#golden week...that was a whole new level bye

[kaleidoscopeminds]

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

main works/series:

Ballet fic ‘verse (41.5k, Mature)

Luke's life is perfectly on track. He is about to get everything he's ever wanted, to become a Principal dancer for the Royal Ballet. He's focused, determined and nothing will get in his way. Then he meets Calum, a smooth-tongued barman with dangerous eyes, and suddenly not everything's so simple.

dream makes the sounds (that carry me so far away) (36.5k, Mature)

Luke's just got to California, on a trip to get away from his life for a while. Calum might be there for the same reason. When a chance meeting pushes them together, Luke might get more out of the four-week road trip than he ever imagined.

i’m not made by design, how can you be satisfied? (21k, Mature)

It gets to about three p.m. and Calum’s seen so many models at this point he thinks his vision is going a bit blurry; and that’s when the next boy “Luke Hemmings” gets let in. He’s stopped pretending to review the portfolios ahead of time on the iPad in front of him, just looking at the models as they come in and making a note whether it’s worth looking at it afterwards.

He kind of wishes he had looked at Luke's before he walked through the door though because he almost swallows his tongue.

A fashion AU

the flatmate arrangement (20k, Mature)

Hi Calum/Poor Struggling Paralegal, So I’ll be upfront with you. It’s a one-bed flat. I also live here. HOWEVER before you delete this and think I’m a freak, I work nights so I wouldn’t be here anytime you would be. You can have the flat exclusively from 6 pm to 8 am, Saturday night and all day Sunday. Understand this sounds like a bit of a crazy arrangement but I could do with the cash, let me know what you think?

Luke Hemmings (Poor Struggling Children’s Nurse)

A 'The Flatshare' AU

talk to me, baby (18k, Explicit)

“Is that why you’ve been looking at me all night?” Luke asks, reaching out and brushing a finger over one of the rips in Calum’s jersey. “Trying to get me alone to sell your services?”

Calum looks delighted that Luke has called him out and it makes Luke smile again.

“Not at all,” Calum says, taking a swig from his drink. “But I was trying to get you alone to offer some other services for free. Interested?”

Luke laughs. “Is that an innuendo?”

“Absolutely, but I can be less subtle.” Calum sips his beer, eyeing Luke. “Wanna fuck?”

meet me in the back under exit lights (17k, Mature)

“Mate, you do know what our job is right?” he asks amusedly. “You’re a writer at an indie music magazine. Just in case you hadn’t realised.” Calum rolls his eyes at Ashton.

“I know,” he says grumpily. “But if Alex makes me interview another one of these boring-as-fuck sad boy singer-songwriters I’m gonna lose my fucking mind.”

The journalist Calum/musician Luke AU no one asked for

Bakery Cake ‘verse (15k, Teen and Up)

“Bye, Luke,” Calum says. “Maybe see you tomorrow, and... Hope you have a great day too.” His face breaks out into a wider smile that reminds Luke of the feeling of getting just the right consistency for macaron batter, or a perfectly smooth finish on a cake, or the way good puff pastry flakes into the perfect fragments when you cut through a mille-feuille. Or something.

A bakery AU

and what if you’d never smiled at me (15k, Teen and Up)

Calum's really not happy about the new bakery that's just opened up down the road from his own bakery; it's gaudy and pastel and covered in flowers and is an offence to the name of baking. At least he's got a new regular to make him feel better about it all. One with a smile that can turn a day around just like that, even on a Tuesday.

in the places that we met (9k, Mature)

“I think I might be being haunted by a ghost,” is how he greets Michael at the pub that Friday.

“A ghost?” Michael responds suspiciously.

“Yeah and he’s personally haunting me and only me,” Luke says, pulling himself into a booth.

“Sounds frightening,” Michael says mildly.

“He’s also really fit,” Luke says, taking a sip of the pint Michael’s provided him with. “I saw him at the gym today.”

“Sounds sexy and frightening,” Michael says.

you wanna be closer (5k, Teen and Up)

Five times Luke and Calum touch platonically, and once when Calum realises maybe it was never platonic at all.

we're just friends (4k)

“I want to kiss you,” Calum says, voice not above a murmur. Luke’s heart stutters and a blush fills his face as it works overtime pushing his hot blood around his body.

“We shouldn’t,” Luke starts as his hand comes up to grip Calum’s wrist. “We’re friends, we’re just friends.”

drabbles and prompts:

i think i'm getting stuck, i think i'm getting hooked on you (2k, Teen and Up)

it's just a spark, but it's enough (2k, Teen and Up)

main works/series

in a world of black and white (12k, Teen and Up)

“Hey,” Luke says, as close to Ashton’s ear as he can get. Ashton’s head snaps up immediately and his hazel eyes behind his tortoiseshell glasses flick towards him, wide in surprise. Ashton’s eyes are a conundrum to Luke, sometimes gleaming warm amber with flecks of deeper mahogany, sometimes sparkling emerald and viridescent, and sometimes somewhere between the two, glinting and swirling with a golden green. Luke could spend weeks trying to solve the enigma of Ashton’s eyes, and thinks that he might be happy to.

if you dance with me darling, if you take me home... will we talk in the morning? (4k, Teen and Up)

Luke is drunk, but nicely so, he thinks, everything slightly softer around the edges, lights a little brighter and laughs a little louder. Everyone and everything in the world would be slightly better if they were this level of tipsy all the time, he muses to himself as he waits for his drinks, leaning his chin in his hand on the bar where he’s wedged himself between two other people that were definitely waiting before him, but don’t have Luke’s height or smile.

put on your dancing shoes, there’s one thing on your mind (2k, Teen and Up)

Luke squeaks and grabs Ashton’s wrist, bouncing on his toes as excitement flows through him, his heart rate picking up as he feels the crowd shift and pulse with anticipation, voices of enthusiasm and shouts beginning to ripple across the sea of people. The lights begin to flash and Luke can feel the energy thrum through the air.

sad luke ‘verse (2k)

Luke flexes his fingers around his glass and tips his head back to look at the ceiling, letting the lights flash around him, burning his eyes as he forces himself to keep them open, but he still feels like they’re not as bright as he wants them to be, not bright enough to sting as much as he yearns for them to.

Will someone tell me who I was before? (500, Teen and Up)

When I close my eyes and try to sleep I fall apart, I find it hard to breathe (500, Teen and Up)

Looking on, as all of life's colours seem to fade (1k, Teen and Up)

drabbles and prompts:

you light up my whole heart, it feels like the sun (1k, Teen and Up)

i don't wanna be wasting my time alone (2k, General Audiences)

pressed against the wall just watching your every move (1.5k, General Audiences

misc works and drabbles

fingertips on me, i can feel them still - malum (2k, Teen and Up))

The lady on the phone had offered him a new guy, and even though he was wary, he knew he couldn’t put off getting his hair cut any longer. That didn’t account for the new guy being the fucking prettiest man he’s ever set eyes upon, mask and all, and if Calum didn’t want to take his hat off before, he definitely doesn’t now.

some invisible string tying you to me - ot4 (1.5k)

That’s the thing about the four of them, they say they can’t really pinpoint exactly how it happened. How it became the four of them in every single iteration of the words, wrapped and tied together securely, looping in and out and around them all.

misc tumblr prompt ficlets

[vanilla107]

The Absurd Plan to get Amity Blight a Girlfriend (Chapter 1)

Summary: “You’re late Mittens. Caught up at school like the teacher’s pet you are?” Edric teased and she rolled her eyes.

“I was hanging out with my friends. I have a life outside of school you know,” Amity huffed before a book fell out of her bag and the twins stared at it.

It was the latest Azura the Good Witch novel and she quickly picked it up and shoved it back into her bag.

“So…hanging out means Azura book club? With Luz huh?” Emira winked and she gritted her teeth.

“We’re just friends and happen to like the same books. Leave it alone.”

“We never said anything about you two being more than friends…right Ed?”

Alternative title: Edric and Emira try to help their sister get a girlfriend...emphasis on try.

Read on AO3: here

1 / 2 xoxo

“Edric?”

“Hmmm?”

“Have you noticed Mittens acting...different lately?”

It was an overcast Friday afternoon and the Blight twins were at home, avoiding the boiling rain that was supposed to hit in the next 15 minutes. Emira had just finished her homework, for once deciding to do it early than last minute and had come downstairs to find her brother on the chaise lounge reading.

Edric looked up and raised an eyebrow at his sister, a smirk forming on his lips.

“I assume you’re talking about how she acts with Luz…then yes. I have noticed.”

Emira giggled and sat down next to him, her golden eyes sparkling with mischief.

“We have to use this opportunity! Mittens threatened me earlier this week for cutting class and it’s been a while since we’ve teased her,” she said as she tossed her plait over her shoulder.

“Well we were a little harsh with the whole diary incident to be fair…”

“And that was weeks ago, Ed! I think it’s time to have a little fun and who knows…maybe Amity will finally loosen up a little if she had a girlfriend?”

At that moment, Amity walked into the house, barely dodging the boiling rain that started to hit the roof, and an automatic shield was resurrected around the house.

“Almost got caught,” she mumbled, and her siblings looked at her in curiosity.

“You’re late Mittens. Caught up at school like the teacher’s pet you are?” Edric teased and she rolled her eyes.

“I was hanging out with my friends. I have a life outside of school you know,” Amity huffed before a book fell out of her bag and the twins stared at it.

It was the latest Azura the Good Witch novel and she quickly picked it up and shoved it back into her bag.

“So…hanging out means Azura book club? With Luz huh?” Emira winked and she gritted her teeth.

“We’re just friends and happen to like the same books. Leave it alone.”

“We never said anything about you two being more than friends…right Ed?”

“That’s right Em…so that leaves the question…”

They looked at their sister, smirking, who had gone a deep shade of red before running up the stairs to her room and slamming the door. They laughed before Edric sat up straight and slammed his book shut.

“Okay Em, I’m in. Let’s get Mittens a girlfriend.”

~~~

Monday came and it was a new school week. Edric and Emira had spent the entire weekend plotting on what they would do exactly to irritate Amity and they were ready.

They both knew Luz read and wrote fanfiction and that meant cheesy tropes, cliché gestures and flirting. Their plan was perfect and designed to rile their younger sister off the wall.

There was ten minutes before school started and the two entered the building nodding towards each other before Edric set off in the direction of Luz’s locker.

He spotted her, surprisingly alone, and struggling to her her books out of her locker.

“C’mon! You. Were. Working. Perfectly. Yesterday!” she heaved as she wrestled with the locker but it only bit down harder on the books.

“Hey Luz, let me help!” he said cheerfully, and she looked up at him, out of breath.

“Mornin’ Edric! I don’t know…no matter how much I tickle it, it just won’t…”

She trailed off as he leaned against her locker and tickled it gently before her books were presented to her.

“How did you do that-?” she asked as she picked up her books and turning to face him.

“You gotta be gentle Luz. A gentle touch is exactly what everyone needs from time to time,” he said smoothly, and watched as her eyes crinkled in confusion as well as curiosity.

He inwardly cheered before spotting the head of bright mint hair walking towards them. Amity hadn’t seen them yet and he had to act quickly.

“Where are your friends? I thought they’d be here,” he asked, as she packed each book into her satchel.

“Willow has a practical plant exam and she wanted to be at class early to prepare and Gus is sick today. Amity said she’d meet me before class starts so I think she’ll be here in a couple minutes.”

Edric could clearly see Amity now and from his peripheral vision, saw her facial expression turn sour when she saw him with Luz.

Now it was time to strike.

He read in a manga at the library that usually the female protagonist was cornered by her love interest against the lockers. He wasn’t sure if it would work on Luz or if it would have the desired effect, but he thought he’d give it a shot.

“Well I’m happy I could help with your little locker problem. Remember Luz-” He leaned forward and firmly planted a hand against her locker, blocking her from exiting and gave her a wink, “-A gentle touch is what everyone needs from time to time.”

He could hear her sharp intake of breath and saw how she avoided eye contact with him, but the undeniable blush rising to her cheeks showed that what he had done worked. He waited a couple seconds before cocking his head to the side, Luz laughing nervously.

"You'll remember that...right?" he said softly.

“Y-yeah…I will,” she managed to say before he stepped back, the moment broken, and he walked down the corridor.

“Bye Luz! Have a good day!” he called and grinned when he saw Amity run to Luz's side.

She glared at him before he turned at a corner and went to class.

~~~

“So…how did it go? Did everything go as planned?” Emira squealed as they worked on an illusion together, being careful to keep her voice down.

“It went perfectly. Luz was alone which made it easier and Mittens looked furious. You should’ve been there because her face was priceless!”

“Well, it’s my turn after class and I can’t wait!”

“Make it subtle. I already feel like Mittens is on to us.”

“Seriously? But you only had one moment with Luz!”

“You know how she is. Little Miss Jumpy when we’re around her friends. It’s probably because we embarrass her so much,” Edric murmured.

“Yeah…maybe we should give it a rest?” Emira said softly.

They looked at each other before snorting with laughter.

“Nah!” they said in unison before completing their illusion.

The bell rung and their teacher nodded at their illusion allowing them to leave.

“Okay Em, you’re up. Don’t disappoint me!” he said.

Emira made her way to the courtyard and waited for a few minutes.

She knew that Luz had Potions before lunch and that she would be exiting the class opposite her. She also knew Amity would be walking to her locker to fetch her Abomination books so she would be in plain sight of what was going to unfold.

She hummed with excitement before seeing the class door open and watched Luz walk out, coughing with her other classmates. There was smoke coming from the classroom and Emira stared in confusion. Clearly, she would have to improvise her plan a little to match the situation.

“Luz!” she yelled, and the brunette looked up before making her way over to her.

“Hey Emira. Wow, it is bright outside,” she winced as she covered her eyes.

“What happened? You’re all covered with soot and smoke!” the twin exclaimed before getting napkin from her bag, grabbing Luz’s hand, sitting her down by the fountain and wiping her cheeks.

Emira spotted Amity walking across the courtyard and thanks to how the courtyard was built, it echoed, causing Luz’s loud voice to be heard by any passing students. She saw Amity’s head look up from her book when she heard the human’s voice and Emira concentrated on Luz, not wanting her sister to see that she was looking for a reaction.

“Weirdly enough, it wasn’t me this time! One of the guys at the back’s potions ended up backfiring a second before the bell rang and we couldn’t find the door because of all the smoke. But guess who could do wind magic and get everyone out of there? This girl!” she said, pointing to herself and Emira giggled.

She could understand why Amity liked her.

Luz was funny, charming and so much more laid back than her younger sister was, but the determination was still there to learn how to be a powerful witch.

They were perfect for each other.

“You’re getting better every single day Luz. I’m proud of you. I know that’s something Eda would say but…”

She wiped Luz’s forehead and booped her on the nose.

“You are going to be a great witch, cutie.”

She saw the red blush bloom on Luz’s face, and she smiled.

“Well, I better get going to class and you should too. I know you have a busy day ahead of you.”

“How…how do you know that?” Luz asked, curiously.

Emira cast a quick glance at her sister, who was standing dead still and watching every movement.

“Oh, Amity mentioned it to Ed and I over the weekend. She sounded worried about you and your stress levels, but we assured her that you would be fine. She seemed a little calmer after that. She really does care about you Luz,” she added with a small smile and watched in satisfaction at the blush deepening in colour.

“That’s really nice of her but she doesn't need to worry about me,” Luz said with a smile and Emira grinned.

With Amity watching them she knew exactly what to do next.

“Oh, there she is! You can thank her now if you want? Friends do that right?” she offered, and Luz wasted no time in running towards Amity’s direction and wrapping her in a hug.

“Luz! What are you doing?” Amity exclaimed and even from the distance, Emira could tell her sister’s face was bright red.

“Amity! It’s so sweet you care about my health, but I’ll be okay. I prepared sufficiently for today to pass my tests and all that but it’s really sweet you care so much!” she said.

Amity was too dumbstruck to answer but Luz was hugging her, and she liked being hugged so she let it happen.

She was about to send a glare to her sister but when she looked around the courtyard, Emira was gone.

~~~

“Ed, I wish I had taken a picture of her face! I don’t know why we didn’t think of this before!” she laughed as they walked outside and sat down in the sun.

They were supposed to be in their last class for the day, but they were tired from class as well as their antics and decided to cut class instead. Emira sighed as she illusioned a pair of sunglasses and placed them over her eyes.

“She looked like a bright red strawberry ready to explode-”

“What do you two think you’re doing?” a familiar voice came from behind them.

“Mittens! Gasp, are you cutting class?” Edric asked.

“No, I’m here to tell you two to back off Luz,” she growled and Emira smirked.

“Oh? And why’s that? We’re just being friendly.”

“No, you’re not! I saw you at her locker this morning Ed and Em, you knew exactly what you were doing when you-”

“-When I booped her nose and told her that you cared about her?” Emira interrupted and she watched Amity’s eyes widen in horror.

“You did what?” she screeched, and they rolled their eyes at her overreaction.

“I mean…it’s not like you don’t care about her so really…we’re doing you a favour Mittens,” Ed shrugged but the mirth in his eyes was there.

“No. Don’t you dare interfere with my friends! Luz doesn’t deserve to be manipulated into your little games.”

“Okay…fine,” Emira said as she took her sunglasses off and placed them on top of her head and Ed looked at his twin sister in shock.

“But Em-!”

“-No Edric…Amity’s right. We shouldn’t interfere and stop teasing Luz. We’re sorry Amity. We’ll cease our teasing and leave you be.”

Amity blinked at her response and nodded slowly.

“Oh…okay. I’ll be heading back to class…bye.”

They watched her leave and Edric stared at his sister.

“Em! What was that about? What about our plans for the rest of the week-?”

She lifted her sunglasses off her head back to her eyes and laid back down.

“I lied. I just wanted her to leave us alone and look! She’s gone. If I hadn’t stunned her like that, she probably would’ve dragged us to Principal Bump for cutting class. Now we can enjoy half an hour to ourselves and we can still implement our plan!” she smiled.

Edric chuckled and laid back down on the grass, “And it’s not like we’re trying to ruin her chances with Luz!”

“Yeah, we’re being good siblings by helping our sister with her crush!”

They looked at the clouds and laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“This week is going to be very interesting indeed.”

~~~

A/N: I keep falling into fandoms and I'm not mad about it at all. I ended up binging The Owl House over the last week and let me just say it was the perfect thing for me now that She-Ra is done! Lumity is basically canon and I ADORE how chaotic Edric and Emira are. They are probably my favourite characters next to Amity, Eda and Luz. I hope you enjoy this and please comment/like/reblog if you liked it! If you want to follow me for rambles about my fanfiction or talk to me, hit me up on Twitter or Tumblr @vanilla107​!

[detroitbydark]

Every Dog Has His Day

Characters: Hound/OC

Summary: Insecurities abound for Coruscant’s favorite late night DJ.

Warnings: None

A/N: So Hound is a golden retriever in clone armor and I would kill for him. All the love to my girls @skdubbs​ and @crimson-dxwn​ who deal with me while Ido this. 

-----

“Mister, can I pet your dog?”

Hound looks down at the small child squinting up at him; he’s got a gap where his front teeth should be and the ‘mister’ comes out more like a ‘mither’. The kids’ moms stand a pace behind him, one smiling brightly while the other glances nervously from Hound to Grizzer. 

“Is it ok with your folks?” He’d been to his fair share of PR in services since being transferred to Coruscant. He glances at both women. He receives a nod from the more laid back of the two.

“Grizzer, sheber.” The massiff throws his hind quarters down with such force that both he and the nervous mother laugh. Grizzer’s tail wags a mile a minute as he takes it upon himself to lay on his belly and crawl slowly toward the child.

“He’s a good boy as long as you're not a bad guy” Hound says squatting down. The little boy's eyes get wide as Hound tips his bucket forward, stage whispering. “You listen to your moms, right?”

The kid nods rapidly. Hound laughs, lets relief fill his voice. “Oh good, you should be safe then.”

 Grizzer eats up the attention, laying his big head in the child’s lap. Soon three other children join in. Hound talks to their parents, every now and then glancing at his partner. The massiff has turned from a well trained soldier to a glob of mush under the fawning of the children.

 This was just another part of the job. Public relations was a big deal. Clones got a bad rap. Every now and then, a few troopers on leave trying to drown bad memories of the war would get on the wrong side of the law and throw the whole damn clone army back two paces in the public opinion polls, and it was the job of troopers like Hound and the rest of the Guard go try to be poster boys for the rest of them. At times like this it wasn’t hard. 

“Hound. Time to break it up. I need you to do a sweep of the central pavilion.” Commander Fox’s voice rings clearly in his bucket.

“Roger that, Commander” he says before turning to address the small gathered group, “alright now, Grizzer and I have to be getting back to work.” A small chorus of ‘Awwws’ makes him chuckle.  The massiff looks at him as to say the same.

“Come on, buddy. Borarir.” Hound gives the command for work and Grizzer perks up, giving an excited yip as he darts to Hounds side in a tight heel. “Tell your new friends bye,” Hound encourages and Grizzer gives a loud woof that has all the kids -and a few of their parents- laughing.

Hound’s head goes on a swivel as soon as they turn away. “Time to get serious now,” he instructs the animal at his side. Grizz gives him a look. “I know. I know,” hound says, reaching down to pet his head, “you don’t need to be told twice.”

The massiff huffs and his nose falls to the duracrete. Fete weeks were always crazy and with the rise they’d been seeing in terrorist activities, Commander Fox had wanted everyone on high alert.

Since being transferred to Coruscant, Hound has grown to love the craziness of Fete weeks and while New Year Fete week was his favorite, he enjoyed the Festival of Life nearly as much. Someday he hoped to experience it as a spectator and not the security.  

They skirt along the perimeter of the pavilion, where a local band was warming up. The smell of fest food from the stand of carts across the way has both Hound and Grizzer aiming their noses toward the various booths of sweet fruits, spit roasted meats, and honeyed pastries.

“Let’s make one good pass and I’ll treat you to some nerf-“

Grizzer woofs quietly.

“Fine” Hound clarifies, “I’ll treat us to some nerf.”

Toward the end of their loop Hound comms an all-clear to his nearby colleagues.  He'd do another loop in an hour or so but for now he'd wait and watch. 

The band has started playing finally and Grizzer puts himself in a heel as the pair sit and listen for a spell. The different radio stations have booths set up, slinging merch and freebies at passing fete goers. Hound’s eyes scan looking for IRR’s booth. He doesn’t recognize the guy signing autographs, but he does remember the head of pastel purple hair fondly. 

“That’s her bud,” he says, glancing down quickly at the massiff at his side, “Told you she was real pretty, didn’t I?”

Grizzer scents the air in the direction of the IRR booth.

Nuna Skii is off to the side unpacking boxes of this and that and setting it out on the table for passers-by. 

