#it was like brick whacking me in the face obvious and it just

[avengers-rule103]

me? with this? on repeat? yes. yes.

[wolvesroampastelgalaxies]

Edit: All chapters up on AO3 & Tumblr

It's over now, the music of the night. My OCD is crazy and I have never completed a multi chapter fic. I truly have no desire to delve deeper into the fandom. This has cured my depression over it. Time to resume my NSFW content. Me and my own younger brother have been trying to reconcile and right before I wrote this we had a falling out. Maybe thats why I'm putting too much into it. Thank you all for the kudos, comments, re-blogs, and the new followers I gained. Bless.

As always,

:P

Second Star To The Right And Straight On Home ⭐️ (Part 2)

Dimmedelphia was rich in history, instrumental to the founding of the nation, a massive contemporary influence on modern culture, home to countless iconic monuments: and Timmy had just hurled all over one of its sidewalks.

    “Sorry,” he mumbles, feeling the queasiness subside, “it’s been a minute.”

    “Yeah, guess it’s harder to travel this way once you get older.” Peri says, looking away so he doesn’t throw up. 

  The human didn’t like the word ‘older,’ sure, it was true but instant relocation through supernatural means was hard on anyone. He doesn’t linger on the thought long when he notices the steps leading up to the brick apartment building before them. It should have been obvious they would not still be living in a fishbowl. This just seemed too normal for housing fairies. 

    “Mom and dad have been living as humans. Albeit not very well.” Peri rolls his eyes, “You should see them with the mail.” 

    Timmy reaches and pokes his crown out of place.  “You’re one to talk, maybe try working on your own disguise.” 

    “Stalling, are you?” Peri says with a quirk of his brow, righting his crown.

    “Totally stalling.” 

  The fairy can sympathize, it had been a total of 10 thousand years of time travel before he saw his parents again. He felt the same anxiety trying to avoid them. He had had all the time before then to prepare for the inevitable. Timmy has had maybe half an hour. But he won't let his brother face it alone.

    “Well, common!” He offers an encouraging smile, mounting the stairs.                                 

                         💫 💫 💫                                                                

    “Coming! Totally average human putting on average human pants to answer the human door!” 

  Peri cringes, hiding his face in one hand. He peeks through his fingers, watching as what must be a hundred different memories cloud Timmy’s usually bright, blue eyes. He places a slim hand on his shoulder, lightly squeezing him into focus. It had taken him a moment to gather courage before pressing the doorbell.

    “He - he sounds the same.” He says in disbelief. 

  Even Cosmo’s yelp of pain as he whacks himself in the head with the door is the perfect pitch he remembers. That’s why it’s so discombobulating to see his former godparent not look exactly as he remembers. Cosmo is definitely trying to look human, channeling an eccentric dad. Just like Peri however, the eyes haven’t changed, as dog, fish, or anything else and he’d know it was his fairy. 

  They aren’t yours anymore. 

  Timmy’s nerves bounce all throughout his body as they stare at each other. He chuckles somewhat manically.

    “Hey Cosmo-

    “TIMMY!” 

  He chokes on fairy dust and can’t manage to clear his throat of it with the death hold around his neck. But if he died this way then that'd be okay. He could easily push Cosmo off but instead hugs him back, feeling the now smaller fairy form. He and Peri had already admitted that more tears were to come so he lost little pride in feeling his eyes start to water. Cosmo does release him, but Timmy goes cross eyed with how close the green fairy is. Cosmo pushes and pulls at Timmy’s face, his already in a downpour. The iridescent wings go a million miles a minute creating a light buzzing noise.

    “Timmy! It’s really you!” He sobs. And as if he just notices his son, he cries harder. “Look Peri! It’s Timmy! And he knows my na-na- naaaame!”

    “I know dad, I’m the one that brought him here.” 

  Usually, he’s embarrassed by his father’s dramatic behavior, even if it is genuine, but now it’s becoming contagious. Peri is the only one to notice as a door opens and closes down the hall. He might be able to slip past suspicion by saying he’s wearing a costume, but there is no way to explain the 3 foot something, green guy with wings, having a meltdown in the doorway. 

  Alright, better move this inside.

  He probably saves Timmy some added wrinkles by shoving them in the apartment, dislodging his dad. Besides, he can finally get back to his normal self as well.

                               💫 💫 💫

  Wanda could have instantly whipped up a pie. The laborious task she took on was more on principle. She could practice being human and bake something with real food. They were going to have dinner with Hazel’s family tomorrow night once they got back from her father’s conference. She and her husband tried to put some distance between themselves and Mr. Wells. Their new god kid could handle a day without them. Unlike their last one, he needed constant supervision. Wanda had treated -

    “TIMMY!” 

  Cherry syrup coated her face, it oozed its way down to her blouse, a single cherry sticking to her nose. She really thought the 3rd time was the charm. Her dear, stupid, sweet husband’s yelp shocked her and now she has no issue with using her wand to poof away the mess. Wanda isn’t too surprised at the content of the exclamation. Cosmo had frequent bouts like this. She was able to keep it together, even if it hurt just as much. With Peri being back home now, it was glaringly obvious of the missing piece.

    “Cosmo, we talked about moving ‘crying over Timmy time’ to Tuesdays and it’s Sunday dear.” She calls from the kitchen, moving her way to the living room. 

    “I - I know, but he - he didn’t wait till Tuesday. He’s here nooow!” Cosmo wanted to stop crying, but it seemed so natural now that Timmy was back. He remembers he cried all the time back then. Mostly from fear at the situations they ended up in, but now he was crying over all the good times. He misses him every day. Sundays especially.

  Wanda had been married for centuries but there were things Cosmo said that still needed clarifying. It became crystal, no, there was no need to be crystal clear. Not when there was nothing in the way of her kid and her husband clinging to his arm.

  Oh no, no he’s not a kid. He’s- 

  Timmy did not have much time to recover from the last dusting before getting blasted with another. This time, a much gentler pair of hands cupped his cheeks to keep him still for the firing squad of kisses crossing his face. As suffocating as this was, he wanted to stay like this. The last time they had been this close was a sort of death. He wants a hello to replace the goodbye. What was years apart for the fairies had hit Timmy all in one day. 

    “Oh, look at you Sport!” Wanda coos, his old pet name sounding comforting. “You’ve almost grown into those teeth!”

  The human shook his head and managed to create some space between them, Cosmo about needing the jaws of life to remove.

    “‘Almost?’” His voice sounds in the midst of puberty. There is a forced, short laugh as he uses his work shirt to dry up his face for the umpteenth time today. The lipstick marks can stay for just a bit longer. 

  Wanda reaches for Cosmo’s hands, the glitter and tears making gemstones out of their eyes. 

    “You and Peri have grown into such handsome boys.” Wanda sniffles.

  Peri thinks he’d been forgotten at that moment. Now his parents had literal hearts floating around their heads as they looked at him and Timmy. 

    The latter, who apparently hadn’t noticed Peri’s transformation, manages to sound snarky. “I’m not sure if he’s grown, but he does look older.”

    “You know what? Mom might be right; your teeth still do look a bit too big.”

     Cosmo beams at his wife, “Aww, aren’t they adorable arguing? They learned from the best.”

   Their former god-kid, now with full use of his senses, took in the pastel, bubblegum interior. Most of the accent colors were pink and green. It was …. different from his bare minimum, bachelor box of an apartment. He obviously didn’t have a window to fairy world. Timmy looks out dumb struck, the clouds, glimmering buildings, and dazzling light create an avalanche of memories piling up in his mind.  

    Cosmo fly's over to his side, bracing his arm on Timmy’s shoulder. “Ahh, isn’t it pretty? Remember how many times you almost destroyed it?” He said dreamily, if it wasn’t Cosmo, it might have been taken as an accusation. 

    “I saved it just as many!”

  Wanda was about to quip that he saved it from his own destruction, but she stops herself. How did Timmy remember? They were there when Jorgan cast the spell all god-kids are cursed too. As painful as it was to think about, even now with him standing here, they had been there till the end. Cosmo and Wanda had seen that look countless times and they knew when Timmy was lost to them. 

    “Hey Kiddo,” she tentatively says, “How do you remember…well everything??”

  He had not considered that. What exactly caused this? The question compels him away from the view. 

    “I mean not everything. It - it’s been coming back in pieces.”

    A pinched, worrying expression shadows her face, “That’s not what I mean.”

Peri is shifting in place, wings humming in a nervous way as he bites at a nail. 

  Did not expect this. Well, yeah you did, I just didn’t want to answer for it. 

    “I was at work, and this bird. It - I don’t know how, but I thought of you guys. I went to my old room and then Poo- Peri was there. Then, I remembered, I guess.”

  All their gazes slide to the young fairy, hand caught in the cookie jar. 

      Even Cosmo starts to look tense, wringing his hands. “Per, what did you do?”

      He’s never been good under pressure. “OkaysoImighthaveusedDevtomakeawishthatTimmywouldrememberhisgod-parentsandbeapartoourfamilyforever.” 

  Peri has never seen his mother truly mad at him. Disappointed or upset, sure. But everything pink turns to a scarlet red. 

    “You asked your god-kid to make YOU a wish?!”

    “You have a god-kid?” Timmy blanches. 

  He raises his arms in self-defense, covering his head as he squirms under his mother's rage. 

    “Don’t be upset! I found a loophole! Like you said!” 

    “Oh Peri,” his father says, equally fearful of his wife, “that’s not a loophole. You broke the rules.”

    Peri pales, “No, no. Then, how did it work?” 

    “Do you realize that you could lose your magic!” Wanda’s words aren’t scolding, they evaporate him.

     “He’s got a point! If it wasn’t a loophole, then it shouldn’t have worked. And I obviously remember you guys.”

  The silence balances on a tightrope tension between them all. Fortunately, Timmy is an expert at avoiding responsibility and consequences. He’ll admit that maybe he hadn’t grown into his teeth, but it adds a boyish charm, and he’ll need to lay it on thick to distract Wanda. 

    “You said you had a god-kid?” He says with growing awe and a grin. 

    Peri catches what he’s throwing, though he’s not as practiced. “O-oh yeah. Yeah, I do! He’s a total nightmare. The worst really.” 

    Cosmo’s blissful idiocy is the final sale as he laughs, “Ha, oh no! Timmy was the worst god-kid we ever had! Probably the worst god-kid anyone could ever have!”

   Wanda knows exactly what the boys’ are up to, even if Cosmo doesn’t. Any anger dissipates watching Timmy’s face fall into devastation. It’s not like there’d be a resolution this very second anyway. Timmy flinches, expecting to be knocked on the head; instead, he feels Wanda’s warm palm on his cheek.”

    “It’s because you made for a much better son.”

  Timmy has no more tears to cry, his eyes just shine.

    “Of course, what did you think I meant?” 

  Oh, her dear, stupid, sweet husband. 

💫 💫💫                                                                                                                                                

   Magic is awesome. He really took it for granted as a kid, but as an adult he sees its true value. They don’t have to use a free trial on some streaming service, they can just watch Sleazy and Cheezy. Every. Single. Episode. All in a row. And they do. 

  There is no need to go to the store or wash dishes when you can conjure up spaghetti from thin air. Or fabric cleaner when you're busting at the seams from some nonsensical story your dad makes, and spill said spaghetti all over the couch. He didn’t even have to go out and buy a toothbrush! His little brother just waves his wand after teasing him on how he vomited. Timmy didn’t hold anything back about the use of his baby-rattle after that. They stay up most the night chattering like schoolgirls about Peri’s name change (it was babyish, but his god-parenting license said differently), reminiscing on past wishes and their (often horrible) outcomes, and on his first god-kid. Timmy could see why Dev would be difficult for Peri, having dismissive parents could make kids seem selfish and harsh: he would know. 

  Different as they are, fairies and humans alike need to sleep. Timmy passes out, stretched on the couch. If Peri could see himself curled under his brother’s arm, he’d deny it was actually him. Cosmo had no reservation clinging to Timmy’s leg. 

  Wanda was still awake, listening to the TV and how everyone of them had the unfortunate habit of snoring. She was deeply troubled about Peri’s ‘loophole.’ The wish he granted for Dev should not have worked. As a baby his magic had been powerful as any fairy infant but had also bent the rules. They were small discrepancies she and Cosmo had noticed: like when he was able to allow Timmy to cheat or enchant humans to do whatever his toddler heart desired. Peri’s wording of the wish was also concerning; to be a part of their family forever. Magic was fickle in its direction if not given clear instructions. It followed the true intentions of its user and forever could mean many things. She was certain that her younger son didn’t plan to lose his brother to old age. Of course, it would be Timmy Turner to upheaval the system and he had taught their little Poofiy very well on how to do it. 

  It did not matter at that moment watching her boys snuggled on the couch. Cosmo hardly stirred when she moved him up on the seat cushion and rested her head on his chest. Regardless of the implications of this wish or the events that would follow they’d face as they always did, with some magic and as a complete family.

[parkerflix]

— house of balloons

ethan landry x gn!reader (hint of chad x reader)

wc: 1.05k

warnings: huge spoiler warning for scream 6, blood, violence, descriptions of aforementioned blood & violence, angst(?), one sided affections

synopsis: the betrayal you had felt hurt almost as much as the wounds left. almost.

a/n: my first scream fic i literally have been thinking about this i just needed to word dump sorry if it’s a little messy i’m rusty

you weren’t sure how you had gotten it wrong.

clutching your right side, you hissed at the pain that came with applying the pressure on your wound.

your ears were still ringing from the shots fired, and you weren’t sure if kirby was alive or dead.

detective bailey was going some long tangent, ones just like you had seen in horror movies a thousand times before with him.

quinn was busy glaring at sam and tara, her pupils blown wide as if she had been doing something else.

“hey sweetheart, where’s your head at?”

you whipped your head around to look at him, the one who had lied to you and was trying to kill you.

ethan waved his knife at you, a smile growing on his face once he realized you had snapped out of your daze.

“can’t have you missing everything. i’m surprised you hadn’t figured it out before. it was so fucking simple, right in front of you the whole time! unless you’re too stupid to have even considered me a suspect! mindy was right to be concerned and suspicious about me. a shame she had to die really.”

“fuck you.”

a sharp blade quickly sliced your left arm, making you cry out in pain.

quinn had a satisfied smile, and pointed the knife directly towards you.

“don’t talk to him like that!”

“quinn you’re a fucking psycho whore!” tara shouted at her, pulling you closer to both her & sam.

“you call it whore, i call it sex positive. you’re going to die anyways you bitch so it doesn’t matter what you say.”

sam seemingly had enough of all three of them, and whacked quinn over the head with the brick, a crack being heard and her laying on the ground.

it quickly became chaos after that, sam and tara running and fighting off both detective bailey & quinn fairly easy. you had run back to the lobby, as fast as you possibly could with your injuries. you could feel yourself losing more & more blood, your vision getting significantly more spotted.

reaching chad, you kneeled down next to him, trying to find a pulse, a sign that he was still alive. he was your best friend, and you were unwilling to accept that he was dead.

you start shaking his arm, about to call out him name when you felt a blade stab your other side. you turned your head around when the knife was retracted from your side, only to see ethan standing over you.

your eyes grew wide, not registering what happened next.

ethan stabbed you once more in the same spot, twisting the knife kneeling in front of you.

“i cant believe you would still run to chad during all of this. i thought you were smarter than that. i never wanted to hurt you. i just wanted you to see that he was bad for you.”

“what the fuck are you talking about?” you spat at him, ethan twisting the knife even more with a grin when he saw you were struggling to breathe.

“it was obvious. in all the time we spent together, it was obvious that i’m in love with you. but you wouldn’t shut up about chad, and i figured with him out of the way, you would see i’m here for you. a shame that i was wrong about you. now i have to kill you.”

he pulled the knife out of your side, and threw you onto the ground. he came and straddled you, thighs pinning your waist in place. you looked around frantically, not wanting to just be at his will.

a concrete block was just in your reach, fingertips ghosting over the edge of the hole in it.

“you know, i really loved you. we could’ve made it work.”

ethan brought his arms up and was about to plunge the knife deep into your chest, when you swung the concrete block, slamming it into his head. the force you used knocked ethan off of you and onto the ground, making him drop the knife and lay there unmoving.

you had watched countless horror movies with ethan, always getting frustrated with the characters when they never bothered to make sure the killers were dead. you quickly rose to your knees, ignoring how blurry your vision was, and grabbed both the cinder block and the knife that had fell not far enough from ethan’s reach as you would like. you pocketed the knife, wanting it just in case.

you quickly straddled yourself on top of him, and swung the block towards his head with as much force as you could muster. you repeated it as much as you could, tears streaming down your face as you heard the cracking of his bones in his head.

after a few blows to his head, and his hair being matted with his blood, you grabbed the knife, leaned forward and with your last bit of energy, plunged the knife through ethan’s heart. you twisted it, a sob leaving your mouth as you never had wanted to be in this position again. you laid on top of ethan for a moment, sobs racking your entire body as you came to terms with what just happened.

you don’t know when you had blacked out, maybe the blood loss, maybe the adrenaline finally leaving your body, but when you came to, you thought you were dead.

opening your eyes, you quickly took a full scan of the room, not quite sure where you were.

looking to your right side, you saw your iv and heart monitor and everything clicked into place.

“hey.”

you turned your head to see chad in the same room as you, in his bed 10 feet away from you.

he waved at you, confusion riddling your face as you tried to remember what had happened.

“don’t frown like that, or else you’re going to get wrinkles.”

you rolled your eyes at him, before asking him the question that was waiting to come out.

“and the others?”

“they’re safe. we’re safe.”

as soon as he said those words, relief washed over you, and you felt yourself tearing up. somehow you had survived two sets of serial killers. you knew that maybe right now, you wouldn’t be fine, but you had hope that maybe you could be.

[seriesxwriting]

You’re important to me

with THE Rafe Cameron.

Series- outer banks

Warnings- kissing, fighting, swearing, betting, a boy degrading main character (trying to use her for her body).

Summary- rafe gets into a fight defending you. Your angry. but then you find out he was just protecting you all along. After that he surely deserves to know how you reallyyy feel about him.

- all requests for any character/storyline are open🫶

“Hey! I saved you a seat” I patted the chair next to me turning around to Rafe. Not realising he was with his boys. They all made that “ooooo” noise that boys make when their trying to be funny. “be more immature” Rafe laughed without humor at them before walking backwards to sit down next to me.

