#in all honesty I'm still not sure where the E sound is coming from in YV but I digress
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adobe-outdesign · 2 months ago
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The unfortunate thing about Pokemon not having voice acting is that (unless you watch the anime) you inevitably at some point discover some Pokemon who's name you've been pronouncing completely wrong for the last ten years
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alessiathepirate · 1 year ago
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Scream
TOUCH STARVED: Ethan Landry x fem!reader
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Summary: Do you ever wonder what the source of the hunger for love is?
Notes: English isn't my first language. I apologize for any mistake I made while I wrote this short story.
I was inspired by literally half a sentence from the movie, but still... we love our little murder boy.
Warnings: SPOILERS! (for Scream 6, but there are only some references), swearing, mentioned/referenced violence, hurt/comfort
•••
Ethan Landry was most definitely touch starved.
She noticed that pretty quickly after they started dating. The way an adorable, silly smile formed on his face as she kissed his cheek or played with his hair was too cute to miss. When she gently touched his face or put her arms around his neck or on his shoulders while they were kissing, the way he ran after her touch and presence was a heartwarming sight to see. Not to mention the slight blush what was still present everytime she gave him a small compliment, especially in front of others.
And God, she loved that when they were alone they were basically attached at the hip, hands or thighs always touching.
But even though she loved him and his presence more than anything, she couldn't help but wonder where that touch starvation came from. She knew that it's not always a pretty thing, especially not the source of it. Someone so hungry for love and peace - it comes from somewhere deep within.
She got the answer to that after the murders started to happen again, after another Ghostface showed up. And just like she thought, the source wasn't a pretty thing at all.
She woke up one night, legs tangled in the sheets, hands burried under the pillow to the feeling that someone sat down on the bed. She immediately opened her eyes in panic as she sat up, eyes trying to get used to the darkness. The phone calls and murders made her jumpy and paranoid, and with that more protective - both the first and last thing she did everyday was calling her friends, making sure they are fine.
The panic disappeared after she realized there was nothing to be scared of, the only other person in the room was Ethan, her lover and with that the rightful owner of the bedroom she was sleeping in.
"Ethan?" she called out to her boyfriend as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes. " 'Everything all right?"
It took a few seconds for him to answer. At first she thought he was starteled, that she scared him with her sudden movements, but his shoulders didn't move and nor did his arms.
"Everything's all right, sweetheart, you can go back to sleep."
Her tiredness disappeared as she looked at him, her back straightening like a hunter's dog sensing something in the dark. Her heartbeat quickened as she looked at him, at his back because he didn't turn around.
She had never seen him hurt before. She's seen him happy, sad and tired... but hurt? That was a new thing and she didn't like it. She didn't like the way his voice became lower or how pained it sounded.
She climbed closer to him in bed, sat down on her calves behind him as she gently hugged him, one of her hands running through his hair, playing with his curles.
His body reacted like it always did, at first he froze then got used to the feeling of being touched, trying to unknowingly get closer to her to try and get lost in her presence.
"You can talk to me, E. You know that, right? I'm here for you."
She kissed his neck, then one of his shoulderblades through the material of his t-shirt, doing her best to try and make the tension from his body disappear.
He took a hold of her hand, the one that was resting on his shoulder and kissed it, ran his fingers along the back of it.
"I just had a phone call with my dad."
The sentence was sudden, but the honesty didn't make her anxious. Instead she kept on playing with his curles.
He never talked about his family. At least not to her. This was a sign of trust and it made her dizzy.
"Did something happen?"
"No, it's... I don't know." his uncertainty was painful to hear. "Nothing has to happen sometimes, you know."
He never talked like this and it scared her.
"You do love me, right?"
She didn't know whart hurt more: the way he said it or that he felt like he has to ask to make sure she does.
"What are you talking about, E?" she gently tried to make him look at her and when their eyes met she continued: "Of course I do! 'Wouldn't leave for the world, 'you understand? You're my pretty boy" she said, calling him what their friends teased them with "and I love you more than anything."
There it was - the slight blush after a compliment, his cheeks became pink and she noticed that like a sixth sense even in the dark.
"What made you say that?"
"It's just... everything is always about my brother and sometimes he forgets that I'm also his son."
She didn't ask questions. She just leaned closer to his face, despite their weird position, and kissed him, slow and gentle as her hands softly explored his body and hugged him, making him feel damn well that to her he is precious. And he kissed back, but so hungrily that her heart hurt. She felt him shiver and sensed that his heart is full of love and adoration. She didn't understand - she never will, how no one appreciates him as much as she does when he has so much love to give.
She broke the kiss after a while and smiled at him.
"Well I can tell you that you are my boyfriend and I love you more than anything. And I'll for sure kick your dad and brother in the balls if I have to."
In that moment she understood. She understood why he reacted to her touch the way he did, she understood where that starvation for love came from. That night she felt her heart grow, it became full of the need to protect and love and prove.
As they lied back down and pulled the covers up, Ethan hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go. And while she made sure to remind him how loved he is, she forgot to realize that Ethan never mentioned that he has a brother before.
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IFHY
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Summary: Ethan has been told to date y/n by his father for their grand Master plan, y/n doesn't know that Ethan is Ghostface and only knows him and his dating him by this facade, In all honesty Ethan tries to hate and kill you , but he loves you and actually genuinely has feelings for you.
Ethan fucking hates you with all of his heart, The only reason he's dating you because his dad told , he tries to hate you,But the confusing part is why does he care about who's around you or who do you talk to, it's weird it's like he can't stand you but he still is around you and find you comforting.
Ethan first met you at that Halloween party, He saw you dancing with your friends, drinking, and dancing with other guys, Ethan was thinking how easy it was to date you, use you, and later on kill you. But his thoughts paused when he saw you dancing with Chad, Ethan saw you grinding on him, Ethan was furious that Chad was dancing with target.
"Hey do you want to meet my roomate Ethan?" Chad asked Y/n while dancing.
"Sure, what's he like?" Y/n asked chad.
"Very smart, awkward, shy, nerdy, but the problem is he's not that great with ladies he's basically inexperienced." Chad said as he describes Ethan to Y/n.
"I like nerdy boys to be honest I have a thing for them, He doesn't look that bad he looks cute." Y/n said as she looks back Ethan in the corner holding a red solo cup.
"Let's go I'll introduce you to him." Chad said as he hold y/n hands taking you to y/n
"Hey, Ethan, this is Y/n, Y/n this is Ethan." Chad introduced.
Ethan looked at Y/n it sucks that later on he has to kill her she's very pretty.
"I'll let you two talk, I'm gonna go get me another drink." Chad said as he walked away.
Ethan and y/n both looked at each other awkwardly, Y/n notices that he was muscular and he has pretty hair but she didn't want to say that since she just met him, Ethan was thinking about ways to kill y/n and the group, but something in him is telling him that killing y/n is not worth the trouble, Ethan pushed that little voice in his head away.
"So is this your first party?" Y/n said as she started the conversation.
"Uh, yeah actually my roommate who you were just dancing with forced me to come to this party because he didn't like me doing work in my room so, I'm here." Ethan responded awkwardly so y/n can take the bait.
"Yeah, my friends actually forced me to come here too since I was actually doing a science project, so that makes two of us." Y/n said as she smiled slightly.
I know Ethan was trying his hardest not to get a knife and cut her up, but somethings was bubbling in him, 'why are so close with chad?'
"So how did you met Chad?" Ethan asked y/n
"Oh, I'm actually friends with his sister Mindy, I went to his football game, and that's how we met from there." Y/n said
Great she's friends with the girl that's on his ass for being Ghostface, great.
"Sorry, Chad told me that Mindy thinks your Ghostface, I know Mindy can be alot, I don't think your Ghostface, your to nice and shy to be ghostface." Y/n admitted.
"I know this sounds really crazy since we just met, would you possibly might want to go on a date with me?" Y/n asked knowing she might get rejected.
"Sure." Ethan said.
"Uhm can I give you my number?" Y/n asked.
"Yeah." Ethan agreed y/n gave Ethan her number.
"Uh, I have to go I have to go to my dorm to finish my project, See you later, E." Y/n said as she kissed Ethan on the cheek.
"Dude, what did you do?" Chad said as he walked over to Ethan shocked and proud.
"We just started talking and she gave me her number." Ethan told Chad.
"Awesome, I'm so proud of you dude." Chad hugged Ethan.
Ethan smiled that his plan is going well, he finally got y/n right where he wants her to be.
Ethan has been dating Y/n for six months, they have been inseparable, I know was supposed to hate and kill y/n but he couldn't do it, she was to perfect. It would break y/n's heart that if she finds out Ethan is Ghostface and was being used this whole time.
"I have to go I have serious homework to do, I'll text you later." Y/n kissed Ethan as she walks away.
"OK, I'll text you." Ethan responded.
All of a sudden Ethan gets a phone call from his sister.
"So when are you going to kill her, dad told you to date her for a reason." Quin said over the phone.
" Don't tell me your falling for her, tell me did she give you blow job just for you to fall in love." Quinn teased.
"What? No! I'm waiting for a good time to kill her." Ethan responded.
"Sure you are lover boy." Quinn said as she hanged up.
"Bitch." Ethan mutter under his breath.
Later on, Y/n is doing homework but she needs help and horny so she calls Ethan.
Y/n heard a knock on the door and saw her boyfriend at the door.
"I came as soon as you texted." Ethan said coming over to you.
" I can't do this anymore E, I'm gonna fail." Y/n said feeling no hope on passing this exam tomorrow.
"To make you feel better, I just failed my last exam." Ethan said trying to cheer up Y/n.
you laughed as Ethan pull you closer to relief your stress.
" I don't know if anything can make me feel better, if you could just help me." Y/n said.
"Definitely can't do that, but I think I can take your mind off this." He whispered in your ear.
"How?" Y/n said intrigued.
"Well It usually starts off with my head between your legs, you screaming my name." Ethan whispered in her ear seductively.
You immediately start blushing as Ethan put his hands on your thighs.
As Y/n was about to say something she was cut off when Ethan connects his lips to yours. He travel his lips down your neck, but you pull him off of you.
"Are you sure you want to do this E, I mean I should proactive go back to studying." Y/n said looking at Ethan.
He cuts you off again, taking your head into his hands making sure you met his gaze
"Stop worrying about studying, let me make you feel good."
"OK, fine." You said blushing.
his finger danced their way over to your ribs under your shirt as he places gentle kisses on your hipbones, He made his way down to your shorts as he glanced back up asking for your consent. You nodded your head asking him to resume.he pulled your shorts down tossing them, he hooked your lacy panties, he grabbed both of your legs and put them over his shoulders, he wrapped his arms around your legs and pulled them open.
he kisses your inner thighs, you brushed a gentle hand over his curls, you could feel his breath and you couldn't take it anymore. You wrapped his curls as you guided him.
he licked your clit as you sucked in a shaky breath, your thighs clenched around him, but his strong legs pulled your legs back right open.
"Right there E." You moaned
you came on his mouth as Ethan swallowed.
" I hope your not thinking about studying anymore tonight, because all I want to do-"
"Shut the fuck up and kiss me, Landry."
Y/n and Ethan started making out.
Ethan couldn't kill you because he was genuinely having feelings for you, you were just too perfect and he didn't deserve you.
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xxsycamore · 2 years ago
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—𝘐𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘓𝘪𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘰𝘨𝘴, 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘍𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴
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► SYNOPSIS:
Silvio Ricci gets a taste of his own medicine. [[heed the tags & author's note]]
▍silvio ricci x gender neutral reader
▍rating: E
▍tags: Silvio tops; Casual sex; Swearing; Name-calling; Silvio insults the reader some but so do they; Teasing; Biting; Crying; Light masochism; Silvio has a sensitive neck; Cumming inside; Reader plays with Silvio's feelings but he deserves it for being an ass; Come marking; Making a mess; Mild blood; Violence
▍wordcount: 2,000
▍a/n: be warned, this story might not be everyone's cup of tea. I aimed for a reader that is as "bad" as silvio, and perhaps not many can project into that. He would by no means treat the mc exactly the same way as he does the reader here, i'm sure about that, haha.
▍masterlist
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"The rumors must be wrong," you conclude early, speeding up somewhere ahead of Silvio just to make him be the one to close the door behind you. The loud thud from his kick hardly disrupts your speech. "I've heard you indulge the ones who enter your bed more pompously… yet for me, no roses and champagne, no dangly little gifts from across the seas. I'm hurt."
"You talk too much." Silvio cuts, slumping himself against a soft-cushioned couch, as if declaring that this would be taken to bed only if it means dragging his weight to there.
Too bad that it hardly matters to you 'where' when the 'how' is way more intriguing. You straddle his hips with the enthusiasm of someone welcoming his lover from a winter-long campaign, and he cringers. He hates how his dick has another option about it, as soon as it feels the warmth of another sex against it.
With you, it's never straight to the point. He could surprise you with the cleverest makeshift mouthgag in the world and you'd still manage a way to speak to him in your innerving language. He doesn't bother with it anymore, much preferring to create noise than to cancel the one coming from you. Barging into random guestrooms saved for the less special guests, bedsprings creaking cheaply into the night; hallways that echo the filthy wet sounds of coupling. For one, it drives everyone in close radius away in almost laughable fashion and he gets amused. On the flipside, he gets dangerously alone with you.
He grabs a fistful of intricate necklaces and haphazardly pulls them over his head, his perfect fringe getting its first portion of disheveling for the night. He puts them on you instead, like it's regalia. You better hurry up and shake these hips soon if you so intend to make his dick your seat for the night.
Fingers begin to dance a courting dance as you undo the buttons of his shirt with no dangly loops of obstacle in the way. His skin is nice and warm to the touch. His pelvis all but presses back into your hands the moment you drag your weight further back his lap in order to work his belt undone.
"Don't you hate yourself sometimes for wanting my cock so much?"
He has more reason to adorn a nasty smirk than you do in the moment, but honesty is always less ugly. "Never."
His humming means a lot and nothing at all in the same time. Before he can say more, he is presented with a very tight embrace, head getting shoved into your chest as you cling to him as if the tar-black sea depths are behind your back.
"Prepare me, please… I'm scared of your big cock."
He scoffs in absurdity, recalling hushed thirsts in dark corners and declarations of it 'hurting so good'. His arms even have to fight their way out of the tight hug to comply with that wish. Deft fingers get to your spasming hole in record time as he loses no time to plunge two of them inside, pumping slowly.
You gasp and let your lips stay parted; Silvio seems concentrated in fingering you and you brush your mouth against his in the meanwhile. You trash your head away before he can get the idea you're initiating a kiss.
The blunt head of his cock rubs your hole, slipping in occasionally and making you gasp, yet he denies the entrance. Feeling in control makes him finally, finally enjoy something else than the rush of endorphins at the end of that damned act. He seats you down.
"Haah… here you go, you took it like a champ. I knew you can." He mockingly claps his hands twice or thrice, the sound of his palms coming together dry and irritating.
You squirm and make a marionette out of yourself as his cock ignites all pleasure-spot-fuses and the fire spreads. You do what is expected of you and gain sense slowly, grabbing into his shoulders for support. Slamming yourself down on him balls deep, you grind your bottom, then slowly ascent. On the fourth, fifth, sixth time, the dance gets less precise. You love it when he has to guide you, tongue clicking, warm palms on your bared ass.
You two move as one, each chasing individual peak, yet the goals meeting in the middle. Just another mutual gain deal glazed with forget hospitality, he is expert at those. At least you don't cost him much effort at this point, as you start finding his way back to him uninvited. It's a shame his dick feels better at your mercy than at anyone else's - it gets in his way when he tells himself there is nothing special to you.
Your moans spill in the night and you purposely curl them around the edges. Silvio can pick on the exaggerated ones but still marvels at the rest. You really need it bad tonight, perhaps worse than him.
"Whore."
Your answer is only to moan louder, living up to the name he gave you. He knows the way you clenched is not entirely part of the act, and smirks, repeating, "Whore."
Your hips speed up, knees brushing hurtfully even in those soft cushions. Slowing down is a must at this point if you don't want the night to be short. And it seems like you're set on your mind.
Silvio slaps your ass and his nails bite into it when you refuse to stop. His eyes are blurred with excited arouse even when he widens them in alert.
"Yours." You voice cracks around the single word and you mask it with another moan.
"I don't want to own you." he breathes heavily, hating his voice coming out strained like that, "I only own pretty things."
"Too bad owning them won't make you any less ugly."
Rage fuses with arouse as Silvio swears at you colorful words in his language that somehow you haven't heard of before.
If anyone is to see you two from afar,
They'd say you deserve each other.
Even if using all your strength, you won't able to outpower him, and it's a fact. You keep moving up and down in deranged pace that is designed to send both of you to culmination. With each rise and fall on his cock, Silvio feels like you're stepping on his throat, mocking him. He summons his mind to snap out of the pleasure of being controlled like that, he'd puke his guts afterwards if he surrenders to that ugly confession. The memory of guiding your hands to wrap around his neck shouldn't ever come to surface with a fresh example again.
It's when you bite his neck that he snaps, grabbing a harsh hold of your bottom guaranteed to leave bruises. It would be so easy to manhandle you off his cock, push your face down into the couch and have the game played by his rules. Yet, when he gets presented with that power, he doesn't know what to do with himself. You moan out submissively to him, pain numbing your cockiness - you give him control and he does nothing.
You start to wonder if he can even cum anymore while doing the old routine of fucking yet another bitch in doggy style; it's no wonder he doesn't flip you on your knees.
You can be good and help him out.
Daring, you test the restraints, nibbling on his neck. It's not like you're just now learning of his erogenous zone, but ignoring it on purpose in some of your sessions is more fun.
His hands fall off, empty palms turned upwards hanging in the air for few seconds. He fixes his grip on your waist instead, leaving you with enough room to lead the movement.
It doesn’t take much once you speed up, feeling his cock twitch and swell inside. Your hole hugs him oh so nicely, warm and tight for him alone, for a second seeming like it simply serves him.
You cum first, getting lost in your own game. The pleasure peaks and you're sincere when you call out his name. Despite your better opinion of associating Silvio with ugliness, his name sounds beautiful said out loud. Sil-vi-o. Silver tongue, seawater; salt, venom, viciousness, Silvio.
It's very married-couple-in-love of him to cum so downright simultaneously with you but here he goes. He moves you up and down when strength leaves your legs, and he fucks his cum into you like he intends to mark you inside-out. Your depths are coated thick and warm, and the profanities are almost melodic when he groans like that. You love how he gives you every last drop, not bothering to get his cock as soon as possible out of you but quite the contrary.
He looks at you after what feels like eternity but for your much-alive still, twitching sexes, it's merely seconds. His icy blue eyes bore into yours and widen with shock.
"Why are you crying?"
You snicker through the sniffles, labeling yourself as pathetic at this moment.
"Because… I love you, Silvio."
He pales.
The room becomes so still, so quiet with the lack of as much as the sound of breathing being heard. Silvio searches something more to fall from your lips in the absence of his breaths rudely interrupting you. Soon his breath runs out and he huffs out with brows knitting together, puzzled and with a storm of things to say casting on the tip of his tongue.
"Pfft."
A hitched breath.
"Ahahaha!"
Your laugh undoubtedly sounds exaggerated from the side; but your face brightens up so much as you finally release the laugher that has been building behind your lips. It's ringing merrily in the dimly lit room, and you're honestly just waiting for Silvio to shut you up but it never comes. Another set of tears stream down to wash away the ones from before, and they're born from different sources.
You better get up before Silvio remembers how to speak again. He must have been training that resting-bitch-face of his a lot, you didn't expect it to see it adorning his ugly features so soon.
Using his shoulders for balance, you get up from the gross, softened cock that gave you so much pleasure previously. Instead of making this as fast and as inconsequential as possible, you linger over him, looking down at the place where you have been joined. His cum starts to leak out, and you let it. It dirties the front of Silvio's pants while he is busy being out of his mind.
"Oh, you dirty whore."
You fight the urge to say Welcome back, Silvio, and instead roll your eyes at him. "This is getting old. Get creative."
Silvio huffs out a laugher, not knowing himself where it came from. He starts fantasizing how to take you next, but his naughty thoughts are interrupted by the sight of you fixing your clothing.
You grab into the necklaces and unceremoniously throw them at the glossy marble floor with a horrific jiggle. Their quality is put the ultimate test but no runaway beads roll underneath furniture; not that Silvio cares.
He understands what it would mean to call back to you and stop you from leaving. He can't deal with being more grossed at himself any more tonight.
Blowing a kiss behind your shoulder, you leave.
The night is still so, so damn young. Sleep would never come to him. Being alone would be agonizing. Getting his shit together and going downstairs where another high-society gathering is taking place is unthinkable. He'd puke at the sight of a flirting woman right now.
With the rage of a man deemed to suffer until his last breath, Silvio screams his lungs; the sound masking the one of a shoved down decorative table nearby. His knuckles get stupidly bruised to blood somehow and it gets on his shirt when he fixes his collar. Just great.
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Taglist: @arsnovacadenza @ale-teodora @kimi00twin @otomelady @privilegedpancake @g-kleran @pumpumnnnp @thesirenwashere @ravenarld @kimmy-banana @devonares @animeworldsposts @randomanimatedhusbandoseeker @galaxyprison @sadshaxk @starshards26 @pro-cat-stination @acethephoenix256 @ikevamp-shrine-2 @nad-zeta @crystal13unny @keen19thcenturygoatsstudent @lordsister @ikemen-banshou @themysticalbeing @canaria-blackwell @otome-scribbles @rhodolitesrose @coornn @kpop-and-otome @queen-dahlia @kisara-16 @chaosangel767 @ikemenlibrary @queengiuliettafirstlady @aurora-morning @aquagirl1978 @ikemenlover24 @violettduchess @mcofthemansion @tiny-wooden-robot @joy-the-reader @katriniac @aceuuuuu @atelieredux @ikemen-prince-writers-posts Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged!
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writer-darling · 1 year ago
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Are You Ever Dreaming of Me?
Chapter 5: Gorgeous | Read Chapter 4: Invisible String!
I NEVER USE Y/N OR ANYTHING LIKE IT THANK YOU SO MUCH :)
Rating: T - T ((for now, but there WILL BE explicit stuff later sooo (18+ MINORS DNI)
Pairing: Ezra (Prospect, 2018) x F!Reader
Warnings: Good old enemies-to-lovers trope. age gap (10 years). Nothing super descriptive for Reader but they are described as having hair. Tension, ofc, especially sexual tension out the wahzoo. Adult language. Alotta feelings and things of that nature. Banter. Flirting. It’s E-to-L, you know where this is going. Feral Ezra (he starts at a 72.8% but ends up at about a 55.9% in this chapter). Discussions of loss: parental. Mentions of food and alcohol. If there are any that I missed, please inbox me to let me know and I will add them in :)
Word Count: 7.2k
Summary!: You and Ezra spend the night sharing stories over food and drinks. You share stories of loss, of joy, encouraging a new connection between you two. Leading to a sense of hope between you both in this newfound friendship.
A/N: REWRITTEN AND REFORMATTED ON: 12/28/23
******
“You should take it as a compliment
That I got drunk and made fun of the way you talk
You should think about the consequence
Of your magnetic field being a little too strong…”
Ezra smiles broadly, glad that you agreed to the plan. The bonus is that he didn't have to grovel as much as he figured he would have to. He takes you to his quarters and asks that you wait for him a moment while he heads inside. 
You hear him shuffling around in there but you don’t ask him what he’s doing, instead trying to calm your inner nerves. You don’t have much time to really think though as whatever he’s doing, he’s done with quickly. He smiles as he comes out of the tent, his pack on his shoulders now. Without another word, he turns and begins to lead the way, the two of you falling into step together. He makes sure to match his pace to yours, not wanting to overwhelm you or make you feel rushed. 
"So," he says after a few seconds, trying to sound light and casual. "What do friends talk about, then?" You grin and look over at him with a teasing smile. 
"Are you telling me you don't know how to make friendly conversation?" You ask, just not able to keep yourself from teasing him. The sound of leaves and shrubs crunching under your feet as you two walk becomes a quiet rhythm in the background.
Ezra laughs, amused by your jab. “Didn’t we agree no jokes?” He asks, though his tone is lighthearted. You shrug in response, smiling to yourself.
“Old habits.” You quip. He chuckles and rolls his eyes.
"Of course, I know how to make friendly conversation. Just want to know how you get things started." He says, still taking the teasing in good humor. His tone is lighter now, the tension from earlier broken by the laughter. "Go on, you start. What topics do friends discuss in your experience?"
"Well... we're starting over, right? So, then I guess we talk about our lives." You shrug. "Our histories, how we got to where we are, all that stuff." You say, your hands behind your back as you walk with him.
Ezra smiles, nodding along as you speak. "Good idea," he says. "Sounds like a good place to start. Okay, but here are some rules. We need full honesty, okay? No more games, no holdin’ facts back. I want to hear everythin’, and I want it straight from the source. No secrets, no bull..." He laughs, a smile on your face. "Just the truth. We got a deal?"
"Wow, you're really taking this starting over thing seriously, huh?" You ask. "Ok, deal." You say.
"I am, and I want you to do the same, alright?" Ezra asks earnestly. "No half-truths, no white lies. I'm puttin’ everythin’ on the table." He asks again, a hint of seriousness in his voice. "This is really important to me."
You notice the seriousness in his tone and look over at him for a long moment. His dark brown eyes are almost obsidian in the light of the moon through the trees. They’re as serious as ever and you feel your heart thump loudly in response. "Alright, deal then." You say earnestly.
Ezra smiles, relieved at your response. "Good, I'm glad you're takin’ this seriously too," he says earnestly, his face full of warmth. "So let's start with... the start. Where did ya come from? Family, home life, all that stuff, tell me about it." His expression is a little hesitant, maybe thinking you’re going to change your mind. But when your expression turns pensive, you can see the relief in his eyes. His smile quickly returns, and he nods, ready to listen. 
"Ok." You say, smiling softly at his genuine curiosity. "Where did I come from? A planet a few lightyears from here named Amorna. A prospecting town. My family dynamic is a little unusual, but it's a good unusual I guess." You shrug the shoulder nearest to him lightly. "My biological father’s been out of the picture since before I was born. So I was raised by my grandmother, my uncle, and my mom." You say.
Ezra listens intently, his expression soft and attentive as you tell him about your life, about your family. There's a look of sympathy in his eyes as you talk about your father, and he can feel his heart pang in sympathy for how much it seems to have affected you. When he speaks, it's with a kindness and sincerity he's never shown before. "That can't’ve been easy," he says, shaking his head. "You're strong to have gotten through that. And it sounds like you were raised in a family that loves you."
There's a sadness in your eyes as he says that first bit. "Yeah, my father is a deadbeat. He really let me down." You say before you quickly move on. "The rest of my family is great though, they’ve been my support my entire life.”
 "What can you tell me about ‘em?" He asks, seeing that you want to shift gears and he follows your lead easily.
"They're amazing, all super hardworking. My mom and my grandma were like my parents. Mom played the role of the ‘dad’, while my grama was the ‘mom’."
Ezra smiles, feeling happy for you. "Your mother and grandmother must have been some incredible women." He says, imagining the strength they must have possessed to raise such an independent, strong woman as you. "And what about siblin’s?" He asks, his tone curious. "Do you get along well?"
You shake your head a little in response. "Only child." You add. “I wish we could’ve been a bigger family but after my birth, which was complicated for my mom, well… she decided she didn’t want to go through it again.”
“Complicated in what sense?” He asks before he quickly backtracks respectfully. “If it’s too personal, I completely understand.”
“It was a hard birth. She didn’t know she was pregnant and I was almost a miscarriage.” You say quietly. He goes quiet at that, his face understanding and somber.
