#in the living room with my family just w/ the computer faced away from everyone else. i didn't do anything else just watched it.

[ptergwen]

hi my love! i was wondering if you could do something to do with teacher!tom and teacher!reader, where they’re dating but their students don’t know it, until they see one of them walk past the others zoom class or something. it’s okay if you’re not accepting requests atm! 💛

caught in the act

w/c: 1.0k

warnings: one swear and suggestive joke

a/n: hi sorry this took me a little! if only you could hear the way i squealed when i read itttgvsfs i adore the concept :,)

tom’s alarm goes off before yours, shrieking at him to start his day. he’s insistent on waking up early because it’s the key to success, and he has to set a good example. you’re more of a roll out of bed and turn on the computer kind of girl. you have pretty different teaching techniques, but it keeps your work lives fresh. there’s never a dull moment after you receive school emails or attend a meeting.

you’re an english teacher, and tom teaches history. you both teach the same grade, though. a lot of your students have you both, so you come up quite often in each other’s classes. your assignments sometimes go hand in hand together also. whether it be his students using writing techniques you taught them, your students doing essays based on events he covered, you work together all the time.

you like to plan your lessons together over wine and many, many kisses. it’s honestly super fun.

you’ve got a bunch of tweens on your hands, which means they gossip. that includes about school faculty, you and tom meeting the requirements. there was once a rumor circulating that you both have your own families and started an affair. you laughed it off because it was so elaborate and so not true. but, you never confirmed or denied if you’re a couple.

“please turn that off. please, please, please,” you whine as the alarm buzzes in your ear. tom retrieves his phone with a chuckle. “since you asked so nicely.” after putting on his glasses to see the screen, he snoozes it. he then leans over and presses a warm kiss to your temple. “‘m gonna make a quick breakfast, if you’d like to join.” although that sounds nice, his healthy eggs aren’t worth losing sleep for.

“i wouldn’t,” you hum, tilting your head up to peck his lips. tom smiles against yours, you turning onto your other side. “right,” he mumbles to himself. “still want your cuppa?” he’s taken the liberty of making you tea each morning because you don’t give yourself enough time to do it. you nod lazily in response, eyes drooping shut. “mhm, thanks. love you.” “love you more.”

he makes his way to the kitchen while you head back to dreamland.

you’re awoken a little later to a mug of tea on one side of you and tom on the other. he shakes your shoulder gently, grimacing when you kick your covers around in protest. your first class isn’t for another hour. “ugh, what?” you groan at him. tom runs his fingers down your arm apologetically. “have you seen my, erm, yellow button up anywhere?” you open your eyes only so you can roll them, in a lighthearted way.

you pay tom back for the morning tea by laying out his outfits every night. he’s pretty forgetful about those things, right now being an example.

“on the dresser. have a good day, mr. holland.” you shoot him a grin over your shoulder. tom pushes his glasses up and squeezes your arm. “i will, thanks. tea’s right there when you want it.” he’s hopped out of bed to change before you can say another word. now, there’s a man who’s committed to the craft.

once you finally get up, tom is halfway through his first class. he’s talking about what sounds like some revolution, sat at your desk. you love to listen to him teach and sip your earl grey. he makes history actually interesting, recounting things like they’re one of his wild stories. even the most difficult kids pay attention. he’s got a gift, and getting to witness him use it is a treat on its own.

it’s tempting to keep watching, though you should probably use the bathroom before your class. you wait until the kids are doing independent work, and head in. tom calls everyone back to go over the questions while you’re gone. he’s usually done by now, only someone didn’t understand the last one. that means class goes over a bit.

unaware of this, you come into the room with a toothbrush in your mouth and paste coating your lips.

“no, don’t worry. i’ve recorded the lesson so you can watch-“ tom cuts himself off when you appear in his camera tile. amusement instantly flashes across everyone’s faces. you’re still scrubbing at your teeth without a clue. “um, love? i haven’t finished,” he lets you know quietly, your eyes going wide. “sorry!” you say through a mouthful of toothpaste.

you dodge off camera quickly after. it’s too late, the damage has already been done. “hey, was that ms. y/l/n?” michael asks, one of your more outspoken students. he tries to look for you in the reflection of tom’s glasses. “it’s... well...” tom glances back at you. not sure what to tell him, you only offer a shrug. he decides to change the subject.

“you know what, i’m gonna let you guys go. we’ve gone over!” he plasters on a grin. his face feels hot, having so many eyes on it. another student unmutes herself, snickering. “that’s gotta be her! look at him, he’s blushing!” “mr. holland has a girlfriend,” someone else sings to him. other kids point and laugh along.

this is all in good fun, and their reaction is sweet. at the same time, you’d rather not have your students see you like this. you wipe your mouth clean and wince as tom endures their remarks, cheeks burning pink on the screen. this is the first time he’s out of things to say.

“maybe they’re just hooking up-“ “ok!” tom yells over michael, moving his curser to the end call button. “see everyone tomorrow, same time!” he leaves the class and immediately lets out the biggest sigh. his rosy face is hidden in his hands now, you coming over to the desk. you put a comforting hand on his back.

“sorry about that,” tom murmurs, taking his hands away. “i’m the one who crashed your lesson,” you dismiss him and sling both arms around his neck from behind. he rests his head on one of your arms and looks up at you. “i held class late.” “well, that is your job.” your remark earns a low laugh from him. the hint of a smile crosses his face. “god, what are we gonna do?” you cringe at the situation.

“i don’t know, but i really need to. i’m about to see these little shits... again.”

[peterparkers-bad-youtube-apology]

I'm so excited to read everything for Summer of Love ✨ could i request prompt 37 + 53 with Tom? Maybe friends to lovers 👀

YES I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THE VEGAS REQUEST I AM SO EXCITED

Okay no more screaming but I seriously hope you like it! This is one of my favorite prompts so I was super excited to get to do it 🥰🥰 Anyways, thanks for sending it in, feedback, as always, is appreciated and encouraged. Love you so so much xx

Drive Thru Wedding

37 - Getting drunk and getting married in Vegas

53 - "We are not platonic, and my feelings are never going to be platonic."

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader (friends to lovers)

Warnings: light angst

Summary: You had a drive thru wedding with your best friend

Masterlist

Taglist

Summer of Love

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

Tom sat up, groaning and rubbing his eyes as light streamed into the hotel room. The room slowly came into focus and he spotted (y/n) passed out on his bed. He knit his brow and padded towards the window, pulling the blinds closed to try and dull his throbbing head. He made his way to the bathroom, wincing as he turned on the light. He splashed water on his face before realizing he was still in the same clothes he’d put on the night before. With a heavy sigh he returned to the bedroom and peaked at his phone. Calls and texts from his family and Harrison, nothing unusual outside of the fact that it was nearly noon.

“Shit,” he swore, glancing back over at (y/n), “Darling wake up,” he set a hand on her back, shaking her lightly.

She groaned, “Go away.”

“It’s nearly noon, come on, time to get up,” he chuckled.

“Fuck you,” she swore back at him before rolling onto her back, “I feel awful.”

“Yeah, me too,” he sighed, “I barely remember last night.”

“Me either. I hope I didn’t do anything embarrassing…”

“I’m sure you didn’t,” he assured, “We should go get some water, and eat.”

“Good call, but I need to shower first,” she yawned as she finally sat up, “Mind if I use your shower?”

“No, no of course not, I’m just gonna call Haz.”

“Cool, I’ll be quick,” she promised.

“Take your time,” he waved her off as he punched in his friend's number.

“Ah, he lives,” Harrison teased as he picked up the phone, “How’s (y/n)?”

“Showering, we’re both a bit fucked,” he frowned, “You aren’t in the suite are you?”

“No, we got breakfast and now we’re heading for the mob museum. We were going to wake you guys up but it seemed like you needed the sleep. You want to come meet us here?”

“Maybe, we’ve got to go eat first though,” he sighed, “Dude, what happened last night?”

“We all got really trashed, you and (y/n) were taking shots and you two took the driver and disappeared. We were all too trashed to even notice you were missing until we left though, but you guys were passed out when we got back to the hotel, so we figured you must have just headed back,” he chuckled, “Don’t remember a thing huh?’

“Hardly, I mean I remember being at the club for a while, but I don’t remember leaving…”

“Does she remember anything?”

“No, I don’t think she remembers anymore than I do.”

“That’s good, at least if you, you know, confessed something, she doesn’t remember.”

Tom blushed, “Yeah, that’s a plus…”

It was obvious to Harrison that something was wrong, “What?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Tom sighed, “I’ve just got this feeling something happened, I just can’t remember what.”

“Hey, I’m sure if you did anything too bad it’d be in the news by now. You probably just threw up or fell or something.”

“Probably, I just hope no one got it on video.”

“I’m sure they didn’t, look I gotta go, our Uber’s here, but let me know if you end up heading our way.”

“Yeah, no problem, I’ll get back to you in a bit.”

Tom rubbed his eyes and dug around his suitcase for some fresh clothes, after finding them he headed across the suite to use a different bathroom. He desperately wanted to clean up and figure out exactly what had occurred the night before. She still looked exhausted when they reunited outside of his room, he was sure he didn’t look any better.

“Everyone went out already huh?”

Tom nodded, “Yeah, they’re at the mob museum right now. They said we can meet up with them if we want, I figure we can see how we feel after we eat.”

“Good idea,” she rubbed her stomach with a sigh, “Do you think a mimose would help or hinder me right now.”

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, “Definitely hinder. I think both of us should be on an alcohol detox today.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she sighed, “Alright, a boring, virgin breakfast it is.”

“Oh you poor thing,” he laughed as they stepped onto the elevator, “It’s just tragic.”

They both opted for something easy on the stomach, simple eggs and fruits, regretting that they didn’t bring sunglasses down from the hotel room. They were both certain they couldn’t make it through a day on the strip, the lights and noise were bound to be too much, which ruled out the possibility of going to meet their friends. Tom still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, it was an unreachable itch in the back of his mind.

“What do you remember from last night?”

“Uh, being at the club, doing some shots,” she tapped her chin, “I don’t know Tom, not much, it’s all kind of blurry really.”

“Same here. I just wonder where we were…”

“I’m sure we just came back here,” she yawned, “I mean you’re pretty high profile, if we were out doing anything crazy I’m sure we would have heard about it by now.”

“Yeah, probably…”

“Mr. Holland?” the waiter approached their table with a smile, “I have something for you from the front desk.”

“Oh, thanks,” he frowned at the manilla envelope placed in front of him, “Uh, who’s this from?”

“Your diver returned it this morning.”

“Thanks,” he repeated as he tore into the envelope, suddenly going wide eyed at its contents, “What the…”

(y/n) frowned and scooted towards him, “I wanna see.”

Before them laid a series of photos of them, clearly taken the night before at the Little White Chapel. (y/n) held a bouquet and Tom held her, his lips pressed to her cheek in one photo and her lips in the next.

“Holy shit,” (y/n)’s jaw nearly hit the floor, “No fucking way…”

“We must have been there for someone else,” Tom tried to explain.

“With a bouquet? Kissing?” (y/n) frowned at him, “Oh my god we eloped in Vegas!”

“Guess you can mark that one off your bucket list,” Tom tried to joke.

“Tom!” she flushed, “This is serious! We need to go somewhere right away and get this annulled!”

“Look even if we did do it, it doesn’t mean it was legally binding, I mean we were drunk, they probably just let us take some pictures to entertain us.”

“God I hope so,” she groaned, “We need to go down there now, get this sorted out right away.”

“I’ll call a driver,” Tom assured, “We’ll sort this out.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

(y/n) drummed her finger along her arm nervously while the elder lady at the chapel typed away at her computer, checking if anything had been registered under either of their names.

“Oh, yep, here it is,” she smiled to them, “Looks like we did hold a wedding for you two last night.”

“Like a real, legal one?” (y/n) pressed.

She nodded, “Yep, you two are married.”

“W-Well you have to delete it,” she demanded.

“Oh hunny, I can’t do that,” she apologized, “You’ll have to go to the county court to apply for an annulment.”

She groaned and Tom smiled at the lady as he ushered her towards the door, “Thanks for all your help, have a nice day.”

“You’re welcome!” she called after them cheerfully.

“This sucks,” (y/n) pinched her brow as they returned to the car, “I guess we’re going to the county court then.”

“We’ll get this sorted out,” Tom blushed, “I just hope we can stay friends after the divorce.”

She laughed while he gave instructions to the driver, “Depends how big my alimony checks are.”

“Why are you the one that gets alimony checks? What about me huh?”

“Because there’s no way I make more money than you movie star,” she poked his chest, “I’m taking Tessa too.”

“Oh now you’re taking it way too far,” he shook his head, “You can take the kids, and the houses, and the money, but no way you’re taking Tessa.”

“Dick,” she shook her head, “After everything we’ve been through, I can’t even keep the dog?”

“Absolutely not,” he laughed, “That’s my baby, I’ll go to war over her.”

“You used to talk that way about me,” (y/n) rolled her eyes, “See this is exactly why we’re getting this divorce.”

“Maybe we should have tried counseling,” he hummed, “You know I don’t think it would be so bad.”

“A divorce?”

“No, if we were married,” he flushed, “I mean just cause we’re like best friends and everything…”

“Yeah but you don’t marry your best friend,” she laughed, “You marry the love of your life.”

“I know, I know, I’m just saying, you know,” he wrung his hands nervously, embarrassed he’d said anything at all.

“What? That’d we’d be a super hot celebrity power couple? Because that’s totally true,” she smiled, “We’d be the best dressed at every premier.”

“Yeah, we’d be a good power couple…”

“I’m sure you and your eventual wife will also be a power couple,” she squeezed his arm with a big smile, “Well, second wife.”

He nodded and pursed his lips, “Can you believe we kissed?”

She laughed, “Oh yeah, lucky you.”

He was upset he couldn’t remember their first, and possibly only kiss, he always imagined it would be more special. “It’s just weird not remembering any of it.”

“I just don’t even know where we got the idea,” she sighed, “I wonder if we drove by it or something…”

“I don’t know, maybe we just talked about it.”

“Maybe, like we got all drunk and got up in our feels.”

“Probably.”

“Tom, what's wrong?” she frowned at him.

“Nothing, I’m just hungover,” he insisted.

“Alright, well we can go lay down again after we sort this out.”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.”

They were quiet the rest of the drive, with Tom growing more and more anxious as they approached the courthouse. It wasn’t that he wanted to be married, but he wanted some kind of relationship. He wanted to confess that he liked the idea of kissing her and being married to her and all of that, he just couldn’t seem to spit it out.

“Hi,” (y/n) smiled at the woman at the front desk, “This is kind of embarrassing but we got really drunk last night and ended up getting married, we just needed to file for an annulment.”

“Happens all the time,” she nodded, “Just fill this out and we’ll call you back to get this sorted out.”

“Thanks,” she took a clipboard and sat down beside Tom, “Time to start dividing assets.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Tom took the board from her and began scribbling information down.

“Oh come on, I’m not that bad of a wife.”

“Ah, what’s got you in a sour mood Tommy?”

“Nothing,” he insisted, “I’m just trying to get this over with.”

“(y/n).”

“Fine, fine, I’ll just sit here,” she sighed, “Guess we aren’t getting divorce ice cream after this huh?”

Tom said nothing.

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Tom continued to be quiet as they signed papers and drove back to the hotel, all (y/n) could get with her were one word responses. She wasn’t sure what had changed and made him so upset. She was worried he’d gotten a message from his managers or something.

“Tom come on, you can tell me what’s going on,” she begged, “I know you're upset.”

“It’s nothing okay? I keep telling you I’m fine.”

“But you aren’t, I know you aren’t, and I’m just trying to help, you know you can tell me anything.”

He pinched his nose, “I can’t tell you about this.”

“Of course you can,” she set her hand on his back with a frown, “You can tell me anything.”

“I don’t know, today was just stressful.”

“I’m sure no one saw anything, somebody would have contacted you already.”

“Not about that,” he sighed.

“Okay, what about then?”

“What if I didn’t want to get the annulment?”

She wrinkled her brow in confusion, “Why wouldn’t you?”

“Because it’s you,” he blushed.

“You want us to have some kind of platonic marriage?” she laughed.

Without a word he cupped her face, pressing his lips to hers for a bruising kiss, “We are not platonic, and my feelings are never going to be platonic.”

Her whole face flushed and her jaw hung open in shock, “You’re into me?”

“I’m completely crazy about you,” he nodded.

“S-So you want to marry me?”

“No, no,” he shook his head, “Not right now at least. But I don’t want to throw away any chance of us being together.”

“Tom annulling our drunk Vegas wedding isn’t the same as throwing away any chance of us being together,” she bit her cheek, “I mean I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m into you.”

His cheeks flushed bright red, “Really?”

She nodded, “Obviously dummy, I don’t think I would have married you if I didn’t.”

He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, “So it would be cool if I wanted to take you on a date?”

“Very cool,” she nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, “But maybe this time we can wait a little longer for the proposal.”

“Yeah well a Vegas drive thru was never exactly my dream wedding anyway,” he squeezed her waist and pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Maybe we should go somewhere without alcohol though, just to be safe.”

“Considering my head’s still throbbing, I actually think I’m good on drinking for the rest of the year,” she got on her tiptoes, giving Tom another quick kiss.

“Speaking of which, how would you like to come take a hangover nap with me, girlfriend.”

“Sounds like a lovely use of our time, boyfriend.”

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Taglist:

@niallberry @spideyssunshine @namoreno @thevery-firstpage @outshineallthestars @roseke @zspideyy @emistrash @andreagf956 @tomsirishgirlx @peachyafshawn @agbspidey

[yourmcu]

Emotional Support Mode

Pairings: Tony Stark x daughter!reader

Summary:

in which the reader is the loner, antisocial daughter of Tony Stark and the other Avengers including her father never acknowledge her presence (they thought some sort of interaction made you uncomfortable) so she becomes friends with Friday instead - Tony probs finds out and it’s gonna be all cute n fluffie once he realizes -

Word count: 2,243

a/n: hi just wanted to write fluffy tony :)) also I used they/them for friday’s pronouns

Warnings: angst n fluff, friday’s a bit more advanced (not like they aren’t already but) bc they could almost act like a literal human here.

read it on ao3!

You arrive back at the Avengers facility, shoulders slumped and just tired in general since you have a lot of homework and projects to do from school, most of them due by the end of the week. You also have exams later in the week.

“Hey, Fri,” you huff as you make your way to the elevator.

“Welcome home, Y/N. Where do you want to go?”

Yes, you're very close with the A.I that they started calling you by your first name. “To my room - and uh, will you remind me to read two chapters in my history book after I’m done with all my homework? I also have this project, I just need some measurements later, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure thing.”

“Thank you.”

It’s going to be a long night, you sigh heavily just thinking about it. Now you’re probably wondering, ‘you live with the Avengers! Why don’t you ask Tony and Bruce for help? Maybe Steve and Bucky for your History test?’

Yeah, well... you barely talk to any real person you live with. Maybe it’s you, you always thought you're making the team uncomfortable. You don’t even talk to your own father often which is kind of depressing on your part.

You love them, they’re like your extended family, but it just isn’t working out. Maybe they just don’t like you. Up to this day you still wonder why Tony took you in when you were just a baby (you were a mistake from one of his one night stands) - he had the choice not to.

“I’m assuming you zoned out again. You have arrived to your room five minutes ago.” Friday announces.

“Y-yeah sorry,” you shuffle out of the elevator and swiftly head to your bedroom, closing the door behind you.

“I also asked if I should inform Mr. Stark that you have arrived home.”

“No, no thanks. He’s busy and... probably wouldn’t care anyway,” You mutter the last part as you pile the books you need on your desk. “Can you put my study playlist on, please?”

----

“What time is it, Friday?”

“7PM. I was about to remind you to take a break.”

You get up from your chair and stretch, halfway through the last of your homework which is a two page essay. “You’re too kind, thanks pal,” when you walk out your room to head to the kitchen and grab a snack, the lounge is empty, kitchen empty,

“The team’s on a mission? I thought they had the whole week off,” you say before gulping down a water bottle.

“I checked the security footage: they left about an hour ago. Captain Rogers was talking about getting dinner.”

You put the bottle down. “Oh,” you try to mask your disappointment. This isn’t your first time being alone, they always left you here when they had a mission of course but... well, it’s not like they want you around them. “I’ll - I’ll just make myself something later, then. Not a big deal. I have to study anyway.”

Another hour later, the Avengers are back. They're all conversing happily as they pile in the lounge. Peter's rambling about upgrades for the Spiderman suit while Tony's typing away in his phone, nodding at everything he says. Everyone else is arguing about the TV channels and talking about the new restaurant they ate at.

Rhodey shifts, looking around. “Why do I feel like we forgot something?”

Natasha looks at him, waiting for him to go on.

“I assure you, I brought Mjolnir with me this time.” Thor butts in.

“No not that, what time does Y/N get home from school?” No one answers. It’s not like any of them know. It's natural that Rhodey would be worried about his goddaughter (even if they rarely talk). He turns his head to his best friend who’s now walking away with Peter, an arm around his shoulder. “Tony, where’s Y/N?”

He doesn’t hear since he has his full attention on his protégé.

“I’ll start making this tomorrow, I guess. I still have to buy materials.” You mumble to yourself, but you hope Friday's listening to everything you say just to make you feel less lonely. You swipe the hologram of the blueprint away and place the thick books in front of you.

“I would like to recommend a suitable study plan.” they state.

You rub your eyes, sighing, “I’m already halfway, I would’ve considered it earlier though.”

“This is only a recommendation, feel free to ignore it.”

You push yourself away from the desk and mutter a “go on,”, fiddling with your pen.

“Asking Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes would give you more details for your History examination, since the pair were originally from that time period. The same goes for Mr. Banner for your Science examination, I believe he has seven Ph.D’s, you may also approach Vision for the same topic. Mr. Stark has all the necessary materials for your project in his lab. Would you like me to-”

If only it were that easy. It should be easy, the thought alone makes you really nervous. “No, I - I appreciate the recommendation, Friday, but - I think I can do this on my own.”

“But you’re tired and it is almost midnight. I would help you myself but you specifically told me not to.”

They’re not wrong. Your eyes are starting to droop and you barely understand anything you're reading. You're also fighting back tears - why is talking to your family so hard?

“I can sense sadness. Would you like me to activate emotional support mode?”

“Yeah, okay. That sounds great right about now.”

----

“Crap. Guess we lost track of time again, kid,” Tony wipes his hands with a rag while he looks at the time on his computer. “You better get home. I’ll send May a text for keeping you this late.”

“Okay, thank you Mr. Stark. I’m just gonna use my suit-”

“No. Happy will drive you.”

Peter knew better than to argue and insist so he just nods and smiles sheepishly. A minute later Happy came ‘round to take him home.

Tony turns back around. “Friday, make a new project for me please, I’m adding minor upgrades to the Spiderman suit.”

“Not now, boss.”

Oh. He did not expect that. “Excuse me?”

“Y/N is currently opening up. I would like to give her my full, undivided attention. Please come back after fifteen minutes or so.”

Tony doesn’t exactly know how to feel about that. He never sees her outside her room anymore that he kinda forgot she existed tonight - oh fuck, they didn’t bring her to dinner with them.

“Well,” he exhales. “What is she saying?”

“That would be an invasion of privacy.”

“I’m her father-”

“Are you, sir?” Friday’s clever remark makes him stop abruptly.

It’s pretty clear that he’s been a shit father. Not only does he ignore you all the time but he treats Peter way better than his own flesh and blood. The Avengers on the other hand, they were nice people, but just didn’t understand so they try their best to get out of your way.

You were afraid of rejection, afraid to interact, because you had no idea what everyone thought of you. Did they like you? Did you make them uncomfortable? Did they want you around? What about Tony, did he really want a daughter in his life? Because you noticed he’d be better off with a son, yeah, like Peter goddamn Parker.

Tony sighs, walking out of his lab and heads to the mini bar to grab a drink. He needs to think: there's absolutely nothing wrong about you, he just didn’t do his job right, you thought he didn’t care, you thought nobody did. Even Friday is turning against him, doing a better job of comforting and being there for you.

“God, I’m such an asshole,” he mutters to himself, rubbing his forehead. He drinks his last shot and heads to the kitchen. “She still awake?” He calls out.

“She is.” Friday has a bitter tone.

He's hesitant to ask again, feeling really bad for not knowing this simple question - “what’s her favorite beverage?”

----

“How do you feel?”

You sniffle. “Well y’know, better than before. I should probably go to sleep. Thanks, Fri.”

“You’re welcome. Also, Mr. Stark is outside your door.”

“W-what?” You put away your books and straighten up, rubbing your damp eyes. “You’re serious? Okay, uh, let him in?” It's more of a question.

“Alright.”

You turn to face your desk as Tony enters the room, holding two steaming mugs. He sits at the end of your bed, just right next to the chair you're sitting on. “Hi,” he gives you a small smile and hands you a mug.

What’s the occasion?

“What’s this?” You ask quietly before taking the mug from his hands. Tony's being gentle and soft, it's odd but you’re not complaining.

“Green tea with honey. I... I thought I saw you make that stuff once.” He says, not mentioning the fact that Friday told him that.

“Oh, well, yeah,” you take a small sip. He added a bit too much honey but other than that it was good. “I thought you preferred coffee, though,”

Tony shrugs, his eyes glistening when he looks at you. “Wouldn’t hurt to try something new.”

“Did - did you want something, Dad?” You always found yourself awkward, couldn’t even make conversation with someone for long, always wanted to get straight to the point so it could be over with.

He looks like he wants to say something but he just averts his gaze to you, his hands, the floor, then suddenly he leans in and hugs you. Your feel your heart swell and body warm up, it’s a new sensation for you after all, you rarely get hugs from people. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “For everything. I’m such a bad dad, I don’t deserve you. I even forgot you when we went out to dinner.”

“You don’t have to be sorry for anything. I had loads of stuff to do earlier anyway, so, but yeah I was just - I just overreact, I’m sensitive. I don’t blame you and the others for not liking me, I know there’s nothing like-able about me, I’m not like Peter-” You ramble, tears now leaving your eyes again.

“Sweetheart, don’t say that,” Tony says as he pulls you closer to him, head resting against his chest while he rubs your back comfortably. “Y/N Stark, you are smart, brilliant - I was just an ass for not acknowledging that.”

“I know you’re just saying that to-”

“Oh, but I’m not,” he now places his hands on your shoulders, getting you to look at him. “Tell me who built their first engine when they were eight?”

You blush, “Dad-”

“No, come on, I wanna hear it.”

“I did.”

“Yes you did. And who made a completely functioning robot at their middle school science fair that blew all the teacher’s minds?”

You’re trying to hide a smile, recalling the memory,  “I did.”

“And who,” Tony gets up and walks to the bulky looking thing that you covered with a sheet, pulling it off, “is currently building a computer from scratch?”

“Dad! That’s still a work in progress,” he messily places the sheet back and chuckles.

“My point is, you’re a clever and talented girl, Y/N. Don’t bring yourself down. And you don’t have to be shy around your family, those idiots have been dying to get to know you but since you don’t talk much... they don’t want to force it. We love you,” he says. “I hope you forgive me ‘cause I really wanna make it up to you. I’m not calling Peter in for a few weeks.” Tony sits down beside you again.

