#i want to say mercury but the girl has normal skin
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aria-greenhoodie · 1 month ago
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Time stuck au but it’s Pacifica meeting the Anti-Cipher society. And she is becoming Abigale’s apprentice in engineering.
I thought I DELETED THIS ASK but I DIDNT it was just HIDDEN FOR SOME REASON! anyway this idea has captivated me, I have yet to draw Pac with the whole society (I WILL) but here’s some doodles of her and Abbey!!
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Click for Quality!
Also some extra musings under the cut…..
The Northwests travel to Illinois one holiday. Pacifica takes some time off from her insufferable parents to find someplace worth visiting. Unfortunately, it seems like nothing in Illinois is worth visiting. She eventually finds herself at 333 North East West Drive, a functionally abandoned historical building, “For Rent” sign collecting dust in its windows. Something catches her eye on the ground - what looks to be a normal tape measurer. I say “looks to be,” because it is in fact a TIME tape-measurer, albeit a half-broken one.
Pacifica ends up in 1901 using the half-broken time tape measurer and manages to break it completely. Luckily for her, Abigale finds her and agrees to help fix it… and teach Pacifica some mechanical know-how in the process!
Abigale doesn’t know that she’s Pacifica’s ancestor. Pacifica is pretty certain Abigale Blackwing is Abigale Northwest, but doesn’t say anything because Abigale Northwest was always considered a bit of a stain on the family, half-buried by history. Pacifica doesn’t want to let Abigale know she’s been erased, and honestly, is still a little bought-in to her family’s philosophy of sweeping “unsavory” people or things under the rug at this point.
Pacifica is actually pretty damn good at mechanics! She takes a second to get a hang of it, but once she grasps the basics she learns the rest shockingly quick. Abigale is so proud.
Pacifica actually helps enable some semblance of workshop-safety in the society, what with her modern knowledge that lead, mercury, and arsenic are all deadly toxins that you shouldn’t be putting in “anti-cipher tonic” to guzzle and/or rub on your skin.
The rest of the society LOVE Pacifica. That’s their collective daughter now.
Jessamine teaches her how to shoot! Pacifica isn’t a very good natural aim, but Jessie is patient and knows skill comes with practice.
Horace is so charmed by her, he really takes up a sort of father figure. He would mow down entire countries for this kid. Pacifica doesn’t know how to take Horace at first, since she’s so used to her real dad sucking ass, but she becomes close with him fast!
Thurburt is SO her silly weird uncle. Thurburt was always a clumsy, accident-prone fool, but somehow around Pacifica he becomes even more slapstickly-inclined. Pacifica thinks he’s doing it on purpose to get a laugh out of her. He is. It always works.
Even O’Pimm, the crotchety old drunk that he is, gets a kick out of her! He likes her honesty. If Pac thinks something’s daft or dull, she’ll say it. O’Pimm is glad to not be the ONLY one with sense around the society anymore.
And of course, it goes without saying that Abigale ADORES Pac. Abigale never wanted to be a mother, but teaching Pacifica the ropes of engineering and working her through her problems made her reconsider that thought.
Pacifica actually manages to fix the time tape measurer all on her own one night. It takes 2 weeks for her to finally tell the society. She almost doesn’t want to leave.
Abigale was the one to convince her to go home. “The future needs you, Pacifica. It needs brilliant, talented girls like you. You’ve got people waiting on you, but more than that, you’ve got a whole WORLD waiting for you! Live your life, Pacifica, your story doesn’t end in this time. Promise me you’ll make some change in that future of yours, rather than feel trapped in the past with us…”
Pacifica is a lot different when she returns. She’s suddenly way into tinkering, something she keeps secret from her family. She’s also a lot happier, and a lot less concerned about mistakes (though she’s more worried when her parents are in eye or earshot…)
Pacifica starts to really get interested in the story of Abigale Northwest. She unearths a lot of hidden secrets about her life. Most of it isn’t good, especially now. At least Pacifica knows the truth, now. (I have a VERY specific idea as to how Abbey’s life was after the society disbanded and it is NOT pretty. Link for most of it here)
She wishes Abigale could have had her happy ending. She wonders if she had stayed behind, could she have changed things? She considered using the time tape measurer to go back more times then she’d like to admit. But she made a promise, didn’t she? Her job is here in the future, not stuck in the past…
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fishhavetoes · 1 year ago
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Steve who has a thing for mustaches.
Steve who comes home after a long day at work, and walks into his bathroom hoping to take a nice shower before bed. Steve who almost jumps out of his skin when he sees a certain cute metalhead staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.
With his face in his hands Steve groans. “Eddie, what have I told you about breaking into my house?”
The metal head pouts and turns to Steve.
“But Stevie it was important. You wouldn’t want me sad, would you pretty boy?”
And Steve… well Steve can’t really stay mad. Not when the guy he’s been having… non platonic feelings about… is staring at him with that face. That cute face. Often hot face. Sometimes sexy face. Okay, Steve thinks, i need to stop before I get carried away.
Steve realizes he’s been zoned out on Eddie’s lips when he clocks the expectant look on his face. Steve backtracks the conversation in his mind before he gets what Eddie’s waiting for.
“Okay, what’s so important that you had to break into my house at 8 pm for?”
Eddies face turnes slightly embarrassed and nervous, and he rushes out “IKindaWannaGrowAMustacheButIFeelLikeIdLookStupid”
And Steve’s brain stopped working. His cheeks turned pink and his eyes grew wide. All he can think of is Eddie with a mustache. His mind is racing with all the guys who helped him realize his bidentity. Freddie Mercury, Tangerine from Bullet Train, Jack from This Is Us, the list goes on (authors note: no it doesn’t, I’m lazy).
Eddie, somehow, takes this as a bad sign. He starts fidgeting and not making eye-contact. He starts rambling.
“Well I mean, I guess it’s a silly idea, and I don’t have to, I just thought, maybe, maybe you would know? If I looked good? Not that you look at me. Well not that you don’t look at me, I mean - I know you look at me because I look at you. Well I don’t look at you. I mean not like that. I just mean-“
Eddie turns bright red. He has no words left. He has no excuses. Nothing more to say.
Steve, for his part, try’s, he really does, to be normal about it.
“NO! No I think, I think mustaches are great. I love a guy with a mustache. Not that I love you! I mean, I mean I do but like, Yk. I just mean like I’d totally go down on a guy with a mustache Yk? Not that I’d go down on you! I mean I would! But only if you’re okay with it!!!”
They stare at each-other. The low hum of the bathroom light drones on in the background.
Eddie blinks, and let’s out a shaky breathe, and says “I am”
Steve just blinks and tilts his head (golden retriever lookin ass, smh), “you are what?”.
“I’m okay with it”
“Okay with what?”
“Stevie” Eddie looks genuinely pained, “work with me here big boy”
“Ed’s I literally don’t understand what you’re trying to say. What are you okay with?”
“I’m okay with you going down on me. Going to pound town. Doing the bedroom tango. Bumpin uglies. Adult slip n slide” (this is funny, you’re welcome)
Both of the poor dudes faces are getting redder by the minute.
Steve looks up, sighs, and reaches out, lightning fast to grab Eddie’s shirt and pull him closer. He can feel the older boys breath against his mouth. He likes it, he can feel how much he likes it. And when he surges forward and they end up against the wall pushing into each other, he can feel how much the other boy likes it too.
Eddie ends up growing a mustache.
~~~~
This is the mustache. Baby girl tangerine for life.
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younghurr1cane · 5 years ago
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New Mutants #1
He’s back!!! And with the old training squad together!!!
I’m gonna be in tears 😭
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missblissy · 3 years ago
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Hullo, I just discovered your content and man oh man, I am HERE for it. I was wondering if you could do something with Alastor fancying a new worker (who secretly fancies him as well) at the hotel that ALWAYS has headphones on, grinning, dancing and singing along to their tunes while they work. But, in honour of Freddie Mercury’s B-Day and MY favourite band, the new worker accidentally gets so lost in their singing and dancing that they inadvertently serenade Alastor with the song Radio Ga Ga. Thank you in advance. ☺️
((No problem Nonny~!! I had a lot of fun playing around with this one!! I'm sorry for the wait I know a lot of time as passed since then but I hope this makes up for it :'D ENJOY!!))
You had only started working at the... Happy? Happy Hotel? Yeah... Whatever, you had only been there for a week. Your job was simple, you were the hotel's private cook for its tenants. This place didn't feel like a hotel at all. You've worked at one before. It felt more like a sorry attempt at a rehab center. But that didn't really affect you at the end of your day. You simply just cooked food, and you were good at it.
The nicest part about your job was that you pretty much stayed in the kitchen, out of sight, and left to yourself. You were the only cook they needed. You'd often wear headphones and sing to yourself as you'd work tirelessly over a meal. You would also dance while you cleaned, jamming out to whatever song came out of the shuffled playlist.
You were lost in doing a little dance and wiping down a counter. In fact, you were so lost in your task that you didn't notice someone come into the kitchen. Very rarely did this happen so you never really looked out for people coming in. That and... They were behind you.
With your headphones in you also couldn't hear them. And when the next song came on you just had to turn up the volume. Your heart filled with joy at hearing one of your favorite songs. You did a little sway of your hips and pretend a spatula was your microphone.
Some parts you hummed, but when it was time to sing... Oh... boy did you sing, "I'd sit alone and watch your light~! My only friend, through teenage nights!" You were still cleaning the counter as you ran the rag over its surface and wiped away the crumbs, "And everything, I had to know. I heard it on, my radio! You gave them all! Those old-time stars, through wars of worlds- invaded by Mars~"
You through the rag into a sink across the kitchen with ease, doing a little dance and still unaware of someone with big smile, watching the new cook sing away.
"You made 'em laugh, you made 'em cry. You made us feel like we could fly! So don't become, some background noise. A backdrop for, the girls and boys. Who just don't know, or just don't care. And just complain- when you're not there!" You still had your back to the doors as you walked around the counter and dramatically dragged your fingers. You gave a quick swish of your hips as you made it over to the sink.
"You had your time, you had the power~ You've yet to have your finest hour~Radio- radio. All we hear is radio ga ga! Radio goo goo~! Radio ga ga! All we hear is radio ga ga! Radio blah blah-" You sang into your make microphone and raised a hand to the sky, you took on a the stance of the stars and sidestepped to your dance, "Radio, what's new? Radio- someone still loves you-" You did a little spin then screamed at the top of your lungs.
You dropped the spatula and nearly jumped out of your own skin. Who the hell was this!? How long was he here????? You tore out your headphones as your face began to burn.
"C-can I help you?" You had never seen him before...
The man standing before you had a loose and shallow grin on his face with his arms tucked neatly behind his back, "You have a lovely singing voice," He said to your surprise. He took a few steps towards you and went on to say, "I came by because I heard we had a new cook! I had been busy up until now so I hadn't the chance to stop by. I'm certainly glad I did now!" Eventually, he closed the distance between the two of you and held out a hand, "Alastor. A pleasure."
You stood there frozen for a few seconds. You hesitated then shook his hand, "(Y/n)... And... Thanks. I guess."
Alastor gave you a charming smile and asked, "So how is your cooking?" His red eyes bore into you, "I fancy the craft myself, so I am quite intrigued by your skill, if I may so ask."
Geeze he sure did talk like an old man. You looked around the kitchen then shrugged, "I was a private chef before I died. It's why Charlie hired me. I'd say I'm pretty good."
"Excellent!" Alastor beamed. He quickly took off his red tailor coat and threw it in some random direction. You were instantly met with a far different outfit. His red dress shirt was neatly tucked in pants, which were held up by thin black suspenders. You were most surprised as Alastor rolled up his sleeves. His gloves were not gloves at all, but a part of his skin. the deep dark colors bleed like veins up his arm before fading out
You found yourself oddly attracted to this man all of a sudden. Not because he wanted to cook with you, but because of you... didn't expect him to look that. Which happened to be very handsome without the raggy rundown tailcoat. You simply couldn't lie. He was slowly swooning you.
"W-what are we cooking?" You shyly asked.
But his enthusiasm still startled you. He had already grabbed a long knife, swung it in his hand then pointed the tip of the blade at you, "What is the dish that makes your memories come to life?"
That was kind of... how would you say it? Deep? Philosophical? Something like that. You managed to stand on the other side of the counter and grab a large spoon. You closed your eyes and thought, "Chicken and Dumpling Stew," You said as you felt a smile grow on your face as the memory came to you.
Your mother was a kind woman, and the biggest reason you became a cook. Warmth flooded your blood as the golden reminder of her cooking brought peace to your mind. You hadn't made that stew since you were alive, so something seemed even slightly more special than normal.
When you opened your eyes again, letting the memory fade away, you saw Alastor with a large smile on his face, "Well, let's get cooking then," He grinned at you, then even managed to give you a charming smile with a wink. It almost seemed like he was flirting if you didn't know any better.
You smiled at him, slightly flustered by how odd this man was but... also how nice he was trying to be. He wanted to cook with you, which honestly there was no greater way to spend time than cooking with the people you enjoy. Food brought people together, and you had an idea that Alastor saw it the same way. Which was true, he wanted to cook with you so he could get to know this new member of the staff, and perhaps he found you rather... intriguing as well too.
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sabraeal · 2 years ago
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don’t speak boyshit, Chapter 7
[Read on AO3]
“You’re not sick.” The hag says it with authority, the kind she only has because she’s not the one whose skin is squeezing her bones like it’s last year’s uniform. “Go to school.”
Kamitani grunts, shrugging his shoulders like it might make his body sit right for once. “You don’t know that.”
“Of course I do, I’m your mother.” Everyone says he’s got his mom’s eyes, straight down to the squint, but he knows his don’t look as stupid when they roll. “You probably just have some test you don’t want to deal with. What is it? English? Japanese? Chemistry? Or are you worried about midterms already?”
“I do just fine in chemistry, no thanks to--” He grits his protest between his teeth. “Whatever. Exams aren’t for weeks yet. Can’t you see I’m actually--?”
That hag just shakes her head. “Try something else. Did you forget to do your homework? Oh, or maybe you’re avoiding some--”
“I just feel weird, all right?” he snaps, arms folding across his chest like a fence. “Like, I don’t know, all itchy or whatever.”
“Oh.” His stomach may already be a restless pot about to boil, but it flips when that woman smiles, all knowing. “I get it. This is some puberty thing--”
“I’m just sick, okay?” His face has got to be feverish enough now to make some mercury rise. “How are you so sure I’m not?”
The hag huffs, like he’s being the ridiculous one here. “Because if you were sick, you wouldn’t be down here complaining. You’d be in your room under the covers, acting like you’re going some ill antelope, wandering off from the herd to die.”
Well, he’ll give it to her, that’s a good point. “Can’t you just get a thermometer or something?”
“Fine.” She throws up her hands. “But if it’s normal, you’re going to school
Ten minutes later, he’s glaring at the tiny numbers like he could make them inch up to thirty-seven degrees from will alone. “I still feel weird.”
Mom claps him on the shoulder. “Walk it off, champ.”
That weirdness clings to him all morning, makes his tie sit too tight-- Hebihara snaps at him in the hall to straighten it, and Kamitani makes sure to shove that thing so deep in his bag it’d take a team of archaeologists to find it-- and his sweater itch. Which he could deal with; having the check engine flash every few days is pretty much his whole experience with puberty. It’s just--
“Is that the girl from the advanced class?” Saginuma leans over his desk, little shard of his chips falling from his mouth because he’s a fucking animal. “You know, what’s-her-name?”
Usokawa huffs, all nervous. “W-What’s she doing down here?”
His palms go clammy, stomach clenching in anticipation, and still, he doesn’t put it together, not until Side Ponytail stands up and calls out, “Inomata? Are you looking for someone?”
He doesn’t mean to look up. It’s just a reflex, a quick glance to figure out what Usokawa’s on about so that he can just call him an idiot and move on. But instead she’s there, idling awkwardly at the door like she doesn’t belong. Because she doesn’t.
Well, if he thought living through some mystery illness sucked, figuring it out is worse. Every nerve fires at once, trying to figure out which combination will get him out of his seat and through the door. Anything to keep him from having to talk to her again.
The other girl’s up there too now, the shorter one, giggling as she asks, “Kashima-kun, maybe?”
Kashima’s already halfway out of his seat, all curious because he’s too nice to look annoyed, and that’s when she lifts her chin, glaring out over the short girl’s shoulder. “I’m looking for Kamitani.”
Usokawa’s head whips around. “Dude,” he whispers, eyes round behind his glasses. “What did you do? Fail a test or something?”
Worse. He didn’t answer one of her questions.
“Nothing,” he mutters, getting to his feet. “Come on, Kashima, let’s go.”
The kid stares, like somehow he’s not sure how words work. “M-me? But Inomata-san’s looking for--?”
“I’m grabbing some bread.” With a huff, Kamitani grits out again, “Let’s go.”
Still, he‘s just crouched there, wasting precious seconds. “But I brought lunch--?”
“Don’t care.” He grabs Kashima’s wrist, hauling him up. Inomata may have gotten one door all cluttered up with his classmates and their questions, but there’s a second one. A fact he’s going to make good use of. “You’re coming with me.”
Kashima makes a good show of protesting, sputtering and stammering as he drags him across the classroom floor, but for all his carrying on, he doesn’t try to stop him. Not even when Kamitani jerks him over the door jamb, school shoes only missing the metal slide by inches. It’s one less sound to draw her attention, which is all he cares about.
“Kamitani,” the kid bleats out, glancing over his shoulder like he thinks any moment Inomata is going to bear down on them with the wrath of a righteous god. “I don’t see why we have to--”
“I’m hungry,” he grumbles, maneuvering Kashima in front of him. Kamitani hardly needs any help navigating the crowd-- he’s tall enough that people get out of his way without encouragement-- but the goody-goody needs to be babysat. The last thing he needs is his insurance to get a crisis of conscience right before the reckoning bears down on them. “You need a better reason?”
“But I don’t see what that has to do with me?” he yelps, eyes so wide they start eating up his eyebrows.
Too bad Kashima’s not a dog, or better yet-- a younger brother. At least then he’d do what he’s told. “I like company.”
Kashima glances back over his shoulder, brows shuffle like a deck of cards. “No, you don--”
“Hey!”
Great. Kamitani grits his teeth. Barely a meter down the hall and they’re already out of time. “C’mon, Kashima, get a move on.”
His eyes are wild, trailing over his shoudler. “But, Inomata--”
“Stop!”
Her shout’s got enough steel in it to arrest a grown man, but Kamitani hasn’t coasted through all of gakuen by doing what angry women shout at him, and he’s sure as hell isn’t about to start now. Not by listening to Inomata. He doesn’t even spare a look back, propelling Kashima down the hall with the same shove that’s tagged more runners than anyone else on the team combined. But when he goes to follow--
He pulls up short, like a dog on a leash. Inomata’s already pale, but next to the navy of his sweater her fingers are white as stripes, crushing the wool beneath them. He tugs, just a bit, to test her, but they don’t budge, not a millimeter. Damn, that’s some grip.
It’s a mistake to look up; her glare’s waiting, pinning him the way beetles are to cork board. “You can’t just avoid me because you don’t want to listen.”
Watch me doesn’t work when she’s got hands like a vise. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not just avoiding you,” he informs her, enjoying the dubious twist her mouth takes. “I’m going to get some food, and I don’t want to talk to you. It’s different.”
Inomata doesn’t have nails to speak of, but what little she has pricks through the wool. “If you would just hear me out--”
“Don’t want to.”
She snorts, just like a boar, annoyed. “I’m only asking for you to give me a minute--”
“Oi, Kashima!” he calls out, drawing wide-eyed confusion from where the crowd’s carried the kid down the hall. “Can you wait up a sec?”
Inomata’s grip tightens. He’s going to have bruises at this rate. “You wouldn’t.”
He rolls his head along his shoulders, letting his mouth twitch toward a grin. “Try me.”
“Kamitani?” Kashima stumbles against the flow, tripping over a few first-years before he finally ends up close enough to hear over the noise. “Did you need me for something?”
“Just a sec.” He stares down at her; funny how much easier it is to catch all the daggers her glare throws at him when he has the high ground. “Okay, now go ahead and say what you want to say.”
All that huffy stubbornness deflates underneath the pressure of Kashima’s polite confusion. “We’re not done talking about this,” she warns, but it’s nothing to tug away from her now, the strength gone right out of her.
“Yeah, yeah.” I have unlimited access to Kashima, his grin tells her, and by the way she pouts, Inomata receives the message loud and clear. “We’ll see.”
With a huff, she spins on her heel, storming down the hall with a much smaller wake.
Kashima struggles to stand at his shoulder, staring after her. “What was that all about?”
“Who knows,” he lies, rubbing at his wrist. “C’mon, let’s get back to class.”
“W-what?” Kashima is constitutionally incapable of glaring, but he comes close now. “But you said you had to get lunch!”
It’s easy to shrug his shoulders, to let all this roll off his back like water off a duck. “Just remembered I brought mine.”
The girls always groaned over gym second year, complaining that having it first period ruined their work or whatever, but in Kamitani’s opinion, having it straight after lunch is worse. Sure, a few of them might have smudged some make up, but he’d take that over the stomach cramp he’ll earn running the track on a full stomach.
At least the girls change earlier now, using part of the lunch period to go swap clothes in the bathrooms, rather than making all the boys wait outside while they switched clothes in the classroom. That shit used to take forever, and by the time the guys were done, it felt like they’d lost half the time on the field. Barely get through calisthenics before Mamizuka-sensei was waving them inside.
Now the only chunk out of PE is how long it takes fifteen boys to change into a t-shirt and shorts. Which should be three minutes tops, except--
“Dude,” Usokawa coughs. “What did you do?”
He’s got a whole policy about Usokawa’s bullshit: don’t fucking get involved. But he’ll admit-- once he’s got his sweater over his head, he does try to figure out what that idiot is on about. The guy’s barely got two brain cells to rub together most days, but sometimes whatever’s rattling around in there is entertaining.
It just so happens that today it’s him. At least, that’s what he assumes from the stare he’s fixed with. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“With Inomata!” the idiot hisses, just loud enough to sound like a whisper without actually being one. “She came here for you didn’t she?”
“Yeah, man! Are you in trouble or something?” Saginuma’s shirtless, the cotton rucked up in his hands ready to wear, but he pauses to lean in anyway, like they aren’t on the fucking clock. “Did you break a rule? Flunk a test?”
Kamitani glares. “I don’t flunk tests. I’m not you idiots.”
“Right, you just come close,” Usokawa allows, still wearing his stupid uniform. “Then what is it?”
He grunts, dragging his shirt over his head. “Why are you asking me? She comes here for Kashima all the time, and I don’t see you guys asking him what fucking color his underwear is.”
Kashima flushes; with his shirt off, it races right down to his chest. “Kamitani!”
“Well, yeah, but you don’t hang out with her like Kashima does.” Saginuma finally puts his shorts on, hands sitting on his hips. “So it’s weird, you know what I mean?”
“No.”
“Hey wait.” Ebizawa’s halfway through tying his sneakers and looking too thoughtful for the effort. “Didn’t you both disappear during the hanami? Kashima said he saw you walking off after her.”
Kashima holds up his hands, like that’ll keep him from glaring a hole right through his nosy face. “I just said you walked off in the same direction! Not, er...”
“Oh ho ho ho!” Great, now Usokawa got his chin pinched between his fingers, looking far too smug to survive this conversation. “Maybe Kamitani-kun is in some other kind of trouble then?”
His teeth grit around a, “What?”
“You know how it is. You meet a girl under the sakura, petals are falling around you, there’s magic in the air...” Usokawa flutters his eyelashes like he’s the one with his back to the tree. “Stuff happens...”
“Get your head out of the gutter.” he snaps, shoving his head through his shirt. “Like I’d do anything like that.”
“Yeah, c’mon,” Saginuma laughs, shaking his head. “Any other girl in our class would be happy to be cornered by Kamitani, so why the hell would he go do that with Inomata?”
The thing is: he agrees. Or well, as much as he can ever agree with something that comes out of these idiots’ mouths. He’s spent the last six years dodging confessions from nearly half the female student body because girlfriends are a fucking pain; the last thing he’d ever do is to turn around and shack up with the most annoying chick he knows.
And yet when Saginuma says it like that, like there’s something wrong with her, his hand starts to itch. The kind that makes him think that Saginuma’s smiling face looks really fucking punchable.
“You don’t need to say it like that.” Kashima’s always been the sort of kid that flaps in the breeze, couching all his confrontation in ums and ers and burying his meaning in a whine. But now he looks straight at Saginuma, inches taller than the last time the school measured. “Inomata-san is a good person. She might be a little high-strung, sure, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with her.”
No, but now Kamitani has a strong worry there’s something wrong with him. He drags a hand down his face, like somehow that might scrub the last ten minutes from his head. “Whatever, can we just go run our fucking laps now?”
Ebizawa groans. “Only you would look forward to that, Kamitani.”
He grunts, shoving on his shoes. “It’s easier than putting up with you morons.”
“Thanks for staying late, Kamitani-senpai.” Sato’s hair is too short to tie up in a ponytail-- I never liked stringing that through a cap, she huffed when the first years asked her if she’d ever grow it out-- so she just pushes a strand of it behind her ear. “I know it’s the club’s off day, but it’s a huge help to have two hands on deck for inventory.”
“We should have made the whole club hang back,” he grumbles, brushing some dust off his sleeve. He’s not sure when the last time the storage shed was cleaned out, but it certainly wasn’t by any of the captains he’d played under. “At least maybe then they’ll stop just throwing stuff in there without looking. I’m sure as hell not gonna go clean up their shit again.”
Makino-senpai would have huffed. She would have waggled a finger and told him that just because she was the club manager didn’t make her their mom either. But Sato just tilts her head back, a small hand rubbing at her chin. “That’s not a bad idea. Do you think you could bring it up to them? I would, but I feel like they might not take me seriously since I’m, you know...”
A first year, hand-picked by Makino-senpai from the middle grade’s team last fall. That should be enough clout to box the ears of these idiots, in his opinion, but, well-- he’s not stupid. The old hag might be the bane of his existence, but she hasn’t rattled on about lack of respect for having possession of two complete chromosomes for nothing.
“Yeah,” he grunts, shoving his hands in his pocket. “I can box ‘em around the ears for good measure, too.”
She laughs; the same trilling one that blonde girl does, the one in their class that’s always hanging around Kashima. “Well, sure, okay. Just don’t do that literally, senpai.”
“Don’t see why not.” He shrugs, scratching an annoyance between his shoulders. “They probably deserve it.”
“Probably.” Sato’s the kind of cute that always has half the team sighing and making eyes-- and the other half complaining that they prefer someone mature like Makino-- but when she grins, it stretches tight across her teeth, bloody-minded. “But if you do that, we’ll have a heck of a time getting to Koshien this summer with half our players benched.”
Yeah, she’ll fill Makino-senpai’s shoes just fine. “Fine,” he allows with a sniff. “I’ll let ‘em off easy.”
“Thanks. And again, I appreciate that you stayed behind.” Her shoes scuff on the sidewalk before going silent, and for the second time in as many days, his stomach drops. Sato’s a nice enough kid, he’d hate for her to ruin it by being a girl about him being decent. “Make sure you tell your girlfriend I’m sorry for keeping you.”
“Girlfriend?” He shakes his head. If this is a come on, it’s the first time he’s heard it. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Oh?” There’s nothing leading about that sound, only curiosity, and when he whips around she’s not looking at him. Oh no, she’s looking down, tracing the slope of the hill, right down to where it blends into the entrance, and-- “Isn’t that her standing by your bike?”
He’s not trying to be quiet, not even a little, but still that girl has the gall to startle when he grunts out, “You really don’t know when to quit do you?”
“I--!” Her back arches off the post like someone’s put a current through it before the rest of her follows, propelled forward until she scuffs up to a stop in front of him under the awning. Her mouth works, as wide and round as her stupid eyes, but all she comes up with is: “You!”
“Yeah, me.” Air hisses through his nose, but he grits his teeth before he can get any further. “Have you been waiting here since class got out?”
“Wha--? Not the whole time!” Her whole face ripens like a tomato, so quick he’s surprised she doesn’t faint from the rush. Kashima’s never mentioned what Inomata’s post-graduate plans are, but whatever it is, it better not involve lying. You know, since she’s shit at it. “I went to club.”
Kamitani’s always been tall, but that last growth spurt second year really gave him something to work with. He uses every last inch of it to loom over Inomata, folding his arms and letting his doubt fall as heavy as a piano from a window.
“I did!” she insists, defiant and squirrely all at once. “I just I told the president I had a personal issue.”
“Inomata-san skipping out on school duties.” His whistles, impressed. “Didn’t expect to see that today.”
Most girls blush all delicate, just a rosy tint on their cheeks that makes them look all cute or whatever, but Inomata approaches it the same way she does everything: head on, looking like she’s got a rash all up and down her throat. “I’m not skipping! I’m excused for personal reasons.”
He snorts. “That’s supposed to be because your grandpa died or something. Not because you’re late to being a pain in the ass.”
“M-me?” She huffs, fists on her hips as she reminds him, “You’re the one who won’t finish our conversation!”
