#if anyone wants another flag I’ll gladly make it

[nineratsinatrenchcoat]

Happy Pride Month

In honor of this time of celebration, I would like to highlight the best queer couple in the Jurassic Park franchise — Dankash. Attached are images of the happy couple, reunited at last. They are yours to use as you see fit.

[bumbledi]

♡ Olympic Games 2024 ♡

Pairing: time skip! Ushijima Wakatoshi x fem!reader

Genre: fluff

Summary: once again, you get to see your husband playing at the Olympics and he’s happy to have his two favorite cheerleaders cheering for him.

*In case you feel confused about some things… This is a sequel of “The road to parenthood/The road of parenthood”, you can still understand if you haven’t read the series but I do recommend it!

Note: I can’t believe I haven’t posted in like 10 months… I hope I can do it more often, specially because I have so many ideas in mind.

I hope you enjoy this little slice of life scenario.

I apologize if there are any misspellings 😩

*I might write something about Wakatoshi and (Y/N) actually making a baby during the Olympics… I’ll think about it 🫣

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

“Mama, where’s papa?” A 5-year-old Megumi asks again while she hugs you and waits to see her dad.

“We’ll see him soon, baby…” you kiss her forehead and fix her hair out of her face “will you cheer for him extra loud?” Megumi’s eyes sparkle with excitement while she nods happily.

“You’re wearing your Ushijima jersey, I bet that’ll make him feel extra motivated” Tendo, who gladly joined you in the opening ceremony, says tickling Megumi’s belly, making her giggle with you.

“Satori-nii!” She giggles trying to push away Tendo’s hand “are Marie and Theo coming?” Megumi brushes her hair out of her face and asks about the twins

“Not today, Gumi… you’ll see them tomorrow, tho!”

“Good!” She high fives Tendo.

You continue waiting for some time to see all of the Japan athletes, along with some other family members and you let Megumi down for time to time so she can play with Shoyo’s and Tobio’s daughter, that they adopted a couple of years ago.

Everyone sees how some other countries parade in the Seine River until they announce Japan coming and Megumi runs to your arms so you can pick her up.

“Where’s papa?”

“Near the center… look for him” you both look for Wakatoshi while you swing our little Japanese flags. “There he is! See?” You point to where Wakatoshi is, hoping Megumi can see him too “do your best, Wakatoshi!!” You scream and send him kisses with your hand.

“Papa! I love you!” Megumi swings her little flag like crazy and screams loudly “you are super cool! Do your best!”

Even from afar, Wakatoshi can spot you for a brief moment and he waves at you.

“I love you, papa!” Megumi keeps screaming while sending kisses to Wakatoshi with her little hand, making you giggle.

The boats follow its course and you stand there and continue watching the opening ceremony

“It was super short, mama” Megumi says with a pout on her face, and you let out a laugh

“I know baby… but we’ll se daddy later tonight, alright?” You say fixing her raincoat’s hood and she nods.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Later that nights, Tendo, Wakatoshi’s dad, Megumi and you arrive at the hotel where you’ll be staying and where you’ll meet Wakatoshi.

“Megumi, baby… come sit down. Papa’s team hasn’t arrived yet”

“But he what if he arrives NOW?” She says jumping all around, making you sigh… She’s not disturbing anyone so you let her be.

“Wanna go get a snack, Gumi-Chan?” Her grandfather asks and she instantly runs to him

“Yes, Oji-Chan!” He picks her up, gives her a warm smile and walk to the snack table with Megumi in his arms. He has let you know multiple times, how grateful he is with you for loving his son and giving their family a granddaughter.

“She’s totally a mini (Y/N), huh?” Tendo jokes and sits next to you.

“Don’t even mention it, she’s only five and she’s such a little rascal”

“Are you two still planning to have another baby like you wanted at the beginning?”

“We’ve talked about it… specially since Megumi can’t stop talking about how she has some friends who have siblings and she love spending time with your twins…”

“But…?”

“But… even though Megumi has adapted amazingly to Poland, I’m scared of having a baby and going through postpartum in another country, without my mom or sister…”

“Understandable…”

“AND Wakatoshi is on his top game right now, I don’t wanna pull him away from that”

“I don’t think you should worry about that… He loves volleyball but I know for sure he loves his family more”

“Thanks Satori…”

“Mama! I got banana chips!” You hear Megumi say and you see her walking back to you while holding hands with her grandpa and waving the bag of chips in the air.

“Is that so?” You chuckle and she skips to you.

“We can share if you want”

“That’s so kind Megumi, thank you”

Cheers and tons of camera flashes can be heard while we eat some banana chips, these make you all turn to that direction, noticing how some volleyball teams are arriving.

As they enter, you see the Japanese team at the end of the line. Once they enter, you finally let Megumi know his father has arrived.

“Megumi-Chan… look ever there!” Megumi follows your finger as you point to the entrance, where Wakatoshi enters the building.

“PAPA!” Her little eyes light up and she starts running towards her dad.

All of the team step away while they see little Megumi run through the crowd all the way to her dad.

“Hello, honey…” he says picking her up and throwing her in the air, making her laugh “how are you, my love?” He kisses her cheeks

“I’m good, papa!” Megumi says between laughs “I missed you!” She hugs him by the neck

“I missed you too” he holds her little hand and kisses it.

“Me and mama cheered so much for you!” Megumi says while opening her sweater to show him her Japan jersey.

“If you keep cheering for me I’m sure I’ll win the best medal” he smiles at her and she hugs him again.

“No hugs for me?” You says walking to your husband and child

“Mama!”

“Hello, handsome…” you say hugging Wakatoshi and Megumi and kissing your husband right after.

“Thanks for cheering for me” Wakatoshi gives you a kind smile

“It’s always my pleasure…”

Megumi hugs you both by the neck and you start walking next to your husband who’s still carrying Megumi and you go greet the rest of the team. For an instant it feels like not a moment has passed since you were in high school and spend time with the monster generation but now you’re all here, some of you with families of your own and some of them playing so far away from Japan.

[ejlovesvi]

Hello!!! I just came across your page and really enjoyed your writing on the Taylor swift oneshot. So if it’s okay I wanted to request a oneshot with Gracie Abrams x fem!reader where they had just started fairing recently and the reader is in the f1 academy and is a racer and she doesn’t have family or friends to come to her races so she’s never had anyone come to support her and then one day during a big race she’s not expecting anyone to show up and then after the race she finds out that Gracie is there with a bunch of her friends to support the reader and then the reader gets really emotional and won’t let go of Gracie when she hugs her. Also, can you make the reader to be kind of awkward and shy but in a cute and sweet way. Thank you so much.

note: hello! thank you for requesting and for the support! i don’t know much about formula 1 but i’ll try my best to make it accurate 🙏 this is very short and not proofread. enjoy!

SO GOOD

pairing: gracie abrams x fem!reader

warnings: cursing, shitty depiction of f1, awkward reader, gracie being a cutie

masterlist

your anxious and sweaty hands grip the steering wheel tightly as you breathe in and out, using the box breathing method your girlfriend had taught you a while ago. you glance over to the crowd, your view slightly blocked from the clunky helmet that rests on your head.

searching the crowd for a familiar face, you come up empty. a feeling of disappointment in the pit of your stomach bubbles as your eyebrows furrow together and a frown paints your lips. you try to shake away the feeling and look forward with a new found determination.

you know this should be expected. your family doesn’t agree with your career choice, them claiming it’s a one way ticket to you being killed on a race track. and your friends don’t care that much either, too busy caught up in their own lives and drama. if your family and close friends don’t have the decency to at least show up you’ll simply show them what they missed out on by winning.

you focus ahead and take in a deep breath while glancing over to the flagger. the minute they swing the flags your foot stomps onto the gas pedal, your car taking off at elite speed.

through the rattling of the fast car you quickly glance to the sides as you watch yourself pass the other opponents with ease. you turn corners with careful precision and don’t let yourself falter once.

as you approach the checkered line for the last lap you notice a competitor, another popular f1 driver, right beside you at matching speed.

you two battle to turn sharper corners and be more skilled with your movements. as you approach the end line you press your foot harder on the gas even though it’s already fully pressed into the floor board.

both of you cross the line but in the intense moment you don’t have the right mind to figure out who won. you slow your car as you pull it into the cut off and break all the way. you turn it off and quickly unbuckle your seat belt, getting out of the car and slamming your door.

your competition does the same and walks up to one of the ref’s who holds a clipboard and speaks into his headpiece. you watch from a distance with crossed arms as they talk together.

the other girl nods and walks off the track through the safe path while the ref walks up to you. he taps his clipboard and points his pen to you, “you won by 3 seconds, congratulations.”

you smile slightly and take your helmet off, nodding to him. “thank you.” you breathe out and begin to walk to your tent.

you open the flap of the tent but abruptly stop when you see 5 people standing around there. you’re about to ask them why they’re there when you finally recognize the turned figure of one of the people.

at the sight of your girlfriend’s signature black ribbon in her hair you deeply relax and drop your helmet to the floor with a thunk, ignoring the grins from her friends.

gracie turns on her heel and grins wide at the sight of you, she opens her arms in invitation and you gladly accept. you hurdle your body into her, resulting in her grabbing your hips as she lets out a small noise of surprise. you snake your arms around her waist and hold on tight as you burrow your face into her neck.

the disappointment from earlier washes away like a small pebble in the ocean as you revel in the warmth of your girlfriend’s arms. she kisses your forehead sweetly, “you did so good, baby.” she coos, stroking your hair with her hands.

she tries to pull you back to look at you but you tighten your grip, not letting go of her warm embrace. she laughs slightly and relaxes her muscles, rubbing her thumbs into your hips.

right here right now you feel loved and appreciated. and that’s all you need.

[karimac]

...in the details, Part 13

A/N: Warning for this series: 18+ audience (minors DNI), some cinematic level violence, some fluff and angst. Doubt that smut will be involved, but it may be implied. I’ll make sure that is noted clearly if it pops up.

All relationships, at this point in the story, are platonic, but there is romance in the cards for Kari and Bucky.

Please do not repost or translate my work. Likes, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

Taglist is open! Please send an ask, and I will gladly add you to the list. If I have added you and you do not wish to be on the list, please let me know, and I’ll take you off the list.

Word count: 5.3k, give or take a word. Not beta read. All mistakes are my own.

Masterlist

It was the morning after the final battle with the Flag Smashers, and all you wanted to do was sleep and not talk to anyone, but here you were, in your kitchen, frosting cupcakes.

Sarah Wilson had been on the phone with you earlier talking about the party she was organizing to celebrate Sam’s accepting the mantle of Captain America, and while you were not planning to actually go to the party, you decided to drop off some cupcakes for the event. And maybe that cake Sam and Bucky drooled over when they last visited your bakery. The one with the Oreo cookies all over the top.

You were not about to tell Sarah that you had gotten your clock cleaned during that fight last night. Oh no. Never admit stuff like that, even if your body was still a long way from being fully healed.

“Why do I do this to myself, Hickory?” you asked your cat as he sat on the floor near the kitchen window, the streams of light from this early Brooklyn morning splashing their sunny glow over his orange fur. “I really am a pushover. But her boys were so sweet, and I couldn’t let them not have good desserts for the party, could I?”

Hickory was a cat of many words most of the time, so his tiny mewls this morning seemed a bit off. He must have been as exhausted as you felt at the moment.

“I’ll be fine, Hickenboogie,” you said as you watched the orange tabby roll over to let the sun warm his belly. “Even if I’m making, what? A hundred cupcakes?”

As you went to set your bowl of frosting to the side, there was loud rapping at your apartment door. Someone had gotten into the building without being buzzed in. Fantastic! Just what you needed.

“Kari? Are you in there? Sarah called and asked me to check on you.”

Bucky. For crying out loud, what was he doing here? You really doubted Sarah asked him to do anything. He was likely just being nosy after last night.

“James, would you just leave me alone! I am not going to Delacroix. Just go down and have a good time. Sarah knows I’m not going to be there. I’d only be a fifth wheel anyway. I saw you flirting with her. She seems like a really nice person, and even if Sam kicks up a fuss, I think you should go for it.”

You never called Bucky by his first name. Ever. OK, maybe once in 1943. And here he was, standing outside the front door of your apartment, suddenly developing the ability to get under your skin.

“I flirt with everybody. Just ask Sam!” Bucky said a bit too loudly for your liking. The funny thing was, you remembered when Bucky flirted with everybody. That was not what he was doing now. He was trying to see if he still knew how to flirt with everyone. Very different concept, and you fully understood why he needed to be able to do it on his own terms. You also wished he were flirting with you, but you really had no one to blame for this mess except yourself.

“What exactly are you afraid of this time? I’m sure Bruce and Wong can live without seeing you for another 24 hours, or was Darcy bugging you again? You do not need to go out on some speed dating thing with her. She means well, but, you know, she doesn’t really understand how big it is for both of us,” he explained as you heard him fidgeting with the door handle. Master assassin and lock picker? Of course he’d have that skill set, but he seemed to be nothing more than antsy at the moment. Then he hit you with the question you didn’t want to hear.

“Was it what happened after Sam’s speech?”

“You mean when Walker decided to be my new best buddy and make sure I was OK?” you replied in a very fake chipper tone. “Or when you decided to start asking too many questions about my health? You don’t want me in your head. Fine. I get it. I don’t need you babysitting me. I just get tired sometimes. Especially if my empathic filtering goes off the charts. The kids in that tour bus were terrified. I drank in a lot of their pain to keep them calm. It isn’t exactly fun, Buck. And I left myself open. I am only human. I do make mistakes.”

While you did your best not to think about what happened, your mind raced as you remembered the group of grade schoolers from Cottonwood, Arizona, all scared beyond words as Flag Smashers boarded their bus. Those poor kids witnessed their driver being tossed out the door and one of their teachers being knocked out before you could even get into the bus. You had to pull out all the stops to keep them calm, even if it meant you falling apart by the end of the night.

“Can I at least come in? Your neighbors might not appreciate me playing 20 Questions outside your do…”

You flicked your hand and opened the door just as Bucky leaned into it a tad. He wasn’t expecting it, so he stumbled slightly as it opened. “Sorry. I’m kind of busy making cupcakes. I’ll get them to Sarah by tomorrow morning. And that cake you and Sam liked. The Oreo cookie one. I thought Cass and AJ might enjoy it, too.”

“You are dodging. Again,” Bucky said as he sat down on a stool near your kitchen counter. “Whoa, sorry, Hickory,” he added as the orange tabby looked up at him but then went back to sleep. “What are you trying to avoid now?”

“Buck, please. You haven’t wanted to share every memory you have, and for good reason. Some of the things that happened since we started working together, they remind me a bit too much of when my husbands died. I don’t exactly want to relive all that.”

That was only a fraction of what was going on in your life at the moment, but you were not about to drop that ton of bricks in Bucky’s lap, even if it meant you had to keep up some stupid façade and lie as if your life depended on it.

“You had two, right? Husbands,” Bucky asked as you nodded. “Can I help frost or something?”

“Yes, Galen and Thomas,” you said as you put a tray of cupcakes in front of Bucky and got him a bowl of frosting, a spatula and a knife. “Pick your instrument of choice for the frosting,” you added before you looked at Bucky’s clothes and shook your head. “Want an apron? Don’t want you messing up your Henley.”

“What does it say? The apron, I mean?” he asked as you grabbed him a plain blue one. “Oh. No jokes on it?”

“Not everything is a joke, Buck. Not for me. Not for anyone,” you sniffed as you tried to hold back a stray tear before you got another pan of cupcakes and a bowl of frosting. You were still not fully pain free from what happened to those kids or to yourself. “Once the frosting sets, we can put these little shields on top of the cupcakes. I know. Cheesy. But the kids should love them.”

“Hmmm…” Bucky said as he tried to slather the frosting on his first cupcake without using too much. “I’m not exactly good at this…”

“You will be fine. It takes practice,” you whispered as you set down another frosted cupcake. “Thanks for helping. What else do you want to know about me?” Your hands shook slightly, and you flexed them a bit to get yourself centered again. “Lingering issues after that mess on the bus. I couldn’t go in sword swinging, so I had to take a different tack. It was a spell Wong told me about. Got the kids off the bus and me onto it just in time to take out that fool. It switches people’s locations. Nice one to keep in my back pocket. Just wish I had seen that other lunatic behind the driver’s seat.”

“Yeah, I saw the kids appear on the sidewalk before you blasted that guy out the doors of the bus,” Bucky noted as he kept frosting more cupcakes. “Kids. Did you ever have them? I mean, you like them. You get along great with Cass and AJ. And again, sorry if I got stupid on the docks. Joke fell really flat.”

You were not about to go back to the talk about that mess on the docks. Not today anyway. “Sadly, no. I’ve never had children.”

That wasn’t true. Not exactly anyway. But there was no way you could explain everything without looking like a lunatic. Saying “Well, a part of me that lives in another universe has about five of them last time I counted. I can list them all from all the timelines. I was tasked with birthing an army. No one ever said how…”

Yeah, that sounded so very sane and normal.

“Not that I don’t want them still,” you continued as you found some patriotic sprinkles in your cupboard. “It just never worked out for me. And I didn’t want to adopt a child on my own just to have me die and leave them alone. That would be cruel. And what agency would let someone like me adopt a child? It just isn’t very realistic to think it is even possible.”

You wanted nothing more than to change the topic, but you said Bucky could ask you questions, so in this quagmire you would stay for the moment.

“That day Steve and Sam had me in that vice,” Bucky started but stopped just as he finished another cupcake. “Why the hell did you do what you did to prove who you were? I knew who you were. Steve knew. You didn’t need to sing that song…”

“I needed to prove who I was because, let’s face it, who in their right mind—besides you and Steve, I guess—would believe my story? And Sam. Bless his heart, he doesn’t think I escaped Bellevue.” Bucky chuckled at the name of the most famous psychiatric hospital in New York City. “Was my singing that bad? I did flub some of the words, I know, but I didn’t think I was that bad.”

“Your singing was never an issue,” Bucky chuckled as a bit of frosting slid off one cupcake. “And the way you did that thing with the drinks was great. I remember that from the Whip and Fiddle. But you didn’t need to put on a show. Not for us anyway.”

“It’s always an issue, Bucky,” you said quietly as you noticed the vanilla frosting you had been using was running low, so you got out the ingredients to make more. “I always need to prove myself. I…did Steve ever tell you about what happened during the five years you were gone? Not my most shining hours.”

“The thing that scared everyone? Yeah, he told me, but I didn’t want to broadcast it to anyone. I don’t understand what makes you you,” Bucky said as he set down his knife and cupcake, “and I was not about to dredge up what happened. You were trying to get us back. Steve said you kind of lost it when it didn’t work. And Tony…”

“Tony wanted to lock me away in a padded cell, but Thor told him to stop, because he understood my grief. And Bruce told Tony to give it a rest because I was trying things that none of them could. Steve took me to the infirmary so I could heal when it all came crashing down. I was weaker than I realized. He saved my life. IV fluids can work wonders when you push yourself too much.”

“Wait, what? What did you do?” Bucky was suddenly very agitated, and you were not fully focused on his tone and body language at first. He was truly freaked out.

“What?” you asked as your eyes bugged out a little bit when it finally hit you. “Oh! No. I wasn’t doing…”

It took you much too long to realize Bucky was worried you had done some odd, old and draining blood spell. You had done them long, long ago, but that was back before electricity was the norm.

“It was a very old spell, one my Mamo used when I was a baby when she wanted to talk to the deceased members of our clan. Sorry. My grandmother. Mamo is the Irish word for grandma. It just takes a toll on your spirit, and I tried it a few times before Bruce saw me naked as a jay bird in the gardens they had at the facility. Yeah, that is part of the spell too, as is doing it on Samhain. Halloween. But there was no one there to talk to, so continuing to do it made it worse. As I said, not my finest hour. It broke me when I couldn’t find your spirit…”

Now it was Bucky’s turn to look at you with saucer-like eyes.

“Well, I couldn’t try to zero in on a million different people, so I picked you. I tried Sam, too, but it was like you guys never existed. If I were to do the spell this year, I’d be able to see any number of people across the veil. My family. Your family. Natasha and Tony. Loki. That night? I saw no one except my siblings, and while I love them, I knew they would be there. That failure sent me reeling. I didn’t talk for days. And we both know that could not be normal.”

“For two minutes, could you please stop with the put downs? Some of us don’t like to hear them. Me. Sam. Sarah. The boys…”

“I am so used to people just working around them that I don’t…” you started to say before you set down everything and just pulled up a stool next to the one Bucky was sitting on. “I don’t realize how it affects everyone else. Sorry.”

Bucky started to chuckle, and then he let out a loud laugh. “Your hair. Frosting,” he said as he pointed to a few wisps that were now very sticky from the vanilla frosting making a few spikes on the tips.

“Didn’t catch it all in the hairband. Again,” you muttered as you started to laugh along with Bucky. “Why did you really show up today, Buck? It can’t be because your inner baker was screaming to come out and play.”

“Last night was scary. You zoned out, and that scared me and Sam. We thought you were dying. We have no idea how this all works with you, and I’ve been afraid to ask. Steve was, too, I guess, and Sam, when you guys were in hiding.”

“Why are you remembering all this nonsense about me?” That was the only thing you could say as you looked Bucky in the eye and prayed something from your past was not trying to catch up with you again. “Or better yet worrying so much about me?”

“And why do you remember things about me?” he asked with an equally deadpan expression. “We are both old. We’re both likely going to outlive most of the people around us now, at least for a little while. Being connected is…nice. Now, back to last night. What happened?”

“After I helped those kids, I did exactly what you said. I zoned when I cracked my head on that building. I can go into a fugue state and start connecting in weird ways to the world around me. I knew you were there, but my brain wasn’t connecting all the dots. If that makes sense.”

That last part you hated. You wanted nothing more than to tell Bucky everything about your life. How the person he saw was only a tiny part of everything you were. That at this very moment there was another Kari dancing with another Bucky at something called the Hellfire Gala in a world where a group called The X-Men were protectors alongside The Avengers. She was thanking him for an assist a very long time ago on the steps of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, if killing her was truly an assist. Yes, that Kari was reborn thanks to the bladed excellence of The Winter Soldier, but this part of Kari could not tell Bucky all that. Not yet anyway.

“Do you want some coffee? A beer? I should have asked when you got here,” you said as you looked down to see Hickory had finally decided to get up and go eat his kibble while you chatted with Bucky.