You couldn’t believe he’d do that for you. “You don’t have to, if you need him for something then-”

“-then you could help me instead, if you’re up for it.”

“I’m really sorry for being such a lonely freak,” you yawn, getting back into Tony’s open arms. “I love you.”

Tony tucks you in and lies down beside you, “I love you tons, kiddo.”

You snuggle into his chest, feeling his steady breathing while he rests his chin above your head.

----

It's morning. The Avengers are gathered at your open bedroom door.

“Are you getting all of this, Friday?”

“Yes, Ms. Romanoff.”

“Steve turn that shuttering sound down!” Natasha hisses at the super soldier who's doing his task, taking pictures.

Steve almost drops the phone and has Bruce fix the volume for him.

They’re all watching you and Tony cuddle together, still fast asleep.

“Do we have to stay here until they wake up?”

“Unless you have a great way of waking them up, yes. Now shut up.”

“If you think about it we definitely look creepy right now.” Sam comments.

“It’s their fault for having the door wide open all night!” Clint says.

Tony's actually awake the whole time, listening to them bickering. “You have three seconds to get the hell out of here before I make all of you polish my suits.” With that, the team races down the hall, pushing each other to get away first like literal children.

[sylvie-writes]

𝐀𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐦 ✯ 𝐒. 𝐑𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬

word count: 4,000

pairing: steve rogers x female reader

summary: If one had to live the same day over and over again, it would be most sensible of them to choose the best one. Well unfortunately for you, you didn’t get a choice.

warnings: angst

a/n: this was the one-shot i had posted a preview of and i apologize for taking so long to post it. i couldn’t decide how to end it so then i took a poll and it was a fluffy ending, which helped me a bit! thanks! btw sorry if the formatting looks weird. on my computer it looks weird, but on my phone it looks normal so idk. 

please excuse any mistakes!

☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆

For the first time in years, you awoke to notice the light of the sun and how it ever so brightly twinkled. The sun had never actually disappeared, but today you had actually taken the time to notice it in all of its glory. Just the mere sight brought a bittersweet smile to your face, along with the feeling of delight, something you had missed so dearly during the dark period of time that had finally ended yesterday. Half of the world had disappeared for what seemed forever and with that no longer looming over your head, you could actually live and enjoy life for what it is. It may sound cliche, but the sun did seem brighter to you now, and the world a happier place after being reset. Last night, you had watched the news and for the first time in forever, it was enjoyable. On the screen, images of people reuniting along with many others sending words of thanks to your crew mates turned family, the Avengers. 

Today, you were mostly relishing in the peace, but just a small bit of worry settled in your stomach as Steve was returning the stones back to their normal timelines. No matter how many times Sam offered to go with him, the stubborn man refused, still ready to take the risk on his own. Times like these made you miss Nat even more as she was probably the only person, aside from you, to be able to talk Steve out of anything. Instead of continuing to dwell on the matter that was out of your hands, you turned away from the sunny window and to your left. The sound of your shuffling in the sheets must’ve awoken the man beside you as his grip tightened its hold on your waist. He pulled you closer into his chest and then wrapped two arms around you, forming a warm and inviting hug. After some sleepy groaning, lips met the top of your head which you could only tell by feeling since your face was currently being squished into the man. 

“Good Morning, gorgeous. What time is it?” Steve picked his chin up from the top of your head, peering over to your nightstand where the clock sat. As he did so, he noticed you were squeezing your eyes shut and murmuring some silent “no’s” and “it’s not time yet.” 

He chuckled at your defiance and then unwrapped his arms so he could lean back and instead run his fingers through your hair. “I hate to break it to you, but we have to meet the rest of the team in an hour.” 

Turning onto your stomach, you threw your face into Steve’s pillow while also ignoring his annoying bright smile as if he was entertained. “Ugh, can’t they just wait. It’s not like the stones have suddenly grown feet and are gonna run away.”

“Hon, you’ve left me no choice.” 

It got freakishly quiet and next thing you knew, Steve had thrown back the sheets and thrown you over his shoulder.

“Steve! I was just about to get up!!” You quickly sat up to face the blonde and not his backside which caused him to somehow gently rotate you in a way that you were now being held bridal style. Steve simply shrugged and kissed your forehead before heading to the bathroom to start the shower, you still in his arms.

☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆

It was only supposed to be seconds. 

And as of now, it has been at least a minute.

All hell's breaking loose at the moment. Bucky, feet glued to the ground, looks around as if Steve is gonna magically appear and Sam is worriedly questioning Bruce who is anxiously messing with the buttons of his controls. On the other hand, you are still staring at the platform, the traffic in your mind finally halting which ultimately caused you to drop to the floor in shock. As you were out cold on the ground, Sam looked over for a split second and luckily caught you in his sight. 

About fifteen minutes later, you woke up in the infirmary. You looked to your right where Bruce was standing with a water while Bucky and Sam waved at you from the nearby seats. Your first reaction was anger as you saw the three here and not working on getting Steve back who was currently nowhere in sight. Rejecting the bottle, you sat up straight. With fire in your eyes, you stared at Bruce, “Where is he?”

The gentle giant just shook his head, urging you to drink more water. Immediately, you ripped the i.v tube from your arm, ignoring the slight burn and then the draft from the paper gown that clothed your body. Just as you made it to the door, both Sam and Bucky held out their hands, stopping you from exiting. 

“Woah woah, missy. Where do you think you are going?”

Bucky slowly reached out to place a hand on your waist in a way to make sure that you wouldn’t run off while Sam distracted you further. 

“To find Steve.”

Sam sucked in a harsh breath and folded his arms over his chest. “(y/n). We all care about both you and Steve very much-”

“If you did care, then you’d be out there looking for him!” Your emotions had finally bubbled over and now resentful tears were starting to emerge. 

“Think about what you just said because it doesn’t make sense! We are just as worried as you are and we’ve done everything, and I mean everything, we can. He’s gone.” Sam’s eyes softened and he put a hand on your shoulder, “Please get some rest. There’s nothing else to be done.” The stubbornness started to subside and in turn, reality seeped into your mind. You then looked to Bucky, seeing that he was looking at you the same way as Sam.

“Sam and I will be on the lookout. I promise (y/n). Steve wouldn’t want you up right now and you know that.” 

With a childlike huff you turned back towards the bed as the two men ushered you to it. 

☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆

Hours must have passed because next thing you knew it was morning again and you were back in your own bed. It was somewhat shocking as you felt as good as new, possibly even better than you’ve felt before. As you finally awoke, you felt something heavy on your waist and looking down, you noticed an arm slung around your torso. You blinked a few times to make sure it was real and your mind then ran to the most sensible conclusion.

Whispering, you stared at the hand as if it was foreign, “Bucky?”

Suddenly a voice replied in all of its deepend glory, “Sorry, doll, but it’s Steve.” 

The hand then moved and you heard sheets shuffling as Steve turned onto his back to stretch his arms with an overdramatic yawn.

You shot up faster than an eager student’s hand. With a soft gasp you brought a hand to your lips. It couldn’t be…

“W-When did-d you get back?” It was quiet, but Steve’s enhanced hearing picked it up just as he had done so a few seconds before.

“What do you mean?” He looked at you with pure confusion. 

“You returned the time stones. Yesterday… And you never came back.”

Dark blonde eyebrows creased together and a hand made its way to your forehead. “(y/n), you are worrying me. We aren’t returning the stones until today. Are you okay? What did you eat last night?”

Before Steve could mother goose anymore, you clumsily shuffled out of the bed, but not removing eye contact from the man. “I’ll-I’ll be right back.” 

You slipped on shoes, apparently mismatched ones, but you were too anxious to care. In a millisecond, the bedroom door was shut. You, running out like you were fearing for your life and Steve on the other side, concerned and confused.

☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆

“GUYS, THEY ARE REAL! WE ARE GONNA NEED TO GO INTO LOCKDOWN!”

Running into the kitchen like a madwoman, you screamed the words you believed to be true. The innocent bystanders, Scott and Wanda, were currently gathering the rest of their things, while Bruce stood in the kitchen making breakfast. Everyone had been ready to go off onto their own paths after the events of yesterday (including Tony’s funeral), but currently you thought you held some mind-blowing information that would stop time, so to say.

“(y/n) what’s happening?” Wanda threw down her box and rushed to your side as you were already talking a mile a minute. None of them could understand a single word for it sounded like absolute gibberish. 

“There is a shapeshifter in my room. You know, those things Carol talked about! I thought she was bullshitting us, but the Skrulls or whatever are real. What are we gonna do? I know there are some th-” 

“Darling, what are you going on about? There’s nothing in our room, I just came from there. You’ve been acting weird all morning.” Entering the common area, Steve leaned up against the doorway before beginning to approach your shaking form.

Absolute horror in your eyes, you looked at Steve in terror as he now tenderly held your wrists in his hands.

“It’s you.”

He titled his head like a confused puppy while the rest of the onlookers stood by. You weren’t sure what to say for if you said “it’s him,” that would be equivalent to standing in a bank robbery and calling the cops right in front of the shooter. Rather you went with what you thought was smart and uttered Wanda’s name. 

It took her a second, but she looked as if she had caught on once having invaded your thoughts. Although, your hope was lost when she ended up mirroring Steve’s perplexed look. 

Taking matters into your own hands (quite literally,) you roughly shook your hands free from Steve’s loving hold and walked over to the nearby side table, discreetly eying the lamp. From first glance, it looked to the team members as if you were simply going to turn on the light, but all of a sudden, the lamp was in your hands and ready to launch at Steve. A mixture of “stops” and gasps sounded when it flew in the air. The team was quick to act, but it all happened in slow-motion for you. 

The lamp froze in the air with a red aura surrounding it thanks to Wanda while Steve tossed himself at you to avoid the incoming object. Of course, by doing so he rolled to make sure not to crush you while making impact with the ground. Once everything stopped, the lamp was returned to its place and your teammates started to slowly approach, you went to stand up, but Steve’s grasp stopped you. In fact, he flipped you over so your back was now on the carpet, an aggravated blonde now hanging over your body. His hands were pinning down your once flailing arms and his eyes burned into your own.

“(y/n). Tell me what is going on. Now.” Rarely did Steve ever use this tone with you. Actually, he’s never used it with you. It also occurred to you that you probably looked a bit insane to your friends and boyfriend, so you figured it was time to come clean. If they thought you were deranged, then oh well. What else was there to do?

“If you aren’t a shapeshifter then what’s happening!?!” 

You reached out to grab the fistfuls of his shirt before beginning to cry quietly. Steve could sense you were really upset over whatever this is because you were never one to act in such an irrational way. At this point, Bruce, Wanda and Scott stood by, concerned for you and the current situation. Steve leisurely leaned down, pressing a comforting kiss to your temple before hovering by your ear. 

“What is wrong, my love? Tell me so I can help you.”

Stopping the tears, you peered up at the man who you trusted your life with. So far, you had managed to convince yourself that this was really your Steve, but that only left one conclusion, yet you didn’t want to believe it.  Not yet anyway.

“Steve, you disappeared...yesterday. I can remember it all, I swear.” Your voice died down as you thought of a way to convince them. “Bruce, tell them, you were there too! Please, I’ve already lived this day.”

Chiming in from the back was Bruce, “What day do you think it is then?”

You replied the date at which Wanda told you that it wasn’t, but rather that it was the day before. 

Steve had loosened his hold on you at this point and you managed to scoot up and lean up back against the side table. 

“So then what does that mean? I’m living the same day… over again?”

Everyone started to nod in acceptance like they were welcoming the idea and you just suddenly burst out, hysterically laughing at the ridiculousness.“Well that’s just great, guys!  I’ve lost my damn mind. It’s okay you all don’t have to play along, just ship me away already, will y’a?” 

“I’ve gone off the rails, Steven. How do you even put up with this!?” You motioned to yourself in disgust and Steve laughed, shaking his head. “Sweetheart, I’ve seen a lot, especially these last five years, so this doesn’t even sound remotely crazy.”

Scott moved closer to reassure you. “No, (y/n), you haven’t! This is entirely possible. believe it or not. In simplest terms, it’s like that movie,” The man paused to think before shining a boastful smile at you, “Groundhog’s Day. You know, the one with Bill Murray.”

Bruce piped up from his distant spot in the kitchen, “Not another movie, Scott! We’ve already discussed this, just because it was in a movie, doesn’t make it true.”

“Hey, don’t knock it till you try it. That IS how we found time travel after all. Thank god my parents let me watch Back to the Future or else-” 

The doctor looked at Scott with a face that practically screamed “fair enough and please just shut up,” which the rambling man took note of as he quickly piped down. (You took note of this situation and for future reference remembered not to ask them this question for the rest of the time you’d live this day.)

From there, you and the team spent the rest of the time trying to figure whatever it is before Steve had to leave with the stones. You only hoped that night everything would be normal or that this was really just a bad and very vivid dream. 

An extremely bad one.

☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆

Unfortunately, you awoke the next morning in the same position that you’d love to be in any other day, which was Steve’s arm cocooning you. 

Starting from today on and for the next ten days or so, you’d approach the day as such. 

In the morning, you’d try your hardest to convince Steve to not leave. 

He’d ask you why and you’d come up with some bullshit excuse, different from the day before, along with some puppy eyes that the man would just laugh at. As you pouted, he’d kiss your sulking lips and murmur “you’re so silly, doll.” 

No matter how many times you tried to convince him, he ironically always said that exact phrase in return.

Needless to say it was a bit annoying and you were tired of living the same day over and over again. Steve would never not do something for the world unless it meant hurting you. If only he knew that this simple act was like driving a knife straight through your heart. 

You tried to keep count of the amount of days on a piece of paper, but soon discovered that would be useless by day two since it just disappeared into thin air. 

Of all the days to relive, it just had to be the one where Steve vanished. Yet, no matter how many times you live that day, a pit of angst always settled in your stomach even though you knew what was to come later on that day. It was absolute torture seeing the love of your life perish  before you and you couldn’t do anything to change it. Sometimes at night, while you laid alone, you’d wonder why of all the days that it had to be this one. What had you done to piss off the universe so bad?

Finally, by what you assumed was day eight, you just accepted your fate and decided to just have some fun with it. If you were gonna have to suffer, you might as well make something out of the day. Granted you were gonna solve cancer or help homelessness because your efforts would be reset the “next” day. 

As the team prepared for Steve’s departure, you’d be out eating tons and tons of your favorite meals knowing that it wouldn’t affect you tomorrow. One day you even spontaneously caught a plane to some country you’d never even visited and just blew an unfathomable amount of money. On other days, you had also invested time and money into getting your hair done into impossible and whacky styles while simultaneously regretting not having painted your nails the day before. It was stupid to worry about or even bring up, but they were constantly chipped and it was aggravating to look at as you foolishly sped through the city in an expensive car that wouldn’t be yours tomorrow. 

What you were doing was absolutely careless, reckless and just downright out of character for anyone, especially you. Yet when you knew it all wouldn’t matter tomorrow, you carried on with your disregard for the world. Numb from the pain you were just trying to feel something. 

When it finally came time for Steve to leave, you’d bid him goodbye and when he vanished, you would see Sam, Bucky, and Bruce’s shocked expressions for what felt like the thousandth time. Honestly, you knew they wouldn’t remember and instead you’d just walk away, trying your best to not let your emotions jump out once more. You figured that after the tenth day, you were just desensitized and that you should be unaffected by now, when in reality you were still hurting. At this point, even though you got to spend time with Steve, your hours hurting outweighed your hours enjoying life. 

There was no use in any longer faking to yourself. The logic of “what you think is what you become,” wasn’t helping so you instead swallowed the bitter pill of reality and moved on. For real this time. 

You had finally come to accept that Steve was gonna be gone and no one knew when he’d come back, but you knew one thing.

The pain of constantly seeing him disappear, knowing there was nothing you could say or do to stop him because boy did you try, was much more profound than that of the pain you felt when he was just gone. There was more hope for him to return that way than not moving on at all. 

☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆

Somehow, by doing so and accepting the truth, the universe reset that night. 

You woke up and Steve wasn’t there.

For having lived the same day on repeat for at least 3 weeks time, you knew with absolute certainty that he was gonna be there. 

These people you’d been living were practically programmed with a script so there was surely no way anything could change unless…

“Hey (y/n) glad to see you are awake. We have some good news.” 

At that moment Sam popped his head in from the hallway and you couldn’t keep a smile at bay. 

It was finally a new day.

The man gave you a confused look, but was happy nonetheless to see you. 

“Wow, you seem pretty chipper for someone who has been through a lot in the past few hours. You good?” Sam came to your bedside and gave you a blueberry muffin wrapped in a thin napkin. It was hard to come by muffins in the compound, let alone breakfast at all, and you felt a ping of joy when you noticed that Sam remembered your favorite snack. He’d always have your back whether it was a muffin or a bullet. 

“It’s nothing. I am just happy that today is a new day and I can start with a clean slate.” Taking a bite into the muffin, you relished in the fresh and spongy cake while your conscience scolded you for not indulging in these during your everlasting day from hell. 

“I don’t know what’s gotten to you, but I am loving the cringe-worthy optimism. Speaking of which, I have something to add to that.” You ignored the subtle dig at your newfound look on life and rather keened in on the last half of his words. 

“Did you-” Tears started to brim your eyes. Happy ones. Soon your muffin was long forgotten as you threw off the covers and stood from the bed. Sam was quick to stand as well, steadying you when your sheets got tangled at your feet and you spun a bit. 

☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆

There he was. 

Your Steve was standing before you with a look of adoration on his face while his arms were wide open, beckoning you to him. 

“How?” A gasp of question fell from your lips and at this point you were sure your body and mind were gonna explode from this extra case of surprise, as if you hadn’t been through enough of that. It was astronomical that you could even feel that emotion at this point. 

“Scott discovered that we somehow ripped time?” You furrowed your brows and Steve continued on. “ When you all sent me back to return, I guess it was a bit miscalculated.” 

So it wasn’t all a dream? Could it really be that you had lived the same day on repeat? It was like someone had accidentally hit the repeat button for a song one too many times, but instead of a song, it was your life?

“Now I am not good with all the technical things, but apparently it stopped time in a way. Dr. Banner even said that it could have caused for some to experience some type of repetitive time abnormality!” Steve chuckled, not understanding a single word that he was saying to you. It was like a foreign language to him. He blamed it on being from a time where technology barely existed, but you and the rest of the team were quick to reassure him that it was confusing for all. 

“Oh, if only you all knew.” Wrapping your arms around Steve’s slim waist, you nestled your face into his chest, inhaling his cologne and embracing his warmth. Steve placed his lips on the crown on your head and you two stayed that way for an eternity,

One day maybe you’d tell them the story, but for now you were gonna relish in the time you had with Steve. If you had learned anything from your experience, it was that time was a tricky thing and that you shouldn’t hold a grudge as life did on you for that day. You will never make any progress if you do. Live in the moment and roll with the punches life throws in your direction. 

taglist: @memissbee @tricereads @buckybarnesthehotshot @bval-1 @tonystankschild @just-one-ordinary-fangirl @turtoix @kelbabyblue @jakiki94 @aubreeskailynn @calirindo @lady-elena-adeline @siriuslyslyslytherin @sushiinmidnight @patzammit @iwik3it

[raindancer2004]

Unloved and Unwanted?

Word Count: 2,708 Felix x reader Part Six - Final Part Warnings: Fluff, Angst  

A few days later Y/N attends the first of two trials in the throne room, involving a nomad and a human. Caius wanted to see how Y/N would be around the human male, now she had finally got control over her thirst. Caius was also proud that she had finally learnt how to kill quickly and cleanly thanks to the help and support of Felix and Demetri. Caius had advised her that she cannot kill the human, she is merely there to observe a trial now she is a member of the Guard.

Aro took the female vampire’s hand in his and saw how she met the male and it reminded him of Edward and Bella’s situation. “You have told this human about our kind but you have yet to turn him or kill him…” He trailed off looking between the vampire and the human. No one spoke. “What do you plan to do with this human?” He asked and after a moment she replied “I would like to turn him so I can spend forever with him but…” “But what?” Caius called out cutting her off “I-I haven’t turned anyone before and am scared I’ll mess it up” She replied low and Aro gave her a sympathetic look “I’m sure we can work something out…hmm” He replied looking at Demetri who stepped forward “Master” The female vampire and the human male turned to look at the tracker “Please escort our guests to a guest room and ‘help’ this vampire turn her mate” Aro asked “Of course” Demetri nodded “Follow me” He instructed the guests and they followed him out of the room. “The Volturi offer that service?” Y/N asked Felix quietly, she was both confused and a little amused “Sometimes, depending on the situation” He replied.

The second trial was more interesting than the first; this one involved two groups of nomads who were fighting over territory “How can they fight over territory if they’re nomads” Y/N asked confused “That’s the million-dollar question” Felix replied smiling. “What land are you fighting over?” Aro asked “We have been living in a small town in Spain for six months” The tall dark-haired male vampire replied “Those two moved in about one month ago and started acting as though they owned the area” The shorter blonde-haired female vampire added pointing at the two red-headed male vampires who rolled their eyes “That is not the case, we had no idea they lived in the area when we moved there” The taller of the red-heads said “You have since found this out and still decided to fight us for the territory” The blonde female replied “You haven’t ate many of the humans there so we figured we’d help you” The shorter red-head added “ENOUGH” Caius shouted and the room went quiet “You are nomads and therefore cannot claim territory, let alone fight over it” He added, Aro smirked seeing the nomads flinch. Aro took the hand of the shorter red-head vampire and saw that they have been killing many humans in the area, almost as if they are trying to draw attention to themselves. “I see that you two…” He pointed at the red-heads and then continued “…Have been killing many humans in the area and have not done a very good job at covering their deaths up, all in an attempt to gain their ‘territory’” The vampires tried to protest but Aro held his hand up, effectively silencing them “The couple were there first and have kept a low profile and therefore I am giving them the land” Aro added and the vampire couple smiled “Thank you Aro.” They bowed their heads and left the throne room. Aro waved his hand and Felix stepped forward coming to stand behind the red-heads “Deal with these two please” “Of course master” Felix replied and watched as Alec’s mist circled one of the males whilst he removed the head of the other, once Alec’s mist cleared Felix removed the head of other the vampire. Y/N got to see her mate in action and couldn’t help smiling “Would you like help burning them Fe?” She asked and he nodded “Ok. Grab that one and follow me.” Felix then proceeded to show her to the ‘burning room’ and how to set them alight to ensure they are dealt with permanently.

Two weeks later Y/N returns to Forks with Caius and the four elite guards to pay the Cullens a visit showing them that they were wrong about her and Felix and their relationship. Alice saw their decision to come to Forks and warned her siblings and Bella of Caius’ visit, although she did not know the outcome of the visit as no decision had been made. 

“Hello Caius, what a pleasant surprise. Do come in” Carlisle greeted him with a smile “Felix, Demetri, Jane, Alec and…” He trailed off waiting for her name “Y/N. I’m Felix’s mate” Y/N introduced herself with a smile “It’s nice to meet Y/N and congratulations to you and Felix” Carlisle added and led them all upstairs to the family room where the rest of the family were waiting. 

“Hello Esme, it’s nice to see you again” Caius said with a smile “Cullen children” He said looking at the Cullen teenagers with a scowl, the four guards and Y/N couldn’t help smirking. “As you can see Felix and Y/N are very happy together, despite their rocky start; no thanks to the six of you” Caius says looking around at Carlisle’s ‘children’ and Bella. “I think this proves that Alice’s visions are not so perfect after all” Jane sneers. Carlisle and Esme look confused “What are talking about Caius?” Carlisle asked “Yes, I nearly forgot. You and Esme have no idea what your children did to Y/N prior to sending her to live with us. Let me fill you in on their actions before I hand down their punishment” Carlisle and Esme’s faces paled if that was even possible. “Don’t worry Carlisle, you, Esme and Ness are exempt of any punishment as you were not aware of their actions” He added before taking a seat on the sofa opposite the Cullens. “Noone hurts my child and gets away with it!” Caius says calmly but the look in his eyes lets everyone know he is far from calm. “What do you mean your child?” Bella asked confused “I turned Y/N after an incident at the castle involving Afton, therefore she is my child” Caius replied. 

“How do my children know Y/N and what did they do to her?” Carlisle asked “Y/N is Bella’s younger half-sister; they share a father. It would seem that no one here in Forks wanted her around after she was sent to live here after her mother passed away. Your children and Bella told her about our kind and that she was mated to Felix” Caius replied. Carlisle and Esme nodded “Why are they to be punished?” Esme asked cautiously “They told her that Felix was cruel and that he wouldn’t want her, he would reject her because she was human. They told her she would spend her newborn year locked in the dungeon and providing he remembered she was there; he would come and get her only to lock her away in the tower and that is where she would spend her eternity, whilst he continued to live his life as he did before he met her” Esme looked shocked and felt disgusted by the actions of her children “W-why would you do that?” She asked looking at them and no one answered her. “I would like an answer…NOW” Esme demanded in a tone that made her children flinch. 

Alice told everyone about her vision that led to their conversation with Y/N.

Y/N was in Italy with the Volturi; more specifically with Felix, one of the elite guards. They didn’t look happy together either with Felix leaving Y/N alone in her room and making his way to the throne room for guard duty. 

Felix spending his evenings with Demetri and Santiago playing cards or playing on his computer console with other members of the guard when not on guard duty at night. 

Y/N’s room was not very big and was barely decorated and the only visitors she got other than Felix was Gianna, who bought her meals every day, Heidi and Demetri who check in on her.

“So you thought telling me how cruel my mate was and how badly I’d be treated would change your vision?” Y/N asked shocked “W-well…er…I” Alice stuttered “When in fact all it did was ensure that I was scared of my mate, worried to be alone with him which only hurt him, hurt us both and it took months before we actually got to a point where we could be alone together as mates should be, without Demetri there to make me feel safe” Y/N said her voice raised slightly, Felix wrapped an arm around her waist keeping her by his side. 

“I never thought I’d be so disappointed in all of you. I cannot believe you would interfere in their relationship that way, to scare the girl and then send her off to Italy” Esme told them as she looked around the room, eyes landing on Y/N and Felix “I’m so sorry Y/N that you were sent to Volterra in such a way, but I am happy to hear that you both managed to work things out…eventually” “Thank you Esme” Felix said with a small smile. “What will their punishment be Caius?” Carlisle asked, not really wanting an answer knowing how ruthless Caius could be. “A punishment that fits the crime they committed perfectly…and I think it may just be my favourite one yet” He replied with a smile and an evil glint in his eyes “Shit” Carlisle mumbled, recognising that look from his stay with them centuries before. 

Caius turns to look at Emmett and Alice “The two of you will spend one year in the dungeon and if I remember you’re down there I will send someone to come and get you. You will then spend twenty-nine years locked away in one of our towers, whilst your mates go about their lives without you. This is after all what you told Y/N would happen to her after Felix rejected her, only you told her she’d spend her eternity locked away” Esme gasped “I can’t believe you’d be so cruel” Caius looked at her with a slight scowl but before he could say anything she added “I meant Alice and Emmett Caius, not you. Those two are usually the more human friendly of our children” He nodded at her “You can’t do this to us” Rosalie stated “I can and I am. You have no one to blame but yourselves” Caius replied. 

