#i realize you’re hitting all the boxes on a multiple choice question but the answer /was/ in fact all of the above

[shittyutmv]

my aroace sisbrotheyit wsg 🔥

i feel like i should be angry because this is the MOST insane way to address someone but unironically it’s sort of endearing because you’ve hit every single aspect of my queerness. like yeah you nailed it. I’m doing pretty swell. next question

[rax-writes]

More 》 Part Two

Fandom:  MCU Pairing:  Baron Helmut Zemo x Reader Warnings:  Sexual intercourse, choking, hair pulling, oral sex (f!receiving) [reader is a female-identifying individual with a vagina] Notes:  Part two of More  》 I cannot thank you guys enough for how well More did, and I hope that you enjoy this addition to it!  》 I honestly didn’t edit this all that extensively, so if there are any errors, please let me know. ♥

At the break of dawn the next morning, you found yourself on a loading dock for shipment containers with Sharon, Bucky, Sam, and Zemo – pretending all the while that nothing had happened between you and the latter individual. You wore a sweater with a high neckline, per Zemo’s suggestion, and interacted with him exactly the same way that you had before. He did a good job at selling the lie as well, although he seemed incapable of keeping his eyes to himself, frequently staring at you for far longer than he should have, that dark, hungry look in his eyes returning if his gaze lingered for too long.

“All right, he’s in there,” Sharon announced, stopping in the middle of the massive metal boxes. “Container four-two-six-one. I’ll keep an eye out while you guys talk to Nagel, but hurry. We’re on borrowed time.”

You accepted one of the earpieces she offered, getting it into place as she walked off. When the four of you entered the container, you found that it was empty, and appeared to have been that way for quite some time.

“Hey, Sharon, you sure this is the right one?” Sam inquired incredulously. “It’s completely empty.”

“Positive. It has to be.”

You entered the container, the other three right behind you, and closed your eyes as they looked around.

“He’s here. I can hear his thoughts,” you announced, then began to pick the doctor’s brain further. “Push against the back wall. There’s a secret passageway.”

Zemo did as you bade him, and sure enough, the wall moved backwards a bit, to allow him to open the hidden door. He shot you a curt nod of approval, then stepped back to allow Sam to enter first, and the rest of you followed suit.

Music filled the air, a swanky song you didn’t recognize, as you stalked through the laboratory, your gun aimed dead ahead and eyes peeled.

“Follow me,” you whispered, taking the lead as you easily navigated to the physical source of Dr. Nagel’s thoughts. When you saw him, his back was to you, slouched over whatever he was working on as he hummed along to the tune. Sam silently walked over and removed the needle from the record that played the music, and Nagel turned around slowly, fear written all over his face.

“Dr. Nagel?”

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“We know you created the super soldier serum.”

“Get out of my lab,” Nagel commanded, as if he was in any position to give orders. He began to walk toward the exit, but you stepped in front of him and stopped him with a hand flat against his bony chest.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that. Not until you tell us what we need to know,” you informed him without speaking, your voice infiltrating his mind. Nagel let out a frightened gasp as he looked behind him, apparently thinking that may be the source of the voice, before his eyes landed on you.

“You,” he whispered, his voice a mix of confusion, fear, and awe as you met his gaze with harsh eyes. “You – you spoke to me, in my head. How did you do that?”

“She can read your mind, and she can also control it. So, I’d advise you to answer our questions, before she forces you to,” Sam threatened, then watched as Nagel took note of Bucky across the room. “And you know who he is, right?” He then grabbed Nagel by the arm and turned him to face Zemo. “This is Baron Zemo. I know you’ve heard of him, too, right?” He dragged Nagel to the nearest wall, shoving him against it as his back collided with the metal grate. “You seem like a pretty smart guy, so you better become conversational real quick.”

“How ‘bout a counter proposal? Make me a better offer, and I’ll talk,” Nagel proposed.

“Guys, we have company,” Sharon’s voice stated through the earpiece. “Every bounty hunter in the city is here. We gotta go!”

Bucky grabbed Nagel by his shirt and dragged him over to a chair, forcing him down roughly before pointing his gun at Nagel’s head, finger on the trigger. He still didn’t look terribly interested in talking, so you lowered your weapon and narrowed your eyes at him, and used your abilities to insight sheer, unadulterated fear in his mind. His eyes widened and he visibly paled as his mind wreaked havoc on itself, instilling a very pure, very powerful terror within him.

“Okay, okay! I’ll talk! Just stop it!”

You ended the onslaught of panic, and raised your gun once again, as your three companions eyed you with curiosity, unsure of what exactly you’d just done to him. But there would be time for an explanation later.

Nagel explained how he formulated the super soldier serum, and you all listened intently to his little tale. That was when you heard it. Like the crack of a twig in an otherwise silent forest, yet making no audible sound at all, you heard it.

“I must kill him.”

You looked over at Zemo as nonchalantly as possible, and his eyes widened slightly when he realized you’d picked up on his decision. The two of you shared tense eye contact for several beats, and you knew that you must make a choice. Allow Zemo to end this man’s life, and end the possibility of additional serums being created, or warn Sam and Bucky of his intentions?

“You know the damage unchecked Super Soldiers can cause. He is dangerous; he must be stopped.”

Zemo spoke directly to you in his mind, and you took the opportunity to dig deeper, searching for any sign that he was going to betray you, Sam, and Bucky. When you found none, you sighed quietly as you made your choice, and returned your attention to Nagel. Out of your peripheral, you saw Zemo begin perusing the room, feeling underneath tables in the lab in search of a secluded weapon.

“Is there any serum in this lab?” Bucky inquired, and when Nagel hesitated, he pressed the barrel of his gun against the man’s temple, prompting an answer of no. “Now what?”

Sharon ran into the room then, announcing, “Guys, we’re seriously outta time here.”

Zemo took her distraction as an opportunity to draw his gun and shoot Nagel in the chest, straight through his heart. Sam tackled Zemo, and Sharon took the gun from his hand, whispering, “What did you do?”

The very next moment, the entire place exploded, erupting into flames as you, Bucky, Sam, and Sharon hit the deck, although Zemo was nowhere to be found when you groaned in pain and looked around the room from your position on the floor. Bucky pulled you to your feet, then Sharon, then Sam, as the four of you exited the container before it could explode from all the chemicals and fire in Nagel’s lab. You didn’t quite make it, as a gas-fueled explosion went off just as you exited the container, but you were far enough away from it that it merely blew your hair forward. Once outside, the adrenaline wore off just enough that you felt a blinding pain in your torso, and looked down to see blood quickly soaking through your sweater.

“Bucky,” you called out, and he turned quickly, a frown forming on his face when he saw your injury. You lifted your shirt to reveal a thin, jagged, three-inch long sliver of metal embedded in the center of your abdomen. Sam turned to bark orders at the two of you, but his face fell as he saw the blood.

Sharon made quick work of removing the metal, which was thankfully only about an inch or less in width, so it wasn’t at all deadly. Truthfully, it wasn't that bad of an injury, but god was it bleeding like hell. Bucky yanked off his jacket and handed it to you, instructing you to apply pressure to the wound and stick close to him. Your three companions shot at the bounty hunters that were approaching, and you did your best to fire a few shots yourself, your other hand pressing the jacket firmly against your injury. Sam shot you a disapproving look and told you to focus on yourself, but you ignored him.

While Sam and Bucky began bickering about who should have followed whose orders, there was yet another deafening explosion nearby. You looked in that direction to see Zemo with some sort of mask on, jumping down from atop some storage containers, before leaping over some metal piping and dodging past a man to evade his bullets, then grabbing him by the collar to use him as a human shield. He fired multiple rounds at the nearby bounty hunters, before releasing his grip on the first man and kicking him away, then shot him too. He looked at you through the flames, and you didn’t have to read his mind to know how exhilarated he felt, being truly back in action after spending years in a cell.

If asked, you’d chalk it up to the blood loss, but… goddamn, he looked hot kicking ass like that.

“Go,” Bucky ordered, helping you up and wrapping an arm around your waist to steady and guide you as the four of you made a break for it. Eventually, you reached an open storage container, and Sam helped you into it as Bucky fended off the last few bounty hunters.

When Bucky burst through the back of the container with his vibranium arm, you heard tires screech and an engine rev, before Zemo pulled up in a sports car.

“Supercharged,” he stated with the faintest smile. Christ, he was just a little bit of a goofball, wasn’t he?

“You’re going back to jail,” Sam said angrily, then turned to you. “And you were supposed to tell us if he was going to screw us over.”

“Nagel shouldn’t have been kept alive. I know you don’t like it, but it is the truth,” you reasoned.

“He didn’t have to die though, dammit! He could have just gone to jail, locked up for the rest of his life!”

“Oh, yes, just like Zemo? The man standing five feet from us, very much not in jail?” you countered, and he frowned, knowing you had a point. “Once word got out that Nagel knew how to recreate the serum, every power hungry individual and group in the world would be trying to find a way to either break him out or ask him about it. And I’m sure he would have told anyone for the right price. Even if the serum didn’t fall into the hands of the wrong people, even if a seemingly good-natured country like America were to get ahold of it, it could still be used for evil. They clearly don’t have the best moral compass, considering the asshole they gave Captain America’s shield to.”

“Alright, yeah, you’ve made your point,” Sam grumbled. “But I still think we should take Zemo back to jail.”

“Do you want to find Karli or not?” Zemo interjected.

“He’s right, we need him. And there’s three of us, and at least 20 of them. Come on,” Bucky said, pulling open the door of the car before turning around to help you into the vehicle. Only then did Zemo notice the blood on your hands and sweater, and Bucky’s blazer pressed against your torso.

“What happened to her?” Zemo inquired, sitting up to help you sit behind him, and frowning when you grimaced as you maneuvered into your seat, careful not to get any blood on the lovely cream interior. The car didn’t belong to any of you, but it was so beautiful that you hated to harm it.

“Stray shard of metal during the explosion in Nagel’s container,” you explained, grimacing a little as you leaned your head against the headrest behind you, eyes closed as you willed the pain to subside.

“Are you alright?”

“I will be. Probably just needs a few stitches, then I’ll be good as new,” you assured him, shooting him a tight-lipped smile, which he didn’t seem to buy before he removed his trenchcoat and laid it on top of you.

“You look cold,” he muttered, then turned back around in his seat to face the steering wheel.

“Fine, but if you try that shit again…” Sam told Zemo as he climbed into the car.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Zemo responded, and you didn’t have to check his thoughts to know that that was a complete lie.

Sharon bid you all goodbye, and Sam thanked her for her help before sliding down into his seat.

“You’re not gonna move your seat up, are you?” Sam asked Bucky.

“No,” he deadpanned, causing you to chuckle under your breath, which earned you a glare from Sam.

The drive back to the airport was mostly silent, which you were thankful for, as you didn’t really have the energy for talking. The bleeding had mostly stopped, but you’d still lost enough and exerted yourself enough that you were feeling fatigued. Zemo parked the car on the landing strip, a short distance from his jet, and was quick to exit the vehicle to help you out. You thought you were doing quite well, until you actually stood up outside the car, and the exhaustion combined with some wooziness from the blood loss made your knees buckle. You would have fallen if Zemo hadn’t lunged forward and wrapped his arms around your waist, looking at you with concern in his eyes.

“Let us get you aboard the plane, and I will dress your wound,” he said, then stooped to scoop you up into his arms bridal-style, and began carrying you toward the jet. Sam and Bucky eyed him curiously, but said nothing. Admittedly, you were too flustered by the close proximity and his gentleness toward you to say anything yourself. You looked over his shoulder, admiring his stolen vehicle one last time.

In Sokovian, you stated with a smile, “I’d like one of those by the way, the Pontiac.”

“Whatever your heart desires,” he responded calmly, matching your Sokovian. As he approached Oeznik, who stood beside the steps of the jet, he continued in that language as he instructed the butler, “Have that car, or one exactly like it, delivered to Berlin as soon as possible, please.”

“Of course, sir.”

Zemo laid you down gently on the couch inside the plane, Sam and Bucky following close behind. Once inside, Oeznik brought Zemo the first aid kit, a needle, and some stitching. Both of the other men offered to do it themselves, but Zemo insisted that he could do a better job than both of them combined. In a manner much unlike the night before, Zemo lifted your shirt to have access to the wound, and set to work. Bucky let you hold his hand as Zemo cleaned the area and did the stitches, while you forced yourself to breathe evenly and ignore the pain of the antiseptic and the needle. A mere fifteen minutes later, you were all patched up, and Zemo was helping you up and sending you to the washroom with a change of clothes.

“You’re gettin’ real sweet on her, Zemo,” you heard Sam note, his tone suspicious. “You better watch yourself, man. Step out of line with her and we won’t hesitate to end you.”

“Understood,” Zemo replied nonchalantly, then you could hear him open a book and take a sip of his champagne. For your own amusement, you took a peek into his mind, and found that he was thinking, “Too late.”

You smiled to yourself as you undressed, carefully removing the blood-soaked sweater and placing it in a trash bag. When you saw yourself in the mirror, you first noticed the hickeys from last night, then the miscellaneous cuts scattered across your skin from the various explosions, and the gauze taped over your wound. The hickeys caused your smile to widen further, and you donned the plain black t-shirt of Zemo’s and his loose gray sweatpants before rejoining them in the lounge. His eyes darkened in that way as his gaze raked up and down your body, clearly enjoying the sight of you in his clothing, but he quickly returned his attention to Sam.

“She died in Riga, a city near the Baltic Sea.”

“I have a place we can go,” Zemo suggested, then leaned back in his seat. “I, for one, am looking forward to coming face-to-face with Karli. Oeznik, we’re changing the course.”

A few hours later, Bucky and Sam had fallen asleep after reclining their chairs and dimming the lights, as you laid on the couch, halfway asleep yourself despite the book in your hands. Once their near-identical snores had filled the cabin for several minutes, Zemo stood from his seat and came to crouch down beside your head. His expression was unreadable as he stared at you, before leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on your lips.

“I must admit, I was very concerned when I saw all the blood on your shirt. I have only just found you, my Sokovian beauty. I would prefer to draw out having the privilege of being acquainted with you for as long as possible, but I cannot do that if you get killed.”

“I’ll do my best to avoid it,” you teased, and he smiled softly. “Thank you for taking such good care of my injury earlier.” He said nothing in response, simply smiled a bit wider and kissed you again, longer this time, but still far shorter and far less intimately than you’d have preferred. You both had to take the others into consideration, even despite their snores, because you were quite certain they’d put a bullet between Zemo’s eyes and send you home immediately if they learned just how “sweet on you” the man truly was. He stood and fetched a blanket from an overhead cabinet before laying it over you, then pressed his lips to your forehead, and returned to his seat.

“Goodnight, Liebling,” Zemo said softly, flicking off the last light in the cabin as he settled back into his seat.

“Goodnight, Baron.”

—————

Riga was somehow comparably chaotic to Madripoor, in terms of the events that transpired there.

Shortly after you arrived at Zemo’s estate, Bucky returned from his "walk" to declare that the Wakandans were there to take Zemo, although he bought some time. In all honesty, you were only half-ass listening to him, because Zemo had exited the bathroom with wet hair and a purple robe that revealed half his chest. He caught you staring and shot you a subtle wink while Sam and Bucky were talking, and you rolled your eyes in return.

Next stop was a refugee camp, where you, Bucky, and Sam searched in vain to get any information on Danya Madani. Zemo somehow managed to accomplish the task, albeit in the creepiest way possible, which you teased him relentlessly for on the walk back to his flat. When he revealed that the girl he'd spoken to told him the time and location of the funeral, but refused to tell any of you, Bucky was quick to anger, snatching the teacup from Zemo’s hand and throwing it against the wall. Sam talked him down before you grabbed Bucky’s arm, pulling him gently toward the door.

"Come on, let's take a walk. I saw a little farmer's market down the road; let's go have a snack and explore a little, yeah?" you asked, your tone calm and soothing to contrast the rage that swarmed in his mind, and Bucky nodded gravely to you as he let you lead him. When you glanced back into the flat as you closed the door behind you, you saw that Zemo was wearing a frown, and a quick peek at his thoughts informed you that he was pouting a bit, wishing you'd have just sent Bucky off and stayed with him. You rolled your eyes internally, then accompanied Bucky to the market, where the two of you ate some plums and took a little walk. When the two of you returned to the flat, Zemo announced that it was time to head to the funeral.

"Did you enjoy your little excursion with James?" Zemo inquired in Sokovian, a tinge of spite in his voice. "Did you relieve his tension?"

"It wouldn't be any of your business if I did," you shot back, also in Sokovian. The disdain on his face disappeared quickly, and you added, "But no, we just took a walk and had some food, as I said we would. Jealousy does not suit you, Baron."

Zemo's voice took on a gentler tone, the Sokovian dripping from his tongue like honey as he said, "My apologies, darling. You are just so magnificent that I want you all to myself; the thought of you with another man is enviable."

"Don’t apologize. Just end it."

He nodded, and before either of you could say anything else, that asshole John Walker showed up, along with his partner. They demanded that Sam and Bucky no longer keep them in the dark, but ultimately, Walker conceded to follow Zemo, and allow Sam the opportunity to talk to Karli alone. As Sam walked off, Walker grabbed Zemo forcefully and handcuffed him to some kind of metal contraption on the wall.

"Aggressive. But I get it," Zemo quipped. He turned to you, and in Sokovian, said, "Once I get out of these, perhaps we could use them to our advantage later this evening."

"Zip it, Zemo."

Unsurprisingly, Walker betrayed his agreement with Sam, barging in on the memorial before Sam's allotted time was up.

"Uh-uh. No, no, no, no. This is a bad idea."

"It hasn't been ten minutes, John. Just sit tight," Bucky responded calmly.

"Don’t do that. Don't patronize me."

"Then do not behave so childishly," you retorted, and Bucky elbowed you while Walker shot you an icy glare. He opened his mouth to say something, but Bucky cut him off, aiming to divert the subject before Walker pushed you any further.

"He knows what he's doing."

Walker was silent for a moment more, before he grabbed the shield – which shouldn't be in his possession in the first place – and marched toward the door. "I'm goin' in."

Bucky stopped him, but after Walker guilt-tripped him, Bucky stepped to the side to allow him to pass. You groaned in exasperation the second Walker walked off.

"Why the hell did you do that?"

"It was either that, or you and me fight Walker and Battlescar – or whatever his stupid code name is. I'm already on probation, and I helped the guy that split up the Avengers break out of prison. I really don't need ‘beat the shit out of the new Cap’ added to my list of wrongdoings," Bucky said, running a hand through his hair before clapping a hand on your shoulder. "Come on, let's go find Sam."

As Bucky jogged off in the direction Walker had gone, you followed while grumbling, "My preference would have been the latter, but no, why would anyone ask for my opinion? I'm just the pet mind reader."

When the two of you caught up to Walker and Hoskins, the former was thrown into a table by Karli, and she ran off. Bucky chased after her, and you took another route to try to intercept her, to no avail. You caught up with Sam and Bucky a few minutes later, out of breath as Sam commented that the building was like a maze, and you wholeheartedly agreed. By the time the three of you found the others, Karli was gone, Walker was just standing there, and Zemo was out cold on the floor.

Walker and Hoskins stated that they were going to search for Karli, and ran off. Bucky threw Zemo over his shoulder like a damn ragdoll, and the three of you trudged back to Zemo’s flat, a little worn out and a little defeated. Once there, Bucky threw him down on the couch, and Zemo bounced limply atop the cushions, still unconscious. Sam began working on his laptop, and Bucky went on yet another walk, while you searched for the first aid kit.

Zemo looked surprisingly peaceful and non-threatening as he laid there, appearing to be asleep. You kneeled beside his head and lightly applied some antiseptic on the cut left by Cap's shield, right at the top of his hairline, and you found yourself admiring him. He had soft features for a man so dark inside; soft chestnut brown hair, adorable nose, slight bit of stubble across his gentle jawline and neck. You began dabbing the antiseptic again, still lost in your own thoughts when he awoke very suddenly, grabbing your wrist in a fierce grip out of reflex. Zemo's eyes were wide when he first opened them, but upon seeing you, he visibly relaxed and released his grip on you.

"Apologies," he whispered, then groaned softly when he felt the pain in his head. You stood silently and retrieved a rag from the drawer beside the sink, wetting it with cold water, then filled a glass with some ice and brandy and returned, handing both items to Zemo. He thanked you very sincerely, then laid the rag over his forehead and eyes, and held the glass atop his chest.

You were grateful that Sam hadn't noticed you doting on him, too focused on his laptop, because he'd have definitely asked you about it, and you didn't even have an answer for yourself. It wasn't like there was any need or obligation for you to tend to him like that, and yet you did without even thinking. As you took a seat opposite Zemo on the couch, you told yourself that it was merely payback for how he assisted you with your own injury the day before, and left it at that.

It wasn't long before Walker and his partner showed up again, demanding to place Zemo under arrest. You, Sam, and Zemo all stood when he burst through the doors, all silently conglomerating to one side of the room. Walker had the gall to threaten Sam, and it had your fingers twitching on the gun in your thigh holster in rage. Before anything could come of that, the Wakandans Bucky had mentioned showed up, and when Walker tried talking down to them before placing a hand on one's shoulder, melee ensued.

You leaned on the bar with one arm, watching in amusement as Walker got his ass handed to him. Zemo seemed to be in the same boat, observing without expression as he passed you his drink, and you took a couple of sips before returning it.

"We should do something," Sam said to you and Bucky.

"Looking strong, John!"

"Yes, excellent form! Top notch," you added. "Really showing them the prowess of the new Captain America!"

"Bucky…" Sam chided, prompting Bucky to finally intervene. Sam looked to you, and you held your hands up in defense.

"I am not fighting the goddamn Dora Milaje. I don't feel like dying today – especially not for the sake of helping John Walker."

Sam sighed before joining the fight himself, and that was when Zemo’s hand enveloped yours, silently tugging you towards the bathroom. You opened your mouth to say "Is this really the time for a quickie?" but he held a finger to his lips, effectively silencing you. Once he had successfully guided you into the bathroom, he closed the door quietly behind him, and shoved the tub to the side, revealing a secret passageway.

"Come with me," Zemo said simply, and you scoffed.

"I'm not abandoning Sam and Bucky. My place is here."

"Actually, if I remember correctly, your assignment is to keep an eye on me. Although I'd rather not have to, I will overpower you if I must, because I will be leaving now. So, it is technically your job to follow me, and it would behoove you to simply follow your comrades’ orders without an unnecessary scuffle."

The man really didn't miss a beat, did he? Sam and Bucky had, in fact, assigned you to watch Zemo. Although it was implied that that was everyone's task, they had specifically delegated the role to you. So, it was a matter of whether or not you could take Zemo in a fight, and although you secretly hoped he'd go easy on you, you knew that his own self-preservation was his chief concern.

"Fine," you grumbled, not missing the smile on his face as you shoved past him and jumped down into the tunnel.

Your joints ached in protest of your actions, but you ignored it. He was right behind you, not even bothering to cover the passageway back up before taking off in one of the three directions that the tunnel led to. You were right behind him, and it wasn't long before the sounds of the scuffle faded away. Roughly five minutes later, you reached the end, and he pushed aside the manhole above you and climbed out. Zemo took your hands and helped you out as well, before replacing the manhole while you surveyed the area. It was a city street, but they all looked the same in Riga, so you had no idea where you were.

"Come on," Zemo said, lacing his fingers with yours as you ran down the street. He took a few turns and ended up in the town square, where he led you into a hotel. As you entered the lobby, he explained, "We'll stay here for a few hours, essentially hiding in plain sight, to allow the Dora Milaje and Walker time to leave and search for me elsewhere."

You nodded, and as you approached the front desk, Zemo wrapped his arm snugly around your waist, pulling you close to him.

"Do you have any availability for the night?" Zemo inquired, then smiled lovingly at you. "It is our wedding day, and my beautiful bride simply cannot wait until we reach our honeymoon destination to get her hands on me."

You sent Zemo a quick glare, but the man at the desk didn't notice. He chuckled and nodded, saying something about "What a happy couple" as he booked the room for you. Zemo ignored your pointed look and kissed your temple, thanking the man and paying for the room before leading you in the direction of the room. As soon as you were out of earshot of the desk clerk, you glowered at Zemo once again, although his arm remained around your waist until you reached the room. Not that you minded, really.

"'Beautiful bride'? 'Honeymoon'? Really?"

"Yes," Zemo replied calmly, unlocking the door and opening it for you. As you walked past him, he elaborated, "If Walker comes looking for me, he'll be asking for a former SHIELD agent and a criminal. If the gentleman at the desk is convinced we're a happy newlywed couple, he won't even think to mention us to Walker."

It didn't take more than half a second to find his genuine answer in his mind. "How smoothly and effortlessly you lie, Zemo. You simply wanted to touch me again, so you came up with a convenient excuse."

Zemo licked his lips subtly, before shrugging with a small smile, wordlessly saying 'you got me there.'

"We need to get back to Sam and Bucky once Walker and the Dora Milaje are gone, but there's no foolproof way to go about it," you began pacing the room, as Zemo remained fixed beside the wall. "If I text Sam or Bucky, Walker will know they got a message, and they're both the worst liars I've ever met. God knows we don't need the Dora having any idea about where you are, you wouldn't last a full minute before they drove a spear through your chest. We also can't wait around too long, because then Sam and Bucky might leave Riga, and —"

You were still pacing and mid-sentence when Zemo suddenly grabbed you by the back of your neck and pulled you into a searing kiss, effectively silencing you. His other hand rested on the curve of your waist, pulling you against his chest. The surprise of the act and subsequent warm feeling in your stomach absolutely obliterated all other thoughts from your mind, and all you could focus on was him.

At some point, you regained your senses, albeit still in a haze. You pressed your palms to his shoulders and shoved him a few inches back, and he stared down at you with half-lidded eyes and lust-blown pupils.

“We – we need to focus on Sam and Bucky,” you managed to stammer out, but Zemo simply cupped your cheek and stroked the side of your face with his thumb.

“Is that truly what you want to be focusing on, Schatz?” Zemo inquired, his voice low, taking on even more of a gravely tone than usual. It flooded your veins with heat and desire, and you found your eyes fluttering closed as he bent down to pepper your neck with kisses. “Or would you rather simply wait out Walker and the Dora Milaje here, with me? Allowing me to touch you, taste you, in all the ways I know you crave?”

The final shred of your sanity left the building when he gently bit down on your neck, at the point where it met your shoulder, and you found yourself releasing a breathy moan and melting into his touch. Zemo wasted no time in kissing you once again, lips fast and insistent on yours, one hand on the small of your back, pressing you against him, and the other on the nape of your neck once again. His body leaned into yours as he kissed you with fervor, and your hands longingly grasped the front of his sweater. Eventually, Zemo abruptly spun you around to press your back against the wall that had previously been behind him, and he hiked one of your legs up onto his hip, gripping it under your thigh. His other hand slowly moved from the back of your neck to the front, fingers curling deliciously around your throat as he applied a little pressure, earning another airy moan from you.

As if on reflex, his hips bucked up into you, and the friction left you mewling. Just like last time, it seemed to be your noises that set Zemo off, as he released a low growl from the back of his throat and dropped your leg to tear your shirt off while you took the hint and kicked off your shoes. He undid the fasten on your jeans with lightning speed, and yanked them – along with your panties – down past your hips so you could kick them both off. Next went your bra, which was flung god knows where in the room, and Zemo took a small step back to admire you.

It only lasted for a split second, because you then grabbed the straps he wore around his shoulders and used them to pull him in and kiss him again. Zemo’s hands glided slowly, sensually down your shoulders, your back, then came to rest upon your ass, grabbing it fiercely with both hands. His hands trailed further down, to the undersides of your thighs, before he lifted you with surprising ease and carried you over to the bed at the center of the room. Zemo threw you down onto the mattress unceremoniously, gaze locked on your chest as he watched your breasts bounce from the force, but you were quick to sit upright and pull him back in by the shoulder straps. You removed them then, as well as his turtleneck and belt buckle, and he was cooperative in removing his own boots and slacks, leaving him in his black briefs, his cock tenting the fabric there.

When you reached out to remove his briefs, Zemo pushed you to lay down by your shoulder, and knelt down at the edge of the bed, opening your legs at the knee with a harsh grip. You didn’t even have time to blink before he dove in, licking a long stripe up your slit before moving to your clit as your head fell back onto the mattress and your eyes fluttered closed. He focused primarily on your clit, occasionally lapping at your folds, but always returning his attention to that bundle of nerves. Gasps and moans were already falling for your lips, but when his middle finger and ring finger entered the fray, you found yourself crying out his name and tangling your fingers in his hair.

