#god and people coming up to him flooding him for autographs and he’s got no clue what he’s so famous for

[asteriskemily]

The fact that Ruben doesn’t remember what happened is absolutely sending me.

Like, imagine your name is Ruben Hopclap. You wake up in front of a ruined school gym wearing clothes you don’t recognize and missing your favorite necklace. You don’t remember falling asleep. Your chest hurts.

Uncle Henry is there talking to principal Auegfort over scraps of a robot. For a moment he looks at you like you’re a ghost before wrapping you in a tight hug. He asks what you remember. You tell him you remember packing your bag to go to the mountains of chaos for your spring break quest. You don’t remember anything after that. He hugs you again.

Your party’s there too. Most of them at least. Along with another party that you recognize as the Bad Kids, the most infamous party in your grade, maybe in the whole school. You tamp down any jealousy you might feel about that when you see the way that Mary Ann Almost-but-not-quite smiles at their barbarian. Instead you go to where Oisin and Ivy are huddle together, speaking softly to each other.

You ask where Kipperlily is. They look uncomfortable. For a moment you think about asking after Buddy, but then you realize you don’t know who that is. They keep avoiding answering the question, so you walk away. You almost go to talk to Lucy, but you see how uncomfortable she looks, how she flinches away when you start to move towards her. You decide to leave her alone.

Eventually Henry takes you home. On the drive home he turns on the radio and you hear yourself singing a song you’ve never heard. It’s loud and chaotic and so so angry. The sound of it makes you want to throw up. You turn it off and ride in silence back to the house.

The walls of your bedroom have been painted a deep, bloody red. There’s an electric guitar that you don’t know how to play leaning against the wall. Your desk is covered in notes and plans, some of it written in codes you can’t decipher. That doesn’t really matter because you don’t understand the stuff that’s not in code either.

Your parents look almost scared of you when you ask where your normal clothes are. They tell you that you got rid of them. They keep apologizing, like they think you’ll get mad at them. You tell them it’s okay, but still search your closet for something a bit more your style. You find a box shoved into a corner, under some clothes. Inside is your puka shell necklace and your ukulele. The string on the necklace is broken like it had been ripped off. The body of the ukulele is cracked like it had been thrown to the ground. You decide to deal with that in the morning.

You fall asleep and you dream of a girl. She’s a tiefling with red and black raccoon streaks in her hair. She smiles at you with lips painted black. If you stare at her for too long you can see blood dripping out of those lips and a crossbow bolt lodged in her side. You look at her and feel longing, feel grief, feel betrayal. You want to stop dreaming of her, but some part of you knows that any other dream would be filled with blood and crystals and rage. You accept that you are doomed to Wanda.

[waywardnerd67]

Star Crossed: Brightest Star

Summary: Life on tour was stressful and (Y/N) (Y/L/N) enjoyed the quiet moments on her tour bus with her best friend traveling between cities. After a show one night, she discovers her BFF recorded her fangirling over her favorite actor and posted it online. In a single moment, her life changes forever. Pairing: No Pairing Rating: E - Everyone Warnings: Fluff Word Count: 1201 A/N: None

Check out: Star Crossed Masterlist

The crowd was deafening as Wayward Stars stood center stage and bowed. Her bandmates pushed (Y/N) (Y/L/N) forward joining in on the cheering. She smiled brightly, waved and took a bow. She could see the first ten rows of people that were sweating and red faced from rocking out with them. Never did a night go by that she was not eternally grateful for the life she was able to live.

Walking off stage, the other bands they were touring with greeted them around the large green room. Her best friend, Addy Pearson, was chatting it up with a guitarist from The Letter Scarlett. (Y/N) rolled her eyes at her before heading towards the buffet of food and drinks. By passing all the alcohol, she grabbed a bottle of water and a handful of grapes.

“I think I’m in love.” Addy said, wrapping her arms around (Y/N)’s waist.

“You say that about every guy you lock eyes onto. However, Benny is actually a good guy so I would approve of this one.”

Addy laughed while grabbing a beer, “We have a couple of days before we hit the next city, right?”

She nodded, “Thankfully. My body is sore and in need of some R&R. Are you joining me on my bus or sneaking off with your newest boy toy?”

Her best friend kissed her cheek, “See you in the morning.”

“Yeah, yeah…” She watched Addy skip back to the latest notch to be added to her belt.

Honestly, she was thankful that she would have her bus all to herself. A night alone with her favorite show and junk food was exactly what she needed. Waving goodbye to her tour mates, she asked one of the bodyguards to come with her and went out to meet some fans standing near the buses. It was one thing she could do as a thank you to the fans who spent their money on seeing her. She wanted to make sure they knew how much she appreciated them.

After a few dozen hugs, selfies and autographs she finally made it to her bus. Stripping off her sweaty, nasty clothes she got into her favorite pj shorts and Zeppelin shirt. Grabbing some leftover pizza from the night before and her favorite gift from a fan. (Y/N) settled into her bunk and started up the last episode of Supernatural she had been watching.

“Dean Bear, this is the episode you were inspired from.” She whispered.

She snuggled with the Build-A-Bear that was made to look like Dean Winchester with glasses. Snapping a quick picture of her teddy bear and posting it on her Instagram.

Towards the end of the episode, she felt her bus roar to life and soon started to move. That is when a notification popped up on her phone.

Heart racing, she pulled up the video forgetting that there was a Supernatural convention going on this weekend. One day, she was going to be able to schedule a weekend for her to go. For now, she was thankful for fans that were there for sharing their videos online. (Y/N) let out a squeal reading the title of the video.

VanCon SNS - Jensen Ackles Heaven & S.O.B.

Clicking play, she turned the volume up on her phone. Letting out a breathless sigh, watching him walk onto stage wearing black boots, tight jeans, simple black t-shirt and dark cowboy hat.

“Good god…” she murmured.

The first notes of Bryan Adams “Heaven” began to play and (Y/N) literally melted in her spot. His beautiful baritone voice made her heart skip. He commanded the stage and audience, captivating everyone’s attention.

“Oh no… you’re watching Jensen Ackles videos again.”

She looked up seeing Addy walking to her bunk pressing pause on her video, “What happened to Benny?”

She shrugged silently, flopping down onto her bed, “I obviously mixed up the signals being sent my way. It’s fine now I can lay here and make fun of your obsession with Jensen.”

(Y/N) stuck out her tongue, hitting play, “You show me a man with more talent and hotter than him then I will stop obsessing over him.”

The next song he sang was one of her favorites. The man was made to be a rockstar from his voice, playing guitar and the way he moved his body. What she would not give to see him perform live.

“You’re drooling…”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes without looking from her screen, “I can’t help it. He’s gorgeous and talented and the perfect man.” She threw her arm over her eyes dramatically pretending to faint.

Addy laughed at her but let her finish fangirling without further comments. The rest of the night she spent watching Supernatural finally falling asleep to dream of the handsome green eyed rockstar.

A couple of days later, she was sitting in her bunk before a show when she heard Addy having a heated conversation with her manager. Rolling out of her bunk, she walked to the front of the bus seeing her best friend rolling her eyes and her manager’s bright red face.

“What’s going on?”

“Ask your friend what she did.” Her manager stormed off the bus.

She turned towards her friend who was shrugging nonchalantly, “I get what the big deal is. I mean it’s nothing embarrassing or anything.”

“Addyson Marie Pearson, what did you do?” Panic flooded her stomach seeing Addy pulling out her phone.

A million thoughts ran through her mind. Did she post a picture of them from their wild days of concerts and after parties? Did she mouth off to one of the haters on social media again?

She handed (Y/N) her phone to a Tweet she posted tagging her in it. There was a link to a YouTube video and her stomach sank. Pressing the link it was a short video of her in her bunker from a few days earlier. She was singing along with Jensen Ackles smiling from ear to ear staring longingly at him.

“You’re drooling…” She heard Addy say from behind the camera.

She watched herself  roll her eyes without looking from the screen, “I can’t help it. He’s gorgeous and talented and the perfect man.” She threw her arm over her eyes dramatically pretending to faint.

Text flashed on the screen, “#1 Jensen Ackles Fangirl”

The video already had thousands of views. The tweet had been reblogged over a hundred times. (Y/N) looked up, jaw slacked at her giggling best friend.

“Jesus Addy… why?” she asked, handing the phone back and putting her head in her hands.

“I thought it was cute and you’re fans love seeing candid moments like this. Who knows, maybe Mr. Ackles will see it and fall in love with you.”

Her head snapped up, “Oh god… I really hope he never sees that. I mean really what are the chances of that happening?”

Both their phones went off at the same time. They looked at one another before looking at their phones.

“Ho-ly crap…” (Y/N) whispered, pulling up the Twitter notification.

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[freddiefiction]

Jimercury Advent Calendar (Day 11)

Baby, It’s Cold Outside 🐾

Miko let out another loud meow as she paced up and down the nearly empty street, paws sinking further and further into the snow that had covered the pavement while she looked desperately around for any sign of Garden Lodge.

She knew it was her own fault that she was in this predicament; she had been so distracted trying to catch that silly mouse, she completely lost track of where she was going, and by the time she had lost the damn thing she realised she had no idea where she was. The houses were all different. The smells were unfamiliar. The other cats were hostile and chased her away when she got too close.

As she navigated her way through the darkened streets, she sniffed around desperately, trying to find a familiar scent that might lead her back home. She followed a few people up and down the road, hoping they might notice and take her in out of the cold until they located her owners. She sat and meowed until she was hoarse, calling for her dads to come and find her. But nothing worked. She couldn’t find a single scent that she recognised. The humans were far too preoccupied trying to escape the terrible weather to pay attention to the little tortoiseshell scurrying after them.

Freddie and Jim didn’t come.

By midnight, the streets were completely empty. The only noise to be heard was the sound of the wind viciously blowing about the rapidly falling snow. As the storm grew worse, Miko crept under a parked car for shelter, curling into herself in a futile attempt to keep warm. She thought about home, her brothers and sisters who were probably laying in front of the fireplace or snuggled in the arms of their beloved parents. She thought about Freddie’s gentle voice and Jim’s strong, comfortable arms that always made her feel safe, as if nothing in the world could ever hurt her.

She might not ever feel those arms again.

Miko had liked the snow at first. She and Delilah had spent hours bouncing around in it, seeing who could leave the deepest pawprints or catch the most snowflakes on their whiskers. It made it easier for her to see her prey as well, which was why she had managed to chase that damnable mouse as far as she did. But now, she’d be glad if she never saw the bloody stuff again; it was cold against her feet, clung to her fur in wet clumps, and seemed to make humans so miserable they wouldn’t even acknowledge her.

If cats could cry, Miko would have flooded the street. She curled up tighter, trembling from head to tail, praying that her daddies had noticed her absence and would come looking for her soon.

--

‘Where is she?’ Freddie was close to tears, covering his mouth with his gloved hand to stifle a sob as he looked desperately up and down the darkened street. ‘Oh God, Jim, she’s never been out past midnight before. What if she’s lost? What if a car hit her? What if-?’

‘Darling.’ Jim cut his husband off, clasping Freddie by the shoulders so the smaller man looked at him. ‘We’re going to find her, I promise. She’s probably just wandered too far and can’t find her way back in the snow. She’s a smart girl; she’ll have found somewhere safe and warm to take shelter until she’s found.’

Freddie’s eyes were still glistening with unshed tears, but Jim’s words were enough to soothe his racing heart. He buried his face against Jim’s shoulder and had a little cry while Jim held him in his arms, gently swaying them both back and forth. After a few moments, Freddie pulled himself together and reached up to wipe his face.

‘Come on,’ Jim murmured, ‘let’s get in the car and bring her home.’

The snow was so thick they had to trail along at a snail’s pace. Freddie stuck his head out of the window, calling for her, not caring if he woke the whole of Kensington with his noise. They scanned every street corner for any sign of a little tortoiseshell cat, stopped passers-by to ask if they’d seen her (and begrudgingly signed a few autographs instead). An hour into their search and Freddie’s eyes were brimming with tears again, blurring all his surroundings. Jim, on the verge of crying himself, decided enough was enough. He parked the Volvo against the curb and grabbed the torch he’d stashed in the glove compartment.

The air had grown colder since they departed from Garden Lodge, but he refused to be deterred as he stepped out onto the pavement and flicked the torch on to begin searching through every nook and cranny. He was aware of how ridiculous he must look – a grown man clambering through the snow, making pspspsps noises – but he honestly didn’t care. Freddie jumped out of the car after him, wrapping his scarf tighter around his neck as his teeth chattered audibly. The thought of poor little Miko being all alone in such freezing weather was simply devastating to him.

‘Miko?’ Jim called out softly, coming to a row of parked cars and shining the torch around the wheels. ‘Oh, Miko, pet. Where are you?’

He heard Freddie sniffle from behind him, but just as he was turning around to go and comfort his husband, a soft meow came from nearby and Jim turned around to see a familiar tortoiseshell poking her head out from beneath a large Range Rover, dripping wet and shaking uncontrollably. In an instant, she ran to him, crying loudly.

‘She’s here!’ Jim cried out, almost bursting into tears as he bent down to scoop up the little cat and held her close to his chest, pulling the zip of his coat down so she could snuggle beneath it for warmth. ‘Oh, you poor little mite. It’s alright, sweetheart. Your daddies are here now.’

Freddie was by his side in a flash, checking their daughter over, fussing like the mother hen he was. ‘You naughty girl, Miko! Don’t you ever scare us like that again! You’re in big trouble, young lady, do you hear me?’

His response was a loud purr, as Miko nuzzled further into Jim’s chest, relieved to be reunited with her family at last.

She decided she was never going out alone in the snow again. 

[rosy-night-sky]

Of Treasure and Adventure

Genre: Treasure Hunter/Indiana Jones AU

Pairing: Ot7 x reader

Summary: Your grandmother gave you a gift that she won in a game, so naturally you are curious as to the origins of it. A decision was then made that you should seek the answers to your questions. However, you never expected your decision to lead you on a treasure hunting quest.

Warning: Suggestive themes, violence, trauma

Disclaimer: Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Tag List:  @sevenincubistolemyheart @xxqueenwxtchxx @technicolor-blues @taevkimchi @youcantbesiriusremus @vannilacake @baby-hobii @catsandstrawberries @izzyisavengersupernaturaltrash @http-lostforever @jhopetypes @seesawsmin-flower @taekookandyoongi @star-gods @asifetch7​ @the-jackals​ @comicnerd557​

(A/N: Ahhhh! It’s finally here! Oh my god, it’s been months! I’m so sorry this took so long. I hope this makes up for it. I tried to make this a little more angsty, but I’m sorry if it falls short. Enjoy!)

Chapter 9

Darkness. That was all you could recall in that moment. All memories and knowledge of yourself were long gone. All you could do was sink back into the comforting, warm pool of murkiness, letting all your senses and thoughts fade away like the sun at twilight. In that moment, you couldn’t remember anything, your identity, your family, your friends. Everything that made you you was washed away in the never-ending waves of blackness and calmness. For a brief moment, you didn’t want to be pulled from the soothing current of peacefulness. Was this death? Were you dead?

Then suddenly, a memory popped into your head. Your name. Then after that came another memory. Your family, specifically your grandmother setting you on her lap when you were a child. With that came a few memories like snowflakes sprinkling down before a snowstorm. The expedition. The boys, your friends. What happened to them? Where were they? You couldn’t seem to recall what occurred just minutes ago. Your mind was still a mess of muddled thoughts and recollections. 

You remembered seeing red. There was a lot of red before you fell into this black abyss. Red… red dress, red tie, red shoes, red… blood… There were also faint feelings of panic and stress hidden in your subconscious. Desperation. You saw desperation somewhere. Where was that…? Were you desperate? Did something happen? Yes, but also no… you saw it in something-- someone, more like. Eyes… you saw it in someone’s eyes. Whose? …. Jin…?

…

…….

Jin!

You threw yourself out of the drowning darkness and awoke with a gasp, as if you were actually in a sea of blackness and had finally resurfaced. Your memories came back in an overwhelming flood. Your eyes stung for a moment as light suddenly pierced them. You blinked a few moments, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness, as your chest rose and fell from rapid breathing. After the bright light died down and your eyes stung no longer, you quickly took in your surroundings. At first, panic rose in your throat because you found yourself in an unfamiliar environment; but after a few seconds, you soon realized that you were back in the safe hotel suite that Jin had booked for the night. 

“Whoa! Whoa there! Calm down, y/n! You’re alright, you’re safe.”

You jerked your head almost violently toward the owner of the voice and found yourself staring into warm, familiar, eyes. Hoseok. Your shoulders relaxed as did your breathing. 

A long, drawn out breath slipped through your lips as you relaxed back into the couch you were laid upon. “What happened? Did I fall asleep?” you asked, although you knew that not to be the case. You had completely forgotten who you were, what happened at the gala, where you were. That wasn’t as normal as falling asleep.

Hoseok took out the stethoscope that was still embedded into his ears and placed it back into his black bag. “Vasovagal syncope.” He smiled when seeing your confused expression. You weren’t a doctor! You didn’t know these medical terms like they were common knowledge. “Basically, you were under stress for a long duration of time, and the adrenaline pumping within you was making your heart beat at a rapid pace. Then, once you were in the van, your body suddenly dropped your blood pressure, causing you to faint.”

You paused for a few moments, taking in all of this knowledge. “So I fainted from too much stress and the rush of adrenaline?” you clarified, leaning back into the couch slightly.

“To put into simpler terms, yes.”

You lifted a hand to your face and began to rub your temples, trying to rub awake the grogginess and exhaustion that still wracked at your body. “Makes sense. I was very stressed out for the entirety of the night, and the whole fiasco really set off my anxiety. I’m surprised I didn’t faint right when the blackout happened,” you remarked, your voice airy from lack of use. “How long was I out?”

“Not long,” Hoseok answered, rummaging through his belongings before pulling out a flask of clean water and handing it to you. “I’d say maybe twenty minutes. You kept coming out of unconsciousness for a little bit only for you to fall back into it. You must have really been stressed out.”

You brought the flask to your dry and chapped lips, letting the cool liquid wet your lips before taking a few gracious gulps to satisfy your parched throat and tongue. “I was. I pretty much took the reigns of that whole disaster of a situation.”

Hoseok chuckled before taking the flask out of your hands after you were finished drinking. He placed it down on the table next to you before sitting on the arm of the couch opposite to you. “I agree. Without you there, the whole operation would’ve been a failure. You really pulled us through.” He smiled graciously to you with such warmth and kindness.

“Thank you,” you murmured with a smile of your own. “The whole problem was that everything wrong happened at the same time. Taehyung went on his own without telling anyone. We ran into Mr. Akimoto. Jin passed out. The blackout happened. I needed Namjoon to get the kobae while Jungkook needed to get Jin to safety.” You sighed again while using your hand to pull down the skin of your face in exasperation. “I shouldn’t be talking about this. It’s just going to stress me out again.”

“Good idea,” the doctor chuckled. “We don’t want you to have a cardiac arrest from the amount of stress you’re going through.”

You groaned almost dramatically. “Don’t say that…” After you finished rubbing at your face, you dropped your hand to your lap and looked at the doctor. You had a bunch of concerns and questions that needed answers for. “How is Jin? Is he going to be alright? Because Mr. Akimoto told me that he had Jin incapacitated, and I didn’t know what he meant by…” Your voice trailed off as realization dawned upon you. You sighed again and dropped your head slightly forward. You could be such a twit sometimes. “The champagne… it was drugged, wasn’t it?”

Hoseok slowly nodded, his face suddenly grim. You prodded further and asked, “It wasn't poisoned or anything, right? No cyanide or anything of that sort.”

“No, there wasn’t any poison,” he answered, much to your relief. “He wasn’t foaming at the mouth, his pupils weren’t dilated, and his heart rate was normal. I did a quick checkover and found that he just ingested a sedative. He’ll be fine after he wakes up.” 

You sighed in relief, feeling a weight on your shoulders suddenly vanish. “Thank God,” you mumbled, burying your face into your hand. “I would have never forgiven myself if he died.” You lifted your head up, needing your questions to be answered. “And the others? I haven’t seen Namjoon all night. I was scared something happened.”

“Do you really want to hear the answer to that?”

That sent your heart racing. The familiar feeling of panic slowly bubbled within your stomach, causing a sense of uneasiness to settle upon you. Your eyes widened ever-so-slightly. “What happened?”

Hoseok suddenly burst into laughter at the sight of your panic. He covered his wide smile with his hand and bent over slightly as his laughter echoed in the room. “Oh, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have worded it that way!” He laughed for a few more seconds before adding, “I only meant that the answer was going to make you really mad.”

Okay, now your panic morphed into confusion and bewilderment. What on earth was he talking about? Should you be more concerned since he said the answer would make you angry? 

As you stared at him with a look of puzzlement on your face, he finally explained, “The reason why you couldn’t find Namjoon was because…” He paused to giggle. “... was because a little fan club swarmed him asking him a million questions about his latest book. He barely even got inside the museum by the time the blackout happened! You were really lucky he walked into the room you were in when you said the codeword.”

He… he must be joking. You went through all of that turmoil and panic of possibly dying while he was signing autographs?! Hoseok was right, you were mad. No, you were more than mad. You were furious. You couldn’t believe that you suffered all of that anxiety and strife only for the historian to be off having a jolly good time with his fans! Why, you could just march over to him right now and start strangling him!

“I’m going to kill him.”

Hoseok went into a full guffaw at your comment. He slapped his leg when seeing your now enraged expression. Your nostrils flared slightly as you released a hard exhale. You looked like a bull ready to charge at the matador. 

He wiped away a tear from his eye almost dramatically and slowly wound down. “Hey, he was sort of in your shoes. He also hates socializing at big parties like the gala, and he was swarmed by a whole flock of people the moment he stepped inside.”

Fine, you supposed you could give Namjoon that. He suffered as much as you did in that regard, perhaps even more since all of the attention was focused solely on him. However, you weren’t going to let him off the hook so easily. Once you found him, you were going to box his ears. “I guess… but I’m still going to wring his neck,” you grumbled.

“Fair enough,” Hoseok conceded with a smile, “you did have to deal with a tyrant, I suppose.”

With a roll of your eyes, you moved onto your next question, “What about Taehyung? I couldn’t find him after the blackout.”

Hoseok’s smile quickly faded at the mention of the artist. He flickered his eyes away from your gaze and suddenly took an interest in the intricate wallpaper that adorned the walls. A few moments passed as he carefully chose his words. 

At his sudden silence, you began to fear the worst. An image of Taehyung’s dead body suddenly appeared in your thoughts. You clamped your suddenly sweaty palms and awaited for his response, praying to God that what he was about to say wasn’t what you were thinking. 

Awkwardly, he cleared his throat and turned his attention back to you. “Taehyung is alive, and in good condition considering what happened to him.”

You were relieved to hear he was alive, but what followed that sentence only heightened your worries. “He’s hurt?” you asked, your voice drenched with worry.

Hoseok slowly nodded. “How else were you, Jin, and Jungkook able to make your escape without any more of Mr. Akimoto’s men finding you?” 

To be honest, you figured that the three of you were able to slip away without anyone knowing where you were. But now that Hoseok mentioned it, it did seem a little odd that the only person you confronted in the hallways of the museum was that one man you knocked out in one swift punch. Mr. Akimoto seemed like a very crafty and slippery man. Surely he would’ve had men scouring every inch of the place for the three of you, especially after you gave him a speedy kick to his privates. 

“So…” you began slowly. “Taehyung distracted them while we ran out of the museum…”

There was a small pause of silence. “Yes, in a way... luckily for him, it was too dark in the room for anyone to use any firearms or knives, but taking on five men by himself was too much for him,” Hoseok explained, now standing up and wandering over to his bag. “Like I said, he’s very lucky considering the position he was in.”

“Taehyung…” you couldn’t help but let the name slip from his mouth. Perhaps you shouldn’t have been so harsh to him that night. If it weren’t for him, who knows what would have happened to you and the others?

Hoseok lightly chuckled, despite the gloomy atmosphere. “You should’ve seen some of the others. He put two of them in the hospital in critical condition.” You arched an eyebrow curiously at this. “What did he do?” you asked bemusedly.

The doctor merely gave you a small smile before taking out an ice pack wrapped in cloth. “Well, he is the demolition expert.”

After that, you knew you didn’t need to prod any further. You expected those men were in the hospital with fourth degree burns. You wanted to feel some pity for them, considering that they were permanently, physically mutilated now, but a part of you believed that they received their comeuppance.

“What about the kobae? Did Namjoon get it?” you asked him, your fingers playing with the material of your scarlet red dress. 

Huh, it seemed that no one changed your clothes while you were unconscious. You didn’t know whether to be relieved that no one saw you in your underwear or annoyed by the fact that you were still in this godforsaken dress.

“Yes, but it was more like Taehyung first got the kobae after knocking a guard out, saw that you and Jungkook were leaving with Jin, passed the kobae to Namjoon, was seen by Mr. Akimoto’s men, one of his men attacked Namjoon, Taehyung helped defend him, Namjoon got away with only a sore jaw, and the rest… Well, you know the rest.”

You slouched your shoulders very slightly as Hoseok retold the story to you. “At least Namjoon is fine,” you pointed out, trying to find some bright side to all of this. “This whole expedition is taking its toll on everyone.”

The doctor chuckled humorously. “I’d say, we’re only a few weeks in and you guys have almost run my medical supplies through.”

Hoseok then returned to your side and placed the ice pack on your injured arm. It took a few moments before the coolness began to soothe your skin, and you released a small sigh at the comforting chill. You adjusted the pack a little before letting it sit on your arm. Your arm still throbbed ever-so-slightly from exerting it when catching Jin. Of course, that probably meant you injured it even further than before. Great, just peachy.

“I think I may have hurt my arm even more,” you confessed somewhat embarrassed. You expected to receive a scolding for doing the complete opposite of what he told you to do.

Hoseok hummed in thought as his eyes dwelt on the wrappings on your arm. “Yes, I figured you would after all you’ve been through tonight, which is why I prepared a bath with epsom salts to help soothe irritation and soreness in your muscles,” he disclosed. He then wrapped his fingers around the fabric and began to unravel it. 

Your skin was tender and soft after being enclosed for so long. You noticed with a sting of disappointment that your arm was still slightly swollen, despite the care and attention you’ve been giving it lately. Ugh, you wished desperately that you could find some magical cure and just douse your arm in it. However, you knew deep down that such a thing didn’t exist and that you were going to be stuck with this injury for awhile yet. Man, you just had the worst luck.

You quirked an eyebrow at Hoseok’s attitude toward you. It wasn’t unwelcomed, in fact, you loved that he was being so caring and attentive toward your well-being. However, this was a sudden change from the last time he gave you a checkup. You could still remember his skillful fingers dancing on your sensitive skin. Such a memory almost made you shiver. Almost. 

“Someone’s very thoughtful today,” you commented jokingly.

“Oh?” he wondered out loud, draping the discarded arm wrap on a nearby desk. “Aren’t all doctors supposed to be accommodating toward their patients? Or did something change and I didn’t hear about it?”

You shook your head, a soft snicker leaving your mouth. “No, it’s just… last time you gave me a checkup, you were a lot more…” Your voice trailed off as you tried to think of the perfect word to describe exactly what happened that night. Voluptuous? No, no no no, there must be a better word.

“Lascivious?” he offered, his tone still casual and innocent. You never would’ve guessed he was referring to such vulgar acts based off of his tone. 

He then took a few steps over to you, heels clicking against the floor, and bent down so that his face was very close to yours. “If you want, I could give you those painkillers I’ve been meaning to give you now.” The corners of his lips curled into a mischievous smirk.

You cleared your throat awkwardly as your head instinctively drew away from his. Your eyes wavered wildly to anything that happened to be not his face. However, this was rather hard to do given how close he had gotten. “M-maybe later,” you blurted, then internally died once your words finally processed in your brain. Later?! No! Later was the opposite of what you wanted currently.

Even Hoseok seemed surprised by your words. His eyebrows rose just a centimeter in astonishment before chuckling to himself and quickly pulling himself away from you, taking all the warmth with him. “Alright then, I’ll hold you to it,” he replied playfully.

Suddenly you stood up from the couch and took a few steps. To where? Well, you weren’t sure. You wanted to go to the bathroom to take your bath, but you had no idea where the bathroom was to be honest. “I’m… I think I’ll go take that bath now,” you announced sheepishly and started wandering toward a door you hoped led to the bathroom.

The doctor chuckled once more and followed your disoriented footsteps until he placed both of his hands on your shoulders and redirected you toward a different door. You immediately froze under his touch but nonetheless went in the direction he urged you to go. Honestly, you looked like a frightened sheep being herded by the shepherd. 

“This isn’t like the last hotel we stayed at,” he revealed with a wide, impish smile. “Instead, we have one bathroom that we all share.”

And whose bright idea to stay at a hotel with only one bathroom was that? Probably the one who paid for all of this. Ugh, you wanted to be mad at this whole situation, but you then figured that it was better to at least have a bathroom than have none like that motel you stayed at in Darjeeling. Still, you would appreciate it immensely if you had some form of privacy.

“Oh, really?” you responded dazedly, your cheeks still tingling with heat. Hoseok hummed in reply and added, “I’ll even be nice and tell the others not to bother you while you’re taking a bath. After all, your comfort and well-being are my number one priority.”

That was… awfully considerate of him. You were oddly touched by his kind and sympathetic words. Why was he acting so sweet? Well, you supposed he had to be, since he was a doctor. Or perhaps it was because he knew how much you’ve gone through recently. 

You shook your head. You shouldn’t be so suspicious of him. Hoseok has been nothing but kind to you, even if his kisses overwhelmed you.

Hoseok led you down the hallway, its walls were made from sherwood oak wood with a wooden flooring to match. The walls were carved into intricate designs that reminded you of some of the manors you visited for newspaper articles. The velvet blue curtains were drawn back to let the light brighten the atmosphere, the slight reflecting off of brass candlesticks and freshly cleaned, polished tabletops. Dear Lord, this all must’ve cost a fortune to build!

Hoseok suddenly jerked you into another room after opening the door. You released a small yelp before you found your feet padding against tiled flooring. Your eyes took in your surroundings and realized that you were now in the very fancy bathroom. True to his word, Hoseok had drawn a steamy bath for you with bubbles floating gracefully on top of the water. The bath looked very inviting, and you could feel your muscles already relaxing at the sight of it.

The hands on your shoulders abruptly left as Hoseok pulled away from you and stepped outside into the hallway. His hand latched onto the doorknob and began to close the door, but he stopped just enough to let his head poke through, giving you a warm and cheerful smile. “Have a nice bath! I recommend staying in there for at most thirty minutes. Any longer and you risk drying your skin, and we wouldn’t want that.” He then perked up with a bright, wide smile, and said, “Alright, I’ll leave you to it!” With that, he slipped through the doorway and closed the door.