“Uh, I did.”
“You didn’t.” She glowers, like somehow he’ll be intimidated by an ill-tempered girl. Like she hasn’t met he mom before or something. “You just laughed.”
A grin threatens to escape containment, twitching at the corner of his lips. “That seems like a pretty good answer. Especially since you wanted to ask me to give you romance advice.”
“I wanted you to tell me about boys,” she snaps, that rash reaching finger up to her cheekbones. “I don’t see why you’re being so strange about it, it’s just information. You’re already a boy, that makes you practically an expert.”
There’s something sad about Inomata trying to stroke his ego like this, like if she just greases his wheels a little he might not squeak when she pushes him. “You don’t care what boys think, you care what Kashima thinks.”
If he thought she was flushed before, she looks like she could be an entry for spontaneous combustion now. “I didn’t say that!”
"I mean, you did.” He steps closer, enjoying the way she flinches. “That’s the whole reason you even want me, right? Because I’m his friend or whatever.”
“I...” Her mouth works, trying out about half of a dozen words before she lets it snap shut, glaring at him like somehow that’s his problem.
He reaches out, grabbing his bike off the rack. “Great talk.”
“No, wait! Fine. I--” her breath hisses through her teeth-- “I did say that. About how being friends makes you a good candidate for being a tutor.”
Kamitani shrugs, stunted by the death grip he had on his handlebars. “Sucks for you then. I don’t know anything about what he likes. Frankly, I don’t think Kashima’s got a handle on it either.”
“I understand,” she blurts out, looking anywhere but at him. “I do. But even...even just regular boy stuff would be helpful. Anything, because I don’t really...um...know...about...” Her voice drops to a whisper. “Any of that...”
He shifts, annoyance dragging its nails beneath his skin. “No shit. Who would want to hang around and let you nag them?”
Kamitani has a reputation-- one he’s been building since middle school, when girls started giving him sly side-eyes and talking to his shoes instead of his face-- as a guy who doesn’t care about tender feelings. As the one who finds boxes of Valentine’s Day chocolates in his cubby and tips them in the trash. Someone who can field a confession with a simple, “Not interested.”
But sometimes, sometimes, he knows it can be too much. Back in the middle grades he tossed out a box of a dozen homemade chocolates; it wasn’t until he glanced in the bin that he saw the wrapper wasn’t from any store he knew. Freshman year he’d ragged on a batter limping to home, only for them to find the kid’s ankle swollen twice the size of a baseball back in the dugout. Only a few months after, D-- that guy left, the hag had sent him up to his room for something stupid and he’d yelled out, this is why Dad couldn’t take it anymore.
So, he doesn’t need to see behind Inomata’s fluttering hand to know what kind of expression she’s hiding. Or that once again, he’s let himself too far of the leash.
He stifles a sigh. “Fine. What do I get out of it?”
Her gaze jumps the fence of her fingers, wide and utterly blank as it fixes on him. God, this girl didn’t think about this stupid plan at all.
“As I said--” he lifts his handlebars again, trying to disengage the bike from the rack-- “great talk.”
“Wait!” Her fingers are white against his grips, bracing the bike in place. Impressive, considering that she probably doesn’t know what a free-weight is, let alone lifts them. “Study!”
He blinks. “What?”
“Study.” With a shuddering breath, she looks up at him, eyes flinty enough to start a spark. “Midterms are coming up, aren’t they? I can help you study.”
That stops him in his tracks. Inomata’s held the top spot in their class five years running, both Nezu and Yagi nipping at her heels but never landing a bite. She might not be a popular pick for slumber parties-- or parties at all, for that matter-- but around exam time there’s always some idiot that tries to tempt her into a study group, only to be met with a shoulder so cold it could freeze fire solid.
And now here she is, offering it up on a platter. Not something he can sneeze at, little as he’d like to admit it
“That’s a month away,” he reminds her, wary. “You think I want to put up with you for that long?”
“You? Put up with me?” Those eyes of hers spark, bright enough to melt this whole rack into modern art. “I’m the one who would be putting up with you. What were you on the last set of exams? Sixty-seven?”
Seventy-six, but the last thing he needs to do is help her point. “That’s just because I don’t give a shit. I could get higher if I felt like it.”
It’s not possible for steam to come out of someone’s ears, but Inomata looks like she’d love to give it a try. “What do you mean you’re not trying? Why would you purposefully--?”
“See?” This time he does grin, leaning right down into her face. Close enough that she blinks. “You already want to take up my time talking about boy shit. What makes you think I’m gonna double that time by adding studying?”
Her cheeks puff out, annoyed. “We can do both at the same time. And--” she says the word like he’s pulling teeth-- “I’ll give you my notes.”
Now that-- that’s something. He’d seen a glimpse of them before, snapped shut before he could take in more than the neat handwriting and detailed diagrams. Girl couldn’t draw a pig to save her life, and yet he’d seen jawbones with detailed articulation, and a cluster of crisp little hexagons up in one corner of the page. Color coding too, if he was to hazard a guess at the purpose of all those little tabs in her notebook.
“Never mind,” she sighs, grip loosening. “If you really don’t want to, I can’t--”
“Fine.” He jerks his thumb behind him. “Get on.”
She blinks, eyebrows rumpling right over the long slope of her nose. “Excuse me?”
“I’ll do it. You convinced me.” This time, it’s his chin that tosses over his shoulder. “Now come on, get going. I don’t have club but I don’t got all day for this either.”
Her eyes dart behind him, but she doesn’t move, just stands there looking confused. “Go where?”
They say people trade arithmetic for trig when it comes to learning higher functions, giving up something simple to make space for the hard stuff that comes after, and for a moment Kamitani has to wonder if Inomata’s given up her basic conversation skills to fit all that stuff she needs to be number one. “My place.”
Her eyebrows jump up, chasing her hairline. “Right now?”
“You said you’d help me study, right?” With a yank, he pulls the bike free-- both of the rack and Inomata. “Not gonna get a better time than now. Unless you’d like the old hag knowing you’re over our place, hanging out with me.”
Her mouth pulls into a grimace. “Ah, yes, well I suppose it would be best to get everything ironed out today.”
“Great.” His leg swings over the crossbar, toes scraping on the pavement. “Then get on.”
“On your bike?” She peers behind him, dubious. “There’s no room.”
“Of course there is,” he scoffs. “You’ve just got to hold my bag.”
Her eyes round, horrified. “You want me to ride on the bag rack? That’s illegal.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “We could get in trouble.”
“Sure,” he agrees. He’s never seen it happen, not in a podunk little town like this, but it could. “Are you coming or not?”
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minor-solemnity · 4 years ago
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Truth Will Out
Tag List: @jinxqsu @riddles-wifey@naps-and-lemons @mainlynonsense @cakesarecute
Content warning: Smut, light bdsm, power dynamics and a questionable use of veritaserum
A companion piece to Tender, We Lay Bound
His smile turns wolfish at the slight tremor in your voice and he cocks his head to one side, the hand that isn’t holding the vial, moving slowly up your calf, up the curve of your knee before flattening across the meat of your thigh and stroking the sensitive junction where your thigh meets your pubic bone. “Do you trust me?” He asks, which isn’t exactly an answer, but you think that’s maybe the point.
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It starts, as most things with Tom do, with a hand on your lower back and his voice, soft and low in your ear, “I’d like to try something tonight.” It’s really incredibly unfair that he chooses the moment when you’re about to walk into Potions to whisper this to you because now you’re going to be distracted all through your assessed brewing of Veritaserum. Judging by the smirk that curls Tom’s lips as he takes his place next to you at the front of the class, he’s fully aware of this. He lays his equipment down neatly in front of him, looking for all the world, like every teacher’s wet dream: prepared, inquiring, and engaged in the lesson. You know him better though, you know that he’s actually the devil incarnate, and is currently enjoying your flustered attempts to pay attention to what Slughorn’s saying about the forthcoming lesson.
Slughorn waves his hand to signal for you all to start gathering ingredients and Tom leaves to fetch the things you’ll both need. You’ve been brewing your batch of Veritaserum for the past month and today will reveal whether or not you’ve succeeded. The mark you get in for this potion will count for a family large portion of your overall grade, and it’s a good thing that you’re partnered with Tom, because whilst you might be one of the best in the class, your mind is so far from the task at hand that you know you’ll be relying on him for most of the more focussed aspects of the brewing today. You also know that Tom is probably cognizant of this fact and planned it as such.
Damn him. If he didn’t make you so weak at the knees, you’d have hexed him by now.
“Was that really necessary?” You ask when he returns, snatching the caladium root out of his hands. You start shredding the delicate roots with a little more force than is probably good for them, and besides you, Tom tsks.
“I’m quite sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you should be a little gentler with those,” He gestures to the roots. “We wouldn’t want to do poorly on this test because you’re a little riled up, would we?” Gods, you hate it when he teases you. Well, no, that’s a lie. Most of the time you love it when he teases you, but usually, you’re not in a Potions class with half your grade hanging over your head.
He chuckles lowly at your expression which is one of annoyance and indignity and spends most of the rest of the class alluding to the plans he has for you whilst expertly managing your potion so you can continue to daydream about what he might mean. It doesn’t escape your notice that Tom pours an extra vial of the Veritaserum when the time comes to present Slughorn with your finished product. He slips the extra into his pocket and raises a finger to his lips before you can question him.
You manage to avoid Tom for the rest of the day, which is good for your sanity for two reasons: firstly, whenever he had spotted you, he had given you a knowing look and found a way to touch you that from an outsider perspective would look entirely innocent but had left you dizzy with anticipation and unable to focus on anything other than the mysterious things he had in store for you. Secondly, and you’ll never admit this to him, your overactive imagination has run away with itself fantasising about the night ahead, and the way that he looks at you makes you think that he somehow knows exactly what you're thinking. You’d rather save yourself the embarrassment of his smirks and wry hums of amusement.
***
Of all the evenings for Tom to be busy with his Head Boy duties, it obviously has to be today. You’re fairly sure he’s planned it like this because you know him well enough by now to know that that he likes it when you’re a little on edge. His desire for control and power over the people he surrounds himself with manifests itself in multiple ways: with his friends, he leads with an iron fist, viewing disobedience as a betrayal; with his professors, he charms and manipulates until he has them wrapped around his little finger; with you, it’s slightly different. Your family, whilst not doing badly, cannot open doors for him the way the Maylfoy’s can, and you’re smart, but not outrageously so, so the impetus to use you for your talents isn’t there either. When Tom tells you that he wants you for your company and your companionship, you believe him. No, with you, his want for control manifests in slow touches, whispered commands, and a desire to see you fall apart in a way you refuse to do for anyone else.
His dormitory is empty when you enter, which is hardly a surprise; his roommates know when to make themselves scarce and to leave you privacy. You take a moment to gather your wits and to try and calm your nerves before you take a seat in the centre of his bed. The minutes tick by excruciatingly slowly, and you fight with your school tie, trying to guess if he would like it if he found you naked and waiting or if he wants the pleasure of undressing you himself. It all depends on his mood which can as mercurial and changing as the tides. You settle on a compromise, more because you’re impatient and excited and restless. You abandon your robes, leave your tie on the desk beside the bed, and unbutton the first three buttons of your shirt before settling back against the soft pillows and try to focus on the book you’ve brought with you.
The door clicks open and shut and you startle at the noise. Tom leans against the doorframe, half-hidden in shadow, a tempting and dangerous sight as he appraises you slowly. You swallow around your nerves, and your throat constricts as he loosens his ties and walks over to you, predatory and sleek, like some sort of wild cat, all tightly controlled power ready to be unleashed. It makes your mouth water.
He more or less crawls up the bed and you let your legs fall open to accommodate him. He reaches forwards and cups your jaw in his hand, his fingers splaying so that he cradles your head and you instinctively press your face into his hand, seeking contact and heat and protection. “Have you been waiting for me for all this time?” He says and you nod, eyes slitting to watch his pleased smile at your response. “Good girl. Are you ready for me?”
“I thought you might like to take care of that,” You murmur and you can’t deny the way excitement leaks into your voice. He hums approvingly and pulls away, just a for a moment as he reaches inside his robe to retrieve a small vial of clear liquid. Your eyes widen slightly at the Veritaserum dangling delicately between his fingers. “Is that what I think it is?”
His smile turns wolfish at the slight tremor in your voice and he cocks his head to one side, the hand that isn’t holding the vial, moving slowly up your calf, up the curve of your knee before flattening across the meat of your thigh and stroking the sensitive junction where your thigh meets your pubic bone. “Do you trust me?” He asks, which isn’t exactly an answer, but you think that’s maybe the point. Tom has a strange thing about trust; he likes it when you prove your loyalty to him. Drinking a potion where you’re not entirely sure what the effects will be is definitely something you can see him enjoying.
Slowly, hesitatingly, you nod and he pushes you back against the pillows. He brushes his thumb against your lower lip and pushes two fingers inside your mouth. Heat and desire lick like flames across your skin and your thighs clench in anticipation and need. He lets you run your tongue over them, suck them slowly before he removes them and pinches your chin to keep your mouth open as he pours a few drops onto your outstretched tongue. “That’s it, such a good girl for me,” He says, barely more than a whisper in the heavy silence that surrounds you. His eyes are dark with want and gratification, and he begins to undo the buttons of his shirt, revealing smooth, pale skin that you want to lick.
He leans over you and kisses your jaw and trails bruising kisses against your neck, humming softly when you gasp. “Do you want me to touch you?” He murmurs into your skin and the potion, which you can now confirm was Veritaserum, works its magic and you feel a compulsion to answer.
“Yes, please, I want—” Your words are cut off by a low moan as he brushes his fingers over your underwear which are already damp with your desire for him.
“So wet for me, already.” He’s playing with you at such a leisurely pace that your pleasure is mingled with frustration but when you try to shift your hips closer he pushes you back against the mattress. “So impatient, tell me, darling, how do you want me to touch you?”
You begin to realise exactly why he wanted to use the Veritaserum because you want so many things, you want his fingers and his mouth, you want him to kiss you, to undress you, to play with you until you can’t think let alone talk. These are not uncommon wants when it comes to Tom, but you’re normally too embarrassed to voice them to him, no matter how much he enjoys listening. Now, with the Veritaserum, it’s as though your voice acts without you telling it to, the words tumbling from your lips unbidden and a deep flush rises up your chest and neck as you whimper, “I want… I want you to take my clothes off now, and I-I want you to, fuck, I want your mouth.” You feel overexposed and vulnerable admitting this to him and your eyes are squeezed shut tight because even looking at him is too much right now.
He rewards you for your forced honesty by giving you exactly what you asked for, peeling your underwear down your legs and burying his head between your thighs, lapping at your folds like a parched man. It’s glorious, it always is and soon your clothes are discarded and you keep babbling away, asking and requesting until you’re incoherent. Even though he is the one acquiescing to your every whimpered desire, Tom is still firmly in control. Every sentence out of his mouth is framed as a question, forcing you to answer honestly even when it makes you blush and squirm. Every one of your fantasies is laid out in front of him and the fact that he could ask you anything and you would be compelled to answer truthfully is never far from your mind.
“Look at you, if only you could see yourself,” Tom mutters, his voice rough with exertion, sweat beading in the dips of his collarbones as he pushes you against the pillows, one of his hands reaching and pinning both of your wrists above your head. “Do you like the sound of that? Would you like to see me fuck you? Do you want to see how wrecked you look?”
“Yes.”
Neither of you lasts very long after that. You cling to him desperately, your legs locked tightly around his waist as his breathing grows erratic. Your entire world is narrowed down to Tom and the feeling of his body moving against yours. Everything feels strangely floaty and distant, yet still incredibly intense as if your mind and body can’t quite comprehend what’s happening and is just rolling in sensation and emotion and feeling. The heat that had encompassed you before he even entered the room grows hotter and the flames of your desire burn brighter. You feel your orgasm build low in your belly, a tight ball of tangled nerves that snowballs and crashes over you as you shake with barely contained need. Tom grips your hip, pulling you somehow closer, and licks a wet stripe between the valley of your breasts, his teeth catch your earlobe and you shudder with overstimulation. He lasts another three strokes before he comes with a shaky gasp, his lips brushing yours.
For a moment after, you just lay there, a tangle of limbs and sweat and body heat. Eventually, though, he rolls off of you, and you stretch your aching limbs before snuggling into the duvet. It’s when he passes you a small vial of a swirling grey-silver liquid that what you’ve just done truly hits you. You swallow the antidote hastily and the empty vial falls from your grasp. You feel suddenly overwhelmed and strangely bereft. Blindly, you reach for Tom, searching him out for contact and comfort and reassurance.
“I… Was that okay?” You ask unable to hide your worry that you’ve somehow let him down. Tom immediately moves to wrap you in his arms, dropping a soft kiss to the top of your head.
He tilts your head to face him and his eyes search yours, a small frown marring his forehead. “Darling, you were perfect,” He murmurs, seemingly understanding implicitly what you’re really asking. He tucks you closer and presses his lips to your cheek. Considering what you’ve just been doing, it’s all very chaste. “Come here, let me look after you.”
Feeling slightly more relaxed, you bury your head against his chest and allow him to do just that.
A/N: So this is a companion piece to Tender We Lay Bound. Obviously, you don’t need to read that for this to make sense, but I wanted to explore the power dynamics that would lead to the aftercare in that fic. I wanted to say here that the characters here trust and love each other, but this is honestly pretty bad BDSM etiquette and a seriously under-negotiated kink and scene. Obvs, this is fiction, so whatever, they’re all good and happy, but all kinks should be negotiated and discussed and all scenes should be planned and talked about by all parties involved. I hope you enjoyed and I just wanted to add this because ya know, it's important!
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hopelesshawks · 4 years ago
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Love and Admiration Part 36- Man of Your Dreams
18+ Bakugo x fem!pro hero reader
Summary: (Y/n) has known Bakugo since middle school, admired him since high school, and had a crush on him since the first time they met. Even now, a top pro hero in her own right, she can’t shake her school girl crush. Too bad Bakugo literally has no idea she exists. Well that’s not entirely true… He does know pro hero Mercury exists, but (y/l/n) (y/n)? Never heard of her.
Warnings for dry humping, dom/sub themes, praise kink, oral (female receiving)
Masterlist Help Lulu <3
The door to Bakugo’s apartment is unlocked for you so you walk in as soon as you arrive before locking it back behind you. You’re surprised to find the apartment silent, having expected at the very least the sound of the tv going or perhaps of Katsuki cooking in the kitchen. You wander around his apartment in search of him, flicking on some of the light switches since the only light seems to be coming from the sunset through the large bay windows on the far wall. You’re about to flick the lights on in the living room when you finally spot Katsuki and suck in a breath. He’s fallen asleep on his couch, clad in gray joggers and the hoodie you bought him. The black “Are you still watching?” message from Netflix on the tv indicates he must’ve fallen asleep while watching something and it makes a warm fondness bloom in your chest.
You step further into the living room, reaching for the remote and then turning off the tv before moving to sit on the floor in front of the couch. The golden and red orange light from the setting sun plays through his hair and dances over his features. He looks so gentle like this and you can’t help but try to commit the image to memory. You’re not at all surprised he’s exhausted, he’d worked an early morning shift again and has still been recovering from the sleepless nights he’d had when you two were fighting. You’re happy to see that the bags under his eyes are finally fading and you can’t resist the temptation to reach out and press a gentle kiss to his forehead before carding your fingers through his hair. You’re not sure how long you sit there just combing your fingers through the blonde strands and drinking in the sight of him, but eventually he stirs slightly. He sighs into your touch, the only indication at first that he’s woken up at all, before his eyes finally flutter open, crimson irises meeting your (y/e/c) ones. They slip shut almost immediately afterwards as he reaches to pull you onto the couch. “C’mere Princess,” he mutters sleepily and how could you possibly refuse when he looks so soft? So you allow him to pull you on top of him, one arm wrapping around your waist as you pillow your head against his chest. “You like watchin’ me sleep, huh?” he asks, voice rough and deeper than normal since he’s only just woken up. “I do. You looked like you were having a good dream,” you hum. “I was,” comes his easy reply as his hand rubs circles into your back. “I’m sorry I woke you then.” “Don’t be. I was dreaming of you,” he admits, as if it’s the most casual thing in the world. You pull back so you can look at him properly, searching his face for a sign he’s messing with you. “You’re kidding,” you say incredulously but that only makes the smug and sleepy smirk on his face grow wider as he shakes his head. “I’m not. The reality is much better though,” he says before leaning up to press a kiss to your lips.
All of the warmth that had been filling you while you’d watched him and then processed his sweet words overflows now, spilling into the gentle kiss you two share. Slowly the kiss starts to turn heated as you open your mouth to allow his tongue inside to tangle with yours. You feel the moment his dick starts to take an interest, gradually starting to harden as his hands roam underneath your shirt to slide along your bare waist. Soon he flips the two of you over so you’re pinned beneath him, grinding his hips down against you in a way that has both of you groaning into each other’s mouths. There’s no rush to your actions though as he continues to grind down into you and you cant your hips up to meet his. He drops his mouth from your lips to your neck, nipping the delicate skin there before soothing it with his tongue, making sure to leave marks. One of your hands grasps at his back, urging his hips to continue their rhythm but the other tangles into his hair as you gasp at the continued attention. You eventually tug him back up to meet your lips again and when you next roll your hips up to meet his you’re delighted at the low keening moan it wrenches from his throat. His hips start to stutter in their rhythm, a sign he’s getting close to his climax, so he starts to pull back but you push down on his back and bring your hips up to encourage him to keep going. You separate your lips from his only to bring it to the shell of his ear. “Don’t stop, want you to cum for me,” you whisper and you can tell by the shiver that runs through him and the muttered curse that drops from his lips that he’s going to listen.
When you grind your hips up again, Katsuki eagerly meets you halfway, the fabric of his sweatpants providing extra friction against his weeping cock. “You’re being such a good boy for me Katsuki,” you praise and it only seems to spur him on more as more curses spill from his lips and he continues to hump against your leg. “F-fuck Princess, I’m gonna-“ he whines. “Do it,” you reply, “let go for me baby.” He grinds against you one final time before he’s spilling his load into his sweatpants with a strangled cry, darkening the gray fabric. “Shit,” he huffs breathlessly as he rides out the aftershocks of his orgasm. “Think you can make your Princess feel good now too?” you ask coyly. “Fuck yes,” he all but growls before kissing you until you’re as breathless as he is as he encourages you to slide further up the couch so you can lean your back against the arm of it. He then settles himself between your legs, watching hungrily as he pulls your bottoms and panties down to reveal your dripping sex. He wastes no time burying his face between your thighs, licking a long stripe along your folds before slipping his tongue into your pussy. “Shit, just like that. Feels so good,” you groan as his tongue drags along your inner walls. His rough palms keep your legs spread for him as you slowly start to fall apart above him. “You’re doing so well Katsuki, fuck. Right there,” you moan, your head falling back as your own climax draws nearer. One of his hands leaves your thigh to press circles into your sensitive clit and it doesn’t take long after that for your orgasm to come rushing over you with a cry of his name.
As you come down he presses kisses to your inner thigh before finally leaning up to kiss your lips again. “Such a good boy,” you coo breathlessly. The growl you get in response makes you laugh as Katsuki’s cheeks and ears turn pink. “Since when did you start giving orders?” he asks. “Since I realized you might actually listen. You’re pretty cute when you follow instructions,” you tease. “Watch it, Princess,” he growls in warning, fire sparking in his ruby red irises. “Or what?” you tease. He’s about to show you exactly how he intends to teach you a lesson when you’re both startled by a pounding at the door. “Yo lovebirds, It’s party time!” you hear Mina shout from the other side and you can’t help but laugh as Katsuki groans, his forehead falling to rest on your collar. “One second!” you call back, which only makes your boyfriend growl again. “C’mon, you know if we don’t hurry up she’ll melt down the door,” you laugh, pushing gently at Katsuki’s shoulders to encourage him to climb off the couch. “Fine, but I’m teaching you a fucking lesson later,” he huffs, nipping the skin at the base of your neck to emphasize his point before finally climbing off you. You hurry to pull back on your panties and bottoms as Bakugo moves to answer the door. “Wait!” you call out suddenly, lunging forward to catch his arm before he can get too far. “What? You’re the one who said Raccoon Eyes would melt my door,” he points out with a raised eyebrow. “I mean yea but maybe I should grab the door while you change?” you offer, pointedly looking down to the stain he’d left on his sweatpants earlier before meeting his eyes again. He curses under his breath, face turning a vibrant shade of red as he recalls the mess he’d made of his pants. “I’ll be back,” he grumbles before storming off towards his room and you can’t help but to laugh before the sound of Mina pounding on the door again has you making yourself presentable and rushing to answer it.
You hurry to fling the door open to find your friends on the other side, grinning with excitement and many carrying their own contributions to the alcohol stash for the night. You let them in and guide them to the kitchen to drop their cargo before you greet them all eagerly with hugs and excitement. Midoriya, Denki, and Kirishima especially give you a warm welcome since they hadn’t seen you at all since the last hang and don’t get to talk to you nearly as much as Shinso and the girls do. By the time you’ve finished saying hello, you’re alerted to Bakugo’s return by his arms wrapping carefully around your waist. “I guess you guys had fun waiting for us,” Shinso deadpans as he leans casually against the kitchen counter. “No idea what you’re talking about,” you shrug, leaning back into Katsuki’s warm embrace. “So the new hickeys on your neck just spontaneously appeared?” he asks, amusement evident in his smirk as you try to sputter out an excuse despite obviously being flustered. “We were having a lot of fun before you guys showed up. If you wanna fuck off-“ “Katsuki!” you interrupt him scandalized although your friends seem to find it infinitely more amusing than you do. They tease the two of you for awhile, even as drinks start to get poured and the party starts to begin in earnest, especially once they realize Bakugo is wearing the Mercury hoodie, but it’s all in good fun. In all honesty it warms your heart a little to have this. You can’t help but be struck by how lucky you are to finally have the man of your dreams and friends that support your relationship so wholeheartedly.
As the others start to move the party out of the kitchen, Katsuki holds you back before spinning you in his arms to face him. “I’m not fucking you in the kitchen when our friends are literally in the other room,” you say immediately, causing Katsuki to roll his eyes. “That’s not why I held you back idiot,” he huffs. “Oh! What is it then?” you ask, slightly sheepish. “You just seemed deep in thought ‘s all. You good?” he asks brusquely. A fond smile spreads over your face. “I’m more than good, I’m perfect. I was just thinking how glad I am to finally have you,” you explain happily. “Yea?” “Yea.” “Good. Me too.” When he slots your lips together this time you both know it’s more than just a simple kiss.
It’s also a silent promise of forever.
A/N: Another fic finished 🥲 thank you all so much for reading this and supporting me. Every like, reblog, and reply has meant the absolute world to me and I’m so grateful. If you liked this fic feel free to check out my others through my general masterlist or request to join the taglist for my next series Basic Instincts, starring my favorite bird boi Hawks
Taglist: @pixelwisp @oliviasslut @larkspyrr @heroacadema @kozukatsuki @captaincyberqueen @undead-nyx @ineedtofocusfr @i-heart-fictional-boys @theycallme-becky @superhermit @black-rose-29 @disaster-rose @fandomsgotmefucked @irenne-stans
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womenofwonder · 3 years ago
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RWBY characters races for AUs set in our world.
How I’m going to do this: three things. The first, the city they live in Remnant. This is the least important because that leaves us with only five…maybe six places compared to our world’s hundreds of countries.
The second will be the original of their names, which they’ll have to keep in the AUs, meaning that they need some culture background for them.
The third will be their fairy tale origins.
So to start, Ruby Rose:
She lives in Vale, which is similar to France (I’ll explain why in another post maybe), but technically grew up in patch, a small island off the coast of Vale. I have no idea about Patch’s culture as we hardly ever see it, so I’m going to skip this one. We also don’t know if either Summer or Taiyang was originally from Vale.
We know Taiyang is Chinese from his name, so I’m going to say she’s half Chinese. I also wrote a western au once and really love the idea of Taiyang being an Asian Redneck…so I think I’m going to say Ruby is very, very southern just because that would be adorable.
But if you don’t want that idea I generally see Taiyang being either Asian-American or Asian-French, or Asian-British if your doing a HP AU. Summer is harder to pin down, but Red Riding Hood was originally an Italian fable, so I’m going to have her be Italian or Italian-American.
Weiss:
Weiss is German, although making her simply white America/British would work. I could see her being Russian too in some AU because Atlas fits well as Russia. For American works, Pennsylvania has quite the German population and coal mines, so that works pretty well for her.
Blake is really complicated. From Remment Australia which is culturally SEA (south East Asian), has an English name but parents with a Hindu-inspired names, but neither looking vaguely Indian. I’m going to assume her family are immigrants (as they are in cannon I think) to Australia, maybe even changed their name to help them fit in. Immigrants from where? Well, India is an option, but I like to think Malaysia. They have a large Indian and Chinese population, and I like to think Blake is a mixture of Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnicities, from Malaysia and immigrated to Australia. And if you think this is crazy or unrealistic, you haven’t seen anything yet. The sheer mix of cultures I’ve seen growing up as an ex-pat is insane. This isn’t too crazy.
