#grabs Rosie like c'mon kids

[humanityinahandbag]

Eddie's April Fools joke would be him bringing Steve a baby that he's watching while he volunteers at the foster center (because kids aren't as judgemental as adults and he can actually do some good without getting nasty looks or whispers about satanism and murder behind his back).

He'd show up at Steve's door and hold out a wide eyed, rosy cheeked, somewhat confused baby like, "Steven, I know it's been a few months since our night of passion, but she's yours. I'm taking you for all you're worth!"

And it's such an obvious joke. Such an obvious prank. He'd just been taking this kid out for a walk and getting some fresh air.

But jokes on Eddie, because Steve wouldn't even think before lighting up, reaching out, and snatching the baby to his chest like oh aren't you so sweet, do you want to come inside? Yes you do!

Eddie tries to explain that it's a joke, but Steve just grabs his hand and squeezes it tight and the words die on his tongue.

"Bah phhhfp," said the baby, giving Eddie a look like, dude, you've got it bad.

Steve didn't drop his hand. His fingers were warm and strong against Eddie's. "Where'd you find her?"

"... foster?" Says Eddie. "I'm uh. I'm watching her?"

"And you brought her here?" Steve's eyes crinkled at the corners. His smile was sunshine.

Eddie opened his mouth. Closed it. Nodded. And then nearly fell backwards when Steve brought the hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

"Glooof," said the baby, staring at Eddie. You're an idiot if you don't make a move right now.

Thankfully, he didn't have to. Not when Steve was giving him a tug over the threshold.

"C'mon. Let's get you both inside. I think she needs to be changed. You got a diaper bag hiding somewhere under all that leather?"

It was meant to be a joke. It doesn't land as one. Because somewhere in Steve's head, the paternal switch is cheering, lit up so brightly. Free baby? And the person he liked brought him the baby?

Well. Then there's only one real solution to the problem.

(For Eddie, that solution hits him just as quickly. Especially when the guy he's been in love with since the sixth grade is holding a baby to his chest, shirt speckled in spitup and drool, making coffee the next morning, smiling across the kitchen at Eddie so softly and sweetly. Well. He was done for long ago. Might as well fall all the way.)

Ten years later, Eddie and Steve are sitting on a park bench watching their daughter April try to sacrifice her stuffed bunny on top of the jungle gym.

"You do realize that she was supposed to be a joke, right?" He'd say to Steve, a little teary eyed and so unbelievably happy.

"Jokes on you," Steve would reply easily. "Because I kept you both."

Jokes on him indeed.

[fullofgutsndopamine]

everything you do (makes it easy to fall in love with you)

tw: cliches, over usage of pet names, insta-love, cursing

they/them for reader but one instance of “Misses” i couldn’t find a way around it

more here

the giggling should’ve given it away at first.

kids giggling and pulling at the each others sleeve is never a good sign, and even as a second year teacher-you know better.

a smile finds its way onto your face regardless, “what’s so funny?” you ask, “hm?”

half the class giggles into their hands, squirms in their seats and doesn’t answer until a student in the front spoke.

listen, you don’t have favorites-they’re all your kids. but if you had to choose, Rosie, the quiet kid that sits in front for all your lessons, speaks quietly and carefully, her glasses falling down her nose as she speaks-would be one of the first

“miss,” rosie giggles, “someone left a present for you.”

you act surprised.

Kids bringing small presents is nothing new; there's James, who brought you a bruised apple in the first month you started teaching. Annie, who comes in from recess with rocks shoved deep in her pockets for you; Sam who never comes inside when the bell rings without a weed in their pocket, a dandelion half squished for you-

when you make your way to your desk, make a show of opening the small shoebox turned Valentine's Day box you made in class, now with little cats on the sides, whiskers on the front; you're expecting half ripped pieces of lined paper in there, little mispelled love notes from your students-

making a show of opening it, you don't have to act surprised when you see it's absouletly filled to the brim with notes-and you were half right, written on ripped lined paper, scribbled between class periods, mispelled everything-

"Miss-"

one of the students calls you back to it as you take a handful out, a mess of: u lok nice 2day and i lik ur dres or i lov u

"Do you want us to tell you who they're from?"

They're giggling behind their hands, like it's an inside joke you somehow missed out on, didn't get the memo on

"Hm," The smirk plays on your face as you grab another one, "I haven't the faintest idea-"

"It was Mister Charlie!" Annie all but squeals, the class erupting into giggles

"Mr.Charlie," Your eyebrows form into one, "Like, the science teacher across the hall, Mr.Charlie? The one with the glasses?”

It's obvious from the notes that it isn't from him even if you've seen him in passing; walking to your classroom in the morning before the students are there, your hands full of bags for the classroom, him insisting on helping you only for you to race him to see who can get to their classrooms first-walking into his room when you know it's his planning period, his hair dishelved, glasses shoved ontop of his head as he's massaging the sides of his forehead only for you to ask, "Does this sound dumb?" when you're trying to draft an email

you know of Charlie

it's hard not to know about charlie. it's only your second year teaching, your first in this school district, and while everyone here is nice, he's the only one who's seemed to go out of his way to make sure you're comfortable. Dropping by on his lunch, his wrinkled paper bag in hand "I packed too much for lunch." only to pass you an orange, or an apple-when you get a note from one of his students and open it only for it to read: Sorry. They needed a second outside of the classroom. Please send something back for them. -C

"Yeah," They pull you back to present time, "He has a crush on you. He loves you."

they're giggling into their palms, oohing and awing as you do when you're young and love is something that makes their face bright red and squirm in their seats-

"Alright," You shake your head, shove the notes back in, hoping they don't see your face bright red, "We have to finish this lesson. C'mon, let's see where were we. Ah, yes. June, can you-"

You wait until it dies down, when you hope these notes are at least a semi forgotten thing, right before you're about to send them to recess, to send the note across the hall. You make sure to staple it down, don't trust the kids to not peak, and send it across the hall

Across the hall, Charlie is pacing.

"No because like," He shakes his head, runs his hand through his hair, "I can't tell them I like them-"

His best friend, the janitor, John, sits backwards in his chair, eating a banana.

He rolls his eyes as he peels the outside carefully, "Right, because that would be embarrassing-"

"No because exactly!" He shakes his head, slams his fist against his other hand, "I have to-"

A tiny knock on the door and charlie whips around.

All his students are gone, in art for the next 45 minutes-don't them to see him like this, stressed about a crush he'd rather die, thanks.

"Hey. Where-."

He immediately drops the rant, drops his voice as he kneels on the floor, very aware of how intimidating he could be to children, and how he towers over the students, tries to make himself smaller around them always

She drags her feet to Charlie, hands him the piece of red construction paper, stapled down, face bright red: "This is from misses, across the hall."

She speaks so quietly charlie has to strain to hear her, would have missed it if he didn't see your writing across the top of it.

His eyes go wide to John, "It's from them."

John cackles, "Is this a code red? Or-"

"Not now, John." charlie hisses, turns to the kid, "Thank you.”

And she nods once, drags her feet out the door and all but runs to the classroom.

"Open it, you idiot." John huffs, throws the banana peel into the wastebasket by the door, misses.

charlie turns it around in his hands, takes a deep breath, and opens it.

Across the hall, you worry you did the wrong thing.

It borders on flirting, the note you sent. Wrote it on a whim, can definitely see the words you scribbled out, wrote over, tried to make it so he doesn't see the first draft

Heard you have a crush on me you wrote, my kids filled my box with notes from "you". I would expect a science teacher to know how to spell 'hydrogen' when you're professing your love to me, but it's sweet, all the same. If you're kids say anything to you, just wanted to fill you in. Sorry, this is dumb.

You're contemplating faking your death, making a new identity, running away-investing in fake mustaches anything then to live in shame of flirting-with another teacher?! A science teacher of all things?! Please.

The note is shoved under your door, and you can hear footsteps all but run away and a door close in the time it takes you to get it.

It's your planning period now, and you turned the lights off and shut the door in hopes of some quiet to get rid of the pounding headache behind your eyes, your glasses shoved over your face

You get it slowly, carefully, walk to the door where there's a thick piece of computer paper, also stapled close, halfway across the room from being shoved with such passion under the door-

your name is scribbled in front, loopy and carefully and you open the note slowly, expecting a restraining order

sunshine,

can't believe my cover was blown away by students, of all things. I heard them whispering in my classroom about this, but didn't think they'd be brave enough to do anything about it.

I'm sorry about my kids. I think when adults look at each other, kids think they're in love. I hope they didn't bother you too much.

-charlie in 303 (The science teacher)

P.S. You look pretty today

Your fingers run over the note, the place where he obviously pressed down too hard with his pencil and left marks in the note, the scratching out he did. The way he added his classroom in, as if you weren't sure who he was, as if he isn't the only one who's showed you kindness, who stayed with you when you locked yourself out of your classroom your second day until John came to unlock the door. Or the snacks he brought you, the cupcake he had a student bring you when he was celebrating his birthday-the kind little gestures he did in the few months you'd known him

You sit on the note for the day.

Not on purpose; your class came back and there was a small fight amongst students, homework to do-the note felt heavy in your pocket, forgotten until you got home and undressed for the day.

"No but like," charlie sighs to John the next day, early before school is suppose to start. John is leaning back in his seat, eating a granola bar and missing his mouth, most of it ending up on the floor, "Valentine's day is in two days and all I did was send a note all but professing my love to another teacher."

"I know," John snorts, "How embarrassing. That has to be like, an HR red flag, right?"

"Not helping, John." charlie groans as he slams his head against his desk. "Maybe this is a sign I should quit. Move across the sea, make a new identity-"

"On a teachers budget?" John snorts, "charlie be serious, you can't even afford to look at those ticket prices-"

"Not helping, you-"

"Besides," John rolls his eyes, throws the wrapper in the trash, "It's just a crush, charlie. Jesus Christ, you act like you've never had one before. They aren't going to write you up for thinking the teacher across the room from you is hot."

charlie groans, digs the heels of his palms into his eyes until he sees stars.

"And besides," John adds, "It's cute. I haven't seen you this excited since college. The flowers are cute, I promise."

charlie doesn't answer, picks up the mini water bottle he ripped the label off of it and picked some of the wild flowers that grow on his walk into school. He can't afford the grocery store bouquets, not on his teaching budget.

"Come on," John groans as he stands, jingles the keys in his hands, "I'll unlock their door before they come. They'll be here in ten minutes."

charlie sighs but obeys, bites back comments on how he worries this is weird, replaces it with: "it's weird you know their schedule."

John huffs, digs into his pocket as he makes a show of using the wrong keys so charlie groans, cranes his neck to check the hallway for any signs of you-

Finally, three wrong keys later, John pushes the door open and gently shoves charlie in, and he stumbles inside, places the water bottle on your desk, and digs around in his pocket for the note he wrote last night when he couldn't sleep, and shoves it deep into your valentines mailbox before he can regret it-and all but runs out.

Your turning the construction paper make-shift valentine you made over in your hand, contemplating what to say, when to confess this crush officially, when your eyes hit the small water bottle again.

the note never said it's from him, but it's all but implied, the same flowers you see in the schoolyard day in and day out, and you drag the small bottle to you, shove your nose deep into the small bouqet.

Your eye catches the note in the box. You almost missed it, halfway through the day already, when you can see the very tip of it, and you carefully have to dig it out, carefully unwrinkled it and put it on your lap

one day left.

according to my kids, we're married. sorry you have to find out this way that you're taken. sorry the last name is kind of shit.

Have a good day, darling. Keep the tiny humans alive until 3:05.

-C (303, Science teacher)

PS You look beautiful today

A smile creeps onto your face, and a plan forms in your head.

Being friends with the janitor comes with many perks. You didn't originally become friends just for those perks, believe you should treat everyone kindly, but when charlie is in one of his kid's specials (It's Thursday, so you know it's music class and you also know, from walking past the room, that charlie takes the class very seriously, and likes to join in when he can) and you're able to find John, hiding in his room (More of a make shift closet) and ask him to unlock charlie’s door.

"I worry this goes against a school rule," You whisper, bouncing on your heels, "Like, an unspoken rule."

John smells heavy of nicotine and grease (somehow) but he's humming as he unlocks the door, "Nah," He shakes his head, "Just mention me in y'all's speech when y'all are married. Or, name a kid after me."

You gasp, gently hit his arm, "John we are not getting married. Or having kids. I don't even know him. We're just two co-workers who are being nice."

John physically bites his tongue to hold back any comments on first love, or how many text charlie’s sent about you instead nods: "Mhm." as the door opens.

The room is darker without charlie. You know in your head it's due to the lights being out, and not actually because of his lack of presence, but he definitely brings something to the stone walls that's missing without him.

"Quick, quick quick," John teases as he leans against the doorframe, jingles his keys, that smirk on his face he always seems to wear, "Let's go."

You squeal, all but run to his desk, the small bouquet of construction paper flowers on green pipe cleaners you folded on lunch in a small paper milk carton, a piece of paper under it: One more day to go. Sorry these aren't real. From your wife

And you all but run out as John laughs at you.

Valentine's Day comes, and it feels like it's hangng over your shoulders, some big d-day you've been dreading and waiting for.

charlie is too chicken shit to ask you out to your face. He knows this, hell-you probably know that too, but he still comes in, a small cup he usually reserves for his kid's birthdays, plastic with your name down the side, filled with your favorite candy (gotten the answer from grilling your kids at lunch and lowkey bribing them) a note taped to the outside in a bright pink envelope he folded up.

He makes his way to your room, sets it in the middle, hesitates, contemplates if he should, and leaves before he can second guess it.

You're happy you saw the cup before your students, or you would've never heard the end of it.

Your hands all but shake as you take the paper out, his handwriting slanted and scribbled like he wrote it in a hurry:

It's so fucked that I couldn't say this straight to your face.

Will you go out with me? Tonight, 8pm. Tammy's Diner in town.

Let me know.

-c

The absence of his room number, his title, makes you smile, blushing as you re-read the note, him finally asking you out. You contemplated asking him out since you started here, debating with it every ride home in complete silence, beating yourself up for not doing it.

You open your desk up, grab a piece of paper, and get to work.

charlie is googling teaching jobs in the city when one of your students walks in, wide eyed, a note in their small hands. He all but runs to them, gives them a hand full of candy as they leave happily, and he takes a deep breathe, opens the note

Can't wait

I've been waiting for you to ask me out.

Our class party is at noon. Bring your class and we can have a little combined party, it'll be fun.

Wear your green tie, it's my favorite.

-Your excited wife

"And that class, is when you carry the one. Now-"

The yell rips through the air, all but quiet, and the class whips around, wide eyed, wondering what the yelling is about, the loud Woo that rips through the air.

A smile forms on the edge of your lips, "C'mon guys, we're almost done. When this is over, we have a party with Mr.Charlie’s class. C'mon. Now, if the one is carried-"

[unluckyhoneybee]

Oh I love fluffy Daniel 🤗 I dunno maybe him with your newborn or him being a cute bf 💕

"Okay, cool. How do we do this?"

It was the first time he was left completely alone with the baby and he wasn't used to the whole thing yet. It was easier when you were there. He felt more confident if you were by his side. But you needed a break for a couple of hours.

With Danielle on his arm, peacefully sleeping, and bags on his free hand, he was staring at the door trying to think of how to open it. The little girl was tight sleep but he kept asking stuff to her.

"Do you think I could... No. Not working. And if... Shit, it isn't working either. Maybe... Fuck, no"

He really couldn't put two in two and come up with how to open the door with a baby in one hand and groceries in the other. Which was really entertaining. Toy had arrived only a second later but had stayed in incognito mode inside your car, watching your boyfriend deal with everything so calmly but awkwardly.

"Danny, you are not a good help" He told his daughter. "I can't believe we have the same name. It's going to be so easy for mum when she gets angry at us" He laughed at his own joke and looked at her. "You are cute"

"The ice cream will melt"

He almost droped the bags when he heard your voice.

"Shit" He looked at you with big brown eyes. "Since when"

"I arrived just after you, but you were too busy"

"Help?" He pouted.

You giggled and grabbed the bags.

"No, babe that's too..."

"Danny. I'm fine. The doctor said everything is fine. I can do this"

He bit his lip to not smile like a kid. He was so in love.

"Come on" You called when you saw him standing outside.

"Yes"

He ran inside and the movement woke Danielle up.

"Shit" He groaned and pulled her up to her chest. "Sorry, princess. I forgot you were asleep" He said caressing her back and making her hide on his neck. "Payback for last night, huh"

You rolled your eyes and pulled your phone and took a picture.

"Why is that?" He smiled.

You walked to him and put your arms around his waist to have a look of Danielle's face. "She won't stay this tiny for ever"

He smiled softly. "We can always make more"

"Yeah, you are not getting close in a while"

"Oh c'mon..."

"She doesn't seem this tiny when she is coming out of you, Daniel"

He rolled his eyes dramatically and turned down to her. She nuzzled closer to her dad and he smiled with rosy cheeks. "I have a baby"

You giggled and kissed his cheek before kissing her head.

"Let's go and get the ice cream in the refrigerator and then bath your baby"

"Bath time, Danny, did you hear that?"

[onestormeynight]

It Was A Normal Day

"You did not, Nellie!"

"I did, that's why I wasn't in class the last hour!"

"Stop lying, I don't like it."

"I'm NOT, Ida!"

"Girls, stop, what happened?" Rosie asked, grabbing their attention.

"Nellie wasn't in the last hour of class yesterday and she won't tell me why!"

"I DID tell her why, Mom, she doesn't believe me!"

"Okay, how about you tell me, then?"

