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embrassemoi · 3 years ago

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Surrounded by the Moon and Stars ✷ 30

Pairings: Sirius B, F!Reader, Remus L Warnings: Language, angst, meeting new characters Important Question: do you guys prefer shorter or longer chapters? also, I listened to first love / late spring by Mitski for this ch if anyone else wants to listen along!

【 Masterlist | Previous Chapter | ao3 】

Chapter 30: Like a Tall Child

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Remus was alone for the trip back to King’s Cross; not wanting to be stuck with James or Peter who would only pester him. He mulled over his thoughts as his head rested against the window, watching the scenery whip by. But the more he had time to think, it caused more guilt to build; they were only trying to be supportive. They cared so much, still willing to associated with someone like… him. And all he did was push them away. He didn’t deserve real mates like them.

Remus tried to distract himself: knitting, drawing — reading next year’s material, but settled on pulling out his cartridge of cigarettes. About to light one, his attention was drawn to the soft knocking on the carriage door. Lily was there, waving before coming in.

“Hey,” she said, closing the door and sitting down. “I wanted to say bye for the summer.”

He exhaled, now itching for the rush of nicotine while Lily fidgeted in her seat. He already knew why she was there.

“Sev — Snape — came to me a couple days ago…”

It was impossible to escape, wasn’t it?

“They’re mad, his theories… He’s been telling me the entire year and kept going on about this one story… wild story of you and Y/N and the other Marauders…” Lily looked up nervously.

Instead of getting angry, Remus closed his eyes, feeling himself sink further into the cushions, centring his breathing. “What did he say?”

“He’s been telling me you’re a… a...”

“Werewolf?”

She froze at the word, having to take a deep inhale and suddenly looked paler than usual. Remus wanted to jump out of the moving train. “Yes,” she stated, “But I told him to bugger off.”

Lily stopped again, meeting his eyes. “So… It’s true?”

“You can’t tell anyone.”

Lily sat straight, leaning over and even putting a hand on her chest, close to her heart. “I’ll take it to the grave.”

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(Letters between Y/N and friends)

To my lovely Whiskers, I hope your summer has been grand so far. Are you sure you can’t spend time with me? It’s been so lonely. Prongs

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Dear Bambi, Unfortunately, I can’t. Mom’s dragging me to New York for the month. Something about being invited to do a special surgery. Said leaving me alone will do no good. I promise to bring you back a souvenir? How are things with Black? Whiskers

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My adoring, wonderful Whiskers, And it hasn’t. My parents are concerned. They’ve been trying to get me to talk about what happened but I can’t. Dumbledore and McGonagall have already started their punishments. He lost over 200 points for next year, got detention for half the year and he can’t try out for the Quidditch team if he wanted to. I wonder what they’ll do next. I love souvenirs! All things Muggle! Yours truly, Prongs/Bambi/James

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July 20th, 1976 Meet me in Times Square at 1 pm on the 8th. There’s a bench outside a bagel store, there’s no way you’ll miss it. Until next time, Matthew G.

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¡Hola! Greetings from Barcelona! My brothers took a few weeks off to spend time with me to come to Spain with my parents! They’re dragging me to a football game later. I heard they call it ‘soccer’ in North America. M. McKinnon

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Y/N L/N, Hello, I hope you’re having a wonderful break. Your letters are the highlight of my day and they keep me busy. So I hate to inform you that you need to stop sending me letters for now. I’m not supposed to be getting any and my parents are going to start confiscating them if I receive any more. I’m sorry. I can’t wait to see you in the fall. R.A.B

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I’m visiting Tuney with my parents in a few days. She moved to London for a clerical job in March and we’re meeting her boyfriend, Vernon! He sounds nice but she’s told me she’s nervous about me and magic around him. Lily

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Petals! I’m sure you’ll be fine! Who couldn't love you? Write back and tell me what happens!

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Whiskers, I’m with my parents up in Wales in their cottage. I was born there before having to move for my Dad’s work. Also, I think I have to get a rabbit. James always told people that I got my scars from a poorly behaved rabbit and if I’m not seen with one soon, people will start to question. Remus

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Does this mean I get to call you Moony now? Professor Moony? Wales? And that’s where that small accent comes from. It bleeds through when you’re concentrating or relaxing. And a rabbit? At least they’re cute! I’m sure you can just Transfigure a book though. Y/N

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Professor Moony? Haha, okay! And really? I never knew. I’m kind of embarrassed now. I’ve thought about that but at this point, I think it would be easier just to have one.

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Oh no! It’s nice! Gives you personality. I think it suits you well How about… Moody Moony near full moons? And Moody Moony Mondays on Mondays.

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Now you’ve gone too far. Bloody fucking Moody Moony? Have you ever heard of Mad-Eye Moody?

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Would you prefer 'my Moony' then?

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Yes, actually.

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August 6th, 1976

“Hurry up!”

She thudded down from the top of the staircase, dragging her trunk behind while her mother sped out of the terminal door, flagging down one of the zipping yellow taxis with her luggage in hand.

It was strange, being with her mother again after almost a year apart. She hadn’t come to King’s Cross again, instead sending her a bus fare in anticipation of school ending. She hoped for some sort of recognition, any kind of sign that she was missed but was only given a side-armed hug and delved back into work.

Y/N wondered if maybe she just didn’t want her there, hoping she would get lost and never come back. She only had been on a bus in London twice, therefore almost ensuring that she would get lost and would have stayed lost if she didn’t have extra spare change to use a payphone.

Ignoring the crackle of whispers as she strode to the cab, people blatantly stared at her unnatural coloured hair, as she entered the car, slamming the door shut.

“Where ya ladies off too?” Said the driver, pulling out a map from their car door.

“Cranberry Street, Brooklyn Heights.”

It was a quiet drive, aside from the driver drumming their fingers on the steering wheel at the sound of the Bee Gees blasting in the background. She watched other cabs whipping back and forth, people going on with their days, the dirty streets and building under construction.

“Hey, mom?” She asked, reasoning now was a good time to talk about her OWL results. She’d gotten them mere seconds before leaving their house back in London and she’d been putting off looking at the results until now.

She only grunted, flicking through one of her medical journals, jotting down notes. “I don’t have time right now.”

Y/N sighed, that familiar sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach expanded again. “It’s kind of important.”

“Not now.” She waved her hand and ended the conversation.

Thirty minutes later, the cab came to a stop as they grabbed their luggage and strolled up to the brownstone building they were renting for the month.

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Jet lag got to her as she unwinded lounged until finally getting up from bed that morning as her mom rushed around the house. She frantically was putting on shoes, dressed impeccably sharp, no doubt in hopes to make an impression as her eyes flew across her journal. Her feet were scrambling to the door as she flung her bag over her shoulder.

“Have a good d —” And then the door slammed shut.

She stared blankly at the door for a while and then turned around, getting ready for her day. A daint drum of excitement yet nervousness built up, pushing aside that sinking feeling. Today she was going to see Matthew again.

Having a few hours to spare, Y/N walked around, marvelling at the tall buildings and lights before heading into the heart of Time Square, immediately spotting the bench outside the bagel shop. She sat, waiting for him anxiously. She made sure to wear a hat, covering any sight of hair to avoid weird stares and chatter.

But then a few minutes turned into ten and then twenty minutes later.

Slipping out the letter again to make sure, she re-read it. Time Square, at one, today… near the bagel shop…

“Where y’at?”

Her head lifted as she jumped to her feet and pulled each other into a tight hug.

“Matthew!”

His face nuzzled into the side of her neck, arms wrapped around tight as her face pressed gently into his chest. Eventually, she pulled away - arms outstretched to get a good look.

Matthew Gaplin looked different. His hair, coarse and thick, had grown. He was taller, filled out more, tan skin became even tanner from the beating sun and he filled out.

His smile was large. “S’been so long.”

She gave him a small whack!

“Ow!” He jumped back, “What’s wrong wiv ya?”

“I thought you stood me up.”

“Sorry, doing something for Mom. Had to wait on line forever.”

He looked down bashfully, now staring at the hat. His face made a disgusted look. “It’s disgusting out. Why are you wearing —” Curiously lifting the hat, his lids widened astronomically as Y/N grabbed it, covering her wild hair.

“I told you,” she hissed.

“Right the Potter sport!” He gave a full-body laugh. “Oh come on, I wanna see it again!”

But her hand clamped down on that hat to prevent him from pulling it off. “No! The Muggles keep judging —“

“Muggles?” Matthew’s brows furrowed. “The fuck is a Muggle? Sounds… demeaning.”

“Sorry, it’s what they call No-Majs.”

“Ahh,” and then he moved to loop an arm around her shoulders and continued to walk. “Too good to use ol’American terms?”

“Turned British snob.”

They laughed loudly as he took charge, showing her around the city. There was something so calming amid the chaos of New York. The bustle, low chatter and his enthusiasm made it all the better.

Soon enough, after hours of walking around, they both came to a stop in a large park as they grew hungry. Matthew disappeared for a while, leaving her alone to lay down on the soft grass before returning, holding up a brown bag with two drinks.

“Got us bagels wiv schmear.”

She mumbled out a thanks and took it from him as he sat down on the grass beside her.

“Missed ya, really.”

She shoved him playfully, his head dropping bashfully. “Shut up.”

It stayed quiet for a bit, as they listened to the birds chirping until he broke the silence again. “Ya thinkin’ ‘bout moving back eventually, right?”

“Why?”

Matthew gave her a haughty look, contemplating his words carefully. “Do ya… not know? They’re losing the war.”

Momentary terror gripped her heart but she swallowed it down fast. “Matthew,” her voice dropped, “Please, I want a fun summer… can we not talk about the war? I have more than enough time to worry later."

He wanted to keep talking, worried for his good friend but he refrained, biting down on his lip and nodded stiffly.

“So…” he thought to himself, contemplating how to change the direction of their conversation and fast. “Fess up, what’s been goin’ on over there.”

“Huh?”

“You’re telling me you haven't — what is it called? Kissing?”

“Snogging?”

He smiled. “You’re telling me you haven’t snogged anyone of those rich Old-Majs yet?”

“Nope!” She spoke too quickly and voice was a little too high.

“Liar. Ya going tell me who then?” Y/N looked down, hand going to fiddle with the fem of her clothes while Matthew shook her. “Come on! Tell me!”

“Fine! His name is Sirius Black.”

Matthew's eyes widened in recognition as he sat upright. “You don’t mean the Black family? Gawd! No way!”

“What?”

“And ya don’t even know!” Matthew was full of amusement. “They’re one of the oldest wizarding families out there! Are you still wiv him?”

Y/N stopped, trying to conceal a chuckle. She didn’t have it in her to lie anymore. “No! He almost got me killed.”

“Ha. Ha, very clever. Fine, don’t tell me.”

“You? Anything exciting?”

Matthew snorted. “Fought over a fin if that counts as exciting.”

“You know that’s not what I'm talking about,” she teased.

He abruptly became very serious and it had Y/N sitting up straighter. Matthew breathed in, this time not looking at her but instead at his metal pop can. “I’ve… had a tumble wiv a few... didn’t matter their… genders.”

It took a second for his words to click in but when it did, her mouth fell open and saw his face fall as she pulled him into a tight hug. “I don’t care who you cop, just be safe and have fun.”

He mumbled into her shoulder. “Been rehearsing that since I knew you were visitin’.”

“Love ya, could never judge you.” He tried to look insulted from the babying but prickled with tears before wiping them away quickly.

“Bless ya!”

“You alright though?”

“Now that I know your reaction, never betta. Now, you talk, enough ‘bout me.”

After making sure he was okay, Y/N prattled about Hogwarts. Matthew would pop in a few times, asking her to clarify or ask what words the British used — he often called her his ‘British insight.’ She rambled much about her day, her new friends but made sure to leave out a few details. Matthew became peculiarly silent through most of her speech. It wasn’t like him to not try to speak up, but he looked at her with something she’d only seen a few times prior.

Matthew stared at her for a long time, analyzing with underlying adoration. “What did them Brits do to ya?”

She looked at him, waiting for him to continue. “Ya sound different.” He says calmly, going to sip on his pop. “Talk funny.”

“Tawk funny,” she mocked and earned a shove. “Different? How so?”

“Everything ‘bout you seems different. Y’look happier,” he smiles, although there was a twinge of hurt. “Talk softer, look different — move differently and ya voice sounds different… but the same.”

She takes a bit of her food. “I hope that isn’t a bad thing.”

Matthew smiles gently, sheepish but there. “Not at all.”

She smiled back. Matthew always knew how to make her smile and it felt good, normal.

“Happy looks good on ya.”

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She finally sat down, tired from the long day she spent wandering the city. But it wasn’t long until a tapping sound came from the window. Celeste was there, waiting with a letter in her beak. She walked up to her, letting her fly inside and opened the letter.

Got my OWL results. Outstanding in Astronomy, DADA, Charms, Transfigs. Exceeds Expectations in everything else but an Acceptable in Potions. Moony

She re-read that last part. Remus getting Acceptable in Potions? Her attention travelled to the stark white envelope peeking out from the side pocket of her carry-on. She marched up to it, ripping it open and scanned the paper.

Outstanding in Transfiguration, Potions and Herbology, Arithmancy. Exceeds Expectations in everything else except Poor in History of Magic. She cringed at that.

She immediately got up from her seat. Rushing over to the master bedroom, peeking her head in. “Mom?” She said quietly, “Can I talk to you.”

“Didn’t I tell you I was busy?” Her voice cut through. “It’s not the time to be a nuisance.”

A scorching feeling of anger thrummed through her but kept her voice low and steady. “That was a few days ago.”

"My answer didn't change."

Any semblance of calm vanished. “It’s about my OWLs. My future. I need some sort of guidance.”

“I wouldn’t understand them,” she sighed and peered up. There was an odd expression, borderlining on confusion and something else. “It’s not the same. I’m not a… witch like you are. I don’t know how to help you.”

“I’ll make it into No-Maj terms?” Y/N’s voice was tight and came rushing over to where she sat on the couch. And laid out her examination results. “Look, an O is the same as getting an A! It’s the highest grade you can get. And here,” she pointed, “My teacher, Professor Slughorn, invites me to parties because of my work in Potions class. I’m one of his top students.”

She glanced at her mom excitedly but was met with a look of annoyance and slight judgement. But she continued, “A-and in Herbology I'm doing excellent too! I was becoming interested in becoming a Healer. I told you in my letters. It’s similar to being —”

“I’m sorry,” her mother said but it didn’t have any trace of guilt or sorrow, “I’m busy and you’re getting in the way of work — my achievements — that you know are important.”

“Are mine not important?”

A thick, profound silence filled the space between them. Everything about the connotation had her averting her body, feeling the sinking in her chest explode. From the war, traumatic near death experience and her mother's constant aloof nature, it was her cracking point.

Snatching the OWLs results, she walked out the door, shutting it gently before diving into her room; throwing the covers over her head.

All the New-Maj and No-Maj children were told stories of the Boogeyman. To Y/N, it felt comparable to reverting to a small child as she tucked herself into a tight ball. She recalled watching all the other children running up their parents, being roped with large hugs and smiles, surrounded with infinite quantities of love as they left the school playground. She remembered being envious, wanting to have two parents as the images of the Boogeyman drew near.

There was an overwhelming sense to scream — to cry out for guidance as the knot in her stomach grew. Instead of her mother coming to her rescue — to reassure, to give any sense of security or safety while other parents would scare off the Boogeyman or monsters ready to nip at their children’s toes under the bed, Y/N was left in the dark as all sense of relief or love vanished. It left her vulnerable, exposed to the monsters lurking in the dark.

Her mother may have not been physically absent but it sure felt like it.

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【 Next Chapter 】

Slang dictionary:

Fin = $5 / five dollar bill Bagels with schmear = bagels with cream cheese Wait on line = the same as 'Wait in line' Pop = Canadian slang for soda / soft drinks Sport / old sport = (depending on the context) a term of endearment similar to buddy, pal, friend

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r0zyp0zy0zy · 4 years ago

Note

Hi, sorry if you’re not writing but, could you do prompt #7 or #24 your choosing with yamaguchi? Just basically a gn!reader who is flustering the shit out of him or smthing ty <3

Haikyuu!! Prompt list trial

HQ!! Prompt list

Sorry this took so long! I’m feeling a little slow with writing lately. Thanks for your request, and I hope you enjoy!

Words: 1275

Warnings: suggestive, teasing Yamaguchi

Pairing: Yamaguchi Tadashi x GN!reader

Prompt(s): #7- "..so if I do this, you'll get harder?"

It wasn't exactly fair what you were doing, but it was way too fun to stop. You hadn't meant to find out that the beloved Yamaguchi had a crush on you, but it was difficult not to listen to the teasing of his teammates. Obviously you reciprocated his feelings, (honesty who wouldn't), and your chest bubbled in excitement. You were in the same class as Ennoshita, occasionally participating in study groups with him, and the two of you got along pretty well. It wasn't too odd that you had asked to watch the boys he talked about so much practice, and Ennoshita was ecstatic that you wanted to experience the first years' talent.

You were sat on the bleachers pretending to do homework, peaking down at your paper occasionally to doodle. It was cute how Yamaguchi would glance at you after he served, and you would always smile encouragingly. He was just so adorable and so blushy that you couldn't help but have feelings for him. Before one of their matches, you DIYed a cheerleader outfit like you saw in America, matching the length of the short skirt/shorts.

You cheered playfully along with the other students that came to watch the match that would determine whether the team was going to nationals or not, flashing your pom-poms around beside Yachi and Tanaka's sister. You weren't quite sure who the other guys beside you were, but they seemed nice enough. The match was confusing and you had no clue what was going on half of the time, but you cheered the loudest whenever Yamaguchi was serving.

"You guys did awesome!!" Yachi pumped a fist into the air as she ran towards the boys with you, gripping your hand tightly. The two of you had gotten a bit closer during the match, and you now had her number in your phone.

"Y-y/n-san," Ennoshita blushed as he took in your outfit, "I didn't realize that you would be cheering for us today."

"Yep! I made it last night!" You twirled in a circle, showing off your handiwork, "though it would look better with a number on the back."

"You can put my number on it, y/n-chan,~" Tanaka and Nishinoya said at the same time, clasping their hands together and fluttering their lashes. Sugawara slapped his palm on both of their heads and whispered something in their ears. The two boys' eyes widened and they started giggling, which was a concerning sight.

"Locker rooms, guys," Daichi reminded the team, and you watched as they made their way to the change rooms.

"What was that about?" You wondered aloud to Yachi, following her down the hallway where the boys disappeared. She just shrugged, a cheeky grin forming on her face.

The two of you waited outside of the boys' locker room, listening to the chaos that was inside.

"—how were we supposed to know that it was that y/n-san?" Nishinoya asked someone, and your interest piqued at the sound of your name.

"I'm pretty sure there's only one y/n-san in the school," Tsukishima replied, to your confusion. "And I told you not to hit on them because Yamaguchi has a crush on them."

"Awe Tsukki,~" Tanaka said. "You're such a good friend to him."

You glanced at Yachi quizzically, who was looking away guiltily. Well she obviously knew Yamaguchi liked you. Your face reddened with happiness, and a smile broke out onto your face. Your heart swelled at the thought of a blushy Yamaguchi, arm carefully locked with your own and a blush on his face.

"Would it be alright if I took the bus with you guys?" You asked Yachi airily. "I don't wanna sit in Tanaka-san's car for another couple hours."

"I-I mean you would h-have to ask c-coach Ukai I'm p-pretty sure," she replied, a flustered blush on her cheeks.

It was odd how easily convinced the Karasuno volleyball coach was to let you on their ride, even if you had been at their practices a few times. Ukai let you have a seat to yourself near the back of the bus, overlooking the rest of the vehicle. When the boys finally started to fill in they didn't notice you at first, but once Hinata locked eyes with you he shouted out a loud greeting.

"Hi y/n!!" The redhead beamed. "Why're you here? Did you watch the whole game? Did you see our quick attack?!!"

"Calm down, shrimpy," Tsukishima mumbled as he pushed past the smaller boy, "don't overload them with questions."

"Oh, I'm just here because Tanaka-san's driving made me incredibly car-sick," you shrugged. "I didn't feel like puking out the window a second time."

You saw the green cowlick of Yamaguchi's hair peak over the tall blonde's shoulder, and you could tell that he was cowering away. Tsukishima found himself a seat, blocking off the edge with his gym bag.

"Sorry Yams," he grinned cheekily, "looks like you'll have to find another spot."

Yamaguchi's face flushed a cherry red as he looked around, knowing what his best friend was trying to do. He bit his lip once he noticed that all of the other seats were taken, either by his teammates or their luggage. He gulped and turned over to look at you, grip tightening on his bag strap.

"U-uh, can I, uhm, can I sit here?" The nervous boy asked quietly, trying to mask the shake in his voice.

"Sure!" You accepted happily, offering him the window seat. He held his breath as he shimmied by, immediately regretting facing his body towards you. His cheeks flared another spout of dark pink.

Yamaguchi sat down and let his bag fall to his feet, and he looked out the window anxiously. The two of you didn't say much once the bus began to move; his legs couldn't stop bouncing with nerves, and he occasionally turned his head slightly to peek at you. He admired your appearance through his eyelashes, watching you nibble on your lips. Yamaguchi gulped and turned back away, his mind racing with thoughts of your puffy lips.

A small smile broke onto his face as he felt your head lean against his shoulder and he blushed. Your hand slowly slipped onto his thigh and his breath hitched, trying with all his might to not get hard. Which obviously failed when he felt a twitch in his dick. Yamaguchi shifted uncomfortably, awkwardly hunching over to conceal his erection.

"...are you hard?" You whispered questioningly, so quietly he almost couldn't hear you. "Wow, you are."

Yamaguchi choked on his own saliva processing what you said, and he felt his face flush so hard he swore that blood vessels broke, "I-I'm sorry," he whimpered, rubbing his legs together, "I-it's just when you touch me l-like that..." he trailed off.

"..so if I do this, you'll get harder?" You whispered in his ear as you slid your hand onto his inner thigh, gently massaging it.

"U-uh," he squeaked, "y-yeah..." Yamaguchi was sure the bus had gotten hotter with your hand between his legs.

"This is ok, right Yams?" You nibbled on his earlobe and he whimpered out a quiet breath.

"Y-yes," Yamaguchi swallowed harshly. He let his grey-green hair cover his eyes as you continued to massage very close to his erection,. "I-I like you," he confessed softly, glancing at your e/c eyes.

"I know," you uttered into his neck. "I like you too, cutie."

#anime #hq anime #hq x reader #haikyuu!!#haikyū!!#haikyuu x reader #yamaguchi tadashi x reader #yamaguchi tadashi #tadashi yamaguchi x reader #tadashi yamaguchi

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wincore · 4 years ago

Text

youngblood | lee donghyuck

pairing: haechan x reader

words: 9.1k

genre: ‘bad boy’!au, fluff, angst(?)

warnings: language, juvenile crimes (do NOT try shoplifting, speeding and vandalism, kids)

a/n: okay omg i finally got around to editing this and you guys should know by now this au doesn’t mean he’s bad and just.........annoying........... (also it follows troublemaker’s style but like............it might just be my fav troublemaker part aaaa)

The first day you meet Lee Donghyuck, he picks a fight with you. Or you pick a fight with him.

That’s not how the first day of high school should have gone.

It surprised you, just a little, to be toe-to-toe with someone so easily. Did he like picking fights for fun? You looked him up and down, the ink over his forearm meant to be shown and a strange friendliness in his eyes. Not exactly the bully type, you weren’t sure what to make of him. Movies spoil reality when it comes to things like this. Rumors are even worse. You took a slow gulp anyway, Donghyuck’s eyes on you unnerving.

He leaned in slightly to match your height. His tone was lilting and he phrased his words light-heartedly, a pretence you found funny. “I have no interest in you, kid. I’m going to keep it that way.”

“We’re the same age, you know?”

Your reply went unheard. It was just misunderstanding that got you there—you mistook his locker for yours and it’s not your fault you happen to have the same passcode (a little weird though, definitely). Lee Donghyuck said if you were allowed to take what’s his, he should have the same privilege, the word thief at the tip of his tongue. He was a little daunting, you suppose—taller than you were, in all black and several piercings and tattoos poking out on wrists. Maybe it was the undulating rage of being fourteen and at the stage of heavy regret in later years, maybe it was the wariness around strangers. You weren’t quite afraid of him; just that a fight on your first day didn’t seem like a very bright start in a new city. Although you assured him you didn’t touch his stuff, you handed him your bear-shaped keychain. (“You can have this if you want a gift so bad.”)

When Donghyuck laughed, giving it back almost immediately with a cheeky grin—you couldn’t decide whether to let the confusion show on your face.

“Don’t be a pushover, newbie.”

You frowned. “Who’re you calling a pushover?”

You don’t remember the rest of it but you found it very hard to not have mixed feelings about him. You’re trying to have a normal fun high school life for fuck’s sake. You didn’t think he was the awful sort of person—but it was almost as if he was trouble’s very own lovechild. There are better weapons against him than falling into pointless playfights.

Lee Donghyuck. Funny guy.

The school bully image was a lie, no doubt spread by someone more than annoyed with his antics. Of course, Lee Donghyuck either didn’t care or didn’t know, wits always about him like some sort of eccentric defence mechanism.

You admire him in a way, but you wouldn’t be caught dead telling him that.

Lee Donghyuck is popular, full of jokes and fun but a little rough on the edges all the same. But you have to assume he must have some demonic heritage. You could say you have a strange relationship—friends but not. You hate him but don’t. While you’re sure there’s at least a little bit of sunshine hidden beneath those black T-shirts and inked skin, there’s a bit more than hidden sides to young troublemakers—things that don’t involve misunderstanding.

Lee Donghyuck looks like danger. (And danger attracts attention of all kinds, you’d noticed in a few unfortunate heart-eyed classmates.) You’ve seen him in enough fights to have respect for him, making you wonder why he doesn’t join the debate team already. It might have something to do with how his victorious smile gets on everyone’s nerves, the way they groan at Donghyuck’s sudden affections afterward. They don’t hate him—mostly. He’s honest and he knows exactly how to press people. That doesn’t change the innocence in his arrogance or the clear distinction of his spirit.

Of course there are bad people; Donghyuck just isn’t one of them. He just tries too hard to look cool. (“Sunflower,” he’d called you, pulling a face. “I know you’re dense. But maybe start being afraid of me so you don’t ruin my reputation.”)

The sunlight falls against the web of your thumb, your fingers rapidly moving to match the pace of the game on your phone. Five minutes to class, you’ve got nothing better to do.

“What, trying to beat my high score again?” Donghyuck pulls the chair beside you to sit, his arms resting on the desk as he continues to stare at you.

“Believe me, Donghyuck, not everything I do is for you,” you chuckle, tapping on the play again button, catching the look on his face out of the corner of your eye.

Donghyuck looks visibly irked and you think maybe your decision to be so annoyingly passive has been the right one if it bothers him. Ah, but you won’t tell him that. You’re having the time of your life this way.

“Well,” Donghyuck begins but frowns instead. “Whatever.”

It’s not every day you get to win—Donghyuck does get under your skin. You just don’t have to show it. Sometimes his own friends decide they’ve had enough, the classroom shenanigans making you laugh. You don’t want to get started on the chaos that unfurls every time Donghyuck walks into class and straight up picks a fight with anyone in his eyesight—even Jaemin has his “Lee Donghyuck!” moments. Donghyuck is friends with everyone and that means he gets to get on everyone’s nerves.

You smile to yourself thinking of Donghyuck yawning deliberately at Renjun trying to make a point. Call him a demon, call him a disgrace; he knows how to make people laugh.

You pass Red’s diner on your way back home, as usual, the unusual red and white checkers replacing the normal concrete sidewalk by it. It’s always soothed you to see bright colours in this side of the city, the beige and coffee aesthetic far too dominating for its cause—something to keep up with the larger, fancier (more pretentious) metropolises. It’s also the oldest; your friends told you the number of baby pictures everyone has on the wine-coloured couches is, in more appropriate words, fucking astounding.