“NO!” Jasper roared “You can’t take her” He stepped forward only to stopped by Carlisle “Jasper, don’t. This is a punishment handed out to the four of you for your part in this stunt. Rosalie and you will just have to deal with this…separation, the best you can” “But Carlisle…” “Jasper, it’ll be ok. I love you” Alice called out “I love you too Alice” Jasper replied and watched the twins to ensure they didn’t try and hurt Alice.” “Look after Rose for me Jas” Emmett called out “Will do” Jasper replied “Love you babe” “Love you too Emmett.” Rosalie’s eyes filled with venom. 

Caius continued ignoring the other Cullens “As for Edward and Bella, your punishment will be more severe as you were the brains behind this…stunt” He nods at Jane and she locks eyes with Edward and he drops to the floor in pain, Bella goes to move but Y/N is quicker and grabs her by the throat and growls in her ear “I wouldn’t do that if I were you sister, I’m stronger than you are” Bella stops moving when she feels Y/N’s grip tighten around her neck, a cracking sound could be heard in the room. Felix doesn’t bother to hide the grin on his face at seeing his mate get the upper hand over Bella. 

Caius nods at Demetri and he moves to stand behind Edward, lifting him up so he is sitting on his knees and watches as Caius moves closer and swiftly removes Edward’s head “He can have it back in 50 years…along with Bella” He says with a smile on his face nodding at Y/N, a gasp escaping Bella’s lips at seeing Edward’s head being removed. Alec flashes to Y/N’s side grabbing Bella’s arms to hold her still as Y/N removes her head. Alec lets go of Bella’s arms and Bella’s body drops to the floor with a thud. Caius keeps hold of Edward’s head and takes Bella’s from Y/N and turns to face Carlisle “So sorry we can’t stay longer but we have prisoners to take back with us” “I understand” Carlisle replies trying to stay calm as he and Esme watch Caius leave the room in a fashion that certainly doesn’t look as though he just beheaded two of his friend’s children. 

“Demetri, Felix bring Edward and Bella’s bodies please” Caius asks as he reaches the bottom of the stairs “Yes master” Demetri and Felix reply and pick up the bodies, slinging them over their shoulders. Jasper and Rosalie watch as their mates, the loves of their lives are taken away by Jane, Alec and Y/N. “You two try anything and I’ll have the twins use their gifts on you” Y/N warned them as they left the house. 

Y/N couldn’t help but agree with Caius, their punishment definitely fitted their crimes ‘Although the timescales seem a little on the short side, considering’ She thought to herself as she and the others boarded the Volturi’s private jet with their prisoners.

Y/N sat beside Felix and snuggled into his side “Thank you for your patience with me Fe. I love you more than you know” She kissed his lips “Thank you for giving me a chance little one. I love you so much” Felix replied kissing her back and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer.

They arrive back at the castle and make their way to the throne room “Welcome home brother, Demetri, Felix, Jane, Alec and Y/N” Aro greets with a smile. “I see you have been busy whilst you were away and that you have bought back…company” Marcus adds. “It’s good to be home brothers” Caius replies smiling “You remember Alice and Emmett Cullen. They are to be our prisoners for the next thirty years, starting a with a year in the dungeon and providing I remember they are down there they will be transferred to the tower to see out the remainder of their sentence” He adds “That sounds awfully familiar, don’t you agree brother?” Aro says looking over his shoulder at Marcus, who nods “Yes, although I’m sure Y/N was told she’d spend forever locked away” Emmett and Alice looked to the floor remaining silent.

“Why are holding Bella and Edward’s heads?” Marcus asks “They were the brains behind the stunt and I decided their punishment should be harsher. They will stay this way for the next fifty years” Caius answered smiling, Marcus and Aro also smiled wide upon hearing the news “It’s about time the Cullens finally dealt with the consequences of their actions” Marcus smiled “Couldn’t have put it better myself brothers” Aro added “Demetri, Felix please take our headless guests and put them somewhere safe” Caius said and held out the heads. Demetri and Felix put Bella and Edward in an empty cupboard near the dungeon “That’ll do” Demetri said as he locked the cupboard door. 

Meanwhile, the twins and Y/N escorted Emmett and Alice to their cell “You’ll be fed once a month, although I cannot guarantee it’ll be animal blood” Jane advises as Alec locks the cell door “It really depends on whether we can be bothered to bring a rabbit or something” Y/N added smiling.

It was going to be a long Thirty to Fifty years for the Cullens that are left behind and Caius couldn’t be happier about that fact. He got justice for Y/N and this ensured that she and Felix got their happy ending.

[kasienda]

The Five Minute Adventures of Snake Noir: Ch 3 - Best Laid Plans

Chapter 1: I Want It To Be You

Chapter 2: Best Friends

Chapter 3: Best Laid Plans

Chat Noir was wearing the snake miraculous this evening as he always did now, but he hadn’t activated it. Tonight, he needed Alya to remember he had been there. He landed on the balcony of Alya’s bedroom and peered into the room cautiously. He had never actually been here before, and wanted to confirm he was in the right place. 

Sure enough, Alya was sitting at a computer across the room. 

He tapped on the glass. She looked up, and her amber eyes widened when they landed on him. He waved. She got up immediately, and slipped through the sliding glass door. 

“Sorry to drop in on you like this,” Chat said.

She smiled warmly. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Chat Noir?”

He couldn’t help the hand that went to the back of his neck. “Well, this might seem like it’s out of nowhere, but I was… kinda worried about Nino?”

Her eyes popped out of her head. Whatever she had been expecting, that had not been it. “What? Why?”

Read on Ao3

“Well, Hawkmoth has impersonated him twice now. Once as actual Nino and another as Bubbler. It seems like Nino has become a target. I just… if it was me, I would worry about my friends and family mistaking an imposter for me. And I would want to protect them.”

If anything, Alya’s eyes grew larger. “I don’t know if Nino was the target,” she whispered. “I think Hawkmoth is using him to get to me.”

Chat frowned. “Why would Hawkmoth be targeting you?”

“I… uh… I think he thinks I have a special connection with Ladybug… you know, because of the Ladyblog.”

Chat Noir nodded. “I suppose that makes sense.” 

She sighed and leaned against the railing next to him. 

“So what do we do?”

He stared out into the skyline. “I was thinking it would be fairly easy actually. You and him just need to set up some kind of call and response code. Something that only you and he know. You could tell him to do something similar with all the people he’s close to. And maybe you could do the same with people in your life… if you’re worried.” 

She nodded. “That sounds good.” And then she considered him for a moment. “Why did you come to me instead of going to him directly?”

He tensed at the question. He had been rather hoping she wouldn’t ask that. Honestly, he could have mentioned it to him as Adrien, but he felt that Adrien had less reason to notice something was up with Nino, and Adrien didn’t exactly have the background to be thinking about threats constantly. His father hired people for that. And Alya and Nino - they were just super close - and seemed to communicate well. He just thought Nino would be more receptive if the idea came from his girlfriend. But it’s not like he could explain all that. 

But maybe, he could explain some of it. 

“Well… uh… I don’t know him?” he lied.  “But I do sort’ve know you. And I’m sure he would take it better coming from someone he knows and cares about rather than a random superhero.”

She scoffed. “You’re hardly some random superhero, Chat Noir.” 

“Nice to know I have a fan,” he purred, waggling his eyebrows playfully. 

She shoved him back with an eyeroll and he grinned. “Stop,” she scolded. “You know I have a boyfriend.”

He smoothed out his face and gave her a genuine smile. “You are both very lucky to have each other.” 

She smiled. “I definitely think so. Thank you, Chat Noir. I appreciate you looking after my boyfriend this way.”

He gave her a two-fingered salute. “Of course! Just doing my job.” He was about to leave, but then he hesitated. “Do you have a pen and paper?” he asked. 

“Uh… sure. Give me a second.” She slipped inside and returned with his requested items. 

“If you run into any issues that need my attention, this is my username on the Ladyblog. You can DM me.”

She blinked at him, at the offered paper stupidly. “Oh my god!! You’re on my blog?!”

He grinned cheekily. “Of course! I am Ladybug’s biggest fan after all. And you seem to have the best scoops in that regard. I don’t know how you do it! Sometimes, it seems like you know her better than I do.”

She burst out laughing. “Well, a girl can’t give away all her secrets, now can she?” 

He smiled again. “I suppose not,” he said. “Thank you, Alya.”

“No, thank you, Chat Noir.” She stepped forward and he stepped easily into the offered embrace. He squeezed her tightly.

“For what?” He pulled away. 

She smiled sincerely. “For everything you do.” 

He blushed at the praise. “Like I said. All in a day’s work. See you around, Ladyblogger!” 

“See you, Chat Noir!” 

And he launched himself back into the sky. 

… 

He should have gone back home. It’s what he had planned on. He had a history exam coming up next week that he wasn’t entirely prepared for, but he was already so close by, he couldn’t help, but want to check in on Nino. He would set the time loop, check in on how Nino was doing, reset it, and head home without Nino ever knowing he was there.

He landed in a crouch in Nino’s bedroom.

His friend was sitting on his bed, swiping through his phone. His golden eyes snapped towards Snake Noir the second he had landed. His eyes narrowed. He did not so much as crack a smile. 

Something was wrong. 

“Is there an akuma?” Nino bit out, his voice hard and unwelcoming. 

Adrien shook his head. “No,” he said, and then frowned. “Dude, are you okay?” 

“What do you want?” Nino demanded, ignoring his question entirely.

Snake Noir took a step backwards. “Nino?”

“I think you should leave,” Nino said, and turned his gaze away from his unexpected guest. 

But Adrien didn’t want to leave. Not when Nino was so clearly upset. “Nino, it’s me. Adrien.” 

Adrien expected Nino to soften and pull him into a hug like he had every time Adrien had revealed himself, or at least explain why the hell he was so upset. But that’s not what happened. 

Nino eyes shot back towards him, wide with shock. “W-what?!” He took in a shaky breath. “Dude! How could you do this to me?!” Nino was screaming now. He had bolted to his feet. 

Adrien took another step back, raising his hands in surrender. “Nino! What are you talking about?” 

“Like you don’t know!” Nino snarled. 

“I don’t know!” Adrien insisted. 

“I think you should leave.” 

“What?! Nino! Please! Can we talk about whatever this is?” Adrien begged. 

“No! I don’t think we can.”  

“Second chance,” Adrien mumbled to himself, and he was outside Nino’s window. He glanced at Nino’s slumped form sitting on the bed for just a second before vaulting upwards to the roof of the building. 

He sat down on the tiled roof. What the hell had happened? Why did Nino hate him now? What had he done? Adrien’s hands were shaking even transformed. Nino was his rock, and now he felt adrift without that support. 

He lost the transformation and pulled out his phone, and immediately dialed his best friend. It wasn’t Adrien he was mad at - at least, not until he knew Adrien and Chat Noir were the same person. But why the hell would Nino be angry with Chat Noir? 

Nino immediately answered.  

“Hey dude,” Nino greeted, his voice sullen. 

“Nino, what’s wrong?” 

Nino sighed. “I think Alya is cheating on me.” 

“What?” The idea didn’t even compute, it was just too incomprehensible. 

“With Chat Noir.”

“What?!” Adrien said again, more in shock. 

“Dude, I don’t know what to do!” 

And Adrien could hear Nino’s pain. He had to fix this. It was clearly a misunderstanding.

“I’m here,” Adrien told him. “Now, explain this to me from the beginning. Why do you think Alya is cheating on with you? And with Chat Noir?” 

“She’s… been off for awhile now. I don’t know what’s going on, and I didn’t want to pry. She usually will tell me things when she’s ready. But she started missing a bunch of our dates, and her reasons… they don’t sound… right.” 

“What does that mean?” 

“It means… I think she’s lying.” 

“Could there be any other explanation?” 

“For the avoiding me and making weird excuses? Probably! But I saw her earlier today with Chat Noir.”

“Okay, did you see them kissing or something?” Adrien asked. He knew there hadn’t been anything to see. He had maybe flirted a tiny bit, but even then she had only rolled her eyes and chastised him. 

“Nothing like that, really. But she was laughing. She was so at ease, open, and lively. And I… I haven’t seen her like that in… weeks.”

“Nino…” Adrien trailed off, uncertain what to say. “I don’t claim to know what’s going on with Alya, or why she’s been distant. But she wouldn’t do this to you.” 

And neither would Chat Noir. 

“You didn’t see them together!” Nino shouted, and Adrien had to pull the phone away from his face. “I know what I saw!” 

Adrien’s phone buzzed. And he opens it to reveal a picture of Alya and Chat Noir in a hug. 

“Nino, this…” how did he explain this wasn’t what it looked like? “There’s no way Alya would cheat on you. Not even with a superhero.” 

Nino dissolved into tears. “I just don’t know anymore. She’s hiding something. And I don’t want to pry, but my mind just keeps going in these spirals and I don’t now how to get it to stop. I just can’t… help but wonder if she doesn’t love me anymore. And she’s always loved the heroes. It would be difficult to compete with a guy like that.”

“Nino, what are you talking about?!” Adrien asked, wanting to point out that Nino was a hero, too. “You’re a fantastic catch!”

“Sure, but he’s Chat Noir! Have you seen his butt in leather? And he’s funny! And… charming! And who even knows how many times he’s saved Paris!”

Adrien was grateful this wasn’t a video call, but he could still feel the heat from his cheeks to his ears. 

“He flirts with everyone!” Nino continued.

Adrien stiffened. He didn’t flirt with everyone. But he had flirted a tiny bit with Alya earlier, but he hadn’t meant anything by it. He was just being friendly. 

“He could totally steal away someone’s girlfriend!”

Whether or not that was true (and Adrien had his doubts), Adrien knew he would never do that. 

“Or even someone’s boyfriend!”

Seriously?! 

“Does Alya need to be worried about you coming on to Chat Noir?” Adrien interjected.

“What?! No! I would definitely put him in his place! I love Alya so much!”

“And she would do the same!” Adrien insisted.

Nino didn’t say anything. And a few seconds later, he realized Nino was crying. His visit to Alya had made Nino cry. He had only been trying to help. He had to fix this. 

“Nino, I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean…” he trailed off sadly. He couldn’t truly say what he wanted to. Not without revealing himself. Which… he probably would have if Nino wasn’t so pissed specifically at Chat Noir.

“You don’t understand,” Nino sobbed. “Chat is not just some superhero to us.”

“He’s not?” Adrien asked cautiously. He really hoped this wasn’t going where he suspected it was going. 

“Alya and I know him.”

“He has saved you both more than once,” Adrien said. Please, take the excuse. Please take the excuse. 

“No!” 

Adrien could hear Nino pulling his own hair out in frustration.

“That’s not what I mean,” Nino said. “Dude, can I tell you something? I’m not supposed to, but I’m going to lose it! I don’t know who else to talk to about any of this!”

Adrien squeezed his eyes shut. It didn’t really matter if Nino told him what he already knew, was it? But he knew Ladybug might feel differently about it. 

Of course, he didn’t have to say anything to Ladybug. What was more thing he couldn’t talk about? 

“You can trust me, Nino,” Adrien assured. 

“Alya and I are superheroes, too.” 

“You and Alya?” Adrien repeated, covering his face with the palm of his hand. How did he not see this coming?! Ladybug was going to kill him. 

“She’s Rena Rouge. And I’m Carapace.”

Which made so much sense it wasn’t even funny. He was so close to losing it to hysterical laughter anyway. 

Seriously, was everyone he knew a superhero? Who was next? His father?

“Please say something,” Nino begged and Adrien shook himself out of his thoughts. 

“Wow,” Adrien said. “You’re a superhero! What’s that like?”

“Dude! I can’t even explain it. It’s exhilarating, and terrifying, and I don’t know how, out of everyone in all of Paris, Ladybug chose me to help her.”

Adrien smiled. Yeah, that was a pretty amazing feeling - the only fond memory he had as his time as Aspik. 

“I mean, Alya showed me some footage of Anansi. You were pretty badass even without a miraculous. It doesn’t surprise me that Ladybug would recognize that.” 

“Thanks, dude. That means a lot. I just… I don’t want to be mad at Chat Noir. He’s my friend.” 

Adrien found himself tearing up. 

“Or he was,” Nino added on. And Adrien sighed.  

“Nino, this isn’t really about Chat Noir. This is about your relationship with Alya. Do you trust her?” 

“I don’t want to be mad at Alya even more than I don’t want to be mad at Chat Noir.” 

“Have you talked to her about any of this?”

“Have you talked to her about any of this?” 

“No,” Nino admitted. 

“I’m telling you, Alya loves you. She wouldn’t do this. Not even a superhero who she happens to work with or be friends with. You’re her hero.”

“You really think so?” 

Adrien snorted. “Yeah man, I really do. Will you please go talk to her before you make assumptions.” 

“I don’t know where to start,” Nino said. 

Adrien thought for a second. “You could probably start with what you told me. Tell her that you feel like she’s been avoiding you. See what she says.”

Nino laughed. “You don’t think I should start with accusations?”

“I mean…” Adrien hedged. He wasn’t going to lie. He was definitely scared of Alya. Just a little bit. “I wouldn’t?” 

Nino laughed. He actually laughed, and Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright dude. Thanks for talking me off the cliff. I’ll call her now, and see if we can meet up.”

The call ended and Adrien stood up, hoping that Nino’s conversation with Alya went well. He knew that hug had been her thanking him. Surely, she would explain and everything would be fine. 

He transformed and ran across rooftops anyway. He wouldn’t be able to stand it if Nino hated half of his identity. He wouldn’t be able to visit anymore, even with the snake. 

 Adrien had to have faith in Alya. It would be okay. 

… 

Nino knocked on the door. Etta answered. Or maybe it was Ella. Honestly, Nino hasn’t learned to tell them apart yet, and today, it wasn’t his highest priority. 

“Alya! Your nerdy boyfriend is here!” 

“Hey! Be nice!” Alya chastised her younger sister. And then she pushed her back into the room as she came out on the patio, closing the door behind her.

The beaming smile she offered him went a long way toward soothing his tortured feelings. Adrien was probably right, but there was still an inkling if doubt that he couldn’t quite quash. He managed a weak smile back. She deserved more. 

“Nino! I was just about to call you!”

“You were?” 

“You won’t believe who paid me a visit earlier today?!” She told him, her voice literally oozed with excitement. 

“Chat Noir?” he guessed, unable to keep the hurt out of his voice. 

Her eyebrows furrowed together. “How’d you know?” 

He pulled out his phone, and flipped to the picture. “I was on my way to visit you.” He squeezed his shoulder, trying to reassure himself.

She took the device from him eagerly, her smile only widening. “This is such a good shot! I’m so happy you caught it!”

“You are?” And he might have sounded a little accusatory. He was trying to clamp down on it, and not start with accusations like Adrien said. 

She glanced at him, startled. And for the first time, she seemed to sense something was off. “Nino? What’s wrong?”

“Okay, so this might seem ridiculous, but what does Chat Noir mean to you?”

Her eyes narrowed for a second, and then went wife as she rapidly connected dots. “Oh my god! Are you serious right now?! You think that I would do that to you?” Her eyes had returned to hard narrow slits; she was pissed! 

But for the first time in his life, Nino was thrilled that she was furious with him. Her anger put to rest all her fears. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just you’ve been so… distracted lately. And you’ve bailed on several of our dates and it feels like when I ask you dodge the question.”

She softened. And he barreled forward. 

“I didn’t know what to think! I was actually coming over to talk to you about it when I saw you so... umm... friendly with Chat Noir. And I just… I haven’t seen you that open and happy in awhile. So I can’t help but wonder if I’ve done something wrong?” 

He was wringing his hands. He didn’t even realize how much he was hurting himself until she took both his hands in hers and rubbed soothing circles with her thumbs onto the back of his hands.

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” she murmured, her eyes staring straight at him. “I’m sorry. I have been distracted, but it wasn’t anything to do with us. It’s just a bunch of Marinette stuff. And… she didn’t want me to talk about it with anyone, and it’s all driving me crazy, so I just… am having a hard time being completely there the rest of the time.” 

“But… you looked so happy when… Chat Noir was there.” 

“Nino! He’s a superhero! And I run a superhero themed blog! I get a little fan girly, it’s true.”

She pulled him into a hug. And he melted into her arms. 

“The truth is,” she murmured into his ear, “I feel like I don’t have to pretend around you. I didn’t mean to push you away or out. I was feeling overwhelmed and crazy and around you, I thought I could just be low and it would still be okay.”

His arms tightened around her. His eyes were burning with threatened years. “I’m sorry I doubted you. Doubted us. I want to be able to be a place where you can be less than one hundred percent and still feel loved and supported. I’m sorry I didn’t live up to that.” And he was horrified that his voice cracked on his last word. 

She pulled away just a bit, and pressed her forehead to his. “I didn’t tell you that to make you feel guilty. I told you that because I love you. And next time I’m feeling detached, I will try to tell you so you don’t have to worry or wonder.”

He leaned forward and kissed her, letting the last of his hurt roll off his shoulders. “I love you so much.”

She smiled, and kissed him again. “I love you, too.” 

They hugged, and Nino just let himself stay wrapped up in her familiar embrace. 

At least until she pulled away with furrowed eyebrows. “Chat Noir was here like… hours ago. I only didn’t call you immediately because I had to watch the twins. Have you been stewing in this that whole time?” 

Heat bloomed across his face, and he wanted to duck his head behind his hat, but this was Alya. He didn’t want to hide from her. “Yeah… I was really upset,” he admitted. “I assumed the worst, and kinda wanted to track down Chat Noir and start a fight!” 

“Nino!”

He held up his hands. “I know. I know. But Adrien called me at like the perfect time, and he kinda talked me down. He was insistent that you loved me and that you would never cheat on me.” 

“I’ll have to thank him,” she said, smiling. 

“You and me both,” he said. Then started fidgeting with the brim of his hat. “So… ummm… am I out of line if I ask what you and Chat Noir were talking about?”

“I was going to tell you anyway! Before you freaked out on me! But yes, if you must know, we were talking about you!” 

Nino blinked for a minute. “What? Me?” 

“He was worried about you.” 

His eyebrows scrunched together. Chat Noir was worried about him? And here Nino had been thinking the worst of the superhero. “But why?” 

Alya reached out for his hand, and their fingers were quickly threaded together. “He was worried at how much Hawkmoth has been targeting you, that he has been impersonating you. He thought that maybe it might happen again, and he was worried about how it might be affecting you mentally.. He suggested I get you to come up with some call and response passwords with the people in your life, so you could protect yourself and your loved ones.”

Nino’s eyes could not get wider. “Really?” How had he completely misjudged the whole situation that badly. Chat Noir wasn’t trying to steal his girl at all - the hero was trying to look out for him and her by extension. Instead, the hero was like, reading his mind, and coming up with ways for Nino to address his fears head on.  

“Really,” Alya said.

“Why did he go to you instead of me?” he asked. He felt so sheepish and embarrassed, and a tad bit guilty.

She shrugged. “Honestly, I think it’s just because he knew where I lived.” 

Nino laughed, and pulled her to him once again. His head rested on her shoulder. “Tell me that you love me.” 

“I love you,” she said, her tone smiling even if he couldn’t see her face.  

“How much?” 

“More than a superhero.” 

He grinned. “That should be our call and response code.”

She rolled her eyes. “If it makes you feel better.”

“But only if I ask you to tell me you love me, or vice versa. We don’t want other people to overhear it.” 

She nodded sagely in agreement. “Sounds good.” 

“I’m sorry I was an idiot.” “You’re my idiot.” 

And she lifted his head, and then she was kissing him. 

He smiled against her lips, his hands snaking around her waist. 

He really was a lucky guy.

…

Chat Noir sat across on a rooftop across the street from Nino’s empty bedroom. His legs were kicking back and forth in a way that would have seemed playful to anyone that didn’t know him well, but actually was a sign of how anxious he felt. 

He breathed in a deep sigh of relief when Nino returned to the room with a huge grin plastered on his face. As soon as Nino had closed his bedroom door, Chat launched himself across the street and into the room, landing with his trademark thud. 

Nino looked up at him in surprise. “Ch-Chat Noir! Uh… hey!” 

“Hi Nino,” Adrien said, his voice subdued. 

It was silent, and Adrien didn’t know what he was waiting for. He had come here with the intention of clearing the air. He hadn’t even transformed with the snake. He wanted to come clean. He spun the ring around his finger. This would be it. Nino was going to know who he was, and he wouldn’t be able to take it back. And he didn’t even know why he was nervous. He had told Nino dozens of times at this point, and his reaction had always been rock solid. 

Well, except for the last time. 

Maybe that was the problem. 

“So… uh… Alya, didn’t seem to think you knew where I lived. I’ll have to tell her that she was mistaken,” Nino said. 

Adrien nodded. “I may have led her to that conclusion. If it’s all the same to you, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t rat me out.”

Nino frowned. “Is there a reason you don’t want her to know?” 

“There is actually, but I can’t explain it yet. Maybe later?” 

“You’re being awfully cryptic tonight, dude.” 

Chat rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’m just a bit nervous.” 

Nino stared at him, his eyes blinking in shock. “You’re nervous? Why?!” 

“You seemed pretty pissed at me earlier today.” 

Nino frowned. “How do you even know about that?” 

Chat’s gaze dropped again. “I may have cheated?”

“Huh?” 

“I’m wearing the snake miraculous.” 

“That’s the one that creates a time loop?” 

Chat Noir nodded. 

Nino eyed him up and down. “You don’t look any different than normal.”

“I haven’t activated it yet, but I’ve been using it to, well, cope, I guess would be the best word.” Chat Noir trailed off.

“Cope? Cope with being a superhero?” Nino guessed. 

“Yeah, it allows me to confide in someone without anyone remembering. And honestly, you’ve been really supportive the last few weeks. You have no idea.” 

Nino’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What? But I don’t…” 

“Remember? Yeah, I know you don’t. That’s what I’m saying.”

“But you’re not transformed now, so that means I’m going to remember this conversation.” 

Chat nodded.

“So, what’s different about today that I get to remember?” 

“I just… the last visit made me realize that I wanted you to know this was happening. I want you to remember giving me permission to do this.” 

“I’ve given you permission to do this before?” 

Chat nodded again. “I realize the why might not make sense to you, but you did.”

“Why me?” 

Chat Noir looked up with a small smile. “What? Don’t think you’re good enough?” 

“That’s not what I meant! It’s not everyday that you learn that you are the secret confidant of one of Paris’s superheroes and don’t even know it!” 

“Because you’re definitely good enough! You saved me from being akumatized like I don’t know how many times.” 

Nino frowned. “We’re not like having a secret affair or something are we?” 

Chat laughed. “Umm… no, but you know, I’m beginning to think you have a crush on me.” 

Nino blushed. “It’s a celebrity crush!” he defended. “Leave me alone! I didn’t know that we knew each other outside of akumas that well.” 

“Well, I’d like to explain everything to you if that’s okay. Clear the air so to speak.”

“On a timer? Or without?” 

Chat took in a deep breath. “You choose.”

“What do you want?” 