Nellie sighed and ate her last bite of toast and eggs. "It was recess and I heard Antella calling Ida a four-eyes behind her back to her stupid friends. I didn't like that, so I told her so. She said it again, so I said better four eyes than blind to how wretched you are. She said she didn't care and then they started chanting four-eyes, four-eyes, four-eyes." She stopped and tapped her fork a few times.

"And?" Rosie said, prompting her daughter to continue, afraid of where this was going.

"I punched her in the face. And then I pulled her hair. I may have kicked her when teacher pulled me off, but that was an accident, Mom, I promise. I didn't mean to kick her."

"Oh, you just meant to fight your classmate?"

"Well, yeah."

Rosie tried, she really did, not to laugh, but she couldn't help it. Her daughter, terrified of leaving the house because she might get hurt, had no problems socking another child in the face over her sister. Rosie couldn't believe it.

"And no one called me?" She finally choked out. "Nellie, you can't hit other kids, even if they're being mean. It's not right. Violence doesn't solve your problems. Sometimes people are just mean, it's best to ignore them or tell an adult if it's really bad."

"You hit that mean old lady at the pool."

Rosie paled. "Oh. So you did see that."

Both twins nodded. "It was very loud," Ida said.

And I'd do it again, she thought.

"Mommies mess up sometimes, girls. I'm not perfect. That was not right on my part. I wish you hadn't seen that."

"Seen what?" Robin asked, kissing his wife on the cheek and sitting at the table. "What happened?"

"The girls witnessed me hitting Lily, and Nellie here took that to mean she can hit her classmates. Did you know about this?"

"Oh, yeah, they called yesterday. I told them to just put her in detention for the rest of the day and we'd handle it at home."

"But you never told me."

Robin shrugged. "You were in work mode and I'd handled it. We talked about it, didn't we, Nellie?"

Nellie nodded. "We don't start fights. We just finish them."

Rosie rubbed her face. "No fighting. Period. What are you looking at, Nellie?"

"My grandmas. Grandma Blair is so pretty. Grandma Penny, too." She looked at Rosie over her shoulder. "Can you tell us about Grandma Blair tonight?"

Rosie had to cough past a lump in her throat. "Of course, Lovey. Tonight. But right now, both of you need to get dressed and work on your homework. C'mon. Move."

While the girls worked on their homework, Rosie had made a special trip to Bhoarders to purchase a gift for Nellie. Not to reward her for poor behavior, of course, but she hoped that this would allow her to channel all of those big feelings she had into a more productive outlet.

"Nellie? Come here, Lovey. I have something for you."

"This is for you," Rosie said. "Listen, I know you have strong feelings and it can be hard to know where to put those or what to do with them. You know how Mommy writes?"

"Yes?"

"I want you to try it, too. Here."

Nellie carefully opened the package and her face lit up. Inside was a new pink notebook and a special pen with Nellie's name on it. She pulled out the notebook and flipped the blank pages, enjoying the scent of a clean notebook wafting into her nose.

"Anytime your feelings are really big, I want you to try writing it down in here. No one will read it. It's just for you. Be honest in it and I think it will help you."

"Thank you, Mom."

Sam came over shortly after. Rosie was surprised as he hadn't called to say he would be visiting. It wasn't out of the ordinary, but it did let her know something was off.

"Sam? What's going on?" She said. "If I'd known you were coming I would have made something, I've only got left overs right now."

"I'm not much in the mood for eating, Roz," he said.

"What happened?"

"It's Dad. He's...gone."

((prev)) ((next))

[thebibliosphere]

I am in my own Harry Potter AU hell.

And just because I can:

“Dad...” 

Malfoy looked up from his desk, quill poised over the parchment as his son hovered by the study door. Aware that he was frowning, Draco lifted his expression into something more neutral. He was vaguely aware of his own father always frowning whenever he’d tried to talk to him as a boy, and he didn’t want Scorpius to one day think the same about him.

“Come in, come in. Shut the door, you’ll let the heat out.” 

The Greengrass estate was a crumbling ruin compared to Malfoy Manner, with only half the library and none of the artifacts Draco had spent the last few years archiving and putting safely away behind spelled glass. But for now it was home, chilly stone walls and all.

“Did you want something?”

“Yes.” Scorpius replied, pausing to tug at the hem of his dark shirt. There’s still a bruise under his eye, faded to be sure, but the mere presence of it made Draco’s heart skip a beat. When he’d seen Severus Potter crawling out of the rubble, face covered in blood and no sign of his own son, he’d known terror like no other.

And Draco Malfoy was intimately familiar with the machinations of terror. He’d been hugged by it once.

“Well,” he prompted, setting aside his work entirely and giving his full attention to his son. “What is it?”

“I want my friends to come visit.”

Draco blinked. Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t that. “Your...friends?”

“Albus Potter and Rosie Granger-Weasley. I would like them to come stay.”

Draco blinked again. Later he’d laugh—somewhat despairingly into a decanter of fire brandy—at the absurdity of the notion that his boy, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, was best friends with a Potter and the hybrid off-spring of a Granger Weasley, but the threat of impeding hysterics was quelled under the defiant gaze of his son, narrow chin lifting at some unspoken challenge. 

“I see. For how long?”

“A...a week...maybe two...They’re going to France for the Quiditch Cup Primaries...” he glanced down and Draco spied the curled up parchment hidden up his sleeve. “So it wouldn’t be for long.”

Draco glanced at his desk, to the fireplace, then back to his son. “I don’t...”

I want my friends...friends...how often had Astoria lamented his lack of playmates as a child, how often had she fretted that Scorpius’ only interaction had been with adults—or books, or enchanting his own toys for someone to play with. And how quickly had Scorpius’ face crumpled at the utterance of two simple syllables. 

“...know if two weeks would be wise, given your mother’s health. She’s still recovering from the move. But I shall discuss it with her, and see what can be done.”

Scorpius stilled, the beaming smile on his face reigned in to something calmer, even now, not wanting to get his hopes up too much. “Thank you. For what it’s worth, we will be good.”

Draco snorted at that, remembering the last time a Malfoy, a Potter and a Granger and a Weasley had been together at their age. “Somehow I doubt it. Go on off you go, go see what your mother is up to. She’s enjoying having you home.”

“And I am enjoying being here,” Scorpius replied, in that curiously courteous and stiff way of speaking he’d always had, even as an infant learning his words. “I am happy to be here, with you, and mother.”

“I’m...very glad to hear it.” Draco replied, unsure what else he was supposed to say to such an open admission said so politely like one was discussing the weather. “Now go on, off you go, I need to finish this manuscript before I lose the thought.”

“You’ll talk to mother though, wont you?” Scorpius pressed from his space by the door. “You’ll ask...”

“Yes, yes.” Draco waved a hand, “I’ll ask if the Potter spawn can come stay with us. Just for a little bit. To say thank you for...everything.”

Reassured, Scorpius left, closing the door behind himself with a firm click. 

Draco waited several more moments, counting to a hundred before opening up the top desk of his drawer and pulling out his correspondence folder, flipping through them until he found the appropriate manila envelope, writing the address of the Ministry Neatly to the front. 

Clearing his throat politely, he composed himself, then tapped it to life with his wand.

“Hello Potter,” he spat with a vicious familiar glee, unable to keep from laughing, “I’m not sure which one of us is going to be more surprised by this turn of events, but I swear to gods if you break my son’s heart by saying no, I will personally send you a red Howler on the hour every hour till the day one of us dies. Now, about dates, the last week in June works well for us...”

[yatostar]

(ゝ。∂) ☆ ; STRAWBERRY CAKE , t. yamaguchi ˚ ₊

🌙 ── tadashi yamaguchi x gn ! reader

[ sypnosis ] tadashi , your cute puppy boyfriend, plans a date for the two of you.

tadashi closed his eyes as music filled his ears. he was wearing ear buds as he held a small paper box between his hands. small letters were written on it. tadashi wore a soft smile as he waited for your club to end. he didn't mind waiting for you, heck, he's done it more than once.

he hummed a soft tune to himself as he stared at the sjy. he fiddled with the boxes handle as he let out a sigh. he yearned to see your face again. sure, the two of you had classes together but he needed more than that.

"tadashi!" you spoke loud enough for him to hear you. you had your school bag in your hands as you waved at him, "did you wait too long? i hope you didn't get bored, sorry."

tadashi's cheeks flushed a rosy pink as he looked at you. you slightly chuckled in response as you imagined puppy ears on him. he reminded you so much of a puppy. how cute.

"no, I didn't wait very long! " he spoke as he walked alongside you, "actually, I went to go get... something. I was hoping you'd wanna make a quick stop at the park? the suns still out so it should be fine, I hope."

you nod at his idea, "it'll be like a mini date, don't ya' think?" you teasingly say as you look at what tadashi held between his hands.

tadashi looked at you before looking at the floor, "mhm, it will!"

the boy was quick to become flustered. his face would become a blossoming pink every time you'd do or say something to him.

you turned to him as you gently took hold of his hand. it seemed as if he didn't seem to mind, but the boy himself was resisting the urge to squeal. you made him love sick.

"tadashi, are you okay?"

your words made him realize how stupid he must look, " y── yeah, don't worry aboutme. c'mon hurry up cus' the parks right there!" he laughed his flustered state as he pointed at the park with his free hand.

the two of you walked to a nearby bench as the both of you placed your backpacks down. you turned you body to face his. tadashi laid the box between the both of you.

"tadashi, c'mon, open it!" you encouraged him to open the box as you eagerly exchanged glances between him and the box.

tadashi responded to your words with a faint, "okay, i will."

your eyes followed his hands as he opened the lid of the box. your mouth formed a small 'O' as he revealed a mini strawberry cake, " I know how much you've been wanting to try one, so I ordered this for the two of us to try."

you giggled to yourself as your eyes softened, "gosh, I didn't think you'd remember such a small phrase, but thank you, tadashi."

"im glad to hear you like it, [name], " he responded as he grabbed two forks from his backpack, "I like seeing you smile, [name]. when your happy I'm happy, y'know that?"

tadashi handed you a fork as a short silence filledd the atmosphere, " I could say the same to you, dork."

the sun slowly began to set. though, the two of you didn't seem to mind. it was just the two of you at the park, but it seemed as if it was filled with kids. your laughter and his filled the silence the park once had.

tadashi yamaguchi was a dork for you and your love.

[jaedreaminn]

Office Wars

Pairings: fem!reader x Jaemin

Theme: Fluff, Mild Jealousy, playful arguments, light crack, humour, protective.

Word count:2.2k

Gist: You were always at each others throats at work and everyone knew that and was used to that but maybe there was more than just the arguments on the surface.

"Ms. Y/l/n you're typing too loudly" Na Jaemin said with his infamous smirk plastered on his face.

A collective sigh was heard across the office. Your colleagues were all used to the usual banter that took place between you and Jaemin, easily being able to tune the noise that followed.

You however found it particularly difficult to avoid the banter when Jaemin picked at you for the most ridiculous of things.

"Oh I'm sorry Supervisor Na I didn't realise your hearing aid was on" You replied, the snark to your tone didn't go unnoticed as Jaemin scoffed but you couldn't be bothered to look away from your work.

"I don't need hearing aid to hear your keyboard being murdered, the poor thing has to recieve the brunt of your anger caused by Writer Kim"

You slammed your hands onto your table and angrily spun your swirling chair in the direction in which Na Jaemin sat.

Your anger doubled as you saw him proudly smirking from his position, knowing you just gave into his taunts but you couldn't care enough since he was the one that made the low blow.

"Don't you ever get tired idoling around and causing your co-workers headaches?" You said to the smug looking boy before getting on your feet and waking to the pantry.

Jaemin smiled as he watched you dissapeare behind the wall that separates the office and the pantry.

You made two cups of coffee, calming yourself before you walked out placing one on Jaemins table and carried the other to yours and got back to your work. At this point the office was slightly accustomed to your dynamics but it still baffled them. No one understood how the two of you worked, one minute you were at eachother throats the next second you were on the same team. And they didn't even try to understand, they just went along with it.

Like right now,

"You're going to be late for the briefing if you don't hurry your pretty little fingers up" you mocked, the cheeky grin plastered on your face clearly showed how amused you were by the fact that Na Jaemin had FORGOTTEN to prepare for today's briefing as your teams supervisors in this small publishing company.

The furiously typying man let go of his lip that was trapped between his teeth to grind them together, eyes wavering for a second to glare at you before focusing on his task at hand.

You cheerily walked away, a skip in your step as you reached the meeting room waiting for your supervisor and CEO to enter, happily chattering with your colleague Joy about the small queer owned business the two of you came across on instagram because of this month.

Soon the CEO stepped in and the room fell quite, Jaemin was still not on his seat but a minute later he walked in apologising for the delay.

A rather short and surprisingly sucessful briefing later you walked back to your desk to finish of what little work you had left before you streched, slightly pushing your chair away from your desk.

"Ready to go y/n?" Joy asked coming upto you and you grinned at her, nodding.

"Don't waste time then c'mon" you heard the annoying voice of Na Jaemin say from behind you and then saw the man in question walk past you. You glared holes into his back and Joy chuckled.

You and Joy continued to chater as you made your way to the restaurant your team always eats at, to find that your entire team was already sitting there.

"I ordered what you asked me to" Your colleague Suho said to Joy who thanked him.

You took your seat inbetween Crystal and Yangyang, which also happened to be directly opposite Jaemin.

"I ordered (insert dosh of your choice) for you" Jaemin told you and the two of your stared at eachother for a few seconds and then you smiled at him thanking him.

Everyone let out a breath they didn't know they were holding at that, expecting you to get mad at him for ordering for you without you asking him to.

The wait for the food to arrive was peaceful, except for the few snark remarks you and Jaemin exchanged but it wasn't something that people weren't used to.

Upon the arrival of your food your eyes lit up. Ever since you were a kid you loved to eat, in fact you were the biggest foodie in your family.

You excitedly picked up your chop sticks ready to dig in before a voice interrupted you.

"Your food isn't going anywhere slow down or you'll burn your tongue." Jaemin said nonchalantly and you ignored him poking out your tongue at him and immediately digging in for a big bite.

As soon as the food touched your tongue you're eyes widened at the sharp sensation caused by the heat immediately dropping the serving back onto your plate as you started to pant like a dog because of the heat.

Yangyang who was next to you noticed, placing a hand on your shoulder and picking up your glass of water with his other hand.

"Careful Y/n" he warend rather uselessly after the deed was done, bringing the cup of water to your lips so that you could wash down the heat with the cooling water.

You drank the water, hands reaching out the hold the cup on your own. Once the burning sensation cooled down, you turned to Yangyang offering him a smile while thanking him.

You're attention then turned to Jaemin who sat infront of you glaring at no one in particular, expecting him to be looking smug.

You shrugged at the change in attitude as you continued your mean, this time blowing on your food before you took a bite.

Not even fifteen minutes later you felt a kick on you shin and then looked up to see Jaemin leaving, you sighed rolled your eyes and finished the food on your plate as fast as you could before dashing out back to the office. No you didn't forget to pay, the meals were handeled by the company.

You reached the office only to find Jaemin sitting on his seat pouting angrily as he typed away. You chuckled, deciding to not indulge him as you walked back to your seat and got on with your work and ignored the way Jaemin looked at you even poutier than before.

Ignoring him was a bad choice since after that he got even more annoying, dropping more files on your desk for you to deal with, making random comments about your corrections, complaining about anything and everything and you just ignored the fussy manchild with an eye roll.

"Y/n we have to go for the mandatory company diner now." Joy said to you and you looked out the window at the end of the office to see the sky becoming a dark orange hue, it was late evening.

"I still have so much to do" you whined, letting your head fall onto your desk with a thud and Joy winced, not knowing what to say.

"Stop whining y/n and just come back and get it done. I have work to do to so I can walk with you back to the office after dinner." Jaemin said walking upto your desk.

You lifted your head sligtly to look at the tall male who was looking at you, waiting for a reply to his question and you sighed head falling between your arms again.

"We have to leave now we don't have forever y/n make a choice" Jaemin said impatiently tapping his foot on the floor.

"Okay let's go!" You said suddenly jumping up and marching towards the exit. Jaemin chuckled and Joy looked at you as if you had grown two heads but then the two of them immediately followed behind you.

The company diner was uneventful. Mr. Choi on of your clients was making what he though to be flirtatious eyes at you again but you only saw it as creepy. But you were still able to enjoy you meal, sitting between Jaemin and Joy, happily chattering away.

After everyone was done eating you knew you couldn't stay to chat and you lifted you phone off the table checking the time and signalling Jaemin who nodded and the two of you bid your goodbyes.

"I can walk you if you want y/n-shi" a rosy cheek and very drunk Mr.Choi said and you gagged.

"It's Ms.y/l/n to you Mr.Choi and there's no need I'm walking her there, making sure our employee feels safe by making sure you're not around them." Jaemin said, eyes glaring daggers and the now offended drunk man.

"You" Mr.Choi yelled pointing his finger and an unimpressed Jaemin "How dare you talk to me like that! Don't you know how important I am to this company" the angry drunk man yelled.

"Mr Choil please stay professional because it isn't that hard to find good writers, especially on to replace you." Your CEO spoke up and you had to hold back a chuckle at Mr.Chois flustered face as his mouth opened and closed not able to form any words.

"If that all we'll be taking out leave." Jaemin said grabbing onto you hand and bowing at your CEO who nodded and quickly dragged you away. You quickly bowed in respects to you CEO too before you were dragged away by Jaemin.

"I felt like punching him" Jaemin said on your walk to the office, hand still holding yours.

"Me too" you chuckled at the fuming male as you walked the rest of the way in silence, hand in hand.