You wish you’d moved here earlier. The thing about little cities is just that—they’re not all that little. Something everyone seemingly loves to boast about, the romance of a small town and its delicate simplicities. It’s nothing alike. You’d know. You enjoy it more here. You like all the food outlets and stores lining the streets and further up, less congestion and more dog parks—all places you love breezing through in your free time. There’s an amusement park too, a forty-minute drive away into the middle of nowhere and if you’re not mistaken, the city centre has the best clubs and bars. Sunshine drips through every nook and cranny—it’s everything you’d expected a city to be.

You stop in your tracks at the sight of distinct brown curls in the alleyway between buildings. Donghyuck doesn’t seem to be in the best of situations, a tougher, much larger guy shoving him against the wall. They seem to be speaking, and something about Donghyuck’s smile doesn’t give you a good feeling about what’s going to happen.

Before the guy’s fist meets Donghyuck’s cheek, you yell, two pairs of eyes shifting focus to you. You feel your heartbeat quicken, Donghyuck raising his eyebrow and shooting you a confused look.

“Don’t- don’t hurt him,” you say, cursing at the meekness of your voice.

The larger man laughs, a sound like nails on a chalkboard and you cringe. Donghyuck mouths at you to get away but immediately shuts up when the man turns to him again.

“You got a little lover come here to protect you?” he says, looking at Donghyuck with amusement.

“No, that’s not—”

“I hate little brats like you,” he huffs, shoving Donghyuck once more, this time a little harder. He lets out a pained whine, eyes squeezing shut as he drops on his knees.

You take a hesitant step back when the man makes his way to you, blood rushing to your ears when he raises his hand. Your arms go up by instinct and you’re met with a hard push, falling to the ground with a whimper.

You’re picked up by the collar, struggling to not let fear show on your face.

“Tell your boyfriend to stop messing around my store, okay, sweetheart?” he threatens, voice lower.

With that, he drops you and leaves, the adrenaline in you not quite down yet.

“Donghyuck?” you call, worried as you spot him lying still in the alleyway. You’re about to get up and go to him when he responds, whimsical as ever.

“I’m okay!” He raises his hand with a peace sign and you sigh, annoyed.

“Really?! What were you even doing?”

“I ate some cookies for free, big deal,” he says before he suddenly raises his head with a lopsided grin. “Is sunflower worried about me?”

You groan, dusting yourself as you get up and walk over to him. You throw him a light kick at the side to which he whines overdramatically and scrunches his face into something pained. Lee Donghyuck could be hit by a bus and he’d play it off with fingers guns and eyebrow wiggling.

“Become a chainsaw-juggler or something if you want to do something dangerous,” you complain, “And get up!”

Donghyuck wrinkles his nose. “As always, you have such boring ideas.”

He does get up the next moment, although with a large show of holding his back and several whines about near-death experiences as if he’s not the one bringing it upon himself. You’re sure his back is bruised but he doesn’t acknowledge it as anything more than a joke. There’s also a gash on his cheek he must have received earlier. It’s no surprise he has a fresh batch of wounds—you think he spends more time in the nurse’s office than in actual classes.

“Why do you pick fights with people clearly stronger than you?” you grumble as he dusts himself off.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand me,” Donghyuck says, straightening, “I would’ve got out of this pretty clean without you.”

You roll your eyes. “Sure thing.”

Donghyuck frowns, a huff leaving his mouth.

“I don’t mean to brag but that guy would have been running for his life if you hadn’t butt in,” he shrugs, trying to sound less ruffled.

You laugh at his expression, forgetting about your bruised arms for a moment.

“You should treat me,” you say, the thought passing your head. You don’t have change and you’re really craving some strawberry milk.

He scoffs. “For what?”

“For saving you.”

You expected a retort, at least. Donghyuck pauses for a moment before a worrying grin floats up on his face. “Sure. Come with me.”

You narrow your eyes at him but follow nonetheless, walking side by side. The sunlight makes his skin glow, the hue on his cheeks perfect were it not for the dried blood from the gash. His eyes shine when he smiles, mischief or not, when he’s telling you about how you should try vandalism and robbery sometimes, they’re pretty fun. It’s a Donghyuck trait—to be able to live like this and still call it fun. You look at his lips once and immediately look away. What a silly thought. They’re regrettably pretty, though, despite being busted often. The sun has been kind to Donghyuck, with the colour of his skin full and the confidence you’d only find in someone made of sun flares.

So that’s why.

You stare at the motorbike parked at a clearly No Parking area, the metallic red gleaming under the late afternoon sun. You’ve never been on one before but something tells you Donghyuck would traumatise you far too much to try again. You cannot agree to get on that.

“Hop on,” he instructs.

You hesitate. “Where are we going?”

“To the centre, of course.” He smiles brightly. “There’s a bunch of bakeries and eateries over there.”

“You can just buy me some strawberry milk from a vending machine around.”

“Well, I forgot my wallet,” he says, looking up to think, “I left it at my job.”

You furrow your eyebrows, not believing a word. It’s Lee Donghyuck after all, the opposite of predictable, and arguing with him will only cost you your breath.

“A motorbike and no leather jacket?” You smile, regaining your composure. “I mean, not everyone can pull off the leather jacket, of course.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes overstatedly. “I don’t expect you to be smarter but stereotypes? Wow.”

You do get on the bike, however, with some pushing on Donghyuck’s side. More importantly, you somehow don’t end up traumatised despite what you supposed. It felt good, wind in your hair and although your legs were stuck to the sides of the bike like glue, you found yourself enjoying the scene around you speeding by. The fact that Donghyuck can be careful was beyond your knowledge and understanding.

The buildings are a little taller here and while you’ve been here before, the sight never fails to make your heartbeat quicken. There’s something inevitably calling about this place. You’d love to explore when there are nightlights around each corner.

“Your wallet?” you remind Donghyuck.

Donghyuck feigns surprise, gasping. “Right! It was in my pocket. But I have no money.”

“What? We came all the way here for nothing?!”

“No. I have a plan.” Donghyuck grins, pointing towards the pretty glass door of the bakery across the street.

“Oh no,” you say quietly as the realization dawns, “We’re not stealing.”

“Then you came all the way here for nothing.”

You sigh heavily into your hands as Donghyuck tries to sweeten his grin, clearly trying to convince you.

“You really don’t have to be this annoying, you know that?”

“It’s a choice,” he says, pulling a face, “And I do it because I excel at it, thank you very much.”

You reluctantly follow Donghyuck into the bakery, people bustling in and out, mostly for their fix of evening coffee or tea. There are photo frames around pictures of coffee beans, tea leaves and pastries, all against a soft orange wallpaper. It’s not as small as it looked from outside, you realize, with its capacity for people quite enough. The smell of chocolate is predominant, hazelnut and coffee wafting in from the left side.

“Free samples!” Donghyuck gasps, before turning to whisper to you, “You know we can try one of each, right? That saves us some trouble.”

You’d be lying if his lips so close to your ears didn’t make you jump a little. You take short steps behind him as he eagerly walks to the counter.

“Ah, is this a new type?” Donghyuck asks, beaming at the woman behind the counter. She raises an eyebrow at the ear piercings and tattoos, gracing him with a smile nonetheless.

While he’s engaged in conversation, you stare at the two of them confused till you’re met with a light kick at your foot. You give Donghyuck a dirty look, who keeps pointing towards the samples with his hands under the counter.

“You’re supposed to shove some into your bag, you know?” he leans in to whisper, exasperated, when the lady leaves to enter the pantry.

“Well, how was I supposed to know, genius?” you shoot back, crossing your arms.

Donghyuck looks around nervously before taking a few of the tarts and carefully placing them in your bag.

“Don’t move too much or you’ll crush them,” he warns in a hush.

The woman returns again, with a warmer smile and Donghyuck goes back to his clever, silver-tongued words. He’s so awful, you think. But you can’t deny the exhilaration in your chest, a giddy feeling of doing the wrong thing in a way that feels right.

You end up having the free samples afterward, pretending to contemplate buying as the woman looks at the two of you expectantly. It’s delicious, sweet chocolate manipulating your taste buds to want another bite almost immediately after you’re done.

“We do offer couple discounts, too!” she says, beaming.

There it is again, the unsettling implications—accusations almost. Since when do the two of you look like a couple? You’re obviously too young to be looking the sort of way most lovers do and where the fuck do they see any love anyway?

“Uh,” Donghyuck begins but can’t seem to form a sentence.

Before either of you can say anything, the woman is called by another customer and you look at each other at the same time.

“We should go,” he says, quickly, “before they realize we’re not buying anything.”

You nod and sneak out of the shop as quickly as you walked in, Donghyuck suddenly picking up the pace till you’re at least a few blocks away.

“You’re so slow,” Donghyuck teases, laughing when you reach him, out of breath. He adjusts his shirt, dark as always, such that it doesn’t stick out of his pants awkwardly anymore. The tattoos on his left arm catch your eye, muscles beneath flexing as his moves his arm, a strange pattern of ink. You don’t think they’re real if you’re being honest—that field of sunflowers. They’re too pretty.

You’re so annoying, you think, despite the smile forming on your face as you follow him down the lane.

What a frustrating personality, the thought crosses you at night, as you kick away the blanket at your feet. He ended up paying for some ice cream at a nearby shop anyway, right after you’d finished having your stolen goods by the dog park. He said summer needs some ice and he’ll oblige just this once with whatever few notes he has left. (“Summer just ended, idiot.” “I can’t hear you.”) The first bite had immediately given him brain freeze, a whine escaping his lips as he held his head in an attempt to soothe it. You found it cute—yes, cute, a terrible choice of words for him. It doesn’t mean anything, you tell yourself. It’s almost within his personality to intrude upon your thoughts like this—gods, you hate even the letters of his name that form so easily in front of your eyes.

The buzz from your phone gives you a fright as you quickly open it to two texts from Donghyuck. You adjust the brightness before you read it, your heartbeat embarrassing you at its rate.

demon child, 11:36 PM

btw today wasn’t a treat you still have to pay me

food is expensive you know

You smile. A part of you warns you shouldn’t.

demon child, 11:37 PM

or you can pay for next time

Your smile drops. Next time? What is this, a date? You shake your head instinctively. Like you’d make it out alive of a date with Lee Donghyuck.

you, 11:37 PM

sure thing little stingy man

demon child, 11:38 PM

wow that was fast do you like me or something

You roll your eyes. You might have really decked Donghyuck in the jaw in another timeline, where you knew how to deck someone in the jaw.

You feel a certain static in your heart, hoping you’re mistaken as you respond to his texts for the rest of the night. Lee Donghyuck needs to have the last word all the time, and you lose count of how many times you huff, only giving in when the tiredness in your eyes seeps to the rest of your body.

You think you smile in your sleep that night but you can’t be sure.

The thing about bad days is that you notice nothing outside of them when you’re having them—but you forget you ever even had them when you’re not.

You end up at school with a lack of will to pay attention to classes. It’s well into the semester, and that means it’s time for you to get to some serious studying, except, well, you can’t. You’re decent at academics—or so you’d like to think. You’re average at best and there’s a nagging thought eating away at your brain at a painfully slow rate.

The college application deadlines are near.

It doesn’t help to be second and third best at almost everything. You nod along to everything Jihyun is saying; really, he aces every subject without trying. His words aren’t exactly…encouraging. You thought his notes would be your ticket to a dream college except he’s not quite the person you should be asking help from.

You’re suddenly not sure about all the friendly competitions you’re running.

You’re starting to feel too worked up these days, worry tugging at the back of your head every moment. It’s lonely when your friends are busy with their own struggles so you stay quiet. You’re a big kid, you tell yourself, you got this.

Except you really don’t.

“Woah,” Donghyuck interrupts you and Jihyun. “You look like you used the dryer on the wrong setting.”

Sometimes, it’s really not the best of situations to have your seat beside Donghyuck. You glare at him, keeping your notebook on the table with a loud ‘SLAM!’ You turn your head to find him smiling. Oh, he better not start now.

“Ah, (name),” he says, grinning, “what’s got you so upset today?”

“Nothing,” you insist, trying your best to control your scowl.

It’s been two weeks since you ‘hung out’ (committed minor crimes) at the bakery. Your friendly bickering since then has been not-so-friendly, you think with a grimace. He’s been getting under your skin—not a favourable thing when you’re against Lee Donghyuck.

“(name).”

You look up to see Jihyun, almost always devoid of any emotion behind the eyes—even if he’s smiling.

“The notes you asked for,” he says, keeping the notes on your table and turning around, almost as if he’s glad to be rid of conversation.

“Oh, and,” Jihyun turns back around. “If you’re hoping to get into any college at all, I hope you keep the right company.”

There’s contempt in his voice and your eyes trail to Donghyuck’s, a little confused if not bothered. You shouldn’t be surprised to find him grinning, laughing almost. You think Donghyuck’s confidence is a good substitute for a leather jacket.

“Hey, come on now.” Donghyuck leans back in his seat, smiling like a kid. You wonder where all that sunshine’s coming from. “Are you still mad about me beating you at that MUN thing?”

Jihyun smiles. “Don’t jump to conclusions. I wasn’t referring to you, of course. And there’s worse things you’ve done.”

Your teacher walks in, drawing everyone’s attention instead as they scurry back to their seats. Donghyuck’s eyes linger on you for a second longer, his face blanched before he turns away and rests his chin on his palm. You think you weren’t supposed to steal so many glances at him throughout the class.

The day somehow manages to draw energy out of you even further. Worries aside, Jihyun’s been strangely demanding—are you even that close? Should he be asking you to bring things this way? Should he be making you run errands? You’re so close to losing it before you realize you can’t. He’s helping you, sort of. You groan into your hands during break, ignoring Donghyuck’s eyebrow raise from beside you. It’s unfair and while you’re sure it’s all light-hearted, you have another name to curse when you run into a problem. Ah, the scorn of high school kids is truly incomparable.

You almost sigh in relief at the last ring of the bell for the day, getting up a little too enthusiastically. You get some admonishment from the teacher at that but you forget once you’ve reached the gates, almost running out faster than your friends. They let you go with a laugh, your desire to get home and take a nap triumphing every other thing on your mind. Some days are meant to be forgotten.

Cursed as you are, you bump into Donghyuck a few blocks from the bus stop. He adjusts the collar of his plaid shirt in a hurry, the black T-shirt underneath so worn out, you wonder how many years he’s been wearing that. The symbol on his baseball cap is probably related to a demon cult, you think. It being related to a metal band is also a possibility.

“(name),” he says, grinning. “What a coincidence.”

“Don’t pick a fight now, demon,” you huff before he can continue.

“I didn’t even say anything.” He raises his arms defensively. “Yet.”

You have the intense desire to punch him. When did the tables turn to this? Weren’t you supposed to be the calm one?

“You had fun running errands for President Snob?” he snickers.

“Well, I didn’t want to,” you say, your shoulders dropping, annoyed as you are. It makes you a little upset for something to affect you that much. You wish you were like the kids who barely cared about things like college applications, enjoying life either way. You wish you didn’t have this strange pretence of a person you are. You wish you were like Donghyuck.

There��s a pause.

“Come on. Don’t let anyone push you around like that.” His voice comes off as exasperated. Donghyuck isn’t the kind of person to let worry show.

You look up, a little surprised. Before you can open your mouth, he cuts you off.

“There’s some festival going on at the centre,” he says with a shrug. “Lots of food trucks. Wanna come?”

You furrow your eyebrows, a frown taking shape over your lips.

“Stealing off others doesn’t exactly make me feel good about myself,” you say, hugging yourself. As fun as the adrenaline rush was, it’s better to stick to morals, whatever they may be.

“I’ll pay,” he says, his smile incredulous. “I promise.”

You raise an eyebrow. “What, you got a credit card lying around somewhere?”

“Nope,” he responds, rolling his eyes. “No credit card. Don’t believe in money.”

“Then how do you plan on paying?” you ask, frustrated.

“Trust me,” he whispers, urging you to follow him.

It turns out Donghyuck happens to know every food outlet in the city and also happens to have been kicked out of half of them, which is oddly impressive. He’s also worked several jobs in local eateries, the old ladies more than fond of him. (“Who wouldn’t find my charming smile adorable?”)

“You hobgoblin,” you exclaim, huffing. His story about vandalism on the bleachers shouldn’t have been as amusing, or endearing, for that matter.

“According to our lovely folklore, hobgoblins can warm your heart,” he replies, as-a-matter-of-factly.

“That is definitely not true. You just have to respond with something, don’t you?”

“And what of it?”

A (surprisingly) within-speed-limits bike ride away, you end up in a flurry of colours and crowds—you gasp at the large line of food trucks lining the pathway leading to the people’s square. You’ve never seen this before, looking from place to place. A lot of them look like they’ve come from pretty far.

At the square, there are wooden stalls of food out for trial by the people, shopkeepers encouraging the few tourists there are to try the local food. You spot various fishcakes, dumplings and street toast with glimpses of strawberry and banana milk decorating the stands in between. There are old upbeat songs playing through the speakers attached to the electricity poles, faint enough to be drowned out by crowds but loud enough to enjoy a little dance to. You didn’t realize you were smiling till you turned around to see an amused look on Donghyuck’s face.

Time only seems to fly—like when you’re done with your favourite song and it just wasn’t long enough so you hit repeat. The truth is, a song is barely four minutes—and yet you feel like you saw a movie, a story in it; so very curious because you were so sure it was too short.

Donghyuck walks side by side with you to where his bike is parked. (You wonder if he ever travels without it. Gas isn’t exactly cheap.) There’s little distance between the two of you, something neither of you seems to notice. You bite into the sugar candy, the sudden crack sound in the quiet lane making the two of you laugh despite the surge of sugar on your tongue. You forget what you were talking about.

“Why do you even steal, Donghyuck?” You ask softly. You paid for some food today, some were free samples and mostly, there was nothing illegal involved. Donghyuck didn’t particularly want to cause trouble either. You don’t want to be a bad judge of character.

“Because I can.”

What an expected answer. Is there anything Donghyuck can’t do?

“Don’t you feel bad?” You raise an eyebrow. He’s always been so confusing, but when he starts to make sense, you feel like you should’ve seen it that way in the first place.

“Are you talking about our sweet bakery? You really think a company as big as theirs would notice some free samples are missing?” Donghyuck says, making a face. “In a city no one cares about?”

You don’t say anything, puffing your left cheek in contemplation.

“Look, I could spend the rest of my life looting as much as my arms could carry and I would never be able to make my crimes pose even the smallest threat to a single shitty millionaire.” Donghyuck waves his hands about in a gesture that implies indifference.

You suppose he’s right, walking up to him and continuing your journey up.

“I’m not justifying myself,” he says, voice softer, shoulders relaxed. “Stealing’s bad. Other people are affected. I know. It’s just that I like having more choices than they give us. We should try everything we can, you know?”

Is that why he’s always up to something? Flitting from club to club in school, running around the entire city like it’s his own?

He shakes himself immediately, cringing. “Ah. Ew. I can’t believe you’re getting to my head, sunflower. Yuck. You’re ruining me. Did I just monologue?”

“Oh, okay.” You cross your arms. “That’s my fault now. It’s a good thing to be honest, asshole.”

“La, la, la.” Donghyuck puts his fingers in his ears, sticking out his tongue. “Can’t lecture me if I can’t hear you.”

You punch his shoulders, his laugh accompanying the evening blooming in full colours above you as you forget you’re already on your journey back.

You reach Red’s before nightfall, a sort of pitstop for kids like you when it’s time to go home before the night soaks into you. Donghyuck feels lighter in his chest as he enters, the jingling pleasant and the smell of waffles even more so. He just can’t believe you’re the reason he’s here.

“Obviously, we’re going for chocolate waffles,” he says, crossing his arms.

The tables outside are better than the stuffy humid air inside. Donghyuck’s complaining didn’t let you take even a step inside.

“We just ate,” you reason, your eyebrows furrowed. “And honey is always better!”

“Eh, what do you know?” he says, resting his elbow against the table. “I was raised in this diner, newbie.”

“Yeah, you and a million other rats.”

He presses his tongue against his cheek to stop the smile, although he reckons he’s doing a terrible job of it.

Get yourself together, one voice pipes up in his head.

Or say it. Ask them out. Yeah, the other voice is a piece of shit. That’s not going to work out.

Donghyuck didn’t realize he’d fallen silent, a daze over his eyes. He blinks a few time to regain focus, the peach hue across your cheeks coming to his attention. It’s adorable, if he could just reach out and place his palm against your cheek, just lean over the table and—

Fuck. No way.

“Stop staring at me like some sleaze,” you huff, eyes flickering between him and the table.

“Why would I stare at you?” he retorts, resisting the heat on his face. “You’re not that pretty.”

“Right,” you say, rolling your eyes as you hold your arm.

The lights lining the eaves flicker on almost at the same time, the sky still in transitionary lilac and you look up with your lips parted, something akin to curiosity in your eyes. Pretty. It could just be the reflection of the lights though—Donghyuck’s not exactly the poetic type. He wants to curl his lips at the notion, but it’s not very smart to have all his thoughts show up on his face.

“Can we stay here a little longer?” you say, eyes still on the lights, occasionally shifting to the sky.

“Your parents will worry.” Donghyuck thinks for a moment before mumbling, “It’s not safe.”

“Then drop me home,” you say, your eyes shifting to meet his, an unusual confidence in them.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel the skip of his heartbeat.

Donghyuck thinks he should pat himself on the back for not speeding all the times you were with him on his bike. He loves the thing to death, although he’s had it for barely a year. The jolt of adrenaline and the freedom blooming in sprouts within his ribcage should be a dead giveaway to what he feels about speeding. Donghyuck’s never really cared about rules. Break them, bend them—it’s up to him and he loves that feeling of control. Whatever people think of him, they’re nowhere close to the truth. They’ll never know just how much he has everything under control.

Except you.

How annoying, he thinks to himself as he feels the speed picking up and your distant warmth behind him. He feels a little tingle in his chest, the way he always does when he gets the urge to do something reckless.

What if he were to speed up just a little? No, that would be childish. He should definitely not do that.

You wrap your arms around his waist with a squeak at the sudden jerk as he revs up the bike, a grin growing on his face despite his attempts to hold it back. You’re warm, compared to the sharp winds grazing him and he wants you to hold onto him like this a little longer. If he’s not childish now, when else will he be?

You hadn’t realized you’d fallen asleep, faint sunlight hiding behind the curtains ready to present the evening to you. A celebratory nap for the end of the deadlines that’s been haunting you overextended a little bit more than you’d anticipated. Just a few more weeks and it’s the finals and then, it’s all over. You stretch your hand out to switch on the lights, groaning when you can’t seem to reach it and reluctantly getting up.

You startle, a little yelp leaving your mouth at the knock on your window. What in hell? Either you haven’t slept enough or you slept too much.

You let out another yelp when you see Donghyuck’s face. There’s a band-aid over the line of his jaw starting to peel off and another one over the bridge of his nose. His hair looks recently washed, underneath the cap he’s wearing the right way for once, a pleasant smell wafting off him. You wonder what the occasion is for him to have cleaned up like this.

“Did you just climb up to my window?!”

There’s a pause.

“Yes.”

There’s another pause.

“Anyway,” he continues, “Since you’ve been enjoying my premium Haechan recommendations lately, I’ve got another plan for you.”

“Haechan?” You tilt your head. “Full sun? Is that why you call me sunflower?”

Donghyuck’s cheeks colour. “That’s- That’s not- We’re going to the club today!”

You find the sudden fluctuation in his voice cute. You suppress your smile, before giving in to his constant nagging for you to hurry up and follow him. (“Why would I get out through the window?” “Won’t your parents, like, kill me if they saw me at your front door?”)

There’s no bike today. In a way, you’re sad it isn’t there; the memory of your arms around Donghyuck making you feel hot in the cheeks for wanting it again.

“I finished my budget for fuel because of you,” he complains.

“No one asked you to be a show-off,” you retort.

He opens his mouth but says nothing, resorting to pull a face at you instead. Public transportation it is today. Even if there’s, what, nine subway stations in the city, Donghyuck seems to have already planned out the route. He walks with a bounce to his steps, turning around to walk backward facing you just to laugh and call you slow.

You run up the stairs to the station, another evening beginning something yet anew. The clouds disappear, replaced with the tiles of the station roof as Donghyuck eyes something in the distance.

“Oh no,” you say, your gaze traveling to wherever his is fixed. “We’re paying for the tickets. Hell, I’ll pay.”

Donghyuck grins at you and before he can make the stupid decision of jumping over the faregate, you grab the back of his collar, a choked sound leaving his mouth. You pull him by the sleeves of his hoodie to the ticket machines, relatively empty when the old folk use the ticket booths instead.

“You’ll go to jail if you murder me,” Donghyuck says, whining as he massages his neck. “It’s not pleasant, let me tell you that.”

“You’ve been?”

“Not yet.”

The club Donghyuck was talking about turns out to be more of a music joint, really. The letters ‘No Smoking’ spelled clearly beside the entrance, you eye the guard nervously. A rather skinny man who seems to be in his early twenties, you wonder how Donghyuck knows him as he lets the two of you in. You don’t have time to ask as you’re pulled in, a gasp barely leaving your mouth at the force.

It’s different inside. It’s not as dark as you’d expect, a rather mellow set of colours spread through the place. There’s a band playing songs from the 80s, the sound of indie rock pulsing through the place. Some people are dancing, some sitting at the round tables, looking as if they’re waiting for someone or, at the very least, a pretty stranger.

You look up at Donghyuck, a hum on his lips as he thinks.

“The song’s so boring,” he says finally. “Let’s change it.”

“It’s a live band, Donghyuck.” You deadpan. “You can’t press next here.”

“It’s called requesting, stupid.”

Donghyuck runs off before you can say anything, suddenly awkward about standing alone in a room full of people. You look around—the amount of people isn’t too much but at the same time it’s much more than you see in your average crowded room. Most of them are sitting, now that you see clearly, some with ramen on the tables, some with beer and chicken. There’s a bar at the other edge, people joking with each other over drinks.

You’re not sure how you’d describe it but it smells like people in here.

You look around further, curiously, at the beige wallpaper and vines decorating the edges—it’s larger than you thought a club would be. (But really, the only images you have are of purple and blue lighting on giant drunk crowds when you think of clubs.)

“Hey, pretty.”

You startle at the voice, an older man standing beside you. He seems to be a little old for a college kid, a rather impish look on his face with a very prominent grin.

“Uh, hi,” you say, unsure.

“You don’t come here often, do you?” He leans his left side against the wall.

“No, not really.” You’re a minor. Technically, you’re not even allowed in here.

Your nervousness seems to have shown up on your face because the guy straightens, a little smile on his face.

“Woah, don’t look so worried.” He laughs a little. There’s a scent of alcohol in his breath. “Will a friendly handshake make you feel better?”

You look on, a little unsure but definitely surprised. You go along with what he says, the movement of your hands in the childish pattern bringing a smile to your face till eventually, you’re laughing.

“I don’t mean to be too forward,” he says, “But you’re, like, a kid, right?”

You straighten, stammering out words of denial. You don’t want to be kicked out. You’ve never been kicked out of anything before.

“And that’s your boyfriend right there?” He asks, pointing over to Donghyuck having a conversation with the bass guitarist.

You think you turn pink, but you shake your head vehemently.

“Well, don’t worry, kid,” he says, laughing. “Enjoy it while you can. Not everyone gets to have a partner in crime.”

With that, he walks off to the bar after a wave of goodbye and a smile, making you wonder if adults really are the same as you. You smile a little to yourself.

You yelp when you’re grabbed by the arm, Donghyuck’s own arm linking through it.

“I’m gonna teach you how to dance,” he says, grinning. “Be prepared to thank me.”

You furrow your eyebrows at him and right when you open your mouth the next song starts with a drum solo. You look at the band, confused. They’re all grinning, however, and soon the song steadies into an upbeat sort of mood. You think you smile, but it’s probably just in the eyes.