You stared dumbly at where the doctor stood for a few seconds before redirecting your attention back to the appealing bathtub. Steam rose from the water in small, smooth wafts as bubbles slowly popped. Seeing how warm and inviting it was, you then wasted no time and immediately began to strip yourself of your dress, gloves, and jewelry, like a snake shedding its old skin. Once you were stark naked, you slowly slipped into the warm, satisfying water, and for a brief moment thought you entered heaven right then and there.

A small, happy sigh escaped your mouth as you settled into the water. You really did need this. The moment you stepped in you felt all your worries and tensions slip away like dust in the wind. If you did this more often, it would almost make all your frustrations during the expedition worth it. Your head tilted back and rested against the edge of the tub, your eyelids slowly closing from the waves of relaxation that enveloped you.

As you rested there, your mind began to wander toward the recent events of the museum gala. Sure, the objective was made and you managed to get the kobae, but it didn’t seem like a complete success to you. Complete success meant that no one was injured or extremely endangered, and, of course, both of those things happened all simultaneously. Jin was unconscious and could’ve been killed had you and Jungkook not got him out of there, Taehyung was injured in order to provide you an escape and defend Namjoon, and Mr. Akimoto was now searching for everyone’s blood now that he knew that you all were plotting against the Japanese government’s interest. Everything was a mess tonight, and you were extremely glad it was over.

Or was it over?

Your eyes suddenly snapped open when you heard the door open and shot up in the tub. For some reason, you instantly went to the worst scenario and briefly thought that Mr. Akimoto and his men found you, but you instantly shoved that thought away, reminding yourself that you were far away from him and his goons. 

Instead, however, you saw Taehyung slip through the doorway in nothing but a silk, blue bathrobe that stopped above his knees. He didn’t seem to notice your presence until he already stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Once your gazes connected, his eyes widened for a mere second before they relaxed while you squeaked and sunk yourself deeper into the tub, hiding yourself under the deep waters.

Your lips dipped under the water for a few seconds before you slowly pulled them above the surface, your eyes never leaving his. “The bathroom is taken,” you murmured, your arms covering your private areas despite the layer of bubbles already hiding your naked form. What the bloody hell? You thought Hoseok told the others not to come in here!

Taehyung didn’t say anything at first, his eyes trained on you for a few seconds, as if you were a rare sight he would never get another opportunity to see again, which was practically the case. He then gave you an innocent look and clamped his hands together as if to beg. “Can I share the tub with you?”

Was he serious? Was he actually serious? Did he really want to share the bathtub with you? 

You cleared your throat and finally tore your gaze away from him. “I’ll be out in the next thirty minutes. You can wait until then,” you quietly mumbled. 

Taehyung pursed his lips into a tiny pout. “But then all of the warm water will be gone! Please, y/n, it’s just one bath. I promise I won’t do anything!” he practically begged, eyes round with puppy eyes.

Normally you would be stubborn and refuse to let him in for the sake of your poor hear, but tonight you were exhausted from previous events and didn’t have the resolve to. And by God, you couldn’t resist those adorable eyes no matter how much you wanted to. “You promise you won’t try anything?”

He nodded fervently. “I promise.”

You sighed and reluctantly gave in, gesturing for him to get in while the water was still warm. He grinned boyishly and whipped off his bathrobe in a flash for you to see him in all of his naked glory.

You let out an abrupt, panicked shout at the sight of his naked form. You took in his body for only a second before you threw a hand over your eyes. “Oh my God!!!” You couldn’t believe what just happened. You just saw Taehyung naked. You just saw… Taehyung… naked. The image of his tight and rippling muscles appeared in your mind, and, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t seem to get it how of your head. Dear Lord, he must be an Adonis with a figure like that!

A low chuckle snapped your from your alarmed thoughts. You sensed movement from him, but you didn’t dare move your hand. This better not be a prank, or, so help you God, you were going to kill him. 

You ripped your hand from your face once you sensed him dipping his foot into the tub, risking the fact that you were going to see him in naked glory again, and threw yourself back against the walls with another yelp. Taehyung only laughed at you reaction and slid down into the still warm waters with a relaxed sigh. His face tightened into a contortion of pain, probably from moving his abdomen too much, until his jaw went slack and his head was thrown back with a soothed groan. 

Don’t look down! Don’t look down! Don’t look down!

Your face burst into a wave of heat as you stared at the man sitting in the tub across from you. This was a horrible idea. Why on earth did you agree to this?

Taehyung tilted his head up and gave you a lopsided grin with half-lidded eyes that sent your heart racing. “Glad to see you’re alright,” he stated honestly.

You swallowed a large lump in your throat and felt your mouth had suddenly gone dry. “You, too… Hobi said that you got hurt during the blackout.” Your eyes wandered over his exposed chest and saw his smooth skin riddled with black, blue, and purple bruises. Your skin crawled and your stomach churned uncomfortably at the sight. Some of the bruises seemed slightly swollen from the impact and that the slightest movement would send him reeling in pain.

He hummed thoughtfully while arching an eyebrow in a joking manner. “Hm, what gave that away?” he asked rhetorically, readjusting himself into a more comfortable position.

His skin that had been underwater suddenly peaked above the surface, the light glistening off of his shiny muscles and abdomen. You quickly looked away to stare at the wall so that you wouldn’t give him the wrong idea, your cheeks becoming hotter than the water itself. Taehyung instead found your attitude and actions to be rather adorable.

You cleared your throat once more to get rid of the lump still lodged in your throat. “Why did I agree to this?” you mumbled to yourself, ignoring his question.

His lips formed a small pout, although the pursed lips seemed rather mocking to you. A tiny whine rumbled in his throat as he tilted his head to the side. “Aw, you don’t want to spend time with me?”

“We can spend time together later. Not in a tub. Naked.” The embarrassed heat that tingled your cheeks began to travel to the rest of your body. 

You never in your life showed such vulnerability to any other man. Hell, you never showed such vulnerability to any woman before, not even your friends back in London! The most they probably ever saw was you in your knickers! “What if the others came in?!” You knew Hoseok supposedly told the others, but you weren’t sure if he actually came through on that now that Taehyung was in the tub with you.

“Oh, you would love that, wouldn’t you? Which one would turn you on more if they walked in right now? Jimin? Hoseok?” His tone turned mischievous as his eyes began to darken with desire.

You gaped at him with round eyes as your heart sunk to your stomach. Oh God… he knew…

Taehyung’s smirk widened at your flabbergasted expression, seeing how you were at a complete loss for words. “Oh, yes, I saw-- well, more like heard-- your little escapees with those two. You moan really loudly, you know that, right?” he commented with a chuckle.

With that, you sunk even further into the tub, your lips submerged in the warm water. Humiliation and embarrassment filled your very core the more the artist went on. Ugh, you were fine with the fact that some of the others, like Namjoon, knew about what went on between the three of you. But Taehyung? Taehyung was the last person on earth you wanted to know about this! 

“You promised you wouldn’t try anything,” you murmured quietly, your lips peeking above the surface of the water.

Although still smirking, he listened to you and dropped the subject. “Alright, if it makes you uncomfortable, then I won’t say anything, okay?” His smirk ebbed away to give you a normal, gentle smile, which almost gave you whiplash from how quickly this was all moving.

You gave him a tiny nod before shifting uncomfortably in your spot as your eyes flickered down to the side, your arms still wrapped tightly around your chest to cover yourself up. Your feet bounced nervously in the water at a rapid pace that matched your own heartbeat, causing a small ripple effect to spread across the water. Taehyung’s gaze lowered into the water to watch your feet tap against the bottom of the tub before he brought his eyes back to take in your appearance, his mind apparently elsewhere.

“You’d be the perfect muse,” he commented absentmindedly, more to himself rather than to you.

You let out a small noise of confusion, your eyebrows knitting together ever-so-slightly. “Pardon?” you blurted. That was certainly a new one. You remembered your grandmother fondly drawing pencil pictures of you as you played in the English countryside, but never before has ever anyone wanted you to be their muse.

He perked up a little, realizing that you picked up on his mumblings. “You’d be the perfect muse.” His lips curled up amusedly at the new nickname, his fingers now lightly grazing his chin as his eyes stared into your round ones. “My little muse, my little myujeu sin…” 

“Myujeu sin?” you attempted to repeat, finding yourself only able to echo his words. 

He nodded, his smile widening at your effort. “Yes, myujeu sin, it means ‘muse’ in Korean.” He still watched your form, taking in how divine and almost romantic you looked. Your naked body submerged in water with such an innocent expression. He imagined what kind of setting you would be in. Maybe something pastoral like a field surrounded by blooming flowers. “God, the number of paintings I could make of you…  I could make a whole art exhibit with your image…”

Your breath hitched in your throat upon hearing these words. Heat blossomed to your cheeks as your stomach fluttered around with butterflies. Your heart skipped a beat as you mentally repeated these words over and over again. You stared at him as a foreign feeling suddenly flourished in your chest. It was touching how he, an artist who appreciated beauty in its finest forms, admitted that he would paint your appearance endlessly, and you found yourself wanting to engulf in his embrace. However, a wave of self-consciousness washed over you, which caused you to slip even further into the tub.

“Aw, how cute. My little muse is acting so adorable,” he cooed, grinning as your lips pressed together in a thin line.

You shot up in the tub, the water splashing around and threatening to spill out and onto the floor. “Stop saying that! I’m not cute! I’m… I’m not, okay?” you protested, your cheeks now heated from irritation as well as flusteredness. 

Taehyung cocked his head to the side in light confusion. “But you are. Why are you trying to deny it?”

It was then you realized that he was speaking the truth in his mind. Right now in this very moment, he wasn’t trying to tease you. He wasn’t trying to embarrass you. He was being honest about this, which only baffled you more.

You cast your gaze away from him, too embarrassed to remain eye contact with him. “I just don’t think I’m cute is all,” you answered back just as truthfully. 

The smile returned to his lips. “But you are. You’re cute when you get flustered. You’re cute when you look so awkward and lost. You’re so adorable when you make that squeaky noise whenever you’re surprised by something. Your laugh is the cutest thing I ever heard.” He unconsciously moved closer and craned his head down to your level to make eye contact with you. “You’re cute whenever you get that expression on your face when an idea pops into your head. You look so cute whenever you get excited…”

His face was suddenly close to yours. “And you’re so adorable when you give me that look.”

Your round eyes bore into his, your mind a complete mess at his words. Your whole body short-circuited for a moment and as you tried to process what just happened. A comforting warmth bloomed in your chest. What he just said was… sweet. Something was on your mind. A desire. You couldn’t place a finger on what it was until realization dawned upon you.

You wanted to kiss him, by God, you wanted to just kiss his beautiful face until every inch of his skin was claimed by your lips, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to say it. You weren’t poetic like the heroines in the books you read. You were an awkward newspaper reporter who never faced affection like this until a month ago. How could you say what you wanted without sounding so pitiful or awkward?

However, Taehyung didn’t need any words to see what you desired. Your eyes bore into his gleaming with need and passion as if he was the only thing that was on your mind. His heart pounded in his chest with emotion, and, before either of you knew it, he pressed his lips against yours full of want and desire You released another squeak of surprise that he oh so loved, muffled by his own lips. 

The kiss was gentle and soft at first until his need for you grew more and more until he could barely contain it. He pushed more force into the kiss, and you nearly slipped and dunked yourself underwater from the sheer force he exerted. You barely had any time to compose yourself as his lips greedily ate you up.

Water splashed around you as he roughly pushed you up against the wall of the bathtub before capturing your lips again, giving you little time to prepare yourself. All of this was a completely new experience for you. It was an experience similar to Hoseok’s, however, in the sense that they were both rough and rather dominating. But while Hoseok was teasing and mischievous with his kisses, Taehyung was very animalistic. He kissed you like his life depended on it, like you were the last person on earth he could lay his lips on.

As your mind swam with a million of hazy thoughts, Taehyung nibbled gently the bottom of your lip, causing your legs to tremble slightly at how nice it felt. A small whimper left your mouth as he tugged on the soft flesh before releasing it. He instantly brought his lips down to your neck and attacked your beautiful skin. You yelped as his teeth bit down on your neck mercilessly leaving behind patches of red and purple in their wake. 

His tongue peaked through his lips and began to lap up the colorful bruises, the pool of desire in the pit of your stomach growing. Feeling his hot breath of your neck made you squirm slightly underneath him as your own breathing suddenly shortened, and your heart rate began racing. 

He pulled back for a few moments to appreciate his artwork, sitting at full height instead of hovering over your naked and suddenly sensitive body. His fingers that had been gripping the side of the tub tightly left their place and began to graze along your neck. A small whine left your throat feeling the paint-like strokes of his fingers on your skin. 

“Such lovely and beautiful colors on your skin, myujeu sin. Perhaps when the night is done, you’ll be my perfect masterpiece, wouldn’t you like that?” A soft, shuddered breath slipped through your now swollen lips. His fingers trailed down your neck and to your chest that was still covered by your arm. His long fingers then wrapped themselves around your wrist, causing your heart to pound in your chest. “In order to make a masterpiece, I’m going to need to use the entire canvas.” He then pried your arm from your chest, revealing your dewy breasts to his eyes. 

Your cheeks exploded with embarrassed and self-conscious heat while his eyes raked up and down your entire, exposed body. His tongue wet his bottom lip as he hungrily ate up your appearance. Your flustered state certainly didn’t fail to decrease his desire for you. “Fuck…” he sighed. “You’re so beautiful...”

You froze suddenly at those words, eyes widening in shock. However, before you could open your mouth and respond to him, his lips attached themselves to the valley in between your breasts while his hands reached for your hips and gripped tightly on the soft flesh, causing a gasp to slip from your lips. 

He bit on the skin relentlessly, making you go into a moaning mess, while his fingers began to knead and massage your tender skin. The water surrounding you sloshed and splashed around from his rough actions. His eyes fluttered shut as he nearly lost himself in the moment of marking your beautiful skin. You were honestly too beautiful for words. Nothing could compare to your loveliness, not even Venus de Milo. 

A low moan rumbled from his lips and vibrated against your chest, sending shocking pleasure tingling down your spine and into your core. He continued to send languid open-mouthed kisses along the plush skin until his lips began to dwell lower and lower. He paused to give your stomach some special care, nibbling on the sensitive flesh until your skin began to sprout blotches of red and purple. Your eyes fluttered down from the ceiling, which you had been staring at during all of this, until you brought your head down to watch Taehyung continue his ministrations, his lips occasionally dipping into the water.

The moment your hazy eyes landed on him, his eyes fluttered open and made contact with yours, his irises dark with desire. Your breath hitched in your throat as your hands gripped the side of the tub tightly. His lips curled up into a smug smirk before burying them back into your stomach. You almost lost yourself in the pleasure that curled your toes.

It was then when his lips suddenly dwelt too low that your eyes flew open with a flurry of panic. “Wait! Wait!” you cried out, suddenly sitting up causing Taehyung to jerkily move back to give you some space. Water splashed between the two of you because of your sudden movement.

He wondered for a few seconds if he pushed you too far. He was certain by the look in your eyes that you wanted him as much as he wanted you. Maybe he read into it a little too hastily. Perhaps you needed a little more time before he could pursue you. “What? What’s wrong? Did I go too far?” he asked, concern flashing in his eyes. 

You were again deeply moved that he still held deep concern for you and tried your best to reassure him with a nervous smile. “No… it’s not that. I just…” Your voice trailed off as you bit your bottom lip anxiously. “I’m a virgin…”

Taehyung blinked a few times before huffing out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s no secret. You look like a deer caught in headlights every time any of us make a move on you,” he replied, a boyish smile stretched across his lips.

You rolled your eyes and whacked his arm as all sense of anxiety momentarily left you. “No, you prat. What I’m trying to say is…” You cut yourself with a sigh. “I’ve never done this before. So I’m nervous…” Your mouth hesitantly closed, as you couldn’t sort through your muddled thoughts to get out what was on your mind.

Taehyung stared at you for a few seconds. The longer he did, the more anxiety began to bubble within you like soup on the stove. You gulped nervously, maybe this was a mistake, telling him your feelings.

“Do you want to?” he asked, eyes searching yours.

The question caught you off guard, to be honest. You sat in the tub, your sight taking in the water that still rippled from your actions from earlier. Did you want to? Did you actually wanted to have sex with Taehyung? In your mind, sex is what you did when you passionately loved someone. So, the question should really be… did you love Taehyung? 

Well, yes and no. You did love him, but you loved him in the sense you loved your best friend, perhaps even a little more considering everything you two have been through. You felt close to him, but there were so many things about him that you didn’t know about him. He was a mystery to you, and perhaps that mystery is what’s preventing you from actually loving him. You could just have sex with him casually, but you couldn’t bring yourself to use him like that. He was a person you’ve come to care about deeply, not someone you could use for pleasure and then act like there was nothing between the two of you.

You knew that he wouldn’t like your answer, but you slowly shook your head nonetheless. “No… I’m sorry. I think it was a spur of the moment. I think… before we just go head first into this, we should get to know each other a little better,” you managed to get out.

A small flicker of sadness appeared in his eyes before it quickly disappeared and he reluctantly nodded in agreement. “Yeah, no, I understand. We should go slow into this. I’m sorry that I rushed you there,” he apologized, giving you a small, sad smile in an attempt to console you. 

You fiddled with your fingers because of the anxiety still churning within you. “No, it’s me who should be sorry. I should’ve told you to stop before you got the wrong message. I just think that we should learn more about each other first before we even think about… you know…”

Taehyung’s smile formed into a more genuine one as he leaned back into the tub while propping his jaw on his hand, eyes staring at you. “God, you’re so innocent, you sweet summer child.” He readjusted himself in the tub into a more relaxed position. “Alright, what do you want to know about the demolition expert of the expedition team?”

Honestly, the first thing that popped into your head was what he revealed to you back at the museum gala. The story of what happened to his sister itched at you, but you figured that was a bit heavy for first really getting to know each other. You glanced to the side as you searched for a good question to ask him. “Um… what’s… your favorite color?” You trailed off into laughter at the ridiculousness of the question that tumbled from your mouth.

He quirked an eyebrow at you. “Really? That’s what you ask?” He chuckled for a few seconds while shaking his head. “That’s the question you ask when you have nothing else to say. But… if you must know, it’s green.”

Your eyebrows shot up slightly at his answer. “Green? Really? That… wasn’t the answer I was expecting. You seem more like a red fellow.”

“Red?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Red isn’t bad, but I still like green best. It’s lively and full of so many beautiful shades and can be found almost everywhere in nature. The color of creation. I also like black, white, and grey. What about you, since we’re on the topic?”

You pondered the question for a few moments, trying to ignore the sense of awkwardness settling upon the two of you. “I think I’d have to say y/f/c.” You cleared your throat as you tried to think of better questions to ask. You suddenly blurted out, “Two truths, one lie. Go.”

“Huh?” Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, head tilting to the side slightly.

“Tell me two truths and one lie, and I’ll try to figure out the lie,” you explained, realizing that it was too late to take it back.

Taehyung continued to stare at you before he let out a small laugh. “I’ll have you know that I am an exceptional liar.” He sat back and thought over his options. A few long moments went by until he decided on what to tell you. “My hometown is Daegu. I can play the saxophone. And when I was a kid, I had a black and white cat named In-na.”

You smiled broadly with a hidden smugness. “Easy, you never had a cat.” He grinned to match your smile. “Wrong! It’s the-” He suddenly stopped himself and widened his eyes in astonishment. “How the hell did you figure that out?”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his dumbfounded expression. He was so certain that he was going to win! “I’m a reporter, remember? I can sniff bullshit a mile away,” you giggled, hugging your stomach as laughter erupted from it. “The left corner of your lips quirked up when you told the lie.”

“Damn…” He sunk back into the tub in amazement and shock. “You’re good...”

Once you finished laughing, you gave him a wide, proud grin. “Thank you, I’ve had years of experience.”

He nodded, slowly grinning back to match yours. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind for future reference.”

Your curiosity grew and soon you found you couldn’t resist asking him, “What’s Daegu like? Is it lovely there?”

His flashed to yours with an emotion you couldn’t quite decipher. Nostalgia? Sorrow? Regret? It seemed like it was clouded by a multitude of feelings. “Daegu? Well, it was home to me. I was born there, but I eventually moved to Gochang, where my grandma raised me. I have more fond memories there.”

You smiled upon realizing that you two had something in common, your love for your grandmothers. “What is she like, your grandmother?” you asked in a soft tone.

Taehyung shared your smile fondly. “She was very sweet and kind. Always patient with me even when I just wanted to play and ignored my chores on the farm.” He paused to reminisce simpler and happier times and then laughed with his lips spread into a boxy smile. “She always nagged me about eating more. Never liked it when I looked too thin for her eyes. She was happy when she saw how chubby I got from eating her food, not that I could blame her. Her food was always delicious.”

You giggled at the thought of a chubby, little Taehyung and cooed inwardly. He must have been so adorable then. “Aw, how cute…”

“I have to admit, I was an adorable child then, still am.” His smile morphed into a wide grin.

You laughed, feeling the anxiety from earlier ebb away as you relaxed into the tub. An overwhelming urge to splash his face with water overcame, and you couldn’t resist the temptation. You dipped your hand down and flung a wave of water at his face. The water drenched his face and hair, droplets falling from it slowly. He flinched at the sudden contact and froze, eyes slammed shut as he let out a sigh of verging impatience. As his eyes slowly opened, small streams of water running down his face, he slowly grinned mischievously.

“Oh, it’s so on…”

With that, you both started your water fight in which most of the water managed to end up on the ground rather than the tub.

—————————————

Morning crept up to you in a soothing manner. You didn’t wake up at the crack of dawn as you usually did. In fact, you actually got a good night’s rest away from all the drama and stress that had been preventing you from sleeping. It was rather comforting and relaxing, knowing that you actually felt rejuvenated for once in your entire life. You probably weren’t going to feel this good in another few decades, might as well enjoy it now.

As you sat up and stretched your arms, save for your injured one for you didn’t want to make the pain worse, your mind immediately reminded you of the events that occurred last night. Taehyung. You lazily smiled as your memories slowly came back to you. After your water fight, you both quickly dried off and ran back to your rooms before the cold air could really chill your skin, screaming at the cool contact and in laughter. Jin yelled at you both to get to bed, as it was well past midnight. However, you both ignored him and laughed on into the night before finally going to sleep.

As you crawled out of bed, you went to prepare yourself for the day. No doubt some of the others wanted to get together to figure out what the next step was in the plan. You should probably get ready for a spontaneous meeting. You powdered your face with makeup until you were satisfied with your facial appearance and slipped on some underwear before putting on a blouse, making sure the collar covered up the hickies that littered your neck, which caused your cheeks to flare up upon sight, and some trousers. You were extremely thankful that it was somewhat socially acceptable for women to wear trousers in this day and age. You were tired of wearing skirts, especially after last night. 

Once you slipped on your shoes over your heels, you sauntered over to the door and opened it before passing through into the hallway. You closed the door behind you as you made your way to the living room where you noticed some of the others were also awake. 

Namjoon sat on one of the couches reading the newspaper that sat on his lap while his only available hand held a spoon full of vanilla yogurt. He caught sight of you entering the room and gave you a cheerful smile. “Morning, y/n! Look what made the front page.” He momentarily set the spoon down in his bowl and lifted the newspaper up to you so you could read it. 

You couldn’t help but laugh seeing how the whole page was full of an extensive article about the supposed fire at the gala. The picture was a black and white image of people running out of the museum while police instead were running in with batons in the air and whistles in their mouths. This all must’ve happened a little after you got into the van with the others and drove off. You scoffed at how blurry the picture was. The photographer must’ve been moving when he took the image.

“They could’ve used a better picture,” you commented almost mockingly, leaning against one of the armrests of a chair with your arms crossed in front of your chest. 

Namjoon’s smile widened at your remark and pulled the papers away so he could continue reading the article. “I thought so, too. The quality is far too blurry.” He folded the newspaper in half and continued, “Apparently the police believe that the ‘fire’ that placed a few men in hospital was caused by some of the rebels of the Indian Independence Movement and are further investigating suspects.” He then tossed the newspaper onto the cushion next to him and popped his yogurt spoon into his mouth all while waiting for you to reply.

You pressed your lips into a thin line upon hearing this. Of course their minds would go straight to the protesters. “I don’t like how we have to use the protests as a cover-up,” you admitted with a frown, your voice grim. 

Namjoon pulled out his spoon and swallowed the yogurt before releasing a disappointed sigh. “Yeah, it doesn’t sit well with me either, but we really can’t do much about it unless we want to confess that Taehyung lit some people on fire and that we stole a priceless artifact from the museum.”

You shrugged your shoulders indifferently. “To be honest, Taehyung only did it out of self-defense for himself and us, and technically we were only taking back what belonged to your people,” you replied all too casually.

Namjoon quirked an eyebrow at your response and smiled rather bemusedly. “If I remember correctly, weren’t you the one who was so against stealing from the museum in the first place?”

“I was against the high possibility of going to jail,” you clarified, “but now that it’s all over, I’m glad we did it. It would’ve just sat in that building like a trophy won by the British.”

Namjoon’s eyebrow raised even higher, perplexed by your sudden attitude. “A British woman who is anti-British? Never thought I’d see the day,” he lightly joked, followed by scooping up another spoonful of yogurt and popping it into his mouth. 

Your frown deepened at what he said, although it was mostly playful. “Excuse you, I’m very proud to be British. I’m just very against the obsession my country has with colonizing every piece of land that they set their foot on.”

Namjoon paused for a few moments, as if thinking over what you said, and then chuckled. He crossed over his legs before looking back up at your face. “It’s almost ironic, isn’t it?” He then gestured to himself with his silver spoon. “The others and I are from a country that’s being oppressed by another nation.” He lifted the spoon and pointed it at your chest. “And you’re from a country that oppresses other nations.”

“You don’t have to make it sound like I’m some sort of a supremacist,” you quipped, then jabbed a finger of your own back in an accusatory way. “Before I forget, I have a bone to pick with you. Hobi told me that you were stopped by your fan club outside the museum which was the reason you couldn’t get in contact with us.” Anger flared within you like a small flame waiting for enough kindling to explode into a bonfire. “Couldn’t you send some sort of signal that you were preoccupied with things while I was busy trying to make sure Jin didn't die?”

You knew that he had somewhat of a valid excuse. He couldn’t just ignore his fans and come to your rescue. That would’ve posed him in a negative light and possibly make him a suspect of the whole disaster. However, you wished he could’ve wrapped things up with them a little sooner so that you had more than enough time to inform him of the sudden change in plans. That would’ve helped you de-stress immensely. 

Namjoon shifted in his seat uncomfortably and laughed awkwardly, sensing your smoldering anger. “Yes, about that… I wanted to apologize for that slight bump in our plans. I sometimes forget that people actually read my books and didn’t think of the possibility that there’d be admirers,” he confessed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “I heard that you basically pulled everything together, and I wanted to thank you for that. You really did some quick-thinking back there.”

You sighed softly, feeling the anger ebb away at his honest reply. Picking at the arm wrap that still encased your wounded arm absent-mindedly, you responded, “I don’t know if I would call that quick-thinking. It was more like a panic-induced, adrenaline-high judgment call.” If anyone asked you to explain how you felt, you would tell that person it was like trying to manage several children who were all high on sugar who all decided to run off on their own while trying to avoid your ex-husband who was out looking for you. 

“Still, if you weren’t there, we’d either be dead in the sewers or sitting in a jail cell,” he pointed out, scooping up more yogurt before plopping it into his mouth. You visibly grimaced at such a thought. “Thanks for painting such a pretty picture,” you said sarcastically. “It makes me feel so much better about what happened…”

Namjoon’s face split into a bright smile. “Glad I could help. Anything to help you to relax a little bit. I know that you deserve some relief especially because of last night.”

Your heart slightly clenched at that. He was too nice to you sometimes. Sure, he could tease you to the moon and back; but when he was being sincere with you, man, he really knew how to make your heart throb and your stomach flutter for him. Man, in all honesty, he was the perfect man in your opinion. “You’d be the perfect husband, you know that?” It took you a few seconds for you to realize what your mouth just blurted; but when you did, your trembling heart suddenly stopped beating. 

You actually didn’t say that, did you?

Before Namjoon could reply, his eyes slightly round from your random remark, Hoseok suddenly walked into the room humming to himself loudly while attempting to peel open an orange. You sighed in relief that your conversation-gone-wrong was interrupted as you noticed how his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, which made you wonder if he just performed some sort of procedure. Maybe he did a check-up on Taehyung?

Hoseok’s eyes suddenly perked up to you and smiled brightly. “Morning, y/n!” He tossed an orange slice into his mouth before continuing, “Jin is awake if you want to talk to him.”

Jin? He was finally awake? A pang of guilt suddenly shot through you as you realized you almost forgot about what happened to him. Man, you really were a horrible partner-in-crime if you completely forgot about your partner’s sudden collapse. You mentally slapped yourself for being so inconsiderate and replied, “Does he want to talk?”

Hoseok munched on his orange slice for a few seconds before answering, “Yep! In fact, he explicitly wanted you and Jungkook to go talk to him. I already told Kook, and he’s in there right now.” He swallowed and then tossed another slice into his awaiting mouth before wandering off toward the other rooms, probably Yoongi’s if you had to guess. 

Yoongi. You hadn’t spoken to him in awhile, especially with him being nose deep in his wiring maps and entirely focused on the plan. In fact, the last time you attempted to talk to him, he mumbled something about working before pushing you out of his room and closing the door. You quickly made a mental note to visit the mechanic soon and then chew him out for cutting the power at the absolute worst time before saying a quick farewell to Namjoon and walking over to Jin’s room. 

You stopped in front of the sherwood oak door with patterns carved into the wood as if it were some door from a fairytale story. An image of Jin begging for your help moments before collapsing flashed through your mind, causing you to scrunch your eyes shut as if you were in pain. You could still see him so clearly. The hazy eyes. The sweat building on his forehead. His breath on your face. Lips accidentally brushing against yours. 

Your fingers unknowingly touched your own lips, thinking of the way it felt to have his lips on yours. You didn’t know why you remained on that memory so much. It wasn’t like it was an actual kiss or anything. The way he fell just happened to make his lips brush against yours. 

You knocked on the door as a way to snap yourself from such thoughts and waited for a reply. When you heard a soft voice speaking on the other side, you turned the doorknob and slowly pushed it open, poking your head through first. You smiled faintly seeing the millionaire lying in his bed in silken pajamas with a bowl of soup in his hands. His head perked up with slightly round eyes at the sound of your entrance, soup dripping from his lips in small droplets.

