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bluemingcore · 3 years ago

Text

title: ma'am this is a bakery

summary: You stepped into the bakery, the aroma of freshly baked bread and pastries wafted in the air, making you dizzy with euphoria. It was such a warm and inviting atmosphere, this favorite bakery of yours.

Or, you find something eye catching in your favorite bakery and it isn't bread! A relationship between you and Jisung slowly blooms, like yeast in bread.

characters: park jisung (nct) x reader

warnings/tags: none; fluff, lots of fluff; she/her pronouns are used for reader; bakery and university au

word count: 10, 417

a/n: a gift for my sister :)

title a reference to the meme "sir this is a wendy's"

links: ao3

You stepped into the bakery, the aroma of freshly baked bread and pastries wafted in the air, making you dizzy with euphoria. It was such a warm and inviting atmosphere, this favorite bakery of yours. You loved stopping by every day for lunch to grab something to eat before heading back to class.

Taking a tray, you peered into the plastic cases, your hunger tempting you to go take everything you see.

Resisting that urge, you take a cheesy bread. You glanced around at the other breads, wondering if you should take a sweet bread to counter the savory one. You spotted the milk tea bun. It was sitting alone in the case. The last one! Quickly making your choice, you reach for the milk tea bun.

Just as you were doing so, another hand reached for the same one. Accidentally touching the stranger’s hand, you pulled back quickly.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” You say, turning your head to look at the other person.

“No, it’s fine,” the stranger said. He turned to look at you. “You can take it.”

You stared at the man in front of you. Dressed in a white button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, with a dark blue apron—stained with what looks like flour—that fell above his knees, and black jeans. An employee...? You thought. You had to crane your head up to look at him. He was tall. And handsome. Really handsome.

You blinked.

“... Are you sure?” You asked, glancing away to look at the lonely milk tea bun.

“Yeah I’m sure. You reached for it first. Besides, you’re a customer. The customers always get what they want, right?” He smiled at you, making your heart skip a beat.

That last part kind of sounded a little sarcastic... So he is an employee then.

“Ah... I guess so...” You muttered.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get something else to eat for lunch,” The man absentmindedly said, more so to himself than to you. He then grabbed the milk tea bun and placed it on your tray for you, walking away before you could even say thank you. You blinked, a little confused by his actions, but decided to just finish your lunch trip and headed to the registers. Placing your items on the counter, you looked around for the boy who was gracious enough to give you the last milk tea bun, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Strange... You thought, bringing your attention back to the cashier when they asked, “Is that all for you?”

You ordered a milk tea to go and paid for your items. You left the bakery, walking back to campus while sipping on your drink.

—————————

You met up with your friend, Sophia, to eat lunch together at your university’s courtyard. Sitting at a picnic table, Sophia asked, “What did you get this time?”

“Brown sugar boba and a cheesy bread and a milk tea bread,” You answered, sitting down while taking your food out of the paper bag. “You?”

“I got a salad from the student union.”

“Gross,” You playfully said, looking disgusted. “I told you you should’ve gone with me. Also, I saw a cute worker there.”

“Really?” Sophia questioned, sounding actually uninterested in the supposed cute guy.

“Yeah, really. I’ve never seen him there before. He must be new,” You replied, eating your food.

“Yeah probably. You would know, you go there everyday.”

“Exactly. Anyways, we were both trying to get the last milk tea bun,” You continued.

“Wow, so romantic!” Sophia commented sarcastically.

You rolled your eyes. “I think he was on his lunch break or something, and wanted to eat it. But he let me have it.” You waved the milk tea bun to show it. “Obviously. He just put it on my tray and disappeared??? He’s so weird...” You shook your head, continuing to eat your lunch.

“Men are just weird like that.”

“Yeah, they are.”

—————————

Jisung wiped down the counters, quickly hurrying up to finish his tasks to his closing shift at the bakery. For what seemed like the 100th time that day—since he met her—his mind started thinking about the girl who wanted the milk tea bun earlier that day. He stopped what he was doing and hung his head low, sighing exasperatedly, as he thought about how he just gave her the bread and ran off without saying anything. Stupid... Why did I do that? He chastised himself, regretting his actions. I hope she comes back to the bakery soon...

—————————

Little did he know, you did return to the bakery the next day for lunch as you always do. You grabbed the food you wanted and paid for it. You didn’t see the Milk Tea Bun Boy (which was what you decided to dub him) you met the day before working, and you wondered where he was.

Just as you were opening the door to leave, someone else was also opening the door to enter.

“Oh!” The voice said in surprise. “Sorry.”

You looked at the owner of the voice and to your surprise, it was Milk Tea Bun Boy!

“Oh it’s you,” You said. “From yesterday. Thank you for letting me have the last milk tea bun.” You smiled brightly at him.

He stared at you, feeling a little flustered not only by what you said, but your smile. She’s cute... He thought.

“I-It’s nothing. I hope you enjoyed it.” He rubbed the back of his neck, not making eye contact with you.

“I did. Thank you. I got something different today.” You lifted the bag of food. “Well… I gotta go now. Bye.” You nodded your head slightly at the boy, before making your exit.

Jisung stared at your figure as you walked down the sidewalk, away from him and the bakery. He sighed, as he entered the bakery. She returned so quickly. If my shift was earlier I could’ve talked to her more. But still, he felt glad that he had a chance to see you, even if it was just a brief moment. Jisung went to the kitchen to put his apron on and start his shift.

—————————

“I saw him again today,” You said, sitting down on the bench and eating your food.

“Milk tea bun boy?” Sophia asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Yeah. I think he was going to work. I was leaving and he was walking out.”

“Did you say anything to him?”

“I told him thank you for letting me have the last bread.”

“You should get his number since you think he’s cute,” Sophia teased.

You shook your head at the thought. “I’m not gonna do that. That’s too awkward.”

Sophia laughed at you.

—————————

The next day for lunch, you and Sophia both decided to eat at the bakery together. You hoped Milk Tea Bun Boy was working, because you wanted Sophia to see what he looked like.

The two of you arrived, the scent of freshly baked bread saturating the air of the bakery.

“It smells so good in here,” Sophia commented, making moves to grab a tray.

“Hi, welcome!” A voice called from behind the counter. You turned your head towards the voice.

Milk Tea Bun Boy!

You smiled back at the employee. “Hi,” You said in response before turning away to your friend. You grabbed a tray for yourself, whispering to your friend, “That’s him.”

“Oh?” Sophia took a sneaky glance at the employee behind the counter, who was busy helping another customer. “That is a boy.” Was all she said in response.

You rolled your eyes playfully as you took the bread you wanted. A potato croquette and a milk tea bun.

The two of you headed towards the register with your items. “Hi. Is this for here or to go?” Milk Tea Bun Boy asked.

You were going to say to go, until your friend Sophia interrupted, “Let’s eat here.” She suggested. You glanced at her then back to the employee.

“For here,” You replied with a small smile.

“And is that all for you?”

“Um… can I also get a brown sugar milk tea with tapioca?”

“Sure.” As the employee rang up your items, you glanced down at the name tag fastened on his apron. The name read: Jisung.

After you paid for your items, you sat down at a table near the windows. The sun outside was shining bright and few clouds breezed along the blue sky. You watched as Sophia paid for her things, and sat across from you.

“Are you just gonna watch him from afar?” She teased, taking hold of her food and eating it.

You scoffed, rolling your eyes and shaking your head as you picked up your food. “I wasn’t even looking at him.”

“Yeah, sure whatever you say.” She giggled.

“Number 31.” Jisung’s voice called. You glanced at your receipt on the table.

“Oh that’s me,” You got out of your seat to the pick-up counter.

“Thank you!” You smiled at him as you took your drink.

He smiled back, nodding. “You’re welcome.”

You sat back down at the table, sipping your drink.

“I feel like I’ve seen him before…” Sophia said, thoughtfully chewing on her food.

“Where?” You lifted your brow quizzically.

“Hmm… I think he also attends our university. I think I’ve seen him in the hallways before.”

“Hmm...” You murmured, sipping on your drink.

—————————

“Jisung.”

“Huh?” Jisung snapped out of his stupor and looked at his co-worker.

Jeno shook his head. “Why don’t you just ask her out man?”

“I… don’t even know her name…” Was the only excuse Jisung could find.

“Well, then next time she comes and orders a drink, just ask, ‘Do you have a name or can I call you cutie pie?’” Jeno winked at his friend as if to make his point.

Jisung stared blankly at Jeno. “We don’t even ask for names. We use numbers for orders.” He pointed out so matter-of-factly. “You should know that you’ve worked here longer than I have.”

Jeno sighed dramatically, taking his friend by the shoulders and giving him a rough shake. “I’m trying to help you here!”

“Okay, okay, stop!” Jisung gripped Jeno’s wrists to remove the other boy’s hands off his shoulders.

“Besides, I think she comes in everyday for lunch.”

Jisung lifted a brow. “Really?”

Jeno nodded. “Yeah. I noticed when I started working here. Well, Monday to Friday at least. She may also go to the same university as us.”

“Hmm…” Jisung responded absently, returning to the task of wiping the tables down.

“Look, if you don’t ask her out, I will.” He looked at his friend, grinning mischievously.

Jisung glared at him. “Don’t you dare.”

Jeno laughed. “I’m kidding. But seriously. Just ask her out. You miss the shots you don’t take. She could say yes. Oh, what if she has a boyfriend already? That’d be awkward.”

Jisung groaned at his friend’s ramblings.

—————————

On certain weekdays when Jisung was working the lunch shift, he often saw you come in to grab something to eat. Sometimes you came in with your tall friend, sometimes it was just you. It has been a week since he first had that encounter with you, but he still never built up the courage to ask you out, or even make small talk outside of his usual work-related questions. The encouragement, or nagging, from Jeno didn’t do much to push him to say anything to you.

Jisung sighed internally at his whirlwind of thoughts. Why was he like this? Why couldn’t he just talk to her? Why—

The ringing of the bells brought Jisung’s attention to the present. The door of the bakery opened and lo and behold, the source of his internal turmoil walks in.

Lunchtime already? Jisung thought to himself as he checked the time on his watch. Time had gone by really quick.

Jisung looked back at you, and was caught by surprise to see that you were accompanied by another person. It wasn’t your tall white friend this time, but a male instead.

Is that her… Jisung’s thoughts began to storm again.

He watched the two of you as you both walked around and chose which items to eat. He turned to Jeno, who was manning the cash register. Jisung didn’t have a chance to ask before the older boy beat him to it.

“Hey, do you think that’s her boyfriend?” Jeno asked lowly.

Jisung sighed. “I don’t know.”

Jeno noticed his friend’s inner turmoil. “Well, we can’t assume every boy she walks in with is her boyfriend. It could be a relative or a friend.” He tried to make his friend feel a little better.

Jisung quickly left the cash register counter when he saw the pair approaching.

After the pair paid for their items and left, Jisung approached Jeno again.

“His name is Bryson,” Jeno said.

“What? How do you know that?” Asked the young boy with furrowed brows.

“She said his name.” Jeno replied as if that was a fact Jisung should’ve been aware of. “He offered to pay for their food and she was like ‘Bryson you don’t have to do that!’” His voice went high-pitched for a moment to mimic the girl. “But he insisted and paid for the food anyway. This is why I don’t think they’re dating because —“

Jisung rolled his eyes, turning away to leave his friend’s ramblings. “You talk too much.”

“Hey! Don’t you wanna hear my theory?” Jeno called after.

“Not really. You don’t make any sense.” Jisung went back to his tasks.

—————————

Later that day after classes ended, you met up with Sophia to walk to the library to do some homework together.

“… and I didn’t want Bryson to come with me but he insisted! What if Milk Tea Bun Boy thinks we’re dating now?!” You groaned.

“Hey, at least you got free food.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“If you’re stressing so much over this, just make it known to him that you’re single! Ask him out already!”

You shook your head. “Too awkward.”

“What’s awkward is you lusting over him while saying nothing.” Your friend rolled her eyes.

“I’m not lusting over him,” You quipped.

“Whatever you say.”

—————————

Several days later, you, along with Sophia, once again went to the bakery to grab lunch.

“Let’s eat here today,” Sophia suggested.

“Mmm….” You replied as you thought about what to eat.

Sitting down at the table near the windows after you paid for your items, you noticed Milk Tea Bun Boy walk in, the bells above the door jingling behind him as he was putting his apron on. As he walked in, he glanced at you. You flushed and quickly looked away, giving new attention to your food instead.

Sophia stared at you blankly while she shook her head.

Jisung watched from afar as you and Sophia chatted away and ate together. He thought you looked especially cute today. Your hair was styled differently and the dress you wore was adorable, suiting you quite well, he thought. He sighed internally and turned away. What was he thinking? What was he doing? Was he just going to stare at you from afar forever? Or was he going to finally get the courage to do something about it? Maybe Jeno was right—

Without thinking, Jisung made his way to where you were sitting. When you and Sophia noticed him approaching, your attention was turned to him.

Oh no… He thought. Why was he approaching you again? What was he supposed to say? Think Jisung, think!

“Uh…” He sputtered upon reaching your table. “If you’re done eating, I’ll take that.” He looked at the trays on the table and the other trash.

“O-oh… Yeah we’re done. Thank you.” You said, smiling warmly at him.

Jisung’s ears tinged pink, he looked down and quickly took away the trays and trash.

Sophia could only stare at him and you with a confused look. “Okay… Let’s go back to campus. My next class starts soon.”

—————————

“You did that??!” Jeno laughed. And laughed. Until tears sprung from the corner of his eyes.

Jisung groaned. “Shut up! I knew I shouldn’t have told you.”

“Haha, sorry. It’s just too funny.” He wiped a tear away from the corner of his eye and flicked it at his friend.

“Stop that.” Jisung glared, swatting away Jeno’s hand.

“But seriously man. You need to just talk to her. She seems nice. Like I said, if you don’t say something, I will~” He chuckled.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Hehe, who knows…”

—————————

The next day for lunch, you and Sophia once again ate inside the bakery.

“I can’t believe midterms are coming up so fast,” You said with a sigh after a bite of food.

“I know. This semester is going by way too fast.”

Jisung emerged from the employee break room, unsurprised to see you sitting at the table by the window with your friend. He was on break when you arrived, so he didn’t see you come in. He adjusted his apron, walking towards you, his head replaying the conversation between him and Jeno from yesterday.

“I can take that if you’re done,” He said, standing by your table.

“Oh, yes, we’re done, thank you.” You gave him a small smile.

Jisung started gathering the trays on the table. “I notice you come here a lot…” He started.

“Yeah, I really like this bakery. And it’s really close to campus so I like to come here to get something to eat in between classes.” You replied.

He nodded. “I see… So you go to [university name] then?”

“Yeah, we both do.” You gestured between Sophia and yourself. “Do you go there too?”

“I do. I’m a music major.”

“Oh that’s cool! What —“ You were interrupted by the jingling of the bells from the door.

“Hi, welcome!” Jisung turned to the new customers walking in. “I gotta go.” He said to you, taking the trays and leaving.

“Well that was a good start!” Sophia said encouragingly as you both walked back to campus.

“It was so awkward…” You sighed, shaking your head.

Sophia patted your shoulder. “Cheer up. At least he initiated conversation. Maybe he likes you.”

You could only sigh at her response.

—————————

“Good job. At least you said something to her.” Jeno said to Jisung as the two were walking to the library together.

“She probably thinks I’m weird, just talking to her outta nowhere. Then, a customer walked in in the middle of our conversation and I had to leave.”

Jeno playfully slapped his friend on the back. “Gives you another opportunity to talk to her next time. By the way, do you have the notes for sociology? I dozed off last class and I seriously need to get to studying for that midterm.”

Jisung rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I have it. I’ll email it to you.”

—————————

Your head spun as you glossed over the list of terms that were going to be on your midterm. You enjoyed your sociology class, but these terms were so much to remember all at once! You were sitting at a table at the bakery that you always go to, left hand holding a curry bun, other grasping pages of notes you printed out. It was the weekend, and you were waiting on Sophia to arrive so the two of you could start studying for midterms together. You sighed and put the paper down, taking a bite of your food and glancing around the bakery. Milk tea bun boy—Jisung, if you will—wasn’t working at the moment.

The door opened, bells jingling to signal an entry. You turned your head towards the door, expecting Sophia to walk in. Instead, it was Jisung, apron hung over his forearm, a backpack slung over his shoulder. The two of you made eye contact. You weren’t sure whether you should say hi, so you opted for a friendly smile—a smile that Jisung returned—before turning back to the papers sprawled in front of you.

You checked the time on your phone. Where was Sophia? She was already 10 minutes late.

From behind the counter, Jisung watched as you were poring over the sheets of paper on the table. He began thinking of ways to make conversation with you. Absentmindedly, he grabbed the table cleaning supplies, and sauntered over to the empty tables near you.

You weren’t paying much attention to your surroundings, your eyes trained on the paper in your hand, as you read and reread the terms. Jisung was cleaning the tables, mind still mulling over how to make small talk to you. Why couldn’t he just be bold and brave like Jeno was? That man would make conversation with a tree if it looked interesting enough.

He sighed inwardly before he noticed a stray paper on your table slipped off, cascading slowly onto the floor. He looked at your concentrated countenance, focused on reading whatever it was that you were reading. You didn’t seem to notice the fallen paper.

Jisung walked over and picked it up for you.

Finally, you lifted your eyes up when you noticed his presence nearby.

“This fell.” Jisung said, handing you the piece of paper.

“Oh, thank you.” You took the paper from him.

“… What are you studying for?” He asked, looking at the mess of papers.

“Intro to sociology.” You answered with a sigh. “It’s midterm season.”

Jisung noticeably perked up at “sociology.” “Intro to sociology?” He echoed. “I take that course too. Who do you have it with?”

“Professor Robertson. He’s a really great professor.”

His eyes widened. “Professor Robertson? I take him too!” He smiled.

Your eyebrows raised in surprise. “What, really? Wait, what section? I’m in section five.”

Jisung deflated, nodding in understanding. “Ahh… I’m in his fourth section.”

“Oh okay... Did he give your class a study guide? He told my class that he’s going to give us a study guide for the exam. A study guide would be really helpful, so I can know what to study for. I printed out all my notes and the PowerPoints lectures.” You gestured to the papers in front of you. “It’s a lot.” You sighed.

Jisung shook his head, chuckling softly. “He told us the same thing. He hasn’t emailed a study guide yet, but we’re all waiting on it. You’re preparing for it kinda early, don’t you think? The midterm’s still a couple of weeks away.”

You shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s best to prepare early, right? Plus, there’s so much material to know.”

He nodded. “You’re really thorough. I haven’t even started looking over my notes yet.”

“You should get a head start. Exam day is gonna be here before you know it.”

“Haha, you’re right about that. Uh, well… How about studying together sometime? I could use the help.” Jisung felt nervous.

You were taken aback by the question. “Oh, sure! I could use a study buddy!” You smiled at him, a giddy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

He beamed at your response. “Cool! Um… oh, I never gave you my name. I’m Jisung.”

You giggled. “I know. I noticed it on your name tag.” You pointed at the name tag on his apron, crookedly displayed.

“Oh right.” He smiled, glancing down at his name tag.

“I’m y/n.”

“Y/n?” Jisung repeated. “That’s a pretty name.” He smiled softly at you. You felt heat rush to your cheeks. “Oh, um, let me give you my number. I work until closing today but if you ever want to study together, just text me.” He grabbed his phone from his pocket. “And you can give me your number too, um, if you want to, of course.”

You smiled, reaching for your phone and handing it to the boy. “Well, even if I don’t give you my number now, you’d end up having it when I text you anyways.” You responded playfully with a laugh.

Jisung cleared his throat, entrapped by the fact that he was now exchanging numbers with you. And on top of that, you insinuated that you were going to text him eventually. “Ha… you’re right,” He said with a smile, taking your phone in his hands and giving his phone to you. He entered his number into your contacts, and you did the same to his. Just as you took your phone back, the door opened. Sophia’s tall figure walked in, giving you a wave and a smile. You smiled and waved back.

“I gotta go back to work. Good luck studying.” Jisung said with a bright smile, turning on his heel and walking away.

“Sorry I’m late.” Sophia sat down across from you, “I had to wait for my co-worker to arrive before I could clock-out and they were late.” She opened her backpack and started rummaging for her laptop.

“It’s okay,” You reassured, a smile on your face as you looked at the new number displayed on your phone. Park Jisung, it read.

Sophia grinned at you. “So… what happened?” She wiggled her eyebrows knowingly.

“What do you mean?” You feigned ignorance.

She scoffed, playfully rolling her eyes. “Okay, you can just tell me after. I’m gonna get something to eat.”

—————————

“You got his number?!” Sophia’s eyes were wide. The two of you were finished studying and were walking back to Sophia’s car.

“Yes!” You beamed, feeling giddy and unbelieving that he actually asked for your number. “He wants to study for the sociology midterm together.”

“Well, how exciting for you.” She grinned.

—————————

Several days later, while you were sitting in statistics class bored out of your mind, you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. It was a text from Jisung.

Hey do you wanna study together at the library?

You immediately responded.

What time?

I’m at work until 2:30pm, so after that?

Okay sounds good :) I’m in class right now so I’ll head straight there and find us a table

Great see you then! :D

You hid your smile behind your hand and began impatiently tapping your foot. Could this class just end already?

—————————

Finally. His shift was over. It was 2:30pm and Jisung took off his apron, folding it and stuffing it inside his backpack. “I’m clocking out now,” He announced to his manager.

On his way out, he stopped in his tracks.

—————————

You texted Jisung: I’m sitting on the first floor next to the windows in the back

You weren’t sure why you felt so nervous. You were just studying sociology with a (cute) boy who works at the bakery you always go to, who had asked for your number. So nothing wrong with that. You started taking out your laptop and notes.

After some time, you received a text from Jisung.

I’m on my way!

—————————

“Hey!”

You looked up at the voice. “Hi.” You smiled at Jisung. He was wearing jeans and a printed t-shirt. You thought he looked weird without his work apron on. But then again, it’d be weirder if he always wore it. This was the first time you saw Jisung outside of his usual setting at the bakery. It was weird, in a different-nice kind of way.

“I got us something to eat while we study.” He placed a bag on the table. “Some pastries from work.”

Your eyes widened at the pleasant surprise. “Woah, really? Thanks!”

“No problem. Here.” He reached into the bag, pulling out a milk tea bun and handing it to you. “I’m sure you’ll like this one.”

You laughed. “I do. Thank you. Sorry about taking the last one from you that day.”

Jisung shook his head, settling himself in the seat across from you. “It’s fine, really. So, how are you studying?”

The two of you only managed to study for about 30 minutes before getting tired of it and deciding to “take a short break.”

“How long have you been working at the bakery?” You asked, cheek resting on the palm of your hand.

“Hm… Maybe about 2 months now? I haven’t been working there that long. My friend Jeno, who also works there, got me the job.”

“I see. I figured you haven’t been working there long because I go to that bakery all the time.”

“Yeah, you do come in often. Is it your favorite place?”

You nodded with a smile. “The top bakery in this city in my opinion. Everything is always really good and the workers are always nice.”

“Ah… so you think I’m nice?” He teased, grinning almost too playfully.

“Yeah.” You nodded. “Unless there’s reason for me to think otherwise?” You playfully responded.

His face reddened at your forthright response. “Haha, no… I do think of myself as nice.”

The conversation petered out.

“You told me before you’re a music major right?” You asked eventually. “What do you want to do in the future?”

At that, Jisung smiled brightly, as he began diving into an explanation of his hopes and dreams, his love for music and his wishes of creating music and singing, for making people happy with music. You listened intently, entranced by his passion for music, his smile and the way his eyes sparkled while talking about it.

“You’re so passionate about it.”

He smiled. “What about you? What’s your major?”

“Well now I’m gonna sound silly compared to you and your passions.”

Jisung vigorously shook his head. “Don’t compare your dreams to mine. We all have different dreams in their own right. Your passions have a special meaning to you as mine does for me.”

You smiled at his words and his adamant reassurance. “I…”

It was then your turn to explain yourself, your passion, your dreams, and future goals. Jisung looked at you, listening intently, nodding and asking questions when appropriate. He kept his full attention on you and his interest in what you had to say made you feel giddy inside.

Before you knew it, two hours had passed.

“So much for studying.” You sighed.

“That’s okay. We can try again next time.”

“Next time?”

He smiled. “Yeah, if that’s okay with you.”

Tapping your finger on your chin, “Hm, I don’t know. You’re not that great of a study buddy, considering we barely did any studying.” You joked with a little chuckle. “I’m kidding.”

“Then you can give me a second chance tomorrow.”

You smiled. “Okay, tomorrow. You better prove yourself.”

—————————

Tomorrow came and Jisung did prove himself to be a decent study companion. For the first forty-five anyways. Then as the day before, you and Jisung lapsed into leisurely conversation. The two of you were able to talk for hours. You were comforted by how Jisung was very easy and fun to talk to. The conversation would veer into favorite music, artists, recent movies, favorite movies, and just about any topic that could be discussed that wasn’t sociology.

Before you knew it, evening had fallen and the last rays of the sun disappeared from the sky.

“It’s getting late now.” You remarked, looking outside the windows at the darkness shrouding the courtyard.

“I’ll walk you back to your apartment.” Jisung offered, picking up his things from the table.

“You don’t have to do that.”

He shook his head. “I do. You shouldn’t walk by yourself in the dark.”

“… Okay. Thank you.”

“You know, I haven’t stopped by the bakery these past two days for lunch,” You were telling Jisung as he walked you to your apartment. “Since we’ve been studying together and stuff.”

“Oh that’s right. We can study at the bakery tomorrow then? I don’t work tomorrow anyways.”

“Yeah, okay, we can do that.”

You made conversation about the anime Jisung finished watching on the way to your apartment. You told him that you had already watched that one and were amicably discussing the thrilling plot and your favorite characters before you finally ended up on the front door of your apartment.

“Well, we’re here.” You said, feeling awkward. “Thanks for walking me here.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

Jisung nodded. “Yeah.”

You unlocked the door. “Bye…”

“Bye. Good night.”

“Night.”

Jisung slowly turned to leave. You pushed your door open, and looked at his retreating figure. He turned around for a moment, smiling at you and waving before finally disappearing around the corner.

You walked in your apartment and closed the door behind you. You had so much fun with Jisung that ending the night felt wrong, almost sad. But you were going to see him again the next day. You smiled to yourself thinking about it.

“Oh hey you’re home.” Sophia called out to you from the kitchen, causing you to jump.

—————————

You impatiently tapped your pen on the desk, eager to finish your last class of the day. You just wanted to see Jisung. You felt excitement bubble inside as you thought about meeting him for another study session at the bakery. You wondered if he felt the same.

Time passed, the lecture boring you to tears. The minute the professor wrapped up the lecture, dismissing the class, you packed your things and left straight to the bakery.

Jisung was already there, sitting at a table with two drinks and some food spread out, and his laptop balanced on the corner of the table. It was weird to see Jisung at his workplace, not in his work uniform and not working. But you had to admit, you liked seeing him like this. When the door opened, he looked up from his laptop, giving you a smile and then waved you over.

“Hey you.”

You returned his smile, setting your backpack down and sitting at the chair across from him. “Hey. You’re actually studying.” You said teasingly.

He chuckled. “I barely started.” He pushed a drink and wrapper of bread towards you. “This is for you.”

“What really? You gotta let me pay you back.”

“No.”

“What, why?” You whined, pouting. “You bought food last time too. It’s only fair.”

He shook his head vigorously. “No. It’s on me. I mean it.”

“Jisung…” You whined, dragging out the last syllable of his name.

The corner of his lips tugged in a tiny small, finding your insistence rather adorable and endearing. “Okay, okay, fine.”

You smiled brightly.

“Next time though, okay?”

You groaned, rolling your eyes. “Okay. Fine. Next time for sure.”

Jisung propped his elbow on the table, resting his chin on his hand. So cute… He thought as you grumbled to yourself before finally deciding to take out your laptop and study materials.

“No distractions this time, okay?” You told him in a stern tone. “I have other assignments I need to focus on.”

He nodded. “Yes ma’am. I won’t bother you.”

He wanted to though. While you were focused on whatever assignments you had, he watched you from the edge of his laptop from time to time (okay, he’ll admit it, for most of the time). He thought you looked cute like that. Your expression held unduly focus on your laptop and notebook, your lips sometimes moved to mouth whatever it was that you were reading, sometimes you would blink excessively at your laptop as if confused at something, your brows would scrunch together in concentration. He couldn’t help but admire your features.

You were tapping the bottom of your pen to your chin, deep in thought, with a blank expression on your face, your eyes moving back and forth on the laptop screen.

“You’re so pretty…”

“Huh?” Your eyes moved from the screen to his face.

Jisung’s eyes slightly widened in realization. Wait. Did he just say that out loud? Oh crap. He didn’t mean to.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, shaking his head. “I said I’m bored.”

You tilted your head. It sure didn’t sound like that before but you didn’t want to dispute it since you weren’t totally sure. “We barely started studying.”

“Yeah, so? Studying is so boring.”

You shook your head with a light smile. “You’re not wrong there.”

“Jisung?” The two of you looked to the source of the voice.

“Huh, Jeno? You’re working today?”

“Yeah, I switched shifts with Jaemin.” Jeno looked over at you. A grin spread on his face. “Oh hey. You’re the customer that always comes here. I haven’t seen you around lately.”

“Yeah, it’s because I’ve been spending time studying with Jisung.”

“Oh~? Really? Well, how exciting.”

“Not really. It’s studying.” Jisung mumbled. He looked at his friend with an unamused stare. “Shouldn’t you be clocking in now?”

Jeno huffed a small laugh. “I suppose I should now. I’ll let you two at it. If you need something let me know~” He lifted a hand to wave before turning away, walking towards the employee door.

“Sorry about him.”

You laughed. “It’s fine. Let’s get back to studying.” You looked at your laptop before looking back at Jisung. “No distractions! I’m gonna set a timer so no distractions until then, okay?” You reiterated sternly.

He smiled. “Okay, okay.”

The two of you studied for an hour. Well, more like you were doing work while Jisung sometimes got distracted by you (but he was also doing some studying here and there).

An hour passed. You took a deep sigh, sitting back in your chair. “Okay… I finished my assignments.” You looked up at Jisung. “Did you get anything done?”

“Uh… A little?”

You pursed your lips, shaking your head in a playful manner. “Shame, Jisung, shame.”

He laughed. “Sorry. I couldn’t concentrate. There’s just some… natural distractions, you know?”

“Natural distractions?”

“Yeah. Distractions that can’t be helped.”

You rolled your eyes, smiling slightly at his nonsense. “Whatever you say.”

The two of you then dropped into idle conversation. You talked about this and that, the weather, the classes you’re taking this semester, the new drinks the bakery is developing, and before you know it, another hour passed.

“… you would think the main character would know better but he doesn’t,” Jisung was saying about a character in a certain film.

“Yeah, right, it’s-“

“Hey, you two.”

You and Jisung turned to the voice. It was Jeno again.

“What is it, Jeno?” Jisung sounded mildly annoyed.

“I was feeling bored. Just wanted to say hi.”

“Well, hi. Now go back to work.”

“Ah, so harsh.” Jeno shook his head. He turned to you. “I never got your name. I’m Jeno by the way.”

“I’m y/n.”

“What a lovely name, y/n~”

You smiled. “Thank you.”

Jisung looked at you then turned his head to give Jeno a stare. “You’re on the clock.” He stated with a sigh.

“What? You flirt on the clock.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Uh, yeah you do. Last time when y/n was—“ Jisung kicked his friend in the shin. “Ow!”

“Okay, okay you’ve made your point.”

The door opened, bells jingling as a customer walked in.

“Great timing,” Jisung mumbled to himself.

“Alrighty then, I’ll go. Talk to you later y/n and Jisung!”

Jisung sighed as his friend turned and walked to the counter. “Sorry about him. Again.”

You laughed. “He’s quite entertaining.”

“Yeah, in more ways than one.”

You checked the time on your phone. “Ah… I think I should get going now. I told my friend Sophia that I would go grocery shopping with her.” You began to pack your things. “Today was really productive though. Thanks again for studying with me. I always find it useful to have someone to study or do homework with because it keeps me focused. Even if we’re not working on the same subject, you know?”

He nodded. “Yeah, same here.” (A half-lie, since he wasn’t doing much work in the first place.)

You slung your backpack over your shoulder, standing from your chair. “I’ll see you later then?”

He nodded, giving you a smile. “Yeah. Bye.”

You waved as you made your way out the door.

Jisung sighed as he watched you leave, feeling somewhat empty inside with your absence.

“Good going with the study dates.”

He turned his head, staring at Jeno who was standing next to his table. “Dates?”

“Isn’t that what these things are called?”

Jisung thought about it for a moment. He didn’t really think of the study sessions as dates. “Huh… I guess so… But we haven’t had an official ‘date’ yet. I haven’t really asked her out… These are more like… friendly gestures?” Yeah, sure. Friendly gestures.

Jeno scoffed. “Yeah sure. Proud of you for making the moves on her though!”

“I swear I’m gonna hit you one day.”

“What do you mean one day? You already kicked me today.”

“I think that was well deserved.”

—————————

You didn’t get to study with Jisung the day after. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. He had sent a text explaining his unfortunate work and class schedule, so he wasn’t able to study at certain, available times with you. But despite not getting to spend “study” time with him, you still visited the bakery on your break times. Sometimes he would be working that shift, sometimes he wouldn’t (you’d text him telling him you were at the bakery and he’d reply with a frowny face about how he’s in class or elsewhere). Even though you were still able to see him sometimes while he was at work, as well as having late night texts with him, you began to miss your study sessions together (even if those study sessions weren’t always the most productive ones).

One day, you received a text from him.

Can you come to the bakery at closing time?

You responded: Sure but why?

I’ll see you then!

He did not answer your question. You smiled and shook your head at the phone. Still, you complied. You spent the day on campus finishing up assignments and studying before walking to the bakery five minutes before closing. The sun dipped low in the sky, casting a dusky orange glow on the streets. Approaching the store front, you could see Jisung through the glass wiping the tables down. He lifted his head and saw you staring at him. He smiled and waved. Giving him a sheepish smile in return—you felt a bit embarrassed about getting caught staring—and a wave, you walked inside the bakery.

“Hey.” The door jingled behind you as you walked in. “Why’d you want me to come at closing time?”

“Give me a moment.” He finished doing his task and walked behind the employee doors. There were voices chatting indistinguishably and Jisung eventually reappeared without his work apron on. He was wearing a white button up shirt rolled to his elbows and dark blue jeans. You thought he looked really handsome like this.

“So… what is it?”

He ran his hand through his hair, looking a little fidgety. “Well… It’s dinner time now. And I was wondering if you wanted to go out and grab some dinner together?” He took a pause. “If you want to, of course…”

You were taken aback by his sudden question. You gave a short laugh, a sort of nervous, giddy laughter. “Wait, are you asking me out on a date?”

He blinked, a light blush making its way to his cheeks. “Yeah, I am. Y/n, would you like to go out on a date with me?”

You smiled, a giddy feeling bloomed in your stomach. “I’d love to go on a date with you Jisung.”