“Eyes on me, loser,” Donghyuck says, smiling wide at you.

You turn back to him, an indescribable amount of emotions surging into you. Lee Donghyuck is a phenomenon of a person, you think, almost ready to voice it out loud.

More people join in with the dancing, the place seeming much fuller now that you see everyone up. You catch the man from earlier throwing you a wink and a finger gun in a friendly gesture. You laugh in response, Donghyuck complaining about your lack of focus. (If you’re being honest, you think he meant your lack of attention to him.)

You can’t count the minutes or hours—what’s the difference, really? Donghyuck smiles through his eyes, telling you you’re a terrible dancer (and that, of course, not everyone is born perfect like him). You learn to love the unknown songs, each note catching on to a new piece of your heart as Donghyuck shows you a move to copy, singing along gibberish lyrics to the songs he doesn’t know. It’s weird how you can mould into songs like this, songs you don’t even know—their beats pulling out different people and melodies making that person familiar.

There’s a soft halt when Donghyuck catches something through the corner of his eyes. He makes a face that spells out ‘yikes’ before leading you off the dance floor, snaking through the crowds till you’re back to the entrance.

“What’s wrong?” You say, eyes scanning his face.

“Oh, nothing, really,” he says, an unsure lilt to his voice.

Your question answers itself at the gruff voice barely audible over the music, a notch louder than when you’d entered.

“Hey, kid!”

Your heart jumps against your ribcage at the uniform of a police officer by the entrance, thinking whether everything really had to go wrong right now. Is underage dancing a crime? You didn’t drink and—oh, the entrance probably said 19+.

Donghyuck’s eyes flit from place to place looking for an escape when the officer confronts him, grabbing him by the shoulder.

“You’re the kid that’s been stealing around the shops, aren’t you?”

“Uh, no?” Donghyuck raises an eyebrow, the expression on his face almost comedic. “You’ve got the wrong kid, officer.”

“And what might you be doing in a club? Where’s your ID?”

“About that…”

Donghyuck pushes the man with his elbow, leg extending to trip him, catching him off guard. You’d even be impressed if the loud crash didn’t make you yelp in surprise, looking at the two of them with terrified incredulity.

Donghyuck takes off running almost immediately after before backtracking and gesturing at you exasperatedly. “You know you’re supposed to run when I run, right?”

“What the fuck just happe—”

Donghyuck doesn’t wait to explain, gripping your hand in his and tugging you to match his insane pace as you exit through the entrance.

It takes a while to reach the subway station even at that speed and with the distant shouts of the police officer prompting you to move faster. The sky’s much darker now—you think it must be well into late evening before night gets ready to clutch the time. Donghyuck moves with careful calculation, taking turns in places you have no clue about and soon you’re running up the stairs with your breath barely caught in your throat.

The station lights are dim but you’re good as long as you don’t trip over something. You turn to the ticket machine in panic when you hear the officer’s voice by the gates.

“No time!” Donghyuck pulls you away, effortlessly jumping over the faregate and looking at you expectantly.

“I can’t do that, Donghyuck!” you complain, panic rising in your chest, adrenaline drowning the rest of it.

Before you can say anything more, Donghyuck reaches over the gate, pulling you up by the waist and grabbing your hand all over again to run down the stairs to the tunnels.

“Hey!”

You hear the shout of the lady behind the ticket counter, clearly having seen your misconduct as you pray for her to forget your face. You’d like to be able to use the subway for future travel.

The train’s about to shut its door when you reach. Donghyuck treads quickly on the stone before he jumps on, pulling you in just in time to avoid getting caught in between the sliding doors.

For a moment, there’s only the sound of heavy breathing and the movement of the train on its tracks, the burning in your throat drowning out other senses. You slide down to crouch on the floor, your face hot and sweat drenching your forehead and neck. Your shoelaces are undone, you notice, no energy left in you to reach out and tie them into your perfect knots.

There’s a few moments of silence as you regain your composure.

“What was that?!” You laugh, unable to control yourself as you clutch your stomach. “You almost got arrested!”

He joins in with his sunny laughter, crouching down beside you. “Man, I really thought I was done for.”

After a few moments, Donghyuck sits with his legs crossed atop the passenger seat, the coach mostly empty save for you and an old couple at the far corner. He animatedly recalls a story of another near-arrest he had, with you laughing beside him.

A thought passes you in between jokes and stories—what if everything was like this always? Just the two of you, in a room full of people, in a room without people. You think you’ve started looking at Donghyuck a bit too much. You’re not sure about regretting it.

Donghyuck’s been getting the strangest of impulses these days.

He tilts his head away from you to check the time on his watch, the gentle weight of your head on his shoulder reassuring, even if it’s hard to admit. It’s half-past ten and he’s been staring at you for a little over an hour now. Who falls asleep in the subway? Sure, there being not many stops, the journey between each is longer but Donghyuck wouldn’t be caught dead drooling on someone’s shoulder like this.

You shift, Donghyuck immediately moving to cradle your head with his hand so it just doesn’t drop off. Your lips are puffed even in sleep as if you’re still caught in an argument with him. He chuckles to himself. It’s so like you.

Cross the line. The voice in his head says. Just dip your head a little and…

Your head leans into the skin between his neck and shoulder, a shot of electricity pulsing through him at the contact. There’s a race of thoughts within him, thoughts he shouldn’t be having.

What is he so afraid of, really? What is he, Lee Donghyuck, so afraid of? Love? That’s the lamest thing he can think of.

It’s true, though.

Fucking voice of his conscience—loud thoughts are more a pain in the ass than anything else. Donghyuck will resort to cowardice if it be so. He’s not going to be reduced to something he’s not just because he’s head over heels in his own feelings for you.

Donghyuck pushes the hair from your face, craning his neck to be able to see you better. Wanting to love, wanting to be loved—what a stupid thing to fear. He sighs, closing his own eyes and checking the time once again. He’ll wake you up in a few minutes when your station’s near.

You stop at the medicine to store to buy antiseptic cream and some band-aids. Donghyuck says he doesn’t need it, he has some at home but you must be good at convincing. There’s a little garden of scratches on his palm even he’s not sure when he received.

You sit in the empty parking lot, under the only streetlight that seems to be working in the area. The convenience store beside you is there to provide its twenty-four-hour lights if not anything else. There are some people out on nightly walks, you notice when you look at the sidewalk. It surprises you a little to see shapes of people against midnight blue.

You’ve never been out so late. You text your mom to remind her you’re still alive before you can turn your attention to Donghyuck.

“Okay! Enough!” He retreats his hand, complaining. “My hand smells like a pharmacy at this point.”

You lean back against the streetlamp, sighing.

“I can’t believe we ran away from a police officer,” you say, a goofy smile on your face as you stretch your arms in front of you.

“There’s always a first.” Donghyuck grin. “You don’t have to thank me for that, by the way.”

You roll your eyes. “One of these days, you’ll regret it. How long do you plan on being reckless?”

“How long do you plan on pretending you don’t enjoy it?” He asks, face leaning in with a sly smile.

You think you feel heat on your cheeks, you can’t be sure, but you end up scoffing, a rather losing response to someone who’s used to winning.

“You’re clearly into my devilishly handsome face,” he continues with an exaggerated shake of his head. “Does my recklessness turn you on? Don’t you think I look good? You can’t blame m—”

This brat.

You yank him by the cloth of his hoodie to get face to face, noses almost touching. Watching the confidence drain from his face, you’d laugh but it’d just give away the sudden adoration you feel. What a shame this demon was blessed to be so cute.

There’s a pause the length of a breath.

Donghyuck’s eyelids flutter close just as he presses his lips against yours, a soft sound escaping yours. He places a hand against your cheek as nimbly as possible, something pushing him to deepen what you have. You give in, humming into the kiss as you pull yourself closer.

For all the havoc he wreaks, Donghyuck isn’t necessarily a bad kisser. His lips are soft—his investment in lip balms improved since you first met him and the scent of whatever he used is delicious.

It’s a few moments of kissing when Donghyuck suddenly pulls back.

“I don’t deserve this,” he says, eyes flickering.

You look on, unsure. It’s not like him to falter. “What- What do you mean?”

“I mean,” he responds, looking at his hands, “that I’m really not good enough. I’m just- I’m not who people think I am. Hell, I don’t know who I am. It’s just- I don’t-”

You place your hand against his cheek, his rambling fading away as he looks into you.

“Even if you like me because you think I’m fun,” he continues, “I mess things up, you know? I mess things up really bad. If you get hurt- If- Ah, I don’t know what to say.”

“I really like you, Donghyuck,” you whisper, “but you’re making no sense right now.”

There’s a pause within the night air.

“I…I put a kid in the hospital,” he says, voice low and upset. “In middle school. I- I didn’t mean to! I can’t remember what happened but…we had to pay the bills and- and we’re still recovering.”

There’s a stifling silence. You lift his chin up so he faces you, the inability to see his expression troubling.

“I still feel guilty,” he whispers. “I do things for fun. And I fuck up the consequences.”

Donghyuck’s calculating and careful. You already know that.

“It’s okay,” you assure him, not finding any better words. “We’re big kids now.”

“But that doesn’t mean—”

“I’m not saying anything like that,” you interrupt. “We’ll still fuck up, you know? Adults fuck up. Doesn’t mean we don’t do things at all.”

“God, I hate you lecturing me,” he groans, looking away.

You crack a smile, still holding his face, the side without the band-aid. Donghyuck doesn’t say you’re right, a short chuckle on his lips instead before he leans in to peck you on the mouth, slowly turning into another kiss.

You think you hear the buzz of fireflies, spring’s darlings, although you didn’t know they’d be found here. Donghyuck looks pretty under the streetlight, as you connect mole to mole, an airy feeling in your chest, almost bubbling over.

You want to tell him he’s amazing, but you figure you’d tend to his ego some other day.

“Hey, you got that leather jacket!” you exclaim when you walk into class, Donghyuck’s head in Renjun’s chokehold.

He’s quick to defend himself, shaking Renjun off him and scoffing. “I didn’t get it because you said so, obviously.”

You shake your head with a laugh, sitting at your place. Donghyuck smiles to himself before dropping it to shoot some comments at Renjun.

“Nothing going on with our precious demon there?”

You look up to see Jaemin smiling at you, clearly onto something. You haven’t told anyone yet, every rendezvous a ridiculously honest secret.

You turn your head to see Donghyuck consuming a bag of hot Cheetos in what seems to be a competition with Zhong Chenle. You shake your head, furrowing your eyebrows at the scene. What’s even going on in their heads? If anything at all, that is.

Jaemin clears his throat, bringing your attention back to him. He has some sort of expectation in his eyes.

You laugh, more than enough to answer him. Really, being fond of Lee Donghyuck shouldn’t feel so much a crime as the city lights in his eyes do.

1K notes · View notes

chaoticminhos · 4 years ago

Text

swim captain (chapter two)

pairing: bang chan x reader

genre: angst again i suppose

warnings: none

word count: 3k

a/n: chaos post consistently and not wait weeks to post a second chapter of something that shouldn’t take weeks to do challenge: failed. anyway here’s chapter two of swim captain :)

you were woken by your blaring alarm the next morning. you dragged yourself out of bed and made your way to your kitchen, breakfast was always the first morning task. you passed through the living room on the way there and jumped upon seeing minho’s sleeping form, you had forgotten he stayed the night. you walked over to him and gently shook him awake. the least you could do was be gentle with him considering that he’d only stayed the night to make you feel better.

he groaned as his eyes opened, hand flying over his face to block out the light coming from the windows.

you laughed, continuing your original journey to the kitchen after confirming that he wasn’t going to fall back asleep.

you poured yourself a bowl of cereal and took a seat at your table. it wasn’t long before minho was sitting next to you with his own bowl, the two of you eating in comfortable silence. you only spoke when you stood to go get ready for school.

it didn’t take long for you to get ready, only switching your sweatpants out for a pair of nice blue jeans and putting a shirt on under minho’s sweatshirt. you’d already decided it was yours now, you might as well put it to use right away.

you left your room to find minho sat on the couch playing on his phone. he had fixed his messy morning hair but was still wearing your brothers shirt and hoodie.. the sweatpants were replaced with the same jeans he had worn the day before.

you gestured to his pants, “do we need to stop by your place on the way to school?”

“nah,” he shrugged, “this works.”

“don’t you need to brush your teeth?”

“already did, found an extra in one of the drawers.”

you laughed. the way he helped himself to everything in your house was kinda endearing. it wasn’t just him either, most of the boys knew your house well enough to do things like that without needing to ask.

you motioned for him to stand up and he took that as his cue that it was time to leave. the drive to school was normal, consisting of the two of you singing poorly along to the songs on the radio. he parked in his usual spot in the school lot and you wrestled your bag away from you just to be difficult before handing it back and heading inside. you were having casual conversation, playfully bickering and talking about the meet that day, when someone else joined the conversation.

“y/n, minho, wait up!”

you turned to see chan lightly jogging to catch up to you and minho, falling into line and walking beside you.

your had flew to your hair, quickly brushing out any bumps that may have happened since you brushed it that morning. having been with minho for more than 5 minutes probably meant that anything taming of your hair had been undone.

“don’t you normally walk unless the weather’s bad?”

it took you a second to realize that chan was speaking to you. minho answered for you.

“i stayed at her place last night, kinda would have been weird if i didn’t give her a ride.”

you laughed a little, not noticing the look that flashed across chan’s face at minho’s comment. minho, however, was not so oblivious.

you didn’t have any reason to be looking for a weird look or a reaction out of chan. to you, it wasn’t odd or suspicious to have minho spend the night. he did it to make you feel safe, and it wasn’t any different to you than having one of your girl friends over, other than the fact that minho snored a hell of a lot louder than any of them.

but chan didn’t know that minho stayed with you because you were afraid to be alone, he only knew that you and minho had always been close and that you had spent the night together.

“oh,” chan tried to steady his voice, an uncomfortable and frustrated feeling pooling in his chest. he cleared his throat, “so, you guys ready for the meet?”

minho pouted, “yeah, i think so. i didn’t get a lot of sleep, though.”

chan felt his stomach drop, what was that supposed to mean? minho spent the night at your place and he didn’t sleep much? what kept him up for so long? he didn’t know why the idea of you and minho possibly being intimate frustrated him. probably because he saw both of you as close friends and it was weird to consider you two as a couple. yeah, that was probably it.

you laughed at your friend, your couch wasn’t that uncomfortable to sleep on.

“it’s your fault for choosing to stay the night.”

he put a hand over his heart, “what was i supposed to do, let my dear y/n cower in fear from the storm while i go home and sleep peacefully because i’m not a pussy who’s afraid of a little thunder?”

you laughed as you scolded him, slapping him on the shoulder. meanwhile, chan let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding in.

he had forgotten you were afraid of the thunder. he felt himself relax. he was just relieved that he wouldn’t have to deal with you and minho as a couple, you know, since minho was a flirt and had trouble staying in a relationship for too long. that was all, he just didn’t want to see you get hurt and a wedge to be shoved in the swim team friend group. he was snapped out of his head by your voice.

“chan? you good?”

he blinked his eyes as he looked at you, “yeah, yeah, i’m fine. just a little tired.” he chuckled. his eyes lingered on your face, scanning your features. had you always been this pretty?

the three of you walked through the doors and into the school and split off to go to your lockers. minho’s came before yours and chan’s, leaving you and chan to walk the rest of the way to your lockers as just the two of you.

chan’s locker was only a few lockers down from you, close enough to make conversation as you put your things into your locker.

“how about you, ready for the meet?”

he turned to you, closing his locker. his eyes scanned your figure, just now noticing the hoodie you were wearing. minho’s.

“yeah.” his answer came out with more of an edge than he had meant after having noticed the sweatshirt you had on right before the words came out his mouth.

his hand reached out to grab the fabric of the hoodie you had on, “minho’s?”

he didn’t have to ask. he knew the answer, and he didn’t know why it mattered so much to him that you admitted it. it wasn’t like you were trying to hide it.

you looked down at your shirt, “oh, yeah,” you smiled, “he gave it to me yesterday.”

chan slowly nodded. he felt his jaw clench again. wasn’t sharing hoodies something couples did? his previous worries started to creep back. just as he was about to ask if you and minho had something going on, the bell rang and you turned to head to class.

“see you!” you called as you lightly jogged in the direction of your classroom.

chan sighed, you and minho had always been close, but since when were you two this close?it wasn’t a new suspicion of chan or anyone on the team, anyone in school really, to think that the two of you had something going on, so why now was it suddenly bothering him?

chan spent the school day keeping an extra eye on you whenever minho was around, he even made a point to sit between the two of you at lunch. minho laughed when chan shoved him lightly away from the seat next to you, making no protest to get his seat back. your face flushed red when he sat his lunch down and took his seat beside you, it was obvious he had done it deliberately. normally the boys just sat in whatever seat was open, so for chan to push minho out of the seat to get it was unusual. other than that, lunch was completely normal. you and the boys joked and talked like normal, and chan yelled felix and jisung for eating cupcakes on meet day.

in no time, the day had ended and you and the boys were on a small bus on your way to the meet. being only 9 of you, you each had your own seats. minho was across the isle from you, felix in front of you, and jeongin behind you.

chan cursed himself for being the last one on the bus, meaning he couldn’t choose his seat. he normally didn’t mind, but he felt the need to sit by you that day. you know, to make sure minho wasn’t just messing with you. obviously not because he enjoyed being around you or that he thought you looked particularly stunning that day.

chan spent the bus ride half heartedly listening to conversations, mostly focusing on yours and minho’s. he shifted uncomfortably every time he heard minho call you a pet name or, chan didn’t even know if it was jokingly anymore, flirt with you. he knew it was just how minho acted, but it seemed different. maybe chan was just seeing it different, he didn’t know.

arriving at the meet, you helped the boys carry their things in and walked with them to the dressing rooms. you weren’t allowed to go in since there were other teams in the rooms as well, but nothing said you couldn’t wait for them outside.

you stood with your back against the wall next to the dressing room door, eyes trained to your phone. after about 10 minutes of waiting, you felt someone bump into you. you assumed it was one of the boys, that you had missed them exit the locker room and they were now messing with you, but when you looked up, your eyes landed on someone you’d never met before. he was a swimmer, you could tell by the robe he had on, indicating he had already changed into his meet suit and was waiting for the races to begin. he had his head turned away from you, and he was scolding his friend.

“dude, i told you not to shove, you just made me bump into someone!”

you laughed softly at the interaction. it caused the boy’s attention to fall back on you. he bowed slightly.

“i’m jaemin, sorry for bumping into you. this is chenle, he kinda shoved me into you.”

you smiled at them, “i’m y/n. and it’s okay, i’m used to it.”

jaemin chuckled, “brothers?”

“something like that.” your eyes landed on the embroidered patch on his robe. “oh, you’re from NCT?”

his smile grew, “yeah, you’ve heard of us?”

“kinda hard not to know you guys when you’re, like, our biggest rival.”

he tilted his head on confusion.

“i manage for Stray Kids.”

he nodded, mouth forming an “O” shape.

before either of you could speak again, you felt someone place a hand on the center of your back, coming to stand right beside you.

“engaging with the enemy, i see.” jisung joked, “but now we gotta go. chan wants to talk to us before the races start.”

you waved goodbye to your new friend and followed jisung to where the rest of the boys were sitting.

“obviously we aim for first, but it’s fine if we don’t get it. this meet has practically no effect on placing in nationals, so don’t stress yourselves out. stressing will only tense your muscles up, just stay relaxed and do your best.”

with that, the announcer began to call names and the races began. you watched them intently, cheering the boys along from the sides, and they deserved the support.

minho came in first in his 200m freestyle for the first time in a meet that NCT was in, besting their top swimmer by 2 full seconds, 4 seconds above his previous record. when he came up from the water and the announcer stated that he took first for that race, minho rushed out of the pool and met you on the sides, picking you up in a tight hug. chan, who was preparing for his race soon to follow minho’s, saw the interaction and swallowed hard.

chan tensed up at the sight of minho holding onto you so tightly. he had to remind himself of his own words he had said earlier; relax.

chan and the other swimmers lined up on their boards in front of their lanes and waiting for the signal to dive. as the announcer counted down, chan scanned the sidelines, finding you standing with minho and a few other of the boys that had already completed their races. your shirt was nearly a completely different color on the front from being soaked with water when minho hugged you after coming straight from the pool. he’d dried off a little now, but he still had you pressed firmly into his side with his arm around your waist and rested on your hip.

with that image, chan dove into the water.

chan was a great swimmer, he wouldn’t be captain if he wasn’t, but when he was distracted while swimming, it showed. chan swam his race and came up at the end in third place. third isn’t bad placing, but he was used to taking first or second. performing worse than usual he was in a bad mood, and that wasn’t good for anyone. chan dried himself off and threw his towel over his shoulder, making his way to join the group of you who had finished swimming already.

a chorus of “good job!” and “you did good!” was heard when chan reached the group, which he shut down with a shake of his head. chan stayed with you guys for the remainder of the races, but he barely spoke.

the last match finished and the boys headed back to the locker rooms, once again leaving you alone to wait for them. after sneaking into the restroom to take off your soaked shit and pull on minho’s hoodie instead, you propped yourself against the wall next to the locker room door and waiting for the boys to come out, just like you had at the start of the meet.

when they finally did, jisung suggested the group of you going to get ice cream to celebrate minho’s new best race time and, even though no one said it, to cheer chan up. minho beamed at the idea, and chan let out a dry chuckle. he knew he preformed bad, and he knew it was because he was frustrated with the way you and minho had been acting recently, and to be quite honest, he didn’t really want to get ice cream with you and see more of your interactions before the night ended.

before chan could deny the request, claiming he was tired and wanted to go home and rest, someone called your name.

“y/n!” jaemin jogged up to you, not even bothering to address the other boys around you. “hey, my teams heading to get a bite to eat, i was wondering if you wanted to come along?”

“oh, uh…” you turned towards your team, face flushed red, silently asking for help. before any of the boys could okay you going with jaemin or not, chan interrupted.

“she’s going out to eat with us, actually.” chan took a step closer to you and jaemin. he had surprised himself with his words. he wasn’t even planning on going before, but he suddenly felt the need to do anything to keep you from going with jaemin. he thought to himself that it must be because, although he didn’t like the idea of you and minho together, if you were a couple, he wouldn’t want some other guy to come between the two of you. chan felt frustration pool in his stomach again, unconsciously sending a glare in jaemin’s direction.

“she hangs out with us after every meet, let her miss this one time.” minho spoke.

“are you sure, min? i know your new best time is a big accomplishment for you, if you want me to celebrate with you i will.”

“nah, don’t worry about it,” he ruffled your hair. “we can get boba tomorrow to make up for it, yeah?”

you smiled at him, “okay!”

and with that, you followed jaemin back to his group. the second you were out of earshot, chan turned to minho.

“what the hell, man, you’re okay with that?”

minho furrowed his eyebrows, shrugging, “why wouldn’t i be?”

“i don’t know, maybe because your girlfriend is about to leave with a group of guys we don’t know-“

“woah, woah,” minho interrupted, “i’m sorry, girlfriend?”

chan blinked at him, “yeah, aren’t you two like, a thing?”

minho let out a loud laugh, “oh my god, i swear i have to clear this up with someone every fucking day.” he clasped his hands together in front of him, “no. she’s gorgeous and i love y/n just as much as any sane person would, but i would never do that to you.”

chan frowned. “wouldn’t do that to him?” what was that supposed to mean? regardless, chan would have expected his muscles to relax at the reassurance that you and minho weren’t and never had been together, but for some reason, the frustration stayed in his stomach, increasing when he glanced over and saw you with jaemin and his friends.

according to his previous logic, he should have been fine with you going with jaemin now. it wouldn’t affect yours and minho’s relationship since you two weren’t even in one and he didn’t have to worry about minho hurting you anymore, so why was he still frustrated?

then it hit him.

how stupid was he? the anger he felt when he saw you close with minho or when you walked away with jaemin wasn’t just him being a protective friend or not wanting you to be with someone who might hurt you, it was him not wanting you to be with anyone, unless that someone was him.

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ashbrea381writings · 3 years ago

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Red-Eye to Destiny: Chapter 3, Meeting the Family

Damian frowned nervously as he drove to pick up Marinette and Luka. There had been so many questions from his siblings when he’d told them he would be picking up two dinner guests.

“Wait, Demon Spawn has friends and he actually WANTS them to come to dinner?” Todd had laughed. “Alfred, I changed my mind, I’m staying for dinner after all!” He called as he walked back to the den for a drink. “I’ve gotta see this!”

“Jason, behave.” Bruce sighed, looking towards the ceiling in frustration. “Damian, are you sure you don’t want to wait until it’s a little quieter around here? We don’t want them to be uncomfortable.”

“I do not believe that will be necessary, Father, they can more than handle it.” Damian had reassured Bruce, but as he drove away, the worry started. They were civilians, and his family wasn’t always good at hiding that they definitely WEREN’T civilians.

Arriving at the address they’d given him, Damian got out of the car to knock. “Dami!” Marinette exclaimed excitedly, opening the door before he’d gotten further than the porch steps. “Come in a minute, we’re almost ready.”

“Hello Marinette.” Damian had gone stiff with nerves and his mind was reeling.

“Damian? Are you alright?” Luka asked from where he was lacing his boots up. “I can feel how tense you are from here.”

“I would like to give you a small warning about my family.” Damian forced himself to say. “All of them are going to be there and they are an odd bunch. I don’t want you to be alarmed if they say something strange.”

“Damian, we’re from Paris, we can handle strange.” Marinette laughed, putting a hand on his arm and squeezing gently. “I can promise that there is nothing, short of them being cannibals or something, that would scare us off. Even if they did, we’d just take you with us.”

“You keep saying that… That you have seen strange things because you are from Paris, but what do you mean by that?” Damian asked, using the question to ground himself in the present.

“You didn’t hear? I thought the Mayor made a public announcement after everything was over?” Marinette frowned before shrugging. “We had our own supervillain for… What, four years?”

“Nearly five before they finally caught him.” Luka corrected, standing and moving to Damian’s other side. “His name was Hawkmoth, Ladybug and her team didn’t announce who he was, just that they’d captured him and his accomplice and that they would be facing consequences fitting to their crimes.”

“At the same press conference that they announced that, Chat Noir -Ladybug’s partner- announced that he would be retiring from being a hero, but that he’d return if asked by Ladybug.” Marinette added carefully.

Damian could feel that they were keeping their emotions carefully modulated, but he couldn’t figure out why. “What did this Hawkmoth do?”

“He would use the power of an ancient magic artifact to take advantage of people when they were feeling negative emotions. He would promise they could get what they desired; the person who rejected them, revenge for some slight, the position they felt was rightfully theirs, that sort of thing. But they were just more of his victims who he used to make more victims.” Marinette sighed. “The only reason that we all survived was because Ladybug was able to reverse any damage done during Akuma attacks.”

Damian looked between his two soulmates, considering the sad but proud look Luka was giving Marinette and the pained look and emotions he saw and felt from Marinette. The same kind of pain when he wasn’t able to save someone. “You two were heroes, weren’t you?” He asked quietly, grabbing each of their hands.

Both were shocked and they exchanged a look before Marinette sighed, “I guess we wouldn’t have been able to hide it from you for long.”

“You know what? I think you will handle my family just fine.” Damian chuckled slightly. “And I cannot wait to see their faces. I won’t tell them, but they might figure it out if you tell them about Paris.”

“Well, shall we make a game of it?” Marinette was full of mischief at this point. “Or perhaps… A bet?”

***

Marinette felt a poke in her pocket, and put a hand there, feeling another on her finger. “Just a minute, I’ll be right back.” She smiled at the boys as she walked towards the bathroom. “What’s up, Plagg?”

“That’s my kitten!” He said excitedly, “I wanna tell him!”

Marinette had never seen him so excited, how could she say no? “Alright, let me break the first part of things, I’ll call you to come out, okay?” Plagg grinned and darted back into her skirt pocket, where she could feel him vibrating with pent-up energy.

