

The Manarola Hike of a Lifetime

Le Chevre and El Topo go on a hike on a rocky trail near Manarola, Italy, and it is tougher than they expected.

Comrade Sandiego and the Zimbabwean Dream

Carmen Sandiego changes the course of the Zimbabwean liberation war, with reverberations for the present. ACME is tasked with reversing it, but Ivy refuses to go along, accusing her brother of having a "colonial mindset." Later that night, she meets a mysterious woman, her confidential informant, who often wears red-colored clothing. She is more attracted to this woman, than she originally thought, and considers whether the past was changed… for the better.

Final chapters of short series

He's got a way that makes me tremble

Hailey wakes up in a hospital after her fall in the woods and tries to recover from her injuries. She resolves to apologize and make amends for what she did with Sanjay, breaking the friendship with Scott, and pushing away Beta, and the list. However, things will not be the same as before. Hailey goes through this awkwardness, with help from Scott, who is more than happy to re-begin their friendship, and tries to figure out how she really feels about Scott, and how to balance working on the list with being able to do her own things in her life. In the process, Beta accidentally reveals the list's existence to Hailey and Scott's parents, resulting in them getting involved, in some way, in completion of the list. Through it all, Hailey has to figure out what she and Scott are together (friends? lovers?), how she can juggle her responsibilities to item item completion and what else she wants to do, and her family, and deal with the feelings that people, other than Scott, have for her.

You only told me lies, only phony alibies

Sugar confronts Elder and the other high fairies about the barrier between humans and fairies. After her request to see Saga one last time isn't granted, she accidentally causes the barrier between these two worlds to be broken, and sees Saga again... but things are more complicated than she guessed. Can she restore the barrier before it is too late? Will Saga think she is real? Or just a figment of her imagination? This fic, one of the few for this series, will answer those questions and more.

[mahoushaymie]

Molly’s "his hand feels like a perfect fit in mine" vs Chase's "I never want to let go," I'm going FERAL writing these two and need them to kiss asap (I say, as if I'm not the one in charge of how quickly this slow burn cooks)

[navybrat817]

So, let me get this straight. After almost THREE MONTHS of appealing this fic that has NO smut, I finally get the label removed this morning.

Just to shamelessly reblog it and have a label put on it AGAIN today?

Make. It. Make. Sense.

[heechwe]

SIM JAEYUN OR LEE FUCKING HEESEUNG : “This is my favorite seat.” 2. Rides 3. (A couch or) chair—it better be his fucking gaming chair lexi….haha

“This is my favorite seat,” Heeseung growls as you bounce in his lap, the gaming chair creaking under the weight of both of your bodies.

He was in the middle of another tournament when you tiptoed through the door of your shared office, wondering when he would come back to bed and spend time with you.

His promises when he was distracted and playing on the computer were flimsy at best, so the best way to beat him at his own game was to join him, right?

When you sank down onto him, the gaming chair surprisingly able to hold two people on it at once, Heeseung could not hide his pleasure at your confidence and stubbornness.

He turned off his headset the second you walked into the room, but you can hear the resounding sounds of his game mates as you continue riding his cock without stopping. The two of you consider it background noise, the only things you care about being the slapping of your conjoined hips and your moans into each other’s mouths.

“Where the fuck did he go? We’re dying out here, Hee!”

He’ll find an excuse to tell them later. But for now, all he wants to focus on is making you come and subsequently chasing his own release.

All’s fair in love and Call of Duty.

hosting a drabble game; come request one! 🤍

[libraryofloveletters]

chapter eight: lucky doesn't cover it

Sebastian Vettel x Fem!Reader

Warnings: honeymoon stage, seb is so cheesy and soooo touchy, it's like two teenagers in love really, nsfw themes but nothing graphic, suggestions to sex and nsfw content, liv and millie are so sus of you two, the lies are catching up to you two, secrets are told, family sweetness. - this is low-key a filler chapter, I have drama next chapter *smiles evilly*

Word Count: 3.1k

Author’s Note: sorry for the 4 million year wait, y'all know I love me some seb so hopefully this makes up for the lack of seb lately. don't blame me, tell that man to come out of hiding again!

sugar and spice; all things nice masterlist

---

It has been a few weeks since your first date with Sebastian and things were going well, beyond well actually. You couldn't have asked for a better version of things to unfold.

The two of you had begun dating but decided to keep things quiet, especially from Olivia and Amelia. Neither of you wanted to complicate things for the girls, wanting to keep things as they were in case it didn't work between you two, god forbid.

Liv and Milly were currently in the pool at your place, you had brought lunch out onto the back deck and Sebastian was keeping an eye on them while they were in the pool. The door creaks, Seb glances over his shoulder to see you coming out with a pitcher of juice, setting it down on the table with the food you had brought out moments before.

You leant over slightly, pouring some juice into the cups for the girls when your knee brushes against Seb's thigh. His black shorts left his legs on display and typically, you'd regard his legs as just.. legs but something about Sebastian was different now, you weren't sure if it was because now he was your man or if you had been so pent up and now that you'd getting a chance to release it, it's hitting you at once.

Seb's forearm lays on the arm rest, fingers creeping up the back of your thigh to the hem of your shorts. Almost leaning into his touch, Olivia's voice pulls you from the thoughts in your head.

"Is lunch ready, mama?!" She shouts from the pool.

Clearing your throat, you nod. "Yeah!" You reach behind to swat Seb's wandering hand away, throwing him a glare as you pick up the towels and walk over to help the girls out of the pool.

The man watches as you wrap the towels around the girls, sending them off in the direction of the table to eat and he can't help but smile; how did he ever get so lucky ?

Olivia and Amelia sit across from Seb, the two of them joint at the hip like baby penguins waddling about. The only chair left was the one next to Seb, it had become your usual spot anyways.

The 4 of you chatted, the girls updated you both on class trips, projects and the drama between Susan B and Susan H. Seb was more intrigued than you as you had heard the rundown when you picked them up from school on Friday.

A warm hand rests on your thigh under the table, startling you momentarily. You look over to see if he was trying to get your attention, but he wasn't. "Does Susan B know that Susan H held Josh's hand on the playground?" He asked the girls, clearly caught up in the drama of second grade.

Amelia corrects him. "It was Susan H that held Josh's hand, dad. Susan B was boyfriend girlfriend with Josh first."