“I really want you to remember this time, but it might be dangerous.”

“Dude! As you totally already know, I’m already a target of Hawkmoth.” 

“Which is probably a reason I shouldn’t let you remember this. Which is part of the reason you let me erase your memory over and over again.” 

Nino frowned. “How often have we uh… done this?” 

Chat Noir winced. “Ummm… I don’t know?” 

“Shit dude. That’s…” Nino looked away. “Answer one question for me without giving away the thing you’re worried about?”

“Anything.” 

“Why did I agree to it the first time?” 

Adrien thought about it for a moment. What could he say? 

“You saw me have a breakdown where I was likely to be akumatized. I needed to talk to someone, but it wasn’t safe for me to talk about any of it without literally risking the world. You told me not to leave this room until I was okay.”

“And would you be risking the world by telling me now?”

Chat gripped the back of his neck. “Ummm… I don’t think so?”

“Dude! That’s not reassuring.”

Chat’s claws tore through his hair. “Yeah… you’re right. We can do it the other way. I’ll transform and set the timer, and explain everything. Then with context, you can make an informed decision about whether you want to remember or not. But either way, now you’ll at least remember that this is something that happens on the regular. You won’t bite my head off or assume that I’m trying to steal your girl when I’m talking to her.” 

“Thank you for that by the way.” Nino’s voice is small. And embarrassed. 

“For what?” 

“Talking to my girl? Apparently you were worried about me?”

“Yeah…”

“I’m sorry,” Nino said. “For assuming the worst.” 

Chat Noir shook his head. “It’s fine.” He wasn’t sure if it was, but he understood now why Nino had reacted the way he had. “I’m used to far worse.” 

“That doesn’t make me feel better, dude,” Nino told him, his eyes staring at him with a concern that Adrien was far too familiar with.

He pasted on a bright smile. “Well, let’s get this show going, yeah?”

“Sure,” Nino said, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. “What do I need to do?” 

Chat grinned. “Don’t worry about it, man. I got it covered. Sass, Plagg, unify!”

Nino put a hand over his eyes to block out the light. “Woah, dude. That’s quite the light show.” 

Snake Noir laughed. “Second chance.” 

“Alright mec, lay it on me,” Nino said. 

Snake Noir took in a deep breath, and then looked right at Nino. “I’m Adrien.” 

Nino paled. “What?”

“I’m Adrien,” he said again.

Nino’s eyes were as wide as the Seine. “Dude! You came here earlier when I was pissed at Chat Noir?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Please tell me I didn’t hit you,” Nino said, his eyes never leaving Adrien’s masked face.  

Adrien frowned. “You didn’t hit me. Were you worried that you might’ve?” 

“With where my head was at? I definitely wanted to punch you. Chat Noir, you, I mean.” Nino cringed. “I guess… that’s not much better.” 

Adrien tried to smile, but didn’t pull it off. “Your… umm… hostility toward me was a bit of a shock,” Adrien conceded. 

Nino snorted. 

“I just… I think I had gotten used to your… easy acceptance. I realize that I took it for granted.” 

“Dude! Stop! I was definitely in the wrong this time. And I’m sorry.” 

Adrien smiled. “It was just a misunderstanding.” 

“This is how you knew to call me?” 

Adrien nodded.

“I’m so sorry! I never meant to lay into you about… well, you! I just kept thinking about things being off with Alya, and obsessing over how I was supposed to compete with a superhero.”

Snake Noir bumped Nino’s shoulder. “But Nino, you are a superhero, too.” And then his head hung. “And we all have doubts.” 

“Dude, are you okay?” 

“Not really,” he admitted. “The whole reason Ladybug gave me the snake was so that I could confide in her, but I haven’t really done that. I keep using it to talk to you.” 

“Why can’t you talk to Ladybug.” 

“I can! And I can’t. So much of what I want to say is about her and that just makes it awkward. And every time I tell her who I am she starts crying.” 

Nino’s brow furrowed. “She has better not be disappointed!”

Chat shook his head. “No! I don’t think so. I think she’s sad that she has to forget.” 

“Why exactly does she have to forget?” Nino asked. 

“Us knowing each other’s identities apparently led to the end of the world.” It was getting easier to say.  

Nino starred at him flatly. “What. What do you mean, end of the world?” 

Chat threw his hands up in frustration. “I don’t know! I didn’t see it. She did! But apparently, I was akumatized and had the power of unlimited destruction, and blew up not just the earth, but the moon as well!” 

And yeah, maybe it was getting easier to say, but Adrien was shaking in agitation. 

Nino considered him for several seconds before finding his voice. “Dude. That is… heavy.” 

Snake Noir slumped down on the floor. “You’re telling me.” 

“I’m glad you’ve been able to come here,” Nino finally said. “I cannot imagine going through this alone.”

“I don’t know how I can ever thank you,” Adrien admitted. 

Nino pulled him into a sideways hug. “You don’t have to. That’s what friends are for.” 

“Little did I know, you taking pity on me for having Chloé as my only friend was one of the luckiest days of my life.” 

“Ha! I’m glad you have more options now.” 

Adrien smiled. “So, what do you say? Is this something you want to remember?” 

Nino nodded. “If you want me to know, I want to know.” 

“Even if it puts you in more danger?” 

“Dude! Do you think it’s possible for me to be in more danger at this point?” 

“Nino, I destroyed the world. Not Hawkmoth.” 

Nino frowned. “Now, that’s where you’re wrong. You said you were akumatized. That’s all on Hawkmoth.” 

“I doubt Hawkmoth’s goal was to destroy the world,” Adrien said softly. 

“Which just means, you must have broken from his control or something.” 

“To destroy the world?” Adrien asked sarcastically. 

Nino placed a hand on either of Adrien’s shoulders. “Dude, look at me.” 

Adrien looked up. 

“I’m not going to lie. Seeing you transformed as Snake whatever with Adrien’s brooding face is majorly trippy.” 

Adrien laughed. “Sass, scales rest. Plagg, claws in.” And in a burst of light, he was just Adrien sitting on his best friend’s bed. 

“You were saying?” Adrien prompted when Nino continued to just stare at him in shock. 

Nino seemed to shake himself lose. “Right! I’m saying this once and I will say it as many times as you need to hear it. You don’t really know what happened in that timeline. Like you said, you didn’t see it. And, you haven’t destroyed the world. Just look outside, you can see it!” 

Adrien opened his mouth to argue, but Nino silenced him with a waggling finger. “No, dude! I know what you’re thinking, but I know you. You would never destroy the world if you were in control of yourself. You are too good. Too pure for this world. And you’re fucking Chat Noir! You literally throw yourself into death’s jaws like every week to protect everyone. I will not let you feel guilty for all of time for something you haven’t even done.” 

Adrien watched Nino through his monologue, unable to help the smile that stretched across his face. “Are you done?” 

“That depends. Are you still beating yourself up?” 

Adrien smirked. “I’m feeling better at the moment actually, but I don’t promise I never will again.”

“Well, you just have to promise to come back whenever you’re feeling that way.” 

Adrien offered an open hand at chest level, and Nino clapped his own hand into it, and they pulled each other into a hug. “Deal, as long as you promise to talk to your girlfriend whenever you’re having doubts.” 

“What? I can’t talk to you about my girlfriend?” 

“I mean, you can! You can talk to me about anything.” 

“Oh my god! You’re Chat Noir!” 

“Uh, yeah?” 

“And I’m Carapace.” 

“Yeah, you gave that away in like my second loop.”

“We can literally talk about anything,” Nino concluded. 

Adrien smiled again. “I guess we can now. I hope you don’t come to regret that.” 

“Dude!” Nino squealed. “This is going to be so cool!” 

…

Chapter 4: A Thank You

[itsmeevie01]

A Moment in Time-Ch 7

MASTERPOST

Marinette was the first one to arrive at the bakery, much to her relief that evening.

After warning her parents that she had friends coming to join her, the teen hurried up the stairs to prepare for the evening. Mullo and Plagg flew off, and Marinette paused in the kitchen to pull together a snack tray, before following the Kwamii up the stairs to her room.

She made sure that while it was hidden, the box was now closer to her reach. Then, she pulled up a word document that had been idling in her computer for the past few months. The document labeled Ways Gabriel Agreste has Abused His Son.

Pulling up her email, Marinette opened her thread from the emails with Tim. Since she had the time, she may as well respond to his email.

 From: Mari_Beri2001@gmail.com

To: timdrakeeeee99@gmail.com

 Mr. Drake Wayne,

I can’t believe that I included Hawkmoth in that email! I must have been more tired than I thought. Hawkmoth has been terrorizing Paris since I was 12 years old. In the last four years, the man has possessed everyone from a toddler crying over a candy bar to a man grieving his wife’s death. My city has faced real-life myths and legends, as well as children who just wanted a nightlight. Hawkmoth will target anyone who has a negative emotion. Your ice cream dropped? You are an ice cream monster. You fail a test? Suddenly you are giving everyone passing grades. The worst part is, everyone who dies will be brought back, but the person who is possessed won’t remember anything. Many people have moved out of Paris, and most of the remaining citizens have taken up meditation and smaller forms of magic to protect themselves. Although the news won't admit it, our population had dropped quite a bit. Inside the city itself, there are about 1.9 million people now. Many have moved to areas nearby that have proved outside of Hawkmoth’s range. As far as we can tell he only strikes in the city proper. Before you ask, yes, someone is fighting him. Lady Tyche, Apate, and their new member Princess Meli will free the person of the possession and restore the city. They wield magical objects. It's theorized that Hawkmoth also wields a magical object and that’s why they’re the best suited to combat his creations.

It interests me, that you mention bringing this to Batman’s attention, but not the Justice League? Do you, by chance not trust them? I have heard that many people in Paris have called them for help, nothing has come of it, obviously. In my opinion, people don’t actually believe something is happening unless they experience it themselves. For the most part, people who come into Paris will hear rumors of Lady Tyche in passing, but since Princess Meli is new they haven’t heard of our other hero. To even most Parisians, Apate is a legend. To those who know her, she is a vigilante who will not hesitate to end a situation or clean up what the Lady and Princess won’t. Most of the time, however, she is known for following Lady Tyche’s lead. I’ve heard theories that it's because she is more violent and has a darker power than the other two. Once, I heard that she wants to protect the City of Lights, and won't use her powers unless necessary because of it. Some people think that when she uses her powers she spreads bad luck to the people nearby. On the other hand, many think that Lady Tyche leaves lingering good luck.

Sorry for the info dump, there is a lot going on in Paris right now.

Thank you for keeping an eye on Nona and Jason. Jason, as I am sure you know, can be impulsive. Nona isn’t much better. When he was here, Jason mentioned that you tend to be busy most of the time. He was surprised that you had responded so quickly as well, actually. I wanted to add that I am honored!

Thank you for the offer, but I don’t want to pry too much, if Jason is willing to part with the information, I really would like to know about their tike together. Please do not force him though. I am sure there are other ways to know what is actually going on. I do have to ask, what do you mean by ‘good spar’? do you two spar together often? If so, I do hope Jason doesn’t hurt you too often. I know that he usually put his all into everything he does, and I know that he is quite the fighter when he wants to be.

The slander is the work of a jealous girl in my class. She is of no consequence in the long run. I was surprised to find out (through you!) that the Bruce W on my commission list was for your family. Actually, don’t tell the rest of your family, but it’s not just the suits. There are a few gowns in the mix as well. Your family butler, I believe his name is Alfred, is sending me a list of measurements in the next several days.

Jason and I have known each other for as long as I can remember. If you want, ask him how we met. He will have a more concise memory since he is five years older than me. The best I can say right now is that he was the person I relied on for many years before we got separated. Since then, I think we both have grown, but I can still see who he was when he was 12 underneath everything. As I said, Jason would be the one to ask for specifics. Maybe after you ask him about how he knows my Nona?

Have a good day,

Marinette Dupain Cheng

P.S. of course I put energy drinks in my coffee! Is there any other way? If you ever want one of my recipes, let me know! I have a whole collection at this point.

 After she had sent the email, Marinette glanced over her room again to make sure everything was ready for when her friends arrived.

As she was getting up to fidget with the pictures, Chloé burst through the trap door. Behind her, Aurore followed at a more sedated pace.

“Mari! Hi! What is this? And why is she here? I thought you two weren’t talking anymore, remember? This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” Aurore raised an eyebrow at the other blonde before smiling at Marinette.

“your parents sent us up with some pastries. I think they were a little thrown off by Chloé and I arriving at the same time.” Here, the girl set the plate she had been holding that couldn’t be seen behind the more aggressive girl. “they mentioned about making sure to remind you that the past is past?” here, the two giggled as Chloé looked between them in confusion.

“Whatever!” she huffed, before flouncing over to Marinette’s chaise and settling herself there with a sniff. After the other two had stopped giggling, Marinette raised an eyebrow at Aurore in question. With a nod, the Ladybug holder turned to smile at Chloé.

“So, Chloé. We know that you and I are not exactly close, but there is something that Marinette and I wanted to bring you in on.” Here, she looked back at Marinette with a smile. Before she could continue, however, the heiress started to interrupt.

“if you two are-” Aurore’s phone started to ring, making the three pause as the girl turned to answer the call

“Mireille? Hey!” she turned and waved to Marinette, motioning her to continue with the conversation while she finished with her friend.

“No, Chloé. It’s more complicated.” Marinette leveled her friend with a look. “plus, if this was the same thing as two years ago, I would have told you earlier. You know that.” as Marinette soothed her friend, a small part of her brain reminded her that there was something that she hadn't told the girl. something that her friend would kill her for.

“Then what on earth is going on, Mari? You know it makes me nervous being out of the loop.” Marinette snorted pointedly at her friend.

“We weren’t trying to keep you out of the loop, C. it’s just…Aurore and I just realized what was going on. We wanted to make sure that we were making the right choice before going further. You have proven that we have.” Marinette paused, watching her friend. When the blonde still looked confused, the younger teen just smiled. “would Pollen like a bowl of honey?” Chloé bilked before laughing.

“Mari, dear. Who on earth is Pollen? Have you made a new friend I didn’t know about?” an indignant voice that Chloé was unfamiliar with responded.

“My Kitten hasn’t, but you have Buzz.” As Aurore finally got off the phone and turned back to the conversation, Chloé let out an ear-piercing shriek.

“OH MY GOD MARINETTE DUPAIN CHENG NO FUCKING WAY!” then, Marinette was falling backward under the force of her best friend tackling her in a hug.

 After Chloé had calmed down, the three girls spent the next four hours talking. The first 15 minutes had been about how the original two had handled living a double life for four years. After that, the girls turned their attention to the document that Marinette had pulled up.

The rest of the time was spent overanalyzing the spending Habits of the top four people on Marinette’s suspect list.

 When asked why she had the list and not Aurore, the duo explained that many times while Lady Tyche was out patrolling and being a beacon of good luck, Apate would be behind the scenes. Many a night, office buildings would register a break-in before the figure would turn into literal shadows. The security guards who would be sent to investigate would be faced with a missing pane of glass that had suspiciously black edges on the frame. Most of the time, when Apate was ready to leave, if anyone was around, they would lose their senses for the time that it took for her to leave. After, they would think that had simply blinked before getting on with their life.

Using this method, the protectors of Paris were able to cross many off their lists. In the few times, they had entered private residences, the break-in would happen when the family was away.

 Of course, Marinette’s hacking skills had come into use, as she had taught Aurore the basics a few years back. Unknowingly, the two had set their alter egos up for success.

The duo had spent more nights than they could remember curled up on a rooftop, laptops booted up. They would spend hours at a time sitting there with paper strewn around them as they raced to hack in and access as many schedules and bank statements as they could. Although it was highly illegal, the two had spent almost as much time working on the internet crossroads to narrow their such as they had fighting Akumas.

 Chloé’s awe at the work the two had put in showed. When they asked her to help them continue to narrow down the list she agreed. When she saw the first document sitting open on Marinette’s computer, the shock on her face lasted all of ten seconds before the heiress was helping her teammates dig into the private life of one Gabriel Agreste.

 When Marinette had said goodbye to her friends, Aurore left to patrol and Chloé went home with the hope that she could access more sensitive information from her father's unlocked computer. When the other two had raised concerns about it, the teen had waved them off. Apparently, the mayor was much laxer on the security of his work computer than he should be.

 After climbing up to her room, Marinette closed down all of the programs that she didn’t need to leave running overnight. As she closed out most of her browser, the teen hesitated, before she clicked into her email. Sitting there, waiting for her was an email that had been received in the middle of her session with her friends.

 From: timdrakeeeee99@gmail.com

To: Mari_Beri2001@gmail.com

Miss Marinette,

I have to say, you know quite a bit about these heroes that have been fighting in Paris. I started looking up the topics that you mentioned but couldn’t find anything. After several attempts, I used a VPN to make it seem like I was in Paris. That made the entire thing open up like a wrapped present. I must say I am surprised that it hasn’t made its way out of Paris yet. Well, I was surprised, until I was reading through some tourist guides. It seems that the new phrase is what happens in Paris stays in Paris. That, and very thorough censorship on public media. How have you made it this long in that city, without losing it completely?

I was able to flag down Signal, who is known as the Daytime Bat, and passed along what you had sent me. I included my own research as well, so don’t be surprised if they go to investigate further in the near future. Well, I guess you wouldn’t hear of it, but if they show up, it is defiantly because they are concerned.

I wouldn’t say that the JL is not trustworthy, but I trust Batman’s Gotham team more. Maybe it is the familiarity that comes from being rescued frequently from hostage situations. I trust them, and they know that I won't give them information just for the hell of it.it doesn’t help that the JL tends to make a massive mess when they come through town. I would rather they stay far away from me, thank you very much.

So, it turns out that both you and Jason are very cryptic. I don’t know how much you know of the time between when Jason was 13 and his 16th birthday, but he said that he was with a friend of your mother’s? He said that you would know her as Aunt Talia and that your mother was always the more levelheaded of the two. This was…confusing for many reasons, one of which is that your Aunt is my little brother’s bio mom. Anyway, Jason said he was with your Aunt when he met Gina, in ‘this little place in Canada.’ He mentioned an island and a bay that sounded a lot like the Bay of Fundy. If you have any idea why your grandmother would be out there, then we can puzzle out how they met. As for how they got separated, I am afraid that this time it had something to do with a chef? Something about him chasing the two of them out of town with a cleaver? Apparently, this chef is another relation of yours. Marinette, I must be honest, you have quite a few deadly relatives. you aren’t going to come through the screen and slice my head off, will you?

This afternoon, I got a call from the police station, by the way. Apparently, Jason and Gina had been busting drug gangs in their free time and there was some incriminating evidence. I am not quite sure how they got into it, but they have been issued a warning by the local Bats. You may be seeing this chaotic duo again in Europe sooner than either of us would like if this keeps up.

As to the sparing question. Jason, as I believe you are aware by now, likes to keep fit in a variety of ways. Bruce made sure all the children under his roof could fight and protect themselves. This means that while Jason may be the biggest in the family, and I am considered the smallest, I can still beat him in an even spar if I put some work into it. For the most part, I prefer not to use the same tactics that Jason uses, and since he and I tend to train at the same time, we see each other but don’t usually go head to head. I have to say it was quite a rush to beat him earlier today.

Alfred mentioned something about housing a guest who would be making sure that the family was presentable for the Gala. That wouldn’t happen to be you, would it? If you do come to Gotham, may I show you around? I know that having an experienced guide in any city makes things much easier.

On that note, I am going to make the assumption the Bruce didn’t know who he was commissioned, so I will warn you that he may ask that you get a background check done. Up until this point, he has only communicated with you through lawyers about the press fiasco. he probably won’t make that connection for a while yet.

Have a good evening,

Tim DW

P.S., of course, I would like the recipes! Any that you send would be greatly appreciated! My family thinks that I rely too much on coffee and not on sleep. Do you have that problem much? It has gotten to the point that I have a few shops that I go to that the rest don’t know I like. It’s the only way to get the sweet nectar of coffee! What is the worst thing you have done to procure caffeine? I hope your family helps you more than mine does. They say that if they didn’t monitor my caffeine intake, they would be enablers.

 Marinette giggled at Tim’s frustration with her brother. It looked like the two of them were going to keep it a secret a while longer. Although, when she did go for the Gala, and the fittings the week before, it would only be a matter of time before the Waynes figured out the two were related. After all, the features of Willis Todd are hard to hide.

Still smiling, Marinette made a note to tell the others that Batman had been notified.

Glancing at the time, Marinette reached blindly for the cold cup sitting nearby. The grey cup that was covered in pink sparkles read ‘I can’t talk right now. Leave a message after the squeak!’ The cup was one that Marinette had made after she started to wield Mullo, the mouse Kwamii, more.

Mullo and Plagg had been instrumental to her while she had been investigating the many businesses of Paris. Since then, the teen had kept the mouse around as an alternate form of defending herself. While the public had not been introduced to Little Mouse, the quiet vigilante had done quite a bit of work for the City.

As Marinette sipped on her current super coffee, (cold brew, two shots of espresso, one pump of vanilla syrup, and a mocha monster. affectionately named Minnie Mouse) she made a list of her tasks for the night. If she could send off the sketches of what the Waynes wanted for their gala pieces, then she could do the basic list of things she would need to get at the fabric store the next day. After making her list, she could start on her design for her own dress. Glancing back up to her computer, Marinette froze. She had to email Tim back at some point as well.

As she was standing to retrieve her camera and sketchbook, Marinette’s personal email dinged. Glancing over, she realized it was an email from Tim. Again. With a frown, the teen opened the message. The email was in no way close to the formal communications the two had been trading.

 From: timdrakeeeee99@gmail.com

To: Mari_Beri2001@gmail.com

MARINETTE

I AM SO SORRY. WHEN THE WHOLE PRESS THING HAPPENED, WE ALL TALKED ABOUT IT AS A FAMILY. JASON WASN’T THERE AND I JUST FOUND OUT WHY. HE AND BRUCE WERE YELLING AND I WASN’T EAVESDROPPING BUT I HAD GONE TO TALK TO B AND HE HAD BEEN YELLI GAT JASON ABOUT SEEING A SISTER.

JASON WAS YELLING AND TOLD B TO SHOVE OFF BECAUSE AND I QUOTE-

“MARINETTE WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY FAMILY EMERGENCY AND IF VISITING HER WOULD GET HIM IN TROUBLE THAN HE WANTED NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FAMILY.”

YOU

ARE

JASON’S

SISTER

HOLY SHIT

-tim

 Marinette’s brain came to a screeching halt as she read the email once, twice, three times before letting out a string of curses. Dammit, Jason.

She collected her thoughts and pulled up an open template to respond to the other teen

 From: Mari_Beri2001@gmail.com

To: timdrakeeeee99@gmail.com

Tim. Please tell me you have taken a deep breath and have had time to reflect since you send the last email.

Yes, Jason is my older brother. Well, half-brother. My mother died when I was young, and since she had been having an affair with Willis Todd (a horrible man, by the way.) she had put his name down on my birth certificate. Catherine definitely never liked me, but she put up with my presence. Multiple times, Jason and I would run away or end up on the streets because of the fighting that would happen in that house. One day, I ran when Jason wasn’t around and was caught by CPS. Up and away I was sent to France whit the couple who had found me when I ran away from CPS. Jason thought I was dead until that scandal broke almost two months ago. That’s why he vanished. He came here to visit me. This was the first time I have seen him in 10 years. Neither of us was exactly thinking clearly.

It doesn’t surprise me that your father knows that Jason and I are siblings. However, it also wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t make it very far down that path. Jason thought I was dead for years. I kept tabs on him, but that doesn’t mean he knew about that until he got over here.

I am going to respond to your last email as well.

Yes, the current plan is for me to arrive in Gotham. About a week before the Christmas Gala. That way, I’ll have time to do any last-minute fixes. I would love to have you show me around your city if that offer is still open. I haven’t been to Gotham since I was 6 years old, so I don’t remember much of the place.

-Marinette

Ps, I’ll send those recipes soon. I don’t think you want a super coffee tonight. 😊

 After hitting send, Marinette sighed. With luck, she could have her list done by dawn. What was one more super coffee, after all?

HIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!

ok ok ok ok

i have been really excited to post this one, and actually almost posted last night! Self control? don’t know her! 

this one i think is really important because Tim and Mari aren’t super formal in their talking anymore. also...who can guess what went down with Aurore and Mari???

Tag List

@moonlitceleste @redscarlet95 @ultimatetornshipper @mochegato @liquid-luck-00 @maskedpainter @trippingovermyfeet @nathleigh @m0chick0furan @susiej1118 @t1dwarrior-of-earth @sassakitty @remy-289

[hadtochangemyurlquick]

shoni for 97, 100

Rules: Send me two (2) tropes from this list + a ship and I’ll describe how I’d combine them in the same story.

Time Travel  & Accidentally Saving the Day   

i hated writing this and it took forever and then i accidentally loved it. o fuck this happened w/ the soulmate au too, i need to stop coming up with genius plots i'm too smart

Toni didn’t like working for Klein Life Lines.

Everything from the cheesy rhyming name, the Margarita Mondays #girlboss work culture, to the absolutely suffocating way Gretchen Klein’s eyes followed her wherever she went, made every day a living hell to get through.

But. It paid like gangbusters, and her coworkers were perhaps the best people she’d ever met. From Fatin always keeping vodka in her water bottle, to Nora always having the perfect joke, to Rachel constantly arguing with Toni about who was gonna foot the lunch bill, to the way Leah always seemed to be picking up on every little thing around her. She guessed Toni’s birthday, just from context clues of Toni being a little hungover one morning. Like fucking Sherlock Holmes.

They were amazing and she loved them. But they only made working there bearable. Being Gretchen Klein’s personal fucking assistant sucked fucking ass. Even if all she had to do was move things around on google calendar she was still home by midnight most nights. She wished, often, that she was like Rachel, Nora, Fatin, and Leah. They all got to work on a big research project together while Toni told Gretchen’s son that he was gonna have to switch schools again.

Well, Leah technically worked in HR but she did so much in that big fucking mystery room she was probably helping out. Apparently “going to college” was a requirement for being a scientist. If Toni’d known that she would’ve been born rich. Her bad.

So work was bad, until the evening Gretchen’s son had some sort of emergency and she ran out early, only ordering for Toni to finish all the work she had to do. Except Toni didn’t have any work to do without Gretchen, but if she left early she’d be crucified.

So she dicked around at her desk until she wandered her way into the big mystery doors where the rest of her friends had locked themselves away.

“Hey guys,” Toni poked her head in, “Gretchen peeled out early for once, mind if I annoy you guys in here?”

“Come the fuck in,” Fatin waved her over, luckily none of them were forced to wear dumb lab coats as they plugged away at their computers. In the front of the room was a large processor, it’s fan working overtime. “Gretchen the Wretched finally fucked off?”

“Something with her son,” Toni shrugged and plopped next to Fatin. “What is that?”

“Data analysis,” Rachel answered. She showed Toni her computer, the numbers flashing too quickly for Toni to read them.

“What’s it for?”

“No idea,” Leah said. “Which isn’t giving me bad vibes at all. We’re just working on some mystery project for a self-described ‘Napoleon with a cunt.’”