“I’m sorry for your mother. I can’t imagine that was an easy thing to go through at all.” He says sympathetically. You nod for a moment as you think about your mom, smiling a little sadly as you realize how much you’ve missed her all this time. 
“Yeah,” You finally say with a small sigh. “It’s not all bad though, I guess due to that, I was spoiled rotten.” Your smile is light-hearted now and he laughs, his mood instantly lifting and the atmosphere around you both soft and warm once again.
“Oh? So that explains the bratty behavior, then, eh?” He teases. You pretend to be mock offended, turning to look at him with widened eyes. 
“A brat?? Me??? How dare you.” You say but your tone is humored. Your eyes twinkle with mischief and Ezra swears his heart stops for the briefest of seconds. His cheeks go rosy for a moment and he averts his eyes as he reminds himself to be friendly. 
“Well, it uh, it sounds like you're lucky to have each other," he says earnestly. "I have sisters and we’re close in age, so it was always incredibly packed at our place." He shakes his head, still smiling softly. 
You nod. "Yeah, I am lucky. For them both.” You agree before you turn to look at him with curiosity in your eyes. "So, wait, you've got sisters?? How many? And how old are they??" You're genuinely curious.
He smiles at your curiosity, but he nods when you ask about his family. "Yeah, I've got three sisters," he says, clearly happy to finally answer your questions. "My little sister, Shira... she's the youngest, she’s 35, my baby sister," he says softly, a look of pride on his face. "And I've also got two elder sisters, Dalia, 44, and Danni, 45. But they might as well be twins, they're so similar." His smile turns into a chuckle as he thinks about them. "It's one big family, I'll tell you that much."
You smile at the way he seems so proud of his sisters, as he speaks with such clear adoration for them. "Yeah? What about your parents? What are they like?" You ask him.
Ezra smiles thoughtfully at the question. His face softens as he thinks, a nostalgic aura around him as he remembers his past. "They were wonderful," he says. "They were the kind of parents that every kid wishes they had. Lovin’ and kind, but also fair and understandin’. They always did their best to help me grow up to be the best person I could be.” He laughs softly. "I know those are just sentiments that every offspring shares, but I mean it. My parents were very special people."
You hear the past tense he uses. You don't want to pry but you can't help your curiosity. "'Were'? They've... They've passed away?" You ask.
Ezra sighs, his expression turning sad. "Yes, they have. They were in an accident... a while ago. I've been dealin’ with the loss for a few years now, but I'll admit it's still hard sometimes." His expression turns wistful as if he were looking back on all his precious memories with them. But he snaps out of that mood quickly, shaking his head slowly. "It's okay though. I've got a great support system - my sisters - and my parents taught me how to be a good man. I'm just... tryin’ to live up to their legacy."
You can't help it as you place a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze of comfort. "I'm so sorry." You say sincerely as you look into his eyes. "I had a stepdad from the ages of 10-14, he passed away too and it was the hardest thing I've gone through, yet. His death was slow and honestly traumatic. I can't even imagine what I would do if I lost my mom too." Your eyes are gentle and sympathetic as you look at him
Ezra looks at you, his expression filled with gratitude and sincerity. "Thank you," he says softly. "It means a lot to me that you understand. A lot of people seem to think I should be over it already, but I don't think you can ever really 'get over' somethin’ like that." Your kindness seems to have calmed him a little bit, and he smiles genuinely. "This all happened a while ago, but I swear some days I wake up and it’s like it all happened just yesterday.” You nod, knowing exactly what he means.
"I hate to say it but... you don't get over it. Not with something like that. You know that saying, 'Time heals all wounds'?" You ask him.
Ezra nods earnestly, knowing exactly where you're going with this. "Yeah, I'm familiar with the sayin’." He says, his expression serious. "But the truth is, I don't think time can heal all wounds." There's a twinge of sadness in his voice as he speaks, but he shakes his head and clears his throat. "Time heals some wounds... And it can dull the pain of others… at the very least make them more tolerable. Some wounds, though, you can never really heal properly, even with time."
You nod, surprised that he caught on so quickly. "Yeah, exactly. Especially when it's such a profound loss like a parent... You don't 'learn to move on' or 'get over it'. You accept that it's happened, eventually, and learn how to adapt to life without them. Even if it's the hardest thing." You say.
Ezra nods at your wisdom, impressed at the way you've articulated such a complex concept so succinctly. "Exactly, yeah." He says, glad that you understand. "The loss never really goes away, and the pain never really heals... but the wounds... they hurt a little less eventually. It's a lot like physical wounds, I think. There are some injuries that leave permanent scars, but you can learn to live with them. And eventually, you can learn to exist in a 'normal' life again... even if you'll never be the same."
You nod, in complete agreement. 
"Yeah, for sure..." You trail off, unsure of what to say next for a moment. "I'm sure your mom and dad were as amazing as you say." You say softly,
"They truly were," Ezra says earnestly. "My mother... She was the strongest person I've ever known. She was beautiful, smart, and kind, and she never once let me think I could be inferior to anyone else. Even the times we were as poor as can be. She made sure I always felt like I mattered, and she always listened to me. And my dad... He was the funniest person I've ever met. His smile could light up a room, and he never let any situation get him down." He smiles fondly, clearly thinking about happy memories. "I miss them, but I hold on to those memories of them."
You can't help it as your eyes widen at his words. "You're... You're not gonna believe this but... that sounds just like what I would say about my mom and my stepdad..." You say, almost incredulous. "My mom always used to tell me I had to 'look out for number one' a.k.a myself, and my stepdad was a huge jokester. He could be serious when he needed to be, but he preferred to make people laugh and be at ease."
Ezra's eyes widen in equal shock, his expression one of pure amazement at the similarities between your descriptions. "That's... That's incredible." He says, his voice disbelieving. "My parents raised me to value strength and courage above all else and to help others whenever possible. And my dad could always make me laugh to the point of tears!" He smiles, his eyes full of wonder. "Now you have me curious. What about your grandmother? Your uncle? Tell me about them," He asks, clearly interested and wanting to hear more about your family.
"They're also the best." You say with a fond smile. "My grandmother was strong-willed, So intelligent, and insanely hard-working, the trait both my mom and I got from her. Patient with me, but hard on everyone else, A wonderful cook, and very sassy," You both laugh at that. 
Ezra can see in your eyes how much you miss her. “When did you lose her?" His voice is its softest yet, his tone again understanding. It’s clear he won’t push this subject if you decline to answer.
"A few years after my stepdad." You with a small, morose smile. "It wasn't easy for any one of us when we lost him, not at all. That and other stuff led to her health declining pretty steadily. But she passed peacefully in her sleep and at least I have that comfort that she didn’t suffer like my stepdad, ya know?" You ask. He nods softly.
"And your uncle?" He prompts softly. You smile a little more.
"Sort of a father figure. He's still living with my mom back home. He's the oldest and she's the baby so he protects her as much as he does me. He really stepped up after my stepdad passed." You say.
"You seem like you had a really lovin’, supportive family. I'm glad you all had one another to lean on when things were tough." He puts a hand on your shoulder. "You’ve come from a really good place, and I’m certain you can bring even more of that goodness to the universe."
You flush slightly at his subtle compliment and thank him. He suddenly stops and so do you as you see the river he mentioned earlier, realizing now that you both were so wrapped up in the conversation that you didn't even hear it. "Oh, the river. Where's the place to eat that you mentioned?" You ask him, scanning the area.
Ezra’s smile remains warm. "Right over here," he says, leading you through a small patch of trees. The terrain is uneven in spots, and it's a little rocky, but he does his best to guide you safely through the potentially rough ground. "This is the best place to eat near the river," he explains. "It's right on the water, so you have an absolutely gorgeous view on one side, and a nice cliff overlookin’ it all that we can eat on. Trust me, it’s solid enough."
You manage to keep up with him, letting him lead the way and doing your best to follow and stay close. He smiles at your determination and slows his pace a little bit to make sure you're not having too much trouble. You make it to the spot, and a gorgeous view opens up before you. 
Just as he promised, there's a perfect area for eating, a cliff full of lush grass sits overlooking the water. Beyond the river itself is a breathtaking view of the forest in the moonlight. The water bubbles as it rushes over the gravel and stones below. If it wasn’t dark out you’d be half-tempted to jump in for a swim. It's really a stunning sight. "See? What’d I tell ya?" He asks with a smile, his arm stretched out wide to gesture around at the natural beauty around you.
"Wow... this is incredible!" You say with genuine awe in your voice. "But wait, where do we get the food from?" You ask him.
Ezra laughs a little bit at that. "I packed picnic provisions earlier, so all we have to do is lay out all the food right here." He walks over to his backpack and starts pulling out a variety of packs. He's got all the typical picnic items: sandwiches, fruit, etc. "The greatest part of it," he adds, his smile still on his face, "is that we brought drinks too." He reaches into the very bottom of the pack and brings out two aluminum cans with tabs. It’s cider, you realize.
You smile at him and see him bring everything out. "Is the cider the alcoholic kind??" You ask with genuine intrigue as you begin helping him organize the food and set it between you two.
Ezra's smile turns mischievous at your question. "Course it is," he says with a grin and a small wink your way. "The best way to wash down food on a picnic is with alcohol! I tried to bring only the best, you know?" He looks like a kid at Christmas as you two prepare everything, his excitement evident in his tone as he speaks with such confidence and enthusiasm. "And we've got some of the finest right here with us."
"Where in Kevva's name did you get alcohol from? The rest of the crew would kill for this stuff!" You say with a giddiness in your tone. You haven’t had alcohol in a long while. It was forbidden on expeditions, just as was other contraband, like his herbal cigarettes, but you’re glad your earlier suspicion about his hidden stash was correct.
Ezra's smile turns sheepish as he speaks. "Well..." He trails off, not sure how you're going to react to his answer. "It helps to be the boss’s right-hand man." He laughs softly with a small wink as he hands you a can. "As long as we're clear that this is just between us, I'm happy to share. This is rare stuff, right?" He asks, his eyes wide and curious, looking like his mind has already started to imagine the cider's taste.
"Insanely rare." You say, grabbing the can and reading it over. "Oh man, those bastards back at camp would go nuts for this."
Ezra laughs at your words. "Well then, it's a good thing we're as far away from them as possible." He says, already imagining the two of you sitting and enjoying the rare, forbidden goods right in front of you. "Now, are you ready to finally taste this glorious cider, or would you prefer we quench our hunger first? I'm kind of starvin’, but I'm happy to let you choose."
"Let's eat first." You say. "I haven't had alcohol in a while and we're gonna need some food in our systems to avoid getting drunk immediately." You say as you grab a sandwich.
Ezra nods at that, setting down his cider for the time being. "Sounds like a good plan to me," he agrees, his hungry stomach growling a little bit. He moves to grab a sandwich of his own, taking a bite and chewing happily. 
You two eat together and for once, the silence is comfortable and pleasant between you two. There’s still some tension there underneath, but it feels warm and almost electric. He takes a little break from his eating to speak again, his eyes sparkling as he smiles at you. 
"I have to say, I'm really enjoyin’ this so far. I'm happy that we're hangin’ out."
You smile and nod. "I never thought I'd say this but... I feel the same way. Hanging out without so much uneasiness... it feels good." You say, finishing your own sandwich happily.
Ezra smiles at your response, looking down at the food and savoring his own last bite. "Well, you know what they say about makin’ friends," he says with a soft laugh. "Sometimes, all it takes is a couple of drinks." He winks at you, his tone playful. "But you and I, we didn't even need that," He counters with a bright grin. "So, just imagine how good we're gonna be when we do drink."
You laugh softly. "As long as this night doesn't end with us getting drunk and trying to shoot each other's heads off, I'll be happy." You joke. Ezra laughs boisterously at your words, finding your dark sense of humor both funny and endearing.
"How 'bout another deal?" he says, holding his hand out between you two like you're about to shake on it. "No drunken shootouts tonight. Does that sound good to you?" He asks, his smile growing wide as he awaits your response.
You grin and slip your hand into his. "Deal." You say with a grin, shaking on it.
Ezra smiles broadly. "Then we understand each other," he says, nodding his head happily. "Now that we’re on the same page then, how ‘bout that cider?" He asks, his smile wide as he reaches over and grabs the bottle. "Shall we take a small sip, in solidarity of our new friendship?" He asks with a mischievous grin. You grin, knowing he's been eyeing the cider since he mentioned it. But you can't lie, you have been too. 
"Hell yeah." You respond.
Ezra laughs at your response, popping the tab on his can and pouring a little bit into two paper cups. He hands you one and you both toast with smiles. "Just a small sip," he reminds you, lifting his own cup to his lips to take a small drink from it but not taking it just yet. "This stuff's much more potent than you'd expect, in my limited experience with it. Wouldn't want you to get wasted and puke on all this beautiful food." His tone turns playful at that last bit and you grin. Now he takes a slow, small sip from the cup, his eyes wide as he takes in the cider's flavor.
"Oh please, if anyone's the lightweight here, it's probably you." You retort with a playful eye roll but still, just take a sip. It is strong, but it's really good too. It immediately makes your chest and throat feel warm, but it sits well in your stomach, making you smile. Ezra smiles at your response, clearly taking it as a joke. 
"Well... we'll find out soon," he says, sipping again. "Whaddya think?" He asks, his eyes sparkling as he looks at you. "Is it as good as you hoped?" He asks, leaning forward intently as he awaits your response. His attempt to impress you is adorably obvious.
"It's really good." You respond, taking a bigger sip. "Man, I didn't even realize how much I missed something as basic as alcohol." You mumble with a soft laugh.
Ezra chuckles at that, taking another sip from his own drink. "I know, right?" He asks, smiling widely at you. As he speaks, the cider's effects are already starting to kick in. He's finding himself growing warmer, more at ease, and he's feeling happier - and a little more relaxed too. "Is it just me, or is this stuff amazin’?" He asks.
"It is." You agree, feeling the same way. 
You two spend the next half hour like this: eating, making conversation, and drinking cider together. It's such a nice time, one you haven't experienced with him before, ever. The night drags on and soon the stars are out. You lie down when there's a lull in the conversation, feeling buzzed and full and happy. It’s damn near perfect.
It all passes by in a blur of laughter and conversation, your talk flowing like the cider. You enjoy each other's company, finding yourselves lost in the moment - and as the night draws to a close, the cider's effects begin to become more noticeable. You feel warmer than usual, especially in your face, and there's a slight hint of euphoria beginning to set in. It's a strange sensation, but a pleasant one. Time flies by, and before long, the night sky is lit up with millions of stars, filling your view with a truly beautiful sight.
You lie back on the grass under you and just use up a minute to watch the night sky, taking in the constellations and the pink luminescence of the full moon.
Ezra lays on the grass next to you, looking up at the stars with a fond smile on his face. He sighs at the natural beauty of the universe, letting the night wash over him. "This is honestly one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen," he says, looking at the stars with reverence. "The stars are truly breathtakin’... It's incredible to think that we only know ‘bout such a small, insignificant number of ‘em. Even as space-farin' travelers... our knowledge is still so limited on the true expanse of space. Just ‘magine it: infinite galaxies, and universes at our disposal. Just knowin’ that there are trillions more that we'll never see, with infinite more planets - it's both awe-inspirin’ and humblin’ at the same time."
You can't help it as you laugh softly at what he says, half from drunkenness and half from good-natured humor. Ezra chuckles at your laughter, finding himself unable to contain a wide grin of his own as his mind begins to drift. He's never felt this... loose and at ease before. It's a pleasant feeling and a pleasant change of pace. All of that stress and pressure that comes with helping run a team have melted away, and it feels like he could just enjoy this night forever. This is what he wants, and the realization brings a sense of calm with it that is hard to explain. 
"Tell me," he asks, turning his head to look at you, "what are you laughin’ at?"
"You." You respond honestly, your eyes still on the sky above you. "Even while drunk you still manage to talk a lot. It's impressive." You say, looking over at him with a playful glint in your eyes even as your smile is genuine and kind. Ezra laughs at your words, his face growing brighter in his blushing.
"Well, it's not somethin’ I do intentionally," he says, shrugging his shoulders. "I guess I’m just a verbose individual, drunk or sober. Can’t help it. It's my gift and my curse." He sighs, but he can't help the broad smile that comes to his face. 
“I’ll say,” You respond with a good-natured laugh as you slightly sit up on your elbows, looking over at him. “I mean, c’mon, what was that you said the other day?” You clear your throat and suddenly crank out your best Ezra impression, an awful attempt at a Southern accent and all, 
“If we hold that equivalent exchange persists in this space then we must give somethin’ of ourselves in order to build somethin’ new, in order to purge the bowels of this fecund wood for treasures made our own. Some of us have the proclivity for greatness while most do not. And those ambitious masses are the sacrifice this forest demands so that the true diviners can stand atop the mountain of corpses and claim their riches.” You’re both surprised you even remembered a sentence of that, let alone the whole thing. He grins, looking over at you and laughing at both the awful impersonation and impressive recall.
"Does that mean you wish me to shut up?" He asks, his tone playful. "Cuz if you prefer silence, I'm happy to oblige.”
"Are you kidding? The day you go fully silent is the day Kevva herself will come down from the heavens and end us all." You say, laughing a little more. "Besides, it's never really bothered me." You add sincerely with a light shrug.
Ezra laughs at your words, finding himself at a loss for a response to your comment. 
"Honestly, I used to think you were so talkative just to impress the crew." You remark. He shakes his head, scoffing.
"Did ya really peg me as such a kiss-ass?" He asks. You shrug and make a 'small' gesture with your index finger and thumb, laughing again. He laughs too. "Suppose you've got a point," he says, clearly amused. "But, not really for them..." He admits with a pointed look your way. When you meet his eyes he grins, winking a little and making you avert your eyes bashfully. He pauses, his eyes still on you, and his tone turns sincere and soft. "It's honestly been an… unexplainable night," he says, his smile growing wider as he speaks. "I've never... enjoyed myself like this. Maybe I’m jumpin’ the gun but I have to ask: do ya feel like I'm your friend yet?" He asks with a genuine smile, turning his body so he's fully facing you.
"Well, let's see: shared our pasts? Check. Ate at least one meal together? Check. Drank together without having any issues? Check check." You say with another soft laugh. Before you turn your face slightly towards his, your eyes now sincere as you let the mood grow a little more serious. "Yeah," you say softly. "I think we're friends."
Ezra smiles warmly at your words. He's feeling really good - more at ease than he's felt in a very long time - and to hear that, well... it means more to him than you could understand. He gently takes your hand and gives it a little squeeze, his smile growing warmer with each moment. "I'm happy to hear that," he says with a sigh, "because I've really been enjoyin’ spendin’ time with you too. It's been a long time since I've felt this at ease around someone." You smile and return the affectionate gesture. 
"Well, considering how dangerous our jobs are, that doesn't surprise me. It's hard to trust anyone out here, isn’t it? It's hard to really open up and be vulnerable when you're constantly in danger or preparing to be in danger." You say.
Ezra chuckles quietly, nodding his head in agreement. "That's very true," he says with a smile, squeezing your hand again gently. "This job can be absolutely cutthroat. A lot of prospectors will sell out the people they love just for the slimmest chance at a better payday. I'm not a fan of that kind of behavior, but it's definitely prevalent in our field." He looks down at you and smiles earnestly at you, pondering his next question. "Do you feel... safe around me?" He asks in a soft, caring way.
You meet his eyes and look over at him for a long moment, considering his question seriously. "You know... even though we were sworn enemies only hours ago... yeah I do. I always have. Even that other night outside my tent. When you grabbed me... I didn't feel unsafe. I didn't even feel scared. I put my weapon away as soon as I realized you weren't a threat, which if that had been any other prospector, I would've just shot them." You say, incredulous at your realization.
Ezra was not expecting that answer. His heart begins to race as you explain how you felt that night, and he finds himself at a loss for words. He can feel himself beginning to blush again, something he knows he can’t blame on the cider. He's not quite sure just how to reply to what you've just said. "That's... That's quite the compliment," he says after a pause, smiling at your words. "I'm... honestly, I'm sort of dumbfounded. I really don't know how to respond." He laughs quietly. "You... really didn't feel that scared of me?"
"Not at all." You say honestly, looking at him again. "I should have been... but now that I'm thinking about it... even when I despised you, I still felt much safer around you than I have anyone else on our crew." You say that like you can't believe it and that's because you truly can't.
Ezra's eyes seem to brighten up at your words, and a grin comes to his face as he hears just how safe you felt - and still feel - around him. His blush grows more intense as he looks over, unsure of just how he should respond. He doesn't want to say anything wrong - because in that one moment, he feels like he's just been given an incredibly precious gift. "That... means more to me than I can even put into words," he says softly, his voice a little shaky as he speaks. "Makes me really happy to hear."
You smile. "What about you? Do you feel safe around me?" You ask him, curious. You notice his hand still hasn't released yours but you don’t make an attempt to pull back from his grip. His touch is warm, firm in yours. It feels… almost natural.
He nods immediately, his tone turning serious as he speaks. "Absolutely," he says, his voice quiet and soft, as though he's trying to hide the feeling from himself. "I... I do feel safe around you." He pauses for a moment, and then adds, "It's the first time on this planet that I've felt safe. I can't describe it. I really can't." He takes another moment to look at you, a sincere smile on his face. "And I'd be lyin’ if I didn't say that that means... well, a lot."
You grin, feeling a rush of pride as he admits that he also feels safe around you too. You sense a sudden shift in the air between you two. Something more... vulnerable. Intimate. "Can I ask you something?" You ask, your voice softer and quieter as you try to find the right way to ask this next question.
"Course, you can ask me anythin’," he replies, a soft smile still on his face. He finds himself leaning forward a little bit at the change in tone, his focus entirely on you. "What's on your mind?" He asks, his eyes are soft and sweet. He seems to relax further as he speaks. 
"Earlier... when you told me the truth about how you felt about me... you said I 'grew on you', right? Well, I guess I wanna know: was there a specific moment that you can remember where you went from hating me to liking me?" You ask him, seeming almost bashful as you speak.
Ezra chuckles quietly at your words, amused by how timid you seem. "Well... it's a little hard to pinpoint one moment, exactly." He says, his smile growing as he speaks to you. "I think it was more of a build-up effect. The more we spoke, the more I... I don't know. The more I found myself enjoyin’ your company, I guess? It really happened quite suddenly, but I realized that I found myself anticipatin’ our talks more and more." He nods to you in confirmation. "Does that make sense at all?"
You nod, and look over at him. "Our 'talks'?" Your tone is teasing again and playful. "I think our fellow prospectors would call it 'feuding' and 'bickering'." You say with another laugh. You finally pull your hand from his.
He looks down as if just now realizing he was still holding your hand. He misses your touch immediately. You grab both of your cups and refill them with a bit more cider, taking another swig, and letting the warmth of it run through you. He thanks you as you hand him his and laughs in response to your words, his smile growing wider at your teasing tone. 
"Well, they can call it whatever they please," he says with a grin, "I'd be hard-pressed to call such a thing 'bickerin'. It was just two people... gettin’ to know each other." He takes a sip of his apple cider as he speaks, the warm feeling still present. "I rather enjoyed it, actually. The... the feudin." His last two words come out in his own teasing tone, and he looks at you with a playful smirk.
"Oh yeah?" You ask. "Those times we almost drew our weapons on each other would disagree." You retort, feeling warm. "I'm surprised we've never actually taken a shot at each other."
Ezra laughs at your words, finding himself unable to argue against that point. There have been quite a few moments where you two could have fired on each other... but you didn't. "Yeah, that is strange, ain’t it?" He asks, raising an eyebrow in surprise. "And we've certainly had more than our fair share of opportunities to end each other, huh?" There's a playful snark to his voice, but he doesn't disagree with you. "Would you prefer it if we had, then? Taken a shot, I mean." He asks with a smirk.
You grin, meeting his eyes, "Mmm... maybe." You say with a light shrug, though you're clearly joking. "No." You admit right after. "I've seen you in battle, and while I'm a good shot, you're much quicker on the draw than I am." You say, impressed.
"I've got good reaction speed, for sure," Ezra says with another smile. "As much as I hate to admit it though, you've got some good instincts while we're in battle." He pauses, taking another sip of his apple cider. "Maybe I should be a little more cautious in our future 'bickerin'?" He asks, laughing a bit as he speaks. "It might just save my life if you can pull it off." He smiles cheekily at you, laughing all the while.
"Oh?" You challenge, raising yourself up on your elbows. "So does that mean you want to have us be mortal enemies again?" You ask jokingly as you look over at him.
Ezra shakes his head, laughing at your words. "Oh no," he says, "I think I've had enough of bein’ enemies for a while at least. I'd prefer a night of peace." He takes another sip of his apple cider, still laughing as he speaks. "Perhaps I'll change my mind before the night's done, but... right now, I'm feelin’ like bein’ friends for at least long enough to enjoy this nice, quiet time together." He smiles at you warmly as he speaks.
You smile at that. "I can do that." You say in agreement. "This night has been... so different than what I thought it would be… in a good way." You clarify there at the end.
"I completely agree," Ezra says in confirmation. "This has been unlike anythin’ I've ever experienced... for me, this night has been life-changin’." He's silent for a moment as he considers exactly what he wants to say, and then he speaks quietly. "I'm not sure how long such a thing could last between us," he says, his tone becoming a little softer as he looks down at you, "but... I'm hopin’ this isn't the last time we get to share somethin’ like this with one another." In a very rare moment, the words just come straight from his heart. You look over at him and feel yourself shocked for only a moment. There's a clear vulnerability in those words and you feel compelled to respond in kind. 
"It won't be." You promise. "I... I liked this." You say, and take your final drink, feeling the effects of the cider wash over you again.
Ezra smiles at your words, finding himself unable to contain his joy. "I did too," he says sincerely, "I really did." He sighs as he runs another hand through his hair, his voice growing soft as he speaks. "It's... it's been a really long time since I've had a moment like this. I... I can't tell you how important this has been." The look on his face is one of pure sincerity, and his voice is quiet as if he's speaking a secret to you. "I truly appreciate this."
You smile. "Any time." 
You two spend another half hour talking under the stars before you both decide it's getting late and you should head back to camp, feeling a little more sobered up now. You feel sad at the idea of your time with him ending but there's a sense of hope and potential in the air between you two.
Ezra smiles as you both make the decision to leave, but there's still an undeniable sadness in his heart. He had hoped that the moment would never end... but all good things, right? He stands up, offering you a hand as you get up. 
The walk back seems shorter than the going to, but you attribute that to your sadness at the prospect of the night ending. As you two reach the quarters, he turns to face you once more, his pack on his back. "Thank you for this," he says with a smile. He walks you back to your bunk and gives you a quick, reassuring smile. "I'll see you at breakfast, I expect?" He asks with a small grin.
"Yeah, definitely." You say with a soft smile. "I'll see you in the morning, Ezra. Get some sleep." You say kindly.
Ezra nods, giving you one last, warm smile. "I will. Sleep well." He gives you an understanding nod, and with that, he turns and walks away to make his way to his bunk. He stops, takes a look back, and gives you a quick, genuine wave of his hand. You wave back and he doesn’t step into his tent until he hears your tent zipper shut.
He can't stop smiling as he walks into his tent, and the thought of what just happened has him feeling quite excited. He has no idea what the future has in store for you two, but he's got a feeling you’re going to become good friends.
******
Ok, not gonna lie: I'm really proud with how this story is going. Now, things have changed between Ezra and Rookie. Should we start placing bets on who caves first??? Anyway, that’s it, thanks a million, hope you all enjoyed, and see you in the next one!
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Read Chapter 6: It’s Nice to Have a Friend!