“Sorry I didn’t see them- You can go and sit with them if you want” I whispered to him my cheeks turning slightly red at the embarrassment “Nah your more interesting” he leant back on his chair and stretched his arms out. “You’ll never guess what I heard” I whispered to him fishing around in my bag for a pen.

“What’s that?” Rafe raised his eye brow at me curious at what I had to say. I covered my mouth to stop myself laughing. “Jayden and Layla broke up” “no way! What” rafes jaw hung open. “So you win the bet” he rolled his eyes sighing giving hints that he was joking.

“I told you they wouldn’t last six months” I giggled “technically they didn’t last four either so you wasn’t right” Rafe smirked famously. I whacked him gently on the arm “don’t even try it, you owe me twenty quid…” I reminded him shoving my finger in his face. “Ugh” he groaned, reaching into his back pocket and taking two tens out handing them to me. “Why thank you Rafe good doing business with you”

“The cheek” he shook his head laughing. “Yeah yeah you won the last one so it’s fair, anyway what’s the next bet” I folded my arms sitting back in my chair. Rafe sat thinking for a second “oo wait I’ve got it” I tapped his arm to get his attention. “I bet you that Pete will ask me out by the end of this week” “what” rafes brows knitted together as if he was taken back.

“There been loads of gossip about it- have you not heard?” “Heard what” Rafe scowled wanting a deeper explanation. “Just that Pete likes me and was going to ask me on a date” I shrugged thinking nothing of it. “I’m not betting on that” Rafe told me sternly. “Why not I’ll be fun” I giggled clearly not reading his mood very well. “Because it’s not going to happen” Rafe answered with no hint of a joke. I closed one eye squinting at him. “I’m gonna talk to him” rafe decided and looked away from me. “Why?” “Because you can do better He’s a nerd” Rafe stated like it was obvious. “What if I want to go out with him” “you don’t” Rafe told me choosing for me apparently.

He stopped talking to write while I kinda sat there looking at him, my brain completely frazzled. “Well your right- I don’t but you don’t have to be a dick about it”. Rafe didn’t answer me he just continued to write his answers down in his book. “Just leave it okay?” I asked him, it was like talking to a brick wall. “I’ll see” he told me coldly. Rolling my eyes I went back to my work ignoring what ever mood he was in for what ever reason. When the lesson ended and Rafe gathered up his things, I then spoke to him.

“Why are you angry with me?” “It’s not important” Rafe sighed picking up his stuff trying to leave. I walked in front of him stopping him with my body. “It’s important to me because your important to me” I told him holding my hand on his arms to prevent him from leaving. “Can you two leave? The lesson is over” the teacher scowled at us.

“Will you just! We’re trying to talk here…” I said turning to look at him but as I did rafe walked out the class room. “See what you did” I looked at the teacher again who just shrugged his shoulders.

Rafe didn’t really speak to me much more of that day. I had no clue what was going on. But I knew he couldn’t ignore me forever and we had pe last together.

I walked out onto the track with a few other girls in my gym shorts and vest. It was boiling today, I’d managed to scrape my hair up into a ponytail because of it. I saw Rafe with his group of boys and Pete was on the other side with someone else. He waved at me when I walked out and I waved back attracting a scowl from the absence rafe.

“Seems you all like to stand around and talk so much, we’re going to run track the whole lesson” mr Branson shouted at us all. “Better get a move on!” He clapped his hands telling everyone to go. The whole class groaned as they began jogging. “This is so fucking unfair” Judith winged as the girls began. “We wasn’t even talking” another girl protested. We got round about half the track before the girls all stopped.

“Oh shit” Judith whispered under her breath standing on her tip toes looking over a crowd. I followed her eye line seeing the one and only Rafe Cameron in a circle of other people, mainly boys. On the opposite side of him I saw Pete. They were both squaring up to each other. “Oh shit indeed” I whispered in complete shock, my heart sank and I gained an overwhelming bad feeling about what was going to happen next.

“What’s happening?” One of the girls questioned waiting. Waiting for it. Rafe out of nowhere, after arguing with Pete for about three minutes, threw a right hook around his face. “Oh god no” I voiced running up the track towards the group. Rafe fighting Pete. Hot. But also not good. He picked Pete up at the waist dropping him to the floor getting in a few punches by the time I had gotten over to the crowd. I then had to push my way past several people to get into the middle.

Both the boys were up now and about to go for each other again before I sprinted in panting breathlessly. I had my back to Rafe and an arm out in front of him. Defending him. Pete looked me in the eyes with his fist in the air. “he started on me!” “It’s done now- just fucking stop it” I turned looking at Rafe with tears swimming in my eyes. With no time to lose Pete pushed past the group leaving the fight and people started backing away.

I turned my full body to Rafe. “What the hell Rafe! I told you to leave it what’s wrong with you”. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. And with that he just walked away from me. Leaving me standing there. He didn’t carry on with the lesson either he walked inside the building still full of rage. Usually when he got into fights i would always be the one to calm him down. But this time he wasn’t Interested.

After pe I was finally able to go home after the stressful day at school. Rafe had pissed me off. He hurt me too but that just made me more angry. It was about an hour after I’d gotten home that I got a call from topper. “Hey top” “y/n- I’m glad you answered we need to talk about Rafe” he told me seriously. “Is he with you?” “He was- hes been really off” “I’ve noticed” I hummed swallowing harshly. “Look I know it’s not my place but- there’s clearly something between you two” topper told me sighing over the phone. I stayed silent not knowing what to say to that. He was right but... “You need to cut him some slack- that fight today Pete deserved what he got” “no he didn’t topper, is wanting to ask me out such a crime” I half laughed suprised about how he thought this was going to help. “It is if he was going to do what he said he was on the date” topper said kinda vaguely “you really don’t think he’s in the wrong?”. I blinked sitting on my bed feeling confused. “What are you talking about? What did Pete say” “o- oh- Rafe didn’t tell you?” “Tell me what?” I interrogated, topper went kinda quite. “On the running track- Pete said he only wanted to take you out so he could sleep with you- because you’ve got a nice body” topper explained to me. My heart dropped once again. “And he was talking about how you looked in your gym clothes- rafe over heard it all- he snapped”.

I heard a car drive in into my driveway as I took in the news. “Thanks top- I have to go” I declared before hanging the phone up and going downstairs to see who was at my door now. When I opened the door I saw Pete standing there. My stomach twisted, I was home alone so I became scared pretty quickly. “Hey” he smiled shoving his hands in his pockets. “You shouldn’t be here” I shook my head going to close the door but Pete put his foot in it.

“I just wanna talk” His hands went up in defence and he stalked inside of my house looking down at me. “Seriously- you need to go- I’ll tell Rafe” I stated feeling my heart pound against my chest. “I’m just here to ask you out y/n, I’ve been waiting for the right time” he smiled. He was fucking delusional.

Out of nowhere rafes car pulls into the driveway. I watched the moment where he realised Pete was here. I hoped he wouldn’t drive away. I hoped he saw how scared I was right now. In an instant rafe jumped out of the car and sprinted towards us. “If you’ve put a single fucking finger on her” he warned, yelling and grabbing Pete by the neck pushing him against the wall. “He hasn’t- please just make him leave” I whispered backing away now. Pete tried to swing for rafe but he dodge it and landed a gnarly punch to his nose.

Pete fell but Rafe picked him up by the back of his neck. I think he had been knocked out because when Rafe threw him onto the doorstep he didn’t move. When he turned around to look at me I felt something, some sort of urge. There was only one thing I wanted to do in this situation.

I kissed him. I marched over and held his neck guiding him to me. It only took the boy a second to adjust before he passionately kissed me back holding me in his arms. “Your not angry?” Rafe whispered against my lips. I pulled away but not by much. “Topper told me what Pete said on the running track- I’m never going to be angry when you defend me” I blinked looking at the floor. “I wasn’t letting him talk like that- not about you- anyone but you” Rafe smiled weakly brushing my hair out.

“Why didn’t you tell me what he said” “because that’s nothing nice to hear- because it’s sick, because your so much more than just your body- even your looks, you mean the whole fucking world to me y/n” “Does this mean you like me back?” I questioned rubbing his neck with my thumbs. “I think you’ve known for a while I’ve liked you” Rafe chuckled looking into my eyes. Still.

“I didn’t- or i would have made a move sooner” I laughed shaking my head. “Topper gave me some- confidences over the phone” I told him twinkling at him. “I definitely owe him a thank you it seems” Rafe tucked some of my loose strands of hair behind my ear. “Are we really doing this then? You like me I like you” I questioned looking up with hope in my eyes. “I want to if you want to” Rafe whispered pressing a kiss on my forehead. “I do!” I speedily got out. Rafe nodded while he smirked that famous smirk again. “But, If anyone bets on us I’ll break their ankles” Rafe made me giggle.

Happy tears filled my eyes and I pulled my boyfriend in for another needed kiss.

[oldmanenjoyer]

Can you do a Peppino X female reader fic where reader gets all done up for an advent shes attending (nice dress and make up) and we see peppinos reaction to her

In this fic can they not be in a relationship as well? I like will they wont theys hopefully this isnt to much Thank you!!

It was only a quick visit. A chance to say hello and to drop off a book for Gustavo, one of your favorites he's been curious about. Peppino knew to expect you, and he also knew that your sister's birthday was today, and that she was having a fancy dinner for it. Very fancy.

He knew it. Prepared for it even.

So why did seeing you walk through the door floor him so bad?

Peppino stood straight as a board, watching the wind from the closing door flourish your skirt. The shimmery fabric danced around you in beautiful waves, and hugged your torso beautifully, like you were cradled in liquid gemstones.

Gustavo didn't give Peppino the chance to embarrass himself, thankfully. The little gnome rushed forward, endless compliments for your attire spilling out of him. You beamed, burning like a stars within Peppino's tiny restaurant, and offered the book over.

"Take good care of it." You said, playfully stern. "No chewing on the pages for Brick. I love this book quite a bit, you hear me?" Gustavo laughed, and that was when you glanced up, meeting Peppino's gaze with a dazzling grin. "Hey, Peppino."

"Sei così bellissimissima." He spat out, before he could get a grip on his own mind. Your head cocked, smile jerking into an amused smirk as Gustavo started to guffaw, but it was obvious you didn't quite understand.

"Er, thanks!" You said, fluffing out your skirt. "My sister helped me buy it!" Gustavo started laughing even harder, despite your playful whack to the shoulder. "Stop that! Is that not what he said???"

Peppino covered his burning face with his hands. As embarrassed as he was, you truly were beautiful, laughing and jokingly beating on Gustavo for making fun of both you and him. He wanted to work up the nerve to tell you what he said, maybe wax poetics about how you made everything around you far more lovely just by existing nearby. But that bravery couldn't be reached, even when you gave him such a sad little pout.

Instead, he shuffled out from behind the counter, and walked towards you. He could pretend, play along with the joking atmosphere. He could sweep your hand into his and kiss it, spewing Italian affections to make you blush and giggle.

And if you realized he was serious? Then he'd deal with it.

For now, however, he just wanted to see you glow.

[bluepenguinstories]

Remoras Full Chapter LXXXII: Swimming With the Sharks

He pulled his sword out and Astraea fell to the floor. At the same time, I gave the wall another good whack and it finally started to crack, until it all shattered. Aion had began to walk away, as maybe there was an exit in the back, but as much as he shouldn’t have gotten away, something else was more important.

I fell to her side, dropped my hammer, and held her in my arms. She wasn’t heavy at all. It was like there was nothing to her anymore.

“Please. Please. I know you can get up. I know you can heal from this. I know you,” I cried and begged, but none of them had any effect. My tears fell onto her. I thought for a second they could have been magical and crying on her would wake her up. But it didn’t.

My breathing got fast and the tears got heavier. My face stretched and I was making sounds now, but not whole words. I just shook there.

This can’t happen. There has to be some miracle, something that would fix this.

“Get away from her,” Aion said in a low voice.

I turned and looked up at him. He was close to me, and he had his sword pointed at me. I let go of her and held onto my hammer. No matter what happened, I’d defend myself from him.

“I can’t promise you that thing is fully dead. For your own safety, get away,” he warned.

“Shut up! You’re the one who did this!” I yelled at him. He didn’t move from his spot.

“Move. I’m not afraid to kill a child. I’ve done it before.”

“Grr!” I growled at him and held my hammer tighter.

The others behind me were about to rush in and beat him up, but they stopped as soon as their weapons broke down into little tiny pieces.

“Wh...what?” Demetria looked down at her broken down switchblade knife that had fallen into bits of metal before fading away into dust.

The same happened with Remora’s pole, and Nemesis’s armor. Her sword, too.

“Oh, right. Now that the angel’s dead, your weapons are no more. Thought that would be obvious, but I guess not,” Aion shrugged. “Either way, there should be no more threats to humanity. You may hate me, may even think of me as evil, but at least the world is safe. Now --”

He got punched in the face. At first I thought it was Nemesis, but no: it was Ray.

“Hey! What gives, Ray?!” Aion rubbed his cheek, “that actually kinda hurt.”

“Do you have any idea what you did?! My daughter’s a wreck because of you! That was her best friend!”

“I told you this play wasn’t child friendly! What were YOU thinking?!” Aion shouted back.

My face was wet and my mouth felt queasy. Like I was about to throw up everywhere. Worse, there was a shaking feeling.

The shaking was on the outside. I opened my eyes, still blurred out from the tears, and Astrea’s head, it leaned back before its mouth opened wide.

“Astraea?” I asked.

Out from her mouth shot out a long, black vine that went higher and higher and broke through the ceiling. More vines formed from within the vines until it was thicker, almost like tree bark. Like a tree was about to take root.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Aion said while looking up. I got a good look at him and he looked really surprised. His mouth hung low. He adjusted his suit and began to take a few steps back. “Guess that’s my cue to leave.”

Before he got on that stage and behind that curtain, a vine fell over him and squished him. I couldn’t believe it, and the vine that fell spread out until it looked like it was burrowing into the ground and taking root.

Ray pulled me up by the back of my collar.

“We have to go!” He shouted.

“But Astraea!”

“I know,” he shook his head and frowned.

He carried me away in his arms as we all ran out. I waved my hands behind him and wanted to reach for Astraea, but I was too far. I kept crying on the way back, even as everything fell behind us. All the pillars, all the bricks, they all fell and the sky outside was poking in.

A few days later:

It’s been weird. I haven’t eaten much. Hecate has made me some soup. Others have tried to make food for me, too. I just don’t feel good when I try to eat.

When we first came back home from that awful place, we were all shaken and looked bad. I had some of Astraea’s blood on my denim overalls and my tie-dye shirt underneath. Things got weird right away.

“What was that tree thing?” Nemesis asked. “And where did my armor go?”

“It came out of Astraea,” I said, even though I wanted to be quiet.

“Astraea? Who’s that?”

“My best friend! She just died!” I shouted at her and tears filled my face again.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

I ran off into my room. She didn’t try to follow.

Over the next couple of days, people would see me in a bad mood and ask what was wrong. I told them that it was obvious and that Astraea died, so of course I’d be sad, but they would only ask who she was or be confused. Not just Nemesis or Hecate or Proserpina or Calen or Cael, but people who should have known her.

“Don’t know who that is, sorry,” Demetria said.

“You know her! You met her! You’ve been suspicious of her this whole time and Aion killed her!”

“I wouldn’t put it past him to do something like that,” she squinted and crossed her arms, “he seems like a bad guy. Just the vibe I get.”

“But don’t you know why?”

“Yeah. He, uh. We were all there. You were upset and Ray said we needed to go to Khaldaia, and then he was there and…”

“And?”

She scrunched up her face and put her hand on her head.

“I don’t know! I know it was something, okay?”

She walked away and she looked frustrated.

Then, there was the same with Remora:

“Have you talked about Astraea before? I don’t recall.”

“Yes! She died! Why are you doing this?” I thought maybe they were all joking around. But no, Remora looked confused, and more so than her usual confused look.

“Who was she?”

“My friend! She was...um...an angel, I guess.”

Remora leaned back in her seat and looked worried.

“What kind of angel do you mean?”

“You should know this! Those spooky outer space things!”

“But...if that’s possible...then she’s not dead, and we have much worse things to worry about.”

“No! Stop that!”

Not even Ray was any help. And he should have known, right? He was there. He pulled me out to safety. But he was no good too:

“Do you remember a few days ago when we left that golden place?” I asked him. He wasn’t at his usual desk. He was upstairs, way upstairs, in the bedroom. My heart shook. I was already expecting to be let down.

“Yeah. It collapsed. I was so scared I’d lose you,” he sat at the edge of his bed. He looked worn out. “I still don’t know what happened to Sunny or if I’ll ever see her again. This whole thing has been out of my control. I should have never let him in.”

“You lost Sunny and I lost Astraea.”

“You lost someone too?” He asked.

There it was. He forgot too. Even though he was there. Next to me. He said he knew when he left, didn’t he? So why wasn’t he acting like he knew now?

I wanted to yell at him, but I didn’t, and I just nodded while tears filled my eyes.

“Yeah.”

I remember him hugging me. I don’t think it really helped.

Everyone forgot about her. At first I thought it was a mean prank, but no one seemed to ever say, “just kidding,” and besides, it would have been really mean to do so anyway. But it was also mean to forget, wasn’t it? And if they all forgot…

...why didn’t I?

After a while, I stopped bringing her up.

The others could still tell something was wrong and that I felt bad, so I just made things up whenever they did. Like, “grandma got sick and I want her to get better,” or if I wanted to be more honest, I’d say, “I miss Sunny.” Everyone remembered Sunny, and I really did miss her. But I was the only one who missed Sunny and Astraea.

If I thought things would get any better at home, they didn’t.

First, there was the flight. Cybele was nice enough. I couldn’t remember if she ever met Astraea, but I know she’d forget anyway, so I didn’t bring her up. Still, as we went up in the sky, I saw that series of vines, I saw the tree going higher and higher into the sky, with many branches stretching out. Maybe eventually they would block out the clouds, and the sun, and…

I didn’t know what it was, but I could tell Aion was wrong about something: he didn’t kill an angel, he just took away my friend.