"And Susan B saw all of it happen while she was on the swings too," Olivia adds, making sure to emphasize on her words for dramatic effect.

You smile, shaking your head at the second grade drama as your hand rests atop Seb's, fingers interlocking over his. The man squeezes your thigh softly as his thumb rubs gently over your skin.

Lucky doesn't begin to cover it.

--

"Milly!" Olivia shouts, pulling on your hand as you locked the car. You see the blonde girl and her dad, both of their curls unruly and sparkling under the morning sunshine.

Amelia smiles, shouting back. "Liv!"

Sebastian lets his little girl when he sees you with Olivia, knowing you'd stop them from running into the busy parking lot. The two girls wrapped each other in a hug, Milly says good morning to you and you smile, saying it back. You followed closely behind them as you attempted to put Milly's hair into a ponytail while they walked, knowing they had gym class and having her hair in her face would bother her.

"Good morning, Mr. Seb!" Liv smiles at the man, Seb pinches her cheek softly. "Morning sweet pea," he says back with a smile.

The girls were whispering about something, perhaps the fact that Josh was giggling with Susan H today instead of Susan B. Seb nudges your shoulder, leaning into you slightly. "Morning you."

"Good morning Sebastian," you glance at him, knowing better than to start him up before he doesn't stop.

His hand rests on his chest, feigning hurt. "Sebastian? You wound me, woman."

"I try my best," you smiled, turning your head to look at him. Sebastian leans into you, his lips by your ear. “You look nice. I like your top,” he gestures to his chest, his fingers brushing over his sternum - just as he did months ago when you helped him with Milly's bedroom.

The action causes you to look down, your top had slipped a little bit when you grabbed Olivia's bag out of the car.

You roll your eyes, swatting his arm playfully before readjusting your shirt. "Behave, there are children here."

"There are children at home too, but we've done dirty things there too-" "Dad!" Milly shouts, getting her dad's attention. "Did you put my water bottle in my bag?"

"It's in your lunch bag, kiddo." He tells her, fixing the strap on her bag. "Now you two are gonna be late if you don't get your butts down to line up."

The girls hug each of you, switching to hug the other and then run off to line up for entry. You and Seb waved to them from the sidewalk before you head back to the parking lot, his hand resting on your lower back as you walk. HIs hand slipped lower and lower by the second until you stepped away.

Your back is against the pickup, looking at your boyfriend - that's such a funny term. You didn't think at your age, with a 7 year old kid that you'd have a boyfriend again. It seems unreal to you, both in a good way and a bad way.

"Do you have work today?" He asks, noticing you've taken the truck and not your car.

"Yeah, gotta drop by the construction site today."

"What time are you off?"

"Noon-ish probably, I hope. You know how it goes with them," you shrugged. Seb nods, "the girls are staying at school for lunch today, sooo... why don't you come by after you're done work?"

"Are you gonna cook me lunch then, Sebastian?" You asked, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't a big cook but there were a few recipes that he had perfected and liked to make.

He shrugs, making a face. A hand resting behind your head, caging you in between him and the truck. "Figured we could order from your favourite Italian place."

"As nice as that sounds, you know how slow they are. It'll take them forever to deliver."

Sebastian's got a wicked grin on his face, something dirty on the tip of his tongue just waiting to be said. He leans in, lips by your ear. "There's a way we can pass the time."

If you hadn't gotten what he was suggesting before, his lips on your neck gave it away. "Sebastian!" You giggled, pushing him away. "Stop it before we get in trouble."

"We don't go to school here, it's fine."

"We have kids that go here though, and I have work. I need to go before you make me late."

"You're no fun," he tells you, pouting like a child as you get into the truck, your door still open as you look at him. "Stop pouting, you doofus. Come gimme a kiss so I can go," your hand stretched out for him.

Seb smiles, reaching up to give you a kiss before you let him go. "Have a good day, I'll see you after."

"Drive safe," you tell him, shutting the door. You wind down the window. "Not like a formula one driver!"

"I'll try my best!" He shouts, "no promises!"

You rolled your eyes, smiling as you pulled out of the parking lot.

--

Clothes scattered on the floor, your heels kicked off on the steps on the way up to Seb's bedroom and your purse long forgotten by the front door.

"C'mere," Seb grabs your arm, pulling your back flush against his chest. His warmth kept you snuggled into him, not wanting to move anytime soon.

"We really do need to get up."

"What for?" He asks, peppering kisses along your shoulder. You roll your eyes, "you ordered food and frankly, I'm starving."

"Yeah?" He says, you can sense the shit eating grin on his face. "Wonder why you're so hungry."

"Oh hush," you reach back, smacking his cheek softly. "I had work, don't think so highly of yourself."

Seb laughs, untangling himself from you when the doorbell rings. "As if you summoned them, honey." He pulls his shorts on, grabbing his wallet off of the nightstand.

You roll over, grabbing his hand. "I have to go," he tells you and you pout, making a face. Seb smiles, leaning down to kiss your head. "I'll be back in two seconds, and I'll have your chicken parm so you'll love me even more."

"Yeah," you chuckled, leaning back. "Fine."

Seb laughs, leaving you in bed to go get the delivery from the guy. You decided that pasta was too messy to eat in bed so you got dressed, meaning you borrowed Seb's shirt and made your way downstairs.

"Sleeping beauty emerges," he jokes and earns another eye roll from you. The two of you find your way to the kitchen, as you do most times, grabbing what you need before making your way to the table.

It was a very domestic scene; sitting at the table, eating as you discussed what the girls had in school that week. As if you had been married for years.

"I have to get dressed," you announce, getting up as Seb took the empty plates to the kitchen. "What for?" He glanced at you, rinsing the plates out to put them into the dishwasher.

"We have to pick up the girls."

"I'll pick them up, you rest."

"You're sure?" You asked and Seb nodded, "100%, you stay and relax." He kisses you softly, hands cupping your cheeks.

You smile and nod, following him to the door. "Where are you going?" Seb asks.

"I'm going to get dressed."

The man looks at you clearly confused, he had already told you to stay and relax and that he would pick up the girls.

"They can't come home to see me wandering around here in just your shirt, they don't need to see that."

"I do," he raises his eyebrows, a cheeky grin on his face. "Sebastian behave," you groaned, rolling your eyes playfully at his childishness. He smiles, putting his hoodie on before grabbing his car keys.