Amused beyond belief, she focused her thoughts to just Luka, ‘We’re introducing the Kwami’s.’ At his confirmation, she left the bathroom and wandered over to her boys. “Why don’t we sit down for a couple minutes, we can blame it on traffic or something.” She pointed to the couch, sitting in an armchair.

“What do you mean?” Damian frowned, his confusion obvious to them despite his carefully neutral expression.

“It’s about what you figured out. Us being heroes in Paris.” Luka smiled gently, taking Damian’s hand and pulling him towards the couch. “You weren’t 100% right, but you weren’t wrong either.”

“While Chat did retire, we didn’t entirely.” Marinette began. “That magical artifact that we told you Hawkmoth used? Well, we had them too, just with different powers.”

Luka held out his wrist and pointed to his bracelet. “We still use them on occasion, mostly so we don’t get rusty.”

“So… You guys still run around in costume?” Damian wasn’t sure how to react without giving away his family’s secret.

“Yes. Chat returned his miraculous to me when he retired. I could technically call him back and ask him to take up either the same mantel or a different one, we have a number of them, not just the three. We have the one Hawkmoth used, and his accomplice Mayura. But that’s not even the whole story.” Marinette chuckled. “You see, each one is a Miraculous, that’s the name for them, and each one comes with something else. Tikki, Sass, come out please.”

“These are our Kwami’s.” Luka held his hand out and Sass landed on it, “This is Sass, he’s with the Snake Miraculous. I get the power of Second Chance and can turn back time as many times as I need to within a span of five minutes from the time I set it.”

“And this is Tikki, she is with the Ladybug Miraculous. I can summon an item to help me in battle and return it to fix the damage done in battle if the battle was against another Miraculous. I don’t know if the magic works outside of that, I haven’t tried.”

“Why tell me this now? Why so soon after we met?” Damian stood, walking to the window to look out. His mind was buzzing with information and the knowledge that they somehow trusted him completely already.

“Damian, you’re our soulmate, you were never going to be kept in the dark for long. Besides, there’s someone who wants to meet you.” Marinette said gently, her mind sending soothing thoughts. “Plagg, be gentle, don’t freak him out more than he already is.”

Another Kwami comes out from behind Marinette, floating over to him and settling on the window sill. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”

Damian can feel the utter shock of his soulmates, but can’t for the life of him look away from the little black cat in front of him. “Hello.”

“The thing is, some people are more suited to certain Miraculi than others. I’m a nearly-perfect Creation soul with just enough of other things that I can wield other Miraculi with ease, and that was before I ever touched a Miraculous. Luka has the Snake because he’s most suited to its power, and no matter how much I platonically love Chat, and appreciate him for being a good partner, he just wasn’t that well suited to the cat, but we had to have both for us to balance each other.” She explained coming up behind Damian and taking his hand. “Plagg sensed you after we got home, he could tell we’d met you. He said you’re the one most suited to his Miraculous.”

In Marinette’s other hand was a silver ring. “You don’t have to answer right now, but we wanted you to know.” Luka went to the other side of Damian, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m not as unfamiliar with this sort of thing as you think.” Damian took a deep breath, “But that isn’t my story to tell. Thank you for trusting me, both of you. Why don’t you guys hold onto Plagg for now, let me get to know both of you and him for a while before we make any decisions?”

“I can live with that, but only if you promise to visit me!” Plagg announced, flying up to be on-level with Damian’s face, prompting a small smile from him.

“Of course.”

***

The drive to the Manor was quiet, but peaceful. Plagg was back in Marinette’s pocket, as well as Tikki and Sass in their respective hiding places. ‘Why did you discovering that we used to be and kinda still are heroes mean we can handle your family?’ Marinette asked silently, not wanting to disturb the quiet in the car.

‘I’m sure you’ve dealt with your fair share of chaos, and while they’re rowdy and will absolutely be in our business, at least you know they won’t be as bad as some of the villains you’ve dealt with.’ Damian was amused, and his fondness for his family despite his protests shone through the bond.

‘Well, we’ll just have to see who we break first.’ Luka smirked, his rarely seen mischievous side showing a little bit.

‘Break? Are you planning to try and traumatize my family?’ Damian sounded more amused than concerned.

‘If you feel that it takes superheroes to handle them, then we should make sure they can handle us too.’ Marinette giggled quietly, showing Damian that she planned to surprise them.

“This will be fun.” Damian finally said out loud. “I’ll give each of you points based on their reactions.”

“Will we be telling them or let them figure it out?” Luka asked as they drove through the gates of Wayne Manor.

“Let’s see how smart they are.” Damian smirked, taking it slow up the long driveway. “But let’s not sabotage each other like I’ve seen the two of you do.”

Both Parisians blushed and grinned. ‘Where’s the fun in not teasing each other?’ They asked simultaneously.

‘I am so screwed.’ Damian sighed and shook his head, using a phrase he heard from his brothers a number of times. ‘Just, let’s keep the game up as long as possible? We want to see how long it takes them to figure everything out, not give it away because we are being competitive.’

They agree silently and when Damian parks, Luka gets Marinette’s door for her before they walk in. Everyone was there, and the moment they walked in Bruce greeted them with a wave and brief smile on his way to the den. “So, you’ve already met Father, Todd is by the mini bar, Grayson is bouncing over like the nitwit he is.” Damian paused as Marinette giggled a bit at his description. “Cain is on that armchair there, Brown and Drake are on the sofa, and I don’t see Gordon here, but she might be busy.”

“Given what happened at the Gala, I’m going to assume those are your last names?” Marinette asked dryly. When half the room gave a sigh she giggled a bit more and nodded. “Good thing we never told him ours then.”

They went around the room giving first names and Dick stood a little closer than he needed to while looking at them very intently. “Where do I know you two from?”

“Well, we work with Jagged. Luka is in the band with him and I do design for both of them. We’ve been on tour for months, so it’ll be nice to put down some roots here in Gotham again.” Marinette explained.

“Wait. YOU’RE his designer?” Tim sputtered, sitting ramrod straight. “You’re the designer that Jagged works with exclusively, that’s also done work for Clara Nightingale and publicly schooled Gabriel Agrest right before he left the business?”

Marinette and Luka both stiffened when Gabriel’s name was said, and Damian could feel the carefully covered anger before they both smothered it. “Yeah, that’s me.” Marinette’s answer was stiff and brisk, causing everyone in the room to look at her strangely. “Sorry, there’s a reason I was as harsh as I was on Gabriel. I went to school with his son and I cannot say I liked the way Gabriel behaved. He is a rather cold man and I was glad to see Adrien gain a bit more freedom when his father stepped down.”

‘That’s not the full story, but I’ll ask later.’ Damian pointed out silently, feeling them acknowledge the request.

“Dinner is ready.” Alfred called, waiting for them to all go into the formal dining room. Damian ended up at the rear of everyone as he let his soulmates go ahead of him, and was stopped for a moment at the door. “I approve, very much.” Alfred whispered, a small smile gracing his lips.

Damian returned the small smile before schooling his expression and walking to his place on the left side of Luka. ‘Pennyworth already figured it out, but I believe he knew from our meeting at the airport.’

‘Well, he’s more observant than the rest of them then.’ Marinette internally rolled her eyes at the way the others were bickering now that they were all sitting at the table.

“How are you two getting along in Gotham? It can be a little unnerving for new people.” Dick asked, leaning his forearms on the edge of the table. “Are you staying safe?”

“We keep our heads in an emergency.” Marinette nodded, “And we’ve been staying in Gotham off and on for a year or two now, we’re just away pretty frequently because Jagged has been on tour so much lately. Besides, we lived in Paris the whole, what four? Five? Or so years that Hawkmoth was active, so… Yeah, we can handle ourselves.”

“Remember, Mari, we had heroes with magic to fix everything up after the fights, they don’t have that here.” Luka reminded her gently.

“Well yes, but I didn’t have very many times where I got incapacitated in an attack, and I know you had less than most people.” Marinette pointed out, her accent getting heavier.

“Perhaps this is not the time to discuss such things without explaining what you mean?” Damian dryly commented, sweeping a hand out to show the confused faces around the table. “I know we talked about this in the car, but the others here were not part of that conversation.”

“Right… Merde, I don’t know how you guys never heard about Hawkmoth.” Marinette sighed and shook her head.

“Who is this person? A villain?” Tim asked, his voice an intriguing combination of tired and curious.

“Well yes, he wielded a magical artifact called a Miraculous and used it to turn normal people into villains to do his bidding. He chose people who were experiencing a negative emotion, and used his power to corrupt them into villains he could control to get what he wanted.” Marinette explained.

“What did he want?” Jason asked, frowning and crossing his arms.

“Well, the Akuma Victims kept yelling about the Miraculi that Ladybug and Chat Noir used to stop him, so I’m assuming that’s what he was after. There was a lot of collateral damage pretty frequently.” Luka shuddered, Syren flashing through his mind. His family had been spared since they had just unmoored the boat, but seeing all those bodies of people who didn’t get to high ground in time.

That image floated into Mari’s and Damian’s minds, Mari had to blink back tears, recognizing some of the bodies from Luka’s memory. Damian stiffened, and looked at them in concern.

“Collateral damage?” Dick asked quietly, “What sort of collateral damage?”

“Every kind you can think of, really.” Marinette sighed, focusing on warm and happy thoughts to cheer up her boys. “Deaths, injuries, destruction of property. It was pretty brutal.” She nudged the boys mentally to make sure they were okay. “Thankfully, Ladybug was able to reverse all the damage caused by Akuma battles. Her Cure reversed everything to how it was right before the attack. People, buildings, everything.”

“How did nobody know about this? How did the League not interfere?” Bruce asked, his spine straight and shoulders tense.

“I don’t know, it always seemed like anytime anyone not from Paris left Paris, they would forget about it. The news media within Paris covered it, but it’s almost like nobody paid it any mind from outside of Paris.” Marinette shrugged. “And Ladybug fixed everything, so people would probably think it was a hoax unless they were caught up in an attack and saw it first hand.”

“And now? What happened to all that?” Steph prompted, leaning forward to see them.

“Ladybug and her team defeated Hawkmoth about two and a half years ago. They didn’t reveal who he was, but they said that they were having him punished appropriately and that he would never be a problem again.” Luka informed the room. “And then they said that Chat was retiring unless Ladybug needs him to return, the other heroes were either going back to civilian life or would be on standby, and Ladybug said she’d be around but keeping to herself for the most part.”

They spent the next hour or so eating dinner and sharing stories from different villain fights, both in Gotham and Paris. Damian’s sense of horror grew as he realized how much responsibility was on Marinette’s shoulders the whole time. He did the math and realized that she was 14 when she received her Miraculous, and from what they’d implied earlier, their mentor hadn’t been around much.

‘Damian, breathe, it’s been over for a couple years now, we’re both fine and well-adjusted. You don’t have to panic.’ Luka’s gentle voice whispered in his mind, and he felt like he was being cradled in warmth for a brief moment as Marinette shared a memory of a warm, secure hug to try and calm him.

‘I’m alright now, thank you.’ He responded quietly, still processing but from the perspective of the fact that it was long since over before he even met them.

Just then, Marinette’s phone began to ring. “Oh! I wasn’t expecting…” She trailed off when she saw the caller ID. “I’ll be right back.” She stood and walked towards the den where they’d been before dinner, using the bond as she went to tell the boys, ‘It’s Adrien.’

‘Tell him hello from me, I hope everything’s okay.’ Luka responded, frowning in concern.

“Does she get phone calls like that a lot? Where she storms out to take it?” Jason asked lazily, leaning back in his chair and tipping it onto the back legs.

“The only person she leaves the room like that for is Adrien.” Luka sighed. “We both worry about him given his Father’s behavior when we were younger, and given that it’s… Nearly 9pm where he is and he gets up super early, it’s rather odd that he would call without texting first.” Luka checked the time on his phone and sighed. “Adrien is sort of like a little brother to us both, despite being the same age as Mari and only a little younger than me. We worry about him and check in frequently, but it’s usually at scheduled times or with a text beforehand.”

Both Luka and Damian felt a shock of excitement flash through their bond with Marinette. Exchanging a look with Damian, Luka stood carefully. “I’m going to check on her.”

In the den, Luka found Marinette rapidly gushing in French over the phone at Adrien, who he could hear laughing and trying to calm her down. “Mari? What has you in such high spirits, Melody?” He asked, grinning as he couldn’t contain the happiness that Mari was putting out.

“Adrien said that he and his mom are in Metropolis and he found his soulmate!” She giggled, “He forgot to text ahead because he’s just so excited and wants to meet up sometime soon!”

“Alright, congratulations, Adrien, I’d be happy for us to all meet up, but Melody, we left an entire room full of people we were talking with in suspense.” Luka chuckled and spoke just loud enough for Adrien to hear him.

“Sorry for the interruption! I’ll text you guys with the details!” Adrien laughed and hung up without saying goodbye.

“Come on, Melody, let’s get back to dinner.”

***

Damian felt his phone buzz incessantly, but refused to check it, instead finishing dinner with his soulmates and family, waiting for them to figure out the truth. ‘How long will we leave them in suspense before telling the truth?’ He asked as they moved back to the den for coffee.

‘We could just sit on either side of you and see if that’s a big enough hint?’ Mari had gotten a bit exasperated with how oblivious the family was. ‘Honestly, they aren’t very observant, are they?’

‘About each other within the family? Not at all. With people outside of this house? Ridiculously so. Which is what makes this so interesting.’ Damian smirked a bit and crossed his arms, sitting on one of the sofas instead of his usual armchair.

Marinette and Luka sat on either side of him perfectly in sync, as though they’d practiced it. There were a few moments of silence before Jason started laughing, “I knew it!!!” He doubled over laughing, not even hearing the confusion and queries of his family.

The trio watched him wheeze in amusement, ‘I didn’t expect him to be the first to say something.’ Damian mused, raising an eyebrow.

“Jay, what are you raving about now?!” Tim sighed, slumping back into Damian’s usual armchair before stiffening and sitting up straight. “Wait, since when do YOU sit on the couch?! With people you just met?!”

The rest of the family started to mutter to themselves and Cass began to chuckle, catching the rest of them off guard. “Called it.” Was all she said, looking pointedly at Alfred.

“Yes, Miss Cassandra, you did. Master Jason, please get off the floor, we have chairs.” Alfred set down the kettle of coffee and the cups on a table and began to serve it up. “Miss Cassandra spoke to me this morning that this was a possibility, and I honestly didn’t have the heart to tell her I already knew.”

Marinette began to giggle, “I guess you’re the observant one in the family.”

Cass nodded and gave Marinette a thumbs up, mouthing, -I approve-.

More giggles from Marinette, this time with a few chuckles from Luka before the room exploded with everyone asking what was going on and why half the room knew while the rest didn’t until they all looked down to see that Damian was holding hands with both Parisians.

“Seems it was fate that I had to catch a last-minute flight.” Damian said matter-of-factly. “They are my soulmates.”

#mgi trope tussle #daminette #poly ship #lukadaminette #dc #miraculous fanfic

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axemetaphor · 3 years ago

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im definitely not ripping off my friend by making a list of au ideas i have no siree //gonna slap this under a readmore cause i. well i say a lot. all of the time. i tried so hard to format this Good but tumblr fucked me up i am so sorry

so first-off i know i already have one WIP AU (Auckland) on ao3 so i wont talk about That one cause like. spoilers. i actualyl have it like 80% created so its likely gonna truly get finished for once and i dont wanna ruin shit

the other one ive posted about is something me and ben (catgirlrepublic) have worked on together its not at all close to done or anything but it's. a fun little crossover. Between jdate and my fuckinuhm. Original characters story “Untitled Villains Project”. the sketches of the comic version ive started is actually my pinned post 👉👈 its like the first chunk of the story, i think half of part 1? yea.

Tldr john fucking Somehow is able t oget into contact with a certain curious scientist from another reality who’d just love to study the Soy Sauce, most certainly not for her own nefarious purposes

John and Dave meet up with the scientist, her name is Boss, and her lab assistant, Toxic, and after a bit of a preliminary Vibe Check where john determines her trustworthy (which Dave doesnt agree with,) the two agree to be taken to the world UVP is set in. from there they stay in Boss’s lab (big old fucking abandoned military lab). John and Toxic are fast friends due to mutual love-of-chaos. John n Dave get to fuckin, camp out on an air mattress.

The day after they arrive, the two get split up, not exactly intentionally; big plot points of UVP are liek. Fueled by Boss sending Toxic to go fetch her “research materials,” which are usually important artifacts

Fuckin side note i guess i have to explain my dumb bullshit: Boss’s, uh, field of expertise so to speak is actually fckin, basically the scientific study of magic and superpowers n shit like that. This shit’s all real in that world. Toxic’s got fuckin superpowers, so do 4 other main characters, whatever. It’s got a bit to do with spirituality, iss Boss’s hypothesis. So she has Toxic fetch important artifacts that might have “energies” to them. The thing is actually way more fuckin complictated than that, this is just Boss’s initial hypothesis.

Motherfucking anyways. So Boss gives Toxic a job to do, and John get excited about how Cool that sounds, and ends up going with Toxic, leaving Boss and Dave alone. Neither is thrilled about this. But Dave and Boss get to have a bit of conversation (while Toxic and John are off bonding and having a good time) and come to a… mutual grudging understanding of some kind. They still dont like each other though lmao

Theres gonna be deeper shit going on but we havent sorted it out yet/tbh havent like Written For It in a while but i still like thinking about it a lot lol

Also pretty sure our endgame is john and dave steal toxic and bring them back with em lmao boss is kind of not nice and toxic would most certainly be better off in Undisclosed. Actually theyd fucking love it. Theyd become a local cryptid im sure. Undisclosed’s mothman is a teleporting spike baby.

I have. Another crossover AU that i might. Post something about for halloween? Maybe? If i have it finished?

Crosses over into, you guessed it, another one of my original-character projects. God, am i vain or something?

I promise this is just because i think blue and dave should get to team up to beat up some monsters

Quick briefing on my fuckinuh. Original character story, this one doesnt have a name (yet? Idk lol my work never actually goes anywhere sso who gives a shit). It centers around two grim reapers, Red (26, bi woman) and Blue (22, aroace agender asshole). In this reality or whatever, grim reapers function kind of like low-level office workers. They get told who’s going to die + when by some middle-management types, and upper management only involve themselves when punishment needs to be doled out. These Higher-Ups can be seen as analogous to Korrok; they’re decidedly not human, never were, and fucking terrifyingly powerful. Additionally, grim reapers are sort of .. designed to be “background noise” people. In reality theyre supernatural beings and, uh, look Real Fuckin Weird (the whole deal has a neon aesthetic im terrible at drawing uwu) but most humans just perceive them like extras in a movie. A body’s there but the camera’s not focused on it.

To the narrative: the shit starts when Red n Blue get relocated to Undisclosed. Relocation is something that just happens every now and then to reapers; they usually work in teams, but they get split up into different cities to avoid any strong bonds forming (a counter-union strategy from the Higher-Ups).

Red, Blue, John and Dave end up running into each other for the first time in a McDonalds where John n Dave are getting some 4am “hey, we just survived another horrific monster fight” celebration burgers. John and Dave are the only two people who can see how… strange Red and Blue are. Nobody else notices.

John unintentionally pisses Blue off, leading to Blue whacking him upside the head with a dildo bat. They all four get kicked out of McDonald’s. Dave and Red both are less than thrilled

Blue and John end up resolving their differences, somehow. Red and Dave briefly bond over their dumbass best friends being, well, dumbasses. They all part ways amicably.

somehow-or-other (idk yet) they end up running into each other a few more times, and eventually john invites them over to his place, and the four (plus Amy now!) get to know each other a little better

while there, Blue gets a text about some guy who's gonna die and John offers to drive them to where that's gonna go down. they take him up on the offer and get to have a bit of one-on-one conversation

after that ordeal though Blue has had Enough of people and bails, leaving John to head home alone

theres a sort of mirror-development going on with the five of em. Red, John, and Amy would all like everyone to get along, though theyre a bit tentative about it (John moreso than the other two, actually, jsut cause. well Red n Blue could still be Sauce Monsters). Dave and Blue on the other hand do Not like people enough for this shit, and Dave's not unconvinced theyre Sauce Monsters. he will not trust them until proven he should

the story's kinda nebulous but i got an idea for some Shit going down that involves both Sauce Monsters and also the Higher-Ups to have some fuckin absolute chaos go down.

Oops! All Trans

Everybody is transgender. Everyone

Ive actually workshopped this one both with ben (catgirlrepublic) and ghost (ghost-wannabe) lmao its a fun lil concept ive had from the get-go cause i mean. What’s an internet tran gonna do other than hit all their favourite media with the Everyone’s Trans beam

Dave transitioned post-high school and faked his death for it. People go missing in Undisclosed all the damned time, after all. He moved to the next city over, transitioned fully, then came back as a completely new man. Yes i know this doesnt exactly fit with the “everyone knows David from high school” thing alright, hush.

Anytime anyone brings up John’s old best friend (pre-transition Dave) John throws an entire fit like an overdramatic grieving widow. Full-on sobbing “why would you bring her up?! I miss her so much—” to the point that people just stop bringing up because Jesus Christ That Sure Is Uncomfortable KJHGFDS.

This is a scheme he and Dave came up with prior to Dave leaving, though Dave hadnt exactly anticipated John putting on this much of a performance about it— but it’s stopped Dave from ever having tto hear his deadname again, so hey.

Amy transitioned sometime in middle school/early high school. Her family was super supportive and loved her a ton and most people just know her as Amy. she was super shy her whole life really so. Yeah. people just dont think to bring it up lmao also i Feel Like big jim would absolutely wallop anyone who gave her trouble of any kind

John’s nonbinary (genderfluid specifically) and not exactly Interested in transitioning ? like hes fine with how he is. mostly.

he came out to Dave in high school but hes not out to anyone else exactly. Maybe his bandmates. Probably any other trans person in Undisclosed knows, too, cause theyre safe to tell lmao. Johns mostly a “he/him out of convenience” kinda nb who’s cool with any pronouns but does prefer they/them most. Dave and Amy use they/them when the trio are alone

Also this is a totally self-indulgent caveat that i think would be great, Dave’s actually agender but because he's transmasc and transitioned when he thought there were really only two options, and being Boy at least felt less weird than being Girl, he just kind of assumed he was a dude. It’s only through a lot of (like fucking years and years hes probably in his 30s/40s when he puts 2 and 2 together on this one) talks about gender with John that he realizes he actually feels like No Gender. Masc aesthetic with none gender.

I Just Think It’d Be Neat Is All Okay

Also Amy came out to Dave about being trans early on in them seeing each other and his response was to get very nervous before blurting out “me too” and then just being too embarrassed to talk about it for the rest of the day. Hes got a lot of hangups on talking about it actually it takes years for him to get comfortable in that

by contrast when Amy comes out to John about it his response is to yell “EYYY ME TOO” and give her a big ol hug lmao

I think itd be neatt if Amy ran a like. Transfem help/advice blog on tumblr. Kind of helped-with by John who can give her transfem nb insight for certain asks. I also just think that would be neat.

Cowboy AU - i put this one last cause its got drawings to it actually. Theyll be at the bottom

Basically just. Hey you ever watched a western. I think they look neat

This is another one me n ben have come up with lol

The soy sauce and all that shit still exist, im not sure where korrok fits in yet but ill figure it out

Theres no real like solid narrative yet ? but heres the barebones of everybody’s arcs.

John

Johns an absolute troublemaker, Of Course. Hes wanted in several towns for absolutely stupid shit. Hes a loner who shows up, causes chaos, gets drunk, does some drugs, runs away if people get too mad at him

He definitely had the same kind of deal with the soy sauce as in canon— he was at some kind of party, somebody offered it, he took it cause why the fuck wouldnt he, now he can see monsters and shit

Hes kind of a mooch also. Like. dont let him stay in your barn man he’ll never fucking leave and drink all your booze.

He runs into Dave when they happen to just, cross paths in the same town. the bullshit John stirs up ends up involving Dave in a way that makes it seem like it's his fault too, and they both get run out of town

after that he just tags along after Dave. hes decided this guy's Cool he wants to stick around. Dave is pissed at first, but not enough to shoot him or anything, and eventually, John grows on him

Dave

Dave also is a loner but unlike John hes simply so fucking awkward and bad with people. He doesnt feel like he belongs anywhere so he just travels

He’s the stereotypical Lone Ranger tbh. He wanders from town to town, solving their problems, though hed deny its out of any moral obligation (it kinda is, a little bit, tbh. He does like feeling useful). He shows up, fixes things, leaves. He's kind of a legend but most people think he's hiding something dark. other people jsut know him as that guy who farted real loud in the middle of the saloon and promptly skipped town out of sheer embarrassment. you know how it goes with Dave

He ends up involved with the Soy Sauce when a snake (not Actually a snake,) bites him. The snake’s more like the wig-monsters, really. Anyway, it injects him with the soy sauce, he fucking trips balls in the middle of the desert, he can see monsters now

He runs into John and shit goes tits-up, as said, but they become traveling buddies after that. he'd never say so, but he's glad for the company, actually. it's nice. hes not used to companionship but he feels a strange kind of easiness hanging out with John....

not sure how the Monster Dave concept will like fit in to this reality but like. trust me i want it in here. I'll Figure It Out.

Amy

Amy’s been living in a town John and Dave end up passing through and she is very curious about these two new Handsome Strangers who claim to fight monsters and just kinda. Persistently tags along til they let her join for real

Her family’s all dead, unfortunately, just like in canon, and she’s been living alone for a few years before meeting John n Dave. she had nothing left in that town to stay for, she'd been fantasizing about escaping on wild adventures for a long time and this felt a little like a dream come true. (Dave still gives her a spiel about how Difficult it is, but really, her fantasies were pretty grounded-in-reality already. i jsut think thats how she is, yknow?)

Shes the first person to react to the whole “we see monsters” shit with a kind of “oh, okay. neat” kind of response lmao

John and Dave fix whatever the fuck is up with her town (maybe that’s where the Korrok shit can fit, who knows) and Amy ends up being integral to that. After, she insists they take her with them because “they need her now” and Dave just cant really say no. John too is very much "the more the merrier!" and hes actually glad to have another person along he loves people lmao

At the start she has long hair but after she joins them she chops it short with a knife for convenience

also she still is an amputee. justt. idk. it was a wagon/stagecoach accident rather than a car accident lmao. just to clarify since i hadnt mentioned it, i wouldnt rob her of her ghost hand or yknow. all of the significance to her character that Missing A Hand has. although also now im going to have to research what was used as painkillers way-back-when, but im betting shes still got, like, her pain pills, they probably had those, maybe i wouldnt have to try too hard there. old timey medicine could be WACK though,

Shitload

Yeah hes in tthis shit mostly cause i liked designing his cowboy self lmao

Hes a kid (like 16, 17, technically i think in those days that was more Young Man than Kid but whatever. Hes Young i mean.) who got possessed by the Worms out in the desert and, by his family’s perception, just went missing!

Hes also a wanderer, but he ended up at the same town john and dave met in, at that same time, and starts following them after, already aware of who/what they are.

He keeps his face covered 24/7. actually he covers a Majority of his self for reasons. kinda want him to be a slightly more horrifying Worm Entity rather than human idk,

I kinda dont have much for this boy yet sorry Shitload

images !

with some editing notes for me cause im doing a very specific aesthetic with this lmao. i might change some lil details/colours though ...... idk

im also kinda 🤔 about shitload's colour palette. i want things assoicated w the sauce to be black'n'red predominantly but i think his palette might mirror dave's too closely. also im working on a korrok design i jsut am too busy to draw it now

#jdate #john dies at the end #aus #erh. tthe hell do i tag this as #rambles.txt #long post #well let me know if youd wanna hear more or. or something #send an ask. or whatever #yaknow #:jazz hands:

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myhockeyworld87 · 4 years ago

Text

Not So Dangerous Liaison - Sidney Crosby - Part 11

Word Count: 3,512

POV: Sid’s

Warnings: Maybe Language? But I don’t think so.