“Beer, thanks. I just wanted to convince you to come down to Delacroix, mostly so everyone can see for themselves that you are OK. I know once Wong and Bruce get involved, it may take weeks until we see you again. And Parker. That trip of his for school.”

“Look, Sarge,” you started to say as you handed Bucky the beer. His eyes lit up, so the nickname seemed to be a good choice. “If it will make you feel better, then down to Delacroix I’ll go. But you and I can go together. I am going to need help hauling these cupcakes. But I may not stay the whole time. Does that work for you?”

“Yup,” Bucky said as he drank his beer. “And the Sarah thing…”

“Look, if you and Sarah hit it off, well, that is beautiful. You deserve happiness, Buck. I am not going to stand in the way of your happiness. Ever.”

{{Even if it would make me happier being with you}} you thought as you smiled at Bucky again.

“And yes, I know Sam is likely sticking his oar into the water and messing it up for you guys. Having eight brothers taught me a lot, and I am betting you might have played the part yourself back in the day, right? Maybe I can help there, if you need me to? Your call.”

“Whatever happens, well, happens,” Bucky noted as he looked at the tray of tiny shields again. “I think we all want the day to be about Sam. That’s what really matters.”

“Agreed,” you said as you looked at all the cupcakes and smiled. “Now, want to learn how to make that cake? Care to smash up some cookies for me to mix in the batter?”

The rest of the baking session with Bucky went well enough, and you were able to box everything and have it ready to portal to Delacroix the next morning when he made it back to your place. You made sure your portal was near the house but around the back so no one could get spooked by it. You just wished the rest of the team could have been there, but there was technically no team at the moment anyway.

You smiled as you watched Bucky run over to the table where Sam, Sarah and the boys were sitting, with Cass and AJ trying to get Bucky into some sort of play fight as he brought over the cake.

“So, this is the famous cake?” Sarah asked as you pulled a small red wagon full of cupcakes behind you. “Sam has talked about this cake for weeks. Thanks for making it.”

“Hey, anything for our new Cap and his family!” you replied as a group of kids came over to check out the wagon’s load of goodies. “There are plenty of these to go around, but I think you guys better eat your lunches first.”

“Are you going to show us any magic?” Cass asked as you sat down at the table with everyone.

“Guys, what did we talk about?” Sam said as you looked at everyone there and realized this was not going to be a simple picnic event for Sam.

“We can talk about that later. Maybe when everyone else heads home,” you said quietly as you looked at the boys and then Sarah. “And only if your Mom is OK with it. Her house. Her rules. Always.”

You really had not been planning on any sort of show today, but letting Sarah have the final call was likely the easiest way to keep this sort of thing away from prying eyes. Not everyone liked magic, and that was no exception for this part of Louisiana. The preternatural might have been more accepted here, but it was still not a thing everyone loved or fully understood.

The conversation, thankfully, turned to much more mundane things, and you were very happy it did when you saw Bucky and Sarah chatting as the boys and their friends tried to hang off Bucky’s arm. It looked right. He looked stress-free and happy for the first time in ages.

“And is that what you were hoping for?” Sam asked as he, too, watched his nephews hanging off Bucky’s arm. “That cyborg and my sister would hit it off? I thought you two were, you know, getting closer? Beer?”

You looked at the bottle in Sam’s hand. Crimson Voodoo. A local favorite indeed.

“Thanks,” you said as you took the bottle from his hand and tried to convince yourself and Sam that this is what you wanted. “Sam, Bucky deserves a family. He deserves peace and happiness. Your sister deserves someone who thinks the world of her and can take care of her and the boys. It’s a win-win. My life is too messed up for anyone to feel at peace with me. Someday I’ll try to explain everything, but today is not that day. Today is your day.”

As it started to get dark outside, no one seemed to be heading home, and the kids were a bit upset that there were no fireworks set up to cap off the night.

“Guess I need to take care of this,” you said under your breath as you got to your feet and walked toward Sarah and the boys. “Sarah, I can fix this, but as I said before, your house, your rules.”

“You have fireworks in your bag?” Sarah chuckled as she shook her head. “Wait. You aren’t kidding.”

“Nope, I’m not,” you replied as you walked to the end of the pier where the kids were all looking pretty forlorn. “Sam, a gift for you and your family and friends here today,” you said as you turned to look at everyone there. Sparks started to dance on your fingertips, and soon the night sky filled with magically-created fireworks. “A gift from the Tara Mount and from Asgard,” you added as more pyrotechnics danced above the crowd. “Frigga and Loki showed me this trick long ago. It’s only fitting to share it tonight.”

“What the hell is that on your back?” Sarah asked as you slowly lifted off the ground.

“I forgot you’ve never seen these,” you said to Sarah as your raven wings unfurled. “I need to get a bit of lift before I do the next part.”

Sure, Sam and Bucky had seen you fly. But the dance you were about to do was not anything you had done since, well, the day your cousin Rhys got married to his beautiful bride Alice back in the 1850s! Oh, that was a bit of craic! Well, it would have been more fun if Rhys’ sister Rhiannon had not fed that dragon wedding cake and Champagne on top of Westminster.

“I usually don’t do this for anyone but family, but if you all are Captain America’s extended family, then that is good enough for me,” you said as your wings slowly transformed to something akin to gossamer and glitter, the light of the fireworks dancing off the delicate lacework of the fairy wings you now sported on your back. “My grandmother, Siofra O’Cathain MacOrish, was called the Black Faerie of the battlefield. Tonight I wear these wings to thank her for making it possible to be here with you today.”

As you hovered in mid-air, you started to dart over the water, well clear of the shore and the boats anchored there. The sky lit up with a multicolored display that at times looked like ribbons of red, white and blue and at others like the giant bursts of color in the event that Macy’s held each July 4th on the East or Hudson Rivers in New York City. The shrieks of delight from the children made it all worthwhile as you finally landed back on the dock after about 15 minutes of flash and sizzle.

Maybe it was the music that helped make it special? No one could tell exactly where it was coming from because it was all around them. A bit of remembered sound from your cousin’s wedding night and a snatch of air current, and suddenly the air was full of a song played long ago on a starry night for your tribe back then, the lovely lot you called The Avalonians.

The flight was glorious, and you wondered why you did not do it more often over the years.

The way you did not stick the landing, on the other hand, was annoying. Especially when Sam, Sarah and Bucky ran over. The lift of raven-like angel’s wings was one thing in battle, but the faerie wings on your back now were another thing entirely. The fact you had not called them out in over 100 years meant you had forgotten much about maneuvering in them once you got back to Terra Firma.

“I am fine!” you protested as you finally pulled back your wings and flexed your arms a bit. “Just didn’t time the footfall properly. I am not Simone Biles by any means. She would have aced it.”

“No more jokes. You could have gotten hurt,” Bucky said as he reached out his hand to you, but you pulled back slightly as he did. Muscle memory was a bitch at times, and a tiny part of you could not help but remember Katowice, St. Petersburg, Budapest and several other places where you and Bucky did more bodily harm to each other than you had let on to anyone else. Even Steve never knew the full extent of the battles you and his best friend were part of over the years. It was probably better that way.

“It’s nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t fix. I’m still not right after that mess with the bus,” you answered as Sarah shot you the mother of all looks. “Even old warriors like me need time to heal.”

“You could have said something,” Sarah said as she just kept looking at you, concern and pain mixed in equal measure in her eyes. “You did not have to bring all that food, and you did not need to do all that fireworks stuff. These two said you’d pull some crazy stunt eventually...”

“And they were right,” you replied, tucking your hands behind your back so the slight tremor you felt was not visible to everyone else. “Because, well, this is how I was raised. Never say no when your help is needed. Always take care of family, even if you are dead on your feet. Leave a place better than you found it if at all possible…”

“Kari, did your fireworks have a finale you didn’t mention?” Bucky asked as he pointed behind you, a multicolored fissure opening above the bayou waters.

“That isn’t me!” you shouted as the raven wings of your office appeared, along with your armor, sword and shield. “Get everyone to safety! Now!”

“Wait. Is that a Quinjet?” Sam shouted as he worked to get everyone off the dock as quickly as possible as a plane maneuvered through the fissure.

“No, that’s the Zephyr…” you said as you stood with our mouth open. “SHIELD ship that vanished a few years ago. Fury was never able to track it down.”

The jet landed on the shore away from several houses, and you, Bucky and Sam made your way to the landing site. By now, thanks to some quick thinking by Cass and AJ, Sam had his shield at the ready, but you prayed he would not have to use it.

“SHIELD ship Zephyr One. Damn,” you muttered under your breath as you got to the now lowered ramp. “I thought you were dead! And so does Fury!” you said as two men made their way to the top of the ramp.

Standing in front of you were Phil Coulson and Daniel Sousa.

“Nice to see you again, Chief,” Coulson said as Sousa gave him an odd look. “One of my trainers back in the day.”

“And Peggy Carter’s best friend in mine,” Sousa added the duo was soon joined by Melinda May.

“She never told you? Either of you? She was the original 0-8-4,” May noted as she walked down the ramp.

“No, I helped Howard Stark coin the term,” you growled as you looked at May. “The world knows full well where I am from and how long I have walked this ground. I’m just a hell of a lot older than I look.”

“Oh my God, we are home,” Daisy Johnson said as she walked up next to Sousa, his arm snaking around her waist, leaving no question about their status as a couple. You had heard about the Inhuman’s encounters with some preternatural allies, and you wanted to hear more about that, as well as how Sousa was actually there with them now.

“Home?” Bucky whispered in your ear as Sam leaned in to hear his comments.

“If you weren’t home, where were you?” you asked Coulson as the rest of his team filtered off the ship. You vaguely knew them by physical attributes, but not all the names were clicking in your mind at the moment.

“I was hoping you might be able to tell us,” he said as you looked at him, and you could tell already this was not the Phil Coulson you knew. Not totally anyway. “From our calculations, we’ve been gone about five years.”

“The blip,” Sam said as you shook your head. “Oh, tá sé seo ach iontach. I mean, this is just great,” you said as you rolled your eyes. “You lot like cupcakes, right? Please say you like cupcakes. And beer.”

You grabbed Bucky’s hand without thinking and prayed he could actually hear the words you were thinking in that crazy link of Wanda’s. {{I wanted this to be a happy day for Sam. Not one where his family would be in the middle of this nonsense. I’ll get them all out of here fast. Just…could you please help me figure this out?}}

A brief nod let you know Bucky heard at least some of your request.

“Sarah, I’ll get these folks out of here and back to New York ASAP. I just hope I can find Maria Hill or Nick Fury. How do I explain that their world is about to get turned upside down again?”

My wonderful tag crew--thank you!: @historygeekfics, @arrthurpendragon, @starryeyes2000, @chickensarentcheap

And up to lucky Part 14—What in the world do you do with Agents of SHIELD if there is no more SHIELD? And how will the surviving OG Avengers feel when they learn Phil Coulson is not quite as dead as Nick Fury lead them to believe?

[mae-gi-writes]

Once Again (Pt.2) | Iwaizumi Hajime (Haikyu!)

ONCE AGAIN | PART TWO

Summary:

Iwaizumi’s broken marriage results in his five-year-old son trying to match him up with his primary school teacher, whom he thinks will make a wonderful replacement for a mother. 

Genre: fluff, angst, f! Reader x dad! Iwaizumi

Taglist: @multi-fandom-fanfic, @168-cm-png​, @bakugouswh0r3​, @yatoatyourservice​, @ayocee​, @marvel-ing-at-it-all​, @astrolcve 

A/N: Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! Thanks to everyone for the kind feedback and for reading my work <3 

< PREVIOUS PART | NEXT PART >

----

He swings his beer over the counter, "one more."

He shouldn't be drinking. Imagine the damage it's doing to his organs, alcohol sweeping through his bloodstream and purging him of all coherent thought. Iwaizumi can hear Oikawa's nagging voice in his head even within the depths of intoxication.

Does he care though? He should. He should care. Because his job is basically to get people in their best shape.

And here he is, drinking away his sorrow, still shaken up by the way Hoisuke's fingers had grabbed for him that night. The bundle of nerves he'd squashed down had only intensified upon dropping his son on his mother's doorstep the same weekend and though he knew he should've said something to Mizune, he couldn't find the will to utter the words out, lest they came back to haunt him.

His phone buzzes in his pant pocket and after finishing it out with clumsy fingers, he manages to press down onto the green button.

"Yeah?"

"You're drinking!"

"No."

"Iwa-chan~" Oikawa's voice pierces through the receiver, sickly sweet and yet with a dark threatening undertone, "what are you doing?"

"Fuck off, shittykawa."

"Where are you?"

Iwaizumi doesn't answer. He doesn't need to, for Oikawa's already exclaiming the said bar's name as he takes another sip of his newly-filled beer glass.

"I thought you said you wouldn't drink anymore," Oikawa reproaches, "think of what Hoisuke would say--"

"I said fuck off."

There's a small pause where Oikawa bristles, before he says in a quieter tone, "what's wrong?"

Still, Iwaizumi says nothing but takes another huge gulp of his beer. His head feels buzzed, disoriented.

"Iwa-chan."

The said man press his lips in a taut line.

"Iwa-chaaaan."

"I'll talk to you later," Iwaizumi barely hears his friend's protests before he cuts off the call and downs the rest of his beer like a parched man, eyes narrowing towards anyone who dares reprimand him of his behaviour.

"One more," he rasps out towards the bartender, whose sending him a look that closely mimics one that clearly says he's had enough. But he scowls in response and that's enough to make the bartender's eyes slip away.

Seriously. What is wrong with him? It's already been four months goddamnit. Get over yourself. He wishes he could punch himself in the face. God, he sounds like a loser. He looks like one. And it's no wonder that his wife has left him for someone better, richer. Everything that he's not.

Not to forget that this wound will never leave their son's heart.

"One rum and coke please."

A presence lingers in his right and the brown-haired man turns with a glare at the ready, eyebrows furrowed and lips pressed in a thin line to scare whatever stranger that comes a little too close for his liking.

What the--

He stares at you. You stare back at him, just as dumbfounded. Looking the same, yet completely different.

"Miss Y/N?"

"Iwaizumi-san?"

He feels the sudden urge to hide his empty glass, "what--are you doing here?"

"Don't look so surprised, Iwaizumi-san," you chuckle at what you think is his flabbergasted expression, "I'm still twenty-six you know. I came here with a few of my friends."

His eyes slide towards the table in the far corner -- easy to spot since it's one of the loudest -- before he almost misses your question, "and you?"

"I come here often."

"Ah I see."

As you pay the bartender who slides your drink over, you bristle for a bit before you ask hesitantly, "mind if I sit here?"

Iwaizumi shakes his head. It's not like he can say no after all. You're his kid's teacher. And shit, how many beers has he had? He better not run his mouth. It's a dirty habit of his whenever he's shit drunk.

"So," you start off slowly, looking so out of place next to the said man with a scowl so dark it can scare off the most violent of gangsters that the corners of Iwaizumi's mouth tilt upwards in amusement, "how's it going?"

Seriously? You're seriously going to do that? His gaze searches your features for a moment, satisfied when warmth floods your cheeks.

You look away, "you don't have to look at me like that, you know. I just thought you’d want some company."

"What makes you think that?” Iwaizumi says while he flags down another beer from the waiter. 

You blink at him, “I can go if you want--”

The man sighs, rubbing his temples with tiredness, “that’s not what I meant.”

A weird, empty gap of silence ensues. Long enough that Iwaizumi gets his fourth beer of the night in his hand and he takes a grateful swallow. 

He really should not be drinking so much.

"Where do you work?” 

You’re persistent. He’ll give you that, “personal trainer. I work at the sports academy.” 

“That’s cool,” there’s a small smile edging upon your lips, “you like it?”

He nods, pauses briefly, before asking, “do you?” 

Of course it’s a little too close for comfort, especially since you’re Hoisuke’s teacher and all. But you merely relax in your high stool, swinging your legs while nodding eagerly. He can’t help but notice the tightness of your dark jeans, your black high-heeled boots, “I don’t see myself working as anything else. I’m bad with people most of the time.”

Taking another swig of his beer, Iwaizumi feels the tension slowly ease up from his shoulders, “well you’re way better with kids than I am.”

“You’re pretty good with Hoisuke."

“That’s because you haven’t seen him throw tantrums.”

You laugh, "oh don't worry, I have. I know all about his little fits. All my kids have one, at some point."

You say it lightly, but there's definitely love laced in your words and for a minute, Iwaizumi thinks back to the way Hoisuke kept on praising you, the way he spoke so affectionately about you.

"Do you still play volleyball?" You ask him while sipping on your drink.

He mimics the gesture, "sometimes. The guys are all over town so it's harder to meet up now."

"Dang, your team was so good though."

"It was Oikawa that held us together. We weren't that good," he tastes the bitterness of Karasuno's victory on his tongue.

"That's not true," you protest, fiddling with your empty glass, "the only reason why I watched Aoba Johsai's games was because I liked watching you play."

Dark coffee-coloured orbs sweep up to yours at that statement, as if trying to peel layers off yout shell, as if wanting to confirm the truth of your words. You feel like cowering away but you don't, instead holding his stare in hopes that he doesn't notice how your hands tremble slightly underneath his scowl.

And then, features softening ever so slightly, he murmurs out, "thanks."

You know he means it in the best way possible.

-----

One drink turns to two. And two multiplies by four. And soon enough you're tipsy off your head and singing so blatantly off-key you wonder why Iwaizumi's still by your side. You haven't been this drunk in ages and this sense of freedom makes you bold; you tug him to the dance floor to join your friends, order shot after shot as the music gets louder and your head gets lighter, proceed to blabber your mouth off about literally anything and everything that by the end of the night, you wish the ground would swallow you whole so you won't have to deal with Iwaizumi the next day.

You're not entirely sure how you find yourself being dragged by none other than the said man himself, or how your nose is currently lodged in the crevice between his neck and shoulders. But he smells good, like citrus and a mixture of mint and-- you sniff a little more -- is that cookie dough? Your mouth waters just at the thought.

"You smell like cookie dough," the words tumble out of your mouth in a jumbled mess and you inwardly feel like stabbing yourself.

So pathetic. Pitiful really.

"That's Hoisuke," Iwaizumi replies, surprisingly patient even when he's clearly not impressed, glaring at the lamppost ahead, "it's his flavour of the month."

"That's cute!" You giggle, "just like you, Iwa!"

The man sighs while shifting his grip upon your waist, "let's just get you to bed."

You probably doze off at some point or black out because the next thing you see upon opening your eyes next is the ceiling.

Hoisting your head up and groaning when your head pounds in warning, you lie back down as nausea takes over.

Shit. This isn't your room. You know that much.

What the fuck happened last night?

You remember dancing atop tables, remember spotting Iwaizumi by the bar and talking to him because he just seemed so sad and lonely. You remember dragging him onto the dance floor, dancing together, his hands on your waist--

You danced with Iwaizumi?!

The thought is enough to trigger another pounding. You groan once more, placing your hand atop your head in hopes that it will stop it from throbbing. It doesn't. But before you have more time to wallow in your self-pity, the door creaks open and your eyes almost pop out of your head when you spot a mop of brown spiky hair enter the room.

Iwaizumi.

Oh fuck. Your brain short circuits. Fuck fuck fuck.

Surprise crosses his face, clearly having not expected you to be awake yet. He walks over to place a glass of water by the nightstand and grabs your palm to tilt two aspirins into your hand.

"How's your head?" He asks.

"Fine," you wince. It's far from fine. In response, he holds out the glass and you gladly wash down the pills, warm and feeling suddenly vulerable under his stare.

Chewing onto the inside of your cheek, you muster up all your courage to ask, "what--happened last night?"

You don't miss the way his eyebrows shoot up, "you don't remember?"

"...no."

Is that amusement dancing in his eyes? You're not sure since it's gone just as quickly as it came before he says, "you got drunk. Danced on the table, had too many shots and made out with two different men--"

"I'm pretty sure the last part didn't happen."

"You said you didn't remember," he smirks lightly.

"I can't even flirt, let alone kiss strangers."

That earns you a chuckle from his part, causing your heart to flutter slightly as he straightens up, "you probably want to wash up. Bathroom's on the right. I'm in the kitchen if you need me."

"Okay," and as he turns away, you quickly add, "thanks, Iwaizumi-san."

He nods back, exiting the room and finally allowing you to collapse back against the bed to try slowing down your galloping heart. Jesus christ, you think to yourself as you slowly take in your surroundings. From the lack of furniture and with only a few clothes flung over a wooden desk chair shoved in the right, you guess it's his room. A closed laptop and a small plant sits on his desk. On the left is the nightstand filled with sports books and some manga, a closet shoved in a corner and the floor is made in veneered wood.

There's no sign of family pictures, nothing that indicates the warmth of a cosy household. It doesn't take a genius to understand why. While Hoisuke had begged you not to tell his father, you weren't a stranger to the young boy sobbing in-between breaks because he misses his mother.

Well, it's not like you're allowed into family affairs anyway, as much as that breaks your heart.

After a much needed shower and a quick brush of your teeth -- you had to make do with using your fingers with his toothpaste, too embarrassed to actually ask him whether he had a spare toothbrush -- you walk out into the kitchen to see Iwaizumi already seated at a quaint wooden table laden with eggs and toast. Behind him sits the kitchen stove and white countertops next to a fridge fitting snuggly on the left corner. On the far right of the room is a large dark grey couch and a tv set, and just behind it is a small hallway which seems to be the entrance -- guessing by the coat rack and array of shoes. 

"Sunny side up or boiled?" Iwaizumi asks as you take a seat opposite him. He has already poured you a cup of strong coffee and you inhale before sighing in bliss. Your headache already feels slightly better.

"Anything is fi--" you're interrupted by his scowl, quickly changing your answer to, "sunny-side up please."

He grunts, passes you the plate and digs into his own fried eggs, the soft boiled ones forgotten at the centre of the table.

"Uhm, forgive me for point it out, but that's a lot of food Iwaizumi-san," you mumble out, not missing the way his features harden slightly.

"Force of habit," he mutters in-between mouthfuls. He doesn't need to say more, for you're pretty certain he's referring to the family he used to have, those lazy Sunday mornings that started out with brunch.

You eat in companionable silence and though it'a definitely less awkward than last night, your mind still races trying to figure out what to say to erase the permanent furrow between his brows.

Or is that his normal demeanour? To be honest, you're not quite sure yourself.

So you settle for thanking him for last night, to which he replies, "do you usually drink that much?"