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miyacreampie · 3 years ago
Text
Lenny sensei's night class has begun!~♡
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“Senpai~♡”
synopsis 💭;; Tanaka gets jealous bc some bitch talking to his man.
note 🖋️;; IT TOOK A WHOLE FUCKIN WEEK TO WRITE THIS. WHY DOES WORK ALWAYS PREVENT ME FROM DOING THE THINGS I LIKE? WHAT THE ACTUAL FU- by the way, ‘Isayama Misaki’ is based off of some asswipe I used to know- also, I ran out of ideas at the end, so it kinda cuts of lf at the good part. I apologize to the anon that requested this.
Requested by anon ♡
Male pronouns used
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Tanaka wasn't a jealous man. Or at least he'd like to think so.
(Y/n) was pretty popular around campus, so it wasn't a surprise to see a few fangirls here or there. It kinda reminded him of Oikawa—except (Y/n) didn't exactly pay his fangirls any attention. (And he didn't have an ass as flat as printer paper.) But did that stop them from trying to get into his pants? No.
In all honesty, Ryu felt lucky that he had someone like (Y/n) as a boyfriend, although he didn't like the fangirls—who paid him no mind whenever they were together. It annoyed him that they kept surrounding (Y/n) who clearly wanted nothing to do with them, begging him for dates, one night stands, anything.
To say that Tanaka was mildly uncomfortable was an understatement.
🌇🌇
Today was a bit different. Instead of a crowd of women rushing towards (Y/n), it was just one—; Misaki Isayama. The woman (almost) every guy considered perfect. This was...manageable, but what did she want? Well—at least it was only one girl. He had only woken up a little over an hour ago, and wasn't exactly ready for his simps just yet.
“(L/n)-chan, can you help me study for the science exam that's coming up?”
“Just because you're my upperclassman, doesn't mean you can call me that.” (Y/n) said quietly, rubbing his eyes, then yawning. “I'm on my way to the lecture hall though, so maybe after that? I should be fully awake by then..”
Misaki smiled and nodded her head. “It's a date!”
“No. No it's not.”
🏙️🏙️
Tanaka let (Y/n) lean on him during the lecture. That turned into one sided cuddling from the sleepy man. Ryu thought it was cute how (Y/n) always clung to him when he was sleepy. He was a little sad when (Y/n) fully awoke, and let him go, but it was for the best.
“Oh, Ryu-san. I'm tutoring the rumored ‘perfect woman’, and it's gonna be awkward with just the two of us, so can y—”
“You headin to the library? I was on my way there anyway. I'll join ya.”
The (h/c) haired man nodded, and they both walked all the way to the other side of the schoolyard to the library building. Tanaka even held (Y/n)'s hand to flex on the girls they passed by. Some of the girls were noticeably annoyed or a little angry, which pleased him.
When they finally arrived, Misaki was standing by the door. Upon seeing Ryu, she scowled. But it was only for a second.
“Ah, (L/n)-kun..who's this?”
(Y/n) smiled, oblivious to Misaki and Tanaka glaring at each other. Needless to say, the intense atmosphere went right over his head. “This is my boyfriend..Tanaka. He'll be joining us if that's okay.”
“‘Perfect woman’ my ass..the only ‘perfect woman’ I know is Kiyoko-san.” Tanaka mumbled under his breath. (Y/n) may not have known, but Misaki and Tanaka were always competitive with each other. Other times he wouldn't have cared, but now that (Y/n) is what he's fighting for, he wasn't gonna back down.
“Oh, it's fine.” Misaki said through gritted teeth.
🏙️🏙️
Isayama and Tanaka were left sitting at a table alone, while (Y/n) searched for the science books. They sat in complete silence, but it was almost as if you could hear their thoughts—mentally arguing with one another.
(Y/n) returned with three books, seating himself between Isayama and Ryu. “Okay! Let's get started!”
***
As (Y/n) went on explaining the laws of physics (because Tetsurou used to tutor him), Misaki and Tanaka continued their epic staring battle. The battle ended once they noticed that (Y/n) had stopped talking. He was chewing his tongue in thought, trying to figure out how to pronounce a word.
Misaki didn't notice, but (Y/n) had gone from physics, to microbiology. In less than five minutes.
“Something wrong?”
“How do you say this word again..?” The (e/c) eyed man pointed to a bolded word in the textbook, leaning back a bit so the other two could see.
A suffocating silence reigned over the three of them, but only for about three seconds.
Isayama squinted a bit before she spoke. “Endothelial?”
“Oh yeah. Thanks, senpai.”
Isayama smiled smugly at Ryuunosuke. The said man had a visible tick mark (💢) on the side of his head, symbolizing his annoyance. Tanaka only wanted (Y/n) to call him ‘senpai’—even if they were the same age (if not, then (Y/n) might be older). It made him feel like he was a dependable upperclassman, maybe even a bit turned on in certain situations. But hearing (Y/n) call someone else senpai..made him a little sad.
His thoughts were interrupted by his phone vibrating. As Tanaka reached into his pocket to get his phone, he caught (Y/n) putting his own phone in his jacket pocket. Tanaka turned on his phone to see a message from (Y/n) in his recent notifications.
Pretty boy💖: Go to the bathroom. I'll join you later.
Although he was a bit confused, he got up from his chair. “‘M gonna go take a leak.” Ryu said as he started to make his way towards the men's restroom.
Almost five minutes pass before (Y/n) goes into the bathroom after Tanaka, telling Misaki that he was checking on him. As soon as (Y/n) had passed the first bathroom stall, he was yanked into the second one, the door locking almost immediately after it shut behind him. He wasn't given any time to react before he felt a familiar pair of soft lips violently smash against his own. (Not violent enough to make his mouth bleed or anything. Chill.)
A heated battle for dominance arose between the two, (Y/n) quickly taking the lead as he gently bit Ryu's lip.
They didn't want this to end, but eventually Tanaka had to break the kiss because he couldn't breathe. He stood there, breathless in his boyfriend's arms, not wanting (Y/n) to let go.
“Ryuunosuke..” Tanaka flinched upon his first name being said—even though (Y/n) said it many times before. His reaction brought a smile to (Y/n)'s face. “I love you~..” He said, drawing out the three words in a sing-song voice.
Ryu felt his legs getting weak, and held onto (Y/n) for dear life. (Somewhat out of fear that he might fall.) He wasn't actually feeling like this because of three words...right? “Babe..am I supposed to be kinda horny right now?” It was a bit of a strange question, but hey, it never hurts to ask.
(Y/n) chuckled. “Well, yeah. I might have to carry you out of here once we're done.” His warm smile from earlier didn't falter as he spoke.
‘How can he say something like that so casually? If I say something like that, I'd get d–’ Ryu's thoughts were snapped away when he felt his chest touch the stall divider and his pants being pulled down. He let out a soft moan as (Y/n) stroked him through his boxers.
🏙️
‘What the hell is taking them so long?!’ Isayama got up from where she sat, and went to the men's bathroom. There wasn't anyone around, so no one would see her going in. She opened the first stall's door. ‘If they ditched me, I swear to go–’
“W-Wait, (Y/n)!~ Haa!~♡”
“Geez senpai, you're so wet inside~..♡”
Misaki froze. She couldn't be sure that it was (Y/n) and Tanaka in there—but those were definitely Tanaka's pants hanging over the second stall's door. Now she felt more..curious than angry. Isayama slipped into the first stall, carefully and quietly closing the door behind her, and slowly locking it so it didn't make noise.
Ryu tried to keep his breathing steady as (Y/n) fucked him with his fingers—even though that did absolutely nothing to help his current situation. Hell, he couldn't even process words anymore. The only actual word he could say was his boyfriend's name. He eventually remembered how to speak after about two minutes of being finger-fucked.
He wanted to sound more demanding, but his voice came out more whiny than what he'd have liked it to. “Fuck me already..ya fuckin– Hng!~” It may have been that he couldn't process it, or that (Y/n) had moved at the speed of sound, but Tanaka wasn't able to register how fast (Y/n) pulled his fingers out, and shoved his cock into his still tight hole. He wanted to say something, but all that came out was a choked whine.
“You were saying?~♡” (Y/n) asked, though it sounded more like a demand than a question.
Tanaka wasn't given a chance to answer due to (Y/n) ruthlessly fucking the poor man senseless. His loud whines and moans echoed throughout the bathroom, much to (Y/n)'s pleasure. He wanted everyone to know that he was a taken man. He wanted everyone on campus to hear Ryuunosuke's pleasurable cries.
Hearing the two men fucking in the next stall turned Isayama on to no end. (Even though it was more of (Y/n)'s voice that made her wet.) But she resisted touching herself because she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she masturbated to her rival getting fucked. (A kinda stupid reason, but okay.)
“Fu–fuck, (Y/n)!~ So good..it feels so good!~” Ryu babbled, the words almost incoherent as he attempted to push back against his boyfriend's cock. “More!~ Give me more!~♡” He begged, voice broken and choking on his own breath.
The (e/c) eyed man didn't say a word. As his senpai had politely asked of him, (Y/n) drove his cock so deep into Tanaka that the said man let out the loudest drawn out moan (Y/n) had ever heard from him. If it weren't for the cum spewing from the teary eyed man, (Y/n) would've thought he had hurt his lover. He wasn't entirely sure until he felt Ryu continue to push back against him, desperate for more friction.
“Aww..you're so cute when you act like a bitch in heat, senpai~..♡”
He only got a choked whine in response.
“I'm pretty close anyway..do you want it inside?~♡” (Y/n) asked, pulling the shaky man up to his chest. Again, only a whine. (Y/n) parted Ryu's lips with his fingers, those fingers soon being coated in saliva. “Use your words~..”
Finally, Tanaka spoke, despite his unintentional dry heaving. “Fuck me- please~..”
“As you wish~♡” (Y/n) almost whispered, gripping Tanaka's cock firmly, earning another broken moan from the said man. “You're the only person I'd fuck like this, you know that, right?” He said, as he rubbed the shorter man's stomach.
“Y-Yeah..that makes me happy~..”
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Lmao this was like- 80% highschool drama (in a college setting), and the remaining 20% being me getting horny for no reason. Also, I'm aware this made no sense. None of the stuff I write makes sense. :)
The class session is now over!~♡
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0junemeatcleaver0 · 2 years ago
Note
Armand/Louis: you wrote something about Louis being bent over the ottoman and now I’m wondering what that would’ve looked like?
Armand/LouisRating: E Featuring: ...does what it says on the tin, honestly. Armand bends Louis over the ottoman and fucks him. It's also surprisingly fluffy. Not sure how that happened, but here we are. The opening lines in italics are the closing lines of the novel The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. This prompt inspired by this ficlet.
ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕕
I wrote at the start that this was a record of hate, and walking there beside Henry towards the evening glass of beer, I found the one prayer that seemed to serve the winter mood: O God, You've done enough, You've robbed me of enough, I'm too tired and old to learn to love, leave me alone forever.
Louis sighs, coming back to himself slowly as he does each time he resurfaces from a book. This novel has been plaguing him for a few years now--bought new when he first moved into Trinity Gate and read again and again so now the pages are yellowed and dogeared, the spine cracked, pages in the middle coming loose.
There's something about it that has him enchanted--has his mind caught in a choke hold.
He wiggles his toes in the thick socks Armand bought for him the previous winter. He'd worn them for three solid months when they were first gifted to him until he woke one evening with bare feet. He'd found them soaking in the sink of an unused guest suite under hot water and borax.
Armand had laughed at him for wearing them into such a state of griminess.
He'd still stripped them for Louis without being asked, so that a few hours later after a spin in the drier they were warm and fluffier than they'd been we he first bought them.
Louis smiles at the memory, wondering where Armand has gotten off to.
He doesn't have to wonder for long. When he blinks his way back into the present his eyes focus on Armand on the lounge across the room before his mind even registers the heat from the fireplace next to him.
Armand has that look in his eyes, the one that never fails to send pleasant shivers down Louis's spine. It's not the look he gives when he wants to allow Louis to be in charge of the night. No. This look is far more predatory--like he wants to eat him up, sink his teeth in and swallow him down.
Figuratively, of course.
Louis pulls at the collar of his sweater, the heat from the fireplace suddenly stifling.
"Warm next to the fire, isn't it my love?" It's half affectionate mockery, half cordial double entendre. It's all pretense.
Because Armand knows this is still quite new to him. That Louis didn't do well with his attraction to men when he was a mortal and his affair with Lestat had not made those feelings any easier to deal with. He knows Armand might have assumed things would be easier between them now than it was immediately after the collapse of the Theatre. But he and Lestat were the only two men Louis has ever been romantically involved with. There was still a learning curve even if there was less guilt there.
He doesn't feel like pretense tonight. Doesn't, somehow, have the stomach for it.
Due in part to the attitude of his partner. Armand had never had any reservations about his attraction to men, at least the way he tells it. It had never given him any pause. There's an honesty to the desire in his eyes. With Lestat, pride always felt like a weakness. But with Armand, it felt less centered on ego, more about self confidence.
He feels it each time Armand runs his palm down his spine in one long stroke, tells him he's doing beautifully. The sound he always makes when he slides home deep inside of Louis--pushing all doubt out of his body--unparalleled by anything else when it comes to adding to Louis's self worth.
Louis slides the book onto the cushion next to him and leans forward, pulling his sweater up and over his head, depositing it on the arm of the couch.
And it's there in Armand's eyes; pride. He's proud of Louis for doing this, for being honest about his own desires. Proud and aroused, crossing the room with an elegant grace that only a vampire can achieve. He moves to fall to his knees before Louis, but the look in his eyes emboldens him and he catches Armand by the hips, kisses his navel through his shirt.
He feels Armand's breath hitch under his lips. He hadn't been expecting this, but he seems all too willing to go with the flow, allowing Louis to raise the hem of his shirt and kiss over his stomach as he carefully reaches under Louis's chin to unfasten his trousers.
"Beautiful." He breathes and Louis feels his cheeks coloring. He's feeling confident, yes, but not enough to dare a glance up at Armand before he hunches forward enough to lap at the head of his cock. Armand sighs in gratitude, carding his fingers through Louis's hair as he pouts his lips against it, mouthing soft and wet.
Louis takes him deeper into his mouth, struggles towards a rhythm as he bobs his head. Satisfaction swells in his chest when Armand pushes him back by the shoulder a minute later.
"Need inside of you," he huffs in excitement, steering Louis's naked torso to drape over the ottoman in front of him, "Need you now."
He grins to himself as Armand uncaps the lube he had hidden somewhere on his person, knowing that he'd done well. It's not that he's amazing at oral copulation--he knows he's ill-practiced and sometimes sloppy in his endeavors. But he knows the effect it has on Armand to see him be enthusiastic to try--excites him enough that he must stop him before it's too late and his plans for the night are ruined. Or at least derailed.
It's easier to relax now than it had been for him in the past. A combination of experience and the confidence that comes with it--in both himself and in his lover. He knows Armand knows what he's doing, how to make it pleasurable. And so it's no time at all before he's stretched open around three of Armand's fingers--Armand taking the time to pet over that spot inside of him again and again until Louis is huffing out breathes against the ottoman, ruining the carpet directly under his hips.
"Mmm, so excited for me," Armand murmurs, reaching between Louis's legs, stroking his length once.
"Oh, don't!" Louis breathes in a rush, the 'I don't want to come yet' left implied.
Armand kisses his spine sweetly. Louis can hear him slicking himself up before he pushes in slowly, eliciting a soft groan. He reaches back, pulling at Armand's hip.
"Please?" It's only one syllable but it's enough to effect Armand, who begins driving his hips harder into Louis.
Each needless breath that leaves his mouth is a gasp, tipping his hips up towards Armand's thrusts, growing ever closer to release.
"Oh, Louis," Armand breathes, smoothing a hand from his hip down and around, grasping him so that his cock fucks into the channel of Armand's fist with every one of his thrusts.
"Armand!" He gasps, body stiffening as he lets go, splattering the ottoman with his release. He hears Armand groan behind him, thrusts growing slightly erratic when Louis's body tightens around him--coming with a covetous grip on Louis's hip.
Armand slumps forward, resting on Louis's back for a moment before mumbling, "What were you reading?" against the sweat-slick of his back.
"My favorite book, currently." He mumbles blissfully into the ottoman. "Shall I read it to you tonight?"
They did that sometimes. Armand would request Louis read aloud to him until they fell into unconsciousness--Louis much sooner than Armand.
"I'd like that." Armand hums, running his hands over Louis's hips. If they laid like this much longer, Louis knows Armand will become hard again--his refractory period incredibly short. It's happened before, Louis allowing Armand to caress him post-coitally until Armand was ready to go again, kissing the inner crook of Louis's knee before spreading his legs to push deep into him again.
Louis smiles, relaxing against the ottoman, waiting.
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scuttle-buttle · 3 years ago
Text
Chapter 13
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WC: 1200
Rated: E
Chapter Tags: angst, anxiety, truth hurts, jealousy, hints at infidelity, mildly suggestive dialogue?, laszlo still doesn’t understand women
🧠
He wasn't sure where to go after he left you in his parlor. Laszlo never had a history of the best coping mechanisms, which is how he found himself meeting Karen, the last person he should've been seeing given the situation, at a bar downtown. But he would admit that he felt much calmer than earlier.
Laszlo was grateful that Karen had agreed to meet him on short notice. Not much was said in the first fifteen minutes or so. Eventually Laszlo broke the silence. “Karen,” his head cocks to the left, “might I ask you a question? Regarding my aide, since you appear to know her well.” He took a sip of the burning whisky.
Karen looks up at him where he sits next to her, “yes.” She hides her displeasure well.
“Recently, she has been acting strange. More melancholic and aggressive than is usual. She-” he searches for a way to mask the truth enough but still convey his question “-mentioned having relationship troubles. She expressed that she believed her significant other to be unfaithful. I was hoping that, as a woman yourself, you might have insight to this that I could offer her.” A beat passes. “To assuage her anxieties and improve her work ethic back to its full potential, of course,” he adds to appear pragmatic. He was hesitant to admit that he was really asking for himself.
“Oh I’m sure she will be fine, Laszlo,” she curls her fingers around his upper arm as a caring gesture. “Young women often deal with these things as they attempt to figure out what they want in life. At her age they are always so emotionally back-and-forth. She is likely trying to make decisions between her love life and her future as a career woman. To really find and establish her identity. In all honesty I have always seen her as too independent to settle down seriously with a partner. I would not find it a shock if she was considering breaking the relationship off. Time will tell.” Her answer is easy, almost practiced.
He gives a small grunt at her advice. He sincerely hoped that you weren’t reconsidering your relationship with him. Laszlo knew that he shouldn’t be asking Karen about you, but who else could he trust? She had always given him sound professional advice in the past. Seeing that Karen was waiting for a response he diplomatically states “I’m not sure that will be sufficient advice to offer her, let alone coming from me. Perhaps you are right in that time will be what is required.” He works to keep his fear from showing in his features.
“Since we are on the topic,” Karen turns to face him. “Laszlo, I must admit I haven’t been entirely truthful with you the last few weeks.”
He looked up to meet her eyes across the bar. “How so?” Had you confided in Karen about something? It wouldn’t make sense, seeing as you held an unfounded grudge currently.
“When you left Munich I had told you that I agreed that a long-distance relationship of that sort wouldn’t be fruitful for either of us. At the time I believed it.”
Laszlo shifted back in his chair. His brow furrowed as his thoughts raced to make sense of what Karen was telling him. Had her beliefs changed? Had she regretted agreeing to end the relationship? At the time it had been a very civil, and frankly easy, conversation. Not wanting to misinterpret his own conclusions, he asks “and now?” He doesn’t notice her fingers still on his bicep.
Her head cocks to the side. “When you first left I had hoped you would ask me to join you. I also understood that it wasn’t of your nature to do so, and I couldn’t hold that against you. So when I was given the chance to bring my research back to the city I realized that it would bring me close to you. I thought that perhaps we could try again; pick up where we left off before you moved. Maybe I even stay.”
His expression remains unchanged as he mulls over her confession. She had regretted the mutual split. Laszlo can feel the annoyance bubble in him instantly. He feels regret at shutting you down earlier when you had been correct all along. He knows his first words should be to defend you, to defend your relationship. What instead leaves him is “why did you not bring this to my attention sooner? Had I known then things might have been different. And yet you waited years to tell me.”
“I wasn’t sure it was a commitment you were prepared for. With time it became harder to admit.”
“Says you, the woman who knows no boundary to what is or is not appropriate to confess. You’ve made your life’s work on asking about and admitting the taboos of our human existence. I hardly think that your desire to remain coupled would be that difficult to explain to me.” His raising voice attracts the attention of some patrons nearby. He pays no mind to their curious glances.
Karen sighs. “Laszlo, please. We both know how fickle you were with these things back then. We only ever saw each other on weekends because of the distance to start with. I once suggested that you come to work at the institute so that we could be closer and you dismissed the idea. I'm sure even you can imagine that in hindsight as enough to deter me.”
His jaw clenches; he knows that she has a valid point. He was not the most pleasant or sociable at times. In truth he isn’t sure what he would have said if she had been honest from the start. “I suppose,” he breathes in deeply to calm himself, “that you had good reason to be cautious regarding this. But it has been years, Karen. You must be made aware that I have met someone; I am engaged in a serious relationship. I am happy.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that new development.” She looks away for a second, a flash of bitter in her eyes before it quickly vanishes. Laszlo is confused as to how she would know, as he had never disclosed having a significant other explicitly in her presence. He doesn’t have time to dwell on it. Her hand moves down to cover his own on the bar’s surface. “But my dear, we have such a history together. Think of how good things were between us. She is too young for you. A student no less! I know you, surely, better than she ever could. I know the things you need. I can give that to you and more.” Her whispered words are impassioned. He jerks back at the feel of her palm meeting his cheek.
Laszlo carefully and quickly retreats his hand from under her grasp. “I can assure you that I only view our relationship now as one between colleagues. Nothing more. I apologize if I gave you the impression otherwise. Have a good evening, Dr. Stratton.” With that he steps out of the bar and into the cold night air. He needed to find you.
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@hardlyinteresting @lorna-d-m @livvyshmiv @somethingthatsaysbubbles @greeneyedblondie44 @unbeatablecurlgirl @apparrio @marchingicenotes7 @anteroom-of-death @bruhidaniel @lemairepstuff @thehuiabird @zemosimp05 @alindeluce @iamnotthecatladynextdoor @laura-naruto-fan1998 @trelaney @boneheadduluc @i-am-dead-inside-666 @fictionlandslanddreams @thatoneartgalsstuff @hb8301 @fandom-princess-forevermore @foggycandywitch @creme-bruhlee @andy-rocks @nonamec0s
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kiranogareru · 4 years ago
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STAR GAZING
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WARNING: Language, but this is all fluffyyyy
A/N: I present to you, my first requested work. Dedicated to @mysticmaee I apologize for taking so long, I hope this meets your expectations. Enjoy and again I'm so so sorry it took me so long
Y/n and Bakugou -as much as he refuses to admit it- have been pretty good friends for a while and they recently started dating
Katsuki is well aware of the fact that he isn't all that good at this whole relationship thing!
He knows how a relationship is supposed to be like, he's read all those things about them in novels before and even though they appeared unrealistically perfect to him, Bakugou couldn't help but compare himself and feel inferior to those fictional men and their romancing abilities!
He has observed how well Y/N seems to be fitting the role of a girlfriend and has taken mental notes of the way she always shows him how she feels, whether that's through words or affectionate little gestures, such as simply holding his hand!
Bakugou has never really been the type for physical contact, one could even say he is quite touch starved in all honesty, which makes him a little bit timid to show her his appreciation that way, since it makes him feel uncomfortable and it gives him this weird fluttery feeling inside
The blonde thinks back to the short time they have shared as a couple and how sweet Y/n has been to him, even before, when they were just friends and he insisted on pushing her away!
Bakugou is suddenly left dumbstruck, when he comes to realize that he never even asked her out properly! She just kind of blurted out her feelings and he simply claimed her as his..and by his, he means his one weakness, but of course it goes without saying that he would never reveal that!
He then decides that he wants to try harder. He knows he can do better 'I can be the best boyfriend she's ever had, I'll be her number one!' he tells himself
'She put so much effort into approaching me and I know I made it even more difficult -I can't help it, that's just how I am- but the least I can do is put in just as much effort, it's only fair!'
He doesn't want to be a shitty boyfriend, because for 1 he knows that's not what she deserves and 2 he's the best, he's not one of those stupid extras, who would let her slip right through their fingers!
'It's time I finally lowered my defenses' he thinks, although he's still hesitant of showing his softer side and unsure of what that can possibly lead to
Katsuki walks in silence as he rakes his brain for a way to make it up to Y/n for the way he's been so far.
It's not like he's treating her bad or anything, as a matter of fact he is at his calmest when he's around her and all he does is admire the way her beautiful e/c eyes sparkle when she's focused on something she enjoys, or how her face lights up when she's happy, or he revels in the taste of her lips against his own whenever they share an unexpected kiss!
This warm feeling spreads throughout his chest and blood rushes to his cheeks, tinting them with a shade of pink, at the thought of the memories!
That's when it hits him and the perfect idea pops up in his head. If he's learnt anything from romance novels, it's the fact that every relationship starts with a date!
And that's something they haven't done yet, which gives Katsuki the opportunity to change that!
"Katsu?" Y/n stops in her tracks, making him break out of his trance and do the same
"You zoned out, is everything ok?" She asks with a soft smile, placing a hand on his cheek
"Tch, everything's fine dumbass, I'm just thinking" Bakugou returns the smile, resting his hand at the back of her neck, gently pulling her head closer and leaning in to leave a chaste kiss on her forhead
Y/n is left speechless and her cheeks burn up at the sudden action, Bakugou doesn't usually behave this way, especially not in public!
'I don't know what he's been thinking about, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with this adorable change' She ponders
Y/n is quick to wrap her arms around him and bury her face in his chest, inhaling the scent of burnt caramel and cologne -something that she's grown so accustomed to, that it now brings her comfort
Bakugou's eyes widen in surprise and he lets out a breath as he relaxes, bringing one hand to her head as his other one makes it's way to her back to hold her close
They stand there in each other's embrace for a bit, before they decide to continue their walk to the dorms, hand in hand
•••
Once they reach the dorms, they catch the attention of a few of their classmates and friends. It's only logical though, since a smiling Bakugou Katsuki is not a sight one could easily miss!