You immediately rushed to you desk upon reaching your office and started typing away and Jaemin lazily strolled to his seat, doing whatever he had to do.

Half an hour later and all you had to do was send out two mails and save the document you were working on, so you let yourself relax alittle slumping back onto your chair. You peaked at what jaemin was doing and smiled. "That's a good score, must have been alot of WORK" you teased and Jaemin looked embarrassed at getting caught.

"I-i was bored okay" he said avoiding your gaze and you smiled.

"Okay"

You crossed one leg over the other, leaning over your desk to send the last two e-mails and save the document you were busy correcting.

Just as you finished with your work and sat up straight Jaemin spoke "You know when a person sits with crossed legs and their legs are pointing towards you that means they like you" he said pointing at your position and you looked down to see your leg was indeed pointing at him.

"That means you like me y/n." Jaemin said cheekily wiggling his eyebrows.

And you looked at him eyes screwed as if you were judging his entire existence, which you were "Jaemin" he hummed in reply still grining, "We're engaged it would be really weird if I didn't like you" You said and Jaemins grin grew even wider and you sighed chuckling at your happy fiance.

"Yea it would be weird" he said sliding his chair towards you, crashing into you slightly and you steadied him.

"Ahh your so cute my y/n" he said pulling you into his arms and plukering his his lips trying to kiss you but you leaned away from him just to annoy him.

"Don't avoid my kisses" he huffed pouting as he tried again but you teased him again avoiding him.

"Yah! You brat give me a kiss!" he yelled and you chuckled turning you head to give him a small peck on his nose but he had other plans immediately moving his face and his lips met yours in a sweet kiss in which you felt yourself melting into. Kissing Jaemin was always calming and he always tasted sweet even thought he drank that disgustingly bitter coffee.

You slowly felt his hands snake behind your head pulling you closer lips moving in sync as he deepend the kiss, your breaths mingled as both of you felt lightweight. You got lost in eachother for a second before you slowly pulled away resting your forehead against his. He smiled at you eyes sparkling in the dim lit room.

"If someone walked in on us right now they'd have a heart attack" Jaemin joked and you chuckled. It was an unspoken rule between the two of you to keep your relationship a secret in the office and you did that by bickering. "We should tell them now though shouldn't we?" You asked and Jaemin pecked you cheek sitting up staright, "Yea and hand them the wedding invites" and you grinned, heat rushing to your cheeks, you never got used to the fact that you were to get married to Na Jaemin, your soulmate.

Needless to say when the two of you told everyone at the office the next day you were pretty sure some of them were this close to having a heart attack. But most of them Congratulated you as you stood hand in hand with Jaemin, grinning like an idiot.

[nerdzzone]

Only For A Moment: September

Summary: A series of shorter one shots from Chris and Whitney’s life together throughout the pandemic. Some happy times, some harder times, some fluff and some things a little more sexy - they work through it all as they try to get settled in their new and blossoming relationship.

Chris Evans x OFC

Part of the Once Bitten/More Hearts series

Only For A Moment: August

Note: I really liked writing this part so please let me know your thoughts!

-----

September 2020

Before the pandemic hit, we'd planned to send Grayson to preschool in the fall after he turned three. However, with the state of the world when the time arrived, it became a more complicated decision. We knew the benefits - we knew it would give him the opportunity to make friends and jumpstart his learning - but after many long, anxiety filled discussions, we decided to keep him home for another year. We didn't need it for childcare as neither of us had any work on the horizon and he still had another year before kindergarten so he wouldn't be missing out on preschool education completely. The risks just seemed to outweigh the benefits at that point in time given the case numbers in our area.

But not everyone had such an easy choice to make. People with older children had to educate them somehow - whether that be in person or online. In person classes had a much higher risk of exposure to the virus, but online classes were harder for children to focus on and required much more participation from the parents.

Carly had made the difficult choice to keep her kids at home and continue their online education, but it was proving to be harder than she'd anticipated. The kids were tired of learning through a computer and they missed their friends. Despite the risk of in person learning, they wanted to go back to school and were dragging their heels when it came to doing their work at home.

They started in August and by the middle of September, Carly was quickly losing her patience with all three of her children and, after a tearful phone call from his sister, Chris and I agreed to take them for an afternoon. They had some homework that we had to make sure they did, but Chris' goal was more related to sending them home with a renewed appreciation for their parents and a promise to keep working hard.

He'd picked them up just after lunch and given them a stern - but understanding - talking to on the way over to our place, but once they arrived he was back to being fun Uncle Chris and started their afternoon of school with gym class in the form of a soccer game. He ran them around the yard for over an hour before they wrapped up the game and came in for a snack. Then, the real school work started.

"So," Chris clapped. "What homework does everyone have?"

"Math..."

Ethan wrinkled his nose in disgust as he answered and his siblings nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well, it's your lucky day!" Chris grinned. "Whitney happens to be a math whiz! She went to university to be an accountant."

It was hard not to laugh at the disgust on their faces and I was tempted to inform them of the fact that I had dropped out just to retain my status as their uncle's 'cool' girlfriend. I thought that information might not help inspire them to work though so I kept it to myself.

"Why did you do that?" Miles questioned. "That's so boring!"

"It doesn't have to be," I insisted. "Chris, why don't you take Gray to do a puzzle or something and we'll get this work out of the way?"

"Sure," Chris nodded, plucking Grayson off the stool he was sitting on and throwing the giggling child over his shoulder. "And remember, the faster the homework gets done, the faster we can get back to doing fun stuff!"

I waited until Chris had left the room before shooting a smile at the little students that I was left with.

"Okay, now that he's gone, I can show you the secret to making math fun," I told them, stretching up to grab a big jar of jelly beans from the top shelf of a cupboard. It was Chris' secret stash, but I was sure he wouldn't be too mad if I borrowed it. "You just need to find some motivation."

The kid's eyes went wide.

"Are those Uncle Chris'?" Ethan asked, a hint of wonder in his voice.

"Yep," I smiled. "So, let's hurry and get to work before he comes back and catches us."

I shot them a wink and they all scurried off to get their notebooks.

-

It was easier to incorporate the candy into Miles and Stella's math homework as in the younger grades, they were mostly doing addition and subtraction. I helped them use the jelly beans as counters and let them eat them after every few questions. For Ethan, it was a bit trickier. In sixth grade, he was getting more into the start of algebra and some harder level fractions which jelly beans were less useful in. Instead, we used them as motivation and he got to eat a couple of jelly beans for every row of questions he finished.

We almost got away with our jelly bean thievery, but just as the kids were packing up their books, I heard a gasp come from the doorway.

"Are those my jelly beans?!"

The kids all burst out laughing as I shot Chris a sheepish look.

"I'm sorry. They needed some encouragement..."

Chris shook his head, but the smile on his face told me that he wasn't really that upset.

"I trusted you," he scolded me. "Now I'll have to find a new hiding spot and you won't be informed of its whereabouts."

I pouted at that as Grayson scrambled up onto the stool beside me to get his hands in the candy before it was moved.

"You could just be nice and share," I pointed out. "Making them forbidden just makes them more tempting."

"Yeah, Uncle Chris," Ethan nodded in agreement. "Plus, you're always telling us that we have to share stuff."

"You're getting too smart, kid," Chris smiled at him. "But unfortunately for you, I'm still in charge which means you have to do as I say, not as I do."

Ethan rolled his eyes at that as Stella frowned.

"That's not fair!"

"That's life," Chris shrugged. "Now, who's going to help me make some dinner?"

Grayson and Stella threw their hands up in the air as I popped another jelly bean into my mouth.

"What are we having?"

"Pasketti!" Grayson enthusiastically informed me, earning a laugh from Chris as he ruffled his hair.

"Spaghetti," he clarified. "With Ma's recipe for the sauce."

"Ooh, yum!"

I stole one last jelly bean before putting the lid back on the jar. The kids all whined in protest, but if Chris was making dinner then I knew it was time for me to stop stuffing them with sugar.

We all stayed in the kitchen as Chris started getting things ready, giving the kids simple jobs to do like opening jars and the occasional stirring. Dinner was about halfway ready when Miles got a cheeky smirk on his face.

"Uncle Chris?" He questioned, getting Chris' attention. "Aren't you going to sing the spaghetti song?"

That piqued my interest and I raised an eyebrow at Chris whose cheeks were slightly pinker than they'd been moments before.

"What's the spaghetti song?"

"On Top of Spaghetti," Chris informed me as if I should know what he was talking about. I didn't and my face must have shown him that. "C'mon! You have to know it!"

"I can't say that I do," I shrugged. "You'll have to enlighten me."

"Daddy sings it every time we have pasketti!" Grayson informed me, still mispronouncing the word.

"Well, I think I need to learn it then," I smiled. "Go on, Chris. Let's hear it."

The kids all agreed with me, hassling him to start the song.

"Alright, alright," he agreed after a moment of resistance. His cheeks were still looking a little rosy with embarrassment as he took a deep breath and then began. "On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese. I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed..."

I watched - filled with an almost overwhelming sense of affection for him - as he sang through all the verses of the song. The kids joined in where they could and all of them were giggling by the time he was done.

"Again, again!"

Grayson started the chant, but they all joined in and with a smirk, I did too.

"Yes, Chris! Again, again!" I teased. "So I can film it for Instagram!"

"Ha-ha," Chris laughed sarcastically. "You're so funny, Whitney. There will be no filming of this performance."

"But just think how much your fans would love it," I smiled. "You'd melt the hearts of women all over the world."

Chris let out a laugh at that comment, but didn't have time to respond before the kids took over again, demanding another performance. Once he was sure that my phone was safely out of reach, he launched into another round of song.

-

By the time dinner was done and the kids were all settled in front of the TV watching a movie, my heart was feeling rather full. Seeing Chris with all the children and enjoying the afternoon of a house full of their joy and laughter had me feeling things I hadn't been entirely sure I was ready to contemplate yet.

As I sat at the island in the kitchen, sipping my second glass of wine as Chris finished loading the dishwasher, I broached the subject.

"Today has been really nice," I told him, my voice catching his attention in the quiet room. "Having a house full of kids."

That thought clearly gripped his interest as he spun around to face me, still drying his hands.

"Yeah?" The excitement in his voice was palpable. "We haven't talked about that, have we? Do you want more kids?"

"I do," I smiled at his overzealous reaction. "At least one more. I'd like Grayson to have a sibling. It seems lonely to make him grow up all alone."

"It does," he agreed. "I can't imagine growing up without siblings."

"What about you?" I asked. "I mean, I know you've mentioned in interviews that you want a big family, but is that real? Or just for the family man image that your fans love so much?"

Chris chuckled and shrugged, but there was something sheepish about the way he was looking at me.

"Honestly?" He paused as if waiting for a response, but it seemed unnecessary. We both knew I wouldn't want anything other than the truth in a moment like this. "I want at least two more, maybe even three. Hell, I'd have another one right now if you were willing."

I almost choked on the wine I was sipping as those words left his mouth, but as I placed my glass safely back on the counter, the coughing shifted into laughter.

"We can't have another one now," I protested. "We've only been together for like four months!"

"Five," he corrected with a soft smile. "And we were only together for one night before we had Gray and I think he's turned out alright."

He was right about that and I would have been lying if I said that the thought of another little baby didn't stir something inside me, but the more rational side of me came through.

"We can't just rush into another baby," I insisted. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but that's a big decision."

"I know it is," Chris assured me. "I'm half-kidding. I know it's not something we can rush into, but another part of me thinks it would be nice to have one now while we've got nothing else going on."

"That's true, but this pandemic won't last forever," I pointed out. "Even if you got me pregnant right now, you'll hopefully be working again before it would even be born. I'm not sure I could deal with Grayson and a newborn all by myself."

"Yeah, but some experts think this mess is gonna last for a few years still which would make this the perfect time to have a baby."

I shot him a look and he shrugged with a smirk.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I warned him. "Let's just see how this whole pandemic situation goes for a bit longer before we make any massive life plans."

"Alright, alright," Chris chuckled, coming around to my side of the island. He rested his chin on my shoulder and slid his arms around my waist, placing his hands on my stomach. "It would be nice though, wouldn't it? Having another little baby around. Another little mix of the two of us."

I could feel his breath on my neck as his voice was low in my ear and I had to admit that he was right. I was one of the lucky women who actually loved being pregnant and, despite how exhausting and stressful the newborn phase was, I did miss having a little baby around.

But my worries about our ability to co-parent if we split up were still lingering in my mind. They'd been eased slightly by how solid our relationship had been so far, but if it all fell apart, I was still worried about how we would cope. Adding another baby to that so soon seemed like a foolish thing to do.

"It would be nice," I agreed, letting my hands rest on top of his. "It will be nice, one day."

"Well, whenever you're ready," Chris paused to place a kiss on my neck. "Just let me know."

I smiled at his eagerness and turned my head to kiss his cheek.

"I will," I assured him. "And maybe, once the kids have gone home and Grayson's in bed, we could practice. Just so we know what we're doing when the time comes..."

"Oh, I know what I'm doing," Chris practically growled, his grip tightening around me to pull me closer against him. "Don't you worry about that."

I giggled at his confidence before wiggling out of his grasp and standing up from the stool I'd been sitting on.

"I'm not worried, but practice makes perfect, right?"

With a wink, I grabbed my wine and turned to leave the room and check on the kids. Our conversation had given me plenty to think about, but it was comforting as well. I had no doubts that one day I wanted to expand our little family and even if I wasn't quite ready yet, it was nice to know that Chris was on board.

The man was born to be a father, he excelled in every aspect of parenting, and I was grateful that I was the one who got to help him find that role and that I got to share the experience with him.

-

October + November [part one]

Tags:  @maggotzombie @moonlacebeam @mizzzpink @zaylaugh @flowery-mess @flowerjewels @njrronaldo7 @hockeychick10 @partypoison00 @theladybiers @sidepieces @firoozehmoon @patzammit @sparkledfirecracker @mytbel0st @chvntelle-99

[softsebnbuckystan]

Souls ties - Part 3 (Bucky Barnes au)

"I had all and then most of you

Some and now none of you

Take me back to the night we met"

The sun had set a while ago and the band had been replaced by speakers, meaning the party was coming to an end, even though you still hadn't properly talked to Bucky. You  knew you probably should've payed more attention to your own husband but Darren seemed to enjoy himself more around his college friends. It would've driven you mad, had it been a regular party. Oddly enough, his behaviour that night didn't bother you as much as it should've. One might say your attention was elsewhere. It was late, and you were thirsty for water after all the champagne and hors-d'oeuvres you'd had. You were positive your rosy cheeks attested for it. At the bar, you took a minute for yourself and sat down, taking this occasion to relieve your feet from your high-heel shoes. The night's fresh air made the hair on your neck stand on end and your body's instinct was to shiver, even though the weather was still quite nice. Your body tensed up as you felt a presence at your side.

"Feeling a little tired there?" he asked. You were starting to know this voice now, and it was like music to your ears.

"I needed to be away from the crowd for a moment," you confessed.

"Oh, I can leave if you want."

This made you look at him instantly. "No, stay." You realised how pressing you must've sound and chuckled at his confused eyes – which had a beautiful shade of blue in the moonlight. "I mean...I didn't want to get away  from you, specifically. Sorry if it sounded that way."

"I'd get it, you know," Bucky said. "What happened earlier..."

"...was disturbing for us both, I assume."

Bucky didn't say anything about you interrupting him. It felt natural, actually, almost like finishing his sentence rather than rudely stopping him mid-speech.  "Yeah, exactly," he continued. "I'm really sorry if that caused you...any pain or something."

"What? The coffee?" you asked naïvely. "Don't worry, it wasn't that hot," you said with a wink.

A faint smile appeared on Bucky's lips, making you notice both how he hadn't smiled much until then and that it lightened up his face in a touching way.

"I meant pain as in fear, or anxiety. Your wedding mustn't be the place you expected to hear those words." He looked you in the eyes and you  shivered once more. "Are you cold?"

You shook your head no before looking down to your knees. His eyes on you were making you  feel all sorts of ways you wouldn't dream of sharing with anyone. "No, I'm not," you said. Taking a careful breath in, you decided to glance at him. Your eyes paused at the same time as your lungs, taken away by the beauty of the man's face. Something behind his blue iris was beyond description and drove you even more eager to get to know him, his story, his passions and pet-peeves, his everything. He'd seemed to have stopped breathing for a second as well, but you weren't entirely sure it hadn't been a figment of your imagination.

"Maybe we should go back to the others," you whispered. You tried getting off your stool and slipped next to your shoe. Bucky moved fast to grab you with his arm and prevent you from hitting the ground. His grip was firm –  exaggeratedly firm. You brushed off the sensation of his leather glove on your back and thanked him hastily before going back to Steve.

"Are you okay?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"Yeah, sure." You knew he wasn't fooled by your answer ; Steve knew you better than you knew yourself. Bucky stayed silent for a while after that, and neither of you seemed to fathom what to do next.

---

"Ready to go, honey?"

You opened surprised eyes at Darren's question. It was barely past midnight.

"Darren, we can't leave before the other guests, c'mon..."

Your husband looked disappointed and now that most of your shock had gone away, his attitude was slowly driving you mad, especially when you gave deeper thought to his actions and words throughout the day.

"Do you even want to be here at all?" you asked him, somewhat dryly.

"Calm down, y/n. We've been here forever and I wanna rest for the night. Is that too much to ask?"

"Resting on your wedding night? Yeah,  that's a lot to ask for," you replied. "I thought we were going to party until the end and have fun with our friends before going home. Consensual marriage is supposed to be celebrated, don't you know that? Ugh, you really are a buzzkill sometimes."