“I should go say hi,” he says after a minute to psych himself up. He clicks his tongue lightly and Grizzer falls in at his side as he walks towards the tables. A holoboard has been set up with the names and times each personality will be signing autographs. Hound frowns when he scans the board and doesn’t see Nuna’s name listed. The others were ok, he guessed, but who would want anyone but Nuna Skii’s signature?

“Oh my maker! What a cute baby!” Hound glances up in time to see Nuna dip down onto her knees as Grizzer leans in and gives her a wet kiss. She giggles as the massiff leans his heavily armored body against her.

“Grizz!” he scolds, and the mas’ looks up at him with a pleased look on his muzzle. 

“Oh it’s you! Hound!” Nuna tries to stand but Grizzer places a meaty paw on her shoulder. She laughs as she rubs under his jaw. “This cutie belongs to you?”

“You could say that. We’re partners.”

Hound tries not to feel jealous as Grizzer's face is held between her small hands and she coos to him. “Big tough guard mas’. Such a sweet boy, aren’t you?” He'd give good credits right now to swap places.

“You really think he’s cute?” Hound asks as Grizzer finally lets her stand and lays down between the pair of them, head resting over one of Hound’s boots.

“What? Of course!” Her smile is bright and her deep brown eyes sparkle as she talks. “I mean, I guess there’s no accounting for taste. I had this great uncle who kept a strill named…” Nuna rubs the back of her head, “I haven’t thought about that in years,” she laughs, “I think he called it Mird? Anyway, I loved that little thing and let me tell you, Strill are certainly never going to be on the top of any list of traditionally beautiful creatures.”

Hound knows he’s staring, but she’s chattering on and he can’t help himself. When she mentions the name of the strill something pings in his memory banks but he can’t quite place it. Before he has a chance she asks him a question.

“I’m sorry,” he offers, “what was that again?”

“I was asking if you heard my shout out last week?” She’s glancing down toward Grizzer almost bashfully. When she looks back up she has her lower lip trapped between her teeth and a smile lighting up her features. Hound’s brain turns to mush. “I hope it wasn’t too much?”

Too much? He’d felt like the man for days afterwards. He’d gotten a shout out on Nuna Skii’s show and all his vode knew it. 

“No it was great. Thanks.” He tries to play it cool, like it hadn’t been the single greatest thing that had happened in the last standard rotation.

“Cool.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.” They look at each other silently for a moment before they both laugh awkwardly. Grizzer’s muzzle swings from one human toward the other, a wondering tilt to his head.

“So...uh… you’re not signing autographs later?” Hound gestures to the holoboard. Nuna waves him off.

“Oh, I don’t do the whole autograph thing. I like to keep the fantasy alive.”

He cocks his head curiously. In all honesty, he’d had more fantasies since he’d met her on the side of the skylane than he’d ever had before. It was one thing to think of his favorite voice in the galaxy as an unattainable holomodel, but to actually meet her and see that she was the cute girl next door. It added a whole new level to his personal time. Now he  thought less about long slender legs wrapped around his hips and more about gripping on to soft, warm thighs. Less about pristine make-up and perfect hair and more about the way he’d noticed her pale brown eyes crinkle at the corners as she smiled. 

And her voice. He imagined she’d use that on-air voice just for him. It made his toes curl in his boots just thinking about it.

“My fans have a certain image of me in their heads. I don’t want to ruin it.” 

He wants to tell her to shift it. The image she was throwing off now was absolutely grade A but he hesitates and the moment is gone.

“So, uh, do you like food?” He cringes as the words come out of his mouth, “I mean, I was gonna get a few nerf skewers.” He clenches his hand into a fist at his side so he doesn’t start rubbing the back of his helmet. There really was no reason his palms should be sweating like they were. “I could grab you one if you want or,” he shrugs, “you could walk over there with us, maybe.”

That same bashful smile lights her face as she glances at the booth around her and back over to the personality signing autographs.

“I mean, if you can’t, that’s ok too. I was just thinking.” Hound wants to kick himself. Any game he had was completely lost the second he’d started talking to her. “If you're busy, maybe I could just get your comm and we could do it another time.”

Grizzer whines at his feet.  Nuna looks down. “Aww is the poor guy starving?”

No, he wasn't, Hound thinks. The mooch had his rations and half of Hounds just an hour before. He was embarrassed for his master. 

“Yeah, that must be it.”

“Well we should get him something to eat, right Grizz?”

Under his bucket, Hound can’t fight the grin. Grizzer barks happily as he rises to his feet and stretches his spiny back into the air. “I guess that settles it. You, me, and the massiff makes three” he jokes lamely.

——

“You look smug?” Tully gives Nuna a questioning look. 

“I’m not smug.” Nuna hums along to the song playing in her headphones. “What’s the name of that band from Corellia? The one with the Nikto drummer?”

“Nunz, what’s with the smile?” Tully doesn’t answer her question.

“I think it’s something in Ryl-“

“Nuna!”

Nuna can’t fight the grin on her face. “Fine. I just had a good day is all.”

Tully looks unimpressed with her answer. “You spent all day slinging merch at a fete. It was hot. You didn’t sleep. You hate not sleeping. I’m going to ask you again-“

The thought of telling her friend and coworker about Hound had crossed Nuna’s mind, but she’d quickly pushed it away. It had just been a fun little distraction from an otherwise boring day. Nothing much else to say about it. They’d both been working and decided to share lunch together. He had a cute partner and, really, had she been expected not to snuggle with a cuddly mas’ when given the opportunity? The look on Tully’s face says she’s not going to give up. Nuna throws her a bone.

“I maybe had lunch with someone today but it was nothing. Really. I mean it was just a guy being super nice.” The words spill from her mouth like bolts from a repeating blaster. Tully stares for a second, then two.

“You had a date? At the fete? While you were working?”

“What? No! Absolutely not. I took my lunch break and had company, that's all.” 

The Pantoran crosses her arms over her chest and tips her chin before glancing up at her friend. “Who paid?”

Uh-uh. They were not going there. “It was not a date, Tull.” She did not date that was strictly a thing of the distant past- light years ago, even.

“Who paid?” Tully asks again, undeterred.

“I-“

“He paid! Maker, girl! You had a date! Who is he? Why didn’t you mention him before? I mean, I thought we were friends. Spill!”

Thankfully, Nuna finds herself saved by the chrono. The commercial break is ending as she turns away from the steady gaze of her friend.

“We’re not done talking about this,” Tully warns as Nuna mashes the button to her mic. 

“Nuna Skii getting you through the night. You know what’s better than a boy in blue?” The switch in persona is instant, years of practice allowing her to skip into sexy DJ mode without thought, “The answer is absolutely nothing. That last one was going out to the boys of the 501st. May your aim be true and your stims be strong.”

“I know I saw some of you lovelies enjoying the Festival of Life today. Why don’t you give me a call and tell me what you thought? I am oh so lonely tonight. Wanna keep me company?” She pitches her voice low. Tully rolls her eyes. The comm lines light up. The producer signals for line 2 with a quick flash of her hand.

“Nuna,” the first call starts, “we’re with the 234th and we’re your biggest fans!” There’s the sound of whooping in the background.

“You are too sweet,” Nuna coos, “anything I can play for you?”

“Uhh… something durasteel?”

“I got you, handsome. Thanks for listening!”

Nuna starts hunting down the next song as she switches callers to the next line Tully’s vetted. 

“This is Nuna,” she purrs in greeting.

“Nuna? This is Sergeant Sinker with the 116th Wolffe Pack.” 

“Well a-woo to you Sergeant Sinker. Were you home for fete week?”

Voices rise up in the background. Nuna stifles a giggle as she hears her caller yelling at a Boost and a Comet. 

“We’re still off world. We just wanted to say we love your show and see if you could give our Commander a shoutout?”

“Well isn’t that the absolute sweetest? I think you've called in before, right? You know, I always have love for the 116th and that very surly Commander Wolffe of yours-“

“Nuna Marry me!” The voice sounds far away and is followed by the sound that she can only assume is wrestling for the comm before it clicks off.

“I’m not accepting any proposals today darlings. Why don’t we listen to that request and a quick commercial break?”

Nuna wonders if Hound is listening. She’s surprised that she hopes he is.

“So spill it, girl.” Tully doesn’t waste time as the music starts playing and the mic cuts off. Nuna sighs. Apparently she wasn’t going to forget so quickly.

“He paid,” she admits, trying to ignore the smugness she hears in Tully’s voice.

“So you had a date. Was that so hard to admit?”

Nuna still refuses to call it a date because she hadn’t dated in ages and a pretty smile and a flashy set of armor and kama weren’t about to change that. She scrolls through a datapad playlist but she can feel her friends' eyes boring into her.

“You know you're allowed to put yourself out there. Most of them are fekking disgusting but there’s a few good ones.” Tully’s voice softens. “They’re not all him.”

This conversation was not happening now and certainly not without a bottle of wine. She was not going to think about Alistar again. His days of living rent free in her head were over. Except… they weren’t.

 She’d loved having lunch with Hound and Grizzer - it had been the highlight of her week so far- but each time he’d complimented her, each time he’d asked questions like he was interested and wanted to know, she thought of her ex and the way he’d weaseled his way into her life with all the same ploys. It didn’t matter that they looked nothing alike, sounded nothing alike. She was officially damaged goods and there was just no getting past that, at least not anytime soon.

When Nuna doesn’t acknowledge her, Tully turns to screening calls versus dealing with her moody DJ. Nuna listens to the screaming durasteel coming through her headphones. I wasn’t her genre of choice but a lot of battalions seemed to have a thing for it. Who was she to argue? 

“Nunz?” 

Nuna looks up to find Tully staring. “What?”

“You got a call?”

“One I should take on air?”

Tully’s brows skim her forehead. “Oh yeah. This one’s a doozy.”

Shaking her head, Nuna moves back to the mic, counting down to the end of the song. “Live in 3… 2… 1…. hey ladies and gents I’m back. How was that for some durasteel huh? Hope it keeps your engines revved and juices flowing. Going to the comm lines we’ve got a call from…” Nuna watches Tully mouth the name. “Grizzer?”

A series of barks erupts through Nuna’s ear phones before she can respond. Tully is disintegrating into laughter as Nuna stares wide-eyed at the mic ahead of her. 

“Grizzer said he was glad he got to spend time with you today,” a smooth voice begins when the barking ends.

Nuna stumbles for a second but catches herself. “Is this- this his translator?” She teases, trying to stay in character.

“Yes, ma’am.” Hound’s warm voice rumbles through the comm and Nuna has the distinct feeling of butterflies fluttering around in her chest.

The line goes quiet for half a second and another volley of barks and a single yip respond.

“He’d like to see you again soon. He thinks you're the prettiest girl he’s ever seen. Wants to take you out for dinner. Promises he’ll bring his chaperone with him.”

Nuna catches Tully’s eye. “Can you believe this guy?” she mouths.

“Is that him?!” The pink-haired Pantoran hisses.

Nuna shakes her hands in front of her face, as if waving away her nerves.

“Is that so?” Her mind is working overtime. In the two years she’s been on air in Coruscant she’s fielded a lot of requests for dates and more than a few marriage proposals, but this is the first of its kind. She’s not really sure how to respond. 

She flirts five nights a week on her show but those are faceless -often nameless- people. She’s met Hound. She’s been dazzled by his earnest smile, felt compelled to answer every silly getting to know you question he’d thrown her way this afternoon. Hound was different because he seemed to want to get to know her - short, round, plain Nuna. 

He couldn’t be for real.

“I hate to break it to you Grizzer,” she can hear the massiff panting over the comm, “but I only date men with thumbs and a nice head of hair.”

Tully gives her a hard look. Yeah, she was going to hear about this later.

“Oh, well.” She can hear the sudden uncertainty in Hound's voice and a soft whine from the massiff. “I suppose he’ll catch you around then.”

She wants to tell him that she certainly hopes so because deep down she does, but it doesn’t fit with her persona. Instead she cuts the line and moves on with the show.

She’d gotten good at that. Slam those emotions deep down, lock ‘em up and throw that key away. No one could hurt you if they couldn’t get to you.

“So, anyone following the Limmie League?”

[mysecretatticsstuff]

Pranks

Pairing : Jeon jungkook x reader

Word count: 27.3k

Warnings: Smut, Fluff, emotional breakdown.

Summary: You thought you were going to enjoy college. Even with unfortunate events and a poor sleep schedule you were trying to live your best life. Untill one particular kid, aka golden boy of campus came dashing into your life.

College. The place you got excited to go thinking you would finally meet good people, make friends and have the time of your life. And yet here you are, 3 am in the morning just barely hanging in there with a paint brush in your hand finishing up the poster that was supposed to be a group project for physiology class. You have dozed off a couple of times now, with eyes open doing the detailed line work that you suggested not to put in it because of the amount of time it takes. You almost messed it up but your multitasking skills save you. In short you hate college. Or more so, you hate your luck for always putting you in the companionship of the worst people in the world. You can now permanently stamp a "pissed off" warning to your forehead to avoid casualties.

Grumpy wasn't even a mood anymore, it's a lifestyle. And some people just make it real difficult for you to not eat them alive. On top of that list was Mr. Jeon Jungkook. Golden boy, good at whatever he does, loved by everyone he has a conversation with. Well except for you. You on the other hand want to kill him. Not because you're jealous or anything. Heck you would be happy for him if he didn't make your life a living hell. You always wondered what you did for him to hate your existence so much. He kept pulling off weird ass stunts with you. Once he filled your water bottle with chilli tomato ketchup, you took a gulp without knowing and had a red face for a legit hour. Another time he issued the last copy of only book that had the reference you needed and kept it untill a day before the assignment was due. So you had to beg him to give the book to you and complete the whole assignment in one day. (Which was not fun of course). He mixed salt in your drink, splashed water from behind while you were returning to your apartment and what not. At first you thought to ignore him, when the stunts were small. But he just kept doing that shit and you grew angrier. When you asked him, why the heck was he doing that to you he just simply smiled like a devil, winked at you and walked away. That was a year ago, since that day you have been wanting to kill him.

You weren't the aggressive type by nature, your friends would agree that you were the most calm and collected, amiable and open minded friend in the group. Your personality was more of a mediator than a murderer. But the golden boy brought out the beast in you. When you realised that he isn't stopping with the obnoxious pranks. You started pulling off your own as a revenge. To be honest you didn't even regret it. Heck it was even cathartic. Once you hid his clothes while he was in the gym, so basically he had to wait inside the bathroom for the whole day in a towel. (You took his phone too so that he couldn't call anyone for help). You "accidentally" splashed juice onto his crisp white t-shirt before an early morning class. You wrapped his bike with cling film and bubble wrap. It was tiring but worth it when you saw his face, glaring daggers at you cause he was getting late for class and couldn't leave his apartment. You made sure you smiled sweetly at him when he saw you that day.

By now, everyone in your friend circle and both of your departments knew how you both jumped at the first opportunity to ruin each others day. You stopped questioning Jungkook because he never answered instead you focused on how to attack him in the best way.

The past two months have been extra rough for you, both personally and academic wise. Hence, jungkook's bickering has had you in a new level of pissed. A level you didn't know existed. Honestly you were amazed by the fact that you haven't had a breakdown till now. You didn't get any chance to pull anything off against him and that makes you angrier. I guy you were talking to back and forth has suddenly ghosted you and you are wallowing in all the self pity. You've had less than 4 hours of sleep for the past week because of all the requirements for class. You're just a week away from finishing everything off and you're praying that the devil doesn't make it impossible.

You personally hated Mondays, but who are you kidding everyday feels like a monday now. You head to the library first thing in the morning to finish your paper, a semester worth of work. You settle in starting to type out the last page. About an hour later your phone vibrates.

"Hey where are you?" It was Sunmi your best friend.

"I'm in the library" you wisper shout

"Oh.. i had something urgent to say to you can you come out for a second. I'm almost there."

"Okay, coming" you say.

Outside, sunmi was waiting for you with a book in hand.

"Jeez, y/n you look dead. Do you even sleep anymore?"

You sigh out loud, "Don't ask, i feel like i'm gonna pass out anytime soon. Coffee isn't helping anymore. I think i need drugs"

Sunmi just shakes her head in disbelief "What you need is a good night sleep. And for the drugs part, try sex." She says this in such sincerity that you actually consider it for a second before she laughs.

You laugh too, "Uggh, i can't wait to finally go out this weekend, i'm turning into a hermit. Anyways i'm sure u didn't call me out here to talk about hookups..?"

At this she hands you the book, "Yeah I didn't, but we need to talk about your dry state after you're free tho, but till then here you go. The book that you were searching for, you wouldn't believe how I.. or i should say where I found it I-... "

"Wait... Before you start your essay, i need to finish my paper. I meet you after your classes today. Tell me then. I need to go... Bye!" you hurriedly say before you turn around and enter the library

"But it's about Jungkook... " Sunmi tries to explain. But she realises you can't hear her anymore. She says to herself rather, "I hope you don't find trouble."

You almost reach your designated place when you see him. White T-Shirt and olive green cargos. That little shit, what was he up to again? You hurry to your laptop, only to find him smirking as if he knows some secret you don't.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" You ask. "Ooh.. chill Princess, just thought i'd see you and your work". At the mention of work you wake your computer up. A chill ran down through your spine followed by panic when you couldn't find the document you saved. After a moment, your eyes shot up, glaring dangerously at him. He sat up, folding his arms onto the table. "What's wrong? Can't find something?"

"What the fuck did you do, Jeon?" You wanted to scream bloody murder at him, but you didn't know how were you this calm.

"Tsk, tsk,.. last names now huh? Someone's angry. Tell me princess, will I win a prank of the year trophy this time?"

You were unable to speak. Your blood boiled, you wanted to punch him, better kill him. When you didn't reply he continued. "I hope you remember what your wrote in your thesis, even better if your typing skills are on fire, cause you need to rewrite within one week" He was putting a full display of his evil grin. Clearly amused by the situation he put you in. But you slowly realised what he meant. You quickly went to the recycle bin of your computer to test your luck, but soon saw that the demon had already deleted it from the bin too. Your heart sank. This was not fair. You wanted to cry now. Months and months of your hardwork, gone now. What the fuck was that bitch even thinking. This was not a joke anymore. It was your finals. Yes you both have done horrible things to each other but you made sure that it never got out of line. But him deleting your final thesis. This was definitely out of the line. You could not rewrite the whole thing even if you tried in a week. It would never get close to the original one. You would miss many points and the writing style. Damn you for not keeping an extra copy of the thesis somewhere. But again, you never thought Jungkook would go this low. You didn't even want to think how he figured out the passcode for your laptop. Anger doesn't describe what you were feeling now. You wanted to shut down. When Jungkook didn't hear a threatening or a curse, he chimed in. "Have I pulled the most epic prank on miss y/n that it finally shut her smart mouth?"

You couldn't bare it anymore, all these weeks of running around with just 4 hrs of sleep or sometimes non has made you physically weak. You wanted to escape. You throat hurt from the suppressed tears. But you were not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing you cry. You look at jungkook in the eye. Cold. You stand up, take your things and leave.

All the way to your apartment, you wanted to cry, but you waited till you were inside the safe heaven of your bed.How could he do this to you? When this crazy prank scenario started you couldn't comprehend why the nicest guy ( according to students and professors) had taken a toll on you. Yes you were angry at the beginning. But soon it had simmered down to something else. You couldn't pin point what, exactly. It's true his pranks were delirious and you hated him with all your will, but you couldn't help notice the small ways he made a difference in your life. You were an over-thinker, and this stupid game of pranks with him kept you busy. It was kind of the only source of entertainment for you as academics was no joke. It's difficult to explain but you became more productive because of him. You became a more open person, you made a lot of friends and most of the conversations started with how people don't understand why both of yo fight. Jungkook's friends became your friends too. You found out a lot of things about him through them. One that he was a naturally competitive person. He was a big softy inside they said, that was a bit hard to believe for you. But once he stood up for you when you were being cat called, he was so close to beating the shit out of the boys, nevertheless you dragged him out of it. He walked you to your apartment without even uttering a word. You wanted to say thank you, but the very next day he deflated your tires. And the saga continued. The moral of the story is you definitely had developed a soft spot for him. And this prank was definitely a blow to your ego and your heart.

All the emotions, the exhaustion just came crashing down and you let the dam break. You cried like a baby, whether because of the grief of your lost files, anger or because of him entirely you didn't know. You woke up 3 hours later, with puffy eyes and a blocked nose. You decided you can't let him get to you. So you did what you do best, turn all the frustration into anger towards him. You arranged all the resources for your thesis, and then you sat down with your laptop typing away from the beginning.

You didn't go to college next day, thought it would be better to stay at home and work. There were no classes anyways. You already sent an email to your professor informing him that there was a technical difficulty and you lost your files. Your professor was kind enough to excuse you from all the classes that week to work on your thesis stating that you had good attendance already. Sunmi called you, she felt guilty about the whole thing. "I should have known there was something fishy when that asshole gave me the book. I shouldn't have asked you to come out".

"Hey, it's fine, it's not your fault. I'll kill him with my own hands once everything is over"

"Still.. i feel super bad. Let me know if you need anything. I can bring you books from the library.."

"Thank you sun, i'll let you know if I need anything.. "

"Okay.... Oh and y/n,.. Jungkook came looking for you today. He seemed anxious? kinda worried even. I told that fucker i don't know where you are. Thought you should know"

Jungkook was looking around for you, that's weird. Was he feeling guilty? You always came up with a new prank. Maybe he is just surprised you vanished. "Hmmm... Thanks, i don't want him to know anything about me, Anyways i couldn't careless about him now. See you later".

"Take care y/n".

It was 10 pm when you stood up from your desk, your shoulders and wrists were stiff from all the typing. You realised you hadn't eaten anything for 7 hours now. It was raining heavily, you felt a bit dizzy. When you finally get out of college, this would be a hell of a story to tell though. You missed home dearly, you wanted someone to just hold you and assure you that everything is going to be okay. You took some leftover pizza from your fridge and put it in the microwave. Sometimes living alone just gets to you. All the loneliness, all the times you wished someone was there to comfort you. Your body ached and you felt pathetic about yourself. 'Why me?' was your question. A mixture of all these thoughts and emotions were swirling in your head and you didn't even realize that you were crying now. This was your 3rd breakdown in a span of two days.

"Pathetic" you muttered to yourself. Then your heard the bell ring. Confused at who came by at this ungodly hour, you wiped your tears and went to get the door.

You didn't expect the person you were staring at. Doe eyes slowly scanned you, from your feet to face. Jungkook.

You must have puffy red eyes, you think. God you didn't want him to see you like this. All petty and defeated. He was partially soaked from the rain. Jungkook just stood there, staring back at you. You waited for him to speak, when he didn't, you finally spoke, "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't see you in college today" he replied. Jungkook looked guilty? Sad even. "Why didn't you attend?" He asks next.

"That's non of your business" that came out harsher than you thought. At this his face turned stern. "Were you crying?"