The rest of the day goes by pretty quick as usual, since everyone is studying either alone or in groups, but once that's out of the way most of the students normally spend their free time by engaging in their hobbies of choice
While Y/n is hanging out with Jirou in the purple haired girl's room, singing and having a good time, Bakugou takes that chance to go to the kitchen and set his plan in motion
He has all the time he needs to prepare a few things for later
While the ruby eyed boy is in the middle of cooking, Sero walks into the kitchen, Kaminari following close behind him
"Kacchan?!" Kaminari exclaims in surprise
"Hm?" Katsuki turns around and realizes he has an audience
"How come you're cooking today?" Sero questions in confusion
It's not uncommon for the explosive boy to cook for his classmates, but he had done so just a few days ago already, that's what didn't sit right with Sero
"All of you extras cook like shit, tonight we're having some actual food!" Bakugou's voice remains low in volume, but his usual aggression is evident in his tone
"It smells amazing, what is it?" Sero technically drooling as he walks over to check
"I bet it's something spicy!" Kaminari declares, knowing his friend's taste
"Damn right Dunce Face! Let's hope you idiots can handle it this time! Tch" Bakugou tries to mask the smile forming on his face with his signature, cocky, smirk
"Kaminari.." Sero gives the electric blonde a look
"I know right!" Kaminari laughs, returning the look
"What are you idiots on about?" Bakugou raises an eyebrow
•••
As soon as the table is set and dinner is served, the students pick up on something unusual
"Hm? Where did Bakubro go?" Kirishima points out, while looking around the room
Kaminari and Sero stand back to back with a hand on their chin and wearing a knowing expression of confidence on their faces! The sparkles surrounding them are technically visible at this point
"What do you know? Spill the tea!" Mina interrogates with a pointed look
"Has anyone seen Y/n? I thought I saw her come downstairs earlier.." Jirou asks, seemingly popping up out of nowhere
"They are probably fu-" Sero wraps Mineta up using his tape with an unbothered face
"Shut up you nasty grape!" He scolds "They are on a date! We are sure of it!" He continues pridefully
"Who knew Bakugou could be so good with the ladies, right!" Kaminari comments, almost in disbelief
Meanwhile Y/n is comfortably sitting on a blanket behind the dorms with Bakugou. The night air feels cool on her skin, but not cold enough to give her goosebumps. It is rather refreshing if anything
They place their now empty dishes on the tray that's sitting in front of them and Bakugou pushes it aside
"That was delicious!" A look of content spreading on her features
"Hm, of course it was!" He cocky voice sounds. A winning smile playing on his lips
"Katsuki, this is so sweet..thank you" Y/n softly speaks, tilting Bakugou's head slightly with a hand on his cheek and leaving a feather-like kiss on the other
"You don't need to thank me dumbass..you deserve it!" His tone calm and loving
Bakugou lifts his hand and places it over her smaller one that is resting on his face
They lie down on the blanket, eyes staring at the wide night sky, littered with sparkling gems
"That one reminds me of you!" The excitement clear in her voice as she points at the sky
"How can a star remind you of me dumbass?" His laughs in amusement
"The way it shines looks like an explosion, it's powerful and beautiful!" Her explanation flusters the blonde momentarily, but he gathers himself and starts looking for the perfect star
"That one right there is you then!" He gestures towards it
"Is it now? How can a star remind you of me eh?" She teases
"It stands out, it's so bright and has such a stong presence!"
"Katsu..you idiot" She murmurs feeling bashful
"Huh who are you calling an idiot, idiot?"
Y/n intertwines her hand with his and Bakugou tenses up!
He still isn't used to the gentle gesture, since he has always perceived his hands as weapons, however as he eases into it he starts rubbing small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb
"This side of you is so soothing, so intoxicating~" She smiles before continuing
"I'm so lucky to be the one who gets to see you so peaceful..Dynamite" He is caught off guard by the mention of his hero name, which only she knows this far
The first reaction that comes to his mind is to kiss her and his body acts just as fast, pulling both her and himself to sit up and doing exactly that
His lips connect to hers in an uncharacteristically slow and passionate kiss! It is as if Bakugou is pouring everything that he can't put into words in this kiss!
He pulls away with his confidence restored
"Do you want to be mine?"
"I'm my own person idiot and we're already dating!" She laughs, knowing what he meant, but wanting to mess with him regardless
"I know that dumbass! You think I would date some sort of weakling?" He asks matter-of-factly
"I'm already yours and you're all mine!" She boasts
"Damn right!" Bakugou cups her face in one hand, tilting it upwards and leaning down slightly to capture her lips with his once more
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fragileizywriting · 3 years ago
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bad day blues
pairing: Luka / Marinette (Viperion / Multimouse) word count: 10,418 chapter: 1/1 rating: E summary: “How is it that I can sling myself across rooftops for years, day and night, but I can’t even walk in a straight line once I’m out of my suit and end up spraining an ankle?” “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Mousey. That’s not good for you.” ���I wish I wasn’t such a klutz.” “You’re not.” Luka kisses the top of her head as a punctuation to his words. “You just had a bad day, that’s all.” “One of the worsts in a while,” Marinette nods into his shirt. “Luka? Could you make it better for me?” He laughs. “And you call me the insatiable one, little mouse.” Her eyes sparkle. “Who was the one that jumped me when I was going to go shower after my pool trip with my friends? One look at me in a towel and suddenly my boyfriend’s hands are all on me— sounds pretty insatiable, if you ask me.” AO3 | Start Here To Read The Whole 'Out of The Closet' Series! | Previous Fic in Series | Next Fic in Series
Here's some more Lukanette! Don't worry, there's plenty more incoming, too. This series is so wonderful to write, I'm having so much fun!!! Especially since Luka is my favorite character 🥺
Enjoy <3
She’s having a bad day.
Like, a really bad day.
There is that whole cake ordering business that her parents live off of, that she helps out with. She’s rolled so much fondant out that her arms hurt, and they’re barely attached to her body when she’s rushing out of the door to get to her class when the second bad part of the day happens.
She spills coffee all over herself.
Well, it isn’t her coffee. Her dad’s been getting into the habit of walking around the bakery and the pantry with his mug she got for him for his birthday, a delicate piece of ceramic that is absolutely dwarfed by her father’s large hands. She’d knocked into him while scarfing down some breakfast of her own, where she’d tried to get bits and pieces of it into her mouth while rolling out fondant for that particular eight-tiered cake that is surely going to be the death of her that she still has to pipe and decorate when she gets back from class.
Her blouse is stained, and it’s warm. It doesn’t seep far into her shirt, because her dad presses his apron right on the stain to soak up as much moisture as possible, but she yelps anyway out of sheer instinct.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“I’m fine! I’m so sorry for making you spill your coffee, baba. Are you okay?” She waves him off with a little smile. These things happen, it’s okay. Besides, smelling like coffee isn’t the end of the world. It isn’t the smell of a particularly expensive perfume, but she can hardly say no to smelling like coffee when she’s lived at a bakery for the entirety of her life.
“I ran into you, sweetheart, not the other way around,” Her dad shakes his head. “Go change your shirt while I get you some packed food to take with you to school for you and Mullo.”
“Thank you! I’ll be right back.” She kisses him on the cheek, making sure to stay clear away from his mug. She rushes up the stairs, trying her best not to accidentally tear her skirt, but isn’t as delicate to her blouse as she could be. The side rips open. She squeaks while getting it off. “Oh, no! I just bought this!”
“Oh! Is everything okay?” Mullo peeks out from the little cubby Marinette’s made into her own little room.
“Yeah— I’m okay! These things happen, don’t worry. I’m just going to change my shirt into something better and then we can head out, okay?” She snaps open a drawer, tossing her soiled top into the laundry bin near her desk. She’s not opposed to wearing other shirts with this particular skirt, but… she really likes wearing that peter pan collar. This is fine. A normal button-up will go fine with the skirt, even though now she looks a lot more formal than she wants to be.
It’s a good thing her bra is nude-colored. She’s already in a rush as it is.
She hasn’t learned a single thing since school was at a walking distance, clearly, because she’s rushing to get to the metro, running back down the stairs, tugging her backpack over her shoulder with Mullo zipping into the pocket of her skirt, and kissing her dad goodbye and thanking him for the food— all the while trying her best to go over the list of things she needed to do before heading off to class.
Feed Mullo, though the little mouse can definitely go scavenging for blueberries whenever she wants. And yet… Mullo starts to whisper that she’s hungry the moment Marinette makes it down the stairs of the metro and goes pawing for her metrocard. She’s grateful that she’s placed a small container of fresh blueberries inside her backpack, with even a portion of small chocolate chips in the screw-top compartment of the container, just for the little mouse— and the small kwami is giggling and back to being happy before Marinette can even blink.
She looks for her metrocard. It’s on the inside of her phone case, which is good, so she’s able to go through the ticket booth with no problem— thank goodness. She doesn’t need another stressor for the day— but she needs to make sure she repays the bill for her monthly pass before the next month arrives so that she isn’t late trying to pay for it the day of, and hopefully she can remember this thought for long enough to write it into her agenda so she doesn’t forget during the week.
Oh, gooseberries. Hopefully she’s not late.
She checks the time on her phone once she’s safely situated inside a subway car, only to look at the turned-off screen with a confused noise. She tries turning on her phone but blinks with so much confusion when the black screen refuses to light.
Wasn’t one of the things on her list to make sure that her phone was charged last night?
What in the world happened to her phone battery?
She tries to think about it, pinning down that the only real reason it would be out of battery would be if Mullo wanted to use it to watch videos or listen to music while Marinette was asleep.
She makes sure to unzip her bag, peering down at the little mouse kwami with inquisitive eyes, trying to understand why her only communication device isn’t charged, speaking in a hushed voice to not alert anyone in the subway car with her. “Lolo, did you watch videos last night?”
Mullo is asleep. At least she remembered to put the lid back onto the container, which is some good news. Marinette can’t feel too upset, looking at the little creature. It’s a good thing she packed her bag and made sure to grab her portable charger— it’s not often that Mullo gets in the habit of overusing Marinette’s phone— but she’s always prepared, just in case. Mullo likes texting Sass, too, though all their texts look like gibberish to her and Luka whenever they try to reread it.
She opens the front pocket zipper with the cute little mouse charm attached to the handle and freezes.
This isn’t her school backpack.
She’s not sure how it didn’t dawn on her before, but this isn’t the right backpack at all.
The only thing it has is a plastic bag with her swimsuit she’d used during the weekend— it’s not exactly dry, given that it’s been in the baggy for at least four days since she’d come back from the pool with her friends. That’s strange— she’s not one to just drop her bag off to the side and not put away her stuff— so, what gives? She chews on her nail while she thinks about what could’ve possibly distracted her from hanging up her swimsuit and letting it dry, and stopped her from putting away this particular backpack, and squeaks to herself when she remembers.
Oh. Right. That’s right.
Viperion had shown up in her room just as she was going to go take a shower— having completed patrol on his own because he wanted her to have fun with friends and go swimming— and since her boyfriend is somehow allergic to learning how to swim, he’d happily shoved her out of the house with the pretense of keeping Paris safe while she relaxes for once in her life— no wonder she’d been so distracted and completely forgot about the backpack.
He’s so insatiable, nowadays, wanting to spend so much time with her that it’s completely pointless to try to keep clothes on around him. He’d taken one good look at her while she was making her way to her bathroom tucked into her towel and had decided to wash her himself— joining her in the shower without even taking his suit off.
She knows that their hexleather is water-resistant— but she didn’t know that it’s enough to keep water from completely entering his suit.
He’d cleaned her inside and out— pressed her up against the bathroom tiles, hopeful that she would keep quiet, as Viperion slicked two fingers inside of her.
The hexagonal grooves on their suits had never been something she’d even considered until now— it was obsession at first touch, in all honesty.
Her back is filled with love bites and possessive teeth marks that make her toes curl in her shoes when she thinks about it more, or remembers it whenever she brushes up against her shoulders. Not to mention she feels a comfortable full-body ache when he finally slips away to go home— she’d spent the rest of that afternoon in bed, curled up, dreaming of the day the two of them can always wake up next to each other.
She shifts in her seat, feeling damp and uncomfortable. She misses him already.
But all of that means… her school backpack is still at home. And she’s carrying nothing except her wet swimsuit, instead of her agenda and planner and notebooks and sketchbooks and pens.
Oh, sugarcubes.
It’s fine, though. These things happen. Sometimes no matter how much she plans and prepares, the universe sometimes throws her for a loop, and that’s okay. A good planner knows how to plan for things going wrong— even if she doesn’t want it to happen in the first place.
In all honesty, this is probably not what Luka meant when he said to let things flow and don’t let things bother her, but it is kind of hard to stop her tendencies to want to plan for the worse.
Okay, so how does she fix this?
She has a lecture that starts in about twenty minutes that she can technically skip out on and go back home to grab her things, assuming she switches subways at the next stop. Since she’ll be late, she might as well change out of her clothes, too, into something much more suited for her. She doesn’t like wearing button-downs— especially since, oh, gooseberries, it looks like she’s missed out on about three buttons and gotten her neckline skewed. There’s no point in even fixing it, as long as she’s able to tuck her miraculous back underneath her shirt without someone seeing it.
What else does she need to do?
Well, she definitely needs to make sure she gets the right backpack the next time she slips through the door. Make sure to bring another container of blueberries, too— she never knows when there’ll be another Akuma, and of all things to not be worried about, this is something she’ll never stop.
Everything will be okay. No worries. The lecture wasn’t that important, she’s sure of it.
The moment she makes that same thought, the subway car slows to a crawl. The lights in the car flicker, and she looks around to the other passengers, hopeful to see anyone who has any idea of what’s going on.
Everyone looks nonchalant. They probably assume it’s an Akuma, at this point.
“We are having technical difficulties,” The subway car emits a tinny, metallic little noise from the speakers near the doors. “Please stay calm and wait while we fix it.”
Marinette groans. Okay, maybe she’ll be late for a lot more than just her first class. This is fine. Things happen. Things like this just happen— she just needs to relax about it. At least it’s not an Akuma— and it’s not like she can be blamed for the subway being stuck.
There’s just nothing to entertain her, though. No pencil, no pen, no paper to doodle and keep her occupied. No phone to listen to music or keep her busy. Just her, the plastic bag with her swimsuit in it, a sleeping kwami, her breakfast, and half a container of chocolate chips. She might as well start eating now, since there’s nothing else to do— eat and think about her boyfriend’s pretty blue eyes.
-*-
She has— well, had— a pop quiz in her missed lecture.
Worth twenty percent of her grade.
She stumbles into the classroom after everyone’s starting to clear out, looking for the professor and her continuously bored glare she gives to the class on the regular. “Uhm, excuse me— sorry, I didn’t attend class today because of the metro—”
“You can’t make it up.” Her professor says, collecting a thick stack of paper into her briefcase. The only professor she’s ever met to actually use a genuine briefcase— it makes her look more like a lawyer and less like an introduction to fashion history professor.
“Make it up?” Marinette blinks, confused. “Make up— make up what, exactly? I wasn’t in class.”
“The quiz. Twenty percent of the grade, of course, because no one in class was answering my questions today for some reason.” Because Marinette’s the one who usually answers for everyone, of course. No one stepped in, probably, because they were most likely too comfortable with her answers to actually come up with one of their own. “You missed out on the quiz. You can’t make it up.”
“Oh.” That’s fine. Things happen. Sometimes the universe just throws curveballs— her grade in this class won’t suffer. “Uhm. Is— is that all I missed?”
Her professor gives her a good look. There’s something in her dull, tired eyes, like she registers who Marinette is in the class— and what she brings to the lecture hall. “I’m going to give you the homework, even though I technically shouldn’t. You’re a good student— you’ve never been late to class— and definitely never missed an entire lecture. And today, without your questions, it was completely and totally quiet.”
“Oh.” She repeats. “Th— uhm. Thank you.”
She pulls out another stack of papers, handing her a stapled group of paper from the top. It looks ridiculously thick— as in— maliciously thick. Maybe at least thirty pages. “Here’s the homework. Make sure to finish it by next class.”
One week to finish the assignment. No problem. She can do that.
“Of course,” Marinette breathes, slightly overwhelmed, looking over the title of the assignment. She has no idea where to begin— the lecture today must’ve been all about it. Maybe she can find one of her classmates and ask about it? Although, she’s never really made a friend here before… “Thank you very much.”
“Don’t make it a habit to skip,” The professor calls out to her as she leaves through the door.
“Understood,” Marinette mutters under her breath. The strap of her kitten heels breaks when she runs her foot too close along the doorframe as she leaves behind her. She trips, falling into her second person with a coffee today, spilling all over her shirt again. This time, it’s cold— it’s an iced latte, of course, and ice cubes fall down her collar and into her shirt, and pain blistering up her ankle.
She tries to walk it off, she really does, but it ultimately just collapses back onto the floor the moment she tries to put pressure on it. Mullo comes out of hiding when she makes sure that there’s no one around, asking if Marinette’s okay— and all she can do is just smile at the little kwami, trying her best not to wince.
Today just isn’t her day, is it?
-*-
By the time an Akuma actually comes around, and tries to do damage in the city of Paris, Multimouse is running on fumes from how close she is to breaking down.
She’s weaved and dodged most of the attacks, relying on her rope to get out of the way. Her ankle doesn’t hurt as much when in the suit, of course, because the magical properties of the miraculous make it so that they focus on the fight first than anything else. She can put her weight on it, which is the good news— and that’s enough for her to walk and run and jump rope when she needs to.
Seeing Viperion is such a blessing. She hasn’t been able to text him much all day, aside from the vague ‘good morning’ text she sent when she finally managed to get her phone to turn on— she’s been too busy to respond to all of the texts he’s sent throughout the day.
Hopefully, she can talk to him after the fight is over. She needs a little bit of downtime.
But she can’t exactly focus on how thankful she is to see him when she’s in the middle of weaseling out of the Akumas grabby hands. She tucks and weaves, snaps her rope out like a whip when she needs to, and does her best to roll out of the way of the Akuma that falls into their trap using the Liberty that sends him spiraling across the city with it. Viperion is nearly on the other side of the city taking care of the sentimonster when she feels her ankle start to blister in pain again, indicating that she’s putting far too much stress on the ankle for even magic to make it stop hurting.
By the time they’ve got the Akuma purified, the sentimonster dealt with, and the victim is in safe care with the social worker from the workforce that’s been assigned to assist people who have just been Akumatized— Multimouse can barely stand up. She chooses, instead, to keep sitting down on the lip of the sidewalk between a couple of parked cars, her legs spread out in front of her, trying her best to seem like she’s just out of breath. She keeps her right boot completely straight, hopeful to not put any more strain on her ankle, but lets her left boot sag against the asphalted road, and tries her hardest not to hide her face in her hands.
Viperion makes his way back to her after he’s done talking to the social worker.
“Mousey?”
“Hi, Vai,” She speaks into her gloves. Some battles are just too difficult for her to focus on, and trying to keep herself from doing something just isn’t worth the effort anymore. “That was a tough one, huh?”
He sits down next to her, shoulder to shoulder. There’s probably not enough space for him in between the cars, since his shoulders are wide, but he makes the effort anyway. Besides, if it’s truly that bothersome, all he has to do is give a gentle push to the car next to him— the miraculous suits give them extra strength, after all— but even without the suit, he’d probably be able to push it forward. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” She leans into him. “I missed you so much.”
“You didn’t text me today like you usually do,” He murmurs into her hair. He’s a thick wall of heat right next to her, and she’s so thankful for him like usual. “Everything okay?”
“Everything is— it’s fine— I’m sorry. I forgot to charge my phone last night, and Mullo was watching videos while I slept, so my phone just went kaput.” She smiles in her hands when he makes a noise meaning that he understands exactly what she means. “I only got to text you when my phone was back on. I’m just tired, really. I’m not having a good day.”
The road is going to be populated soon with whatever foot traffic it usually has, now that the Akuma’s been taken care of. They need to probably get up to higher ground before the people of Paris come out to ask for autographs or selfies— and, okay.
She wants to give everyone the best treatment possible, of course, but she’s in absolutely no condition to do that like this. Definitely not like this.
It’ll be better for everyone’s comfort if she doesn’t stay around to listen to what people have to say about the fight— she’s Paris’s sweetheart, she knows, but if anyone says anything remotely negative in her direction, she’s pretty sure she’ll start crying.
Not to mention that if she hears anything bad about Viperion, she’ll start crying while beating civilians off with a ten-foot pole. She’s not in the mood at all to continue behaving like the sweet little Parisian Princess today— she can’t do it.
“Are you stressed out?”
“Yes. Very much. Ironically, the Akuma was my break from stress. Imagine that?”
He laughs. It’s a loving noise, usually, but there seems to be an edge to it this time. “Do you want me to help you with that? I think I saw an alley over there. Let me help you relax.”
She steams red behind her gloves. Oh, she knows exactly what he means— and, well, the answer is always yes. “Yes— but maybe not here. People are going to show up, soon, and I’m already in pain as it is—”
Viperion looks at her. She can tell because her face starts to prickle underneath her gloves. “Pain?”
She takes a deep breath, looking up at him. His hair is starting to curl around his neck, it’s so lovingly him that she can’t help but comb her fingers into his hair and smooth it back. The confusion on his face morphs into contentment as she takes her time brushing his bangs back, getting a good look at what the top of his domino mask looks like. “Nothing’s wrong— things are fine. Everything is fine. Sometimes things happen, and we can’t control all of it.”
Liquid golden eyes look back at her when she’s done petting through his hair and, he— he smiles at her. Really smiles at her— he knows that she’s trying to repeat the quotes and virtues that he usually says to himself. His smile makes his domino mask crinkle, the scales on his hexleather shimmering turquoise and green, and it’s not exactly a front when she smiles back at him. “That’s true. Sometimes things happen that we can’t control, even if we really try, but sometimes we can fix whatever is hurting us. So what really happened, Mousey?”
“Just a bad day,” She uses her left foot to brush against his, taking her hands back from his hair to follow the scale pattern on his chest. The muscles underneath are no illusion— he’s truly that filled out. She likes physical contact with him, just as much as he loves physical contact with her— and she finds a certain kind of sweetness in the way he leans just slightly into her touch as she traces his collarbone. “I’m not kidding— I’ve been having a really bad day.”
“The Akuma didn’t help all that much, huh?”
She cups his cheeks with her palms. She can’t feel him, because her fingers are covered in protective hexleather, but it means all the same to her when she presses their foreheads together, smooshing their bangs against one another. “I don’t know about that. I’m getting to see you, after all— I love being able to see you, Vai.”
His eyes twinkle as he laughs, giving her a kiss. “Stand up for me? I want to check if you’re missing any body parts.”
“What? I’m not missing anything.” She finds herself laughing at the strange request. “See? Look: I have my two arms, my two legs. Tail is still here, and so is my miraculous.”
“I don’t know about that,” His face is oddly serious, even as she continues to giggle. “Wiggle your fingers for me so I know they’re still there.”
“Vai,” She makes a face as she laughs. When he implores her, she rolls her eyes, twiddling her fingers in the air. “Told you.”
“All ten fingers?”
“I think so,” She breaks into a grin. What is this man on about?
“Let’s see.” He takes her hands in his, bringing every single finger up to his mouth so he can count them with a kiss. “One. Two.”
“Oh my gooseberries. Vai,” She giggles hard enough for her shoulders to shake.
“Don’t make me lose count, Mousey, this is important. Three, four—”
“How did I get so lucky to have you?”
“I think it’s the other way around, honestly. Five, six— how did I get so lucky to have you?”
“By treating me like this,” She can’t help but bite her lip when he makes it past seven and eight. “By treating me so sweetly.”
“Sue me, little mouse. I like treating my girlfriend well. Nine, and ten.” At the tenth finger, he kisses where her fingernail would be, then her knuckle, then the back of her hand. He kisses up her arm, too, all the way up to her shoulder as she snorts and giggles, until he tilts his head and kisses her against the jaw, finally completing his quest and kisses her softly on the lips— she melts. He keeps the kiss soft, though— and if her ankle wasn’t rolled, she’d honestly climb into his lap for more than just something so chaste. She deserves it, after this horrible day— and he always makes her feel loved and comforted. “I think your hands are okay.”
“You think so?” She feels a little dopey from the kiss.
“Move your feet, too, so I can figure out if your legs are still attached.”
She moves her left foot only, letting her right boot rest. Instead, she pulls up her right leg, hoping to look like she’s just switching up her sitting position, but that’s enough for Viperion to break eye contact with her and look at her knee. “See?”
But he’s smarter than that. “Ah, there it is. So you did injure yourself during the fight?”
“No. I— uhm��� no. Not during the fight.” She’s not lying, but her smile dies down as a quiet contemplation morphs on his face. “It’s— I’m fine, Vai, honestly, I’m okay. My ankle will be fine after some ice, I’m sure—”
“Oh, Mousey.” He looks hurt for her, immediately swiveling in his seat to look her over. He grabs gently for both of her legs, lifting them up to place in his lap, and gently starts to move her foot at the ankle back and forth.
The first leg is the good one, so she barely even reacts— let alone blinks— to him swiveling her ankle around and testing the elasticity. But her bad ankle— oh— it’s enough to make her start to squirm.
His eyebrows pinch when she continuously flinches, her half-sentient tail batting against the asphalt behind her as she tries her hardest not to cry out in pain. He supports the back of her ankle with his palm, and doesn’t let her foot rotate when he puts her leg back in his lap. “When did this happen, baby girl?”
“It happened at school,” She hides her face back into her gloves. “Just the cherry on top, honestly. I fell and twisted my foot. I thought I was okay, but— I can’t walk in my civilian form.”
“School? And you fought the Akuma while injured? Oh, Mousey— I’m so sorry, I wouldn’t have let you stay alone with the Akuma if I had known. What else happened? Tell me what’s wrong.” She feels the gentle pressure of his thumb against her calf, even through the hexleather. “Maybe I can help you. I sure want to try, at least.”
Why is he so gentle with her? Why is Viperion always so sweet and soft to her— kind and loyal?
She knows why— there is the whole ‘they’re dating’ part of the answer— but honestly, how did it get this way? When did Viperion become the boy she fights crime with, day or night, live or die— to the man who snags her just before her showers, who makes it a habit to make her toes curl every time he sees her, who is happiest when she cuddles and routinely hides in his bed with? How in the world has she gotten this lucky?
How? How did she get so lucky to have a man so conditioned to care about her?
Why did he ever fall in love with someone like her— someone who needs everything to be in its place or else she has a nervous breakdown? Someone that loses her demeanor when there’s even a slightest mistake, because everything needs to be perfect or it’s not worth doing at all and— and— why would he even stay with someone like her like this? Why? She’s completely the opposite of him— so— why does he stay and deal with someone so completely different than him in every single aspect?
The thought is enough to make her cry— and— oh— that’s it, really. That’s what makes her push over the edge and start hiccuping into her hands, tears falling down her cheeks. “Oh—”
“Mousey, it’s okay. Shh. Your ankle will get fixed up in no time, okay? We can fix this.”
“I’m sorry,” She says, more to herself than anything else, gesturing to her leg before hiding back in her hands. She sags against him so easily when he pulls her onto his lap. “I’m sorry— I’m so sorry, Vai. It’s not just— just the ankle— I’m just—”
“I know.”
“And— such a bad day—”
“Breathe, Mousey,” He traces circles against her back.
She gasps for breaths between sobs. “And I just— I really did try to not let it get to me— I really tried—”
“You did very good. You are doing very good.”
“It really hurts, Vai, I’ve never rolled my foot before, it’s so painful— and I know I’m going to be in more pain when I’m out of the suit. I’m so exhausted, Vai— today has been so difficult.”
“Tell me what happened.”
Where does she begin? “So much coffee on my shirt, I smell like an espresso machine—”
He listens to her ramblings, even if they don’t make any sense without the full context. He’s gentle when he shifts her even closer, making sure that her foot doesn’t hit up against the car next to them, tucking her in next to his collarbone and letting her cry it all out. His chest is so warm against her. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
“And then the subway— and I don’t have more blueberries for Lolo right now because she ate them all already, even after I went back home and refilled her cup—”
“We can get more in my house, it’s okay. All the blueberries Mullo could want.”
“And I was also stuck in the subway for two full hours with just a swimsuit—”
“You went on the subway with only a swimsuit on?” He makes a face. “That doesn’t sound right.”
“In my bag,” She explains, even if it doesn’t make much sense, sniffling around her gloves. “I mean— I picked up the wrong backpack— the wrong bag— before leaving the house and it was just my swimsuit in there— the subway got stuck and I thought it was because of an Akuma so I was just—”
“Take a breath, Mousey.”
She sucks in a breath, trying to fill her lungs in all the way, before the inevitable fresh wave of tears that she continues to border on. “And I— I couldn’t— even text you. I couldn’t, because my battery was out— and I was underground— and— oh, sugarcubes, I was so bored— I just kept coming up with more and more ways to sneak off the train without being seen because there was nothing else to do and I ended up overthinking everything.”