He returned your smile. “Great. Let’s go. I know a nice sushi place.”

The two of you walked to the sushi restaurant that was not too far from the bakery.

“You know, at first, I thought you had a boyfriend.” He said this to you while you were waiting for your order to arrive.

“Huh? What, why?” Your face scrunched in absolute confusion.

Jisung gave an awkward chuckle before explaining himself. “It was because that one time you walked in the bakery with a guy.”

You tilted your head to the side, thinking about that ‘guy.’ “Ah.” You realized who he meant. “Bryson? That’s just a friend. You don’t need to worry about him. I turned him down long ago.” You took a sip of your drink.

Jisung nodded. “Ah, I see. Of course you’d have other suitors. It makes sense, since you’re so pretty.”

You looked at him in surprise, taken aback by his compliment. You blushed, taking another sip of your drink to cool yourself. “How can you say that with such a straight face…” You mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

The food eventually arrived and you and Jisung talked amicably while eating your dinner. Talking about this and that, the weather, your classes, recent movies and music. You loved how easy Jisung was to talk to. You loved how his eyes shine bright when he talks about a hobby of his or something he finds interest in or likes doing. You love how whenever you talk with him, he centers his attention on you and just you, making you feel like you’re the only person in the world.

“Ah~ That was so good. I feel so full now.”

The check came around and Jisung instantly snatched it in his hands.

You gave him a glare (that had no bite). “Let me pay! Last time I said that I’ll pay next time and it’s next time.”

“No, it’s okay. I got it.”

“Jisung, really!”

He chuckled, shaking his head adamantly. “Consider this as… a gift for going out with me tonight.”

You huffed. He was persistent and stubborn and you didn’t have it in you to keep fighting him. “You’re so stubborn.”

He smiled.

“Let me walk you back to your apartment.” He said once the two of you were outside the restaurant. “It’s late now. I can’t have you walking back by yourself.”

So, he walked you back to your apartment. The two of you once again fell into a vibrant conversation about any topic plausible to talk about.

“Thanks for walking me home,” You said as you approached your apartment.

“It’s no problem.”

“And thanks for dinner. I had a lot of fun.” You smiled. Before you lost your courage, you quickly stood on your tiptoes, giving him a peck on the cheek. “That’s to show my gratitude. Good night.” You unlocked the door and hurriedly stepped in, shutting the door behind you. You stood with your back pressed against the door, heaving a sigh as your face reddened.

“Oh hey you’re home.”

You jumped at Sophia’s voice, placing your hand over your heart. “You gotta stop scaring me.”

—————————

Jisung stood motionless at the other side of the door, fingertips touching the skin where you kissed him. A blush tinted his cheeks, reaching the tips of his ears. He couldn’t believe how adorable you were.

Later that night, when he got back to his dorm, he sent you a text.

I had a lot of fun tonight. Let’s do it again sometime

—————————

“Again” did happen (again and again). Jisung and you made studying/homework sessions at the bakery or library an occasional ordeal (naturally, dependent on your schedules), even little dates to the sushi restaurant for after-studying dinner became an occasional event. As you spent more time with him, you got to learn more about him and vice versa. He was a kind, gentle and humorous individual. He even got along well with your best friend, Sophia, which you were glad about. You even made him cookies one day, as a thank you gift for always buying you food. He was in disbelief at your baking abilities, as the cookies were soft and chewy, just how he likes it (when Jisung brought them back to his dorms, Jeno even tried to steal one, earning a slap on the shoulder from the other).

And little did you know, he felt the same way. Jeno would talk about you and ask questions about you to Jisung endlessly (to the point where Jisung would be a little bit annoyed). Jisung found you to be a truly beautiful, benevolent and passionate person. Whenever you talked about something you like, you never notice the smile on his lips and the shine in his eyes when he listens to you talk. You never notice the shy glances, the subtle admiration of your features, and the wistful longing stares at your lips. You weren’t aware but he did wonder how soft your lips were or how soft you would feel in his arms.

“I don’t believe in love at first sight,” He was telling Jeno one day after work, “But… she exceeded any expectations I had. She’s so pretty inside and out.”

“Yuck,” Jeno responded jokingly, to which Jisung rolled his eyes at.

“You asked.”

—————————

Midterms came and passed. You and Jisung studied for the sociology midterm together on the days before the big exam, quizzing each other on the terms and concepts, reviewing each lecture and PowerPoint, crying and screaming at the stress of exam-taking. (“Stressing over exams is such a nice bonding experience” Sophia told you).

“I’m in enormous debt to you and your study guide. It really saved my grade,” Jisung said to you when he saw you the following day of the exam. "Jeno's too." He chuckled.

You smiled, shaking your head. “It’s no problem, really. Glad it helped and you got a good grade.”

“Enough to keep my B+ I hope…” He took a pause. “Actually, I was wondering… do you wanna come over to my dorm this weekend and watch a movie? I can order us pizza or something… and we can just… watch whatever movie you want? A thank you for helping me study.”

So you did. Sitting on his bed with a blanket over your lap and a slice of pizza in your hands, you waited for Jisung to pull the movie up on his laptop.

“I can’t believe you haven’t seen all of the Shrek movies…” He was saying to you.

You shrugged, your mouth full of pizza. “I mean, I’ve only seen the first one.”

“We’re doing a Shrek marathon now.”

Despite having seen the Shrek movies numerous times, Jisung still paid much attention to the plot. You thought it was cute. You couldn’t help but stare at him a little. You thought he looked really pretty, the lights in the room were out, the laptop casting a harsh glow on his features, his focus entirely on the screen before him. You wanted to reach out, maybe brush your hands across his cheek, maybe hold his hand, put your hand on his chest and pull him close to you…

The lights flickered on and you blinked, hard.

“Oh hey there you two!”

“Jeno, couldn’t you have at least warned us before turning the lights on?”

Jeno only laughed.

The moments you spent with Jisung continued just like that. Days went and passed, and before you both knew it, it was soon spring break. You were gracious for it of course, but a hint of silent disappointment sprouted when Jisung told you he would be visiting home for the week. You didn’t say anything, but you silently wished to spend more time with him, seeing him one to three times a week just wasn’t enough. You craved his presence at times. Even if it was just sitting together in a room, that was enough for you.

—————————

So, Jisung visited home for spring break. You missed him a lot and going to the bakery just wasn’t the same without him there. Sometimes you’d expect to see him there standing behind the counter, only to be disappointed when he’s not. It was only a week without him but it felt much, much longer.

Who knew one week could feel like one year?

One more day! Can’t wait to see you :)

You smiled at the text from him. Before you were able to text back, your phone started ringing.

“Hey what’s up?”

“Hey y/n." Jisung's voice replied through your phone's earpiece. "...Sorry for the sudden call. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Oh…” You were slightly taken aback by his straightforward words.

“Sorry. Was that weird to say?”

You shook your head, even though you knew he wouldn’t be able to see it. “No, not at all. I… I miss you. A lot.”

A sigh of relief on the other side. “I miss you more.”

You huffed a laugh. “This isn’t a competition.”

Jisung chuckled. “Well, what are you doing right now?”

“I was actually preparing to go to bed.”

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry, I forgot about the time difference.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just… glad I get to hear your voice.”

“Are you in bed right now?”

“… Yes…? …This better not be going where I think it’s going Park Jisung,” You replied in a jokingly stern tone.

“What? No!” Panic in his voice at the implications. “No, no, no…”

“I was kidding~”

“What I meant was, I want to play you a song… to help you go to sleep.”

“Play me a song?”

“Yeah. Hold on, let me grab my guitar.” A couple of thumping and ruffling sounds could be heard as you patiently waited for Jisung. “Okay, got it. Are you lying comfortably in bed?”

“Mmm… Give me a minute.” You reached over and turned the bedside lamp off, nestling yourself under your covers, placing your phone next to you, and turning your phone to speaker mode. “Okay, all comfortable.”

“Any song requests?” He strummed a cord, causing you to smile as the sound vibrated through the speakers on your phone.

“Hmm…” You gave it some thought. “Play me a song you recently started writing?”

“Okay. I don’t have the lyrics all written out yet but I have the basic melody.”

“That’s okay. Anything you play will be nice.”

Jisung began strumming the guitar, a soft melodious tune gently reverberated through your phone and into your darkened bedroom. The chords he played were careful and smooth, making you feel peaceful.

“This sounds so lovely…” You whispered, closing your eyes. Jisung didn’t respond, he continued strumming the chords on his guitar, in hopes of helping you fall to sleep. After a while, the gentle lull of slumber washed over you gradually as you focused on listening to Jisung’s melodic guitar playing. Jisung continued playing until your soft breathing could be heard through the phone.

“Y/n?” There was no response, as you had fallen into deep sleep. “Good night y/n… I love you.” He could only hear your soft snores in response.

When you awoke the next morning, your phone was dead. You groggily plugged your phone into the charging port and turned it back on.

A text from Jisung.

Sleep tight y/n. I hope you enjoyed the song I played. I’ll assume you did since you fell asleep so quickly hehe~ I tried staying on the phone with you but the call suddenly ended 5 hours in.

You titled your head to the side as you read this text. Did he really stay on the phone with you for five hours after you fell asleep? You smiled. You really couldn’t believe him.

—————————

Jisung had finally returned from his trip and you were incredibly eager to see him again. But every time you texted him asking if he wanted to study together or whether he was at work that day, he never replied. Still, you continued going to the bakery for lunch and even then, you hadn't seen him working at the bakery since his return.

On such a day, however, you did notice Jeno working.

“Hi Jeno,” You greeted him as you walked up to the register with your items.

“It’s y/n! Hi!” He greeted you with a bright smile. “How ya doing?”

“… I was wondering where Jisung is? I haven’t seen him in a while... Did he quit?”

“Jisung? Oh no, he didn’t quit. He’s just working less this week because of jet lag, so he’s been working in the evening shifts.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Is something wrong?”

You shook your head. “No… It’s just that he hasn’t answered any of my texts so I was kinda worried…”

“Ohh, I see… Well, it’s probably because he—“ Jeno suddenly cut off mid-sentence, eyes wide as if he said something wrong, and pursed his lips together in a tight line. He then let out a nervous chuckle. “It’s nothing. Nevermind what I just said. Don’t worry about Jisung, he’ll answer you soon.”

“… If you say so…”

“Okay is this all for you? Your total is $11.59.”

—————————

Jeno was right. Jisung texted you a couple of days later.

Hey! Sorry I haven’t responded to your texts. I’ve been busy with something. Can you meet me at the bakery tonight at closing?

You were so perplexed by his actions. Not speaking to you for a week after his return from his trip even though you missed him so much drove you near madness. Now this sudden cryptic text with a vague explanation and asking to meet at the bakery for no disclosed reason? You sighed. You really couldn’t understand it. But if going to the bakery meant answers, then that’s where you’ll meet him.

You approached the bakery’s store front almost exactly a minute before it closed. You peered into the windows. The bakery was all cleaned up yet there was no sight of Jisung. Strange.

You opened the door. The bells jingled behind you. As the door shut, you could hear the sound of music being played softly through the speakers. You looked around, brows furrowed in confusion. Still no sight of Jisung. On the table in the far corner near the windows--the one you always sit at--was a milk tea bun and a cup of brown sugar milk tea. You sat down at the table. The music continued playing softly. The sound was melodic, with gentle guitar strums and harmonious chords. Actually… It sounded quite familiar.

Then, the soft sound of a man singing. Your eyes widened slightly upon realizing that it was Jisung’s voice singing. The lyrics spoke of a person with a kind and charming smile with bright, vibrant eyes and a passionate soul. A person who is thoughtful and lovely, who is ethereal like the stars at night. A person that is easy to fall in love with. You listened carefully, completely captivated by Jisung’s singing voice. This was the first time you had ever heard Jisung sing and you wanted to relish in his melodic voice. But the song soon ended and a dull silence filled the bakery. Then, the door to the employee’s room opened, causing you to turn your head towards it.

“Jisung?”

He smiled, walking towards you. “Did the song sound familiar? It’s the song I played to you that night to help you go to sleep. It’s a song I’ve been working on for you and I finally finished it yesterday. I wanted to finish it as soon as possible, so that’s why I haven’t been answering your texts lately… I’m sorry.” He sat down next to you, giving you a genuinely apologetic smile. You were in disbelief. When you didn’t say anything, he continued. “I… This song is meant for you. To… confess my feelings to you. I know I ignored you for a whole week, so I hope this can make up for it…” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them, looking directly at you, taking your hand in his and giving it a squeeze. “Y/n… I like you… a lot… You had me in your hold that day we met here, at this bakery. I didn’t know I could like a person as much as I like you. And I love spending time with you, studying, doing homework, watching movies… and I want to keep being with you like this… So, will you be my girlfriend?”

You were in shock at his heartfelt confession. He was absolutely adorable and kind in every way you could imagine. “What if I say no?” You teased. Jisung visibly deflated and you couldn’t help but chuckle at his cute reaction. You quickly continued, “I’m joking Jisung. I accept your apology. The song is… wonderful. I can’t begin to describe how amazing it is…” You gave him a smile, squeezing his hand in return. “Thank you. Of course I’ll be yours.”

He took you into his arms and gave you a warm, tight, loving hug. He released you from his hold, though still gazing into your eyes. His eyes darted down to your lips, then back at you. He cleared his throat. “Um… May I… uh… kiss you?”

You smiled widely and nodded your head, a giddy feeling in your stomach. You didn’t wait for him to react before putting your hand on the back of his neck, gently pushing him towards you, and meeting his lips with yours. The kiss was soft and sweet. He tasted like mint candy (you wondered if he ate a mint in preparation for this).

Once you broke apart, Jisung beamed, a pink tint to his cheeks. He sighed happily. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

His smile was so adorable, you couldn’t resist to lean in again and kiss him on the corner of his lip. “Wait no longer. You can now have as many kisses as you want.”

His smile only grew wider. “It’s late. Let me walk you home?”

—————————

You walked into your favorite bakery, the bells jingled to signal your entrance. The scent of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, making you smile. Your eyes caught the last milk tea bun sitting alone in its clear case. Without a second thought, you went over to take it. Just as you reached for it, someone was also reaching for it.

“Oh, sorry!” You brushed hands with the other person. You turned to look at who it was. A smile spread across your face. “You take it this time.”

Jisung smiled. “No,” He took the milk tea bun and placed it into your hands. “It’s yours now.”

“Jisung re-“

“No take backs!” He quickly leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead before turning and walking away. Your cheeks flushed.

“H-Hey… There’s people around…” Your fingers touched the skin where he kissed you.

Jisung swiveled his head to look at you, giving a bright smile. “I’ll make it up to you with a movie at my place tonight?”

You sighed, smiling. “I can’t say no to that.”

#nct imagines #nct dream #park jisung #park jisung fanfic #park jisung x reader #kpop imagines #nct dream x reader #park jisung nct #nct scenarios #kpop scenarios #nct dream scenarios #mywriting #blueming kpop imagines

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itsallyscorner · 4 years ago

Text

Shapes In The Clouds

Request: can I request a Sebastian x reader (age gap) where he proposes?

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x reader

Warnings: nun

A/n: Reposting because tumblr wants to be a lil bitch and not put my posts under the tag🙄 Hope you like it lovely, I’m so sorry for the long wait!💛

(Source: Pinterest)

You were a simple girl. You didn’t need anything extravagant or too loud just to appreciate something. You found joy in the smallest of things even if it was a bad situation you found the brighter side of things. You didn’t like being the center of attention. Honestly it terrified you if all the attention were on you. The eyes of everyone on you watching your every move made you want to sink into the floor and hide away from it all. You were quiet but you weren’t shy, your personality was the epitome of sunshine, as Sebastian would say.

Weirdly enough you ended up being the girlfriend of an actor. The opposite of everything you avoided. He had a different lifestyle. Movie sets, red carpets, bright lights, and parties were what his life consisted of. While yours was made up of offices, magazines, cups of coffees, and sleepless nights of endless work. Thankfully, Seb was one of the private ones. Yes, he was active on social media but that didn’t mean he shared every second of his life on Instagram.

Soon the messages turned into dates, and the dates turned into overnight stays at each other’s apartments. Now a year and a half later you two are living together in a homey apartment in the hidden streets of Manhattan.

You heard the sheets rustle as the human furnace beside you shifted in the bed. The arm resting on your chest tightened its grip around you, pulling you closer to their body. A content sigh left the body beside you.

“Sebba.” You groggily mumble, sleep still evident in your voice. You interlaced your fingers with his, cuddling his arm.

“Buna dimineata iubirea mea.” He greeted you with his morning voice that you were oh so fond of. You lazily giggle and turn in his grip, snuggling into his chest. A low chuckle emitted from his chest as he breathed in your familiar scent mixed with your shampoo. The scent together made him feel like he was home. You are his home.

“Don’t go jogging today.” You tangle your limbs with his and made sure to hang onto him like a sloth.

“Give me a good reason not to.”

“I’ll cuddle the fuck out of you.” You finally open your eyes and rub the sleep out of them. You were greeted with Sebastian’s crooked smile and his steel blue eyes. His hand reaches to brush some hair away from your face, his hand settles itself on your cheek.

“Hmm, I don’t know.” He feigns a thoughtful look as if he were debating with his options. Jogging or cuddling? Although Sebastian had other plans besides jogging or cuddling.

“But you’re a huge softie when it comes to my cuddles.” You stare up at him with puppy eyes. Sebastian nuzzles his nose against yours before answering, “I am, but I have other plans for today.”

“Like what?” You ask sitting up, “Today’s not an anniversary or something…right?”

“No, it’s not don’t worry.” He assures you. But it will be, Sebastian thought to himself.

You move to sit on his lap. Naturally, Sebastian shifts and rests his hands around your waist, his palms press against your lower back as he gazes up at you.

“Well, what did you have in plan, babe?” You ask threading your fingers into his hair. Sebastian hums in content.

“How about we pick up some food from that cafe you’ve been wanting to try near Central Park and have a picnic?” He suggests with hopeful eyes. He really hoped you would agree to his plan.

“Ooo, I haven’t been on a picnic in a while now. Let’s do it, I’m down.” You instantly perk up at the mention of a picnic. You missed being outside and sitting on the grass eating while admiring the view.

The two of you sat in comfortable silence.

“I guess that means we should get up now, huh?” Sebastian scrunches his nose.

“One more minute.” He mutters pulling you down so your head is resting in the crook of his neck.

“Make it two.”

🕗 Time Skip

You and Sebastian walked hand in hand on the streets of NY. The weather was perfect. There was a nice autumn breeze and it wasn’t too cold nor too hot. Sebastian knew this was your favorite kind of weather. Only because you got to wear knitted sweaters, ankle boots, and one of his jackets that were quite big on you.

The two of you walked towards the park. A bag of pastries in one of your hands and a tray of iced coffees in Seb’s free hand. When you guys finally found a secluded spot to sit at, Sebastian took out a blanket from his backpack. You guys sat across each other on the blanket, the pastries and coffees in between you two.

You open the bag and pull out a pain au chocolat (basically a chocolate croissant) from the variety of pastries. Holding it up to Sebastian’s mouth you ask, “You want first bite?”

He answers by opening his mouth wide and taking a huge bite. He moans as he chewed.

“Holy shit, that’s good.” You decide to take a bite yourself. When the buttery flakes of the croissant mixed with the chocolate filling entered your mouth it was like pure Heaven.

“Oh, wow.” Sebastian took an iced coffee out from the tray and gave it shake. He takes a straw out of the bag and pokes it into the lid. He held the cup up to you and motioned for you to take a sip. You hum in delight as you take the coffee from his hands. The next few minutes consisted of the two of you eating breakfast, feeding each other food, or wiping crumbs off the other’s face.

The pastries were now long gone. The two of you laid back on the blanket. Your head was against his chest and his arm was wrapped around your shoulder. You listened to his steady heartbeat as you two pointed out shapes in the clouds. Though his heartbeat began to quicken as you pointed at a specific cloud.

“Hey, that one looks like a ring!” You laugh as you point at the cloud. Sebastian freezes at the mention of a ring. His eyes widen for a millisecond before he regains himself.

“Where do you see that?” You gently place your hand on his chin to navigate his attention towards the cloud.

“Look, there’s the band and then there’s the diamond!” You trace out the shapes with your finger. Sebastian feels his breath get deeper and his hands getting clammy.

This was a sign from the universe that you should do this NOW, he thought to himself.

He pats his jean pocket to see if the box that held forever was still there. He let out a sigh of relief and adjusted himself so he was sitting up. While doing so he sat you up so you were sitting across from him.

“Funny you mention a ring.” He chuckles as he lovingly gazed into your eyes. A smile was on your face but the questionable look on you had was obvious. Sebastian takes your hand in his and runs his thumb across the top of it. He brings your hand up to his soft lips, his scruff tickling your fingers as he presses a kiss on it.

“I love you.” He began eyes admiring the different aspects of your face. “I love you so damn much.”

You laugh as you pat his cheek, “I love you too, baby. What’s going on?”

Sebastian takes both your hands into his.

“You are, the greatest thing that has happened to me. Sure, I’ve been in big movies and have a successful career. But that can all go away one day. One thing that I know for sure is that you won’t. For the last two years you’ve been the only constant in my life. You’ve stuck with me through thick and thin. You’ve been so patient and understanding with me and my horrendous schedules. Even when people hated on us for our differences, you didn’t give up on us. You’re the most amazing, beautiful, and talented woman I’ve ever met. I admire you and everything about you. Every little thing you do, that little nose scrunch, the way you hang onto me like a koala, everything.” Sebastian pauses as a nervous chuckle emits from his chest. You look at him in awe, tears forming in your eyes.

“You deserve the absolute world. I don’t know how I got lucky to deserve someone like you. I know this is a really shitty way of doing it but I just couldn’t help myself. I can’t hold it in any longer. I want all of you, for the rest of my life, if you’ll have me.” Tears are full on streaming down your face as Seb briefly lets go of your hands to get the box out of his pocket. He wipes the tears from his eyes to see you clearly.

“Wait, stand up. I have to at least do this part properly.” He helps you up to your feet as he kneels before you on one knee. He opens the infamous blue box from Tiffany’s. A store you’ve been fond of after watching Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast At Tiffany’s. The box reveals a ring with a fairly large diamond that shone in the sunlight.

You wipe the tears from your face as you look down at him. Sebastian’s eyes shone in the light as they held your gaze. With one hand in his, he asked you, “(y/n) (m/n) (l/n), will you marry me?”

You immediately nod your head as you move to cradle his face in your hands.

“Yeah. Yes! Oh my god, yes, I’ll marry you!” You lean down as you bring his face closer to yours. Your lips meet in the middle. Time stopping when they touched, as he pulled you down for a passionate kiss, ignoring the taste of the salty tears that ran down your faces. You pull away for air, Sebastian quickly pecks your lips before you’re out of arms length.

He takes your left hand and slides the ring onto your ring finger. The ring fits you perfectly.

“I can’t believe you’re my fiancé oh my god!” You say in disbelief as you wrap your arms around Sebastian.

“Me either. I finally did it.” Sebastian says, mostly to himself. He’s been holding onto that ring for two months now, it’s about time he popped the question.

You lovingly stroke his cheek as your other arm is draped around his shoulder.

“Te iubesc mult.” You whisper against his lips, a smile making its way on your face. Sebastian’s smile grows even more when he hears you speak in his native language.

“Si eu te iubesc.” He replies as he smiles fondly at you.

“Also, are you crazy, Tiffany’s? Seb, that’s so expensive, I would’ve been fine with something else!” You scold him lightly smacking his chest. Sebastian chuckles as his arms squeeze you into his chest.

“I don’t care. You deserve the best.”

“As long as I’m with you, that’s all that matters.”

translations

Buna dimineata iubirea mea - Good morning my love

Te iubesc mult - I love you a lot

Si eu te iubesc - I love you too

#ally’s requests #marvel #mcu #avengers #Bucky barnes #winter soldier #james buchanan barnes #Sebastian Stan #sebastian stan oneshot #sebastian stan headcanons #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan fan fiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #marvel cast x reader

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impalas-r-important · 4 years ago

Text

Branch Out - Chapter 1

Summary: Y/N left everything she's ever known, and Dean just wants to be left alone. With both of them trying to heal from heartache, they might just end up finding what they need in the last place they'd ever look.

Word count: 6219

Pairing: Dean x reader (eventually, maybe?)

Warnings: I don't think there are any for this chapter, but if you think i should add one, feel free to let me know!

A/N: I started this series a long time ago and just barely had the motivation to start it up again. I really love this series, and have been enjoying writing it. Let me know if you want a tag!

My Masterlist

Branch Out Masterlist

Thank heavens for GPS, there’s no way you would have found this place without step-by-step directions. A narrow gravel driveway branched off from the worn mountain road and wound to a homely cabin. You stepped out of your old pickup truck and pulled out the key the realtor had given to you. Buying a house sight unseen wasn’t the smartest idea and you second guessed your impulse decision as you took in the dense woods that were so foreign to you. The seasoned wooden boards of the porch creaked under your feet while you made your way to the door and let yourself into your new home. Dust rested gently on every ledge and the frigid January air was lined with a twinge of must from sitting unoccupied for so long, but something felt so promising about the sturdy structure.

A modest kitchen and living room made up most of the house with a bedroom and bathroom on either side of a small hallway. A small, metal woodburning fireplace sat just next to the backdoor and you had a feeling you would end up putting that to good use if you ever figured out how to use it.

Your hand was subconsciously touching the bruise that was prominent on your forearm and when you realized, you pulled your sleeve down to cover it. The decision to leave your family and friends behind was a heart-wrenching one, but you knew you had to make a change if you wanted to heal completely. You needed to do something for yourself, and you wanted a fresh start. A small cabin in the freezing cold woods of Idaho was about as far from what you knew to be normal as you could have gotten, but a seed of hope was planted firmly in your chest.

When a job posting for the assistant city accountant had fallen in your lap a few weeks back, you applied without thinking twice. A few online interviews later, you had secured the job and things fell into place effortlessly, as if some external force was paving your path to this small town. You bought this quaint home with the help of a local realtor, packed your things, and left the only home you had ever known in Arizona, despite the protests of your family. Not knowing what your future held was scary, but something about this place felt right from the moment you pulled in.

You had brought only what you needed to in hopes of making a quick escape, meaning you had only a mattress, some clothes and a few personal belongings. After working for a few years, you had a built up a good savings account and figured it would be easier to buy furniture once you got here instead of trying to move big pieces by yourself. It didn’t take long to move your things inside, and you felt grateful that you called ahead to have the power and water turned on so you could shower once you had unpacked what you needed for your first day on the job tomorrow. Anxiety sat like a rock in your stomach, so you skipped dinner and went straight to bed, burying yourself under a mountain of blankets to shield you from the winter chill that had settled in your bones.

Your nerves woke you up well before your alarm went off, so you dragged your feet across the frozen floor and pulled your clothes on quickly before digging through your boxes for some granola bars for breakfast. You leaned against the kitchen counter and began to make a list of things you would need to buy since you were essentially starting from scratch. Double checking the email that you had received with instructions for your first day, you took a deep breath and headed out.

City hall was a historic, two-story red brick building that was shared with the fire department. It looked like something out of a storybook, but then again, this whole town did. You pushed the door open and looked around at the empty lobby, checking your watch to make sure you weren’t crazy early. Rustic chairs lined the walls by the door, and a few empty desks were placed behind the tall front counter.

“Hello?” You asked, turning your head left and right to look for any signs of life.

“Oh!” A muffled voice responded, and distant footsteps quickly scuttled your way from the back room. “You’re here!” A pretty, dark haired girl gave a few excited claps as she made her way to you. “You must be Y/N. I’m Sarah. Sarah Blake.” She eagerly pulled you into a hug which caught you by surprise and she chuckled a bit to herself before taking a step back. “Sorry, my boyfriend says that my enthusiasm scares new people away. I’ve just been so excited since I heard they hired you. I’ve been praying for someone my age to come work around here for a long time.”

“Don’t apologize, you’re the first person I’ve met in town so it’s nice to see a friendly face.” Her warm welcome calmed some of your nerves.

“That’s right, you just moved in yesterday, huh?” You tiled your head in question, wondering how she knew that. “It’s a really small town, everyone knows everything, especially when it comes to new people. You’ve been the talk of the town the past little bit.” She shrugged. “Well, I’m the marketing/PR girl here, and we all just kind of pitch in with working the front desk. Come on back, let me give you the grand tour.”

Sarah led you around the corner and stopped at the first office on your left. “This is Ellen Singer’s office. You’ll be working under her, she’s the lead accountant.” She looked at the clock on the wall. “Hmm, she should be here by now. I bet her car is giving her trouble.”

A friendly voice called out to Sarah from down the hall and she motioned for you to follow her as she stepped just inside the end office which was significantly bigger than the rest.

“Y/N, this is Garth Fitzgerald, he’s the mayor. Garth, this is Y/N.” Sarah introduced you and he stood to shake your hand.

“It’s great to meet you, Mayor Fitzgerald.”

“Please, call me Garth.” You smiled and nodded. “We’ve been excited about you around here. I think you’ll make a great addition to our community.” His phone ringing broke the conversation. “Excuse me, ladies. Oh, and welcome to Wallace, Y/N!”

“Next up is Arthur Ketch, he’s the city planner. Sometimes he can be a little abrupt, but deep down he’s a big softie. Don’t let him scare you.”

He was on the phone, so he simply waved to you two as you passed. Sarah’s attention was drawn back down the hall when two police officers walked in. “Jody, Donna!” She hollered to them.

“Heya, kiddo! Who you got with you?” The blonde officer sent a warm smile your way.

“You must be Y/N!” The other responded.

“Oh, that’s right! I heard you were coming to town. I’m Donna and this is Sheriff Jody Mills. It’s so great to meet you.” She pulled you in for your second hug of the day.

“Everyone here is seriously so nice. I don’t know why I didn’t move here years ago!” You joked.

“Well listen, if you need anything, you can always come to me, okay?” Jody put her hand on your shoulder. “We’re all so excited to have a new face around.”

“Thank you. You’re all making this transition so much easier than I thought it would be.”

Sarah waved to the officers as they left and pulled gently on your arm. “Come on, let’s chat while we wait for Ellen.” She took a seat at one of the desks in the front and you sat across from her.

“Thanks for showing me around, it’s nice to know that I have a friend at work already.” Sarah’s eyes lit up when you called her your friend.

“Are you kidding me? I’ve been dying for you to get here. I knew we’d get along.” She folded her arms and sat back in her chair proudly. “So, where did you move from?”

“Phoenix, Arizona.”

“And you moved to Idaho in the middle of January? Are you crazy? I would give anything to go lay out in the sun for an afternoon.”

“Yeah, I might be!” You laughed. “I guess I just needed a change, you know? It was just time to move onto the next chapter of my life.”

“I get that. I grew up here and couldn’t wait to leave for college, but as soon as I was gone, I missed this place.”

“I can see what you’re talking about. It has a good feeling to it here.”

“So, now to the juicy stuff.” Sarah leaned forward. “Are you dating anyone? Because there’s a whole pool of eligible bachelors I could set you up with here.”

“No, actually I just got out of something kind of messy, so I don’t think I’m really looking for anything at the moment.”

A sympathetic look was sent you way. “I’m sorry to hear that. But if you ever feel ready, you let me know, okay?”

“You will be the first. What about you? I heard you mention you have a boyfriend. Tell me all about him.”

A smile spread across Sarah’s face and she pulled out her phone to show you a picture. “This is Sam, we’ve been together since high school.”

She handed you her phone and you looked at the tall, handsome guy whose arms were wrapped around her. “He’s cute, nice work!” She beamed as you handed her phone back. The expression on her face was clearly one of adoration as she looked at the picture.

“We actually broke up before we went to college. He went to Stanford and I went to the University of Oregon and we figured it would be easier to break it off on good terms rather than fade away in a long-distance relationship. That lasted about two weeks and we’ve been together ever since.”

“Do you think you’ll marry him? You guys are so stinking cute together.” You weren’t sure if you had ever seen a better fitting couple.

“I overheard Sam talking to his older brother about buying a ring. I don’t think he knew that I was just in the other room, but I’ll let him try to surprise me.” Sarah giggled. Your conversation was interrupted by someone walking in the back door.

“Hey, Ellen.” Sarah greeted. “Your reinforcement has arrived.”

Ellen looked at you with relief in her eyes. “Oh, honey, you have no idea how happy I am to see you. Come on back here and we’ll get started.”

“Have fun!” Sarah left you to meet your new boss as she went up to help someone at the front desk.

“Y/N, you’ll have to forgive me for being so late. My stupid car has been giving me hell the past few weeks. You’d think with my husband owning the only mechanic’s shop in town, I’d have a reliable vehicle, but here we are.”

“No worries. It gave me a chance to meet some people around the building. I’m excited to get started though.” You sat in the chair across from her desk and she plopped down with a sigh as well.

“I’ve been begging Garth for two years for some help, so you are a light at the end of my tunnel. I’m hoping to retire in a few years and hand you the reigns, so let’s get to it, shall we?”

The next few hours were spent introducing you to all of the systems and procedures. After receiving a call from her daughter, Ellen decided to call it a day just after three in the afternoon and the two of you agreed to hit it hard tomorrow. You gathered your things and returned to the front area where Sarah was scrolling through her phone. She looked up when you entered the room.

“Hey! How are things going?”

“Ellen has to take off, so we’re going to call it a day and just work a little longer tomorrow.” You sat at the desk adjoining Sarah’s and set your things down.

“Take any desk. It’s just you and me out here. Charlie is the county IT girl and works out here sometimes, but she hops from building to building.”

“Well, I suppose this one is as good as any.” You unpacked a picture frame and a few supplies at the desk across from Sarah’s. “Hey, are there any places to buy furniture around here? I only moved with the bare essentials so I’m in desperate need of a few things.”

“So, what you’re saying is you need to go on a shopping spree? I’m in! I’ll drive.” Sarah grabbed her purse and coat and led you out the door.

She took you on a short tour of the staples around town before arriving at the only big box store nearby. You browsed up and down the aisles, pulling all the necessities off the shelf and tossing them in the cart. You’d have to order some of the bigger furniture pieces online since it was a small place, and they didn’t have anything like here.

Sarah had a basket and was creating a good-sized stockpile of her own. “Sam has been trying to put me on a budget for a while now, so I’ll have to hide this stuff before he sees.” A guilty smile pulled on the corners of her mouth.

“Just tell him you were shopping with an accountant and I approved all your purchases.”

“Hah! We’re going to be good friends.” She picked up a candle, smelled it, and placed it in her basket.

“Where does Sam work?” You asked as you looked through the bathroom towels.

“He’s the lawyer for Winchester Lumber, the sawmill in town. A lot of people work there actually, it’s kind of the main business that brings people in. Sam’s great grandpa started it and it’s stayed in the family. Sam’s older brother, Dean, runs the place right now, but I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to hand the throne over to their Dad when he gets back. He got cancer a few years ago and they moved to Kansas to be closer to medical treatment.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. How is he doing?”

“He’s doing really well, actually. He’s in remission and they’re hoping to move back soon.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent checking things off of your to-do list and grabbing dinner with Sarah. She dropped you off back at your truck and you thanked her for showing you around before you went your separate ways.