“Relax,” Rachel said. “We already know it’s not for world domination. Fatin ran the diagnostics.”

Fatin made eye contact with Toni and quickly shook her head.

“So, you have no idea what it’s for?” Toni asked.

“None,” Nora said.

“But there’s a big red button we are absolutely not allowed to press,” Fatin said. She nodded at a big red button on the processor.

Toni looked at it. “I’m gonna press it.”

Everyone stopped typing and looked at her.

“Absolutely not,” Rachel said.

“Do it,” Leah said.

“Toni, absolutely maybe don’t press it,” Fatin said.

“Exactly,” Nora agreed.

“I’m gonna do it.” Toni walked over to the processor and they all watched her as her hand hovered over the large button.

“Don’t do it,” Rachel said, but didn’t make a move to stop her.

Toni loved being told what to do, so obediently she walked back over to them and they all had a good laugh.

Yeah, as if.

She pressed the button and instead of the machine shutting off, or the lights flickering, or something external, all she felt was a sudden sucking in her gut as the world went dark.

She was surrounded by water, gasping for breath as she swam, not even sure which direction to go in. Water got in her lungs and an arm swung around her waist. She grasped at it desperately, struggling as her feet kicked until she broke the water line, coughing and spluttering as someone dragged her towards a shore.

They landed on a beach and Toni continued to gasp, wondering if she'd throw up from vertigo.

“What in the world were you thinking?” A woman asked, and luckily, she didn’t sound like Gretchen, her voice too southern.

Toni coughed, her knees bending in the sand. The water was fresh though, maybe a lake?

“Who even are you?” The woman continued. “You just appeared. Out of nowhere! Are you—are you an angel?” Toni rolled over in the sand, eyes catching sight of a sky, light blue in the early morning. Which made no sense, because it was nearly eight o’clock.

“What?” Toni managed.

“You’ve got to be,” The woman said. “Or a spirit sent by the devil. Which is it?”

Toni looked over at her and holy fuck this woman was beautiful, blonde and her face was sculpted, even her hair wet shone in the sun as she looked down at Toni. Toni wanted to ask if she was the angel.

She was also dressed for the renaissance fair.

“What?”

“It’s the only way you could’ve known I was gonna jump. Why else would you have saved me?” The woman asked.

“I—what?”

“When you appeared,” the woman said. “You just appeared and I jumped in after you, instead of—well instead of jumping in to—” the woman cut off abruptly and Toni put a hand over her eyes to calm her incoming migraine.

“What’s your name?” The woman asked.

“Toni,” Toni said.

“Not very angelic,” the woman said. “Not very demonic either.”

“I’m not—what—”

“My name’s Shelby,” the woman offered. “Thank you for saving me.”

“You—you saved me,” Toni said but she shook her head. “Whatever. I guess. Where are we?”

“Not far from the mountains,” Shelby said. “My family will be there by now.”

“The mountains?” Toni asked. “What fucking mountains?”

Shelby nodded her head at something beyond them and Toni sat up a little and gaped. She’d only seen the Rocky Mountains a few times but they’d be hard to fucking forget. They stood before her like a total damnation of god and science, for one moment she had her back to them in Minnesota and now they’d crept up on her, Shelby dragging her ever closer.

She looked back at Shelby’s cosplay and a bad feeling starting creeping up her throat.

“What—what’s the year?”

Shelby gave her an odd look. “May of 1837,” Shelby said. “Do you think you’ve hit your head?”

The migraine returned and Toni fell back on the sand.

Yeah, Gretchen was definitely planning world domination.

[ateezmakemeweep]

omg omg i just saw this trend going around and I thought that having an ateez reaction to it would be amazing! could you please do a reaction to ateez being in a very important zoom meeting and their significant other walking in on them semi naked? thank you!

❥ kim hongjoong

“well if we’re gonna do it that way, i think we should just-“

the door squeaking open causes hongjoong’s words to die in his throat, looking up at you and his eyes widening at you standing there in a towel. you wince and mouth an apology, jumping over the bed so you don’t walk into the view of the camera as you make your way to the shared closet. 

he had warned you he was gonna be on a video call today with the producers, probably to avoid a situation like this. but you’d been in the shower for nearly an hour and thought for sure he’d be done; it’s also far too cold in the air conditioned house to just stay in your towel. 

so you creep around the room quietly and carefully, covered up securely as you fish through your drawers for sweatpants and your boyfriend’s shirt. but before you can even move your towel off an inch, hongjoong lowers his laptop and shouts your name. 

“what!” you squeal, jumping in surprise. and thank god he moved his camera down and turned his mic off because your towel slips from your hand and falls at your feet. a laugh threatens to bubble out of your mouth when you see the expression on hongjoong’s face, a mix of amusement and anger that you know all too well.

“the fucking mirror, y/n!” 

❥ park seonghwa

you were rushing around the bathroom trying to get ready for your lunch date, your phone pinging with your friend’s demand to get downstairs before they come up and drag you out by your hair. with it still wet from the shower, you throw on your shorts and bra before realizing stupid you had forgotten to bring in a shirt. 

the same way you forgot that seonghwa had a scheduled zoom call today with the members and their company, everyone on a break visiting their families but trying to get everything settled for the next comeback. so when you barged in, lace pink bra and all, you couldn’t help the tiny squeal that left your mouth when you took note of the seonghwa’s back to you and the computer screen just a few feet away. 

your boyfriend turned around at the sound, his eyes widening before he quickly moved to turn off his mic and camera. you don’t even have the time to feel embarrassed, hearing the loud pings from your phone as you jump over the bed and grab a shirt from the closet.

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry, i’m sorry,” you say frantically as you rip your favorite go-to shirt off the hanger. “they’re harassing me to come down and i forgot a shirt and-“

his spins you around so you’re pressed flush against him, the material of his shirt against the bare skin of your stomach and causing you to swallow nervously. you meet his hardened gaze with a soft look, an innocent smile and look in your wide eyes. 

“everyone just saw that,” he growls lowly, a smirk fighting at your lips at the possessiveness creeping into your boyfriend’s presence. and usually you love to tease him and poke fun at it but today you just have no time, pressing a kiss to his lips before throwing on your shirt. 

“i moved out of the way and you turned off the camera, it’s fine,” you whine, pressing another kiss to his cheek before telling him you’re leaving. but he has other plans, wrapping an arm around your waist before pushing you down on the bed roughy. 

“no you’re not.”

�� jeong yunho

he’d been on this boring call for almost two hours, his shoulders tense and cramping from the amount of time he’s been sitting in this uncomfortable desk chair. it feels as if they’ve been talking about the same thing for the past 20 minutes, mingi having fallen asleep three times in his screen before hongjoong yelled at him and scared the boy awake. 

“yunhoooo, are you almost do-“ 

you walked in expecting to see yunho sprawled out on his bed the way he was when you went to watch tv in the living room, his camera off as he sat atop his bed and rested on the headboard. but he must’ve changed positions at some point, given the way his camera is fully aimed at the door and you’re standing there half naked. 

but it was only you and him, what did it matter if you were just in a t-shirt and underwear? yunho sees you in the camera before he registers the sound of your voice, letting out a surprised gasp before blocking your figure. 

you hear the unmistakable cackle of wooyoung through the speakers, his teasing voice asking if y/n had joined followed promptly by your embarrassed squeal of an apology. yunho only fights the smile on his face, shaking his head as he insists there’s nothing to see back there. 

❥ kang yeosang

your boyfriend had just ended the call and immediately threw himself down on the bed, his face buried in the pillow as embarrassment takes over him. you couldn’t help but laugh and roll your eyes at him, raising an eyebrow because- 

“i’m sorry, were you the one just exposed on camera?” 

but you suppose it’d been your own fault, forgetting about the early morning call and running back into the room for your lotion that left you staring at the rest of ateez and their crew just in your short robe. 

you let out a gasp and jumped out of frame immediately, profusely apologizing as a red-faced yeosang turned his camera off. and then you hadn’t returned until he texted you that it was okay, your clean body still covered in your robe because there was no way you were going back in there. 

he says something but the pillows muffle it, your eyes rolling as a huff leaves your mouth and you daringly jump on his back. he makes a pained groan and you giggle, laying down next to him and poking at his pink cheeks. 

❥ choi san

san was just as upset as you that he had to spend the night on a zoom call, a designated two hours that could’ve been used for watching a move or two episodes of your new drama. but instead, he was in the living room and you were in your room, watching tv and playing on your phone with a pout on your face. 

that was until the exact two hour mark hit, springing up from bed and tiptoeing into the living room. you smiled hearing san laugh at something seonghwa said, his shoulders shaking back and forth; he has so many different laughs but this one is your favorite, right from his gut as he throws his head back and-

“oh, my god, y/n! where are your pants!?” 

your eyes widen and an embarrassed laugh leaves your mouth as you jump away, san’s head snapping back and the smile immediately dropping from his face. he narrows his eyes as he takes in your figure, just his oversized sweater covering your body and leaving your legs exposed. you smile innocently at him but he can only shake his head, noting the time of the meeting has overlapped. 

he points that out to hongjoong and the boy only lets out a sigh, running his hand through his hair because it’d been impressive enough that all eight of them sat down for this long; but the second the call ends, san jumps up and charges over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist as a squeal leaves your mouth.

“baby, did you really have to do that? they all just saw you.”

you look up at him with a small pout, wrapping your arms around his neck as you pull him down to place a kiss on his lips. 

“i’m sorry but i just missed you,” you whine quietly, his heart softening and dimply smile appearing as he drags you over to the couch.

❥ song mingi

mingi only noticed you behind him in nothing but a towel courtesy of san’s high pitched yelp. he threw his hands over his eyes and asked what the hell you were doing, mingi jumping in his chair and shaking his head of drowsiness. 

“what?” mingi asked, his deep voice low and full of sleep; this call had been way longer than he anticipated but just as boring as he suspected. this all could’ve been settled in a phone call, he thought, not some long drawn out zoom call. 

“not you! y/n!” 

mingi’s eyebrows pull together before he hears you plop down on the bed, snapping his head over to see you laid out in your towel. your face is pulled into a grimace and you quietly mouth “sorry,” ripping him right from his tired daze.

he turned off the camera and made his way over to the dresser, throwing a pair of his sweatpants and a shirt at you as he demands for you to put it on. 

❥ jung wooyoung

“where’s y/n right now?” hongjoong asked him, completely baffled by the fact you weren’t in his lap right now. it’d been a known fact since you guys started dating that you were inseparable, wooyoung’s lap or shoulder rarely free of you.

“in the shower so if we can speed this up, that’d be-“

his door creaking open causes him to turn around, your hair in a bun with just the bra and underwear you creeped out of the bathroom in; you’d forgotten your brush and this shower would be about 20 minutes longer if you used your fingers to get the knots out. 

“oh, my god!” wooyoung squeals, the other’s laughter and shouts muffled when the boy dramatically slams his laptop shut. “what the hell, y/n!” 

“i’m sorry, you were facing the other way three seconds ago! and i needed my brush!” you whine, your pink cheeks threatening laughter to bubble out of his chest. he shakes his head as he gets up from his chair, grabbing the brush off your dresser before making his way over to you. 

you look at him with a small frown as another apology falls from your lips, his hand moving to your cheek to press a kiss to your lips. 

“it’s fine, you got me out of it,” wooyoung says before a smirk crosses his lips as he looks over your body. “now i can join you.” 

your eyebrow raises as you look at him, a smirk pulling at your lips before you tongue peeks out. “oh? when did i invite you?”

❥ choi jongho

“i warned you about it and you still managed to come in with the smallest pair of shorts you own. how is that even-“

“don’t remind me!” you whine, burying your face in his chest as your cheeks warm. “i’m so embarrassed.”

jongho laughs against your head, still hearing the screams of san and wooyoung when they noticed you back in the kitchen; they’d never seen you anything but a long dress or jeans, completely thrown off by seeing you in such revealing clothing. 

“y/n! you should dress like that more often!” wooyoung teased, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively that caused jongho to roll his eyes and growl a few curses at him. he liked that you only wore those shorts in front of him and when their vacations end, he thinks he’s gonna have to kick wooyoung just a little too roughly in the leg. 

more reactions here 💛

[buckybarnesthehotshot]

i hate you but ii: i need to talk to sam (bucky barnes x reader)

i hate you but masterlist

summary: bucky and y/n can’t stand each other, but y/n needs help with her sister’s kids (enemies to lovers au)

word count: 2181

warnings: swearing, arguing, death, and this is not proofread

taglist is CLOSED

A/N: so uh this chapter kind of focuses more on y/n’s relationship with her sister and the kids. there’ll be more Bucky in the next chapter, dw

       “I’m on my way,” y/n sighed before dropping the call.

       y/n had never rushed out of the compound as quickly as she did that day. Hell, even on missions—much to everyone’s distaste—she took her precious time to make sure she had everything she needed with her. She slipped on a sweatshirt and a pair of sandals before bolting out her bedroom.

      The next thing she knew, she was in the elevator, asking FRIDAY to bring her to the basement level of the compound, anxiously gripping her phone on her side.

       With a ding, the elevator doors slid open and y/n, once again, ran as fast as her legs could take her, and got into her car (which thankfully, was voice activated) and drove away from the compound and towards the precinct.

       y/n, her thoughts spiraling, gripped tightly onto the steering wheel as tears obstructed her vision. She was having difficulty coming to terms with her sister’s death. Yes, she hasn’t seen her sister—or any of her kids for that matter—but it was difficult to deal with. How the hell was she supposed to deal with the fact that her baby sister, the one she didn’t visit for the purpose of keeping her safe, was gone.

       Was it all because of HYDRA? Was it because of some illness y/n was never made aware of? Her thoughts were starting to get the better of her until she was snapped out of her trance by FRIDAY’s voice telling her to “turn right.”

       The compound was a fifteen-minute ride away from the precinct. She arrived at the slightly run-down police precinct. Parking the car and slamming the door behind her, she speed walked into the precinct only to be stopped by a man sitting at the front desk.

       “Name and purpose?” he questioned her, staring up at her expectantly, his dark brown eyes boring into her e/c ones.

       “I’m looking for Elise Jones and Mike Jonas? I’m Cassy Langdon’s sister, Y/N L/N” she spoke to the man stationed at the front desk. He looked up, handed her the logbook and a pen, and spoke.

       “I’m going to need your I.D, ma’am,” the man questioned, holding his hand out. y/n huffed, with the rush she was in, she forgot to bring along anything other than her phone. “I don’t think I have my I.D on me right now, officer,” y/n shook her head.

       “Well, that’s too bad. I’m afraid I can’t let you in without your I.D, ma’am,” the officer shook his head.

       “Officer, I just received a phone call telling me that my sister’s dead and I have custody of her children. I don’t think you want to test me,” y/n chuckled, her voice raspy and tired.

       “That’s sad and all, but I still need your I.D,” the officer narrowed his eyes at y/n. She took a deep breath before speaking words she’d heard Tony Stark say a handful of times while trying to enter bars.

       “You need an I.D? y/n l/n, look me up because this face is my I.D,” y/n smirked, signing her name onto the log book. Once again, the officer narrowed his eyes at her before directing his attention to his computer screen and typing something into it before his eyes widened.

       “You’re an Avenger?” the officer’s eyes widened, scrambling up to his feet to salute.

       “I wasn’t in the military like the other Avengers,” y/n stuttered, shaking her head repeatedly, “a simple ‘oh hey, you weren’t lying about your identification, you can totally enter the precinct’ would do.”

       “Of course, ma’am,” the officer nodded, returning to his seat.

       y/n made her way further into the precinct and she saw what she assumed to be the waiting area since there were quite a few people seated in the room.

       “Miss L/N, over here,” a familiar voice came from one of the corners of the room. She looked over to the source of the voice and saw a woman, based off how she looked, she must have been in her late forties or early fifties, clad in a blue pantsuit with a matching blazer. y/n made her way to the woman, ignoring all the stares she was getting from everyone, and taking a seat parallel to her.

       “I’m going to make this quick, why am I the one taking custody of my sister’s three kids? What happened to their dad? You know, what’s his face?” y/n’s brows furrowed, unable to recall her brother-in-law’s name. After all, she never liked him for her little sister.

       “Mr. Langdon is currently in a holding cell,” Elise explained, smoothing out her pants as she readjusted her position on the seat.

       “That son of a bitch killed my sister, didn’t he?” y/n chuckled sadly upon hearing Elise’s words.

       “Well, your sister died in a drunk driving accident. Mr. Langdon was driving and the investigators are currently taking Ethan and Olivia’s statements on what happened and from the looks of it, Mr. Langdon could be charged with homicide,” a man interrupted her, also making his presence known.

        “You’re taking the kid’s statements? Wait, they weren’t in the car when it crashed, were they?” y/n panicked, her eyes widening in concern.

       “Ethan and Olivia weren’t included in the half of the population that went out with the blip. I don’t think they’re as young as you remember them,” the man explained before a look of realization found its way to his face, “I almost forgot, I’m Mike Jonas, your sister’s lawyer.”

       “y/n l/n, but you already knew that,” y/n shook his hand before continuing, “what about the other one; Jackson, my sister’s youngest?”

       “There’s a room in the precinct for the younger kids. Cassy’s kids who were affected by the blip are there. Jackson’s in there with his younger sister, Allie,” Elise smiled reassuringly.

       “So, there’s four of them, now? Damn it, I can’t believe my sister had another kid with that prick,” y/n rolled her bloodshot eyes in disappointment. Her mind flashed back to when they were teenagers and would talk about their futures.

       “I want a big house, a good husband, and a big family so the house would never feel lonely. I want you there too, y/n. Oh my god, the kids are going to love you!” Cassy smiled up at y/n, her e/c eyes beaming with excitement.

       “Cass, don’t you think your husband would hate it if I lived with you guys? Plus, I don’t think I’d be good with children anyways,” y/n chuckled, shaking her head.

        “Can you at least promise you’ll visit us often?” Cassy’s e/c eyes pierces into y/n’s e/c ones.

      “I promise,” y/n smiled, locking pinkies with Cassy.

       Her eyes glossed over with tears as her mind wandered to that memory. She knew damn well broke that promise. There was a point in time when y/n kept that promise and she visited Cassy’s house every week, always bringing along gifts for her niece and nephews.

       “You spoil them,” Cassy chuckled as Ethan, Olivia, and Jackson tore off the wrapping paper from the boxes she handed them.

       “It’s not my fault I’m the cool aunt,” y/n winked in response, pulling an eyeroll from Cassy.

       Those visits only ever stopped when y/n’s position as an Avenger began to pose as a threat to the family’s safety. What if HYDRA caught her during one of her visits to the house? What if she couldn’t protect them when HYDRA decided to use them against her?

       She couldn’t have that on her conscience, so she abruptly cut off all communications with her sister and her family. She didn’t want to put their lives in danger.

      To her, it’d been two years since her last visit. To Ethan and Olivia? It must’ve been seven years. Damn Thanos and his mission to “help” the universe. y/n began to feel uncomfortable in her seat. Would the kids recognize her? Would they accept the fact that they had to live with her now?

       “Your sister, she once discussed you getting custody of her children if she and Mr. Langdon were to pass. She wrote about this in her will,” Mike explained, handing y/n a manila envelope.

       She opened the envelope and she pulled out one crisp piece of printed paper—y/n assumed this was the will itself—and six envelopes. She was surprised to find one with her name written in her sister’s handwriting too; even after she’d abandoned her, Cassy still left y/n something.

       “What’s this?” y/n questioned, holding up the envelope.

       “Cassy wrote you a letter. She made sure to put emphasis on the fact that you don’t have to open it immediately. She said you would’ve taken a while before you decided to open it,” Mike explained, earning a nod from y/n as she tucked the envelope back into the bigger one as she read through the will.

       There, in the section concerning the wellbeing of Cassy’s children, y/n saw her name and the conditions of which y/n would take custody of her children.

       “If, however, my husband, Eric Langdon, is somehow unfit (an example of it being under the influence of alcohol for 2-4 days a week) or unavailable (an example of this having him jailed or god forbid dead), I entrust the custody of my four children, Ethan Langdon, Olivia Langdon, Jackson Langdon, and Allison Langdon, with my older sister, y/n l/n.”

       “Well, when can I meet the kids?” y/n smiled sadly, tucking the piece of paper back in the envelope.

       “They should be done questioning Olivia and Ethan in a few minutes. For now, I need to talk to you about how living conditions are going to be with the kids,” Elise requested, earning a nod from y/n.

       “I’d like to think I have more than enough to support them without needing to dig into the funds my sister left for them. The only issue I have is that my apartment’s a two-bedroom apartment and I think the kids are going to want more space than that, so I swear I’ll try finding a better place. One with more than enough room for the kids,” y/n explained, earning a nod from Elise. y/n remembered how big Cassy’s dreams were. Sure, she liked being with family, but she also wanted her kids to have space to move around, to play. y/n owed it to Cassy to give the kids the life she wanted for them.

       “It sounds like you have the living conditions under control. I like how you didn’t mention letting them move into the Avengers Compound, though I am aware it’s where you’re currently living?” Elise raised a brow expectantly.

      “My apartment, it’s for when I need to get away from all the hero stuff. I don’t think it’d be great for the kids to be exposed to everything going on in the tower,” y/n chuckled, the events of earlier flashing through her brain.

       “I see. But I want to discuss your involvement in their lives. Their mom just passed and their dad’s getting incarcerated. I know being an Avenger can be demanding, but I’m telling you now that you might need some time off for them to get used to having you as their guardian,” Elise explained, earning another nod from y/n.

       “I’ll let my teammates know I’m taking a break now, if you’ll excuse me,” y/n nodded out, getting up from her seat and finding a more secluded area in the precinct to ring up her colleagues.

       “Hello?” a gruff voice responded and y/n groaned internally. Of all people who could pick up the phone in the tower, why did Bucky Barnes have to pick up?

       “Barnes, I need to talk to Sam,” y/n was quick to cut the chase.

       “Why? Did you burn down another kitchen?” Bucky quipped, pulling an eye roll from y/n.

       “No, but this is really important so can I please talk to Sam?” y/n strained, her jaw clenching.

       “Whatever you’re going to tell Sam, you can tell me. I’ll let him know,” Bucky spoke in a suspiciously innocent tone.

       “I don’t trust you with relaying information, so not a chance,” y/n, for the second time in two minutes, rolled her eyes at Bucky’s antics.

       “Alright, fine. Sam! y/n burned down another kitchen!” Bucky called out.

       “I didn’t burn down ano—” y/n started only to get cut off by Sam’s voice.

      “Chill out, I know you didn’t burn down the kitchen, but why are you calling? Can’t you just leave your room and talk to us like a normal person?” Sam chuckled.

       “Because I’m not in the tower. I’m at the 87th precinct which is about 15 minutes away from the tower and I might need like 2-4 weeks off,” y/n explained, hearing a gasp from the other side of the line.

       “You got arrested?”

       “No, but I have this family emergency and it might take a while to deal with. I’ll explain it when I get back, but for now, I’m letting you know I’m taking a break,” y/n explained before ending the call and tucking her phone away in her pocket.

a/n: this has nothing to do with this but ughhhh theres this steve oneshot im having a hard time writing

i hate you but taglist: @sarcastic-britt / @kmuir1​ / @shower-me-with-roses​ / @justab-eautifulmess​ / @thomasthetankson​ / @x-abi-sharp-x​ / @intovert-gone-wild​ / @brittanymcsharry​ / @leaving-the-past-behind​ / @xoxabs88xox​ / @valeriiaaass​ / @mylifeiscrazy0423​

Forever tags: @spatium-viatorem​ / @sxphiiwrld​ / @strangersstranger​ / @nerdy-bookworm-1998​ / @cutie1365​ /

MARVEL TAGLIST: @captainamerica-is-bae​

BUCKY TAGLIST: @missmidnightxo​

[parkers-gal]

eggnog and mistletoe P.P

wc: 1.5k (fluff)

summary: peter helps you learn to love the holidays

best friends to lovers!au / peter parker x reader

Growing up, the holidays had never peaked your interests. What, with living in an area where heat was a constant and snow was a rare, you had no reasons to find any of the winter holidays interesting or in the least bit, exciting. 

This was your first year in New York, and your first holiday outside of your hometown. It was one of the last weeks of November, Peter inviting you and his friends over to his apartment for a movie night. 

The heater was on, blankets passed around as everyone chose spots, you and Peter choosing one end of the couch, Ned sitting on the floor and MJ on the arm chair. Betty was sitting on the other end of the couch, Flash sitting beside Ned as they fought for the popcorn. 

A scene in the movie came on, but Flash had to use the restroom, asking you to pause the movie. You did just that, and Betty took the opportunity to talk. 

"I just love winter and Christmas," she gushed. "It's so much fun and it makes me so nostalgic." 

"Ha, for you," MJ replied. "I will admit, the ice skating is fun as fuck."

Peter laughed, nodding. 

"What about the food, though," Ned tapped his temple with his pointer finger.

"What food?" Flash came out of the bathroom, straightening his shirt out. 

"We're talking about the holidays," Peter told him. 

"Oh sick," he sat down next to Ned again, pulling his blanket over his legs. "You guys ever just play in the snow until your nose turns red? And then your mom has to drag you in before you get a cold?"

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Betty laughed, tapping his shoulder. "Or when you drink eggnog and open presents-"

"I think decorating is way more fun than eggnog," MJ commented. 

"What about you?" Peter asked you quietly, poking your side. 

"What about me?" you laughed nervously at him. 

"What do you like about the holidays, I mean," he said. 

"Well uhm," you scratched the back of your neck. "I don't really like the holidays." 

"You don't like the holidays?" Ned repeated, louder. "How do you not like the holidays?" 

"Seriously though, what're you going to do on Christmas?" Betty asked. 

"Probably stay home and watch movies," you said nonchalantly, not seeing the big deal with your response. 

"Jesus Christ," Ned laughed. "You're really missing out, kid." 

"Yeah, what are you, the Grinch?" Flash joked, laughing with Betty. 

"Can't you go home to your family?" MJ suggested. 

"We don't really- you know... they aren't big on holiday celebrations." 

"No wonder she's a Grinch," Flash teased.

"Okay, okay," Peter shut it down. "Let's just finish the movie before it gets too late." 

For the next three weeks, Peter and his friend group had prepared for the holidays, going ice skating and taking trips to the mall for Christmas shopping, as well as going in to see the big Christmas tree. All the while, you had denied each of their offers, not wanting to be called a Grinch for not having fun during their hang outs. Peter, however, found himself having less fun now that you had stopped hanging out with them. 

Christmas was in a week, the gang going their separate ways as the holidays approached. They were traveling to their families in time for Christmas. Peter was due to leave for Aunt May's in a day, and you had settled on your original plan: watching movies in your apartment. 

Peter had a different idea. 

You were over at his apartment for what would be the last time until he returned from his Aunts, which was to be after New Year's day. 

"So Y/N, I was thinking," he started. You looked away from your computer, looking to the boy sitting on the other end of the bed. 

"Yeah, what about?" 

"I was thinking you could come home with me for the holidays."

You froze, eyes darting up towards his face, shock probably covering your expression. 

"What?" 

