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the-bar-sinister · 9 months ago

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The Mechanics of Emotion (30199 words) by thesavagesabretooth

catch up here

Athena Cykes has a problem. For years, she built her life around rescuing the man who had saved her, Simon Blackquill. She'd been imagining a fairytale ending. A kiss. A ride into the sunset. But real life isn't as simple as a dream. Athena got her kiss, but there was no ending– there was a complication. Bobby Fulbright was suddenly back in Simon's life in an unexpected twist of fate, and it turned out that he and Simon had been together for a whole year.

Not to mention that there are two more members of the Phantom Organization who've been captured that Simon now needs to prosecute, and Athena must defend. Love and chaos in LA. In justice we trust– but who understands the mechanics of emotion?

December 27, 2:35 pm

They did, in fact eventually decide on where to get lunch, despite the revelation that Halblicht had already eaten. Over bowls of Eldoon's noodles they chatted about interior decorating, the challenge of finding a place to live, and generally light matters.

After lunch, they'd split up, with Simon heading to the prosecutor's office, and Athena who had to go to the police precinct to start preparing for "asset 24"s case. Halblicht had happily accompanied her, and now she found herself in the passenger seat of his rented car.

“You know…another benefit of living together’s this.” Athena chuckled. “I can hitch rides with you guys instead of running everywhere and missing buses.”

She leaned partially against the door, watching the city roll by with a chuckle. The noodles had hit the spot, and the nerves of the morning had all but seemed to dissipate.

"Ahh, you don't drive, do you, Miss Athena?" Bobby asked, cocking his head. "I'll be happy to drive you anywhere you need, as long as I'm not on duty–"

"--and maybe sometimes if I'm on duty anyway," Robert cut in slyly.

She glanced over at him with a sly grin.

“You guys have always been pretty helpful~. I won’t be afraid to hitch a ride, on duty or no, Mr. Halblicht” she winked playfully “I never got my driver’s license, given the whole ‘living in Europe’ thing.”

"They do have a very good public transit system there. LA seems to try its best," Halblicht chuckled. Bobby mused after a moment "I could teach you to drive if you wanted!"

Athena shifted to look at him more fully with a grin.

“Woah, you would? I mean…on one hand It’d mean I couldn’t beg you for a ride as often, on the other…I guess I’ve always been kinda curious…and it’s not like I had anyone willing to teach me before.”

"No one? That's a shame, Miss Athena! Consider the offer open. And if you do learn and you still want me to drive you, I don't mind playing chauffeur."

Athena leaned on the center console.

“Hmmm…Sorry , I’m just trying to imagine you in the cap.” She chuckled into her hand “and sadly not…I mean. My father’s parents…my grandparents I guess– they were pretty old and didn’t seem keen on giving lessons, and I was too busy anyway to do anything but cram and study.”

They seemed to notice Athena leaning toward them, and she felt a flutter of curiosity from Bobby, but it was Robert who replied.

"Actually, I happen to have a full chauffeur's uniform among my possessions. Though, that may be classified as evidence now." He smirked, dryly. "But I see, busy busy busy in europe. And as I understand it Mr. Wright doesn't drive either."

Athena whistled, the curiosity fluttering in echo through her “...wait , for real? Why? Did…did you actually chauffeur on a job?”

She nodded her head , still leaning on that midpoint between them “yeah, Mr. Wright doesn’t drive, and the one time I asked him he got all cagey about it and went into a long winded story about the time he was hit by a car and hit a telephone pole.”

They shook their head in response. "Mr. Wright's a bit ridiculous. As for chauffeuring, that's one role I've actually played more than once. It does make it easy to get close to someone, and to get them alone."

��Easy to dispose of crime scene too, if you’re careful.” she put her fingers to her chin “honestly it makes sense! I just thought the uniforms were only used in like…old movies.”

She chuckled “Mr. Wright’s …a lot. But he’s my boss so..you know.”

"No, the uniforms are still very much in use. I suppose you've never had occasion to have an official chauffeur. Me either." Another dry smirk from Robert, and he glanced her way curiously.

“We could trade the uniform back and forth if I got my license, I suppose. We can pretend to be living the high life.” She looked up at him with her bright grin “you don’t mind me leaning here, do you?”

"There's hardly anything I mind, Athena," Robert remarked, glancing at her again. "But it does remind me of a question I meant to ask."

Athena pointed to him with two fingers. “Shoot, Robert…I’ll answer as best I can.”

"I still don't have my gun back," he said, shaking his head. Clearly a joke, despite the lack of palpable feeling from him. "But my question. You mentioned the night we shared a bed with Simon. Was that a persuasion tactic, or a flirtation?"

“Too bad.” she laughed “maybe the police department’ll give it back later. You could teach me to shoot, too.”

She joked partially to delay her answer, feeling the slightest burn of heat on her face as she formulated an answer.

“As for your question.I did promise to answer…” she rubbed her neck with a shy grin. “I mean…I suppose I meant it as a flirtation…and as a way to show you that I was pretty open to the idea..”

"To the idea of both of us having a relationship with Simon?"

Athena ducked her head with a shy laugh.

“I mean, I was okay with that basically since the start. Simon deserves all the love in the world. But well, we’ll be in pretty close proximity– and we’ve had some moments where we’ve bonded over a lot..”

"A flirtation towards us then. Interesting." Robert smirked. "Bobby suggested that it might be, but I hesitated to believe it."

Athena tucked her hair over her ear with a nod. “Yeah, a flirtation towards you guys….you hesitated huh?”

"My guess is that most people in your position would be hesitant to extend a flirtation in my direction." He rested his hand on the center console near where she was leaning. "Though I've already observed that you're not like most people."

Athena laughed softly.

“most people would think i was crazy for even thinking about it…” she shifted, and her hand brushed his “I’m..not like most people. Like I’ve told you back in Cauli, I was born a bit different…I don’t think the same way as others. And despite everything, I enjoy your company.”

"For the best, since it seems like you'll be getting a lot of it after all." The warm leather of his gloved hand brushed hers in return and then rested atop it. It was the same hand, she realized suddenly, that bore a scar of her making.

The same hand she remembered from her visceral half-memory that had risen up during the trial. In a way, it was a sign of the history they all shared, twisted and tumultuous as it was.

Her thumb rubbed against the leather of the side of his hand as it rested atop hers, as she nodded “and you mine, so I hope you don’t mind too much.” she winked.

“We’re gonna be roomies…promise, I don’t snore. Just don’t ask Junie.”

"I don't have to ask though. After all, we've already shared a bed, as you mentioned."

He pulled the car into the police precinct, and backed smoothly into a parking space.

Athena’s eyes widened.

“...I don’t snore, do I?” she asked in a hushed voice, leaning over to put her other hand atop his gloved fingers.

"No, Athena, you don't snore," Robert assured her. But suddenly his expression changed and Bobby looked at her with a wide eyed expression. "Wait a minute– do I snore? I used to snore, but Robert doesn't…"

Athena lifted her hand off his to wave a little ‘50/50’ motion. “Eehhhhh, a little bit, detective.”

"Oh that's weird!!" He slapped the steering wheel and accidentally beeped the horn, jolting in response to the sudden noise.

“Yeep!” Athena jolted too as her fingers tightened on his hand for a moment.

“It is, isn’t it? I mean…maybe your giving Robert some of your bad habits?” she teased. “I mean…nothing wrong with that, it adds character!”

Bobby smoothed back his hair, laughing off their mutual startlement. "Well, if you insist that it does, Ms. Athena. And I suppose Robert could use a few non-illegal bad habits, eh?"

“I was just thinking the same thing.” She tapped her nose “maybe I can pass over some of mine, too. You know…as a welcoming gift into our new arrangement.”

"You have bad habits, Ms. Athena?" he asked playfully, grinning widely at her. She could feel his puppyish warmth and affection wash over her, almost completely overwhelming the background ping of his slight anxiety.

Athena flushed. It was a lot of emotion– good emotions, the sort that were easy to accept and allow to reverberate through her internal matrix, easing her own.

“One or two.” she stretched her legs out. “...I mean, I may have a slight addiction to going out to eat. I also wake up real early to go on runs most days.”

Of course there was my notorious bad habit that got put on public display during the Themis trial. But that isn’t something to mention out loud right now.

"Ah, I hate to break this to you, Ms. Athena but I don't think getting up early and going on runs counts as a bad habit! If anything it's a very good one!" he grinned broadly and openly at her, but the way he held his head, she could tell there was something else on his mind.

“Gosh, maybe I’m some kind of modern saint then! or maybe you haven’t gotten the pleasure of seeing my worst habits yet!” She looked up at him with a tilt of her head “...you alright? You look thoughtful.”

"Ah, well!!" He put his hand behind his head embarrassedly, and she realized as he did that it was the first time their hand had left hers. "Maybe just a minor thing on my mind! Can't fool you, Ms. Athena!"

“Maybe that’s one of my bad habits.” she chuckled with a sheepish grin, holding her hands up. “I’m not easy to hide things from, and I can’t help but ask when I notice something…can I ask?”

"Well– it's silly! I'm being told it's silly," He grinned embarrassedly and waved his hand. "But I was wondering, you know…. um, just Robert?.... Or me too?"

Athena blinked, and she turned a deep pink .

“Oh!!” She began brushing her fingers through her hair, through her long ponytail with a lopsided and flustered smile and laughed quietly. “Yeah! Obviously you too, Bobby! I mean…I know you were in there that whole year investigating…I was always over the moon when I saw you at a scene! We had fun, ongoing jokes…you were charming. And then in Cauli….”

Bobby's smile lit up, and the wash of puppydog warmth rolled over Athena all over again.

"Really? That's honestly really nice to hear, Ms Athena…" He poked his fingers together with nervous pleasure. "I'm glad you liked seeing me at the scene!"

Athena grinned “I mean…of course I did! That whole ‘oh poor damsel, if only someone on the side of justice would help me’ back and forth was more than just me fishing for evidence you know! You’re cute and I was having fun! It was kinda flirting from the start!”

Bobby laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You were! I had wondered at the time, but you know it didn't seem like the right time to follow up on that, given the circumstances."

“Given the circumstances.” she chuckled before leaning on her hands on the center console “but I absolutely was…and circumstances have changed…”

He rested his hand next to hers again, leaning toward her a bit. "I'd say they've changed considerably!"

This time, it was her hand that went atop his as she looked up to meet his eyes with a half smile

“Only took one crazy week, packed to the gills with weirdness, too.” She bit her lip, feeling a ping of shy, almost timid joy thrumming in her heart “honestly, I’m overjoyed in a way.”

"You are?" he cocked his head, leaning quite close now. She could feel Bobby's curious excitement in every subtle motion and twitch of his expression– not that either were ever subtle with him.

She nodded, and for a moment her nose brushed the tip of his.

“...I can feel you’re pretty excited too. So I know it’s not just me…” With a slight glimmer of mischief, her eyes met his.

Bobby, always neatly dressed and classy in his handsome suit, looked flustered beyond belief. He grinned embarrassedly as their eyes met.

"Can we kiss you, Ms. Athena?"

She answered his grin with a mirror of it,

“I was just about to ask you the same thing…” Leaning forward with a close of her eyes, she nodded “I’d be overjoyed, Mr. Halblicht.”

They leaned in and closed the small distance between them, and her. Their lips brushed hers, lightly at first but with intention. They cupped a gloved hand on her jaw, and she could smell the wafting scent of their cologne.

It was a nice cologne, the scent pleasantly filling her senses along with the feeling of his lips against hers, slightly tacky with gloss.

She leaned into his touch, lips parted slightly as she accepted the kiss with eager anticipation.

It was an expert kiss, eager, but not overzealous, their lips tugging at hers for a moment, before she felt their tongue press to slip between her teeth. Their fingers slid gingerly down her jaw and over her neck, sending a thrill of sensation through her.

She was no expert, but she matched them all the same with an eagerness and warmth. Her skin prickled in the wake of their fingers, the sensation of the leather lingering against her jaw even as his hand trailed downwards. A flush traveled in its wake as her face heated against his.

Her tongue brushed his, and her lips sucked softly against his own. Her hand, with only a little hesitance, rested upon his chest, against the breast pocket.

His lips lingered on hers for a long moment even as he pulled away, as if for a moment he considered pulling her with him. Then the kiss broke, and they were left leaning on one another in the wake and glow of it.

Halblicht smiled.

Athena smiled back, her breath a little heavy as she caught it, and her head tilting to rest against his shoulder.

“Wow. You know. I can see why Simon gave you guys such rave reviews in the kissing department.” she giggled quietly, before she flushed deeper “...that was a really nice first kiss…thanks guys.”

He pushed up his glasses which had slid down his nose.

"Rave reviews, hmm? Well, that's good." They smiled rather amusedly, and then it widened into a bashful grin from Bobby. "Definitely a really nice kiss, Ms. Athena."

His hand lingered on the curve of her neck.

It felt nice, she found herself gently shifting to feel the trace of his leather gloves against the skin.

“Maybe the first of many, if I’m lucky?” she asked with a sheepish grin.

He stroked his fingers up her neck and over her jaw again, as if noticing her movement.

"Count on it, Athena," Robert murmured. "But for the moment, I'm afraid we've got business to attend to."

She tilted back into his hand with an amused wink.

“yeah… I probably shouldn’t let you guys distract me toooo much from preparing my defense.” Sitting up, she pointed her finger “distraction tactics can only go so far!”

He gasped and threw up his hands. "Caught!"

December 27, 1:55 pm

After filing the paperwork at the precinct, they got instructions on where the building was that Interpol was holding Kelso, and headed off to it. This time, as they drove, Bobby casually held his arm around Athena's shoulders. It was nice. She’d been so unsure of how this would work when Simon and her had discussed it, and even when they’d brought the idea to Bobby…

But she couldn’t help but feel warm and comfortable under his arm, the casual intimacy giving her a pleasant and happy little thrill. She had, quietly and surprising even herself, been growing ever fonder of Bobby and Robert during their time in Cauli. Now here they were, sitting so close as they winded down the road towards the holding facility.

The building they arrived at was by all external appearances an extremely mundane office park down a long driveway, with tall hedges and dark, mirrored windows. There was a somewhat menacing man in a long coat waiting outside for them whom Athena didn't recognize, but Bobby immediately saluted him as they approached.

"Agent Badd, sir!"

Athena saluted as well, blinking at him “Agent…Badd?” Surely it had to be a nickname, right?”

However, the man simply nodded. "Halblicht. Fancy seeing you here and without your leash. And this must be…"

"This is Ms. Athena Cykes, defense attorney and psychologist, sir."

"Ah," Badd snickered. "Second leash then. Nice to meet you, Ms. Cykes– I'm Agent Tyrell Badd,"

The big, grizzled man offered her a handshake.

Athena shook his hand with a big grin.

“Nice to meet you Agent Badd! I guess you could call me the second leash, if you want.” She flushed, and ducked her head “I see you’re aware of the situation!”

"Agent Badd and I spoke while I was in the hospital," Robert explained with a restrained smile. "He had a few words of wisdom to share, which have been taken to heart."

"Glad to hear it," Badd grunted, smirking. "So you two are here to see Kelso, right? I haven't got clearance to let anybody talk to Lovelace yet."

Halblicht moved to stand very slightly closer to Athena, and she felt a subtle ping of discomfort from his direction– from Robert. From anyone else it would have been nothing, but from him, it was like a rocket of anxiety going off.

Athena looped her arm around his, and let her hand find his own to squeeze. “We’re not here to talk to Lovelace, luckily then! We’d like to talk to miss Kelso.”

As Robert's gloved hand squeezed hers, she felt Badd's curiosity as his eyes lingered on them. He didn't say anything, but the corner of his lips curled up, and Athena could feel his amusement.

"Perfect then, come on with me."

He waved them forward, and headed to the dark glass doors.

Athena hurried along to follow, gently tugging Robert behind her as she turned a deeper pink, feeling the amusement turn to her own embarrassment inside her.

Inside the glass doors was a large, very normal looking office lobby with a waiting area and potted plants, and a reception desk with a blond woman behind it filing her nails.

"Adrian's going to want you to sign in, even though you're with me," Badd chuckled.

And so Athena and Bobby had signed their names on the check in sheet, before Agent Badd led them over to an elevator that was activated with a hand print.

"Tight security," Halblicht commented. Athena notices his eyes flick to an alarm set high in the wall, and a strange square line dug into the space nearby.

“I’m guessing they don’t want to risk anyone making a mistake– or getting in to ah, finish any jobs.” Athena mused as she squeezed his hand. “How’s miss Kelso holding up, Agent?”

"Pretty well, all things considering," Badd nodded. As the elevator descended, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of lollipops, offering one to Halblicht, who waved it graciously away, and one to Athena. "I've been spending a fair amount of time with her."

It had been two days since they'd seen her in Cauli, exactly the amount of time that all of them….Kelso included, confirmed that the Agent Kelso who’d died lingered on in the body…sharing space even, with the asset known only as 24.

Athena took the lollipop with a smile and popped it in her mouth.

“You have been? Good…it’s not a great time for them to be alone.”

"Yeah, I'll agree with you on that much." Badd nodded as the elevator opened on a long, well let hallway. "I take it you're here to talk about her trial?"

“Uh huh…I’m her defense attorney, after all.” Athena smiled. “I’m hoping we can come up with some kinda bargain to get her out sooner rather than later.”

"And we need her cooperation for it," Halblicht nodded with a grin. "Can't just run roughshod over your client, right Ms. Cykes?"

“I absolutely wouldn’t allow it, Detective Halblicht!” Athena playfully nudged him. “I’d be furious”

Halblicht laughed and nudged her back. "And you're terrifying when you're angry."

Badd grunted, satisfied with the answer, and led them to another check in area. No one was manning this one– it appeared to be automated, as he swiped his hand through.

"Alright. I'm letting you two in."

December 27, 2:20 pm

The holding cell that they entered was nicer than the one in Cauli. Cleaner, and more modern. When they entered, Athena found Kelso quietly turning a photograph over in her hands with a pensive frown.

She didn’t visibly react to them entering…but Athena felt the mingled and strange stings of quiet caution and eager curiosity well up within her.

“Good morning, Miss.” Athena chirped.

Halblicht lingered behind her like a faithful dog, and saluted as Athena greeted her client.

Kelso jolted, and turned to face them with a tired smile. Her dark hair had fallen around her face, a straight curtain as she gave a two fingered salute. “Morning, Miss Cykes…Halblicht.”

It must have been the agent speaking , it carried her usual lazy and bemused affect, with the pings of emotion to back it up.

Athena sat by the bedside in one of the small chairs provided, and gave her a smile “I heard Agent Badd was keeping you company…I’m glad to hear it, honestly…he seems like a good man.”

"He came to see me while I was convalescing too," Halblicht said. He remained standing by Athena's chair. "A pleasant man to speak with– though I didn't have the pleasure of his company long."

Kelso’s expression smoothed somewhat as she murmured. “He seems strangely worried about us. But Sam Wan says that’s normal. She’s been training under him and Agent Ash since she joined up a little while back. She says she looks up to them a lot.”

"Paternal, is I believe the word to describe him," Robert shrugged.

“Paternal.” she blinked slowly “yeah, that sounds about right.”

'He has a certain fatherly charm, it’s true.” Athena chuckled and put her hand to her chin in thought. “Either way, he really seems to be worried about you. But– I’m your defense attorney. So I’m here to make sure there’s nothing he needs to worry about, yeah? You already gave us all kinds of information, I’m certain I can get you declared not guilty– or at the very least, get you a deal like Mr. Halblicht’s!”

Halblicht nodded. "What we need is your agreement to representation, and that you'll accept whatever deal that Ms. Cykes can obtain for you."

“I don’t have much of a choice.” she said slowly “and…”

Sam Wan Kelso must have muscled her way back to the surface from the sudden pings of emotion “Absolutely. 100% , whatever ya need, ma’am. Whatever deal you can get is better than a cell. We’re serious when we say we aren’t going to waste her second chance.”

#cykesquill #phantomquill #blackbright #cykesbright #phantomcykes #phantomcykesquillbright #athena cykes #simon blackquill #bobby fulbright #ace attorney #fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfic #poly ship #archive of our own #fic: the mechanics of emotion #the new age of the law universe

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ladyofthenoodle · 4 years ago

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fic: and say you want me

3114 words of lovesquare hurt/comfort

ladrien talking about ladynoir, sometime well after rocketear when they've fought and kinda made up

read on ao3 or under the cut

Basking in the glow of victory, Ladybug felt her grin stretch so wide that her cheeks twinged at the edges. Eagerly, she turned towards her partner with her fist outstretched. “Po—”

Chat was already a few steps away, lips pressed together firmly as he looked at something in the distance. “Good work as always, Ladybug,” he said quietly, glancing her way.

A moment later, he was gone.

Her fisted fingers stretched out towards his retreating form as if they were tethered to his tail by marionette strings. Ladybug yanked them back, capturing her traitorous fingers against her chest with her other hand.

Chat Noir had been clear: he didn’t want her reaching out.

She had to accept that, even if it hurt.

(Especially if it hurt. The way she’d hurt him.)

Trying to collect herself, Ladybug reached to wipe the sudden dampness on her face. The sky had been ominously overcast throughout the battle; it must’ve started to rain.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to head home. She wasn’t ready to be Marinette yet, wasn’t ready to hear Tikki’s baseless reassurances, wasn’t ready to be alone with her thoughts again.

Even after everything, the battle felt incomplete without a fist bump from her partner.

(He was still her partner. He was. They’d both said it, so it had to be true, right?)

Thankfully, there was one more mission for Ladybug today. Chat Noir hadn’t explained why he didn’t want to check on the akuma’s target, but Ladybug was grateful he did. She could use the distraction and had assured him she’d catch up with the civilian in question as soon as she could

Besides, even now, the sight of Adrien’s smile never failed to brighten her day.

Adrien, however, wasn’t where she’d last seen him. She couldn't find him anywhere in the vicinity she’d left him either. Which left her with the last resort: she’d have to go check on him at home.

By the time she’d fed Tikki (carefully avoiding any opening for conversation all the while), transformed, and made her way to Adrien’s window, the skies had fully opened up.

Ladybug didn’t mind the downpour; good things happened in the rain.

Adrien, however, seemed to feel differently.

(He hadn’t fallen in love in the rain.)

Adrien had scrambled to the window at her knock, his lips forming her name as he fumbled at the latch.

“What are you thinking?” he scolded as he ushered her in. “It’s pouring!”

“I—” Her voice cracked. She tried again. “I was coming to check up on you. If you were okay — after the akuma? ”

Adrien’s worried frown melted into something softer. “You came all this way? In the rain?”

“I couldn’t find you right after.”

“I was right where you left me.” Adrien looked puzzled. “Wasn’t I? I thought I went right ba—”

Ladybug shook her head, only to freeze with horror when water droplets escaped from her soaked ponytails, interrupting Adrien’s sentence. Her stomach twisted as she realized she’d been dripping water all over his floor.

“Oh no,” he muttered, following her eyes to the puddle on the floor. “I’m so sorry.”

He was sorry? She was the one who showed up uninvited just to damage his expensive-looking floors.

“I should’ve gotten you a towel right away—I’ll be right back.” His voice sounded far more strained than made sense to Ladybug. Was Adrien really that attached to his flooring? Would his father punish him for water damage?

Ladybug felt the blood drain out of her face and her fingertips grow cold. Of course he would. Her stomach twisted. Gabriel Agreste will pull Adrien out of school, and she’ll never see Adrien again, and then he will publicly state that Ladybug is a menace to interior design, and everyone will know Ladybug ruined Adrien’s life! And Alya will know that Marinette is actually the one that ruined Adrien’s life, and Chat Noir will realize he doesn’t want to forgive her after all because who could forgive the stupid girl who ruined everything, even if hurting him is the last thing she ever wanted—

“Ladybug?” Adrien’s voice interrupted her thoughts. Distantly, she registered the large stack of fluffy, clean towels in his hands. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” She winced internally at her voice—she was barely convincing herself, let alone Adrien.

The worried frown he’d greeted her with earlier returned, but he didn’t challenge her.

“Let’s dry you off,” was all he said, and then she was enveloped in softness and the scent of laundry detergent.

She didn’t resist as Adrien led her over to the couch and set her down on a second towel he’d laid out while she hadn’t been paying attention, or when he wrapped a third towel around her neck and gently lifted the corner to wipe the tears off her cheeks.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Adrien’s voice was softer than the Turkish cotton towel tucked around her shoulders.

“I—I’m supposed to be checking on you.” And she couldn’t even do that right. Now he was worried about her.

“Consider me checked on, then,” he reassured with a smile. “And available to listen, if you want. Since you’re already here.”

A worried grimace passed across his features as he reached up to scratch the back of his neck. “But no pressure! I know you’re very busy, and—”

“No!” Ladybug’s voice was too loud; Adrien jumped. “Ah, I mean, no, I’m not busy, I’d love to stay, I just… don’t want to bother you.”

“You’re not a bother.” The warmth of his voice seeped into the cold damp of her bones and loosened something inside her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Ladybug shouldn’t burden Adrien with her problems. She knew that.

But she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this warm and safe and cared for. Was it when she’d told Alya? Or even earlier?

And she was trying to be better about trusting people more. About sharing her burdens and accepting help. Didn’t this count? She needed to be more open.

Why not start with the person she’d been keeping something from the longest?

“I love you,” she blurted.

Adrien’s eyes bugged out.

Abort! Abort mission! Too open! Close it back up!

“I mean!” She could save this. “You’re very kind! And selfless! I love that about you! You’re super great, ha ha ha!”

“Not always,” he muttered under his breath, something dark flickering in his eyes for a second as he glanced away. But before Ladybug could puzzle out what that meant, Adrien was looking at her again with the same gentle expression he saved for the most bizarre of Marinette’s verbal blunders. “But it’s nice to hear you think so.”

Ladybug opened her mouth to say something — maybe to reassure him, or to ask what he meant, or apologize again — but Adrien spoke before she could.

“I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t have anyone to talk to,” he admitted. “I don’t want you to feel that way.”

Oh, Adrien. She’d let him feel that way too?

“I bottled everything up because I didn’t want to burden anyone.” He was looking away again. Ladybug wanted to cup his cheek and turn him towards her, to tell him that she’d always be there if he needed her, that she never wanted him to feel alone again, but that wasn’t something he needed to hear from Ladybug.

(Adrien needed to hear that from Marinette.)

“But holding things in just made things worse,” Adrien continued, his eyes meeting hers as he reached out to rest a reassuring hand on her knee. “Please don’t do that. You don’t have to talk to me. I know we aren’t close. But please, talk to someone. Can you talk to Chat Noir?”

“N-no,” she choked out, the words hot in her throat.

“Oh.” Something went flat and wrong in his face, and she felt it in her chest. “Of course.”

“He h-hates me!” Her whole face was hot and wet and her voice was shaking and then suddenly Adrien’s arms were around her and her tears were seeping into the cotton of his shirt against her cheek.

“No, no, no, Bug, don’t say that.” His voice was soft and low as he rubbed her back. “He doesn’t hate you. He could never hate you.”

“Maybe not… hate,” she admitted with a sniff. “But he doesn’t like me very much right now either. I don’t know if he’ll ever like me again.”

“You think he… is that what you need to talk about?”

She nodded into Adrien’s shoulder and felt his arms tighten around her.

“I screwed up,” she confessed. “I was given some… extra responsibilities and I didn’t know how to manage them. And I ended up hurting him. I almost destroyed our partnership—”

“But you’re still partners. You fought together today as well as you always have.”

“We are, and I thought we were starting to heal and things were getting better, but…” Adrien’s arms tensed around her. Should she really be telling him this? What if he didn’t feel safe, knowing that the relationship between the heroes of Paris was still rocky?

“If you’re still partners, what’s the problem? Did he do something to upset you?”

“Of course not!” Her defense came automatically before she realized it was a lie. With a deep breath, she corrected herself, “He didn’t do anything wrong. I shouldn’t be upset by it.”

Concern was etched across Adrien’s face, almost as if he thought he might have unintentionally upset her too. “But you are.”

“And that’s not fair to him!” Adrien looked like he wanted to argue the point, but she wasn’t finished. “His feelings are important and if he needs space, I should respect that, not pout and cry every time he doesn’t fist bump me.”

“He forgot to fist bump you?” The color had drained out of Adrien’s face.

“He didn’t forget.” Some distant part of Ladybug was shouting that she should be reassuring Adrien, who looked totally horrified, but now that she’d started talking about it, she couldn’t stop. “He… I thought things were getting better, but then today... he didn't want to touch me, or look me in the eye, and that’s fine, I shouldn’t be upset by it, I’m the one that ruined things and I need to live with that. I have to accept that there are things I can’t fix.”

“Of course you can fix it,” Adrien insisted. Something in the back of her brain pinged at the way he moved his hand to her shoulders and met her eyes. “You’re Ladybug. You can fix anything you put your mind to.”

The raw earnesty in his eyes was tempting; Ladybug wanted so badly to believe him, but... “Not if he doesn’t want it fixed.”

Adrien’s eyebrows shot up. “You think he doesn’t want that?”

“He was pretty clear that the renewal of our partnership didn’t include anything beyond a professional relationship.” Ladybug bit her lip and shied away from Adrien’s still puzzled gaze. “He doesn’t love me anymore.”

“That’s what—” He sounded almost harsh for a second, before closing his eyes and inhaling slowly. Calmer, he continued, “Did he say that he didn’t think you could fix it? That he didn’t want you to try?”

“No, but—”

“Then you still can.”

Ladybug envied Adrien’s faith in them. “Chat doesn’t even want to see me outside of akuma attacks. He said he needed space.”

“I didn’t mean— I thought that’s what people said when they were still upset, you know, when they can’t just go back and pretend nothing ever happened.” Adrien’s hands dropped into his lap. He sounded so lost. “Isn’t—isn’t that what you’re supposed to say then?”

And just like that, she was standing in the rain again as a doe-eyed boy offered her an old umbrella.

Most of the time, Adrien seemed so at ease with social situations that Marinette forgot that the sum total of his friendship experience before they’d met was Chloe. He probably really had no idea how resolving a fight between friends was supposed to go. Marinette had seen how Chloe and Sabrina made up when they fought, after all — thankfully, Adrien hadn’t bought into that model of friendship.