A small snigger slipped through your lips at the sight as you slid through the doorway and closed it behind you. “Good morning, Jin,” you greeted pleasantly, “glad to see you’re well.” You made your way to the end of his bed and sat at the foot of it. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Jungkook sitting on a small stool placed right next to the bed, as if he were a family member comforting the dying.

Jin wiped his mouth with his hand and placed his bowl on the nightstand sitting next to him, a small smile creeping up onto his lips. “I’m glad I’m well, too. I imagine I gave you quite the scare back at the gala,” he commented, redirecting his attention to you.

You laughed almost bitterly, your laughter on the verge of coming across as a scoff. “That’s the understatement of the year,” you remarked, a few memories momentarily flashing in your head. “I thought you died back there for a good while.”

“It’s going to take a little more than that to kill me,” he chuckled, pulling himself up so that he was no longer slouching. “You were right about one thing though.” When you curiously raised an eyebrow, he continued, “The champagne had gone bad.” You rolled your eyes playfully, wondering how he could be thinking about that at a time like this. “I’m glad that’s the first thing you conclude from this whole disaster.”

“I’ve concluded a few things from what happened.” His expression had turned suddenly serious, as if he wanted to go straight to business. Folding his hands in front of him, he sighed before saying, “I shouldn’t keep you in the dark any longer about my past, now that you’ve done more than enough for all of us and are now on Akimoto’s bad list. You deserve to know by now.” He lightly gestured to the young man sitting next to him, acting as if no one was even there. “I brought Jungkook here to explain a few things about his past you should also be aware of, if he wishes to tell you.” He cleared his throat, suddenly becoming conscious of himself. “Now then, do you have any questions?”

To be honest, you had enough questions to fill an entire book. Last night only reminded you of how little you knew exactly about these boys. Just last night you found out that Taehyung was an artist coveted by the Japanese government to make propaganda for them. Hell, you’ve made out with several of them, and you didn’t even know when their birthday was! Talk about being a strumpet…

Although you had millions of questions boggling in your mind, you didn’t exactly know which one to start with. For Christ’s sake, you were a reporter, and you couldn’t even think of a single question! You then decided to go with the first question that just happened to pop into your head, even if it was completely randomly chosen. “Just who is this Mr. Akimoto? Why is he so bent on finding you two?”

Both of the boys shifted uncomfortably at the mention of that name. They glanced at each other reluctantly before Jin finally began, “Grand Marshal Akimoto Hatsuo of the Imperial Army. His unit focuses particularly on internal security and espionage threats against Japan. Normally I wouldn’t place so much emphasis on how much we need to stay away from him, but with the rise of militarism in Japan…” His voice trailed off ominously, leaving you hanging. “He’s quickly gaining power, and power in the hands of that madman is the worst thing that could happen right now.”

“And he hates Koreans with a passion,” Jungkook added bitterly. “Rumor has it that a Korean servant killed his wife, and now he harbours a great hatred toward them because of it.”

Jin snorted softly with a gentle roll of his eyes. “Lucky woman, if you ask me,” he mumbled with a hint of venom in his voice. “I would want to die, too, if I was his wife.”

You decided to ignore that comment and not dwell on it. Something told you that you would know more about this Akimoto after they explained everything to you. “You said something about being forced to change your name because otherwise you would’ve been executed, Jin. What is that all about?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” Jin answered, his brow furrowing deeply in agitation, as if he were reminiscing a bad memory. “The government gave me two choices, if you would even call them that. Either I gave up my family name and adopted a Japanese name or I faced execution.”

“Yes, but why?” you further prodded, getting slightly annoyed that he wasn’t exactly giving you details. “Why go to such extreme lengths just for a name change?”

Jin’s jaw clenched slightly as a long buried anger began to bubble and boil within him. “It may seem like it would be such a fool’s choice to even consider execution, but agreeing to change my name to a Japanese surname is like being branded a slave. I was no longer Korean but rather Japanese by doing so, and, thus, I was now considered theirs. It was a show of dominance on their part, as if I were nothing more than a dog whose very name could be changed at the snap of their fingers.”

You could imagine now how horrendous it would be to be forced to change your name. It would be like a part of your identity, your humanity, was taken away from you. Jin didn’t even have the right to keep his own name. By changing his name, he was basically enslaving himself to the very government that continued to oppress his people.

“I remember when it wasn’t always like that,” Jungkook suddenly butted in, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. “The government awhile back set a law saying it was illegal for us to adopt Japanese names, but now… now I wouldn’t be surprised if they suddenly enacted a law forcing us to change our names.” Jin lifted a hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please don’t jinx it,” he practically begged with a sigh. “I don’t want our people to have to go through what I went through.”

“But why did they even make you change your name? Why you?” you interrogated, your focus entirely on the topic at hand. “You said that’s what happened when you asked too many questions.”

The hand on his handsome face abruptly fell back onto the sheets, a small thud enacting upon impact. He suddenly looked tired, both physically and mentally. His features looked more worn and drained, as if he just spent all of his energy in these last few seconds. “When I was only seven years old, my father mysteriously disappeared on a business venture and never came back. My mother told me that he found someone else that he fell in love with and eloped with her, but I knew that wasn’t true. My parents were a happy couple. Of course, they disagreed on some matters, but they never continuously fought over it. When I became old enough to take over the family business, I began to make inquiries about what could have possibly happened to my father. It took some digging for awhile, but I managed to find a retired soldier who said he knew what had happened to my father. When I met up with him, he… he told me…” His voice trailed off with an audible crack.

He tried to swallow back a sob, his throat bobbing almost violently as he tried to hold back his tears. His lips parted as a shaky sigh escaped his chest, eyes shining with unshed tears. Your heart clenched at the sight, already knowing where this was going. You scooted yourself forward on the bed and wrapped your arms around his broad, squeezing him lightly in order to provide him some comfort. Jungkook looked down at the somberly before placing a hand on the older’s back and rubbing it soothingly, offering quiet words of condolence. “I’m sorry,” you murmured softly into his shoulder. “No one should have to go through that.” 

“It should be me apologizing,” Jin protested, voice slightly strained from holding back his sobs. He pulled away and wiped the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes with a soft chuckle. “You’d think after years of knowing I’d have grown used to the fact.”

“You shouldn’t even be growing used to it,” you responded, arms tightening around him. “No son should grow used to their father’s death.”

“...Thank you.”

You didn’t say anything in reply, allowing him to finally calm down at his own pace. He released another long sigh and paused for a few moments. Once he had somewhat relaxed, he continued with his story, his voice still cracked. “He... told me that my father was shot and killed for conspiring against the government by audibly protesting the annexation of Korea by Japan and rallying people to the cause and threw his body in a ditch to rot. A few days after I discovered this, the man I went to was found dead in his home... and all the evidence pointed to me. I was arrested and brought to Akimoto, who said that I was to be executed for killing a veteran soldier, unless I changed my name…”

Dear Lord! Things like these actually happened to people? You didn’t know how Jin managed to get through all of it. If you were in his position, you would’ve lie down in some corner and waited for your miserable life to end. You had to admit, Jin was very brave and strong for him to go through all of this and still continue to want to protect his country. You weren’t sure if you’d want to proceed after experiencing all of that.

“That’s… horrible…” You were honestly at a loss for words. To think people were capable of such things. It almost made you give up on humanity right then and there. You wanted to go back in time and just pound your fists over and over again into Mr. Akimoto’s wrinkled, ugly face. 

Jin nodded slowly and solemnly in agreement. “Yeah, it was. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I tried to be strong and not give into their wants, but… they kept me in that cell for so long I lost track of the days. My will grew weak as did my stomach and throat. So… I gave in.”

Jungkook’s lips pressed together in a thin line of subdued anger. “Bastards…”

Jin’s voice remained solemn as he gestured to Jungkook. “What I went through pales in comparison to what happened to Jungkook.”

“Hyung…” Jungkook mumbled quietly.

He continued, completely ignoring the younger’s quiet pleas, “How long has it been? It has to be at least-”

“Two years, one month, and twelve days.”

Jin studied Jungkook’s face, completely stunned by his sudden, and rather precise, answer. His eyes rounded into perfect circles as an awkward silence settled upon the three of you. Then his shoulders sagged in exasperation as did the roll of his eyes. “You’ve been keeping track? You’re gonna end up obsessing over what happened if you don’t let go of your past.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” Jungkook retorted, earning himself a slap on the shoulder from the older man. “You know, it’s kinda hard to forget what happened when that day ruined my life forever.”

“Okay, okay,” you suddenly butted in, gaining the two men’s attention. “Can someone please tell me what happened instead of acting all cryptic?”

The playful atmosphere abruptly dropped into a more grim ambiance. The smiles instantly disappeared into more somber frowns as Jin glanced over to the younger man. Jungkook leaned back into his chair, arms crossed over his chest and eyes cast to the carpeted floor. “Y/n…” he softly began, “please don’t hate me after I tell you this.”

You scoffed humorlessly. “Unless you tell me that you secretly worked with the people that oppress the Koreans, I don’t think I’ll hate you, Jungkook,” you lightly joked.

Jungkook shrugged his shoulders and then softly cursed under his breath before finally giving you an answer. “So Jin said that at the gala he told you that if Akimoto ever found me there would be a public execution, right?” You gave him a subtle nod, remembering the comment from last night. “Well, that’s because… The reason why I’m so good at fighting is…” He sighed, as if he couldn’t actually bring himself to admit to what happened, and rubbed the back of his neck. “... On April 11, 1928… I made an attempt to assassinate Emperor Hirohito…”

To say you were shocked was definitely an understatement. It took you a few seconds to process this information, a deadly silence falling upon you. You blinked a few times in a daze until your brain finally clicked, and in that instant your jaw dropped wide open as a weight had suddenly been attached to it. Your eyebrows shot up to your hairline as your eyes became the size of saucers. Your heart suddenly skipped a beat as your throat dropped to the very pits of your stomach.

You were friends… with a would-be assassin…

You let out a long, drawn-out exhale that was seemingly trapped in your chest for God knows how long. You just couldn’t seem to wrap your head around what was revealed to you. Jungkook… attempted to assassinate… the Emperor of Japan…. This young boy… tried to murder… a world leader…

“H-how…?”

Jin was surprised by your reaction. “Huh… she’s taking this better than I thought she would.”

Normally, you would’ve retorted or smacked the millionaire, but currently you were so thrown off your rhythm that all you could do was stare at Jungkook with big, round eyes. You just couldn’t get in your head the thought that this sweet-looking boy, who saved you on multiple occasions, tried to assassinate the Emperor of Japan. This definitely topped the shock and astoundment that rocked you when Taehyung revealed you that he was an artist by tenfold. 

Jungkook shifted himself uncomfortably in his stool, his eyes flickering off to the side as if he weren’t unsure where to begin explaining himself. “Well… I traveled to Tokyo the week before to prepare myself and make sure everything was in place for the assassination. Hirohito was planning to travel back to the Akasaka Palace in a carriage, and I had it set up so that I was in a corner building on one of the upper floors. I was planning on sniping Hirohito in his carriage on his way back to the palace and then slip away during the chaos, but…” 

He ran a hand through his dark locks while a frustrated sigh hissed through his lips. His jaw clenched slightly. “I shot the wrong fucking guy. I shot his attendant who happened to look a lot like him instead. It was too late for me to make another shot as his guards were already scrambling around to protect him and find me.” 

Dear Lord… he actually went through with it. He actually made an attempt to take the life of the Emperor. You slowly closed your mouth, though your eyes still remained wide. You could feel the palms of your hands suddenly become sweaty as you took in this information. God, you just couldn’t actually believe it. A shaky sigh escaped your lungs as you commented, “Obviously… you managed to escape.”

Jungkook nodded slowly, watching your reaction closely, praying silently to anyone who was listening that you wouldn’t hate him, or, even worse, be scared of him. “Yes, the police were still on the ground when I decided to ditch my plan. So I stuck to the rooftops and managed to maneuver myself around the city. When the police got to the rooftops to search for me, I then decided to stick to alleyways and fire escapes. Sometimes I had to slide through random windows and hide in there for a while before I went on the run again. I finally managed to make it to the docks and stole a man’s ticket to Vietnam and took the ship out of the country. Then as soon as I made it to Vietnam, I traveled to a small village on foot and stayed there for a few weeks and then made it back home after the coast was clear.”

“However, the police are still on the lookout for him. They haven’t released this information to the public yet, seeing as how they haven’t arrested JK. After all, they don’t want people thinking that the law enforcement is incompetent, since they can’t even catch one man on the run,” Jin mentioned, mockery and contempt dripping from his voice.

“I’m just extremely lucky that they know it was me by name and not any photographic evidence.” When you gave him a confused expression, he clarified, although reluctantly, “They found documentation of my stay at a hostel in a village nearby Tokyo and managed to eventually piece everything together.”

“Ah ah! Don’t forget that you were lucky that I decided to help you by throwing the police off your trail!” Jin exclaimed, then clicked his tongue agitatedly before mumbling, “I suppose there are some useful things about being Akimoto’s dog.”

Your shoulders sagged slightly as your brain continued to process this new knowledge, a slight headache threatening to appear. “So you did all of this, because why? Did you think that by killing this man that all of your problems would be miraculously solved?” you demanded. Although you could understand his anger, in your opinion, it was an incredibly dumb move on his part. Jungkook was right. He ruined his entire life just by a simple pull of the trigger. 

Jungkook stared at you for a few moments, his eyes focused on you with a dull sorrow. For a solid moment, you thought you were staring into the eyes of someone who spent many years of their life fighting in the war. “I was just… tired and angry and frustrated and devastated and scared. I was so sick of seeing people forced into labor, people begging for food on the streets, daughters and wives being forced in prostitution in order to survive. I was sick of it! I thought that perhaps maybe, just maybe, if they lost someone dear to their nation, they could feel just a fraction of what we were going through. Their eyes would finally open up to the horror of what they were doing to us. But…” 

He paused for a few seconds as his fingers awkwardly folded themselves together. “Now, I know that even if I did kill him, I would only be giving the government the evidence they needed to prove that we were barbarians that needed to be controlled.”

You sat on the plush bed for a few moments, taking in everything you just heard and repeating it over and over again in your head. On one hand, you wanted to smack Jungkook on the backside of the head for how stupid and daft he was for thinking he could pull off something so dangerous on his own, but, on the other hand, you just wanted to wrap your arms around him and comfort him by whispering sweet, consoling words into his ears. You just wanted to tell him that, despite of everything he went through and witnessed, which seemed like a trip to hell and back, that it was going to be okay, that he was going to be alright in the end. 

However, instead of doing either of those things, you just sat there dumbly, your fingers playing anxiously with the quilt of the bed. These boys… what they hid from you… was absolutely horrendous. You just didn’t know how cruel humans could be to each other until that very moment. They were dragged through the mud and then spit on some more by those who deemed them lesser than the dirt that clung to their skin.

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you these things before you joined, y/n,” Jin apologized, his mouth suddenly gone dry as sand. “I… don’t really know why I hid my past from you. I don’t know if I was ashamed for rolling over so easily instead of fighting back, or if I was scared you’d run away, or…” His voice trailed off as he couldn’t find the words to continue his apology. He slumped back into the fluffy pillows as his eyes now bore into the ceiling solemnly.

“Well, I could tell you for sure it was both of those reasons why I didn’t tell you,” Jungkook admitted, also leaning back into his chair with a soft sigh of regret. “I was ashamed for being such a failure but yet for doing so stupid, and I was scared you’d run away as soon as you heard that I was almost a murderer.” 

You didn’t notice how deeply you inhaled until your lungs screamed at you to release the oxygen trapped inside. Then you slowly let air out through your mouth as a drawn-out sigh. “Jungkook…” you began, closing your eyes for a few seconds. “I know I’ve only been in the group for a little over a month at this point, but after all we’ve been through, nothing could ever make me scared of you guys. Am I shocked? Oh boy, am I. Am I a bit overwhelmed? You can bet a pound or two, I am.” 

You paused briefly as you tried to organize your messy thoughts into an orderly fashion. “And I’m not mad that you kept these secrets from me. What happened to you both was definitely traumatizing, and I’m just glad to know that you two can trust to tell me these horrible things that you both experienced. I’m… I’m so sorry you two had to go through all of that.” A shaky breath escaped your lips as your throat began to suddenly tighten. These boys didn’t deserve any of this.

“We’re not the only ones that were victims of all of this,” Jungkook informed you, his thumbs twirling around each other to keep them occupied. “The others also went through things that no one should have gone through.”

Instantly, your mind went to what Taehyung revealed to you at the gala. How could you forget? You remembered so vividly the anger that flared in his eyes like a forest fire, blazing without mercy. The fury in his voice as he growled how he would rather die than give into the wishes of the Japanese government. In fact, behind those furious eyes of him, you remembered seeing a hint of hidden agony, as if you ripped off a bandaid to reveal a bleeding wound.

As you wandered through your memories, you murmured in reply, “Yes, I remember Taehyung saying something about his sister.” He came home to find her on the ground crying if you recalled correctly. You lifted up your head to look at both Jin and Jungkook with curiosity in your eyes. “What happened to her?”

The two men gave each other uneased,uncertain looks, as if they wanted to explain everything to you but were unsure if they were allowed to disclose such information. Finally, Jin answered reluctantly, “I believe that is something that Taehyung should tell you himself. It would be wrong of us if we just spilled his secrets without him knowing.”

He cast his gaze to the floor as if merely talking about it was bad enough. “Out of all of us, Tae probably got it the worst. He was continuously bombarded with misfortune-- still is to this day what with the government hounding him to make propaganda for them.”

You had to admit, you really wished they would just tell you instead of making you awkwardly ask the person in question. However, you understood why they believed it was for the best to let Taehyung explain his story. It was personal, and they shouldn’t tell others something so personal without his say in it. You would’ve wanted the same if you were in his shoes. 

“Alright…” you murmured, pausing for a few moments. “What else should I know about? Is Jimin secretly a rebel leader?”

Jungkook scoffed almost humorously. “Jimin? No way, he probably got it the best out of us. The worst he went through was facing school identity fraud.”

“Jungkook,” Jin scolded, his lips pressed together in a thin line. “What did I just say about respecting other people’s pasts? And don’t say he got it easy. He had his own hardships he had to deal with.”

The youngest rolled his dark eyes at the older’s motherly antics. He folded his muscular arms across his chest to match his annoyance. “Yes, mother,” he replied almost mockingly.

Great, now you wanted to know Jimin’s history. Your reporter instincts screamed at you to get the scoop, to learn more about the boys. Although guilt wracked your body because of it, you were awfully curious as to what the others’ pasts were. You wanted to know what made them into the people they were today. However, it seemed that you were going to have to be patient and wait for them to reveal such things to you once they were ready. 

“Thank you for trusting me with this, again.” As you gently clasped your hands together with a faint smile, you changed the subject by asking, “So, what’s next on our agenda? Now that we have the kobae, which is where again?” Now that you mentioned it, you had no idea where the kobae was. You hadn’t seen it at all ever since last night.

“Namjoon is keeping it safe and preserved, or so I’m told,” Jin answered, now making a move to slip out from the bed. The faint light that shimmered through the navy blue, velvet curtains enveloped him in a halo of light. “I’m glad he’s using his skills to keep the kobae intact. I would hate to go through all of this and for someone to accidentally break it.”

“Then why is Namjoon keeping it safe? He’s the one who breaks everything,” Jungkook commented, his eyebrows knitting together in slight concern. 

The image of the kobae shattered on the ground while Namjoon stood next to its remains with a sheepish smile appeared in everyone’s mind in that moment, but the millionaire merely brushed away the thought. “He wouldn’t be an archeologist if he broke every artifact he found,” he pointed out, then began to unbutton his top. “You two go to the living room with the others. I’ll meet you all there to discuss what the next part of the riddle means.”

After murmuring farewells to the leader, you and Jungkook got up from where you were sitting and made your way out of the bedroom. For some odd reason, you felt lighter coming out than you did going in, as if the weights that had been dragging you down were miraculously lifted. Perhaps by talking to the two and knowing that they trusted you with such dangerous secrets, the burdens of working with people you didn’t know disappeared. It made it a whole lot easier working with them knowing this.

And it makes it easier to make-out with them, a kittenish voice whispered in the back of your mind.

Your cheeks faintly flared at the sensuous thought and shoved the voice to the farthest corner of your mind. No, don’t think about that! Focus on the expedition!

You entered the living room where Namjoon was still occupied with his newspaper and now empty bowl of yogurt. You remembered your last words to him before going to Jin and immediately wanted to throw yourself out of the nearest window from the pure embarrassment that coursed through like a rapidly moving river. You really should stuff your mouth with your foot sometimes.

You sat on the couch farthest from Namjoon while Jungkook took a seat next to him. He rolled up his sleeves to reveal veiny, muscular arms, not that you were staring, and kicked up his legs so one was crossed on top of the other. You also crossed your legs and rested your hands in your lap. Well, it wasn’t like things could get any worse, right?

Wrong.

In that moment, Taehyung entered the living room from behind you, and, once seeing that you were also present in the room, broke out into a wide, boxy grin and snuck up behind you. Once he was standing directly behind you, he leaned down and wrapped his arms around your shoulders to pull you into a back hug, his chin resting on your shoulder. “Morning, yeodongsaeng,” he murmured so only you could hear it.

You smiled gently at the nickname, although you had no idea what it meant. You found it to be rather endearing and sweet to call you something in his native tongue. You supposed that bonding time with him last night must’ve really worked, considering he was acting all affectionate to you in a platonic manner. Taehyung pulled away only to swing around and plop in the spot right next to you before wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you closer to him. You allowed this and even scooted closer to him because of the comforting heat that exuded off of him. The cool air chilled you a bit, so you were thankful for some body heat to cling to.

Jungkook rounded his eyes seeing all of this while Namjoon arched an eyebrow in bemusement. “Oh, did something happen last night that I wasn’t aware of?” Namjoon asked, now setting his newspaper to the side.

You gulped deeply after a large lump suddenly lodged itself in your throat, remembering the presence of the other two men in the room. Before you could answer him, Taehyung spoke out with his grin now turned mischievous, “We just enjoyed a nice bath together last night.”

Taehyung! You could’ve strangled him on the spot! Why on earth would he word it like that?! That made it sound like you-- you two--! Ugh!

You honestly wanted to either just crawl up into a small ball and just disappear from the universe or  to beat Taehyung with a crowbar for making your life a whole lot more complicated. Either option sounded wonderful at that current moment. Maybe you could even beat up Taehyung first and then disappear from the universe.

“A bath, huh?” Jungkook echoed, lips curling up into a small smirk, although it was partly hidden behind his hand. “I was wondering who was being so noisy last night.”

Now you wanted to beat Jungkook with the same crowbar. “Hobi said that I needed to take a bath to help ease my sore muscles after exerting them so much at the gala,” you explained, hoping that it would be enough to get rid of those vulgar assumptions that just so happened to be true. “Oh, I bet they were sore, all right,” Jungkook commented, his voice dripping with travesty.

Taehyung chuckled at the younger’s remark and glanced over to see what your reaction was, which happened to be you huffing irritatedly and shooting him a glare before you snapped your head away from him, your face still hot from embarrassment. He softly cooed upon seeing how cutely your face scrunched up in chagrin. 

“Nothing happened!” you cried out in irritation, wanting to wipe away these assumptions from everyone’s minds.

“Besides a small make out session,” Taehyung added slyly.

You whipped your head to face him. “Tae!” you gritted out. “I’m going to beat your arse!”

Suddenly the door leading to the elevator opened to reveal Jimin dressed lightly as if he went for a morning walk, which you guessed must have been true. He smiled pleasantly to everyone before dragging his fingers through his hair as he wandered over to the group. “Morning, everyone,” he greeted cheerfully. He moseyed on over to where you sat and plopped next to you, his thighs snug against yours. Dear Lord, did these boys not know what personal space was? “What’s the news?”

“We’re waiting for the others to come so we can figure out the next part of the riddle,” Jungkook filled him in. 

“Ugh, not this again,” Taehyung groaned with a roll of his eyes. His fingers drummed against your forearm, which did not go unnoticed by Jimin. 

The survivalist shot you a wicked smirk before quickly switching back to a mirthful smile. “Well, now that we have the kobae, hopefully that’ll make the next part easier to figure out,” he pointed out optimistically. 

“Well, aren’t you being such an idealist,” a voice suddenly spoke up. 

You turned your attention to see Yoongi and Hobi entering the room. Yoongi strode over casually before sitting down in a chair and kicking his feet onto the table that stood in the center of everyone. He wiped his oil dirtied hands onto a rag, as if he were just finished working on a car. 

Hobi took the chair next to him and sat down with his signature smile on his face. “Ah, Yoongi, maybe you’re being the pessimist,” he shot back with a short laugh.

“Or maybe I’m just being realistic,” he argued, stuffing his dirty rag into his coat pocket. There were still dark smears on his hands from hours of working, but nothing short of a lot of soap and water was going to get those stains off of his skin. “What even was the next part of the riddle? Something about a lake? There’s got to be at least a hundred lakes in India.”

“Actually, there are only sixty-two lakes here,” Jimin corrected, leaning forward on his knees.

Yoongi rolled his eyes annoyedly. “Sorry I wasn’t being precise, Mr. Tree Hugger. I was being what’s called exasperated.”

“Hey! I was trying to help you out!”

“No, you just wanted to show off.”

“... Okay, touché.”

The little argument was cut short by the sound of a door closing. Everyone looked up to see Jin exiting his room, fixing the collar of his grey suit and then readjusting his blue tie to match. You almost snickered at the sight of him. He never was seen not wearing a suit, even hours after being drugged.  

Jin joined the rest of the team, his leather shoes clicking against the floor as he smoothed out his jacket. He gave everyone a small smile, while everyone else made small comments about how glad to see him awake and walking around. He replied with words of gratitude and nods before finally getting down to business, as was expected. “I’m sure you are all aware that we must figure out the next part of the riddle if we ever hope to find the Dragon of the Stars,” he began, stating the obvious. “Does anyone have any possible ideas of what the next part could possibly mean?”

Namjoon reminded everybody, saying, “Remember, the riddle is ‘give drink with a bowl of stone waters from the lake of the moon’s flower to the Dragon in order to bring it to its homeland’.”

“Lake of the moon’s flower?” Yoongi echoed, arching an eyebrow subtly before turning to Jimin. “Got any ideas, since you apparently are an expert on lakes.”

Jimin’s eyebrows shot up as his eyes widened before sputtering for a few moments. He managed to get out, “I don’t even know what they mean by moon’s flower! I mean, there is a flower called the moonflower, but that’s only native to the western part of the world.”

An idea suddenly popped into your head. “Oh! Oh! Maybe they’re talking about those flowers that only bloom at night time. What are those called?” you suggested eagerly, wanting to help.

“There’s lots of flowers that bloom at night, y/n. Evening primrose. Datura. Brugmansia. None of those flowers are native to India though,” Jimin shot down, folding his arms in front of his chest as he grew more frustrated by the riddle. “Well, except for the Brahma Kamal, but those grow in mountainous areas, not by lakes.”

“Besides, this lake needs to be in Punjab, since that’s where our ancestors ran to,” Namjoon remarked.

“Instead of focusing on the meaning behind moon’s flower, perhaps we could figure out a lake that has a lot of flowers. Any ideas?” Hobi proposed, looking around for anyone who could think of an idea.

Jimin sighed with a soft groan. “This is India, Hobi. There’s lots of lakes with flowers.”

Taehyung raised his hand to gather everyone’s attention before adding his own opinion. “What if they’re not so much talking about flowers so much as the moon. I mean, if you think about it, a moon in the lake would look like a flower, wouldn’t it?” 

“Then wouldn’t the wording be changed?” Jungkook argued, his eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. “If that were the case, then it would be worded ‘flower of the night sky’ or something like that.”

“I think Jungkook is right,” you added, your hand cupping your chin as you racked your brain over the riddle. “There must be a specific reason as to why they would choose to place emphasis on moon’s flower.”

“Okay, okay,” Jin interrupted the discussion. “Maybe it would be best if we placed ourselves in the shoes of those who wrote the riddle. If you were writing these clues, what would you include that would throw people off the trail?”

Yoongi scoffed softly at the idea of imagining he were a Korean man in India about two millennia ago; but regardless of how silly he thought it was, he kept his mouth shut and decided to humor Jin by following his suggestion. “Well, I’m trying to make sure the Chinese soldiers wouldn’t be able to figure it out, right? Then I’d refer to something that wasn’t common knowledge to the average Chinese person at the time.”

Jin nodded his head in agreement, eyes drawn to the floor as the wheels in his head were slowly turning. “Right, something the Chinese wouldn’t know, but our ancestors would know, specifically… something that these particular Koreans would know,” he murmured out loud.

“Wait a second…” Namjoon began, his eyes widening just a centimeter as the pieces began to piece themselves together. “These Koreans at the time, they’ve spent months-- maybe even years-- in India. They’ve probably spent a lot of time with the Indians around, so logically they would pick up a few things about their culture, right?” When everyone nodded with his reasoning, he continued, “So maybe moon’s flower refers to something about Indian culture--” He cut himself off and he suddenly sprung up from his seat on the couch in excitement. “Lilies! Lilies! Lilies are the symbol of the Indian moon deity, Chandra!”

“Oh my God!” Jimin yelled as he too lept from the couch and hopped around eagerly, the excitement pulsing through him in large waves. “There’s a lake known for its lilies! Dal Lake!” He bounced up and down like a toddler in a candy store. “Oh my God! We need to go to Dal Lake!”

Everyone broke out in a small celebration with loud cheers and shouting when the next part of the riddle was figured out. You contemplated briefly bringing out some wine to commemorate the occasion. After all, you were just about ready to throw in the towel until Namjoon and Jimin managed to figure out the next part of the riddle. However, there was one person who wasn’t quite ready to start celebrating yet.

“Not to rain on everyone’s parade,” Yoongi suddenly butted in a cool tone, “but what do we do once we arrive at this Dal Lake? The riddle says we need to ‘give drink to the Dragon’, but last time I checked, dragons don’t exist.”

“Well, it has something to do with the kobae, obviously,” Jungkook replied with a small shrug of his shoulders. “Maybe there will be instructions for us once we get there.”

Yoongi snorted almost bitterly at that. “Oh, yes, there will be a little post with a sign saying, ‘If you have the kobae with you, come right this way to the Dragon of the Stars!’.”

“Ah! Don’t be such a Debby Downer, Yoongi!” Hobi cried out, moving behind the mechanic before slipping his arms around his shoulders into a hug. “Did someone not get a good night’s rest last night?”