Notes: So I thought this was going to be the chapter that there was smut, but it turned out a bit long, so I saved it for the next chapter. Good news, I’m almost done with that chapter. It might just come out early! I’m trying not to put myself on a schedule any more, so we will see. This is just cute and fluffy kind of defining their relationship.

Not So Dangerous Liaison Masterlist

You made your way down to breakfast, Stanley Cup in hand. It was an amazing feeling, but then the past twenty-four had been that. Waking up with (Y/N) in your arms, and that trophy in your room was a high that no drug could replicate. The only thing you missed now, was her sitting beside you, eating breakfast, though you wouldn’t have minded staying in bed with (Y/N) and ordering room service.

She chose that moment to enter the room. Was it just you or was her smile a little brighter this morning? You knew yours was. She grabbed a plate of food and then headed over to a table, that was not yours. You frowned. “Something wrong Sid?” Flower asked taking the seat beside you. Only your best friend would’ve noticed the look.

“No.”

“Uh-huh,” he answered, following your gaze which was trained on (Y/N). You couldn’t imagine why she was sitting so far away. “Does this mean I’m sitting alone again on the plane?”

“What?”

“I see where you’re looking. What happened? Did you piss her off or something?”

“No,” well not that you knew of. She’d literally just left your bed, not thirty minutes ago. You’d thought everything was fine, well better than fine, at least that’s the impression you got when you kissed her and she kissed you back. Now she had you wondering though.

“Your face says something different.”

“It’s just…” you were afraid to reveal any more, even though Flower knew your feelings for (Y/N). You knew that she was leery about dating you with her job, and there were too many people around to hear what truly happened last night. “I’ll talk to you later about it.”

“Maybe you should talk to her instead. I’ve always found that it’s easiest just to say sorry, even if you weren’t wrong.” Flower added before shoveling eggs into his mouth. You sat there finishing your breakfast replaying the morning over in your brain, yet couldn’t think of anything that would make (Y/N) mad, that she wouldn’t come and have breakfast with you. It was twenty minutes later, that you saw her heading to the elevators, to grab her bag, or so you assumed as the bus was leaving shortly. You jumped up, claiming to have forgotten something, even though your stuff was already on the bus.

The elevator doors were just about to close when you stuck your hand between them to stop them. You quickly jumped inside, noticing that it was just the two of you. Being in the elevator with her would forever remind you of when you two were stuck, and you finally realized how badly you wanted her. It was a good memory. As the door slid shut, you turned to her and ask, “Are you mad at me?”

“No, why?”

“You didn’t sit with me at breakfast.” She looked at you then giggled; you didn’t see one thing funny about the whole situation and found yourself frowning at her.

“Are you really upset about that?” You just shrugged, unsure what would happen if you told her you were. “Sid, I didn’t sit with you, because I don’t want people to think there is something going on between us. I’m just trying to act normal, ya know?” Her explanation made sense, the door to the elevator opened and you followed her out and down the hallway to her room. “Where are you going?” She whispered a bit harshly.

“With you to finish talking.”

She rolled her eyes, yet swiped the key card at the door before looking both ways and shooing you inside, then shutting the door behind her. “Sid, the point of me not being at breakfast wasn’t so you could follow me here.”

“I don’t see why we just can’t, sit together, and stuff.” You ran a hand through your hair a bit frustrated. “You know it’s going to come out eventually.”

“But…well…what if we go out and…well you just don’t like me.”

You pulled your head back, letting her words sink in, before reaching your hands and grabbing her by the waist. “That’s not even an option, because I already do.” You brought her face close to yours. “Unless you’re worried it’s going to be the other way around?”

“No,” she blurted out, then blushed a cute shade of pink. “I’ve liked you for a while now.”

“Really? You should tell me more about this.” She shook her head then pulled back, but you tightened your grip.

“We can’t do this now, the bus is leaving in like ten minutes.”

“I have a feeling they’ll wait.” She just sighed.

“For you, yes, but for me. Not so much.” It was your turn to roll your eyes at her. You hated it when she didn’t think she was important to the team. “If I promise that we can discuss this once we’re home; can we please go?”

“Maybe.”

“What if I sweeten the deal?” She went up on her toes then and playfully kissed your lips, just lightly grazing them with hers. “Would it help?” You moaned out a yes, and then her lips were capturing yours. Her mouth opened immediately for you to taste her. She tasted faintly of orange juice and something purely (Y/N). You had a desperate need to toss her on the bed and see if the rest of her tasted as sweet. You weren’t sure who moaned first, you or (Y/N) but the sound had her breaking away from you all too soon. “We need to go.”

You rested your forehead on hers for just a second, before pecking her lips one more time. “I guess that will have to do for now.” You emphasized the ‘for now’ part, as you hoped to pick this up as soon as the plane landed.

“By the way, you’re sitting with Flower on the way home.” You went to protest and she held a finger to your lips. “No buts. We are keeping a normal distance for the time being.” A groan escaped you, but you allowed her this one small measure considering that the season was officially over, and she would no longer be able to use that excuse.

The plane ride home was endless; well maybe that wasn’t the right word. You still had a good time as it was pretty much a party atmosphere on the jet. It just would have been more fun with (Y/N) by your side, not that you didn’t appreciate Flower and all. Once you landed it was complete chaos. Fans were urged not to come to the airport, yet there were still some there. You passed the cup off to Cullen to carry it down the stairs letting the guys share in the excitement. You tried to talk to (Y/N) before she left the plane but it got too hectic and you somehow lost sight of her, until you saw her car exiting the parking lot.

It was already decided on the plane that the party would continue at Mario’s that night. This way everyone’s families could join in. Once you were home you shot (Y/N) a quick text. Park at my place and we can walk down to Mario’s together. You only lived a few short blocks away, and if (Y/N) was parked here, there was a good chance of her staying the night again. You’d already given the cup to Mario before you left the airport, so you didn’t need to lug that down the street.

Are you sure people won’t be suspicious? She texted back. Your fingers typed out a quick reply. His place is big, but can’t hold all those cars. No one will think anything of it. You waited patiently for her to answer. Good point, see you at 7. Well, that was one hurdle you were over, now if you could just get her to stay the night again.

She arrived at your gate a few minutes before seven and you quickly buzzed her in. You met her at the car, so she wouldn’t feel awkward coming up to the door. “Is it ok to park right here?” She was in front of one of the garage stalls.

“Completely,” you told her. Hell, she could park in your garage if she wanted. When she got out of the car, she took your breath away. She had on a long floral print dresses that tied at her side and flowed all around her and she looked like a breath of summer sunshine. The tie from her white bikini was peeking out of the top. “Did you want to come inside for a bit?” Or maybe the rest of the night? You wanted to add but refrained.

“It seemed like a lot of people were already at Mario’s when I drove by, maybe we should head down. Do you need to get your stuff?” Mario told everyone to bring bathing suits as it was a beautiful summer evening and he knew people would want to enjoy the pool.

“Nah, I’m good. Just need to lock up.” You went back to the side door and turned the alarm system on, while (Y/N) grabbed her bag out of the back. “You look beautiful by the way. I was hoping to tell you that while we had drinks inside.”

“Oh…We can. I mean I didn’t…” That damn blush of hers rose up again.

You snatched her around the waist and pulled her close, abruptly causing her to cease her ramblings. “It’s fine. You’re right we should get over there. There’s just one thing first.” Tilting your head, you let your lips drift over hers. She leaned closer into you and that’s when you deepened the kiss. You could’ve stayed like that forever until your sunglasses slid off your head and interrupted the moment. She gently lifted them back to the top before pecking your lips one last time. “Now, I guess we can go.” You laced your hands together and started down the drive. “So, is it business as usual again or can we mix some personal in it tonight?”

“Well we are going to our boss's house, so it would probably be best if it were business.”

“You know I don’t really look at him as a boss right?” She glanced curiously over at you. “Well, he’s more like...I don’t know an older brother. When I lived there, it just sort of developed into that type of relationship.”

“Ok I get that, but he’s still technically my boss.”

“And no where does it say that we can’t date each other.” It was something you’d looked into the moment you realized that you were developing feelings for (Y/N). “In fact, I think if he knew we were dating; he’d one hundred percent approve.”

“When did we start dating?”

“Oh…I just…well, I figured…” You stammered out.

“Relax, I’m just teasing you.” She smirked. “I mean we haven’t officially gone out yet, but I kind of do feel like we are dating.” You squeezed her hand then brought up your joined fingers to place a soft kiss across her knuckles.

“Well, I do plan on taking you out.”

“Yeah looks like it won’t be the day we planned though.”

It hit you then, that all the celebration of winning the cup was happening on that day. “What about tomorrow?”

“Don’t you have to go to the ballpark and throw the first pitch?” You tossed your head back in frustration. “They’re going to expect you to stay for a bit, you know.”

“True, but won’t you be there? We could sneak out early.”

“I am officially off of team duty, as you shouldn’t really be getting injured showing the cup off.”

“What? I could be hit by a foul ball and knocked unconscious. You should really be there just in case.” She just shook her head at you.

“I doubt that would seriously happen.” You were nearing Mario’s place now, and you knew she’d make you let go of her hand and pretend that you weren’t just talking about going on a date. “We can talk about it later. I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m taking you out tomorrow if it’s the last thing I do.” You went to kiss her one last time but saw Flower and Vero walking down the drive, and (Y/N) pulled away.

“Don’t let us stop you,” Vero called out as they walked up beside the two of you. “I see you finally came to your senses, Sid.”

This time it was your turn to blush, for you knew it had taken you long enough to realize that you could have everything you wanted and the girl of your dreams. “Stop giving him a hard time Vero. He’s had a lot of hits to the head with the puck. He’s quite slow on things.”

“Thanks, Flower. I can always count on you to have my back.” Your sarcasm was not lost on the group.

Vero looped her arm through (Y/N)’s and headed to the backyard. “But seriously I need to hear all the details.”

“Well, there’s nothing to tell, we’re just friends.”

“Please, don’t give me that line. If you’re worried about what people will say don’t be.” Finally, someone who could talk some sense into her. “We’re all just happy that Sid finally realized what a great catch you were and snagged you up in time before someone else did.” She looked back at you then. “You did snatch her up, right? Or was that almost kiss we interrupted something else.”

“I’m trying to.” You told her. “Maybe you can assure her, that she’s not going to lose her job if she dates me. You are one of her best friends, maybe she’ll listen to you.”

“Oh pish,” Vero sighed out.

“What are you fifty?” (Y/N) chirped her, but Vero just continued.

“You’re not losing anything, by dating that one. I have it on good authority that not only are you irreplaceable, but that one has a pretty good connection with the owner.”

“Ugh, I swear you are all ganging up on me.”

“Only because we all love you and want you to be happy.” She looked over at you when she spoke the word ‘love.’ You weren’t quite sure you were ready to go there yet, but it would be easy to see yourself being in love with (Y/N). “Now, loosen up, and let’s have fun tonight. I for one plan on celebrating both the win and the fact that Marc-Andre and I finally got you two together.”

Once you entered the party (Y/N) and Vero headed over to where the rest of the girls were, which meant you didn’t get much time with her. Drinks flowed almost as much as the night before. People were jumping in and out of the pool. There were an endless amount of pictures with the cup, even one with all the ladies, including (Y/N), drinking out of straws from it. She looked so damn cute with everyone. At some point, she and Vero were standing over by the edge of the pool, doing shots. “What do you say we go take them for a little dip?” Flower was the king of practical jokes but you weren’t sure how well this one was going to go over. On the other hand, it would be a way to get some attention from (Y/N).

“On three?”

Flower nodded, then counted down. “One…Two…Three.” The two of you went rushing towards the girl, tossing them in the pool with you, drinks and all.

You and (Y/N) surfaced at the same time, a look of surprise written across her face. “Sidney Crosby, I can’t believe you just…” You burst into a fit of laughter and she followed you. To say that the four of you had attracted some attention was putting it mildly, for the next thing you knew everyone was jumping in. You grabbed (Y/N) pulling her close so that she was out of the way as Dumo cannonballed into the water.

You didn’t let her go, as carried her to a less chaotic end of the pool. “Sorry about throwing you in. You’re not mad, are you?”

“No, it’s all in good fun, though maybe you should let me go before people notice.”

“I don’t care, (Y/N) and I wish you didn’t either because I really want to kiss you right now.” She smiled at the comment, yet didn’t come closer for you to put your words into action.

“I’m just not ready for the whole public thing yet, Sid.” You released her then, a bit frustrated. “Hey,” she called out when you went to turn and leave. She grabbed your hand then and interlocked your fingers, above the surface of the water. “How about we take it one step at a time?”

“Yeah,” you answered smiling into her eyes. “I can do that.”

“Chicken fight!” Someone yelled and you saw some of the ladies getting boosted up on shoulders.

“So, you game?” you asked (Y/N).

“Hell ya, and I expect to win.” She said with a wink as you dove under the water, surfacing with her sitting on your shoulders. It was all innocent fun, but the fact that her legs were literally wrapped about your neck, did unspeakable things to you. One by one the girls grappled with each other, most of them falling into the water after a few shoves from the guys underneath them. It was down to you and (Y/N), and Shears, and Jordan. You could tell the young pup didn’t want to offend his captain, and with a few jolts, they were falling down, declaring you and (Y/N) the champs. You swam with her in a victory lap, until someone knocked the Stanley Cup into the water and you felt (Y/N) teeter off your shoulders in an effort to save it. It was no use, as the trophy dove into the pool. “Oh shit!” You weren’t sure who exactly uttered the words, but you burst into laughter, followed by (Y/N) and everyone else.

“Well, I guess it floats.” You announced to the group, which was followed by more laughs. The party continued on with the cup just floating around everyone. (Y/N) stayed pretty much by your side, until you’d both had enough of the pool and got out. She was nice enough to share the towel she’d brought with you, even though there were some set out for everyone to use. She headed off to change, then came and found you afterward.

To your surprise, she didn’t move away when you placed your hand on the small of her back, as you stood there talking to Horny and Tanger, and their wives. It was a small victory but one you were willing to take. Around one in the morning, the party started to wind down, and you leaned close to her ear and whispered. “Are you ready to go?”

“Whenever you are.” You went and grabbed her bag for her, telling some people goodbye as you both went in search of your host. You finally found him and Nathalie sitting at a table, sharing a bottle of wine. “Thank you both for an incredible evening.” (Y/N) told them.

“Oh are you two heading out?” Nathalie asked, glancing down at your joined hands. You thought for sure (Y/N) would pull away but she didn’t.

“Yeah, I think we’ve had enough for one night.” You commented. “Do you need me to get these any of these guys out of here for you?”

“Nah, let them have some fun a little longer,” Mario replied. “We’ll see you both tomorrow.”

“Oh, no, not me but I’ll be there Wednesday to help with the parade organization.” (Y/N) quickly answered.

“Really? I thought all the girlfriends were going?” You always knew that Mario had a keen intuition on things. He probably knew you and (Y/N) were perfect for each other long before either of you did.

“Um…”

“She’ll be there.” You interrupted (Y/N)’s feeble attempt at making any excuse that she wasn’t dating you.

“Good, you two have a good night now.” Nathalie chimed in, as (Y/N) tugged on your hand for the two of you to go. You turned, but not before you caught a quick wink from the man who was more like your brother than your boss.

As you headed out of the house, you looked over at (Y/N), who was still red from your encounter with the Lemieux’s. “You ok?”

“Yeah,” she breathed out then chuckled a bit. “I guess I was worried for nothing.” She stopped and then looked you in the eye. “And don’t you dare say I told you so.”

It was your turn to laugh now. “Would I say that?”

“Shut up and kiss me before I change my mind.”

“Well, I’m not going to argue with that.” Your lips were on hers, and you were pretty sure a few people that were leaving saw the whole thing, but nothing mattered whenever you had her in your arms like this.

#Not So Dangerous Liaison Series #sidney crosby #sidney crosby imagine #Sidney Crosby Imagines #nhl imagines #nhl imagine #nhl fanfic #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #hockey fanfiction

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sorenskyhigh · 4 years ago

Note

Heyyy! I saw you take requests! Imagine: werewolfves, vampires, winged humans and other fantasy/mythological creatures exist (Dungen&dragon races maybe?), What would your favorite Karasuno character(s) be? And, already a happy new year! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

Happy New Year!🎉🎆 I think I'm gonna do all of Karasuno bc they all deserve love and I just love all the Haikyuu characters!!!!! And thank you for putting in a request this is my first!!!!!! Wooohoo!!

Karasuno as D&D

(Or what I think they would be)

Daichi Sawamura

When I think of Daichi I think of a very stout, hardy person.

I know he's 176 or so cm but he's very built and in personality and physical build, sturdy

I also see him very hardworking

Daichi seems very dependable but in a chaotic way

Like he really wants to help but he also simultaneously has NO idea what he's doing

But also I can see him loving the world, people, and animals and nature

A protector but maybe a slight loner or the leader of a group, no inbetween

I honestly think he would be either a Dwarf (the only problem I have with this one is is that I don't view Daichi as a materialistic person like a Dwarf to want gold everything and whatnot) or a Firebolg

I feel either of these could fit him since they are very hardworking and sturdy people. But I lean toward firebolgs more since they are kinda calmer natural people if that makes sense??????

Daichi by no means is a calm and just no worries kind of guy but, I feel like he does have a slow and steady wins the race

Daichi is wise and strong and could live a calm and natural life like a Firebolg

Living with the animals and helping them but also living with a tribe of his people

Koushi Sugawara

I look at Suga as a very loving person that in his own chaotic way tries to help everybody

A mom friend if you will

I also see him getting close with few people a being very ride or die

He also seems a bit like a home body, like he enjoys staying home and being comfortable

Thats why I chose either a Gnome or Hafling

Gnomes are of a tight knit community and are very enthusiastic about life. Learning and building what they can

Building things to help their community and ending the day with a well earned drink with friends and family

Haflings love home comforts

Sitting by the fire and reading a good book

Doing some gardening and whatnot

But some travel and learn and grow intellectually

I think either of these would suit Suga

I can't stop imagining him as a Gnome with little goggles as he works on something small and metal with gears or him sitting in little Hafling attire or some pjs by a fire with some mead in one hand and a good book in the other

Asahi Azumane

I view Asahi as one of my personal favorite tropes of really big and scary but actually a sweet, bumbling mess/really small and adorable but could actually tortures you in a million different ways

Asahi is such a gentle giant but can get serious when he needs to

I also see him as someone very natural and loves nature/animals

That's why I picked either Triton or Genasi (the only thing about Genasi is they're super confident and Asahi very much is not)

Triton are water folk and outsiders (people think Asahi is scary and unapproachable)

They also have good relations with giant seahorses, Hippocampi, and sea lions

Can you imagine Asahi riding a Hippocampus with his gorgeous hair flowing in the waves of the water 😳 muah *chefs kiss* majestic

Anyways 😆

I also see him as a Genasi because they're kinda mysterious people with such a strong connection to nature and elemental energies

But I think he would specifically be an Earth Genasi bc they don't tend to make rash and are superior in strength and solid power

Yū Nishinoya

The little adorable ball of thunderous chaos

Noya seems like someone who loves to cause chaos but NEVER hurt anyone

He wants to have a good time but most people can't quite handle his version of a good time

Thats why I chose Satyr for Noya

Satyrs have the loose construct of a civilization and the wild urges of animals and beasts

Noya is a very independent person but will stick to very particular people

Satyrs are similar

They also view everyone as either a body to dance with, poor soul the mess with, or a sober mind to get absolutely hammered with

Ryūnoske Tanaka

Ryū is just such an awesome character to me

He is the real ride or die never gonna give up on you kind of person

I am not throwing any hate onto the other second years IN THE SLIGHTEST but Ryū did stay the whole time

And yet he seems, to me, to constantly need to prove his self worth

This is why I think he would be either a Human or a Lizardman

Humans are a young race and feel like, in their short lives they need to prove themselves

This drive causes them to be adaptable innovators and pioneers

Bu~ut I also think he would be good among the Lizardfolk

They have their own set of personal rules that they live by that aren't exactly conventional to most other races

Also they can be very food driven who isn't tho

Chikara Ennoshita, Hisashi Kinnoshita, Kazuhito Narita

All three give off similar vibes to me (not just cause they're background characters)

All three feel pretty chill and laid back but like their hardworkers once they have the right motivation

The three of them seem passive as well

Doing what they're told without much question but also like severe outsiders (I know they close themselves off from the others on purpose a bit bc they left and feel guilty)

So I chose Changelings for these three

Changelings are generally harmless, passive beings without interest in other races political affairs

But bc of this most others find them not trustworthy

They kind of don't have their own culture and just slip into other societies

I feel like these three did this with the volleyball team bc they didn't show them ever having some kind grand dream or ambitions

They just kind of float along with certain people they're comfortable with

Tobio Kageyama

Kageyama is a very independent character at heart

It's not that he WANTS to be a lonely necessarily, I feel, but that he wants to prove himself so much and constantly that he pushes people away

Even after he learned about relying on people and what it means to be a team

He stills feels like he should be able to do it himself

I feel like there is an ever constant duality in him

That's why I think he'd be a Half Elf

Human/elf mixes never really belong anywhere bc they either age faster than there elven peers or watch as their human loved ones age and die off much faster than themselves

This is why Half elf/humans keep to themselves

But for Kageyama, I feel if he had never met Hinata, Daichi, Suga, Ryū, or any of them, he would've isolated himself on accident from everyone

Shoyo Hinata

Shoyo is very impulsive but does extremely well with others

He is definitely social and NEEDS to have other people to watch his back

He has shown to be aggressive and super competitive with other players

But he forms strong bonds with those he really cares about

I feel like he would be, specifically a Longtooth Shifter

These shifters specifically are aggressive towards others they are not close to

But are deeply invested in those they have chosen to share their time with

They also are Lupine/dog based beings

And Shoyo definitely has a very dog like personality

They also are more pack oriented than other shifters

They have teamwork and group fluidity

Kei Tsukishima

Tsukishima a very stereotypical character but written in THE BEST WAY

He's that stereotype of antagonist to ally or prude outcast to reliable friend

This was caused by the circumstances of him finding out the situation with his brother

So he decided that no one could be trusted with Yamaguchi as an exception

Elf or Tiefling, did you really expect anything else? 😜

Elven people are very reserved a set themselves apart most of the time from other races, generally thinking of them as inferior or untrustworthy to be around the knowledge Elven people possess

Like Tsukishima they think themselves above other beings with a few that choose to live with with humans

Tieflings are forced away from other races

Because of a past sin that has changed them to look slightly different from others, they are shunned

I relate what happened when Tieflings became a different bloodline of humans to what happened between Kei and his older brother Akiteru

Tsukishimas rejection of companionship is something he does himself, but it is a form of mistrust towards others to not lie to him like he once was

Both Elven and Tieflings are very intelligent in their own differing ways

Elven are very well read and prestigious

Tieflings are good at slight of hand and swindling others bc of the rough cards they've been dealt in life

Tadashi Yamaguchi

Tadashi is a very different person than from what people make him out to be

Everybody makes him out to be an uwu ooga booga baby child that needs protecting

But he's not

That's not to say he doesn't have a large, warm and welcoming heart but he's NOT weak by any means

He's strong and he eventually becomes independent from Tsukishima and doesn't have to be codependent

Tadashi Yamaguchi is an amazing hardworker that is learning about the world and is trying to better himself slowly day by day

But there is the soft, kind and helpful side of him that would just do anything for a struggling stranger

That's why I chose either a Tortle or Kobold

I see him being maybe a Tortles that lives a simple life filled with schedules and living a very ritualistic life

They live simply and are very personable beings

But there's also Kobolds who are dragon like creatures that are INWARDLY aggressive but are industrious beings

They hate larger beings as they're short but will show respect if need to but would show backhanded and passive aggressive ways to show their displeasure

They also don't like direct confrontation and would rather entrapt another creature or being than directly fight them

They are also cunning and have a knack for plan making with which they share through out their entire tribe

Kiyoko Shimizu

I see Kiyoko as a very dependable person but also very independent and very strong and strong willed

Basically a feminine icon, honestly

She can do just about everything but seemingly has her own agenda

You're very lucky if her agenda should happen to align with you and your goals because she is an indestructible force not to be dealt with lightly

And yet, she is above all else a women

Feminine, beautiful, and incredibly amazing (as all women are)

I chose Aasimar for Kiyoko

Aasimar are beings that are often descendants of celestial or higher beings

They generally hold good morals and are justice deliverers

They generally serve a guardians of law that strike at evil, lead by example, and dish out justice where it is needed

They are cautious of others and sometimes misunderstood as they did what they do what they believed to be right

Aasimars are also extremely empathetic and are often times hurt by the prejudice they suffer in early years as many don't like what they don't understand

Hitoka Yachi

Yachi IS NOT THE SOFT, DEFENSLESS, CRYBABY EVERYBODY MAKES HER OUT TO BE

Yachi is shy and nervous but that is only bc she was accidentally persuaded into an intimidating world of giants

And for a short and petite framed girlt hat is TERRIFYING at first

But Yachi stepped up to the plate and batted away everyone's shit expectations for her because she rose to become an amazing manager for the team

She became independent from her mother's harsh ideas of her and showed her how powerful she can be

She may be small but she is truly mighty

This is why I picked Centaurs for her

Centaurs are the swiftest out of the humanoids and build peaceful communities

They hunt what and where they wish, as they generally move after a few years in one place, move

They highly value personal choice and individuality among their tribes

They also love and worship nature, many wanting to devote themselves to a higher power and/or become druids

They generally bear no ill will towards anyone unless the opposers strike first

Thank you @popcorntime-doodles for giving me my first request I hope you like this and I hope I did a good job

Again this is just my opinion and how I see the characters and the many races of D&D

Also again I do request I have a character masterlist in my bio ❤

@multifandombrainrot @kneecapstealingalien @akabxne @jiheonity @weareallhumans123 @smallmangi @canadian-crow @just-jellyfish @immiamarais @i-need-coffee-now-pls @foreveryoung050 @kuroos-world @luminasapphire @silverfire6 @shadowsbutdead @ghostexhibit @simpfornishinoya @goshikisimp @anothershadeofpink @mestayanon @japoga

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aliypop · 3 years ago

Text

And So It Starts Chap 4

Word count : 3,133

Warning : EPISODE 5 SPOILERS

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy it! this was really fun and it took one and half days to write so please tell me how you liked it.

"Did I eat a spoiled grape? Is that what this is..." she got up.

"You'd wish you had..." the regaled woman said, a cape draping over her body as her hair was grey, a black strand braided into it. "Where am I ..." she asked, looking down as she was in her TVA attire. "The void ... pretty sick, huh..." the punk rock Astrid said, wearing what looked like Sylvie's crown on her head. "Oh great, another devil's anus..." she got off the ground, shaking her head, watching as a young girl popped up from behind. Her curls springy with her hand on her hips, "That is Alioth..." she smirked, "Anyone would know that..." she sassed, "Come along you, the others are waiting ..." she smiled, walking away as the other Astrids kept walking up a garden trash heap.

"Tell me who's really behind the TVA..." Astrid 2.0. asked as Ravonna shrugged, "I'm in the dark as you are ." she looked at Miss Minute, who looked worried, "Poor judge Renslayer. Your whole realities destroyed." Sylvie laughed, "Tell me, how does it feel to be on the other side of it..." she growled as Astrid 2.0. pulled out his crossbow,

"Hey hey... What if I told you Loki and Astrid were alive!" she said with her arms open wide to the two variants. We'd say you're lying..." he pointed his weapon in her face. Much like a Vanir warrior would do. "Or maybe we want the same thing..." Ravonna smiled,

"Maybe I want to know who's on top of it, just like the two of you..." she began to move forward, "Maybe I want to know who lied to me..." she sighed, "We could finger it out as a team..."

"Norns, do I not like that word..." Astrid 2.0. growled. Back on the void stood the Astrids, who were watching the dragon-like sky destroy everything, "Usually I'd ask what's going on but...I'm going to trust you me myselves" she questioned, "That we have a plan?"