"Wow, easy there. If you want to stay,  fine. But I'm going home."

"Are you serious right now?" Your stomach was burning with anger and disappointment. You loved Darren, but this kind of behaviour had become a habit of his. "You're going to leave me alone at our wedding party?"

"You're not alone, you have Steve and Wanda and...whoever that guy is over there. Enjoy the rest of your night."

"Damn it, Darren, that's not fair!"

Wanda's eyes turning towards you made you realise how loud your voices had been and you lowered yours a notch.

"Fine, go home. But don't expect me to be all smiles when I join you, if I even do."

Upon those words, you turned around and walked away from him. You were perfectly aware that there was no point in reasoning with him at this point. You ended up going back to your group and were surprised to see that Steve and Wanda had walked away as well, leaving Bucky alone.

"Where are they  going?" you asked, still angry from what'd just happened.

"They're grabbing more drinks. Wanda said she'd choose something for you since you were...busy."

You brought your hand to your forehead, ashamed that he'd heard you losing your temper.

"Sorry about that. He's just...difficult, sometimes."

"I saw that," he said with his hands in his pockets, "and no need to be sorry." You could see him take a deep breath in before he kept talking, even  though he was trying hard to look as calm and composed as possible. "Come, let's take a walk. It'll help you blow off some steam."

You followed Bucky through the garden and as you drifted away from the crowd, hearing less and less voices, a soothing feeling filled your body and mind. You took deep breaths in and deep breaths out, taking in the bucolic smell of the close-by forest. The only thing left bothering you were your shoes, and you made the call to take them off, leaning on Bucky's shoulder without even thinking about it. He stopped to let you do it.

"Here, let me hold them." He gently grabbed your shoes by the heels and carried them for the way.

"Thank you." You took a peek at him and smiled. "How did you know a walk would calm me down?"

"I...I  just did," he answered with a shrug. "Did it work?"

"It's starting to." You smiled at him ingenuously, taking in some of his features at the same time. The slight crook of his nose, the rebellious hair on his neck...  A question was burning your lips. It was just the two of you, so you might as well just ask. "Did you ever give much thought to what your tattoo said?"

He didn't seem taken aback by your question. At least you didn't think he was, even though his emotions were hard to read.

"Not really. I just assumed someone would pay me a compliment out of the blue  and confuse the hell out of me." He chuckled for the first time since you'd met him and you got a feeling that didn't happen often. He stopped quickly, as would a kid caught red-handed. "You?"

"I had lots of scenarios in my head. Someone bumping into me, stepping on my feet or even running me over with a car...I mean, that sentence could've been said at many occasions, really."

"It's true, though I don't think saying 'shit, I'm sorry' would be an appropriate apology after running somebody over with a car."

You laughed at his remark and nodded in agreement.

"True. It is only an appropriate apology for spilling coffee all over someone," you teased.

You couldn't even hear the music the speakers were playing anymore, only the insects buzzing and leaves brushing against each other. As you walked, you got dangerously closer to Bucky. You knew what your body was doing, where your legs were taking you, but you had no idea why  they were doing it. You shouldn't have been standing so close to him, especially on your wedding night. Your hand accidentally brushed against his leather glove and he moved away. His movement wasn't big enough to call it an act of repulsion, but you also didn't know why exactly he didn't want to be close to you.

"I'm sorry," you said. "I just..."

"...want to be close. I know." He sighed and stopped walking. "It's a weird feeling and I didn't think you...I thought you weren't feeling it."

"What? The feeling that draws me to you and that I can't control? Of course I feel that. I've...I've met you hours ago, and yet..."

"You feel a connection that dates to much longer than that," he finished.

"Exactly. I couldn't really put words on it but...yeah. That's what it feels like."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Steve wanted me to come here for some reason and I..."

"Don't say you shouldn't have come, please."

He looked back at you and saw you'd been staring at your feet saying that sentence. His face changed in an instant.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. Not at all, actually... If I hadn't been there tonight, you might have actually enjoyed your wedding."

"I did enjoy it," you replied in a hurry. "Just not the way I imagined." You stared into his eyes,  trying to understand what he was feeling in this very moment. "We'll see each other again, right?"

"That might not be a good idea, as much as I would want to."

"But...as my sister always tells me, soulmates don't have to be romantic. I can be happily married and still get to know you....can I?"

He tightened his lips, thinking about his answer. His face gave you no clue as to what he truly wanted, but the answer he gave you might have been an indication.

"You can try. I can try."

---

Part 3 is where I chose to start the fluff haha! I hope you enjoyed this part. It felt quite cute writing it, so I hope the final result is :)

tag list:

@ginger-swag-rapunzel

[bluemoonbeam15]

(Warning for mention of physical child abuse) follow up from the ask I sent you, I imagine hopper kind of has a repressed memory of his childhood. Like, he dislikes his father and knows what he did was wrong, but he has a habit of laughing off what happened. So the gang is sitting at the commissary and hopper makes some off color joke about his dad hitting him as a kid or something, and he looks up expecting them to laugh, but everyone is just. Sitting there blood drained from their face, jaw dropped, molt has tears in his eyes and hoppers just like: ????

First off, the way you worded this prompt made me laugh XD I absolutely love it.

And second, I can definitely see Hopper downplaying his trauma through humor or simply brushing it off. Simply as a means to remain composed in front of everyone else. An act, basically. So here we go!

Also note that there are mentions of physical abuse for any of you uncomfortable with that topic.

<><><><><><><>

"No, pumpkins have no right to be fruits. Neither do tomatoes, now that we're on the topic," Francis waved a piece of grain at the group. "Like," he took a bite, talking with his mouth full, "the audacity to just waltz in the food pyramid like that and just show out the other fruits."

Slim scoffed, "Like how you have the audacity to waltz into every room and steal the spotlight?"

The conversation made Flik slow as he approached the table. He gave Hopper a curious look who merely shook his head, "Don't ask."

"I wouldn't even know where to begin," the ant took his place beside Hopper.

"Flik!" the ant jumped, "Answer me this: should a pumpkin be considered a fruit?"

"Here we go," Slim muttered.

"U-Uh...," Flik glanced around.

Hopper leaned over, "Say yes," he whispered.

"Yes?"

Francis threw his hands in the air, "I can't believe this!"

Hopper tried to contain his laughter, "That wasn't the right answer, I just thought it'd be funny."

The ant rolled his eyes. "While we're on the topic of...talking," he squinted, "what are we gonna do for Halloween?"

"I've already got something scary in mind," Francis dropped his argument for the moment. "King Cobra," he waved his hands in a flourish. "That'll get a few screams outta the kids." He pointed to Hopper, "You wanna be a bird?"

The grasshopper glared, "Do I get to eat you?"

"Actually, cobras are predators to birds," Francis said matter-of-factly.

Hopper took a sip of the dewdrop, "You'd be too chewy, anyhow."

Flik nudged him, "We all need to dress up as something. C'mon, Hop, it'll be fun!"

Gypsy nodded, "I think that's a great idea." She gasped and held her husband's arm, "We should do a couple's costume!"

"The purpose is to be scary, my dear," Manny laughed.

Hopper chuckled, "Some couples can be scary. Take Francis and Slim for example."

"You think you're funny, don't you?" Francis glared.

"Hilarious," he grinned.

"Well, what are you gonna be?" Flik asked him.

"Invisible," Hopper deadpanned.

Flik rolled his eyes, "Something scary."

"Hopper's too manly to be scared of anything," Atta said sarcastically.

"Fine, you want scary? I'll be my dad for Halloween."

Francis smirked, "What? Was your dad a bird?"

"Might as well have been," Hopper snorted. "Probably scarier than a bird," he laughed, "at least that blue jay only gave me a blind eye." His laughter died out when it grew silent. Looking up, everyone was staring at him, "What?"

Gypsy frowned, "You weren't...hit were you?"

Hopper blinked and glanced around uneasily, "Well that's...a weird question," he laughed nervously, "what's with the looks, guys?"

"You didn't answer the question," Flik stressed.

"Why does it matter?" he shrugged, "We got a little off-topic. Rosie: Halloween ideas?"

Gypsy reached out to grab his hand, "Sweetheart, you know you can talk about this stuff around us, right? You're safe here."

"There's nothing to talk about," Hopper stood abruptly.

They watched him walk away, "Where are you going?" Flik called.

"I...forgot I've got stuff to do," Hopper waved without a glance back.

Gypsy stood as well, "I'll go talk to him."

______________________

She walked up to his dugout, peeking in to see him sitting on the rock-bed. He didn't notice her walk in as he focused on something along his arm. "Hopper?" he startled a bit, "Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about?"

"I'm sure," he averted his gaze back to his arm.

Sitting down beside him, she looked down at his arm. Just the right amount of light revealed a pale scar that stretched along the circumference. Her eyes looked back to his, "We love you. I hope you know that."

He gave a faint smile, "I know."

Another pale mark caught her eye. It spread down his neck. Barely noticeable in brighter light. Tentatively, she reached a hand out to brush her thumb along the mark, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"What's done is done," Hopper glanced at her, "no point in dwelling on it now."

"For some reason, I just can't believe that," Gypsy rose an eyebrow. "You don't seem like you've moved on from it." He swallowed and turned his head away from her. "Maybe opening up about it will help you." When he didn't respond she grabbed one of his hands and turned his head toward her, "No one else has to know if you don't want them to. Just at least talk to me."

Hopper finally met her eyes, "I was two seasons when he gave me that," he brushed a hand along the scar on his arm. Another traced the length of the one on his neck, "three seasons."

"Are there more?" Gypsy was almost scared to ask. He lowered his gaze as his antennae fell back. "Oh, Sweetheart," she pulled him in a tight hug.

Hopper laughed a little, "It's fine, really. They're just scars...I've been through worse." He pulled back a bit to point at his blind eye.

"That's doesn't make it any better."

He shrugged solemnly, "Like I said: no point in dwelling on it."

Gypsy frowned as she inspected the scar on his neck, "I wish there was a way to get rid of them."

"I've tried...nothing works."

The two stayed silent for a few heartbeats. Gypsy eventually drew him back into an embrace, "Thank you for talking to me."

He gave a short laugh, "Didn't seem like much."

"Well, it was a step in the right direction. I'm always here for you. So are the others. Don't ever forget that."

"I'm not really one to forget things," Hopper grinned. She gave him a stern look, "But, yeah, thanks...I won't, promise."

Gypsy smiled, "I know you pretend to be tough," he snorted, "but we do love you."

Hopper stared down at his hands for a moment, "Well...don't tell any of the others, but...I love you guys, too."

"Aw, I knew I'd get it out of you one day," she cooed.

Hopper rolled his eyes, "Alright, alright. That's enough of that. Let's see what else Francis decided to debate about." Gypsy smiled and walked with him out of the dugout, glad to see him in better spirits.

<><><><><><><>

Welp, another dynamic that I absolutely love in the group: Gypsy and Hopper.

With the way she acts around the others in the movie, there's no way I can't see her just having a heart of gold and being there for Hopper too. Even if he's reluctant to accept it at first.

Thank you for the amazing ask!!! ❤

[spencersawkward]

switchblade faith//spencer reid - chapter 7

summary: one month after joining the BAU, Clea is still settling in. between solving murders and getting acclimated to DC, the only comfortable thing in her life is her friendship with Dr. Spencer Reid.

relationship: Fem!OC/Spencer

word count: 4.3k

idc if i've used this gif before it's AMAZING and i love it.

masterlist

somewhat unfortunately, Halloween rolls around. between the most intense case of my career and the rest of the ones that have come in, the meaningless holiday has barely crossed my mind. it's only Penny's eager reminder to find a costume that brings it to the front of my mind. I could half-ass it and pick something stupid, but then I would feel bad. everyone else in the office is just so excited about it, I don't want to be a sour influence. 

plus, we deserve to have some fun. 

I decide on a simple costume and on the 31st of October, I find myself in Penelope Garcia's bathroom with a tube of cherry red lip gloss and a somewhat reluctant expression. 

"oh, c'mon." her voice is muffled through the door.

"quick question," I tighten the scarlet string around my neck, looking at myself in the mirror. "how full-out did you go?" 

"baby, you know I only go to the extreme." she quips. I roll my eyes playfully, then open the bathroom door, stepping into the purple hallway with what can only be feigned confidence. 

it's not that I don't look pretty; I think I look good. but it's the sheer silliness of it that makes my walk a little less than proud. I stopped dressing up for Halloween before I hit twelve. and now I'm twirling (at Penelope's command) in a short dress. 

"I'm not even joking, Little Red: you look hot." she says, eyeing me up and down. there's an enormous purple seashell clipped in her blonde curls, sparkles all over her skin. she looks exactly like herself-- beautiful and whimsical in every aspect. 

"thanks." I blush. 

"come show us!" JJ calls from the living room. Emily would be with us, but she said she had to run an errand beforehand. I glance at Penelope once and widen my eyes. why am I so nervous? I'm acting like a child. 

"go on, then!" Pen practically shoves me forward and I stumble a bit in my heels before walking out of the hallway and making my grand entrance by the couch. JJ is holding an enormous bowl of popcorn, dressed like Britney Spears. her jaw drops. 

"do a spin!" she squeals. I do so, and the red cape flutters around me like the petals of a blooming flower. she sets the bowl down, claps. "I love it!" 

"thanks." when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror on her wall, my cheeks are rosy. my hair tumbles over my shoulders and the cut of my dress is a bit low, but the cleavage is actually kind of a good addition. red ribbon falls just to my décolletage, a slight tease. 

"we should head out soon, though," JJ checks her phone. "wouldn't want Hotch to leave by the time we arrive."

"is he even coming?" I ask. 

"said he would. Pen made quite the case for herself." JJ pops a kernel into her mouth and I look to the tech analyst, who has a mischievous smirk on her candy pink lips. she raises an eyebrow. 

"I told him I'd bring candy corn."

"seriously?" I can't keep the surprise out of my voice. didn't realize someone that serious could be plied with the promise of candy. 

"yes, now come on." Penny scoops up her purse, which is shaped like a giant pearl, and goes to her cabinet to grab the candy corn. before long, we're out the door, chattering aimlessly on our way to the office. 

when we get there, I start to get nervous. although I'm not sure why, I get self-conscious about my dress and hood, about the secret black garter around my thigh. it's my personal secret, something I wore for myself. 

there are a few decorations up. some people from around the office are talking, and everyone is dressed to the nines. Garcia opens the door for me and I head straight for Emily's desk, where the rest of the team is gathered. Rossi works his way through a handful of hard candies in his palm. Emily is stunning in her black cat costume.  

"hey, you guys." she breaks into a grin when she sees JJ and Pen and me, the rest of the group parting to look at us. my eyes snag on Spencer, with his Frankenstein mask resting on the top of his head so he can talk normally. even Hotch is pleased to see the three of us. 

"thanks, Garcia!" he cheers as she hands him the bag of candy corn. 

"you know, you're lucky he left the house for that." Rossi raises his eyebrows and points at the unit chief. 

"oh, we know." JJ smirks. 

"you look great!" Emily gives each of us a hug. she smells like something slightly spicy and warm, a nice scent that makes me want to hold on tighter. I don't know how to explain it; Prentiss has a very calming presence to me. I always find myself hanging around her whenever I need to decompress after cases, even if it just means talking about regular life. 

"you do, too!" I grab a handful of caramel corn from the bowl she offers. "it looks pretty nice in here, actually." 

"don't sound so surprised. think we couldn't handle a few decorations and snacks?" Rossi questions. it's getting easier to be around him now, honestly. despite my initial hesitance about his seniority, he's never made me feel small for my lack of experience in this specific field. 

"she's against the whole holiday." Garcia makes a face as she berates me. Spencer shakes his head like I'm insane.

"that's not true!" I protest. "I never said I was against it, I just don't get why people are so excited about Halloween every year." 

"because it's fun." Spencer speaks up. I roll my eyes. 

"I'm not convinced." 

"well, I'm glad you said so, because I've actually planned a little activity for us!" Garcia is practically bursting with excitement as she says it, like she's been holding it in the whole evening. she probably has. 

my stomach twists. to be honest, I had been hoping for a relaxing evening and then an early night. an "activity" sounds like it'll interrupt those plans. but she's so elated that I can't help smiling. 

"what is it?" Prentiss feigns wariness. 

"well," Garcia simpers in a way that makes me think we're in for an interesting night. "I took the liberty of hiding certain candies around the office last night before we went home." 

"hiding them?" JJ repeats with a smirk. 

"in little plastic pumpkin cases. they're absolutely adorable, like Easter egg size--" 

"you're sending us on an Easter egg hunt?" Rossi looks at her disbelievingly. I let out a nonplussed noise. Penelope is ready to defend herself, however, pointing a finger at him and sounding as firm as she can manage. 

"it's going to be cute, dammit. whoever gets the most candies gets a special surprise at the end." 

"what's the surprise?" Emily asks. 

"it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now would it?" Penelope replies. 

there's a silence in the circle as we all try to figure out how to react. it's childish, for sure. nobody is arguing that point; but it also sounds kind of not that bad to me.

"oh come on, guys!" she addresses our lack of enthusiasm. "we've had a hard couple of weeks. let's at least try and have some fun." 

JJ starts to laugh, putting her arm around the tech analyst's waist while she snuggles into her shoulder. 

"if it'll make you happy, Pen." 

"it will!" Garcia nods vigorously and turns to us. I catch myself breaking into a smile. there are much worse things than going on a Halloween candy hunt, especially given the usual circumstances of being in the office. 