At this point you don't know what or when will you break down. You could already feel a little lump forming in your throat. You looked down at your feet. "Go away, i have work". That came out so fragile and weak, you cringed internally. He stepped in. Searched around in his pocket and brought out a small USB in his hand. You looked at it and then his face.

"Your files" he said.

"You... why would you even... What the fuck? Jungkook!" With every word your voice rose. You thought he was feeling guilty, but he was just a little brat, playing games. All your softness was gone now.

You could tell by his devilish smirk that he was enjoying this way too much. "Who do you think you are?" You saw red with anger. With that much of a volcano boiling inside you, you were not sure what were you doing. Your hand flew up involuntarily. Lets just say, you would have punched him if it wasn't for his quick reflexes. He grabbed your wrist, turned you around. His other arm swiftly snaked around your waist.

"Woah.. easy princess. You sure you can fight me?" He tightens his grip around you. You hate to admit how badly it affects you. You can feel your knees going weak. His taught chest pressed against your back. You can feel him way too much through your thin t shirt. Your face heats up without you wanting it. No, no, no, no, you can't let your stupid hormones get to you. This is crazy. You hate him. Then why do you suddenly feel hot? As if on cue he lowers his head and whispers in your ear, " You okay, sweetheart?"

The new pet name, sends a spike of electricity just between your legs. You bite your lip to control the moan that threatens to leave your mouth. He notices the change too, the tension between you two is growing. You turn around to face him. He lets you. "I hate you."

His arms are still around you, circling your waist. He looks soft, as if relieved of some burden. Your clothes are getting wet from the contact. You don't know what to say, because you can hardly process what is happening. Just then your microwave beeps to your rescue.

You half jump half stumble away from him. "Uggh, i'll bring you a towel. Be right back."

When you return, he is standing in front of the couch. Looking godly. You sneak a glance at his chest and now hardened nipples before landing your eyes on his face. You hand him the towel. As if a half soaked jungkook wasn't enough. He swifty stripped off his t-shirt before drying himself off. You freeze. He looks at you gaze piercing.

"W- why.. did you do that?"

"You need to be a bit more specific sweetheart" he takes a step closer to you. You don't move away.

"The pranks.. why do you hate me so much, that you need to make my life a living hell?" You said softly.

"Helps me sleep at night." He smirks. You rolled your eyes at this. You were about to turn around when he grabs you by hand.

"I don't hate you. It's quite the opposite actually" Your eyebrows shot up at this. "yeah right. You think you can fool me again?" You scoff.

"I know you're a fool sometimes, but to be honest y/n I didn't know you were this dense" He mocked with a smirk.

"What the fuck? Okay that's it. Get out of my house Jeon" you demanded.

"What if I say no, Princess?"

You couldn't believe it. This guy has the audacity to mock you in your own house and then refuse to leave. You were beyond irritated now.

"How do people like you? You're such an ass. Leave before-..." you didn't get to complete the sentence before he pulls you towards him, with such force that you stumble, loose your balance and fall straight on his chest.

HIS BARE CHEST. GOD THIS WAS BAD. You felt your throat getting dry. You couldn't speak. He was firm, you kind of wonder about how much he works out. You could feel his silky smooth skin. You just stared at him, like a deer caught in headlights.

"That's it? You're not gonna 'make me' leave princess?" He says, with his face inches away from you.

*Pull it together y/n* you scold yourself mentally. But you body just froze and it feels hot. You probably have a red face now. You make another mistake of glancing at his lips, which are so damn close, it kinda makes you feel things you can't explain.

Jungkook notices this. He sees right through you. He finally speaks, "If you still haven't got it y/n, i don't know what to do with you... I... " He sighs, "I like you y/n. A lot. And I don't know how to behave when i'm around you, so I keep teasing you.." he says with a sincere look. "And besides.. you look hot, when you are angry at me" He smiles.

You realise you're still holding each other. Your heart is hammering in your chest. He probably can feel it beating too. You want to punch him for being such a jerk, but you also want to kiss him. You're so frustrated, at this point you don't know where the courage came from for what you did next. You kiss him. Out of all the things this was something he did not expect. This time he froze, hands paralyzed at your hips. When he finally came to his senses that it was really happening, he kissed back.

You snake your arms around his neck, pulling his hair into a fist. He lets out a small moan. You pull back, smirking. "No snarky comments now huh Jeon?" you mock, satisfied with his look. His face is flushed. You can feel his member slowly growing. He took some time to overcome his initial shock. Then he said, "No shit.. I'm.. God you're hot" And he is kissing you again. More in control this time. You part your lips to let him enter. His hands cup your face. Your kiss gets heated, one of his hands goes down, between your breasts, to your stomach. Then he waits, as if asking for permission.

"What now?" You say in between your kisses. "No guts for that?" You challenge him. And this time he actually has nothing to say. So you smirk, you take his hand and slowly slip him under your t-shirt.

"Shit". He mutters. He touches your skin, you feel like you're on fire. Goosebumps form all over your body. You feel alive.

The next thing he did left you speechless. He slips both hand under your t-shirt and with one go pulls off your shirt and throws it behind you. You gawk at him in suprise. You can tell he liked the way you reacted because his eyes went dark and he looked at you like he wanted to take you right there. "Jeez Jeon.. give the girl a break" with this you latched on him again. He stumbled back and landed on the couch. Seeing the opportunity, you climb on him, Keeping your weight on your knees, you hover just above his member. You know he wants you to sit on him, but you don't want to give him the satisfaction.

"I think I need to mess with her assignments more often" saying more to himself than to you. "Specially if it leads to this" he stands up keeping you close.

" I heard that you idiot" you were now feverishly unbuckling his pants. He moved his lips to suck you down your jawline, he made sure to nib and suck a bit harder right above your pulse point.

You let out a moan. Your hands are shaking but you somehow manage to undo his pants.

You feel really hot. You were about to pull his pants down when he holds both of your wrists. You freeze, your mind racing at 100 miles per hour. Did you do something wrong? Are you crossing your line? Did he not want this and you took it otherwise? God this is embarrassing.

You eyes were still wide when he said, "I'm not messing around this time y/n. I really do like you" he looks so very sincere that he moves some part of you. But you decided that you ain't gonna let him go so easily.

"I had three mental breakdowns since yesterday". You shot back. At this his eyes turned sad. Like he was really feeling guilty. You felt bad for him now, wondering if it was too harsh.

"I never wanted that, I thought you would argue with me and at the end of it i'd give you the usb, but you looked so angry, and when u left without saying a word I knew i had fucked up. Big time."

You backed off, hands crossed in front of your chest.

Jungkook knew you were angry. But he couldn't deny that he was beyond turned on by this site, you just in your bra and shorts, angry at him. You didn't know how hard he was trying not to turn you around bend you over your desk and fuck you silly.

You noticed that he visibly gulped, he was eyeing you like a prey. But he waited, because you were angry. He wanted to do this right.

"And all this time I kept wondering what wrong did I do to you. I hate you, you know that Jeon?...

"Baby, i'm sorry" he purred stepping closer.

A new surge of arousal hit you at this. "D.. Don't baby me..." The stuttering gave you out. He smirked liked a devil. He closed the gap between the two of you. He hovered above your lips, "forgive me please" he said just an inch away from your lips.

"Kiss me please" you said, not being able to process anything. And he did, he kissed you like there was no tomorrow. Strong and urgent. He cupped your ass and gave a tight squeeze. You let out a moan.

"Do you want to take it to the bedroom?" He asked voice an octave deeper.

You nodded, not trusting your mouth. He lifted you and you wrapped your legs around him. His body was divine, his skin was smooth, heat radiated from him although he was soaked before, lips not sparring you even one 1 second. You could feel his hard on, on your stomach and it felt powerful that you can do such things to him.

"God i've been dreaming about this for so long"

"How long, jeon?" You asked stripping him off his pants and underwear.

"From the moment you debated with your proffessor about a theory in front of your department. I watched you prove your points to him, and i swear to god I had a hard on since. I had to run to the bathroom to give myself some relief " he chuckles at the memory.

"Nerd" Fully naked now, you stare at his body.

"Damn, why are you so hot. This is not fair"

He looked at you. "I see you haven't gotten rid of your clothes yet y/n.. i would like to watch baby"

So you stripped, putting up a show for him. He grabbed you when you were about to take off you panties. He turned you around, pushed you onto the wall, you balanced yourself onto the wall.

"You're gorgeous." He said before slipping his large hand in your panties and cupping your entire sex. He then hurriedly took your panties off. He pressed himself on your behind and you whimpered. He fondled your breasts with one hand and the other slowly slid towards your dripping core.

He kept touching you there, in slow tantilizing movements. You squirmed. He teased you more, knowing you needed some pressure on your clit. He avoided it the most. You were growing anxious.

"Juuunngkook... Please" you draged each syllable.

"What's wrong?" He was enjoying this way too much you could tell.

"I think I deserve being worshipped after what you make me go through kook". You stated with eyes screwed shut.

"Okay, that's fair". At this he dipped one finger inside, testing if you could take him. He gasped at the warmth and the slick that now covered his fingers. He started slow at first, drawing out low moans from you. Then without alarm he added one more digit and started pistoning in and out. You arched your back with pleasure. You were so aroused, and mixed up with your pent up stress and frustration you could already feel something heavy settling at your lower belly, tightening inch by inch.

"Kook... I'm gonna... Cum". You said between grunts.

"You're doing so good baby, cum on my fingers"

You found your release at his praise. Pleasure coursing through your veins with lightening speed. Mid orgasm Jungkook smacks your pussy. And you go crazy at that, so much that you see white. When you finally come to your sense you find his strong arms snaking your waist and holding you, so that you don't fall down. He upper body completely glued to you.

Then you finally speak, head thrown back chest heaving

"I think,.. this was the strongest I ever came in my life"

Jungkook chuckles, "You're welcome". He kisses your shoulder. He slowly lets you go, so that you can stand by your own. You haven't forgotten the fact that, his hard on is pressing onto your back, waiting for the attention.

"So tell me Jeon..." You kiss him slowly moving towards your bed, you stop, look him innocently in the eye and ask, "Where do you wanna cum? My mouth or my pussy?"

"God, if you keep saying such things, I think i can cum just like this" His hand rubs all over your body, "For now, let's put that sinful mouth of yours into good use, okay?"

You nod, leading him to lie down on the bed.

If somebody would have told you, the previous day, that you out of all the people would blow Jeon jungkook, in your bed. You would have smacked them in the face.

You straddle him, and then you start Pickering kisses, first his mouth then his jaw. You have to admit he is a damn good kisser, you get so lost in the kissing that you almost miss that he is grinding himself onto your core. Coating himself with the slick. You feel your pussy tingling. You keep peppering kisses moving to his jawline, then his neck, biting a bit hard on his sweet spot to make sure it blooms with purple afterwards.

At one point he gropes you ass with one hand and pushes you down to grind with more force.

"Change of plans sweetheart. Do you have condoms?" He asks, eye sparking with lust.

You sit straight, a smirk plastered on your face, you bend towards your nightstand, and bring out a foil packet from your drawer.

"Always so fucking prepared" he slaps your ass, you gasp at the sting. He is looking at you, trying to figure out whether you liked it or not. You moan, with your eyes closed.

Jungkook is painfully hard now. If he doesn't put it inside you, he thinks he might burst out of sheer arousal.

"Baby.." he says in a raspy voice

You hurry up at this, you tear the foil and roll it onto him. You raise up to lie down but he grabs you. "Ride me.." voice octaves lower. You're so wet already, you don't think you need extra prepping. You come back to your stance and slowly sink in holding his member for guidance.

Both moan at the pleasure surging through the body. You're impressed by his strength, for holding out so long. He has his eyes tight shut, almost as if everything is too much for him. You feel great, warm where he is inside you. You notice how beautiful he looks under you. Head arched back into the pillow, he looks sexy as hell.

You were zoned out in your thoughts, when he snapped back. "Y/n move". And there you were riding the most handsome guy from campus. And you couldn't believe both of you were making such mind blowing noises. You piston on him for a while before getting tired, thankfully he got the message. He started thrusting his hips up to you with such a velocity that you didn't know was even possible. You could feel another orgasm right around the corner, but you didn't want to finish before him.

"Kook, are you close?"

"So close baby" he whined .

"Me too.. ughhh"

At this he moved his hands from your hips to your breasts. He gave a squeeze. His member was throbbing inside you.

"Come with me y/n" he said through gritted teeth. Suddenly he then spanked one of your boob, while other hand pressed on your clit. You didn't see it coming and the suprise helped to exceeded any pleasure you felt in your whole life. Heat surged from your fluttering cunt throughout your belly. Your orgasm hit you like a truck. It was so strong you couldn't hear anything for some seconds. That followed by ringing of your ears.

You don't know when did he flipped you on your back but you could see his eyes screwed shut, eyebrows drawn together. One last trust and he was coming with you. Your highest high lasted for a while, and left you with aftershocks. Jungkook collapsed on top of you, he hadn't pulled out yet and your sensitive sex was still clenching on him.

You both layed there motionless. It was he who moved first, pulling out with a slight hiss. He tossed his condom with a knot in the trash can and fell back on the bed with a thump. You were still slightly dazed out from the orgasm. He chuckled seeing you in the bliss.

"God, Jeon, i'll be sore tomorrow."

"Well I'll take that as a complement" he smiled.

"That was hot. You're hot" you replied turning away your head feeling shy, all of a sudden.

He grabbed you by your waist and pulled you close, "Damn baby, i didn't know i'd see this side of y/l/n ever."

"Don't stroke your ego too much jeon".

He kissed your shoulder and smiled, "Do you have any idea, how hot and pretty and beautiful you are?"

You looked at him, for the first time you saw how his eyes twinkled while talking to you.

So you just kiss him, which he welcomes whole heartedly.

.

.

The next day you step in the college campus feeling amazing. You have been smiling to yourself since the morning. Since Jungkook gave back your thesis, it was just an hour's work away from getting the final sweep before submission. You hit the library, finish off your work and finally submit it. Your proffessor was not surprised when you told him that Jungkook pranked you again. Even if he found it weird that you had no anger or resentment towards him, he didn't point it out. Now that you felt 10kgs lighter, you had one class to attend and then you were done for the week.

You were heading back to class, when some of your classmates commented, "Hey y/n, we're rooting for you both" . They glimmered while talking to you. Unfortunately they passed by too quickly for you to enquire. You entered the class, confused and zoned out enough that you don't eveb notice how everyone's eyes are on you.

"Y/l/n".

You know that voice. You look towards the last row, he stands, smiling at you. You didn't know what was happening, but your nerves were on fire. Your hands suddenly got clammy and your heart beat started to fasten. You internally scolded yourself.

*Calm down, it's just Jungkook*

He looked nervous? You could tell, it wasn't his usual cocky behaviour. He didn't know what to do with his hands. So he just let them hang. It's weird you think.

As your gears in your brain were working, you start walking towards him. But his voice stopped you.

"Y/n".. then he jutted out his chin, pointing behind you. You could hear your heart hammering.

You turn.

" Y/N Y/L/N, I'M SORRY, SAY YES.. PLEASE?

-J.K. "

There it was written on the white board. In bold capital letters.

Is this a joke? If it's a joke you're not going to be able to walk out of here. Did Jungkook sleep with you so that he could pull the biggest prank in history? But he said all those sweet things yesterday right?

Before you could react, Jungkook spoke behind you. You turned to find him in front of you. You were hyperaware now, the students who were entering silently took their seats looking at you two. This felt like a scene from the movies.

"Y/n, i'm sorry that all this time I made your life a living hell. But i'm also glad because otherwise I wouldn't have the chance to know you." He smiles, his nervousness showing.

He slowly takes your hand. You let him. You already feel the emotions surging inside you. Is he really going to ask you out in front of the whole class?

He takes a long pause. It's almost painful waiting for him to finish the speech. Then he says-

"I'm sorry, Y/n will you be my girlfriend?" He says in one breath.

You gasped. All you could do was just stare at him, staring you back. Suddenly you forgot how to speak. Jungkook breaks the silence. "Say something please, you're killing me here. I -"

"Yes". He stops speaking. Grin slowly spreading from ear to ear.

"ABOUT FUCKING TIME" Someone from the class cheers. Everybody starts clapping. You can't stop smiling. Jungkook pulls you towards him, hugging you. You hug him back.

"Aww guys just kiss each other already!!" Hoseok, spoke with a mischievous smiled plastered on his face.

Jungkook pulled your face towards him for a kiss. It was a sweet kiss. You smirked when you felt how badly he wanted to shove his tongue down your throat but refrained since you're in public. Seeing you smirk, he whispers to you. "I can't wait to take you to my place after this". You shiver at the thought.

____________________________________________

"Mmmmm, kook..." He kissed your neck. You could get used to this. Straddling his lap and making out.

"Yes baby.." u feel his smirk against your skin.

"I have a question." You said, putting a space between you two. He took your hands and started leaving pecks starting from your knuckles moving upwards. You giggled.

"Why didn't proffessor take our class today, like he came 1 hr late, gave us homework and went away. I feel like this has something to do with you asking me out.."

"Y/n, babe out of all the questions you could ask me while making out, you choose this?" He pretended to be offended. You smacked his chest looking at him expectantly.

He started- "Well I might have talked to the prof before class telling him, i kinda need a favour from him.. "

"WHAT?" U couldn't believe this boy.

"Perks of having good rapport with prof. Also i always pay attention in class. You should learn from me y/n.." he looked at you innocently. As if he was not kneading your ass right now.

"Jeon Jungkook please tell me that you at least made up a situation or does our proffessor has first hand knowledge about us being in love.." the L word just slipped out. You acted like you didn't notice. But he surely did.

He winked at you, smiling wide like he got a promotion. "What did you just say?"

"Ugh about what?"

" About us being in something."

He was so smug about this, you knew he had won. You leaned into him.

"Let me show you instead" you wispered in his ear. The hair on Jungkook's body stood up , he had goosebumps. He picked you up towards his bedroom.

"Goddamn I love you".

[smells-like-ink-and-fire]

Innocence died screaming, honey I should know

Here’s the thing: For all his talk of Gotham being a life-sucking, happiness draining shithole, leaving it had never been truly an option on Jason’s mind. It was his shithole of a city goddammit, the grim dirt streets he would die on. It was his home, the blood on his veins. This city had its claws deep into him, and leaving, especially leaving never to return, had been simply impossible, did not compute to him.

Especially now, that Jason was getting along better with the Bats these days. He still didn’t, and never would agree with Bruce regarding his no-killing rule. But things were better, or at least he thought they were. His presence was expected and even accepted. There were some awkwardness and silent nobody knew how to fill, but there were also jokes and eating junk food together after patrol. Sure, there were a lot of snippy comments but he made those too, gave as good as he got, and Bruce still didn’t quite trust him, not to the extent he did with the other, though that was just a given, he had made peace with it, he still killed, after all, a little suspicion was an acceptable price to pay for it.

Self-righteous, holier than thou bat.

Still, there was an uneasiness on his chest whenever the pointed looks got too much when they would start questioning his actions and his plans like he hadn’t been trained by the world's greatest detective like the rest of them and League of Shadows on top of that. Forgetting that Jason had effectively taken control of the East End in less than two months, and without any of them noticing.

The good parts didn’t lessen the rage-hurt out when Barbara sneered at him, acting like he couldn’t be trusted in the field, like the fact he had issues, that he cared about the victims because he had been one made him incapable of being rational, turned him into something that was eternally compromised. Like he was a mindless raging monster, who would shoot to kill at mere provocation.

He had been, once, fresh out of those green waters, traumatized, angry, afraid, and replaced. He had been a child, too, didn’t that count for something?

Their veiled accusations of insanity, that he had a problem, that needed to be handled like he was a fucking dog, the angry gremlin claims that he was unhinged and the only reason that they kept him around was to keep an eye on him, it all made Jason feel queasy, made him feel less than human.

It made him wonder how truly welcome he was. Was he welcome or they were just trying to appease their guilt and keep a loose cannon from the streets?

But there were undoubtedly good things too. Moments that made it worth it. His relationship with Steph and Duke, and surprisingly, Replacement was getting better, even though the first two were not around as much as he would like. The nights they had spent chewing off some of the undoubtedly brilliant but assholes teachers while demolishing mountains of homework had been fun, and Replacement-Tim was quite a sass master, now only if he could convince the kid to take a step back from WE so that he wouldn’t have a heart attack before he could drink legally.

Replacement, however, was why he was here. Here being diner on the border of the Bowery and Robinsonville, The Raging Duck, a new place that Golden Boy wanted to try, make a family bonding experience out of it, Jason was sure. Replacement had twisted his way around with words in a shape that made it impossible for him not to come. His saving grace was that Jason had already made clear that he couldn’t stay long, under the pretext of having to verify that month payments collection from the Bowery.

Which was goddammed good thing because this whole outing had been a mistake. The last couple weeks had been rough, with the stress of studying and writing applications for his master degree, the couple of murders that almost led to a gang war between the Falcone and the Russians,  plus a decoy staged by the Riddler, as his newest scape plan, that had taken too long to crack leading to an accident that had killed three people and would have killed a lot more if Jason hadn’t said fuck and put bullet holes on some goons heads. This in turn led to an inevitable argument because of Batman's continuous incapacity to see the necessity of his actions while on some level recognizing that was the only poss0ible decision meant that tension had been higher than usual.

Therefore, putting everybody in a room together was definitely not the best idea, Dickie! The last ten minutes certainly proved so, what had started as an easy-going conversation about their early on mishaps of the field, which included a hefty number of stories where the main theme was “And then I said Fuck Batman – With varying degrees of success” that had started as a split-second change of subject in order to avoid a fight breaking out, had turned into passive-aggressive attacking Jason. The worst part was that Jason wasn’t even sure they were doing on purpose.

Did the even realize he was sitting right next to them? Or was he just a ghost?

“… and then the fantastic Robin fell three stores down only to be needed to be saved by the incredible Spoiler! So, listen to me kids, if you’re going to say fuck Batman you should at least be sure there is something to break your fall before you jump.”  - Steph finished the story with a flourish, going back to her waffles.

“That was a level of stupidity that I wasn’t aware that you were capable of Replacement. Really, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.

“Please, as if you weren’t the first one to ignore an order just to fuck with B, Jason. There’s a list. The Incident with the Falcone. Killer Crock latest scape. The entire shit show that was last week. – Tim shot back, mulish, poking at his fries

And every single of those missions was a raging success.

“Which is the one involving Babs, back when she was still BG, you know the one she always mentions, because I don’t know what you did dude but she’s still pissed at you for it.”

“Oh, I know! Bruce forced them to work together on that one, it was a drug-smuggling operation that involved kids. Jason jumped in instead of waiting for her signal. Needless to say, it did not end up well. Babs was so very pissed.”

Yeah for the assholes that thought using kids as drug mules was a good idea. BG was just made the street rat had a better plan than her

“Is that why warehouse 25F is a gory, burned-out mess?”