"Ah yes... don't die." Kid Astrid smiled, "That's the plan."

"Don't die !? that's a-"

"General demand of living!" Regal Astrid smiled, "Nice to know there's a Loki in your life." she smirked. Astrid sighed, sitting down,

"Look, it's been a long few months... weeks... years, and I'm tired of hunting variants using my curses as a puppet to the TVA. I want to know who you are, where I am, and why's this happening to me!" she screamed as she punched the ground, a ripple of blue coming from the cracks. Silence fell around them as a voice spoke.

"Well, this is where the TVA leaves everything they've ever pruned and the shit they don't want..." Punk rock Astrid mumbled, "And now that damned thing Alioth is going to kill us thanks to that..." she pointed to her hands.

"Well, I don't give a damn!" she huffed, "Nope, no damns, none!" she flipped off Alioth.

"You give so many they're visible from outer space." Kid Astrid smirked, "how would you know you, little runt..."

"I'm you." she laughed, "And After all, Astrids always find a way through the chaos..."

"You all wear mothers crown, except you." she pointed to the punk rock one, "But you, the Vanir child makes the most sense."

"Death matures you..." she turned around, "In case you wanted to know, I poisoned my mother... And I got rid of Isabella... and Then Father drank the same cup." she looked away. Her dark blue gown blowing in the wind, "I'd advise you not to make her angry." Regal Astrid sighed as she made a tissue appear, dabbing at the tears. "She's sensitive like the rest of us..." she whispered as they walked into an abandoned factory, "You're a TVA variant... " Punk Astrid asked, "Sort of, except they promised I'd be sent back to Loki." she smiled,

"How'd that work..." Kid Astrid sat next to Regal Astrid on her throne, "We haven't seen a Loki get pruned yet..." Punk Astrid said laughing;

"Don't think he or she's coming back priss..." she mumbled, touching the broken horn on her helmet.

"So why do you want to return to the TVA so bad..." Classic Loki asked, handing him a wine cooler, "Is your glorious purpose there."

"You could say that..." he sighed, holding the red and gold amulet in hand.

"What happened to take down the TVA..." Ravonna said as her back pressed against her podium, "Tell you two wha, I'll put you both in a time loop something memorable ... any good memories you want to live out?" she asked the two as Astrid 2.0. shot at a few minute men, "Just one..." Sylvie threw the pruning staff to Astrid, "You wouldn't..."

"I would... Sylvie catch!" he threw back to her as he began to disappear.

"So, we're supposed to die right... after Thanos kills us after Ragnarok. "

"Thanos? in my timeline, everything proceeds correctly, my entire life until Thanos attacked our ship."

"So you didn't use daggers..." he asked, a bit embarrassed.

"Blades are worthless to a Loki's sorcery. They stunt our magical potential." Classic Loki smiled as Loki looked stunned, "But they look awesome..." Boastful Loki smirked, "When the clatter to the ground just before Thanos snaps your neck." he smirked, "You see. After I faked my death, I drifted into space. Away from Thor, away from everything. " he laughed, "Even her too, see I thought about my part. So I removed myself and stayed on an isolated planet." he shrugged,

"How'd the TVA find you..."

"I got lonely, tell you the truth... I missed my brother, my wife, and I wondered if they missed me. But as soon as I took my first steps off, the TVA came." he sighed, "We're the God of Outcast." he smiled.

"Have any of you ever met a Male variant of us..." Astrid asked as they looked at her, "Wait, we can change gender..." Kid Astrid asked, "I could've been king! I could've had a!"

"Yes, but not the point," she cut her younger self off, "You see, he's like us sensitive, but he holds all of chaos he doesn't hesitate to hunt... " she laughed,

"If we find him, we can kick Alioth's ass."

"I'm going to kill the shark. I'm going to kill Alioth! and I could use all the help I can get!"

Laughter struck them both from their other selves, Astrid growled, "This wouldn't have happened if Loki were around..."

Taking out the amulet, Loki sighed, walking up towards the opening of the bunker,=. As the other Loki's gathered around the item as a voice called from up top the bonker, "I believe that's mine..." a woman dressed as a first lady said, wearing a vote for Loki pen on her blazer.

"Ah, hello, which one of us are you..." Another Loki asked, peering down as his Astrid clung to him,

"This is a nightmare..." both Astrid and Loki said, looking at a gang of their Variants,

There, standing in front of Astrid, was a Hydra variant pointing her crossbow in her face, "If you know what's good for you, you'll let us through." she smirked. As Astrid variants, even one that was a Pomeranian made their way into the hideout, "Not going to question it..." she sighed. Meanwhile, as the void grew wider, Alioth grew hungrier, "Ouch!" Astrid 2.0. exclaimed, "What on Odin's beard caused you to kick me..." he asked, looking up a Sylvie,

"Come on before we die..." she smiled at him, "You insufferable dolt." her cheeks turning red, "I would say that's cold, but you are a frost giant." he leaned in to kiss her cheek as smoke flowed into the school bus, "I hate you so much!" she grabbed him by the arm pulling him out just in time,

Purple orbs of magic coming from his hands, using it against Alioth. "I can't enchant it, but I know that you can..." he stopped as a vision flashed. "A car is coming..." he mumbled under his breath, "What..." driving by was a Pizza Planet car as it stopped right in front of the two, "Get in variants, we're going hunting."

"You!"

"Could you shut the door? We still got a little bit of a situation here. By the way, you should be careful just jumping in strangers' cars like that..." Mobius said, a bit concerned. In the void bunker, Loki backed away, watching as the other Loki's looked at him.

"You bastard! You led the wolves to our door."

"We prefer snakes..." President Loki and Astrid said a malicious grin on their faces.

"I've eaten both, and they die the same." Kid Loki sighed, sitting on his throne.

"Now, which one of you will betray your queen..." Hydra Astrid asked her slicked-back ponytail flapping along like her mouth, "Oh come on, I'm the best one to go with, besides I killed Loki." she grinned.

"Apologies, my liege, but I betrayed you, and now I'm king..." Boastful Loki sighed a dagger to kid Loki's throat,

"About that..." President Loki said weapons, drawn at him, even Astrids sword.

"You can't be serious..."

"What'd you expect." He laughed his hands out towards them. "Why you beef-witted, half-faced scrubs, we had a deal!" he then looked at his Astrid, "Don't tell me you were on this too..."

"Only here for my amulet, sweetheart... He's yours, boys," she shrugged, walking away. President Loki gulped as he then looked down,

"Why the hell is there an alligator in here..."

"He's a Loki!" the others said in unison as Lokigaitor bit his hand off the president, letting loose a banshee scream.

"Damn it, Animals... we lie, and we cheat, and we cutthroats of every person who trusts us and for what glorious power... broken every version of us..."

"And when we try to fix that one defiant part of ourselves, they kill us..." Kid Astrid said as she led the way out of the factory hideout, placing an illusion spell on the other Astrids.

"That's why I gotta get out of here."

"And you trust her..." Classic Loki asked,

"Without Astrid, she's the only one I trust," he sighed, "It's our only chance to fight the TVA."

"When I pruned myself, I thought it would lead me back to Loki..." Sylvie sighed, "Or maybe even Astrid."

"It's likely that storm things ate them..." Astrid 2.0. said, "And I was just starting to like prissy me..." he laughed as Mobius drove, "Do you two believe that like... " he asked as they nodded, "Wow..."

"It doesn't matter. We'll get out of here alive and find out who's behind it."

"Just because It's complicated doesn't mean it's not going to work..." Loki smirked, "Something someone close to us all hopefully taught us..."

"It also doesn't mean it's good..." kid Loki sighed, as Lokigator grumbled, "He's on board."

"No, he's praying he thinks we're going to die... "

"Are those..."

"Loki's"

"Hey, you! You mere worm!" Kid Astrid shouted as Kid Loki turned around, as he bit his thumb at her, Kid Astrid running towards him as she hugged him tightly, Classic Loki smiling, "More of them do exist..." his eyes focusing out towards the hill as another Astrid appeared,

She was younger, just like he remembered her to be, brown skin with the glow of Vanaheims sun, but she wasn't his Astrid, at least not from the timeline he was a part of him. "Loki, you're okay. Thank the Norns, Thank Frigga and Freya." her hands on both his cheeks, something scaley had wrapped around her ankle as she looked at the animal,

"Do I want to know..."

"I'm afraid not, my love." he kissed her nose.

"Can we get this bittersweet reunion done? We have arse to ki-" Regal Astrid stopped in her tracks as she saw Classic Loki,

"You were Alive!" she growled, "I could! I could!" he kissed her,

"Uh, not to interrupt, but is that bad..." Punk rock Astrid asked, pointing towards a car coming their way,

"Well, that usually means marauders or cannibals or pirates or cannibalistic pirates..." Kid Loki smirked,

"Your childish dark humor never seemed to disappoint me." Astrid laughed, "Darling, he's serious..."

"Well, dritt..." she mumbled under her breath. The group waited to see what would happen, both Sylvie and Astrid 2.0. walked out as Loki ran towards them both.

"Is he a coward or brave..." Classic Loki asked,

"He's a Loki." Regal Astrid smiled.

"We thought you could use some backup..." Sylvie smiled as she looked past him, seeing all the other Loki's

"These are my friends. We'll they're us as a child, us as an alligator, I wouldn't ask about that one and us.." Red highlights peered behind Loki as Sylvie nearly teared up, her crown on the other woman's head as she waved at her,

"Astra, you're alive!" Sylvie spun her around, "I thought you died..." she kissed the punk rocker as Astrid 2.0. looked away, " Apparently, switching out your sister's life for yours is a misdemeanor at the TVA." she laughed,

"Jesus Christ, it's like you throw a rock out here, and you hit a Loki..." Mobius watched

"Or an Astrid." Astrid 2.0. listened to the plan, which was to kill Alioth, which meant there was no other plan, "So you're going to paper cut him to death." Sylvie laughed,

"Astrid, please say you have a better idea..."

"Honestly, this is all beneath me realistically, and I don't think I can fight that thing and live!" she sighed, "I'm a Vanir which means..."

"You can do it, darling..." Loki kissed her hands, "I've seen you hold a building with your powers..." he smiled, "You taught me spells not even my mother knew..." Loki smiled, "So do us all a favor..." Mobius stepped in, "What's that..." she asked.

"Don't hide your magic." Regal Astrid patted her on the back. "That means you too, Loki..." she smiled. Sitting in the abandoned factory of the Astrids was Mobius and Loki's who told stories and asked about Lokigator,

"You don't remember him..."

"The TVA took a lot of Loki's but an alligator no..." Mobius stared at him. "Who's to say it's even a Loki!"

"But he's green..."

"I mean, yeah... but he could have tricked you into thinking he's a Loki, but then again... a Loki would do that... Because you guys like games which I respect, how do you Astrids put up with it." he chuckled as Regal Astrid laughed,

" Laughter and outwitting the game keeps you happily married." she laughed, "Sounds like you want to turn everything you know away..."

"People can change." He winked.

"Mobius isn't so bad..." Sylvie said to Astra. As Astrid 2.0. cuddled in close with her, "He isn't all that great either... he blabs about Jet skis." he smiled, conjuring up a blanket to use, the wind by the void making himself chilly. "Think you two could conjure me up some new clothes..." she asked, watching as Loki wrapped his arm around his Astrid. "He does care about you..." Astrid smiled, the wind blowing her hair back, a dark green blanket wrapped around him, as she placed her hand on his right arm, noticing that for once he didn't hesitate to move it,

"I could make you one..." he tensed up,

"Sweetheart, you're a Jotun... you don't get cold..." she sighed happily, snuggling into the blanket with him, her head resting on his shoulder." Maybe I just wanted you closer..." he smiled, "And for the record, I do get a little chilly..." he winked making the blanket longer,

"Loki did this come off of Thor's bed..."

"What! No, It's green, which means that it came from, hang on how do you know what's on -"

"I was arranged to him since we were five, remember." she laughed.

"How do I know that you won't betray me..." Astrid asked him as she faced him, "How do I know that in the final moments, you won't betray Sylvie or Astrid 2.0." Sylvie listened as she looked their way.

"Look, Astrid, I know I've betrayed you, Thor, my father, my people... Sif... I know what I did. I know why but I don't plan to do that anymore. If you can trust me with your heart, you can trust I won't let you down." he kissed her forehead.

"You sure because if we make it and the TVA is gone, there might be a timeline where we can rule." Sylvie butted in.

"Then I might be happy." he ruffled her blonde locks, much like how Thor used to, "What about you, what are you going to do, Astrid 2.0," Sylvie asked,

"Well, I don't know, I figured... You and Astra were happy so..."

"Maybe we could figure it out together..." Sylvie suggested placing a kiss on his lips; both Loki and Astrid watched as the two stood up, hearing Mobius walk behind them,

"Hey, I'm offering a ticket out. If anyone wants to come?"

"We're going to stay."

"Are sure what Alioth..."

"We survived this long. We know what we're doing." Regal Astrid smirked, "Good luck we hope you find what you're looking for ..."

"What will you do at the TVA..." Loki asked,

"Burn it to the ground. Thanks for the spark. Well, see you later, Loki," Mobius smiled as Loki hugged him tightly, "Thank you, my friend. "

"You're my favorite..." he said to Sylvie as he smiled, letting go of the warm embrace, "Oh, and Astrid." he turned from the portal,

"Yes... Mr. Mobius?"

"You'll make a mighty great queen someday." he shot finger guns at her as she did them back, "Thank you..." she smiled. Kid Loki smiled, giving Loki a flaming sword, as Kid Astrid gave Astrid her amulet back,

"Remember, no hiding your magic!" they said, walking away hand in hand.

Astrid nodded, the four walking towards Alioth conjuring up new outfits and armor, "We're going to enchant it!" Sylvie shouted as Astrid nodded, "We've got you." she smiled as both she and Astrid 2.0. used their powers, "He's going to swing to the left..." Astrid closed her eyes, moving its cloud to the right, "Loki..." she said, "If you can hear me... please use the sword." she said through telepathy, "I can't lose you again..." the two Astrid and Loki variants tried to fight off Alioth as Classic Loki, and Regal Loki made a diversion with their powers,

"Glorious purpose !" he shouted,

Astrid pressed the red jewel of her amulet as her eyes turned purple, orbs of green in her vision, watching as Alioth faded away.

"We did it..." Astrid 2.0. ran to Sylvie

"We... did it you did it that was amazing!" Loki kissed his Astrid, "Where has that magic been!"

"Hidden."

#loki x oc #loki fandom #loki series #loki x original female character #Astrid sodotirr loki oc #new stuff #new series #i hope this is alright!#i hope this works!

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animescenarios · 4 years ago

Note

Hello~ Thank you for your wonderful writing! Your headcanons and scenarios make me happy every day! Can I ask friendship headcanons about Vorpal Swords team (not separated) and reader in the training camp before match with Jabberwock? She cares about them because Riko and Momoi can't do it?

I'm so glad that you like my writing and that I can make you happy with it! It's such a great thing to hear ^^

Please keep in mind I don't know much about the history of Vorpal Swords and their dynamics with Jabberwock as I'm not familiar with the KNB movie, so my headcanons won't be that plot oriented.

- the training camp was about to start and you, as well as the guys, were all looking forward to it

- you were chosen to look after them and play a role of their manager for the time

- Riko and Momoi weren't there to help you so even though you were good friends with the team, it was still nerve-wracking

- you were worried that you'll do something wrong or forget about one of your tasks and told Akashi about it but he assured they'd help you if needed

- as much as they were having the training camp to work and practice with their future game in mind, they also wanted to have fun and integrate

- from the very beginning, it was loud and chaotic

- in the bus everyone was focused on different things but if you expected it to be quiet, you'd be disappointed

- Midorima, Akashi and you are the ones trying to calm down the others, Aomine's trying to sleep even though there's Kise and Kagami shouting through the seats, Murasakibara doesn't seem affected by the noise and watches the others go wild and Kuroko is reading, or at least tries hard to focus

- the same chaos continues even after arriving to your destination, especially when it comes to choosing rooms

- you seem a bit overwhelmed and don't know how to make the whole group focus so Akashi comes to the rescue and makes everyone listen as you explain the schedule

- when practice starts, you finally have some time to breathe as they all immediately become serious and focused on playing

- still, there are small fights, especially when they fail with their teamwork at some point

- but overall you're happy to see them improving and communicating much more

- you help each member by pointing out some things you've noticed during their play

- even though they seem so different, working together makes them a real team where each player has a crucial role and others know exactly what to do during a game

- each day of the training camp is tiring but they too can see the improvement and it makes them even more excited for the real upcoming game

- they're all nice to you too, helping with some things when you get lost or overwhelmed and respect your observations

- when it's finally time to come back, they're all exhausted but happy

- contrary to their first drive, the last one is much more quiet as everyone's either sleeping or thinking about the game

- when they arrive to their starting point in the evening, they all thank you for being their manager and for helping them

- you were worried but everything turned out well and your friendship became even stronger after those few intense days

#kuroko tetsuya #kise ryouta #midorima shintarou #aomine daiki #murasakibara atsushi #akashi seijuro #kagami taiga #generation of miracles #vorpal swords #kuroko no basket

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is-it-madness · 5 years ago

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My Glorious Purpose | Loki x OC Chapter 4

A/N: Hi all! I hope you’re enjoying the story so far. Just wanted to let you guys know I will try to post the next chapter as soon as I can, since I had to break this chapter into two. It would’ve been waaay too long. So I’ll try to post it in the very near future.💜

Pairing: Loki x OC (Tera Digitalis)

Word Count: 2.7k+

Warnings: Battle, mentions of blood

Chapter 4: The Battle of New York: Part 1

(Tera's POV)

I feel myself laying down on something soft. I don't remember going to sleep last night. Suddenly, the memories hit me. Thor being real, Natasha taking me to her interrogation, and Loki. I bolt up, but it's too fast, I become dizzy.

"Whoa there, кроли." Someone nearby says.

I feel a hand on my arm.

"You okay there kid?"

I recognize the first voice as Natasha's but the second...

"Clint?"

"In the flesh," he responds.

I'm no longer seeing stars. I look up to see Natasha, Clint, and a very battered Thor standing by my bed.

"Clint! You're okay!" I fling myself on him.

"Whoa, there kid! I'm glad to see you too, but jeez, calm down. I'm still recovering here."

"Sorry," I apologize sheepishly.

He shrugs and gives me a hug. "It's okay. You're worth it."

I pull away from his embrace. "So what happened? How's Clint back? Why does Thor look like he's been rolling it dirt?"

Thor gives a hearty laugh at my last statement.

"Loki believed he could rid of me by dropping me from his cage. But, he could not. Because I am mighty!" He proclaims, raising Mjolnir to the sky.

Nat sits on the bed next to me.

"I'm sorry Bunny."

"For what," I ask her, confused.

"I told you everything would be okay when I left you in Loki's room. I was stupid to think I could trust that trickster with you. I promised you I would come back for you, but I didn't. When Fury said he found you I-I was scared I had lost you."

I take her hand in mine. "It's not your fault Nat. We're dealing with the biggest threat we've ever had to face. We make mistakes. These things happen. And besides, I'm fine."

"She is right, Lady Romanoff. Loki only cast a sleeping spell on her. He did not harm her in any way."

At that moment, Steve enters the room. "Good, you're alright. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, it was just a sleeping spell."

"In that case, it's time to go."

"Go where?" Natasha asks.

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?"

Clint speaks up, "I can."

Steve looks at Nat, who nods at him reassuringly.

"Got a suit?" Steve asks him.

"Yeah."

"Then suit up."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve, Clint, Nat, and I walk towards a quinjet. Nat and I had to convince Clint and Steve to let me join them.

"Come on, please? I've been training with Nat for the past few months!"

"She has. And besides, she knows a lot of Loki's powers and what he's capable of."

Steve sighs, "Alright, fine. But you're responsible for her Romanoff."

"I already am Rogers."

We cross the tarmac. Clint with his arrows, Steve with his shield, and Nat and I with our knives and guns. When we enter one of the jets, a S.H.I.E.L.D. engineer runs up to us.

"Hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here."

"Son, just don't," Steve tells him with a look.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We fly towards Stark Tower in New York City. As we near, Nat radios Tony.

"Stark, we're on your three heading north east!"

"What, did you stop for a drive-thru? Swing that park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."

Clint and Natasha are piloting the plane. They release the canon gun. Tony flies past us at high-speed with the Chitauri following close behind him. Clint and Natasha begin to release continuous fire at the troop in front of us. They fly us through the smoke and up to Stark Tower. We circle around the building, blasting the army who are firing at them. One of the wings is grazed by Chitauri gunfire. We slow down as we come to the balcony of the tower. There, we find Thor busy, smashing Loki's head into glass on the catwalk of Stark Tower.

"Nat!" Clint says.

"I see 'em."

Loki turns to face the jet. He throws Thor to the ground, then blasts one of the jet's rotor blades with his scepter and it catches fire immediately. Thor gets up, and furiously charges at Loki and tackles him. That's the last I see of them as the quinjet falls to the ground.

Natasha and Barton hold on for their dear lives. Cap grabs a hold of the ceiling as I wrap my arms around his waist. The plane grazes against buildings. Steve's feet are lifted off the ground, I tighten my hold on him, scared to let go. Clint tries to maneuver the jet away from buildings and he's able to bring us, crashing, to the street. We slide several yards, before coming to an abrupt halt. Natasha and Barton remove their headsets, open the ramp, and we all run out the jet and towards the base of Tony's tower.

"We gotta get back up there," the captain tells us.

No one replies, we freeze in our tracks because high above the tower is the portal. And coming out of the portal...

"Oh my God," I say in horror.

A giant armored Leviathan, the warship of the Chitauri, and more fleets of warriors bleed into the sky.

We watch it fly past us as warriors jump onto the side of buildings and crash through the windows, gunfire following immediately after.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asks in disbelief.

"Seeing. Still working on believing," Tony answers through our earpiece. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Steve repeats.

"Just keep me posted," Tony says.

Clint, Natasha, and I crouch behind a taxi cab, our weapons drawn, preparing to fight. Steve runs over.

"We've got civilians trapped," Clint tells him.

The army flies past us and we see Loki with them on one of the flying crafts.

Steve growls. "Loki."

Loki and his following troops blow up the streets, laying waste to everything in their path. The police and civilians run for their lives as chaos rains down upon them.

"They're fish in a barrel down there!"

Nat turns towards me. "Are you ready? You can leave if you want. I won't judge."

"I will!" Clint calls as he runs toward the fight. I would have smacked him but he's already engaging in combat.

"No, no. I'm ready. I can do this," I tell her firmly.

She smiles, "Alright then intern, let's see what you can do in a real battle."

Natasha and I stand and we begin to fire our guns at an incoming group of Chitauri. We crouch down again as Clint bends behind an overturned taxi.

Nat turns to Steve. "We got this. It's good. Go!"

Steve looks at both of us. "Don't worry Steve, we can handle them," I say reassuringly.

"You think you can hold them off?"

"Captain," Clint says from his position, "it would be my genuine pleasure."

Clint reaches for an arrow, quickly nocks it, and shoots, hitting one alien in the head, while the arrow quickly separates into more arrows, killing three more Chitauri. Natasha and I stand and we quickly resume our fire. Steve jumps off an overpass, rolling onto a bus and into the street.

Clint helps people off a nearby bus as Natasha and I shoot our pistols at Chitauri. He runs over to us and rapidly sets off a barrage of arrows, raining down on the enemy as we continue reloading and shooting.

"Just like Budapest all over again!"

"You and I remember Budapest very differently," Clint replies.

"What happened in Budapest?" I ask. I thought I heard all of their stories, but I guess not.

"I'll tell you later!" Nat yells.

"Maybe I should tell her! We have different views on the story."

"I don't care WHO tells me, I just want the story," I bellow over the gunfire.

We soon engage in hand to hand combat with the invaders. Clint trips one with his bow. He pulls an arrow from his sheath and stabs it. I see Natasha use her Widow's Bite on a warrior as she sits on his neck. I use my knives to stab their heart and slice their arms and legs off. Clint is tackled by an alien, I run to help him, decapitating the beast. Natasha picks up a Chitauri weapon and uses it to fight off the warriors. One warrior tries to slice her head off and she slides, dodging it. She spins down onto one knee before shooting at one of the aliens charging towards me. He flies backwards. She continues to hack them away from us, defending my back while I watch hers. Clint runs towards us, slides, then fires more arrows at the growing number of enemies. Our circle becomes smaller and smaller, the three of us being forced closer together. I begin to accept my fate. This is how I'm going to die. By the hands of a monster, no thanks to a certain god of Mischief. We nearly have our backs pressed together, when Steve jumps into our fight to help. He slams the Chitauri away with his shield and suddenly we are able to expand our circle a little more.

"So lovely of you to join us," I tell him.

"Hey, someone's gotta rescue the civilians, right?"

"Hey! I saved some too, you know!" Clint wines.

I suddenly see a beast taking aim at me with one of his weapons, preparing to fire, but before I am able to fire at him, he and the surrounding aliens are struck by lightning. They are brought to their knees, dead. Thor drops down from the sky, landing beside us.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asks him

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable."

We hear Tony in our earpiece, "Thor is right, we gotta deal with these guys."

"How do we do this?" asks Nat.

Steve looks up to see more Chitauri fly by. "As a team."

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor tells us.

Clint is readying some arrows when he says, "Oh yeah? Get in line."

"Save it," Steve tells him. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him, these things can run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us to..."

He trails off at the sound of an engine sputtering towards us. We look to see Dr. Banner riding an old fashioned motorcycle. He dismounts, and walks toward us as we gather around him.

"So, this all seems... horrible," he says, surveying the damage.

"I've seen worse," Nat tells him.

"Sorry."

"No, we can use a little worse."

Steve reports to Tony, "Stark, we got him."

We hear Tony ask, "Banner?"

"Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."

Tony flies around a corner and towards us, followed closely by one of the huge Leviathans.

My eyes widen in horror, while Clint and Steve look on calmly. Thor growls and tightens his grip on Mjolnir.

Nat stutters, "I-I don't see how that's a party."

"Maybe it will blow up into confetti?" I ask softly.

Tony draws the monster low to the ground and it skims the road. Dr. Banner turns towards it and begins to walk straight for the Leviathan.

Steve follows him. "Dr. Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Cap." The doctor responds, looking back at Steve. "I'm always angry."

As he turns back around to face the oncoming alien, green suddenly sprouts through his skin and he grows in size, ripping his clothes to shreds. He immediately punches the Leviathan, smashing its face into the ground, but its body begins to roll over its head, coming to crash down on us.

"Hold on!" Tony yells.

He blasts a small missile at the creature when it's armor falls off. The missile explodes as it finds its target. An inferno blasts from the monster, flames and debris engulf us. Clint grabs my hand and we sprint away like mad, ducking in an alley. Thor just stands there taking the blast, while Steve grabs Nat and protects them with his shield. The heat scorches us, the surrounding cars melting from the intense heat. I can hear the cries of the Chitauri as the monster crashes and burns. Clint pokes his head out from the alley, checking to see if we can emerge safely. He takes my hand and we regroup in a circle. The Hulk roars, Clint nocks an arrow, Thor readies Mjolnir, Nat and I reload our guns, Steve stands ready with his shield and Tony hovers above us, next to the Hulk.

We look up, only to be greeted by more Leviathans and hundreds of warriors flying through the portal.

"Guys?" Nat and I say together.

"Call it, Captain." Tony tells him.

"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

Clint turns to Tony. "Wanna give me a lift?"

"Right. Better clench up, Legolas."

Tony grabs Clint and flies him up to the top of a building, then flies off.

Legolas, huh? Gotta make fun of Clint for that later. I smirk.

Steve turns to Thor, "Thor! You gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow 'em down. You got the lightning, light the bastards up."

Thor spins Mjolnir around, and takes off into the sky.

Steve turns to face Nat and I. "The three of us, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here." He then turns to face the green machine behind us. "And Hulk!