Everything. All of it. Every single thing. If she’s doing well in school— if what she’s trying to get a degree in is even worth it— if she’s wasting her time not focusing on defeating Hawkmoth— if Viperion even finds her necessary in fights. After all, most of what she does is just a distraction for him to get close and defeat the Akuma— but there’s not really a genuine need for her since all he has to do is move his ouroboros miraculous over to the side and turn back time and do whatever needs to be done, right?
“I thought about how you’re so much better without me during Akuma battles— I thought how much of a klutz I am— I thought about how I always have these nervous breaks whenever something goes wrong and you always just deal with them and I wish I could just stop worrying about every little thing without making it into a thing— and— and—”
Gentle hands make it to her wrist, and she looks up, sniffling and biting her lip. Viperion’s smile looks soft on his face as he wipes away her tears— golden eyes looking at her like she’s the most important thing in the world. He kisses her forehead, her cheeks— her nose, too— all in favor of getting a smile back onto her face. “None of that is true, okay? There’s no need to overthink about any of it anymore. You’re okay, you’re here— exactly where I need you to be. You are the entire reason why Paris is safe every day— I’m just here to keep you company, in all honesty. You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known, little mouse, and I absolutely cannot do any of this without you.”
Amazing woman? Has he met his own mother before? “But— what about your family—”
“I’m aware of what I’ve said,” He smiles. “I don’t deal with your problems, we deal with our problems. You getting worked up about something is something we both work on together— I’m not going to let you suffer alone when you’re nervous about something.”
She blinks slowly at him, her lashes damp and full of tears, only being able to offer him a watery and a heartful: “Oh.”
He nods, encouraging her to smile back. “Everything’s going to be fine, just like it always is, okay?  You’re not a klutz. You’re doing great. Everything is going to be fine.”
“But—”
“Breathe, Mousey. It’s okay. You’re okay.”
She looks at him in the eyes, her breath slowing down, looking around them to see just how empty the street is. It’s an unpopulated street to begin with, so there are only a couple of shops at the corners, nowhere near them where they sit in between the cars, catching their breath from the battle. “I’m— I’m going to be okay. I am okay.”
“You’re okay.” He nods, smiling gently, taking her hands in his.
“I’m— I’m fine.” She takes another breath. She still feels watery, still feels like a wet sponge, but it’s a little easier to breathe. “Sometimes days just don’t go my way, no matter how much I plan for it.”
“Good, good— but you’re forgetting the second half of that.”
“The second half?”
“For every day that it happens, whenever your days don’t go right, I’ll be right here for you to cry on because you and I have always been a team.” He kisses her bangs, smoothing his gloves at the back of her head, behind the buns in her hair. “As much as I don’t like seeing you cry, baby girl, I know that I’d rather see that, than have you bottle it up inside.”
She sniffles, giving him a little smile when he pulls away to gauge her reaction. “Thank you, Vai.”
“I love you.” He kisses her on the lips again.
“I love you, too.” She ducks her head as a blush stains her cheeks underneath her domino mask. “Oh, I’m— I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For crying on you and turning this into a mess.”
“My girlfriend seeking out comfort from me— what a scandal, little mouse,” He teases with a flash of his fangs. “How dare my Mousey want reassurance from me.”
She has the reflex to giggle, even though there’s a bit of tears still trying to make its way down her face. “It’s probably not what you had in mind for today, huh?”
“All I had was work today,” He wipes at her cheek again. “The Akuma is always unpredictable, but it’s not like your parents don’t know why I have to leave the register when our phones start to ding with the Akuma notification, right? And I’m always thinking of you, so, in a way this is sort of what I had in mind.”
She kisses him. It’s not as quick as it should be— it definitely isn’t as innocent as it has to be, given that they’re in public and they haven’t technically told the public yet that Viperion and Multimouse are more than just a duo, not to even mention that they’re a lot, lot more than a duo now, if her wandering hands are any indication— but she breaks away just before she has the urge to shift her position on him, laughing softly when he narrows his eyes at her. “We should— uhm— probably go back, right? Your mom is probably calling your phone right now, asking why in heaven’s name you picked the Liberty for the trap location— Alya will be here any moment now to ask things for the Ladyblog.”
“Hmm? What did you say? I was too busy living in the moment of hearing you laugh again. Such a sweet melody.” He looks back up to her from looking at her ankle. She has no idea what’s going on in that head of his— and it bothers her, because she so desperately wants to know, even as he gives her a wink and a smile.
She’s so thankful for this man. So ridiculously thankful.
She bites her lip to stop herself from smiling harder. “We need to go. Out of here. And I need a favor.”
“I’ll do whatever you need, Mousey. What is it?”
“I need you to marry me.”
His eyes widen, completely caught off guard. “What?”
“I mean— I mean carry—” She gasps, hiding her hands behind her mouth. “Oh gooseberries— I’m so sorry. Sorry! I meant carry, I promise! Slip of the tongue, oh sugarcubes— I’m so sorry— that’s not what I meant at all.”
“Breathe, Mousey, come on.” He snorts so hard that he has to hide his face behind his hands, shoulders shaking in mirth. “Obviously I’ll carry you. That’s without question— I’m not letting you walk like that. Come on, let’s get you back home.”
-*-
Marinette’s finally sleeping by the time he’s back into her room.
They’ve wrapped and bandaged her foot, kept it elevated and out of the way for her. She sleeps soundly, even as he struggles with her trap door to not make any noise. He’s not good at being quiet when he really tries— the universe is always out to get him whenever he tries to do something quietly. Or maybe he just gets too self-aware of himself.
“How’s she doing, Sass?”
“She’s been sleeping for the whole time since you brought her home,” The little kwami answers just as softly. There’s a couple of doll-sized lounge chairs on her nightstand, as well as a small little dining table with a couple of cushioned seats— it looks like a playset, in all honesty, but they’re the perfect size for the two kwamis to sit and eat away at their food.
Sass looks like he’s finished with his eggs, which is good to see. Mullo is still working on her blueberries, chewing through each one almost anxiously as the two kwamis watch Marinette rest. He’s never known just how many blueberries is enough for Mullo, so he’d grabbed a heavy container full of it and put it in a small basket to keep her entertained.
“Is her foot going to be okay?” Mullo squeaks out.
“She’ll be fine,” Luka sits on the floor to be at eye level with the kwamis. He takes a couple of berries in his hands to snack on in order to have something to do. “She’s never hurt her ankle before, so it’ll heal up fast. Master Fu wrapped it up for her, after all— her uncle wouldn’t lie, would he?”
Both kwamis nod in agreement.
“I feel like this is all my fault,” The little mouse makes a face. “I should’ve helped her today, I shouldn’t have been quiet the entire time. Maybe things wouldn’t have gotten this bad. Maybe I could’ve told her she was taking the wrong bag— or maybe I could’ve remembered to plug in her phone. I fell asleep watching videos on mermaid history, I’m pretty sure— I don’t think the videos were worth her twisting her foot.”
Sometimes kwami and holder are really alike, huh? Even the face that Mullo makes is so reminiscent of Marinette, it’s incredible— he tries his best not to smile lovingly but can’t help himself. “It isn’t your fault at all, Mullo. There’s no point in thinking about what you should’ve done— all of it has already happened. It’s okay.”
“She’s never gotten injured like this before for as long as I’ve known her— and you said earlier that she hasn’t torn any muscles since I was given to Luka. Her ankle will heal before you know it.” Sass is quick to pet his friend’s arm. “But until then, she definitely won’t be able to act should an Akuma arrive.”
The room goes silent again as the three of them settle back into what they were doing. Sass is curled up, of course, enjoying the luxury of the little doll chair that is stuffed to the brim with cotton and sewn expertly shut. The dollhouse furniture looks well-loved, though— he’s under the assumption that Marinette most likely bought second-hand miniature sets for Mullo to play house in when she had first been given the mouse miraculous. There’s no dollhouse in sight around anymore, but the bookcase near Marinette’s bed still has two cubbies empty in favor of a little curtain pulled open to reveal two fake little rooms.
There’s a little closet rack full of little clothes. There are hats lined up against the bookshelf wall with two slits on the sides to make space for Mullo’s ears. There’s a doll bed with a blanket and a cushion— there’s a couch and potted plants all made out of felted material in order to decorate the space. A rug, too, underneath all the furniture.
All of these little trinkets and toys, so loved and cared for by a young girl and the love she has for her mouse— now something cherished by a young woman. “You know, I’ve always wanted to ask— how long have you two known her?”
“The Cheng family has always kept the miraculouses safe,” Mullo bites into another blueberry. “We’ve been passed down for generations.”
“Well, usually. Master Fu is the guardian right now, but he’s making sure that Marinette is the next guardian.”
“I know that, yes— but I meant Marinette specifically. How long have you two known Marinette?” He turns to her, wondering if she’s in any pain. The inflammatories must be working well in her system because there’s nothing on her face that indicates that her foot’s been wrapped and bandaged to stay still.
“We’ve known her ever since she was little. About eight years old, maybe? All of the kwamis loved playing house with her— the little princess was always so sweet and lovable. Growing up an only child was really lonely for her, so we played with her whenever we could.” The dollhouse furniture makes a lot more sense now. “You name it, we played it. Hide and seek, dollhouse, tea time, dress up— princess and the knight, too.”
Of course Marinette would’ve made them little clothes, how could she have resisted? The idea is adorable.
“Kaalki would frequently run away from Master Fu’s place in order to come play with her. Who could blame him? I for one loved it when it was tea time. Princess always made deviled eggs, just for me.” Sass slips his eyes shut to sleep. He always gets tired after eating his share of eggs following an Akuma attack— Luka’s thankful he works at a bakery, where eggs are plenty.
Sass is out like a light.
Mullo giggles to herself, holding a giant blueberry between her two paws, turning to him in her little chair, speaking as quietly as possible. Marinette may be asleep for longer, but Sass’s hearing is always so sensitive— they don’t want to wake either of them up. “I just ended up being the lucky one that got to stay with her. All of the other kwamis were really upset when they heard that I was her permanent friend— especially Kaalki. They all loved playing with her. We’re sure that Plagg and Tikki will love her, once we find them again.”
So much history between Marinette and the kwamis. No wonder Sass was so happy when they’d finally revealed their identities to one another. “Hey, Mullo— how come she didn’t tell me about her ankle?”
“She didn’t want to worry you.” Mullo replies in her soft, tiny voice. “You both needed to focus on the Akuma first.”
But in the end, she’d hurt herself. What he wouldn’t give to second-chance her ankle back to normal— but it’s been hours, not minutes, since it happened.
He takes his time eating the handful he’s picked from Mullo’s basket. The blueberry is sweet in his mouth, and tasteful, and something quiet to do while he looks at Marinette’s sleeping form. She’s working herself too hard, isn’t she? Trying to keep up with all the things at university— and trying to keep up with everything at home— and definitely trying to keep up with Akumas on top of it all. They haven’t technically even been on dates together, if that’s something she even wants, because her life is so full. It’s commendable, but watching the girl of his dreams get pulled in all different directions makes him understand entirely why a multitasking miraculous is the perfect one for her.
“You should rest, Luka. It’s getting really late.”
“I don’t know if I should— I don’t want to accidentally wake her up.”
“She’ll be more upset if she wakes up and you’re not in bed with her,” Mullo argues. He smiles, because he can’t help the humor at the sincerity of her words. “You should join her.”
He’d have to take off his jeans, and go pawing for one of his shirts she’s stolen from his room in order to not get flour all over her bed, but it’s doable. Her parents already know he’s up here, after all— he’s said he was going to check up on her once his shift ended. Her parents had let him go without barely any warning gaze— in fact, Mrs. Cheng had implored him to spend the night and make sure Marinette didn’t attempt to run off, in case another Akuma were to pop up.
They trust that he’s a good person and will actually stop her from leaving the house. And he doesn’t want to disappoint.
The last thing he wants to do is go back home and listen to the absolute earful he’ll be getting from his mom about using the Liberty as bait, so he’s going to camp out in Marinette’s room after sending about a billion and one heart emojis to Juleka, hoping she’ll try to keep their mom out of trouble.
Maybe it’d been a bad idea to tell his family about his identity— just his family in general. It’s safer this way, now that his family knows, so there won’t be any nasty revelations down the line and his family won’t turn into Akumas (and if he has to fight Reflekta or Captain Hardrock any more times in his life, he’s going to quit) but now there’s the added bonus of his mom knows why he disappears all the time.
So.
Heart emojis sent to Juleka it is.
“And what about you? Won’t you be going to bed?”
“I’m still hungry, so I need to dip downstairs and get some more food, if that’s okay. Or, better yet— do you want me to take Sass downstairs with me when I go?”
He raises a brow. Surely she doesn’t mean to imply… “She’s— Marinette— come on, Mullo. She’s injured.”
“I’m not sure she needs her ankle for that!”
This doesn’t top the weirdest conversation he’s ever had, but this is definitely up there. “And she’s asleep— I’m not comfortable with the idea.”
“She’ll wake up soon. You should ask her then, obviously.”
“Mullo.”
“You’re two aren’t our first holders, you know, we’ve done this so many times before.” Mullo giggles behind a paw. “So, do you want privacy? If you don’t, I’ll stay right here. Mari likes to tell us that we’re as scary as actual dolls, sometimes, with our beady little eyes.”
No one has to tell him that. He learned the hard way when he’d woken up the first time with Sass looking straight at him. Beady little eyes indeed— it’d scared him shitless and almost caused him to scream at a bleary five in the morning. Sass is a terrifying little creature when he wants to be.
“Maybe it’s a good idea to give us a bit of time.” He tries not to blush when Mullo tilts her head in acknowledgment. “I don’t think she wants anything except sleep, but, who knows.”
“We’ll give you all the time you two need,” The little mouse nods. She grabs Sass’s sleeping form by a paw, taking one last bite out of the remaining blueberry, before the two of them phase through the floorboards down below. Sometimes kwamis are weird little creatures with all of their powers, honestly— he’s gotten used to Sass appearing out of thin air in his attempts to scare him, but it’s always so concerning to see it happen without that context.
He lifts himself up from the floor, peeling open some of her drawers in search of one of his shirts. She’d taken his pleading to heart, and now has a steady collection of his clothes starting to grow and multiply in her closet— he’s running out of his own clothes, honestly, but he can’t say no when she smiles at him like she always does before squirreling away a new shirt into her bag when she wants to keep a piece of him with her.
He should probably take some of these shirts home with him, though. If the point was for her to smell like him, well, he should probably make it happen.
He folds his shirt and jeans. Marinette doesn’t have piles of clothes everywhere unlike him, so he makes the executive decision to stack his clothes on her desk chair. By the time he’s going back up the ladder over to her bed, Marinette’s shifted onto her side, facing him— she wakes up the moment he tries to shimmy his way under the covers with her.
“Oh. Hi.”
“Hi.” She has pieces of her hair catching in her eyelashes— he brushes it away, shifting closer to her. Her entire bed smells of faint traces of lavender, what a nice scent. “How are you feeling, Mousey?”
“A lot better,” She’s quick to smile, even as she’s groggy from sleep. Adorable. “Probably because of the amount of pain killers I’m on right now, though.”
He laughs. “Master Fu told me you don’t usually take painkillers. You must just completely relax under it, then, since your body isn’t used to it.”
“I don’t think I tore anything, did I?”
“No, I don’t think so. Your uncle said you’re fine, after all, but you should just stay out of commission for this week until you can put weight on that foot again.”
She looks so disappointed. “Where’s Lolo?”
“Downstairs. She’s probably eating through your entire pantry at the moment.”
“And Sass?”
“Went with her. Mullo took him to give us privacy. Are you okay?”
He should’ve known better than to relax his guard around her. The moment he’s completely at ease in bed, she grabs for him, pulling him so close to her that they’re perfect puzzle pieces. “How is it that I can sling myself across rooftops for years, day and night, but I can’t even walk in a straight line once I’m out of my suit?”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Mousey. That’s not good for you.”
“I wish I wasn’t such a klutz.”
“You’re not.” He kisses the top of her head as a punctuation of his words. “You just had a bad day, that’s all.”
“One of the worsts in a while,” She nods into his— hers?— shirt. “Luka? Could you make it better for me?”
He laughs. “And you call me the insatiable one, little mouse.”
Her eyes sparkle. “Who was the one that jumped me when I was going to go shower after my pool trip with my friends? One look at me in a towel and suddenly my boyfriend’s hands are all on me— sounds pretty insatiable, if you ask me.”
How can she blame him? She has such soft and delicate skin. Everywhere.
He loves touching and feeling her up whenever she lets him and asks him to. Not to even mention her ass— god— he could write so many songs just about it— he likes biting her everywhere he can, and he’s sure he’d done exactly that while sneaking his way into her shower box. Marinette always takes to bruising really well when it comes to him teething at her, she blossoms into hickies whenever he has his mouth on her. Not to even mention just how excited and turned on she was when he’d finally fingered her to completion.
“I don’t believe you were complaining, were you? Besides, I was just giving my girlfriend what she likes the most.”
She snorts and giggles. “And what is that?”
“Word is around here that she really likes Viperion. Has lots of fantasies about him— and, hey, I’m a pretty understanding guy. If my girlfriend wants to call out his name instead of mine, I get it.” He loves it when she laughs this hard— it’s always so much better to hear her laugh than it is to hear her stay quiet and in her thoughts. “It’s a good thing he likes helping out, too. The guy’s taken a real liking to my girlfriend, even though I’ve heard that him and Multimouse are a thing.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” She smiles against his mouth. She’s feeling a lot better now, he can tell, because her hands disappear under his— seriously, hers?— shirt, teasing all of the skin available to her. Her fingers are ticklish against his chest and abs— she’s just as handsy as he is, most of the time.
“Insatiable,” He kisses her before pulling down the covers.
Her sleepshirt is soft and stretchy in his hands, and it’s easy to pull it up enough so he can kiss her stomach and hip at the waistband of her panties. He’s careful with her leg, of course— he doesn’t want to move it, just to make sure the wraps on her ankle don’t come undone by accident. He helps her out of her underwear slowly and gently, pulling the cute panties off so he can get her completely bare.
Such cute underwear. But then again, he’s always a little biased to anything green or blue— and the mint green color is adorable on her pale skin. The cut is cute, too— he doesn’t know enough about women’s underwear styles, but these are a lot cuter on her than he’d imagined. They rest just at her hip, with a pretty little scalloped edge that is just a smidge too Marinette for him to reasonably handle.
But he likes her better naked, of course.
“You’re already this wet?”
“Don’t tease, Luka.” Her hands disappear under her shirt. He doesn’t get to exactly see what she does underneath with her fingers, but it doesn’t take much brainpower to recognize the arching of her back like she always gets whenever he’s pinching at her nipples.
He follows the line she’s made with her body with an appreciating gaze, kissing up and down her thigh so slowly that she makes a frustrated noise. “Awh, don’t be like that, Mousey. Tell me why you’ve soaked through your underwear, I’m curious.”
She groans. “I thought of you the entire time I was in that stupid subway.”
Oh, did she? “No wonder you’ve been so tense today.”
She makes eye contact with him after a little flinch and a little exhale— she must’ve pinched herself just enough to make it count. “I was thinking about what you did to me in the shower. You’re such a glutton, Vai.”
He grins at her. Oh, he loves it when she calls him that. “I’m not so sure about that.”
And gives her what she needs.
He takes his time licking between her legs, even though she’s wet enough that it wouldn’t take much effort at all to slip his fingers into her. He likes this part, personally, even to the point where he shifts his hips down into the mattress to alleviate some of the pressure building at the base of his spine, starting to get desperate himself. It’s always so satisfying to go down on her— the noises she makes are always so attractive, and he loves making her come without much regard to himself. Marinette isn’t loud when she vocalizes her likes and dislikes, but not because she doesn’t want to be— she always hides her mouth behind her hands— and it always feels like a contest.
Today is no exception.
Her ribs heave under her shirt as he licks and licks, swirling his tongue at the place she loves the most. Her sighs are soft and sweet, even as he pulls her good leg up and over his shoulder, burying his face into her cunt as she makes a noise halfway between an exhale and a laugh.
“Who’s the glutton now?”
He makes a humming noise, not exactly interested in answering her question— he’s more in favor of showing. He’s glad to help, after all— pulling noise after noise from her when he licks his way into her, digging his tongue in as far as he can possibly reach. Her hips lift, using his shoulder as an anchor, and she moans— but still, again, it’s so soft and nearly quiet like she doesn’t want anyone to know what they’re up to. Always so considerate of others.
Cute.
By the time he’s got two fingers dipping into her, she’s wound up tight already. He can tell by the way she twitches, how she bites the fleshy part of her thumb— and how she bites harder when he uses his free hand to cup her ass and give her a squeeze. Soft. Soft soft soft.
God, so deliciously soft.
“Luka,” She whispers, trying her absolute hardest to stay quiet as he curls his fingers into her. Her free hand makes it to his hair, brushing it back so sweetly— she’s more cuddly this way, than an actual sexual deviant, like she’s desperate for reassurance. “Please please please?”
He loves it when she starts to beg for more and asks for more physical touch whenever he makes a home between her legs.
“Easy, Mousinette. Take a breath,” He kisses her thighs, liking the way how her thighs get sticky and messy with it. She sucks in a breath at his suggestion, looking at him with her hazy, pretty eyes. “You’re almost there, aren’t you?”
“Yes—” She cuts herself off with a particular sigh that makes him piston his fingers more into her. She reaches down with the hand that was in his hair, gesturing for his hand underneath her to join her. “Could you— oh— please—”
“There you go. That’s it. Come whenever you want, baby girl.” He intertwines his fingers and clasps hands with hers, giving her one last swirl and flattening of his tongue, before he feels her start to come on his fingers.
“Luka—” He doesn’t let up once he recognizes the exhale, or the squirming— especially not when he feels the attractive fluttering of her walls. She squeezes and squeezes, milking his fingers desperately.
He can deal with his erection later. For now, he slowly eases his fingers out of her, and kisses her thigh again when she complains about the loss of his hand between her legs. “How are you feeling, Mousey? Better?”
“Always am when I’m with you. Sex or no sex.” And— oh— if he wasn’t so desperately hard in his boxers, he’d fall in love with her on the spot all over again. She’s always so honest with him— it’s always such a shock, even when he knows that’s just how her personality is. He watches her eyelids struggle to keep open, even as she raises her hands up in an attempt to coerce him to bed— barely clothed, with a sleep shirt that covers nothing except her chest and her shoulders at this point. “Come cuddle? ‘M tired. I want my boyfriend.”
“Probably not a good idea. I’m going to end up dry humping you— I’m so fucking horny.”
“Vai…” It’s so heartbreakingly cute that she tries to be stern even while falling asleep. “Cursing.”
“Sorry,” He laughs, gesturing to himself even though she’s not really looking at him. “I’ll be right back. I should probably go take care of my di— uhm, I mean, this— in your bathroom, and wash my hands too.”
Her face unpinches. “But what about cuddling?”
“I will after I clean you up,” He kisses the lines of her abs— pulling her shirt down enough to get comfortable. “If you fall asleep can I still towel you off? You know I don’t like it when you’re left messy.”
“Always take good care of me.” She mumbles, completely oblivious to the way he hides his steaming face behind his hands. She nods a confirmation, patting the spot next to her. “And then after cleaning come cuddle. Please.”
By the time he’s made himself orgasm while thinking of her, and washed his hands clean of her, and made sure that she’s no longer sticky between the legs— Marinette is still bravely putting up a fight with sleep. He helps her put on some new underwear, making sure that she doesn’t move her ankle as much when he does it— but he’s completely caught by surprise when she pulls him in for a hug— and, honestly— he should know better by now.
He loves it, though.
So much.
AO3 | Start Here To Read The Whole 'Out of The Closet' Series! | Previous Fic in Series | Next Fic in Series
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avengerscompound · 4 years ago
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The Surrogate - Chapter 2
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The Surrogate:  A Clintasha Fanfic
Masterlist PREVIOUS //
Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Clint Barton x Natasha Romanoff x F!Reader
Word Count:  1746
Rating:  E
Warnings: None
Synopsis:  A freak end of the world incident leads to meeting your two best friends, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff.  While your friendship with the two Avengers is anything but conventional, they are your all-time favorite people.  When you find out that Clint and Natasha want to start a family but have exhausted all their options, you realize your powerset might allow you to give them what they want.  Having your best friends’ baby might seem like a good idea on paper, but when you are as close as you, Clint, and Natasha are, will doing something so intimate mean feelings get a little mixed up?
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Chapter 2
 “Clint and I just had sex!”   You hadn’t meant to blurt the words out like that and they had almost definitely signed your death warrant, but they’d burst out of you out of your control.  Things had gotten out of control, but in that good way, where your adrenaline had been up and with the alcohol and the way your powers worked, when he’d suggested you both go to the public restroom, you couldn’t think of anything you wanted to do more than that.
Now that you could see that Natasha and Clint were in a relationship, the guilt about being the one Clint had cheated with had made you spill immediately.  Even if it did mean the Black Widow would gut you like a fish.
Natasha Romanoff looked back at you with her head tilted to the side.  “Oh, dorogáya,” she soothed, before turning her attention back to the controls of the jet and taking flight again hovering up away from the bar she’d picked you up from before shooting off away from the city.  She took a moment to smack Clint on the back of the head in between flicking different switches.
“Ow, Nat,” he complained, rubbing the back of his head.  “What was that for?”
“You can’t do that,” she scolded. “You need to tell them what your deal is before you seduce them.”
“Seduce them? Me?”  Clint argued.  “Who am I seducing?  Shit just happened.”
“You know what I mean, durak.  You can’t just sleep with people and not tell them you’ve got a girlfriend,” Natasha snarked.  She tilted her head back and raised her voice so you could hear her better over the jet engines.  “Clint and I are in an open relationship.  I’m sorry he didn’t tell you that first.  He’s an idiot.  But you didn’t cheat on anyone.  I just hope he didn’t lead you on.”
“No,” you assured her.  “I knew it was casual.  But … I wouldn’t have… if you two…”
“It’s fine,” she assured you.  “I promise.  Have as much sex with Clint as you like.  I don't care.”
“Gee, thanks, Nat,” Clint snarked.
“Well you won’t be getting any from me if you’re gonna be an idiot,” Natasha said.  “Might as well see who else is offering.”
“Nat…” Clint whined.
You relaxed back in your jump seat while they argued in that loving way people who were completely comfortable with each other do, glad that for once your libido and need for complete honesty hadn’t gotten you in trouble.  The last thing in the world you wanted was to piss off any of the avengers because you weren’t thinking with your brain.
“It's gonna be a bit of a flight, so just relax and get some sleep if you can,” Natasha called back to you.
You already knew you weren’t going to be able to sleep.  You were running on pure adrenaline now and the jump seat was far from cozy.  You did close your eyes and listen to the engine as Natasha guided the jet back to New York.  Things were about to change for you, you knew that.  Even if the Avengers deemed your powers to be useless to them, things weren’t going to be the same now.  You couldn’t go through life after seeing the end of the world come so close and pretend like you weren’t gifted with something special.  You had to find some way to use it.
By the time the Quinjet touched down at the Avengers Compound you had been up for well over a full day and you were exhausted.  It was that level of exhaustion that went right to the bone.  Each turn of your head caused your vision to go blurry as your brain tried to catch up with what it was processing.  Each time you spoke you found it difficult to modulate your voice.  You were also hyper-aware that you probably smelled terrible too.  You’d been wearing the same clothes since you got up the day before and since you’d put them on you’d been running around the city and you’d had sex in a public restroom at a bar. The thought of any of the Avengers meeting you like this was quite frankly, mortifying.