“Nah, that came later, during that corruption case that nearly put the Comish in the hospital. Or maybe it was the one involving that Nazi Arts dealer?”

“Is there a difference? They always end up in unnecessary explosions. Todd’s need for dramatics and overuse of force are well documented”

Because you can talk about overuse of force, demon spawn.                    

“Robin. Less explosions. Trying to help. Hurt.”

“Yeah, he was trying to help Cass, nobody is denying that the thing is Jason desire to be a little shit and prove Batman wrong is way stronger than his drive to help people, and even though there were far less explosions back then, both he and innocent people have gotten hurt.”

How you’d know? You weren’t around back then Dickface.

“So, we can agree that it’s basically a Pavlovian response for him at this point. Your stubbornness and desire to say Fuck Batman no matter the consequences have been able to surpass death Jason, and if that it’s not a feat, I don’t know what is. Congratulations, really!” – Steph summarized.

He had been holding up fine until that point but he just didn’t have the strength to it anymore, every word out it Tim's mouth felt like the blow of crowbar shattering his ribs, chocking on his own blood because a Batarang slashed his throat. He felt faint. He felt dangerously close to crying.

“I have to go.” – Jason got out of his chair.

“Jason…” – The pitying and yet reproachful note on Dick’s voice made his skin crawl.

“I said I couldn’t stay very long. Some of us have stuff to do. You know criminal empires to run, places to blow up, kneecaps to shoot.” – He doped a twenties bill on the table.

“Todd. Cease being childish. Just because you are unable to accept your failures, and the fact that you were incompetent and arrogant enough to be captured by an enemy does not mean you should incapable of accepting constructive criticism.”

“Not being childish gremlin. I do have a criminal empire to run. And I do take constructive criticism, preferably from people who know what the hell they are talking about. You know people that are more than the “blood sons” of people that are greater than themselves. Noise midgets, not so much. Bye.”  – Jason out of the dinner before any of them can reply.

See you never again.

He doesn’t know how he gets back to his closest safe house. It’s a reasonably good one. He likes this one. He focusses on the things he likes. Hardwood floor. The light green paint. On the things, he doesn’t. The shitty heating. The fact that the cabinets doors don’t shut all the way.

Breaths. Slowly. In and Out. Counts to three hundred. Breaths again.

The tears still prickle on his eyes. His chest feels hollow. His throat is dry. He doesn’t have the strength to move from where he’s sat on the floor, his back against the door. Going a few rounds with Deathstroke had hurt less. It certainly never made him want to crawl under his bed and stay there until the world forget he existed. Of course, Slade had also never blamed for his own death.

Even though his own father had. Reckless, overly aggressive, incapable of following orders, loud-mouthed Robin that got what he deserved, Bruce had said. Maybe not to his face but he had said it. Then again it had been his fault, hadn’t it?

He takes a few more breaths, tries to push his emotions back, locking them deep, and walks to the fridge, pours himself a glass of water. Drinks it. His mind goes back to the conversation. The glass shatters in his hand.

“Oh, fuck!”

He goes to the sink, to clean his hands and throws the broken glass into the trash. Lucky there were only some minor cuts that don’t need stitches even if they hurt like a bitch.

Take that universe!

Still, he wraps them in bandages since he doesn’t fancy cleaning blood out of his sheets. Sleep, however, doesn’t come easily that night, and the time he doesn’t spend tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position to follow to try to fall back asleep in, he spends waking up from dreams that leave him feeling like he’s constantly falling, sharp terror waking him each and every time.

There is no rest for the wicked though, and so he takes off by late morning and goes to check o on the rest of the gang, makes sure Antony is running things smoothly. All in all, it’s pretty boring, with enough paperwork to make a bonfire, but it does the job of taking his mind out the things for a while. Patrol is uneventful, which is a welcome respite, and Jason doesn’t do much more than stop a few muggings and beating up some creeps.

During that time, he keeps an ear out for the bats, especially Dick since he’s not anywhere near the mood to listen to another of the boy wonder lectures about how “Damian is just a child; you shouldn’t take what he says seriously”, especially those came with the addition of being delivered in that tone that screamed, “even though he’s right”. But he must have gone back to his turf because he sees no hair nor hide of him or any of the others.

The next two nights are very much a repetition of that first one, with little sleep and little action, so much so that a paranoid and exhausted part of him gets a bit terrified and so he ends up calling Roy just to hear the genius talk about whatever crazy project he’s been working on lately. If the redhead has any idea why Jason is calling him at four in the morning, he doesn’t comment on it and simply talks until his friend's breath has even out.

This way when the sun comes up the next day, Jason drags himself out of bed and heads straight to the shower, the cold water helps ground him back into his body. Still feeling like shit but at least knowing the difference between dream and reality he eats his breakfast while checking his messages and it’s more than a little bit shocked to see a text from Bruce asking, as in there is an actual please in it if they can talk about a possible case with a few crossed wires. There’s even an invitation to stay for dinner alongside with it, which makes him wonder if Bruce hit his head a little too hard the other day, or if Alfred finally made good on his promise of finding a drug that made him less emotionally stunned.

No matter the cause, the message leaves him hopeful enough that he answers with a yeah, I’ll be there by five.

He arrives at the Manor door fifteen minutes past five, just in case, greeting Alfred with a smile that the old butler easily returns. They make some small talk as the older man demands him to at least drink a cup of tea before heading down. Still, they part at the entrance of the cave and Jason takes those final steps alone.

“Sup, old man?”

“Jason.” – Bruce answers, his back turned, typing at the bat computer, probably filling some reports.

“C’mon B, you’re the one who called me unless of course, you somehow have been possessed and that please was you asking for help, in which case, give me a second and let me call the Martian Manhunter, you gotta give a bit more of information.” – Jason kept his gaze on Bruce’s back, his breath steady, he was not rambling thank you very much!

“There been some talk about an escort service in Diamond District that works as a front from money laundering. I think you might know some of the girls.”

“Little bit out of my way. Maybe you should check with Cat.”

Bruce’s eyes were shining, and the line of his mouth meant that he was finding it funny and Jason was filed to the brim with a wave of warmth and nostalgia. It made him feel like a kid again, it made him like Robin again, like magic.

“Maybe we should.”

“Oh gross! Let’s go back to the ever-existing cases of corruption and gross old man please?”

“Isabella McGarvey”

“Know the surname. Any relation to Ophelia McGarvey?”

"Her older sister I believe, records show that she moved from the East Side two years ago but didn’t take her sister with her because she was a minor…"

Most of the afternoon passed that way. With the Batman and the Red Hood checking financial records, discussing disappearances and police reports in an amiable tone, full of teasing.  It was a welcome change of pace being the one providing the answers to all-knowing Batman for once. So, he took his time explaining the inner workings and the shady dealings of the Alley, preening at the attention and the approval, something he would deny until his second dying day.

Perhaps the only dark spot in the otherwise bright day was the fact that Jason kept purposely having to avoid looking at the southeast corner of the cave, at the glass cage that seemed to hover over them.

Refusing to acknowledge that some part of Bruce would always believe he was dead

“There maybe be a loose end might be worth exploiting but I don’t know how long that window would be open: There was a shooting, a few days ago, near the Bowery and Robinsonville, no cameras, three dead, the assailant left no evidence behind.”

“Don’t know what to tell you Bats, last time I was there I was with your kids, didn’t hear anything, neither did mine. I mean, I could ask but this is Gotham, murders are pretty much the norm. Unless those guys are part of something bigger, I got you nothing.” -  Jason shrugged, already calculating the possibilities of why this is relevant and coming out with nothing.

Damn all-knowing paranoid bat.

“They were. Trafficking ring. Middleman.”

“There is no trafficking ring in the Alley”.

Of that he’s certain.

“There is not. Because those men were killed before they could take anyone. But they were known for it, and they were asking the sort of questions that could ping on your radar.”

“Well, I haven’t heard anything. I’ll make sure to pay more attention, update some protocols.” – Jason answered, already planning to investigate it.

If they were acting as a middleman for someone roaming around then that someone would send more to scoop the territory out and he would be prepared when they came, regardless of what else could be there. There were no trafficking rings in Alley.

“Or maybe you did and decided to take care of it your own terms”

The abruptness of the question was so earth-shattering that he took a few steps back to regain his balance.

“Jesus Christ Bruce if are gonna accuse me of murder you could at least have the decency of start with that. No, I did not kill them. If any of mine did I haven’t heard of it. But as far as I’m concerned is no great loss.” - He succeeds at sounding nonchalant and enraged, hiding the fact that the question felt like a bucket of water, leaving his cold and shaking.

So, this is why Bruce actually called, so he could question Jason about his latest failure, his latest disappointment in Bruce’s eyes. Of course, it was, and he was a fool for ever thinking otherwise. For letting himself hope that Bruce was trying, that he wanted to rekindle the relationship they had when Jason still wore those green panties.

“Where were you at 2:30 in the morning, three nights ago?”

“What?”

Please god, everything but this. I can’t do this again

“At the time of the murder, where were you?

“In a dinner with your kids.” – Jason’s voice was nothing more than a whisper as if all the air had been pushed out of his lungs.

Why you don’t believe me? Why you don’t trust me?

“Damian said you left early, earlier than that, because he got home at 3:00. It takes at least half an hour to get here from there.

“Safehouse a few blocks away, then. Sleeping. Bruce, please”.  – Jason was begging now, voice raw and full of hurt.

“Can you prove that?”

"The hell is wrong with you?!? I already told you: I. DID. NOT. KILL. THEM. When have I ever not taken credit for the people I’ve killed?"

“What’s going on?”

And of course, because his luck could not be worse, that was the Perfect Grayson coming down the stairs. He could feel the headache forming behind his eyes. He did not want to deal with this shit right now.

Was it too much to ask for the ground swallow him whole?

“Nothing! Bruce’s just spent the last five minutes pointlessly accusing of murder! Can you get the fuck out so we can continue discussing it?”

“You were near the scene of the crime, you have a motive, the means, and a history.”

“Wait you killed someone?”

“No! Keep up, Bruce is just being a dick, you know like you usually are.”

“Is a valid concern”

“Is a piece of shit that is what it is!”

“Can someone please explain?”

“Bruce thinks I killed three people after I left the dinner the other day.”

That what you did after you left? It’s that what you meant by shooting kneecaps? Jay… I know that you were angry but this…

“Jesus Fucking Christ Didn’t I just say its bullshit?”

“You said that?”

“It was a joke”

“You have motive, means, no alibi and now your brother is telling me that you left because you needed to shoot someone. What do you want me to believe?”

“THAT I WOULDN’T LIE ABOUT IT!”

“If you were planning only to main them, if your anger got the better out you, as it has before if you did it out impulse, and is trying yo hide it.”

“You know what Bruce? You’ve already made up your mind so I will do us all a favor and get myself out. You can’t trust me? Well, I can’t trust you. From now on there will be no bats at the East End. If you are seen, you will be shot. That’s how trigger happy I fucking am!”

He pushed passed Dick and Bruce, the world was tingled with pit green glow, his ears were roaring, no sound, only rage, and loss. Every step he took was calculated, his breath was short, measured. A of violence ready to blow up at the mere provocation held together only by the barest threads of sanity and humanity and the training Ducra had given him. Roy’s voice babbling at him. Kori’s booming laughter. Kyle ridiculous art. Donna’s everlasting sass and warmth.

Somehow, someway he made home without turning Gotham into a bloodbath, and the relative he felt at activating the security protocol was fastly overtaken by fear. He hadn’t had an attack like that in over three months. Hadn’t let the Pit burning so strong in his veins in so long. Hadn’t felt that disconnection to reality since his early days out of the Pit.

Just the idea of what could have happened in case he lost control made Jason grab the nearest bucket and puke. He stayed there, pressing the palm of hinds to his eyes, heaving.

It didn’t matter, because it didn’t happen.

His phone rang, and if it was anybody else calling, he let go straight to voicemail, but it was Talia’s ringtone and she didn't call jus for kicks, so he presses answer.

“If I told you I didn’t kill a man would you believe me?” – Jason blurts out before he can stop himself, red coloring his cheeks as he realizes what he just said, cursing himself for his stupidity.

“Of course. Why would…I see.” – Talia’s face goes from neutral to confusion and finally anger in a matter of seconds. – “Your father does not know you at all Habibi, and that, rest assured, is entirely his fault. He’s too caught up in the image he made of you to be able to see you as truly are.”

“Batman being a stunned idiot, who can look past his own reasoning of the world? What an earthshattering idea T! – Jason says sarcastically trying to cover up his earlier emotional outburst. -  Anyway, got a reason for calling?

“Do not play coy with me, Jason, it’s unbecoming. Regardless, I do not believe Gotham has done you good. Moreover, I do not believe your father's actions towards you have been in any way helpful to your recovery and growth.”

“What are you? My therapist?”

“I would not be against for you to see one, but I would not force you either. Your choices, as always, must be your own. Besides is my understanding that to be effective therapy must also involve privacy. Another thing that its unlikely to come by if you are to remain here.

“Gotham needs me. The Alley needs me, God knows the Bat can’t handle this shit, they don’t care and even if they did the Alley would never trust them” – It wasn’t as much a rebuttal as it was an excuse

“They do, but you are of no use to them if you are constantly emotionally compromised by the rash and thoughtless actions of those who do not understand you and do not seek to. Loyalty is a gift that must be not be given lightly and they make ill use of yours while reaping the benefits of it. Perhaps it’s time for them to learn how to much you do for them. The absence does make the heart grow fonder.”

“You’re telling me to leave.”

“I’m telling take a step back. You’ve done tremendous work, but there’s more to you then violence. The petty criminals and drug dealers and the pimps are all properly terrified, your minions are capable enough that they can keep your operation running without your direct involvement. Rest. Recover. Come back when you are ready. Besides, you do have your master’s degree to consider, don’t you?”  - Jason blushed, Talia wasn’t one to give compliments that she didn’t mean, and she did have a point, but…

But what? What did he truly have here? It had taken less than ten minutes for Dick convince Bruce, based on nothing more than a few throw away words Jason had said when he was angry and hurting, that Jason had killed a man and once that decision had been made no amount of evidence would make Bruce turn around in his favor. The others probably already knew what had happened and just as likely had decided to stay away from him from now on. After all, if he couldn’t take a little teasing without blasting someone’s brains out then he was certainly no better than the crazies in Arkham, to them.

What Talia was offering has the peace of taking a walk without being judged by the path he chooses to walk on, let the dust stele until bygones were bygones and he could look at Dick’s- Holier-Than-Thou face without breaking every single bone in it.

What did he have to lose that he couldn’t take back later on?

“You do realize that this will take quite a bit of work and resources, right? – Jason could almost see that pleased little smile of hers spread on Talia’s face.

“You do realize who you are speaking with don’t you Habibi? Let’s get to work.

[omg-foreverfilledwithweird-posts]

Daddy’s Girl

Pairing: AU! Bucky Barnes X Reader

Summary: Bucky Barnes, a single father of his daughter Winnifred, named after his late mother, with sad, tortured eyes and a kind, open heart, hires Y/N to babysit his little girl while he works at his new construction job, coming home only at lunchtime. Innocent and fiery and compassionate, you find your way into his heart and soon his daughter isn’t the only one you come over for.

A/N: so as you can see I haven’t posted a fanfiction in awhile, been busy and stuff, and i want to go back to my roots and write a bucky story cause i adore writing him and I haven’t written an AU yet so I decided to do this one (he’s still a super soldier and was around in the 40′s just domesticated now we love him uwu) and as always i hope you guys enjoy and feedback is appreciated because it’s my only form of validation and i love it this ones a long one btw and rushed and WHOA and if ya want a part two LEMME KNOW

Warnings: really freaking fluffy, mild language, age-difference, cuteness, mentions of cheating and war trauma, slight angst, alcohol consumption, heavy makeout, 

Your knuckles ghosts over the large, wooden doorway laden with vines, climbing up the cedar detailing, other hand gripping your bag strap tightly. You’re nervous, to say the least, this job funding your payments for online university and you don’t want to jeopardize anything on your first day. He’s offered more than enough for your hourly wage, more than any babysitting job you’ve had before, any job for that matter, and based on his house, it’s no wonder he can afford to do so.

Your fist finally knocks against the door and it opens almost immediately, as if he’s been waiting behind the door this whole time you’ve been standing here, both stalling. You’ve only heard his voice over the phone, deep and charming, but that didn’t do him justice. Sculpted face, from marbled, olive clay, cerulean blue eyes that are already looking you over, dark, brunette hair to his jawline and messy with the slightest of curls, and lips, curved at the edges permanently, like he was born with a face to smile. His left arm is made of metal, cool and hard steel you want to reach out and touch like a painting in the Met, off limits. But you don’t dare stare too long, don’t dare pry. He’s beautiful and you’re almost stunned into silence, not expecting the man before you.

“Y/n, right?” he asks, flashing a soft, half smile, warm and inviting.

“No, wait... yeah,” you laugh nervously, shaking your head, scrunching your nose when embarrassment floods to your face, flushed. “Sorry, yes, I’m y/n.”

His smile widens, “I’m James, but I go by Bucky. You can call me whichever you like. Please, come on in.”

You share in his smile, making the eye contact your past bosses would always reprimand you about, something about respect they said, and walk inside when he opens the door a little wider for you, “Yes, sir,” you say and he ignores the not so subtle tug in his chest when you say that, following in behind you after shutting the door.

“So uh... this is my humble abode, I guess,” he tugs on the curls at the ends of his hair as your eyes scan the house, speechless at the interior design, imagining that it gets lonely in this big home with just the two of them.

“Humble isn’t exactly the word I would use,” you look back at him. “Your home is gorgeous. This foyer alone is bigger than my apartment,” you laugh lightly.

Bucky noticeably softens, bashful, hands stuffed deep in his pockets when he walks ahead of where your standing rooted to the floor, “It was my ma’s... she left it after she passed. I’ve barely been able to keep up with the payments, but I do what I can.”

“I tried to...” he notices a barbie doll laying on the ground and kicks it swiftly under the staircase so you wouldn’t see but you catch the small exchange and smile. “Clean up as much one can with a five year old spider monkey on their back. I apologize if it’s messy in some rooms.”

You giggle, “No need to be sorry,” you assure him, tugging on your bag strap, filled to the brim with games to keep the child busy and occupied, also including some snacks and your cellphone. “Mess is natural.”

His shoulders slack, relaxing when hearing that, a soft smile his only response.

“Speaking of, hey, sweetheart!” he calls up the stairs, leaning against the railing, rolling up the sleeves of his light green flannel, unintentionally showing off his ripped forearms, toned and tan from working outside. “Come downstairs and meet y/n, she’s going to be taking care of you from now on while I’m working!”

“Hey is for horses, daddy!” she yells down the stairs, little voice high pitched and extremely adorable.

“Uncle Steve told you that, didn’t he?” he rolls his eyes, flashing a smile in your direction, sharing in the expression with him.

The little girl appears at the top of the staircase and she’s bouncing with energy, blonde curls raining down her shoulders, stuffed unicorn tucked under her pudgy arm, “He also said yelling is impolite. Especially when it’s from another room.”

“I’m gonna kill him,” he sighs, grumbling under his breath as he patiently awaits for his daughter to skip down the stairs, jumping into his open arms. He groans at the impact and spins her around.

“Well, how about you tell Uncle Steve to shove it,” he looks at her and she giggles, bubbling with laughter when he tickles her sides. “Can you do that for me?”

“Isn’t that mean?” she narrows her blue eyes, much like her father’s, big and bright.

“Yes, but I’ll allow it just this once.”

She nods, saluting her goofy father and he salutes back, brothers in arms. You’ve never seen a parent so in love with their kid like this, so kind and gentle.

He sets her down on the ground once again, the little girl finally acknowledging your presence with a curious tilt of her head, almost like a cat. “Is this the lady?”

“Winnifred, this is y/n,” he nudges her towards you, hand on her back pushing her forward. “And y/n, this is the spider monkey I was talking about,” he cracks a smile and you chuckle, lowering yourself to the ground to get to her level.

“Hi, Winnifred,” you extend your hand. “I’m y/n. It’s very nice to meet you. Your giraffe is really cute.”

She takes two of your fingers in her small hand, thin, golden brown glasses perched on the bridge of her nose and shakes, formal and polite when she puffs up her chest while doing her best to mimic her father, “I’m Winnifred but I go by Winnie, call me whicheva’ you prefer.”

Bucky looks at his daughter, stunned and mouth agape, “Are you mocking me?”

She furrows her small brow, faking offense, but she’s crossing her fingers behind her back where only you can see, “Of course not.”

“Were you listening this whole time, Winnie?” you ask her quietly and she grins, nodding rapidly, as hyper as the energizer bunny. You give her a small, secret fist bump, both sharing a small smile.

“You two will get along perfectly,” James rolls his eyes.

You’re braiding back Winnifred’s hair into plaited pigtails, tying off the ends with violet ribbon you brought from home, when Bucky walks down the staircase, work bag hanging off his broad shoulder. He blinks hard when he sees you, smiling with blushing cheeks, eyes tired. “Oh, hey, you’re early.”

“I also made you a sack lunch,” you hold up the paper bag with one hand, and fix up Winnie’s hair with the other.  

You’ve been here a week now and it’s slowly become routine, you getting here early even though you don’t have to, going out of your way to do nice things for him because you know he needs it, and him blushing, oblivious to your affections but growing in his own.

His hand brushes yours when he accepts the lunch from your grasp, calloused fingers touching yours.

“Goodbye, sweetheart, I love you. Be good for y/n and I’ll see you at lunch,” he kisses the top of her head and almost like it’s out of habit, sleep deprivation, confusion, or just him plain wanting to, he kisses the top of your head too.

You look up at him, surprised, and Winnifred practically squeals, deep color filling your face.

He closes his eyes in embarrassment, clearly exhausted and delirious, “I didn’t mean to do that, I’m so sorry, it’s a force of habit. I’ve made you uncomfortable, haven’t I? I’m s-”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” you assure him, laying your hand on his forearm, subconsciously running your thumb over the skin when you try to relax his anxious rambling. You laugh a little, he’s like a puppy in more ways than one, “I’m not uncomfortable, here...” you get up off where you’re sitting on the couch, Win watching you expectantly.

You stand up on the tips of your toes, seeing as he’s six foot and then some, and kiss the top of his head, gentle and doting. “There you go, now we’re even,” you share a small smile with him, eyes alight.

He searches your face for something but you don’t know what, finding that unknown thing in your eyes before edging a soft smirk and chuckling, “Thank you. That... oddly helped.”

You grin brilliantly and Winnifred jumps on your back from the cushion on the couch, both of you sharing a laugh, “You’re welcome, I knew it would. Have a good day at work, we’ll be here.”

“You too,” he runs a hand through his behead of hair, looking at the two of you adoringly before walking over to the door.

“This isn’t work for me,” you say happily. “I love this spider monkey,” you scrunch your face up and stick out your tongue at her, Winnifred copying your silly expression.