The Hulk growls, turning around to face Cap, who points towards the incoming Leviathans.

"Smash!"

Hulk grins, then leaps off, taking out dozens of warriors that are on the sides of the buildings—grabbing, smashing, and throwing them.

Natasha and I stand side by side, fighting the monsters together.

"How am I doing boss?"

"Not bad intern," she answers with a quick smile.

She is suddenly thrown upon the hood of a car. I run towards her to help as I notice the warrior about to attack her, but before I can, a Chitauri comes out of nowhere and tries to slice at my neck. I bend, sliding past him, but his blade makes contact with my forehead. I quickly come up behind him and sink my knives into his back.

I turn to see Nat wrestling the Chitauri gun from its grasp and shooting him back. Steve lands behind her, and she twists around with the gun ready, about to shoot, until she realizes who it is. She lowers the gun and leans against a car, blood dripping from her head and lip. Blood oozes from my head wound and I lift a hand to wipe away the blood because it starts to obscure my vision. I poke at the gash, just above my right eyebrow. It's not deep, but it's long, at least three inches.

"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." Nat tells Steve.

I giggle. They turn to look at me, shocked at how I found this funny.

"Yeah Cap." I repeat. "Not a dam thing."

Nat just rolls her eyes at me. She's heard me use that joke so many times now.

Steve looks confused, but decides to ignore my statement. "Our biggest guns can't touch it."

"Well, maybe it's not about guns," Nat states, looking at the portal.

"You wanna get up there, you're gonna need a ride."

Natasha glances up, watching the Chitauri crafts fly past. She makes her way over to the other side of the overpass.

"I got a ride. I can use a boost though."

A look of understanding crosses his face, "You sure about this?" He asks readying his shield in front of him.

I quickly move out of the way.

"Yeah, it's gonna be fun!" She says without excitement.

Nat runs at Steve, who uses his shield to boost her up. She grabs on to a passing Chitauri vehicle. We look up as she flies off in the distance.

We get hit by a blast from our right, but Steve raises his shield to protect us. We turn to see more warriors coming, inching towards us, carrying their blasters.

"C'mon kid. Let's kick some butt."

Part 5

#loki x oc #avengers #loki odinson #mcu #loki fanfic #marvel #marvel fanfiction #loki laufeyson

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gore-hovnd · 5 years ago

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Not my idea, but I read it somewhere and I can't get it off my mind. Jack and Brock as friends since teenage years, Jack used to be as cocky as Brock, but then something happens (non-con/abusive parents) and Jack stoped talking everyone, anyways Brock stuck around and and kept hunging out with him. Years later they join Hydra, Jack's better and become the tough guy we all know, but the trauma is still there and Brock is always keeping an eye on him.

It Never Had To Be Unrequited

Warning: Mentions/Hints at abuse, Homophobic slurs

Cartilage snapped in a sickening crunch as blood poured from his newly broken nose like an erupting geyser. Spitting it out onto the ground as it pooled against his lip, Brock glared daggers at his opponent. Some new kid with a quick tongue like Brock’s who was every bit as mean. He was taller, more gangly, but he was strong as an ox and stubborn as a mule. And his name was Jack Rollins.

Most had thought that the two of them would be two peas in a pod with how similar they were, devious little smart asses that never knew how to quit while they were ahead. But Jack was patient, he was smart, he was everything Brock was and more. And Brock resented him for it.

The two of them didn’t interact much before that day, in fact he was pretty sure they hadn’t spoken a word to each other. But something in Brock just snapped when he’d seen Jack encroaching on his friend group. He didn’t want Jack anywhere near them, anywhere near him. So he smarted off, maybe insulted him a little bit, maybe punched him a few times to get him riled up.

And that was how he’d ended up on the ground with Jack pinning him there, in the gravel of the bus lot, bombarding him with hit after well placed hit. Finally, Brock was able to free one of his arms and nail Jack in the ribs, effectively knocking the air out of him just long enough to shove him off. Just as the two of them were well on their way to jumping back on each other, the gym teacher and the football coach had them wrapped up. Jack had a bloodied lip to match Brock’s busted nose, both of them sporting black eyes as they sat next to each other in the principal’s office.

Anger quelled in Brock’s gut. He was mad at the world, at their teachers, at Jack. All of this was his fault, after all. And Brock was almost ready to pounce on him again when he stopped, hearing Jack speak to him for the very first time.

“You gotta killer right hook.” His words were quiet, almost as if he was almost hoping Brock wouldn’t hear them. But he did, and he smiled, his teeth pink with blood tinged spit.

“Yer not bad yerself.” Brock admitted, earning a cheshire grin from Jack.

And that was how they became best friends.

After that, the two of them were almost inseparable. Brock learned that Jack used to live outside of Telluride, Colorado, in the mountains with his dad. They moved to New York because of his stepmom, who had been a tourist there at one point but almost didn’t want to leave because of Jack’s father. So they moved with her because of her job. Jack said he didn’t really like the city, that there were too many people stacked on top of each other. That he missed the fifteen acres of land they used to live on and his dog, Noble, that they had to rehome when they moved to the city.

In turn, Brock told Jack about how his nonna had moved to New York City from Procida. That his family went to Italy every year with her to visit other relatives and that he’d never been to the mountains before. Jack promised to take him there one day and Brock promised he’d take Jack to Procida.

Sophomore year went by like a breeze after that. As juniors, the two of them wreaked havoc and got kicked off of the baseball team when they dared each other to join just to piss off their coach with their constant goofing off. They got suspended for releasing pigeons into the teachers lounge and they dressed as cheerleaders for the homecoming football game to embarrass Brock’s sister. They spent nights on the roof of Jack’s apartment building, staring out at the city lights as Jack reminisced about the times he could look up at the stars and they fell asleep up there with nothing but their own bodies keeping them warm. And on weekends they would spend their time reigning chaos on the city in the form of being public nuisances. They would ride their skateboards on the sidewalks and pull pranks on tourists. And when they finally did settle down at home, Jack would lean on him and they’d watch movies while Brock ran his fingers through Jack’s hair.

When Brock got back from that annual trip to Italy, Jack was different. Suddenly he wasn’t as sharp tongued, he wasn’t as open to get up to their old antics, and worst of all, he started pushing Brock away. There were no more pranks, no more nightly trips to the roof of Jack’s building. They didn’t skate around the city anymore and Jack didn’t like it when Brock got too close. He tried to ask what was wrong but every time he did, Jack just said that he was growing up. That they were seniors and that they needed to start acting like it.

So, they did. And when Jack told him that he was joining the Marines, Brock decided he would too. Because being in the military with Jack was better than being without him.

They went through basic together, got deployed, ended up in the same barracks. Years past and they somehow managed to stick together. Every once in a while, Brock would try to ask Jack what had made him suddenly decide to go into the Marines and Jack would just shrug him off, telling him that it didn’t matter, and Brock always accepted this answer.

It took an unfortunate run in with friendly fire and an extended hospital stay for Jack to finally admit what was wrong.

“When you went away that summer, my old man found out I was a fuckn’ queer.” Jack sighed, shifting beneath the uncomfortable sheets of the Norwegian hospital. “And he beat the shit outta me for it. Every day. And you were gone so I didn’t have anywhere to go. And it was just three months of hell that I couldn’t escape from.”

A bitter silence hung between them for a long moment before Brock was finally able to look at Jack after hearing a quivering breath. Jack huffed a laugh out, trying desperately to reel in the emotions that he’d been bottling up for so many years.

“And I wanted to hate you for it for so long, I tried to.” Jack shook his head, swiping a hand over his right eye. “But I couldn’t. ‘Cause somehow, after all these years and all this shit, I still love your dumb ass.”

And that was their turning point. Slowly, Brock was able to pull Jack out of his shell again. It was hard to find all of the pieces, but when he did, he'd pick them up and put them back together. He did his damndest to make Jack whole. After Jack’s confession, the two of them got closer. Closer than they ever were in high school. Brock got protective, hovered over Jack like a worried mother hen, and over the years, Jack slowly became that person he remembered.

That kid with piercing green eyes and a shit eating grin that begged to be challenged.

They were an unstoppable force; Jack’s calm was the eye of Brock’s storm. They were the perfect balance of persistence and patience that put fear into the hearts of those who dared to cross them. They were deployed together, they rose through the ranks with each other. And eventually, Brock said Hail Hydra with Jack by his side.

It was natural for them to stay together within the ranks of Hydra as well, Jack being Brock’s second in command on the STRIKE team just like he was everywhere else. Despite Brock being the commander, nothing happened without Jack’s say so. They worked together through thick and thin, two peas in a pod just everyone knew they would be.

But time after time, Brock found himself eyeing Jack for any of those telltale signs that he was relapsing back into that insecure, self destructive state of mind that had plagued the both of them for so many years. There were times where it happened, where Jack closed up and wouldn’t speak to him. And on the cold nights when that happened, he took Jack out on a drive to the middle of nowhere. Where they’d lay in the bed of his truck and stare up at the stars that Jack had missed so much. And Brock would card his fingers through Jack’s hair just like he’d done when they were kids.

#Request #requests open #Ask Prompt #fic request #fanfic #ficlette #Hydra Husbands #rumrollins #Jack Rollins #Brock Rumlow #Crossbones #beaufic

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parttimehuman · 6 years ago

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Thiam Drabbles 2019 #1

#1 - The one where Liam has an excellent flirting technique figured out and Theo simply cannot resist. For @li0nh34rt 💙 (Prompts are welcome any time.)

Theo’s first thought was dedicated to the bare chest he was looking at, strong muscles moving beneath smooth skin and a patch of dark hair splattered across it. It was pretty enough to distract him for a moment, catching his attention and making his mouth water just a little.

The second thought was a different one, and he couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“What?” Asked the owner of the beautiful body sitting in front of him. Theo’s eyes moved up and found a pair of piercing blue ones staring back at him. He was in love, he decided.

“Well, people don’t usually sit around naked at the laundromat while waiting for their laundry to be done,” Theo explained with a smirk. People usually didn’t, but that didn’t mean he had any objections.

“I’m not naked,” the pretty guy pointed out, gesturing at his middle. He was indeed wearing a pair of striped boxer shorts.

“You’re a lot more naked than anyone else I’ve ever seen in here,” Theo commented, setting down his laundry bag in front of a washing machine, starting to stuff his dirty clothes into the drum.

“The clothes I was wearing were dirty too,” it came from behind him. “Besides, I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t sit here in my underwear.”

“I didn’t say you shouldn’t,” Theo argued. He definitely hadn’t. He wasn’t that stupid. The sight of this guy was the absolute highlight of his day, that much was for sure. He turned on the machine and turned around. He smiled, and the other guy smiled back at him, which made Theo smile even wider, and just like that, like complete idiots, they spiraled themselves and each other into stupid grins that were accompanied by flushed cheeks.

“I’m Liam,” said the handsome stranger.

“Theo,” Theo introduced himself, thinking how strange it was to be shaking a naked person’s hand while he was fully clothed. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah,” Liam smirked, “I could tell.”

Theo’s face felt hot, but he had no time for the embarrassment. He simply pushed it far to the background of his mind. “So, Liam,” he said instead, “how long do you have left to wait? Time for a coffee? I could get some for us.”

“Shouldn’t be long,” Liam replied, pointing at the swirl of colorful fabric and white foam that moved in circles right next to Theo’s clothes. “But I’ll take that coffee. Thanks.”

“Milk?” Theo asked as he got up from the chair beside Liam, “Sugar?” He threw a look at the washing machine Liam was occupying just to check the time. “Shit, do you always wash your clothes that hot?”

“Milk, please,” Liam smiled. “No sugar.” The other question remained unanswered. The suspicion arose that Liam might not be very experienced with the laundromat, or doing laundry, for that matter, but Theo bit back the comment and left for the coffee shop across the street.

The first time that day he’d stepped into the laundromat, Theo had been met with a surprise, but not an entirely unpleasant one. The second time, a cup of coffee in each hand, what awaited him was the catastrophe he had told himself not to expect.

“Well, fuck.”

Liam stood in front of the washing machine. Theo almost felt a little guilty for his eyes scanning his body first, lingering on a delicious, round little ass for a second. With his lips parted in a combination of disbelief and horror, Liam picked up one of the freshly washed pieces and held it up into the air.

“I’m guessing these are not your baby brother’s clothes, huh?” Theo asked. Truth be told, the shirt in Liam’s hands didn’t look much bigger than a baby’s size.

Liam shook his head, let the shirt sink and picked up a pair of jeans that looked even more ridiculous in his hands.

“I guess we’ve found a reason not to wait around in your underwear,” Theo said, because it was the only thing he could think of.

Liam turned around, giving him a look, eyebrow raised and lips drawn into a fake pout.

“Not that anyone’s complaining,” Theo added.

Liam threw the still wet pair of jeans at him, and with the coffee in his hands, Theo couldn’t do anything but duck down, but the jeans still hit him at the shoulder.

“Hey! That was clearly a compliment,” Theo joked. “And don’t ruin your coffee too.”

Liam sank back down in his chair with a sigh and took the coffee from Theo, who put the jeans back to the rest of the tiny versions of what used to be Liam’s clothes.

“Great,” Liam muttered, “I was going to take the bus home. Which is literally at the other end of Beacon Hills.”

Theo laughed. “I can drive you,” he offered. “And if you ask really nicely, I might even give you some of my clothes as soon as they’re ready.”

“And here I was, thinking you were enjoying the view,” Liam replied, taking a sip from his coffee.

Theo shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, not bad.”

“Excuse me?!” Liam seemed more shocked by Theo’s lack of enthusiasm than by the fact that all of his clothes were shrunk. Theo found it adorable.

“You didn’t-”

“You’re a liar, Theo,” Liam huffed. He sat back and stared straight ahead, pretending to be focused on the hot beverage in his hands.

“Would you let me finish my sentence now?” Theo asked. “I can’t believe that I’m trying to flirt with someone like you. You’re going to bring a whole lot of chaos into my life, I just know it.”

Liam set his cup down on the empty chair at his other side. “Fine,” he murmured, “you may continue.”

“I’m sorry about your clothes,” Theo said, “but now I can’t help but imagine you in one of my hoodies. Don’t get me wrong, the nude look is definitely working for you. I think I’d like to bring you home wearing clothes though. Especially because that way, you’re going to have to see me again to give them back.”

Theo was studying Liam’s profile, the corner of his mouth perking up a little more with every word he was saying until finally, those gorgeous baby blues were back on him.

“Damn, you’re good,” Liam whispered.

Theo laughed. “You too,” he said. “Although I’m guessing the naked parade and the messed up laundry wasn’t part of some intricate flirting technique.”

“What are you talking about? I planned all of this.”

They kept talking like this, making little jokes in between interested questions. Theo had developed a pretty solid crush on Liam by the time his clothes were clean and dry. He handed Liam a pair of sweatpants. He hadn’t realized that Liam was any significant bit smaller than him, but with Theo’s pants loosely around his waist and the pant legs swallowing his feet almost completely, it clearly looked like it. If anything, it made the whole thing more precious though.

“Which one do you want?” Theo asked, holding two hoodies out to Liam, who took the dark red one that carried the emblem of Theo’s lacrosse team from high school on the front. It was probably the one out of his hoodies Theo wore the most. It was fitting, somehow.

“Cute,” Theo commented when Liam pulled it down over his head. The sleeves were just a little too long, the hoodie just big enough around Liam to make him look extra cozy. Theo suddenly had a very urgent need for some cuddles and snuggles. One day, he’d definitely get them from Liam.

“Hey, Theo?” Liam asked as they walked outside to Theo’s truck.

“Yes?”

“I’ll definitely see you again,” Liam said, “but this?” He tugged at the collar of the hoodie. “You’re not getting this back.”

Once again, Theo had to laugh, not just because Liam was funny, but because looking at this slightly weird, pretty guy, Theo felt happy and light-hearted. If Liam wanted it, fine, he’d sacrifice as many hoodies as necessary.

Or trade them for kisses, maybe.

#thiam #thiam drabbled #teen wolf #liam dunbar #theo raeken #my writing #drabble

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catch22inareddress · 6 years ago

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Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

Halloween has always been your favorite holiday, and with the past few years being very hard on you, this one was special. New home, new life. What the hell were you supposed to do when a very handsome and clumsy Chris Evans falls into your bookstore hiding from fans? Do you rescue him or throw him to the werewolves. Tonight is the night where you could dwell on the past you’ve been running from or focus on new beginnings. Which one would you choose?

Words: 5138

Halloween was one of your favorites times of the year. The smell of autumn in the air and having pumpkins surround you as you walked to and from places, made your heart melt into a gooey pile of candy corn. It brought up memories of you as a kid with your parents trick or treating and costumes, eating sweets until you were sick. It made you miss them terribly since they passed but you felt closer to them with fall in the air. If you had any doubts about your recent relocation, this would've crushed them all at once. The new town you were living in brought back those recollections like a flash flood and rather than drowning your were swimming and loving every second.

You just moved to a small Boston suburb where everyone knew everyone, and it was a far cry from the last ten years in LA, and you adored it. While you missed some aspects of LA, you were happy to find your new home, and you worked at a bookstore downtown, which you enjoyed. It was a more straightforward way of life, and you finally felt at home and safe from the chaos of LA, where you could barely make ends meet. You only missed your friends and close camaraderie that you had with them. Skyping wasn't the same, but you doubted that you would ever be able to go back, you barely had made it here, to begin with.

As you were unpacking the latest inventory of books in the now peaceful bookstore, you heard the front door chime and some quick rustling before you went up front to see what the commotion was. Your current weapon of choice was Hemmingway but it was a heavy book, and you had decent aim. With it being Halloween you could only imagine what terror awaited you. People were already dressed up, and you were about to close the store to go home and get ready for an evening out with a friend at a neighborhood party.

What you discovered when you snuck up behind a bookcase was quite amusing that you found yourself silently staring, trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

Here was this vastly built man in a blue henley shirt and snug jeans with a coordinating baseball cap hunched over the overstuffed chair. He was peering through the blinds like he was hiding from the Wolfman himself and it was all you could do to contain the snicker inside. If he cowered any more, you were sure the henley was going to tear right off the man's back and run in the other direction from the abuse. You came out from your hiding space and exposed yourself fully with books in hand.

"I would ask you if you were interested in the horror section, but something tells me you've had enough of that tonight?" He nearly jumped out of his skin but instead stood up from the couch and tripped on the coffee table, landing him flat on his ass. As he lay sprawled out before you, a giggle erupted from your throat. The blush that crept up his face was one that made you flush a similar shade of red.

You looked out the window similarly as he did previously while he tried to compose himself. "Sorry to intrude on you, miss." You ignored his apology while still peering out on the sidewalk and street. "So which goblin or witch are you hiding from tonight?" When you turned around he let out a smile that would break the streetlights for a mile and dropped his head, rubbing the back of his neck, you assumed as a nervous tick.

"Or should I say fans, Captain." He laughed seemingly embarrassed that you knew who he was. "I've been caught." You switched the blinds closed and locked the door and shot your most menacing glare his way but quickly lost it and laughed. "Don't worry; I'm not a creeper. You can hide out here while I close up. I'm more of a Winter Soldier girl myself." He feigned mock hurt as he clutched his ridiculously hard chest laughing and you smirked as you set the books down.

"If a buncha frat girls didn't just nearly mob me, I wouldn't be hurt, but one less crazed fan is okay by me. I should at least be happy that you aren't Team Ironman." He leaned his elbows on the glass counter as you scoffed at him for his blasphemous comment and he threw you another signature smile. "Anything I can help with? Ya know since I just threw myself into your store and at the mercy of your good graces." You grinned while you avoiding his gaze and closed out the till then putting up a few books. "I wouldn't mind a walk to the bus stop. The ghouls are out this tonight, along with the douchebags." He paused but then offered another solution. "I can do you one better. How bout a lift home?" You looked up at him with narrowed eyes, and he paused under the scrutiny. "C'mon! I'm Captain America."

"Let me ask you this, CAP. Say a strange man comes barreling in the store hiding from some random girls and offers a young woman a ride home on Halloween. Should she trust him? Seems a little sketch to me." He reflected on the scenario with a handsome, serious face that nearly made you swoon. "Under any other circumstances, I would tell her to run the other way and to make sure she wasn't wearing heels. In this incident, though I would say you are more than safe and would even call my mom to give you references." His face was earnest, and you wanted to believe that you were safe but too many years in LA gave you suspicions.

"OK, call her up." His brows shot to his hairline. "Seriously?" You nodded and crossed your arms over your chest, his eyes flicked to your cleavage but didn't linger. He passed the first test. Well done.

"No way am I getting in a car with a stranger on Halloween before I talk to his momma and make sure he's a gentleman." He gave a genuine and yet nervous laugh as he pulled out his phone and called Mrs. Evans.

"Hey, Ma. Yea Yea. I'm on my way. I got sidetracked by a mob of fans and had to lay low." He laughed, and you heard her ask if he was ok. "Yea, I'm good. Actually found a nice bookshop to hide out in, yea that's the one. Hey, can you talk to..Y/N?" He looked at your tag. "Yes, ma'am. I offered her a ride home, and she said she doesn't get in the car with strangers. So I said I'd call you...Yea." He handed you the phone.

"Hello?" A bright and cheery voice came on the line. "Hi, honey. I love that bookstore. I bring my grandkids in there all the time. I've seen you, and you are just the sweetest thing." You laughed at her observation. "Well, it is my job, Mrs. Evans." She laughed. "Nonsense, call me Lisa. I can tell you're nice. You even hid that brute of a son of mine when you could've told him to beat it. So thank you." You laughed at her easy nature and humor. "So you can vouch that he won't murder me?" For that, she was laughing hysterically. "He won't murder you, but he will try and smother you with his charms no doubt. Honey, make him work for it. That boy is a handful." You smiled. " And who says I'm not?"

"Thatta girl. Now if he doesn't hold the door open for you, call me. I will give him the ass reaming he deserves. I raised him better than that." You giggled. You already enjoyed her so much; you had to pay attention to the next time she came in. "Yes, ma'am " You hung up and handed him the phone, and he looked at you expectantly.

"She said that if you murdered me, you have to answer to her, so I suppose you can drive me home. Just remember, I'm fragile cargo." He smirked at your acceptance to his offer, and he held the door open and stood with his hands in his pockets and face down as you locked up.

"So where is your chariot, sir." His brows perked up, and you wanted to facepalm instantly. "Sorry, occupational hazard." He chuckled and held out his arm for you to cautiously take. "I can be your prince charming." You scoffed and looked at his ridiculously handsome face. "Whoa there on the charm, big boy. I may live here now, but I'm from LA." He walked you to his truck, and you laughed. "Overcompensating?" He barked out a laugh. "Is that an invitation to find out." He shut the door and jogged over to the driver side. He could go from flirty to a gentleman with the flip of a switch. It was like he was speaking a bilingual language so effortlessly as second nature, he didn't even realize it. He was dangerous and a playboy. You needed to be careful.

"So where to?" You gave him directions. "You live two blocks from me. That's convenient." You smirked out the window. "What? To borrow sugar?"

"Well if you ever need anything you can swing by, I'll give you my number." You simply nodded and looked at him skeptically. "What!? You're looking at me like a wolf in sheep's clothing. I'm a nice guy. I swear, you even talked to my mom." You smiled and looked at your hands. "Yea, she also warned me of your irresistible charm." He nodded silently. "Well, I promise not to throw unnecessary charm your way. I will only do what I mean and mean what I say. Fair?" You smiled and nodded your head.

"So LA? Why here?" You sighed and just went for it. "I lived there for ten years, and it was a struggled to make ends meet and then I found a job here at the bookstore and decided to just up and leave. Start fresh on a new coast. My parents and I lived in a small town, and I just wanted to get back to the small town vibe, ya know?" He went between watching you and looking at the road. One hand was on the wheel, and the other was on his leg, but he was intent on you. "Sorry, TMI?" He shook his head earnestly.

"No, I like authentic talk and hate bullshitting all the time. It drives me crazy all the interviews and surface level conversations." He grinned as he looked out the window. "This is my home even though I also have one in LA. It's ...just not the same. I miss here and the people. You fit here. Here suits you by the way." Out of everything that he had sent that had sent you in a flurry, it was the best compliment you had been given in a long time. It confirmed what you had felt. This was home. You knew that you were blushing and didn't even try to hide the smile that graced your soft features and Chris took notice of it instantly. "Thank you." He cleared his throat to get his focus back.

"Of course. So are you going to Gilley's party tonight?" You looked at him questioning how he knew. "Hey, don't sweat it. I just figured since you're in the neighborhood and all. We go every year to the shindig."

"Oh well, in that case, yea I'm going with a friend. Anything I should be prepared for?" He ruminated a moment for took his hat off rubbing his hands through his mussed up hair. "Well yea, they can get pretty rowdy. But mostly the girls are just ridiculous, a lot of them come from the college, so they are ...younger. I don't see you being that kind of girl." You felt a twinge of jealousy at the thought of girls hanging all over him but pushed it aside, especially when you were older. It was his life, and you weren't apart of it, you could only stew in the corner tonight with a beer in hand.

"Well, you should be used to it by now. Occupational hazard some would say." He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck again, turning another corner. "So what are you dressing up as?" You smiled at his question excitedly. "Flapper girl." He looked over at you, feeding off of your enthusiasm. "Oh yeah? I bet you'll be one good looking dame." You instantly blushed and bit your lip, and he couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I just learned something new about you." He said teasingly, and it peaked your interest instantly.

"What's that?" He shrugged indifferently. "I want to test my theory out later a bit more." He pulled up to your duplex and stopped, yet you didn't get ready to exit right away. "What makes you think you'll see me later tonight." He put his arm over the back of the seat but refrained from being presumptuous and putting it behind you. "Oh, I'll make sure of it." You laughed but made a point that it was at him and not with him. "You sure can manage that through these hoards of women you keep complaining about?" He beamed a smile and peaked over to look at you while you climbed out of his truck. "I need a pretty dame to rescue me again."

You looked back at him with a smirk. "You're gonna need rescuing alright. Especially when I tell your mom that you didn't open the door for me when we got to my place." He immediately frowned and you heard him mumble a curse as you shut his door and skipped to your place, refusing to look back. As you closed your front door, you finally heard him leaving and plopped down on your loveseat, recounting the evening and how it all unfolded. Holy fuck, that was one helluva turn of events.

After you felt pleased enough with your dress and retro makeup you and your friend, Sarah, walked the very short walk over to Gilley's house for the party. To say you were shocked at the turnout was an understatement. People were littered everywhere, although the man had a large enough house to satisfy the mass of people rather quickly.

Sarah pulled you arm in arm with her cat tail hitting you as she sashayed through the front door. You immediately snickered at all of the slutty cats but assured her that she was the best-looking kitten in the heat you had ever seen. She purred as you both headed to Gilley's well set up bar.

"SARAH!! My sexy woman! You made it." The burly 31-year-old forever frat boy made his way over to engulph you and Sarah into a bear hug. "Lovin' the outfit ladies." He poured you mixed drink and showed you around his house and the different entertainment tables for drinking games to your amusement.

"Don't look now but behind an ugly ass bunch of girls in cliche ass slutty costumes is a very dapper looking Chris Evans. That man is staring a hole into you girl. I mean I know you said you met him today but what the hell did you slip him? He's got it bad." You swatted her arm. "Oh please, that man is trouble. He could have anyone here; I'm the last thing he needs. " She looked at you over the straw of her mixed drink with soft eyes. "Don't do that. You deserve something good. You've had a shitty few years, first your parents dying then LA being a money sucking bust. So what if he likes you, let him. Maybe he can be your sugar daddy." If she hadn't added the last part, you might have teared up at the shitty memories flooding up.

Your parent both dying in the car wreck and barely having money to survive in LA ...yeah. The past few years had been rough. Which meant falling for a Christopher Robert Evans would not end well. At least not for you. You rolled your eyes at Sarah as she hip bumped you. "Fine, if you're so anxious when you start to feel something for him take a drink. You'll get drunk and forget it and have fun at least." You laughed, maybe she had something. You took care to glance over your shoulder and saw him looking handsome as ever and dressed to kill...wait no. He was dress to match you. He was a trim and attractive, dressed like the devil himself.