"I'll see you when I'm back," he tells you, giving you a kiss before heading out.

The drive to the school was normal, 5 minutes and he's parked, waiting for the two girls to come out. The teacher sees Sebastian, waving to him as he signals that he's taking both Milly and Liv home today. It's nothing unusual that you and Seb take turns picking up the girls, it's just whoever was free or closer. Most times Seb picks them up as you're usually at work.

Milly's holding one of his hands and Liv is holding the other, the 3 of them walking back to his car. "Mr. Seb? Where's mom?" Liv asks him, the man looks at her puzzled for a moment.

"Uh she's at our place."

Milly and Liv exchange a confused glance as they climb into the car. "What's she doing there?" Milly asks her father, clearly curious.

"Well, she was running late on her way back from work so I told her I'd pick you guys up and meet her at home."

The answer seemed to curb their curiosity for the time being, Seb driving home with the girls. Your truck parked on the road as you were always certain you'd crash into Seb's car if you pulled into the driveway.

The girls were held expecting you to get out of the truck but Seb instead led them to the front door, unlocking it to let them in. "Hi girls!" You called, stepping out of the kitchen. You had gotten redressed while they were gone, much to Sebastian's dismay.

"Hi mama," Liv says, glancing at her best friend. "Mr. Seb said you were running late from work."

"I was," you tell her, glancing at Seb. The man shrugs from behind the girls as if to say he needed an excuse.

Milly or Liv seemed to be buying the lame ass excuse you and Seb - mostly Seb- came up with. "How'd you get inside?" Milly asks you, knowing her dad had just unlocked the front door.

This story wasn't adding up.

Seb clears his throat. "Why don't you two go get a snack, you can have candy if you want. There's Kit Kat in the pantry." He tells them, the girls drop their bags by the stairs and go running to the pantry.

You look behind you to make sure the girls are gone before walking over to Seb. "Really? I'm running late but I'm in the house? You couldn't come up with something better?" You whispered to him.

The man shrugged, "they're like mini detectives, all scary and judgey. I had to say something!" he whisper shouts to you, "we need to tell them."

"Already? It's too soon."

"We're together all the time, babe. I can't keep kissing you in secret." He says, a look feigning exhaust from the lack of kisses on his face.

You sigh, nodding. "Fine," your hand cups his cheek, kissing him softly. "Let's go."

"Girls?!" Seb calls for them, "can you come here? Y/n and I want to talk to you!"

The girls come in, chocolate on their faces and fingers. You grab a tissue and wrap their faces and hands as they sit on the couch, you and Seb are across from them on the other couch. "What is it?" Milly asks, looking between you and Seb.

"Well," you start, looking to see if Seb wants to speak but he signals for you to go ahead; typical men. "How would you two feel if.. Mr. Seb and I started.. well, seeing each other?" You asked them, the girls both have a confused look on their faces.

They exchange a glance, "what does that mean?" Milly asks, her brows furrowed; the splitting image of her father.

"It means they kiss!" Liv tells her, her hand over her mouth as she giggles. Milly makes a face. "Ew! Cooties!" She giggled, her and Olivia making faces at each other.

You and Seb exchange a look, trying not to laugh.

"It does mean we kiss," Seb says, "but it means we like each other."

"Like how we like each other?" Liv asks, "like best friends?"

"Sort of," Seb smiles, "it's more like when two grown-ups really like each other in a special way. They care about each other a lot, like how friends care about each other, but with even more love."

"So super duper best friends," Liv says, making you laugh.

"Basically, yeah. How do you guys feel about that?" You asked, not wanting to leave any stone unturned.

"Does this mean we're.. sisters?" Milly asks, "cause you're Liv's mom and you're my dad so you're mom and dad.."

"I guess," you say, looking at Seb for some help. "I mean, yeah. You are sisters."

The girls giggle, "cool!" They happen to say at the same time and get up, coming over to hug you and Seb. You smile, "we've got to head home, sweetheart. You can come by tomorrow if you want."

She makes a sad face but nods, her and Milly walking to the door to gather Liv's stuff when Seb pulls you up from the couch and into a hug. "See? Was that so hard?"

"Shut up," you huffed, the man laughed as you two walked to the front door.

You watch as the girls hug each other bye, Milly comes over to give you a hug and you lean down to hug her back. Seb kisses Liv's head before turning to you, giving you a kiss.

"Ew!" The girls chorus, making the two of you laugh.

You and Olivia head home, the two of you going about your evening. Liv does her homework while you worked on some work plans and emails, you had dinner together and then both of you did your night time routines before you joined her in her bedroom for story time.

"Mom?" Liv calls for you as you shut the book, setting it on her nightstand. "What is it, kiddo?"

"Does this mean Mr. Seb is my dad?" She asks, leaving you stumped.

You sit there for a moment, trying to figure out how you'd answer her question. "Well, no. He's not your actual dad but you can look at him like your dad if you want."

She nods. "Do I keep calling him Mr. Seb?"

"Yeah, I would think so."

Seb was in a similar situation at his place, Milly had begged him to watch her favourite cartoon instead of story time and Seb caved. The two of them on the couch when she turns to her dad. "If Liv and I are sisters, does this mean auntie y/n is my mommy now?"

It takes him a second to register the question. He can't say yes, because Milly did see pictures of her actual mother, but it's also not a no.

"In a way, yes. She's not your mommy but you can look at her like your mommy, she'll always be there for you."

Milly seemed satisfied with her father's answer, nodding as she turned her attention back to the tv.

---

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[jhalya]

Just wanted to say I love sugar and spice and whenever I'm feeling a bit down I read it again! I love your writing but of all of your works it's my very favorite!!

I'm sorry I'm late getting back to this, but THANK YOU SO MUCH, that means a lot.

It is also one of my favourites and it made me hapoy to write it :)

[curdledbeefcake]

My bestie westie and I have started writing this crack-fic and it would be totally killer to have some folk who take kindly to reading get their hands on it. We plan on premiering a chapter weakly and we hope you see something that interests you enough to peruse and check in.

[cipherwrites]

Sugar & Spice, Chapter 1: Luck & Misfortune

Next Chapter ->

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a normal girl with a normal life! She’s clumsy, a romantic at heart, and she has a true passion for fashion design. The 16-year-old is moving into her second year of Lycee, but as this new school year begins, so too does chaos from an ancient magic unveiled, a responsibility to protect her city, and quite literally falling head-over-heels in love with the boy just one year elder that’s been kind to her…

That’s right. Both of them.