“Sometimes,” Ladybug admitted. “Sometimes it means, ‘Let’s take things slowly, I still want to be friends, but it’ll take time to get back to how it was before’ and sometimes it means, ‘Don’t call me, I’ll call you.’ I hoped it was the former at first, but…”

“But then he didn’t fist bump you,” Adrien finished for her.

“It wasn’t just that,” she admitted, twisting the edge of his towel in her hands. “He hasn’t exactly reached out, you know? And that’s the thing about asking for space — only the person that asked for it gets to decide when they’ve had enough space. You’re supposed to wait for them to tell you they’re ready.”

“Maybe… maybe Chat Noir doesn’t know that?” Adrien hedged. “Maybe he didn’t realize you were waiting for him to say something?”

Ladybug bit her lip and considered the possibility. “Don’t take this the wrong way, please, but Chat’s a pretty social guy. I’m sure he has plenty of friends that he’s fought with before.”

To her surprise, Adrien laughed. “Unlike me, you mean?”

“I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t worry about it, really,” he quipped before turning serious once more. “But what if you’re wrong? What if this is all new to him, and he doesn’t know what to say or when to say it? What if he’s scared, too?”

“What if I push him, and ruin whatever relationship we’ve managed to salvage?” Her tongue was thick in her throat and her words squeezed out thin as reeds. “He asked for space and I need to respect his boundaries.”

“Well, maybe he was stupid to ask for that. Maybe he regrets it.”

“He’s not stupid!”

Adrien ignored her outburst. “Maybe he doesn’t need any more space, but he doesn’t know how to tell you. Maybe he was worried that if he told you he wanted to be more than your partner, that he wanted to be your best friend, that he’d wanted any place in your life you were willing to make for him, that you’d say you were happier the way things are, that keeping each other at arm’s length was exactly what you’d wanted all along—”

“Adrien!”

“Sorry,” he apologized immediately, shrinking down into the couch. “It was just a thought.”

Just a thought. There was no way that Chat Noir actually thought that, right? Hadn’t she reassured him? Wasn’t it obvious how desperately she missed him? That’d she do anything to get back to the way things had been six months ago?

That she’d do whatever it takes to make it up to him? That she’d put the pieces of his heart back together piece by piece, no matter how long it took, if only he’d let her close enough to do it? If only she knew how?

“You should tell him that.” Adrien’s voice interrupted her train of thoughts... which apparently weren’t thoughts at all, since Adrien had clearly heard her. “I think… I think he’d really… really like to hear that.”

He sounded a little bit like he was about to cry. Ladybug couldn’t understand why he’d been so affected by this, but she clung to his words anyway.

“Remind him how it used to be,” Adrien continued. “You and him against the world, a duo.”

Wait—

“Tell him again how much you were struggling, that you were falling apart, that you never meant to leave him alone and in the dark, that you’re sorry it took so long to tell him why.” He wasn’t looking at her anymore; his gaze fixed on a framed picture across the room.

She recognized the picture — it was one she had on her own corkboard from the day she and Alya had tagged along with Nino to keep Adrien company at the Grévin wax museum. Marinette herself stood on one side and Adrien on the other, with Alya and Nino between them.

(She should’ve stood next to Adrien when Alya suggested it. Should’ve done a lot of things differently.)

There was no way Adrien knew just how fitting his visual target was, not unless — well, not unless it was even more fitting than Ladybug knew. Was he…?

“If you told him that, he’d understand,” Adrien continued, oblivious to the slow realization struggling to emerge in her mind as he spoke. “You wouldn’t be pushing him. He wouldn’t—he wouldn’t think so. I think he’d be relieved to know he hadn’t made you wait too long, that he—”

Overcome with a sudden burst of determination, Ladybug reached forward to grab his hands. “I’d wait forever.”

Adrien blushed.

In retrospect, that was probably an extremely bizarre response on Ladybug’s part if her hunch was wrong. She released his hands.

“Oh, um,” he murmured and scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sure forever isn’t really necessary.”

“I hope not.” Ladybug hoped her smile was more reassuring than it felt. “But he should know that I would. That I want him as my partner and more, that I’d make space for him in any part of my life he wanted, that I hate the way things are now and all I want is to be closer.”

“What if…” Adrien’s eyes searched hers, green and glimmering, and she called on every bit of strength she had to not look away or backtrack, to look back at him and let him find whatever he was looking for. “What if he said he wanted all of it?”

He leaned in closer, reaching to envelope one of her hands between his own. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart was pounding against her rib cage so hard that she’d be surprised if Adrien couldn’t hear it.

“What if he wanted to be in every part of your life?” Adrien sounded a bit breathless too.

“Then I’d let him in.” This time, the words slid out like butter. For once, she knew exactly what she wanted to say. “And I’d tell him I wanted to be in every part of his life too, as soon as he was ready.”

“I’m ready whenever you are, milady,” he whispered back.

Much later, Adrien would tell her that he’d said that expecting an identity reveal, but apparently they hadn’t worked out all the kinks in their communication just yet.

Still, he didn’t complain when she decided to kiss him instead.

And she didn’t complain when he kissed her the next morning at school, either.

(Did he really have to look that pleased with himself when Alya dragged her off to interrogate her, though?)

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #ladynoir #ladrien #ml spoilers #noodles writes

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bonny-kookoo · 4 years ago

Text

Cat Eyes (JJK x Reader) ❤️☁️🔞🐾

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Hybrid!AU, Human!Jungkook, Hybrid!Reader, Fluff/romance, Strangers to lovers?, slight angst, smut

Warnings: discussion of homelessness and unfairness against hybrids, mild mention of past abuse, trust issues, Sweet Koo, smut because duh, lovemaking it’s so sweet yall, dirty talk but only minor, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, doggy style, mild biting, yeah that’s it this time wait for part two oh my

Summary: on the streets, cast out. Just another week for you, but somehow you wonder if this stranger might mean a change for you.

Or alternatively: Jungkook feeds you and you’re kinda grateful for that.

Its cold, but you've been preparing for that outcome for a long time already. Being born as a hybrid, a simple housecat at that, you had nothing special or rewarding about you, making you just a pet getting passed around from person to person as soon as you got too boring to keep around.

This was a regular thing for you. The fact that you got kicked out so many times already made you wary of actually possessing any belongings at all, not even owning a phone or clothes you could consider your own- merely the things you currently wore, drenched in the water that had been dribbling from the skies in rough speeds, hood over your head already useless at keeping your hair and ears dry. But it was okay. This was normal for you, after all.

Sitting down between two glowing vending machines located behind a small convenience store, you tried to warm yourself up with the small amount of heat radiating off of the two metal machines- not really being successful, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

It's been three weeks already like this, trying to find a place to catch some sleep before roaming the streets again, searching for food and sometimes even finding a bit of money on the street. You didn't have a collar, so you had to hide your hybrid features well- not like you'd like to show your dirty fur anytime soon anyways.

Yawning before turning a bit, shoes squeaking a bit with the amount of water inside them, you closed your eyes, mind focusing on the buzzing next to your head, trying to use it as a form of lullaby to soothe you into sleeping a bit. Yet you were disturbed by someone pressing the buttons and inserting money into the vending machine, the loud noises of the soda can banging against the metal interior loudly enough to make you press your ears flat against your skull. You hoped whoever was craving the beverage was a human or didn't pay attention to you; but again- you were out of luck.

"Huh?" Came the humming question of a male voice, and you instantly tensed up as a warm hand was placed on your wet shoulder. "Hey.. you okay?" The voice asked, and you imagined his Umbrella shielding him from the rain, the pitter patter of it on the plastic fabric an indication that he probably used one. You weren't an impressive predator like a Tiger or a Leopard, but you certainly could distinguish noises from one another to see things around you, even without using your eyes. "Can you hear me?" He asked gently, and you wanted to turn around, scoff in his face that yes, you did, you just chose not to. "Do you have an owner.?" Well, piss. Seems like hiding your features didn't do much as well.

You only turned a bit, hood catching on a pointed piece of metal from the vending machine, making it reveal one of your wet ears to him, as well as a piece of the side of your face. You only saw him with one eye, but you already knew he was on the far opposite of the food chain- expensive suit and sparkling rolex on his wrist, connected to the tattooed hand holding his black umbrella almost mocking you as he looked at you with pity. You spotted his ears, or more lack thereof, already wanting to cry at them; a human like him didn't know the things you were going through. That's probably why he'd asked if you were owned immediately, and you wanted to laugh. Yet your croaky voice didn't say these things. It only stated the obvious. "No." Because you really didn't- the official timespan was two weeks, after that, a formerly owned hybrid was officially considered a stray if it went missing. You didn't belong to anyone other than the state itself- which was why you had to hide so well, to not get thrown into an adoption center again.

The stranger furrowed his brows a bit, before leaving. Well, at least he took the hint, you thought, before he came back again, placing a white bag with some plastic items down in front of you, before putting his umbrella over your head, the rain suddenly stopping from falling down on you. You looked downwards, at the plastic container- sushi? Dumplings? And another one that steamed a bit- rice? You didn't get it, but still turned around a bit, watching him warily as if you were waiting for him to yell sike and run away. Yet he didn't, simply scooting a bit closer to not get the rain onto his head, and waiting. The sound of cars passing by and some music being played somewhere was the only noise surrounding you for a bit, before you hesitantly reached out for the containers, always keeping an eye on him. He simply smiled when you started to unpack the plastic foil of the cheap chopsticks, digging into the hot rice as if it was a five star meal. You could practically feel it warming up your belly, making you suppress a sigh as you got lost in consuming the food he'd bought.

Only once you were finished, not being able to eat everything, did he actually move. He grabbed some of the leftovers, eating them until he took the boxes and put them into the trash nearby. You looked at him with a questioning gaze. Would he want anything from you now? You didn't trust his angelic features at all if you were being honest. "You're probably not gonna want to come home with me and thats fine." He said, before looking at you. "I'll leave the umbrella here, alright? Lets hope the rain stops soon." He mumbled, getting up, making you look up to him as he slowly turned around, giving you a small wave. "Goodnight. Stay safe." He simply said, before jogging to his car.

Huh. What a weird guy.

Jeon Jungkook was his name as he'd introduced himself on the second day of visiting you behind the convenience store, and he was indeed a weird human. He made it a simple casualty- visiting you every day after work with food, having full conversations with you, and asking about your day and life in general. He himself noticed a slight spark returning to your eyes, interest peaking in those orbs as you talked to him more and more. You were a quiet girl, not really giving away much about you, but managing to make him feel like he knew you. You were smart, and he liked that. After almost a week of daily conversations, he finally popped the question.

"Do you want to come home with me?" He asked, making you look up from your can of soup he'd bought you this time. You thought for a bit before shrugging. At this point he'd invested so much into feeding you that it felt like you had to- simply as a form of repayment. He smiled, before leaning his head a bit to the side, voice low and serious. "You don't have to. I'm simply offering." He said, and you put down the empty can, nodding.

"Alright." You said, and he grinned, standing up and putting the trash away before closing the umbrella still hanging over the vending machines, turning around. His eyes widened a bit at just how short you were, yet he found it endearing. He led you to his car, not caring that his cream colored interior could be stained with your admittedly dirty clothing and shoes. He'd pay someone to clean it the next day, and all would be fine.

"So uhm.." You began, unsure what would happen now. "What am I supposed to do when we get to your place?" You asked, and after a moment of realization, his ears turned red.

"No no no, I'm, oh my.." He cleared his throat for a moment, before he threw one leg over the other, as to make himself seem more sure of himself than he actually was. "I'm not that kind of person." He explains calmly, as he waves his hand to the driver, who nodded, before the window to the front closes, giving you two some privacy. "I simply saw you there and.. I don't know. I couldn't just leave you there." He said, and you nodded.

"So it's for your repuptation." You said. "I guess you're an investor then?" You knew people like him. Their initial thought was nice, but at the end of the day it was only for personal gain. Well, at least he'd keep you around for some months before the public would slowly forget about you again. You've been through that as a young kitten.

But he shook his head. "I am an investor, yeah- but I don't plan on showing you to the public eye. I don't want anything of you other than your company." You opened your mouth again, but he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose for a second. "Not like that." He began. "My apartment is.. big. Huge. But it's also empty. A friend of mine had told me I should get a hybrid, and I genuinely considered. I was actually at a shelter the day we first met." He explained, and you nodded. "I didn't find anyone I was.. okay with, I guess. I can't just let anyone into my life, you know. Most people only want something, just to leave right after. When I saw you, yeah, at first it was pure pity, I won't lie." You nodded, watching him. "But the more we talked, the more I realized how compatible we were." Well, this was new. "I won't be home much, because I work a lot, but I don't like being lonely." He turns to you, serious. "If you're comfortable with it, I'd like you to simply be a companion. Someone who shares my home with me, accompanies me to those absolutely boring dinners I have to endure every week or so, and who sometimes maybe comes to work with me. If you simply want to stay home however, that's fine as well." He says, and you nod.

"Can I.. think about it?" You ask, and he nods, a gentle smile adoring his lips. The rest of the ride is filled with comfortable silence, and you almost drift off to sleep, but you arrive at his apartment complex before you can fully float away. There's nothing said between the two of you as he leads you inside the hallway of the building, a hand on the small of your back as if to make sure you won't get lost, his figure always close to shield you from wary eyes of the security and other residents walking by. Inside the elevator, silence is still present, until someone joins you two; a tall man, a little older than your now soon-to-be Master, who looks at you, and then at your Master.

"Ah, so you have finally found someone for you? I'm happy for you Jungkook." He says,a smile on his lips. "My name is Kim Seokjin my dear, may I ask yours?" He speaks, and you look at Jungkook close to you as if you were expecting him to answer for you- like it was typical. But he only smiled as well, nodding towards you in encouragement, so you, quietly, answered with a small bow of your head. "Ah, a shy one isn't she? But very pretty, I have to say." He said, and Jungkook chuckled as if to accompany that statement. "Ah, well. Please think about the company dinner next saturday, and oh!" Seokjin said as he left the elevator, hand holding the elevator door open for a moment as he looked at you one last time. "Bring her along, yeah? I heard that Jimin is bringing Yoongi as well. A good chance for her to make friends.!" He said, before winking, and waving goodbye- leaving you and Jungkook inside the elevator to climb a few more levels higher.

"Don't feel pressured now, please." Jungkook said, as the elevator chimed, the two of you stepping out as he walked past you to open his apartment door. "You don't have to if its too soon." He said, before opening his door.

He didn't lie when he said his apartment was big, but you never truly saw a skyline like that. It was a breathtaking view outside the windows, and it took a moment until you could finally avert your eyes to scan the rest. It felt.. almost sterile, in a way. Nothing truly screamed his name at you, neither the furniture, nor wall decorations. A few pictures were hung up, but other than that, the apartment looked like it got pulled straight out of an interior design magazine. "It's pretty bland, isn't it?" He lowly said, as he turned on some of the lights, hanging up his coat on the hanger next to the door as he untied his shoes. "I know it does. I.. hope that'll change, maybe." He said, before he made his way into the open kitchen. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can just show you your room and leave you be as well, yeah, that would probably be a good idea. Let me show you." He said, and you followed him after taking your own shoes off as well.

It was a rare occurence to have a room for yourself- so much so, that you only remember having one as a kitten, when it had been necessary. Stepping inside, you noticed the crisp air; he'd opened the window to air it out, it seemed. There was a bed in the corner, a wardrobe and a mirror- as well as a door that connected to a bathroom, right now void of light. "I'll leave you be for now. There are some of my old clothes so you have something to sleep in- don't worry, I washed them so you won't get my scent on you just yet, I know it makes hybrids a bit fussy." He chuckled, and nodded towards you with a smile. "If you want to, you can come out, if you don't stay inside, I won't be mad. I'll have the day off tomorrow and after, so we should use that time to get you some clothes if you want." He suggested, and you nodded into his direction. He bowed a bit, before leaving the room, and you alone.

You waited a bit so his footsteps got out of reach, before you walked around a bit. The room was bigger than the one you had as a kitten, but still small enough to be considered a guest room. Your first goal however, was the bathroom. Grabbing the clothes he had left you, you noticed immediately that it had been washed with hybrid proof detergent- a brand called 'noscent' which was typically used for newly homed hybrids so they wouldn't get overwhelmed. How he knew of that was unclear to you, but maybe he did have a hybrid before, or a friend told him. It didn't matter though, because you knew this was timed. Better make the most out of it. So as you climbed into the bathtub, soapy scent around you as you washed yourself squeaky clean, you felt okay again. Now was the time to mend yourself together, figure out what your master liked so you could make your stay as comfortable for everyone involved as possible, and just enjoy the good sides while rushing the bad.

But somehow there was a weird feeling in your gut.

Maybe things were really about to change this time.

The next morning was calm. Apart from something clattering in the kitchen, you awoke by yourself, shocked to see it almost being twelve. Why had he not woken you up, when he so clearly implied yesterday that he had plans with you today? For a moment you wondered if maybe this had been a test, but judging by his whistling in the kitchen, he was in a good attitude still.

So you went for it.

Simply brushing your hair and tail, you stepped out the room, smell of food immediately meeting your nose. "I was about to wake you." He said without turning, as he grabbed another bowl to fill. "I figured I'd let you sleep after all that change so you could rest well. Good morning." He said, finally turning around, making you gasp internally a bit.

You knew that his hand was tattooed, but what now showed was his entire forearm covered in ink. Completely different from yesterday, he wore a simple grey sweater and sweatpants combo, hair in a messy tiny ponytail on his head. He looked so.. young, yet masculine, not at all like the businessman you had encountered before. But it was a nice change; because if he let you see himself like this, he really was intending to have you around for longer, and was working towards a more personal companionship. Maybe he really did want you as a companion for himself, not his outside persona.

You sat down at the table before stopping immediately, eyes widening. He seemed to notice this however, chuckling as he placed a warm hand on your shoulder, helping you on the chair properly. "You can sit at the table with me, don't worry. Please move around freely; my home is as much mine as it is yours now, okay?" He said, and you nodded. "Thank you." He said, and you watched him for a moment, before you started to eat.

"How.." You started, and he wiped his lips with a tissue before looking at you, attention now on your words. You were grateful for that small gesture. "How do you know that much about hybrids?" You asked, and he smiled.

"Yesterday, Jin-hyung said something about Yoongi, you remember?" You nodded, a bit eagerly, since you were used to remember things that your master said all the time. "Good girl." He said, and it made your skin tingle a bit, as he cleared his throat, a bit shy after letting that slip. "He uhm, Yoongi-hyung is a cat-hybrid as well. His owner is Jimin, who's my coworker. Yoongi was a rescue a few years back, who I asked a bit about what to do if I take someone in who.. you know, wasn't from a shelter. He told me a few things." He explained, and you nodded.

"Why are you calling him Yoongi-hyung though, if he's a hybrid?" You asked, before taking another spoonful. You liked warm food. It made your belly warm.

"Ah." He mused, as he finished his plate, leaning back. "I'm not really following the whole foodchain-order stuff, to be honest. Yoongi-hyung is older than me, my hyung, so that's that. Oh, that reminds me, how old are you?" He asked, and you answered.

"I think.. 22?" You said, and he seemed a bit sad. Did you say something wrong? Did he want someone younger? Someone older?

"Ah, sorry.. but, you think?" He said. "So.. you haven't celebrated your birthday, at all?" He asked, and you shook your head. "Ah thats no good. We'll celebrate it this year, promise!" He said. "You're a bit younger than me, by the way. I'm 25." He said, and you nodded, saving that information inside your brain for future reference. "If you're done we can either go shopping, or if you don't want to, we can shop online. We should do that now though, otherwise you'll have to wait too long for delivery and stuff." He said, and you nodded.

"Do you have a collar for me then?" You asked, and Jungkook grabbed your empty plate to put away. A collar wasn't something he could just not give you- he knew from Yoongi that it wasn't demeaning in any way. Wearing a collar was a form of comfort, it wasn't just an accessory, it was a physical evidence that you were claimed and safe.

"Yoongi gave me one of his older ones, but we can buy a proper one you like today." He said, and dried his hands on a dish towel as he looked at you. "Go and get your shoes, I'll give you one of my coats to wear, and then we can go, yeah?"

Shopping was always a hard one to crack.

This was when you would somehow have to figure out by simply picking the opossum on the road to know if its dead or not- in a sense of; simply point, and wait for the blow. With Jungkook however, there never was one, and it confused you how calm and somehow even happy he was. For example, when you pointed at a pretty expensive collar that wasn't your style just to see how he'd react, you didn't know how to react when he smiled. "Ah, let's look for something more delicate, yeah? The price doesn't bother me, but I doubt that heavy chains suit you kitten." He had simply said, and somehow, the petname made your ears turn towards him, making a nearby bunny hybrid and her owner chuckle.

He'd somehow managed to wiggle under your skin in just a day.

Because somehow, every time he looked at you, helped you reach something, or talked to you about what you liked, it felt so genuine. It felt like he really cared.

"Okay, how about.. oh, this one!" He said, pointing at a collar hidden behind glass- one covered in velvet, with a pretty pattern and a silver plate on the front where your name would be. It was expensive; absolutely mind blowing however, but what made your eyes glisten were his words. "There's a jeweler next door, so we can have your name and ID, as well as my emergency information stamped in." Because, until now, you only had the one's where you slide a paper with all needed info underneath a clear cover- it was easier to replace or give back. But, getting it stamped onto such an expensive collar was definitely something that would last- well, forever. "Or- wait, hey hey, whats wrong? If you don't like it we can buy a different one-"

"I love it." You said, and he led you away from all noise, into a more secluded part of the shop, where he squatted down to properly look at you. "I just.. I..it's..-" You began, and somehow he understood, and had this absolutely frustrating smile again, as he helped you wipe your tears a bit less harshly than you did yourself.

"I haven't said it clear enough yet, haven't I?" He asks, voice warm. "I plan on forever, not just for the moment. What I said when you first came into my apartment was directed at you. I hope you'll make my home feel like a home one day. How can I think about giving you away, when I just got you?" He questions, and you shrug. "I know trust isn't something you give away easily, and thats completely fine. I can also Imagine that you're not too sure of things right now, considering where you came from. But I promise you, I really do-" He says, and takes your hands in his. "I'll stay by your side for as long as you let me." He finishes, and you nod after a moment. "Alright? Alright!" He says, and takes your hand to buy the collar, your eyes still sparkling when you later on watch the lady at the jeweler stamp in your name- and his at the bottom.

Maybe this really was permanent.

At the dinner table with all his colleagues, and the infamous cat hybrid Yoongi next to you, you felt less awkward than you thought you would. Yoongi was a huge help, his calm demeanor helping you to stay composed as well, even under the watchful eyes of the rest of the people. Seokjin had been sweet as well, immediately making you feel welcomed. Jungkook never let you out of his sight, and it made you feel save as well.

It felt good.

Yoongi and you conversed here and there, and occasionally, Jungkook or Jimin, Yoongis owner would chime in, which made it feel as if you were always a part of this. You started to smile a bit, converse more openly, all until a waitress came and turned everything upside down.

"Would you like us to escort the pets to a different table, sir?" She asked Seokjin, who you had learned owned the company Jungkook and his coworkers worked for. He cleared his throat, and shook his head; almost an apologetic look in his eyes as he looked at Yoongi, you, and Taehyung- an independent Tiger-Hybrid with working license, he'd told you. He seemed to clench his teeth as to stay quiet, as the waitress left, leaving an uncomfortable silence behind.

"I'm sorry, please continue." Seokjin said, but the reminder of your status made everyone a bit.. uneasy the rest of the night.

"I'm sorry about the waitress, by the way." Jungkook said, as he helped you into your coat, when everyone was leaving. You shook your head, but he held his unsure expression. "No, I really am. It was uncalled for, and I'm genuinely upset that she phrased it like that." He explained, and you smiled.

"It's okay, Master." You said, which made Yoongis and Taehyungs ears shoot towards your direction, as if on instinct. They didn't look, no, they were discreet. But they still wanted to know what would happen next. "She probably didn't know- after all, it's still quite uncommon to keep hybrids as equal partners nowadays. Change comes slow." You said, but Jungkook suddenly seemed even more serious as he placed his hands on your shoulders, as you looked up at him.

"Jungkook." He said, and you leaned your head to the side in question. "Please, don't.. please just call me Jungkook." He explained, and you nodded, unsure why he was so upset by this. He sighed, before he traced your metal nameplate with his thumb for a fracture of a second, smiling again. "Let's go home." He said, and you nodded, walking after him as he lead the way, not noticing the way that Yoongi and Taehyung shared knowing glances at each other.

When Jungkook came home, he didn't know what exactly made him realize at first. Maybe it was the way your shoes were placed where there used to be none, or how the clothing hangers held your coats and scarfs as well now. Maybe it was the scent, or the rug that was placed on the lightwood laminated floor because your feet were always cold- or maybe it was your body on his couch, covered by a thick blanket he'd bought you recently when the winter became colder. No, it wasn't that- it was what came next. Your ears which flicked into his direction from their place ontop of your head, and the words you uttered next. "Welcome home Kookie!" You said, and he smiled.

He simply walked over to the couch, letting himself lean ontop of you as he squeezed himself behind your body on the couch, holding you securely to his chest as you turned around to face him. He looked tired, but happy and you took in his scent, so distinctive you could probably tell his from a million others just after a second. He sighed, before he ran a hand over your back, cold palm warming up slowly. You were both unsure what exactly you two were- but it was clear that this wasn't just an owner-hybrid companionship anymore. No, the way Jungkook looked at you had something in it that you knew only lovers had; which made you feel so comfortable around him, after all.

So it was only natural, in a way, that after a moment or two, or maybe more (you didn't really notice anymore), you two found each other in his bedroom, a place you had spent your nights before as well. But this time there was no sleeping involved, at least not in that moment, as his hands roamed around, lips chasing yours as you mewled underneath him needily. He wished he could record it, but even if he did it would never sound as sweet as it did right now. Everything felt so good he didn't even care about his own noises, as you two began to shed your clothes one piece after another, until there was nothing to cover you anymore.

"You're so sweet, you know that?" He hummed against your neck, as you squirmed underneath his hands, his inked fingers wandering down between your legs, were you were aching for his touch to make you fall apart. "Even right now, with my fucking hand between your legs, you look so cute." He chuckled, while you could only rut into his palm like a touch-starved pet. He was teasing, and in a way you hated it, but somehow you couldn't tell him to hurry. No, you didn't want him to hurry at all, because you were at the point of realization;

"I love you, Koo." You said, and he stopped for a moment, some seconds that made you feel absolutely humiliated, before he groaned, pushing your legs against your stomach.

"You can't drop something like that onto me like this, Kitten." He scolded playfully, with no harm intended. No, he simply took hold of his already leaking length to guide himself into you, making you squeal in delight before you sighed out. "I love you too, I adore you so much, I swear to everything I have.." He said, as he began to move, almost as if he was unable to quite control himself. Technically, you were the one to act like an animal; but instead, it was him nipping at your skin, and growling out curses that sounded way too filthy to be uttered out from those lips.

You loved it.

The way he held you, played you like a well tuned instrument, how he sped up his pace without warning because he knew you could take it. You were his good kitten after all, all his, and he knew you would be good. You were lost in your own little cloud as his hand went between your bodies again, fingers suddenly flicking your nub in a sadistic movement that had you scream without sound- pleasure shooting through your veins so violently you were unsure if it was pain or heaven that you felt.

"Ah- Koo- I-" You pressed out, but he simply moved his hand away, never stopping however. "I can't-" You said, but he pulled out before you could finish, flipping you onto your stomach where he pulled your lower body upwards, entering you again as he teasingly stroked your tail which flopped down to one side to make space and give him a clear view of where you were connected so intimately.

"You can, kitten. And you will." He growled out, noticing how you were slowly clenching again. "I can feel you, greedy kitty." He growled out, pace growing harsher and harsher as the sound of skin against skin got louder and louder. "Come on. Give me one more, yeah?" He said, and you were unable to answer him. "Come on- come on, there we go-" He pressed out, a whining sound leaving his lips as well as he grew more sloppy, more desperate as you came again, your clenching core pushing him over the edge as well as he spilled inside you, before he pulled out, watching almost hypnotized how his cum dripped out of you after a moment.

"I love you." He said, uncaring of how you two probably stained the sheets right now. "I really do." He said, whispered like a promise, as he pulled your body against him, palms still kneading your breasts.

Because if you thought he was done with you, you were very wrong.

I apologize for how short it was, but I only have my phone for now. Sorry if this sucks, it's not my best work, but I didn't want to leave you hanging and without content for this long.. :< Love, Bunny <3

#bts imagine #bts #bts fanfic #bts fic #bts smut #jungkook imagine #bts jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook #bts reactions

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stardusttrashed · 4 years ago

Text

Lovestruck (2)

Part 1

Part 3

Pairing: Professor Erwin x Fem! Reader

Word Count: 4K

“Are you up?” You scrunched your face up at the question. “Sorry, stupid question.” You weren’t sure why you were so nervous right now. You had spoken to Erwin plenty of times before. Hell, you spent nearly every day on the phone with him. If it wasn’t a ‘good morning’ call, it was a ‘good night’ call, or even him just calling in between classes. Yet here you were, jumbling over your words nervously. “I, uh, what I meant to say was, did I wake you?”

You looked down at the annoyingly blank document on your screen. The blinking cursor on the white screen seemed to be mocking you. It was a steady reminder of what you should be doing. All you could hope was that Erwin would be able to rid you of your writer's block in some way, even if it was just his voice.

You could hear a quiet amused sound from the other side of the phone. “N-no, you’re fine, I promise,” he reassured you. His voice was huskier than usual, laced with unmistakable tiredness. “Someone already beat you to the punch,” Erwin joked. His chuckle quickly died out as a quiet ‘oh’ fell from your lips.

Erwin cleared his throat worriedly, “I’m glad you called, actually. I was going to ask for your help.”

You glanced at the clock on your laptop. “You want my help? At two in the morning,” you thought aloud, processing what was going on. Sure, you were calling to ask the same, but. Well, you had no ‘but’s right now. “Kinda sounds like a booty call to me.”