Back at home, it took you a few trips to unload your haul, but you were just happy to have a few more things to fill your empty home. Your first day had gone better than you could have imagined, and you were filled with confidence in your decision to uproot your life.

Sarah opened her front door and did her best to sneak her shopping bags past Sam and Dean who were sitting in the living room, sharing a pizza and some beers. She successfully stowed her treasures away in the hall closet and joined the boys.

“Hey hon!” She placed a kiss on Sam’s forehead before grabbing a slice of pizza and plopping down on the couch next to him.

“You’re in a good mood.” Sam noticed his girlfriend’s chipper energy.

“I made a new friend today.” She took a big bite and gave a smile.

“Don’t you already know everyone in town?” Dean’s voice sounded as pessimistic as usual.

“No, actually. There’s a new accountant at city hall, Y/N. She just moved in yesterday.”

“That’s great! You’ll have to invite her over sometime.” Sam placed his hand lovingly on Sarah’s knee. “Where’s she living?”

“She bought a cabin up in the mountains sight unseen, so we went shopping for some essentials. I think she might be kind of close to you, Dean.”

Dean frowned, trying to think of which cabin the new girl would have bought. He moved up there to be alone, so the thought of a neighbor was disheartening. “You mean that old shack just off of Placer Creek Road?”

“Yeah, I think that’s the one.”

“She’s got a lot of repair work to do on that place.” Dean shook his head, glad that it wasn’t him that put any kind of investment into what he was sure was a money pit.

You awoke early the next morning to find that it had snowed overnight. Growing up in Arizona, you had never really experienced snow like this before. Every breath you took felt like your lungs were filling with ice and you couldn’t help but cough, willing the warm weather to find you soon. Winter was one thing you didn’t think about when moving to a mountain town, so you wanted to give yourself plenty of time for the commute. After packing a few things for lunch, you stepped outside to find your truck buried in a mountain of frozen powder.

“Ugh!” You groaned and threw your head back, looking around for a stick to help you dig out your vehicle. You made a mental note to buy a scraper after work. Ten minutes and one soaked pair of shoes later, you had finally freed your car. You twisted the key, forcing the engine to sluggishly turned over, then blasted the heat on high while you ran inside to change into dry shoes and socks before taking off down the road.

The feeling of your back wheels slipping around on the frozen dirt road was so foreign to you, and you weren’t a fan. About two miles away from the main road, your engine began to sputter as it struggled to trudge ahead through the wet snow.

“Please don’t do this to me…” You steered towards the side of the road as much as you could while the truck wound down to a full stop. An annoyed sigh escaped from your lips. “Great.” You turned the car off and then back on, willing it to start up again, but the clicks of defeat that sounded from under the hood dashed your hopes.

You hadn’t had the time to buy a heavy winter coat yet, so you zipped up the light jacket that you had on and began walking. You didn’t want to make a bad impression on your second day of work by calling in sick, so you picked up your head and kept going. One of the points of starting your new journey was to be more self-reliant, and this definitely fell under that category. Ten minutes had passed, and your toes were so cold that you were sure they would snap off and rattle around in your shoes at any point now. The sound of an engine coming down the hill made you look over your shoulder to see a snowmobile barreling around the corner and straight towards you. You quickly side-stepped out of the way, but not enough to avoid the kickback of snow that was thrown into your face as the machine drove past.

“Seriously?!” You yelled as you shook the snow from your clothes. The snowmobile stopped and slowly backed up to meet you.

“What are you doing up here?” The man abruptly asked as he pulled off his helmet. If you weren’t so annoyed and cold, you might have thought he was attractive.

“Being buried alive by some maniac speeding down the mountain.” You retorted and brushed the snow from your hair with your fingers.

“I’m going to assume that’s your truck back there?”

“Lucky guess.” The wind-chill blew through your jacket and you crossed your arms. “I don’t think it likes the cold, and I don’t exactly blame it.”

His eyes assessed you. “Crappy shoes, thin jacket, and no gloves. I’m going to assume that makes you the clueless new girl.”

“What an ass...” You thought to yourself.

“I guess it does, Kowalski.”

“Kowalski? Really?”

You were surprised he got your reference to Clint Eastwood’s infamously crotchety main character.

“If you’ll excuse me, I gotta get to work.” You didn’t find much point in continuing on this conversation with such a smug jerk, so you continued on your path down the road and heard the snowmobile make a sharp u turn to climb back up the trail.

Ten more minutes later, you could see the main road just ahead of you had been plowed, and you were thankful that you wouldn’t have to be hiking through any more ankle-deep build-up. You could hear a vehicle slowly coming up behind you and you made sure to move as far over as you could to avoid being blasted with snow again. The truck slowed to a stop next to you and you looked over to see the same man from earlier rolling the passenger side window down.

“Get in, I’ll give you a ride.” His voice still sported an undertone of condescension and he rolled his eyes when a doubtful frown from you was sent towards him. “Just get in.”

Hundreds of episodes of Dateline should have taught you to not get in a car with some stranger, but you figured that even if he didn’t murder you, you’d end up dying of frostbite and decided to you’d rather die inside a warm truck. You opened the door and took off your damp jacket before getting inside.

The man’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel tight. You placed your hand by the heater on the dashboard in hopes of defrosting your fingers enough to feel them again.

“You shouldn’t drive a pickup in the winter.” His gaze stayed firmly glued on the road ahead.

“Uhm…” You dramatically looked around, “aren’t we in a pickup right now?”

“Yeah, a pickup with chains on the tires and a weighed down bed.”

“Well, I’m still pretty new at this whole snow thing…”

The man glanced at you from the corner of his eyes. “I couldn’t tell. You’re Y/N, aren’t you?”

“Should I be concerned that you know my name?” You raised an eyebrow.

“No, no,” he must have realized how creepy that came off, “I know Sarah. She’s dating my younger brother and she was telling us about you last night.”

“Oh, it all makes sense now. You’re the grumpy older brother. Dean, right?”

Another eyeroll made an appearance, but you could tell he wasn’t going to make any further comments.

“Well, I appreciate the ride. I’m sorry if I screwed up your morning routine.”

“It’s no big deal.”

It wasn’t hard to tell that Dean wasn’t a man of many words, and you were okay with that. You weren’t really one for small talk either. Dean’s eyes moved to your arm that was extended towards the vent blowing heat.

“That’s a gnarly bruise. How’d you manage that?”

You pulled your arm back quickly, hoping that your sudden move didn’t come across as suspicious. “Oh, you know, just being a clutz. They never tell you that moving by yourself is a dangerous game.” You chuckled casually while watching his eyebrows knit together ever so slightly as he glanced at the bruise one more time. No further remarks were made so you assumed he bought your story.

Dean pulled up in front of City Hall and stopped as close to the door as he could get. Before you could reach for the door handle, Dean instructed, “give me your keys.”

“What?” Your face twisted in confusion.

Yet another fed-up sigh escaped from his chest. “Bobby Singer down at the auto shop owes me a favor. I’ll get him to tow your truck down and take a look at it.”

“Oh.” you weren’t expecting such a generous gesture from such a grumpy guy. “I don’t want to put you out any more than I already have.”

“Hand it over.” The tone in his voice remained gruff, but the bluntness was slightly faded at this point. You reached into your pocket and pulled out your key ring, sliding the truck key off and placing it into Dean’s outstretched hand.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Dean’s eyes avoided yours and you took the hint that it was time to leave.

The wind blew flurries in the air, forcing you to quickly sprint to the door, meaning that you missed Dean watching you with curiosity. Sarah, who was observing from the front desk, didn’t miss his wondering stare. He quickly averted his eyes when he saw her spying and peeled away.

“Kowalski.” He muttered to himself with a half-entertained chuckle once he was a few blocks away. Dean would have never admitted it, but he quite enjoyed the witty nickname.

Sarah couldn’t stop the mischievous smirk that crept up on her face and leaned on the counter to greet you the second you stepped through the door.

“You look like you’ve had quite the morning.” She greeted.

“Yeah, something like that.” You hung your jacket up on the coat rack in the corner to dry and stomped the packed snow from the tread of your shoes.

“Am I going blind or did Dean Winchester give you a ride to work?” She quickly cornered you.

“Yeah. My truck broke down and then he tried to bury me in snow, so he gave me a ride.” Goosebumps covered your arms as you made your way to your desk. You had never been more grateful for heat.

Sarah crossed her arms and sat on your desk as you took your seat. “You know, people call him the Grinch because he moved way up the mountain to be all broody and alone.”

“I can’t say I don’t understand it. It’s kinda fitting.” You logged into your computer, but Sarah continued to press for details.

“Well did he say anything on the ride over or did he just glare at the road?”

“A little bit of both I guess. He told me I shouldn’t be driving a truck in the winter, but that’s about it.”

Ellen arrived and cut the chatter short. “Hey girls. You ready to get started, Y/N?”

“You bet.” You stood from your desk, but not before Sarah pointed an accusing finger at you.

“This conversation is not over!” She warned.

After lunch, Ellen had given you some expense reports to review and organize. It was tedious, but you didn’t mind the slow afternoon after a crazy morning. Sarah was helping you to punch holes in the stacks of papers and organize them into departments while the two of you chatted away. The snow had kept most people inside, so it was a slow day at the front desk. Just before it was time to call it a day, the bell of the front door dinged, and Sarah walked over to see who it was.

“Hey, Dean. You going over to Benny’s tonight?” She greeted.

“Not sure yet.”

Dean’s hands were shoved into his front pockets as he stared Sarah down, not wanting to give her any more room to speculate as to why he was here.

“Hi.” You smiled softly, trying your hardest ignore Sarah’s curious stare as you joined in the conversation.

He pulled a key from his pocket and set it down on the counter. “She’s all fixed up. Battery terminals were corroded so I cleaned them up a bit, but you’re going to need a new battery soon. That one doesn’t have much juice left in it.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize that you worked at the auto shop.” You remembered Sarah saying something about Dean working at the sawmill.

“No, I used to. But I figured it would be an easy fix, so I took a look myself. I stuck some old grates in the bed for some weight. Take it into Bobby’s tomorrow after work and he’ll take care of the rest. He knows you’re coming.”

“Wow, I really owe you one. Thank you.” You slid the key from off the counter and fiddled with the metal ring.

“Don’t read into it.” Dean tapped his fist on the counter twice before swiftly leaving.

Sarah was biting her lip, and you slowly turned your head towards her. “Spit it out.” You gave permission for her onslaught of questions.

“You didn’t tell me he was going to fix your car for you!”

“He said he would have Bobby tow it back to the shop and take a look at it. I didn’t know he was going to fix it himself.”

“I’ve known Dean for a long time, he’s pretty much my older brother at this point, so I can see past all the grumpiness. He’s a really good guy, he’s just been dealt a hard hand the past few years that made him swear off people.”

That was a feeling you could easily relate to. “He really went out of his way to bail me out today, so he can’t be all that bad.”

“He’s all bark and no bite. Granted, it’s a big bark.” Sarah checked her watch. “Closing time! Hey, would you want to come back to my place after we clock out? Sam’s playing poker at a buddy’s house tonight so I figured maybe we could grab some take out and find some furniture for you online?”

“Yeah, that’d be great actually! It definitely beats the PB and J I would be making otherwise.”

After work, you ran home to change and Sarah stopped for some Chinese food, then the two of you met at her apartment.

Some crappy TV movie played in the background while mostly empty take-out containers littered the kitchen counter. You were sitting on the floor with your laptop on the coffee table, browsing through loveseats while Sarah lay on the couch behind you giving her input.

The door gently swung open and the man you assumed to be Sam walked through. Sarah stood up and stretched before giving her boyfriend a hug.

“How was the poker game?”

Sam tossed his keys on the counter and pulled off his jacket. “About the same as always. Benny won most of the games, Cas still has no clue what he’s doing, and I lost a little too much pride.”

“You’ll get them one of these days. Come on,” she tugged on his shirt sleeve, “I want you to meet Y/N.”

You stood when Sam and Sarah walked into the room. “Y/N, this is Sam.”

“Ah, the infamous Y/N, I’ve heard lots about you the past day or so. It’s nice to put a face with the name.” He shook your hand. “How are you settling in?”

“Honestly, the move has been a lot easier than I thought it would be. Everyone here has been super welcoming and helpful.”

“Including Dean.” Sarah gave a knowing look to her boyfriend, who was clearly confused.

“My brother, Dean?”

“The one and only. He gave Y/N a ride to work and fixed her truck up for her.”

Sam’s face read skeptical. “My brother, Dean?” He repeated.

“I found myself knee deep in snow and car problems this morning. I’m sure he helped me out of pity more than anything.” You tried to explain, not wanting to make a big deal of the situation.

Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “Wow. I guess that’s why he was late to work today. Well, I hope he didn’t scare you off too much.”

You shook your head with a smile. “Not at all, he really helped me out. But I have to admit, I feel bad. He would barely acknowledge my thank yous. I don’t want to come across as ungrateful.”

“Yeah, that sounds like him. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure he heard you loud and clear, he’s just hasn’t been properly socialized yet.”

Sam finished off the rest of the Chinese and got to know you a little better while Sarah sat next to you on the floor, scrolling through furniture.

“Where’d you go to school, Y/N?” Sam stacked the empty red food containers together and set them aside as he pulled his feet up on the couch.

“University of Arizona. I didn’t originally plan on staying so close to home, but a full ride soccer scholarship is hard to turn down.”

“No way! That’s awesome.” Sam’s face lit up with an idea. “Oh! Every summer we do this obstacle course race thing here in town as part of the summer festival. Maybe you can be on our team this year?”

“That sounds super fun! Count me in.”

“Yes!”’ Sam made a fist in the air. “We’ve used to win every year, but we’ve come in second the past three times, so maybe you’ll be our secret weapon.”

Sarah joined the conversation once she’d had her fill of online shopping. “I was thinking, Y/N, I don’t know if you’re much of a baker, but if you wanted to say thank you to Dean, he’s a sucker for a good pie. I know he wouldn’t just brush that off.”

“It’s true. He’s a pie whore.” Sam nodded.

“Sam!” Sarah scolded.

“Noted,” you said through your laughs.

The clock in the corner of your laptop screen caught your eye and you realized how late it was getting. “I should probably start heading home before I hate myself tomorrow at work.”

“At least it’s not supposed to snow tonight.” Sarah teased.

“Wow, it’s going to be like that, huh?! It’s a learning curve, okay?” You stuck your tongue out as you gathered your things.

Sam stopped you after Sarah had said goodbye. “Hey, Y/N, I know Dean doesn’t make the greatest first impression, but do me a favor and don’t write him off just yet. He’s had a rough go the past little while and could always use another friend in his corner.”

“I won’t. I’m sure there’s a great guy buried under all that angst.” You gave a reassuring smile and Sam gave you a hug before you left.

The next day was Friday and between training and helping out with the front desk, the workday flew by. You needed to take your truck in to get the battery switched and Sarah had agreed to give you rides while you were without transportation. After work, you dropped off your truck at Bobby’s, and Sarah took you home. You were glad for a little time to yourself so you could clean up the house before the first delivery of furniture tomorrow morning.

On your lunch break earlier that day, you had gotten all the ingredients to make blueberry pie bars as a thank you for Dean. Time was in short supply, so you hoped these would be a suitable place holder in lieu of a regular pie. You quickly threw them together and loaded up a plate once they were cool enough. Baking had always been a stress reliever for you, and the way it filled your small cabin with warmth and sweet smells felt so cozy and charming.

Dean’s place was only a ten-minute walk from yours, so you bundled up and began your hike. You had finally gotten yourself a suitable coat and boots and couldn’t believe the difference they made as you crunched through the snow that was matted on the gravel road. His cabin was much newer than yours, and considerably nicer. A long staircase on the right side of the house led up to a wide porch. Smoke spilling from the chimney and lights beaming through the windows told you he was probably home, so you knocked on the door.

Clattering of locks being undone broke through the silence a few moments later and an expressionless Dean opened the door.

“Hi,” you began, “I just wanted to say thank you for helping me out so much the other day.” Dean stood silent and stone-faced, so you awkwardly continued. “I, uh, heard you were a big fan of pie, but I didn’t have enough time to make one from scratch, so I hope these will do.” You extended the plate of goodies and he looked at them doubtfully.

“Look,” a gravelly voice ended his vow of silence, “I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but I’m not looking for any new friends or whatever this is.” He began to shut his door when you interjected.

“Listen, this is nothing more than a simple thank you for bailing me out when I really needed it. I’m not going to force you to eat them, but I’m also not going to take them home with me. Maybe just wait until I’m gone before you throw them away though.” You set the plate on a neatly stacked pile of firewood off to the side of the door. “Don’t read into it.” You echoed his parting words from yesterday and took your leave. A sneaky glance over your shoulder as you walked away revealed that Dean had picked up the plate and was looking at it with a half-impressed nod. You assumed that was as much of a reaction as you’d get from him and marked the trip to be successful.

Chapter 2

#dean winchester #dean x reader #dean winchester x reader #dean x y/n #dean x you #dean winchester fic #dean fic #dean fanfiction #dean winchester fanfiction #supernatural #spn fanfiction #spn fic #supernatural fanfic series

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thetravelerwrites · 4 years ago

Text

Dr. Maël Halvorg (Fae)

Rating: Teen Relationship: Male Part-Fae/Female Part Fae Additional Tags: Exophilia, Monster Boyfriend, Fae, Naga, Reader Insert, Anthropology, Genetics Content Warnings: Children, Pregnancy, Incubation, Infertility Words: 4723

A commission by @ivymemnoch! With Amai and Yenuno's children getting older, they need a teacher, and Amai calls a friend to help out. Please reblog and leave feedback!

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“Amai, it’s great to hear from you!” You said, sitting back and sipping a coffee. You were typing up reports at your desk when she called. “God, it’s been forever since we last spoke. How are Yenuno and the children?”

You were surprised to get a call from your old friend while you were working overseas. You and Amai had gone to college together, and while she was getting a law degree in civil rights, you were studying anthropology. You were both in fields specializing in non-humans, which is why you were studying together.

There was a college that offered specific studies in exology, or the study of non-human sentient life, Exanian University. It provided classes in medicine, law, sociology, politics, cultural exo-anthropology, and many other subjects that focused solely on non-humans.

It was established in the early 1890’s and originally only taught humans about the nine Established races. The Established were allowed to attend school in the 50’s, and during the Neogon rights movement in the 80’s, the campus and curriculum was expanded to included education on the newer races that had begun to emerge as well as open its doors to non-humans. In addition, they began to petition and encourage other colleges to offer exological studies. Many alumni of E.U. were now teaching exological studies at other colleges.

You were now a research professor for E.U., studying newly emerged races and reaching out to those shy about integrating. When you first started your career, Amai and the firm where she worked would often help draw up protection papers for the new races until they were formally recognized as a Neogon race and therefore protected under the Neogon act, which granted them the same rights as humans and the Established. Though, as time went on, new races were much rarer, and you hadn’t needed their services. The surprise call was the first time you’d spoken in months, and you hadn’t seen her face-to-face in eight years.

“They’re well, thank you!” She said. “Whereabouts are you these days?”

“Portugal,” You replied. “We’ve had reports that the Encante people may actually exist, and we’ve been attempting to locate and make contact with them. Unfortunately, because they’re underwater creatures, they’re ability to shapeshift, and their reputation as seducers in the mythology of the region, it hasn’t been an easy task. Although, several people in the local villages claim to have Encantado ancestry, so we’re running blood tests to determine the legitimacy of that claim. If they’re blood comes back with unidentified DNA, we can start the protected race process. I assume that’s why you’re calling? You must have heard the news from Song. I sent him an email about drawing up papers a few days ago.”

“He did tell me, yes, and that’s wonderful news,” She replied. “But that’s actually not why I’m calling.”

“Oh?” You’re head rocked back, surprised. “To what do I owe the pleasure, then?”

“Well,” She sighed heavily. “The older children are at the developmental stage enough now where they should begin school, and the younger ones could use some help with supplemental skills. But both Yenuno and Dr. Halvorg don’t think putting them in a normal school a good idea, so I’ve been outvoted. At the very least, they need a tutor. I’ve done what I can on my own, but I’m not a very good teacher. At least, not for fifteen children. Soon to be eighteen, actually.”

“You’re carrying a new clutch?” You said, excited. “That’s wonderful! Yenuno must be very happy.”

“He is, and so am I,” She said, sounding please but tired. “Although we think this might be the last one. My body isn’t recovering as quickly as it used to and Yenuno worries about my health.”

“Understandable. So why did you call me?”

“Well, Yenuno doesn’t know anything about the educational system, having grown up in the wild, and Dr. Halvorg wants to hire some stuffy colleague of his who will bore the kids into a drooling stupor. Halvorg won’t accept anything less than the best, which I mean… I guess it’s nice that he wants the kids to have nothing but the utmost quality, I just wish he wasn’t so damn rigid. He needs to get laid, honestly,” She huffed, and you stifled a laugh. “Do you have someone you could recommend?”

“To get him laid?”

She snorted. “No! You know what I mean. Do you think any of your colleagues at the university would be interested in educating the children of a rare, endangered race? That’s got to have appeal to you academic types, right?”

“Hmm,” You hummed, sitting back in your chair and contemplating. “I’m not sure. You know, it occurs to me that I’ve never even met your children. Or your husband, for that matter.” You sat up and looked at your calendar. “You know what? I’m due for a vacation. Why don’t I come back state-side and meet all of your little ones? I can get a better idea of who would be a good fit for them. I know several people in early education who could be great for tutoring a large group of children at different development levels.”

“Ah, you’re a lifesaver, thank you so much,” Amai said. “I’ll owe you one big time.”

“Just find me a man and we’ll call it even,” You said, laughing. “I’ll text you when my schedule frees up and we’ll make some plans.”

Two weeks later, you stepped off the plane of the airport in Coleville and rented a car. Willowridge was an out of the way town that had the E.U. campus where you and Amai had gone to school. It was a little bit of a drive from the city to get there, but Coleville had the closest airport.

You arrived at the research facility sometime around mid-afternoon, greeted out front by Amai and her youngest child, Yenu. Yenu was a 50/50 hybrid between naga and human, which was unheard of; all other hybrids were a 95/5 percent split since the males both created and fertilized the eggs. Females were simply incubators in the breeding process. Yenu was a curious mix between Amai and her father, from her stubby little legs to her long snake tail and the blue scales running down her neck and back. From an academic perspective, it’s no wonder this Dr. Halvorg was so keen on keeping her and her siblings in the facility for study.

On the other hand, she was adorable, and the entire world needed to know about it. You wondered how many specialists actually knew about her existence and why there wasn’t more published about her in scientific literature. You’re fairly sure there was only one article based on her, and it was authored by Dr. Halvorg. They were likely keeping her under strict protections until she was older, to spare her the media circus.

“It’s so good to see you!” You said as you scooped her into a hug. Her belly wasn’t big yet, but you could feel it’s hardness against your own belly. Yenu squealed happily in her arms as you squished the two of them.

“You, too!” She said, kissing your cheek. “How was the drive?”

“Scenic, as always,” You said, following her as she went inside. “I got the email from Dr. Halvorg last night about accommodations. You’re right: he’s a little abrupt, but in all honestly I’ve yet to meet a geneticist that isn’t.”

“Believe it or not, he’s way less uptight than he used to be. The children really help lighten him up.”

“He likes kids?” You said, your opinion of him rising slightly.

“Oh, very much,” She said, then her voice lowered to a sad whisper. “He can’t have any children, apparently. His kind are bad breeders, he says.”

“His kind?”

“He’s part fae,” She replied.

“Oh,” You said, frowning. “That’s odd.”

“What is?”

“Well, I’m part fae, too, and I have three brothers. And I know of several subraces of fae that are prolific breeders, several of which I helped integrate myself. Exogenetics is still an evolving science. Perhaps he has been so focused on his current work that he hasn’t checked recent literature in the field. He’s been working in conservation for several decades, didn’t you say? I’ll make some calls and see what I can find.”

“I forgot you were part fae,” She said thoughtfully. “What subrace are you, again?”

“Russian Bereginya,” You replied. “What is he?”

“I’ve never asked,” She said. “He very rarely talks about himself at all. Honestly, it seems like a sore subject with him, so I’ve never brought it up. Even Yenuno seems hesitant to ask, and he gets along better with Dr. Halvorg than I do. The only reason I know his first name is because I’ve seen it on official reports. Only the children are allowed to say it, even if it’s to call him ‘Uncle Maël’.”

“A hard nut to crack, huh?” You asked as she led you into the public lobby and fished out a personnel I.D. badge.

“You could say that,” She said. “He and I don’t always see eye to eye, at least.” She swiped her card in a card slot and pressed her thumb on the printpad. “I’ve got a temporary I.D. waiting for you in the back. It’ll be good for the next two weeks. Let me know if you decide to stay longer, and I’ll have the expiration extended.”

“Sure, thanks,” You said.

“You’re about to meet the man himself,” She said as she walked though an automatic sliding door. “Plus my man, and my children. You remember their names?”

You nodded. “It’ll take me a while to match names to faces, though. You always were an overachiever.”

She laughed.

The two of you walked into what looked like the receiving room of a warehouse, except it was empty. There was a large, rolling aluminum wall that was raised and led to a forested area outside. There was an enclosed greenhouse type thing that had several nests built, as well as a cottage at the far end.

Each little nest had a small body with blue scales and warm almond skin lying in it, curled up into a coil, eyes closed and breathing softly. The cottage at the far end also had a movable wall, which was up, and a large, blue naga with long, straight, black hair and pale skin was sitting there, typing on a laptop that was perched on a standing desk.

“Yenuno is a bit socially shy, so he connects with others through the internet,” Amai whispered. “It’s about as much social interaction with the outside world as he can tolerate sometimes.”

“It must be naptime,” You whispered back, nodding toward the kids.

She laughed softly. “The older ones only need to eat once a day now, depending on the size of their prey, and they get tired after hunting and feeding, so we schedule it for noon. They should be up soon, though.”

She waved her hand to get Yenuno’s attention. He looked up and smiled, closing the laptop. He slithered down the ramp, over to Amai to plant a kiss on her lips, and then took Yenu in his arms, tossing her up once to make her giggle before squishing her in a big hug and blowing a raspberry into her cheek. Amai shushed him.

“Let’s go to the lounge to talk,” Amai said quietly. “Yenuno, this is my friend I told you about, the professor from E.U.”

“It’s nice to meet you finally,” Yenuno said as the three--no, four--of you went to a sitting area nearby. Half of the room had chairs and a couch, while the other side had cushions with a table in between. “Amai has told me many stories about you.”

“Most of them are true,” You said, sitting. “But I won’t say which.”

He laughed and set Yenu on the floor in front of him, watching her carefully as she scooted her way across the carpet. “Dr. Halvorg will be around soon. He usually talks to the children after their naps about their hunting experiences.”

“Jeez, I thought I was a workaholic,” You said. “Does he ever relax?”

“Not that I’ve ever seen,” Amai said, handing you a cup of coffee from the bar behind the couch. “If he’s awake, he’s in research mode. He even works through meals.”

“Well, I’ll hope he’ll make some time so I can discuss the children’s developments with him.”

“Oh, if it’s for the kids, he’ll make time,” Yenuno replied. “He’s practically adopted them.”

“I swear, if he thought he could get away with it, he’d forge our signatures on adoption papers,” Amai said sardonically.

“Speak of the devil,” Yenuno said, jerking his head at the open loading space near the greenhouse. A man stood there, surveying the sleeping children for a moment before heading over to the lounge area. He was thin and tall with long, white-blonde hair in a sleek braid down his back. He was pale complected and had a sharp, angular face with bushy eyebrows and vivid, amber colored eyes. His ears had a definitive point to them.

Yep, definitely Celtic fae heritage; you could spot it a mile away. It’s true that the Celtic fae populace had dwindled over the years, though you hadn’t really considered why. You chalked it up to interbreeding with other races or being edged out of their territory. Historically, since fae were immortal, or at least very long lived, they often didn’t feel the biological incentive that mortal creatures felt to procreate. Could their long-held disinterest in breeding have eventually rendered them infertile? That was a startling thought.

“Is this the professor I’ve heard so much about?” Dr. Halvorg asked as he approached. Yenu toddled her way over to him on her short little legs and he picked her up, popping her onto his hip like a pro.

“Yes,” Amai said and introduced you. Dr. Halvorg used his free hand to shake yours.

“Lovely to meet you,” He said. “I look forward to working with you. You have an impressive reputation. I’ve actually been following your progress for quite a while.”

“Really?” You asked, surprised.

“Oh, yes,” He replied, shifting a squealing Yenu to the opposite hip. “You’re the foremost anthropologist in the field currently. You and your team are responsible for integrating over thirty percent of known Neogon races in the last ten years. As a geneticist, as a scientist, seeing the steady expansion and confirmation of known non-human races happen in my lifetime is pretty incredible to watch.”

“Wow,” You said, stunned. “I didn’t realize I had such a reputation.”

“Well, you’ve been in the field for a long time,” He said with a smile. “It’s not surprising that you might not be aware of the impact your work has had on the world.”

You may have blushed, but you’d never have admitted it. Thankfully you were spared from finding a way to follow up that statement by a range of sleepy groans issuing from the enclosure. One by one, the children began to stretch and yawn and make their way over to their parents, the first of which was one of the youngest.

“Mommy!” He said, his curly hair bouncing as he slithered over the lip of the carpeted lounge area. “Who’s that?” He pointed directly at me.

“Osan, it’s not polite to point!” She said sharply. “This is my friend who I told you was coming to meet all of you. Wait for your brothers and sisters to get over here before we start introductions, okay?”

Osan shot across the enclosure to rudely awaken the rest of his siblings. His excited hollering echoed throughout the empty enclosure.

“Ah, youth. I’d love to siphon some of that energy and drink it like an espresso,” Amai said.

“Girl, I hear that,” You replied, chuckling.

A small army of nearly identical naga children came following Osan, curious about you, chattering and craning their necks to get a better look at you.

“Kids, line up, line up,” Yenuno said, wading out into the sea of small clones of himself. “These are the five year olds: Keenai, Tani, Fuma, and Amaia. The four year olds: Nenish, Tahara, and Sadji. The three year olds: Jinsa, Ishni, Chidil, Itheti, and Dashu. The two year olds: Osan and Khuzho. And little Yenu is eight months old.”

“I don’t know how you tell them all apart,” You laughed.

“I have a mole!” Sadji said, pointing at it. “See!”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” You said, bending down to pat his head. He shook off your hand but laughed. You tickled his chubby cheek and he giggled, trying to fend you off.

“So what would you like to do?” Amai said. “I assume you already have a plan.”

“Yes,” You said. “I’d like to interview each child with a behavioral therapist and get a sense of their development levels myself, and then Dr. Halvorg and I will compare notes. I can make my determination then.”

“Sounds good,” Amai replied. “But it doesn’t have to be today, does it? You just got into town. I’d love to take you out for an early dinner, if you haven’t eaten. Yenuno hunted with the kids, so he likely won’t eat again until morning.”

“Sure, I’d love to,” You said. “Dr. Halvorg, do you have dinner plans?”

“Oh, no, I have a lot of work to do,” He said. “Besides, I’m sure the two of you will want to catch up. Please, enjoy yourselves. If you all would excuse me, I have a report to write.” He kissed Yenu on the cheek before handing her back to Amai and tousled a few of the kids’ hair as he passed. “Come along, children. Let’s do our interviews and I’ll take you all out to the playground.”

The kids cheered and followed him down the hall to the offices.

“You weren’t lying, Amai, he is really good with kids,” You said.

“Between him and the volunteers, we never have to hire a babysitter, which is nice,” Yenuno replied.

“Some days, it’s his only redeeming feature,” Amai said with a sour smile. “I still haven’t quite forgiven him for what happened when I was pregnant with Yenu. If I sit too long, thinking about it, I get mad all over again.”

“Think of the eggs, my love,” Yenuno said patiently, patting her belly. “He’s apologized many times since then. You can’t hold a grudge forever.”

“I absolutely can,” She said churlishly. “I understand his job is conserving and repopulating your species, but our marriage is an entirely separate thing and he can keep his nose out of it.”

“Well, let’s get a cheesecake and forget all about it,” You suggested.

“Sound good to me,” She said. She kissed Yenuno on the lips and waved goodbye to him. “There’s a new Italian place that’s got really good reviews.”

“No seafood! Or wine!” Yenuno called after her.

“This ain’t my first rodeo!” She called back.

The Italian place was as good as Amai said it was, and the two of you went to Tumble’s Cafe for dessert and coffee. Tumble had actually been a client of Amai’s when a hate crime had been committed against him. Now his wife and kids had two shops open in town and were doing very well for themselves.

Lucy, Tumble’s wife, was a few years your junior and a mother of three. Amai and Lucy had become close friends over the years and they were both in an interspecies mommy group. You knew of her, since you’d both grown up in the same small town, but you hadn’t actually met her before. Amai told you that the triplets often played with her children at the park, and you had to stop for a moment and contemplate the strange image of bunnies and snakes playing together.

“Is this the professor?” Lucy asked as you came in with Amai.

“Did you tell the whole town I was coming?” You asked Amai.

“I didn’t need to,” Amai replied with a laugh. “Word gets around.”

“What can I get you guys?” Lucy asked, a big smile on her freckled face.

“Coffee and cheesecake to go, please,” You said.

“Oh, no coffee for me,” Amai interjected. “Can I have a decaf iced cinnamon chai instead?”

“You got it. Whipped cream on top?”

“Yes, please. Where’s Tumble?”

“Putting the kids to bed upstairs,” Lucy said. “Such a good daddy. We’re talking about having more.”

“More than three?” You asked as she handed you a steaming cup of coffee. “I can’t imagine having more than two, at the most.”

“I guess it comes with having a non-human partner who’s used to the idea of having many children,” Lucy said, nodding at Amai, who tilted her head in agreement. “Not all non-humans have litters or clutches, but the ones who do always want more kids. At least the girls are in school now andTumble gave me a good five years before asking for another litter, unlike supermom over here. How’s that going on your end, by the way?”

“That’s why the professor is here,” Amai said, bumping you slightly with her shoulder. “She just got in today. The evaluations start tomorrow.”

“Well, good luck.” She handed you a box that contained two generous slices of cheesecake.

“Thanks, Lucy,” Amai said as the two of you left. “I’m sure I’ll be back in here soon. Tumble’s pastries are the best in town.”

“I’ll tell him you said that!” Lucy said with a laugh, waving.

The next morning, you began setting up for the individual assessments when Dr. Halvorg entered the room.

“Good morning,” You said. “Are you observing with the behavioral specialist?”

“I am the behavioral specialist,” He said. “I have a PhDs in child psychology and clinical psychology.”

“How many degrees do you have?” You asked, impressed.

“A few,” He admitted. “I’ve been alive for quite a long time, so I go back every once in a while to get another, or for a refresher. The education for each degree is much different now than it was fifty years ago.”

“How old are you?” You asked. “I know you’re part fae.”

“Amai told you that, eh?”

“Maybe,” You replied. “I mean, I’m part fae, too, so it’s not like I’m bothered by it.”

