#i freaking love the thought of this being totally candid and instead of one of his daughters helping him…

[sunlightfeeling]

Kimura gettin’ squished by big dog be upon ye~

Eto thinks he’s a lap dog ☺️

[yamujiburo]

Jessie and Cassidy reconciliation fanfic thing

I was going through my notes app just now to just clear out some junk and I found something I'd written like a year ago and totally forgot about hahhaha. I don't usually do fanfics but I guess I was in a writing mood that night. I can't remember why I stopped. I either got stuck, didn't know how I wanted it to end or was just having a hard time figuring out like,,,, the arcs and what I wanted the main focus of the story to be. Anyhow, here it is if you wanna read the set up I made for it haha

Jessie, James and Meowth have once again failed to complete a mission and Matori is TIRED of it. She brings it up go Giovanni who tells her not to worry about them. Matori can’t figure out why Giovanni puts up with them and starts digging on possible reasons why Giovanni would keep them around. She decides to go to HR to find answers. There, she meets Wendy.

“Ah– Matori!”

“Pull up records for Jessie, James and–“, Matori notices that Wendy already has Jessie’s files pulled up and gives her a strange look.

“I see you’re already doing your research on Miss Jessie…”

“N-no! Well, yes. It’s just that Jessie has continuously failed almost all missions she’s been assigned! Not to mention she’s singlehandedly almost made the organization go broke. Well, not really but she still owes a lot of money!”

“And the other two?”

“Huh? Oh yeah them, too I guess.”

“I just don’t understand what Giovanni could possible see in them. They’re not good for Team Rocket.”

“Tell me about it, I’ve been trying to get the boss to fire them for years. But he’s got a real soft spot for them apparently. Tch, to think they were the top of their class once.”

“Hmph, I find that hard to believe.”

“I can’t speak for James and Meowth, but Jessie really was a promising recruit. So much so that when she threatened to quit, she somehow manipulated every exec into fulfilling her demands.”

“Threatened to quit?” The gears in Matori’s head began to turn. Sure Giovanni wouldn’t fire the trio, but if they were to quit, there would be nothing he could do.

“Yeah, she had a falling out with her first partner. And instead of being PROFESSIONAL she wined until she got a new one. Then she proceeded to go through like 10 more partners until James came along. If you’ve ever talked to her I’m sure you can tell she’s not the easiest person to work with.”

“Hm. Perhaps it’s time to switch up some teams.”

“C-can you do that? Is that allowed?”

“I could pull some strings.”

“Isn’t that sabotage?” Wendy asks. Matori shoots her a look.

“Call it what you want, but it’s my job to make sure this organization is successful as possible. Getting rid of some problem lackeys will only benefit Team Rocket. If Giovanni won’t do anything about them, then I will.”

“Matori. You are my hero”

“Are there any potential candidates we could temporarily team them up with? Or members they’ve been known to… not get along with?”

A big, Gengar-like smile creeps on Wendy’s face. “I know just the agents.”

_____________________________________________________________

Early in the morning in Jessie and James’ base, they get a call from Matori. Jessie is already annoyed, knowing who’s calling, but she wakes up her team members just in case it was Giovanni.

“A little early don’t you think, Matori?” Matori composes herself and ignores Jessie’s jab.

“Giovanni hasn’t arrived yet, but I have very important news.” Jessie, James and Meowth’s interests are piqued. “Your success rates have been… less than exemplary. But, you have previously shown you are exceptional agents.”

Jessie is taken aback by the, sort of, compliment from Matori. “So what’s the issue?”

“We have reason to believe that, while neither of you are individually the reason for your constant failures, you are incompatible as a team and you are going to be reassigned to different partners, effective immediately.”

James and Meowth look at each other shocked, and the thoughts going through their head were interrupted by their soon to be, not-leader. “WHAT?! You can’t split us up! We–“

“I apologize for the inconvenience. But this is for the benefit of Team Rocket. I do not have time to argue this. It has already been decided and your new partners have been decided. James, you are to return to headquarters where you will meet your new partner and Jessie, you will remain where you are and your new partner will arrive tomorrow.”

“What about, Me-owth?”

Matori pauses. She hadn’t thought about the cat. “You can decide who you wish to go with. Thank you for your time. Best of luck with your new arrangements.”

Matori hangs up. Jessie, James and Meowth stand staring at the screen, solemn. What doe they do now? Years of working together over, just like that.

“UGH THAT LITTLE FOUR EYED BOWL CUT HAIRED FREAK! I’m gonna do something about this! They can’t do this to us!” James gently puts his had on Jessie’s shoulder.

“There’s nothing we can do,”

James packs up, Meowth has decided to go with James. They say their goodbyes. James and Meowth grab the rest of their things and leave. Jessie is left alone with her thoughts.

_____________________________________________________________

Back at headquarters, we see James and Meowth being led by Matori to her office where she says his new partner is waiting. She talks about how this member is in a very similar situation. They walk in and see short, green hair. “BUTCH???”

“Oh no not you guys!”

“If you’re my new partner, that must mean…”

“Oh no,” they all say in unison.

_____________________________________________________________

Jessie still lying in the same place on her bed. Why was she feeling this way? She’d been through so many parters before. Sure she’d been with James and Meowth longer, but she wasn’t one to get attached. Well, not anymore. In the middle of her thought, she hears the elevator to the base coming down. She gets up and makes herself as presentable as possible (over shirt is off, makeup kinda smeared, boots off). Before she can get her shit together, a pair of white boots click, clack in. Jessie looks up, and the flash of orange, blonde seared her eyes.

“CASSIDY?!”

“JESSIE?!”

“No, no, no there has to be some sort of mistake. I can’t be teamed up with you! I hate you!”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

“I can’t believe I going to have to work with your ugly ass every day.”

“You’re one to talk. Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Jessie turned to the standup mirror leaning against the wall. She was definitely not looking her best.

“You caught me at a bad time!”

“You sure? I recall you always looking this ratty. I guess it has been a while since I’ve seen you, thank goodness," Cassidy said smugly. Jessie was already pissed off.

“We’re calling Matori RIGHT NOW to fix this.”

“Gee, while you’re looking like that?”

“I DON’T WANNA HEAR IT.” Jessie picked up the communicator, which brandished a large R on the wall. Matori picked up.

“Good afternoon Jessie, are you aware that you’re not in uniform?”

“Cut the crap you clod! You set me up with Cassidy on purpose!”

“Ah I see you’ve met your new partner! Hello, Cassidy.”

“Matori,” Cassidy said with a small bow. Of course Cassidy was trying to stay composed. Just another way to try one-up Jessie.

“We can NOT work together. I demand you put me back on my old team!”

“While I’m not one to disagree with higher ups, Miss Matori, I unfortunately have to side with Jessie on this one. You might not be aware but Jessie and I were partners once in our training days. We simply are not compatible,” Cassidy explained as politely as possible.

“Was there a reason for this, incompatibility? I was looking through your records and it appeared that you two were quite the team back in the day. I had assumed that the executives just wanted two top agents to be on other teams with some less skilled trainees.” Both Cassidy and Jessie blushed.

It was true that Jessie and Cassidy were at the top of their class for quite some time. But the reasons for them being split up were quite… personal.

“Listen, we just can’t work together. Try getting that through that helmet head of yours.”

_____________________________________________________________

~aaaaand this is where i got to~

Anyone wanna finish this for me? /j

I can't remember where I wanted this to go. I think I was gonna have Jessie and Cassidy try to suck it up and work together so they don't lose their jobs. They fight Ash and Goh, trying to get Pikachu as usual and quickly fail because of their bickering. They eventually have a heart to heart, wondering where they went wrong back when they were a team. They say a lot of things that they'd failed to communicate in the past and reconcile.

THEN this is where I kinda got stuck on what I wanted the focus/them to me. There was a version in my head where after they reconcile they like,,, make out and start falling in love again (for those new here, I firmly believe Jessie and Cassidy are bitter exes and had a falling out during their training days). After this their chemistry and communication improve immensely resulting in them succeeding to catch Pikachu. Matori comes to retrieve it but Ash and Goh get it back while it's in Matori's hands (making it her failure). And then I wasn't sure how to end this version. Maybe things going back to normal after Giovanni finds out that Jessie and Cassidy are dating and deems it unprofessional. Jessie, James and Meowth are reunited and Cassidy and Butch are as well. Happy ending were things are as they were but now Cassidy and Jessie are on good terms and still together maybe???

The oooother version was centering the story more around Jessie and her inability to keep her partners/not appreciating them. If I went with this I think I'd start off the story differently with her being a dick to James and Meowth (which she is a lot of the time but this time she crosses a line). After the team switch she finds that she really had been taking her teammates for granted. I think Cassidy and Jessie still have that heart to heart but then it's more about how Jessie hurt Cassidy and Jessie kinda realizes that she's still making the same errors currently. They reconcile buuut the both of them still want their old partners back so they hatch a plan to successfully steal Pikachu but ensure that Ash gets it back when it's in Matori's hands. They request that they be paired up with their old teammates and in exchange, wouldn't tell Giovanni that Matori messed up. Everything goes back to normal the end.

I had too many jumbled ideas and because I don't have the attention span to write for more than a couple hours I just dropped this LOL. Just thought I'd share in case anyone found this remotely interesting or entertaining hehe

[princess-of-inarizaki]

this is so random but can you do a fluff headcanon of seeing his s/o in a kimono for Sakusa, Suna, and Atsumu. And maybe kuroo, komori, and kita too I watch this todomomo CD drama the other day where the two saw each other in festival and they're like so cute frickin' cute todoroki compliment Momo, being kinda open towards her, and Momo just being really soft and cute makes me giggle and smile.

AHHH that is just such a good idea. I'm always so soft when they see each other wearing yukata's or kimono's at festivals. I only wish they had that sorta stuff where I live too 😭🤚💕💕💕✨

And omg yghhhh todomomo is such a cute ship, like I genuinely adore them both so much >:(

The boys seeing their cute s/o in a kimono

Characters: Atsumu, Kita, Suna, Kuroo, Sakusa

Warnings: none

Atsumu

Okay so Atsumu would definitely be extremely smooth. like he's internally freaking out and thinking you look so adorable!! but on the outside he's just trying to play it cool so you don't catch on.

His eyes would literally not leave you and he's just taking in how you look the entire time.

“yer ready ta go babe?” with this hot ass smirk on his face.

You're just blushing and you nod and follow him, your geta making sounds beneath you.

When you reach there, you're buying takoyaki, and you ask him if he wants some.

He ends up eating almost everything, like what the heck, man?

Apologizes and buys you more.

Would definitely try to show off and win you stuff at the festival to prove how manly™ he is, and also hopes he impresses you in the process.

“hey babe, watch me win this for you” and he's having a full-fledged war with the kid he's competing with.

He ends up winning and sticking his tongue out at the kid. Because it's basically canon that his mental age drops to 5 when he's competitive about things.

You just ruffle his hair and congratulate him.

Would definitely do the whole yawning and bringing you closer to him thing, when you've decided to take a break and rest.

He's trying to be slick, please don't call him out.

Your friends text you, telling you about the firecracker show and you ask Tsumu if he'd be okay to stay for that.

He practically jumps!! at the chance!! I mean, more time spent with you is always good :]

Asks if he can have your first kiss under the firecrackers. He's a consensual king

After you say yes, he'd just gently cup your face and lean down (WE LIVE FOR MFING HEIGHT DIFFERENCES!!) and kiss your lips gently at first, as the sky is filled with bursts of colour.

Y'all definitely end up making out but that's a different story

Walks you home after everything is over, and tells you how much he liked spending time with you on the way home.

“ya looked beautiful today, y/n-chan” and he has the shyest look on his face.

You kiss his nose and walk inside, leaving him flustered on your doorstep.

Kita

Plans this weeks in advance, after hearing about the festival, and musters up the courage to ask you to go with him.

You jump at the chance. At first you think the whole team is coming along, until a flustered Kita says “i hope it would just be the two of us.”

Your eyes widen and you're both just blushing messes looking at the ground.

You both arrive early, and laugh, seeing how you had the same idea to come a bit earlier.

He looks at you in the kimono and takes a few deep breaths before genuinely complimenting you in the most poetic way possible?

“your beauty is unrivalled, y/n-san. Even the brightest lamp is nothing when compared to the radiance you emit.”

And you're just so Mcfreaking flustered™?????? Like where did he learn how to make your heart go doki doki like that omg

You guys would probably be very rational about making your way around the festival.

Food first, and maybe we'll play some games later?

He definitely pays for everything ugh, such a gentleman, eventho you told him it was okay.

And old lady at one of the stalls flusters the two of you by saying he has such a pretty girlfriend.

And he just smiles, with flushed cheeks. Neither of you disagree.

It starts drizzling and the two of you find shelter under a tree.

You're a bit sad about how your kimono got a bit ruined after slipping in some mud, and he gently helps your roll the area up and wipes it with a tissue.

He also smiles and tries to crack a joke by saying “the clouds thought you were so beautiful, they started crying” as he gestured to the rain.

Although the fireworks show was cancelled, Kita wrapped his arms around you and kept you warm, as you talked so many things, whilst waiting for the rain to stop.

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise :)

He gently holds your hand at some point too, and plays with your fingers, pressing a small kiss to the back of your hand.

The rain finally stops and he walks you home, thanking you for spending time with him.

You take a deep breath and kiss him before entering your house, and he smiles through the kiss.

“i've always wanted to do that” he says softly, after kissing you gently again and waving goodbye.

Suna

Going out with Suna was definitely an impromtu plan of some sort. Like he just randomly texts you, asking if you want to go and you agree.

Definitely sends you a few memes about how he can't wait and begins to get ready.

You guys meet there and both of you are just so shocked at how the other looks.

Suna thinks you look gorgeous, and he tries to tell you in a teasing way. Much like Atsumu, he's trying to play it down when he's actually so flustered.

“hey dork, you don't look too bad”

You're not good at hiding your thoughts though, and you blurt out a rushed “Suna were you always this hot?” gesturing to his Yukata.

Y/n-chan I think you broke Suna.

He's just a flustered mess and he doesn't reply, instead saying he's hungry and buying something to eat. He buys one for you too, and suggests you guys walk and eat at the same time.

Definitely shows you memes and takes videos of you as the night progresses and the two of you loosen up and start doing dumb stuff.

Takes lots of pictures of you so he can document how pretty you look and keep it with him.

You pose for some, whilst some are just totally candid, with absolutely no pretense, your beauty in its natural glory.

Suna is just so whipped, and he knows he'll regret it if he doesn't tell you honestly, so he wipes some sauce off from the side of your lip and kisses you gently.

It's a quick peck, but it took lots of courage.

“i mean to tell you earlier, y/n, but you look beautiful in this kimono”

You smile, and he's just so super happy he got over his nerves.

“thank you Suna. I think you look amazing in your yukata” you say softly, as you run your fingers along the hem of it, feeling the soft material beneath your fingers.

The fireworks are just streaking bursts of colour across the sky, and you're looking into each others' eyes with so much adoration.

“just now's kiss was too short” you murmur softly as you capture him in a passionate kiss.

It gets really late, and you guys go home. He makes sure you're walking back with your friends before heading home himself.

Calls you after he reaches home and tells you he had an amazing night.

He definitely looks over all the pictures he took of you and makes one of them his lockscreen

Kuroo

I actually mean this if I could date any of the hq boys I would date Kuroo. He's such a sweetheart and I adore him to bits and pieces.

So Kuroo asks you to the festival with a bet. He's like “if Nekoma wins this match, you'll go on a date with me to the festival, kitten.”

And he has the hottest smirk on his face. Like stfu and leave some pretty for other men >:(

You're so flustered but you eventually agree.

No surprise that Nekoma wins both sets and it's mainly because Kuroo didn't let a single ball go past him, he was literally on fire.

So he's smiling and tells you he'll pick you up at 8.00.

I'm pretty sure Kuroo is a total gentlemen, so he meets your parents they totally love him and he's just waiting for you to come down when he sees how lovely you look in a kimono, and he's the literal embodiment of the 😍 emoji.

Like he can't tear his eyes off of you and you're getting so flustered, so you just drag him out of the house and to the festival.

“Such a dom, aren't you kitten?”

When you're at the festival he tries playing a game. He wants to win you something, so he's pretty serious and focused.

He ends up winning and he's all like “so I got reward for you. Do I get a reward from you?” and he's just lowering his face to meet yours.

So you grudgingly kiss his cheek but you definitely loved it, ok?

He definitely buys food and will not eat any of it unless you feed him.

Feeds you too, and takes cute selfies to post on his Instagram.

You guys end up taking a lot of selfies together and trying out all the cute filters. Kuroo's favourite picture is one of you looking at him whilst talking to him, your eyes super bright, and he's just smiling for the camera, but his eyes are on you.

Makes it his phone wallpaper on the spot, to your delight.

Informs you of a fireworks show happening in a little while, and settles down to find an empty place to enjoy it.

Wraps as arm around you because it's apparently "cold" and "your kimono won't keep you warm like his arms will"

You complain but secretly love it.

He then goes full-on nerd more and explains the science behind fireworks, whilst the colours are filling the night sky.

But he soon goes quiet after seeing the colours reflected in your eyes. He's so shy, and he literally can't help himself, he kisses your lips softly.

You guys totally smile into the kiss ugh this is so cute.

Takes you home responsibly and thanks you and your parents before leaving.

Sends you a thank you text before falling asleep, dubbing the night he saw you in a kimono "the best night of his life, to date"

I'm gonna cry Kuroo is so important to me, I love him so much.

Sakusa

Okay in my opinion, you'll have to be the one asking Sakusa out. He'll be super moody about it, but internally, he's dying to go.

You arrive at his doorstep to pick him up and he's just blushing at how cute you look in the kimono.

Like wow aight thank God I'm wearing a mask because this blush is fresh as heck +_+

Silently passes you a tube of hand sanitizer and you're so confused.

“if you put this on, we'll be able to hold hands.”

You're close to dying, no one has ever been able to touch Sakusa's hands, or hand sanitizer before. So you eagerly put it on, and intertwine your soft hands with his.

He's just so touch starved, so he holds your hand tighter as you guys make your way to the festival.

Sakusa hates it there. He waits for you to buy food before finding a secluded area to get away from the crowds.

You're also kinda glad you'll get to spend some time alone with him, so you aren't complaining.

You guys talk about lots of things, you definitely being the more flirty one in the conversation.

You suddenly muster up the guys to tug his mask down softly, seeing his pink cheeks and soft smile.

“can I kiss you?” you ask gently, eyes fixated on his lips.

“yes” he breathlessly replies, as your lips make your way to his, the sky is lit with fireworks, but the two of you hardly notice.

Your hand is tangled in his soft curly hair, and you're both blushing messes.

He walks you back, this time, and thanks you for spending a wonderful night out with him.

Low-key feels bad that you didn't get to enjoy the festival properly, so he tries to make it up to you by buying you lunch the next day. Very wholesome 10/10

[Ari's note: AHHHHH This was such a whirlwind to write it actually took me so long so I hope you enjoy this <3]

Taglist: @k-sakusa-old

[zevlors-tail]

Shinsou x Reader x Deku Zoo HC’s

Pairing: Poly ShinDeku x Reader/Shinsou x Reader x Izuku

Description: A day trip to the zoo with Reader!

Warnings: Established poly relationship, otherwise none. Maybe tooth rotting fluff.

A/N: First and foremost! Both boys and the Reader are in an established poly relationship, are Pro!Heroes, and are aged 21+. Bet y’all can’t guess where I went today lol. Today had hella Shinsou vibes, and of course I will forever love the green ball of sunshine that is Izuku Midoriya, so this happened. Enjoy!

A Day At The Zoo

-It’s so rare that the three of you ever end up with the same day off together, so most of the time you have to plan ahead if you want to have outings or adventures, the zoo included!

-It was Deku’s idea first. Well, not idea per se; he just suggested it in passing and you hopped on that train of thought so freaking fast! A whole day spent looking at cute animals with your cute boyfriends? Um, yes please!

-Shinsou had never been to the zoo before, so he didn’t really understand the hype at first. What exactly was the point in visiting animals other than cats? Especially when you can’t pet or hold them? But if it made you and Izuku happy, then who was he to say no?

-Izuku recommended a zoo that was a little bit farther away than your local one, but it had so much more than the typical barnyard animals at yours. He’d gone a few times himself for fundraisers and meetings but you and Shinsou had never been there before.

-So the three of you planned out a day in advance, took the day off from your respective places of work, and thus, the adventure began!

-You talked about it for weeks beforehand, right up until you were parked at the front gates. “Are you guys excited? Because I am SO excited! I’m gonna pet the goats, and the stingrays, and the sharks, and look at all the birds, and take so many pictures-!”

-The first thing you spot is the giant monarch butterfly chilling on the flowers outside of the front gates, so you already know it’s gonna be a good day. You already have your camera whipped out to take a pic.

-Izuku thinks it’s the cutest thing, and Shinsou is literally taking a picture of you taking a photo of the butterfly. The butterfly might be photogenic, but honestly, he thinks you’re the real work of art here.

-The three of you pay and no sooner than when the receipt was in Shinsou’s hand were you running off to the first exhibit, both boys trying to keep up with your pace so they didn’t lose you.

-The first exhibit had some arctic animals like polar bears and seals, which you watched for a while with a content smile on your face. The bears were up and playing around with a dented bucket and a huge rubber ball, and you got some really cool pictures of them. Izuku even managed to get a video of a seal gliding through their underwater tunnel.

-Once again Shinsou is taking pictures of you taking pictures of the animals, because he thinks it’s absolutely adorable. He has this little smirk on his face as he watches you from the camera lens. Although he has to admit, the polar bears are super cute. 

-You keep bouncing around from exhibit to exhibit. One moment the boys are watching the wolves with you, and the next, you’ve wandered over to the giraffes by yourself. Shinsou briefly wonders if they should invest in one of those backpacks with a leash for you.

-Eh, they can just use Izuku’s arms instead. At some point in the day, you’re not really sure when, Izuku just resulted in wrapping his arms around you and holding you while you’re looking at exhibits to keep you from running off. He likes to rest his chin on your head and listen to you gush about how cute the animals are.

-And when you’re walking from place to place, you can bet he’s immediately reaching for your hand to lace his fingers in yours. You end up in between him and Shinsou who also wants to hold hands with you.

-You point out all the animals, even the ones that aren’t a part of the zoo, and the boys think it’s endearing. “Awe, look at this dove over here in it’s nest! Isn’t it so cute!?”

-”Y/N, I don’t think-” He’s being good-natured about it and laughing because he finds it sweet, but Izuku can’t finish his sentence because Hitoshi is slapping a hand over his mouth.

-”Just let them be. It’s precious.”

-”Hello, Mr. Squirrel!” You probably name all of the local ducks and geese walking around, too.

-Eventually you guys make it to the aviary, and you start to explore all the bird exhibits.

-Shinsou, immediately: “It’s so loud in here.”

-Izuku seems to know little random bits of information on the birds, and really enjoys watching them fly around.

-”Shinsou,” you beg him, “can you take my picture next to this giant bird!?”

