#i scrolled through the notes for a hot minute trying to understand what this lady's thought process was..

[what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me]

The Haunting of Thomas Sanders 

> Part 1 < Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Summary: Nico was beginning to think his new boyfriend was haunted by ghosts. He never planned to bring it up until the ghosts themselves came to him asking for help.

[AO3]

CW: food mention, alcohol mention, past breakup

Notes: Based off this text post I made. 

.

Nico had come to the mall for inspiration.

Anything to get out of his office would help him at this point, really. The meetings he had to go to were stifling any new ideas and the nosey, pompous co-workers were worse. The writer did not know what he was looking for, but what else brought people to malls? Maybe a new outfit would uncover confidence , maybe indulging in greasy food would be that final click he seemed to lack, maybe people-watching would offer the right story. Nico's bets were not on the last one.

The mall was not as busy as it once had been. When he was still a teen it was a lively place bustling with a constant traffic of people. Walking through shops offered hours of new stimulation and the hallways were towering, intricate skylights the crowning jewel. As time went on Nico got older and things changed. Online shopping is easier than anything and a fair few of the shops were closed down for good.

Nevertheless it was his favorite place to write if he had to choose. The buzz of energy helped him focus on work. Nico found peculiar security in being an irrelevant face in a crowd of hundreds, and knowing that each person had a life he could never even imagine opened floodgates of inspiration. The 'What if's?' and 'Why's?" he asked himself when people-watching could get the ball rolling.

Now there were less faces, less stories. Nico did not appreciate the way this shift reflected in his work. The difference was noticeable, and he struggled more with deadlines, but he worked with what he had.

He learned to pay attention to individuals more. However, currently what he had was waiting for his food, because at this point he might have more luck finding inspiration in eating then in others. There had only been a toddler throwing a tantrum, a teen scrolling on their phone, and a man who sat down across from him at the food court-

Oh hello, inspiration.

If Nico was staring, the only reason he got away with it was his laptop blocking his line of sight. He saw all he needed out of the corner of his eye. The floral shirt was extremely flattering, and if he wasn't mistaken he could see the outline of muscles. That brown hair looked fluffy, and what he would give to run his fingers through it while- Okay, Nico, you might be gay but that thought isn't for a stranger .

He could not even see his eye color. And the man in the floral shirt was eating, interrupting his meal would be rude. Maybe there was a way to make this still work? As his waitress got to his table and dropped off his food, he subtly turned his pinned-covered backpack in the direction of the stranger. If Mr. Handsome did not answer his silent plea then he would move on.

He tossed a fry into his mouth instead of letting himself think.

Maybe he had got his hopes up when the guy came in his direction, only to walk up to a Karrot King line. When the writer saw the man in the floral shirt inspect the plant, he wondered if he liked botany. Finally the same useless hope happened again when they made admittedly awkward eye contact for a few seconds. So he has brown eyes. The guy turned away rather fast so Nico dropped it. Maybe showing a pride pin made the guy uncomfortable and it was to good to be true.

Only when he heard a CRASH and saw somebody fall into a garbage can, did he finally get an idea about what to write. That was a metaphor he could spin into a story. Certainly it was not at all because he felt trashy for a missed opportunity. Nor was it due to that cute guy having disappeared, leaving his food uneaten.

Wait . You can still make this work, Flores.

He scarfed down the rest of his food and discarded the trash. Nico's fast pace to get to the table with the food turned a few heads, but he ignored it. Greasy bag in hand, he browsed the crowd for that familiar pattern. Every person wearing a floral shirt was either an older lady or a child. Nico swayed on the balls of his feet as he contemplated what to do next, but then he saw him coming out of the restroom.

Bingo!

None of what happened after went as planned. Serves him right for letting his overactive imagination create unrealistic expectations.

He should have known trying to do small talk with strangers would only backfire. After Nico had called out after him to return the food, he had tried to ask what made him leave in a rush to forget his food. Then the guy asked what was wrong with him and Nico dropped it. He gave the stranger his well-wishers and left afterwards. He would honestly rather head back to work then be here right now.  

No matter if he was admittedly cute, Nico Flores probably would have been mad at the man if he did not look like he was on the verge of a public anxiety attack. He was probably starving, too, if he had forgotten his lunch.

The man in the floral shirt hesitated behind him, running after Nico.

When they actually sat down to talk together, the man in the floral shirt - Mr. Sanders, Thomas - was quite charming. And funny. And intelligent. Oh, when he had called Thomas an inspiration earlier he had meant it. He just met a singer and an actor, is there a more perfect match to a writer and poet?

Leave it to his imagination to think of a man he just met reciting the poems and lovingly singing songs he writes.

The two had talked for over two hours without noticing. They had bounced ideas off of each other and Nico made an impressive amount of progress. He felt so giddy with just this one interaction! Nico was sad that they had to leave; Thomas seemed just as reluctant to part.

"Well you didn't get to eat much today at lunch right?"

Thomas fiddled with his fingers, "Yeah…"

Nico did not let himself second guess himself , he offered, "Then let me buy you dinner tonight!"

As a breath caught in Thomas' throat, Nico was self conscious that he might have said something wrong, but the heavy blush across the other man's face was not of offence or horror at all. Thomas was smiling at him again.

Finding ways to make Thomas go speechless was going to be his new favorite pastime… if Thomas would give him a chance, he decided. Just that alone lit a fire inside him, and later when he finished with writing for work, he would write some more. All he would be writing about would be this, a collection of poems to free these butterflies in his stomach. Thomas seemed to look around for approval from anybody else and nodded quickly

"I'd love to go with you, Nico! Maybe we can uh- get to know each other better?" Oh man, it was flattering to have somebody so cute get so nervous at him of all people.  

"Only if I could get to know the digits on your phone number better," he confirmed with a playful grin. It might have been cheesy, certainly. But he was also the person who told Thomas that they would not waste this opportunity. Pretending he was not corny now would be a lie.

Thomas taking his cliché advances in stride only made him more hopeful.

.

.

They both later met at a local bar and grill close to the beach. A salty sea breeze tousled his hair and the palm leaves. The hour was close to sunset, too hot for the mosquitoes to bug them but not too hot for the two of them to eat outside.

"I'm looking for a table for two? RSVP'd under the name 'Flores'?" He asked. The waitress nodded, sat him down with a menu. Thomas was not there, and a part of him wonders if he is getting stood up. Nico, not particularly interested in looking at food yet, fiddled with his laptop. He sighed because even If that was the case, Nico would try to make the most of the night.

The waitress brought Thomas to the table a few minutes later. The writer's heart soared before worry took root. Thomas was wearing that same expression from earlier that day on his face. He anxiously explained. "I'm so, so sorry for being late. And i totally get if you don't want me here and would prefer to just call this all off. I didn't mean to show up late, but then as I was about to leave my apartment I- my keys just-"

Nico grabbed one of Thomas' hands and smiled reassuringly. "Hey, I'm not angry you got here late."

Thomas really did look cute flustered, but he did not let go of the hand. Instead he ran his thumbs along his knuckles. "I'm happy you're here with me. Wanna order a drink and maybe share an appetizer with me?"

They both chatted about foods they disliked while waiting. Thomas hated carrots with a passion as it turned out, and he made a mental note to tease him about going to a Karrot King. Nico in turn talked about his dislike for most seafood and mushrooms because of the slimy texture. The waitress came and both agreed on a sampler platter to share.

"Mimosas at sunset?" He inquired.

Thomas smiled nervously. "I usually save them for brunches, with friends. All the other options I like are too much if I want to drive home tonight."

Nico nodded, understanding.

Just like in the food court, Talking with Thomas made time go past without him even noticing. They tried out food together, talked about music, and that led Nico into telling a story about a Highschool band. Thomas was red in the face and giggling uncontrollably by the time they paid for the check and had to leave.

They left the building together when Thomas stopped him. "There's a park around the corner. We can feed the ducks some leftovers."

If Nico noticed that Thomas was not ready to say bye just yet, he did not say it. The last of the sun was behind the horizon by the time they went through a breadstick. Watching Thomas interact with the ducks gave him the idea that this man loved animals. They were cute, he would admit, but nature found other ways to ruin his mood.

Nico laughed at himself, pulling his arms closer into his body. "I almost wish I dressed up a bit more. I didn't expect the mosquitoes to be this bad."

"I know it's warm out, but I can lend you a jacket?"

Nico did a double take at what Thomas was holding up. It was black with plaid sleeves, already oversized so it wouldn't have a problem fitting Nico. It honestly looked very comfortable, and it would keep him from being bit, but comfort wasn't what he was caught up on.

"Being warm beats being eaten alive."

When the fuck did Thomas have an extra jacket on him? Did he really not notice it?

He hesitated, and then asked a whole entirety different question. "Are you sure I can take this? I won't be able to return it to you tonight."

Thomas insisted, "Please, I don't mind- I don't need it. And you can keep it for tonight, or until we see each other again?"

Nico put the jacket on and it was soft. And it smelled like the cologne Thomas was wearing. Oh this was nice. "When will that be, Thomas?"

Thomas let his eyes linger on Nico in his jacket. "Saturday I'm free, I think. We could have brunch together, even."

He smiled. "Saturday sounds wonderful."

.

.

When they first had met, being infatuated was easy. It came to the pair more natural than breathing.

Nico originally did not know if his relationship with Thomas Sanders would go anywhere. But the first meeting had been so promising. And then they had a brunch date at Thomas' place, then a second and a third. Maybe… maybe Nico was moving too fast. Things kept going well nonetheless.

Four, five, six, seven. They kept on hanging out. Going out. They wanted to see more and more of each other. Quickly they were amassing a horde of good memories together. During nights away, they loved to text and call each other. They never put a label on what they did, which was starting to bother him. It felt more intimate than friendship. Were these dates?

According to his family, yes. They had noticed his change in mood and lack of free time quickly and demanded explanation. He kept it vague, but got advice anyways. Mama Flores said it was ridiculous that he had not brought Thomas by to meet the famila. Hid Papa was more doubtful. Even though it has been years since Nico's last major failed relationship, his father was still worried.

Papa Flores was a proud man, so it left a bad taste in his mouth when he requested Nico to take more time before giving his heart away. He had to oblige. Nico was over it, he healed, but some of his family was not. Nico's ex was like a second son to Papa, and everybody was hurt by him.

Call him cliché, but Thomas was different.

Even when Nico was past the stage of infatuation, Thomas took his breath away.

Could you be infatuated by somebody you have not actually kissed yet? It felt like it. Sure, when they had met at that food court, he had his breath taken away, and that feeling intensified when they saw each other more. He knew infatuation could feel like love, but these feelings passed the test of time and matured into something deeper. With more meaning. He did not like just the idea of Thomas and what their future might look like, he liked Thomas for his presence and as a person.

Suddenly his worries that they were moving too fast turned into frustrations they were moving too slow. They were more intimate than regular friends, but they never got far enough to be considered partners. It was frustrating to figure out. Nico was ready for a relationship, he was certain. The three months he spent getting to know Thomas were blissful, and calling their dates only "hangouts" had begun to feel forced.

So they talked about it.

Thomas said he was also ready but his actions seemed more… hesitant. He mentioned somebody from his past, who he moved on from but never could forget. Nico wanted to ask, to find out what happened to his heart for him to be so afraid. He knew what it felt like to have scars that still hurt, he wanted to be there for Thomas as he healed.

But that was not the time for the conversation. Not when Nico was nearly on Thomas' lap and his arms hung around his neck. Not when Thomas met his eyes and Nico stared at them for too long. It could have been him trying to figure out what emotions they held, maybe Thomas' eyes were that beautiful. His friend -- boyfriend? -- got so anxious and trapped in his head easily, but Thomas seemed in control of his more scary thoughts in that moment. It brought a smile to his face, unnoticed between the way they were slowly moving closer.

Still, cautious and vulnerable, eager and loving, Thomas had let Nico kiss him. Finally getting to show Thomas just how much he wanted to cherish him was amazing. And receiving that same passion in return was intoxicating.

Getting an answer never felt so good.

Nico's more-than-friendly feelings were not the only thing that was starting to add up in regards to Thomas either. There were strange happenings, though were so minuscule he had nothing tangible to go off of.

Thomas might be really good at sneaking things past Nico's eyes, common sense would say. Intuition told himself not to doubt what he saw. Thomas did not have that spare jacket on their first date originally. It literally had to of appeared from thin air. And when Thomas invited him for brunch, he noticed that two of the mimosas Thomas had prepared with brunch had vanished. Sometimes he experiences ghost touches when staying the night. The hands were gentle and comforting, calluses on the fingertips just like Thomas, but when he opened his eyes nobody was there.

That was the most noticeable of things. Though he could list off a dozen smaller happenings. He had no proof for them, as they could be explained, but Nico listened to his gut here.

And Nico has no idea what he would want to do with this information anyways. Thomas seemed to have some supernatural force that followed him around. What a fantastic conclusion to jump to! It would be weird to bring up, especially after Thomas had denied anything when Nico subtly brought it up. And the ghosts - for lack of better term - did nothing to harm Thomas.

The information that Thomas was haunted by ghosts was, for all intents and purposes, useless.

(Except it was not. It was fantastic material to write from. When he first called Thomas inspiration, his first impression never proved to be wrong.)

(And if Nico had started a personal project dedicated to a story based on it, nobody needed to know,)

The difference between Nico's feelings for Thomas and his feelings about his ghosts is that one actually got addressed.

He would be content to let Thomas have that secret to himself.

NEXT PART >>

[meltwonu]

| 🍒 CH-CH-CHERRY BOMB! 🍒 |     [CHAPTER 8]

pairing; dom!seungcheol x camgirl!reader

this chapter’s notes; camshow, sex toys, dom!seungcheol, blowjob, cumplay, overstimulation, minor degradation/dirty talk, big dick seungcheol is in the house ladies ‘n gents, what we’ve all been waiting for!!! 😩💕 this was actually meant to be a shorter chapter which I guess depending on how you look at 5k words I guess that can be seen as short!!, anyway thank you so much for your patience 🥺 I know a ton of you were waiting for this and it’s finally here!! hehe~ enjoy! have a great weekend!! 🍒 

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - ? 

“Well… It’s not much but welcome home for the next few days.”

Seungcheol helps you into his studio apartment; setting your things by the bed before turning to you.

“So, I take it the cat isn’t real then, huh?” You joke, plopping down onto the sofa. He shoots you a sheepish smile when he sits on the other end, cheeks blooming crimson.

“Uh… no, sorry... If there’s anything I lied about, it was definitely only the cat.”

The two of you share a laugh as you look around the apartment, noting the cookbooks on the kitchen countertop and the extensive PC setup on his desk. “Oh, I should show you around. I mean, it’s not much, but I figure I should let you know where everything is.”

You nod, getting up as Seungcheol starts showing you around the place. He shows you to the bathroom, lets you know where he keeps all of his snacks and even pauses to give you the wi-fi password. You follow him around the place, remarking that it seemed more homey and lived-in than your space did.

“I mean, it’s not much, but it’s comfy. I even tried to be a plant dad but I forgot to water them so that didn’t really work out.”

“Maybe just buy the fake ones for aesthetic purposes, y’know? Give it a greenhouse vibe.”

Seungcheol nods; chuckling as he brings you back to the living space. “Okay, I should go get the things from ‘Guk before it gets any later. And you have a show to do tomorrow too so we should definitely setup once I get back.” He makes sure he has all of his things, keys jingling in his hold as he makes his way to the door.

“Do you need anything else while I’m out? I’ll probably be about 45 minutes, give or take an hour if I catch traffic.”

You shake your head ‘no’ in response, walking up to him. “Just drive safe~” Waving, you wait until the door lock falls into place before you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

In truth, you’d never stopped thinking about the video you had uploaded hours earlier. It had lingered at the back of your head the entire day despite Seungcheol’s valiant efforts to keep your mind off of the entire thing. 

It was the first time you were alone all day and you were finally ready to face the repercussions of your actions, should they have gone sour.

Sitting on the sofa, you unlock your phone before hesitantly opening a web browser and typing in the URL for the camming website. Taking a deep breath, you login, already nervous when the browser lags due to the amount of notifications.

Your eyes quickly flit across the multitude of comments; cheeks hot as your fingers go numb.

“Oh my god…”

Seungcheol gets an earful once he gets the equipment from Jeongguk’s place; the younger male’s smug face ingrained in Seungcheol’s head even when he gets back to the apartment in record speed.

It takes him a bit of trapezing to get everything in one go, cables spilling out of the box that Jeongguk haphazardly put together, but Seungcheol manages to get the door open.

“Oh my god, ‘Cheol, there you are! Please hurry, come look at this!”

He quickly drags in the box, kicking the door shut before hurriedly jogging over to the sofa where you sat with your laptop. “I--I… I don’t know what to say, I’m just…” You quickly turn the screen to let him read the comments, a wide and giddy smile on your face.

‘Whoa… this is amazing…’

‘Wait who’s the guy???’

‘Please please more content like this’

‘Fuck you sound so good begging for daddy like this…’

‘In public? Such a naughty girl… but daddy will give it to you since you asked so nicely…’

‘Shit you really do look good getting fucked like this… better than your toys tbh’

“Whoa…” Seungcheol breathes out, scrolling through the rest as he sits next to you. “It seems like it did pretty damn well, huh?” You nod feverishly, leaning over him as you click on the video’s revenue page.

“‘Cheol look at this… The donations and revenue from this video alone... I--It’s… it’s more than I get in some of my live shows…” You trail off, wide eyes meeting Seungcheol’s equally shocked face.

The two of you sit in silence for a moment; various thoughts running through your head at the possibilities.

Seungcheol fares no different, already feeling the atmosphere change when you place the laptop on the coffee table.

“Seungcheol��” He can only chuckle in response, already knowing the next words that would spill from your lips.

“Let me take a wild guess… You want to film more like this?”

Nodding, you lean in close to him, wrapping your own arms around his as you rest your head on his shoulder. “I know we kinda… agreed to not get intimate so fast and--and I think we have a lot we need to talk about but ‘Cheol… I--I don’t want to beg but… Would you? Film some videos with me, I mean? They don’t have to be, like, both of us, they can just be from your POV and we don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with doing on camera!”

He bites the inside of his cheek as he stares off into the living room. “How about this… Let’s set up, since you have a show to do tomorrow. And then Tuesday morning before I head to work, we can talk about it. I’m not saying no, I’m just… there’s some ground rules I think we need to put down first. Hard limits, things we’re okay with filming… Y’know, just, what we’re comfortable with.”

“Okay, yeah! That makes total and complete sense~” You open your mouth to speak again, only a small squeak coming out instead. “Hmm? Something the matter?”

“Just… Thank you. For everything. I really didn’t expect this to do as well as it did and--and just, I guess I’m in shock?” You laugh, pulling away from Seungcheol as he stares down at you. “And to be honest… I mean, it’s not like we haven’t thought about each other, right?”

Seungcheol feels his body getting warmer by the passing second; gulping when he understands what you mean. “Y-yeah, it’s just.. Hah, I guess I thought I’d have more time to woo you over.”

Letting out an airy laugh, you stand from the sofa and make your way towards the momentarily forgotten box of equipment; dragging it towards the bed before you sit on the floor next to it. “You have plenty of time to do that~ And anyway, who says I’m not already woo’d over?” You place a ring light down by your side just as Seungcheol sits on the bed, watching as you go through the items.

“Wow, Jeongguk sure has a lot of really nice equipment in here! Are you sure it’s okay we borrowed it?”

“Yeah, he’s a bit of a nerd for video equipment and I’m pretty sure as long as we don’t break anything we’re good.”

It only takes about 35 minutes and Seungcheol stepping on an outlet plug to finish setting up all the lighting equipment and camera as you and Seungcheol finally plop down onto the bed.

“Jeez, I never realized how convoluted it was to set up a few ring lights and one camera. I don’t want to see another cable for at least 50 years.” Seungcheol jokes; wiping a bead of sweat that trickles down his temple. “Is this how it’s set up at your place?”

“Mmhmm~ All the time. It’s like I’m never really ‘offline’.”

He stands from the bed a second later, walking to the fridge to get some water for the two of you. “Really? You don’t ever put the equipment away?”

You sigh softly, flopping onto your back onto the cold sheets. “In a perfect world I would, but it gets really annoying to always take down and put everything back up so I usually kind of just leave them in their places. But it’s fine ‘cause it’s only me anyway and I’m lazy~”

Seungcheol laughs as he places a glass of water next to the bed. “I guess that’s fair. I’d probably do the same.” You get comfy on his bed; eyes already threatening to slide shut.

“We should probably get some sleep, huh? I have work in the morning…” He mumbles, watching as you already seem to drift off into sleep.

“Mmhmm~”

Seungcheol’s bed is comfy.

So comfy that you barely register him leaning down to let you know that he’d be leaving for work. And so comfy that you spend most of your day in it until he gets back.

“Honey, I’m home~” He singsongs; kicking his shoes off at the door before making his way into the kitchen. “I grabbed some takeout on the way back, hope you don’t mind. My cookbooks came in a while ago, but to be honest, I’ve barely even looked at ‘em, much less even opened them up.”

“I don’t mind~ And thank you!”

The two of you set up in the living space, placing the food on the coffee table and easing onto the rug. “So how was work, darling~?”

Seungcheol chokes on a bite of food in an instant, hand on his chest as he tries to swallow it down. “Urgh, f-fine!” He pauses as he clears his airway. “Jeongguk really won’t let me live it down but it’s okay. He asked what you saw in me and that killed my ego a bit.” He snorts.

“Pfft, there’s a lot to like about you! He just doesn’t see ‘that’ side of you, y’know?” Seungcheol blushes, clearing his throat before trying to change the subject. “How was your day? Hope it wasn’t too boring?”

“Mmm~ Not really... Your bed is really comfy though! I didn’t wanna leave it~ Oh! And I spent some time brainstorming some ideas ‘n stuff for tomorrow!”

“Yeah? Anything good?”

Your cheeks flush crimson; a shy smile on your lips. “Maybe~ But we’ll save it for our talk!!”

dom.cheol: aren’t you a pretty lil thing?

angelhan has donated $70

dom.cheol has donated $300

artist8hao: oh? A new location again? It looks nice

alphagyu97: are we all forgetting the most important thing??

alphagyu97: whos the dude???

universe_WZ: you sound pressed over there, u ok?

hoshi_tiger_xx: honestly idrc that video was HOT

“Oh my gosh~ You guys!!” Your eyes flit to the side where Seungcheol sits with his phone in hand; a sly smirk on his face when your eyes meet. “Actually, I didn’t know you’d all like it so much… I kinda just thought to do it on the fly and my---my friend, um, agreed to help me…” Mumbling, you shyly readjust on Seungcheol’s sheets.

gc__koo: a friend? interesting tell me more

sleepy_wonu: who tf

kitty_junjun: i see our babygirl is getting more regulars~ so popular~

You giggle cutely as you tuck a stray hair behind your ear. “Did my video do that well?” You already know the answer but you read off a few more responses, biting your lip when you glance Seungcheol’s way again.

“Actually… my friend is here with me. He’s making sure I behave~”

Seungcheol pauses, head tilted questioningly at you. He mouths a simple ‘what are you doing?’ to which you wink back, readjusting yourself against the headboard.

“He’s really shy though… So he won’t be on camera~ But… But thinking about his fingers so deep in me… Fuck I’m--I’m already…” You trail off; hand reaching for the small bullet vibrator next to you on the bed.

gc__koo: guess he really gave it to you good huh?

xcaliburDK: fuck we kno he did… god that was so hot

tangerine_kwan: ur cute lil pussy was so wet and tight around those fingers, fuck

chwenon has donated $45

chwenon: it was so diff from seeing your own fingers or toys but in a good way

You trail the small vibrator across your body; mewling when you press it against the growing wet patch on your panties. “S-so you guys wouldn’t mind seeing more?”

gentleman_josh95: fuck yea i wanna see more

therealchan99: yes god plz, wanna see that cute lil cunt stretching around a fat cock

Seungcheol blushes as he clenches his jaw, suddenly a little embarrassed.

“Yeah? Mmh, I--I want that too…” You whimper. Using your free hand, you hook your thumb into the waistband of your panties as you shimmy them down before you continue. “Do you think my friend would be so kind as to give it to me~?” You tease; spreading your legs wide in front of the camera.

dom.cheol: if you behave, maybe he will.

artist8hao: mmm he’s right, only good girls get their pussies filled with cock

“Heeeey, but I’m good, right?” You pout, brows furrowing cutely at the camera. “I’ve been so good lately… Think I deserve a reward~”

dom.cheol: do you though? Have you been good, baby?

therealchan99: uh oh trouble in paradise?

gc__koo: maybe hes jealous

Jealous!? Seungcheol exclaims in his head; reminding himself to keep quiet as he stares at you incredulously.

You can only laugh loudly in response, shaking your head as you bring the wet toy up to your lips. You lick the wetness off of the silicone, lips settling into a sly smirk when you set the vibrator to it’s strongest setting.

“Let me show you how good I can be.”

“So, restraints?”

“For me or for you?” You blink up at Seungcheol from a mouthful of cereal, hair messy as you lounge in one of his shirts you happened to find on the floor. “Uh, well, mostly for you. I’m--I’m not opposed to it but… Yeah.”

You get comfy in his makeshift sofa bed, giggling as he sits across from you. “I’m totally cool with it! Oh! Um… you… you’re clean, right? Before we continue.” He nods in response, clearing his throat. “Yeah, I got tested a few weeks ago… Just in case.”

“Okay cool, so… Hmm… ‘Cheol is there anything you don’t want to do?”

“I should be asking you that, baby. ‘Cause I’m okay with anything you want to do… I think.”

“Okay so no piss kinks and no weird diaper baby stuff then.”

Seungcheol snorts, running a hand through his hair. “Sounds good to me. Is there anything you’re… really opposed to? Like choking or spitplay or degradation... I mean, you talking about it on your camshows is different from us doing it in real life so I--I just want to make sure you’re really okay with it.” You nod slowly, taking in his words.

“Yeah… I mean, I wanna try it with you. I trust you.” Pausing, you bite your lip as you try to hide the giddy smile on your face to no avail. “If we’re being honest, the thought of you being rough with me and spitting in my mouth is kinda really hot.”

He grits his teeth, already feeling his cock throb when you say that. “Ooookay, baby, I gotta go to work after this so let’s… not go there right now, okay? I don’t need ‘Guk having any more ammo against me.”

“Sorry, ‘Cheol~ I’ll be good! And--oh, by the way… Um, what about your v-voice? What are we gonna do about that…”

Oh, right.

Seungcheol bites the inside of his cheek, contemplating. In truth, he’d been thinking about it since you asked him to help the first time and he knew eventually he’d have to revisit the topic. It seemed like a minuscule thing, but a part of him was a little worried that he’d be recognizable. “I--I’ll think about it. I’m more okay on the idea of it but I’ll let you know before we do anything.” Nodding, you get up from the sofa the same time Seungcheol does, walking with him towards the front door.

“Oh and one last thing, ‘Cheol!”

“Hmm?”

“Safe word?”

He takes a second to think, brows furrowing as he stares up at the ceiling.

“Cranberry.”

You raise a brow, blinking up at Seungcheol. “Really? Cranberry?”

“Yeah, why not, it’s easy to remember and it’s not Cherry but it’s kinda similar?”

“That’s fair, I guess.”

“Hey hyung, cool apartment! Didn’t think I’d see it like that, if you know what I mean.”

“Don’t you have popcorn to burn?”

Seungcheol sighs a breath of relief when he turns the lock to his apartment door; already excited to see you when he gets home from work.

“I’m back!” He yells, toeing his shoes off at the entrance as he sees you quietly shuffle to the entrance.

“I… I was bad today…”

Confusion crosses Seungcheol’s features as his eyes dance over your form still dressed in one of his t-shirts.

Oh.

Ohhhh. Okay.

“You were bad, huh? Wanna tell me what you did, baby?”

You nod in response, linking your hands with his as you guide him back towards the bed. You hand him your phone, already having it in video mode and recording by the time he adjusts it in his palm

“You don’t have to… say anything if you don’t want to.” Seungcheol nods.

Gulping, you peer up at him once you sit on the bed. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you after you left for work… I--I couldn’t stop touching myself thinking about you…” You rub your thighs together; already feeling the wetness pooling between them again.

“I made myself cum and I--I used your pillow to make myself cum and got them dirty… ‘m sorry…”

Seungcheol feels himself slip into character, bringing his free hand up to your hair before he slightly tugs on it.

“So your greedy ‘lil pussy couldn’t wait ‘til I got home from work? And you got my favorite pillows dirty? Naughty ‘lil thing. I can’t even leave you alone for a few hours, can I?”

You feel your body heat up incredibly fast, head tilted up towards the camera as he brings it in closer. You were fully expecting him to keep quiet, but you were incredibly elated to hear him interacting with you. “I k-know, I’m sorry! I couldn’t s-stop thinking about your cock…” He scoffs, grinning down at you when he sees the lust already pooling in your eyes.

“How are you going to make it up to me, baby?”

“Fuck, you’re so pretty choking on my cock.”

The tears blur your vision as you swallow around him; pussy throbbing around your fingers at the feeling of him already being too big for your mouth. His hand guides you down until your lips almost reach the base of his cock, a strained moan on his lips when you gag around him. “Ngh, god, your mouth is so fuckin’ small. Bet you can’t wait ‘til my cock is in that pussy of yours, huh?”

You moan around him in response; head getting fuzzy when the lightheadedness starts to bite. You continue to thrust your own fingers into your pussy, prepping yourself for Seungcheol as you scissor and curl the digits.

Seungcheol holds you onto his cock a second more before he tugs on your hair, pulling you off of his cock as you sputter and catch your breath. “You look good like this, baby.” He smirks, letting the camera catch your messy hair, teary eyes and swollen lips before he lets go of your hair.

“Now get on the bed. Legs spread for me.”

You nod; getting up from the floor on shaky legs as Seungcheol lets the camera follow.

You strip off all your clothes and get onto the bed before resting against the pillows and spreading your legs for Seungcheol to situate himself between them.

“You need to be punished for misbehaving, sweetheart. You know you’re not allowed to cum without my permission. And you got my sheets dirty.”