"alright!" I throw up my hands and Emily is next to concede. Spencer has been quiet this whole time, but he straightens up from his usual slouching position and tries to hide the grin spreading over his lips. Rossi and Hotch glance at each other. 

"alright." the Italian shrugs. 

"what do we have to do, then?" I ask. 

"well, there are a bunch of pumpkins hidden all over. you'll know them when you see them." she clasps her hands together. "I'm timing you, too, so you're going to have half an hour." 

"wait a second," Emily frowns. "what if some of the other people who aren't in on it find the candies first?" 

there's a sound of general assent from all of us. we aren't the only employees here. Penelope doesn't seem bothered by this, however. 

"then I guess you'd better move fast." she pulls out her phone and presses a button, and we disperse with a quickness that really does make me feel like a kid again. I never did Easter egg hunts as a child, but this is a welcome distraction. low stakes competition. 

I start to wander around, starting at my desk. there's a pumpkin behind my computer monitor, and one in my desk drawer, although that's it for my personal workspace. my feet carry me to other place around the office, my fingers trailing over the tops of cabinets and under desks. Penelope sits in Prentiss' chair with a sucker-- a smug, luminous mermaid as she watches all of us scramble. 

"you got Hotch to search for hidden candy. impressive." I pass her on my way to Anderson's desk. she hasn't hidden anything in too private a place, but maybe there's something in his paperclip dish. 

"I'm a witch." she wiggles her brows. 

"I thought you were a mermaid." I wink. she grabs the hem of my dress and tugs on it. 

"just go find your candy, silly." 

"is there anything in Hotch's office?" I nod towards the almost intimidating room. her eyes flicker around to see who might be around us. fortunately, everyone is too wrapped up in their current task to even look our way. I look like I'm just wasting time. 

"you didn't hear it from me," she whispers. "but yes." 

a sparkle of satisfaction burns in my chest.

"love you, Penny." I make my way towards the office. the door is shut and the actual usual inhabitant of it hasn't gone inside, so he must have overlooked the idea that Garcia would hide candy in there. I'm sure they'll be easy finds, too, since she's terrified of crossing any boundaries with him and wouldn't press her luck by touching his things. 

I head over to the couch by the door and see a plastic pumpkin resting on the table next to it, nestled between the wall and the surface. 

"ha!" I snatch the thing up, then keep poking around. there's another one on the bookshelf. without anywhere else to put them, I put the found objects in the hood of my cape, dropping them in before moving onto the next. 

I'm under the desk when I hear the door get pushed open slightly more. my head pops up from the inconspicuous spot and there's Reid, pockets stuffed while he peers around the space. 

"hey." I say. he jumps when he sees me kneeling on the floor. 

"oh, hi," he frowns. "why are you on the ground?"

I grab the little orange pumpkin package that's tucked against one of the desk legs, then show him smugly. "winning." 

"how many do you have?" he pretends to be curious, but I can sense an undercurrent of competitiveness. I stand and shrug. he eyes my costume to see if I have any spots that hint at a candy stash. he doesn't think to check the hood of my cape. 

"that's for me to know and you to find out." 

Spencer squints briefly. "are you secretly good at this?" 

"am I?" I raise my eyebrows. "don't try to profile me, Reid." 

"I'm not profiling you!" he lets out one of those rare laughs, the musical sound that lives in his throat. I wish he would laugh more; there's something kind of cute about his face when he does. 

"mhmm." I say doubtfully and come to stand in front of him. "let's see it, then." 

"see what?"

"what you have so far." I say the words and he immediately places his hands over his pockets. 

"no way! you didn't show me yours." he protests quickly. I wrinkle my nose. 

"oh come on, Reid." I roll my eyes. "if you show me yours, I'll show you where I keep mine." 

he watches me skeptically again. "why?" 

"because I think we could be allies." 

there's a silence after the suggestion. truthfully, the idea just popped into my head. we could win pretty easily, though, if we coordinate.

"really?" the corners of his lips flicker upwards. he's unsure whether or not he should give in.

"are you kidding? with your smartness and my generally conniving nature, we could really do some damage." I tease. he giggles. 

"I've never heard someone describe themselves as conniving." 

"call it self-awareness," I smirk. "are you in or not?" 

he glances behind him at the bullpen, our friends still searching for the pumpkin packages while Garcia twists a pen between her fingers. when she wants to, she can look intimidating. I raise an eyebrow and wait for Spencer's response. his face turns to mine. those irises are such a pretty shade. 

"okay." 

"alright, boy genius!" I cheer, then reach up to undo my cape. he looks slightly panicked for a second as I undo the red ribbon, but relaxes when I grab the hood and show him the stash of pumpkins. "see?"

it’s crammed with orange packages.

“that's pretty smart." he admits with an impressed smile.

"right?" I agree. "come on, then. I think I've practically swept this place clean." 

he follows me out the door in our search. 

...

by the time the thirty minutes are up, Spencer and I have made shocking progress in consolidating our supply. we've decided that if we beat everyone, we'll share the surprise. if it's something we can't split, we'll rock-paper-scissors for victory (two out of three, of course). but I'm not too concerned about it. 

when we wander over to Penelope's spot at the desk, we're practically strutting. 

"someone's confident." she notes. I take my cape off again and slam the thing down on the surface. Spencer has an amused look on his face. 

we ended up spending a lot of time arguing about the best spots to hide candy, though I mostly let him take the lead— in terms of hiding places, he's been here longer and knows more than I do. and, unrelated, but he's pretty funny when he's not busy thinking about a case. his references are a little nerdy, but I kind of enjoy listening to the explanations. 

"we kicked ass." I cross my arms over my chest and Spencer nods. everyone around us is suspicious; JJ points between us. 

"did you two team up?" 

"maybe." I glance at Spencer, who's already looking at me to gauge my reaction to the question. 

"that's cheating!" JJ laughs. Spencer shakes his head. 

"actually, Garcia never laid out any formal rules for the game."

"mhmm!" I nod in agreement, grateful to have him there with his factual authority. JJ sighs, but nobody can stay mad at Spencer. we share a grin before Emily eyes the separate piles on the desk. 

Garcia went out of her way to hide a lot of treats. that said, it's clear that the combined amount from Reid and me beats out everyone else's. we high five once she announces us the official winners. 

"what's our prize?" Spencer asks as everyone lightheartedly boo's our victory. 

"a gift card to that new fried chicken place that we ordered from a while ago." Garcia presents a shiny plastic card to me. it's a great treat, honestly, becuase I'm hungry and takeout is one of my favorite things in the world. 

the team congratulates us on our win and things start to wind down. Hotch makes an excuse to get home and Rossi muses about a pack of cigars that await him. I feel the energy in the office start to dissipate, but now I feel like I'm on a bit of a victory high. I got all dressed up and now everyone wants to leave? disappointing.

as Prentiss and JJ shrug on their coats, I run my fingertip over the edge of the gift card. Spencer is packing some extra books into his bag. he told me to keep the gift card and that it wasn't a big deal, but I don't feel right not sharing. especially not when we didn’t rock-paper-scissors for it.

"Reid." I walk over to his spot, lean against the desk. he glances up in surprise. 

"yeah?"

"do you wanna share this with me?" I wave the reward in the air. his brows draw together for a fraction of a second. he seems confused. 

"right now?" 

"sure, why not?" I gesture to the bullpen, which is emptying quickly. "it's not even that late." 

he checks his watch as if to confirm my assertion, then stuffs his slim wrists into his pockets and stares at me for a second. I start to get the sense he’s going to say no, and something in me sinks. his tongue darts out over his bottom lip. he's got his mouth open a lot. "y-yeah, that sounds fun." 

I nod at the good news. "okay, cool. I'm too lazy to actually drive there, so I'll just order delivery?"

"okay." he gives me a small smile while I pull out my phone to call the place. I'm a little bit glad that it's just us. 

...

"try it." I pop the plastic cover off the sauce cup before setting it next to him. 

"that looks gross." Spencer shakes his head quickly through a mouthful of food. my jaw drops and I snatch the sauce right back, dipping the chicken into it and taking a hefty bite. 

"it's literally the perfect combination of salty and smooth." I protest. Reid looks dubious, however, and leans his head back against the side of the desk. we started the evening in the swivel chairs, but we're both fidgety at heart and now we're on the floor. 

he takes a swig of his drink. "I never knew lemonade could taste so good." 

"same." I laugh. "can I have your sauce thing, then?" 

he responds by dismissively pushing the thing over to me. we're sitting side-by-side, and somehow I think that's easier for him. we don't have to look each other in the eyes as we talk. 

"I'm proud of us." I announce. Spencer snorts. 

"why?" 

"we found so much candy! which we can now eat for dessert." I reach up to grab my cape off my desk, and the hood thuds to the ground. 

"we're a good team." he says it lightheartedly. Spencer is right, though; we work really well together on cases. it makes sense that it would translate into candy hunts. he's way smarter than I am, but it functions well. 

"we should do the Amazing Race." 

"I don't think either of us would like that." he takes a bite of his fry and I finish up the last of my chicken. 

"you wanna hear a secret?" my head turns to his. 

"what?" he reciprocates. his features appear especially delicate right now, almost suspended. I can see a darkness in his lids that contradicts the youth of his mien. I'm so close, I could kiss his nose if I wanted to. I don't, but I could. 

"aside from the team aspect, I don't really know what the Amazing Race is." I giggle. Spencer breaks into a laugh and turns away again, filling the office with the sound. I blush.

"then why did you bring it up?" his voice gets slightly high-pitched when he tries to speak through it. 

"I don't know, I feel like people say that all the time." 

"nobody has ever asked me to be in the Amazing Race with them." Spencer is still giggling when he looks over at me. I bite my lip before asking the thing that plagues me. 

"so, what is it?"

"the Amazing Race?"

"no, Newton's Laws." I deadpan. "yes, the Amazing Race." 

he throws his hands up and I chuckle. he straightens. 

"it's a reality game show where they race to travel the world." 

"that's it? no stats for me, genius boy?" I gesture for him to elaborate. Spencer shrugs. 

"I don't really care about reality shows." 

"you don't--" I blink exaggeratedly, as if the fact is shocking. "you don't care about reality shows?"

"we get enough reality here as it is."

"oh, Spence...." I sigh. "there are few things faker than reality tv."

"why do you like them?" he's genuinely curious. I see the glimmer of the Work Spencer with which I've become familiar. always trying to get under the surface, digging for answers even when they don't seem immediately relevant. 

"I like to turn my brain off sometimes, you know?" I close the lid of my food and take a drink of my lemonade while I wait for him to respond. although he doesn't look at me as he nods, I can tell he understands what I mean. if anything, he knows the feeling better than I do. 

"yeah, I get that." 

"everyone just acts really stupid and they care way too much about things that usually, like, don't even matter. it's sort of comforting in a weird, depressing, god-I'm-glad-that's-not-me way." 

"that's interesting," he peeks over at me for just a second. "you know, there's actually been studies done that show people with higher annual incomes suffer from higher levels of depression and anxiety."

"I believe it." I make a noncommittal sound and reach into the hood of my cape to grab a piece of candy. with the movement, I shift and the hem of my dress lifts enough to expose the garter on my thigh, and the object tucked within it. Reid's eyes pass briefly over me, but he does a double-take when he sees the thing. 

"is that--?" he points at my leg. I hitch up the garment a little so I can remove the knife that's been pressed to my thigh the whole evening. 

"a weapon? yeah, technically." I chuckle. Spencer's jaw drops in disbelief. even as I hold it in my hands, he seems afraid to touch it. 

it's not really a weapon. I got it from one of my friends as a gift a while ago, a lovely little resin dagger that's filled with red flower petals and gold flakes. it glints under the office lights. 

"you're really not supposed to have that in here." he gulps, glances up at the corners of the room, where I'm sure security cameras are mounted. I hand it to him, pressing the blade into his palm. 

"then stop looking at all the cameras so suspiciously." I scoff. he turns a bit to look at the thing, tilts the edges under the glow to examine it with a strange expression. his long, elegant fingers move over the handle.  

"where did you get this?" 

"it was a present. it's not dangerous." I shrug. the edges are pretty dull; it's more of a decorative piece. I would equate its actual risk level to that of a particularly pointy pen. 

"why did you bring it?" he hands it to me gingerly, our hands touching briefly before I slide it back into the garter on my thigh. his eyes follow my movements, and something in my stomach flips unexpectedly. 

"I collect them." 

"knives?" he doesn't seem taken aback, only interested, judging by the way he frowns quizzically. I nod and face him.

"yeah. I started as a kid, but I have a whole variety of them-- antique, new, ornate, plain-- I love 'em all." I explain enthusiastically. Spencer opens his mouth and I realize that he must have a million questions. he always has a million questions. 

"why knives?" 

I pull my mouth to the side of my face. it's not like there's some deep, dark reason behind my predilection for collecting sharp objects. and I’ve tried to answer that question myself, always coming up empty. some things people just... like. "I don't know." 

like I've put a damper over the conversation. 

"o-oh." Spencer's eyes drop into his lap, where he's been fidgeting with his hands for the past couple minutes. he thinks I'm withholding, that he's crossed some sort of line. my heart sinks. 

"I'm serious, Reid-- I don't know." I laugh it off. "I just think they're cool the same way that you think math is cool." 

"math is cool." he looks up for a second to smile. I nudge his shoulder with mine. his slight frame means he almost tips over and I laugh.  

"hard disagree, but sure."

Spencer stretches his legs out before him, and I'm reminded of how tall he is. he's prone to slouching, so it's easy to forget that his body is actually pretty lengthy. when he taps his Converse together absently, I notice the different colors of his socks. one has watermelon slices and the other has the Road Runner on them.  

"I like your mask, by the way." I compliment. 

"oh, you mean this?" he tugs the thing down over his face. it's gruesome, really, tinged green with baggy skin below the eye holes. I make a disgusted face and push his shoulder away from me.  

"ew!" 

"something wrong?" he uses a funny monster voice when he says it, wiggling his fingers playfully. I cackle. he’s never done that.

"god, that thing is ugly." 

Spencer removes the mask again, a ghost of a grin on his face. for all of his shyness, he's enjoying himself right now. 

we sit there in silence for a bit, cracking open the plastic pumpkin packages that Garcia has stuffed with all sorts of candy. we trade jelly beans like currency, blue raspberry for orange and anything remotely citrus-flavored that he loves. he doesn't mind taking them from my open palm, which fills me with a strangely warm feeling. 

I realize that there's more to Spencer's anxiety than germs, a thin layer of something that he lays between each person and himself. we don't talk about weighty subjects; we aren't friends like that-- not yet, anyway. but I'm glad that he feels alright with this kind of proximity.

[odelschwanky]

You Should’ve Told Me (Kensei Muguruma x Female Reader)

Word Count: 3335

You sneezed.

"What're you doing out here, (y/n)? You're all wet! You could catch a cold you know. You should know that."

The rain, which you had sat in, had stopped not too long ago and the chilly air decided to hang around for a while. The lake shimmered a golden peach, reflecting the sunset on your tear-streaked face. You look up with sad eyes at your Captain.

Kensei's face displayed a mixture of surprise and sympathy. You could tell he didn't know what to do. All he ever did was make fun of you, and you had to take it with a straight face, of course.  He must not have thought you had emotions at all. Seeing you cry was probably an uncomfortable sight for him.

He sat down next to you on the stone bench, his sleeveless uniform exposing his bare arms, which radiated warmth to you through your shihakusho. His slender grey eyes peered out at the lake, a placeholder for where his true concerns lie.

"C'mon. Why are you crying?" He grumbles this almost angrily. This made you recede into your shell more, afraid that he might criticize you again, which he did very often.

You use the sleeve of your uniform to hurriedly wipe your face. My captain can't see me like this!

"It's nothing, Taichou."

The relationship you and your Captain had was strict. He acted so intense and so serious, and while you tried your best to be the same way around him, it was difficult. You were emotional, sensitive, and still a young officer. Being 3rd seat wasn't anything to sniff at, and you were seasoned in that respect. For your age, however, Kensei Muguruma had taken some getting used to.

As your captain, he did a mix of parenting, teasing, scolding, bullying. He treated you more like a kid than a subordinate. He yelled at you for every little thing you did wrong, and even some of the things you did right. Still, after all that, you could see through the harsh words and reprimands, see that he was trying to teach and improve his subordinate.  The words weren't meant to hurt. They still did.

"No, it's something. Tell me. The quicker you tell me, the quicker I can take care of it, and the quicker you can wipe that stupid look off his face."

You looked at your superior dejectedly. He really didn't know. This time, he was the problem.

He had gotten on to you for a recent mission. He was upset that you didn't call for backup against the Hollows in the Rukon District. When he read the briefing, he freaked! Conveniently, the news was that you had some trouble and were minorly injured trying to protect your team.

When you got back, he didn't hold back on the barrage of reprove. He called you into his office to shout at you, naming you a 'selfish, irresponsible, fool that didn't see the silliness of her actions'. You got the job done and succeded in making sure everyone was safe so you didn't understand what the problem was. You thought about it for a long while, noticing that he didn't make any sense. He called you selfish for protecting your team. He called you irresponsible for taking responsibility. You were yelled at, but you didn't even know why.

That whole debacle days ago, but it was something about this time that really broke your heart. It might have had something to do with how much you'd come to care for him. All you wanted to do was impress him and be a good, reliable officer to him. You admired him, looked up to him. All you wanted him to do was appreciate you. Every time he yelled at you though, it made you feel like you were getting farther and farther away from that.

"I told you, I'm fine... Please do not worry."

Kensei shook his head in frustration, slamming his hands on his legs. You flinch. "As your captain, I'm ordering you to tell me!" His loud, fierce voice was nothing new.