"No," you duck your head, avert your gaze, "I got carried away. I'm really sorry."

"Well I wouldn't have expected my kid's teacher to be that wild," he muses while taking a bite of his toast.

Alarm zaps through you, making your eyes go wide, "I swear I'm not usually like that, really. I just--this was an exception--"

"It's fine, miss Y/N. I know," his brown pupils lock onto yours briefly, "I'm not going to report you."

"I--" nothing can really make up for your behaviour last night. You know that much, "still, I'm sorry. That wasn't appropriate," you glance up, chest tightening at the intensity of his stare, unflinching. Unwavering.

He cocks his head at you then, a semblance of a smile along his mouth, "I was pretty entertained, if you ask me."

"Was I that bad?"

"No. But let's just say that you won't want to show your face around for the next week or so."

You groan and bury your face in your hands, "what did I do?"

"You might've broken a beer glass or two," he gives you a look, "on purpose. And tried to steal the Dj's headphones cause he wasn't putting the music you requested."

"Oh god," you want to bury yourself right then and there and to your surprise, you see him laugh softly before he nudges your coffee towards you.

"Drink," he orders, "it'll make you feel less shitty."

You're about to retort with a roll of your eyes, only to be interrupted by the doorbell ringing. From the way Iwaizumi tenses, you know it's not just the mail man.

Excusing himself to go unlock the door as you twist in your seat to follow his figure, shock courses through you the moment your eyes land on Hoisuke's.

Then, his mother.

An alarm bell rings through your mind.

"I thought you said evening," comes Iwaizumi's grunt, totally unlike the guy who'd been chuckling a few seconds ago.

"Hoisuke wanted to come back early for some reason," the woman says, her gaze flickering to yours for a brief moment. It's enough to cause you to swallow hard. She continues, "I'll pick him up on--"

"Miss Y/N?!" Hoisuke shouts out suddenly and before you know it, you're being tackled into the child's arms as if you haven't seen each other forever, "what are you doing here?! Daddy!" he whips his head around in accusation, "you lied about not really really liking Miss Y/N!"

"Wha--No!" Iwaizumi yells as you frown in confusion, "huh?"

"Daddy said that really really liking someone means you wanna be boyfriend and girlfriend with them, like he was with Mama before she moved houses," Hoisuke blabbers on, totally oblivious to how the three of you keep on staring at him in growing alarm, "and then I asked him if he really really liked miss Y/N because I really really like miss Y/N but he said no, but that's a lie!"

"Hajime, what is he talking about?" His ex-wife is quick to narrow her eyes, "what have you been telling him?"

"Nothing, it's not what you think--"

"I think," she pointedly glances at you, "I should leave now. We'll talk about this later."

And with that, she swivels around and storms out, leaving the three of you to stare after her in a mixture of shock and confusion.

Hoisuke, oblivious to the sudden tension, blurts out, "daddy, why is Mama angry with you?"

----

The few weeks following the tiny incident that had resulted in an awkward misunderstanding between you, Hoisuke’s parents and the said child himself had caused you to retreat back into the shell of professionalism that included avoiding Iwaizumi whenever it was deemed possible. It hadn’t been hard since he was usually present and waiting outside class to pick up Hoisuke right on time, making it much easier to avoid conversation with him altogether. 

You’d texted iwaizumi right after reaching your humble abode the day he’d practically saved your drunk ass and though you spent a few spare moments to chat in-between the bustling activities of life, it doesn’t erase the fact that he’s still Hoisuke’s father, one of your dearest students. That, and the fact that you don’t really find it fair to put Hoisuke in-between the two of you, if there’s anything worth digging for anyway. 

Who are you kidding? It’s not like Iwaizumi would ever be interested in you in that sense. Having spotted his ex-wife once or twice proved that his style was of more refined women, the type that would drink wine instead of chug down beer and who’d enjoy gifts such as perfume and romantic dates instead of going on grocery trips and meal-prepping for the entire week. 

“Miss Y/N!” Hoisuke’s voice pierces through your thought bubble and your eyes quickly find his grin as he jumps towards your desk, "are you coming to our house this weekend too?!"

"Wh--What? Uhm-- no I don't think so--" eyes quickly flitting over the classroom, you're relieved to find that the rest of his classmates are long gone, "I don't think that's appropriate."

"But why? I even told Mama that I wouldn't be coming this weekend because you were," he pouted and it took all of your determination not to melt, until his words registered in your brain and your eyes widened, "o--oh, but that's--"

"Hoisuke?" You both turn to see his father's head poking through the door. Your body reacts instantly, warmth flooding through your limbs and flushing through your cheeks.

"Daddy!"

"H-Hello, Iwaizumi-san," you bow your head slightly. He returns the gesture, facial expression not giving anything away. His son bounds up to him with just as much vigor, "daddy, can we invite miss Y/N this weekend too?"

You might have laughed at Iwaizumi's shocked face if not for the fact that you are the person in question.

He splutters, "Miss Y/N has things to do--"

"But she came last weekend!"

"Yes well, it's bad manners to impose on someone when they're not free," Iwaizumi replies sternly, "come on now, we're gonna be late for Karate."

With a loud sigh and a scowl that resembles so much like his father, Hoisuke mutters out his goodbyes while Iwaizumi catches your eye, bowing slightly and muttering a silent "sorry" before he guides his son out of the room. You're glad he's out of earshot that he can't hear the stuttering of your heart against your chest.

You place a hand on your chest, sigh tiredly before looking down at your students' papers, "get a grip, Y/N," you mutter to yourself.

But it's not that easy to control yourself when Iwaizumi is making it so easy to like him.

----

Iwaizumi: sorry about yesterday. 

Y/N: it's okay. Hoisuke’s young, it's normal for him to want for a motherly figure around.

Iwaizumi's fingers drum over his knee as he watches with slight interest the newest male volleyball team practice their serves. He shouts after a few, calling them out for theit lazy postures, but other than that he can't seem to stop his thoughts from winding their way back to you.

"Who is she?" Mizune had asked him on the phone on the day following their encounter. Her tone was friendly, yet held that tone of warning that he was so accustomed to.

"How does that concern you?"

"I want to know who you're bringing around to hang out with Hoisuke."

"She's an acquaintance of mine," he paused, "and Hoisuke's teacher."

"That's inapropriate if you ask me."

Scoffing, he replied, "like what you did's so appropriate?"

A small pause ensued. When she spoke next, there was no mistaking the edge to her voice.

"You can't keep using that against me, Hajime."

"Don't tell me who I can or can't hang out with."

He'd hung up without bothering to wait for her response, seething and red hot with rage blubbering through his stomach.

Of course now that he thinks it over, Mizune has a point. Mixing the professional and the personal have never ended in happy endings. Not that this has ever stopped him before. He doesn't believe in what everyone else thinks is right. That's also one of the main reasons why Mizune couldn't handle it anymore. Or so she said before she went to suck someone else's dick.

His phone vibrates and fishing it out, a scowl instantly shadows his face upon seeing Oikawa's name flash across the screen.

Oikawa: Iwa-chan ~ have you asked her out yet?

Iwaizumi has to force himself to stay in control and not pound his phone to pieces when he types out his reply.

Iwaizumi: No.

Oikawa: BUT WHYYYY~ YOU SAID YOU FOUND HER CUTE.

Oikawa: and Hoisuke likes her. He already knows her.

Iwaizumi: I didn’t say that. And she's not interested.

Oikawa: Just because you suck at picking up cues doesn't mean she isn't throwing them at you 😏😏😏

Iwaizumi: shut up, shittykawa.

Oikawa: Just do it or I'll do it for you.

Iwaizumi: I don't even like her that way.

Oikawa: why'd you rant about not wanting to hurt her feelings yesterday night then?

Iwaizumi's hand rubs at his face with a groan. Oikawa's a little shit most of the time, but he's a perceptive little shit.

Oikawa: I mean it. Ask her out or I'll do it for you.

Oikawa: gotta go now. Match is starting. See ya!~ muah ❤

"Dumbass," Iwaizumi growls under his breath before shoving the phone back into his pocket. Easier said than done to ask someone out so casually, especially when she's Hoisuke's teacher.

If she accepts, great. If she doesn't, he'll have to suffer through humiliation for the rest of the year or avoid picking up Hoisuke altogether.

Oh fuck it.

He lets his body send the message before his brain can catch up to the way he has thrown himself under the bus, shoves his phone back into his pocket and tries to put the thought out of his mind even though the device suddenly feels hot and heavy in his pant pocket.

Iwaizumi: we're having takeout and movie night on Friday. You're free to join.

----

[drabbles-mc]

Whoever Broke Your Heart

Angel Reyes x Reader

Song request from @bishopslosawife: the song is Whoever Broke Your Heart by Murphy Elmore. When I do song fics I tend to just write a story based around the song, I don’t usually include lyrics or anything. Hope that’s okay!

Warnings: language, mentions of past toxic relationships, a good old bar fight, protective Angel comin’ in hot

Word Count: 2.2k

A/N: When I listened to the song and the prompt, I definitely pictured Angel a little more than any of the other guys. Love seeing him get a little hot-headed and protective. Hope y’all enjoy!

Angel Taglist: @mayans-sauce​ @helli4nthus​ @angelreyesgirl​ @starrynite7114​ @queenbeered​ @sincerelyasomebody​ @sadeyesgf​ @thesandbeneathmytoes​ @appropriate-writers-name​ @tomhardydallasstarsgirl​ @multiyfandomgirl40​ @sillygoose6969​ @beardburnsupersoldiers​ @louisianalady​ @gemini0410​ @paintballkid711​ @chibsytelford​ @yourwonkywriter​

You laughed as Angel wrapped his arms around your waist. He was standing behind your bar stool, pressing playful kisses against your neck and cheek. You reached behind you and gently rested your hand on the side of his face, reveling in the feeling of his hands on your hips.

It was one of the rare nights when the two of you went out with your friends. Normally you hung out with him and the guys at the clubhouse, and that was fine, but if you really wanted to go out and dance, you could usually convince Angel to come with you and your little crew. He’d never been good at saying no to you. Plus, you could tell that he liked being around when all of you went out because he kept his eye out for any creeps trying to make moves on any of you. Angel might’ve been your boyfriend, but he’d gone to bat for nearly every one of your friends at one point or another, defending them from belligerent drunks and shitty exes. Sometimes you worried that he’d get tired of it, but he always told you it was nice to feel purposeful, especially when he was one of the only guys in the group.

“I’m gonna step out for a smoke, querida,” he kissed your cheek, “Come with me?”

You nodded, hopping down off the barstool, “Of course.”

You were walking in front of him, giggling to yourself as you felt his hands reach out and slap your ass lightly. You turned around to him quickly, flashing him a smile before slipping out the door of the club. The air felt cold and fresh, and you took a deep breath before leaning back against the side of the building the two of you had just come out of. Angel pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his kutte. You shook your head no when he offered you one, content to just be with him away from the noise for a few minutes before you dove back into it.

Angel was looking at you, a smile plastered on his face as he let out a puff of smoke. You felt your face get hot for a moment, “What?”

“Nothin’. You’re beautiful.”

You smiled, shaking your head with a laugh, “You’re beautiful.”

He rested one hand onto your hip, “Nah, I mean it. I could look at you all day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it.”

You felt your heart swell inside your chest as you looked at him. Angel had never hesitated on telling you everything that came to his mind, and it was one of the things that you loved the most about him. He wasn’t afraid to be a little sappy with you and it went a long way after what your past relationships had put your through.

He saw the wheels turning in your mind and smiled, “Wanna bail and go home?”

You laughed, shaking your head, “No, no. I’m good, I promise. I just…it’s nice to hear that stuff sometimes.”

He snubbed his cigarette out on the ground before stepping in closer to you, cupping your face in his hands, “I’ll make sure you hear it every day.”

There was a brief moment when you wanted to tell him that you changed your mind and were totally okay with bailing and going home, but you stopped yourself. You hadn’t gone out with your friends in a while and you didn’t want to bail on them just because you were feeling extra lovey over your boyfriend. The two of you took a couple more minutes to stay outside of the chaos, and finally Angel tugged you along back inside to rejoin everyone.

He didn’t particularly like dancing—he’d told you that on more than one occasion. But he’d let you drag him out onto the dancefloor when you went to the club because he knew how much you enjoyed it. He also knew that whoever you had been with before kept you on an impossibly tight leash and you hadn’t been allowed to do much without your ex looking over your shoulder waiting for you to slip up. You hadn’t mentioned it to him at first, so when you would get upset and defensive over things, he didn’t quite understand it. But one day you broke down, not able to try and push it down anymore. From that point on Angel started going a little extra out of his way to be reassuring, and to let you know that you never had to defend yourself to him. He never wanted you to be nervous to talk to him about anything, but especially not things as simple as wanting to go out with your girlfriends for the night.

He was pressed right up against you, hands on your hips as the two of you danced to the music. Despite the music and the noise, you could still hear him clear as day when he leaned down next to your ear, “I love you.”

You smiled up at him, “I love you too.”

“Would a beautiful woman like you let me buy her a drink?”

You laughed, nodding, “I suppose, since you seem like such a gentleman.”

The two of you made your way back to the bar. You kept your fingers lightly entwined with Angel’s so that you wouldn’t lose him in the busyness of the club.  He managed to find you a free barstool to sit on and you gladly took it, happy to be off your feet for a few minutes.

Angel stepped away to flag down the bartender. You watched him, a smile spreading across your face. You were too busy gazing at him to notice who else had shown up and was now standing in front of you, waiting to gain your attention.

“Didn’t expect to see you here,” he finally said. Chills shot down your spine and you turned your head. He smiled at you and it almost seemed genuine, “Long time since I’ve seen you. How’ve you been?”

Every fiber of your being was telling you to get the hell out of the club. No good would come of talking to him. Your answer was short, your tone cold, “Fine.”

“Let me buy you a drink.”

“Someone already is,” you were angry but you still felt a lump forming in the back of your throat. You thought you had outrun these demons.

He cocked one eyebrow, “Really? I doubt that.”

Your heart dropped into your stomach. You had no idea what exactly it was about him that made him able to make you question everything about yourself, and your life, but you hated it. You hated him. Your mind raced to try and find the right words to say to get yourself out of the situation, to make him go away, but you couldn’t.

Angel reappeared, a beer bottle in one hand and a drink for you in the other. He saw the look on your face and his smile instantly dropped. He looked at the man standing in front of you, knowing that he was the reason for your expression but not quite knowing why.

He set your drink down on the surface of the bar and stood next to you, facing your ex, “Who the fuck are you?”

The man stepped back slightly, taking in the intimidating image that Angel easily put off, “I should be asking you that question.”

Angel scoffed, stepped completely in front of you and blocked you from the sightline of your ex, “I’m her fucking boyfriend.”

He laughed, shaking his head, “Figures,” he peered around Angel to look at you, “let go of me and your standards, huh?”

The realization of who he was hit Angel like a freight train. He shoved the man backwards, “Get the fuck away from her.”

He laughed, “What are you gonna do about it?”

Before Angel could do anything too stupid you reached forward and grabbed the beer bottle out of his hands. Starting a brawl was bad enough but the last thing you needed was him cracking someone’s skull with a glass bottle.

It didn’t do enough to defuse the situation. Angel got up in his face, towering over him, “I don’t give a fuck who you think you are. Get out of here now before you regret it.”

“You’re gonna make me regret it, biker boy?” he eyed Angel’s kutte.

Angel was too protective and hot-headed to back down. He shoved the man again, and when he tried to step back to him, Angel caught him on the jaw with a clean right hook. You gasped, although you couldn’t say that the reaction surprised you all the much. Your ex stumbled backwards, hand coming up to nurse his jaw.

Angel was ready to swing again when the bouncer showed up and got in between them. He leaned in close to Angel, “You can’t do this in here. Take this shit outside, Angel. I don’t want to have to kick you out of here.”

Angel nodded, still not taking his eyes off of your ex, “Yea, got it,” he stepped around the bouncer and pushed your ex towards the door, “Let’s fucking go,” he looked back at you, “Stay here, Y/N.”

“Angel, don’t—”

He cut you off, “Stay here.”

You were gnawing at the inside of your lip as you watched the two of them head towards the door of the club. Your ex might’ve been able to intimidate you, but Angel was an entirely different story. You’ve never seen him back down from anything and you had a feeling that he wasn’t going to start tonight.

Angel pushed him out the door of the club onto the sidewalk, “Stay the fuck away from her.”

He chuckled, “What’re you gonna do about it? Send your gang to come and get me?”

“I don’t need anyone else to handle this, believe me,” he grabbed the collar of the man’s shirt, “Don’t even think about looking at her or talking to her ever again.”

“You can’t tell me what to fucking do.”

Angel shook his head slowly. He released the grip on the man’s shirt, and as soon as his hands were free he cocked his arm back and punched him again, slicing the man’s lip open. He dropped to the ground and within seconds Angel was on top of him. Your ex tried to shell up and protect his face, but it didn’t do him much good.

You stepped out onto the sidewalk, instantly running over when you saw what was going on. You grabbed Angel’s shoulders and tried to pull him back, “Angel! Angel, stop!” you pulled back as hard as you could, “He’s not worth it!”

He allowed you to pull him back, leaving your ex in a heap on the sidewalk. You pulled his face so that he was looking at you, “What the fuck are you thinking?”

“I’m thinkin’ that that fuckin—” he couldn’t finish his sentence as he shook his head and glared at the man who was slowly rising from the pile Angel had left him in, “He broke your heart, Y/N. He hurt you. He doesn’t get to get away with that.”

You cupped one side of his face in your hand, knowing that all he could think about was all the lasting damage that that man had caused you, all the pain you had to work through to be able to trust someone again. You sighed as you traced your fingers down through his beard, “He’s a piece of shit, for sure, but he’s not worth getting arrested over. Let him go.”

Angel turned back to your ex, who was trying to wipe away the blood trickling out of the cuts on his face, “I don’t ever wanna fuckin’ see you again,” he gave him one last shove, “Get outta my sight.”

You chuckled to yourself, shaking your head as your ex stumbled away and Angel walked back over to you. You looked over his face, smiling at the fact that he got out of all of that unscathed.

You sighed, “Feel better?”

“He’s a fuckin’ idiot, Y/N.”

You laughed, “Yea, that’s why I don’t want you going to jail over him. You’re on thin ice as it is, Reyes,” you smiled as you shook your head.

“No, I mean, he’s an idiot for doing what he did to you,” he pulled you closer by the beltloops of your shorts, “I’ll never understand how he didn’t see the amazing woman that’s standing in front of me right now,” he cupped your face in his hands, “I love you.”

You placed your hands on his, feeling that his knuckles were still damp with blood, “I love you too.”

“It’s never gonna be like that again, you know that, right?” he waited for you to meet his eyes, “I’m never gonna be like that.”

You nodded, “I know.”

He leaned down, kissing you softly on the lips, “Good,” he paused, a smile passing over his lips, “Now do you wanna bail and go home?”

You laughed, “Yea, let’s go. Before you bust up someone else’s face.”

He chuckled as he pulled you against his side, “Yea, yea,” he kissed the top of your head, “I’d do it again, you know.”

You smiled, leaning into him, “Yea, I know.”

[artxyra]

Hi, could you please write a miraculous ladybug salt with Damianette where Marinette and Damian have been dating since before the show starts. Alya believes Marinette has a crush on Adrian even though Marinette is in a relationship with Damian. Alya then tries to break Damianette up in order to get adrianette together. Also Marinette and Adrian met when they were younger due to the dupain-cheng and Wayne's being friends and the Argeste and Wayne's being business friends. Maybe make it Class salt

Pretending to like Adrien may have been the worst decision of her life. Of course, Adrien agreed to it wanting to pretend to be the oblivious just a friend kind of guy. Marinette and Adrien shared laughs at the thought of their classmates trying to get them together not knowing the extent of their relationship prior to meet them.

Let’s rewind a bit.

It started with Sabine and Emilie went to University to together. They were roommates and the bests of friends. From there, Sabine went into dating the baker’s son while Emilie touch interest in a fashion mogul. Everything was perfect for their little group until business started to grow on international levels. Sabine and Tom jumped to stardom after participating in a baking contest in English and became one of Europe’s celebrities in the food industry. Emilie had grown to be loved on the big screen as Gabriel expanded on the family business taking on building the biggest fashion empire in Paris.

Soon the family of twos welcomes new members: Adrien and Marinette.

The children would send the day at each other’s home when their parents were on business trips. They grew to love each other as brothers and sisters. It was Marinette who asked her parents to send her to big brother's house to show him something she had made. Sabine and Emilie cried together when they realize that their children had taken to calling each other siblings.

When Adrien and Marinette were five, the family was welcomed to a Wayne Gala. Sabine and Tom were quick to become friends with a certain Mr. Wayne. Marinette had expanded who siblings to include Dickie and Tim Tam. Adrien was jealous of the competition regarding Mari’s favorite brother.

All was perfect until Mari meet the latest addition to the Wayne family around the age of ten.  Damian Wayne.

He wasn’t like the others, and she had met plenty of the adopted and non-adopted Wayne over the years. He was rude, always looking like he was out to get the world. She at the utmost pleasure in breaking through to the older boy. Her challenge every time she visits was to get him to laugh. She didn’t exceed.

 When Adrien went the young Wayne, he screamed and hid behind Marinette, who at the time was taller than the two boys. Adrien hugged Mr. Kitten, his stuff black cat, like a lifeline until Alfred had called the three kids for lunch.

As they have gotten older, Damian took a liking to Marinette and had developed a crush on her. His older siblings found it hilarious when they found the demon lightly brushing at any mention of the Parisian girl.

Unfortunately, a loss entered the Agreste household. Emilie had fallen sick and had disappeared from the face of the earth. Gabriel didn’t know how to deal with the loss, he ended up giving the Dupain-Cheng temporary custody of his son until he figures out his next move. That was the last time anyone had seen M. Agreste in public. Adrien plenty of surrogate siblings to help him through the loss of his mother, but he also ended up losing his father in the process.

Months before they were to enter college, Damian had asked Marinette on a date. Marinette smiles and wrapped her arms the taller boy’s neck. Her boys had grown to be taller than the girl even if it was by a couple of centimeters. Everyone around them suspects that they’ll be at least 5’9” to 6” while Marinette would grow to be Sabine’s height at best.

Celebrations were made at the announcement of the Dupain-Cheng heiress and Wayne heir becoming a couple. Their parents promise their kids a normal relationship despite media interference. The Dupain-Cheng moved into their smaller bakery as it had an apartment upstairs. The perfect front and it was close to the school that they were sending Marinette to for college.