A few things you should know about this fic before we get into it:

-A personal pet peeve of mine is putting kids in dangerous situations! Even when it comes to magic, I would much prefer that adults held that kinda power. However, since a good deal of the series revolves around school drama, I’ve decided to put our main cast in Lycee and make them all young adults.

-According to my research (which could be wrong or outdated so please don’t judge me I am not from france), age of adulthood is 18 and full legal capacity comes at 16. I also found reference that the age of consent is 15, but that won’t really come into play in this fic.

-I will try to refer to French things as well as I can, such as “Lycee” instead of “High School.” For those that don’t know, Lycee is the three-year education system that comes after College (which isn’t University).

-Our main cast is in their second year of Lycee! Lycees are typically ages 15-18, so our main cast is ages 16-17 when the series begins. Specifically, Marinette and Adrien are 16, and Adrien will of course turn 17 during ‘Bubbler’

-I will be making new Miraculous lore! I will be both ignoring old lore and building off existing lore at intervals I deem appropriate.

-I’ll be changing a few Miraculous abilities, including giving them all a significant nerf/upgrade that comes from another fic series I wrote.

-I will also be changing character designs slightly, including costumes, but I have no talent in art so when I describe them simply use your imagination.

-I’ll be writing this like it’s a proper reboot, so I’ll be alluding to things that we all already know and pretend Hawkmoth’s identity is a secret until “Season 2”

-Felix and Adrien are sentimonsters. They are the only “human” sentimonsters that will be in this fic series. I have nothing against Sentimonster Kagami, but it’s just not for me in this story.

-On that note, this series will have Lukadrigaminette (gosh that’s hard to type)! Again, nothing against Feligami, but the story I’m building needs him to be a lonely boy for now.

With all of that said, please enjoy!

===

In the millennia before humans could even fathom recording their history, a powerful Mage made contact with an ephemeral being. The being was lonely, for it was everything that ever was and would ever be. It was all, yet it was nothing. A cosmic confusion that it could never understand. Its attempts to help humanity only brought fear and terror, and the being grew to loathe humans. However, the Mage pleaded with the eternal being that humanity just needed a new perspective. The cosmic nothing came to see reason, and split itself into two halves: Creation and Destruction. The embodiments of these concepts came to be bound by jewels the Mage forged, and he went onward to bind the aspects of humanity, the very concepts of the universe themselves, into these many jewels. In due time, these nineteen pieces of jewelry would be known as the Miraculous.

The first two Miraculous remained more powerful than the others: the Ladybug of Creation and the Black Cat of Destruction. The Ladybug could create anything and restore order and balance. The Black Cat could destroy anything and bring disorder to the world around it. The legend says that uniting these two will allow them to reconverge into the original Cosmic Nothing, and they will do as they always have: consider the wish of their wielder, and grant it in the only way they know how: destroy the very universe, and recreate it in a way where the wish is granted. The Cosmic Nothing cannot comprehend the horrors of its own actions, and so it was declared that these Miraculous could never be united…

---

“I want that wish, Nooroo.” a malicious man says in the shadows, three long months after a woman’s disappearance. The boy is kept calm and complacent by means he could never understand, but the man has no such freedom of ignorance. “I must have those Miraculous!”

“But Master, I was separated long ago!” the tiny purple kwami exclaims, “I don’t know where the Miraculous are anymore. No one does!”

“I found you though, my little Nooroo.” the man grins. “Your Miraculous…remind me of its powers again.”

“The Miraculous of the Butterfly allows you to swath someone in need in comforting shadow and give them the power to achieve victory with their inner potential.” Nooroo recites.

“Throughout history, the Miraculous have been used by those that have gone down in history as heroes. When it comes to luring in heroes, what could be better than creating villains?” the man suggests with glee.

“But…but you can’t! Master, the Miraculous cannot be used for evil purposes!” Nooroo warns in fear.

“I must have that cosmic wish!” the man orders, pointing at the helpless kwami. “Your Miraculous is in my control! I am your master, and you must obey me.”

“Yes…master.” Nooroo obeys sadly.

“Nooroo,” the man affixes the brooch to his attire, “Dark Wings Rise!” He orders, transforming through the power of the Miraculous. “From now on, I shall be known as…Hawkmoth.” he laughs maliciously.

---

“Marinette!” a voice calls, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng gasps awake to the sound of her alarm going off. “Your alarm’s been going off for fifteen minutes! You’re going to be late!”

“Oh, no, no, no!” the sixteen-year-old Marinette Dupain-Cheng panics. “Coming, Maman!” she calls down, swiftly changing clothes and getting everything together.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a petite girl with black hair that she dyes into a light shade of blue. She wears her hair in a pair of pigtails and a nice mix of colors in her homemade clothes, primarily her favorite color pink. However, the main thing people notice about Marinette is the bandages. Marinette is immensely clumsy, so she often wears a large number of bandages to cover the bruises and cuts she gets from merely existing day after day. Rushing to get her school bag together, she packs a box of bandaids with cute designs, because chances are she’s gonna have a new mark on her face by the end of the day.

As Marinette rushes out of her room, she takes one last look to make sure she isn’t forgetting anything, scanning her room in half a second. Marinette’s room is chaotic in some portions but also ridiculously organized in others. Marinette has several crafts projects beyond her personal clothing designs, plenty of empty binders and books for when she inevitably takes an extracurricular, and walls that have been bare of photos for four long years…well, that ends today! She’s gonna make friends, take pictures, and fill this room with life again!

Marinette barrels into her Family’s kitchen, practically running into the table to try and hurriedly stuff her face.

“Remember to chew, dear,” Sabine says calmly to her daughter. “And please sit down.”

Marinette mumbles a bit between her bites as she sits at the table, swallowing a handful of food at once. “Sorry, Maman.” she sighs. “I’m a little nervous, I gotta admit…Chloe’s probably gonna be in most of my classes again.”

“Four years in a row of this, is that even possible?” Sabine asks.

“You know me, the picture of luck!” Marinette chuckles nervously.

“Oh, don’t say that!” Sabine scolds, frowning at her daughter’s self-deprecation. “It’s the start of a new school year! Everything will be fine.”