“I know…” You whimper, “I couldn’t help it…”

Scoffing, he rolls his eyes. “I know you can’t. All you ever think about is my cock inside that pussy of yours. What would you do without me, baby? Do you think anyone could satisfy you like I do?”

Seungcheol slots himself between your legs, making sure to keep most of himself out of frame. He wraps his free hand around his cock, running it up and down before bringing his cock to your wet folds. He runs the head through your folds, letting it tap against your clit as you jolt.  “Do you want me?” He whispers; his eyes meeting yours.

He knew this was the second everything would change for the two of you, and he wanted to make sure you truly wanted it before he took the leap.

“Yes, please… I want you so bad…” You whimper, legs wrapping around Seungcheol’s waist. He nods shakily, making sure your phone is angled down as he slowly sinks his cock into your pussy.

The two of you share a broken moan as Seungcheol’s grip on your phone tightens and your own hands find purchase in the pillow tucked underneath your head.

Seungcheol was big.

And the stretch had you whining; a small sting biting into you as he slowly eased his cock into you. “Relax for me, sweetheart. You’re already so fuckin’ tight around me. You need to relax a little more.”

You try your best to even your breathing as you also attempt to relax; pupils blown wide when you look straight into the camera. “G-god, you’re so b-big, oh, I--I’m--a-ah!” Tiny cries spill from your lips as you cum unexpectedly, nails digging into the pillow as your walls flutter around him.

“Hmm~ Only got half my cock into your tight pussy and you’re already cumming? So easy.” He laughs, letting you ride out your high as he waits.

Internally, Seungcheol was dying. There were so many things he wanted to say but couldn’t; knowing he, too, at this moment, was playing a character with you.

“Fuck, your pussy is so warm and wet and I’m not even all the way in yet. Think you can still take the rest of me, baby?”

“I, hah, y-yes, please! Wanna fuh--feel all of y-you…” Mumbling, you don’t even wait to come down from your high before you’re already wanting more; squirming underneath him.

“If you say so~”

Seungcheol inches in the rest of his cock, exhaling harshly when he bottoms out completely. “Holy fuck, you’re so goddamn tight!” His free hand grips your thigh, nails digging into the flesh as he gives you a second to adjust to his size. You can feel your entire body trembling, pussy clenching around him as the sting from the stretch starts to subside and bleed into unadulterated pleasure. “God, please--please m-move!”

He starts slow at first, only shallowly thrusting into you as the two of you get used to each other’s body. And despite your first time together being on camera, Seungcheol doesn’t seem to mind all too much, although he does remember to keep himself out as much as possible.

Your breathy moans and clipped breaths are music to his ears when he starts going a little faster; the sweat starting to trickle down his temple when he keeps at a moderate pace. “O-oh, fuck!” A string of incoherent curses follow as you wince when the head of Seungcheol’s cock taps your cervix.

“Oh, go----d, right there, please, it feels so g-good!”

“Right here? Does it feel good when you’re full of my cock?” Seungcheol clenches his jaw when you tighten around him, small curses falling from his own lips.

“Yes, yes, god, fuck… I--ngh!” Your eyes clamp shut as you fully get lost in pleasure; your head tossed back into the pillow when Seungcheol thrusts into you particularly hard.

You hear him laugh lightly, followed by a buzzing noise that has your eyes peeling open. “H-huh?”

Seungcheol smiles down at you, eyes filled with mischief when he plays with the settings on the vibrator in his hand.

“Well, you wanted to cum so bad that you did it without my permission, right? Since you wanna cum so bad, let’s see it, sweetheart.” He brings the toy to your clit; letting the vibrations throw your body into overdrive as your back arches off of the sheets.

“A-ah, Seu--Mmh! Fuck ‘m g-gonna cum a-again!” You cry, thighs quivering around his waist as he keeps the silicone toy pressed up against your swollen clit.

He doesn’t let up as he starts to thrust into you quicker, fucking you through your orgasm as he chases his. “God, your fuckin’ cunt was made for me. Bet you want me to cum inside too, huh? Fill you up nice and good until it’s spilling out of you?”

“Please, please, please!”

“You gotta cum for me one more time, baby. Get my cock wet.” You let out a choked cry, lashes wet with tears when he sets the toy to its strongest setting.

“Mmh, ‘m so s-sensitive… I--- I don’t know if--if I can, ah, cum a-again…” Seungcheol licks his lips watching your fucked out expression, cock throbbing between your walls. “I know you can, baby. I can feel you already getting tight around me again.”

And Seungcheol’s right; only a few more thrusts from him before you’re cumming one last time, heels digging into the small of his back as he finally shuts the toy off and grinds against you. And this time, your lips part in a silent scream, back arching off of the bed as your entire body goes rigid underneath him.

He makes sure to do a full sweep of your body through the camera in the midst of your high, halting his movements as he lets you ride it out before he continues.

“Oh my g-god, I--fu--fuck…”

Your body finally untenses after a few minutes; chest heaving in deep breaths as Seungcheol resumes his pace.

“Ready for me to cum inside that cute ‘lil cunt of yours?”

“Mmh, yes, give it to me~”

Seungcheol snickers, thrusting into you hard one last time before he pulls out completely. “That’s too bad~” He taunts, wrapping his free hand around the shaft of his cock. “Only good girls get creampies~” He lets out a cocky laugh, running his hand up and down his cock as he positions it over your abdomen.

You clench around emptiness, a weak moan floating through the air when Seungcheol finally cums, painting your chest in warm wet streaks of the salty substance. “Fuck, but you look so pretty covered in my cum too…” He grits out, cock throbbing in his palm as he works himself through his orgasm.

You watch him through foggy eyes; licking your chapped lips as you watch his brows furrow in concentration and his eyes slide shut as he, too, gets overwhelmed with bliss.

It takes a moment for him to catch his breath, palm sweaty around the phone as his thumb hovers over the ‘stop’ button. “W-wait…”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, baby?”

You run your fingers through the rivulets of cum coating your skin, gathering the viscous liquid on your fingertips before you bring them up to your mouth to lick them clean. “We can’t let it go to waste, can we?” Popping the digits into your mouth, you moan around your fingers as you clean Seungcheol’s cum off of them.

“You’re right, baby. We shouldn’t.”

You smile up at him, eyes dancing towards the camera for what feels like the first time in a long time before popping the digits out of your mouth.

Seungcheol’s eyes follow your movements, throat dry when you run your fingertips through the settling cum again. Except this time, you drag your fingers down until they’re teasing your clit, coating it in his cum. “Ngh, w-wanted you to cum inside but…”

His shaky eyes follow the way your fingers dip lower and lower until your cum coated fingers sink into your swollen pussy. He mentally screams, half tempted to shut off the camera.

“That’s right, baby. You want my cum so bad that you have to do it yourself, huh? Maybe next time you’ll remember to behave, won’t you?”

Nodding, you repeat the same steps a few more times; fingering Seungcheol’s cum into your pussy until most of it is cleaned off of your chest.

“I promise I won’t misbehave again~” You coo.

You wait a few seconds before you lean up, hand circling Seungcheol’s wrist as you bring the phone down and press the ‘stop’ button yourself.

“And scene!” You blurt out, laying back down in a tired mess as Seungcheol chuckles above you.

“Well, can’t say I expected that, if I’m being honest.” He moves back, eyes fixated on his cum that dries on your skin and the little bit that trickles from your pussy. “I’ve gotta ask, did you really… before I got home…”

“Honestly? Yeah… I mean the--the pillows were a lie ‘cause I didn’t wanna get them dirty but…” You chuckle tiredly, aiming to sit up which you find difficult to do. “Fuck, ‘Cheol, I think you broke me!” He pouts in response, leaning over you to make sure you were okay.

“Did I though? Be honest. ‘Cause I wasn’t expecting to go that hard on our first time together but it just---it--I--”

“Whoa, it’s okay! Seungcheol, relax. You didn’t hurt me… I r-really liked it actually… It felt--You felt really good. And I just wanted to, um, say sorry. I kinda sprung that on you out of nowhere too.”

“Honestly? I didn’t mind. I seemed to fall into character a lot easier than I expected which shocked me too.” 

The two of you fall into a comfortable yet shy silence; catching your breath.

Seungcheol makes the first move, sliding off of the bed as you fight off the sleep that threatens to take you. “Hey, we need to get you cleaned up and hydrated. I need to change the sheets too.”

“Mmm.. but ‘m tired, ‘Cheol…”

He smiles at your tired form, helping you into a sitting position before shuffling to the kitchen to get you a glass of water. “I know you’re tired. And you can go to sleep after we get you cleaned off, get the sheets changed and probably eat a little, okay?”

“Mmkay~ Oh, but the video…” He passes you the glass, making you finish it before you continue.

“What about the video?”

You wipe at your dry lips, handing the glass back to Seungcheol. “We… We should probably watch it back and edit it a bit to make sure everything’s okay, shouldn’t we? Just in case we, um, said something we shouldn’t have or something...”

A blush blooms on Seungcheol’s skin, suddenly shy at the idea that he’d have to not only listen to himself but also watch, at least, part of himself on camera. “R-right, which--which we can do tomorrow when I get back from work. If that’s okay with you?”

You nod up at him, a beaming smile on your face.

“It’s definitely okay with me~”

[obsidiancreates]

The Wrong Realization (But A Welcome One)

4,012 words long

-----------------------------

Jonah wakes up with a headache like he’s got a hangover. He groans, putting his arm over his eyes as the dim light of his bedroom tries to burn out his retinas. Even with all of his thickest curtains closed and fastened together, the sunlight is still too harsh. Must be the way it’s reflecting off the snow.

He falls out of bed more so than gets out of bed, and lays on the floor for a moment. He reaches up to his nightstand and manages to pull down his phone, which bonks him on the temple on it’s way down. That gets him to wake up, with a shout and a dash of fight-or-flight response.

He sighs, rubbing his eyes. He doesn’t even feel very rested! Granted, he did stay up most of the night listening to a new podcast he discovered... fascinating stuff, wonderful deep-dives into mythologies and legends from all over the world. Something a little lighter to relax to than his usual political commentary go-tos.

He stands up, and scrolls through his playlist until he finds a good morning podcast. He heads into the bathroom, ready to grapple with his hair to get it nice and presentable-

He looks into the mirror and freezes up. His hair is perfect. Exactly how he always strives to get it to look, and always falls just one stray strand short of. But now? Not a flyaway in sight.

“I could have sworn I took a shower,” he mumbles to himself. Maybe he just forgot to use shampoo? No, he would never. Maybe too much conditioner, then. But he’s always so careful not to overuse...

“I guess it saves time,” he says aloud. “No looking a gift horse in the mouth.” He picks up his toothbrush and gets to scrubbing, but pauses when he feels something stringy in his mouth.

He spits out the toothpaste foam, expecting a hair.

Instead, it’s a scraping of plastic from his toothbrush, and several bristles.

He stares for a moment, and then opens his mouth. Does he have something completely alarming stuck in his teeth? Did he somehow eat something metal?

... No, not as far as he can see. Nothing is out of the ordinary. Absolutely nothing. Completely fine.

On an unrelated note, the two little cuts in his lower lip that are perfectly aligned with his canines are starting to sting from the mint, so he hurries up and finishes brushing his teeth.

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The sun blinds him as he drives to work, and he has to manage mostly by listening to the traffic around him (which is absurdly loud today, he can hear it with his windows rolled up).

And the sunlight is harsh on his skin, too. Does he need to invest in better sunscreen? Maybe he should revisit that article he read about SPF effectiveness and how to choose the best one...

He gets into the parking lot and parks his car. He opens the door, and promptly slams it shut again with a yelp. His hands didn’t just feel burnt, it did burn!

Definitely needs to up his SPF! And research sudden sunlight sensitivity... his hand is bright pink.

He sits in the car for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. And then there’s a knock on his window. He startles, but relaxes when he sees it’s just Glenn. He rolls his window down just a bit. “Um, hi. Good-good morning, I mean.”

“Heyyyy, Jonah,” Glenn says with a smile. “So, um, I noticed you’re stuck in your car?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, no, I just um. Well you see I-I, um-”

“Need a hand?” Glenn’s smile is a bit strained, for some reason. “Because of the sun?”

“... Well I mean if-if you’re offering then it would be... rude to say no...”

Glenn opens up an umbrella, making Jonah shout in surprise. “Where did that-”

“Come on in under the shade!”

Jonah hesitates a moment, put off by Glenn’s... odd, energy. But he can’t stay in his car forever, so he gets out and walks in with Glenn under the safety of the umbrella.

“Thanks,” he says when they get inside. “I just um, I need to update my sunscreen, you know? And I just didn’t want to risk... my skin...”

“No, no, I completely get it,” Glenn assures. “The warm, life-giving rays of the sun can be very harsh sometimes!”

“... Y-yeah. Yeah.”

“Hey, um, Jerusha and I got you a gift, actually. She was so upset by the whole attack thing yesterday-”

“Oh, you guys didn't have to get me something-”

“Well, we wanted to, so um, here!”

Glenn hands Jonah a very, very wide-brimmed hat. There’s a little bat needle-pointed onto the sides. 

“Oh! Wow! Um, it’s... so big!”

“Maybe it’ll help until you update your sunscreen?” Glenn sounds hopeful. Too hopeful for Jonah to turn down. And... it would be functional, at least...

“Yes! Yes, I think this’ll be great for that, um, thank you! Thank you both, send Jerusha my-my thanks. For this. I can um, see she put some effort into customizing it! Just-just out of curiosity... why a bat?”

“Oh, well um, because of your situation.”

“... Situation, I don’t-”

“You know. The reason you burned?”

“... I still don’t understand-”

“HEYYYY, GUYS!” Amy butts in quite enthusiastically. “How’s it going this morning?”

“Oh, good!” Glenn says with a smile and a nod. “I was just giving Jonah this hat Jerusha made for him, because of his whole condition about being a vam-”

“OH HEY, Glenn, I actually really need your help with something!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Come over here, with me, to... softlines!”

“Oh, okay. I’ll talk with you later, Jonah!”

“Okay! Buh-”

Amy drags Glenn away, leaving Jonah with his hand up in an unfinished wave.

“... Bye. I-I was saying... bye.”

Jonah looks at the hat, and heads off to the breakroom.

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“So does Jonah have them?” Cheyenne is saying when Jonah enters the room.

“I mean, he looked like he did when he was chasing that lady-”

“Do I have what?”

Mateo and Cheyenne startle. “Oh, Jonah! We didn’t see you there! You were like... really, quiet,” Cheyenne says with a slightly strained smile.

“Yeah. So... sneaky.” Mateo looks similarly stressed.

“Well I, I did just get new ultra-soft shoes, very comfortable but I’m not sure about the long-term arch support... but um, what do I have?”

“Um... standards, for your fashion. Sometimes you have them, sometimes you don’t... usually only when you’re chasing, after... someone to flirt with.”

“Oh. ... You-you thought I was trying to flirt with that woman, last night?”

Cheyenne shrugs. “You did literally chase her into the parking lot.”

“I-I guess I did. But I wasn’t attracted to her I mean, I wasn’t attracted to any customers yesterday, even though there were a few good looking ones, that made me laugh... but-but I’m not- I mean, I wasn’t flirting with anyone-”

Jonah babbles on for a good five minutes before Glenn finally comes in and starts the meeting.

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Jonah sighs and rubs his eyes as he mops up a puddle of... it’s either slushie vomit or watered-down blood (though he’s leaning towards slushie vomit, something in him just says it definitely isn’t blood).

He leans against the mop and closes his eyes for a moment. So tired... he felt okay this morning, but as the day creeps on he feels less and less awake...

“Excuse me?”

Jonah startles, yelping and dropping the mop. The customer jumps back as the mop drops.

“I am so sorry!” Jonah exclaims. “I um, I-I think I feel asleep, um, how can I-”

Jonah pauses, at a loss for words.

The customer, a man around Jonah’s age, looks concerned. “You alright, man?”

“Huh?” Jonah’s face feels hot (the first bit of warmth he’s felt in two days). “Oh, um, I-I just, that was very unprofessional of me.”

The customer shrugs. “It’s a Cloud 9, professional isn’t really expected.”

Jonah chuckles. He clears his throat. “So, um, how can-can I help you?”

“I was looking for the recycled paper towels?”

“Oh, yeah, um... let me help you find those. They’re only half recycled, though.”

“I know. But you do what you can on a budget, right?”

“Right, yeah,” Jonah laughs. He can’t stop looking at the guy’s face... why does he feel all jittery?

“Um, here we are. The closest Cloud 9 gets to activism.” Jonah sticks his hands in his pockets and rocks on his heels. His mouth feels dry. Why is his mouth so dry? He licks his lips quickly while the customer isn’t looking.

“Better than I’ve been doing lately. Haven’t done a protest in months.”

“What kind of protests do you go to?” Why did he say that? He’s going to embarrass himself, oh no-

“Mostly wage labor ones, workers rights kind of things. Trying to get a union going at my job.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, well, I know unions don’t have a great reputation in a lot of places but-”

“No! I mean uh, I love unions! I-I’ve been wanting one here since I started working! Just uh, don’t tell my boss that, hah.”

The customer smiles at Jonah, and Jonah wonders if the floor actually fell out from under him or if that’s all in his head.

“Well, thanks for helping me find this. Maybe we can talk about helping each other’s unions efforts if I see you again.”

“Yeah!” Jonah flashes a bright smile. “Sure! Sounds-sounds great! Um was really nice to meet you!”

The customer smiles again and walks away, and Jonah needs to lean against the isle.

He lets out a heavy breath, wondering what the hell is going on and what he is feeling. He looks down the isle to see if anyone is watching him.

Mateo, Cheyenne, Marcus, and Dina are all staring.

Jonah quickly walks away, shame burning his cheeks. So they noticed something, too.

“-looked like he was about to eat him alive-”

He’s too busy being completely embarrassed by hearing them whisper that to wonder how he just heard it from three isles away.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jonah wakes up with a start as a cart rolls right over his leg. He shouts in pain and surprise, and then sighs at himself.

He peels the glue trap off of his face with a grimace. Cleaning the rat traps is a terrible time for his sudden and new case of what seems to be narcolepsy to strike. He sits up and rolls up his pant leg, expecting something nasty to greet him based on the crack he heard.

... Nothing. He frowns, and touches his leg. It doesn’t even sting.

“How did-”

“Jonah?”

Jonah looks up at Amy’s voice. She’s standing over him with a clipboard. “Oh, um... hi.”

“Hey. ... Why are you on the floor?”

“I was uh, cleaning the rat traps. And I... maybe fell asleep.”

“In the middle of the day?”

“... Yes...”

“Okay then. ... So um, I just... wanted to check in, for a minute. How’s it been going with customers?”

“What do you mean?”

“I just mean, have there been any... notable interactions, maybe, to throw an idea out there,” Amy says in her ‘I’m-hiding-the-real-reason-for-asking-this’ voice.

Jonah’s cheeks burn, and he’s sure he’s blushing. “They told you about that?”

“I... might’ve heard some gossip.”

“It-it was nothing, Amy. Really.”

“Are you sure? They said you keep looking at his neck-”

"Well I mean, he had a nice neck I-I guess but I was more looking at his face-”

“And that you licked your lips at him?”

“That-! My mouth was dry, and-and you know I hate chapped lips!”

“... And the hovering over him?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say hovering, more like just watching and... admiring... but that-that’s normal! I’ve been doing that since high school! A good ally normalizes these things, and-and when straight men, yeah, can admire other men in a-a completely! Normal way! Then it um, it helps... break down! The stereotypes!”

Amy looks... perplexed. She shakes her head. “Wait, what are we-”

“I mean, everyone does it, too! Like-like you! I’m sure you’ve looked at-at other woman, and admired their appearance, without feeling feelings for them, right?”

“Well, I guess, but- wait, Jonah, did you-”

“I mean we all wonder in college, right? But I don’t like, I mean there’s nothing wrong with liking both I just- I don’t, I wondered but I never-”

“Okay, um, this isn’t what I came over here to talk to you about-”

“Maybe there was a moment or two where I thought it might’ve been a thing but I-I never acted and if I did like both I would have acted on that, I think-”

“Okay! Um, you’re working through something right now, that is, not what I thought you were working through, so um, I’ll just check up on you later...”

Amy backs away as Jonah keeps recounting half-baked thoughts and unfinished sentences about his time in college and his roommates one friend who maybe had the best hair Jonah’s ever seen but their friendly hair-war was not flirting he swears...

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Jonah doesn’t chew the carrot, just rolls it in his teeth as he stares at the wall, lost in thought.

“... Not hungry for you lunch?” Sandra asks tentatively.

Jonah shakes his head, only half-hearing her.

“... Are you hungry for something else? Like... a customer?”

Jonah stops, and pulls the carrot out of his mouth. “You heard about that too?”

Sandra’s eyes widen, and she shakes her head.

“You did! Did- does everyone know about that?”

“Well, it-it’s been sort of, floating around-”

Jonah groans, putting his head in his hands.

“... So um... are you?”

“What? No! No, I am not hungry for him, that’s objectifying. Not that I- I mean, I’m a straight man, I can’t, objectify another man, because that implies attraction. ... Unless I’m playing into toxic masculinity stereotypes by believing that...”

“I don’t think you have to worry about falling into masculinity stereotypes,” Carol pipes up from another table.

Jonah looks at her, annoyed. Her eyes widen and she looks away. 

Jonah puts his head back into his hands. “This is a nightmare...”

“For all of us,” Sandra whispers.

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Jonah sighs, slumping over onto the customer service counter. Garrett just looks at him, waiting for whatever Jonah has in store.

“... It normal for straight guys to admire other straight guys appearances, right?”

Garrett blinks. “Wow, just some casual conversation, huh?”

“Just- I mean, I know people are talking about-”

“You eyeing up that dude earlier like he was a steak?”

“... Yeah. That.”

“Dude, I don’t think this is the issue you should be focused on right now.”

“I know, I know! I’m in my thirties, I should have this figured out and be focusing on more important things-”

“Not what I meant, actually, I meant the superpowers-”

“-but I don’t know, I’ve never really had anyone point it out before! And-and now I can’t stop thinking like, am I? Attracted?”

“You know there’s nothing wrong if you are, right?”

“Yes, I do, I’ve been to a bunch of rallies and stuff.”

“Did you oogle dudes at those rallies?”

“NO! ... I mean I guess I observed and-and appreciated-”

“Yeah, you might just be on the gay spectrum, dude. I don’t know what else to tell you. Except that, uh, you just accidentally slapped my shoulder and you’re as cold as a bag of ice, so maybe that should be your crisis of the day.”

Jonah is staring off into space, rubbing his arm. It doesn’t seem like he heard Garrett at all. Garrett just sighs, and rolls away.

Jonah stays there, contemplating, for quite a while.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, no more dancing around it.”

Jonah jerks awake. Again. God, why can’t he stay awake? ... Probably because he stayed up all night.

“No, Cheyenne.”

Jonah looks around. He peeks into the next isle, and then the next. 

... Where the hell are Cheyenne and Amy? He can hear them so clearly...

“He’s like, totally oblivious to it!”

“He’ll realize it eventually, okay? It’s not some truth bomb we can just drop on him.”

“My friends drop truth bombs on me all the time, and it just brings us closer. Best bitches don’t lie to their best bitches.”

“... Right. But, it’s kind of something for him to take the time to process.”

“What if he doesn’t? He’s just gonna like, wander around forever making excuses and being all nervous and confused.”

“Well... then we’ll give him a push. But for now let’s just... give him some space. Let him come to terms with it on his own.”

Jonah is startled out of his accidental eavesdropping by hearing himself sniffle. He quickly wipes his eyes, sticks his hands in his pockets, and hurries away. He still doesn’t know how he heard them, maybe some kind of really weird echo or sound tunnel. So he goes to the other side of the store entirely and finds the chattiest customer he can.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He can feel Dina and Mateo staring at him as he restocks softlines. They whisper to each other, and he sighs and hangs his head. “You know, it makes it worse when you talk behind my back.”

Mateo yelps a little. He clears his throat and quickly composes himself. “Sorry. Uh, we were just talking about-”

“Yeah, no, I know. I’m... aware, okay? And I just would like to stop hearing about it for now, please.”

Mateo looks taken aback by the tiredness in Jonah’s voice, the... weary tone. Dina, however...

“Yeah, well, not exactly something to brush under the rug.”

“Why do you even care? It’s a me problem, okay?”

“Really? You think this doesn’t impact everyone?”

“How! Would it even do that?!”

“Well, let’s see! It made Mateo afraid, it made Amy all somber and worried about you, it made Glenn cry even more than usual-”

“It did?”

“He started a trust fund for your soul.”

“... Oh.”

Dina stops, her frown slowly becoming more confused. “You... didn’t realize that would happen?”

“... I don’t know, I guess I thought... thought he’d be more open-minded.”

“Glenn?”

Jonah takes a deep breath. Ugh, why’d it make his chest hurt? Why do his lungs feel like they don’t want the air? 

The next thing he knows he’s done with softlines (it felt like he got done in the blink of an eye) and walking away. He swallows down the lump in his throat, and the urge to comfort eat. God, he’s craving a snack now. Well, he has all day, but he’s been... a little distracted.

“Excuse me? Hello? Hey!”

Jonah looks up at the customer, still feeling drained and empty.

“Finally, god. How useless do they let you people be around here? I’m looking for the shock collars, my dog keeps licking me when I tell him not to.”

“... That’s a really, really shitty thing to do to your dog.” Jonah doesn’t really mean to say it, but he’s just sort of on autopilot now.

For some reason, the customer doesn’t reply. Just stiffens.

“Follow me. I’ll sort you right out.” Jonah thinks he smiles at them. But he can’t be sure, because at that moment he blacks out.

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Jonah shrugs his coat on, not looking anyone else in the eye as they all file out to clock out.

He waits until the very end, and clocks out last. Maybe he can avoid them all by waiting long enough?

Ugh, he can’t. He feels restless. Looking like another sleepless night already. Two in a row, great. Maybe that’s why he had that blackout. He still isn’t sure where the customer went, nor how he ended up in the No-Go zone of the Gardening Section...

Whatever. They were a jerk, anyway. Maybe he talked some sense into them? He did that during a blackout yesterday. Maybe it’s stress, then?

He keeps his head down as he thinks about it (trying to avoid some other, more introspective thoughts) and walks out.

He lifts his head as he exits the breakroom to find everyone standing in a group, smiling softly.

“Um... what’s going on?” He claps his hands behind his back. Please don’t let this be more teas-

“We know we’ve made you uncomfortable today,” Mateo pipes up. “And after talking to Garrett about your guys’s conversation, we realized we had the totally wrong idea about everything.”

Glenn steps forward and hugs Jonah. “I accept you no matter what,” he says firmly. “I would never start a fund to save your soul for being gay, that was a complete misunderstanding! You like whoever you like, Jonah!”

“And I didn’t mean to badger you,” Dina admits with her shoulder a little sunk. “I didn’t quite understand what you were going through in your head, and I made some assumptions. Wrong ones.”

“We all care about you, Jonah,” Amy says, prying Glenn off of the poor man. “Okay? We just want you to know that. Today we were being really, really shitty. But it won’t happen again.”

For the second time today, Jonah isn’t aware he’s crying until he hears himself sniffle.

“I just- I feel really, really stupid,” he admits, wiping his eyes with his palms. He laughs, not quite bitterly, but not happy. “I mean, I’m in my thirties. I-I had... so many obvious moments where I should have realized! How... oblivious, am I?”

There’s a bit of an awkward air to the group after that comment. But Amy hugs Jonah, and he feels a little... spark, in his chest. It’s nice. 

His chest has felt pretty heavy and empty all day.

“Everyone comes to terms with stuff at their own pace,” Amy says. “I lived in an unhappy marriage for years because I couldn’t accept the obvious. What matters is that you got to this point of realization, okay?”

Jonah hugs back. He thinks he feels Amy shiver, but he brushes past it. They pull apart, and Jonah sniffs and wipes his eyes again.

“And I um. I-I don’t think I’m... fully, gay,” he says slowly. He hesitates, mouth open, the words stuck. “I think... I think I’m Bi.”

There’s a moment of silence. He smiles a little, and stands a bit straighter. That feels... really right. “I think I’m Bi,” he repeats.

Sandra claps for a second, but no-one joins in. She lowers her hands slowly.

“Wow! Hah! That feels- wow! God, that feels good! Um,, what-what now, though?”

Garrett shrugs. “Flirt with some dudes? Some people in-between dudes and chicks? I don’t know, man, it’s your life.”

“Your long, long life,” Dina mutters to herself.

“Right! Oh, yeah, uh... that guy! From earlier! I-I think I want to see him again. Okay, uh, I’m going to go home, and-and maybe research some local protests he might be at-”

Everyone groans a little.

“Protester Jonah is the preachiest Jonah,” Garrett says, shaking his head.

“Can he still be preachy? Wouldn’t that hurt?” Cheyenne whispers to Glenn. 

Glenn shrugs. “I’ll ask Pastor Craig,” he whispers back.

Jonah doesn’t even notice. “Okay! I’m going to head home! I kinda feel like, I don’t know, like this is a whole new chapter in my life! Um, how do we- I mean how do- do we do a group hug, or-or maybe a high-five-”

“Or we just head home.”

“Yeah, no, Garrett’s right, head home. Let’s all head home!”

They all head out to their cars. Jonah gets into his, plops down into the drivers seat, and grins.

What a freeing realization! He doesn’t know how he missed it, it was all so obvious! 

Well, as far as he knows, there’s no other huge life-revelations waiting for him. He’s figured it all out, finally.

He starts driving home, humming along with the radio as the car next to him keeps pace, despite being in the faster lane. He never understands why people do that when the roads are empty. He chuckles to himself. Maybe he’ll realize that Life Mystery tomorrow.

What he doesn’t realize, neither when he gets home nor when he wakes the next morning, is that he never turned his own radio on. 

[iatethepomegranate]

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences (for now)

Relationship: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast

Summary: After Aeor, Caleb buys a house in Rexxentrum with Beau and Yasha. For the first time in more than seventeen years, he has some semblance of stability. Caleb is not sure he's ready to handle it, but he's trying, and his friends are eager to see him live a good life, by force if necessary.