-He perks up a little after that. Also, he already took your picture. He’s super sneaky and really good at taking pics while you’re not looking. Some of the best photos he has of you and Izuku are candids he took without you knowing. Nothing terrible; they’re all literally still shots of your smiles, your eyes, or just of the two of you doing routine things. His whole camera roll is full of you and Izuku.

-After the birds, you come to the penguin exhibit.

-Penguins just so happen to be Izuku’s favorite animal at the zoo. He loves how they waddle around without a care in the world, and he thinks their black and white patterns are just so unique!

-Definitely embarrasses Shinsou by imitating the penguin walk. He’s a goofball with the two of you, you know he would! And you’re right there with him, following him around with your hands at your sides as you waddle behind him. 

-”I don’t know them,” Shinsou jokes with the people next to you. But he loves you both, you can tell by the way he’s smiling. He thinks it’s cute how the two of you act like this together...in a dorky way, but still.

-Finally, you guys get to the aquarium. The moment you step through the door, Shinsou is practically mesmerized by the fish. He’s never seen so many before; there’s so many colors and shapes and sizes...

-He feels peaceful while he’s watching them swim around.

-You like all the really weird fish. Izuku likes the tropical ones with all the crazy colors, and Shinsou...

-He loves the moon jellies. The second he stepped in front of that tank, he was gone. You and Izuku just watch him for a moment as he relaxes his shoulders and stares into purple tinted waters, totally serene and carefree.

-Izuku takes a 2 minute long video of him bc the moment is just so precious. RIP anyone else who wanted to look at the jellyfish today, bc Shinsou’s literally been there for like 10 minutes now

-Shinsou decides he really likes the zoo after that. Every other exhibit is much more enjoyable and he’s in such a better mood. Not that he was in a bad mood when he first got there, it’s just that he didn’t see the point in all of it at first. 

-Izuku also spends a while looking at the sea turtles, which happen to be his second favorite animal.

-You guys spent the most amount of time in the aquarium no thanks to Hitoshi, but you did manage to make it to the museum before it closed for the afternoon as well.

-Izu reads all the plaques out loud to the two of you and tells you all about the animals and displays. Some of them are interactive, and you can’t help yourself from pressing every single button and listening to the noises and information it gives you.

-There’s a section in the museum where you can pet stingrays. You had never done something like that before, and neither had the boys, so the three of you decided to give it a go.

-It was so soft.

-Stingrays feel like wet velvet, almost. 

-Izuku decides he’s done so he just ends up taking pictures of you and Shinsou. But soon you’re done too so you grab Hitoshi to leave, however-

-You and Izuku are walking away and suddenly: “Uh, Y/N? Wasn’t Shinsou with you?” “No, I thought he was with you?” “Where’s our boyfriend!?”

-You turn back around and he’s still there petting the stingrays. He’s SO fascinated, please don’t make him leave. He’s having the time of his life! It melts both of your rapidly beating hearts (you know, from the mini heart attack you had bc your other third was missing for a second).

-You both let him stay there for however long he wants, and when he reluctantly leaves (finally), you make your way to the giant gift shop at the end of the zoo.

-You guys buy so much stuff it’s not even funny. Partly because as Pros, you have the money to spend, and partly because you want to support the zoo so you can come back. They always appreciate business and donations.

-Speaking of donations, Izuku whips out his checkbook and makes a huge donation to a cause for sea turtles. The zoo is super thankful and you couldn’t be more proud. 

-You’re sure that if there was fund for jellyfish, Shinsou would be donating too.

-You all end up buying each other a plush of your fav animals; Izu gets a penguin, Shinsou gets a jellyfish, and you get your favorite animal too.

-You may or may not have bought a shirt as well... It has the zoo’s museum name on it along with some really cute animals.

-All in all a really great day! 

Bonus Content:

-Shinsou wants to book another trip as soon as you all are back home. He loves the zoo now and he wants to go, like, all of the time.

-You and Izu have caught him watching jellyfish videos on youtube on more than one occasion. He finds them relaxing and can’t wait to go see the real thing again.

[mrvdocks]

Plus One

Things get real. Can you totally hide your feelings for Steve any longer? 

smut warning

(chapter four) @mochminnie @wolfish-willow

You’re in the bathroom trying not to freak out or let it show just how much your mind was reeling from earlier. It couldn’t be happening, right? There’s no way you were falling for Steve Harrington. 

No, no way. He was so different from you. 

But opposites attract right? 

You grimaced, thinking back to the way his eyes flickered from your eyes to your lips. The way he too seemed unsure of going for it.

This would change your entire dynamic. Were you even ready to open up to someone else?

Steve knew you, sure, but just the things at surface level. Things you wanted him to know. You were afraid to even tell him about everything else back home, thinking maybe he would freak at the first sight of a parent gushing over how perfect he seemed. 

If there’s anything a person never is, it’s perfect. 

In many ways, Steve just didn’t seem like an ideal candidate. He never put his things away, snores too loudly, had the romantic personality of a ninth-grader, was obsessed with his hair way more than you were, and he looked for superficial things. 

He knew it too deep down, it was better to ignore the flaws for the love we think we deserved instead of feeling contrite when the ugly truth was out there.

That’s where you differed. You needed honesty, it was the only way to live.

Knock. 

“Hey, you okay?” Steve’s voice echoed from behind the door. 

You squeezed your eyes shut. He just had to be here right now, didn’t he?

You think of something gross enough to keep him on the other side.

“I think the food’s not agreeing with me right now.” 

“Oh okay, do you need anything?” Damn it, leave!

“No! I mean - no. It’s alright. I’ll be right out.” 

You count down from ten, trying to ease your anxious nerves. You take deep breaths and exhale once you get to the primary numbers. At one, you stand straight and march out of the bathroom as if nothing happened. Steve sits on the edge of the bed in his dress shirt now, his blazer discarded onto the chair next to him. 

He’s watching the tv blankly, a rerun of a show you both had seen back home fills out the room. You grab your night clothes and return to the bathroom, changing as fast as you can to slide into bed and call it a night. When you return, Steve’s still where he was before, only now fidgeting with the cuff links on his wrist.

You should be paid for how much you’re able to get out of him. 

“Are you okay? You look like you’re about to cry or something.”

“My dad’s getting married.”

It takes you by surprise. Steve’s never talked about his dad before, not even to Robin.

“Oh,” You say simply. “Like renewing his vows or something?” 

He shakes his head. 

“My mom moved away a while ago. My dad, he uh…..met this woman half his age after her. She’s got kids from another marriage.” He flicks the cuff link. 

“Before I moved to New York with Robin, I would just see and hear them all the time at home. He was nicer to them, do things with them that I had to beg him to do with me when I was a kid.”

You sit next to him, bringing your hand to rest atop his own. 

“The night before I left, I just told him off. I told him it wasn’t fair that he got to start over with another family just because he messed ours up. He called me before we got here saying he wanted me to be his best man.”

He falls silent, his lip quivers but he purses his lips into a straight line to keep himself from letting it out. You can’t say much that will help him, but you understand his disdain and avoidance of weddings thus far.

“What’d you tell him?”

He shrugs. “I told him I’d think about it. He expects an answer when we go home.”

“Well, at least he’s happy.” You sigh.

“Yeah, for now. And then it’s onto the next one.”

You don’t want to do it, but since you’re just letting the skeletons out of the closet, you might as well. 

“You know my parents are still together?” you start. “My mom’s always been this, overbearing cross that my dad carries around. She yells at him all the time but I think he’s checked out already. They didn’t want to divorce because they thought it would damn them or mess me up. But I think it did anyway.”

Steve’s entranced by you, you were opening up. 

“They’ve stuck it out since they had me. And it’s just sad now. I think about them sometimes, just sitting in that house, eating their dinner and sleeping together, not saying a word to each other.”

Steve opens his mouth like he’s about to apologize for even bringing the parent topic up.

“Sure your parents split up, but at least they’re not miserable. I can tell you from experience you would’ve liked that a lot less.” You conclude, removing your hand from his and leaving to go to bed. 

It’s been a weird night.

Steve stops you though, his fingers snaking onto your wrist. You turn back, thinking he’s going to talk more about his family or dive deeper into some other trauma. Imagine your surprise when he stands and bends to your level to pull you into his arms, bringing you in tight and firm. You’re taken aback, arms flying up but eventually settling on his broad back. Your fingers clutch his shirt in fistfuls, taking in the smell of him. 

“Hey, Steve?”

He hums.

“I’m totally reading your boner right now.”

“And the moment’s over.” He says, pulling away. You almost frown at the loss of his body pressing against yours. 

“I’m kidding!” You huff, pushing him back onto the bed. 

You settle in after he changes, pulling the covers up to your chest and putting your arms above them in thought. Steve sees you staring at the ceiling.

“Have you gone catatonic on me?”

“No, it’s just….this is the most I’ve gotten out of you in two years.”

“You’ve known me for two years.” He crawls in, getting comfortable. 

“Yeah but, you know, are these really things you’ve told Robin before?”

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“She never asked.”

Truthfully, it wasn’t that. While Robin felt comfortable revealing the truth about herself that Fourth of July, Steve had learned to keep things to himself. It’s how he was raised. But you and Robin changed that, especially with the way you tended to overshare things sometimes. 

You turn onto your side, facing him. He’s thinking about something, and he looks so magnificent doing it. The way his hair rests on his forehead, the way his fingers curl around the blanket... 

Oh no. Is this how it starts? Admiring him? Craving his touch like earlier? Wanting his attention fully on you and not all these other women? It was so juvenile, feeling like this was your first love again. The strong feeling hitting you just like the waves did earlier.

It was no secret you were touch starved, but there was something in the way his touch relaxed you. It made you think sometimes. Whatever this feeling was, it was different from what you felt with Danny. You jumped the shark with him, you didn’t really know him. 

But with Steve, you were starting to. He was bare bones with you. 

“Goodnight.” He whispers, turning the bedside lamp off.

“Goodnight.” 

“Are you telling me you don’t know how to ride a bike?” You ask Steve, watching him shift uncomfortably and unevenly on the beach cruiser.

It was your last day being in Virginia, and you didn’t want to sit in the hotel and gorge on food until you passed out. That’s what home was reserved for. 

Joyce had spoken of how lovely the horses and horseback riding was here, but that was closed so you settled for the next best thing. Riding bikes at the beach.

“No I - I do know, I’m just saying this is a hard seat.” 

He’s been adamant about this for five minutes now. Every now and then a girl will pass by and he’ll try to sit, only to fall on his side. You’ve taken so many snapshots of this, each time bellowing with ridiculous laughter.

“When we go home I’m developing this and hanging it on the fridge.”

“Erase this footage!” He gestures to the camera, losing balance again.

“Make me, Harrington!” You can’t help but shoot back.

Passersby found it funny the way you two were bickering. Even more so when you lent over to show Steve how to keep his arms and legs on the bike, him reassuring you he knew where everything went.

“I can do it.” 

“Okay, let’s see then.” You cross your arms and stand aside waiting. 

He mutters to himself and puts both his feet on the pedals, not falling to either side this time. He grips the handlebars and pedals forward, passing you with an excitement lighting up his face that a child would have when they were first learning. 

He can’t manage the turn and falters, sticking a foot and hand out to cushion his fall. You catch up to him, ready to help but he lays down onto the grass and accepts his failure. 

“Come on, you’ll get the hang of it. You just need more practice.” 

You hold out your hand, waiting for him to take it. 

“I know this keeps you healthy, but at what cost?” He grabs on, using you to balance him when he gets to his feet again. He’s too tall and heavy for you, prompting you to waver slightly and hold onto him. 

You pull away when you realize your hands rested on his chest, his other arm holding onto your lower back. He scratches the back of his head nervously uttering an apology.

Feeling the blush creep to your cheeks, you return to your ride, mounting and waiting for him to do the same. 

“Try to catch up.” You smirk, racing off down the hill and squealing. 

“What are you, Evel Knievel?!” He yells after you, wobbling and gritting his teeth as he follows after you. 

You have the upper hand on him the entire time, often hiding behind shops and emerging from behind him when he thinks he’s faster. You ride until the sun sets, enjoying the breeze and the little bit of sun before stopping at an ice cream shop. Steve thinks he’s something of an ice cream connoisseur when you look at flavors. You two end up fighting on flavors before settling on two different ones and eating outside in a garden the shop owner called a hidden gem.

“No way, cookies ‘n cream is the best one.” He remarks, finishing off the cone. 

“Mint chocolate is actually superior and I won’t hear another word about it.” You took your time, enjoying the sensation your mouth was on. 

He shakes his head. “It’s basically gum! It’s disgusting!” 

“But it tastes so good!” You take another bite teeth first and moan in delight. 

He groans in disgust but nonetheless is amused when you try to get him to eat a bit of it. He avoids your hand, moving his head out of the way every time it’s shoved in his face. You wait, plotting. 

“You have some on your lip.” You say, pointing toward his top lip. He licks at it, tasting nothing.

“There’s noth -”

He’s muffled by a mouthful mint chocolate. You can’t help it when the corners of your lips lift into a smug smirk. 

“Funny, huh?” He says, wiping it off with his hand. 

He takes the rest of the cone and dips his fingertips in it, turning his attention to painting your cheeks and lips with as much as he can. You recoil and gasp as the cold sensation, trying to get it off but he keeps attacking. 

“Okay! Okay! Truce!” You wave a figurative white flag. He stops, proud of his work, and tops it off by rustling your hair. 

“I’m so gonna get you,” You promise, wiping at your cheeks and going to get him with the residue when you turn to face him and find your faces are closer than ever. 

You fall silent, the trouble maker in you declining to come back for an encore. 

“What, no smartass remark this time?” He teases. 

As cliche as it might sound, you’re lost in his smugness. His smile falters, his brows furrowing as he realizes what he’s doing, the gap between your faces closing. You close your eyes first, testing the waters and pressing your lips against his softly. He pauses for a moment, suddenly aware of the gravity of what you were doing, bringing his hand up for your cheek to rest on. His eyes flutter shut soon after, diving into your lips and tasting the mixture of sweets. 

He kisses you feverishly and desperately, sighing as he relaxes into you. Your fingers tug at his hair and the back collar of his shirt. He leads you down onto the grass, flowers decorate your head in a red halo. He settles in between your legs and holds himself up by his forearms, his fingers entangling themselves in your hair as he cocks his head to the side to get more of you.

It’s been a while but both of you are antsy and eager. You kick off your shoes and immediately make quick work of his belted pants. He catches your drift and helps you with your skirt, pulling the long pleated material up to snag both ends of your panties. 

“Ow.” 

“Sorry.” He whispers.

“No, it’s okay, just - here,” You grunt as you try to help him from where you’re laying, lifting your hips up to let the fabric slide off. The cool air of the night makes you shiver. 

Steve peppers you with kisses as you reach for the belt and unbuckle it. Hearing it come undone makes you even more aroused. 

“Hold on.” He says in a breathy voice, reaching between your bodies and lining himself in. You tease him by wrapping a leg around his torso and pushing him in slowly with the heel of your foot against his butt.

The feeling overwhelms him, letting out a sharp exhale. He glances back to your smug face and glares at you momentarily. 

You move in sync, your hand grasping onto his broad shoulders and the other on his bicep to keep the pace. He grunts into your shoulder, lost in the lust. His hand comes to rest under your head to support it while also gripping it with each thrust he bucked into you. 

Each thrust was different, pleasurable, and enticing. It fulfilled the need for him you had that night at the beach. You catch yourself smiling, knowing none of the bridesmaids or guests he tried flirting with got this far. Not even Sissy.

He hits a spot in you that rouses you out of your thoughts and leaves you mewling wantonly. You know he won’t last, not at the rate his thrusts are going. He’s crying out, bucking against you in fervor, gripping your hair harder, and groaning louder into your neck. You made him this way. 

Ever since the first wedding, seeing you out of your element made him reconsider some things. Sure if he’d gotten a girlfriend out of this, it would be good for him. But something about you made him feel the way he thought he felt for Nancy. 

He felt seventeen all over again, giddy and in love and a little horny. He just didn’t know if you felt the same. But after the beach incident and the way you took the lead first, all doubts went away.

Thinking about you, he slides his thumb into his mouth and lubricates it, snaking it down to the neglected pearl in between your legs. Your eyes shut in ecstasy at the added sensation, your back arching into him. You feel your legs shake and your feet writhe against his ass trying to amplify the feeling. His heavy breaths, needy kisses, and raunchy whispers in your ear are absolute heaven to you. 

You come before him, muffling your lewd moans into his shoulder and milking him for everything he’s got. He comes with a final sloppy thrust and collapses onto you, knocking the wind out of you and leaving you catching your breath.

He pants, breath hot and heavy against your collarbone. Your legs unwrap from their previous position, now shaky and limp. 

Once you two catch your breath after about a minute or two, Steve lifts his head to rest his forehead against yours. You both chuckle, finally acknowledging the broken tension.

Steve kisses you again, this time without fear or doubt. Just pure adoration. 

You don’t really feel yourself fall asleep, neither does he. But you’re definitely mortified in the morning when you hear voices that wake you up with a start.

“Cooter’s out.” The old gardener points out.

The statement wakes you up, and when you realize you just flashed your privates you stand up quickly and shake Steve awake. He groans, but opens his eyes, his smile dropping once he notices the man in front of you two. 

“Cooter’s out.” The old man repeats.

You pull the skirt all the way down and grab your shoes quickly while Steve tucks himself back in and apologizes profusely. You grab his hand and race out of the garden, red as a tomato and grab the bikes to go back to the hotel. 

The car ride to the airport is quiet. You thank yourself for bringing something to read to avoid mentioning the embarrassing aftermath. Steve didn’t bring anything to distract him like you did, but he glances at you every so often. When your eyes meet, you both turn away quickly. But the smile on both your faces betrays you both. 

Steve doesn’t even bother flirting with the flight attendant this time, his eyes are completely on you. It feels odd. You can’t even find a smart-ass thing to say, it’s like you’re short-circuiting. You didn’t know what he was thinking, but if the constant staring and easy smiles and looks of adoration he gave you were any indications, he was whipped.

You sigh in relief as you plop onto the couch, letting all your things fall after Steve gets in. He takes the initiative to break the ice when he collapses onto your chest. 

You’re winded again. “Whoa, someone ate too much shrimp at the wedding.”

Steve suppresses a chuckle, taking you in. You had some type of glow he’d never noticed before.

“So…” He begins.

“So…”

“About last night,” he starts but you cut him off.

“We don’t need to talk about it, you know if you don’t want to.” 

“I do.” He murmurs into your chest. He hugs your body, his head resting on your chest the same way Mickey would do it. 

Damn it, you actually liked this. 

“Great sex.” You blurt, shutting your eyes in disbelief at how awkward he suddenly made you.

His dimples peeked out as he felt himself chuckling. “Yeah, great sex.”

“I’m sorry,” you jittered. “I’m never usually like this.”

“Oh, I know. But it’s okay. I had fun.” 

You haven’t felt this excited for something to potentially happen since you met Danny. But even now you were hopeful.

“Steve?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you want me to go with you to your dad’s wedding?”

He must’ve remembered he had to answer that best man question because he’s unmoving.

How bad can it be? He thinks. Now that I have you.

“Yes please.”

[woulddieforperrytheplatypus]

My mind was plagued with thoughts of the episode where the kids think Perry laid an egg and the comic where Perry saves a baby platypus from Doof, and that got me thinking: what if Perry was actually a dad to a baby platypus? One possibility is that Perry wouldn't want his child to become an agent at such a young age and would rather have his kid decide if they want to do it when they're older, but I believe that either way, the young platypus would inherit Perry's anthropomorphism.

oh my god I’ve never even thought about Dad!Perry before 🥺 I thought his relationship with the Flynn-Fletcher kids was wholesome but that has some real potential to become the superior relationship

obligatory “read more” to save everyone who doesn’t care how I feel about Dad!Perry

Okay first I gotta ask how we think this would happen. Is it the egg from Perry Lays An Egg that hatches, except it really is a baby platypus and Perry ends up taking it in because no one else can? Or is it Perry taking one of Doof’s platybabies home? Or is it trans!Perry laying his own egg? Or Perry has sex with another platypus (that’s such a weird thought lmao) and somehow he becomes the sole guardian of the egg? As the numero uno “Perry is an asexual demibiromantic platypus” stan, I kinda like the first or second one, but I also feel like the platybaby should be related to him? But at the same time Phineas and Ferb is all about how family don’t end in blood so maybe that’s not important?

Anyways onto Dad!Perry because holy shit I’m excited to explore this

I’m gonna start at the end of the ask by saying that I feel like anthropomorphism isn’t genetically inherited; I feel like it’s something that’s taught. It’s kinda a nature vs nurture type thing so I guess it’s more a psychological debate than anything, but if I had to channel my inner English teacher and draw evidence from “the text” (aka the show), I gotta bring up the koi from Attack of the 50 Foot Sister that were just kinda vibin in the neighbors’ pond at the beginning of the episode and then Monogram had to make them agents to avoid a lawsuit and by the end they were saving Perry’s ass? Which is relevant to literally nothing except that I think any baby animal Perry raises, regardless of whether or not they’re related to him by blood (or even by species), will probably turn the lil baby into an anthropomorphic lil platybaby just because of all the human and human-like influences

And now the elephant in the room (cue OWCA Files Agent E joke): how does OWCA react to the news? Which I guess is really a follow-up question to how OWCA finds out in the first place. I think we can all agree that Perry won’t want to tell them. It’s not like he sees the other agents as friends that he wants to invite to the baby shower. But Monogram would want to know if there’s a new player in the Flynn-Fletcher house not that he knows who lives there now; that’s Carl’s area of expertise. Would he have to tell them? Is there a protocol for that? Especially if it’s just an egg he picks up from The Tree™ in the backyard. That’s basically just getting a new pet, right? And sure, Monogram would want to know, but is Perry legally obligated to tell him is the question.

But Monogram has to find out one way or another, and given that Perry is the best of the best, Monogram is going to want his kid in the club. Perry would 100% say no, too, but I don’t know if it would be because he wants his son (yes it’s a boy platybaby no I don’t know why) to have his own say in his future; I think Perry would consider OWCA too dangerous for his son. I mean, we saw what happened when Phineas, Ferb, and Candace got mixed up in his job: they were almost eaten by a goozim and the tri-state area was almost taken over by an evil dictator. He would definitely want to keep his son out of that scene if he could. At least all the dangers at home are Phineas-and-Ferb-sponsored, and unlike OWCA, they would make sure he didn’t get hurt.

Buuuut Monogram is also a dumbass and doesn’t know how to take no for an answer, so he’d keep pushing. It has to be a well-known fact around OWCA that changing Agent P’s mind about anything is not an easy feat, so maybe when Monogram realized it was a lost cause, he’d try to go around Perry’s back? Maybe while Perry was at work, he’d head to the Flynn-Fletchers’ house (or send Carl again like Undercover Carl) to try to get the platybaby alone? He could explain what OWCA is and that he would make a perfect candidate. I doubt Perry would have told his son about OWCA in any detail yet other than the fact that he works there and that’s where he goes every day, so this would all be new and interesting. And then Perry either comes home when Monogram or Carl is talking to his son about OWCA or his son brings it up himself, and Perry is fuming because he made it very clear that he didn’t want OWCA anywhere near his family. 