It was all fine and dandy until Marinette and Adrien received their miraculous. Not even a day after they started college. Marinette had taken a liking to the reporter, but she quickly realizes that she is determined, and that kind of determination can last for a long time.

“I’m fine, Dami,” Marinette says to Damian over video chat. She was working on a commission for a client and Adrien was being no help despite being in the same room with her. Damian raises an eyebrow. “I’m serious, they cannot bring me down.”

“She’s lying.” Adrien sings from his position on the chaise. Marinette turns to the blonde model and glares at him.

“Stay sane, Angel. I’m sure she’ll come to her senses.”

“I doubt it, we’re about to graduate lycée and she's still headset of getting Adrien and me together. I’m pretty sure Luka would hate that.” Marinette begins to stitch together the pieces of fabric in front of her.   

“In that case, I will gladly put a sword through her if she doesn’t stop.” Marinette smiles and laughs at the thought of Damian putting a sword through Alya.

“Well your lunch is ending soon, we’ll talk later?” Marinette says pulling her focus away from the outfit and to the clock.

“Father will understand if I ditch the other half a day.”

“Dami…”

“I’ll go Angel.” Damian folded. “Are you still on for date night tomorrow?”

“I would be crazy if I said it wasn’t.” Marinette waves goodbye to the small screen. The screen goes black signaling the end of the call.

“So, what are we going to do about Alya?” Adrien asks and before Marinette could reply, both of their phones go off. “It’s Nino. Asking if I want to hang out with him and Alya.”

Marinette sighs and sends a quick reply. “Alya texted me about wanting to hang out with her rather than Nino.”

A beat past. “She’s setting us up again.” Groans follow through.

With Alya, she is determined, to get Adrienette together by the end of the school year. This was their final year and Marinette never once managed to work up the confidence to ask the blonde model out.

Today, she was staging an “Operation Adrienette” at the Place des Vosges. Everyone that is a part of the akuma class was there. Alya, standing front and center with Lila, points to the easel with a large poster board.

“Here’s the plan. We all know that graduation is coming up soon, and I tend to make it my legacy to ensure Adrienette becomes canon. They have ditched us for the last time and I planned to end that this week.” Alya states pretending to be heartbroken.

Lila couldn’t help but notice how Chloe and Juleka were missing from the meeting. She doesn’t want Adrienette to happen but when she tried to get Marinette expelled in college, during a photoshoot Adrien had to threaten for her to back off and stop messing with his sister. Their other brothers wouldn’t like that. Since that encounter, she made a deal with the duo and learned very quickly how there was no romantic attraction between them, just mischief. The reason for Lila being her is because Alya and the rest of them are still her puppets and she has to play the supportive friend.

“I’m still salty about the last plan. They were supposed to have a romantic time at the ice rink, and nothing came of it. This time I’m planning a romantic dinner where Nino and I would ditch the two for another booth. That way they are forced to interact with each other.”

“What are we going to do if that backfires?” Rose raised her hand inputting her concerns.

“We don’t expect it to.” Alya confidently states.

It was Friday night when the plan went into fruition. Adrien had agreed to meet up with Nino and Alya for whatever they have planned. He ended up dressing up at the request Alya of blowing up his phone under Nino’s contact name.

Alya was hanging off Nino’s arms smiling at the model. It was creeping him out.

“So why am I here?” He finally asks even though he knew the answer already.

“We’re waiting for Marinette; she’d promised that she’ll be here in a moment.” Alya deflects the question, she looks elsewhere, no doubt to find Marinette. “There she is.”

Marinette walks over to the group. Adrien gasps causing Alya and Nino to smugly smile at each other. Marinette was wearing a red and black T-shirt dress with the icon of Robin in the center.

“Hey gurl, glad you can join us.” Alya pulls away from Nino, giving the poor teen his arm back and formerly greets Adrien.

“Not like a had a choice, Alya.” Marinette murmurs under her breath.

“Of course, you did, look you’re already here and let’s go get to our seats.” Alya pushes Marinette towards the door and gestures for Adrien and Nino to follow.

Before they were event seated, Marinette notices the two-seat table. Like that didn’t raise any red flags about this evening. Adrien and Marinette took to the table first while Alya made up an excuse for her and Nino. They took the seats on the opposite side of the restaurant to spy on the couple.

Marinette stares down at Adrien both looking very comfortable with one another. The waiter came to their table asking if they need anything to which Marinette orders water and Adrien saying that he’s just a stand-in. The waiter didn’t question it.

Alya and Nino had ordered their meals and she was getting fed up with the lack of communication between the two. She would have stalked over there if it hadn’t been for Nino holding her back.

Just then, a tall, sleek dark hair, gentlemen walk over to the table. Adrien immediately gives up his seat to the gentlemen, but Marinette got out from her seat to hug the man. Alya was in shock. Marinette even gave the male a kiss on the lips before wishing Adrien out.

Adrien had the nerve to turn to Alya and smirk before walking back to the entrance and out of the restaurant. Marinette and the male happy hold hands across the table and chatted. When the waiter had returned with Marinette’s glass of water, he doesn’t seem surprised to see the new face. Instead, he takes their order and doesn’t return until the order is ready.

Alya watch as the couple happily eat. Anger could not describe what she was feeling. Who was this gut and how dare he hijacks a date she had been planning for weeks? When Nino finally gave his okay, it was after Marinette and her mystery date disappeared out of the restaurant. Alya wanted to scream and shout. Scream to the heavens to let out all the anguish she was suffering from Adrienette and shout at Marinette for daring to bring another dude in while she has a crush on Adrien.

She must break them up. If that is the last thing she does.

Alya didn’t see Marinette nor Adrien for the rest of the weekend. She tried to go to the bakery, but the girl’s parents informed her that Marinette was not home. Everything was a mess.

When she returned to the classroom that following Monday, the class was all wondering how the date went. Did they finally get together? Alya was near a breakdown.

“You, how could you. Do you have any idea what I had to go through?” Alya shouts at the teen at fault for all her problems.

“Look Alya, I didn’t ask to be set up with Adrien. At first, it was hilarious but now it’s affecting both our love life.” Marinette counters taking her seat in the back. Adrien enters the classroom not long after she sat down.

“Excuse you, but you are destined to be with Adrien.” Alya screeches but her cries go unheard by the two siblings.

The teacher walks in and demands the class to sit down. Alya turns to Marinette and mouths, “This is not over” to which Marinette raises an eyebrow.

Another meeting in the Place des Vosges.

“I have called you all here to take incriminated photos of Marinette. I need to gather as much evidence to break up Mari and this supposed boyfriend of hers. Any suggestions?” Alya asks standing in front of the remains of the class that supports her.

“Oh, I’ve been seeing Marinette a lot lately with these two boys. They’re clearly more than a thing.” Lila lies through her teeth. She already knows that wasn’t the truth but Alya didn’t know that.

“Someone that wasn’t her boyfriend?” Alya raises an eyebrow. Lila nods. “Good, that is excellent news.”

It wasn’t excellent news.

The first attempt was a fail. Marinette was hanging out with Nathaniel and they all knew he was in a relationship with Marc. Apparently, the artist was commissioning a scarf as an anniversary gift.

The second attempt was also a fail. Marinette was with this boyfriend of hers getting ice cream together. They were having a romantic evening.

The third attempt was nearly a success until Juleka rained on their parade saying that Luka was in a happy relationship with some dude and Marinette and he was just friends.

It wasn’t until they were on the fourth attempt that they struck gold. Marinette was spending time with two unknown boys. The designer was out and about in the park throwing frisbees. One of the guys picked her up and spun her around before placing a kiss on her cheek. The class cheered at the thought of finally getting Marinette and Adrien together.

Alya was waiting for the opportunity. She didn’t have to wait long. Marinette and the dude were sitting underneath the tree at Place des Vosges.

“Your girlfriend here is a cheating bitch.” Alya states confidently.

Marinette turns to her boyfriend then back to Alya.

“What makes you think that of my beloved.” The guy asks raising an eyebrow. Marinette was still in his lap.

“I got evidence.”

“Pray tell.”

Alya pulls out a stack of photos. She gave them to the boy who examines the photos. He hid his smirk in Marinette’s neck who was hiding her laughter.

“So that’s why they were here. I really need to place boundaries on those idiots.” He says thoughtfully.

“Don’t you dare.” Marinette counters playfully hitting the male’s chest.

“It seems that you have caught my beloved with my imbecile’s brothers. Those photos that you have of them are without consent. I could press charges against you on their behalf.”

Alya was losing every ounce of confidence she had.

Adding oil to the fuel, Adrien walks over to them hand-in-hand with Luka. He greets them and kisses Luka’s lips. Alya wanted to scream. How could all this go so wrong?

“If you need any indication as to how long I’ve been with Marinette, we have been together since she turned thirteen.” He states kissing Marinette’s cheek in the process.

“But…but,” Alya stutters her brain could not comprehend the situation.

“Alya, dating Adrien would be like dating my brother. We’ve been friends since we were in diapers.” Marinette then adds more fuel to the fire, “You and the class would have noticed had you not been set on this Adrienette ship.”

“Yeah, a simple search online and you would see photos of Mari and me at galas, movie premieres, fashion shows. She and Damian have been in news coverage from the first time they announce their relationship to the recent engagement announcement.” Marinette blush at the thought of the giant ring on her ring finger.

“Alya, in a different universe I would proudly be Adrien’s girlfriend but it’s not this universe.”

“Let’s go, future Mrs. Wayne.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Mr. Wayne.”

Marinette and Damian walk out of the park and head to the bakery.

“Better luck next time Alya,” Adrien smiles before he and Luka follows the two.

Alya was lost for words, she would never get her ship canon. She fell on the green pastures and contemplate life decisions.   

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[appleflavoredkitkats]

dream smp war 2 updates

doing a second chain post! i thought it would be appropriate if i did since it seems like there’s a new era of wars coming our way. 

(this post will keep updating by reblogged additions, so feel free to save this post somewhere or follow me to check for new updates every now and then!)

and ya’know, i thought wouldn’t be able to do this, but i realize that where else am i gonna infodump but here? so yea. here i go again.

(if you wanna check the first dream smp war post-war updates, it’s here!)

without further ado, time to explain whatever the heck just happened last stream! timeline of events might be funky because a lot of things happened, but i’ll try my best to at least mention everything that went down in the streams.

wilbur, tommy, tubbo, eret, quackity, and a confused hbomb’s stream - september 22

summary: schlatt and quackity win presidency, tommy and wilbur are exiled, some friends have become traitors, some foes have become allies, and technoblade joins the game.

the first streams that came from this honestly were very calm. legit the calm before the storm. tubbo was hanging out with niki, eret, and hbomb and eret reveals to tubbo that his first pufferfish that was stolen by fundy was actually in eret’s possession all along. eret gladly returns the beloved pufferfish to tubbo, and they rename it back to it’s original name “phukkit”.

then, everyone begins going in the server as each campaign stands on the podium waiting for the event to begin. wilbur, tommy, and tubbo first stray away from the group for a bit to watch l’manberg one last time. tubbo introduces to them his secret bunker in the lake for them to seek refuge just in case pog2020 loses. inside the bunker’s chests are some freshly brewed potions for wilbur and tommy to use in the future.

tubbo then brings tommy to the benches outside tommy’s little house and they play one more music disc together. here, tubbo gifts tommy the pufferfish he just gained earlier today, and tommy promised to treasure it dearly.

now, the event begins, and wilbur begins announcing the results. luckily, everyone is here this time. in last place is coconut2020. a funny thing about this is that fundy actually committed tax fraud and got around 100,000+ votes to be counted in the google form just from coding some bot to vote for them. in third place is schlatt, in second is quackity, and pog2020 wins the number one vote.

here’s where the plot twist happens: quackity and schlatt apparently agreed to combine their votes if pog2020 doesn’t win. therefore, quackity and schlatt got 47% of the votes as pog only got 46%, making schlatt and quackity the shared president of l’manberg. tommy protests to these decisions, but wilbur accepts it with ease, and the two merely step down the podium in shame as they watch schlatt take a speech.

schlatt went on full dictator mode-- the first decree he signed as president is to revoke wilbur and tommy’s presence in l’manberg, exiling them. tommy was confused at first before wilbur demanded him to run to the bunker. schlatt immediately conducts a search party for him, electing tubbo as his right hand man to personally hunt the two down. obviously, tubbo would do it hesitantly, and he doesn’t actually get to meet the two in the bunker at all.

a lot of the nation was quite torn from the election results. quackity and george seem to be supportive of schlatt, niki, tubbo, and eret seem to despise schlatt, and fundy and jack seem to just blindly support him as well despite being l’manbergians. punz, ponk, and hbomb were there as well, but it was quite difficult to know who they were siding with since they kinda just got pushed around by everyone at the end.

using invisibility potions, wilbur and tommy escape the bunker to go somewhere in the forest to find their new home. they find a nice hill to make a small house in, and they later name this new nation “pogtopia”. they run into some conflicts though as wilbur and tommy forget to bring an enderchest with them, and they need some of the materials in them now if they want to build up a defense.

and then, in the middle of nowhere, techno tweeted:

wilbur claims he doesn’t want to trust techno right away because he was american, but they do consider having him as an ally later on.

firstly, let’s get back to l’manberg. upon schlatt’s request, the walls of l’manberg are being torn down. i heard somewhere that this might’ve been done thanks to fundy’s suggestion, but i’m not sure. everyone complies, and wilbur and tommy visit l’manberg one last time before it gets taken apart. as they watch fundy and tubbo tear down the wall, wilbur sings the l’manbergs national anthem. (the wall also eventually gets expanded past l’manberg, but i’m not sure how far they’ve built it)

speaking of fundy, fundy’s kind of in a weird place right now. he seems to unhesitantly side with schlatt in this election, and allows his policies easily as if he didn’t care about anyone else in l’manberg. knowing this, wilbur actually disowns fundy. it wasn’t in front of him, but he does say that he is extremely hurt by him in front of techno and tommy.

before i talk about the rescue of techno, we gotta go back to quackity and schlatt for a bit. quackity actually caught tommy visiting his place to get an enderchest, but i believe he doesn’t tell schlatt about it. quackity is quite interesting because while he does believe in some of the policies schlatt believes in, he also believes that schlatt is taking this dictatorship too far. even he thought exiling tommy and wilbur was a big deal, and he aims to be the voice of reason to be able to change schlatt’s mind about his policies. moreover, he wants to discuss matters with tommy and wilbur as well to get on their side too, but wilbur doesn’t wanna talk to quackity because, fourth wall break, he believes they’re progressing far into the story too much if they do, and honestly, valid reason lmao.

do note that quackity is trying his best to tear down schlatt’s evil dictatorship. he’s secretly been advocating for niki and is helping her escape schlatt’s grasp when she needs it, and he eventually talked to schlatt near the end of the stream to be more mindful of quackity’s opinions because without him, schlatt wouldn’t have won. there’s some toxic relationship plot device being used here between schlatt and quackity, and i’m interested to see how this will all play out.

back to tommy and wilbur, they call techno and actually consider his help. tommy says he will run back to spawn and tell him when to join so that he can bring him to their secret base. eret tries to help them and supply them with goods, but tommy and wilbur refuses his help profusely. finally, when tommy reaches spawn, techno joins, and my god, all the three streams i watched just went “TECHNOBLADE????” all at once. 

on schlatt’s end, he claims that techno’s arrival was part of schlatt’s plan all this time. on the other hand, techno claims he’s only here for wilbur and tommy. i fully believe techno would be with wilbur and tommy, but of course, i can never be sure. just don’t discount the possibility of a traitor!techno happening sometime soon.

even if ponk tried to kill techno and tommy as they tried to escape, tommy was able to kill ponk before techno got hurt. they eventually arrived to pogtopia, and there, wilbur declares that he will be a different man from what they know of him pre-election. i’m thinking there’s going to be more violence surrounding the war, and also some strategic planning. they want to get tubbo as a secret agent for them to tear schlatt and quackity apart, eventually leading to the downfall of the dictatorship. niki might also be someone crucial here because she and wilbur have been exchanging messages secretly, so there’s going to be some niki action too.

then, schlatt makes another announcement. after the walls have been torn down, he declares l’manberg gets a new name-- manberg. niki protests, and wilbur and tommy and rightfully disgusted, but schlatt wasn’t going to do anything about it.

everyone in pogtopia, before they can stack up on some resources, have to go back to the dream smp because they comedically have to get a visa for one day for when ninja joins the minecraft server. they were greeted peacefully (and techno steals some potatoes!!!), and it was definitely fun to see so many people in the server all at once. evetually, schlatt does grant them the visa, and they leave. they talk to tubbo one last time, and tubbo warns them about techno being allegedly “paid” by schlatt to betray tommy and wilbur. tommy regards it for now, but after that, they leave to return to pogtopia.

in pogtopia, they begin mining for resources. in the ravine they found below their base, tommy found a strip mine that leads EXACTLY BACK to his bunker. this will be used for a secret passage for them just in case they discreetly want to return to the dream smp.

this is kinda where the main plot stuff ends for wilbur and tommy’s streams, but in eret’s stream, apparently he and bad found pogtopia. they find techno silently, gifting him with potatoes, and leaving promptly after.

on quackity’s end, he’s really trying to convince schlatt to become more open-minded about this entire presidency. there’s some real tension going on between these two, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they break it off for quackity to join pogtopia. it really seems like they’re hinting it to become that way.

now, it seems like everything’s done, but nope. on eret’s stream, fundy single handedly burned down the l’manberg flag that niki built. FUNDY BETRAYAL AND ERET REDEMPTION ARC. niki is LIVID at fundy, but she wasn’t able to talk to him as he left the server immediately. we don’t know what fundy’s true intentions are, but it’s assumed that he’s siding with schlatt for now. eret at least tells niki they’ll try to rebuild it with concrete so it can’t be destroyed.

JUST AS ALL THIS SHIT CONCLUDES, SAPNAP JOINS. he only joins so he can catch up with everything he missed. eret and niki explain everything to him, and sapnap says he will have to talk to dream about this. he then leaves afterwards.

conclusion: BE HYPED. BE HYPED FOR PLOT. SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION TO THE ENTIRETY OF THE DREAM SMP FOR THIS AMAZING PLOT. DON’T SEND THEM HATE; MAKE CONTENT FOR IT INSTEAD. these people probably worked hard improv-ing/making plots for these, so show your love and appreciation for them!!!!!

[toriwakes]

Chrysanthemums [Draco Malfoy x Potter!Reader]

summary: you’ve lived in america for the past 15 years of your life. then, everything changed with one letter.

content warnings: very light cursing. some angst (?)

a/n: omg hi!! officially my second request, im so excited to share!! i know it’s SUUUUPER long but bars with me? i’m so proud of it and i’d actually love to do a mini series w this so lmk what u all think! ty for the request @peneflop !

everyone in america knew about harry potter. even though voldemort was a criminal in another country, americans felt just as worried. when the news got out, everyone was all over you. ‘(y/n) potter! are you related to him?’ you didn’t know the answer. but it was most likely not, right?

you sat next to your best friends, wishing them a good morning. “want to go pick up the mail?” lena asked. you nodded. the three of you walked down the halls, giggling and gossiping. “what’re you doing for halloween, (y/n)?” gina asked. you shrugged. “dunno. probably nothing. why?” she let out a dramatic gasp. “you’ve gotta come to this party! please don’t miss it, it’s gonna be amazing!” you laughed at her and turned the corner, entering the mail room. “i’ll think about it.” she made a face and you all separated to open your mail boxes. you flipped through your letters- nothing special. then something caught your eye. a parchment envelope with a burgundy wax seal. “guys?” your two friends rushed over. “what?” the said in unison. with a shaky hand, you lifted up the letter. “holy.” “shit.”

it was settled. you were moving to london and going to hogwarts. you were not keen on the idea at all, but the albus dumbledore demanded you be there. no witch could just say no. right now you were at the station, watching as hundreds of witches and wizards staggered around. “why’d you have to go before halloween?” gina sighed. you pouted. “i’ll write to you both once a week. i’ll tell you everything.” “yeah, you better!” lena teased. then you were met with anna. anna was your care taker. she wasn’t related to you but she cared for you since you didn’t have any connections to your family. you were told that your parents died in a car crash and they were both only children, so you had no aunts or uncles. poor circumstances, but that was your life. “i’m gonna miss you.” you said it quickly, afraid you may cry if you spoke too slow. “i’ll miss you too.” she was already crying. “now go, everyones already on.” you hugged them and waved goodbye before boarding the train.

you didn’t know anyone here. you shuffled to the back of the train and tried not to make yourself stand out too much. you walked back as far as you could and found yourself in a dark section of the train with empty booths. you smiled and sat down, pulling out your book that you brought along. you were daydreaming of lena and gina when you heard footsteps. when you shifted your gaze to the doorway, you jaw almost dropped. a tall (yet skinny) pale boy stood there. he along with two beefy men didn’t pay any mind to you. you hoped they wouldn’t notice you, but you were the only one there, it was unlikely they wouldn’t. they actually all got situated and you thought you were in the clear- until someone else came in. “i saw the saint on the way in. almost puked.” a brunette girl in all black clothes joked. they all laughed. “how was everyone’s- oh?” she saw you. the three boys looked at you, eyebrows furrowed. “hello, i’ve never seen you.” she spoke softly and say in front of you. “yeah. i’m new, it’s nice to meet you.” you stuck out your hand for a handshake. “american? that’s cute. i’m pansy.” she took your hand and you smiled. “pansy, that’s a pretty name. like the flower?” she didn’t say anything. you cleared your throat awkwardly. “i’m (y/n).” she smiled as a response. “would you three stop being so rude? introduce yourselves!” she was referring to the three boys. the blonde one stood up first. “malfoy.” he said curtly. you gave him a friendly smile. he didn’t return it. “goyle. that’s crabbe. he doesn’t talk much.” crabbe gave you a smile that you gladly returned. “come sit with us.”