He might have died too. One of those things fell on him, after all. That part was weird, too, because if he knew all that about her, shouldn’t he have known that something like that would happen? I would have said that it was good that he died and that it was revenge and that we were even now, but we weren’t. She still died and he got to get away.

At home, grandma and grandpa were happy to see me. So was Fetch. He wagged his tail and licked me. That didn’t make me happy.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Grandma asked me.

“Is Astraea here?” I asked. I should have known better. No one back at the other home remembered her.

“Who?”

“My sister. My friend. Is she in my room?”

“Hun. You’re the only one who lives here. That’s how it’s always been.”

I knew that wasn’t true. But nobody else could figure it out.

I ran into my room, only to find that she wasn’t there: her clothes were there, some in the laundry basket, some on the floor. There was clothes of hers in the dresser drawer. The blankets, the plushie, the video game thing, they were all on the bottom bunk of the bed. Nothing was changed from when I left. Except that she wasn’t there to greet me.

“Astraea! Where are you?” I shouted.

Grandma and grandpa came running in.

“Oh, what’s all the fuss? Everything OK?” Grandpa asked.

“This bunk bed!” I pointed up. “Why do we have it if I’m the only kid here?”

I know I must have looked mad, and it did make me really mad that no one seemed to remember. It wasn’t right. Wasn’t that the least anyone could do? To just remember. But I wasn’t just mad, I didn’t want to give up. I thought if I tried hard enough, maybe someone could remember.

“It’s just something we have,” he said and looked confused.

“But we don’t have it for no reason! You built it, remember?”

Grandpa looked at grandma.

“Did I? I thought for sure we bought it at the store.”

“I don’t remember going to the store for it, or you bringing it home,” grandma corrected, “maybe we just always had it.”

I stomped my foot.

“Hey. There’s no reason for that,” grandpa waved his hand out and gave a nervous laugh.

“It was a single bed! You added another bed to it so Astraea wouldn’t sleep on the floor! There was me and there was Astraea! You let her live here with me even though you didn’t know her because you knew how important she was to me!”

“Are you making things up again?” Grandma smiled. It was so rude.

“No! I’m not!”

“We wouldn’t just let someone we didn’t know live here. That doesn’t sound like a good idea,” grandma shook her head.

“But you did!” I cried. “you liked her too, didn’t you? She may have been weird, but she was nice, too!”

“I just...I don’t know,” grandma scratched her head.

“I guess it would explain the bunk bed, but…” Grandpa sounded concerned, too.

It was useless. I ran past them and out of the house. They tried to grab me but I was too strong and too fast. I went out into the back yard and fell into the grass and cried.

Grandma and grandpa didn’t try to follow me out.

But something nudged against me. A poke?

“Is that you...Astraea?” I asked, and looked over.

But instead, I got a lick on my cheek and saw Fetch.

“Oh. It’s just you, Fetch. I bet you don’t remember her, either. I don’t think you two were very close.”

I sat up, my knees folded, and I looked down. I wouldn’t stop crying even if no one else remembered.

Fetch put his face in my lap and closed his eyes. I knew it didn’t help, but I petted the top of his head anyway.

I laughed a little.

“I can’t believe I thought you were Astraea,” I wiped away tears from my face. “I guess I keep expecting her to be around even though I saw her die. She had a lot of powers, so that’s weird, too. Shouldn’t she have been able to stop it? I know I’m mad at that Aion guy, but I’m mad at her, too. Why would she let that happen? Why would…”

I stopped petting him.

“I don’t know what’s worse: that I still remember her and expect her to show up again or that everyone else has forgotten her as if she never existed.”

Of course, the weirdness didn’t end there. It only started there.

At school, no one else remembered her. But it also wasn’t like they forgot her, either.

“Ready to fight after school?” Hammond ran up to me and put his fist in his palm. Rhubarb was right behind him and caught him in a headlock.

“I think I’m going to skip wrestling club today,” I told them.

“What? Why?”

“Because…” I wasn’t going to make the same mistake as before. I could make something up, though. “Because I want to spend time with my sister.”

“Oh, yeah. Ashley, right?”

What? Ashley?

“Really? I thought her name was Alexa,” Rhubarb said.

“No. I clearly remember. We were at her place once. It’s Asher!”

“Neither of you have been to my house,” I shook my head.

“Really? Huh.”

That was more than forgetting, wasn’t it? Well, I tried to forget about it, and maybe they were just being weird for other reasons, but when I went to class, I noticed there was an empty seat in the back. The teacher called everyone’s names.

“Tigershark?” The teacher asked.

“Here,” I said.

“Azzzzzzzt,” her mouth made little static noises and it looked for a moment like wires hung from the teacher’s mouth.

I looked over to the empty desk, but it wasn’t all empty. It looked like little bits of static were jumping around and lots of rectangles danced about in different colors. I thought I could see the outline of something, but…

“Okay, class! Pay attention! We have many lessons to get to!” The teacher clapped. I looked back at the teacher, and there were no wires in her mouth. I raised my hand.

“Yes?”

“Who’s name did you call after mine?”

“What do you mean? Yours was the last name I called.”

“Oh. Right,” I lowered my hand.

But it wasn’t. I heard something.

I tried to think of other things. Other weird stuff happened over the next couple of days, but the first day back at school was the worst. Everyone forgot after that.

I should have too. It was easier to forget, right? But I didn’t want to.

See, everyone else lost their weapons, but I kept my hammer. Why? Astraea gave it to me, just like all those other weapons came from her. And they were all gone. Maybe mine didn’t have magical powers, but shouldn’t it have broken down?

Well, okay. Not weird enough.

I don’t think the world wanted to forget, either.

The tree thing that was left back at the arctic grew bigger and I only knew because I saw it even from grandma and grandpa’s house. It was getting wider, and yet it didn’t block the sky at all. The tree was dark green, but sometimes it was brown and sometimes it was red. It didn’t have leaves. Sometimes the tree got blue and purple. Branches grew off from each other. Sometimes the roots slammed down.

Little cracks in the ground formed. I thought I would get sucked in, but I didn’t. Grass grew over the cracks, but sometimes it didn’t and instead flame would shoot out. But the fire turned to ice as soon as it got in the sky.

I saw all this in my front and backyard.

I don’t know how I could see so far away and that the ground shook sometimes was scary, but I ended up not being hurt. It looked like everything was being split into many pieces. It looked like it was hurting itself in its confusion.

I went into my room and saw the note that I left on the bottom bunk. It was still there. Grandma and grandpa never touched it and I forgot all about it. But it was still there.

Some friend I am. I forgot about something as important as that.

I picked up the note. Maybe the words were different because everyone else was weird and forgetting she exists, so maybe the words did too? But no, it was the same:

“Sorry we didn’t get to say bye to each other this morning. I was surprised when I saw you sleeping but I didn’t want to wake you. Maybe we can call each other sometime this week? I know how moody you get when I rush out the door, and I like to say bye to you too. Ok bye now.”

Big, wet teardrops fell onto the note and I shut my eyes tight. The ink smeared and didn’t look readable anymore. So what did I do? I crumpled the note and shoved it in my pocket.

That note didn’t say her name on it, but I knew it was for her.

Stupid note. Stupid me. I should have written more. There was a lot I should have said, but even if I said all those things, she still wouldn’t hear them.

Why would she let herself get killed like that? No, I know it was that guy’s fault, but still. She must have sensed him. She must have known that someone would want to kill her. So if she did, why did she still get killed?

I was starting to get really mad. Not that I wasn’t already mad whenever I thought about how others had forgotten her. No, this was different. This was weird, my own weird.

I stomped out the house. Grandma stopped me before I made it outside.

“I know you’re upset about something, but please don’t stomp in the house.”

I looked up at her. Yes, I probably looked really mean and angry, but I knew it wasn’t her fault. It was whatever it was that made her forget.

“Sorry. I just need to go outside for a bit,” I told her.

She looked kinda sad, but nodded.

“Yeah. Just make sure to come back inside for dinner.”

I had a marker in my pocket, along with the note. I already knew what I had to do, because if no one else would do it, I sure as hell would.

Grandpa saw me stomping my way to the far end of the yard. He had been outside with his straw hat and sundress and was pruning some of the bushes.

“What’s the rush, honey?” He asked.

“I need a big rock and a stick. And some tape.”

“This an art project?”

“Something like that,” I grunted.

I already knew there was a big rock at the far end of the yard, tucked in a corner and next to our wood fence. We had a big yard, but it didn’t take that long to walk through.

The front door squeaked open. I waited to get to work until grandpa came by with the supplies, and from the corner of my eye, I saw grandpa.

He bent down and dropped a stick and a roll of clear tape.

“What’s all this for?” He asked.

“I’m remembering someone.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. A friend at school died.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t hear anything about that.”

“Most didn’t.”

“Well,” he gave me a pat on the back, “I understand things like this are hard. Take all the time you need. If you stay out past dinner, we’ll save you a plate.”

“Thanks, grandpa, but this won’t take long.”

He walked away and I got to work:

First, I broke the stick into two pieces.

Second, I taped the smaller piece to the top of the bigger piece until it looked like it made a ‘t’ shape.

Third, I set the ‘t’ stick on the rock and taped it over, and then in my other hand took the note and spread it out over the stick. The wind blew it away, but the stick (and my hand) held it in place. So I taped the corners of the note against the rock.

Fourth, I got my marker and wrote down over the sheet of paper and the stick, near the top of the rock:

“ASTRAEA”

Yeah, maybe some of the letters were all squiggly and sloppy, but it was the thought that counts. All I needed was her name, anyway. That way, even if the rain got the paper all wet and I couldn’t read the note anymore, the name would still be there and all I had to do was read the name and all the words of the note would come back to me. And maybe other words, too.

There actually wasn’t any rain at the moment. It was very sunny.

Oh. I miss her too.

But it was also bright, and that I think made me feel like I should have been happy. Like I did a good thing and I could be happy again. But if that was really supposed to work, I must have had some magical powers that made it not work, because I started crying really hard again.

“I miss you. Every day. I’m so sorry. I should have spent more time with you. Maybe if I slept hugging you, that would have saved you. I don’t know what to do. Maybe you wanted to go and you didn’t want to worry me? But I should have been able to hear you. All I know is that you’re gone.”

I cried harder and my head was against the rock and the tears probably got the note all wet.

“I know you’re gone. But that doesn’t matter because to me you still exist. You should exist! Even if the world or everyone else doesn’t want you to, I do!”

My arms were now over my head, because it was hard putting my forehead on a rock.

“I’m hurting. The world is hurting. Please come back, Astraea. If you’re out there in the stars, or if you’re up top that big tree thing, please hear me. My angel.”

I think I got all my tears out because I wasn’t crying as hard. I didn’t have trouble breathing, either. I stood up.

Nothing was different.

Not that I expected anything to be. It was just a wish I had. I know she wasn’t a genie. Could a dead genie grant a wish? I guess it depended on how genies worked. I never met one.

When I opened the front door, the wood inside kept appearing and going away. The inside looked like what I imagined a burned down building looked like: everywhere was just black outlines and sometimes solid, but also very black. Everywhere that had stuff like table, TV, couch, walls, still existed, just that sometimes they blinked out and they were always black like coal.

Grandma walked through the kitchen which kept changing shapes and walls kept moving around. She had a casserole dish in her hand and it looked like a pot pie, or maybe a fruit pie? But then a bowl of macaroni. Then a meatloaf.

“Astrid!” She called out.

“Astrid?” I took a step in and asked.

“There you are, darling,” grandma looked at me and she looked the same, except when parts of her went invisible. “Can you tell your sister, Aurelia, that it’s time to eat?”

“My…” I couldn’t get other words out. Instead, my eyes turned to the hallway where there was a blog moving about and it looked like TV static. A mouth or a black nothingness opened wide in the blob, and then I saw the same thing with grandma.

It startled me so bad I took a step back and fell over onto the porch.

“Honey? Are you okay?” It was grandma’s voice. I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t want to see the house, or that blob.

But she looked down and I looked up and grandma was her normal big self with her big poofy hair and her pink flower printed blouse and apron.

“Sorry! I tripped,” I blinked a few times. She was grandma, all right. “Is dinner ready?”

“No, not yet. Still working on it. Why, are you hungry?”

“A little.”

I lied. I wasn’t hungry at all. Not even a little. But I knew she must have put a lot of work into whatever she cooked. I just hoped that she would stay real long enough for us to enjoy a meal.

I crawled back from where I was sitting and grandma shut the door behind me.

When I got up and turned around, Astraea was there.

I gasped and almost fell back down. That would have been bad!

I blinked. A lot.

She was still there each time.

She couldn’t have been there, especially not after everyone forgot about her, but there was that messy, long white hair, and her white dress with little frills and strings and even a gray cloak over her. Like how she looked when I first met her.

The only difference was that she was floating. Her feet didn’t touch the ground.

“Astraea? Is that really you?” I asked. I wanted to cry but I also wanted to smile wide. But was it real?

She tilted her head.

“Can you say anything? Are you cursed not to talk?”

Her head got lower. Almost like it was going to fall off.

“I was called here. Why?” She said and almost sounded the same as Astraea, echo and all. Except the echoes went on as if every word was said at least four times, and each time her words echoed, they sounded like different voices. Some low and some high.

It didn’t sound right. I don’t know why, but she sounded like she should have had one voice, even if it echoed.

“I...I missed you! You died and everyone forgot about you, but I didn’t!”

She shook her head, which still hung low but it looked like there was another head up top. Her head hung low also made me think of a clock ticking, or a pendulum.

“I cannot die. I also wasn’t forgotten, because I shouldn’t be known unless I allow myself to be known. Also, you never knew me.”

It was my turn to be confused.

“What do you mean? We’re best friends! We’re sisters! We pinky promise things!”

Her face didn’t change except her white eyebrows got low.

“Why would I be friends with a human? Humans are but a speck upon a speck. Compared to me, you’re not even an ant, not even a grain of sand. But something much smaller than that, something much less significant.”

“But you still found us interesting! Don’t you remember?”

“I don’t need to remember anything. I know all that I have ever known. If I forgot about you, that must mean that you were never worth remembering.”

I wanted to get mad. This Astraea was all weird, too. But maybe she even forgot about herself?

“If you’re not Astraea, why are you in that form?”

She didn’t talk at first. She held out her palms and looked down. When she looked up and back at me (and there was only one head this time) her face looked like it was frozen shut. But she opened it to say:

“Why am I...small?” She asked herself, or me. “To degrade myself down to your size. It makes no sense.”

“It must be because you wanted to see me again!”

She turned around and saw the big tree that was all the way up in the arctic and looked like it was getting bigger.

“That is the rest of me. But why is it there and not among the stars? Why would I be down here? And there must be some reason that I appeared before you. Something must have gone wrong.”

She turned back to me and looked like she wanted me to tell her something. So I did.

“Maybe if you remember, you’ll know what happened?” I guessed. “Maybe I can help you remember!”

I was happy to help her remember, too. I decided not to tell her about Aion yet as that might have just gave her bad memories. So I wouldn’t tell her how she died or anything like that. Just the stuff that mattered.

“It appears there are gaps in my memory. I will follow you for now,” she said.

“Great! I’ll show you around!”

I opened the door. Grandpa was laying on the couch and taking a nap.

“This is grandpa. He likes to garden and sometimes he even builds things.”

Astraea didn’t say anything to that.

I walked over to the kitchen. Grandma was next to the stove and heating up a pot of green beans.

“This is grandma. She likes to cook and dance and watch weird TV shows like Naturally Super.”

“Are you talking to someone, dear?” Grandma turned and asked. She smiled and her smile got wider when she saw me smiling. Grandma didn’t see Astraea next to me, which was weird, but not as weird as the other things have been.

“Yeah! My imaginary friend! I just made her up! Her name’s Astraea!” I said without thinking. If everyone forgot her, was it so bad?

“Imaginary friend, but she’s your...imaginary friend, yes.”

It seemed like grandma was close to remembering. That was good, but she didn’t remember all the way.

“We’ll let her cook for now,” I pointed out into the hallway. “I gotta show you our room.”

Astraea still didn’t talk and only floated behind me.

When we got into our room, I pointed at the bunk bed first.

“This bottom bunk is yours. I sleep on the top bunk. Sometimes, we have shared the same bed, but we don’t always. I think I should sleep with you more just to keep you safe!”

My heartbeat got faster. It was maybe a bad idea to suggest she needed to be kept safe. If she asked why she needed to be, what could I say?

I crawled onto the bottom bunk and grabbed the Sothis plushie.

“This is yours. You really like her.”

I went under the pillow and found her Nintendo Switch.

“This is what you play video games on. Sometimes you play too much and don’t do your homework.”

I got off the bed and went over to the dresser. I opened up some drawers.

“Your clothes are in here. Some of these clothes are mine, but not all of them.”

There wasn’t anything else to show her in the room so I walked out. We were going to go back outside, but then I saw Fetch stretched out and sleeping under the dining room table.

“This is Fetch, by the way. He’s our doggy. He’s really big and strong and likes to run around a lot. You don’t like to take him on walks much.”

We were back outside now and the sun was really bright. I thought I did a good job and smiled wide, but when she floated around me, I noticed that she bumped into the hinges of the door and there must have been a piece of wood sticking out, because when she stood in front of me, there was a cut on her bare arm. Also, her cloak wasn’t on her anymore.

“Astraea! You got a cut! I’ll get a bandage and…”

She looked down at her arm where the cut was. It wasn’t very deep, but it was red.

“How? Nothing should hurt me. I should not feel pain. Not even something as little as this.”

“I’m sorry. It was an accident.”

Her face looked angry now. She came closer to me and put her hands on her shoulders and shook me.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!” She demanded and the whole house behind us shook. It looked like it was about to collapse, and then...it was split in half.

I didn’t know if grandma or grandpa or Fetch were okay, only that the house was split down the middle and fell over. Even if they were okay, I didn’t know if we could live there any more. I wanted to go to them, but this Astraea held on tight.

“I didn’t do anything, Astraea! I swear!”

“Wrong...that’s not my name! I have no need for a name! The only thing you have proven to me is that there must indeed be gaps in my memory! I have to figure this out!”

She disappeared. Didn’t float, either. Just went away. I thought I wouldn’t see her again, but she was there not even a couple seconds later.

“I see now,” she said without waiting for me to tell her anything. I felt really worried and swallowed spit. This Astraea was scarier than I remembered.