Yoongi shrugged the doctor’s arms off of him, rolling his eyes although a small smile graced his lips. “No, in fact, I actually slept really well knowing that everyone was alive and that we got away with infiltration and robbery.”

Jin redirected the conversation back to the previous topic, saying, “We’ve got a whole plane ride to figure out what we should do once we get to Dal Lake. I suggest we start packing up right now and get on the plane as soon as possible before Akimoto and his men get the chance to track us down.”

No one argued with him when he mentioned Akimoto and went straight to work packing up and leaving the city.

—————————————

No matter how many times you’ve been in a plane, you will never stop marvelling at how a simple machine could have you flying among the birds. You could spend hours just staring at the blue sky, looking down at the earth that you walked upon just hours before. 

Everything looked so tiny down below, like little tiny ants going about their day. When you weren’t looking down at the small world, you were busy ogling at the beautiful sky full of white clouds that reminded you of the dandelion seeds that littered your grandmother’s lawn. You remembered how you spent your childhood years playing with the fuzzy weeds.

As you were lost in your mind, reminiscing more innocent times, you didn’t notice anyone approaching you until they plopped down on the seat across from yours. You snapped your attention from the pale blue sky to see who suddenly joined you. You recognized it to be Yoongi, his forehead sweaty from working. He released huffs and puffs of air as his hand wiped away the sweat that began to collect itself on his brow.

Now that you thought about it, you recalled that Yoongi had to fix a certain part of the plane, which you happened to forget its name because you weren’t exactly listening, that required lots of heavy-lifting.

“Need a drink?” you offered, already moving toward your bag to grab a glass water bottle. The poor,  young man looked as if he needed about several bottles to quench his thirst.

“Yes, please,” he sighed in reply, his body slouching against the cushioned seat. You reached for the glass bottle and handed it to the mechanic. He weakly took it from your hand and uncapped it before taking large gulps of the cool liquid. 

You smiled faintly before briefly looking back at the view of the sky until he managed to polish off about half of the bottle. Wiping his hand across his mouth to get rid of the excess water, he asked with a raspy voice, “So, how is our heroine doing lately?”

You arched an eyebrow amusedly at what he said, your smile widening as a soft chuckle escaped your lips. “Heroine? Why do you call me that?” you questioned, resting your head in the palm of your hand.

Yoongi merely shrugged his shoulders indifferently in reply. “Lately everyone has been showering you with praise for managing to pull the museum operation through. I thought that I’d join them in that regard,” he answered nonchalantly, as if he were stating an obvious fact. 

Another chuckle left your mouth at how casually Yoongi said this. “Well, aren’t you such a sweet chap?” you remarked.

“You know, I act pretty friendly often, and yet everyone’s always surprised by it,” Yoongi observed, his shoulders sagging a little bit in exasperation.

“Only because people don’t know if you’re serious or not,” you replied.

“... Fair enough.”

Your smile widened as your eyes slowly began to return themselves back to the endless blue sky. You could never get over how beautiful it was. The color that painted the sky was something that could never be made by human hands. Nature was truly a marvel to behold sometimes.

“I’m still a little low-key peeved that you just happened to pull the plug right when Jin passed out. The whole blackout made finding Namjoon, Jungkook, and Tae so much more difficult than it needed to be,” you mentioned, although your jovial expression didn’t match the words that tumbled from your mouth.

Yoongi scoffed almost offendedly by what you said, his eyebrows knitting together and his jaw dropping. “Hey, I was just doing what we all agreed what time would be best for the blackout. It’s not like anyone gave me a signal that Jin just happened to get drugged right before I decided to flip the switch,” he defended himself, then sighed as he sunk further into his chair. “Man… I can’t wait for someone to invent instant communication. That would make my job so much easier.”

You laughed cheerfully at how passionate the mechanic got when defending himself. You couldn’t really blame him for the whole incident. He was right; everything that could’ve possibly gone wrong happened all at the same time. He really had no control over any of that. However, you just wanted to see what his reaction would be if you said such words, and, you had to admit, you weren’t disappointed with the results.

“You know, Hobi and I were hanging out before we got together and decided to head for this lake,” he changed the subject, setting the bottle on the floor next to him. “He told me that Jin was awake and was talking to you and Jungkook. He made a few comments about how long you two were in there. Mind sharing what you three talked about? Was it just those two praising you for your actions at the gala?”

You wondered to yourself what brought on this question for a few seconds. Did he think you all were gossiping about him? You contemplated whether you should mention that you were, in fact, discussing Jin and Jungkook’s pasts. “Jin and Jungkook both told me their pasts. Jin said his father was killed for conspiracy, and then he was basically made into a puppet for the government. Jungkook told me how he attempted to assassinate Emperor Hirohito but failed and is now on the run,” you disclosed, your tone calm as if you were merely discussing the weather. 

Yoongi slowly nodded as you explained everything to him, his eyes trained on you for any form of a reaction. Finally, he brought his gaze to the ground and was silent for a few moments, gathering his thoughts together before speaking his mind. “I guess you now know what our world is like. We were considered inferior to them, weak, powerless. Everything that gave us nationalistic idenity meant nothing to them. We were even told that it was illegal to speak our own language. So, yeah, you can imagine that all our lives were pretty shitty,” he described, his fingers tapping against the armrest of the seat. 

You tilted your head slightly to the side as you listened to him go off. Suddenly, you remembered that you knew nearly nothing about the mechanic, except for that he thought this entire expedition to be a fool’s journey and he was only doing this for the money. “What about you, Yoongi? What made your life so shitty?” you asked.

Yoongi stared at you with astonishment written across his face. “What? You want to know more about me?” He pointed to himself, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. When you nodded, he shook his head at lightning’s speed. “No, no. Sorry, doll, but that isn’t something I like to touch on. Believe me, it isn’t as thrilling as trying to kill the Emperor of Japan. Just know that it wasn’t sunshine and rainbows.”

You slightly pouted at that, your reporter mindset upset that you couldn’t get the facts. You wanted to know more about the others, and hearing how horrible their lives were didn’t exactly quell your curiosity. You tried to organize what you knew about everyone into different categories. 

Jin was basically property of the Japanese government after his father was killed, Jungkook tried to kill the Emperor but didn’t succeed, Taehyung currently was being harassed to make propaganda for the government and something happened to his sister, and Jimin apparently faced school identity fraud at some point in his life. That left Namjoon, Hoseok, and Yoongi, who you barely knew about apart from their occupations and some minor details.

“You aren’t going to tell me even one thing about your past?” you sulked, hoping that your pouting would get something out of him.

Yoongi rolled his eyes at your persistence. “Fine, I’ll tell you one thing about my past.” You leaned forward eagerly, excited to hear at least one thing about him. “I learned all of my mechanic skills from my dad.”

Hey, it wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. Besides, the image of a young Yoongi being taught how to fix a car by his father had you cooing and murmuring fondly. The mechanic, instead, flushed furiously at how you were making cute noises, although his rosy cheeks were masked with a deep frown.

“Hey, what’s with the baby noises?” he demanded, his arms still folded across his chest.

“Nothing, nothing,” you giggled, then confessed, “I was just thinking about how adorable you probably were as a kid.”

Yoongi shook his head but still smiled a bit as you were sent into another bout of giggles. Oh, his cheeks must have been so chubby!

“You have to show me some baby photos of you, when this is all over!” you insisted, eager to see exactly what he looked like in his younger years.

Yoongi stared at you with such earnestness and flatly replied, “I don’t have any.”

Your bright smile quickly dissipated upon hearing this. What? How could he have no baby photos? Your family wasn’t rich either, but even your mother had a book full of black and white photos of you as a toddler. “My family couldn’t afford a camera. Hell, my mother could barely put food on the table. Sometimes I had a small cup of soup and that was my meal for the day.”

Ah… right, now you understood why this was a touchy subject. You cleared your throat awkwardly as a solemn atmosphere settled upon the two of you. Yoongi must have grown up in a poor family, which made sense why the pay of this expedition must seem so appealing to him. You recalled how he talked about giving the money to his parents who needed it desperately. You imagined what kind of financial situation they were in at the moment. No wonder Yoongi was so determined to get the Dragon. He just wanted to get the funds to his family.

Yoongi let out an irritated sigh as he slumped back into his seat. “Shit… I already let it slip,” he grumbled to himself in slight disgust, then redirected his attention to you. “Why are you so curious about us anyway?”

You brought your gaze back to him after sheepishly looking around from the tense atmosphere. “I just want to know more about you boys, is all. I’ve been with you all for more than a month at this point. I guess we’re at the point where we get to know each other on a more personal level now,” you answered reluctantly.

The mechanic studied your face for a few moments, searching for something that you couldn’t quite figure out. His strong stare caused you to awkwardly shuffle in your seat, an uncomfortable feeling settling in your core. “Then I guess it’s only fair that you tell me something about yourself first, since you want to know so much about me. So, tell me, y/n, what is something about your past that was shitty?”

To be honest, in comparison to the other boys, your life up to this point was a walk on a sunny beach while theirs was a walk on sharp, broken glass in the middle of a hurricane. You didn’t know anything that could even be compared to what they went through. Should you talk about how you fell out of a tree and broke your ankle? Perhaps you should mention the time a dog bit you in the arse as a little girl? 

Who were you fooling? You never experienced anything remotely close to what they went through!

“I haven’t really had anything happen to me that was as bad as what you all went through,” you admitted, your cheeks hot with embarrassment. However, this time it wasn’t from any teasing or flirtatious comments. 

Yoongi arched an eyebrow at your confession. “Is that so? Nothing? No dead parents?”

You shook your head. 

“No abusive childhood?”

Again, you shook your head.

“No government officials hunting you down?”

“Well… not in the past-”

“You know what I mean,” he interrupted, cutting you off abruptly. “How about living in hiding for as long as you can remember?”

…

At your silent reply, Yoongi nodded curtly and made a move to get up from his seat. “Then I don’t see why I should tell you my past if you can’t even begin to relate.” He stood up and fixed his clothing before taking a few steps away to leave you all by your lonesome, hands dug deep in his jacket pockets.

You sat there, your eyes glued to the floor somberly. He was right, you had nothing to relate to the boys. Unless…

“I was there when my grandmother died.”

Yoongi abruptly stopped in his tracks at your sudden reply. His head turned slightly to the side as his attention was grabbed by you. He stood there silently, waiting for you to continue on with your story.

Feelings that were long ago buried and forgotten suddenly resurfaced as you recalled the memories that were full of sorrow and grief. You really didn’t want to bring back these painful memories. But if you had any hope of connecting with these boys, then you had to give them something that they could connect with.  

You released a shaky sigh as you began, “My grandmother one day just suddenly collapsed in her home and was found by my mother a few hours later while I was busy playing in her lawn. She managed to get her in bed, but she was already in a coma by then. My mother and I stayed at her side for the next few days, tending to her needs and the needs of the house. Although I was a kid, I remember how she was just… lying there… motionless… just breathing. It was almost sickening to watch her waste away like that. With each day I saw how she had gotten thinner and thinner and paler and paler. She already looked like a ghost.”

You had to pause your explanation to give yourself a moment to cope with your long buried feelings. It’s been years, but the wounds of that event still stung when you looked back on it. It was like ripping off a bandaid that had been stuck on a scab for a while. It might be old, but the pain still hurt like bugger.

You continued after you managed to contain yourself, “There were some days where I just wished she would just die, not for her sake but for mine and my mother’s. I couldn’t handle seeing her deteriorate more each and every day. Every time my mother had to go in there to feed her or clean the room, she always came out in tears. I knew my grandmother was in a peaceful state, even if her body was failing, but watching her in such a state. I couldn’t bear it; I couldn’t bear to watch the grandmother I loved so much as she was dying.”

At this point, Yoongi had returned from where he was standing and sat back down in his seat, his eyes focused entirely on you as you began to blubber. You noticed the sympathy gleaming in his eyes as your throat tightened and stung. Your voice cracked on several different occasions as you told the story. It’s been years, why were you still so choked up over this? Why did it still hurt so much?

“And then, as I was just watching her body failing her one day, she just…” You couldn’t handle it anymore. The tears were too much to hold back anymore. Tears began streaming down your face in small streams as your body slowly wracked from your sobs. 

You briefly wondered if the reason why you were still broken over this decades later was because you never really told anyone your feelings about the whole issue. Sure, you showed your sorrow at your grandmother’s funeral, but no one ever asked you if you were alright. They all were too concerned over your mourning mother to really focus on you. No one ever told you that it was going to be alright like they told your mother.

Suddenly two arms wrapped themselves around your body, pulling you into comfortingly. You realized that Yoongi had pulled you in for a consoling hug, and you buried your face into his chest, letting your tears wet his shirt. One of his hands rubbed your head soothingly in soft, slow strokes, his fingers running themselves through your smooth hair. He whispered kind words into your ears in a hushed tone. “It’s going to be fine. You’re alright now…”

There it was. The words you’ve been dying to hear since you were a child.

You’re alright now… It’s going to be fine....

You cried and cried into his shirt until your eyes couldn’t produce anymore tears. All the emotions that you had bundled up for years flowed out like a cracked dam. Your head lulled heavily from how spent your body was as you slowly pulled yourself away. Man, you hated how tiring it was to cry.

You rubbed your eyes to wipe away any excess tears that still clung to your face, sniffling every now and then to stop your nose from running with snot. Ugh, you must look horrendous from how hard you sobbed. You hadn’t cried like that in years. Your emotions must have been pent up for so long they suddenly exploded from just telling that story.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized with a weak laugh. “I don’t know what came over me…”

“It’s me who should be saying that,” Yoongi replied in a quiet tone. “I pushed you too hard. I shouldn’t have been so cold to you. You definitely went through some hard times, too.”

You gave him a sad smile as you wiped away the last of your tears. “I don’t think anyone has ever lived an easy life.”

Yoongi smiled back to you faintly and lifted his shoulders in a tiny shrug. “Maybe you’re right.”

You stared at each other for a few moments, just appreciating each other’s company. You felt awfully closer to Yoongi after telling him about the death of your grandmother, even if he hadn’t said anything about his own past. It was nice to know that someone was there for you, ready to wipe away your tears and hold you close. You hadn’t really had anyone like that before you joined this expedition. You had to admit, it was nice to have someone you could depend on in that regard.

However, your serene moment didn’t last long, as suddenly the plane shook with such violence that it nearly threw you out of your seat. Your ears rang like a bell was tolling in them as a loud explosion erupted just outside your window. A scream escaped your lungs as you were then tossed to the floor as the plane lurched up and down a few times, boxes and supplies now thrown everywhere from the plane’s jerky movements. Just what on earth was going on?!

Yoongi, who landed on the floor next to you, suddenly shot up and gripped the nearby armrest for support. He groaned quietly in pain from being thrown to the ground and looked outside the window that you have been staring out of just minutes prior from all of this. He squinted his eyes to focus on the problem before they suddenly widened to the size of saucer plates. His jaw dropped rather unceremoniously as a sharp gasp slipped past his lips.

“Oh… no…”

You crawled back up to your feet and stumbled after Yoongi, nearly falling down a few times from how unstable the plane’s flying had gotten at this point. Once you grabbed onto his shoulders to keep your balance, you looked out the window to see what nearly gave you a heart-attack. And, just like Yoongi, your eyes rounded and your jaw went slack at the sight.

The plane’s turbine was currently up in flames, and it didn’t look like it was going to keep you all in the air for much longer…

“Everyone!” Jimin suddenly screamed from the cockpit, his voice full of terror as he struggled to keep the plane somewhat stable.You heard the sirens and saw the red flashing lights from the cockpit going sending terror through your entire being.  “Grab onto something secure! We’re about to crash!!!”

Oh… fuck… you could never catch a break...

[cutie1365]

A Kid from Queens Part 14

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Info: CA: Civil War Era. Tony Stark enlists his daughter to find the web slinging spider in Queens.

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: n/a

A/N: Hopefully another chapter coming soon, let's keep the quarantine going strong before online classes start.

Masterlist linked in my bio. Taglist in the reblog.

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

To say you were keeping busy would be an understatement. If Linda wasn’t dragging you from photoshoot to photoshoot, you were in your lab in your apartment, dissecting the data you’d collected from Thomas’ servers.

The first thing you noticed was an incredible level of encryption. Seriously, the firewalls at their residence rivaled what you used at Stark Industries. That wasn’t a good sign, they were definitely hiding something.

It took you days to follow the money trail, finally finding their private account. They’d been careful, using bitcoin and other nearly untraceable cryptocurrency. Nearly untraceable, but you’d cracked the code. It looked like over the past few months the mayor has been funneling in larger and larger amounts, but you noticed a bimonthly withdrawal to the same anonymous source. It was the only movement of funds outside of the account, all other transactions had been moving money in. Your brain hurt from staring at your screen so long. You knew it would take a few more hours for Friday to track the transaction, and you were overdue for a break.

“F.R.I., trace these transactions, get me an IP address, see who it’s registered to and if we have files on them. I want to know what he’s buying.” You instructed, slipping your coat on, and heading out of your apartment.

“You got it boss.” The AI responded.

As you made your way into the park below to clear your head, you noticed a bodega at the entrance. Maybe coffee would be a good idea, you needed the energy, you could sense it was going to be a long night.

As you ordered, you glanced down to the magazines below, and came face to face with yourself. Your Vogue cover had come out, surely just as Linda wanted it. You knew it wasn’t worth it to waste mental energy on the fact that they’d edited the hell out of your face and body. You swore they had shrunk your waist two sizes.

“This you?” The owner asked in a thick Russian accent, pointing towards the magazine.

“Oh, yeah.” You smiled, humbly.

“You sign?” He asked, holding up a sharpie to you.

“Sure.” You took the pen from him, scribbling your name across the cover. This was odd. You were used to signing large checks for charity, sure, but never autographs.

“My daughter, she like you very much. She want to be engineer now.” He smiled proudly, handing you your coffee.

“That’s wonderful.” You smiled brightly, you never expected to be a role model, but if it was for anything you were happy to encourage young women into STEM fields. It was truly heartwarming. You thanked the man, and left him a large tip.

You strolled through the park, going through your mental checklist and schedule for the week. You were leaving in a few days to go to Boston, Linda had gotten you an invitation from MIT to judge their annual robotics competition.

As you journeyed back to your apartment and opened the door, you heard loud beeping coming from your lab.

Rushing around the corner, hundreds of pictures of black market weapons were flooding your desktop.

“What am I looking at here F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” You asked, pulling the display out into holograms to get a better look.

“Wire payments tracked to a man named Adrian Toomes. Uncertain what the payments were for, but several other black market transactions and evidence seems to point to these weapons being circulated.” She explained, enlarging the clearest photograph in front of me.

“Maybe the mayor was looking to dip into the business, wanted a chunk. Maybe he wanted the monopoly on the mafia accounts, expanding the business to the most powerful underground families in the city.” You guessed.

“Something’s not right,” You grabbed the rendered blueprint hologram of one of the weapons, enlarging it then spinning it, “Are these man made?”

You began to deconstruct the hologram, removing the outer metal layers, landing at its core power source, your eyes growing wide.

“Is that... a Chitauri energy core? How could they possibly have this much volume? Even if they hoarded some after the incident, it wouldn’t be enough to sustain the operation they seem to be running now. The only other stores this large are locked away in the Department of Damage Control, and I don’t know of any authorizations to remove them.” You thought out loud. They must have been stealing them, turning them into weapons and selling them on the black market. This is more than just a mafia turf war, this is terrorism. Shit.

You knew whatever the mayor had gotten wrapped up in was bad, but you never expected it to be this bad. You were way out of your depth here, you knew you couldn’t just sit on this information.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., is dad upstate?” You asked.

“Yes, his plane landed an hour ago.”

“Good, tell him to stay put, I’m on my way.”

- - - - - 🕷 - - - - -

An hour into your drive you were thanking god for the decision to get coffee earlier. Although your car could technically self-drive, you liked to be in control.

As you pulled into the compound, you saw your father waiting for you at the door. You pulled open the door to your car, making your way towards him.

“You’re gonna give your old man a heart attack if you keep showing up like this.” He raised a brow, curious to what you were up to.

“We both need a vacation.” You scoffed lightheartedly, pushing past him, and into the compound.

You led him into his office, you knew you needed a secure location to safeguard the information you were about to present to him.

“You gonna tell me what all this is about?” Your father took a seat, wearily.

“You’re not going to like this.” You nervously held your hands behind your back, unsure of where to begin.

“Do I ever?” He crossed his arms over his chest, he assumed this would be about Peter again, he never could have expected why you were really here.

“At the gala, as we were going in, a man tried to warn me, he said there was something I should know about the mayor. Thomas pulled me away before he could finish.” You began, your father shaking his head at the mention of Thomas.

“He knew what was going to happen?” Your father asked, sitting up straight in his chair, leaning towards you.

“I don’t think so.” You shook your head. “But I never forgot what he said, I knew he knew more, and after what happened at the gala... I had to know. I knew it wasn’t a random attack. I tracked him down, he said the mayor’s in deep. Deeper than mafia, he thought maybe they were dealing some sort of weapons.”

“Why did he try and warn you?” He asked, you could tell his protective side was coming out.

“He thought they might try to target me to hurt them, hurt their image.” You tried to put as delicately as possible without outright saying they were using you, but your father understood, and it did nothing but fuel his anger.

“And you went back to this asshole because...?” He asked, patronizingly.

“Will you let me finish please.” You pleaded, and he sat back slightly, not understanding how this could get worse. “After the... article came out, I knew I could use him as an alibi, to shift the focus, discredit the story. We made an agreement. He needed to get back in his father’s good graces, and I was the key to that, and a boost in his polling numbers. It also gave me the opportunity I needed to look into the family, see if there was any credibility to the warning.”

“What did you find?” He raised a brow, it must have been bad enough to bring you here at this hour of night.

“Dad, It’s bad.” You shook your head, “F.R.I.D.A.Y.” You asked, and the AI displayed all the evidence you’d recently uncovered around the room for the two of you to examine. Tony stood and made his way around the room, taking it all in, in shock. And just when he thought it couldn’t get worse, once more, it wasn’t just illegal offshore accounts and weapons, you grabbed the hologram and deconstructed it just as you’d done in the lab.

“Is that...” Tony asked in shock, picking up the rendered core in his hands.

“Chitauri, I think they’re stealing them from Damage Control.” You nodded, Tony exhaled.

Part of him was relieved this meeting didn’t have to do with Peter, but this was much worse, and potentially extremely dangerous for you.

“What do I do?” You asked, shaking your head. This was new territory for you, you weren’t an Avenger, you weren’t the hero type.

“You take this to the FBI, this isn’t exactly Avenger territory. If they’re stealing from Damage Control, it’s federal property, their jurisdiction. They’ll know what to do.” Tony nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and placing a hand under his chin, still deep in thought.

“You did the right thing here kid. Next time, maybe give me some heads up if you decide to go hacking into people’s servers, criminal records, and the black market.” He smirked, he feigned an authoritative tone, but was really quite proud of what you’d done. He knew the potential you had, but was worried you’d be swayed and deceived by emotions, but he was wrong. You knew exactly what you were doing, and you weren’t doing it for revenge or personal gain, but for public safety and welfare.

“But where’s the fun in that?” You smirked, you really were your father’s daughter.

[a-distant-story]

Code Blue

Chapter 2: Code Blue

The hospital is a messy place... and even messy is its layout. It is easy for people to get lost... what with its vast building, a corridor at every turn, a hospital room at every junction... Harmony Grove was no different, and yet the new batch of interns seemed to have memorized every nook and cranny of the hospital, which room is where, where to find the best espresso machine, and where to sleep after a rough day of work.

It was a rough day for Maya. She worked hard and yet Dr. Jackson was not impressed. She even bought him his favorite coffee and yet she did not seem to win any favors from him.

Maya and her friends were all huddled in the hospital beds in the basement. This was the place where the interns stayed over if they had a late-night shift or were too eager to get the best cases for their morning rounds. Apart from the interns the spiders also seemed to have made it their permanent home. The basement was dimly lit with a single bulb which gave just enough light to make out Maya sitting in her bed with her head on her knees brooding over god knows what.

The hospital beds were nearly empty now. some people were leaving while some people had just started to wake up.

"What happened?" Riona asked Maya

"Yesterday, Dr. Jackson asked me to tell him the post-op care of a patient and I forgot-"

"You forgot! Let me get this straight, you forgot the post op care of your patient" Riona started laughing

"Fuck you!"

"Fuck you huh!" Riona leaned forward to kiss her and started giggling.

"Come on! this is serious! What should I do?"

Riona was just about to answer her when a tall guy interrupted her.

"What do you want Chris? I was just about to say something to her" Riona barked at Chris.

"I... uh..."

"Just out with it!"

The boyish face seemed scared now. "I...uh...I had a case... I thought you...you would like to join me" Chris seemed nervous around Riona.

"What case?" Maya asked him, her curiosity piqued

"The one with the lopsided appendix in Room 104"

"No, no, that is my patient's room, one with the emergency C"

"Uh... I must have misread it" Chris began to rummage through his notes.

"You had a lopsided appendix and you didn't tell me" Riona spoke again. "Give the patient to me, give it to me right now"

"But that is...that is my case" Chris became defensive

"Ohh you piece of..."

And Chris started running and Riona followed suit

The tension eating out at Maya seemed to subside and a hint of a smile began to form.

At least at that moment, she was happy...

.

.

.

.

"And how are we doing today Mrs. Anderson?" Maya said as she entered Room 104.

"Call me Bella" the mother was leaning on her bed, a book lying on her lap.

"Sure thing Mrs- er Bella. Let me check your vitals first"

"Your pulse seems to be normal... Heart rate is fine... no complications from surgery... We will discharge you soon" Maya said with a smile.

"When can I see my baby?"She asked her almost hopeful for a positive answer.

Maya's face lit up with the mention of the baby.

"Dr. Brown just finished with her checkup. You can see her today only." "Speaking of which, what did you decide to name her"

"I am thinking of Alexandra. It has a nice ring to it. What do you think?"

"I think it's a wonderful name"

"That's good to hear. Well, you can continue your work" Bella picked the book from her lap and started reading.

"Is that Takeshi Nakamura you are reading?" Maya was curious. Nakamura was her favorite author.

"Yes indeed uhh-"

"oh! Maya!"

"The subtlety of his writing is really wonderful. He creates characters in which I can immerse myself. The world he creates is just simply a magnificent read"

"You know Takeshi was the first book I ever read. and it got me hooked. I am a complete bookworm... I have read most of his books but i don't get time now... what with the job and such..."

A thought was nagging behind Maya's mind. The style of saying words... she was familiar with it but... where had she heard it...

"What do you do here Maya?" Bella asked Maya

"Oh! I am an intern here. I just started a few days ago. You know you are my first patient."

"Oh really! That's wonderful."

And suddenly it all clicked inside Maya's head. Could it be...

"Are you the Isabella Anderson as in the writer of Ghost town Mrs. Anderson?"

"Oh well! I am dear."

"Oh my God! Oh my God! I am a huge fan" Maya practically shrieked

"Could you... Could you..."

"Give you an autograph?"

"Yes please!" Maya handed her a paper and a marker.

Bella took the marker in her hand and started to write but stopped suddenly. Her hand reached to her chest

"Bella what happened" There was concern in Maya's voice

Bella fell unconscious...

And the marker fell to the ground.

The heart monitor which was beating normally a few seconds ago started to beep in a monotonous manner.

Maya reached for Bella's hand to feel a pulse. She couldn't find one. She needs to act fast...

.

.

.

.

Maya reached for the blue button behind Bella and pushed it.

The sirens immediately jumped into action. "Code Blue in Room 104" echoed through the whole hospital. Nurses and hospital staff rushed to the room.

"Where do you want us Doctor?" a nurse took initiative.

Maya had prepared for this kind of emergency the previous night.

Maya thought to herself "I can do this. Life lies in my hands now"

"Okay first, push 5 ccs of epinephrine" Maya pointed towards a nurse

"You prepare the defibrillator. Quick!" Maya asked another nurse.

Maya climbed on top of the bed and started doing chest compressions. "Come on! Come on!"

The nurse handed her the pads. Maya ripped open Bella's gown and placed two pads on her chest.

"Charge to 500. Clear!" A thud but no response.

Maya started to do chest compressions again.

"Charge to 700. Clear!" Another Thud and yet no response.

Again and again, she tried to revive her...

"No! No! No! I will not let you die! Charge to 1000"

"Clear!" She shouted

And a thud.

.

.

.

.

The heart monitor started beeping slowly.

Maya exhaled a sigh of relief.

Bella was lying on her bed unconscious, the pads still on her chest.

"I'll be back later," Maya said as the nurses began up the cleaning process.

After some time Dr. Jackson and Maya entered the room to see Bella lying on her bed staring at the ceiling.

Dr. Jackson started speaking

"Mrs. Anderson, I am afraid, We have some bad news"

"What is it" Bella's voice was weak.

"We cannot discharge you. You had a sudden cardiac arrest and it has weakened your heart. We have to treat it by surgery"

"Isn't there any other way?"

"There is medication but-"

"Give me the medicine and discharge me"

Maya was shocked.

"You can't. You need to have surgery" Maya said

"Dr. Jackson just said that medication would do. I want to see my baby"

Tears flooded her eyes

"I haven't seen my baby girl since she was born. I don't want that. I want to hold my little angel. What kind of mother am I, not seeing my own baby"

"Bella you do understand-"

Bella was determined. The tears had stopped flowing but she was now the woman who had enough. At that moment she would have done anything for her baby.

"Discharge papers now" Bella's voice rang through the room

"I'll be back"

A dejected Maya left the room to get her papers.

"Here sign them" Maya came back a few minutes later with papers

"Bella-"

"Don't."

.

.

That day Isabella Anderson carried a small baby in her arms and placed her foot outside the hospital.

The story has just begun.

[pufflyhallows]

Creep

Gif not mine

Pairing: Fred Weasley x reader

Summary: Fred Weasley is an annoying git.

Warnings: none

Word count: 1,8k

********

The sun was shining bright outside and it was certainly the most beautiful day you had seen in weeks. The trees waved their leaves as the wind made its way through them, creating a hypnotizing motion your eyes couldn’t drift away from. 

You admired the view through the windows in History of Magic’s classroom, wondering how the headmaster could allow the teachers to ruin such a perfect day with their boring lessons. You wanted so desperately to be outside with your friends, sitting under one of those big trees and laughing until your stomach hurt. 

It was a crime that Dumbledore hadn’t cancelled the classes. You were trapped in that old, dusty classroom with a boring teacher giving a boring lesson. Who cared about Goblin Rebellions? Well, Professor Binns did, but none of the sixth-year students was paying attention.