“Were you not doing the same,” Erwin asked teasingly. You could hear the smile in his honeyed tone. “It’s not a booty call,” Erwin reassured you when he got nothing but a laugh. “Unless you want it to be,” he trailed off in uncertainty, unsure if he was stepping over a line.

“You wish, Erwin. What happened to taking things slow?”

“What better way to give you that demonstration you wanted?”

You laughed and shook your head. It was easier just to assume he was teasing than face your feelings right now. “What do you need help with, Erwin,” you chuckled.

“It’d probably be easier if you just came over. And yes, I know this is sounding more and more like a booty call, but I swear it isn’t.”

“Whatever you say, Smith.” You shook your head as you fought back an amused smirk. “I’ll be there in a bit.”

Erwin smiled like a kid in a candy store, “I’ll send you the address.” You hung up with a playful ‘yeah, yeah, yeah.’ His eyes scanned the room, making sure everything was spick and span. He wanted to make sure everything was perfect. But more than anything else, he wanted to make sure you were comfortable.

You stared at yourself in the bathroom mirror, your mind racing a mile a minute. You weren’t sure what to wear- because your t-shirt and panties weren’t an option. Well, they could be. You groaned and walked over to your dresser. You wanted to be comfortable, but all your shorts left little to the imagination. And you could wear sweatpants, but sweats weren’t always the sexiest thing. You let out a sound that was a mixture between a scoff and a laugh. It was ridiculous how much you were stressing over going to his house. He was your friend, for crying out loud. He probably didn’t even really care.

Erwin leaned against the bathroom counter, getting closer to the mirror. He ran the brush over his hair for probably the tenth time in the past couple of minutes. His thundering heart and shaking hands made it nearly impossible to get his part right. A frustrated sigh left his lips as he set the brush down. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out why he was making such a big deal about this. Sure, it was the first time you were coming over, and he wanted to impress you. But who has their shit together at two in the morning?

“What do you think, princess? Should I brush my hair or go for a messy-casual look?”

You pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants before your nerves told you to change again. “It’s just Erwin,” you quietly reassured yourself. You walked through your room, gathering the numerous pieces of clothes strewn about the place, “just Erwin Mr. Perfect Smith. No need to fret,” you folded each item before putting them in their proper place. “Just two friends helping each other out, non sexually, at two in the morning,” you continued with an uncertain tone as you walked past your bathroom. You stopped in your tracks, backpedaling towards the room you just passed to grab a toothbrush and some deodorant. You tossed them into a bag along with your laptop.

Erwin: Here’s the address, call me if you get lost :)

Erwin: Can’t wait for you to meet Sina

You stared at your phone in disbelief, your hand falling slack against the doorknob. Your feet felt like bricks, holding you in place as you read the short sentence repeatedly. Who was Sina? More importantly, why did it bother you so much? He’s just a friend, nothing more. Who cared if he had a girl? You were only coming over to help.

With a weary sigh, you pulled yourself out of your daze, walking out the door and into the cool early morning air. The faint smell of rain hung in the air as you drove further and further out of the city. Streetlights were replaced with dense trees, leaving nothing but the moonlight and your headlights to lead the way. Your mind drifted back to Erwin’s text in an attempt to busy itself. You tried picturing what she might look like, whether she had long or short hair, her height, how perfect she’d look on Erwin’s arm. What would you even say to her?

You pushed down the thought, feeling yourself get more and more anxious with every new conspiracy theory-like idea of who Sina could be. “Just friends,” you breathed quietly as you parked your car.

Quiet knocking sounded through the house, sending both Erwin and Sina on high alert. Erwin stood frozen in place while his mind raced with his heart as if they were trying to see which would drive him crazy faster. Heart thundering in his chest, he forces himself to walk towards the front door, Sina following behind on his heels.

You raised your finger to ring the doorbell, stopping short as the door opened to reveal Erwin. You stared at him, jaw slack and mouth slightly agape as you admired the man in front of you. His hair was casually messy except for a few stubborn strands. It was as if his hair was gelled down, and someone tried to ruffle it to avail. “I was beginning to think you fell asleep,” you teased as you crossed your arms over your chest.

“And miss seeing you,” Erwin chuckled and shook his head. “Of course-,” he was interrupted by the door opening wider, Sina squeezing her way towards you.

A gasp escaped your lips as you felt repeated nudging against your shin. Your eyes fell to the ground, landing an overly excited Shiba Inu puppy. “Hi there, cutie,” you cooed, scooping it up into your arms. Giggles spilled from your lips as the puppy squirmed in your arms, desperately trying to cover every bit of you in kisses.

Erwin watched you with adoring eyes for a moment, a dopey smile spreading across his face. He could watch you for hours, intoxicated by everything about you. Your smile made his heart stop and sent it into overdrive all at the same time as if he was on a rollercoaster. “I’m glad you two are getting along. Y/n, meet my new little princess, Sina.”

“S-Sina,” You repeated after him, hoping you didn’t look as shocked as you actually were. “She’s… she’s Sina? So when you said someone had beat me to the…. gotcha.” Erwin raised an eyebrow at you, sending you a knowing smirk. “I just mean, well, I just- it’s a cute name.” You let out a quiet sigh of relief, “it fits her.” You turned your attention to Sina, who had snuggled herself into the crook of your arm.

Erwin made an amused sound and muttered quietly to himself, “you’re something else.”

“Hmm. What was that?”

“I, well,” Erwin scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly. “I was trying to figure out if you came all this way just to stand outside.”

You pushed your tongue against the inside of your cheek with a playful scoff. “It’s a little hard to come inside when there’s a brick wall in the way?”

“A brick wall, eh?” Erwin leaned against the doorframe not so casually, lifting his arm above his head and his shirt along with it. “First a Greek god, then a brick wall, huh?”

Your eyes drifted down his form, slowly taking all of him in before landing on the glimpse of skin above his waistband. You wanted to run your fingers along his prominent v-line, tracing it lower and-. Erwin cleared his throat, pulling you out of your thoughts. You closed your eyes with a bashful smile tugging on your lips, “are you going to stop being a pain in the ass and invite me in sometime soon?” You opened your eyes to meet his unwavering gaze. “Or I can just leave with Sina.”

“Wouldn’t be the first thing you’ve taken from me,” Erwin muttered as he moved aside, allowing you to step inside. His pulse quickened as you walked past him, Sina still tucked away in your arms as if she belonged there. “D-do you want anything to drink or eat,” he questioned as he closed and locked the door behind you.

“Water is fine, thank you.” You gently set Sina down on the mahogany floor, watching her return to a ball of energy as she was before- bounding happily over to Erwin. “It’s a nice murder house you have here,” you called after him as he walked towards what you presumed to be the kitchen. Erwin’s laughter echoed down the hall, filling you with a surge of giddy warmth. Your eyes wandered around, subconsciously scanning for pictures.

“It’s not a murder house,” Erwin laughed with a playful eye-roll. “It’s just peaceful, makes it easy to find inspiration.”

“Yeah, sure, that’s what all the murderers say.” You strolled down the hall, taking in the cozy interior while continuing your search for pictures.

“You’re not going to find anything,” Erwin spoke, his breath tickling your ear.

“What? I wasn’t- what are you talking about?” You kept your eyes on the wall in front of you, refusing to turn around and face him. Heat rose to your cheeks as if you were standing in front of a fire.

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

You whipped around before you could stop yourself, nearly knocking over the cup in his hand. “I wasn’t going to-.” Was it really that obvious what you were doing? Your breaths grew shorter and shorter as you grew anxious.

“You didn’t have to. Your reaction to Sina was enough.” Erwin stared at you gently as he mulled over his own thoughts. Was it mere curiosity, or did you… do you feel the same way about him as he does for you? He opened his mouth to say something, but no words could come out. No words felt right. He wasn’t sure if he should just outright say how he felt, too afraid of scaring you off. “Y/n-,” Sina’s frustrated yips stopped his words in their tracks. “... what did you need help with?” Erwin watched the hopeful look in your eyes diminish.

“Ah,” you gasped, pulled out of your dream-like daze that his blue eyes put you under. “I needed some writing inspiration… what did you need help with?” You plucked the cup from his hand, taking a sip.

I wanted an excuse to see you. His brain froze like a deer in headlights, leaving him staring at you like a complete idiot. Erwin’s eyes flitted down to your lips. I needed to be beside you. “I,” he trailed off as his cheeks were painted a pale shade of pink. “I wanted you to meet Sina.”

You raised an eyebrow challengingly, “at two in the morning?” You immediately bit the inside of your cheek in regret.

Erwin’s eyes fell to Sina at his feet, watching as she pawed at his legs in desperation for attention. The warmth radiating from your body was becoming unbearable. You were so close, yet it felt almost illegal to touch you.

“Well, I’m glad you did.” You lowered down into a squat, grabbing Sina’s attention. A soft smile graced your face as the puppy climbed into your lap like a jungle gym.

He took the cup from your hand before setting it down on a table. Why was it so hard for him to talk right now? He was thankful you were too busy playing with Sina to notice him struggling to come up with something to say. A few moments passed before he finally opened his mouth to say, “I wanna show you something,” An awkward silence covered both of you as he slowly led you throughout the house. No amount of deep breaths seemed to calm Erwin enough to get him to be confident enough to form coherent sentences. He was too aware of your presence beside him. Too aware of the look of awe on your face as you took in each new room until you stopped at a room composed mostly of windows that gave a perfect view of the lake a few meters away.

“This is where I get most of my writing done,” he admitted as he turned on the fairy lights hanging above them. “Or out there,” he nodded towards the hammock swaying the breeze right over a shallow part of the lake.

“So Mr. Smith’s murder house turns out to be a lake house as well. How convenient.” You turned to him with a playful smirk, basking in the way the corners of his eyes crinkled in amusement. “In all seriousness though, it’s beautiful- all of it,” you gestured to the house around you.

“You’re free to come whenever you want,” Erwin blurted before he could catch himself. He opened his mouth to protest as your eyes widened, but you beat him to the punch.

“I’d like that… a lot.” You could picture it already. You could see you and Erwin living a happy domestic life together, spending early mornings in the hammock with him and Sina, watching the sunrise. But you were getting ahead of yourself- he’s nothing but a friend after all. You quickly averted your gaze out of embarrassment. “Mind if I play music while I write,” you asked as you plopped down on a bench with your laptop in hand.

“Whatever makes you comfortable.” Erwin followed behind you, oblivious to your sudden embarrassment, sitting beside you.

Sina wasted no time, slipping between the small space left between yours and Erwin’s thigh. It was a snug fit that left her in a cubby of warmth that quickly lulled her to sleep.

You stifled your third yawn in the past minute, determined to get some of your thought on the god-forsaken document. The ideas were finally flowing, revived by the serene sight in front of you. Or maybe it was by the muscular blonde beside you that couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off of you for more than a second. “It’s kinda hard to focus when you keep staring.” You glanced at him through the corner of your eye with a smug smile to let him know you were teasing.

“Not my fault you look gorgeous,” Erwin breathed absentmindedly. He couldn’t get enough of you, his eyes drinking you in like a man in the desert. He wanted to memorize how you looked. He tried to ingrain into his mind the feeling of having, if nothing else, this one domestic moment with you. The love songs streaming from your phone only helped make the picture that much more vivid in his mind. You were perfect.

“Wha-?” You whipped your head to look at him, “what did you say?”

“N-nothing!”

You sighed disappointedly and nodded, “sorry, I thought you said something.” You shifted uncomfortably as the awkward silence returned. Hesitantly you turned back to your laptop to finish working on the little bit of story you managed to snuff out of your inspiration. The words on the screen blurred together, jumbling together into nonsense. Too much of your brain was focused on missing the feeling of Erwin’s gaze to attempt to refocus. You looked down at the time with a sigh. 4 a.m.

“I should get going,” you broke the silence as you rose to your feet. “It’s late-,” you stifled a yawn, “and I’m sure you’re probably tired by now.”

“Stay?” Erwin followed your lead and rose to his feet as well, “like you said, it’s late. And your eyes are barely open.” He let out a heart-melting chuckle. “Stay and leave when you wake up.” He searched your eyes as he gave you time to think it over. “I’ll even sleep on the couch,” he continued when you opened your mouth with a frown pressed in over your expressions. “You and Sina can have my bed.”

“I’m not going to make you sleep on the couch in your own house.”

“You’re not making me do anything.”

You chewed onto the inside of your cheek as you mulled it over. He was right. Your eyes felt like they weighed tons which meant driving probably wasn’t the safest option. The butterflies in your stomach, on the other hand, were wide awake and quickly spreading through your body. “Okay.”

Erwin let out a breath he hadn’t even realized he had been holding, “okay?” His lips cracked into an uncertain smile.

You rolled your eyes, a quiet giggle falling from your lips. “That’s what I said, isn’t it?” You gave his shoulder a gentle nudge, leaving your hand there longer than necessary, “you aren’t changing your mind are you?”

Erwin caught your hand with ease, gently holding it in place against his shoulder. “About you?” Erwin looked at you like it might’ve been the last time he got the chance. “Never.” He kept his hand clasped around your, noting to himself how perfectly your hand seemed to fit in his.

You laughed nervously, “even if I ask to borrow some shorts for the night?”

“Especially then.” Erwin smiled shyly, feeling his hand grow slightly clammy. He loosened his grip on your hand, “come on.”

In a moment of panic, you quickly grasped onto his hand, holding onto it despite the increasing clamminess from both of your hands. A surge of regret washed over you as you felt his hand stiffen. “S-sorry,” you gasped, preparing to release his hand. Erwin’s eyes never left your own-- despite the worry and hesitance they held-- as he laced his fingers with yours. Your eyes flitted down to your interlocked hand, a small smile finding its way on your lips. “Ah, lead the way, Smith.”

Erwin scooped Sina into his free hand with ease before leading you to his bedroom. Every step towards the room felt like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart, filling him with giddy excitement. He would’ve felt embarrassed or childish in any other situation, but he could’ve sworn he could feel the same excitement radiating off of you.

Erwin reluctantly released your hand once the both of you walked into his room. “Shorts are in the dresser over there,” Erwin nodded to the opposite corner of the room as he laid Sina in her bed. “I’ll- uh, go ahead and go lay down on the couch. Make yourself comfortable.”

You nodded as you dug through his drawer, grabbing the first pair of shorts you saw. Something felt wrong. Like something was missing. You changed in the bathroom, and by the time you came back out, he was already out of the room. A heavy sigh left your lips as your mind jumped from one thought to another like a child playing the floor is lava. Sure, Erwin was just a friend, but is that really all you wanted him to be? Either way, friends can sleep in the same bed without it being weird. Right?

“Erwin,” you spoke softly as you walked out to the hall. Erwin stood at the end of it, his hand resting on the light switch. You waited until he turned to look at you, your breath hitching in your throat at the sight of his bright blue eyes. “Come lay with us? I feel bad making you sleep on the couch and, well, erm, Sina wants you.”

Erwin’s chuckle rumbled in his chest as he raised an eyebrow. “Sina wants me?” You nodded shyly, your eyes wavering as if there was more you wanted to say. It was an answer enough for him to turn off the light and walk towards you, the bedroom light guiding him. He stopped in front of you, towering over you, “Just Sina?” He didn’t know what had gotten ahold of him.

Your voice caught in your throat, leaving you gaping like a fish. You let out a heavy sigh, your shoulders raising and dropping, as you gathered yourself. “I… I want you.” Erwin quirks a grin at your words, and you could’ve sworn you saw his shoulders relax.

Erwin pulled you closer by the waist, mischief twinkling in his eyes as he lowered his voice to a soft murmur, “say it again.”

“Erwin, I want you,” you coo as you press yourself closer, leaving barely enough room for a breath.

“I want you too.” His grip around your waist tightens momentarily. The look in his eyes was one you’ve never seen before, one filled with an insatiable hunger. “God, I’ve wanted you longer than you know.” He leaned forward to rest his forehead against yours, your noses brushing against each other. His breath fanned over your lips, but he couldn’t bring himself to take the next step. This all felt like too much of a dream to do so. He was so close, yet fear gripped him and held him impossibly still. It took everything in his power not to claim you, to press his lips against yours like he’s wanted to for so long. “I want…”

“No offense Erwin, but shut up,” you chuckled, “taking it slow sucks.” You softly pressed your lips against his. Erwin responds instantly, consuming you completely with sudden passion, his lips bruising against yours. Desire for each other takes every thought until you both are nothing more than a body, yearning to touch and be touched.

Erwin smiled against your lips. You were sending him to cloud nine, and as much as he loved it, he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. When he breaks the kiss, he looks almost dizzy, pausing a moment to catch a breath and look you over before speaking. “I’ll have to agree with you on that,” he breathed, his voice barely above a whisper. “But it made the moment all the more savorable.” Without warning, Erwin lifted you- one hand holding you steady while the other guided your legs to wrap around his waist. “And I’m not done savoring it yet.”

tags: @mandyvc @iaru @korianrdr

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bts-reveries · 4 years ago

Text

expect the unexpected | 21.1 (bonus)

(continuation of part 21)

It’s been a couple of hours since your argument with Jin, you locked yourself in your room, crying to yourself while he..

Well you didn’t know what he was up to.

Jin finished his work an hour ago and right now he was rummaging through his drawers, trying to find pushpins.

“Aish, I know I have them somewhere,” Jin says, sighing to himself. All he wanted to do was hang up Haneul’s painting on his wall.

“What are you looking for?” Minseok asks, he was suddenly by the door of Jin’s office.

“Oh,” Jin says, surprised that his son is still up. “Why are you still awake? Go back to sleep.” Minseok walks up to him, looking at the canvas on the desk.

“Are you looking for push pins?” He asks. “Mommy keeps them in one of the kitchen drawers.” He runs off, immediately going to look for them.

He comes back quickly, handing Jin the pack of push pins that you kept in a random kitchen drawer. The junk drawer.

“I was waiting for you that’s why,” Minseok says, just now answering his dad’s question. “And I’m not sleepy yet.”

“Okay,” Jin says, pushing the pins into the wall. He then hangs the canvas up. It kind of looked weird. Jin’s walls were pretty empty, and it now just had a small canvas hanging off center. Maybe you can help him with it later since you are an interior designer.

“It’s not in the middle,” Minseok points.

“I know.”

“It’s kind of crooked too.”

After Jin hung up Haneul’s painting, he and Minseok went straight to bed together. The bed was small, way too small for Jin. He ended up having to curl up, facing his son as he slept. He couldn’t sleep though. He felt bad for how he acted. He didn’t mean to.

It’s just another one..

The thought of it scared him.

Haneul was hard enough. What about this one?

“Mommyy. Dad- daddy..”

Just thinking about Haneul... it was like Jin could hear him.

Suddenly, Minseok sits up, hopping off of his bed and scaring Jin.

“Minseok!” Jin shouted in a whisper, grabbing his arm. “Go back to sleep, what are you doing?” He says, thinking Minseok was sleep walking.

“Haneul can’t sleep,” he whispers, pulling away from his dad and walking towards his younger brother’s room. Jin furrows his eyebrows, confused.

Next thing he knows, Minseok comes into his room, holding Haneul’s hand.

“Go up up,” he says, helping him get onto the bed.

“Daddy’s here,” Haneul says happily, flopping down right in front of Jin’s chest.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Jin says, raising up one of his arms. Haneul cuddled right in.

“I want to stay with you and mommy,” He answers. “Why you here with hyung?”

Jin sighs.

“Mommy and daddy were fighting,” Minseok tells him.

“And why aren’t you asleep?” Jin asks his oldest, glaring at Minseok. “I have been watching you this whole time and your eyes have been closed.”

“I just can’t sleep,” he shrugs. “Maybe because I can feel you looking at me.” Minseok then reaches out, rubbing Haneul’s back. “Haneul has a hard time sleeping some nights. I sometimes hear him calling for you and mommy. Sometimes he just appears at the end of my bed. It’s kind of scary.” Jin laughs, reaching out to pet Minseok’s head.

“Do you just let him come in here sometimes and help him sleep?” Jin asks.

“Yeah, it’s easy to make him fall asleep anyways. Or sometimes I go in his room and help him sleep before I go back to bed.”

“Why don’t you just wake me or mommy up? You should be sleeping,” Jin tells him.

“Yeah, but I know you two are tired,” Minseok tells him. “So I just do it, it’s okay.” Jin pouts, leaning over to give his son a kiss on the forehead.

Jin had always thought Minseok was the sweetest out of the three. He’s really the best big brother. Usually you and Jin try to make equal time for all three of them but you two both know more time goes to the two little ones. Only because Minseok is well behaved all the time.

“You’re the best big brother, you know that right?” Jin whispers to him. Minseok smiles widely at him, nodding.

“Yeah, I do.” The confidence. He got it from his dad of course.

“I’m just like you dad.”

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

expect the unexpected

♡ part twenty-one.one bonus ♡

pairings: ceo, dad!jin x interior designer, mom!reader

a/n: just a short drabble of what happened after... kinda sweet. this is just me handing y’all a tissue also AH both jin and minseok are the oldest brothers out of everyone, idk why it just came to mind and that makes me wanna cry

taglist: @silentlyimpractical @jillianmarie @waddlebby @cecedrake2217 @ddofa @samros95 @sope-and-shine @joonjoonsmiles @codeinebelle @aianloveseven @Chamchamcham @princessjazzyjazz @notvantaes @casspirit0705 @ramyagovindraj @brinnalaine @ephyra1230 @betysotelo18 @thoughtfultaledreamer @salty-for-suga @cosmicdaylight @dreamcatcherjiah @kookoo-kachoo @justinetingball @josierosie @jayhope88 @butterflylion @hobiismyhopeu @momma-said-that-it-was-oke @ygbubs @catspancake @somewhereofftheglobe @strawberryforever25 @rjsmochii @prdshobi @beeeb05 @eatjeanjin @taekookcaneatme @Cheeely14 @kookietsukkie @anpanman-sonyeondan @glitteringcoffeefreak @chocobetterknot @alpaca1612 @ohmy-fandoms @liljooniecutie @Jikachoo @preciouschimine @fan-ati–c @Joondala @httpmuffin @dammit-jjk @jikooksgirl19

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mamabearcatfanfics · 4 years ago

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Out of the Dark

I coloured a sketch this morning, and then this evening after work I decided to write something to go with it. This kinda turned out angsty. Lockdown is obviously getting to me a little. But as always, a happy ending. I'll probably put this in my AO3 one-shots series in the morning.

💜

Inuyasha felt like he was going to die.

They’d been battling a mole youkai, the normally small mammal enlarged to ridiculous proportions by a jewel shard. Everything had been going well until it had somehow caused a landslide. He’d heard Sango and Miroku’s warning yells from high above from their vantage point on Kirara, and Shippou’s wail of fright from over near the trees just moments before the ground gave way, sending both him and Kagome plummeting downwards.

He’d tried to grab her as they went down, her high pitched scream ringing in his ears as their fingers clutched at each other frantically, but it had been no use. She’d been dragged away from him by the landslide, and as he’d concentrated all his efforts on reaching for her he’d lost grip on his fucking sword.

Now he couldn’t hear a thing, all he could smell was damp earth, and he didn’t know which way was up. The pressure coming from all around him felt like half a hillside had fallen on him. He needed to find Kagome and save her, but he was pretty much deaf and blind to what was going on. Useless.

He couldn’t breathe. Squinting his eyes open only exacerbated his fear because he could see nothing but darkness. Feel nothing but darkness. His numbing fingers scrabbled in the earth, but he had no idea if he was digging upwards or downwards. His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest, and overwhelming panic sucked at his sanity.

He’d never told anyone, but ever since he was small he’d had an overwhelming fear of small tight spaces. A fear of being trapped in the dark with no way out.

Even though his mother was technically widowed after the death of his father, meaning she could never be forced to remarry, that didn’t stop male members of the court arriving at their home to remind her of how her position had fallen. They came to gloat, to make her beg and scrape for the meager allowance she was provided by her father, who had grudgingly allowed her and her ‘son’ to live in small lodgings on the very edge of his estate. If visitors saw him when they arrived, it never ended well. He was often held up as an example of her ‘disgrace’, mocked and sometimes beaten, with his mother pleading for mercy and trying to stay their hands to no avail.

Eventually she’d managed to create a cubby hole under their floorboards to keep him safe from visitors, knowing she couldn’t physically protect him herself, and it had terrified him. The small tight space. The stench of her panic and fear feeding his own. The knowledge that there was nothing he could do but wait until she let him out again. He would have rather been beaten.

He’d almost forgotten, pushing the memory of that fear to the back of his mind. He’d always made sure he was never in a position where he would be trapped again in the dark. Now that fear had him by the throat, threatening to take away his sense of self. He groaned, struggling to keep hold on his consciousness as his youki swelled in an instinctive push to protect him without the quelling presence of his father’s sword. He needed to hold on. Because letting go would mean death – not his, but someone else’s. And what if that someone was dear to him? He couldn’t bear it. He was already buried. Better to stay that way and die himself than risk anyone else.

But it seemed his instincts didn’t agree with him, overpowering him. He thought despairingly of Kagome as he blacked out, frantically chanting her name, trying to commit her face to memory.

“Don’t hurt her. Don’t hurt her. Don’t hurt her. Don’t hurt her. Don’t hurt her.”

When he came to, the sunlight was bright around him, and he was taking in great heaving breaths, his heart stuttering in his chest as he knelt on the ground. Tessaiga was clutched tightly in one fist. Blood. He could smell blood. He threw back his head and howled in despair.

But then soft hands cradled his cheeks.

“Inuyasha, it’s okay! You’re okay! Everyone is fine, you didn’t hurt anyone!”

“Kagome”, he whispered brokenly, his eyes still blurry with tears. “Kagome.”

She was crying, shifting her hands from his cheeks to cling around his neck, hugging him tightly to her. Miroku, Sango and Shippou were standing off to one side, quietly waiting.

He sniffed again, realising the scent of blood came from some cuts and scrapes on Kagome caused by the landslide, and from his own hands, the nails cracked and broken.

“You dug me out Inuyasha. You saved me. You didn’t hurt me at all.”

All he could do was hold her tightly and repeat her name, his nose buried in her neck, smelling her sweet smell and feeling her pulse beating steadily in her throat, proof that she was alive and mostly unharmed. Proof that somehow, even when he’d lost himself, he hadn’t lost her too.

It was a quiet and subdued walk back to the village. Miroku and Sango had finished off the mole youkai and retrieved the shard, which was now safely added to the little bottle around Kagome's neck.

He and Kagome had rinsed off the cloying dirt from the landslide in a nearby stream, their clothes drying quickly as they walked in the warmth of the afternoon sun, but Inuyasha still shivered slightly as if he’d caught a chilll. He was having trouble shaking the combined after effects of feeling trapped and losing himself, his mind whirling. Kagome’s tight grip on his hand was helping, but he still didn’t feel like himself, still didn’t feel comfortable in his own skin.

When they arrived back at Kaede’s late that afternoon, he watched the others walk through the door way into the dark interior of the small hut, and stopped short, his hand pulling abruptly at Kagome’s.

“Inuyasha?”

“Gonna stay out here”, he said, turning his head away from Kagome’s gaze as he watched the sudden realisation in her expression as she made the connections. He felt embarrassed and ashamed, but he knew there was no way he’d be able to go inside at the moment, not until he had a better handle on his emotions. Kagome squeezed his fingers.

“Do you mind if I stay out here with you?” she asked gently.

He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, as if to say he didn’t care one way or the other, even though he desperately wanted to beg her to stay close by. She tugged on his hand, leading him over to the trees beside Kaede’s hut, spreading out her sleeping bag like a picnic blanket, patting it to invite him to sit down beside her.

As soon as he was seated with Tessaiga still firmly within his grasp across his lap, she leaned against him, taking his other hand in hers, examining the healing fingers.

“Do they hurt at all? Do you need me to bandage them?”

He shook his head, not really trusting himself to speak at the moment.

She hummed, stroking her hand over his fingers, resting her head against his shoulder.

“You know, I’m afraid of deep water."

He sighed, shoulders rising stiffly as he tried to keep himself still, wanting to run away from where this conversation was going, but also wanting to stay close to her.

“Kagome...”

"I fell in a friend’s pool when I was a little girl before I knew how to swim properly. I nearly drowned before Papa saved me. I’m a good swimmer now, but I still feel frightened by it sometimes, especially if I can’t see the bottom.”

He didn't say anything. He knew what she was doing, but he couldn't speak. Couldn't trust himself to talk at the moment.

“Those kinds of fears don’t mean you’re not brave”, she continued softly. “Sometimes things happen that you can’t control and your mind remembers that feeling of powerlessness, of fear, and it holds onto it. It can get better over time, with help.” She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, turning her head to glance up at his face. “But it’s never anything to be ashamed of Inuyasha. You don’t have to talk to me about it if you don’t want to. But if you ever do, I’m here.”

He nodded stiffly, then tried to stifle a yawn. He was exhausted.

“We’ve still got some time before dinner. Why don’t you take a nap with me?”

“It’s not dark yet.”

“So? C’mon. Lay down next to me. I promise I won’t bite”, she giggled, tugging on his hand and kicking off her shoes.

“If I do, will you be quiet?”

“Yup!”

He lay down on the ground as she stretched out on her sleeping bag, one hand still tightly clutching Tessaiga, the other reaching out to gently stroke her cheek. It wasn't only him that had a difficult day.

“I really didn’t hurt you?” he murmured, his voice catching a little. Her eyes were overbright in the late afternoon sunshine as she pressed her cheek into his hand.

“You really didn’t. You knew who I was. I was so scared and then you came for me Inuyasha. You pulled me out of the dark.”

“I’ll always come for you. You know that don’t you?”

She sighed gently, closing her eyes as he struggled to keep his own open, to keep watch, keep her in sight. Finally he gave up, letting his mind drift, knowing she was close by and safe, feeling her slowing breaths drift across his finger tips.

“I do.”