for the next hour or so you bonded with your three new friends. pansy did most of the talking, goyle occasionally dropping in. draco didn’t speak too much but you could tell he was listening. every time he did, however, your ears got hot and you felt warm. he was very cute, but you didn’t know him like that. “the trolly is passing. (y/n), if i gave you some galleons would you get us some snacks? anything is fine.” you nodded, but were mildly confused. what the fuck are galleons? “pansy, she’s american. she doesn’t know what galleons are.” draco said. “oh- that’s right. go with her then.” pansy suggested. you took the gold coins from pansy and stood, draco following you. “hello! anything from the trolly?” the kind old woman asked. you picked out the thinks that look the nicest, draco talking the coins from your hand and giving them to the woman. you ignored the race in your heart when his hand touched yours. “did you get that?” he asked. you nodded. “you don’t speak too much, do you.” it wasn’t really a question. as you were about to answer, you made eye contact with a boy with very round glasses. could it be harry? draco noticed this and ushered you forward. “don’t talk to him.” just wait till they found out about your last name...

the students piled into the great hall, which was huge and rather beautiful. gather headmaster, who you recognized as professor dumbledore rose and spoke a few words. then, he made eye contact with you. “let the sorting ceremony begin!” you shuffled in with all the first years feeling awkward. the upper class man gave you strange looks- they must’ve thought you were daft. finally, you heard your name. “(y/n) potter?” you heard gasps in every direction. you stepped forward and sat on the stool. then, you felt the hat on your head. your hands were sweating.“another potter, eh? same qualities as the first yes... but where to put you?” everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats. the 7 minutes that had passed felt like 10 hours. then, you heard a small voice in your head. this voice wasn’t yours. “what’ll it be then? gryffinor or slytherin?’ you blinked. ‘just put me where you think i’ll exceed.’ you don’t know how, but you felt the sorting hat smirk. “SLYTHERIN!” the hat boomed. a mixture of gasps and cheers erupted. the witch who sorted you pointed to the direction of the house decorated in green and silver- you beamed when you saw pansy. you sat next to her and she embraced you into a hug. “bloody hell, you didn’t tell me you were a potter! you don’t remember anything from that night, do you?” draco didn’t say anything. “what do you mean?” you asked. now they all just looked at you weird. “do you actually not know what happened?” draco asked. you shook your head. “(y/n)...almost a decade ago, voldemort killed your parents. you and harry survived, you’re the only two that have ever lived after getting hit with the killing curse.” hearing all of this was almost too much to handle. so you did have a family? it wasn’t a car crash? your brother is the chosen one? “how? how did no one know?” pansy looked at you with pity. “you two were separated as infants. no one knew what you looked like. besides, for some reason you don’t have the scar like he does.” pansy said while moving your hair out of your face. scar? like the one on your chest? you didn’t mention it, but you wondered if that was what she meant. “we’ll treat you all the same. don’t you fret.” pansy smiled. “thank merlin she’s not a gryffindor though.” goyle commented. everyone laughed. “what’s wrong with the gryffindors?” draco eyed the table behind you. “they’re a bunch of snobs. think they’re so much better than everyone because they’ve got potter on their side, well guess what? now so do we.” you hummed and turned around. harry was gazing at you already.

that night you found a tie, a sweater, some slytherin robes and a little slytherin flag in your dorm. if harry was a gryffinor, shouldn’t you also be? you shook your head from the thought- you’re done second guessing yourself. to take your mind off it, you pulled out your stationary and began to write to your best friends back in america. boy did you have some things to share...

officially 3 weeeks till halloween. your friends were sending you letter about how excited they were, but you were bummed. you didn’t tell them that your parents died on halloween, you knew it would kill the fun for them. you smiled at the letter and the cute picture of them attached. you pinned it to the cork board- right next to the slytherin flag. you smiled to yourself and grabbed your school bag, existing the dorms and heading into the common rooms. your friends seemed to be waiting for you. “finally! i’m starved, let’s go.” pansy linked arms with you and led you out, hiding you to the great hall. the stares you used to revive everywhere faded. it was like you were always there. “what classes do you all have today?” you questioned, biting into your bagel. “astronomy, potions, transfiguration and defense. you?” draco asked. you and draco finally became formal friends. you owed it all to the many classes you shared together and pansy’s constant pestering. “the same. i just gave potions first.” everyone dove into conversation about their school schedule, followed by how much they hated it. you laughed every now and then but your mind was somewhere else. you had harry in a few classes today. you and him haven’t talked at hall, surprisingly. you were simply too intimidated to do so. “(y/n)!” goyle was calling you. “yeah?” “i said we better get going. if your first class is potions, you don’t want to be late.” you simply nodded and headed with your group to your classes. everyone broke off to their classes as you walked around the castle, but you noticed that draco stuck with you. “i thought you had astronomy?” you only asked once he was outside your classroom. “i do.” “then why are you here?” you never really noticed how much taller draco was than you. “i just wanted to make sure you got here safe. if that not what friends do?” you cocked a brow. “you never walk me to my classes. “bloody hell, im sorry i won’t do it again!” he said quickly. you chuckled. “that’s more like it.” at that, you entered class and he walked away. there was something about him...

“pay attention mrs.granger.” you felt like rolling your eyes at your professor. he was always finding a reason to kick on the gryffindors. however when snape saw nearly everyone was struggling, he huffed and raised his hands to gain the class’s attention. “alright. split into groups of two and finish the potion. do not pair with someone from your house.” everyone shuffled around- harry was looking at you. you acted first, picking up your books and moving to harry’s desk. “hi.” you said. “hello.” he responded. you two worked silently but used teamwork. you ready him instructions while he acted out. “wow, we’re doing way better than i thought we would’ve.” you gave him a curious look. “not that i didn’t think you’d do good, i meant-“ you cut him off by laughing. “you really are my brother aren’t you?” he went quiet. “about that.” you moved your head up to look at him. “i guess we should talk about it.” he nodded in agreement. snape approached your table. “since you two like to do a lot of chatting, we’ll test your potion. snape stuck a dropper in the potion and poured it onto a round item covered in warts. slowly but surely, the warts popped away. “perhaps you’re not as incompetent as i thought.” was all he said before leaving the cauldron and dismissing you both.

you and harry spent the rest of potions and a bit of lunch sitting outside, talking about life and everything you missed out on. “so when you were thirteen- you blew up our aunt?” harry laughed harder at the memory. “harry! there you are.” hermione and ron showed up behind him. “oh- hey guys. wanna sit?” hermione gave you an uncomfortable look. “i’d love to, but i need to speak to you alone harry.” just in cue, you heard your best friends voice. “(y/n)!” you turned around and saw pansy as well as draco. “it’s fine, i have to go anyway. see you later.” you hugged your brother and you both split off. “finally talked to him?” pansy questioned. “yeah. it felt good.” she smiled as a response and the three of you settled on hanging out near the lank for the remainder of lunch. you didn’t catch it, but draco smiled at your happiness.

one week till halloween. you were more upset than happy, but harry wasn’t too effected, but he’s known the truth for 4 years. you found out last month. since it was a weekend, the hogwarts students were roaming about, chatting about their plans for the big night. your friends apologized to you, explaining that they all had detention early morning with mcgonagall. well- all but one. draco walked up to you in the common room and sat beside you. over the past month you and draco became even closer than before. you found yourself having a lot of alone time with him, learning new things about the boy every time. the more you learned a the more interested you became, and before you knew it; you were slowly falling for draco malfoy.

“hey.” you chimed. “do you want to go for a walk?” he said after a minute of silence. you noticed he wasn’t making eye contact with you. you set down your book slowly. finally he looked at you, curious why you were taking so long to answer. “are you bloody deaf? i asked if you wanted to go for a walk.” you giggled while nodding. “yes-yes, i just love hearing how sassy you get. cmon.” you left first and you could hear draco mumbling something along the lines of ‘i’m not sassy...’ under his breath. you thought he was adorable.

the two of you ended up at the lake. it became a usual hangout spot for you and your friends. you did things like talk the day away, finish homework and especially practice magic here. there was a small patch of flowers in the grass- that’s how you identified your spot. as you and draco relaxed you flicked your wand, a flower now blooming in your hand. “..you love that spell.” he said, interrupting his last sentence. you looked at him, moving your body so that you were facing him. “guess i do.” you hummed softly, leaning forward to tuck the chrysanthemum behind his ear. he looked at you like you had three heads- was he not used to kind gestures? “that looks nice next to your hair.” you commented. his confused gaze stuck. you ignored it and continued swishing your wand, anxious that you may have done something wrong. just then, draco let out a sigh. “goddamnit.” he sounded defeated. “what’s wrong?” you asked. he finally looked at you normally, but this time he looked sad. “you. this is all your fault, you know that? i’m supposed to be this cold hearted, asshole type of guy. i wasn’t going to let myself get soft for some girl, especially an american.” you had no idea where he was going with this. the more he spoke, the more nervous you got. is he saying he doesn’t want to be friends? “but you’re so kind, and smart. you care so much about your friends and those you love. how could i not like you? and you being gorgeous is just a bonus...” you could not believe what you were hearing. was he admitting to having feelings for you? the silence scared him, so you spoke up. “are you saying what i think you’re saying?” he winced. “bloody hell, i’m saying i like you, you dimwit!” so you were right. “well..i like you too, draco?” he widened his eyes and tilted his head as if to say, ‘really?’ “yes, you dimwit.” you mocked. he chuckled and pulled out his wand. “hold out your hands and close your eyes.” you did as he asked, feeling something sprout in your palms. “open.” when you did, what appeared to be a flower crown (made up from chrysanthemums) rested in your hands. you gasped from joy, lifting it up so you could get a better look at it. “i love it.” you spoke. “(y/n)...would you ever consider being my girlfriend?” you felt time stop. draco really wanted you to be his girlfriend. “yes!” you said happily. he beamed back at you, looked at the flower-clad ground and smiling even brighter. “cool.” he chuckled. “cool.” you responded.

a few days later when you finally got the chance, you ran to your dorm to write to lena and gina. they were gonna flip! just as you planted the wax seal, you heard screaming coming from outside your door. there was pansy, bursting in and hugging you. “you’re dating draco?! oh my god!” she squealed. you laughed at the excitement. “yes! it’s amazing isn’t it?” you said. “yes! oh i’m so excited, my two best friends- dating!!!” pansy smiled greatly. “i’m going to the owlery, would you-“ “DRACO! take your girlfriend to the owlery!” you shook your head at pansy, bidding her goodbye and leaving with draco.

“who are you sending this to?” draco questioned as you attached the letter to the owls leg. “my friends back in america.” you stared as the owl flew away, farther and father, until it was out of sight. suddenly you felt a hand wrap around your waist- draco was looking at you with heart eyes. “what?” you laughed. “you’re just...really gorgeous.” you blushed hard. you didn’t even notice that you were staring at draco’s lips- and he was staring back. you both leaned in closer and one of his plate hands cupped your cheek. “can i kiss you?” he whispered so quietly you weren’t even sure you heard it. still, you nodded and he closed the gap. his lips were as soft as clouds, fitting like a missing puzzle piece with yours. you could’ve stayed like that forever; just you and him. but all good things must come to an end, right? “(y/n)?” the voice of your brother alarmed you, making you break away from draco. “potter.” draco spat. “get away from her!” harry ran to pull you away from him, standing in front of you as if draco was going to hurt you. “harry what are you doing?” you whined, moving him out of the way so now you were in between the boys. the way the two boys looked at each other- you knew there was some history you haven’t discovered. “protecting you? you don’t know what he could’ve brought you up here for!” draco looked at you; he was extremely annoyed. “harry, draco’s my boyfriend. i’m fine..” harry’s mouth hung open, eyes flickering from you to draco and back again. “potter, is there a problem?” draco asked in his usual sassy voice. “let’s see; you’re dating my sister, why would we have a problem malfoy?” shit.

harry stormed away out of rage. the walk back to the common rooms was silent. your head was too full to talk. you had just reconnected with harry, were you going to ruin it all just by being with draco? you really likes the blonde, but was he worth ruining your new founded family? “what are you thinking about?” he spoke finally. you snapped out of your gaze, shaking your head. “nothing.” “no, i know you’re thinking. you get all quiet when you think.” he knew you well, which made you feel a little better. “i think harry’s mad at me. i just met him and he already hates me.” draco cupped your cheeks, making you look at him. “listen to me- he does not hate you. you’re his sister, his only family. he couldn’t hate you.” you smiled in his hands. you told him you’d meet him back in the common room later. you had to find harry.

you walked around the castle for what felt like an hour, finally finding him in an empty classroom on the third floor. you entered silently. he was sitting on a desk with his back facing you. “hi.” you choked out. harry turned around and said nothing when he saw you. you took it upon yourself to sit next to him. “harry-“ “do you like him? like, actually like him?” you thought about it for a moment. you considered lying, maybe that’ll make him hate you less. but you knew he’d eventually find out and it’s only make things worse. “yeah. i do.” harry put his face in his hands. “not only are you a slytherin but you’re dating my sworn enemy.” he shook his head and laughed while saying it. “hey!” you said while playfully shoving him. the laughter died and you sat in sad silence again. “i don’t me being with draco to mess up our relationship.” harry but his lip in thought. “is there anything i could do to make it up to you?” you pleaded. an idea popped into your head. you pulled out your wand and swished it- a flower wreath following. “chrysanthemums?” harry asked, taking the wreath into his hands. you smiled. “yeah.” he put the wreath on his head as a joke, but it brushed some of his hair out of his forehead on the way. “i meant to ask you about the scar.” “what about it?” he said. you moves your shirt down, exposing the lightning bolt scar on your chest. “blimey.” he looked very shocked. “i don’t really know what this means.” you whispered. harry shook his head, implying he didn’t either. “are we alright then?” harry fidgeted with the wreath. it dawned upon him that no- he couldn’t stay mad at you. you’re the only family he has left. “i guess.”

over the next week you magras to patch things up with harry and draco well enough to celebrate halloween in peace. the feast was ravishing. you ate so many sweets that you couldn’t imagine having back in america. as per usual you sat with the slytherins- but something was telling you u that you should be with harry. so without a second though you turned to draco, “what do you think of eating with harry?” he almost spit out his pumpkin juice. “you brother hates me (y/n), you know that.” he knew you were going to get your way, but he was trying to convince you not to. your mind was made up. “he’ll have to deal with it.” let’s just say gryffindor wasn’t too fond of having slytherins at their table.

being draco’s girlfriend was a blessing. he showered you with gifts, affection, appreciation. you couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend. there was never a time where you doubted his feelings for you. now was one of them. you two were in his dorm, listening to the soft, low music coming from his record player. you were both just gazing at the ceiling while wrapped in each other’s arms. it’s not that you didn’t love lazy days with draco- you certainly did. you just really wanted to do something right now. “draco?” you finally said. “hmm?” you loved when he responded with a hum. you couldn’t explain why, but it made you go all fuzzy inside. “i wanna do something fun,” you flipped over so you were hovering above him now. he scrunched his brows. “like what?” you thought about it. what could two, 15 year olds do at one in the morning? “wanna sneak into the kitchens?” he burst out in laughter. you wanted to ask him what was so funny, but with a smile like that? you had to laugh with him. “alright- alright. let’s go.” so that’s how you two ended up there, pajamas and all. everything would’ve gone fine if draco would’ve just worn shoes. “bloody hell!” he screamed, dropping all the snacks. draco stubbed his toe on a nearby cart, and of course he had to be dramatic about it. “draco hush!-“ but it was too late. the lights turned on and the house elves caught you, immediately reporting to filch.

you never wished draco wasn’t such a diva more than right now. your saturday was being stolen by detention. even though you were with him, the detention was being watched by snape and you weren’t risking it again. you checked the clock; still two hours? god, you were gonna be here forever if something didn’t happen- “professor!” it was dolores umbridge, dressed in all pink, stumbling through the door. “yes, professor?” snape sneered. she straightened herself up and spoke in her high voice, “there are difficulties with some gryffindor student i could use some assistance with.” she said. “is there anyone else you can ask? i’m preoccupied at the moment..” she giggled. “yes, but i’m sure these students will listen to you.” umbridge looked at you and draco, obviously noticing the green color on your robes. “besides. i’m sure they’ve learned their lesson- haven’t you, children?” you both nodded frantically. “you’re dismissed.” you and draco shot up, not asking any questions and only daring to speak once they were both out of ear shot. “you’re an idiot, you know that?” you told him, playfully (but not really) shoving him to the side. he took your hand and put it in his, smirking to himself more than at you. “‘m your idiot.” rolled your eyes at the blonde. he really was.

before you knew it, the school year was passing by. you and harry were going to america along with some other friends to visit your home. ron was a nervous reck on the plane, not understanding why muggles put themselves through this torture. finally the four of you landed, slowly but surely making it through security and such. that’s when you spotted your two best friends- from miles away, at that. you ran towards them at full speed, almost toppling then over when you embraced them. “i missed you so much!” lena shouted. “i missed you too! god i have so many stories- oh! i need to introduce you to some people!” you face palmed, completely forgetting about your guests. “this-“ you grabbed harry’s arm and shoved him in front of you. “-is harry.” your friends gave you the exact same look; ‘is he..?’ you nodded. “erm- pleasure to meet you. i’m her brother.” both their eyes went wide, and they both hopped on him. “anna is going to go crazy! two potters- wow! she’s already had enough with toria let me tell you-“ “gina!” you scolded. she just laughed. “ah yes, this is ron, he hated me when i first met him.” ron threw his arms up. “you’re a slytherin, what’d you expect?” you hit him in the head as a response. you also ignored how lena ogled ron. then, you felt your boyfriends long arm snake around your waste and press a chaste kiss to your head. “it’s not as bad as i thought it’d be here.” he commented. “and this my dear friends; is draco. my boyfriend.” draco smiled kindly and held out his hand. they both shook it. harry rolled his eyes in annoyance. then you saw her. “anna!” you’ve done a lot of screaming today, you noticed. harry showed up behind you, tapping you on the shoulder. “who’s that?”

harry almost cried when he found out he had a guardian. he had told you about sirius, but he sadly passed away. it’s like he was getting a second chance. anna took you all home in her van (ron getting even more nervous now). right now, all of you sat in anna’s back yard. “did you learn anything cool over there? new spells?” gina inquired. you smirked, pulling out your wand and preforming the spell you’ve mastered this school year.

“chrysanthemums?”

[sokkas-honour]

for spotify wrapped: #7 and zuko?

checkmate - zuko x reader

pairing: modern!zuko x fem!reader

wc: 4.3k

warning: parties, alcohol, vomiting, kind of cheating, lmk if i’m missing smth

notes: the party in here is a kind of based off the ones i’ve gone to so they might be drastically different than they actually are lmao. if a character is very ooc for you, please lmk, i’m often scared that i differ too much from who they actually are. also i loved writing this and have been working on it for days.

-

you think you're funny right? calling me drunk when it's too late at night

he sat at his desk, book open as he studied for his earth kingdom history test late that saturday night when he received a call. he wasn’t very interested in answering but he reconsidered when he saw your name as the caller id. with a sigh he clicked accept.

“heyyyy zuzuuuu.” your words slurred through the phone when he finally picked up. voice sounding somewhat absent as lyrics from whatever song was on played in the background. you must’ve been yelling into the phone as the music seemed to playing rather loudly.

“hey y/n.” zuko sighed but still greeted you, a small smile forming on his lips at the fact that he was talking to you.

“did you knowww that you’re kinda cute?” you asked, a loud giggle escaping your lips at your drunken confession.

“thanks y/n.” a blushed spread accros his cheeks at your compliment.

“zuzzuuuuuuuuuu, come to the party. pleasseee.” you begged, your words starting to slur even more as you pleaded for your friend to come to the gathering.

“where are you right now?” he asked, realising that he hadn’t heard of any party during the week and hadn’t seen anything in their group chat. he had absolutely no idea where you were and who you were with.

“jet’s place. he invited me to his party with his friends.” you explained, practically shouting into the phone as the music behind you blared.

“did you go alone?” he pushed for more information, concern growing as you explained the situation. he’d heard rumours on things jet had previously done around campus and even in high school, none of it sounded any good and it rose all of his red flags.

“well no, with jet.” you stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“i mean with someone from our friendgroup.” he clarified, remembering that your drunken self probably wasn’t exactly thinking much.

“nope.” you popped the ‘p’ as you cheerily responded which earned a sigh from the firenation boy.

“what’s jet’s address? i’ll be there soon.” he concluded. he’d come to get you and let you spend the night at his place since you seemed a bit too drunk to be trusted to be left alone.

“he texted me roku valley number 35? i think? it’s this huge house.” you seemed to have sobered up as you told him where you were.

“i’ll be there in less than 15 minutes.” he informed the drunken girl and started grabbing his keys.

“see you zuuuzuuuu.” he heard you say but you didn’t hang up so he didn’t either, figuring you probably wanted to say something else.

right as he was about to grab his jacket, he heard a discussion between jet and yourself and grabbed the phone, and put it on speaker to be able to know exactly what was happening.

“hey y/n, you enjoying yourself.” jet asked, seeming to have not been affected by any alcohol yet. unbeknownst to zuko, he had handed you a bottle of beer which didn’t take you long to finish.

“yeah, i even got a friend to come.” you excitedly responded as you continued to drink.

zuko listened intently as he left his apartment to get to his car, he threw his phone in the passengers seat and started his car as another distinctive voice came up into the phone.

“so what about you and that firenation boy.” jet asked, this time no music was blaring but the voices were just muffled as your phone was in a pocket of yours. the no music meant that you had stepped out of the main room and you were probably alone with the boy.

at the realisation, zuko sped up, the roads were practically empty so he didn’t bother anyone as he couldn’t wait to come and get you.

“zuzu?” he hadn’t been paying much attention to your conversation with jet as he focused on the road ahead but the mention of his caused him to pay half attention to the call.

“i dont know. he’s like my best friend y’a know.” you explained to the boy after he had nodded, zuko deducted the last part.

he decided to just hang up as he was getting closer to his destination and before he knew it, he was in front of the house where the party took place. he parked rather hazardly on the sidewalk but he wasn’t going to be there for long, a simple get in, find you, and get out.

when he opened the door, some random generic pop song was blaring and a crowd of people were all in the center of the room, drunkenly dancing around. he had to push a path for himself to try and find you but it was a bit hard considering it was perfectly lit.

“zuko?” he heard the familiar voice of haru, a fellow classmate with whom he had shared classes with in his sophomore year of college.

“hey haru, have you seen y/n?” he didn’t feel like small talk as he was concerned for you. thankfully for him, haru seemed to pick up a small stress in his words and pointed to the kitchen with his head.

“thanks.” zuko smiled and quickly left to the direction that the earth kingdom boy had said. when he finally found it, it was practically empty apart from two people who seemed like they were about to indulge in a make out session and his eyes widened when he was able to recognise you. he’d recognise you anywhere.