That delectable little growl of his escaped him once more, and you felt the vibrations of it against you, which warranted another moan, and Zemo’s fingers began delving in and out of your core at a steadfast pace. When he began curling them upwards, rubbing them against that sweet spot deep inside you, you were a goner. He wanted more of your beautiful sounds of pleasure, wanted to see you become more and more undone for him. You only lasted a couple minutes longer, growing progressively louder and more unhinged with each passing second. You were then launched over the edge, one hand tugging on his chestnut tresses and the other gripping the comforter of the bed, crying out his name amongst various explicatives.

When your eyes opened again, Zemo was standing, kicking off his boxers as he made eye contact with you while he sucked his fingers clean of you. He had set his wallet on the bedside table in the midst of your pacing, so he retrieved it and pulled a condom from one of the compartments. You sat up and snatched it from him, quickly tearing it open and rolling it down over his length. The sensation caused a sigh to leave his lips, before murmuring, "Eager, are we, Kätzchen?"

Electing to ignore him, you grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the bed with you, wordlessly instructing him to lay down by pressing your hands on his chest. Zemo got the message with ease, happily complying as you straddled him. The sight of you sinking down on his clock, your palms flat against his chest to steady yourself, caused him to groan in pleasure. Far too eager to spend an abundant amount of time adjusting to him, you began moving, rocking your hips back and forth at a resolute pace, savoring the feeling of him sliding in and out of you. Zemo's hands rested on your waist, fingertips digging into your skin as he helped you keep your rhythm, while he gazed up at you as if you were a goddess in the flesh, his jaw hanging open slightly and hair disheveled.

By the time you were approaching your second orgasm, Zemo could tell, from the faltering of your hips as they strove to increase their speed, and from the way your nails raked down his chest each time you used his length inside you to hit that special spot there. He began thrusting up into you, eager to feel you come on his cock. You unintentionally caught a passing glance at his thoughts, and learned that it seemed that he always wanted more of you, needed more of you, to the point that he questioned if you had toyed with his mind somehow. You were about to inform him that no, you had not done anything to his mind, when he trusted particularly hard and deep up into you and his fingertips dug deliciously hard into your hips at the same time, and all sensual thoughts left your mind as you met your release a second time.

Still shaking slightly and moaning breathlessly, Zemo flipped you over onto your back, lifted your calf up onto his hip and held it there, and began pistoning in and out of you at a desperate, unforgiving pace. When your eyes fluttered open, you found that he was practically snarling above you, teeth bared in concentration and an intense fire in his eyes. It reminded you that his softness toward you did not change the fact that he was a criminal mastermind and former kill squad leader, who had done a great many terrible things. Yet the thought only made you want him even more, wrapping an arm around his neck to pull him into a heated, haphazard kiss.

Zemo thrust in and out of you like a man on a mission, the sound of his pelvis colliding with yours filling the room, before he pulled out of you long enough to flip you onto your chest, face in the pillows and ass in the air, then resumed his pace. The new angle felt incredible, and it didn't take long before you were moaning into the pillows, fists clenched around the duvet. In the blink of an eye, Zemo grabbed a fistful of your hair and yanked you upright, your back flush against his chest.

"Do not hide your beautiful noises from me, Liebling. I want to hear you," Zemo commanded, and you moaned in response, both as a confirmation of his words and as a natural reaction to the low, gravely tone his voice took on. His hand moved to encase your neck, tilting your head back even further so he could trail open-mouthed kisses down your neck, before biting down on your shoulder, earning a shuddering gasp from you. "Now tell me, Kätzchen: who makes you feel this good?"

"You," you choked out, groaning in pleasure when his fingers tightened their grip on your throat.

"Me, what?"

"You, Baron," you corrected, and Zemo hummed in approval, kissing you quickly in praise. He gave your neck another squeeze before throwing you back down onto the mattress, his hands on your hips as he returned his focus to fucking the very soul out of you.

As his hips began to stutter into yours and soft moans began falling from his lips, signaling he was approaching his end, Zemo reached around your body to begin expertly rubbing your clit, desperate for you to finish in unison. The way your walls fluttered around him let him know that he was on the right track, so he quickened the pace of his fingers on your clit, careful to maintain the angle he was thrusting at. As you fell apart beneath him a third and final time, your scream of "Baron!" and your core clenching around him like the most luxurious vice, Zemo found himself crying out your name in accompaniment with a low, guttural moan, spilling himself into the condom.

Zemo didn't move for a moment, hands still clutching your hips, albeit with a looser grip now, as he fought to catch his breath. Still panting, he slowly removed himself from you, falling into a sweaty heap beside you. Breathing heavily yourself, you leaned over to kiss him – far slower this time, both of you reveling in post-coitus bliss. He affectionately brushed your hair away from your face, as it had been stuck to your forehead from perspiration, before stroking your cheek with his thumb.

A brief eternity later, Zemo stood and headed to the restroom, no doubt disposing of the condom, before returning in one of the hotel’s white bathrobes and holding a cold rag. He flopped down onto the mattress, placing the towel over his forehead and eyes as he had earlier in his flat.

“Apologies, Schatz. As enjoyable as that was, it certainly did not help my migraine,” Zemo explained, blindly reaching out to grab your hand and bring it to his lips, placing a kiss on your knuckles.

You murmured a dismissive ‘you’re fine’ before heading to the washroom yourself, hopping into the shower and allowing the burning temperature of the water to ease the ache in practically all your muscles – some of it from fighting, some of it from fucking – although you suspected that the ache in your thighs, from being so tense throughout the multiple orgasms, wasn’t going away anytime soon. Thankfully, Zemo truly had done a marvelous job on your stitches, and the wound was already healing up nicely. By the time you finished your shower, the steam had clouded the room and coated the mirrors with condensation, but you felt more relaxed than you had in days. Donning a bathrobe yourself, you exited the bathroom, and situated yourself in the chair beside the floor-to-ceiling window on the wall of the room. Zemo was snoring softly, and the quiet tranquility of the room and the comfort of your seat sent you into a cat nap of your own, your head falling back against the chair as you slipped into unconsciousness.

You were entirely unsure how long you had slept, but when you awoke, Zemo was sitting with his back resting against the headboard, reading a random book he’d found in the room’s nightstand. He looked up at you long enough to flash you a small smile, before returning to the book. You yawned and rubbed your eyes, then sat up straighter in the chair and gazed out the window beside you. You hadn’t noticed, but the room had a lovely view of the town square.

A few minutes after you began observing the city below, your eyebrows practically shot up into your hairline as you saw none other than the bastard himself, John Walker, chasing one of the Flag Smashers before hitting him with the shield, sending the man flying into the statue at the center of the square. Each member of the bustling crowd stopped dead in their tracks, watching the scene unfold before them, as this new Captain America placed his foot on the man’s chest, pinning him against the stairs of the statue, as the man screamed, “It wasn’t me!”

The chair you were sitting in clattered to the floor as you stood bolt upright, a shuddering gasp escaping you and your hand flying to your mouth as you watched Walker raise the shield high above his head, a completely unhinged look upon his face. Zemo was at your side in an instant, his hands on your upper arms as he stood behind you, a worried expression on his face, wondering what could have caused you such distress. Before he had the chance to ask, Zemo’s eye caught the scene below, and you both watched in shock and horror as John Walker drove the shield into the Flag Smasher’s chest, again and again and again, until the man just laid there – bloodied, bludgeoned, and unmoving. Dead, at the hands of the new Captain America.

—————

@henrysmorgan​ @clints-lucky-arrow​ @therenlover

[spookyboywhump]

Everett and baby Eli because yeah

***

He didn’t remember falling asleep. He blinked tiredly as he stared up at the ceiling, vaguely aware of how cold he was despite being covered in sweat. Sure he hadn’t showered after getting home but he swore it hadn’t been that bad. That morning he knew he was coming down with something, he’d woken up with a sore throat and a cough but he’d hoped he’d have a day or two before the real symptoms set in, but apparently he wasn’t that lucky. He finally forced himself to sit up, glancing around the room, he saw it was dark out already, he must’ve slept for hours, and Eli wasn’t in his bed. The door was open though, and he could hear his voice from across the apartment, Everett figured he was talking to their mom.

He got out of bed, immediately hit with a wave of nausea and dizziness, but after waiting a moment for it to pass he left the room, making his way down the hall. The tv and lights were off in the living room, but he found Eli in the kitchen, focused intently on a picture he was coloring. Their mom was nowhere in sight, and he realized Eli had likely been talking himself through what he was doing, as he often did. He looked up when Everett walked into the room though, immediately dropping the crayon he was holding and jumping to his feet, standing on the chair.

“Ev! Y-you- you’re awake!” He said, smiling at him.

“Sure am.” He said, smiling back at him. “Where’s mom at, did she go to bed early?” He asked, and Eli shook his head.

“Sh-she left er-earlier, a- uh few hours a-ago, I-I think.” He told him, and Everett felt his stomach drop. When he looked at the clock on the stove he saw it was already past eight, he couldn’t believe Eli had been by himself that long. He instantly felt sick and guilty, and Eli could see it on his face. “Wh-what- what’s- what’s wrong?” He asked, that happy look on his face quickly shifting to concern. He always got this little frown on his face, and an almost scared look in his big blue eyes. It upset Everett just to see him like that, he didn’t need to be so worried about anything at only eight years old.

“Nothing… hey, listen, if she leaves while I’m asleep again, I want you to wake me up right away, okay?” He told him as he walked over, and Eli nodded quickly.

“Oh-okay!” He said, and giggled when Ev ruffled his hair.

“She fed you before she left, right?” He asked, and much to his dismay Eli shook his head.

“Sh-she said- she said you would when- when you w-woke up…” He told him, and Everett sighed, walking past him to find something to make.

“Alright kid, think you can clean up your stuff while I make dinner?” He asked him, searching through the cabinets and freezer for something rather low effort to make. He told himself he’d make Eli a good breakfast when he was feeling better, because he knew he didn’t have it in him to make a good dinner. Thankfully, Eli was easy to please.

He was more than happy to stand next to the stove for a while, enjoying the warmth he got from it. He wished he’d grabbed his jacket before leaving the room. He could hear Eli moving around behind him, gathering up papers and putting crayons back into the box. After a moment he felt him tug on the hem of his shirt and he looked down, holding up a brightly colored picture of a shark.

“L-look- look! This- uh this is a- a whale sh-shark!” He said, a big smile on his face. “It’s uh- it has wh-whale in the- in the name but it is a sh- a shark.”

“It looks great, Eli!” He told him, trying to sound as upbeat as he could with a sore throat and hoarse voice. “Go ahead and put it on the fridge, okay?” He told him, and Eli happily ran over to stick it to the fridge door with a magnet, among all the other doodles Everett had pinned there. He was always so proud of them, and whenever Everett brought a friend by Eli would take any chance he got to show them all his finest work. He really thought it was just adorable.

It didn’t take long for him to get food made for Eli, the kid probably couldn’t have been more happy to have a bowl of mac and cheese set in front of him, and while he ate Everett made himself some hot tea, just wanting something to soothe his throat.

“Are-aren’t you- aren’t you gonna c-come eat?” Eli asked, twisting around in his chair to look at him.

“No, I’m not hungry.” He told him. Truthfully even the smell of food was making him more and more nauseous, he worried if he tried he may vomit, and that was the last thing he needed right now. He brought his mug over to the table and sat down across from his brother, allowing himself to relax as he held the warm mug with both hands.

Eli quieted down for a moment while he ate, but eventually he started up again, telling Everett about the day he’d had at school. He excitedly told him about how he got an A on a spelling test, and he found a caterpillar at recess but he hadn’t been allowed to bring it inside, and he’d even managed to answer a question in class without stuttering once, which he was especially proud of. He seemed happy, and that made Everett happy considering Eli usually didn’t have such great days at school.

“Ev-Ev can I- Can you put a uh, a movie on for me?” He asked once he’d finished eating, getting up to put his bowl in the sink before Everett could do it. He was still so small, even for his age, he had to stand on his toes to reach without just dropping it in. Everett had to force himself to not do everything for him, even if he was little he was more than capable.

“Sure thing kid, go pick one out and I’ll set it up.” He told him, and Eli happily ran off to the living room. In the meantime Everett went to their bedroom to grab his jacket, pulling it on and zipping it up, but he was still freezing cold. He tried to ignore it though, he didn’t want to look as awful as he felt. He returned to the living room and Eli eagerly handed him the movie he picked before going to jump onto the couch. It was the same one he’d picked multiple times a week for the past month or so, but he didn’t really mind, he just put it on the tv and then went to sit down with Eli, letting him cuddle up against his side.

He tried to stay awake but now that they were settled down the exhaustion was quickly over taking him once again. He’d already slept enough, he thought he had anyway, but it was difficult for him to keep his eyes open, and he was still shivering even with Eli cuddled up against him. At least once Eli asked if he was okay, he seemed so worried, Everett just told him he was fine. Eventually, despite his best efforts, his eyes finally fell shut and he slipped into a restless, feverish sleep.

He wasn’t sure how long he slept but when he woke up the room was quiet, the movie paused, and he was lying on his side on the couch, shivering violently, to the point his muscles ached. At first he started to panic, he didn’t see Eli in his immediate sight, but when he started to sit up he saw him at the other end of the couch, trying to pull a blanket over him.

“Ev!” He said as soon as he saw he was awake, looking at him with big, worried eyes.

“Hey kid… what are you doing…?” He asked with a yawn, sitting up completely as he crossed his arms over his chest. Despite his jacket he was still freezing cold.

“You- you seemed- you seemed cold, and- and you looked up-upset while you uh while you slept, like- like you were having a bad dream…” He said, his voice shaking like he was about to cry. “So-so I got a- a blanket…”

“Oh, Eli… you don’t need to worry about me...” He assured him. He gently took the blanket from him and pulled it up over his legs, and when he did so Eli picked something up off the floor, holding his stuffed shark out to him.

“Here!”

“What? That’s your shark, you keep that.” He told him, but he shook his head, more or less pushing it into his hands.

“Ev- Ev helps me s-sleep, so, so you need him.” He said, and Everett didn’t have much of a choice but to accept it. He tucked it under one arm and pulled the blanket back, motioning for Eli to climb up onto his lap, which he quickly did, laying on his chest as Everett draped the blanket over both of them. He managed to grab the remote and he restarted the movie for Eli, holding his brother close to him as he finally began to relax. He was still cold but the blanket and weight of his brother were helping to warm him up, and he still couldn’t keep his eyes open.

He fell back asleep while still holding Eli, but this time he was much more comfortable and relaxed than before.

***

Two days passed and Everett had started to feel a lot better. He woke up to get Eli ready for school as normal, but when he shook him awake the boy whined, curling up and hugging his shark closer to his chest. This wasn’t like him, and Everett knelt down beside the bed, pressing the back of his hand against his forehead. He was burning up, and he sighed heavily, not surprised Eli caught a cold from him given how easily he got sick.

“Hey kid… how’re you feeling…?” He asked softly, and Eli shook his head, whining again in response. “Alright, I’ll call your school and get you some medicine, okay?” He told him, and he nodded.

He tried to do so quickly, and Eli gagged when he drank the cold medicine from the cup, but he didn’t cry this time so Everett knew that was a good sign. He helped prop him up with pillows and stuffed animals and he stepped away to let him rest, but Eli reached his arms out towards him, like he was trying to grab him.

“Eeev…” He whimpered, looking absolutely pitiful, teary eyed and red in the face. Everett couldn’t stand to see him so sad, and he had him move over, sitting down with him and hugging him close to his side. He sniffled as he cuddled up to him, and Everett gently ran his fingers over his arm, knowing it comforted him.

In no time he quieted down, and his breathing returned to being even as he drifted off back to sleep, hugging Everett as best he could. It would be a long few days, whenever Eli got sick he always got it bad but Everett didn’t mind having to care for him- especially after Eli’s sweet attempt to care for his older brother while he was sick. If anything he was just happy to spend time with him, giving him the attention he knew he really needed. Eventually he managed to fall back asleep himself, still holding Eli at his side.

[belovedkingx]

A Helping Hand | kth

» Pairing: Taehyung/Reader

» Genre: Smut, Roommate!au

» Word Count: 5.3k

— Synopsis; You and Taehyung have been friends for years and the two of you talked about everything, that was the case until you found out that he’s been keeping the biggest secret from you all this time.

Warnings: dirty talk, unprotected sex, blowjob, deep throating, light face-fucking, fingering, praising, light orgasm denial

A/N: Dawg this was really fun. I hope you enjoy!! feel free to comment, message, whatever you want Sweets. Love you!

Masterlist | Part of the “ Sexual Encounters “ series

— posted: 8.04.2020

You sat on the couch watching a comedy, tears streamed down your face from how hard you were laughing. Once you calm down you grabbed a slice of pizza, suddenly the front door opened with your roommate and best friend, Taehyung walking through. With a deep sigh, he let his bag drop as he swung off his coat before hanging it on the coat rack.

You took one more bite of your pizza before setting the rest down in the box as he walked over to you. You watched him plop down next to you, looking stressed and tensed up. "School?" He lazily turned his head to you. "My professor hates me, I can tell by the way he talks to me and the assignments are near impossible." You grab the remote and pause the movie.

"Yeah, I hear you." Taehyung lifted his head and looked straight at you. "Oh come on, you get excited to go to school so you can see your professor." You wrap the blanket around your shoulders as you speak. "Um that’s Nat, not me.” You said slightly offended that he didn’t remember. “And yes my professor may be hot but I can’t stand him, he's a dickhead, one time he gave us a small time limit for an assignment and I didn't sleep for like 3 days."  

"Sleep, I barely have time for that, as soon as break starts I'm gonna go into hibernation." You patted his leg in a 'cheer up' way before standing up to the kitchen. "And how dare you get yourself a pizza and not me, I thought we were best friends." You rolled your eyes, placing your box on the counter then walking back in the living room.

"Firstly, Why so dramatic, secondly as a best friend should, I got you your favorite, nasty ass pineapple pizza." You placed the box in front of him, on the table. He looks up to you with delight before opening the pizza box, grabbing a slice. "Just because you got this for me I'll let what you said about this wonderful piece of creation slide."

You shook your head as you walked back into the kitchen, laughing at how silly he could be. As you grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge you realized that Taehyung had been stressed and tense for a little while now, and you don't think it's just from school. "Hey Tae." He hummed in response as you slowly made your way back, taking a quick drink of water. "When's the last time you got laid?" You see him choke upon hearing your question.

He slowly turned his head towards you with wide eyes, you were slightly surprised to see him so shocked at a question like that. He should be used to your boldness on the topic of sex by now. "Jesus Y/n, what does that have to do with what we were just talking about?" You sit back in your spot on the couch next to him, leaning back with your legs crossed. "Everything, You've been so stressed out lately and I think you need a way to relieve that stress."

"There are other ways of relieving stress than sex, you know." He said, avoiding eye contact, which you found weird but didn't pay to much attention to. "Yeah, but that's the best way and most fun, in my opinion." As you sat there it dawned on you that in the seven years you've been friends with him he's never once talked about his sex life.

"I just realized that you know everything about my sex life and I know nothing about yours." You said with your head laid back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "I mean you know everything, things I would have never told you if I wasn't drunk that one time." You hear Taehyung snicker at your words. "That one time? I vividly remember it happening on multiple occasions." You lift your head, giving him the death glare.

"Anyway, tell me one thing." He looks at you as if he's unsure of what to say. "There's really nothing to tell." He states as he shifts in his seat. "Come on Tae, what about your first time or your favorite... position?" You raised your eyebrows up and down at the last part, earning a soft chuckle and an eye roll from him. "As I said, there's nothing to tell."

You were so confused as to why he wasn’t telling you anything. Was he shy about it or did he not want you to know, whatever the case may be, you decided not to push any further until it hit you. ”Wait, you’re not saying what I think you’re saying?” He gave you an unreadable expression before taking a bite out of his pizza.

“What do you think I’m saying?” You’ve always hated when people would answer your question with a question to avoid actually answering the question, and that was exactly what he was doing. “Surely your not a virgin, right?” He shrugs his shoulder and that was all you needed to finally understand what he meant by ‘There’s nothing to tell’.

"Oh wow," So many questions were rushing through your mind, you had a hard time choosing what to ask. You stared at him for what felt like forever before speaking. "Why haven't you done it yet?" He plops the rest of his pizza in the box, closing it then dusting off his hands. "It just never felt right with any of the girls I've been with."

He finally looks at you, resting his arm on the head of the couch. "Well except one but I found out she was cheating on me so I ended it before anything happened between us." As you listened you shook your head, baffled that all this time you never knew.

"I'm disappointed in you." You weren't really mad at him but you did feel a bit salty that every time sex came up he never once thought to mention it to you then. "Why?"

"Because we've been friends for so long and you never told me." He rolls his eyes at you, thinking you were the dramatic one. "I didn't think it mattered but how was I suppose to bring it up, yeah my trip to Iceland was amazing, by the way, I'm a virgin." He explained. "When did you go to Iceland?"

"It was just for an example." He chuckled at your obliviousness.

"Oh, anyway I just wished you had told me maybe I could've helped you lose your virginity."

"Help me, how?" Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows, he was thinking of something X-rated then again he always had when it came to you, it was kinda hard not to when you would drunkenly tell him that you've always wanted to try anal or that you have a choking kink in your seductive voice. But he was surprised because he thought you were suggesting something that only happened in his dreams.

"I could've found you a girl cause I'm quite good at that." Feeling relieved, he let go of his breath he didn't know he was holding yet at the same time he felt a little disappointed that he was wrong. "Wait, do you even want to lose your v-card?"

"Of course I do, but I don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon cause I don't want to be in a relationship, and I definitely don't want my first time to be with a stranger." Silence filled the room as you took a moment, thinking. You saw an opportunity to help a fellow late bloomer and you weren't giving that up. Taehyung saw that look in your eyes that told him you had something up your sleeves.

"What are you plotting over there?" You sat up straight, turning your body more towards him. "Okay, what if I found you a girl that you knew who also didn't want to be in a relationship." He raises an eyebrow at you but you continued. "Would you at least talk to her to see where things go?"

"Cause I have a few girls in mind that you know or have met at some point." Taehyung sat there, thinking. When would he ever get the kind of chance again, he's intrigued yet worried about your choice of girls. "I mean... I guess." You weren't expecting him to agree at all let alone so quickly but you sure weren't complaining.

"Really?" He nods his head, seeing how excited you were about all of this. "I Just want to know one thing." He said facing you more before continuing. "Why do you want to do this for me so much?" You took a moment to think about his question. It’s not that it was hard to answer, you were just thinking about how to word your response.

"Because I know what it's like to have a not-so-great first time, so I want to give you a 50/50 chance of having an amazing first, that's all." Taehyung nods his head, understanding. "So, how are we doing this?" You rose from the couch in excitement, walking back and forth. "I'm gonna throw some names your way and you'll tell me your thoughts."

He hummed in agreement before he grabbed his piece of pizza, taking a bite. "Okay, what about Josie?" He furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief. "You mean the girl whos rumored to have an std, umm no thanks." You raised your eyebrows, surprised. "Oh, I had no idea, well she off the list." Considering his other options, you paced back and forth with your arms crossed over your chest.

"What about Seoyeon? you two seem pretty close." You asked, stopping directly in front of the TV to see taehyung chuckle. "Yeah, we're close but she's not really into males."

"Nora?" With slightly squinted eyes, taehyung glared at you with an annoyed expression. "The one with a crazy brother?" It took you a moment to realized that she was indeed the one with the possessive and overbearing older sibling. When you first met Nora, her brother basically interrogated you about your intentions with her.

As pretty as girls are, you're just not into them that way. "Damn, that's a shame, she's such a sweet girl but maybe too innocent anyways." You started thinking harder because you were running out of girls, you just needed to pick someone who knows what they're doing. "What about Harin, and don't tell me that there is something wrong with her."

Taehyung looked at you with a slight smile, seeing you preparing for the worst. "No, there's nothing wrong with her." You signed in relief, finally ready for the next step until taehyung added. "Though she does have a boyfriend." You stared at him for a brief moment before closing your eyes out of frustration. You were also confused that you were unaware of any of this about the girls you mentioned.

"How does she have a boyfriend already when she was single the last time I talked to her." It was more of a statement than a question. "Well, I tried, everyone else I know is taken or is a guy," Taehyung commented, saying that it was okay but that was the only thing you caught before your mind wandered elsewhere. You had an idea but you weren't sure if you should bring it up with him.

As you were contemplating on what to do, Taehyung noticed your intense concentrated face as if you were thinking, instead of listening to him. "Hey!" You slightly jumped from the sudden pitch of his voice. "What has you over there thinking so hard?" You shook your head, still unsure about telling him until he insists you do. "Well, I was just thinking that there is one more person that I didn't mention."

"Oh, really who?" Taehyung seemed to be getting more into this with every minute that passed. "You've met her in fact, you know her very well." You realized there would be no going back once you told him, and you decided you were a hundred percent okay with that. "She's honestly the perfect person, she'll make sure your first time is amazing." You said, avoiding his question. Even though you’re okay with this idea you weren’t sure if he would be.

"You know, you still haven't told me who this girl is." He stared at you, noticing that you acting slightly out of character.  "Right." You tried thinking about what else to say before revealing the girl, but nothing came to mind. "It's me." You said meekly before realizing you should just rip it off like a bandaid. "Who?" Taehyung slightly tilted his head forward, not hearing what you said.

"Me, it's me." Taehyung stared for what felt like hours before trying to create a sentence, but all he did was stutter. He wasn't sure if this was real or a joke, his thoughts were all over the place. "Are you serious?" You nodded your head, waiting for him to process what was happening.

Taehyung knew you weren't the type to pull pranks but there were times you got an itch in your ass to do so. Though he wasn't getting the feeling that this was one of those times. "So you're saying that you want to be my first, even though we're friends?" He said with his head slightly tilted, trying to catch any signs of this being a prank.

"Yes, plus you and I have been through things that most friends can't come back from." You started to feel calmer the more you talked. "We've seen each other naked, we're roommates so it was bound to happen." Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows, he remembered seeing you naked on a few occasions. But he’s wondering when you saw him in his birthday suit.

"When did you see me naked?" You chuckled, thinking back on that night. "All I did was get a glass of water and the next thing I know, you're running full speed out of the bathroom to your room, wet and completely naked." He laughed, slightly embarrassed but shakes it off.

"Oh, that night I forgot my towel in my room." You pressed your lips together, trying not to laugh. "I figured, anyway, I'm just saying that I'm confident that something like this wouldn’t hurt our friendship." Taehyung couldn't believe this was happening, he's used to your bold nature but this took the cake. He can't even count how many times he's fantasized about you, despite being best friends. He's a man and he knows he would be dumb not to think your hot.

"But it was just an idea, that's all." You could see the wheels turning in his head and before you could say anything else he speaks, surprising you. "Okay, I'm down." You blinked a couple of times, shooked that he didn't waste any time making up his mind. "Really?" Taehyung scooted closer to the edge of the couch as he nods his head. "Yeah, why does that surprise you?"

"I just didn't think you would come to a decision so quickly, let alone say that you wanted to." You stand up, walking over to sit next to him. "I didn't need much time to think about it." He leans back on the couch, giving you a look you've never seen on him. "You're right, you are the perfect person, I trust you and as much as you talk about sex with me I'm sure it won't be awkward during, or after for us."

"And if I'm being honest, I've had some not-so-friend like thoughts about you." You gave him a surprised smile, propping your elbow on the head of the couch. "I mean, even though we're friends, you're still a woman, a sexy one at that." You honestly didn't think that this would be happening, but you sure weren't complaining. "Okay, but if we do this you have to promise me one thing."

"What?" You lean up, swinging your leg over his lap and straddling him. "Try not to fall in love with me." He chuckles as his hands travel up your thighs to your waist. “Funny, I was gonna tell you the same thing.” He softly tugs on the hem of you, signaling you to come closer. He softly gripped the back of your neck with his right hand, as his other hand slides under your shirt.

You placed an arm behind his head, resting it on the couch as you gave him a soft kiss on the lips. You just wanted to see how he would respond in case he wasn't really into this but sure enough, he proves with his actions that he's more than into it. He pulls his shirt over his head, throwing it without a care to where it landed.