“Did you find out what happened?” I asked.

“Yes. I awakened incomplete, with a piece of me missing.”

“What about Astraea?”

“There is no Astraea! That was only a work of fiction. Now I exist, and once I find my missing piece, I will do with this world as I please!”

Her face was a wide grin and it looked really mean. She flew before I could say anything else to her.

I didn’t turn around. I didn’t know what the house would look like when I did, but I knew I wasn’t ready. Fetch walked beside me and sat next to me. I asked something, even though I knew Fetch wouldn’t say anything back:

“What did I do?”

[finniestoncrane]

Plz your oz fics give me life I love your writing so much I swear not enough people appreciate him 😔 I would love to see some jealous oswald if you please ❤🙏

Don't Let It Happen Again

Farrell!Penguin x GN!Reader, word count: 1.1k absolutely i can do that, wanna see him lose his cool a little bit tbh, get mad daddy, also i'm sorry there's so much smut in this but like i feel like you knew that was likely the outcome given my other oz fics and my status as a whore lmao ;-; request info • prompt list • send me a request • kofi minors DNI!! 🔞 cw for nsfw stuff: daddy!kink because you literally should have guessed that by now, jealousy, possessiveness, threat/force, outdoor sex

Your back was against the wall, pinned there with no effort or force, but by his stature, his composure, alone. Oswald didn’t make eye contact with you, instead he held his hand up, fingers curled in, rings facing his gaze, as he inspected them. His knuckles, jewellery cold against your skin, grazed over your cheek, fingertips wandering down your neck to your collarbone, where he took a firm but amiable grip.

In a moment of idle thought, you’d made a mistake. ‘Of course you can buy me a drink.’What a stupid thing to say, and in his club? ‘Of course.’ Where he knew everything that happened. Watched everything that went on. Could see you, clink the edge of your glass against his at the bar as thanks for his generosity, knowing it wasn’t going to go any further, knowing there was no flirting. But from his view in the pit, it could have been misconstrued.

“Oswald…”

He raised a finger to your face, almost touching your nose, his eyes screwed shut, head tilted away from you as he attempted to calm himself, afraid of what he might say in the moment.

“Look, my angel.” He turned away, pacing in front of you in the alley behind the Iceberg Lounge, where so many before you had met their fate at the hands of either Oswald or his men. “If you tell me the truth, I’ll believe you.”

Panic thumped in your chest, breath stopping as your heart skipped past a beat. That sentiment was sweet and all, but it didn’t make sense. Not if he’d already made his mind up. And when he turned to face you, ready to scrutinise your words and decide whether they would merit his forgiveness or not, he was met with the obvious alarm and dismay that was scrawled across your face. Rain began to fall in little but plentiful drops, spattering across your cheeks, giving you the appearance of tears, hopefully enough to seal the guilt that throbbed through his veins.

“Oh, sweetheart.” His hand was on his chest, thick fingers and extravagant rings glistening with rain. “Don’t look at me like that. What? You think I’m gonna bring you to this alley and take you out you like the scum that cross my path?”

Oswald’s hand found yours, holding it tight, giving it a little squeeze of reassurance as he leaned into your neck, whispering against the rain into your ear.

“If I was gonna whack you, it would be somewhere much more romantic.”

He leaned back, winking at you.

“I just wanna make sure you’re as devoted to me…” his hand around the back of your neck, thumb and fingers digging in on either side as an idle kiss was insisted upon you, before he pulled back, hands clutching his belt buckle, loosening it and letting it fall to the sides of his pants with a light clatter “…as I am to you.”

Instinctively, at the sight of Oz unbuckling his belt, you began to fall to your knees, but his palm was under your elbow, pulling you back up.

“Uh uh, sweet cheeks. Turn around and put your face up against the wall.”

Kicking at some trash at your feet, you did as you were told. Face pressed on the wet brick, the texture scratching lightly at your cheek, palms trying to support you, raising you from the surface slightly, but all of you was slammed into it hard as you felt Oswald slam his body into yours. His palms skimming over the back of your hands, fingers laced between yours, flat on the wall.

“Daddy…doesn’t…like…” he grunted between his words, all of his focus on taking his cock out, bobbing in the cold air and the freezing rain as he pulled down your pants, tearing your underwear slightly at the force of his yanking. He could always afford to buy you more “…to…feel…jealous.”

He punctuated his sentiments with one push, inside of you up to the hilt, hand around your mouth before you even had time to let out the yelp of satisfaction and strained pleasure, pain nipping at it’s heels, following quickly behind but soothed out by the stroke of him pulling back out again. When Oz really wanted to punish you, he let the thrusts linger, inserting himself quickly, harshly, staying still for a few excruciating seconds, before coming out of you completely, lazily and clumsily.

With your shirt pushed up and held in place with one of his palms, the other in a white knuckle grip on your hip, pulling you closer and into him, you could feel the rain hitting your spine, dripping down between your cheeks, the filthy rain of Gotham lubricating Oswald’s punishing shoves, deeper into you.

“Turn around.”

Facing him, having to hobble around with your legs restrained by your own clothing, clinging wet to your knees, you could see how dishevelled he had become. Clothes wet, sticking to his body even under his thick jacket, hair wet and matted, no longer slicked back and tidy. He was breathing hard, rain water dripping from his lips, flicked at you as he breathed heavily, seething almost. His cock, twitching as you let your eyes drift up and down over him.

“You gotta remember you’re mine. Understand, baby?”

“Oz, I really didn’t-”

“Understand!?” Your chin was thrust up, his palm underneath it, fingers squeezing your cheeks together.

“Yes, Oz.”

“Yes…Oz?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

He let his head fall back, eyes closed as he let the rain hit his cheeks, dripping down his neck as you watched him, enamoured, your chin dropping as he let go of you.

“Pull your underwear up a little.”

You were nothing if not obedient, pulling them up to the middle of your thighs, just as Oz had stepped forward again, palm on the wall beside your head, his other wrapped around his length, pumping it viciously as he grunted, soft little growls that wouldn’t attract any attention from anyone walking along either end of the alley, not amidst the sound of the rain and the sirens. But the moan as he came, aiming into your pants, not daring to let any drop go to waste, was definitely loud enough to arouse suspicion from someone walking by, or one of the apartments high above you.

He was already pulling his trousers back up though, quickly adjusting his shirt, smoothing his hair down with his palms as you stood there, stuck to the spot.

“Pull them up. I want you to feel me on you. You know who you belong to, let that be a lesson if you ever feel like taking a drink from a stranger, huh?”

Oswald left you standing in the rain, cum soaked underwear cold and sticky against your crotch, pathetically grateful for his attention and forgiving nature. You’d learned your lesson, certainly.

[akisunlovesnalu]

Nalu Tangled AU

It’s Tangled but it’s not... 

I have absolutely no clue if i’m ever going to finish this but it’s a multi-chapter fic and this is the beginning of the second chapter. Still not sure what i’m planning on doing with King Jude tho...

Now, when Natsu decided to scale up the gigantic brick tower that day, the last thing he expected was to be met with the wide terrified brown eyes of a gorgeous blond girl. Nor did he expect to be met with a pan to the face. Of course he managed to dodge but he couldn’t help but to wonder why on earthland this girl thought knocking him unconscious as he hung on to the edge of the window seal for his life- was a good idea.

“Oh my god!” The girl shrieked, throwing the pan behind her and waving her hands around in a frenzy. “I’m so sorry, that was a stupid idea- why would I…” finally noticing his deadpanned look, she inhaled a shaky breath before offering out a hand.

“Here let me… let me help you!”

“I don’t know…” Natsu decided to tease, although still very much struggling to hold himself up. “Are ya’ gonna try to whack me in the head again?”

“N-no! I’m so sorry!” The blond looked away guiltily.

The boy released a breathy chuckle. “Yeah… Please help.”

The girl made a noise, scrambling over to the ledge and pulling on his arm with surprising ease. In less than a few seconds he was sent hurling into the tower, falling ungracefully onto the floor and sending his newly stolen crown across the floor.

“Wow,” Natsu wheezed, clutching his chest as he sat himself upright. “You are… surprisingly strong.”

“Um… Thank you.” The blond rubbed her arm, shyly scooching away from him. 

“So, just for starters I'm sorry about almost making you fall to your death-”

“Yeah,” the boy replied. “That would have been kind of painful-”

The girl held out a finger in warning. “But, to be fair, you were a complete stranger climbing up my house.” She pointed out as he awkwardly stood off to the side.

“That is a fair point.” Natsu joked, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. His smile wavered. “Look… I just needed a place to hide until all of these guards gave up lookin’ for me.”

“Are you… a criminal!?” The blond looked towards her forgotten pan, shuffling a bit closer to it.

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘criminal’ per se…” Natsu eyed her cautiously. “More like… the people's savior.” he held his chin, murmuring: “I mean that’s what Gray calls it…”

The girl said nothing, seemingly running different scenarios in her head. It was obvious she was less than pleased to find him in her tower. However strange the choice of… home may be, Natsu was raised good enough to know when he’s overstayed his welcome.

He decided to speak after a long minute of silence. “I can go if you want-”

“No.” She picked something up, hiding it behind her back. “I’d like to make… an offer.”

“An offer?” Natsu raised a brow in suspicion. “What kind of offer?”

“Oh… nothing much.” The girl made a face, looking away as she rocked back and forth on her feet. “Just…” 

“What are you getting at?”

“Take me to see the floating lights!” She demanded, pulling the object from behind her back. The sparkling, expensive looking… tiara shaped-

“H-hey!” Natsu’s eyes widened as he reached forward in an attempt to snatch it back. “That’s mine-”

“And you can have your stolen tiara back!” The girl dodged, kicking at his calves and knocking the boy over.

Natsu groaned, growling in agitation as the blond blinked at him innocently. “So, do we have a deal?”

He sighed, sitting himself back up, lazily glancing back and forth between her hand (holding his client's super important jewel in it-) and her smug face. He cursed, releasing a loud sigh before holding out his hand in agreement.

The pink-haired boy smirked as she pleasantly smiled at him, reaching out her own hand and… successfully dodging his second attempt to take back the tiara. Natsu stumbled around the floor, trying to catch his balance as the surprisingly agile blond chick huffed in frustration.

“Fine.” He hissed between clenched teeth, finally regaining his footing and crossing his arms over his chest. “You win, let's get this over with.”

“Great!” The girl clapped, jumping up and down in excitement. “Oh I can’t wait! Mother won’t even know that I've left by the time she gets back!”

Natsu cleared his throat. “Let's get a move on blondie.”

“Lucy.”

The boy blinked. “Huh?”

“My name,” she said as if talking to a child. “Is Lucy.”

“That’s… nice.” He said honestly, hiding his small smile before shaking his head. “If we wanna make it by tomorrow we should leave. Like now.”

“Oh!” the girl who he now knew as Lucy made a run for a coat rack before turning back to him with a wide grin. The tiara now resting in a brown leather bag across her shoulders.

“Let’s go then!”

Natsu sighed, making his way towards the window where Lucy almost ended his life. He kind of wishes she had, seeing that he had to climb back down the gigantic goddamn tower for fucks sake. Ughhhhhhh.

[aforrestofstuff]

Oh fuck it’s been two weeks already uuuhh Chapter 148 expert review time!!

Sorry for skipping out on chapter 147. I was too busy doing nothing.

First off: oh my god it’s normal Garou my sweet boy I haven’t seen you in ages—

Also a lot of people have been pointing out the height difference in this pic, and I was gonna say that could be attributed to Bang always being hunched over but he’s definitely not hunched over here!! Fucking manlet! Little bitchboy! Googoo gaga bitch! Gonna get his ass beat by an 18 year-old prick while also being short. Pick a struggle, Bang.

Ngl I thought Garou’s irises were tears for a second and I got all up in my shit about it but turns out he’s just cooked out of his fucking mind. I mean, his brain is medium rare at this point. What the fuck is up with him. Why is he standing like that. Why are his feet so skinny??? He’s standing on pogo sticks??

I thought Garou and Bang’s little dumpster scuffle was pretty cool. Murata’s fights are always really well choreographed and his posing is amazing. Only issue is I kinda thought their inevitable beat-down would be a little more climactic? The story thus far has been pretty plateaued and we haven’t really had a proper buildup towards this moment, I think. It’s just been one fight after another, and so far this feels no different. But, I could be getting too far ahead here. The fight’s just begun, maybe something will happen that’ll shift my opinion. But so far… yeah this seems like just another segment of punches being thrown.

I will say though, I do like Garou’s obvious improvement in this rematch with Bang. It was kind of expected since he’s gone through a lot since the Hero Hunter arc, but seeing him actually land a solid hit on the old fuck was really satisfying. He’s grown! He’s gotten stronger! Good for him! He’s still going to hell for nearly killing Mumen, though. But good for him!

Garou’s nonverbal-ness throughout this fight does bring mixed feelings in me, though. I was kinda looking forward to he and Bang’s banter; like maybe they’ll reveal things about Garou’s past that we didn’t know about or something. A few people have brought up that it could be because Garou’s asleep in this fight like he was with PPP and Darkshine, and if that’s the case then I’m a little disappointed. This confrontation was long overdue, and if Garou’s not even lucid throughout it then that could be a lot of character growth being missed out on. But like I said, it’s still early on. Maybe things will change.

I’m thinking impure thoughts.

Man what the FUCK is this.

Also, what he says here kinda stung at first. Like, wow, Garou is more teachable when he’s literally a monster that just makes animal noises and doesn’t have any signs of even being lucid?? Made me a little nervous about how Silverfang treated Garou in the past, since he’s kind of treating him as just a vessel of strength right now, not as something that was once human, much less his beloved disciple. I know Silverfang is objectively Not a good teacher or caregiver but I wasn’t expecting him to just disregard Garou like that.

I talked with Kiyoko about it and turns out it’s a bit of a translation error. Silverfang does say that, but it’s with no regards towards younger Garou and more towards how present Garou is a lot more receptive to picking up techniques. So, it’s more just banter and not a “I’m disgracing all the years I’ve taken you under my wing” sorta thing. I’m happy about that. One of the more compelling things about their relationship is the lingering guilt and love Bang still holds for Garou.

EDIT:

Also I just love the “you twisted punk” line. A lot of the dialogue in the manga is a little eeeehhh sometimes (not at the fault of anybody, by the way. Translations just be like that) but that line just feels so human. Very boomer, very witty, very funny.

So, Amahare and Nichirin are both dead but hey we got a funky lil’ sword and side quest out of it.

Portal magic, motherfuckers. I thought the use of his necklace for this was really clever.

I’ve said before how I thought the manga was overloaded with deadly situations and yet lacking death, but boy has Murata turned all that shit around. Granted, I still think the heroes have too much plot armor but this is a nice change of pace. Now we got actual blood being shed. Yay.

We had some reveals here, which I thought were cool. Apparently Nichirin was Kamikaze’s teacher, which gives me some feelings. Nichirin was also Spring Mustachio’s teacher, but Spring Mustachio is nowhere near Kamikaze’s level yet. So, Nichirin died before he could see Spring Mustachio become a master, and Spring Mustachio watched his master die without having completed his training. That shit’s fucked! The council of swordsmasters is disbanded, so who the fuck is he gonna have as a teacher now? Is he gonna go under Kamikaze’s wing? Because clearly, we haven’t seen all of that fucker (and his disciples) yet. Now we got a fucking side quest for some gay little sword or something.

This makes me… kinda excited for Kamikaze’s arc? Like, holy shit we might actually get a decent chunk of the story told around him (and maybe Spring Mustachio if Murata doesn’t forget about him because I certainly did). Idk if this is the best place for this massive lore drop but yay now Kamikaze has a working sword and a life mission to go on once we get up to speed with the webcomic. Also RIP Nichirin, your character was just used for plot progression lmao sucks to suck.

Golden Sperm looks like the shit I took today. I knew this was coming from the webcomic but nothing could’ve prepared me for the actual cyst this dude is.

Also, his gay little mask or whatever is literally just a face copy of serious Saitama lol. I fucking hate this bitch I want to stick him in some soup broth and whack him against a brick wall until he no longer making a schlorping noise. Anyways.

In conclusion, still stan Bomb because he’s trying his fucking best, even after getting his shit rocked by an 18 year-old edgelord lmao. Also, he didn’t rip his shirt off pre-fight like a fuckboy.

[angelicyoongie]

desolate (11)

— summary: you just wanted a cute little normal cat to keep you company. so, you're not really sure how you ended up with the grumpiest hybrid on earth that seems hellbent on making your life difficult.

— pairing: cat hybrid yoongi x human reader

— genre: angst, fluff, smut

— word count: 4.3k

— tag list:  @mrcleanheichou @cheese123344 @xanny91 @dinorahrodriguez @best-space-boy @dulcaet @moccahobi @keijaycreates @staytrillswag @xsmilebitesx @serendipityoreuphoria @jiminot7 @beyond-the-swag @nananaum1 @mult1wh0re @faithsummers11 @twomilkmen-gocomedy @theonewholovestoread @karissassirak @veryuniquenamegoeshere @yourlipssoirresistible @ayoo-bangtan @murderyoursoul @btsxdoll @see3milyblog @gukiyi @mtgforall @narcissism-iskey @sp3ak-yours3lf @cesthoney @imluckybitches @hd-junglebook @sugarrimajins @multifandomgirl29 @beach-bitch-bitch-beach @bangtansleftnut @theresa-nam-nam-me @angeltothecore @ghostkat23 @deathkat657 @awixxx @httpmedxsa @veronawrites @bubbletae7 @serious-addiction @chogiyeol-utopia @nomimits7 @lorielulu7 @1am9root6 @sana-b @diamonddia-mond @jiminiessipabo @myhearttteu @rainbowmagicpixecorn @lidda @rosiethefairy @lovinggalaxies @midnight1199 @trinityautumn @linniewritesficz @fearhoshi @ess-place @juniesoftbot @kingalls00 @toribug2020 @daydreambrliever @moonlight-mochi @sleepyje0n @yoonie-bby @alltimeyoongi @btstxtgenre​ @honestlyfuriousharmony @itsoktheresbts @suzziequeuie @miss–insanity @illnevertrustmyselfagain @annoyingpessimist @lovelikeyouwant @originalpersonawobblerduck @cigarettes-after-tears @kookie-vuitton @thefangirlsoul @lmna990 @luvshorses08 @nanananisstuff @marvelstuck @kissmeimwitchy @crazyxforxmyself @hxsxxk-180294 @ratking101 @brittaney341 @shameless-army @yuukihime2097 @adoorinyourheart @heimdoodle @kissing-fear @toripeix @horanghae18 @redperson58 @awsome-small-k @salomea27 @johnnystolemywig @mihto @jisoosbitch @lyrxbz @forever-once-gone @sugalarity @out-of-jams @ithinkileftmycoatoutside @witchxlove @chocoflagcutii @alyboo-jpeg​ @ladyartemesia @tatiiz24 @boinko-boye @kaceyxmarie74 @fuckthatfeeling​ @makepastanotwar13​ @airiguk​ @justliketheoceann @strawbewymiwk​ @skswriting​ @kofikats​ @rainbow-zebra-unicorns​ @mhmbrigitta @forever-yoongis​ @prybts​ @phatbussyincorporated @itsmethepancake​ @alterlovess​ @boredoomfm​ @furblrwurblr​

Part one Part two Part three Part four Part five Part six Part seven Part eight Part nine Part ten (M) Part twelve Part thirteen Part fourteen (M)

(A/N: I realized I had accidentally named both the older co-worker and Yoongi’s first owner as “Mr. Park”, so I have gone back to change Y/n’s co-worker’s name to Mr. Yang lol) “Yoongi?” You call out, your voice barely audible above the heavy showers thundering down against the asphalt. You skid to a stop as you see a dark figure round a corner, the silhouette barely visible against the imposing darkness of the alleyways. There’s no way of knowing if it’s even Yoongi, but you’re grasping at straws at this point.