And then Soltryce Academy approaches him with a job offer, which could give Caleb the chance to protect the next generation of wizards the way he had needed at their age. Caleb's goal of preventing what happened to him from happening to anyone else, however, takes a far more personal turn than even he could have anticipated.

(In other words, here is a fic about Caleb settling down and learning how to be a person again. Also Professor Widogast will be a thing. Fic title is a lyric from I Have Made Mistakes by the Oh Hellos. Chapter title is a lyric from Mind by Sleeping At Last. More detailed tagging and notes are available on AO3.)

_____

Chapter 1: It's the first brush stroke of a self-portrait

Caleb had mixed feelings returning to Rexxentrum after spending so long in Aeor… and everywhere else he had been, including a fucking flesh city in the Astral Sea. Sure, he had popped back to Rexxentrum regularly to update the Cobalt Soul on his discoveries, and to testify at Trent’s trial, during the conclusion of which he had the satisfaction of turning down Da’leth’s offer to assume Trent’s position as the Archmage of Civil Influence. But now he was back on a more permanent basis.

He didn’t know what to do with that information. With this place, that was both so familiar and so foreign. Full of some of his best memories, and some of his worst.

Caleb had spent so long avoiding this place, or at least the challenging parts of it, and now Beauregard was dragging him and Yasha down the street, infodumping about a house she wanted the three of them to buy together.

“Caleb, don’t give me that look,” she said. “You’re gonna love this place. I know you like your space, dude, and this is the best of both worlds. It’s technically two houses, but there’s, like, a door between them so we can visit each other. Because you’re a fucking genius but you also forget to feed yourself.”

Yasha smiled at Caleb over Beau’s head. “She’s not wrong, Caleb.” Her soft tone made Caleb a little emotional, but he categorically refused to start crying in the street. “I like my space, too. This is a good balance. And there’s room for a garden.”

“Yasha’s not an Empire citizen,” said Beau. “It looks better if there’s two of us Empire kids on the deed so no one thinks any weird shit about her.”

Caleb sighed at her. “I will look at the house, Beauregard.”

Beau yanked them around the street corner. “It’s a great location. You can walk anywhere. I can get to the Archive, and you can get to the Academy.”

Caleb raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you know something I don’t?”

“Maybe. Astrid says hi.”

The implication that Astrid and Beauregard had been speaking to each other recently was of concern. Caleb was too tired to unpack it. He would find out what that was about eventually. It was not worth Beauregard’s sibling-level mockery if he tried to extract the information early.

“Oh, and Veth sent you this,” said Yasha, passing a wrapped package over Beau’s head.

“Yeah, I might’ve told her we’re buying a house together,” said Beau. “She made Yussa send that to the Soul so I could grab it for you.”

Caleb didn’t open the package, but he did shake and squeeze it a little. It felt like coins. A lot of coins. Oh, Veth. Still taking care of him from miles upon miles away. They’d both come so far from Veth sneaking coins into his pockets because he had felt strange about taking her money even when he desperately needed it.

“Danke,” he said softly. That was all he could say, before he risked bursting into tears again. That was happening to him a lot lately. It… wasn’t the worst thing. More of an inconvenience. He chose not to unpack it.

Beauregard was looking at him strangely. He elbowed her. It probably hurt his elbow more than it hurt her, but she was successfully distracted from his bullshit. She punched his arm. Even holding back like she did, his arm did go numb for a few seconds.

Yasha sighed. “Children, we’re almost there.”

Caleb had been down this street before. Rarely, as it was entirely residential. But sometimes he, Astrid and Eadwulf would explore the city to find excuses to get away from the Academy, especially after they had commenced their training with Trent. But, with Caleb’s memory, he could call upon the map he had drawn in his mind. This was a middle-income area on the southern edge of The Tangles, home to mostly professionals--well-off storeowners, any researchers who did not live in the Shimmer Ward or have access to quarters with the Cobalt Soul, some teachers, architects. Largely people looking to settle down with the money to stay out of the Mudtop Ward.

It was close to the Shimmer Ward, a little southwest from the gate, but not so close that Caleb felt an itch on the back of his neck. The Tangles were the oldest part of the city, with narrow looping streets with little logic to them. This area was slightly newer than most of The Tangles, but still old. Regardless, The Tangles were fairly central to the city and an easy starting point for any travel. If you didn’t get lost on the way out.

This far south in the area, the houses were a little more spaced out. A little more green space, more gardens. Duplex-style houses were common, mostly built of old stone or lumpy brick on the first floor and clay bolstered by wooden frames above that. Children were out in force, running and screaming through the narrow streets while their parents watched from the porch of their homes. Well, for those who had porches.

“There she is,” said Beauregard. They had stopped in front of another duplex-style building, newer than some of the others but still respectable in age. The first floor was made from dark reddish brick and the upper two floors panelled with dark wood to bolster the white clay walls. The first two floors were full in width, and the third consisted of two dormers peeking through the darkly thatched roof.

There were two entrance doors on the ground floor, each spaced a third of the house’s width from the outer corners. The rectangular windows were framed in white-painted wood, dividing the glass on each window into six little squares.

Before the three of them was a low wooden fence, also painted white. The paint was chipping a little, revealing the deep brown heartwood that Caleb suspected was oak. There were a number of oak trees in the Pearlbow Wilderness. Caleb had slept under them several times in worse days. Oak was rather expensive, if he remembered correctly. He usually remembered correctly.

“She’s pretty hot, right, Caleb?” Beau said, snapping out of his hyperfocus on the history of timber in the Zemni Fields.

“Oh… ja.”

“Cool, so the owner will be here in a few minutes to let us in so we can have a look. She wants to sell the place as a package deal.”

Caleb had, in some ways, trained himself out of being too attached to places or most material things (with a few exceptions such as his spell components, spellbook, and the letters he had written to his parents). Unless there was something horrifically wrong inside, he didn’t care where Beauregard and Yasha wanted to live. It was practical that they live together, after all. Caleb had healed immensely this past year, but he was self-aware enough to understand he probably shouldn’t live alone. Of the Nein, Beauregard knew how to call him on his bullshit and Yasha understood him pretty well and knew he needed space sometimes, so it was a reasonable arrangement.

“I am really not picky, Beauregard.”

“Yeah, because you still don’t care enough about yourself to give a fuck about this. We know.” Beauregard looped her arm around his neck, dragging him down to her level so she could rub her knuckles across his scalp, ruining the two narrow braids Essek had worked from Caleb’s hairline to his messy ponytail that morning before they had parted ways beside the secret entrance to Aeor. Caleb talked himself out of getting upset with Beauregard over it. She couldn’t have known, and she was being affectionate like he really was her brother.

Once he was free, Yasha fixed the braids, and Caleb had to stop himself from crying again because she had noticed it bothered him and just… fixed it without making it a thing. Beau straightened her expositor’s garb, clearing her throat.

“Sorry, dude.”

Caleb conjured a mage hand to tug on her ponytail. Beau swatted at it, but her hand went right through it. She gave him the finger. Yasha finished fixing the braids. Everything was normal again.

The owner, a half-elf woman with long blonde hair coiled into a bun that looked like a cinnamon scroll, arrived and immediately shook Caleb’s hand.

“Mr Widogast, a pleasure. These ladies have told me a lot about you. My name is Alphira Winterheart. I teach evocation at the Soltryce Academy.”

Caleb still felt a spike of anxiety when he heard the name of that place. At this point it was ingrained, even if he held out a small amount of hope he would get to teach there one day. It would be easier to fight corruption if he had some say over what the Academy put into those children’s heads.

“A pleasure,” Caleb replied, a little flatter than he had intended. He mentally shook himself, remembering to actually grip her hand for a proper handshake. “Evocation? I used to specialise in that area.”

“Ja, Ms Lionett told me you are now a Transmutation specialist but still frequently partake in the Evocation school in your travels. I’m glad to hear you intend to put down roots here in Rexxentrum. I would love to exchange theories over coffee.”

Beauregard smirked. Caleb remembered a conversation with Essek where they had agreed to return to Aeor and exchange theories. They had meant that literally. But it had indeed sounded like a euphemism to someone like Beauregard. Well, she hadn’t been wrong in the end, but certainly the intent at the time had been more about a meeting of minds than a meeting of…

Caleb concentrated on the conversation in front of him instead.

“Ja, I would enjoy that,” he replied. “What level of Evocation do you teach?”

“Oh, I teach the beginners.”

“And you live here in the Tangles?”

“I did,” said Alphira. “Archmage Beck has offered me lodging on her estate, so I am selling this house. It was always a little large for one person, and it seems you three could make better use of it than I did.” She leaned closer to Caleb, as if to tell him a secret. “The place on the left is where I prefer to experiment and study. I would recommend you look at that one in particular. The dormer is slightly larger. You could even put a teleportation circle up there if you were so inclined, given your need to travel.”

“Danke.” Caleb still felt a little weird about Rexxentrum mages not wanting to kill him, but he didn’t sense any untoward motives from this woman. She seemed genuinely friendly. “How… is the new Archmage settling in?”

“I have no complaints. She seems competent, if a little terrifying. I am uncertain if that is her past as a Volstrucker, or a necessity of the job. She has been nothing but kind to me, and I would certainly prefer to be her friend than her enemy.”

“Ja, we are familiar with her,” said Caleb.

“Caleb most of all,” said Yasha.

Beauregard had to turn away before she burst out laughing.

“We should look at the house,” Caleb said before the conversation could go anywhere strange. Gods, he missed Aeor already.

Alphira unlocked both front doors. They checked the one on the right first.

“This one has a larger living area,” said Alphira, leading them through the entrance. “I am offering the furniture as part of the sale. I have already taken everything I need.”

Beauregard threw herself onto the large couch in the centre of the room. “Yasha and I call dibs on this side of the house. Since you’re gonna spend so much time here with us anyway. We’re taking the larger living area.”

“Beauregard, we have already established that I do not mind.”

The floor underfoot was a pleasant hardwood, probably more oak, and a large rug occupied much of the space. They would have to purchase candles for the evening, but it was well-lit during the day. Caleb followed the women through each of the rooms on the ground floor on this side, largely going through the motions. The kitchen was equally large, and had a good oven for Yasha to practice baking. They would need to purchase a larger dining table.

There was one large bedroom upstairs and two smaller ones, alongside private areas for bathing and other such activities. This was where they found the door between the two houses. The top floor dormer was full of assorted furniture and household items Alphira didn’t need, but they would likely use. Beauregard and Yasha discussed the possibility of turning this into another bedroom for when they had friends over. Or perhaps converting one of the lower bedrooms into a workout space and using this as a replacement. Caleb did not need to contribute much to the conversation, aside from promising he would help move furniture with telekinesis.

Truth be told, Caleb was having a hard time concentrating on the whole thing. He hadn’t really had a home in a long time, and he could not wrangle his mind into understanding the change. The Xhorhaus had been easier to stomach, as nobody had expected to live there forever. But this? Putting down roots? Real , long-term roots?

Maybe Caleb had been homeless for too long. It was beyond his comprehension at this point. And maybe it frightened him a little. He could not afford to inspect those feelings, not right now.

He pulled himself together in time to inspect the other side of the building. His side. His house. Scheisse .

The living area was a little smaller, but could still easily welcome the Nein (just in rather cosy quarters). The kitchen, also smaller but still respectable--a little larger than his childhood home in Blumenthal. There was less furniture on this side; Alphira had evidently used this side more and therefore had more furniture to take. There were two bedrooms on the second floor, one slightly larger than the other. Caleb found himself thinking that he would probably take the larger one just so there was enough room when Essek was over, or maybe he would take the smaller one so Veth could bring her family with her. Fuck. He didn’t know what to do.

And then they visited the dormer. It was indeed larger than the other one. There was a table in front of the window, with a few dark ink stains, and plenty of floorspace to spread out notes or create a teleportation circle. A few chairs were stacked in the corner, seemingly in good condition, and one wall was lined with empty shelves.

Caleb had always been partial to a tower, and this was pretty close. It would make a great study.

He was genuinely excited over a house. In Rexxentrum. A short journey from where his childhood home once stood. He was going to hyperventilate if he thought about this too hard.

“There are already plenty of shelves in my new house,” Alphira said. “These are all yours.”

Caleb nodded slowly, pulling his mind back into his skull. “Wundervoll, danke.” He took a calming breath. “This is a nice place, Professor.”

Alphira smiled. “Yes, I did not make nearly enough use out of it. But I hear you three have a lot of friends from out of town.”

“Ja, we do not see them enough.”

“Perhaps you will see them more once you have a place to welcome them.” Alphira led them back downstairs, and into the other side of the house where they could sit around the small dining table. Alphira already had the paperwork they needed to sign; Caleb got the impression Beau and Yasha had already decided to buy the house before they spoke to him about it. He was glad the decision was out of his hands.

He signed the paperwork, using both his legal name and the name he now wore (Alphira had apparently been briefed on this, and had consulted a contract lawyer on how to make it work on a binding document). Caleb had needed to sign various statements as part of Trent’s trial, so signing in Bren’s name was not as strange as he feared it would be. He was relieved. Beau and Yasha had insisted on finding a way that his new name would also be included, given he had not gone through any legal name-change process. The money Veth gave him more than covered his part of the cost. He needed to hug her. He needed to hug all of them.

Alphira gave them three copies of the contract and handed over the deed to the property. “I will head to the housing authority and file the paperwork immediately.” She slid the keys over the table to them. “Congratulations on your new home.”

She left. Caleb traced the shapes of the letters on his copy of the contract, over and over, letting reality sink in. He had a house. A house in Rexxentrum. A house in Rexxentrum with two of his best friends. It wasn’t at all what he imagined he would have when he was seventeen, when he thought he and Astrid and Wulf would one day have done their duty for the empire and settled down together.

But this was good. This was right .

He cried. Yasha was probably crying, too, but he couldn't see. The three of them hugged across the table, the edges jabbing their ribs.

[sm-entertain-me]

You Asked for It (M)

Contains: Kim Gunhak (Leedo) x (f) reader, adult language, smut, explicit depictions of unprotected sex, dom!Gunhak, sub!reader, brat!reader, brat tamer!Gunhak, teasing, tiny bit of exhibitionism, marking, rough sex, daddy kink, nipple play, light choking, hair pulling, overstimulation, creampie.

Synopsis: Oh how you loved to get on Gunhak’s nerves, especially when it came to you purposely making Gunhak hot and bothered when he couldn’t do anything about it. Today would be no different as you would come to watch practice as you always do, the perfect idea in mind. However, it might not be so perfect once Gunhak finally gets his hands on you.

Sitting in the corner of one of RBW’s practice rooms, you watched your boyfriend intensely as he practiced the killing part of To be or Not to Be with Dongju, the two of them mirroring each other perfectly as they moved their bodies fluidly to the music. You weren’t the only one watching them as Hwanwoong and Keonhee decided to sit on either side of you, drinking their waters quickly as they tried to catch their breath since they were practicing the part just two minutes earlier.

“Gunhak hyung is looking better and better each day,” Hwanwoong commented as he watched Gunhak’s facial expressions through the mirror, earning high praise considering Hwanwoong is the king of facial expressions. Both you and Keonhee nodded in agreement as the two men placed their finger guns against their temples to continue the choreo. While the members were too busy admiring his facial expressions, you couldn’t help but gulp as Gunhak turned as part of the choreography, staring at you and winking as he finally turned his head to the side to continue making your heart skip beats. Little does he know that he’s not the only one capable of getting hearts racing.

After about a minute more of practicing the choreography, Dongju and Gunhak fell to the floor to feign exhaustion, garnering laughs from the members as Seoho took this upon himself to run and jump on the men laying on the ground, adding to the chaos even more. You couldn’t help but laugh at the members, admiring the close relationship they have with each other. It was at this time that you almost forgot your plan, almost.

As Seoho was dragged away by his arms by Youngjo, Dongju and Gunhak got up and made their way over to you since you were eagerly waiting to give them much needed water bottles. Dongju gave you a warm smile as he thanked you and immediately began slugging down the water, barely giving himself time to breathe until you heard a huge gasp at the end of him drinking. When it was Gunhak’s turn to get water, you simply looked up at him and shook your head with a small smirk, “No, this one’s for me. You can get your own.”

Gunhak looked at you confusedly as you opened the water and began to drink slowly, making sure to keep eye contact with him as a dribble of water can be seen flowing down your chin and dripping on your conveniently white shirt. Well, in reality, it was one of Gunhak’s but that wasn’t going to stop you from wearing it. Gunhak’s eyes widened as he watched you continue drinking the water, picking up on what you were doing. He knew how you were when it came to playing games with him, but he never thought you were going to pull something like this in front of his members. Albeit, this is one of your tame strategies, but who's to say you were going to stop here? No, no, no. You want to have fun with Gunhak, even if he’s not having any.

You continued to drink the water slowly, purposely letting more water drip onto your shirt to reveal the color of your lace bra underneath, earning even wider eyes from Gunhak as he lurched forward, grabbing the water from you and causing the rest of the contents to soak your shirt. Realizing what he had done, Gunhak lurched forward to cover you and preserve your decency as the members were starting to take note of your affinity for lace undergarments. Unfortunately for Gunhak, it seems that by the way that Youngjo and Keonhee gulped, they could definitely see what Gunhak has the pleasure of coming home to every night. Man did they envy Gunhak.

Gunhak pressed his hot torso against your cold, wet body, wrapping his arms around you and giving you one of his smoldering stares, “What the hell? Are you trying to show everyone your bra?” You took a minute to think about your response since this is your chance to dial up the heat and get Gunhak even more hot and bothered than what he already was from this morning. Let’s just say you had to use your good foundation on a couple of areas visible to the public. 

“Well no,” You responded, finally thinking of a way to prolong Gunhak’s torture. You then decided to wrap your arms around Gunhak’s neck, pulling him close to you and leaning to capture his ear lobe between your teeth for a small nip before responding in a sultry whisper, “I wanted to show much more baby.”

You could feel Gunhak’s grip tighten around your waist and noticed the way his shoulders stiffened at your response, giving you the reaction you needed. The room around you fell silent as everyone stared at the two of you, waiting to see what was going to happen. Honestly they didn’t know if Gunhak was going to take you right then and there or not, but they wouldn’t necessarily be mad at the idea. Instead, Gunhak simply leaned in to ghost his lips over your ear and whisper in his captivating voice, “You can show me later when you make it up to me, brat.” Goosebumps began to form all over your body at the thought as Gunhak pulled away from you, sending a wink your way before turning back to his members, “Okay, where were we?”

Practice dragged on for a lot longer than you anticipated, mostly because of the pooling sensation going on in between your legs courtesy of your loving boyfriend who had been eye fucking you the remainder of practice. A couple of the members had caught on but didn’t dare speak about it because they didn’t want to get Gunhak even hotter than he already was. Bastards. They never let you have any fun.

After ten more grueling minutes of watching your boyfriend sweat and breathe heavily, practice finally came to a close as the members did their chant and came in for a group hug. Of course, one member was a little eager to get out of the group hug and take care of a certain little lady in the corner who has been driving him crazy the whole time he’s been trying to concentrate. The second Youngjo dropped his arm from around Gunhak’s shoulder, Gunhak was making a B-line straight for you, towering over you as he smirked and outstretched his hand to help you up, “Come on princess. We need to take care of something at home, don’t we?” Gulp.

The car ride home was eerily quiet as Gunhak had his hand on your thigh the whole ride, but never once spared you a passing glance. His eyes remained only on the road and occasionally to the radio to change the station if he wasn’t vibing with a particular song. You couldn’t help but notice that all the songs Gunhak deemed good enough had to do with sex. For example, Gunhak left Animal by Nine Inch Nails on and even squeezed your thigh a little harder when the lyrics “I want to fuck you like an Animal” played through the speakers.

Your torturous silent treatment from Gunhak finally came to an end as he pulled into the driveway of his house, removing his hand from your thigh for the first time since he had begun the drive home, noticing the red lines from his fingers gripping your otherwise pristine skin. Gunhak then took his hand to place it under your jaw, gripping your chin and forcing you to look into his hungry eyes, “I want you upstairs with nothing on, laying prettily on your back for daddy, do you understand me? If not, I will have to punish you.�� A glint of mischief flashed in your eyes at the word punish, something that Gunhak chose to ignore for your sake.

Ever the rebel, you followed only one order that Gunhak gave you: go upstairs. All you did was go upstairs and plop down Gunhak’s bed, sitting cross legged and scrolling through your phone to watch various music videos in defiance. Gunhak should know better than to “threaten” you with punishment since you had been trying to get him to do that to you all day, hence the whole water incident. Although you didn’t really mean for Youngjo or Keonhee to see your intimates. In the midst of you watching a random video, you heard a deep growl from the entrance of the room, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Smirking to yourself, you simply raised your eyes from your cell phone but never moved your position to look at a very pissed off looking Gunhak. His eyes were narrowed at you as he had his arms crossed over his chest, the deep V of his shirt showing off his collar bones beautifully. It seemed like he was waiting for you to respond, but you chose to give him a shrug instead of using your words, another thing that causes Gunhak to get riled up because of his intensely dominant persona. That simply won’t do it for Gunhak, you know that.

Gunhak’s eyes narrowed even more as he stepped through the doorway, closing the door with his foot as his eyes never faltered from you. You watched as he slipped his hands under his shirt, lifting it high above his head as he threw the piece of clothing to the side to reveal his toned torso. You licked your lips as you admired every single peak and valley of his body, but Gunhak was not rewarding you for your defiant behavior in the slightest. Just as you were loving Gunhak for his intensity, you were soon hating it as Gunhak was at the edge of the bed, leaning forward and grabbing onto both your ankles. One second you were at the head of the bed, the next second you’re at the foot of the bed with your legs dangling over the edge, straddling your boyfriend’s waist and biting back a moan as his bulge pressed against your dripping core.

“I thought I told you to have no clothes on and be on your back?” Gunhak asked in a tone that could only be described as pure sex, glowering down at you as he did it. He could feel your thighs tremble slightly around his waist, knowing he had struck a nerve with you. Gunhak smirked as he leaned down to eye level with you, his lips mere centimeters from yours, “Do you want daddy to punish you, huh brat? Well, you asked for it...” 

“At least you’re on your back now, but I still need you naked. And since you can’t follow instructions, I guess I’ll do it  for you.”

Gunhak quickly placed his hand on your chest and pushed you back forcefully, but not too hard that he would hurt you. As your torso bounced back up from the force, Gunhak crawled up your body to pin you beneath him, leaning down to stare at you intensely. It was as if he was stalking his prey as he smirked down at you, placing his lips directly on the juncture of your neck and shoulder, forcing a moan from your lips. Your hands immediately flew to Gunhak’s golden locks in a fit of passion, but they were soon placed above your head to keep you in check. Gunhak was reminding you that this was a punishment.

As Gunhak kept your hands above your head, his other hand went to work on your shirt and since you decided to be a brat and not listen to him the first time, he had no problem forcibly ripping the shirt from your body. Normally you would be mad, but this is Gunhak’s shirt and it was just so hot that you couldn’t help but moan out from both the sight and the feeling of Gunhak’s teeth sinking into your neck lightly to leave a beautiful shade of purple. You just hoped that Gunhak would be a little more delicate when it came to removing your bra since this set was kind of expensive. 

When Gunhak was happy with his handiwork of removing your shirt, he pulled his lips away from your neck to admire his masterpiece and to stare hungrily at your breasts that were barely being contained by the thin lace of your bra. “For me?” Gunhak asked rhetorically as he pulled his hand off of your wrists and made quick work of your bra, removing it and flinging it on the floor to focus on the new area of his obsession. Remembering to keep your hands at bay, he wrapped his fingers around your wrists again and pinned them to the pillow above you as he leaned down to suck on your pebbled nipple, swirling his tongue around the bud expertly to hear as many moans as he could from you.

“Fuck Gunha-ahh,” You began but quickly received a slap to your inner thigh, hearing a slight pop as Gunhak removed his lips from your nipple, glaring into your eyes but not saying a word as you should know what you had done wrong. Quickly realizing your mistake, you corrected yourself after wincing from the slight burn that was now on your thigh, “I-I mean daddy.” Gunhak smirked at your compliance, rewarding you slightly by paying attention to the neglected mound while his free hand began to slide down your body until you felt his slender fingers slip past your shorts and hook into your panties. At first you thought Gunhak was going to dip his fingers into your aching hole, but you soon felt cold air in between your legs as Gunhak peeled the garments from your body to leave you completely bare for him.

Gunhak admired your body for quite some time, studying every part of it while mostly focusing on the slick seeping out of you and dripping onto the sheets below. He had to think of what to do to you and how to make it a punishment, quickly figuring out a plan as he smirked devilishly at you. You were quickly flipped over onto your stomach, Gunhak leaning over you to grab your hands and place them exactly where he wanted. Instead of placing them directly below you and hoisting you up in his favorite position, he placed one hand on the top of the headboard, instructing you to hold on, and then pinned the other one flat against the wood itself with his hand on top, “Stay.”

The position Gunhak had you in was you pressed against the headboard with your back arched to have your soaked core on display for Gunhak’s pleasure. It’s as if Gunhak wanted to combine two of his favorite ways of fucking you into one: fucking you against the wall and fucking you from behind. He didn’t really care if it was hurting your back since he knew you liked positions like this anyway, and it wasn’t a reward for you. Again, it’s a punishment, and it’s just about to start.

When Gunhak was sure you would stay in this position and stop acting like such a brat for the moment, he went to work discarding clothes of his own. You could hear him pull off his sweatpants and you could only imagine how big he was since you had felt how hard he was when he dragged you down the bed earlier. Licking your lips at the thought of Gunhak’s cock being swollen and angry from your teasing, you tried to turn and take a peek but were quickly stopped by Gunhak’s hand coming down on the side of your head and pinning it back to the headboard. A tsk sound came from Gunhak’s lips as he expressed his disappointment in you, “I told you to stay. Normally I’d put you in yoru place for that, but I’m so fucking hard that I don’t care anymore. Now be a good girl and take what I give you.”

A few languid strokes of Gunhak’s cock followed by some labored grunts and he was finally ready, placing one hand on your hip to steady you as he pressed his torso to your back to lean in and whisper, “What’s the safeword babygirl?” “Red,” You responded breathlessly as you could feel Gunhak teasing your dripping hole with the tip of his cock, barely entering and coming back out to spread the precum that was sliding down the shaft slowly. Gunhak smirked to himself as his grip tightened on your hip to steady you one last time, “Good girl.”

Gunhak gave you no warning as he pushed his hips forward, burying himself all the way to hilt as his hips pressed snugly against your backside, earning a ragged groan from Gunhak. Your mouth was hanging open as you tried your best to take all of Gunhak as he instructed, not giving you much time to recover as he immediately began his assault on your pussy. Gunhak’s nails dug into your hip as he pulled your hips back while he thrust into you to create an even deeper stretch, making you arch your back unconsciously to feel the addictive sensation going in between your legs. 

“Fuck you’re so tight baby,” Gunhak praised as he placed his other hand on the other hip, quickening his pace and throwing his head back whenever he heard you moan out. He absolutely loved hearing you moan and since you were facing the headboard, he couldn’t get the full experience. After a few more deep strokes, Gunhak took one of his hands and threaded his fingers through your locks, making sure he had at least three good strands before pulling back and leaving a burning sensation all over your scalp.

“Louder baby,” Gunhak demanded as he thrusted deep inside of you, the sound of his hips slamming against your backside causing you to arch even further. At this point, you looked like a folding chair by how much Gunhak had arched you, but you didn’t care because at this angle, he was hitting everything and more. You decided to indulge his request of being louder by letting out a scream as he threw himself deep inside of you, dragging his cock along your most sensitive spot. 

With the pace Gunhak set on you, it would only be a matter of time before you came crashing down from your high, but now was not the time to think of that as Gunhak let go of your hip and opted for grabbing the headboard with both hands with a grip so strong that you thought he would’ve broken it by now. As Gunhak found a new grip, the depth his cock reached increased to something you had never felt before, groaning out from the sensation. His lips were so close to your ear that it sent chills up and down your spine, another moan speeding past your lips. You could feel your resolve disintegrating by the second.

You never thought it was possible but Gunhak managed to fuck you even harder, his biceps flexing as he held onto the headboard for leverage to continue burying himself the deepest he could inside of you. You didn’t know how much more you could take as you felt yourself getting starry eyed and then your orgasm came crashing over you in an instant, forcing you to scream out for Gunhak as you struggled to find purchase on the head board, “Daddy!” 

Gunhak could feel every spasm of your walls, biting his lip to suppress his groans from the intoxicating effects of your pussy pulling him in deeper. While you continued to scream out for him, Gunhak continued to fuck you senseless since he hadn’t cum yet and now was not the time to stop him. You on the other hand felt your legs give out, slumping down into the pillows below you while Gunhak kept his grip on the headboard, glancing down at you to make sure you were okay. Since he didn’t hear the safeword, he continued.

Creaking could be heard above you as the headboard was practically coming apart with every bruising thrust Gunhak gave you, determined to get you to another high a lot quicker than you would’ve wanted. “Please daddy,” You hiccupped beneath him, most of it being muffled by the pillows you were being pinned into. “I can’t t-take anymore.”

“Come on princess, just one more. Do it for daddy,” Gunhak pleaded, the strain in his voice becoming apparent from just how desperate he was to cum. He was feeling so good, almost euphoric from this new angle that he was wondering why he hadn’t fucked you like this sooner. There was no time to think about it though as Gunhak’s hand came around and gripped your throat, pulling you up so that your back was flush against Gunhak’s torso for the very last time tonight.

Only two more pleasingly deep thrusts was all it took to have you cumming hard around Gunhak for the second time, this time you were sure that your vision was going black from the intense high you were feeling. Luckily you didn’t have to worry long as Gunhak couldn’t hold off anymore himself, his hips stirring against your backside as you felt him release inside of you, the warmth of his cum starting to be felt on the outside of you just from the sheer amount he gave you. It was probably because of how long you had been teasing him, but you weren’t complaining.