With every moment that passed, you could feel the tingling sensation between your thighs intensify, you've seen him shirtless countless times and never has your body reacted to him this way before. He reaches for the buttons on your black Blouse, undoing them and revealing your bare breasts. As he slides your shirt down and off your arms, you capture his lips in a kiss much deeper than before and driven by pure lust.

You slowly start to move your hips against his groin as his hands roamed your body, making him moan into the kiss. As you tried to unzip his pants he flips you over onto the couch, hovering over you. "What are you doing? this is about you." You said covering your breast, uncharacteristically insecure about your body.

"Are you always this shy when you're with a man." Somehow his voice got deeper than usual. "No." You weren't sure why you were acting this way, maybe it's that you've never been this intimate with him like this before. "Well, don't start now." He gripped your wrists, pulling them away from your chest. Leaning down while keeping eye contact with you, he takes one of your breasts into his mouth, swirling his tongue slowly and gently around your nipple.

Making you unintentionally moan, arching your back. You weren't one to gain pleasure from having your breasts played with, but having Taehyung's mouth and hands on them is a blissful feeling that you didn't want to end. He releases you with a pop then trails his tongue down to your abdomen, once he makes it to your jeans he tugs at them with his teeth before letting go and leaning up.

You unzipped your jeans then lifted your hips, making it easy for him to pull them off of you. Once he rid you of your pants he spread your legs, positioning himself between them. You've known Taehyung for a long time and never once have you seen this side of him, the dark and dominant energy he's exuding. You didn't think he was capable of being a dom but you're pleasantly surprised.

He softly grips your jaw, turning your head to have better access to your neck. Leaving kisses and red marks on your skin, he takes his time rubbing and caressing your body as his hand travels down to where you want him most. Just gliding his fingertips across the curve of your breast, to the softness of your skin right above your navel.

Your breathing became deep and heavy as the anticipation grew, you knew what he was doing. Suddenly you bit down on your lip, suppressing a moan as your panties were no longer the thing between his hand and your clit. Gently he rubs his middle and ring finger in circles around your sensitive bud, you couldn't believe you were about to get loud just from a simple touch.

He continues to kiss and suck on your neck while you started to rock your hip against his hand. "Needy are we?" He whispers in your ear, making you blush and feel somewhat wanting to submit to him. Yet it wasn't in your nature to submit so easily, they need to earn your submission because if not you'll be the one in charge, and Taehyung knows that.

He slowly leans his head up just enough so that his face was inches from yours, and with a glint in his eyes and a devilish smile you knew he was enjoying this, Teasing was his game. He slipped two fingers in your warm and inviting hole, that moan you tried so desperately to hold escaped your lips so easily, so smooth like silk.

You wrapped your arms around his shoulders as he slowly pumped his fingers in and out, easing you into the sudden sensation. "That's it, babygirl." He praised in between each kiss to your neck. "You're taking my fingers so well." Your nails gradually dig into his back as he sped up his pace. Taehyung was in pure bliss by your moaning and having you underneath him was something that was always a fantasy for him.

He felt you tighten around his fingers, and he knew you were close which boosted his ego, since it hadn't been that long from when he started and you were seconds from cumming. Once again he leaned up, kneeling as he gazed at you through hooded eyes, watching you come undone on his fingers.  You gripped the pillow behind your head tightly, pressing your head into it. "Ahh!!, f-fuckk." The word spilled from your lips as your body trembled from the intensity.

Once you relaxed your body, letting your heartbeat slow down you looked up at Taehyung, who was waiting patiently for you to catch your breath. "I thought you were a virgin?" Taehyung leans his body down, pressed up against yours. He taps your leg, signaling you to wrap them around him before lifting you from the couch as he stands up.

"Just because I'm a virgin doesn't mean I don't know how to make you cum on my fingers." He spoke into your ear, causing a wave of heat to rush through your body. Once he carried you to his room he laid you down on his bed, you surprised him by flipping him over as he did with you. You kissed down his neck, down his chest to his abdomen until you reached his pants.

You stepped off the bed completely, kneeling between his legs as he slid out of his pants, leaving himself in his underwear. You rubbed your hands up and down his thighs before rubbing your hand over his fully harden length. He props himself up on his forearms, watching you grab the waistband of his boxers and pulling down, revealing his member. "Fuck," He curses softly under his breath, feeling your hand wrapped around him.

You begin to stroke slowly before putting your lips around his tip and circling your tongue, receiving a low airy moan. After a little bit of teasing, you wrapped your mouth around him, taking in every inch of him before bobbing your head up and down. Taehyung threw his head back in pleasure, squeezing his hands tightly together, trying hard not to buck up yet failed. Slowly, he thrust his hips in time with your movements.

He gradually sped up his pace, but not wanting to hurt you he made sure not to go too deep. You were pleased to know you were doing a good job but you could tell he was worried about you instead of just enjoying the feeling. You placed your hands on his hips to stop him, he immediately thought he did something wrong but before he could question you, you slowly sunk down until you felt him hit the back of your throat.

You stay there for a moment before bobbing your head up and down once again. He let out curses and moans with his eyes shut tightly. "Ahh fuck, Right there! Don’t stop!" You wanted to see him cum but just not yet. You could tell he was close so you gave him one more suck before completely stopping and releasing him from your mouth. When he opened his eyes he looked so fucked out, but you could also see how pissed he was.

"Why did you stop?" You looked up at him, licking a stripe up his cock from the base to the tip then licking your lips before speaking. "See, I'm not as nice as you are, so if you want to cum you need to work for it." You said with a smirk spread across your lips. "Oh okay, I see how you want to play this." Taehyung leans up off his forearms, he grips your chin and lightly taps you, beckoning you to stand up with him.

He leans his head down to your neck, placing light and delicate kisses while sliding his cock between your folds, thrusting up against your clit in a teasing manner. You throw your head back slightly, letting a moan slip through your lips but after a moment he suddenly ceased his actions and spoke into your ear. "Just remember." He pauses as he pulls back, looking into your eyes before smiling devilishly. "You started this." He immediately picked you up and threw you on the bed.

Not only surprised at his sudden actions but also his strength, you squealed before feeling the softness of his bed against your naked skin. As you lay there with your knees bent, he slowly climbed on the bed, placing his hands on your knees, spreading them. "This time I wanna hear you moan loud." He leans his body down between your legs as he runs his hand down your thigh. "I don't want you holding it in, You understand me?" His voice was low and sweet as honey, yet held pure dominance.

He slides his hand up your abdomen and between the valley of your breasts before circling your left breast, caressing it. He hovers his lips over yours, waiting for you to respond. You nodded, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. "Yes." He lightly bites his bottom lip, smirking as he lined himself up with your entrance, slowly inching his length in. "F-Fuck." You faltered, gripping him tighter. Once he was fully inside he slowly pulled out before sliding back in.

The slow pace was killing you, but you figured since it was his first time he would want to take it slow. That was until he looked into your eyes with a devilish grin, he was enjoying teasing you. His words rang in your head 'Just remember... you started this.' You couldn’t stand it, you just wanted to feel his hands grip you tightly as he fucks you. Before you could ask or beg, he pulled out to slam back in, setting a fast pace.

As you gripped the sheets letting out aloud whimper, Taehyung's head dropped to your neck as he let out a groan of pleasure. "Oh, fucking hell." He says before kissing your neck as he bucked his hips. Your left hand traveled up to his head, gripping on to his hair as you wrapped your legs around his waist. "Ahh fuck, r-right there." You cried out.

Taehyung slightly leans up and grabs your arms one by one, pinning them above your head with one hand. Feeling a bit embarrassed, you turn your head away but Taehyung gingerly grips your chin making you face him. "Don't get shy on me now." He softly kisses you as he fucks you mercilessly. With his free hand, he grasps your breast, rubbing and pinching your nipple causing you to clench around him.

"Fuck, you feel so good.” Taehyung groaned with half-lidded eyes. You could feel your orgasm coming again, with closed eyes you whined out. As soon as you were about to cum he pulled out of you completely. You look up at him, confused until he grinned. You looked at him pissed cause you knew what he was doing. "Remember, you started this." He winked at you before releasing your wrists and leaning down to suck neck.

Suddenly he freezes, feeling extremely horny then he ever thought he could get as you whisper in his ear. "If you make me cum, I swear I'll be a good girl for you, Daddy." He looked down at you with lust-filled eyes, he couldn't take it anymore he needed you now. Between teasing you, which in turn was a tease to himself, and you calling him daddy he knew he wouldn't last long. It had his cock twitching with excitement just thinking about it.

With his hand around his cock, he rubs his tip around your entrance before sliding back in. He started at a slow pace but that didn't last long before he bucked his hips, speeding up. With each thrust he would get deeper, burying himself inside of you. You let out a moan from the way his cock stretched you out.

"You’re taking my cock so well, baby." He purred from above you, leaning down to press a kiss on your neck as his hips worked roughly. You whined and wrapped your arms around his shoulders to grab onto something, screwing your eyes shut. His cock dragged against your walls heavily and you gasped for air every time he hit that sweet spot of yours.

You started to moan louder and clench around him tighter, indicating that you were close to cumming. “You want to cum?" You nodded, eyes locked with his. “Yeah, baby? You want to cum all over my cock?” He asked with a strong thrust following, making you scream in pleasure. “Yes, I want to cum on your cock.” With that he pressed on your legs, spreading them wider as he repeatedly pounded into you, burying himself even deeper.

"Then cum for me.” He urges. Within seconds, not only did he make you cum, he timed it right so that you'd cum together. Your eyes rolling to the back of your head, moaning out as your body shook from the intensity. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He repeatedly chanted as he came deep inside of you. He slowed his thrusts until he completely stopped, he stayed inside in you for a moment while planting kisses on your lips and neck. Both of you breathed heavily as he looked down at your fucked out face.

“That was intense.” He sings, tiredly. Taehyung starts to push himself up but suddenly he stops, looking down at you. "What is it?" You had your hands wrapped around his arms to prevent him from moving. "Can we stay here for a moment?" His eyes slightly widen for the briefest of moments before smiling down at you. He hops next to you, laying down before wrapping his arms around you, allowing you to lay your head on his chest. "You know, I'm glad that my first time was with you."

He admitted, caressing your head while brushing strands of hair out of your face. "Yeah?" You asked in a low tone. "Of course, I trust you completely and I'm incredibly lucky to have you in my life." Silence took over the room for a moment before you lifted your head, looking up at your best friend. "You sure do have a way with words." A faint smile sat upon your pink lips as you watched him smirk and shrug his shoulders at your comment.

"So, how was I?" You rolled your eyes, not wanting to boost his ego any more than it was, but you couldn't lie about his skills even if you wanted to. "I mean... you know... you have." You stopped babbling and decided to ask a question that was just to avoid his question. "Are you should you're a virgin?" He chuckles as he combs his fingers through his hair. He knew what your question meant and didn't push any further. "Well, certainly not anymore."

Taglist: @thelilbutifulthings​

Thank you for reading! © 2019-2020 | BelovedKingx - All rights reserved Copying, Translations & Reposting is Prohibited

[heyheshi]

Episode

2k words

written and uploaded: August 13, 2020

🦋 - fluff

🌙 - angst...?

💎 - mention of smut...?

Please like and reblog! Also please don't post my writings anywhere!

This is supposed to be a blurb but oh well! And please please REBLOG! I want to get my works out there and likes isn't doing anything. And don't be a ghost reader that doesn't even like my post. By next month, I'll be blocking ghost and silent readers (doesn't reblog). Hope you understand!

Masterlist

_________

"Baby pay attention to meee!", Harry plopped down beside you on your shared bed, "what're you doing anyway?", putting his head on your shoulder as he squints his eyes.

You turned your head a bit and pecked his nose, "told ya I was gonna play Episode! Just bought these gems and tickets.", looking back to your phone, you made your choice - Kiss Max.

"That awfully looks like you.", H murmured, still not taking his head off your shoulders.

You've been playing this game since the lockdown started. Weird? Probably. For an adult like you who's dating the Harry Styles, yes. In your defense, it's a fun game. It does get boring on some days and the domestic stuff gets tiring so you play this game to relax a bit.

And no, Harry is not boring, he just happened to have a life and a hobby - unlike you and when he's working out or writing, you're stuck with whatever it is that can occupy you and so you found this game!

"I know! It's so cool cause I really feel like I'm in this game!", you continued to read the lines on your phone screen not paying attention to your boyfriend, "look!"

"Stop making out with that avatar!", Harry playfully said as he lays down to bed.

"I made a premium choice so...", you shrugs, "and isn't he just cute??!", you felt Harry put his hands on your waist and tried to drag you down beside him but you didn't budge.

H answered you in a monotone voice, "Yea sure.", putting both of his hand at the back of his head then closing his eyes.

"C'mon! Don't be rude! I designed him!"

Opening his left eye, "well sorry to break it to you but you can't design a real life boyfriend."

"Thank god I play this game then, ain't it?", you jokingly responded but it seems like your boyfriend is a grumpy baby today, only answering you with 'whatever'.

"Stop that!", hitting your boyfriend's tummy playfully, "I can style you anyways Mister Harry Styles, so I'm good.", you continued, emphasizing his surname.

"I think I'm gonna go grab some snack downstairs.", your boyfriend quickly get out of your bed and walked out of your room leaving you dumbfounded.

'Whatever', your mind subconsciously screamed so you just went back to your game, getting comfortable sitting with your back against the headboard. 

This is not the first time it happened, there are some days when Harry is a complete 180, but hey, everyone has a bad day and he's not an exemption.

Shaking your head as if to clear your head, you went back to your game. You realized that you just started a new chapter yet your boyfriend hasn't made his appearance back.

Making a mental note of checking on him after this chapter, you continued your game until he walked in your room again holding a bag of chips and a bottle of water.

Patting the space beside you, "Whatcha got in there, baby?", already knowing the answer, you asked anyway.

He only raised the food on his hands and made his way beside you. He did not say a word, only stared at the blank wall in front of him as he started eating his chips.

"Can you feed me some?", you tried to coo your boyfriend but he only passed you the bag, still not paying attention to you.

Feeling defeated and annoyed, you rolled your eyes and ignored your boyfriend as you finished the chapter you are playing.

"Kissy!", you made a grabby hands at Harry as you jutted your bottom lips only for you to get ignored, once again. "What's up with you?", you turned off your game and looked at him with pointed eyes.

"Oh so now you paying attention to me. Nice."

"Wha- are you, you know, horny...? Is that it...?", you tried to tickle him but still no nothing.

"Can you let me eat my chips at peace? Why won't you go back to that game of yours."

"What? No. I'm asking you a question Harry.", your patience is wearing off and your boyfriend is clearly the reason. Everything is so peachy.

Finally looking at you, he answered sarcastically, "I was asking for your affection earlier but you didn't pay attention."

"What the hell H!", rubbing your face until something clicked, "oh no! Oh no!", you started laughing while Harry looked at you like you're a lunatic of some sort.

"What now?"

"Oh no! No no no no no!", the pissed off face of your boyfriend did not help but to make you laugh harder to the point where your stomach starts hurting.

"Y/N stop that!", H whined, stuffing his face with chips.

"Wait!", trying to calm down, "I think I know what's up with you...", getting a pillow and hugging it and sitting up straighter, you continued, "are you... jealous?"

Harry mimicked you, sitting up straight, "I am not jealous.", eating more of the chips as he looks at you dead in the eyes.

"Oh baby, you are so jealous!", you continued to tease your boyfriend, poking his body multiple times.

"I'm not."

"Yes you are! I know you!"

H put his chips on his bedside table and cleaned his hand with a rubbing alcohol then facing you again, "no. I'm not even laughing!", looking at your eyes again, trying to make a point.

"If it was other people, maybe you would've fooled them, but not me! I know that look! And that eyes! Just admit it! You're jealous Harry!", the look on your boyfriends face made you stop laughing.

"Fine! What if I am?"

You take a hold of his hands, "baby, you can't seriously be jealous over a fictional character...", you tried to hold on your laughs for the sake of Harry.

"It's not that!", H removed his hands from yours and laid down.

"Then what is it? Tell me, please.", you removed the pillow on your thighs as you maneuver near his head and put it on your thighs instead.

You waited for an answer but received none. 

"Baby it's just an avatar...", running your right hand thru his hair then pecked his nose.

"I know. God, I know! I'm just being stupid, forget it.", he hides his face on your legs but it's too late, you already saw the redness on his face.

"Tell me please, baby."

Harry answered you with inaudible voice so you his head on a place where you can see his face and hear him properly, "come again H?"

"I said I wasn't jealous of that stupid avatar, I-", you looked at him accusingly and he sighed, "okay, fine! Was jealous of the avatar and the game. Just wanted your loving but you weren't paying attention to me and it made me realize that any guy can have your attention. I mean that avatar got you hooked already! And that's only a game... what if it's a real guy? Someone who'll be with you all the time and not someone who's on the other side of the world half of the time?"

"Oh love...", you pulled his body up as a sign for him to sit down and he did, "first of all I'm sorry for ignoring you, it won't happen again, I promise.", you kissed his left cheek twice and continued, "second, there will be no other guy! You understand me, H?", cupping his face with your hands so he'll look at you in the eyes.

"But you're probably bored that's why yo-"

"You, stop that. I would choose you every time, okay? Even with the premium choices in the game! I love you, and only you and there will be no other guy, okay?", you explained to him but his face still looks sad.

"I love you, you know that, right Harry?"

"I do and I'm so honored that you do and I love you too Y/N."

"See! There's nothing else to worry about, yeah?", you can see his smile trying to creep back, "now, kissy? Pleaseee!"

Finally, your boyfriend kissed you, pinning you close to his body and taking you both down to the bed. The kiss is soft, slow and sweet until you decided to break it.

Harry whined, "what now?"

"I can start a new story on Episode and make an avatar look like you! Or you can install it too and get a revenge? Or i don't know make it look like me?", you offered as you sit up again.

"How about you delete it and play with your real boyfriend? Hmmm? Sounds good?"

It sounds like a good deal, great deal. Spectacular actually, "but I just bought those gems and all..."

"Fine, but you're playing it with me. I can't have you kissing other guys even if it's fictional!"

You bopped his nose with your pointer finger, "okay deal! But only if you gave me some of your chips!", you reached across him to his bedside table for the bag only to find it empty.

"Uh oh..."

You straddled your boyfriend, "yes. Uh oh your self, Styles."

"Hmmm, are you trying to seduce me, future Missus Styles?", Harry raised his left eyebrow at you, also sitting up.

"What?"

"What what?", Harry chuckled.

"Yo- you just... you called me..."

"I did.", he said coolly.

You started playing with your fingers out of nervousness, "what do you me-"

"Marry me."

"What?", you alarmingly looked up to him only to see him getting something on his drawer on bedside table.

Pulling up a small square dark blue velvet box, Harry slowly opened it, "I know this isn't the most ideal proposal but I couldn't wait any longer. I had this ring for months now, waiting for the right time to give it to you. I was planning on doing one of those Pinterest worthy proposals like I saw on your board so I'm sorry to disappoint..."

You're crying at this point, "no, no no..."

Harry started closing the box at your answer.

"NO! Stop!", you hold Harry's hand to stop him from closing the box, "what I mean is, this is perfect, I- I don't need those Pinterest like proposal..."

"So are you saying...?"

"Yes! Yes yes! I'll marry you! Oh my God I'm deleting my Episode right now!", you started to remove your body from his but his big hands prevented you from doing so.

"We'll I'm glad that you're deleting it but...", Harry got the ring out of the box and took your left hand, slowly sliding it on your ring finger.

"It's beautiful. Gorgeous.", you looked into each other's eyes that's full of tears, smiling then meeting each other's lips.

You pulled away, out of breath. 

"So you're marrying me now.", Harry concluded.

"Did you just asked me to marry you cause you're jealous?", you poked fun at your now fiancé.

"I'm not answering that.", he took your phone from the bed and unlocked it, "are you sure you want to delete this?"

You nodded, "do the honors baby.", you smiled at him as he did so then kissing him again once the app was removed from your phone.

"I love you."

"I love you more H. I'm gonna pamper you tomorrow, promise. We'll do face masks and everything but for now, I think we need to... celebrate!", you winked at him while slowly pushing him down the bed, which is an easy task since you're still straddling him.

"We definitely do.", with that, Harry flipped the both of you so you're under him and hid yourself under the thick blankets on the bed.

You can guess what happened next. Let's just say that Harry kept you pretty well preoccupied for the next few hours until it was time for dinner.

And after the dinner, he made sure that both of your desserts are well served - if you know what I mean.

Who would have thought that Harry will propose to you at this day when he was just grumpy earlier? But oh, you're not complaining.

_____

[slightlymore]

Rumours | Part 1

Thank you love!! I hope you like this

Part 2 Rumours were that Johnny Suh was very good in bed. Those whispers travelled all around the university campus caressing the ears of every student, standing in pairs while covering their mouths, eyes wide and curved lips, drinking in the juiciest gossip of that year.  

“I’ve heard he can make you cum all night and you have to beg him to stop”. “Greg never manages to make me moan as he’s already shaking by himself”. “God, Fiona, dump his ass already, he’s not even that great”. “The guys said that his penis is the biggest one on campus” “I would sell my soul for him to touch me with one single finger” “I’ve heard that he is able to fuck all night” “His pussy eating technique is impeccable” And many more. You’ve heard all the rumours possible and sometimes you inserted yourself in those groups of people on purpose, just to feel up to date. Johnny here, Johnny there, all of this information, but no real witnesses. You were amused at the whole situation and wondered what the truth really was.  How come everyone swore about this information but no one actually slept with Johnny before? Where did all of this come from in the first place? The thing is, Johnny never addressed any rumours about his out of world cock or god-tier skills and no one explicitly asked him if it was true or not. He would only laugh as someone complimented him or gave him knowing looks. It was just like that. Canon. But you wanted to see for yourself. You had to know the truth. You were waiting for the right moment to go and ask. Deadass.  And thanks to the universe, the opportunity came when you least expected it. When the professor told you that for the new semester you’ll have to work in pairs everyone groaned and rolled their eyes. There was not a single soul happy to work in teams. Yet, weird energy lingered around the classroom as the professor was about to share your partners. Because Johnny was there as well. The silence was total as if everyone kept their breath in while on the edge of their seat. Was it because Johnny was mysterious and no one could talk to him? Was that the only chance to have him around? No. You could go and talk to him and he would raise his honey eyes at you and smile widely. It was because everyone was shy out of their own mind and they didn’t want to admit that they dreamed about fucking Johnny every night while humping their pillows. This situation was ideal because it was inevitable. “I’m not hanging out with him because I want to get into his pants” people would comment. “Pfft, I’m not that type of person. We’re just working on a project together” they would explain. Even though everyone knew. Everyone knew that Johnny Suh was the most desired man in the whole university. “Fuck, I hope he’s bi” you heard a low whisper behind you as you were all waiting for his name to pop up.  You kept in a chuckle. You couldn’t lie and say that you weren’t curious to talk to him as well. You wanted to know. The funny thing to you was the fact that people took for granted that they would get laid in the first place. You weren’t that conceited. You didn’t want his dick. You just wanted to know the truth. 

“Johnny and Y/N,” the professor said with a monotone voice, unaware of what he has just announced. You felt your eyes widen at your luck and didn’t even feel the multiple light slaps you received from people around you, as congratulations, or, who knows, maybe envy. Johnny looked around as to search for you. He didn’t know who you were, obviously. When he linked eyes with yours you raised your hand a little as if greeting him. Hey, yes, YN is me, haha. God, you’ve never felt so awkward in your whole life. He smiled at you though and imitated your gesture before turning his back again. 

“What’s your favourite prompt?” a voice asked while the chatter of people leaving the room intensified. You ignored it, sure it wasn’t directed to you, but then the voice said your name. “Huh?” you raised your head, the pencil case in mid-air as you were packing your bag. “For the project” Johnny explained after letting out an airy chuckle. “Did you look at the list already?” he asked. He was standing on the stairs, at the side of the room, hands tucked inside his pants’ pockets, polite smile on his lips, bag wrapping his chest. “Oh-” you babbled not expecting him to approach you that way and you grabbed the paper. You could swear that it wasn’t written in a language you were able to read. “Uhm-” you hummed again. “I have no idea. Do you have something in mind?” you asked instead. There was no reason for you to feel this nervous. You didn’t want to sleep with him. You just wanted to know the truth. Calm the fuck down, Y/N.  He went silent as if he indeed had something pop up in his mind then he looked down at you again. “Let’s have lunch together if you don’t have other plans” he suggested. 

Your hands were tightly wrapped around the backpack straps as you were walking towards the corner of the campus Johnny choose as his lunch spot. “I like to eat outside” he explained seeing your confused face when you walked out of the main building. “It’s fine. It’s a nice day” you reassured him. Even if your heart has never beaten that fast before. Having to eat with him in the hall as everyone was staring would have been terrible. Eating with him alone where no one could see you? A dream come true but terrible as well. You weren’t ready to sleep with Johnny Suh. Who were you kidding? What were you thinking? Pairing you both wasn’t a blessing. It was a curse. You were already regretting it. You would be such a disappointment. You could count the number of dicks you’ve sucked before on one hand and you didn’t even need all 5 fingers to do so. Deep in your thoughts you almost missed Johnny as he indicated with his chin the place, saying that you’ve arrived. It was a nice spot, high up on top of a little knoll that accommodated a big tree as well. You sat in the shade on the soft green grass and looked down at the campus. “Quite nice, isn’t it?” Johnny asked. His hair was being caressed gently by the breeze and the little rays of sun poking through the leafage made it shine brightly as if it was gold. Then he looked at you. There it is, you thought. Here it comes. That’s it. You gulped down and tried hard to stop yourself from ripping the grass around you. What were you about to do before? What were your intentions with Johnny? Talk? You had no idea and you didn’t care as his scent inebriated you.  He leaned in slowly. You let your eyelids close a little as he was approaching. Your pulse was throbbing inside your ears and your palms got suddenly sweaty. “So, I was thinking, number 6? Or we can read all of them one by one and decide” he spoke after a while as he finally reached his bag near you. He unzipped it and took out a beautiful bento box that he put on his knees. You gasped for air, trying hard to not get noticed and silently cursed at yourself. Okay, rewind. You really thought that Johnny Suh would kiss you after knowing you for 5 minutes?  Of course, he wouldn't ask you to suck his dick. On campus! In the middle of the day! God, you were so embarrassed. You tried hard to escape all the prejudices around him and there you were, panties wet just like every other person.  Talking! Just talking. That was your mission. Focus.  “Does it bother you?” you asked on a whim after a while. Having decided that number 6 was indeed the best choice, you finally started to eat. He let you taste his food and you excused yourself for not offering your sandwich as well but it was quite terrible and he wouldn’t want to experience that. “What?” he asked even if the little line around his mouth told you that he knew what you were talking about. “The rumours” you answered with a little voice. You were so eager to know the truth about it. Like it was a mystery, not the life of a real person. But now, in front of him, you realized how stupid your intent was and that it wasn’t your business. He didn’t answer for a while and just put the lid back on his bento box. Then he smiled. “Believe it or not, you’re the first person to ask me that”. “Sorry, I know I shouldn’t ask since we barely know each other-” you started to excuse yourself, afraid to come off as rude. You really wanted to abort the mission and run away.  “No, it’s fine” he assured you. “I actually appreciate it a lot” he added. You swallowed the last piece of sandwich you had and just stupidly looked at him. “It does bother me a little” he answered your question. “Because it makes me just that” he added. You nodded seriously. “A sex god”. He went silent for a split second then laughed as if not expecting such wording.   “Yes, I guess you can say it that way” he spoke again when he was able to breathe again. You smiled timidly as well, noticing his slightly red cheeks. Okay, so maybe he wouldn’t hate you if you asked. Maybe it was fine. Maybe you could finally get the answer to that big mystery.  “So…” you started, feeling more confident already. “If it’s true or not?” he surpassed you. You hummed, unable to stop your heart from racing. So close. You were about to know.  A little leaf danced on top of your head, swirling until reaching your face and hitting your nose. You closed your eyes and chuckled surprised.  The leaf then fell on your lap as you touched your face. Johnny’s hand appeared in your peripheral vision. His fingers brushed against your thigh with the intent to retrieve the leaf, but for some reason, they kept on casually lingering there. You turned your head and looked at him but the sun was right behind his head and you couldn’t quite see his expression when he spoke again. “I think you need to discover the answer to that by yourself” he whispered. You continued to stare at him as if under a spell and you thought of nothing besides the way his body got up and slowly descended the hill. When he turned his head to you while waving, you could swear that he winked at you.