"You... you hurt my feelings."

Kensei's face changes into something that looks a lot like astonishment, an expression that was new for him. "What?"

You cast your eyes down at your hands, which were clasped in your lap. You repeated what you had said. "You hurt my feelings..."

Kensei narrowed his eyes into slits and stood up, towering over you. You could see the beginnings of the signature tattoo on his stomach, the vibrant black ink gleaming on every ridge of his rippling midsection.

"Is this about the mission?"

You nod slowly, avoiding his gaze. He was intimidating enough already, but the tall, muscular Captain loomed over you, sending you back into submission. He always had a way of doing that, even without trying.

"Are you serious? You can't possibly be upset about that! You're never upset! You-"

"I am upset. I just don't show it." You say this quietly, shoulders slumped and head low.

You decided this was a good enough time to come clean as any. You decided to tell him just how long you've been feeling this way.

"Captain, I just need to-"

He interrupted you before you could say anything more. "You shouldn't let something like me scolding you make you miserable. You shouldn't take it personally. You know how I can be..." His words didn't seem to mean anything at all.

"Will you just listen to me for two seconds!" You had jumped off the bench, away from Kensei, and turned to face him erratically. He went completely silent.

You had just yelled at your Captain. This is the first time you've ever talked back to him. You've never done anything like that before. The twist and drop in your stomach were irrevocable. What had you done? You prayed he wouldn't come back with something stronger. You knew you couldn't take it. You were at your breaking point. He didn't say anything though. Now that you had his attention, you let your emotions spill out uncontrollably.

"I can never seem to do anything right with you! It's either you treat me like a problematic child or you review me as an inadequate subordinate! You shout at me and insult me, call me names all the time! You constantly ridicule, or belittle, or- or criticize me! Maybe I'm not good enough for you or something! You tell me not to take it personally, but it's very, very personal when I feel like you hate me! You're absolutely awful!"

You blubbered his transgressions in a frantic list. Your tears were bubbling in your eyes and rolling down your cheeks, and quite embarrassingly your nose was beginning to run. You couldn't stop sobbing. All of your pent up anger, frustration, and feelings of worthlessness came erupting out of you all at once. You coughed and sputtered, out of breath.

"I don't want to be your third seat anymore!"

What you said was impulsive, yeah, you knew that. You didn't mean it really, but the stress Kensei had put you under for months, it was beginning to be too much. You didn't want to leave him, he was your everything for all intents and purposes...but you didn't know how much you could take.

"I don't hate you."

Kensei did something unexpected.

He grabbed you with ease and pulled you into his arms. You continued to bawl, but he was there to comfort you. You buried your face into his robe, which had the same soothing musk smell of your Taichou. You breathed it deeply with each sniffle between your cries. His large, strong arms tightened around you, making your stomach flutter. He rested his chin on your head, fully encasing you in his safety.

"You're acting like a child," he spat.

"Why do you treat me this way?" You begged him to tell you, gripping his clothes in your fingers while you wept. It was irrational now, the way you were behaving. You just wanted compassion.

"I think it would make you angry to know," Kensei says, petting your hair awkwardly.

"It's made me angry this whole time when I didn't know," you whisper sadly. All your words were muffled by his warm clothes. You couldn't bear to let him see your ugly face, so you kept it hidden in his chest. Kensei stayed silent, making you scared of what he was going to tell you.

"As your third seat, I'm ordering you to tell me," you mocked his command from earlier. It wasn't very authoritative or convincing. You had no energy, no strength left. You were completely defeated. He took a deep breath and held you tighter. He scoffed at your feeble attempt to have some backbone. You both knew you didn't really have any... if today was any indication.

"I'm hard on you because you're great, and there's so much potential in you. When I see an opportunity to tell you something so you can improve, I tell you. I know I'm a tough Captain, but I didn't know it was making you feel this bad."

You didn't understand. "Why would that make me angry?" You asked. He squished your cheeks harshly between his large fingers and made you look up at him. Everything was blurry from the tears.

He took the corner of his haori and used it to wipe your eyes. His hands were clumsy on you, good-naturedly rubbing away the wetness from your red cheeks. He wiped your nose too, heavy-handedly ridding you of the snot from your dramatic meltdown. You stared at him while he did this, examining his bashful, embarrassed scowl. Even now, he was a little rough around the edges. He was trying his best.

You sneezed, sniffling once more. Your nose twitched a little. This made him turn a rosy color and quickly turn away. You wish he didn't. The two of you out of the embrace, side by side again. "I'm not done, idiot."

It took him a while to gather himself, and he still couldn't meet your eyes.

"I lost my mind over that mission... I just kept imagining the possibility of you getting hurt any worse than you were. I was angry you didn't call for help, angry that you didn't call for my help. You did it all on your own instead of calling me to help you. I just wanted you to understand that it's my job to protect you." He sighed and glanced at your thoughtful face. "I need to protect you."

Protect me, you repeated in your mind. The way he said it, his simple choice of words... was desperate. You knew your Captain was always there to protect his squad. Right now though, he was talking about you. You wanted your Captain to protect you, but you wanted to show him you could do it by yourself. You thought if you could prove to him you could, then maybe he would approve of you.

"I can do things on my own, Taichou. I'm not a little girl." Sure you were young, but you were a woman still. You weren't too much younger than him. He needed to consider that.

He nodded solemnly, his glower softening into a contemplative expression. "You can do things on your own and you've shown me that. But you're still able to rely on someone... especially me, your Captain."

You wanted to ask him if he meant relying on Captain Muguruma, or on Kensei. Those were two totally different things. Recognition from either of them would suit you fine since it was more than you've ever had. Deep within you though, there was a craving for what lay underneath the white haori. You wanted the sensual side of Kensei that didn't have anything to do with the Gotei 13, or Squad 9. You wanted a version of him that only existed for you. A Kensei that nobody else could have. You knew that was impossible though, and you had already set into your mind that your childish fantasy was unachievable.

"I do rely on you, Taichou. It's just hard to sometimes when you're always poking fun at me, or deprecating me... It hurts. Especially from you," you admit, faintly. His was the opinion that meant the most to you. There was plenty of gossip that went around the Seireitei, and it troubled you as much as the next person. However, whatever Captain Muguruma thought of you had double the weight. So when he acted like he didn't think very much of you at all, it hurt twice as much.

"I hurt you," he gruffed in disapproval, shaking his head. The rasp in his voice was deep. He raked a hand through his snowy hair, only for a few strands to fall back into his face. You were both looking at the shimmering water, which became more energetic with the twilight while the sun went down. "It wasn't my intention..." He muttered this, shoulders drooping. He looked a lot like you right then. Disheartened, heavy.

It was sick, you realized, still having this silly pash with your Captain that has been mistreating you for so long. He was your superior, and also a total jerk. The fact you could disregard those two, very important, things and still have feelings for him was absurd.  You tried to convince yourself that is was a stupid, meaningless crush for a long time. You knew it was more than that, though. It was more than just a brief infatuation, because if it wasn't, why had you devoted yourself to him? Why did you put up with him so meekly? Why were you still around?

You stayed silent, wondering if that was all. You wanted to go back to your quarters and sort this out with yourself, sleep for a long time, and pretend this never happened. Something was telling you he still wasn't finished, and he looked like he was mustering up the courage to say something else.

"I had no idea, y' know, you were touchy." He paused. "If I had, I would've treated you differently..."

It didn't seem like an apology to you, but you sat and listened because you wanted to hear him out. It was a while before he said anything else. The way he had started to speak was choppy like he was wringing the words out of himself every time. Your Captain was a prideful man, so these confessions were out of character for him.

The wind had started to pick up and you had begun to hold back shivers. Still, you waited.

"The teasing, and the rest of that bullshit," he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's no excuse, but I don't know how else to show how I feel."

How do you feel?  You wanted to ask him. You just looked at him though. You wanted him to tell you, on his own volition. You didn't want to coax anything out of him. He yanked you to face him, rather aggressively, his hands on your shoulders.  "Don't you understand what I've been trying to say?" He questioned you apoplectically like you were supposed to have put the pieces together by now.

You shook your head as he let his hands skim down the shoulders of your kimono. This whole conversation was just one big mixed signal. He was still calling you stupid names, but he wiped your tears. He was apologizing and explaining everything to you, but he still sounded harsh and sore. What exactly was he trying to say? "No. You're just confusing me," you tell him. You looked deeply into his eyes. He was entranced for a moment, lost in your large irises, still glimmering from your tears. His face was so soft, so gentle in that moment, pulling at your heartstrings. His lips parted just slightly. You could see the moisture on them. The soft, purple dusk outside made you see his vulnerability.

"I love you, damn it," he mutters quickly, resuming his severe tone because of his embarrassment. His hand was on his face, massaging the bridges of his nose. You could tell it took a lot for him to say that. By this time, his face was a deep claret, and you could feel his heat. "I'm not good with my words or my feelings, so I just ignore it all. I didn't want to give in, and all this time I've just been shoving you away. You're my third seat! Those stupid feelings were getting in the way of work because every time I looked at you... I can't explain the feeling." He reasons with you, all flustered and fast. You put your hand on him to urge him to just stop talking. You wanted to enjoy this moment with Your Captain. With Kensei.

"I just love you. " He finishes.

Tears welled up again in your eyes, happy ones this time. You smile up at him. "Taichou," you whisper endearingly. This seems to send him to a different place. The way he looked at you right then was special. This moment was special.

"Stop crying."

He smashed his lips against yours in a lusty, sloppy kiss. Your eyes were wide in surprise, but you quickly closed them to enjoy your Captain's touch. Since he had hugged you the first time, his hands had rarely left you, traveling to different parts of your body: your shoulders, hair, face. This time they were on your back, fingers splayed out to steady you against his body. He pressed you into him, firmly. The embrace made emotion well up in you excessively. You were shocked, happy, confused, relieved. Kensei didn't hate you. He loved you. He loves me, you thought.

His smooth, wet lips had no trouble gliding over yours. You had no trouble keeping up. Your bodies seemed to be in rhythm, breathing, beating as one. His tongue was quickly entangled with yours, and you couldn't begin to explain the sensation. You throbbed everywhere. It was aggressive, intense, stubborn. Everything about Kensei was this way, and now you could finally feel that this part of him was too. It was different though. There was no more uncertainty. It was better.

His spiritual pressure had gone haywire, and you could feel the hair on your arms stand up from his passion. His grip on you loosened, and his hands sunk down to your waist. He fretted with your obi, but ultimately let it be. His hands so close to your bare skin sent an aching sensation to your core.

"You... should always tell me... if I hurt you," he groaned between gasps against your lips. He resumed kissing hungrily, smooching your red mouth loudly, repeatedly. "You should have told me." His breath was warm, rolling off his lips. His tone was still angry somehow. His eyebrows were furrowed with regret and his hands were turning your body inside out with desire.

You panted, breathless from his kiss, and looked up at Kensei, getting lost in the heat of his steel gaze. His irises were like molten metal turning your blood white-hot with want.

"You should've told me too."

He holds you close like a precious item, nestling your face into his shoulder. You sniff, just to smell him, just to have that ingrained in your mind. You were cold now since the nighttime had fully arrived. Kensei could feel you shivering.

"I told you that you were gonna catch cold."

"I want to stay with you." You didn't want to leave him. You wanted to feel him by you, to make up for all the times you cried. He kissed you on the temple and rubbed your shoulder.

"Then let's go home."

He rose from the seat and grabbed your hand to help you up. He draped his haori around your shoulder to keep you warm while you walked. You knew your Captain was going to take good care of you now.

[sckyie]

decisions | choice a: you stay in japan

word count: 1.4k

genre + warnings: angst to fluff; suggestive towards the ending

pronouns used: female insert (she/her)

a/n: ooooooo

Original Post | Choice B

✎...

Dear XXXX,

Thank you for your suggesting me for the higher position. I would have to respectfully decline your offer as I would not like to leave the Japan branch. It is not optimal for me to move outside the country at the moment personally. Thank you again for your offer.

Y/n L/n

You sent out the email, making you let out a sigh. You waited for Sakusa after work again and saw Atsumu like before. "Hey girl," He waves at you. You wave slightly and Atsumu noticed how you weren't as lively as before. "You okay?"

"I guess," You sighed. "Where's Omi?"

"He's showering right now. What's wrong?" Atsumu moves next to you and nudges your shoulder.

"I got an offer for a promotion but I turned it down since I'd have to move away from Omi. I would've gotten three times my pay righy now. I didn't want to leave Sakusa just like that," You explained. "Only thing is, was it worth it? I did it for him but I'm unsure it'll be worth it. I've been dating Omi for less than a year but I haven't.."

"Haven't?" Atumu asked.

"I haven't kissed him yet, I haven't even held his hand. I-I just want to hold him," You huffed. You looked up and see your boyfriend approaching.

"Get away from my girlfriend," Omi growled at Atsumu. He puts his hands up and backs away from your car.

"Later Y/n! Bye Omi," 'Sumu smiled. You and Sakusa get into the car to drive home. The ride home was quiet as you two sat in traffic. Sakusa lived nearby and you'd drop him off to practice before work.

"How was practice?" You broke the silence.

"Fine, Hinata and Bokuto were being very rambunctious today," Sakusa complained. "I also hit my wrist instead of spiking but I'm okay. How was work?"

You hesitate but sighed. "Tiring, I got declined for a promotion," You lied.

"It's alright baby," He reassured. "Let's get some food before you drop me off. My treat."

The two of you stop by to get take out barbecue and rice. You ate in the car together, enjoying each other's company. After eating, Omi hands you a hand wipe. Your hand grazes his on accident and you pulled away. "Sorry baby," You say after touching him.

"It's okay," He responds with wiping over the spot you touched.

Watching him do this action hurt you. Seeing as the man you've been dating clean off your touch made you feel unwanted. You pushed away your feelings and drove to drop off Sakusa to his place.

The next day, as the MSBY boys take a break from drills, Atsumu seats himself near Sakusa. "How's Y/n?" Atsumu asks.

"Fine, why do you ask?" Omi groaned.

"Nuthin, did she tell you about her promotion?" He asks before chugging his water.

"Yea, she got declined," Omi says putting on hand sanitizer.

"Declined?" Atsumu furrowed his brows. "She turned down that position. She told me."

"What do you mean?" He turned to look at the setter.

"She got offered a position in a different country," Atsumu explained. "She turned it down for you but she's questionin' if she should've taken it. Since you never kissed her and stuff."

The setter got up from his water break but Sakusa stops him. "What do you mean she's questioning?"

"Well, y'know she's been wanting to kiss you? She told me how you don't touch her and she doesn't know if turning the promotion down was worth it. The new job would've benefited her way more than her current pay. C'mon, practice is starting again," Atsumu says. Before Sakusa got up, he sees a text from you.

Y/n ♡: Hey Omi, I'm not in the best of moods and I have a headache so I went home early. I don't think I can pick you up today. I hope practice is well, I'll try to tomorrow, love you <3

Omi puts down his phone and gets up for practice. He joins the rest of his team, later asking if he could catch a ride with another player.

You laid on your side hugging a pillow on the couch. You took medicine for your headache so you just thought you'd rest up in the living room. You began to overthink your choice. Was it worth it declining a once in a lifetime offer? What if Sakusa breaks up with you and you made a bad choice? You squeezed the pillow tighter and felt your eyes watering.

Not long after, you found yourself crying your eyes out. You sat up wiping away your tears and walked to the bathroom. You looked at yourself in the mirror to see your moist, rosy cheeks. You splashed yourself in the face with water as you heard a doorbell.

You dried off your face and hands as you walked to your door. You open the door to see your boyfriend standing a few feet away from the door. "Hi baby," He says.

"Omi? What are you doing here?" You tried to hide your sniffles but you couldn't mask your shaky voice.

"Wait were you just crying?" Sakusa takes a step forward. You shook your head. He could see you were hurting. Your feet were turned in, you hid your hands in the towel, and you looked away from his face. Sakusa hesitated to step forward so he just paused before talking. "Why didn't you tell me you declined the offer? You said you got rejected."

"I didn't think it was important," You shyed. "It's just a job."

"A job that you love, baby you said it yourself you wanted to get higher and you turned it down for me," Sakusa argued. He saw your eyes become glossy. Then it clicked. You watch as he steps into the house, closing the door behind him.

Sakusa takes a step closer to you and pulls off his mask. He paused but he pulled your chin up with his index and thumb. You looked at him shocked as he's never touched your face before. You panic for a second seeing him up close without his mask.

But before you could talk, he pressed his lips against yours. Your eyes slowly close as you felt your boyfriend's hand pull your body closer. His soft lips moved in sync with yours. Your cheeks flushed red as Omi pulls away. "I'm sorry Y/n," He whispers, putting his forehead against yours.

"W-what for?" You were still in shock from feeling your boyfriend's touch for the first time.

"For making you question our relationship," He says. "For making you think I never wanted to touch you. I'm sorry for not doing better. Truth is, I thought you were the one who didn't want to touch me."

"Wait what?" You chuckled softly.

"You always respected my fear and I thought you just didn't want me to touch you. I thought it made you uncomfortable, you always apologize whenever you accidentally touch me," Omi explained. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I wanted to respect your boundaries, I thought I'd be intruding your bubble. I've wanted to kiss you for a while and hold you but I was scared you were never going to kiss me," You move your face away from him. He uses his hand to turn your head to look at him again. Omi leans in once more to place another kiss on your lips. He pulls away and smiles.

"I think I like kisses," Omi chuckled. You kiss his cheek and wrapped your arms around his torso. "I promise to do better."

"Do you promise to give me kisses?" You pouted.