You’ve lost track of where you are, the brick walls and cement structures all blending together into a concrete jungle you’re not sure you’ll ever make it out of. You’ve never strayed so far from your own neighbourhood before, and the tightness in the back of your neck reminds you that maybe it’s better to keep moving. You can’t help but feel like you’re being watched, every fleeting shadow making your skin crawl.

Your soaked shoes hit the pavement loudly as you turn to run after the figure, the sound echoing between the high walls. You managed to slip on a pair of shoes and a jacket before you braved the horrible autumn weather, but Yoongi didn’t, and you don’t even want to imagine how drenched he must be by now.

You’re panting by the time you make it to the end of the alleyway, the closed space suddenly opening up into a small park. It’s raining so heavy you can hardly see anything that’s further away than your hand, and a loud crack of thunder sends you scurrying across the open patch of grass until you’re huddled underneath a big tree. The red leaves that are still clinging on provides a little bit of shelter against the harsh weather, and you lean heavily against the trunk, exhausted after running up and down the streets for hours.

You just need to take a little breather before you start searching for him again, you’re not going home until you find him. You wince as raindrops start trickling down your neck, obviously your coat won’t provide you with much protection anymore. You let your eyes glide across the small park, surprised that it seems to be pretty well maintained despite the rough area you’re in. Even the little kids area seems to have been left alone, you can’t even spot a trace of graffiti on the playground equipment.

All of you attention is on the bright red tubes, and you swear you catch something move inside one of them as you squint to get a better look. You hesitate – unsure if checking it out is a good idea or not considering you’re all alone in an area you’re not familiar with. But the sense of what if wins over your anxiety of what might be lurking inside. You’ve already come this far; you might as well just sneak a peak to calm your mind.  

Despite the rain, you take your time moving across the grounds. The wet gravel crunches obnoxiously loud underneath your shoes as you get closer to the tubes, and it must be alerting whatever is inside of them of your presence.

“Hello?” You carefully call out, but nothing greets you back aside from the insistent thrumming of rain against plastic. The tubes are a little higher up than you expected, and your hands are shaking with nerves by the time you use them to lift yourself up to get a peek inside. It takes your eyes a moment to adjust; the tubes pitch black from the lack of light outside. Nothing.

You feel your stomach tighten with disappointment at the empty space. You’re ready to let go and leave when a flash of lightening sends you rushing inside, your heart nearly jumping out of your chest in fright as the sky lets out another loud crack of thunder directly over you head.

You bring your knees to your chest, your shaky breaths echoing down the tube as you try to get your pulse under control. You think you’ve just about managed to get it back to normal when you hear a sound further down the tunnel, just around the sharp turn you can’t see anything past.

Your mind is screaming at you to leave– to brave the rain and thunder instead of staying cooped up in here with god knows what. But you can’t help but feel that there’s a pull, something that’s urging your body to move deeper into the tubes. Your muscles are locked up and stiff with fear as you begin to crawl further into it, but it’s still not enough to stop you. Your fingers scrape against the plastic as you move closer to the sharp turn, your body already aching from the cramped space. You’re too scared to breathe; it feels like the pitch darkness is going to swallow you up the moment you make a sound.

As you reach the turn, an unknown whimper makes you freeze in your tracks. It’s hard to make out over the loud raindrops pelting against the plastic above your head, but if you strain your ears enough, you can just about make out the low noise.

You learn two things at once.

One, you’re definitely not alone in here, and two, the other person in here with you is crying. It’s obvious they want to be left alone if they’ve hid themselves away so well, but what if they’re hurt? Or what if ..

You peek around the corner, the darkness making it hard to make out the shape of the person further down the tunnel. They’re curled into on themselves, hands covering their face as their low sobs ring through the enclosed space. The sobs are just so desperately sad that it makes your own eyes sting, and you’re trying to blink away the tears when another boom of thunder sounds just over your heads, the sky flashing white as lightening strikes. The light is enough to illuminate the tube from the other side, and it doesn’t last longer than a second, but it’s enough.

You scramble forward, the metal bolts on the floor digging into your palms as you hurry over to the huddled form.

“Yoongi,” You choke, your voice alerting the cat hybrid of your presence.

He jerks, head bumping against the top of the tube as he lets out a garbled hiss. You can see the outline of his puffed out tail as it trashes back and forth, his narrowed eyes looking almost golden in the poor light.

“It’s me, Y/n,” You breathe as you crawl closer, the tight space making it hard to move as fast as you want to. The wild look in Yoongi’s eyes passes as he recognizes your voice, and another garbled noise escapes his lips. The cat hybrid’s posture still screams hostility, but you don’t even pause before throwing your shaking arms around his shoulders, bringing him flush against your body.

Yoongi stiffens at the contact, his tail nearly whacking you in the face as it continues to whip wildly behind his back. The space you’re in is awkward and cramped, but Yoongi doesn’t seem to mind it as he melts against your warmth, his face tucked into your neck as he lets out a harsh breath.

You hug him closer, wrapping your body around his as much as possible. Yoongi is more drenched than you, his shirt clinging to his body like a second skin. Your fingers skim across his neck as you bring them up to his hair, and he’s absolutely freezing to the touch.

“Yoongi, we need to get you warmed up,” You murmur, wincing at the scratchiness in your throat from all the yelling. Yoongi doesn’t answer; only buries his face deeper into your neck as you gently run your fingers through his hair. And then something wet hits your collarbone. It takes you a second to figure out how you even noticed it considering you’re already soaking wet, but the realization hits you as it happens again. It’s not icy raindrops falling against your skin, no– it’s tears.  

It dawns on you just as Yoongi lets out a heart wrenching sob, his whole body shaking in your hold. You tug him closer, biting back a startled gasp as he presses his ice-cold nose into your neck. Your heart absolutely shatters from the choked sobs that leave Yoongi’s lips. You’re desperate to make him feel better, but how is that even possible given what he just learned? His mother had been murdered. You feel bile rise in your throat as you’re reminded of the mug shot of your old neighbour. You never suspected a thing.

You’ve had nothing but time to think in the last hours searching for him, your mind whirring through all the information you’ve ever stored about Park Geunho. It was almost too easy to connect the dots – Yoongi’s story matching up with your memories perfectly.

Mr. Park hardly ever left his house, but he always had new people coming to visit him. At the time you thought it was weird, but for all you knew, maybe he just had a lot of friends and didn’t like to socialize outside of his own home. Fluffball’s weight seemed to always dramatically change too, you swear he seemed to suddenly gain a lot of weight and then go back to normal way too quickly. The times you didn’t see him for weeks you would ask Mr. Park where he was, and the man would usually answer that Fluffball was just too lazy to go outside. It didn’t make sense back then, but it does now.

It’s not like you checked if Fluffball was ever a boy or a girl, your young mind just assumed the black cat was a boy and left it at that. Mr. Park just called Fluffball “cat”, so it wasn’t like he ever gave you any pointers to what the gender might have been. The sudden weight gain and loss doesn’t add up if Fluffball was a boy, but if it was a girl, it could’ve been pregnancy. If Mr. Park was illegally breeding hybrids and selling them off like the reporter said, then .. it matches up.

It would make sense if Fluffball gained weight because she was pregnant, and then lost the weight once her children were born. The random people visiting him must have been buyers, and you suppose he hardly ever left home in fear that the hybrids would either escape, or someone would figure it out. You’re honestly surprised Fluffball was even allowed to go outside, but come to think of it, you probably weren’t much of a threat, as young as you were. You had always thought of Mr. Park as too stern and a little scary, but looking back at it now, it wasn’t just sternness in his voice whenever he called for Fluffball, it was animosity.

But, what makes you the most sick to your stomach, is that you now know why Fluffball passed away so suddenly. Mr. Park had killed her. And you had helped him bury her in his garden. He hadn’t even looked remotely sad, his face a blank canvas while you cried your eyes out for the sweet cuddly cat you’d grown so fond of. There’s no wonder you thought you saw a ghost when you visited the shelter and found Yoongi. He’s a splitting image of Fluffball – his mom.

You squeeze your eyes shut as you rest your head on top of Yoongi’s, your own tears silently sliding down your cheeks as you press your lips to his hair. All of this had been going on next door and you didn’t even know. You had been standing next to murderer and you didn’t ever realize that something was even remotely off. It makes you feel disgusted with yourself. It makes you feel guilty.

Do you even have the right to comfort Yoongi? Should you even be allowed to touch him?

“I’m so sorry,” You whisper. You’re sorry Yoongi ever had to experience something like this in the first place, that his life has been nothing but pain and uncertainty. You’re sorry you couldn’t stop it. And you’re sorry that even now, you let yourself feel relived that you found him, that you even dare to feel happy to have him in your arms.

You’re not sure how long it takes before Yoongi’s sobs turn softer, the steady stream of tears running down your neck calming down to a few stray droplets as he takes deep, shaky breaths. You loosen your grip around his back once he starts pulling away, your hands moving up to cup his cheeks instead. His pale skin is blotchy, the white in his eyes rimmed red from all the crying. You press soft pecks to the apple of his cheeks, your thumbs running slowly back and forth over his cold skin.

“Do you want to go home?” You ask. Your soaking wet clothes have dried up a little, but it’s not enough to warn off the bone chilling cold that has settled into your body. You’re not sure how much time has passed since you first set out to follow him, but it’s enough for the temperature to have dropped drastically. You can stay out in the frigid weather all night if Yoongi needs you to, but you’re honestly more worried about him than yourself. He’s way too cold.

“Yeah, lets go home,” The hollow tone in his voice breaks you all over again, so you just settle for a nod, and a soft smile to mask the guilt forcing itself up your throat.

You slip your coat around Yoongi’s shoulders once you both crawl outside of the tubes, the cat hybrid not making a sound as you gently grasp his hand to lead him back home. The rain has let up from a heavy downpour to a light drizzle, and it makes it a little easier for you to spot certain buildings you think might lead you in the right direction. Your phone is dead, so there’s no use trying to look up anything there. You wince for every step Yoongi takes on the cold ground, his bare feet red and bruised from all the walking.

You let out a sigh of relief as you finally see your building, the tall structure looking like beacon of light in the darkness. Yoongi doesn’t make a sound as you tug him back upstairs, nor does he protest when you help him peel the freezing clothes of his ice-cold body. You leave him to take a shower as you hurry into the kitchen, heating up some canned soup you find stuffed into the back of your pantry. It might not be the best, but it just needs to serve its purpose, and that is to heat Yoongi back up.

Your hands hurt as you carefully ladle the soup into a deep bowl, the warm air in your apartment making your fingers burn as they start to thaw from the cold. You make it into the living room with the food just as Yoongi emerges from the bathroom, and you quickly usher him over to the couch to eat.

“I’ll just go get changed real quick, okay?” You say, not really moving from Yoongi’s side until the cat hybrid gives you a stiff nod in response. You make fast work of snatching up warm clothes from your room, wasting no time as you hurry over to the bathroom.

You swear you could almost cry out of relief as you freezing body steps in under the warm cascading water, your numb limbs finally regaining feeling. But you don’t stay there for very long. The moment you’re sure you can move all your body parts normally; you’re out of there – hastily drying yourself off before tugging on the dry clothes.

Yoongi hasn’t moved an inch since you left him, the spoon you laid out for him still perched next to the bowl on the table. His hands are clasped together tightly between his knees, eyes staring mindlessly at a spot on your wall. You slowly slide down next to him on the couch, his ears not even twitching in your direction. You’ve noticed his cat ears seem work on pure instinct, immediately moving to follow whatever sound they pick up on. So the fact that they don’t even stir when you’re so close is worrying – because that means Yoongi is too deep into his own thoughts to hear you, and that’s probably not the best place for him to get lost in right now.

“Yoongi,” You softly call his name as you reach out for his intertwined fingers. You carefully pry his hands apart to place the spoon in his palm, nudging the bowl closer to the edge of the table. Yoongi blinks, his gaze moving from the wall to his hand, his fingers slowly closing around the utensil. His eyes trail over to you; the confused and empty look on his face making your stomach lurch.

“You need to eat,” You remind him. Yoongi watches you for another moment before he nods, his gaze moving back to the steaming soup in front of him. If the situation were different you would’ve felt like a creep just sitting there and watching Yoongi eat, but truthfully, you are pretty sure he never would have taken a bite unless he knew you were.

You wait until the bowl is half empty before you ask the question that’s been on the tip of your tongue all night.

“Why did you leave?”

Yoongi places the spoon back into the soup with a small shrug, his ears falling back into his hair as he stares down at the steaming food.

“I don’t know,” Yoongi’s voice is hoarse and raw. “The only thing I could think of was just that I needed to find that fucker and hurt him in the same way he hurt my mom,” The last few words slips out as a hiss, Yoongi’s lips twisting into a snarl as he remembers the report.

“I still do,” He adds, “I can’t let him get away with this.”

“I’ll help you,” Yoongi is shocked at the conviction in your voice, his eyes flying up to meet yours in surprise. You didn’t only have time to think about Mr. Park and Yoongi’s mom, but also why the other cases in the news report had felt so familiar. They were all from your company.

There’s no cases you have worked on yourself, but you know that one of them was Jihyo’s, and you’ve heard bits and pieces about the others from your co-workers. You had no idea about Mr. Park, his case must’ve been dealt with before you started working there, but you’re certain that the conveniently timed breaches the office has been having these last weeks has to be tied to this.

Jihyo’s case still leaves a sour taste in your mouth, and you can remember how distraught she was when her client’s claim got overruled. That’s probably the hardest aspect of your job, the fact that you can’t do anything else after you hand over all the information and evidence you’ve collected to the lawyer in charge. Jihyo was convinced something was off about it, but neither of you are in a position where your opinion matters, and so it wouldn’t have made a difference. If only, it probably would’ve made the cases of Jihyo’s future clients even more difficult to win, if members of the court already disliked her because she had voiced her concerns.  

You’re certain your company is connected to all of this, and your suspect hasn’t exactly been subtle with how he’s been sneaking around on your floor lately. But there’s only one way to find out for sure, and you’re more than ready to get to the bottom of this. You already made a promise to yourself that you would make the ones who had hurt Yoongi pay – and you sure as hell intend to keep it.

.

You’re not surprised at how quiet the office is the following day, it seems like a good chunk of your co-workers must have seen the news and arrived at the same conclusion. Well, maybe not exactly the same, but at least that your company was targeted for a reason. You had texted Jihyo about her case yesterday as well, and your friend looks like she hasn’t slept a wink. She has deep circles underneath her eyes, her usually bright and glowy skin looking dull and tired. Frowning, you take your seat, making a mental note to pick something up for her on your break.

You’re honestly not doing much better yourself. You kept waking up all night to make sure Yoongi was still curled up at the bottom of your bed, the black lump of fur soothing your anxiety just enough to fall back asleep, but not enough that it lasted for more than an hour. You were apprehensive about leaving him at home all by himself, but you quickly shut down that train of thought. Yoongi is an adult. He can leave your apartment whenever he wants to, and he’s more than capable to take care of himself.

You sigh, trying your best to ignore the gnawing worry in your stomach. After all, you have an important mission you need to do today. The day trickles by slowly, your anxiety only growing for each passing hour you’re left alone with your thoughts. You have no guarantee that your hunch is right, but you’re honestly not sure what terrifies you more – cornering the lanky guy from the IT department only to find out he has nothing to do with it, or finding out that he does. You don’t know what lengths this hacker group is willing to go to, or what this guy might be capable of doing. It would be easy to pretend you never noticed anything, but you can’t. This isn’t about you, this is about Yoongi.

You wave Jihyo off when she offers to stay back and wait for you at the end of the day, your nerves at an all time high as your co-workers start leaving one by one. You’re basically bouncing in your seat as you bid the last one goodbye; the floor suddenly plunged into silence. You swallow hard, your phone clutched tightly in your hand as you rise to your feet. You still haven’t figured out the best way to approach him, but you figure you can always use your computer as an excuse.

The stairwell is silent as you make your way down, and it’s only the sound of your footsteps bouncing of the walls that is keeping you company. You pause to take a deep breath once you reach the door to the IT department, trying your best to convince your fried nerves that he might not even be in today.

But of course, that gets thrown out the window as soon as you step inside. There’s only one desk that’s still on, and it’s his. The man startles as the door slams shut behind you, and he jumps out of his seat as you get closer. He hovers awkwardly behind his chair, tongue wetting his lips nervously as he sees your gaze flicker over to the cat-formed sticky notes pad he still has on his desk.

”Did you do it?” The words tumble out of your lips before you can zip them shut, and you groan inwardly at your lack of tact. Well, that’s one way to do it.

“I-I don’t know what you’re t-talking about,” The man stutters, his eyes flickering to the door behind you.