[overheardatthecontinental]

Talk Now Complete

Over the last three months, I have dedicated a huge chunk of my limited free time to writing this piece. What started out as a possible kinktober one-shot was side-tabled as I realized it had potential to be an actual story. Now, twenty chapters and 103,723 words later I am thrilled to say that this installment is complete.

I’ve already begun a second installment of this series which will pick up at the start of John’s retirement. I’m hoping to have the first chapter out within the week.

Thank you so much to everybody who liked, commented, and supported me during this story and a huge thank you to @meetmeinthematinee​ for helping me edit and review this beast.

AO3 Talk Link

Chapter 20 Link

 A new start.

 That was what she had deemed it. For both of them.

 John went around the city. Closing accounts. Transferring mountains of coins into actual money. Saying silent goodbyes to the places that had defined him for a lifetime. And stashing markers, money, and weapons. Just in case.

 He hopes he will never have to use them.

 And, while he does that, Helen packs up her house.

 The decision to move in together came approximately two days after returning from Vermont. They’d wasted enough time, they both decided.      “And,    ” Helen had teased,      “God forbid we decide to spend a night apart, I already know you’ll sneak in to watch me sleep.    ”

 Minx.

     “I’m more than happy to sell my place.”    He had told her.

     “You’ve given up your entire life for me.    ” She had argued, gently running her hand through his hair.      “I’ll give up the house. Besides, if you think I’m giving up your hot tub, you’re fucking dreaming.”  

 And that had been that.

 They’d driven to her house, stopping to pick up boxes and tape and bubble wrap, and started packing up.

         She made some calls around the city, looking for charities to donate some of her furniture to. John’s bed, she had discovered, was far more comfortable than hers. And they didn’t need multiple dining room tables or sets of cookware or dishes.

 John borrowed a truck from Aurelio and, with his and Marcus’ help, started dropping things off across the city.

 In the remaining days of her “recovery”/vacation, they manage to empty most of her little house. And while      their     house (he will never get used to the sheer joy that fills him at that descriptor) is now a mess of boxes and suitcases, it has never felt more like home.

 He laughs at the three boxes of shoes Helen has to unpack, only to have to dodge a high heel used as a projectile.

 He revels in the way she unpacks her sweaters and dresses to hang across from his clothes.

 He also takes a great deal of pleasure when he finds the small box, once hidden away in the back of her closet, containing a number of delightful little toys. He gets another shoe thrown at him as he practically begs for details.

 Helen laughs and offers a private demonstration… once her books are shelved in the library. John scrambles to fulfill her every wish.

 One of the benefits of Helen having her own practice was that she could really do whatever the hell she wanted. She had reached out to all her clients first thing on Monday to apologize for her absence, reporting that she had been the victim in a hit-and-run, leaving her in a coma for the better part of the week. While she was doing much better, she told them, she still needed another week for recovery.

 Of course, the Underworld had bought out half the cops in the city. A quick call from John Wick and shit was being filed      exactly     how he demanded it to be. Doctor’s notes were forged, along with hospital ‘records.’ That part was easy.

 What had been much more complicated, John discovered, was dealing with the missing person’s out on Helen and it throws his world off kilter, yet again.

 Her family had been terrified. While Helen wasn’t exactly in constant contact with them, the police had reached out after a concerned associate of Helen’s reported her missing. Unable to contact her, her parents and sister had been in a frenzy.

 Using the phone that John had paid for, insisting that he buy her a new one since it was his enemy who had destroyed hers, she reluctantly calls her mother.

     “Mom, I am begging you, stay home. I’m fine.”  

     “We’ve been so worried!” John hears her mother sobbing on the other side of the line, “A hit-and-run, oh, sweetheart!”  

 And if      that’s    her mother’s reaction from a hit-and-run, John doesn’t want to know what her mother would do if she ever found out the truth.

 Kidnapped, held hostage, marked for death…

 The poor woman might have a heart attack.

     “You’re still recovering! You need someone to take care of you!”  

     “I have someone taking care of me.”    Helen had said, and at that moment, John had indeed been massaging her shoulders. His lips had twitched in response.

 He was the one taking care of her.

 He would be the one taking care of her forever.

 It made him giddy to think about.

     “Who?”  

They hadn’t discussed labels. It all seemed sort of unnecessary after all they had been through. But when Helen makes the executive decision and says, “my boyfriend” John wonders if he’s the one having a heart attack with the way his own is beating so hard it feels like it might burst at any moment.

 Boyfriend.

 He’d never been a boyfriend before. He’d never had any interest in being a boyfriend before. A term he’d never imagined being applied to him but now that it was…

 He was a boyfriend.

 He was      Helen’s    boyfriend.

 He’s filled with pride and affection and so much love he doesn’t know what to do. She leans into him, reaching up to where his hands have stopped massaging as he attempts to process her words. And because she’s Helen and she knows him better than he knows himself, she squeezes his hand.

 Grounding him.

 But, of course, her confession to her mother opens another avenue of questions.      What boyfriend? How long have you been seeing each other? Why haven’t you mentioned him before?  

 To which Helen answers respectively       his name is John. We met seven months ago. And because who I date and when I decide to share that information is my choice    .

 It’s another half an hour of questioning before Helen manages to talk her way off of the phone after wrangling a promise that her mother would      not     fly to New York. In return, Helen was to send her daily text updates on her health.

 Her sister was another matter. Living only an hour away in Trenton, her sister insisted on driving up. It ended up working well, however. While he had testified without a single problem, John hadn’t had the time to meet with Tarasov.

 So Wednesday, Helen agreed to meet her sister for lunch while John had gone to meet with a mob boss.

 John arrives at Tarasov’s compound and, once again, finds himself subject to stares.

 They had always been there. The Baba Yaga was the focal of fascination for a great many, but most had always tried to hide the attention they paid to the man, the monster. But since Helen’s existence had been made known, he’s found himself front and center everywhere he goes.

 And it had only become worse after being questioned by the High Table on the DeLuca’s and their involvement. While John had repeatedly stated he would not answer questions regarding his relationship with Helen, it didn’t stop the questions from coming.

 During the trial and afterwards, members of the High Table had tried to push. John had given them nothing.

 John is silent as he walks up to Viggo’s office.

 The last tie to sever.

 While Abram was scared enough of John Wick to let him go without a fight, John was certain that Viggo’s ambition would rise to the occasion.

 After all, hadn’t John Wick done the impossible? He had brought down Syndicate and saved the girl with every odd stacked against him.

 And now Viggo wanted a piece of that.

 The impossible.

 And John will do it. Of course, he will do anything if it means being released.

 Retirement is so close he can taste it as he steps into the familiar office, closing the door behind him.

 Viggo Tarasov sits at his desk, setting his paper aside as John takes a seat in front of him.

 “John.” Viggo greets, “I was surprised to hear from you.”

 John inclines his head. Viggo was full of shit.

 Lorenzo had shared with his children that he had released John Wick of his contract following the trial. The rest of the Underworld knew by sundown. John was certain that Viggo was well aware of John’s intentions in this meeting.

 “I’m retiring.” John says, truly not in the mood for games.

 Viggo nods in response to the news, clearly expecting John’s announcement. “Very few people retire from our world.”

 “Because most are dead long before they reach my age.”

 “I’m older than you.”

 “You have a desk job.” John points out, aware that his status is the only reason he can get away with saying such things to Viggo Tarasov.

 Viggo waves a hand vaguely, “You’ve never had interest in a desk job.”

 “Nor do I now. However, I still intend to live a while longer. In peace.”

 “Peace.” Viggo says, testing the word on his tongue, “That must be a foreign concept to a man like you.”

 A year ago, John would have agreed with him.

 Hell, eight months ago, John would have agreed with him.

 And while his experiences were still limited, he already had a glimpse of peace. In the weekly visits he had paid to Helen’s office. In the quiet of the night as he meditated to each and every intake and exhale of breath.

 Now, John knew peace in the moments before his alarm went off and he held Helen close to him. He knew peace in the way she wrapped herself around him as he made her coffee. He knew peace in the way her head rested on his shoulder or in the soft flips of pages as Helen read by his side. He knew peace in the moments where she held him.

 “I’m aware you hold my contract,” John says, ignoring Viggo’s comment. “I am more than willing to buy it out.”

 A longshot, John knew.

 Viggo tilts his head to the side, like he’s considering it. Yet John knows, from that single action, that Viggo already has something in mind. Something he wants done that only John Wick can manage. John just fucking wishes he’d get to the point instead of treating this like a game.

 “At this time, your contract is not for sale.” Viggo says, “However, there is a task I have in mind. A bit… difficult, to say the least. But, should you complete this for me, I would be more than willing to release you from your contract.”

 There it is.

 “What do you have in mind?”

 “It’s a bit of an impossible task…”

 …

 When John arrives home and he’s relieved to find Helen’s car parked out front. He makes a mental note to install a garage opener in her car as soon as possible.

 John quickly goes inside, not wasting any time. The desire to set eyes on her is overwhelming and he wonders how he managed to      only     see her at night for months on end.

 He’s not certain he can ever again go longer than hours without seeing her, touching her.

 Helen has become an addiction.

 When he doesn’t find her in the living room or the kitchen, he goes upstairs. Sure enough, she is in the library, kneeling in front of a bookcase as her fingers trace over the spines.

 “How was lunch?” He asks and Helen’s lips twitch.

 With anyone else, he might have scared them. Even in his own home, he tends to walk lightly so as not to be noticed. But she’s always had that sixth sense about him. It brings him an absurd amount of happiness to know that she understands and sees him.

 “It was fine.” She reaches a hand up. John takes it and helps tug her back to her feet. “Got a bit of the third degree but I suppose I can’t blame her for being curious, all things considered.”

 On tiptoes, she gives him a quick kiss. “How was Tarasov?”

 “As expected,” John says.

 Helen hums as she looks him over, “Indirect answer.”

 “It could be worse.” John tries again.

 “Now you’re being evasive.”

 She had warned him life would be like this. She’s spent the better part of her life learning to read people and despite being an enigma to most of the world, John Wick is an open book to Helen.

 He can’t bring himself to be upset when they both knew this was exactly how it was going to be.

 “He wants me to complete a rather difficult task.”

 “How dangerous is this going to be?” She asks, folding her arms over her stomach.

 She did that when she was worried, John had noticed. He hates that it’s him causing her such stress but comforts himself with the fact that this will be the last time.

 “Fairly.” Helen’s face is that unique mix of impassive and empathetic that he was used to seeing in her office. He steps forward, catching her chin in his hand and drawing up her face. “I’ll be fine.” He promises.

 She gives him a small smile and nods. She’s scared, he knows. And he is too. He’s never had so much to lose.

 “What does he want?”

 He wants to shake his head and tell her not to worry about it. But he knows exactly how that conversation will go if he tries.

 “There are a few rival Russian gangs that Viggo wants control of.”

 “A few?” Her brows shoot up.

 Maybe he should have phrased that better.

 While he’s unsurprised by Viggo’s demands given the opportunity to manipulate the Baba Yaga, Helen worries. She used to joke that it was her job to worry—that he paid her good money for such. And he would smile and promise to see her next week.

 But things had changed so much since DeLuca.

 She understood a little bit more just what John was capable of. In the moments when she had been in DeLuca’s grasp,      John     had learned a bit more of what he was capable of.

 But in understanding that, she grew more worried. When it came to her, they both knew that he was capable of      anything    .

 And that made him reckless, to a degree.

     “It goes both ways, John.”     She told him when he had first explained what it would take to actually retire, what he might need to do to be released by the Tarasov’s.      “You worry about me constantly, but I worry about you too. Do you really think I would be okay if something happened to you?”  

     “You could move on.”    He had replied,      “I know you would hurt, but you could go on living your life.”  

     “For one of the smartest people I know, you’re an idiot, John. I would be    devastated       if something happened to you, if I lost you.”  

     “It’s different.”  

     “Like hell it is. Do you know how many nights I used to lie awake until you would get to my house because I was so paranoid, so scared that something would happen to you?”    Helen had shaken her head,      “Or that I used to spend my Friday’s in an anxious blur, terrified that one day you just weren’t going to show up. That you’d just… be gone.”  

     “It’s different.    ” John had maintained, “      Hels, you’re—you’re all I have.”  

 And that was just a fact. Without him, Helen would have her family, her friends, her work.

 But without her… what would he be?

 “It will be fine.” He promises, reaching out to tuck a lock of hair back from where it had fallen in her face. It assures him that she is real and safe when his thoughts start to overwhelm him, “This is more of a point-and-shoot kind of gig. Just with a lot of moving targets.”

 An impossible number of moving targets. He forgoes saying as much, still trying to formulate a plan in his mind on how he’s going to pull this off.

 “Is there a timeline?”

 Technically, no. Viggo hadn’t given him any sort of indication of when he wanted it completed, but John was strongly in favor of doing it as quickly as possible. The sooner the task was completed, the sooner he was free.

  And, oh, what a thought that was.

 “Friday.” He answers aloud. Two days away. It would give him the time to prepare, because once he started, he could not stop until he was done.

 She nods, leaning her head against his hand.

 He hates that he is responsible for making her worry. John pulls her into a hug, wrapping her in his arms securely.

 “Come on,” he kisses the top of her head, “Let’s go pack some more of your books to bring over.”

 She brightens visibly at that and they make another trip to her house.

 While Helen desperately needs the distraction, John realizes it’s just as beneficial for him. It reassures him, just as her touch does, that she’s real. That this is actually happening and not just some coma dream, which he felt might be more realistic.

 They spend Thursday much the same way. While he’s tried to tempt Helen to take another week of vacation, she only shakes her head and says,      “It wouldn’t be fair to my clients    .”

 Marcus comes over to help.

 “Helen, if he’s blackmailing you into moving in with him, I can get you help. Blink once.”

 The older assassin dodges multiple projectiles from multiple directions, laughing all the while.

 “I’m serious! You can do better!”

 It’s a joke, and John      knows     that, but he still appreciates the extra affection she shows him. Like she knows that John still lays awake at night, wondering if he was good enough for her. But she slips under his arm, resting against his chest while she shoots back, “Forgive me for not taking advice from a man who’s still in a committed relationship with his daddy issues.”

 He makes a sound of pain even as he grins, “Low blow, Kingston.”

 “Come at my man, I’ll come for your life.”

     My man     echoes around in John’s head for hours after that and Marcus’ teasing was soon forgotten.

 After that declaration, his hands, which were impossibly steady when aiming a gun or striking a blow, were shaky. He had to talk himself through wrapping up her décor so as not to break it.

 They loaded up the borrowed truck, driven by Marcus, as well as stuffing her SUV full.

 “Hope you don’t change your mind about him, because I am      not     doing this again.” Marcus complains after he and John manage to get her loveseat into the back of the pickup.

 “I’m not concerned.” She says and the conviction in her words and her tone leaves John all the more in love with her.

     Good    , he thinks. He is no longer strong enough to let her go.

 John watches with fascination and awe as he hears a dog bark and watches as her eyes light up. An older man approaches with a golden retriever pulling on its leash trying to reach Helen. He recognizes the dog from the neighborhood, having seen it be taken outside late at night from a few houses over.

 The dog breaks free of the owner, tearing the leash from his hand, bolting towards Helen.

 Grinning, Helen drops down low and braces for the contact. “Hey, Buddy.” She says, scratching the pup behind the ears as the dog pants excitedly.

 “Sorry, Helen!”

 “No worries,” She calls back to the owner, “You know I’m always down for a Buddy-snuggle.”

 Marcus snorts and mutters to John, “How easily you can be replaced.”

 John rolls his eyes, smiling all the while as she coos to the dog lovingly. He thinks back to the first time she met, showing him pictures of her favorite dogs. He had been almost surprised that she didn’t have one of her own.

 With a final pet to the stop of Buddy’s head, she sends him back over to the owner with a wave, before climbing back to her feet.

 A part of him was reluctant to share her but he could imagine, maybe somewhere down the line, getting a dog with Helen. He thinks she would like that, the potential images flipping through his head and filling him with an unexpected warmth.

 “Should have guessed you were a dog person,” Marcus says.

 “Always have been.” She replies, slipping back under John’s arms. Even with moving furniture and boxes, it’s still cold outside. He tucks his chin to her head and wraps his arms around her.

 “Makes sense given your choice in partner.”

 She throws Marcus a look, but he holds up his hands defensively.

 “Not like that! No need to bring my daddy issues into this. Just meant he’s got some of those qualities. Unwavering loyalty, literally the definition of a dog with a bone when it comes to you. Protective, but a little bit stupid.”

 “Thanks, Marcus.” John says, rolling his eyes yet again.

 “I prefer dogs to people, anyway.” Helen says, patting his arm. “Far less complicated. They don’t make muddles out of things the way we do. And they’re far less self-interested.”

 “All this, coming from the only one of us who works with humans for a living.”

 She grins at that, “It’s why I can say, without a doubt, that dogs are better than people.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be hyper-empathic to the human experience?”

 “I can be. And there is a lot about said human experience that I admire,” Helen says, “We’re an incredibly resilient species. The mind can handle just about anything, which is remarkable when you think about it. And we’ve worked to build societies based on mutual respect and social currency. There’s drama and endless uphill battles, struggles and triumphs, and a capacity for healing unseen in any other creatures,” She shrugs, “But there’s something to be said for just      living    . Simply, at that.”

 He feels his arms tightening around her as he presses a kiss to her head.

 He loves her more than he’ll ever be able to express. Helen leans to the side so her face is just below his and kisses him once more.

 “I’m going to finish with my room.” She tells him and slips out of his arms. He watches as she walks back into the house.

 She’s giving it up for him. Her home, her space.

 It’s still so surreal.

 “She’s incredible.” Marcus says softly.

 “I don’t deserve her.”

 “No, you don’t.” His friend smiles, “Luckily, she loves you anyway.”

 It was strange to think that they had only declared their love for each other a week ago. A single week of verbally and physically expressing their love for one another.

 It simultaneously felt like an eternity and no time at all.

 John heads back into the house, following her path to her bedroom. Her clothes and jewelry had already been packed but her furniture, along with a handful of other things, was left behind. She had washed her sheets earlier and was packing them in a box marked      donations    .

 He takes one end of the sheet and helps her start to fold the next.

 The question pours from him before he can even think about it.

 “Would you like a dog?” John asks, “You know, someday?”

 She steps forward, collecting the sheet, an eyebrow raised in surprise. “Would      you    want a dog?”

 John shrugs, truly uncaring. “I like dogs.”

 “But there’s a difference between liking dogs and wanting a dog. Would you actually want to have a pet? In your perfectly kept, immaculate house?”

 He feels like he shouldn’t say      I want whatever you want     because he doesn’t want to burden her with all the decisions, but truthfully, the only thing in life he wants is to make her happy. The little details don’t matter to him so much as giving her the opportunity to smile.

 “I wouldn’t mind either way,” he says as she folds it one last time and places it in the box with the others, “And the house is immaculate because I barely spend time there.”

 She considers it for a moment, and he feels his heart flutter with the twitch of her lips. “Yeah. Someday. Maybe we adopt an older dog. I’ve always had a soft spot for the rejects.”

 “Makes sense.” John teases and she rolls her eyes.

 “I swear, John Wick, if you make another orphan joke…”

 He grins, stepping into her space. He catches her face in his hands and draws her in for a kiss.

 Her soft lips yield to him and he will never understand what he has done to deserve such grace. But he swears to himself that he will never take for granted her presence or her touch or her love.

 This is happiness. It’s also only the beginning.

 …

 Friday comes, as it must.

 John had wondered if he would feel nervous or anxious for his final mission, his last task. Instead, he wakes up feeling eerily calm.

 He’s never been so grateful for something to end. But then, he’s never had a beginning to look forward to.

 Helen, he finds, is far more nervous than he is.

 “Should you be resting?” She asks as he takes down some of his own books so he can move the shelves around. He wouldn’t be leaving until sunset, much preferring to use the cover of darkness to hide his presence.

 “I’ll be fine.” He assures her. He’s gone on countless missions without sleeping or after only getting a few hours here and there to keep him going. Truthfully, having slept a full eight hours the night before is more than he usually gets.

 But he knows it’s not enough to stop her from worrying so John distracts her. First with planning out their new library. When that didn’t hold her attention enough, he switched to distracting her with his body.

 A sacrifice he was more than willing to make.

 He fucked her in the library before carrying her to the bedroom to take her again. And Helen was insatiable, much to his delight. But fucking her to the point of exhaustion took far more out of him than he anticipated.

 By the time she’s finally too tired to carry on, John finds himself closing his eyes and resting his head in the crook of her neck.

 Her fingers trace the back of his neck as she whispers, “Gotcha.”

 She really is brilliant, he thinks, as John finds himself manipulated into napping.

 He wakes up feeling far more rested and newly motivated to go out and come back home. To never be forced to leave her side again, so long as they both lived.

 It’s all so close.

 Helen runs her hand over his hair.

 “Thank you for making me sleep.” He teases softly.

 “I don’t know what you mean.”

 “Liar.”

 Helen grins at that, leaning forward to kiss him.

     This    , he thinks, this is what waits for him on the other side of the night.

 It motivates him anew.

 John showers and dresses. His traditional three-piece, he hopes to never wear again. For her sake, he leaves the tie on the bureau.

 John slips a small gun into his ankle holster, a knife into his sock. He chooses his weapons carefully as he prepares for the night ahead of him.

 One last time.

 Leaving is so very different than it had always been. Rather than heading straight from his room to his car, he detours to find his partner. To see her, to kiss her before he goes.

 He can hear conversation flowing from the kitchen as he reaches the bottom of the stairs and blinks in surprise.

 Marcus.

 He slips into the kitchen and watches as Helen rummages around in the fridge before pulling out and handing Marcus a beer.

 Marcus, he thinks, is probably the person he would miss the most. One of his oldest friends. One of the first people he ever learned to trust.

 Someone he would soon have to say goodbye to, along with everyone else.

 A large brown paper bag sits in front of him on the kitchen counter.

 “Marcus.” John greets as he steps into the kitchen.

 “John.” Marcus uses the edge of the counter to pry the bottle cap off. “Everything in place?”

 John nods. He had weapons stored around the city and Santino would be assisting. John had been reluctant to make a deal with the mafioso when he was so close to retirement but there were too many moving parts for what Tarasov had asked for John to accomplish it alone.

 Santino swore, so long as John stayed out of the Underworld, he would not use the marker John had promised him. But, should he ever step foot back, he was fair game.

 He almost felt bad for Santino. He would never go back to that life. Not while he had Helen.

 “Didn’t know you were coming over.” John comments, watching as Helen opens a bottle of wine for herself.

 “Somebody’s got to keep your girl from losing her mind.”

 “It’s an important job.” Helen jokes, smiling up at John. “I was afraid I was going to go stir-crazy waiting here at home.”

 He can understand that. He had nearly gone insane in hours after she had been kidnapped.

 John holds open an arm for her, and she wraps around him, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

 “What are you two going to do?” He asks.

 “Marcus brought Thai food,” she gestures to the paper bag, “And we’re going to get drunk then watch and score kung-fu movies bloodlust, technique, and general sexiness.”

 John smiles down at Helen, wondering how he ever managed to make it day to day without her. “Sounds like fun.”

 “We’re starting with Enter the Dragon. Which I’m going to go get set up.” Helen stands on tiptoes and gives John a quick kiss, before grabbing her wine glass and heading to the living room.

 “Last mission.” Marcus says.

 John nods again, “It is.”

 “How do you feel?”

 “You’ve been spending too much time with Helen.” John jokes, thinking of all the times his girlfriend had asked him that very same question, “But I feel ready.”

 “Nervous?”

 “Not even a little.”

 “Good.” Marcus glances to where she had exited, “I worried in the beginning. That you weren’t thinking clearly; that she didn’t have what it takes to be involved with an assassin. I’m glad I was wrong on both counts.”

 John looks down because he really doesn’t know how to have this conversation. He’d said his goodbyes to Sofia, to Winston, to Charon. To the few members of the Underworld that mattered to him. But this is one he just doesn’t know how to say.

 Marcus has had his back for two decades. He’d been his friend and confidant. The only person on the planet John had felt he could trust Helen to when his life fell apart. The man who, even now, was devoting his time to helping Helen.

 “We know the rules,” Marcus says quietly, “That after tonight… we go our separate ways…”

 “I wish it didn’t have to be like that.” John says just as softly.

 He’s told Helen, explained it to her.

 She had been angry, at first. That John was being forced to give up his friends along with everything else. That the Underworld was so unwavering and rigid with their rules and expectations. Then, she had been sad. Then guilty.

 She promised she would love him whether he left the Underworld or not and he believed her. But the life he wanted… it was for both of them. And it didn’t involve looking over their shoulders every moment of every day. He wanted to take her to dinner and not worry that the man two tables over was packing. To go to the farmer’s market without wondering if someone was going to attack.

 He told her again and again that this was      his    decision. That he was the one deciding to part ways in order to have the life that      he     wanted.

 And he has no regrets.

 There was nothing he wouldn’t sacrifice for that life.

 “Me too. But… you’re making the right choice, John.” Marcus assures him. “And I know that we won’t be able to go get a beer or hang out but write to me now and then. Send me the announcement if you ever convince that beautiful woman to marry you.”

 John nods, “I will.”

 “Good.”

 And maybe it’s because it’s goodbye, or maybe Helen has made him completely soft, but John walks across the room and hugs his friend.

 “Thank you. For everything.”

 Marcus nods, “Just… live well. Take care of each other.”

 “We will.”

 They part and John leaves Marcus to sort through the takeout he had brought with him. John follows Helen into the living room. She is using the remote to type in a password, standing barefoot in the middle of the sunken section.

 John takes the two steps down. Helen glances up as he does. He watches her swallow.

 “Time to go?” She asks softly and he nods.

 She tosses the remote to the side and throws her arms around him. Her grip is impossibly tight, but he doesn’t mind. He’s never felt more loved than when her arms are around him.

 “You’ll be careful out there?” her voice breaks a bit as she asks the same question, she asked every single week before he left the safety of her office. Right before John went out to venture into the Underworld.

 “I promise.” He kisses the top of her head.

 She breathes a soft sigh of relief. Helen leans back, looking up at him even if she doesn’t release her arms. “Because if you’re not back by morning, I’m coming after you.”

 “I’ll be back.”

 Partially because there was no way in Hell he was ever letting her become involved with the Underworld again but mostly because she was his home. The only one he had ever known.

 John catches her jaw in his hand and angles her face upward and teases, “It will be over soon. This time next week, you’ll be so annoyed with me, you’ll be wishing you could send me back.”

 “Never.” She says even as she smiles. “I love you.”

 “I love you too.” He kisses her lips, giving himself a moment to be completely consumed by her. To memorize, once more, her smell and touch and taste. He’ll take her with him everywhere he goes and hold on to the memory to guide him back home.

 With a final, soft kiss on lips he releases her. To leave her side one last time. He walks back up the steps to the leveled floor. He reaches out for the handle to the garage door.

 “John?” She says and he glances back, “Come home to me.”

 His lips twitch as he opens the door, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 With the morning comes their promise of forever.

[detectivejay-chuckles-halstead]

30 Days // Jay Halstead x Reader // Pt 3:6

Description: 30 Drabbles of Jay and Reader’s life together

Words: 2385

Warnings: Canonical Violence, FLUFF

Pairing: Jay x Reader

A/N: The third installment. I am simultaneously working on this, a new upcoming long fic, and requests. Not to mention I get to go back to work for the first time in 6 weeks (YAY!) So my posting may be out of wack, or only maybe once or twice a week. Hope you all enjoy!

Doing Something Together

“Why do you always insist that you can beat me?” Jay asked as the two of you walked into the firing range. Yes, your boyfriend had been an expert marksman as a Ranger, worked as Intelligence’s sniper when needed. That didn’t mean that one of these days you wouldn’t beat him when it came to target practice. 

“Because one day, someday, it’s going to happen. And today is going to be that day,” you answered with a smile, Jay just shaking his head with a laugh. It was like this every time the two of you went to renew your certification for work. 

It didn’t take long to sign in, being sent to your respective areas. You both put on the protective eye-wear and earmuffs. As the targets were sent back, you took out your gun and took a wide stance. One clip was all that you were firing that day. 