After about a minute or so of recovering in the position of Gunhak laying on top of you and hyperventilating to get his breathing back to normal, he slid himself out of you slowly to make sure not to cause you unwanted overstimulation. The overstimulation before was on purpose, but since your punishment is all done with, Gunhak wanted to take care of you as best as he could considering you took the hardest fucking Gunhak had ever given you like a champ. It’s a shame you had to act like a total brat to get to this point, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

After Gunhak got the both of you cleaned up, he thought it would be a good idea to run a bath for the both of you since he was proud of how well you were able to keep up with him and you deserved to relax. As Gunhak was drawing the bath, you couldn’t help but smile as he sniffed the bottle of lavender oil before placing a couple drops in the water. Gunhak could feel you staring at him so he decided to put the bottle down and walk over to you, wrapping his arms around you and pressing a kiss to your forehead, “Let’s get you in that bath, huh princess?”

You nodded softly as you allowed Gunhak to scoop you up in his arms, walking you carefully over to the porcelain tub and setting you down gently, making sure the water was to your liking and fixing your hair to make sure it wouldn’t touch the water since he knew you hated that. Gunhak gave you one of his eye smiles and kissed your cheek before turning to leave, but you didn’t want him to. Instead, you refused to let his hand go, causing Gunhak to look at you with a cocked eyebrow. “Don’t leave.” 

Despite the moment being very cute and innocent, Gunhak smirked a little as he nodded, “Alright but just know that if anything happens in here, you asked for it.”

It was a risk you were willing to take.

[ilovefandoms102]

Part 5- Shape of My Heart

Pairing: Rudy Pankow x Plus Size Reader

Summary: Falling in love with someone you can never have is the worst feeling in the world...

Taglist:

@jeyramarie​​ @drewswannabegirl​​ @teamnick​​ @jiaraendgame​​ @agirlwholovescoffee​​ @outerbongs​​ @jaxxandcomet​​ @velyssaraptor​​ @baby-pogue​​ @they-write-once-in-a-blue-moon​​ @must-be-a-weasley-92​​ @kaitieskidmore1​​ @ma10427​​ @ifilwtmfc​​ @lasnaro​​ @justcallmesams​​ @judayyyw​​ @lonely-kermit​​ @gviosca​​ @iamaunicorn4704​​ @jellyfishbeansontoast​​ @fernweh-fangirl​​ @runway-to-my-aid​​ @eb15​​ @hurricane-abigail​​ @tangledinsparkles​​ @fandom-phaser​​ @sunwardsss​​ @http-cherries​​ @bibliophilewednesday​​ @evaporatedrosepetals​​ @thetomatosaucee​​ @tomatosauceagent​​ @redosmo​​ @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch​​

Part 4 Part 6

Note: School is starting for me which means I more than likely won’t get to update as often, but I am still going to try! I hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think!

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Rudy was wrapped around me like a koala bear, soft snores falling from his lips. The sun was shining through the curtains, a perfect day to go swimming. Luckily since I had met them all at the beach, they had already seen me in a bathing suit. I tried to extract myself from my current position, but Rudy’s hold tightened on me the more I moved. I huffed, debating on just waking him up. I tried one more time, a groan sounding from the man next to me. 

“Stop moving,” he whined, his deep morning voice sending chills all over me. 

“It’s prime tanning time Ru, let me up.” I chuckled.

“I’m comfy,” he mumbled, cuddling further into me. 

“We have plenty of days to be lazy, come on.” I encouraged, patting his shoulder.

He huffed dramatically, flipping off of me. I jumped up, filing through my stuff to get my bikini. I jumped when I turned around, not expecting Rudy to be right behind me. He stared into my eyes, making me a bit nervous. He pulled me into a hug, laying his head on my shoulder.

“I’m tired.” he grumbled, his lips brushing my skin.

“You don’t have to come with me if you want to sleep.” I offered, rubbing his naked back. 

“I don’t want to be by myself.” he complained, moving to kiss where his lips hit my skin. 

I froze in place, not sure what to do now. I was confused, scared, and now horny. I shuffled lightly in his hold, trying to act like what he did wasn’t affecting me in a major way. He sighed, pulling away. I smiled as I trekked to the bathroom, millions of thoughts racing in my head.

====================================

Maddie C and Chase were already out in the pool when Rudy and I came down, Chase begging Maddie to get in with him. I threw my towel down on the chair, busting out some tanning oil spray. With the help of Maddie, I doused myself to hopefully bring some color to my pale features. Back home the weather couldn’t seem to make up its mind, sometimes being really hot one day then freezing the next. I sat down on the chair, my legs on either side as I scrolled through my phone for a minute. Rudy sat on the open space, looking at me expectantly.

“What?” I laughed.

“You did not drag me from my peaceful slumber to just sit here, get in the pool.” he commanded, pointing at where Chase was standing. 

“I want to lay out for a little bit,” I scoffed, moving my legs to his lap since he wouldn’t move. 

“Baby, get in the pool now!” he exclaimed, a grin coming to his face.

“Oh my god if you’ll shut up!” I huffed, glaring at him as he cheered. 

I dipped my toe in the water, surprised that the water was actually warm. I felt Rudy’s presence behind me again, his hands gripping my hips.

“Don’t you dare!” I hissed, whipping around to grab his wrists.

“What? I’m not doing anything.” he innocently tilted his head.

“I’m getting in, don’t fucking push me.” I giggled.

“You mean, like this?” he questioned, taking a head start to push both of us in the pool. 

I resurfaced, pushing my wet hair back. Rudy came up a second later, wisely he swam a little ways towards the deeper end of the pool. I turned around, deciding to give him the silent treatment. Chase and Maddie were cackling at us, Maddie gripping her stomach from how hard she was laughing. I swam to the shallow side, purposefully not looking at Rudy.

“You’re in trouble now Ru,” Chase grinned, quirking a brow.

“I’m hungry, you guys ok with me running to McDonald’s?” she asked, earning a nod from me.

Chase and her headed out, leaving just Rudy and I. I heard him swim closer to me, I made sure to keep myself from looking at him. He stood in front of me, my eyes casting down into the pool. I pouted, hoping he would feel bad.

“Are you really not talking to me?” he asked, silence from my end.

“Y/n...babe, talk to me. I’m sorry.” he whined, flopping himself in my arms. 

I didn’t move though, trying my hardest to not smile. He wrapped himself around me like a child, not letting go of me even when I tried to pry his arms away. He buried his head in my neck, crying dramatically. 

“Baby I’m sorry, please talk to me!” he cried, I couldn’t contain my smile anymore. 

I busted out laughing, throwing my head back. He pulled his head back to grin at me, his eyes shining in the sun. I caught his gaze, the both of us going silent. Rudy stood to his full height, caging me in by putting his arms on either side of me. My breath hitched in my throat, having to lean my head back since he towered over me. He leaned closer, forehead coming to rest on mine. Our lips just brushed together when a voice sounded out.

“Hope we aren’t interrupting!” Maddie B yelled, her girlfriend Mo and JD trekking behind her.

“I was wondering when I would see your face JD,” I chuckled, swimming closer to the edge where they were. 

“We missed you at dinner last night man.” Rudy spoke, bro hugging JD.

“Glad you could make it college girl!” JD smiled.

“Hey girlie long time no see!” Mo greeted, leaning down to hug me.

“So glad to see you Momo,” I grinned.

JD and Rudy ended up getting in a major splash war, which gave me enough time to escape the water so I could lay out for at least a few minutes. I chatted with the girls, Maddie C and Chase coming back finally. Maddie C passed out our food, Chase joining Rudy and JD. 

“So y/n, what was that we walked in on?” Maddie B asked, Mo wriggling her brows.

“Nothing,” I murmured.

“Wait, what?” Maddie C inquired.

“That was not nothing and you know it.” Mo inputed.

“Ok...we might have almost kissed, but I think it was just an in the moment kind of thing.” I shrugged.

“Y/n, stop being so delusional.” Maddie C ordered, as if it could just be that easy.

“You guys just don’t get it.” I murmured, my mood taking a huge downfall.

“Then help us understand,” Maddie B said, placing her hand on my arm comfortingly. 

“I was bullied...for my entire life because I’m not thin. Never had a boyfriend, never even kissed a guy, and I’m just scared. I’m scared it’s too good to be true, and Elaine seems to have something for Rudy anyways...I don’t want to get in the middle of that.” I rambled.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that. You know you’re one of our best friends, every single person here loves you. You are beautiful y/n, if anything you’re way out of Rudy’s league.” Maddie B informed, Maddie C and Mo agreeing. 

“Our lives wouldn’t be the same without you y/n, I think you have a killer bod babe. I’m sure Rudy thinks the same or he wouldn’t stare at you all the time.” Maddie C giggled.

“Thank you guys, I just don’t want to read too much into things...I don’t want to get my hopes up. My heart’s been broke too many times I don’t think I could handle it, especially with Rudy. I couldn’t bear to lose him...” I sighed, looking at the boys who were wrestling each other. 

“Are you ladies just going to sit there all day?” JD shouted, splashing water at us.

“We’re talking shit about you all.” I laughed.

“That’s not surprising, that’s all you girls do.” Chase scoffed, running his hand through his wet hair.

“After I took care of you last night...that’s a low blow babe.” Rudy sighed, shaking his head. JD quirked a brow at his friend, looking to Chase. The man shook his head, I guess signalling he didn’t know what was going on. 

“That’s what you get for taking up the whole bed.” I smirked, a mock offended expression on Rudy’s face.

“I’ll remember this,” he nodded.

“Oh come on guys, we don’t want to hear about you all doing the nasty.” Maddie C groaned, both Rudy and I’s cheeks turning a bright red.

“It wasn’t like that.” I griped, shoving her slightly.

Chase used the moment we were distracted to snatch Maddie C up and throw her in the pool, a scream escaping her as she hit the water. I cracked up as I watched them play fight in the water. I started to get hot, the LA sun taking its toll. I sat on the edge, my legs dangling in the pool. Rudy swam closer to me, standing between my legs. 

“Get in with me,” he pleaded, tugging on my arms.

“I will, just give me minute to get used to the water Ru.” I giggled.

We swam for hours, my chest hurting from how much I had laughed. It distracted me from my internal thoughts about what happened earlier with Rudy almost kissing me. I wondered if he really did like me, or if this was some kind of game. I didn’t think Rudy was the type for games so I scratched that off my mental list, but I just couldn’t fathom how he could possibly have feelings for me. 

==================================

All of us somehow ended up in my room, scrolling on the TV to find a movie. We had just about everything from Chase’s pantry on the bed, drinks sitting on the end tables. JD wanted to watch a scary movie, the girls protesting against it. Call me weird, but I loved scary movies. The thrill always excited me, so his choice didn’t phase me at all.

“Y/n, you’re our guest.” Chase said, everyone looking to me.

“I love scary, but if no one else wants to watch it I’m cool with whatever.” I shrugged. 

The guys cheered, JD choosing Insidious, one of my all time favorites. Rudy cuddled me close to him, his eyes intently focusing on the screen. I had seen the movie millions of times, so the jump scares didn’t get to me anymore. I cackled when one of the girls would scream, or the guys would shout. Rudy hid his face in my neck at some parts, his hold on me tightening. Once the ending credits rolled, we put on a Disney movie to calm everyone’s nerves. My eyes began to droop, my head falling on Rudy’s chest. He played with my hair, his soft movements lulling me to sleep.

“You ever gonna grow some balls bro?” Chases asked.

“I don’t even know if she likes me back man,” Rudy sighed.

“You all are so perfect for each other, better shoot your shot before it’s too late.” Maddie C spoke. 

“Yeah I guess you’re right, I’ve made it so blatantly obvious, but she doesn’t seem to respond.” he rambled.

“Talk to her about it, not gonna hurt anything to have that communication.” Maddie B said.

“I think I might just do that, I can’t wait any longer for her to catch the hint.” he sighed.

[ofdogsandchocolate]

‘Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street

-He promised her they were forever. And they were, Till they weren't.-

Young, dumb, and in love. That's what Percy and Annabeth were. They were fourteen when they got together. Previously best friends since birth, but they both had formed a crush on each other. She asked him to the Halloween dance, and they both slowly started falling after that. Falling in love, that is. Annabeth had been told that it was scary, falling. That it's something you'll regret, that you'll come out empty handed. That you won't be able to get back up if you do. But, she couldn't help it. One look into his sea green eyes, and she was gone. Sometimes, though, she did get scared. Scared that he would leave her for someone else, like his father left her mother. Scared that he would change into a person she couldn't love, or vice-versa. But, Percy would just hold her close, and promise her that he wouldn't leave her. That they would be forever. She wanted to believe him, so she did. They battled the struggles of high school together, as well as got accepted to the same college. A college both of them dreamed of attending. Annabeth was waiting for some higher force to come down, and tell her all this had been a simulation. She was leading a life the rom-com girls wished they had. She was 18, and was still in love with her one and only. High school couldn't separate them, and so far college hadn't, so what couldn't they overcome together? They were forever, they always would be. Things were good. Really, really, great.        

                                                            o.0.o

College was hard, money was tight, and people were mean, but Percy and Annabeth got through it.

Four years of college was enough for them, and they already had decently paying jobs, so they were all on their own. No school, or superiors to guide them. They were finally full fledged adults.

Annabeth thinks Percy must have not gotten the que, because he sure acted childish sometimes.

The two of them had been trying to bake cookies, but neither of them were meant for the kitchen. Flour was all over the place, the counter was stained faintly blue in one spot, and the apartment smelt of...burnt-ness.

As the blonde Woman took her oven mitted hand and retrieved the tray from the hot oven, Percy coughed.

"God, woman! You burnt out cookies!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, and slams the hot tray onto the stove top, the cookies that were supposed to be blue, a greenish brown color. She placed a hand on her hip, and turned to her boyfriend.

"Maybe if you hadn't forgot the baking soda, they would've turned out a little better."

The man mock gasped, "How could you blame this on me! You're the one who added all that salt. It only called for half a teaspoon!" Annabeth violently untied the lady-bug apron that, was much to small for her, and threw it over at the guy.

"You idiot-"

Her sentence was interrupted by flour. Flour that Percy threw at her. Flour that landed right into her mouth.

If you didn't know, flour doesn't taste all that great.

The woman started to cough violently. It was so dry, she couldn't swallow it, but it was sticking to the insider of her mouth aswell.

Annabeth reached around herself, trying to get a handful of flour to throw back at Percy. She finds the back of brown sugar instead, but figures it should do.

She threw a handful of the sugar blindly towards were Percy's voice was coming from.

"Ah!"

The blonde, who's hair actually looked more white than blonde at the moment, groaned as Percy began to laugh. It must have been super funny, watching her struggle. She wiped the flour from her eyes, so that she could see. Percy was standing at the Island, rapidly scooping up more flour into his hands.

Annabeth chuckled darkly.

"Oh, it's on."

Let's just say, the two of them were finding floor everywhere, for months.

                                                       o.0.o

One Saturday Morning, Annabeth and Percy were laying in their bed.

The bed that they shared.

They were both crammed over to one side, Annabeth head in the crook of his armpit, with Percy's hand resting upon it, combing through her golden curls.

It didn't particularly smell like roses, but it was nice.

She didn't know, since she was staring up at the ceiling wordlessly, but Percy was smiling widely at her.

He didn't understand how someone could be so beautiful, inside and out. And, how someone like her could ever love someone like him. He thought about the glittering diamond ring that sat in his underwear drawer. The ring he bought 2 years ago, when he was 22.

He was planning on popping the question soon. But, he was patient. He wanted it to be perfect, for her.

Percy turns back to Annabeth, who was now staring back at him. They smile at each other.

"Penny for your thoughts," she said turning over on her side, to get a better look at him. Percy followed in her movements. "You, of course," he exclaimed booping her nose with his pointer finger.

Annabeth laughed. "Well, I would hope so. You sure your not thinking of anything else? Anybody else?"

Percy knew she was joking, but Percy took it to himself to answer seriously. "No. I'm thinking of...forever."

The two held eye contact as a smile grew onto Annabeths face. "I like the way you think, Mr. Jackson."

Percy smiled. "Yes, me and Ms. O'Leary shall have a wonderful life together."

Annabeth snorted, and shoved her face into the pillows. "Yes! I wish you two the best of luck," she said, her voice muffled by the pillows.

Percy laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I love you."

Annabeth took her face out of the pillows to look at him. "Right back at ya."

                                                        o.0.o

It was a month later, and Percy and Annabeth were ready for a movie marathon.

(They both immediately agreed Harry Potter, for obvious reasons.)

Once they were all situated on the couch, Annabeth scrolling through the TV, Percy spoke.

"We don't have ice cream, do we?"

Annabeth's eyes stayed put on the television. "No. We finished it the other night."

He thought for a moment, before getting up from the couch and slipping on his shoes.

His girlfriend finally looked over too him, her eyebrows raised. "Um...were do you think you're going, mister?"

Percy looked back at her, smiling as he pulled on his coat. "Getting us ice-cream, of course."

He walked back over to Annabeth, who was now propped up on her elbows, and presses a kiss to her forehead.

"Blackberry rebel?"

"Blackberry rebel."

He gave a chaste kiss to his girlfriends lips, before walking back over to the door to their apartment.

"Don't start it without me!" He called out as he reached for the door nob.

It didn't feel any different from the other times Percy had gone out to fetch something. It felt normal. It was normal.

Right?

Then why did Annabeth feel so anxious all of a sudden? She got chills, but she told herself it was nothing.

Until she couldn't.

"Hey!"

Percy spun his hear around back to Annabeth, who was sitting all the way up. Her heart was racing, but she didn't know why.

Her boyfriend looked at her warily. "What? Is everything ok?"

Annabeth nodded uncertainly. "Um...yeah. Yes, I'm fine, just...be careful. It's dark."

Percy nodded, and reopened the door. Once it was all the way open, he threw his head over his shoulder.

"I love you."

Annabeth tried her best to calm down her heart, and give him a smile.

"I love you too."

The scariest thing, is that it felt like a goodbye.

                                                         o.0.o

An hour and 30 minutes. It should not take him that long to drive to the market down the block and get ice cream.

Annabeth paced around the living room.

Were is he? Is he okay? What if-

No. No, he's fine.

                                                        o.0.o

He wasn't fine.

Hours passed, and he still hadn't show up. Annabeth crossed her fingers, and wished that he would appear. That he would walk in the door, plastic bag with Ice-cream and pretzels, unharmed and happy.

That wasn't the case.

Annabeth was at the point were she was grabbing her keys frantically try to get out of the apartment, and trying to find Percy. Just as she walked toward the door, a rang was heard from the couch.

My phone. It could be Percy.

She sprints across the living room, and searches through the blankets and crevasses of the couch, to find the vibrating device in between the cushions.

East Coast Emergency Center.

A hospital?

Annabeth's mind thought the worst, and she answers shakily.

"H-hello?"

The feminine voice on the other side said, "Hello. I's this Annabeth Chase?"

A scared sob rose in the woman's throat, her chest tightening. "This is her."

The person sighed. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but your partner Percy has been in a car accident."

Annabeth gasped, a hand coming to her mouth. Tears started to form in her eyes, as she said. "What- Um. Is he okay?"

"Sadly, he was gone when the ambulance found him. I am- so, sorry."

Annabeth cried as she began to crouch on the floor. "Oh my- I- I- Ill be there as quickly as I can," her voice wobbled off as she hung up.

She was in shock as she drove to the hospital. Sobbing, but not particularly thinking straight. It felt unreal. 15 minutes prior, she just thought Percy had gotten mugged, but-

He was gone.

Percy was gone and their forever was over.

                                                          o.0.o

                                                seven years later

                                                          o.0.o

Annabeth liked to dive through the suburbs sometimes.

To see the life she could of had, and cry, and laugh, and just think.

She also visited the cemetery from time to time. Not as much as she used to, but a couple times a year.

Her friends had told her she should move on, that it just wasn't meant to be. But they didn't know him like she did. They didn't know how important she was to him.

So, Annabeth still visited him. Put blue flowers on his grave, sometimes talked, sometimes wrote a little note.

She didn't know if he heard, or if he was even there, but it felt nice, just imagining that he did.

Annabeth looked down at the soft gray stone, and the little trinkets and flowers scattered along he bottom. She smiled, as she reached into her pocket to take out the small enveloped note.

She kissed it lightly, before setting it down lightly at the base of the stone. Straightening her back, he took one long breath, her eyes stinging. But this time, with happy tears.

"I love you, Seaweed Brain."

And it finally feels like a proper farewell.

                                                          o.0.o

Hi, Percy.

How are you? I hope you're well. I'm okay, thanks for asking.

I haven't seen you in so long, I don't really know what to say. Which hurts to think, since you were such a large part of my life. Which also hurts to think about, because you aren't that anymore. I don't think of you everyday, and it scares me. You're face isn't always on my mind, and I hate it. I know you would want me to move on, and while I care deeply about your opinion, I deem that stupid. I know its been a long time. Hell, I'm 30. Can you believe that? An actual grown-up.

I might find another person, at one point i time, but I will always love you. Because, well, how can I not? I always hated how easily you made me love you. One of your worse traits, for sure.

Anyways, what I'm trying to do here is a...final goodbye. A way were I can finally try to let you go, or at least partially. I've just held onto you in my stubborn mind, and I think it's time to try and get better.

Because I know it's what you would have wanted.

I never got to say goodbye to you, and I think that's the hardest part for me. That I never got to see you one last time.

So, this is it. This is me, letting you go.

I think it's the best for the both of us. Not necessarily to move on, but to start healing.

We got our forever. Our little forever that only us got to live. Thank you for that.

Goodbye, Percy Jackson. I had a lovely little forever with you.

                                                    o.0.o.0.o.0.o

I seriously have no idea if this is the type of stuff you post on tumblr, but...here I am! Yeah, just a little thing I wrote.                   

(Very much based off of Drivers license, by Olivia Rodrigo. Beautiful song.)

[kookiebunnii]

d4u || golden closet film

jan. 2019. we’re going to korea today. i’ve never been, but jungkook is definitely excited about it. i think he plans to make a video out of it too, maybe for his youtube subscribers or something. i hope when he looks back on this trip, he can be happy. maybe through the lens of that camera, he’ll find something worth smiling for.

pairing: bestfriend!jungkook x reader

genre: slice of life 

word count: 3.5k 

warnings: n/a

Whenever you traveled abroad, the painful stiffness in your neck always filled you with regret and determination to invest in a neck pillow in preparation for the next flight. However, you’d always be too mystified and distracted at the new sights to be seen once you’ve landed to remember how much suffering you endured in arriving there. Asking Jungkook to remind you hasn’t worked either, since the boy could barely remember to bring his essentials on a typical day. When he happened to have his wallet, phone, and surprisingly-- his keys, you’d make sure to tease him with a, “Aren’t you a big boy now?” He would scrunch his nose at you in annoyance every time. He loathed it. You loved it.

You shifted restlessly in your seat, trying to find a comfortable nook or cranny so you could finally enjoy some much-needed rest. A 12-hour flight time paired with this seat in particular could be used as a torture method. You had offered Jungkook the window seat, since you knew he’d want to get some aerial shorts during the flight for his new film. Unluckily, that meant you were stuck between the long-legged boy and an elderly lady that you would feel embarrassed for intruding on if you took up too much space. As a result, you’ve spent the last 30 minutes startling awake every two minutes because your head kept tilting forward uncontrollably.

“I know I tease you for having a big head, but I didn’t know the issue was this serious.”

Despite the deafening nature of flying at high altitudes, you were close enough to Jungkook to hear his little snide remark. You gave him a nasty glare before leaning back in your chair and closing your eyes again. You could handle a few hours of pain in return for the exciting vacation the two of you planned for winter break. As you stretched your limbs, you imagined how luxurious you would feel later when visiting all the stylish cafés in Seoul, chowing down on Busan delicacies, and admiring Jeju’s beauty in person.

It’ll be worth it.

You’re not sure if you’re dreaming when you feel the armrest serving as a divide between seats being raised. Afterwards, a soft pressure tilts your head to the left and the thin blanket you’ve haphazardly tossed on for the night adjusts itself snugly against your shoulders. When you open your eyes slightly, you realize that Jungkook has let you lean on his shoulder as you sleep. You’re feeling too sleepy and dazed to open your mouth to say thank you, so you settle for adjusting your head to find the most comfortable spot on his shoulder instead. Unsurprisingly, you pass out shortly after.

When you wake up, you find Jungkook filming the slow descent of the plane through the tiny window. Through the soft and wispy clouds, you notice how the city breaks through in specks of sunlight. The moment is captured through the steady lens of your film director and you watch as he continues the shot for a few seconds longer before cutting the video. He gives you a brief smile as he turns off his precious camera and begins stowing it back into his backpack.

“How’d you sleep?” he asks, absentmindedly scrolling through the map projecting through the small screen attached to the seat in front of him.

“A lot better than expected,” you watch as he zooms in on your destination, studying the names of cities that pop up as he scrolls, “Keep up the gym workouts and we can rent out your arm as a pillow.”

He chuckles in response to your suggestion. Before you could elaborate more on the profit margins you expected from such an endeavor, the captain’s voice fills the intercom. He announces that everyone should expect a landing in thirty minutes. The idea of finally escaping such a small space filled you with a rare sort of apprehension, your leg bouncing up and down unconsciously with delight.

The wonder bubbling in your chest rises and overflows as you watch the landscape pass you by. Finally settled in a taxi heading to the hotel nestled in the hustle and bustle of Seoul, you observe the tall apartment buildings popping up, reaching towards the sky. You couldn’t help but gaze out at the expanse of dark water as you crossed a bridge into the inner parts of the city. It was your first time in this country, but Jungkook had done a great job of hyping up the destination in your mind.

Your hotel room is just as tidy and neat as you like, a platter of chocolates lying on the desk and a large window exposing the beautiful view of streets and skyscrapers below. There were no odd abstract paintings that American hotels tended to adorn their walls with, so you were grateful already. The two of you were already eager to head out again, as you both waited for Jungkook’s camera to fully charge. As he spends some time viewing the shots he already recorded, you decide to take a shower. You need to relax the tense muscles accumulated from that long flight and change into something nice for the afternoon. The hot water feels like a much-needed embrace as you take your sweet time admiring the small bottles of citrus-scented shampoo and body wash provided by your accommodation.

As you step out with a whirl of steam like an evil villain out of a movie, you’re surprised to find a majority of the chocolates have disappeared from the platter and the culprit laying out his shirts on the bed nearest to the window. Jungkook looks between the four outfits laid out with serious thought, as if he had been invited to a fashion runway and needed to impress some modeling agencies. You quickly snatch up some chocolates as you head over to look at the clothing pieces yourself. Mouth full of creamy sweets, you pick up his oversized TOPMAN shirt and a pair of sweats. Pointing to the bathroom, you swallow thickly and command, “Shower so we can head out. I want some hotteok.”

He laughs, picking up the garments you chose and responding cheekily, “Out of all the foods I’ve talked about, it’s hotteok you’re excited for.”

Crossing your arms in defense, you give him a stern look as he marches into the bathroom himself. You focus on drying your hair, picking out your own outfit, and preparing a good argument for why hotteok sounded like the superior Korean food item. Trying to pick something impressive but not over-the-top was an added struggle after Jungkook had asked to film shots of you during the trip. At first you were against it, knowing you weren’t exactly an Instagram model and slightly camera-shy as well. However, he had promised you that he’d be focusing more on capturing the country scenery itself than trying to film you specifically. You gave him a punch in the abdomen when he added that you weren’t that much of a sight anyways, but you could tell that he already had a vision for his new film project. Especially since you had yet to really see or understand the work he embarked on in connection with his major, you felt that this was a good opportunity to help him out however you could. You had no clue regarding the types of filming techniques Jungkook loved to pour over in his spare time, studying the videos of filmmakers he admired on repeat while you receded to the Netflix shows you personally found far more engaging. You knew he would guide you through what he wanted, given that he was thorough and patient when it came to whatever he produced for the public. If you could assist in achieving his dreams, even if you might feel awkward doing it, it would be worth it.

You saw the way he used to zone out when the two of you passed by a merry couple on the way to your favorite ice cream parlor. You also quietly took note of him deleting folders of pictures of Yuna that were saved in his desktop when you peeked into his room a few weeks ago. It had been almost a year since he cried as you tried to hold his broken heart steady during the breakup. You remembered how he would seize up when he saw her in public, eyes wide in fright as his fight or flight response kicked into overdrive.

Your thoughts cause your grip to falter over the turtleneck sweater in your hands, remembering the forced smile you would plaster on as you pulled him away to a different café instead, remembering to never visit Serendipity Coffee on weekends ever again. The hurt he endured in spring left an emblazoned impression on you, as you spent summer worrying over his emotional condition. You knew he traveled during the past summer to keep his mind off things, and every time the two of you managed to meet up between his trips and your working shifts you would try your best to gauge his wellbeing. However, you knew that you hadn’t won any brownie points with him after coming home with a swollen cheek and a bleeding scratch under your eye the week after Jungkook had found out Yuna was cheating. Word had already gotten to him before you could make up an excuse for your injuries, and you had never seen him that angry before. He made you promise that you would never meet with Yuna again, especially not if you were going to pour a drink on her head and get into a subsequent cat fight. With your stubborn attitude, the air was tense around the two of you for a good few weeks before he acquiesced and apologized for his passionate reaction. It only took you calling Yuna a drowned rat for him to finally laugh and forgive you for the altercation. He admitted that he appreciated you attempting to defend him, but still forbade you from getting in harm’s way for him. You agreed to his terms, knowing that you’d taught Yuna a lesson she wouldn’t forget for a while anyways.

Remembering this increased your persistence in making this trip a memorable restart to 2019. You had wished for Jungkook to experience nothing but happiness and success in this new year, and although you hadn’t been the most good-willed, obedient individual in history, you hoped that the big man upstairs heard your prayer. Your best friend deserved it.

At dinner, you realize another reason you’re glad Jungkook is your best friend. The two of you could casually stuff your faces like starving teenagers when it came to good food. Unable to relate to girls that only ordered petite salads on dates, you piled up the slices of pork belly in your lettuce wrap. Allowing the ssam to finally enter your waiting mouth, you chew happily as you dance in your seat with chopsticks in hand. Charcoal fire made all the difference, and you had no idea how you were ever going to go back to using a gas stove in the States. You had no idea why Jungkook’s family would move out of Korea when he was a kid—it now seemed like a terrible choice to you.