She puts her small hands on your face and shakes you around, you toss her over your shoulder in retaliation. Bucky watches on at the adorable exchange and his heart aches in a way he’s never felt like that before, not his ex wife, not his past girlfriends, not the whirlwind of dames he went through in the 40′s army, not drunken one night stands he thought about calling the next day, and it scares him. You. And his attraction to you soon grows to much more than just that.

“Bye,” he sort of half smiles, heart beating out of his chest when he sees you give him a passing smile as he walks out, both of you still grinning even after the other leaves.

~~~

He’s sitting out on the patio when you’re about to leave for the day, just after putting Winnifred down for her nap. She had been clinging to your tee shirt until you broke down to her begging in telling her a story. There’s a bottle of beer in his hand, and you’re struck at how the moonlight is cascading down his sitting figure, how pleasing he is to look at, rocking back and forth in his white rocking chair. The paint on the old seat is chipping, old, and creaking under his weight, masking the sound of you closing the door behind you, tugging on your bag.

He sees you anyway, always taught when he was a soldier that he needs to look out and keep being alert at all times in case of an attack, that it’s either him or the enemy. His eyes are glazed over when he looks at you like he’s somewhere else before he shakes himself out of it, gulping audibly in your presence when tucks a falling strand of your hair behind his ear. He tied his hair up in a bun, the occasional tendril escaping the elastic.

His five o’clock shadow is more prominent out here in the near dark, stars speckling the sky above you both.

“Hi,” you exhale, running a hand through your hair so it’s out of your face, wearing a crooked grin Bucky can’t bring himself to want to fix. It’s so perfectly you. “I’m sorry if I interrupted your alone time, I know it’s hard to come by as of lately,” you chuckle, nervous beyond repair, almost losing your balance just standing here. “I’ll go and leave you alone-”

“Stay.”

It’s a single word and he says it with such gentleness and permanence you can’t say no. Not that you’d want to anyway, you’ll always say yes.

You nod, “I’d love to, but... are you sure?”

“Very,” he assures you, nodding towards the porch swing beside him, swaying in that late night breeze, curling itself around you and licking your bones, that warmth your feeling being something else. Someone else.

“Alright,” you concede and walk over to sit down on the swing, not needing much convincing.

You lay down on the swing, bare legs kicked up in the air when your jean shorts ride up ever so slightly, the hot sun in the day now biting you in the ass because the temperature has changed so drastically, nipping at your skin. His eyes fall over your toned legs and he’s intoxicated. You let out a long sigh you’ve been holding in all day, feeling the ice cold glass of a beer bottle in your outstretched hand, and you yelp slightly, opening your eyes and taking the beer he’s given to you with a small, gracious smile.

“Rough day?” he asks, taking a swig of his own drink.

“No, not at all, Winnifred’s the perfect kid,” you gush, twisting off the top of the bottle and sipping the drink. “I just never sleep. What with college and stuff.”

He smiles at the compliment to his daughter, agreeing completely, “Where do you go?”

“Community college down the street by my apartment, I only go part time, but it’s still... time consuming. I stayed up all night studying for upcoming exams.”

“Today isn’t so good for everyone I guess,” he nurses his drink, swirling it around absentmindedly. “Today’s an anniversary of mine.”

You frown a little at that, forgetting the idea of him being with someone, that familiar feeling of a hole in your chest, sipping the beer, “You and... your wife?”

His lips slightly tug upward at your change in tone, “Of our divorce...”

“Oh,” your eyes widen the tiniest bit, swirling your drink. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” his eyes soften at your kind words. You’re good, too good. For him, anyway. “I walked in on her... and my brother, after coming home from work. One month after Winnifred was born, she was asleep that night, they did it just one room away from my little girl...” he clenches his fist around his bottle and the glass fractures. 

“She saw me and I didn’t say anything. I just looked at her. She said it was because I wasn’t angry that she was doing this. Because I never feel anything. I walked out, no emotion, nothing. So maybe she was right about that,” he laughs dryly, scratching the back of his neck, another strand falling across his face. “She left with him that night and I haven’t seen any of them since, maybe the occasional Facebook post of her and her new family but... all Winnie knows is that she’s gone, she asks me a lot if it’s her fault.”

“You don’t deserve that,” you say tenderly, as if cooing an injured animal, leaning forward. Your small shirt rides up slightly, revealing the soft pudge of your stomach when you reach out to put your comforting hand on his arm. He’s swept under your spell. “Winnifred doesn’t either.”

“It was tough at the time,” he admits honestly, baring his soul to you. “But I’ve moved on since, some things just aren’t...” you two lock eyes. “-meant to be, I guess.”

“She’s what we women like to call a cunt,” you tell him, your attempt to lighten up the mood. “Just look up the definition and you’ll see her picture, with your brother right behind her.”

He laughs, genuinely this time, eyes crinkling in the corners kind of laugh, the contagious one that gets you started too. It feels good, makes you both forget about your troubles. Just you two, under starlight, on this painted, wooden porch, in the beginning of June. Because you can’t be bothered with anything else.

“Thank you,” he praises, raising the bottle to his pink mouth. “I see why Winnifred adores you so much. It took dozens of some odd babysitters, but, hey, we got you now.”

“Well... I don’t normally swear around my bosses,” you flush in the slightest. 

“I’ll allow it just this once,” he takes a sip, looking at you from the corner of his eyes, lips wrapped around the rim and coated with liquor when they curl at the edges. 

“You’re too kind,” you breathe a chuckle and take your own sip, meeting eyes over a shared bottle of beer in both your fists. 

“You’re the first to say so.”

“With a heart like yours, Buck... I highly doubt that,” you stand up from the porch swing, backpack in hand again. No one’s called him that since Steve and girlfriends in the 40′s, but he likes the way you say it much better. He can just hear the smug voice of his best friend now. From when he called him while you were upstairs.

“You like her, Buck,” he told him, that damned smile searingly loud even over the phone. “I can tell, haven’t heard you talk about a dame like this since...” he paused. “Since no one, actually.”

“I can’t like her,” Bucky had reiterated, to himself mostly, trying to convince himself what his heart was telling him otherwise. “She babysits my kid, she’s ten years younger than me... she won’t like an old man like me.”

“Since when as age been an obstacle for you? And if we’re getting technical, it’s more like a 110 years younger.”

“Well it is now,” Bucky chuckled. “And since when have you been such a smartass?”

“I’ve had a good teacher,” he snarked. “Just give it a chance. Or the next time you gush about her, I’ll go and tell the doll myself.”

“You’re not allowed here after all that polite shit you drilled into my daughter’s head. She’s a little you now.”

“I taught her manners,” Steve laughed. “Sue me.”

“If I could... believe me, I would.”

“Thank you,” he looks up at you from where your standing. “For everything.”

“Of course,” you smile and he stands up himself, knowing he should go inside. “But I uh... I should get home, it’s getting late.”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” he finally realizes, stuffing his hands deep in his jeans pockets, like a lovestruck teenager all over again, unsure what to do. “And you know... as long as I’ve been around, one of the only benefits of being a super solider, I’ve never met someone that talks as much as you do.”

You laugh, flustered and bright from the summer night air biting at the button of your nose, “I don’t know whether to be flattered or insulted.”

“It’s a good thing,” he says and you gravitate towards each other. “I’ve gotten sick of the quiet.” 

You look down at your sneakers, “I’m glad I could be of service.”

You’re both so close, noses slight brushing when he’s inadvertently backed you up into the wooden railing. His hand opens and closes, before closing tightly into a fist. 

He looks you over, as if he’s holding himself back from reaching out, wanting so much of you, but it’s never enough, “Goodnight, y/n. Get home safely, alright?”

Your lips dip downward, a frown on your lips that he can’t help but take notice of when he dismisses you, but he wants to protect you. He doesn’t want to do something you both would regret. A monster like him.

You bounce back quickly with a small smile, “Oh, right. Goodnight, Mr. Barnes,” and your eyes linger on his face before you’re walking down the steps.

~~~

James walks through the backyard, it’s a hot summer day, now in mid July, and you and Winnifred are running through the sprinkler. Your bare feet slap against the wet grass, green on your heels. He watches how your skin glistens in the sun with sweat and sun screen, sun burned cheeks and hair that clings to your face in tendrils. He can’t keep his eyes off of you, a coral, pink bikini top and jean shorts, the slightest of bows tied at the top from your string bottoms. He itches to get his hands on it, to pull, to see the supple skin underneath. His eyes fall over the dips and curves of your breasts and hips, your waist, your ass. 

You run a hand over your hair, getting it out of your face and eyes to look at him with a brilliant, sunshine grin, wringing out the water in your locks, “Hey, you’re home early.”

“I-I got off a little early today because there was a heat warning, what are you guys doing outside?” he drops his work bag by the door and walks towards you both, arms folded over his chest.

“Playing in the sprinkler!” Winnifred answers, throwing her hands up, when the water hits her and she giggles freely. “Duh!”

“Really?” his eyebrows raise, mumbling smart aleck under his breath with a tiny, turned up smile. “And why is that?”

“Cause it’s fun,” you grin, crooked and bright. 

You walk over to him, extending your hand, and he looks at the gesture, suspicious, a teasing smile forming. “I won’t bite... I promise.”

You take his hand and pull him to you, stepping through the grass and stringing him along until you’re in the sprinkler and he’s soaked. His white Henley shirt clings to his tanned muscle and your eyes are anywhere but, too keep yourself sane. He looks at you, looming over, running a hand back through his slick hair, water droplets falling from his long lashes and he’s laughing, grabbing you and throwing you over his shoulder like a rag doll, one muscular arm wrapped around your legs. They dangle off his torso when you kick, punching his back to put you down, but your sides split from laughing, so loud and obnoxiously. 

“I wanna be carried! I wanna be carried!” Winnifred giggles excitedly, holding onto your foot where it’s hanging.

He sets you down, soft breasts to his hard chest, his hands on your waist when he puts you back on solid ground. You lock eyes with him and your fingers itch to reach out and touch him, run your hands through his hair and tug him closer to you. 

He opens his mouth to speak, inhaling sharply, “Y/n, I-”

“Y/n! He has cooties, come play with me instead!” Winnifred yells, loud and jumping up and down.

“You heard the girl,” you smile, sad and dreamy eyed. “You’re contagious.”