“You may begin,” the evaluator stated, the two of you firing your guns multiple times until no bullets were left. You holstered at that point, taking the earmuffs off as you looked at Jay with a smile on your face. This had to be it, right? This was going to be your day! The targets were brought up for evaluation

Most of your hits were along the 8 and 9 marks just to the left of the silhouette. When you looked at Jay’s target, at first you thought it was a joke. There was no way he only hit the target once dead center. Until you took a look at it again, realizing he’d hit the same spot multiple times. 

“Good job. We will see you guys back next year,” the evaluator then told you, writing down his comments before walking away. 

“One day, babe,” he assured you as you pouted. 

“Maybe next time, I just need to distract you,” you suggested, walking away from him with a sway to your hips. 

In Formal Wear

Voight had more or less ordered the team to go to this fundraiser that the CPD was hosting. Not that you minded, but you knew Jay hated these events. He said he felt paraded around. Which definitely wasn’t a lie, though none of you had a choice. If Voight said to jump, the answer would be ‘how high, sir?’

“Stop fussing with your tie,” you scolded for the fifth time since the two of you had arrived, swatting his hands away to fix the fabric. He huffed, letting you do your thing as he looked around the room. “We’ll be here an hour, two tops.”

“I will complain the entire time,” he assured you with a smirk, getting a chuckle from you. “You look gorgeous by the way.”

He’d been left speechless when you’d walked out of the bedroom in the black, low cut, tulle gown. Not like you saved it for special occasions or anything. You realized that Jay had never seen you dressed up like that before. And you’d never seen him in such a crisp, form-fitting suit before. 

“If you behave, maybe I’ll even let you take it off me,” you whispered as you leaned in, hands pressed to his chest. The glimmer of hope in his eyes was enough for there to be an understanding. All he had to do was put up with the event. That was all. 

A waiter walked around, Jay grabbing two champagne glasses off the tray like a pro. You couldn’t help but lean into him slightly as the two of you walked around the room, mingling with all the important names. As much as you loved the dress, you hated the heels. 

“Don’t you two look like a handsome couple,” Voight mentioned as you neared the huddled group of Intelligence officers. You couldn’t help the blush forming across your cheeks.

“Thank you, Serge,” Jay said softly as Kim and Vanessa pulled you into their conversation. Your eyes would meet Jay’s occasionally, wanting to just get lost in him until one of the other women would pull you back. Maybe you needed to go to these events more often. 

Dancing

“Why does this song sound so familiar?” you asked Jay as the two of you were cooking dinner, the tune on the radio bringing back clouded memories that you couldn’t quite place. 

“Really?” he countered, looking a bit hurt. Though you weren’t sure why. “Don’t you remember this was the song that was playing at Molly’s the first time we kissed.”

“How could I forget that?” You weren’t sure how to answer your own question, feeling crappy about not remembering. But you were a bit surprised that Jay remembered. There was no doubt that you would have remembered if you hadn’t been as drunk as you were that night. 

“Dance with me?” he asked, holding his hand out for you. There wasn’t even a second of hesitation as you took his hand, letting him pull you close to him before the two of you began gently swaying in the kitchen. He looked at you with complete love and adoration -- a look nobody else had ever given you before. 

It felt right, being with Jay. This moment was the moment you realized that he was the one for you. He was the one that you’d never let go. The one that you'd move Heaven and Hell for. You and Jay were endgame. You’d never been more sure about anything in your life. 

In Battle Side-by-Side

The case you’d all been working on for the better part of a week --the one that had already made most of the team shed sweat, blood, and tears -- had led you all to an abandoned factory on the south-side of Chicago. Everybody’s cars were huddled in a parking lot a block away, out of sight of the building to keep from blowing the whole operation. The team stood together as Voight spoke. 

“We bring this guy in dead or alive. Got it?” Everybody agreed with a ‘yes Serge.’ “Halstead, you and Y/L/N take the north entrance. Rojas and Atwater take the south entrance. Ruzek, you’re going to cover the north entrance in your vehicle. Burgess, you and me with the south. Nobody goes in or out once we start this except us.”

Jay helped you secure your vest over your shirt before grabbing his gun out of the trunk. His pistol remained holstered on his thigh. As much as you loved your job, it was moments like these that made you hate it. More like, you hated working in the same unit as your boyfriend. If things went south...you didn’t let yourself think of it, Jay pulling you out of your thoughts with a smile, handing you your own gun.

“I love you,” he told you softly, squeezing your free hand. You sighed, looking at him as everybody got ready.

“I love you too.” 

It was a go. You and Jay walked to the north entrance, your boyfriend in front of you as your hand rested on his shoulder, following right on his heels. Why a lone offender would be hiding out in an abandoned factory was the real question you were asking yourself, but you didn’t mention it to anybody else. As long as you got this guy, that’s all that mattered. 

The two of you silently breached the door, moving slowly and methodically. You’d done this a thousand times before, no different. He came to a T in the hallway, motioning for you to go left. There was no hesitation as you stepped to the side of him, hugging the wall as you went down the hallway while he walked the other direction. 

The only sound you could hear was the sound of your breath and your heart beating in your ears. The further you got away from Jay, the less you were able to hear his footsteps until they disappeared. You were on edge, creeping down this hall, taking turn after turn. Was this a factory or a maze? The second you heard any type of movement, you froze in place before slowly looking around. 

It was a bit of a scare when you found yourself looking down the barrel of a gun, releasing your breath when you realized it was Jay. The look on his face matched yours. Confusion.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” he said softly, getting you to nod in agreement as you continued down the new hallway. Eventually, the hall opened up into a large room. As you looked around, you noticed Vanessa and Kevin at the other end, about twenty-yards ahead of you. As far as you knew, nobody had seen an entrance to a second floor, realizing you missed something. There was no second floor, but there was clearly a window to the right as well as a door. 

“Jay,” you whispered, motioning for him to look. As soon as he started to turn his head, you heard clattering. 

“Flash grenade!” he called out, pulling you to the ground with him, trying to shield you from the flash. 

Your ears were ringing, feeling Jay’s body weight on you as you tried to assess what was going on. Shots were the next thing you heard, seeming to miss everything besides the walls. It sounded like it was only coming from one gun, which meant your offender was indeed working alone. 

“Stay down,” Jay told you softly. “Don’t key your radio.” Fear flooded over you. There’d only be one reason he’d tell you not to key your radio. 

“You think there’s a bomb.” There was no question about it. That’s exactly what Jay was thinking. “Vanessa and Kevin!” 

“Right now, we have to move,” he interjected, getting off you so that you could crouch. There was nowhere to take cover. No boxes, no equipment. The room was empty. The only way to get out was the way you came. The two of you looked over at the other pair who seemed to have the same idea.

“Jay, we leave, this guy will be in the wind,” you snapped as he grabbed your arm, ready to drag you out of that building. “Trust me.” 

He hesitated before nodding, the two of you pressing against the wall before moving quickly towards the corner. Kevin and Vanessa seemed to get the memo, mimicking your movements. The other pair waited, not daring to cross in front of the window as the offender stopped firing. Most likely out of confusion due to there being no active targets he would be able to see. 

Jay nodded at you as you busted in the door before firing a single shot at the offender, the man falling to the ground. Quickly, you kicked his gun away from his reach, though you knew it wasn’t necessary. A single headshot. Kneeling down, you felt for a carotid pulse, feeling nothing. He was dead. 

You sat down next to him, elbows on your knees as you rested your head in your hands. It was over. It was finally over. Nobody keyed their radios still, not until the bomb squad got there to do a search of the building to ensure there weren’t any extra surprises. 

“Nice work,” Voight told you when you finally exited the building. It didn’t feel like good work. You knew the order was to bring him in dead or alive...but never did you think it would be your gun that killed the man -- your shot, your decision. 

“Let’s go get this paperwork done, then go home,” Jay suggested softly, kissing your temple as you silently agreed. 

On A Birthday

“You know, all I want to do is just relax at home with you for my birthday,” Jay told you as you walked out of the precinct to the car. 

“Okay, promise not to get upset?” You’d waited until he was securely in the passenger seat of your car before you’d asked him. “The guys planned a surprise party that I’m supposed to be taking you to. I told them it was a bad idea, but can you just go for an hour at least to please them?”

“One hour, then just us,” he agreed. 

This was the third birthday you’d spent with him, still not getting a clear answer on why he never wanted to celebrate. The first year, you practically had to force a piece of cake into his mouth. He’d opened the present you got him the day after his birthday. The second year went smoother, but he still resisted nearly every idea to actually celebrate. This year though, it wasn’t your doing. You’d finally given in, still forcing him to get a cake at least and always getting him a present. Birthdays were a big deal for you growing up, family always making it a big deal. 

You pulled up in front of Molly’s, his arm hooked around your shoulder as you reminded him to ‘act surprised.’ Which he did, smiling as friends came up to wish him a happy birthday. He drank some beer, had some laughs, but as soon as that clock hit the hour mark, he excused himself from the party, ensuring everyone promised they’d keep it going for him. 

You followed close behind as the two of you stepped into the cool Chicago night air. When he suddenly stopped, you nearly walked into him before he turned to look at you with a smile, small box in his hand. 

“You’re the one who’s supposed to be getting presents today, silly,” you reminded him before he kissed you.

“I know, but I think you deserve this,” he countered, flipping the top of the box open to reveal an engagement ring, shock evident on your face. “You know I don’t really like celebrating my birthday. My mom was the only one who ever made a big deal of it, and after she died, I didn’t really find a reason to celebrate. Then, I spent two birthdays in Afghanistan...I was going to wait to do this, but I wanted a reason to be able to be happy on this day again. You’ve tried so hard the past few years...my mom,” he sighed softly, “she would have loved you. And she would have told me to keep you forever. So, Y/N...Will you marry me?”

[what-the--curtains]

Alliance

Chapter 9 – The Hunt

(Mando x f!reader)

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Summary: After recovering you set off to find the man who tried to kill you. Killing him proves to be more difficult than expected when the ones you love are threatened, and on the other side of the choice, your own future.

Authors note: One more chapter to go!! Some angst at the end here! Hope y’all enjoy ❤️❤️❤️! (I also did some very average fan art if y’all haven’t seen it yet!)

Tw: sex is alluded to (not depicted), decapitation, force choke

Word count: 4.9k

Tagged list: @crazycookiecrumbles, @seninjakitey

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The planet proved harder to find than expected, despite Anya's best efforts, something was fogging up her tracking causing your coordinates to be constantly in flux. She’d easily lead you past the outer rim, but since then it had been akin to a wild goose chase.

“Any idea who tried to kill you.” Din asks, he'd been exceptionally patient throughout the journey thus far. Never questioning your methods just typing in the new location coordinates calmly and re aligning the ship on its new course.

“Did kill me” you correct, as your hand moves absentmindedly over the healed wound. “but no, I dont. They had a lightsaber though”

“Was it a Jedi?” he asks earnestly.

“Well based on the context clues, I'd definitely say at least Jedi adjacent” you laugh, for a savvy strategist who knew multiple languages you sometimes found yourself questioning if his brain was in fact functioning.

“Why would a Jedi try and kill you?”

“Your guess is as good as mine”

“How do they decide on colors?” He asks after a somewhat awkward silence

“Hmmm” you hum out in confusion, only half paying attention to what he had said.

“The light swords? Ashoka's are blue, yours is purple and the figures, well there's was red” your heart stops.

“It was red?” you ask, sitting up in your seat giving him your undivided attention.

“Ya does that mean something?” He watches your eyes slowly piecing together what he'd just told you.

“That’s impossible, the Sith were defeated. They died with the emperor.” you affirm, your sure red was a common colour used by Jedi nowadays, sure no one had ever seen one before, but there was a first time for everything right?

“So were the Jedi.” he points out.

“Do you always have to be right?” you ask slightly irritated for a reason you couldn’t quite explain. He doesn't respond; he knows a rhetorical question when he hears one but unsure what he had done to upset you. An uncomfortable silence lingers in the air, a sensation you'd never experienced with the Mandalorian before. Not wanting to stew in the quiet you head down to the lower levels and try and calm your frazzled mind. Sitting down you cross your legs, one over the other, as you close your eyes.

On the best of days meditating was a chore, but under the current situation it had become an impossible task. It wasn’t the threat of being ambushed that had you distracted, no something else was playing heavily on your mind. It was what was causing the punctuated silences, forced conversation and overall awkwardness in the atmosphere. It was your own doing. Seriously, who kisses a man whose face they've never seen! Idiots that's who and now it was stuck on your mind. In your defense you thought you wouldn't have to deal with the fallout so quickly. You should have known he’d have insisted on going with you, but you hadn't thought that far ahead, or at all and now you had to sit with the fact that you’d possibly ruined your comfortable friendship by planting one on him. Technically it wasn’t a real kiss,or maybe it was, how did Mandalorians kiss anyways? There you were down the rabbit hole again, this is why you couldn't focus, you curse yourself. Shaking your head you remind yourself it was only done in an attempt to get around him, a strategic move to protect the group, nothing more, nothing less. Keeping that in mind you manage to focus and you feel the galaxy's pulse emitting throughout the ship, inhaling and exhaling with the undulations around you.

Din, bored and missing the usually witty banter you offered him, decided it was time for him to clear the air in regards to the kiss. He hopes by telling you that he knew it was only done to get around him, you’d become more relaxed. The last thing he wanted was for you to be uncomfortable around him. He knew you'd never want to be with someone like him, at least in that way. As he turns around he sees you cross legged floating in the air, not wanting to interrupt he heads back up. Anya lifts her head as he re-enters, looking at him as if she knew what he was thinking. He’ll clear the air with you later, the two of you had plenty of time to talk.

You curse as your journey gets rerouted for what had to be the twelfth time in the past two days. Whoever was hunting you did not want to be found and no amount of swearing or whacking the console would change that. The closer you got to your destination the more you felt the malevolent presence grow. You found yourself wondering if it had always been with you, finding it hard to remember a time when it wasn't gnawing at your conscience. Each time you feel it scratching at your doors you remember Ashoka's words “be careful who you let into your head.” You'd made that mistake once with devastating consequences. You would not be making it again. Your energy was now primarily being spent keeping the presence at bay, not allowing it to penetrate any deeper than it already had. Sleeping only acted as an open invitation for the figure to torture you so you opted to forgo it altogether. Perhaps not the wisest decision, but what other choice did you have.

“The planet’s still a few days away.” Din says, noting the unraveled look in your eyes as you take your place next to him.

“Anything to do on this ship.” You ask, fidgeting in your seat. “like games or something” he doesn't respond “Hey beskar head! You awake under that helmet?”. You ask partially joking, partially annoyed that he wasn't talking to you.

“Yes.”

“Yes to games or yes to being awake?”

“To games” you smile, you never knew if he was actually making jokes or if you were just reading into it. The finer details of his personality artfully hidden beneath the metal exterior.

“Got Dejarik, you know how to play?” he asks, glad that you were back to yourself for the time being.

“I'm alright” you say smiling, you were better than alright, at least you think. To be fair you'd only ever played against one person and she was family and probably inclined to letting you win.

“You're cheating!” he exclaims, his annoyance apparent even through the modulator. Your skills were better than you expected especially after all those years, well either that or the Mandalorian was just that bad.

“How?” you ask, laughing at how frustrated he was getting. It was funny when you beat him the second time, but by gods it was even funnier when you beat him the seventh time.

“The force!” He says clenching his hand as he stares down at the board.

“I don't think the force bothers itself with helping me beat you at Dejarik.” you point out, as he grumbles something indistinguishable.

“Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are.” You tease pointing your finger at him eyebrows raised and a smirk plastered on your face.

“That’s not what I’ve been told,” he responds.

“About Dejarik or?” he laughs it off, but you seriously wanted to know the answer. After Cara told you he was allowed to have sex it was a question that you’d thought about a lot, more than you probably should have, but hey you were curious. Realizing the Mandalorian was now turning the game board over to see if it was rigged, you decide to change games.

“You still got that indestructible spear. The beskar one?” you ask nonchalantly.

“Yes, not something i'm planning on losing” he nods

“Fancy a match?” you offer you needed to work on your fighting skills, practicing on the air only went so far.

“Only if you promise not to slice through my ship.” He says, standing up.

“Only if you promise not to cry when I beat you.” you return causing him to scoff

“Oh im not going to be the one crying” he assures.

You stand in the ship's far corner across from Din who haphazardly twirls the spear in his hand as you open up your saber, raising it waiting for him to make the first move. He stays his ground, you and him were both defensive fighters and you knew he was far too stubborn to change his routine. Leaping forward you land in front of him, your saber making contact with the spear. After a few seconds spent testing his strength you know there's no feasible way for you to out muscle him. You'd have to out maneuver him. He’d seen you fight stronger opponents before so you’d have to think outside the box on this one. You move out from under the spear the release of your counter force causing Din to stumble forward. You turn aiming for his shin, but his arm reaches back the spear stopping your hit from connecting with his armour. You circle round him so you're once again face to face giving him enough time to stand back up. He turns quickly, swinging the spear as he does, aiming for your waist. You jump over the swipe landing behind him, hitting him in the back.

“Point to me.” you say

“No using the force” he says, turning to look down at you, his presence suddenly looming.

“I wasn't, I can just jump really high!” You lie.

“Likely story” he says brushing past you as he moves back to his starting spot

“What was that I said about crying earlier?” you question.

He's got you talking too long and he sweeps your feet out from under you knocking you on your ass and gently tapping you on the head with the spear.

“Point me” he says, offering you his hand.

“That was dirty” you say as he hoists you up.

“Who says we're playing clean sweetheart?” The term catches both of you off guard, but he's flustered himself more than you, allowing you to land the next two points.

“Hope your ego isn't too hurt darling.” you mock back at him as metal and light collide once again.

“It’s not over yet” he says, using all his strength to march you back towards the wall pinning you against it with his spear.

“You need to work on your attack, you leave a lot open” he says, breathing heavily.

“You need to work on a codpiece, it leaves a lot open” you retort, kneeing him in the groin, hard enough for him to drop you, but not so hard that it kept him down for long.

“Not enough beskar” he murmurs, hoping to get the last word in.

“Oh big brag for a man who just lost several games of Dejarik in a row and” your sentence is cut short as the spear taps the small of your back giving him the winning point

“And what?”

“Oh real classy Din, can’t win a fair fight” you say hand on your hip.

“It was fair considering I wasn't going 100%”

‘Oh you weren't” you mock, the smile telling him you were amused and not upset by his antics, the gentle slap on his arm further verifying this. The moments like this were nice, but as you continue to gain on your target they became fleeting. The Mandalorian watches as your ability to focus waivers, your frustration becoming increasingly evident in your training. Miraculously, you hadn't sliced through anything important, but the ship’s interior was constantly needing to be patched up. At least it kept him occupied and out of your hair. You looked like you were fighting a hidden battle, one he would gladly fight with you, if you'd let him. He didn’t know the full extent of your struggle, but he knew the anger he felt simmering inside you wasn't being aided by your refusal to sleep.

Your irritability, although caused by exerting tremendous energy keeping the figure at bay, was no excuse for the times you had lashed out at the Mandalorian. The most recent outburst occurred when he'd stepped on your foot after you had explicitly told him to watch out. In hindsight, threatening to melt his beskar down and turn it into a hearing aid for him so he could stop being such a nerf herder was a touch harsh. Alright, incredibly harsh especially considering he'd attempted to apologize before you went off on him.

“Sorry I threatened the beskar” you murmur sitting down next to him

“Are you going to tell me what's going on?” he asks

“Going on where” you ask

“Well it can't just be air in your head” he jokes, causing you to laugh for the first time in a few days.

“Seriously though , I'm sorry Ive been out of line, and it's not fair on you, you’ve been so understanding.”

“You know what might help with the outbursts?”

“A lecture?” you remark, your tone harsher than intended

“No, sleep, you should try it sometime”

“I'm fine without it” you say, the yawn escaping your lips contradicting your words.

“You should sleep.”

“ You don’t.” you remark hoping to catch him off guard, but he's obviously rehearsed this conversation a few times.

“ I don’t need to.”

“Neither do I.” You lie, almost a year later and you still had no idea how he slept so little, though your current working theory was that he would just take naps under the helmet when he thought he could get away with it.

“No, you can't sleep, there's a distinct difference.”

Not wanting to lash out at him for the third time that day and knowing he was right, you make a swift exit. You push the button that opens up to the tight sleeping quarters where you'd spent many hours lying awake. You were hoping that you'd reached an exhaustion point where your body would just shut down. You lay back on the bed not bothering with the covers, you weren't expecting to get comfortable. Anya had stopped trying to sleep in the same bed as you, usually getting inadvertently kicked or shoved out the bed by your constant movements. Your eyes can’t have been closed for more than a minute when they snap open. Despite their alertness your body's gone limp. What fresh hell was this? As your eyes adjust to the darkness you can only just make out the hauntingly familiar shape sitting at the edge of your bed. You go to call out for the Mandalorian, but no sound is emitted, nothing comes out at all not even air. You watch helplessly as the figure's arm extends ensnaring you in a choke hold, the yellow iris shining out beneath the hood, confirming your worst fear. A Sith. You scream yourself awake, the force causing items to fly to the ground, no doubt alerting the Mandalorian. You bring your knees to your chest grabbing at your scalp telling yourself it wasn’t real, but it didn't matter what you said. The truth was you couldn’t tell anymore all lines had blurred together. You get up off the bed looking around the room already exhausted at having to clean up yet another mess you had made. You lean over picking up the weapons that had fallen off the armoury hanging them back up when you hear the Mandalorian drop down the sound startling you.

“I'm sorry” you mutter embarrassed, not looking up as you move to grab the few dishes currently lying on the floor.

“What did I say about breaking the ship?” he says, chuckling slightly in an attempt to lighten the mood. He bends down to help you but you grab his arm stopping him.

“I made the mess. I'll clean it up.” You say gathering up the utensil and placing them back on the table absentmindedly stroking your throat as you turn to pick up the rest. As you reach for the chess board he grabs your hands, intertwining his fingers with yours, leading you back over to the bed.

“Get some rest, I'll clean up,” he says softly, sitting you down on the bed.

“Stop telling me what to do Din, besides it's not working.”

“You need to sleep.”

“I can’t and unless you can think up a way to make me then were shit out of luck.”

“I can think of a few ways.” he mumbles hoping it was loud enough for you to hear.

“Like what? Knocking me out with a blaster?” you scoff

“ A less violent way,” The words leave his mouth before he can fully assess the pros and cons of what he was offering to do.

“Reciting the entire code of conduct of the mandalore race to me?” Gods, how were you still not getting this.

“A less boring way.” He prays that you either catch on or he passes away suddenly so as to save him from any further embarrassment.

“Oh” you punctuate, lips parted slightly suddenly realizing exactly what was being offered to you “you think you can tire me out?”

“Only if you want.” he says, more confident now you hadn't outright rejected him

“Well I have been dying to see what’s under that armour”

“ You’ve seen it before”, and you couldn't wait to see it again.

“Not all of it”

“The helmet stays on,” he asserts.

“Not what I was referring to.” He stands there for a moment unsure how to proceed, not wanting to have misread the situation. “Well are you just going to stand there or are you not a man of your word?” That’s all the encouragement he needs.

“You want me to stop at any time, you just say so cyar’ika”

Once again the Mandalorian was right ; he was able to tire you out. Neither of you say anything after both at a loss for words, and not wanting to ruin the moment by saying the wrong thing. You fall asleep with his arm wrapped securely around your waist, as the other runs up and down your back. His heartbeat lulling you into a deep sleep, his presence managing to stay off any nightmares, at least for now.

He stays with you long after you’ve dozed off watching your back rise and fall in time with your breathing, he thanks the gods you were finally resting. He intently studies the faint purple markings covering your body, wondering how long they'd been there. His hand then tracing over the scars on your back, he wants to know how you got them. He wanted to know everything. Once this was all a distant memory he’d ask, if you chose to stick around that is. Knowing you won't want to find him in your bed when you wake up, he slides his arm from your waist and quietly, so as not to wake you, he puts his clothes back on. Re-donning his armour he heads back upstairs to check on the ship.

Your body shivers inadvertently at the loss of heat and your eyes slowly open. The room’s still dark, but the Mandalorian had gone. He must have left sometime in the night presumably his way of telling you it was a one off. Knowing Din to be a man of few words you knew talking about what had just happened was fully off the table. You sit up and stretch out, allowing your elbows to pop and your shoulders to crack as you roll them out, feeling a way that you hadn't felt in months. Well rested. Making your way over to the fresher you allow the water to wash over you removing any remaining scent attributed to the Mandalorian. After dressing you head up to the cockpit, slightly bow legged from the night before. You’d had your fair share of lovers and for a human, he was very well endowed and very eager to please.

“How far” you ask brushing any thoughts about last night from your head as you shoo Anya off your seat.

“You’re up sooner than I thought.” He says looking at you. He’d noticed the slight stagger in your walk causing him to smirk under the helmet, but the smile fades when you don’t look down.

“How far are we?” you ask again, picking up Anya who’s refused to move of her own volition.

“Close. About last night” he starts, wanting to make sure everything was okay, and that you weren’t regretting what had happened.

“ Look, we don’t have to talk about it. I know it wasn’t a big deal.” You say.

“It may not be a big deal for you.” you don't know why, but you take that tone as being pointed, referring specifically to your time spent in the rings.

“Why? because I've slept with half the galaxy? Something I did in order to survive an environment let’s not forget you put me in?” you spit out

“ No, I-I didn’t mean,” he starts. It's the first time you've ever heard him stumble over his words.

“ You never do.” You say, shutting him up for the remainder of the trip.

“Dropping out now.’ He says, 5 days, that's how long it had taken to get to where you were going, whoever was on the planet was committed to not being found, or at least committed to having you as sleep deprived as possible.

You step out with the Mandalorian close behind you, the planet's surface reflecting the ship's underlights back into its metal exterior. The mirrored rock had sprouted out into various forms and sharp geometric shapes, resulting in a beautiful, but sinister skyline.

“You sure this is the place? Doesn't look like any living thing could survive here.”

“Yes, I can sense a disturbance. You stay here with Anya.” you say placing a hand on his chest plate.

“No way.” Din responds

“I have to do this alone. It's too dangerous for you.”

“For me?” he says in disbelief.

“Wait here if i'm not back within the hour, leave.” You state ignoring his last question.

“ I'll give you two for good measure” he offers, holding out a blaster for you to take.

“It won't help.” You say pushing it back towards him before pulling up your hood and setting off into the unknown. Once he's sure you're out of sight, he follows you.

You close your eyes, letting your senses lead you through the sharpened planet careful not to cut yourself on the dark obsidian refelcting blurred images of the stars. A rock snaps under your foot and your eyes open. A voice calls out to you, uttering your name.

“Who are you.” you ask aloud, turning to face the cloaked figure who stands before you.

“ That is not important” he answers, lips not moving. Telepathy. So that’s how he'd gotten into your head.

“You tried to kill me I think it's at least relevant.” You return in thought.

“You came alone.” he asks, yellow eyes darting from side to side, despite the power this figure held you send a nervousness harboured deep within him, perhaps you should have brought the Mandalorian along with you.

“ Yes” you lie, hoping your force was strong enough to shield the bounty hunter.

“Good.” he snarled.

“Why did you kill me.” you ask not wanting to beat around the bush

“To see if I could. I needed to see your abilities, you’re stronger than I thought if you brought yourself back to life. The empire is rebuilding”, he offers not clearing the situation up in the least

“The empire died with Palpatine, they’re nothing but warmongering desolates now” you say shaking your head, not believing you had flown halfway across the galaxy for this.

“That’s what they have told you. We have been growing an army, led by the spirit of the emperor. We are seeking those with your abilities to help us rebuild.”

“You’ve lost your mind. The Sith were defeated long ago, the Jedi with them.” You turn to leave, no longer fearing this man, he holds no power over you.

“No” he shrieks, the sound drawing your gaze back to him, the noise frightening you slightly “You cannot leave. You cannot go. You will join us and rebuild a stronger galaxy.”

“I have no interest in joing a cult of fear and genocide.” you state calmly.

“It is more than a cult I offer you, something much better, power.” he was getting desperate, a few more days without sleep and you may have fallen for it.

“Power to what? Give you all the blood in my body so you can commit futile experiments on innocent people. You cannot create force sensitivity nor can you push it on someone who it has not chosen. Join you? No, I'll have to pass. Death and destruction will not be my path.”

“Not yet, but it will be. I see it in you, the pain, the sadness, the loneliness, that will all disappear once you join us.”