The amount of orders you and Jungkook clear out at the AYCE BBQ place almost has the waitress crying in relief when you finally ask for the bill. Satisfied and warm, the cold winter air feels less harsh when you finally head outside. Thankful for the puffy down coat Jungkook recommended you purchase for the trip; you watch as soft powder begins to rain down from the sky. Painted against the dark expanse of the night, you try your best to catch some of the flakes on your tongue. Smacking your lips together as if enjoying a delicious treat, you flinch when you catch the sudden lens of Jungkook’s camera trained on your curious expression.

“Snow won’t taste like anything, silly.”

Used to directing your responses to his quips at your best friend’s brown eyes, you opt for glaring into his camera lens instead, knowing he could see your unamused expression. He laughs at this but doesn’t stop filming. Even though you feel a bit unsure of yourself, you do a few spins for your director before throwing up a peace sign with a wide grin. You wanted him to look back on this trip, this video, and remember it with nothing but happiness. He complains that you look super dorky, but you pay him no heed. You could tell he was saying that just to mess with you, given the amount of time he’s repeated that clip in the past few minutes just to “check the details”. Feeling a wave of confidence, you’re glad that your instincts turned into something he could use for his work.

You wanted to see the Han River, so the two of you paced the streets quickly towards that destination. Jungkook was practically your personal tour guide, so you dedicated most of your attention towards admiring as much of Seoul as you could. Thankful for him, you follow along contently until you could see the reflection of lights on water not far ahead.

As soon as you pull your hood down you can feel the cool breeze of the river against your cheeks. It was invigorating in a way, and you could feel yourself fall in love with this place. You feel yourself smiling, the motion likely a side effect of how much you were enjoying yourself. Despite it being the first evening here, this was your first real trip with Guk and the excitement of discovering new things alongside him was exhilarating.

“What are you thinking about?” Jungkook asks, as you’ve realized he’s recorded your little moment of self-reflection.

Brushing tendrils of hair out of your face, you simply give him, and by extension his camera, another smile as your answer. It wouldn’t fit you to be soft on the first day of an outing. Besides, if he knew how much you enjoyed his presence, he wouldn’t let you hear the end of it. Jungkook breaks off silently to film various shots, capturing a vision that perhaps only he could see. You watch him with amusement for a brief moment, before staring back out into the river again. The red and orange lights reflected on the water’s smooth surface were eye-catching, in a way that felt radiating yet peaceful. The sight helped you focus simply on breathing in the fresh winter air, coming to terms that you really were in South Korea for the first time. Adventure awaits.

“Hey Y/N, can you help me with something?”

Jungkook breaks you out of your reverie, bounding over to you in excitement before explaining a camera technique he wanted you to try. After you understood his choppy explanation, he tried his best to demonstrate what exactly you had to do.

“Okay so I’ll move the side of the lens and cover it at the same time?” you bite your lip in nervousness, hoping you didn’t sound like a dunce.

“Here,” he grabs your hand out of your pocket, earning a pout from you at the sudden loss of warmth.

Setting your fingers on the side of his lens, he held your fingers steady as he guided your hand gently over the lens while simultaneously moving the viewpoint of the camera to the left.

“Ah, so you want this to be a transition of sorts? Okay,” you happily comply, spending the rest of the evening helping him get this vlogging-type effect before demanding a reward for your efforts in the form of a freshly-made hotteok.

The next day, you’re able to finally see Gyeongbokgung Palace like you wanted. Even though it was a huge tourist attraction, you always had an interest in history and found the pictures of the architecture on Google simply amazing. Jungkook seems to feel indifferent about the expedition, claiming that there would be a lot of people—a possibility that it could grow quite crowded.

That did nothing to deter your enthusiasm, as you discover that dressing up in the traditional hanbok even meant that the entry would be free! Giddy with happiness, you even convince Jungkook to find himself something. He seems beyond embarrassed when he emerges in a royal blue hanbok from the rental place. You simply whistle in appreciation, your response only making him even more shy as he hurriedly nudged you out of the store.

His overly conscious body language quickly shifted as he began filming again, finding comfort in his hobby. He followed you as you entered the large doors of the palace grounds, catching the way you gasped upon seeing the people wearing beautiful colors and bright red accents painting the pillars around you. Every step you took on the rocky dirt felt important, as you wondered how people hundreds of years must have stepped over the same area.

A beautiful outdoor area with lush green grass and sleepy willows sat beyond the initial entrance to the historical monument, and you couldn’t help smiling at how grand and elegant everything seemed. Other tourists stroll past you, in high spirits as well from what you could tell. It was better than anything you could’ve dreamt up when you were sitting thousands of miles away on your laptop, researching “things to do in Korea”.

Spinning around to catch Jungkook off guard, you take the camera from his hands before saying, “Alright Director Jeon, it’s your turn.”

He sputters in confusion as you give him a friendly nudge forward, training the lens on him instead. Through the viewfinder, you could see the way he suddenly froze up as if he were a deer caught in headlights. You walk up to give him a jab in the belly that breaks him out of his stupor.

“Just be natural. It’s beautiful here, see if anything interests you,” you suggest, lowering the camera briefly to give him a reassuring smile.

“My subscribers would probably rather not see me,” he responded, timidly covering his ears as he talks. You caught this habit of his early in your friendship, easily understanding that he was being overly nervous again.

Giving him a deadpanned expression, you state, “I’ve watched one G.C.F. before you know. The comment section was filled with your fangirls thirsting for a face reveal. What better way than to have them see their oppa in his handsome hanbok?”

His hands leave his ears as you see a small smirk returning to his face, “Did you just call me handsome?”

“I called your hanbok handsome, bunny boy. Now look pretty for the camera.”

His banter with you seemed to relax his nerves greatly, as he quickly settles back into his confident self. Before you begin recording, he replicates the transition you had conducted the previous night. You realize that he would connect the two separate shots this way, so you served as the first subject that would transform into the second subject, Jungkook.

This guy never ceases to amaze you.

The rest of the tour was as stunning as the beginning, as you try your best not to trip over your beautifully embroidered skirt. The golden thread weaved into a multitude of chrysanthemums along the hem, a detail you deeply loved. The camera now stowed away into Jungkook’s bag, you head into the small gift shop located a few steps away from a beautiful moat on the palace grounds.

Admiring the stickers, keychains, and other little knick-knacks strewn about the store, you did your best to stick to the monetary limit you had set for yourself. Everything was so wonderfully crafted that it was difficult to stay under 15,000 won. You settle for a series of postcards with watercolor paintings of various areas of the palace on the front. They were only a few dollars in USD anyways, as you plan to decorate your room with them.

The end of exploring Gyeongbokgung left a sad yet fulfilling impression on your heart. As you hand the pieces of your hanbok to one of the girls working at the front desk of the rental store, you couldn’t help but run your fingers across the stitching again and sigh.

“If it means anything, you looked…nice in that,” Jungkook thinks about his words for a bit as the two of you trudge up the stairs to exit the shop.

With a single eyebrow raised, you turn to face him as if you couldn’t believe what you were hearing. The longer you stare, the redder his cheeks become. This phenomenon only made you stare harder, much to his chagrin.

“Stop doing that. I’m only saying this because you looked like a sad puppy over that dress.”

Grinning mischievously, you respond with a playful tone, “I think Koo just complimented me! Wow, what a time to be alive. Truly I must have been a beautiful sight if his highness graces me with such kind words—hey where are you going?”

Even as you curse him for making you sprint to keep up him, you can’t help but laugh.

�� — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

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[dc41896]

First Impressions

Since a certain rude giant wants to attack us lol, this is a quick idea I had that’s also paired with a prompt request from @lovelymari4. I did change some things around with the prompt so hopefully that’s ok and that you guys like it😄!

Pairing: Florian Munteanu x Black Reader

Prompt: Florian makes the reader feel some type of way with the choice words he has about her favorite artist

⚠️: None💕!

Watching the metal doors of the elevator slide open, you let out an exasperated breath you’d been holding in since leaving labs. Being in classes since 10 this morning, saying you were happy to be home was an understatement. You couldn’t wait to soak in your tub with your favorite bath bombs and light candles all around as part of your new mini self care routine you recently adopted so you could de-stress.

That is if you could get through the door.

Finally reaching your apartment, you find multiple boxes labeled with various household items blocking the entrance while your neighbor’s door in front of you was wide open. Music not blaring, but at a loud enough volume you could hear a few feet down the hall, you use the knocker below the peephole hopefully banging loud enough they could hear you.

“Um hello?! Scuse me, but I’m trying to figure out who’s stuff is in front of my door?!”

Appearing from around the corner in only his cotton shorts and socks stood who you assumed to be your new neighbor.

Your freakishly good looking and fit neighbor.

Shouting at someone in the room he just left in a language you couldn’t immediately catch, he makes his way towards you taking his shirt from the couch to quickly pull it over his head.

“Sorry about that, we’re moving in and kinda just left everything in the hall since it’s only our apartments on this end. Plus we knew you weren’t home-,”

“Wait how did you know I wasn’t home exactly?”

“Hey Y/N!,” your friend, Dana, smiles appearing from the same room followed by another man.

“Dana what are you doing in their apartment? And I guess you told them I wasn’t home?”

“I’m doing my part in helping the new neighbors move in of course!,” she smiles, helping slide one of the boxes inside before moving to stand beside you.

“...but you don’t even live here and you also hate packing or unpacking.”

“That’s not true, I helped you when you moved!”

“With one box and then you left to get food and it took you two hours to get back,” you retort with a smirk making your new neighbors quietly laugh to themselves and Dana roll her eyes.

“Anyway! I didn’t tell them you weren’t home they figured that out on their own but I did confirm said suspicion.”

“Yea earlier this week we went to everyone on the floor and introduced ourselves. We tried your door a few times but never got an answer. We figured you were either very busy or a hermit,” the originally shirtless one laughs. “I’m Florian by the way and this is my brother Masias.”

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you,” you reply shaking both of their hands. “Well since you guys are busy I don’t want to be in the way so I’m gonna head out.”

“You won’t be in the way if you stay, in fact we’re almost done for the day if you want to hang out for a bit. That is if you’re not too tired or don’t have a lot to do.”

“C’mon I know you’ve been stressed out with school, hang out and get your mind off of it for a while! Plus these are two super hot guys and I’m trying to get us dates,” she responds, whispering the last part and making you give her a look.

“Alright sure just let me put my bag up and change,” you answer as your best friend lightly bounces on her feet as she cheers.

———

After returning from changing into one of your university tees and sweatpants (which Dana insisted you not wear in a text she sent not long after you left knowing your usual go to outfit for when you’re home), you joined everyone else on the couch.

You got to know Florian and Masias more as you guys talked and they learned things about you as well, like how you weren’t a hermit but in graduate school working to become a Physian’s Assistant, which explained why you were never in your apartment.

A little later, Florian suggested watching a movie on Netflix to which you first were apprehensive about considering you should probably be spending your time in a more productive way, like reading over your notes and studying. However like Dana said, you didn’t have any tests for a while so you could afford a free day.

Handing the remote to Dana, both men agreed to let you guys pick which movie you wanted to see. You weren’t picky and up for anything leaving the choice to Dana.

Flipping through the different titles, you notice her instantly light up seeing her all time favorite singer, Beyoncé’s, Coachella documentary. “Ok just telling you now, if we don’t find anything else to watch this is gonna be it.”

“D, I’m sure they would rather watch something else than see Homecoming,” you lightly laugh, Dana rolling her eyes as she waves you off continuing to scroll.

“It’s fine, whatever you guys want to watch we’ll be ok with,” Florian replies, softly smiling as the setting sun shines through the open blinds onto his face making him look even more gorgeous.

“Jesus who are his parents, Greek Gods?!,” you thought as you turned your attention back to the bright screen in front of you to not stare.

“I’m not gonna lie though, I don’t really see what the excitement is about her though,” he spoke instantly causing everyone to go silent as all eyes were now on him.

Even Masias knew his brother had just messed up as he looked down shaking his head. “Flo you did not just say that in front of them.”

“I mean she’s beautiful don’t get me wrong, it’s just the music I can’t get into,” he replies, ears turning red from his nerves about what would happen next.

“Ok so I take it you’ve never really sat and listened to a Beyoncé song?,” Dana asked hands pressed together on the table in front of her as if trying to solve the greatest mystery to man.

“I mean I have, but still it didn’t do anything for me.”

“We might need to get your ears checked then.”

“Dana! Don’t listen to her, I understand. Beyoncé does make music more so for women or those who love pop and R&B. You’re more into rap so she’s not really on your music radar,” you explain trying to not only make Florian not feel bad but also let your crazed fan girl of a friend calm down from hearing the slander.

Dana was the textbook definition of a beyhive member. Any form of “disrespect” from anyone towards the queen wouldn’t be tolerated and she definitely had something to say. Never in a threatening way though like how some others were who took it too seriously.

You on the other hand were beyhive adjacent, as you liked to call it. You were technically part of the hive from your love of Beyoncé, but you definitely weren’t about the drama that would happen at times. Thus, you were off to the side of the hive in your own little honeycomb condominium.

“You know what? Just for that, we’re definitely watching it now,” she smiled starting the movie and humming along before the music even started.

———

Now after 11, you helped Florian in the kitchen clean up the glasses and two large bowls you guys used for snacks as Dana talked with Masias on the couch about the places in LA he had to check out.

“You guys don’t hate me too much do you?,” Florian asks leaning against the counter as he wipes water off his hands.

“No why would we hate you?”

“From the looks on your face when I said I wasn’t really into Beyoncé, you’d think I kicked a puppy,” he deeply chuckles making you laugh.

“I’m not gonna lie, when you first said it I did have a couple points listed if it would’ve led to a debate,” you lightly laugh. “Butt it’s like I said you have different preferences in music and that’s ok. Just maybe never mention that in front of Dana again,” you reply making him laugh harder.

“Yea don’t worry, I definitely learned my lesson.”

You spend a few more minutes talking and laughing before a small yawn creeps it’s way out of you as you cover your mouth.

“Uh oh, have we kept Cinderella out pass her curfew?,” he smirks.

“Afraid I’m gonna turn into even more of a bum than I already look?,” you ask matching his smirk as both of you laugh at what others would probably look at as a dumb joke. “I have had a long day so I probably should get going.”

“Ok, let me walk you out.”

“Florian I live literally across the hall right in front of you, you don’t have to.”

“True but anything could happen in those 10, 15 feet. Then not only will Dana hate me for not listening to Beyoncé but also because I let her friend walk out by herself.”

Giggling, you grab your phone and keys from the counter before slipping your feet into your slides beside the front door. “If you insist,” you reply slightly shrugging your shoulders. “D I’m about to leave, are you staying with me tonight?”

“And hear you up at the crack of dawn? I love you girl but I need to sleep in my own bed so I’m gonna head out in a few too,” she answers with a small stretch.

“Ok well text me when you get home. It was nice meeting you Masias!”

“Nice meeting you too Y/N! Hopefully we can all hang out again,” he smiles waving as you and Florian walk out the door.

“Thank you for walking those dangerous 10 feet with me! Who knows what would’ve happened if you weren’t here,” you say, doing your best damsel in distress impersonation.

“I’m sorry I’m a gentleman that always makes sure to walk a lady to her door,” he laughs. “But seriously though if you ever need anything don’t hesitate to get one of us. Even if you just want to get away from your work you’re welcome over here.”

You were trying to continue your cool, nonchalant attitude but the more you stood outside with him, you could feel yourself breaking. Unsure if it was the intense yet soft gaze of his green eyes looking back into yours, or how although he was nervously rubbing the back of his neck he still exuded all the confidence in the world, you felt your palms become sweaty and hoped you didn’t do or say anything stupid.

“Thanks I appreciate that. Well I have class tomorrow so I guess I should get to bed,” you softly smiled as you unlocked your door. “See you later Florian.”

“Goodnight Y/N.”

With a smile and small wave, he waited until he heard you lock the door from inside before going back to his place. Smiling to himself just as you were doing with your back pressed against your door.

Taglist: @momobaby227 @crushed-pink-petals @fumbling-fanfics @honeychicana @melinda-january @lady-olive-oil @themyscxiras @lovelymari4 @nunubug99 @felicity-x0 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @itshinothey @wildfirecracker @nina-sj

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[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 21: Getting to know one another was a terrible decision, here’s why. Plug your ears.

Lance: Feelings, oh no Keith: Feelings, what are these and what do i do with them? Adam: Pfft, feelings, I- Wha- Um. I kicked a baby today? That's so evil guys, come on! Lance: *skeptical look* Keith: *skeptical look* Adam: Alright, fine! Feelings, gross! And I didn't kick the baby... I just took its candy.

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Keith stares at the boiling-hot rock at his feet, ear twitching with curiosity.

“Oh dear. We’d best run inside.” Alfor places a hand between Keith’s shoulders as they make a break for the hole in the castle wall while more rocks fall from the sky. "This happens sometimes! You get used to it!"

“Is this why Lance doesn’t know what rain is?!” Keith shouts as they dodge screaming rocks.

“Yes! He’d lose his quiznaking mind if you told him about it!” Alfor yanks Keith out of the way just as a flaming rock smashes right where he was about to be. Alfor opens a hidden door (which Keith makes note of for later), yanks him into the hall. Alfor pants, doubled over. “Ancients, I'm old. Are you alright?”

“I think so. Does that happen a lot?”

“Only every few phoebs. You might have noticed, but we have an asteroid belt for our innermost planetary ring. It's where much or our ore comes from.”

“I thought nothing of your rings, until now.”

“Well you and Crown Prince Lancel will get to hear all about the minor inconvenience of it when you hold court tomorrow.” They’re back to formal names, like taking off clothes. Or perhaps like putting them on.

“Excellent. I can’t wait. You know, every time you make me go to court, I lose an egg. Infertility is already almost assured-”

“Don’t even bother, Prince Yorak. I’ve been enduring court for centaphoebs. It’s someone else’s turn.”

“Worth a try.”

Alfor chuckles. “I’d best go attend to my husband. I have been working, for better or worse, and he misses me. Be careful, Prince Yorak. Love complicates things.”

“Ke- Yorak!” Lance comes running up, immediately puts a hand around his waist. “Are you alright? It’s stoning outside!”

“Yes, we’re fine.” Keith sighs. “Can you, um. Would you mind showing me the way back to our quarters? I don’t know it.”

“Sure. Come on.” Lance slips his hand to the small of Keith's back, guiding him away. Keith pulls his braid over his shoulder, twisting the end through his fingers.

“Crown Prince Lancel.”

Lance freezes, turns to look at his father. Keith feels a buzz of energy coming from the hand on his back. He can feel the breath Lance takes before he responds. “Yes, King Alfor?”

There's a long, pregnant pause. Then, “You’re doing an excellent job, Lance. With everything. I’ve… I’ve never been more proud of you.”

Lance swallows audibly. Aside from that, the Altean is disturbingly still. Keith twists the end of his braid, says nothing. Finally, “Thank you, Father.”

Back in their room, Lance frantically inspects him. “Are you alright? Were you hurt? What did he say to you?”

“You forgot to mention that an Altean marriage is void without consummation.”

“Nevermind that! You were alone with my possibly corrupt father and then out in a stoning! Are you alright?”

“I…” Keith stares blankly at his spouse while Lance turns his face this way and that, deeply concerned. He swallows. He’s in danger of making this whole mess so much more complicated that it ever needed to be.

“Keith!” Those blue and pink eyes glass with worry. “Are. you. alright?!”

“I- I’m fine.” Keith twists the end of his braid, clenching his jaw before he can chirp and embarrass himself.

“You say as you display a brand new nervous habit,” Lance mutters, still fussing. “Also, your ends are split and you should let me trim it.”

“Sure.”

Lance opens his mouth, pauses. “What, really?”

Keith nods, not trusting himself to say more than a single, monosyllabic word at a time. Lance tilts his chin up, looking into his eyes. “Are you sure you’re alright? You don’t seem like yourself. You didn’t get conked on the head, did you?”

“N- no. I might have taught the king a new swear word, though.”

“Okay.” Lance draws back. He doesn’t sound convinced, but he lets it go, runs a hand through his starlight hair. “Go… take a bath or something. Rest. Relax. Whatever you want. The stoning will be an issue for the rest of the night, so do stay inside.”

Keith nods, grabs some nightclothes, slips into the shower. He stands under the water, draws his hair over his shoulder, unraveling it. He’s being stupid. He can’t cuss out a king and start falling for his husband all in one day.

Actually, cussing Alfor out had been pretty fun. But the rest is incredibly stupid. Keith lets his forehead tip against the smooth white walls.

He is incredibly stupid.

Back in the main room, Lance paces. Adam watches.

“I just don’t understand why I care so much. I mean, I've taken good care of my lovers, but he's firstly, not a lover and secondly, I never cared this much about anyone else!”

Adam smirks, pushes his glasses up his nose. “Perhaps Lady Renli is right. Maybe you do have a thing for kids. Oh, I’m sorry. Kits. ”

“You are disgusting. Why do I keep you?”

“Because you’d die without me. Speaking of which, someone tried to assassinate you both while you were out today. Unilu, we suspect.”

“Oh. Did you kill them?”

“With my bare hands.” Adam smirks, scales flashing with perfect timing. It's highly unsettling.

Lance blinks. “Really?”

“Of course not. I paid someone else to do it. You think I’d get blood on my hands? Do you have any idea what blood can do for soil acidity? I wouldn't have to explain this to Takashi.” Adam scrolls through his datapad, typing on his holographic keyboard.

“I don’t know; I just had this incredibly vivid image of you popping up behind someone and snapping their neck and then calmly going to have brunch with Keith’s littermate as though murder means nothing to you. Also, I'm telling Keith you've got first name privileges. Even he doesn't seem to have that.” Lance has never been more concerned with the person he appointed as his attendant.

“You’re partially correct. You don’t get to know which parts. Also, no one says 'no' to me. Not twice anyway.”

“That's highly disturbing. Are you at least flirting with Shiro?” Nothing. Lance pouts. “Whatever. What do I do about Keith?”

“Do you love him?”

“...No.”

“Do you want to love him? Do that thing people that aren't me do where they love each other and have a fulfilling relationship?”

Lance glares, sticks out his bottom lip; Adam raises an eyebrow; Lance crumbles immediately. Mumbles, “...Kind of?”

Adam sighs, smiles. “Then, just do what you’re already doing. You’re working hard to fulfill both his needs as a kit and as a person. You respect him, you're letting him grow on his own, and you're working to include him in your life. That last bit is so incredibly important.”

“You know, growing up, I never imagined I’d one day be raising my own husband. I just hope I can raise him right. I don’t want to be a deadbeat with a worthless spouse who sneaks out after dark and runs wild with all the other delinquent child brides.” Lance shakes his head in mock disappointment. Keith sneaks out a lot to go wander aimlessly in the woods and he has absolutely no problem with that. He trusts him to come back.

“You’re morally dubious, your Majesty.”

“And you’re morally bankrupt, my friend.”

“I never even made a deposit.” Adam smirks, smug and satisfied.

“You say that like it’s a good thing. You actually sound proud of that.”

“Tell me something, your Majesty. Where would you be if I had?”

“Do you two need a minute alone or…?” Keith steps into the room, hair soaking through his nightshirt.

“Excuse you, I am a married man. How dare you, sir?!” Lance grins, holding out a hand to Keith, who takes it, sits down on the bed a respectful distance away. Keith seems okay. A little… small, like he wants to vanish, but he doesn’t seem injured- wait. “Hey, did you hurt yourself?”

“Hm? Oh.” Keith holds up his burned arm. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“You’re still bleeding,” Adam pointed out. “How did you not notice?”

“I was distracted.” Keith starts twisting his hair, until he notices the Alteans watching him.

“You didn’t tell me he had a new nervous habit. When did he develop a new nervous habit? Do you have any idea what this could do to my-”

Lance pinches the bridge of his nose. “Adam could you maybe-”

“Lay the fuck off?" Keith suggests. "Just this once.”

"Hey!"

“Wow your language is really awful today. Adam, do shut up please.” Lance munches his lip, tries to figure out how to set his spouse at ease. “Do you want me to cut your hair?”

“Okay.”

Lance smiles, thanks Adam when he materializes with a pair of hair scissors and a fine comb. “Here, you can sit in Adam’s chair, since he’s up.”

“Oh, thanks so much," Adam grumbles. "I’ll see you tomorrow. You’re welcome for not being dead!”

“Dead?” Keith asks, turning to him with alarm as the doors close. “What?”

Lance draws on his quintessence, runs his fingers over Keith’s wound. “Assassination attempt. Adam took care of it.”

“I bet he didn’t even blink.”

“Certainly not, as he watched his own assassin break my assassin’s neck.”

“Adam has his own assassin?” It occurs to Lance as Keith asks his question that they should likely be way more concerned about this. Eh. Facts of life.

“I imagine he grows them like tubers in his garden. Or perhaps in a jar.”

“I believe it. I bet he keeps the jar illuminated so he can watch it grow while he falls asleep like a very macabre night light… I’m glad you weren’t assassinated- Why are you petting my wound?”

“Look.” Lance smiles as Keith gapes down at his arm, sees his skin closing. It is pretty miraculous. Both the healing and the fact that Lance managed to do it without blowing them up. “Hey, I’m sorry you got hurt. And that you had to deal with my father. I know he’s not exactly your favorite person.”

“It’s fine. I still hate him, but… I think I understand him better. So that’s something.” Lance hums, pulls him into a chair. Keith sits, feels a comb running through his hair, the *snick* of the hair scissors. ”You won’t cut off too much, will you?”

“No, I won’t ruin your beautiful hair. You will, if you keep clawing at it when you’re stressed… You’re surprisingly vain.”

“I'm not vain about everything. It’s just the one thing… What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Uh, court, then studying crop yields. Wanna come? You can learn all about… I dunno, plants I guess.”

“Hm. sounds exciting. Yeah, I’ll come.”

“Great! It’s a date,” Lance teases. “It’ll be so romantic, learning about shreika feces or whatever. But we could use a higher sustainable yield so we’re more desirable for interplanetary commerce.”

“I take it there’s a long-term aim in mind?”

“Two. Firstly, alleviate poverty and the resulting bitterness among the people who grow my food. Secondly, start creating interplanetary relationships based on something other than the terror of our vicious army and merciless, excessively destructive armada.”

“I like that idea. Perhaps we can go speak to some of the farmers? People… People like to know that they’re valued. Talking to them instead of researching them in your enormous private library will go a long way toward gaining their respect. Also, agrarian communities tend to be close-knit, so you may need to start with small things before they'll open up to you.”

“Oh, like adjusting taxes? Done! But I’ll keep that in mind. There you go! Hair’s all cut. I worked a bit of quintessence into it to keep it healthy.”

“Thank you… My father kept his hair long. He, uh. When I was a small kit, my mother was fighting and I was too young to be left on my own. My father would give me the end of his braid to play with while we were hunting. We’d have to be still and quiet for a long time, and it helped if I had something to do. We didn't have much.” Keith pulls a lock of hair over his shoulder. It feels nice, nicer than before. “It seems stupid, but he was so strong and brave and this is my way of honoring him.”

“I don’t think it’s stupid. I think it’s nice that you found a way to remember him. Also, I wanna see you strangle someone with it. It’d be super cool.”

Keith laughs, soft and sweet. Lance smiles at the sound of it. “Well, maybe someone else will try to assassinate us and you’ll get your wish.”

Lance flops back on the bed, wriggling up to the pillows. “Yeah. If Adam doesn’t spoil the fun with his stupid efficiency.”

Keith flops, wriggles to lie next to him. “Yeah. He’s terrifying. I think he’s the most dangerous person here.”

“Oh. Yes, without a doubt. He’s pure evil and we should all be afraid. Except Takashi.”

"What?! That's not fair! Even I don't call him that!"

"I know. Can you even imagine? Pure evil and pure good teamed up together? They could do anything they wanted. Anything at all."

“Mhm. Goodnight, Lance. I'll teach you about 'fuck' tomorrow.” Keith nestles himself down in the blankets, yawning sleepily as he curls himself into a ball, tail up by his hands. He's exhausted, deserves a good night's sleep.

"Ooh, can't wait." Lance activates Keith’s datapad, dims the lights. He leaves the fire crackling. Nights are getting cold; winter is on the way. As he burrows into the bed, he remembers something, sits back up. He reaches over, rubs at the base of Keith’s velveteen ear. The Galra purrs, leaning into the touch as he settles deeper into the bed.

Lance smiles. “Goodnight, Keith.”

[rwby-grimm-guardians]

RWBY Grimm Guardians Arc 2: Beacon’s Fragile Light Ch VII

Hey, everyone! I’m back! This is the seventh chapter of Beacon’s Fragile Light. This next chapter takes place during the seventh episode of Volume 2. This chapter will feature a LOT of ships. Also, prepare for some battle. As usual, please give feedback and enjoy!

Also, I apologize if some parts seem rushed here and for a certain stereotype. Please note that I am only describing the Weapon Spirits’ ball appearances and a new OC that will also appear in this chapter. Cinder will also be described, but not too detailed.

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

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The teams’ clothes for the ball had finally arrived...and just in time too, as the dance was tonight. The Weapon Spirits immediately got ready, as theirs arrived later than anticipated. Summer had chosen a red suit with a black shirt...and, of course, looked amazing, according to her fellow Weapon Spirits and their wielders. Sent from Klein, Arktis had gotten a nice, silky, blue sleeveless dress with blue heels and white snowflake patterns that decorated the dress.

As far as her daughter, her friends, and the elder Schnee’s fellow Weapon Spirits were concerned, Arktis looked incredible. Gambol was next to get dressed and she had picked out a beautiful black and purple kimono, sent by Blake’s mother, Kali. While she did groan, due to her totally expecting it, the elder faunus put the kimono on, earning multiple compliments from the group and obviously Ember.

The monk had picked out a yellow shirt with a pair of brown dress pants and shoes. “You weren’t looking forward to the dressing up part, were you?” Summer asked, putting her red cloak on to match her outfit. Ember groaned with a nod as the red clad woman rubbed her friend’s shoulder reassuringly. The former STRQ leader smiled encouragingly, “Relax. You look great.” Ruby and Yang nodded in agreement, prompting Blake to say, “Gambol definitely has the hots from you.”