“You are?” He asked, looking at you keenly. “That wasn’t in your dossier. European?”

“Russian, and it’s not really a secret. I’m surprised you didn’t already know; I figured Amai would have said something. I was actually thinking you and I should have a conversation about that.”

He looked at you with an indecipherable expression and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, one of the eldest children came in the door.

“Later,” He said. You nodded.

The evaluations were interesting. The children were advanced for their ages, though Dr. Halvorg told you that was normal among nagas, who had to mature quickly in the wild. Watching them problem solve during the assessment was actually fascinating. They grasped new concepts relatively quickly and were wildly curious. They actually seemed happy to learn new and unusual things and kept asking you about your work with new races. You imagined they got a lot of that exuberance from Amai. Yenuno seemed a great deal more anxious and withdrawn.

The assessments took the entire day, and Dr. Halvorg asked you back to his office to compare notes when they were done.

“I think Ishni is slightly behind the others in his age group, or rather his brothers are more advanced. Honestly, it’s hard to tell with nagas. Their development is so unusual.”

“I would agree,” Dr. Halvorg said. “With Ishni being behind, that is. But it’s nothing some focused work won’t fix. The rest of them are advancing well, based on the available statistics for their age groups.”

“Yes, it’s shocking how quickly they pick up new things. I wouldn’t be surprised if they completed a full curriculum in just a few years.”

“Based on today’s evaluations, do you have a candidate in mind who would work for them?” He asked.

You sighed heavily. “I do,” You said. “I actually know of several that would be good fits. Unfortunately, all of those people are currently under contract.”

“Oh,” Dr. Halvorg said. “I thought you said you knew someone who would be perfect for this job.”

“I said early development!” You replied. “But these children don’t need early development. That’s shapes and colors and numbers and things like that. All of these kids can already read. Even the two year olds! They need more advanced tutelage, and I didn’t realize that when Amai first asked.”

“So what would you recommend?”

You sat back in your chair. “Give me a few days to think it over and make some calls and I’ll get back to you. In the meantime, just go about things as normal. I’d like to observe how things run here naturally.”

“Is that in reference to the search for an educator?”

“No, it’s for my own personal observations,” You said, smiling. “I am still an exo-anthropologist, after all, and quite honestly, the last couple of days have been riveting.”

He grinned. “A woman after my own heart.”

Two nights later, you walked into the enclosure after dinner to a strange sight: Dr. Halvorg reading the kids a bedtime story. He was sitting on the ground in the circle of nests and reading from a big book of non-human fairy tales. Race appropriate ones, of course. It was so unusual that all you could do was lean against the doorframe and listen.

When he finished, he helped settle all of the children and wished them a good night, and set the lights to starlight, with little pinpricks of light shining through the ceiling. When he saw you, he walked over.

“So, no good,” You said. “There aren’t any teachers who can come in on short notice.”

He sighed unhappily. “Well, what now?”

“I’ve decided that until they make contact with the Encante people, I’m not needed, so I might as well make the most of my time here and be the kids’ tutor until I need to go back or a teacher is made available.”

“Really?” Dr. Halvorg said, surprised. “Well, the kids like you, and you’re certainly well-educated. Have you ever taught before?”

“Briefly at E.U.,” You replied. “I taught one year of anthropology. It was nice staying in one place for a while, and the students seemed receptive to me. I only left because I was needed for a first contact situation.” You looked around. “Where’s Yenuno and Amai?”

“Date night,” He said. “They’re off… doing whatever people do on dates these days. I haven’t dated in decades, so I’m not certain what that entails anymore.”

“I could fix that, if you like,” You offered.

He smiled, but tilted his head. “How do you mean?”

“You could go on a date with me,” You said. “Since I’m going to be staying a while and working with you, it’ll be nice to get to know you better. And… maybe more than that.”

He looked like you’d hit him with a brick. He was still smiling confusedly, but his mouth was open and he couldn’t seem to speak.

“You okay there?” You asked.

“Ye--yes,” He stammered. “Forgive me. I… I appreciate the offer, but… I... I, uh…”

“It’s okay to say no, Maël,” You replied, laughing a little. “You don’t have to find an excuse. ‘No’ is a valid answer.”

He laughed a little self-consciously. “I’m sorry. I’ve been married to my work for so long that I just haven’t considered the possibility of dating. It’s… not something I’m interested in. I hope you understand.”

“Of course,” You replied. “That’s completely fine. And if you change your mind, that’s fine too. You know how to get in touch with me. No pressure. We’re both adults, after all.”

“Yes,” He said, adjusting his glasses. “I appreciate that. Thank you for the offer.”

“Think nothing of it,” You said. “I should get back to work. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes,” He repeated. You waved and walked away, unaware of his curious, piercing gaze on your retreating back.

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi, becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

#Exophilia #Fae #Naga #Reader Insert

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joyful-soul-collector · 4 years ago

Text

Spider-Man Lesson Number One

Prompt: Doesn’t Realize They’ve Been Injured

This was requested by my friend on Ao3 happy_to_be_here!

Irondad Tag List: @phahbiyah @keep-a-bucket-full-of-stars @clevermuffinalmondpeach @stuck-in-a-fictional-universe @canonismybitch

Thank you to @nazezdha321 and @sketchibilitea for beta reading this for me!

And of course we have to tag @badthingshappenbingo!

Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the tag list! Hope you all enjoy!

Read on AO3

“Oh my gooooooooooood this is so boring! Friday nights are usually crazy with crime, how is it so dead out here?” Peter said to himself.

“Crime levels fluctuate, Peter,” Karen said into his ear, startling him so hard he almost fell off the side of the building he was sitting on. “Though I did get a report of a disturbance a few streets away. My guess is law enforcement will not arrive for about ten minutes, plenty of time to help out and leave before you get caught.”

“Finally, good lord,” Peter said, shooting a web and swinging his way towards the street Karen indicated. “I mean it’s a Friday, where’s all the raging drunk college kids doing stupid stuff?”

“Perhaps they have all gone to sleep, Peter. It is rather late.”

“Pfft, it’s nine o’clock, the day’s just getting started for them,” Peter said with a snort. Peter landed with a flip on a building by his destination. “Karen, where exactly did you say--”

A scream cut him off and Peter whirled to look down in a dimly lit alleyway.

“Shit, Karen, night vision please?”

“Of course, Peter.”

Peter could suddenly see a man cornering what looked to be a woman and her son. The man lunged at them and the woman punched him hard, and Peter could hear the snap of one of her fingers from even up on the roof. Peter quickly lept down as the woman howled in pain.

“Woah! Hey hey buddy what’re you doing!?” Peter shouted as the man recovered from her punch. He pointed a sharp pocket knife at Peter and snarled, “Give me all your money you little brat!” Peter rolled his eyes.

“Why is it always the same with you guys? Can none of you get that I’ve beat up supervillains? What in the hell makes you think you’ll last longer than the Vulture?” Peter scoffed. The man faltered but didn’t back down, still pointing the blade directly at Peter’s face.

“Goddamit--I need this money!” The man growled.

“You don’t need anything enough to kill someone over it man,” Peter said. “Now are you gonna leave so we don’t have to do the ‘you struggle while I win’ thing, or is that the route you prefer? Remember, this action will have consequences.”

Heh, Ned would appreciate the Life is Strange reference, Peter thought absentmindedly. Hey actually I’m not sure how far he got on that game, I gotta ask him about that tomorr--

Peter’s thoughts were interrupted by the man suddenly swinging the blade far too close to Peter’s chest.

“Woah!” Peter said, doing his best to dodge the man’s swings but stay in front of the woman and her son behind him. “Not cool man!” Peter stopped the mugger’s fist on the fourth swing, squeezing his arm hard until he shouted and dropped the knife. Peter threw him against the wall and webbed him there muttering angrily to himself.

“Stupid fucking ADHD. Of course I forget my meds on a Friday, the day I should be the most focused! Dammit! C’mon Spider-Man, way to be an idiot,” Peter said as he scribbled a note and stuck it to the webbing over the man’s chest.

He turned to face the woman who was still holding her hand with a grimace while her son wailed next to her.

“Oh jeez, yeah that’s definitely broken, here lemme help with that,” Peter said as he saw a deep bruise blossoming over her dark skin. He shot a bit of webbing into his hand and gently wrapped it around her fingers. “That’s gonna dissolve in an hour so you’ll wanna get that checked out as soon as possible, um, I know someone who can help out if you need the bills paid for that--”

“It’s fine, I’m actually a nurse,” the woman said with a strained chuckle. She glanced up at Peter, but her expression suddenly changed to a look of horror. “Oh god, Spiderman--”

“Woops, I can just tell you missed a hyphen there,” Peter said, giving her a good natured glare. “It’s Spider, hyphen, Man. Man with a capital ‘M’. Sorry, I’m a bit of a stickler for this stuff--”

The small boy next to them cut him off with an ear splitting wail, and Peter suddenly felt his heart squeeze.

“Aw, kiddo, you’re alright!” Peter said, squatting down to be at eye-level with the child. He only cried harder, scrubbing his eyes and sniffling miserably in fear.

Peter gently touched his shoulder and looked right into his eyes.

“Hey,” he said softly. That seemed to calm him down a bit, his wails shrinking into small whimpers. “What’s your name kiddo?”

“M-Miles,” he squeaked.

“Miles, huh? That’s a pretty cool name.”

“Not as cool as Spider-Man,” he huffed.

“Well who knows, kid! Maybe you’ll be Spider-Man someday too!” Peter said. Miles’s eyes lit up excitedly and he bounced on his feet.

“Would you teach me!?”

“Ha! I’m sure you could guilt me into it with those little puppy eyes,” Peter said. Miles made his best little doe eyes and Peter gasped.

“Oh no! I’ve been defeated by the cuteness! You’re too powerful Spider-Man!” he cried. Miles giggled in delight and Peter squinted his eyes in a mocking glare.

“Alright kid. Spider-Man lesson number one: Don’t watch the mouth, watch the hands!”

Peter flung an arm up and shot a web, flying high into the air with an elated shout. Peter could hear Miles shrieking with glee below and he smiled.

“See ya later Spider-Man!”

And Peter headed to the tower, taking no notice of the wet warmth dripping down his side.

~~~

Peter arrived at Stark Tower right on time for his curfew, which he still felt was too early to be heading home. Ten pm? Really?

But Tony said Aunt May would flay him alive if he let Peter break curfew just because she’d be gone for a week, and to be honest, Peter 100% believed him. She’s definitely a bit of a momma bear.

Peter quietly opened one of the windows, only noticing Tony was there when he jumped in surprise.

“Jesus kid, you about scared the hell outta me. You gotta quit that, you know I have heart problems,” he said, tossing his phone to the side on the couch.

But oddly enough, Peter was having a hard time hearing him. Or at least focusing on hearing him. Probably his ADHD again.

“Heheh,” Peter said, his laugh feeling weak. What was he laughing at again? Man, he really should’ve taken his medication.

“Kid? You alright?” Peter ignored him, staring at something on the window he’d just climbed through. It was a footprint, but it looked all smeared, and oddly… red.

“Wassat?” he mumbled, staring at the bloody footprint, and feeling rather dizzy. Was this an ADHD thing? He couldn’t remember.

“Oh my god, Peter! Shit, kid you’re bleeding!” Tony said through the water that seemed to be surrounding Peter’s ears.

“Hmm?” Peter said. Then he looked down at himself and realized there was a deep cut along his side, and blood had leaked out and run all the way down his leg.

Tony was saying something else, grabbing his arms and trying to lead him somewhere, but Peter resisted. He didn’t want to get blood tracked all over the carpet.

“Pr’tty sure this stuff ‘s s’pposed to stay inside me,” Peter mumbled. But the sight of his own blood flowing out of him had made Peter dizzy, and he very suddenly wasn’t worrying much about the carpet anymore.

In fact, he wasn’t worrying about anything at all.

~~~

Peter’s side was rather sore when he woke up in a hospital bed, though he was more surprised by the hospital bed than he was about the ache. Peter pushed himself into a sitting position and winced as pain lanced up his side.

“Careful kiddo,” a voice said from the doorway. There was Tony, standing there with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised. “You don’t wanna rip a stitch.”

“Oh. Yeah that’s a good idea. Wouldn’t wanna, um, do that.” They stared at each other for a moment before Tony rolled his eyes and gave him a soft smile.

“What I wanna know, is how the hell you swung all the way to the tower without noticing you had a seven-inch long gash in your side,” he said.

“Um… ADHD?”

“Ha! Well whatever you were thinking about must’ve been pretty damn distracting,” Tony prompted. Peter grinned, thinking back.

“I met this little kid named Miles. He said he wanted to be Spider-Man like me. I told him I’d teach him if he ever did become Spider-Man, I was thinking about what I’d show him,” Peter said. Tony’s gaze softened as he walked over.

“Well that’s real nice of you kid. But, you know that even though that gash will heal by tomorrow I still gotta tell your Aunt about this, right?” he said. He held out a cup of strawberry Jell-O, which Peter took with a snort.

“Yeah yeah, but can we just save that for later? I think I should recover from this before going into another battle,” Peter said, making his own version of Miles’s doe eyes. Tony scoffed and ruffled Peter’s hair.

“Sure kid. Eat your Jell-O and we’ll go watch some Star Wars,” he said.

Peter grinned widely and ate his treat, too distracted by the warmth in his chest to care about the ache in his side.

#irondad #spider-man: into the spider-verse #tony stark #peter parker #irondad fanfiction #bad things happen bingo: doesn't realize they've been injured #spider-man #Iron Man #miles morales #tw: blood #Marko's Fanfiction

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chiaki-translation · 4 years ago

Text

New Year! Red and White Kakushigei Tournament! Event Translation Ch5-8

Urgh, I wanted to do this earlier, but I had to go for a medical checkup earlier this week and the people there messed up my queue number. I ended up waiting the whole day just for them to say they only open half day...

But whatever, I’m back, the next few chapters are here, enjoy~ The rest should be up in a few days too, I hope that I can clear this event before Christmas~

New Year! Kakushigei Tournament Ch1-4 / / Ch5-8 / / Ch9-Epilogue

Disclaimer:

A3! is owned by Liber’s Entertainment

Juza:

The snow bunny is done.

Priest:

Ah, thank you so much.

Yup, they’re not that consistent…

Well, that doesn’t really matter, this is good.

Banri:

Anyway, why the snow bunny.

Priest:

There’s a legend for it.

Hisoka:

Legend?

Priest:

Once upon a time, snow fell on a certain village, to pray for good weather, the villagers made a statue of a bunny made of snow. But the snow statue is fragile, and the villagers accidentally broke it one day.

Following that, heavy snow fell, the villagers have to suffer through the extreme weather.

It is said that in the end, the villagers danced endlessly to wish for the heavy snow to stop… It’s that kind of legend.

Azuma:

Hmm…

Chikage:

A legend from the past huh.

Priest:

The dance that everyone will be performing this time is also a tradition of the past… Please do your best to show its value.

Tsuzuru:

Ugh… What pressure.

Tenma:

Hmm. I’m going to do them perfectly, the performance and the dance too.

Priest:

Be graceful with your fingertips, feel the flow! 1,2,3…!

You over there, I told you to look more courteous right!

Juza:

Yes…!

Hisoka:

The spartan style doesn’t change…

Priest:

Express your prayer! The hand should be like this!

Move forward over here and turn around. Match the time with the movement properly!

Tenma:

Alright, understood.

Azuma:

Like this.

Banri:

Should be like this, let me try it one more time.

Priest:

Hmm… Most of you are experienced from the moon-viewing party…

Those who participated for the first time, you’re also doing quite well.

I don’t see much hardship here, that’s too bad.

Tsuzuru:

Why would you want us to be full of hardship in the first place…

Chikage:

Good work for the practice.

Azuma:

That was quite tiring.

Banri:

Well, we ended up practicing for quite long.

Kid A:

There!

Kid B:

Woah! I won’t let you get away!

Take this!

Kid C:

Hahaha!

Tenma:

A snowball fight huh…

Juza:

They’re so energetic.

Kid A:

Over here-!

Kid B:

Wait wait!

Kid C:

Take that!

Children:

Ah!!

Kid A:

The snow bunny-!

Kid B:

They’re broken…

Kid:

What should we do…

Banri:

Ah… Those are the one we made, don’t mind it.

Kid C:

We’re sorry…

Tsuzuru:

Everyone properly apologized. It’s alright.

It’s getting dark soon though, everyone should make your way back soon.

Children:

Yes.

Tenma:

…

Hisoka:

Tenma, what happened.

Tenma:

Nothing, I just remember about the legend that the priest told us earlier.

Juza:

Ah… The one about the heavy snow.

Banri:

It’s just a legend isn’t it, it will be fine if we just remake it.

Chikage:

That’s exactly the flag.

Juza:

… I’m hungry.

Tenma:

Right.

Azuma:

Since we’re already outside, why don’t we go get dinner together to celebrate the kick-off of this dance team.

Banri:

Oh, nice idea.

Azuma:

Fufu, it’s fine to do this kind of thing once in a while right.

Chikage:

Then, where should we eat?

Tsuzuru:

The practice was tough, I’m pretty hungry.

Juza:

How about Chinese food.

Banri:

Nah, sushi is better isn’t it.

Juza:

Huh?

Banri:

You want to fight?

Tsuzuru:

No, don’t start fighting here!

Azuma:

If it’s sushi, I know a good place near here.

Tenma:

Azuma-san’s recommendation huh.

Juza:

Sounds like an expensive one…

Azuma:

It’s alright, I won’t let you guys spend on it.

Right, Chikage.

Chikage:

… Well, I guess so.

Hisoka:

… Thank you.

Chikage:

What are you saying.

You’re also a working adult, don’t be spoiled.

Hisoka:

… Stingy.

Azuma:

Juza’s fine with it right?

There are delicious Japanese sweets there too.

Juza:

… Yeah.

Banri:

Oh, it feels like a great place.

Tsuzuru:

It looks more luxurious than I thought…

I wonder how much it will cost.

Azuma:

Alright then, what should we eat.

Banri:

Speaking of which, we haven’t called about dinner today.

Tenma:

Then, I’ll go ahead and LIME Director.

Oh, a reply.

She said that she wants us to go shopping on the way back.

Juza:

Shopping for?

Tenma:

It seems to be the tools for the cleaning day. I got the list.

Banri:

Ah, it’s going to be that time of the year huh.

Tsuzuru:

Will the storage room finally be cleaned…

Chikage:

After the cleaning day, shrine event, and the new year party, everyone will be going home for the holiday right.

Azuma:

You’re right.

Banri:

Speaking of which, how does the dorm feel like on New Year’s Eve?

Hisoka:

… It’s peaceful.

Azuma:

We watched the new year show, arranged the new year soba made by Omi and eat together.

Tenma:

There were times when we got too excited watching the variety show and it ended up becoming a no-laugh competition.

Banri:

Hmm…

Juza:

I see.

Chikage:

It’s unusual for you to want to listen to such story, Banri.

Banri:

Nah, actually, I’m not going home this year.

Tsuzuru:

Eh, is it that you can’t go home?

Banri:

My family suddenly told me that they are going on a trip to Hawaii.

I refused to go because I have practice for my university’s performance right after new year.

I go home every year during new year, I just never thought that I won’t go home this year.

Azuma:

I see… I guess it’s unavoidable if you already have plan beforehand…

Hisoka:

… Are you sure you’re alright with it?

Banri:

Well, once in a while I can celebrate new year in the dorm too right.

Chikage:

…

Priest:

…Hmm, it’s good.

Everyone, you did well enduring the rigorous practice.

The dance came out perfect too.

Banri:

Alright.

Juza:

Thank you.

Chikage:

Thanks to you, Mr Priest.

Priest:

What’s left is the weather of the event day, but I’m quite worried.

Tsuzuru:

During this time, the snow has accumulated slowly.

Banri:

Well, it will work out somehow.

Azuma:

When we’re back in the dorm, let’s make some teru-teru bouzu.

Tsuzuru:

You’re right.

Hisoka:

Yeah.

Tenma:

Good work for practice today.

Hisoka:

Good work.

Azuma:

Eh? Where’s Chikage?

Juza:

I thought he was here earlier…

Azuma:

It’s Chikage, maybe he has something urgent.

Tsuzuru:

What should we do, should we go back first then?

Banri:

I’m going to look around for a bit. You guys can go back first.

Tenma:

Understood.

Banri:

This shrine is quite big…

Chikage:

…

Banri:

Oh, found you.

So you were here.

Chikage:

Ah, Banri.

I was asked by Misumi to take pictures of Mr rabbit so I came here, but…

Banri:

… Eh, it’s empty.

Chikage:

It seems like he ran away.

Banri:

… Seriously.

Chikage:

Well, we’re talking about that rabbit, I think he’ll be back before anyone realized.

But Misumi asked me to take some pictures, I can’t just leave him alone too, so I’m going to look for him now.

Banri:

Then, I’ll tag along with you.

Chikage:

Thank you, that will help.

Banri:

… Can we even find him in this kind of place?

Chikage:

We searched for that run-away rabbit in this forest before.

I thought he would generally go to the same place—

Banri:

Woah, it’s pretty quick on its feet.

Chikage:

Right.

Banri:

I’m going to catch him.

Then, I’m going from this way.

Chikage:

Yeah, I’ll leave it to you. I’m going to the other side.

Banri:

It’s that bush huh…

Chikage:

Banri is over there.

That means, from here…

Banri:

Oh, it’s a signal from Chikage-san.

I see, understood.

Turn around, and come here…

Rabbit:

…!

Banri:

Alright!

Caught it.

Chikage:

We managed to capture it nicely.

Banri:

It’s just like the usual interaction for an ‘escape game’ isn’t it.

Chikage:

You’re right.

Ah, what a good timing, let’s take a picture of Banri holding the rabbit.

Banri:

Huh? Well, it’s not that I mind…

Chikage:

I’m sure Misumi will be happy too.

Banri:

The rabbit has been returned to the shrine safely, mission complete.

Chikage:

Returning him is one thing, but if he keeps running away even the shrine will be fed up with it.

Banri:

But, for Misumi’s sake aside, it was honestly surprising for Chikage-san who is not good with animal to go that far.

Chikage:

… That rabbit was separated from his siblings suddenly and it seems that he’s still looking for them to this day.

The priest knew about the situation and he said that he would cooperate and search for his siblings too, but it seems that he’s been too busy for it.

Banri:

Hmm… I see.

Chikage:

Because of that, I guess I feel a bit of sympathy for him.

Banri:

… Chikage-san, did something similar happen to you before.

Chikage:

About that, I’ll leave it to your imagination.

Banri too, you were talking about not going home this year…

Next year’s new year, it’s not certain that you will be able to spend it with your family like before.

Banri:

… What is it, so suddenly.

Chikage:

It’s just a possible scenario.

Of course, it can also be said for other events in general, like birthday and Christmas, but—

Here, you’re not doing anything in particular, like watching the new year show, eating new year soba.

I don’t mind spending my time like that, Japanese new year feels like a family event more than any other events,

… Well, I only know that after joining the theatre troupe, I can’t say that I’m very knowledgeable about it.

Banri:

…

Chikage:

Like that rabbit, there’s a possibility that you will get separated from your family without any warning.

That’s why, Banri too, I thought it would be better for you to at least show your face at home.

Banri:

…

Chikage:

Did I meddle a bit too much.

Banri:

Nah… It’s fine.

Juza:

It’s finally the day.

Director:

Everyone, are you ready?

Hisoka:

Yeah.

Azuma:

We were worried about the snow, but it seems that it won’t fall tonight.

Tsuzuru:

We did some promotion for the event, the number of audiences here seems to be good too.

Hisoka:

It’s pretty crowded.

Chikage:

First up will be the Kakushigei tournament right.

Tenma:

Yeah.

I’ll show you the result of my training.

Director:

Yeah! I’m looking forward to seeing the Kakushigei tournament too.

Banri:

Director-chan, I’m going to surprise you with some amazing tricks.

Of course, the winner will be the red team.

Juza:

I won’t lose to you.

The white team will win.

Banri:

Stop with the bullshit.

There’s no way I’ll lose to the likes of you.

Juza:

Huh? What was that.

Banri:

You want to go.

Tsuzuru:

Calm down, it doesn’t matter who win or lose, it’s a Kakushigei performance!

Priest:

Then, please enjoy the Kakushigei performance by members of MANKAI company!

Homare’s Doll:

“La la la, a happy bunny, a refreshing harmony! Behold, let’s have our tea time!”

Hisoka:

It’s just a cheap marshmallow…

Arisu is stingy.

Homare’s Doll:

“Hmm hmm, what did you say! Such a selfish guy!”

Children:

Amazing! The doll is talking!

Male Audience:

Ventriloquism huh!

The voice is totally different, it really sounds like he’s talking to a doll…!

Juza:

…!

Tenma:

Phew! ... There!

Female Audience A:

Cigar box! So cool…!

Female Audience B:

Damn, the boxes look like that they’re attached to each other with a magnet!

Banri:

…

Male Audience:

Is he going to pull that tablecloth?

Female Audience:

Even though there’s a glass tower on top!?

Banri:

…!

Female Audience:

Amazing!! He pulled it so beautifully!

Male Audience:

That was wonderful!

Chikage:

Take a look at this card in my hand.

The folded card is… 1,2,3!

Female Audience A:

Eh!? It turned into a fan in an instant!?

Male Audience:

What!? It was just a normal card a second ago.

Chikage:

And when you look up on this fan…

Female Audience B:

Woah! The colorful confetti pop out of nowhere…!

Children:

It’s so beautiful~! Just like real magic!

Director:

(Both teams are amazing with their Kakushigei! The audiences’ cheers are so loud too)

Citron:

Unyuyuyu…

I have no other choice!

I must go quickly!

Muku:

Eh!

Sakuya:

Citron-san, it’s not your turn yet!

Director:

That was fun!

I was very impressed by everyone.

Azuma:

Yeah, me too. I got completely absorbed in it.

Tsuzuru:

Everyone practiced so hard before we even realized.

Female Audience A:

Red team or white team… Both are great, I can’t choose.

Female Audience B:

I know, everyone was so interesting!

Male Audience:

Alright, I’ve decided. I’m going with this!

Children:

I’m going to choose this one!

Tenma:

Everyone’s voting now.

Azuma:

Fufu, I wonder who will win… I’m quite excited.

Director:

I’m glad that the audiences are satisfied.

Next will be the dance performance…

Director:

…Eh?

Hisoka:

… It’s snowing.

Juza:

The snow starts falling.

Tenma:

Actually, isn’t it getting heavier?

Banri:

If it continues, it’s going to be a heavy snow soon.

Chikage:

What a splendid flag retrieval.

Tsuzuru:

This is not the time to say such thing.

Male Audience:

The snow is getting heavier.

I guess it’s time to go home soon.

Female Audience:

I wanted to watch the dance, is it going to be cancelled?

Hisoka:

Everyone’s going home.

Juza:

If it stays this way, it’s going to be cancelled for real.

Director:

(Even though everyone practiced so hard for this, I don’t want it to be cancelled. Beside, I want to be able to meet the priest’s expectation…)

It’s a bit early, but…

Let’s start earlier so everyone can see the dance!

Azuma:

You’re right.

Chikage:

Understood.

Banri:

Alright, let’s go.

Translator’s Note: About the flag that Chikage mentioned. I’m sure it’s Itaru’s influence since it refers to a flag as in an otome game flag. I don’t know how to explain it nicely, but the broken snow bunny serves as an indication that heavy snow will fall like the legend (thus the flag), and it did happen during the performance (thus the flag retrieval). Do correct me if I’m wrong though~

#a3! act! addict! actors!#a3! translation #a3! event #settsu banri #utsuki chikage #hyodo juza #yukishiro azuma #sumeragi tenma #mikage hisoka

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snowdice · 4 years ago

Text

Finding the Time to Study Fic 2 [Day 33]

Here is my starting post for today’s study break stories session. See this post for more details and feel free to send me asks to keep me going! It’s been a lot of fun so far! I will reblog this post with the story as I write them today. I’ll be constantly looking for ideas of times and places for Janus to have missions, so feel free to send in any you can think of at any point!

If you are a new follower or just don’t want all of these posts clogging your dash, please feel free to block the tag “study break stories” as all posts and voting about it will go there. You can still see the finished product of the story even if you are blocking that tag as I will not tag the edited chapters with “study break stories” but with the tag “folds in paper.” See edited chapters below. None edited chapters are under the cut.

My Masterpost Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

I also have a playlist on youtube (because Spotify didn’t have one of the songs I wanted). It’s short, and not really for serious listening, but I had fun with it.

Alright, here we go again!

Chapter 12

There was something off about his readings. Clearly the time distortion was starting to pull at this place with the way the weather was flickering between storming and sunny, but he still couldn’t quite pinpoint the exact location of the source of it. He could, however, get that it must be somewhere on this side of the river more into the downtown area, so that’s the way he was walking, Pat close on his heels.

“What’s your name, by the way?” he asked.

Janus shot him a glare. “Elvis Presley,” he said.

Pat frowned, clearly knowing who that was. “There’s no reason to be mean.”

“You did it to me first.”

“…Introduced myself as a famous musician?” he asked. Janus didn’t respond, and after a moment, Pat laughed lightly. “You really don’t understand time travel, do you?”

“Oh, yeah,” Janus said. “Name the three types of time distortions.”

“Just because I don’t know the names of things doesn’t mean I don’t understand them.” He stuck out his tongue. Janus was dealing with an actual toddler. “Unlike you who has a bunch of fancy words, but just caused a time loop.”

Janus scoffed. “I did not just cause a time loop.”

“Maybe not a big one,” Pat agreed, “but you did.”

Janus raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never introduced myself to you with a musician’s name, but now you’ve told me that I will. So, at some point in the future I will have to, thereby making you think to say that now. Time loop.”

“That’s not… that doesn’t count.”

“Does too,” Pat claimed. “Like I have said once before and you may or may not have heard me say before, anything you do to me to get back at me for something I haven’t done yet, just causes whatever that is to happen in the first place.”

“But you’re still going to do it.”

“Then take it up with future me. I haven’t done anything to you.” Then he paused and sighed. “…Which I guess means you’ve done nothing to me.” He seemed to mull this concept over for a long moment. “Well you were a bit crabby about me not knowing what a time distortion was, but I can forgive you for that.”

“And I’m supposed to forgive you?”

“Like I said,” Pat said. “I haven’t done anything yet.”

“You also haven’t done anything to endear yourself to me either,” Janus grumbled.

“Hmm,” Pat said. “Fine.” He pulled something out of his pocket. “You’re obviously not having much luck finding whatever you’re looking for. Tell me what it is and I’ll help.”

Janus squinted at what was in his hand. “Is that… an iPhone 5?”

“No!” he said. “It’s super-secret time travel tech disguised as an iPhone 5!”

“We’re in 2027,” Janus said. “Not a great disguise. Those things have been obsolete for a decade.”

“Well I’ll keep in mind to have my tech disguised as phones from the right year next time,” Pat said, sticking out his tongue. “Now what are we looking for?”

“If my timepiece can’t find it, I’m certain yours can’t.”

Pat rolled his eyes and tapped on the device’s screen a couple of times. “I’m going to guess it’s that,” he said proudly.

Janus leaned over to look at the screen. “Are you using google maps?” he sputtered.

“It integrates time relevant data like traffic conditions and local weather warnings with time travel technology,” Pat explained. “Something seems to be going on in a museum a couple of blocks that way.”

“I…” Janus said. That was actually a really good idea, usually unnecessary with scouts observing that data beforehand, and Janus wasn’t sure how good the accuracy would be considering whatever was taking it into account was automated, but still a good idea. “Well, I guess since we have no other leads, we can check it out.”

Pat looked far too proud for having only used a piece of tech that hadn’t even been confirmed as accurate. “Then, let’s go,” he said right as a chilly wind started to pick up and a couple of snowflakes began to fall around them. “Before that gets worse…”

Janus let Pat lead with his iPhone. Janus’s timepiece still wasn’t picking up a clear signal for some reason, but it seemed to point in the same general direction as Pat’s. Strangely though, as they got closer to their destination, the signal started to get fuzzier. Pat’s tech seemed unaffected leading them closer to the museum.

When they got to the Musée Fabre museum, Janus stopped. “What?” Pat asked. He was shivering slightly in the cold and holding his arms around himself.

“My timepiece stopped working completely,” he said.

“I’m assuming that’s weird?” Pat said.

“It is,” Janus confirmed, turning to squint at him suspiciously. “How do I know you’re not the one doing it?”

“If I was doing it, wouldn’t I have just knocked it out from the get go?” Pat questioned.

Janus pursed his lips. “I don’t know,” he said. “Would you have? Maybe it’s a trick.”

Pat’s eyes narrowed a bit on him. “Think what you want, but I’m freezing. Come in with me if you want.”

He dithered from a few moments before following Pat inside. Pat had already struck up a conversation with the woman charging admission into art museum. She was looking at him, her brow knit as he spoke. Janus nudged him away from her getting a confused glance from him in return. He shot a smile at the woman.

“Two adult passes for the museum and the Hotel Sabatier d’Espevran, please,” he said, placing down 14 euro.

“Ah,” she said, still looking at Pat oddly. “Yes sir.” She gave them the passes and Janus quickly shuffled Pat away.

“What is wrong with your French?” he hissed once they were out of earshot.

“What?” he asked, bewildered.

“You sound like you’re reading Le Comte de Monte-Cristo. No one talks like that anymore.”

“I’m a little rusty,” Pat defended himself.

“Two centuries?” Janus asked. Pat stuck his tongue out like a child once again. “Is that your only way to respond to legitimate criticism?”

“What does it even matter anyway? No one ever expects time travel, at least not for something so silly.”

“It’s not silly,” Janus said. “It’s a legitimate issue. The wrong person who’s watched too much science fiction notices and you’re putting the timeline at risk. Not to mention if there are other time travelers around that aren’t as nice as me.”

“Are there a lot of time travelers around?” Pat asked, sounding intrigued.

“There are plenty, both legal and not.”

“Huh,” he said, “but what are the chances we’ll run into another one?”

“Considering the time distortion? There could be many. Opportunists wanting to capitalize off the chaos, people trying to stop it, like me, and not to mention the person who caused it.”

“Wait, someone made it happen?” Pat asked.

“These things don’t just happen naturally.”

“Huh. So, something like this has to be caused by a person?”

“Yes,” Janus said. “…Why?”

Pat smiled. “No reason. I think we should head upstairs. Whatever I’m picking up says it’s around here, but I don’t see anything. Maybe it’s a floor or two above us.”

“Which is why it’s ridiculous to use Google Maps.”

“Would you rather use yours?” he asked sweetly.

“I’m still not convinced it’s not your doing,” Janus growled. “Why does your tech still work when mine doesn’t?”

“Probably the same reason the ring did,” he muttered.

“What?”

“You may be the most aggravating being in the universe.”

Pat glanced at him with a bit of a smirk. “I can’t tell you,” he said. “It would be a much bigger risk to the timeline than me speaking in French from the 1830s. But, I’m pretty sure the reason mine still works is just a software difference.”

“What the hell do you mean a software difference?”