Alicia, sitting on your left, was doodling on the corner of the piece of parchment she was supposed to write on. Angelina, on your right, had her eyes fixed on the book she had brought to the class, already predicting she would get bored. And you, totally unhappy for being there, was looking at the windows dreamily and hoping to get out soon. 

You were startled on your seat when you felt something lightly hit your back and fall on the floor next to your foot. You looked at it and realized it was a tiny crumpled piece of parchment, nothing written on it. Frowning, you turned your attention back to the big windows, but it didn’t take long for another small piece to fall directly on your table. You looked behind and saw all your classmates minding their own business, some even sleeping. 

When you were about to turn on your seat again, you noticed the two ginger heads in the back row. 

“Of course,” you mumbled to yourself, already knowing who had thrown the paper.

You ripped a piece of your parchment roll and wrote a message on it.

Got nothing better to do?

You crumpled the paper into a ball and whispered a charm, touching it with the tip of your wand. Discretely, you threw it behind you, knowing it would go exactly where you wanted.

After a minute or two, you received your response. 

Are you serious?

You snorted. It was understandable that he was bored, but you were not some kind of toy he could use to entertain himself.

Yes. Go pester someone else, I’m busy.

Looking out the window is what you call busy?

You were watching me? What a creep.

You’re literally sitting two rows ahead. I can’t not see you.

Right... creep.

Okay. Maybe I like watching you.

When you realized you were smiling, you blushed. Had Fred Weasley just made you smile? That was new.

You put his note in your pocket and didn’t reply.

Professor Binns dismissed the students and you thanked heaven it was the last class of the day. Now you could just relax and enjoy the weather outside for a little bit. You asked if the girls wanted to come with you to the lake and they gladly agreed.

The grass looked so green and felt so soft that you inevitably smiled. You had longed for the moment you would step on it, inhaling the fresh air and feeling the wind lightly brush your cheeks. 

You spotted a nice tree and suggested sitting under it. The girls liked the idea and followed you, already taking off their robes to stay in just their uniforms. You did the same, putting the piece of clothing on the ground so you could sit on it and be more comfortable.  

“Ah, I wish it was Friday,” you sighed as you leaned back on the tree. 

“Yeah, me too,” Angelina nodded, “I would go to bed right now and get up only at noon tomorrow.”

“Are you that tired?” Alicia asked, a playful smirk on her face, “We’re not even playing this year.”

“I know, but the teachers are not exactly going easy on us. We have so much homework.”

“True,” you agreed, “I don’t think I can handle it anymore.”

“Just imagine being Harry or Cedric, though,” Alicia said, “Or even Krum and Delacour. I’m sure it’s a lot tougher for them.”

“You’re definitely right.”

“Isn’t that him?” Angelina asked, pointing at the boy exercising by the lake. “Krum, I mean.”

“Yes, it is,” You nodded, eyeing the boy’s toned back. “Oh God, he looks good.”

“Is that so?” a very familiar deep voice reached your ears, followed by an amused chuckle. 

You took a deep breath and turned your head to look at the tall boy standing next to you. “Yes, Fred. You heard me.”

“I did, yeah,” he nodded, “But I don’t think he did.”

You scanned Fred’s face, a mischievous smile spread across it. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, I would.”

“Fred...”

“I’ll be right back.”

“Fred.”

As he turned around to leave, you quickly stood up, not quite believing he was capable of doing what he had implied. Viktor Krum didn’t even know you existed! Angelina and Alicia shared a curious yet funny look, while George and Lee watched everything from far away, holding their laugh. When Fred saw you were about to grab his arm, he sprinted towards the lake.

“Fred!” you started running after him.

He looked over his shoulder and wasn’t able to control his laugh at the sight of you, all flustered and annoyed. 

“Fred!” you called again as he got closer to where Krum was, “Don’t!”

“Catch up, Y/N!”

You tried to run faster, but you were already going on your full speed. Your hair swayed with the wind as you did so, and you felt the desperation building up when Viktor Krum turned around to see what was all that movement about.

Luckily, a small group of girls, who had been watching Krum exercise, approached him with parchment rolls and quills, probably to ask for his autograph. Fred slowed down, changing his direction, and you did the same, actually going faster this time. 

You stretched your arm as much as you could, feeling your fingertips brush on the back of his shirt. He was laughing again, the notion that you were getting close excited him. You laughed too, realizing this wasn’t about Viktor Krum anymore.

The opportunity was there. Fred’s shirt was just inches apart from your grip, all you had to do was run a little bit faster. So you did. With your final tired boost, you grabbed his shirt and pulled him back. 

Of course you hadn’t exactly planned it and of course you collided with him, knocking the two of you down. 

He fell on top of you, but, due the speed, you both rolled over a couple of times, shifting positions before finally stopping. 

You were on top of him now, laughing like a monkey. Fred wasn’t any different, though. He laughed so much his cheeks were slightly red. You both had a bit of grass on your hair and clothes, but none of you cared about it. You were still laughing out loud while your friends watched from afar and the group of girls gathered around Viktor Krum.

As you slowly composed yourselves and the laughter faded away, you realized the position you were in. You were resting your head on his chest and he had his hands on your waist, your legs tangled together. 

Suddenly, it wasn’t funny anymore. You blushed fiercely as you placed your hands on the grass, just above his shoulders, and supported yourself, raising your upper body from his. 

“Now what?” he asked, panting. 

“I don’t know. I didn’t think I would catch you,” you answered sincerely. 

“That’s because you wouldn’t,” he said, taking a tiny leaf off your hair. “I let you do it.”

“Right,” you scoffed.

The silence that followed your small chat was comfortable, but it stopped being when his eyes went from your hair to your lips. You knew what was going on in his head and you instantly felt your heart starting to beat a little faster. 

“You look amazing on top of me.”

“Weas-”

Before you knew it, his lips were pressed against yours. 

A mixture of feelings flooded your heart at that moment. First, there was surprise, given the fact that he had caught you mid-sentence. Then, as you took in the softness of his lips, you felt relaxed, closing your eyes. Not much later, your cheeks were burning like hell, and you could swear you heard a faint cheering somewhere.

Fred had one of his hands still on your waist, but the other was now on the ground as it supported him up to kiss you.

It wasn’t long until he pulled back, a small peck sound reaching your ears as he broke the kiss.

“...ley,” you breathed.

“Y/L/N,” he smirked.

You blinked a few times before realizing you were still by the lake, with people around. You slowly stood up, brushing off the bits of grass from your hair and clothes. Fred did the same, not able to hide the smirk that lingered on his face and feeling really proud of himself. Always the cocky type.

“I wasn’t going to tell him, by the way,” he said as you tightened your tie, “I just wanted to make you run.”

“Well, you achieved your goal.”

“With a little bonus in the end.”

You looked at him feeling amused, but you managed to pull a straight face. “Is that how you’d call it?”

“I’d also call it one of the perks of being extremely handsome.”

You laughed, crossing your arms. “You’re an annoying git, that’s what you are.” 

“I think I can be both, actually,” he smiled.

“Maybe,” you agreed, “But you wouldn’t be such a git if you... I don’t know... asked me out on a proper date.”

“Is that so?” he raised his eyebrows and you nodded, “Very well, then. Y/N Y/L/N, would you like to go with me to the Astronomy Tower tonight?”

You looked at him for a few seconds before replying, just to add a little dramatic pause. “Yes. I would.”

“Good,” he stepped closer, “Meet me in the common room midnight.” 

“Okay,” you blushed with the proximity. It was interesting how your body would react to him that way, even though Fred had just kissed you.

“Don’t be late,” he added before quickly pecking your lips once again, “See you.”

“S-See you.”

He walked over to George and Lee, who welcomed him loudly, although you couldn’t understand what they were saying due the distance.

You looked at Angelina and Alicia, still sitting under the same tree. Angelina raised an eyebrow at you, but she had a playful smirk on her face. Alicia gave you a thumbs-up and an excited smile before motioning for you to go to them.

You chuckled, looking down. It was going to be a long day.

********

[doctor243]

Alcoholism

So this is a sequel to Stretched Too Thin by @you-guys--are-losers and I wanna thank her for letting me write a follow up^^ 

Summary: Once bitten twice shy, even if the Spider is the one who was bitten. 

Characters: Michelle Jones, Peter Parker, Tony Stark

Warnings: MAJOR angst, hurt/comfort(??), cheating, alcohol

People often got drinking wrong. The movies, the stories, the memories – all wrong. College parties were never as much fun as American Pie or 21 Jump Street or your friend Brad made it seem. The truth is that everybody was drunk off their rocker and more nauseous than happy. Even their happiness was more of an effort than an expression. They tried to be happy because when they inevitably left, they knew that they wouldn’t be. Drinking away sorrows was another thing that everyone got wrong. Nobody actually successfully drank away their sorrows. It is literally impossible because alcohol is a depressant. Your mind doesn’t get numb, your body does, and if it is numb enough, you could perhaps convince yourself that you weren’t hurting as much as you are. A mind can indeed trick itself.

Peter stared at the polaroid of MJ and him in his wallet as he sipped at a bottle of Wild Turkey. Irony was a terrible thing. “I was drunk,” was all that he could hear in his mind. He wasn’t drunk yet, and it wasn’t particularly good whisky, but it gave him a little buzz and that’s all he craved at the moment.

“I’m sorry,” he remembered hearing, through her sobs and hiccups.

“MJ?” he had practically yelled into his phone, his heart sinking further with every second that passed. “What happened? Are you alright?”

A muffled sob had come through the phone line before a stuttered voice spoke through. “I…I fucked up, Peter.”

“What do you mean you fucked up?” he had demanded. Well he had meant it as a demand, but it had come out as a choked whisper. He knew what she had meant, but he needed to hear her say it, to verbalise it, to eliminate the one percent chance that he could have been over-imagining things. How he dreaded that he was all the way with the Avengers in Siberia with no way home except for the quinjet flight in a week. How he hated that he couldn’t see her face to face. “What did you do?” he’d asked again when she offered nothing but silence.

“I cheated on you,” she finally answered.

His world had immediately come to a halt. The feelings his suspicions gave him were nothing in comparison to the feelings he felt rushing into his body. He clenched up as rage and sadness and jealousy and pain invaded his heart and wreaked havoc. He wanted to scream but he was in the hotel Falcon would definitely hear him from next door. He dared not ask her to repeat herself lest the emotions came again.

“It’s only been three months since the last time, MJ,” he heard himself say through gritted teeth.

“I know,” she has whispered, evidently still crying. His heart threatened to rip in two as one side roared and demanded to know what right she had to cry. The other longed to be by her side and wipe away her tears. Count to ten, Peter, he told himself. Breathe…

“Did you fuck him?” he asked. Well that was unexpected.

The silence that had followed was louder than anything he could have yelled. He forced every muscle in his body to keep still before he started screaming into the empty room.

He had hung up soon after, unable to utter any more coherent words, but he knew the conversation was not over. Now, he sat in hangar of the quinjet at 3 in the morning, away from the rest of the team who were still recuperating in the hotel rooms after a three-day mission, taking occasional sips from a bottle of whiskey. There hadn’t been any on the jet (of all times, Mr Stark), so he’d hopped down to the nearby liquor store as Spider-man and offered the store clerk an autograph in lieu of an ID. His first sip had burned his throat and he nearly spat it out, but forced himself to swallow instead. This was how people felt better right? This was how people stopped thinking about all the shitty things in life?

By the time he started his second bottle, he’d gotten used to the burning in his throat and was starting to feel a little woozy. He pulled out his wallet and looked at the polaroid in his wallet. There was no significance in the photograph; they were testing the camera and had decided to take a selfie. But he’d kept it precisely because it was so unimportant, a small snippet of normalcy, and it was just so beautiful.

He snapped up when he heard footsteps coming towards him, but deflated in relief when he saw who was entering the quinjet. “Mr Stark,” he breathed. “You scared me.”

“And you’re intoxicated,” his mentor replied, more amused than anything.

“Lay off me, man,” Peter groaned. “It’s been a rough week.” He took another swig. “…or month… or year…”

“I’ve noticed,” Tony took the bottle from his hand and took a sip before wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Ew kid, if you’re drinking whiskey, at least get the good stuff.”

When Peter made no effort to retort, Tony sighed and sat down on the floor, opposite the Spiderling. They sat in silence, occasionally passing the bottle to each other, but otherwise just offering each other the comfort of company. Tony would, in the near future, question his decision to condone drinking with a minor. He would then follow that thought by memories of himself at Peter’s age, and then excuse Peter completely for consuming copious amounts of alcohol.

“Have you ever…” Peter finally spoke up. “Have you ever trusted someone with your entire heart, and then been betrayed?” Yeah he was definitely getting drunk. “And then forgiven them, trusted them again, and been betrayed again?”

Tony sat up a little straighter when he heard this, and his heart ached at how defeated Peter looked. The kid was nineteen, for crying out loud. “I have,” he replied tentatively, unsure of what Peter actually wanted to hear.

“Could you forgive them again?” he all but whispered.

Tony sighed and took another swig from the bottle before smiling ruefully. “Well, I’m still on the same team as Cap, aren’t I?”

Peter fell silent again, and they carried on, drinking slowly and sighing every now and then.

“What’s going on, kid?” Tony whispered finally, as if a sound louder than that would break the roof that was protecting them both from all the terrors and suffering that the world could throw at them.

Something flashed in Peter’s eyes and he seemed to wake up a little, before choking out a sob. “MJ cheated on me,” he croaked at last, hand bunching up his hair. “Twice.”

“What the fuck?” Tony hissed in disbelief. He knew MJ really well, since Peter kept bringing her to the tower during their high school days, and even more after the snap. She was a god girl, and hearing that she’d betrayed the trust of his, for lack of better words, son, was absolutely unthinkable.

“I thought that drinking would make me feel better,” Peter continued, as though he hadn’t heard Tony. “But now it’s worse. It just hurts so bad.” He was crying at this point and Tony made a point not to pass the bottle back to him.

“Come here kid,” Tony said as he got up and pulled Peter into a hug. He knew that no amount of words and condolences would comfort him, but he still had to try. Peter accepted the gesture wholeheartedly, fingers digging into Tony’s jacket as he sobbed, the dam that held his feelings broken and his heart flooding with emotion.

“I don’t know what to do, Mr Stark,” he hiccupped. “I don’t know what to do.”

Tony continued to rub Peter’s back as he tried to soothe his shaking child. He whispered acknowledgements and apologies to keep Peter in the present, but nothing could help Peter feel better.

After a little more than half an hour, Peter’s sobs reduced to intermittent gasps, and eventually, occasional sniffs, and Tony decided it was time to get some rest. He made a mental note to hold off on calling Peter in for any missions, but would make sure his attendance was required at the tower, if only to make sure that Peter wasn’t alone. “C’mon kid,” he grunted as he struggled to pull Peter up from their seats on the floor. “You can sleep in my room tonight.” The boy nodded and stumbled out the door of the quinjet, arm around his mentor for support.

“What do I do?” Peter whispered as they entered the elevator of the hotel.

Tony sighed, unable to find the right answer to this impossible situation. He knew how much they loved each other, and how much they fought to stay together and keep their love alive. There was no correct answer, and no mathematical equation that could solve this dilemma.

“You’re going to take this one day at a time,” he finally answered. He took a deep breath and tried his best to find the words. “I can’t tell you what to do about MJ, but you’re going to be alright kid. Whatever decision you make, I’ll be here to keep you standing. You will be happy again one day.”  

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[ivybucky]

ice skates (s.r.)

prompt: steve’s never been ice skating but by the grace of gods you somehow manage to teach him

A/N: This is day 3 of the 12 Days of Winter fics event! I’ve always loved ice skating even though I’m horrible at it. I’m trying to take lessons though lmao. Cute Steve fluff for a cold day! Sorry if this is formatted weird, I had to do it all on my phone. A huge thank you to @nanners-the-great for giving me guidance in this fic - I could NOT do it without you. I’m also tagging @all1e23 cause I love her so much idk what I would do without her fics

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12 Days of Winter event

author: abby

words: 1606

pairing: steve rogers x reader

song i’m listening to: please come home for christmas by the eagles

In the comfort of your living room, with fuzzy socks and a warm sweater, you watched the snow fall from the window of your New York apartment.

The mug of coffee in your hands was doing more to warm you than anything else. The less than freezing degree weather outside was making it difficult to stay warm in any capacity. The radio on playing “Please Come Home for Christmas” made you close your eyes in nostalgia. Winters spent with your family, making hot cocoa, being bundled up in coats, and ice skating slipped through your mind. In the middle of your thoughts, a familiar rap on your door broke the silence.

“Come in!” You called from the window, knowing all too well who it was. Steve walked in, shuffling his feet from the cold air.

“Hey Y/N,” he greeted, putting his scarf on the hook by your door. “I stopped by that market on 9th and got some of that soup you like if you want some.” He chuckled, setting the container on the counter. “Might not be warm, though.”

“Oooh,” you hummed, quickly setting your mug on the coffee table as you moved into the kitchen. You kissed his cheek, not missing the slight flush that flooded the area. “Thank you, Stevie. You’re the best.” You smiled.

Stevie just shrugged. “Anything for you, doll.”

Steve and your’s relationship continuously danced around the line of friends and something more. Ever since you unlocked the door to the apartment across the hall from his, you’d gotten real close. You loved to hear his stories about how things were before the war, and he loved getting to experience the modern life of New York with you. Everyday that he wasn’t on a mission, he was either at your apartment watching some “classic” movie he had never heard of or listening to music you had recommended. Everyday, you were helping him adjust more and more. Knowing you for over a year now, Steve had begun to realize just how much he enjoyed your company. Of course, he had always been a sweetheart and a gentleman in your eyes. Getting to know him more than just face of patriotism only made your attraction to him grow. Those dark nights after a mission gone wrong when he just needed someone to talk to, the times he had shown you his sketches of his teammates, and his extensive record collection were just all moments of Steve Rogers no one else got to see. And those moments were all beautiful in their own way.

“Well Steven,” you blushed at his comment. “What were you doing in Midtown anyways?”

“Oh ya know,” he waved his hand. “Tony’s having a big ole party for the holidays, of course, but ya know I hate those things. I thought if I went and got everybody gifts maybe he wouldn’t give me crap for skipping out.” You chuckled, moving your soup the microwave.

“What, not a fan of dancin’?” You teased.

“I love dancing, sweetheart,” he sassed. “Just don’t love dancing with the people who want to dance with me.” He gave you a small smirk, watching your lips slip up even higher into a shining smile.

“Oh? And just who would you love to dance with?”

“Oh ya know,” he waved his hand again as he stuttered. He looked down at the cup of coffee you had slipped his way and cleared his throat. “So uh, what are you doing today?”

You giggled at his nervousness, letting his answer slide. “I don’t know. Was thinking about going ice skating. I used to go all the time with my family when I was a kid. It’s been years since I’ve done it and I wanna get back into the swing of it.”

Steve smiled softly as memories glazed over your eyes. He hummed, already knowing what his plans for the day were. “Ya know,” he started, moving closer to you as he leaned against the counter. “I’ve never been ice skating before.”

_____

Within the next hour, you and Steve had finished your soup, changed into better clothes, and found yourselves in Central Park waiting just outside the ice rink.

“So why haven’t you gone skating before?” You pondered waiting in line to buy your entry. Steve chuckled and your arm wrapped around his at the elbow tightened.

“Well, you’ve seen pictures of me before the war,” he laughed. “I wasn’t exactly sturdy on my own legs, let alone skates.”

You giggled. “Well, I still woulda made you learn.”

As you the two of you got up to the booth, you reached for your wallet, only to be beat by Steve giving the attendant cash for the both of you.

“Steve!” You chided. “At least let me pay for myself.”

He just smiled at the man, before turning towards you holding out a hand. “Uh uh. I’ve got it, doll. Don’t worry.”

You clicked your tongue shaking your head, knowing arguing with him about chivalry was a lost cause. You followed him into the seats before the rink, slipping off your shoes and lacing up your skates. You could sense Steve’s nervousness as his feet wobbled in the skates when he was sitting down. Standing before him, you held both hands out to pull him up. You entered the rink smoothly, balance finding you quickly.

Steve’s hand grasped to the wall not wanting to let go of the sturdy base until he knew he wouldn’t fall on his ass. That hope diminished as soon as he stepped both feet on the ice, his body wobbling before landing on his rear. He heard your angelic giggle quickly slide up beside him.

“Don’t be afraid of the fall, Steve,” you smiled. “Embrace the fall. It’s the only way to learn.”

Steve smiled sheepishly, pushing himself up and taking your hand to steady his legs. “This is a lot harder than I was expecting.”

You laughed, “Yeah well, I’m gonna show you the ropes.”

After letting Steve go around the rink once or twice holding onto the wall, you convinced him to only hold your hand as he went around. He chuckled at his own shakiness.

“I didn’t know you were this good at skating, doll.”

You smiled softly as his hand tightened on yours. “A lot of people don’t know this,” you started letting yourself stray a small distance away, giggling as Steve quickly pulled you back to his side. “I used to want to be a figure skater. Before I had to start thinking about college and all that jazz, I dreamed of going to the Olympics and skating to my heart’s content.”

Steve smiled at your reminiscing. “Well go on show me whatcha got.”

“Oh no,” you shook your head. “I don’t think you could handle not holding onto me.”

“Alright, no need to be mean,” he chuckled. “Just go. I’ll hold onto the wall.”

Tentatively letting go of his hold, you broke away from the side of the rink. Gaining momentum, you quickly circled the inner part of the rink. Turning quickly into a jump, you twisted in the air and landed on one foot, perfecting an axel jump. Steve smiled widely as you quickly made your way back to him.

“Well damn sweetheart,” he chuckled as you pulled him away from the wall and put yourself in between the two. “If I had known I was skating with a professional, I would’ve asked for your autograph.”

You nudged him with your shoulder. “Oh hush.”

“I’m serious! That was amazing,” he complimented softly, hand tightening around yours for a different reason.

“Thank you, Steve,” you looked up with a soft smile and adoring eyes. Eyes soft, Steve cleared his throat.

“Gosh, I can’t even skate in a straight line by myself.” As if on cue, Steve’s skates seemed to trip over themselves and turned, pushing you against the wall with Steve pressed up against you. Your hands were still clasped at your sides.

His breath visibly entangled with yours in the cold air, noses almost touching. He could hear your heartbeat speed up at his closeness, your pupils dilated as they looked into his. He moved his free glove covered hand to cup your cheek. Slowly he moved towards you. You closed your eyes in preparation for the moment you had only dreamed of. Instead, his lips pressed against your forehead, rested there for a moment.

Steve was in the middle of mentally cursing himself for chickening out when you spoke up. “You missed,” you near whispered.

He pulled back, brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“You missed,” you smiled, blushing softly.

“I don’t underst-“ He began, but you cut him off by pressing your lips into his.

Chapped, but soft, his lips pressed against yours almost didn’t feel real. You let go of his hand to move yours to his neck, pressing him closer. His hand settled on your waist, slightly gripping your hip. His tongue swept against your bottom lip, asking for entrance. Soon your tongue was brushing against his, the small space in between you warming up with your combined body heat.

In a need for air, you broke away from his mouth, resting your forehead against his. Steve smiled sheepishly, noses bumping against each other. “Ya know,” he whispered breathlessly. “I think I’m getting the hang of it.”

“Hang of what?” You grinned, fingers softly combing through the hair at the base of his neck.

“This,” he stated confidently, cupping your cheek once more as his looked into your eyes. “Embracing the fall.”

And then he pressed his lips into yours once more.

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[fabfrnkie]

The big forum interview with My Chemical Romance [2005]

Reporters: Imre (poison amy) and Lisette (Lica) Band members: Frank, Bob and Mikey Place: The Melkweg (Milkyway), Amsterdam, the Netherlands Date: Wednesday August 31st, 2005, 3.30pm After a lot of stress and the prospect that the interview might be cancelled, it was finally time to go upstairs and meet the band. Two hours later than scheduled, but hey, they were there so we’re not complaining! Our palms were sweaty and our hearts were racing, but we managed to remain calm and behave like proper journalists instead of squealing fangirls.

LINK or keep reading below

Of course the first thing we asked after introducing ourselves was if they knew and had ever been on the forum.

Frank: I’ve been shown it by friends, but we’re not really able to go online when we’re touring, unfortunately.

Lisette: Ok, what we did was we invited all the users on the forum to post questions they had for you guys and we will ask the best of those today.

F: Oh man, that’s really cool!

L: We brought a book with us with all the questions.

F: You did? *takes book from Imre* Geez! 

L: If you’re bored on the tourbus you’ll have something to read.

F: I can’t believe how big this is! Alright, cool. I’ll tell you what, in addition to your questions, we’ll just like flip through this and do two more.

Imre: Great idea! I have just one question before we start off with the list: did you guys have an official messageboard?

F: We did! We used to have an official messageboard on our site, but it got to the point where it wasn’t really a community, it was more like people talking down to other people that were coming later… It was hard to police it and you know, to take down certain things that maybe were offensive to other people and it just got to this point where we said; if they’re not gonna treat it as just a forum for everybody to be accepted and everybody to be a fan of music in general, than we don’t wanna have it.

I: We don’t accept everybody, we have an age restriction of 15.

F: Gotcha.

L: There are some really sensitive issues also on the board and we don’t want teenies to be influenced by other people who maybe do it…

F: I understand. I mean, it’s hard to keep some people out and you know it’s a fulltime job, it really is.

I & L: We know!

F: And for us it’s too much, we can’t really…

I: Yeah. We have a team of seven moderators who help us out.

F: Oh wow. Well thank you very much, you’re doing a great job! L: Let’s start with our list! We’re already talking about messageboards so lets continue on that. Some people sometimes claim to be one of you when they are on forums or other websites, what do you think of that?

F: I don’t understand it really, to me it’s kind of like that game the Sims, they’re spending so much time leading this fake life while they could be doing their own thing, and if your dream is to be in a band you should go out and practise instead of playing a video game or pretend you’re somebody else. It gets really creepy when those people do that and put out pictures of you and say a loved one or your dog. When they do that and then talk to other people on your behalf, that really angers me because we don’t know what they’re saying to other people and they might give advise and others might believe it. Internet can be a great thing, but it can also be a really evil thing.

I: We have a rule against talking about your private life.

F: Thank you. I appreciate that.

Mikey: That’s a big problem with MySpace, because some of my friends actually are on MySpace and they get messages, I don’t know how they knew that my friends are on there, but these are people that aren’t even in bands and they would get messages from ‘me’ on MySpace. It’s really weird.

I: They know everything. Trust me.

Bob: That’s ridiculous.

F: I’m still a huge fan of music, but when I was a fan of a band I would never ever be that intrusive. You know what I mean, to go as far as walk on someone’s bus and sit down and go through someone’s things, or try to steal something…

I: There was one girl last week, she was at one of the shows in London and she was proud that she ripped something off your arm!

F: [sad tone] Yeah, yeah…

I: She was bragging about it all over the internet.

F: I know…

L: How do you feel about these things?

F: You know, it’s weird. *thinks* I don’t know how I feel about that. I definitely know that when I was at shows I would bring a souvenir home, but it wasn’t someone’s personal property, it was a flyer or something like that. It’s weird if you wanna go into the crowd thinking ‘am I gonna come out with everything?’

L: Are you nervous when you see a large crowd? Are you worried then?

F: No! Well, no, I mean, it depends. There’s a bunch of different type of fans. You know, there’s people who just wanna say I love you, love your show, and that’s awesome. They respect the music and the art form. And then there’s some people that need to have that souvenir, that need a signature or a picture and there’s some that just scream and try to pull your hair out and that’s ridiculous and then there’s the drunk fan that wants to be the one that punched you. Unfortunately for the people that just wanna say hi or the people that just want an autograph, sometimes they get flooded because the bad apples are so loud or with so many. It sucks to make people wait outside for hours before you leave because I don’t wanna weed out the bullshit, you know what I mean, the teenie ‘oh wow the new N’Sync is an actual band’ you know that’s a terrible thing, but you try to do more good than bad. L: How was it for you Bob, when you joined the band they were already on their way to become very successful, how was it for you to step into a band that was already on their way?

Bob: When I first started it wasn’t really sure that… Well, I don’t think anybody thought that it was gonna be this successful. When I first started it was still in the van, playing shows for like a hundred people. It wasn’t like this when I first started. As far as the kids being crazy, obviously they *nods towards Frank and Mikey* get it a lot more, but it’s just strange for me.

L: Well, you’re completely accepted on the forum, everybody loves Bob, they have it in their signatures. *grins*

F: How could you not love Bob?!

I: When you started out, did you ever imagine being nominated for 4 VMA’s against Green Day?

F: No, not at all!

I: How crazy is that?!

F: Pfff! It’s flattering.

M: It was a great experience. The whole thing.

F: I’m still reeling from it. I’m really glad it’s over.

I: Were you nervous?

F: Oh god, yeah. I definitely threw up before.

M: You can see me biting my nails on camera. Every time they were showing Jamie Fox you can see me right behind him biting my nails a lot. I was really freaked out.

F: It’s one of those things where.. Growing up I didn’t get to watch them all the time, but I saw bands like Nirvana play it and Guns’n’Roses. So just to be there and think of all the things that happened on that show and to actually play it, it was ridiculous.

I: Because of the MTV awards you had to do the two festivals in England on the same day, how was that? Were you nervous doing those shows?

B: It was tiring really.

F: It was very tiring, yeah. And again, we kept like thinking of people that played it before. You know what I mean. I’m definitely keeping the two passes and I’m gonna frame them. It was rad. To do Reading and Leeds and especially on the same day, it was crazy!

B: We were supposed to fly to Leeds and we couldn’t get on a bus and go to Reading, because we wouldn’t have enough time to set up, so we were supposed to take three helicopters and I was so psyched about that! I was so excited! It would have been so awesome to fly on a helicopter! But then something happened with the weather at Reading and they wouldn’t let the helicopters get that close to so many people, so we just took a plane.

L: So the helicopter experience still has to take place.

B: Yeah. We’re gonna do it one of these days. I don’t care, even if it’s on a day off, we’re taking a helicopter ride!

L: Are you a thrill seeker?

B: I … *thinks* Kind of. I guess so.

F: As long as it’s got something to do with helicopters or motorcycles or black vans, that kind of stuff.

I: You wouldn’t go horseriding on the beach.

F: *laughs* I don’t think he’s that horseriding-on-the-beach type of guy.

B: No. I wanna go skydiving one of these days.

F: I’m not!!!

I: Why not?

F: If you’d asked me a couple of years ago to do it, I’d go ‘yeah, fuck it!’ but now I’m just too happy. You know what I mean?

I: You don’t need that.