“Over my dead body” You say drawing your sabre. A violent clash of red and purple ricochet off the mirrored rock, lighting up the shadowed planets.

“Your grandmother trained you well.” He exclaims.

“ If you knew her then you should know that i'd never turn” You continue the fight. Managing to back him into a rock wall. Holding saber at his throat the light purple hue gleaning in the yellow irises beneath his hood.

“I understand why you ambushed me, not much of a fighter are you.” you snarl, pushing the saber into the robe, the scent of burning fabric filling the air. Then you feel it, the pulse of the fibers interwoven throughout the galaxy, something’s amiss. Something else appears under the glow of you saber, yellowed teeth, smiling under the light. You release him pushing yourself back, he wants you to kill him.

“ Do not fear it, I have seen this moment. It is what begins your reign”

“No” you say aloud to yourself, “No” you repeat turning off the saber and turning to leave.

“If you let me live, I kill the man with you.”

The Mandalorian whose been watching from afar hasn’t heard a word spoken in a while, watching you move towards him he thinks it must be over, whoever this person was, Sith or not, you must have come to an agreement. He almost walks out from his hiding spot when you stop dead in your tracks. He sees you look up, your eyes meeting his but only for a moment, before you pivot back to face the man.

“There’s…” you start.

“Don’t play me for a fool child, I have been playing this game long before you were even a thought in your mothers pretty little head. I know he is here. I know what you feel for him. You kill me and in time you will betray him, but you’d rather that, than lose him altogether.”

There's no thought process, no decision to make. With a flick of your wrist you throw the saber. You watch as it slices through the Siths neck before returning to your hand. You close it as his head tumbles to the ground. If Ashoka's words were a warning this, this was an omen. You had made a choice and now a path of irredeemably evil was laid before you. A path you were not prepared to drag anyone else down.

“I know you're there” you say after composing yourself. “I told you not to follow me.” You say making your way to the Mandalorians hiding spot.

“Are you alright? What did he say to you?” he asks, reaching a hand out for your arm.

“Nothing.” You say dodging him. The less he knew the safer he'd be. You weighed your options in your head on the walk back, but you knew there was only one way to avoid harming anyone. You had to hide away, become anonymous. Fall back into legend, never to be seen again. It was the only way Grogu would be safe, it was the only way Cara would be safe, it was the only way Din would be safe. As the ship takes off you say three words that would change everything.

“Take me home.”

“We're on route to Hoth now,” he says reassuringly.

“No, take me to my home. Grogu is back and safe. Our deal is done. Our alliance is over” You say, eyes plastered to the windshield.

“What did he say to you?” Din stresses, but you don’t answer. Silence was the only way to stop him from convincing you to stay.

“Don’t shut me out” he says slamming his hand on the panel. You don’t flinch, you don’t even look up. “We can figure this out together.” He says softly, if you hadn’t known any better you would have thought he was pleading with you.

“You’ve done enough. Take me home. If you don’t the force will.” He resets the GPS coordinates before standing up and dropping downstairs. Anya muzzles into you as you let out a sigh blinking back the tears you felt forming.

[nobodyfamousposts]

My-Crack-ulous: The Movie Trailer

Happy April Fools, everybody! (Yes, I know I’m late. No, I don’t care.)

When a villain attacked…

“Go forth my akuma! And evilize him!”

The corrupted butterfly flew up to the window.

And kept running into the glass repeatedly as the window was still closed.

“Dammit! I bought this stupid thing to be automatic! Hawk Moth cursed to himself as he kept trying to hit the button to no effect. Eventually he gave up and was forced to call Nathalie to have her open the window by hand while he made a note to fire the contractor.

When a Guardian was beyond reach…

Fu and Wayzz gaped in horror at the breaking news in Paris from their apartment in Hawaii.

“Master! It’s Nooroo! Someone has found the Butterfly Miraculous!”

“And is using it for evil.” Fu replied, narrowing his eyes. “We must act.”

“But Master, we’re halfway across the world!”

Fu pulled out his cellphone and dialed the airport to arrange for a ticket to Paris.

He was immediately put on hold.

When a monster was unleashed…

“Ivan?” Bustier asked.

“Not anymore!” The hulking rock monstrosity answered. “Now I’m Stoneheart!”

“That’s nice, Ivan—er—Stoneheart, but you still need to say ‘here’ for role call.” She admonished him, gesturing to his many terrified yet still seated classmates who had previously been waiting to be marked for attendance.

“Oh. Sorry.”

When a miracle wasn’t there…

“It’s okay, Marinette.” She worked to reassure herself as she carried the box of macarons to school. “It’s the first day of school. That means a new school year. New changes. New chances. Now to go out there and show them what you’re made of!”

She squared up her shoulders, held her head high, and prepared herself for whatever the school year would bring.

“RAAAAAH!” Stoneheart yelled, stomping down the street and causing random destruction. People were running. Cars were being thrown. Loud noises and screams filled the streets.

She stared.

Her grip on the box was lost and many macaroons went falling out and onto the concrete.

“Nope.”

And promptly turned right back around and went home.

When Paris cried out for help…

“NOOO!” Chloe screeched from position trapped in the monster’s grip. “I chipped a nail!”

The mayor gasped in horror. “Chloe! Oh no!”

Roger gave him a dirty look from the side where he stood with his broken arm and surrounded by a number of other injured officers. All of them incredulous over the mayor bemoaning his daughter’s chipped nail.

One hero answered…

A figure could be seen standing proudly beyond a den of smoke.

“Who dares?!” Stoneheart demanded.

The figure approached, revealing itself—

“HOO HOOT!” The Owl called as he threw a net at the surprised Stoneheart.

“What the—?!”

“Now I’ve got you!” 

His identity unknown.

“Is that Principal Damocles?” Nino wondered.

“Affirmative.” Max replied.

“Wow.” Kim marveled. “I don’t believe it…”

“Tell me about it.” Alix snarked.

Kim grinned, excitedly. “Our Principal was a furry this whole time!”

Everyone else facepalmed.

His abilities a mystery…

“A hidden lair. An armored costume. All sorts of gadgets. Where did you even get these things?!” Mendelieve demanded.

“Google.”

She frowned.

“I see…”

A pause.

“And pray tell, exactly how much of a school budget do we have that you could afford it all?”

Damocles coughed and looked away.

A lone hero.

Damocles stood tall as he stared down the young student before him. 

“I know you want to help, young lady. But it is much too dangerous for you to be fighting monsters.”

Marinette stared in confusion. “What?”

He shook his head. “No. Don’t try to argue with me! I’m only looking out for your safety!”

“But I didn’t—”

He looked down at her, his eyes shining with something almost like tears. “I know the call of justice is strong, but you are young! And you deserve a chance at a normal life!”

“I never said—”

He sighed. “I can’t stop you, can I?”

“I’m not—”

“Even if I say no, you’ll just go out there anyway.”

“Actually no—”

“Very well! You can be my sidekick!”

A slow blink.

“What?”

Standing alone against an unknown foe…

“Dad, I think we need to talk.”

“Adrien, go to your room.”

“I know you miss Mom a lot…”

“I’m pretty sure I just told you to go to your room.”

“And her loss was hard on us all.”

“Room, Adrien.”

“But I think the way you’re handling it isn’t healthy.”

“What?!” Gabriel gasped, affronted. “How can you say that?!”

“Well for one,” Adrien replied, “You’re wearing a weird suited luchador getup.”

Gabriel looked down, realizing he was still currently transformed as Hawk Moth. Multiple butterflies floated around, adding to the incriminating appearance and showing that he was, in fact, the real Hawk Moth.

“And for another,” Adrien continued, “WE’RE IN MY ROOM.”

…

…

…

“Oh.”

The city against him…

“Whoever could this mysterious hero be?” Nadja Chamack asked on her show, sounding almost bored as she read the words off the prompter in an almost sarcastic manner.

The Mayor was shown at a press conference. “Paris has no need for vigilantes who take the law into their own hands, even if it’s against a terrorist with magical powers that said hero is currently the only one who can deal with. And certainly isn’t using government funds to combat. Wink. Wink.”

“So we’re just going to pretend we don’t know who this guy is?” One officer asked another.

“But…don’t we know?”

“Everyone knows.”

In Hawk Moth’s Lair…

“WHO IS THIS MAN?!” Hawk Moth shouted angrily over a table of newspaper clippings. “And how does he keep foiling my carefully laid plans?”

“You mean the carefully-laid plan you made to attack the city you happen to be in to get magical jewelry you don’t even know is here thinking the exact ones you want will just crop up?” Adrien questioned, sardonically.

“Adrien, I don’t believe I let you out of your room.”

“You let your stupid butterflies take it over!"

"I TOLD YOU THEY NEED THE SPACE!"

His enemies conspire…

Adrien smirked at the picture of Damocles putting on the Owl mask.

“Well, that was easy. I suppose the only thing left to do is tell father.”

Chloe groaned. “No. Adrikens no.”

“What?”

“Your dad’s designs are bad enough. He does NOT need help from Principal Damocles.”

They move against him…

"Hey dad.” Adrien said upon entering the mansion. “School was great—thanks for finally letting me go, by the way. I made some friends, impressed the teachers, and found out that my principal is the Owl."

Gabriel looked up from his conspiracy board and squinted at Adrien. “Who let you out of your room this time?"

“The butterflies.” Adrien deadpanned.

Ever plotting evil…

“Clearly he’s using an Owl Miraculous!” Gabriel exclaimed.

“Whyyyy?” Adrien drawled, annoyed and just wanting to have a normal dinner in peace. A normal, non-villainy-focused dinner.

“Well, he’s the Owl! What else would he be?”

“An old man with a fetish?”

“Don’t be foolish, Adrien! How else would he defeat my akumas if he didn’t have magic?”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Because it’s not like your akumas are stupid or your plans are dumb.”

“Quite right.” Gabriel said with a resolute nod. “It’s clearly a work of genius! And only magic could counter it!”

He wasn’t serious…

“Now why is there no mention of an Owl Miraculous in the book?”

“Clearly it must be the most powerful!”

Adrien just thumped his head against the table in exasperation.

But even so, the hero will not falter…

“Yeah, sorry about this.” Chat Noir shrugged apologetically before moving to attack.

“A battle between sidekicks!” The Owl exclaimed gleefully. “Go get him, Spooky! I shall deal with the akuma!”

“I TOLD YOU I’M NOT YOUR SIDEKICK!” She shouted after him as he took off towards the rampaging monster. “Why does no one listen?”

Seeing the interaction between them, Chat Noir paused. “Wait—you, too?”

“What?”

“Is he your dad?”

She shook her head. “No. Just a neglectful mentor who kind of dragged me into this.”

“Oh. Same. Except mine can’t in any way be considered a mentor. And there was no ‘kind of’ about this. Or any choice altogether.”

She frowned. “Then why are you helping him?”

“Because 'My father is an evil supervillain' isn't a valid reason for the courts to accept emancipation apparently.”

A pause.

“Are…are you okay?”

He stared at her in shock.

“That’s the first time anyone’s ever asked me that.”

Whatever may happen…

From above, video footage shows the Owl was climbing the tower. Pulling himself ever upward and towards his foe. Bearing a fierce look on his face as he prepares for battle.

A different angle shows he’s maybe a couple feet off the ground and panting heavily.

“Am I at least halfway there yet?”

He will protect this city…

The Eiffel Tower fell over.

And he will save us all…

Stoneheart trudged by, still covered in a net and entirely unconcerned with it or the man still attached

“I think he’s giving up!” The Owl coughed out as he continued to be dragged along after. “Any minute now!”

[tiny-cacti-magnet]

The Shot Goes off, Yet the Show Goes on

Summary:

"Are you sure about this?"

“Of course,” Wilbur answered surely. “This probably won’t take more than a few minutes.”

Sam shrugged. “If you say so. Just… be careful. He’s dangerous.”

Wilbur had to scoff at that. “He’s also the one who brought me back. It’d be a pretty stupid move to revive me, only to kill me at the first opportunity.”

—

Wilbur visits Dream in prison.

Tags:

No Archive Warnings Apply, Clay | Dream & Wilbur Soot, Sam | Awesamdude & Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot, Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Sam | Awesamdude, Mentioned TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), a little bit of crime bois, Pandora's Vault Prison, Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Resurrected Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot is Not Okay, he is just very confused, Author is Not a Clay | Dream Apologist (Video Blogging RPF), but we're not condoning torture mkay?, Author is a Wilbur Soot Apologist, and I will die on this hill

In the end, it wasn’t too difficult to convince Sam to let him into the prison. The warden had some concerns about his past relationship with Dream, which Wilbur easily explained around. He signed the contracts at the entrance, and he wouldn’t go back on them. Wilbur had no intention to break Dream out of prison.

Or, not this particular visit, at the very least.

The second source of concern came from his relationship with Tommy; his right-hand man had to stay outside and far away from the prison. Something about an argument with Sam, the teen had explained to Wilbur.

Thus, here he stood, deep in the belly of the beast, the monster known as Pandora’s Vault. Sam stood in front of him, Warden’s Will gripped tightly in his right fist as he flicked the lever to lower the lava. Nothing seemed to happen for a minute, then two.

The lava bubbled and popped, its orange glow illuminating the obsidian walls with warm light. It made the room stiflingly hot, and Wilbur could feel himself beginning to sweat beneath his heavy overcoat.

This was his last chance to back out, to take, well, everyone’s advice and leave Dream be, let him rot in prison. And yet, here he stood, probably a mere twenty to thirty blocks away from the man that had caused so much destruction on this server. All the same, Wilbur himself had caused a fair amount of destruction as well, and he remained a free man. Never once had anyone threatened to lock him away, despite everything he’d done.

The lava still hadn’t fallen an inch, and Wilbur decided to take the time to reorganize his thoughts. He would need to be prepared for what he was about to do. It was hard to be prepared for this. How could he be when everything was so incredibly complicated beyond all comprehension?

Dream was the villain—or at least, Tommy had been very insistent on telling him so. Wilbur found it hard to believe that. Or maybe Wilbur just didn’t want to believe it. He couldn’t tell sometimes. It was all so confusing. Dream was the bad guy, but he had saved Wilbur from that train station of hell. That wasn’t a very villainous thing to do, was it?

Unless Dream had only revived him for his own purposes, which Wilbur suspected, and Tommy agreed with. Tommy also certainly seemed to think that Wilbur shouldn’t be visiting the prison at all unless his life depended on it. Wilbur couldn’t wholly disagree with the sentiment.

It was simply too dangerous, according to Tommy, and Sam; even Quackity had warned him about visiting Dream. Wilbur took their concerns into consideration, and set off in the direction of the prison regardless. He needed closure and some sense of understanding of Dream’s actions, and there was only one person who could give him that.

“Are you absolutely certain about this?” Sam asked, his deep voice cutting through Wilbur’s train of thought. “The last time you—or a version of you, rather—was here, it didn’t end well.”

Wilbur inwardly scowled at the implication that his revival was something that “didn’t end well”. He considered that day to be one of the best, watching the sunrise for the first time in thirteen years, feeling its warm rays on his pale skin. It didn’t matter that the air vaguely tasted of gunpowder even after so much time had passed—at least he could taste.

“Of course,” he answered surely. “This probably won’t take more than a few minutes.”

Sam shrugged. “If you say so. Just… be careful. He’s dangerous.”

Wilbur had to scoff at that. “He’s also the one who brought me back. It’d be a pretty stupid move to revive me, only to kill me at the first opportunity.”

“Still.” Sam frowned. “I don’t want anything else to happen to anyone in this place. He’s caused enough damage and death on this server. Don’t let him cause any more.”

He nodded. “I’ll do my best,” Wilbur promised.

After a few minutes of listening to the lava slowly flow down from the ceiling, it started falling down, revealing the prisoner across the gap.

Wilbur stood on the small platform that would take him across. A memory hit him—of covering for someone, crossing the gap with another person. Ghostbur’s memory, he realized quickly. He’d been getting more of those, recently. Little snippets whenever he entered a plains' biome, or pulled out a compass.

Tommy had told him some of it, but not all. And Wilbur tried to tell him what he remembered, but never all of it. He couldn’t get through a couple of words of it sometimes without feeling the need to disappear into a forest to aggressively hack away at trees for an hour or two.

The stone hit the edge of the obsidian box that had become Dream’s new home. Or perhaps it was his first home, technically. Wilbur had heard from somewhere that the man had been homeless before. Not that that was going to make him feel any sort of sympathy for him.

The platform left. The lava fell. The netherite blocks descended into the floor.

Wilbur got his first good look at Dream in person in over a decade, and it was immediately obvious that life in prison had not been treating him well. He wore a bright orange jumpsuit that looked to be stained with blood in some places. His eye was bruised, and there were multiple cuts and scrapes on his face, which was lacking his usual mask.

In spite of his state, Dream still smiled when he spotted Wilbur at the entrance.

“Dream,” Wilbur greeted curtly.

“Wilbur,” Dream echoed in the same tone. “How nice of you to finally decide to pay me a visit. I’ve been waiting for you, you know.”

Wilbur cocked his head to the side. “Oh?”

“After all, I was the one who revived you.”

“I know.”

Dream turned his head sharply at Wilbur, who’d taken to casually leaned against the obsidian close to the lava. “You… know?”

“Of course, I do. You were conducting the train.”

He grinned at that. “I was, wasn’t I?” His gaze drifted to the wall of lava, then back to Wilbur. “So,” he said, “I take it you’ve come here to thank me?”

“Among other things,” Wilbur answered. “But yes. I can’t say I enjoyed being stuck in my own personal limbo for thirteen years. And you were the one to get me out of there. That at least deserves some form of acknowledgement.”

“Well then. You’re very welcome. I’m glad I could be of service.”

“But I know you didn’t do it out of the goodness of your heart, or some other bullshit like that, did you Dream? You’re no altruist. You want something from me.”

The smile that Dream gave him was full of something corrupt and wrong, and in some twisted way, Wilbur saw something of himself in that expression. Perhaps there were some similarities between the two of them. Wilbur had been stuck with his thoughts, which were hell enough on their own without the incentive from the fucking train station; Dream had been stuck in this cell in a similar predicament—trapped with nothing but his own thoughts.

Maybe he did deserve some hint of sympathy.

Or not.

“Well, I think after doing you such a large favour, you could at least offer me one in return,” Dream suggested with that same expression.

“And what would that favour be?” Wilbur questioned, pushing himself off from the wall and casually making his way over to where Dream stood in the opposite corner.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed my current living situation. If I remember correctly, your previous situation wasn’t all that different, was it?”

Wilbur tilted his head, considering. “No. It wasn’t. I’m assuming you want this “living situation” changed?”

“I’d like a change in scenery. I’m sure you’d understand.”

And he did. Prime, Wilbur understood that. Understood shouting and clawing at the walls, screaming until his throat felt like sandpaper, and he couldn’t have spoken if he tried to—not that there was anybody else in limbo to talk to (apart from Tommy for those blissful few months, and Schlatt when he wasn’t passed out or high out of his mind).

However.

He remembered a crater, a destroyed camping site in a plains' biome. He remembered an obsidian grid in the sky and explosives raining down from above. He remembered looking in as much as he could from the afterlife, watching two teens give everything they had to protect each other from the enemy.

He remembered Tommy pleading with him.

Trust me, Wilbur, listen. Dream is not a hero. He has caused so much damage and trauma to everyone on this server. Trust me.

And that was the issue, wasn’t it? Trust.

That was his downfall, always. Spiralling into his own mind, convincing himself that anyone and everyone could be the traitor. It was trusting too much that had gotten him killed, and refusing to trust anyone at all that had dealt the final blow.

Wilbur knew he couldn’t trust Dream. That wasn’t his paranoia speaking, that was just common sense. Tommy on the other hand… maybe the kid deserved some of Wilbur’s trust after trusting him for months in Pogtopia despite all reason saying to do otherwise.

He’d made his choice.

“There’s this saying, Dream, from someone I know very, very well.”

Dream whispered under his breath, “I swear, if you’re about to say ‘It was never meant to be’—”

Wilbur fought a smile at that, but continued on regardless. “‘I believe in absolute reciprocity’.”

“I’d agree,” he replied. “It’d be a fair trade, wouldn’t it? One rescue for another?”

“That’s one way of thinking about it. But you see, I was trapped in the afterlife for thirteen years, Dream. Thirteen years. You’ve been in here for what? A few months at most? Maybe half a year?”

“Wilbur—”

“‘Absolute reciprocity’,” he repeated. “That leaves you with about twelve and a half years to go? I’d say that’s a fair trade.”

“No, no, no, no, no,” Dream frantically tried to explain. “Time works differently in the afterlife. You weren’t gone for that long, I swear.”

Wilbur shrugged carelessly. “I don’t particularly care about how time works in limbo, or whatever that place is called.”

“But—”

“Sam!” Wilbur called into the lava. “I think we’re done here.”

“I—I revived you,” Dream insisted. “You owe me.”

“No, I don’t. You should never have hurt my brother, Dream.”

The lava fell.

“You should have known I wouldn’t be merciful to those who hurt my family.”

The platform came.

Wilbur let a twisted smile spread across his face as he stepped onto it. He turned around to spare a gloating wave in Dream’s direction. “Enjoy the next decade in prison. I’ll be back sometime around then, probably.”

If you last that long, he didn’t add.

—

AO3

[peppusae]

How to say 'I love you' without saying 'I love you' | Chae Hyungwon pt 1

part: 1 of 3

other parts:  pt 1 || pt 2 || pt 3

pairing: chae hyungwon x reader

genre: fluff, little slow-burn and angst, smut

word count: 5.6k words

note: i had a dream about this plot so i must write this because after this dream hyungwon became my bias wrecker and i cry about him every day since pls send help gbye

ugh i love him so much :(((

>

How to say 'I love you' without saying 'I love you'

What’s every kpop fan’s goal in life?

To meet their idols, attend a concert, and attend a fan sign, right?

Some others... They aim higher than that.

And you’re one of those people.

In fact, you love k-pop so much that you found your career took a whooping turn and you ended up majoring in language, for the very simple fact that you could apply to join an entertainment company and be a staff/writer, the latter which makes you feel the proudest of yourself.

But life….

Life can be super mean sometimes. And you learn this the hard way, when you get rejected by SM entertainment - your first and actually the only choice because you are a major Shinee fan and life is just NOT fair at all!

One way or the another, after multiple applying, you finally get a good job in another company - Starship Entertainment.

Now, Starship was definitely not one amongst your top 5 agencies. But you always try not to let that affect your work - and over time, you come to love your job.

Especially when you get assigned as Monsta X’s writer and interpreter.

You find the members of the group very very appealing, all of them having their own charms.

Hyunwoo, who goes by the name Shownu and has an appetite that makes everyone giggle; He is such a soft-hearted soul and you really look up to him because he is always kind enough to give you a hand if he finds you doing something like lugging some boxes around, and would give the prettiest eye smiles when he gets a compliment.

Hoseok, who goes by the name Wonho and is probably the person you would sacrifice everything for; because of the heartwarming smile he has to offer, the way he continuously asks you to go through the comments he received on his vlives, and would politely request you to review what fans are saying about him on his posts.

Kihyun, who is very much Korean down to the bone with his extremely polite mannerisms and the way he always makes sure the staff - you included - are always eating as well; even if it’s a show about them. And also, the way he had once asked if he was your bias, and looked shocked to hear he wasn’t - and then continued to do things to get your attention and ask “Am I your bias now?” in the middle, like an idiot.

Jooheon, who also occasionally comes to you and asks for mini English lessons, and then gets bored after learning two or three new words - and then instead likes to chat about random things like the cats he owns, and your line of cacti which he, for some reason, is obsessed with, and your chats with Jooheon usually end with a compliment battle, and he always made you feel proud because he always says that chatting about normal things like that always inspires him a lot too.

Changkyun, who you consider as your bias wrecker because he keeps his own cool, stays in his own bubble and get things done, and doesn’t brag; instead, he’s very gentle, always the first person to notice if you’re sitting out in the lounge by yourself racking your brains for new content, and uses you as a guinea pig for testing out his lame new puns or pickup lines.

And then… Hyungwon, who doesn’t talk a lot when he’s with the rest of the group, but you found to be startlingly talkative when he’s doing a solo vlive or with only a few members like either Shownu or Wonho. In fact, you remember being wide-eyed when he continuously chatted with his fans on a vlive for a whooping 2 hours, and you can’t forget the precious and warm smile he had on his face when you said you liked seeing him so lively and talkative.

“I have a lot of things up my sleeve which you probably don’t know that much about, [Name]-ah.” He had said that time, and sometimes, you can see the way his eyes would filter through the staff during shows and land on yours, and smile at you.

And finally, Minhyuk, who was your absolute favourite out of the entire group, your bias because he gets along so well with everyone, always making everyone - including the staff - laugh, and would not hesitate to call anyone out if they’re doing something they shouldn’t. It makes you giggle, the way he would approach you in the middle of a variety show shooting they’re doing and ask if you were the writer of the show and how you had the audacity to make them walk around like lunatics. He acts like a crackhead like that, but you’ve grown to be so attached to him when you realized that, beyond his bright personality, he also is an insanely sweet person; You found this out when you had mentioned applying to SM entertainment because Shinee was your favorite group ever, and Minhyuk -even if he asked how dare you talk about other men in his presence - met up with Shinee while hosting a show and got the members to sign, and even got Kibum, your Shinee bias, to sign you a message inside their recent album.

Undoubtedly, Minhyuk was your favorite, for a good reason.

But still, to be put frankly, Hyungwon was the member that has your heart, for the simple reason that he was so unpredictable and has his own sense of humour and personality.

Since you got assigned to work with Monsta X, your life has been a messy tangle of fun, a normal day being you having a chat with Hyungwon and then getting interrupted by Minhyuk who would have zero filters and ask “Are you two dating?”, which causes the two of you to flush red for no reason, while Kihyun would overhear this and say “Huh?! You’re picking him to date but you don’t think of me as bias material?”.

The cycle would be endless, with Wonho laughing while watching the entire scene unfold, while Jooheon would join in with Minhyuk while Shownu would butt in and say “Minhyuk-ah, we have to go back to practise now tho,” and Changkyun sticking his head out from his dorm room and saying he still has 5 more minutes to finish the session of his favorite game.

You’ve grown to love this cycle and it doesn’t feel like a job, doing something you love with good people to work with, and life has been even easier after you got a dorm room within the building.

So, even if you had a roommate - and she’s nice, just not too close - things at Starship has been working out well for you.

Your daily chaos started simmering down a little once the pandemic hit, and all of the staff got confined to their rooms for work.

Because some of the shows you’re writing the scripts for are getting approved easily, you feel lucky to be one of the few staff who is now allowed to go alongside the members when they’re out for shows.

The times when you’re working from your dorm room, you feel so tired - perhaps missing the chaos you were so used to for the past couple years.

One day, you get a kakao chat from Hyungwon, asking if he can come over to discuss something with you.

It’s early in the morning - 8:15 am, and you’re half awake but you let him in, trying your hardest not to yawn too much in front of the member you considered the most attractive from the bunch.

Your roommate, Dawon, was kind enough to clean up the room a little bit when you said Hyungwon was coming over - and you said it on purpose because you knew she called Hyungwon her type and admits to having a teensy crush on him even though she knows it won’t work out anyways.

Hyungwon is wearing a caramel sweater and grey baggy sweatpants, and it always warms your heart to see the boys dressed in comfy clothes because they have to spend so much time wearing clothes that probably look good but not feel as comfy.

“Hyungwonnie, come on in!” You greet him, and he reacts with a chuckle and he always does that ever since you started calling him by that nickname after the day he said you should use casual language with him.

Hyungwon gives a little nod to your roommate in acknowledgement, and waits until you draw the curtain separating the room, before he speaks.

“I have a magazine shooting next month, and these are the set of questions they’re gonna ask me.” He says, putting the big envelope he had in his clutches on the top of your desk after he takes his seat. “I need help coming up with answers.”

Hyungwon was usually one of the few members who always comes to use the opportunity; the artists are free to ask the writers for help with answers they’ll give for their interviews, and Hyungwon always makes full use of the opportunity, and Shownu and Wonho occasionally drop by too, as well.

You’re always happy to be asked for help, but today, you find yourself sweat-dropping at the thought. You were so sleepy, the only reason you’re not dozing off is because you had forced yourself not to sit down.

“Why?”

“What?”

“You’re usually always excited when I ask for something like this, so why today?”

Ouch. Sometimes, much like you can read the boy’s faces and know what’s going on, they can sometimes do the same for you, too.