You followed Natasha and Clint off the jet and they were greeted by Captain America and a tall, brunette woman wearing a grey pencil skirt and a black turtleneck. The exhaustion you felt made it really hard to process the fact that Captain Steve Rogers was less than a yard away from you.  Especially given your current state.  He was always going to remember that when he met you, you were the human embodiment of the living dead.  Smell and all.
“Welcome home,” Steve said.  “This must be the healer.”
“That’s right,” Clint said.
You introduced yourself to Steve and offered him your hand.
“Welcome to the facility.  This is Hill,” he said, indicating to the woman with him.
“Alright, you two go get some rest. We’ll debrief after you’ve slept,” Hill said, scratching something down onto the Stark Pad she was holding.
“See you then!  Totally gonna go and sleep right away, nothing else!”  Clint said, saluting.  Natasha stifled a laugh and the two of them headed off down the corridor.
Hill turned to you and continued tapping away on her tablet.  “You’ll have very limited access to the facility until you’ve been cleared by security.  I’m guessing you might need sleep?  A shower?”
“That would be fantastic,” you agreed.
“Follow me,” she said.  The two of you began to walk in the same direction as Clint and Natasha at a brisk pace.  “The compound is run by an artificial intelligence.  Her name is FRIDAY and she'll let you into the parts of the facility you are allowed in and keep you out of what you're not,” Hill explained as you walked.  “I appreciate that you have come here voluntarily to assist us, but we are still a private military installation, so security is important.  For now, you will be primarily restricted to your room, however, if you need any medical care I can take you to the medbay.”
“No.  I never need that,” you said.
“Oh, right,” Hill said, shaking her head.  “So used to the script.”
“Carry on,” you said with a soft laugh.
“I'm also giving you access to the smaller pool and gym,” Hill continued.  “It's the one used by the administration staff and generally fairly quiet.  Ask FRIDAY.  We would prefer that you go straight to the security clearance and debrief, but we understand after an event like you just experienced you may need to let out some stress.  For this reason, you can have access to any onsite psychiatric services.  We have many therapists on staff.  At some point you will need to speak to one but if you feel you need one sooner than later that can be arranged.”
“Oh… I'm… I think I can wait until after security clearance,” you said.
“If that changes just let FRIDAY know,” Hill replied.  The two of you rounded a corner and then she opened a door that led outside.  It was bright out and there were teams of people in sweats running in formation.
She led you down a path to a large white building with huge windows and an A on the side.  “That building is the main hub, that's where you'll go when you're ready to speak to us.  For now, we're just going to housing,” she continued as you made your way through the facility.  “Barton said you helped him in the field.”
“Yeah, he fell off a building,” you answered.  “I used my powers to heal him so he could get back.”
“That certainly sounds like Clint,” Hill said.  You thought she might have stifled a laugh, but you couldn’t be sure.  “You're okay with us running some tests?”
“Yes, of course,” you answered. “I wouldn't have come…”
“Great,” she said, cutting you off.  “Ideally the run down when you're ready will go, security clearance, debrief and interview, then we’ll run some tests.  But it's up to you how much you can handle.  It's a big adjustment coming here.  It can get a bit much for some people.”
“I’ll be sure to let you know if I'm feeling overwhelmed,” you said as a set of glass doors opened for you, letting you into the accommodation building.  “Getting close to that now.”
“Right, sorry, you must be tired,” Hill said.  “We’re nearly there.”
Your room was on the first floor and Hill opened the door to let you in.  It reminded you of a cheap hotel.  There was a full-sized bed, with gray linens, that offset the grey of the walls.  The walls were unadorned and the only other furniture in the room was a side table, desk, and dresser.
“The bathroom is in here,” Hill said, opening the bathroom door. “There are towels and toiletries.  We're not a hotel though so if there's anything missing or you need anything, and I do mean anything, let FRIDAY know.  She’ll place an order.  Inside the dresser is a Stark Pad.  You can use it to find out what the kitchen is making and have it sent up.  Make sure you eat.  You can also browse the internet.  Please do not post on social media about where you are until your security check.  We’ll know so don't think you can get it by us.  You haven't signed an NDA yet but you will and what you post about will be taken into account when we're deciding if we’ll actually recruit you.  When you're ready to have the security run let FRIDAY know and someone will come and collect you.  If you want to back out, we understand, just let her know that too and we’ll take you home.  Any questions?”
Your head was reeling from the amount of information just dropped on you along with your complete exhaustion.  “Uhh…” You said blinking slowly.
“Right, well if any come up…”
“Ask FRIDAY,” you finished.  “Got it.”
She smiled and closed the tablet.  “I'll leave you to it.  You’ll be fine, kid,” Hill said.  “Just get sleep, eat, and you’ll be part of the team in no time.”
“Thank you,” you said.  “I’ll do that.”
“I'll be seeing you,” she said and left you alone.  You peeled yourself out of the clothes you were wearing, collapsed onto the bed, and were asleep almost immediately.
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// NEXT
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starlit-serenade · 4 years ago
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ONEUS Reacting to Someone Hitting on Their S/O
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Summary: How would ONEUS react to someone hitting on you when you are out in public together?
Word Count: 2,654 words
Pairing: Reader x Members / Characters: GenderNeutral!Reader; Kim Youngjo (Ravn); Lee Seoho (Seoho); Kim Geonhak (Leedo); Lee Keonhee (Keonhee); Yeo Hwanwoong (Hwanwoong); Son Dongju (Xion);
Rated: E / Warnings: Jealousy / Genre: GenderNeutral!Reader; Fluff;
《 ONEUS Masterlist 》
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Kim Youngjo (Ravn)
Youngjo would obviously trust his S/O with anything and everything. But seeing or hearing someone hitting on you would make his blood boil. He would get so aggressive, but not physically. He would want to intimidate the other person and scare them off. Or maybe he'd just start being very affectionate toward you in front of them.
You make eye contact with Youngjo across the CD shelf, and he smiles softly at you. You've come to look at CDs with Youngjo on both of you guys' day off.
"Look, I found one that reminds me of you!" you say, holding up a CD on your side of the shelf. It has a colorful album art with a black cat drawn on.
Youngjo smiles brightly. "Cute. Let me find one that reminds me of you."
He moves to a spot further down the CD shelf, searching for another CD.
After you continue seeking through the CDs for a couple minutes, someone reaches past you and grabs a CD right in front of you. They stumble and almost fall over, but they stop themself with their hand on the shelf on the other side of your body. They bump you a bit, and you hell as your stomach hits the edge of the shelf.
"Sorry," the person says, placing their hand on your shoulder in apology.
"No worries." You smile politely as you rub your stomach, and you can see Youngjo is watching you from a distance.
Are you okay? he mouths at you. You nod gently. You're fine.
"Hey," the person says, clearly checking you outaa. "How about, as an apology, I take you out to coffee?"
You shake your head. "I'm sorry, I'm not interested."
"No, really, I insist!" the person says.
You open your mouth to speak when you suddenly feel a hand snake around your waist. Youngjo is standing right next to you, holding you to him. When you look at Youngjo, he's smiling down at you softly.
"Hi," Youngjo says to the person. "I'm Y/N's boyfriend. Can you please respect when they say no?" His words are respectful, but his voice is very aggressive.
The person swallows. "Sorry. I didn't realize you had a boyfriend. Sorry, sir. I'll get going."
The person leaves immediately, vanishing around the corner, and Youngjo nudges you gently.
"I found you a CD," he says, grinning as he holds up a disk. You smile and kiss his cheek.
"Love you, Youngjo," you say.
Lee Seoho (Seoho)
Seoho would be so very upset. He would definitely be very possessive, and might try to be a bit intimidating, but you would know exactly how frustrated he was feeling and would undoubtedly have to comfort him afterward.
Seoho smiles as you both walk through the park together, cold drinks in hand. It's the first sunny day in a while, so Seoho wanted to take you outside.
"My legs are a bit tired," you mumble, almost to yourself.
"Do you want to sit for a second?" Seoho asks, gesturing to a bench nearby. You nod, and the two of you sit on the park bench.
"It's hot out," you comment. The past few days have been rather chilly and cloudy, and so today you were pleasantly surprised to find it was warm.
"Yeah." Seoho nods in agreement. He looks at his drink. "I'm finished. I'm going to go throw my cup away, I'll be back, okay?"
You nod. "Alright!"
Seoho gets up from the bench and walks away, waving sweetly at you before turning to search for a bin.
After a minute of waiting alone on the bench, someone sits down on the other side of the bench. You glance over, and it's a man around Seoho's age.
"Hey," the man says. You blink and nod politely.
"Hello," you say.
"Nice day out, huh?"
"Mhm." You nod awkwardly in agreement. You can feel the man's eyes on you, waiting for more of an answer. "It's very warm out."
"It really is." There's a pause, and you look over at the man. He's definitely checking you out, and you shift in your seat uncomfortably. "Can I buy you a cold drink?" he asks.
For a second, you're shocked. Almost speechless, you search for the words.
"Oh, sorry, I have a boyfriend," you say. You glance around, looking for Seoho, but he isn't anywhere in sight. You know you can deal with the situation on your own, but having your boyfriend with you would be a big help.
"Oh, I'm sure it wouldn't be too much of a problem if I just bought you a cold drink," the man says.
Yes, it would be.
You shake your head. "That's kind of you, but--"
"Actually, it is a bit of a problem."
You turn around and see Seoho standing beside you. You can see from the way that his fist tightens, his jaw thenches, that he is very unhappy.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to offend you," the man says. "I just thought they might be able to have a friendly cup of coffee."
"As their boyfriend, no you may not," Seoho says. He reaches for your hand which you enthusiastically give him. "Let's go somewhere?" he asks you. You nod and let Seoho lead you away, barely sparing a glance at the man left on the bench.
Kim Geonhak (Leedo)
Geonhak, upon seeing someone hitting on you, would be so frustrated and furious. He would try to be intimidating--probably by lowering his voice much more than necessary--and would possibly be very affectionate and possessive. but you would absolutely be able to tell that he's feeling insecure and frustrated. 
You and Geonhak are sitting at a table near the back of the library. You're taking care of some studying you have to do. You sigh and stand up quickly, and Geonhak looks up at you curiously.
"I'm just going to return some books and find some other ones," you say quietly. He smiles and nods.
You take up your books, put them on the return cart, and walk over to the bookshelf where you found your original books. You can still see Geonhak from there. Maybe you'll be able to find just the books you need this time. A man wearing an employee badge is standing next to the bookshelf, placing books into it. As  you find a book that looks good, you grab it.
"Oh?" The employee is staring at you. "That's an interesting looking book." He looks up at your eyes and you nod politely.
"Yeah. I need it for my studies."
"Oh?"
You explain the topic to him a bit, since he seems curious.
"Oh, that's cool. Hey, I get done in about an hour. Maybe, perhaps, we could . . . talk more over coffee?"
You blink, taken by surprise. So that's why he's been looking at you like that. "Oh, sorry. But no."
"No? Why?"
"Well, because I have a boyfriend," you say.
"Oh? I'm sure I could take better care of you than he." The man suddenly freezes, and you frown in confusion. Suddenly, you feel someone's arms wrap around you, and you feel a familiar kiss placed on your neck.
"Hi baby," Geonhak says, his voice about an octave deeper than usual. He pulls away and speaks to the man in his deep voice. "Please excuse me. I'm not sure if you heard, but Y/N has a boyfriend."
The man blinks and opens his mouth to say something, but he stops. His face is red with embarrassment. You can tell that Geonhak is giving him an evil glare.
"S-s-sorry," the man says, backing away. "I'll get back to work." He exits the aisle to organize a different shelf.
Geonhak looks at you and kisses your neck again, before nuzzling his face into your neck. You can tell that he's stressed, and run your hand through his hair.
"Let's go sit down," you suggest. Geonhak nods, looking at you like a puppy.
"Okay," he says, smiling softly.
Lee Keonhee (Keonhee)
Keonhee's personality is usually carefree and friendly, so seeing how cold he'd act toward someone would be possibly intimidating to not just them but to you as well. He'd be so possessive, and would definitely want to signal physically to the other person that you're taken, by putting his arm around you or something.
"Wait here, I'll go order our drinks, okay?" Keonhee asks, smiling his sweet smile that makes your heart flutter.
"Mkay."
"The usual?" he asks.
"Mhm!" You smile, and he pecks a quick kiss on your cheek, before heading away from the table to the line to the coffee shop's counter.
You stare down at your phone, scrolling through social media, absentmindedly reading the news as you wait for Keonhee.
"Excuse me, is this chair occupied?"
You look up and see a man with his hand on a chair at your table. You note that it's one of four chairs at your table, and you only need two: one for yourself and one for Keonhee.
"No, you can have it," you say with a nod and a polite smile. 
The man pulls out the chair from the table, pauses, and sits down across from you, and you can already tell this isn't going to go well. 
"Can I buy you a drink, beautiful?" the man asks. In all honesty, he isn't bring creepy or disrespectful. But you already have a boyfriend and are not interested. 
"Oh, uh, sorry," you say. "I, uh, I have a --"
Suddenly, a cup of your favorite drink is placed in front of you. You look up and Keonhee is smiling down at you, his drink in his other hand.
"Hi, angel!" he says, the most pleasant smile on their face. You can tell that he's purposely not paying the man any attention.
"Hi Keonhee!" you say. "Thank you for getting the drinks."
"Of course, lovely!" He leans down to press a kiss to your cheek, and you can see that he shoots a quick glare at the other man, and you quickly tug at Keonhee's sleeve.
"Keonhee, let's head home," you say quietly. 
"Sounds good!" he says. "Let's go, my lovely," he says, taking your hand and leading you out of the coffee shop. You don't miss the final glare he gives the man, who is sitting surprised and alone at your table.
Yeo Hwanwoong (Hwanwoong)
Hwanwoong wouldn't try to be intimidating or anything. He'd definitely be possessive, and would show if physically, like his arm around you and neck kisses. He'd act very confidently, even if he wasn't feeling it. But he'd need a lot of comforting.
"Ready to head home?" you ask your boyfriend Hwanwoong. He looks up from where he's sitting on the floor, taking a breath after his practice on the other side of the practice room. A grin spread across his face.
"Sure! I need to gather my things, so how about you head out to the lobby and I'll meet you there, alright?" he says, gesturing to the room. His water bottle is against the wall in the corner farthest away from him. His jacket is in a separate corner.
"Alright, see you in a bit Woongie," you say, pushing yourself to the feet before heading out to the lobby to wait for your boyfriend.
You walk through the hallway and stand outside the elevator, waiting. As the elevator rings and you walk into the elevator, someone walks in behind you.
"Hello," the person says. You nod politely in greeting. You swear you've seen this person before, perhaps the hallway or something.
"Hi," you say. "I've seen you around here often. Are you a trainee?"
"Oh, yes. Yes I am."
You can feel this person's eyes on you, even when you look away. Their gaze is very intense.
"Are you a trainee here?" the trainee asks. You shake your head. Suddenly the elevator shudders, there's a ding, and the doors slide open. You and the trainee step out into the lobby.
"Oh, uh, no." You chuckle a bit. "No, I'm not a trainee."
The trainee raises an eyebrow at you. "Really? I see you around here often enough," they say. "What do you do around here, are you a staff member?"
You shake your head. "Oh, no. I'm not. My boyfriend works here."
The trainee pauses. "Oh? Who's your boyfriend?"
You feel an arm snake around your waist, and for a second you're surprised. But you can recognize your boyfriend from the slightest touch.
"I'm their boyfriend," Hwanwoong says, pecking a kiss to your cheek. The trainee looks absolutely mortified, and you really aren't surprised. A trainee? Trying to hit on Yeo Hwanwoong's significant other?
"Oh," the trainee says. "Well, that's great. I've got places to be. Goodbye."
The trainee quickly rushes away, and Hwanwoong nuzzles his nose against your cheek gently.
"Can we go get something cold to drink?" he asks.
"Of course," you say, running your hands through his hair a bit. "Let's get some bubble tea, how does that sound."
He smiles. "Sounds great."
Son Dongju (Xion)
Dongju would want you and him out of that situation as soon as possible. He'd be very firm and calm, but would not want either of you to engage with the other person. If he had to, he'd be very calm and stern with them, maybe even a little passive aggressive.
You examine the two noodle packages in your hands, debating which one to get for you and Dongju's movie night tonight. Dongju should still be getting veggies.
As you decide and put away the one you've rejected, someone walks past and accidentally bumps shoulders with you, causing you to almost drop the noodles in your hand, but manage to catch them. You do, however, drop the box of popcorn you had under your arm.
"Oh sorry." The man who has just bumped into you stops and picks up the fallen popcorn as you stabilize yourself and your noodles. You smile and nod as he hands you your popcorn.
"Thank you," you say.
"Maybe you should have a basket," the man says.
"Yeah." You laugh a bit and nod, too lazy to tell him that you did in fact have a basket, until Dongju took it with him to the next aisle.
The man doesn't move away. It seems as though he wants to keep the conversation going, but you don't.
You place the noodle package back on the shelf and fix the things in your arms so that they're easier to carry. You are overly aware of the man still standing next to you, watching you.
"Sorry, is there something you need?" you ask him.
"Uh,  was just wondering if I could get your number?" the man asks.
You, surprised, find it difficult to find a detailed response, and can barely manage to say, "No, sorry."
"No?" the man chuckles nervous. "Why?"
"Because . . ." You're about to tell him that you already have a boyfriend when suddenly someone behind you clears their throat. You turn your head and see Dongju approaching with the basket in his hand and a concerned look on his face.
"Y/N, did you get noodles? Ah. Let's see if we can find you that candy you like," he says quickly, grabbing your hand and squeezing. He looks at the man, and his eyes narrow a bit. "Sorry to interrupt. I'm Y/N's boyfriend, and we have to get going for our movie night."
Before the man can say a word, Dongju drags you away, out of the aisle and down to the candy aisle. You watch him grumble under his breath as he looks among the candies for your favorite. He's fuming, so you walk over and plant a kiss on his cheek. You can see him smiling dumbly.
"I love you, Son Dongju," you say.
"I love you too," he says softly and shyly.
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addictofsupernatural · 5 years ago
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The Outsiders (pt. 1)
Zed Necrodopolous x reader
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S Fanfiction
Summary: When you moved to Seabrook to get away from the drama of your past, you meet a sweet zombie who you can't get enough of.
Word Count: 1999
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When you moved in with your aunt and uncle, they warned you that Seabrook was different. Your two cousins had also made this seem very important to know. It was a perfect place with perfect people, who scorned the ones that didn't fit it. Not that you cared. You were used to being different.
They also told you about the zombies. When your aunt spoke about them, it was with with pity, while your uncle talked about them with disgust. She was a clothing designer, and he was a zombie patrol policeman. It was partly her job to make the zombies' special clothing, and it was his job to patrol zombietown at night.
In all honesty they just peeked your interest. They just seemed like normal people that weren't recognized, and you thought about what it might be like for them to be outsiders as well.
Your mother had taught you that life is too short to care what people think, and that being mean to people was useless. So you put a smile on and tried to be happy with your new life. Maybe something good awaited.
You put on your white t-shirt and dark red skirt, and walked to school. As you headed to school, you saw your uncle on the zombie side of the fence for the school entrance. He got reassigned to watch over them. One of the zombies were looking at their class schedule, when it flew out of his hands and slid on the floor and through the fence. You picked it up, smiling at him as you went on your tippy toes to give it to him. "Here you go."
"Thanks." He smiled, and looked very handsome in your opinion. "I–"
Your uncle banged on the fence. "No trying to grab humans. Don't make me have to take you downtown."
"No, officer I was just trying to–"
"Zip it zombie. Leave the humans alone."
"No," you said. "He wasn't doing anything wrong. I was just handing him his paper."
"I don't care, get inside." Your uncle stared daggers into you.
"But–"
"I know you're new here, but I'll only say this once. When an adult tells you to do something, you do it. No questions asked. Maybe you weren't taught that where you're from, but things are different here." Your smiled quickly faded as you put your head down and walked inside. He didn't have to say that.
Zed watched you leave with a frown on your face. He didn't know who you were, but it still hurt him to see your smile leave like that. "Little piece of advice." The guard said. "Don't talk to the humans. Don't try to be chummy friends, because you can't. At the end of the day, she's normal and you're not." Zed didn't say anything as he went inside with Bonzo and Eliza.
As you walked with your head kept down, you accidentally bumped into a blonde girl. "Oh, I'm sorry!"
She kindly smiled at you. "It's okay. I'm Addison."
You nodded and smiled. "Y/n."
"So, are you gonna try out for the cheer squad?" She seemed very excited.
"Um, no." You tried to say kindly. "Don't get me wrong, I love dancing, but cheerleading isn't really my thing." She frowned and looked confused. "But I'd be more willing to help you out if you need a partner to practice with anytime."
Her smile perked up again. "Oh, that's so sweet. I would totally love that!" She excitedly took your hands. "Come on, you should meet Bree."
Into middle of first period, an alarm started to go off, and everyone began to panic. On the wall it said Z | ALERT and was flashing red, but you didn't really know what that meant. When you got out to a hallway, the zombie from before came running up in a panic. "Can you hide me somewhere?"
"Um." Was all that came out of you before you looked at a zombie safe room, grabbing his hand and you both going in. It was pretty much pitch black, and you led him to a wall for both of you to sit down on the floor. "So, I'm guessing the alarms are from you?"
You heard him let out a sigh. "I didn't mean to scare that girl, she just freaked out when she saw me. This wasn't really how I wanted my day to go."
"You mean you didn't want an angry mob of people after you?" You asked in a playful sarcastic tone.
"Well," he said. "Not like this."
"What?" You laughed out.
"I'm trying out for the football team today." He felt you get closer to him, and felt calmer. You didn't fear him. "I don't know if I'll make it, considering how my day's gone."
"No, I'm sure you'll make it! Everyone's really excited for the cheer tryouts, so pretty soon there'll be a whole swarm of people cheering for you when you make it."
"And what about you?" His voice became a little softer.
"Well, cheerleading isn't for me. I was hoping they'd have a dance class, but they don't. But hey, I wouldn't mind cheering for you at your games. Just in the crowds."
You turned your head to his dark figure. He chuckled, before saying, "I'm Zed."
"I'm y/n."
Just then the lights came back on and you saw his handsome smile, causing you to smile back. He was about to say something, when you both heard, "Y/n! There you are!"
You turned to see Addison with four other cheerleaders. "Gross!"
"Zombie germs!"
One of them tugged you away from Zed. "Look here Zombie, if one of my cousin's friends are caught around you again, it's going to get ugly. And as you can see, that's not in the cards for me." You looked at Addison, who said nothing. They then tugged you out of the room and away from Zed.
They dragged you to their trophy room. "Listen new girl," the main guy said. "We don't support freaks, and neither should you. You could maybe be cool if you tried out for the cheer squad. And lose that outfit. It's a little too dark for Seabrook. Speaking of outfits, you look like you could rock a cheer outfit."
You didn't want to be rude, so you responded with, "Um, that sounds pretty cool. I'll think about it."
The cheerleaders began to laugh. "Oh new girl, I like your humor. We'll see you there. C'mon cuz." They all then left.
At lunch you began to walk towards Addison, but she was bombarded by more cheerleaders, so you decided to not go over there. You looked around, and saw that someone had spilled their lunch all over the cafeteria floor. Principal Lee saw and groaned. "Can someone please go tell the janitor to clean this mess up?"
"I can!" You said eagerly. "I really don't mind."
"Well," she said, smiling as she looked you up and down. "It's nice to see such bravery for this school. He's in the basement." You smiled and nodded, heading over there. You walked down the stairs happily with your lunch tray.
Zed was excitedly telling his friends about you. "Yeah Bonzo. She even said she'd cheer me on at games. I'm really pumped right now, and I think she likes me."
"Yeah right." Eliza said. "It's just because she's new. Once she figures out that humans don't like zombies, she'll probably stay far away."
Zed gave Eliza a look before their teacher said, "Woah, there's no human students here."
Everybody turned to see you nervously standing there with your lunch tray. "Um, there was a spill in the cafeteria." You quickly set your tray down to hold the door open for the teacher. You then brought your tray over to Zed and his friends and smiled. "Hey."
"Hey." He looked surprised, but eventually smiled back.
"Is it okay with you guys if I stay here for lunch?"
Zed was about to speak, but Eliza cut him off. "You should probably stick with the cheerleaders if you really want to make the squad."
"Oh, I'm not a cheerleader, and I don't really wanna be one." You said as you sat down next to Zed. "They're a little too much for me. I probably wouldn't enjoy it. You should do something because it makes you happy, right?"
Eliza stared at you, but had a small smile on. "Um, yeah."
You turned to Zed. "So, I never apologized for the security guard."
"Oh, yeah. Did you know him or something, cause he was kinda being a jerk to the both of us."
You looked down, and felt heat spread onto your face. "Um, he's my uncle. I just started living with him and his family over the weekend. He's a bit stiff with me since we don't really see eye to eye on, um..."
"Zombikas?" Bonzo asked.
"Yeah. Sorry." You quietly said.
"So what if he finds out that we've been talking?" Zed asked.
"Then we'll just make sure he doesn't." Bonzo and Eliza gave each other a look as you and Zed smiled at each other. "So, I could go to your football tryouts after school. Maybe walk home together afterwards?"
"Really?!"
You shrugged. "Yeah. I don't have much going on after school anyways."
"Yeah, that sounds awesome. You could see me do thang in person."
You giggled, and the bell rang. "Okay, I gotta go. But I'll see you at the football field after school." You waved to all of them and hurried up the stairs.
As you were about to go to class, your cousin pulled your arm. "What were you doing in the basement?" She asked.
You shrugged and grinned. "Got lost. Oops." You then walked into class.
After school you walked to the football field and found him waiting for you at the bleachers. "You came." You nodded. "Okay, now I have to be extra awesome." You giggled and sat down as he grabbed your arms, gently squeezing. "Wish me luck!"
"I will." You then watched him play, and he was actually pretty good. He was good at dodging people, and was pretty fast as well. He excelled at the drills, though he dropped to the ground and rolled in a fit of dramatics. You laughed, yelling out, "You can do this Zed!"
He was still on the ground, but gave you a thumbs up. After a bit everybody lined up to see if they made it. The coach talked, and everybody looked pretty happy. You saw him and Zed talking before Zed walked over to you. You smiled and offered him his backpack, but your smile faded as you saw the disappointed look on his face. "I didn't make the team." He said. "Principal Lee thinks I shouldn't even leave the basement for school."
"Zed, I'm really sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. It's the story of my life." He said frustratedly.
You gently hooked your arm around his as you both walked together. "I'm sure at some point you'll be on the football team. Once people see how awesome you are."
He smirked at you. "Yeah, you're right. Well, I guess for now only you'll get to see my awesomeness."
You chuckled. "I guess so." You both fell into comfortable silence until you said, "I thought you were pretty good, by the way."
"Thanks, but I kinda wanna see you in action."
You laughed. "Um, I don't think I'd do all that good in football."
He laughed too. "No, I meant dancing. You said you liked it, but I haven't seen you dance yet."
"Yet?"
"Yeah. We'll go dancing together at some point. It's just a matter of time." You looked down with a flushed face, grinning. "So, why did you move in with your aunt and uncle?"
"Um, they're the only family I have left now." He stared at you. "I'll explain another day." He nodded.
You both then made it to the border of Seabrook and Zombieland. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe we'll even have a day where people aren't trying to pull us apart."
You chuckled. "Wouldn't that be something."
He grabbed your hand and spun you softly. "Until next time."
You smiled and began walking the other way. As you buried your hands in your face and hopped around to calm yourself, Zed was silently jumping and fist bumping the sky. You thought about what he said, and decided that you would do something for this school, and it involved dancing.