“you mind leaving?” apparently he hadn’t been very discreet as the boy, who he saw was jet, moved his head to glare at the newcomer. interested, you turned around, your back now facing jet and you grinned.

“zuko!” your excitedly exclaimed, quickly leaving jet’s grip and skipped to your friend happily. to any sober person, your skipping was a mix of jumping and almost falling, and in any other circumstance, zuko would’ve found it adorable.

“hey y/n/n.” he was a tad bit surprised as you wrapped your arms around his waist but relaxed when you slightly cuddled into his chest.

“nicely played scar boy. nicely played.” jet gritted through his teeth at the fact that zuko had just taken the girl he had been flirting with away from him.

“jet that’s mean, zuko’s scar is very pretty to me.” you mumbled, not loud enough for the person that you actually wanted to hear it but loud enough for zuko to hear and it made his heart race.

telling me truths that you know all are lies, yeah, you think you're funny right?

the car ride home was quiet from both sides, zuko focused on the road while you went in and out of sleep.

when he finally parked near his apartment, he got out of the car and when he went to help you, he saw you were already out but slightly leaning against the car as you were tired.

“see zuzu? i’m not that drunk.” you gave him your signature drunken smile, earning a chuckle from him as he wrapped his hand around your waist to help you stand up.

he kept it around you as he you went up the two flights of stairs and he been kept it around you as he opened the door. you almost sprinted to bathroom as soon as the door was open, feeling the contents of the night come up.

concerned, zuko quickly shut his door and went after you. his heart broke slightly when he saw you leaned over the sink, a weak hand holding your hair back as you body ridded itself of whatever was in its stomach. he leaned down, wrapped a solid hand around your hair and rubbed circles on your back as you kept going.

when you finally felt like your stomach was completely empty, you rose your hand slightly. eyes red and cheeks puffy, you tried to give zuko some sort of joking grin but you were only met with a concerned face.

he let go of your hair and filled up a nearby cup of water and handed it you while you sat on the ground, not feeling like getting up just yet.

“spirits y/n, how much did you drink?” he bent down to your level, hand on your knee and worried eyes staring in yours.

“don’t know.” you shrugged your shoulders before slowly sipping the water.

“i guess you can tell me tomorrow morning, after you’ve rested a bit alright?” he suggested, taking the now empty cup from your hand and placing it on the sink counter. he extended his hand towards you to help you stand up and you gladly took it.

you let him guide you to his bedroom. you took a seat on his bed and absentmindedly stared at the wall in front of you as zuko grabbed a pair of his sweatpants and a shirt for you to sleep in. you staring got interrupted as you felt the clothes land on you, turning around, you saw a small smirk on his face.

“how kind zuko.” you seemed to have somewhat sobered up, throwing a playful grin his direction as he turned around to let you change in privacy.

“once you’re done, i’ll just grab a thing or two and go to the living room.” he explained, meaning he was giving you the bed.

“no zuko stay, it’s fine.” you crawled to the other side of the bed in his clothes to grab his hand, trying to get him to stay.

“you sure? don’t want you throwing up on me.” he joked, earning a slap on the arm from you as you moved back to the other side of the bed to give him some space.

you had taken your phone out of your pocket and were scrolling through it as you waited for zuko to get ready.

‘had fun tonight, see you tomorrow evening? 7pm?’ you texted jet, hoping you could finish whatever you started.

‘cant wait’ was his response that came almost immediately. a smirk on your face, you shut off your phone and placed it face down on the night table next to the bed as zuko entered the room.

“who were you texting?” he asked, eyebrow raised in questioning.

“no one, just scrolling through insta.” you lied, a reassuring smile on your face as he took his spot next to you. you mumbled one last thing before placing your head on the pillow and passing out. it wasn’t loud but you made sure that it was loud enough for zuko hear it. “i love you.”

you think you're super sly, flirting with them but telling me you're mine,

zuko woke up before you, smiling at your adorable soft snoring. he knew you were going to have one hell of a hangover so he prepared the ibuprofen and the glass of water, and set it on the night table closest to you before heading to the kitchen. he figured that he might as well make breakfast for the two of you, knowing that you’d be ravenous as you had been the multiple times you’d spent the night.

the boy found himself falling asleep next to you at least a couple of times a month, this being the third in two weeks. you two had never defined your relationship but you were both there for each other. he often found himself taking a drunk you home, wether it be from a random campus party or a little get together with friends. he didn’t mind, he loved spending time with you.

he got out the pan, the eggs and the bacon. that was something he knew how to cook and it was your favourite post-drunk breakfast, you always claimed that his bacon and eggs were the best.

while he was cooking the bacon, he heard some rustling from his room and a small knowing smile spread accross his face. he could hear the floorboard creek as you stepped out of the room and arrived practically directly in the kitchen.

you had woken up to an empty bed but to a heavenly smell. once you saw zuko in the kitchen being the cause for the delicious aroma that had filled the appartment, you rubbed the last of the sleep out of your eyes and walked towards him. you thought he looked adorable as he cooked so you wrapped your arms around him and cuddled into his back. you knew exactly what this did to him.

“good morning sleepy head.” he greeted you, heart racing a bit at your proximity. zuko desperately wanted to turn around to kiss you good morning but opted for keeping his attention on your breakfast.

“good morning.” you mumbled into his shirt, too lazy to remove your head from its comfortable position which earned a small chuckle from the raven haired boy. you could feel it in his chest.

“sleep well?” he asked as you moved your head so that only your chin was against his back, letting your just stare at the ceiling.

“like a baby.” your morning voice prevented you from saying it normally so it came out more as a rasp than anything.

“figured as such, you passed out as soon as i turned off the lights. how’s the hangover?” concerned laced in the last part, moving the eggs from the pan to a plate that he had already prepared.

“better than expected, i’ll take the pill after i eat something.” you explained, trying to clear your throat in order to have a bigger range of voice.

“mind unlatching yourself? breakfast is ready.” he explained as he placed the final bacon on the two plates then turned off the stove. you reluctantly removed your arms, a small pout forming on your lips.

when zuko turned around, a plate in each hand, he laughed a bit at your childish expression but still leaned a bit down to place his lips against yours as he wanted to when you first stepped into the room.

you smiled into the kiss and it replaced the pout even after he broke it in order to place the two plates on opposites sides of the two tables. you decided to make yourself useful and went to grab the silverware.

the majority of the meal was spent in silence, a couple of giddy smiles and compliments on the food were exchanged but a conversation didn’t pick up until you were about to finish the last of your eggs.

“did jet do anything last night.” so that’s what zuko was thinking about during the meal.

“no he didn’t zuko, i wouldn’t have let him anyway. i may be drunk but i’m not dumb.” you explained, telling a small white lie in order to reassure your friend. jet and you were about to make out but zuko didn’t have to know that, even if he saw the position you two were in, it was possible to lie about the intentions.

“you sure? didn’t seem like nothing when i found you.” he sipped his water as he doubted your previous statement.

“i was a bit nervous so he was kind enough to talk me out of the funk i was in.” you lied through your teeth but kept a genuine comforting smile, even extending your hand onto the table in order for him to grab it.

“what were you nervous about? since you seem to remember last night pretty well.” he looked at your hand but refrained from bringing his up to yours.

“i only remember bits and pieces zuzu. and don’t know really, i was probably nervous about you.” you bit your lip, waiting to see zuko’s reaction to your wild claim. as you expected, his eyes widened in shock and blushed.

“me? why would you be nervous about me?” he stuttered a bit in the beginning, his heartrate picking up your confession. zuko had been head over heels for you ever since he saw you in his first class of his sophomore year, and he wished more than anything that you two would get together.

“don’t know, maybe it has something to do with that beautiful face of yours.” you brought your mug of tea that he had made up to your lips to hide your small smirk but you still sent a wink in his direction. you loved watching his whole face illuminate and his cheeks grow redder.

“oh.” was all he managed to say, too stunned to say anything. zuko had been in multiple relationships before, boys and girls, but none of them ever drove him as crazy as you did.

the rest of the morning was spent by helping him do the dishes along with a bit of cuddling on the couch as the news served as background noise. sadly, an alarm rang from your phone, reminding you that you had somewhere to go. time to kill and get ready before your little rendezvous.

“do you have to go?” zuko mumbeld, not wanting you to leave his embrace.

“yeah i set a reminder to remember to start studying for the math final.” you explained, slightly unwrapping yourself from his grip.

“that’s in a long time y/n.” zuko rose an eyebrow in confusion, unwrapping his arms from your waist to let you get up.

“yeah but i’ve been falling behind and need to catch up by myself.” you explained, grabbing your phone and put it into the pocket of the sweatpants you were wearing and you realised you were still in zuko’s clothes.

“you don’t mind me keeping your clothes that i’m wearing right? i’ll change once i get home.” you gave him your best puppy dog eyes in order to convince him to let you keep his comfy clothes.

“of course, you look hot in them. also, feel free to leave your old clothes here for the next time you crash for the night.” he eyed you up and down, loving how adorable you looked in his clothes. it wasn’t the first time he saw you in them, the number of times you needed new clothes after a party was so high he lost track. you usually kept them but returned some.

“why thank you zuko.” you teased, grabbing your coat that he had placed delicately on top of an armchair.

“see you soon?” he wishfully asked hoping you two could go out together sometime as you were about to leave the room.

“you can count on it pretty boy.” you sent him a small smirk before shutting the door behind you. behind the door was a lovestruck boy that finally had his chance.

building me up, but buttercup you lied, now in gonna ruin your life,

a couple of weeks after that night, zuko and you had spent a couple of afternoons together and zuko savoured every minute of them. you were supposed to meet him and the rest of the gaang at a coffee shop but everyone had already finished their drinks and you still hadn’t showed up.

“you sure she’s going to show up zuko? it’s y/n.” sokka took zuko out of his constant glancing at his phone to check for any messages from you. you were somewhat notorious for showing up to friend dates later then the decided time.

“she said she would be there, y/n promised me she’d be there today.” the boy insisted, opting to stare out the window when he spotted katara placing her head on aang’s shoulder.

“she’s over an hour late, let’s just head back to our place and ask her to meet us there?” aang suggested after placing a small kiss on his girlfriend’s forehead.

“yeah zuko, i love y/n just as much as you but she might just have gotten caught up with something.” toph shrugged her shoulders, trying to help everyone convince the raven haired boy to just leave the coffee shop.

“i guess you’re right. let’s go.” zuko turned his head from his outdoor gazing and smiled to his friends who all cheered a bit before everyone grabbed their jackets.

everyone walked in pairs to take up less space on the sidewalk on the way to katara’s, toph’s and aang’s apartment. zuko found himself walking side by side with suki who was talking to him about a recent goof that sokka recently made. he felt bad for not fully paying attention but he couldn’t help thinking about why you didn’t show up or even text him. you never came late to any of your dates so why be late now.

all of a sudden, he bumped into toph who had stopped walking, apparently everyone stopped walking for some reason but he was so engrossed in his thoughts he didn’t realise it.

“why did we stop.” he asked, turning his head into the direction that everyone was staring in. he squinted his eyes, trying to see what everyone was seeing.

“jet.” sokka said through gritted teeth, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the aftermentiononed boy. zuko finally spotted him, katara’s short lived highschool romance who supposedly ended badly. he had heard some rumours around campus but other than that, it seemed like a bad highschool experience.

“oh no.” he heard those two words slip out of sukis mouth as he saw who jet was with, he would recognise you from anywhere. he saw jet whispering something into your ear which earned a giggle from you before leaning in to peck his lips.

“how about we go this way.” aang nervously suggested as everyone spotted you, not wanting to make this too uncomfortable for anyone but it was too late, zuko’s heart dropped at the sight.

“yeah, sounds good to me.” he managed to say, swallowing hard as he couldn’t take his eyes off of the similar way you acted with jet. the look you gave him was the same, he thought it was reserved for him.

cause ive gotten tired of the games that you play, when you tell me you love me then you throw me away,

when he got him that night, realisation dawned on him. every time you left a bit early, claiming to go study or go see friends, you were probably lying. it solidified when he received a text from you, probably apologising for being late because you didn’t seem to notice your whole friend group down the street from you.

‘hey zuzu, i’m so sorry but not making it today. i got caught up with this highschool friend i ran into.’

the text basically aggravated him, he saw the reason why you were late and receiving a text for you lying about why you weren’t there. he decided not to bother to respond and basically just find a way to release his agression. opting not to make his phone a victim of his anger, he grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at the wall.

‘we still on for friday night? at that really good firenation restaurant?’ he heard his phone ding with a message from you right after he picked up the poor pillow that had suffered so much.

zuko was about to call you to confront you but then it hit him, you were just playing with him, you were just playing with jet. you probably only saw him as a friend but noticed his obvious feelings and decided to toy with him, or maybe that’s just what you did with everyone.

you two never actually said that you were both a thing, which is probably your excuse for all of this. but there was one thing you didn’t realise, and it was that two people could play at this game.

‘of course, see you at around six pm at zheng-ho’s delicacies?’ he smirked slightly when he got your enthusiastic text back, agreeing to meet him then and there.

the only thing left was to bring someone else into this game, someone who had previously been apart of his life in the beginning of college. she probably wouldnt mind a small rekindling without any real commitment.

he searched for her name in his contacts and clicked on it, realising it had been a while since he had contacted his sisters friend and his old girlfriend.

‘hey mai, i know it’s been awhile but wanna meet up at around five this friday?’ and sent, your single player game was now a multiplayer one.

so cry me a river 'til you drown in the lake, cause you may think you're winning but checkmate,

the rest of the gaang decided to avoid the topic during the week, letting the tension between the two of you be resolved on your own. you of course were unaware of them seeing you with jet, and even more unaware that zuko saw you kiss him, so you kept flirting with him, feeling a bit down when he didn’t always reciprocate it.

so now you stood, in front of zheng-ho’ delicacies at exactly six pm, waiting for your date with zuko. if anyone asked you, you’d say you felt a bit bad about dragging zuko into your games but it entertained you, it kept you on your toes.

you recognised the firenation boy across the street thanks to his scar. but who you didn’t recognise was the girl with long black hair that was holding his hand. he looked down at her and placed his hand on her cheek to lean down and kiss her. the action making your blood boil, what the hell was he doing.

you took your phone out to pretend you didn’t see anything, only lifting it when your heard his footsteps next to you.

“hey y/n.” he greeted you as you lifted your head with a small smile, lifting yourself up slightly to kiss him, taking him by surprise.

“good evening zuzu.” your hand immediately went to grab his, trying to show him that you had the upper hand in whatever game he was playing. you didn’t know that he saw your kiss with jet, you didn’t know that he had figured out your little game.

“shall we.” he unlachted his hands from yours, holding the door open for you with a smirk onto his face, knowing you were shaken by the change of power dynamic in whatever game you were both now playing.

yeah you may think you're winning but checkmate.

general taglist: @butterfly-skinnylegend

zuko taglist: @duh-dobrik

atla taglist: @missmorosis @draqondance @biqherosix @firelady-jay @welovediaaxx

[chelsfic]

Leftovers - Part 8 - Nandor the Relentless x Reader Fanfic

Previous parts: Masterlist

Summary: The night of the vampire orgy arrives and brings with it a boat load of angst!

A/N: I decided to just run with it and let my angst flag fly. Bon appetit!

Warnings: Female reader, Angst, dumbassery, idiots in love, infidelity I guess

---

The cameraman steps up to the barred window of the cell and points his lens inside. You’re curled up with Guillermo on a hastily installed couch, leaning into one another for warmth in the cold, damp room. A mouse scurries across the floor and something drips from the ceiling over your heads.

“You don’t think they forgot about us, do you?” you ask, trepidation clear in your voice. You tug the sleeves of your sweatshirt down to cover your frozen hands and press yourself further into his body for warmth.

Guillermo glances at the camera with a wince as he lies, “No. I’m sure they didn’t forget us.”

---

Earlier in the evening:

“The last orgy was a bit of a disaster and I never got to use it…”

Nandor stands in the middle of his room, doing a twirl for the camera to show off his outfit. Chains and leather straps crisscross his bare chest, and his waist and legs are studded with protruding dildos of varying sizes. 

“Life of the orgy!” he gushes.

There’s a beat of silence that follows and then a muted question from the documentary crew, “And will...[unintelligible]...be participating in the orgy?”

Nandor avoids answering, looking away from the camera and baring his fangs in a nervous smile.

---

Guillermo’s lying across your bed, absently scrolling on his phone while you dig through your closet, holding up and rejecting piece after piece. Your “style,” if you could call it that, consists almost entirely of work out clothes, derby merch and the odd sundress for special occasions. Not exactly ripe pickings for a vampire orgy ensemble. But you know you still have that pair of fishnets from when you first joined the league and you figure you can build a look around them.

“So, you’re not gonna wear the t-shirt?” Guillermo grins, rolling onto his side and showing off the highly fashionable “Do Not Eat” shirt.

“Nandor will protect me,” you reply automatically, your voice is muffled from the back of the closet. “I just moved in! How can it be such a disaster already?”

Guillermo gets up and comes over to lean on the door frame of the closet as he cautiously warns, “Uh...okay, but...Nandor isn’t--um--he’s not known for being very reliable in social situations…”

Guillermo’s mind flashes back to the time at Simon the Devious’s club, when Nandor would have gladly handed him over to a strange vampire just to avoid confrontation. Still, his loyalty tugs at him and he adds, “I mean, his heart is in the right place...most of the time. But he just gets so excited and he has this need to impress when he’s around other vampires.”

You back out of the closet, clutching the rogue fishnets victoriously in your hands and looking back at Guillermo quizzically, “I know he can be flakey, Guillermo. But...he loves me.”

You recall the words falling from his lips that night...my love...and an irresistible smile forms on your lips.

Guillermo stares at you, gobsmacked, for a moment before replying, “Alright, Smash. But...are you sure you even want to go? I mean--and don’t be offended--you lost your virginity like a minute ago and now you’re going to an orgy?”

Heat spreads across your face and you look pointedly away from your friend. You walk over to the bed and pick up the little card from your nightstand, smiling down at it and tracing your fingers over the glittery letters. After a minute you finally answer, “It’s not--I mean, I’m not going to...do anything with anyone else. I just have to be there because…”

Because you’re afraid your boyfriend is going to have insane vampire sex with strangers if you don’t keep an eye on him… Because you’re too chicken to actually talk with him about it… Because what if he thinks you’re silly and stupid and decides being with a human is just as boring as he always assumed?

Guillermo reads your thoughts on your face and he croons, “Oh, honey. Listen, I was here for the last orgy. And, even though it never really got going… Smash, it’s not something for the faint of heart.”

“I’m not faint of heart!” you insist, your voice pitched up in indignation.

“No!” Guillermo agrees, moving to sit beside you on the bed. “No, you’re not. You’re in love with an immortal blood-sucking fiend who has centuries of experience on you, though. And you’re very, very new to...all of this. I don’t want to see you get hurt. You should talk to him.”

You can tell from his tone that Guillermo isn’t optimistic about the likelihood of Nandor understanding your human worries and actually changing his ingrained behavior in response. But you know he’s right, you should still talk to him.

---

You find Nandor in his room, making a few last minute adjustments to his attire. As soon as you set eyes on him you stop in your tracks, making an involuntary choking sound as you take in the ridiculous number of enormous dildos strapped to his body.

Nandor looks up as you enter and he puffs out his chest, stalking toward you with his arms held up and his mouth open in a menacing hiss.

“What do you think, my mortal? Do you want to run in fear...or do you want to come?”

You can’t think of a single thing to say to that. All that’s running through your head as you stare, transfixed, at Nandor’s ridiculous costume, is that he clearly hasn’t planned this with his freshly deflowered lover in mind.

You finally clear your throat nervously and mutter, “That’s what you’re planning to wear?”

You look down at your PJ pants and hoodie, feeling suddenly, painfully ordinary. How could you have ever thought you were a match for someone as intense, seductive and dangerous as Nandor the Relentless?

Nandor misses your reaction and enthuses, “Isn’t it great? If I position myself just right--” he drops into a squat-- “I can accommodate two astride each knee and hip while still having room at my pelvis…”

He starts thrusting into the air lewdly and you hold out your hands to stop him.

“Nandor,” you’re at a loss for words, feeling a hollow ache in your chest already anticipating the hurt to come. “I thought now that we’re...an item...you might want it to just be you and me, tonight.” And forever.

Nandor stops mid-thrust with a quizzical expression, “At an orgy?”

“Well…” how to explain your seemingly very human sensibilities on monogamy. “You said you love me, right?”

Nandor rises and comes toward you, looming over your smaller frame and taking your shoulders in his large hands as he answers, “Yes, my sweet mortal. But what does that have to do with the vampire orgy? Didn’t Nadja explain to you--?”

“Yes, yes!” you interrupt, frustrated. “But I don’t want you to...have sex with anyone else! Not while we’re…”

The cameraman bumps into a heavy lamp by the door, momentarily drawing Nandor’s attention. Suddenly feeling the weight of expectation on his shoulders, Nandor bristles and straightens his shoulders as he answers your concern.

“But you are my human,” he says, slowly as if he’s explaining to a child. “I am not your vampire.”

You close your eyes for a second, holding a hand to your chest as if you can somehow stop the damage happening inside. You really didn’t think he could hurt you so much with just a few words.

Desperately you try one last approach, “But...if you’re going to be busy having crazy, acrobatic sex with all these strange vampires...how are you going to protect me? Or do you think Nadja’s t-shirt is really going to stop someone who’s determined?”

“Ahhh!” Nandor cries with a relieved smile. “That’s your worry! Well, fear not, my human. I have worked out the perfect arrangement to keep both you and Guillermo safe for the evening.”

---

Nandor, wearing a heavy, fur-lined robe over his sex gear, leads you and Guillermo down the narrow staircase into the basement. You haven’t been down here since your first night in the house, when Nandor locked you up in the cell to save for later. Though it’s late April, there’s snow on the ground outside and a chill in the air. As you descend the steps the temperature drops even more. But you hardly notice in your effort to keep yourself from falling apart after your disastrous discussion with Nandor. Your eyes are trained on the broad expanse of his back, as if you can somehow will him to turn around and really see how much you’re hurting. Guillermo takes your hand in his and gives it a squeeze. 

“Here we are!” Nandor announces, stopping in front of the human cell with a grandiose sweep of his arm. “I’ve made it nice and cozy for you. You’ll be locked up safe and sound, so no wandering vampires can get you. And I’ll come down and let you out before dawn.”