"Well, I-I  just," he stuttered, itching the back of his neck. "You know, you said you didn't really have fun during the holidays and I was just hoping you'd let me take you- y'know, maybe introduce you to it for the first time."

"Oh."

"You don't have to go! I just didn't want my best friend to be alone on Christmas day and then not see me until the next year-"

"I think that's, uhm, a really nice idea."

"Yeah, you think so?" he asked timidly, crawling closer to you. 

You nodded, and he broke out into a smile. "Awesome. We're going tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Well I leave for May's tomorrow, and I want you to come with me."

You nodded, "well I have to go pack." 

Peter nodded, kissing your forehead. "I'll pick you up at 9 A.M.?"

You smiled, nodding. You kissed his cheek on the way out, and once your back was turned, Peter did a little celebratory fist pump.

**

"Peter I don't know how to skate on ice," you said nervously between gasps. He was standing next to you on the ice while you held onto the barricades. May was on the sidelines, phone in her hand as she took pictures of the moment. 

"C'mon, Y/N. Just watch me and then I can help you, okay?"

You nodded, quickly changing positions to look at him better. After five minutes, you had the groove down, taking Peter's hand. He pulled you into the rink more, watching your movements and giving you tips. You nearly fell four times, but after fifteen minutes, you had gotten the hang of it, and had actually found yourself having a great time. Peter could not keep his eyes off of you. 

"Where to next?" Peter asked, sitting on a bench beside you and May as he took his skates off. 

"There's hot chocolate on the way out," May said. "We can get some for the trip to the Rockefeller."

Peter ooh'ed, physically excited about the idea. 

"What's the Rockefeller?" you asked, putting your converse back on. 

May smiled at you, and Peter took your hand, helping you step down, as the three of you stood up to go to the exit. "It's where the big Christmas tree is," he told you. 

"Ohh."

"Yeah," Peter blushed. "It's super pretty at night. Colder, but pretty."

"Interesting."

"Yeah?" Peter asked hopefully. 

"Yeah," you confirmed before thanking May for getting you a hot chocolate. Peter watched as you took your first sip, and he smiled when you let out a satisfied hum. "That's really good."

"I told you," he nudged your hip with his own, smiling. His beanie covered most of his curls, but he was still your silly best friend. 

After viewing the tree for a good twenty minutes and taking at least forty pictures, May said it was time to head back home. It was getting colder by the minute, and you and Peter found it was probably a good idea. 

Arriving back, Peter told you to go shower first, something about how it would warm you up. When you walked back into his room with a normal shirt and some shorts on, he stood up.

"Here," he handed you some clothes. 

"What's this?"

"Oh, uhm- Christmas pants and a sweater. My- my sweater," he blushed, and you slowly took it from him, inspecting them before putting them on. Peter grinned before heading towards the bathroom, "I'm going to shower. Make yourself comfortable." 

While Peter was in the shower, you were sitting on the couch, looking through the assortment of Christmas movies May had stocked up. She was making her ritual Christmas Eve dinner, and she came out to sit next to you while it was baking in the oven. 

"So Peter tells me you weren't really a fan of the holidays," she says. 

"Yeah," you smiled nervously. "I just never found it interesting or anything." 

"Well, I hope you at least find this year's Christmas interesting," she smiled, and you did too. 

"I really do. Peter makes everything better- I mean, he makes things more fun." 

May grinned, a twinkle in her eye. Before she could reply, Peter was coming out of the bathroom, his outfit just like yours, only he had fuzzy socks on. 

"What're we talking about?" he sat next to you. 

"Just that you have to kiss her now." 

Peter choked on air, glancing back and forth between you and May. "Wh-at? W-why?"

May smirked, pointing towards the ceiling and going back to the kitchen. There, hanging down, was mistletoe, and Peter blushed, his ears reddening all over again. 

"What- what's that mean?" you asked, brows furrowed. 

"Well, it's tradition that if two people stand under the mistletoe together, they have to- uhm.. they have to kiss."

"Oh," you said, relaxing a little as you understood. 

"We- we don't have to, I'm sure May was just mes-" but he didn't get to finish his sentence, as your lips had managed to quiet him. It didn't last very long -- they never do-- but it lasted long enough for Peter to kiss you back. 

"I really like you," he confessed after the two of you had split apart. 

"I really like you," you said back, and he smiled, linking one of your hands with his, just as May had brought out dinner. 

[anotheronechicagobog]

Ethan Choi x Reader- Moving On

written by @anotheronechicagobog

A/N: This was one of the holiday requests, sorry it took so long, but COVID has really thrown some curveballs for me and my family and I’m just trying to keep my head on straight.

A/N 2: I was trying something new so this is kinda from April’s POV, let me know what you guys think.

Warnings: swearing, mention of infidelity, hospital gossip, I work in a hospital and I can honeslty say that some nurses ARE like this, April isn’t great at first but she gets there.

2020 had thrown everyone's plans off-kilter, and that included April. She had planned to win Ethan back, but that wasn't exactly working out. Ethan was chief now, which meant he had extra responsibilities. But that was fine, less time didn't mean no time at all, so long as his new job was the only obstacle they'd face. But it wasn't. April shifted her gaze from the charts she was reading to glare at her newest problem; Dr. Y/N Y/L/N, head of pediatrics and ex-navy seal. Just what she needed. Ethan and Dr. Y/L/N didn't work together often because they were in different departments, but sometimes their cases overlapped. That wasn't how they met, though, unlike most of MED's internal relationships. They met at the park when Dr. Y/L/N's dog, Rex, recognized Ethan at the park. Apparently, Rex was a retired Miltary Working Dog and had been assigned to a friend of Ethan's, and Dr. Y/L/N had adopted her when she retired. Ethan had formed an irritatingly sweet bond with both the dog and her human in the last four months and it drove April crazy.

"Stop glaring." April was dragged out of her inner turmoil by a frustrated Maggie. "I mean it, April. Stop glaring at her. She doesn't deserve that."

"But-"

"Okay, April, I have tried to be supportive and nurturing and understanding, but I'm done, okay? I'm done. We are in the middle of an international pandemic in a country with one of the highest mortality rates, I do not have the ability to deal with that and whatever Grey's Anatomy nonsense that's floating around the hospital. I'm sorry, but you and Ethan are over and that is largely your fault. Stop acting like a jilted teenager and grow up. You have a patient in three, they're presenting three COVID symptoms; sore throat, difficulty breathing, and loss of taste."

"Maggie-"

"Go. Now."

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Dr. Y/L/N was thankfully on her own floor and away from Ethan. He'd just finished with a patient so April gathered herself and approached him, hoping they could steal away for a few minutes. "Hey, Ethan, I was wondering if you wanted to get coffee? The cart outside-"

"I've already had my fill. But thanks, April." He refused to meet her eyes and because he was wearing a mask, like all of the staff, she couldn't completely gauge his response, but April didn't let that deter her. "Oh. Well, maybe we could get some takeout after shift, then? I really want to-"

"April... Please stop."

"But Ethan, we haven't been alone together in so long, we can't talk, or makeup or anything."

"Don't you think that was the point? We're done, April. We're broken up, and we're not getting back together."

"Why not?!"

"April, don't make a scene. We are at work. We are nothing but colleagues now, and it is inappropriate and insulting for a colleague to speak to another this way." Ethan turned and walked to the nurse's station and the only reason April didn't follow was a levelled glare from Maggie.

She regretted that when she saw Ethan and Dr. Y/L/N leave together, talking about picking up pad Thai on their way 'home'.

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Ethan wasn't working today. And for once, Dr. Y/L/N was called down to the ED without Ethan there to greet her. April felt the adrenaline pumping through her. Today was the day she'd put an end to whatever was going on between that... Witch and Ethan. "Dr. Y/L/N?"

The woman turned from the computer she'd been using at the nurse's station to file the patient transfer for her eight-year-old dialysis patient. "Yes?"

"May I speak to you in the lounge for a moment? It's important."

"Of course."

When they entered the doctor's lounge April whirled around and jabbed a finger into the doctor's chest. "Stay the fuck away from Ethan Choi, he's mine!" The other woman didn't so much as blink. Instead, her eyes looked bored as April stood in front of her, fuming. "So that's what's so important, huh? Claiming Ethan despite the damage you caused? Not only is the reason you asked me in here completely absurd and unprofessional, but there's a pandemic going on and you're a nurse, you know that you need to be six feet away."

"It's not 'absurd' and I'm not backing down. Ethan and I love each other, this is just a bump in the road."

"If this is a bump in the road, I'd hate to see a pothole."

"If you don't stay away from him I'm going to make your life a living hell." Dr. Y/L/N schooled herself, looking at April in that cold dangerously confident way she'd seen villains regard their enemies in movies. "Is that a threat, nurse Sexton?"

"It's a pr-promise."

"Are you sure about that? You seem incredibly nervous, maybe this is just stress?"

"No. It's a promise. A damn promise that I will do everything I can to make your time at Gaffney your worst nightmare if you don't leave Ethan alone."

"Oh, is it? Well, let it be known, April, that I didn't fire first." Then she turned and walked away, leaving April confused but proud. She would finally have Ethan back. After months of heartache, she would have the man she loved back.

She smiled, at herself and the weight that had been lifted off her shoulders.

Too bad it was a preemptive celebration.

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Usually, for New Year's eve, the hospital held a big party in one of the auditoriums, had tables set up in the break rooms for those who had to work. But COVID had yet again screwed up everyone's plans. So instead, there were no big parties, no tables with food or drinks, just some decorations set up and that was it. No one was supposed to take their mask off bless they were in a designated eating/drinking area or they were outside the hospital. And the only time they could take off their mask around people was if they were in the same social bubble. April and Ethan weren't in the same social bubble but that was going to change after the clock struck midnight and this hellish year would finally be over.

The ED was quiet for once, and a few people had taken advantage of the emptiness to duck outside and kiss their SO. April had expected Will and Natalie to leave together, this year had been hard on the married couple and they were doing what they could to stay as positive as possible. What April didn't expect was for Ethan to trail out behind them. She hadn't asked him to go outside with her yet, she felt her stomach flutter. He was back. Her Ethan was finally back. April darted out after him, bursting with excitement. She and Ethan were going to have their midnight kiss and then get back together. She slowed her steps when she reached the small garden at the side of the hospital. She composed herself, taking a steadying breath. She didn't want to look haggard or frazzled when Ethan saw her. But as she entered the garden's flower arrangements, her heart plummeted. Ethan stood in front of Y/L/N, with his mask off and his phone on a decorative stone playing the countdown. He leaned in just as she did, drawing her closer with an arm around her waist and cradled her face with his other hand. God, April felt like she was going to throw up, her insides felt like they were on fire. And after their lips finally met, after April had to witness the emotion and love that radiated around them, she couldn't take it anymore. She ran to the nearest trash can, ripped off her mask, and threw up.

——————————————--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April made good on her promise. She cried in Doris' arms and wept about how Ethan was stolen from her. Within the hour nurses in all departments had been called to arms, you were officially an enemy. But what April didn't know was that she was too.

It started with the silent treatment from Nat, continued with a scoff and roll of the eyes from Crockett and any doctor in the vicinity when she tried to make small talk, and it ended when three days later Maggie pulled her to the side and told her to call her union rep and meet in Goodwin's office at noon the next day. "What? Why?" Maggie froze mid-turn. She straightened to her full height and met April's confused expression with a ruthlessly expressionless one. "You should know exactly why, April. I told you to stop, I told you to behave yourself. Why didn't you listen?"

"What did she do? What did that bi-"

"She didn't do anything! But you did April, you did and now you have to face the consequences."

"Maggie-"

"Call. Your. Union. Rep. Now." April ducked her head slightly, the reality that she might actually be in trouble settling in. But she was just defending her boyfriend, her love, she hadn't done anything wrong... Right?

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

April had expected that she would have to face you in the meeting. Look you in the eye and stare you down. But you weren't there. She walked in with her union rep and sat at the other side of the table as Sharon, Peter The Stressed Out Lawyer, a woman whose demeanour screamed HR, a man wearing a doctors' union polo, and Ethan. Y/L/N was nowhere to be found. She tried not to let her surprise show, but Ethan rolled his eyes so hard his body shifted with them, so she clearly hadn't been as discreet as she'd hoped.

"Alright, everyone's here, let's get started. I am the hospital administrator, Sharon Goodwin. I am joined by Peter Kalmic, one of the hospital's lawyers, Helena Lopez from human resources, Timothy Gunan from the American Doctor's Union,  Geraldine Landings from the nurse's union, April Sexton, and Dr. Ethan Choi, the employee who filed the complaint for which we are here today. Let's begin. Dr. Ethan Choi and April Sexton began a relationship two years ago which has since ended and the two have remained separated and uninvolved for several months. As per their relationship professionalism form they signed with HR when they started dating, 'in the event of relationship termination, the parties of this contract agree to honour and uphold the hospital's code of conduct by remaining respectful and professional'. Dr. Ethan Choi, do you feel as though you have upheld this contract?"

"Yes. I do." His voice was even, cold. He kept his eyes straight on Goodwin at the head of the table. "April," when April turned to the older woman she considered a friend, she didn't see sympathy or understanding playing in her eyes. Only frustration, and April couldn't help but wonder if maybe it was because of her. "Do feel as though you have upheld this contract?"

"Yes, of course, I do."

"Do either parties want to dispute anything that has been said?"

"I would." Ethan raised his hand and everyone but her collectively sighed. April still had hope that this meeting was about them reinstating their relationship officially at work, but as she watched Ethan's face, she could see the angry micro-expressions slithering under his skin. He was angry, and she didn't think it was at Y/L/N. "April Sexton has not upheld the contract we signed with HR. April has been harassing me for months insisting that I take her back after she participated in some... Indiscretions that caused our relationship to end. I have since moved on and recently started dating someone new, Dr. Y/N Y/L/N, the head of pediatrics. Five days ago, April threatened my girlfriend in the doctor's lounge. Telling her to stay away from me and that there would be consequences if she didn't. Three days ago, nurses all over the hospital have made rude comments and gestures towards my girlfriend, refused to work with her on cases, and she has 'accidentally' been pushed or knock into far too many times to be a coincidence. All on the grounds of being a 'homewrecker'. April's behaviour and the behaviour she encouraged from her colleagues was disrespectful, unprofessional, and it has created a toxic work environment."

April was speechless. Couldn't he understand that she loved him? That she was doing this all for him? So that they could be together again? Have a family? "Do you have any proof, Dr. Choi? These are some hefty accusations, we can't just accept hearsay in an official complaint."

"I have several written letters from doctors, orderly's, porters, and the head nurse in the emergency department. All attesting that they heard nurse Sexton threaten Y/N  very loudly in the doctor's lounge. I also have print-outs of some emails that were sent to some of the staff and three nurses in Y/N's department, all from nurse Sexton telling them that Y/N had been 'blacklisted' and was an 'enemy' of the nurses, and letters from more staff who witnessed Y/N's harassment for the past three days."

"Please distribute those papers amongst the union reps, Ms. Goodwin, myself, and nurse Sexton." Ethan nodded and followed the lawyer's order, the room was deathly silent, the only sound coming from the rustling of papers. He didn't even look at her when he handed her copies. And as she looked at them, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. It was all there. Every word she'd said had been heard crystal clear. She didn't even try to be vague in those damn emails. Not even the linen service workers had been fooled by all the 'accidental' bumps and shoves.

Her union rep side-eyed her and subtly shook her head. April nodded, message received. This is bad, I could lose my job, I could lose other people their jobs, and in the middle of a pandemic no less. "I also want to make it clear that neither Y/N nor I want April to be fired. She is a good nurse, and quite frankly we're already understaffed as it is. What we want is for April to leave us alone, call off the dogs, and get some counselling provided by the hospital. We'll both sign whatever to make that happen, but we just don't see the need to bomb her career over this. We just want her to stop."

"Thank you, Dr. Choi."

"Nurse Sexton, is there anything you would like to say?" She looked at her rep and bit her lip. "Can I have a moment outside to speak with my union rep?"

"Absolutely."

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

"April, what do you want to say?"

"I love him, I did this for-"

"April! You could lose your job over this! You could be sued, by Dr. Choi, Dr. Y/L/N, and possibly the hospital! Please, for once, think clearly. I strongly recommend that you do not say that, any of that."

"Well, what should I do, then?"

"Go in there, apologize, do what they ask, and accept their conditions. You dug your own grave, April, you should be grateful that they're giving you this easy of an out."

"It doesn't feel easy... But okay."

"Good."

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

April had never felt more humiliated and small in her entire life. Having to send out a hospital-wide apology email was bad enough, but looking Y/L/N in the eye and- oh the memory was just to painfully embarrassing to remember, it had April shaking her head and focusing on the door in front of her just to stop remembering. But the worst part, the worst part, was having to promise to leave Ethan alone, and when she got her next schedule, she noticed that they had moved to a different time slot so that she almost never work the same shift as him. It was hard to stomach and she spent the first week after trying to vomit all over her shoes.

When she was leaving her shift, she'd see them coming in, when she was arriving, she'd see them leaving. It drove her nuts, they were always together, always holding hands, looking at each other lovingly. She tried to take a deep breath and just keep moving but the sight always knocked the wind out of her. And she couldn't go to any friends about it because they were all on different shifts for the most part, and she hadn't been able to make new ones because they'd all gotten that email. April felt like she was swirling the drain and sometimes breathing felt like a chore. Dr. Charles had been conducting her counselling sessions, and while he says they're making progress it certainly doesn't feel like it.

"April, it's always darkest before dawn. It's going to get better, sometimes it just has to get worse first."

April was sick and tired of wading through the darkest blindly and alone. When was dawn coming? Hadn't it been long enough?

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THREE YEARS LATER

Maggie flitted around with Natalie, flooding her dress and touching up her makeup. They stepped backend admired their handiwork, their joy completely and utterly contagious. "Okay, look in the mirror."

"What do you think?"

April turned and felt herself go speechless. This truly was the most expensive dress she'd ever worn, but that wasn't even a thought that crossed her mind. Her wedding gown was white, and fluffy, and sparkly, and everything suddenly felt so much more real. In half an hour, she was going to walk down the aisle to the love of her life and a new chapter would begin and she couldn't wait. She found herself void of the butterflies and nerves others had talked about, instead, she found herself plagued by impatience. Why did time pass by so slowly?

"Well, what do you think?"

"I've never felt this amazing, or this excited before."

"He's not gonna know what hit him."

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The ceremony had been everything she'd ever dreamed about. Her fiance- sorry, husband, had never looked so awe-struck in the entire time she'd known him. Their vows had been beautiful and loving, and leaving the church knowing she was going to spend the rest of her life side-by-side with her soulmate brought peace to April's soul.

She and her hubby were currently in the task of going around to everyone, thanking them for coming, when they got to table seven out of twenty. Y/N was the first one to greet her. "April! Congratulations, that was such a gorgeous ceremony."

"Thanks, Y/N!" They went in for a hug but couldn't exactly get their arms around with how big Y/N's bump was. The woman huffed. "I feel like an overstuffed dumpling."

"Well, then you're a glowing overstuffed dumpling. You're getting close to your due date, right?"

"Yeah, we're one week away, I can't wait to meet them."

"That close, huh? I'm actually surprised Ethan let you out of the house, last time we talk he was really enforcing that 'house arrest'."

"I may or may not have roped his mother into telling him how ridiculously over-protective he was being. Oh! They're kicking, want to feel?"

"Oh, they're strong. Now I see why you're so eager to meet them, you want them to be able to kick Ethan too instead of just you."

"Yup."

"Hey! Congrats, by the way, April, the wedding was wonderful. I'm glad that you're so happy."

"Yeah, I'm glad that we all got the happy endings we needed." And as April's husband lead her to the dance floor when their song came on, she couldn't have felt her words to be more correct. She was married, she had patched things up with Ethan and Y/N after a year or so, and now they were also married and expecting two babies. Dr. Charles had been right, the darkness always proceeds dawn, but sometimes the darkness was worth it. He kissed her and she snuggled into his chest. So, so worth it.

[temilyrights]

a christmas to remember

Summary: Jack Sloane x Reader. Jack invites you to join her for Christmas after you miss your flight home.

A/N: It’s done. It’s finally done. I don’t think I’ve ever been so stressed out trying to get a fic done. I’ve been feeling pretty rough mentally the last month so writing pure fluff was difficult ahaha. You can all thank @strongsassysexysloane​ for the idea! She’s the one that sent it to me. Sorry it’s a little late but I did manage to get it out before new years so I guess that’s something. 

Read on AO3

It’s nearing seven o’clock when Jack finishes packing up for the day. Usually, she’d consider that early, but it was Christmas Eve and she’d spent the whole day drowning in paperwork. Last-minute evals for cases and finishing up the yearly NCIS staff review meant she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go home and soak in the tub with a glass of wine. She knew Gibbs’ team had closed their case around midday so when she descends the stairs to leave, she’s surprised to see you still at your desk.

She almost misses you. You’re slumped over, head resting on your desk and from the looks of it, you had been asleep for a while. The desk lamp was still on, and a YouTube video was playing from the computer. The case the last few days had been exhausting so she’s not surprised you’re knackered, but she was sure you were meant to be on your way home to see your family.

She stands there for a period of time that should probably be considered creepy, watching your soft mumbles and enjoying the rare sight of you looking so peaceful. She smiles to herself, and then quietly speaks your name, “Y/N.” No response. She gently shakes your arm, “Y/N. It’s time to wake up.”

“Go away,” You mumble, barely conscious.

Jack laughs, and softly strokes your hair, “Come on sleepy head.”

“Breakfast later. I promise.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.” She smirks and steps back. There was an easy way to get you up. “You’re going to be late for work.”

It does the trick. You practically shoot up in your chair. Jack grasps your elbow to steady you as you manically look around the room and catch your bearings. “Huh? What?” Understanding settles in a moment later and a light blush coats your cheeks. “Oh.”

Jack drops your elbow and steps back, chuckling, “I thought I probably shouldn’t leave you to sleep here the entire night.”

“Thanks.” You mumble, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It was a long case.” She nods in understanding. Jack hadn’t been involved much apart from a couple of evals, but she’d seen how worn down it had left the whole team. She’d been so swamped with her own work she hadn’t had time to check in on anyone. “I thought the team left around lunchtime?”

“They did. I had paperwork to finish.” You shrug and begin packing away your things.

Jack pointedly looks to the paused YouTube video on your computer that definitely wasn’t related to work. “Aren’t you meant to be going to see your family?”

Your face drops, “I missed the flight. Next one out isn’t until the 26th.”

Jack’s sighs, and squeezes your hand, “Oh, Y/N, I’m sorry.” You had been talking about going home all month. You’d told her in detail about the L/N’s family Christmas traditions. She hated the idea you were going to miss out on so much.

“It’s why I’m still here. Didn’t really feel like going home.”

“You could have come and visited me. You know my doors always open to you.” She shakes your hand slightly before letting go.

“I thought you’d already left to be honest.”

“I wish.” She rolls her eyes, “I wanted to get the staff review done.”

You quirk a brow, smirking, “Did I pass?”

She huffs, eyes light with humour, “With flying colours. Apparently, it’s not appropriate to fail someone on account of them being an absolute pain in the ass.”

“Hmm, good thing really, otherwise Gibbs would have been fired years ago.”

You jump out the way before Jack can swat you on the arm. Both of you dissolve into laughter.

“So, what are your plans for tomorrow then?” Jack asks after you’ve calmed down and are making your way to the elevator.

You shrug, “Don’t have any. I’ll just celebrate on the 26th.”

She comes to a halt in disbelief, “You’re not going to go anything?”

“Watch a Christmas film and catch up on all the chores I’ve been neglecting I guess.”

“Nuh-uh. There’s no way you’re spending Christmas day doing chores! Come spend the day with me instead.”

Your mouth drops open, “W-what? I couldn’t-”

“Apart from baking cookies, I don’t have any plans for the daytime. I’m going to Faith’s for dinner, but we can still spend the morning together.”

“I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not intruding. In fact, I'm actually insisting.”

“Jack…”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. Unless you’d rather spend the day being miserable?”

A small smile spreads across your face, and you nod. “Okay.”

“Okay!” Jack grins, jumping on the balls of her feet. “Be at mine at 0800 hours with the breakfast you promised me.” She winks, and steps forward, hitting the button for the elevator.

“Breakfast?” You frown, “When did I promise you breakfast?”

----

“Merry Christmas, Jack!” You grin as she opens her front door.

“Cute hat.” She laughs, stepping back to allow you to enter. She makes sure to flick the white pom-pom on the end of the Santa hat as you pass.

“Thanks.” Jack accepts the bag of diner food, while you take your coat and shoes off. “Sorry, I’m a little late. The diner was busier than I expected. Elaine told me to tell you ‘Merry Christmas’ by the way. I can’t believe you’ve been here the shortest time out of everyone, bar Kasie, and yet somehow you’re her favourite.”

Jack laughs as she makes her way to the kitchen where she already has plates laid out. She begins to dish up the food as you take a seat.  “Not my fault I’m a people person, and anyway Gibbs is her favourite.”

You roll your eyes, “True but second place is bloody impressive considering he’s been around over twenty years and you’ve only been here three.”

Jack hums and takes the seat next to you. “You can just admit you’re jealous.”

“I’m not hiding that fact. I’ve been here for seven years and you don’t see me getting free food.”

“Free?”

“‘Christmas with Jacqueline? How sweet. Coffee's on the house.’” You mimic, taking a sip of said drink.

“So, you got free coffee too?”

You huff, “That’s not the point I’m making.”

Jack laughs, “But it’s the point you made. And anyway, she likes you. She always makes a point to ask me how you’re doing whenever I go in there.”

“And she always asks me about you.” You smile softly and Jack’s heart thumps in her chest.

She clears her throat, dropping her eyes to her food. “Let’s eat. We can spend the rest of the day squabbling over who Elaine likes best if you want but for now, I really want this bacon in my belly before it gets cold.”

You laugh and begin to dig into your own food.

After breakfast is finished and cleared away, you goad Jack into a game of cards. You’re always so cocky and competitive when it comes to games, so she spends the whole time teasing you and trying not to laugh at your serious concentration.

What makes it worse is that she always wins, but it’s not her fault you were ridiculously easy to read. Honestly, for an agent your poker face was terrible.

“Now I've whipped your ass, can we go make cookies?”

“Are you gonna cheat at that too?” You snark as you clean up the cards.

Jack arches a brow as humour dances in her eyes, “Someone’s a sore loser.”

“I’m not a-”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” She leaves you cleaning up and makes her way to the kitchen, ignoring the daggers you were glaring into her back.

----

“Jack?” You call. She hums but doesn’t turn around, too focused on measuring out the ingredients in front of her. She feels you come up behind her, face poking over her shoulder.

“Can I help you?” She chuckles and places the bag of sugar back down. Her breath catches when she turns to look at you. You’re so close, and Jack watches as your eyelashes flutter and can’t help the way her eyes momentarily fall to your lips. She jumps when suddenly you flick flour in her face. She coughs, “What the hell, Y/N!”

You dissolve into laughter, stumbling backwards, and Jack rolls her eyes and wipes the flour from her face. She grabs the bag of flour from the counter before turning to face you with a raised brow, “Oh, you wanna play huh?”