Without thinking you just left Sarah, hearing her giggling in the distance as you walked over to him. You had a surge of confidence when his eyes locked with you and he couldn't even smile, only staring at your red lips and perfectly styled hair. He was sitting with four girls giggling and talking about Captain America and such around him.

"Hey there, sorry it took me so long to make it baby." He couldn't contain the smile that graced his face as he beamed up at you and stood. You wrapped your arms around his perfect shoulders with his lopping around your waist. "It's no problem. I'm patient, doll. Just talking about movie stuff with these fans." He sat back down, and you sat in his lap like it was the most natural thing you had ever done. The fangirls that were hoping to get to set off some fireworks with the Captain tonight were thoroughly disappointed as he was giving you all of his attention now. The redhead dressed as Black Widow chimed in. "So are you going to be able to play to beer pong with us later, Chris?" Her voice whined, and it was all you could do not to recoil. "Sorry, I plan on spending the evening with my girl tonight. You understand, though. Have a great night ladies!"

And with a collective and audible sigh they wandered off with their tails, some literally between their legs. "Well, that was quite worth it. Thank you!" You smiled at him, suddenly aware of how close you were and making a move to get up. He took his hat off and set it on the arm of the seat and put his hand delicately on your leg. "Not so fast, doll. You get up they'll know we were playing them." His voice was low and gravelly, and you shivered a bit. "Cold, doll?" You shook your head, and he only smirked at you.

"So what's with the costume, Evans?" He shrugged and leaned his head to the side as you took a drink of your beer. Every time you catch a feel....

It was going to be a loong night.

"No costume really. Fitted suit and suspenders, a hat. I just wanted to make an effort for you. That's all." You shied away hoping he couldn't see your blush. "That's very kind of you. Do I get the full-service gentleman tonight? Tap dance and all?" He laughed. "Tell you what. Stay with me allll night, and I'll do a little soft shoe for ya. How's that sound?"

"Something tells me you're not a soft kind of guy?" He spewed out part of the beer he just drank and wiped the back of his hand on his chin. "Oh, we're going the route huh, doll? Naughty, dame?" You bit your lip and grabbed a shot from one of the guys walking by who didn't blink an eye at you, only laughing. "See I have a theory about you, sweetheart."

You let the burn run down your throat as you only hummed in response. "You've got a word kink. You like someone who can talk the talk isn't that right, sweets." He voice was low and throaty in your ear. Damnit, he was good. Either that or you were damn near transparent. Right now you were going with both. Both is good.

You two had made your way around the room, and he had introduced you to his friends from school and played some drinking games. You were losing yourself in the night, and you were sure if you were getting drunk on the alcohol or him. All of his friends and you had seemingly hit it off, and that only was worse, mainly because you couldn't get drunk enough. You knew you were going to remember the night and forgetting him was going to be hard. Sarah was toasted, but Gilly had a soft spot for her, and you knew she was safe with him watching out for her.

"I'm going to go and risk the ladies room line, I imagine you'll see me around dawn." Chris laughed as your rolled your eyes. "I'll wait for you, doll." You suppressed the fluttering butterflies and took a drink to drown them with booze and walked in the direction of the bathroom.

Little did you know that Sarah was drunk beyond belief and loose lips sink ships. "So, you and my girl seem to be hitting it off, Evans." Her slurred words would be nearly unrecognizable by some but the Boston native spoke her language, sometimes fluently. He smiled to himself as he watched you walk away. "Yea, she's somethin' else. You think she'd go for a guy like me?" He knew that he was fishing, and it was wrong, but he needed a bone thrown his way. Sure you guys were having a fabulous night, but he wanted something more than a drunk filled night of laughter. He wanted to see you again, and if Sarah just said that it was a possibility, hell that was all he needed.

"She's a tough one to crack, Chris. You're every girl's type, so that's gonna scare her off." He furrowed his brows and Sarah grabbed his check roughly not realizing her strength at the moment. "Hey, sad Hulk. I'm not sayin you don't have a chance. Why you think she's been drinkin sooo hard? Every time she drinks it's because she's feelin' somethin?" He looked up at her and gently took her wrist off of his face. "What do you mean?" She shrugged haphazardly. "She was scared she'd fall for you t'night. So I told her to just drink it off so she'd forget it. Girl can hold her liquor though."

Sarah found that hilarious and had a giggle fit, and Chris rolled his eyes. "That's some fucked up shit, Sarah." She hit his ridiculously hard shoulder thinking she would move him, huffing when he was resolute in his stance. "Shut the fuck up! She's had a shit life. Her parents died in a car wreck, and the same week she found her boyfriend fucking her roommate. She had to couch surf because she was homeless and save every penny to move out here and start over. She has no family and doesn't want to get her heart broken by America's sweetheart. Can you bl--."

"What the hell, Sarah?!" You stood there hearing the conversation about you between your very drunk friend and the man that you were grappling to keep any feelings for. "Chris, if you have questions about me I would appreciate you ask me and not someone else." He put his hands up in defense. "It's not like that, I just asked if I had a chance with you and---." You grabbed your purse from behind the bar and waved by to Gilly who was walking back over to Sarah who was looking more and more unbalanced by the moment.

"Well, I can answer that for you. No. You don't. Men like you don't end up with women like me." You turned on your heel and made a quick exit seeing his fan club by the door. "He's all your ladies." They heard you and saw a determined Evans following behind. They were also headstrong, and they saw this as a second chance at seeing some Captain Action and blocked his exit as you made a quick getaway.

Your apartment was about a 20-minute walk, but you weren't really in a hurry and enjoyed looking at all the houses and seeing a few of them getting toilet papered this late in the evening. You had a delicious buzz going on but drunk you were not. It's like your body refused to let the memories of Chris go. His laughter and the touch of his hands on the small of your back. He was so easy to talk to and get along with, it was like second nature. Then he would turn and whisper things with such a double meaning it would make your insides turn warm. He could keep your toes on point like that of a premier ballerina. Yet you had just met him, was this what love at first sight felt like? You laughed at loud at the sheer cliche of it but damnit to hell, it sure felt like it was something profound.

Lost in thought and out of nowhere someone rolled up beside you startling the living daylights out of you. "Holy fuckity fuck!" You launched off and whacked the random assailant in the head with your purse, and he grunted. "Shit!! It's me Y/N! Chris!!" You stopped and held your chest and knelt over a moment. "Well even the more reason to hit you, asshat! Scaring the piss outta me and invasion of privacy. Now go away!"

You turned to keep walking but he jumped in front of you, and you stopped knowing you weren't going to get around the mountain of a man. "I will yell fire and wake up the whole street." He put his hands up in submission. "I just want to talk and make sure that you get home safe, please?" You sighed in surrender. "Fine, you have 8 minutes till I'm home to make your case." He smirked and took a place in step next to you in silence at first.

"I didn't mean to fall into that deep of a conversation with Sarah I was just thirsty for information about you, and I didn't go about it the right way." You agreed but yet allowed him to continue. "Truth is, I'm not that good with this dating thing. I may have a quick charm, but it doesn't go past the first meet, especially when I really like a woman. I'm clumsy and trip over my words, I'm not suave or a charmer. I have some pretty solid moments that make you think I've got it going for me but I'm insecure and doubt myself all the time. I had a moment of uncertainty and asked Sarah if I had a chance with you, that's all." You paused and looked at him, not saying anything but just searching his eyes for truth, and you couldn't find a lie. Yes, he was a fucking great actor, but you couldn't believe he was performing right now.

"Thank you for that Chris. I'm sorry I went off on you, it's just I didn't want you to see me like that. Know all of the gritty details. My life isn't glamorous, and that's ok...for me. But I see the way women look at you and the way those girls at the party looked at you. I'm not that kind of woman, I will never look like that or act like that. I can't be that for, and I won't fit in your world." He shook his head as if you ever word you said was a foreign language and made no sense to him.

"That bullshit." Your brows arched and you were ready to go straight up defense mode with Captain America himself. In fact, that was the image that you saw for a split second. Holy hotness. His shoulders were broad, and he was ready for a verbal battle if that was what was needed. "I know you've only known me one night but in that time did I made you feel like that was the kind of woman I wanted? Hell, you met me because I was literally hiding from the likes of that kind of girl. And look around you." He waved his arms around dramatically. "This is my world. The acting world is just my work and hey if I get to take you on a red carpet date, that would be unbelievable. If that's not something you want, then that's ok too. I can take my mom." He smiled at you adoringly while your heart was hammering out of your chest, processing what he was saying to you.

"What do you want from me? No games just..tell me." He laughed and stepped closer to you. He bit his lip, and you could see some desperation crease the worry lines on his face. His hands gently ran up your arm while the other found home on your waist, your breath got caught in your throat.

"I want you to give me a chance. I want a chance to take care of you and show you that there are good men out there. I want to be that man for you, doll, and I knew it as soon as you threw that sass at me in the bookstore. If there is such a thing as love, at first sight, you had me right then. I'm trying real hard not to scare you off but fuck it. No games right?" You smiled and looked at your feet, taking a moment you gain your composure.

"You sure it's not the booze talking?" He gripped your hip to gain your attention again. "Doll, I switched to water well over an hour ago to be your DD. It's not the booze, and the only thing I'm drunk on is you." You wrapped your arms around his neck. "That's a crappy line there, Evans." He shrugged and leaned his head a little closer. "I told you I'm not as smooth with the ladies as most people think." He finally closed the distance and claimed your lips as his. The warm and lush plumpness pressing up against your painted red ones, gentle and chaste. He pulled away and looked adoringly at you causing you to blush like a damsel in one of your books. "Well, you managed to get this girl." His brows shot up in a pleased and excited manner. "Oh yeah! I get the girl, huh?" You let the palm of your hand trail down and rest just above his heart.

"You most certainly get the girl, but one thing?" You leaned up and wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders, and he pulled your flush with his body. "Anything, doll." You smiled up at the most handsome man that you ever laid eyes on. "You use the knowledge of that word kink on me when the time is right." His eyes instantly darkened and he let out a dark laugh. "Oh, I plan on it, baby girl. I plan on it."

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knox-knocks · 6 years ago

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Restart ~ Chapter 12

read on ao3

Neil had been awake for hours, tracing the pattern of cracks reaching across the ceiling with his eyes, his hands folded across his stomach while he lay on his back. The sun filtered in from the window, casting long tendrils of light across the room and catching the dust floating in the air.

Neil breathed in. Breathed out.

After the game last night with Binghamton, the Foxes didn’t stick around for very long. When they reached Palmetto and unpacked the bus, Neil just wanted to go up to his dorm and go to bed. He really didn’t feel like going out to Columbia with the others for drinks, but he also didn’t feel safe alone in the dark dorm room.

The Upperclassmen stayed behind, but Neil tagged along with Andrew and his group to Eden’s. Andrew made Kevin stick to his promise and kept him from getting shitfaced, and Nicky and Aaron nursed the loss at the table before disappearing in the crowd for a couple of minutes. They didn’t stay for very long; they’d arrived late and no one really felt like dancing.

Neil sulked at the table with Andrew and Kevin, occasionally taking sips from his water before he glared out at the crowd around him. Even though he was in a foul mood, this trip to Eden’s was a lot better than his last one.

The last call for drinks went out and Andrew snatched a couple more whiskeys and shots of vodka for him, Aaron, and Nicky to down before they got ready to go.

Back at the house, Neil tried to sleep on the armchair in the living room, but it was impossible. He couldn’t stop thinking about the game. All of his faults and fumbles, how he could have done better. He wondered if Ichirou saw the game. No, that wasn’t the right question.

He wondered when Ichirou would contact him about it.

Eventually, Neil gave up and wandered upstairs, careful to not disturb Kevin snoring soundly on the couch. He knocked on Andrew’s door before opening it as quietly as he could. Andrew’s eyes had been open when Neil stepped in, but they were unfocused and groggy from sleep. Neil probably woke him when he opened the door. Andrew didn’t tell Neil to get out when he settled on the floor beside the bed, only tossed a blanket at him and told him to go to sleep.

Now that it was morning, Neil felt less scared than he did in the dark, but his body still felt cold with fear. Fear of the game, fear of how he played, and fear of how Ichirou was going to react to it.

Screams coming from downstairs ripped Neil from his reverie.

He jumped to his feet, ignoring the dizziness that attacked his head from the sudden movement, just as Andrew yanked off his blankets and lunged for the door with a knife already in hand.

Neil followed Andrew down the stairs, taking two at a time and barely avoiding tripping down them. Kevin was rousing from his spot on the couch, blinking blearily from behind the pillows, but Neil could hear loud voices from the kitchen.

He didn’t know what he’d find when he turned the corner. Blood, definitely. A body, maybe.

He didn’t expect to see Nicky with a mess of glass shards and coffee at his feet, his eyes stretched wide in horror as Aaron waved around a knife and a piece of paper clutched in his fist in the air. There wasn’t a body, not even blood. The only mess was the coffee on the floor that Nicky had clearly dropped.

Aaron rounded on Neil as soon as he saw him. He shoved the paper to Neil’s chest. “Care to explain what the fuck this is?”

Neil looked at the paper and his stomach bottomed out.

“Why the fuck did I come downstairs this morning to see this stabbed into the fucking wall, Josten?”

Neil didn’t know what to say. The words on the page started to blur as the rest of the room faded out, all the yelling and chaos paled compared to the note. Andrew plucked it from Neil’s fingers to read, but Neil already had the entire thing burned into his mind.

Careful, Wesninski. You do not have room for any more slip-ups. This is your last warning before I cut you off at the knees. Do not disappoint me. You cannot afford to.

The note wasn’t signed, but it didn’t need to be. The threat was clear.

Aaron’s hands shoving at Neil’s shoulder brought him back to the present. His face was contorted and angry. The only reason he hadn’t hit Neil again was because of the human wall in the shape of Andrew Minyard that forced its way between them.

“Neil, what’s going on?” Nicky asked, his voice wavering and his eyes scared.

“Nicky, check the locks on the door. The windows too,” Andrew ordered, pointing at Nicky. Nicky didn’t move; he looked torn between listening to Andrew and staying for an explanation.

“Ichirou Moriyama,” Kevin’s weak voice answered so Neil didn’t have to struggle for words. “That’s what that is, isn’t it?”

Neil turned to find Kevin, pale and stressed out in the doorway. He raised his phone in the air, his hand trembling. “He says your failure is my failure, too.”

“Why are the Moriyamas sending you two threats?” Aaron asked, his voice low and dangerous.

“We’re his investments,” Neil said vaguely when it was clear Aaron wasn’t going to take silence for an answer. His head was spinning and he couldn’t tell if the words were really leaving his mouth or not. “How well we play determines if we get to live. Ichirou made it clear that I was on thin ice. That was never supposed to extend to Kevin.”

“So, what, you sold yourself off to the fucking Yakuza? And didn’t think that was an important thing to bring up with rest of the team?” Aaron shouted, his face twisting with hate. “This kind of affects all of us and you had no right to keep that from us.”

“Since fucking when do I owe you anything?” Neil snarled, snapping out of his frightened haze. Andrew had a hand on his chest, preventing him from getting closer to Aaron, but Neil sure as hell tried anyway.

“Since your dumbass actions affect the rest of the team.”

“What, scared that the bad guy is going to slit your throat while you sleep? This isn’t about you, get your fucking head out of your ass.”

“Fuck you. You may not care that you’re putting the rest of us in danger too, but I do. This is last year all over again. Who do you think is going to get hurt because of your loud mouth?”

Neil’s mouth clamped shut. Nicky glanced from Neil to Aaron like he was watching an intense tennis match and Kevin was quickly turning green in the face like he was going to be sick. Andrew’s hand dropped from Neil’s chest to his side, but Neil didn’t move. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. “What?”

“Right, ‘cause your memory loss or whatever,” Aaron said with venomous derision. “Remember what happened to Seth because you couldn’t keep your big fucking mouth shut? Or –”

“Aaron,” Andrew warned.

Aaron ignored him. “– or to Andrew? You seriously don’t remember last year’s winter banquet, when you said Riko set Andrew up, do you?” Aaron’s glare could have flayed Neil alive.

Neil felt sick. Aaron was right. Neil put all the Foxes in danger just by being there. It didn’t matter that he didn’t lead Ichirou right to them, he already knew where they all were.

“Don’t you fucking dare say this isn’t about us when we’re the collateral damage.”

“Neil,” Nicky whispered just as Andrew started to pull Neil away from the kitchen.

Neil jolted away. “No,” he said.

Neil turned, intending to run from the room and put as much distance between himself and everyone else, and smacked right into Kevin. The hit wasn’t hard but it still drove the last of Neil’s breath from his lungs. Kevin was looking at Neil with the same fear that Neil felt clutching his heart. Neil dodged past him and took the stairs two at a time to the bathroom. He just barely bent over the toilet in time to dry heave into it.

Aaron had no reason to lie to Neil, especially not about something like that. And he didn’t need to either, because Neil remembered it. The worst part was that Neil thought he might have known it all along, buried somewhere deep in the back of his mind so he didn’t have to face it. He knew he was responsible. Ichirou might as well have staked the knife through Neil’s ribs instead of the kitchen wall.

Neil slumped to his knees.

God, how could the Foxes even look at him? Guilt twisted inside his stomach like a burning hot knife slicing him from his chin to his gut. Neil wasn’t sure if he could face the Foxes ever again. And Andrew. Andrew should have let him run that first day in the hospital.

A knock on the bathroom door startled Neil from his spot on the ground beside the toilet. Neil didn’t have time to lock the door before he doubled over the toilet, so Nicky just eased it open and peeked inside. “Neil?” he said.

Neil, Nicky called him. He might as well have called him Alex, or Chris, or any of those other names that belonged to a boy that didn’t exist.

Nicky’s face scrunched up with concern as he knelt down by Neil. “Are you okay?”

Neil swallowed the bitter taste left-over in his throat. He nodded. “I’m fine. I just don’t feel too good. I think I might go lay down for a bit.”

“You do that. Andrew took Aaron on a drive, mentioned something about grabbing food for breakfast. You can use his room while he’s out, I’m sure he won’t mind,” Nicky said gently, like Neil was a scared child that needed consoling after a nightmare. This whole goddamn thing was a nightmare.

Neil didn’t understand how Nicky could look at him like that; like he was concerned for Neil’s well-being. Neil had ruined things for him, gotten Andrew hurt, and nearly destroyed Nicky’s team yet Nicky was somehow still able to look at Neil like he cared. He didn’t deserve it.

Nicky helped Neil up from the bathroom floor, holding him carefully like Neil was made of fractured glass, and led him to Andrew’s open bedroom although Neil could have walked by himself just fine.

“If you need anything, call me and I’ll be right here. Okay?”

Neil nodded. He already knew he wasn’t going to call Nicky. He wasn’t going to get anyone else involved anymore.

Nicky smiled, his eyes still wrinkled at the corners like he thought Neil was about to shatter. He backed out of the room and closed it behind him.

Immediately, Neil locked the door and started to pace the room.

He needed to get his duffel bag. His binder didn’t have as much money than it used to – from the Maserati, Neil remembered – but Neil knew where Mary stashed the rest of it. He could stop in Minnesota and Idaho, maybe circle back to Pennsylvania and meet up with one of Mary’s contacts. He’d get a new fake ID, a new name, a new face with fake contacts and hair dye. Then he could get a plane ticket and leave the country as soon as possible. Argentina was a good bet; it was easy to disappear there and while Neil’s Spanish was still rusty, he could learn.

The only problem was the FBI. There was no doubt they’d be tracking Neil’s movements still. If he got on a train as soon as possible and got that fake identity, Neil could probably throw them off his trail. He had no doubt that he could do it. It was just a new face, a new name, a new place. He’d done this twenty-two times before.

He’d never speak to the Foxes ever again, would never see their faces one last time, but this was necessary. Neil was keeping them safe. Ever since he came to Palmetto, he was putting them in danger. He was eliminating that threat the best way he knew how – running.

Neil was out the door and down the stairs before he could even think about stopping. Neil decided to skip going back to Palmetto completely. Not having his duffel and binder full of contacts and money was a huge loss, but Neil would manage. Andrew and Aaron had been gone for twenty-five minutes. They could be back any minute now so Neil only had a small window to escape before Andrew realized he was gone. By the time anyone noticed he hadn’t come back, he would already be on a train to Pennsylvania.

Kevin was on the couch with his head in his hands when Neil came downstairs. Nicky was still in the kitchen but he looked over when he heard Neil’s frantic descent down the stairs. Kevin looked up the same moment Nicky opened his mouth to say something, but Neil cut him off.

“I’m going for a run. Be back in a few,” he said. It wasn’t a complete lie. He was going for a run. He just didn’t intend on coming back at all.

“Hey, I don’t think that’s a good idea –” The door slammed behind Neil before Nicky could finish his sentence.

As soon as he was out the door and down the porch steps, Neil was running. He reached a full sprint within seconds, dodging a man walking his dog and a basketball hoop on the sidewalk. He nearly lost his balance when he turned a corner and narrowly avoided slamming into someone on a bicycle.

The cold February air whipped around his face, stinging his eyes and cheeks and making every breath inhaled like a shard of glass in his lungs. Every time Neil’s feet hit the pavement, it sent a prickly jolt up his legs, making him run faster, faster, faster.

He didn’t know his way around the neighborhood, but it didn’t matter. When he felt he could slow down enough without letting his demons catch up to him, he could ask for directions.

Neil heard his mother’s voice in his head for the first time in weeks telling him to never stop running, berating him for settling down in the first place. That was stupid, Abram, you can never have a normal life. Not when you’re not a normal boy. Keep running.

A car pulled out in front of Neil, making him skid to a sudden halt to avoid getting hit. The man rolled down the window and squinted at Neil from the driver’s seat. He was older, with small watery eyes lined with years’ of wrinkles. “Are you okay, son?” he asked kindly.

No. No, he wasn’t. Neil steadied his breathing and smoothed the panic from his face the best he could, “Do you know where the nearest bus stop is? I think I’m a little lost.”

Neil tried to smile, but he wasn’t sure if he succeeded. The old man didn’t seem to mind. He gave Neil the directions he needed and waved at him with no more than a confused expression as Neil jogged away.

The bus stop wasn’t very far, but a bus wouldn’t be coming for another hour and a half. Neil cursed. He could find another stop or even try his hand at hitchhiking, but he didn’t have the time to get someone to stop and then convince them to take him where he needed. He decided to call a taxi, a last-ditch resort Neil would have preferred not to take, but he didn’t have a choice.

He pulled out his phone and dialed a number he found by google search, and within minutes he was getting into the yellow cab.

The driver gave Neil an odd look, probably for his disheveled appearance or the last traces of desperation on his face, but didn’t ask any questions. Neil told him to take him to the nearest train station and offered to pay extra if he hurried.

He looked at the phone in his hand, wondering why he took it with him, before he popped the back open and took the battery pack out. Neil was about to roll down the window and throw the remnants of his phone out, but something stopped him.

Andrew would hate him forever. He’d never forgive him, if he left it like this. The thought somehow hurt more than anything Neil had felt in the past hour. It shouldn’t have bothered him. He shouldn’t have cared what Andrew would think of him, not when he’d never see Andrew again.

Neil’s heart squeezed. Mary’s voice screamed in his head, but it wasn’t loud enough to drown out the memory of Andrew whispering stay.

Neil’s hands fumbled when he put the battery back in his phone and powered it on. Several missed calls from Nicky and even more frantic text messages loaded on the screen. Only one text and missed call were from Andrew.

The text said where the fuck are you? Neil texted back a slow i’m ok with shaky fingers and pressed send. Then he turned his phone back off and tapped it against his thigh.

He should leave, he really should. There was so much tying Neil here and so much he could have ripped away from him. It seemed easier to give that all up rather than lose it against his will. If he ran, he was protecting his Foxes by leading Ichirou away. But if he stayed, he’d get to keep their easy friendship and acceptance, something Neil never thought for a million years he’d be able to have, let alone keep.

The first train out of Columbia left in fifteen minutes, giving Neil just enough time to get to the station, buy a ticket, and disappear through the sliding doors. He should board the train and never look back. But that’s not what he wanted.

Neil wanted to stay.

He motioned to get the taxi driver’s attention. The driver flicked him an irritated look through the rear-view mirror.

“I changed my mind,” Neil said. “Take me to Palmetto State University.”

~ ~ ~

By the time Andrew, Kevin, Nicky, and Aaron made it back to Fox Tower an hour and a half later, Neil had already been chewed out by Dan, Allison,

and

Wymack.

They didn’t know the extent of Neil making plans to leave the country or the whole business with Ichirou, but they knew enough from Andrew through Renee that Neil had tried to run that morning. Neil didn’t know how to explain to them, didn’t know how to tell them that he didn’t want to run, not exactly.

Neil flinched when the door to the dorm slammed against the wall as Andrew threw it open. He raked a glare across the Upperclassmen who had refused to leave Neil alone, even for just a second, until it landed on Neil.

He was angry, no furious, Neil could tell. His entire body was tense and poised for a fight and his eyes held a spark of rage that Andrew usually didn’t allow anyone to see. “Get out,” he snapped at the others. His tone left no room for argument.

Dan led the others out of the room with one last backwards glance. Neil waved her off without taking his eyes off of the most important thing in the room. When Allison closed the door behind her, Andrew strode across the room with thunderous footsteps until he was standing toe-to-toe with Neil.

“Andrew –” Neil started.

“No,” Andrew snarled. Neil grimaced. “Did you think I was lying when I said I was going to protect you? Did you think I was going to let you get hurt? I keep my fucking promises, Neil.”

“Andrew –”

“Do you know what I found when Aaron and I got back to the house?” Andrew didn’t let Neil answer before he continued, “Nicky freaking out because you said you’d be back but you were gone for thirty minutes already and you weren’t answering your phone. You were gone, Neil. Without a word.”

“I’m sorry –” Neil attempted.

“Shut up,” Andrew snapped. His hands were curled into white-knuckled fists by his side, trembling with restrained violence, but Neil knew Andrew would never hit him. The wall, maybe. He shattered a window with his fist, once.

Neil started to move, slow enough that Andrew could ward him off if he wanted to, and hovered his hand over Andrew’s closed fists to prevent him from punching something and hurting himself. When Andrew didn’t make a move to push him away, Neil carefully curled his hand over Andrew’s.

“I knew you would protect me,” he said. Andrew wouldn’t look at him, his eyes were trained on the wall behind Neil��s shoulder. “That’s why I left. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

Andrew shook his head. “Still a fucking martyr. I’ve told you before that I don’t need you to protect me.”

“But I’m going to anyway, so you better get used to it.”

“Idiot.” Andrew maneuvered his hand out of Neil’s until he could grab hold of the sides of Neil’s shirt with both his hands. They had stopped shaking enough to feel like they stood on stable ground. Andrew finally met Neil’s eyes.

Andrew didn’t like being vulnerable in front of people, Neil knew. He understood it, too. Being so exposed in front of someone, stripped bare with all your emotions laid out on the table was more terrifying than not. Andrew’s face smoothed away into that usual calm expression but a testament to how much Neil’s disappearing act affected him was in the way he clutched at Neil like he thought Neil might vanish underneath his hands.

“You left,” Andrew said. There was no bothering denying it, the whole team knew it was true. Andrew more than the rest.

He did leave. He also planned on never coming back, never contacting the Foxes again. Picking up without a trace and being whisked away like cigarette smoke in the wind. He wouldn’t tell Andrew otherwise. Neil didn’t want to lie to him anymore.

Without breaking eye contact, Neil hovered his hands over Andrew’s shoulders, waiting for permission to touch. When he nodded, Neil trailed his fingers along the collar of Andrew’s shirt, just barely touching the skin of his neck. Andrew shivered at the brief contact. “I came back,” he whispered.

#tfc #aftg #the foxhole court #all for the game #tfcfic #mine #pause and restart

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