---
Author Note: Please let me know if I should keep going with this, or if you maybe wanna be tagged if I end up making a series.
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hot-wiings · 4 years ago
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Edited: 10-21-2020
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When you woke up the next morning you felt a discomfort between your legs. Your core hurt, but it was nothing compared to when Kai had his way with you. kai roughly took you. He didn't take the time to let you get aroused, he just dove right in and got himself off without care about whether you were enjoying it or not. He didn't listen when you said no, instead, he forced you to give in. He forced himself on you and coerced you, then he left you to clean up the mess. 
Dabi gently took you. He took his time and paid attention. He asked you if he was hurting you, he asked you if what he was doing was okay. He made sure you were aroused when he took you. He was kind but he still got you in just the right spots making you crave more. He was attentive and made it enjoyable. Unlike your mysophobic captor, he cleaned you up. 
When you woke up, Dabi's cum was not dripping from your body like last night. You were worried you'd wake up to dry cum crusted on your skin, but he had cleaned you up. Not only had he cleaned you up from his ejaculation, but he had put clothes on you. Instead of being naked, you wore a long-sleeved pajama shirt and jogging pants. As you felt the bedding you noticed he had changed the sheets and blankets from your sinful acts of the previous night. You must've been really out of it because you hadn't woke up. Whether it was from him wearing you out from your activities, or the fact you hadn't felt so safe sleeping in such a long time remained a mystery. 
You pulled yourself out of bed, wincing slightly at the pain. It was more bearable than what Kai was capable of doing to you, and once you stopped thinking about the pain you barely noticed it. You couldn't lie that it hurt Dabi wasn't there when you woke up, but you knew that had someone caught Dabi in your bedroom like that it would cause hell for you both. Sure Dabi was supposed to watch you, but if he was seen leaving your room so early in his clothes from the day before it would arise suspicious questions. He would have to return to your room in the late morning when people could witness him coming to watch you in an innocent matter.
Despite that rational thinking, you couldn't help but wonder if he regretted last night at all. As you slipped on clean fresh clothes you couldn't help but wonder if he meant his words to you. You couldn't help but ponder on if he meant them with honesty. You carried such baggage and trouble with you, a relationship together would be so troublesome for him. 
A knock on the door broke you out of your reverie. You quickly pulled your shirt down as you spoke out through the closed door. 
"Who is it?"
"It's Dabi."
You tried to slow down the heart palpations you received as you briskly walked over to the door and opened it. Just the sound of his deep voice brought electricity to every fiber of your body but seeing him standing in the doorway made you smile. He came back. 
"Hey." 
Dabi stepped inside your room and closed the door behind him. He was quick to pull you against his chest, his warmth completely engulfing you. You were relishing in his touch so much you hadn't realized tears were beginning to escape your eyes and drip onto his shirt. You hadn't realized up until Dabi pulled away and tilted your head up with his hands. His long fingers hooked behind your ears and his warm thumbs pushed away your tears. 
"What's wrong? Did I accidentally hurt you?"
"No, no you didn't. I'm sorry. I just- I know why you had to leave... But I was worried you regretted it. Regretted last night."
Your tone hushed and got quiet as you mumbled out the last part. Due to your proximity, Dabi still heard it. He pulled you against his chest again. His hold was tighter, more protective but not hurtful.  
"Doll, I didn't regret it."
"Are you sure? I wouldn't blame you. I know what complications come with me and you're not obligated to stick around just because I gave myself to you."
"Baby doll, I don't intend to leave. I'm staying and gettin' both you and Eri out. I meant what I said last night."
Your head rested against Dabi's chest as you let out a sigh of relief. You breathed in Dabi's scent of smoke, cigarettes, and sulfur. They were bad smells, yet they brought comfort and safety to your stomach. You lifted your head off of his chest and plopped your lips onto his. It was such a normal action, but it was so foreign. It had been so long since you willingly incited such a romantic action. It was wrong to do it with Dabi when you were dating Kai, albeit forcefully, but it was so right. When you were pulled against his chest, in his arms, you couldn't care to give Kai a single thought. You couldn't be bothered to care if it was morally wrong or right to cheat on a relationship that was forced on you. 
Kai was wrong. All the words he'd spoken to you. All the phrases and hurtful words he spits out. Every time he said no one could love you. Every time he said he was the only one who could love you. He was wrong, it was all wrong. Dabi could love you. Dabi did love you.
"I was half asleep when I said it... but I meant what I said too." 
Dabi dipped his head down to your ear and gave it a light nibble before whispering roughly, leaving tickles down your eardrum and cochlea. 
"I really do love you. I know it's early to say that... But you make me feel things. I'm so closed off, but you make me want to tell you everything about myself."
"Then tell me. You know so much about me, you know about Eri and my mother... I wanna know more about you."
Dabi pulls out of your embrace but keeps a hand in yours. He lightly tugs you along with him to your bed. Once he sits down on the fluffy blankets, he pulls you on top of his lap.
"What do you want to know, doll?"
Your hands came up and played with Dabi's hair as you nestled your body against his. Eliciting a smile from Dabi, you lightly tugged and pulled, but not in the same manner as the night before. It was nice to be able to just touch and love without getting hurt. 
"Everything. I wanna know everything about you Dabi."
"God, I don't know where to start... I guess I'll start with my childhood."
Dabi wrapped his arms around your waist, one arm around your back and the other across your lap. His warm hands gripped your thigh and waist as he spoke out his words to you. Dabi had briefly mentioned before that his father was abusive, that his father was mean but he escaped out. You couldn't imagine Dabi as a child, he looked so rough with his scars and staples it was hard to imagine him in a setting where he was young, innocent, and fresh. 
"Back then I went by Touya."
"Touya... I like that. Why did you stop using it?"
"My father picked it out. He demanded that he pick it out because I was destined to surpass him, his opinion changed after I received my quirk. When I left home I wanted nothing to do with him. I dyed my hair- it was red then - and I changed my name."
"I bet you looked nice with red hair."
"Mm, I was quite the fox in high school, all the ladies loved me. I never gave them the time of day. It's not something I'm proud of, but I used them for a quick screw and then I'd forget their number."
Your chest tightened as his words registered in your brain. You knew Dabi had a bad reputation. He's a villain, some sort of bad merit comes with that. Hearing him say it was different. How could you be sure you weren't going to be one of those girls? Then again, Dabi hadn't hit you like Kai and if he had ill intent why would he be sitting here telling you about his past. Almost as if he noticed your hesitation in your brain, Dabi dug his fingers in you tighter and pulled you against him closer. 
"It's different with you. You like me even though I am a villain, you like me despite my scars and staples. Those girls in high school didn't want me, they wanted Touya. They wanted his status. They wanted his wealth. They wanted Touya, the eldest Todoroki sibling."
"Todoroki... Todoroki as in Endeavor, like the hero?"
"Enji Todoroki is my father, but he is not a hero." 
Before Kai closed you off from the world you'd seen Endeavor on the news a lot. As the number two hero, he made lots of appearances. With All Might's lack of recent activity, Endeavor began taking the spotlight more. Although he wasn't your favorite hero, you thought he was one of the greats. As Dabi gripped onto you tightly he made a face, a face of fear. He looked scared and nervous to be talking about the man who raised him. Endeavor saved people, but clearly, there was a dark presence behind the man. 
"He was obsessed with surpassing All Might. When my quirk showed up he was less than happy, he pressured my mom into having more kids, more weapons for him to use. My mother gave birth to my sister Fuyumi, my brother Natsuo, then finally she had Shouto."
It was like Dabi's breath hitched in his throat. He had a hard time letting the words out. He hadn't ever told anyone about his childhood. In school, he never allowed himself to be close to anyone, and he never uttered a word to a soul in the league. 
"Shouto had both of my parents quirks, and to Enji that was valuable. He separated my brother from me and my siblings, forced him to train to become a hero at a very young age. He abused my mother when she tried to stop him, physically and mentally. She couldn't bear to look at me, behind I looked so much like him."
You pulled Dabi's head against your neck and he was quick to bury himself inside it. He let out a few sobs, but they were muffled against your skin. His tears streamed down his face as he pulled back to finish talking.
"Eventually she snapped. She threw a pot of boiling water down Shouto's face, the side of him that looked like Enji. He threw her in a mental institution. I was twelve, and I had to help raise Fuyumi, Natsou, and Shouto. I was just twelve, and I had to cook dinners. I was twelve and I had to help Natsuo with his math homework. I was twelve and I watched Enji train my brother so hard he threw up, and when I tried to stop him I would get beat."
"Oh, Dabi..."
"When I turned seventeen he became tamer. He never beat Fuyumi, she was his soft spot, and he never beat Natsuo... I think his face reminded him too much of my mom. They stopped needing me, so I left. I faked my suicide and left. I still keep tabs on them. My sister is a teacher, still living at home to take care of him. Natsuo's in college, and Shouto's in the prestigious UA."
Dabi moved his hands from your thigh to your face. He cupped your cheeks and brought his lips to yours.
"I hate my father for the abuse. I hate him so much, but to stay in the game long enough for my siblings to stay safe, I had to play the game. I had to lay down and place my cheek up until they were old enough to stand up and defend themselves, old enough to not need me."
"You don't deserve that. No one deserves that."
"You don't deserve it, but I need you to do it. I need you to play Kai's game. Pretend that you want him. Pretend you can't get enough of him. Pretend your so in love. We need him to get laxer. The laxer he is, the easier--safer it'll be to get you and Eri out. To survive the games you gotta play the game."
You mirrored Dabi's actions by pressing your lips back against his. Your kisses held passion and love. Your hand came up and caressed his cheek softly, skimming lightly over his staples, unsure if it was a soft and sensitive or not.
"I'll do it Dabi. I'll hate every minute of it, but I'll do it. I'll stop fighting, give in, embrace it. I'll play Kai's game."
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taerrorize · 4 years ago
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Can you tell me the songs that express Shinee's style through the years ? PS: I'm sure your week will end up well !! All the love xxxxx
Anon u rly have me googling “SHINee discrography in order” on my work computer rn lmao
I’m gonna try to do 1 title track + 1 bside per year and see where that takes me lmao but I’m only going to do Korean releases bc if I added Japanese songs into the mix I’d simply explode it’s too much
2008:
Replay (obviously) is just pure SHINee essence at its finest in my opinion. Sweet and cute and catchy all at once. Timeless.
Love Should Go On it’s kinda funky, lots of minkey rapping which is just *chef’s kiss* but also the added plus of baby Taemin rapping as well, plus jongyu’s beautiful vocals. Idk there’s just something about this song that I’ve always adored. Maybe because it features all five members’ voices in ways that worked for them, which wasn’t super typical in the earlier albums since Taemin’s voice was still developing. Adorable.
2009:
Ring Ding Dong (yes I’m picking it over Juliette it was a rough decision but I did it) it’s just such typical SHINee in the sense that it’s a timeless bop, everyone knows it, everyone remembers it. Everyone knows NEVER to listen to it before an exam (which I learned the hard way in college bc I thought it was fake as fuck but then haha middle of a history final mumbling ringadingdingding elastic fantastic in my gotdamn head it’s a miracle I passed that exam lmao)
Romeo+Juliette it’s not like a super popular song I don’t think? But again, there’s just something about it that’s so purely SHINee. The beat, the way they sing so well together, the way their voices just match & compliment each other’s so well? It’s a little slower paced, but you could definitely still dance along to it. Kinda sensual I guess? A good teeny bopper song by a teeny bopper band of teeny bopper boys. Was my absolute favorite song all through high school lmao the way jonnghyun’s voice is so soft yet powerful at the same time? Spectacular.
2010:
Lucifer I mean it’s just obvious again like Replay, it’s what dragged me into the pits of Kpop hell. Everyone knows Lucifer. It’s quintessential Kpop at this point. Taemin’s dang stripey shirt hypnotized me in that dance practice Istg.
A-Yo is sweet and funny and silly and still so so good all at the same time. Taemin essentially calls you a dumbass in the first like 45 seconds but manages to do it sounding sweet as could be. Really uplifting. Catchy. Easy to sing along to. Listen to it whenever you’re sad and I’m telling you it’s instant happiness. Minho actually gets to sing in it and his voice is just lovely I adore this song with my whole heart. It’s lighthearted and fun. SHINee to me had always just been a group that’s uplifting and comforting, and this song is, in my opinion, the greatest example of that.
2011 (they didn’t have any Korean releases in 2011 so bonus songs from earlier years!)
The SHINee World (Doo-Bop) [2008] I mean I feel like this is self explanatory. Dibidibidiss my name is Minho.
Jo Jo [2009] again, SHINee’s just good at happy fun sweet songs. Jo Jo is always fun to sing along to.
Electric Heart [2010] is a bit darker in the way it feels. Very sensual. Breathy voices and all that. I was super obsessed with this song in high school as well idk. A nice look at SHINee transitioning into a bit more of a mature group, breaking away from the typical teeny bopper boyband vibe. Still funky fresh tho.
2012:
Sherlock aside from being the only title track from 2012 lmao SHINee have often mentioned this was when they felt like they really started acting like a Team and relying on each other more heavily. This was also when the Cold War took place but I personally don’t remember seeing any of it, so to me, Sherlock was just a cool song with a cool dance and Taemin having a terrible weave (and I got in trouble during an after school religion class bc I showed my friend Taemin’s shirtless promo pic and the Youth Leader thought it was porn lmao)
Honesty was a song that really felt personal, idk why. Like the members singing directly to us. Soft and sweet and still so meaningful. Like I’m gonna cry just thinking abt it lmao
2013:
Everybody so 2013 is so hard bc so many good songs came out that year. Like I genuinely am having a hard time deciding, but I think Everybody is a good pick because it shows how SHINee has never been afraid to experiment with their sound. It sounds totally different than anything else they had ever put out, but it still was so SHINee. It’s powerful and it makes you pay attention and like lmao god I’m not quiet abt loving a man in uniform so the wardrobe rly did it for me. But also wow all of their vocals are so good in this song THE LONG HIGH NOTES love it love to see it.
Beautiful just seems like a good pick. Again, 2013 is jam packed with amazing songs, it’s difficult to narrow it down. But beautiful was a song that was always super comforting as well. Their high notes and the way they sing together. Idk. I adore this song.
No Korean releases in 2014 and I’m getting tired lmao so no bonuses
2015:
View of course. Still the best summer bop in existence. We really see the members start to get more involved in this song specifically, from Taemin choosing the choreographer, Jonghyun writing lyrics as always, and Key picking the wardrobe. It’s a fun lighthearted song. I still listen to it when I drive by the beach because that’s just the vibe. Definitely a turning point for them, in my opinion, because this is when I think they really become more mature? Idk how to explain it. They don’t seem like a “boyband” anymore at this point to me, they’re just a band.
An Encore genuinely brings me to tears anytime I listen to it. It’s a SHINee ballad, and a really soul crushing one at that lmao. Idk why it’s soul crushing, necessarily, it just is.
2016:
1 of 1 is funky and fun and goofy and just so so SHINee. It’s not that other groups wouldn’t be able to perform a song like 1 of 1, it’s that SHINee performed it in a way that no other group could do it. They take every song they’re given and make it theirs, really. They own it.
Beautiful Life is another song that just makes you happy. It’s a ballad and it’s sweet and Jinki wrote the lyrics why am I only just finding this out now??! It’s a beautiful life. SHINee will always remind you of why life is worth living, tbh. Minho’s voice is beautiful in this song just a fun fact.
No korean releases in 2017
2018:
Good Evening 2018 is really hard for me to pick tbh. But Good Evening is a song that’s so heartfelt and emotional and soul crushing while still being fun? Maybe I’m projecting my own feelings from the time it was released to the song itself, but whatever. Good Evening is a bop. Love it. Makes me cry literally every gotdamn time I listen to it love that love crying on the freeway blasting this song it’s great.
Undercover was a personal favorite. Tbh a lot of the songs released in 2018 were very hard for me to listen to, and I still haven’t listened to all of them. I just can’t do it yet. But Undercover was fun and funky and idk, that’s just what SHINee is all about.
No releases in 2019 or 2020
2021:
Atlantis listen, this is also a hard decision. Don’t Call Me is quintessential SHINee in the way that it strays from the norm, it’s them trying something entirely new to them, but Atlantis feels like coming home after being away for a long time. It’s not that it’s the same kind of song they usually do, but there’s just something about that’s so familiar and comfortable.
Area is a song I cannot listen to without crying my eyes out. Doesn’t matter how many times I listen to it, doesn’t matter what time of day it is, doesn’t matter what I’m doing. It’s a beautiful song written by Minho and we all know it’s for Jonghyun. And that’s what SHINee is all about, too. It’s about the five of them being together, working together, being a team. The song makes me cry, sure, but it’s a good kind of cry. Also their voices are so beautiful as always.
HONORABLE MENTION
I fucking love Body Rhythm [2021] we all know I love Body Rhythm I feel personally victimized by Minho for promising a Body Rhythm performance and NOT FOLLOWING THROUGH I still nag him abt it on bubble idgaf. Anyways it’s sexy and horny and makes me wanna dance with someone while drinking a vodka cranberry and wearing skimpy clothes and red lipstick WHERES MY BODY RHYTHM PERFORMANCE CHOI MINHO YOU ABSOLUTE T E A S E
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seyaryminamoto · 4 years ago
Text
Matching Heartbeats: Sokkla Saturdays 2020
Day 3: Arranged marriage - Touch
On FF.net//On AO3
Dimly lit streets in the dark of the night made for a strange place to meet someone for the first time. Thus, when a young man had appeared suddenly at the carriage stop, the lone young woman waiting there shot him a warning glare immediately: if he dared make a single move out of place, she'd make short work of him immediately.
Yet he appeared to be as anxious as she felt – though she was better at concealing it than he could ever be. He glanced about himself warily before sitting at a fair distance from her, swallowing hard before glancing in her direction. In the cover of darkness, it was hard to make out his finer features, but she had the distinct feeling his skin was darker than hers.
"Hey, uh… this is the carriage stop, right?" he asked, warily. She frowned but nodded slowly. "Oh. Good, then. Uh… do you happen to know how long it takes for a new one to arrive? I mean, just how long do we have to wait here for…?"
"No clue," she said, bluntly. She wasn't interested in holding a conversation… and truthfully, no one had ever heard of common transportation of any sort working on a reliable schedule, to begin with. Odd that this guy seemed to not know that…
"Great," he sighed, but he fell silent then. He made no suspicious moves, said nothing worrisome after that, and so, despite her better judgment, she relaxed a little. Perhaps he truly meant no harm.
Ten minutes of silence later, a slow carriage wheeled into the stop at last. He sighed in relief but then smiled at her, politely.
"Hope you have a nice trip," he said. She raised an eyebrow but nodded in acknowledgement as she stood up…
And just as the carriage's moose lions halted outright, the driver called out:
"Final carriage of the day!"
"E-eh…? Oh, no," she heard the young man say behind her, just as she reached for the carriage's door.
She expected a fight, a forceful demand to be allowed to ride with her… but neither thing arrived. Instead, the young man rose to his feet, casting uncertain glances about himself, as though wondering what other getaway vehicle he might be lucky enough to find at night, if he tried hard enough. She frowned.
"You… you look like you're running," she said, suddenly. He froze in place.
"I'm… not. There's nothing to run from," he blurted out, unable to mask his nervousness. Her analytical frown was trained on his scared visage.
"No?" she said. "So… if I, say, decided to be generous and offered to share the ride with you, you wouldn't accept it because you have nothing to run from?"
"Oh? Y-you'd do that?" he asked, and now his nervousness was accompanied by hopefulness. "Gee, that's… that'd be great. Thanks!"
"I didn't say I was offering it yet," she said, with a teasing smirk. The young man froze in place, blinking blankly.
"You… okay, so you're just messing with me?" he asked, grimacing now.
"I'm still weighing whether you're worth traveling with, for however short a time it might be," she said, raising her eyebrows. He grimaced.
"Well, I'm sure I will be a most forgettable traveling buddy, I promise you won't even remember I'm on the same carriage as you," he said, nodding pompously. "So… please? I do have to get away, you weren't wrong about that��"
"Honesty is a good policy. I wouldn't say the best one, but it's good to know at least one thing about you before letting you share my carriage," she smirked.
"Oi, you two! Are you climbing aboard or not?" asked the driver, glancing back at them with unrestrained irritation.
The young woman sighed and glanced at the stranger before gesturing at the vehicle with her head. He grinned brightly at her… and for a fleeting, strange instant, she couldn't help but think no one had ever smiled at her with such innocence before. Whatever doubts lingered on her mind, that was already one new experience… one thing she might have never had, if not for the freedom she was currently fighting for.
She hoped the softening of her eyes wasn't apparent in the darkness of the night, however. She climbed aboard the carriage and the young man followed, closing the door behind himself. They settled on the same side of the carriage, despite still retaining some distance from each other.
"Where to, then?" the carriage driver asked.
"The bay," she said, not expecting that her companion would speak at the same time as she had:
"The port."
They glanced at each other in astonishment by then, and the carriage driver snorted over the strange coincidence before spurring his moose lions to start their regular trotting.
"You're… heading to the port too?" he asked, dubiously. "Or just to the bay area in general? Weird coincidence, huh? For the two of us to head the same way…"
"You really are running from something, aren't you?" she said. He bit his lip before shooting a wary glance at her.
"And that doesn't seem to bother you in the least. Which makes me wonder if you're running from something too," he said. She blinked blankly before nodding in acknowledgement.
"I guess you can think for yourself just fine, huh?" she said. "Though I'd surmise it's easier to run away when you know the land you're running around like the back of your hand… whereas you, I suspect, have no idea where you are or how anything works. Thus… you're not from around here, are you? You're a foreigner?"
"Uh… sure. And you are from around here," he replied, biting his lip. "Which makes me wonder why you want to run away…"
"Like no one has ever tried to escape from home in the history of mankind," she replied, rolling her eyes, and he chuckled.
"Fair enough," he said. "I guess it sounds pretty stupid to run away when you have no idea where you're going… well, no serious idea, anyway. I've been in the Fire Nation before, don't get me wrong, but not in the mainland. I, uh, had a master in one of the outer islands…"
"A master? Of what?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Swordsmanship," he replied. Her eyes widened.
"Wait… Master Piandao?" she asked. "He agreed to train you?"
"Yeah, believe it or not," he said, grinning. "So, you know, give me a sword and I can be your bodyguard, if you need one. Come to think of it, I could use the coin from a job like that…"
"Fun as the idea may be, I don't exactly have a ton of money on me right now so I couldn't quite afford your salary," she said. "I have enough to pay for this ride, and then…"
"Then?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Then I'll have to save up," she said, simply. "Once I move on further."
"So… do you want to take a ship ride, huh? Is that why you're going to the bay?" he said, with a bright grin. He took her silence as a positive answer. "Great. Maybe we can find a ride together too! I have no idea where to go, so I can tag along with you for as long as you'll have me. Once I reach the Earth Kingdom I'll figure out my bearings properly…"
"Ah?" she watched him intently now, as he offered her a tight-lipped grin. "You're off to the Earth Kingdom, then?"
"For now, yeah. It's just a temporary plan… until I can find someplace else to stay safely," he said, shrugging.
"And you know the Earth Kingdom better than the Fire Nation?" she asked. He smiled and shook his head.
"Nah, not really. I've seen even less of it so far, but with how big it is, tracking someone down over there must be real tough," he said. "I'd say I have a good shot at shaking off pursuit by then."
"You're so set on running… did you kill someone, perhaps?" she asked, smirking. He snorted and shook his head.
"No, no, definitely not," he said. She huffed.
"Heh. That's boring. I'd have rather traveled with a murderous swordsman rather than a plain swordsman…"
"Why?" he exclaimed, still amused. "How is that any better?"
"It's more threatening, is all," she smiled. "Well, either way… I'm thinking we could help each other, to a fault. I know my way through the Fire Nation, I know exactly which ships to stow away on, which islands to stop at…"
"Stow away?" he repeated, blinking blankly.
"Didn't you hear I don't have that much money?" she said.
"Well, yeah… heh. Makes sense," he snickered. "Then we're going to be stowaways?"
"If you truly intend to come with me, yes," she smiled. "Then we can travel together in the Earth Kingdom for as long as it's convenient. If the time comes when our arrangement stops working, we go our separate ways. Easy, right?"
"Sure," he said, grinning. "Though… you really must be running away from something weird too, if you'd rather travel with a murderer who can intimidate people successfully."
"Eh… it just comes in handy, is all," she said. He smiled and shrugged.
"Alright. No need to share anything personal if you don't want to," he said. "Though… we could learn each other's names, right? If nothing else? We'll be traveling together for a while, from the sound of it…"
No, they certainly could not share that. She was fine with traveling with a stranger if that was what she had to do… but not quite as fine with revealing something as damning as her very name. For if he was a foreigner in the Fire Nation, just when a certain diplomatic delegation had traveled there from the Southern Water Tribe, then chances were he was part of that diplomatic delegation… and that'd mean he'd know exactly who she was, as soon as she spoke her name aloud.
The only way out was to lie, of course. And while it was clear he was no good at it, she certainly was far more skilled at that particular art than he was.
"I'm Ming Wei," she said, blurting out the name of one of her school classmates from ages ago. She caught the small twitch of his eyebrows, and she stared at him intently: "You?"
"Uh… Yuro," he said, knowing his hesitation would do nothing to afford believability to his claims. Then again, he had been able to tell her name was a lie, too: she had given it too readily, with a hint of defiance that didn't seem all that necessary when merely giving away a name. Just so, it was obvious she could tell that wasn't his name either.
"Yuro?" she repeated. He grinned and nodded. "Huh. Sounds like the name of a Water Tribe person. You're part of their delegation, then?"
"Uh… yeah. I am," he admitted, averting her gaze. Damn it. Yet he had already admitted he barely knew the Earth Kingdom, feigning to be a citizen of the large continent would've been an even more obvious lie than his fake name already was.
"And you're… running?" she asked.
"Well… yeah. Because you see…" he started, biting his lip before deciding it was all or nothing, at this stage. He had to go all out… otherwise his companion might see through him, turn the carriage around and toss him right back at the Fire Nation Palace's doorstep. "I've been the Southern Water Tribe Prince's bodyguard for ages. That's why I learned with Master Piandao, you see? But he is… an arrogant, annoying, lazy brat I can't stand, you know? I don't want to work for him anymore. So, you know, I thought if I ran away right now, no one would really notice or care: he's got all the Fire Nation's guards now, doesn't he? And he'll probably be able to take some of them back home with him if he wants, once his marriage is finalized…"
"Then… you were just waiting for the chance to get away?" she asked. He nodded promptly: something with that story didn't sit right, but just hearing the Prince was an arrogant, annoying and lazy man had been enough to put a stop to her rational thinking. Oh, she already hadn't wanted her whole life to be chosen for her, those words had merely cemented that belief further.
"Yup. I'm tired of living my life doing what everyone expects of me," he said. "It was as good a chance as any to get away. Maybe my only chance ever."
And perhaps she was too emotionally compromised at this point, for she had sensed no dishonesty in those last words. If anything, all she felt now was empathy… which was rare. She didn't often feel empathetic towards anyone. But that strange swordsman's struggles were far too similar to her own… perhaps too much, but she didn't seem to think of that just yet. It was all too easy to understand chasing for freedom they had been deprived from throughout all their lives…
"And you knew about the delegation, then?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Was it made common knowledge, or…?"
"Well, in high circles, yes," she said, biting her lip. Ugh, why had she gone and said that for? Now he'd assume she was noble… which she was. But the idea was to throw him off… yet, busy as she had been daydreaming about freedom and about having found a kindred spirit, she hadn't focused enough on lying successfully anymore.