And now I can’t help but wonder if that would cause bigger problems between him and OWCA? What if that’s his breaking point, and he just flat-out quits because if they can’t respect his very few boundaries, he doesn’t owe them anything? And assuming the platybaby didn’t come from Doof, maybe that’s how they meet? Somehow he finds out that the reason there’s a new agent working his case is that Perry’s out on “permanent paternity leave” or something, and word gets back to Perry somehow (maybe Pinky heard it through the grapevine and told him? idk) that Doof wants to meet him? And Perry’s kinda wary buuuuut at the same time, Doof isn’t his nemesis anymore. If you take OWCA out of the equation, aren’t they just friends? 

WAIT A SECOND

IMAGINE HOW NORM WOULD REACT TO SEEING A BABY PLATYPUS

LIKE

I DON’T KNOW WHY

BUT NORM WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS BABY PLATYPUS

and Doof would get kinda annoyed because “He came here so I could meet the baby, you know,” and usually that’s enough to convince Norm that he’s doing something wrong, but this time Norm is just like, “But I love him?” And Doof expects Perry to back him up and he probably should but at the same time, his son looks so happy with Norm? Without OWCA’s training, he still has that platypus aspect to his personality that comes from both his animal instinct and how the Flynn-Fletchers treat him, so he’s just kinda snuggled up in Norm’s lap and Norm is just petting him?

And this is probably after he’s shown some human-like features and Doof knows that he’s about as human as Perry, so he asks, “Does he like being pet?” and Perry nods because duh of course he does and Doof just kinda looks at him for a moment and he’s like, “Do you like to be pet?” and Perry just fuckin decks him because no he does not yes he does and Doof just nods like, “Okay, fair enough.”

AND THEN VANESSA WALKS IN???

and she had absolutely no idea this was happening she’s about to go drop her stuff off in her room for the weekend and Norm’s like, “Look at my new friend!” and Vanessa thinks it’s gonna be something stupid but she walks over and sees the baby platypus and she starts freaking out because holy shit Perry is that yours? and obviously she needs to know literally everything there is to know about him because this is her nephew now and she will not take no for an answer.

And I feel like OWCA really wouldn’t like this? I mean, Perry completely severed ties with them over this platybaby, and now he’s bringing his son over to DEI at least twice a week to see his former nemesis? And idk what they would do about it because I don’t think there’s an actual protocol for this, but Monogram is Very Sensitive™ and he won’t stand for this.

Also and I’m totally just spit-balling here but what if, because the platybaby is kinda also being raised by the Doofenshmirtzes (and the Flynn-Fletchers but idk if that would make much of a difference here bc he has to pretend to be a mindless pet around them like his dad), he gets the best of the human and animal experience all in one, without all the shit Perry had to deal with from OWCA? And what if that somehow leads him to be able to speak? I don’t quite know how that would work, mostly because I don’t really know what prevents Perry from speaking, but we already went into that back in May so I’m not gonna go there again lol

okay I’m pretty sure it’s been over two hours since I started working on this ask but I can’t help it because this is literally such a cute idea fjdshflakfa I don’t even know if I’d be content reading this like I feel like this is just something I want to write. I kinda want to see how Phineas and Ferb would treat him, and if they’d treat Perry any differently now that a) he’s a dad and b) there’s a new platypus for them to love. I also want to see how Candace would handle probably falling in love with the platybaby but still getting annoyed by Perry. I really want to see what Vanessa and Norm’s relationship with the platybaby would turn into. Idk so much about the Doof/platybaby relationship though; I feel like I’d be more interested in how this affects the Doof/Perry dynamic instead. Something about Doof makes me think he wouldn’t be as easily swayed by the platybaby as everyone else, but the fact that Perry would now be a dad just like him would probably make him unreasonably happy. And that’s not even touching upon how different life would be for Perry now that he has a son, and he would obviously adore the little guy with his entire being, but, like, he has a son? How is he supposed to deal with that?

also I really should’ve given the platybaby a name to make this more readable and it’s a little too late for that but I hereby decree that his new temporary name until such time as this fic gets written is Horatio (unless y’all wanna hit me up with your platybaby name ideas because I would love to see them?) so welcome to the Dwampyverse, Horatio :,)

[notyourdayrdream]

Summer��s Almost Over (So Come Spend it with Me)

Day Twelve, Side A: Exacerbate

read it here on AO3!

Blaine Anderson’s never been lucky in love.

His first crush was in third grade on Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet. Oh he’d almost burned the DVD out from watching it too much. His crush ended when his brother accidentally broke the disc and Blaine couldn’t watch the animated teen anymore. Plus, all of the other little boys were crushing on girls, ones that were real and not animated. Most importantly they were girls. So he put crushes on the backburner for a while.

His next crush was in seventh grade, on Joey Partmon. Joey was new from Texas, which may have well been a foreign country to him and the other private school kids Blaine went to school with. He was tanned under his school mandated uniform, with dark freckles and floppy red hair. Blaine loved his deep southern accent and the way he twirled his pencil around in his hand when he was bored. They weren’t close, Blaine wasn’t outgoing enough to say ‘hi,’ and Joey moved away that summer. But he did dream about kissing him on more than one occasion. That’s when he realized he was gay.

Freshman year’s candidate was Ryan Night.

He went to a public school then. He and Ryan were the only two boys in their choir, which already put a huge target on their backs, not to mention the fact they were both gay. Blaine still doesn’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse, but he was able to hide it. Ryan wasn’t as lucky. But it didn’t matter, they were friends, brought together by this horrible thing they had to deal with. The whole situation turned into something beautiful. So when Blaine asked Ryan to homecoming, he expected everything to go fine.

He’d be proved wrong, of course. So he took a break from crushing for a little while. In fact, he took a break on everything, for about a year.

Everything was different when he came to Dalton. The kids, the students, the zero tolerance bullying policy. It all kept him safe. So he joined the Warblers and became their leading man, not because he was gay or straight, but because he was good. They kind of idolized him, and he suddenly had this giant group of friends. That’s when he met Jeremiah.

Maybe it was because he was finally out and proud, but his crush on Jeremiah felt so different. It was almost like love. He was older and wiser than Blaine, and so so cute. And as the days ticked on and the boy was all he could think about, he decided he had to do something, and he had to do something big.

Safe to say that totally backfired. Blaine promised himself to never let a crush get that serious again, not until he was sure. And that plan had worked, until now. Because he met Kurt Hummel.

They actually met at NYADA, at a Midnight Madness competition.

Blaine had been dragged there by his friend Leslie, who wasn’t actually a singer but a dancer, she just liked drama. So he went, dressed in sweatpants and a Dalton hoodie, and sat in the back. The whole place was honestly just a giant fire hazard, and the heat from the candles was making him sweaty. They were waiting on someone apparently. Rachel Berry, the senior who had won last year. Blaine knew she had a reputation of being a diva, but good Lord she was taking forever. The crowd of theatre geeks was becoming antsy.

“Wait!” The door opened and shut in a swift motion, blowing out a few candles by the entrance. The young man’s chest heaved, like he had just run all this way. “Rachel’s out sick. But I’m here, I’ll do it in her place. The dim light blocked out most of his face, but Blaine could see the outline of him; slim and tall with a smile that lit up the room. Was it weird to be attracted to a shadow?

The moderator nodded. “That’s fine, Kurt, we just need someone to challenge you,” he said. Kurt stepped into the ring in the center of the room and took Blaine’s breath away.

It had to be illegal to look this good at twelve in the morning. Whereas everyone else was dressed in casual clothes and pajamas, Kurt wore tight jeans and a cream sweater so soft Blaine wanted to reach out and touch it. His pale skin was painted tan from the candlelight and his hair stood so high and perfectly coiffed on his head Blaine was sure it must have taken hours to fix.

“I’ll do it,” Blaine offered, cringing at himself when every pair of eyes turned to him. He could have smacked himself in the forehead. He didn’t come here to compete, he didn’t even come for the drama. He was going to horribly embarrass himself and be forced to switch careers. Slowly and on shaky legs, he made his way to the center of the room.

Kurt smirked and said, “You’re going down.” But his eyes were gleaming with mischief. Blaine almost smiled himself, but the moderator whispered that Kurt will go first and Blaine could sit back down. The song is announced, or whisper-yelled, to be “On My Own” from Les Mis.

The music started and Kurt took a moment to close his eyes, drinking in the silence before performing. And then he sings. He floated atop the song like a leaf across water, dipping in and swirling through the melody. He sounded like he might cry, and Blaine felt a tear threatening to slip out of his eye. That’s when he knew he wouldn't win. Emotional ballads had never been his thing. And when only fifteen people gathered on his side of the room and waved their hands in silent applause, he didn’t care.

“Hey, Blaine is it?” Kurt asked when Midnight Madness had ended and students poured out the doors and back home or to bars. Blaine’s eyes went wide. Leslie spotted his fear and left without him, blonde braids swishing behind her. He was going to kill here.

“Yeah,” he replied, breathily as he turned around and finally got a good look at Kurt’s eyes. Icy blue and gorgeous, Blaine felt stripped down under his gaze. “You were really amazing, I mean obviously since you won but…”

Kurt bit his lip to hide his smile, and Blaine guilty pocketed the moment for a later time. “Thanks, but you were great too. I couldn’t imagine being a freshman and being able to sing like that.”

“Ah, I’m actually in my third year,” Blaine said, rubbing at the back of his neck. It wasn’t his fault, he didn’t do too many extracurriculars at NYADA, not any he imagined Kurt would also be a part of.

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” Kurt apologized, face flushing pink. “Um, I was wondering if you wanted—”

“I should go,” Blaine interrupted, feeling more and more embarrassed as this whole ordeal went on. He honestly just wanted to go home and forget the whole thing even happened.

Kurt actually looked a bit upset for a brief second, but he caught himself quickly and went back to his bright smile. Props of being an actor. “Right, well, it was nice meeting you, Blaine.” He nodded and walked off and out of the glass double doors.

This time, Blaine did smack himself on the forehead. He was so stupid. Kurt was going to ask him out, wasn’t he? Or at least for coffee, everybody drinks coffee super late. He trudged out of the doors and down to the subway, trying his best to not think of himself as a total screw up when it came to love. But he did check Kurt’s Instagram on the ride home. Just to look.

“I’m going out! It’s my grandmother’s birthday and she misses me,” Leslie said even though Blaine already knew she was leaving. The red party dress he helped pick out popped against her dark skin.

He closed his journal and glanced at his roommate.“Tell her ‘happy birthday’ for me!” Leslie just kissed his cheek in response and shut the door behind her, leaving Blaine alone for another quiet evening.

It was finally summer, another year of college completed. Blaine had decided to stay in the city instead of going back home like a lot of students did. Not that he didn’t enjoy Ohio or his parents, he just didn’t feel like the cold small talk that would follow him the entire summer. The only thing he missed was the weather. It was a scorching summer this year in New York City, and Blaine had always preferred the cooler months. The whole city felt as though it had been placed in a boiling pot, and Blaine and Leslie spent most of their days inside at work or avoiding the heat. Their nights were spent partying on Leslie’s part, or curling up to watch a movie for Blaine.

If he were being honest with himself, he had no idea what he was going to do after college. Being a Broadway actor was no guarantee, if he would even make it there. He had heard of graduates from NYADA, bright eyed and filled with dreams, fizzle out like burning stars and end up in jobs that they didn’t even major in. Blaine couldn’t end up like that, he’d be proving his dad right.

So he had a moleskine journal filled with songs. The kind of music he sang in the shower. Poppy love ballads and short and brash breakup songs, even though he had never been broken up with before. The other people who had ever heard them were Leslie and Will, an ex-fling who he had mistakenly let get closer than he should have.

A set of sharp knocks at the door snapped him out of his thoughts.

“You have keys, Les!” Blaine yelled but got up anyway. She probably forgot her keys. The knocking didn’t stop until Blaine swung the door open, gaping at the sight.

“Hi,” Kurt gasped, looking just as surprised as Blaine probably did. His hair was dripping wet, and he had...shower shoes on?

“Are you okay?” Blaine asked. “How do you know where I live?” He ushered Kurt inside.

“I don’t, and I am,” Kurt said, running a hand through his hair. “I saw Leslie leave and asked if she could help me and she said her roommate was home? I didn’t know you two lived together…” He glanced around their living room.

“Oh, we’re not dating, I’m gay.” Kurt’s eyebrows knitted together, that wasn’t what he was asking at all. What was it about this guy that turned Blaine into a complete idiot?

“Um, what did you need help with?”

“My shower isn’t working, and I have a date in an hour,” Kurt groaned. Blaine tried to make his heart stop freaking out at the mention of a date. They hadn’t spoken beyond Midnight Madness, save a nod in the hallways on the off chance they passed each other. “Can I use yours, please?” He pouted and poked his lip out, as if Blaine wouldn’t have said yes before.

He gulped. “Yeah, yeah. Of course.” He squeaked despite his best efforts and led Kurt to his bathroom. At least he didn’t have to worry about it being dirty. Leslie was a bit flighty, but they both shared their germaphobe tendencies.

“You just turn the water on like this.” Blaine twisted the knob left then right until it clicked to get the water to the hottest setting. When he turned back around, Kurt had already taken his shirt off. Blaine’s mouth went dry. When his biceps flexed when he moved to unbutton his pants, Blaine covered his eyes and shut the door as fast as he could, not wanting to further exacerbate the situation.

He was almost at his room, ready to bury his head into his pillow and just scream, when Kurt knocked on the bathroom door and said, “Stay?” So soft and barely loud enough over the rushing water that Blane just had to stay.

“I’m here,” he smiled and slid down the other side of the door until he was sitting. “What’s up with your date?” he asked, trying not to sound so bitter.

Water splashes the ground and Kurt yells through the door, “Oh, some guy kept asking me out, for like months. And I eventually just said yes.” Blaine heard a groan from inside the bathroom, and ignored the way all the blood rushed to his face. And other places.

“Do you even want to go out with him?” He didn’t mean to be nosey, truly. But the way Kurt described him, the guy kind of sounded like a dick.

It was a moment before Kurt responded. “I guess. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date, so…” There was a soft click and the water stopped pouring.

“I get that. I’ve actually never had a boyfriend before, so the only dates I’ve had are usually followed by a messy hookup,” Blaine said. He didn’t know what it was about the whole ordeal that made him want to spill all of his secrets out. His head eventually caught up to what he said though. “Sorry, that was inappropriate.”

“Come in here.”

Blaine shook his head from the narrow hallway. “No, no it’s, that’s–”

“Blaine. Come inside.” Kurt’s voice was deep and stern, but when the door opened, he was laughing softly. Blaine thanked God he was dressed, because he was totally prepared to faint if he wasn’t.

“I have a deal for you,” Kurt said, drying his hair with a towel. “If my date goes terrible, I’ll call you. If it goes well, I’ll still call you.” He grinned and handed Blaine his phone.

It was crazy how contagious his smile was. Blaine felt his lips tug upwards as he typed a smiley face next to his name. “What’s in it for you?”

Kurt rolled his eyes with that same smile on his face and took his phone back. “Getting to hear your voice, or course.” He squeezed past Blaine, who’s limbs had temporarily planted into the floor. “Thanks for the shower, Blaine.” He winked, freaking winked, and Blaine heard the door shut softly behind him.

He smiled alone to himself in his foggy bathroom and turned his ringer all the way up.

[honeypiehotchner]

Lost in a Crowd -- part nine

Hi! So I’m not sure how many parts will be like these, but they’ll be few and far between, I think. Anywho, enjoy this 3k word mess of awkwardness with Lily meeting the Avengers and spending time with a certain Manchurian Candidate xx.

I shake my hands and arms, hoping the nerves will magically jump out of my body. I can do this. It’s not like Bucky told me anything wildly personal. And it’s not like he knows it’s me he was talking to. I need to act cool. It’s fine. 

It’ll be fine. 

They’re just Peter’s friends, that’s all. Forget the superhero business, they’re Peter’s friends — albeit much older friends, but friends nonetheless. Friends that he happens to fight bad guys with. Friends with powers and crazy-powered suits.

I have poems to write anyway, so I’ll be sitting on my own for a while to write them before I go back to socializing. It won’t be so bad. 

It won’t be so bad. 

My phone buzzes again, most likely with another text from Peter or MJ. I don’t bother looking at it. 

As I emerge from the bathroom, Peter is looking relieved and MJ is giving me a look that says are you good? in the quietest way possible. I try my best to send an equally inconspicuous look saying nope I’m freaking out but it’ll be fine. 

Peter remains oblivious, gathering his things and shrugging his book bag onto his shoulder. 

“Did you finish your homework?” I ask, mostly out of habit. I shove my things into my leather bag — it’s more of a briefcase, but I hate calling it that. It makes me sound stuffy, and the bag has a bow on it for God’s sake.

“Yes, I did,” Peter huffs, rocking on his heels. He’s always had this much energy, but I swore by the time he turned 18 he would’ve grown out of it. Apparently not. “Can we go?”

“Slow down,” MJ says softly, grabbing his hand. “She’s nervous.”

I give her a small smile in thanks. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I have strict orders to roast the shit out of Sam.” My smile morphs into a wicked grin. “This should be fun.” 

If I say that enough, it’ll be true. 

The Tower is hard to miss. With how tall it is and the giant fucking A on the side, you’re blind if you’ve never noticed it before. 

I’m blind, apparently. 

I’ve noticed it, but I never realized how close it is. We’ve barely walked a single block and we’re already staring at the front doors.

Nerves slam into my chest, forcing a lump to the back of my throat. I swallow thickly as Peter gets us inside and into the elevator.

I take another deep breath. I’m meeting Wanda and Tony, too. Not just Bucky. I get to roast Sam, maybe Steve. I get to meet Natasha (hopefully I don’t pass out or make a fool of myself). It’s not like I’m being locked in a room with only Bucky. I’ll be fine.

“FRIDAY, tell Mr. Stark that we’re almost up!” Peter calls out in the elevator. 

He’s kidding. Right?

I jump when a voice comes out of nowhere and says, “I already have. Hello, MJ and Lily.”

“Um, hi?” I say, raising an eyebrow at Peter. “Who the hell was that?”

“That’s FRIDAY,” Peter says excitedly. “She’s all over the Tower if you ever need help with anything, just call out to her. She can guide you anywhere or get someone to come to you. It’s awesome.”

“Okay…” Creepy. That’s creepy. Am I the only one that thinks that’s creepy? An AI watching your every move? Always around?

The elevator doors open on a different floor from what Peter put in, and of course, it just has to be Sam Wilson himself who steps on.

Let the roasting begin.

“Oh, hello— Hello.”

“Hi Sam,” I mutter tiredly as the elevator moves up again.

“Hey kid,” Sam nods to Peter. “Hey MJ.” Then he turns his head back to me. “How you doin’?”

I give him a look. “Feeling like writing a poem about your ass.”

“My ass?” Sam replies, raising an eyebrow, clearly taking my comment the wrong way. “What about my ass?”

I smile sweetly. “About how great it’d be to kick it and send you to next week.”

Sam blinks. 

Poor thing. He really thought he had me for a second there, didn’t he?

Peter, on the other hand, is having a hard time muffling his laughter. MJ, too. The sight sends a laugh to my own chest.

“I told you, Sam,” Peter shakes his head. “She’s really not a fan.”

With perfect timing, the elevator doors open on the correct floor this time. Peter and MJ walk off first, leaving me with Sam for a moment.

I pat his shoulder sympathetically. “Don’t worry. With a Twitter profile like a male escort, you’ll get plenty of girls. I’m just not into that sort of thing.”

I exit the elevator and catch up with my friends. What I imagine Sam’s expression to be is priceless, but I don’t bother looking over my shoulder to confirm it. I really don’t want him to think I’m flirting.

“There she is!” Someone exclaims. 

I turn my head toward the sound, and my lips split into a grin. “Mom!” I joke, accepting Wanda’s bear hug.

“How are you?” She starts, holding onto my arms. “Have you eaten? Had enough water? Took care of yourself?”

I nod, keeping up the act. “All of the above.”

Wanda gives me a stern look. “Loved yourself?”

“Let’s not get too carried away,” I laugh, frowning when she keeps up the look. “I’ll try, I’ll try.”

“She’ll try,” MJ calls out in confirmation. “I threaten her every day.”

“She actually does,” I nod. “She’s pretty convincing when she’s threatening.”

“It’s what I love the most,” Peter chimes, leaning over to press a kiss to MJ’s cheek. She scrunches up her nose, but blushes despite herself.

“Young love,” I exhale. “Isn’t it sweet?”

“Isn’t what sweet?” Another voice joins us. They round the corner and I see it’s none other than the fossil himself, Steve Rogers.

“What’s up, Captain?” I say, immediately wishing I hadn’t. “That was total word vomit, I’m sorry.”

Steve laughs, though, waving off my worried expression. “I prefer Steve, but I’ll answer to Captain, too.”

“He’s already on an ego trip, though, so don’t do it too much,” a new voice says, but I’d recognize it anywhere.

Natasha punches Steve in the shoulder as she passes by to join me on my other side (Wanda is staying close). Nat hooks her arm through mine, causing my cheeks to immediately redden.

“Hi,” I say awkwardly.

“Hey,” Natasha grins, pulling me closer to her.

I’m light-headed. I’m actually light-headed.

“Careful, Nat, she looks like she might pass out,” Steve warns gently. His tone is so soft, I send him a grateful look.

“I’m good. You’re so hot-- Sorry. Peter, this is why you shouldn’t bring me around here.”

“Nonsense,” another voice, but this is the voice, says. Tony Stark walks in looking larger than life with Pepper on his arm. “The more the merrier. You’re Lily, I’m assuming? My daughter?”

“Oh my God,” I chuckle, rubbing my forehead. “I forgot I called you dad, too. I can stop if it’s weird.”

“Why would it be weird?” Tony shrugs. “Just don’t call me Daddy, and I’m fine. That’s only for Pepper to use.”

Pepper promptly smacks Tony on the back of the head. “Ignore him. Hi, Lily. It’s so nice to meet you.”

That’s the first normal introduction I’ve had. “It’s nice to meet you, too. All of you guys.”

“It took you long enough to visit,” Nat jokes.

“She fought me for the longest time,” Peter says. “I told her you guys wanted to meet her and she still refused.”

“Forgive me for being busy,” I scoff, feigning hurt. “Besides, I wanted to avoid Sam for as long as I could.”

“Did someone say my name?” Sam joins us, now in a new outfit.

“Back off, Wilson,” Nat shoos him away.

“Bite me,” he replies, stepping out of Nat’s way.

“You wish,” she quips, holding me closer. “Peter told us you’re in college. What are you studying?”

I’m used to explaining what I study and all, but doing it with what feels like a million eyes on me is much different. Especially when these eyes are the Avengers. “It’s-- Writing. I’m studying to write.”

Tony raises an eyebrow. “You don’t know how to write?”

“No,” I hold onto the strap of my bag for moral support. “Creative Writing. Books and stuff.”

“Oh,” Pepper’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “That’s amazing! Have you written anything?”