The elder faunus blushed as she looked at her “sister” and whispered, “Are you out of your mind!? What are you doi-!?” Blake placed her hand over the elder faunus’ lips as she whispered firmly, “I’m telling her what you actually feel. YOU. LIKE. HER. Now go and have fun with your datemate. Got it?” Gambol went silent, before replying in a squeak, “ Hai, okusama .” “You heard her, right?” Summer whispered in Ember’s ear, causing her to jump a bit.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m going.” The blonde said, as both Weapon Spirits went out the door first. With team RWBY sighing with relief, Ruby and Yang began laughing when Summer hugged them tightly with a grin. “I’m so proud of you~!” The red clad woman shouted with joy, doing a short spin as she held her daughters. Blake began giggling, only to fully laugh when Arktis gave the same treatment to a flustered Weiss.

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Now at the ball, Gambol and Ember were already dancing, obviously having a blast. Yang and Blake were also enjoying themselves, taking their time with their dance. Arktis sat next to Weiss, before placing a hand on her shoulder. “Enjoying yourself so far?” She asked. The heiress sighed, “I honestly don’t know…. I...feel like I should, but….well…”

She then pointed towards Ruby, causing Arktis to smile. “You care about her….” She said, only for her frown to vanish when her daughter said nothing. The heiress bit her lip, before saying, “I do care about her as a friend, but….I don’t know if that’s all...or if I care about her more than that.” The elder Schnee nodded, finally understanding what Weiss meant, “If you’re worried, I suggest you don’t. Everyone questions their own feelings from time to time.”

The heiress sighed, “But what if I unintentionally harm Ruby because of it?” The blue dressed woman stayed silent for a couple of seconds, before saying, “I’m sorry...but I can’t help you with that… As much as I want to give you a definitive answer, that is something you will have to find out for yourself.” As a way to change the subject for the time being, Arktis asked, “Would you like to dance?” Weiss just looked at her, wide-eyed, causing the elder Schnee to chuckle.

“It’s a simple question, Weiss.” She smiled. Stuttering, the heiress answered, “Y-Yes, please.” Arktis then stood up and guided Weiss to the dance floor, giving a smirking Summer a nod and a smile as the two past her. Leaving the two Schnees to have fun, the tallest of the Weapon Spirits went over to Ruby, only for the young leader to pull her by the hand. “Sorry, but we need to hurry.” Ruby said, noticing Summer’s confusion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Outside the Cross Continental Transmit System Tower…)

After a brief explanation of what the young leader saw, Ruby and Summer found themselves outside the Cross Continental Transmit System Tower, quickly spotting the figure the younger Rose saw. “Any idea who...or WHAT that is?” Ruby asked. Squinting at the figure, the elder Rose’s eyes widened, “Isn’t that the new student, Cinder Fall?” The young teen raised an eyebrow, “Cinder? Why the hell is she going around like a burglar?” Summer sighed, “Guess we’re about to find out. We got another guest.”

The red cloaked woman pointed at a new taller figure following Cinder. Judging by the shape, the figure seemed to be female and have a somewhat muscular physique. The figure was also carrying two pistols. “You know that is?” Ruby asked, only for Summer to shake her head. “If I know her, then I don’t remember…” The two Roses then began chasing Cinder and the new figure.

After a bit of running, the two managed to follow the perpetrators to the elevator, heading to the top floor. After heading to the top floor as well, Ruby aimed Crescent Rose in rifle mode, with Summer holding the weapon in scythe mode. “Cinder? We know you’re here. Just come on out so you can explain what’s going on.” Ruby said, looking across the room for any potential threats, before Cinder casually emerged from her hiding spot.

“Your weapon is too observant for its own good.” The masked woman said, causing Ruby’s eyebrow to twitch. “Unfortunately, I don’t have time to have a conversation with you two.” She then whistled, causing the new figure to land in front of the Roses from the ceiling. As predicted from her silhouette, she was somewhat muscular and female. She also had black hair, red eyes with black sclera, black and dark gray sweat clothes, along with black boots and red sunglasses.

Summer and her glared at each other in the eye. Cinder then waved with an arrogant smirk, “Have fun.”, before proceeding to leave, only for Ruby to block her. A silent bell went off and soon, Ruby was dueling Cinder, constantly breaking through any dust the older teenager had to attempt to stop her from escaping. Summer and the other woman began having a brutal battle, as Summer tried to destroy the pistols, while the woman continuously tried to shoot the elder Rose in the face and gut.

Cinder then used fire dust to cause a smokescreen, blinding Ruby temporarily and allowing her to escape. “ Merde! ” The young leader shouted, coughing as she stumbled out of the smoke. Summer then got Crescent Rose caught on the woman’s shirt, ripping it off and revealing the woman’s sports-bra...and many bat tattoos that decorated her right arm and the right side of her torso and chest. Summer’s face went pale as she began stuttering, “It...c-can’t be…! H-How are you still...!?”

The woman raised an eyebrow, before grinning and let out a laugh...a laugh that Summer thought she would never have to hear again. “I see YOU have changed… JUST. LIKE. ME.” The woman said, before punching the Weapon Spirit in the ribs. “BE SURE TO KEEP THINGS INTERESTING, ROOS! ” The woman shouted, before escaping as a group of bats. Ruby then walked up to Summer as both of them sat down and Summer sent a text to Ironwood.

Sighing, the red cloaked woman said, “THAT...was Lady Vampier. Those that follow her call her the Bat Queen.” She then explained that she was a rival of hers back in Beacon, but Lady had vanished. Summer was then tasked with stopping her when she found out that Lady had begun doing various violent crimes, such as murder and experimentation. She was trying to make herself a god by extracting the blood of her victims and using Grimm blood. She had no choice but to kill her.

“Seems like she succeeded...” Summer said. “We don’t know that.” Ruby said, only for the tallest Weapon Spirit to give out a hollow laugh. “Hun, she’s STILL alive….” The two went silent as Summer looked at her scroll. “We need to go through Cinder’s information as soon as possible.” She said, earning a nod from the younger Rose. “What about the ‘Bat Queen’?” She asked, earning a shrug from the red cloaked woman. “Ironwood will give me that info soon.” She said.

After a few minutes of relaxing, the two then heard music from the tower's speakers. The two looked at the scroll, receiving a text that explained that Ozpin wanted them to have a dance, even though the night was almost over. Summer smirked, knowing that Evergreen made that decision. “Shall we have a dance?” She asked Ruby, who grinned and stood, helping the elder Rose to her feet. ‘So...I finally get to dance with my daughter…’ Summer thought, before smiling as she began dancing with Ruby.

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Okay. A few things.

1) The whole Dutch thing comes from the idea that Cinderella (who Cinder is loosely based on) is Dutch. This means that Cinder ALSO might be Dutch.

2) The reason why I had a battle here is because the ACTUAL episode doesn’t really have a fight scene. I’ll admit, I suck at fight scenes, so please give advice so I can improve. I’d really appreciate it.

And 3) Roos means rose in Dutch, Lady means dame in Dutch, and Vampier means vampire in Dutch.

Also 4) Ruby and Summer’s dance is PURELY PLATONIC! Don’t make things weird or gross.

And with that, this chapter is done! Really sorry about this being a short one. Next one might be short as well, unfortunately. But, hopefully, the Vol. 3 chapters will be a little longer. Anyway, I’ll see ya later.

[srhlsx]

CHAPTER 13

master | ch. 12 | ch. 14

You felt a poking in the back of your shoulder, the dull eraser end of a pencil pressing and wiggling to bother you until you acknowledged it. It took you a moment to wake up, shaking your head to pull yourself out of the sleepy state you found yourself in. You turned around to look at Iwaizumi over your shoulder, eyebrows raised in question.

“Your head was bobbing,” He stated bluntly, while his mouth stayed in a hard line his eyes were slightly playful and you knew he found your situation amusing. “Wake up and do the work.”

“Hmf,” You mumbled, returning your chin to rest on your hand and you turned back to look at the literature worksheet presented in front of you. Luckily it was just practice so your lack of concentration wasn't going to impact you too much. “Thanks, Haji.”

“You’re out of it,” He continued, kicking at the back of your seat a few times when he saw your eyes begin to droop and your head bob forward slightly. “Everything alright?”

“Hmm? Yeah, yeah,” You waved him off, glancing over your shoulder to see him staring intently at you. He twirled his finger in a circle to motion for you to turn around and face him, you grabbed your book and worksheet and did as told. You twisted your body to face him better and set your things next to his on his desk. “I’m just practicing a bit longer than usual. Trying to come up with and then teach new routines takes up most of practice so I stay after for the solo stuff. Combine that with homework, it’s sleep time that usually suffers the cut.”

He nodded in understanding and you were sure it was genuine. Based on what Oikawa had told you about volleyball you knew that they were practicing like crazy as well. “Well, just don’t hurt yourself.” He mumbled, returning to his worksheet.

You smirked, taking your pencil under his chin to make him look up at you. “That’s awfully thoughtful of you, Haji.” You cooed softly. Your tone of voice made him blush and his eyes widened at your brazen display of affection towards him so out in the open. You didn’t really think about it either, realizing how you sounded after the fact, and immediately you too dropped back to work on the task in front of you.

What had you been thinking? So openly looking at and talking to him like that, with other students barely a meter away. You were going to have to do a better job of not thinking about Iwaizumi as the boy who got you hot and bothered and more as the boy who was your boyfriend’s best friend.

That was not going to be easy. 

- - - - -

You waved goodbye to the last of the girls on your team who were leaving the dance studio. Their bags were slung over their shoulders and their warmups all matched as they talked with one another, a few giggling behind hands when they saw who was waiting just outside the door.

“Goodnight, ladies~” You turned around from where you were standing alone in the middle of the studio, messing around with your phone to find your music again, and saw the waiting figures of Oikawa and Iwaizumi. The former sent you a megawatt smile, eye closed as he greeted you cheerfully. “(Y/n), it’s time to go home!”

“Ah,” You awkwardly laughed, reaching a hand up to scratch the back of your neck as you looked anywhere but at the boy talking to you. “I’m going to stay a little bit longer. Didn’t have time for solo practice today and I need to watch a little bit of our recordings.”

Better than anyone you knew, Oikawa understood the need to stay longer than what was necessary to make yourself perfect. That was why, when you told him to go on ahead, he had simply nodded and came up to give you a small hug and press a kiss to the top of your head. “Text me later!” He said, more of a statement than a question. You nodded and told him you would.

As he turned to leave, your eyes caught Iwaizumi’s and he looked at you skeptically. After the conversation you’d had earlier that day, and how tired and distracted you had been, he thought for sure that you would want to try to calm down and take a day of rest. He thought wrong. You turned away before being able to see more of the judgement in his eyes, plugging your phone into aux cord and scrolling to select the song you wanted to play.

You rolled your neck back and forth, stretching your shoulders a few times then kicking your leg up to rest on a parallel bar to stretch the muscles as well. Iwaizumi watched, your focus completely shifting gears from him to dance, as fast as blinking an eye. He heard the deep thumping of the bass from the song you had chosen begin and your arms stretched dramatically as you ran through the movements of a routine.

His attention was quickly forced away as Oikawa nudged him out of the doorway to make their way to the entrance of the school campus. “She’s been staying a lot lately,” Iwaizumi mumbled. “She practically fell asleep in class today.”

“Well you and I both know what it’s like to want to be perfect, Iwa.” Oikawa responded, his voice surprisingly calm and quiet. His face held a thoughtful expression to it when Iwaizumi looked at him. Turning away, he couldn’t help the thoughts from taking over his head.

“Hey, I need to go grab something from my locker.” Iwaizumi stopped, hiking a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the school vaguely. “Go on ahead.”

“You sure?” Oikawa asked, turning and walking backwards as he questioned his friend. Iwaizumi nodded, sure of himself, making Oikawa shrugged. “Whatever, see you tomorrow!”

“(Y/n), come on, I’m leaving.”

You looked back, shoulders and chest heaving as you stopped mid-routine to look at the door to the studio area. There stood your boyfriend, hair slicked back from showering after basketball practice and car keys dangling from his fingers. He looked antsy, ready to get going and being inconvenienced by having to wait. 

“Practice isn’t done for thirty minutes,” You huffed, trying to catch your breath after walking over to him and taking him outside of the studio. You had a feeling of where this conversation was going to go and you didn’t want to interrupt practice any more than you already had. “And I need to stay after for a little bit, to run through the solo routine a few times.”

He let out an annoyed grunt, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Again,” He said with a roll of his eyes. “I’m not waiting. It’s been every day this week you’ve blown me off for this club and it would be nice if for once you put me first.”

“T-that’s not fair,” You stuttered, gaze hardening although your voice trembled slightly. “Practice isn’t even over, you know how im-”

“Just call me when you get home,” He sighed, turning to leave. “Or don’t, whatever.”

You had stopped moving around a short while ago and were now sitting cross-legged in the middle of the studio floor, a notebook open in front of you as you absently chewed at the end of a pen. You jotted down notes, drew diagrams, and continued to create and check off items on random checklists associated with what needed to be done. 

It hadn’t come as a surprise to you that being the captain of the dance team was completely different than being the captain of many other clubs. In volleyball, for example, they had a manager who was available to handle logistics and planning. You did not have that luxury and so the busy work fell on your shoulders to get done. You’d admit that you were a little crazy about it at times, wanting all details to be double and triple checked before going forward. 

The music continued to blast through the speakers, keeping the silence away from your mind as you worked. The sweat that had gathered on your skin had long ago dried and was a sticky film under the warmup you had shrugged on to keep the chills away. You’d let your hair fall down around your shoulders after having it tied up for so long, feeling the instant relief spread when you had loosened the knot it was in. You ran your hands mindlessly through your hair, relaxing at the feeling of your fingers scratching against your scalp to ebb away the stress you were feeling. When you heard a song play for the second time, you realized that your playlist was starting over again and it was probably time you started your journey home.

After locking the studio behind you and tucking the key away in your bag, you turned to leave only to stop dead in your tracks. You had to work to prevent the smile from growing on your face. You looked down at your feet and thanked a higher power that the sun had already set and the blush creeping onto your face couldn’t be seen.

“Were you waiting this whole time?” You asked, walking up to the figure slouched lazily on the bench a few meters away.

Iwaizumi shrugged like it was nothing, grabbing his bags from the ground and standing up to meet you. He stretched his arms over his head, casually allowing his shirt to rise up and you swore it took all the willpower you possessed not to take a peek at the sliver of skin that showed. “S’not a big deal” He grumbled as he let his arms fall back down to his sides. 

“It is,” You half laughed, checking the time on your phone. “Your practice ended an hour and a half ago.”

“So did yours,” He countered. You pouted at his statement, realizing you couldn’t really argue with what he said. He pushed at your lower back, grazing his fingers dangerously low, forcing you to move towards the gates of the school to start the trip home. “Besides, it’s dark and you shouldn’t walk home alone.”

You turned around to smile up at the sweet words he had spoken, face scrunching up slightly as you pressed your chest against his, “I can offer you a poorly made dinner as thanks!” 

When you turned back around you bumped your hip into his, making him stumble just a little and reach out to grab you without thinking twice. His fingers played with the hem on the back of your track jacket, tugging playfully as you laughed at his expense and continued to walk. After a moment, Iwaizumi realized he was still holding on to you and let his hand drop back to his side. A pain in his chest confused him for a second, unsure about where it came from or why it even appeared in the first place.

“Do you stay late a lot?” He asked, looking around and noticing how dark it was out. The streets were pretty empty but Iwaizumi knew that didn’t mean there wouldn’t ever be trouble on some other day. The idea of you walking alone at this time of day surprisingly lit a spark in him.

“Ah, not always. I’ve gotten better,” You said, shrugging your shoulders. “It used to be all the time, and I’m pretty sure that was just to avoid going home to an empty house.”

Iwaizumi looked down at you from the corner of his eyes. He’d heard you mention things about your empty home before, how the only other presence there was usually just your dog. He couldn’t imagine what that would be like, his grandma was always shuffling around trying to take care of him and he couldn’t imagine having none of that.

“With everything we have coming up,” You took in a deep breath of air, clutching the straps of your backpack as you held it and let your lungs burn. You released the hold on your lungs with a harsh gasp, “I just have to stay focused.”

“You can rest though,” He said, looking down at you sweetly although you didn’t notice, avoiding his gaze. You knew how he was looking at you, like you were doing too much - or maybe not doing enough. “Wearing yourself down… Breaking yourself… It’s going to catch up.”

He so badly wanted to reach out, to touch you, to caress your face or run his hands through your hair. Anything to comfort you. And he almost did, he caught himself, hand starting to raise up, and quickly shoved it in the pocket of his jacket instead when you started to speak again. 

“Well,” You sighed, nodding your head with a look of determination. “When that happens, then I’ll rest.”

[thotsforvillainrights]

~Pivitol~

Summary: The long awaited first date arrives for both you and Kai, and the elders in your lives offer some meaningful advice (no matter how pesky). When the date finally comes, you and Kai find some common ground and interest, opening a doorway to an intense relationship to come. (In other words...the first date went great!)

Chapter: 8

Warnings: None

With your bosses blessing and Yuko’s help, you got off work early today and that gave you some time to prepare. You still hadn’t given Kai a certain time to come over, so any time tomorrow was fair game. With him being a germaphobe, you had to make sure your place was in tip-top shape upon his arrival. You would spend the rest of the day cleaning and then get some sleep tonight. You’d even squeeze a little self care in there somewhere so you didn’t have to look like a monster when he came tomorrow. Halfway through thinking up a game plan and digging out the broom from the supply closet, there was an interrupting knock at your door. You opened it and looked down, smiling when you saw it was the landlord Ms. Yumine. “Oh dearie would you mind if I came in? I’m walking around all the units today and checking the air vents. Some of the maintenance reports tenants sent in have been complaining about poor air and heating. I just wanted to see if I could help the maintenance man before he came over.” She asked you sweetly. “Of course!” You stepped aside and let the old lady enter the apartment. “My oh my, you seem a little distressed dear? What seems to be the issue?” You chuckled and shyly rubbed the back of your head with your free hand while still holding onto the broom in the other. “I’m having someone important over for dinner tomorrow and he doesn’t like germs very much. I’m cleaning up now but I’m still worried about how this is going to go and I just worry that maybe he might-”

“Pardon my interruption, but I think I know what’s biting at your heart. This man is important to you yes?” She turned and asked you. You nodded while feeling your skin burn with embarrassment. “Have you spent a bad moment with this boy ever before?” Ms. Yumine continued to press on. “Well no, but-”

“No butts then! If you feel comfortable with him, then that shouldn’t change now either. Just relax and stop trying so hard dearest.” She reassured you before going back to inspect the vents. You slowed down your cleaning efforts and bid her a goodbye when she was finished. Afterwards, you finished off the rest of your cleaning, showered and laid down for bed. As quickly as your eyes closed, they opened again at the sound of your alarm a few hours later indicating that the new day had begun. 

Meanwhile, Chisaki was scrubbing his skin like never before. He had to assure himself that he was clean enough for you. After his VERY hot shower, he got out of the steamy bathroom, put on his white suit, and began to vigorously spray himself with cologne until he heard the sound of a throat being cleared at his bedroom doorway. He turned to see Pops smiling (very obnoxiously might I add). “What do you want, old man?” Pops simply held his hand up in defense and chuckled. “Oh nothing, it’s just...well you’ll end up poising her/him/them at that rate if you don’t go easy on the cologne.” Kai scoffed at the elders words and proceeded to brush his hair in the bedroom mirror until he sighed and put the brush down. He turned and glared at Pops, old man still widely smiling. “Pops, what do you want? Are you going to stand there all day or something?” Kai was annoyed but also embarrassed, knowing that Pops was going to tease him one way or another. “Of course not, my boy! It’s just...I’m so proud of the man you’re becoming. It feels like yesterday I was watching you be rebellious and here you are preparing for your first date. Let me enjoy this moment since I didn’t get to see you have this in elementary, middle, or high school.” Kai blushed lightly and quickly turned away to check his appearance in the mirror. “Oh, I also have a gift to give to you! In fact, I left it in the glove box of your car. It might come in handy later on.” Then without further explanation, Pops sauntered off somewhere else in the house to do old man stuff. Kai sighed in relief having finally being given the moment to be alone before the date. He waited at least another hour or two, googling tips on his phone and watching helpful YouTube date videos. Finally he decided it was time to go when you texted him your address. 

He left the base and got into his car, pausing to curiously see what Pops must’ve left for him in the glove box. Once he pulled it out, he choked and quickly tossed it in the back seat, before reading the note that was also left in the glove-box. ‘Safe sex is essential to a relationship, so I got you this condom while I was out yesterday. I know you’d rather hear the talk from YouTube or the classes you took in high school, so I’ll leave it at that. Good luck!’ Kai crumpled up the note and tossed it in the middle console of the car before turning on the radio and drowning his embarrassing thoughts with music. In no time he had arrived and was standing outside of your doorway, pausing with his hand at the door. He wasn’t even sure how to knock properly until you opened the door and jumped back at seeing him. “Oh! You scared me there! I was actually just about to check the mailbox but I’m glad to see you here. Come in, come in. I tried to clean up as best I could by the way, so I’m sorry if it’s not up to standard.” You rambled on nervously behind him as he entered your apartment and looked around. “No, it’s just fine. It’s actually just like I imagined you to decorate and everything. Do you mind if I...take a seat here?” He asked you and you nodded. Kai removed his coat and hung it on the couch arm before taking a seat on the couch and looking around some more. You scrambled off to your room and checked your appearance one more time before coming back to the living room and sitting in the recliner next to the couch. You grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. “I know this isn’t what you had in mind for dinner but it’s a bit early for that and I also wanted to catch the newest episode of my favorite show. Is that okay?” You asked him and he nodded. About 5 minutes through the show he was calling out the plot line and picking the actors apart ruthlessly. He stopped his over-analyzation when you started laughing. “Oh my God Kai, it’s just a show for enjoyment. If you think too much into it then you won’t have a good time watching. Haven’t you ever followed a series before?” He took a second to think before shaking his head. You gasped and dramatically picked up the remote. You scrolled through the menu and found the first episode of the series. “I’m only on like episode 8, so I don’t mind starting from the top for you. Let’s watch it together okay?” He smiled under his medical mask and nodded in agreement. It didn’t take long to catch up.The episodes were only 30 minutes a piece anyway, so of course it didn’t take that long. Now that he finally understood the story-line he was hooked. “When do the new episodes come out?” He asked you eagerly. You laughed and stood up from your spot on the chair to stretch. “Every Wednesday...so today as well, but we burned through it pretty fast. Hey, do you wanna just get together and finish out this first season with me every week? I mean only if you’re okay with that and all-”

“Yes! I mean...yes, of course.” He cleared his throat and turned his attention away to something else. You smiled at his enthusiasm before heading to the kitchen and washing your hands. You began to gather the ingredients and supplies for dinner when you noticed he had gotten up to join you. He eyed the stuff curiously and you felt your nervousness kick in again. “Is everything okay?” You asked him shyly and he nodded. “Yes, it’s alright. I’m just curious is all. Would you mind me helping? I feel bad about you having to do this all on your own.” You agreed and Kai showed you just how awful he could be in the kitchen. The only upside to the venture was that you got to see his beautiful hands without any gloves on. With dinner now burnt and Kai furiously apologizing for said mistake, you had ordered take-out instead. After consoling him, and sitting down to eat the take-out with him, you two had settled to finish the night off with a horror movie. You noticed 10 minutes into the movie, Kai was being really fidgety and kept glancing over to you. Finally you decided to grill him on it. You paused the movie and looked over at him. “Is everything alright Kai?”

“Yes but well...no. I mean, you are sitting over on the chair and there’s so much room here on the couch. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sitting by me?” Your eyes widened a bit and you looked away for a second. “Well it’s just that I know you’re germaphobe and all. I was keeping my distance because of that. I didn’t want our first date over here to be considered too much and-”

“Date?”

“Oh!!! No! no no no! I’m so sorry for calling it that! I mean, I understand that this was supposed to be us hanging out with no strings attached and all! I’m so sorry if I messed that up!” You rambled on and on with apologies, completely blind to the way Kai’s face was burning red with excitement. (Lucky for him the room was dark for the movie). “No! I...wanted this to be a date and I’m ashamed I didn’t ask you first. Would this be okay?” He asked shyly. You sheepishly nodded and headed over to sit on the couch next to him. You unpaused the movie, blinked and yawned in the middle of it, and woke up to Chisaki gently nudging you. “Oh shit. I’m so sorry Kai. Did I fall asleep on your shoulder? I know that must’ve been so uncomfy for you. I’m glad you woke me up.”

“Actually I let you sleep through the rest of the movie. I mean...you don’t bother me as much when it comes to germs. I rather enjoy your company.” You two stared at each other for a little bit after that. The intense curiosity as to what his lips might have felt like under that mask made you jump back a bit and quickly withdraw from the situation.

(Little did you know he was wondering how your lips felt too.)

“It’s uh...getting late. I don’t mean to kick you out but I’ve got a meeting tomorrow and...yknow.”

“Oh no, of course. I also have work as well so I’ll be going but...thank you for inviting me. I hope to see you again soon.” To show you he trusted your touch, he hugged you goodbye (a shocking moment for himself as well). Once home again, Pops was waiting for him in the living room. “How was the date?”

“It was fine, and Pops?”

“Yes, my boy?”

“DO NOT LEAVE ANOTHER SINGLE ‘GIFT’ IN MY CAR EVER AGAIN.” Kai stomped off to his room leaving Pops a laughing mess on the couch. That night he couldn’t really sleep because his heart was too busy fluttering with excitement and happiness at the thought of you...his first date.

»—————————–———————————————————–✄

TIp Jar: https://cash.app/$YuTakeyama

[p-artsypants]

Longest Night (35) Burning

I had the flu last week! It was super not fun! Make sure to wash your hands and stay home as much as you can! Besides the big bad the flu is also afoot and it sucks!

As I stated in an earlier chapter, I’m a Christian. Because of the nature of this story, I wanted to incorporate some elements of my faith into it. I find it weird to impress my faith on fictional characters, so I usually don’t, but my God is a healer. It makes sense that He’d be mentioned. I’ll probably keep it kind of subtle.

Not this chapter though. THIS ONE GOES HARD. STRAP IN BOYS!!

It’s also REALLY GROSS at parts. Sorry in advance.

(Also, this is creative writing, I’m not really up to theology debates. Please and thank you in advance.)

Ao3 | FF.net

—

“End of the road.” Lady Lacrima said, her face blank and emotionless.

Salo pulled her hand, or rather her wrist, to her chest. “How the hell did he find you?”

Lady Lacrima shrugged. “You must have gotten sloppy.”

“Or you gave him clues! I should have killed you weeks ago!”

“You should have,” Lady Lacrima agreed. “You should have let me die with compassion in my heart. But you didn’t. You created a monster. Two of them.”

Salo spat at her. “You’re a product of Hawkmoth! I only avenged my Eddy!”

“After all this, you’re still justifying your heinous actions. You’re so lost in your depravity, that you can’t even see how low you’ve sunk.”

“So what now?” She sneered. “Now that the roles are reversed, what are you going to do?”

Lady Lacrima reach out and caressed the woman’s face, leaving a smear of blood on her cheek. “The roles are far from reversed, Salo.” She stated, holding out her arms. A buster sword, one bigger than any human could wield, materialized in her hands. “I’m more powerful than you could ever hope to be. And you…there’s no punishment on Earth that befits you.”

“Will you kill me then?”

“That depends…do you believe in God?”

Salo scoffed. “What are you, my Nonna? Go ahead, kill me. Let your God punish me.”

Lady Lacrima adjusted the sword in her hand. “He’ll get his turn.”

Salo’s lip trembled as she attempted to scoot away.

“It’s funny. Without those glasses, you look almost human. And all this time, I thought you were a soulless machine. But if you have a soul…you can burn in hell.” And she slammed the blade down, down through flesh and bone and into the cement, separating her legs from her torso.

The woman screamed in agony, clawing at the ground to escape.

Claws ripped into her stomach, pulling her intestines out and spilling them on the floor.

“What do you think Salo? Should we leave you like this?”

Salo didn’t answer, only squealed and cried out as she writhed on the floor like a worm. Her vision was blurred, but she could see the lights above her head.

Then there was a silhouette, holding out long claws. Claws that pulsed and churned with dark energy. They came closer and closer to her face.

It burned. Hotter than any fire she’d felt before. She heard her skin sizzling and cracking.

Then there was nothing.

No sound, no light, nor breath in her lungs. No emotion fleeting through her head.

And yet—

She was awake. More awake than she’d ever been before. It was like she had been dreaming all this time, and she was finally aware of all that was happening around her.

“Where am I?” She asked, noting the white space around her. Not the billowing clouds she’d seen in Sunday school illustrations as a child. Just a vast infinite of nothingness.

“It has many names, ones in each dialect. We like to call it Hades, or Sheol. Though to you, it would be Death.”

“I’m in...I’m in death?”

“Correct. For death is not a natural state, it is only a temporary condition of the fall.”

“The fall?”

The voice hummed, patiently answering her question. “The fall of mankind. In the Garden of Eden. You know the story, Bianca.”

“I—I do.” She admitted. “I just didn’t think—“

“That it was real?”

“Yeah…”

“What did you think would happen when it was all over?”

She shrugged. “That’s just it. That it would be over. There was nothing else.”

“You are a product of your time. Your eyes were closed to the truth. You had plenty of chances to open them, but they remained firmly shut.”

Bianca raised her hands, finally looking at what had become of her body. No scars, no wrinkles, no calluses, just sooth skin, like a newborn baby.

“Who are you? Can I see you?” She finally asked.

“We’ve never talked, but I’m a good friend of yours. I’ve been with you a long time.”

“Are you my guardian angel?”

The voice laughed. “No. I’m not an angel at all. I’m an antagonist to the angels.”

“A demon?”

“No no, but you’re getting warmer,” it sang, “I will show myself soon, but my name is Death.”

Bianca blinked. “Wait, I thought I was…in Death. I’m in you?”

“I am the state, place, and Lord of Death. I am here, walking with you, all around you, and I am you. But it is beyond mortal understanding.”

Bianca just took a shaky breath, resolved that this was bigger than her, for once.

“You are receiving a wonderful gift, Bianca. A look at the future. Those who perish permanently are not provided with this opportunity.”