"So, you're… highborn? Or you work for them, too?" he guessed. She nodded.
"Work for them, yes. I… was the princess's maid," she whispered. He gasped.
"Oh? You were? Then… you're running for the same reasons I am?" he asked, his voice dubious.
"Something like that," she said, biting her lip. "I just… took advantage of the chaos. Getting away while everyone was riled up over the foreigners was the best chance I was likely to get."
"I see…"
They glanced at each other warily for a moment, suspicion crossing both their eyes… but again, they said nothing. The dim light filtering through the carriage's curtains wasn't enough for them to see each other better, and even if they could, their physical appearances weren't going to suffice in determining whether the other was lying in the exact same way they were…
If that were the case, though… the thought crossed both their minds, and anxiety surged inside them. Wouldn't it be outrageous that they'd run away together if they were, perhaps, running away from each other?
But no, they weren't truly running away from each other. They wanted to run away from letting their families make their choices for them. They were running away from a life of submission and abiding by tradition, from a life of arranged marriages that were only focused on the political advancement of their respective nations… and not in the least on the happiness they might find with their significant other.
So, whoever he was, or whoever she was, they were stuck on the same boat… the same carriage, at the moment, but soon enough it'd be a boat for real. This wasn't about affronting each other, it was about finding freedom, and if they were to find it together, at least they wouldn't have to face their upcoming hardships alone.
"Well… nice traveling with you, Ming Wei," he said, with a friendly smile. Despite everything, she smiled back and nodded.
"And with you, Yuro," she whispered.
The night covered their escape once they reached their destination: they paid the carriage driver quickly and then dashed away through the streets of the bay. He tagged along behind her, shooting wary glances all around them to make sure no one could see them as she determined which cargo ship was the best one to stow away on for their grand escape. Finally, she narrowed down one that appeared safe… and they climbed aboard at haste, hiding amongst crates below deck while waiting for morning to come, and for the ship to start moving.
As much adrenaline as they had at first, it decreased steadily while they waited: morning found them dozing off together in the ship's cargo deck, her head on his shoulder, and his against hers. Even after she woke up anew, she didn't dare move right away: why was his presence, his warmth, so comforting? Was it because he was the first man, outside her relatives, that she had ever allowed herself to touch so carelessly? Naturally, that only made her extra nervous – and then, curiously, he was just as nervous as her when he woke up too, blushing and apologizing profusely for getting closer to her while unconscious. She wondered, briefly, if he was just as sheltered, just as unexperienced with anything outside his family, as she was.
… And again, the likelihood of him being who she thought he was surged. It really might be him. He really might be running away from the same thing she was…
The cargo ship was slow and made several stops through the day: she had chosen one specialized in food trade, however, so they didn't lack for nourishment while they traveled through the Fire Nation's waters, stealing food occasionally from the crates whenever it was safe to do so. Still, whenever the ship stopped, the sailors would enter the lower deck to collect crates and deposit new ones: one time she had clasped her hand over his mouth to silence him as he was in the middle of reciting his favorite types of noodles when she heard the first footsteps coming closer, another time he had to lunge for her, pinning her down on the wooden floorboards just as she was in plain view, ransacking another crate in search of food, just as the sailors brought in a new haul of items. In every case, they knew they should have been affronted by the casual, careless touching between them… and yet their bodies' reactions were as distant from affront and discomfort as could be.
They fielded off each of the sailors' incursions successfully… until the ship stopped for what seemed to be the sixth time of the day. There weren't as many crates left anymore, so the sailors started to look deeper through the cellar… it was obvious this time that no matter how they held their breath or remained perfectly still, they would certainly get caught.
"Check the crates at the far end, Zan. It's gotta be there," said one of the sailors.
He tensed up beside her: they were near the crates they were hiding at. Oh, if that Zan guy caught them, he might turn them in to the authorities if he recognized either of them, and all their intentions of running away would prove futile…
He glanced at her with uncertainty, and she glanced right back, defiantly: she conveyed silently that he should follow her lead. He wasn't sure what that meant until the man was closer yet, enough that his unkempt, sweaty body odor reached them… and then her hands fisted around her traveling companion's shirt, pulling him in for a surprising, ferocious kiss.
And inexperienced, too. Which was fine, for he was just as inexperienced at it, going by how awkwardly his lips shifted against hers, not knowing what he was doing but following fit with her silent demand, as requested.
It was strange at first, but smoother moments later: she wrapped her arms around his neck, hoping to afford further believability to the story she hoped to feed the sailors once they caught them, and to her surprise, he embraced her waist too… even going so far as leaning down on her, pressing her to the floorboards as he grew to understand what he was supposed to do, gradually.
She had been focusing so much on selling their pretense that she had barely noticed it wasn't quite so much of a pretense anymore: this guy was seriously learning how to kiss by kissing her. And she was letting him. In fact, she was learning a thing or two as well.
Her right hand cupped his face, keeping him in place as she wondered if she ought to go further… and then it was his tongue poking her lips softly, so she of course rose up to the occasion. Oh, that wasn't fair, deepening their kiss had only made it even more pleasant… his tongue toyed with hers, swirling with it, rubbing against every place inside her mouth he might be able to reach. Well, damn, if she had thought this would feel so good, she would've likely started doing this with him from the moment they climbed aboard the same carriage…
"Oi! W-what're you two doing down there?!"
Ah. There it was.
Naturally, they were ejected from the ship, and they were left to watch it sail away as dusk settled over their current location. He was aghast over the fluke of their plan, having hoped that playing the eloping lovers convincingly might elicit sympathy from the sailors, but there was none to be found. She told him, however, that he shouldn't worry: it was a perfect opportunity to further mislead anyone who might be pursuing them, she told him as they walked together over the dock, still holding hands to continue furthering the pretense that they were but a couple of young adults who were so enthralled with each other they couldn't stop doing inappropriate things together… a perfect pretense indeed, for this way no one would suspect the truth behind why they were stowing away on ships in the first place. Yet after that kiss, she wasn't all that sure it was only a pretense anymore…
"So… where did they ditch us?" he asked, casting glances at the beautiful island warily. "This looks pretty, but…"
"It's pretty, yes. Ember Island," she said, simply. He raised his eyebrows.
"Do you know this place? Do you have friends here we can stay with, or do you think there are any other ships we can stow away on…?"
"Maybe we should wait a little longer," she said. "We could use a break… and I know how to sneak into the Royal Family's vacation house. We can spend the night there, and if there happens to be any coin stashed away in there, we can actually pay for our passage to the Earth Kingdom, no need to stow away anymore."
"Isn't that risky too, though? If we travel legally and someone links us to the royal families, they could give us away and send us back…" he mumbled with uncertainty. She smirked.
"Not necessarily. They won't really have reason to suspect it in the first place, right, boyfriend?" she said, tugging at his hand. His cheeks heated up and he smiled weakly at her. "We'll try to find casual clothes in the villa, so we look even less suspicious… and then we'll find a small boat, probably manned by commoners with no likely connections to the Fire Nation Royal Family. That way no one will ever guess who we are."
"Sounds fair," he smiled. "Also… we, uh, should practice our cover story some more. Just saying…"
"Should we?" she smirked.
"I have spent all my life devoted to the way of the warrior," he said, playfully pompous. She snickered at his words. "So, uh, I'm not exactly experienced at this sort of thing…?"
"And I've spent my whole life waiting on a pampered princess," she said, raising her eyebrows. "Hence, I'm not experienced either…"
"See? It's only natural that we'd need more practice. It's just to make sure we're perfectly believable," he assured her. She laughed and shook her head.
"As you wish," she said. Truthfully, she wanted to kiss him again. She had never expected that sensation to be addictive… but it truly was.
She led him to the Royal Family's villa, guiding him towards the back of it just as he suggested he could climb the front gates to prove just how strong and manly he was, in order to impress his new "girlfriend". Once she found the secret backdoor, and they were safely inside the house's premises, she suggested he could do it anyway, if he truly had wanted to impress her.
All such playful banter and teasing continued through the evening, and neither one was sure why or how it was so easy to play with each other in this way. They found more than enough money, stashed away in a vault that she opened suspiciously easily, to afford passage to the Earth Kingdom, and they even used some of it to buy some food in the town, eating it together in one of the most lavish rooms within the villa, a comfortable lounge furnished with crimson cushions and couches, so comfortable he seemed tempted to fall asleep on one of them, right then and there.
"You know… for a maid, you have really smooth and pretty hands," he teased her, watching her as he rested on one of the couches. She was fluffing a cushion, which she tossed at him playfully, prompting him to laugh as he caught it in midair.
"I'll have you know, taking care of my appearance and my skin doesn't make me any less hardworking than some fancy warrior boy who took lessons from the most pretentious sword master in the nation," she said, approaching him and pushing the cushion into his chest. He only laughed at her response, reaching out to clasp her shoulders with his hands.
"The most pretentious, you say?" he smirked. "How so? He was always pretty cool…"
"The swords he crafts are the most expensive in the Fire Nation, period," she replied. "Not to mention he has always been known for being awfully picky about his students, choosing only the worthy… and how does he know who's worthy, huh?"
"He's wise and clever, that's how," he grinned. "And see, him being picky is exactly why his swords are that expensive. He had to to live off something other than teaching, don't you think?"
"And what do you think you'll live off of, then, in the Earth Kingdom?" she asked, leaning over his body, with the cushion still between them. "You'll be a sellsword of some sort? A mercenary?"
"Sounds fun," he smirked. "Want to join in? I could teach you to use a sword of your own, if you want to… heck, we should ransack this place for swords, too. I didn't bring one with me when I ran away, but the sooner I get one…"
"I don't think there's weapons in this place," she smiled. "This is, after all, a vacationing spot."
"How careless of the Fire Nation Royal Family to assume they're not going to need swords in their vacationing spot," he declared, smirking haughtily. She snorted and laughed, pressing her face to the cushion. "What if a door lock gets jammed? If you have a sword you can press it right between the wall and the door, and then you're free! See, we all need a sword once in a while…"
"Why didn't you bring one of yours on your trip, then?" she asked. He bit his lip.
"Uuuuh…" he averted his gaze from hers, and she snorted again.
"You can be quite smart sometimes. But then you also stop being all that smart moments later," she grinned. "Strangely… I like it."
"You do, huh? Means you can make fun of me pretty easily," he smirked. "Say, I am enjoying your weight atop me, lady maid, but, um, I just remembered we agreed on practicing our pretense relationship some more…? You know, so it's more believable tomorrow…"
"More believable, huh?" she said, raising her eyebrows. He grinned giddily. "Is that really what this is about? Aren't you just desperate to kiss a woman, now that you had your first taste of it?"
"Well… yes, that's also true," he admitted, shamelessly. She laughed and shook her head.
"At least you're cute. For a Water Tribe guy," she said, haughtily.
"You're cute too. For a Fire Nation girl," he smirked.
She bit her lip before leaning in… and he leaned too, catching her lips with his own. Something told her he had a whole strategy planned, regarding how to kiss her, how to touch her, how to keep her on her toes and overcome her sensually…
And as reckless as it was, she let him.
For he was charming in his own way, why lie? He had already been a remarkably skilled kisser, one who had taken to discovering how to improve his technique to perfection… the expected behavior of a talented swordsman. Everything that might come next should be, she hoped, just as amazing and fun as the heated kissing was, going by how his hands trailed over her hips, tugging at her sash shyly despite his lips were as savage as they dared be…
If she did it, she'd definitely close the door on the future she had been forced into. Oh, perhaps he was indeed who she had grown to suspect he was, and that would be its own kind of trouble… but if he wasn't, this would change her future for good. No more lying about, waiting to be of use for an uncle who thought little of her, Fire Lord as he was. No more spats with a mother who constantly assured her she only wanted what was best to her, and that traditions were what was best, somehow, even traditions she couldn't seem to explain with any reasonable arguments. No more butting heads with a brother who, for all his faults, was still the assigned heir for their father. No more waiting for the perfect opportunity to prove her worth with a father who could only see her as a child to protect. And no more pitying a cousin, heir to the Fire Lord, who had everything he could ever want, except for the one thing she was currently chasing after: the chance to choose for himself who he wanted to be.
For if she was caught with this guy, whoever he was, she would be disowned, tossed aside… and while the loneliness could be hard to bear with, it wouldn't be quite so bad if she was with him. He wanted to go all the way to the Earth Kingdom, didn't he? Why not go with him, to the very ends of the earth if he wished, if it'd mean he'd kiss her just as delectably and deeply, if it'd mean he'd laugh with her as he had so far, if it meant he'd touch her boldly once she tugged her own sash loose, offering him permission to continue onwards, his hand trailing over her abdomen…
It was madness, of course it was. She barely knew him, she was certain she didn't know his real name, and she had no idea if he was actually a dreadful guy who couldn't even clean up after himself, or do menial chores – because, to be fair, neither could she. But something felt so right as she bared herself before him, and as he did the same before her. Something worked, clicked, even if it might have been merely caused by the unabashed enthusiasm of two young people finding and making love for the first time.
Oh, it was so reckless. It was such a bad idea. And yet they went all the way, kissing and holding each other intimately through the night, thrusting away in a wild celebration of freedom, of having chosen for themselves, of having done what they pleased, all consequences be damned…
Such consequences couldn't be all so easily dismissed, of course, when they were startled by strange noises in the Ember Island villa by morning. She rose first, her lower body sore in a strangely pleasant way, and she cast a wary glance in the direction of the door before clasping her companion's bare shoulder.
"Hey. Hey, I think we're not alone anymore," she said. He groaned and blinked himself awake.
"Hmm… you're so pretty…" he smiled groggily. Her cheeks flushed: well, that was a nice enough compliment to wake to, considering it was the first time he'd seen her in proper daylight so far, but she wasn't sure it was the time for it anyway.
"Thanks. Now… we should get dressed," she said, raising her eyebrows. He hummed before he frowned. "There's people nearby. We need to get going, right now."
"Uh… oh damn," he said, biting his lip and sitting up. His hair had been tied in what she had interpreted as a top-knot before… now she could tell, as he pulled it up hastily, that it was actually a wolf's tail. A classic Water Tribe hairstyle… that she had never thought she'd find all that appealing until she saw it in him. Curses, he was far better-looking than she expected him to be, too.
They climbed off the couch, hastily cladding themselves in their traveling clothes. Caught up in their night of passion, she had forgotten her intent to search for casual clothes in the villa's closets, anything they could wear, as long as moths hadn't eaten them away since the family's last visit…
"What do we do?" he said, pulling up his trousers: his bare chest was a delight to gaze upon, too. To think she'd slept with her head perfectly rested on those strong pecs… ugh, whatever came next, whether they were caught or not, she'd find a way to run off with him again. She needed more of him, one night definitely hadn't been enough. "Who do you think is out there…? Does the Royal Family have, uh, hired help that works tending to the house while they're not vacationing? Or…?"
"No, they don't," she answered, coming back to her senses upon hearing his rational words. She had to get dressed fast too, to pull up her hair, and to remember every single hidden passageway within the villa that they might be able to escape through… "I have a plan. It'll be confusing, but you have to follow me."
"No problem. I'll go wherever you take me," he said, winking at her. He ought to stop that, or she'd pin him down and kiss him all over again…
"Well, then…" she said, lowering her voice as she slid her feet into her light shoes…
And then a loud knock on their lounge's door. They both froze in place.
"Are you in there?! Open up, now!"
The voice was familiar, and dread rose inside her gut upon hearing it. Oh, no. Of all people, it was her father who had found her. Curse everything…
"W-what do we do? Are there any ways out of here without going through the door, or…?" her companion asked nervously. She shook her head.
"My plan… we had to go to the corridor to reach the passageway I had in mind. I mean, unless you want us to jump out the window…?" she suggested. He frowned but nodded.
"Cool. It's just a second floor anyway, and if I land right, I won't break a bone. Hopefully. I can catch you down there, once you jump too," he decided, breathing out and stepping towards the window.
But before he could reach it, a clicking sound revealed the locked door had been opened, and the sound of another voice froze him on his tracks, next:
"You'd better not be in there, son, because if I get my hands on you after what you've pulled…!"
Oh, hell. Oh, hell by the thousands. This wasn't good.
The two runaways froze where they were, meeting the glares of the two men who barged into the lounge without missing a beat. A group of soldiers stood in the corridor, and the Fire Nation nobleman who had made his way inside the room ordered them to wait outside: the Water Tribe man beside him, clad in regal clothes, could only be, of course, Chief Hakoda. And the Fire Nation man was none other than the Fire Lord's brother, Prince Ozai.
"Well, well. This is just as bad as we suspected, huh, Ozai?" said the Chief, shaking his head as he glared at the young man by the window, who had lowered his gaze shamefully.
"You… you are in a lot of trouble, young lady," Ozai hissed, pointing at the young woman, who shrank in place. Well, that was a first. She had certainly never made him that angry ever before…
"U-uh, it was my idea!" the young man exclaimed, rushing back to stand before her, gazing pleadingly at the two newcomers. "I bumped into her, in the Palace, and then I asked her to run away with me, and…!"
"And she was stupid enough to go for it?" Ozai growled, still glaring at her. "You disappoint me, child. Is this what I raised you for?"
His words slammed into the young man with the truth he hadn't quite wanted to acknowledge, despite he had known, deep down, that it was the truth indeed.
"Or what I raised you for, Prince Sokka?" Chief Hakoda growled, and this time it was the young woman who shuddered upon hearing those words.
Oh, Prince Sokka. She had sworn herself that she would hate him on sight, and she would've done it for the sake of rebelling, no other reason: she had been against their arranged marriage from the start, appalled by the idea of not being free to make a single important choice in her life… and yet now that she had made that choice, the choice of running away and then giving herself to a stranger, she found she had played into fate's hand with each decision she had made. Curses, but that was embarrassing…
"You two are utterly ridiculous," growled Ozai, shaking his head. "The whole city is a pandemonium, looking for you both! Had Chief Hakoda not offered to search nearby islands, in case you had escaped by sea, you would have caused an even bigger ruckus than you did, Azula! Your uncle is up in arms about this, and you know it!"
"He can be up in arms about whatever he wants. If he wanted an alliance with the Water Tribe that badly, he could've looked for an old maid to marry himself…" she growled, though her words were half-hearted by now. Ozai scoffed.
"You forget your place, Azula," he growled.
"Uh… really, don't blame her, please…" Sokka continued, still trying to spare her of the worst consequences, only for Ozai to turn his wrathful glare on him.
"And you? You decided to seduce your future wife and run away with her, is that what you're trying to convince me of?" Ozai hissed. Sokka gulped and lowered his head. "How much sense does it make?! At the very least you could've found other people to run away with, it's completely absurd that you'd choose to run off with each other!"
"Uh, well, we didn't really know who the other was, so…"
"WHAT?!"
Both fathers shouted at the same time, and Sokka grimaced as he stood between them and Azula. It was bad enough that they hadn't bothered confirming the other's identities, no matter how they suspected them… it was even worse that their fathers would react to it as explosively as they did now.
"Oh, goodness… oh, you know what, Ozai? This… it'll be a funny story to share with everyone else once a few years have come and gone," Hakoda said, patting his shoulder. "Let's just look at it this way, shall we?"
"Only if these two fools go back to the Palace and marry each other as they were meant to. Curses, couldn't you wait one week? One week?" he hissed. "It's not much to ask, or were you truly that keen on getting in each other's pants?"
"N-no! Seriously, we didn't know who the other was!" Sokka said, blushing.
"Speak for yourself. I had the feeling it was you all along," Azula sighed. Sokka huffed, turning to pout at her.
"Well, I had the feeling it was you too, but I couldn't know for sure and neither could you!" he squeaked. "Though, I mean… we were running away from each other and ended up running together? I guess? Though, in a sense, we kind of, somewhat, did choose each other, in the end…?"
Well, that couldn't be denied. None of what she'd done since she had met him, two nights ago, had been forced on either of them. They had chosen it all, jumping headfirst into their adventure, wondering just how far they could go together until their respective families caught with them. And while she didn't look forward to moving to the South Pole, to live her life alongside the Chief's heir and spend her days amongst them as a reminder of the alliance between their people and hers, the knowledge that she had found him appealing, interesting and worth running away with before confirming who he was proved to be enough to make the situation slightly less unpleasant… at least, for now.
If things took a turn for the worse, she could always run away, too. But as she gazed at the young man before her, she had the feeling she'd be running with him, wherever she went next.
And that idea didn't bother her in the least, truthfully.
"I guess so," she said, breathing out slowly. "I certainly could do worse, husband-wise…"
"Heh. I'd definitely do worse, wife-wise, if I picked anyone else," Sokka smirked, and she smiled right back.
"Ew," Ozai said, blinking blankly as he averted his gaze from his daughter and her finally accepted destiny.
"Oh, I know she's your daughter, and you didn't want to give her away to anyone, Ozai…" Hakoda laughed, patting his back. "But hey, looks like they gave up! I thought they never would."
"We're going back to the Palace now. And the two of you are going to spend the night in different rooms until your ceremony is done. That's final," Ozai huffed. "Whatever you do after you're married… is your business."
He still shuddered after saying those words, no doubt unwilling to picture whatever two young adults, who were boldly flirt in front of their fathers, might get up to behind closed doors. He had no delusions regarding what had surely transpired in this very room merely a few hours ago…
"Get ready, then. You have five minutes to pick up whatever you've left lying about," Hakoda said. "And don't even think about doing anything crazy, now! There are soldiers all over this property, so you'd better not even consider running away again."
"Say, how did you find us so fast?" Azula asked him. Hakoda grinned and shrugged.
"Water Tribe longboats: not quite as sturdy as your nation's steel ships, but a thousand times faster, I'd say," he snickered. Ozai shot him a disbelieving glare. "By which I mean… I sent all my available ships out to look for you in every nearby island. Your mothers went to Fire Fountain City, Prince Lu Ten accompanied my advisor Bato to Shu Jing…"
"So, it's basically chance that you two decided to come to Ember Island?" Sokka groaned.
"Something like that," Hakoda grinned. "Truthfully, Ozai had a feeling you might have wound up here. He says this has always been a happy place for your family, after all."
He glanced at Azula as he spoke, offering her another proud grin before turning around, clasping Ozai's shoulder and dragging him out of the room. Despite Hakoda's grip was strong, Ozai's head poked through the doorway one more time.
"You have five minutes! Don't you dare do anything further to despoil my daughter's dignity, Prince Sokka!"
"I wouldn't, I wouldn't!" Sokka squeaked nervously, before Hakoda successfully dragged Ozai away.
Sokka sighed, slumping in place before rising back to his full height, smiling awkwardly at Azula. She bit her lip as she gazed at him: he was tall, well-built, and indeed, ridiculously handsome. He was fun to talk to, and he seemed to enjoy kissing her just as much as she had enjoyed kissing him. It was all far too perfect… and who was she to reject perfection when it fell upon her lap as it had this time?
"Is… is your hometown a good place?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow. "It's only… well, I'm a firebender. I don't really know if I'd deal with the cold well. And I know there's been a lot of conflict between our nations, back from the times of the war…"
"That's all water under the bridge at this point," Sokka grinned, "People down there have taken quite the liking to your dad, you know? Because he helped stop the war. I guess that's why I wasn't completely sure about running away, but… it didn't feel right to marry my dad's best friend's daughter just because they felt like setting us up together to strengthen the ties between our nations. I did want to have a chance to choose for myself… otherwise, it feels like they won the war for nothing, to a fault? They set the Avatar free from the iceberg and beat your grandfather, yet the next generation is still expected to do whatever's convenient for political alliances? Granted, things have gotten better for the common folk… but I don't see why people like you or me should be forced to do anything we don't want to."
"Do you still not want it?" she asked. It was his turn to bite his lip before shaking his head.
"I… may have had a change of mind. Though, you know, I would've liked to woo you properly. You know, taking you out on a date, introducing you to my family, like normal people do…"
"I think the last two days could count as a date," Azula smirked. "And… I just met your dad. So I'd hope that counts, to a fault."
Sokka laughed and shrugged, stepping closer to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. Her smile softened as she gazed into those handsome features… oh, she was lucky. She couldn't believe it, but she was absolutely, truly, lucky.
"Do you want to marry me, then?" he asked, his voice small. "I doubt I'm the greatest guy there is, but… I'll be the best husband I can be. If you'll have me."
"I'm not the greatest girl there is either, I literally took you on a trip as stowaways and we stole quite a bit of food from their crates, too. I've turned us both into criminals, haven't I?" she smiled. Sokka chuckled, pressing his forehead to hers. "But… I'll be the best wife I can be, too. Even if an icy pole isn't fun to live in."
"We can take trips to warmer places whenever the cold becomes too much to take," he suggested. "Though there's a few things we can do to warm you up while we're there, too…"
"Oh? Like what?" she asked, teasingly.
Sokka chuckled and leaned in, kissing her again, and once more it was delightful, as jolts of electricity seemed to flow between them. Well, they had resisted the match at first, but it seemed their parents had made the right choice after all. They had been ready to run off together, to live together, to fight together… and now they could do all those things, without having to run away at all. It was the perfect arrangement. Too perfect, perhaps. But who were they to turn down perfection?
Hakoda had to yank Ozai back once they returned to the lounge to find their children locked in a slightly intimate embrace, once the five minutes were done. Of course, the firebender would see red upon witnessing his favorite child, the daughter he treasured, exchanging saliva quite so enthusiastically with his future son-in-law…
"Come on, we knew this would happen, we did. That's the entire reason we let them run off, damn you, stop acting like an angry rhino-bull," Hakoda said, clasping Ozai's shirt's collar and dragging him away from the lounge. Ozai huffed, shaking his head.
"I told you it was a bad idea. I did! Leaving them unguarded so they'd run off together…?" he growled.
"And paying a carriage driver to pick them up after the last carriage was long gone, too," Hakoda grinned. "It was the perfect strategy."
"Up until the point where you didn't have any means to track them down after they stowed away as they did!" Ozai hissed. Hakoda grimaced.
"Well, that was a minor detail, but you figured out this was where they'd head, so no need to make a fuss about my oversight, right?"
"You haven't changed in the least since the war, Hakoda. Not even a little bit. Always with the outlandish plans and ridiculous ideas…"
"Heeeey! Those plans saved our asses, and Aang's, a thousand times! As did my jokes, I'll add…"
"Your jokes? Perhaps it's you who are a joke, Chief Hakoda, altogether…"
"Well now, I'm the joke? Say, who's the one who can't stop throwing hissy fits about his daughter making out with her future husband, huh?"
Ozai growled, covering his face in his hands as the image returned to his mind. Hakoda beamed brightly upon silencing his friend successfully: he had maintained correspondence with Ozai long after the war had ended, they had met up on occasion since then, too. When Fire Lord Iroh, advised by Avatar Aang, had determined that preserving balance ought to be aided by crafting alliances between nations, he had wondered if perhaps a convenient marriage between his son and Ozai's daughter would do the trick. They were both clever since childhood, talented fighters, prone to witty banter that their respective siblings couldn't keep up with… it was, as far as Hakoda could tell, an ideal match. But how to convince them of it?
The idea of allowing their strong-willed children to escape, while subtly directing them towards each other, had come to mind three nights before the Water Tribe delegation arrived in the Fire Nation Capital. Ozai had been horrified by the idea… and more horrified upon realizing Hakoda had set everything in motion long before he could do anything about it. In the end, they had no choice but to wait and hope that Hakoda's insight would have been accurate, and that their children wouldn't despise each other instead of falling in love, as he had hoped they would.
And by now, while walking away from the room where the two soon-to-be spouses continued to profess their growing affections for each other, Hakoda could only grin proudly: Ozai's bad mood notwithstanding, his plan had been an absolute success.
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