“Well, you see....”

“Have you been getting enough sleep?”

Double ouch. You knew the boys - at least, most of them - were good observers, but you didn’t expect Hyungwon to catch on so easily.

“I actually do get enough sleep, but these days, I feel extra sleepy for an hour or so after I wake up.”

This makes Hyungwon chuckle, putting the papers back inside the envelope and turning back to you.

“Welcome to the life of every human being. You sound like you’ve been babied too much.” He has to say, and you watch the way he gets up from his seat and places the envelope inside one of your drawers.

“Let’s get some breakfast.”

“W-What?!”

This makes the male raise an eyebrow, glancing around the room as if he was unsure if it really was you who said that.

“You’re acting as if we have never gone out for a meal together.”

“Well…” You say, because you’ve actually gone with him a couple of times over the four years you’ve been assigned to them.

That was probably because the boys enjoyed ordering in mostly, and eating at their own free times.

Anyhow, it was only a few times, so it definitely did surprise you.

“Okay. Where do we go?”

“I’m in the mood for some eggs and sausages, do you have anything you want to eat?”

“Hey, we’re gonna split the bill okay!?” You hurry to race Hyungwon outside, who goes out in a very knowing way, one that was like a deja vu of the times when he’d butt in when you’re trying to innocently pay for your delivered lunch tray and he’d ask to tab it over to him.

Kihyun was right, he really was different from the way most Monbebe actually looked up at him.

At the restaurant, Hyungwon takes his mask off only after you two are seated at one of the sectioned booths and have ordered your food.

“The pandemic isn’t good, but this is the only thing that I enjoy about it.” He admits, eyes going over to the lack of people inside the place which would usually be filled to the brim with office workers trying to grab a quick breakfast.

“This pandemic has made me a sleepyhead like you.”

“Hey!”

You find yourself smiling so hard around Hyungwon because during breakfast and after you had forcibly paid for you two, on your way back when he offers to buy you coffee - and even remembers your usual order - and the next two hours he spent with you while you helped him write answers and edit what he wrote, it really does not feel like he’s a celebrity at all; but more so as a close friend who makes you feel warm in ways you’ve never felt before.

“Why?”

You snap out from your little trance and go back to typing your script on the laptop, when he interrupts you.

“Why are you smiling? What kind of madness of a show are you writing now?!”

“Hey! Don’t accuse me of writing madness when your Monbebe loves it so much!”

“Yah, that’s too much! Our Monbebe will love us anyway even if you show them us being normal!”

You giggle, because really. When has Monsta X ever been normal?

---

The next day, right after you wake up, you’re working on the itinerary for Monsta X’s upcoming vacation show - a little too late, you had to admit, and that too, when you’re feeling so desperately sleepy like you’ve been feeling lately every morning.

Dawon had gone out to grab breakfast with some of the other staff, and you’re munching on your melon bread, knowing well that the espresso shot you’ve had just a while ago won’t last you for more than 15 minutes.

And it doesn’t.

In fact, you’re actually snoring when your phone rings loudly, making you lift your sorry face up from your laptop keyboard and answering as soon as you pick up the phone.

“Yes, Manager-nim? I’ll send you the itinerary in fifteen minutes!” You say the impossible, because your task in barely done, and you had a feeling you’d fall back onto the laptop keyboard the second the manager hangs up the call.

The sound of familiar chuckling makes you raise an eyebrow and glance at your phone, horrified to see Hyungwon’s name on the display.

“I need it in ten minutes, not fifteen.” He says in a heavy voice, and it makes you huff in embarrassment, glad that he couldn’t see you.

“Very funny, Hyungwon. What did you need?”

“Nothing. Just wanted to wake you up.”

“I was up!”

This makes him laugh yet again, and you sigh, typing on the keyboard as you think about what good excuse you can say.

“If you were up, you wouldn’t have thought I was your manager.”

You let out a little groan, connecting your headphones to the phone so you could multitask while speaking to the male.

“Really, now, Hyungwonnie, what did you really want? Is there something you wanted to ask again?”

“No, I really just called to wake you up.”

“Well. Isn’t that sweet of you.” You say, sarcastically.

The mini banter and sarcastic comments continue for about ten minutes, by which you’d even finished up the itinerary.

So, even if he did laugh at your sleepyhead behaviour - as if he could talk - you made sure to thank him before you go out to take the printouts and finish off your task.

---

And then, that becomes a ritual.

Hyungwon calls you every day at 8 am, right when you’ve signed in for work and are about to head to get some coffee.

He makes small talk with you, talks about little episodes he’d had, and listens to your ideas.

After the first week, you don’t feel sleepy even if you don’t get the coffee; and you don’t even get sleepy after he hangs up.

Every day, it feels like he’s prepared something new, because he makes you laugh so hard that your sleep completely vanishes.

In fact, after a couple of days, he searches up English songs on Genie Music and sings, butchering up a lot of the lyrics on purpose - you know it’s on purpose because Hyungwon has a really good pronunciation when he tries.

One day, you’re butchering up the lyrics of a song along with Hyungwon while you’re writing talk segments for Monsta X’s comeback showcase. Your roommate has been giving you funny looks recently, especially after she asked who was calling you every day and you couldn’t lie and told her it was Hyungwon.

The sudden sound of your door flying wide open and a blonde Lee Minhyuk barrelling into your room makes you stop your singing.

“Oh. So it was you, huh.” He has to say, making himself comfortable on your beanbag chair, and drawing the cloth partition between your room when Dawon - your roommate - keeps staring.

Really, Minhyuk does not know what filters are supposed to be.

“What do you mean?” You ask, and from your headphone, Hyungwon hears his friend’s voice, so he dismisses the call after saying he’ll see you again later.

“So it was you Hyungwonie has been getting up every morning to sing his heart out, huh?”

You stare at him, baffled. “Well, he does sing some normal songs, but he mostly sings crack-”

“He usually never wakes up on his own even if he has schedules, and now he has an alarm to call you every day? What, are you guys dating or something?”

“Yah, Minhyuk, what are you saying!!” You hiss, horrified, because the cloth partition does little to block out sounds from the other side.

“I always tell people if they like someone, to stop being so obvious and just ask them out. It’s easy!!”

“It’s not easy and omg shut up!! He’s just calling me because he’s waking me up, he’s just being kind!”

“Hyungwon never wakes up for us, he’s never kind to us, then! And he’s always still sleepy even if he wakes you up, because he goes straight back to bed after he wakes you up!”

You sigh out loud in frustration, shaking your head. “Come on. What did you want, Minhyukkie?”

Minhyuk gives you a knowing smile before he shakes his head, handing you the binded notebook he had in his clutches.

“You’ll give me a read-over, right? I told you about the radio-show I’m gonna start hosting in a few weeks, right? The concept is clear, but I have some topics I want to talk about and I made some scripts about how I could continue the talk.”

“You got it. I’ll need some time, though, how does Thursday sound?”

“Perfect. Thanks!” He gives you a flying kiss that makes you laugh, and then he’s out as fast as he came barreling in.

---

You expected Hyungwon to stop the calling after the confining to your room rule gets lifted up and you’ve started to go to the office for work.

But he doesn’t, and he sounds as if he’s never been as prepared before as he is now.

Even when the comeback is near and he must be practising into the late hours of the night, he never misses a single day.

A few days before the comeback, you find him having lunch with Shownu, and it’s the first time you’ve seen him in a while - and you hadn’t seen his new hair till then too.

For the first time in the four years you’ve been assigned to work with Monsta X, you take a good look at Hyungwon.

A really, really good look.

At first, he hadn’t noticed you, and while you’re refilling your water bottle with chilled water, you notice the way he’s smiling a little while he listens to what Shownu is saying. The way he uses his hand to brush the fringe of his hair he’s dyed blonde is attractive for the first time - and you’d always thought he was a really, really handsome young man… But this is the first time he looks so attractive that you feel like you’re in a daze, staring at him until chilled water fills up your bottle and pours on your fingers, finally catching your attention.

What gives?

The little yelp you let out makes both Shownu and Hyungwon glance over at you - noticing you for the first time. Hyungwon’s eyes go wide, the top of his palm going up to cover his mouth.

“Ah, [Name]-ah. How are you?” Shownu calls over to you, ever so naturally, and you greet him with a smile when it looks like he’s motioning for you to come over.

“I haven’t seen you in a while. Are you doing well?”

“I’m doing good, Hyunwoo-oppa. You guys must be working super hard for the comeback, right?” You say, glancing at Hyungwon, and for the first time ever, you think he’s actually… blushing ?!

It makes you flustered, thinking about what Minhyuk had talked to you about, while he accused you two of dating. Really, Minhyuk had no filters, it never fails to drive you insane sometimes.

“Yeah! You can expect a lot, please do support us a lot!”

You turn to look at Shownu, beaming at his friendly and charming smile before you excuse yourself and head back before you felt your head would explode.

Now, what the heck was that all about!?

Whatever it was, you were definitely going to blame Minhyuk for this!

---

It absolutely surprises you when Hyungwon doesn’t fail to call you, even the following morning.

You guess you had just imagined it in your head yesterday when Hyungwon looked flustered to see you.

Stupid Minhyuk! It was all in your head after all.

“Now that today’s dumb song segment is over,” Hyungwon says, after he sings a butchered up version of Pretty Please, “I’m gonna sing a song from our album!”

“Oh? Will that be okay?”

“Well, you’ll hear the album preview later today, so, why not?” He has to say. “It’s one of my favorites from the album.”

And then, he sings up to the second chorus of Beautiful Night - a song you fall in love with instantly, because the lyrics are so beautiful and Hyungwon sings as if he’s doing so with his whole soul. It almost makes your eyes teary, and you can barely tell him that you love it, before you have to excuse yourself with a little lie.

Since when did Hyungwon’s voice sound this emotional? It’s been over four years, but his voice has always been the same, beautiful voice as before. You open up Genie music, playing some of the older albums, listening to Hyungwon’s voice in the songs, and you feel like you’ve missed out this side of Hyungwon completely, this madly romantic side of him that sounds so sincere that it makes your heart race.

What is going on, seriously…

---

As the days pass by, the little tingle in your heart whenever you see or hear Hyungwon keeps on getting more and more painful.

In fact, by the end of Monsta X’s three-week promotions for Fantasia X, hearing Hyungwon singing songs for you become almost unbearably sad.

Despite having to wake up earlier, or even having to excuse himself in the middle of getting his hair and makeup done, he makes sure to call you - even if you’re sitting and listening to him when he’s in the same room as you are in.

You realize you can’t hold out your expressions if it’s in front of him, so you make sure to get up and go away somewhere when Hyungwon’s call arrives every day at 8 am on the dot.

It’s a warm Saturday morning, and you’re on your bed, your earpods on and listening to Fantasia X on Genie when Hyungwon’s call of the day arrives.

Today, it’s different.

Usually, he sings a trot song, or a really ugly version of an English song with the hopes of making you laugh so much that your sleep completely vanishes.

But today, he doesn’t say anything and immediately starts to sing soulfully; today, he sings Newton, one of your absolute favorite songs by the group, and…

The way he sings it is so, so sad .

Something inside your heart feels like it is burning, and unknowingly, your eyes brim with tears, because…

All the things Minhyuk had told you, all the things you’ve been thinking about Hyungwon lately, all the little glances he sends your way and then looks away when he sees you’re watching…

You feel your emotions going haywire, and your wishful thinking makes you start crying and you pray to god that Hyungwon, who’s singing the chorus so beautiful and sincerely does not notice.

It’s almost unbearable, and you take off your earpods and have him on speaker, thankful that he doesn’t notice you’ve reached for tissues to wipe your tears.

Since when did I start feeling this way about him?

How can I think this way about one of the members I work for?

Why does Hyungwon sing as if he’s singing just for me, and only me?

Why does it feel like we are never able to meet eyes now?

You have so many questions and no answers, and your hands are shaking as you try to press record on your phone because he sounds so, so beautiful and your crying is not helping you in focusing on his sincere singing.

It is at this moment that the door to your room flies open, and your roommate, Dawon enter the room, then freezes when she sees you crying.

“What’s going on?!”

You’re only able to hand over the phone to her, and mumble a little “Please record it for me” through your sobs.

Dawon looks very confused, raising an eyebrow when she looks at the receiver and sees that it is Hyungwon, on the call.

At that moment, Hyungwon wraps up his singing, clearing his throat a little and speaks for the first time today.

“[Name]-ah.”

You find yourself sniffling, glancing at Dawon who looks visibly upset now… and you can’t even blame her…

“[Name]-ah.” He calls your name again, and this is one of the things that makes you sad in regards to Hyungwon, because… He is a member of Monsta X, one of the manlier groups in the industry for sure, but… He’s so gentle and sweet, a kind-hearted soul, and he does not lack in anything, as he has proudly claimed so.

Even the way he calls your name out is so gentle that it makes more tears stream down your face, and you’re almost scared at how to answer whatever Hyungwon would ask from you.

“[Name]-ah. I have something I have to tell you, in person.”

Your eyes meet with Dawon, who now looks wide-eyed, and you were sure you would probably look the same.

“I… I have to tell you this in person, so, if you… If you’re willing, would you like to… go for dinner with me today?”

More tears stream down your face, and now you know you can never look Dawon in the eyes either so you bury your face on one of your pillows, heart aching too much to do anything else.

“Hyungwon-ssi.”

Dawon speaks into the speakerphone, and it makes you glance at her, wondering what she was going to say.

Hyungwon replies with a loud ‘Huh?’ in confusion.

“Hyungwon-ssi, I’m sorry, but [Name] is outside and she left her phone here.”

Dawon looks at you, lips pressed into a thin line. You feel so uneasy, and it felt like Hyungwon felt the same, because he starts to stammer.

“Wh-Wha? What?! If [Name] wasn’t the one who answered, then wh- Whaaaaa!” You hear a loud whine before the call gets disconnected with a quick mumble of “Sorry!”.

Dawon hurls the phone at your bed, and leaves the room without a word, and it pains your heart so much that you feel like you’ll die.

A text message pops up on your phone a little while later and seeing the text makes you feel a little dizzy, even.

‘If you’re freely going to allow other people to roam through your phone even, I don’t think I have any other choice but to come to see you right away.’

What?

Wait, does he mean-

You hurry to grab your phone and iPad, wiping your face as best as you could and going out of your room. You find Minhyuk and Kihyun using the Xbox in the lounge, so you quietly take a seat near them, greeting them and opening up your iPad without another word.

“[Name]-ah, why do you look so weird?”

“Yah, Minhyuk, how can you say something so rude?!”

You shake your head and give a weak smile at the two, opening up your notepad and leaning against the couch.

A moment passes by, and Minhyuk moves closer to you on the couch, so close that you actually move a little back as well.

“What?”

“I finished my game with Kihyunnie. So. Why? Why do you look so sad? Did Hyungwonie hurt you?”

Now, you’ve been doing a good job of not crying since you got out of the room, but seeing Minhyuk’s worried face and then remembering Hyungwon’s words - along with Minhyuk hitting a bullseye right away… All of that combine together and it makes you start to cry again.

“Wha? Hey?!” Minhyuk looks very startled, and he usually never looks surprised like he doesn’t know what to do, but today he looks like he’s at a dead end, and you allow him to grab your hand and tell Kihyun he’ll be right back, before he hurries to drag you over to the other end of the lounge near the vending machines.

“Yah, what is going on with you lately? Hyungwon really said something mean to you, didn’t he? Sheesh. Acting like he’s in love with you and then making you cry like this? I didn’t expect him out of everyone to behave this way.”

The more Minhyuk spoke, the worse you felt, and you’re barely able to ask him if he could be kind enough to leave you alone for a second when you hear a familiar voice calling your name.

“[Name]-ah…. Minhyuk-ah?!”

You and Minhyuk glance up to see Hyungwon approaching you, and you hurry to take your hand away from Minhyuk’s clutch.

Really, Hyungwon couldn’t have caught a worse timing.

Minhyuk shoots you a sad look, then gets up from his seat, goes to say something to Kihyun, then the two of them leave while Kihyun glances at you with a worried look on his face. You can’t get yourself to look at Hyungwon, so you’re looking at your hands, fingers fumbling while Hyungwon stands in his spot in front of you, not saying a single word.

More tears fall down your face when you remember Minhyuk’s words - and how wrong was he to assume the worst from the sweetest person you know, and it pains your heart because you knew if you looked in his eyes, you wouldn’t be able to stop crying.

“Why?”

Hyungwon says a single word, and honestly, that was the only thing you didn’t have an answer for.

Why were you crying?

You didn’t know.

Why can’t you look at Hyungwon?

You had no clue.

Why did Minhyuk know right away?

That too, you didn’t know at all.

Why can’t you answer him?

You had no reason.

So instead, you find tears streaming down your face, and you wish you could leave, but you felt like you owed Hyungwon at least this much, to hear what he had to say even if you felt like something was cutting through your heart.

“Stand up.”

It’s the first time you’ve heard him ask you to do something in that voice, an angry, impatient voice you’ve never imagined you’d ever be on the receiving end for.

“[Name]-ah.”

You hum in response, eyes on the ground. Hyungwon lets out an exhale and you can feel your hands trembling because it’s while you’re looking at his shoes with an aching heart, that you realize something you’ve been wishing so hard was not true.

You were in love with Chae Hyungwon.

Out of completely nowhere, so naturally.... You were so madly in love with Chae Hyungwon; so much that looking at him now would be too much to take, now.

“You heard everything I said, didn’t you?”

Now, that’s something you didn’t expect to hear from him. He had sounded so worried and embarrassed on the phone so you didn’t think he would have any suspicious, but here he was, showing you that he certainly did.

It makes you look up at his face for the first time today, and it pains your heart.

It paints your heart, because he’s wearing clothes with a lot of creases - something he’s been wearing to sleep, and he has on a beanie that covers most of his messy-looking hair, and he’s looking at you with puffy eyes and a frown that hurts so much to look at.

You couldn’t bear to look at him anymore so you shake your head in response. Hyungwon looks visibly disappointed, like he knew right away that you were lying. You think he has something more he wants to say, because his lips part a little… And then, he lets out a sigh and shakes his head as well.

“If you are this burdened by how I feel, then…” Hyungwon’s voice trails off, taking a step back and then turning around. You watch the way he walks out of the lounge without a word, and if you felt like you’d never been more hurt before, you were completely wrong, because nothing pained your heart more than watching the male leave like that, as if he had so much to say and couldn’t…. Just like how you felt while you sink back on the couch and cry your heart out.

And from that day onwards, Hyungwon doesn’t call you again.

-----

[hateswifi]

Rising from the Ashes: Of the Past and Nightmares

So this is Part Eleven here is to my Master List and Part Ten.

------------------------------------------------------

"So how'd you get to Gotham from Paris?" Jason asks, plopping down on the couch in the living room.

"Oh easy the glasses, it's called a miraculous, this one is the horse miraculous that grants the power of teleportation," Marinette said, tapping her glasses. "I have a kwami named, Kaalki. The kwami that transforms me into Ladybug is Tikki the goddess of creation. My partner, Chat Noir, has the god of destruction, Plagg. We are balanced."

"Your partner, Chat Noir, is Adrien. Kagami is Ryuko. Luka is Viperon. Chloe is Queen Bee. I'm assuming at least, you don't seem like the type to pick people you don't trust," Damian asked. "But if Chat Noir is your balance does that not make you soulmates?"

"Yes and no. We're not the soulmates you might be thinking of. We are best friends platonic soulmates if you will. We are meant to be in each other's lives and we can’t live without each other," Marinette explained. 

"That makes sense, but who is Tikki and Kaalki?" Jason asks. 

Marinette lifts her hair and they fly out. "Meet Tikki and Kaalki. I have other kwamis as the guardian, but they are in the miracle box at the moment," Marinette explains, holding out their favorite food.

"Hi, guys!" Tikki chirps, landing on her head.

"Oh my gosh! They're adorable! They're so small and precious!" Dick cooed, standing up to move closer to them. 

"I can bring other ones out at different times. Kaalki is just the one I had out due to her transportation powers. I would show you Plagg, but they don't show up on camera," She explains, petting Kaalki's head.

"Miss Marinette, do you have the miraculous of the peacock? I wish to catch up with Duusuu," Alfred asks.

"You had Duusuu before she was taken?" Marinette asks, shocked.

"Ahh yes, is she alright?" Alfred asks.

"She was in the hands of an evil miraculous holder recently, Hawkmoth's partner Mayura, but I think seeing a previous holder would help. Tikki, is that true?" Marinette asks.

"That is correct Mari, it would help wit the cleansing," Tikki said. "Could you also take out Wayzz?"

"Of course I would be able to," Marinette said, standing up leaving Damian's embrace. She opens her bag and takes out the miracle box she takes out the turtle and peacock miraculous after she put the horse miraculous away. "Alfred, would you be able to wear the brooch? I wore all of them once and passed out afterward. Master Fu advised against wearing more than three. I'll need it back after."

"Of course, Miss Marinette," Alfred said, taking the brooch and pinned it to her jacket. Marinette puts on the turtle miraculous. 

"Hello Master Marinette, it's good to see you again," Wayzz greets, bowing.

"Wayzz, please call me Marinette," she answers.

"Wayzz I must speak with you," Tikki says, flying off. Alfred had already walked off to catch up with Duusuu.

"So those are some of the kwamis," Marinette said, snuggling into Damian's embrace.

"What do you mean you passed out after wearing all the miraculi?" Damian asks, kissing her head.

"During the akuma called Kwamibuster, every time Chat or I got hit we would lose our transformation. I went to Master Fu and asked to take all the miraculous so I wouldn't have to reveal my identity. I came up with this brilliantly over the top plan that worked. I'll show you the video Alya took some time. The miraculi are only supposed to be worn one at a time because of the power it holds," Marinette said.

Wayzz flew into the room saying. "But Marinette is the best guardian and holder of Tikki's miraculous that we've had and she somehow was able to pull it off."

"Diana's mother was a Ladybug," Alfred informed them, reentering the parlor.

"That's why she feels familiar," Tikki realizes, landing on Marinette's head. They all chat together, taking turns to ask questions to the kwamis. At the end of the night, Damian decides it's too late for her to go home. Damian leads Marinette to a guest room beside his room. They're standing by the door when he decides to give her the present he bought her.

"Angel, can you face the door for a moment," Damian asks. She turns away from him. He opens a small bow and takes out a necklace, a white gold infinity heart. "Can you look at me now?" She turns back around. "Beautiful," he breathed.

"The necklace?" Marinette asks her bluebell eyes sparkling.

"No, you," he leans down and kisses her softly.

"Prince, you're too nice," she said, breathlessly breaking the kiss. "Goodnight," She says, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. She then entered the room and closed the door quietly behind her. She falls onto the bed lovestruck. Damina places his head on the door and happily sighs before walking to his room. She changed into her pajamas which is a Jagged Stone hoodie and leggings.

Not long after she fell asleep she woke up screaming from a nightmare. Damian rushes into the room as she is sitting up out of breath. "Angel are you ok?" he asks, sitting beside her rubbing her back.

"Ya it was just a nightmare," she whispers, into his shoulder.

"How often do you wake up to nightmares?" he asks, kissing her head.

"More often than I would like to admit," she whispers. "It has been worse since the fire."

"Want me to stay with you?" he asks.

"Please?" she asks looking up at him and blushes. "Umm... Damian, why are you shirtless?'

His face goes completely red looking down at himself. "I... I heard you scream, Ummm... kinda just ran into here, and normally I sleep shirtless," he explains. "Do you want me to grab a shirt?"

"No, please don't leave me," she says, yawning. He lays down and wraps an arm around her. She looks at his arm.

"What happened there?" she asks, tracing a scar.

"When I first moved in with my father, my mother got captured by my grandfather's successor. While father put mother into the Lazarus pool I chased after him, we got into a fight. At one point he put swords into both my arms to stop me from fighting," Damian explains, holding her closer. "Now go to sleep."

They fall asleep with her partly on top of him one hand in his hair the other over his heart. He has one arm around her, and the other hand was on top of hers. Damian didn't normally like touching but sleeping like this with Marinette. 

 "Oh my gosh!" Dick whispered to Jason, peeking in the room. 

"Come on leave them alone, remember privacy?" Tim whispered, pulling both of them away from the door by their collars. "If you wake Damian wake up, he will murder you. He won't care about Father's rule." 

Damian woke up to them talking, but couldn't move to murder them due to his Angel still peacefully sleeping on him. He fell back asleep waiting for her to wake up. After an hour or two, he's woken up by Marinette moving on top of him, she was trying to get out of bed without waking him up.

"No, Angel, please don't leave," he groaned, pulling her back into his embrace.

"Dami-- Damian," she stutters, trying to wiggle out of his strong embrace. "Alfred just called us for breakfast." She finishes trying to sit up again.

"Fine, but next time we're going to stay a bit longer," he says, into her ear, his chin on her shoulder. "I... I mean if there is a next time."

She kisses his cheek. "I would love that. Maybe watching a movie of your choice next time," she smiles, getting out of bed. He quickly follows. They take a seat on stools at the island where plates of waffles sat on the counter. 

"So you wanna tell me what woke you up last night?" Damian said, pouring him and her a glass of orange juice. 

"Well I have constant nightmares over the last standoff against Hawkmoth," she explains, taking a sip of OJ.

"What about the last battle?" he asks, sitting down beside her after he put the OJ back in the fridge.

"You know how Jon saw a healing stab wound?" Marinette asks he nodded in response. "Well, I took that stab wound trying to save Adrien from falling off the Eiffel Tower, he was grabbing Kagami. While I was trying to pull them up I got stabbed, Luka then knocked into Hakwmoth knocking him off the Tower. When he was falling he somehow made it on to a lower platform and ran back to his liar near the end of his transformation," Marinette sighed, taking another bite. "My nightmare was me trying to catch you, but I couldn't catch you, then everything she had said about me was becoming true." she hisses at the mention of 

"Who is she? What could she say to make you react like this?" Damian asks, taking her hand.

"Oh... Ummm... her name is Lila Rossi but it... it.. it isn't important," she stammered, wiping a quick tear that was threatening to fall.

"Marinette, Angel, she must have hurt you in some way if you're reacting this way to here," Damian said, wiping the stray tears.

"She turned all my friends against me with her lying ways. Adrien knew the truth but couldn't truly help me in any way due to his father's overbearing nature. After he found me crying on a roof during one of our patrols, he drew the line there and helped me with Lila's antics," Marinette explained.

"What did she lie about?" Damian asks, pulling her into a hug.

"What didn't she lie about is the real question," Marinette snickers into his still shirtless chest. "She always lying about connections, she is still currently ruining my ex-classmates' lives. She fell down the stairs and said I pushed her, I got suspended. She faked a couple of different disabilities to gain the sympathy of others. She stuck the answer key to a test in my bag and framed me for cheating. Gabriel the retired Hawkmoth, has admitted to Lila willingly let herself be akumatized multiple times. She threatened me and told me she would separate me from my friends until I was all alone." He is silent, but she can feel his heart rate speed up. She looks up at him, fury was spread across his face. "Prince, please say something," she whispered, placing a hand on his cheek.

He takes her hand and  kisses her palm and says, "Angel, no one plans homicide out loud."

"You can't kill her, sadly," she said whispering the last part. "Also one more thing you should know about, apparently you adore her and you guys have had an on and off relationship from childhood," she smirks, her bluebell eyes sparkling with mischief as he gags. They finish eating breakfast together and after cleaning up Damian escorts her home. 

When she arrives home she unpacks and washes her clothes, then starts Scarlette's bridal shower outfit. She makes a cornflower blue button-up blouse and a white high skirt with white sheer fabric on the top of the solid underskirt. She sent a picture to Scarlette and let her know she could pick it up on Sunday. She also recommended pairing it with a pair of pastel pink high heels and clutch. 

Life went on, she started building a name for herself with the help of Diana under the name of Nette. She told Diana that Marinette knows that she is Wonder Woman and that she is Ladybug. Diana laughed it off saying that she knew Marinette had Tikki from the moment she entered the store, part of the reason Diana hired her so quickly. She was intrigued by the holder of creation. Damian and Marinette continued to go on dates. Damian came home with Marinette for Chinese New Year, he also wore a disguised just in case. In March, Damian asked Marinette if she would move into the manor with him, she declined because she has a year contract on her apartment and she doesn't want to mooch off of him.