Pat opened his mouth, doubtlessly to supply him with yet another frustratingly cheeky and unhelpful answer. Yet, Pat did not have a chance to do so as, just as Janus stepped onto the second floor of the museum, the ground started to violently shake. Janus tried to turn to catch Pat as the other man’s foot slipped on the last step, but he couldn’t do so in time. Pat fell onto his hands and knees, sliding back a few steps and smacking his face into the stairs hard once and then a couple of times more after that as he slid.

Chapter 13

The room stopped shaking after a moment. “Ow,” Pat said. He seemed a bit stunned but was still moving at least. He carefully maneuvered himself into a seating position. “Ouch. Owie.” He reached up to poke his own nose. “Ow!” Janus slapped his hand away when he got there. A bit of blood was already trickling from his nose and there was a small cut over his eye, but it wasn’t bleeding too much.

Janus pushed him so he was leaning slightly forward and produced a pack of time appropriate tissues from his pocket. He pulled one out of the package and offered it to him.

He took it and pressed it up against his nose to try to stop the bleeding. He seemed mostly alright though Janus imagined he’d have plenty of bruises down the line. The power in the museum flickered and Janus looked up. Now that he was listening, he could hear people panicking in and out of the museum.

“We should probably get off of the stairs,” he suggested.

“Yeah,” Pat agreed. Janus helped him to his feet, and they climbed back up the steps. Janus looked around and found an employees only sign a few feet away. Usually he’d not risk that as it could get him into trouble he didn’t want to be in, but considering the earthquake that had just happened, he could probably play it off as panic.

He ushered Pat into a small room and found a chair and table. He had Pat sit in the chair and pulled out another one of the tissues to dab at the blood coming from the cut over his eyes. “Here,” he said. “Hold that there. I’m going to go see if there are any bandages about.”

Pat took the tissue with the hand not already holding one to his nose. “Thanks,” he said.

Janus nodded and got to his feet. The lights flickered once again but didn’t stay off for now. He didn’t know how long that would last.

He couldn’t see anything that might hold bandages in this room, but there was a second door. “I’ll be right back,” he told Pat, exiting through it.

The lights flickered once more as the door closed behind him and he cursed. When they came back up Janus’s eyes immediately fell on a man. They both froze.

“Remus!” Janus hissed the second their eyes met. “What are you doing here?”

Remus blinked at him for a moment. “Hi. Janus,” he said. “I… come to France for… tea sometimes?”

“There isn’t any tea back here.”

“So, there isn’t…” he said. There was a moment of silence. “Uh, so I actually cannot talk to you right now.”

“What do you mean?” Janus asked. Remus grimaced in a way Janus had never seen from him before. It immediately set off alarm bells in Janus’s head. “Oh my god,” Janus said. “Oh my god. You’re not from the same time as me.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Remus mumbled.

“Holy shit, you’re looping?!”

“It’s… not looping if I wasn’t here the first time.”

“Remus, we spend more than 12 hours a day together most of the time. The only thing worse than this is if I looped back to this time myself.”

“…Yeah. Anyway, I need to leave now.”

“Please do.”

He turned to go, but then stopped. “Oh, and,” he reached into his pocket and tossed something at Janus. Janus caught it.

It was Band-Aids.

“Oh, shit,” Janus spat at the clear use of foreknowledge. “I hate this. I hate you. I’m going to kill you the next time you see me.”

“Sure, Jan.”

“Go.”

He did, slipping into the next room while Janus took a deep breath and then turned back to the door behind him. He schooled his face before Pat looked up. “I found some Band-Aids.”

Pat nodded and Janus came over to squat next to him.

Janus opened the box and Pat looked down. His eyes lit up with sudden joy so intense that Janus felt like he’d just gotten a punch to the gut. “Kitty Band-Aids!” he exclaimed. Janus bothered to actually look at the design on the container, only to note the cartoon cats on the front. Pat was almost vibrating off his seat. “Look they’re all so cute!” He grabbed the container from him to inspect the different designs printed on the back with glee even as a bit of blood was still trickling from his nose.

Janus took the box back gently and guided the wad of bloody Kleenexes back to his nose.

“Which would you like?” Janus asked.

“Oh, they are all so cute,” Pat cooed. “Um, how about that one!” he pointed. “Or that one! Or that one!”

“Pat you only have one cut.”

“But they’re all so cute!” Pat said, tongue tucking into his cheek. He contemplated the box again. “Let’s do the black one,” he finally settled on.

Janus selected one of the Band-Aids with a black cat wrapped around a pink ball of yarn and staring back at them with wide green eyes. The think looked like it had partaken in one two many doses of catnip, but Janus didn’t mention that.

Instead, he just carefully unstuck the backing from the Band-Aid and motioned for Pat to remove the tissue from his forehead. He smiled at Janus as he drew back.

Janus cleared his throat. “How’s the nose.”

“It’s slowing down,” Pat replied. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Janus replied. They met eyes for a second before Pat looked away back at the box of Band-Aids.

“Oh,” Pat said. “There’s a grey one. I didn’t notice.” He pointed to it. “I should have used that one.”

“Do you like grey cats?” Janus asked.

“I like all kitties,” he said, “but one of my roommates loves grey cats. He had one when he was a kid and thinks of them as good omens. Seeing one always brightens up his day.”

“A friend of mine has a grey cat,” Janus said. “She’s much more tolerable than him.”

Pat laughed a bit. “Don’t be mean,” he said.

“Oh, he deserves it, don’t worry.” Janus considered him for a moment. “Here,” he said, pulling out one of the Band-Aids with the grey cat on it. It did, actually, look a lot like Diesel Fuel.

“But I don’t…”

Janus just shrugged and stuck it on his cheek where there was no wound. Pat giggled and touched it with a finger. Janus stood back up.

“Can I have another tissue?” Pat asked.

“Sure.” Janus handed a tissue over to him and he crumpled up the bloody ones in his hand.

“I think I’m good to keep going,” Pat said, putting the new tissue under his nose. “The nose will stop soon.”

Pat got out his iPhone and directed him back out of the room. They checked the second floor and didn’t find anything and so went to the third floor. The second they arrived in the room that Pat’s phone was directing them too, Janus knew that it must be right. There was a strange, distorted whirling sound and the entire room was shaking slightly like they were standing next to a railroad track.

“I’m guessing this is it,” Pat said.

Janus nodded and looked over his shoulder at the screen. They both cautiously walked towards where the little dot was on the phone.

“Is that it?” Pat asked, pointing at a small device on the center column in the room. Janus reached forward to flip the switch on it. The whirling stopped and the room settled. Janus’s time piece vibrated as it came back online. They waited for a few moments. “I assumed… time distortions would be more…”

“They are,” Janus said. “This one is artificial.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s a simulation,” Janus said. “It causes similar symptoms to a time distortion, but it’s not actually fracturing time at all.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Pat asked.

“I don’t know,” Janus said. He took the piece of tech of the wall and carefully stored it in his pocket, “but someone’s trying to get our attention.”

Chapter 14

Janus didn’t feel comfortable leaving France 2027 just yet, still weirded out by the strange turn of events. So, he and Pat ended up sticking around for a couple of hours. They looked through the art museum for a bit, but Janus was having trouble focusing on the pieces, and Pat eventually suggested they get some air. Janus agreed considering the museum would close for the night soon anyway.

They wandered around the downtown for a bit. The people seemed to jump back from the strange weather and earthquake that afternoon rather quickly, and there were plenty still about to blend into.

Pat was snapping photos every so often like a tourist which Janus shook his head at but allowed because even with the outdated phone it almost made them blend in even more. It also might stop any questions about Pat’s weird way of speaking French. They could just say he was an overeager tourist who watched too many old movies.

“Ooo!” Pat said. “We should get crepes.”

“Why?”

“You can’t go to France and not eat crepes.”

“I assure you, you can,” Janus said dryly.

Pat shot a pout at him and the next thing he knew he was in a small crepe shop.

For Janus, choosing something was easy. He just ordered the first thing he found on the menu which seemed to be a standard one with ham and eggs. Pat on the other hand seemed to be struggling greatly, and Janus had to gently push him to the side to let some other customers order first.

“What should I get!?” Pat asked. “They all look so good! I could do strawberry preserves or maple syrup or just sugar!”

“Or you could get one that is actually food,” Janus suggested mildly. “I don’t think you need any more sugar judging by how you are acting.”

Pat rolled his eyes. “You sound like Lo.”

Janus made a note of the name ‘Lo’ even though it surely was a nickname.

“But, since you’re insisting, I’ll get something healthy. I’ll have the strawberry one. That’s a fruit!”

“It comes with a cream cheese filling,” Janus pointed out.

“And it’s fruit!”

Janus shook his head and stepped up to the counter. “One ham and cheese and one strawberry preserve, please,” he said to the cashier as he was not allowing Pat to order in French and accidently say something stupid. He forked over some euros.

“You don’t have to pay for me,” Pat protested when he saw that.

Janus glanced back at him. “I was afraid you’d try to pay in francs,” he said dryly.

It looked like Pat was about to stick his tongue out at him, remembered that Janus had criticized him for that earlier, and then just scrunched up his face in displeasure as though that was any less childish.

They waited for their crepes to be finished and then went to eat them outside near a water fountain.

“I can pay you back for the crepe,” Pat said after they sat down. “I do actually have euros.”

Janus waved him off. “It wasn’t that expensive.”

Pat hummed. “Well, in that case. I insist on paying for a wish for you.” Janus raised an eyebrow. “In the fountain!” Pat clarified.

Pat set aside his crepe to dig in his pocket for a couple of coins. “Here!” he said handing one over.

Janus glanced over at the fountain. “No.”

“Oh, come on,” Pat beseeched. “You have to want something. I’ll even throw it in for you, but you have to make a wish first!”

“No.”

“Please!”

Janus sighed. “Fine.” He popped the rest of his crepe in his mouth. “I wish for a crepe,” he said after swallowing.

“You just had a crepe, silly.”

“But I liked it, so I want another one.”

“We can go back and get you another crepe.”

“Ah, but I’m not hungry anymore.”

Pat crossed his arms. “You’re just being difficult on purpose.”

“Not me,” Janus said putting hand over his heart. “I would never do something like that.”

Pat glared at him, but then snatched the coin out of his hand. “Fine!” he said. “One crepe wish coming right up.” He hopped up with the two coins and darted over to the water fountain. Janus turned to watch him go but then happened to catch sight of something out of the corner of his eyes.

Pat’s phone.

He didn’t pause in his movement, completing the turn, but as he watched Pat close his eyes, presumably to focus on his own wish, Janus snuck a hand out and grabbed the phone without looking. He slipped it into his own pocket.

Pat came back over after throwing both coins in the fountain and didn’t even seem to notice that his phone was missing, picking up his crepe to take another bite. Just to make sure, though Janus decided to distract him. “What do you think of your crepe?” Janus asked.

“I like it! It’s sweet, but not too sweet. There was a crepe place across the street from my apartment in college, but they always put a bit too much sugar in the dough, I think. I’d still eat them, but these are much better.”

Janus nodded and kept up the light conversation until Pat was finished.

21088

“Well,” he said then, getting to his feet. “It seems that nothing else is going to happen regarding the time distortion. I should be getting back.”

Pat hummed. “I should too. It’s movie night!”

“I probably should arrest you,” Janus noted.

“In the middle of all of these people?” Pat asked mildly.

“Touché,” Janus said.

Pat gasped and pointed at him. “Pun!” he said. Janus blinked at him. “Because we’re in France! That’s French!”

“…Goodbye Pat,” Janus said, turning to walk away from him.

“Goodbye… wait I still don’t know your name!”

Janus stopped to look back at him for a moment. “Like I said,” he replied. “Elvis.”

“Fine,” Pat said. “Au revoir, mon chéri.”

“You never stop, do you?” Janus asked.

Pat giggled. “Considering I don’t know what you mean, I imagine I’m just getting started.”

Janus actually left then, walking off towards the alley he’d first arrived in. In some ways, the mission had been a bust, but in others it had gone very well.

He felt for the weight of the phone in his pocket before pulling up the display screen on his timepiece to go back to the TPI.

It had gone very well indeed.

Chapter 15

The first thing Janus had done when he’d returned to the TPI was hand over the timebomb to Khalid who sent it to forensics. Within the hour, forensics got back to them that it was the same timebomb as 2999 and that it had never exploded, but simply been diffused. Which meant, blessings on blessings, everyone got to go home that night.

Not that Janus went home, no, he ended up falling asleep on his desk somewhere between 3 and 4am, but at least he wasn’t sharing his space with anyone. He’d been trying to hack the cell phone all night to see if it had anything he could use, but he honestly had no idea what he was doing. All it seemed he could do was play some annoying song over and over again about never giving someone up. At around 2am, he’d finally broken and sent off an email, though, he’d continued to try to mess with it after that.

He got woken up by Lena coming into the office at 7am, and noticed he already had an email response asking when Janus wanted to come in.

“Now?” he sent back.

“…Do you sleep?” was the immediate response. “And yes.”

His wrist buzzed as an appointment in 5 seconds downloaded to his timepiece. He selected the coordinates and landed at Cultural Outreach. The receptionist blinked up at him and then back down at the screen on his desk. “Oh!” he said. “I didn’t see this appointment. I think Professor Eran is in his office.”

He didn’t stand to escort Janus this time, so Janus went ahead and went down the hall to Virgil’s office himself.

He knocked on the door and while he was waiting for Virgil to open it, the infernal contraption once again started to play the same stupid song.

“I didn’t even touch you!” he spat, getting it out and tapping on the screen.

“Jonas Brothers dude again?” Virgil asked causally upon opening the door.

Janus shoved it at him. “Make it stop.”

Virgil took it and fiddled with it for a few moments before it stopped with the song. “Oh my gosh,” he said scrolling through something on the screen.

“What.”

“What maniac sets a custom alarm for every 30-60 minutes for a week that just plays ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’? Oh, and one ‘It’s Not Unusual’ on Saturday. He’s mixing memes at an alarming rate.”

“Can you. Just. Make it not happen. Anymore?”

Virgil smirked at him. “Maybe.” He turned around to go back into his office.

“Virgil,” Janus growled following him in.

Virgil just laughed. “What do you want to know about it?” he asked. “Just a fair warning… the song means he… likely was aware someone would steal it.”

“Of course, he was,” Janus groaned.

“But I’m sure we can still get something out of it.” Virgil started tapping at the screen again. “Okay, let’s see. It’s an iPhone 5, and someone jailbroke it.”

“What does that mean?”

“Tampered with it so they could install non-company approved software,” Virgil explained.

“Well I figured that since he was using Google Maps to track time distortions,” Janus grumbled.

“I think I have something,” Virgil said to himself while digging through his desk. “Ah ha!” He held up some sort of cord. “This will let me hook it up to my integrator.” He slotted the cord into the bottom of the iPhone and then crawled under his desk to fiddle around with some other things. “There we go,” Virgil said popping back up. “It might take a few minutes. Running the program any faster might overheat the phone.”

Janus nodded and sat back to wait. Virgil grabbed the phone and started to play around with it a bit even as it uploaded all of its information to his computer.

“Weird,” Virgil said after a moment.

“What?” Janus asked, sitting up straighter.

“There are exactly two contacts. Fewer than I’d anticipate for a regular phone from the 2010s. More than I would expect from one clearly not being used as a phone.

Virgil glanced to the side, and it must have finished the download because he unhooked it from the computer. “I have a 21st century phone network adapter,” Virgil said. “It transfers call back to whatever date the phone says. Do you want to try calling one?”

“It’s worth a shot,” Janus replied.

Virgil dug back into his desk for a small device that he plugged into the same port he’d plugged the earlier cord. “Okay, which contact do you want to try first?” he asked. “One has ‘Ro’ with a crown, red heart, and a gold star emoji. The other has “Lo” with a book, blue heart, and Milky Way emoji.”

“He mentioned a Lo,” Janus said. “So, try him first.”

Virgil nodded. “I’ll put it on speaker.” He pressed some buttons before setting the phone on the desk between them.

The phone rang three times before with a bit of a crackle, it was answered. “Salutations,” a voice said, voice sounding a bit scratchy as though he had only just gotten up.

Virgil motioned with his head for Janus to speak. “Are you ‘Lo’?” he asked.

The man hummed. “To some people.”

Janus… didn’t quite know what to say to that, or even what questions he should ask.

“I’m assuming you’re the man that stole my associate’s phone.”

“Your associate?” Janus fished.

The man made an amused hum. “I believe you were calling him ‘Pat’ on your last adventure.” Janus could hear something being placed down on the other end of the phone. Before Janus could respond, he heard what sounded like an old keyboard being typed on. “Now,” Lo said. “I have to admit, I am surprised you were willing to oblige me so thoroughly by plugging the phone into your system. Let’s see…”

The screen on Virgil’s lit up bright blue all of a sudden. “…shit,” said Virgil.

“Well,” Lo said, “it seems you were clever enough not to plug it into the TPI system, which is disappointing, but…”

There was more clicking on the other end. “Hmm, interesting music tastes for the 4000s,” he said.

“I’m an anthropologist,” Virgil spoke up.

“Ah, yes, I can see that,” Lo replied. “Virgil Eran, senior professor at Silver Mountain University, a vetted member of the Cultural Outreach program, and searched the phrase ‘How to eat sushi without making a cultural blunder and making everyone hate you and losing your job because what kind of shit anthropologist doesn’t know how to eat raw fish right’ which you then shortened to ‘How to eat sushi’ and proceeded to search 52 times in the last 48 hours.”

Virgil went a bit scarlet around the ears. “Dude, did you really have to out me like that?” he hissed at the phone.

“My apologies,” Lo responded. “From my personal experience, don’t dip the rice parts in soy sauce, and don’t add too much wasabi. Overall, most people will be understanding of mistakes, and you will certainly not be fired or ostracized for handling food incorrectly. As long as you are not acting intentionally disrespectful, and I image you will not be considering your clear anxiety over whatever outing you are planning to attend, you will be fine.”

“Okay,” Virgil said. “Good point, but counterpoint, what if you’re wrong and everyone hates me forever?”

“Is it the lunch meeting today at 11:30am?” Lo asked, “because I can see that a Professor Boris Laden has attended the event multiple years in a row. Considering he is a philosophy instructor, has no Japanese heritage that I can see, and I have found a photo of last year’s event wherein he has placed his chopsticks vertically in his rice, and he has yet to be fired or ostracized, I would postulate that your fears are unfounded.”

“Yeah but… okay, I really don’t have an argument for that one, except maybe I’m a piece of shit and everyone is looking for a reason to hate me.”

“Considering your many impressive accolades in your field, I would argue that ‘a piece of shit’ is not a good descriptor of you. Not to mention the fact that you are often a highly requested member for different committees in your department and outside of it.”

“Oh, but is that because people like me or because I’m an anxious mess and make sure events go off without a hitch?”

“From experience, disorder with people you enjoy the company of is far more tolerable than order with people you do not. Which explains my current living situation and the lack of finished dishes in my sink. Therefore, I would assume the former.”

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“A lot of assumptions,” Virgil commented, but he was smiling slightly.

“Assumptions based on data,” Lo argued back lightly.

“You really came in here, hacked into my computer and smacked my anxiety in the face, huh?”

“Glad to have helped.”

“Y-”

“Are the two of you finished?” Janus interrupted, finally getting sick of the two of them.

“Not nearly,” Lo said. “I have gained access to an entire network of a very large university and will be sorting through the data for a long time.”

“Ugh, right,” Virgil groaned, “and you got access through my integrator.”

“I doubt they’ll be able to trace it back to you if you don’t tell them.”

“Nice try,” Virgil said dryly, “but not likely. I’m telling them about you immediately so they can work to kick you out.”

Lo laughed. “Fair enough, but I’ve already gotten plenty of information at this point. Including the fact that you work with the TPI and scheduled an appointment with an Agent Janus Picani this morning set to start a few minutes before this phone call. So, hello Janus.”

“Bastard,” Janus shot back.

“And goodbye Professor Eran. It was a pleasure.” He hung up.

Virgil sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “This is going to be fun to explain to both of our bosses.”

Arc II What We Do to Each Other

Chapter 16:

As it would turn out, Janus and Virgil did not get in trouble for hooking up the old phone to Virgil’s integrator, mostly because it wasn’t really a mistake on their part. The phone cleared all virus checks that the tech people both from the university and the TPI ran on it. The phone should have been clean and should not have caused an issue.

In fact, they were still trying to pin down the code on the general university server. They could tell that something was mucking about on the system but what or how was a mystery. This also meant that there was no telling what information had been compromised and considering how many things Silver Mountain had its hands in, that was… a bit worrying.

Another worrying thing was there was suddenly more activity of late at the TPI. There were more time distortions popping up every day. Usually they would be few and far in between. There had been 3 total recorded the year before, but over 12 in the last week. Some of them were fake like the one Janus had investigated, but some of them were real. It painted a distressing picture and also was a drain on their resources. Khalid was actually looking to advertise positions to hire new recruits which was something she rarely did as she liked to keep appointments to the TPI in house.

They’d even loosed the number of field agents needed for each mission and Janus and Remus had been splitting up just to get everything done. Today, he and Remus had thankfully only two missions scheduled for the day.

“Are we going together or separate today?” Janus asked Remus.

“Think they’ll burn me at the stake for being a witch if I go alone to either of them?” Remus asked.

“I don’t know. Probably. I think we’re getting a bit late into the 1700s for that in Cuba, but I have no idea about Mesopotamia.”

“Let’s just go together. I did not like almost drowning yesterday because I was the only stranger in town when the weather was going wonky.”

“Surely it isn’t because you opened your mouth. Ever.” Janus said dryly.

“How was I supposed to know he was the local clergyman’s son?”

Janus rolled his eyes. “On second thought,” he said, pushing a button on his desk to choose Cuba as he next mission, and standing up. “I don’t want you coming with me.” Yet, he did not protest when Remus also signed up for the Cuba mission and he waited for him by the office door before going to talk to Rhi.

Rhi was a bit frazzled when which meant quite a bit as she was usually incredibly put together. Remus didn’t even seem inclined to tease her today.

“Okay,” she said once they’d closed the door behind them. She flipped through some documents on her desk. “Picani and Clockson. Camaguey Cuba 1755. Do you know Cuba?”

“Uh,” Janus said. “Yeah?”

“Like you’re reading the things, right? I don’t have to babysit you, right? You got it? The Seven Year War was happening, but it won’t affect you much as it hasn’t really hit Cuba. It’s the middle of the Camaguey Carnival. Everyone will be everywhere and there will be chaos so as long as you don’t really fuck up you should be fine. Um…apparent races.” She looked up at them and studied them each for a moment as thought looking at them for the first time despite having known them for years. “It’ll work. Go to costuming.”

“Shouldn’t we…” Janus said, “sign things?”

“…Yep,” she said, fiddling with her desktop and then sending documents over to their side to sign.

Janus and Remus both did before sending them back.

“Great. Good.” She stood and grabbed some things from behind her. “You can go.” She sat back down as they took their things and Janus noticed a message pop up on her desk. She looked up at Remus looking exhausted. “What?” she asked.

“Just open it,” Remus said.

Rhi tapped it and a photo opened.

“I got her a new mouse toy!” Remus said happily as Rhi looked at the picture of Diesel Fuel attacking a cloth mouse.

“That is… appreciated Agent Clockson,” Rhi said. “Now get out.”

They did, leaving to get their costumes on and checked. Costuming was just as busy and frazzled as Rhi had been and they actually had to wait for decon because there’d been a mix up with the agents leaving before them. They landed in Cuba without issue. Janus could already hear the festival in full swing outside the small building they’d were in. Remy was standing there with a very not time appropriate mug of coffee.

“Sue me,” Remy said when Janus raised an eyebrow at it. “Please just… get in and out without causing trouble. Seriously. I don’t want to have to deal with that on top of everything else.”

“We’ll do our best,” Janus assured.

Remy pulled his sunglasses down to look at him. He looked exhausted. “God please do more than your best.”

Janus nodded tightly. “We’ll be in and out,” he said, already glancing at his timepiece. It had been disguised as a golden bracelet which made it a bit harder to actually use, but wrist watches wouldn’t be invented for more than a century, so they’d have to make do. “The time distortion, if that’s what it is, should be in the middle of town. Let’s go.”

He and Remus exited the building onto the packed city street.

Janus was immediately bombarded with all types of sights, sounds, and smells. There were many colorful articles of clothing and costumes as people went every which way along the street talking to other members of their community, playing instruments, and dancing. There was the sound of people speaking Spanish, still mostly almost pure Castilian Spanish with perhaps a bit of influence from Taino as the Haitian revolution had yet to push the Creole language over to Cuba. People must have been hard at work cooking different dishes for the carnival as many different spices wafted through the air. It was sticky hot considering it was the middle of June in the tropics and Janus was immediately sweating despite the temperature appropriate clothing he’d been outfitted with.

He glanced around their immediate area, just scoping out the crowds. His eyes were immediately drawn to one person near them.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” he said out loud when he saw Pat. Remus looked in the direction Janus was.

Even if Janus didn’t recognize him the moment he laid eyes on him, he probably still would have ended up staring as he was the only person in the area who clearly did not know how to do the dance he was attempting.

Remus snorted and Janus shook his head in secondhand embarrassment. “Well, would you look whose boyfriend’s here,” he said to Janus. Make that firsthand embarrassment. “Has anyone told him the Mambo wasn’t invented until the 1900s and also that’s not how you do it?”

Chapter 17

Pat stopped dancing the moment he saw Janus approaching him, but he still bobbed cheerfully ( and unrhythmically) to the music. “Hi Janus,” he said pleasantly.

“You just have to rub it in, huh?”

There was a flash of confusion across his face, but then he smiled. “Well, I know where in our relationship you are. How was France?”

“You’re a bastard.”

“You stole the phone,” he laughed.

“You stole the bomb,” Janus countered, “and you wanted me to steal the phone. You booby trapped it.”

“No,” Pat correct, putting a finger up. “We have security on my phone because in high school I once forgot it in the school locker room and long story short, the three of us ended up in a lake. So, then Lo made sure I always had some sort of tracker on it. When I started time traveling, he updated it and when I met you we updated it again in case there was ever an opportunity like that. Lo calls it using our weaknesses to our advantage.”

“He’s a bastard too,” Janus growled.

Pat just laughed.

“Is someone talking about me?” Remus asked, stepping over to them. Janus rolled his eyes.

“Oh,” Pat said, blinking at Janus’s partner for a moment. “Remus.” He hesitated slightly. “How are you doing?”

“Me?” Remus asked. “Uh, I’m doing good. A little stressed out with work, but fine.”

“Good,” Pat said with just a little too much heartfulness to it.

“What?” Janus asked, eyes narrowed at Pat. “What is that?”

“What is what?” Pat asked. He met Janus’s eyes briefly and it made panic surge up Janus’s spine because the look Pat was sending him wasn’t one that said he was playing dumb. It was a warning.

Oh, Janus did not like this. That look told Janus Pat had some foreknowledge that he absolutely could not tell Janus about without messing up the timeline spectacularly. This was why this mess the two of them were mixed up in was so bad, but it seemed Janus did not have much of a choice when it came to Pat.

Despite how bad of an idea he knew it was, he still wanted to push, because whatever Pat was hiding could be very, very bad and it had to do with Remus. There were so many reasons Pat could be acting like that around Remus, but the worst ones were definitely the ones on his mind. Death, injury, illness. They were all possible especially in their line of work and especially with how time was being screwed with right now. And Pat knew. He knew exactly what the answer was, and oh did Janus want to push.

Experience knowing what worse things could come out of having foreknowledge made Janus bite his tongue.

“So, what are you two doing here,” Pat asked, and Janus unhappily let him change the subject.

“Oh, like you don’t know,” Janus replied.

“I don’t know,” Pat said innocently.

“There’s another time distortion,” Janus said, “and while you didn’t know what it was the last time I saw you, I’m pretty sure you do now.”

“Oh, I didn’t know there was a time distortion here. I can help you if you like,” he offered sweetly.

“Oh, yeah, sure. Then why are you here?”

“I wanted to see if I could find the Flying Dutchman,” Pat told him.

“And so you went to Camaguey?”

“Uh huh.”

“One of the farthest places from the ocean in Cuba?”

“Is it?”

“I don’t trust you.”

Pat just shrugged. “Well, if you don’t want my help finding the time distortion, I’ll just be on my way then.”

“Wait,” he said when Pat went to turn away. Pat paused. Janus turned to Remus. “Remus, do you think he’s bullshitting me so I let him wander off and do whatever the hell he’s doing, or do you think he’s bullshitting me into letting him come with us.”

“Hmm,” Remus said, looking Pat up and down. Janus could immediately tell he wasn’t going to get any helpful answer. “Well, if we’re going with the how much do I get to see his, admittedly very sexy, ass criteria.” Janus pinched the bridge of his nose. “Letting him leave now means instant gratification and a nice full image when he turns away. However, letting him go with us means many more opportunities to get a glimpse, but they’d probably just be glimpses. So, yeah that’s a tough call.”

“You didn’t even bother to give me an actual hidden suggestion with that bullshit,” Janus groaned. He glanced at Pat only to see him hiding his very red face in his hands. Janus blinked. “Oh,” he said. “You got him, Remus.” Janus was surprised. He’d expected a bit more tenacity for someone with Pat’s personality. Of course, Janus was used to Remus, so that perhaps had some effect. Pat made a muffled distressed sound behind his hands and Janus raised an eyebrow. “You really got him.”

Pat flapped one hand around while still using the other to completely hide his face. “It’s just. His face. Saying that. Is weird.”

Janus could not say that he didn’t feel a slight spark of joy at seeing Pat flustered. After all, Pat’s weapon of choice had often been flirting with Janus in the past. However, he still smacked Remus on the shoulder when it looked like he was about to continue with something likely far more inappropriate. “We are here for a reason,” he reminded. He turned to consider Pat and squinted at him. “You’re coming with us, I’ve decided. I don’t want to let you out of my sights. Don’t,” he said empathically turning to Remus as the man opened his mouth once more.

Pat had mostly recovered, though his cheeks were just a bit pink still. “Yeah,” he said. “I’ll go with you. Where do we start?”

Janus glanced at his timepiece. “It’s not showing up on our trackers yet.”

“It messed with your tracker last time,” Pat pointed out.

“I know,” Janus said. “Which means it could be another fake one or whatever is causing it hasn’t started yet. If things start going wrong, but it still doesn’t show on our radar, it’s almost certainly a fake one, but some of the fake ones haven’t blocked our technology.”

“Here, I can check,” Pat said.

“Please don’t pull out an iPhone,” Janus begged.

Pat stuck out his tongue at him, and then smiled. He reached for the bracelet on his wrist and twisted it back and forth a few times before pressing his palms together. He glanced around them quickly to make sure no one around them was watching and then peeled apart his palms like he was miming reading a book.

“What the fuck is that, and how do I get one?” Remus asked immediately. It was innocuous, whatever it was. If someone from this time caught a glimpse of the display, they’d likely assume it was a trick of the light, but staring right at it, Janus could tell it was a map of the surrounding areas with a softly glowing blue light marking their current location. Janus could see no screen or origin of a hologram. It looked like the image was drawn onto the man’s palms, but as he watched, the image shifted to zoom out.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything major yet,” Pat said wiggling his fingers a bit. The display changed slightly to some sort of colorful overlay Janus did not understand. Pat hummed. “Did you two come from that building recently?” he asked nodding at it.

“Yes,” Janus replied. “How do you know?”

“There’s sometimes a slight temperature change when people time travel,” Pat explained. “I can read it on here.” He tilted his head. “There also seems to be a big enough temperature change in a church a few blocks away that could indicate time travel. Want to check it out?”

“We might as well,” Janus agreed.

“And if it’s nothing, we can get drunk on the communion wine!”

“He’s going to get immediately struck by lightning,” Janus said.

Chapter 18

“If we see anyone,” Janus said as they entered the church. “You keep your mouth shut. Do you understand me? Remus, do you understand me?”

Remus immediately turned to Pat. “You know, I didn’t grow up Catholic,” he said to Pat who looked at him in confusion. “So the first time I ever entered a Catholic church, you can’t blame me for being a little confused about the whole cabinet thing with a wall between them. After all, everyone was singing about glory to god and what not. So I…”

Janus slapped him. “This is why you were almost burned at the stake yesterday.”

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“Excuse you,” Remus said, putting his hand over his heart. “I was almost drowned.”

“You were almost drowned?” Pat asked, his voice seeming legitimately distressed.

Remus shrugged a smile on his face that caused a Pavlovian migraine to start up behind Janus’s eyes. “It’s one of the hazards of the jobs, and really it would have all been worth it if I’d actually gotten to drown in that man’s…”

“We’re in a church!” Janus cut him off switching from Spanish to Swahili in the hopes that no random passersby would be able to understand him in this time and place. “Don’t talk about lewd sex things. Don’t talk about sex at all. It’s a Catholic church!”

Remus continued to speak in Spanish with no regard for anything. “But not talking about lewd sex things takes away 3/4ths of my personality,” he pouted.

“More like 9/10th,” Janus grumbled, “and the other 1/10th is just normal stupid.”

“Hey, you shouldn’t be mean,” Pat scolded, in fucking English for some reason, “but Remus, honey, you probably shouldn’t be saying things like that right now.”

“No, no, he has a point,” Remus said switching to English.

“He’s my partner, I have the right to call him stupid,” Janus insisted.

“And I love you too!” Remus said in Greek because he was really, truly, stupid.

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Pat looked between the two, but then seemed to accept it, dropping the concerned expression for a slightly amused one. “If you say so.”

“Can I… help you?” A voice asked. All three of them whipped around to see a young boy looking at them and seeming very confused. Which was fair considering that to his ears, they’d just been speaking nonsense.

“We’re here to pray!” Remus claimed, then he turned to wink at Pat and said under his breath in Swahili, “to that ass.” Pat went immediately bright red again, which was doubtlessly Remus’s aim. Janus subtlety stepped on his foot while smiling at the boy.

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“Oh,” the boy said. “Okay.” Thankfully, he didn’t seem interested in questioning the random strangers in front of him further. “I’m going to go back to the celebration now.”

Janus smiled at him. “Have fun,” he said. He waited for the boy to leave through the front door before slapping Remus on the back of the head.

“Ow!” he whined sounding far too pained for how hard Janus had actually hit him.

Janus rolled his eyes. “Let’s just start investigating,” he said.

“Sure, sure, you never let me have any fun,” Remus said, pulling up his wrist and spinning the golden bracelets on his arm. “Hmm…” he said.

#study break stories #not writing

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novantinuum · 4 years ago

Text

Crack the Paragon, Chapter 11

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: Teen Audiences (I have upped the rating in consideration of sensitive topics I aim to depict later on.)

Words: 3000~

Summary: In another world, he doesn’t have his mother’s sword or shield to hide behind when Bismuth lands her strike. The bubble pops.

Steven falls apart.

Chapter summary: In which Lapis is a flight risk, and Steven begins to doubt himself.

You can find the AO3 link in the reblogs! (I have to omit them from the original post these days to ensure this will show up in the tags.) If you enjoyed this, I’d greatly appreciate your support through reblogs here, or kudos/comments on AO3 as well.