As Marinette considers her Mother’s words, it’s as though on cue she drops the spoon in her hand, hitting another object and hitting many others like a Rube Goldberg machine of chaos and misfortune. Marinette just groans, tempted to just fall to the ground and let the earth take her. Before Marinette can spiral any further into her doubts, her Dad walks in, humming to himself as he places a Boulangerie Patisserie box full of macarons down in front of his beloved daughter. Marinette sees the treats in the box she has requested her Dad make for her new class, and her eyes light up in renewed triumph.

“Papa, these are so awesome!” Marinette hugs her Dad.

“Glad you like them,” Tom smiles warmly.

“My class will love them, Papa. You’re the best!” Marinette hugs him, and after Tom catches the dropped box and hands it to her, she kisses her parents on the cheek before rushing out. “See you tonight!” she calls back, aiming to get to school quickly.

Marinette rushes out of her home clutching the box of sweets as she slings her backpack onto her back. She manages to avoid tripping over herself as she reaches the intersection, but as she breathes a sigh of relief, her eyes widen as she sees a little old man crossing the street slowly, struggling with his cane…as a car is fast approaching! Everyone around her is on their phones- only she can see him! Gasping in fear, she rushes forward, using every ounce of strength in her tiny body to tackle the old man on the other side of the street! The two of them groan, and Marinette feels her heart fall as she sees her box dropped in front of her, the macarons spilling out and in pieces. Marinette just hangs her head as the old man gets up.

“Oh, my! Young lady, thank you…young lady?” he seems concerned, but she pulls herself together.

“Oh! No, it’s fine, it’s…” She watches helplessly as someone on their phone walks by, stepping on one of the dropped macarons. She just hangs her head, her gaze blurring with frustrated tears before she wipes them away. “It’s fine!” she wipes the tears away. “I’m no stranger to disaster. There are even a few left! I might be able to dust some dirt off of these ones…”

The old man picks up one of the broken pieces from the ground, dusting it off and trying it.

“Well, they still taste delicious to me.” the old man smiles kindly, and Marinette smiles.

“Thank you, sir.” Marinette shuts the box and suddenly, she hears the school bell in the distance! “Oh, no, I’m gonna be late! Ah, have a nice day sir! Be careful of traffic!” she shouts as she rushes off.

---

As the old man walks into an alleyway, he takes a deep breath and slumps against a wall.

“Reality,” he mutters, dispelling the illusion of the speeding car that has since pulled into an alleyway and the illusion around himself. “Trixx, Orikko, divide.” He says, the two kwamis emerging from the Miraculous.

“Master, this was incredibly dangerous!” the fox kwami warns.

“I have to agree! You shouldn’t be wielding a Miraculous at your age, much less unifying them!” the rooster agrees.

“It’s just for today.” the old man explains as he feeds the kwamis some macaron crumbs he picked up. “I need to be sure the people are worthy. I need the Fox to set up the situations, and the Rooster to give me the power of empathic reading. That way, I’ll be able to tell if those I choose are right.”

“Was she right, Master?” the Fox asks.

“I believe so, Trixx.” the old man smiles and slips on some glasses. “Now, for the final part before moving forward. Kaalki, Full Gallop!”

---

Barreling through the doors of Mme. Bustier’s classroom at top speed is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, barely able to catch herself as she stumbles into the room with what many classmates would refer to as “three left feet” with how fast and bumbling she is. Marinette can see many familiar faces and a few new ones. 

Mme. Bustier was the primary teacher this year…again. Caline Bustier is a decent teacher, and through her own skills and the positive enforcement of her students and their families, she went from a Junior Secondary teacher to a Senior Secondary teacher in just a few years!

Maybe she advanced a bit too quickly, that quiet, rude corner of Marinette’s mind said.

I just need some faith. She wouldn’t have gotten the position if she didn’t deserve it! The rest of Marinette reasoned.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” a shrill voice says her name like it’s an accusation, interrupting her train of thought. Marinette takes a deep breath, having only just sat down.

Here we go again…

“That’s my seat.” Chloe Bourgeois herself, self-appointed Queen Bee of the school, almost universally despised, and daughter of Mayor Andre Bourgeois.

“Chloe, it’s the first day of school! Seats are being assigned right now, and you came in after me for once!” Marinette complains.

“Not anymore!” Sabrina proclaims. “New year, new seats!”

“You refuse to know your place, so I have to put you in your place.” Chloe grins, looming over the sitting and diminutive form of Marinette. “Why don’t you go sit by the new girl?” she gestures to the Creole girl a row away reading a comic book, whose attention has been caught by the situation. “Adrien’s arriving today, and since he’s going to sit there, I’m going to sit here.”

“Adrien…Agreste?” Marinette blinks. “But- the Agrestes are shut-ins!”

“Not anymore!” Chloe smirks. “Oh, does the little fashion wannabe actually wanna meet an Agreste?”

“I- you- but-” Marinette stammers as Chloe grins cruelly over her.

“Maybe if you finally put yourself in your proper place, I’ll consider letting you meet him. The only place you belong is-” Chloe begins, but suddenly, they’re interrupted.

“Hey! Who elected you Queen of Seats?” the Creole girl accuses, having stood up and coming up with her comic book rolled up.

“Oh, look, Sabrina! We’ve got a little do-gooder in our class this year.” Chloe chortles. “What, another superhero nerd? What are you gonna do, shoot beams at me with your glasses?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Alya scowls and leads Marinette by the hand, “Come on, you can sit with me and away from those two.”

As she leads Marinette, the shorter girl gasps as she trips, once more spilling her macarons until only one remains in the box.

“Sorry! Sorry. I’m sorry…” Marinette whimpers.

“Hey, it’s okay, girl!” Marinette’s new seat neighbor gathers the dropped sweets and tosses them into the trash. “No biggie.”

“I wish I could handle Chloe the way you do…” Marinette mutters.

“You mean the way Majestia does it,” the girl explains, rolling out the comic again. “She says that ‘all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing’.” She then points at Chloe. “Well, that girl over there is evil, and we are the good people. We can’t let her get away with it,” she explains like it’s a simple fact.

Chloe isn’t evil…she’s not perfect, but she’s not EVIL. I hope.

“Well, that’s easier said than done,” Marinette says instead. “She likes to make my life miserable…”

“That’s cause you let her, girl! Get some confidence!” the girl grins, and Marinette can’t help but smile at the sentiment.