For Yang, we already have Taiyang as an Asian red-neck. Or at least I do. Raven and Qrow are going to be a little harder to pin down, but I’m think bandits getting replaced by mafia. Which mafia? I don’t know, take you’re pick. Branwen is Welsh, but I can’t think of a Welsh mafia. Coming from Mistral I would see them as being Triad, not Yakuza because Raven’s gang is famous for being less than coordinated.
If you need a logical reason for Yang having blonde hair, Taiyang could be only half Chinese, half blonde (blonde is race right?).
Either way I see Raven operating in an American city like New York or Detroit.
This would mean Yang is fully Chinese ethnically.
JNPR:
Jaune’s name and inspiration are all French. However his mother does come from Mistral (I think), so I do see him being half Chinese, but nationally French. It’s also funny to imagine him with a French accent.
Pyrrha: she’s Greek or maybe Greek-American with her parents being recent immigrants. Argus seems to Remnent-Greece and her name and fairy tale are greek.
Nora: she should be Scandinavian. I feel like in a MCU AU she’s Thor’s daughter. But she also grew up as a street rat in Mistral, which is hard to fit in our world. Therefore I’m going to have her in America, the great melting pot (and also America seems to be more like Mistral than any other Remnent king with our state system), and she going to ethically Scandinavian but knowing nothing of her culture due to her upbringing.
Ren: obviously Chinese, but I might have him be American-Chinese to fit his story nicely in with Nora’s.
Others:
Coco: we’re all ignoring that she’s based off Coco Channel, so let’s make her a LA girl
Velvet: Australia, because of the accent. Or maybe English because that is her story origin
Fox: he’s difficult, because tribes are pretty rare in modern AUs. But his story could work for various things. He’s one of the few black characters so he could come from practically any African tribe (I’m currently going with Hausa because it’s one of the few I know anything about). His name is based off ‘the fox and the hound’ which is a rare American story, so he could also be from a Native American tribe if you want the AU to be more American-based.
Yatsuhashi: Japanese, this one is thankfully easy.
Sun: Chinese. He comes from a tribe as well, but I can’t think of any nomadic Chinese tribes except the Uyghurs. Making Sun a Uyghur doesn’t make much sense but it will serve to piss off certain people on the internet. And now this is going to be taken down, isn’t it? Oh wait, this is tumbrl. This is anarchy. It won’t. Forgot why I liked this place for a second.
Scarlet: sorry for the rambling there. Anyway, Scarlet is definitely English. “I hope I don’t get sand in my shoes.”
Sage: well, he’s black, but other then that we have nothing to go one. He’s also from Mistral but that doesn’t really work? If Mistral is America as well as China I guess we can make him African American. Or whatever else works best for the AU. He might be Indian too now that I think of it. Or even Maori. Really options are limitless here.
Neptune: Yeah, so probably just American, but does have both a French last name and an Italian first name. So probably ethically American (aka white mutt). Also he lives near a port, I think I’m gonna gone with him being from Tacoma Washington because I am.
Flynt: African American
Neon: Japanese-American because of her meme (it started as part of Japanese pop song on YouTube, the latter of which is America summed up in one invention)
Oscar: Hispanic-American, he just looks it. And I’m guessing he lives in Kansas for obvious reasons. His last name isn’t Hispanic but their could be a lot of reasons for that. Or he could be Native American (Pawnee, Cheyenne, and Osage are all Native American tribes in Kansas).
Penny: well if she’s still a robot she probably stays white, but if you want her human in this AU she might end up being half black as Pietro is, although she also could just be adopted. I guess the later makes more sense, huh? I figure she’s American, with her dad working with a ‘well meaning’ but ultimately corrupt government. Probably living in DC, as that has both the government and the poverty issues.
Emerald: oohh, boy. This is hard. Sustrai is Basque, and Aladdin is a French addition to an Arabian story, she herself is dark skinned with anime features that are super unhelpful for this sorta thing.
I have three ideas. Brazilian, mostly as there’s no South American themed RWBY characters I can think of, and it’s diverse enough that someone looking like Emerald would fit. Secondly, for American centered stories she’s just an orphan with no idea of her ethnicity. Or she could be African, Indian, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic or some mixture between those four. It’s honestly really hard to tell. In my fanfic she’s from Suriname and ethnically 1/4 Indian, 1/2 Creole, and 1/4 Javanese.
Ilia: Sioux (Native American). Ilia means a lot of things in a lot of different languages, and Amitola mean rainbow in Sioux, so I decided to just stick with that.
Mercury: American, white mutt American. I’m guessing New York or Philli for where he grew up, it seems like a place where he’d be comfortable
Neo: the new novel reveals her father lived in vale (btw I haven’t read it, I’m just getting this off the internet) and her mother was a assassin who’s origins aren’t known. She doesn’t really have a fairy tale. So I’m going to go with British or French (thank RWBY thoughts for the first one) although in an American AU she works as just a white American.
Robyn: depends on what Atlas is in this AU, but probably German or American.
Qrow: I already mentioned he’s probably Chinese due to being from Mistral. It’s a bit weird to think of him as Asian, but not as weird as it to think of Raven as white, so I’ll take it. Although I do like the idea of him being American Irish, that’s fun.
Winter: whatever Atlas is in this AU, German or American, although British and Russian would work well too.
Maria: Mexican
Salem: If you want a AU where she’s just a normal person then New England or Italian for her story origin
Watts: British
Tyrian: uh…I have no idea, but he looks white. And he kinda has a British accent? I want him to be southern for the accent tho. Probably just another crazy American
Cinder: her fairy tale is French but her origin is Chinese. Also, Cinderella doesn’t really have an origin, it’s an ancient story with every culture having at least one Cinderella story. So I’m going to say Chinese.
Hazel: American, from the Midwest. He’s darkish so maybe he’s a POC? Part Native American or Hispanic? Idk or really care I can’t stand Hazel
Roman Torchwick: American-Italian, he runs/works for the mafia
Ozpin: American because of the whole wizard-of-Oz-thing or French, because he seems to have come from Vale.
Glynda: American or French for the same reasons Ozpin is
Oobleck: Jewish American (because Dr. Seuss was)
Professor Port: Russian, due to his fairy tale, or English, due to his style
Taiyang: already said he’s a red-neck Asian.
Raven: depending on whether you want her to be white or not, either Chinese or Irish American, like I already said.
Cordovin: Karen
Ironwood: again, depends on Atlas in the AU. Either American or German…maybe Russian
Clover: Irish-American (or German, obviously the ace-ops depend on where Atlas is. I’m just going to do the rest of them assuming Atlas is American because Germany isn’t that diverse)
Harriet: African-American, I guess. It kinda messes with the story because Harriet is supposed to be privileged, which doesn’t really work in this AU, but she’s also obviously black.
Elm: Just normal American, maybe greek-American because of the Aesop fable themes
Vine: Tibetan based on his design
Marrow: either African-American or Pakistani/Indian-American. (I’m personally going for Pakistani)
Klein: english. All butlers are English. It’s a rule.
Pietro: African-American
Johanna: Pakistani or Indian American
Fiona: Jewish-American (kinda random but while she’s obviously white she also needs to be a minority for the Faunus thing to work)
May: normal upper glass American/German
Ghira: Half Malay, Half Indian, from Malaysia but immigrated to Australia later in life
Kali: half Chinese, half Indian, but also from Malaysia
Adam: much like Fiona I’m going to assume he’s Jewish due to him being white but still needing to be a minority. German or American, again, depending on where Atlas is. Or he could be Chinese, even though it doesn’t work with his name, due to the theory that he was trafficked much like Cinder. I’m going with ethically Jewish though
Sienna Khan: Indian
Huh, I actually finished that. I’m pretty sure I was accidentally racist multiple times and apologize in advance,
I’m exhausted and starving and not thinking straight. But anyway, here it is. Your very messy guide to modern RWBY AUs. I swear this was insane to sort out.
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caramelcal · 4 years ago
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The Truth Hurts...{part nine}
Every time your soulmate lies, a mark presents itself on your body. In a world like this, people normally told the truth so that their soulmate didn’t have to deal with the consequences. But your soulmate? They seemed persistent to make your life hell, and mark your body until there was no skin left.
Word Count: 1.8k
a/n: i just finished this but im not gonna keep you guys waiting...i aint saying no more...
Taglist:  (comment if you want to be added, or you can message me) @itsjustmeiguessallrightthen​ @moonbeams-stuff  @cece-lives-here​ @aprilfire18​ @adrianaprox​ @slytherinrising​ @deadric
Warnings: Mentions of death, blood, betrayal, and swearing. 
disclaimer: i do not condone plagiarism on my work at all, this has not been posted on any other platforms, or on tumblr anywhere else but my account (rosemoonmist) if you see anyone plagiarizing mine (or anyone else’s account) please inform the rightful author ! thank you lovelies x
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Corey was dead and now that you stood in the Sinema, seeing the needle go in and Hayden’s eyes fill with mercury, you couldn’t help the shout that came out of your mouth. The Dread Doctors hadn’t been seen in five days, no new chimeras and no deaths but every sense of security that you had felt in Beacon Hills over the past few days was hopelessly ripped away from you at that moment. Not caring about the foe there, you ran towards Hayden who fell to the floor.
Hayden was holding her neck when you and Liam had rushed over to her, her eyes no longer filled with mercury.
“Her eyes,” You spoke, your voice wavering as Scott and Theo came running in, body drowning in worry for the younger girl as you spoke, “they filled with mercury. I saw it, a-and now she looks fine but her eyes-”
“It’s okay, she looks fine, maybe she’ll heal,” Theo replied reassuringly, making you turn towards him. He immediately picked up on your worry, pulling you closer to his side whilst you looked up at him.
“None of the others did, Theo. I can’t deal with another body,” You whispered back, peering up at his blue eyes, making him form a small frown. He knew what you had been through, he knew the pain and suffrage between dead bodies and new threats. He hadn’t seen the pain these troubles inflicted upon you when you first met, but now it was clear as day. The more he got to know you, the more he seen what a toll the bodies took on you, the way the supernatural secret depleted your mental health.
Maybe he should’ve stopped. Seeing the broken look in your eyes, the way your eyes were silently begging him to stop without your knowledge, the way that he felt a small bubbling feeling of guilt as he looked down at you, his soulmate. To be with you he knew he had to stop. But he didn’t.
. . .
“Lydia?” You called out in confusion, your phone up to your ear as you answered the unsuspected phone call.
All you were met with was silence. An impending doom seemed to filter over your head, you knew that the Dread Doctors were attacking, that’s why you found yourself at the school. Yet, it was stupid to be alone but you knew that. Everyone was all over the place and you had hardly heard from anyone all night, which certainly didn’t do anything to calm your nerves.
You just hoped that Lydia would answer, give you some sort of useful information, or just at least let you know that she was alright. That she was safe and well. Alas, you didn’t get that, and instead, you made yet another attempt to get the girl to talk.
“Lydia is everything alright?” You called out, voice loud as you tried to get some sort of reply from your caller, “Lydia?”
No voice came from the other side and nerves and worry etched at your stomach. What if something was wrong? What if Lydia was hurt, or the Dread Doctors had taken her? Yet, your mind didn’t stay on her long as a large and pained howl sounded throughout the air.
The howl was one you had heard before, pain etched through the noise in a way only you could unpick. Eyes wide, you whispered in horror, “Scott.”
. . .
Seeing your unofficial boyfriend’s nails embedded deep into your best friend’s chest caused a scream to come out of you that was unlike anything that they had ever heard. Lydia’s screams, no matter how daunting and loud they were, would never match the utter pain and betrayal in yours. Your legs felt weak, you felt sick and your eyes filled with tears as Theo got up, chest heaving in power.
Before you even had time to be rational, you ran and you punched him in the face. Your other fist came up to strike him again as he caught both of your hands, and you chose to flail your leg out to kick him, one without much power that done zero damage; a lot less than you hoped to cause. You wanted to make Theo feel pain, to equal his physical pain to the emotional pain he had caused you, and for the killing of your best friend.
His eyes still glowed yellow, and your breath caught in your throat as you stared at him, his claws which were covered in your best friend’s blood gripping tightly onto your wrists with no plans to let go. You were elevated above the ground, and legs flailed with the best attempt to escape but it was futile. Eyes staying focused on him you spoke, tears building up thickly, “You bastard.”
“I’m sorry this is how it had to be, y/n,” Theo replies coolly, with no guilt in his voice. He didn’t care, he had consciously killed Scott for no reason and you would never forgive him for this. Ever.
“It never had to be like this, nothing ever justifies this,” You spat back, tears clouding your vision and blocking your throat whilst you stared down at the corpse of one of your best friends.
“You’ll understand, y/n/n, you’ll understand one day,” Theo said before dropping his grip on you, going to walk away from you and out of the library, completely unbothered by the destruction he had caused.
“That’s my best friend, you dickhead!” You ran up behind him, shouting at the top of your lungs making him stop in his tracks, “You, you were supposed to be our friend, I’ve known you since we were kids...How could you do this?”
Theo looked over his shoulder at you before slowly turning around looking down at you with a dangerous look in his eyes. He stalked towards you, his stance wide, almost intimidating, “He was your best friend. Not anymore. There was no room for him in my pack.”
You maintained eye contact with him, e/c eyes trying to look into the blue eyes despite the darkness in the room. It was several moments before you spoke again, your voice bitter as you asked, “Your pack?”
“Yes, y/n, my pack,” Theo replied with a slight nod of his head, walking even closer to you until your bodies were leaning against one another; barely leaving any room for breathing as you stared up at him. He peered down at you, before flashing his eyes at you, his voice stony like he was trying to enforce power, “I’m your alpha now.”
He ducked his head down so that it was closer to yours, his eyes no longer glowing whilst you guys stood in silence. The tension was thick as you looked back up at Theo, feeling his breath fan across your face, almost as if he was going to kiss you. Then, he started to lean in, your lips slowly reaching each other before his face was flung to the side.
You took a step back, your hand still held up after the action you had just indulged in as you stared at Theo with wide eyes, for a human you surely put a lot of force into that slap.
“Let’s get one thing clear, Theodore. You are and will never be my alpha.”
His hand hesitated but he lifted it to his face, touching the area that was already starting to mark red of where you slapped, before an annoyed smirk made its way onto his face, making him laugh. The laugh was chilling but you didn’t care at that moment, you would not back down no matter what. Not after what he did to Scott. Theo could kill you right here, right now, if it meant that you didn’t have to join his pack.
He looked back at you, his face now annoyed as he pointed at you. You weren’t sure if he was annoyed that you slapped him, or if you had slapped him and in the process rejected his kiss, but that didn’t matter either. He bared his teeth slightly as he talked, taking one step forward but still maintaining a distance between the two of you, “You act like this right now, Princess, but in the end, you’ll be by my side.”
“In your fucking dreams, Raeken,” You spat out, anger filling every atom of your being. You had been expecting Theo to argue again with you, but he just smirked and walked out without another word, leaving you to drown in the betrayal and grief he had left behind.
The silence that filled the room was deafening, and a sick feeling rose to your throat as you turned around, now facing the steps. Taking steady steps forward, trying to support yourself before you fell to the ground from weak legs, you reached him, bending down and taking one of his hands in yours.
“Scott?” You said, shaking his body as tears came to your eyes. Your heart sunk when you didn’t get a response from the boy, and you shook him again, but with this time you shook him wildly, trying to scare him out of whatever haze he was in, “Scott!”
“Please Scott you gotta answer, wake up, please,”
Cradling your best friend’s body was not something that you ever wanted to do. Your arms were wrapped around Scott’s body, your head against his as you let out the tears, and despite the sobbing now over with, the tears never stopped. You were all alone, the warmth from Scott’s chest gone and leaving behind only a coldness that could never be filled by anyone else.
Ten minutes. That’s how long that you were cradling Scott’s body before Melissa showed up, and when you saw her, you couldn’t even speak. Your throat closed up as she saw the boy in your arms, eyes sheathed with tears that would be let out until the late hours of the night, heart too heavy to support itself.
She ran over, positioning him on the ground and pushing her hands onto his chest in rapid and quick motions. Opening your mouth to talk, you hesitated as you watched the mother try to grab some tiny piece of life out of her son, to pull it back out so he could hug her one last time, and your eyes got even glassier, “What are you doing?”
“Trying to bring my son back.”
“His heart stopped beating fifteen minutes ago. You can’t bring back someone who’s already dead.” You shook your head, eyes falling to your lap which was covered in your best friend’s blood.
“He isn’t dead. He’s my son. He’s an alpha!”
But was he really?
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lilulo-12fanfiction · 4 years ago
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Rain Song- Chapter 3
Here is the next chapter FINALLY! I’m so so sorry this took so long. I struggled with some really terrible writers block since COVID. I pretty much stopped updating every story I have going. But I’m back and hopefully will be updating this on the regular.
This one is super long...over 15K words. I hope it makes up for it taking so long to post the next part. Some of the parts I’m not super thrilled with but I needed to just get this out. 
Thank you so much for all of your likes, re-blogs and the few comments I’ve gotten. It gives me motivation to keep going! If you would like to be tagged, please let me know! 
Requests are always open! Check out my prompt here. I write for Harry Potter, The Avengers, Supernatural & TVD/The Originals. 
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Hope was feeling more like herself again, the darkness still itching the back of her mind, but the weight of her secrets had been lifted off of her chest. Harry, Ron and Hermione all knew exactly who she was, what she was- in the most basic sense. If Hope was being honest with herself, she wasn't quite sure who she was.  As she was approaching her next birthday, she was determined to figure herself out this year. She was going to learn how to control her Seer abilities, they were no longer going to control her. She was also done with pushing people away. She had kept everyone with the exception of Ron, Hermione and Harry at arms length since the start of the term. She had been so excited to come to Hogwarts because she didn’t have to hide who she was, yet she continued to act as if she were still surrounded by Muggles. She had made the decision to shove all of the messy feelings about her father away. It was time to try and let it go and live her life. The fact is the matter was that Hope would likely never get her answers. She simply had to move on.
She could feel Harry’s green eyes on her as she entered The Great Hall. He and Ron were already eating and Hermione was headed over to join them. Hope needed to take care of something first. She slowly approached The Hufflepuff table, her target was within her sights. The girls at the table were shooting her dirty looks and whispering. Hope wasn't sure if it was because she was a Gryffindor approaching their table, or her intended target. Hope contained her eye roll, she didn’t want to stoop to their level. Cedric’s friends were elbowing him to get his attention. He looked up at her and about stunned her with his bright smile. His smile could light up any room. Hope’s favorite attributes of Cedric were his eyes. The breath taking blue-gray color could captivate her for days. They transported her to her beloved beach as they were the color of the ocean water on a clear day. How the skin around his eyes crinkled when he smiled was almost too much for her to take.
“Diggory- can, um, can I talk to you?”
“Sure Lupes, what’s up?” His grin was slightly mischievous. Hope tried to ignore Cedric's friends who were intently staring at the two of them.
“I was hoping to speak to you alone?” Hope hated how unsure she sounded. She saw Hannah Abbott roll her eyes and scoffed.
“Can’t you see he’s eating? Go back to your own table.” She sniped. Hopes eyes narrowed.
“Wow, so sorry Hannah. I forgot you were his keeper and Cedric can’t make his own decisions.” Hope was about to tear into Hannah a little further but Cedric jumped up. The smoldering look in Hope's grey eyes didn't bode well for Hannah.
“Actually I’m all done anyway. C’mon, I know where we can go so we aren’t interrupted.” ‘Cedric shot Hannah a dirty look and led Hope out of The Great Hall with his hand on the small of her back. It was such a small thing, but so incredibly intimate that it made color creep up Hope’s cheeks. He led her down a quiet corridor to to one of the windows and sat down on the  deep ledge. Hope stayed standing so that she they would be eye to eye  “What can I do for you Ms. Lupin?” He had that flirty smile back on his face.
“I wanted to apologize. I know I’ve been in a foul mood for these past few weeks and I’ve blown off our lessons. But I want to continue them, I really do. And I know I was really short with you and basically kind of rude. You didn’t deserve that.” She watched as the playfulness creeped up his face.
“You weren't rude, Hope. I could tell you were just going through some stuff and needed space. However, apology accepted" He beamed  "And as it so happens I know how you can make it up to me.” She didn’t think his grin could get any wider.
“Oh really? How is that Mr. Diggory?” Hope bravely flirted back.
“Let me take you on a date next Hogsmeade weekend”
“Cedric ...” her voice trailed off.
”Say that again.” she looked at him like he had lost his mind. ”My first name. I love how it sounds coming out of your mouth.” Hope could feel her cheeks blazing. He took her hands and pulled her closer to him so she was standing in-between his legs.
”Cedric....” she whispered his name. She felt his hands squeeze hers, his eyes studying her face intently. ”Why me Ced? You could have any girl you wanted. They fawn all over you. I can't be the only girl you flirt with.” Hope looked down at her feet. She felt Cedric hook his finger under her chin to lift her head so he could look her in the eye.
”First of all, girls don't fawn all over me." Hope scoffed. His modesty made him all that more attractive. He was also blind as a bat. "So maybe I flirt a little bit here and there, but there are no 'other girls' in my eye line. Just you. I don't want to spend time with any other girls, just you.” she felt his thumbs caressing her knuckles.
"But why? You barely know me." Cedric held her stare.
"Okay well, if I'm being honest, the mystery of you had me intrigued at first, I wont lie about that. New student comes in as a 3rd year. No one knows anything about you. You seemed really nice the first time we met. That's what grabbed my interest, but it's who you are that has kept it. You're smart, bloody brilliant. You're really funny and witty. I've heard about how you don't cower to Snape and how you blatantly ignored him and helped Longbottom so his toad wouldn't get sick. Your laugh is one of the best things I've ever heard. And you give me a hard time... I kind of like that. You're different and I really want to get to know you. C'mon Lupes...one little Hogsmeade date  and if you think I'm a troll after it, I'll never bother you again." She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again he was studying her intently.
"Wow Diggory, you really know how to sweet talk a girl. Okay Ced...one Hogsmeade date. Don't mess it up." He put back on his award winning smile.
"You wont regret it." He kissed her on the cheek. "Go- have some breakfast, I'll see you later" Hope made her way back to The Great Hall and she knew she had a stupid smile on her face. Hannah Abbott was still shooting her daggers as she walked in, but Hope couldn't care less. She just got utterly charmed by Cedric Diggory.
"Well someone looks happy." Harry grumbled as Hope approached the table. She was flying so high she didn't even notice the cranky look he was sporting. "What was that all about?" Hermione could barely contain her excitement, she was almost bouncing out of her seat.
"Well I wanted to apologize for being a foul bitch to him. He accepted and then asked me on a date next Hogsmeade weekend."
"HE DID?!!" Hermione's voice went up. Hermione's excitement was contagious. 
"Oi! Calm down woman!" Ron winced, he got the brunt of her shrill shriek as he was sitting next to her.
"Yes he did. And before you ask, I said yes." Hope couldn't contain her own excitement at this point.  She was going on a date. A proper date, she had never really felt any interest in any boy until now. She and Hermione continued to chatter about it while Harry looked into his plate miserably.
"I mean...he said all of these really great things, I just, I guess I've never seen myself like that."
"Well c'mon, what did he say?" Now Ron was getting in on the conversation.
"That I was brilliant, really funny and witty. I was brave because I'm not afraid of Snape. He likes how I give him a hard time. Then the normal stuff when guys are trying to impress you. He said my laugh is one of his favorite sounds. I know he was just trying to fluff me up to get me to say yes, but-" Harry scoffed. Hope's brow furrowed and she turned and looked at him.
"He wasn't trying to fluff you up Hope. You ARE those things. You are brilliant. When you're not bogged down with everything that is going on you are really funny and incredibly witty. Even on the days when you feel you're sinking into that darkness you've been seeing you can still keep up with Fred and George. I don't think you realize the effect you have on people. Stop selling yourself short. You aren't lucky that he wants to go out with you. He's lucky that you agreed to go out with him. " Harry didn't give her a chance to reply. "I've got to go meet Oliver Wood. Apparently our match is now against Hufflepuff because Malfoy is feigning injury still. He just doesn't want to play in the rubbish weather. I'll see you guys later."  Hope didn't know what to say. It was Hermione who spoke first.
"Harry is right Hope. You really are all of those things." She took her friends hand and smiled.
"Now you guys are just embarrassing me." Hope grinned.
"Do you want me to insult you to bring you back down?" Ron offered, making Hope laugh.
"I really am happy that I found you two and Harry. Speaking of Harry, is he okay? He seemed...off..."
"Yeah, Oliver Wood is just driving him mad about winning the cup this year since it's his last year. The guy is barking." Ron commented.
"That's a lot of pressure to put on Harry. I am excited though to watch the first match. I've heard Harry is an amazing seeker."
"Yeah, he's top knotch. You'll really enjoy it. Although now you'll have to root against your boyfriend" Ron smirked at Hope.
"He's not my boyfriend...shut it Weasley." Hope threw a potato at Ron and Hermione giggled.
"You mean he's not your boyfriend...yet." Ron continued to tease. Hope narrowed her eyes at Ron and then the three of them burst out laughing. From the faculty table, Remus had been watching Hope, she seemed so much more relaxed than she had a few weeks ago. She had confessed to him that she told the trio the truth about her. He knew she would find friends she could confide in, he had secretly wished that she and Harry Potter would become good friends. It was what James, Lily and Nora would have wanted. Had things not gone the way they did, the two would have grown up together. Deep in the back of his mind he did worry that when the full truth about what happened came out, he wondered if the two teenagers could deal with it. Remus struggled with not telling her. He didn't want to burden her anymore with the choices of her father. Cornelius Fudge had almost forbade anyone that knew what happened to speak of it. Harry's reputation preceded him and everyone was concerned that he would go after Sirius if he knew the truth. Hope, he knew, would take the guilt onto herself. Remus could only hope that the secret of what Sirius Black had done to James and Lily Potter would stay under wraps until he was at least caught. He knew he would have to deal with the repercussion of keeping this secret from his niece, but her safety right now was more important than facing her ire. He made his way out of The Great Hall and down to his quarters. With the full moon approaching and the effects of the Wolfsbane potion he needed to rest.
**********
Hope was screaming on the inside. Why hadn’t her uncle warned her that Snape was teaching his class today. That slimy son of a bitch was making them learn about Werewolves. They weren’t set to study them for weeks. Hermione and Harry had  lost them house points. Ron had earned himself detention. She had squeezed Harry’s knee under the table to get him to keep his mouth shut and to control her own anger. It took all of her self control to not lose it. Snape had made sure to ask her directly about detecting a Werewolf. She feigned ignorance, and they both knew she was lying. She was certain of one thing, Hermione would figure out what her Uncle was. She could already see the wheels turning behind her eyes. She had been stealing glances at Hope through the rest of class.
“Hope you should really eat something.” Harry finally suggested. The four of them were sitting in the Great Hall for lunch. They had watched Hope push her food around her plate instead of actually eating it. “Are you alright? You look rather pale.” Hope looked up at Harry. His forehead scrunched in concern. She felt a wave of affection come over her for her three friends. She knew she could trust them, but this wasn’t her secret to tell.
“I’m just...Snape. Hearing him say all of those nasty things about my Uncle really gets to me. He does it all of the time. Uncle Remus is the kindest person I know. He’s such a great teacher. If he wasn’t I would be way behind the rest of you. It just upsets me. I can’t understand why he’s allowed to treat people like that.” It wasn’t a lie. The way Snape spoke about her Uncle did really upset her.
“It’s just Snape. He’s been after the Defense position forever. But Dumbledore won’t give it to him. He’s probably just angry because your Uncle has it.” Ron said between chewing.
“Ronald is right Hope. Don’t let him get to you.” Hermione put her hand over Hope’s. When Hope looked up and met Hermione's eyes, she knew that she had figured it out.
"Listen, I'm not feeling all that well, I feel a headache coming on. Can you guys cover with Hagrid for me? I think I'm going to go back my room and lay down for a bit."
"Of course we will. He wont even mind, it's Hagrid." Ron tried to reassure her. Hermione glanced at her watch.
"Hope- let me walk you back to the room. You really don't look well." Hope nodded. Hope grabbed her bag and Hermione laced her arm through hers to walk her back to the room. She could feel not only Harry and Ron watching her as she left, but she saw Cedric looking out of the corner of her eye. Hope and Hermione walked silently from The Great Hall back to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione helped Hope through the portrait hole. She felt increasingly worse as they walked back to their dorm room. The common room was relatively empty with the exception of a few 7th year students studying during their free period. Hermione followed Hope up to their room and shut the door.
"Hope, you...you know you can trust me, right?" Hermione asked, trepidation in her voice. Hope had just pulled off her dress shoes and was getting ready to change into her favorite baggy sweat pants a t-shirt. "Unless you were going to do something that would put yourself in danger, I would never do anything to betray your trust." Hope slipped her pants on and her t-shirt and turned to Hermione. As Hope pulled her covers back and climbed into bed, Crookshanks jumped on the end of her bed. Hope scratched behind the ginger cats ears. Crookshanks started to purr loudly. "That cat really does love you." Hermione smiled. "He really isn't as bad as Ron makes him out to be." 