Chapter 10: Beta, Part 2

When your life has become a continually evolving string of heart pounding adventures linked together by the odd few days off, you quickly learn to fixate on the fine details no matter what the circumstance, as you never know when one of those details could be used to save everyone’s butts. Sure, it’s not like this outlook did him any favors back in the forge, but his point still stands: a Steven who isn’t constantly paying close attention to his surroundings is a Steven who can’t properly help his friends. If he’s not innately aware of everything around him, he can’t raise his shield in time. He won’t be able to pull the right tool out of his cheeseburger backpack. He can’t give a perfectly worded response to a soul in need. This is a non-negotiable fact, and the reality of what happened with Bismuth merely cements it ever more solid. Which is why— deep beyond the wandering disorientation of his current surface thoughts— he can’t help but wonder why he’s unable to pay attention to the details that actually matter right now. The individual threads of all his friends’ panic, confusion, and attempted explanation overlap and intertwine, weaving an audible tapestry of emotions. Their precise words, however, may as well have died in the wind. Mentally, he is not here. Instead, the fragmented remains of his focus choose to zero in on the wood grain pattern spread across every beam and board of the barn’s rustic infrastructure. Wholly enamored, his eyes trace a path between the dark ridges as if traversing a maze. Tree rings are super pretty, huh. He absolutely doesn’t give them the love and admiration they deserve. But as is evident from the slight musty smell and the dainty mushrooms beginning to sprout by the floor in one of the corners, some of the boards are beginning to rot. His mouth falls slightly ajar, and he stares at these fruiting bodies with such stubborn commitment that for a moment he forgets anything else was ever a priority. Have Peridot and Lapis noticed? Do they even know what wood rot is? Upon that thought, he frowns pensively, balling his fist at his chin. Hmm. Given their relative inexperience with Earth stuff, the most likely answer to that is no. He’ll have to call Dad about fixing the boards before this grows into an even bigger problem. It’d be awful if their home became unsafe to live in because he didn’t do his part to help. But then again... “What do you mean, none of you know why she did it? That just makes it worse!” “Lapis! Lapis, wait! They said she’s—“ “Let go of me!” she says, struggling in Peridot’s grasp, her water wings flaring outwards at the ready. “Don’t you get it? I can’t live here on Earth anymore, it’s not safe! None of us are safe!” Is he already too late?

Lapis’s impassioned cries continue to echo at the edge of his awareness— something paranoid about shapeshifted disguises, about the Diamonds— but his feet are still anchored to the boards below, his body all but stagnant in shock of the current maelstrom of emotions. And yet, it’s strange... while a sum of him dimly recognizes he’s still attached to reality, it’s almost as if he’s watching all of this from above himself, stuck as a passive observer to his failure. Helpless. ( C-cracked, I’m- I’m cracked, I’m split I, I can’t... feel... need... I-I need to —) Slimy tendrils of guilt slither around his heart. He wasn’t paying close enough attention to the mood. He wasn’t careful. He wasn’t convincing. He was scared that everyone would devolve into petty argument, and look what happened! He ran his mouth when he should’ve stayed silent. He caused his own nightmare. His family’s splintering apart once more, and it’s all his fault. “But it’s not like that,” Ruby hastily interjects, “I’m sure it’s not like that!” “Really? You’re seriously jumping to defend Rose, after all the lies she fed us?” Amethyst spits back. “N- no! I’m just saying, why would—“ The constant chirping chorus emanating from the birds of the nearby woods steals his fragmented focus next, and he can’t help the sense of relief that bubbles up from within as he willfully sinks into the distraction. The birds, their songs are beautiful. He wonders what they’re saying to each other... if they’re arguing about territory, warning friends about predators, or simply having a friendly conversation. Maybe his dad might be able to distinguish the difference. When he was still living in the van, they used to lay on that ratty old mattress side-by-side late at night, listening to the crashing tides and the distant squalls of birds picking at trashed food on the boardwalk. Because one of his relatives was big into birding when they were kids, Dad was always able to stake a reasonable guess on the species class based on call alone. And honestly, that’s a pretty amazing power to have. As he related earlier, it’s important to fixate on the fine details. Attention to detail can save lives. It can soften hearts. It can make or break friendships. But as he’s grown to fear, it can’t fix everything. He can’t fix everything. The blue Gem’s features twist with simmering fury. “Peridot, I told you to let me go!” she hollers, and in a single jerk rips herself away from the shorter Gem’s desperate embrace. Her wings swing like a whip behind her as her body follows the motion through. It’s enough of a shock to the system that his sense of awareness comes rushing back. He ducks, the water swishing right over his head. Something behind him snaps and clatters to the ground. Ruby presses a bejeweled hand to her face, muttering something he can’t distinguish. “‘Kay, I’m out,” Amethyst cuts in through the chaos, throwing her hands up. “Y’all are whack, this whole convo is whack, and I can’t deal with any of this right now.” Not wasting a single second, she tucks herself into a ball and super-speeds it out of the barn. Mouth caught in a tiny, helpless ‘o,’ Steven whisks around, only barely catching a glimpse of her retreat before he spots the damage. It’s one of Lapis’s morps, that wooden hanger displaying all the baseball paraphernalia. Now it lies rejected on the floorboards, one of the strings broken and the bat rolling towards Peridot’s feet. He watches, feeling lambasted with regret for his role in sparking this argument, as the green Gem’s face cripples much like the structural integrity of that meep-morp. She blinks away the threat of tears and quickly averts her gaze from the group, bending to pick up the bat before clutching it to her chest in a protective manner. The water Gem huffs and storms out of the barn as well, fists unyielding at her side. Heart pounding amidst all the uncertainty of this fraught situation, Steven scuttles after her. Come on, think! he snaps at himself, chewing pensively at his lip. There has to be a way he can still save this, a way he can stop his family from splintering apart yet again... “Lapis,” Ruby begins, delicately edging towards her. “No, stop,” she holds up a hand. Her expression— as nebulous and hard to ascertain as always— is caught at some weird nexus between blinding anger, terror, and... is that guilt he spies? “Stop talking! I’m not asking any of you to change my mind. I’m leaving, and all of you should be too!” Turning on her heels, she squares her stance and flares her wings to their full width in preparation for her flight. Just before those watery wings can beat downwards, propelling her lithe form away from his world forever, he leaps forward. Dares to grab her wrist. She sharply inhales, briefly tugging against him before she notices who the hand belongs to and falls slack in his hold. Static assails his mind as he assesses every angle of this jerk-moment decision. What on earth is he doing? (He can practically feel Ruby and Peridot’s anxious, curious gaze drilling into him from behind, and they’re not even in his line of sight. No matter what happens, this is all on him. No one else.) “I-I, um,” he stammers at first, desperately scouring his brain for the right words to say. “Please, I’m... You don’t have to be scared like this. I may have her gem, but I’m not her!” Lapis gives a shaky sigh. Her wings droop right along with her shoulders, the persistent burden of thousands of years of captivity evident within her posture. Waiting in the shadow of her silence, his focus falls on the gemstone adoring her back, that smooth, glossy teardrop. Golly, somehow it doesn’t feel that long ago at all that her gem was cracked, and— scared, angered, and confused— she lashed out in much a similar way. “I’ve always known you’re not your mom, Steven,” she says lowly, still not meeting his gaze. “This- this isn’t about that!” “Then... what is it about?” She growls in frustration, clenching her fists as she yanks her wrist away from his grip. “Have none of you been listening to me?” “Have you been listening to us?” Peridot mutters flatly from behind him.

Lapis shoots her a sour look, but continues, pacing across the grass as she speaks. “If one diamond was able to fool an entire empire into thinking she was a quartz for thousands of years,” she says, gesticulating to emphasize her words, “then- then how do we know the other Diamonds aren’t already here doing the same, already watching from a distance, just waiting to shatter us for everything we’ve done??” The sharpened words echo across the fields, familiar bird calls cut short as even nature falls silent in their sway. Steven stands motionless, her paranoia-tinted prophecy sinking in through his flesh despite all efforts otherwise, sowing roots in the darkest corners of his mind that he dare not peep into. When no one responds, the blue Gem exhales, lowering her face to the ground. “I’ve let my guard down too much here, I’ve let myself grow soft. I’m sorry, but I have to go.” He swears he hears a note of disappointment laced between the layers of her uneven breath, or perhaps it’s heartbreak. He can’t tell. Despite his usual aptitude at interpreting others’ feelings, Lapis is consistently hard to read. And it’s this very thought, this subtle dissonance from the expected in her intentions, that encourages him to reach out one last time. Her wings flare out again. Blood and hard light thrum at an almost dizzying pace through his parallel veins. It’s now or never.

“Lapis, wait!” he calls, palm open wide. “Please, please don’t leave! Not now, not like this.” Their world crystallizes into ice as he vies to meet her fears head on. There’s no sunlight, no bird calls, no wind, no Ruby and Peridot behind him. No more untimely distractions. Only Lapis, desperate and hurting amid the heart of the storm she created. She holds her wings taut, ready for flight, hovering at the edge of her metaphoric tower. Breath trembling, she glances behind. The sheer complexity of emotion Steven discovers in those sea blue irises almost makes his eyes water. Cautiously, he steps forward.

“Maybe you’re right,” he begins, fidgeting with his shirt’s bottom hemline. His fingers briefly brush against the edge of his gem as he does so, and he jerks them away in blind rebellion of this reminder. “Maybe this planet never will be completely safe. Maybe nothing ever goes to plan. But the Crystal Gems have survived this long because they stood together instead of breaking apart. A-and... I know you don’t think of yourself as a Crystal Gem,” he cuts in quickly with a placating gesture, noticing the question forming on her lips, “but please-! With everything else that’s happening, I really, really still want you in my life.”

Tightly, she wrings her fingers around her opposite arm, face dipping dolefully towards the soft soil squishing up between her bare toes. “Steven, I...” “I can’t promise you’ll be safe on Earth, but I can promise you won’t have to be alone,” he says, voice thick. “Please.” Stay, he mouths, his body nearly shaking in fear of how she’ll respond, of all the inner thoughts flooding through her mind he’ll never wholly decipher. Their gaze locks, souls laid bare to each other as they engage in a rapid-fire dialogue no other creature of this world will ever be privy to.

If you can't stay for yourself, he cries silently, can’t you stay for me?

The seconds are punctuated only by the reverberant tremor of his heartbeat, as he stands upon a precipice in wait of her pivotal, defining answer.

Eventually, her expression softens. She folds her wings, standing down.

“Fine,” she spits. “I’ll wait and see what happens... for now. But if I ever find out any of the Diamonds are inbound, or worse? I’m out of here.”

A stiff gust of wind rushes past, threading through her hair and causing her dress to undulate like mid-ocean waves. Shadow obscures her face.

“I’m not getting pulled into another war.” Giving no further explanation, she turns tail and storms past the tent, past the rickety fence bordering her and Peridot’s barn, and into the overgrown wildflower field beyond. Once she’s reached a far enough distance, she extends her wings and begins to fly, hastily disappearing beyond the tree-line. Everyone stares at the thick swath of forest she escaped to with dumbfounded shock at first, no one quite sure how to proceed after that bomb of a conversation stopper. Ruby mutters something under her breath, clear frustration coloring her voice. Behind him, he hears Peridot reverently set the bat down on the barn’s floor.

“I’m... gonna go find her, and help her calm down,” she says. Clutching her hands close to her chest, she passes him and Ruby and begins her long, flightless trek into the Beach City woods. Steven himself migrates towards the grassy patch beyond the pool, and falls to his knees amongst the dandelions growing there. Most of them are still flowering, their lithe golden yellow petals fanning out from the head. A few on a separate plant are white and puffy, though, ready to disperse seeds. He’s drawn to one in particular, a seedhead that’s already missing half of its progeny. Biologically, he knows it’s a good thing that those seeds have flown away and might get a chance to germinate elsewhere, but regardless the sight of this lonely, barren dandelion strikes a dour note. Was he wrong, asking Lapis to stay? Could she eventually heal and become happier, leaving the burden of this place? He swallows hard, gripping the balding seedhead between two fingers and decisively plucking it off the stem. A few more seeds blow off with the disturbance, their feathery parachutes falling into the arms of the wind.

Lapis...

What if his selfishness is only holding her back?

And then there’s Amethyst to worry about. There’s no point overextending the sad dandelion metaphor to fit her situation, because hers is something entirely unique. She’s still in his life, just emotionally closed-off. Bitter. Avoidant. Unfairly antagonistic to others. By inviting her out here he hoped she might take the opportunity to kick back and blow off some steam, but now, after watching her abruptly leave the group a few minutes ago, he’s worried this trip only succeeded in further stressing her out.

A gem adorned hand falls upon his shoulder then, pulling him to the present. With a startled yelp, he tosses the dandelion into the grass as he flinches away. His heart drums uncontrollably, so much so that his cheeks burn with embarrassment when it dawns on him who this hand belongs to. He sucks in a shaky breath to calm himself down before allowing himself to sink into her comfort, glancing behind to meet Ruby’s tired, kind eyes. “Hey. Are you okay?” she asks. His tongue suddenly feeling as limp and dry as all the fallen leaves beginning to sprinkle the ground, he nods his head yes. In an overt betrayal of his response, his big, stupid, puffy eyes begin to water. Hurriedly, he wipes the burgeoning tears away with the butt of his palm. Frustration bubbles at his core. Since when was he such a crybaby? He’s cried far too much lately, and he’s sick of it. He rubs harder as the tears begin to fall anyways, his bottom lip quivering as he vies with every last ounce of control he still has to not look entirely pathetic. The skin around his eyes, sensitive and raw, begins to sting from the friction. Wordlessly, Ruby wraps her hands around his wrists and leads them away from his face. His chest tightens. He fails to choke back a sob as she pulls him into her embrace, his own arms trapped between them. She buries her face into the crook of his neck, and it’s then that he realizes with a shock of surprise that she’s crying too. Her quiet tears dampen his collar; her fingers clutch at the back of his shirt. “You don’t have to pretend to be strong for us all the time,” she says softly. “I wanna be here for you too, okay? It’s just like you said... no matter what, we stand together.” “But I- I have to go find her,” he chokes out, the words sticking in his throat in the most pathetic manner. “Who, Lapis? Peridot‘s prolly fine handling her on her own.” “No, I mean Amethyst. I saw her run off, an, and she’s been so upset today, and...” “Steven,” she says, leaning away and gently lifting his chin so he can’t avoid her compassionate gaze. “You’ve been under a lot of stress lately, and honestly? A lot of it’s been our fault. You should take a moment to rest, okay?” Grinning, she ruffles his hair. “Enjoy the breeze! Climb a tree! Kick back for once. I’ll check on Amethyst this time.”

He hoarsely whispers an ‘okay’ as he sits back on his heels in the sun and watches her run off, allowing the wind to whip through his curls. Sighing, he splays his fingers just above the grass, allowing their tips to gently tickle his palm as they brush back and forth, and futilely tries to convince himself he’s cultivated enough good into the world today to deserve this break.

#su #steven universe #su fanfic #su fanfiction #lapis lazuli #ruby #peridot #amethyst #my writing stuff #crack the paragon

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thotsforvillainrights · 4 years ago

Text

~Job Hunting~

Au: Roommates

Part: Three

Theme: general

As usual the day started with a loud knock at your door before Magne burst inside. You groaned and fastened the blanket over your head, gripping it as tightly as possible in case she decided to yank it off. No, Magne was going to take the better approach to the situation. She moved to open your room curtains and light instantly flooded the room. It was ineffective against the forcefield of your blanket though. You had hoped she’d leave you be, but nooooo...

She just had to call in the big guns.

“Alright Toga, plan B! She/He/They won’t get up!” By the time she said that, it was too late to raise your white flag of surrender. “OOOF!” You huffed when the sudden slamming weight jumped on top of your body. “Jesus Toga, get the hell off me!!!” Himiko just giggled and began to tickle you until you jolted out of bed yourself. “Good job!” Magne praised her and she smiled widely. “Alright, now that you’re up Y/N, we gotta get our asses on top of this job hunting or else we’ll all be moving out faster than we moved in.” Magne spoke seriously and you nodded. She was right after all. You guys had your fun already. The moving process was over, you already had dinner at multiple places on this side of town, and you threw an absolute rager of a housewarming party last weekend. Now it was time to get serious and do adult stuff. You sighed and went to get ready for the day ahead. Once finished, both the girls were already in the car munching on toast. “We can stop somewhere and get lunch after a while if that’s okay.” Magne asked you and you nodded. “Alright! We’ve used all our connections and rounded up the places for our best possible options! First stop on the list is just a few blocks away!” Magne informed excitedly before pulling out of the parking spaces and heading towards the first destination:

The tattoo shop where Dabi worked as Assistant Manager.

The bell that hung above the door dinged as the three of you entered the shop (resume’s in hand) and approached the desk where Dabi sat. He sighed and placed the flash sheet away to look up at you 3. “Alright, you actually were being serious about the whole job thing?” He sighed in annoyance and Magne gasped. “Uhm yeah!? I wasn’t kidding around when I said that to you the other day!” Dabi pinched the skin on the bridge of his nose and looked back up at everyone. “I wanna first off start by saying, you need to have some sort of skill to do this. The art, AND the steadiness of your hands as well. Oh and you have to have a relationship with blood.” When he said this, Toga gasped excitedly. “Ugh, a GOOD relationship with it.” Dabi added and Toga frowned, turning to walk out of the shop in defeat. “How are the hours? Can I request a lot of days off in case I have to get a second job?” Magne asked curiously and Dabi just burst out into laughter. “You’re a fucking hilarious chick!!!” He laughed at her (even as she turned to walk out of the shop too). “Then I guess that just leaves you huh?” He smirked at you mischievously. “Do you wanna try for it?” He asked, quickly yanking your resume from your hands and giving it a look over. “Wow, you’re pretty impressive but I’ll be honest with you...” He handed your resume back. “We really don’t give a shit about what grade you graduated with in college algebra. Come back with a portfolio of your artwork and then you’ll be in business. If you think you’re interested in it of course.” Dabi winked and got back to work. “Oh okay, thank you.” You spoke quietly and quickly headed out the door. “So how is it for you? Did we land it?” Magne and Toga looked at you expectedly. “Honestly I probably did if I wanted to work there, but I don’t think I have enough time to put together an entire portfolio before our first rent is due. On top of that, I have to spend money on my own equipment and the apprentice thing doesn’t pay until I get my tattoo license. In all reality, this seems like a long term process. Let’s just check out the next spot please?” Magne nodded and drove off to the next place:

The Plus Ultra Tech Store where Spinner works.

The three of you entered the store and you smiled when you noticed Spinner behind the counter tinkering with an old keyboard. He looked up and directly at you as a blush started on his cheeks. “H-hey Y/N.” You smiled lightly and opened your mouth to greet him back but Toga spoke up first. “Spin Spin!!! I came to see if you had an open position or two orrrr three???” She approached the counter and excitedly slapped her palms down. “Okay whoa hey! First of all please quiet down, and second of all don’t call me Spin Spin. Anyway, gimme your Resumes.” Spinner took each of them and looked them over thoroughly (which took a bit so Toga and Magne went to look through the store). He sighed when he finished and looked over at you. “You guys have pretty darn good credentials but that’s not gonna play too much of a part here. Hey guys! Can you come over here real quick?” Spinner called out to them and the two of them made it to the desk fast af. “Okay, I really don’t wanna hurt you guys feelings but I’m gonna be frank here: Do any of you know how to fix technology?” Spinner was met with silence and confused expressions. “Uh...okay. Well do any of you have extensive knowledge on movies, tech, or video games slash consoles?” Spinner was once again met with silence. “DO ANY OF YOU KNOW HOW TO SET UP A CELL PHONE AND ARE YOU OKAY WITH DOING IT FOR MOST OF THE DAY?”

“Oh I can!!!”

“Alright you’re hired then.” Spinner sighed and took Toga’s resume. “I can try to ask my manager to open up some more positions for you two if you want. I really don’t wanna leave you out and-” You gently placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled sweetly at him. “It’s alright Shuichi, don’t worry! Just hiring Toga has helped us a ton. Now all we have to do is focus on Mags and I, and we’ll just be A-OK.” You winked at him and pat his shoulder, watching him look away quickly as he tried to hide that cute blush of his. You and Magne headed back to the car and waited for Toga to finish up the impromptu interview/hiring process. Finally she burst out of the store doorway and skipped back to the car happily with a folded uniform in her arms. “We did it!!!!” She shouted happily once she got into the back seat. You laughed and Magne playfully rolled her eyes. “No you did it, crazy. Me and Y/N still got at least 3 more places to head to. Next stop is:

The University Shigaraki attends.

Once you guys made it there, Magne texted real quick and Shigaraki approached the car car 5 minutes later. He knocked on the driver window and Magne rolled it down. “A Sorento...really? I honestly saw you driving a bug or a smart car.” Tomura played with the door interior and Magne slapped his hand away. “Excuse you, Mr. California Raisin but my Mom gave me this car and it’s fully payed off. AND it’s a 2018, so let’s see you do better hmm?”

“I drive a 2019 Prius.”

“A Prius and you???” Magne burst into laugher and Toga giggled from the back seat. “Get the fuck out of the stupid Sorento and let’s go. I don’t have time to waste. My next class is in like 40 minutes and I still gotta get some lunch to eat.” Tomura grumbled as your crew made it out of the car. You all trekked near Tomura across the campus while he pulled out his map and argued with Magne the quickest routes to places. “Listen here you ashy bitch, I’m telling you if we cross over in FRONT of the cafeteria then we can make it to the biology building faster than if we took that sidewalk by the financial aid office.” She tapped the paper furiously and Tomura growled. “No you listen Mop headed slut, I go to school here so it’s ME that knows where we’re supposed to be. I have TWO teachers to introduce to you and Y/N each and it’s gonna take me a bit to get there so let me do it my way.” He grumbled back at her and she snatched the map. Toga leaned over to whisper in your ear as you two continued to walk behind them. “Those two argue like a married couple. 20 bucks says they’ll be dating by Christmas of this year.” You quietly laughed and pushed her to the side. “Shut it Himiko, or they’ll both kill us!” Suddenly the whole group stopped walking as two familiar faces approached. “Hey, what are you guys doing on campus? I thought you all graduated college already last year or whatever.” Hari spoke with a welcoming smile as Kai stood next to him. “Good evening you three. Thank you for inviting us to that party last week. It was nice to not focus on schoolwork for a moment of two.” Kai added peacefully. “Oh not biggie really! And we’re here because me and Y/N have to go see two teachers here for a possible position as a secretary, or teachers assistant. Tomura’s dumbass is failing as our lead to them though.” Magne and Shigaraki glared at each other for a moment.

“Well Kai just got out for the day and my next class isn’t till later tonight since I’m taking mainly night classes and all. Why don’t I take Magne to the first teacher, and Kai can take Y/N. That way you can go eat or whatever Tomura. Besides, I owe you after you helped me with the programming homework I had before I changed my major last semester.” Hari explained and Magne squealed. “Oh such a gentleman, say less!” She grabbed Hari’s arm and he laughed nervously before she pulled him along, following the map and chatting as if they’d known each other forever. Tomura explained where to find the other teacher and then he left eagerly towards the cafeteria with Toga tagging along (because she genuinely wanted to see what the food was like here). “Thanks again for leading me there. I know you’d probably have places you’d rather be huh.” You spoke up and Kai laughed slightly. “Oh no, think nothing of it. Any escape I get from having to focus on this work all the time is perfect for me. Besides, I feel like we should get to know each other since we only just met through Shigaraki’s invite to your housewarming. You seem like an interesting person with a charming personality and a stunning face...I mean as if that has anything to do with it.” He cleared his throat and looked forward. “Wow, that was a terrible save.” You teased him, hinting at his little compliment he threw in there. “Anyway Kai, what are you going to graduate in? Like your major and all.”

“Biological Sciences and Pre-Med. After that, I gotta head to Med school 2 cities away from here.”

“Wow, off to do great things huh? I’m kinda sad knowing that now haha. Seems like we don’t have much time to get to know each other after the next few semesters and all.”

“Oh well I wouldn’t put it that way. After all, we still have phones. And when I’m passing through to visit family on holidays, I’ll be sure to drop in and see you...and everyone else haha.”

“Wow, another bad save.” You continued to tease him and he laughed it off. You guys seemed to make it to your destination in no time. Kai was kind enough to wait around outside while you chatted in the building with the English teacher. When you came out he looked at you with worry apparent on his face. “Did it go well?” You immediately shed your fake somber expression and smiled widely. “I don’t know, but you’ll just have to ask me that when I clock in next week!!!!” You jumped up and down excitedly. “Hey that’s great! Let’s go out to celebrate with coffee or something eventually.” You smiled and nodded. It didn’t take too much longer to get back home with Toga and Magne. Turns out Magne failed the interview pretty bad but luckily she made it into a pretty cushy job with Twice and Hawks at the store in the Mall she really loved (just think Spencers pls). “Well I’d say we achieved our goals for today so let’s go blow the rest of our cash on a crap ton of junk food and binge watch Netflix at the house!” Magne cheered on the way home as you and Toga joined her. Hopefully this job would last long, and hopefully it would bring you some peace at mind when it comes to financial stability because after all...

you still needed to save money for a car👀

(but that’s a story for another time)

»—————————–———————————————————–✄

Instagram: @pastelbattydraws & @pastelbattystore

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRNMJH7vHL7APNobUykhK4w?view_as=subscriber

#au #roommates au #big sis magne #big sis mag #magne #toga himiko #dabi #spinner #tomura shigaraki #kai chisaki #Hari Kurono #hawks #jin bubaigawara #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia

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oohfluffy · 5 years ago

Text

TIHM Ch.14 | BBH

Group: EXO

Member: Byun Baekhyun

Theme: Angst | Fluff | Rated M | University!AU | Football!AU

Word Count: 2,615

chapter 14

"Aren't you going to introduce us to that young gentleman, Saejin-ah?"

You groaned as you heard Jisoo's voice behind you. You were on cashier duty tonight while Hyunjin worked as the errand boy. You glanced at the gentleman she's been asking about since you got here, and saw how he was attracting too much attention from girls.

"I told you he's just someone from the university. He insisted on taking me here and I was running late, I didn't have any better option." You frowned as you saw Baekhyun talking to a girl who suddenly stood beside his table. He ordered an americano earlier as soon as you arrived, and then ordered a chocolate muffin after a few minutes. "He's a chick-magnet as you can see."

"Hmm, really? Just someone?" Jisoo teased while raising her eyebrows up and down. You shook your head and looked away from that one distraction. You instantly smiled as a customer entered and went to the counter in front of you. "Why is he still here then?"

You quickly took the customer's order and worked as if nothing was bothering you at the moment. You gave the customer her receipt with an order number. When she left, you couldn't help but to glance up again. You saw Baekhyun looking back at you, a cute smile curving on his lips. You looked away as you noticed that the girl's still there.

"I don't know, unnie. Maybe to fill his stomach."

"Oh, you mean his stomach?"

You looked at Jisoo in confusion until you realized that she was referring to a different stomach. She laughed at your flushing face. You grunted as you rolled your eyes.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's here to find someone to hook up with, honey. He looks like a—"

"—playboy? Yes, he is." You scoffed as you glared at the monitor in front of you. "He probably did half of the student population already, I honestly wouldn't be shocked."

"Why do I feel like I detect jealousy and bitterness in your voice—"

"You're just getting older, unnie. You're hearing things."

"Oh, oh! He's raising his hand! Go get his order, Saejin!" You felt Jisoo's push beside you, and in a second, she was taking your place in the cashier. You incredulously looked at her, ready to argue when a couple entered the cafe. "Go! Rocky is in the bathroom, Yeonjun is busy!"

You looked around and saw that what she said was true. You sighed before walking to Baekhyun's table, putting on a polite smile on your lips. Your teeth gritted as you saw that the girl was still talking to him and already took a seat in front of him. Baekhyun had his eyes on you the whole time as if there wasn't anyone talking in front of him.

"What can I get you, sir?" You nodded at him before looking at the girl. She stopped talking when you arrived, her eyes filled with disappointment and annoyance.

"We don't need anything, waitress. You can go." The girl snapped as she looked up at you.

"Wasn't talking to you though." You raised your eyebrow at her, causing her to gasp at your audacity to talk back. You just drifted your gaze to Baekhyun, who was grinning proudly at you. "Order?"

"Two slices of mango graham cake, please." He said without taking his eyes off of you. The girl was still gaping at you, and you didn't care if you sounded rude. You had a name tag and she chose to call you waitress. "And a little bit of your time too."

"The former would be served in a few, but unfortunately," You squint your eyes at him, making his lips pout. "the latter is not on the menu, sir."

Baekhyun, being Baekhyun, just shamelessly grabbed your waist by the side, surprising not just you, but almost the whole cafe. You widened your eyes at him threateningly, but that doesn't seem to make him waver.

"I'll wait 'till your shift ends then." He mumbled as he nuzzled on your waist, caressing the sides of your hips. Your cheeks were on fire, in contrast to your current state right now which is being frozen on the spot. "Just got a bit lonely without my baby—"

You forced yourself to pull away from him, fighting the urge to hit him on his stupid handsome face. Baekhyun clicked his tongue as soon as you stepped back. You glared at him silently, making him sit up straight with a nervous smile.

"Please wait for a minute, sir." You turned your back on him before walking straight back to the counter. You couldn't even try to look around as you felt their eyes on you. Your face was blank as you did, but when you saw Jisoo's smirk, you lost it.

"Just someone, huh? I could tell." She winked, making you groan as you walked past her. You told her the order before entering the kitchen. "Hey! You serve these!"

It was already almost 11, and everyone was cleaning up. When you got out of the lockers area, you didn't see Baekhyun. After serving those cakes, which he devoured alone because you refused to join him (the girl was gone when you came back btw), you hadn't spared a glance at him since he was the only source of distraction while you worked. You didn't expect him to stay until you closed the cafe anyway.

"We can clean up this time, Saejin-ah. You must have had a long day." Mingyu said as he wiped the tables, Rocky and Yeonjun were mopping the floor. Jisoo and Somi went ahead already since they need to catch the bus, being the ones who live the farthest among all of you. "We'll lock the place up."

"I could still help—"

"Just go, noona! Your boyfriend is waiting outside." Your eyebrows furrowed as Yeonjun said that. You tilted your head in confusion.

"Ah yes, that guy you went with earlier is waiting for you." Mingyu glanced at you with curious eyes. "Your boyfriend? Saw you—"

"No. Just some acquaintance in school." You mumbled under your breath before smiling at him. "I guess I'll get going then." You waved your hands at the younger boys before going outside.

"Thought you'd be sleeping inside." Baekhyun let out a breath as he opened the front seat door for you. You chuckled at his comment, and willingly entered inside his warm car.

"If I was, I should've brought a blanket and a pillow, you know."

He quickly closed your door and went to the other side to enter. You feel grateful that you won't be waiting outside the bus stop at this hour. It was exhausting and scary. You glanced at Baekhyun with a serious face, feeling warm at his smile.

"Thank you for waiting for me, even though you really didn't have to."

He turned on the engine before looking back at you.

"I arrived with you here, I leave with you." He winked, reaching your hand that rests on your lap. You flinched at his touch, relaxing as he caressed it with his beautiful and slender fingers. His eyebrows furrowed at your reaction, noticing that you always seem to be too nervous whenever he touches you. Was it disgust? Discomfort?

"T-Thanks." You stuttered as you pulled your hand away from him, looking away as you saw him stare at you deeply. Baekhyun was wrong. He started driving with a single thought.

It was fear with recognition.

—

You closed your locker with a slam, startling the people murmuring around you. You glared at them, making them all look away.

If they think you can't hear them from here, you would like to make them know that both of your ears are totally working.

"These people just can't seem to stop gossiping about others." You mumbled loudly as you walked past the crowding students within the hallway. They made way for you, separating like the Red Sea when Moses walked by.

"I heard she brought Lisa to the building near the field!"

"OH MY G! The haunted one?!"

"How dare she do that to the new captain?!"

"I think she needs a lesson about respecting others, don't you think—"

"I think you girls need it more."

You were already by the staircase when you heard that loud voice reverberating in the hallway. Your eyebrows raised in curiosity as you glanced behind you. You could see his tall figure from afar, his messy black hair looking like a bird's nest.

"I'm curious what you get out of these stupid threats and gossips." You saw a familiar brown hair beside the tall guy. With his presence, you've confirmed that they were the duo that you often see these days. "It wouldn't make you any prettier, richer, or smarter. I suggest you stop that nonsense."

You incredulously watched as they walked towards the staircase, the crowd parting like how it did earlier. Chanyeol grinned as soon as he saw you gaping at them. While Kyungsoo just smiled as if he wasn't just glaring at the people staring at them.

"Y-You guys didn't have to do that." You almost whispered as they tagged you along with them. They seem to be going upstairs too. "I'm used to their chatters, I don't mind—"

"You're just telling that to yourself, Saejin-ah. No one would want to hear bad things about themselves." Chanyeol grabbed your shoulder casually, squeezing it comfortingly, not even noticing how your eyes widened in surprise. "I too get very sad if I hear someone saying terrible things about me!"

Your mouth protruded as you watched him pout as he talked. Kyungsoo was just shaking his head in disbelief, but with a smile on his face. You calmed yourself down as you walked with them, ignoring the eyes watching you.

"Even though it is better to be composed, and unbothered by those people, you couldn't just always tolerate and accept their threats. It can lead to a very dangerous situation." Kyungsoo said in a serious voice, eyes drifting to your wrist. He remembered the blood trickling down your hand last week. "Bullying should never be tolerated, you know that."

You sighed as you saw that you were nearing your next classroom. You smiled as you pulled away from Chanyeol's hold. You gestured to your room with your hand before stepping away.

"I know that, sunbae. I really appreciate you guys stepping up for me like that, but..." You looked away as you sadly smiled. "...it's better that I handle things by myself. I don't want to be a burden, or be the cause of misunderstandings for you both."

You looked up at them, eyes uneasy and quite uncertain. They just looked at each other with worried faces. You chuckled under your breath, trying to lighten up the mood.

"I'll see you guys around, sunbae." You slightly bowed your head at the both of them before quietly entering the room. You didn't bother looking around as you can already feel their heavy gazes on you. You sat down on the nearest seat by the door at the back, settling down without looking at anyone.

"Did she really hit Lisa yesterday? I heard that her friends were there and witnessed it!"

"Does she have no fear and shame?"

"Aren't Lisa and Baekhyun oppa dating?"

"Oh my, really?!"

"I saw them once before, on the field! They were all over each other!"

"That explains why that bitch laid a hand on Lisa! She must have thought Baekhyun oppa really likes her!"

Your ears felt like bleeding with all the bees buzzing around the room. You felt suffocated with all their nonsense. You just wanted them to shut up and rest eternally. Your eyes flickered to those gossiping people, your blood boiling as they had the face to roll their eyes at you.

Oh, how the truth gets warped as it travels around.

"Just like before." You mumbled as you just focused on your notes, trying to mute your surroundings with your intellectual thoughts. When the professor entered, the noise died down and you sighed in relief.

You could not deny that your lectures and notes are one of your escapes from the cruel world.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the session. You packed up as quick as you could, silently mumbling disappointed comments on how late your professor let you out. When you slid the door open, you almost shrieked in surprise as you were greeted by that all too familiar rectangular smile.