F: Yeah! I don’t need to do that. Then suddenly Bob exclaims: What is wrong with these people?! *reads from book* What would happen if you saw Mikey walk into the bathroom with another toaster? Signed: Bob Bryar’s official bitch.

M: It wasn’t a toaster, it was a heater. I was putting a space heater in the bathroom when I was sick or something. I brought this heater into the shower so it was warm when I got out. It’s not the smartest thing in the world to do, but I was like ‘whatever, I’m fucking freezing’, but apparently they turned it into a toaster..

L: But you were fine.

M: Yeah, I’m here right now.

*all laugh* L: For the video from The Ghost of You, you guys have your hair really smooth. We understand how you get your hair like that, but we were wondering how did they get Ray’s hair totally smooth? How much stuff did they put in there?

F: You’ll see it on the making of the video, he has like these two little buns.

B: Did they flat iron his hair too?

F: They did something. It was all flattened out. It was all bundled together in this little fist of a bulb, so they could only shoot him from the front and part of the side. It was crazy. He was gonna cut his hair and we were all like ‘no don’t do that!!’.

I: Did he ever tried to hide objects in his hair? To smuggle them inside?

F: Hide objects in it? He might.

B: *thinks* I don’t think so.

*All giggle* I: Another question they asked is: if your tourbus driver got ill, who would you trust to drive it?

F: Bob.

I: Yeah? Why?

F: Cos he’s done it before.

B: It happens a lot when you have to move a bus. When I used to tour with other bands, our drivers would just be like ‘hey, you wanna drive?’ and then I’d drive for like 1000 miles.

L: It’s cool to drive something that big, isn’t it.

B: Yeah, I like to drive and being on tour you never get to drive anywhere. If you’re not in a bus you’re in a cab or if you’re not in a cab you have somebody else driving you, so you know I take every opportunity I get to drive. L: If you could describe your life so far in 5 words, what words would you choose?

M: Tiring, wonderful…

F: Surprising, uhm, definitely tiring…

B: Red Bull.

I: Hey, that’s two words!

B: Oh sorry! *laughs*

F: Coffee.

B: There you go, coffee. Fun!

(All at the same time): Proud.

F: Prun! *grins*

M: Yeah.

B: How about proud-fun?

I: We’ll make that a new forum-word!

B: Prun. I: Have you ever read any of the fanfictions people write about you? *guys laugh*

M: My friends sent me one once. It was creepy! My friends are interested in all that stuff, so they all sit online and send it to each other and laugh. And then one of them emailed one to me and it was something really fucking out of hand.

F: I heard Mikey’s hot for me.

I: The hottest couple is you and Gerard actually.

F: Oh really? We’re the hottest couple?

B: That’s amazing.

I: That’s actually one of the most active parts of the forum, the fanfiction section.

F: Wow! That’s crazy. My god… (kind of unsure) Well, if that’s what gets you hot, go for it. L: Do you have something with you when you go out on stage, like a lucky thing?

B: High fives.

F: Yeah we do, like high fives before we go on stage. I don’t think there’s any charm I have.. I think it changes like I’ll have something for a time that I feel is lucky, but then it’ll probably break or something and you get something new… Like these shoes *everyone looks at Frank’s feet* are lucky I think. None of it’s really lucky at all of course. *thinks* I have these dogtags that I wear a lot, but I can’t wear them on stage because it hurts my neck.

I: Yeah and someone might steal them!

F: Yeah that’s it, but I wear them all the time, except when I’m playing.

L: Yeah, you go crazy on stage and sometimes you’re lying on the floor, how are you able to play like that?

F: You get used to it, like with anything. When we’re playing a new song, like right now we’re playing a new song. Well, not new new, but new for us because we haven’t played it in so long, so ah, we’ll play eh *looks at Bob* should we tell them? *Bob nods* Alright, we’re playing Jetset tonight and I’m not used to playing that song, so I’ll just stand there and make sure I hit every chord.

L: So you’re not going crazy.

F: *laughs* No, but you know what I mean like it’s hard because I get into it and I would do it, but at the same time if it’s so new I can’t. Once I’m comfortable with it I can do whatever I want.

I: Is there a favourite song when you play?

All: Prison!

F: Yeah, Prison is like a band favourite.

B: Yeah we like to play that. It’s become the song that when we need to play something for a soundcheck we pick that. I really like playing Jetset too though.

I: Why didn’t you put it in the set before?

F: We’ve never played certain songs, I mean like never ever played them. I think Jetset was one of those until we were like ‘yeah lets finally get this out’. We had about five songs to pick from for the headline tour, some older stuff that we haven’t played in a really long time and there’s this song called Cubicles that we’ve never played. I think you guys played it (to Mikey)…

M: Yeah we’ve played it on a couple of shows.

F: But I’ve never actually played it.

I: It must be nice to do a different set.

F: Yeah! You know it’s fun to be doing something that you haven’t played in a really long time because it puts a spin on things and it kind of challenges you. L: Most places have a very active local music scene, do you ever go to a band of the local music scene when you’re in a city?

F: I would love to if we had a second off, but we never do.

L: And back home in New Jersey, do you go there to local shows?

F: Yeah, if we’re home for a while and there’s a show going on, I’ll go see it. But it’s hard because we do this for a living and I mean we love what we do and we love music, but sometimes the last thing we wanna do is go to a show. It has to be a really good show, you know what I mean.

I: Yah, but it must also be part of your job to keep up to date about new bands.

F: Yeah, well we tour so much and we hear so many things from different people, I mean I found out about a lot of different bands from just kids. It kind of keeps you in your favourite scene, you know. And we get demos all the time.

I: A few weeks ago I interviewed the singer from HIM, Ville, and he told me he had been talking to you guys about maybe touring together.

F: That would be cool. Yeah. He’s a great guy. He’s really nice.

I: I know! *grins*

F: I think that would rule. To me, HIM are kind of like the European Bon Jovi. That’s what I get when I listen to them. Sadly the girl from the record company interrupted us by saying it was nearly time and we could ask one last question. Lica asked it.

L: About the second I’m Not Okay video; it starts off with Ray and Gerard sitting there and Gerard says: I don’t wanna make it, I just wanna… What does he wanna do?

F: Ok, the original line was: I don’t wanna make it, I just wanna rock! And we didn’t like it. If you keep an open end you can make it whatever you want it to be, you know. The rest of that, the whole opening scene, was written out. It was scripted and we were like ‘this isn’t really working’ so Ray actually re-wrote everything. Everything you hear in the video, other then ‘I just wanna’ is something that Ray wrote maybe ten minutes before we shot it! Then the girl from the record company came back inside to tell us we really needed to wrap it up and Frank practically begged her to do two more from the book, like he suggested when we started out. Bob flips through the book.

B: Bam! *points* All time favourite sad song?

M: the Smiths – Asleep. That’s the fucking saddest song ever.

B: That Jimmy Eat World song off of that show..

F: Angel song?

B: Yeah.

F: Oh yeah. Ah, geez, Angel Angel. Oh, right, ready?

*flips through book again*

F: When you guys stop and think about how you ended up where you are now, do you feel really lucky and jump for joy, or do you don’t give a damn at all? *laughs* I think we are the luckiest people in the whole fucking world.

B: We’re very proud of ourselves!

F: To be able to say that, you know, you’ve accomplished goals, that you set for yourself so long ago and this is awesome you know, like to be on tv or on the radio – fuck the radio and tv! To hear kids in different countries or different states sing along to songs that you wrote in your basement is the most surreal experience that you’ll ever have. And to have it mean something to people you never thought you would ever meet. That right there is the most amazing thing. We had a minute to go on a picture with them and say goodbye. 

Frank told us that he really appreciated what we are doing for the band and thanked us for everything by giving us both a very tight hug. As you can probably imagine, we high on adrenaline for the rest of the day. The guys were lovely and very happy to see that all of you had posted so many questions for them. Thank you forum members, and thanks My Chemical Romance for making this all happen!

[dontmindthefangirling]

Catfish {t.h.}

part 7

Summary: What happens when you start to fall in love with a boy online, completely unaware that it’s Tom Holland behind the computer screen?

Warnings: angst

part 6 | series masterlist

-

Every night at the same time, 9:15 PM, you received a call. 

And every night, you declined it.

You knew that it was Pete-...no Tom that continued to call, and he called at the same time that you would normally talk before you found out it was all a lie. At first, you would read the messages he’d send you, begging for you to let him explain, that everything he felt was real, and that he was terrified of losing you.

But how could you believe him? He lied about who he was, what else was he lying about? 

Eventually, you stopped reading the messages because a part, a large part, of you wanted to respond. You wanted to pick up that phone so, so badly and hear his voice again, hear him call you darling again, and hear him say all of the things that made your heart do somersaults. 

And that was the worst part. You could not let yourself fall back into the trap because you knew you would just get hurt again, especially now that you knew that he was untouchable. There was no way you could ever be together, even if you wanted to, and it destroyed you. 

Reading his messages hurt your heart in more ways than one, and eventually you stopped reading them altogether. You ignored the messages, and you ignored the phone calls, but he was everywhere. His movie was coming out, and the trailers were on every TV channel, the posters were at every store, and seeing his face hurt, but hearing his voice made the pain ten times worse. 

Eventually, the calls stopped, your heart sinking when you realized it was 9:16 and there was no call. And soon after, the messages stopped. You had stopped reading them, but when you noticed that the number of notifications hadn’t changed, you checked and realized that he hadn’t sent any new messages. 

He stopped trying. You stopped looking.

And eventually, Peter King’s account was deleted. 

-

Tom was staring at his phone, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram as his follower count increased drastically as Homecoming was released. He gained over a million followers in a week, and his mind was blown with the amount of fame he was getting. 

He wasn’t used to stepping out into the street and being recognized, but pretty soon, people were stopping and asking him for selfies, autographs, and hugs, and he wasn’t used to this type of fame. 

His schedule, however, was beyond hectic with constant interviews, photoshoots, and just dealing with the press. He had never realized the amount of training he had to go through just to be able to handle the press appropriately. 

The crazy busy schedule he had and the amount of people he was introduced to daily made him almost forget about what happened with you. 

Almost.

During the day, he was constantly being distracted, but as soon as he was finally alone, staring at his phone, his heart ached to talk to you, and hear your laugh again that he thought was the most beautiful sound in the world. He wanted to pick up that phone and ask you how your day was, and hear how excited you would get when you would talk about something you were passionate about. He longed to hear you again, and when he realized that would never happen, he felt like his heart was breaking all over again. 

He deleted his account because seeing it just made him feel sick, and he remembered as soon as it was gone, he felt like that meant you were really gone too. 

He stopped scrolling through Instagram, and put his phone away because as soon as he started thinking about you again, his mind went into a spiral of hurt, and he had to stop himself before it began. 

He forced a smile onto his face and walked into the interview. 

-

College was better than you were expecting. You got lucky because you and your roommate became good friends, and you didn’t have to deal with the freshman year roommate drama that you had heard so much about. You and your roommate, Jane, were able to lean on each other for support in that year of firsts. 

You stayed in touch with Laura and Shannon back home, both of them going to different colleges, but they still remained your closest confidants, especially Laura when you would tell her about being homesick or not wanting to go out to frat parties as much as your friends on your floor did. 

Thank god, Chris went to another school, and you felt like you were finally free of him. He had tried to talk to you all summer while you were still home, and when you finally moved away, you were beyond happy. 

College was the place for you to start over. To move on from the pain that haunted you at home. 

The truth was, even though months had passed since you had spoken to Tom, your heart would sink every time you heard his name, saw his face, or thought about the late nights you spent talking to him. The only person who knew about your online fling with him was Laura, because it was too painful to talk about with anyone else. 

Also, when you thought about it, it sounded so incredibly crazy that no one would believe you even if you wanted to tell them. 

But nonetheless, college was a good distraction. You made a group of good friends, and were finally studying what you wanted to. You went to a few parties on the weekend, but frat houses were never in the greatest conditions, and you always felt gross leaving them with their sticky floors and full of sweaty people. 

You had tried hooking up with a few guys here and there, but every time you closed your eyes...you saw Tom’s face. They never went anywhere. 

You thought, by now, that you would have been okay, that you would have moved on completely, and you were okay, but you hadn’t moved on. Not in the slightest. 

Infinity War was scheduled to come out in a month or so, and the promotions were everywhere. You hadn’t heard any news about Tom in a while, but as soon as it all came flooding back, you felt exactly as you did the night you found out who he really was. 

And it ripped your heart out. 

You loved the Marvel movies, at least you used to, but now you couldn’t stand to look at anything remotely Marvel related because you’d catch glimpses of their mighty Spider-Man who had stolen your heart a year ago and had never given it back. 

To make matters worse, you looked up Tom’s name one day even though ever  fiber and cell in your body told you not to, and the only headlines that came up were about rumors of him and Zendaya dating. You remembered shutting your phone off and throwing it to the other side of your dorm because you were so mad at yourself for looking him up, and it hurt to see him smiling.

But why wouldn’t he date Zendaya? They were co-stars and they played love interests, and she was beyond beautiful. You remembered feeling the tears coming rolling down your cheeks and that was the first time you had cried over Tom since last summer. 

-

Tom was doing better. 

Infinity War was being released soon, and he was having a blast with the Marvel cast, especially RDJ. He had never been apart of something so massive, and the reaction to the cast doing interviews on shows like Jimmy Kimmel, were so mind-blowing that sometimes it didn’t feel real to Tom. 

He had finally made it to where he wanted to be. This was his dream. 

A part of him, never felt whole though, and he knew why. 

He was laying in his hotel room, once again on his phone when he decided to look at Tumblr, something he hadn’t opened in almost a year. His Peter King Twitter account was deleted, but he still had his Tumblr, which he almost forgot about, but he wanted to see what people were saying in anticipation for Infinity War. 

He smiled to himself when he saw the fanart being created, and the speculations about what was going to happen (even though he really didn’t even know what was going to happen), and he laughed at a few edits made of him and RDJ. 

He was about to put his phone away and go to sleep for the night when he saw a familiar username. Your username. You had posted a sketch you had drawn of Black Widow and Scarlet Witch, but Tom was just staring at the name. How could he forget it? 

His heart was now suddenly beating a mile a minute and he felt like his breath had gotten caught in his throat. He had to force himself to breathe as he stared at your username. You changed your profile icon from Spider-Man to Captain America, and he knew exactly why. 

But it was as if his heart controlled his mind because, even though he knew he probably shouldn’t, he hit the like and reblog button.

-

You woke up to your alarm and groaned as you shut it off before rolling over in your bed. The sun was shining brightly through your window and you had class in an hour, but your bed was just so comfortable. You groggily rubbed your eyes and pulled your phone over, scrolling through your social media as you normally did when you woke up. 

There was nothing new on Instagram, and Snapchat, and you hadn’t used Twitter since...Tom, so you quickly opened Tumblr so see if you had any new notes on the drawing you posted last night. 

You smiled when you saw you had quite a bit of notes, more than you were expecting, and you were about to put your phone done and get ready for class when one username instantly grabbed your heart and pulled it from your chest and your hand flew to your mouth as you stared at it, not believing it was real.

peter_king liked your post

-

part 8

taglist: @slythxr // @greenarrowhead // @your-daily-dose-of-fangirl // @loxbbg // @didanyonesaybuckybarnes // @strang-ersclub // @roaringgoodshow // @skeletalwolfcat // @peterbrokenparker // @jackiehollanderr // @krispykreeme // @eye-of-the-owl // @  eternal-l-appel-du-vide // @lifeandloveandhappiness // @16wiishes // @snifelisnifsnif // @fxded-jackgyeom // @dxftprettyboys // @spookyconsultingcriminal // @yourwonderbelle // @too-much-spidey // @savethebabyseals // @apseventy // @starkslovebot // @binaruma// @lifeisabitchandsoareyou // @iloveyouthreethousand-o6 // @just-a-littlebit-of-everything // @sweetcoldpeach // @spideyyeet // @mlt2000 // @ being-your-average-fangirl // @asmilinghopelessromantic // @clairestarkparker // @ thedaydreamingwriter // @itsmejessicasstuff // @queenattentionseeker // @huiqingohuiqing // @thedanteofthe52ndstreet // @coach-vixen // @sweet-sunflower-ghost // @trust-me-im-joly // @stickyqueenbouquetsstuff // @americaswritings // @euphoniumpets // @gwiyomi-princess-trash // @pixiedustsupplyco // @nerdypisces160 // @yeahimcrying // @thenaturalbond // @cookinggurl43 // @rageyoudamnednerd // 

[metahawke]

Watchdog Secrets (1) [A Clint Barton/Hawkeye Fic]

Main characters include: Female OC, Villain OC, Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Tony Stark (Iron Man), Pepper Potts, and more!

Word Count: around 4,690ish, give or take a couple of words.

Warnings: idk, curse words?

A/N: Hello! I’m @metahawke and this is my FIRST fic that I’ve written in about seven years. I hope that you like this first test run, I’m hoping to make this into a miniseries. If you have anything you wanna submit (tips, requests, ideas, criticism, etc) I’m totally open. If you like this, give it a reblog and a like if you’re feeling generous. I’m hoping to get more chapters up soon, possibly expanding to WattPad! 

Also, this fic features my first oc female character I’ve written for in a while. Hope you guys like her!

That’s all from me. Happy reading!

---

     “God there’s a shit ton of people here,” Kelsea muttered into the phone’s receiver. She was not even in the party yet, but from her car she watched the herds of people flood into the Stark Mansion. They threw their keys and fifty-dollar tips at the valets and waltzed in as if they owned the place. She still could not believe she agreed to come to this party, but if it meant her moving up in the firm then she hoped it would be worth it.

     Hoped. So far, the thought of bailing and driving straight back to Santa Monica sounded a lot more appealing than the possibility of getting the promotion.

     “Oh, you’ll be okay, it’s just for, what, an hour or two? Mingling with rich people and trying to get the hot shit on Tony Stark? Maybe even,” her friend faked a gasp, “The Avengers?” Faye replied. Kelsea could hear the eye roll in her voice. She did have a point, but these were not just some rich people; these were RICH rich people- connected to one another in even the most far out of ways and they all acted like the spoons they were born with were more silver than the last one. Almost every time she encountered someone from the wealthy side of the spectrum, their demeanor always changed when she revealed her occupation to them. Even in college she had people of the same suit basically turn their noses up at her and tell her she would never make it.

     Damn these fucking rich people, Kelsea thought. She sighed and rubbed her temple, trying not to ruin the face that Faye made her put on earlier that night. She didn’t care for makeup often, mainly because it hid her freckles that were a genetic gift from her mother.

     “Kels,” Faye sighed, “the Manhattan shit happened, like, last month or whatever, so you’ll be able to get any dirt just by inactively eavesdropping. You are gonna be fine. You are a hot, fierce, and stubborn-in-a-good-way twenty-three-year-old woman who will absolutely do the best job tonight. You got this.” Kelsea smiled, knowing Faye was right.

     “Now, I have to go. Tate and I have to go to his parents’ to house sit for the weekend. Don’t bail, but if you really need to, I’ll call you to fake an emergency.”

     “Alright, thanks, Faye.”

     “No problem, love ya kid.”

     “Love ya too, bye,” The line clicked and once again, Kelsea was alone. She looked at the key in the ignition and thought one more time if it would be best to just drive back and fake an excuse. That she got sick before she left and was not able to go due to hugging the toilet all night. Or even all weekend.

     “No,” she told herself, “I have to do this, I’ll be fine.” A small smile crept over her face after her miniature pep talk. She took the key out of the ignition, took one more glance in her rearview mirror for any last fixups and brushed her dark hair behind her ear in the process. When she stood, her knees ached slightly from the heels she decided to wear, but they made her look tall and made her feel confident.

     And she needed all the confidence in the world.

---

     Mixing in with another small group of wealthy elites, glittering with their thousand-dollar dresses and perfectly folded pocket squares, she felt plain and insignificant. Kelsea, however, persisted and climbed the stairs to the main entrance of the mansion. She entered with the group she was mixed in with and the sounds of voices, laughter, and music filled the space around her, and she almost stopped dead in her tracks. People were everywhere; waiters and waitresses from the catering company tended to the small cliques of individuals at the tables. Music played from the various speakers set up around the space. A silent auction was going on at the back of the party, benefiting some charity Stark probably picked out of a hat an hour before the whole thing started. Everything about the interior was what one would imagine: clean, modern, and minimalistic. It was nice, nonetheless, but without the people and whatnot it would be colder than a Minnesota winter.

     Kelsea surveyed her environment and her eyes landed on the bar. Since Faye can’t be here, alcohol will take her place, she thought to herself. She waited for the crowd to diminish and proceeded to order a neat old fashioned, receiving weird looks from other patrons as she got her drink. It was like they never considered that a girl that young would be drinking whiskey. She shot a nosy older woman and her partner a death glare and they both turned around back to their posse of other elites. Kelsea smirked to herself as she sipped on her rescue drink. The concoction burned her throat the first couple of times, but then started to go down smooth after she nursed it for a little while longer.

     With drink in one hand and her clutch in another, she made her way through the people to find an empty table to stand at. She found one closest to the window overlooking the cliff the mansion stood on. She placed her drink on the table and leaned against it, looking out onto the darkening ocean and complimentary skyline. After the moment of brief bliss, she looked around to make sure everyone was occupied in their conversations and carefully opened her clutch. She took out the issued earpiece her boss gave her to help with picking up dirt. Kelsea called it ‘low-grade spying’ but to her boss, it was just ‘fancy eavesdropping.’ She shook her head at the memory of that conversation as she placed the device in her ear. It blended in well with her skin tone (better than most bandages, she joked to herself) and was concealed by her dark hair. She opened the device app on her phone to configure it and make sure it did not deafen her when it was turned on. Once on, she tuned in and began her task.

     Knocking back another swig of whiskey, she casually looked around at the people. There was one woman with a green and glittery dress, a broach of some figure fashioned in gold on her chest, who spoke to a small circle of men and their wives. Laughter erupted from them as she told some story. From her earpiece it seemed like some anecdote from a golf benefit some time ago.

     Kelsea scanned more. The silent auction attracted a few partygoers, some pointing to the interesting artifacts on display. One man in a white suit admired the objects to the far right, along with another man next to him with a purple bowtie. Kelsea could hear him talking about how rare one of the objects was and how amazing it is to see it in person. Kelsea craned her neck a bit to see that it was just a replica of Iron Man’s glove. I can’t believe they think it’s even real, she thought. The real one would not look like a plastic kid’s toy. She gave them the benefit of the doubt, though, since it had Stark’s autograph on the back of the glove’s hand.

     More scanning, getting distracted, and looking out at the water. The waves crashed against the bottom of the cliff and allowed Kelsea to momentarily forget about the task at hand. This was the closest she had been to the ocean since she was younger. She and her parents had lived in the area for a while when she grew up, but they had moved to Minnesota, and later Nevada, due to “unforeseen circumstances,” as her dad liked to put it. Kelsea never pried or asked any questions about the move, but she did miss the water and her times at the beach.

     Her train of thought was interrupted when she saw a man approach her table. The man’s black hair was slicked back out of his face and tucked behind his ears, revealing a small piercing on his left ear. His silver eyes stayed on Kelsea until they got closer to the window. Her gut immediately told her that it did not trust this a single bit. She attempted to keep her composure as he stopped in front of her, looking out at the water as well. From where she stood, she could smell his cologne: dark, musky, and way too piled on. Kelsea had to hold in a gag.

     “It’s so calming watching the waves at night, wouldn’t you agree?” The man said, still looking out the window.

     “Um, yeah,” Kelsea managed to say. Even with one sentence he gave her uneasy vibes, ones that even she could not ignore. His accent was strange. She had heard something like it before but could not pin down when or where exactly.

     “I haven’t seen you at one of these before,” he said. The man turned to her and flashed a cocky grin. “Did you just get on the list?”

     Kelsea thought fast.

     “Oh, yes, my boss sent me in lieu of himself since he had a previous, uh, engagement. My company worked closely with Mister Stark, and now here I am,” Kelsea gave a small smile and shrug. At least she could lie damn well.

     “What company, if I may ask?” he leaned closer, the alcohol on his breath made Kelsea’s stomach churn even more.

     Shit, she thought. She gave a small laugh and took a swig of her drink. Without missing a beat, she told him, “Oh I work for the Hedlis Corp.”

     “Hedlis… I don’t think I have ever heard of that one,” the man speculated. Kelsea smiled, ignoring his comment. She was trained to handle pricks, but this one was especially prickish.

     “Oh, I’m sure you have, Mister...?”

     “Laksten,” he smiled again. “Andrei, but my friends call me Andi.” His hands moved closer to where Kelsea’s rested on the table.

     “And you, madam?”

     “Oh, I’m Elle,” Kelsea lied. She quickly glanced around the room to see if there were any exits. There was a staircase right next to the bar, a spiral that seemed like a beacon of hope for Kelsea in the moment. If she could run up and hide, she would be okay.

     “Nice to meet you, Miss Elle,” Andrei said smoothly. He went for her hand to bring it up to his lips, and she suddenly saw the tattoo on his other hand. The skull with the eight tentacles, enclosed in a circle. The symbol rested in the space between his right thumb and forefinger. She hid her shock well as she forced a smile as he kissed her hand.

     “So, Miss Elle, what do you do for the Hedlis Corp?” Andrei said. He apparently did not realize that Kelsea saw the marking. As she finished off her drink, Kelsea gave some nonchalant answer about being part of the PR team for the company. “Basically, a journalist of sorts,” she explained.

     “So, what is a PR journalist doing at an event held by Mister Stark?”

     “Well, my boss was not able to make it, so I offered to take his place. He trusts me.”

     “Ah, apparently so. You see very trustworthy,” Andrei purred.

     “Uh, well thank you, that’s very kind.”

     “And you said your boss was…?”

     “Oh, uh- “

     Kelsea was cut off by the sudden stop of the music as someone began announcements for the private auction.

     “Ladies and gentlemen! All partygoers! It is time for the winners of the Silent Auction, courtesy of none other than Mister Laksten and Mister Stark! Please come up so these fine ladies and gentlemen can give you the recognition you both deserve!”

     Kelsea looked at Andrei as he rolled his eyes but gave her another sly grin.

     “I must go, I will be back for you, Miss Elle,” he said. He strode up to the back of the party and shook hands with colleagues as he made his way.

     Without any more hesitation, Kelsea quickly made her way to the staircase, careful not to let Andrei see her leave. She mingled in with the crowd, making her way to the staircase. She made it to the bar as the announcer and Andrei were joined by Pepper Potts, Stark’s assistant. Making anecdotes for the crowd’s pleasure, they continued to wait for Tony to make an entrance. They seemed preoccupied, and nobody had bothered to pay any attention to the plain girl in the black dress as she dropped by the bar for another drink, straight whiskey this time, and slowly made her way up the white staircase. Her heels not helping her stay quiet, but again, nobody paid any attention. The crowd was growing restless for the arrival of Mr. Stark who was always fashionably late but made up for it with a grand entrance.

     Typical, rich, genius playboy.

     Kelsea made it to the top of the stairs and was greeted by dimmed lighting and a small lounge area. The landing at the top was a balcony that looked down onto the crowd, but with the dimmed lights, the main lighting for the party made it so barely anybody could see her from the floor. Kelsea took this into account and leaned against the glass railing and finally exhaled, not knowing she had been holding her breath that entire time. This time, she took a larger swig from her drink, feeling a light buzz as the alcohol went down burning again. College had made her a lot of things, but a lightweight was not one of them.

     She pulled out her phone to check the time. 10:42 P.M. the digital clock read.

     “Fuck me,” she muttered. It had not even been one hour since she walked in and what did she have to show for it? Nothing. She had nothing to go off other than Creepy Tattoo Billionaire Dude. Frustrated with herself, she turned back around to face the crowd to see if she could pick up anything else. Andrei had been a big lead, but she wanted to double-check if there were any others. She scanned the crowd, this time more carefully and paid more attention. Just as she tuned into a conversation held by the security guys in the back, a voice called out suddenly from behind her.

     Guards: “Fifteen minutes, we have to …”

     “I would rather not, but are we enjoying the view?”

     Kelsea jumped and turned towards the faceless voice. She heard footsteps coming closer from the deeper part of the shadows and after another second a man stood before her. She stared wide-eyed and gripped the glass railing, shocked to even see anyone else up there. He stared back with arms crossed and a concerned tone in his voice.

     “…everything should be in place, he just has to…”

     “Well? Are ya gonna explain yourself or will this end with me escorting you out of here?” He said threateningly. His voice was rough, rugged. Kelsea could not discern his face well but could tell he was looking her over.

     “I- I promise it’s not what it looks like, I- “

     “Yeah? You what? What is it supposed to look like then?”

     “I, I’m just-! I work for-! “

     Kelsea was cut off as music erupted from behind her and the crowd erupted into applause and admiration. Tony Stark had finally arrived. Rock music blared on the speakers as the announcer introduced him as “Iron Man, the World’s Greatest Hero!” Tony flew in on what looked like one of his newer prototype suits, decked out in the signature, shining crimson and accompanied by a translucent blue metal in lieu of gold. The new material showed off the wires and inner technology of the suit, giving it a more sci-fi look than anything. It was rumored that he created the prototype in his month-long hiatus he took after Midtown happened. The suit eased him down in front of the crowd and presenters as applause filled the gigantic space. The suit had mechanically retreated off Stark and flew off somewhere else all by itself. Most likely to his garage, assumed Kelsea.

     “Stark is going to be… Andi is almost ready…”

     “Hey, you haven’t answered my question!” The guy pushed. He took a few steps closer and Kelsea could see more of him in the light. His blue eyes were complimented by the dark navy suit he wore, their expression held a threatening look as he stood his guard. His hand was behind his back, and only Kelsea knew what could happen next if she did not think fast.

     Kelsea stood up straight and looked him up and down. As far as she could see, he did not appear to have anything major hidden under his jacket or anything. She looked into his threatening eyes, matching his glare with one of her own.

“I came up here to get away from a guy that was being a creep. I am here on business and I came in place of my boss, who couldn’t be here. I’m sorry if I’m not allowed up here, but the guy down there is bad news.”

     “Who?”

     “Andrei… Andrei Laksten.”

     The guy’s eyes narrow and held a more concerned look, as if Kelsea had told him he had just won a million dollars by simply breathing.

     “Why do you say that?” He asked.

     Kelsea matched his reaction and swallowed, worry about what would happen next.

     “Because he’s…”

     “…this place will be finished, we gotta get out through…”

     “AstroBoy won’t know what’s coming…!”

     Kelsea spun back to look at the bounders as they quickly and quietly made their way towards the exit. Andrei’s smile had gotten wider, more strained, as his eyes darted between Stark, the bouncers, and his watch.