Hope turned and smiled at Hermione. "I love this mangy old cat. He climbs into bed with me every night. It's strange because I've always been more of a dog person." Hope patted the end of her bed, signaling Hermione to sit.  "I do trust you, Hermione. More than you can possibly imagine. You've been a great friend to me. And I know you know. I know you figured it out. You're too smart not to. I suppose that was what Snape's intentions were."
"I wont tell anyone. I know so many people feel a certain way about Werewolves. But you're Uncle, he's different. I suppose the potion that Snape has been making for him is Wolfsbane." Hope nodded.
"There's a lot that I don't know. He doesn't talk about his time at Hogwarts very often. I suspect looking back on all that he has lost is too painful. What I do know is that my grandfather Lyall worked for The Ministry in The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He was an expert on dark creatures, especially poltergeists and boggarts, that was how he got involved in the Ministry. They wanted his expertise during the first Wizarding War since Voldemort was recruiting all kinds of dark creatures to his side. Fenrir Greyback was brought in for questioning on the death of some muggle children. He apparently was with a werewolf pack, but he ministry didn't know he was one himself, he had never registered. He had almost convinced the entire committee that he was just a muggle. But my grandfather knew he was lying. He recommended that they detain Greyback until the full moon the next night. He lost his temper and he said something pretty horrible. He claimed that werewolves were 'soulless, evil and deserved nothing but death'. Greyback was released and he wanted revenge for what my grandfather had said. Before my uncle turned 5, Greyback broke in and attacked him. My grandfather was able to save his life, but he was then a werewolf." Hermione had her mouth covered with her hand in horror. "Obviously with his son becoming a werewolf, my grandfather was forced to change his perception of werewolves. It's a shame that it took my uncle being attacked for him to realize how short sighted he was being. My grandparents tried everything to cure my uncle. Any and every treatment, but nothing helped. They moved around a lot, to make sure no one noticed his strange behavior. He had a rather lonely childhood, he wasn't allowed to play with other children for fear they would find out about his condition. Luckily Dumbledore allowed him to attend Hogwarts and made arrangements for each full moon. Uncle Remus said that he finally opened up to his friends and they helped him through each full moon. He never really went into detail about how they helped him, I've tried to get him to tell me more about Hogwarts but he just wont open up about it."
"Poor Remus..." Hermione mused. "Hope, you have my word, I wont say a thing to anyone. Not even Ron or Harry. They wouldn't intentionally say anything, but the less people that know, the better. I'll do whatever I can to help keep his secret." Hope pulled Hermione into a tight hug. Hermione could feel a few tears hit her neck.
"My Uncle...he's all I have. He's so happy teaching here . I don't want anything to ruin that. Thank you, for understanding and not judging him on what people assume all werewolves are. I don't really know what I would do without you Hermione." "Well, luckily, you'll never have to find out." Hope looked at her watch.
"Oh my God! Hermione, you're late for class."
"It's fine."
"What do you mean it's fine? Wait...why are you so calm? You freak out if your'e not early." Hermione's face grew red. "What?!" Hermione took a deep breath.
"Well...I guess if you can share your deepest darkest secrets...I should share mine too. Oh...but you can't tell anyone. Not Harry, Ron or even your Uncle. McGonagall would absolutely murder me if she knew I told you."
"Hermione...you know ALL of my secrets. Every last one. You can trust me with yours. I wouldn't ever tell Harry or Ron anything. Neither one of them can keep their mouths shut. Not that they tell maliciously, but they're kind of daft sometimes. I wouldn't ever tell my Uncle. Like you said, unless you're going to do something that would seriously hurt you, my lips are sealed. And clearly it's something McGonagall approves of..." Hope's voice trailed off as she watched Hermione pull a necklace out from underneath her uniform. "I don't understand. What is that?"
"It's how I've been getting to my lessons all year. I wanted to take all of the electives, but it's impossible since they're at the same time."
"I still don't understand Hermione"
"It's...Oh...it's a Time Turner!" Hope's eyes widened. "Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore had to get special permission and I had to agree to only use it for classes."
"You're mad. Only you would get permission to use something so powerful to take extra classes." Hope and Hermione burst out laughing at the same time and Hermione hugged her again. "
"Okay, lay down and get some rest. I'll come get you before dinner." Hope grinned as she laid down and Hermione tucked her in.
"I can't believe you just tucked me into bed." Both girls giggled again. 
"Hermione...I really love you. I suspect this is what having a sister would feel like." Hermione's eyes glistened with tears.
"I really love you too, Hope. I'll see you for dinner." Hermione gave her a big smile and rushed out the door, shutting it behind her. Hope felt Crookshanks curl up next to her legs as she settled down into the bed.
**********
Pouring rain, thunder, lightening and bone chilling cold. Hope was so cold she didn't think she could ever get warm again. Frigidness coursed through her veins as she was falling. Falling with no end in sight. A creep started crawling over her skin, like a thousand tiny bugs crawling all over her. When she looked down at her arms, there was nothing there....it was as if the crawling was inside of her veins. Flashes of lightening surrounded as the thunder rolled through her body. She was reaching around, trying to grab onto something or someone but there was nothing there. She was falling faster and faster and as she braced herself for impact, Harry Potter’s limp body was on the cold ground, his green eyes, once filled with laughter and mischief were wide open and lifeless.
Hope’s eyes flew open. Hope couldn't catch her breath. She sat up clutching her chest as beads of sweat dripped down her forehead. She looked around her room wide eyed as Hermione burst through the door.
"Are you alright? Ron, Harry and I could hear you screaming down in the common room as soon as we came in through the portrait hole." Hope nodded her head and her pounding heart started to slow.
"I-I was having a nightmare" Her voice came out as a croak. "I just need a moment." Hermione ran into the bathroom and brought out a wet, cool wash cloth and pressed it to Hope's forehead.
"I was coming to get you for dinner. Do, do you still want to come, I could bring something back?"  Hermione studied Hope, her face laces with concern.
"Yes...I just need to get changed.” Hope still felt incredibly cold. She looked down at her arms and they were covered in goose bumps.
”We’ll wait for you in the common room. Take all the time you need.” Hope nodded her head and Hermione quickly shut the door behind her. Hope ran her hand down the front of her face. The image of Harry lying on the cold, hard ground flashed in her mind. His blank eyes would be haunting her for days to come. She felt Crookshanks nudge her other hand with his head as he loudly purred at her. She scratched behind his ear for a moment and climbed out of bed. She wished it was appropriate to go to dinner in her sweats. As she pulled out a pair of jeans her hands were shaking slightly. She quickly changed into her jeans, threw on a long sleeved black shirt and slipped her shoes on to meet her three friends.
Harry looked up as Hope came down the stairs of the girls dormitory. Her hair was a little more wild than normal. She was attempting go smooth down her curly mane as she walked towards them. He couldn't help but notice how much paler she was than normal. She gave him a pinched smile. Her grey eyes still held a look of shock. She looked haunted.
”You okay?” Ron even noticed how disheveled she looked. Other than her hair that couldn't be contained, Hope was normally very well put together.
”Yeah. I'm actually kind of starving. I might be able to put you to shame tonight Ron.” He gave Hope a big grin.
”Doubtful.” Ron quipped. Harry quietly studied Hope. She was trying to hide her uneasiness with humor. He had noticed that it was a tactic she used often.
“Well let’s go then.” She nodded her head towards the portrait hole. Harry let Ron and Hermione lead the way. He motioned for Hope to go in front of him and he could see a slight tremor in her hand. He rushed forward to help guide her through the portrait hole. When she looked back and locked eyes with him, he could see a quiet terror deep within her gaze. Harry knew that feeling all to well. He took a couple of quick steps to be able to walk next to her and he felt her link her arm through his the way she did at The Black Lake. Whatever her nightmare was, it had her spooked.
Later that night, they had all been doing homework in the common room when Nox game flitting in to deliver a letter to Hope. Harry studied her face as she read it and slid it into her bag. As she looked up her eyes met Harry’s.
“Uncle Remus...letting me know he’s okay and to ignore Snape. I suspect if he wasn’t so polite he would have said to ignore Snape because he’s a bloody wanker.” Harry and Ron both sniggered. Hermione was too caught up in Ancient Runes to really pay attention.
After a while, the Gryffindor students slowly started filtering to their beds to get some rest until only Hope and Harry remained. She hadn’t realized he was still awake. She was curled up on one of the couches in front of the fire with a blanket wrapped around her legs. She still felt cold from the dream. She had been so cold that Ron had given her one of his signature Molly Weasley sweaters to wear. According to Ron he had about a thousand of them and Hope wouldn’t find anything warmer. She had blamed her shivers on the turn of season, which may have played a part in it, but she knew it was the dream. She looked over when she felt the couch cushion next to her sink. Harry had moved from the chair to the couch.
“You look tired.” He mused.
“I won’t be able to sleep.”
“Pretty nasty dream you had earlier. I forgot for a moment about the enchanted stairs and tried to run up to wake you.”
“I’m incredibly disappointed that I didn’t get to see you knocked down and falling down the slide.” Harry gave her a dirty look. “I’m sure you made it look cool.” He rolled his eyes as she laughed at his expense.
“You want to talk about it?”
“Not particularly.”
”You might actually be able to sleep. I know sometimes if I have a nasty dream it makes me feel better to get it off my chest.” He watched as Hope closed her eyes for a moment and then stared back at the fire.”
”You were dead. Worse than dead.”
”Trewlawney is rubbing off on you.” He saw his sardonic comment made her crack a smile. ”What’s worse than dead Hope?”
”You were...vacant.”
“I-I don’t know what that means.”
“Harry, I wish I could explain it. It’s something you’d have to see to understand.” He nodded. “You should get some sleep, you have Quidditch tomorrow. I’m disappointed I won’t get to watch you knock Draco Malfoy and Snape down a peg or two.” Harry scoffed.
“I know, me too. Beating Malfoy is always a highlight .”
“He is the worst. It literally takes all of my self control to not yell at him or hex him. But I have to keep my distance.”
“I mean, it’s good that you’re keeping your distance, but why do you have to?”
“Because, well, he’s my cousin. He just doesn’t know it. His mother was a Black. And since we’re trying to keep my paternity under wraps, it’s just better to stay away. Fudge told Lucius and Narcissa himself that they were not to tell him.” “He would torment you.” Harry rolled his jaw. Just the idea of Malfoy being cruel to Hope made his blood boil.
“When I first found out I had more family, that I had a cousin my own age, I was furious with Uncle Remus. Now? I’m glad he kept me away from them. As much as I hate that he lied, I would have never relented on meeting them. He kept me away from them for my own safety. I discover more and more how hard he’s tried to protect me and what he’s done for me. He’s the best man I will ever know.”
“Well I’m proud of you for not going off on Snape. Though I think my leg will be bruised for a week from that grip you have. Remind me to never make you angry.” Hope grinned at Harry sheepishly. Harry watched as she reached into her bag and pulled out her sketch book.
“I want to show you something.” Harry thought it would be another drawing, but she slipped out a picture. She handed Harry the photo of the two of them and their parents.” She watched Harry’s reaction. It was the same one she had any time she discovered something new about her parents.
“Is that the two of us?” Hope nodded her head. “They were all friends?”
“Yes. No one I have ever spoken to about my father can understand how he was working for Voldemort. He loved them. He loved me and my mum. I just want to know why.” Harry put his arm around Hope as she rested her head on his shoulder. “What do you think it would have been like if they had all lived?”
“I think we would have had excellent lives. But I think we would still end up here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think we were always meant to be best friends. I think sometimes fate does step in. We were meant to know each other. I feel the same way about Ron. Had I grown up with my parents and you with yours, if the war never happened, we would have all just been friends sooner.”
“I think so too. I don’t trust people very easily. For obvious reasons. And I’ve made other friends here at Hogwarts, but I connected with you, Ron and Hermione. I just wish we had met sooner. It would have been really nice to have you guys as friends sooner.”
“Well you have us now, that’s what matters.” The two of them sat staring at the photo until they were almost falling asleep. To her good fortune, Hope slept without a single dream that night.
**********
Hope and Hermione were meeting the boys for breakfast. Harry had wanted to go early because of the game and Ron had gone with him. Hope was delighted to watch her first Hogwarts quidditch match. The weather was absolutely dreadful. She and Hermione had loaded on some layers and headed down to The Great Hall.
“Hey Lupes!” Hope and Hermione both stopped. Hope couldn’t even try to suppress her grin. There was only one person who called her that. Hope and Hermione both slowly turned around and were greeted with Cedric’s stunning smile.
“Hey.” While Hope had finally admitted to Hermione she might have a crush on the handsome Hufflepuff, she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.
“I was hoping that my first match you’d be cheering me on.”
“You can thank Malfoy for that disappointment.” She quipped. Cedric grinned at her.
“I don’t suppose you’ll even wish me luck?”
“I can wish you a gracious defeat.” Cedric held his stomach as he threw his head back and laughed.
“But what if we win?”
“Against Harry?” Hope scoffed. “Not likely.”
“You’ve never seen him play. You’ve never seen ME play.” Hope considered him for a moment.
“True. But I’ve heard about what an incredible flyer my best friend is. So I stand by my statement.” Hope shrugged.
“You’re something else Hope Lupin. You may be eating those words.” Cedric was still laughing. “Maybe when we win you’ll swing by our victory party?” Hope gaped in mock shock.
“And go into another houses common room? Mr. Diggory, that is against the rules! You’re going to corrupt my sterling reputation.”
“Yeah, I have a feeling you’ll do that all on your own.” Cedric crosses his arms with a challenging smirk.  Hermione nudged Hope.
“We should really get to breakfast before Harry heads down to the pitch.” “Yes, you shouldn’t be seen consorting with the enemy.” Cedric gave Hope another beaming smile as she laughed. She reached out and gripped his forearm.
“In all seriousness Ced, have a good game. Be careful in this rain. It’s not exactly good flying weather.”
“I’ll be careful. I promise. Meet me after the game, win or lose. Especially if we lose, I’ll need some consoling.”  Hope could feel herself blush she couldn’t even put together a witty comment.
“Okay.” She agreed. “I’ll meet you after. See you later.” She gave him a small wave and linked her arm with Hermione and dragged her towards The Great Hall.
“Don’t you dare turn and look back at him but he’s definitely watching you walk away.” Hermione was trying to whisper but she was too excited.
“I’m dying to turn back but it’s so much cooler if I don’t.” Both girls giggled as they were walking to the Gryffindor table. Hope never thought she would be the type of girl that giggled. Hermione definitely never saw herself as one of those girls, but they both loved the feeling of having a girlfriend you could be stupid with.
“Fraternizing with the enemy ladies?” Fred said as he wiggled his eyebrows at the two girls.
“Never! I told Cedric I wished him a gracious loss.”
“Atta girl!” George cheered. “Besides, I’m sure you can cheer him up after his loss.”
“Shut it George.” Hope’s face was impossibly red, but Harry couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Hope’s curly blonde hair was piled on top of her head. Curly blonde tendrils had surrounded her face. Her face had color back in it and she had a smile plastered to her face. She looked genuinely happy.
“I have to get down to the pitch. If I’m late Wood will murder me.” Harry stood up from the table and the twins joined him.
“Be careful. It’s awful out.” Hope chewed on her inner cheek.
“We’ll be fine mum.” Fred quipped as Hope rolled her eyes. She felt an unease creeping into her stomach.
“We’ll be careful, promise.” Harry sounded confident and reassuring. The boys left The Great Hall to the sounds of their House table wishing them luck.
“You two better eat quick so we can get some good seats.” Ron instructed with an air of impatience. Both Hope and Hermione rolled their eyes as they placed food on their plates.
**********
”I don’t know why you were so concerned about us getting good seats, we can’t see a thing anyway.” Hope complained. The rain was coming down in sheets. While they were protected and dry, the rain prevented them from seeing much. She couldn’t imagine what it was like for the players. Hermione had gone down to spell Harry’s glasses so he could see better: It was impossible to see either him or Cedric. They had both flown to the opposite side of where they were sitting.
Hope glanced over to where all of the Professors were sitting. She was glad to see her Uncle in the stands, while he looked a little rough around the edges, he was there. She felt like she barely saw him since she had arrived at Hogwarts. Before it had just been the two of them. She missed being with him regularly but she wouldn’t give up what she had gained for anything. For the first time in her life, she felt normal.
“Can you see Harry at all?” Ron elbowed Hope to get her attention.
“I think he’s flying up.” Hope felt the creep of dread coming over her again. The feeling of something crawling through her veins. “Oh my God.” Hope’s hand flung to her mouth.
“What? Why do you look sick?” Ron noticed how pale Hope’s face had gotten.
“It wasn’t a nightmare, it was a vision.” Hope said, more to herself than to Ron and Hermione. It was the first clear vision she had since her father had escaped Azkaban, she just hadn’t realized it.
“What wasn’t a nightmare.” Hope pushed Ron back to get to Hermione. “Hey!” He cried in protest.
“It wasn’t a nightmare Hermione!” Hope was shaking her arm to get her attention. “It was a vision.” She tried to say it as quietly as she could. She saw the alarm cross Hermione’s face.
“Harry?” His name was all that Hermione could utter.
“Dementors. It’s why I felt so cold. It’s why I felt so awful. He’s going to fall! We have to get him help! I have to get to a Dumbledore!” Hope tried pushing through the crowd to get to the stands where all of their professors were seated. She silently chastised herself for not figuring it out beforehand. She knew what it felt like to get a vision. This one was slightly different. It had felt like SHE was falling, not Harry. But seeing Harry looking the way he did, the feeling deep within the pit of her stomach, she should have known.
Hope let out a growl of frustration and desperation. She couldn’t get through the crowd. She couldn’t get to Dumbledore. She certainly couldn’t get down to the pitch in time. She continued pushing her way through. It wasn’t until she got to the group of Slytherin students that she was stopped.
“What’s the rush Lupin?” Malfoy was jeering down at her. His considerable height advantage must have made him feel powerful.
“I need to get through. Just move please.” Malfoy grabbed her forearm to pull her back.
“And miss the rest of your boyfriend’s game?” Hope face twisted in confusion. “I know, you’re thinking, ‘which one’? We’ve all seen you hanging all over Potter and skulking off to corners with Diggory.” Hope curled her lips in disgust.
“Harry is my best friend. And I’m not dating Cedric. Right now we’re just friends. Not that I owe you any explanation. And why do you even care? We aren’t friends. We’ve never spoken.”
“You’re just like Potter. You think you can do whatever you want. All of the professors fawn all over you. It’s nauseating. I’m here to knock you down a peg. Just like your pal Potter.” Hope aggressively rolled her eyes.
“Get bent Malfoy. My life is NONE of your business. The only entitled person here is YOU. You run to Daddy as soon as you don’t get your own way. It’s a shame Buckbeak didn’t take you out down good. We’d all be better for it.” As Malfoy opened his mouth to respond to her rant, Hope heard the gasps all around her. She wrenched herself free from Malfoy’s grip and saw Harry rapidly falling from the sky. She covered her mouth as she cried out in horror. Luckily, Dumbledore had seen what was happening and was on the field slowing Harry down. Before she could even process what was happening, Harry was being carried away by an enchanted stretcher and Ron was pulling her away from Malfoy so they could follow Harry. As he pulled her along, she saw Oliver Wood having a heated conversation with Cedric who held the Golden Snitch in his hand. Harry was going to be devastated. Cedric’s face was covered in guilt. He was trying to get Hope’s attention but she waved him off. She needed to get to Harry to make sure he was alright.
Hope sat next to Harry’s bed. Guilt was floating about her mind. Had she put it together beforehand, he wouldn’t be in the Hospital. Anxiety was still coursing through her veins. She had been desperate to get to Dumbledore. If she had gotten to him sooner, maybe Harry wouldn’t have gotten hurt. And his broom! She didn’t even want to imagine his face when they showed him. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Malfoy’s obnoxious face was looking at her from the back of her eye lids. She had done everything she positively could to avoid him. Apparently being Harry’s friend had put a big red X on her back.
“Harry!” Hope’s eyes snapped open when she heard Fred say his name. “How’re you feeling?”
“What happened?” Harry ignored the question. of his well being and say up suddenly, he made everyone gasp in surprise. No one expected him to be almost jumping out of bed.
“You fell off,” said Fred. “Must’ve been — what — fifty feet?” Hope tuned the rest of the team out as she focused on Harry. He looked okay. He had been so lucky that Dumbledore had been able to act so quickly.
“But the match,” said Harry. “What happened? Are we doing a replay?” Hope watched as the realization hit Harry like a freight train. She hated watching his face drop even further. He finally asked the question no one really wanted to answer. “We didn’t — lose?”
“Diggory got the Snitch,” said George. “Just after you fell. He didn’t realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square . . . even Wood admits it.” 
Hope's ears perked up at what George said about Cedric. Malfoy would have NEVER tried to deny himself a win, especially against Harry. He really was something special. Hope tuned the rest of the Quidditch chat out. She was over hearing about the game at this point. The idea that Harry could have died after falling off of his broom was too much for her to take. Finally Madam Pomfrey game out and shooed the rest of the team away leaving Harry with Hope, Hermione and Ron. Hermione was explaining to Harry what had happened, how angry Dumbledore had been. Then the final question she had been dreading came up.
"Did anyone get my Nimbus?" Hope watched as Hermione and Ron looked at each other and wouldn't look at Harry. Hope sighed and took Harry's hand. He looked over at her for the first time since he woke up.  "What?"
"Well, when you fell off of your broom it blew away and...and it hit..." Hope deflated "It hit the Whomping Willow." Harry turned pale. Hope nodded for Ron to bring out the pieces of his broom stick that were wrapped up. "Professor Flitwick brought it before you woke up. I'm really sorry Harry." Harry became despondent. “I tried to fix it...even Dumbledore tried to fix it but it just...I’m so sorry.” Harry didn’t understand why Hope was apologizing so much. Under normal circumstances he would try to make her feel better, but he just couldn’t. He had never lost a match and his beloved Nimbus 2000 was a pile of toothpicks. Before long Madam Pomfrey was pushing them out of the hospital wing. She had decided she wanted Harry to spend the weekend in the hospital wing which had made his mood sour even more. On their way out, Hope stopped in Madam Pomfrey’s door.
“I know you want Harry to get some rest, but he’s really upset. Would- would it be okay if I came back later just to check on him? I won’t stay if you don’t want me to.”
“I cannot allow that Ms. Lupin. However, if you happened to come down with another headache I suppose I couldn’t stop the two of you from speaking.” She gave Hope a pointed look.
“I completely understand.” Hope mused. She went to leave and stopped and turned back to the healer.
“I never properly thanked you for taking caring of me before the start of the term.”
“Nonsense, it is my job.”
“True, but it was the first time I was away from home and my first time alone. You made me feel NOT alone. And I know that you normally wouldn’t allow the House Elves to spend so much time here but they really lifted my spirits. Harry is feeling really down, so he may not seem to be so grateful for you making him stay. But just know he appreciates how well you take care of him. I know you’ve done it many times.” Madam Pomfrey stopped and stared at Hope with a deep affection. She smiled and patted her on the cheek and then turned back to her work.
**********
Hope made her way back from her Uncle’s office. She had gone back to her room and changed into her favorite sweat pants, t-shirt and a hoodie so she would be comfortable hanging out in the hospital wing with Harry. She wanted to make sure she updated her Uncle Remus on how Harry was doing. Predictably, he knew something was off with her, but didn’t press her for details. She didn’t really want to get into the details of her vision and the guilt she was feeling. She would talk to him about it more when she had time to process it all. 
“Hey Lupes!” Hope froze when she heard Cedric call out to her. Naturally she would have to bump into him when she was in sweats, no makeup and had a her messy hair piled on top of her head. She slowly turned to greet him.
“Hey Ced.”
“I was hoping to catch you. I went to the hospital wing, but Madame Pomfrey said you had left and I had just missed you leaving the common room. Hermione mentioned you were coming to see your uncle. He led her over to the bench against the wall and they both sat down. She turned so she was facing him.
“You spoke to Hermione?”
“Yeah, Neville Longbottom was heading into the Gryffindor common room when I got there. He had said he was going to let you know I was there, but when you weren’t in the dorm Hermione came out to let me know where you had gone off to.”
“Are you stalking me Mr. Diggory” Hope smirked and crossed her arms. She never felt as brave as she did when she flirted with Cedric. Cedric fidgeted a bit. Normally he would laugh and have a witty comment for her. “What’s wrong?”
“I-I just wanted you to know that I tried to forfeit the game and get a re-match. I had NO idea that Harry had been attacked by dementors. I don’t want to win like that. I would have gone to help him if I knew-” Hope put her hand on Cedric’s forearm to calm him.
“I know Cedric. The Weasley’s told us that you wanted a re-match but even Oliver knew you had won fairly. Even if they'd didn’t tell me that, I know that you wouldn’t have gone after the snitch if you knew Harry was in trouble. You’re too nice of a guy for that.”
“You believe me?” Cedric was genuinely relieved. 
“Of course I believe you.” 
“Thank Merlin- I was so worried you would be upset with me.”
“I would never be mad at you for beating my house at Quidditch. It’s not that serious.” Cedric looked seriously offended. Hope rolled her eyes. “Look, I know how important Quidditch is to you, Harry, Fred and George, Ron and everyone else. I wouldn’t hinge my feelings for someone over the outcome of a match. I mean, it would be different if you sent the dementors to hurt Harry just so you could win. But that’s not the case. You really don’t need to worry.” Cedric grinned at her. “What?”
“You have feelings for me?” He raised an eyebrow and watched Hope’s face grow a little pink.
“Never said what kind of feelings Diggory.” They both laughed. 
“Touche. How is Harry?” Cedric had placed. his free hand over hers that was resting on his arm. She was having a hard time focusing on what he was saying.
“What? OH! Harry is okay. Physically anyway. He’s pretty bummed out for loosing the match. And then when I told him about his Nimbus and the Whomping Willow he looked absolutely suicidal. I’m sure he’s not thrilled about Malfoy and his band of goons making fun of him on Monday the way they did after the train ride.
“Malfoy is a git. It’s a shame about Harry’s Nimbus. I’m sure he can use a school broom for the time being.
“It won't be as good as his Nimbus. He’s just going to have to mourn his broom and eventually get a new one. I’m actually on my way back to the hospital wing to pretend to be ill so I can stay with him. I figured he shouldn’t be alone, especially if he wants to talk about the dementors.” Cedric made sure his face stayed neutral. He didn’t want her to know how jealous it made him when she spoke about Harry. 
“You’re a great friend Hope Lupin.” 
“Well I try. Thank you for checking to see how he was doing. That was a really nice thing to do.” Hope stood up. She placed her hand on Cedric’s shoulders and bent down and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon.” Cedric was speechless as she walked away. This time she did turn around so she could smile and wave at him. She was glad she did. Cedric was sitting on that bench with his hand on the cheek that she had kissed. She quickly made her way back to the hospital wing, making a mental note to gush with Hermione tomorrow at breakfast.
**********
Hope grinned at Harry as she strolled back into the hospital wing in her pajamas.
“Hope...what are you doing here?” She faked a couple of coughs.
“I’m sick.” Harry sniggered. “Okay good, I thought that loss and the broom might have made you suicidal.” She plopped down on the bed across from his.
“I’m surprised Pomfrey let you in here.”
“It was her idea. She likes me.” Hope shrugged. “Uncle Remus says he’s glad you’re alright. He was very worried.”
“Er- how is he feeling?”
“He’ll be okay. He had a chronic condition that flares up. Magic can do a lot but some things it can’t fix. He’s strong though.” A silence fell between them. Hope studied Harry's face intently. The smile he had didn't quite reach his eyes. 
"What is it?"
"What do you mean?" He glanced away.
"Harry, it doesn't take seer abilities to know something is wrong. I know it's more than loosing today's match or even your broom. You might as well tell me. I wont leave you alone until you do."
"You've been spending too much time with Hermione. She's rubbing off on you." Hope pursed her lips in annoyance. Harry rubbed the back of his neck nervously and sighed. "It's- I heard more this time with the dementors. I heard my mother...begging for my life. I heard Voldemort laughing. It was the last moments of her life and she was terrified." Hope stood from the bed she was occupying and went and sat next to Harry's on his, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Hope was an affectionate person. Harry had seen it with not only himself but Hermione and Ron as well. Yet, it still took him by surprise every time. He suspected it was his treatment from the Dursley's that still made him shocked any time someone actually showed they cared about him.
"I'm sorry Harry. I-I can't imagine. I sometimes wonder what I would hear from a dementor."
"No you don't. I don't want you to ever find out. That feeling...there is nothing worse." Harry studied Hope's face and watched something pass through her eyes. "Okay...now you talk. What's wrong with you?" Hope looked at him with wide eyes.
"I...it's my fault."
"What? What do you mean? You didn't send the dementors after me."
"That nightmare I had...it wasn't a nightmare. It was a vision. The coldness, you falling, how you looked. It's been so long since I had a clear vision I didn't even pick up it.  If I had, this wouldn't have happened. I could have warned you."
"Don't be ridiculous. How could you have known?"