"I'll do you one better," He kissed your forehead. "You can get all the kisses you want, you can hug me, hold my hand, anything."

You raised your eyebrow at him. "Anything?" You chuckled. "Even cuddles?"

"Yes," He sighed thinking about how close you'd be. "Even cuddles, if you shower first."

"Then come shower with me," You joked before letting go. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'll be back." You tried to leave but he grabs your wrist and pulled you towards him.

"If I’m going to touch you, I'm cleaning you so I know you're clean," Omi says. Your cheeks flush red from his words but you hold his hand as you walked to the bathroom.

✎...

taglist: @amillionfandoms-onlyoneme @anime-corpsehusband-simp @d0llpie @elianetsantana

[just-absolutely-super]

Don’t Stop When You Get That Feeling Now

@soulxmakaweek (tagging the blog because i don’t trust tumblr’s faulty tagging system)

Trying my hand at SoMa Week this year. Here’s the first prompt: Dare.

Summary: In which Black Star gives Maka a challenge during a game of Truth or Dare.

FF.net // AO3

Maka felt her eye twitch. She really hated it when Black Star roped her into these silly games…

"C'mon, Maka. Truth or Dare?" the assassin asked. He had a large, cocky grin on his face that gave Maka the urge to punch it right off.

She sighed, knowing that whatever she picked was not going to end with her dignity intact. Should she pick truth, Black Star would make her confess to every embarrassing detail about her life possible. And should she pick dare, no doubt he'd force her into some silly stunt that would end in bruises—be it her pride or her actual skin, you never know with Black Star's dares…

Despite this, she knew when she was being challenged. She wasn't one to back down from a challenge, her blue haired friend would never let her live it down otherwise.

"Dare." She said, confidence in her voice.

Black Star cackled, an evil glint in his eyes. He placed a hand to his chin as he exaggeratedly thought over what dare he could make his poor friend perform. Maka scowled as she waited for him to make up his mind.

It seemed the other party guests were getting impatient too. Kid had his arms crossed, a finger tapping his forearm—his blank stare had some warning in it, like he was waiting to intervene should Black Star go too far with his dares. Liz looked rather bored, studying her nails as she glanced back up every now and then to make sure she didn't miss anything. Patty sat next to her, fighting off giggles as she tried to remain serious in anticipation for the self-proclaimed God's dare.

The only ones who weren't present for the game were Soul and Tsubaki and that was because they offered to do a snack run when it became apparent the scythe meister and her weapon's pantries were looking rather bare.

Maka regretted not offering to go with them. Picking out a variety of junk food would have been so much better than waiting for the maniac she called her childhood friend to seal her fate with an outlandish dare.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Black Star placed his fist into his open palm.

"Alright, I got it! The best dare for our little Maka!"

Maka bristled. So it didn't look like she was going to grow anymore despite being in her late teens. The jackass didn't have to rub it in.

"Just get on with it already." She growled.

"Prepare yourself, Maka! I, the great Black Star, dare you to…"

Ugh, he was really milking this wasn't he? What was he waiting for, a drum roll?

Idiot…

"Kiss the most attractive person in this room!" he finished, a satisfied grin on his face.

Everyone in the room gawked at him.

"That's… That's it?" she asked, not sure if she should be on high alert for a follow up dare.

Liz smirked, rubbing her hands together, "Oh, Truth or Dare just got a little more interesting. I'm eager to see which of us you find attractive, Maka."

She and her sister shared a laugh and Maka felt her cheeks burn.

"This is a rather tame dare, Black Star." Kid pointed out. He too looked as if he were expecting the assassin to pull a fast one.

"Believe me, I have a ton of dares in mind for tonight." Black star said, chuckling darkly, "But I felt I should start out small before working my way up to the big ones. And knowing Maka, what's more humiliating that being forced to kiss someone in front of everyone."

Maka felt a vein pop as Black Star laughed boisterously. She felt her fingers twitching for a book. Of course Black Star was aiming to embarrass her. He knew she had never had a boyfriend therefore couldn't have possibly kissed anyone before. And considering Maka tended to over-think everything, she'd probably be a bundle of nerves at the thought of kissing someone in front of everybody—especially since they would know she found them attractive.

The only problem that stuck out in her mind, though, was the fact that the one person she really did find attractive was currently not in the room and therefore did not meet the dare requirements.

Someone strike her down where she stood, please.

Before she could make a split decision (either chop Black Star's brains open or just bite the bullet and kiss the next available person in the room who she considered attractive), she heard the door swing open.

"We're back." Came the lazy voice of her weapon.

"Sorry we're late!" Tsubaki said as she made her way into the kitchen, "We weren't sure what snacks everyone wanted and I noticed Maka and Soul were almost out of eggs and juice, so we went ahead and bought some more necessities for the apartment."

"Oh, thanks." Maka said distractedly. She felt anxious, eyeing the living room's entryway and Black Star—who was still giving her that annoying grin as he raised his eyebrows in a "Well?" gesture.

"Did we miss anything?" Soul asked as he walked into the room, depositing multiple bags of different flavored chips onto the coffee table. As he raised his head up to survey the room he noticed that everyone—particularly his meister—was staring at him.

He gave them a perplexed look, "What? Something on my face?"

Maka whirled around to Black Star, "Same conditions apply to the dare?"

She didn't care what this would be indicating to her friends. Didn't bother to think of the repercussions, really. She had the opportunity right in front of her—she was gonna take it!

Black Star smirked, knowing exactly what Maka was thinking. He waved his hand in Soul's general direction, "Same conditions apply."

"What are you—?"

Before Soul could ask any more questions, Maka jumped off of her seat and bounded over to him. There was a determined glint her in eyes as she stared her weapon down. Soul stared blankly back.

"I was dared to do something and I want to do it with you. Is that okay?" Well, she figured she'd ask first…

Her weapon tilted his head, one eyebrow raised, "Uhh, sure, I guess, but what—"

He was cut off when Maka suddenly grabbed the lapels of his leather jacket and pulled him down to her level. Everyone else in the living room were on the edges of their seats, only to sag in crushing disappointment when they saw that instead of Maka planting her lips on Soul's, she instead went for his cheek.

With an audible smack, Maka pulled away from her weapon's face. She groaned in embarrassment as she hid her burning face into her hands in hopes that she could spontaneously turn invisible.

"Lame!" Black Star complained. "I was expecting some major lip action, Maka!"

Maka uncovered her face briefly to glare at him, "You just said I had to kiss the most attractive person in the room. You never said where I had to kiss them!"

Kid snorted, "She's got a point, Black Star."

Black Star grumbled, "Whatever. But I'll get you next time, I swear on my God status."

Maka stuck her tongue out at him. She then felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she gave a small squeak when she was faced with Soul. Oh crap, she forgot about him. She felt shame take over her. Even though he told her she could do whatever it was she wanted to do to him, she still felt like maybe she had breached his trust in some way.

She avoided eye contact, waiting for him to reprimand her for jumping him and thus humiliating him in front of all their friends.

"You missed."

Huh?

"Huh?" she voiced.

Soul indicated to the cheek she had just kissed, which had taken on a rosy hue she noticed. "You missed."

She raised an eyebrow at him. What was he getting at? He should have heard what she told Black Star, that the condition was to kiss someone, but it wasn't specified where exactly. He should have known her aim was to kiss his cheek to make things less awkward between them.

So why was he…

Ooooh.

"Umm," she started, trying to be coy and keep her cool even though that ship had long since sailed since she agreed to the dare, "where should I have gone, then?"

Her weapon gave her a lopsided grin, "Here. Let me show you…"

He took her face and guided it to his, molding his lips firmly over hers. Maka sighed, feeling lightheaded and giddy as her weapon kissed her.

"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

"Black Star, hush! I'm trying to enjoy this!" Liz scolded, taking out her phone to capture the moment.

Patty laughed as she clapped her hands in delight while Kid gave a pleased sigh.

It was then that Tsubaki came into the living room from the kitchen. Her jaw dropped open as she stared flabbergasted at the scene of Maka and Soul snogging in the middle of the living room while everyone else practically applauded them like some cheesy romcom movie. The game of Truth or Dare long forgotten in favor of said development.

She blinked, "What did I miss?"

[miraimisu]

33 with lonashipping? <3

[part 1] | [part 2] | [part 3] | [part 4] | [part 5]

—

Hau is sure something is going on with Gladion and Moon.

He can't quite say what it is, but there's an itch under his nose. He knows it's probably nothing, but they're together more often than ever, and while these two weeks of vacation had been spent mostly in togetherness, Hau has spent most of these two days with Lillie alone while Gladion and Moon 'trained' for 'something very important'.

Gladion is known for being lackluster with words, but Moon is just suspiciously dismissive. Something is off.

"What the hell do I know? Those two have always been close. Is this why you called me? I'm painting my nails right now."

Plumeria sounds irritated on the phone, but Hau doesn't let that deter him. Lillie fiddles with her sundress, seated right beside him on her bed. "You spend lots of time with Moon at the Battle Tree, right? I bet she's told you somethin'."

"I don't know a darn thing, kid. I bet she's got better things to do than fuss over some boy." Plumeria snickers. "Do you really think something's going on with those two?"

Hau trades looks with Lillie, who sighs. "They have been awfully busy with each other, and I'm certain Moon had a hickey on her neck yesterday."

"Yeeeeah, after the disco night. That was a weird night."

"Why? What happened?"

Hau wags his eyebrows, teasing. "Aw, so you are interested!"

"If Moon's gonna start losing battles because she's smitten, I might as well know why." Something slams shut at the other end of the line. "Fine. Tell me the details."

Hau puts her on loudspeaker. "Can you hear me?"

"Clear as day."

Lillie bites her lip. "So… they usually spend lots of time together, but it's unusual for them to go out on their own without us. I don't think they're avoiding spending time with us, right?"

Hau rubs her shoulder reassuringly. "Told ya' it wasn't that."

"Make it quick, you two. No lovey-dovey stuff allowed."

Hau gulps, laughing nervously. "Right. So we think they might have a thing going on. Lillie's right about the hickey– she had a pretty bad bruise, and when I asked, she just said she made out with some guy at the disco, but that's bullshit. She's not into that kind of stuff."

"So you think it's Gladion who's givin' her the hickeys?"

"Kinda weird to think about– no, kinda gross to think about, those two makin' out, but it's what makes the most sense."Hau grins. "Something's going on with them, and we gotta figure out what it is. They're not gonna tell us, so we should find out on our own."

Lillie fiddles with her thumbs. "But… why are we so sure they have feelings for each other, to begin with? I always thought they were just, um, very good friends."

"I mean, I'm surprised you didn't know, but the kid's always liked Moon. Like, even before she became the Champion."

Lillie gasps scandalously as Hau erupts into laughter. "I knew it!"

The blonde pulls the phone from Hau, shaking. "Really? How do you know such a thing!?"

"It was kinda obvious when you saw them together, and it's not like Gladion's that hard to read, considering he's a rock. The moment he gets soft and feelsy, it's very obvious." Plumeria laughs, half knowing, half happy. "It's weird that you didn't notice, Lillie. It's not like Moon makes herself hard to read either."

"I– I always had a hunch, but she always said he was just a friend, nothing else," Lillie says. "And Gladion… I can't say I didn't notice, but I also thought he was simply fond of her."

"Guess hickeys are his way of giving hugs now." Hau can hear the smirk in her voice. "All that aside, I doubt they'd be that dumb to get touchy with each other in a vacation. Or go on dates, having you two around. They're not that inconsiderate."

"What's up with them, then?" Hau asks, taking the phone back from Lillie. "I don't wanna be nosy, but they're hiding something from us. It's getting annoying."

Lillie hums in thought. "They might be genuinely busy with battles, even if we went on vacation so Moon would take her mind off that. Clair and Lance didn't help last week, and Gladion likes battling her a bit too much."

"You can always ask them right away, y'know– that way you wouldn't have to call me while I do my nails."

Hau ignores her in favor of an idea. "We can always, um, follow them around a bit? And keep an eye on' em. If they see us, we can say we're walkin' around."

At the other end of the line, Plumeria sighs. "That's an awful idea, kid."

But Lillie disagrees, "It might not be. I'm also curious, and come to think of it, we have done very little sight-seeing this week. We can make up for that."

Hau and Lillie exchange pleased sly grins, giggling to themselves. Plumeria groans. "Now that you two are scheming, can I hang up? My battery's running low."

"Sure, but…" Lillie fishes the phone from Hau's hand. "One last thing… can I see your nails, please? I want to buy some nail polish and I need ideas."

"Sure."

—

Hau and Lillie decide to bide their time and wait patiently.

He's tasked with looking out for Gladion, whereas Lillie does the same for Moon. They're not exactly meddling, but they're trying to wiggle their way into the situation as subtly as possible.

As much as they're trying, it doesn't seem like they're doing much. They talk and act as they always have– sans the few moments Hau notices Glaidon's touch lingers more on Moon than usual, that he looks at her very often and always does so with a little smile.

Plumeria already confirmed he's probably head over heels for her, but Hau is only noticing it now, so he does what he does best: tease him about it.

As they walk to their bedrooms after a day out at the beach, having left the girls at the bar, Hau grins. "So… what's up with you and Moon?"

Gladion jolts. Barely. But he does. "What do you mean?"

"You two are looking very cute lately. Like, really cute." He doesn't miss how Gladion's key nearly falls off his shaky fist, and his cheeks grow rosy. "Woah. I knew you had a thing for her, but not that badly."

The blond grunts and spins towards Hau, frowning as menacingly as Hau knows he can muster. "Absolutely nothing is going on between us. Nothing. I'm just helping her build a new team before she goes back to the League."

Hau arches an eyebrow. Moon has never asked anyone for help with training her Pokémon. Sounds like bullshit. "Uh-huh. Why, though?"

"Um, she's been out of it for more than a week and she's feeling a little antsy about it. She doesn't want to get rusty."

"Dude, Moon's been out of the League for weeks before. Remember Unova? She's never wanted any help with-"

Gladion squares his jaw and jams his key into the lock, opening it with force. "That– That's none of my business. Ask her if you're so curious, damn it!"

And the door swings shut again.

So that was something.

—

The following day, Moon explains that she'd be out with Glaidon training in a new Kanto-style gym that's opened in Heahea City. Hau and Lillie take that as their cue to follow them, so clad in pamelas and sunglasses they went, trailing after the pair.

They don't immediately head to the gym, and that rings alarms in Hau's head. As they spy on the two from a corner to the street, he gasps. "He wants to hold her hand. He's moving it a lot."

Lillie sighs. "The port is crowded. I'm losing sight of them. Where are they going, really?"

Hau grins. "Only one way to find out!"

With wide grins, they tiptoe across the street and further into the crowd. Hau can still see Gladion's baseball cap and Moon's oversized pamela, walking into an ice cream parlor that Hau loves with all his heart.

A few minutes later, they happily walk out of the parlor. Moon is laughing at something Gladion just said, and he looks as bothered as ever. Nothing is out of the ordinary here, making Hau question why they'd go out on their own if they're not on a date or battling.

They sit down on a bench near the sandline. Gladion looks upset. Genuinely so.

"Do you think they had an argument and are trying to make up?"

Hau turns to Lillie. "Did they look angry at each other this morning? Because they didn't to me."

The duo watch Moon and Gladion for a few minutes. Nothing happens, and after a while, Hau gets bored and distracted. They should have tagged along– it would surely be more fun than watching them have fun.

Lillie gasps. She points forward and leans closer to Hau. "Look, they're very close! Are they going to kiss?"

"No way," Hau squints as Moon scoots closer, and he can see a smirk, he thinks, but-

Someone crashes with Hau and makes him fall to the ground face first. The man runs past him and Lillie, shouting an apology. Lillie hurries to help Hau off the ground with a concerned frown. "Goodness, are you okay?"

Hau groans, rubbing his arm. "Just a scratch. People are always in a hurry here."

Lillie offers him a hand and helps him get up. Her touch lingers a second more than necessary, rubbing his knuckles with her thumb before letting go.

He rolls his shoulder and turns back to the bench, only to find it's absolutely empty.

He gets up from his hiding spot, gaping in indignation. "Dude, they're gone! Where did those two run off to?"

Lillie gasps and rushes past Hau to the bench, looking all around the port. They're nowhere to be seen– not at the juice bar, the shops at the other side of the road or anywhere nearby. She sighs, playing with the hems of her shirt. "Do you think they saw us and ran off somewhere?"

Hau shakes his head. "I doubt they saw us, but where did they even go? I can't see them anywhere."

The blonde turns to Hau, shaking her head. "Let's forget about this. I think we lost them, and it's been enough stalking for today."

Hau is still irritated, though. Where had those two ran off to? They looked like they were about to kiss. Had that been just his imagination?

He turns to Lillie, who is just as confused as he is, and grabs her wrist, leading her across the road. "C'mon, let's get ice cream. My treat."

—

The next day, the four of them have breakfast. They plan their day, which they'll spend together for once. Moon offers heading to Lush Jungle to watch the Pikipek and maybe play with the Comfey, an idea that Lillie finds cute– so much so they start gushing about it.

Only Hau notices how fondly Gladion is watching Moon, sitting very close to her. He clears his throat.

"Oh, forgot to tell you two!" Hau grins, one corner higher than the other. "We saw you the other day."

Moon chokes with her lemonade and Gladion tenses up. Lillie's eyes widen, just as troubled, and the Kahuna is sure he's hit a juicy spot. Gladion grabs Moon's lemonade and takes a generous chug while Moon laughs. "Oh, you did?"

"We were takin' a walk around the port zone and we saw you there. Did you like that gym you went to? You gotta take us there sometime!"