You glance skeptically inside and see that one of the couches from the library has been moved down here for your comfort. Other than that it’s still the same damp, dark, depressing cell you remember.

“Nandor, this is...extreme,” you complain, looking up to meet his eyes for the first time since you left his room after he said those harsh words. You see his gaze flicker as he takes in your red-rimmed, tear-misted eyes, but his expression is inscrutable.

“I agree, master. We could just stay upstairs in Smash’s room…”

“Silence, Guillermo!” he hisses, not taking his eyes off of you. He reaches up to cup your face in his hands and his expression softens. “This is the safest place for you to be. Only I have the key to the cell. You will be...protected.”

“I don’t care about being protected!” you cry. “I just want--”

“Enough! My word is final on this!” Nandor cuts you off and his tone is closer to the one he uses for Guillermo. You shrink away from his touch and he looks crestfallen for a second, but then he straightens his spine adopting the warrior’s confidence that he wears like a robe to cover what’s underneath. “Into the cell, now. Both of you.”

The door closes with a creak of its hinges and the heavy thunk of the lock sliding into place. 

Nandor peaks through the barred window and waves at the two of you, “Alright, have a good night! Wish me luck at the orgy!”

His footsteps echo through the basement as he walks away, trailing the camera crew behind him. Once they leave, the cell is only dimly illuminated by the guttering flame of a single candle stick mounted on the wall outside. You meet Guillemo’s eyes silently for a long moment and then plunk down onto the couch and cry.

---

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Nandor curses frantically as he clambers down the basement steps, two at a time. 

It’s the night after the orgy. He’d gone to bed at dawn feeling drained--literally and figuratively--and covered in the slow-to-heal puncture wounds characteristic of vampire fangs. The orgy was a resounding success. Though, truth be told, Nandor spent much of the night going through the motions as his mind fixated on the look of hurt betrayal on his human’s face before the party. He couldn’t understand why you’d begrudge him a night of dark fornication, a celebration of his vampiric identity. Nor why you’d resent his efforts to keep you safe from the violent debauchery. All he knew for sure was that with each new sexual encounter of the evening he found himself missing you and wishing more and more that you were by his side.

That is, until he and Laszlo partook of some opium infused blood towards the end of the festivities. Nandor stumbled to bed with a pleasant buzzing in his head that completely drowned out the small voice warning him that there was something important he’d forgotten.

“She’s going to be pissed!” he hisses into the camera while rushing down the dark corridor toward the cell. As he approaches the door he says, louder, “Good evening! Wake up time! Everyone have a nice sleep?”

He turns the key in the lock and swings open the door, ducking inside with a grimace of trepidation. He finds you curled up with Guillermo on the couch. The two of you are shivering against the cold that feels like it’s settled permanently into your bones. You’ve spent an entire night and a day locked in a frigid cell without a blanket, food, or any amenities whatsoever. 

Nandor fiddles his fingers nervously and asks, “Guillermo...mortal...are you alright?”

It’s Guillermo who finally answers, “You forgot about us.”

“No, no...not exactly,” Nandor denies. “But you know how it is with guests over. Things get very hectic--”

“You forgot,” Guillermo repeats. “About. Us.”

Nandor’s shrugs helplessly, “A...bit. I forgot a bit.”

You can feel the intensity of his eyes on you, but you refuse to look up as you stand on shaky legs and make your way around him and out of the basement. 

Nandor stands there silently for a moment before turning to the camera and mouthing, “Fuck.”

---

Tags:

@festering-queen​ @kandomeresbitch​ @strangestdiary​ @glitterportrait​ @scuzmunkie​ @redwoodshadows

[i-am-gek]

Brittany and Santanta Snixxth Anniversary

Santana and Brittany weren't the most traditional of couples- being gay being the least of their unorthodox sins. Nevertheless, Brittany had been insistent since their first anniversary that they follow one tradition. The blonde had, with the promise of sweet lady kisses, gotten her Latina to agree to give the traditional gift for every anniversary. Santana, to her benefit, agreed but also used Valentines day, which fell only 6 days earlier, as her opportunity to be extravagant. As their 6th anniversary approached, Santana was pleasantly surprised that candy, for her sweet sweet Britt, would be the perfect gift. But it couldn't just be a small pack of gummy bears- no Santana would be going all out.

On the other hand, every year Brittany wondered why she'd chosen this restriction for their gifts. Santana always found a way to take something simple, like paper, and make it extravagant. Last year, the gift had been wood, and while Brittany had ended up getting her girlfriend a wooden treble clef pendant, Santana bought Brittany a custom cherry wood guitar after the blonde expressed interest in playing. She'd even enlisted Blaine to give her lessons, which he did gladly. This year, Brittany was at a loss again- she could give Santana another necklace but the other traditional gift was iron. It was symbolic of strength, and if there was one word Brittnay always thought of when she thought of the raven haired seductress, it was strength. After she'd exhausted herself looking at classic gifts, realizing none would suit her wife, Brittany called up her best resource- Quinn.

"B, you know Santana better than anyone. I don't see how I can be of assistance." Quinn said, pushing her sunglasses up as she sat across Brittany at Starbucks. 

"I know I do, but I'm stuck. Iron is such a weird material." the taller blonde ran a hand through her hair.

"You said it symbolizes strength, right?" the shorter girl asked, and after receiving a nod "What's the strongest moment you can think of? The strongest thing Santana has ever done."

"Admitting she loved me." Brittany said softly.

"Well, I don't know exactly how that went down, but I bet you can figure something out." Quinn patted the back of Britrany's hand "But she'll love it, as long as it comes from the heart."

Santana stood in the middle of something that reminded her of the Wonka chocolate factory, and was beyond overwhelmed by the choices. She knew there was lots of ways to customize candy- but this was extravagant. A worker wandered over and offered to help, and for the first time, she actually appreciated it.

"Yeah, it's my sixth anniversary and I need it to be awesome. She loves candy, but I want it to be special." Santana explained.

"I think something that you made yourself always stand out. We have a way for you to make some of the candy. A skilled chef will help you along the way but the heart is still there." he offered.

"I think that's a splendid idea. Could I get in as soon as possible?"  Santana asked "I'll pay."

"Come in tomorrow and they'll help you out." he smiled and Santana left, writing ideas for what to make Brittany on her phone. On the other side of town, Brittany had found a jewelry shop where she could help make the jewelry. They even made custom shapes. She put an order in, beyond excited for the moment Santana saw the new bracelet and ring.

It was the night before and both girls were running to collect their gifts from the shops. They'd exchange at midnight- their own personal tradition they'd started. Brittany's gifts took up two small boxes, while Santana struggled to carry the assortment she'd gotten Brittany. They arrived home, and as soon as midnight struck, Santana went first. She revealed a candy bouquet of spun sugar roses (that she'd managed to make after nearly a billion tries), a rainbow unicorn lollipop, personalized M&Ms with their initials instead, chocolate hearts and Hershey's kisses piled high with gummy bears and more candy than the blonde should ever eat or could ever imagine. 

"Did you make these roses?" Britrnay asked, delicately tracing a petal.

"Yeah, it's a lot harder than it looks. You should eat them soon, they don't have any preservatives and are bound to break. But did you see the ribbon?" Santana pointed to a pulled sugar ribbon around the vase in the bi flag colors. "I just wanted to remind you that I love you as you are. Nothing will ever change that."

"Thank you Sanny. Here's mine, I feel like I lost again." she looked down bashful but the shorter girl met her eyes.

"It's not a competition. I love your little gifts. My love language is giving gifts, and yours is relieving them, but my love language is also quality time and you love to give it to me." she softly kissed a freckled nose before opening the two jewelry boxes. Enclosed was a iron band bracelet with the lyrics "I love you like never before" stamped into it, and in the  other box a ring with a small songbird on it, with a tiny amethyst as it's eye. Santana rubbed at her eyes as tears threatened to fall. She slipped the ring on her right hand and the bracelet on her wrist. A small tear fell, and Brittany wiped it away. 

"Do you like it? I know the stamping is a little uneven but I did it myself." Brittany admitted. Santana, never one for words, pulled Britrnay into a soft kiss that conveyed everything she wanted to say. She loved the gifts. She remembered the day she sang songbird to Brittany. It was so emotional and painful, and she still regrets not going on Fondue for Two. How this reminds her of how weak she was but how strong she was trying to be. How Brittany made her stronger. Always. Brittany always gave her strength.

"I'll take that as a yes." Brittany said.

"For you, it's always been yes" Santana said.

Going on ff.net too :)

@leigh-kelly thanks for hosting :)

[spaceskam]

a little bit of belmanes for @excusemyfrenchgh ​ and you’re probably asleep or going to sleep because time zones, so, like, good night/morning depending on when you see this aslkdjfalkdjf

ao3

There was something convenient about having two Manes men on their side.

Alex and Greg were both ungodly intelligent, quick-witted, and good looking. Together--especially after they'd gotten comfortable with each other again--they were an unstoppable force. They could get anything done in an impressive timeframe and even found free time to add in a few jokes. Michael had gone full heart-eyed over it after a couple of meetings and Isobel had to admit he wasn't alone. It  was  charming.

Greg in particular had already found himself in Isobel's good graces long before he started working with them, but now she felt a little more obsessed with him every time she saw him. He'd make the trip out there every weekend and never failed to text Isobel on the way to say  something.  Whether it was to ask what her favorite kind of candy was or if she liked bubble tea, he would always show up with something. At first, he'd bring something for everyone, but that changed a couple of months in when he brought her flowers because they reminded him of her. Then they'd started to text a bit more reliably and Isobel felt like a teenager.

"How do I know if he likes me back?" she asked. Michael took a deep breath.

"Are you seriously asking me this? We're not twelve. Also, you're one of the most confident people I've ever met, just ask him," Michael said. Isobel rolled her eyes and scrunched up her nose. He wasn't really a good person to ask anyway, he'd screwed up his relationship with Alex all while  knowing  they were in love. He wouldn't know how to tell if it hit him in the face.

"I just need to get in the perfect situation where he knows I'm interested," Isobel said, staring at her phone and trying to decide what to say. Greg had let her know he was going to work out and so she had around thirty minutes left to come up with a good response. "I think I'm going to change into something that looks like I also work out and send him a sexy selfie."

"I'm leaving," Michael said before she could finish her sentence, grabbing his things and standing up. She scoffed in mock-offense.

"Do you think I'm too old to send thirst traps?" she asked. Michael looked more than a little scandalized at the idea of that and started heading for the door.

"Bye!"

Isobel laughed and slid off the chair and headed towards her bedroom. It felt like a solid idea, as good as any. She changed into something that she would typically go to yoga with her mom in and maybe splashed a bit of water on her face to give the impression that she had actually done something. It took her about ten minutes to get a picture worth sending.

And, it was worth it, because she got one back.

Greg's response was him from the shoulders up and from a hellish middle-aged man angle, but he made it work due to his smile and the fact that he was tinted red from exertion and glistening with sweat. It came with the message of  'great minds think alike'  and it was cheesy and didn't add anything to the conversation and Isobel found herself stomping excitedly like a teenager. She liked that feeling. She never really got to experience that before.

When she was an actual teenager, she'd been too scared to date anyone considering the whole alien thing. And then with Noah, it'd all moved so quickly. They met and within the year they were married despite all the questions from her brothers which, honestly, should've been a red flag. It didn't matter. She was allowing herself to feel it now.

For the next couple of days, they sent pictures back and forth and if some were a little more risque than the others, neither of them mentioned it. Isobel got pictures of him in bed, of a burn scar on his hip (totally relevant because she was baking), of him in his cute little teacher outfit with his cute little button-ups. In return, she sent him full body mirror pictures of her outfit each morning, of her in the bath after a bath bomb (totally relevant because he asked what they looked like), of her drinking coffee each morning to show off her collection of mugs. It was  easy  and fun and Isobel was on top of the world.

"You look happy," Michael said as she strolled up to him with bagels and coffee in hand. He wiped his hands on his jeans and she was in too good of a mood to think about how gross it was as he reached for his coffee.

"I  am  happy," she announced, "Greg is coming down today and I'm going to make a move."

"Please not in front of me," Michael said. She rolled her eyes.

"As if you don't do gross shit in front of all of us all the time," she said. Before he had any time to argue, she spoke again. "Don't worry, I don't plan to do anything to hurt your precious little eyes."

"Thank you," he said, giving a playfully exasperated sigh. Isobel smiled and took a sip of her coffee.

The day passed slowly with her anticipation. She refused to let the idea of rejection enter her mind. He was into her and she knew it. And, well, if he wasn't, it didn't matter.

They all met up at Alex's cabin in the woods where they always met up since Max blew up the last one. That being said, he was allowed to know where the cabin was and he typically joined their get-togethers via video chat. It was Alex's rule and Isobel personally found it hilarious.

Greg showed up later than everyone else like always and Isobel met him at the door, flashing a smile and receiving a shy one in response. He held out a mug with a dragon design on it.

"I saw this, thought you'd like it," Greg said. Isobel smiled as she took it from him.

"Thank you, I love it."

No one commented on it seeing as they'd stopped finding it joke-worthy after the first few times and they quickly got to work. Alex and Greg got out their computers. Alex the more tech-savvy of the two, but that didn't mean Greg didn't know what he was doing.

They spoke of Mr. Jones, Deep Sky, Project Shepard, the overwhelming and looming threat of literally everything, etc. It'd become something redundant at this point, but Isobel didn't care if it meant seeing Greg every weekend.

An hour in, he rolled his shoulders and tilted his head as if it was starting to get uncomfortable. Isobel saw her way in.

"Here, let me help," she offered, moving behind him and putting her hands on his shoulders. If his cheeks and his neck started to burn red, Isobel didn't say anything.

Keyword: Isobel.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, get a room," Rosa scoffed. Michael and Alex both snorted, keeping their eyes off of Isobel and Greg. Isobel tried not to act embarrassed. She  wasn't  embarrassed. 

"Maybe we will," Isobel said easily. Greg took a deep breath and she grinned. 

"Oh, God," Max sighed through his video chat. Isobel didn't back down though, dragging her thumb from between his shoulder blades and up to the base of his neck as Greg let out another breath.

"Don't let me stop you, get back to work," Isobel said easily.

And they did, sort of. Greg stopped typing at some point, his eyes closing and his head drooping forward as he let her dig into his shoulders. She didn't stop even when her hands started to hurt.

"Alright, you two are the worst, go home," Alex laughed. Isobel tilted her head and blinked innocently. 

"What ever do you mean?"

"Yeah, we'll go," Greg agreed, standing up and closing his laptop in one swift motion, "I'll drive."

Isobel's eyes widened a bit and she looked at Michael, raising her eyebrows. He rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her, but she didn't pose any argument to leaving. She gladly went along with it.

"So," she said as she said in the passenger seat of his car, "Should I show you the way to my house?"

Greg looked over at her for a moment and nodded. "I could reciprocate."

And because Isobel liked to have fun, she said, "Reciprocate what?"

Greg took a deep breath and smiled, shaking his head as he backed up to turn the car around and drive out of the woods.

"Literally anything you want."

"I like the sound of that."

"Me too."

To say the least, Isobel lost any doubt that he liked her back.

[jcmorrigan]

001 - Kingdom Hearts

Favorite character: On the villain side: VEXEN IS BEST ORGANIZATION XIII MEMBER. Shoulda stayed evil, though. I like it when he complains and screams about everything and hates everyone. He's one of my favorite villains, just, like...in general. So fun to write. Also attached to Demyx, but I actually liked him more in III than II because it reminded me of my rawr lolspeek weeb days when I f/o'd him without knowing what f/o'ing was and then transitioned this to shipping VexDem like heck. On the hero side: MY GIRL KAIRI! But honorable mentions go to Sora, Riku, Aqua, Ven, Terra, Xion, Roxas, Lea, Ienzo, any Disney character I loved beforehand (this is way too fuckin many to list), Merlin (OKAY I WILL SINGLE HIM OUT), Yen Sid (I'LL SINGLE HIM OUT TOO), you know what let's also single out the Mickey+Donald+Goofy power trio...just...any KH hero who isn't part of the Yozora stuff or the KHUX stuff. ...Except I also LOVE Strelitzia, and she is the only KHUX-exclusive kiddo I care about but I care about her MANY. (Oh, and there's a least fave I have who's a "hero" but that's a debatable label). I would go on about why I love all of them but...that's too many characters to elaborate on

Least Favorite character: See, I think the real answer is Yozora, but the thing is I just tend to forget about him or not care (unless I'm doing a weird AU where he's Noctis' bratty Nobody, don't ask). He kinda represents the Shark Jump and I don't like watching that scene where he literally petrifies Sora for not being strong enough. But again, I can just kinda forget about him if he's not fed to me through a social-media unit. The one I LOVE TO HATE is Master Eraqus. The man actually triggered me back in the day. He is purity culture. He is the overbearing parent who will not accept you unless you are perfect. He is by and large the reason VAT didn't communicate with each other properly. He was the one who taught Aqua to think in absolutes. He lied to Ventus for years and then insisted to kill him was the only option, and then, when Terra tried to defend his brother figure/friend without knowing WHY Eraqus was doing such a thing, Eraqus didn't offer an explanation and instead switched targets to Terra citing that the problem was Terra's lack of OBEDIENCE. Eraqus is just very "my way or the highway" and uses his moral high horse to justify doing things that utterly lack compassion in any regard, which is something that GETS to me on a deep level, and let me tell you, I hated him for so long until I realized he was actually a super fuckin fun guy to imagine as a Bigger Bad in AUs that either have the KH protags teaming up or have villain protags needing a "greater good lawful evil" figure. And I just have found too many good memes about him cheating at chess and killing children. I have to laugh. Making fun of him is fun. He's a ridiculous character. That said, this recent trend of "erase everything bad he ever did and paint him as the ultimate hero of the saga" makes me raise eyebrows for SEVERAL reasons

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): VexDem, SoRiku, Kairi x Jaune Arc (RWBY), Aqua x Rosalina (Super Mario Galaxy) x Bayonetta, IsaLea, Ventus x Papyrus (Undertale), that was six but they all needed to be mentioned

Character I find most attractive: Ienzo. HOO BABY he is adorable. I saw someone make a Valentine's Day gifset of KH and FF characters shortly after III dropped and seeing his smiling face paired with a romance quote made my heart FLUTTER

Character I would marry: Probably Ienzo, see above. He's also a very kind guy. Favorite redemption in the modern era.

Character I would be best friends with: I hope the Destiny Trio would adopt me into their friend circle the way they've tended to do with every other inter-world denizen they've come across. I would love to have them as my positivity squad. Or, y'know, two positivities and one "it's okay to screw up" guy. Just. I would love to hang out with them. I often worry that I'm unlikable to my faves, but even though I would usually prefer to hang with the villains, I can pretty much guarantee these three would be open-minded about me. (Do I kiiiiinda wanna be friends with Vexen though? Of course I do. He'd hate me but maaaayyyyybe he would see me as one of his pet idiots who makes him look smarter, and we could bond over our fragile egos?)

a random thought: You ever think about that one NPC lady in Traverse Town who refused to tell you where she was from because it was none of her business? You ever wonder where she WAS from? What her world was like? How she ended up being the survivor of the Ansem Apocalypse when it hit her? All I know is that when I read her lines out loud (I used to read KH speech balloons out loud all the time), I gave her a Southern accent for no discernible reason and I stand by it. That woman has a twang.

An unpopular opinion: I don't want KHUX to be canon because I feel it's smaller-scale and takes a lot of mystery out of the worldbuilding. I always assume that the KHverse just includes ALL worlds in fiction, and that includes their thousand-year histories, meaning the Age of Fairy Tales should've happened long long long LONG LONG LONG ago and not five generations. And whatever screwed up the world should've been more than just five people having a fight, and whatever saved it should've been more than just five people getting along, and Daybreak Town really suffers from having to stick to mobile-friendly graphics and therefore is the least aesthetically attractive KH town ever, and I don't like that Lauriam and Elrena used to be such selfless people. I do still love Strelitzia because she's shy and relatable and quirky (sitting on the roof) and she questions authority and if you go with shipping subtext she's probably bi (or pan?), but I don't like the "Lauriam's dead sister for his arc's drama" bit. I liked when Marluxia was angry because he wanted to run Organization XIII but it was in the hands of an idiot who wasn't him. And more than anything I just like imagining that the Age of Fairy Tales was something bigger, further in the past, and more mysterious than something designed for a mobile game. Scala ad Caelum, however, I like a lot better because there IS a lot of mystery there and also it's a very pretty town with an amazing design.

my canon OTP: I really only count the Disney couples as the "canon" ones, so this is a question of picking my favorite Disney couple that shows up onscreen. I hope I'm not forgetting an important one, but I think the title has to go to Aladdin/Jasmine, which is always perfect in everything. (This would be an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY if KH had ever adapted Treasure Planet, and if it ever gets the mind to adapt Treasure Planet then even if I don't care about that game I will immediately declare that Amelia/Doppler takes the KH canon OTP crown. *taps watch* Get on it Squenix)

Non-canon OTP: SoRiku, which I counted as "basically canon" after DDD until III decided it wasn't sure. But I'm just a sucker for how DDD is the two of them all "HE'S GOT MY BACK AND I'VE GOT HIS AND I'D DO ANYTHING FOR HIM SO LONG AS HE'S HAPPY." It's just the best kind of Friends-to-Lovers, except when you take all canon into account it's Friends-to-Rivals-to-Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers and that's a very juicy dynamic. BUT ALSO: VexDem, which is a nostalgia ship SO STRONG I had to accept that it eclipsed my former Vexen ships by a mile and I wanted to go back to my roots. That one, I have a much longer essay about that I'll just have you refer to so I don't repeat myself for pages. To make a long story short, their scene in III was JUST DELICIOUS.

most badass character: OOF THEY'RE ALL BADASS but in the end it's between Sora and Aqua, because Sora gets the widest RANGE of abilities across the series that he masters while Aqua gets the most POWERFUL abilities due to her Mastery (Command Styles seem like they'd be the most OP things ever in-universe and I'm here for it because flashy battle moves make brain go brr).

pairing I am not a fan of: SOKAI, Xehaqus, RikuNami, Vanitas/anyone not evil

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): OH BOY. KAIRI THE MOST. YOU ALL KNOW WHY: lack of screen time, Fridging for drama, forced romance to invite death flags (they really wanted to milk that death to get people talking didn't they?), giving Alyson Stoner ZERO direction to actually follow up on Hayden Panettiere's performance. But then I remember that they made Vexen redeem and lose his entire personality and I just...uuugghhhh. I can't believe he died twice in this series. And then Demyx is FUN but also I know he's flipped sides as well, which means he won't be fun much longer! Xehanort seems to switch motivations to whatever makes him the biggest threat (and several of Eraqus' old flaws seem to be mysteriously glued onto him), Sora isn't a motormouth anymore, Riku just doesn't get anyone who cares about him anymore because everyone's distracted by Sora and Kairi, IS ANYBODY GOING TO ADDRESS THE ACTUAL ISSUES THAT DROVE THE WAYFINDER TRIO APART, oh God Marluxia and Larxene you're good guys now what have they done to you

favourite friendship: I really like each of the trios. But you know what's even BETTER than the trios? If you put...all of the trios together...meaning Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Terra, Ven, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Hayner, Pence, Olette...and then you added Isa back in there...and you gave them Ienzo...and you brought back Naminé...and you say that Subject X is Strelitzia and you have her turn back up so she can have justice done...AND YOU HAVE AN ULTRA KEYBLADE GROUP OF FRIENDS. As for Vexen, any purely platonic relationship I have for him is a crossover but trust me I have many crossover pals for he

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: See everyone I listed above in the friendship question. They can either mentor me or let me be their big sis/mom. But also, I will GLADLY be Merlin or Yen Sid's daughter. (But also would I kiiiiinda wanna be a VexDem daughter? This is the worst idea. Still wanna try)

[divagonzo]

What exactly is being ace? I didn't understand that anon post about being just a phase

‘ello Nonnie. Thanks for the question. This is going to be rather long and in-depth so I’ll toss up a TL;DR and then answer in-depth under the cut.