“I’m Marinette,” Marinette says, handing Alya the last macaron.

“Alya.” the girl smiles, taking and eating it with a smile on her face.

“Alright, class, let’s get started!” Mme. Bustier smiles.

“Where is he…?” Marinette can barely hear Chloe mutter.

---

Adrien has just helped an old man from tripping and falling into the street, turning back with a sight to see the two people he knew would drag him away from the steps of Francoise Dupont Lycee. Nathalie Sanceour, archaeologist-turned-assistant, and Placide I.T., a gorilla-like American bodyguard that hardly understands a word of French, much less speak it.

“I just want to go to school like anyone else. What’s so wrong with that?” Adrien protests.

“Let’s go home, Adrien,” Nathalie says, and the Bodyguard opens the door of the car.

“... please don’t tell my Father about this,” Adrien mutters as he steps into the car.

---

The Butterfly Miraculous allows one to tap into truly empathic abilities, allowing one to read emotions and surface thoughts for many miles while in a meditative state. There is negativity all across the so-called “City of Love,” but it is one emotion picked up on. Anger, Sadness, Resentment, and Regret all together at once! A shy boy hiding his anger, pent up with rage with a want to express his love, but how could he ever?

“This is perfect.” Hawkmoth grins. He holds his cane up, and the head opens. A butterfly lands on it, and the head closes. Dark energy pulses through the head of the cane, corrupting the harmless butterfly into something more potent. “Burn a hole into his heart, my horrible akuma!” the head of the cane opens, and the cracking purple-black butterfly emerges, fluttering out of the window with a target in mind. “Fly now, and akumatize him!”

When the akuma closes in, he can feel the anger spike. Scorned by the Principal, who should be protecting these youths. The akuma finds its way into the object with the most emotional attachment: a crumpled-up piece of paper, a failed confession.

“Stoneheart, I am Hawkmoth.” Hawkmoth declares, his influence driven into the boy’s mind like a knife. Proclaiming his new name, so that he has no chance to deny that Stoneheart is his identity. “The world hurts, doesn’t it? I can give you the power to shut out all pain. However, in return, there is something you need to do for me…”

“Whatever it is, you’ve got a deal, Hawkmoth.” the weak-willed young man agrees, and the horrible shadow covers him, mutating him into something so much more.

“Make some noise, Stoneheart.” Hawkmoth orders. “Grab Paris’ attention.”

---

Marinette and Alya were in the library, when the ground suddenly shook. Marinette fell to the ground- not actually her fault, this time!- and plastered across every news screen was that of a monstrous golem-like creature tearing through the school.

“KIM!” the monster roars in anger, and Marinette can see the monster’s fist tighten around something in his hand.

Something…breaks.

“Ivan?” Marinette mutters, blinking in surprise.

“Hello? This is the police?” Damocles exclaims, talking on his phone as he rushes through the library, trying to hide. “Get me the army!”

“Whoa, a real-life supervillain!” Alya rushes to her bag, swiping through her phone. “GPS, synced. Battery, charged. I am so ready for this!” she starts to rush out the door…towards the danger?!

“Hey! Where are you going?!” Marinette exclaims.

“Supervillains mean Superheroes, and Paris hasn’t had either in years!” Alya grins. “There’s no way I’m missing this!”

Marinette sees the news on another student’s phone and just how…destructive this monster Ivan has become is. She winces, and she thinks hard.

My new friend has a death wish! I have to help her!

What can I even do? I’d just get in the way…or worse, my clumsiness could get her hurt!

I can’t just do NOTHING, can I?

There’s another boom from outside.

I should…leave this to the Police.

---

Adrien, ever-bored, waits patiently as he answers each of Nathalie’s questions easily. Suddenly, the door to Adrien’s room opens.

“Give us a moment, would you, Nathalie?” Gabriel Agreste himself requests, and Nathalie steps out. He then turns to Adrien, holding his hands behind his back. “You are not going to school. I already told you.”

“But, Father-” Adrien protests.

“Quiet.” Gabriel orders, and Adrien promptly shuts up. “Everything you need is right here where I can keep an eye on you. I will not have you outside in that dangerous world.”

It’s not dangerous, Adrien thinks to himself. Why can’t I just go to school like everyone else…?

Gabriel walks to the door, opening it for Nathalie. “Continue,” he orders, and Adrien walks to the door as he walks away, and Nathalie looks into the room.

“We can leave it there for today if you-” Nathalie begins, and Adrien promptly shuts the door in her face.

Adrien groans, laying on his bed. He hears thumping and…explosions? He rushes to the TV and turns it on, seeing a monster literally absorbing gunfire into its body, growing bigger!

---

“As incredible as it seems,” Nadja Chamack reports, “it’s been confirmed that Paris is indeed being attacked by a supervillain! The Police have been struggling to keep the situation under control.”

“First day back at school…and a supervillain attacks.” Marinette faceplants into her chaise. “This is a new low.”

Marinette looks up at the monitor, her eyes squinting as she sees a small box she doesn’t recognize next to it. “Huh…?”

---

Adrien stares at the screen in disbelief, then notices something on one of his darker shelves he hasn’t noticed until now…something that definitely wasn’t there before.

“What’s this doing here?” Adrien picks up the box with the intricate design and opens it up, and a bright glow emanates from within!

---

“AAGH!” Marinette falls back, seeing the creature that emerged from the box. “Help! Giant bug- mouse- bug-mouse!”

“Everything’s okay, don’t be scared!” the creature tries to comfort her.

“AAGH IT TALKS!” Marinette panics.

---

“I’m Plagg, nice to meetchya.” the creature grins in front of Adrien before promptly starting to destroy his room, looking at anything shiny and possibly edible.

“Hey, hold on-!” Adrien protests.

---

Marinette slams a jar over the creature.

“Okay, if that makes you feel safer, Marinette…” the creature says.

“What are you and how do you know my name?!” Marinette exclaims.

“I am a kwami, and my name is Tikki. Now, just let me explain-” she begins.

---

“-I grant powers,” Plagg explains simply from the grip of Adrien’s hands. “Yours is the power of destruction, got it?”

“Not even a little,” Adrien says honestly, prompting Plagg to roll his eyes.

“Good enough for me!” he phases out from the hands, causing Adrien to shudder as both his hands feel like they’ve fallen asleep. “You got anything to eat? I’m starving.”