Your face drops, as she saunters over with a devilish smirk. “You wouldn’t dare.” You shake your head, leaning against the wall.

“Try me.” She grabs a pinch of flour and before you can move, flicks it at you.

“Satisfied?” You laugh, wiping it from your cheeks.

“Not even close.” She lifts the flour bag higher and you quickly run out of the way screaming.

“Don’t you dare! You’ll ruin my jumper.”

She wouldn’t but it was fun to make you think so solely to see the panic crossing your face. Although, it would also be a good way of getting you out of your clothes. Jacqueline. She curses herself.

“Fine, but just know this isn’t the end.” She says with a playful glare. You sigh in relief, shoulders slumping slightly as Jack returns the flour to the counter. “Now do you fancy helping me with these cookies?”

You murmur something Jack doesn’t quite catch, and she looks to you with a frown, “What was that?”

“Nothing!” You grin innocently, quickly making your way to the counter, “What can I do to help?”

She stares at you for a moment but decides not to push further. “How about you start mixing everything together while I measure out the remaining ingredients.”

“Yes, boss.” You nod, mock saluting.

Jack flicks flour at you again.

----

“Sorry about that,” Jack says as she enters the living room, returning to her seat next to you on the couch.

You quickly swallow down a mouthful of cookie. Jack refrains from commenting on the fact you’d managed to eat half the plate in the space of a ten-minute phone call. “Is Faith okay?”

The soft smile that always lights up Jack’s face whenever Faith is mentioned appears, “Yes, she was just asking if I could pick some carrots up for this evening. She forgot to get some, and between the hospital and the pregnancy everything has been a little manic.”

“I can only imagine.” You hum.

“She’s also invited you to join us tonight.”

Your face drops in surprise, “What? Really? Why?”

“She said no one should be alone on Christmas, and I agree so please come.”

You chuckle, “I’ve spent the whole day with you. I’m not alone. Anyway, I don’t want to intrude on your time with Faith.”

Jack reaches out and squeezes your hand. “Her fiancé, Andrew, will be there too. It’ll be fun, and you’ll finally get the chance to meet her.” It makes her nervous as hell, but god did she want the two of you to meet each other. You still look uncertain, so her face softens, and she squeezes your hand again, “Please? It would mean a lot to me if you came.”

“You’re sure?”

She nods.

“Okay then.” You agree as your face breaks out into a grin.

Jack grins back and squeezes your hand one last time before letting go. “Yay!”

You chuckle, nodding your head towards the television, “Can we get back to the movie now?”

“Yes.” She sinks back into the couch and grabs the blanket you were currently using, to cover her legs.

“Hey, don’t steal it all.” You protest, already moving closer so the blanket was covering you too.

And, well, if she ends up drifting off at some point, snuggling into your shoulder...neither one of you comment on it.

----

She wasn’t really sure what she’d expected when Faith had invited you to join tonight, but she knows it wasn’t this. She hadn’t dared let herself hope for this…

Because you fit in perfectly. Jack watched as you told Andrew about a case from the other month, he was hanging off every word while Faith tried not to laugh at her fiancé’s expression, instead shooting Jack an affectionate eye-roll from where she sits opposite her.

“So, then Nick comes storming in ready to kick some ass and I’ve already got the three guys on the floor and handcuffed.”

“On your own?” Andrew asks in wonder.

“Well, I mean Gibbs was there too but that’s beside the point.” You huff. Everyone starts laughing. You laugh along too and pick up your wine glass to take a sip.

“This is delicious by the way.” Jack hums, taking another bite of food. Faith and Andrew had made enough food to supply a small army. She had no idea how they’d managed it, especially considering their small kitchen.

“Best Christmas dinner I've had in a long time.” You nod along, as Faith’s cheeks tinge pink from the praise and Andrew smiles brightly.

She chuckles bashfully, “Thank you. It was nothing, really.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, babe. You put in a lot of work for today.” Andrew says, squeezing Faith’s hand from where he sat beside her.

Jack turns to you and is surprised to find you already watching her with a soft smile. Jack frowns slightly, “You okay?” She asks quietly as Faith and Andrew continue talking to each other.

You nod, “I’m good. Great actually. Thank you for letting me join today.”

Her face softens, and she reaches over and gently squeezes your knee, “Thank you for coming. I couldn’t choose a better group of people to share the day with.” 

A light blush covers your cheeks and you quickly duck your head in an attempt to hide it, but Jack catches it. The sight makes her smile more, and she squeezes your knee one more time before letting go and returning to her meal.

After dinner, there’s more wine and a game of charades. Turns out Andrew is amazing, even with alcohol in his system. He and Faith guess the majority of each other’s charades within a minute. Meaning it’s mainly the two of them going back and forth while Jack and you sit on the couch and try to keep up.

“I feel we are at a disadvantage here.” You huff.

“Definitely.” Jack laughs.

“Are you guys ready?” Faith asks as she grabs a piece of paper out of the bowl. She reads the paper, a small smile spreading across her face as she shoves it into her cardigan pocket. “Okay.”

She holds up seven fingers and you and Andrew both instantly shoot up from the couch, shouting in unison, “The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe!”

Faith’s mouth drops open in disbelief, “Yes, but how?”

The competitive glint is back in your eye and Andrew instantly backs away, hands up in surrender, “You can have the go. I’m not arguing with a woman who has a gun.”

“Don’t worry Andrew, she’s all bark and no bite,” Jack smirks. Faith starts laughing as she returns to the lounge chair.

You arch a brow, turning back to face her. “I can bite if you want me to.”

Jack rolls her eyes and takes another sip of wine in hopes that no one will notice the slight pink tinge to her cheeks.

Andrew laughs. “I’m currently in a room with three women that could kill me if they were so inclined, I think I’m going to let you take this one.” He hands you the bowl of paper and moves to take the seat next to Jack.

“Suddenly rethinking your career choice, dear?” Faith laughs.

“Oh no.” He shakes his head, “I’m very happy spending my days counting numbers, thank you very much.”

Jack smothers a laugh when she sees your face scrunch up like it always did when someone mentioned maths. “Andrew, I think you should give Y/N a maths lesson.” She teases. Your head instantly snaps to her, and you send a glare so icy she’s surprised she isn’t frozen in place.

“Oh, I’d happily do that if-”

“No, no, no. Thank you, Andy, but that’s definitely not necessary.” You quickly cut him off.

Andrew chuckles, and nods. “Fair enough. And Jack?”

She hums.

“How many more times do I have to tell you to please call me Andy? Or should I start calling you Jacqueline?”

She laughs and dips her head. “Right, sorry. Andy.” When she looks back up, you’re watching her with twinkling eyes. Jack clears her throat, “Back to charades?”  

----

“Again, thank you so much for inviting us tonight. It’s been amazing.” Jack says as she slips her coat back on.

Faith smiles warmly, “I’m really glad you came, and it was nice to finally meet Y/N.” They both turn to look at you, still excitedly talking to Andrew. “You should bring her with you the next time we do something.”

Jack’s brows raise in shock as she turns back to look at Faith, who’s smirking knowingly. “Really?”

“Yeah. I feel Andy’s probably got another fifty questions he wants to ask about what it’s like being an agent.”

Jack cackles at that, earning her the attention of you.

“What’s so funny?” You ask, coming up to stand beside her, lightly bumping into her side.

“Oh, nothing.” Jack hums innocently. Your eyes narrow and a playful smirk tugs at your lips. Instead of pushing further, you turn to Faith.

“Thank you for including me in your Christmas.”

“It was great to finally meet you.”

“And you. And Andy.” You say, smiling at him as he wraps an arm around Faith’s waist.

“Are you sure we can’t order you a cab?”

You shake your head, grinning, “Nope, It’s all good.”

Jack still doesn’t know why you aren’t. She lived at least a twenty-minute drive away, which meant probably over an hour's walk and there was no way the two of you were doing that this late at night, with alcohol in your system, and when there was a fresh layer of snow outside.

She follows your lead though and links your arms together as you wave goodbye to Faith and Andrew and make your way down their driveway.

“Care to inform me where we are going yet?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” You tease.

Jack shakes her head with a small chuckle and leans in closer to you to protect herself from the frosty air. She’s incredibly grateful she’d been smart enough to remember her gloves, hat, and scarf.

The two of you walk in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the crunch of the snow beneath your feet, and taking in the stars in the sky. You grow tenser as you walk, Jack’s concerned something is wrong until she turns to look at you and finds you grinning.

She’s curious, but ten minutes later her curiosity is answered when you turn onto a street that instantly causes Jack to come to a halt. “Oh wow.” She sighs in wonder. Every house on the street is decorated in bright Christmas lights. It’s breathtaking.

You turn to her with a bright smile, shrugging lightly, “I know you love Christmas lights, and I just wanted to say thank you for today. It has meant everything to me.”

Her eyes flick from the lights to you. She squeezes your hand tightly and resists the overwhelming urge to pull you in for a kiss. “You, Y/N L/N, are an astonishing human being. I…” She trails off, eyes flicking between the lights and you as emotions swirl in her throat.

“Come on.” You smile, tugging her forward. Jack sighs and follows along. Eyes bright as she takes in the beautiful displays. Your eyes track her the whole time.

----

“That was beautiful.” Jack sighs once you reach the end of the street. You both continue walking, arms still linked together. “I’ve been wanting to go on a Christmas light drive this whole month but didn’t have the time, and this completely made up for it.”

It was one of the only Christmas traditions she had kept from her childhood. Doing it always brought back happy memories and helped to get her into the Christmas spirit.

“Oh wow, I haven’t gone on a Christmas light drive since I was a kid.” You smile, remembering your own childhood.

“Maybe next year we can do one together? It’s nicer with company.”

“I’d like that.” Your cheeks turn a light pink and Jack can’t tell if it’s from her offer or the frosty air.

“It would be a lot warmer too. I wouldn’t have to freeze my tits off.” She chuckles. Your eyes fall to her chest which is hidden by a number of layers of clothes and linger for long enough that Jack catches you. She smirks to herself, already knowing your thoughts weren’t PG. “Eyes are up here Y/N.”

Your head snaps up, your cheeks turning a vibrant red. “Hm? I was just admiring your scarf. It’s nice.”

Her lips twitch, almost proud of your quick excuse. “It was my present from Kasie on her random gift day this year.”

You nod, “Good choice.”

It really was. She’d been sceptical about the rainbow patchwork when Kasie had first given it to her as it was something she’d have never picked out for herself, but now it was easily her favourite. The bright colours always cheered her up every time she wrapped it around her neck.

“Kasie’s great at picking out presents.” She could tease you more, she liked seeing you blush, but it was just too easy. “So, where are we off to next?”

“Oh, well, I don’t live too far away. I thought maybe we could go back to mine and warm up with some hot chocolate?” You bite your lip, not quite meeting Jack’s eyes.

She’s surprised at your hesitancy, and bumps her shoulder against yours, “Hot chocolate? You know I’m in.”

Fifteen minutes later she’s making her way up the pavement to your apartment. The cold had officially reached her bones and her teeth were chattering as she entered the lobby.

“As nice as that was, I vote against walking half an hour in the peak of winter again. Next time, we uber.”

You laugh as you take off your hat, shaking the snow from it. “It wasn’t too bad.”

She rolls her eyes, and reaches for one of your hands, tugging the glove off, “Take your glove off, touch my cheek and tell me that again.”

You touch her cheek but quickly pull your hand away again, “You’re freezing! Come on, let’s get you warmed up.” You grab her hand, and tug her along behind you, walking at a much faster pace than beforehand.

“I’m not going to freeze to death, we don’t need to rush.” Jack laughs, pulling you back to slow you down.  She pulls harder than she intended though because you practically snap back into her arms. Her eyes fall to your lips, lingering for a moment too long. You clear your throat and Jack expects you to step away, but you don’t.

“I’ve really enjoyed today.” You say quietly.

“I hope it has made up for missing Christmas with your family.”

You chuckle, looking at Jack with a guilty smile “Is it bad to say I’m actually glad I missed my flight?”

“Only if it’s bad for me to say I’m grateful you missed your flight too.” She tilts on her feet, and carefully reaches for your hand. This time your eyes fall to her lips before you quickly look away. Jack smiles softly, “I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas. It’s been almost perfect.”

“Almost?”

Jack’s eyes flick up, and it’s then she notices the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling above you. “Yeah, almost.” She breathes.

You follow her eye line, “Oh.”

She looks back to you, and hesitantly the hand-linked in yours moves to run up your arm before softly cupping your cheek. “Yes, oh.”

Your eyes flick between hers and her lips, and your tongue swipes out to moisten your own lips, “Let's make it perfect then.”

She smiles softly and gently guides your face closer. Her eyes track your glistening lips, before flicking to your eyes. “You’re sure?”

“Never been so sure of anything.”

That’s all she needs. And Jack finally does what she’s been fantasizing about doing for months - she kisses you. It starts off slowly, a gentle exploration, but it isn’t long before the kisses begin to heat up. Your hands grip at her waist, and she pushes herself in closer to you, removing the final bit of space.

She only pulls back when breathing becomes difficult. Your foreheads rest together as you both catch your breath. “This is definitely a Christmas to remember.”

You hum, “I think it might be my favourite.”

She kisses you again. It’s meant to be a short peck, but she quickly loses herself in it and it’s not until she hears a door open from behind her that she slowly pulls away.

You stare at her for a moment, a happy smile on your face before you look over her shoulder at the intruder. Your cheeks turn a slight pink as you nod and mutter “Merry Christmas.”

Jack looks at the older woman who she recognises as being one of your neighbours, and smiles brightly, “Merry Christmas.”

The woman shakes her head with a soft laugh, “Merry Christmas, dears. Have a good evening.”

“And you.” Jack nods. Only once the woman has walked off down a corridor does she turn back to you.

You immediately groan and drop your head to her shoulder, “I did not just get caught making out like a teenager by my neighbour!”  

“Could be worse. We could have been half undressed.”

Jack actually sees your brain short circuit.

“Uh, yeah, yeah, true. We could’ve been.” You clear your throat, “Uh, so, hot chocolate?”

“Are you sure we need it?” She definitely wasn’t feeling cold anymore.

You roll your eyes, smirking. “Okay, no hot chocolate, but are you still coming in?” You lean in and whisper into her ear, “I’m sure there’s something else we could do.”

Her eyes fall shut. She wants nothing more but… “If I come in, I won’t be leaving tonight, and don’t you have an early flight tomorrow?”

You pull back to meet her eyes, “Not until 11 and it’s a short drive there which means there will even be time for breakfast. I'll make you pancakes.”

Jack hums, “Your pancakes are very good…”

“Please.” You whine before pecking her lips. You begin to leave a trail of kisses along her jawline muttering please after each one. If it weren’t for the scarf, you’d be attacking her neck.

Jack teeters as her breath becomes shallow. Her whole body was drawn to you. It always had been, and she could finally live out the dreams she’d been having for months. “Yes.”

You place a final kiss against her lips before pulling back with a proud smirk. Jack rolls her eyes, “Shut it.”

“Didn’t say anything.”

“Smugness isn’t a good look on you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about because every look is a good look for me.”

Jack laughs and shakes her head with mock disapproval. “Are you going to take me to yours or just make comments the whole night instead?”

You hum, pretending to think it over.

“I mean if you want I can just go home and take care of myself.” She arches a brow with her own cocky smirk as your eyes flash with desire. You capture her lips in a searing kiss, which quickly has her smirk fading away and her moaning into your mouth. “Okay. No more games. Bed now.” She mutters between a kiss.

You nod, dragging her towards the direction of your apartment, the two of you never separating for more than a couple of seconds. You bash into the wall and if Jack’s sole intention wasn’t getting you into a bed, she might have felt bad for your neighbours.

Jack loosens the scarf around your neck to gain access and begins to leave a trail of kisses while you struggle to open your apartment door. “Jack, you’re making this difficult.” You whine, but it quickly changes to a sigh when she hits a particular spot. “Jack, please.”

“Please what?” She breathes.

“Stop for two seconds so I can get us inside and then you can do whatever you want.”

She pulls back, eyes black with desire. You unlock the door and before you can push it open, Jack’s pushing you backwards into the room, carelessly kicking the door shut behind her and capturing your lips in a kiss that has you weak in the knees.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N.” She breathes against your lips.

“Merry Christmas, Jack.”

“Now, I think there’s a bedroom you need to show me.”

Giggling you drag her in the direction of your room.

It was definitely a Christmas to remember.

[ambiguously-ambitious]

Chapter One: A Second Chance to Live A Life Worth Living

Author: ambiguoslyambitious (me!)

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 2,402

Summary: Getting a job at Joja Corporation was supposed to be Bela Rivers' big break in the business world. Anyone who wanted to be successful in Stardew Valley dreamed at working in one of their corporate offices. However, life inside a cubicle is not what it's all cracked up to be, and the company that she is working for is harboring some deep secrets. A mysterious envelope gifted to Bela by her recently deceased grandfather might hold the key to a second chance to live a life worth living.

“M-Ms. Rivers? Hello?” a desperately cheery voice called out, a twinge of annoyance hiding just below the surface.

Bela pulled her eyes away from the harsh white light of the computer monitor in front of her to meet the even harsher glare of her supervisor, Mary Boerhen. Mary was a miserable woman cloaked in grey, both in personality and attire.

“Apologies, Ms. Boerhen,” Bela forced a smile to hide her hatred for pleasantries. “What can I do for you?”

Bela had just spent the past three hours aimlessly staring at her monitor, dreading spending yet another day updating spreadsheets. Every once in a while she glanced up at the menacing green light signaling that she was unfortunately still on the clock. The words, Join us. Thrive, seemed to be mocking her every day she was forced to sit in her corporate-issued personal hell. Bela had once held excitement for her job inputting data for Joja Corporation, the nation’s leading industry in just about everything. Everyone knew that if you wanted to make a solid living in Zuzu City, you just had to get a job with Joja.

However, that excitement soon faded once she had been squeezed into a tiny cubicle, condemned to spend her entire nine-to-five repeatedly going over numbers, day in and day out. She had thought that her recent degree in business administration, paired with her relation to the governor of Stardew Valley, would’ve given her the upper hand amongst her peers for a more “hands on” job opportunity within the company.

Unfortunately, she was still stuck crunching numbers like the rest of them, an insignificant cog in the corporate machine.

“Well, Ms. Rivers,” the woman sneered, “you could actually do the job you were hired to do.” Ms. Boerhen pursed her lips and turned away sharply, presumably to bark at anyone else who appeared to be slacking off.

Bela let out a small sigh, her fingers gravitating towards her desk drawer where a letter from her grandfather was resting. Once again, Bela felt her thoughts wander as she sadly remembered her last visit to him.

It had been ten years since Bela had last been to Pelican Town, a quaint little farming community located in the heart of Stardew Valley. As a child, Bela remembered spending each summer frolicking in the fields of Riverland Farm, a massive expanse of farmland spread out on a vast variety of small islands. However, her last visit wasn't so happy.

Bela remembered being thirteen years old watching from the train window, the city fading into the countryside. Harsh lights were replaced with the glow of fireflies and cement gave way to worn-down dirt paths. Her parents were tense the entire train ride, her father especially. She remembered the way his jaw was clenched and the tight grip he maintained with her mother's hand. Unbeknownst to Bela, this was going to be the last time that she was going to see her grandfather alive.

Walking into the farmhouse, Bela remembered how frail her grandfather looked in his cot. He lifted his head and offered her a weak smile.

"My dear, Bela," his voice was barely above a whisper. Bela desperately tried to prevent any tears from escaping, but seeing the ghost of a man she remembered as being vibrant broke her young heart. Before she could break down, her father's voice boomed angrily.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?!" Her father's voice shook slightly, though Bela could not tell if it was from rage or sadness.

"What difference," the old man responded coolly, "would that have made?"

Bela's mother placed a hand on her father's shoulder, a desperate attempt to calm him down.

"I do not wish to argue, Jacob," Bela's grandfather said, meeting his son's furious gaze. "I know that I've made mistakes. I just wanted to tell you goodbye and give you the chance to say the same." Suddenly, he bent over in a violent fit of coughing, forcing Bela's father's gaze to cool into concern.

“...and for you, my special granddaughter, I want you to have this,” he managed to choke out, handing Bela an envelope enclosed by a vibrant purple seal, bearing the Rivers family crest, a pair of swans facing each other with the phrase, a flumine perduraverit, written between them.

Before she had a chance to open it, Bela’s grandfather blurted out, “No, no, don’t open it yet...Have patience, my dear.”

Her grandfather smiled weakly before continuing on, “Now, listen close...There will come a day where you feel crushed by the burden of modern life, and your bright spirit will fade before a growing emptiness. When that happens, my child, then you will be ready for this gift. Now, let grandpa rest...”

A few weeks went by before her grandfather finally passed. Bela's father quietly had him buried on the property without a funeral and refused to go back. Or at least, until now.

While Bela sat at her desk bored, her parents were currently boarding a train to Pelican Town in order to find the proper documents to sell Riverland Farms. They planned to use the money to fund their retirement and help Bela get her own apartment.

I wonder what’s in the letter that Grandpa left me, Bela mused, swirling a pencil between her fingers. She let out an exasperated sigh and decided that it was finally time to begin her work. Not even five minutes into crunching numbers the phone on her desk began to ring.

“Good afternoon from Joja Corporations, this is Bela. How can I be of assistance?” Bela answered perkily, rolling her eyes at the spiel she was taught to spit.

“Bela Rivers,” a serious voice responded, “you are wanted in Mr. Jameson’s office.”

Bela immediately straightened up in her seat and her heart rate quickened as she realized that she was being summoned to her superior’s office.

Damn it, she cursed to herself. Ms. Boerhen ratted me out to the big boss.

Bela took a quick breath before replying calmly, “Of course, I’ll be right there.”

She quickly placed the phone back on the receiver and stood up, mentally preparing herself for a scolding for her less than desirable performance. As she walked down the hallway to Mr. Jameson's office, she silently began to berate herself for wasting such a golden opportunity. Her heels clicked loudly like the hands of a clock, counting down the seconds until she was out of a job.

As she stood outside of Mr. Jameson’s door, Bela closed her eyes briefly and knocked raptly.

“Ms. Rivers, you may come in.”

Bela pushed the door gently, surprised to see the amount of people in the office. At the giant desk made entirely of glass, sat Mr. Jameson, a stocky man dressed in a sharp, yet dull grey suit that matched his seemingly lifeless expression. Next to him, sat a meek looking woman in a similarly bland pantsuit who avoided looking in Bela’s direction. Across from them sat two men wearing long black coats over simple business casual wear. When she entered the room, the older of the two gentlemen stood up, clutching a gold badge in his right hand.

“Hello Ms. Rivers, my name is Detective Hanlon,” the man then gestured to his more youthful companion, “and my partner Detective Gaumond.”

“Detectives?” Bela questioned, wondering why the hell the police were getting involved with her lack of productivity. You can’t be arrested for being lazy, right?

“Yes, unfortunately Ms. Rivers, there seems to have been an accident on the tracks near The Mountain.”

Bela’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t believe what the detective was saying. “W-what? What happened?”

The younger detective briefly made eye contact with Bela, a genuine sadness in his eyes before he ducked his head.

“I’m afraid that your parents, Mr. Jacob and Mrs. Kiera Rivers, were both killed in the rockslide on their way to Pelican Town.”

The young detective stood up and gave her a pitying look, “I’m deeply sorry for your loss, Ms. Rivers. This has been an unfortunate accident. These types of natural disasters are completely unpredictable.”

It was as if Bela had been sucker punched right in the chest. She stood there in complete disbelief until a faint whisper of a memory tickled the back of her mind.

“Wait,” Bela said coldly, moving her eyes over to the two behind the desk who refused to meet her gaze, “hasn’t Joja been mining in The Mountain?”

Mr. Jameson quickly looked over at the woman to his side, a bead of sweat trailing down his temple. The woman sheepishly looked up, desperately trying to avoid Bela’s cool glare.

“Yes, they have,” she admitted, glancing over at the two detectives, “However, it is too early to say whether Joja’s mining directly contributed to the rockslide, seeing as that is a natural disa-”

“Bullshit!” Bela interrupted, her voice steadily raising in anger. “You KNOW that you killed my parents!”

“Settle down, Bela,” Mr. Jameson snapped, “This was just an unfortunate accident. You can take the week off to settle your affairs.”

“Take a week off?” Bela’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Is that all my parents’ lives were worth? That’s all I get? Not even an apology?”

“Ms. Rivers,” the woman quipped, “Joja Corporation is not liable for natural disasters. And as a Joja employee, you should remember that your contract states that you are not allowed to speak negatively about the company in any way.”

“I-Is that a threat?” Bela retorted, in shock at the audacity of this woman. “Are you threatening to sue me for telling the truth? That YOU killed my parents?!”

She shook her head angrily, not able to process the barrage of emotions hitting through her at that moment.

“You know what?” Bela spat, “I quit.” Bela turned on her heel, storming back to her cubicle.

Once there, she began grabbing all her personal items and shoved them into a cardboard box. When she finally got to the desk drawer that held her grandfather’s letter, she hesitated for a second before tearing the envelope open. Inside were two pieces of paper, the top one decorated with her late grandfather’s handwriting, saying:

Dear Bela,

If you are reading this, you must be in dire need of a change.

The same thing happened to my grandfather, long ago. He had lost sight of what mattered most in life; real connections with other people and nature. So, he decided to drop everything and move to the place where he felt like he truly belonged.

I’ve enclosed the deed to that place, my pride and joy: Riverland Farm. It’s located on the southern coast of Stardew Valley, between Ridgeside Village and Pelican Town. It’s the perfect place to start your new life.

This was my most precious gift of all, and now it is yours. I know that you will honor the family name, my child.

Good luck.

Love, Grandpa

P.S. If Lewis is still alive, say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?

Bela’s eyes welled up with tears as she glanced at the second paper, the deed of Riverland Farm. She rushed to gather the rest of her belongings and walked out of the corporate office for the last time.

Before Bela knew it, she was gazing out the window of the bus she was on, heading to her new home. The trees blurred together in a sea of green as Bela allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts.

Maybe, Bela sighed, this fresh start is just what I need.

The bus slowed down to a stop at a small crossroads. Once Bela exited the bus, she was approached by a cheerful redhead.

“Hello! You must be Bela,” she smiled warmly. “I’m Robin, the local carpenter. I don't know if you remember me, since it's been a few years since you've last visited, but I'm Sebastian and Maru's mom.”

Bela smiled back hesitantly, before memories of an awkward, spiky-haired emo wannabe flittered into her head. “Hi, Robin, it’s nice to see you again, though I was expecting Mr. Meyer.”

“Oh, Mayor Lewis sent me here to fetch you and show you the way to your new home. He’s tidying things up for your arrival.” Robin turned, and began walking down the dirt path, gesturing for Bela to follow. “The farm’s right over here, if you’ll follow me.”

Bela listened intently as Robin began to relay different stories of some of her most difficult jobs. After a few moments they approached the dilapidated Riverland Farm. Bela was astounded at how unkempt the land was, littered with overgrown patches of grass and rotting crops.

“Yeah,” Robin shyly rubbed the back of head, “this farm has definitely seen better days. However, there is still good soil underneath.”