“Go on, then,” he laughs, looking at you like he’s about to say something again, but ultimately decided against it. Your face falls at the missed opportunity, “I’ll see you inside.”

~~~

Winnifred fell asleep across Bucky’s lap, curled up within herself under a weighted, fluffy blanket, head against his chest. You smile at the adorable moment, how his face has softened around her as the television drones on of a Disney movie you turned on that neither of you paid attention to. Ten minutes in and Winnifred was snoring away, dead asleep after laying on her father’s lap. 

“I’ll bring her upstairs,” he clears his throat as he picks her up, small against his broad and muscular frame. “If uh... you want to come with,” his lips kick up and you share it, both dreary and dog tired.

“Of course,” you yawn, stretching out your limbs, and you follow after him up the stairs, watching as he doesn’t struggle to carry her at all up the staircase.

You both step into her room as he lays her down in her Frozen themed, princess sized bed, Elsa and Anna on her pillow and large, cloudy blanket, fuzzy to the touch. She snuggles herself into the cozy mattress and smiles into her pillow, flushed with sleep and activity from the day. You and Bucky’s eyes meet over her, and to anyone on the outside looking in, you’re a happy, little family, the wholesome sitcom kind. 

He doesn’t mind that image at all.

The two of you walk out of the room after turning on her sound machine and glow worm night light, shutting the door softly behind you. You press your back against her door, hand still on the handle like it’s tethering you to reality, keeping you on solid ground. 

“This is probably... a really odd request but could you stay with me in bed... until I fall asleep?” he asks, bashful and hesitant. “I’ve been having these... night terrors lately, flashbacks, and it’s hard to sleep, so I thought maybe if someone was there with me, someone I trust then-”

“I’m happy to do it,” you smirk at his boyish smile and how timid he’s become all of a sudden, walking alongside him to his . “But if I fall asleep waiting for you to do it, don’t blame me.”

He chuckles, deep from his chest when he opens the door to his bedroom, leading you inside. You rush over and jump onto the mattress, plopping down on the soft blankets and pillows, watching him roll his eyes in a fond, affectionate sort of way that has your heart working overtime. He lays down beside you, chest rising and falling in one deep breath, none of you wanting to fall asleep despite your exhaustion. You want to savor the moment. Him and you so close.

You sit up, hair falling angelically over your face, a curtain over your eyes that shields you both from the outside world. His eyes drift to the soft pout of your lips, pink and how your tongue drags across the pillow of your bottom lip, curling at the edges when you see where his eyes lay. His eyes then drift off to what he hopes to be sleep, breathing slowing as he gracefully slips into slumber. You watch his hardened features soften as he does, lips parted ever so slightly, dark eyelashes kissing his cheeks, and you know that this is love.

It’s not more than fifteen minutes into his sleep that he shoots upright, sweat dripping down his face, coating his hair and skin, now matted on his clothes, and he’s hyperventilating, eyes glazed over with visions of his past. You wake up soon after, startled by his harsh breaths and incoherent mumbles, whispers of a former life.

“Please... please don’t. She’s all I have,” he says, voice breaking but at the same time he’s robotic, not awake, and a tear slips from his eye. He’s shaking in his covers and you know what he’s dreaming about. 

“Don’t hurt Winnifred, please, I’m the monster, not her. S-she shouldn’t be hurt, take me instead,” his heart seizes in his chest. He calls out your name in his tired voice, broken sobs escaping. 

You throw your arms around him, close to tears yourself, clutching him to your chest to wake him from the nightmare, cooing softly in his ear until his breathing calms and he’s silent.

“I’m okay, Winnifred’s okay, we just put her to bed, Buck. It’s just a dream, it’s not real...” you run a hand through his brunette locks, teasing the scalp and rubbing small stars into his back, bringing him slowly back in to the present and out of his own dark, warped thoughts. 

You move to put your hands on either side of his face, his eyes finally back to their normal glimmer, now awake. You brush your thumb against the stubble on his jaw, fingers massaging into the skin, “I’m here, just keep looking at me.”

He looks up at you, wide eyed and cautious of his every move, and to calm him down further, or possibly just to indulge your own wants, you kiss his forehead. Pressing lips against his cheek, his nose, his jaw, his temples, small groans escaping him when he takes your face in his hands and crashes his mouth against yours and it’s a symphony, harmony of moving lips. 

“No, no... we can’t,” he whispers, just barely in front of your lips. 

“Why?” you look at him, questioning.

“It-it’s not right...” he groans at the desperate expression on your face, hair mussed and lips swollen, throwing all caution to the wind. 

“Stop talking,” you silence him, shaking your head with a soft smile, and your lips are on his again.

He greedily swallows your moans when his hands fall down your body, each and every ample curve in the palm of his hand. His hands slides under your thighs, gripping the smooth flesh and picking you up so you straddle his hips, legs wrapped around him. You grind your ass into him, purring, his breath quickening along with your heaving chest. It’s hard to imagine, wanting something for so long and finally getting it, like reaching out for light and finally grasping it between your fingers, that starlight you’ve been searching for since that night on the porch with him. And it’s better than you dreamed it up to be. He breaks away, both of you open mouthed and you kiss the dimple that appears when his lips twitch upwards while looking at you.

You trail your fingers up his metal arm and he feels the pressure of your hand, the warmth of your skin and the sudden press of lips against the cool steel when you kiss his palm. 

He flips you both over so he’s above you, stubble scratching against your neck when he places sloppy, open mouthed kisses down your skin and sucks bruises on your most sensitive pulse points, a frenzy of tongue and teeth. A man untamed.

Bucky resurfaces and looks at you, lust and sincerity in his gaze, hungry, “Are you sure?”

“About what, Buck?”

“Us.”

“Unquestionably.”

[starshinegoblin]

Kiss Your Live Like I Do

Prompt: A kiss out of Spite  Notes: * SunRain is a fake restaurant name I made up. *Chad Hardgrove is an oc that is a fellow gamer and has an obvious crush on Jin Ling that Jin Ling doesn’t see. 

Key Terms: Bàba - Dad Bóbo - Father’s Older Brother, Referencing Meng Yao Jiujiu - Mother’s Younger Brother, Referencing Jiang Cheng; in my AU, Jin Ling calls Wei Wuxian, Uncle Ying.  Wàipó - Mother’s Mother, Referencing Madam Yu

----

“I’ll be right back, babe.”Jin Ling says to him as his phone starts vibrating between them. Jingyi’s eyes flicker down at the phone seeing that it’s his beloved jiujiu. He nods in understanding earning a kiss to his cheek before Jin Ling picks up his phone, leaving the table to talk to his uncle. 

After he leaves, that's when their servers come with refills and everyone's dinner. Jingyi’s mouth waters at the sight of his dinner. He looks over checking that Jin Ling’s is alright before the servers leave. 

“You know that his video was trending.” Jingyi hears Jin Chan says as he’s about to take a bite of his shrimp salad. He’s been craving it for the past week since Jin Ling had taken him here on their date night. Jingyi looks up wondering who he is speaking too because Jin Chan didn’t continue on like he normally would. That’s when he sees that the man is looking at him. His brow arched with a frustrated pointed look at him. 

“Oh, you’re talking to me?” Jingyi asked confused noticing that everyone else was focused on other conversations. 

“Who else do you think I was talking to?” Jin Chan sighed taking a bite of his steak. 

Jingyi repressed the urge to roll his eyes at the man. The only reason they were all at SunRain together was because Jin Ling and his friends wanted to meet up and catch up from where they’d all been so busy for the last month and a half after a new release. He did however pointedly look around the table. Most of them were fellow gaming youtubers except for Lan Sizhui and Wang Shu. Thankfully, Hardgrove* wasn’t able to be here tonight. 

“Was there a point to telling me that he was trending? He is my boyfriend.” Jingyi asked sarcastically, after Jin Chan huffed. Of course the man would start something when Jin Ling isn’t sitting here beside him. Of all of Jin Ling’s friends, Jin Chan is the one who acts like he can tell him what he can’t and can do in their relationship. Like he isn’t aware that his boyfriend is a celebrity.

“Did you see the part where his viewers could see your hands?” Jin Chan asked as he took a drink of his soda. Jingyi’s right eye twitched in annoyance. Of course he’d seen the video. One, the video was on the trending pages of Youtube for the last week. Two, Jingyi always watches his boyfriend’s videos. Especially since he was out of town when it was uploaded. He’d been nestled on his hotel bed watching the video waiting for Jin Ling to get up for the day since he’d been in Los Angeles with his cousin and Wei Wuxian. 

“And?” Jingyi retorted, tone sharp, making Lan Sizhui turn his head to look at him. He sat back in his seat eyeing his boyfriend’s friend. The video was good and Jin Ling’s reactions were golden for his fans. It was filmed a week earlier than the release date. So, Jingyi was home. He’d come into his boyfriend’s game room wearing sweats, a henley, and a face mask. Something that was normal even when filming. His fans have come accustomed to seeing him in occasional videos. In this video though he’d gotten to sit behind Jin Ling after setting down the snacks he’d brought for them. The latter had leaned back against him playing happily. Just out of habit from doing this so much, he’d wrapped an arm around Jin Ling’s waist. His hand slipping slightly under his shirt rubbing soothing circles on the sun kissed skin as he messed with his phone from time to time. There was nothing sexual about it and the angle of the camera had allowed the audience to barely see it. 

“You should be more careful. I just worry that something will happen and you don’t want-” Jin Chan started but Jingyi stopped him. 

“What? If there was anything indecent about the video it would never have gone up. I assure you underneath his bóbo’s management and his wàipó’s careful eyes on his reputation that nothing was missed prior to being posted. So keep your advice to yourself.” Jingyi stated, annoyed. His appetite leaving him. He let out a sigh setting his fork down. 

“A-Yi.” Lan Sizhui called his name. His tone and expression filled with concern. 

“Is something wrong?” Jin Ling asked, sitting down. The smile on his face slipping feeling the tension and seeing the fake smiles his boyfriend and friend put on their faces.

“Nope.” Jingyi answered, leveling a glare at Jin Chan, daring the man to open his mouth. His dinner might be spoiled but he wasn’t going to let the other spoil Jin Ling’s. Apparently, the man had some sense and kept his big mouth shut. 

“Then why aren’t you eating your salad?” Jin Ling asked, reaching over to steal one of Jingyi’s shrimp. 

“Waiting for you.” Jingyi said pinching his boyfriend’s leg playfully. 

“Well, I’m here. So eat.” Jin Ling replied, his smile brightening at the genuine smile now on his boyfriend’s face. He didn’t need Uncle Wangji’s sixth sense for knowing when someone was lying to know that his boyfriend had just fibbed. Jin Ling decided that he’d wait till later to find out what had happened even if he had to get it from Lan Sizhui- who was looking worried. 

When he found out later that night after some rather delicious interrogating, Jin Ling was annoyed and ready to smack his friend upside his head. How dare he say anything? He wanted to say something but he promised Jingyi he wouldn’t. Jingyi had said that he’d handled it and to just to please let it go. So, like the good boyfriend that he is, he did! Well, sort of…

Jin Ling found the perfect opportunity almost two weeks later. Jingyi was home because Lan Wangji had cancelled his performance in Thailand after his Uncle Ying had accidentally gotten a head injury involving some avocados. Shaking his head in confusion after getting the call from his bàba and Lan Sizhui. He didn’t understand it fully but welcomed a hundred percent that his boyfriend wasn’t flying out of the country for two weeks.  

The two of them were currently in his game room doing a q and a live. A request that his fans have been wanting since his video was trending. After Jingyi agreed to join him, Jin Ling had happily taken to his twitter announcing it. They’d gotten some rather good questions about Jin Ling’s career, games, advice, and more than one about his relationship with Jingyi. There had been questions about Jingyi’s job but respectfully informed them that he wanted his job to be private. The two of them only answering the appropriate ones and genuinely praising each other. While filming, his friend’s chat group started blowing up on his phone about his live. In the mix of all their texts he notices some of the notifications are  from Jin Chan. 

At the same time, Jingyi’s own phone goes off with a few rapid fire texts. That must be coming from Lan Qiren because of the slump in his shoulders. So he knows that it's work related. Jingyi turns giving him the “Sorry I have to take care of this” look. Jin Ling decides to use the opportunity to get his revenge on Jin Chan before his boyfriend leaves. 

“Sorry, guys but this is where my beloved bunny leaves us, guys.” He says smirking as Jingyi leans in to scold him for the nickname. He reaches up tugging down the face mask Jingyi has been wearing the whole time, before leaning forward to press a teasing kiss to his lips. Grinning like the cheshire cat when Jingyi at first tries to chase the kiss when they part. Jin Ling stops him though, putting the mask back on.

“Bye, bye, Bunny.” Jin Ling taunts as a blush spreads from Jingyi’s cheeks down his neck. 

“Brat.” is all Jingyi can muster before he leaves in a blushing mess to handle his call. Jin Ling chuckles looking back at his audience giving them a wink before continuing on with the live. He pointedly ignores all the following group text notifications from his friends. 

[atamascolily]

I never actually read Junior Jedi Knights #1: The Golden Globe by Nancy Richardson before, so I figured I’d give it a shot. Like most of Star Wars Legends, it is a trip, but in a fun, if confusing way.

The academy was built to train people to become Jedi Knights, protectors of freedom and justice. Only beings who had shown they were skilled in working with the Force had been invited to attend the academy. Anakin was one of those chosen to attend the first session created for younger children and aliens.

So... Jedi Hogwarts, then. The first Harry Potter book was published in Britain in 1997 and in the US in 1998, and this book was published October 1, 1995, so it actually predates Hogwarts, but I’m still calling it that.

Leia “can’t bear” to have all three kids away at Jedi Hogwarts at the same time, so now it’s Anakin’s term. I’m raising my eyebrows because Leia is a politician assuming she’s not actually Chief of State right now; she’s super-busy and Winter took care of the kids for much of their childhood. It does explain why we never see anyone from the YJK books in this series, and the good-bye scene between Anakin, Leia, and Han is 300% more believable and heart-warming than anything in the Disney ST, so I approve.

Also, here’s some world-building for all your Yavin 4 fics:

“The Great Temple hasn’t been changed much on the outside,” Luke said. He had sensed his nephew’s curiosity. “But we had to change the inside in order to create the academy rooms. We’ve divided some spaces into sleeping and refresher units for you and your classmates. And we’ve hung heavy drapes above the open windows. The windows in the Temple have no glass because the climate here is so warm that we rarely need it. However, every few months we have terrible storms. The temperature drops and rain and winds whip through the jungle. When that happens the heavy drapes keep the temple warm and dry. There’s one place that we haven’t touched, though-the Grand Audience Chamber at the top of the Temple. All of the instructors and students here agree that it is just too beautiful to change,” Luke explained.

(And then everyone who’s seen the movie would be confused! LOL)

HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I LIKE THAT TIONNE IS A MAJOR PLAYER IN THESE BOOKS? Because I do. Traveling with Luke and rescuing kids, singing songs, being kind... #legend. I don’t think we ever see Kam, though, so I don’t know what he’s up to. It’s literally just Luke and Tionne, plus a bunch of NPCs here.

I don’t get how Anakin can be so good with droids yet not understand Artoo’s Binary, but okay. I love how Artoo just follows him around for... reasons, or he would except Anakin cheats by using the stairs. Ignore Artoo at your peril, kid.

More world-building:

Anakin had reached the Grand Audience Chamber. It was the highest room in the Temple, and unlike the other rooms, it had not been rebuilt for the academy. Gently Anakin pushed open the large doors. He walked into the center of the Grand Audience Chamber. The walls were a deep tan stone, worn smooth over the years. Blueleaf shrubs, the most common shrub on the moon, poked through several cracks in the stones. They attached themselves to the stone with suckers. The shrubs were electric blue, and as Anakin leaned close he could smell a spicy perfume.

(As an aside, I don’t understand why Legends makes the Grand Audience Chamber at the top of the Temple - the room we see in ANH seems too large to fit at the top of a pyramid the size the ones in Chichen Itza. Does anybody have any drawings of the interior of the Temple of Kukulcan or any other Meso-American step-pyramids  to confirm or deny this? Also, I don’t get why an audience chamber would be at the top of so many stairs - it seems like you’d want that to be closer to the ground for easier access for the plebes, and keep the upper levels as private space for the aristocracy. But I digress...)

Anakin meets Tahiri, who is from Tatooine and raised by Sand People, because we need to have more movie references and there are only like 5 acceptable planets for Star Wars writers, because movies, so that’s fine. Her defining character traits are impulsiveness, constant chatter, and a distaste for shoes.In light of the prequels, her comments on sand have aged well:

“Where I’m from it’s hot and there’s sand everywhere - gritty sand that sticks between your toes. So, aren’t you going to say something?”

Tionne shows up and sends them to bed. Anakin’s not a morning person. #Relatable. At breakfast, his reaction to Tahiri’s account of her dream in which he saves her on a river is priceless:

Anakin was silent. So this was what his brother Jacen was always talking about. I guess girls do get crushes on boys and say things that make no sense, he thought.

LOLOLOLOL. Also, Anakin says Jacen and Jaina are his best friends and Tahiri laughs and says No, I’m your best friend now like I said yesterday, and MY HEART. These kids. I love them.

Anyway, Luke lectures them on the Force, and it’s mostly Yoda’s sayings all mushed together, and apparently “Believe and you succeed” really is a part of it, so okay then. We swing suddenly from Anakin’s POV to Luke’s and it’s kinda jarring, especially since Luke is only interested in recapping his own personal history and has nothing new to say.

Anakin starts dreaming the same dream as Tahiri and hearing voices, so they sneak out to investigate even though Luke has explicitly warned them not to. Anakin’s so worried about being kicked out, it’s charming...

LOL, Tionne expects them to lift 2-kilo weights with their minds on the first day. What. They do it through the Power of Friendship, because of course they do, in between plotting how to get out of the academy and investigate the dream.

Fortunately, Artoo is there to help! Good old Artoo! He’s got a lot of practice in being sneaky. I have no idea why the raft is conveniently there waiting for them in the jungle, but okay. Tahiri falls in during the storm, but fortunately Anakin is able to use his lesson in TK to save her. They lift Artoo out the same way once they get to their destination, but Tahiri drops him in the water when her control slips. Good thing he’s waterproof!

Anakin name drops Exar Kun and a bunch of Yavin IV backstory. I like that Anakin is Indiana Jonesing his way across Yavin while simultaneously wondering if his uncle’s going to kick him out. Also Artoo brought the only light. They find a mysterious golden globe and a cute animal named Ikrit and cover themselves in glitter before heading back.

Tahiri’s already willing to sacrifice herself for Anakin in case Luke wants to kick them out and they’ve literally just met and this makes me wish I didn’t know what I know about NJO, because now everything hurts.

Luke’s waiting them for them, all stern in his Jedi blacks and.... Artoo steps up and lies for the kids, and he decides he’s not going to end their careers as a Jedi students just yet. LOL.

Meanwhile, Ikrit is curled up in Anakin’s bed - turns out he’s a secret Jedi Master and the voice in Anakin’s head. Turns out the globe is full of trapped children because Exar Kun is a jerk and they can’t tell any adults or it will be destroyed. Ikrit’s been sleeping for hundreds of years waiting for the right kids and he chose them. Of course, Anakin and Tahiri vow to do what they can to help, even though it’s going to be difficult, because of Luke’s lecture earlier, which Anakin can recite from memory (he really does have an eidetic memory, doesn’t he?). The end.

I have so many questions. Why did Artoo help them out? (I assume Ikrit, but I don’t remember if that’s ever explicitly spelled out. And can Jedi talk to droids with the Force? How did Ikrit meet Artoo? It just raises more questions.) Was it Ikrit or Artoo who set up the raft? How did they do that and where did they get it? Does Ikrit even have thumbs? Why couldn’t Anakin and Tahiri just walk to the Palace of Woolamanders or whatever? Did Ikrit really hibernate for four centuries straight or did he wake up every couple of years to stretch his legs and whatnot? Why did he do that rather than, you know, get help or something? Why has Tahiri been dreaming of the river her whole life, only for the dream to suddenly jump to Anakin? Is Ikrit sending her the dreams or is the Force?

 I like how there’s such an emphasis on training, when they’ve been on-planet for less than a week (three days??) because that’s how fast the plot moves when you’re eleven (and Tahiri is NINE!). These kids! Did I mention I love them?

Ikrit is technically a Kushiban and not a Hoojib as I’d originally thought. I’m not sure exactly what the difference is, since they’re both sentient telepathic lagomorphs, but that’s fine, I guess. I am fond of the Hoojibs, but I didn’t know about them until @joysweeper​ posted some Star Wars Marvel comics from the ‘70s with Plif, so they’re not exactly common knowledge. That said, I really like the illustration of Ikrit on the cover, and I’m also absurdly fond of him in spite of the fact that canon is so flimsy here.

[stayforya]

I FOUND LOVE

member: felix lee

genre: summer love au!

words: 3.0k

summary: summer love can hurt a lot in the end, but it’s also the most fun. heartbreaks are worth it when the future comes.

a/n: I named this au after oh my girl’s song “I found love”. it’s a good song I really like, check it out if you want to :) hope you enjoy the au!

you used to travel for a couple weeks, but not one month or so

just quick trips to breathe fresh air and know new places

this time, your aunt invited you to visit her during summer on sydney, australia, where she had been living for years now

you only visited her once, when you were younger, but you didn’t remember much

you packed up your stuff, clothes to spend the whole month and got into the plane

sydney was as beautiful as ever

on summer, the blue sea looked brighter and the sun shined strongly

your aunt came to pick you up at the airport and on your way home you payed attention to every single place trying to bring back memories

“I’m happy to be back”, you said to your aunt

“and we’re happy you’re finally back. how many years have been since you came here?”

“I don’t have an idea...”

your cousins were there too and they guided you to the guest room

it was pretty nice and you finally remembered the last you were there

the big window looked like the frame for that beautiful view

it was still morning, and you couldn’t sleep on the plane, so you just took a long nap to recover after the flight

“wakey, wakey”, your aunt said when you came downstairs

“I think I slept way too much”

it was about 4pm

“that’s okay. the kids are going out to see the sunset, why don’t you go too?”

“hm, nice! I’ll get ready”

“but eat first, ok? you’ve been sleeping for hours!”

you made a sandwich with anything you found on the fridge

and then you and your cousins left

you guys drove to a beach close by

the sky was so pretty, it was the first thing you noticed when you arrived there

it was a mix of orange, yellow, pink, and the sun was starting to set

the golden hour is a blessing and you didn’t notice how much you enjoyed the feeling of being sunkissed during that hour until that moment

your cousins found some of their friends and they went to talk to them

you didn’t care about being alone for a while because staying still, sitting down there, watching the sunset was enough

golden hour was definitely your favourite

the weather was good, so you just stood there, sitting on the sand

your eyes were closed, still you could see the brightness

but it suddenly became dark 

did the sun set this fast?

you opened your eyes and there was someone standing right in front of you, looking at the sea, holding a surfboard

the first thing that came to your mind was stand up and sit somewhere else

but why? you were there first

the boy was talking to someone else, so you were kinda shy to ask him to move

“hey, excuse me”, where did the courage come from?

he turned to you, his friend too

he raised his eyebrows as if he was caught by surprise

“you guys are blocking the sun”

he looked at his friend and they giggled

“I’m sorry, I thought you wouldn’t mind”

you laughed, sarcastic, don’t giving him the attention he was seeking for

he moved to the side, with his friend

and both of them sat relatively close to you

you stood there undisturbed 

but then your cousins came back

“we brought you ice cream, but it’s already starting to melt”, she said

“oh thanks!”

the surfboard guy and his friend looked at you guys and then your cousins smiled

“hey, felix and hyunjin!”, your other cousin said

“wassup, mate!”, felix and hyunjin got up and greeted them

you were there, sat on the sand, watching that scene from below

“y/n, this are felix and hyunjin”

you nodded, “hi, again”

“felix lives in our neighborhood”

“by the way, can I come home with you guys?”, he asked directly

felix sounded like he had familiarity with your cousins and it was reciprocal

“y/n is the one driving today”, your cousin said

felix looked at you

he was against the light the sun was shining behind him

his hair was some blondish red hair so the light fitted perfectly

“so, can I go with you guys?”, his accent was pretty strong

“of course”

“great, thanks”, he said to you and then turned to your cousins, “do you guys want to learn some surfing movements?”

you finished your melted ice cream while watching them

and then went to walk for a while

that beach was perfect

the skies, the sea, everything was beautiful and you finally felt it

you missed australia so much

when you finally got back, your cousins, the felix guy and the hyunjin one were all in a group of people talking and laughing

felix saw you from afar, since he was the one looking at you when you were approaching

it was already dark, but the beach wasn’t getting any less crowded

“do you wanna go home now, y/n?”, your cousin came to you

“I’m okay, if you guys want to keep on chatting, I’ll walk a little bit more”, you smiled at her

her brother and her were having a good time, so you didn’t want to be the annoying one on your first day there

“we’re okay, we’re all meeting tomorrow morning to surf”

“you’re invited too, y/n”, hyunjin said

not that you didn’t notice before, but he was very good looking

“I think I’ll pass”, you smiled

“are you scared of the waves, y/n?”, felix voice was deep but he was smiling

he didn’t look old at all, how did his voice sound like a grown up man?

“not at all, felix. are you willing to teach me?”

lol

didn’t know where that came from, but you said that

the other people around made some noise, making fun of him

“come tomorrow, then”, he said

“let’s go home, kiddos”, you took the car keys out of your pocket

it felt good to compete with him

even though you didn’t know if it was okay, since you both just met

but he didn’t seem annoyed at all

he played along very well

your triumphal exit would be perfect, but you forgot he was coming with you guys

and for some unknown reason

your sweet cousins sat on the back seats

so felix sat on the front with you

you weren’t uncomfortable, but there was some implicit pressure 

he put the seat belt and looked at you, with a sassy cute smile 

you looked away trying to concentrate

you had to pay special attention to the traffic, since sydney’s could be a little different 

the route wasn’t long, tho, so in a couple minutes you were home without having to go through a lot of cars

“thanks, guys, see you tomorrow”, felix said when he jumped out of the car

your cousins said bye to him

then he looked at you

“goodbye, y/n. see you tomorrow?”

“that’s a good question”, you answered without a lot of enthusiasm

"I’m going, bye”, he pointed at his house

you just nodded and got into your aunt’s house

your summer just started and there was so much you were excited about

but at that moment, you just wanted to sit at the couch and watch some netflix with your family

ok, best night of sleep everrr

you slept like a baby and woke up in great mood

“good morning, sunshine”, your aunt said when you showed up at the kitchen

“morning”

“you look happy”

“I slept so well! that bed is seriously from heavens”

“I knew you’d like it”, she handed you some fruits and yogurt

“omg I thought I was late”, your cousin were still sleepy

“late for what, sweetie?”, your aunt asked her

“I’m going to the beach today”, she asked

“will your brother go with you? I’ll have to wake him up, then”

“yeah yeah, only this one here will stay home”, she pointed at you

“why don’t you go with them, y/n? when you came here for the first time, you even started to learn how to surf”

“are you serious? why don’t I remember this kind of stuff...”

“anyways, I’ll get ready and go”, your cousin said, mouth full of food

“okay, I’m coming with you”

she jumped in excitement and ran to her room

you weren’t even late, but almost everyone was already there when you guys arrived

the hyunjin guy, other people

and oh, of course, the felix one

you just didn’t want to look at him so he wouldn’t give you the “oh-oh, look who’s here!” look

plus, everyone had their own surfboard

except you, of course