     “Oh my god, Tony has to go!” Kelsea realized. The guy, who still stood in front of her, was alert at the mention of Tony.

     “What do you mean he has to go? WHO DO YOU-“ His voice started to raise, and Kelsea was not in the mood to attract any attention.

     “I’ll explain later, but we need to get him off the stage, and quick.” Kelsea quickly grabbed her phone out of her clutch and dialed into the number her boss had given her (in case of an ‘emergency’, he had told her.) She pleaded for the other end to pick up. She heard a click, then a quiet, “Hello?”

     “Da Vinci is about to fly into the river. Now,” Kelsea said sternly into the phone. A couple more exchanged words and a reiteration of urgency were followed by a click and Kelsea typed rapidly on her phone. The man stood gawking at her, totally unsure of what had just happened. He searched her face for some sort of answer, but he found nothing.

     “I have to go. Look, I’m sorry if you think I’m here to intrude, but I promise you, I’m not,” She told him, quickly swigging down the last of her drink and setting it on the railing. There was a brief pause between the two, silence mixed with disbelief. In that moment, everything was silent; even the crowd had momentarily paused.

     With a swift motion, she knocked the glass from the railing. Almost as if it were all in slow motion, it sailed down onto the marble floors below and disintegrated into pieces with a crash. The only sound in the seconds before chaos erupted, ignited by the tackling of Tony Stark by his security agents as a sound like a car crash made the whole mansion rumble. The bar had exploded, sending glass, wooden shards and burning liquid in every way towards the audience. Screams and confusion came about when the prototype suit Stark had worn shortly beforehand flew out from its hiding place and towards the front but did not go to Tony. It instead begged upon Andrei as he took it with (literal) open arms. His fang-like grin gleamed in the lights as the suit engulfed him, giving him the power over everyone in the room. He shot up to the ceiling of the room as he tried to get the hang of the suit. The crowd tried to run to any exit they could reach, but to their dismay, the doors were blocked by the now-rogue bouncers from the party. Of course, nobody would have suspected them at a party at Tony Stark’s mansion. Yet, here they were. The rich elites against a man with an iron suit and a small army of hulking men with guns drawn.

     “Come on!” Kelsea shouted to Mystery Man as she raced down the stairs to the front of the room. She cursed to herself, enraged by the fact that this happened before she could have realized it. That guy who confronted her would pay for making her lose her focus, she promised herself. As far as she was concerned, he had not even bothered to follow her. She did not care; her focus was to make it to the front and get people out of there. She made it through the sea of people, only to be met by the announcer cowering behind a turned over table. She went to yank him out of his hiding place when Andrei’s voiced boomed over the people with the suit’s speakers.

     “You all will pay for the mistakes of the Avengers! Hydra will live forever!” His voice sent chills down Kelsea’s spine as she attempted to get the announcer and a couple of donors to the next room over, an exit that the bouncers had overlooked that went out onto a deck on the cliff. She huddled them along the tables that had been knocked over and had almost made it to the end of the wall before Andrei shot through the table she crouched behind. The group she pushed made it to the other side of the wall and ran for safety, but the blow had knocked Kelsea to the ground. She looked up at Andrei, fear and rage filled her core as she stood up and wiped the blood from her cheek. She could feel his eyes pierce into her even from inside the suit.

     “You, especially! How dare you think you could even outsmart me, you little bitch!” I’ll make you pay with your fucking life!” He used the only working blaster-glove to fire at her as she dodged his attacks. She tried her best to get her phone opened as she used the remaining tables as coverage. She got her device opened and hit the kill switch which activated the detonation timer.

     “If I can’t get rid of the great Tony Stark, I’ll just get rid of every single one of you!” Andrei yelled at the cowering individuals still stuck without any shield.

     “I’ll even be fair and start with you, little bitch!” He screamed as he readied to fire directly at Kelsea. In that split second, however, she mustered her strength and threw the phone at the suit as the timer ticked down to one second. The next moment, another explosion came, and Andrei and the prototype fell mercilessly to the floor. The impact cracked the now dirtied marble floors and sent small parts from the suit flying in all directions. For a few moments, Andrei laid motionless and not one person made a sound. Kelsea arose and walked to wear the metal body sat. She approached it and nobody dared to move with her.

     She took another step and jumped as the iron body jolted back to life and tried to reach around her ankle. She screamed, but Andrei did not last much longer. As if in the blink of an eye, an arrow came whistling from out of nowhere and embedded itself into the missing kneecap in the suit. An electric current ran through it and shocked the entirety of the metal man that lay on the floor. Andrei ceased moving. No signs of consciousness besides the flickering circuit boards and frayed wires coming from the suit. The helmet’s eyes had stopped flashing imprecise Morse Code after the electric shock coursed through it.

     Kelsea caught her breath and looked up as she tried to find the source of the arrow. Her eyes landed to where she left the Mystery Man earlier on the balcony. She stared as he stepped forward, an industrial sized bow gripped in hand. Kelsea’s jaw dropped as she made eye contact with him. He only raised his eyebrows at her, almost in a cocky way. Her face filled with heat but before she could say anything, sirens filled the outside of the mansion and officers forced their ways into the house. They took down the bouncers who were still caught off guard by what the hell had just happened. Kelsea glanced back at the man in the balcony, but he was gone. It was then, as the police began to come into the building, that she figured she should probably disappear too.

     She headed towards the elevators, stepped in, and hurriedly pushed the ‘down’ button. After a minute or two it dinged, and she stepped off and into the workshop. She wandered around as she attempted to find signs of people. She tripped over stray pieces of machinery and paperwork before she finally found the door to Stark’s private office. Inside she could hear conversation and knocked before being greeted harshly by another voice behind the door.

     “Who the fuck is it?”

     “Kelsea. Open the damn door,” Kelsea replied equally annoyed. Slowly the door opened, it was revealed to be Happy behind the harsh voice who had greeted her. He quickly closed and locked the office door and Kelsea stood anxiously in the presence of the true elitists of the night: Pepper Potts was hunched over Tony, who was seated in his office chair and attempted to push Pepper off from tending to him. He did not want to submit to the pain, let alone any type of pain, even if it was just a couple of scratches to the face and hands. He winced, however, as Pepper dabbed at the minor wounds to clean them. The three security agents behind them stood emotionless. Just then, another knock came from behind the door and Happy answered with the same threatening question. A rough, familiar voice answered back and Happy unlocked the door. Kelsea turned just in time to see none other than Mystery Man as he charged into the room. Staring in disbelief, she was taken aback that it would be him of all people. The one person she wanted to may pay for basically ruining the night.

     He suddenly stopped midstride and midsentence at the sight of Kelsea. Almost on cue, they both opened their mouths at the same time.

     “What the hell is she doing here?”

     “What the hell am I doing here? What are you doing here?”

     “I fucking asked first!”

     “Oh, so you want to go down that route, do you?”

     Kelsea started to make her way towards him as he squared up to her. Before either one of them could throw the first punch, Tony yelled to knock it off.

     “You both are idiots who need to help us explain what the hell just happened out there!” Tony rubbed his temples while he talked indirectly to the two. Kelsea stepped away from her new nemesis and crossed her arms as she tried to ignore the heat rising to her cheeks. She opened her mouth, prepared to explain what had happened but Pepper stopped her.

     “We should thank Kelsea, Tony, for alerting us to get you to safety before things got worse than they did,” she said calmly. She looked at Kelsea and gave her a small smile of gratitude. The man behind Kelsea stood there in disbelief.

      “I’m sorry, ‘Kelsea’? Pepper, you know her? What the fuck is going on right now? How?!”

     Without missing a beat, Pepper stood up straight and turned to him with a piercing look in her eyes that told him he better stand down while he could.

     “Clint Barton, this is Kelsea Coach. My personal assistant and agent of SHIELD.”

x

[newavengersfan]

Avengers Reassemble Ch 1

*SPOILERS FOR SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME & AVENGERS:ENDGAME

“This is a terrible idea,” Peter Parker gulped, looking outside of his aunt’s car.

It was a peaceful evening in Queens as the teen watched his classmates dart into the building of Midtown High School. With the student’s senior year ending tomorrow and graduation in a week, the staff decided to hold a farewell party.

The problem was that the school begged Peter not only to attend, but to also give a grand speech to everybody there. Peter still remembered the class presentations, the charity balls and the court trials, and he remembers screwing up every one of them. But he wasn’t the type to say no to teachers, so here he was.

“Well, no turning back now, kiddo,” Aunt May grinned, “Come on. I overheard you rehearsing it in the bathroom for the past week. It sounds great!”

Peter blushed, tugging at his tie, “It really doesn’t.”

May sighed, placing a hand on the kid’s face. This boy’s been through so much. He’s lost his parents, Uncle Ben, Mr. Stark. He’s lost any chance of a normal life, but he still kept fighting. Even after his secret came out to the world, he still hasn’t given up.

“Hey, Peter, you deserve this,” May smiled, “A break from supervillains and world-ending disasters can’t hurt, right?”

Peter chuckled, “Guess not.”

“You’ve got this, kid,” May pecked a kiss on his cheek.

The boy opened the car door and began to walk towards the building. Students greeted him on the way in. A lot of them brought him into group selfies and asked for autographs. All Peter could do was put on a fake smile and put on a facade.

Peter began to mutter to himself, “Okay, Pete, you can do this. You’ve taken on Thanos, Vulture, asshole reporters. It’s just a simple graduation speech. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Once Peter reached the doors of the gymnasium, he groaned, “Oh, I am so screwed...Alright. Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man.”

He pushed open the door to hear the sound of blaring music and bright neon lights. The gymnasium of Midtown High was buzzing with energy as the class of 2025 was partying it up. He recognized everyone there, including a few members from his decathlon team.

The young boy walked towards the podium, chest out and back straight. People began to clap for him as felt his classmates patting him on the back and congratulating him. What was only a few feet away from him felt like an eternity away.

Once Peter finally got there, he began to fumble with the microphone. Loud noises screeched from it as he tried to set it up. The audience cringed, but at least he got their attention, right?

He laughed nervously before clearing his throat, “Hello, class of 2025! How’s everyone doing tonight?”

The response he received was applause. He heard people cheering out his name, cheering for Spider-Man. It wasn’t easy after his identity was revealed, but with time, he was able to regain at least a little of the people’s good will.

He giggled a little, “Well, I know we’ve all got things to do and, uh, places to be, so I’m keeping it short. Kind of like me, heh!”

The lack of laughter caused Peter to begin to worry. He pulled out a stack of notecards and began to read them out loud.

“Now, I want you to go out there-Wait, no. That’s the, uh, last part. Must’ve mixed it up,” the boy stammered, “Let me just resort them.”

As he tried shuffling them back in the right order, he accidentally dropped the pile, causing the cards to fly away. Peter cursed at himself as he tried desperately to get them back together. The awkward silence caused him to start shaking as he nervously stuttered apologies to the audience.

Before Peter’s anxiety could completely engulf him, he finally noticed a certain someone in the crowd. His girlfriend, the amazing Michelle Jones.

The usually somewhat dour woman looked beautiful that night (hell, she looked beautiful every night) as she gave him a reassuring smile and a knowing look. MJ knew he was Spider-Man even before the incident with Europe and she’s been helping him with his job ever since.

One look from her reignited the boy’s confidence in himself as he dropped his cards, got back up, and leaned towards the microphone. He could do this.

“Now, I know we’ve been through a lot,” he started, “Europe, the Battle of New York...The Snap.”

He noticed the uneasy glances some of the students gave to one another as the memories of these events flooded back. They were raised in a world of iron men and god, where their city could be destroyed at any moment. Hell, they lost five years of their lives to a maniacal alien overlord.

Peter nodded, “Yeah, I know. It can be overwhelming, the world we live in. We thought we would never make it out alive. We thought we were doomed. But we made it. We persevered, we worked our asses off, and we got to where we are now. Well, as it weird as it may sound, that’s honestly no different from adulthood. We think that this is the end of our lives, that we won’t have any future, but...if we can survive Thanos, I think we can survive college!”

Laughter erupted through the audience, reassuring the child that everything was going well.

He smiled, tears of joy starting to well up, “I am so grateful, not only for having been your classmate, but also for being...your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Thank you, Midtown High!”

The sound of clapping and cheering almost deafened Peter, as everyone was chanting his name. As he stepped down from the podium, he waved to everyone, almost like a president would wave to his citizens.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!,” he grinned, “I’ll be here all week! Well, not literally, but...you know what I mean.”

Peter walked across the room to finally embrace one of the people he cared about the most. MJ buried her neck into the boy’s shoulder as Peter stood on his toes to reach her.

Peter sighed, “Well, that could’ve gone better.”

“Well, it was better than that bio presentation from last month,” MJ pointed out.

“You ever gonna let me forget that?,” he asked.

“Not in a million years, Web-Head,” she placed a hand on his shoulder, “Better than being the Menace of Queens, right?”

“Oh, I’d rather not think about Jameson right now,” Peter groaned.

“Yo, Pete!,” cried a voice from behind Peter. He turned to see his best friend, Ned Leeds, standing behind him, wearing his fedora and everything.

“Ned, holy crap, man!,” he hugged his friend, “I heard about you getting the Osborn Scholarship, congrats!”

“Thanks, Peter!,” Ned beamed, “Looks like you’re not the only one working for a billionaire!”

“Ey, last time I checked, Stark Industries is still on top,” Peter bragged. He was happy that even after the passing of Mr. Stark, his wife, Mrs. Potts, still wanted Peter to work for her at Stark Industries. It was only as an intern, but it was still nice to be working for the company he idolized for years.

“Whatever, man,” Ned scoffed, “By the end of this year, Oscorp’s gonna be the best of the best all thanks to yours truly.”

“Well, I’m sure your plans for a fully-functioning Lego Death Star will thoroughly impress your boss,” Peter commented.

“Don’t give Oscorp any ideas,” MJ snickered, “Knowing them, that’s totally something that overly-patriotic, corporate douchebag would build.”

As Ned and MJ went about their usual back-and-forth on Oscorp’s beliefs and policies, Peter could only watch and smile. This was what he loved about this school. This was what he was going to miss.

…

After a few years, the night ended and everybody began to head out. Ned headed out with Betty a half-hour before the party was over, leaving MJ and Peter on their own. 

Everybody was heading over to Flash Thompson’s house to keep the party going. MJ wasn’t the type to party, but she did like skulking in the back to creep out the party-goers. Peter usually liked to watch, but he was just dying to go out and fight crime.

The two walked out, hand-in-hand, as Peter begin to fiddle with his web-shooter on his left arm.

MJ couldn’t help but notice the gadget on the boy’s wrist, “You are just itching to get out of here, aren’t you.”

Peter gulped, quickly tugging his sleeve down to hide the object, “Oh, I, uh, I’m sorry, MJ, this speech’s just got me thinking.”

After a moment of silence, the taller girl scoffed, “Well, you gonna share with the class?”

Peter shook his head, “It’s just that...it’s starting to hit me. I’m now the only superhero still working in New York. I mean everyone else is either retired or...gone. It’s just me.”

The somber look on the boy’s face prompted the young woman placed an arm on his shoulder, “Hey, loser, you might be the only one in this city running around in spandex, but you sure as hell aren’t alone.”

“Thanks, MJ,” Peter said as he embraced the girl he cared about.

“Don’t stay out too late,” the girl commanded to him.

“I make no promises,” he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He only walked a few steps before rushing back, giving MJ a kiss on the cheek. The sight of her blushing got him to snicker as he hopped over the gates of his school and started swinging away.

MJ slowly lifted a hand to her face, “Oh, that nerd.”

…

The boy sat on the roof of a building in downtown Queens. Crime in the city was lax tonight, so Peter didn’t even have anyone to fight. He took of his mask and sighed, looking over the place that raised him.

Peter couldn’t help but feel alone now. He hasn’t had contact with any of the Avengers in about two years, not since Mr. Stark’s funeral. He knew that there were other heroes out there, but he hasn’t heard about them in news in a while.

Dr. Banner and Mr. Barton retired, Thor’s in space, Captain Rogers is in hiding, and Agent Romanoff and Mr. Stark are...gone. No one’s guarding the planet now.

The world needed protectors. Was Peter going to be the only one to step up for that role?

He sighed, “How did Mr. Stark do this?”

“You know, usually a guy getting out of high school would be out partying.”

Peter quickly turned around to see a man in a giant grey suit floating behind him. The guy was so large that even when his slow landing created a loud thud. The helmet popped off of his face to reveal a familiar face.

“Sup, Pete. Been a while,” greeted James Rhodes, the War Machine.

Peter met the soldier briefly during Tony’s funeral. He was nice, helped comfort him during the process.

The boy stuttered, “Rhodey, hey! I mean, Mr. Rhodey! I mean, Mr. Rhodes! Or is it Colonel Rhodes?”

The older man raised his hands up, “Whoa! Slow your roll there, kid. Rhodey’s fine. What are you doing up here?”

“Uh, just patrolling the neighborhood, keeping the city safe, the usual.”

“I saw you walk out of your school,” the colonel said, “You know, when Tony got of high school, the end of the year party he held at his place was something out of a dream. It was the type of thing older Tony would regret.”

“Yeah, figured,” the kid nodded, remembering the stories of Tony from before he became a superhero.

“Not that big of a party guy, huh?”, Rhodey noticed the shy look on the boy’s face.

“Pfft, before tonight, the last real party I had ended with me almost getting killed my homecoming date,” Peter laughed before regaining his composure, “Yeah, I...Parties have never really been that great for me. With everything that’s happened...I’m really not in the mood, you know?”

Rhodey nodded. He was more the type who would get dragged to parties instead of going on his free will, “I can get that. Sorry, I couldn’t help you with that whole Europe thing.”

“It’s cool. I know you’ve been busy,” Peter nodded sympathetically, “So, what brings you to Queens?”

The man in the armored suit began to shuffle awkwardly, “Well this is gonna sound crazy, but…I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.”

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 219: Two Good Boys and One Unlucky Broker

Previously on BnHA: Katsuki and Shouto had their licenses for all of 30 minutes (literally) before deciding to put them to the test. But let’s backtrack a bit! It was a beautiful snowy day in December and class 1-A was chilling out and watching the news. We were introduced to a company called Detnerat, and their CEO who’s apparently a big fan of this dead terrorist guy named Destro who wrote a book about quirk supremacy and how people with superpowers need to rise up and liberate themselves and shit. It’s actually really interesting and I can see how these ideas would create a divide within hero society much like Stain’s ideology did. But anyway, so the CEO casually murdered his assistant for mocking these ideas, so that was deeply horrifying. And then he went to meet with some other villains (because yeah! he’s a villain, apparently!) who are apparently descendants of Destro (as is he, I presume), and they talked about how they’re gonna arrange a meetup with the League of Villains so that they can FUCK THEM UP. Plot twist! Anyways and then we cut to some hapless citizens who were being robbed by some banditos, and that’s when Katsuki and Shouto showed up as previously mentioned. So let’s see how this goes!

Today on BnHA: Katsuki and Shouto take on Soda Sam (who I really did think was Aizawa’s old buddy for much longer than I’m proud to admit though), who fights back with some pressurized water jets. All Might saves a stupid Instagram lady and Katsuki saves the both of them, and also recovers everyone’s stolen wallets, because he’s a fucking boy scout now that the provisional course is over. Meanwhile Shouto whips out the ol’ hot+cold power combo of sports festival fame and knocks the villain out. Afterwards the two of them are enthusiastically congratulated by a pro hero called Slidin’ Go (who’s secretly evil, as it turns out, because this is a very strange arc) and hair ruffled by All Might and it’s fucking great you guys. We then cut back to the Detnerat guys, who bring in Giran, a.k.a. the League of Villains’ black market broker who just so happens to have balls of fucking steel. Good thing too, because the DetCEO plans to use him to track down and lure out the League so he can take care of them. Lastly, we cut over to said League, whose members are currently in the process of having their asses handed to them by Gigantomachia and are really not looking too hot, oh dear.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 225 -- I haven’t read 226 yet -- so any ETAs will reflect that.)

so it’s come to this. the Symbol of Peace, reduced to directing traffic

listen kid, you’ll have time for autographs later all right? for now just DO AS THE MAN SAYS

meanwhile Shouto’s being a badass

Bakugou may be out of his element in the cold (and we’ll see if this poses a problem for him--he’s only got one gauntlet on top of that), but this lil lukewarm lad is fine and dandy

loooooll

you tell ‘em Shouto. that’s some nice property damage there son. I hope Katsuki tries to keep his own quirk contained, the last thing we need is you guys getting billed Mt. Lady style for destroying fucking main street here all of 25 minutes after getting those licenses laminated

(ETA: I guess he didn’t actually do any lasting damage though? hopefully nothing got flood damaged when he melted all of that afterwards.)

the title of the chapter is “go! sliding go!” which sounds like fun. sounds like more icy goodness

(ETA: why did they name this chapter after the weirdly unsettling and secretly evil THE FULLLLLL BULLPENNN hero, though?? my working theory is that it was Horikoshi’s way of ensuring we wouldn’t just immediately forget he existed so that we could be properly surprised when he returned a few chapters later.)

anyway so Aizawa’s cloudy friend is shaking off the ice, and now he’s chewing the boys out for fucking up his big purse-snatching operation

all that for a handful of wallets?? seriously??

LMAO

I don’t know if it’s that I’m becoming more like him, or if he’s just becoming more like me. but either way Katsuki you gotta get out of my head there kiddo, I’m starting to worry here

by the way is it just me or is he actually higher up than he was just a few seconds ago. are you actually climbing this thing. drunk on adrenaline or what

anyway so Kumo, who may or may not actually be him but we’re just assuming for now, is explaining that he controls carbonated water and he lives for thrills. his words. not mine

okay first of all, no you don’t. fucking no one in this series has more resolve than that lil monkey slowly inching his way up towards that traffic light there

and second, you spent a whole goddamn month planning a purse heist. where the fuck did you get these airs you’re putting on dude

wow you guys

I feel like we should be placing bets not on whether Baku and Todo will win, but on how long it’ll actually take them. I’m thinking not very fucking long

(ETA: this whole thing is wrapped up within ten pages. I could have literally have been present on the scene, said to myself “my what a lovely snowy day, I think I’ll go buy myself some hot chocolate,” ducked into the Starbucks on the corner, and it would have all been over by the time I stepped back out. “you missed it!!” shouts the excited ‘it’s All Might’ kid from page one. “there was ice and explosions and this stupid lady almost got All Might crushed with a pole!”)

MY DUDES WHAT IS THIS??

SIX IN ONE GO. THIS HIGH SCHOOLER IS THE FUTURE NUMBER ONE HERO I’LL HAVE YOU SUCKERS KNOW

AHHAHAHAHAHA

I’M LOVING IT. I’M LOVING THIS. FUCK ‘EM UPPPPP KATSUKI

WHERE’S THAT RESOLVE OF YOURS NOWWWWW

holy shit. it occurs to me that this is only the third time in the series we’ve actually seen him fight real villains. and the second time was at Kamino, and he was pretty much just on the defensive there and trying to keep them all at a distance, so it’s debatable whether or not that really counts. so basically this is the first time since USJ that he’s gotten to just let loose against a bunch of mooks. and I’ve only just realized how much I wanted this omg

apparently he wanted it too lol. also I’m surprised and extremely impressed that he can control his trajectory that well with only one arm. gives me hope that Shouto’ll be going airborne like his pop any day now

anyway so Kumo? is fighting back though

watch out Katsuki he’s got seltzer and he’s not afraid to use it

okay but damn though

is this fucking seltzer water slicing through this metal lamp post??

I just took a brief break from reading this chapter to go look up “water saw” videos on YouTube to try and get an idea of what exactly we may be dealing with there. and well, I found this. so uh. depends on what kind of firepower that thing on his arm is packing I guess. but he might be more trouble than I anticipated

meanwhile!

ALL MIGHT LET HER GO IT’S NATURAL SELECTION

FUCK

IF THIS STUPID LADY GETS ALL MIGHT KILLED IN FRONT OF THESE TWO BOYS WHO WERE SO GUNG-HO ABOUT FINALLY GETTING THEIR LICENSES, SHE BETTER PRAY THE GATES OF HELL CAN PROTECT HER BECAUSE I’M GONNA GET ME SOME FUCKING BOLT CUTTERS AND FOLLOW HER DOWN THERE MARK MY WORDS

OH THANK GOD

oh my goddddd

first of all, whew. and second of all I’m so glad Horikoshi let him have that moment, rather than Shouto. just in case there were any lingering haters out there thinking his heart still wasn’t in the right place and that the only reason he was all TEAM RESCUE, BITCHES in the previous arc was because he wanted to win

and I mean, he did, obviously. but IT CAN BE TWO THINGS, and now we have a nice little moment here with him rescuing his dad (whose body moved before he could think, AS USUAL) and this stupid lady who put her Instagram above her own fucking life

meanwhile

okay Shouto you have my permission to kick his ass

yeah go ahead and fuck him up

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT

PETITION TO PUT SHOUTO IN “GUESS I’VE GOT NO CHOICE” SITUATIONS MORE OFTEN

wow not!Kumo, he is literally the worst possible opponent you could have had huh. sucks to be you

lol Katsuki’s mad that Shouto got to be a badass

they’re getting along so well now. Shouto completely knows how to handle him, he’s like a Kirishima 2.0. he just completely ignores the fact that Katsuki is shrieking insults, and responds as though the questions were phrased normally

and Katsuki actually answers him despite everything. I know it’s crazy, but this is seriously progress

now Dad is running over to make sure they’re okay

“oh, All Might. didn’t see you there. we were just out here being heroic heroes. [stretches casually; yawns] all in a day’s work”

at least he didn’t reference his kidnapping! Kacchan’s protesting but really that’s the best he could have hoped for

so the dude’s asking if they did all of this and uh, yeah. who do think they are, amateurs? I’ll have you know they have provisional licenses, sir

did this motherfucker just pull 13 fucking wallets out of fucking hammerspace to hand over. Link?? is that you??

holy shit. is that why your pants were always so baggy?? WERE YOU JUST BEING PREPARED THIS WHOLE TIME

so not only did Katsuki not destroy so much as an inch of public property (aside from the pole which was already destroyed), he even had the forethought to rescue everyone’s wallets and hand them over to the authorities like the good law-abiding citizen he is

where the fuck is Gang Orca, I need to send that man a fucking fruit bouquet or something

oh my

new favorite panel alert

so this guy, whose name is apparently Sliding Go, says he’ll take care of the rest. okay. thanks man

meanwhile definitely!not!Kumo!mybad!sometimesI’mwrong’s little jet nozzle gauntlets are... exploding??

Detnerat? possibly??

good eye there Sherlock

so I wonder if they got them from Detnerat or from that black market guy the League’s associated with... Giran? I think is his name??

oh shit!!!

new new favorite panel alert

love how Shouto seems shocked at the unexpected gesture of fatherly affection (which hurts my heart. hey All Might you got room for a third son there), whereas Bakugou is just accepting it and probably even knew it was coming and is just trying to keep his cool and trying to calculate how long he can stand there basking in All Might’s pride before it starts to look like he’s actually enjoying it

sdflkjasldkj

SWEETHEART USE YOUR WORDS

Shoutooooooooo. ;_; that little smile is killing me, I’m melting. once the initial surprise wore off he was so happy. look at him shyly fumbling with his tie oh my baby I love you so much

oh to be a fly on the wall of that taxi cab. watching the two of them sit in the backseat as far away from each other as possible and looking out the window and being so pleased with themselves after all their hard work finally paid off. and meanwhile All Might in the front seat next to the driver, peeking at them in the rearview mirror and smiling softly

also fly!me would definitely try to sneak a peek at Katsuki’s fucking hero license because HORIKOSHI COME THE FUCK ON ALREADY WHY IS IT ALWAYS SECRET AFTER FUCKING SECRET

and I guess that’s that! a very satisfying fight that lasted all of 10 pages but had several cool moves, an opponent with a cool quirk, and several character development moments! that’s how it’s done! god this series has been fucking killing it lately I swear. I hope I’m not jinxing it but this is some good shit. the artwork and pacing are great, I’m liking the new plot so far... just, keep it up, Horikoshi, please

(ETA: for real though he is crushing it)

so now we’re cutting back to the ol’ villain corporate office in Gotham City or wherever

ah, so it was Detnerat!

well I can’t say this is a huge surprise. I imagine the villain market was too tempting to pass up

!!!

I swear to god this had better be more entertaining than the last League of Villains team-up

so now this dude with the shiniest, most luxurious hair I’ve ever seen is explaining that he worked fast because DetCEO told him “do so at once” and his words are the words of Destro

damn so there’s a pretty clear hierarchy here huh

OH SHIT

THAT’S FUCKING GIRAN. THAT’S THE DUDE. WHAT THE FUCK DID THEY DO TO HIM?? FIRST A MURDER IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER AND NOW THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS’ FAVORITE BROKER IS GETTING FUCKING TORTURED BY CORPORATE THUGS, WHAT THE FUCK. ARE WE IN FOR ANOTHER HARDCORE ARC

(ETA: indeed we are, but this one is so much better though.)

careful, he’s sensitive and clearly not afraid to kill a bitch for less than that, Giran

!!

“the old man”?? is he talking about DetCEO’s father? or his? surely he’s not talking about AFO?

so now President Why So Serious is asking him how much he wants

and Giran is all “I happen to be picky about who I do business with, and since you all just kidnapped and beat the shit out of me, I’m inclined to say ‘no’ here”

(ETA: Giran is a stand up guy and it cost him a fucking hand. well that’s the risk you run when you work in the criminal underworld I guess.)

holy shit Giran

RIP Giran 2015-2019

but damn though, I gotta hand it to the guy, he’s got a bigger pair than I ever expected

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

okay so I’m just gonna post the whole page and break it down

GIRAN IS FUCKED. THIS GUY IS A MANIAC AND HE’S LEGIT GONNA TORTURE THE INFO OUT OF HIM HOLY SHIT

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, AGAIN

GIGANTOMACHIA IS FUCKING INSANE

AND HOW DID HE GET SO BIG

AND IS COMPRESS FUCKING DEAD. AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BEST VILLAIN GIRL TOGA OMG

SPINNER IF THERE WAS EVER A TIME TO REVEAL YOUR QUIRK AND HAVE IT TURN OUT TO BE REALLY BADASS IT’S NOW BUDDY

DABI AREN’T YOU GLAD YOU WERE OUT PLANNING NOUMU SHIT WITH HAWKS AND NOT DEALING WITH THIS UTTER SHITSHOW

IS IT JUST ME OR DOES TOMURA LOOK A LITTLE BUFFER THAN BEFORE? YOU BEEN LIFTING BRO

HOW AND WHY DID THEY GET TO THESE CLIFFS IN THE MIDDLE OF FUCKING NOWHERE

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, GIGANTO YOU’D BETTER WATCH IT, BECAUSE TOMURA MORE THAN LIKELY IS TRYING TO THINK OF A WAY TO BEAT YOU WITHOUT KILLING YOU, BUT IF HE DOES DECIDE HE WANTS TO KILL YOU, YOU’LL BE PRETTY HARD-PRESSED TO STOP HIM DUDE

oh my god. this is three awesome chapters in a row now. BnHA is killing it, seriously

[heyitmelexie]

Finally happy

Pairing: Harry Styles x Plus Size! Reader Word count: 2860 Warnings: None (just fluff, talk about insecurities) Author’s Note: Hi babes! This is my first imagine ever and I am sorry if there are some spelling mistakes or grammar mistakes (I am German). Took me some hours to write this. If you have any advice for me - just tell me! I will be happy about it :) If you want to be tagged in this story, also just ask me. Will not be a problem! <3 Enjoy reading!