TL;DR answer: Being Ace means asexual, in that a person doesn’t feel any physical sexual attraction to another person, regardless of sex, or gender presentation. Within this label are various spectrums from “Zero physical/sexual attraction to anyone, ever” to “it happened once in my life” to “I gotta know someone for years before there’s even a possibility and even then, it might not happen.”

Even then there is a whole spectrum when you add in the romantic side of things, from Aromantic to Homoromantic to Biromantic or Panromantic, etc.

They can want the snuggles, companionship, maybe some snogging going on - but going so far as to feel sexual attraction to someone else? Not happening.

All the fic of “one night stand” or “friends with benefits? Rarely with those who are Ace. Too much stands in the way of it.  Those who do are probably doing such for pleasing a partner or sharing experiences for the aftermath of cuddles and open & honest communications.

The detractors who say “it’s a phase” use it as denigration and dehumanization, saying it in a derogatory manner, infantilizing us into “we’ve not grown up enough to realize sex is the end-all/be-all of relationship dynamics” when it’s not the case. 

All of this doesn’t get into the Aromantic side of things, too. That is a whole ‘nuther nutshell.

Those who fall on the Ace spectrum might as well have an affinity for garlic bread than getting hot and sweaty with someone - or rather have garlic bread next to spagbol than think of doing The Do.

Further explanations under the cut line

It boils down to feelings - or in this case, lack of them. All the Calvin Klein models in their pants & knickers? Does nothing for those who are Ace (maybe aesthetics but not “I gotta ask to bone them immediately” rubbish. Same for seeing stuff on the screen or even in the books/fic. 

Since Ace isn’t talked about much until recently, there have been generations of people who have felt... broken.... for not feeling something others do, including acting unhealthy ways to either conform or blend in or doing it for others and letting boundaries be violated by engaging in such when it’s just not there.

Being Ace wasn’t even a remotely mainstream letter under the Queer community label until ~ 15 years ago. Sure, it’s been out there on the fringes and margins of the Community since the 70′s but it’s only been in the last 10-15 years that it’s grown into something remotely recognizable, with pride flags, social media presence, and acceptance for much of the wider global populace. Even now being Ace isn’t necessarily something of a pride aspect, since most just want to live quietly and with contentment away from sex. I’ve heard quite a few who aren’t straight get bent (or hurt, too) because a romantic partner of theirs realizes they are Ace and the one hurt can’t get past it and realize that the relationship won’t work since there is that incompatibility involved.

Just like Bi or Pan, being in a straight appearing relationship doesn’t negate who you are - just like married women are still Bi or Pan, even if married to a man.

Back when I could have used the information and not wandered for decades before finding what fits me best, I tried on so many labels. None fit.

Lesbian? Nope. Liked Guys to some extent*** (more on that later)

Bi? Possible but it didn’t fit either. 

Het? Still nope since I had some attractions to women as well. (Gramma Draig is Old and Pan wasn’t a label until decades past my wedding so it wasn’t a consideration)

Nothing fit properly until I came across early Ace discourse and said, “Hmmmm this might be a possibility” but even then it didn’t quite fit just right for me, personally. Only when I came across a subset inside the Ace spectrum - Demisexual - did I find what fits like a well-tailored suit or the perfect pair of calfskin leather gloves.

The Spouse, whom I have been with for 25+ years now? He falls on the Ace spectrum too. His was a “once in a lifetime” sort of attraction. I certainly don’t complain.

So those who see us out and about might presume we’re a het couple.... are rudely disabused since we are, for all intents, queer. 

And with his, he’s content to spend quality time together than to do anything icky sticky. And that’s fine. We have what works for us.

But anyone saying negatively that “it’s just a phase” and “You’ve not f* the right person yet” earns instant disrespect and I will gladly block them than deal with them. Ain’t no one got time for those shenanigans. I will also burn a bitch for anyone trying corrective behaviors to change someone who is Ace.

Those who wish to use abuse to make someone who is Ace conform to their belief system..... they deserve a piano dropped on their head or a millstone tied around their neck and dropped down to the Titanic to slowly dissolve.

And those who gatekeep Aces out of the community at large? They can fuck off too. (Same for those who fully adhere to lawncare behaviors - aka T/E//R/F/S & S/W/E//R/F/S.)

if you have any further questions, Nonnie, I’ll be glad to assist.

[umbry-fic]

A Palette Full of You (6)

Summary: Glimpses into Colette and Lloyd’s lives as they grow up together, learn who they are, and fall in love with each other.

(Written for Colloyd Week 2021)

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters: Lloyd Irving, Colette Brunel, Zelos Wilder Relationships: Colette Brunel & Lloyd Irving Rating: G Chapter: 6 of 6 Word Count: 3442 Mirror Link: AO3 Original Post Date: 15/06/2021

Chapter Title: Ace Up Your Sleeve

Chapter Summary: Colette finally comes to the end of a long journey and finds the answer she didn't know she was seeking all along.

(Colloyd Week Day 7: Free Day)

Notes+Warnings: Last chapter of my multi chapter Colloyd week fic! Zelos is also... Demisexual! Warning for mentions of acephobia.

Thank you to anyone who's read all the way through and big thank you to everyone for a great Colloyd week!!!

Chapter list Full fic Previous chapter

~~~

17-years-old

“You haven’t been listening at all, have you?”

"What? Uh, no! You - you were talking about denominators?" Colette snapped to attention, scrambling for an excuse as she was met with Zelos' searching stare. Her friend was sitting across from her, their fingers drumming impatiently against the long table they were seated at in the common area by the bookstore, a dozen other students seated at the other long tables and quietly murmuring amongst themselves.

"You haven't written anything down," Zelos muttered, tapping the open exam paper in front of Colette. What they said was true - there were no new markings in green ink on the paper, only the blue ink that had been scribbled down during the exam and the red crosses left behind by the teacher. "It is a bit annoying to have been talking to a brick wall for the past five minutes, you know."

"Sorry for wasting your time." Colette bowed her head, feeling rather horrible. She was the one who had asked Zelos to help her explain some of the midterm questions that her teacher had skipped over. Zelos was a surprisingly good math teacher when they felt like it, giving calm and comprehensive explanations that seemed distanced from the usual flirty and boisterous Zelos. Not that Colette could tell they were being flirty - it all just came off as normal conversation to her, even though Sheena often complained they were.

Yet she'd gotten distracted.

"It's alright; no hard feelings or anything. What's got your attention so badly, though?" Zelos enquired, raising one eyebrow and beginning to play with the ends of their ponytail.

“Um... That…?” Colette stuttered, waving her arms in the vague direction of Zelos’ school bag. Oh, this was so awkward.

“That…?” Zelos echoed, staring at their school bag with their brow furrowed, before seemingly coming to a realisation as their face cleared. “Oh! What? The frog pin?”

Yes, that was what she'd been staring at for the past ten minutes: the new pin. Next to the familiar enamel pin of a grumpy kitten playing with a ball of yarn that was purple and yellow in colour, was one of a derpy frog sitting on a lilypad. It was cute. (Add frogs to anything and it would be cute. That was a principle she strongly believed in.) But what was confounding her was the peculiar colouration of the lilypad: purple, white and grey.

“Uh… Yeah…” Colette averted her gaze as her fingers jumped from place to place, trying to expel all of her nervous energy - picking at the folded sleeve of her white blouse, fiddling with the school badge pinned over her breast, smoothing out the wrinkles in her green skirt. She hadn't brought up the curiosity eating away at her because she hadn't wanted to force Zelos into a spot where they felt like they had to answer.

Silence reigned for a few seconds as she began to panic. As she’d feared, Zelos didn’t want to talk about it. Oh, what to do? She didn't want to offend them or anything.

“It’s a cute pin! That’s all!” she blurted out, hoping that would give them both an out from this situation.

Zelos let out a loud exhale, placing a hand on their forehead in exasperation. "You could have just asked, you know? I wouldn't have pinned it there if I didn't expect questions. For anyone else, I would just answer that I like the colours. But for you, my trusted friend, I'll tell you the truth. It's the asexual flag colours. I got it from the same place as the cat one; they released a new frog line just last month. Cute, right?”

“Very,” she chirped, relieved that Zelos wasn’t mad. “Frogs are always cute, no matter what they’re doing. But, uh... If you don’t mind me asking another question, what do you mean by asexual?”

She'd heard that word once or twice from Sheena when she was working on her bio homework, but never in the context of people. Surely it was something relating to gender or sexuality, considering the yarn tangled in the kitten's paws was in the non-binary flag colours. She knew that much, even if she wasn't on social media a whole lot.

If she knew more, then she’d better understand her friend! That had always been one of her greatest desires - to learn more about her friends, all of whom were their own unique persons, holding diverse qualities and each facing their own set of challenges. If she didn’t have the necessary information, she couldn’t support them to her best capabilities.

“I can't explain the whole thing right now, but it's basically a spectrum," Zelos replied flippantly, raising a finger. "It means feeling little to no sexual attraction. You know, never looking at anyone and thinking you want to… do it with them.” Zelos cocked their head, gaze slipping towards the ceiling. “Is that a good way to describe it? Hm...”

But their words were washing uselessly over Colette, who had frozen into a statue. Her heart sat unmoving in her chest, her mind both running on overdrive and feeling incredibly sluggish as she struggled to process what she'd just heard. It felt like she was pushing through water, the pressure pressing against her.

"There's a word for that?" she couldn't help but blurt out, eyes wide in shock as her fingers opened and closed uselessly. Time itself seemed to have ground to a halt, her heart unable to decide how she wanted to feel. She was stuck in limbo.

"Well, yes? It's an entire identity - Woah, Angel, you all right?"

Zelos laid a worried hand on her shoulder, just now noticing the wild look on her face.

"There - there's a word for how I feel?" she whispered as she placed her shaking hands in her lap.

Ever since she'd fallen in love, she had lived each day with the question of why she was broken buried in the back of her mind, casting a constant miserable cloud over her. She didn't want to keep waiting for the day where she would want what everyone else did, for she had no hope that day would ever come. But she had thought she had no other choice, her heart shrivelling in her chest every time she was told that everyone was supposed to be attracted to someone.

This was an answer she hadn't known had existed, and had just somehow fallen from the heavens in answer to the prayers she had hesitantly made for something or someone to fix her. But if there was a word that belonged to her, an identity that meant she wasn't broken, she would gladly accept it. She couldn't describe the immense relief she felt, like the invisible shackles chaining her down had finally been unlocked with the key of knowledge.

"Oh. I... I had my suspicions, but I didn't want to assume," Zelos muttered, their expression equally as shocked as hers as they removed their hand. "So... You..."

All along, she'd thought she was alone, the only one in the whole wide world who felt this way. But there were others. Even someone right across from her, a friend who had experienced the same thing the entire time.

She wasn't alone.

It was liberating to know that.

"I... I think so?" The relief had been replaced with an almost dizzying excitement, one that made it hard to speak. Or focus. "Can you tell me more?" she asked eagerly, leaning closer. The fires of curiosity had now reached an all-time high, her need to know overtaking all else. She wanted to know everything.

"Calm down, calm down! I can talk to you about it after school," Zelos replied with a happy chuckle. "Right now, though, you should go back to class. The bell's going to ring soon."

Her gaze snapped to the wall clock, which showed there were only 8 minutes left till her GP period. "Oh, you're right!" Springing to her feet, Colette stuffed her math paper into her school bag, frantic energy unable to leave her body. "But promise you'll tell me more? Please?"

"It's a promise, Angel. I'd be happy to."

Giving Zelos one final wave goodbye, Colette started running up the stairs, a huge grin on her face. She couldn't explain why she was so happy, fireworks exploding in her chest.

Only that the world that had always been against her had finally started to make a tiny bit of sense.

~~~

18-years-old

“Lloyd?” Colette said quietly, setting the plate in her hands down on the study table. She smoothed his wet hair out of his eyes, only for it to fall right back into place.

It was quite late, the digital clock on the study table displaying 07:30 in red, blinking digits. Sheena and Zelos had already quit revising and left at six, saying they were going to get dinner together, but Lloyd had insisted on staying to continue. “Only a month left to As,” he’d muttered, head buried in his A4 notebook full of econs notes and eyes frantic with worry.

“Lloyd?” she said, a little louder this time. But he showed no signs of stirring, eyes still firmly closed, breaths steadily trickling in and out of his nose. They’d migrated to her room after Sheena and Zelos had left, Lloyd using the study table while she took residence on the bay window, having shifted all of her soft toys to the bed. She’d returned from making a sandwich in the kitchen (without tomatoes, of course), to find him slumped over on the desk, his pen on the floor.

Colette sighed. She didn’t have the heart to wake him up now, not when he looked so peaceful, lit by the warm light of the table lamp. He could stay.

She opened the drawer of the study table, gaze landing immediately on the folded up letter that had Lloyd’s name written on the cover. Reaching out to touch the smooth paper, she wondered if today was the day she would finally have the courage to give it to Lloyd.

Over a year had passed since Zelos had introduced the word asexual to her. As promised, they'd gone over the entire concept with her, an activity that had taken hours, until she was utterly certain the identity fit her. Scarily so. It explained all the little moments throughout her life that she'd had no explanation for until now. She'd spent a whole day afterwards just being stupidly euphoric, unable to wipe the large smile off her face, overjoyed that that were so many others like her all around the world, a loving community who shared her experiences and would accept her with open arms.

The euphoria she had felt at that moment had dimmed, of course. But she was still much happier than she ever used to be, now armed with the knowledge that she didn't need to change. She wasn't broken, for there was nothing to fix. This was just who she was, and she no longer had to force herself to act in how society deemed right or feel awful for not being able to do so.

But there was still fear involved. Keeping secrets from Lloyd was just... not in her nature. Every second that she was alone with him was a moment where she wanted to inform him of her life-changing realisation, for while telling him would not change much, it would be authentically living her truth. Even if she never confessed her feelings, she wanted to tell him as a friend, a companion. The words she wanted to say burned on her tongue, but every time she opened her mouth nothing came out, the jitters in her stomach overpowering her will. Zelos was the one who had suggested writing a letter. Easier to express in text everything she wanted to in one go without all the stutters and awkward pauses that would no doubt come from a face-to-face encounter.

Picking the letter up, she slowly slid it under Lloyd’s open right hand, praying that he didn’t wake up right at this moment and heaving a sigh of relief when he didn’t. She was staking everything on him heeding the first line she’d written, almost a month ago, pouring her heart out onto paper with shaking hands. Please, read this to the end. And at the end of it, she prayed that he’d still be willing to talk to her.

She had read countless horror stories. People who refused to believe asexuality existed. People who argued that no one could know they were asexual until they’d had a sexual experience, who then turned around and argued in the same breath that those who’d had sexual experiences couldn’t possibly be asexual. People who continued to claim that asexuals just hadn’t met the right person because sex was what made us human and people who didn’t feel sexual attraction must be cold, unfeeling monsters with standards that were way too high. People who stared at you with pity and tried to comfort you for “missing out”. People who told you they could "fix" you.

Lloyd was the most accepting person she knew, and she didn't believe he could ever be that way. Still, there was no guarantee how this would end. At least she had the advantage of being in the safety of her own home. She could kick him out if she needed to, even if cutting him out of her life would be akin to ripping her own heart out. But better to rip the bandaid off now than let the secret lurk in her heart.

Straightening up, she shut off the table lamp to give Lloyd some peace. She made her quick retreat out of the room, heading to the kitchen and placing the sandwich into the fridge. Lloyd did so love his sandwiches cold.

The only thing left to do was wait.

There was no sound filling the living room but the ticking coming from the analogue clock hanging on the wall that Dad still refused to replace, even after twenty years. It was always in need of a change of batteries or a tuning.

Adjusting her position so her head was pillowed on one of the many cushions, her eyelids unwittingly shut. She hadn’t noticed how heavy they’d felt until now, when she had nothing to do. After a whole day spent splitting her head over chemistry mechanisms, sinking into the soft leather without any chemical equations to squint at felt like heaven. Maybe she deserved a little rest.

Just a little…

~~~

“Colette.”

She groaned, rolling onto her side away from the voice’s origin and throwing her arm over her face.

Who…? Where…?

“Colette!”

The voice was a little more insistent this time, a hand gently shaking her by the shoulders.

Knowing she had to wake up now, Colette opened her eyes, staring with blurred vision at the cream couch cushions. Craning her neck, she spotted a blob of peach and brown hovering over her that eventually solidified into Lloyd’s face.

“Lloyd…?”

“Hey.” Lloyd moved his hand to her back to steady her as she slowly sat up, rubbing at her eyes. He took a seat next to her, their shoulders pressed together. “Sorry to wake you up, but I need to tell you I’m going home soon.”

“Oh! That’s good...” Colette mumbled groggily, having still not fully come to her senses. She couldn’t quite recall what had occurred between studying and falling asleep here. She could remember that Lloyd was supposed to go home.

There was something else, wasn’t there…?

“I guess we’re both tired. If you were going to sleep you should have just done it on the bed, silly,” Lloyd admonished her, poking her arm. “Too late for that. At least you had the good sense to sleep on your back. Mine hurts.” He threw his arms over the back of the sofa, stretching his back, joints popping.

“Ah, right. Sorry for not waking you up sooner… It’s just… You looked like you were having a nice nap.”

“No, it’s alright,” Lloyd placed his hand over hers, interlocking their fingers and squeezing. “I did enjoy it. I needed the break. And thank you for the sandwich. It was delicious"

"No problem." She yawned, giving her own long stretch.

“Anyway… The other reason I woke you up was to tell you I read your letter.”

Lloyd held up a familiar sheet of paper, the crease where it had once been folded in half clearly visible. Her stomach sank immediately into a pit of dread as she bowed her head, her free hand curling into a fist.

There it was. That was what she was forgetting. But she’d made the choice to go forward, and there was no backing down now.

However, now that the moment of reckoning was here, only the worst-case scenarios were running through her head. She was ready to pull away and run, pulse skyrocketing.

“Hey! Hey. Don’t panic.” Lloyd’s thumb started drawing tiny circles on her palm, a motion so familiar to her that she instinctively started taking deep breaths to calm herself down. It was like he'd predicted she was going to bolt like a frightened rabbit. “The first thing I wanted to say was thank you for telling me something so important to you. I know how scary it is. Remember when it was my turn?”

“You…? You weren’t scared at all!” Colette protested, raising her head and meeting Lloyd’s gaze. The light tone to his voice was reassuring, as was the smile on his face. No condemnation to be found there, just a sweet happiness that warmed her own heart. “You figured it out so quickly and just blurted it right out!”

“I was petrified, trust me, even if it I didn't show. I don’t even know what possessed me to say it in the first place! But remember what you said to me, back then?”

“I like... boys too. Both girls and boys, you know?”

The whisper rang out in the silence, Lloyd facing away from her as she looked up from the comic she’d been reading, the two of them curled up together in the safe darkness of the tiny pillow fort they’d constructed in the living room.

“Okay,” she answered after a pause. “Uh… Well…”

She didn’t quite know how to put her thoughts into words.

“Who you like doesn’t change who you are!” she declared with gusto. That sounded cool. Right? But it was true. Lloyd would always be Lloyd. Silly, awkward, kind Lloyd.

In her eyes, there was no other possibility.

Colette still strongly believed that. She always would. But she had never thought those words would apply to her, a girl who stood by the sidelines looking in on a world she couldn’t understand.

“Those words meant the world to me, you know. And it's the same for you; I’d be a hypocrite for saying otherwise. You’re still the same person, Colette. Nothing’s changed. And although I can never see the world through your eyes, what I can do is listen to you. And that’s exactly what I plan to do.”

Colette sniffled, shoulders shaking as tears pooled in her eyes. She had thought she could get through this without breaking into tears, that she could sit and calmly accept whatever news she would receive. Clearly, that was not the case.

But it wasn't weak to cry.

Lloyd’s arms wrapped around her, a comforting embrace that she never wanted to leave.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Lloyd whispered into her ear, pulling her closer. “You’re just you.”

With shaking arms, she returned the embrace, burying her face in his shoulder as the tears overflowed. This time not out of overwhelming fear like she had on the rooftop, but out of incredible, crushing relief, the last of the weight leaving her shoulders, leaving her so free it was terrifying.

“And I’ll keep telling you that, as many times as you need to hear it. Just like you did for me.”

She already knew that all of the things he said were true - they were sentiments Zelos had already expressed, that she had already read on internet forums. But she'd underestimated how it would feel to find acceptance in someone who she loved with all her heart, and who viewed the world through a completely different lens.

To know that one was accepted, for every part of them… Wasn’t that the most beautiful thing?

“Thank you,” she choked out amid all the tears.

And for the first time in a truly long while, Colette thought that everything would be alright.