“Yeah, a few novels,” I brush past the fact quickly, half because I hate talking about it and half because Bucky has silently joined us, standing next to Steve. Bucky has his hands in his pockets, looking as casual and effortlessly confident as ever and the advice I gave him last night echoes loudly in my mind. “Speaking of writing,” I tear my eyes away from Bucky and move them back to Pepper. “I have to go write a couple poems real quick. It’s a long story, but I have to write them about strangers, so I need to draft them before we hang out more. Is there anywhere I can go to write?”

Beside me, Natasha answers instead. “Actually, I was about to go spar with Wanda and Steve. Sam can come with us,” she gives the Falcon a pointed look.

“I just got done working out, but sure, I’ll come back to kick your ass.”

“On your left,” Steve says, holding back a grin. Sam promptly glares at him for it. Must be an inside joke.

“Alright,” Natasha lets go of my arm. “Let’s go. We’ll take our time.”

I smile at her gratefully. “Thank you.”

“We’ll go too,” MJ says suddenly.

Peter gives her a strange look, but shrugs. “Alright. I could spar a little.”

“There, it’s settled,” Pepper smiles brightly. “You can have this area to yourself for a bit.”

I only meant if there was a conference room, or even if I could go to the patio, but I won’t argue with them on this. They seem so sure in their plan, so I’ll roll with it.

“Okay,” I breathe, smiling through my overwhelmed state. “That’s great. It won’t take me long, probably just thirty minutes.”

“How many poems do you have to write?” Bucky asks incredulously, a look of total shock covering his face. It only deepens when I tell him I have to write four. “Four poems in thirty minutes?” He says, shaking his head. “Couldn’t be me.”

I chuckle, shrugging. “It’s what I do.” Why did I say that? You know, for a writer, you’d think I’d know how to speak. Apparently I do not.

“Alright, we are going to leave you alone now,” Natasha says, moving things along. “Meet me in the gym in five minutes,” she points to Wilson. “Don’t be late.”

“Yes ma’am,” he grins, walking toward the elevator with her.

Peter and MJ follow. MJ gives me a smile over her shoulder. 

“I’m going to take him away so we don’t disturb you,” Pepper pats Tony’s arm.

“I wanna read those poems, kid,” Tony says seriously, giving me a look as Pepper drags him away.

I shake my head as they go, turning back to the living room, finding Steve and Bucky still standing in front of me. I furrow my eyebrows. The conversation they’re having looks serious, so I brush past them, not wanting to get in the middle of it.

I catch a small, “No, Steve, I’m gonna go eat something. I already kicked your ass this morning.”

I muffle a snicker. I make myself comfortable on the couch, sliding my notebook out of my bag along with my favorite black ink pen. I brush some loose strands of hair behind my ears and begin writing randomly, wanting to see what will come out of me.

So far, it’s nothing great. I’m writing about the girl who took my order at the coffee shop rather than one of the Avengers I just met, which was the entire purpose of coming here. But I can’t choose what my mind wants to write about some days. One of the four poems will just be about the barista.

Bucky’s voice cuts through my writer’s thoughts. “Hey, do you want anything from the kitchen?”

I lift my eyes, pushing my glasses up on the bridge of my nose. “Uhhh, I’m good. Thank you for asking, though.”

He smiles, and his blue eyes shine just right in the sun. “Yeah, of course,” he murmurs, turning on his heel to leave.

Blue eyes in sunlight A mix of a stormy sea And calming chamomile tea

My wide eyes stare at my page. The words are swimming in my mind, fighting to find their place on the page.

But I can’t write about Bucky. It’s too weird.

I shake the few lines away, going back to my poem about the barista.

By the time Bucky returns (which must be at least thirty minutes later, because the drafts of my poems are done), I’m doodling along the edges of an old poem, adding a wilted flower in the margins.

“Done already?” Bucky inquires, lowering himself onto the couch beside me, but at least a cushion length away.

“Yeah,” I smile, keeping my eyes on the flower. Eyes like a stormy sea, my mind reminds me, but I shake it away. “How was lunch?”

“Nothing special,” he shrugs, lifting his metal arm to rest it on the back of the couch.

I shift a little, using an increasing amount of willpower to not imagine what it’d be like to be hugged by that arm. Or picked up-- good God.

My jaw clenches in frustration.

I’ve harbored an obnoxious crush on Bucky Barnes for as long as I’ve known about him -- which sounds ridiculous because he wasn’t always seen as a good guy. But I know what it’s like to be manipulated, to lose the people you love, to do things you regret, to do things you feel like you weren’t even the one doing them. Obviously I wasn’t captured and brainwashed by HYDRA, so I mean all of this on a low grade. But I’ve always seen part of myself in Bucky.

Which is dangerous. Having feelings for someone should never be based on fascination or idealization, and I feel like that’s all I’ve done.

To make matters worse, Bucky isn’t some random guy at my college. He’s Bucky Barnes. An Avenger. I don’t know what gave me the crazy idea to have a crush on him when there is obviously no way in hell it would ever work out in my favor. I have to be out of my mind to think he’d see me in that way. Or that anyone would.

I learned quickly that love is a scam. Peter and MJ are an exception. Tony and Pepper, too. But the rest of it...I can’t bring myself to believe it’s out there. For me, at least. I guess it is for others, but not for me. I just don’t think it’s in my story.

“How long have you been writing?” Bucky’s voice drags me out of my thoughts once more.

I finally look at him, figuring it’s probably weird that I haven’t yet. “It’s corny, but all my life.”

His eyebrows raise in shock again. “Really? That long?”

I nod, chuckling. “I think my first story was about a magic carpet ride to get away from flying sharks,” I tilt my head at the absurdity of it. “I was in the first grade.”

“Ahhh,” he nods his head. “Well, I haven’t come across any flying sharks, but it sounds like that would make a good story.”

I smile, looking back down to my notebook. The old poem I’m drawing around is one I’ve typed up and edited a few times, so the version I’ve submitted to various places is much different than this draft. But something about first drafts are special to me. I’ll never get rid of it.

“Sorry about Sam,” Bucky says quietly. “He doesn’t know when to stop.”

Bucky’s message from last night flashes before my eyes. I’ll sacrifice myself to the sun before I let that happen. “Eh,” I shrug it off. “He’s harmless. I’ve dealt with worse.”

Bucky frowns and I look away, praying silently that he won’t push the subject. I can tell he’s trying to strike up a conversation, and I know I’m technically the one who told him to do it, but part of me desperately wishes he’d stop. I can’t afford for this to be real.

“How do you know the kid?” Bucky asks, taking a different route. “Oh, Peter, I mean,” he corrects himself with a laugh.

This is good. I can talk about Peter all day. “Oddly enough, I met his aunt before him. Aunt May is an old family friend, so when I moved here for college, I met Peter then. It’s been three years now, I think, or close to it.”

Bucky nods along, listening intently. Confident and nice, that’s how I told him to act, and man is he good at it.

“Barnes!” Tony makes his presence known immediately, causing me to jump, but I cover it well by turning around on the couch to face Tony. “We’re supposed to be letting the writer do her thing.”

“I’m finished,” I explain, smiling. “I told you it wouldn’t take long.”

“You, my dear, are a wizard,” Tony says, raising an eyebrow. “He’s not bothering you, is he?”

“No,” I shake my head. “Quite the opposite.” And it might be a problem.

Tony gives me a look. “Are you sure you finished writing?”

My eyebrows furrow. “Yeah, why?”

“Just wondering,” Tony begins backing away. “I know Barnes is handsome and all, but school comes first.”

I roll my eyes, biting back a smile. “I know, dad.”

Tony leaves with a wink, obviously going to tell Pepper and everyone else that Bucky and I are in love. If he doesn’t I’ll be surprised.

I turn back around, pulling my legs up underneath me. My glasses begin falling again so I push them up with my notebook without thinking. To my right, Bucky is watching me with a smile.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he says immediately, raising his hands in defense of himself. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you call Tony dad?”

I still, averting my eyes.

“Never mind, you don’t have to answer that,” Bucky rushes through the words, clearly panicked.

“No, no, it’s fine.” I look back up, pulling myself together. “It’s okay. I don’t know why...I do it, to be honest. It’s just kind of a joke, I guess.”

“Oh,” Bucky smiles in relief. “That’s cool.”

We have to be the two most awkward people on the face of the earth. We must be.

But our awkwardness is saved by the rest of the Avengers returning to the floor, all talking loudly about who kicked who’s ass down there. Bucky and I share a smile in between it all that feels less awkward and more comforting.

I’m fucked.

[redthreadoffate]

a selection of princesses [tom holland]

a repost, originally posted in my former writing blog

relationship: prince!tom x princess!reader

warning: swearing, none; mistakes here or there

request (anon): hi! would u consider writing about prince!tom holland x princess!reader were tom is the heir to the throne and the reader goes to visit the Hollands at the castle, ends up having some interesting encounters with him and they make out, are all lovey-dovey and fall in love? so tom decides he wants to marry her and not any other princess

notes:  can i just say that i’m glad this is not royal!tom x pauper!reader/rich!tom x poor!reader because THAT TROPE IS OVERUSED IN THIS COUNTRY I LIVE IN IT’S FREAKING EVERYWHERE

summary: prince thomas is to be betrothed, but who is he looking for?

Unlike your older sister, you loved being a princess. You loved being pampered, attending all the balls and parties, eating all the best food, learning from the best professors in the kingdom, riding horses, having archery as your best sport, you loved everything. However, that also meant that, as one of the princesses of the Eastern Kingdom, you were going to be betrothed to one of the princes. And if you were being totally honest, you didn’t mind at all. All the princes were handsome anyway.

But there was one prince that caught your attention. You’ve never spoken to him because he was always under the watch of his guards and you were the life of the party, always being called by one group or another. You’ve talked to all the other princes, except Prince Thomas of the Northern Kingdom.

When you would be alone in your chambers, or anywhere else for that matter, you would tend to daydream about him. How he would act, talk…how he would watch you and listen to you as you entertained him with songs and dances, and maybe even funny stories that you’ve collected as you grew older.

Your sister would scold you for such nonsense. She knew you were going to have a husband from one of the kingdoms so she deemed it wise not to think of just one. She was betrothed to one of the princes in the Western Kingdom. And she hated it She hated being a princess, she would have rather have been a commoner.

“You say that, sister,” you would start whenever she would whine about the whole princess fashion, “but once you have a feel of being a commoner, you would think of the good life you have here.”

In your kingdom, there were only two princesses, you and your sister, and three princes, your older brothers. In the Western Kingdom, there were two princes and one princess. The Southern Kingdom had the most princesses, you can’t even remember how many, but there were three princes. The Northern Kingdom, the kingdom ruling above everyone else, only had one heir, Prince Thomas.

The Creator knew how much she wanted to marry him.

“You don’t even know him yet,” your sister would say. “At least I knew Prince Phillip before we were told that we are to marry.”

You made a face. “The only reason they brought him here is to obviously tell you that you are betrothed. Why else would they bring a prince here?”

But your sister would have none of it. For her, their parents' will was law despite her wishing she wasn’t a princess. “If I can’t beat them, join them,” she would chant. You remember the time she had rebelled and you think of how different things now are with her. “I don’t like being a princess, that I admit, but this is my life. Creator help me.”

Months later, there is word that the High King and High Queen had wanted to betroth their son Prince Thomas. However, unlike most traditional arrangements wherein parents and matchmakers would talk it over, they would invite all the princesses of the kingdom to their castle for a few days.

“That’s odd,” your mother, the Queen of the Eastern Kingdom, said. “I wonder who decided on this.” It was dinner time in the castle and your mother was reading the parchment given by the messenger as you all ate around the table.

“What is it, Dear?” you father, the King, asked, not taking his eyes off the slab of meat on his plate.

“Prince Thomas is to be wed.” Your heart sunk at that. “But instead of the normal arranged marriage, they’re inviting all the princesses from the different kingdoms. The West will go first. Then the South. And finally, us, the East.”

Although this excited you, you still tried to play it cool. “Will sister be coming with us as well?”

“She’s betrothed, Darling,” your mother reminded you. “And your father and I are not going. You’ll be traveling alone.”

“Is that so…” you murmur. And your excitement quickly becomes worry.

Finally, it’s the day of your visit. You have finished packing all your necessities and you climb onto the carriage and wave goodbye to your family. Your sister smirked at you and you discreetly stick out your tongue at her.

The ride to the North was a tiring one. You had fallen asleep numerous times as you moved along. You had stopped for two nights, where you got proper sleep, and continued on during the day. When you reached the Northern Kingdom, you prayed to the Creator that you still looked presentable enough to the High King and High Queen.

When you were led into the throne chamber, you curtsied at the sight of the two rulers. “My King, my Queen. It is an honor to be in your presence.”

“Princess y/n,” the Queen called out. Her voice was soft and light. Very motherly if you were to be asked. “It’s great to finally meet you. You are quite the showstopper, aren’t you, little one?” She smiled knowingly.

You blushed at the comment and tried not to stammer. “I am just doing what any princess should do, your majesty.”

“Aren’t you a lovely girl,” the Queen continued. “I remember seeing your sister. You two look quite different. She’s a beauty as well, but you are another story.”

You turn even redder as you thanked her.

“Thomas will be choosing his wife and you are lucky enough to have no sibling rivalry,” the King said. “But you are still in the pool when we consider the countless other princesses, not to mention the ones in the South.” He chuckled.

Your stomach churns at the possibility of not being picked but you smile anyway. “Being a candidate is a great honor, your majesty. I am happy just being here.”

“Thomas is out hunting now,” the King informed you. “But please, make yourself at home. We’ll call you for supper time.”

“Thank you, your majesty.” You curtsied again before being led out of the throne chamber.

The castle is much bigger than the one in your home. There were also many twists and turns until you reached a corner where a large portrait of a young lady was hung on the wall. The lady was beautiful and you unknowingly touch your own face to compare. “Who is that?” you asked.

“That is the prince’s grandmother. This will be your chamber, princess,” the maid told you. It was on the side of the portrait.  The maid opened the door and you followed. The chamber was just as big as your own and you smile, it really did kind of feel like home. “Would you need anything else, princess?”

You shake your head. “No, I’m okay here. Thank you.” And so she leaves and you’re left alone. You look at the bags and boxes you have. You’ll be living here for two weeks but you’ve packed for two months. Shaking your head, you decide you want to explore first before unpacking.

Slipping out of the door, you begin to walk around, making sure to remember where your chamber was. For about an hour, all you did was take a tour of the humongous castle. You would make sure to keep away from the King and Queen, not wanting to leave the impression that you sneak around.

When you check the time, you realize it was almost time for supper. You look around you for any signs where you should go to get back to your chamber. “Oh no,” you mutter when you realize you have no clue as to where you are. “Fuck. Not good.”

So you take your chances and walk in the hallways you believe looked familiar. After about fifteen minutes, you still haven’t found your chamber. You sighed in despair. “Definitely not good.”

“What’s not good?”

You looked up and felt your heartbeat speed up. “Prince Thomas.”

“Hello, princess y/n. Are you lost?”

You hated to admit but, “Yes. I wanted to explore and I thought I’d be able to remember where my chamber is. This experience has taught me that I’m not good with directions.”

He smiled and your heart leaped. “Which chamber did they give you?”

“The one where there’s this portrait of this beautiful lady, your grandmother.”

“They gave you the chamber across from mine. Come on, I’ll show you the way.” He gestured for you to follow him. “So, princess y/n, how do you find the castle?”

“Bigger than ours,” you replied. “I wonder how you don’t get lost in here.”

“I still do,” he laughed, “so if ever they don’t find me, they know I’m running off looking for new secret passages and shit.”

You’re taken aback by his swearing but you also feel that you’re not alone. “There are secret passages here?”

“Aren’t there in yours?” He turned to look at her.

You look down shyly. “I’ve been taught to be a lady. Perhaps my brothers have discovered some already. I should ask.”

You and Tom walked the distance to your chambers while talking. When you finally reached the familiar corridor, you sighed in relief and hope it isn’t supper yet. “Have you unpacked?” he asked you. When you shake your head he offered to help out. Although you knew a prince shouldn’t be doing this job, you can’t help but ask if he was sure. “Yeah, I don’t have anything important to do. Just let me freshen up, I’m all sticky from hunting.”

You two go your separate ways. As you close the door behind you, you lean back and squealed. Regaining your composure, you quickly begin unpacking, not wanting to seem like you were waiting for him. Minutes later, there was a knock on the door and you let him in.

“I’ll start with this bag,” he told you. You let him be and begin fixing your books on the shelf. That’s when you realize the silence. You turned back and see Prince Thomas staring at the contents inside the bag with a red face. “Princess y/n. I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to touch these.”

“What’s wrong?” you ask. You walk towards him and check the bag. You turn red as well. “I’m so sorry, Prince Thomas. I didn’t know they were in this bag. I’m sorry, I really am.”

He gave a nervous laugh. “It’s okay. I’ll just start with this other bag.”

You zip the bag you’re holding and turn away from him. Whoever placed your ladies undergarments in this bag was going to get it. ‘Calm down, y’/n, they didn’t know.’ You inhale and exhale before setting the bag down.

It’s been a few days since your stay in the castle. You’ve had some interesting encounters with Prince Thomas, or Tom as he preferred to be called, and you, in turn, allowed him to call you by your first name.

And by interesting meaning, after spending time with him every day, you were in the garden and you found yourselves making out. If you two were asked who started it, you wouldn’t know what to answer. And you know what, it didn’t matter to both of you. It wasn’t the best to tell anyone yet about their relationship so, behind the walls, you two would cuddle and trace circles in the palms of each other’s hands, telling one another stories and secrets. Under the table during eating hours, you’d brush your foot on his leg and you could see him turning pink at the gesture.

When it was time for you to go home, that was the only time things went public. How could you two send letters to one another without others knowing?

‘I’ve told them, y/n. I’ve told Mom and Dad about who I want to marry. It’s you. I want to marry you. I don’t want to marry any of the other princesses they asked me to consider before I make a final decision. I love you, y/n. I don’t know if you love me back yet but I will wait. I will wait for your love before we become betrothed.’

He didn’t have to wait long. Your next letter to him told him how you felt. You loved Tom back.

Days after, it was announced that Prince Thomas of the Northern Kingdom, Crown Prince of all Kingdoms, has chosen Princess y/n of the Eastern Kingdom, to be his betrothed.

Everyone celebrated. Parties were held and everyone had admired the engagement ring on your finger. And as people talked to you, as again you are the light and life of the party, you looked back and saw Tom smiling at you.

Finally, you didn’t have to wonder how he would act or how we would talk. Or how we would respond to when you entertained him. “Thank you, Creator,” you murmured before turning back to the group you were with. Unbeknownst to you, Tom murmured the same thing.

[fiction-in-my-blood]

Switching Sides: Part 2 (HLITF)

Aaaannndddd once again I would LOVE to thank my girl @theshove for being my editor in chief and making my writing reach a HIGHER level I could never reach without your help. Thank you so much for making sense of my poorly grammar-ed sentences haha. 

Also, if anyone possibly wants to get on a tag list I’d be happy to make one 

👉👈

If you wanna catch up, Part 1 is right here! Happy reading :)

Premise: Growing up in a life of crime in a Japanese mafia, Atsuko Motomori has seen enough injustice to last her a lifetime. To try and give back to the universe her family has taken so much from, she dreams of being a detective from a young age. Her twin, sharing her disgust for her father and many uncles, just wants an ordinary life away from the crime, paing and suffering. Instead, she wants to be in the spotlight with the soft notes she makes with her cello. In their escape of 2015, on their coming of age birthday, they must split ways, never to be together ever again. If one was found, they didn’t want the other dragged down with them. Atsuko, having changed her name and appearance as best she can without a scalpel, sets off to start her life of car chases and arrests.

Four years in a seemingly dead-end police station in the middle of nowhere, being passed over time after time for promotion, Atsuko finally gets a shot at her dream, having been sent to an academy for the best candidates in the country by her boss who had always kept an eye out for her. After discovering her boss may have made her bite off more than she could chew, Atsuko must become the slave of a dominating instructor!? Who so just happens to be the captain of the most famous police unit in Japan? Not to mention a total knockout! Will Atsuko finally achieve her dream? Or will her new instructor put her through the wringer?

Warnings: Language, reference to sexual activity/forceful nature.

~~~~~~

‘A servant? Did he confuse that with a full-time aid?’ I tried to reason with his wording of my job title. As the room was lit by the setting sun and filters out into the corridor, I stood there in silence, thinking about what I'd just gotten myself into.

"Motomori, who will you partner with?" Ishigami closed the book of names and held it under his arm, keeping a close eye on how I was reacting. Letting my eyes meet each one of the detectives' before me, I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves. 

"Instructor Kaga, please," I announced. Although he seemed the most stern out of all the men, I took that as a sign of someone worn away by his experience. Which only meant there was more to learn from him. Right?

The announcement of my choice of instructor led Shinonome to laugh at my bravado. "Now that's something. Choosing Hyogo is pretty fitting for our little overachiever." The youngest instructor couldn't help but sound amused as the man I had chosen showed a concerned expression. As he looked me up and down, I stood with more confidence than I really had. 

After the Captain's silent review of me, Ishigami progressed through the other pairings. I glanced at Kaga and saw him taking a phone call. "Yeah... I'll take care of it." With his back turned to me, I only heard a minuscule amount of the conversation. 

"Kaga, you'll be going after this person." When the other Captain tried to hand over a folder, which I was sure had the case we should be working on inside, Kaga continued his conversation while pointing in my direction. He told Ishigami to give me the folder holding the information we'd need for the undercover assignment. 

"These are documents for the instructor." Ishigami frowned, obviously tired of Kaga's dismissiveness. Kaga begrudgingly took the folder before thrusting it into my chest. 

"Read it." He demanded and then finished his phone call. 

"I'm sure you understand, but-" Ishigami was cut off by Kaga crossing his arms. 

"I understand perfectly well." His mood seemed to worsen as the two talked. They continued to bicker as the rest of the instructors watched. I'm sure it was difficult to butt in on the Captains' discussions. 

"Squad leaders should get along..." Shinonome frowned as we watched, me not knowing what else to do except just stand there. 

"These two will go as far as a fistfight." Instructor Soma's comment made me worry that all the expensive equipment in this room would be damaged if someone didn't intervene soon enough. When Soma directed a question to Goto to see if he agreed, the messy-haired man just stood there in silence. 

"I can hear all of you." Kaga scowled as he took a cigarette out of his suit pocket. I knew smoking wasn't allowed in the building, having seen the signs next to most of the doorways, however I decided it best not to make him aware. ‘I mean, he has worked here longer than me.’

‘He is the freaking instructor, Atsuko.’ The voice in my head made me want to metaphorically face-palm. It was clear just by the way the instructor stood he didn’t care much for rules or regulations. 

"Don't get in my way." As he walked towards the door, Kaga made what sounded like a threat to me. 

"Didn't even think about it." I forced a smile, knowing full well he would likely trample over me if I took even a step out of line. If I was going to learn from this man, I would have to watch what he did instead of asking questions. 

"What're you standing around for? Come." Turning back to where I had been standing, I woke myself up from the pit of despair I had thrown myself into. 

‘What did you think was going to happen?’ I quickly followed as he gestured me over with a jerk of his head. 