“This can’t be real,” Adrien says, shaking his hands. “I’d assume someone was pranking me, but I’m the only one in this house with a sense of humor…”

“No one must know I exist!” Plagg suddenly gets in Adrien’s face.

---

“I’m your friend, please trust me! You’re the only one who can stop Stoneheart!” Tikki pleads, having phased out of the jar to stop Marinette from getting her parents.

“This has to be a mistake! The only superpower I could have is how abysmal I am at literally everything I do…I know!” Marinette looks up at the kwami. “Alya would know! That’s my friend! Well, I think she is…and I think she would…she loves superheroes, and knows way more than me about being a hero! You should totally go see her, instead!”

“Marinette, you were chosen!” Tikki insists.

---

“I’m a pretty crummy choice,” Adrien admits. “I’m stuck here! I’m not even allowed to go to school! What good is a superhero stuck in his own house?”

“No good at all.” Plagg grins mischievously. “That’s why that’s all going to change soon. If you’re willing to use my power to break the chains that keep you here.” Plagg lounges on the open box, gesturing to the black ring tantalizingly. 

---

“Okay, break the object, capture the thing! What’s the…charm thing again?” Marinette asks.

“I can’t say it, but part of the transformation involves knowledge. You’ll know it when you transform!” Tikki explains. “It will create an object that will help you deal with one threat! Once the threat is neutralized, you can release the energy of the object back into the universe, restoring the balance and fixing any damage the threat has done!”

“This is going…very fast, Tikki, I…I can’t do this!” Marinette whimpers.

“Trust yourself, Marinette! You have the potential inside of you!” Tikki smiles. “The transformation phrase is ‘Spots On’.”

“Spots on?” Marinette questions, and her eyes widen as Tikki is drawn into the earrings, and the transformation curls across her body!

Her eyes become a deeper blue and segmented like compound eyes, her hair becomes longer, the ribbons curling off her back. A shoulder-length cape with a Ladybug pattern around her neck is worn, and beautiful reds and blacks make up the Ladybug pattern of her attire, including a yoyo at her waist! There is a pitch-black pattern on her suit that makes a pair of gloves, with the black going along the underside of her forearms, and her boots have a similar pattern.

---

“Plagg, Claws Out!” Adrien declares, more ready for this than anything else in his life.

“No, wait! I haven't finished explaining-!” Plagg shrieks as he’s pulled into the ring, and Adrien transforms.

Adrien’s heroic form is fashionable leather, catlike eyes, and his hair has become wild and longer. A tail-like belt and a golden bell completes the look, and his clawed gloves are a wonderful touch, and he grins with a toothy, somewhat fanged grin. At his waist sports a collapsible staff that can become as compact as a palm-sized disc.

“This is gonna be so cool!” Adrien laughs excitedly.

---

Marinette looks down at her hands, gazing at her transformed visage.

I feel…weird. Out of my element.

“Tikki, can I get my old clothes back? Tikki…? You there…?” Marinette mutters to herself, and she feels the earth shake again, and she looks at the monitor worriedly.

“The monster, which calls itself ‘Stoneheart’, is heading toward the Montparnasse tower! The monster seems to be unstoppable!” Nadja reports.

Marinette sees Alya rushing toward the scene from the news feed, and her eyes widen in fear for the safety of her only friend.

I have to help her, no matter how weird this magic stuff feels!

“Marinette!” Sabine calls from downstairs, and Marinette’s eyes widen in fear. Tikki was very clear about keeping her identity a secret. “Marinette, sweetie, are you home? Are you okay?!”

Marinette knows that if she responds, she’d have to confront her Mere, and they’d want her to hide with her and Papa. Climbing up to her balcony quickly and silently, she feels guilt spike into her as she hears her Mere worried about the lack of her daughter in the house.

Okay, I have powers or something! And a magic yoyo.

Marinette feels the magic of the suit gives her the instincts to use the yoyo to swing. Her reflexes have been improved, but her hand-eye coordination is still pretty bad. The powers seem to enhance her existing abilities, not replace them.

The wind in my face, this new strength, I feel better than ever!

I still feel a bit weird.

…no, not weird. I feel powerful.

---

Adrien can’t help but laugh and whoop as he launches himself throughout the city he’s never had a chance to see! Every building, a new opportunity at vaulting himself onward! Adrien was already pretty skilled and physically fit, but the Miraculous has increased all of that tenfold (well, maybe not tenfold, but it still feels great!)!

He’s walking across a gap between two buildings using his staff at a tightrope- his model poise and the Black Cat’s instincts making it practically impossible for him to fall- when he hears a shriek from above. Looking up, he sees a blur of red slam into him, yoyo strings tying them together as they hang upside-down.

“Well, hey there.” Adrien smiles, happy that he was able to find his apparent partner so easily. “Nice of you to drop in!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” the blue-eyed bug girl proclaims nervously. “I didn’t mean to- this wasn’t on purpose!” she stammers slightly, and in a few moments, the two of them are able to free themselves and reclaim their weapons.

“So, you’re the partner my kwami told me about?” Adrien asks, and the girl nervously nods. “Well, you can call me…” Adrien taps his chin, grinning. He’d been thinking about this all the while he was vaulting across Paris. Something short and sweet, rolls off the tongue, but makes sense and tells people everything they need to know about him. “Chat Noir. Yeah, Chat Noir!” the new hero grins. “And you?”

“I’m Ma- er, uh-” the girl scrambles with her yoyo wildly, and winds up tossing it up and it hits her on the head before she catches it. “...Madly clumsy. I am so clumsy.”

“No sweat, Clumsybug!” Chat Noir sidles up to her, putting his arm around his maybe-sidekick’s shoulder. “I’m still learning the ropes, too!”

The ground shakes again- another indicator of the Stoneheart fight! Chat Noir grins and starts sprinting towards the fight, seeing where the dust is kicked up!

“H-hey! Where are you going?!” Clumsybug exclaims.

“To save Paris!” Chat laughs heartily as he takes his staff, vaulting upward once more!

---

The students of Lycee Francoise Dupont have the unique privilege of using the Parc des Princes as their school’s P.E. grounds. The students are packing up early, unaware the mysterious quakes are anything more than just that…until the monstrous and massive form of Stoneheart bursts through the entrance and walls!