"B-Baekhyun." You breathlessly said his name, eyes wide while you took in his presence. He abruptly grabbed your bag from your hold, making you jump. "Hey!"

You thought he would run away with it, letting you chase him so you would follow. But he didn't.

Instead, he held your hand and intertwined your fingers tightly with his.

"Let's go to work, then." He mumbled, eyes fondly staring into yours before dragging you away with him. "Wouldn't want to be late."

Your mouth hung open as he walked casually past the murmuring students. You kept your eyes down, not wanting to see how those people were looking at you—

"Chin up, love." He whispered with a low voice as he squeezed your hand in comfort.

"Let them see how pretty my baby is."

In the past 21 years of your life, you haven't felt as if you're at the peak of your self-esteem. You always saw yourself as average, not too much nor too little. You were satisfied being in the middle.

Never have you thought you'd feel this way with just Baekhyun's eight worded sentence.

Your eyes met his as you looked up, his own crinkling in delight and pride when you did. Baekhyun looked back at the front, grinning widely as if he just won the jackpot. You didn't feel your skin crawling in perturbation and shame as you walked with him.

How could someone make me feel this secure and valued?

"Thank you, Baekhyun-ah." You whispered with a smile on your face, looking at the side when you saw him look back with wide eyes. His lips couldn't contain the huge smile he was forming.

He thought that maybe he was way past the acquaintance zone.

—

"Never knew Lee Saejin was that kind of person."

"I know right! She was this friendly and thoughtful person, but argh, her true colors showed."

"I heard that her best friend, I repeat, her best friend witnessed how Saejin drugged a senior to bed with him!"

"What a slut!"

"I kind of sympathize with Yong Sun, she's probably too good for Saejin."

"I also heard from their batch that that bitch also wanted Hyoseop sunbae! Just imagine if she did drug him instead!"

"She'd be dead in a heartbeat!"

"Here she comes!"

With your gaze downwards, you gripped on your bag straps tight. Your eyes welled up easily as you heard the talks softened, you heard their gossips earlier anyway. You sniffled quietly and went to your locker.

You quickly opened it, only to be showered with red crumpled papers from the inside. Most of it fell on your feet, the sound of their rough edges hitting against the floor. Your hands shook as you reached out for one that was left in your locker. The cruel giggles and laughs were your background music as you opened the red paper, seemingly like a paper dipped with blood.

Your tears fell as you read the message scribbled on the paper.

CONGRATULATIONS FOR BEING THE SLUT OF THE YEAR, LEE SAEJIN! HOPE YOU LIKE ALL THE HATE YOU'LL BE GETTING.

You just wanted to disappear.

—

Tagging my loves: ❤

—

♫ Ch.15

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connordavidscamera · 5 years ago

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Christening the House | Connor Brashier

A/n: this was supposed to be longer, but I knew if I kept going I would never post it, so it’s this. And yes, part of the beginning is from my fic “Moving In.” This is the same “universe” if you will. Also, yeah I’m sorry if this absolutely sucks!

Summary: Connor wants to break in the new house.

Warnings: awful smut writing, fingering, oral, slight choking, protected and unprotected sex (be safe, my dudes) and there might be more but idk honestly

Word count: 1.7k

***

It only makes sense that the first room we finished was our bedroom. I mean, unless we planned on sleeping in the living room for the next few weeks while we try and figure out this whole place and what we were going to do with all the space. The house was definitely bigger than we needed, but if one day we were to add to the family, it made sense to have a larger house. I think it was a subconscious thought for both us – buying a home that would be our forever home, the one we would raise our kids in, grow old in.

“I think that’s the last of it, sweetheart.” Connor says, placing his freshly fluffed pillow on his side of the bed.

I flatten out the rug at the foot of the bed and smile fondly at the room. “It looks good, don’t you think?” I ask, glancing around the room.

“Mhmm…” he hums, his arms wrapping around my waist. “But you look better.”

“Oh yes,” I mutter. “I’m sure my matted hair and sweat are a huge turn on for you, huh?”

“Well that’s how I leave you every night, isn’t it?” He muses, running soft kisses down the side of my neck, to my shoulder, where his teeth sink into my skin.

I can’t stop the moan that escapes my throat and he takes that as encouragement, moving the straps of my tank top to give himself more access. “Con,” I say, turning in his arms, my hand flying to his hair. “We have to … work on… the bathroom,” I mumble against his lips.

“Later,” he growls. “Wanna love on you for a little bit.”

“But-“

“Baby, I’m doing some of my best work here, you can’t just talk through it.”

“Best work, huh? I think you’ve done better.”

“Oh, I have? Well I guess we’re just gonna have to make this my best work then.”

“I’d love to see you try, bub.”

“Don’t challenge me, baby girl,” his hands sneak up my shirt, and back down, sending shivers down my spine as they come back down and he pops the button of my jeans.

“oh, an eager boy, are we?” I tease.

His hand easily slips down my pants and I gasp. He smirks, “And I’m eager?” his lips graze my ear as he rubs me through my panties, causing my eyes to flutter shut and a soft moan to escape my lips.

“Yeah, yeah,” I roll my eyes and pull him back to my lips. “Just keep your promise, okay?”

“I am a man of my word.” Before I know it, he has me on my back, completely naked, on our freshly made bed. But I’m enjoying his lips on my shin too much to worry about that right now. “Okay,” he says, pulling back from my heat, where I so desperately need him. “I know I’m kinda busy here, but this run is really comfortable.”

I laugh, covering my face, “Glad to heat it, now could you?”

“Right, sorry,” he wraps his arms around my thighs and buries his head between them once again. I can’t help the moan that leaves my lips when his tongue flicks over my already sensitive nub, and then I feel the soft push of one of his fingers at my entrance and my back arches. He’s quick to push me back on the bed, though, his tongue picking up its pace, working so nicely that I almost can’t tell that his fingers have left me. He’s sucking and slurping while I fill the room with more lengthy moans and heavy breaths. The sounds coming from us are boarder line pornographic, but neither of us seem to care. “Hmm… so wet for me,” he utters, kissing down my folds.

“Jesus, Connor. More.” I beg.

“What do you want, sweetheart?” His lips leave a wet trail down the inside of my thigh and I can’t help but whimper when his teeth sink into the sensitive skin. He kisses his way back up and I squirm at the feeling of his lips on my clit once again.

“Fuck,” I gasp.

“Use your words, y/n. What do you want?”

This is torture. Absolute torture. But he needs to hear me or he won’t continue. “Fingers, Connor. Please. I need you.”

“That’s my girl,” he smirks against me as one finger slips inside, soon followed by another. The stretch is perfect. So perfect. And he knows too, if not from how many times he has done this, then from my moans and whines and whimpers that are filling the room. Some loud, some broken from where my breath hitches. He knows just how to work me to the edge. And he does it. Just as I can feel my high building from just his fingers and tongue, he pulls away, leaving me heaving and whining for him to come back.

“Bubba. Please,” I cry, not at all caring about just how desperate I sound.

“Shh… I know, baby girl. I know. But I wanna feel you around me. Can’t have you getting off from just my fingers the first time in our new room.” He gets off his knees and shuffles quickly to his nightstand, taking a condom out of the top drawer. “Safety first,” he chuckles, sliding his pants and boxers down the length of his legs. I hum, watching him. I need him. I’m desperate for him. And the ache between my legs is making sure I know just how desperate I am.

---

Later, after we’ve rested a bit from our activities, we find ourselves in our bathroom, putting on some final touches. Connor’s hanging up a picture he took of the ocean when we were on our honeymoon, and I’m putting our extra towels on the shelf next to the shower.

“Does it look straight?” he asks me, turning his head from side to side, closing one eye and then the other.

I lift myself onto the counter stare at the photo for a second. “It looks good to me.”

He turns back to face me and smirks. “You look good to me.”

I shake my head, “Oh no. No, sir. We just had sex.”

“And?”

“And what are you planning on doing? Having sex with me in every room of the house?”

He shrugs. “I mean… yeah. That was kind of the plan.”

“I – Connor David!”

“What? I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it? It’s kinda like we’re christening the house. Or, you know, we’re just making sure the furniture and everything is uh… sturdy, yeah. I mean, if it can take me pounding into you, I think we got something pretty good, don’t you?”

I can’t help but laugh. “You are something else, my dear,” I say, but I can’t say that the thought of having sex in every room is kinda hot. Especially the kitchen. On the counter. I bite my lip at the thought.

“So… what do you think?”

I nod, “Okay. But if we’re doing it in here, can we at least do it in the shower?”

He smirks and closes the distance between us. “Absolutely,” he kisses my lips gently. “The acoustics are better in there anyway. Can hear your melodic moans much better in there.”

I slap his chest, “I hate you,” I say with an eye roll.

“I adore you, too.”

He’s not wrong about the acoustics, although hearing my moans and whimpers amplified makes me a little self-conscious. But Connor is having none of that.

“Why so quiet, love?” He asks with another harsh thrust into me. I muffle my groan into his shoulder, pressing gentle kisses – in deep contrast to what’s currently happening – to his wet skin. “Want to hear you,” he groans, nipping at the soft spot behind my ear. “Gonna let me hear you?” His hand roams up my body, and he tugs on my nipple. I can’t hide that moan and he knew that when he did it. “There is it. That’s my good girl.”

Oh god, I’m a whimpering mess now.

“You take me so well, don’t you?” he coos, brushing my wet hair out of my face before bringing his hand back down, where it latches to my throat and we squeezes gently. “I love having you like this, pretty girl. Gasping for me. Whining me for me to keep going. Do you want me to keep going? You want to cum for me?”

I nod desperately, “Please Connor. Plea –” my breath catches in my throat with a particularly hard thrust.

“Say my name again,” he groans, and I swear it’s my favorite sound in the world. Just like he likes watching me come undone for him, I love watching the same thing. I love the shape his mouth makes when he’s moaning. And the way his eyes shut so tight when he’s reaching his high. I like watching – trying to watch, would be more accurate – his concentrated thrusts with his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth.

I whine, gripping his hair tighter.

“Say it again,” he growls, the hand around my neck gripping tighter and I didn’t think it was even possible for me to get any wetter, I mean we’re fucking in a shower.

“Connor,” I gasp just as I feel myself getting closer, the coil in my stomach threatening to uncurl.

“Cum with me, baby,” he begs and if his sloppy thrusts are any indication at all, he’s close too.

“Fuck,” I almost scream. “Connor, I’m gonna – fuck, Con. Connor,” I sob as I reach my high, and he follows close behind me.

“Y/n,” he murmurs against my skin, pressing wet kisses to my collar bone as he slowly sets me back on the ground. He doesn’t let go of me though, thankfully, because I can feel my legs buckling beneath me. We stay like this for a few minutes, the water splashing us and we heave in breaths. “We should clean up,” he says finally, running his hand gently over my hair.

I nod, my eyes closed while I rest my head against his warm chest. “Okay.”

“Here, turn for me. I’ll wash your hair,” he presses his lips to my temple.

“Just,” I take in a deep breath, “give me another second, okay? Still can’t trust my legs.”

He chuckles, “I’m sorry, love.”

I shake my head, “Don’t be.”

“I’ll rub your sore muscles when we get into bed, yeah? That sound okay?”

I hum, “Sounds perfect.”

***

I hope you enjoyed! Like, reblog, and leave feedback!!

Permanent tag: @soyalimoncada-blog @tinycertain @magcon7280 @daisyangei @fallinallincurls @lovewithanattitude @sinceweremutual @myyohmyuohmyy @perfectly-mendess @enchantingbrowneyedgirl @baroness-alison @lostinmendess @linanilssonfurberg @luvluvxx @mariamuses @shawnieeboyy @divinginfearlessly @mendesficsxbombay @shawnsthighs @zaahidahhh @adelaidestreets @shawnandconnor

* bold wouldn’t let me tag

** if you want to be added or removed from any list (permanent, Shawn, Connor, We Were Us, or Not So Brash Brashier’s) just let me know

#connor brashier #connor brashier imagines #connor brashier x y/n #connor brashier x reader #connor brashier imagine #connor brashier fanfiction #connor brashier blurb #connor brashier smut

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merryfortune · 4 years ago

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Day 25 / Buttercream

Clover and Violets 2021

Ship: not applicable | Romin/Sorako

Universe: SEVENS

Word Count: 1,414

Rating: T

Tags: Cakeverse Elements, Food, First Kiss, Humour, Interspecies Relationships, Xenobiology, Joking Discussions of Cannibalism

Sorako giggled to herself, “It’s good to see someone so voracious about eating food, beep boop.”

“I can’t help myself…” Romin mumured in utter bliss. “Your ramen is so good. It really is out of this world.”

Sorako giggled again. She could always appreciate a good alien pun but judging from how happy Romin looked - all pudgy cheeked and with her weapon of choice, a spoon firmly in hand - Sorako didn’t think it was intentional.

But Romin couldn’t help but think she was so lucky. She hadn’t seen Sorako in ages and that meant none of her really good Noodle Planet ramen and then bang, clang, crash. Here she was in the Kirishima family’s lounge room. She had flown through the window at pure chance but Romin took it well. Of course, now she had a lot of broken glass to explain but it was totally worth it meant that she had Sorako for company.

“Thank you, beep boop.” Sorako said and then shrugged. “I can’t help but pity humans, beepo boop, you lot have it tough, beep boop.”

“Huh? We do?” Romin said, perking up as she finished draining her bowl.

“Beep, boop?!” Sorako exclaimed when she glanced at Romin’s bowl. It was completely empty, licked clean, and Sorako had only poured it out for her not too long ago.

Yet Romin seemed totally oblivious to how Sorako’s eyes bugged and her antennae stiffened. She licked the spoon for remnants of flavour, “What do you mean?” she asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

“Oh, um, well human tongues aren’t quite so advanced unlike us of the Noodle Planet, beep boop.” Sorako explained.

“Huh.” Romin blinked.

“I have bazillions more taste buds than humans do, beep boop. Even you, beep boop.” Sorako said.

“Aw, gee, thanks.” Romin said and she took that observation more like a poor compliment but Sorako was largely unaffected by her lack of enthusiasm to learning such a fun fact.

“No, problem, beep boop.” she chirped with a smile.

Romin sighed.

But Sorako’s happy-go-lucky expression softened. Became pitiful or sympathetic unto Romin. She exhaled a small, almost melancholy breath.

“It’s a shame, beep boop,” she lamented, “there are so many wonderful woods in the galaxies that humans may never get to sample because their sensory organs aren’t quite so specialised, beep boop.”

“Yeah, that does suck…” Romin lamented in agreement to Sorako.

“Even humans have complex flavours to them that other humans can’t detect, beep boop.” Sorako said. “That makes me very sad, beep boop.”

Romin stiffened and she raised a hand to a barrier between herself and the very foreign life form sitting beside her at the breakfast bar. Her eyebrow twitched as her heart began to hammer in her chest.

“Y-You’re not talking about cannibalism… are you?” Romin asked defensively. “Because cannibalism is a huuuuuge no-no here.”

“I know that, beep boop.” Sorako blinked. “But that’s eating, not licking, or tasting.... Or kissing, beep boop.”

“O-oh, oh, you meant. Kissing. That makes a little more sense, I guess.” Romin said.

“We are made of the same ingredients as food though, beep boop.” Sorako pointed out.

Romin waved her hand in front of Sorako, “Stop it!” she scolded Sorako, who laughed, blase, but that just worsened the morbid curiosity that Romin had now. She exhaled shallowly and took a breath of equal depth. Somehow the allure of breaking that taboo outweighed her maidenly desire to cherish her very first kiss. If this was going to be it, so be it: it may as well happen with an alien, of all people. That would make for quite a memory, too. Romin scratched her chin and looked away from the kitchen and from Sorako before speaking in a tiny voice. “But, um, what do humans taste like? Do you know?” She shuddered. “I hear, um, I hear that like pork or like fish are common answers.”

“I don’t know, beep boop.” Sorako told her very plainly. “But even if I did know, beep boop, the answer would look vary from me to you, beep boop.”

“So, like, um you’ve never had a first kiss or anything like that then?” Romin asked awkwardly.

“Nope, beep boop!” Sorako chirped rather brightly and unfazed.

“Me too…” Romin whispered.

“Well then that settles it, doesn’t it, beep boop?” Sorako announced.

“Huh? It settles what?” Romin asked, a touch alarmed and it showed in her stiff body language.

Sorako was as happy and as flappy as a wet noodle though. “We should kiss, beep boop!” she chirped.

“Wh-What, wait, no, it’s so sudden but,” Romin rambled as Sorako looked very waitingly at her, her malachite eyes shining, innocently, and Romin licked her lips, she was curious, she had never tasted Noodle alien before, “but if you insist. It’s for the good of bettering our knowledge of the known universe after all, mm-hmm.” She spoke decisively, punctuated with a few, sharp nods. She folded her arms.

Sorako thought she was being silly but so be it.

But she put her hand on the marble counter, it slid forward and with it, Sorako leaned in. Romin was a little bit scared. She couldn’t help it. She stressed about this sort of thing but Sorako was a beam of serenity, even as Romin winced in anticipation as something as chaste and gentle as a kiss on the lips. She closed her eyes tightly and she waited. And she waited. And she waited and then yuck!

Romin’s skin crawled as she felt Sorako lick a stripe up the side of her face.

“Yum, beep boop,” Sorako chirped, “you taste just like buttercream frosting, beep boop.”

“Wh-What?” Romin mumbled.

She was entirely helpless as Sorako continued to lick stripes up and down the side of her face. All but lapping her up so she could get a better taste of the bizarre and apparent sweetness that Romin, a human, a species known to be made of meat, could taste. It just simply did not compute with Romin as she blushed.

“Wh-What, how?” Romin stammered.

With some reluctance, Sorako pulled back but Romin still felt icky for having been licked. She shuddered as Sorako hummed in thought. She tapped the side of her face in thought as she tried to come up with a way to explain Romin’s taste back to her.

“Noodle People have a very advanced sense of taste and there are a lot of elements in humans, known to your primitive elemental table, that have sweet tastes, beep boop. As such, beep boop, you taste very delicious, beep boop. Like a nice, big buttercream cake, beep boop. With a nice, big berry compote taste underneath that vanilla, beep boop. So good, beep boop.” Sorako rambled dreamily.

Romin blushed. She didn’t know if she ought to be flattered or not but she was. Sorako beamed at her.

“May I have one more taste, please, beep boop?” she asked. She was cute as she put her hands on her knees, leaning in, her head tilted slightly to the left and with her antenna bouncing as she batted her eyelashes.

How could Romin ever say no to such an adorable face?

She sighed, “Sure, go ahead.” Romin said, fully expecting more licks to her face, as uncomfortable as it.

Instead, with her expectations subverted once again, Sorako kissed her right on the lips. She gently licked over the ridges of Romin’s lips before kissing her in full. Sorako savoured the berry taste of not only the lip balm that Romin used but also of the compote that she was compiled of. Whether or not her puny little human sensory organs could detect it or not.

It really was a delicious kiss. Eyes wide open and Romin watched, she could have gotten lost in the stars of Sorako’s eyes as she hoped to give a very human, if awkward and stilted and girlish, first kiss back to her.

“Thank you for that, beep boop, it was really good, beep boop.” Sorako whispered to Romin as she went red in the face; Sorako smacked her lips together, pleased, as well.

“Y-Yeah, thanks.” Romin replied, stuttering.

And now she was thinking of the taste that Sorako had given her. It was salty and savoury but it was super, duper delicious as well. She could only have envy for the aliens who experienced such out-of-this-world tastes and flavours as she let it settle on her lips kissed for the first time.

#femslash february #femslash #yugioh sevens #sevens #yugioh #romin kirishima #noodle sorako #marsbarshipping #romin x sorako #sorako x romin #writing tag #clover and violets #clover and violets 2021

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ceealaina · 4 years ago

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Title: Hot for Teacher Collaborator Name: ceealaina Card Number: 3088 Link: AO3 Square Filled: Adopted - AU: Teacher Ship: Stony, IronBros Rating: Teen Major Tags: Mutual Pining, Getting Together, Humor Summary: Tony is the established physics teacher, Steve is the truly terrible new guidance counsellor. It's not quite love at first sight (but it's a pretty close thing). Word Count: 10,660

Tony drew in a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, Mr. Rogers told you what now?”

Miles grinned at him, like he knew he was raising his blood pressure with every word. “He said that he didn’t go to university. He actually dropped out of school when he was sixteen, and took a solo road trip across all of the US before he got his GED. Said it was the best decision he ever made.”

“Of course he did.” Tony fully dissociated for a moment, staring off into the distance before he shook his head with a full body shudder. “Well, regardless of what your esteemed guidance counselor may have told you, you should very, very, very strongly consider not doing… Any of that, and definitely going to university. And uh… Maybe come to me if you need help with those university applications, cause… Jesus fucking Christ.”

In the back of the room Cassie and Kamala giggled. “Mr. Stark!” Cassie gasped, feigning shock. “You said a bad word!”

Tony just scrubbed a hand over his face. “I hate you all,” he informed them cheerfully.

By lunchtime, Tony was still seething over the fact that the new guidance counselor was advocating for dropping out of school. He had term projects to approve, but couldn’t focus on the proposals, fingers thrumming irritably against his desk. He lasted all of five minutes before he was getting up, marching down the hall to said guidance counselor’s office and knocking sharply on the open door.

“Mr. Rogers? Could I—,”

Tony cut himself off abruptly.

The thing was, he hasn’t actually met Steve Rogers before. And while he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, it wasn’t someone built like a brick house — although, he’d heard that he was friends with Barnes, that was how he’d gotten the job, so maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised. But their new guidance counselor was tall, blond, and all kinds of muscley, biceps flexing in a way too tight t-shirt as he bit into a ridiculously large sandwich. He’d jumped at Tony’s sudden arrival, turning big blue eyes up at him, and good god, that was one handsome man.

Shaking his head, Tony forced a tight smile to his face. “Could I have a word?”

He nodded quickly, frantically trying to swallow down his enormous bite, and Tony worked very hard at not imagining what else he could stuff his mouth with. Mr. Rogers scrubbed a hand over the back of his mouth, wiping off some sauce that had spilled, and did an awkward, half stand.

“Yes, yes of course,” he said, reaching his arm out. “Sorry, we haven’t met yet?”

Despite how frustrated he was, Tony couldn’t help grinning; the man was an absolute mess. He moved forward to take his hand, feeling a little swirl of satisfaction at how obviously surprised he was at the strength in Tony’s grip. “Mr. Stark -- Tony.”

“Oh yeah! Physics, right? It’s nice to meet you. I’m Steve.” He moved to pull a stack of folders off a chair. “Please, sit down. What can I do for you?”

Tony took the offered chair, leaning back against it comfortably as he eyed Steve for a long moment. “Steve, can I ask how long you’ve been a guidance counselor?”

“Uhh.” Steve shifted a little. “Not long?” He gave a crooked smile that Tony did not find endearing. “About a week and a half?”

“Yeah. That’s what I figured.” Tony sighed. “Steve, are you encouraging kids to drop out of high school?”

“What?” Steve’s eyes went wide and horrified. “No! No, of course not! I…” His gaze shifted to something guilty. “Oh.”

“Oh?”

Steve gave him a hopeful smile. “I may have mentioned something about my own… Choices... as a teenager.”

“Uh huh.” Tony gave him a ‘go on’ gesture.

“It was meant to be inspirational! They get so stressed! They’re trying to decide their entire lives when they’re only kids! So you know… I was trying to show them that not everyone has to follow the same path but also things can turn out completely differently from how you expected and it’s never too late to go back?”

“Jesus Christ,” Tony muttered, rubbing at his eyes. “Well, at least you seem to genuinely care about the kids, I’ll give you that. But Steve, we’re just trying to get them as prepared for life as we can. You can’t give them ideas like that, and you especially can’t make them think things’ll work out all hunky dory if they do.”

“Hunky dory?” Steve repeated before realizing that wasn’t really the point of what Tony was saying. “Right,” he said, looking properly chastised now. “Right, no, of course. That makes sense.”

“Okay.” Tony was lingering now, but he wasn’t entirely sure why. “Great.” He got to his feet and headed for the door before he could make things weird. “It was nice meeting you, Steve.”

Over the next couple weeks, Steve kept spotting Tony around the school. He tried not to ogle him like a creeper, but judging by the way Bucky laughed at him every time they ate lunch together, he wasn’t successful. He couldn’t help it. Tony had been like some kind of gorgeous whirlwind, and he couldn’t stop thinking about him, wondering about him.

And then, two weeks later, he was back with the same sharp knock and consternated expression. (Steve, thankfully, wasn’t stuffing his face this time.)

“Tony! What, uh… Something I can help you with? I’ve been doing everything by the book, I swear. No more epic road trip stories.”

Tony drew in the deepest breath, like a complete drama queen. “Steve. I understand a book told you to do it, but the Chamber of Secrets this is not. Please stop telling my seniors that abstinence is the only truly effective birth control method. The ones in my AP Physics class are taking it as a personal challenge to design an IUD that works as a cum trebuchet."

Steve blinked at him for a very long minute, trying to work out if he was serious, trying not to--

He burst out laughing. Full on, hand-on-his-chest, eyes streaming, can’t breathe laughter. It was a solid three minutes before he began to calm down and when he finally stopped laughing, Tony was just watching him. He was doing his absolute best to look annoyed, but Steve could see the little hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.

“That’s uh… Thank you,” Steve managed, tamping down on another burst of laughter. “I really needed that today.”

“Yeah,” Tony told him dryly. “Glad I could help.”

Steve grinned back at him. “I’ll, uh. I’ll take that under consideration.”

When Tony came in the next morning, his AP students were huddled in the back corner, all giggling in that terrifying way that only teenagers could manage. He was so not feeling it -- he was still waiting for that last coffee to kick in -- but he took a rejuvenating breath and asked the question anyway.

“Okay, let’s hear it. Get it out of the way so we can get to sciencing. What’s so funny?”

This set off another round of giggling, half the kids blushing, and none of them quite looking at him. It was, finally, Riri who spoke.

“This morning Mr. Rogers told America Chavez that homosexual sex is also a 100% effective birth control method.”

Tony stared blankly out the window for a long minute. “Of course he did,” he muttered. “Okay, as thrilling as Mr. Rogers’ questionable sex ed is, let’s get started on some actual physics, hmm?”

While the kids got settled for the class, Tony took a moment to collect himself. It was quite possible that Steve was kinda a total troll.

It was quite possible that Tony kinda liked him.

Of course something got back to a parent, who complained about the school promoting a homosexual agenda. Steve didn’t get in trouble, exactly, but it was brought up in the staff meeting.

The enormous jar of rainbow-coloured condoms showed up on Steve’s desk the next day.

Tony had heard it through the student gossip line that, in addition to them being available for anyone to take as needed, he was getting students to guess how many there were in the jar, as some kind of ice breaker. If they were close, they got a mini Kit Kat bar.

He made it half a day before he was stopping in to see for himself.

Tony had prepared some semblance of an excuse for why he was there, some actual reason that the physics teacher might have had for engaging with the guidance counselor (again). But when he tapped on the door, Steve was looking up with a smile like he’d been expecting him. And then his gaze settled on the enormous jar of condoms, and Tony forgot to pretend to be there for anything else.

“What the fuck?” He couldn’t help laughing, a little incredulous. “Okay Steve, they’re teenagers. How much actual sex do you think most of them are really having?”

Steve shrugged unapologetically, but he had an absolutely shit-eating grin on his face. “I just like to be prepared. Wouldn’t want to run out.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, eyebrows arching. “Wanna guess all the flavors? None of the students have gotten close yet.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed as he blinked at the jar. “They’re not even flavored.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “That’s the joke,” he told him, like that was supposed to have been obvious. “Fine, since you’re so smart. Guess how many there are in the jar.”

Tony glanced back over at the jar, wrinkling his nose for about half a second. “Seven hundred and fifty… eight,” he announced.

Steve blinked. “What?”

“What?”

Still leaning back in his chair, Steve stared at Tony, then stared at the jar, then stared back at Tony. Then he shot forward and grabbed the jar, upending the entire thing over his desk. Making eye contact with him, he picked up a handful and started tossing them back in the jar one at a time, counting them out loud as he went. Tony started laughing, the sound close to a giggle.

“You’re not seriously going to count them all.”

Steve gave him an imperious look. “Gotta see if you’re right. Now be quiet. You’re going to throw off my count.”

Tony knew this was ridiculous, but he couldn’t seem to make himself leave. He kept telling himself he shouldn’t be encouraging Steve, but he stayed anyway, watching and laughing as he meticulously counted out each and every condom.

He’d made it to 616 when Bucky appeared, looming in the doorway as he poked at his phone. “Hey Stevie, you ready to go for… Lunch?” He trailed off as he looked up and saw what the two of them were doing, his eyebrows going sky high. “Uh. I’ll come back. Looks like you two are gonna be awhile. I don’t know what this is annnnnnnnd I don’t think I want to.”

“It’s science, Bucky,” Steve told him snottily, not looking up from his condom count.

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is not science.”

“Of course it is!”

“Right,” Bucky said. “I’m just gonna…” He pointed for the door, but neither of them even looked his way as he left again.

“It’s math, Steve, and it’s barely that,” Tony insisted. “This is... counting.”

Steve gave him a look like he was an absolute fool. “I may be a lowly guidance counsellor, but I still know what counting is, Tony. The science is figuring out whether you can actually calculate the number of condoms in the jar --,”

“I can.”

“-- Or if you were spouting shit to fuck with me.”

“I wasn’t. And it’s still math, Steve. You’ve got the volume of the jar, and then size of the condom square. Math.”

Steve stared at him for a long minute and then, without breaking eye contact, tossed another condom back into the jar. “Six hundred and eighteen.”

Tony arched an eyebrow at him. “That was six hundred and seventeen.”

Steve ended up having to start over twice, and Tony was so busy laughing at him that he didn’t realize until 2:05 that he’d missed both his lunch and his free period and was, in fact, five minutes late for his AP Physics class.

“Shit,” he yelped, hopping out of his seat. “Those kids don’t let anything go, I’ve gotta run.” He paused in the doorway just long enough to give Steve a smirk. “Let me know when you’ve proved me right!”

The kids were all scattered around the room when he got there, Riri, Harley, and Kamala giggling over something on their phones, Cassie and Kate comparing notes on homework that was definitely not for physics, and Peter and Miles experimenting with something in the corner that may or may not have been explosive. Tony shook his head, feeling a headache coming on.

“Okay, I’m sorry I’m late, unavoidable circumstances. Let’s get started, yeah?”

“Mr. Stark!” Peter called, beaming at him. Nobody made any move to go to their seats. “If you’d taken seven more minutes, we’d be legally allowed to go home.”

“That’s… Not even remotely true.” He shook his head and clapped his hands together. “Come on, children. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Shouldn’t’ve been late then,” Harley snarked, but at least they were finally heading to their seats.

It was halfway through class when there was a knock on the door, and Tony opened it to some blonde girl he vaguely recognized from Nat’s lit class.

“Message for you from Mr. Rogers!” she chirped, heading off down the hall before he could ask further. His students were focused on their readings, and Tony took advantage of the moment to open the note, frowning as he tried to decipher the writing.

758 exactly. There’s something wrong with you. Also, I owe you lunch. Thursday?

Tony sat at his desk, and managed to read it over five times before Kamala happened to look up and see him.

“Hey, Mr. Stark? Why are you grinning like that?”

As soon as his lunch period started on Thursday, Tony headed down to Steve’s office, trying to convince himself that he hadn’t been looking forward to this since he’d gotten Steve’s note. The door was open, waiting for him, and he headed inside and promptly yelped as a king-sized Kit Kat bar was launched at his head.

“What the fuck?” He flailed as he tried to catch it, somehow managing not to drop it on the ground. He wasn’t particularly graceful about it, and Steve was openly laughing at him. “What was that for?”

Steve shrugged, unconcerned. “The kids get a mini Kat Kat if they’re close in their guess. You were exactly right, so I figured you get extra chocolate.”

Tony eyed him suspiciously and ignored the little delighted thrill in his stomach. “But you didn’t know how many condoms were in the jar.”

“Okay, so I just gave everyone a mini Kit Kat. Sue me.”

Tony just narrowed his eyes further. “So is this our lunch?”

Steve actually snorted. “Do I look like I survive on giant chocolate bars?” he asked, immediately flexing his biceps and twitching a pec. Tony started laughing, couldn’t stop himself, and Steve looked immensely pleased with himself. “No, Tony. I got us sushi.” Tony felt his eyebrows creep up to his hairline, and Steve huffed. “Okay, what?”

“Nothing!” Tony said quickly. “No, I just… You don’t strike me as a sushi guy.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “And what kind of guy, exactly, do you think I am?”

Tony shrugged as Steve passed him a container of sushi. “A giant, uncultured gym bro neanderthal who knows more about planking and protein shakes than he does guidance counselloring, but somehow got a job here anyway?”

“You’re such an asshole,” Steve muttered, but he was obviously fighting a smile.

Tony shrugged. “It’s like you know me or something.” He laughed, knocking back a tuna roll. “How did you get this job?”

“Bucky. We’re old friends, and now he’s my roommate too. So when the job opened, he hooked me up.”

“I mean, everyone knows that much. I meant why here? Why a guidance counsellor? No offense Steve, but you’re kinda terrible at it.”

Steve didn’t look offended in the slightest. “Hey, I wanted to teach art, but the job was already filled and somehow administration thinks art and guidance counselling are interchangeable.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. Living in Brooklyn ain’t cheap. Somewhere since high school it became trendy, I guess? It was this or baristaing at a coffee shop near my apartment, but their coffee smells like soap.”

"Yikes."

"Yikes, indeed. Anyway, enough about why I’m so terrible at my job.” Steve nodded at the chopsticks in Tony’s hand. “Eat your damn sushi, Tony. You don’t eat enough.”

Tony paused with another tuna roll halfway to his mouth. “What do you mean, I don’t eat enough?”

“Every time you come in here it’s always over lunch. And then you usually stay through lunch and your prep period, and you don’t eat anything the entire time. You need to eat more.”

“Okay, stalker.” Tony shifted a little uncomfortably. “What are you, my nonna? I eat fine.” He huffed and slunk down in his seat, pulling his sushi tray closer on the desk. Steve just blinked back at him placidly and then reached out, putting his hand over top of Tony’s.

“It’s okay, Tony. I’m a guidance counsellor. You can talk to me.”

He said it in the same way that people on television crime procedurals tell the women they find in basements that they’re with the FBI, and Tony started laughing despite himself. And then he nearly choked on a California roll when Steve started passing him glossy pamphlets on healthy lifestyle choices.

The next day Tony made a point of showing up for lunch with a huge gas station soda and an enormous bag of pretzel sticks. Steve didn’t stop grinning the entire time.

Before either of them had realized it, it had turned into something of a routine. Not every day, but usually two or three times a week, Tony would forgo his lunch or prep period, or both, and come bother Steve instead. Steve had expressed concern once, that he wasn’t using his prep periods to, you know, prep, but Tony had assured him that being a genius came with some benefits. And really, his visits had quickly become the highlight of his day, and he had a feeling that Steve was enjoying them just as much, so he wasn’t going to worry about it too much.