~~~~~~

Sitting in the Captain's car, I couldn't help but feel anxious with the silence that thickened the air. According to the file given to us by Ishigami, we had to infiltrate a beach bar... But we were heading in the opposite direction from the sea. We were driving downtown. 

"Umm, sir, the file says the destination is-" Kaga, once again, cutting somebody off mid sentence. 

"Shut up," he spat, taking me aback with how rude he was. 

‘I guess that ‘scum’ comment wasn't too out of character for him, then’ I thought, stricken into silence but sighing on the inside. I turned to gaze out the window, praying that I could get through the day without being caught out for being inferior to what my file suggested. 

~~~~~~

When we stopped, I found myself inside a love hotel. My heart raced with worry, recognising the name as a brand my father ran when I was still living at home. He was a gang leader. With a strong mafia at that. He had his dirty little fingers in every industry that had some form of shady business going on. It's what made me hate him so much. The things he did, the things he made me watch, it's what made me want to become a detective. I wanted to pay the universe back for all the bad stuff he had done, and maybe one day find the evidence to arrest him. God knows, the police he had under his claws and henchmen doing his dirty work had delayed that for long enough. 

We made our way to the room booked for us, or, more aptly, for Kaga. Meanwhile, I tried to hide my face from the receptionist as discreetly as I could, not wanting them to somehow recognise me. Even though I did my makeup differently from when I was younger, had dyed my hair black from its original brown, dressed differently and even held myself differently, there wasn't much else I could do to change my appearance without making it trackable. I couldn't get surgery because then I would be in the government system; I know, somehow, they'd be able to track me, even if the profile I had now was completely different. 

"Hey, um... What're we doing here?"  I asked as I closed the door behind me, the eeriness of the red room making my eyes dart around for any hidden cameras or listening devices. I remembered my father telling me about all the politicians he had on tape and all the people he’d bribed with that information.

"I'm pretty sure I said shut up." Kaga spat, also inspecting the room. I frowned at his rudeness and flipped the switch that turned on the electricity for the room. All the lights went out, causing Kaga to spin around and glare at me in the darkness.

"Don't you know what your position is? Don't interfere." His frown deepened as he stormed back to where I was standing. He was obviously offended I had turned off the lights. 

"Love hotels are famous for secret cameras. They're turned on when the electricity switch is flipped. I thought you wouldn't want to risk getting caught." I smiled up to him with a spiteful thought hidden behind it. ‘This guy…’

Probably annoyed with how much sense my statement made, Kaga turned back to the centre of the room. ‘Is he really that easily annoyed?’ I chuckled to myself, not wanting to be reprimanded for intentionally frustrating my instructor.

The two of us were now alone in a dark room with nothing but a bed and mirrors on the ceiling. Not to mention a love hotel. I was painfully aware of what the room represented and everything that had ever happened in it due to the stillness in the air with the air-con off. Memories of what my father encouraged my sister and I to do in our youth flashed back, causing me to shake them out of my head. 

"Why're you so nervous?" Sitting on the large bed, Kaga raised his brow at me while I stood awkwardly away from him. I could see a concerned look on the Captain's face as he brought me back to earth. I could tell he wasn't concerned about my feelings, but rather about how naive and stupid I must seem. I didn't want to walk any further into the establishment than I had to, so I stuck my ground. 

"N-No reason." I grew shy, knowing I had no connection to my past life on my file and not wanting him to have a clue to think I would. 

"Oh?" A mischievous grin grew on my instructor's face and my senses heightened. With that, Kaga grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me down onto the bed aggressively. Even though he was only holding my wrist, I struggled to move. My heart began to race in fear of what he was trying to do. Growing up with the most erratic people as guardians, I didn't want to guess what his plan was. 

"This morning was totally screwed up, thanks to you." He frowned down at me, that same demeaning look conveyed on his surprisingly handsome face. You would never guess his personality was as cruel as he was if it wasn't for the eternal crease between his brows. Feeling the anxiousness of an expected punishment, my breath gets caught in my throat. 

"How do you plan on making it up to me?" His grin returned as he held my wrists harder than necessary. Despite the smirk, his eyes were cold and expressionless. There was no way I was going to allow what he was insinuating to happen, so I pushed against his hands with all my might while somehow snaking my foot high enough to push on his stomach. 

However, before I could attempt to catapult him off, he covered my mouth with his hand. I looked at him like he was crazy, but because I hadn’t done much training lately, I couldn’t push him off me.

"Don't talk." He hissed, rising up from being inches away from my face. Then, I saw him pull something from my ear. It was an earpiece, making me wonder when he was able to put it there, not to mention without my knowing it was there. "This will make for a huge amount of evidence." He explained to himself. My mind, already in disarray, went into a confusion like no other. "It was worth the effort of getting it on." He looked at me suggestively as I sat up with unsure thoughts. 

‘So... He didn't lead me here for something worse?’ My brows furrowed as I thought back to the moments leading up to this, embarrassed and angry that I thought it would come to that. It was concerning to see his demeanour change from what I just saw to the victorious look on his face. He looked down at me, still sitting on the bed with a dejected expression, seemingly noticing my staring. 

"What're you just sitting there for?" He laughed at my appearance, my apprehension rising due to how laid back he was. Maybe it was because of where I was, but I was more sensitive to the casual restriction he just put me in. I looked away, not wanting to say something I'd regret. 

Then, I felt him leaning over me and I quickly turned my gaze back to him. I panicked. His face was nearer than I expected it to be as he jerked forward. I jumped back, the memories of intimidation tactics used on me before resurfacing from my past. 

"Did you really think I was being serious earlier?" He almost laughed at the notion. "Unfortunately for you, I don't have any problems with women." He inched closer again and it took everything in my being to not smack that pretty face of his. If I assaulted a detective, I would be expelled from the academy and likely arrested. Not to mention the scene it would cause being dragged out of here. "I'm not so desperate that I'd go after some inexperienced brat." He smirked before getting up from the bed, talking to me like I was the idiot. 

"What did you bring me here for..." Having had the time to understand that I would be safe and de-escalate my anger, I quickly regathered myself and straightened my back. "...If not for my training?" Looking at his suited back, I started to think back to why I was actually here. 

"I've got more important things to do than that useless nonsense." He explained spitefully. 

‘Then why become an instructor?’ I scowled to myself, knowing full well this man had no intention of teaching anyone anything. 

"Well, thanks to you so boldly choosing me, I pulled off some undercover work." He turned with another victorious smile. I was frozen silent, not knowing what would come out of this intimidating man's mouth next. Then, he pulled out his cellphone. 

"It's me. Yeah... the bug was a success. I've got enough evidence, so I'm withdrawing. You keep on going, sneak in and stay on the guy's tail." When he ended the call with his subordinate, the Captain quickly headed for the door. I was still frozen, trying to calm my racing heart from the panic I was in before.

"What're you doing?" Kaga turned back to me. "Staying?" My gaze darted up at the horrifying idea. 

"If you are, go search the room next door. Make sure you come back here." At the mere notion of real detective work,. Before I could say a thing, the frowning returned. 

"Too bad. You're not ready." The curt response was a deep cut to my confidence. Searching a room for anything fishy was probably one of the only things I came to the academy being able to do. But, before I could speak my piece, Kaga turned and left. 

~~~~~~

By that night, the long, rigorous day had completely worn me out; I'm sure my classmates also fared the same. I arrived at the dorms the academy made us stay in and threw myself onto my couch. ‘Could Kaga's mission possibly be for an investigation on my father?’ I thought back to where the excursion took place and the idea made my heart flutter. For years I had wished and prayed for retribution for all the wrong-doings my father and his goons had accomplished. The thought of his vicious crimes being aired out like dirty laundry brought a smile to my weary face. 

Getting off the comfortable couch, I retrieved a box from under my bed. It was small and light; there wasn't much in it. I opened it to find loads of old photographs. Some of them were heartwarming: my twin sister and I playing around or hugging each other. 

But, I’d only put them in there to hide what I was really storing: Pictures of crime scenes my father had left out in our living room or secluded garden. I once caught him in the act; that photo was in there too. I had an old tie with blood on it. A passport with a different identity than I had registered into the academy with. My mother's ring was knocking around in there somewhere. 

I hardly knew my mother. There are no pictures of us together and no one talked about her after she left us. The ‘family’. She couldn't take what my father and his ‘brothers’ did any longer and ran away, leaving her two daughters behind. I'm pretty sure she's dead now. Otherwise my father would have found her at some point. 

I came to realise that soon before my 18th birthday that my father didn't really care about us; he just wanted a lineage. So, I somehow convinced my sister to run with me. I assured her that I had a plan that would get us the lives we wanted for a little while. I had trained to go on the run; my father taught me all the techniques the cops used to track fugitives. That, along with a little help from a friend from my youth judo club, was all I needed to get us new identities and places to live. It wasn't easy at first, having to split from the person you had literally been with since birth. But, it was the only way to ensure one of us would be safe if the other was caught. 

It was also difficult to work up a good enough resume to get myself into the police force. The name Atsuko Motomori had never existed before four years ago. It was risky to lie about the qualifications I had when, in my past life, I never gained any. I was homeschooled to ensure I wouldn't be coaxed away by true, lawful policemen investigating my father or my ‘uncles’.

Looking through these memories and reliving my awful excuse for a childhood, I happily remembered why I was condemning myself to this place and people like Captain Kaga. I wanted to make sure my sister and I would be safe. And the only way I could do that was by locking them all up for the rest of their lives.

As I mulled over the bloody scenes within the box, I heard a knock at my door. I jumped, not used to company, and knocked the box off my lap. 

"Crap!" I whispered to myself, trying to clear everything away as quickly as possible. 

"Who is it?" I called out after collecting most of the contents, having double-checked the area for any compromising pictures. 

"Atsuko~! I come with food!" The cheery voice of my only female ally chimsed from the other side of the door. 

"Naruko, what're you doing here?" I questioned while opening the door. The food she was trying to bribe me with was a pack of potato chips and a soda from the vending machines downstairs. 

"I'm pooped, so I thought you might be even more worse off." The bubbly attitude helped her push herself into my dorm room. 

"You're not wrong there." Happy to have some form of womanly friendship after so many years of trying to keep to myself, I lazily followed her to the couch. 

"So how was it with the Satan reincarnate?" She giggled to herself, lowering her voice at the insulting part of her question. Maybe she feared he would hear her. I wouldn't be surprised if they had us under surveillance to see what we did after hours. Or if the Captain had supersonic, selective hearing. 

"It was... an experience." Trying to keep up my half of the deal I made with my instructor, I put on a tired smile. Kaga promised to pass me if I didn't tell anyone he had bunked the undercover training. 

"You want a drink? I think I've got some tea somewhere." Quickly attempting to change the subject, I wandered off to the small kitchenette in the corner of my room. 

As I prepared the beverages, Naruko spoke up out of nowhere. 

"Oh, Atsuko, what's this?" She called out and my blood ran cold. ‘Did I miss a picture? Was it something possibly incriminating?’ Wild thoughts circulated my brain at the possibility of getting caught. Having gory images of dead men stored away in my room wouldn't be easily explained. 

Hesitantly, I turned with a questioning smile, just waiting for her to let out some form of horror or disgust. Instead, though, I found her looking at an old polaroid photo with a loving smile. 

"You didn't tell me you had a sister!" She asked and I cocked my head, glancing at the image she waved at me. It was of my sister and I, building sandcastles on a beach when we were kids. My heart stopped as I remembered the scene.

That picture was of the day before my mother left. She had somehow convinced my father to let her take us out- which was a strange occurrence. Even if my father wasn't overbearing, which he definitely was, she didn't like going out much. It was summer and hot, and we would only annoy him, being locked in the house. I'm pretty sure I remembered at least three bodyguards surrounding our section of the sand, though.

I smiled at the painful memory, a happy one buried underneath so much hurt, and looked at the brown-haired girl with two short pigtails, dressed in a pink bathing suit. I don't think I've had a smile that big on my face in a long time. 

"Well, I, uh..." Not knowing how to respond, I just made noises. 

"She must be so proud of you for making it into this academy." She laughed and the statement only hurt me. 

"She's not really in my life anymore." I smiled sadly sitting next to her so I could look at the picture more in-depth. I could see a sliver of a man in a suit to the left of the picture's edge, closest to where I was, and something was slightly poking out of his waistband. To Naruko, it probably looked like a shadow of a tree or something less sinister than what it was, but it was likely one of the bodyguards with a gun hidden away. 

"O-Oh, I'm sorry, Atsuko." Naruko sounded so sad to hear I wasn't in contact with my sister anymore. We did look really happy in that picture. 

"Nah, it's alright. That's just how life goes." I took the picture from her and looked at it for a bit longer, concentrating more on my sister's face, even though it was an exact replica of mine, before slipping it through the crack between the lid of the box and the box itself. I didn't want my new friend catching a glimpse of anything in there.

"You sound so wise," Naruko giggled, maybe trying to help me feel happier again and lighten the mood.

"You make me sound like an old man," I laughed, jokingly hitting her arm like I was offended. 

"You shouldn't say such wistful things then." She laughed back as I headed back to the kettle to pour us some tea. 

We chatted for a little longer, mainly about what her training had consisted of, before Naruko went back to her room. Once she was gone, I sighed, glad that the picture she had found underneath my coffee table wasn't anything more frightening. Sliding the small box back under my bed, I began getting ready for a good night's rest. 

~~~~~~

Waking up the next day was... rough. Staying up later, thanks to Naruko, and the subconscious worry I’d because of what happened at the love hotel, I’d probably only got a few hours of sleep. 

‘Right, I have to get today right, at least’, I told myself, throwing my legs over the side of my bed. Ishigami already had it in for me because of the train situation - I'm sure all of the special instructors did - but I wasn't going to let that stop me from doing my best. ‘For us.’ Thinking back to the picture that had been found on my floor, I used that as encouragement to continue my life as though nothing had happened.

~~~~~~

In my first class, I could see Naruko already sitting down. She commented on how she hadn't seen me in the cafeteria for breakfast. "I wonder whose fault that is?" I playfully blamed her for making me wake up late. As we continued to chat mindlessly, I couldn’t help but think back to the limited facilities the academy had for women. ‘Well, at least the food and living quarters are good.’ 

"The real lectures are finally going to start today." Likely having it easier than I had yesterday, Naruko had a fire of ambition in her eyes. Luckily, our first class was in the classroom and not martial arts training, otherwise her passion might hurt someone. Our lectures consisted of a wide range of expert topics ranging from using tracking equipment to how to de-escalate a situation to undercover work. 

As we discussed what we would be studying here, the memory of how I was handled yesterday manifested on my wrists. I rubbed them, trying to get rid of the feeling of Kaga's hands. 

"Something wrong?" Noticing my anxiousness, Naruko peered into my face. As I told her “I’m fine”, she remembered how we never talked about my experiences yesterday. 

"I'm pretty sure I passed. If not, I don't think I'd still be here." I laughed off the subject, knowing how strict the instructors seemed to my friend. 

"Did you hear? Students who failed were severely punished." An uneasy expression laid itself on Naruko's face and I also started to feel sympathy for those that weren't as lucky as us. As we wondered about what the punishments were, Naruko got that grin she’d had during the ceremony yesterday. 

"I wonder what kind of punishment I would have gotten." The excited aura she was giving off only made a chill run down my back thinking about how much worse the Captain could be.

Intruding on my thoughts, the instructor delivering our lecture walked in and started the lesson. When it was over, I rushed to change into the attire I would need for our next bout of training on the grounds.

~~~~~~

As Naruko and I arrived on the pitch, everyone was lined up in front of Instructor Soma. He frowned at us, stating how late we were. "Sorry about that, Instructor. We took too long in the shower room." Maybe too casual with the man because of his usual laid back aura, we both bowed deeply. 

"Yes, there's no women's locker room, is there?" A small smile finally returned to his face as we rose again. "It's the first time, so I'll go easy on you. But, I won't go easy on you next time." Even though he looked kind, anyone could tell he didn't give any leeway. 

"There won't be a next time, sir," I replied rather confidently and the instructor almost seemed amused.

Naruko and I went to line up in the very back. The girl who couldn't seem to keep her feelings to herself whispered to me about how nice he seemed and how good looking he was. Thinking back to how Kaga treated me, I couldn't help but quietly agree. ‘There would definitely be no such leniency with him.’ I thought about all the awful punishments or torture methods the Captain could know as we continued our training.

Soma had us perform a fitness exam. We hadn't had a break since the class started when he called out my name to be tested. I stretched the pain out of my legs quickly, not wanting to cramp up. 

"Woah, Atsuko! You have a scary look in your eye!" Naruko, as tired out as I was, laughed nervously. You might say I was competitive. I would say I was trying to prove my worth to the classes of men who didn't think I belonged here. 

"Just tryna keep my head in the game." I jumped on my toes as the instructor called out my name again. "Coming!" 

Jogging over to him, I noticed that even the guys were looking visibly tired due to our endless training. I, on the other hand, although exhausted, had trained like this since I could walk. I was used to being able to hide the physical pain in order to not get shouted at for being weak. 

~~~~~~

For our last lecture of the day, feeling like I had been brought through the wringer, we all filtered into the Monitor Room. Maybe too nervous yesterday to get a good look at the room, I overheard my classmates gossiping about the surveillance equipment surrounding us. Not only were there cameras of the school grounds, but some screens showed destinations all over the country. 

"Don't you think just using this room would make for an easy investigation?" Overhearing one student comment, I couldn't help but agree. Knowing how much the pictures under my bed were worth, who knows how vital a video of a crime would be to an investigation. You just needed to be able to prove they weren't doctored. 

As the instructor lectured, I noticed Naruko resting on my shoulder. "Come on, Naruko. Just a bit longer." I shook her while keeping an eye out for anyone that might rat her out. 

"You can talk. You're a machine, Atsuko," she whined under her breath.

Suddenly, before I could laugh at her comment, another voice spoke up behind us. 

"Sasaki, go to the medical office if you're drowsy." Instructor Shinonome piped up and we both jumped to attention, having not felt anyone around us. Even though the man was grinning, there was something evil behind that childish face of his. 

"Ah! S-Sorry! I'm okay!" Naruko instantly woke up at the prospect of getting punished. 

"If anyone else wants to sleep, you can tell me. They put you through it on the first day, so I expect you're all tired." Shinonome's offer almost sounded like a chance to get us expelled. Or, it did to me anyway. Everyone else looked relieved at the kind sentiment. 

"Okay, that's all for today's class then. Great work everyone." A cheerful smile returned to his face as I eyed him suspiciously. The man I saw in the shower room on my first day was hidden under that friendly persona he had on. 

"Oh, right. Can those who I call stay after class for a moment?" And there it was! The not so innocent catch to his kind offer. Those who would be called were definitely being thrown to the wolves in order to save the rest of us.

As Shinonome began to read out the list, he directed his gaze to the monitor. He called out a few names before looking directly at me. "Lastly, Atsuko Motomori." His face had no note of malicious intent, however, I couldn't help but not trust it. As I gasped to myself, he dismissed our classmates. 

"Atsuko, what did you do?" Naruko whispered as our free classmates shuffled out around us. 

"I-I don't think I did anything?" I panicked, thinking back over the day, trying to find anything that could warrant me being reprimanded. Looking over to those also called, I could see they were just as nervous. Why were we the one's held back? 

‘Maybe... Kaga's mission was discovered?’ I couldn't help but wonder if we’d been caught as Naruko left me sitting where I was. 

"Don't be so nervous. I'm not going to get angry." The happy smile on Shinonome's face helped calm the others in the room. Even I was somewhat relieved by his words. "How were they? The lectures?" Directing his question at me, Shinonome looked over. 

"Educational! It's wonderful how good the facilities are." Trying to get on his good side, I didn't want to let myself look withered as I kept my voice light. 

"Well, the class seemed sleepy. Sasaki looked like she was nearly asleep." The comment didn't sit right with me, this being an elite academy and all.

"Well, as you said, they put us through it," I laughed, trying not to put Naruko in any deep water. 

"So, are you going to fall asleep on us as well? I'd have to punish you then." Shinonome cast me a look that probably didn't seem like anything to the other men in the room. But, to me, it seemed as untrustworthy as the rest of him. 

"Don't count on it." Not wanting to divulge my past of intense training, I just showed a soft smile. To be honest, I wouldn't mind a nap right now, but I wasn't going to admit that. The thought of any kind of punishment, which would likely be some form of harassment from him, had me on edge. 

"Too bad. I wonder if any students who I can have fun with will turn up soon?" His mischievous appearance reminded me of the look Kaga gave me yesterday and my eyes darted away. Even though Shinonome seemed actually happy and there was no emotion in Kaga's eyes, the concept of teasing made me uneasy. 

‘It's scary how he can talk like that and still smile.’ I thought about how his words didn't match the expression as the doors of the Monitor Room opened again. 

Throwing my gaze to the door, I watched Ishigami, Goto and Soma make their way inside. "You're all immediately going to be assigned as student aides to the instructors." Ishigami didn't miss a beat as all attention landed on him. 

"Simply put, you'll help the instructors file documents, prepare lectures and such," Soma added, helping the confused students out. I was shocked. I hadn't done anything special to get me a close position to any of the instructors, let alone have to deal with their grunt work. "Since we must continue our normal duties as Public Safety officers while we teach, we won't always have the time." With that comment, I finally understood why Kaga would agree to become an instructor- so he wouldn't have to do any of the work if he had a capable enough aide. I pitied the person that would have to undertake that role. 

"This is good experience, so although it will be difficult, we ask that you try." The encouraging words from Soma were much more trustworthy to me than Shinonome's slightly eerie ones. 

"Each instructor will get a full-time aide. Following the instructors will be an important role." Goto, as blunt as he had been at the introduction ceremony, crossed his arms as he stared down at all of us. Somehow, the silence that followed was more anxiety invoking than anything Shinonome could say. Soma was right, though. Being so close to an instructor all the time would be a perfect learning opportunity. 

"We will now announce the aides," Ishigami announced, retrieving his clipboard once again. "Instructor Kaga's aide will be Atsuko Motomori." The Captain was as stoic as ever as he read out the list. I, on the other hand, couldn't be more shocked. ‘Kaga seemed so annoyed by even my mere presence yesterday, why would he want me as an aide? He already thinks I'm a screw up because of the train incident.’ 

"What?" Ishigami glared at me as he heard my wordless gasp. 

"Nothing, sir. Sorry." I bowed my head in embarrassment of drawing attention to myself as I pondered over the events in the love hotel that could get me the chance to become an aide. ‘Is it because I chose him yesterday?’ I panicked, thinking back to the misplaced bravery I’d had when picking an instructor.

"Isn't this a good thing? You're one of the few to come back with him safely." Ayumu smirked at my worrisome state. ‘The only reason I was safe is because he didn't actually train me. There was no chance to get in harm's way. Except for the possible fallout of someone recognising me.’ 

"Shinonome, refrain from talking." Ishigami quickly progressed through the list of aides. Once he finished, he turned to me once again. He explained that Kaga was on an investigation mission and that I should go see him when he gets back. I hesitantly agreed, glad to have the time to prepare myself while he was out working. Unlike our permanent instructors, the guys from Public Safety weren't always around, which is probably why they need the help. 