#mamabearcat fanfics #inukag oneshot #I don't even know what this is #hurt comfort fic #inukag

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steviespanties · 4 years ago

Note

Since Steve’s parents are out of town so often, he and Billy have a habit of hooking up at Steve’s place. Steve’s room is nice and all, but Billy has a thing for fucking Steve in his mom’s bed;; ((HI I LOVE YOUR ACCOUNT AND YOUR STORIES THANK YOU FOR CREATING SUCH MASTERPIECES💖💖))

THANK YOU SO SO MUCH AND ALSO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO ANSWER THIS!!! (This sent me down an interior decorating rabbit hole trying to figure out what Steve’s mom’s bed- and then her own room might look like😅😂 Please imagine a layout similar to this, but with another window on the other side of the bed for more light. The ‘sofa’ and bed look a lot more like this, but the colors and style are more similar to this and this room.) 2.2k words, rated E. Steve POV, some manhandling, some frottage, some rimming and dirty talk. Anal sex. Ya know. My usual.

Steve’s parents have a big enough house (and are rich enough) that his mom has an entire bedroom for herself. She calls it her boudoir, because it’s where her walk-in closet is and where she keeps all her fancy makeup, lesser used jewelry and perfumes. There’s a massive four-poster bed with floor-length drapes matching the curtains, a chaise lounge, a vanity, all in creamy white and bathed in warm lamp light.

Before he gets together with Billy, Steve doesn’t even think about it’s existence. It’s just another empty room, after all. The most he sees of the house are the entrance, kitchen, living room and the walk upstairs to his bedroom with his own bathroom. Hell, sometimes it slips his mind that he technically lives in what counts in Hawkins as a mansion.

Billy, however, becomes obsessed with the ‘boudoir’ in particular.

The first time he's supposed to really stay over, not just crash in Steve’s room and fuck him into his bed at 3am, he steps through the front entrance, whistles after a survey of the hallway and goes “Aren’t you gonna show me around?”

“Yeah, sure. Just take a pair of house shoes from over there.” Steve gestures towards the shoe rack in question and Billy’s expression goes from amused to disbelieving.

“Seriously?”

Steve glares at him. “Yeah. Seriously. My parents put in new flooring over the summer and now everything has to look pristine for the two times a year they have visitors over.”

It's such an unnecessary, stupid rule to enforce all of a sudden when Steve has rarely worn shoes around the house anyways.

He’s barefoot when it’s warm outside and leaves his shoes by the front door to change into thick wool socks during the cold months. And somehow, his parents still have found a new way to make him feel like he’s walking on eggshells in his own home.

Still, he watches Billy sullenly take off his shoes with growing amusement that gradually lightens the bad mood Steve’s gotten into just thinking about it. He figures he can give Billy a quick tour of the house and then order pizza. Watch a movie, fuck in an actual bed instead of getting each other off in the cramped backseats of their cars.

What happens instead is that Billy spends a ridiculous amount of time dragging Steve through his own home. He looks into guest rooms. Shoves his nose into cabinets. Looks out of windows like he’s staking out the neighborhood. (Woods. The neighborhood is mostly woods.)

“What are you, a spy?” Steve jokingly asks when Billy lifts up a painting to peek behind, like he’s looking for a safe. Billy scoffs, all mock-offended. But Steve can see a hint of a blush form on his cheeks. Gotcha. It’s kinda sweet how curious he is about the place, even if his main complaint is that it “feels like a show house.” Steve doesn’t have the heart to point out that he’s not too far off.

It’s when they step into his mom’s room that a predatory glint enters Billy’s eyes. “Ohh, is this where Mama Harrington sleeps?”

“Yeah. Sometimes. She wanted a room to get ready ‘in peace’. I’m pretty sure she just wants to drink prosecco in peace.” He watches Billy’s fingers trail over the fabric of one of the creamy white curtains framing the window. They part and his rings glint in the sunlight he’s suddenly bathed in. When he turns back around his hair is lit up gold and frames his head like a halo. Steve licks his lips. The fun thing about dating Billy is that he not only matches Steve in terms of libido, but seems to have a sixth sense for the moment Steve’s thoughts get distracted by his gorgeous everything.

Or maybe Steve just isn’t very subtle.

That glint in Billy’s eyes turns into hungry laser focus. Sets him into motion until he’s all pressed against Steve, a hot line of unrelenting muscle pushing him closer to the bed until they tip over and onto the mattress. Half hidden by more curtains hanging from the canopy. Sunlight follows them.

White teeth flash in an easy grin, quick and sweet, and then Billy’s lips are on Steve’s. His body weight pushes Steve into the creamy white bed cover and the air out of his lungs in a huffed laugh. Underneath him the texture of the blanket- distinct raised ribbing- digs into his skin. Billy’s hands dig into his hair.

The slick heat of Billy’s mouth and his thigh shoved between Steve’s legs is intoxicating. Makes it impossible to form a coherent thought when his focus narrows down on Billy on top of him, curls just long enough to fall down and tickle Steve’s face. He makes the most delicious sound when Steve grabs his ass and pulls him closer, till their hips are lined up just right. Steve pulls. Billy pushes. Like a conversation in a language purely made of heat and pressure, hitching breaths and choked moans. Against his own growing erection, painfully trapped in his jeans, he can feel Billy fill out as well. The pleasure is maddening. Enough to make Steve feel a burst of wetness pulse from his dick into his underwear. Enough to make him roll his hips up, searching for a better angle.

“Billy,” he sighs, not sure what he wanted to say afterwards. Just enjoys saying his name.

“We’re wearing too many clothes,” Billy complains in response, like he picked up whatever thought Steve dropped in the minuscule space between them. They break out into a familiar flurry of limbs and discarded clothes. A condom packet and a small bottle of lube make it from Billy’s discarded jacket onto the comforter next to Steve’s head. He snorts.

“You sure you weren’t a boy scout at some point? Feels like you’re always prepared to get your dick wet.”

Billy rolls his eyes, fond smile belying his annoyance. “Shut up. Turn around.” His voice has taken on that deep, rough tone indicating how much he’s turned on. Steve leans back instead, takes his dick in hand. Enjoys the rough drag of his dry palm when he drags it up in a loose grip. Just enough to tease. Billy raptly follows the movement. “Maybe I will if you ask me nicely.”

Oh, he loves this game. Put up a token bit of protest when Billy gets bossy, until he gets impatient and starts dragging Steve around until he’s nothing but putty underneath his hands.

“Show me your pretty hole, babe. I won’t ask again.”

Steve’s dick pulses in his hand. He watches Billy with half-lidded eyes. The way his muscles shift, getting ready to move. Hungry and powerful, like a big wildcat.

In the next second, he’s on Steve. Makes him gasp out an involuntary yelp when he easily flips him and drags him up by his hips. Until he’s on his knees, face buried in the bed cover and hot breath suddenly ghosts over his hole. There’s barely enough time to reorient himself before the scratch of Billy’s mustache and the slick warmth of his tongue press into his crack.

“Ah, fuck yes.”

He’s never done this before Billy. Not with any of the girls he fucked or dated. Not with Tommy, who he’s traded sloppy, shameful handjobs and blowjobs with. He doesn’t think he can ever get enough of feeling Billy’s tongue on his rim, swirling around until he’s dripping with saliva. Pushing inside where he’s sensitive, pressure and stretch of his hole making him squirm and push his hips back immediately.

It’s almost embarrassing how greedy he is for Billy’s mouth on him. His lips wrapped around his dick. His tongue shoved deep into his hole, held in place by those warm hands on his asscheeks. Holding him open so Billy can get even deeper, making him moan and drool into the blanket beneath him. It’s like a pulse, curls into him till his dick pushes out another spurt of precome and he can feel himself twitch, heavy and aching between his legs.

A slicked up finger joins Billy’s tongue. Makes the stretch just a bit more intense, but still so, so good. Billy only comes up for air when he adds a second finger. Steve can feel him rest his cheek on his ass, probably watching the movement of his fingers up close. He seems to have a thing for the sight of Steve’s rim stretched, his hole filled up and glistening.

“Gonna make you a complete mess in your mom’s bed,” Billy huffs into his skin. “Gonna make you cry and cream yourself all over her sheets.” He thrusts deeper and stretches his fingers until they tug at Steve’s hole and he groans with the ache. “Better get going then,” he tries to taunt. It falls flat with all that desperation laced through his words. The thing is, provoking Billy only gets you so far. Steve can tease him into impatience, but once he’s fully grasped control, he revels in it. Basks in Steve’s frenzied, futile attempts at irritating him. Like he’s had his chance, but the game is already won.

Steve doesn’t mind losing that much anyways.

“Just you wait,” Billy says fondly.

All Steve can focus on for a while is that glorious, slick movement of Billy’s fingers. The way he pushes in and out of him, stretches his rim and his insides, rubs over that spot inside of him that makes him frantically claw at the textured bed cover underneath him. Just long enough to make him whine and push back, pulse around a third finger that stretches him even wider.

At some point, when he’s reduced to a sweat-slick line of tightly wound pleasure, he finds himself empty. Barely registers the sound of a ripped open condom wrapper. Warm, humid breath over his spine that wanders up up up until there’s lips and teeth on his shoulder and Billy’s cock slowly pushes inside.

There’s a growing spot of drool-wet fabric his face presses into that swallows some of his moans. When Billy moves, satisfied sighs and barely coherent praises tumbling from his lips, Steve grasps the bed cover tight.

Billy’s hips find a rolling, unrelenting rhythm. The drag of his cock is a drug Steve can’t get enough of. Dreams about, just as much as he dreams about the tight heat of Billy around his dick.

He wishes he could turn around and admire Billy’s flushed face. Hold him between his spread legs. Get lost in his eyes and dizzy from his freckles. But Billy’s weight on his back and his mouth sucking hickeys into the back of his neck isn’t bad either. He tries to hold himself up, tries to concentrate on carrying that weight on his back, but with each thrust inside it’s like his knees spread wider and his elbows sink down until he’s pressed flat onto the bed. And then his dick makes contact with the bed cover and gets pushed right into it right along Billy’s thrusts.

“Ah!” The moan is embarrassingly loud. Louder than any other noise he’s made so far. Of course, Billy picks up on it.

“You gonna be a good boy and blow your load all over your mommy’s sheets?”

“Shut- shut up, fuck.” Billy just laughs, voice shot to hell.

Even if Steve wanted to, he can’t escape that mouthwatering pleasure the additional drag of rough fabric against his dick provides. Because even if he wanted to try, he can’t pull away from Billy’s weight on top of him. His heavy, thick cock inside of him that holds him open and fills him up.

He comes with a sob. Pushes his face harder into wet fabric. Pushes his dick through his own mess. Pushes his hips back to meet Billy’s thrusts, even when it becomes just a bit too much.

Billy rests his entire weight on him when he comes with a deeply satisfied groan. Through their aftershocks, he buries his face in Steve’s hair and they rest in companionable silence.

It’s not the last time they end up fucking on that bed, no matter how many times Steve complains about the laundry with flushed cheeks.

...

Steve isn’t enough of an idiot to not understand that Billy likes to fuck him in his mom’s bed because he likes the conquest of a room that’s ‘forbidden’. He’s the same at parties, likes to sneak into rooms he’s not supposed to be in. Likes the thrill of doing something nasty with Steve in a place his mom will walk into and never even suspect what’s happened.

And Billy? Billy doesn’t want to admit it, especially not to Steve’s face, but... the way Steve’s hair looks against the creamy-white sheets in his mom’s bedroom? The soft yellow glow of light, the blush that spreads from his cheeks down to his neck, to his chest faster than it does anywhere else- it’s addictive.

The best part, the one they both like a little too much is what happens afterwards. When the raised ribbing of the bed cover has left indents on Steve’s face where it’s been pressed down. On his arms and knees. On his back, where only Billy can see and trace it for the rest of the night, reverent and sweet.

#asks #OHH my god I'M SO FLATTERED THANK YOU SO MUCH😭💖💖💖#I hope you're having a LOVELY day and you like this!!#saberghatz #(also i'm so sorry this took ages to answer bc i took so long to write this?? jfc!!!)#harringrove #harringrove fic

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aurabird · 3 years ago

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Guidance for Guilt

How does one deal with the guilt and regret they feel when they see the way people look at them? You seek out another that has been in the same situation before.

Also on Ao3

Despite the title, this doesn’t actually have angst in it.

-----------

Sausage went by horseback as he left Mythland, too afraid to even touch the corrupted elytra he once wore for longer than a few seconds let alone wear it again.

The ride through the desert was slow despite the well-worn paths from trade routes, the unrelenting heat miserable for both him and his stead and briefly he debated turning back and borrowing an elytra from someone.

Night fell as the moon took the place of the sun. It was a respite from the heat sure, but out here, night brought a chilling cold. The Mythland king would never understand why anyone would want to live in the desert, and yet one of the largest and most powerful empires was nestled at the heart the said biome.

The Vigil of Pixandria shone like a beacon in the night as if to lead those weary and lost among the dunes to shelter from the elements. Sausage grimaced briefly at the fact that the last time he was there, he’d built a fake embassy and trapped it, the aim to kill the empire’s king. He had been struggling to fight off the corruption then and even though he had the self-awareness to know what he was doing was wrong, he did it anyway.

To be fair, his mind argued, Pix HAD issued a challenge to all that wished to prank him to make sure their attempts were more than a pathetic pitfall trap... so was it really Sausage’s fault if the oracle had asked for something so explosive in the first place?

Sand began to transition granite and brick as Sausage entered the oasis of an empire. The streets weren’t empty, but the citizens of Pixandria that were around spoke in hushed whispers of intrigue at him. They didn’t know who he was, he’d worn his assassins guild attire strictly so that he could hide his face.

After all, he was still technically enemy number one in pretty much every single empire. If the Pixandrians had known who had entered their city, then their reactions probably wouldn’t have been the most welcoming.

He found an inn in the center of this residential area and paid the stable boy the money required to leave his horse there before continuing to the capitol of the empire.

As he entered the familiar area he found it mostly empty, understandably so given how late it was, and took time to look at the Vigil; the colorful candles and lanterns that decorated the are around it just as stunning as the last time he’d been here.

Pix had told him once that the Vigil was for the twelve empires alone since in Pixandrian beleif they all had to exist regardless of what terms they were all on lest the balance of the universe be upset. He shuddered at the realization that if his journey in the spirit realm had ended in failure that he could have caused something far more catastrophic than whatever Xornoth would bring to occur.

Then came sadness at the thought of how many of the recorded deaths were by his own hand? He’d been told of the arena fight, how he’d gone on a murder spree when the corruption took control over him entirely...

"I had a feeling you’d show up eventually.” Came a familiar voice, snapping him out of his thoughts. Sausage turned to face the speaker and found the Copper King himself casually leaning against the wall of a building that looked like a shop of sorts.

Sausage wasn’t surprised that he’d been expected, Pix was a unique individual in the fact that he was an oracle not only with the ability to see deaths seconds before they happened, but he would sometimes get prophetic visions every now and again. He was a wise and kind ruler, albeit with a streak of mischief at times as well. The man no doubt had questions about Sausage’s recent death by Gem’s hand and his delayed respawn, but that’s not why the Mythland king had come to see him.

After the death of the enderdragon, the Copper King had exiled himself in his guilt and regret, heading into the harshness of the desert with almost nothing but the clothes on his back. Signs of his struggle could be seen in the form of scars and burns. This, is why Sausage had come.

“I’m...probably not at the top of your list of people to see right now...but I...I need guidance, Pix. I don’t know how to cope with what I’m feeling.”

Pix gave him a gentle smile, “Come, we’ll discuss it inside.”

The interior of Pix’s abode was something Sausage had only seen once and, at the time, he’d not been in complete control of his body and actions. Now that the haze in his mind was gone, the place was stunning. Sandstone and striped birch made up walls accented with copper. The sandstone and glazed terracotta floor accented with dried honeycomb, desert plants filling pots nestled into corners and on shelves. It was a humble place as opposed to the massive castles and towers of the other empires.

He sat down at an oak table while Pix went off to grab something, returning with a glass of water which Sausage graciously accepted. Pix then sat down opposite of him and spoke "So, since you sit here now, I assume your trip to the spirit realm was successful?“

Of course Pix would know about that, “I think so? I don’t feel corrupted anymore and the haze that used to cloud my mind is gone so...maybe? I...still don’t understand how going there cured me.”

“In Pixandrian beleif, those with damaged souls go there to heal or pass on. Xornoth corrupted yours entirely and when Gem killed you, that’s where you ended up. You were dead to the world for a week, Sausage; the only sign that you were going to come back was because that spirit tether of yours was glowing.”

Sausage pulled the strange object he’d been given by Sir Carlos out and looked at it, “That’s what this thing is called?”

Pix nodded in response, “Most souls that end up in the spirit realm pass on while others get lost and eventually fade away over time. A spirit tether ensures that a soul will find its way back to its body. They are extremely rare so I was surprised to find you had one.”

“A friend gave it to me...I guess I quite literally owe him my life. But my spiritual journey is not why I came here; I see the way everyone looks at me, to them I’m still the servant of evil, Xornoth’s corrupted Champion. I have nightmares of what I’ve done and who I’ve hurt, I have permanent scars to remind me of my mistakes...there’s so much guilt and regret, Pix...I don’t know what to do.”

"Guilt and regret are hard wounds to heal; even now, I still cannot forgive myself for what I did to the enderdragon and, honestly, I don’t think I ever will. Speak with those you wronged, even if they don’t believe you at first. It will take time and effort to fix what has been broken and there will be scarring that remains once the wound heals, but I know you, Sausage, and you’re pretty hard to stay mad at for very long.”

A pained smile crossed Sausage’s mouth at those words, “Even though I’ve caused so much greif and pain?”

"I don’t speak for the others, but the way I see it, if we’re going to stop Xornoth, we need to be united. The sooner we put our quarrels aside, the sooner we can deal with him.”

“Joey is still drunk with power and praise and I’m pretty sure that crown of his is messing with his mind somehow. We need to save him first, Pix, before he’s too far gone for us to do anything.”

Pix nodded, “Agreed. But, for now, you’ve traveled a long way to get here. Why don’t you stay in Pixandria for the night and head off to Mythland to make amends with the others in the morning?”

As if in agreement Sausage yawned, “Alright, thank you Pix, for everything. And...I’m sorry for the embassy trap but you did kinda ask for us to do better pranks.”

A laugh escaped the Copper King at the comment, his brown eyes glinting with mischief, "I did, didn’t I? Well, you know me, my retaliation will be tenfold so I hope you’re ready, Sausage.”

Sausage let out a chuckle and a sly smirk, “Bring it on, Copper King.”

#empires smp #empiresblr #empiressmp #pixlriffs #mythical sausage #see I can write other things besides angst #My writing

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kareofbears · 4 years ago

Text

margin of error

Sophia knows a lot, but that does not mean she understands much of anything at all.

Or, Sophia struggles to grasp why Akira and Ryuji don't follow her predictive algorithm.

read on ao3 or below the cut :)

Sophia knows a lot.

She can tell you almost anything in the known world in an instant. Calculate the radius of the sun. Who won Best Picture three years ago. The outfit to wear when you need to 'dress to impress.' Just yesterday, she was able to find them a bath, a takoyaki restaurant, and an overnight camping site within 0.3 milliseconds. That’s not very many seconds.

Sophia knows a lot, but that does not mean she understands much of anything at all.

She’s quiet while she’s propped on the phone stand, watching the rest of them lounge in the RV. There’s a shape to the interior that wasn’t there before—where it had been pristine when they had first gotten it, now it’s littered with crumbs and instant-food packaging despite Makoto’s half-hearted attempts at scolding them for it. Empty surfaces are filled with knick-knacks, stuffies and a plastic ramen bowl rattling gently along with the RV.

There’s a rare lull amongst them, a moment of quiet. Most of them were napping away the road, gently snoring and bodies jostling whenever a pothole hits, oblivious to the scenery that passes by. Only the soft tunes of pop music from the front and the hum of the engine broke the quiet.

Other than Makoto, there were only two people awake: Akira, scribbling in his journal, and Ryuji, watching him do it. They sat across from each other in the booth, with Ryuji’s chin propped against his hand.

Probability and pinpoint accuracy is what she excels at, and being able to apply them to her friends excites her. Not to mention, she hasn’t been wrong yet.

Idly, she runs the numbers—according to the data she’s collected from spending time with them, the silence will be broken by Ryuji within approximately two minutes. Pulling up a time from within Akira’s phone, she waits eagerly.

A minute passes, and then another. And another. Akira is still scribbling in his neat penmanship and Ryuji is still watching him doing it, unspeaking.

Frowning, she double-checks her calculations. No errors that she can see. It seems that he simply does not want to speak. This is surprising, and very unlike him. He is not usually this quiet. In the Metaverse, he is by far the loudest of them; calling on his Persona’s name can often leave her own ears ringing.

The real world does not stray from that data. His voice is clear in crowded areas, helpful in guiding their big group throughout bustling cities. He is often shushed by the girls when they are trying to sleep at night—Futaba even goes as far as to kick the ceiling from her bunk bed.

The data is strong and sure. There should not be a reason that she should be wrong in this assumption unless there’s a confounding variable that she had missed.

Akira looks up and catches his eye. “Am I boring you?” he asks quietly.

Ryuji shakes his head, grinning. “Couldn’t be happier,” he whispers back.

Sophia’s about to ask when Makoto cuts her off.

“Wake up everyone. We’re here.”

—

“Okay,” Akira calls. His voice isn’t raised, despite the crowded street of downtown Sendai, but they all straighten up. “We’re probably not going to spend too much time here, especially once we take over the Jail. Grab what you need now—snacks for the trip. Shopping. Souvenirs. Frozen pineapple. Any questions?” Yusuke raises his hand. “Yes, I’ll pay for you.” The hand falls back down, relieved.

“Cool. How about we meet back here…” he squints at the large clock hanging on the wall, hand blocking out the blaring sun. “In an hour?”

A chorus of agreements rolls through them as they rush out, excited to explore a new city. “Good speech,” Sophia pipes up from his hand. “Do you do them often?”

“I try not to,” he yawns. His thick black hair is even more unruly than usual, glasses barely hiding the light blue that’s beginning to form underneath his eyes. “Most of the time, they can handle themselves fine. All they need is a schedule and some rules to work with.”

When she doesn’t answer, Akira brings his phone up. “What? Did I say something?”

“It’s because she’s worried about you, you moron,” a disgruntled voice says.

Akira’s gaze flickers towards it. “You’re still here?”

“Of course I am,” Ryuji says. “You really think I’d leave without saying goodbye? Glad I didn’t either, cause you look like shit.”

“Thanks.”

“Still pretty, though. No worries about that part.” He shoves his hand deep in his pocket, stray yen clinking against each other as he rummages. After a moment, he throws something at Akira. “Catch.”

He plucks it out from the air with ease. “Car keys?” he asks, surprised.

“Grabbed them from Makoto before she ran off for stationery shopping.” Ryuji reaches forward, gently turning Akira’s head this way and that, frowning. “I told you to quit staying up so late. You’re exhausted.”

“I am not.”

“He is,” Sophia refutes. “Last night, he had approximately four hours of sleep, with only four minutes of that being REM sleep.”

“I told you. She’s even bringing up computer stuff now.”

“I think you are thinking about RAM, Ryuji.”

“Whatever,” he shakes his head. “Look, just head to the RV, get some shut-eye. You can finally sleep in a proper bed that isn’t an overheating tent with three sweaty dudes and a cat. Oh, and trade phones with me.”

He hands it over without hesitation, sliding Ryuji’s phone into his own pocket. “Why?”

“You have the grocery list in here, yeah? Not to mention, I don’t want Sophia getting bored while you nap it up.” He looks down at her. “Hi, by the way.”

“Hi!”

Akira still doesn’t seem convinced. “But I promised Yusuke—”

“Who’s with Ann now, shopping like they’d die if they didn’t get the perfect skirt to fit her next shoot,” he says, uncompromising. “Chill. It’s fine. We’ll survive an hour without Joker keeping an eye on us.”

They stare each other down for a long moment with Sophia watching. She does not need to run the numbers on this one; Akira will not allow himself to go back to the RV.

To her surprise, he relents. “Twenty minutes.”

Ryuji scoffs. “We’ll see about that. You suck at waking up.”

“Shut up.” And then, quieter, “Thank you.”

“You know I got your back.”

He yawns once more, slowly walking back to their car. “Sophia, please make sure that when he gets the Pocky to get the strawberry one. Futaba won’t eat anything else. And also that Haru wanted doilies to make the place look nicer. White, if you can find them.”

“Roger that,” she replies, distracted. How is she wrong again? This is troubling.

“My hoodie’s in my bag if you get cold!” Ryuji calls out. Akira throws him a thumbs up without looking back. “Jeez, that guy. He’s gonna run himself to the ground before he’s thirty, I swear. Like some geezer with a bad back but with really good hairline or something.”

An old man with a thick head of hair shoots him a glare as he passes by them. Ryuji laughs, high-pitched. “Yikes, that was awkward. Let’s get out of here, we need to hit up the grocery store before they run out of carrots.”

Sophia doesn’t answer, too deep in her thoughts and running endless calculations.

—

It’s impossible for her to get a headache, but her code is trying its best to give her one.

Two mistakes now. That isn’t allowed to happen. She’s lucky that they were both relatively small errors, but it can easily become a bigger problem. What can she do?

Luckily, that had a very simple answer.

“Ryuji?”

“Hmm?” He peels his eyes away from scrutinizing the oranges in his hands, the wires from his earphones swaying when he does. After one too many strange looks when he talks to nothing, it was just better to act like he was on a phone call. “Yeah?”

“I have a question.”

“What am I, a teacher?” he snorts. “If you got a question, go ahead. Friends can do that.”

That’s right. They’re friends, and friends have trust in one another. Sophia jotted that down as lesson number forty-eight, thirteen days ago.

“Okay,” she says. Questions float around her, and she picks the one that’s giving her the most stress. “If I was not as useful as you think I am, would we still remain friends?”

The orange tumbles out of his grip, and he rushes to catch it before it hits the ground. “Wha—!” he stutters out. “Duh! Obviously! What the—where the hell did that come from? Did we do something to think that we’d just ditch you like that?” he lifts the phone so that she was eye-level with him. “Be honest,” he says seriously, quickly. “Did I say something to hurt your feelings? I do that sometimes, and I’m working on it, and I know that’s no excuse—”

“You did not say anything to hurt my feelings,” she says before he spirals even further. “In fact, I do not have feelings for you to hurt.”

Relief blooms on his expression, and he sags his body against the fruit display. ��Okay, good. Good. Thought I was gonna get a heart attack. I’d be pissed at myself if I did, and I just know Akira would give me so much shit.” He sighs, ridding himself of panic before giving him her full attention. “So what’s up?

“Sir…” an employee shuffles towards them, hands shaking knees knocking against each other. He is afraid, she notes, but of what? “I’m sorry, but it’s against store policy to lean on the product. Please try to understand.”

“Oh, shoot!” Ryuji exclaims, straightening up. “Sorry, man. I didn’t even realize. I think I squished an orange, but I’ll buy it so your boss doesn’t give you hell for that one.”

The employee blinks. “You would?” he says, shocked. “That would be great, actually. Thank you so much!”

“Don’t sweat it,” he waves it off. Tugging the shopping cart, he places Sophia where they’d normally put babies. “Hope he doesn’t get in trouble. I feel kinda bad.”

She thinks for a moment. “Ryuji, why was that man afraid?”

Swiftly, red rushes to his cheeks. “That obvious? Aw, man.”

“I don’t know if it was obvious, but all the signs were there,” she says, watching as he ducks his head, embarrassed. “What is happening? I do not understand.”

“It’s just—” his eyes shift sideways, meeting the eye of a young girl. Immediately, she directs her gaze downwards. “I look really scary to people.”

“You do?” It isn’t in her program to doubt, but she is rather skeptical. During the entire trip, he has been nothing but kind to her. Yes, there are times when he has arguments with others in the group, but more often than not it’s him that’s being teased rather than the other way around. “Why? You aren’t even that tall.”

“Ouch?”

“I’m just saying that you are not scary to me, so I don’t really understand why other people would be.”

He sighs, picking up a box of miso unseeingly. “It’s a combination of a lot of things. My hair’s bleached, and people usually see that as like, punk or whatever. My posture sucks and my voice is loud.” Shrugging, he throws it in the cart. “It doesn’t really bug me though. At least that means strangers usually don’t bother the group, cause they think I’ll kick their ass.”

“And would you?” Sophia crosses off miso. Only bandages are left on the list, but the cart is filled with snacks, sodas, and a small cactus. “‘Kick their ass?’”

“No way. If I did, my mom would kick my ass, and I can’t pull that shit twice in a lifetime.” Pushing the cart, they slowly meander through the aisles, occasionally looking at what’s on sale. Ryuji tosses in rainbow marshmallows, and after a moment, reluctantly puts it back.

“But you know,” he says eventually. “If someone was bothering the group, it’s not as if I’d just let it happen.”

She considers his answer. “You are tough,” she concludes. “But not scary.”

“Uh, yes,” he says, unsure. And then, with more conviction, “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Got it. ‘Ryuji is tough, but other people are terrified of him.’ I will make a note of that.” He looks like he wants to say something, but she keeps going. “Synonyms for ‘tough’: robust, stalwart, and strong. Would you say that’s accurate?”

He laughs, disbelieving. “No idea what the first two meant, but the third one isn’t right.”

“Why not? You can fight Shadows. Your muscle ratio is high. One time, when Futaba couldn’t unscrew her water bottle, you did it with no problem.”

“Because, Sophia,” Ryuji picks up gummy worms, and turns to her with pleading eyes. When she shakes her head, he puts it back on the shelf with a grimace. “Strength isn’t always about muscles and who can kill what. It’s more than that.”

It seems as though he doesn’t want to speak about this anymore, but the topic is too interesting to stop here. “Explain, please.”

“It’s...it’s like mental strength,” he says begrudgingly. “Like if someone failed an exam they studied real hard for, mental strength would help them get through a tough situation like that. Like Akira.”

“Akira has high mental strength?”

“Oh, the highest out of all of us without a doubt. The world could explode and he’d be all—” Ryuji lowers his voice by an octave. “‘Here’s what we can do,’ and then fix it somehow. That’s just the kind of guy he is. All plans and no fear.”

All plans and no fear is a good way of describing Joker. “And you aren’t like that?”