"When I have a vision. It's different than just dreams and nightmares. Remember how cold I was? When I have a vision, I actually feel it. Sometimes it's pain. If it's a happy vision, I feel that too. But the cold and the dread...the way it stayed with me. I should have know. I tried to get to Dumbledore before it happened. But I couldn't get through the crowd...and then Malfoy..." Hope put her face in her hand. Her guilt had hidden itself when she was talking to Cedric; but hearing what Harry had experienced had brought it back full force. Harry felt a surge of over protectiveness.
"Malfoy what?"
"I mean...I'm surprised he hasn't tried to mess with me before since we're friends. He was just saying stupid stuff about you and Cedric to try to get to me. But he stopped me from getting to Dumbledore." Harry felt a surge of anger. "Harry he isn't worth it."
"The way he talks to Ron and Hermione. The way he treats them like they're less than. And now he's messing with you. I can deal with him getting on my case."
"Harry...I can handle myself. Malfoy is nothing. It only upset me because I wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt because I was too stupid to realize what was going on." Harry scoffed.
"Hope, this isn't your fault. You didn't do anything. Even if you had realized it was a vision and not a nightmare, I still would have played that game. I'm fine. Please don't blame yourself." Hope went to say more but heard Madame Pomfrey coming and jumped over to her own bed.
"Enough talking you two. Get some sleep." She ordered. Hope climbed under the blankets of her bed. They both stayed silent for a few moments.
"Good night Harry."
"Night Hope." Harry laid staring at the ceiling for a long time. He heard Hope’s breathing even out signaling that she had fallen asleep. All he wanted was to have her crawl back into bed with him and lay with him. As upset as he was, he realized that Hope Lupin made everything seem better.
**********
Hope stood in front of the mirror in her dormitory bathroom. She had gotten up early with Hermione to get breakfast. Today was her Hogsmeade date with Cedric. Her nerves were bubbling underneath the surface. She was meeting Cedric shortly outside of the Gryffindor common room, the place where they first met. She smiled back to the night Cedric came looking for her to tell her about their flying lessons. She tugged at her cashmere wrap sweater. It was a dark charcoal that made her light grey eyes stand out. She had paired it with a light pink lace trim cami. It was cropped right at her waist and had a belt that wrapped around twice that she tied in a neat bow. She had paired it with dark jeans and black chunky boots that hit her right under the knee. The sweater was arguably the most expensive thing she had ever owned. She knew that she had money, but Hope had always felt guilty spending any on herself besides necessities.  Her Uncle refused to use the money for himself other than the house they lived in and food. Hope and Remus had gone into Muggle London one evening to get ice cream and go see a film. It was one of Hope’s favorite things to do. They had been window shopping and Remus had seen her eyeing the expensive item in the window. She wasn’t like most teenage girls, she wouldn’t ask for it. In fact the only thing she had ever asked for were art supplies. When she had gotten back from a long walk two nights later the sweater was on her bed. She had insisted that her Uncle return it, but he had feigned ignorance. It was one of her favorite possessions. Her curly hair, though wild as ever, was behaving more than normal.
”Hope, you look really pretty.” Hermione exclaimed as she approached from behind.
”Thank you.”
”You look nervous.”
”I-I am. I don't even know why. It's not like I haven't ever hung out with Cedric before. We had my flying lessons. We’ve talked plenty of times.”
”Well this is different, it's a date.”
”That is not very helpful.” Hope pouted slightly as Hermione grinned at her.
”Seriously, you look lovely. You better hurry up if you want to see the boys before you head off.”
”Oh no...Harry...I forgot he has to stay behind.” Hope chewed on her bottom lip. Hope had felt closer to Harry since the night she spent with him in the hospital wing, but as Hogsmeade weekend had approached he had seemed a little frosty. Hope couldn’t imagine what it felt like to feel left behind. She suddenly wanted to tell Cedric they needed to reschedule.
”Don’t you dare start feeling guilty. Ron and I will bring him back some treats from Honeydukes. He’ll be alright. Neville will be here too since Professor McGonagall.
”I really hate his Aunt and Uncle. I don't understand how anyone could be so cruel.” Hope folded her wool coat over her arm before adding  “especially to Harry.”
“I know. They sound absolutely dreadful.”  Hermione added in agreement as they headed out of the girls dormitory.
Harry looked up as he heard Hermione and Hope’s voices coming down from the girls dormitory. He felt his mouth go dry as he looked at Hope. She looked exceptionally pretty, not that she didn't always look nice. Maybe it was the excitement that was making her glow. He suddenly felt himself hate Cedric Diggory. He couldn’t understand why he was feeling like this; Hope was his friend, one of his best friends and her Uncle was helping him fight off the Dementors. Maybe it was because he wasn’t allowed to go to Hogsmeade.
“Oooooo look at you all dressed up for your date.” Ron teased as he grinned at Hope. Her face had turned crimson. Harry wished he could be as happy for her as Ron.
“Shut it.” Hope have Ron a mock glare. Harry felt her eyes studying him as he did everything he could do to avoid looking at her. "Harry are you going to be okay?" He looked up, not being able to avoid her again.
"Yes, I'll be fine. You go have fun." Hope bit her bottom lip and nodded at the cold bite of his voice. She didn’t know what to say to make him feel better. She knew he was upset about not going to Hogsmead and about his Nimbus. She didn’t expect him to be so sullen. 
"Alright...I'll see you guys later then." Harry could hear the drop in her voice and he immediately felt guilty. It wasn't her fault that he had to stay behind while they all went and had fun in Hogsmead. He would apologize to her later that evening. He watched as she smiled brightly at Hermione and then made her way out of the portrait hole.
Cedric noticed Hope seemed a little distracted as they walked towards the village. She had been waiting for him outside of her common room and her face had lit up as soon as she saw him. Her smile had taken his breath away. She had happily slid her arm through his as they made their way from Hogwarts into the village. They had fallen into a comfortable silence as the snow crunched beneath their boots. He could see something running behind her eyes. "Hope?" He finally said, he stopped walked before she had noticed and her body jerked back towards him. He steadied her so she didn't knock them both over. He smiled as her face grew red. "Sorry...are you okay?"
"Of course. I'm fine." Her smile seemed genuine. "I'm sorry, I'm just distracted. Harry is stuck back at Hogwarts again while everyone is at Hogsmead. I just feel really horrible about it. With how he lost the Quidditch match and then his broom breaking, he just seems really down."
"Do...do you want to go back and do this another time?" Cedric had stopped walking. He didn't want to drag her on a date if she wanted to be elsewhere.
"What? No, definitely not!" Hope's protest was genuine. "Harry will be fine. I just sometimes get lost in my thoughts. I don't want to be anywhere but with you, I promise." Her cheeks were rosy from the sharp winter air biting at her cheeks, her grey eyes shining as she looked up at him. She had taken his hand in hers as she reassured him. Standing in the freezing cold, he had never felt warmer than he did right at that moment.
"I just don't want you to feel obligated. I know how important your friends are to you, I would understand." He didn’t want her to know he felt a little threatened by how close she was with Harry Potter. He was Harry Potter, how could he not be jealous. He watched as she looked down and then slowly looked back up at him.
"You're important to me too Ced." He felt his heart soar slightly. All he wanted to do in that moment was kiss her, but there were so many other Hogwarts students walking by, he wanted their first kiss to be private and special. 
"C'mon, lets keep going." Hope slid both of her arms through his as they made their way into the village. She silently chastised herself for making Cedric feel like she didn’t want to be there. Of course she wanted to be there. Truth be told, he was all she had thought about since he ran into her in the corridor the night Harry had gotten hurt. She wished they had been in the same House so she could spend her evenings with him.
“So where to first Lupes?” Hope looked up at Cedric. “Well I need to get some Christmas gifts. Definitely Honeydukes.” Cedric grinned. “What?”
“You have quite the sweet tooth. Dessert is your favorite part of dinner.” Hope studied his face for a moment.
“Have you been watching me Diggory?” Hope teased, but Cedric didn’t miss a beat.
“How could I not? Can’t take my eyes off of you.” He was good, she knew he was smooth, but that was spot on. Hope felt butterflies erupt in her stomach. She bit her lip, looked down at the ground for a moment and then back to Cedric’s face. His smile was beaming and he had taken a step closer to her. He put his warm palm on her cheek. Hope felt her mouth go dry. She bit her lower lip. She had to so she didn’t embarrass herself by throwing herself at him and kissing him in the middle of the village. “You’re freezing.” Hope thought that was hilarious because she felt like her face was on fire from him touching her. 
“C’mon.” Cedric’s hand drifted from Hope’s face down to her hand and he led her into Zonko’s Joke Shop. She was secretly hoping Fred and George weren’t in the store yet. They would tease her mercilessly. 
The heat hit their faces as the door shut behind them. The shop was filled with Hogwarts students. Hope never found much need for any of the items but she enjoyed looking around. Cedric kept Hope’s hand in his as they walked around the store. She was happy to see the Weasley Twins were no where to be found. They stopped occasionally to look at some items and Hope laughed as Cedric told her funny anecdotes about pranks his friends pulled on each other. 
“Nothing from here?” He asked her as they made their way around the store.
“Pranks aren’t really my thing. And I refuse to give Ron anything he can use against me.” “Let’s go to Spintwitches.” Hope suggested. “I want to see if I can find a Quidditch gift for Harry and for Ron.”
“I could spend all day in there.” Cedric grinned. He was excited to show her around the store and teach her about his favorite past time.
“I’m sure.” Hope grinned and happily let Cedric lead her out of the shop. She knew at that moment that she would let him lead her anywhere. She had more than just a crush on Cedric. He made her feel something she had never felt before. As they were walking a gust of cold wind stopped Hope dead in her tracks. Cedric let go of her hand, removed his Hufflepuff scarf and wrapped it around Hope’s neck.
“There, that should help keep you warm.”
“What about you Ced?”
“I’m fine. C’mon, let’s go.” As they approached the shop, Hope could see the new broomsticks in the window and she felt a pang. The Firebolt was proudly on display. Ron and Harry wouldn’t shut up about it. Cedric watched her curiously.
“I wish I could get Harry a new broom. But I think it would just upset him more if I bought him a gift like that.” Cedric felt a familiar surge of jealousy course through him but he didn’t say anything, but Hope noticed. She couldn’t help but see it pass through his eyes. She paused for a moment. “Cedric, Harry and I are just friends, just so you know.”
“Hope you don’t owe me an explanation.”
“I know. I just don’t want you to misunderstand. Harry, Ron and Hermione are the first real friends I’ve ever had. I mean there were some Muggle kids I would play with on the beach, but they weren’t true friends. Mine parents and Harry’s parents were best friends. So we have that connection. We both lost them in the War. I at least have my Uncle Remus. Harry didn’t get so lucky. His Muggle aunt and uncle are HORRIBLE. They treat him terribly. I mean they wouldn’t even sign his permission slip to come to Hogsmeade. He doesn’t have any one else in his corner. But it doesn’t go beyond friendship. I just wanted to make that clear. There is no one else besides you that I want to be spending this day with.” Hope could see Cedric physically relax.
“Harry is lucky to have you. Let’s go in, I’ll help you pick out some great gifts for them.” Cedric gently pulled Hope into the shop feeling much relieved.
******
A little while later, Hope and Cedric were leaving the Post Office after sending Hope’s substantial haul back to Hogwarts so they didn’t have to carry the packages around for the rest of the afternoon. Cedric had helped her pick out the gifts for Harry and Ron. She loved watching how excited he got while talking about Quidditch. They had gone to a couple of more shops where Hope picked out a beautiful quill and stationery set for Hermione to gift alone with some of the books she had gotten for her friend. Instead of instructional books that Hermione would normally go for, Hope and chosen some fictional books that she knew Hermione had never read. She also purchased some new sweaters and robes for her uncle that Hope knew he would never buy for himself and then a few things for the Tonks family. After a rather large purchase at Honeydukes, Hope was all set. Though 75% of her purchase from Honeydukeswas actually for her.
“Do you want to go to Madam Pudifoot’s? It’s kind of romantic.” Cedric nodded his head towards the Tea Shop. He grinned when disgust was prevalent on Hopes face. “Or not...”
“It’s not really my scene.” Hope said matter of factly after she shuddered. Hope’s gaze fell onto the steamed up windows. “Hermione and I dragged Ron in our first weekend here and immediately ran for our lives. All the frilly, pink and doilies? No thanks” Cedric let out a hearty laugh. Secretly he was relieved that Hope didn’t want to go there. He had taken dates there before and they had been gaga over it. It made him cringe a bit.
“Is the Hogs Head more your scene?” Cedric teased as he wiggled his eyebrows. “I feel like they have some nice and dusty butter beer and possibly some moldy biscuits.” He doubled over laughing when he looked at the dirty look Hope was giving him. “I’m kidding. 3 Broomsticks?” Hope nodded and they walked hand in hand to their destination.
Once they were inside of the pub, they located a small table towards the back. Cedric was really determined to get Hope to open up more. It had been more superficial conversations. He wanted to know her. He knew he would have to chip away at the wall she surrounded herself with. Cedric helped her get her coat off and hung it up. He couldn’t help but stare at how her dark grey sweater made her pale grey eyes stand out. She caught him staring and it was his turn to blush. Once Hope was settled he went up to the bar to order their butter beers. Hope say with her legs crossed in the booth looking around the pub. It was filled with students and staff from Hogwarts. She waved at Neville who was sitting with Dean and Seamus at a table near them. He gave her a genuine smile. They had talked a bit more after the day she helped him in potions. Neville was such a nice guy. She hated how often he was teased by their classmates, especially the Slytherins. She wanted to punch Pansy Parkison in the mouth on more than one occasion. Fred and George were at a table with Angelina Johnson and Lee Jordan laughing.  It was nice to see everyone in such jovial moods. With the holidays fast approaching there was definitely an excitement in the air.
Hope was pulled from her thoughts when Cedric set her Butter Beer down in front of her before sliding in next to her. His brilliant smile made the butterflies in her stomach erupt again. She was thankful the cold kept her cheeks rosy otherwise she was sure he would know she had been blushing all day. She secretly hated herself for liking him so much. She felt like the sterotypical boy crazy girl; but it was only Cedric that made her feel that way.
“So tell me something not many people know about you.” Cedric said. He had positioned himself as close as he could be to her. She stopped and thought for a moment. 
“Well...I grew up in a mostly Muggle town. After the war, my Uncle was worried that I wouldn’t be safe. So he found us this really nice house on the beach. I love the Ocean. Even when it’s cold outside, the beach is my favorite place to be. It was just me and Uncle Remus for the longest time. I remember going to the Weasleys occasionally when I was younger. It was always kind of overwhelming for me, all of the siblings. It’s so funny now that Ron and I are such good friends. I love Fred and George too. I wish I had been more open to spending time with them when I was younger. It took me a while to really open up. My father has a cousin, Andromeda Tonks. She’s married to a muggle named Ted and they have a daughter, Nymphadora Tonks.” Hope stopped, she hadn’t meant to even mention her father, but Cedric made her feel so comfortable. 
Cedric saw something pass just behind her eyes and he frowned. “Hope, what is it?” He placed his hand on top of hers. He could tell she was reluctant to finish her thought. “You can tell me anything, you know? If you can’t tell, I really like you Hope.” Cedric had heard people questioning who Hope’s father was. No one knew all that much about her. Cedric knew the girls in his house liked to gossip, he never listened to them. He was great at tuning all of that out. He didn’t want to fill in Hope’s story for her.
"Cedric....there’s just some things about me...I’m scared if I tell you that you won't want to spend time with me. I really like you too. And once I say it out loud, there’s no taking it back.” Cedric studied her face. He could see the anxiety building.
“You’re not a murder are you?” He teased, trying to lighten the mood. “Hope, there’s not anything I can think of that would make me not want to know you. I’m not going to judge you, or anyone you care about. You can trust me. Anything you tell me will be strictly between us. I’m not the kind to spill other people’s secrets” She took a deep breath and studied his face for a moment.
“Okay- but Harry, Ron and Hermione are the only ones that know. I don’t want it getting out. I don’t know how people will react. And I really want people to actually know me before they judge me on things that they don’t understand.” He nodded and his earnest expression set her at ease. “My, Um, well, my father is Sirius Black.” Cedric was quiet for a moment and Hope felt her nerves kicking up. He understood why she didn’t want many people to know. Their classmates would use that against her. Cedric couldn’t care less who her father was. He knew first hand that you can’t judge someone on their parents.
“Hope, you have no control over who your relatives are. I wouldn’t hold that against you. And look, a lot of people who worked for You Know Who...they did it out of fear. They felt like they didn’t have a choice. Or they were forced to do it by the Cruciatus curse.  Unfortunately, some people were sent to Azkaban even if they were forced against their will. We don’t know why he did anything that he did. What I do know is that you aren’t responsible for what your father has done. Even if he made the choice to support him, that isn’t on you.”  Hope shouldn’t have been surprised that he said that. Of course he would feel that way. She took a deep breath and Cedric watched as she fidgeted for a moment. “What is it?” 
“Well there’s more. It’s about my mother. She was a seer. A true Seer. Not what whatever it is that Professor Trewlawney claims to do. She was incredibly talented and Voldemort wanted to use her to win the war” She watched as Cedric flinched slightly. “She refused to help him, so on the same night that Harry’s parents were killed, she was killed too. I don't know which one of his followers did it. It’s what makes me think my father wasn’t a true supporter. He loved my Mum. I’ve seen pictures and how he looked at her. There’s no way he would have let anyone hurt her. And the stories I’ve heard? I mean there haven’t been a lot, but he loved me too. And there’s no one I can ask to tell me what the truth is. Sometimes I think even if Remus did know the full truth, he wouldn’t tell me. But she passed the Seer gene on to me.” Cedric listened intently as Hope continued her story, put it all out on the table and bared her soul. She told him how all she could see for the most part was shades of black since her father escaped Azkaban. How drawing calmed her. The only thing she kept to herself was her Uncle being a werewolf. That wasn’t her secret to tell. Cedric held her hand and rubbed his thumb over her knuckled as she explained.
“I just wish I could figure out how to control it. To use it to my advantage. If my mother was still alive she could teach me. But I have no one.”
“Well, I’m sure we can find something somewhere that will help. It must be horribly overwhelming...and dangerous for you if the wrong people find out about your ability.” Concern flooded Cedric’s face.
“It’s why my uncle doesn’t want many people to know. He’s afraid I’ll end up like my mother.” Hope’s voice was quiet. She was looking down, anxiously playing with her fingers. For the second time that day, Cedric hooked his his finger under her chin to bring her eyes level to his. It was the first time he saw the storm behind her eyes; the  turmoil within her. He saw Hope for all that she was in that moment. She was more than he anticipated.
"I wont let anything happen to you. I certainly wont let anyone use you. Your secret is safe with me. You’re safe with me." She felt tears well up slightly in her eyes and looked away for a moment as Cedric dropped his hand.
"Thanks Ced. Really." The two of them sat together in a comfortable silence while they drank their Butter Beers. Hope had just noticed Ron and Hermione sitting at a table. She hadn't noticed them walk in. They were glancing at the empty seat at their table. Hope felt her stomach drop slightly...had Harry snuck into Hogsmeade? They both had a look of alarm on their faces. She noticed they were abnormally quiet. She wasn't sure if it was because The Minister of Magic was sitting at a table so close to them or if something was going on. They hadn't even glanced in her direction.
"You ready to head back?" Cedric broke her train of thought. She smiled and nodded her head yes. As they were leaving she tried to get Hermione's attention, but she was unsuccessful. It also didn't go unnoticed that when she walked past where Cornelius Fudge was sitting, the table stopped talking. Hagrid only gave her a slight nod instead of his normal warm greeting. Something was definitely up. Hope tried to push it aside for the time being and focus on her walk back with Cedric.
The two of them continued to walk in a comfortable silence. His arm was around her shoulders in an attempt to keep her warm. She was looking forward to being in the warm common room, but hated the idea of leaving Cedric behind. Once they got back into the castle, Hope's face felt like it was frozen. As they continued on in the castle, Cedric lead Hope down one of the corridors and not to the Gryffindor Common room. Hope cocked her eyebrow in interest but didn't say anything. He was leading her over to the window where he originally asked her to go with him to Hogsmead. He sat down on the window sill and took her hands and pulled her closer to him. He was so tall that her standing in front of him while he sat was the only way the would be eye to eye.
"I just wanted a moment before I walked you back to your common room." His blue-grey eyes were sparkling at her. “I had a really great time today. Thank you for trusting me to tell me what you did. I know that wasn’t easy."
"I'm glad I can talk to you. Today was really great. It was the most fun I’ve had in a really long time." Cedric was impossibly close to her. She couldn’t even think straight with him looking at her like that. 
"I also wanted to do this in private." He whispered as he ran his thumb over her bottom lip before he leaned in to kiss her. Hope felt like her heart was going to pound out of her chest. He pulled her closer and she ran her hand up the back of his hair. She was certain they may have taken it a little too far, but they were interrupted.
"HOPE!" Hope and Cedric jumped apart, both of their faces blazing. Harry was approaching her quickly, looking agitated. Ron and Hermione were chasing after him, trying to keep up, both of them shooting Hope and Cedric apologetic looks.
"Harry...are you okay?" Hope asked. He stopped short in front of the two of them. Cedric was still gripping her hand, he was eyeing Harry warily.
"Am I okay? Do I look like I'm okay?!" Hope's eyebrows shot up. She didn't even get a chance to respond. "Did you know?!"
"Did I know what?" Hope searched her memory for anything Harry could even be referencing.
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not lying! I have no idea what you're getting on about!"
"Harry- calm down-" Cedric interjected but Hope shook her head at him. That would only agitate Harry further. Harry was already giving Cedric a warning look.
"That he got them killed."
"Who got who killed?"
"YOUR FATHER!” Harry bellowed. Hope physically flinched as he raised his voice at her. “He betrayed them. HE TOLD VOLDEMORT WHERE THEY WERE HIDING. THEY'RE DEAD BECAUSE OF HIM." Cedric, Ron and Hermione watched the color drain from Hope's face and the shock settle in. Harry was breathing heavily, the weight of what he had just yelled hung in the air. Cedric grabbed Hope by the waist to keep her steady. It took Harry a moment to take in Hope's reaction. "You...you didn't know?" Cedric scoffed.
"Does she look like she's someone in the know. Blimey..." Cedric felt white hot rage coursing through his veins.
"Where did you hear this?" Hope's voice came out as a whisper. Harry's face fell. He had been so worked up, he hadn't given it a thought that Hope would not know. He wanted to make Sirius Black hurt as much as he did. Since he couldn’t make the happen, he had targeted the closest thing to him as he could get. 
"I was in Hogsmead today. I overheard Fudge, Madame Rosmerta, Professor McGonagall and Hagrid talking. They were talking about how he and my dad were best friends. They were like brothers. They knew Voldemort was after them, so they hid them. He....he was their secret keeper. He told Voldemort where they were the day they were murdered. Then he killed their best friend Peter Pettigrew." Harry's voice had come out much more calm and quiet than when he approached them. The desire to make someone else hurt as much has he was hurting had been quelled.
"Oh my God...." Cedric stood up so Hope could sit on the window sill. She felt like she was going to be sick. Cedric squatted down so he was closer to her level. He grabbed her hand when she let out a sob. “How could he have done that?” Harry felt his stomach sink to the floor. What had he done?
"Hope...I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have assumed you knew and that you lied." Cedric jumped up.
"No, you shouldn't have. You're supposed to be her best friend? Do you know she spent a good portion of today feeling badly because your muggle family is so rotten. Wanting to make things better for you? Talking about how close you were. You really think she would hide something like that? Really think she would lie to you? It would serve her no purpose to lie about that."
"This has nothing to do with you." Harry crossed his arms defiantly. Hope grabbed Cedric's hand.
"Don't Ced. It's okay." Hope tried to calm Cedric. Him fighting with Harry wouldn’t make anything better.
"It's not okay! For him to come verbally attack you like that, yelling all of your business for the whole school to hear. Knowing you were trying to keep who your father is under wraps?" Harry felt his heart sink further into the bottom of his soul. Not only did he find out his parents were betrayed by their best friend, he had accused his best friend of lying to him without any proof. He was just so angry he couldn't see straight.
"Hope...I'm so sorry." She held her hand up.
"Don't." She looked away from Harry. He hated himself in that moment for making her feel like this. Hermione and Ron watched helplessly. They had tried to calm Harry down before they found Hope. Hermione was certain seeing Hope and Cedric together had fueled Harry's anger further.
“Harry, you should go.” Cedric was all but glowering at him. It was taking all of his self-control not to punch him or hex him.
"C'mon mate, let's go back to the dorms, give Hope some space, yeah?" Ron gently pulled Harry away.
"Hope- do you want me to wait for you?" Hermione asked quietly. Hope shook her head.
"I'll walk her back, make sure she's okay." Cedric wasn't about to leave Hope alone now. Hermione nodded. She mouthed a "thank you" to Cedric and followed the boys back to the Gryffindor Tower.
Hope had wiped the few tears that had slipped from her eyes away. Cedric couldn't tell if she was sad, angry or both. After a few moments of silence she finally spoke. "Well, I guess I can stop deluding myself that he was a good person and just did what he had to do."
"Hope, you can't know that for sure. If it came down to a choice between protecting you and your mother and protecting Harry and his parents...he would have chosen the two of you. I think anyone would do anything to protect their wife and daughter."
"Or maybe he is just as evil as they say." Hope was reeling.
"Well either way, it's no reflection on you." Hope looked at Cedric. The concern flooding his face made her feel just a little bit better. "You are not responsible for the choices your parents made. YOU are not him. I know this is hard for you because you don't have all of the answers. But it is no reflection of the person you became. Your uncle made sure you grew up to be everything you're supposed to be."
Hope paused for a moment, She hadn't even thought of her Uncle. "What if he knew.?"
"What if who knew?" Cedric was confused.
"My uncle- if he knows...and purposely kept him from me? It wouldn't be the first time he kept something to himself for the sake of my protections." Hope was getting agitated.
"Listen- don't go there, not yet. Take some time to digest this and then speak with him. Have a level head. Don't have a go at him the way Harry just did with you." Hope nodded. Cedric wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in to for a hug. They stayed that way for a little while. Hope didn’t want to let him go. He made her feel safe, like she was going to be okay. Her mind was reeling. And how could Harry ever thing that she could know? That she would lie to him or try to cover it up? She had been 100% honest with him, let him see a side of her that not many people did. She was hurt and incredibly angry. She felt her temper boiling beneath the service. Now, more than before, she wished she could go stay with Cedric in the Hufflepuff common room. She hoped that Harry was smart enough to keep his distance. After a little while, Hope felt Cedric shift and pull back so he could look at her.
“Are you going to be alright?” She sighed.
“I don’t know. I just...it’s a lot to take in. I hate that I can’t get his side of the story. I hate that my mother isn’t here for me to talk to her, find out what really happened. Maybe they have it all wrong.”
“What is your gut telling you?”
“I don’t know.”
“C’mon Hope, deep down, you know how you feel about this. You just have to let yourself feel it.” She paused for a moment to think. She didn’t want to admit what she really thought. “Tell me.” Cedric urged her.
“I still think they have it wrong. It still doesn’t make sense. If my father was so close to James and James was his family, I can’t see him doing this. I can’t see him sacrificing everything. The father that I have heard about...he would have died before he let anything happen to the people he cared about. I can tell by the way  my Uncle has talked about him. He doesn’t talk about him often, but I can read between the lines. I just...I don’t know how to find out the truth.”
“There has to be a way to figure it out. We’ll do what we can to find out what really happened.”
“Really? You don’t think I’m mad for wanting to believe he’s not that person.”
“No I don’t. I wouldn’t want to think it about either of my parents. We’ll find a way to figure it out Hope. I promise you. If you’re right...it’ll put your mind at ease.”
“And if I’m wrong?” Cedric cupped Hope’s face in his hands. “Then we’ll find that out together and you’ll be able to move on either way.” He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead". C'mon....let me walk you back to your tower. You should get some rest and take some time to think." Hope nodded her head in agreement. She let Cedric lead her where she needed to go. She didn't even know how to process what she had just learned. Just when she thought she could move forward, she encountered more questions. All she knew was she was back to wanting answers and not having any idea who she really was.
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boymeetsweevil · 6 years ago
Text
Breathe you in
Grouping: Popstar!Reader x Non-Idol!Taehyung
Word Count: ~7.8k
Warnings/Themes: Shotgunning (so thats recreational drug use), Rough face fucking, face-sitting (fm receiving), some background angst, not too scary lol
Summary: Can I pls request an ex lovers trope with taehyung where you broke up with him , but he shows you he loves you and was never over you and wants to be together again? Thanks!
A/N: This is part of the BTS Smut Club Anniversary fic exchange! Thanks for the prompt!
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It’s nearing 10pm when the town car arrives in front of your apartment complex. The driver pulls up in the back entrance used primarily for allowing the higher profile residents to discreetly enter the building when needed. Normally the back entrance is littered with snapping cameras or fans who are trying their hand at stalking. Tonight none of those people are there for you because your mini-tour ended a day early, allowing you to return from Amsterdam a day before what’s scheduled on your website.