“…have I not perished permanently then?”

“Mostly likely not. In the world of free will, there is still a chance that you, and several others will return to Earth for a few more pitiful years.”

“Because…of Ladybug and Chat Noir? Their reset button?”

“That is correct. But until then, you are separated from your body. And I will show you what happens in the end.”

Bianca swallowed as wispy white rolled away. The sky was rolled back like a scroll, displaying the mighty heavens in all their glory. The ground quaked and cracked, falling away to show a growing hoard of lethargic souls, shuffling on with no destination. Bianca stood above on a pillar, just observing them.

“These are the others in Death, they are just like you. But they won’t be returning to Earth. Their lives are over, and ahead of them is judgement.”

“And then?”

“Two options. Up…”

Within the vastness of the sky, a city floated. Walls made of jasper, gates of pearl, and twelve foundations stacked on top of each other, each made of a solid precious metal. There were no lights, as darkness couldn’t penetrate the walls. It was blindingly bright and hurt to look at.

“Or down.”

The pillar grew, twisting to peer over the edge of the world. Below, she saw a pit of fire and smoke, covered with an ancient seal. Inside the pit sat a beast with ten horns and seven heads, with crowns on each head. It looked up to her, licking her lips in patience.

“What is that?”

“The beast which devours all and demands worship. One day, when the seal is broken, the beast will go to earth. He will be exalted as a king above all, and everyone will love and adore him. He is a deceiver.”

“People will worship that?” She asked, incredulous. “Out of fear?”

“Out of blindness. The beast will not appear on Earth like this. May he appear as a man, or as a temptation? That is not for you to know.”

The Beast paced in the pit, its fourteen eyes never leaving her.

“Once it’s reign begins, it cannot be stopped. A prophesy will come to pass, and the wrath of God will pour out on the Earth. After a thousand years of peace, this Beast, the Devil himself, and I will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Those in my arms will be judged, and if their names are not found in the Book of Life, they too will be cast down.”

The pillar grew again, the ground tilting and shifting to move the pit out of the way. And beneath that was a horrible chasm, stretched out for miles and miles, though she could still see the divide clearly. On the other side, a lake, vast and sprawling, but instead of water, it churned with fire. Flames rolling and burning, on and on, hot, and unbearably agonizing.

“And then what?” She breathed. “We burn up, and then are no more?”

“No.” Said Death. “There is no end to the burning. It will go on, forever and ever. You will beg for relief, but you’ll never get it. Every second, you will want to die, but this is the second death. It lasts forever.”

“But that’s thousands of years from now!” She cried, trying to dissuade her panic. “What about now? Do I wander like the rest of them?” She gestured down to the wandering souls below her.

Death smiled. “I suppose you’ll just have to find out for yourself.”

The pillar crumbled, pulling her down to the crowd, though no one seemed to pay any mind. Though as her feet touched to cool ground, things started to slip from her mind.

She bumped into a soul. A man who she recognized. “Harken! Oh it’s nice to see someone I know! We have to stick together, the Miraculous Cure is going to take us back soon.”

But Harken didn’t respond, only pushed passed her and continued listlessly onward.

“Death? Why didn’t he recognize me? He died only a minute before me!”

But Death did not respond, so she was on her own.

So she wandered among the spirits. Not really knowing where she was going, or what would happen. Was this it? Milling about for hours until her return to Earth?

That didn’t seem so terrible.

She wasn’t calm, but not panicked either. Nor scared nor bored, just…there. Like a blank slate of her emotions. Even the last few moments of her life on Earth began to slip her mind. She passed faces she swore she knew, names that where common to her.

But none of that seemed important now. Nothing did.

Then with a step, she was in front of a podium, one so tall it loomed over her. Standing at it, was a living creature with the face of a human, with seven wings and seven eyes. It wore pure white linen and a gold sash. On the podium rested a huge book, thicker than she was tall, and four times as wide.

“Name?”

She blinked, the clarity returning to her mind. “Uh it’s Bianca. Bianca Furtoli.”

The being flipped through the pages. Then opened another book, and another. A scroll unrolled from the surface and came cascading down to her, unraveling next to her and continuing off into the distance.

“Your name is not written in the Book of Life.” The creature said simply.

“And?”

“And so The Way is closed to you, for you are unrepentant, and your eyes are closed. Your lips only hold blasphemy, and your throat is like an open grave.”

“Are you Death?” She asked.

“No,” it said, “But it will be coming for you soon. I am an Angel of the Lord.”

“Funny, I thought Angels were supposed to be beautiful.”

“What would there be to fear in beauty?”

“Why do you think people fear me?” She asked, hand on her hip.

“Humans fear you, Bianca, because your reputation proceeds you. You speak with a silver tongue, convincing crowds, manipulating multitudes, and preying on vulnerabilities, like a lion stalks his prey.”

“You’re all so poetic up here.”

“And you don’t fear what’s to become of you?”

“I was killed by an akuma. Once Ladybug does her little magic spell, I’ll pop right back on Earth. It’ll only be a few minutes now. Death told me so.”

“Death must be fond of you. It rarely talks to mortals. It does not discriminate. But take heed child, it is not a friend, for it works for the Lord, but it should not exist.”

Bianca frowned. “It gave me more answers than you’re giving me.”

“What makes you think you’re worthy of answers?”

“Because my Nonna said I was made in the image of God. That’s why.”

“A good answer.” The angel mused.

“Then tell me how I get my name written in the Book.”

“Ask your Nonna.”

She frowned. “I prayed that silly little prayer as a girl. I did exactly what I had to do.”

“You were a child, and had the faith of a child. The repentance of a child. But you have grown, and you haven’t lived up to your vow. You prayed to accept the sacrifice that Jesus the Messiah made for you, and yet you trampled upon all he asked of you to do.”

“What did he ask me?”

“To follow him, and be like him.”

“Well, no one’s perfect.”

“He’s not asking for perfection. He’s asking for you to be forgiving, kind, patient, loving, gentle. To have self-control. To be a light to others in the fallen world.” The book slammed shut. “Not to torture children.”

“Says a lot coming from a god that allows wars to be waged. Cancer to run rampant. Hunger and disease to plague half the world. If he’s so powerful, how has he allowed all this to happen, huh? How come he didn’t stop me sooner, if I’m so bad, huh?”

The angel shook his head, “O Childish Blasphemer, who are you to know the infinite ways of God? How are you, a mere infant in the eyes of the world, supposed to understand these concepts beyond your vapid existence? For now, these horrors persist, but one day, they will cease forever. But the likes of you are unlikely to ever believe that. In the last days, you will be gnashing your teeth, and cursing God, even when he gives you plenty of opportunities to repent.”

“What will happen to me now then? Will you continue to berate me until I go back to Earth? Doesn’t seem very loving to me.”

“I have nothing more to say to you, Bianca. Death will fetch you now.”

The Angel moved one of its wings, and from behind it came a pale horse with a rider. The horse was sickly, with a tail made of serpents, and with a mouth of a lion that spewed smoke and fire.

The rider wore fiery red armor, with accents of yellow sulfur.  He had a sickle in one hand, and a whip in the other.

The horse whinnied, thunder roaring from its jaws, instilling Bianca with fear.

“Can I run?” She asked the Angel.

“You can try.”

And so she did. Though there was no where to run in this vast expanse where Death could not find her.

Bianca was halted by the whip cracking around her throat, though the rider never stopped his gallop, and dragged her away. She flailed around, choking as the sky turned black as sack cloth and the moon turned red as blood. She cried as the flesh ripped from her body and blood streaked behind her, carving her path. The many eyes of the wandering souls around her watched as she was stripped naked in all her shame. She was swallowed by the darkness, not even the light of fire illuminating the writhing floor beneath her.

The smell of rot and decay was strong, as vomit crawled up her throat and out. Maggots crawled over her, making a home in her wounds, her ears, her mouth, her eyes. Anywhere they could crawl, they did. Every bite, every pinch, she felt. There was no blurring from one to the other, she felt it all. And all she could do was scream.

She was left to rot, tormented for hours, perhaps days. Flames burst up from below, doing nothing to the worms, but roasting her alive. Burning, agonizing, blistering pain. She rolled around, trying to get relief, but there was just none to be had.

The fire was intense, and she laid there, cooking like a piece of meat on a grill. It was so hot she couldn’t move. So hot she couldn’t think. She gnashed her teeth and screamed and cried on and on.

“Death!” She begged. “Please! Please show me mercy!”

But Death did not answer, and did not show her mercy.

“Water! Please…just a little water…”

Finally, Death appeared on the horse, trampling over her. “Water? You murderer, you rapist, you liar, you thief! Water is what you want?”

“Please! Please I can’t do this!”

“Where were you when they begged for water? When they begged for peace? Where were you when they begged for time and patience? You had no mercy in life, so why should you receive it in death?”

“Please God! God make it stop!”  

—

One moment, she was shrieking in agony, the next, her consciousness melted and she laid on cold metal. Her breath bounced off the surface in front of her. She reached her hand out, touching the sides of the metal box she rested in. A coffin?

Did that mean she was going to suffocate and die again?

She was going to—

Burn.

Burn.

Burn.

The tears streaked across her cheeks as the memories of that torture returned to her. She had been eaten alive by maggots, and burned. Burned. Burned. It did happen. Indisputably. The wounds were gone, and she was wearing the leather clothes she had been wearing in the catacombs, when she was killed.

Miraculous Cure must have brought her back.

But how long did she have?

She cried out in horror.

A light shone down by her feet, before the surface she was laying on rolled out, and she found herself in a room.

“Bianca Furtoli?” A police officer asked.

She just stared at him for a moment before weeping. “Please! Please help me! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to go back there!”

He turned on the radio on his lapel. “Havoc here, I’ve got Furtoli. She’s just like the others.”

Bianca reached out and grabbed his arm. “I am back now, aren’t I? This is Earth? Paris?”

He pried her hands off. “Ms. Furtoli, I’m going to need you to calm down. Yes, you were dead, and now you’re alive again. I’m sure this must be hard for you—“

“Where’s Marinette? Where’s Adrien? Please, I need to see them!”

“You don’t get to know that information.” He said sternly.

“I need to ask forgiveness! Please, I beg you!”

“Sit down.” He demanded.

“What’s going to happen to me?! Where am I?!”

“Likely, you’ll be going to prison. If not a mental hospital.”

“Will there be a priest there? I must talk to a priest! Please! I went to hell! I was burning in hell!”

“You know what?” He asked shortly. “I think you completely deserve that after what you did to those kids.”

Bianca fell to her knees and sobbed, not even trying to hide her shame or guilt. She just wept and wept.

She wept when the handcuffs went on her wrists. She wept when she was read her rights, and as she was loaded into the car. She cried herself to sleep that night, and every night for the next few weeks. She spoke to none of Edward Savauge’s men. She had no contact with family.

Fear is a terrible state to live in. And for Bianca Furtoli, it meant every day, every hour, she was preparing to return to that awful fire. She would not rest until she found a way to repent.

And for a woman who believed she was a god, that was a long way off.

—

Marinette awoke to a cool hand on her forehead. She shivered under her blankets, but her face felt so warm.

“Hi there, Ladybug.” Said John, setting a cup of water on her table. “You’ve got a little bit of a fever. That’s expected, and it’s not too high.”

“Cold…” She breathed in her half awakened state.

“Of course. I’ll get you a blanket in a second. How is everything else feeling? How’s your pain?”

“I can handle it. It’s mild.”

“Okay, I’m glad to hear that.” He stepped out of the room briefly, only to return with a soft blanket. “Here we go, nice and warm.” He unfurled it, and brought it up to her chin. It was fresh from the dryer, and nice and toasty. “Better?”

“Much.”

“I’ve got some water here for you. Try to drink a little more before going back to sleep, okay?”

“Okay.”

“That’s a good girl. I’ll be back to check on you periodically.”

“John?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For everything.”

He smiled at her and squeezed her hand. “Anything for my hero.”

[quicksilversquared]

Lost Heart: Chapter 25

Normal Again

Magic can be a dangerous thing to play around with, particularly when that magic is tangled up in a curse. When Nathalie Sancoeur experiments with magic that she doesn’t fully understand, it sends her on a path to become Paris’ most dangerous supervillain and tips the balance between superheroes and supervillain.

But which way will the balance fall?

links in the reblog

"Oh, look at that stall!"

Adrien followed Marinette's gaze to a heavily decorated stall a little further down the road. It was practically stuffed to bursting with Ladybug and Chat Noir merchandise, and a large banner hung above it thanking the superheroes for defeating the supervillain for good. There was a bit that hung down so that people could sign it and leave messages for the superheroes, and it was really full.

"That's amazing," Adrien commented, leading the way over as best he could, weaving through the crowds. He wanted to read some of the messages. "Do you think that's all from today? Or yesterday and today?"

Marinette pointed at something behind the sign- more paper, . "The paper goes up and over the board and then hangs behind. I bet they move it every so often so that there's more space for people to write on."

"Oh, that's smart."

They didn't linger long by the paper, skimming over a couple comments before deciding to retreat for the time being. There was a poster by the paper that said that the paper would be hung in City Hall for the superheroes to see once the holiday market was over, and a few too many people were glancing over at Adrien for him to be entirely comfortable. Marinette bought two pairs of cat ear headbands before they left the booth, though, and immediately plopped one pair on Adrien's head and the other on her own. She grinned at the expression on his face.

"Those ears look like they belong there!"

"Ha-ha," Adrien drawled, though he couldn't entirely hide the amusement in his voice. "Very funny. So, superhero merchandise aside, what did you want to buy here? Or are we just wandering and seeing if there's anything that catches our eyes?"

Marinette grinned. "The latter. It's fun. And there's cocoa stalls, too, and they make the best hot chocolate."

Adrien smiled as he followed his girlfriend through the crowds. He was really, really glad that Paris' businesses had decided to go ahead with the holiday market last-minute, pulling together their stalls and getting everything set up within 24 hours of the Purple Lady's defeat. The holiday market had officially opened at noon the previous day, and had been bustling ever since. Adrien had been ecstatic at the news, and he and Marinette had almost immediately made plans to go.

At least the sheer number of people at the market meant that it was harder for reporters to find and pester Adrien. Several had approached him already in the short period since his father's arrest when he was out and about, wanting to get his reaction about his father's arrest and his mother's return. He hadn't given them much anything to work with, simply stating that he was glad that his father chose to do the right thing and turn himself in and that he was of course ecstatic about his mom's recovery and Paris' return to peace. He had added to one of the friendlier faces that his father had known that he would go to jail after the next akuma battle but he hadn't tried to push it off, so that Paris would be able to have their holiday fun.

He didn't want people to think that he was trying to excuse his father's behavior with the few redeeming things that he had managed to do (and those things were only done once Mr. Agreste was pretty much pushed into a corner, so how much they counted Adrien wasn't really sure), but he didn't want to come off as the heartbroken, betrayed son, either, not when he knew that that was what they were trying to get him to be, and he wasn't sure what else to say.

But here, people were too busy to really notice him much- well, aside from when he was hanging around the Superhero Thank-You Notes- as they bustled along. Besides, with the scarf wrapped around his neck and the hat over his hair (and the cat ears over the hat), Adrien blended in with the crowd.

"I kept getting texts from people talking about how excited they were about Christmas events getting put back on," Marinette said as they headed for a stall full of glittering scarves. One hand was twined together with Adrien's, and her phone was in her other hand as she scrolled through a few messages. "It was too late for some events, of course, but I think only a couple vendors ended up not being able to do the market. Everyone already had had merchandise and workers lined up."

Adrien frowned. "I don't think I got any texts like that." His phone had been pretty silent, actually. That wasn't a huge surprise, though. People probably didn't know what to say to him about his father's arrest. He certainly wouldn't know what to say if he were in their shoes.

Marinette squeezed his hand. "I think they're just trying to be thoughtful about your feelings by not being super-excited about stuff that happened because of Hawkmoth and the Purple Lady being arrested. And by people I mostly meant the other girls. Mylène and Rose love hitting up all the holiday stuff, so they were crushed when things were canceled."

"I was crushed. I wanted to come here with you and get to experience the holiday market. Father didn't allow it last year." They finally got close enough to the scarf stall to slip inside and start browsing. "And I can see why. The crowds are insane."

Marinette's giggles were adorable. "I know! But it's still fun. And with this many people, some of the wind from off the river gets blocked. If there weren't many people, everyone would be freezing."

"And the people selling chunky scarves and hats would be doing roaring business," Adrien added, gesturing towards a stall across the way. "...not that they aren't already."

In the scarves stall, Adrien found a gorgeous blue and green scarf for his mom, with silver streaking through in several spots. He purchased it with a grin before realizing that, if he was going to give the gifts that he picked out to his mom, he would have to explain how he knew about her being the Peacock. Preferably before she opened the gifts.

...at least Master Fu had mentioned that it would be okay to tell her, now that the final battle was over. Since Paon was keeping her Miraculous as a permanent superhero, it would be easier on the kwamis if they just told her that they were Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Adrien could only hope that he and Marinette would have an opportunity to tell his mom in secret before they opened their presents tomorrow.

There was a stall with little jeweled boxes, then several with shirts and purses. There were stalls and stalls of ornaments, some elegant, some tacky, some pretty but not nearly as delicate as the glass ornaments that Adrien had gotten for his parents. They didn't buy much, instead preferring to pick through and window-shop instead. There were a few things that were kind of interesting, but Adrien had already finished his shopping and he really didn't want to buy more and end up forgetting about it before next year's Christmas.

"What I do is think about what I want to get for people next year, then make note of it and hope that the stalls still have similar stuff," Marinette told Adrien as they waited in line to get hot chocolate. "Unless it's something really unusual or one-of-a-kind. Then I'll buy it and just set it aside. But this year, I did all of my shopping already because I thought there might not be a market."

Adrien couldn't resist grinning. "You mean you went to the fabric store? Or did you go other places, too?"

"I went other places too!"

"But the fabric store was your favorite, right?"

Marinette's indistinguishable grumble made Adrien snicker.

They had gotten their cocoa and were headed for a stall with more superhero merchandise when Adrien spotted Ivan and Mylène headed towards them. They looked really cheerful, and their faces lit up when they saw Adrien and Marinette.

"We weren't expecting to see you out and about!" Mylène exclaimed, heading right towards them. "Are you enjoying the market? There's fire jugglers over on the other side!"

"I didn't want to miss it," Adrien said at once, choosing to ignore the obvious implication- that his classmates didn't think that he would be out acting like everything was normal so soon after his father was arrested. "Marinette was telling me about it and it sounded like fun."

"It's a tradition to go in my family," Ivan said, gesturing behind him. Adrien looked, and spotted someone who looked very likely to be Ivan's father, another boy who looked like he could easily be Ivan's brother, and a lady with them who Adrien was assuming was his mother. "Every year, at least for half an hour. One year, my brother had a broken leg from falling on ice the day before and we still came."

"They were planning on coming over here anyway even if the market wasn't happening and just walking around," Mylène told them. "I heard that there were a couple vendors who were going to set up anyway, so they could have just browsed those- what? Three or so stalls?"

Ivan just shrugged sheepishly.

"Well, we don't want to keep you two," Mylène told them. "Have a nice time! There's a stall back that way with really good soup in bread bowls, and another with some wintery pastries- though I suppose you get plenty of those already?"

Marinette giggled. "Just a few!"

"And then there's the fire jugglers, and- well, there aren't any snow and ice sculptures this year, because they weren't sure if it would be happening in the first place and those take so long to do," Mylène added. "So that's a little disappointing, but at least there's a market at all. We were worried that only a few vendors would be able to pull off a stall on short notice, so this is amazing- oh, Ivan, your mom is waving to us, we'd better go. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Adrien and Marinette chorused as Mylène and Ivan headed off. They vanished into the crowd quickly enough, weaving between families as they caught up to Ivan's family. The two of them watched them go, then turned back to the superhero stall that they had spotted before.

It had merchandise for Ladybug and Chat Noir, of course, and then some for Queen Bee, Rena Rouge, and Carapace. There were even a few pieces for Dragoness, though (unsurprisingly, since she had just appeared to the public two days prior) there was nothing for Paon except for a few generally peacock-themed things that the shops had presumably bought last-minute.

Adrien didn't miss Marinette's irritated glance towards the Rena and Carapace corner. She had told him about their continued attitude before the previous fight, the second-guessing her and exasperated glances. Part of it was definitely because of the earlier rebuke and part was because Lila had their ear, but Ladybug telling them to leave it alone should have been enough for them to at least not express their complaints where Ladybug could hear them.

And then there had been the matter of their attitude after their final fight which, well, hadn't exactly been any motivation for him and Ladybug to trust them again.

"I wonder if it's going to come out to all of Paris that my mom is the current Paon," Adrien murmured in Marinette's ear. "I can understand the police knowing, because they know how to deal with sensitive information and we didn't want the police thinking that she needs to be investigated too, but if everyone knows, she could be a target for people who want the powers."

"We can talk to the police after the holidays," Marinette assured him. "As Ladybug and Chat Noir, that is. And since your father pleaded guilty already, the jury might not need to know who was behind the current Peacock."

Adrien nodded. That was a good point. His father had clearly decided to continue being cooperative, pleading guilty as soon as the charges had been formally submitted against him. A judge still had to decide on his punishment, of course, but it was easier without him fighting the charges.

They left the stall with a pair of Ladybug gloves for Adrien and Chat Noir gloves for Marinette, their fingers still twined together as they walked. Adrien led the way to another drinks stall- this time it was spiced apple cider- and then they headed over to watch the fire dancers for a bit. It looked really cool, though Adrien suspected that in the evening, once it started to get dark, the twirling fire might look even cooler.

"Ooh, I can feel the heat from here," Marinette said cheerfully once they had worked their way towards the front of the crowd. "It's nice. And- wow, I keep worrying that they're going to hit each other with their sticks when they do that!"

Adrien laughed. "I bet they practice with non-flaming sticks first, until they aren't making any mistakes anymore. And I'd bet that they still had a very well-stocked first aid kit in their van."

"Just like Papa. Accidents in the kitchen aren't common, but he still keeps a really big first aid kit in the kitchen in case of burns or cuts or- well, those are the most common, but there's a lot of machinery in the kitchen, so practically anything is possible, especially if people are rushing." Marinette cuddled into his side, and Adrien grinned as he pulled her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her heads. As far as (actual, real) first dates went, this was up there. "D'you want to split a soup bowl after this? I know our parents were expecting us home for lunch, but I've had those before and they're really good."

Adrien would have teased her about being a hungry bug, but his stomach was growling, too, and he really wanted to try the stew. "That sounds like a plan!"

They watched a couple more dances before working their way back out of the crowd of onlookers. They were almost to the stall when they ran into another pair of familiar faces- Kagami and her mom, carefully picking their way through the least dense parts of the crowd. Kagami paused when she saw him, a vaguely guilty look flashing across her face. It took Adrien a moment to realize why, but then it hit him.

She had been part of the final battle, where his father ended up arrested right before the holidays. There was probably a feeling there that the superheroes were why Adrien didn't have his father for Christmas, which was absolutely ridiculous. Only Mr. Agreste was responsible for what happened. The superheroes just made him face his mistakes. Besides, with the supervillains in jail and the danger passed, Adrien could spend time with his mom without being concerned about other people finding out and accidentally endangering her. Considering that she was the parent who actually enjoyed spending time with him, well, this was definitely an improvement.

"Hi Kagami," Marinette said politely, though her grip on Adrien's hand tightened. He glanced to the side and saw that she looked a little stiff. After a second, he remembered that oh, right, Kagami had liked him, too, and he had maybe sort of possibly accidentally implied during their one and only (failed) date that he was hung up on some other girl but would consider Kagami first if he ever properly moved on… and now Marinette was his girlfriend. Whoops.

Awkward.

"Hi Adrien, Marinette," Kagami returned. "Mom, I think I've told you about these two before? Or at least about Marinette, you've met Adrien before."

Madam Tsurugi nodded and held out her hand for them to shake. "Correct. Hello, Adrien and Marinette. Adrien, I was sorry to hear about your father and Nathalie."

"I'm glad that Paris has been freed from the clutches of supervillains," Adrien said politely, shaking her hand before stepping back. At least she hadn't tried to claim that she was surprised to hear the news, considering that she had known for longer than anyone else in Paris. "And I'm glad to have my mom back. I'll be celebrating the holidays with her and Marinette's family."

Madam Tsurugi smiled. "Yes, I heard that Emilie is awa- ah, has been found. That's fantastic news. I'll have to catch up with her sometime."

Adrien tried not to wince at that. His mom had not been happy to find out that Madam Tsurugi hadn't told authorities about Mr. Agreste being the most likely Hawkmoth, and she probably still was less than pleased. She recognized that there had been some blackmail set up pretty quickly- well, when the superheroes had mentioned the whole contracts thing to her, at least- but the fact of the matter remained that as a former superhero, Madam Tsurugi should have ignored that and done the right thing anyway.

Family honor, Mrs. Agreste had told Ladybug and Chat Noir rather tartly, didn't mean family reputation. It meant always doing the right thing, even if it left the reputation in tatters. Maybe not everyone would agree, but she had always seen honor as more of an internal thing rather than something that others thought.

"That's great news," Kagami agreed. "A positive among the negatives. Well, we won't keep you, then. I'm sure that you want to finish your shopping here and then go see her again."

"Of course," Adrien agreed, figuring that both Kagami and Marinette would probably rather not deal with the awkwardness at the moment. "Have a good holidays, you two."

"Thank you, and you as well."

The Tsurugis headed on their way, and Adrien and Marinette got in line for the bread bowls. It took a little back-and-forth debate to decide on what kind of stew to get, and then they ordered and were on their way with their prize.

Marinette was right: it was very, very good. It was also pretty filling, which told Adrien that it was definitely a good thing that they had decided to go to the market in the morning instead of the afternoon, like they had initially planned. If they had done that, they would have been too full to be able to enjoy their holiday dinner.

"This is so filling that I'm still going to not be hungry by the time we get around to dinner," Marinette grumbled when Adrien said as much. "The bowls are so big, it's ridiculous. And that was with us splitting one."

"Well, it's part of the holidays to be stuffed all the time, isn't it?" Adrien asked with a grin as he deposited their used napkins in a nearby wastebasket. "We're just getting an early start."

"Oh, gosh, at this rate I won't last the season," Marinette groaned, but she was grinning. "Just let me die now."

Adrien laughed. "So dramatic, my Lady. Now let's go home."

  Back at the Dupain-Cheng household, the adults were busy with meal prep for the big Christmas dinner. Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng were doing the bulk of the work, but much to Adrien's surprise, his mom was helping, too.

"Don't look so surprised," Mrs. Agreste said with a laugh when she spotted him staring. "I know how to cook! I was never great at it and then we got a chef at home so I didn't get much practice, but I can chop some stuff, and measure, and, uh…"

"She made the cranberry sauce," Mr. Dupain told them, grinning widely. "And learned pretty quickly that aprons are a good thing to wear in the kitchen."

"It spat at me!"

Everyone laughed.

"Marinette let us know that you two ate lunch at the market," Mrs. Cheng told them as they hung up their coats. "Let us know if you want anything else, but we haven't made anything for lunch. We've been a little busy with dinner."

Adrien glanced over at the kitchen as he shed his shoes. Cutting boards and bowls and platters covered pretty much every surface. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Mrs. Cheng beamed at him as she measured out spices to go over the sliced potatoes in front of her. "No, I think there are quite enough chefs in this kitchen at the moment. You can sit down and relax and tell us about the fair. I've not been able to go for a couple years, so I always love to hear what they're doing."

"Well, there were fire dancers," Adrien said as he settled down on the couch next to Marinette. She had already gotten wrapped up and cozy in a blanket on the couch, and she held out one side so that he could slide in next to her. "It was so cool! And some of them were jugglers, too, and watching the pins flying through the air was just- wow. They must practice a ton to be able to do that. I would be worried about my fingers getting cold and then messing up and getting burnt."

"I think they switch out so that they can warm up in the company van," Mr. Dupain told him. "Or maybe they're just resting and taking a break. It is pretty warm around the dancers, if I'm remembering correctly. I'm sure it's even hotter when they're in the thick of it."

"They can't wear thick coats, though," Mrs. Cheng pointed out. "So if a wind kicks up, they aren't nearly as protected as everyone else."

"Ooh, that's true. Okay, so other than the fire dancers-"

Adrien relaxed into the couch as he continued telling their parents about the market. After a few minutes, he noticed that Marinette wasn't contributing much and her gentle lean against his shoulder had gotten steadily heavier. He glanced over and sure enough, she was fast asleep against him.

(She was actually adorable.)

"I was wondering when you were going to notice that she was out," Mrs. Cheng said with a quiet laugh. "Let's let her sleep. She was up early this morning to get ready for your date and she's been so stressed lately, she needs the extra sleep. I want her to go into the new year and the next semester all refreshed instead of rushed and strung out."

Adrien nodded in agreement, making sure that he didn't jostle Marinette as he did. No matter what, Marinette was going to be more relaxed now, but her parents had no reason to know that. With Hawkmoth and the Purple Lady defeated and his mom awakened and safe, Marinette had a lot taken off of her plate from the superhero side. Add in the fact that the end of the semester brought with it the end of a couple of Marinette's other responsibilities- the party-planning and the push of exams, largely, plus the fact that Marinette had finished her Christmas presents now just in time- and Marinette was going to just have normal responsibilities waiting for her.

Well, they still had to deal with the curses on his father and Nathalie. There was also the matter of Lila and her lies, but they had a plan in place for dealing with her, so they just had to wait for that to happen and then that annoyance would be out of the way. Then Marinette could just enjoy her school day like any other student.

….well, she would still have her class representative duties, but as her boyfriend, Adrien was more than willing to step in and help her with whatever she had to get done when Alya left any slack. And she obviously would have commissions, too, but the point was that Marinette would get to pick and choose her extra responsibilities now instead of just having things thrust on her.