“The breach. I’ve seen you sneaking around our floor upstairs, and it just doesn’t feel like a coincidence that so many of our files suddenly ended up on the news yesterday,” You try to keep your voice level, desperately hoping that he can’t hear the slight tremor in it as you speak.

The man’s face grows white as you take a step closer, his throat bobbling as he grips the back of his chair tighter.

“N-no, I d-don’t have anything to d-do with it,” He vigorously shakes his head, his long hair flying side to side from the movement. Your eyes zero in on the weird pattern you noticed last time, and you feel like everything finally clicks into place as you realize what it is.

Scales.

This man must be a hybrid too. And he’s probably terrified of being found out. It’s pretty much unheard of that hybrids work along side humans without their owners, and he must’ve been putting himself into grave danger by showing up here every day for work.

“Oh okay, my mistake then,” You take a hesitant step back, the extra space seemingly calming the hybrid down.

You don’t believe him. If anything, you’re now more sure than ever that he has to have something to do with this, but the added uncertainty of not knowing what kind of hybrid he is, and what he’ll do if you corner him further isn’t worth it. You’ll have to come up with a better plan.

“I have some information on one of the files, but I see I was mistaken. My apologies,” You smile gently, hoping he’ll take the bait. That seems to make him pause, his eyes once again flickering over to something behind you before his tense posture suddenly relaxes.

“And what kind of information might that be, Y/n?” The deep voice behind your back nearly gives you a heart attack. You whip around to find Mr. Yang standing there with his arms crossed, an amused smile on his lips as he takes in your shocked expression.

“What?” You gape, dumbfounded at his sudden appearance.

“I don’t think Ki-won is the person you’re looking for,” Mr. Yang gestures to the hybrid.

“If you have anything you want to share, then you should do so with me. I’m the one who orchestrated the breach.”

You open and close your mouth, no words leaving your lips as you stare back at the older man. Even in your wildest dreams you would’ve never expected Mr. Yang to be behind it, not when he’s one of the few workers who’s been with the company for the longest time. Maybe you’re a little out of your depth.

“And I suppose you’re here because of your cat hybrid?” Scratch that. You’re definitely way out of your depth.

- - - - the next chapter will finally explain everything, and y/n might have to share a secret she doesn’t want yoongi to find out about ..  as always, i hope you’re all well and my inbox is always open if you want to chat about the story or just fics or life in general! see you all soon! in case you maybe enjoy my stories and want to buy me a coffee, you can do so here! 💖 AND please check out the posting schedule for july if you haven’t already!

[meltwonu]

s n a k e     |     e y e s     [chapter 4]

pairing; snakehybrid!woozi x female!reader

this chapter’s notes; 🥰💕 HELLO Y’ALL! Strap in for the longest chapter yet fdjhgkkhsf also just,,, i know hybrid aus are different and in the real life only female mammals go into heat but as u kno this is fiction and a hybrid au so for the sake of that, heat cycles r not gonna follow irl rules if u kno what im sayin!!! Also fingering and a little bit of dirty talk, and jihoon being a cheeky lil shit🥴🤤 again thank u all for taking interest in snake eyes!! 💕💕💕

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - x - x - x

You try to avoid Jihoon for a couple days, going to the office building where you sometimes worked to try and buy yourself some time away from the snake hybrid. You can’t tell if he notices your eagerness to be away from home but you apologize to him in your head, leaving cash on the table for food when you leave in the morning for the third day in a row.

And although Jihoon may not mind your absence that much, your co-workers take notice of how often you’d been coming to the office lately.

“Is everything okay at home?”

You spin your chair around to face the cubicle next to yours, meeting the curious eyes of Seungkwan, a junior writer that had worked with you a few times. You worked as a journalist at a magazine company; sometimes taking the part of an editor when nobody was available. Thankfully, your job allowed you to work from home a lot of the time which you preferred, up until a few days ago anyway.

“Huh? Oh yeah, things are okay. Why, what’s up?”

“Nothing just… You almost never come in, like, 3 days in a row? Minghao was starting to get worried too, to be honest.” Minghao was the editor in chief at your magazine company and was actually a good friend of yours. You valued his opinion more than anyone as he was insanely level headed and always lead you in the right direction when you needed a helping hand. He also had a hybrid at home, which you had forgotten about until now.  

“Oh… I mean, my mattress has been kinda… y’know, getting old so…”

“What does that have to do with you coming in 3 days in a row? Really, are you okay? You’re not making much sense...”

“I--I think I need to talk to Minghao.”

Knocking on Minghao’s office door, you try to balance the two cups of coffee in your opposite hand, making sure they don’t spill as you grasp the door knob.

“Come in!”

Pushing the door open, you shoot Minghao a lopsided smile as you hold up the coffees, kicking the door shut behind you.

“Wow, can’t say I’m surprised.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… 3 days in a row? Something’s… off.” You sigh, setting the cups of coffee down on Minghao’s desk before sitting down in one of the seats across from him. “Is it really that obvious?”

“Well.. the last time you came in this often was when you broke up with your ex… What was his name? Soonyoung?” The name strikes a chord inside you, almost dropping the cup in your hand when you bring it to your lips to take a sip. It’s not that the relationship with Soonyoung had gone sour necessarily, in all honesty it was better than the two of you had broken up because both of you were too focused on your jobs to be in a relationship at the time. However, it still had been somewhat hard to get over; you were used to having Soonyoung around in your life and apartment and having Jihoon around was surely filling in that space lately.

“Uh, yeah, that’s him. I mean, I just… I have some questions if it’s okay?”

“Yeah, of course. We’re friends before co-workers. What’s up?”

“You… have a hybrid too, right?”

“I do… wait, you said ‘too’. Did you get a hybrid? Is that why you’ve been so out of whack?”

“Well, I did... His name is Jihoon and he’s a snake hybrid.”

Minghao can see you fidgeting from across the table, his eyes focused on the way you can’t even make eye contact with him. “He’s not… hurting you, is he?”

“What! No! Never, he’s really kind and…” You trail off, a blush creeping onto your face the longer you simmer in your own thoughts.

“Let me guess, you like him like him, don’t you.”

“I’m screwed, aren’t I?”

When you get home from the office, the sun’s already been down for a couple hours.

You’d taken the longer way back, thinking about everything you and Minghao had talked about and making some decisions for yourself before making it home. You even stopped at the cafe, grabbing a small dinner and checking to see if the cute barista Jun was around. Sadly, he was not.

“Jihoon, are you here?”

“In the bedroom!” Trudging over, you see Jihoon exiting from the attached bathroom, wiping his hands on a towel. “You got back just in time. I… um, ran you a bath! It’s still warm so…” He trails off, sitting quietly on the bed as he watches your eyes flit from the bathroom to him.

“How’d you know I’d get back around this time? It’s very sweet of you Jihoon but also… why?” The snake hybrid fidgets, hands curling around the hem of his sleeves. “Um… I dunno, you seemed kinda tense lately. And you always do nice stuff for me so I wanted to do something nice for you.  And you always come back around now, kinda. Guess I was just taking a chance?”

Any coherent thoughts leave your brain at how cute Jihoon is, a serene sigh leaving your lips as you step closer to him sitting on the bed. You run your fingers through his hair as he leans into your touch, wrapping his hands around your waist as he pulls you in closer.

“Hmm…”

“Something the matter?”

“You… don’t smell like you lately.” You break into a bit of a cold sweat, fingers pausing against his scalp. “O-oh.. I thought you said your sense of smell was better with your tongue?”

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean my nose doesn’t work. And you smell like… other people. It’s weird. I’m not used to that.”

You blush again, pulling away from Jihoon as his hands fall from your waist.

“I should take that bath you ran for me while it’s still warm then, huh?”

“Mmhmm.”

When you exit from the bathroom, Jihoon’s already under the covers waiting for you.

“Already going to bed?” He nods, a yawn on his lips as he tugs the covers higher up onto his body. “Did you eat already?” Jihoon nods again, patting your side of the bed.

You slide into bed next to him, eyes drawing random shapes onto the ceiling as you lay there wide awake.

“Hey Jihoon?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I ask you something?” The snake hybrid turns to face you, turning onto his side as you do the same. “Sure, shoot.” You feel nervous; thankful that it’s dark so he can’t see the way your skin flushes red. “I… sorry if this is stupid of me to ask but you… don’t go into heat, do you?”

Jihoon’s quiet for a moment, a cold hand wrapping around your wrist as he tugs you closer to him. “I can feel you getting warmer cause you’re probably embarrassed. It’s okay to ask. But can I ask why you’re asking?” Clearing your throat, your eyes adjust to the darkness, staring Jihoon straight in the eyes.

“Oh, I was talking to my f-friend earlier who has a bunny hybrid and… he said that his bunny hybrid goes into heat and I was just wondering? He makes his bunny hybrid take suppressants for his heat and I just… I guess I could’ve looked it up but I figured it’d just be better to ask you since we never really talked about it and it’s been a couple weeks since you’ve started living with me.” Jihoon processes your words, puffing his cheeks up in the darkness as he thinks.

“Technically no. I mean, like I’ve said before I don’t really have many snake-like features anyway so even if we did, I probably wouldn’t. But no… if there’s anything, I’ll probably be, um, a little sensitive to you--your, uh… cycle. Cause… smells and stuff.” This time it’s Jihoon’s turn to blush as he mentally kicks himself for his questionable reply.

“O-oh. I see… I mean, okay. That’s good? I mean, oh my god, about you not having to take suppressants! Not about… the other thing.” You can’t help but think that it’s been weeks since Jihoon started living with you which meant you’d already gone through a cycle and Jihoon hadn’t said a word about it.

“Yeah, I mean, I probably would’ve told you otherwise if it was a problem, I guess. But anyway, do you have any other pillow talk questions?”

“Um…”

“For the record, my dick is normal.”

“Jihoon!!” You can feel yourself start to sweat under the covers, mind conjuring up all sorts of inappropriate scenarios until Jihoon laughs out loud, his cold hand sliding under your neck as he wraps his other hand around your waist, effectively drawing you into him as he holds you tight against his chest.

Eventually all you hear is his steady breath, the quietness letting you know that he’s fallen asleep.

A few days pass since then, and you’re thankful that things go back to what you consider normal as you set up your work space in the living room. You’d texted Minghao a few times earlier, letting him know that things were getting better at home and that maybe he and Chan could come over for lunch sometime the next week. He agrees, telling you he’ll text you his free dates when he has time.

Jihoon was still asleep even though it was already closing in on 1PM in the afternoon. But you had chosen to not wake him up, letting the male sleep in as long as he wanted while you worked on a new draft for an article.

But it’s when you get up to make another cup of coffee after 30 minutes of working that you’re hit with a wave of arousal out of nowhere; body heating up in an instance as you feel wetness pooling between your thighs. Instead of making another cup of coffee, you immediately pick up your phone, swiping until you find your period tracker to check the dates. Fuck, you think, this would fucking happen to me after I fuckin’ asked Jihoon all those stupid questions!

The panic hits you like a ton of bricks when you hear the bedroom door opening. You wonder if there’s time to run out of the door and hide for god knows how long before Jihoon even sees you. But in the time it takes you to figure something out, Jihoon steps into the living room, hair still messy from sleep as he stretches. You watch his movements, hyper aware of the fact he can probably smell you to some degree from where he stands. And it was fine when you didn’t know he was sensitive to your cycle but now you did know which made things a little more complicated.

“Did you already make lunch? I’m starving.” Your throat feels dry, but you try to compose yourself to the best of your ability. You almost wish he hadn’t said anything about being sensitive to your cycle in the first place because the hyperawareness was apparently already eating you alive.

“Oh, um, I can make some now actually! I was just about to! I’ll let you know when it’s ready!”

You all but power walk towards the kitchen, not waiting for his reply as you focus on making something to eat; hoping the smells from the kitchen bury the smell of you ovulating to his sensitive nose.

Jihoon is normal for the rest of the day, albeit you’re on edge. Regretfully, your conversations throughout the day are clipped, mentally apologizing to Jihoon again for your weird behaviour even if he seemed to be taking everything well. Your panties had been annoyingly wet all day, even when you’d gone to change them and it was almost time for bed again which had you panicking yet again.

You take your time to get ready for bed, slightly avoiding Jihoon until you realize there’s no getting out of it. There was a second where you debated asking him to sleep in his old room but it’d been so long since he’d slept there that you felt bad for asking.

When Jihoon calls your name, you exit the bathroom, turning off all the lights before slipping into bed next to him. You feel like a plank of wood next to him, awkwardly stiff as he tries to get you to face him.

“Hey…”

“Yes, Jihoon?”

“I don’t want you to feel awkward even though you’ve kinda been all day… It’s okay, y’know.” You turn away from him, facing the window in your bedroom. You can see the moonlight filtering in through the curtains and it distracts you for a second but you think about how you could cry at how genuinely sweet Jihoon was, even when you were being aloof all day. “Sorry it’s just… You’ve been here for weeks which means you already had… had to deal with me going through it once and you didn’t even say anything? I should’ve asked you sooner cause now I don’t know if you were okay and now that I know you know and you’re sleeping next to me still and I--”

“Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay!”

Jihoon presses into you from behind, the coolness of his body permeating his sleep clothes and cooling down your heated body even just a little bit. “I was okay last time too. Like I said, if there were any problems I would’ve told you right?”

“Yeah, but--”

“No, no buts! It’s fine, really. If I’m being honest… it was kind of nice. You got extra warm during that time. Sorry if that’s kind of weird. Guess you can say I’m an opportunist.” There’s a slight chuckle to his voice as he wraps an arm around your waist. It’s silent for a beat as you slightly relax in his hold.

“Jihoon can I ask you another question?”

“Shoot.”

“Did you… um, were you like this with any of your past owners?” He sighs, nuzzling into your neck as he stares out window with you. “No. Never. Honestly, I’m a little shocked at myself too. But I guess it’s also because I spent most of the time alone when I was being adopted into other homes. You’re the first person who’s adopted me that’s around my age and… genuinely nice. I don’t feel like a show animal here.” The two of you fall into the first comfortable silence all day; Jihoon’s fingertips playing with the material of your sleep shirt.

“Can I try something?” You hum at his question, muttering a small ‘okay’ under your breath.

Jihoon starts slow, cold fingertips lifting your shirt inch by inch underneath the covers until your sleep shorts are exposed to his wandering hand. You can already feel your breath getting caught in your throat as his cold digits skim the waistband of your shorts. “Is this okay?”

“H-huh?”

“I need to know if this is okay, before I continue. I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of you because of what I said earlier.” You gulp hearing his words; technically, you’d both benefit from this.

“I… yes, I’m okay with this Jihoon. Please… continue.”

The snake hybrid is silent afterwards, his lips pressed against your clothed shoulder as his hand dips into your sleep shorts. His gentle touch has you moaning softly, eyes fluttering shut as you let him explore.

“You’ve been wet all day, haven’t you?”

“Uh… Uh-huh…”

“It’s cute you were trying to hide it like I didn’t already know.” His words are muffled against your shoulder, lips curling up into a cheeky smile that you can’t see. “I gotta be honest, I kind of regretted telling you at first, y’know? You were more open when you didn’t know. I was sad seeing you all clammed up and trying to hide from me earlier.” Jihoon’s fingertips press into the wet spot on your panties, garbled noises muffled by the pillowcase as you press your face into it slightly.

“I--Isn’t this w-weird?”

“Hmm? What’s weird about it?” Your body's on fire under the bed sheets and Jihoon’s touch and he’d barely even done anything to you yet. “I mean, y-you said you’ve never done this but---mmh, you seem so okay with it, J-Jihoon.”

His fingers play with the hem of your panties for a second before they slide against your skin, dipping deeper and deeper until they meet your wet folds. You moan, already rocking against his hand as you search for more contact. “I’m not completely inexperienced. And let’s be honest, hasn’t there been some tension between us anyway?” You almost grimace, knowing damn well you were suffering from your inappropriate dreams and your long ‘baths’ you would take to relieve yourself hoping he didn’t notice. But you also are surprised to hear that he, too, was feeling something towards you.

“Oh, uh… that’s...”

“Mm, I’m really sorry but your long ‘baths’ weren’t really fooling anyone you know.”

The embarrassment from his comment dies immediately when his fingers slide through your folds, spreading your wetness from your hole to your clit before rolling the nub between his fingertips. You moan Jihoon’s name, begging him to touch you more.

He indulges you, coating his middle finger in your wetness before easing it into your pussy. You immediately clench around the digit once he’s knuckle deep, whining when it’s not enough. Jihoon laughs slightly, pumping the digit in and out as he thumbs your clit.

“You’re so eager considering you were hesitant about this. Wanna talk about it?”

“Ngh, can--can we do that later? I’m so s-sensitive right now, Jihoon, I already feel like cumming… Can you… can you talk to me instead?”

“Aren’t I already doing that?” His cheeky reply has you whining again but he eases another finger into your pussy, scissoring the digits inside of you. “F-fuck, you know… what I mean. Please!”

“Is that what you like? Dirty talk?” He nuzzles into your neck, kissing the exposed skin before his lips travel up; kissing the shell of your ear. You hadn’t noticed at first but his body temperature is akin to yours now, the heat making you sweat a little as he fingers you under the sheets. “You know, sometimes when you sleep you make these cute little noises… They sound like pretty moans sometimes and it makes me wonder what you’re dreaming of when you’re wrapped up in my arms.” The wetness between your thighs is obscenely loud when Jihoon thrusts his fingers harder and faster into your pussy, your moans and whimpers mixing in.

“You smelled so good last time too. Maybe it’s just instinct but I really wanted to taste you. Maybe I could taste how sweet you really were if I had said something sooner? I’d get you to cum on my tongue over and over again and then lick up all that sweetness ‘til you’re begging me to stop.” His dirty words are whispered softly into your ear, small kisses in between as he tastes your warm skin.

For once, you really hoped this wasn’t a dream.

“Mmh, Jihoon, I’m--I’m gonna cum…!”

The snake hybrid doesn’t reply, instead rubbing your clit harder as he continues to thrust his fingers into you. And although you weren’t reciprocating anything, Jihoon felt good too, the warmth from your body making him feel comfortable and at ease.