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Growing up as an overweight kid has never been easy. Mean words, disgusted looks, and shameless talking were the things you got used to over the years, but still, they hurt. You don't show its affection for you, that would just make things worse. So instead of giving them dirty looks or talking back to them, you just put your chin a little higher in the air and walk past them to show them their words meant nothing to you and this made you a bit more confident about myself. A big support are, of course, your family and friends who always assured you that there was nothing to be ashamed of and that you were beautiful the way you are. But you never quite believed it. Sure, they probably really think that, but you? You don't. You felt nothing but disgust for yourself, always wanting to lose weight, be skinny like all those models, be fit like them, beautiful like them. Doubting that you'd ever find a boyfriend staying this big size. Being uncomfortable in your own skin also meant you couldn't really live out your hobbies, fearing nobody would like what you do.

One of those hobbies was singing.

Oh, how you wished you could just walk on a stage in front of thousands of people and sing from the bottom of your heart. But instead of trying your luck you'd rather sing in the school choir which was already a huge step but the only way for you to free your voice without anybody only seeing you. It filled yourself with joy to sing these beautiful notes and create a melody along with the rest of the choir that would make people happy when they heard you. After graduation, you started studying. It was calm, better than school. You made new friends pretty quickly since many students rather care about you as a person then judging you by your look. With them, you sometimes attended Karaoke nights, but the first few times only watching.

That one night though, half into your first semester, changed your life completely.

You've been at a friends place and with all your other friends you started Karaoke. Everyone said that you should at least give it a try and with their annoying, nonstop try to convince you, you gave in and faced your biggest fear: Presenting yourself in front of people. Unfortunately, you didn't get to choose the song so you just had to get along with "Halo" by Beyoncé which was one of your favorites actually. Starting very shaky, quiet and uncomfortable you sang along the playback. But their sweet words motivated you and made you feel better so slowly you started to sing louder, to put your whole heart into the song. When it ended you just heard loud clapping and cheering and was flooded with compliments. It felt good. Better than ever before. Since that night you always sang along with your friends and had the best fun in those nights. What you didn't know was that they were recording sometimes when you were singing so it was a big surprise to you that one day you received a letter from "The Voice" saying that they invite you to the Blind Auditions. Of course, your friends were standing around you when you opened the letter and screamed at the top of their lungs along with you. 

You couldn't believe it. Was your dream really coming true? A month later after very much training and voice-coaching you attended the Blind Auditions singing "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera, putting all your heart into it, pouring all your emotions into it and you really did it, four chairs turned around for! What came after were very stressful weeks. You always did your best but every week you were afraid to lose. In the end, you didn't win but were within the last four candidates. Thanks to a lot of promos and the popularity of this show a quite professional and prominent producer asked you to have a contract with him - of course, you agreed!

Today, three years later, you are a rather famous singer and plus-size model, working on your second album.  You also caught the attention of some of the best singers like Ed Sheeran and Demi Lovato, who you produced duets with, which increased your popularity and fanbase extremely. You got invited to dozens of galas, premieres, and award shows, living your dream to the fullest. There was just one thing missing: a boyfriend. With all the things you did and all the appointments you had there wasn't really time to think about this part of your life but sometimes you just felt lonely. Wishing for a man that would hold, love and worship you. But the job took all your attention. When working on some lyrics for a new song this morning you received a call from your manager. "Y/N, I have an invitation for you to the premiere of Dunkirk in three days. Flights are already booked as well as the hotel room. The makeup artist is booked too and will get you ready then." he said.  You have already heard about that movie which was based on the book by Christopher Nolan - wonderful work. But something else was ringing in your head. Dunkirk... Dunkirk... wait there is something that you heard about that movie some weeks ago that took you by surprise. Wasn't- "There is something else, Y/N. I received a mail from the manager of Harry Styles. He asked if you are interested in making a song with him." Then it clicked. Harry Styles was playing a role in Dunkirk! That was it! But you didn't think about that anymore you were already squealing with excitement. "Oh my god, wow, really? Of course, I want!" you said. Harry Styles. You had a huge crush on him for YEARS! He was all over your room some years ago. "I thought you would say yes so I already emailed him saying you agreed," he said, laughing about your excitement. "I also got the information that Harry would love to talk to you about it at the premiere of Dunkirk. That is why you have gotten the invitation."  You couldn't be any happier. Harry Styles wanted to record a song with you. He is the reason you got invited to the premiere. This was the best day ever. - 3 DAYS LATER -

You just got ready, now on your way to the red carpet. Nervous you looked out of the window. This wasn't new to you anymore. But the fact that you are about to see Harry Styles was making you feel terribly nervous. Crushing on such a gorgeous man was not easy for you, always saying to yourself that he'd never be interested in you in this way. He always dated models and super gorgeous, famous women that you just couldn't hold up with. With a nauseous feeling, you arrived and the door of the car was held open. You took a deep breath, put on the biggest smile and stepped out of the car already greeted by loud screaming and your name being called. With your fans there you felt better, happily posing for photos, giving autographs and short interviews . After some time you made your way into the building, took a drink and looked around. You happily chatted with some persons, exchanging compliments and just casual chit-chat. When it was time to take seats you were looking around to find yours and quickly sat down just to see that you were seated next to Harry who greeted you with a huge grin on his face. "It is so nice to meet you Y/N! I absolutely love your music and I was happy about your agreement on a duet" he said, smiling sweetly all the time. "Why should I ever say no? It is such a pleasure to be able to work with you. I am a big fan of yours for quite a long time already. I am really looking forward to this" you answered, smiling like an idiot. You two continued to chat for a while until they started the programme. Right before they began to play the movie he leaned over to you and said quietly "By the way, you look absolutely gorgeous." A deep blush crept onto your cheeks and you couldn't help but look at him and giggle softly. "Look who's talking, Styles" you answered, making him grin widely. During the film you two kept silent, concentrating on what was happening on screen. Afterward, you complimented him on his acting talent which you didn't know was THAT good. You showered him with compliments not noticing the dark blush on his cheeks. He was proud of himself and such sweet compliments made him extremely happy. You talked a lot about your music, about casual things in your lives and most importantly about the work you will do together. You couldn't wait to start. - 1 WEEK LATER - Working with Harry was pretty nice. He had wonderful ideas for the lyrics as well as for the melody and he always looked super cute whenever he was concentrating on something with a little frown on his face. What you didn't notice was the cute smile he had on his face whenever you talked about the lyrics and some ideas and especially whenever he heard you sing. It warmed his heart, he just loved to listen to your beautiful voice. Whenever you weren't watching he would just stare at you lovingly and get lost in the sweetness of your voice, warming his whole body. He was unsure about asking you out, not knowing how his fans would react. It was always different and he wanted to make sure you wouldn't get hurt by anything. But to be honest, he has laid his eyes on you since the first time he saw you on TV and that was when you had your Blind Audition. He adored everything about you. Your soft tummy, your strong and thick legs, your beautiful face and stunning smile. But most of all he worshipped your wonderful voice. He thought you have a talent that not many people have, a strong and powerful voice which still held so many emotions. He was simply amazed by you. You weren't aware of what Harry thought of you. All you could think about was not to embarrass yourself in front of him. Not being able to ignore the negative thoughts, you made sure to not look at him too often, trying your best not to seem like a total freak. Because you knew that if you would look at him for a while you would start staring and you were sure as hell that he'd find that pretty strange. But Harry wouldn't mind. Actually, he'd love to be stared at by you, being able to look into your beautiful eyes that held so much joy, he thought to himself. This whole week he was arguing in his head if he should ask you out or not and today was the day. He would do it. After you two called it a night and packed up your stuff he walked up to you. "Hey Y/N, I'd like to ask you something." He looked rather nervous. Why was he nervous? "Sure go ahead" you answered, smiling softly at him. "I wanted to know if ya'd like to go out with me? Like... spontaneously. Right now?" he asked, scratching the back of his head. You blinked. Wait a minute... Harry Styles just asked you to go on a date with him? RIGHT NOW? "I uhm... uh yeah sure. I'd actually love to" you answered, feeling that blush creeping up to your cheeks. He seemed relieved and smiled that gorgeous smile of him. "Sweet! Let's go then" he answered and offered his arm which you gladly took and followed him out to his car. While driving he asked you what you'd like to eat and you two agreed on Chinese takeaway. After you got the food he drove a little out of the city and stopped at a small cliff from where at you could see all over the city with the night sky blinking above. The sky was clear and you could see all of the stars and some pink and purple shadows. It was beautiful. While you were amazed by the stars, staring up at the sky, Harry looked at you with a small smile on his lips. "You are so beautiful," he said, a little shocked himself since he didn't want to say it out loud. But it slipped and made you turn your head to look at him, surprised. "Wh-What did you say?" You couldn't quite believe it. Did he... "I said you're so beautiful" he repeated, smiling a little, lowering his head. While you were staring at him surprised he spread out a blanket and sat down on it with the food. Sitting down you silently looked at him. "You think I am beautiful?" you whispered, surprised. "Actually I think you are absolutely breathtaking", he said while giving you the food, a light blush on his cheeks. He looked up and you immediately locked eyes. "Your eyes are so beautiful. The way the stars are shining in them takes my breath away" he continues. "I could stare into them forever. Your smile makes my heart go wee within a second and sometimes it seems like the world around us is stopping just because you flash me a tiny smile." The side of his mouth curls a little and he starts eating. But he continues. 

"I love your voice so much. No matter what you do. Whether you talk about something you love or say some random stuff, I just love listening to you. And when you start to sing..." He closes his eyes for a moment. "I have no words for the feeling I have every time I hear you sing. It is absolutely mesmerizing." He smiles to himself, eating. You just look at him, all flushed with disbelief in your eyes. "How can you think of me as beautiful? I mean-" You don't have the chance to go on because he interrupts you with a serious face. "Because you're "fat"? Lemme tell you a thing, you are not fat. You are soft. I absolutely adore your body. Your squishy tummy, your thick legs... You are absolutely perfect in my eyes." He whispers. "But... you used to date thin women, models. Women that are truly beautiful..." you said, feeling very insecure at this moment. "And it never truly made me happy." He said, looking down. "I don't want to fulfill society's expectations in dating a thin woman. I love curvy women, always have. I want to have something to hold on, to squeeze, to worship. I want someone like you." He looked at you, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I finally want to be happy." You didn't know what to say. Harry Styles... actually loved your body? The biggest issue in your whole life and from one second to another he just makes all your insecurities go away with some words? "Harry, I... I don't know what to say" you finally admitted. "No man has ever said something so sweet and wonderful about me... No man has ever just looked at me the way you do now. It feels like you blow all the negative things in my life away with just... a word." You couldn't help the tear that was rolling down your cheek. Happiness. That was the only emotion you were feeling now. Pure happiness. Harry giggled softly and wiped away the tear with his thumb, resting his palm against your cheek. With his thumb, he softly strokes over your cheekbone. "I will never be at loss for words when I talk about you. There is so much I can say. About your eyes, your cute little nose, your perfectly kissable lips, your soft hair, soft skin, soft body. I could just look at you forever" he admitted. And you lost it. The tears just ran down your face in small rivers but despite that you were smiling the biggest smile, resting your own hand over his. "Oh, look who's talking. You have no clue how much I could say about you, handsome mister" giggling lightly you sniffled and wiped away some of the tears.   Without another word, Harry leaned forward and kissed you softly. You were melting into him, smiling against his lips and cupping his face in your hands. Sitting with Harry beneath the stars, kissing, you forgot about everything bad that has ever happened to you in the past and just looked forward into the future you would have with him. You were so happy. You were in love.

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@pendantstyles @aqua-harry @bribe-the-door @xplussizereaderx @plus-size-reader @mcuplussizereader @imultifandomstuff  

[motherlifesucher-archives]

Get Used To It l Shawn Mendes Imagine

a/n: i’m not the biggest fan of the whole friends turned into lovers thing but this came out?? I didn’t give the boyfriend a name or whatever so feel free to picture whoever you want lol, and I know TNHMB is the opening song, I just modified it for the imagine. Anywaysss, hope you enjoy it <3

prompt: Shawn & (y/n) were best friends, until they discover they work out as something more than just that.

“She’s cute.” you said placing your head on your best friend’s shoulder.

You had been the entire day keeping Shawn and the team company as they were shooting the video for Shawn’s latest single. Shawn had invited you to tag along the European leg of the tour and that was an offer you couldn’t decline. You even had the time to spend time with Aaliyah, who was like your little sister, in Barcelona before his show. It had taken time to get your parents’ approval to travel across the ocean to join your best friend, but after some begging from your part and a couple of phone calls from Shawn, they had come around and let you go.

“You think so?” Shawn answered as he checked his phone.

“Yeah, you two would make a cute couple.” you teased him, earning a glare from him.

“You really need to stop trying to find me a girlfriend.” he rolled his eyes.

“I do it because I love you! It’s sad that you always have to come back to me instead of a girl you can kiss or use to satisfy your needs.” you wiggled your eyebrows and this time Shawn groaned in annoyance.

“Remind me why we’re friends again? You are the most annoying human being in the world.”

“Oh, shush. You love me.” you circled your arms around his neck.

“You’re not letting me breathe.” he laughed, trying to free himself from your grip.

“Until what time are you going to be shooting?” you asked checking your watch. “You have to rest, show’s tomorrow.”

“Aw, you care about me.” he said pinching your cheeks.

“No, I wanna go grab something to eat.” 

“I don’t think it’s going to take more than an hour. We still have a couple of days scheduled.” he stayed quiet for a moment before he huffed. “I have a radio interview tomorrow morning.”

“The sad life of the pop star.” you made fun of him.

“I’ll barely have five hours to sleep.” he complained.

“You sound like a baby.” 

“You’re coming with me.” Shawn said in a demanding tone.

“Excuse me?”

“Technically, I’m paying for the hotels, the flights and all that stuff so the least you can do is come with me to the morning interview.”

“Oh, you’re throwing those things on my face? That’s low,” you laughed. “But fine, I’ll go with you.”

“You’re the best.” he soundly kissed your cheek.

“I know.” you giggled before he was called to shoot again.

The alarm went off at 6:30 and you couldn’t believe it. 

You had arrived to the hotel past midnight and hand’t been able to get at least six hours of decent sleep. 

Along with the alarm, your phone started buzzing with messages from your parents, your boyfriend, and Shawn, who was making sure you weren’t bailing on him.

The morning was cold, but it wasn’t like you weren’t used to it. You grabbed your phone and left the hotel room, just at the same time Shawn was leaving his room with flushed cheeks and nothing more than a black hoodie and black jeans.

“You went to the gym? You’ve got to be kidding me!” you said already recognizing how looked after going to the gym.

“You can’t expect to have a good day without going to the gym first thing in the morning.”

“Good God, listen to yourself.” you rolled your eyes

“Did you have breakfast?” he asked, changing the subject.

“No, but I have a granola bar on my bag so we’re good to go.” you gave him a smile.

“Thanks for coming with me, I’m getting a bit tired of interviews early in the morning.” he yawned.

“It’s not like you gave me an option.” you rolled your eyes and he softly pushed your body. 

“People would kill to have me as a best friend, you know.” he said wiggling his eyebrows.

“Get over yourself.” you giggled as you met one of the guards who was supposed to lead you to the car.

The ride to the radio station was silent since everyone was focusing on their phones until the car was parked. There weren’t many fans which was good, you and Geoff exited first, greeting everyone and quickly getting inside before Shawn appeared to take pictures with the fans who were waiting for him. 

The interview went by faster than expected, and the amount of fans had rapidly increased in a matter of minutes and even paparazzi had arrived, meaning it’d be messy tying to get out. You sighed and waited for Shawn who was told to not stop for pictures or autographs for safety reasons. A guard placed himself in front of Shawn and started leading the way for everyone to get inside the car; you could feel getting a bit short of breath and even a bit dizzy, but kept your eyes on Shawn’s back until someone grabbed your arm making you step backwards, almost falling. Andrew took notice of that but he was too far behind to do something about it, and the next thing you felt was Shawn’s hand gripping yours tightly.

Somehow, he placed your body in front of his while not letting go of your hand. You could feel people’s phones in front of your face but it was soon over when Shawn almost pushed your body inside the car so you were out of the woods. Once everyone was inside, a collective sigh of relief was heard.

“That was crazy.” Geoff said fixing his hair.

“Are you okay?” Shawn asked you quietly, concern filling his eyes.

“Yeah, it was nothing. It just caught me off guard.” you gave him a smile.

“Let me see.” he asked with a serious tone.

“Come on, Shawn. It was nothing.” you answered but he gave you a look. “Fine.” you muttered. “It’s just a bit red, it’ll be gone in a couple of minutes.”

“You shouldn’t have come.” he said and this time you gave him a look.

“Are you kidding me?” you laughed. “I get up in the middle of the night, I almost get killed by your fans and you tell me I shouldn’t have come?” you joked while shaking your head, making him laugh.

“Drama queen.” he said under his breath, earning a playful slap on his arm.

You were asleep until your phone started buzzing.

You hadn’t noticed you were asleep on the couch placed on the green room until you saw your phone flooding with messages from your friends.

- WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU AND SHAWN WERE TOGETHER?!?

- WHAT ABOUT YOUR BOYFRIEND?! WHEN DID YOU TWO BREAK UP?!

- ?!?!?!

- ANSWER DAMMIT.

Your eyebrows furrowed, not understanding what was she talking about, you quickly texted her back, asking her what she meant, until the phone vibrated against your hand, this time it was a message with a picture attached from your boyfriend.

- I thought this ‘trip’ was just you and your best friend spending some time together. Care to explain?

And there it was.

A perfect quality picture of you and Shawn holding hands while trying to make your way through the mass of people. You groaned, internally hitting yourself before replying 

- It’s not what you think. Can I call you once I’m back into the hotel?

The answer didn’t take long.

- Why can’t you call me now?

- can’t. shawn’s about to go on stage.

- Right. Shawn.

A sigh escaped your lips, not wanting your boyfriend to be jealous or to have any problems with Shawn, media and everything that was involved on the industry.

After a couple of minutes, Shawn appeared with his guitar and the rest of the team who were keeping him company while he was getting ready. He gave you a big smile before walking towards you.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“We’re dating.” you blurted our and Shawn released a breathy laugh.

“Excuse me?” 

“You heard me.”

“I’m sorry, I think I would remember if I had asked my best friend to become my girlfriend?” he said not knowing if he was confused or wanted to laugh.

A small smile appeared on your lips. “Sorry, it’s just… There are pictures of us holding hands and everyone’s getting the wrong idea.” 

“Shit, I’m sorry about that. Does your boyfriend count when you say everyone?” he asked and you nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“Yeah. It’s nothing, really. I’m going to my spot, okay?” you hugged him tightly, silently wishing him good luck for the show. “Are you finally going to dedicate me a song?” 

“Absolutely not.” he said fumbling with his shirt and guitar.

“You are so clumsy, I don’t understand what your fans see in you.” you teased him before taking a step closer towards him and helping him.

Shawn was silent and his eyes trailed your moves until you returned to your prior spot. 

“Good luck.” you told him before walking to the door.

The hotel room was eerily quiet when you arrived.

Shawn and the team were going to dinner but you declined, not wanting to postpone the call with your boyfriend any longer. Your body was shaking nervously waiting for him to pick up, and when he did your heart stopped; not because you were afraid of what he was going to say, but because you didn’t know how to explain the situation without Shawn actually being your boyfriend.

“Hey, how are you?” you asked him after he picked up.

“Why were you holding his hand?” 

“I’m good, thanks for asking.” you answered taken aback from his words.

“Don’t give me that bullshit. Did you break up with me and I didn’t notice?” 

“No, I didn’t! Will you at least let me speak?” you said getting annoyed.

“Do you really think you have something to say here?” your boyfriend said and you could picture his angry face on your head.

“Hell yes! I didn’t do anything wrong, you’re making assumptions and being childish!”

“Childish? I’m being childish?!” he raised his voice and you moved the phone from your ear. “There are pictures of you holding hands with your oh-so-called best friend!”

“He was trying to protect me, you idiot!” you yelled, not processing the words.

“Don’t call me an idiot, you’re to one who messed up!” he said loudly yet not yelling. You took a deep breath trying to calm down, but it didn’t exactly work.

“I didn’t mess up! I wasn’t feeling good, there were lots of people screaming and grabbing me, so he took my hand to get me out of there, because that’s what’s friends do!”

“No, they don’t do that. I wouldn’t do that!”

“Then you’re a crappy friend.”

“You’re a crappy girlfriend.” he said and you wanted to laugh because the conversation sounded like something a five-year-old would say.

“If I’m such an awful girlfriend then why don’t you just break up with me?”

“You know that’s not what I want! I just want you to explain!”

“Explain what?!” you said laughing and lifting your free arm in the air.

“Why would you let him do that? Why him?”

“Because he was the one who was closest to me?” you said in disbelief. “You know what? We should talk tomorrow, this is not doing us any good.”

“Why, you wanna go back to Shawn?” he spat Shawn’s name with hatred laced on his voice.

“Come on..”

“No, I’m drawing the line here. Either you come back home right now or we’re done.” he told you and your eyes opened widely.

“Then I guess we are so fucking done.” you said and cut the call.

You didn’t move from where you were standing until you let the phone drop to the floor, covering your face with your hands.

There weren’t any tears, just a lot of feelings freely moving around your body. 

Not wanting to think about anything or anyone, you climbed into the bed and fell asleep with the sound of the city outside the window.

You hadn’t said the word during the entire day.

You had moved to another city were Shawn was playing a new show, yet from the moment you arrived, you locked yourself in the hotel room and didn’t leave.

Everybody knew something was up, but no one dared to ask what had happened, at least not until you informed you weren’t feeling good so you were not going to attend the show.

It didn’t take Shawn longer than ten minuted to get to the door and start knocking.

“Get up, I know you’re not asleep.” Shawn’s voice echoed in the hallway and made its way through the door.

“Go away!” you said loud enough so he could hear you.

“I can wait here forever.” he knocked the door again.

“Actually, you can’t. You have a show to play.”

“Pity. All those people will be kept waiting because you aren’t capable of getting up and opening this door.” he said and you sighed.

Rolling your eyes, you got up from the bed and opened the door, not caring to even look at Shawn before going back to bed.

“What happened?” Shawn asked as he locked the door.

“Does it look like something happened?”

“Uh, yeah. Look at yourself.” he said taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

“I really don’t want to the show tonight, Shawn. I��m sorry.”

“And I’m okay with that,” he lied. “I just want to know what’s wrong with you.”

“Nothing’s wrong with me.” you said growing tired of the conversation.

“You can’t fool me (y/n), and you know it.” 

You took a deep breath a fixed your eyes on his. “He broke up with me, okay?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” he said moving closer to your body, but you placed a hand in front of you.

“Don’t. I’m not sad about it.” you said and he frowned.

“I’m lost.”

“It’s just… He treated me like I meant nothing. He didn’t stop making assumptions about our relationship and I’m just so mad. I don’t deserve that.” you said, finally letting a few tears escape your eyes.

“Of course you don’t deserve that,” Shawn said wiping them away with his thumb. “I’m sorry that I caused you trouble, I just wanted to help you through the crowd.” Shawn said and you shook your head before taking his warm hands on yours.

“Don’t apologize. I’d want you to do that over and over again.” you blurted out, not realizing the words.

Shawn looked down and smiled. “I’d love to do that over and over again.”

Now you smiled. “I still don’t feel very good for going to the show, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine…” silence filled the room after the words left his lips. “Do you want to go back home? Because I’d understand if…”

“Shawn,” you cut his rambling. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be. Now go make some people happy.” you let go of his hands but it was like Shawn was glued to his spot on the bed.

“Right… Don’t beat yourself up, okay?” he said slowly getting up.

“Okay.” you smiled at him.

and then he cautiously inclined his body towards yours, leaving a kiss on your cheek before turning around and closing the door behind him.

Shawn didn’t know what happened to him.

He didn’t understand what had happened to him.

All of a sudden every sense in his body ignited at the mere sound of your voice.

He became paranoid, not wanting people to discover whatever was going on inside of him, all the feelings that were eating him alive.

It had been three weeks since you had broken up with your boyfriend, and the same time since these strange feelings had made an appearance. 

He found himself listening to his own songs, the very same lyrics he had written with different sense; a sense that only reminded him of you.

He craved seeing your smile from the stage every night, or hearing your laugh after he said something silly, or catching you taking pictures of him as he was thinking.

He knew what was going on, but he just didn’t want to admit it, though he had to say the situation had given him great inspiration for new songs.

Now, he was sitting right beside you on the green room as you ate some Skittles while watching Netflix, completely unaware of his eyes on your body.

“Dude, you’re being obvious.” Shawn jumped at the sound of Geoff’s voice.

“What are you talking about?” Shawn asked trying to act nonchalant, but Geoff gave him a look. “Fine, just… don’t say anything, I haven’t even processed it myself.” Shawn said placing his head on his hands in frustration.

“You should give it a shot, I’m sure she won’t turn you down.” 

“What? Has she said something?!” Shawn asked and his eyes widened, earning a laugh from Geoff.

“No, but I’m serious. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Eh, she’ll say no and it’ll ruin our friendship?”

“You’re dramatic.” Geoff patted Shawn’s back before getting up and leaving to talk with someone else.

Shawn started to build some courage to do something about his feelings, until he felt the couch shift.

“Hey, do you want to watch a movie?” you said placing your laptop on your thighs.

“Depends, is it Avengers again?” 

“Come on, you love it.”

“I liked it it first two times, now it’s annoying.”

You gasped. “We can’t be friends anymore.”

“Oh, come here.” Shan said softly grabbing you by the shoulders and placing your head on his legs.

You accommodated your head on his lap and it didn’t take long for Shawn to start playing with your hair. People in the room were staring and smiling, but neither of you paid attention as you picked a random episode of How I Met Your Mother.

None of you knew how much time had passed until Andrew came in and told Shawn it was time to start getting ready for the show. You blushed when noticed his hand was still on your hair. Shawn reluctantly let go of your hair and got up to get ready.

On the other hand, you tried to walk out of the room as unnoticed as possible, quickly heading towards the restroom and splashing your face with cold water, knowing exactly what the butterflies filling your stomach meant.

The next two weeks went on like that.

Light touches and shy laughs were exchanged between the two of you on a daily basis.

Everyone around knew there was something new, even Shawn’s parents who had been visiting were able to notice something was changing, it wasn’t just a friends relation anymore.

But none of you had done something about it until now.

Shawn was tired, he wasn’t talking much and the only answer people were getting from him were complaining noises, making the backstage atmosphere a bit tense.

No one dared to go inside his dressing room, not wanting to perturb him more than necessary, but of course you were the exception.

You knocked the door and after hearing him say it was open, you came inside and saw him lying on the floor with his guitar.

“Isn’t your back bothering you?” you asked him.

“(y/n), I don’t feel like talking right now.” he said with a tired voice.

“I know, but I’m not too fond of the idea of leaving you here by yourself if you’re not feeling good.”

“I’m just thinking, I’m fine.”

“Thinking about what?” you asked him quietly.

“You.”

Your eyes widened and your lips parted slightly. Silence filled the room as Shawn sighed and slowly got up from his spot on the floor, leaving his guitar on the couch.

“I’m just thinking about you.” he finally admitted.

“What about me?” you said suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

“You are on my mind all the time, it’s annoying.” he said shaking his head.

“Why is it annoying?” 

“Because I really want to tell you that I like you, a lot. I don’t know how it happened, I don’t know when it happened, but here I am. It annoys me that maybe you’ll never see me this way and even if you did, you deserve better than someone who’s moving around the whole time, with no privacy…”

and suddenly, his rambling was interrupted.

The only thing Shawn did when he felt your lips on his was placing his hands on your hips, trying to bring you closer as he tried to comprehend what was going on.

It wasn’t a long kiss, it only lasted a few seconds until he felt your smile against his lips.

“I think about you all the time, too. but it’s not annoying, I like it.” you whispered and bit your lip nervously at the closeness.

This time, he ran his thumb over your lower lip and kissed you.

Just like it was meant to be.

Today was the last date of the tour.

You had left the tour almost three months ago, but still visited quite often.

The honeymoon phase of every relationship was supposed to be the best, but other you and Shawn had to admit it was weird while you were at home and he was all the way across the ocean, but you still made it work.

Now you were in Tokyo, waiting for the show to start. Shawn announced he had made a slight change on the order of the songs, but no one said anything since it was the last show.

His entire family was there, and you still couldn’t stop blushing every time he took your hand, pecked your lips or called you his girlfriend in front of them, being used to being the best friend.

Fans knew you were there since the internet was flooded with pictures of you and Aaliyah sitting together on the plane, going through customs and exiting the airport with linked arms as Manny and Karen followed closely behind.

Now, the three of you were sitting on his dressing room, laughing at the best pictures you had taken of him during the length of the tour until he was told it was time to get ready and you and Aaliyah had to go to your places.

“I hope you mess something up.” Aaliyah said hugging her brother tightly.

“Thanks Liyah.” he laughed and ruffled her hair.

“Good luck.” you whispered on his ear as you hugged him.

“I won’t need it.” he said cockily before pecking your lips.

“You’re too full of yourself.” you said rolling your eyes.

“I know right? He needs help.” Aaliyah agreed with you before leaving the room.

-

“So, when I wrote this song, I didn’t have someone in mind. There were just feelings I wanted to feel, and now, months after I wrote this I can finally sing this song fully knowing what it feels to be so in love with someone that there are no barriers, it’s just love and the rush of being together. This is There’s Nothing Holding Me Back.”

And as the chords started playing he flashed you a smile.

His best smile.

And then you knew….

He was finally dedicating you a song.

And you were in love.