“No way. Have you ever seen me have a plan in my life? I’m more of an ‘act before I can talk myself out of it’ person. Usually works out fine in the end. Besides, he does it enough for the both of us.” His eyes light up. “Do you think if I get the panda bandages, it would work better in the Metaverse? Cause of the brain stuff?”

“I think so, as long as it makes people think it works better.”

“Great.” Ryuji tosses it in with the rest. “And I think we got everything! Let’s head out. If we’re lucky, we can grab some ice cream before we meet up with the rest of them.”

“Good job! But you may want to consider removing the orange soda. Makoto is already unhappy with how much junk food you are always eating.”

“Fine. I’m keeping the cactus though.”

It was only when they’re all sleeping back in the RV when she realizes that she never got to ask him her actual question. Actually, she ended up with even more questions than when she began.

Maybe she’ll have better luck asking Akira instead.

—

They, or rather Akira, have their knees buried in a patch of grass in the middle of Sapporo with a small pile of four-leaf clovers by his ankles when she decides it would be appropriate to ask him.

“Akira, can I ask—” she pauses, and tries again. “I have a question.”

His face is so close to the ground that even the dirt would realize that his glasses don’t have prescription, and people are shooting him worried looks that he completely ignores. “Shoot.”

“Actually, I have many questions, and I’m hoping you’ll answer all of them as honestly as you can in order to have the most accurate data possible.”

“Research?”

More often than not, Akira has been giving her information about the world that she does not have access to. Slang terms that Futaba yells out in frustration, Ann’s tendency to jump from one topic to the next with little regard to who she’s talking to. It’s all confusing to Sophia, so she makes sure to memorize all of these instances and bring it to him for clarification.

“Sort of,” she says. “Some of my predictions have been off lately, and I am trying to figure out why.”

“Sure. Oh, another one.” Gently, he plucks it from the soil and gently places it with the others. “For Haru. Apparently, she’s really struggling with economics, so hopefully this helps her out next semester.”

“How many more?”

“Four,” he replies. “Yusuke, Sojiro, Akane, and Ryuji.”

She frowns. “Ryuji already has one.”

“He’s going to need more than one.” Akira turns to her, distressed. “Entrance exams are coming up.”

“Oh.”

“Yup,” he turns back to his task. “Anyway, you had a question?”

“Right,” she says, clearing her throat: a sign of taking a more serious tone. “Why are you scared of Ryuji?”

Akira freezes. Sophia waits patiently. But after a moment, then two, then five, there is still no reaction from him. And then slowly, he faces her with a blank expression.

She has not known Kurusu Akira for very long—only a few weeks in fact. But in that time, she feels that she has come to learn a lot about him. For instance, he does not like pears. He also finds grocery shopping relaxing, and he would die for his friends. Another thing she has learned from him is that he is very quiet; even in the Metaverse, amidst the explosions and gunshots, he does not yell. It is not as if he has nothing to say, but rather he would rather express himself through gestures and the odd comment here and there. He is much happier to let the people around him carry the conversation for him.

Shock racks through her as he bursts out laughing. His shoulders move up and down as laughs pour out of him uncontrollably. “What—?” he tries, pushing his glasses atop his head. It’s almost hidden amongst his thick, black locks. “Did you seriously ask if I was afraid of Ryuji? Sakamoto Ryuji? Blond guy, helps out in the Metaverse? My best friend?”

“Um.” This was not what she was expecting, despite having no expectations to begin with. “Yes.”

He sighs, content. “I really have to thank you, Sophia.” Akira brings his glasses back to his nose, the corners of his mouth quirked up. “That was really good. Haven’t laughed that hard since Yusuke thought Italy was near Mexico.”

She tilts her head sideways. “I was not joking.”

“Yeah, I figured.” He sits up, crossing his legs over each other, giving her his full attention. “Tell me why you thought I was scared of him.” Even as he’s sobered up, he can’t quite finish the sentence without smiling.

“My predictions have been off lately,” she says, a wrinkle between her brows. “This is normal—predictions by their nature cannot always be right. However, I’ve noticed that they’re incorrect more often lately. I ran the data, and these errors are related to two things:” Sophia brings her hand to the screen so that he can see properly. “You and him, as a unit. Individually, there doesn’t seem to be any errors. It is specifically when you are being measured together that creates mistakes. My prognosis on everyone else in the group creates more stable and accurate results.”

Sophia twists her hair in her hands. “The only reason it would be wrong is because of a confounding variable. Maybe there’s something between the two of you that others do not have. So I thought that answer—”

“Was fear,” he finishes. There’s an odd tone in his voice that she doesn’t comprehend. His gray eyes, sharp but never unkind. “I see where you’re coming from. But, and I can swear on this fact—it isn’t fear. I am not, nor will I ever be, afraid of him.”

She deflates. Wrong again. “And he’s not afraid of you?” she asks, out of desperation than anything.

Akira thinks for a moment. “Do you remember when I was cooking, and Ryuji went in to smell the broth, and knocked the whole thing over and onto my suitcase?” She nods. She had taken many pictures of that moment. “He felt really guilty, but he wasn’t scared of my reaction. He was more scared that he had ruined my stuff. You know what I mean?”

“I think I do.”

He bops the top of his phone a few times, an odd resemblance of patting her head. “Cool.”

Sophia stares at the road past their garden of clovers. Cars speed forward, too quick for her to focus on what the driver looks like. It’s hot today, but she doesn’t feel it. She runs her data one more time. “Akira, do you love Ryuji?”

His hands do not pause. “I love all my friends,” he answers simply.

—

At the end of the day, it does not matter if her attempts at predicting the future are fruitless. If she is in fact humanity’s companion, her code makes sure of one thing above all else: to help humanity with any of their endeavors.

That’s a tall order, especially when there are 7,874,965,825 humans within that humanity at this moment. Sophia is only one being, and realism is etched into her. To make things simple, she gave herself a domain of discourse. A sample size. Narrowing what she can do, and who she can help. The entirety of humanity then, at least in Sophia’s mind, falls under the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Sapporo is freezing. Frosty. Crisp. Chilly.

“Fucking cold!” Ryuji shivers, jogging around them in an effort to get warm. “I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.”

“Even with the space heaters on, it seems that the winter isn’t interested in going anywhere,” Makoto says. She’s standing uncomfortably close to Ann, trying to leech off of her inherent heat. Actually, she wasn’t the only one—Haru is also inching her way to her. “It should probably get better once we start moving. Good thing we won’t be here long.”

Yusuke nods, unperturbed. “Yes, this should be a quick run. We’re just here to collect a desire gone astray, yes?” It seems that the ice does little to bother him. “Oracle, can you find its location?” No response. “Oracle?”

He glances to the ground, sighing when he finds her on the ground, eyes closed and breathing deeply. “Wake up,” he says, nudging her with his boot. When she doesn’t move, Yusuke throws an exasperated look at Akira.

Reluctantly, he nods. “Yeah, yeah, I got her,” he says, summoning Queen Mab. Instantly, the temperature seems to rise, just a little bit. Scooping her up, Akira shakes her roughly like a particularly malicious sack of flour. “Wake up, your space heater’s here.”

“This may be a quick run,” Haru says. “But it doesn’t mean we should take this any less seriously. Someone’s desire got lost on its way back, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, that sounds—Mona, get off my leg—about right.” Ann squints her eyes along the horizon. “It’s far, right? If we start moving now, we can probably work off the frost on our skin.”

“Yeah, it’s about…” Futaba yawns as Akira sets her on her feet. “Twenty-minute walk? Ten-minute run, but unless you want me slipping and turning the ice red, we’re gonna want to slow down.”

Akira touches his mask. “Agi.” A wave of heat rushes over them, and she sighs, grateful for the respite. “Hopefully that helped a little. But it won’t last long, and we shouldn’t waste energy warming up. Quick recap—someone lost their desire, we’re here to make sure it gets back. Our top priority is getting that desire back as quick as possible. Questions?”

Sophia raises her hand.

“Yup?”

“Did you say top priority?”

“Yes, I did say top priority.”

“Understood!” she chirps, making a note in her head. It was hard to concentrate when she felt like her insides were freezing up.

Another hand shoots up.

“Noir?”

“I don’t have a question. I just think you’re doing a wonderful job.”

“Thank you, Noir. Always a pleasure.” He looks around, nodding. “Alright. If that’s it, then let’s do this thing.”

They all move ahead, wary of their footing. Sophia frowns as she scuttles forward, scared of being left behind. There is no room for error here. If she feels that she is not useful in the real world, then she can at least utilize her talents here. And the first step to doing that is to make sure she is doing two things:

1) Not slow

2) Won’t trip

After a while, she looks up and feels her eyes bulge. How did they get so far already? Sophia can hardly see them anymore, especially with the slight fog that’s beginning to emerge. She has to get there faster.

Failed step number one already. For once, she’s glad she wasn’t hardcoded with emotions, or else humiliation would be overwhelming. Quickening her pace, she’s determined to do this correctly. One foot, then the next. One foot, then the next. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left—

She slips.

With a gasp, she moves to twist her body so that it wasn’t her head that would take the impact, and closes her eyes shut.

Just before she slams into the ice, arms grab her torso, swinging her forward. “Whoa there, shorty!”

Ryuji uses the momentum to swing her onto his back, and she latches around her neck, bewildered. “You okay? Almost got knocked out before any Shadow got to us.”

“Yes,” she replies, breathless. “Thank you for saving me. That would have been bad.”

“No prob!” he marches onward as if he wasn’t carrying an entire human being on his back while treading through sleet.

“...You can settle me down if you’d like.”

“I would not like.” He grins, boots finding matte ice with ease. “I kinda love carrying you like this. Not like I can do this in the real world, can I? ‘Sides, Futaba would chew my head off if I tried it with her.”

“Have you?”

“Maybe.”

She laughs as they finally reconvene with the rest of them. When Akira turns to them, his expression softens with relief. “All good?”

“All good,” Ryuji says. “Nothing Sophie and I can’t handle.” He raises his fist at her, and she bumps it enthusiastically. Lesson twenty-three: never refuse a fist-bump. It’s one of her favorites.

“Stop, stop, stop, stop!” Futaba calls out from beside Ann, arms were linked as if they were strolling through a park, and not a Shadow-infested land. “I said stop!”

“We heard you the first time!” Morgana yowls. “Are we here?”

“We’re close. Kinda weird though.” She smacks the side of her goggles a few times impatiently. “Nothing’s showing up.”

“Lucky!” Ann whoops. “Let’s get this over with and get some gelato!”

Rounding the corner of an empty street, Yusuke points forward to a glowing heart, beating in time to its pulsing light. “That’s it, I take it?”

“I can get it.” Sophia pats Ryuji’s shoulder, and he lets her down. “That way, we can finish this as soon as possible.”

She runs forward, eager.

“Wait—!” Futaba cries out from behind her. “We’re getting ambushed!”

As she says it, footsteps surround them, the clanging of weapons and the grunts of Shadows appearing out of nowhere. She starts to run faster, terrified of slipping but pushes on anyway. She can do this.

“Shit,” Akira hisses. “Sophie, come back here!”

Sophia ignores him, the Desire almost in her reach when she feels it. A cold breeze, impossibly colder than the temperature before, almost seems to pierce through her skin. She did not need to turn around to know what it was—every cell in her body is screaming it for her.

A curse. A strong one that would have no problem wiping her out like fly on the RV’s windshield wiper.

Would she at least be able to save the Desire? Even if she ceases to exist? Would it be worth it then? It should be, since this is what she was made for.

Something solid shoves her from behind, and she gives out a yell before hitting the ground, hard.

“What…?” she mutters, disoriented. Somehow, she isn’t dead, or even near death. Shaking her head, she grasps for the Desire in front of her before turning around.

Instantly, her heart stops. The Desire in her hand continues to pulse steadily as she stares down at Ryuji, collapsed on the ground.

“Skull?” she whispers. Leaning down, she can still hear his breathing, though it’s faint. Her hand reaches out, before she remembers. Top priority. The Desire needs to get to Joker first.

The ground begins to rumble, and Sophia looks up in time to see an arch of glowing white explode. Every Shadow is eviscerated, their ashes scattering violently at the aftershock of wind that follows from the impact. Concrete cracks, snow blows away. Without a doubt, it’s an attack from a Persona user, but she has no idea who it came from.

As the dust settles, stray bits of ice falling from the sky like hail, Akira shoots out from the fog. He’s moving faster than she’s ever seen him, and there’s a desperation to his movements that throws her off-guard. Maybe he didn’t see yet? Sophia steps forward.

“Joker!” she calls out when he gets closer, thrusting her hand forward. “I got the Desire!”

He rushes past her without a blink.

Akira skids to his knees. “Ryuji!” When there’s no answer, he pulls Ryuji to his knees, resting his head on his lap. Akira presses his fingers against the pulse on his neck, concentrating intensely. Then he grits his teeth. “I can work with this.”

More footsteps. Familiar ones. “Dammit, Joker!” Morgana says. “You can’t just throw around attacks like that, especially with such weak enemies. You know how draining that spell is.”

He ignores him. Akira removes Ryuji’s mask with great care, setting it aside, before touching his own. “Aid me, Sarasvati.”

“Joker?” she tries.

A floating woman donned in green with a delicate instrument in her long fingertips appeared from the fibers of his mask, her expression kind and tender.

“Joker.”

Healing power flows through his hands, so potent that it glows green. Sweat pours from his brow, and his wrist begins to tremble with effort.

“Joker!”

“What, Sophie?” he rounds on her, gray eyes intense.

“I got the Desire!” she announces triumphantly.

A beat passes. And then another. It was as if there was never even a deafening battle not one minute prior.

When Akira finally speaks, his voice is low. “Panther, take Sophie away please.”

Her breathing stops. She could not inhale the air even if it was demanded of her. Akira turns back to Ryuji, but Sophia’s eyes stuck to him—like she was hypnotized, cemented to the back of his head, unable to look away. Every inch of her body is numb, but none of it has anything to do with the cold.

Ann gently takes her hand, hot as iron against hers, and takes the Desire in the other. “Come on, Soph. Let’s go for a walk, huh?”

She lets herself be led away, blank and unseeing, a part of her staying wishing to stay behind to...what? She didn’t know. There’s so much she doesn’t know.

They keep walking, rounding street corners, quietly passing underneath frozen lamp posts. Sophia wasn’t sure where they were going, but she didn’t bother to ask. Eventually, they duck underneath a railing, Ann covering her head to make sure she doesn’t accidentally bang her skull against the metal. When they straight up, she blinks.

“A heater?”

“Yeah,” Ann sighs, flopping down on a toppled column as if it were a sofa. “I figured if we were going to talk, you might as well stop shivering during that time.” At her words, Sophia realizes how hard she was shaking. Ann pats the spot beside her. “Sit. Nothing a little girl talk can’t fix.” She does.

At her silence, Ann hums. “Cold, isn’t it? You guys haven’t stopped complaining since we got here. I’m super lucky that Carmen’s here to help me. Warms me up even better than this heater, if you can imagine that. Completely different from the real world, where we feel like we’re going to burst into flames any second.” She yawns. “But god, there’s no one in all of Japan that can run his mouth about the weather like Ryuji.” Sophia clenches her fist, but she keeps going, speaking almost wistfully. “I mean, he’s just so loud, you know? Like, how many times have we driven by cows on this trip, and he’d literally wake us all up just to show us? Not to mention, he eats up all the food and snores like crazy. God, one time I invited everyone over at my place, and he just slept in my bed when he got tired! Who does that?”

Ann sighs. “But man, I’ve never met someone more devoted to his friends than him. Sometimes, he’d even give ‘Kira a run for his money, the way he’d just drop everything and run to where trouble is. Day or night, that idiot would show up on your doorstep the minute you shoot him a text, wearing the most ridiculous pajamas you’ve ever seen,” she scoffs. “He started the Thieves with Akira, you know? All gung ho about justice and stuff, you should’ve seen it. And he had the spine to back it up, too.” She smiles, just a little. “Don’t tell him, but I think he’s really, really cool.”

A drop of water hits Sophia’s wrist. And another. And another, until her vision blurs and her chest is heaving. “I just—” she sobs without restraint. “I was just trying to help. I just want to be useful and do what I was made to do, and Akira said from before that this—this was the top priority, and I even made sure, so I asked, but when I finally got the Desire and I was so sure that I’d finally done something right...” the image of Akira’s cold gaze makes her flinch, hard. “He’s just so mad at me, Ann. And Ryuji—” she chokes on his name like a curse, her tongue tumbling over it as if it were getting caught in a lie. “He protected me from before, but he said he was tough, so I thought it was okay since the Desire was the top priority but he got hurt because of me.”

“I don’t even know what I’m feeling, or why I’m crying, or why you’re being so nice to me even though I know I did something bad! I just—” Sophia buries her face in her hands, muffling her scream. “I just don’t understand anything!”

Warm hands rub her back. “I know,” Ann says quietly. “You’re trying your best. We all get that, and we all think you’re doing an A-plus job.” She pauses. “Sophia, Ryuji didn’t take the hit for you because he was thinking about the Desire. He did it because he didn’t want to see you hurt.”

That makes Sophia peek up. “But that was the top priority, wasn’t it?”

“Uh-huh, but that wasn’t his heart’s top priority.” Ann pokes her temple. “That whole logic and calculation thing you have going on is good and stuff, but the thing about the human heart is that you can’t always choose why you do things, or how you react in certain situations. I bet you anything that he totally forgot that we were even looking for this thing when he pushed you,” she waves the beating heart in her hand, still glowing. “And that’s also why Akira got a little mad at you from before.”

She deflates. “He hates me,” she mumbles, feeling her insides churn uncomfortably.

“That boy doesn’t have the time in his schedule to hate anyone,” Ann reassures her. “He’s just...really, really terrified.”

“But why?” Sophia’s starting to despise that word. “He already knew that he was okay. Why would he still be worried?”

Ann looks up, thinking. “You really love and care about Ryuji, right?”

Love was still a foreign concept to her, but for once the answer came forth with ease. “Yes.”

“Take that feeling, that dense, little ball of love and adoration in your tiny body, and multiply that by about eighteen million. That’s probably about the range of what Akira feels about him.”

She quickly runs the numbers. “Whoa.”

“Yeah. Kinda scary, huh?”

It is scary. With numbers this high, she can only begin to imagine what it felt like for Akira to think that he might be seriously hurt, or even worse, dead. All because of Sophia.

“Hey now, I know that look!” Ann flicks her forehead. “I don’t want you to get all mopey about this. You said it yourself—he’s a tough guy. The toughest there is, but don’t tell him that. It’ll go straight to his empty head.”

She stands with exuberance, stretching. “Alright, I think we’re about done here. How we feeling? You ready to go back?”

No. Her heart speeds up at the thought of going back, her shoulders tensing in on itself, but somehow it would be worse to stay here. “I’m ready.”

“That’s what we like to hear!” Ann cheers. “No chickening out now, okay? You can do this.”

“I can do this.” Sophia repeats, and then, louder: “I can do this!

“Yay! And Sophie?” she looks up in time to see Ann giving her a warm look. “Just because you don’t understand something, doesn’t mean we love you any less. You are allowed to be confused and make mistakes. Do you understand that?”

Sophia smiles wide. “I understand.”

—

They were a block away from the rest of the group when Akira emerged from the fog. With his black attire and dark hair, he could have looked like a picturesque horror movie figure, but somehow his expression ruined that facade the moment she saw it.

“I’m going on ahead,” Ann says when Sophia stops in front of him. “Someone has to make sure Futaba doesn’t sleep on us again.”

“Thanks,” he answers. Then, to Sophia, “Hi.”

“Hi, Joker.” She’s been practicing her speech the entire way back, her points all lined up in her mind, all leading up to the big apology. “I—”

“Pause,” he cuts in, and she shrinks. Is he still mad? She can’t read his expression. He kneels in front of her, squinting, and it suddenly shifts to horror. “Did...did you cry? Did I make you cry?”

“No,” she says quickly, but he doesn’t believe her for even a minute. “Yes. Sorry.”

“Oh god, no, please don’t apologize. Shit,” he rubs the back of his neck, sighing. It’s guilt, she realizes with a shock. “I’m such an asshole. I can’t believe I let myself lash out like that. A thousand apologies won’t even be enough. I was scared out of my mind, but that doesn’t mean I can just treat you like that. I even sent you away, like you’re some sort of kid,” he winces. “I’m really sorry. Can you forgive me?”

She stares at him. “I was supposed to say that stuff.”

He looks taken aback by her words. “No? How could you have known that we would have been ambushed? Ugh, I’m so dumb. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.” Akira sends her a pointed look. “Though, you really shouldn’t split off from the group next time. Top priority means important, but above all else is your safety. Put that in your code.”

“I will,” she promises.

“Good. And the second priority is—” he reaches forward and engulfs her in a tight hug. “Is that you won’t ever, ever think that I’d hate you.”

She frowns. “How did you know?”

“A hunch.” Beat. “Also, Ann gave me a look.” He pulls back. “Are we still friends?”

Relief washes into her, crashing like a wave. “Of course,” she says, before hesitating. “Is…?”

“Yeah, he is.” Akira rolls his eyes, but there is no hiding the grin that takes over him. “A little too good, actually. He hasn’t stopped running around since I poured some energy back into him. I kind of think I overdid it, actually. Oh, and he’s excited to see you again.”

“He is?” she asks, hopeful.

“Absolutely. Asked about you the minute he came to.” Akira gets to his feet. “Shall we say hi?”

“Please.”

As they walk back, an epiphany takes over her. “Oh!” she exclaims, making Akira jump. “I get it now.”

“What’s up?”

“You love Ryuji.”

“That’s right,” he raises a brow.

She shakes her head. “You love Ryuji,” she insists. Even accounting for a margin of error, there’s simply no mistaking her results.

Akira stares at her for a long moment, before huffing out a laugh.

“Yeah, that’s right,” he says softly.

The moment Ryuji sees her, she sprints, throwing caution to the wind as she leaps into his arms. He catches her without hesitation. “Glad to see you’re safe, shorty.”

Sophia knows a lot of things, but there’s also a lot she doesn’t understand. But that’s fine. She’ll get there, and her friends will be waiting for her when she does.

#p5 #fic tag #margin of error #mine #ryuji sakamoto #sophia #no p5s spoilers sans the locations #kiss ryuji day #just a quick thing yeah sure 7k is quick #my moon and stars #the leader and his right hand man #big shoutout to pear for holding my hand while i had a breakdown in life and decided to write this #akira kurusu

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sholiofic · 3 years ago

Note

(1/2) I've got a prompt that might be a bit R rated and gory, so I understand if you don't feel like it. SamBucky and Zemo are in a middle of a fight, Zemo gets in a very tight situation and to survive he has to resort to violence too extreme even for him (for example by ripping out his enemies throat with his bare teeth). Sam and Bucky see it happen and, to put it mildly, are deeply fucking concerned. Zemo tries to brush it off with "well you know I'm a bad guy >:3" but inside he is shaken, +

(2/2) + not only by what he had to do, but also by the onslaught memories of what he had to endure during the war in Sokovia in the late 90s. On top of that Sam and Bucky saw him do it, and it bothers him for some reason. So basically three veterans from three different wars dealing with PTSD.

Also on AO3: Catalepsis.

Zemo was covered in blood when they got to him, leaning with his back against the inner wall of the HYDRA outpost. There were ten guys dead on the floor, at least. He'd rescued himself before they even got there, and every last person in the compound except for Zemo was dead.

It was Winter Soldier stuff, Sam thought, a little dazed. Or Sokovian death-squad stuff, was more like it. It shouldn't have shocked him. He knew Zemo had killed probably about this many guys on the Madripoor docks getting them out.

But ... not like this. That had been fast, with a gun and the element of surprise. These guys had been killed with hand tools and probably bare hands in some cases, and it showed. It really, really showed.

"You're late," Zemo said, straightening. He coughed a little and wiped his hand across his face, leaving painted streaks of lurid red.

Despite all of that, Zemo had himself fully pulled together by the time they reached him, and Sam just found himself staring. Zemo smiled back. There was blood all over Zemo's face and even on his lips and teeth, along with a split lip and a bruise on his cheek.

"You okay?" Sam said at last. "I need to check you over—"

"I'm fine. Oh, stop with the shocked looks. You know what I am," Zemo said, pushing off from the wall. There was a slight wobble, and then he got his footing. "I never lied about that."

Sam traded looks with Bucky, and was a little surprised and maybe a little worried that the former Winter Soldier looked one step away from being freaked out himself. Some of those bodies were fucked up.

---

They set fire to the place on their way out. Sam hated it, but he didn't fight it.

Back at the safehouse, Zemo vanished into the bathroom and was in there for a really long time. The shower ran and ran.

Sam made burgers on the general principle that they all needed to eat, and then regretted it, and regretted it more as the smell of barbecued meat filled the backyard and the interior of the kitchen. He turned off the grill and ditched the charred burger patties in the trash. He turned on the stove instead and put on a pot of water for pasta.

Bucky was sitting against the wall, lightly running his flesh-and-blood hand over the metal one.

"No need to feel sorry for them," he said, and Sam looked around sharply. "They got what was coming to them."

"I don't," Sam lied. On some level he was aware—he was always aware—that everyone they dealt with, everyone they fought, was someone like Karli, someone like Bucky or him, or Zemo: someone who had a different choice at some earlier point in their life and for whatever reason, didn't take it.

The pasta water boiled over. Sam turned off the fire under the pot and after a while he dug into the fridge again, found cheese and sausage, and crackers in the cabinet above the stove. He made a plate out of it.

Zemo was still in the bathroom. Bucky had found Looney Tunes cartoons on the TV and lay down on the couch.

Sam had a definite feeling that a snack tray wasn't going to solve their problems, but he made it anyway, finding some kind of satisfaction in laying out cheese slices. There was a jar of olives and he added those too.

The water upstairs finally shut off, and some time later, Zemo came down. He was wrapped in a robe and shaved, and also pale and tired-looking. The bruise stood out brightly on his cheek, along with the sharp line of his split lip.

"Oh, that's very thoughtful, Sam," Zemo said, with a glance at the cheese plate, and he went straight past it to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a crystal glass half full of something amber-tinted and strong-looking.

"You mind sharing?" Sam said.

Zemo glanced at him, and then poured another and handed it to him. "James?" he said over his shoulder.

"Why the hell not," Bucky said, sitting up on the couch.

Zemo passed drinks around. There were dark smudges under his eyes, and his smile was passing and perfunctory, not touching any other part of his face.

"You want me to look at anything?" Sam asked. "I'll trust that you're fine if you say you're fine. Keep in mind, though." He rolled the hand not holding the whiskey glass, and took a drink. It burned behind his teeth. "Pararescue," he said hoarsely.

"Ah, right. That's your damage, isn't it?" Zemo said. Before Sam could respond to that, Zemo sat on the arm of the couch and pulled the robe down from his shoulder. "I was wondering about this," he said brightly.

Sam knew exactly what was looking at. Electrodes left that kind of burn, and the resulting spasms that kind of bruise, rising to the pale surface.. The spasms could sometimes be hard enough to break bone.

"Mind if I touch it?" he said neutrally.

Zemo simply raised his chin in response. Sam explored with his fingertips, found no worse damage than what showed on the surface, aside from a slight heat that hinted at deeper bruising to come.

"It's not that bad," Sam said. "Put a little heat on it, might help it feel better in the morning." As Zemo twitched up the arm of the robe, Sam added, "We should've gotten you out earlier."

"You're not my keepers."

"No, we kinda are, actually." Bucky's voice was casual, but he was sitting up now. "At least according to the UN and Wakanda."

Zemo said something in what Sam assumed was Sokovian, guttural and soft and fluidly beautiful.

"Sorry, didn't understand that," Sam said.

Zemo looked a little surprised. "I'm sorry, that wasn't English, was it? A passing comment on brothers' keepers, that was all. Not worth repeating."

Sam got up and got the whiskey decanter, and also the cheese plate. He could still smell that barbecue aftertaste of the HYDRA compound, overlaid with all the blood on Zemo as they'd hustled him out of there. And behind that was the memory of finding Riley, years ago—or what was left of him, when they got to him. Different worlds, he thought, different war, but it didn't feel all that different, sometimes. He cracked open the jar of olives and laid the whole thing out on the coffee table.

"We've got like a hundred channels here," he said. "There's gotta be something on other than old cartoons."

"Hey," Bucky protested. He'd switched to the Flintstones. "I haven't seen these."

But it was a token protest. Sam took away the remote and skimmed quickly across the news, a romcom, and some sort of action movie with explosions and car chases, and settled on a cooking show. People making cakes and laughing, dumb escape kind of stuff.

No one objected. Instead, Zemo sat with his back against the couch where Bucky was lying. Bucky drowsed, and even Zemo was half asleep from the look of things, eyes fixed on the television and fingers playing across his mostly-undrunk second glass of whiskey. And after a while, Sam built himself a stack of cheese and sausage and crackers, and even had the appetite to eat it.

#tfatws #the falcon and the winter soldier #bucky barnes #sam wilson #helmut zemo

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gr0vndz3ro · 4 years ago

Text

Safe Haven

Warnings: Cursing, slight emotional/ mentally manipulative relationship

Word Count: 3,259

Crossed off: Protective Hug

Prompt: "You don't have to talk about it, let me just hold you."

Tag List: @keigod @dragonhrte @mrs-takami-keigo @fanfic-me-up @gallickingun @royal-after-dark @hawks-senseis @bnhabookclub @pixxiesdust @diorsho

A/N: Hey I know this isn’t exactly what you had asked for but I got really inspired while writing this. I hope that you like it because I found it really fun to write!!

Even though you showed up at this shop at the dead hours of the night, it always surprised you that they were still open. Seeing as you would show up anywhere between 10pm to 4 am, unable to feel at ease in your own home. Due to the time you showed up, you typically were the only customer in the place, minus the few heroes that would stop by for expressos to keep them awake through their shift. No one ever bothered you as you wrap yourself in a blanket and tucked yourself into your own little world in the corner of the shop. So you could imagine your surprise when one day someone approaches you.

Tonight was Bakugou’s first shift in this area. He had done thousands of patrols before, being one of the top 10 heroes, but every time he got assigned a night shift, he always found himself filled with dread. He was the furthest thing from a night owl, much preferring to get in his much needed beauty rest and getting to bed no later than 9 pm. So if he was going to get through a 10-7 shift, he was going to need coffee, and a lot of it.