“Don’t forget,” your publicist sits across from you on the opposite leather upholstered bench of the car, “You’re close to reaching another follower milestone, so you need to do one last Instagram live before bed.” You release a deep sigh that sounds like it came from your bones.
“Shit. Bee, I’m really tired.”
“Language,” Bee admonishes while scrolling one iPhone in one hand before switching to the one in her other hand.
“Can’t it fucking wait,” you hiss, petty from exhaustion.
She pins you with a look that tells you she’s not playing this game with you and continues typing away. “You’ll sleep soon enough once we go through the checklist for today and tomorrow.”
Bee’s phone pings and you watch the set of her mouth grow infinitely more tense before her eyes dart to you. Rarely does hesitation temper her gaze like it does in this moment. You let out a sigh. She’s about to mention your ex.
“Also, Oh! News wants to bring you in some time this week to address statements Nick made about the breakup.”
“Of course they do,” you sigh again.
“I’ve been trying to push the date back but they’re not taking no for an answer. Plus, it might be better to go out and put an end to it so it can become old news.”
You massage your temples. “Yeah, no, I’ll do it. I’ll do it.”
Bee watches the gears in your head turn as you think about the whirlwind that was the breakup. With your departure to Europe only a few days after the PG-13 video of him with another actress blew up, there was naturally a lot of speculation. Most of it hateful and directed at you, surprisingly enough. Having just starred in a movie aimed at 12-17 year olds, Nick seemingly had all of the world’s young girl population locked and loaded at you. Your relative silence while on tour for two months in the Netherlands only fueled the outrage.
“Alright, alright,” she opens the door on your side and pushes your purse into your limp arms. “I had them take your luggage up before you. Do what I told you and then...go get some sleep, Sweets.”
“Thanks, Bee.”
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Your penthouse apartment is as pristine as you left it when you push open the door, your luggage waiting neatly by your shoe closet. While you unpack your bags in your bedroom, you take note of the outfit laid out for your on your bed. It’s a pair of leggings that have sequins sewn up the sides and a matching off the shoulder top that will definitely require you to keep your bra on. It’s for the Instagram broadcast, so you won’t have to wear it long. But you want to crawl out of your skin and finally be able to turn off your public figure voice more than anything else. You suppose you can handle waiting a little while longer, though.
When you’re dressed and have your hair out of your face, you take your phone with you to the bathroom before waking up your speaker to play some mood music. A little tripod setup waits for you on the sleek countertop. Once your phone is plugged in and you’ve pulled up Instagram, you begin your livestream and your camera smile is on.
“Hey, everybody,” you greet the viewers already watching.
There’s a little more than 800,000 people are currently watching, more than normal this early in a live video. You attribute it to the tweet Bee sent from your Twitter a few minutes prior that broke your 2 month long internet silence.
“I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long,” you talk a little louder over the music you have playing. “I was so busy in Amsterdam and when I did have some down time, I wanted to really unplug. So I didn’t use social media while I was there. I’ll definitely be uploading the pictures I took, though. I saw some really amazing stuff.”
You begin pumping an oil cleanser into the palms of your hands while stopping to read the comments as they come up on the screen. Some of them you ignore because they’re comments from Nick’s fan accounts. Others welcome you back and some are fans of the artist you were touring with.
“How was touring with Nana,” you echo the fan’s question while rubbing your makeup off. “She was so wonderful, oh my god. I think she’s got such a beautiful point of view when it comes to her lyrics about getting older and dealing with the pressures of being a woman in the spotlight. Also her fashion sense is incredible.”
A few more questions about the products you’re using and what you did on your off time come up. Some people ask if you’re working on a new album yourself and you talk about that as much as you can without breaking any promises, keeping the essentials a secret. Another person asks you to sing a few bars from your verse on the song you did with Nana and you do. By the time you’re tapping moisturizer onto your face, you’ve almost made it through the broadcast unscathed. But then you see a comment that has you breaking character for a second, your muscles freezing.
douknowbt$: OMG Nick is watching the live.
Hopefully no one notices your 2 seconds of panic, but you can’t be sure until someone else blogs about it. You dismiss the comment and finish up with a few pumps of hand cream, rubbing your hands a bit manically as the comments about Nick begin to grow in number. In that moment, you sign off and quickly move to end the live. But with your haste and slippery fingers, you don’t realize you missed the button and the recording was still going.
A few of the viewers try to send messages letting you know that the live hasn’t ended, but you don’t check your phone again after throwing it onto your covers and climbing into bed. With the camera facing up, you’re seen pulling up your laptop and putting on some classical music using the surround sound speakers in your bedroom. From the screen, all the viewers can see you sitting stiffly on your bed, eyes closed for a few minutes in what looks like meditation as the adagio that’s playing washed over you. After a few deep breaths, you open your eyes and reach for your phone.
“Oh sh—,” you keep yourself from cursing at the last second when you discover the livestream didn’t end. “I’m sorry, guys. I was so tired I guess I didn’t realize I forgot to end the video. I’m signing off for real now. Yes, yes, I’m okay. Just tired. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
You triple check to make sure the video is off before throwing your phone across the bed. The day didn’t seem like it could get worse after your long flight and even longer wait at the airport when it seemed like your luggage was lost. Not to mention that you were bone tired and hungry but couldn’t have any of the foods you were craving because of a stupid photo shoot coming up in a few weeks. In that moment, the intercom rings, signaling that the front desk is trying to reach you, but you remain in bed and hope that it’ll stop. It does, for a moment, before starting up again. You groan before getting up and heading to the front door.
“Yes?”
“Hello Miss,” says the cheerful older man who runs the front desk during nights. “I trust you’re having a delightful evening.”
“Hello, Sir.”
“We just wanted to alert you that the delivery person with your order is currently on the 15th floor and should be at your suite shortly. Please anticipate your food’s arrival in the next few minutes and have a pleasant rest of the evening.” The call ends just like that, not leaving you any room to protest and say that you didn’t order food.
You figure it’s just that Bee saw what a huge shitshow your livestream was and she wants to send you something to make you feel better. And no doubt if it was something that came with a delivery person, it was good food. If she came herself, she would definitely have brought something like a salad bowl or a sushi plate. If you eat another vegetarian sushi plate, you're certain you'll die. Not from Mercury poisoning—like your mother always warns you about—but from sadness.
A tentative knock on the door sounds and you open it with a plasticky smile. Sometimes they send people who get a little star struck. Most times you’re amenable to just being subdued but friendly so that they just ask for a selfie or a quick autograph on a take out napkin and don't try to linger or say you were a bitch later on. 
Tonight you're not really in the mood for too much friendliness tonight, though. In the drawer next to the door, you dig around for the wad of cash you keep hidden there and pull an obscene tip out.
“Hi, thank you,” you keep your head down and blindly reach for the white paper bag in the person's hand. “Have a good—excuse me, asshole!”
“That’s not my name.”
The hand yanks the bag out of your reach at the last second, lifting high above your head. You’re not at all in the mood for dealing with a pissy delivery boy who wants to knock you down a few pegs. Putting your hands on your hips, you’re about to give him the verbal lashing he deserves, PR consequences be damned, when you a good look at his face stops you.
“Taehyung?”
“In the flesh,” he shoots back at you.
The man in front of you gives you a muted, smug smile before shouldering his way past you and into your apartment. He stands tall in the foyer of your apartment like he belongs there and has been there a thousand times. You can’t help but drink in the image of your ex-boyfriend from half a decade ago despite the fact that he’s technically intruding. There’s still a whisper of the boy you started dating when you were in your last year of high school, but much of that is overpowered by the man he is now. He’s broader in the jaw and the shoulders than he was before, and there must have been some growth spurts since you last saw him.
“This is real nice,” he lets out a low whistle as he takes in the large open floor-plan of your apartment. You follow closely behind as he starts walking around, head cocked forward with purpose.
“What are you looking for?”
“The kitchen,” he says casually.
“It’s that way,” you gesture before realizing that you need to get your priorities straight. “What are you doing in my house?”
“I came to bring you food.”
The bag he raises gives off a pleasant savory smell and you clench your fist to keep yourself from excusing his sudden appearance.
“I didn’t ask for food. And I certainly didn’t ask you for food.”
“Touchy,” he turns back to pin you with an amused grin. “But you didn’t have to ask. I knew you needed it.”
“You knew I needed it?” You raise an incredulous eyebrow, eager to hear his explanation. “How did you know I needed it?”
He places the bag on the countertop in your kitchen, standing on the opposite side of the counter.
“Because,” he sighs, “I saw your Instagram live and you were playing Elgar. You never play Elgar unless something’s really wrong.”
“I—that’s,” he pushes the bag toward you while you try to come up with a reason while he’s wrong, when he’s not.
You’ve had a habit of playing classical music when you were near your breaking point. It’s been a habit that you’ve had since you were 10, but concealed long before you started your time in the spotlight. While you were dating Taehyung, you were a depressed teenager and he was present for some of the worst times of your life. Several times he’d found you in your room or your parents’ car blasting tragic symphonies as accompaniment for bawling your eyes out. But that was years ago.
“You can eat it. I’m not hungry,” you finally say. He looks at you like he can tell you’re lying, but plays along and shrugs.
“Fine.” He opens the bag and pulls out some smaller plastic containers of food and a spoon.
“I didn’t mean here!”
He chuckles at your outburst, mumbling something about fame not changing you, before ambling out of the kitchen and through the rooms until he arrives at your bedroom. You find him about to sit on your bed and rush over.
“If you took the subway here, don’t even think about sitting on that bed.”
“What? Suddenly my subway clothes are too dirty for your bed?”
“Yes,” you huff. “The sheets alone cost me more than half a grand.”
“What the hell,” he jumps up like he’s been shocked. “Why would you spend that much on sheets?”
“They’re highly rated,” you admit with a small voice. “And they’re used by many foreign diplomats.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re so prissy.”
“We can’t all be members of a practical startup.” When his eyes widen in surprise, you curse yourself for letting him know you still keep tabs on him. “Besides. You used to like prissy.”
“Still do,” he gives you with a molten look that has you moving away from him and fluffing pillows to hide your flustered state.
“Why are you still here?”
“Because you’re hurting.”
“Maybe,” you throw your hands up. “But that’s not your job anymore.”
He runs a hand through his dark hair, parting the shiny waves carelessly. He’s not sure how to admit that he’s been making sure fame doesn’t eat you alive ever since you broke up with him to pursue your singing career. The memory of that day rings clear in his head even after five years of being split up.
Cliche as it sounds, it was a rainy night. You were at a meeting with Bee a few days before the entertainment label you were flirting with was going to give you the final version of your contract to sign.
Bee was never a huge fan of his, so Taehyung waited outside her office instead of interrupting the meeting to let you know he was there. But with the office door cracked, he could still hear the sounds of your conversation and the soft sounds of your sobs.
His blood grew cold when he heard what Bee was telling you. She told you starting this career with a relationship would hurt your numbers by making it impossible for your male fanbase to project their fantasies onto you because of the presence of another guy in your life. She told you if you were going to make it, you’d need to play up the role of sexy girlfriend to the audience members for the first album at least and that wouldn’t be possible if they got wind of Taehyung.
He covered his own mouth, barely fighting tears from welling up, listening as you tried to plead with Bee. Your voice was watery as you tried to convince her that you could make it without the girlfriend role. That you had enough work ethic and talent to do it. And when she didn’t budge, you said that you loved him and threatened to walk out right then if you had to break up with him. He listened to Bee tell you that you were being naive and that you’d be stupid to throw away all your opportunities for a boy.
And Bee was right.
So when you came outside minutes later with puffy eyes and a white knuckled grip on the sleeves of your sweater, he’d accepted his fate. He’d even accepted the lie you told him about having another guy on the side. Though you couldn’t produce a name when he asked who it was. Though you looked up at him like you wanted to take it all back. Though you leaned your forehead on his chest like you were in the greatest amount of pain. He accepted it all and walked away.
That is, if walking away meant that he created fake social media accounts so he could comment positive things on your first few interview videos and bought tickets to as many concerts he could when you were in the area. He never tried to make his presence known, just stood there and drank in how vibrant you looked when you were on stage and singing your heart out. It took a while for the jealousy to stop rearing its ugly head whenever he looked at how other people would show their adoration for you. By the time Nick came around, he was convinced he was content with how things were. But after seeing the way Nick’s cheating affected you, he had a hard time sitting still.
“Well, I’m not leaving until you feel better. So, you better start talking.”
“What is there to even say?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.”
You sigh and ignore him in favor of walking over to the large sofa in the corner of your room and collapsing on the large sofa face first. A dip in the cushions near you tells you he’s followed you and sat down. When you finally reveal your face, he’s peering down at you with a sad look in his eyes. The sad, sympathetic look that would always get you spilling your guts when you were still together. So you tell him everything.
It's almost embarrassing to tell him that you thought you loved Nick. At their best, things with Nick were comfortable and sometimes passionate, but it wasn’t anything close to love. Nothing close to what you had with Taehyung. And how could it have been when the reason you got together in the first place was because Bee thought you could ‘scratch each other’s backs’? Nick was not only handsome with the clean image Bee wanted for you, but you were writing and singing the theme song for the blockbuster movie he was to star in. It all seemed to work at first.
It only took one tabloid story suggesting that he was seeing some other younger and bustier actress behind your back to make you see that nothing you had with him was substantial. You brought the story up as a joke, thinking you could laugh about the way tabloids would do anything for story—even lie. As soon as you mentioned it to him, he denied it hastily and made a snide comment about not believing everything you see just because it’s technically press. After that, it was like a switch had been flipped and suddenly you couldn’t be in the same room together for more than 10 minutes without going at each other’s throats. The cheating rumors kept flaring up until they reached a peak a little more than 2 months ago, when someone anonymously submitted a video of him groping and kissing the same actress outside of a bakery in your hometown in broad daylight.
After watching the video about 15 times on the plane to Amsterdam, you concluded that even though he had long since established himself as a grade-A asshole in your mind, he was in mushy-love with this girl. You could tell from the sweet way he cradled her face while kissing her and how he took the extra step to block any potential cameras before giving her impressive rack a squeeze. Lucky for you, the video didn’t really evoke any messy emotions like jealousy. Instead there was just some satisfaction at having your suspicions confirmed and knowing he’d have to clean up this mess. You felt bad for the other actress, though. She was just starting out with mainly B movie roles and there was no telling whether the public would fillet her or ignore her altogether.
Taehyung has to sit on his hands to keep from rubbing your back you as you pour out all the things that had been stressing you out. What startles him is how stoic you are the whole time. When he first met you, you cried at the drop of a hat. It was endearing back then, but there’s no trace of it now. You sniffle a little when you talk about some of the vicious hate mail you received while in Amsterdam, but besides the shining eyes, that’s it. He clenches his jaw and wonders what you must have gone through in the last five years to have lost that quality.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles when the lull in the conversation is longer than he expected.
“It’s fine, I just,” you sniff again, wipe your eyes carefully. “I was really hoping that once the dating clause in my contract expired, things wouldn’t blow up in my face like this. And now I can’t go anywhere without people shoving mentions of Nick in my face. I just—it sucks. I just want to do what I want and I thought I’d earned that right but I guess not.”
“I don’t know. I think you’ve earned it. You’re grammy nominated this year, and you visited 13 countries this year alone.”
“What are you? President of my fan club?”
“Do I look like a 14 year old girl to you?”
You squint like you’re giving it some thought and he squawks.
“I’m just kidding,” you duck your head. “You’re, what, 226?” He laughs at the extra two centuries you’ve tacked on.
“You remember my birthday,” he smiles widely.
“Of course I do.” The way he looks at you makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up so you change the subject. “Alright. I’ve done enough talking. Where’s my compensation?”
“You literally haven’t changed at all,” he says while fishing in the pockets of his dark wash denim jacket. It takes a few seconds and he has to pull a few balled up receipts and earphones out of the pockets but he eventually pulls out a fat blunt and brandishes it like a huge check.
Nose wrinkling, you push his hand out of your face. “Weed?”
“Yeah! You said you wanted a pick-me-up, right? And I just got this yesterday from a dispensary. This is the good, strong shit. Probably could compete with the stuff they have in Amsterdam.”
“Well, I wouldn’t be able to tell.”
“Huh,” he furrows his brow while hunting for a lighter.
“I’ve never smoked so I wouldn’t know.”
“You mean you were in Amsterdam and you didn’t even try to smoke?”
“It’s bad for my voice,” you whine at his judgmental glare.
“Bullshit.”
“It smells like armpit,” you try again.
“There’s the prissy princess. Well, you should know that the only stuff that smells like that is the shit broke evil dealers peddle to broke college students.”
You roll your eyes, but sit up on your heels so you can pay closer attention. Taehyung flicks his lighter to life and lights up the end of the blunt. He takes a deep inhale before letting out a thick cloud of smoke. He gestures for you to take it, but you shake your head nervously.
“What’s the matter now?”
“I don’t know how to do it. What if I burn my lips?”
He squints at you, wondering how you can be such a baby. “The cherry’s not even on the side you put your mouth on.”
“Whatever! I’m still scared.”
“Do you want to try it, though?”
You gnaw at your lip thoughtfully and decide that you need to take your mind off everything for a while. “Y-yeah, I guess. I don’t have a studio session tomorrow.”
“Okay.” He scoots forward on the couch until your knees are just barely brushing. “I’ll shotgun it to you.”
“What’s that?”
“You’ll see.”
He takes another drag, this time a little smaller, and holds the smoke in his mouth. Turning to you, he leans in until you can feel his bangs brush your forehead as he tilts his head to get the angle right. There’s about an inch of space between your mouths when he starts to let the smoke billow out of his mouth. You get the gist and try to inhale it as best as possible, but you’re new to it and he’s too far away for you to get the smoke.
“I’m not getting any,” your tone is petulant as the smoke floats up around your face.
Taehyung, on the other hand, is already feeling the effects of the strong blend he bought. He scoots forward once more and then turns to the side so he can take another drag. This next time, he grabs your jaw and brings you forward to meet him. Thumbing at your bottom lip, he coaxes your mouth open and slack before slotting his lips over yours. You feel the brush of the supple skin of his lips and it distracts you a bit, but this time you do manage to inhale most of the fumes. Your eyes drop closed as you hold the smoke in for as long as possible before letting your breath out.
“How was that,” Taehyung asks lowly. His lids have drooped to match his relaxed state. With the high slowly creeping over him, he ogles you unabashedly.
“It was okay. Do it again.”
He nods and quickly burns through the rest of the blunt, giving you the larger hits when he shotguns to you and taking slightly smaller drags for himself. To keep you nearby, his hand comes to rest heavily on the small of your back. You, still on your haunches, somehow end up straddling one of his thighs to stay close. Near the end of the blunt, you’re feeling a bit floaty and like the heat from the blunt transferred to your belly. Taehyung’s gaze feels tangible on you, like a firm-handed caress across all parts of you as he looks you over. Like smoke on your skin. You recognize the feeling as one you haven’t felt in a while and move to sit more properly in his lap.
“I want the last one,” you whisper while tugging on the collar of his jacket. The ends of his long hair tickle your fingers.
He nods and moves slowly to suck the roach dry. Once he’s close enough, you wait patiently. His nose grazes your cheek for a few long seconds before he finally turns to pass the smoke to you. You take it obediently and exhale but then grab him by the lapels to press your lips to his. His hands come up immediately to cup your face and pull you closer. You work your lips over his, drawing low groans from him as your tongue teases his.
“You smell good,” he says groggily between kisses.
“Thanks,” you roll your eyes.
His eyes flutter shut when you begin to press kisses to the column of his throat, your hands moving to unbutton the dress shirt he’s wearing underneath. He tries his best to keep up with you, but he gets slow when he’s high. So he settles for you being in charge, but does let his hands roam over your body.
A lot has changed since he last felt you like this. The strict gym regimen you employ to compliment choreography for songs has given you an amazing ass that he thought could only gaze at in pictures. And he had done quite a lot of that. Though he’s not sure how you would feel if he confessed to jerking off to some of your sexier music videos. He marvels at the feel of you and you’re pleasantly surprised when his hands come down heavy on your hips to grind you down onto his lap. A pleased hum leaves you and you reward him with kisses migrating lower, across the path of his now exposed torso. You leave the couch to sit between his spread knees on the floor. The button of his jeans is your last major obstacle and you still your hands over the waistband patiently.
“You get where I’m going with this, right?”
He nods his head, tongue coming out unconsciously to wet his lips at he takes in the sight of you on your knees in front of him.
“Do want you want me to...” you trail off, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed at asking your ex if you could blow him.
“Do you? Want to?” His hand reaches out to cup your cheek, thumb brushing over you cheekbone.
“Yeah?”
“Then, yeah.”
You move quickly to unbutton his pants and slide them down his thighs once he lifts his butt to assist you. He’s wearing boxers, which is a relief because you don’t want his bare ass on your very expensive couch, and the crotch opening provides easy access. With one hand, you smooth the wrinkles in his boxers over, noting the tent in the fabric and the dark stain where his head must be dribbling pre-cum. Your mouth is watering as you pull him out and test his girth and weight in your hand. Just the sight of his dick in your hand makes you want to swallow him down.
Before he can say anything else, you’re wetting his shaft with broad licks from root to tip. He grits his teeth and lets out a satisfied grunt at the way it feels when you tongue at his slit. You take him in until you just barely wrap your lips around the head, and he lets out a low moan at finally being enveloped in the wet, silken heat of your mouth.
“Can you do me a favor,” he manages to ask you despite the fact that stars are forming in the corner of his vision when you take him against the inside of your cheek.
“Hmm,” you hum around him, causing his hips to jolt up the tiniest amount.
“Can you spit on it?”
You smile in a way that can only be described as predatory and pull him out of your mouth. You spit like he asks, letting some drool pool on him as well, while he moans again and his hand comes out to smooth over your hairline. He’s more vocal than you remember and it gets you wet quickly. Before you stain anything, you kick off your stupid bedazzled leggings so you can return them to Bee in the morning.
“Shit,” he hisses when you start bobbing your head to a fast and unforgiving rhythm. You’re playing with him, you want to wring an orgasm out of him, and he can sense this. “Why don’t we take this s-slow?”
You pull off briefly. “Tae, I want you to fuck my face. That’s not well-suited to slow.”
“Isn’t that bad for your voice,” he mimics your tone from earlier.
You give him a pinch on his thigh before taking him into your mouth again and resuming your ministrations. Since you’re so focused on getting what you want, he decides to try and level the playing field and keeps his hip movements to a minimum and opts to talk through the head instead. He’s determined to get some clarity with you
“I’ve missed you,” he breathes deeply through the feeling of your saliva starting to trickle over him. The slide is getting slicker as you continue, making him lose his train of thought briefly. “So much.”
Instead of replying back with words, you just give a little acknowledging noise that’s too neutral to be a dissenting or affirming noise. He takes it in stride and continues.
“I still think about you all the time. And I—fuck—I’ve tried to date other people, but it’s just never felt quite the same way. You were the only one who understood me so well and who didn’t try to change me.”
His words wash over you and a wave of fondness hits you in a way that has you almost shy. You haven’t been shy in a long while because you couldn’t afford to be in your line of work. People were always trying to capture parts of you, and a great deal of them were trying to capture the uglier sides. There was no room to actually fear that for the last five years of your life because it was inevitable to a certain degree. But as you work over Taehyung, his words make you feel stripped down. You feel bare and small despite the fact that his words have nothing but good in them really.
“If I’m being honest,” he says and you slow your rhythm to stare at him, wondering what he could have to confess. “You might be even further out of my league than when we first met.” You sigh and pull off of him.
“Tae, come on. Give yourself some slack.”
“No, I mean it,” he sits up slowly, tongue heavy with earnestness as he tries to talk through the high. “It seems like you’ve only become more comfortable with yourself since you started singing and the way you move—it’s like you’re from another planet.”
“Oh my god,” your cheeks heat up when he looks at you like you have a halo and wings. “Stop, you’re being so unnecessary right now.”
“I still love you,” he says. The words fall from his mouth like he’s been dying to say them. “And I know you didn’t cheat on me when we were younger.”
Your mouth drops open in shock. To this day you still regretted lying to him like that. But deep down you knew that there was something off about his reaction. He didn’t seem shocked or nearly disappointed as you thought someone might be when they hear they’re being left for another person. Instead, he had just nodded and insisted on driving you home until Bee had to come out and promise him that she’d do it herself. The fact that he didn’t block you on social media or try to drag your name through the mud immediately after your debut made you wonder if he saw through your lie.
“How did you know?”
“I came early to pick you up that day. And I heard Bee tell you what to say to me. How to break up with me.”
“Tae, I’m so—”
He shushes you with a tender kiss to the cheek that’s so soft you’re rendered momentarily speechless.
“I know. It’s not your fault, they didn’t give you a choice.”
“I would have picked you if I could,” you mumble into the space between you. His hands feel like anchors on either side of your face and you cling to them in the hopes that you won’t cry. “I really would have. You don’t know how much I missed you.”
“I feel the same way. It killed me to see you with that Nick asshole.”
You smirk a little at the mention of Nick. “Aw. Were you jealous, Tae?”
He looks down at you for a second, reading your face carefully, before dropping one hand down from your cheeks to the nape of your neck. The weight of it reads as possessive on your skin and you lean forward unconsciously until you’re able to smell the faintly sweet smell of smoke on his clothes.
“You’d like it if I was, right?” His gaze hardens, setting your heartbeat into a rabbit-quick pace. “Hmm? You like me being jealous of him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. Answer me.”
“Okay, fine. Maybe I do,” you nuzzle into his neck to hide the excited smile splitting your lips.
“I knew it. It’s pretty on-brand for you.”
He nudges your bare thigh to signal you need to get up and so you do. You’re about to ask him what the hell ‘on brand’ means for you when he bends down to throw you over his shoulder with a low grunt.
“Tae, what the hell!”
Your raised voice gets you a harsh tweak to the perky globe of your ass and immediately quiets you down. He walks with you to the bed before throwing you down. Not rough enough to hurt but just rough enough to surprise you and give a doe-eyed look to your face. When you look up at him, his charade has fallen a bit, eyes returning to their original sleepy softness.
“Is this how you want it,” he asks you.
His voice is deep and gentle, and it evokes a different but equally visceral reaction. You nod and then shuffle over to the edge of the bed and sit at the edge of the mattress, waiting to see where he’ll take the situation. He smiles darkly at you once more before placing a hand on the back of your head to lead to his crotch.
His erection stands taller than it did before on the couch and he digs his fingers into your hair when you plant sweet kisses on the juncture where his thigh meets groin. You look sweet like this—playful, even—as you mouth along his length with kitten licks interspersed. When you’re about to take him into your mouth once more, he fists your hair and pulls you off him. With your head angled up to look into his eyes, you see a new emotion in them.
“Look,” he sighs. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do the whole thing.”
“What, like sex?”
“No, I mean you and me. I want to be with you. I’ve made my peace with what happened between us, but I know I still love you. So, I’m asking you to decide if you’re willing to do that, to be with me. Because I can’t—”
“Yes.”
“What?” His eyes grow wider and take on an awestruck quality. Like he’s not sure he wants to believe what he heard from you. “Really?”
“I want to try again,” you curl your hands around his hips. Bringing him forward into a hug around his pelvis, you lean your chin on his lower abdomen and try to infuse as much reassurance as you can into your smile.
“You won’t get in trouble with your agency?”
You shake your head and curl your arms around his hips, bringing him into an awkward hug as you lean your chin on his lower abdomen and look up at him. “Nick was an exception because he and I were arranged by our respective agencies, but my dating clause expired last year. I can date who I want. Within reason.”
He throws his head back with the realization that he’ll get a second chance with you. The hand he has on the back of your head softly caresses the skin of your neck.
“God, I love you,” he breathes with eyes drifting closed in contentedness.
“Good. Now can we get back to this? You were being fun earlier.”
“Yeah?” His tone turns gravelly and coy as he coaxes you back towards his dick. “Are you ready to choke?”
You can only nod as you take him in gradually, only for him to wait until you get halfway and push your head further down. You gag around him at the sudden pressure at the back of your throat, but shift your breathing through your nose to get a better handle on it. He pulls you by the hair until you’re at the tip again before slamming you back down, your nose nearly brushing the skin of his abdomen. You gag and the sound causes him to thicken in your mouth and a rush of arousal to trickle down into your panties.
“You feel so good around my cock,” he moans as he begins thrusting shallowly into your mouth. You can tell he’s close from how irregular the rhythm is. “Can you try to deep throat me?”
After you give an affirmative hum and relax your throat as best you can, he takes your face in both hands and starts to pull you up and down his length, going further each time until he knows he’s in your throat from the sudden tightness of you swallowing and the increase in gagging. Saliva is now dripping from your mouth, coating him and your chin, but you don’t care. Your eyes tear up at the burning sensation, but you can also feel your arousal trickle down your leg as he fucks your mouth more intensely. Right as you press two fingers to your clothed center for some relief, he gives you a tapped warning on your neck and his orgasm spills into your mouth.
He quickly pulls off his jacket and shirt, handing the latter to you to wipe your eyes and mouth with. Once your face is dry, he tucks himself back in and climbs around you into the bed. You turn to watch him fold back your blankets and throw the pillows you have all to the foot of the bed, leaving the space by the headboard. Taehyung then lies down, head where your pillows once were.