they were already getting into the water and you just put your earphones to relax under the sun

a few minutes later, a soaked felix shows up by your side

you immediately take off your earphones

“so, did you come just to listen to music while we have fun?”

“excuse me? I’m also having fun”

“come on, y/n, let me teach you how to surf”, he offered his hand

“what?”, you laughed, “I wasn’t born for this”

“well, we all are. cause it’s about practice too”

you looked at him

“why do you care...”, you asked softly so it wouldn’t come out rude

he smiled

“cause you’re nice. and I like that”, he got up, “come on, let’s learn”

you could ignore and let him stand there

but you didn’t

cause deep down you wanted to go have fun with them

and if felix was willing to teach you, then why not?

so you grabbed his hand and let him bring you up

felix was nice

his big smile when you did the wrong thing made you smile too

oh and he had freckles

you didn’t notice before

he was handsome

there was something about him that exceeded the level of physical beauty

he was likeable and in a short amount of time you felt that

“oh yes, yes! you’re doing great!”, he said when you did it right for the first time

because of the incentive, you did it right again, and again...

“ok, you can go into the water already”

“what?”, you asked

“don’t you wanna try? oh, you don’t know how to swim?”, he seemed worried

“I swim, it’s just that I’m not confident about being on top of this”, you pointed to the surfboard

“come on, you’re good. I’m here with you, let’s go”

for a moment you even forgot the whole group that was also there

because felix was paying so much attention to you and so focused on teaching you that, for a moment, the beach was empty for you

but it was actually pretty crowded

you went to sydney to have fun, take a break from your busy life and relax

that’s why you were really enjoying it

you were out and about with your cousins

went shopping with your aunt

visited places around

and, of course, started to go surfing with your cousin’s crew

which included felix

the way he talked to you was different

but you couldn’t tell if you were misunderstanding

because he was so nice to everybody

he was always there to everyone

so maybe what he did to you was just him being himself?

it was confusing, but who cares

you’d be coming home in a couple weeks, after all

after you all hang out with the crew, you were driving home with your cousins and felix, who lived close by

your cousins quickly got out the car

but felix was still there, doing something on his phone

so you looked at him, waiting for him to leave

“we are already home”

“oh”, he looked around, “sorry”

you both took off the seat belt

he was already opening the door and then stopped

“y/n...”

dang it, what was it now...

“hm?”, you acted like you weren’t even paying attention

“do you wanna go out? like, with me?”

eh?

he was pretty straightforward

“where?”

what kind of answer is this???

“hm, I don’t know”, he smiled

for the first time he was shy

and that was cute

“okay”

“are you... accepting?”

you smiled

“yeah, let’s go anywhere”

his beautiful eyes expressed the feeling his lips couldn’t say

“tomorrow?”

you nodded

“see ya”, he got out the car

looking at yourself in the rearview mirror

you couldn’t say if it was the sunkissed skin

or the moment that just happened

but your cheeks were blushing

next day

you dressed up nicely, but not too much

it was a pretty sunny day

and very hot

felix told you to meet him in an ice cream shop close to the beach

you started to think it wasn’t a date cause you both didn’t even go together

but it somehow made you feel less nervous

the sun was shining so bright, everybody was having a nice time at the beach 

when you caught sight of the ice cream shop, you started to walk towards there

the big glass wall definitely made felix see you

and you saw him too

you both couldn’t help but smile at the same time

ugh, his smile was the cutest!

the way his lips widened when he saw you

all his face was smiling and you felt yours heating up

maybe the weather, but maybe because of him

you got there and he came to you

“hey”, you said, sitting down

“hi, you look... gorgeous”, he looked at you

“don’t make me shy”, you glanced at him

“so, do you want ice cream?”

“yeah, definitely, it’s so hot outside”

“hmm... I have a place to show you. but if it’s too hot outside we can...”

“what? it’s not hot at all”, you joked

he laughed

whenever he laughed, your heart felt something

it was good to say something funny and make him smile

so you both bought your ice creams

getting out of the ice cream shop, the thermal shock was real

inside the shop was cool but outside it was very hot

you just kept walking while eating your melted ice cream

you two were walking and talking and observing the place

being with him felt light

you laughed easily and he had a nice way of speaking and noticing things

“so you’re going back in a few days, right?”

“it feels so close when you say 'few days’, but yes”, you looked down

“I’m sure we still have time left”, he let the words come out and posed there with his innocent face

you just wanted to hug him at that moment cause dang it

how could a boy look like an adult and a baby at the same time?

he really knew how to be cute when he wanted to

“don’t look at me like this, but of course I want to spend more time with you”, you said

nothing to lose here, right?

“we’re here”

finally found the place he wanted to show you

it was a more private part of the beach

some rocks around and waves crashing quietly

wow

the fresh air

you noticed felix getting closer, hands on his pocket, a little bit shy as you could tell

“why did you bring me here?”, you asked, turning to him

he looked at the horizon

“I want you to remember this when you go back home”

“this?”

“this place. and me.”

the wind hit your faces

your hair got messed up and he tried to take it out from your face so he could look at you completely

“you know what... meeting you was so unexpected. but it was the highlight of my trip”

he smiled

“it’s not like your going away tomorrow, but I wasn’t sure if we would have more time alone”, he said, “and I needed to spend time with you. only with you”

“and we’re here”

“yeah, we’re here”

your voices were getting lower as you got closer to each other

“y/n”

“yes?”

“can I...”, his fingers touched your cheeks, close to your lips

you didn’t wait

you just kissed him

his pink colored lips felt just like cherry

soft, sweet

you knew he waited for that by the way he kissed you

and of course, he knew how much you waited too

waiting until now to finally let the feelings come out could have been a waste of time, but not if you think of it as a beginning

it didn’t matter if you were going back home in a few days

you wouldn’t forget him

even if you didn’t feel the same when you visit sydney again

even if he didn’t

thinking about the future makes us all so anxious, so let it be

the world stopped for you two

time stopped for that moment

his little smiles while kissing you were obvious

you couldn’t help but do the same

the present with felix was your present

no need to think about how to deal with future

“does any other thing matter right now?”, he asked you

still very close

“no”, you smiled at him

“hey, y/n”, he stroked your hair, “I won’t forget this”

“what about this?”, you kissed his lips again

you both were too immersed in that kiss

you didn’t want to get out of your own little world in a special place in the middle of that beach

“be with me tomorrow”, he gave you a little kiss, “and after tomorrow”, another one

“yes”, you giggled

“hm... you taste like vanilla”

“it was just the ice cream”

“come on, it was good”

“ya, felix!”, you slapped his arm, joking

you both held hands and started to walk 

letting the water reach your feet

and playing like two kids around there

“y/n”

“what?”

“catch me if you can”

“are you kidding?”

“catch me if you want a kiss”

“well, I won’t run after you”, you crossed your arms and acted as if you didn’t care

when he stopped running and came back to you, it was your chance

“you catch me!”, you started to run fast

he did the same so he caught you

by your waist

and he pulled you inside a hug where you could see his face so closely

and again, the end of summer break didn’t matter

it would come, but it didn’t matter

not at that moment

not when you were with felix

[noeliareads]

Penpaling Chapter 1

October, 2017. 

“Mom! Did I get any letters yet?” You asked, opening the front door. 

“No honey. Sorry.” You murmured an ‘ok’. It was a long day so you made  yourself a cup of tea before retiring to your room. 

You’ve been waiting for letters to arrive for almost a month. At least one would have arrived by then. You were recently intrigued with penpal letters by watching YouTube videos on them. One month ago you logged onto your Tumblr account and made an infinite amount of posts requesting penpals. You even went out to buy stationery, stickers and everything you can imagine to decorate them and make them look pretty. So far you’ve sent but not yet received. 

***

“Oi Felix, you coming or not?” Chan settled himself on the chair of his studio as he stared at Felix who was playing on his phone. He eventually sat beside his friend and started at the computer screen.

“Are we really doing this?” 

“Sure, why not?” 

Tumblr, a magical and equally scary place that is the home of many fangirls. At least that’s the side they saw. After their first tumblr experience, Felix and Chan liked to go on Tumblr and see if there were any fans watching their survival show and hopefully rooting for them to debut. There were a lot. One day, Chan logged onto his account and began to randomly read posts. He encountered a post called “Penpals?”. He was intrigued. 

***

“Penpals?”

Hello! My name is Arizona, I am 20 years old and I am looking for a penpal… 

Tags: penpal, kpop penpal, kpop

***

Bang Chan was definitely intrigued by this. He never had a penpal before and what better than someone who didn’t know and never will know who he is. So, he did it. He messaged that person and made sure she knew that he was a safe person to write to. He didn’t want her to give her address to random strangers. But wait, is it just a letter? He looked for ideas and decided on sending her a care package with a few Korean things like snacks, face masks and some cute stationary for her to keep. This was probably the only time he was going to send it anyway. Before he sent it, he made sure to put a fake name on his dorm address. From her tumblr page he knew that she had no idea who they were. She was more into RnB and older generations. 

***

Arizona dozed off in her music history class, as always. “Why do I need a degree?” She thought. It’s just a piece of paper and a lot of debt. Eventually, her class finished and she did what she does every single Friday, look for her best friend Nick, sit in their local coffee shop, start their homework and plan their next week. They did that, every single Friday. 

“Any luck yet” Nick asked as edited his class notes. 

“Yeah! I got one from Australia on Monday and one from Tennessee on Wednesday!” Arizona was ecstatic when she saw the letters in her mailbox. She read them twice and she put the letters and everything in a beautiful velvet box her mother used to have. The tea she received from her Aussie penpal? She drank it.

“I really don’t know how you do it”. 

“Do what?”

“Have the patience to write letters and decorate them”. She laughed. 

“You just have to be into it. Just like you’re into English, unlike me”.

After a good 2 hours they both headed home. Arizona left her bag in the living room and headed over to the kitchen to help her mother make dinner. 

“Honey, did you order anything?” Her mother asked. 

“Not that I know of. Why?” Her mother, Clara, nodded her head towards the kitchen table where a box sat. It was a decent sized box. Did she order something? She sat down at the table and examined the box. It did come from Asia for sure because of the mailing information but she was sure she didn’t order anything. Maybe she accidentally clicked order on yesstyle the last time she was on the site. She looked at the sender’s name: Bang Jin Ho. Who was that? Then she remembered the conversation she had with someone from South Korea on Tumblr. ‘Oh shit!’ She thought. 

“Mom, I’ll be right back!” She grabbed the box and ran to her room. Her heart was beating fast. She didn’t think he would send her something, maybe a letter, but a big box? She jumped on her bed and began to open it. AGH! She couldn’t. She was too excited. 

‘Breathe Arizona. Breathe.’ She took a deep breath and finally opened the box. Shocked is a small word for what she felt. 

‘’Did I order a Korean subscription box?” She said out loud. A letter in a blue envelope was the first thing she noticed but, she wanted to save the letter for last so she set it aside. 

The first thing she saw was a couple of face masks, Korean face masks. Let me say this again. Korean face masks. Do you know how much these cost online + shipping or in the store? Like 5 dollars each! Anyway she was extremely surprised, there was also a box of.. tea? She obviously couldn’t read Korean. There were two packets of dried seaweed. ‘Oh! I have to try that.’ There was also a mug…. Arizona almost fainted. It was a pink mug that said Girls Generation. Her favorite gg’s! There are more things?! ‘How much money did he spend?’ She thought. There were 3 packs of ramen with different flavors and level of spiciness and oh my lord… so much stationary. ‘Did he buy the whole store?’ 

Her hands dropped onto her lap as she stared towards the wall. He did this for her. Shipping must have been expensive as hell. She suddenly felt bad. What if he was in a tight spot and needed the money? Did she seem very eager to know about his culture? Oh no. What is he was a sugar daddy?! She didn’t want one! She shook the image out of her head to keep focusing on her task. There were two things left; a pair of bamboo chopsticks and a beautiful bookmark with a golden temple which she immediately put in the book she was currently reading. 

She was touched, extremely touched. She put everything back with care and grabbed the letter. Her name was written in neat handwriting. 

Dear Arizona, I have to be really honest with you. I’ve never really written a letter before, much less a handwritten on. So you’re the lucky first. I hope this package doesn’t have any problems getting to you. I also hope you liked everything in it. As you may know, I am from South Korea! These are some things from here that I really hope you like. The tea that is inside is Yuja-cha tea, you just stir it in hot water. I know you like SNSD so I included the mug. Oh! I wish I could’ve sent you Soju but I don’t think customs would’ve liked that and I know the legal age in America is 21. 

As you also know, my name is Jinho. I am 20 years old and I love music and dancing. I grew up in Australia but moved to Korea because of my dad’s job. I am new to the whole penpaling thing so I really don’t know what else to write about. I do want to recommend you some songs. I know you don’t listen to a lot of newer kpop but here are the songs that I personally like: 

Likey by Twice

Be Lazy by Day 6

You Are by Got7

Matryoshka  by 3racha (they are soundcloud rappers. I recently discovered them and they’re really good)

I think I’ll end this here. I live in a rented house with a couple of my friends and we are going out to dinner as a group and they are being extremely noisy and I should get ready. I uh, should go. Bye! I hope you have a lovely day and days until you hear from me again. That is if I hear from you again. It was nice writing to you! Bye!

Jinho. 

Arizona was smiling ear to ear. Again, she really didn’t expect this gesture. She made a mental note to write down a list in order to send him a few things and to pick up a few more shifts at work. Shipping will be expensive as hell but it’s the least she could do.

*

*

*

*

Hey guys this is chapter 1. It’s not that great so I hope you like it. I don’t know how many chapters it will be but I do know that it’s going to be a quick and short story. 

[nightbloomsresorthotel]

The Market Value of Holy Water is Exactly One Glazed Doughnut

By @jonnyblackwrites

An original short story about a holy water thief, an overprotective angel, and the exchange of goods and services.

Tags: Supernatural/ Paranormal, Angels, Catholic Aesthetic, Enemies to Friends, Inspired by Buzzfeed Unsolved’s Ryan Bergara Stealing Holy Water from the Church

Rated: G

If you like this story, please consider donating to my Patreon! Every Donation helps me write more stories for you!

Image Credits at end of post.

The heavy church door swung open, making the hinges squeak loudly through the sanctuary. Jason winced and cautiously tried to shut them, but they creaked with a vengeance, payback for having been disturbed in the first place. It was empty on Wednesday, but still. One of the nuns or a Father might hear.

He quickly decided closing them would be even more of a racket, and left them open. “God,” he muttered, “Wish I had some oil or grease or—”

“_I’ll _take your prayer,” said a smooth voice, making him jump. He scanned the pews and even took an extra hard look at the dais, but there was no one.

Hmm… he was hoping the sanctuary would be empty. He’d leave if  whoever it was decided to stay. “It was just a wish, not a prayer,” he said.

“Oh. Those are a bit harder. I can do prayers. Wishes take a little more time… But please, don’t  mind me. Carry on. I’ll just listen.”

Still seeing no one, he took a slow step back. “Why would I pray to… a ghost?”

A cool blast of air hit him in the face. When he looked back up, he saw a figure on the dais, sporting a soft cream linen suit. They had their arms crossed, and their nose turned up at him. They looked a little peeved.

“How dare you, not knowing who I am. Are you a heathen? Do you even pray? You probably couldn’t even begin to comprehend my existence.”

“So you’re not a ghost?”

“If it wouldn’t stain the carpet, I would smite you where you stand.”

“Oh!” Jason said, relieved now that there was a face to the voice. And a body. Well, a celestial sort of body. ”You’re an angel.”

The angel faltered. “…Maybe you comprehend a little, but I’m still beyond understanding. Way beyond. Like, miles beyond.”

“Listen, If i’m being honest,” he said, waving a beat up plastic bottle in the air, “I only came here to steal some holy water.”

“Hey!” The angel shouted. They took a few steps forward and raised a finger in warning. “Don’t even think about it! That’s not yours.”

“It’s not yours either, so…” he dipped the water bottle back in to the basin. Bubbles popped to the surface as it filled, echoing through the sanctuary like a little bubbling brook.

Unfortunately, this seemed to piss off the angel a bit. The air in the church grew humid, like the fog just before an unexpected summer storm, and a not unpleasant smell of ozone rose from the floor. Finally, the bottle was full and he capped the bottle, careful not to spill. He resisted the urge to smile as he stuffed it into his bag. The angel was already upset…

“Humans are so selfish, so arrogant. You’re lucky you’re adorable, or you’d all be dead.”

Jason stopped at the door, resting his hand on the knob. “That’s kinda harsh. I think it’s more than that. Free will, right?”

The angel made a sound of discontent that filled the church. It could only be compared to the same sound a toddler makes when they didn’t get what they want. A shiny new toy, perhaps.

“How would I know? I’m just an angel. Hey, don’t come back. You’re banned, _water stealer. _I’ve got my eye on you. I’ve got all of them on you.”

Jason did smile this time. He couldn’t help it. Being banned was like a badge of honor. As predicted, the door protested loudly at being shut, and he waited until it was almost closed before he promised, “I’ll be back next Saturday.”

And he was. The week had come and gone, uneventful but profitable. It being the last week of november, ghosts sightings were up, and with them the demand for holy water in elegant glass bottles. His usual clientele had come and picked up their orders, while curious onlookers were charmed with the idea of “Authentic Holy Water Vessels- Ghost Deterrent, Demon Repellant, Vampire Retardant” and bought it for the kitsch.

He’d run out by Friday morning and decided to take the day off. But on Saturday he woke up early, reorganized his bottle collection, and headed to the church.

The moment he walked in, he felt that same blast of cool air. It was actually very refreshing. This autumn had been an uncharacteristically warm one, and the sun outside was intolerable.

“I thought I banned you from this church,” said that smooth voice again. The angel hovered over the ancient pipe organ behind the pulpit, as easy as if they were reclining on a good, worn couch.

“Oh you did,” Jason said, “I just didn’t listen. I ran out of water.”

He took out three empty bottles this time, and set them on the edge of the font, caps undone, ready to be filled.

The angel fumed, their golden curls shaking ever so slightly. “Go get your holy water from somewhere else.”

He shrugged, lowering the first bottle into the water. “Can’t. Yours is the only Catholic church for blocks. And I didn’t want to drive.”

The angel crossed their arms, watching the water level sink lower and lower. Jumping down from their musical perch, they began to pace on the dais again, like a lion watching a small, annoying child on the other side of the glass at the zoo.

“What do you do with it all, anyway? You can’t be anointing yourself all day with it.”

Jason grimaced. The angel probably wouldn’t like his answer. “I, uhm. I sell it. Well. I sell the bottles I find, and then I fill those with holy water. For the local…. paranormal investigators.”

The angel scowled. “I should have you whipped for that.”

“Pretty sure they don’t do that anymore. Besides, I’m not selling the _water. _Just the bottles I find. Real nice ones too. Antiques. Vintage. I fill them for free.”

“Mhm. Paranormal investigators? Don’t you mean ghost hunters?” The angel said, emphasizing _ghost hunters _ like a curse that tasted bad on the tongue.

Jason capped the bottle, and took out another. “They prefer paranormal investigators.”

“Ha!” shouted the angel, “I’ll bet. Troublemakers is what they really ought to call themselves. Opening doors and channels, playing with beings and rituals they don’t understand. Good riddance, I say.”

Jason laughed. “I thought angels were supposed to be nice! Protectors of us all.”

“There’s only so much we can do,” said the angel, a bit distressed, “Can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped, anyway.”

“That makes sense.”

“Are you kidd— another one?” Said the angel, watching Jason fill the third bottle. “Just take the whole basin, why don’t you?”

Jason took a good look at the stone font, calculating. Then he shook his head. “Too heavy.”

“It was rhetorical!”

“Don’t worry, angel. That was the last one.”

At that the angel stopped pacing. They stared at Jason as he stuffed the water bottles in his bag, wringing their hands a little. From the moment he walked in, the angel had nothing but a scowl and some harsh words for him. Now, though, just as he was about to leave, the angel seemed… concerned?

Was the angel worried? That’s what it sort of looked like. Surely, they weren’t worried for him.

“Oh,” they said, “Well, good!”

“Yup. I have to get going now,” Jason said, a little uncertain. “Bye, I guess.”

“Wait!” said the angel, at the last minute.

He turned around. “Yeah?”

“Will you… will you visit again?”

Jason looked around the sanctuary. He’d been here on a Wednesday and a Saturday, and both times it had been completely empty.

It must be very lonely, he thought, living in a place that only got visitors once a week.

The angel stared at him, beautiful, a little terrifying, and alone.

“Of course,” he said, “I always run out of holy water.”

“Oh. Well, fine, then. Right. Just don’t come on Sunday,” said the angel, “I don’t think the Father would be very happy to see you.”

“Does that mean I’m not banned anymore?” he asked.

Even from all the way across the sanctuary, he could feel the daggers in the angels glare. “No. You’re still banned. But you can come by.”

Jason nodded, satisfied. “I’ll bring you a donut. They always bring me too many at the market. I’ll bring you one.”

That seemed to soften the angel up a bit. They crossed their arms again, a little less angrily. “I like plain glazed.”

Jason laughed softly to himself. Who new you could bribe heavenly bodies with doughnuts? “You got it, angel.”

-_-__-_-_-_-

Thank you for reading! 

Patreon

Image credits:

1. Unknown

2,8. @catholicaesth

3. countrymudlark on IG

4. Dunkin Doughnuts

5. Lifeclubuk 

6. @svbleblvck

7.Buzzfeed Unsolved’s “Goatman” Episode

9. Candice Hern 

[fluffy-marshmallow-heart]

A Twist of Fate ch.11 -An Unexplained Feeling

The Elementalist au

Beckett x MC (Oriana)

Words: 2571

Master List (Catch Up Here)

The next morning, Beckett woke up spooning Oriana. She was pressed completely into him, and he felt himself sticking out into her. For a moment he allowed himself to daydream about kissing her and the way she reacted to his touch, like he alone lit a fire in her all throughout her body. Trying to make as little movement as possible as not to wake her, he inhaled her scent, and wondered what their combined scent would be like.

  He felt her move in his arms lightly, her skin brushing against his erection, making him even harder than he already was. He groaned as quietly as he could, not wanting her to wake up and hear the effect she was having on him at that moment. He loved having her in his arms, but if he was going to end up with a constant hard on it was going to be a problem. He looked over at the clock, 7am. He needed to get moving. He started to slowly pull away from her, immediately missing her warmth. When they were finally disentangled, he crept out of the room quietly.

He was still so tired. He couldn’t stop thinking about everything she’d told him last night. He stood in front of his mirror, buttoning up his shirt and attempting to style his hair. He grimaced at the dark bags beneath his eyes. He finished primping as best he could and head down the stairs, but to his surprise, Oriana was standing over the coffee machine.

“Ori?”

She turned and gave him a tired smile. “Morning. Coffee’s almost done.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” He told her.

She smirked. “And I told you that you’re cute in the morning and I want to do something nice for you.”

Beckett felt his face flush.

“Oh, and here’s your lunch.” She handed him a container. “It’s the dinner we never ate last night.”

“I’m sorry I missed dinner…. wait. We? You didn’t eat either?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m also going to eat some for lunch.”

Beckett didn’t even know what to say. Does she actually want to have every meal with me? Why?

“You still look exhausted.” She pointed out

He rolled his eyes. “Well, I haven’t slept much since you walked into my life.”

She bit her lip, and his gaze fell to it, images of making out with her the previous night flashed through his mind again. I shouldn’t have done that. But it really seemed like she wanted it to happen. If I hadn’t stopped…how far would it have gone? No. Don’t think like that. What she gave you was far more meaningful.

She stepped forward. “Um…I can help with that.” Before he could ask what she meant, she had stepped forward, placing her hand over his heart again. Warmth and light spread throughout his body and he instantly felt lighter, happier, more energized. Her eyes had turned golden, and in that moment, Beckett knew he was head over heels in love with her. More than that, he knew he’d always been in love with her.

He heard a gasp escape her lips, and she took a step back, breaking their connection, with a strange look on her face. “You should probably go. Don’t want you to be late.”

“Ori...” He started. “Is it like that with everyone? The light you put in my heart. Does it always feel this way?” Tell me why you gasped.

She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean? You should feel energized. That’s what it does to people.”

“Right…” He narrowed his eyes at her. There was something she wasn’t saying. But then, there was something he also was not saying. “Alright, I’ll…see you later. Thank you. For coffee, lunch, energy…you’re incredible.” He hadn’t meant to say the last part out loud, but sure enough, it came out of his mouth.

“Bye Beckett.” She responded softly.

At work, Beckett felt amazing. He couldn’t believe how good he felt. He wasn’t tired, he wasn’t worried, he could actually concentrate for the first time in days. He greeted everyone he saw, the lunch she had packed him was outstanding. Things were good. The first time he looked up from his work was when he heard his office door close. Dave and Tom stood in front of him, arms crossed.

“Uh…hey guys. Can I help you?”

Two sets of eyebrows raised. “You’re in a really good mood.” Dave said.

“Yeah.” Tom agreed. “I haven’t seen you this refreshed and motivated…well, ever.”

“You always did have a dim outlook on life.” Dave pointed out.

“So, what’s going on?” Tom finished

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Beckett told them. “I’m having a good day. Is that so hard to believe?”

“For you? Yeah, kinda. You’re not exactly Mr. Sunshine.”

But I have my own personal sunshine at home.

“Wait, what? Am I never in a good mood? I’ve had good days before.” He said defensively.

Dave pulled up a chair. “Not like this. This is a whole other level of happy.”

Beckett stared at them a moment.

“Did you sleep with her?” Tom asked

“What?? No!! Of course not, it’s only been a few days…”

“Almost a week.” Dave piped in

“Okay, almost a week. That’s not long enough to…”

“Are you kidding? It’s definitely long enough when you’re living with someone you’ve always been in love with.” Tom exclaimed.

“I…we have not had sex.” Beckett said firmly. “And I never said I was in love with her.”

“Beckett.” Dave started. “You know how we could tell something happened when she first moved in and you were denying that anything was going on? I’m getting the same vibe here. So just cut to the chase and tell us so we can all move on with our day.”

Beckett sighed. “We got…closer. But not sexually. She told me some things…horrible things…she said I’m the first person she ever told. And it felt…good. Not good that she’s gone through these things, but good that she would trust me like that. No one’s ever placed their faith in me before, at least not on a personal level.”

“She’s telling you things she’s never told anyone? Not even her ex? Her best friends?”

Beckett swallowed. “Uh…yeah. Why?”

The two men shared a glance and a smirk. “No reason.”

Beckett pinched the bridge of his nose. “There’s a reason. Just say it. You made me come out with it, it’s your turn.”

“How did that particular subject matter come up?” Tom asked.

“Does it really matter? You guys are ruining my good day.” Beckett snapped.

“It’s all about context.” Dave replied.

“I’m done talking about this. It’s been great sharing all this with you, but I have work to do.”

“Beckett, come on. We’re trying to help. You said she told you horrible things she’s never said out loud before. That’s a big deal. Things like that don’t just randomly pop into a conversation. So what led to that discussion? What happened to make her open up to you like that?”

Beckett glared at them, remaining silent.

“Fine. If you don’t want to tell us, then don’t. But we’re the married ones. We may know a thing or two that can help you win her over. I guarantee you’re closer than you think. And as you said, it’s only been a few days. Which means things can easily go either way. We want to help you make it go the right way. Because we like this new Beckett we’re seeing. It’s refreshing. You’ve never smiled this much since you started here.”