While roaming down the streets of this seemingly peaceful neighborhood he came across a run down coffee shop. He almost passed it, barely even being able to tell it was open, the only hint of life being the small sign in the window and the few lights that were on inside. Pushing open the door, a little bell chimed upon his entrance, allowing whoever was there to know of his arrival. He stepped inside the shop, the door slowly closing behind him as he traveled over toward the counter to try and order a drink. When he made it there, he took the time to take in his new surroundings, cozy chairs with little tables littered the place, along with solo chairs that were covered in pillows next to what seemed to be a worn down bookshelf with tattered books filling it. As his eyes moved across the interior décor, he almost missed the person that was seated in the very corner of the place, blanket around their body with a mug delicately placed on a little side table, an arm's reach away. Slightly startled by the presence of another person in the place, he didn’t realize that the barista had finally arrived at the front counter.

“Hello, what can I help you with tonight sir?” A young voice said making the grown man jump. Slight anger filling him at this person being able to catch him off guard.

“AH- didn’t anyone teach you it’s rude to catch people off guard like that?” He glares at the boy behind the counter.

“Oh did I scare you mister Ground Zero sir?” A smirk across the teenagers face as he leans on the counter.

“I swear if you weren’t a kid I’d kill..” Bakugou mutters under his breath before taking a deep breath. “Just give me the strongest drink you’ve got, and add an extra espresso shot.”

“Alright one americano with an extra shot of espresso coming right up. Good luck sleeping.” The young teen then walks off to make the drink for the Pro. As Bakugou waits for his drink to be made, he feels his gaze fall back onto the person seated in the corner. They seemed unfazed by the presence of another person in the shop, the only way he even knew the person was conscious was because of them adjusting the blanket around their body. What was a civilian doing in this place at a time like this? Just as he was going to make his way over to the person in the corner, a voice stopped him. “Alright here you go sir, your total is $3.50″ Placing a ten on the counter, he grabs his drink and turns toward the door, curiosity taking over him as he makes his way out of the coffee shop.

You could imagine his surprise when he returns to the same coffee shop at 1 in the morning, to see a young woman sitting in the same chair the stranger had sat in 2 days prior. Ordering himself the same drink as before he can’t tear his gaze away from her.

“She’s always here around this time. It’s like her little safe haven so we never tell her to leave.” The boy speaks up, causing Bakugou to look away from her. He raises his eyebrow, wondering what he was talking about. “I just noticed that the last time you were here you couldn’t stop looking at her and since you were doing the same this time you might be interested or something. A fair warning though, I’m pretty sure she’s seeing someone, even if he is an asshole...” The last part of his sentence trailing off as he said it more to himself. He turns away from Bakugou to grab the finished drink before telling him his total and handing it over. He pays and takes the drink with him as he makes his way back outside of the little shop.

Yet another few days pass and he finds himself walking inside of the barren café. His head immediately turning to the left spotting the woman curled up in the chair in the corner. But as he took a step toward the counter, his feet betrayed him and carried him over to where she sat. When he arrived right next to where she was, she didn’t even seem to notice he was there, completely lost in her own thoughts. So when he cleared his throat he could have swore she could have gone through the roof with how hard she had jumped.

“What the hell are you doing up at this time. Don’t you have better things to do then be here in the middle of the night?” He questioned her, his tone coming off much harsher as his currently tired state hadn’t had any coffee yet. He never felt bad about how his words might affect someone, but watching the way she flinched at his cold demeanor, made him immediately feel riddled with guilt. He lowered himself down to her side to try to attempt to look friendlier as he spoke up again. “Um, I’m- sorry? I haven’t had any coffee yet and I guess you could say I’m not much of a night owl. I had just noticed that every time I’m here, you’re over here in this damn corner and I just wanted to know why the hell you’re even up at this time and not asleep like every other normal person would be.”

You slightly untuck yourself from the cozy blanket you had wrapped around your form to make eye contact with the man that was now standing by your side. Your eyes met his own as you watched his face contort as he attempted to sound nicer. You could feel a smile wanting to spread across your face, but the memories of the fight you were in just mere hours ago made quick work to stop it from happening. But when the stranger’s head tilts to the side, similar to a confused puppy, you couldn’t help the chuckle that passed your lips.

“Well as hard as it may seem to believe, some people in this world are actually more night people.” You fake a smile onto your face so as to not scare off the stranger, but he doesn’t seem to fall for it for a second.

“Yeah well that’s bullshit, why is it that you are you actually here at..” he pauses looking past me to glance the clock mounted on the wall, “fuckin 2:43 am. You’re just sitting here in this chair, why don’t you just head home?” The smile that was on your face quickly falters as you think back to your house and what laid waiting for you in your sheets.

“I- I like it here better at night. I don’t sleep well.” You stare into your mug, the drink practically empty after drinking most of it over the time you’ve been here, yet the brown liquid suddenly seemed 100x more interesting than it was just mere moments before. He pauses, thinking for a moment before responding.

“You got one of those sleep disorders?” His eyebrow raises but you don’t see as you continue looking into your drink.

“Yup, and it’s fast asleep under my sheet right now.” A look of confusion takes over his face as he tries to understand what you mean. But you shake your head and put a smile back onto your face. “I’m just messing around, but yeah I guess I do. It’s not that big of a deal though I just like coming here. It’s like my happy place almost. You know, kinda like the place where I can just go and escape all the crap in my life and just breath. Honestly feels like I’m just suffocating sometimes and it gets so hard being around him I just.. oh my god I’m rambling. I’m so sorry. You’re a complete stranger and you don’t want to be hearing all of this.” A look of slight horror taking over your face as you realize you were spilling out all of your personal life to this complete stranger. Yet as you look over at him it seems to click in his head as he goes to speak up.

“Who is it that is making you so uncomfortable in your house? You’re not being hurt are you” A sudden wave of worry coating his voice as he thinks about the sort of trouble you could be in at your house.

“It’s nothing really I promise. Everything is fine, it's not that big of a deal. Plus it's nothing that I can’t handle.” You close your eyes and wave your hand at him trying to brush off the topic, but when his own hand wraps around your wrist it causes you to slightly jump before you open back up your eyes and look at him. You watch as he attempts to soften his face as he talks to you, now showing real concern for you.

“Just because it’s something you’ve handled before doesn’t mean you should have to go through it anymore. I can tell that you are a strong woman but that doesn’t mean that you have to go through whatever crap some douche is making you go through, you know that right?” Your eyes start to slightly tear up at his words. Never before had a random stranger showed you this much concern for your personal life.

“Oh um, thank you. It’s nothing that bad though it’s just. Well I guess you could say my boyfriend has a bit of a temper. It never has gotten physical he just yells... a lot. He hasn’t been the nicest lately and it seems like the only time I ever am able to get out of the house is at times like these, when I sneak out to come here. But honestly It's nothing to worry about, you should probably get going though, the city needs it’s mighty Pros out there watching over them as they sleep.”

“Are you sure that you are going to be okay here by yourself?” He asks you as he stands up beside where you were sitting as you go to nod your head telling him yes, you were caught off guard by the sound of your phone going off. You look down at it and feel as if you are frozen in place when you read the caller I.D and see his name, a chill making its way down your spine. You were about to respond to the kind man who had been keeping you company but when you went to speak, the words just seemed to stick in place as the thought of him made them feel like a suffocating sludge in the back of your throat.

“Um actually I need to go.. right now. Thank you so much for putting up with my rambling. Good night.” As you go to rush past him you felt a gentle hand stop you as it held your shoulder. You pause and look up at him, meeting his eyes. He had a question look on your face at your sudden rush to leave.

“What’s got you in such a rush? I thought this was your safe place.” He paused as he noticed your open phone seeing a name across the screen with a few choice words and it clicked in his head, the confusion he previously had now gone. “Let me walk you home at least.” Your eyes widen as you process his offer.

“Oh no, no, that’s fine you don’t have to do that I’ll be fine I promise. Anyways no one is out at this time so there is nothing really to worry about. You just get back to your patrols...” The smile that makes its way to his cheeks brings a sense of warmth to your heart in a way you hadn’t felt in a long time.

“As a hero it’s my duty to make sure that every civilian makes it safely to wherever they need to be, and if I aim to stay on the top I can’t just let you go walk the streets yourself. Plus, who knows what kind of criminals are out at this time.” As you go to argue against him, he quickly cuts you off. “I’m not taking no for an answer so you might as well just get going and lead the way." Letting out a sigh you realize there was no getting out of this so you lead the way to your apartment.

The two of you walk side by side down the street as you travel to your home. The closer that you get to the house the more nervous you feel yourself getting thinking about what could be lying in wait for you just beyond the doors. As you make the final turn to where you live, you pause just a few doors away. Bakugou paused in his steps as he noticed that you had stopped. His gaze drifts between you and the door you were staring at.

“Is this your place?” He questions, but is soon certain that it is when he takes in your nervous stance. When you don’t respond he walks closer to you and once again gently places his hand on your shoulder. “Hey are you going to be safe here? Because if you’re not I can always...”

“What do you think you're doing with your hands on my girlfriend?” You felt your body freeze and your heart drop at the sound of his voice. Bakugou goes to turn around but you stop him as you rest your hand on his wrist.

“Thank you for walking me home, I really appreciate it, but I should be heading in.” You go to step past him but flinch as you hear your boyfriend speak up again.

“So is this what you’ve been doing at night? Sneaking around with another man? After all that I do for you, for us? This is the kind of thanks that I get. Unbelievable. You are such a fu..”

“That’s it” You quickly look up from the ground and make eye contact with Bakugou as you see him start to boil with anger as he looks over to you, mouthing to stay behind him before turning to your apartment door and look over to your boyfriend. “Who the fuck do think you’re talking to like that?" Choosing to ignore the angry blond currently defending you.

“Get inside the fucking house, I don’t have time for this bullshit. You’ve caused enough trouble involving a hero in this so just get inside. We can deal with this in the morning.” You feel yourself sigh as you go to step forward but are stopped by a broad arm.

“She’s not fucking going anywhere, especially not with a piece of shit like you.” He continued to hold his arm out, easily blocking you from his path and your boyfriend left the door way and headed over.

“Incase you didn’t notice, I wasn’t talking to you. So if you don’t mind, we will be going now.” As he goes to grab your wrist, he is quickly stopped by Bakugou grabbing his and flinging it away from you but not before grasping his shirt collar.

“Listen and listen well. If I ever catch you laying a finger on her, come near her, even so much as breathe in her direction, you are going to become very well acquainted with my fist.” The sound of crackling coming from his fist mixing with the deep growl of his voice was enough to send chills down your spine. You could see how it had affected your boyfriend as well as you saw the confidence he previously had disappear. He tried to hold his ground as his collar was finally released and look back toward you before scoffing.

“Whatever. If you want to be with this try hard then go right ahead. You’ll just come crawling back anyways.” As he was about to continue, Bakugou stepped closer toward you once again, blocking his view of you.

As he turned around and walked off, going who knows where, you felt a weight being lifted off your shoulder with every step he took. The overwhelming relief caused you to cry slightly as you realized that you were finally free. When he turned around to see you crying, the urge to hold you and protect you felt stronger than before. Never before had anyone made him feel this way, but from the first moment he saw you flinch, he wanted nothing more than to just hold you and protect you from the world. So that’s what he did. He reached out and engulfed you in his arms, his hold pressing you into his muscular form as you drowned in his warmth. You tried to raise your head to ask him why, but found yourself unable to as he spoke up.

“You don’t have to talk about it, just let me hold you.” So you didn’t say anything and allowed the two of you to stand outside of your apartment as this man who you barely knew held you in his arms as you felt all your stress melt away. This complete stranger had changed your life for the better, freeing you from the hold of your boyfriend, standing up to him in the way he knew that you couldn’t, and you could tell that he didn’t do it because it was his duty as a hero, but instead as someone who genuinely cared. So you stood there embracing him and for the first time, in a very long time, you felt safe. You felt at home.

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miracle-sham · 4 years ago

Text

Die Like the Butterfly Shoot With Their Guns.

| {Jasonette July 2021, Week 2, Day 7: Guns} |

Chapter 1 of Sheltered by Darkness not yet Moths to the Flame.

———

| Sometimes a family can be a gang comprised of eleven vigilantes, and their AI robot, fighting against the father of one of their own. |

| Or alternatively: after falling through the cracks, they do what they must to survive. And if that means committing crimes in order to bring down the Big Butterfly and all the other corrupt businesses in the city, then so be it. |

———

| Tonight's the night. Half of them will strike one of the Big Butterfly's warehouses that just so happens to contain some fancy new gun tech. Besides, it'll be in better hands with them than the Big Butterfly or his associates. Now all that matters, is that nothing goes wrong! |

| Word Count: 3,322. |

| Warnings/Tags: Cyberpunk/Criminal/Gang Au, Explicit Language/Swearing, Hacking, Breaking and Entering, Theft, Mentions of Bombs and Guns, Mentions of corrupt/shady businesses, Fluff, Gang/Team as family/family dynamics, Found Family. |

———

| A/N: It is Cyberpunk Au time! This is a twoshot, so have a looksy to see if you can find all the snippets of foreshadowing I've set! Also this is mostly Action/Fluff but beware of the warnings regardless. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! |

| Also side note, Don’t Like? Don’t Read. Also also, please do not criticise any of my writing. This was written for fun and receiving criticism, even in a compliment/criticism sandwich, is the exact opposite of fun. |

———

Rain patters against the concrete, sound mixing with the low hum and high buzz of electricity. The ground is slick with murky puddles that never seem to clean the pavement. Still just as filthy as before, permanently dyed with dried bloodstains, mud stains, electric scorch marks, and far worse. The air is heavy with the smell of cigarette smoke, ozone, and that ever underlying decay that clings to the city.

It's dark—dead of night—but the streets are awash with flickering neon lights. There are a few others haunting the street though most of them are sticking to the areas of light, avoiding the shadows.

Which is where Marinette, also known as the ruthless gang leader Fantôminou, is lurking.

Jason—Red Hood, her co-leader—snarls as he drops down onto the shadowed fire escape beside her. “We've got a rat. Someone's tipped off the big Butterfly and security has been increased around the perimeter. Most likely interior security increased too.”

Fantôminou flexes her glowing clawed gauntlets, “I suppose we should check in with our local pied piper, before we strike, hmm?”

There's a bzzt in her earpiece as the channel is hijacked by the familiar voice of their gang's hacker, Max aka Raijack. “I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, our pied piper has already been contacted. Whoever they were, they didn't reveal which location we were targeting, so it's just a general security increase.”

She hums. “Raijack, link us up with the rest of the strike force.”

“Got it, 'Minou.” He responds, and not a split second later, the earpiece makes another bzzt and there's the faint ping of the rest of the channel being alerted at someone joining.

“Look, I think you could totally pull off the—oh, who just joined the channel?” Adrien, Cheval Mallet, asks in surprise.

“Just me and our anthill tiger.” Red Hood announces, snorting at the glare Fantôminou sends him.

Silence echoes across the line before a scrabble of hushed but excited voices causes a ruckus.

Fantôminou sighs, “I know we're all excited to hit the big Butterfly hard by stealing some of their new fancy gun tech. But let's leave the yelling for when we inevitably set off the alarms!”

“Hey!” Raijack protests. “I'll have you know I have produced a new virus that has a ninety-eight per cent chance of not setting off any alarms!”

Red Hood rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, but you've still not worked out how to get your viruses to deactivate the bombs in the crates yet, huh?”

“I will one day, until then it's your job to stop the bombs from triggering the rest of the alarms!” Raijack counters with a huff.

Fantôminou sighs again, this time with an added sprinkling of are-you-kidding-me. “Red Hood, Raijack. I can and will kick your asses if you do not shut up so we can discuss final prep before we begin the pesticide protocol.”

Bumping shoulders with her, Red Hood snorts again. “I've got nothing against being beat up by someone as pretty and buff as you Minou, you know that!”

“Oh, I think we can all agree to wanting to get crushed by Minou's guns.” Cheval Mallet pipes up once more.

Fantôminou sighs very wearily. “Nevermind, are you all ready?”

Red Hood salutes at her, and despite his mouth being covered, it's easily telling that he's grinning cockily underneath. “I'm ready. My guns are ready, and I've got the bomb defusal kit at the ready.”

“I may be holding my horses but I'm saddled to giddy-up on the go!” Cheval Mallet cheerfully announces.

“This has to be one of your worst attempts at horse puns yet.” Raijack comments, “otherwise, I'm in position and ready to hack on your call, Minou.”

Red Hood exchanges a glance with Fantôminou as silence falls over the earpiece channel. “Hold up, where's Arsenal? Shouldn't he have checked in by now?”

Taking his hand gently, Fantôminou gives it a reassuring squeeze.

“He already did but because you two had your issues getting into position and avoiding the unexpected police patrol, Arsenal had to deal with another issue that popped up which would've threatened our plan,” Raijack informs, sounding nonplussed.

“Well, you don't sound concerned.” Fantôminou points out the obvious. “Has he got back up?”

There's the faint tapping of a keyboard through the earpiece channel before Raijack responds, “Chèvrapide is on her way to back him up, don't worry.”

“Then that's everyone accounted for. Let's rock and roll.” Red Hood orders, dropping from the fire escape and landing in the rain-slick alleyway with ease, conveniently right beside the hoverbike they had stashed here.

Fantôminou hops down after him, except she manages to flip and expertly land in the driver's seat. “I'm driving Jay, you're the one with the guns after all,” she all but states, putting one gauntleted hand up and flexing just to hammer in the point, “I'm close range only right now and you know it.”

Red Hood throws his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey! I'd never complain about getting to watch you drive this beauty of a hoverbike.”

Fantôminou snorts. “Just get on, pretty bird!”

“Well, if you say so, pretty kitty!” Red Hood teases back, vaulting onto the back of the bike behind her. He wraps an arm around her waist and rests the other hand on his sheathed-for-now gun.

She revs the engine of the hoverbike and steers out of the alleyway with practised ease. There's no directions on the hoverbike's holoscreen, but it's not like they need any—the directions to where they need to be outside the warehouse have already been memorised by each and every one of them.”

Down the left street, take the right at the T junction, pass under the flyover street, then take a further two lefts and then straight on until the block of office buildings forming a protective extra layer between the warehouse electric razor wire tipped fencing and the road. Easy.

“All networks in the office buildings have temporarily shut down. As far as the tech will be concerned, it'll look like the networks just decided to not work today.” Raijack announces through the earpiece channel, voice coming through slightly more robotic than usual.

“So no security cams?” Fantôminou checks cautiously, circling like a hawk around the small stretch of street between her and the office building she and Jason will be entering through. The rain has slowed to a drizzle but that doesn't make the circling in it any less mildly uncomfortable, at least inside it'll be dry.

There's the familiar clack of keys once more. “Not quite, they're a little harder to crack than entering in through the backdoor via someone's unprotected webcam in the office. Thank you, Shodan.” Raijack pauses, keys continuing to clack in the background. “Unfortunately, the Big Butterfly's got tech security smart enough to keep the security system on a closed network so I can't hop from webcam to computer to network to cams. However, they didn't account for Markov, suckers!”

Red Hood snorts. “Isn't Markov a little obvious for this kinda mission?”

“Oh, did I forget to tell you?” Raijack says, in a voice that very clearly conveys he didn't forget so much as purposefully neglected to mention, “I recently upgraded Markov, outfitting him with the currently most highly advanced cloaking system. Thanks to some help from Fantôminou's knowledge of cloaking and camouflage fashion.”

Red Hood leans his head onto Fantôminou's shoulder. “I'm hurt, you knew and didn't tell me? I want cloaking guns! Think of how much cooler I'd look with them!”

Fantôminou merely hums in an unamused response. “Raijack wanted it to be a surprise.”

He huffs. “I see who your favourite person in our gang is then!”

“You're right! It's me!” Cheval Mallet cheers, jumping into the conversation.

“Fucking 'ell!” Red Hood curses under his breath. “I thought you were gonna mute whilst getting in position.”

Cheval Mallet's laugh cuts in and out across the earpiece channel. “And when did I hay that!”

“Hacker voice, I'm in!” Raijack interrupts. “Looks like the security system was perfectly untouched by whatever minor error caused the main networks to crash, how lucky. Which is to say, looping is in process, and we now have free entry.”

“Got us a place to park yet, though?” Red Hood asks.

Raijack doesn't immediately respond, but the sound of the garage door connected to the office building opening, is answer enough. “I might.”

Fantôminou snorts. “Thanks, Raijack. Hood and I need to split here right, just until we get past the fencing right?”

“That's right.” Raijack responds, “good luck, and Markov and I will see you all on the other side.”

“Break a leg, or three!” Red Hood calls over the earpiece. “Preferably some else's though!”

Fantôminou pulls the hoverbike into the garage, keeping her gaze ahead. “If I could elbow you without fucking up my parking, I would.”

Red Hood cackles quietly in response, trying to at least keep to the stealth part of the mission plan.

In the blink of an eye, the hoverbike is securely parked. Perfectly hidden in plain sight but easily accessible for a quick and clean getaway should nothing go wrong. And well, if something were to go wrong, there's not going to be any hoverbike left for evidence. Though, that's not to say a small part of Fantôminou's brain doesn't anxiously hate how they're practically sitting on top of bombs ready to blow up at the slightest hint of things going wrong. However, they've been through enough strikes like this for the concern to be mostly easily ignored.

———

With the hoverbike parked, Fantôminou and Red Hood part ways.

Fantôminou heads up through the internal stairwell connected to the garage, whilst Red Hood takes one of the external doors leading to the office building next door.

The stairwell is like any other maintenance stairwell. Grey concrete walls, metal railings and steps. Even Fantôminou's light footsteps clang loudly against the ridged metal stairs. It's cold, just as cold as the garage was and barely warmer than it is outside in the rain. The air is stuffy but at least the respirator hidden beneath the bandana wrapped around her mouth makes it bearable to breathe. Other than the aforementioned clanging of steps, and her breathing, Fantôminou is alone with the ominous silence of a liminal space.

The stairs stretch on upwards for what seems far longer than it should, but eventually, Fantôminou reaches the final steps to the roof entrance door.

The door is unlocked, and so Fantôminou opens it as quietly as possible. She walks out into the rain once more and scrunches up her nose. A quick glance of the roof yields no immediate signs of danger or anything of note, so she continues to the edge of the roof.

Fantôminou rests one foot on the lip of the roof and flexes her gauntlets, lights switching off for stealth. Carefully, she turns around and crouches on the lip, gauntlets gripping the edge and toes of her boots braced against the wall. Bit by bit she descends, gauntlets making it more than easy to stay attached to the wall.

Two-thirds of the way down, Fantôminou climbs onto a window sill. The fence is only a metre below, with a further four-metre drop. No security drones in sight, yet—but no alarms have been triggered yet either.

A shadow drops down the building and over the fence on the other side of the compound. Not a second later is the double buzz of the earpiece signalling that someone is in position.

Fantôminou smirks beneath her face coverings, not one to be so quickly outdone she leaps forwards in a dive—spinning midair as she begins to plummet. Clearing the razor wire fence with room to spare.

She hits the ground in another diving roll, and immediately uses the momentum to throw herself up and run towards the nearest warehouse building. As soon as she reaches the wall, she double-taps her earpiece to send the double buzz signal to others.

A moment later comes the third double buzz, soon followed by the fourth and final signal.

“Markov is covering our air support.” Raijack's voice clips across the earpiece channel, “Fantôminou, you and Red Hood are on opposite ends of the same warehouse. I've unlocked the doors for you. You know the drill.”

“Thank you, Raijack. Entering now.” Fantôminou responds, she slinks over to the warehouse doors and cautiously pries open the now unlocked door.

Fantôminou heads straight for the terminal, and knows Red Hood is doing the same. Slipping Raijack's new and improved virus into one of the terminal's ports. Seconds pass.

“Interface secured,” Raijack informs.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Red Hood prowling over to her. She nods to him and taps into the terminal with her gauntlet.

Red Hood readies his bomb defusal kit as she instructs the internal warehouse drones into delivering the goods to them.

The drone, blinking yellow—a sure sign of Raijack's virus in effect—hovers over and drops a large black cased crate before them.

As soon as the claws of the drone release the crate, Red Hood is immediately on it, pulling it open and weeding out the bomb.

They wait with bated breath. Red Hood tinkers away. The earpiece channel is silent as the team focuses.

He hisses through his teeth, and Fantôminou tenses—ready to grab him and run, in the worst case—but he only packs the kit back away and sighs in relief.

He taps the earpiece thrice—signalling success.

Raijack and Cheval Mallet don't respond, so Fantôminou and Red Hood stuff their haul into Fantôminou's Miraculous, for ease of transport, and begin making their way towards the warehouse the other two were hitting.

By the time they reach the nearest warehouse doors, the earpiece triple buzzes. Success, again.

They pause only to exchange a nod between the two before continuing to meet up with Cheval Mallet and Raijack—no rendezvous needed this time so far.

It takes forty seconds to cross halfway to the other warehouse, where they meet the other two along with Markov in the middle.

Cheval Mallet waves a hand and the five of them skulk over to a small shed off the side of another warehouse. He raises his horseshoe weapon and calls out, “Bon Voyage!”

The portal forms and Markov flies through first. The remaining four exchange glances then bolt forwards, racing to see who can get through first.

The blue light blinds them all for a second, despite how used to the power they are.

“Mission success!” Fantôminou cheers breathlessly once the blue fades, throwing her hands up in celebration.

“WOOH!” Cheval Mallet yells, jumping up and punching the air.

Red Hood snorts, “but more importantly I so won!”

Raijack hums, “let's see what Markov has to say about that.”

Markov makes a series of boops and beeps, yellow LEDs flickering. “Red Hood is correct, he won the portal race.”

“YES!” Red Hood crows.

“Oh come on!” Raijack grumbles.

Footsteps and clapping approaches. “Well done,” Félix praises, “but perhaps leave the celebration until after you've all gotten into jammies.”

Cheval Mallet giggles, “Flicks, I can't believe you can somehow still sound pretentious whilst saying something as childish sounding as "jammies"!”

Félix raises an eyebrow, “you say this every time I call pyjamas that. Now come on, I've ordered pizza and Roy, Alix, Luka, Artemis, Kori, and Bizarro are already waiting for you lot, in the lounge, so we can get the party started.” He turns on his heel and walks out of the utility-changing room.

Markov, as the only one not needing to change, shows the tongue-sticking-out emoji on his LED screen and zooms after Félix.

Jason, Marinette, Adrien, and Max all start changing out of their gear as quickly as possible.

“Oh no!” Adrien gasps, half undressed, suddenly remembering something. “We forgot to take the motorbikes back!”

Marinette groans, “I knew I was forgetting something!"

Facepalming, Jason sighs. “We were all too caught up in everything going well for once.”

Max snorts. “Oh don't worry! I anticipated this, all it took was a little hacking into our hoverbikes and now they're on autopilot to one of our empty storage bases.”

“Oh. Well, that's good then.” Adrien says, looking a little embarrassed.

“Yeah… anyway come on, we don't want to keep your cousin and the others waiting any longer! They'll eat all the pizza!” Marinette exclaims.

They all finish changing into loungewear and pyjamas just as music starts to play from the lounge and so frantically, they all dash towards it, trying to shove each other out of the way and laughing playfully as they do so.

They've won a battle, they've successfully gotten in and out with a good haul of gun tech. No alarms tripped, nothing went wrong. Hoverbikes undamaged and on the route home. For once, everything went smoothly. And that, is cause for an evening of celebration.

Leaving the worries of the rat for tomorrow.

———

In a dark observatory with a closed butterfly window, a folder is tossed across a desk.

Papillon glances down at the folder with indifference. He rests his elbows on the expensive polished wood and steeples his fingers. “You said you had acquired information that you believe will interest me?”

The man in a black suit sitting opposite Papillon, smiles patiently. “My informant went through quite the lengths to acquire this. Why not take a look inside.”

Papillon purses his lips, “this better not be a waste of my precious time, Lex.”

Lex Luthor raises an eyebrow in amusement. “I assure you, Gabriel, you will find what is inside most interesting.”

There's a moment's pause as Gabriel waits. Nothing happens. He nods and then opens the folder. He spreads the papers inside in arc across the desk. In the middle of the papers, is the photo of a smiling teenage girl with bright blue eyes, and blue-dyed hair. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” He reads out, lips curling into a contemplative frown.

“Poor little girl,” Lex croons mockingly, “missing—presumed dead—after her parents' bakery was destroyed in an Akuma attack. Her name should be familiar to you though, won your one-day derby hat competition at her school.”

Gabriel's fingers still mid-steeple, and he moves one hand up to his chin in thought. “Ah yes, I remember that designer. The one with the feather derby whose design was stolen and copied. That signature embroidery was impressive work.” He recounts.

Lex grins, “yes, however most distressingly, it would seem this up and coming star of a designer has lost her glow.”

“How so?” Gabriel responds, furrowing his brows.

“Well you see, my informant has found… evidence, that our poor little designer here fell through the cracks into the shadows after the loss of her parents and bakery. It's rather obvious that the larvae have taken her as their own, some of their masks and clothes fit perfectly with what we know of her unique incorporation of her signature, as well as stitch work.” Lex explains, waving a hand towards the rest of the photographs and documents spread from the folder.

Gabriel frowns and eyes a few of the other papers with interest. “I see, that is most unfortunate.”

“But.” Lex cuts in before Gabriel can say anything more. “I'm well aware you're plenty familiar with fixing larvae with damaged wings and frayed wires. As such, a strange little cold case brimming with potential for your program, would do quite nicely for your collection, wouldn't you say?” Lex insinuates, rising from his seat as he continues, “rescue the poor larvae, craft it a chrysalis, and nurture the Pupa into something radiant. Not unlike what you did with the Macrothylacia Rubi, and your replacement wife.” With that, Lex smiles smugly down at Gabriel and then strides out of the observatory, not giving Gabriel a chance to respond.

And leaving Papillon to the folder and his musings.