When you finally cum around his fingers, you whimper his name, toes curling as your legs clamp around the hand between them. You can feel your breathing stop for a second as your orgasm crests and Jihoon can feel your walls throbbing around his fingers, a small groan against your ear as he slows his movements until your orgasm starts to ebb away. You don’t really know how much time has passed but the stickiness between your thighs starts to feel uncomfortable as you shift slightly; Jihoon’s fingers still inside of your pussy.

“Ji--Jihoon…”

“Hm? Oh, right.”

He eases his fingers out of you, a whimper escaping your lips at the sensitivity.

Jihoon brings his fingers up to his face over your shoulder, your wetness coated all over the digits as he brings them to his lips. You turn your head slightly, watching him through sleepy eyes as he laps at them, cleaning each finger meticulously as he moans. You almost hate the way you already crave his touch again just from the sight.

When he deems them clean enough, he smiles, satisfied. There’s a yawn on his lips afterward, his arm easing your shirt back down as he wraps an arm around your waist again. You lay there for a few minutes, feeling the urge to sleep pulling you in. But you try to get up to get cleaned off, finding yourself already locked into Jihoon’s hold as the male has seemingly already fallen asleep within the few minutes since.

You sigh, easing into his hold as you toss the idea of even trying to get cleaned up out the window. You lay there thinking about all the things you and Jihoon would need to talk about in the morning; thousands of different scenarios flitting through your mind of how it could go. You momentarily think of all the questions you want to ask Jihoon as well. But sleep eventually finds you, eyes drooping shut as you finally welcome it.

[arysthaeniru]

aAAA the joy of seeing an update on your current favorite fanfic is just aAAA

I always felt that kiwami 1s Nishiki was just a bit too,, I dont know how to describe it; but essentially he just felt off, granted yakuza 1 is a product of its time and therefore the plot is a bit dated and whack as all hell

The way you write Nishiki just feels so much better and realistic; in the original he just seems so uncaring towards Kiryu? which just feels kinda OOC? You'd think he still cares about Kiryu despite it all, especially when you take Yakuza 0 into consideration; and i feel like you portray Nishiki much more accurately

I never thought much about Yumi, because honestly, in the original she was kinda just, there? You actually made her a very interesting person! like I'm actually invested in her in your story! (side note you ever think about her clone who got tortued and died? yeah who WAS that???? thats never brought up is it??)

Theres so much more to talk about but in short; This is the best fix it/rewrite of a game plot I have read to date and it brings me joy in my current stressful school life. and no I will not stop praising it or the author, because this work has made me very happy. ;)

I just have a gift for picking favorites that end up dying,,aand another favorite of mine is Mine

imo theres a lack of soft, reassuring Minedai, i just feel like he'd need a reminder that people love him as a person and not just for the money he can provide, even if its obvious

I'd love to see how you'd write them, but I understand if theres more interesting/appealing drabble requests!

- Carp

CARP, thank you for this <3 this is so sweet!!!!! I’m so happy you enjoy my Nishiki! I had fun playing with what Yakuza 0/the Kiwami additions gave us about Nishiki’s personality and outlook on the world, and trying to reconcile that with the plot that Yakuza 1 initially had. Ultimately, I fell on the side that you did: even if Nishiki’s ambition took him down a monstrous path, I don’t think he’s the sort of person who neglects to pay back his debts. And he’s aware of the huge debt he owes Kiryu. Not to mention, their bonds of trust and love vanishing completely because of jealousy felt unreal to me. Their relationship becoming twisted or strange? Yes, but vanishing entirely felt unsatsifying to me. 

And Yumi!! I had so much fun excavating her character from the clues we get of her in canon. I worry sometimes, that she’s unrecognizable, because you know, I’ve given her a college education, and a whole bunch of interests beyond hostessing alone, but people seem to like it and like her, which is great!! I hate fridging women characters, so keeping her and Reina alive was important to me, hahaha. (RE: fake!Mizuki, there’s this substory in Kiwami that actually addresses who she was, BUT IT’S EVEN MORE HORRIFYING. So that’s why Yumi in my fic is the one captured and tortured by Nishiki’s men, because the thought of this poor innocent woman getting dragged into the mess was just untenable to me.)  

Anyway, thank you for your support and kind words, and I hope you’ll continue to read and that my fic can continue to relieve stress. I--tried to write this about Mine, but Daigo kind of stole the spotlight a little??? I hope you still like it--if not, I will try a ficlet from Mine’s perspective too. I enjoy minedai a lot, but I haven’t had room to think out their dynamic yet, so this took me a while. 

Daigo’s no stranger to being desired. He’s attractive, he knows this—his mother’s beauty lives in his veins, and he’s always had the money to look after himself. Fancy soaps to wash his face, the invisible retainers to keep his teeth straight, fancy suits and skin-tight shirts to show off his frame. For all that Kiryu insists his charisma is something that comes from the soul, Daigo knows it wouldn’t be able to draw the sort of attention he does without being attractive.

Which is to say that Daigo’s not especially thrown off by the intensity of Mine’s gaze. It’s happened before, and it’ll happen again. The thing that surprises him is how much he relishes in being seen by Mine.

Maybe it’s because Mine’s an island in a stormy sea, one of the only yakuza his age who’s sensible and level-headed enough to make it big. Maybe it’s because Mine’s gaze is always so reserved, polite, never overly lusty or overstaying its welcome, and Daigo has so rarely been desired so quietly. Or maybe it’s because Majima and Kashiwagi so clearly disapprove of him—Daigo’s always been something of a rebel, and he hasn’t shaken that off, even now he’s in his thirties and is the arbiter of rules for the Tojo Clan.

Daigo can’t quite put a pin on why he’s so comfortable with Mine’s yearning looks, but he’s never been one to hold back when he wants to indulge in something good. Not exactly a hedonist, not by yakuza standards, but Daigo has never kept himself from enjoying life, in the name of some dubious ‘honour.’

Which is why, in an after-hours meeting with Mine, as they eat cheap takeout sushi together, Daigo takes his chance. A momentary slip, the slightest hint of wasabi left at the corners of Mine’s lips and Daigo swoops in, rubs a thumb over the corner of Mine’s lips. Mine stutters to a stop, mid-sentence through a rundown of the real-estate that the Hakuho Clan’s been purchasing up, and stares at Daigo, eyes bewildered.

“Sixth Chairman?” he asks, his voice still remarkably composed.

“Wasabi.” Daigo says, nonchalantly, as if it’s nothing, and sticks his thumb into his mouth, slowly licking it off with a lingering lave of his tongue. He feels a sharp stab of satisfaction as Mine’s eyes turn darker, and his gaze follows Daigo’s hand down.  

Daigo straightens up, languidly, and cracks his neck, casually. At this point in the day, he’s untucked his shirt, and he knows that a slight strip of his stomach will be visible when he stretches out his arms towards the ceiling. And as predictably as clockwork, Mine’s gaze darts downwards, to that pale expanse, to catch that brief second of skin. Daigo can’t help but feel warm. Something about being watched by Mine is exhilarating.

“Smoke?” offers Daigo, but as usual, Mine refuses, with a polite shake of his head.

Daigo knows from hearsay that Mine’s something a health-freak, so he’s not entirely surprised. It’s already too late for Daigo to preserve his health—he knows that his liver’s already been pretty ruined from long nights of binge-drinking as a youth, and this job’s too stressful to withhold from vices like smoking and drinking, without an optimal end-goal. So he walks over to the window, cracks it open a little, and lights up.

The breath of nicotine curls over his body, a tender caress, and Daigo feels his shoulders drop, as the relaxation hits. He pulls off his cufflinks, tosses them into his pockets and rolls up his sleeves. He takes it slow, runs his fingers over his skin a little more than strictly necessary. Surreptitiously checking the reflection in the window, Daigo watches Mine watch him, and smirks at how intense that gaze is, how Mine’s mouth has opened, and Daigo can just see the soft pink of his tongue.

“Dojima’s just fine, you know. When it’s just us two.” Daigo says, turning over his shoulder. He smiles, one of those charming smiles that had always gotten him whatever he wanted as a child, “We’re same-aged friends, after all.”

“Dojima-san.” Mine acknowledges, after a brief pause.

Daigo turns around, to properly look at Mine and lifts an eyebrow. “Dojima. Or Daigo, preferably. Dojima-san’s always my father in my head.”

Mine nods, face impassive. Daigo can’t read him like this. Maybe that’s why he likes when Mine stares at him, filled with longing. At least then, Daigo feels like he knows him. In moments like these, his implacable gazes might as well be a brick wall. “Right. Your Father was also in the Tojo Clan.”

Daigo smiles, wryly, and blows out a puff of smoke. “One of the most horrible men I’ve ever had the misfortune of meeting—and I had to call him Father. But damn if he wasn’t good at the job.” He sighs and stubs the cigarette out against the ashtray. “...sometimes feel like I’m competing with his dead spirit. Everybody’s looking at me and wondering if this is what my Father would do. Or what Kiryu-san would do.”

“You’re doing better than any of them.” Mine says, immediately, with a vicious ferocity that Daigo wasn’t expecting. He can’t quite stop his eyebrows rising in surprise, and Mine straightens upwards, looking self-conscious immediately. Daigo regrets his instinctual reaction, immediately. “That is to say, Dojima, that I think that you’ve pulled this Clan into somewhere far more respectable. From what I’ve heard of your Father, he didn’t have the temperament to do proper business on this level—too insistent on formal obeisance and unable to be flexible as the times require. And Kiryu-san might be very honourable, but we are yakuza. There are certain things you have to do as a Chairman, that he couldn’t bring himself to do. But you are practical and do what is necessary, while also not overstepping into excessive violence. You are uniquely suited for this job, Dojima.”

...he’s taken aback a little, he can’t deny it. Daigo wonders if his cheeks are colouring, wonders if his obvious shock is offputting, wonders if this is how Mine feels every time Daigo teases him lightly about his obvious attraction. A startling warmth spreads through his chest, and Daigo can’t stop the slight smile that touches his face. Has anybody ever said something so unreservedly kind and measured about Daigo before?

Maybe this is the difference between everybody else’s gazes on him, and Mine’s gaze. It’s based on something more than desire alone. Respect.

Daigo runs a hand over his slicked-back hair and ruffles it free, with a rueful smile, a smile that he couldn’t take away from his face, even if he tried. “I appreciate that. You know I couldn’t do it without you, right?”

He’d never really believed himself capable of attraction to a man like Mine. All of his previous childhood crushes had been on bright, cheerful conversational, pure-hearted people. Daigo had always figured they would balance out his sardonic cynicism. He’d never thought someone as reserved and principled as Mine would ever make his heart flutter. But then, there was something about that deep hunger and passion that Daigo craved. Perhaps it was because he was no longer the gloomy punk of his youth. Maybe his tastes have changed towards tall, dark and handsome. Maybe Mine’s just that special.

“Dojima—” Mine says, clearly trying to refute it, but Daigo cuts him off.

“I mean it. Everybody in this fucking Clan wants me to do something or be somebody else. Kashiwagi-san wants me to be my mother. Majima-san wants me to be Kiryu-san. Everybody else expects my Father. But not you. You deal with me honestly, and with candour, and never hold any expectations against me except success. I appreciate your faith in me.” Daigo takes a couple of steps forward, until his shoes almost brush up against Mine’s own. He leans down over Mine’s chair. “I could not do this without your backing and help. Truly. I don’t think I’ve ever had someone like you in my life. A true friend.”

Mine tilts his chin up to meet Daigo’s gaze, a hungry devotion in his eyes, and Daigo, for a moment, wonders if this is wrong. If he should hold back, like Kiryu would. But Daigo is Daigo, and Mine clearly wants him anyway, so he leans down and kisses him.

Mine’s mouth is velvety smooth and wet and hot and it is oh-so satisfying a feeling to put his hand against Mine’s broad neck and feel his warmth up against Daigo. He pulls back, with a satisfied sigh, and feels the burn of wasabi across his lips, a final parting kick.

[sweetlilpaulie]

Fresh Rose.

Paul kissing inexperienced reader.

Paul X Reader

Caution: Language.

Enjoy, my cuties.

~~~

Laughs echoed loudly throughout the theatre. 

You watched as the boys attempted people to be quiet, as they finished their skit.

You had snorted, at John’s terrifying voice more than once, and giggled at Paul’s silly face expressions. They were quite the pair, Pyramus and Thisbe.

Multiple times, you felt Paul’s eyes watching you in the audience, and you almost couldn’t breathe. It was ridiculous, you knew, having a crush on the boy. You were their assistant, you knew nothing could come of it. Yet, you pictured yourself on a ledge, waiting for your dear Romeo to call your name.

Snap out of it!

There was applause, and the boys darted off stage. The next thing you knew, was John’s finally normal voice snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Well, we’re off. Comin’ or what?” he questioned, his eyes boring into yours.

“Er..” It took you a minute to come back to reality “Yeah, o’course.”

“Good, let’s get on then.” they walked off and into the cab waiting for them.

~~~

They ended up coming to a private pub, or at least it seemed that way. No one else was in there. The only sound that could be heard was their own voices and the soft notes from the jukebox.

They ordered large milkshakes, and lit their cigarettes. 

“So, how’d we do?” asked George.

“You were alright.” you shrugged, trying to keep a serious face.

George grinned, before tickling you relentlessly.

“DAMMIT, fine you did swell!” you gasped for air, and he stopped his attack.

“I thought so.” he smirked. You whacked his arm playfully, and turned back to your chocolate sundae.

You and George had hit it off, and been best friends since the first day. He was the one who’d told you about the job, after all. Once you had become assistant for Brian, you had become friends with the rest of the boys. You and John took the longest to get along with, after all, you were both stubborn asses, but once you’d been around each other for so long, you were incredibly close. Ringo, was the far least intimidating, and most welcoming, and you had been good mates, quickly after you’d met. Paul....well.....you were friends, you’d say, but he was very....

Playful.

You knew he was with all the girls, but it still made you blush every time he told you he’d never met a girl like you before. 

Speaking of, he was staring at you, no shame, sipping his strawberry delight. 

You nearly coughed when his leer widened, his teeth biting the straw.

A blush crept on your face, trying to ignore the fact he was burning a hole into your face with his eyes.

Ringo asked you a question, but you didn’t hear it, as you excused yourself from the table. 

You exited the backdoor, by the bathrooms and took a deep breath of the cool, foggy, air.

“Rather stuffy in there innit?”

You wanted you run away. 

“Can a woman have a goddamn minute to herself?” you muttered tartly.

“Want to see you don’t get kidnapped o’course.”

“I’m sure I’ll be quite alright. Go back and enjoy your precious time.”

“I am.”

You heart stopped.

You turned to the tall figure, flicking the ashes off his bifter.

“Why d’you keep looking at me like that?”

He smirked, an eyebrow raised.

“Isin’t it obvious?”

You found yourself slowly backing up as his came closer and closer.

When your back found brick, his face was so close you could see every pore.

He was leaning forward, his nose centimeters from yours. His eyes were closed, and you knew exactly what would happen.

That’s when you slapped him.

He stumbled backwards, a look of plain shock written on his face. 

You were just as surprised.

“Oh, Paul, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that!” you cried, reaching forward to cradle his cheek.

“Why’d you do it then?” he yelped angrily.

You blushed again.

“I p-panicked. I-I’ve never been kissed before.”

His face softened.

“Why’d you tell me then?” he breathed.

“You didn’t really leave me time to.” you joked.

“That’s true.” he laughed “Well, allow me to be the first.”

Your heart started to beat at the speed of light.

“O-ok.” you stuttered quietly.

He took your face his hands, and gently set his lips on yours. He didn’t try anything, he let you try it out for yourself. 

Soon, you found the rhythm to which your mouth danced with his. His hands found themselves in your hair, down your back, and your waist. You had never felt such euphoria. 

He pulled away, his eyes gleamed wild.

“So, did I do alright?”

You had never kissed another soul, but you felt that it was a good kiss.