“KIM!” Stoneheart roars, looming over the student. “Who’s the wuss now?” he is about to slam his fist down upon Kim, who’s tripped over, but suddenly a black blur gets Kim out of the way before brandishing his staff as though it were a blade, pointing it at Stoneheart!

“Hey, maybe you should pick on someone your own size!” the wielder of the Black Cat proclaims.

“Just as expected,” Hawkmoth smirks, looking through his Akuma’s eyes. “The Miraculous of the Ladybug and the Black Cat have been activated! Here they come to save the day, only to be destroyed by my machinations.”

---

“Where are you, partner?” Chat mutters as he is thrown back by an even bigger Stoneheart- every hit of his staff makes the villain grow! Chat tries to throw one of the football nets at Stoneheart, hoping to tangle him and render him immobile, but instead, Stoneheart just throws it away- and is about to hit a girl recording everything! Chat Noir is able to save her, but she pays no mind to him, looking up at Clumsybug, who seems to be frozen with fear from atop the stadium’s bowl.

“What are you waiting for, Super Redbug? The world is watching you!” the recorder eggs on.

---

I can’t do this. I’m not a superhero! Look at the size of that thing! How can I fight that?

Marinette can hear Alya, and she sees Chat Noir fighting alone, against all odds.

He’s fighting. I could try and be like him.

What if I get in his way? What if I tie us together again? What if I-

What if nothing, I can’t just stand by and do nothing!

Marinette resolves herself, leaping down and brandishing her yoyo.

Never again.

She throws her yoyo forward, doing the best thing she can- let it go wild! It ties around Stoneheart’s torso, and she yanks, pulling herself towards him! She lands on his head and kicks off, snapping her fingers to make the yoyo’s strings loosen, allowing her to pull it back to her side, pulling the string together like a mechanical tape measure’s retraction.

“Animal cruelty, Stoneheart? How shameful.” Marinette quips, trying to emulate Chat Noir’s boldness. “Sorry it took so long, Chat Noir.”

“It’s cool, Wonderbug.” Chat Noir says, coming to her side. “Let’s kick his rocky rear!”

“We can’t just rush in brazenly when our attacks will only make him bigger and stronger!” Marinette reasons. “We have to do something different…”

“Alright, I’ll bite. Different how?” Chat Noir asks.

“I…don’t know.” Marinette hangs her head.

“Well, I do. What do you say we test out our powers?” Chat Noir smiles, and Marinette nods a little bit.

“Cataclysm!” Chat Noir holds his hand forward, but…nothing happens. “Huh, what the heck?”

“Tikki said they use our weapons. Like, mine is the Lucky Charm-” Marinette says, holding her yoyo in her hand, and the yoyo glows and thrums with power! She shrieks a little as the light pours out of it, conjuring a spandex suit that resembles her own. “Ugh…” she falls back from the disorientation. “I should probably throw that away from me whenever I do that from now on…”

“Oh! So it’d be like this…?” Chat Noir compacts his staff into a palm-sized disc, palming it into his ring hand. “Cataclysm!” he declares again, and this time, the dark power thrums through his hand and the disc! “Alright! Apparently, I destroy whatever I though. What’s yours do?”

“It’s supposed to help us win, somehow. We only have 5 minutes now until we turn back…” Marinette mumbles.

“Ah…probably should have listened to my kwami.” Chat Noir chuckles. “Any other tips?” he asks, leaning against a goal that starts to disintegrate.

“...our powers are only single use,” Marinette says softly, and Chat Noir looks back at the destroyed goal.

“...oops.” Chat Noir says, embarrassed.

They hear a roar from Stoneheart, who is starting to charge towards them!

“His right hand is always closed…it must be where that whatchamacallit is hiding, the…the akuma!” Marinette reasons.

“So, uh, what’s the plan?” Chat Noir asks nervously, seeing the monstrous villain charging.

“The plan, it’s…it’s…” Marinette looks around wildly, soon locating precisely what she needs. “I’ve got it!” she swiftly ties a nearby hose to the suit, then ties Chat Noir with her yoyo. “Okay, uh, don’t resist, I need you to trust me.”

“Oh god, she’s crazy.” Chat Noir says as she picks him up! “How are you so strong?!” he exclaims,

“Why are you so light?!” Marinette exclaims, genuinely thinking she was gonna have a harder time with his plan (and honestly a little concerned with how little he weighs). Regardless, she throws him like a shotput.

The plan goes pretty well. Chat Noir is captured, then so is Ladybug, then the Lucky Charm’s use goes well and they’re able to destroy the object!

“Wow…that was awesome.” Chat Noir declares, laughing as he lies in the grass, looking at the sky. “She’s awesome.”

“What’s going on? Why am I here?” Ivan exclaims, worried, and Marinette’s heart bleeds. He doesn’t even remember what happened to him.

“Well, you did it Super…Clumsy…Bug Lady.” Chat Noir laughs, still clearly unsure of what to call her. “You were great!”

“We got there in the end, didn’t we?” Marinette smiles and holds up her fist. “Partner.”

The look of elation on Chat Noir’s face was perhaps the purest joy Marinette had ever seen.

“Pound it!” Chat Noir says as they fist bump, and Marinette laughs.

“What was that?” she smiles.

“What? It’s fun!” he grins goofily, and notices his beeping ring. “Ah, we should probably get going.”

“Right! Identities gotta be secret.” Marinette nods.

“Farewell, M’lady bug!” Chat Noir winks with one last nickname and vaults away on his staff. “Let’s do this again soon, okay?”

Not too soon, I hope… Marinette thinks to herself as the adrenaline starts to wear off. She walks over to look at the paper the object was in, and she reads it, and she frowns as she realizes what Kim has done.

What he always does, with those twisted attempts at jokes.

“There’s no shame in telling someone you love them,” Marinette says to Ivan, and he looks away, ashamed as the paramedics come in to try and get the scope of the situation.

“Uncanny, amazing, spectacular!” Alya suddenly interrupts. “Are you gonna be protecting Paris from now on? How did you get your powers? Did you get stung by a radioactive Ladybug? Oh, I've got a ton of questions to ask you, uh, miss... uhh…” She trails off, as though trying to decide which of Chat Noir’s many names could be her moniker.

And honestly, while it was a bit plain and simple, Marinette liked his last one the most.

“Ladybug. You can call me Ladybug.” She smiles wide.

“Ladybug! Super awesome!” Alya exclaims, recording the scene as ‘Ladybug’ swings away.