———

| Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little fic! Comments, likes, and reblogs are much appreciated! |

| Behind the Names: Fantôminou is a portmanteau of Fantôme (Ghost/Phantom) and Minou (Kitty). And she's called that because I thought the Black Footed cat fit her, and they're nicknamed Anthill Tigers. They also have the highest successful hunting rate! |

| Raijack is a portmanteau of Raiju (lightning dragon) and jack plug (the connect-y bit on headphones into a phone for example) but is also a play on the word Hijack. |

| Cheval Mallet is an evil horse spirit that offers rides to weary travellers and kidnaps them. Yes, there is a reason behind this. It's covered in Chap 2 |

| Chèvrapide is a portmanteau of Chèvre (Goat) and Rapide (Fast). |

| Also feel free to send me any comments with any questions you have regarding this fic, I’ll be more than happy to answer! |

| @jasonette-july-event |

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jarofstyles · 5 years ago

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Dirty Business IV- Macchiato

A/N: This is all we have from these two for now :( but please do let us know if you’d like more!! Thank you so much for reading!

send feedback and requests here

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masterlist

pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

warnings: hints of angst, references to trauma

word count: 14k

Paris was spectacular.

It was truly a trip Y/N would never forget. She had Harry had a week worth of incredible sex, delicious dinners, and of course, romance. They’d gotten to know each other quite well, on a deeper level too. Business wise, things went incredibly smooth and Harry had saved the company way more with his deals. Y/N’s father couldn’t stop singing his praises. Y/N has already felt herself healing, showing more of herself around him and to her surprise he was reacting well. Harry really was a good guy, really was committed to her and that was something she was still trying to get through her head.

When they landed back in New York they didn’t want to separate just yet, so she had the car drop her off at hers so she could put some of her things away before she hopped back in the car to go back to Harry’s. She was very excited to be back, of course, the mugginess wasn’t exactly welcomed.

“I’m so excited to meet Oliver!” Y/N really had been waiting to meet him the entire trip. “Your friend, Niall, is he there? Or does he just come to feed him?” She asked, feeling like she needed to prepare if she was going to meet his friends. Y/N wanted to make a good impression.

“Yeah, he came to feed Oliver but he went home. You can meet my friends soon, if you want. We go to the bars sometimes on fridays and you can come with me.” Now that they were a thing— a real thing— he was going to have to integrate her into more of his things. More of his lifestyle. He was curious as to what she would like about it and what she wouldn’t. It was fairly obvious she had grown up in the rich world and hadn’t been in the middle class let alone broke territory. That’s what Harry was used to. No matter how big or rich he got, he wouldn’t forget that. Or fast food or primark jeans and tee shirts. “C’mon then.” He was a bit worried about her seeing his place but... she wasn’t judgey, he didn’t think. The girl was a diva but didn’t seem to value people less because of their monetary value.

Y/N thanked the driver again as they got out of the car, helping Harry with his bags before making her way towards the apartment. A brownstone. How cute. Of course, he probably wasn’t renting the whole thing, maybe just a floor. When they walked up the steps she smiled, happy he was on the second floor. Higher ceilings meant more space. Had a balcony too. Once they stepped inside she was greeted by the smell of something woodsy... hints of cinnamon and vanilla. It was very Harry. Of course. He turned the lights on and Y/N smiled to see that it was a lot like she had expected. Brick interior, lots of books and vintage looking things.

“Baby, this is so cute.” She cooed, immediately feeling like she’d be coming over a lot. It had a homey feel that she wasn’t used to. His place looked very lived in which was nice. Y/N was constantly living in homes where not a single thing was meant to be out of place, looked like a damn museum. Her house was a little messy, but still. It wasn’t cozy like his.

“There’s my boy!” Harry smiled when he heard the patter of little kitten feet and a few mews coming from the hall. The orange kitten appeared and went straight for his dad, climbing up the leg of his jeans before Harry grabbed him. “There you are. I’ve missed you.” He kissed all over his little face as frantic putts left the tiny thing. He was so happy! This was a joyous occasion. “Want to say hi to Y/N? Yeah?” He asked, gently placing the kitten into her hands. The kitten was purring and let out a little chirp in interest as it sniffed her skin, little tongue peeking out to lick it. He felt his heart melt as he watched her kick off her shoes and hold the little kitten he loved so much, cooing softly at him.

Y/N was all soft and melty at the sight of Harry and his kitten, he certainly had missed him and Y/N understood. She would miss Harry too. Hearing the kitten let out such excited mewls made her heart happy, clearly excited to be back with his owner. Of course, Y/N was more than happy to give them their time.

“Oh hello!” Y/N cooed, gently taking off her shoes so she could properly give the kitten attention. “Aren’t you the cutest little thing?” She pet over his tiny little head, scratching at his ears and smiling when he closed his eyes and purred for her. “Sorry I kept your daddy away from you, promise, it won’t happen again for a while.” She told the kitten and held him close to her chest, pressing a kiss to his little nose. She looked up at Harry with an excited gleam in her eyes, walking over so that he could show her around and give her the tour. He had quite a lot of space, more than she expected at least. Yes, everything was sort of cramped up into an open plan with few walls but it worked. She liked it a lot.

“We've got the kitchen, just off of here.” He pointed. It was an older one, definitely dated but it fit the feeling of the space. He had added a microwave but everything else came with the apartment. “The living space. The couch is kinda ugly but.. fucking comfortable. It was my first splurge here.” He pointed to the worn leather sectional with ottoman, made to look vintage but so comfortable. “Then we have my bedroom over here.” He had her following him as he turned on lights and Oliver purred in her arms. There was one cat tree in the living area and one in his room near the large windows. His bed was lower set but covered in a soft faux down comforter and lots of pillows because he liked comfort. There was a shelf with books and then his closet. “I have a tiny office but it’s a mess. It’s my desk and shelves.” He opened the door for her to see. It was messy with papers on the desk but he was over exaggerating with it. It was fine.

“A mess? Please baby, that’s normal.” She knew her father definitely had a much messier desk in her childhood home, wasn’t so sure about now but yeah. Y/N took a seat on the bed, smiling at how soft and comfortable it was. The only problem is that he probably slept in it with Caroline. “It’s really nice, baby. I like it a lot.” She said with a smile, placing Oliver in her lap in which he circled around a few times before curling up in her lap closer to her tummy. He most likely liked how warm she was. Y/N was melting though, looking up at Harry with glossy eyes because the kitten was so damn cute. “How could you even leave him? Oh my goodness... I would have had such a hard time.” Y/N pouted, noticing he was starting to unpack his stuff. It made sense though, he probably just wanted to get everything out of the way and change into something comfy.

Harry stopped unpacking when he turned round to look at her. She was sitting on his bed, with his kitten on her lap. It looked like she belonged. Like the girl was meant to be there with him. He wanted this forever. His smile was soft as he walked to her, leaning down to kiss her gently before going back to unpacking. He didn’t say why he kissed her and he could feel her confusion but acceptance of it as he took out a large sweater for her. It was a bit chilly in the apartment because the air con was actually good. He needed to turn it down.

Y/N didn’t expect him to come over and kiss her like that, but it definitely did feel nice. Felt like she was very welcome here, like this was her safe space and that here she could do whatever she wanted. That she could be relaxed and herself and no one would judge. Harry would always make her feel overwhelmingly appreciated. She loved that about him.

“Here. Put this on for now, the air conditioning is strong right now. Gonna go turn it down.” He left her in his room as he went to the hall to turn the thermostat down. He could hear her apologizing to Oliver as she must be changing.

“Sorry, angel. I know.. one second. Promise it’ll be even more cozy.” Y/N spoke, changing out of her outfit. It was always so nice just to dress down. The sweater was big on her but it was perfect that way. She reached in her bag and found a scrunchie, pulling her hair up into a messy bun and sitting back down comfortably on the bed with Oliver in her bare lap now. She was leaning with her back against the wall, a pillow behind her as she gently let the kitty who was enjoying her thighs. He pushed his paws against them, stretching his fingers out. He was precious. Is this how normal people lived? We’re these the pleasures of everyday life?

Harry came back in with a smile, seeing her leaning back on the bed. He took the television remote and threw it next to her as he began to unbutton the shirt he had been wearing.

“Choose something’ to watch, baby.” He murmured, opening the closet to grab a soft tee shirt and sweats. He needed some comfort and Y/N and a good pair of sweats could easily be it. “Gonna grab us some waters and then I’ll be back.” He got up in the middle of the night for water so he always kept bottles in the fridge. Getting them, he walked back towards the room. It was only when he sat again did he realize— he was fucking starving.

“Shit. I could really go for some dominos. You in?”

Y/N took over the remote, going on to Netflix and finding something that she felt like they both would be into. A nice feel good movie or something. She needed help choosing though so she decided she’d let him pick from her options once he sat back down. Her brows furrowed when he mentioned dominos.

“What?” She asked, turning her head to look at him. He looked shocked at her answer. “What is that?— don’t give me that look baby...” Y/N whined hating that she had no idea what he was talking about. She was always embarrassed whenever something like this was brought up because if she didn’t grow up the way she did she’d know what that was. The rest of the world knew.

“Hold on— we are getting dominos. S’pizza, baby. Can’t believe you’ve never had it!” He muttered in surprise, checking his phone and opening the app. Of course he had the money to get better stuff but it was comforting. “And we’re gonna get... 2 pizzas, Parmesan breadsticks and the cinnamon breadsticks.” He said decidedly. Yes. Absolutely. It sounded so good. “Christ, feels like the munchies. Haven’t smoked in a bit but even still.” He laughed, rolling on his side to hug her after he ordered.

“Oh— okay, yeah.” She chuckled and felt a blush creep on her cheeks. “My mom never let me eat fast food as a kid and I never had cause I wouldn’t know what to get.” She explained shyly, “Do you wanna watch a Disney movie, a Rom com, or just comedy?” She asked curiously, feeling like she was in the mood for all three. Y/N knew sometimes when she was comfortable she could act like a child, Harry very much knew that after spending a whole week with her, but now being in a home environment it was different.

“Mm. Hate to break it to you, baby bun. But you’ll be having lots of fast food and will know what you like. S’a guilty pleasures, especially after smoking or drinking. Don’t tell your dad about the smoking though.” He requested though knew she wouldn’t. Y/N had missed out on a lot because of her parents. She hadn’t told him that explicitly but it wasn’t hard to miss that she was probably not having the most welcome upbringing. He could see in her eyes that she resented her mother especially whenever it came up. “Hm. I think... Disney, maybe? Proper cuddle material while we wait.” He wasn’t too picky and he was more so in the mood to bury his face in her tits and relax. Then eat. Yeah, he could go for some food. The airplane had snacks but no full meals because Y/N said it wasn’t worth it unless they brought it on at the airport. Besides, he was a lot more relaxed at home and that much was obvious.

“I won’t tell him if you won’t.” Y/N chuckled, knowing she had her own set of drug problems. As every fashion person did, she smoked cigarettes on occasion and did her fair share of cocaine as well. It wasn’t her proudest point, but everyone had to let loose somehow. It was just unfortunate she hadn’t found Harry sooner, maybe she would have a reason to not be so dependent on substance. That was all on her though.

“Wanna cuddle, but Oliver looks so cozy.” She pouted, seeing the kitten all balled up and cozy in her lap. Y/N sighed and picked him up, pulling Harry to koala on to her the way she usually did with him and placed Oliver at her shoulder so he could nuzzle himself there. This was nice. Perfectly cuddled up and surrounded with warmth, between Harry and Oliver, Y/N felt properly complete. Nothing could touch her or hurt her here. None of her parents expectations, none of the social pressures, just warmth and comfort and love. Y/N placed a kiss on top of Harry’s head, hands combing through his hair the way he liked. It seemed to relax him well.

“Have I ever told you that I love your tummy?” Harry asked, his hand had gone under the sweater and ran his hand over it. “Really. S’cute. Wanna leave love bites all over it. Haven’t cum on it yet but I’d like to at some point. S’just great.”

Feeling Harry’s hand on her tummy made Y/N feel rather vulnerable. It wasn’t something that she heard often, or ever for that matter. She often hated that she had meat on her bones because she could never really be a model or anything like that. Other times it made her happy because she knew lots of men went wild for her curves. But to compliment her tummy? That was a first.

“No...” She murmured shyly, feeling her cheeks get all red and her eyes tearing up a little because it just hit home. It hit really hard. Y/N pressed a long kiss to his head, whispering a thank you against his hair. It was something that she never thought she’d hear, having it heard it from her mother nearly everyday of her life growing up.

“Yeah, baby. Love it a lot.” He leaned his head up to kiss her before he slid down and lifted the sweater up to kiss on it. Tender kisses all over the incredibly soft skin, he hummed happily as she played with his hair. Normally when he was between her thighs he was at her cunt but right now he was having fun just kissing from under her breasts to her waistband of her panties. “S’so pretty. All mine.” He sucked gently on the middle of it, watching her face. Oliver has abandoned ship to go lay in his basket, and she has the ability to readjust herself now. “Soft and smooth and all mine.” He repeated. He liked knowing she was his but he also had a feeling she liked being claimed. His kisses moved from her tummy to her thighs, kissing up her legs until he got to her ankles. “The prettiest legs... sexiest feet too.” He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he really did like her feet. Kissing the bottom of her heel, the sole, then the arch.

Y/N was enjoying him properly kissing at her. She liked feeling all loved up on, especially by Harry. He was very good at making her feel appreciated and beautiful, it’s like he worshiped her but that’s the way that she liked it. To have control over him in some way even if he had control in every other way. It was the feet comment that surprised her. She always had small feet, made her rather clumsy, but they were always pedicured and smooth. Most women that wore heels all the time didn’t have the most attractive feet, but Y/N certainly took care of hers. She hadn’t realized how sensitive they were either until he started kissing on them. She squealed a little, feeling ticklish at the arch, his stubble pricking at the soft skin. It was the little things like this that made her realize he really was into her. Harry clearly appreciated a woman’s body, wanted to give her his all. She’d happily take it too.

“Mm. I like them quite a bit.” He smirked, kissing each of her toes. She was squirmy but he didn’t stop until each one had been kissed. It was fun to worship her and show her exactly what she was. Perfect. “I really enjoy touching you all over. Your thighs, your stomach, tits... all of you is so beautiful. Y/N. I feel like no one has properly told you just how stunning you are.” He frowned, looking over her body. “But that’s what I’m here for. Wanna hear a kink of mine?” He hadn’t admitted this to her before but she looked incredibly intrigued. “Mm, there are two. First are your feet. Never had a thing for feet before but yours are gorgeous. Gonna get you a toe ring or something. Love seeing them in heels. Sexy as fuck.” He kissed the side of her foot before letting it down, moving back to lay between her thighs with his hands back on her stomach. “Second one is a bit more taboo. Obviously.. can’t happen now. But I love the idea of gettin’ you pregnant. Watching your tummy grow. Being full of me. Cumming in you so it catches and you’re all mine, fully.” He nipped Above her belly button. “If you ever need me to cum, that’s the type of talk that’ll get me going quick. My Achilles heel, if you will.” He realized he needed to be open with her and tell her more so she would in turn open to him. “Didn’t know I had these kinks until you. Must be Y/N exclusive.”

“Never had a guy who likes feet before...” Y/N was a bit surprised at his admission, but she figured that it was his way of opening up and letting her in. If they were going to be having sex often it would be important to know what he liked. Y/N smiled at him, “can pick what color I get my nails done then, yeah?” She decided she’d be texting him every time or asking him the day before just so she knew what he wanted. “Wanna get me pregnant one day?” She asked curiously, deciding it would be an interesting topic to discuss. Y/N would of course happily have his child, especially if he would be the owner of the company. It was strange because she knew they just started dating, but he basically signed himself into having her hand in marriage. If he wanted the job he couldn’t leave her in a way. “I’ve got a thing for hands... and I really like your hands.” Y/N said and bit her lip softly, “and you know I do like when people are watching or can hear.” Their little escapade with Caroline on the phone proved that. “But a little more taboo though, I do really like being tied up... I struggle a little but it’s part of the act. Like being slapped and spanked too but...”

“Yeah? Wow... that’s hot.” He admitted bluntly. “Like to be slapped? Gotta work up to that. Your face is so precious..” he caresses it from his spot at her stomach. He would if she wanted it through. “Tied up.. that's especially hot. A struggle. Could be fun for role play.” He wondered just how kinky his girl could get with him. He would have to explore more of her. They had 2 days until he had to return to work and he was curious if she wanted to spend it with him. “Now spanking... we have tried and I love it. But I like that you like my hands. They’re on you whenever I have the chance.” Now that it was clear his job wasn’t on the line for daring her, he wasn’t as nervous. Granted he didn’t want to flaunt it too much but, Y/N was worth the ridicule he would face. “But yeah. Wanna get you pregnant for sure. Pretend until then. It’s just sexy to me.”

She was all warm and fuzzy at the thought of him agreeing with her, thinking it was hot. Her sweet sweet boy. Y/N turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand.

“Roleplay huh?” She raised her brow, “feel like that could be fun.” Y/N was excited at that thought because they could fulfill any fantasy they had. “Could pretend you’re trying to get me pregnant if you want, don’t mind that.” Y/N was on the pill and if it didn’t work and she actually ended up pregnant it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. What she was more excited about, was exploring this concept of roleplay a bit more. “What ideas did you have roleplay wise?” She asked curiously, “kinda already had a few fantasies come to life.... bosses daughter, having a mistress...” Y/N teased with a small smirk. “Could have all sorts of fun, hmm?”

“All sorts of fun. I like the idea of you stealing me away. Like you did in a sense... dunno. It’s so hot to me. Maybe be a little maid, know that my wife isn’t giving me what I want so you show me what I need. Or a teacher one. You being a terror of a student who needs a bit of punishment. The opportunities are endless.” They could do so much. “What are you thinking, baby? What gets you all wet?” He was curious to know what she would really get off on when it came to scenarios.

Y/N listened and hummed at the thought of all these scenarios. She was getting all excited, excited to try things out and see where they went. “I like those... a lot.” She hummed, her mind specifically liking the one where she’s tied up.

“Just really like the idea of you taking complete control.. anything like that gets me going.” It might be her escapist complex, but anything where she didn’t have to be herself was already a win for her. “Wonder just how taboo you are with it though...” Y/N wouldn’t judge because she was rather kinky, but she didn’t want to say something that would freak him out. “You know all those classic porn set ups... the step sibling ones, can pretend we hate each other, pretend we’re cheating... love the idea of like.. animalistic sex. Maybe a police officer? All kinds.. think you’d just be hot doing anything to be honest.”

“Trust me.. I’m in for anything.” His eyes darkened at the scenarios. Nothing would scare him away from her. Nothing at all. He couldn’t be swayed. Not when potentially best found his soul mate in this woman. “Fuck.. all of those. Step sibling, cheating.... you want me to lose it hm? Want me to get all primal with you.” He could see a pattern in her. She liked doing what she wasn’t supposed to, and doing it as taboo as she could. He loved that. “Don’t have to worry about how taboo you are with me, baby. Nothing can scare me away. I want it dirty and kinky and wrong.” He licked his lips. “Made love to you the first night and it was amazing but... sex with us could be so much fun. I’d love to do all of those.” He wanted that badly. To have adventurous sex. “Like doing it where people can hear or know we’re fucking too. May have to take you to one of those fancy stores and have you in their dressing rooms.”

That last suggestion hit differently, that being something quite realistic for Y/N. Of course she knew that since she was a loyal customer they’d never tell her she couldn’t come back, but it would definitely be a place where she would at least have to be a little quiet.

“Come up here.” Y/N mumbled, wanting him back up with her so that she could properly kiss on him. “Already got me going and we’ve got a pizza to eat...” She whined, cupping at the side of his neck and leaning up to kiss him hungrily. Y/N doubted they’d be able to hold back for long anyway, they’d spent 6 hours on a plane and an hour ride back without doing anything. That was a new record. “Gonna let me live out all my fantasies, hmm? Especially when you’re the CEO... gonna fuck me on your desk.” Y/N mumbled against his lips, “Gonna call you daddy for real too... can’t wait.” She really was so eager to please him especially in knowing that he was just as adventurous as she was. She couldn’t imagine why on earth he denied her for so long if his ex was as vanilla as he described.

“Course. Gonna try out every fantasy we have, I think. S’never gonna get boring with us.” He knew that pretty well. Y/N was exciting and full of new prospects. She was a dream. It was then that he heard the doorbell ring. “Fucks sake. Gotta open the door with this stiffy now.” He sighed, gently peeling himself from her.

“That’ll be one lucky pizza person.” Y/N chuckled, smirking to herself because she knew she had a sexy ass boyfriend who looked incredibly fuckable right now. Of course, they’d have to eat pizza... and probably brush their teeth after so they didn’t taste like garlic, not that either of them cared but still.

“Be right back, baby.” He grabbed his wallet with the tip included, opening the door to a younger teenage girl who flushed at the sight of him. His mouth was red from kissing and Harry a mess, and his cock was visibly hard in his sweats. A tiny smirk raised on his face as he took the food and gave her a 50, telling her to keep the change. Which was quite a bit, to be fair. He made his way back into the room, placing the food on the bed. At her shocked look it was apparent she never really ate in bed like this but it was a first timer for everything. “Can’t wait for you to try this. S’better when you’re drunk but I think every food is.”

“Really?” She eyed him and saw he was getting cups for their soda. This was new for her. It did smell really good. “Okay.. teach me, what should I eat first?” Y/N asked, wondering if there was a way to eat it. Thankfully, he had ordered a basic cheese pizza and then the other had toppings on it. She’d try both. Taking a bite was like heaven. It tasted so fucking good she moaned louder than expected. “Oh my god— how is this food?” She asked with a mouth full. Y/N was practically ready to inhale it. Never did she think it would taste like this.

He grinned proudly to himself. Yes. Finally, he had introduced her to the delicacies in his world. She may have Caviar, but Harry had dominos and McDonald’s at 3 am. A proper little feast.

“Can’t believe you’ve never had it before. Welcome to my world.” He chuckled, obviously teasing her. “S’the world of calories and carbs. I have to work out for sure sometimes but it’s worth it, I think.” He shrugged. Yeah, it was. Y/N wouldn’t need to work out. Secretly he wouldn’t mind if she got a bit thicker. He just loved that. “Mm.” He took a drink of his water as he watched her do a little happy dance at the taste. She was so beautiful. He was lucky. Genuinely so lucky. “You’re cute.” He grinned at her. She stopped and looked at him with full cheeks of pizza and blushed a little bit. He loved it. She was so real at his house. Not that she wasn’t real other times but this felt so much more authentic to what he saw in her.

“It’s so good!” She told him, eyes wide as she continued to eat. Y/N couldn’t tell you the last time she had any carb that wasn’t gourmet. Maybe never. Y/N has pizza but only the really flat veggie packed stuff. Not this bready cheesy goodness. “You’re an angel.” It might seem small to most people, but not to her. Her mother never allowed her to eat stuff that all the other kids were able to eat, even when she went to birthday parties she’d have her eat something else. It was always embarrassing, she felt almost guilty eating a lot of it but she couldn’t stop herself. Y/N blushed, looking at him as if she’d been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to but eventually cracked a smile and giggled a bit. “‘s good I can’t help it..” She mumbled and took another bite, holding the pizza with both of her hands.

He was falling in love with her and he knew it. He could tell by the way his heart beat harder Just looking at her. She sat there and giggled over pizza and was in his sweat and damn, did he want to rail her right now.

“We can get it whenever you want, baby. Gotta start indulging a little bit.” He wasn’t going to let her hate any bit of her or hold herself back for stupid reasons. She was going to enjoy life with him, damn it. “You’re so lovely.” He gently rubbed her thigh before returning to his own pizza. Still, he watched her. He felt himself falling. And he wasn’t scared of it. Not at all. He was welcoming it. He had a feeling she needed someone to love on her and Harry had a lot of love to give. Especially to her. He wanted to make her feel beautiful and appreciated because he knew it meant a lot to her.

----

Y/N didn’t mean to.

She didn’t mean to be so clingy but she couldn’t help it. Spending time with Harry felt like walking on air, she had not a single worry when she was with him and it seemed like she could do no wrong. So forgive her for clinging on to such positivity and light, that’s all she ever craved and wanted.

It started with her coming into his office for just about any reason she could think of, she would stick around until he father or someone else called her to do something. She didn’t even say much when she was in his office, just came to sit down and hang out with him and listen to him handle business. Then, it moved on to her asking if she could come over... little by little she started coming over his house nearly every single day, taking care of Oliver or even helping him with his chores. Yes, that’s right, she even did chores for him. Willingly. She moved on to buying him more gifts. More vintage stuff, new clothes and decor. Little things that she knew he would like, things she knew would make him smile. Be it a movie poster or a vinyl. Anything she could find, she got for him. She loved him, felt like she needed to thank him for everything.

Harry was a bit shocked to say the least. He had assumed that maybe she would be a bit of the type that would want gifts, but Y/N was the opposite. Instead she was the one bringing him things like watches or buying him fucking gucci boots, records or movies and first editions of books be liked. He didn’t really know what to do. He loved that she was thinking of him but didn’t want her to spend money like that. The suggestion not only fell on deaf ears and he woke up to a knock on his door and Y/N with a gourmet breakfast sandwich in hand the following day. It wasn’t like he didn’t like the fact she was around. She was lovely. Y/N made him feel like a king. But he also worried if he was doing enough. If she wanted more. How he could do that.

It was a huge change from being alone most nights, to Y/N calling at 10 pm with a pout in her voice that she was cold and lonely. He usually ended up with her in his arms half an hour later. The thing that worried him the most was work. His reputation was still important to him and while Y/N was trying— she was also trying to sneak. Nearly every day this week he had seen her and had her come in to bring him a coffee and pout her lips for a kiss, only getting one after the door was closed.

Today, just like every other day, Y/N brought coffee and breakfast for herself, her father and Harry. Her father was of course on board with her buttering Harry up, happy that his favorite employee was dating his daughter. Of course, Harry didn’t realize Y/N had told him that.

“Hi baby!” She cooed, walking right over to him with her heels clicking against the floor. “Brought you your favorite... and a little treat because it’s the weekend.” Y/N hummed, looking at him with a bright smile. Harry thought that them being together would threaten his reputation, but to be honest, it was making it even better. Her father was even more inclined to give him the promotion, more inclined to give him a bonus, more responsibility, and more paid time off. All because he was making his little girl happy.

“Hi, my angel.” He said lowly, motioning his head to close the door first. He didn’t love hiding their relationship but he also knew that Y/N was quite loud. And the people on this floor were very nosy. As soon as it was closed, he motioned her over so she could sit with him, but instead she found her seat in his lap. Hm. Well, that wasn’t a complaint, really. She felt good. The way she sat on his thighs and brushed her long nails through his hair... well? He couldn’t complain. “You’re being awfully sweet.” He said suspiciously. “What are you avoiding asking?” He knew the way she was when she wanted something. While she was normally sweet? Y/N got this little look. This little giggle to her words and batting of the lashes to soften whatever blow there would be it he wasn’t happy.

Y/N tried not to take it to heart, him choosing to hide their relationship while at work. She tried to remind herself that this was something he wanted and she needed to respect that, Y/N was working on putting some of his needs first. It was something she read on a relationship blog once. After closing the door and letting herself into his lap, she got comfortable, setting the food on the clear space of his desk and humming a little bit as he leaned into her touch.

“I’m not...” Y/N mumbled, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Was just... thinking maybe we could go out for lunch today? And then... maybe you and Oliver could come over to mine for dinner?” She knew it wasn’t really much to ask in her mind, but she just wanted to do something for him because he was constantly doing stuff for her. In his eyes, he wasn’t doing much at all, but to her? He was opening up a whole new world she never got to experience. “Cause we’re always hanging out at yours, and I really like it at yours... I just wanted to show you my place and like... hang out and stuff, but we don’t have to!”

“Oh? That’s all?” He was expecting something else. The nerves she had looking a bit, he had expected something much more extreme. Going to her house wouldn’t be an issue. “Lunch, yeah. That’s fine. Just tell me where to go. We can go to yours tonight, pumpkin. I didn’t want to ask to go cause I was letting you keep privacy is that was something you wanted. But I’m happy to come over. Oliver will love to as well.” He knew the kitten loved Y/N possibly more than him. It was crazy. He was incredibly confused at how Y/N had so quickly managed to sneak herself into every bit of his life but she did. He didn’t mind at all, either. That’s the crazy part. “I'd like to see your stuff. I’m curious to see all the things you’ve got.” She said she collected stuff so he was happy to finally be let into that part of her. Plus, he would have a much larger bed. She had said she had a California king. His was a queen so, it would be a welcome change.

She still had that little voice in her heart saying she asked for too much. Her previous boyfriends didn’t like how clingy she was and she tried to wind it back as much as she could. With Harry she just couldn’t seem to hold back though, she constantly wanted his attention and praise as if one day he’d turn on her. She was slowly learning how to properly trust.

“Really?” Y/N smiled widely at his agreement and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. She kept it quick because she knew he would scold her, but she giggled and went to kiss his cheek. “Yay!” She genuinely couldn’t wait to have him over. Y/N has lots of space for Oliver to roam around, she had already bought him a little box and some food. Even bought him some toys to play with in preparation. She was thinking of getting herself a kitten too because she liked Oliver so much. “I’m excited... we’re going to have so much fun! I can’t wait!” Y/N was practically bouncing in her seat. “Eat your breakfast, baby.” She cooed to him, nodding at the breakfast that was laid out on the desk. Y/N, in the meantime, pulled out her phone to make a reservation for lunch at Harry’s favorite fancy place.

He watched as she made a reservation. Her mood was significantly higher today, as yesterday he hadn’t been able to have a sleepover with her because he’d gotten back very late and had to go in early. She felt a bit more clingy today in energy but... honestly? He wasn’t angry about it. It was a good type of clingy. A good type of feeling to him. It was a warm and fuzzy type of thing that had him smiling when he realized she always liked to have a hand on him. It made him feel a bit less bad for telling off a dickhead in the break room who had commented on her tits. He hadn’t told her about that though. He had been professional but displeased and told him if he heard something else like that about a guess that he would go to HR. Or her father directly, more like. It was hard not to punch him in the snotty face. “I did miss you last night.” He murmured. “A lot less warm, even though you’re a blanket hog.”