-----------------------------------------

Tag list (Open):

@northernbluetongue @melhuney @ladysblackcat @sturchling @otaku4312 @g-arya @smolplantmum @bluefyoto94 @echpr @moonlightstar64 @thesunanditsangel @cutechip @heaven428 @elmokingkong @kass-is-weird @niza13149 @urbanpineapplefarmer @ginamarie1512 @chocolatecatstheron @iggy-of-fans @crazylittlemunchkin @komatsuna-yuki @weird-pale-blonde-person @ellerahs @sinnamonroill @daminett4life @queenmj10 @indecisive-mess-named-me @reyna-avila-ramirez-alreanaldo @lizziejay @etheralentity @sassakitty

[phandom-phriend]

Phic Phight 2020 - New Perspective

“Danny being stuck as Phantom and forced to deal with situations that he'd normally be as Fenton (like going to school, having a family dinner, etc)” | Prompt by @ectoamerican-blog

Word Count: 1,226

Some things are easier as Phantom. Fighting ghosts is a prime example, but even the small things like being on time or getting around Amity are done with a certain ease. On the other side of the coin, there are also things easier as Fenton. Blending in and giving off a heat signature for starters.

So it makes sense to keep the two separate. They both have their ups and downs, pros and cons. Sure, Fenton and Phantom are both him. And while it took a while, he accepts it. Embraces it. It’s just...who he is now. His name is Danny, he has two best friends, he wants to be an astronaut, and he’s half ghost. It’s as simple as that.

But things tend to go wrong whenever he’s involved. That’s just another thing he’s come to accept over the years. And it seems that lady luck thought him to be long overdue for some misfortune.

It all started with his dad's latest invention. Over the past two years they have switched from lethal ghost weaponry to subdued weapons. (Turns out it takes saving the world a dozen or so times before they would be more lenient towards ghosts. Who knew?) Which is how Jack came up with The Fenton Stabilizer.

Now what it was supposed to do was freeze up the ectoplasm inside a ghost bodies so that they couldn’t move. Simple enough, really. That is, until you bring a halfa into the equation.

Phantom, unfortunately, became the unwilling test subject after dealing with the Box Ghost. Even if the other can be a bit… much, it’s not like he wouldn’t take a hit for him...literally. On the outside, it appeared that nothing changed when the blast hit, much to his parents, and his own, surprise. He was still able to move freely and use his powers, leaving them to dub the Fenton Stabilizer… a dud. But when he flew off and met up with Sam and Tucker, it became clear that he was affected. His ectoplasm froze not his mobility, but his ability to transform back, leaving him stuck as his ghost half until it either wore off, or they found another solution entirely.

Which leads to another problem, he realizes the next day. School. His parents don’t really take notice of him when he is or isn’t there, so sneaking this issue past them for the night, but...

Normally he would skip out or Sam and Tucker would give excuses to cover for him, but Mr. Lancer had told him last time that if he were to ditch his class one more time this semester, his parents would be brought in. Which is a whole other can of worms he does not feel like opening right now. So, the solution to the madness? Go to school as Phantom!

No, his secret wasn’t out. And no, he wasn’t planning on letting it out anytime soon. But surely this was a fool-proof plan in need of no edits what-so-ever! (Not like he has the time to make edits if they were needed anyway)

The stares were expected as he flew into school, shooting a few of his classmates (not that they knew that) a few smiles and waves as he went by to his first class of the day. No one has questioned him directly yet, just murmurings among themselves about possible ghost attacks or conspiracy theories of his appearance, the usual stuff.

It wasn’t until he got to the history classroom that he was questioned, and it started because he was the one that asked something first.

“Hello, do you know where Danny Fenton sits?”

“What are you...doing here?”

“Attending school, same as you.”

Now, Miss Fletcher wasn’t really keen on Phantom. He was a disruption to class and the same breed as those that attack Amity. Not to mention she just wasn’t fond of teenagers in general. Why she became a teacher is anyone’s guess. But putting that aside, she wouldn’t easily be swayed by banter or words in general.

“I know you’re an...icon around town. But you can’t just barge into my class and ask about my students!”

“Oh, well you see, Danny and I have this deal going on.”

“Deal?”

“Yeah! He’s, uh, helping me with some ghost trouble! So I agreed to come to class for him today so he could get all that work done for me!”

“Ghost trouble?”

“Yeah, real personal stuff. Already talked it over with the principle, so! We’re all good!” Danny, of course, had not done that. Hadn’t even thought of talking it over with the man in charge until the words tumbled from his mouth. He’ll have to keep that in mind for the future. He is on Team Phantom if the small poster on his desk was anything to go by.

She didn’t say anything this time, just rolling her eyes and pointing to Danny’s seat. This was going to be an odd day.

--

Things went by about the same in each class since that morning, but lunch was a whole other issue. Normally he’d sit with Sam and Tucker at the corner table or outside, but he kept being stopped by multiple students and different lunch tables. It ended up being more of a Q&A than lunch. Which, it makes sense that no one was really concerned with his need to eat since, well, the whole dead thing. So Phantom decided to just..suck it up, answer a few questions, and float his way to Mr. Lancer’s classroom. Easy-peasy.

“Why are you here today?”

“Danny’s helping me with something.”

“What does it feel like, being in school?”

“I died before I graduated, so it’s pretty surreal to be back now.”

“Why is Fenton the one helping you?”

“His family is known for ghost tech, seemed like a pretty logical choice to me.”

This continued for ten minutes or so before Danny was able to escape their eyes and make his way to Mr. Lancer’s class. To his surprise, the older man didn’t even bat an eye at the ghost's presence, floating into the room and in front of his desk.

“Uh, hello...sir?”

“Go and take a seat, Phantom. Second row, third from the left.”

“Uh, thanks. You’re a lot more...accommodating than I thought you’d be.”

The teacher put his book down and leveled him with an almost… kind look. “I happen to be a bit of a fan, I suppose. And every teenager needs to learn the literary arts.”

“Yeah, well-”

“And I assume you brought Danny’s work that was due today?”

“Oh, yeah! Of course!” and he did, surprisingly enough. It was meant to be used as a sort of bribe, but this works just as well.

“Then I don’t see how this will be an issue. Now, let’s begin.” he said, eyes as the class filled up with barely concealed whispers.

As Danny sat, or rather floated, in his seat as his teacher began to speak, he couldn’t help but to feel a different level of appreciation. Who would have thought that even in this form, his teacher would still have his back? Not that he knew he was Fenton, of course. But it was a nice sentiment either way.

And well, even just Wes’ strangled gasp from behind him made it all the more worth it every second.

[chocolate-parfait]

(1) Hello, I saw you were accepting match ups and I jumped in your ask box :) So I am a Gemini INTJ, creative, ambitious, honest and thoughtful. I can come off as cold as I am mostly neutral in my expression, but I am very loyal and caring towards my friends and generally compassionate. My passions are writing, reading, ballet and learning new things (criminology, literature, history, sociology, psychology, sciences, philosophy), I am kind of a master of all trades. I also stand up for feminism

Here ya go, luv!

(+you didnt specify pronouns so i hope you're okay with she/her! If not please let me know and I will change them~)

I match you up with... Napoleon!

When you first meet (a proper meeting, not him trying to get you out of a mansion full of vampires), he is not fazed in the slightest by your neutral expression. If being in a such important position has taught him anything, that'd be not judging a book by its cover; you never know what people are hiding just beneath the surface. The same way, you want to witness and judge with your own two eyes the man's qualities and faults before running after him because "omg napoleon bonaparte-senpai!! >\\\<", and this is something that doesn't go unnoticed

Despite the fact that you don't throw yourself in his arms at the sight of his interest in you, one could say that your relationship started off on the right foot. You are straightforward and honest, and on multiple occasions you directly tell him that you want to see who he is for yourself instead of blindly believing rumors and legends

By now Cupid has already hit him with his arrow, and it's clear as day that his feelings will only grow from then onwards. All he can do is show you his true colors and hope that you'll like the view

Though he won't tell you so at the beginning of your friendship, he feels immense pleasure whenever you turn down Arthur's (or any man's) advances. And when, as your feelings develop into something stronger, he sees you walking to him with indescribable and genuine love in your eyes, he feels his heart bursting in his chest. Seeing how the most important person to him gifts him with unwavering loyalty, something that he had learned not to take for granted, it really makes him realize how much of an amazing person you are

Though on the overall you're pretty independent and can hold your own on most occasions, he'd like it if you relied on him more. From morning to dusk you're like a train running at full speed on neverending rails, so sometimes he has to run after you and snatch you away to force you take a break. Overtime he has learned to read every sign your body has to offer, no matter how subtle. He knows when you can still keep going and when you're a inch away from snapping, in which case he'll gently hold your hands and press a solemn yet soft kiss to your cheek, whispering words of encouragement in your ears

He particularly loves seeing the fire in your eyes whenever you talk to him about all the causes you support so firmly. He carefully listens everything you have to say, posing insightful questions as the will to share your ideals burns deep in his resolve. It's one of the reasons he realized he became so utterly whipped. You both share strong convictions that are able to fire you up fiercely in mere seconds, and to share such passion and conception with someone else makes him feel like he came back for an actual reason

Second choice: Leonardo

The moment he lays his eyes upon you, he already knows that there's much more about you than you let on, great minds (or storms in Leo's case) think alike and are bound to recognize each other. He's immediately drawn to you and being as curious as he can be, he immediately takes a liking to you and starts trailing behind you like a lost puppy, though unfortunately for you he plans on endlessly teasing you until he's satisfied with the results of his newfound research

It doesn't take much time for his interest to be rewarded with the first fruits of knowledge as you show him both your passion and skills. The vast variety of topics you cover with your knowledge make you an extremely great partner for all kinds of conversations, especially for someone as cultured as him. Your creativity matches perfectly with his spontaneous personality and oftentimes you find yourselves lost in deep and long conversations, considering and discussing all kinds of ideas and projects

You're also caring and considerate, and it's one of the aspect of your personality he finds liking a lot pretty quickly. You don't overstep boundaries nor ask him questions he'd rather not answer to, and you're genuinely concerned for whatever may bring him harm despite his inhuman resistance. While there isn't anything strong enough to physically bring him down forever, it feels nice having someone fussing over your bruises, tending to your wounds and checking your temperature; it's a completely new feeling for someone without a real family like him, and knowing he can completely trust you with anything is what ultimately wins his heart over

As the days pass by he gets to know you better, and just when he thinks you couldn't surprise him more than what you had done already, he discovers a new side of you, passionate and vigorous. You were out on a date walk in the city, going around and giving a hand to whoever needed it, when suddenly a couple started arguing in the street. It was a man harshly gripping a woman, probably his lover, by her wrist while yelling all types of misogynist insults as she tried to break free. The argument was rather one sided, and Leonardo could clearly see how hard you were staring at the scene in front of you, fists tight with rage and repugnance. As you went to tell him off, the pureblood followed you ready to back you up any moment. In the end everything was solved with just a punch in the face of the man and comforting words to the woman. As the two of you started walking away, Leo asked you about how you were feeling about the whole situation, interested and worried at the same time; that's when you finally explained about how you were an activist and fought against injustices, describing how situation was back in your time and how things developed through the years. Seeing your eyes light up with fire and finally understanding how deeply you cared about equality, he feels his heart flutter in adoration against his chest. You're truly one of a kind, and he can't help but want to support with everything he has.

Your relationship developed pretty fast as he found falling for you almost immediately, and being the flirty little tease he is, nothing changes much even after you start being a thing. He becomes more openly affectionate, that's true, but it comes so naturally to him that it's as if you've always been a couple

Most of your dates involve either philosophical conversations or happen in the library. You take naps together, or he gives you books he read that he knows you'll like. It kinda became your favorite meeting spot, and everyone in the mansion prefers keeping a certain distance from the room whenever you're in it, not wanting to be the third wheel or walk in on something embarassing

[lokiondisneyplus]

Lights, Camera … COVID! The Perils of Shooting Amid a Pandemic | Hollywood Reporter

As film and TV production resumes after the novel coronavirus lockdown,uncertainty about industrywide safety protocols has led to chaos, but insiders say Hollywood is quickly adapting to the new normal: "Everyone's trying to figure it out at the same time."

Whispers of horror stories are beginning to make their way around town. There's the film that told its cast and crew they couldn't leave the Motel 6 where they were staying, only to realize there that there was no restaurant on the property — a logistical "nightmare," according to one source. There's the studio feature shooting in Atlanta that gathered its cast and crew, only to realize at the last minute that the studio and the production facility had gotten their wires crossed. Each thought the other was handling COVID-19 testing, and neither "had their act together," says an insider. A desperate call to the head of a nearby production studio ensued, and that facility stepped in and processed hundreds of tests for a movie it had nothing to do with.

As Hollywood forges its way back into production in the midst of a pandemic, industry leaders say that embarrassing oversights like these are all but inevitable in a situation as complex and unprecedented as this — but that shouldn't deter efforts to get cameras rolling again. "Logistics for production shoots are complicated to begin with. Add the extra layer of all the safety protocols and testing that has to be figured out and, yes, you're going to have some of it fall through the cracks," says California film commissioner Colleen Bell. "None of this is easy — but frankly, I give the industry a lot of credit for adapting so quickly."

Indeed, after months of planning and schedule shifting, filming is starting to kick up in earnest. All the major studios are said to have projects in various stages of production, and it's beginning to add up: Los Angeles has seen a 40 percent increase in film permit requests from July to August. While the situation remains fluid, resting on the latest local government order or CDC update, what's become increasingly evident is that there's remarkably little consistency across productions, according to actors, directors, crewmembers and executives who've been on set in recent weeks. With the unions and AMPTP, the trade association that represents the major studios, not finalizing their return-to-work agreement until earlier this week, most producers have been relying on the COVID-19-related guidelines released in a June 1 white paper and later in the "Safe Way Forward" report, both drafted by members of multiple industry guilds. But insiders say that which of those practices are implemented and the extent to which they're enforced can differ significantly depending on the project. "It is, in that regard, the wild Wild West," says Pinewood Atlanta president Frank Patterson.

Much of the decision-making power has rested with each individual production and studio, which have received guild approvals on a case-by-case basis. "Everyone's trying to figure it out at the same time, which is both great and a little terrifying," says John Skidmore, head of production at Jax Media, who has been leading the company's efforts to get its wide-ranging TV projects — ABC's The Conners, TV Land's Younger and HBO Max's Haute Dog — up and running safely. "The plans are constantly evolving and none of us are doctors, so we're just using the best advice we all have." Of course, some variation among projects is natural — few would expect the set of an independently financed docuseries to run like that of a big-budget movie — but many argue that the industry could benefit from a bit more consensus.

A number of the inconsistencies have hinged on essential questions about protocol. For instance, how frequently should cast and crew be tested for COVID-19, and with what kind of test? How many sick days is a crewmember compensated for if they fall ill? How does a production determine who else on set needs to quarantine when someone tests positive? When is the infected individual cleared to return to set? How many positive tests can a production withstand before it should shut down? At least up until Monday, when a more industrywide agreement was finalized, you'd hear different answers, depending on whom you talked to, what project they were working on and which studio was footing the bill. Ideally the newly settled contract clears up some of the confusion on sets, but it will take time to determine the effectiveness of the new guidelines.

Those different approaches have been evident from the get-go. Some productions have required formal training sessions to ensure that everyone understands the new on-set protocols, while others simply email a PDF or PowerPoint or casually discuss the plan on Zoom. Netflix, which has developed a reputation within the below-the-line community for being one of the more prepared studios (its newly created Health, Safety and Cleaning group drafted its set of guidelines and enforces them on set), not only mandates at least one training course but requires that everyone headed to set pass a test on the relevant protocols beforehand. One source who was recently employed on a Netflix project after working on Songbird, the independent Michael Bay-produced thriller that was temporarily hit with a SAG-AFTRA stop-work order earlier this summer, describes the experiences as "night and day."

While this person is careful to note that they didn't necessarily feel unsafe on the Songbird set, they say they watched as production loosened up on certain practices. "Some of the protocols went out the window because there isn't time in the day to get done what needs to get done in order to shoot a feature film in that many days," says the insider of the 19-day shoot. That meant having sets that were more crowded than they probably should have been, changing lighting after actors had already come to set, and failing to sanitize objects before other crewmembers touched them. "It's a slippery slope, because once certain protocols aren't taken seriously, it becomes, 'Well, I don't really have to be 6 feet away,' " says the source, who also felt that the designated COVID-19 monitor wasn't around as much as they should have been. "They were not monitoring. They were almost like a production assistant, where you're like, 'Hey, go get so-and-so another mask!' There was no one looking at me, saying, 'Stop what you're doing and put on a face shield.' And to me, that should have happened."

The film's producers, however, push back on this person's characterization of the set. "I personally didn't witness any of that," says Catchlight Studios' Jason Clark. "I feel like, as much as humanly possible, we ran a safe set." Fellow producer Jeanette Volturno adds that as one of the first films to get up and running, they always knew there'd be room for improvement. "When you're the first out, it's challenging because you're figuring out what works and what doesn't work and what needs to be adjusted," she says, noting that they spent 10 hours getting feedback from more than two dozen crewmembers after the shoot (their chief complaint, according to Clark, was that they could've used more help — but unfortunately a pared-down crew is a key tenet of filming during the pandemic).

It could be that some productions are setting out with unrealistic protocols, leaving them no choice but to adjust as they go. Dr. Oz, who returned to the studio for his talk show in recent weeks with his own set of guidelines, tells his team not to sweat the small stuff and to instead concentrate on the most important practices, like mask-wearing and social distancing. "Don't focus on the food and the boxes touching each other in the craft services cart. Focus on the fact that the air quality is what you expect it to be. Focus on whether you're being tested appropriately," he says.

Certainly, larger-scale productions with the backing of a major studio like Universal's Jurassic World: Dominion — which has been shooting at Pinewood Studios in the U.K. since July 6 — have more resources to devote to new safety measures. "When you get up and running, you realize that you need to go over and talk to that crew person and say, 'Buddy, put the mask up over your nose.' Or you find the three guys who are just 18 inches away from each other talking about what a great time they had last weekend, and you have to break it up," says the movie's producer Patrick Crowley. "We have people who are hired to do nothing but go, 'You need to get 2 meters away from him,' because you know that the success of the show and the likelihood of them continuing to have jobs in the industry is dependent on that." The film's cast and crew are not only staying in a nearby hotel bought out by the studio in an effort to maintain a quarantine bubble, they're also tested three times a week. To date, the production has processed a whopping 27,000 COVID-19 tests over the course of the shoot (the hotel staff is tested, too). At roughly $100 a pop, that's close to $3 million on testing alone. "Universal never blinked," says Crowley. "They said, 'You've got to do what you've got to do.' "

For many productions, testing has been one of the trickiest issues to nail down. A majority use the nasal swab PCR test, widely regarded as the "gold standard" of COVID-19 tests. But not everyone prefers it. Oz has opted to use a sputum culture test, which allows him to bypass the discomfort of the PCR test by coughing up phlegm and spitting in a cup. "Getting those nasal swabs in the hospital was torture for me," he says, noting that the sputum test "works really well" and can have a one-day turnaround time. Songbird, for its part, used a combination of PCR testing and rapid antigen testing, which can deliver results in 20 minutes. It's not just the type of testing that varies — it's the frequency, too. In Oz's case, prior to the new guidelines, the unions required him to test every three days, while CBS Studios mandated testing only twice a week. (The new studio and union agreement requires that performers like Oz test at least three times a week.)

There are also nuances to test results that productions are just beginning to grapple with. Of all the tests Jurassic World has processed, just under 10 came back positive. And oddly, a portion of the people who had a positive result tested negative the very next day, prompting concerns about false positives (they quarantined just the same). Of the more than 7,000 tests Pinewood Studios in Atlanta has processed in recent weeks, just under 3 percent were positive. Though not exactly false positives, some of that percentage has been made up of what Patterson calls "not useful positives." By having the labs run some of the same samples multiple times, they discovered that the processing methods were detecting trace amounts of the virus in some individuals, prompting a positive test when that person didn't actually have enough of the virus to be contagious. "That's not useful," says Patterson. "What I need to know is, 'Can this person spread this thing?' " Of course, he'd rather err on the side of caution — but now he's wondering whether they've sent people into quarantine who weren't actually at risk of infecting others.

To protect against an outbreak, sets are now often divided into specific "zones" that correspond to the level of protection they require, depending on their proximity to the mask-less actors. Many refer to them as the A, B and C zones, though Netflix calls them the red, yellow and green zones. (Some find the streamer's terminology more intuitive and contend that the rest of the industry should adopt it.) Once each person has their temperature taken and fills out a daily health questionnaire that asks questions such as, "Are you feeling sick?" and, "Have you been around anyone who has tested positive for the virus?" they're given a badge that corresponds to the zones they're cleared to be in. The A/red zone is the strictest area on set because it's wherever the mask-less actors are, so the greatest amount of personal protective equipment is required. The B/yellow zone is the middle ground that still mandates protection — just slightly less of it. Someone with a B/yellow badge cannot go into the stricter A/red zone, but a person with an A/red badge can move freely within both zones. As a general rule across all zones, close contact between two individuals should not exceed 15 minutes. "The consensus is to treat everyone as if they have it, because that's the safest thing to do," says one crewmember. "It's really emphasized that you want to act like everybody has COVID."

Meanwhile, everyone is allowed in the C/green zone. It often houses craft services and permits people to remove their face coverings to eat prepackaged, individually wrapped meals. Because masks can be "relaxed," everyone has to stay 6 feet apart at all times, and tables and chairs are spread out accordingly. Once masks are off, though, it can be difficult to remember to put them back on. KJ Smith, the star of Sistas — the first of four Tyler Perry shows that shot this summer during his "Camp Quarantine" — says she had to train herself to put her mask back on after eating or getting her makeup done. "When we were rehearsing and in the beginning stages, it was very hard, honestly. It was like I had to constantly remind myself or remind others, or others had to constantly remind me," she says, noting that adapting to the new normal involved a steep learning curve. "There were moments where we just didn't know the proper protocol and all of us had to really learn how to adjust."

Short-term productions like Sistas have served as some of the best guinea pigs. (In keeping with the timetable for most Perry shows, the dramedy shot its entire season in less than two weeks.) Two of Netflix's earliest productions in the States to resume work were a pair of films — Adam Sandler's Hubie Halloween and Ryan Murphy's The Prom — that barely had any shooting left on the schedule. FX's Fargo, which recently returned to film in Chicago, had only two episodes remaining. It's also why it has been easier for unscripted projects — often smaller and more nimble than narrative shows — to get cameras rolling again. HBO Max's upcoming dog-grooming competition series Haute Dog filmed its 12-episode season in July without a single positive test (even though the virus case load was surging in Los Angeles at the time). Many of the earlier productions enlisted the help of medical consulting companies that handled everything from testing to contact tracing to on-set compliance. Haute Dog, for its part, worked with Axiom Medical, a company that earlier in the year had helped chicken giant Tyson Foods reopen its factories before segueing to Hollywood to jump-start NBC's The Voice (it has since moved on to TBS' Wipeout).

The more contained the production is, the less the studio has to worry about facing the complex (and costly) cascade of events set in motion if cast or crew become infected, as Robert Pattinson did on Warner Bros.' The Batman. It's also why those in charge stress the importance of being responsible when you're not on set. Ahead of Fargo's return to production in August, showrunner Noah Hawley sent cast and crew an email emphasizing just that. "Noah said, 'We pretty much feel like when you're at work, you're covered. Now we're asking you to be responsible for when you're not at work and you're going to be coming back into our community,' " producer Warren Littlefield said recently. And on Jurassic, Crowley says that maintaining the bubble over many weeks has ended up being a "source of pride" for people. Still, the longer productions go on, positive tests are all but inevitable — and beyond the fact that infected individuals aren't allowed on set, there aren't many universal answers when it comes to what a positive test result means for the production at large. The next step is contact tracing, which sets out to determine who the sick person may have infected — but that can play out differently depending on the project. Some productions have been using a "6-15-48" rule, which means that if someone else was within 6 feet of the infected person for more than 15 minutes within 48 hours of the positive test result, that person must also quarantine. Others, like the indie film Red 48, a thriller starring Tyrese Gibson and John Malkovich that just shot in the Tri-State area, have used a variation of the rule, expanding it to 96 hours.

Isolation periods also vary from project to project. Some say the people the infected individuals came in contact with need to quarantine for only five or so days and can return to work once they then produce a negative test (the case on The Dr. Oz Show). Others have been more conservative and require isolating for a full 14 days, even if they test negative. This is the rule on Jurassic World because it's what studio owner Comcast mandates. "It can be a nightmare. All of a sudden you have four people who aren't able to go to work and you have to figure out a workaround," says Crowley. "But if we don't stick by the rule, we don't have any uniform way of assuring accountability." As for the person who is infected, some say they're cleared to come back to work only once they're able to produce two negative tests after a full 14-day quarantine. Others are taking their cue from newer CDC guidelines that say an individual who tests positive can return to work in only 10 days' time, as long as they show an improvement in symptoms and haven't had a fever within 24 hours.

But at what point does a production need to shut down? Insiders say it's not so clear-cut. "There's still no real concept yet of what a cluster is and what actually requires a shutdown," gripes one crewmember. For Red 48, it would take only one positive test. For The Dr. Oz Show, it's more like three. On other productions, particularly larger ones, it can be even more. "There's no magic number," says Jurassic's Crowley. "It has to do with what the impact on the show would be." Sources note that it's heavily contingent on the size of the project, too. "We were pretty much in one location throughout the whole movie, so if one person got sick, they probably would have been in contact with more people than, say, a larger production that's much more spread out," says Red 48 director Jon Keeyes.

That it took the unions and the AMPTP three months to hammer out details of their return-to-work plan only served to exacerbate the lack of consensus across the industry. Sources say the toughest aspects to negotiate were the type and frequency of testing, personal protective gear costs, quarantine pay and sick day compensation. Several insiders emphasize the importance of paid sick leave, as such policies have varied from set to set (it's now mandated for COVID-related illness in the new guidelines). With only a portion of productions up and running, many crewmembers, long out of work and in need of a paycheck, wouldn't want to miss out on a gig in such a competitive environment. "You have to create an incentive system for people to tell you the truth," says Oz. "If I dock you because you're sick, that's not good."

Productions are also looking for creative ways to keep cast and crew safer, such as increasingly opting for outdoor filming locations over indoor ones. FilmLA found in its most recent report that more than half of the filming activity took place outdoors in lieu of soundstage production — about double the usual percentage. "We've heard from studios and independent producers that they would like to do outdoor if possible because they realize it's safer right now," says FilmLA president Paul Audley. But in places like Los Angeles that have been suffering through heat waves recently, it can be extremely uncomfortable for crew to wear all of their PPE in 90-degree weather. On the set of Perry's Sistas in Atlanta, two people became sick during the shoot with what they thought might have been COVID-19 but turned out to be heat exhaustion. A source says some crewmembers are now taking to wearing battery-powered cooling vests to keep from overheating.

While some insiders express concerns about how little uniformity there's been across productions, several others say they've felt safer on set than they do in other public places. Sistas star Smith recalls arriving at Perry's sprawling studio campus to find staffers in hazmat suits doling out welcome baskets stuffed full of PPE, hand sanitizer and antibacterial spray. "That was the moment I realized, 'I'm in the safest place on earth right here, right now,' " she says. Many are quick to point out that sets have more rigorous protocols in place than most stores and restaurants, few of which require testing before letting customers inside. "People have to actually abide by the rules or they can't get on set, as opposed to the grocery store, where someone lowers their mask to look at something or gets close to you in an aisle," says Skidmore.

For those who don't abide by the rules, swift action is taken in most cases. A crewmember was recently said to have been dismissed from ABC's The Goldbergs for not wearing their mask properly in zone A. A source says they were warned for not wearing a mask and were later caught wearing one below their nose. After refusing to comply with the zone guidelines, they were sent home. Netflix is also said to have let certain crewmembers go for their unwillingness to follow the protocols. And on Jurassic World in London, they're enacting a very British warning system to ensure compliance: a yellow card for a warning and a red card for a more serious talking-to and possible termination. But insiders say the vast majority of folks are compliant. "Most people are working hard to do the right thing," says first assistant director Neil Lewis. "We're all just trying to keep working during this time."

Sure, some might occasionally find themselves without a plan at a Motel 6 or having to phone a friend for COVID-19 tests, but it won't stop Hollywood from moving full speed ahead. "It's going to be a bumpy road. There's zero chance we're going to get this perfectly," says Oz. "But the show will go on."