As we were dismissed, I tried to remind myself what a good learning opportunity this could be.

~~~~~~

When the time came to see Instructor Kaga, as Shinonome had told me back in the Monitor Room, I headed to their staff room.

"Excuse me." I knocked on the door before opening it to find an office-like space. Kaga was sitting at one of the many chairs at the large table in the centre of the room. I stood in front of him in order to introduce myself. 

"I'm Motomori. Starting today I will be serving as your full-time aide." Straight-backed and trying to not look uncomfortable under his discerning gaze, I explained why I dared talk to him. 

"Oh?" His brows frowned, once again judging me for all I was worth. 

"I just came to let you know Instru-." However, before I could blame Ishigami for sending me here, I was interrupted.

"A full time aide?" He even seemed to ponder the idea before flat out rejecting me. "Useless, I have no need for an aide, so go." His blunt response threw me off a little. To be honest, I was surprised he didn't unenthusiastically jump at the idea for someone else to do his work. Losing the optimistic view of this assignment, I tried to explain that it had already been decided. 

"Don't need it." He quickly interrupted me again before turning his back on me. "Tell Ishigami for me," was the final thing he said before expelling my presence from the room.

~~~~~~

‘That was rougher than I thought it was going to be,’ I thought as I stood in the hallway, looking at the door signed 'Staff Room'. ‘But, I can't afford to back down here.’ More afraid of what Ishigami would say than what Kaga could do, I raised my fist to knock on the door. 

After hearing no reply, I began to get desperate. "Instructor, please!" I call out, not wanting to go back to Ishigami empty-handed.

"Shut up." The door flew open and there's Kaga, glaring down at me. The sudden action made me jump out of my skin in the silent corridor. "Let me spell this out for you since you don't seem to get it." The oncoming lecture was apparent when I felt like he was going to start insulting me for being so persistent. 

"I have no need for some useless piece." 

I won't lie, that statement struck home. The whole 'chessboard' way of thinking about people lower than you was exactly how my father treated us. I once confronted him about my mother's disappearance and all he could say was "she didn't know how to play the game. She's useless to us if she doesn't want to compete." That wording was something I never understood. How were you supposed to lead anyone if you didn't think anyone less than you was capable enough? 

As I thought about Kaga's statement, I tried to ignore the relation to the man who raised me. "If you give me a chance, I'm sure it'll get Ishigami off your back. He'll only complain to you if I go back to him now." I tried to reason with the side of him that hated his Captain counterpart and a wave of irritation flashed through his face. "I can do anything! I can file for you. I'll even do chores. Please!" I begged, hoping I was getting through to him. Maybe the idea of a maid would make him reflect on the idea. Then, he finally looked at me without that concerned expression. 

"Anything, you say?" He looked me up and down as I agreed, not thinking about the consequences of those words. Then, he narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth. 

"You can be my servant." The growing smirk on his face made me a little uneasy. It was that same grin of victory he’d showed when he’d collected the evidence from the love hotel. 

"Excuse me?" Was all I could utter out to ensure I’d heard him right. 

"You can be my full-time servant. How many times do I have to say it?" The disconcerting frown returned as his eyebrows creased together again. 

[nsheetee]

Can I make a request? Jaehyun x reader high school rivalry au. In which Jaehyun & reader are rivals in school when it comes to academics but one day they were informed they had to team up for a quiz bee against other schools. Some sort of enemies to lovers au I guess? 😅 THANK YOUUU!!

a/n: ugh I imagined Jaehyun in glasses throughout this entire thing and it killed me 😅 also, to include the academics and quiz bee part I wrote this based around debate team, that wasn’t exactly what you asked for but I hope it’s okay! 

(warning: mentions of doyoung, jungwoo, and sicheng  /swearing / y’all make out a bit in the end)

alright so let me tell you about your high school’s debate team

the team is as old as the school itself, but during doyoung’s sophomore year, he was given the title of president of the debate team 

(the first time a sophomore has been given the position, and he made sure everyone knew about it too dfbhjh)

every since then, the team has TAKEN OFF and made some amazing accomplishments 

doyoung crafted the team into what it is today

sicheng as head of research (and official tea-spiller of the team)

jungwoo as doyoung’s assistant (a.k.a. doyoung’s emotional support boy)

…and you and jaehyun, some of the best debaters doyoung has ever seen

your passion paired with jaehyun’s charisma and mixed in with both of your quick mouths was a sight to behold for judges

despite this, doyoung was very unwilling to let both of you stay on the team

because you fucking HATED each other

despite the amazing skill of teamwork you both possess on stage, the debate team meeting room was a nightmare

screaming matches every other day

snapped in half pencils

many, many, MANY disagreements

and how did it start? 

during freshman year, your first class in your first semester of school was math- your teacher seated you next to jaehyun :)

every morning at 8am you had to deal with his whining about being tired or how the material was “too easy” :)

and then when you got your first tests back, your grade was one (1) point lower than his :)

and jaehyun says :)

“oh man, that sucks. you should’ve taken up that tutoring offer I gave you”

:))))))))))

and ever since then, you couldn’t stand his big head with his too-clear-to-be-natural skin and his smile that he sent you every time doyoung agreed with something he said instead of one fo your ideas

but you loved debate team, you were all such close friends (despite someone who liked the act up) and those big dumbos were your everything :’)

now, it was the beginning of doyoungs senior year

as the debate team teacher sponsor quietly cried at the thought of doyoung leaving, doyoung was more focused on who would take his spot next year

jungwoo and sicheng were both great candidates, but everyone knew that the only people who could even come close to filling doyoung’s shoes were you or jaehyun

and when doyoung told you both this after a debate team meeting, the tension between you two quickly escalated 

“now, I expect both of you to get along; at least respect each other. if one of you is the captain then you have to be able to listen to them and right now…. the last thing you do is listen to each other” doyoung explained

with that thought, you and jaehyun made your way out of school

“ya know if you could just listen to my ideas every once in a while maybe we wouldn’t be in this kind of mess” jaehyun pointed out as you walked down the empty halls

“I could say the same thing to you” you snapped back and he suddenly stopped walking

“… is this what doyoung is talking about? I think… we both love debate so much, that we just don’t know when to stop” jaehyun laughs and you feel slightly uncomfortable with this seemingly truthful side of jaehyun

he legit doesn't seem like he’s about to laugh at your face 

he just seems like he wants to stop arguing

he does, he’s actually really tired of arguing with your cute face everyday :(

you don’t know how far you can trust jaehyun, but you’ve spent years working by his side

there has to be some sort of connection between you two that allows both of you to work together so successfully

after you tell that to jaehyun, he slowly agrees

“how about this….” you start “after team meetings, we can go to the library and try to… not hate each other”

jaehyun scrunches his face

“the library? how about… the cafe two blocks down?”

you were about to snap at him about “what’s so wrong with the library? huh?” but you took a deep breath in and out

if you were going to stop fighting, change had to start somewhere

“okay, let’s go” 

so you and jaehyun hang out at this hole-in-the-wall cafe after debate team meetings for a few weeks

you didn’t necessarily make your meet ups known to the other team members but… 

you didn’t really want to have the whole team freak out over what could possibly be perceived as dates

cuz trust me

they TOTALLY looked like dates

jaehyun would buy your drink for you 

(until one day he confessed that you drink was hella expensive and you rolled your eyes and started buying his drink from then on)

in return, he would help you on all the math concepts you didn’t fully understand

(you had flashbacks to the first class you had with him when he offered to tutor you but you shook that off)

and when your your brain was completely fried, he would listen to you talk about anything and everything

or if on one particular day you weren’t in the mood to talk, he would fill up the cafe with his low laughter and stories of the stupid things he and his friends do

(when the baristas found out y’all weren’t dating they started making bets on when one of you would confess ewfheb)

your relationship with jaehyun changed from snappy and argumentative to something like a friendship

and this was obvious to the rest of the debate team members 

they were soooo relieved that y’all weren’t fighting everyday 

and that they could spend the meetings getting prepared for competitions rather than settling your arguments

but of course, sicheng was a little too curious about the sudden change in behavior from you two

and he followed you guys after a meeting one day

he watched from outside of the cafe where neither of you could see him

he was shooooook

you guys looked so,,.., weird when you don’t fight but it was even weirder to see you laughing at something jaehyun said and leaning into him as you looked at his papers

he was ssososososoos sure you were dating

(although sicheng was awesome at researching stuff, he seems to have forgotten to confirm his sources on this one…)

(because you were not dating at all)

(yet…)

sooooooo fast forward to the next weekend, there was a debate team competition a few cities away

the school allowed the team to travel and stay over night at a hotel in that city

so the team packed up their things and took the long bus ride and settled into their hotel rooms once they got there

you were flipping through the tv channels in your room when your phone vibrated

with a text from jaehyun

“come meet me in my room”

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) hehe

it was against the rules that your teacher sponsor set before you left for the trip

but you were sure the teacher was already passed out in their own room and that if you were quiet and careful, the other team members wouldn’t hear you walking out of your room and into jaehyun’s

jungwoo, doyoung, and sicheng already broke the rule that the teacher had set for them

they were chilling in doyoung’s room, finished take out on the floor between them and face masks on as they relaxed 

“I keep texting jaehyun to come join us, but he’s not picking up” jungwoo frowned and sicheng snorted at that

“what’s so funny?” jungwoo asked

“we’re on a trip away from home with our own hotel rooms and little to no supervision,..,.. don’t you think jaehyun and y/n would take this opportunity to mess around?”

the room suddenly went very quiet as jungwoo and doyoung stared at sicheng with wide eyes

“…what?” doyoung asked lowly

“oh come on…. you guys seriously can’t tell me you haven’t seen how much closer they’ve gotten-”

“that’s because I told them that one of them would have to be president next year and they need to get along” doyoung defended

“yeah, that’s why they were getting real cozy with each other in a cafe after one of our meetings” sicheng absentmindedly stated, looking at his reflection on his phone as he tapped around his face to settle the mask in

tea? spilled

sicheng’s job? completed

jaehyun and you? in trouble

back in jaehyun’s room, you quietly close the door behind you as you make your way in

jaehyun lays on his bed with only the light from the bedside lamp illuminating his face 

his pajamas have little clouds and sheep on them and you take a moment to tease him about it as you come closer

he grabs your hands and pulls you onto the bed next to him and you both settle down to watch tv

both of your hearts are pounding so loud you think the other can hear it and you squeeze your hand into a fist to keep yourself from physically freaking out

jaehyun was right there… right next to you

if you turned your head, he would be only a few inches away

“there’s nothing to watch?” you ask, trying to get your mind off of your thoughts

“nothing seems interesting… let’s do something else instead”

and that’s how you end up making out with Jaehyun :-)

your lips are moving against each others and your hands are gliding down to wherever you can touch

he rubs your sides and when you react with a small moan he pushes you down and the kiss turns from a “wanting” type of kiss to something slower

like jaehyun wants to savor this moment of your kiss pressed to his for the very first time (it wasn’t the greatest setting or situation for a first kiss but hey, y’all take what you can get)

you barely notice doyoung, jungwoo, and sicheng storming into the room, turning on all the lights and standing in front of the bed, hands on hips or crossed in front of their chest, their face masks still on and frowns settled underneath

you and jaehyun separate from each other in fright, awaiting to be yelled at by doyoung, but instead you break out into laughter at the appearance of the three of them standing in front of you

“when I told you guys to get along, this is NOT AT ALL what I meant”

[razberryyum]

My Two Cents on the Ending of The Untamed/陈情令

From chapter 111 of MDZS (novel translation by Exiled Rebels Scanlations):

“It was what he hoped all this time. Each to their own path. But now that the day really came, watching Wen Ning and Lan SiZhui’s figures walk slowly, slowly away until they finally disappeared, he felt somewhat dejected.

Lan WangJi was now the only one who stood by his side. Luckily, Lan WangJi was also the only one he wished to have by his side.”

(spoilers for novel, episode 50 and ending of Guardian, Eternal Love, I Will Never Let You Go, and Story of Minglan)

If I’m going to be honest, part of me wishes the show had ended with that scene above. That would have been, imho, a PERFECT ending because it would have been an obvious one. We wouldn’t have to think any further about if they actually did reunite at the end, if that white glimmer in Wei Wuxian’s eyes is indeed the figure of Lan Wangji, etc etc.  

Now before I say anything further, for the record, I am freaking GRATEFUL we got the ending we got…especially the original Tencent version. Even though the WeTV version is a little more questionable, fact remains things could have been so much worse. I mean, God, imagine if we were left with THIS as the last image we ever see of The Untamed.

Or this:

The fact that Team 陈情令 took it one step further and gave us Lan Zhan’s “Wei Ying” followed by WWX’s glorious, teary-eyed smile is already a straight-up miracle. But, because I’m a lazy ass by nature, I wish I could have shut off my brain and just be spoon-fed a definitive ending that would have left me completely satiated, and that’s really the only reason why I wish they had ended the show at the scene where WWX and LWJ sad their goodbyes to Wen Ning and Lan Sizhui. Plus, there’s just something a little more satisfying about seeing our two leads together as a couple on screen one last time.  A teeny tiny bitter part of me knows that had WangXian been a m/f couple, we would’ve undoubtedly gotten that last shot of them together, much like we did for the main couple in shows like Eternal Love or I Will Never Let You Go or Story of Ming Lan or basically any other c-dramas with happy endings and a hetero couple at its core (which is like, what 99% of the c-dramas anyway? And sorry for spoiling those shows). But I know, censorship, I understand, so I should stop beating that dead horse and just be glad what we got. I mean, I’m still suffering from PTSD due to Guardian’s ending so trust me when I say I am entirely thankful.  

After all, from a thematic point of view, it’s not like the ending doesn’t make sense; it actually does. The idea of both WWX and LWJ living clear of conscience has been reiterated time and again throughout the show, so the fact that LWJ would decide to abide by his duties instead of going off and having fun with WWX does indeed go along with the values established for him. In fact, one might say that during the 16 years of WWX’s absence, he was probably acting the most out of character since he seemed to have more or less shirked his duties as Gusulan Sect’s esteemed Hanguan-Jun. As Jiang Cheng mentioned in the second episode, LWJ has spent most of the past 16 years time just wandering the world, looking for someone, which of course we know who. Even Jin Guangyao mentioned that he never attended any of the big cultivation meetings. So for the past decade and a half Lan Zhan’s really been just living his own life, off on his own quest, and probably leaving all the major responsibilities of his sect to his brother and uncle. Now that WWX is back and the main villain is conquered, I can see how his guilt at abandoning his duties might have finally caught up with him and he realizes he might have some amends to make. After all, his uncle’s old and constantly spitting up blood, and his brother—dear poor Xichen who just makes my heart HURT when I think about him—is definitely in no condition to become Chief Cultivator. I thought about Jiang Cheng briefly, but he’s probably in the same unstable emotional state as Lan Xichen at this point. Hell, Lan XiChen, Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling should probably all sign up for some intense group therapy; can’t imagine how they could even function otherwise considering the emotional battering they just went through.  

Anyway, getting back to the role of Chief Cultivator, in the novel, it was implied that Nie Huaisang was gunning for that position, but honestly, I actually thought that was a bit odd in the book because even though we know he’s the mastermind behind everything, it’s hard to imagine that he would want to step up to the plate and be in the limelight instead of staying in the shadows as he has been doing. I actually think the drama’s change to his ending made more sense.  Not to mention, since most of the cultivation world has known him as the know-nothing coward, if he were to suddenly do a 180 and become this strong, intelligent, assertive person, wouldn’t people be pretty suspicious of him as a person and be too wary to follow him? For better or worse, LWJ IS indeed the best candidate for that position at this specific moment in time. The scene at Lotus Pier where the other sects found out about Jin Guangyao’s heinous activities was illuminating in more ways than one since it also showed how wishy-washy and easily influenced the majority of the other sects were. Those guys are a bunch of dumbasses who need to be led, otherwise, if left to their own devices, the cultivation world would be in total chaos.  

I also appreciated the fact that even though WWX looked downright heart-broken when he realized LWJ wasn’t going to explore the world with him (yet), it seems like he had actually stayed with Lan Zhan until he became Chief Cultivator, which probably didn’t happen overnight. I’m assuming this based on WWX’s wardrobe change from their scene with Sizhui and Wen Ning. I think it’s sweet that despite his disappointment, he still stayed with him for a bit.

The logic part of their parting holds water, but it’s the emotional part that I’m not entirely sold on. I mean, what the show is essentially trying to tell me is that a man who looks at Wei Ying like this:

And this…

And this….

…would actually be ok with being separated from him? Again? Yeah. Right. Siubian.

Just the thought of Wei Ying having no one to protect him now from all the scary fluffy puppies of the world is probably enough to keep Lan Zhan up at nights. In terms of the bond between WWX and LWJ as it was established in the show—not even getting into how they are in the novel because then the notion of them separating would be downright ridiculous—it is pretty hard to accept that LWJ would be ok being away from Wei Ying. Even if the call of duty is loud, the siren song of WangXian has to eventually overpower everything else. The question is when, of course, and even though Wei Ying goes through yet another wardrobe change by the last scene, I can’t imagine that much time passed…I would like to think no more than just a year or two. At a certain point, LXC, being the generous, loving, understanding older brother that he always is, would probably realize how much LWJ misses WWX and offer to take over the Chief Cultivator role from him. But big bro does need time to emotionally recover so I think a year or two is a fair timespan. It’s not enough time for LXC to heal completely of course, God knows a decade probably would still not be enough for that, but a year or two probably would allow him to at least be able to pretend to be fine enough to function somewhat normally again. Ugh. Again, poor big bro.

Actually, if I think about it, one thing good about Wei Ying and Lan Zhan being separated for a short time is that this time around, WWX can be the one missing and pining after LWJ instead.  I can easily imagine him making detailed mental notes of every place he has visited and everything he’s done that is fun for when he finally reunites with Lan Zhan, he can take him through all of his journeys so that they can then experience together what he had to experience alone during their time apart.  

I also like that when Wei Ying hears his name being called, he actually looks shocked…

…which clearly indicates he never expected Lan Zhan to appear at all, which means they didn’t plan this reunion, that Lan Zhan just magically found Wei Ying again. That is seriously so romantic. I’m sure Lan Zhan kept tabs on Wei Ying’s whereabouts all the time, I refuse to believe that he wouldn’t at least do that, but still, that hilltop looked pretty out there in the wilderness so it’s truly beautiful that he still managed to pinpoint where Wei Ying was to surprise him. Or maybe the energy he shared with Wei Ying acts as a sort of GPS now so he can always easily find the other man no matter where he is? That’s romantic too.  

So at the end of the day, I feel pretty satisfied and content. Since I fell in love with the show, I’ve literally been on pins and needles worrying about how the show will end, if Team CQL would somehow lose their minds and just screw everything up or be forced to screw everything up because of censorship. I can finally breathe easy now…well, somewhat…there’s still movies to worry about, but I’m just a worrywart by nature. With their splendid track record so far, I’m sure Team CQL will continue to deliver and make us happy in terms of WangXian.

“After we went to travel the world together everything was spread into the world as ‘rumors say’”.- from WWX’ character song 曲尽陈情 (“Songs end with Chen Qing”)

“With you by my side, I hope you’ve been well since the last time we’ve met”.  -from LWJ’s character song 不忘 (“Won’t Forget”).

[omgsomeonesomewhereonearth]

I know I can't stand you, but please stay anyway? (pt 1)

Patton hates lying. Patton never tells lies. Patton has told a massive lie. Ethan can’t stand Patton. He has no reason to ever help him. Except, of course, the most obvious one. A fake relationship, a family Christmas, and other shenanigans ensue.

Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit, Deceit’s name is Ethan in this fic, Christmas

Pairings: Established side prinxiety, eventual moceit (initially one sided, and I guess this is also technically enemies to lovers?)

I have been informed that it’s okay to start posting chapters for a Christmas themed fic in late November so I am

AO3 Link Pt 2

“And then I told her that me and my boyfriend would both love to come over for Christmas!”

“Well that was a wonderful decision that couldn’t possibly backfire, I’m sure,”

“What? Patton, what were you thinking?”

“Were you thinking? At all?”

“You totally screwed up.”

“I know, I know, it was a really stupid thing to do, but I’ve done it now and I made a big mess and I really need you guys to help me, please?” Patton knew was whining, but at this point he had lost any sense of shame, or propriety he’d ever had. “I’ve been telling my parents for ages about this supposedly great guy that I’ve been seeing, and how he’s apparently too busy for them to meet, and now they’re sick of waiting.”

The group was gathered at Ethan, Roman and Virgil’s apartment for their weekly movie night. Ordinarily, by now they’d already be thirty minutes into the Beauty and the Beast, but due to circumstances, his friends had had to watch Patton pace and moan about his mistakes instead. It was really a testament to how good a friend Roman was that he hadn’t been punched yet.

Patton messed up a lot. He wasn’t quite used to messing up this hard.

He just hated to disappoint people! So, when his mum had called him up three years ago and asked about his love life, he’d made up a silly harmless little tale about a guy he’d met and started seeing. He’d meant to tell his mum that they’d broken up eventually, but she just seemed so excited every time she brought it up! Over the years, they’d established that Patton’s boyfriend was very painfully shy and worked a lot.

As his roommate and longest standing best friend Logan had pointed out to him when he’d first confessed the dilemma, he really should have expected that his parents would eventually want to meet his mysterious significant other. Logan was very clever.

“So let me get this straight- “,

“Good luck with that” chorused Roman and Virgil. Patton had to take a break to think about how cute they were together.

“…Not only have you been lying to your dear mother and father for three years, you’re now asking one of your friends to join you in your deceptive plot by pretending to be your boyfriend? How very disappointing.”

…

Patton firmly reminded himself that if he couldn’t say anything nice, he shouldn’t say anything at all. Roman and Virgil’s incredibly aggravating roommate was a relatively new presence in their close-knit group, and not one that Patton was thrilled about.

Ethan was…snarky, to put it mildly. He had a flippant attitude towards everything and seemed to take pleasure in driving Patton up the wall. Most frustrating of all, you could never quite shake the feeling that behind the careless exterior, Ethan had some sort of secret motive, one that Patton could never seem to figure out but that he didn’t trust one bit.

He didn’t even particularly seem to like any of them and yet he insisted on tagging along whenever they hung out. If only he wasn’t so close with Virgil…

Ugh. Patton liked to think he was a nice person, but whenever Ethan looked at him with that infuriating smirk or said something sarcastic it became really hard for him to remember that.

But for now, he didn’t have time to be mad at Ethan. He had other problems.

“It’s just for one week.” He pleaded with his friends. “I’d call my parents up and tell them we broke up, I promise?”

Logan sighed. “I am afraid I cannot do it, since Patton and I have been friends since childhood. Patton’s parents already know me very well, and they would know immediately that we were conspiring to distort their reality.”

“Do you have to phrase it like that?!”

“Well, that is literally what you are suggesting Patton, regardless of whether you’re willing to admit to it.”

Ethan snorted at that and Patton counted to ten in his head.