Hau expects Moon to panic, because she sucks at lying and he doesn't expect them to have gone to the gym. Moon and Gladion trade looks, and she smiles sweetly. "It was lots of fun. A few trainers there nearly beat me, and Gladion-"

He slaps a hand on her mouth with a shaky smirk. "No need to tell them about how I did to brag about your victories, Champion."

Moon removes his hand and they start bickering like they always do, and the only thing Hau finds suspicious in the situation is that everything is as normal as can be. They're arguing about the smallest of things at the loudest of voices, and he's sure a battle will ensue within the next 5 minutes.

Lillie scoots closer, whispering, "I suppose it was nothing, then? Could we have assumed wrong?"

Hau hums. He hasn't seen much suspicious activity he can prove, and the image of them almost kissing at that bench could have been a mirage. Maybe they're just on very friendly and affectionate terms now, and that hickey on Moon's neck that day might have come from some other dude.

He doesn't want to think Moon is hooking up with other dudes when Gladion is head over heels for her, though– but it's her life.

Hau takes a sip of his Tapu Cocoa. "We might have, yeah."

—

The following day is the day they go back to their usual busy lives. Moon is due at the League, Hau has Kahuna duties to look after, Gladion as a company to run and Lillie has a thousand things to do at the Aether Conservation area.

They must catch their ferry back to Melemele at ten o'clock, they've agreed to meet at the lobby in five minutes and Gladion and Moon are nowhere to be seen.

Lillie looks at her watch with a grimace. "They're usually the first ones to be here. What could be holding them up?"

Hau sighs. "Moon texted me saying her shower wasn't working properly so she's using Glaidon's while he packs his stuff."

The blonde smiles nervously. "They're taking a little too long, though. Silvally must be chewing on Glaidon's clothes again."

Hau groans. "Man, I woke up early to be here on time and I bet they're gonna be late. Let's go check on them. I got Gladion's key with me."

They leave their suitcases at the lobby and head to Gladion's bedroom. They speculate on the ways they'll have to peel Silvally off Gladion's suitcase, how Moon might have her own clothes destroyed by the beast and how irritated Gladion will be about going shopping with Moon in compensation for the damage.

Hau slides the key and the door clicks open.

And their hearts leap out their throats as Moon and Gladion gasp, stopping their activities to look at the intruders with blatant shame.

Moon is lying under Gladion, hair wet and shirt ridden up her stomach. Gladion's hands are in her hair and waist, and Moon is bunching the front of Gladion's half-undone button up dress shirt.

Lillie gasps.

Moon laughs nervously as Gladion groans in defeat and buries his face in Moon's neck. "Um, I can explain. We were, um…"

Words fail her. Gladion mumbles a curse against Moon's shoulder and Hau's mind finally catches up with what's going on.

"Dude, what in the world did we miss here?"

[jeontaeh]

〚ELEVEN〛

"Why do birds need to walk though. They've got wings. It's unfair lowkey."

"Bro.. they don't have intellect and shit... We've got that... we're still superior bro."

"Shut dude... you're right... but still having wings would be fuckin' tight."

"Just flappin' them around an' shit. I'd just go fly onto buildings, dude. Sleep there and shit."

"Fucking shut up- oh my god." Youngi groaned, covering his face with his hands. "Just- shut up. Stop talking. Eat your food and don't talk."

Jungkook giggled, gulping down another spoonful of cocopops. It was a Sunday morning, and everyone was in casual attire, hanging out at the cafeteria hall and then doing god-knows-what till the end of the day.

"Jungkookie!" Jungkook heard loudly, and lifted his head and saw V walked towards the table, silver hair pulled back by a blue bandana, loose black shirt and sweatpants on. He looked hot as fuck.

Jungkook watched with big eyes as V walked over to him and then slapped some kind of a pamphlet onto the table. "Sunday."

Jungkook, a little confused, looked down at the pamphlet. "There's an art exhibition happening in our school. Artsy kids from all over Korea are coming, there's some kind of a gallery being set up. Usually this is just for seniors, but I convinced the principal to sign you up."

Jungbook paused, big eyes blinking in confusion. He looked at V slowly. "W-what?" He squeaked out, and V chuckled, sitting down beside him.

"Yeah! I have to help chaperone the kids because, y'know, I'm football captain or what not. And I know you like doing and.." V trailed, and Jungkook found his cheeks turning a rosy red.

"O-oh!" Jungkook said, and then gripped the pamphlet, gulping. He read over it, and his blush only grew. He couldn't look V in the eyes. "You-you really didn't have to t-though.."

"What? I'm gonna give you something and not even get a little thank you, Jeon?" V rasped to Jungkook, who turned and realised their close proximity. He gulped, seeing V's eyes looking intensely into his.

"V's being nice? To Jeon Jungkook? Hang on guys, I think I'm high-" Jin said, and the guys started laughing.

Jungkook smiled to himself, and then looked at V. "C_could you come with me right now to discuss the details for this?" Jungkook asked, and V nodded quickly, and they both got up and rushed out of the cafeteria.

Jimin looked at where they went off, and then looked at the guys. "Let's hope they don't beat each other up. I have noticed, though, that they're not as rude to each other anymore. I mean, we actually get through football practice." Jimin laughed, and Namjoon nodded.

"Fucking finally, right?" Namjoon snickered, and the others nodded, and the got back to discussing about birds.

Jungkook and V rushed towards the nearest janitor closet, and then Jungkook opened the door quickly and walked in, and V followed suit, closing the door. The moment he did, Jungkook grabbed V close and kissed him hard.

V smiled into the kiss, letting his hands slip from Jungkook's back to his waist. Jungkook hummed into the kiss, throwing his arms over his shoulders, and then pulling away.

"Thank you." Jungkook whispered, and then smiled. "I-It's genuinely really nice of you." Jungkook said timidly, and V looked to the other side, clearing his throat.

"It's no big deal."

"No, it is! I-I mean- you convinced the teacher to let me participate? That is a big deal-"

"Jeon, I said it wasn't a big deal. Stop.. being gay about it." V snapped quickly, and Jungkook nodded, looking down.

But he couldn't help but smile to himself, and then let out a giggle, covering his mouth with his hands. V raised his eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing." Jungkook said quickly, looking back up at him, smoothening the front of his t-shirt. "Just that.. I'm starting to think I'm a little special to you. That's all." Jungkook teased, and V looked at him for a few seconds, and then grabbed his wrists.

V didn't say anything, just leaned down and pressed their lips together, pinning Jungkook against the wall. Jungbook hummed into his lips, letting him get placed against the wall. V let his hands go and slipped his own down to Jungkook's ass.

Jungkook pulled away, breathing heavily, and then reached his hands up, fixing V's bandana a little bit, brushing off strands of silver hair. He let his eyes trail down and met V's eyes, and then smiled a little.

"You wanna.. come see my art stuff?" Jungkook said in a small voice. "I need to paint today. Do you wanna sit with me in the art room upstairs?"

"What the fuck am I going to do watching you paint? Sounds boring as shit," V laughed, and Jungkook pulled his hands back.

"Yeah but we can be togeth-"

"I could literally list 20 more things I could be doing. Sorry Jeon, but unless you suck my dick while painting- I'm good." V said, and then slapped Jungkook's ass quickly and turned around to walk out of the door.

Jungkook watched him walk out, and felt a little.. unsatisfied with that response. He sighed to himself and then walked out of the janitor's closet, seeing V walking up to the cafeteria. Before V walked into the cafeteria, he turned and looked at Junkook, who walked up to him.

"My place before lunch, kay?" V said, and Jungkook shook his head.

"I can't. I have art stuff." Jungkook said. "And now I have the exhibition thingy tomorrow and need to work for that."

V huffed, scratching the back of his head. He laughed to himself. "Jeez, I get you this whole thing and can't ever get same nice head after?"

Jungbook frowned. "I thought you selected me 'cause you thought I was good and like art.."

"Well, yeah. You're talented or whatever- but I was hoping this meant you could let me doggy style you." V said to him huskily, and Jungkook frowned harder.

"Whatever. I'm gonna go work on art." Jungkook mumbled, pushing him away lightly.

V scoffed, seeing Jungkook walk the other way. "Jeon," V called out, and Jungkook felt this stupid hitch in his stomach. probably a stomach ache, he presumed. But then, he felt V grab his hips and spin him around.

"You're so fucking annoying." V snapped, and Jungkook frowned. "Fine, I'll come with you to your stupid art room. But only because you're forcing me! Not because I want to see you do artsy stuff." V said, and Jungkook blushed.

V started walking, and Jungkook rushed to catch up with him, heart beating fast. Something which felt like butterflies erupted in his stomach. Something unknown.

///

"Jungkook?" A voice said, and Jungkook turned. It was one of the art students from the grade above, Nayeon. "Are you in the exhibition?" She asked.

Jungkook nodded. "Yes. I put my stuff up." He explained, and she nodded. "Okay, good! I just need to give you lD's for this thing, identification purposes. Here's yours," She said, taking out an ID with Jungkook's name on it. Jungkook took the ID and pinned it to his shirt.

Nayeon took out another ID. "And this one.. same guy from your batch, I have no clue. Taehyung?"

Jungkook frowned. "What? There's no 'Taehyung' in our batch." Jungkook said, and she handed him the ID. He looked at it.

Kim Taehyung. Junghook's literally never heard that name before. "Well, he's in your batch, so please give the ID to him." She said, and then rushed off.

It was the night of the exhibition thing, and Jungkook felt kind of out of place and.. scared. Everyone was from other schools and older and he felt insecure about his art he put up. It was one he made ages ago. He had it put up in the end of the room. His was in the end and the lights weren't great here, but he didn't really care. He's glad he got to be a part of this.

v where are you

jungkook im in the end of the room. near the washrooms.

v come here. they've got great snacks

jungkook get me some

v no

jungkook pwease

v fine

Jungbook walked towards the food table or whatever, and then saw V walking towards him, wearing a suit. A suit.

Black trousers, a while button up (which was not fully buttoned up, the first two or three butters opened) and a black suit jacket with a fat expensive looking watch on his wrist. Along with all that, he had a black bandana on his head.

Jungkook's mouth went dry at the sight.

"C'mon. Let's get you all filled up with food so you don't get tired by the end of this." V said, and Jungkook looked at him with big eyes.

He was so fucking handsome.

He looked tall and.. grand, really, in this lighting. With his tan skin enunciated in the light, dark eyes, playful smirk and silver hair. Jungkook didn't know he would be wearing a suit.

Jungkook felt a little dumb now, in his tight black trousers and white shirt with a black collar. He looked dumb compared to V.

"Hello?" V snapped, clicking Jungkook out of his thoughts. "You okay?" V chuckled, and Jungkook nodded quickly, cheeks pink.

Jungkook looked over at the food table, and gasped. "Look at that chocolate fountain!" Jungkook said in awe, and V hummed.

"I know right. I dipped some strawberries in 'em." V said, and Jungkook looked around and grabbed a slice of orange.

"Ew. Chocolate dipped orange?" V said in disgust, and Jungkook looked at him. "The strawberries are all out. I wanna try."

"Okay fine. I'll try with the.. sushi." V said, and Jungkook gasped, seeing V pick up sushi with a pair of wooden chopsticks lying on the table.

"No! V- please don't dip the sushi in choc-" Jungkook started, and then squealed out in laughter when V dipped the sushi into the chocolate, and then put it into his mouth.

Jungkook started laughing loudly, and saw V made a disgusted face and then grab a tissue quickly and spit the food out. Some of the teachers glared at them, so Jungkook put his hand over his mouth, still giggling.

V threw the tissue into the bin and then started laughing himself. It was all cute until they were both reduced to a fit of giggles over trying various foods dipped in chocolate.

Jungkook cringed when he bit into a shrimp cocktail dipped in chocolate, and V did as well after swallowing a bite of a spring roll dipped in chocolate.

"This is disgusting!" Jungkook cried, and V laughed. "It's fucking gross, I hate us."

Jungkook giggled, picking up a piece of lettuce and dipping it into the chocolate. "Here try this," Jungkook said, reaching it to V's lips.

But V was looking to the other side, and then patted Jungkook's shoulder. "I'll be back in a minute." V said, and Jungkook nodded, and V rushed off. So Jungkook grabbed a plate and put some crackers and strawberries on them, covering it with chocolate.

He started getting a little giddy at the thought of V coming back to him. Maybe after the event was over they'd go back to V's dorm and V would fuck him in the-

"Hey." Jimin said, and Jungkook looked up. "Hi! You're here?" Jungkook asked in confusion, and Jimin hummed. "Yeah. Just decided to come and see the exhibition. Art teacher allowed me to." Jimin said.

Jungkook smiled. "Nice! Go see my stuff, okay." Jungkook said, and Jimin nodded, and then snickered. "Check out V over there. God, classic V behavior." Jimin said, and Jungkook looked over at where he was pointing at.

Jungkook saw V talking to.. Eka, he thinks. She was in a small red dress and looked quite pretty. They were talking, and Jungkook saw how V was laughing at something she was saying, smirking at her cheekily, making her blush, patting her ass while whispering something to her.

Which made him think. Does Taehyung act like this with everyone?

More importantly, why was Jungkook... upset?

Jealous? Kind of.. but more than anything a little upset? Why the fuck was he upset? V talked and flirted with girls all the time, Jungkook never cared.

V would literally fuck him in a crying mess and then they'd leave the room and pretend nothing happened. Jungkook would see V tell a girl she's 'hot but would look hotter in his bed' in Chemistry and then later be in V's bed.

It never upset him.

But now it does. Why?

"Yeah." Jungkook laughed nervously, and then turned back around, taking a small strawberry and popping it into his mouth.

"I'm gonna go look around. You should probably go back to your art thing, no?" Jimin said, and Jungkook nodded.

Jungkook saw Jimin walk away, and then found himself walking over to where V was standing. With Eka, and some more guys and girls. Those popular kids.

"Hey." Jungkook said softly to V, who was talking to one of the guys. Jungkook sucked in a sharp breath and then tapped on V's shoulder. V turned to see him.

"What?" V said, voice coming out harsher than Jungkook expected.

"Y-you- um- you wanna come see my art stuff?" Jungkook asked in a small voice, and V hummed. "Later." V mumbled, and then turned back to the other girls and guys, laughing at whatever they were saying.

Jungkook stood behind V, feeling this terrible twist in his tummy. He was hoping it was the chocolate taco he ate earlier, but he doesn't think it was.

"Did you guys see that freshmen kid walking around?" One of the guys said, probably a senior. "So fucking gay, bro. He had that dumb rainbow flag shit on his backpack. We told him to cut that shit out but he tried sassing us like the fag he was," The guy said, and Jungkook stilled.

"Ugh, that sounds gross." Eka mumbled. "We should do something about that."

"V? I saw him walking around here somewhere. Wanna go show him what's what?" The guy snickered, and V nervously paused for a second.

Jungkook found himself frowning a little. "He's just 14 or 15.. just a kid. I'm sure he's not trying to do any harm." Jungkook said softly, and then V looked at him.

"Jungkook, don't you need to go next to your exhibition or whatever?" V said, and Jungkook paused.

"No.. it doesn't start for another 10 minutes." Jungkook said, and V gave Jungkook an annoyed look which Jungkook didn't understand.

"Just- go next to the food place or something." V said sharply, grabbing the plate from Jungkook's hands and keeping it on the table next to him for himself.

Jungkook frowned, looking at V in confusion. "B-but that's my-"

"Jeon," V snapped, and Jungkook gulped. Usually he would snap back or think this was playful rivalrous banter happening between the two, but Jungkook felt his stomach drop.

"I-I'll go." Jungkook squeaked, and then turned around and walked away. He heard those guys laugh, and rushed closer to where his painting was, and then just stood there for the rest of the time.

Half an hour or so later, when Jungkook decided he was a little tired and wanted to go back to his dorm. Not a lot of people were coming to his area anyway, and he wanted to watch tv in peace in his dorm, so he made up some excuse for the art teacher and walked out of the banquet hall.

Jungkook didn't see V anywhere, and began walking down the hallway towards the exit of the building. Just the thought of seeing V somewhere got him a little excited, and he didn't know why.

Jungkook went down the stairs, and then stopped.

He heard some sounds.

He heard a loud groan, a cry. "P-please- I'm sorry-"

Jungkook heard some more sounds, a sound of a locker banging, followed by laughter. He rushed down the steps and turned the corner of the wall, and then froze.

It was a kid, a 14 year old kid with brightly colored hair standing with his back against a locker. Eka, that other dude, and V were all there, along with some more of them, standing around him.

"Shut up, geez. You chose to get it up your ass, now deal with the consequences of it." Eka snapped, and then Jungkook saw with widened eyes as V grabbed the boy and slammed him against the locker quite hard.

"This is what you get for being a gay bitch, don't you? Told you to cut it out, didn't we?" V growled to him with a smirk, and the others started laughing, and Jungkook saw how the younger boy quivered in fear.

Eka turned her head and saw Jungkook standing there with big eyes. "Oh hey Jeon. Enjoy the show," Eka said with a laugh.

"Fucking faggot-" V started with a snicker, and then heard what Eka said and froze.

V turned his head, and saw Jungkook standing there with widened eyes, looking.. both confused and scared.

V instantly let go of the guy, and the poor kid just stood against the locker fearfully. V looked a little guilty and red handed himself, looking almost regretful.

"Jungkook-" V started, and Jungkook looked at him. "Shut up. Just shut the fuck up." He snapped, and V gulped, looking down. Guilty as he should be.

https://jeontaeh.tumblr.com/post/647263586755002368/twelve