The two men started to leave his office, and right before the door clicked shut…

“I kissed her!” Beckett blurted out, before burying his face in his hands.

���I knew it!” Dave announced gleefully. $5 please!!”

Tom rolled his eyes, shoving a $5 bill into Dave’s hand.

“Are you…did you make a bet?” Beckett asked incredulously.

“Perhaps.” Tom shrugged. “Dave here thought you kissed her, and I thought you slept with her. We decided to make it interesting.”

Beckett’s mouth fell open. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. No one’s in this good a mood unless it has something to do with their girl.”

“She’s not my girl.” Beckett mumbled.

“Yet.” Tom corrected.

“Why are you two so invested in this?” Beckett asked.

“Because we’re your friends. So. You kissed her. How’d that happen? And how did it lead to her telling you extremely personal things?”

“Well…” Beckett trailed off, the tips of his ears turning read.

“Oh my god. You almost slept with her!” Tom cried. “What the hell, man? Why’d you stop?”

“Because she just got out of a relationship! She’s too vulnerable!”

“And willing to sleep with you! From everything you’ve said, it sounds like she barely even liked her ex, they were together more out of convenience and familiarity than anything else. Jesus, Beckett, okay, so you rejected her? I can’t believe you’re even alive right now.”

If only you knew how accurate that really is. “Well, she was definitely pissed and tried to kick me out. But I wouldn’t let her, and when she saw I wasn’t giving up…she let me in. On a deeply personal level. That’s how it happened. Satisfied?”

Beckett glared at them, annoyed he’d just told him all of that, annoyed that they could figure it out. The room was silent for several moments before Dave finally spoke again, his voice quiet.

“Wow. Good for you. That’s impressive. You really do love her, don’t you?”

Beckett nodded once, not saying a word.

“Okay…” Tom began. “She definitely likes you, or she wouldn’t have kissed you back…wouldn’t have reciprocated your advances…certainly wouldn’t have let you stay after rejecting her. She likes you. Maybe…maybe she even loves you. If she told you things she’s literally told no one else…There’s gotta be a reason for that.”

Beckett scoffed. “She hated me for years, she’s not going to fall for me in a matter of days. She has no idea how long I’ve wanted her.”

Dave sighed. “Again, if she actually hated you…she wouldn’t be in your house right now. And she doesn’t know because you haven’t told her. You should. Also, she thought you hated her, and you definitely didn’t.”

“What are you trying to say?” Beckett asked in frustration. 

“I’m saying be honest with her. Tell her how you feel, how you’ve always felt. She likes you, and you deserve this, something good. You both do. So be that good in each other.”

With that parting comment, they left his office, and Beckett leaned back in his chair with a huge sigh. Well now my concentration’s fucking gone. Way to go assholes. This is why friends are overrated and I’ve avoided it in the past. Who do they think they are, butting into my life like that?

Try as he may, he couldn’t get back into his groove. He was annoyed, and all he could think about was Oriana. The things she told him about Chase, and the things that happened to her while she was with him. It was awful, and she trusted him with it. He’d actually kissed her, could have slept with her, he was sure, and he couldn’t even be happy about it. He was having this nagging feeling that something was wrong. And, to his immense disappointment, he knew his friends were right, this relationship could easily swing either way. He stood up, gathered his things, and told his boss he was leaving for the day. Luckily, Beckett often worked long hours, as he never had anyone to go home to, so he could more than afford a couple hours off.

He didn’t know what he was doing, but he knew he needed to see her. It’s how he always felt now. Now that she was in his life, he couldn’t imagine it without her. Something was happening between them, something strong, something he’d never experienced before. He could feel her now, he could tell she needed to see him. She’d been radio silent all day, which was unlike her. He didn’t like it. When he got home, he burst through the door, calling out her name.

She stepped into his vision, eyebrows furrowed. “Beckett? What are you doing here?”

“Are you okay?” He asked immediately.

She frowned. “Uh…yes? Why? What’s going on?”

“Do you regret telling me the things you did last night?” He blurted out.

She looked at him in confusion. “No.”

He waited for her to continue, but she didn’t.

“Oh.” Was all he could think of to say.

“Are you okay?” She asked. “You seem a bit…off.”

Beckett ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry. I uh, took the rest of the day off. I thought we could spend time together.”

She blinked. “Oh…”

“Is that Beckett fucking Harrington??” He heard a screech from her phone that he just now realized she was holding. The faces of Shreya and Zephyr were staring at him in shock. “THAT’s who you’re staying with?? Okay, this is clearly an emergency, we’re coming home right now, and you’ll stay with us.”

“Um, guys…I should go.” She turned the screen back to face her. “Don’t cut your trip, really, I’m fine.”

“You are NOT staying with that asshat, Oriana.” Shreya said sharply. “Do you not remember…”

“Gotta go, guys, seriously, I’m fine and I’m staying here.” As her friends began arguing she hung up the phone and looked at him guiltily.

“Beck…”

He rose a hand to stop her. “It’s…it’s fine, Ori. You didn’t want them to know where you’re staying. You already told me to be careful of who knows.”

Even though I completely disagree with that. Especially since this is going so well. But apparently, it’s not just Chase she wants to keep in the dark.

“I was about to tell them when you walked in, I swear.” She looked at him pleadingly.

“Do you really think they would tell Chase?” He asked

She laughed lightly. “They hated him. There’s no way they would tell him anything.”

“Then why…”

“I told you I was literally about to tell them. I’d only been talking to them for 10 minutes. Honestly, I just hadn’t gotten there yet.” She was searching his eyes, and he could tell she was being sincere.

“Okay. I believe you.” He felt some relief wash through him, knowing she was okay.

“Why are you actually here?” She stepped towards him, a suspicious look on her face.

“I just had a feeling…” He trailed off. What am I going to say? I thought something was wrong, so I came here as soon as I could? She’ll say I’m crazy

“What kind of feeling?” She questioned.

He started blushing. “I can’t explain it. I just felt…”

“Anxious?” She supplied

He nodded.

“What are you feeling right now?”

“Uh…not…anxious?”

“Beckett…” She began. “When did you start feeling that something was wrong?”

“I don’t know. Does it matter?” She rose an eyebrow as he fidgeted uncomfortably. “Maybe about an hour ago?”

She shook her head. “That’s...that’s impossible.”

“What’s impossible?”

“I’ve only heard of this kind of thing happening, I kinda thought it was an urban legend.” She murmured, more to herself than to him. "I guess I realized but...still.

“What?” He was getting frustrated.

She met his gaze and he instantly knew what she was going to say. “You were feeling my anxiety about that phone call.”

  @annekebbphotography @carabeth @gardeningourmet @eileendannie @dancetothestoriesinyoursoul @alesana45 @thequeenofcronuts @zigortega4life @drakewalkerfantasy

@emerald-bijou @xo-endlessmayhem-xo @divergentofhogwarts @rissah @syltti78 @damienswhore @askdana @giulia2372 @symonde @coffeebeandragon @flyawayboo @pbmychoices @wickedgypsymoon @kendrasgue @timmagicktoad @feartheendlesssummer @elainew13 @the-soot-sprite @endlessly-searching-for-you @nerdynstoned

[nnoctis]

philina quick whats the best fried chicken place in seoul i need help

누나홀닭 in hongdae!!!!!!!!!!! i will fight

[mecharina]

A letter to Southern Grimvault

I guess this is my ‘Good-bye to WS’ post. 

After the initial announcement of the game’s shut down two weeks ago, I haven’t had any idea how to properly express my feelings about Wildstar being close down. Seeing other people’s posts here and lurking on the many groups in discord of the news, I just felt a giant wave of sadness come over me and I couldn’t properly express that.

But I guess I’ve gathered my thoughts enough to where I’m writing this, so. It’s mostly for me, just to come in terms with everything. So take it as you will if you do read it.

P.S. It’s Long. P.P.S I’m not good at writing, so pardon for any odd phrasing or grammar lol

I used to farm the area for heartichoke (and later bloodbriar when it became more profitable) late at night w/ my mechari (To my best son, Romulus). It was a very routine thing I did when I didn’t (at the time) have a guild to partake in activities with.

Passing through Conqueror Square, around 10-11 pm PST, when the only physical activity you could see in Illium was at best, 2-4 people, was a normal sight for me as I headed to the transporters. (Rapid transport? I’m stingy) It was the end of a day for most, but the beginning for me as it was my goal, through this repeated and really obsolete method at the time, to gain more plat.

When loaded in, I put my mini-map on maximum size so I would be able to discern which crops to farm and others to stay away. (I didn’t use a mod to pin point which was which. I never had felt the need to.)  Minimized all quests windows, locking them into place so I didn’t accidentally click on them when I was moving around. I ignored nchat for the most part, but did take the occasional peek when curious. 

All the while, I would be listening to the movie “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. Why that particular movie to this map? I really have no idea, to be frank. I don’t own a physical copy of the movie. And I’m more of a fan of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox really. But this was the movie that always played in the background as I farmed. Eventually, the movie came synonymous with this map. It was just automatic for me to put it on-- late at night, with my earphones plugged in. Any extra noise in game, except the sfx for moving around in the world, would be the only thing I would be listening to for next 2-3 hours.

As the third party host site played the movie in the background, I farmed in S. Grimvault. I definitely do not have the lines memorized by heart for this movie despite me listening to it on repeat. But I’ve connected parts in the movie as to what areas in the map I would be located at the time. The first lines, “It is an extremely common mistake: people think the writer’s imagination is always at work...” would indicate myself being near Vigilant Incursion, just before the Strain Wall event on Dommie side. I’d run up the hill and make my way around the perimeter, closes to the wall as I looked over whether or not there was something I wanted to farm there. 

“Ten? Are you joking? That’s more than I’d pay an actual dealer -- and you wouldn’t know chiarascuro from chicken giblets,” line would usually be before or about around the Charlie Company Crash area, Exile side. To “Don’t flirt with her.” approximately around the entrance to Northern Grimvault between the two Exile and Dominion outposts. If the line was heard before I past the area, meant I made good time, or if a little after, meant I needed to pick up the pace. (Why it mattered whether I hurried along with farming had no real consequence, of course I didn’t want to spend the ENTIRE night there.)

The lines were sorta like markers for me, the starting point being at the Dominion drop in, all the way around through Exile side of S.Grimvault and through the perimeter of the Strain infested areas before coming back around to Vigilant Incursion. Given this was the path I always took when farming, I took to noticing and exploring things. Only natural for me. Since no one was ever really there, save the occasional leveling player or a bot attacking at monsters. (I swore the first time I saw a bot, I thought legitimately it was a real person... In the back of my mind I kinda did hope it was a real person. Goes to show how lonesome of a person I was then lol). 

I know I could have just searched google and typed up things like “Locations of Elite Bosses in S.Grimvault” or “What areas do Champion Bosses spawn in S. Grimvault” but my intention was never to fulfill the achievement quota when I was there. Finding and fighting bosses was a side quest I gave myself when farming. (The extra gold never hurt.) And they became part of the farming routine as I gathered and found more of these bosses and where they were located. (I only ever tackled fighting the rock and strain champion bosses, the charging rhino creature and the Eldan bot were some I couldn’t last long enough to win against.)

The entire routine itself, this farming in Southern Grimvault, was something I did look forward to in the late evenings. I would probably be done around 2-3 am, willing if I didn’t stay longer. Eventually, all the prior set up just became a blur, like, you’ve done it plenty of times, so much so it goes by like ‘that.’ At this point, as I farmed, I thought about things, stuff pertaining to WS in-game, lore, or character development.

One thought I repeatedly went back to in terms of WS was the economy, that if more people played, and how heartichoke and bloodbriar would soar as hot ticket items on the market. I imagined myself to be one of those stuck-up vets (at farming) who knew all the good spots and places to gather said items, being a little greedy and garnering enough plat through this practice to reach the milestone of 1000 plat. ( A personal goal <o/ ) 

Or story ideas for my characters, coincidentally most of them concerned Rom because I always played him during these times. How he’d go to the market the next day, after rigorously spending the day/night prior harvesting these crops, how he’d haggle with merchants and make a pretty plat. How he’d send Kalua to university in Cassus, or help fund/support his brother Remus’s endeavors with the Torine. Just little plot/character ideas that came into mind at the time. 

By the time I hear the credits roll in the background, I’m back near Vigilant Incursion. Upon arriving, I make a quick visit to the renown vendor, sell my extra loot and organize decor/items I’ve gotten and head back to Illium. Most times I’d head back into housing, but recent (recent as in months before when I still farm regularly) I’d just be in Illium and log off. I’d call it a night and that would be the end of it.

I suppose, why I’m writing PARTICULARLY about this personal routine rather than the times I’ve RP’d or done raiding, or gone through the story of WS, or even the drawings I’ve done for the game... is that-

That I thought I’d always be able to come back to it. 

When I felt sad, or down, or wanted to relax after a long day, late nights farming in Southern Grimvault always gave me a peace of mind. The map was vast enough that I could spend 2-3 hours, while listening to a movie, to farm, explore, and goof around. I’d be able to process myself through this simple action of swinging giant claws at a plant or garnering a couple gold from a boss.

But now that this is something that won’t happen anymore, it’s a bit sad to think that I won’t be able to enjoy that routine. Of course there will be other things, but specifically this and the things I’ve experienced through Wildstar, a whole lot of it...

I am going to miss it. I knew it was going to be gone at some point, but I wasn’t afraid to hope a little. Just a bit more, another day, another month, a year, even longer, for content that may have come to bring it back to its feet. But in the end it didn’t. And come Nov. 28th, the game will shut down and WS will be gone. It’s my first mmo, and I guess I’ll never really get over the deal that it is over...

But as everyone has said at this point, the memories of the game, making friends, enjoying the content, how long you’ve been playing either at the beginning or near the end. It’s something to keep despite all the sadness about the news. All of that, I’m really happy to have been through, being able to meet new people, doing things, having fun. 

So, I’ll close this off saying:

Thank you, Southern Grimvault. Thanks for being a map that let me feel like an explorer and enjoying the aesthetics you had to offer with your golden fields of towering exanite to your strain infested pulsating caves.

Thanks everyone, for all the content you create and your passion that kept the game alive through the years.

And to Wildstar for its crazy sciency magical space cow-boy world that I took great enjoyment in.

The giant 10 foot robot appreciates it. 

[alestudygram]

Tips to self-study a language 📚👓

First, I’d like to say thanks to all of you for making this account reach +2,2K followers on tumblr and +220 followers on instagram 🎉🎉 (oddly satisfying numbers haha). So, as a thank you, I’d like to share the tips I follow to self study languages.

1. Resources: find the main source you’ll be learning from because you need a structured plan to follow and since we don’t have a language class, you’ll need a really good textbook (if you can afford it) or as I do, a very well and free organized website. Most of the time, the government, the important universities or broadcasting systems of the country you’re learning the language from, have an independent website for learning that language or you can find other good websites made by native or learners as well. You’ll dedicate lots of hours to find this great source because it’ll be practically your teacher.

2. Organization: think which time of the day you’ll be free and more productive to study that language, and set a regular schedule, it can be three times a week or every day. Also set how long you’ll be studying, it can be 30 minutes or two hours, it depends on how often the sessions are, how free you are and how focus you are when studying. I prefer early mornings because I feel with more energy, with less distractions and more time to do things.

3. Goals: set goals or targets with your learning so you can actually make progress with that language. It can be big goals like reach an A2 level in six months or small goals like finish any number of flashcards in one hour or learn 5 lessons from a textbook or website during the whole week. It’s important to decide a goal with a deadline. Write it down on a notebook or a piece of paper and make it visible in your room to remind you every goal you’ve set and the achivements. This will help you to see how much progress you’ve made and feel some victory and motivated.

4. Immersion: immerse yourself and get involved with that language as much as you can. It means, finding series, movies or youtubers to watch with subtitles because it’ll help you (without noticing) adapt your listenning to the flow of the language, its pronunciation, the body language and even new words. Follow people and blogs in topics you’re interested in on social media and make sure to read what they post even if you don’t understand, eventually you will or at least pick vocabulary and expressions you didn’t know. Also, download apps you think you’ll use for specific purposes like dictionary, flashcards, grammar, vocabulary, just to have an easy access to the information through your phone.

5. Practice: make sure to practice the language or you will forget it. So if you can’t find a native in your town to practice with, find friends online who are interested in learning your native language, it can be with apps like Hellotalk or websites like Interpals. Also, when you talk/chat with your friends and family, say easy words like thank you, hello, bye, etc in your target language and repeat it as many times as you need, at the end you won’t be able to forget it and they will understand what you’re saying even if they don’t know the language, so that’s a win for everyone. ^^

6. Discipline: dedicate the most of yourself to the language. This is the actual golden key to learn languages. It means to be consistent in your learning because once you start learning it, you’ll find boring and difficult topics like grammar, not having a teacher or tutor to explain it, and lots of failing with your pronunciation or saying wrong things in that language over and over again, then it’ll be easier to quit it. That’s why you have to remind yourself to be determinated, dedicated and discipline, so you can move on from those mistakes and keep learning.

I hope it helps you a lot and remember that any question you have, you can ask me :) 

[thetrueghostqueen]

Day One and Already a Bad First Impression- A Fated Prophecy

masterlist   cover  characters   prologue   chapter 1 

Over the course of the week the Gods kids settled in. Most of them stayed in their lodgings and only spoke to each other. A few of them left and met some people. BamBam for instance met a group of girls who called themselves DreamCatchers.

   The DreamCatchers were a seven girl coven of Dark witches. BamBam had to admit that they were smokin' hot. He also met some druids and nymphs that he wouldn't mind spending more time with.

   It was a pretty good week. They all seemed to adjust to their new surroundings, even if they all weren't thrilled with coming here.  

  It was the first day of class. BamBam was finishing the last embellishments to his outfit when Yugyeom, Adarra, and Jungkook came into the main living area. Although the rest of the family was awake it was only the four of them that had to leave early. They would be at second period when the others went to first.  

 BamBam and Adarra had all of their morning classes together. Jungkook and Yugyeom had their first period together. All 15 of them would meet up for lunch and then go their separate ways until dinner. Hoseok and Jackson were teasing them about their early start. BamBam and Jungkook adopted Adarra's finger habit and flicked them off as they left for the day.

   The four of them made their way to the main campus of the school. They said their good byes and split off into two's.  In class BamBam and Adarra found seats beside each other and sat down. Adarra placed her bag behind her like a pillow and lifted her legs to lay across the desk.  

 A few of the guys in the class tried to catch her attention and BamBam chuckled as Adarra blew them off with her obscene finger gestures.  

  After a couple of minutes the Professor or the class appeared and called everyone to order. Adarra took the time to lay her head back. The Professors eyes landed on the two new additions to the school and slithered his way around the desks towards them.  

 The Professor spoke to the Gods kids. BamBam couldn't help but notice that he sounded like he was speaking parseltongue from Harry Potter. "Rule number one of my Classss. No Glassessss unlesssss they are needed for reading."

  BamBam removed the sunglasses that he was wearing. They had all taken to the glasses to stop people from staring at their unusual eyes.

 The Professor looked at Adarra when she made no move to follow the rule. " You too." The Professor spoke again. Adarra still sat there ignoring him.

    "Sir, she can't remove her glasses." BamBam spoke up.

 "Jussst becausse you are sspecial doessssn't give you sspecial privilegesss." The Professor argued. "Two, I do not need you to ssspeak for her Sshe hasss a mouth."

 The Professor's slithered speech began to annoy BamBam. "Adarra is the daughter of Ryujin and Asherah. Both her eyes and her voice put any not of full GOD hood under her thrall. Now if you and everyone in this class or school would like to obey her every command by all means continue to push." As BamBam spoke a glow began to form around him until the brightness overtook the room. " If that is not what you want, I advise you to LET IT GO!!"

  The Professor stared at BamBam for a moment before audibly swallowing and nodding. " Forgive me son of RA." The Professor made his way back to the front of the classroom to begin the lesson about the wars of mortal men.  

 Class went by quickly after the initial hiccup. The next class was outdoors for weapons or power training. The whole school participates at the same time.  Adarra made a mad dash over to Jinyoung as soon as she saw him.  BamBam joined Yugyeom, Jungkook, and V. Over on the other side of them Namjoon, Jin, Mark, and Yoongi stood together. Adarra was with Jinyoung, Jaebum, and Hoseok. Jackson was with Jimin and Youngjae.  

   For those that were in power training, which meant the Gods kids, Demi Gods, Druids, Witches, Fae, and some other magical based creatures they were ushered towards a stadium that was created to be a safe space to harness powers without destroying anything.

  Everyone was told to take a seat and would get their turn in time. Adarra and Jinyoung were first. Jinyoung attacked with various forms of magic. Summoning dead warriors, creating deadly plants that spit acids and nasty venoms, and the list goes on.  

  Adarra deflected everything Jinyoung threw at her before shifting into a dragon. Her dragon form was a sight to behold. Her scales were the same color blue as her hair in human form and they were etched with gold markings. She is a cross between a European and a Japanese dragon.

 Once in dragon form she charged Jinyoung and pinned him down. The mock battle was ended when she licked his face and he tapped out. She shifted back and with a silent laugh slung her arm across his shoulder and went to sit down.

  The nest hour they saw Demi-Gods, Druids, Witches, and Fae take their shots. Jin and Yugyeom were the next God kids called.

 Both were given the instruction to concentrate and feel the power within. This was the time to discover who they were not show off like the first two members of their family did.  

 Yugyeom was the first to succeed. The non existent wind in the arena began to pick up until it was reaching category four hurricane territory. With a struggling nod from the Professor, Yugyeom cut off the winds.

 Jin summoned a Hunt. Ghost like archers appeared all around the arena. Before he could cut off the power his body began to charge with electricity and the booming sound of thunder could be heard.

 Youngjae and Yoongi were next. Youngjae summoned a golden chariot that eerily matched Apollo's and he summoned a group of slain warriors that charged at Yoongi.  

 Yoongi whom up until the warriors began to charge appeared to be sleeping raised his arm and poppies and gold dust fell around the arena. The warriors disappeared and he was asleep on his feet once more.  

  Jackson shifted into a large black panther and summoned Hades' Hell steads and chariot. Jaebum shifted into a massive lion. Mark was able to manipulate any power he saw. He was also able to shift his person and voice to match anyone he wanted. Hoseok brought the sound of Thunder and made lightning dance around the arena.

 BamBam took center arena. Greenish fog rolled around him and the arena got brighter and brighter until a Professor yelled enough. He gave a sheepish smile when he noted a few druids had gotten scorched.

 Jungkook, Jimin, V, and Namjoon had no success bringing forth their abilities.  

 Class ended for the day. The Gods kids were ordered to stay behind. They kept their seats and waited. Once the arena was cleared the Professors began to speak.

"It has come to our attention that some if not most of you have been less than accepting of integrating with Wieland. You were given a week to acclimate and in that time only a couple of you were seen mingling with others. Every super natural and mythical species attend here. Just because you are Gods doesn't mean you are above or more special than other beings."

  Another Professor continued. "This place was established to help and train beings such as yourselves to be the best that you can be for the betterment of our world. To work with you to achieve your full potential. Let us help you."

 " Help us?" Jinyoung scoffed. "The classes you have us in are crap. This school should be renamed Remedial Learning for Morons. You actually teach classes  that explain you are a werewolf because you have fur every moon cycle and turn into a rabid man dog. How does that help us?"

The first Professor spoke again. " It helps because knowing what you are and why will help you be stronger and better in the future."

 "You actually believe that?" V Scoffed this time. " You honestly believe we need a class that tells us You are Gods because your God mother and your God father screwed each other and here you are?"

 The first Professor sighed. " In a way yes. Not every student understands why they are what they are. Many ponder why they were born this way. It's our job to teach and help."

  "Did we wake up in a different universe? Are we in Harry Potter where a muggle can give birth to a witch?" Jinyoung asked incredulously. " This is the real world. You can't be a GOD born to two human parents. You can't be..."

 "Demi Gods are born by a human all the time." The second Professor cut Jinyoung off.

Jinyoung stood. His fuse was finally blown. "We're not Demi Gods you moron. We are full GODS. You have never dealt with OUR kind. Yet you stand there and tell US you, YOU know what's best for US!"

 His tirade was cut off by Adarra tugging him back into his seat. The Professors looked at each other not knowing what else to say and not understanding how they lost control of the discussion. They looked to the Gods kids and saw the glares directed towards them. Without another word they turned on their heels and quickly walked out leaving the Gods kids alone in the arena.

 The Gods kids remained for a few moments longer. Namjoon and Jaebum trying to convince everyone to just go with it for now. Even though they themselves agreed with Jinyoung and V. But they were stuck here for who knows how long and constantly butting heads with the Wieland Professors would only hurt them in the long run.

 For the most part everyone begrudgingly agreed and headed to their next class. Only Jinyoung and Adarra remained.

Adarra had been with Jinyoung long enough to know just how angry he was without needing him to say it. She just sat there rubbing calming circles against his back.

 She had been in love with him for 8 years. They had always been close. The kid of an unpredictable dragon God and the kid of a terror and War God connected them on a deep level. They both had volatile tempers and learned early on that only the other could calm them down.

 In a way you could call it fate that a few years later the close friendship they had would progress into love. Adarra was 12 and Jinyoung 15 when they first kissed. 16 and 19 when they first uttered I love you. 18 and 21 when they made their relationship official by getting married.  

 Jinyoung was the first to hold her when she was brought to their home at 3 months old. It was kismet in a way that he would be the one to hold her always.  

 Adarra felt the moment the anger dissipated from Jinyoung. She leaned in and placed a chaste kiss to his lips. " What say we skip the rest of the day?"

 Jinyoung chuckled and turned his head to look at Adarra. " That sounds wonderful. Cuddle up in our bed and watch those cheesy movies you love so much?"

 Adarra grinned and kissed him again. " Yep, but don't lie love. You love those cheesy movies as much as I do. Although I say we don't start with the cheese. We start with..." She paused for a second in thought. " I feel the itch to watch Harry Potter."

 Jinyoung let out a bark of laughter and covered his mouth. " I love you!"

 " I love you too!"

 Off they went to lazy the day away with cuddle time and movies.