“Going to sleep already?” Your voice comes out in a sultry croak that has him laughing a little.
“No, I’m getting ready for you to sit on my face,” he says simply.
When you don’t budge, he sits up and pulls you by the arms toward him. You try to escape him, but his grip just tightens the more you protest.
“Tae, wait, I’m not—”
“You’re not what?”
“I’m not...presentable. Down there.” You avert your eyes as you explain to him that it's been a since you were last at a spa to get waxed. You figured since you weren’t seeing Nick anymore and you were mandated by your PR crew to wait at least 4 months after a breakup, there was no need to keep up with such a strict...landscaping routine. He rolls his eyes and moves to pull on the waistband of your panties to peek in and see what you mean, but you shove him away.
“Do you think I actually care?”
“Do you really not?”
“No? Unless you have some disease or infection, what’s the issue?”
“I’m clean,” you pout.
“Good,” he says before placing a kiss on your lips.
While you’re distracted by the kissing, he maneuvers you into straddling his waist before pulling back. Reluctantly, you shuffle up to hover over his ribcage and shyly grab the headboard. He huffs.
“You know I can’t reach you from there. It’s called sitting on someone’s face for a reason.”
He nudges your butt until the seat of your panties lines up with his jaw. He sees a few errant curls peeking out from the leg holes of your panties, so he uses a finger to push your underwear to the side to get a better look. What’s unsurprising is that it still looks like a vagina, though it had been a while since his last non-bald encounter. He doesn’t care, though, and cups your butt in his hands to move you the rest of the way.
The broad strip he licks up from your entrance to your clit takes you by surprise and because you were wound up so tight from a combination of nerves and horniness from blowing him, you let out a high keening sound. Taehyung chuckles beneath you before using his full lips to kiss at the apex of your thighs, sucking your clit into his mouth. The tip of his tongue scrubs figure eights against the bundle of nerve endings and has you squirming over him. More arousal leaks from you and he shifts to drink from you, humming and slurping obscenely. He then starts to lick at you in earnest, tracing strategic shapes across your lips and sucking with varying pressures and paces until you start rocking over him on your own accord.
“That’s my girl,” he praises you from below. “Now, ride my face,” he says before flattening his tongue and pressing up to meet your tentative grinding thrusts.
The combination of saliva and your arousal makes the glide smoother than you expected and it feels so good that one of your hands leaves the headboard to fist in his thick hair. He moans a little at the faint sting and wraps his hands around the backs of your thighs to press you against him harder. His tongue dips into your entrance occasionally, chasing the flavor of your arousal, trying not to let any of your juices go to waste. You bite your lip to trap the wanton moans trying to escape you, but Taehyung realizes what you’re doing and gives you another sharp swat to the bottom to coax them out, mumbling against the inside of your thigh not to hide from him anymore. 
As you start to move more desperately above him, he attempts to fuck you more purposefully with his tongue. It’s just enough that in a dozen more swivels of your hips, you’re cumming all over his face, soaking his cheeks with a glistening varnish. You try to move as quickly as possible, but he stops you with a tight hold on your hips and licks you clean. You squirm away, partly because you’re sensitive and partly because he’s so enthusiastic about it that you’re a little bashful.
Finally he lets you get off him, but he doesn’t let you get too far. He follows you and almost makes it into the en suite with you, but you close the door at the last moment. You pee and clean up and when you come out, you feel like a weight has been lifted. Taehyung looks infinitely more sober lying in the middle of your bed in just his boxers, eyes bright and hair messy as he tries to figure out which remote will turn on your speakers.
You stand by the bed and watch him for a while. He turns to you innocently and holds the remotes in his two hands with confusion.
“What?”
“Nothing,” you approach your closet and take off your borrowed sweatshirt before looking for your favorite well-worn sweatsuit. “You’re just so pretty.”
“You’re prettier,” he shouts over to you. He can’t see you inside your closet, but you’re smiling like an idiot.
When you’re fully changed, you go to the bed and lean over him to kiss him. He still smells like you and you tell him so, to which he responds with a grin and subtly licking his lips.
“So when do you want me to tell the public about you?”
“Whenever you want,” he shrugs.
“Really? Because there’s a good chance you won’t be able to live your life the same way you have been once I do that.”
“Then it’ll just change. I would expect it to if you’re coming back into my life again.”
“Oh my god, you’re so—”, you’re at a loss for words.
You decide to crawl into his space and pepper kisses into his skin. He smells like a strange blend of you and him, but the smell is reassuring in some way unknown to you. You sit there for the rest of the night, breathing him in like smoke
486 notes · View notes
kevintor · 4 years ago
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I Watch a Movie I Should Have Seen: Hocus Pocus
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I miss doing these entries. Mostly I miss adding movies to my watched list. Obviously, I’ve never seen Hocus Pocus. That’s why we’re here.
What did I know about Hocus Pocus? I knew there were witches and I knew Bette Midler had fun teeth. And she certainly did!
My thoughts:
We open on Salem in the 1600s following the shadow of a flying witch. The music was straight out of the Danny Elfman playbook but I guess they couldn’t get him so they found an equivalent Ray Parker, Jr. to Elfman’s Huey Lewis. (If you don’t know)
Pink smoke comes out of the chimney of the witch house which means someone’s gender reveal party resulted in a girl! Unfortunately they had to sacrifice a different little girl to find out.
The old-timey boy we meet is wearing a shirt that can only be described as billowy. He should take off like a kite when he runs. Yet somehow when he violently tumbles down a forest hill, none of that very excessive fabric gets caught on anything. Is the fabric even there or are we imagining it?
The witches (Sanderson Sisters) use a book made of human skin and a functioning eyeball. I shall call this book “Columbo.”
It’s very nice of them to put a mill wheel next to the witch house for the boy to climb.
Okay, so Bette Midler has lightning fingers like Emperor Palpatine.
I honestly thought the witches were going to be misunderstood and everyone would win at the end but killing a little girl for her youth and turning the boy into an immortal cat really puts a big wrench in the redemption arc chances.
The townspeople stage a hanging. The witches curse the town that they will return much like Pennywise only scarier.
We fast forward to find out that the opening is a story that is told in a Salem high school class where the kids apparently range in age from 14-28.
A new-to-town California boy (Max) doesn’t buy into all the witch lore. No mention on why his first day of school is Halloween. Parents did not plan that move well.
Max is into Allison, the pretty girl in school that leads with her teeth in every conversation. Did Rami Malek pull some his Freddy Mercury from her?
Max rides his bike home from school at super speed. He is either an exceptional mountain biking improviser or he practiced it the day before to be really ready for school. Probably the latter.
On his shortcut through the cemetery, he runs into two kids, Jay and Ice. Jay seems to be all the bad parts of Bill and Ted combined and Ice seems to be 40.
Jay and Ice take Max’s sneakers because that’s what bullies in the early 90s did. It makes pedaling home slower which may be for the best. He rode his bike too quickly.
Max does not like being here in Salem anymore. We learn this as he angrily takes off his hat, backpack, and jacket.
Max comforts himself by awkwardly hugging and cooing to his pillow pretending it’s Allison. His little sister, Dani, catches the awkwardness, gets on the bed, and simulates being Allison which is normal.
The house appears to have an unlimited number of stairs to climb up to get away in frustration.
Max reluctantly takes his sister trick-or-treating. He has the appropriate level of older brother standoffishness.
Jay and Ice stop the sister asking for her candy. Max gives the candy to the bullies and she tells him he should have been a man and fought them. Again one of them is like 40.
Max makes up with her using a pouty face. Like! A! Man!
They find a rich house that they assume will make them bob for apples. This is a bad idea even in non-pandemic times. Never bob for apples at a stranger’s house. No matter how rich they are. That’s how rich people fatten you up to make you easier to hunt.
Max and Dani let themselves inside and start robbing the place of their Raisinets and O Henry bars. Rich people give out terrible candy.
Turns out the rich house belongs to Allison. They are having a party and everyone there is authentically dressed like royals. They did not get any of these costumes at Spirit Halloween.
Dani tells Allison that she can’t wear Allison’s royal dress because she doesn’t have yabbos and proceeds to tell her that Max loves her yabbos. This girl is outrageous. Or rude. It was a fine line in 1993.
Max asks Allison to take them to the Sanderson Sisters’ house. She tells him she’s going to quickly change out of a dress that must have taken her 45 minutes to get into.
The house is no different than it used to be. The spell book is still there. How have Jay and Ice not stolen anything from it?
Immortal Cat attacks Max when he wants to light the “virgin candle” that will bring back the Sanderson sisters. It’s a great sequence where he says the name of the movie (always important), then pulls a Zippo out of his pocket (which all kids who don’t smoke have), and lights the candle.
It starts things. Hair blows a lot. This is why they had Max be a surfer boy from California. For this hair effect.
This movie cares a lot about someone being a virgin. Even Dani knows what a virgin is. Are they covering this in her second grade class? Do the parents know? What does the PTA think?
The candle makes the Sisters return and they try to keep Dani. Bette Midler uses more of her Star Wars lightning fingers but Allison saves the day.
The cat can talk and the chances of me liking this movie just took a huge hit.
Max steals Columbo, the spell book.
The writers of the movie do the right thing by having the Sisters be scared of everything modern like roads and fire trucks. Nice touch.
The Sisters only have tonight, which adds the right amount of stakes, to get the spell book back. I don’t think I could make it if they had a week or so.
The Sisters raise the dead causing a very reluctant zombie (RZ) to chase after the kids. Most zombies love what they do so this is a fun choice.
Immortal Cat gets run over by a bus but lives because he’s immortal. We needed proof because the 300 years of being a cat was not enough.
Garry Marshall plays a guy dressed as the devil which they play for fun as the Sisters worship him but we can’t gloss over that fact that Fake Devil’s wife is played by his real-life sister, Penny Marshall. It’s not disturbing. They’re acting!
Children steal the Sisters’ brooms which probably won’t matter later.
They find a Halloween party that Max’s parents went to. When Max’s dad meets Allison, he kisses her hand. I am going to do the same to whoever my kid brings home one day. “It’s from Hocus Pocus. That movie’s fun. It’s not weird.”
Bette Midler gets to sing a song. That should satisfy the requirements from her contract. The song puts a spell on the partygoers forcing them to dance until they die. Somehow the kids are immune to it. Can they shut off their ears? Are they also magical?
The kids lure the Sisters into the school incinerator and burn them alive. It’s a strong play. The kids celebrate as if there is not 30 minutes left in the movie.
Immortal Cat, in a time of reflection, brings up his sister and Max says “You really miss her, huh?” He has been trapped as a cat after failing to save his sister’s life 300 years earlier. He misses her. Why not “Hey, do you ever wonder what might have happened if you saved her life?”
Without any explanation, the Sisters are fine. They run into Jay and Ice who insult them. The Sisters cage Jay and Ice and make them hang from the witch house ceiling. The bullies are crying. Maybe they aren’t so tough after all. <High Fives No One>
Allison decides to find a spell to uncat Immortal Cat. She opens Columbo causing it to glow. The glow lures Bette Midler and the Sisters to her. Allison fails to notice the glow but learns that salt can keep them safe.
The Sisters steal the book and Dani when Allison only uses the salt to protect herself. She really took care of number one here.
Now Sarah Jessica Parker gets to sing a real creepy song that summons all the children from the town. It really shows you the power of song. Again, Max and Allison must have turned off their hearing for this.
Max and Allison trick the Sisters into thinking sun is coming early by using a car headlight. It works but I don’t understand why. They had the sun 300 years ago. They know what it looks like. “Is that a person in a brown sweat suit and green hat or a tree?”
While the Sisters are scared of the car headlight, Max steals back his sneakers but doesn’t save the bullies. How does he know he won’t need the bullies to be on his side in the future? Has he not seen every other high school movie?
They drive away and Bette Midler brooms after them. We know how fast Max likes to go so it is impressive Bette Midler can keep up.
Reluctant Zombie shows up and Max pulls a knife on him. So Max has a knife and a zippo. He might be a problem.
They take the final showdown to a cemetery which is an odd choice. Why not a miniature golf course or a TCBY. Were they still around in 1993?
Max brings a bat to a magic fight. Allison still has her salt. “Bats and salt: Working together to inconvenience witches since 1881!”
Max sacrifices himself to save Dani. The sun comes up as Bette Midler is sucking the life out of Max. Just when you think it might be a better sun-impersonating headlight, Bette Midler turns into a statue and explodes. Definitely the sun.
Immortal Cat dies so he can be with his sister. Billowy shirt ghost appears to say thanks with a kiss on Dani’s cheek (so normal) before he runs off with his ghost sister for eternity.
They did it! They saved Salem! Quite a first day for Max..
The movie was fine. I hate talking animals unless they are cartoons so that didn’t help. And why did they care so much about virgins? A friend told me that “virgin” meant “pure of heart.” Well then they should have said “pure of heart.” And if I can suggest, between Max’s predilection for weapons and Allison’s selfishness with the salt, I don’t think they should stop being “pure of heart” with each other. They aren’t a good couple. Going through a traumatic thing like killing summoned witches from the Pilgrim days causes feelings that can’t last.
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therealjambery · 5 years ago
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Long fics rec post is long
What better way to while away the time than fanfiction? Long fanfiction! And when I say long, I mean long, like so long it is three novels put together, how on earth did you find time to write this, so long it takes even me more than one day to read long. I'm irrationally jealous of all of these writers, as I am the type of writer who has a hard time dashing off 10,000 words in a timely fashion, let alone writing anything longer.
I'm using the SFWA's definition of a novel here, which is anythiing over 40,000 words.
These are all stories I've loved, and most of them I've actually got saved as PDFs so I can re-read them wherever I want. I'm digging pretty deep into the archives for this one, kids, so hold onto your hats.
Fandoms: Avengers/Marvel, Firefly, Inception, Leverage, Merlin, Stargate Atlantis, Star Trek AOS, Supernatural, Torchwood
Fandom: Avengers/MCU/Marvel/Whatever we're calling it these days
in deep with you darling by topaz Author's Summary: Darcy could have, under normal circumstances, resisted the aesthetics (however awesome they are, and holy crap are they awesome), but there's an itch under her skin—apparently, nearly dying by giant, fire-breathing robots from space in the middle of Nowhere, New Mexico will start you questioning your life choices. Who knew? Main Pairing: Clint/Darcy Words: 48024
runaways are running the night by anothercover Author's Summary: Clint did like that the photo stayed private. He’s shit at social media, only on it because, you know, he has to be, but even Clint knew it was the kind of candid that was Instagrammable - #queen, #legend, #rawmemama, etcetera, ad nauseam, he’s pretty sure he could predict the comments before anyone actually typed them. (Bucky once said “raw me, mama?” to her with a goddamn straight face and Natasha’s expression of abject horror while she tried to work out if he meant it had made Clint laugh so fucking hard he was certain he’d ripped an organ in half. He still wants to find a way to work that story into his act, because on the one hand, people love it when he talks about his marriage, but it’s hard to find a way into it that doesn’t sound like he’s making fun of their fans, and that’s a big no-go.) AU: Natasha's in a band, Clint is basically John Mulaney, it's great Main Pairing: Clint/Natasha/Bucky Words: 53873
Ready, Fire, Aim 'Verse by gyzym Author's Summary: There's no "I" in "Avenger." Main Pairing: Steve/Tony Words: 63019
Ain't No Grave (Can Keep My Body Down) by spitandvinegar Author's Summary: It's six in the morning, and Steve is heading out on a run when he nearly trips over a bouquet of sunflowers on the front steps of his brownstone.
For a second paranoia takes over, and he kicks the flowers a little, waiting for them to explode. They don't. They also came with a card, which he picks up. The front of the card has a tasteful picture of the Brooklyn bridge at sunset. It's very nice and sedate, like the kind of card you would buy to give to your boss. On the inside someone has written a short message in big, shaky block letters.
I AM SORRY FOR SHOOTING YOU.
Steve sits down hard on the steps. Main Pairing: Steve/Bucky Words: 107076
Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail series by owlet Author's Summary: The mission resets abruptly, from objective: kill to objective: protect Main Pairing: Steve/Bucky Words: 264438
Clint Barton's Super Secret Snipers' Club by sara_holmes Author's Summary: Clint Barton's Super Secret Snipers' Club. (Invitation and pending mental health evaluation required.)
"When Steve brings Bucky back to the tower for the first time, Clint’s first thought is that Tony Stark’s pride and joy is quickly becoming a less of a very tall and expensive ‘fuck you’ in the faces of investors who don’t believe in self-sustaining energy, and more of a superhero rehabilitation center."
Boyfriends, compromises and learning to like oneself. Main Pairing: Clint/Bucky Words: 67059
Nobody Lost, Nobody Found by ClaraxBarton Author's Summary: "Look, dude, I get it. You’re fucked-up. HYDRA fucked you up. I’ve been there. But you’re my fucking Soul Mate!"
“I can kill you. I could kill you without even realizing what I was doing. I’m not fucked-up, I’m a monster. I’m a nightmare. You can’t be here. You can’t- All the people I’ve killed- I will not murder my Soul Mate too. Not after everything else I’ve-”
Clint worked his left hand between their bodies and managed to land a punch to the man’s right side, forcing him to shift his weight, and Clint brought his right hand down on the place where the man’s metal arm met his torso - hidden by the shirt he wore, but on full display in the video Clint had watched.
The man released Clint with a grunt of pain, and Clint pressed his advantage, landing another punch to his abdomen, backing him up against the opposite side of the RV and then pressing the kitchen knife he had pocketed while cleaning up earlier to the man’s throat.
“Like I said, I’m not a Boy Scout. I’m plenty dangerous myself. We clear on that?”
OR:
This looks bad, because it is.
OR:
How Clint Barton met his Soul Mate AU: soulmates! Main Pairing: Clint/Bucky Words: 108331
Ronin!Clint 'verse by shatteredhourglass Author's Summary: “Who the fuck are you and how did you get this line?”
“I have my ways,” the voice says, amused. “Don’t worry, I’m just enjoying the view, Captain America.” Main Pairing: Clint/Bucky Words: 63266
Fandom: Firefly/Supernatural
Weight and Motion by sevenfists [note: the podfic by dodificus is excellent] Author's Summary: The pears were ripe, Kaylee told him, but Mal wouldn't eat any of them. They were a present, nestled all sweet and green in a wooden crate that a grateful passenger gave them right before they left her on Greenleaf. AU: Crossover, Dean ends up on Serenity, just roll with it Main Pairing: Mal/Dean Words: 43117
Fandom: Inception
All the World is Bullet Shaped by pushdragon Author's Summary: If Arthur thinks that, just by waving enough money around, he can get Eames to risk his life and reputation to rescue him from a death sentence, he's got another thing coming. So Eames sets a malicious, undignified price on his services, one he can be certain that a man like Arthur would never condescend to pay. It turns out to be the first of many mistakes. Main Pairing: Arthur/Eames Words: 76656
I Seem to Be a Verb by Aja Author's Summary: Arthur owns a quirky hipster science bookstore. Eames is a world-famous mega-celebrity.
Clearly this calls for a meet-cute. AU: Notting Hill AU Main Pairing: Arthur/Eames Words: 93837
In Medias Res by starlingthefool Author's Summary: What's the most resilient infection? What's more infectious than a cold, deadlier than cholera? What lingers in your blood forever?
Love, of course. Mal has always known that. Her pointman Eames may dismiss her for a romantic, but for better or worse, love has gotten her this far. AU: Mirror-verse Main Pairing: Arthur/Eames, Mal/Dom Words: 52662
The Music Makers by mami_san Author's Summary: A. Graham Cole was twenty-one years old when he was killed in action in Iraq. This is the official story. The truth is, of course, somewhat different. Main Pairing: Arthur/Eames Words: I dunno, because it's not on AO3. But my PDF is 451KB so it's over 50k, most likely.
Presque Vu by rageprufrock Author's Summary: Or, "on the tip of the tongue." Arthur meets Mal first. He inherits Dom, after. Everything else is on him. Main Pairing: Arthur/Eames Words: 69588
Wherever You Will Be (That's Where I'll Call Home) [The DomesticVerse] by gyzym Author's Summary: People you kiss in an airport baggage claim and then don't talk to for thirteen months shouldn't be able to exist, let alone make your chest do the things Arthur's chest is doing. There are rules. Main Pairing: Arthur/Eames Words: 74828
Fandom: Leverage
Psychic AU series by Laughtsalot3412 Author's Summary: He had a sniper rifle scoping the girl’s bright eyes and the guy’s smile. AU: They all have psychic powers Main Pairing: OT3 Eliot/Parker/Alec Words: 89955
Fandom: Merlin
[note: look, I don't even go here. I've never watched the show. But.]
Drastically Redefining Protocol by rageprufrock Author's Summary: In which Prince Arthur meets Merlin and all hell promptly breaks loose. AU: Modern AU Main Pairing: Arthur/Merlin Words: 46,059
The Student Prince by FayJay Author's Summary: A Modern day Merlin AU set at the University of St Andrews, featuring teetotal kickboxers, secret wizards, magnificent bodyguards of various genders, irate fairies, imprisoned dragons, crumbling gothic architecture, arrogant princes, adorable engineering students, stolen gold, magical doorways, attempted assassination, drunken students, shaving foam fights, embarrassing mornings after, The Hammer Dance, duty, responsibility, friendship and true love... AU: Modern AU Main Pairing: Arthur/Merlin Words: 145222
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves by auburn Author's Summary: Vala Mal Doran and her partners, renegades Jehan abd-Ba'al and Meredith McKay, hijack the Tau'ri ship Prometheus and leave the Milky Way behind in search of the Lost City of the Ancients, Atlantis. AU: Space pirates! Main Pairing: John/Rodney Words: 180299
The Price That Life Exacts by cathalin Author's Summary:When John disappears without a trace during a routine mission, people in a beleaguered Atlantis eventually have to try to move on. Rodney never completely gives up hope of finding John, and though he soldiers on to help Atlantis, a year later he still lives every day with his grief. Main Pairing: John/Rodney Words: 63369
Written By the Victors by Spreranza Author's Summary: Caroll, Franklin R. Atlantis Revisited. New York and London, Routledge, 2011. Chapman, Denise. Several Kinds of Genius: The Life of Rodney McKay. NY: Harper Perennial, 2015. Croft, Rosalind. City of Spires: A Memoir. Toronto: The Mercury Press, 2009. Dugan, Paul. A Political History of Atlantis. Oxford: OUP, 2012. Main Pairing: John/Rodney Words: 52843
Tongues of Men and Angels by Mad_Maudlin Author's Summary: When SG-4 is ambushed offworld, an injured Major John Sheppard must put his trust in a Tok'ra agent named McKay to survive. But what secrets is McKay keeping about his mission, the planet, and his own motives for helping John? AU: They didn't go to Atlantis Main Pairing: John/Rodney Words: 58523
Fandom: Sherlock (TV)
The Least of All Possible Mistakes by rageprufrock Author's Summary: If ever a people deserved tasering, it’s Holmeses. Main Pairing: Lestrade/Mycroft AU: Genderbent Lestrade Words: 118096
Fandom: Supernatural
Red by Big Pink [note: seriously, this is one of my favorite fics/series ever and I have the ebooks if you want to not read this on LJ or FF.net] Author's Summary: Something evil is killing treeplanters in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, possibly the same predator that Dean narrowly escaped years before. How Grimm will things get before the brothers figure it out? Main Pairing: none Words: 81839
Fandom: Supernatural/Stargate Atlantis
And All the World Beneath by seperis Author's Summary: Dean remembers Texas as blackland stretching in marker-thick strips of vivid brown and black, broken with the sprawling metroplexes of Dallas and San Antonio and Houston; farms spread with the yellow tops of maize waving in pre-autumn winds, threshers moving complacently through the fields with drowsy men in hats waving at the road. He remembers green and gold fields dotted with cows, half-year calves running on the outskirts of the herds. He remembers these were what he saw between jobs, lives being lived that had nothing to do with creeping twilight and sleeping only behind salt circles and ritual wards. AU: Cthulhu mythos Main Pairing: Dean/John, John/Rodney Words: 67279
Fandom: Star Trek AOS
Leave No Soul Behind by whochick Author's Summary: If you're Starfleet, you spend your whole life wishing you never see an EPAS uniform right up until the moment they become your only hope. Whether you're dying a slow, cold death in space, or a long painful one on some godforsaken planet, they're going to come for you. So count your last breaths, son, and hold on tight. They leave no soul behind. AU: Spock did not join Starfleet, he joined the Emergency Personnel Ambulance Service (EPAS) Main Pairing: Kirk/Spock Words: 258951
The Lotus Eaters by aldora89 Author's Summary: Stranded on the planet Sigma Nox while searching for a missing away team, Spock and Kirk find themselves pitted against a disturbing native life form. With the captain out of commission on a regular basis and Spock struggling to preserve his stoicism, staying alive is difficult enough – but when a slim chance for escape surfaces, their resolve is truly put to the test. Together they must fight for survival in the heart of an alien jungle, and in the process, uncover the mystery of the planet’s past. Main Pairing: Kirk/Spock Words: 93594
Only Good for Legends by leupagus Author's Summary: Detective Spock, born on Vulcan and resident of San Francisco, is assigned to the Midwest police bureau. I think everyone can guess what happens next. AU: Spock is a Detective. Otherwise it's pretty much the same, including Kirk's petty criminal tendencies. Main Pairing: Kirk/Spock Words: 149640
So Wise We Grow by Deastar Author's Summary: "Commander Spock, we have located your son," the Vulcan lady on the screen says, which would be great, except Jim can tell by the look on Spock's face that he's never heard of this kid before in his life. "If it is expedient, the child will be sent to join you on the Enterprise within the week." AU: kidfic Main Pairing: Kirk/Spock Words: 81248
Switch by Ceres_Libera Author's Summary: The life and times of Leonard H. McCoy MD/PhD … If Leonard McCoy's life could get any fucking weirder, it would be … Jesus, he didn't even want to think what that could possibly mean, because it's already been too fucking weird to make any kind of rational sense. Main Pairing: Kirk/McCoy Words: 230867
Fandom: Torchwood
The Rose of Jericho by kaydeefalls Author's Summary: Post-CoE. When Martha Jones encounters a dark UNIT cover-up in the wake of the 456, it's up to Gwen's new Torchwood team to bring the truth to light -- and save Ianto. AU: alternate ending post Children of Earth Main Pairing: Jack/Ianto Words: 62606
That should keep you busy for a while, right? If you have other long fic recs, let me know in the comments/with a reblog!
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The Fairy King - Chapter 4
Fandom: Queen/Borhap
Specified gender: Female
Pairing: Queen X reader/ To be determined, x reader
TW: Mentions of death, sabotage, I don't think there’s anything else?
Genre: Fantasy. (Labyrinth AU)
Series: The Fairy King
Requests: CLOSED
Masterlist
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(Y/N) already felt like she’d been there for hours, and if Roger’s words were indeed correct and time did pass differently, she most definitely had. She was also starting to believe that the worm had pulled her leg and sent her the entirely wrong way, because no matter where she turned, she didn’t appear to make any progress. Just after the worm had sent her on her way, she’d found a piece of chalk against the wall and had begun drawing arrows pointing in the direction she was heading. However, she soon realised they'd all been flipped and changed. Her eyebrows furrowed at the realisation and she let out a growl.
“Someone has been changing my marks! What a horrible place this is! It’s not fair!” She exclaimed, her hands slapping against her legs.
“That’s right! It’s not fair!” A new voice made (Y/N) twist around and she saw that the wall that had been sealed before had now become to doors with guards in front of them. One of the guards in front of each door was upside down, head poking out from the bottom of the shield and the other was stood upright, the shield held tight in its grip. The guards on the left held a shield with red details, matching the colour of the helmet on its head and the guard on the left held a shield with blue details. Each of the guards laughed at the comment, shaking their heads.
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“This… this was a dead-end a minute ago,” (Y/N) mumbled aloud and the four guards looked between themselves before glancing back at her.
“No, that’s the dead-end behind you!” the blue upside down guard chuckled, and when she turned back, the wall had, in fact, closed up, enclosing her in with the guards. They all continued to laugh, borderline hysterically.
“It keeps changing! What am I supposed to do?” She huffed in annoyance and all the guards shrugged except for the upside-down red one who raised his eyebrows slightly.
“Try one of these doors.” He stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, causing (Y/N)’s skin to crawl in exasperation
“One of them leads to the tower and the other leads to-”
“Baba ba bum!”
“-certain death!”
She narrowed her eyebrows and folded her arms, examining the group.
“Which one is which?” (Y/N) requested, taking a few steps closer and knelt down to the upside-down guards as the group appeared to grow nervous. The two upside-down guards shared a glance before looking back to her.
“We can’t tell you,” The flipped red one answered.
“Why not?”
“Uh, I, uh… we don’t know!”
“But they do!” The upside-down blue guard butted in and the pair looked up to the normal guards.
“Oh, then I’ll ask them,” She stood back up and looked between the red and blue guards expectantly.
“You can’t ask us! You can only ask one of us,” The red guard corrected and adjusted himself, jostling the guard below.