Suddenly, the farmhouse door opened, and a kind older man stepped out with a head full of grey hair and a matching moustache.

“Ah, our newest farmer!” he chuckled lightly, “Welcome back, Bela! In case you've forgotten, I’m Lewis, the mayor of Pelican Town.”

His eyes twinkled mischievously, “You know, everyone’s been asking about you. It’s not every day that someone new moves in. And it's even rarer when someone comes back. It’s quite a big deal!”

Robin nodded in agreement. “With the increased taxes, more people have been leaving Pelican Town than staying.”

Mayor Lewis shot Robin a warning glance before continuing his welcome speech, “So, you’re moving into your grandfather’s old cottage.” He sighed deeply; eyes lost in thought as he remembered his old friend.

Bela offered him a gentle smile, “He mentioned that the two of you were old friends.”

Lewis returned the smile, “Yes, we were. Well, you've inherited a good house...very ‘rustic’.”

Robin chuckled, “Well, that’s one way to put it.”

“Oh, don’t be rude,” Lewis shook his head, “Don’t listen to her, Bela. Robin just wants you to hire her for upgrades.” Robin rolled her eyes playfully in response.

“Well,” Lewis directed his attention back to Bela. “You must be tired from your long journey. You should get some rest. Tomorrow, you ought to explore the Town Square and reintroduce yourself to some folks. The townspeople would appreciate that.”

With that, both Robin and Lewis took their leave of Riverland Farm.

Now, Bela thought, gazing at the acres of overgrown land. What the FUCK am I going to with all of this?

[jaxsteamblog]

Her Royal Majesty Our Queen

Click here to read the entire fic on AO3

During the two day trip to the Foggy Swamp, Katara had to disconnect from her role as Thuy’s Master and step back into her work as Queen. This visit had nothing to do with the Avatar as she needed to meet with the Matriarch of the Swamp Tribe, and Thuy was simply going home. Toph, as her current instructor, was always going to come along but was herself interested in seeing the swamp. 

For someone who invented metalbending, Toph was certainly very interested in mud. 

The layover was, amusingly, in Haru’s hometown. With their arrival publicly announced, Haru’s parents sent a short letter to her hotel room, but there wasn’t any attempt to meet. Katara was only there for the night, and Haru was happily married in Republic City. 

Still, it was nice to be thought of.

On the flight the next day, Thuy became more animated and even Mister Whiskers was showing more signs of life. The amphibious creature clearly missed her damp home. 

“Did you hear that, Sugar Queen?” Toph asked loudly, making Katara turn from her laptop. “Thuy says they eat bugs.”

Katara blinked and shut her laptop slowly.

“And?” She asked.

“Doesn’t that weird you out?” Toph questioned.

“No?” Katara put a hand on top of her computer. “Some of us didn’t live in a manor for the entirety of the war.” 

“Are you saying I’m soft?” Toph demanded, not sounding angry but leaning over the arm of her seat menacingly.

“Oh Toph, you’re as dense as a rock.” Katara replied sweetly. 

Toph cackled, slapping the seat arm and sitting back. 

“See Wet Wipe, you have to give as good as you get. Otherwise people will walk all over you.” She said to Thuy.

“I just don’t think it’s nice.” Thuy huffed, picking up her squirming catgator. Mister Whiskers had taken to chewing on the empty seats in front of them. 

Katara did not like how many sharp teeth were in that wide mouth. 

“Avatars don’t get anywhere by being nice.” Toph countered.

“Don’t I know it.” Thuy muttered. 

Due to the unpredictable nature of the swamp, the plane landed at a small, private airfield next to the looming entity of the banyan grove. 

As they disembarked, figures came out from the treeline and Thuy ran to meet them, Mister Whiskers loping cartoonishly after her. 

One figure Katara recognized as the matriarch. Dong-Lee broke away from the group and walked leisurely toward Katara as she and Toph made their way to the trees.

“Welcome, our queen.” Dong-Lee said. A chorus of shouts raised from the group behind her and Katara felt her face start to warm.

“Please, Matriarch, Katara is perfectly fine.” She said, waving the comment away. 

“You are bringing the other tribes back to our family, we are proud to call you our queen.” Dong-Lee replied.

Katara’s mouth twitched at the comment, but she ignored it. 

“I appreciate the welcome, Matriarch.” She said. 

“Is the Fire Lord still onboard?” Dong-Lee asked.

“Zuko?” Katara frowned in confusion. “He’s in Caldera.”

“He didn’t come?”

Dong-Lee sounded surprised and Katara did blush then.

“We’re not married yet, I wasn’t aware you were expecting him.” She explained. 

“I apologize, Thuy had told me you were handfasted already.” Dong-Lee said.

“They are!” Thuy shouted indignantly. “They announced their coupling ages ago and then she accepted his pledge on my birthday!” 

“That doesn’t mean we’re married!” Katara snapped anxiously.

“Sure it does.” Thuy said, sounding calm and unconcerned as she walked back over. “A wedding doesn’t make you married, a pledge does.”

“That’s not how it works in other places.” Katara said and sighed.

“That is how it works here, though.” Thuy said. “And we are your people too.” 

Katara sighed again and rubbed her face.

“I’m sorry, Matriarch, Zuko isn’t coming.” She said.

“Like dragon spit he isn’t.” Thuy said. She pulled out her cellphone and Katara lunged. Thuy avoided her easily, pushing herself away with her bending. 

“Zuko, Auntie said you’re not coming to the swamp even though I promised everyone.” Thuy started, continuing to move away as Katara made a strangled sound in exasperation. 

“So,” Toph interjected as she strolled over. “I was told there were bugs?”

By dinner, Zuko was already in Republic City making further travel plans. At Thuy’s invitation, Sokka and Suki decided to tag along and the three of them would be in the swamp by the next evening. 

Having her script so completely disrupted, Katara sulked and grumbled at her seat. 

Toph had gone hunting with some of the tribe members, returning completely drenched in swamp mud but clutching the still writhing bodies of leopard eels. Apparently having an Earthbender made it much easier to catch the fish by hand, and an unsettling sack proved it. 

The catch was gutted and cleaned at the docks, with Mister Whiskers getting her fill of offal. None of that bothered Katara, save for the blood that spilled onto their woven mats. 

There hadn’t been much in the way of technological advancement in the swamp. Whatever spiritual energy shielded Thuy’s home, it was complete and fickle. The tribe used peat and water to make steam engine generators, but they didn’t power much outside of the few telephones, radios, computers, and satellite for reception. And that was certainly spotty, often requiring a shaman or Thuy herself to go into the swamp and yell about it. 

Torches, bug nets, and rickety walkways were sprinkled over massive banyan roots and linked the various thatched huts or raised pavilions. Family groups lived in nodes and each node could communicate with the others via the root system and a shaman. So the technology they did have only came, Katara found, after Thuy was identified as the Avatar and her family knew she would need it. 

Other things, like books, weapons, and clothing, trickled in at random times when an outsider was allowed access to the interior. 

The swamp had protected Thuy and provided her with everything she needed. 

It reminded Katara very much of the South Pole.

Which oddly did not help her mood.

“Is her royal majesty being snooty?” Toph asked, sitting down hard next to Katara.

“No. I’m just mad I didn’t know they expected Zuko to be here.” She replied.

“I’m surprised too, to be honest.” Toph said, putting her hands down behind her and reclining. “What do they want with the Fire Lord?” 

“That’s a good question.” Katara replied. 

The answer came after dinner had been cleared away. 

A shaman, adorned with bright feathers and a carved wooden mask, stepped out onto the wide dock. Everyone quieted and turned; Katara looked expectantly at Thuy, but she was already focused on the shaman.

“We welcome the return of our kin, Thuy.” The shaman said and clapping filled the heavy air. Katara clapped slowly, still unsure of what was happening. 

“Before we understood our world, we told stories to explain what we saw. The Avatar represented all of our questions; where did we come from? Why do we have Benders? Why are there four elements? And how are we to live with the spirits?

“The ancient stories tell us that the sun and the moon fought over the ocean. That one day, when the moon triumphed, the sun fell into the ocean and from it’s boiling, the lands were made. The bubbles made the air we breathe and pushed the sun back into the sky. So the elements were made, but as they came from strife, only one would ever inhabit a human at a time.

“We know of space now, of gravity, but we also still live among the spirits. We see how they alter the world around us, how they bestow gifts, and how they take things away at a whim.

“After the great and terrible war, the rest of the world is turning away from the spirits. It is why the Avatar has been born here, in this sacred grove, to remind us of what we are all still connected to.” The shaman paused but no one spoke or made a noise. 

“The rest of the world is being reminded. Our spirits, not our adopted family of the Great Banyan Tree, but our spiritual parents Tui and La, have reconnected to our human world. The honorable princess Yue has ascended to the sky as the handmaiden of the moon. And here sits our awe-some protector, the Matriarch of All Waters, our queen!” The shaman continued and a roar went up around Katara. 

Toph, unable to find a snarky comment, only sat up straight. A shiver ran through Katara and she gripped uselessly at the mat under her. 

“The sun has fallen again into the ocean. We must prepare for what is to come.” The shaman said, raising his hands to quiet the people. 

“Tomorrow, the queen and her husband will go out into the swamp. When they return, we will abide by whatever message they bring.” The shaman said and then turned his carved mask toward Katara.

“Long live La!” He called and the shout was quickly picked up by the others.

“Looks like someone has a new, terrible destiny.” Toph whispered.

“Alright Huu, get down and let the fiddlers start!” Someone yelled and laughter replaced the solemn calling. 

The energy immediately shifted and Katara let out a breath, slumping onto the low table. 

“I am so sick of destiny.” She muttered.

That night, Katara sat awkwardly tucked in a knot of a banyan tree. She had to climb higher than she liked to get a decent signal on her phone.

“Divination at dinner?” Zuko asked. 

“It’s starting to feel like we never had a choice not to be together.” Katara grumbled.

“And that’s a bad thing?” He questioned haltingly.

“It makes it seem like it doesn’t matter what kind of person I am if you were fated to love me anyway.” 

“I don’t know. Even if people say we were meant to be together, we still had to be the people we are to make that happen. And I do love you because of who you are.”

“But I don’t want to be this. Whatever this person is that everyone is making me out to be.”

“And what’s that?”

“Liu called me Oma, everyone here thinks I’m La, and Rohan is trying to make me think I’m the embodiment of yin.”

“What do you want to be?”

“Me! I just want to be me. And your wife.” Katara added, lowering her voice and wrapping her free arm over her chest. “I just want to be me with you.” 

“The quiet, unassuming wife of the Fire Lord?” Zuko asked and she snorted. 

“I could never just be a wife.” She said dryly.

“Which is why I wanted to ask you…” Zuko started and Katara sat up.

“What now?” She asked.

“I want you to become the Fire Lady.” He said.

That stilled her and Katara stared off into the darkness. 

“You still there?” Zuko asked cautiously.

“Yeah, no, I’m still here.” Katara said. “Just, thinking.”

“I know it’s a big ask.”

“That’s two crowns, Zuko.”

“I know.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my queen too. You will be queen to my people. Our people.” 

Katara went quiet again, and Zuko waited. 

“You want children.” She said finally.

“Yes.” He was quick and honest. “Don’t you?”

“I don’t know.” She said, just as honestly.

“I never wanted them before. But with you?” Zuko’s voice drifted and Katara felt her pulse quicken.

“If they’re really saying I’m the sun falling into the ocean-”

“Zuko.”

“-then maybe what they mean is how many little islands I can-”

“Zuko!”

“The allegory is right there Katara.” 

Katara laughed and her anxiety left her. 

“I’ll think about it.” She said finally.

“That’s all that I ask.” He replied.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said.

“I am so excited for our field trip, you have no idea.” Zuko joked and Katara laughed again.

It was certainly enough to think about for one night.

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[raindancer2004]

Unloved and Unwanted?

Word Count: 3,395 Felix x Reader Part One. Warnings: Fluff Angst

Y/N was 17 years old when her entire life changed; her mother Molly died in a car accident and she found herself in Forks living with her father Charlie Swan, who she had never met.  Charlie was shocked when he got a phone call from Child Services advising him about Y/N as he didn’t know she even existed. This made it hard for Charlie to accept her; as a result he struggled to build relationship with Y/N once she arrived in Forks. Charlie and Sue were busy working and planning their wedding; leaving little time to help Y/N settle in.

Bella had already moved out as she was married to Edward Cullen and they had a daughter Renesmee. Bella did not make an effort to meet her younger half-sister, choosing to ignore her.

Y/N didn’t make any friends at her new school either, she went almost unnoticed there. She felt truly alone and it only made her miss her mom even more, especially as they had been very close before the accident.

One Saturday morning Bella dropped Renesmee off at Charlie’s for a visit but didn’t stay herself as she had things to do. After a few hours Charlie was called into the station due to an emergency and as Y/N was home he asked her to keep an eye on Renesmee. This surprised Y/N as she had only met Renesmee briefly a few times as she was not included in ‘family time’ during Renesmee’s visits. This led to Y/N staying in her room during Renesmee’s visits as to not be in the way. In fact Y/N stayed in her room even when Renesmee wasn’t around for the same reason.

Y/N and Renesmee baked chocolate chips cookies and watched a few Disney films together, before Charlie came home with take out. Y/N had dinner with them that night but only because Renesmee asked her to join them. Charlie did not engage Y/N in conversation other than to ask about what she and Renesmee did whilst he was at work.

That night when Renesmee got home she told her family about the time she spent with Y/N; how much she liked her and that she felt sorry for her as she had lost her mom. This conversation prompted Bella to finally decide to meet Y/N; six months after she had moved to Forks.

This decision prompted Alice to have a vision;

Y/N was in Italy with the Volturi; more specifically with Felix, one of the elite guards. They didn’t look happy together either with Felix leaving Y/N alone in her room and making his way to the throne room for guard duty.

Felix spending his evenings with Demetri and Santiago playing cards or playing on his computer console with other members of the guard when not on guard duty at night.

Y/N’s room was not very big and was barely decorated and the only visitors she got other than Felix was Gianna, who bought her meals every day, Heidi and Demetri who check in on her.

Edward saw the vision as it happened and knew what he had to; for this solved a problem for everyone, Y/N would leave Forks and live in Volterra. He filled his siblings and Bella in on the plan and they all agreed. “She’ll be someone’s else’s problem soon, Charlie still isn’t warming to the idea of having another daughter around” Edward told them, having read Charlie’s mind the last time he was over there “Bella, you need to befriend Y/N and bring her over so we can inform her about Vampires; the Volturi and her mate” Bella agreed instantly.

Bella met with Y/N at Charlie’s a few days later “Hello Y/N, I’m Bella. I’m sorry for not coming over sooner to meet you” “Hi Bella, that’s ok. It’s nice to finally meet you” Y/N replied “Yeah you too. How are you settling in?” Bella asked “I’m settling in ok, thanks” Y/N lied.

They spent the afternoon talking to each other attempting to get to know one another. Y/N couldn’t help feeling suspicious of Bella; wondering why she came over to meet her and why she was being nice to her after ignoring her the last six months.

The following Friday Bella called and invited Y/N over to the Cullen house “Hello Y/N, I hope you are ok. I’m calling to invite you over tomorrow. I think it would be nice for you to meet Edwards’s siblings” “Err, ok thanks. Sounds nice, thank you” Y/N relied. The following morning Bella drove to Charlie’s and picked up Y/N and bought her back to the main house. When they arrived Bella introduced her to everyone “Y/N this is my husband Edward” She said pointing to Edward “Hello Edward, it’s nice to meet you” Y/N greeted “You too Y/N” Edward smiled “These are my siblings Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice” He continued; they all smiled and said hello to Y/N and she did the same in return. “My father Carlisle is at the hospital and my mother Esme has taken Renesmee out for the day. Hopefully you’ll meet them next time” Edward added.  

Neither Carlisle nor Esme knew of Edward’s plan or the other’s involvement as they all knew that they wouldn’t agree with or support their plan.

They all sat down in the family room and explained to Y/N that they were vampires and that they feed off of animals instead of humans; hence their golden eyes. They explained that vampires have something called a ‘mate’; one person they would love, protect and spend an eternity with. They also explained that Rose and Emmett were mates; as were Jasper and Alice, Edward and Bella and lastly Carlisle and Esme. Alice explained that her, Jasper, Edward and Bella had ‘gifts’ and explained which each one was. Y/N nodded trying to take in the information so far

Emmett went onto explain about the Volturi who lived in Italy; how they were the rulers of the vampire world enforcing the laws, one of which was that humans were not allowed to know of their existence. “Why have you told me then?” Y/N asked confused. “We have told you about vampires because Alice has had a vision and it showed you with your mate; who is an elite Volturi guard” Edward answered. “What does that mean for me?” She asked “It means that you would need to go to Volterra to be with him. If they came here to check on Renesmee and found out that we knew you were the mate of one of their guards and we didn’t tell them; they would kill us and take you to Italy forcibly” Edward continued. “What is the guard I’m mated to like?” She asked. The Cullen siblings and Bella looked at each other before Rosalie answered her “He is known for being the strongest vampire in the world and has killed many vampires and humans alike” Shock flashed across Y/N’s face at hearing this “The Volturi do not like humans much; seeing them as not much more than their food source. So the news of one of their elite guards being mated to a human will not go down well” Rosalie continued. “He will likely reject you as his mate as you’re human” Bella added “I-If he is to reject me…why does he need to know about me?” Y/N asked. Noone answered her straight away, again looking at each other silently deciding who would answer her.

“As I said before, they would kill us if they found out we kept you from your mate. We can’t and won’t risk our lives for you” Edward replied rather matter of factly; Y/N said nothing. “You need to know more about your mate” Bella added and Y/N nodded, waiting for someone to continue.

“The Volturi do not usually allow newborns in the castle; however, they will make an exception for you…” “What do you mean newborns?” Y/N cut Edward off sounding confused “Newborns are what newly turned vampires are called” Bella answered her, Y/N nodded “You’ll spend your newborn years in the dungeon and provided your mate remembers you’re down there; you’ll more than likely be taken to a room in one of the towers…where you will spend your eternity once you’re no longer a newborn” Edward informed her “W-Why did you say if he remembered I was in the dungeon?” She asked a little worried “Edward means there are vampires that have been down in the dungeons for decades if not centuries. They kinda get forgotten about” Alice replied quickly “So if I am to be rejected, why would he keep me in the castle?” Y/N asked feeling confused. Jasper answered her this time “Once he meets you the mate bond will kick in and he will feel protective of you and will need to know that you are safe. If a vampire loses their mate they become heartbroken and overtime they fall into a deep depression and he won’t want that; the Volturi leaders won’t want that either as he is too valuable to them. This will still apply even after his rejection of you” “Oh” Was all Y/N could say.

“Some of the Volturi are gifted too, so you won’t be able to run and hide either as they have the world’s best tracker and they will send him after you and he will find you and drag you back to Volterra kicking and screaming if he has to. You’ll also see the cruel side of your mate too if you were to run from him” Emmett added; all of them being careful not to reveal Y/N’s mate’s name. “You leave for Volterra in three days. We have already bought you a ticket and to ensure you actually get there I will accompany you” Edward says. “So I don’t have a choice in this?” Y/N asked “No you don’t!” Bella said sharply. “Edward I don’t think going to Volterra with another human is a good idea. We have letters for her and Aro; I think it’s best if she goes alone” Alice says looking at Edward, who nods “Fine, but I’m taking her to the airport regardless. I’ll pick you up at 8pm Tuesday Y/N” Y/N just nods in response. Y/N made sure to not think about how she felt about this around Edward knowing that he may be able to read her mind.

Later that night Y/N started packing a few things for her trip and couldn’t help her thoughts ‘I find out I have a soulmate; someone who’s supposed to love me forever, only to find out that he won’t want me. He’ll just reject me and lock me away forever. I don’t know why I’m so surprised that someone else who is supposed to love me doesn’t. It’s the story of my life recently, being unwanted and unloved. It’s bad enough I have to stay here with Charlie who doesn’t want me around.’ Tears slipped down her cheeks at the thought of being unloved, unwanted and locked away forever, just to be forgotten about. She cried herself to sleep that night.  

The following morning Charlie opens a letter informing him that Y/N has been accepted into an Art college in Italy and that she is due there in a few days. Alice had put the letter together as a cover story for Y/N to leave Forks. “Morning, Y/N. This came yesterday after I left for work; it’s an acceptance letter for an Art college in Italy. They need you there in a few days so you should get packing” Charlie said smiling as Y/N entered the kitchen “Oh ok, I’ll-I’ll do that” Y/N couldn’t believe the Cullens had faked a letter to get her to Italy; clearly they wanted her gone and soon.

A few days later Edward dropped Y/N off at the airport “Here this is a letter for Aro; make sure to give it to him when you arrive at the castle. This letter is for you to read on the plane, it’s basically tells you what we told you the other night. When you arrive a car will be waiting to take you Volterra. Safe flight” He gets back in the car and drives away leaving Y/N at the airport alone.

Y/N sits on the plane reading the letter addressed to her; and it’s a repeat of the information she was told a few days ago. She thought about not going to Italy but figured the Cullens will know if she doesn’t arrive or they’ll call Aro to check that she arrived so it’s probably just easier to go voluntarily rather than be chased down by the Volturi’s tracker and incur the wrath of her mate.

The plane lands and Y/N makes her way through to the airport to the waiting car “Miss Y/S/N?” The man asks “Yes, you’re taking me to Volterra?” Y/N replies “Yes miss. Get in the car please” The man says placing her case in the trunk. Y/N is dropped off just outside of the town square “The castle is just up there; you can’t miss it as there’s a huge fountain in the middle of the square” “Thank you” Y/N said taking her case from the driver.

Y/N made her way to the town square and sat down on the fountain trying to get the courage up to walk into a castle full of vampires; knowing that once she’s inside she’ll never be allowed to leave. Unknown to Y/N she is being watched by Heidi who has stepped outside of the castle to see if there are any tourists around that she can add to the ‘castle tour’ scheduled for tomorrow. With her enhanced sight Heidi notices that Y/N holding an envelope in her hands whilst looking at the castle and after about an hour Heidi makes her way over to Y/N “Are you ok?” She asks sitting beside her “I think so” Y/N replies sounding unsure. “I’m Heidi by the way, so what brings you to Volterra?” Y/N notices Heidi’s eyes are a lilac colour and her skin is pale but looks perfect, just like the Cullens “I’m Y/N. I’ve been sent here to meet my mate, not that he’s going to happy about it. In fact I’ve been told that…he won’t want me” Y/N says looking down handing Heidi her letter “It’s all explained in here”

Heidi takes the letter reading it and it explains that Y/N is mated to one of the elite guards and as soon as she reads ‘he is the strongest vampire in the world’ she knows who Y/N’s mate is. Heidi frowns as she continues to read the letter as she doesn’t like what she is reading. It is depicting Felix as cruel when he is actually kind despite him coming across as intimidating due to his physical appearance. She also knows that Felix would his love his mate whether she be human or vampire as he has been waiting a long time to meet her and would be hurt if he knew that his mate thought of him this way. “Who gave you this letter?” Heidi asks sounding a little upset “Edward Cullen handed me this letter at the airport for me to read to remind me about what awaits me upon landing here. I also have another letter for Aro” She tells Heidi “How come you showed me this letter?” Heidi asks “You are a vampire and I’m guessing you live in the castle” Y/N replies “How did you…” Y/N cuts Heidi off “You have pale skin like the Cullens and you came from the direction of the castle and you didn’t seem surprised when I mentioned the word ‘mate’ nor when you were reading the letter” “Huh, very true. Would you like me to take you inside to meet Aro?” Heidi asks “I’m not sure if I’m ready to go in just yet” Y/N replies quietly “Ok I’ll wait with you until you’re ready” “Thank you Heidi.” Y/N gives Heidi a small smile. After an hour of sitting on the fountain making small talk Heidi and Y/N make their way into the castle; Heidi taking Y/N’s hand in hers “Do not let go of my hand Y/N” “Ok” Y/N nods.

Once inside the castle Heidi heads straight to the reception desk “Hi Gianna, this is Y/N. I need you to take this to Aro for me please” Heidi says handing her a quick note asking to meet with him, Caius and Marcus and minimal guards as she has a delicate matter to discuss. Heidi and Y/N wait in reception for Gianna to return “Heidi, Y/N, Aro is ready for you and the guards have been dismissed except for Jane and Demetri” Heidi was pleased Felix wouldn’t be in the room during this conversation.

They arrive at throne room “Good afternoon masters” Heidi greets them with a smile “Heidi so good to see you and you have bought a human with you” Aro replies curious. “There is a very good reason for that. This is Y/N and she has a letter for you from the Cullens” Caius’ attention is piqued when he hears the Cullens name mentioned. “May I see the letter please my dear?” Aro asks “Of course” Y/N responds handing the letter over. Y/N and Heidi watch Aro’s facial expressions as he reads the letter and he doesn’t seem happy. “What’s in the letter brother?” Caius asks impatiently; Aro extends his arm holding out the letter for him. “Y/N my dear, when did you learn about us?” Aro asks “A few days ago, I was invited to the Cullen’s house and Edward, his siblings and Bella informed me about vampires, the Volturi and…mates” She answered “Do you know who your mate is?” Caius interjects “Not exactly. I only know that he is one of the elite guards…and is known for being the strongest vampire in the world. Also that he along with the rest of you don’t like humans much…there-therefore he won’t want me…as his mate. I’ve been told that I will be rejected and locked away” Y/N replies not looking at Caius “WHAT?!” Caius screams; Heidi and Y/N flinch at this, Heidi grips Y/N’s hand in a comforting gesture. Y/N’s comment also gains Marcus’ attention whilst Jane and Demetri look on curiously.  

Caius storms down the steps to stand beside Aro “If you know you are to be rejected why did you come here?” Aro asks gently “Edward told me if you found out that they knew I was the mate of one of your guards and they didn’t tell you; you would kill them…and bring me here by force. He said they wouldn’t risk their lives for me. They also said that if I were to run and hide…you-you would send the world’s best tracker after me; who would find me and…bring me here…kicking and screaming if needed and…I would incur the wrath of my mate…who can be rather cruel. I-I figured it was just easier to come here willingly” She replied quietly looking down. Demetri felt himself get a little angry hearing that the Cullens had used him to threaten the human girl into coming to Volterra. “You mentioned being locked away, what do you mean by this?” Caius asked confusion clearly showing on his face “Edward told me that you do not usually allow newborns in the castle; however, you will make an exception for me…that I’d spend my newborn years in the dungeon and…provided my mate remembers I’m down there; he’ll come and get me… lock me away in the tower where I’ll spend eternity once I’m no longer a newborn”

A look of shock crossed the faces of the three kings as well as Jane’s and Demetri’s upon hearing this. “I want you know that I don’t intend to object to the rejection” Y/N added. “Why would you accept the rejection child?” Marcus asks curiously joining his brothers at the bottom of the steps “Not being wanted is not a new thing for me. I’m not going to make someone be with me if they don’t want to be. I have no intention of messing up his life just because I’m not wanted back home either” Y/N replied looking at Marcus, who gave her a small smile.

‘Poor beautiful, broken girl.’ Heidi thought to herself listening to this last part.