He had really hoped that Logan could do it. They were best friends, his parents already adored him, and Patton didn’t even think he’d be that uncomfortable pretending to act all romantic with him in front of his parents. But Logan had a point. He always did.

“Roman? Virge? Please?”

Roman and Virgil turned to look at each other before answering.

“Sorry Padre, but it’s our first Christmas being together and Virgil and I have already made plans.”

Virgil shrugged apologetically at him and Patton immediately felt bad. How could he have forgotten?

To think, when they’d first met, the two silly kiddos couldn’t stand the sight of each other and now Virgil and Ro were practically inseparable. Patton was happy for them. He couldn’t help but think that he deserved just a teensy bit of credit for introducing them in the first place.

“Patton?” Logan’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. “What will you do now?”

“Huh? Oh… I don’t know, I guess I’ll just have to call my mum up and tell her the truth. Or something. I don’t really have any one else who I think would want to do it. I guess that’s what I get for telling a lie…”

“You haven’t asked me yet.”

Patton gawped at Ethan, who had been staring at his phone throughout the whole conversation. Was he serious? No. This was probably some cruel trick. He wanted Patton to ask him so that he could say no and laugh at him.

“I didn’t think you’d actually want to do it.”

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Well obviously I don’t want to do it. Honestly, I can think of few things that would be less appealing. However, one of those things happens to be spending the week alone while these two-“he jerked his thumb at Roman and Virgil – “are off making out in some cabin.”

“Does that mean you’ll help me?” Patton wasn’t sure what he wanted the other to say. On one hand it would solve his current problem. On the other hand, an entire week alone with Ethan and his family sounded like a whole bunch of problems on its own.

Ethan hummed as if he was considering it. Did he really have to be so infuriatingly calm when Patton was clearly freaking out?

“Oh, Patton, I don’t know how I could accept such a brash proposal, I’m a man of very high standards.”

Oh goodness, he was practically purring. Calling his mum and coming clean almost seemed appealing. Almost.

“Listen E, if you’re just gonna be a dick-“

“No, Virgil, it’s okay!” Patton hurried to calm down his friend. He was grateful that Virge was so quick to defend him, but he really couldn’t afford to annoy Ethan right now. As much as Patton hated to admit it, he desperately needed the snake’s help.

He mustered his bestest, friendliest, smile.

“Ethan, would you come to my parent’s house with me and pretend to be my boyfriend for the course of one week?”

Ethan tilted his head. What more did he want?

“Um… pretty please? With cherries on top?”

The grin that followed was practically wolfish. “Oh, alright, I suppose I could take a week out of my incredibly busy schedule to help out my dear friend.”

Roman looked confused “You were literally just talking about how you had nothing to do because Virgil and I were going out of town-“

“I do not understand the nature of your request Patton. Why would you be offering Ethan fruit in exchange for_”

As the group fell into their usual messy chatter, Patton fell into his thoughts. Ethan had agreed to help him. He hadn’t thought that the snake was capable of doing things that he had nothing to gain from.

No, wait. That was mean. Just because he’d never seen Ethan behave selflessly didn’t mean he was incapable of it. Patton didn’t have any right to judge him. After all, a person was innocent until proven guilty and Ethan hadn’t done anything to suggest that he had ulterior motives for helping him.

Besides, he thought, eyeing the tall man lying, stretched out on the floor. Ethan was – objectively – a perfect candidate for a fake boyfriend. He was (objectively!) very handsome and Patton had been to enough parties with him present to know that he could be charming when he wanted to be. He was intelligent – maybe not in the same way Logan was, but intelligent nonetheless. Maybe the week would be alright. He just needed to keep an eye on his unlikely saviour.

…

Roman pounced the minute Logan and Patton left the apartment.

“What are you doing?”

“… I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t play innocent, you slippery serpent! Since when do you have a soul?”

Was he meant to dignify that with a response?

Virgil snorted, leaning into his exuberant boyfriend, who pulled him into his lap without even breaking his ridiculous tirade. How revolting precious.

“Roman’s asking you why you’ve decided to do something for once that helps another person and poses no benefit to you whatsoever.”

Ethan needed new roommates.

“Exactly! And for Patton? The two of you don’t even like each other!”

Ethan was definitely rolling his eyes at Roman’s antics. He was definitely not doing his best to avoid Virgil’s knowing smirk. Furthermore, he had no idea why Virgil was grinning at him right now either.

“Cool your jets, Princey.” The aforementioned emo turned to wrap his arms around Roman’s waist and kiss his cheek. (Did they have to do this in front of him?) Turning to grin smugly at Ethan in between kisses, he continued, “I can assure you that in this instance E’s motives are entirely selfish.”

…And new friends. Ethan needed new roommates and a new best friend.

“What exactly are you talking about, my Dark and Stormy Knight?” (what the fuck did that even mean??) “Do the two of you know something that I don’t?”

And it was high time for Ethan to retreat to his room. Jumping to his feet, he grinned at Roman.

“I assure you that there is a number of things that we know and you don’t my dear prince.” He pretended not to notice Virgil frowning at the nickname. It was what he deserved anyway. “Why don’t you sit here and think about it-“

“Excuse me? I am not about to sit here and be criticised-“

“-And I will go catch up on my beauty sleep.”

Safe in his room, Ethan collapsed on the bed. His motives weren’t entirely selfish. And even if they were, so what? He would be helping Patton either way. Quality time with the little blue-eyed angel was really the least he deserved for his troubles.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. He was going soft. There was a time when he’d mocked Virgil for the very same thing, when the emo had first started hanging out with Patton. Then he’d actually met the guy and it was Virgil’s turn to make fun of him.

It wasn’t his fault the other had been so adorably wary of him the first time they met, eyeing Ethan like he thought he’d pounce or something. He grinned to himself as he remembered the way Patton had squeaked, actually squeaked when the little blond puffball had offered his hand for a handshake and Ethan had kissed it instead. After that, how could Ethan possibly hold back? It was just a game at first. Flirting with Patton, making fun of him. Anything to coax out those ridiculously cartoonish reactions. He hadn’t meant to develop feelings.

And of course, it didn’t help that the object of his affections still didn’t entirely like or trust him. Patton and he had had many a “civil discussion” about ‘helping others’ and ‘telling the truth even when it’s difficult’. They’d consisted mostly of Patton talking about morals and Ethan thinking about how a person could be cute and ridiculously obnoxious at the same time.

And yet, he mused, all the moralising lectures seemed to be working, did they not? No matter how much he rolled his eyes and scoffed, he couldn’t deny that hearing Patton’s earnest little voice in the back of his head did make him want to do the so-called ‘right thing’ more often, and even if he was only helping people because he had a stupid crush on the most strait laced boy on the planet, who cared? The old ladies made it across the street in one piece either way.

Not that he agreed with everything Patton said. The difference was that when Patton looked at him like he was the bad guy, Ethan actually cared. That was a new feeling, for him.

In other words, he had it bad.

He had never been more glad that Virgil was not a mind reader.

…speaking of Virgil, if the noises coming from the front room were any indication, he really needed to start looking for a new place to live.

[dat-town]

CODE Z3RO | CODE 13

characters: BTS & Red Velvet genre: thriller, futuristic au warning: i guess a lot of depressive thoughts summary: The twelve most ambitious and promising university students are welcomed in Choego, the world’s first entirely artificial intelligence-driven city, to compete for five job contracts that could change their life. But what if something goes wrong? What if they get trapped? What if the city suddenly turns against them? Can they find a way out before the countdown reaches zero? words: 4k tagged: @philosopher-of-fandoms​

➼ Chapter Index

Death.

Such a simple, trivial and lifeless word. And yet, it could bring empires to their knees. Finality had always scared human kind because it was something they couldn’t control, something out of their supervision. People managed to conquer nature, fight against wild animals, they could have diminished entire continents with the snap of their fingers but nobody had won over death before. Egyptian pharaohs had already intended to grant a fruitful afterlife to themselves as they built those huge monuments for themselves, piling gold over gold but it wasn’t a unique trait. Humans tended to wish to control as much as they could regarding their mortality: depending on their religion and beliefs they either wanted to ensure their afterlife or make sure to leave their trace on Earth. Nobody really wished to disappear without anything left behind. Be that fame, the knowledge or the love somebody held for them. But wasn’t loving the cruellest and most painful things to do after all? Because loving meant baring yourself to the possibility of losing something precious, something that leaves you hollow afterwards.

Jungkook remembered when he had encountered death for the first time. It had been almost fifteen years ago, near the hospital bed of his grandmother and he still felt his heart racing uncomfortable whenever he had smelled that typical clinic scent or saw those machines and canullas attached to people. He hated hospitals, he was sick just to the mentions of them, he felt like throwing up only by seeing the hospital bills pile up on his mother’s desk. The treatment had cost way too much for a mere secretary but in her desperate need, she hadn’t cared. But there she had been after: jobless and grieving with three children to feed and a huge debt weighing down on her shoulder. In his worst moments, Jungkook had often called his mother out on being so irresponsible to get them into this spiral downwards from which there was no way out because blaming her had been the easiest when things had been hard on him. He couldn’t have played around or had fun like kids his age. He had been working since he was fourteen, so he could contribute to the family budget. His mother had done everything she could to provide them what they needed but from such a small pay it wasn’t easy at all. Little Jungkook had been bullied for being poor, so growing up Jungkook swore he would have never let anyone look down on him once again. He had spent his afternoons in his middle school’s library to learn programming by himself and he had studied hard to get into a university because he had known how much information technicians earned with the right degrees. But now, he kind of wished he hadn’t been so ambitious, then this guilt wouldn’t have been eating him up like this.

Because death had never been the hardest on the deceased but on those who were left behind.

Yerim had lost a lot already despite being only eighteen. She had cried over dead pets, lost friendships, heartbreaks and now, she had lost her brother as well. Seeing another candidate die right in front of her eyes thanks to the artificial city’s ruthlessness seemed like nothing after that. It was almost as if she had become numb to process that. All she knew that it was not a game nor coincidence. They were going to die there in that terrifyingly beautiful town with a technology smarter than mankind. So once the hallucation fog cleared, she shakily pulled away from Jungkook’s shielding embrace and took a step back. She averted her eyes, so she wouldn’t see the hurt expression on the boy’s face. Because in that moment, it might have been him who needed support.

“Are we really safe here?” Yerim asked with trembling lips, turning towards the other two. Seulgi stood just behind the IT guy who quickly took a seat behind one of the dozens buzzing computers in the room and tried to hack himself into it just like he had done it in the hospital. This one had better security system, so he knew it was going to take a while.

“As safe as we can be. This is the last zone but we still need to stop the simulation or what the hell this is,” the guy murmured as his fingers ran as fast as lightning over the keyboard. Yerim understood nothing of the words written in white over the screen of black. At first look, they looked like English but despite her good language skills, she didn’t get any of it. But Yoongi seemed to know what he was doing and that made her feel hopeful. They had gotten here after all. At what price though?

“Jungkook, can you check the cables of those servers? We need to know the physical network connections as well because if there’s a hub, it might–”

“Be enough to shut it down,” the engineer boy finished his sentence right away, understanding what he intended to do and he got to work, walking behind those black boxes with tiny bright dots.

Just standing there, Yerim suddenly felt as useless as ever. Maybe Taehyung had been right: what was a journalist doing there in the first place? She couldn’t even help the others. She only survived so far thanks to others’ sacrifice. It would have been much better if Seokjin stayed alive instead of her. He could have helped. Like he always had done.

She was surprised when a gentle hand touched her shoulder and she looked up at the always doe-eyed Seulgi dumbfounded, not knowing what to do or what to say to the other girl. They had never talked before, at least not really if they didn’t count the time in the hospital when she had found her alone. Seulgi looked like a deer caught in headlights then but now there was something else in her eyes something akin to determination, a fire that couldn’t have been easily put out. It might have been fueled by desperation or anger, maybe both.

“You’re studying journalism, right?” The architecture girl asked her quietly and there was no mocking in her voice like it had been the case with the annoying Marketing guy. So Yerim didn’t felt ashamed of herself because of her major.

“I do, but… why does it matter?” she crooked a brow at the weird kind of question in such situation but it started to make sense as Seulgi kept going.

“If we get out… or at least you do, you should make sure that everybody knows about what happened here because we can’t let it happen again,” she shook her head and nibbling her lower lips she looked very confident in her statement. Opposite of how hopeful and uncertain that little if sounded, the rest was different. It was a side of Seulgi none of them had seemed before. She was like a girl who had had enough of letting others die around her and Yerim could resonate to that sentiment. It was the least they could have done, trying to save other innocent souls. So she didn’t even hesitate before she nodded firmly.

“Okay,” she murmured, hands in fists, already ready to post about it online, watching it go viral while penning dozens journals until one of them published their story. Their rival-like teammates who had all come for the same goal deserved at least that much. Hoseok’s girlfriend also deserved to know that he had missed her the most, or the Kim parents should have known that their son had saved them all with his sacrifice. People should have learnt not to trust a machine unconditionally because whether it be an error in the system or somebody’s doing in the back, an AI felt no remorse and knew no loyalty.

“Fuck,” Yoongi cursed suddenly and both girls turned their heads towards the IT guy sitting behind the computer screen. But the screen looked different this time, there were not only code lines there but lots of decrypted data as well.

“What? What did you find?” Yerim rushed to his side analysing what she saw from up-close. There were numbers and something that looked like a task manager on the black screen. It didn’t mean anything to her though, so she looked at Yoongi for help.

“I know why the city was killing us all. This is not a hacked simulation program,” he shook his head, lips almost bloodily chapped from the way he bit into them while breaking through the security system. His pupils were wide and scared, this was the first time the youngest member of this freaking experiment had ever seen him like this, so her throat closed up when he opened his mouth to elaborate. “The AI, the heart of this freaking city, is on its way to self-destruction.”

Yerim sucked in a breath understanding every word but not being able to process their meaning. Yoongi pointed to the progress bar on the screen saying how much time they had and above it, there was a list of all the sectors within Choego and the cursor flickering next to the number 24.

SECTOR 22 SHUT DOWN

SECTOR 23 SHUT DOWN

SECTOR 24 QUEUED

Execution 92% – 32 minutes left until total shut down

All three of them stared at the computer fearing the numbers would change because countdown was once again their lifeline, too.

“Self-destruction? But… why? The researchers wouldn’t have… they all died too, so who did it?” Seulgi spoke up, confused, voicing out all of their concerns.

Nobody knew how it happened and it was easy to make themselves believe it was just an error. Something had gone wrong and the security of Choego had started to act off. But this was different, this was something they couldn’t blame on the artificial intelligence only. A computer didn’t have free will, so there was somebody behind it. Somebody who wanted none of them to survive the night. If his plan worked out, all of them would have died about 18 hours before when the whole chaos had erupted. If Yerim had slept throughout the night, would have anyone noticed their approaching end? Maybe she had saved them then but only for a short while. But could it have been called such a righteous act even if they had ended up dying all sort of terrible deaths in the end instead of not waking up from their beds?

“It could have been only done from the inside. From this exact room to be precise because the program only let me in through IP address identification,” Yoongi explained which made the girls gulp in nervousness. That could have only meant one thing, they both knew: it could have only been an employee, one with permission to enter here.

“But everyone whom we met seemed so enthusiastic about Choego. Even if it was a revenge of some sort, why would anyone use such a brutal method?” Yerim gasped but none of them had an answer for that. There was no explanation to human savageness.

“I found it!” Jungkook hollered all of a sudden from behind the rack of computers, so they all three looked his way. “There’s only one connector to all, so I will–”

“Stop! Don’t touch it!” Yoongi yelled in panicked voice as if that single flick could have killed them all. But what couldn’t here for real?

Jungkook walked out from the cover of the shelves and stared at the other guy confused. Yoongi understood the sentiment because his earlier request could have been misleading. He didn’t want to force the computers to shut down just like that, at least not yet.

“Why?”

“Is it because of what happened when Namjoon managed to break into the researchers’ base? That the countdown quickened?” Seulgi asked in a small voice, uncertain as her caramel eyes were looking from one guy to another. The younger firmly shook his head to her question.

“But that was because the alarm system itself noticed the malfunction. But this is the main computer for god’s sake. Everything will shut down, that freaking killing program as well,” he argued and slight anger and hopelessness were mirrored in his eyes as he looked dead in Yoongi’s eyes.

“That’s right. Everything. That means no heating, no electricity, no water, nothing here if we’re lucky. But if we are not, then maybe those invisible killing walls around the sectors stay or there could be a backup generator somewhere that takes the place of the main computer. And knowing this freaking city, there must be not one but more, like the Internet: it’s a network where any hub can replace the other if done right.”

“Then why the hell did I need to check it if you had no plan on yanking it out of the wall?” the younger boy huffed out, disappointed but finally understanding why it would have been a risky decision to cut the electricity just in here. The backup must have been kept elsewhere and they would have never made it there in time.

“Because if my idea doesn’t work out, we need to leave our fate in the hands of goodwill and luck,” the IT specialist said dryly and as if on cue, two new lines appeared on the computer screen. Lines that contained their death sentence.

SECTOR 24 IN PROGRESS

Execution 94% – 24 minutes left until total shut down

Yoongi didn’t believe in life after death. He was a man of analytical thinking, therefore there was no heaven and hell according to him. It they were, Choego would have been hell for sure. He didn’t condemn those whose religion taught about Heaven or Valhalla, at least they had something to believe in, something that was waiting for them. Whether it really existed or not, in the moment of the end, it didn’t matter. But Yoongi didn’t fear death because he believed it would be the inevitable death from which there was no way back. He feared dying without being able to say goodbye or to kiss his mother’s cheek and tell her he loved her.

But in this moment, it was now or never. They were on their own, nobody could have helped them. Even the main computer was separated from Korea’s 3G and 4G networks, he couldn’t connect to any, so if they failed, they would have left without being able to tell anyone. Without anyone knowing about the struggles they had gone through in order to survive. People just over the other side of that bridge and all around the world had no idea what was going on with them: they had dinners usually, went to work like they always did and maybe not even their loved ones were worried because it hadn’t even passed a day since they last contacted them. And that, their death going unnoticed scared Yoongi the most.

“I found a hidden file. It has randomly serialized names changing every other second, so I almost missed it but it seems to be a key,” he spoke up as he typed something on a different computer than the one with the countdown.

“A key to what?” Seulgi whispered, voice strained with desperate hopefulness.

“To stop this program,” Yoongi answered as he hit Enter.

The computer beeped, then small dots appeared on the black background. Sixteen dots and then suddenly a text:

Face recognition done

“Hello, Min Yoongi, it has been a while. What can I help you with?” the lovely woman voice greeted him through the speakers and her too sweet, too artificial voice sent shivers down all of their spines. Oh, of course their last chat was stored in the central memory, Yoongi thought to himself while the others exchanged glances, not quite getting the friendly chit-chat.

“Hello,” the IT guy greeted the computer back coldly and went straight to the point. There was no use being sentimental with a software. “I want to stop the currently running program. How can I do that?”

“There are currently 486 programs running. Which one did you mean? Do you need me listing them all?” The AI’s nice voice echoed in the whole room, rebounding from all that metal and it even suppressed the constant low buzzing sound. 

“No, I… I’m talking about the program that shuts down the sectors one by one.”

There was a pause, a deafening silence while the computer searched through its task manager to find the one. They were all waiting with their breaths held back.

“Do you mean Code Zero? It has been running for 1059 minutes, only 21 minutes left. Are you sure you want to stop it?”

“Yes!” Yoongi almost screamed at her, the words Code Zero tasting like metal in his mouth. So that was it. That was the source of it, the reason for this chaos. However, it wasn’t as easy to get rid of as he had thought so. Gosh, he was so naive to think, finding it was the hardest part.

“Permission denied,” the computer recited and he felt like a sulky child protesting:

“But I have the key.”

“Do you have the password?”

“Fuck,” he slapped on the desk frustrated that made the girls jump in surprise.

“Incorrect password. Please try again,” the voice told him ever so lovely, so he gave it another weak try:

“Choego.”

“Incorrect password. Please try again. You have three more tries.”

Oh, damn, so they even had a limit? The guy sucked in a breath, suddenly not knowing how to get that freaking password in time or how to get it right within three tries.

“Is there a way to retrieve the password?” Jungkook interrupted the conversation, even though he didn’t sit across a camera, the computer could tell the question didn’t come from Yoongi.

Voice recognition done

“Hello, Jeon Jungkook.” The AI greeted him as well and out of all the things that had happened to them, it was the least bizzare one. “Yes. You have to answer a question.”

“Why didn’t you say so before?” Yoongi let out a frustrated sigh and the robotic answer felt like a slap.

“Because you didn’t ask.”

Of course. A computer only does what it’s told.

“What’s the question we need to answer?” He asked then forcing himself not to get impatient even with the counter going down to 17 minutes since.

“You sit in a car. You are driving. You go with normal speed. Suddenly Person A runs onto the street right in front of you. Person A crosses the street with no pedestrian crossing and it’s too late to stop and avoid the crash. If you slow down as much as you could, Person A’s survival odds are 30%, your survival odds are 97%. If you turn towards the opposite lane, another car might come, so Person A’s survival odds are 80%, your survival odds are 50% depending on the type of cars involved. If you turn towards the sidewalk, you might hit another person and run into a wall. Person A’s survival odds are 70%, Person B’s survival odds are 35%, your survival odds are 70%. Would you hit the jaywalker?”

Once the robotic voice stopped, silence embraced the four of them. It sounded like a riddle. So their answer would have been the actual key? Yoongi looked up and exchange glances with the others. They all shook their heads, it was an unanimous decision.

“No,” he said out loud, heart throbbing in his throat as they were waiting for the system’s next step.

“I see. And taken you sit in a smart car that chooses to hit the jaywalker, would you feel guilty as if it was your own fault? Even if a truck crosses the other lane and a child runs on the sidewalk?”

“Yes, I would feel guilty,” Yoongi replied without hesitation.

The end does not justify the means, he believed.

“Here’s your answer, Min Yoongi.” The AI told him almost as if she was saying goodbye and the screen on the other monitor changed as well.

Execution 97% – 12 minutes left until total shut down

Command reset in progress. This might take a few minutes.

SECTOR 24 ON HOLD

Execution calculating…

A collective sigh was torn from the mere university students’ throats equally. The computer buzzing got stronger with each second but this time, Yoongi had a good hunch about it.

“And now?” Yerim spoke up, voice small and unsure. There was only one thing they could have done.

“Now we wait.”

Seulgi’s legs gave out in relief. She sank down to the floor, knees stretched from earlier but even the pain felt reassuring this time. They were going to live. They were going to get out. She felt it in her veins. It was finally the end of this manslaughter. She sat there, quiet, while Jungkook monitored the screen and Yerim scribbled something onto a piece of paper. She was trembling, sitting on the cold metal but didn’t even notice it up until Yoongi lowered himself down next to her. He stared ahead of himself, still breathing heavily and from the way his fingers twitched, Seulgi could tell how big of a pressure the boy faced. He saved them, he saved everyone he could and suddenly she wanted to tell him, to thank him, to take his hands and tell him that it was alright. But she didn’t find the right words and she couldn’t move. It was Yoongi who first broke the silence.