“It’s in the rules. And you should know that one of us always tells the truth and one of us always lies. That’s a rule too,” The blue guard pointed to the red guard “He always lies.”
“I do not! I tell the truth!”
“Oh what a lie!” The two upside-down guards covered their mouths to stop their near maniacal laughter.
“He’s the liar!”
“Alright,” (Y/N) walked over to the red guard and placed her hands on her hips “Answer yes or no. Would he tell me that this door leads to the castle?” She pointed to the blue guard who looked at her, flabbergasted.
“Uh…” The red guard leant down so his head was hidden by the shield and began muttering to the upside-down guard. After a few seconds, he looked back up to her “Yes.”
(Y/N) paused and thought over his response, glancing between them both as she searched her own answer for any discrepancies.
“Then the other door leads to the castle and this door leads to certain death!” She said, feeling a strong sense of pride and accomplishment fill her body.
“How do you know? He could be telling the truth,” He replied, almost as if he was trying to persuade you to go into his door instead.
“But then you wouldn’t be. So if you said yes, the answer would be no,” She reasoned and blue guard seemed shocked, even more so than he had been before.
“But I could be telling the truth!”
“Then he would be lying. So if you told me yes, the answer would still be no,” She shot back and the blue and red guard looked at each other.
“Is that right?” The red guard asked and the blue guard shrugged.
“I don’t know- I’ve never understood it!”
“No, it’s right. I’ve figured it out,” (Y/N) insisted and walked over to the blue guards, who stepped aside, a little awkwardly, before taking a small step through the threshold “I could never do it before. I think I’m getting smarter. It’s a piece of cake!”  
However, just as she said that the floor opened from beneath her feet.  She let out a scream as she dropped but before hundreds of hands reached out through the wall and gripped onto her, slowly pulling her to a stop.
“Yuck! Help! Stop it!” She screeched, squirming in the grip of the dozens of hands. Suddenly, some of the hands joined together to look like a face.
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“What do you mean help?”
“We are helping.”
“We’re helping hands!”
“You’re hurting!” She snapped, glancing around the darkened tunnel of hands.
“Would you like us to let go?”
As they let go, she continued to fall, another scream ripping from her throat.
“No!” She bellowed and the hands gripped onto her body once more.
“Well then, come on!”
“Which way?”
“Which way?” She repeated, shifting as the hands gripped tighter and began pinching.
“Up or down?”
“Oh…” (Y/N) muttered
“Come on! Come on!”
“We haven’t got all day!”
“Well, it’s a big decision for her.”
“Which way do you want to go, hmm?”
“Yes, which way?”
“Well… since I’m pointed that way… I guess I’ll go down,” (Y/N) said but instantly regretted her decision as the voices turned mocking.
“She chose down!”
“She chose down?”
The hands began leading her straight down and she tried to grip on to them to stop herself from descending further.
“Wait, was that wrong?” She questioned.
“Too late now!”
With that, the hands dropped her through a metal grate, which instantly closed behind her, and their harsh laughter echoed until it slammed shut. The room was pitch black and she looked around in panic.
Mercury was lazing on his throne leisurely, watching the girl through the enlarged crystal ball in the middle of the room. May and Deacon stood either side of his throne and the people of Mercury’s party crowded around the crystal, trying to eye where (Y/N) had found herself. May was beyond impressed that she had managed to solve the two-door prison - so many had lost their lives upon reaching the guards- but he had winced upon her saying how easy it was. That was one of the worst things anyone could say while trapped inside the King’s labyrinth. However, while May was impressed, Deacon couldn’t stop the worry rising in his body. She was a young thing, full of life, and clearly very intelligent but so naive. She was going to get herself killed if she continued the way she was.
“She’s in the oubliette,” Mercury observed and the room, beside the king, May and Deacon, burst into laughter, only to be silenced a second later with a harsh “Shut up. She shouldn’t have made it as far as the Oubliette. She should have given up by now.”
“She’ll never give up,” One of the guests replied, not taking her eyes off of the girl in the crystal.
“The pixie is about to lead her back to the beginning. She’ll soon give up when she realises she has to start all over again,” Mercury let out a dark laugh, slicing through the tense silence of the room “Well, laugh!”
Tags (for this series): @loveandbeloved29 @sam-mercurry-sixx@sunflower-borhap-boys @bouncingjoe @lets-go-panic-at-discos@storiesandcelestialbodies @everything-you-dont-wanna-be @sincereleygmg @mirkwoodshewolf@queendeakyy @sprinkle-covered-leeks
Tags:  @writingfortoomanyfandoms @metaphorical-love-for-a-car@queens-n-roses @freaky-dcaky@yourealegendfred@fierce-bab@dusthas-beenbitten   @bensroger@strangeandwonderfulconcepts@babebenhardy@benhardyjones @silvver-rose @psychosupernatural
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glitterdreamsz · 6 years ago
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Scandalous (part 3)
Roger x Reader
Summary: Reader is an emerging actress who met Roger at a premiere of one of her movies. They immediately clicked and now they have been in a relationship for almost a year. There’s only one big problem: the reader isn’t the only woman in Roger’s life. In fact he is married and has a child. That makes them keep  their relationship a secret to the world. In the series I imagined Roger to be 32 years old while the reader would be 27. A/N: Aaand it’s finally here. I would define this chapter transitory as nothing tooo major happened. You have to wait the next two chapters and I will give you A LOT OF ANGST. English isn’t my first language so I’m sorry for any mistake. Hope you like it and don’t be afraid to let me know what you think!Have a nice day xx Oh! And if you want to cry while reading it I suggest you to listen to Say Something by A Great Big World, Save Me by Queen and Homesick by Dua Lipa (you can also find them in the series playlist) Warnings: a little of angs, a little of fluff Words: 2,1k+
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“I guess someone needs some drinks here” Freddie appeared behind you and you jump lightly, scared by his voice which took you away from your thoughts about Roger. “I don’t know Fred, I’m not in the mood.” You mumbled reaching for your bag. “Come on darling, you have to celebrate, we both have to.” He grinned  “Freddie, not today, I’d rather do it tomorrow.” “Well” the singer said picking his stuff “You have to drive me home anyway, I came here with Roger and you just made him go away” he pretended to be offended by your previous decision which made you chuckle. “Come on diva, let’s get you home.” You already knew what was in Freddie’s mind, he wanted to talk, he wanted you to talk. He was a great friend to you and you knew he only wanted to help, but talking about your situation with Roger was the last thing you wanted to do for the rest of the night. That’s why as soon as you got in the car you put your Beatles cassette on and turned up the volume as A Hard Day’s Night came out from the speakers. You were humming the song and tapping your fingers on the wheel “So, are you going to talk?” there he was, you pretended to not hear what he was saying due to the loud music in the vehicle “You know” Freddie said turning down the song volume “For being an actress you are pretty shit at lying in real life.”
“Freddie, what do you want me to say?” You sighed and stopped at the red light. “I don’t know, maybe how things are working with you and Roger? Where are you guys?” “I guess it’s pretty clear to everyone where we are, after what happened today we have the proof that maybe I will only be a secret lover for him. I don’t know Fred.” You turned to look at him “I feel like our relationship came to the finish line”. And that was the first time you left Freddie Mercury without a word to say. Once the light turned green again you started to drive again, The Beatles singing to the notes of I Should Have Known Better, what a coincidence for such a moment. You could have stayed silent but you decided that once you started it you could as well finish it. “I don’t know, I feel like we will never have a normal relationship. I don’t want to be a secret but I guess that this is all I will ever get from him.” “(Y/N), he’s a married man, what were you expecting? You knew from the first moment that you slept with him what you were going through.” Freddie’s frankness almost brought tears to your eyes. But after all he was right, you knew it since the beginning and his words were what you told yourself everyday. “You introduced me to Roger, it’s also your fault if I’m this shit situation” you chuckled trying to ease the moment. “Oh no darling, don’t try to use that card.” “(Y/N), I think I never introduced to Roger” Freddie said as his arm laid around your waist. You went to see a Queen concert as your friend Freddie asked you to attend one since you both were in the same town. The blonde drummer smirked as he got closer to you and Freddie. “No Freddie, you kept her all to yourself” he said “I’m Roger” he introduced himself holding his hand out. “(Y/N)” you replied shaking his hand. In that moment Freddie waved to a person who was distant from you “I will come back soon, I’ll leave you two here.” But before leaving he turned around looking at you “Be careful (Y/N), Roger does bite.” “What should that mean?” You asked  chuckling while looking at the drummer. “Oh, I have no idea” But both of you knew what Freddie meant. Roger was well known for his reputation with women, even his marriage didn’t stop his bad habit of flirting with girls after a concert and then eventually bring them in his hotel room. What you both didn’t knew was that it wouldn’t have been a one night stand, it wouldn’t have been a fling. After that night Roger would have kept calling you every night, asking if you were free, if he could see you, if you would go to see his concert. Then he would come to see you on set, making sure that no one would see him he sneak on your trailer. “I was bored and thought that a quick shag wouldn’t be a bad idea”. What you both didn’t know was that you would have end up falling for each other.
As you walked down the hallway of your flat complex you could recognize the figure of a blonde man sat on the floor right in front of your door, his back against it. You sighed recognizing Roger. “Roger-” you said taking the keys of your flat from your bag, but before you could continue he stopped you. He knew you were about to tell him that you wanted him to go to his family, so he just said “We argued.” It took you a minute to get who the “we” was referred to and then you understood, it was him and his wife. Hearing him talk about his problem with his wife was really the last thing you wanted to do in that hell of a day, but how could you tell no to him? So, after opening the door you gestured for him to walk inside. “Do you want to talk about it?” You asked taking off your coat and putting it on the hanger, Roger mimicked you “She didn’t believe you were only Freddie’s friend, she kept saying that you came there with me.” You nodded walking to the couch and sat down, you wanted to be sure that you had something to hold you for the conversation you were about to have. “I kept telling her that it wasn’t true, that you were there only for Freddie and nothing more but she continued stating that I was lying. So i stormed out of the house” he stopped for a few seconds to see your reaction but you said nothing. “I told her I would have spent the night at Brian’s.” But he wasn’t at Brian’s house, he was there with you, he would have spent the night, again, at your place. Roger moved to the couch and sat down. “I couldn’t tell her the truth.” You nodded, again, that was killing him, he kept talking just to see a reaction from you. Your silence was the worst feeling, were you giving up on him? “It wasn’t the right way to tell her the truth, not while arguing.” His fingers reached for your hand which was laying on your leg, he needed you to do something, even just playing with his fingers, an usual habit of yours, you did it any time your hands brushed against each other. But nothing, you just nodded once more. “I couldn’t end my marriage in that way, you understand right?” “I do” you said softly, those words sent vibrations throughout Roger’s body, finally you were speaking, yes, they were only two words but they were enough for him. He moved closer towards you laying his head on your shoulder, your hands started to play with his hair and Roger smiled kissing softly your neck. “But I will eventually do it, I will tell her about us.” The blonde man looked up at you. “You know it, right?” he needed confirmations from you. You looked down at him, your fingers playing with the locks of hair that touched the back of his neck “I know” But you knew he wouldn’t do it, he was about to leave for the tour and stay away for two months. His wife would have stayed at home and he surely wouldn’t tell her that he was having an affair with another woman the day before leaving for a tour. You were pretty sure he wouldn’t do it even after that he would have been back. “You’re still coming on tour, right?” he asked taking you away from your thoughts. “Of course I am” you looked at him with a reassuring gaze. His hands found your waist pulling you closer and making you sit on his lap. You straddle him to face him, your hands on both sides of his neck “Good, cause I was afraid that after what happened today you might have changed your mind.” You shook your head as your fingertips drew lines on his skin. “I didn’t. You know how long I’ve waited for this tour to come. I want to stay by your side all day and night, you may even get annoyed for how much time I will stay next to you.” You chuckled lightly getting the same reaction from Roger. “I would never get bored of you” His face hid on the crook of your neck as his hands were on your back holding you as close as possible. “I don’t want to lose you” Your heart ached, his voice was trembling. You could hear the fear of losing you in his words and you only wanted to reassure him, tell him that you were going nowhere and that you would stay with him forever, but you knew this wasn’t the truth. As for now you couldn’t promise him that you would stay always by his side. So you just held him against you tightly, your lips against his temple leaving tender kisses. “If you leave me my heart will break in million pieces.” “I won’t leave you” you wanted to say that while looking him in his eyes but you couldn’t, you couldn’t lie while looking at him straight in his blue eyes. How could leave someone who wasn’t even yours? You were both lying down on the couch, facing each others. You were both silent for at least ten minutes, Roger’s arm didn’t leave your waist. Your fingers were tracing his outline, going up from his arm, then his shoulder, his neck, his jawline, his cheek, his forehead, as they traced down his nose he closed his eyes just to open them when he felt your fingertips on his lips. He left sweet  kisses on your fingers and you smiled not looking away from his eyes. “What are you thinking?” Roger asked putting a lock of your hair behind your ear, Your brain kept telling you not to answer his question as you would only end up harmed. But your heart was so light yet filled with love for that man in front of you at the same time, and in that moment you decided to listen to your most irrational organ. “Today, when I saw you with your son...I never saw you in that scenario.” You intertwined your fingers with his “And it made me think if, if we could ever have something like that.” And right there you felt the most stupid person in the planet. Were you really asking Roger if you would ever have children? Were you really talking about babies with your secret lover? “Of course we will love” Roger replied to you, and to him it wasn’t a stupid thought, he was serious and the fact that you were thinking about children with him gave him hope that he wasn’t losing you. “I will give you everything you’ve ever wanted. We will have our own family.”  He didn’t even give you the time to reply that his lips were on yours, a kiss full of love and both of yours and his hands were roaming each other’s bodies. The way he could take your breath away just by small gestures was still inexplicable to you.
You alarmclock advised you that it was time for you to wake up, even though you didn’t have to work you had plenty things to do like packing your stuff for the tour and then you promised Freddie you two would have met, and you knew that would have take your whole afternoon. Still with closed eyes you brought the sheet up to your naked back as you felt a cold shiver down your spine. You stretched your arm to the other side of your bed finding an empty spot. Your eyes opened at this time but, unlike the previous morning, you didn’t looked around the room to find some evidence that Roger were still in your house. You already knew he was gone back to his family.
Taglist: (tell me if i forgot someone) if you want to be tagged write me an ask, comments on the post or dm won’t be considered. sorry, but it’s easier for me in that way @closertothesunwhenimwithyou @thewinchesterchronicles @borhapqueen92 @rogerfxckingtaylor @richiethotzierz @sleepretreat @stephrivno99 @starryoddity @discodeakyy @dccomicnerd-world @whatismylifeman @rxchel1999 ​ @dreamer7black @ziggysstarrdust @yourealegendroger @alien-alibii @nataliekilla101 @killerrogerina @crying-over-bucky @magicwithaknife @llaroztac @cosmiclunas @justonks @fuckinghurricanesoul
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whumpingwithirondad · 6 years ago
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Tony & Pepper Have Twins
We both want Tony Stark to get a happily ever after, and what would make it more perfect than having two babies at the same time!
irondadgroupie
Yeah! Just imagine Tony sleeping on his bed, with a baby on his chest and Peter curled up beside him. Or maybe they have twins and Peter comes in every day after school to help take care of them so that both kids would have sufficiently individual care
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Yes! Peter and him stay up one night when the baby has cold and Pepper's away on a business trip. Most parents would be horrified of having twins but Tony's like 'oh my god i've always wanted a baby and now I get two of them!!" (well three bc Peter is his kid/baby too at this point).
irondadgroupie
Yes! Tony is thrilled he got more than one child at the same time. Like he would have even taken triplets. Tony loves every single moment with them and becomes the most dedicated stay at home dad, ever. I can imagine him doing interviews and just showing pics of the kids and the interviewers love hearing about his homelife and babies. He always refers to Peter "as his oldest, my surrogate son" because there is no use to deny it since so many pics of him and Peter together have arisen and yeah, if he didn't address it, people would think he was Peter's sugar daddy
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When Tony has one of his own babies to take care of he loves bath time so much. He gives them a bath everynight and just cuddles with them afterwards because their skin is so soft and Tony kisses all their tiny toes and fingers after drying them
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Tony's interviews no longer consist of ironman/avengers or stark industries. Rather he gives interviews on baby tips and parenting as well and just overall gushing about being a stay at home dad
irondadgroupie
Yes! Tony is an affectionate father! He is constantly cuddling his kids and loves spending time with them, Just imagine him pushing twin stroller while he (and Peter) do the groceries. He kisses their toes and fingers and through the babies, gets lot more physically affectionate with Peter too. Like when Pepper is away, he has all three of his kids sleep in the same bed with him and they would watch teletubbies in the morning (with him and Peter making fun of the show)
irondadgroupie
Tony's advice on parenting is wanted because he can sympathize with blended families and parents with surrogate children. He has two babies and a teenager (with serious issues). I think Peter and Tony have ADHD and so he can tell the tips on how to help those kids.
irondadgroupie
And the most asked question is "which is harder: rocket science or raising children?"
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Tony and Peters favorite time Is definitely watching kid shows and making fun of them. Tony is affectionate and constantly telling All his kids how much he loves them. He has about a million pictures of the babies before they are even a year old. Twins one girl and one boy and they are a perfect blend between him and pepper. Yes they go to the store they take the babies to the park as well too. Pepper takes care of the company and during the day tony and peter are with the babies and it just all works out
He answers raising children because there was no manual on how to do it and he can’t learn it overnight. Plus rocket science isn’t a living object screaming and crying st him because he chose the wrong toy
irondadgroupie
I'd like to think Peter would take a gap year after high school and be sort of an au pair to the Starks. Like Peter didn't feel he was ready to leave home (May was angry with the idea but Tony just shrugged and told it was his life and decision). Yeah, Tony is affectionate, he is constantly kissing his children and holding them. The walls are filled with their pictures and artwork. The day the babies are too old for onesies, Tony cries.He is always talking to the babies, holding one-sided conversations
irondadgroupie
Awww, just think of the twins bundled up warmly and in a push swing. Tony also makes them an inside playground in case of rainy days or snow.
irondadgroupie
The audience laughs at the jokes and love seeing Tony so relaxed. He admits he is tired but that having kids is so worth it. He also talks about how SI is expanding to baby products such as highly intelligent strollers but yeah, the talk turns to his kids again.
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I could definitely see Peter doing that as well. Plus he would get to be spider man without the stress of school and he gets to explore his tech ideas as much as he can now. MIT always has a place for him whenever he wants to start and tony doesn’t even care. He’s like kid ur going to be ceo of stark industries degree or no degree
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Omg tony loves dressing his twins up.  Buys the cutest clothes ever and not like designer ones even tho he splurges on those every now and then or pepper does but ones that are the most comfortable for little babies as well.
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When they got to the park tony bundles them up and puts them in the baby swings at the park and pushes them gently and kisses their little nose when they swing back to him. Paparazzi get thousands of pictures of him having fun st the park with his babies and then if Peter is there he’s usually coming down the slides with the babies in his lap because tony says his back is too old for him to do it
Yeah he basically builds an indoor adventure park for his kiddos
irondadgroupie
Yeah, Tony can practically buy him a spot at MIT (although I have been playing in my head with an idea that Peter doesn't get to MIT and sinks into deep depression because, well, why did he waste time at school is he couldn't get into college). Yep, Tony doesn't hire based on credentials but potentials and he knows hands on approach might actually teach Peter more than theory courses. I like to think Tony kept his old text books from MIT and gave them to Peter and gives him private lessons in maths, physics and anything engineering. Tony doesn't care about Peter staying in NY because Peter's wellbeing is the most important thing and if the kid doesn't want to go, he isn't going to be like his father and ship his reluctant child away.
irondadgroupie
Yes! Tony is very particular about the clothes being durable but comfortable and cute. He is not one of those parents who buys expensive clothes and then tells his kids they can't play in the snow or rain. Clint and Laura give them their kids old baby clothes and Peter sometimes goes to the flea market and buys rare clothes you don't find at stores anymore (like the first edition IronMan onesie).
irondadgroupie
Yes, the kids look like lumpy potatoes, Tony is so worried they might catch a cold :D He builds sand castles from them to smash. Sometimes Peter and him go to the local swimming center and enjoy the warm water in the baby pool. Also, Tony would sign them up for baby classes because he wants them to learn socializing and yeah, he kind of likes the attention (being a celebrity plus the only male in those groups)
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Whenever they are down in the lab they each have a baby strapped to their chest in one of those little carriers. Tony kind of just has his nose pressed into his baby’s curls the entire time as he works on a few of his designs.
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One time all three of his kiddos get sick and honestly Peter is whining more than the twins mostly because he uses getting sick to his advantage
irondadgroupie
Baby curls ❤️
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So fluffy
irondadgroupie
Yeah, the twins are doing pretty normal, maybe getting more easily upset but Peter... Tony considers throwing the boy out the window. "Mr Stark, it's too cold!" "It would be warm if you didn't kick off al your blankets, Jesus Christ Kid."
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Tony saying this while grumbling as he wraps heated blankets around peter until barely his eyes and curls peak out from underneath the blanket burrito. The babies are just a little bit more fussy but once tony gets some warm milk in their tummies and a nice cool bath they are out for the night and he can focus on peter. Lol at one point Tony’s trying to get a temperature on Peter and he won’t keep it in his mouth and Tony’s like kid if you want me to do it the old fashioned way I will and it’s not gonna be pleasant
irondadgroupie
Peter loves messing with Tony when he is sick because the man is a mother hen "Could you get me more juice? Orange slices? I feel like having soup. I want chips." At one point, Tony takes the kids to a bath and says : "You're an adult, get them yourself."
In Finland, we measure fever from armpit. It's not nearly as quick or reliable as from the mouth but hey, it's more comfortable.
irondadgroupie
How about Peter forgetting about his strength and just bites the thermometer into halves? And Tony uses old kind one which has liquid mercury in it and he is certain Peter now got some poisoning and maybe another mutation because of course he would.
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Peter pouts as he watches Tony leaves but Tony made sure that he put enough snacks and drinks near Peter if he needs them.
Peter bites the thermometer accidentally and Tony has a near heart attack. He’s drags Peter to the sink to rinse his mouth out while asking Friday to look up how toxic mercury is and already calling Bruce to come check his stupid kid out
irondadgroupie
Tony also took his phone so Peter can call him if anything happens. Okay, I checked what happens if you break the mercury thermometer and apparently, normally it only causes minor irritation but it is dangerous when inhaled so yeah, the clean up is more important.
irondadgroupie
OMG, Think of Tony in an interview when he is talking about his kids "So, my oldest-" "Wasn't he at the SI gala with you a week ago?" "Yes, Peter was my plus one." "We have a pic of him," They show a smiling picture of Peter and the audience lets out a loud Aww (like when Baby Simba is shown for the first time). "He looks so much like you!" "I know!" Tony says with shock. "Are you sure he is not yours." "Yes, we have done all the paternity tests, there is no genetic link between us."
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The world definitely falls in love with Peter as well. He starts to open up more with more events he goes to and everyone finds him funny charming and nice. Tony’s like “he’s practically mine in all ways but biological though” and then the interviewees show a picture that pepper took with peter and the twins all cuddled up with tony fast asleep when they were sick
irondadgroupie
At first Peter is nervous but with experience and Tony's encouragement, he begins to open up and just steals the audience away. He and Tony are invited to game shows to compete and do pair interviews on their relationship (because the world honestly doesn't believe Peter isn't Tony's secret love child). I like to think that during one mission, Peter lost a lot of blood and Tony was the donator (they of course, have the same blood group) and in the next interview he says "now he is mine biologically also."
irondadgroupie
One of Tony's arms is wrapped around the twins and Peter is resting on his other side. Tony smiles at the picture "That was the moment I had finally got them all to sleep. It was a sickness straight from hell, all had a high fever and were so miserable. I think I didn't sleep a wink during those days because when I wasn't making sure the babies didn't choke while sucking the pacifiers, I had to bathe Peter's brow with cold cloths."
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Everyone just gushes about Tony being a dad and the photo proves how good of a father that he is. There is still some people that are hung up on his pre-iron man days and send nasty comments that Peter takes and basically rips apart
irondadgroupie
Tony has many haters and the most vicious attack Peter. They make awful comments on the photos with Tony and some rip apart everything in Tony's parenting because even if you love your kids, you might make some mistakes and yeah, everyone follows different directions. The haters comment when Tony carries his kids in his arms, they also send hate when Tony carries them in a babysitter. Someone took a photo of Peter and Tony shopping with the babies and they ripped apart their groceries "How can anyone feed their children formula?"
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Tony's used to the comments and haters and he's learned to deal with it. However, it's dfifferent and harder for Peter who takes those comments to heart, especially the ones where they are calling Tony a bad dad for allowing his kid to play in the grass barefoot or something or that he's not giving his kids healthy foods
irondadgroupie
Yes, Tony has learned to ignore the comments and yeah, someone criticising his parenting, yeah, not a big deal. But then a pic emerges of Tony with his arm around Peter and setting a kiss on his head and the internet exploses. Most say the pic is adorable but some claim Tony was teaching his child wrong ways to convey love. "You don't kiss your teenage boys!"
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Tony just rolls his eyes at the comments and has to bite his tongue from speaking back something about teenage sons deserved affection still. He does it more often just to get back at the haters. He doesn’t want to get into anything that’s not important. End of the day all his kids know how much he loves them and it’s all that matters.
irondadgroupie
Yes! Tony would totally feed the haters. Some people got a pic of him kissing his babies on the mouth and by God, that got a backlash about how he would be messing up his kids and yes, some even called the child protective services (who informed Tony and they both had a good laugh about it). Then Tony does an interview and brings Peter along because their relationship is so fascinating. The audience just melts how Tony is so affectionate with his kid, like at one point he fixes the boy's collar
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Yes with the kissing too. And it’s so cute with tony asking for a kiss from his twins and they just pout their lips and when Tony gets closer they grab his cheeks and give him kisses and Tony just melts inside and scoops both of his babies up into his arms and smothers their face with kisses. It’s just hundreds of photos of him kissing his kids and vice versa and while most are just gushing about how good of a dad he is older folks are like “how can his kids ever take him seriously if he’s kissing them all the time. He has toughen them up especially the boy”
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The audience coos and Peter just takes it in stride because he’s used to all of this now.
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They share a photo of when the kiddos were sick and tony was tucking Peter into bed and presses a kiss to his head
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When Tony gets hate from this it starts a movement with other dads sharing photos of tucking their kids in and giving them kisses.
irondadgroupie
Yes, Tony is so affectionate with his babies. Some people are thinking he is sick because he kisses the babies on the lips. "You will mess up your daughter that way!" "You're making your son gay!" "Is this incest?" Some comments were terrible and Tony could not help getting angry. People could tell lies about him but anything regarding his kids was off limits.
Peter once released a video of Tony watching television with the twins laying at his side and both looked at their father with such adoration. Tony snickered as he caught the look on their faces.
irondadgroupie
Peter was just answering a question when Tony noticed the collar was not properly and set it straight. Peter laughs at the audience's reaction and says "This is what I have to put up with." "You wouldn't if you learned to dress yourself properly," Tony quipped back. "The kid still needs someone to tie his tie for him."
irondadgroupie
And not just of little kids but teenagers as well. The movement gets so big Pepper releases a video of Peter sleeping on the couch with his head resting on Tony's lap. Tony has his arm around Peter chest and his thumb was rubbing the boy's shoulder. "Is he okay?" Pepper was heard asking. "Yeah, just had a little headache," Tony sets a hand on Peter's forehead. "He doesn't feel warm, maybe he just didn't sleep well last night."
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The twins LOVE tony so much. Pepper filled a video of Tony coming back home after a weekend camping with Peter and the twins are waddling towards Tony with huge smiles on their faces and clapping their hands. Tony just kneels and opens up his arms waiting for the little babies to come to him and they are just giggling and once they reach him tony just scoops both of them up in his arms and just smothers them in kisses telling them how much he missed them. They don’t let go of him for th entire night
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Yes the movement definitely involves teenagers as well. Tony can’t believe that he’s a part of something that involves spreading love all around. Pepper definitely has more videos like those as well. One after Peter has his tonsils out and Tony is there as he wakes up from surgery. Another where tony is carrying peter up from the lab after he fell asleep there muttering something about how his body’s too old for this but still does tit all the time
irondadgroupie I was walking to the gym today and imagined that the daughter is Tony's princess and she loves pink and anything traditionally feminine, has cute dresses and watches Barbie and Princess movies. Tony likes them too and will argue with anyone who claims those are bad role models. The boy loves Bob the Builder and has his toy tool box and is constantly "fixing" everything from DUM-E to the doorknobs.
wordscorrupt Tony gets haters saying that he's forcing his children into gender roles but the next day his son is playing with barbie dolls and his daughter is building legos and Tony just kind of flips all those haters off.
irondadgroupie But then Tony releases a pic of his son dressed in a sparkly princess dress with a tiara and Pepper's heels and again the haters are on them claiming he is making his boy confused about his gender and sexuality and raising him to be gay. But again, majority are praising his parenting, how he is letting his kids play and yeah, most are shocked his children have a dress that costs like 20 dollars at Target.
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