His mom was frowning. "Oh, no! Did I add to her stress by asking if she could come over and let me get to know her before the end of the semester? I mean, I knew she and Adrien had exams and a project to finish, but I didn't think that there was much more…"

"We got to work on our project while we were over visiting," Adrien assured her. "And we took a much-needed break for dinner when we could socialize. It was just that there was a lot, with exams and projects and planning the class party as class president when her vice-president had kind of flaked out on her and working on Christmas presents and-" Adrien caught himself before he could add anything about their superhero duties. After all, they hadn't told his mom yet, and while Master Fu had given them the go-ahead to tell the Dupain-Chengs, too, an offhand comment was not how they were planning to break the news.

(Telling Marinette's parents could wait until after the holidays. They hoped that the reveal would go smoothly, of course, but they didn't want to risk ruining the holidays in case it didn't. Marinette's parents were pretty cool- scratch that, really cool- but there were limits to any parents' tolerance. And knowing that their daughter had been in danger so often…

At least the fight was over now. All of the Miraculous were accounted for, and they had a team that they could call up if needed. Master Fu could have them to come in and train for any other potential threats when they had time and energy for it. They were safe now.)

"There was some babysitting, too," Mrs. Cheng chimed in. "We didn't know how swamped Marinette was, so we didn't push back on that for her. We might have Marinette not babysit for a while until we can tell that she's not overwhelmed again." She smiled at Adrien. "I'm sure that you two will appreciate a bit of extra free time so that you can actually go out and enjoy your dates."

Adrien grinned. He hadn't thought about that much, since their actual relationship was so new and the whole having actual free time was pretty new, too, but actually being able to have enough time to go on regular dates when they also had school to go to, instead of having to wait for school holidays? Yes, please. "Yeah, that will be really nice."

The conversation wandered off from there, Marinette's parents talking to his mom about what had been going on in Paris other than the akumas and some discussion about what the holidays meant for the bakery. Adrien sat back, settling Marinette more comfortably against his side and smiling as she shifted, snuggling closer into his side.

Never mind the fancy balls and stuffy parties that his parents had always dragged him to for Christmas when he was younger, this was much better.

As one hour ticked past, then two, their parents kept chatting, moving on from food prep to clean-up. Adrien was starting to get a little worried about getting an opportunity to tell his mom about them being Ladybug and Chat Noir. While it was great that Marinette's family spent so much time together, Adrien didn't want to try to wedge in the reveal while Marinette's parents had just ducked out of the room for a minute. His mom would need longer than that to recover from the surprise.

Fortunately, a baker could never fully take the day off. Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng made their apologies for having to duck out once the last of the dishes were clean, but the bakery carried a number of products that had to be made (or worked on, at least) over the course of several days and they didn't want to return from the holidays with a less-than-complete inventory. It wouldn't take long, they promised, but it had to be done.

Which left Mrs. Agreste with Adrien and the still-sleeping Marinette.

"I think that I'll not be restarting the Agreste holiday ball in the future," Mrs. Agreste said as she sat down on the other couch opposite Adrien and Marinette, smiling at the cute picture they made. "This is so much more fun and way less stress."

Adrien grinned. "Oh, thank god."

"You never did like those gatherings, did you?" Mrs. Agreste asked with a laugh. "I always figured that it had something to do with all of the ladies pinching your cheeks when you were younger. And the suits! You hated those. Even though you doesn't seem to have any trouble with them now- I saw the Gabriel runway you did with the feather hat."

"That was Marinette's," Adrien said fondly, glancing down at his sleeping girlfriend. She was just starting to stir, actually, her nose twitching adorably as she shifted. "She switched out the feathers for replicas so that I wouldn't sneeze the entire way down the runway. And the runway didn't last that long, I got to change back to comfortable clothes right after." He winced as memory of that day fully hit him and he remembered exactly what had happened. "Well, okay, the runway itself wasn't that long. It just got lengthened because Style Queen decided to interrupt."

Mrs. Agreste's cheerful mood dropped almost immediately. "I hadn't seen footage of that one yet. Who…?"

"Chloe's mom was upset with Father about the seat that she got," Adrien told her, figuring that this was about as good of a lead-in as they were going to get. "And so she was akumatized, and she turned things into gold with a blast. I'm sorry I froze up and didn't dodge," he added to Marinette, who was blinking blearily at his side. "I know fights were always harder when you were left on your own."

He could see the indignant expression on his mom's face shift into something puzzled, then focused as she zeroed in on his words.

Marinette had clearly caught on to what he was doing right away, despite having just been asleep. "You were surprised, it wasn't your fault. At least Plagg didn't get hit with you and he could come and help."

Adrien's gaze flickered back to his mom. She looked disbelieving, but he could see her eyes on Marinette as she mouthed "Ladybug" to herself.

"Yeah, I was helpful and I didn't destroy that much!" Plagg piped up, sticking his head out of Adrien's sweater. "I mean, a couple buildings crumbled, sure, and some bridges- but it was pretty contained!"

"Oh, my god," Mrs. Agreste breathed, her eyes huge. Behind her, Duusu giggled. "Okay, I thought that I had to be misinterpreting things, but wow. Chat Noir. And Ladybug. I didn't- I didn't expect-"

Adrien managed a grin. "Yeah, I know the feeling. I wasn't expecting to find out that Father and Nathalie were the city's supervillains."

She groaned. "Oh god. I can't- wow. You were fighting your father! And to not let that on when you found out- I might be an actress, but I wouldn't have been able to pull that off. And just finding that out- do you know any kwami therapists? I feel like you might need therapy after finding out- it was in the middle of a battle, right? That wasn't a good way at all. And then not being able to tell anyone…"

"I object to not being counted as someone," Plagg piped up. "Also Fu. Ladybug and Chat Noir had made a beeline to his shop after that battle ended to tell him everything, and once Ladybug left, he did some of the mushy heart-to-heart talking about feelings with Adrien."

"Still." Mrs. Agreste looked distressed. "And you found out about me at the same time, and that had to be another shock to the system…"

"It was," Adrien admitted, though he hated bringing the mood down more. Still, his mom was tuned into emotions to some degree with the Peacock, and he didn't want to lie. "I don't know how I managed that first day. Then the second day, back at school-" Adrien paused, turning his gaze to Marinette. "Marinette was there for me, with pastries and homework support and just someone I could be with without expectations. And I know now that you knew about everything, of course, but I didn't pick up on that at all."

Marinette managed a smile as she shifted to sit upright, wrapping one arm around Adrien's waist. "I was freaking out so much on the inside when I got to school because I was so worried that I would give something away, but then you seemed so strung out that I just, like, forgot to worry. Because I was so focused on you instead."

Adrien smiled, resting his cheek against the top of Marinette's head. "You're amazing."

"That's pretty ironic that you two were drawn to each other without ever knowing that you were superhero partners," Mrs. Agreste said, a small smile gracing her face. Then she sobered. "That might have been funny, but when I think of all of the secrets you had to keep, that you couldn't tell anyone or react to because it would be too dangerous if someone caught on…"

"I'm glad it's over," Adrien admitted, letting his eyes drift close and letting himself focus on the moment. He was here with Marinette and his mom, in the Dupain-Cheng living room. Nathalie and his father were in jail, and Paris was safe. He couldn't let himself get bogged down in unpleasant memories. "Living in the same house- if it had gone on much longer, I might have started sleeping somewhere else. If I had known about Father before he gave in, it would have been even worse. At least Nathalie didn't sleep in the house."

"I did wonder about how much you really knew when I saw that you told that reporter that your father knew that he would be arrested with the next akuma attack," Mrs. Agreste commented after a second. Her hand landed on his shoulder, rubbing gently. "And when you didn't seem surprised by his decision to have Christmas with you so early. But that makes a lot of sense. I'm proud of you," she added. "Both of you. Being superheroes at your age, when you have places that you're expected to be, and trying to figure out magic when you should just be figuring out your geography homework…"

Marinette laughed. "We did at least have the kwamis to teach us things, and Master Fu once the kwamis told us about him. It wasn't as though we went into the fights entirely blind."

"I've seen footage of the fights and the fighting- your Miraculous might give you a boost, but you two are a formidable team," Mrs. Agreste told them. "Very attuned to each other, very imaginative, very quick-thinking. Still, when I look at the amount of danger Gabriel put you in- and not just in your superhero form, either! Your school was targeted so heavily! And Chloe told me that you were targeted directly a few times. I can't believe that he thought that that was even in the realm of acceptable. And then for you to find out that you father was behind those attacks!"

"It wasn't as though all of the reveals I did were traumatic," Adrien said quickly before his mom could get too bogged down in the whole Hawkmoth discovery thing and then get too broody over that to be able to enjoy the rest of the day. Even though it would probably be a good idea to talk about his whole reaction more and work through his feelings, it was Christmas and not the right time for it. "When Marinette and I got to reveal our identities to each other- well, I wasn't expecting my gorgeous, fabulous teammate to be my amazing, talented, also gorgeous classmate." He grinned, figuring that they might as well come completely clean to his mom. She would probably enjoy the story, at any rate, and it would be a good change in topic. "And my, uh, fake girlfriend at the time."

Distracted, his mom blinked at them a few times. "…come again?"

Marinette laughed, leaning forward. "Oh, you'll enjoy this. So, several days after we found out about Hawkmoth…"

  Adrien woke up Christmas morning with his nose buried in Marinette's hair and an arm wrapped around her waist. He frowned for a moment, puzzled, then remembered why he was there. Oh, right.

He and his mom were staying with the Dupain-Chengs for the holidays, since the mansion was still blocked off until the police (accompanied by the superheroes) could search for any additional evidence. His mom was staying in the guest bedroom and Adrien was meant to be staying on Marinette's lounger.

In all fairness, he had planned on sleeping on the lounger. They both had planned on it, in fact, and on all of the other nights that they had been there, he had slept down there. But he and Marinette had stayed up a little too late talking together while sitting on her bed, and apparently they had accidentally fallen asleep together. Whoops.

Hopefully their parents hadn't stuck their heads in to check in on them.

Doing his best not to disturb Marinette, Adrien reached over to snag the closest phone on the blankets, waking it up- it needed to be plugged in, whoops- to check the time. It was pretty late in the morning, which made sense considering that all of them had gone to bed late with the late-night Christmas Eve meal, but it was definitely time to get up. If they stayed in bed much longer, someone would come up to check on them.

If they hadn't already done that, that was.

"Marinette, wake up," Adrien said quietly, pressing a kiss to Marinette's ear. She stirred, but didn't wake up. "Marinette. It's Christmas."

"Mmmhmm."

Adrien smiled as Marinette wriggled and settled down further under her blanket, clearly intent on staying asleep. "Lovebug."

"Sleeping."

"It's time to get up." Adrien pushed himself up slightly, and suddenly a delicious scent hit his nose, strong enough that it was definitely coming from the Dupain-Cheng's home kitchen and not form a last-minute order in the bakery. "And it smells like someone made cinnamon rolls for breakfast."

Marinette rolled over, burying her face in her pillows. "Nooooo."

Adrien laughed again, figuring that he would let her be. He had kind of wanted her to be able to wake up next to him since it had been such a nice wake-up for him, but Marinette clearly wanted to stay asleep and he would let her. Adrien made to slip off of the bed, but hadn't gotten far before Marinette's arm reached out and snagged him, tugging lightly.

"You don't want me to wake you up, but you don't want to let me go, either?" Adrien teased, but he slipped back into bed and cuddled up to Marinette's side. "It's one or the other, love."

Marinette wrapped her arm fully around Adrien's waist and pressed her face into his side. "Neither."

"You're oddly responsive for someone who's apparently asleep," Adrien teased, but he wasn't making any move to get away, instead running his fingers through Marinette's wild bedhead. It was adorable. "Are you getting up?"

The raspberry that Marinette blew into his stomach was all the answer he needed. He laughed, both tickled and amused. "I don't think that you're still asleep, oddly enough."

"Maybe I just want to relax with you for a couple minutes."

"And the truth comes out." Still, Adrien was weak for the smile that Marinette flashed him and he settled down. "I just don't want our parents to come up and find me in your bed."

"Mmm."

Even with as comfortable as it was, the two of them had to get up eventually. Adrien headed for Marinette's trapdoor to go downstairs and change in the bathroom. He met Mr. Dupain on the stairs to Marinette's room, and he was very, very glad that they had gotten up when they did. Adrien was not interested in having Marinette's very large, very muscley father finding him in bed with his daughter.

"We were wondering if we would see you two soon," Mr. Dupain said with a laugh, turning around and heading back down the stairs. "Is Marinette up?"

"I'm up, papa!"

"Good." Mr. Dupain grinned. "Now get ready and eat breakfast quickly, because I can't wait to open presents and see what I got this year."

  "Oh, this is so pretty!"

Adrien grinned as he watched his mom turn over the peacock ornament in her hands. She looked positively delighted, which Adrien was relieved by. Last-minute, he had gotten worried that maybe she wouldn't appreciate that all of his presents for her were Peacock references, as though that were the only thing that he knew about her, but clearly that wasn't the case.

"It is gorgeous," Mrs. Cheng agreed, leaning forward to see the ornament better. "Is that from the same place where you got those bakery ornaments for us, Marinette?"

Marinette grinned, nodding. "Yeah. I showed Adrien where their store is."

"Betrayed," Mr. Dupain groaned dramatically, pressing his hand to his forehead. "Marinette discovered this shop a couple years ago, but she refuses to tell us where to find it at the market or where their permanent shop is," he added when the two Agrestes looked confused. "And now she turns around and shows her boyfriend where it is! My heart is broken."

"I have places that I'll keep secret from Adrien," Marinette protested, wriggling to settle in more comfortably on the couch next to Adrien. She was adorable and festive in a cat-themed Christmas sweater, and he was doing his best to not just kiss her in front of their parents. "It's just that that shop is so great for ornaments that I'd get for you two, I don't want to give away where I'm going and then have you just find things that you want in there for yourselves. Like, one of the best parts of you opening those presents is the fact that you've never seen them at all before, so it's a complete surprise."

"Oh, I suppose."

Mrs. Cheng laughed as she passed out the next round of presents. "You're so dramatic, Tom. You're going to scare away Emilie and Adrien."

Mrs. Agreste giggled. "Believe it or not, I am very used to dramatic people. I don't scare easily."

Adrien smiled as he accepted his next gift from Mrs. Cheng. The tag said that it was from Marinette, and she was wriggling excitedly next to him. The excitement was adorable, and Adrien couldn't resist pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

At all of his other Christmases, his parents had been interested in his reaction (well, his mom had, at least), but they had never been wriggly in anticipation of his reaction. That was entirely a Marinette thing, and Adrien loved it. He waited for everyone else to get their presents impatiently before tugging open the wrapping paper carefully.

Marinette's eager wriggling increased.

"Someone is impatient," Mr. Dupain observed with a laugh. "Let him breathe, darling."

"I just didn't want to tear the wrapping paper," Adrien said, finally getting the wrapping paper off and setting the box down in his lap. "It's super pretty! And you do such a lovely job of wrapping. You could probably re-use the paper."

"Oh my god Adrien, just open the box already!"

Adrien laughed as he pulled off the box lid. "Such an impatient bug- oh my god I love it."

The sweater inside- how had she even had the time to make it?- was a gorgeous shade of dark blue with white snowflakes on it. On the bottom, cats played in the snow. They were adorable, and the fact that it was winter-themed instead of Christmas-themed meant that Adrien could wear it for more of the season. Which he was going to, obviously.

"Nino mentioned that when you two walked past a pet store last year, you were obsessed with the cats in the window," Marinette told him, cuddling into his side. "And, well, I found a really cute pattern that I could modify."

Adrien grinned at that. "Lovely coincidence." He shifted slightly away from Marinette for a moment to pull off his plain sweater and replace it with the new one. "It fits! And it has some room to grow, too."

"Which is good," Mrs. Agreste chimed in. "Quite a few people in our family go through a growth spurt around sixteen, and I'm sure you'll want to be able to keep wearing the sweater for a while."

"Definitely," Adrien agreed, smoothing down the fabric. He grinned at the sight of the cats- so cute!- before wrapping Marinette up in a hug. "Thank you, Marinette."

Marinette grinned against his cheek. "You're welcome."

During the next round, Marinette got Adrien's gift for her and she cooed over the adorable charm bracelet before holding it out for him to hook around her wrist. He did so, unable to resist the urge to blush as their parents looked on, smiles on their faces. Adrien was pretty sure that he heard an aww from his mom.

Oh, gosh. They were going to have to deal with this a lot, weren't they? Adrien had already found it weird when his father kept asking after how his relationship was going, but Adrien was willing to bet that their remaining parents would be even more actively interested. Still if it was that or dealing with a parent who just didn't care (at least until he really didn't have a choice), Adrien knew that he could deal with the embarrassment.

"And there's plenty of space for you to add more charms in the future," Mrs. Agreste said, leaning forward to see the bracelet. She ran her fingers over the tiny cat and ladybug charms with a small smile, then the tiny sewing machine. "Very cute."

"Just like Marinette," Adrien said, partly out of reflex and partly because, well, it was true. He grinned at a blushing Marinette as their parents awwed some more. He pulled Marinette close for a quick hug and an even quicker kiss, conscious of their parents in the room but unable to resist. "Merry Christmas."

If this was any indication of what his future was going to be like, Adrien was looking forward to it. Warm and comfortable and loved and valued, and the cat in Adrien purred.

Maybe there were some loose ends that still had to be tied up, but for now, this was purrfect.

[allisondraste]

Temperance (20/?)

Pairing: Nathaniel Howe/ Female, Non-HoF Cousland

Story Summary: Nathaniel and Elissa were childhood friends, but time and distance tore them apart. In the aftermath of the Fifth Blight, and Ferelden’s Civil War, both Elissa and Nathaniel must attempt reconstruct their tattered lives. As a series of events lead them to be reunited, both are reminded of so many years ago when things were much simpler.

Chapter Summary:    It’d be better if people could love who they wanted. 

First Chapter Previous Chapter [AO3 LINK]

Highever, 9:21 Dragon

Liss had been in trouble plenty of times, but she had never been in “sit in Papa’s chair in his office while he and Mama pace about angrily” trouble.  She actually wasn’t certain who to be more afraid of at the moment: Her mother, who ranted and scolded and lectured and scolded some more, or her father who tapped his chin quietly as he read over a small scroll of parchment in his hand.  She decided they were equally bad, and she wanted to toss herself into the nearest waste bin, melt into the floor —something, anything to escape her parents disappointment and scrutiny.  

It didn’t help that she wasn’t even sure what she had done yet. She’d been telling Nate, well actually expounding in great detail to Nate, about Orzammar and Dwarven Culture. Specifically, she’d been discussing brontos, how they were rare in Northern Ferelden, and what she would sell to see one.  Namely, her left arm. He had gently encouraged her not to do that and then her parents walked in, pale and scowling. Whatever it was, she was done for.

Papa stopped reading and pacing and sat the parchment down on the desk in front of Liss, sliding it to her.  She blinked up at him to make sure he meant for her to read it and he nodded. His eyes were still gentle, but she could tell he was trying hard to hide it.  It was good that he wasn’t too stern because Mama was mean enough for the both of them when she wanted to be.

Looking down at the note, Liss saw lines of neatly written letters, nothing elaborate as a scribe would produce, however.   Her stomach sank as she began to read aloud.

To My Lord and Lady Cousland,

It is with much sorrow that I ask to be released from my duties here at your castle, so that my daughter and I may move and begin our lives elsewhere.  I am concerned with the relationship between my Rila, and Lady Elissa, and what it might mean for both of them. I harbor no hard feelings toward your family, but I have lived long enough to know what happens when elven servants become involved romantically with nobility.  I would hate for either of our daughters to be a part of such a scandal. They care for one another deeply, I can tell, but it is hard for them to understand how serious it is. I think it is best if I remove Rila from the situation altogether.

I am grateful for your family’s kindness in many ways.  

Sincerely,

Deveni

She looked up from the note, tears hot in her eyes and rolling down her face as she looked at her father.  Even less stern than before, he still shook his head to indicate his disapproval. Her mother grew quiet, eyes filled with concern even through her obvious anger.  

“We told you to leave that girl alone,” she said coldly, words clipped at the end, “We made it very, very clear that you were not to even be friends with her, let alone more than that.”

“Why,” Liss cried, more tears falling, “Why can’t we be together?  It’s not fair.”

“Elissa,” Papa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Pup, I wish that we lived in a world where you could be with whoever you wanted.  I wish I could give that to you, but I can’t. Unfortunately, there are those among the noble houses of Ferelden who would view your relationship with Rila as political leverage against our family.  They’d use it to hurt us and you. Rila, too.”

“But-”

“Sweetheart,’ Mama said, softening finally, “Can you not see that we are protecting you, just as Rila’s mother is protecting her?  You are lucky Deveni is a kind person. No telling who she could have sold this information to otherwise.”

Papa furrowed his brows, thinking, and looked at Liss.  “How many people know about you and Rila, that you know of?”

“Just Nathaniel,” Liss replied with a sniffle, “I didn’t even tell Fergus.”

He shrugged.  “Wise choice. That boy couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it.”

Liss disagreed.  Fergus was very good at keeping secrets -- the best-- but she didn’t feel like suffering his teasing, or putting him in an awkward position with their parents. Besides, he had enough on is plate, spending every waking minute with lovely Oriana.  Liss couldn’t blame him. She was perfect, after all.

“Do you trust Nathaniel?” Her mother’s question was sincere and curious, though Liss was taken aback.  Of course she did!

“More than anyone,” Liss answered with a nod, and her parents both raised their eyebrows and looked at one another.

“Even us,” Papa asked.

Guilt washed over her, but she told the truth anyway.  “Yes.”

“Well,” he replied with a chuckle, “Better hold on to him.  People like that are hard to find.”

Mama nodded along in agreement, and they all sat in a tense silence for a few moments before Liss gathered the courage to speak again.

“Could I, um,” she began, heart climbing up her throat, “Could I at least say goodbye to Rila?”

Again, her parents looked at one another and then back to her with sympathetic expressions.  

“Pup, Rila and her mother left this morning,” Papa explained, placing his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Liss choked back the sob that followed and took a deep breath, eyes focused on the grain of the wood of her father’s desk.  “Are we done talking?”

“Yes,” Mama said gently, “You can go, if you want to.”

That was all the permission she needed to jump up from the chair, and dart out of the room leaving her parents with their tired and worried expressions behind.  Her heart was broken, shattered at the notion that her parents waited until Rila was gone to tell her any of this. That she couldn’t even say goodbye to the girl she loved.  What if she blamed Liss? It was her fault, after all. Rila had always been worried that it was a bad idea, and Liss just ignored her concerns. Liss probably deserved all the heartache, considering.  

When she looked up, the door to Nate’s room stood before her.  She hated that she always wound up there when she was sad. Nate made her feel better, but what if it was the same with Rila, and he just felt like he had to comfort her?  She didn’t exactly give him a choice, spilling her guts over and over without even asking if he cared to hear it. What if he actually resented her for it? She stared at his door a few moments longer and spun on her heels to walk away.  It would be selfish of her to bother him with something like this again.

Liss had only taken a couple of steps when the sound of a door creaking open echoed through the hallway.  “Liss? You okay?”

She turned back to look at him immediately, and judging by the look on his face, she didn’t have to answer. “I’m sorry, I just… I’m…”

“Want to talk about it?”  He motioned with his head for her to come in, and she nodded, walking slowly, ashamedly past Nate and into his room.

Liss sat down unceremoniously on the floor by his bed, wrapping her arms around her legs and pressing her forehead to her knees.  She trembled as she fought the urge to release the sob she’d been holding since she’d run from Papa’s office. It wasn’t long before there was a warmth at her side and arms pulling her over into an embrace, Nate’s arms, hugging her first .   His chin was on her head, and were she not so overwhelmingly sad, she might be flustered.  

“Sorry to bother you,” she mumbled against his chest.

“You’re not,” he reassured her, “The only time you’ve ever bothered me is when you woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me about Warden Garahel and the Fourth Blight.”

“Yeah, that could have waited until the morning.”

“You think?”  He laughed, and it vibrated against her cheek.  There was a pause and he continued, “What’s wrong, Liss?”

“My parents found out about Rila,” she explained,”Which wouldn’t have been that bad, but the reason they found out was because her mother wrote them a letter to request permission to leave her job here and find work somewhere else.  She and Rila left this morning. I didn’t even get to tell her goodbye.”

Her lip quivered despite her efforts to keep it steady, and she became more and more upset with each word.  She grasped at the fabric of Nate’s shirt, and he held her more tightly as she released that stubborn sob.

“I’m sorry,” he said, nearly whispering, “I know you love her.”

“I’m not sure.  I mean, I feel like I love her, but… you don’t put someone you love in a situation like I did with Rila, do you?” Her tears began to fall more slowly, though her chest still ached. “No matter how much your heart wants you to.”

“It’s hard not to listen to your heart.”

“Why can’t we live in a world where it doesn’t matter?” She leaned back and looked up at Nate who stared off into the distance until he noticed her eyes on him and brought his to meet them. “We could love who we wanted.”

“It’d be nice, wouldn’t it?

“What about you,” she asked, pulling out of the embrace and leaning back against the side of the bed, “Have you ever loved someone you couldn’t be with?”

There was a pause, but he answered.  “I have.”

Liss snapped her head in his direction.  She had never imagined Nate loving anyone, or being with anyone in any romantic capacity.  He’d never really talked about it like Fergus did. He seemed completely uninterested. It hurt, how much she did not know about this side of him, but it was her fault that she never thought to ask.

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Is it that hard to believe?”  

“No, it’s just… I thought you’d tell me something like that, is all.” She couldn't really disguise the hurt that lingered at the end of that statement. She couldn’t tell if she was more hurt over the fact that he kept the secret, or that it existed in the first place.  She hated the jealousy that gnawed at her. She had no right.

“It’s hard to talk about,” he explained, dropping his head, “Sometimes I think about what might happen if I told her how I felt, but…it’s a bad idea.  Father has forbidden it, and I don’t know if she even feels the same way about me.”

New tears formed in Liss’ eyes, and they weren’t for Rila this time.  She reached over to take Nate’s hand, lacing her fingers through his. .

“Sorry,” he said and shook his head, squeezing her hand more tightly, “I didn’t mean to make this about me.”

“You didn’t.  I’m the one who asked.” She shrugged. “Besides, things are about me enough.”

“I wish…,” Nate began, but paused as if reconsidering what he was going to say.  He frowned and continued. “I wish that I could tell you about her.”

“You can.” She perked up.

“I really can’t.”

“Is she beautiful,” Liss asked and a smile twitched at the corner of Nate’s mouth.  She grinned. “Oh, so she is then?”

“She’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, in every way.  Not just on the outside.” He sighed and looked at her, pale eyes sparkling intently.  “She doesn’t even realize it, though. It’s frustrating how average she thinks she is.”

For a brief moment, Liss  could have sworn he was talking about her, the way their eyes met, but that was stupid.  Nate wouldn’t think about her that way. She wasn’t beautiful enough.

“Wow, she’s lucky,”  Liss blurted, and immediately regretted it, “...to have someone feel that way about her, that is.”

“You think so?” Nate laughed, clearly amused.

“If someone said that about me, I’d probably cry.”

“You cry over a lot of things,” Nate teased.

“Yes,” she remarked tersely, frowning, “And I’d cry over that, too.”

Liss almost forgot that she was holding Nate’s hand, until she noticed his thumb grazing hers softly, back and forth.  She watched for a moment, an overwhelming rush of feelings flooding through her. It was as natural and easy to hold his hand as it was to interlock her own fingers.  She’d never thought much about it; it was just something they did, something they had always done. Now, it meant so much. She tried to imagine a world where she couldn’t hold his hand, and every option made her sad.  Sadder than when she found out Rila was gone, sadder than anything.

Maybe she loved Rila, maybe not, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that she could never love another person like she loved Nathaniel.  She just wished so desperately that he loved her, too, that she was the person he’d been speaking of. She hated the idea that someone could swoop in and take him away from her.

“Liss?” Nate waved a hand in front of her face, and leaned in more closely, squinting.  She’d been so lost in her thoughts and she hadn’t even realized.

“Hmm?” She blinked and shook her head, heat rising to her cheeks with the nearness of him.

“You’re about to cry again,” he stated as if it were an indisputable fact.

“No, I’m not,” she protested as tears fell from her eyes.

Nate grabbed her shoulders firmly.  “What is it?”

“It’s dumb.”

Probably,” he said, dryly, “But it’s making you upset.”

Liss took a deep breath and braced herself for the confession she knew she shouldn’t make. “It’s so much easier to think about the fact that Rila is gone now than it is to think about you having to leave in the future.”

Nate blinked at her beneath furrowed brows, but said nothing, so she continued.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Nate,” she explained, throat aching with the emotion she kept trying to hold back.

He laughed, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.  “I’m not going anywhere.”

“What if you do?” She pouted.  She must seem like such a child.

“You’d manage.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you are smart, and strong, and kind, and everyone who meets you loves you.” He brought a hand up to wipe a tear from her cheek and let it linger there for a moment. “How could they not?”

“But everyone leaves,” she remarked, more tears replacing those that had fallen before. “Just like Rila.”

“I’m not everyone,” he said, almost sounding annoyed, as he brushed away her tears again.  “I’m also not Rila.”

Nate pressed his lips to her forehead briefly and then pulled away, eyes meeting hers, faces hovering close enough together that his breath warmed her face, colliding with hers.  Had she not not known any better, she would have thought he wanted to kiss her, and she wouldn’t dare stop him. In fact, she wanted him to do it, welcomed it. She wondered if his lips would be soft, what he’d taste like, and if he’d run his fingers through her hair.  Surely, he’d be good at it. He was good at everything else, so it only made sense.

But he didn’t kiss her.  Of course, he didn’t. It was Nate for Andraste’s sake! He was too thoughtful and reasonable to ever consider doing something so impulsive as kissing someone who clearly wanted to be kissed, who closed her eyes and waited until she realized he had turned away.  

“You don’t have to worry about losing me,” he said,  picking at a loose thread on his breeches and then looking up at her. “You’re my best friend, and I won’t let that happen.”

“Swear?” She glared at him through squinted eyes.  It was as playful a gesture as she could manage in her disappointment.

“On my life.” He smirked and looked back at her.

Leaning over against him, she looped her left arm through his right, head dropping to his shoulder.  He tilted his head so that it was against hers. It wasn’t a kiss, but she’d take it.

“Fine,” she relented, and told him what she had known all along.  “I trust you.”