“What did you see?” he whispered and he didn’t need to elaborate, Seulgi knew immediately what he meant by it. She still remembered his whispered words of reassurance and gentle hands on her skin as he had brought her back to reality. Even sitting with shoulder to shoulder, suddenly she missed his closeness. 

“My mother… telling me I could have saved them,” she croaked out in a broken voice. She should have but Namjoon might as well have been right about it, that she had been the one who led them into death. Even her silence had caused the end of some. So in a way she wasn’t better than the killing machine. However, the biggest difference was that she had regretted it, she was able to feel guilt. A program didn’t.

“Mine told me I am cruel,” Yoongi whispered and even though Seulgi didn’t agree with him being cruel, the boy didn’t seem like wanting to explain, so she didn’t ask him to. They all had their own little secrets. Their own cross to carry.

The lights flickered above them and the buzzing quieted down. A big red lettered message appeared on each screen in the room.

Self-destruction mode deactivated. You have 60 minutes to reboot the <CODE ZERO> command before the archives are deleted. Section borders are turning off. You are now set to normal mode.

It seemed too good to be true. But hadn’t they suffered enough to finally earn this?

“Is it… done? That was it?” Yerim asked almost as if she didn't dare to believe in it. After facing so many trials it was hard to. None of them had it in them to answer, to be the responsible for others to take the leap of faith. Not until Jungkook pointed at the again changing screen.

“I think so. Look! The zones are not shut down anymore.”

SECTOR 24 WORKING

SECTOR 23 WORKING

SECTOR 22 STARTING...

Seulgi felt tears pricking her eyes, tears of something akin to relief and joy but also sadness and the guilt of survivors.

She stumbled to her feet, heart hammering in her chest, ready to leave this Hell of island lied to be the Paradise behind just like a songbird anticipating to leave its cage. Her breath hitched when calloused fingers curled around her wrist so softly. She looked up at Yoongi and followed him without hesitation. Each of them did.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

And so they did but that was the thing about death: nobody could leave the guilt and grief behind entirely. It stayed; just like one could never get rid of the blood on their hands. This was the price to pay for the illusion of freedom. But whether it was a mere mirage or not, passing through sector after sector, Seulgi couldn’t help but wonder whether it was really the city that kept them there for so long.

Or was it something more?

[sprydecreates]

‘babylove’?

requested: nope

warnings: nothing this is really cute (language is a given at this point)

pairings: tom holland x reader

type: fluff ; headcanon/list ; 2k+ words ; gender neutral

summary: it's the first time you visit the holland's at their home in london, and you're trying your hardest to impress everyone. you aren't tom's lover just yet, but it's obvious that you two fancy each other.

disclaimer: the depictions of tom holland and the holland family in this are of my own imagination. none of this is real!

a/n: another oldie of mine refurbished and posted here! back when my writing was Decent LOL.

p.s., the dialog isn’t like it is with my latest ones as in y/n gets italics and bold n everyone else just gets italics. it’s just emphasized when need be, and i thought it was alright that way. srry if it bothers anyone who reads my newer stuff!! adding in a disclaimer from now on too. never got someone thinking something was real, but it’s good to be prepared :-)

also, when i put things in parentheses, it's usually me putting in my reactions.

"PIP PIP 'N CHEERIO GOVENAH!"

"y/n we don't actually say that"

"tom, i have to get myself situated. with the boiling tea and crumpet chip biscuit whatevers.”

YEEHAW. you're traveling to meet tom's family back in london.

you've met harry, sam, and harrison already, but there were still three very important people to meet

you had met tom through a mutual actor friend who brought you on set one day

obviously it went like a fairy tale

your friend left you alone on set while they went to get snacks for you both

tom seen you, and came to tell you that only actors could be on set at that time

causing you to freak out, because UH, spider-man is speaking to you (ohMygOd, it'spEterparker)

which of course made tom cocky, and he was like "ayyyyy baby i'll give u an autograph"

then your friend came back and officially introduced you two

and tom saying "you're friends with y/f/n? i'm so sorry"

"i know. it's tragic."

"you two are perfect for each other" with an eye roll

so to say the least, you and tom had sparks from the beginning

not to mention the backhanded, sarcastic compliments that often lead to flirty and witty comebacks

"you're cute, for 5′8″.

"good thing you have a good personality because that outfit today was... :/"

"just wait until i see you again. you're dead, holland"

"well why don't you come over right now and show me what you'd do?”

going over to play wrestle until you dominate him and straddle his hips while your breath is hitched and he'd just look up at you like "holy fuck"

with the whole banter situation taking place, it kind of shocked you when tom asked you if you wanted to visit his family with him

like, REALLY took you off guard

because this was really domestic of him, and he hadn't really ever showed that side to you

but nonetheless, you took the opportunity

took a bit of persuading to get your family to allow you, but eventually, everyone agreed.

(boy it's a good thing you got that passport that you totally didn't get for the sole purpose of this occurring)

"as long as you call every morning and night, and text when necessary. and take pics."

lots of preparation through facetime

"i heard it's really fuckin' cold in england. should i pack a parka?"

"y/n it's not that cold. plus you won't need two."

"what do you mean i won't need two if i-"

in a thick accent "peta parka."

"...."

deep sigh

"can i get a refund for my ticket"

"don't think so, love" in a soft laughing tone

(AAAAHHHHHH)

after two or so weeks of packing and unpacking, and checking the checklist fifty times, it was finally time to depart to southwest london, darling

this boy got first class tickets for the both of you

or at least that's what he thought

he actually only got one for himself lmao

so instead, he swapped seats with the person beside you

oh my god shy hand holding on the plane would be expected

also cute little candids that would go up on each others instagrams wow

fast forward to arriving at the holland home

p.s., the entire car ride there was filled with little thigh touches to try and calm you down.

but that only made you more nervous because god have mercy this beautiful boy wasn't trying to act funny or anything like he usually acted, he was being genuine and that made your heart full

once at the door, you were greeted by nikki, dom, and a very excited tessa

"hello love! it's so nice to meet you! tom has told us SOOO mu-"

"DAD!!!!" would be said between clenched teeth while he would be blushing

with red cheeks of your own, you'd walk in to see the two brothers you had previously met, and a new face, who you recognized as paddy

sam and harry would say hello, but paddy would whisper yell to one of the brothers, "is that who tom calls his 'babylove'?"

both you and tom would just stand there, his jaw would drop and one of your eyebrows would raise up

and you'd turn to tom with a huge smile and just whisper "babylove?"and he'd blush even harder and be like "let me show you to your room!!!!!!!!!”

he'd bring you upstairs and into the guestroom so you could put your stuff up

then you'd follow him to his old room, and you'd sit on his bed and just have a look around while he piled his clothes into a hamper

hear me out

there would be little spider-man symbols across the wall, with some football flags strung up every so often

and you'd be like "you really weren't lying about your obsession with spidey, huh?"

and he'd come and sit beside you and shrug while looking at his old decorations

you'd lean in and give him a lil kiss on the cheek before saying "it's really cute, tom." and he'd immediately light up and become a shy baby

then you'd hear footsteps coming up the stairs, and you'd pull away from each other with cute little grins

sam would look in and be like "mom wants to know what ya want for dinner"

and tom would turn to you and be like "well?"

and you'd insist that he choose, since he hasn't been home in awhile

he'd say something he heard you talking about wanting to try

sam would leave and then you'd just nonchalantly grab tom's hand and follow sam down

once down there, you'd be met by the family, minus nikki and sam who would venture into the kitchen

you'd let go of tom's hand, and sit by paddy on the couch

little conversations would start up from dom

literally just things like "so tom said you can sing" and "tom said you guys met through a friend of yours?"

he wouldn't even have to ask you questions directly because tom has told them virtually everything because the boy was swoon as fuck

but after a little while of tom and the rest of the family in sight getting caught up, you decided to slip out of view yourself and join nikki and sam in the kitchen

a "hey sweetheart! whatcha need?" coming from nikki

but you'd be like "i just wanted to know if you guys wanted an extra hand?"

sam would be like "hell yea y/n knows how ta cook"

but nikki would be like "that's alright, it's our pleasure to treat a guest of tom's! thank you though, that's really sweet"

so you'd walk back into the living room after a few "are you sure?"'s

and dom would be like "kicked out of the kitchen?" with a small laugh

and you'd answer with "yeah. you holland's are stubborn."

which would definitely make tom pout, and your response would be to pat his cheek and say "pouting wont exclude you," followed with a quiet "babylove." while you dropped your hand

some time passed before nikki and sam returned, and nikki said dinner would be ready in about thirty minutes

those thirty minutes consisted of the family sharing embarrassing stories about tom

and him eventually hiding his red cheeks in the crook of your neck (sweet god)

soon, the timer went off and everyone made their way into the kitchen and got their plates

tbh i see the family taking all the seats around tom, so you'll get to sit in between dom and nikki

(i'd love that holy shit)

after dinner, you helped wash the dishes. that earned major brownie points from nikki and sam

it was getting kind of late, so the family suggested watching a movie or two together

oh my god tom would take you upstairs again and tell you to change into your pajamas because that was a tradition for movie night

wearing batman pajama bottoms knowing it would tease him

him refusing to let you go downstairs before changing into a pair of his spider-man bottoms

giving in once he gives you the puppy dog eyes while his forehead is pressed against yours

watching some sort of proper english movie because it was your first time visiting

angus, thongs and perfect snogging came into mind

harry loudly asking if you and tom ever snogged like that

cuddling with tom under a big blanket

when the family started to get a little drowsy, they decided to call it a night

everyone started to head upstairs, and you and tom did the same after grabbing a few snacks and some drinks

once in his room, you'd sit on his bed and just smirk at him until he'd ask what was up

and you'd immediately be like "what's up with this lovey dovey side of you? you usually act like a sarcastic shit around me"

he'd just look down and press his hand against the nape of his neck and mumble "i like you"

and you'd say "well i got that part awhile ago"

but he'd sit there for a few seconds, trying to think of a way to say what he had in mind. he finally sighed and spoke out to you, "i mean, i think i'm falling in love with you"

and you'd sit there with your lips parted, and your eyes darting back and forth between his

he'd start to blabber on about how it was just a strategy that he used because he didn't know how to show you how he really, truly felt

and you'd cut him off, and say "can i kiss you?"

and a few seconds of silence would take place before he would cup your cheeks and empty all the passion he held in his body out in one single kiss, while you would do the same

after you both pull away, he'd lower his hands and you'd both just sit and stare at each other

you'd raise your hand up and cup his cheek and rub your thumb across his cheekbone

eventually, you would say you're tired, and press a small kiss against his lips before getting up and heading for the door

"goodnight, thomas."

"goodnight, y/full/n."

shutting the door and doing a happy dance all the way to the guest room

it's sunday morning, and you couldn't get any more sleep in due to the kiss from the night before still swimming through your memory

finally deciding on getting up and cooking breakfast for everyone to return all the love you were given the day before

carefully sneaking down to the kitchen

taking a long ass time to find all the ingredients you initially needed (oils, other stuff)

googling measurement equals because what american knows european measurements off the tom of their head

deciding on making some fancy omelette roll ups you once had with your actor friend

taking so much time to make everything perfect

when you finished making the omelette's, along with some other sides, you would set everything out for easy serving, and then you would head upstairs again

since it was a sunday, everyone slept in

you'd gently knock on everyone's door, and say breakfast was waiting for them downstairs

but when you got to tom's door, you'd softly knock before heading on in

tom would be sleeping on the side of the bed that faced the window, and you would walk over to that side and crouch down

you would subconsciously lay your bent arm on the bed by toms face, and lay your head on your arm. you'd raise your free hand up to toy with a few loose curls while you looked over his features

he'd eventually wake up, and smile in a way that was really wide, but evidently tired

he would kiss your forehead and say "what a good way to wake up; an angel playing with my hair." you'd giggle really quietly and stand up while saying "c'mon, babylove. i've made breakfast."

and he'd pull you down onto the bed with him, and pepper little kisses against your shoulders, collarbones, neck, and cheeks before pressing a lingering kiss to your lips!!!

while he rested his forehead against yours, you decided to confess something you totally forgot to last night, "by the way," you'd say in a really soft voice while swiping a messy curl from his temple, "i think i'm falling in love with you, too."

[7-wonders]

All the Time In the World

Summary: Life has thrown you a few curveballs lately. Between absolute chaos wreaking havoc at your job, being too busy to sleep and your schedule not meshing with Duncan’s, you’re stressed beyond measure. So stressed, in fact, that you don’t notice you miss your period until you’re two weeks late. 

Word Count: 2285

A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoy this oneshot I cooked up for you! This is tied into the Kiss Me Through the Phone universe, which you can read at my MASTERLIST. Feedback is always appreciated; leave a comment or note in my inbox about what you thought. If you liked this, please like and reblog!

Warnings: Talks of possible pregnancy, mentions of periods/mensuration. 

The past few weeks have been extremely hectic and stressful for both you and Duncan. President Hale-Underwood had announced her extremely late bid for re-election, sending your workplace into a scramble as everyone attempted to reshape the political landscape now that the current powerhouse was back in the race. It’s been many long nights at the office for you as you research and formulate new statistics, work on creating new graphics for the various media outlets, and interview other candidates from both parties as they react to the incumbent President joining the election race. You’ve been so busy that it’s often easier to just sleep at your apartment lately, that is, if you can even make it back home before falling asleep at your desk. It’s closer to where you work than Duncan’s place, but it’s still difficult sleeping without Duncan.

Life hasn’t been too easy for Duncan, either. Since the Shepherds and the Underwoods have been feuding for years, this announcement has only fueled Annette’s need to ruin Claire. She’s been incredibly tense and, from what Duncan’s told you, five lower-level employees have been fired just this week. When Duncan’s not working on a new app (one that doesn’t involve stealing people’s information, thankfully), he’s being ordered to try and find dirt on the President. It’s a trying time for both of you, and not having Duncan around is really starting to take its toll on you. He’s the same way, so when he persuades you into not giving into your boss’s pleas to work this weekend, you do the same for him.

It’s the first time you’ve slept more than five hours for at least two weeks, not waking up until breakfast was more like brunch. Duncan, having been up first, ordered food from a nearby cafe to be delivered to the apartment. It was an extremely welcome surprise, and sitting at the table, holding hands with your love and just enjoying each other’s presence is much-needed. You sip at your coffee, pulling up the news on your phone when Duncan stands to go and wash the dishes left over from your meal.

Being so entrenched in the news already, there’s not much to read that you haven’t experienced first-hand by now. A politician said something controversial, war in the Middle East, hurricanes in the South: it’s all dated to you. Exiting out of that app, you swipe through your phone to see what else you can check up on. Instagram doesn’t seem too appealing, since you’d rather not see all of your classmates from high school and what they’re doing. Your Twitter timeline is dead this morning, and you get bored within thirty seconds of opening the app. Your eyes dart from each of the little icons on the screen. VSCO, Snapchat, Period Tracker, YouTube-wait, Period Tracker?

Your body tenses while you try to remember the last time you opened the app. Normally you’re very good about tracking your period, a habit stemming back to when you were a teenager and your periods were extremely irregular. While they’re more normal now, you do still have some off-months. Clicking the app, you wait impatiently for it to load. Duncan’s humming sounds almost too cheerful for a situation like this, but how is he to know that you might have made a giant mistake? When the screen finally loads, your heart nearly stops.

You were supposed to start your period two weeks ago. You haven’t been this late in years; normally when you are late, it’s by a day or two. You’re wracking your brain, trying to think of how this could possibly happen. You take your birth control daily, so that’s not an issue. You and Duncan use condoms, and you haven’t been lazy enough to go without a condom since--

“Oh fuck.” You curse, head falling in your hands.

“What’s wrong?” Duncan looks up from the sink, a dish towel slung over his shoulder.

“I’m late.” Your words are muffled by your hands, so Duncan asks you to repeat yourself. “I’m late.” You enunciate.

“Late for what? It’s Saturday, we don’t-”

“Duncan!” You snap. “I was supposed to start my period two weeks ago.”

The dish he’s washing clatters to the bottom of the sink, and you glance at him to see his jaw clenched while his face is devoid of color.

“But...how did you forget?”

“I’ve forgotten to eat regular meals for the past three weeks, my period was the least of my concerns.”

“Fuck.” He concurs with your earlier statement. “What do we do?”

“I mean, I need to go and buy a pregnancy test, I guess.”

“My assistant’s working today, I can text him and have him pick it-”

“No! God, please do not do that.” You know that you shouldn’t be snapping at him, he’s just trying to help, but you’re on the verge of a full-on panic attack and he’s not making it better. Duncan can tell that you’re freaking out, falling on his knees in front of you and grabbing your face in his hands.

“Hey, it’ll be okay. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together. Do you want me to go and buy the test? Or I can come with you, whatever you want.” You take one of his hands in both of yours, moving it to your lips and kissing his palm.

“I’ll just run to the store down the street and be right back.”

“You sure?” You smile slightly, nodding.

“I’m sure.”

The trip to the corner store and back, although most likely under twenty minutes, feels like it takes hours. You grabbed three different tests, two electronic and one with the plus/minus sign so there was a variety in the tests. Of course, the day you need to get out of the store quickly is also the first time you’ve ever seen a line in this store, causing you to have the most impatient wait of your life before making it to the front. The cashier, a woman in her mid-50s, shot you a look when ringing you up.

“Do you need the bathroom key, too?” She had asked.

“Oh, uh, these are for my-my friend…” You don’t know why you lied to a total stranger, but there was no going back once the words were out. She had looked at you, obviously unconvinced, but you just smiled awkwardly before taking the bag and rushing out of the store.

After taking the tests at home, the only thing left to do is wait. Duncan sits on the bed, shaking his leg nervously while he watches you pace back and forth across the bedroom.

“(Y/N), you need to calm down.” He says carefully, not wanting to aggravate you further.

“I am calm, I just don’t think I can physically sit down right now.” Duncan sighs but remains quiet, knowing you’ll talk about what’s bothering you soon enough. “It could be stress making me so late this month but...what if I am pregnant? We never planned for this. I just got a promotion at work, and you’re so busy with the Foundation.”

“What did I tell you earlier? Whatever happens, we’ll get through it together. If you are...pregnant, then we’ll carefully go over our options. No matter what, though, I won’t leave you.”

“I’m too young to be a mom.” Unexpected tears well up in your eyes. “Sure, loads of people I went to high school and college with have kids, but they’re good at being parents. I can barely take care of a plant, how could I take care of a tiny human?”

“You’re just overthinking, (Y/N).” Duncan soothes, grabbing your arms and tugging you against him. The hug immediately has a calming effect on you, reducing the shakiness you’re feeling and helping to level your breathing.

“How are you so calm about this?” Duncan shrugs.

“We can’t really change what happened last month.” Damn both of you for being too lazy to slip on a condom when you had morning sex. “Right now, we just have to focus on the present.”

“I hate when you’re right.” You mutter, feeling Duncan chuckle against you.

The alarm on your phone has both of you jumping from the sudden loud noise. Grabbing the device from your back pocket, you quickly silence it before looking back to Duncan. He’s patient with you, holding your hand while you work up the nerve to move towards the bathroom.

“We’ve gotta look sometime, babe.” You nod, finally walking in with him.

Your eyes keep flicking back and forth from each of the three tests, your brain trying to comprehend that what you’re seeing is real. Duncan’s obviously confused, picking up the boxes to try and decipher the symbols on each test. You don’t need a box, though, the signs being as clear as day.

“Oh, thank God!” You let out a breath that you didn’t even know you were holding, leaning back against Duncan for support. “I’ve never been so happy to see the word ‘no’ before.”

Duncan rubs his hands on your shoulders, but remains oddly quiet. After you slide each of the three tests back in their boxes and toss them in the trash, you turn around. He’s looking at the trash can instead of you, and you pout slightly at his indifference towards this.

“You okay? I thought me not being pregnant would be a cause for celebration.” Duncan finally looks at you, just barely smiling.

“No, it is! I just...well...uh, why haven’t you gotten your period, then?” It’s a question that’s very uncharacteristic for him, causing you to raise your eyebrows at him.

“Probably just because of how stressed out I am. I don’t know, if I still haven’t gotten it by next week then I’ll make an appointment with my gynecologist, it could be a cyst or something like that.” You know that it’s most likely stress, and now that pregnancy has been ruled out you can focus on not being stressed out in the hopes to get your period to show up. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” It’s the most unconvincing sentence you’ve ever heard, and he knows you’ve caught on when you fold your arms across your chest.

Before he can even make a move, you’ve wrapped your arms around him and stumble out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, using your strength and the fact that you caught him off-balance to help you. You land on the bed above Duncan, quickly straddling his torso and pinning his arms above his head. He obviously didn’t expect you to tackle him, eyes wide while he tries to figure out what you’re doing.

“I’m not letting you go until you tell me what’s wrong.” Duncan rolls his eyes and sighs, but you only tighten your grip on his wrists. “I’m serious, Dunc!”

“(Y/N), nothing’s wrong.”

“That’s bullshit and we both know it. I’m fine with doing this all day until you finally give in.” You glare at him, refusing to let him move no matter how much he squirms.

“Fine! You’re such a stubborn woman.” You stick your tongue out at him, but wait for him to continue. “I...this is so embarrassing.”

“Hey, no it’s not. I promise that whatever you say won’t be embarrassing.” You reassure him, watching as a pink blush paints his face.

“I-uh, I didn’t know how much I wanted a baby until those tests came back negative.” Your hands go limp, releasing Duncan from your grasp, but he doesn’t make any effort to move out from under you.

“You’ve never talked about wanting kids before.” You say quietly.

“I haven’t wanted kids with anyone until I met you.”

“You’d want me to have your kids?” You’re oddly flattered by this sentiment.

“I couldn’t imagine starting a family with anybody but you. I just--while you were at the store, my mind kind of ran away with the idea of you being pregnant. You, having to wear my shirts because your baby bump makes your shirts too tight.” Duncan’s hands drift to your stomach almost against his will. “Getting to design a nursery and pick out names for our little baby. I want all of it; I want to hold your hair back when you get morning sickness and go and get you whatever food you’re craving at three in the morning. I want to be sleep-deprived, but so happy that the cause of it is this tiny human that we created. Before I met you, I assumed I would just be some perpetual bachelor. I never saw a reason to change the way I acted. You make me want to change, (Y/N). That life, which I once saw as the only possible life for me, suddenly isn’t appealing anymore.”

“Really?” Your voice comes out as a squeak, causing Duncan to chuckle.

“I’m not asking you to have a baby with me right now, but...I plan on being with you for the rest of my life, and I hope you do too.” You nod eagerly, taking his face in both of your hands and kissing him deeply.

“Of course I do.”

“Yeah?” Duncan sits up, face to face with you now while you nod again.

“Probably no babies until after our lives calm down.”

“Definitely.”

“And we’ll plan for it, instead of having a scare like we did today.”

“Oh trust me, the first time we try, I’m putting a baby in you.” Your heart flutters at the dark look of determination in his eyes.

“You’ll be okay with putting the baby plan on hold until then?” Duncan smiles before kissing you again.

“I can wait.”

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