Y/N set her phone down on his desk and moved to push some pieces of hair away from his face as he ate, she was hoping he wasn’t too busy. Not that her dad would mind if he didn’t get something done on time because of her. She had the upper hand that way, father’s guilt and all.

“Hey!” She pouted, “am not!” Y/N scrunched her nose and let out a little sigh. “Just wanna be closer to you, don’t know how the blanket gets there.” She really did wish she could stay clung to him as they slept. He was so warm and comfortable, but tonight they’d be sleeping on her massive bed so there would be plenty of room for them. She had a big big plan for dinner, she was actually going to cook it herself. She had been practicing and it turns out she wasn’t bad at it at all.

“What’s your favorite food?” Y/N asked curiously, knowing she had asked him before but she wanted to make sure so she could get the stuff to make it tonight.

“Hm. I like loads of things. Love chicken parm, I like tacos. Egg rolls. I dunno, I don’t know if I have one set favorite. I have categories.” He hummed around his food. “Love ginger lemon scones and strawberries on waffles for breakfast. Also that Nutella shit on French toast.” He felt more comfortable around her to speak freely. “And I have my favorites at fast food places. A loaded question.” Harry really did like his food and loved to eat. It was a lot. He knew that much.

Y/N took notes, thinking about what she could manage to make for them tonight. Chicken parm seemed simple enough, she could definitely cook them up some of that. Some pasta on the side. It would be perfect. The waffles idea sounded great for breakfast and she could manage that too. She had everything. Y/N felt like she was doing something right for once, trying to be a normal girlfriend for him.

“But—“ he wasn’t interrupted by the door slamming open, Y/N’s hand holding his hair as they startled slightly to see a frazzled woman walk in.

Oh, for fucks sake. Caroline. The woman looked irritated seeing Y/N sat up on his lap, legs bare as her skirt didn’t cover much when she sat.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Y/N looked over and spotted Caroline, her face immediately falling. There goes her good mood. Y/N wasn’t nice when she didn’t get her way.

“Who the fuck let you in here?” Y/N snapped, getting up immediately and stepping towards her. Someone was getting fired today, that’s for sure. It had been a few weeks since she and Harry got together, almost a month, and this woman was still at it? Harry stood up and stepped behind Y/N, his arm resting on her waist. He didn’t want a fight to truly break out, as hot as it may be in his mind. Y/N was too important to him to get hurt. He didn’t like it at all.

“I just walked in! I said I was here to see Harry.” She glared at him. “But I see he’s still busy trying to sleep his way to the top with some used heiress cunt.”

She just walked in? Oh. Someone was definitely getting fired.

It was shocking because Harry hadn’t ever seen this type of shit from Caroline. It didn’t really make much sense because Y/N had been with him for a while now.

“You little—“ Y/N was cut off by Harry voice.

“Caroline... absolutely not appropriate. Y/N is wonderful and I won’t stand you speaking to her or about her like that.” He said darkly, pulling her back into his body.

Y/N felt all warm in her stomach. As sweet as it was, Y/N was still angry and fully intended on handling this all by herself. She placed a hand over Harry’s and thumbed over the skin.

“You wish someone wanted to use your cunt.” Y/N spat, “get the fuck out of here. It’s pathetic, you couldn’t keep him if you tried....” Y/N’s tone was lethal. “Coming ‘round invited to talk to my boyfriend? About what? What can you offer him that I can’t?” She wasn’t going to let her win this, wouldn’t let her leave unless she was walking out with her tail between her legs.

“He’s going to get bored with you! Get the promotion and use your body until your implants and shit pop! And then he’ll be crawling back to me.” Where Caroline got this type of information or how she thought that didn’t make such sense whatsoever.

Harry was a bit worried about if Y/N would read into it but she was a scrappy little thing, Harry holding her waist and letting her approach slowly. He didn’t want a physical fight. Y/N nearly raised her hand to slap her but Harry held her back, her jaw clenching.

“Sweetie, you know full well my shit is real! Give it up!” She was seething, trying to avoid calling her names because she didn’t want to make herself seem like she wasn’t classy. “Think he would want you after me? You’re delusional.” She scoffed before continuing. “Harry was going to get the promotion before he even went to Paris! Hell, probably earlier! He’s fucking incredible at what he does and is more the capable of running this company regardless if he’s balls deep inside my cunt!”

Harry placed a kiss at the back of her head which did calm her down some. It reminded her that he was here for her and that nothing this woman could say would change how he felt. Y/N was still defensive, knowing she wanted him back and knowing Harry did have a history with her. She’d be devastated if he did leave her to get back with Caroline.

“I’m not leaving her, or using her for a promotion. I don’t know what’s going through your head right now but it obviously isn’t what is needed.” He muttered, kissing the back of Y/N’s head again. Hoping to keep her calm. “She’s what I want. We broke up. You’ve heard more than enough.” He raised a brow, bringing up that phone call again where she had heard her fucking Harry. “And what a wonderful cunt it is.” He snickered against her hair, but he knew Caroline could hear it when she growled out angrily.

“This isn’t fucking over! You’ll come back. You will.” Caroline turned from Harry to Y/N, giving her a glare. “Trust me. He’s boring as it is, but he’s mine. Understand that? Leave it be. Go marry a fucking governor or some shit and leave him to me. I’m not giving up.” She seethed before stomping out of the office.

“What the fuck?” Harry asked, leaning against his desk as he tried to catch up on what the fuck just happened. Y/N was angry. He felt that, so he held her hand and pulled her closer to him, bringing her into a hug. “S’okay. Relax. I don’t know what the duck that was about... but we’ll make sure she doesn’t get back up here.”

“I’m going to kill her.”

Y/N was angry for multiple reasons. One being she stepped into this office without being allowed to, second, she disrespected her, third, she disrespected Harry, and on top of all that, she said he was hers. Absolutely the fuck not. Y/N wrapped her arms around Harry and rested her head on his chest, hands pressed flat against his back.

“The fucking nerve... I’ll end her.” She might not physically kill her, but she would definitely ruin her life. If she kept acting up Y/N could make her disappear. “How dare she say that about you?” She asked, lifting her head so she was looking up at him. “How dare she...” Y/N mumbled and cupped his cheeks. “You are not boring at all. And I meant what I said... you’re more than capable of ruining the company now if need be.”

“I know. I know that she’s angry and saying stupid things. Don’t play into her. As sexy as it is to see you angry... it isn’t worth any pain.” He explained. He understood that Caroline had riled her up, but she didn’t mean anything to him. “She means nothing to me. Nothing. Not the dirt on my shoe. How could she when I have the sexiest and most brilliant woman?” He smoothed his hands down her sides, stopping at her hips. “Already all sorts of better. Especially where it all counts.” In bed and in the heart. “Seeing you come to my defense is incredibly sexy, don't get me wrong, baby. I just think it isn’t worth the time getting angry. You’re mine, yeah? M’yours? Nothing else matters besides us.” He wanted to be chill and relax.

Y/N knew she shouldn’t play into it, realistically she knew that, but there was a bunch of insecurity that Y/N felt about the situation. She knew Caroline wasn’t right, but it wasn’t like Y/N wasn’t already trying to be as ‘normal’ as she could whenever she could be. She was scared of pushing Harry too far with all her expensive tastes, knowing that once they got back from Paris they sort of just hung out at his and ate take out and honestly... it was amazing. Y/N was happy doing that if it meant she got Harry. It was the first time in her life where material things didn’t matter as shallow as that sounds.

Did he ever think about what it would be like if he wasn’t dating her? How could he be so quick to say Caroline meant nothing when he dated her for a while and was so reluctant to give into her? Maybe it was just her insecurities talking.

“Yeah... you’re right... ‘s not worth it.” She mumbled softly, having zoned out a little bit. Y/N would be okay, they’d be okay. It just wasn’t something Y/N wanted to think about this morning. “I’m going to go sort the security out... put her on a list or something, I’ll let you get back to work.” She spoke gently, giving him a small smile before she left the office.

Y/N had let a bit of her anger out at the security guy downstairs for not following orders. She didn’t fire him, knowing he was a nice man who had a family, but she certainly scolded the fuck out of him and the lady at reception that both knew she wasn’t allowed up here. Y/N hated that she couldn’t exactly say Harry was her boyfriend yet either. Another kick to the stomach when she was already feeling down.

There was a little tiny voice that crept in then. Was Caroline right? Was there a reason that she came back or felt like she needed to come back? Harry has been so adamant about not telling anyone about them being together but was also weary about getting together in the first place. Y/N knew it was stupid, she shouldn’t think that way, she trusted Harry. She swore she was in love with him. But she was still insecure, felt like maybe he was ashamed of her or something.

She tried to pick herself up before lunch, not wanting him to think there was anything wrong because it wasn’t at all his fault that she was feeling anxious. She was taught to stay quiet about these things, her previous boyfriends hated when she got this way and refused to listen. She didn’t want him to yell or get upset at her for thinking something so stupid.

When she noticed he was a few minutes late she got a bit nervous and for a second she let that voice slip through and thought maybe he forgot. It startled her a little when he sat down, noticing the soft smile on his face. A wave of relief hit her at that and she returned the smile after a beat, saying a small ‘hi’ and ‘it’s okay’

“Sorry I’m a minute late. A bit of traffic downtown with an accident.” He murmured, settling down. “Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong, babe?” He asked, sewing right through her little smile. “Cause I know you’re upset or thinking about something and I don’t like thinkin’ about you like that. Was worried since you left the office.”

Y/N’s body froze a little when he asked her about what was wrong, knowing full well she wasn’t slick and Harry would see right through it. He always did. She remembered even when they were in Paris he could tell whenever even something small was off about her.

“I’m okay, I’m just thinking too much...” Y/N didn’t want to have a breakdown in public.

“Yeah?” He reached out and took her hand in his own, squeezing it gently. “If y’want to talk about it we can. Or you can wait and tell me tonight. But you can talk to me.” He didn’t want to push her too hard or too fast because he knew opening up wasn’t an easy feat. But he also wanted her to know that he was there. He wasn’t upset or angry and could see she was upset. “What’s good here?” He loved on because he was going to let her tell him when she was ready. However he wouldn’t let it go. He could give her time but he wanted to know what bothered her. He knew that in relationships, if you didn’t talk shit out it would blow up in your face. Y/N looked saddened when he had taken his hand back so he placed it back on the table so she could hold it. Her smile returned slightly and he felt the warm small hand back in his own as he looked at the menu.

“Can we talk about it later?” She hated how small her voice sounded. Y/N was a sensitive little thing, especially if someone was able to press the right buttons. It was one of her weaknesses, but thankfully she didn’t have many. “They have really good sandwiches... I also really like their poke bowls.” Y/N spoke and decided she would get one of those. It was essentially like eating sushi in a bowl format. She was happy he returned his hand to the table for her to hold, especially because she was feeling a little fragile. She would get better as lunch went on but she just needed to get her mind off of everything. “I told daddy I wasn’t going back to work after lunch, but I’m going to go home and relax a bit... you take your time though, yeah? I gotta go grocery shopping and stuff.” Y/N didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

“Oh, that’s alright. I’ve got some things to finish and I want to get things done. After that I’ll get my things and head over.” He was still concerned about what Y/N was upset over however he knew he only had so much power and he wanted her to trust him and come to him when she was ready.

Harry ended up with a sandwich and they had a light conversation over lunch about kittens and her place, it was rather nice. Calm. Relaxed. He was happy to be able to do that. All he wanted to do was give her a reason to smile today. He knew that he was often a bit stoic and kept to himself about it but he was hopeful that tonight would be less tense. He kissed her mouth and nose goodbye before leaving, promising her he would be at hers by 7. He wanted to shower first even though it was probably they’d get dirty again, and he needed to get Oliver’s little carrier. He would be excited to see his Y/N.

Y/N had asked her driver to take her to the nearest Whole Foods so she could get the stuff for dinner. She had a list on her phone of stuff she needed to get for the recipe and bought everything she needed. Just in case it turned out crap, she bought a frozen pizza and some ice cream for dessert so that they still had something to eat. Sure it was all still floating around in her head but she was feeling much better now. She knew she just had to talk to Harry about it when he came over and that would clear things up both for him and for her. She would be safe to cry in her own home and he wouldn’t judge her. He never did.

----

To Y/N’s surprise, the meal turned out pretty good. It smelled amazing and looked delicious, she just needed to keep everything on the heat so that it was warm when Harry got here. She had changed into some comfortable clothes, hoping he would do the same and went to go fill Oliver’s bowl with some food and water.

Harry had changed out of his work clothes and carefully packaged up his bag. It was the weekend so he didn’t have to worry about a suit, but he didn’t know of her plans so he put in a good outfit as well as his normal clothes. Oliver knew something was going on and mewed the whole time, happily getting into his carrier. Harry stopped and got flowers for her on the way, bringing them up to her penthouse. His name was apparently on the list of who to let up and he was buzzed in, given the floor number and sent on his way. This building was fancy as fuck. And big. He was a bit surprised, though he shouldn’t be, turning about and seeing only two doors. Y/N and someone else’s.

Y/N was nervous. She wasn’t sure why, but she was. You’d think inviting your boyfriend to your house wasn’t something you’d be worried about, but Y/N just wanted everything to go well. She didn’t exactly have the best day and hopefully this dinner and a nice chat with him afterwards would make her feel better. Maybe this could alleviate some of her worry. When he arrived at the door Y/N smiled to herself walking over to open it up and instantly feeling a bit of relief. Just knowing he was going to be here for a little while already made her feel better. They were safe and protected. It felt good.

“Oh— these are for me?” Y/N was surprised, looking at him with the softest and most gentle gaze. He really went out of his way to get her flowers. It meant more than he would know. It wasn’t like he got a florist to make her a bouquet, he personally picked one to bring to her. “Thank you, baby.” Y/N cooed and went in to give him a hug and a kiss, beckoning him inside. “I um... I made dinner.” She said with a blush. Those were words he had never heard before.

“You did?” He was happy. Y/N making him dinner meant way more than anything else would. The fact she had put time and effort into it made his heart all happy and soft. Truly, it was something that had his stomach warm and happy. “That’s so amazing, sweetheart.” He said happily, placing the carrier Oliver was in down so he could open it up. Immediately the kitten mewed and went for Y/N, pawing at her leg until she picked him up. He knew they were both gone for her.

Y/N nodded her head proudly, letting out a little giggle when he paid her the compliment. It meant so much to her too, to see him appreciate the work and effort she put in. She didn’t do this for anyone. Only him. He was the most important thing in her life and Oliver of course. She giggled when pawed at her leg and picked him up with her free hand that wasn’t holding the flowers.

“Hi buddy! How are you? My sweet angel?” She asked and kissed his head, “you excited to be at my house? I got lots of stuff for you to check out! Lots of places to explore.” Y/N cooed and led the pair into the kitchen. She set Oliver down for the moment on the floor so she could put the flowers in a vase with water before looking back over at Harry.

“Your place.. wow.” It was huge. Very big and kind of.. empty. But beautiful. It was modern style and it was nice. Definitely a lot less vintage and honey than he would prefer however, he was happy right now. Just being with her at home. “Smells really good, baby. I’m so hungry.”

“Do you like it?” She asked shyly, wondering how he felt about her place. “I—I know it’s really empty and stuff but, I don’t really know how to make it feel more occupied when I’m the only one here...” Y/N explained, hating how it wasn’t nearly lived in enough. Maybe if he came over more it wouldn’t feel as weird. “It’s chicken parm and penne pasta. It’s almost done! The chicken is done just have to finish tossing the pasta in the sauce and then we can sit down and eat.” Y/N was excited. It tasted good, she made sure she tried it before so that she knew she wasn’t serving shit to her boyfriend.

“Wow... that’s amazing, baby. Made it just for me?” He was ecstatic. She had asked him early to make his favorite? He felt himself melt and brought her into his arms, kissing over her forehead a few times before he moved her out of the way to help get some glasses. “I like it. It’s very roomy and has a ton of potential. I would be a bit lonely with so much space, but I think for multiple people it would be a dream.” If he had a place like this, he would add lots of warm things. Plants and his record player, a comfy rug and couch, art. Stuff to make it at home. “What would you like to drink?” He asked, opening her fridge. She had some juice, sparkling water, wine coolers. It made him laugh a little at the last one. And he saw a pack of beers, she no doubt got for him.

“Just for you... you’re my favorite...” She blushed as she watched him get some glasses. She went to go put the pasta in the sauce and looked over at him, “um... wine? There should be a few bottles in there. You choose..” Y/N was definitely not short of options. Her fridge was massive though, definitely fit for a family but it was just her for now. So she used it for drinks.

Y/N hoped that maybe one day, the two of them could live here together. Have their own family with kids and kittens and just everything that she ever dreamed of. “I do get a bit lonely, ‘s why I’m always at yours... but you’re welcome to come stay here whenever you want! Both of you, you’re always welcome.”

It tickled Harry more than it should have when she confirmed he was her favorite. It felt good to know that he was. She was his favorite too.

“Lonely? You can always come to mine. Or we can come to yours. I always figured you wanted to keep this place private, so I never really bothered you about it.” He explained, but now that he knew? He would be likely to come over often? If that’s what she would like. He chose some white wine which would go well with the chicken, placing the glasses down at the sleek looking dining table. It was then that he leaned against the kitchen island and raised a brow at her. Her little apron was adorable and he wanted to squish her so badly. Also see her in nothing but that. “I gotta say... m’sad.” He sighed. “I didn’t get a proper kiss from you.”

Y/N had finished plating everything, covering the left overs with lids before walking them over to the table. She looked up at him when he said that he was sad, tilting her head to the side with a frown.

“Oh! I’m sorry baby, I just got really excited and I didn’t want the food to burn!” She pouted and ran over to him to wrap her arms around him again so they could have a proper kiss. She leaned forward and attached their lips, giving him a sweet and solid kiss. Y/N couldn’t quite explain it, but she was putting all her love into this kiss and it wasn’t meant to be intense. It was just meant to show him how much she cared. How much she well... loved him.

Harry was a little shocked by the kiss. There was... something behind it. It felt warm. His hands holding her waist tightened and he hummed happily into it, head leaned down to take her mouth the way she wanted it to be taken. He pulled back with a smile, cupping her cheeks before pecking her mouth a few more times. “There’s my girl. That’s what m’talkin’ about.” He loved those kisses. Was truly starting to fall for her too. “I missed you.” He said again. Last night had felt weird alone. It had only been about 4 total nights he had been alone and they were starting to feel more and more odd. He liked being around her and didn’t want that to stop or end any time soon. Ever.

Y/N smiled back at him and moved to nuzzle her face into his neck for a hug. Sometimes you just needed a hug and his little ‘I missed you’ only made her squeeze him a bit tighter.

“Missed you too.” She mumbled against his skin and pulled away again to look at him. “Let’s eat, yeah? Don’t want it to get cold.” She herself was surprised at how good the meal was. Maybe she was trying extra hard because she knew Harry was going to eat it, but regardless it turned out great. It redeemed her hope in being the girlfriend Harry deserved. She didn’t just want to be some prissy rich girl, though she could never stop being the prissy rich girl.

Oliver has found his things which made her happy, he seemed to really like the little cat tree she got for him, as well as the Gucci cat toy. What? Oliver deserves some nice things too.

“You did not get him a fucking gucci cat toy?” Harry scoffed, a laugh erupting from him as he watched the kitty carry it over and plop down next to the table with it. Y/N merely shrugged. “Christ. You’re somethin’ else. You know that?” His smile was enough to prove he wasn’t angry but amused. Y/N was a giver and he knew that but a cat toy? Like that? Probably at the least $100? It was amusing.

“What?” Y/N shrugged, looking over at Oliver and smiling at how he seemed to like it. “He’s got expensive taste. He’s lucky he’s got a mommy like me, hmm?” She spoke down to Oliver and realized she had taken claim in the cat. She looked up at him with a questioning look, as if to ask if it was okay. Y/N also knew he would bring up what happened earlier after dinner. She wasn’t really ready to talk about it, but she had to let him know what was going on in her mind. Only he could give her the real clarity that she needed anyway

Harry didn’t mind. She basically was his mommy anyways. She cared for him and bought him things, gave her all the loving she could and was sweet to him. What else could a cat want. Plus... he kind of liked that idea. It was a little scary— don’t get him wrong. But, he didn’t want her to go away. Ever.

The whole dinner was amazing. However, he was still worried about the girl and what had upset her beforehand. He was hoping Caroline hadn't gotten under her skin but he had a feeling that perhaps it was, and that made him annoyed. Not at her— but the fact that she had been so stupid to come to his office after he blocked her number and obviously had moved on? The food had been really good, especially because he knew she didn’t cook much at all. He had done it for him and it meant a lot to him.

“Thank you. It means a lot that you’d cook for me.” Harry smiled, bringing his plate towards the sink so he could rinse it off.

“You’re very welcome... I’d do just about anything for you, you know?” Y/N spoke sweetly, coming up behind him and kissing his back before allowing him to rinse off her plate as well. Y/N took this time to put all the leftovers into Tupperware, deciding that they could eat it again for lunch tomorrow and then maybe get some take away for dinner.

When Y/N finished she helped him dry off the clean dishes and put them away, pressing a kiss to his cheek as a thank you before she took his hand and led him upstairs to her bed room. Oliver would follow them if he wanted, she also had stuff for him upstairs. The view from her bedroom was incredible, much like his office, the entirety of the wall was glass and it looked beautifully over the city. The night sky was clear and everything just seemed to be perfect in this moment. Y/N walked over to her closet and set his bag down in there, already having made a little section for him to have if he wanted. She came out dressed in just one of his tee shirts and climbed into bed, letting him take his time with the view.

Harry has caught her crawling into bed, his eyes following her body. God, he adored this woman. So much. She was incredible and sweet and he was feeling all sorts of wound up but he knew he needed to get what was in her mind, out. He stripped down to his briefs, like he always did and crawled into bed next to her. She immediately found purchase curled up against him when he decided to bring it up while he played with her hair.

“Can you tell me what’s bothering you?” It was a simple request. Really, it was just because he cared, but he needed to establish good communication with her because he was hoping that they could take this long term. He had no plans of leaving and wanted to work on them, fully. Get to know her the best he could and date her until the time was right. Most people would be scared but Harry likes to feel things out. So far, it all felt very good. Once he had given in.

Y/N was tracing over his tattoos when he asked her about earlier. Honestly, she didn’t know how to fully explain to him what was going on, but she owed him an explanation of sorts. He was only asking because he cared and he wanted to know. He wasn’t going to make fun of her or anything. She just had to get past that in her mind.

“I... I know that what she said wasn’t true, I know that.” Y/N prefaced, “it did strike a chord with me though, because... it was already something I was sort of battling already in my mind... like, the idea that maybe I’m not ‘normal’ enough for you.” Y/N knew how it sounded, but to her it was a genuine concern. “Afraid that— that since those slimy businessmen that I dated before thought I was too much to handle that you definitely would think I’m too much to handle.” Y/N tried to keep herself as calm as possible but it wasn’t really working. “A—and it’s my biggest fear that someday you’ll be fed up with me like they were and that you won’t want to deal with me anymore.” Y/N hid her face farther into him, her arm around his waist gripping him tighter as if he was going to get up and leave. “Just... Scary cause I don’t know... what if she was right? What if you do get tired of me? I—I wouldn’t know what to do.” Tears started to escape her eyes. “It’s— it’s why I try so hard to, to try and be more normal and stuff, don’t want to just be your prissy rich girl girlfriend... want you to be proud to call me your girlfriend, don’t want you to be ashamed or want to keep me a secret..”

“Oh... baby, no.” Harry felt a crack in his heart. He hated that she felt that way. While he found understanding that she could feel that way... he knew that she would be thinking all sorts of stuff. “First of all... you’re very different to girls I have dated. But I think that it’s wonderful.” He began to explain, trying to brush tears away. “Baby... fuck, please don’t cry. S’okay. M’not going anywhere.” He tried to soothe for a moment before continuing. “I don’t think that anyone else would be as perfect to date as tou. Not only are you understanding of my work and the environment, but I know you wouldn’t be using me for money.” He joked, letting her nuzzle her face into the palm of his hand. “You are a light. Yeah? A pretty light that keeps me lookin’ up. How could I ever get tired of you? The fact of the matter is, she was projecting. She knew I was tired of her. And the reason for that being— she didn’t communicate with me, she wouldn’t do the things I’d like or take the time to truly know who I was or what I like. And then you....” he raised a brow. “You spoil me rotten even though I don’t ask. I barely have to ask for anything but kisses because you just naturally know.” He explained smoothly.

“You get anxious and needy a little bit, that isn’t at all a problem with me. In fact, I like that you like being close to me. I’m not at all ashamed of you. At all.” He needed to stress that point. “I keep us out of the office because I don’t need people harassing me or you about it and the promotion. What I was thinking, was once I’m there? I don’t care. But... if it really really hurts you? I don’t mind... if it’s something that pains you. I can let people know.”

Y/N listened closely, taking in deep shaky breaths. Her bottom lip was still trembly, mostly because the second she got going she couldn’t really stop, but she was trying for him. Y/N swallowed thickly and pressed a soft kiss to the palm of his hand before nuzzling against it. She let out a sad little giggle at his comment, sniffling and nodding along because she didn’t quite trust her voice just yet. Y/N knew he wouldn’t be angry or upset with her, but the reassurance was definitely something she needed a lot of. She had a lot of trauma and she needed that support. The fact that he was even willing to change something that was important to him just for her made her heart swell up, clearing her throat before she spoke.

“Don’t wanna hide...” Y/N frowned as she looked up at him, “know people aren’t going to like it... but they won’t like it either way.”

“Alright. If that helps you, baby. I didn’t know it hurt you so badly.” He murmured, stroking her hair. He was curious to see how people would react but he cared more about Y/N than he did about anyone else. She was wiggling her way deep into his heart and under his skin. “You’re right. I’ve been holding off for a long while. I think it’s because I’ve been worried how people will perceive the promotion and think I’m climbing the ladder hut... you told me that the promotion was already mine to begin with.” He had trust in her and didn’t think she was making it up. “I’ll let you show me off then.” Harry figured, fuck it all. “But I wanted to let you know that, I don’t plan on ever leaving or getting bored. Okay? Trust me. It’s alright. I wouldn’t be with you if I didn’t want to.” Y/N didn’t know just how much Harry genuinely liked her. “I wanted to for a long time. Even before I gave in, obviously. But I’m happy that now, we can keep it going.” He wanted her to continue loving on him. Maybe now he wouldn’t have to close the office door if she came in.

“Next time please tell me if you feel that way. Don’t sit on it and make yourself feel awful all day.” He muttered. “I don’t like that.” It was nice to have him just calmly talk to her about things and understand where she was coming from. These days, she never thought she would find someone that ticked all of her boxes the way he did. He didn’t care that she was a lot of work, he wanted to work on things with her. He was willing to try for her.

“You... he hired you already knowing you’d be the one to take over, he just... he wanted to make sure I liked you.” Y/N explained with a sniffle, “cause I’m gonna have to be involved.” She didn’t want to drop it on him that her father wanted them to get married but he was a smart man, he would figure that out on his own. She was happy that he wanted her to show him off, glad that she wouldn’t have to close the door or wait for kisses or hugs. Wouldn’t have to explain why she was defending him so hard whenever someone chatted shit about him. “I’m sorry, I’m just used to doing stuff this way. No one ever wanted to listen, I just had to get over it on my own... I appreciate you more than you even know..”

“I’m sorry that you had to deal with dickheads who wouldn’t listen to you. That’s what’s truly fucked up. I don’t understand why they’d have a woman like you and still manage to be a dick.” He huffed, rolling his eyes. Y/N deserves better. He was better. So they both won. “There’s gonna be none of that shit with me, babe. Alright? If you’re upset, you tell me. Angry? Tell me. We can progress if we don’t talk about what bothers us and what doesn’t.” He murmured, rubbing her cheek before he kissed the wet spots where her tears were. He wanted to take them all away. “We’ve got this. I think the both of us are going to be fine. It’ll be a bit of an adjustment for you, but I think one of my most important things is to be truthful.” He didn’t like the idea of anything but. Lying wasn’t something he would tolerate.

Y/N closed her eyes as he leaned forward to kiss her cheeks, humming a little in his hold. She cared about him so damn much and he treated her so well. Y/N wasn’t sure what she did to be so lucky but she was going to try her hardest to keep him for as long as she could. Forever. They would make it, they would keep the communication open and be truthful. They would talk it out and work on things. Y/N was positive that she wouldn’t be able to find anyone better than him, not that she wanted to find anyone else. She swore she...

“I love you..” She mumbled softly, opening her eyes again to look up at him. Y/N was nervous, but she meant it. She meant to tell him that and wouldn’t take it back. Even if he didn’t feel the same right now, she definitely was falling for him at a hard and fast pace.

Harry froze for a moment, tilting his head as he looked at her. It was a surprise, for sure. But he trained his face, thumbing over her cheek one as he took her in.

“Yeah?” He smiled, obviously not a bit upset at the confession. He had to think over his feelings a bit later. Because he was nervous if he admitted it so soon, and he didn’t mean it. He felt like he was getting there. Falling for sure. But not at the point he could say it. He leaned forward and kissed her, soft and sweet as appreciation. “M’fallin.” He could return the words back but she wasn’t alone in the feelings. He felt a lot for her and wanted to make sure she knew that it was getting there and there was nothing to be embarrassed of.

“Yeah.” She smiled back, biting her lip for a moment before he leaned in and kissed her. It was a nice feeling, warm and comforting. Y/N knew what she was feeling, but wasn’t exactly ready to say it back. That was fine, she just needed to get it off her chest because she really did love him. She’d never cared for someone like she cared for him and Oliver. She felt like they were her own little family, little paradise where anything could happen. Hearing him say he was falling just made everything feel better. Whenever he was ready, he could tell her felt the same. For now, they’d just continue on with their night.

“I feel better now...” Y/N mumbled as she pulled away from the kiss gently, “thank you, angel...” She hummed and returned her lips to his, finding a comfortable position for the two of them to just lay there and love up on each other.

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[part 5]

A/N: please let us know if you’d like to see more from them! - n + d

masterlist

#writing #harry styles one shot #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles #harry writing #jarofstyles #harry styles series

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