Once Tony had gotten over his initial concerns about Steve’s guidance counselling methods, the two of them got along ridiculously well. Tony gave Steve shit constantly but it never failed to make him laugh, and he was just as good at giving it in kind. They bickered constantly, but it was friendly and easy and familiar.

Tony had never made friends easily. He got along great with all his coworkers, but with the possible exception of Nat, they were more friendly acquaintances than full friends. When he was a kid, Jarvis had told him that he was just too smart, that the other kids would catch up to him eventually. But that hadn’t seemed to happen, even as an adult. He didn’t know if people were freaked out by his multiple degrees, or if it was the chaotic energy he gave off, or most likely, some conflagration of the above, but aside from a few close friends -- who, admittedly, he wouldn’t trade for anything in the world -- people didn’t really… Warm to him.

Steve, though. Steve was different. Almost from the beginning Tony had felt a connection with him, and while he never failed to let Tony know how impressed he was by what he could do, he never seemed intimidated by him either. Tony would never say it to his face, but he kind of adored him.

Tony popped his head into Steve’s office a few minutes before the end of the day, arching an eyebrow when he found him frowning over some a manual with stick figures doing what looked like some kind of sport -- soccer, probably. He cleared his throat, and couldn’t help smiling back when Steve looked up and positively beamed at him.

“Getting a head start on your weekend reading there, Steve?”

Steve blew out an exasperated breath, rolling his eyes and scrubbing a hand over his face. “Soccer,” he explained, confirming Tony’s suspicions. “Apparently, I’m the new coach of the girl’s soccer team.” He pouted a little. “Administration is really hard to say no to.”

Tony considered this, taking a seat across from Steve and propping his feet up on the desk. “Why isn’t Clint doing it? It is kind of his job.”

“He’s busy with archery finals, it seems.”

“Archery… Finals?” Tony repeated, blinking curiously. “We’re the only school with an archery team. They split into two and compete against each other.”

Steve shrugged miserably, and Tony tossed a pen at his forehead to get him to smile.

“Hey, come on, there are worse things you could be coaching. Those lacrosse kids are wild.”

“Yeah…” Steve rubbed at the back of his neck. “Except for two tiny little details. First, those girls are intimidating as fuck. They scare the shit outta me. And second? I… Don’t actually know anything about soccer.”

Tony snorted with laughter, before he realized Steve was serious and did his best to compose himself. “I’m sorry, how do you not know anything about soccer? You’re…” He gestured vaguely to indicate Steve’s general physique, and Steve sighed glumly.

“Yeah, I think that was the administration’s thought too. But I grew up as a scrawny art student. I know baseball, and that’s it.”

“Huh. The more you know.”

Steve groaned. “So now I’ve got to learn all these soccer rules for tomorrow, none of which make any sense to me.” He frowned down at the manual. “And aren’t there linebackers and quarterbackers and shit?”

Tony couldn’t help laughing then, not even trying to hide it. “Steve, that’s football.”

“Yeah,” Steve replied, in his ‘duh, Tony,’ voice. “Which is soccer.”

They were still arguing about the two different kinds of football when Steve realized that he had parking lot duty. Not one to admit defeat, Tony had tagged along with him. He was once again trying to explain why American football was called football (“but it doesn’t even make sense if they barely use their feet, Tony!”) when a bright, flashy convertible had pulled into the pick-up lane. Tony caught a glimpse of Steve’s confused frown before the car pulled forward enough that he could see the driver and he went stock still, grabbing at Steve’s arm.

“Honeybear?” he yelped, loud enough that a couple of the lingering students turned their way as well. Steve gave Tony a bewildered stare but Tony hardly noticed, his eyes focused on Rhodey, leaning up until he was practically out of his seat and waving his arm at him, looking delicious in a tight white t-shirt that pulled against his biceps.

“Hey, Tones! Guess who’s back, baby!”

Tony made a noise that a lesser man might have even called a squeal, but he felt exactly zero shame about it as he took off for the car. “Bye Steve, gotta go, see you Monday!” he hollered over his shoulder as he went. He didn’t bother with the door, hopping over the side and sliding into the passenger seat. Rhodey lingered just long enough for Tony to give him an enormous kiss on the cheek before the two of them sped off.

“Uh. Bye,” Steve told them empty space beside him.

“So,” Rhodey said, yelling a little to be heard as they sped down the freeway with the top down, wind whistling through the car. “Was that your big gay crush?”

Tony choked on nothing, turning his head to face him so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash. “My what?” he repeated.

Rhodey looked over at him long enough to give him a stare. “Literally every conversation we’ve had in the past few weeks has been about him, Tones.”

“That’s not the proper use of the word literally,” Tony grumbled, and Rhodey shrugged, letting it slide.

Tony couldn’t though, milling it over in his head, and when they turned into the Italian restaurant in Bridgeport, he turned to Rhodey again.

“Okay, no, so wait. Why do you think I have a crush on Steve?”

“Tones…” Rhodey gave him a fond smile. “Come on, man, we’ve been friends for how many years now? I know what you look like when you’re crushing on someone. Even if apparently you don’t.” He gave him a pointed look, snorting when Tony just rolled his eyes at him. “You talk about him all the time. And sure, some of it is ‘complaining’ about how big and beefy he is, but a lot of it is how smart he is, and how funny, and how he’ll always call you on your shit… You don’t have to actually say the words, Tony. I can just tell.”

Tony pouted at the dashboard, mulling this over. “You’re dumb,” he decided finally, ignoring Rhodey’s snickers as he climbed out of the car. “Hurry up, asshole. I’m starving. And I don’t have a crush on Steve!”

“Alright, alright, fine,” Rhodey soothed, obviously not believing him in the slightest. “Whatever you say.”

Tony shot him a glare and didn’t hold the door for him as he headed into the restaurant. After that was the usual flurry of activity when Anna spotted them from behind the cash and hollered at Roberto to come out from the kitchen so they could make their usual fuss over the two of them. He and Rhodey had found the place by accident on a Boston to New York road trip in college, and at this point they'd been coming back for fifteen years.

With all the distractions, Tony was well into the garlic bread before another thought occurred to him. “Waiiiit,” he mumbled around a full mouth. He narrowed his eyes at Rhodey, who blinked back at him over his glass of wine. “Is that why you rented the flashy convertible? And why you used the pick-up lane? You never do that, you know it’s just supposed to be for students that time of day. Did you do that so Steve would see? Because you think I’m into him?”

Rhodey shrugged, looking smug and pleased with himself. “I already know you’re emotionally stunted, but I figured if Steve hadn’t gotten off his ass and asked you out yet, maybe there was a chance he was just as bad.”

“Or, he could just be straight,” Tony pointed out which, he realized belatedly, wasn’t exactly a denial of his crush on Steve.

Rhodey just snorted. “No man could be totally straight around you, Tones. You’re a catch,” he informed him, just to see Tony try to not look all pleased and delighted. “Anyway, I figured -- assuming he’s not straight -- that it couldn’t hurt to give him something to be a little jealous of. And he was definitely gonna be jealous of me.” Rhodey lifted his arms, flexing them so his t-shirt once more strained against his t-shirt. “If you’re a catch, then I’m Moby Dick baby.” He beamed when Tony giggled into his salad. “You need me to be your big gay wingman? I’m 100% here for you, Tones.”

Tony just shook his head, still laughing. “You’re such a dumbass,” he informed him.

“Yeah, yeah, I love you too.”

The weekend had been everything Tony hadn’t realized he needed, the two of them doing all their favourite things and generally leaving a wake of chaos wherever they went. Tony loved his life, felt very fulfilled by what he did and wouldn’t trade it for anything else. But he always missed Rhodey like a limb when he wasn’t around, and having him back again, even temporarily, set something at ease in Tony’s chest.

The only problem, if he could really call it that, was that he couldn’t stop thinking about what Rhodey said about Steve. He hadn’t brought it up again, but that didn’t stop Tony from playing it over and over again, considering the previous conversations he’d had where Steve had been mentioned, with Rhodey, but with Pepper and Happy too. And, as an extension of that, how careful he was not to bring him up when he and Nat would sneak out for gelato over the lunch break, or how he didn’t join in when Bucky would start ragging on Steve in the staff room, all, “Jesus Rogers, you already look like you could stop a helicopter with your bare hands. Maybe give the gym a rest, huh?” (although Tony did have to hide his own smile at the teasing, and a couple times had caught Steve watching him with a look that one might have even described as pleased.)

And of course, thinking about all of that led to thinking about Steve himself. He was gorgeous, obviously, Tony would have to be blind not to be aware of that. But there was also how much he found himself looking forward to spending time with him, more than almost anyone else. He still hadn’t gotten tired of him, not really, not even when they argued, and he took special pride in finding ways to make Steve laugh. Steve could have been 5’2 and 96 pounds, and he would have enjoyed spending time with him just as much.

By Sunday night, when Tony found himself lost in thought again, only to realize that he’d spent the last five minutes thinking about the very specific wrinkles Steve would get in his forehead whenever he smiled, Tony had to admit defeat.

“Fuck,” he announced to his empty living room. “I’ve got a big gay crush on Steve Rogers.”

To Tony’s credit, once he’d come to a conclusion, he wasn’t the type to sit back and wallow in it. Despite leaving him only an hour later, he grabbed his phone, dialing Rhodey’s number.

“Hey Tones.” Rhodey answered on the third ring, sounding lazy and also like he was in the middle of eating something. “Miss me already?”

“Always, honeybear,” Tony responded automatically. “But also, uh… So… You may not have been so crazy after all.”

“About your big gay crush on the guidance counsellor?” Rhodey asked, because he knew Tony like nobody else. “Obviously.”

“Shut up,” Tony whined. “You know how much I hate not knowing things.” He grinned at the warm huff of laughter that came down the line at that. “So how would you feel about… Still playing the big gay wingman?”

“I’m listening…”

“Our JROTC volunteer is out for the next few weeks, some kind of family thing, and I thought, you know… You can volunteer? Take his place for a bit? And then, you know, you and I can hang out like all the time while you’re on leave, and as an extra bonus, it might make Steve jealous.”

“I mean, there’s a big difference between that, and picking you up at school in a shiny car,” Rhodey pointed out. “Sounds kinda complicated. I’d probably end up meeting him, even. You sure you don’t just want to… Tell him how you feel?”

Tony scoffed down the line. “I know you like to offer that advice for every situation, but I want you to know that the only reason that worked for you and Carol is because she thought your dumb drunk ass needed protecting. You triggered her alpha instinct, that’s all.”

“If you say so,” Rhodey told him, but Tony could already tell he was going to say yes. “Fine. But I want you to know, it’s a stupid idea, and I’m only agreeing so I have a chance to bug you while you’re trying to work.”

Tony beamed. “And that’s why you’re my favourite.”

Somewhere along the way, Steve’s (not-so) subtle ogling of Tony had turned into a full-on crush, and that had grown until Steve was pretty sure he was half in love with the man. He was doing his best to be cool about it, but he’d never met anyone quite like Tony Stark before. He found him constantly drifting into his thoughts, despite his best efforts otherwise, couldn’t seem to stop daydreaming about them being more than friends, even when he tried to tell himself that Tony was probably straight.

Or at least, he had thought that Tony was straight, right up until Friday afternoon.

Steve knew it was none of his business. He had his own life out of work, and so did Tony, and that was fine. It didn’t stop him from driving himself crazy wondering who the hell the gorgeous man who picked Tony up from school on Friday had been, and what their relationship was. The sheer joy that had been in Tony’s voice when he’d called out to him had left Steve’s heart somewhere around his knees, made worse by the so obviously affectionate and familiar nickname. He hadn’t missed the enormous cheek kiss that Tony had given him either. And sure, a kiss on the cheek didn’t necessarily scream romantic relationship, and they could just as easily be friends. But there was an ugly part of Steve that kept rearing up, insisting that he would consider himself and Tony to be friends, and he had never gotten a kiss cheek.

By Monday morning, Steve was practically itching to see Tony. Bucky, he knew, was totally sick of him after Steve had spent the entire weekend oscillating between moping and distraction, and refusing to tell him why. But the Home Ec room was right beside Tony’s classroom, so instead of going to his own office, Steve followed Bucky upstairs and then stood outside the doorway as Bucky made sure the cooking stations were prepped for the day, talking at him from the hallway. And the second he saw Tony making his way toward his classroom, looking sleepy and still a little out of it, he turned away entirely, not noticing that he was abandoning Bucky mid-sentence.

“Hey Tony!”

It went downhill from there. Tony made a strangled yelping noise, which Steve would have found adorable if not for the way everything he was holding scattered. His bag fell from his shoulder, flap opening and sending a cascade of pens and pencils and erasers flying across the floor. The cell phone he’d been texting on hit the ground with a thud that made Steve wince, and a tumbler went rolling off down the hall, leaving behind a dribbled trail of coffee leaking from the lid.

“Oh shit,” Steve said, staring horrified at the mess for a minute before he moved to help, grabbing the tumbler as it started to roll past him and getting coffee all over his hand in the process. He ignored it, moving to help gather Tony’s other things. “Shit, I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s okay,” Tony reassured him, already bent over and picking things up. “I was just distracted. You startled me, is all.”

“Still,” Steve insisted, and was about to explain further but he and Tony both reached for a pen at the same time, heads cracking together. “Oh god,” Steve groaned as Tony clasped a hand to his forehead with a pained noise, cursing creatively under his breath. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.” They both straightened up, and he offered Tony a rueful smile. “I was just gonna ask how your weekend was.”

“Oh!” The pain on Tony’s face melted away entirely as he smiled soft and sweet and pleased in a way that Steve didn’t think he’d quite seen before. He tried to keep his own smile normal, but all of a sudden he couldn’t remember what a smile was supposed to feel like, or what he even normally did with his face or arms or hands. Tony didn’t seem to notice. “It was really, really great. I got to spend the entire weekend with my Rhodeybear. It was just what I needed. He’s like my other half, and I missed him like crazy. Hey!” His entire face lit up. “You should meet him sometime.”

“Right.” Steve nodded as normally as he could. “Yeah, maybe. That would be… Great. I’m glad you had a nice time, Tony,” he added, at least managing to be genuine with that. “I gotta get to work, but I’ll catch you later?” He started to head for his office, and then realized he was still holding the travel mug. “Oh right, here.”

He handed it over, taking a moment to suck away a stray drop of coffee that was sliding down the side of his index finger. Then Tony made a worrying wheezing noise and Steve stopped, staring at him. “Are you alright?”

Tony nodded just a couple more times than Steve would have classified as normal. “Yup,” he said, suddenly mumbling and not quite meeting Steve’s eyes. “Just gotta…” He trailed off and darted into his classroom without any further explanation.

“Okayyyy?” Steve said.

Tony was acting weird, there was no doubt about it. Steve had assumed that after crashing into each other, they might meet for lunch as usual, but otherwise go about their day. Instead, Tony had popped into his office no less than four times that morning, every time on official business, but with fiddly little things that could have been passed along by a student messenger, or an email. But he’d also spotted Tony outside his office several other times, sometimes lingering outside his door absorbed in something on his phone, sometimes just walking down the hall just a little too casually to be entirely normal. Steve couldn’t think of another reason for him to be in this particular hallway, but Tony would look up from his phone like he hadn’t realized this was even where he was, and a couple of times Steve had glanced up just in time to see Tony’s eyes dart away like he’d been staring at him right before. The few times they’d made full eye contact and Steve had smiled at him, Tony’s return smile had been what Steve might have called shy, if it had been coming from anyone besides Tony.

His first thought was that Tony had figured out about the crush (not an obsession, whatever Bucky said) Steve had on him, and was freaked out, and that’s what was making him act so weird. But when they met up for lunch everything seemed normal between them, and Tony certainly didn’t act like someone who was freaked out. And Steve knew Tony well enough by now that he was pretty sure if his feelings weren’t returned, Tony wouldn’t hesitate to let him know -- gently, and he’d probably be real sweet about it, but he wouldn’t let Steve drive himself crazy wondering, wouldn’t give him a chance to make a fool of himself over it.

And then he thought it might have had something to do with his company over the weekend, this Rhodey guy that Steve was absolutely not jealous of, that he was the one that had Tony all twisted up in knots. Tony had sounded smitten with him, but then again, Tony was dramatic like that. It didn’t have to mean there was anything there. And that wouldn’t have explained why he was acting so weird around Steve, who didn’t even know the guy.

Which led Steve to his next thought, the one that felt a little too fantastical to be true, even if the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to fit. Because the little smiles, the almost blushes that Tony would have… What if Steve’s feelings weren’t as one-sided as he had thought? Maybe Tony had a thing for him too, and that’s why he was acting all flustered and strange? Steve knew he was probably not the most unbiased opinion, that wanting it to be true was maybe skewing his perspective a little, making him see things a certain way. But if Tony didn’t suddenly hate him -- and he was positive that wasn’t the case -- was it so crazy to think that the little glances and smiles were a sign of something more?

He felt bolstered by the idea, unable to let it go once it was in his head. He’d never been one for letting things slide, and almost immediately he made up his mind to Talk To Tony, to maybe ask if he wanted to grab coffee after work, or a drink, and then he could tell him how he felt, see if he felt the same.

His morning flew by, distracted by daydreams of what would come next. Steve had always been a visual thinker, and he could picture all too clearly the slow smile that would spread across Tony’s cheeks when he realized his feelings weren't unrequited, the way he’d duck his head and glance up through his eyelashes (a move that always drove Steve crazy). How drinks could lead to dinner, which could lead to walking him home and -- since it was Steve’s daydream, dammit -- having Tony inviting him inside. What it would be like to finally get to kiss him, to feel his skin under his fingers with purpose, instead of just a glancing brush as they shared food or walked along beside each other?

He was still daydreaming about it when he walked into the gym right before lunchtime, intending to ask Clint another question about soccer, and stopped dead.

He had been very, very wrong.

Tony was there, for some reason, but even more confusing was the fact that this Rhodey guy was with him. Not that the why of it really mattered, Steve supposed. Tony was practically hanging off the other man’s back, crooning into his ear. As Steve watched, he pressed a big sloppy kiss to Rhodey’s cheek. “Come on, platypus,” he wheedled, delight evident in his voice. Rhodey was shaking his head and pretending to be annoyed but there was a fond, pleased smile on his face and his hand came up to hold on to Tony’s arm around his chest.

Steve may have been accused of being hopelessly optimistic, but he wasn’t naive. Whatever had had Tony acting so weird before, it obviously wasn’t a crush on Steve.

Suddenly very much needing to be anywhere else, Steve turned to try and sneak back out of the gym and promptly tripped over a stray basketball. He couldn’t help cursing as he rolled his ankle, and then winced as the sound rang out through the mostly empty space.

“Steve!” Tony looked startled at his sudden appearance, doing a weird little fidgety dance before he forced himself to still and gave him a bright smile. “Come here! You didn’t get to meet him last week, come meet my Rhodeybear!”

Steve started to mumble out some excuse about paperwork or meetings, but almost instantly Tony was across the room, grabbing him by the arm and forcibly pulling him over to Rhodey, who was very obviously trying not to laugh.

“Rhodey, this is Steve, our new guidance counselor. Steve, this is Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes. I talked him into volunteering with the ROTC kids while he’s on leave for the next month.”

Steve managed a smile as Rhodey reached out, shaking his hand with a firm grip. “Hey man. Good to finally meet you. Tones talks about you all the time.”

He glanced at Tony over Steve’s shoulder, and something on Tony’s face made him laugh. His eyes were sharp and perceptive and Steve felt a flare of panic because oh shit, he knew. Somehow this man had figured out that Steve had a crush on his boyfriend. And the worst part was that he didn’t seem angry. There was no threat in his handshake, his smile open and friendly.

“Uh, good to meet you too,” he managed, doing his best to smile back at him and not look like he was having a complete panic attack.

There was something so effortlessly cool about Rhodey. He was, frankly, gorgeous, with his teasing smile and ridiculously well-fitting leather jacket to boot, but he seemed genuinely nice too. He could have been a total ass, throwing it in Steve’s face that he was with Tony, but there was nothing of that in his body language. Steve couldn’t help liking him immediately, and he usually had good instincts for these things. But he also couldn’t help being intimidated and more than a little jealous -- although, for a moment he wasn’t entirely sure of which one. It was definitely Rhodey; his ridiculous crush was on Tony, so of course Rhodey was the one he was jealous of. It was maybe also a little bit Tony because fuck, Rhodey was cool.

Steve was barely aware of the conversation that followed, feeling his heart sink lower every time he caught a glimpse of the besotted smile on Tony’s face. They made small talk for a few minutes, and at least he was pretty sure that he hadn’t said anything too strange, even if he sort of felt like his own face was melting. There were vague plans made for the three of them to get together for drinks or something in the next few weeks (Steve had exactly zero intention of following through on that particular idea) and then he was finally able to make his escape. Feeling like an absolute idiot, he slipped his way down the hall and back to his own office, where he shut the door firmly behind him and slunk down in his desk chair, letting his head fall against the desk with a slight bang, whining into the empty space.

After that, Steve backed off a little, not wanting to seem like he was encroaching on their relationship. He was crazy about Tony, but he wanted him to be happy, and the two of them seemed right together. And clearly Rhodey had a good effect on Tony, because after a few more days whatever seemed to be going on with him stopped too. The manic behaviour evened out as he went back to how they’d been before, if maybe slightly more awkward than they’d once been. They still met for lunch regularly, still got along stupidly well, goofing around and joking and making each other laugh. If their lunches were slightly less often than they’d once been, well, Steve supposed that made sense when Tony’s boyfriend was right there at the school with him. He should be glad he still got lunch with Tony at all.

A few more weeks, and even that slight awkwardness had faded. They were warm and familiar around each other again, their new normal somehow less and more than it had been before. Steve still had a thing for Tony, but now it felt settled into him, like it was just a part of who he was. He didn’t want to admit it, but he thought he might have settled right into being completely in love with Tony. But he could be normal around him, because that was just part of their friendship, loving Tony just a part of who he was now. He felt right being around Tony, even if there was sometimes a bittersweet ache, and he wouldn’t trade that feeling for anything.

But every once in awhile, he’d catch Tony giving him a soft, sad smile that he was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to see, a look on his face that Steve might have described as just a little disappointed, and he couldn’t help wondering. Maybe if Tony had been single, and maybe if Steve had been just a little less scared, they might have been able to have something more between them.

Tony huffed out a sigh, having no idea what was going on in the movie he was watching with Rhodey. “Honeybear,” he said. “I think it’s time to admit defeat.”

“Tony Stark? Giving up?” Rhodey rolled his head along the back of the couch, giving Tony a slightly tipsy grin. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

“Hilarious,” Tony told him dryly, grinning despite himself. “I’m serious. I don’t think Steve is into me. I thought he was jealous at first but…” He shrugged helplessly. “And we’re friends. Like, really good friends. He’s probably the person I trust most after you. I shouldn’t try to mess with that, right?”

“I don’t think it’s messing with it, exactly,” Rhodey told him. “Starting a romantic relationship with him isn’t necessarily better or worse than being friends. It’s just... Different.” He obviously understood Tony’s point though. “You really don’t think there’s anything there?”

Tony just shrugged again, a crooked, self-deprecating smile on his lips, and Rhodey rubbed his hand over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry man,” he told him, hauling Tony against him for a hug.

“It’s okay,” Tony mumbled into Rhodey’s neck, though his arms squeezed around his waist, holding on tight for a long minute. “Really. I love having him as a friend too, and I’ll get over the whole crush thing eventually. I’ll be okay. I always am.”

Rhodey hummed, sounding like he didn’t quite believe him. “Still. Ice cream and bourbon in the meantime?”

Tony managed a real smile then, though he didn’t let go of Rhodey right away. “Definitely.”

Steve sat alone in the restaurant, fighting a smile at the sympathetic looks he kept getting from the wait staff. He was meeting his friend Sharon for dinner after she’d been overseas for the last six months on a work contract. But Sharon was notoriously bad at personal appointments, so it was hit or miss whether she’d actually turn up or if she would cancel at the last minute again. Steve wasn’t really phased, used to it by now.

He was occupying himself with games on his phone when he heard a familiar voice. He frowned at the screen, trying to place it before he looked up and made awkward eye contact with someone he’d rather avoid, and then realized it was Rhodey. Immediately he wondered if Tony was with him, and his heart beat a little faster at the thought, even though he’d just seen him a few hours ago. Looking around for them, he smiled when he spotted Rhodey’s familiar form first. And then his heart stopped beating completely for a moment.

Rhodey wasn’t with Tony.

There was a woman with him, tall and muscular with short blonde hair. She was just as gorgeous as Rhodey, the two of them an admittedly stunning pair. She was laughing too, not quite as loud, and there was a softness in her eyes as she smiled at him. Then Rhodey’s hand came up, sliding across the table to tangle his fingers with hers, the movement familiar and intimate. He leaned forward, murmuring something soft that Steve couldn’t catch, and then she was pulling back with a wide smile.

“Check please?” she hollered with absolutely no decorum, making Rhodey burst out laughing again.

Steve ducked behind his menu, watching the two of them gather up their things. He didn’t particularly want to confront Rhodey here and now, just in case he was wrong, but fortunately (or not) they only seemed to have eyes for each other. Rhodey helped her with her jacket, making the woman snort and try to elbow him, and he kept his hand very low on her back, right on the edge of being inappropriate, as they walked to the door. Steve turned away as they walked right past the table, but he looked up in time to see them pause in the foyer, mostly out of sight, before the women fisted her hands in Rhodey’s shirt and pulled him for a slow, lingering, hungry kiss. Rhodey looked downright dazed when she’d pulled back, until she said something else to make him laugh and the two of them slipped out the front door.

Steve stared at the space where they’d been for a long time after they’d gone.

“Shit.”

Sharon did end up cancelling on him, and with Bucky away on a bonding trip with some old army buddies, Steve was left alone to stew around the apartment all weekend. Normally he’d probably have gone to Tony for advice, but that obviously wasn’t an option here and Steve didn’t know what to do.

He knew he should tell Tony; he’d want to know if it were him. But then there was the question of if he’d want Steve to be the one to tell him -- or, for that matter, if Steve wanted to be the one to tell him, which he definitely didn’t. If Tony had figured out about Steve’s crush on him, would he even believe him? He honestly didn’t know what he would do if Tony thought he was making it up to get between him and his boyfriend. He’d like to think Tony knew him better than that, but people could get weird about their significant others.

By Monday morning, Steve still had no idea what he was going to do. He had barely slept all weekend and was tired and miserable, found himself taking the long way round to his office to avoid the chance of running into Tony in the staff room.

“Wow, Rogers. You look terrible.”

Lost in thought, Steve nearly jumped at the sound of Nat’s voice. He looked up to see her sitting in her classroom, grading papers and watching him with an amused look on her face.

“Yeah,” he rubbed at the back of his neck absently. “I just didn’t sleep well.”

Some of the amusement slid off her face and she arched an eyebrow at him. “You okay?”

Steve shrugged. ”Just… Life,” he offered vaguely. Then he blinked at her, eyes going wide. “You can help me though! I… I need you to talk to Tony for me. It’s kind of a big thing. Please, Nat? I don’t know what else to do. I don’t… I’m worried he’ll hate me if I tell him, or won’t believe me, or both. But it won’t seem so… personal coming from you. Blunt honesty is your whole thing, right? Plus he’s more likely to believe you when he’s already half terrified of you anyway.”

Nat was back to looking amused, trying to follow Steve’s rambling. “And why is Tony half terrified of me?”

Steve winced. “Uh… There’s a rumor going around that you’re secretly a Russian sleeper agent?”

“The Cold War ended in 1991,” she told him without missing a beat, voice eerily atonal. “Russia and America are allies now.”

There was a moment of absolute silence before she cracked up and Steve glared at her.

“That. That is exactly why people are scared of you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she told him airily, before relenting with a sigh. “Okay, so what is it that you need me to tell Tony?”

“I… Rhodey’s cheating on him,” he blurted out all in a rush, before he could chicken out. “I saw him at dinner on Friday with this gorgeous woman, and they were very clearly together, kissing and everything, and I just… I don’t know how to tell him.

Nat stared at him, blinked twice, and then burst out laughing. Steve frowned at her, taken aback, but as Natasha kept on laughing, to the point that there were actual tears coming from her eyes, Steve got more and more cranky. Folding his arms across his chest, his frown turned into a full on glare as he waited for her to get control of herself.

“Are you done?” he asked when she finally stopped laughing what felt like five minutes later. “Cause I’d really like to know what’s so funny about all of this.”

But Natasha just shook her head, still grinning. “Let me know when you figure it out, Steve.”

By the end of the day, Steve had successfully managed to avoid Tony, and he was exhausted. He knew he couldn’t keep this up forever, and he didn’t particularly want to. He’d missed Tony today. Even on the days when they didn’t get to spend time together, there was always a smile and wave when they passed each other in the hall. This just felt weird.

Going the long way again, he made his way to Bucky’s classroom, hovering in the doorway as he watched Bucky put away the last of the materials they’d been using.

“Hey Buck?” he said after a minute.

Bucky looked up, frowning at the look on Steve’s face. “What the hell’s the matter with you?”

Steve ignored that. “Remember, when we were kids, and I grabbed you before you fell off the fire escape showing off for Jenny Calloway? And you said you owed me your first born? I’m cashing in. I need you to do something for me, no questions. And if you laugh at me, I’m gonna punch you so hard your grandkids’ teeth’ll hurt.”

“Well that seems unnecessary,” Bucky drawled, leaning back against one of the work stations. “You know I’d do it if you just said please. Seriously, Stevie, you look like you’re about to pass out. What’s up?”

“Rhodey is cheating on Tony. I saw him with someone, and… They were definitely together. Can you just like… Let it slip? I’m afraid if I tell him he’ll think I’m lying, because --,”

“You’re desperately in love with him?” he asked, lips quirking up.

“Buck!” Steve looked around like Tony was suddenly going to pop out of the corner of the classroom and call him out on it. “Come on, this is serious. Don’t fucking laugh at me!”

Bucky held his hands up in surrender, and was quiet for a minute, chewing on the inside of his cheek like he was still fighting back a smile. “Right, okay,” he said, pushing off the desk and striding into the hallway. Steve’s eyes went wide.

“No, shit, wait,” he hissed. “I didn’t mean right now!” He started to follow Bucky down the hall, then stopped after a few feet because Bucky had already reached Tony’s classroom, and he didn't think he wanted to be here for this. But while Steve was debating if he could make it to the stairs before Bucky said something, Bucky knocked sharply on the side of the doorframe.

“Hey! Stevie thinks you’re dating Rhodes,” he announced, before wandering off down the hall. Steve stared after him because what the fuck, that wasn’t what he’d told him to say, and where was he even going?

Before he had a chance to process, there was a crash from Tony’s classroom and then faintly, the sound of his voice. “Did he just…?” He sounded strangled, and then he was skidding into the hallway, hair standing up about five inches from his head and eyes wild.

“Um, hi,” he said. Steve could practically see his chest heaving from here.

“Hi,” Steve said back a little stupidly.

“I’m not dating Rhodey,” Tony burst out, staring at Steve with wide eyes like he couldn’t look away. “Never have been. Well, we had an almost thing in university, but -- that’s not the point. Rhodey and I aren’t together.” He gaze shifted, looking at Steve imploringly. His tongue flicked out over his lips, and Steve swallowed hard.

“I just…” He took a couple tentative steps toward Tony. “He showed up, and you were all over him, and you had about five million nicknames for him and so… I figured…”

“Nope,” Tony said quickly. “We’re just… Like that. Rhodey is very firmly in love with somebody else. We, uh… I was helping him shop for engagement rings last week.” He took a deep breath and closed the remaining distance between them, eyes somewhere around Steve’s collarbone. “Listen, Rogers. I know Carol looks like a lesbian, but so does Clint with the wrong glasses and a slim-cut pant, so please reconsider your personal biases and trust me. It's her and Rhodey. And it's.... it's you and me. Right?"

Steve could feel the ridiculous smile splitting his cheeks. “Yeah?” he asked, a little breathless.

“I mean…” Tony looked up at him through ridiculously long eyelashes. “I’d like it to be?”

There were a million and one things that Steve could say in response to that, but he couldn’t think of a single one. Instead, he curled his hand around the back of Tony’s neck, dipping his head to kiss him softly. Tony made a soft, whimpery noise, hands coming up to clutch at the front of Steve’s shirt. He couldn’t resist deepening the kiss, letting his tongue tease against the seam of Tony’s lips for a minute before he pulled back again, just a little.

“I thought… You were acting so weird. I thought you’d figured out I had a crush on you and, you know. Didn’t know how to turn me down.”

Tony made a pained noise, and then started laughing, pressing his face into Steve’s chest. His entire body was shaking with it, and Steve couldn’t help grinning as he wrapped his hands around Tony’s back.

“I was acting weird because I had a thing for you. I figured you couldn’t possibly be interested because otherwise, why wouldn’t you have made a move? I was laying it on way too strong. I’ve never been the best at processing stuff like that. I get a little… manic.”

Steve wanted to kick his own ass, but it was hard to be upset when he finally, finally had his arms full of Tony. “Really?” he teased instead. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Tony bit his pec in retaliation — it was right there, how was he supposed to resist? — sending a full-body shudder through Steve. There wasn’t much for him to do after that but pull Tony up into another kiss, and then another, until they were making out lazily right there in the hallway.

They might have kept going forever, if they hadn’t been interrupted by a very pointed throat clearing.

“Okay, seriously guys?” Bucky protested. “I’ve been killing time with Nat for the past half hour. Can’t you do that in one of your own classrooms? Or better yet, a goddamn bedroom? Preferably not in our shared apartment,” he added with a glare at Steve.

Steve could feel his cheeks heating, but he didn’t really feel embarrassed, especially not with the smirk Tony was leveling at him. Steve shivered again, and his smirk grew wider.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony said, tossing a look at Bucky over his shoulder. “We’re going. Don’t get your ponytail in a knot.” Then he caught Steve’s hand. “Can I uh… can I buy you dinner? I know a great Italian place. Not too fancy, cozy… intimate.”

Steve’s face hurt from smiling so hard. “Sounds like a date,” he said, getting a goofy little delighted giggle out of Tony.

“You know,” Tony said as they headed for the parking lot, fingers entwined. “You don’t have to be jealous of Rhodey’s nicknames. I can give you a nickname.”

Steve snorted. “I’ve heard some of Rhodey’s nicknames. I think I’m okay.”

Tony stuck his tongue out at him, softening it by standing on tiptoe to give him another quick kiss. “Oh, what about Cap? You know, like Captain America? In the old comic books? You kind of look like him, all big and blond and buff and like you could single-handedly take down a Nazi base and rescue the damsel in distress. The damsel in distress being me, obviously.”

Steve just laughed, shaking his head and happier than he’d ever been. “Tony, that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.”

@tonystarkbingo

#tonystarkbingo2020 #tsb2020 #stony #steve rogers #tony stark #teacher au #mutual pining #get together #james rhodes #bucky barnes #natasha romanoff #background carol/rhodey #fic #my fic

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