“Perfect.”

~~~

Yayy! Doneeee!

My cuties, 

soooo, as school goes on, and my pile of homework increases, the amount of time to write will become small. So, please bear with me, I may or may not post super often, but don’t worry, I will keep posting as much as I can! Hope you enjoy this story, and enjoy your week!

Love,

L.M.

[vannahfanfics]

Odontophobia

Word Count: 4840

Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Phobias

Summary: Even heroes have an Achilles' heel, something that they are afraid of. For Hawks, it's the dentist.

Part I

Keigo’s leg spasmodically jumped up and down at insane speeds, making the plush loveseat he was seated in vibrate against the ornate rug placed beneath its stubby wooden legs. His heart thrummed in his chest, his heartbeat hammering his bones so hard he could hear it pounding in his eardrums. He hunched forward such that his elbows planted into his knees, pressing down with enough force to bruise his patellas—not that he took notice of the dull pain slowly blooming in his skin. His hands laced over his lips, and above his trembling fingers, his golden irises swam in the seas of white that were his owlishly wide eyes. 

His gaze fixated on the door opposite him, where the dental assistant would be calling him back any moment now. Every hero had their Achilles heel— but damn it, why did Keigo’s have to be the damn dentist? What was he, a ten-year-old? Actually, the ten-year-old playing on his smartphone in the corner had much more composure than Keigo, so he retracted that.

Keigo nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand slapped his shoulder. 

“How are you holding up, bud?” 

Keigo snarled at the very obvious amusement lacing Rumi’s tone as she sneered in his ear. He should have known that asking Rumi to accompany him to the dentist was an idiotic idea. Rumi didn’t have a comforting bone in her body; so far, she’d just been barely suppressing her intense enjoyment of his suffering, sometimes betraying herself with snide comments. Still, Rumi was about the only person he trusted with his irrational fear. She might be being an ass about it, but at least she was an ass that could keep her mouth shut. He could only imagine the field day that the paparazzi would have if they got ahold of this juicy tidbit. 

If Keigo could have avoided it, he totally wouldn’t be here. However, he couldn’t deny that it had been inevitable. During an altercation with a villain several weeks earlier, he’d been smacked in the face with a brick, shattering one of his molars and cracking it right in two. Of course, to avoid going to the dentist, he ignored the problem—until the infection set in. No amount of oral gels and leftover antibiotics could prevent the fact that his tooth would rot out of his head. So, after several days of agonizing pain, night sweats, and nearly fainting at a briefing, Keigo had resigned himself to the terrifying fact that he needed his tooth removed. 

And so, here he was, shaking like a leaf in a dentist’s office. 

His gaze slipped sideways as hushed whispers reached his ears, and intense stares prickled his skin. This was an establishment that catered only to heroes and their families, but most of the patients today seemed to be low-level heroes and sidekicks. Several of them were gawking unabashedly at Keigo—and gossiping. 

“Is that Hawks?” 

“No, it can’t be. There are plenty of winged heroes out there—and besides, would the number-two hero be quivering like a baby over a visit to the dentist?” 

The blatant insult made Keigo’s feathers ruffle in shame and embarrassment. Though he tried to stop them, tears pricked at the corners of his avian eyes. How mortifying, he thought, nausea swirling in his belly as the humiliation set in like poison. Every muscle in his body was drawn taut, like a frayed rope whose last fiber was ready to snap. 

Rumi whacked him in the side of the face with a magazine. 

“Look, look!” she grinned while pointing at a page. “It’s me! Don’t I look hot?”

Keigo looked disinterestedly at the implicated article, where Rumi was posing powerfully with a couple of massive barbells. The pages of the magazine flapped back and forth as she wiggled the magazine in delight.

“Man, I’m almost tempted to steal it. I have a copy of the article, of course, but I look good enough that I should carry a copy around in my wallet!” she cackled and thumped the soles of her feet against the ground, the slaps muffled by the thick rug. 

“Yep. You’re a hottie,” Keigo droned flatly. He was back to liquifying the door with his frantic gaze. If he could manifest laser vision and destroy it, then he would never even have to see the dentist. 

He tensed further as more hushed whispers floated into his ears. 

“Maybe I should just cancel the appointment,” he posed to Rumi, his voice cracking as he neared a mental break. “Yeah! They’re busy today. I can come back another time. Let’s go—” 

As he went to stand up, Rumi grabbed him by the bicep and yanked him back down with so much force that the chair jerked back, a loud screech piercing the quiet waiting room air as it lurched off the rug and scratched the tile. The whispers were immediately silenced as the other patients gaped at Keigo in shock. The winged man made no second attempt to rise because he knew that testing Rumi would not end well for him. 

“You’re getting that tooth out, birdbrain,” the rabbit-eared woman quipped as she filled out a “Which hero are you? ” quiz in the magazine with lidded eyes. After a few seconds, she snorted, “How the fuck did I get Gang Orca?”

Keigo did not answer because he had resumed vibrating at the speed of sound, trying to phase into the chair and through the floor. 

The door finally opened, and Keigo’s stomach dropped to his feet. The dental assistant sweetly called his hero name, but Keigo refused to get up, adhering himself to the chair. It wasn’t like he could escape because his stupid obvious crimson wings gave him away—he simply couldn’t get his legs to move. 

The sofa beside him creaked as Rumi lazily rose and discarded the magazine. She stretched her arms and legs for a second before grabbing Keigo by the back of his shirt and hoisting him up. 

“Come on, birdbrain. Time to go.” 

Though his brain so sorely wished to rebel, his legs obeyed the willful woman’s wishes, carrying him over to the petite dental assistant. His feathers were puffed out with anxiety, shaking along with his jittery body. The dental assistant didn’t miss a beat to her credit, smoothly directing him to the back room where he would see the dentist. Everything she said went one ear and out the other, as he was staring at the specialized furniture like it was an electric chair. 

“Mr. Hawks, sir? I’m going to need you to lay down, please.” 

Keigo twitched violently as the dental hygienist tapped him on the shoulder to yank him out of his stupor. With a nervous laugh, he nodded and approached the chair. He stiffly settled into the plastic-covered surface, wings awkwardly sticking out at odd angles. He tried his best to tuck their massive bulk against the sides to provide the medical professionals enough access to move. Though he wanted to make it cumbersome, he knew Rumi would start ripping out feathers if he acted out. 

When the dental hygienist left to get the dentist, Rumi flashed him a cheesy grin. 

“You okay, stud?” 

“Never better.” The high-pitched keen cracking his tone betrayed him. Rumi chuckled and shook her head. 

“I gotta say, I never imagined that this would be the thing to take down big, bad Hawks. The little birdie scared of the dentist,” she chortled in disbelief.

Keigo just pouted at her, too high-strung to muster up a snide reply. His heart felt like it was doing its best to explode out of his ribcage.

When Keigo didn’t answer, she narrowed her white eyebrows. 

“Hey. It’ll be okay.” 

Before Keigo could respond, the dentist walked in. 

“All right, let’s take a look at that tooth,” the dentist smiled pleasantly, sitting down on the rolling stool as the assistant wheeled in a metal tray. 

Keigo made the grave mistake of glancing at it. 

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” he repeatedly moaned, wings flapping anxiously as he tried to climb out of the dental chair and fly out through the nearby window.

Rumi jumped up to grab him by the shoulders and coax him back down, soothing him with gentle shushes. 

“Hey, hey, just relax. Don’t look at that stuff; look at me, okay?” Rumi crooned as she braced herself over him.

Keigo's golden irises were just specks of gold in a white plain with blood-red rivers. She held the side of his head with one strong hand, keeping him from impulsively looking at the metal instruments he could hear rattling against the tray.

“Hey. Birdbrain. Eyes on me.” 

As his brain dissolved into mush, Keigo concentrated on the only safe thing in the room—Rumi. 

“That’s it,” she cooed as he fixed his terrified gaze on her face. He remarked at how soft her features became as she smiled kindly in the back of his frazzled mind. “There you go. I’m right here, birdbrain.” 

Keigo blubbered something nonsensical, ragged breaths wracking his body as he began to hyperventilate with fear. All he could think about was knowing that the dentist was loading a syringe of anesthetic next to him. As he heard the rolling chair squeak and felt the dentist’s legs bump his quivering wings, Keigo released a high-pitched whine and pushed himself away, pressing into the arm of the chair so hard it indented his arm and leg. 

“Hey, hey, hey, hey,” Rumi scolded gently as she turned his head back so that the dentist could have access. He still stubbornly kept his mouth clamped shut. He looked pitifully at her, begging for respite, and she cocked her head expectantly. “Keigo, you need to open your mouth.” 

“Dun wanna,” he refused through tightly pressed lips. 

“I know you don’t, but the dentist needs to do his job. You want this to be over with, don’t you? Let him numb your mouth.” 

Keigo whimpered but obediently teased his lips and teeth apart. He kept his eyes on Rumi the entire time, trying to ignore the hazy form of the dentist in his peripheral vision. He winced as the needle plunged into the inflamed gums near his tooth, and an agonized groan bubbled up in his throat. Rumi leaned down to press the bulk of her forearm down on his chest so he wouldn’t jerk and risk breaking off the needle in his mouth, so he channeled his nervous energy by writhing his legs against the chair. 

“That’s it. You’re doing good,” Rumi purred encouragingly. His jellified mind relished the praise, using it as motivation to continue to lie still as the dentist pumped the numbing medicine into his burning gums. “That’s right. Just relax.” 

Keigo found himself slowly relaxing his muscles and melting down into the dentist’s chair at Rumi’s patient and gentle reassurance. His fluffed-out wings jerkily smoothed down, though the crimson feathers still trembled. He blinked a few times, pushing out the tears in the corners of his eyes and sending them rolling down his cheeks. Rumi tutted and thumbed his tears away. He couldn’t even process how crazily weird it was seeing the ordinarily brash and uncouth Rumi so gentle and caring with how frantically his neurons were firing. The one single brain cell that could recognize the situation flooded him with intense gratitude. 

He tried to talk as the dentist was putting the pliers into his mouth. 

“Ugh… Wumi…”

“Shh. Just relax,” Rumi repeated and combed her fingers through his wavy blonde locks. “Didn’t you get taught not to talk with your mouth full?” she teased.

Hawks snorted a little in laughter, glad to see a bit of the normal Rumi shining through. 

Though still incredibly tense, Keigo tolerated the remainder of the procedure well thanks to Rumi’s continuous encouragement. When the dentist ripped the rotted tooth free of his gums, Rumi insisted that they look at it, and she cackled at the gross black film of bacteria that had destroyed the enamel. When the dentist packed his mouth with gauze to staunch the bleeding, she joked that he was becoming a rabbit like her and pinched his numb and rounded cheek. Keigo elbowed her away as he sat himself up in the chair, pawing at the skin of his face and marveling how he couldn’t feel a thing. 

When they stepped out of the dentist’s office after finalizing payment, Keigo slumped against the wall, thoroughly exhausted from the ordeal. His eyes drooped with fatigue, and his muscles were screaming at him for terrorizing them so thoroughly. As he planked against the wall, he peered out of his peripheral vision at Rumi, who stared blankly at him. 

“Go ahead. I know you want to tease me,” Keigo sighed. He braced himself for the outrageous cackles and slurry of insults.

Instead, Rumi just exhaled. 

“I’m not going to make fun of you,” she said with a click of her tongue. She crossed her arms and jutted her hip, her fluffy ears swiveling. “You trusted me enough to ask me to come with you. I’m not going to sully that by preying on your insecurity.” 

Perhaps he was still emotional, but Keigo’s eyes watered as sentiment surged up in his body. Bottom lip wobbling like a child, he turned and made grabby hands at Rumi in a silent demand for a hug. Rumi snorted and rolled her eyes but walked forward to embrace him with an amused smile. She squeezed him with a small grunt, and Keigo buried his face into her long streams of silver-white hair. 

“You smell like carrots.” 

“You smell like nervous sweat. Get off,” Rumi huffed, but instead of pushing him away, she just gently retreated until her hands were resting on his shoulders. Keigo smiled apologetically, a bit of gauze poking out of the edge of his mouth. With a wide grin, she patted his shoulder. “Hey, you wanna go to the bubble tea place you like? My treat.” 

Keigo’s wings splayed out behind him in excitement. 

“Can we get fried chicken dumplings, too?!” 

“Yes, we can get fried dumplings. Come on, birdbrain. Times-a-wastin’.” 

Rumi set a brisk pace down the sidewalk, leaving Keigo to trot after her. His harrowing order fled his mind surprisingly past, chased away by the stream of pleasant babble tumbling from Rumi’s animated face. 

As a hero and in daily life, Keigo had many challenges to face—some more daunting than others. At first, he fancied himself a loner. However, as time went on, he found himself growing more grateful every day that he had good friends to share the hard times with. 

He wished less of that was potential blackmail material, though. As nice as Rumi was pretending to be right now, he just knew that somewhere down the line, she’d been weaseling some carrot cake and free dinners out of him soon… Which was unnecessary because all she had to do was ask, and he’d come flying. 

Part II

Keigo’s eyes were as wide as moons and glued to the television, which displayed a video of him whimpering and thrashing on the dentist’s table in all his pathetic glory. The video was obviously filmed from a cell phone, as it was grainy and shaky. The perpetrator had enough decency to blur out the faces of the dentist and technicians, but poor Keigo and Rumi were not afforded that kindness. Keigo’s wings flapped angrily behind him as he watched his moment of weakness aired on national news for all to see, fluttering the pages of the magazines resting on the coffee table he was sitting on. 

This was not good. This was not good!

It didn’t take long for his public relations agent to call him. He paced relentlessly around the apartment with his phone crammed against his ear, wings a-fluttering. The video had gone viral seemingly overnight, meaning that one of the dentist’s employees had illegally filmed him. Keigo’s agent assured him that the perpetrator would be facing full legal repercussions for breaking the clearly-established anonymity clause, but unfortunately, they could not turn back time. However, though the media was having a field day tearing into him, his agent was relieved to report that it had apparently boosted his popularity on the civilian level. Keigo didn’t share her enthusiasm. A majority of his fans were young females. As much as he liked to cater to his fans, he didn’t really like the idea of teenage girls crooning about how cute and vulnerable he was. 

You win some, you lose some. Such was the court of public opinion. He knew that. That didn’t mean he had to like it, though. 

Keigo flopped down onto the couch with a heavy sigh, shoulders and wings drooping. He rewound the footage over and over again, just watching how utterly pathetic he looked. He was squirming on the table, tears glistening in his eyes while Rumi held his hand and patted his hair. What kind of hero was he, freaking out at the dentist like that? That was not the image he wanted to portray. 

He sunk into the couch with a big pout. He felt like crying, honestly, but that would just make him feel worse. 

Keigo’s phone began to buzz in his pocket again. After so many calls with his agents, the Commission, other heroes—he honestly didn’t want to answer. But, it could be completely unrelated to the leaked video, so he ought to at least just check who was calling. He pulled his phone out to see his phone screen filled with bulging muscles, bunny ears, and a toothy grin. 

Rumi, he recognized with a smile. He slid the answer button and put it on speaker, reclining back into the couch.  

“You’ve reached the biggest laughingstock in all Japan. How may I help you?” 

“I was gonna ask if you saw the news, but that answers my question,” came the amused response. After a moment of silence, she asked in a softer tone, “Are you okay, birdbrain?” 

“Just peachy,” he quipped, but he couldn’t keep the bitterness from seeping into his tone. “It’s just a regular Saturday afternoon. Drinking some coffee and watching my mental breakdown be broadcast to the world. You know how it is.” 

“Oh, well, it’s good that you’re not busy, ‘cuz—” As she cut herself off, Keigo’s penthouse apartment resounded with the sound of knuckles rapping against his door. Rumi didn’t even give him time to stand up from the couch before huffing, “Knock-knock, birdbrain. Special delivery for Japan’s biggest laughingstock.” 

“The biggest laughingstock hopes you brought chicken,” Keigo chuckled as he got up to do as bid. He hung up the phone as he opened the door, revealing a sweatsuit-clad Rumi with a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken in her hands and an indignant pout on her face. 

“Who do you think I am?” she huffed, walking in as Keigo stepped aside to let her pass. As he swung the door shut, his head turned to follow her, his eyes fluttering at the scent of golden-delicious deep-fried chicken that wafted up his nose. He didn’t even bother to lock it; he needed to dive into that bucket, now.

“You think I would show up here without the necessary goods? I’m not a birdbrain like you,” she said. When he turned around, she offered the bucket of chicken to him. 

“Am I a birdbrain or Japan’s biggest laughingstock? One nickname at a time, please,” Keigo grinned wryly as he took the large container from her. He wasted no time in snatching up a drumstick and taking a huge bite out of it. His mouth rejoiced at the savory white meat, hot juice, and crispy fried batter, and he fluttered his wings giddily while letting out a muffled warble of delight. 

“I guess I’ll stick with ‘birdbrain,’ since I’m not really laughing at this shit,” Rumi huffed while casting a disparaging glare at the television. She grabbed the remote to flip through the series of news channels; all of them had the video plastered on the greenscreen and were commentating away. Keigo had muted it and turned off close captions some time ago, for his own sanity. 

“Look at them,” Rumi snorted, stopping to focus her ire on an unlucky set of news anchors. “Like a pack of vultures tearing into a carcass. Don’t pay any attention to them,” she said and jammed the power button on the remote. The television flicked off, and its sleek black screen now displayed the reflection of Keigo sadly munching on his chicken. 

“It’s not the ridicule that bothers me,” he lamented, and Rumi turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “I can handle the press. It’s the public. My agent said that the video actually went over well with my fans.” 

“Well?” 

“Exceptionally so. Yanno, my fanbase is primarily teenage girls.” 

“Yes, yes, your rugged good looks and boyish charm; we’ve been through this,” Rumi huffed while rolling her eyes and dismissively waving her hand. “What’s that got to do with it?” 

“Well, apparently, there’s nothing that teenage girls love more than vulnerability,” Keigo explained despondently, his wings drooping. “They’re loving it.” Sighing, he walked back over to the sofa and plopped down. After morosely demolishing another drumstick, he mumbled through his full mouth, “‘M a hero. ‘M supposed to be strong. Not babied.” 

“Hey. Not everyone can be strong twenty-four-seven. Not even heroes,” Rumi frowned. She crossed the room to join him on the sofa; as she plopped down, the other end of the couch cushion lurched up, making Keigo bounce a little. He was still staring miserably at the television, so Rumi poked him in the side of the head until he turned to pout at her instead. “I’m serious.” 

“That’s kind of hard to believe coming from a woman whose entire image is muscles,” Keigo sniffed sullenly. 

“All right, I’ll tell you a secret.” 

“A secret?” Keigo asked, his eyes widening slightly. 

“Yup,” Rumi nodded. “A secret I’ve never told anybody in the hero business.” She paused to suck in a deep breath, then reluctantly revealed, “I have an ‘irrational’ fear, too. I’m afraid of balloons.” 

“Ba… Balloons?” Keigo sputtered in disbelief. Of all the innocuous ‘irrational’ fear one could have, that wasn’t one he saw coming. 

“Sure am,” Rumi smirked. She seemed relieved by getting it off her chest; her nervousness dissolved, replaced by a quiet calmness. With a content exhale, she propped her feet up on Keigo’s coffee table and rested her hands behind her head. She smiled wistfully while gazing at the empty television screen. “When I was a brat, this little jerk of a kid took advantage of my heightened hearing and popped a balloon in my ear. Ever since, I’ve been afraid of loud, sudden noises—thunderstorms, fireworks, gunshots, all that stuff. But balloons are still the worst. Just seeing one gets me nervous as hell.” 

“Wait… Is that why you made that hasty exit from the last hero gala we went to? ‘Cuz they did the balloon drop on us?” Keigo asked as a hazy memory surfaced. The media had buzzed for several days over why Mirko had high-tailed it out of a ritzy billionaire’s gratitude ball for heroes pretty much as soon as it had begun; they’d had a time of postulating, but no one had ever confirmed anything concrete. Rumi had bounded away so fast that by the time Keigo realized she was gone, he couldn’t find hide nor hair of her. The media never received this information, but he’d actually found her fast asleep in one of the many coat closets while he was looking for a bathroom. 

“Bingo,” Rumi confirmed with an emphatic snap of her fingers. “As soon as I saw those damn things falling from the ceiling, I panicked. Ran to the closest room and shut myself in. I was so scared by the idea of having to walk through that minefield that I ended up passing out in there.” 

“Well, that explains a lot of lingering questions,” Keigo chuckled. “I thought you might have gotten drunk, but your alcohol tolerance is unreal, and the party had just started. You hadn’t even finished one glass of champagne before that stunt was pulled.” 

“And it wasn’t the first time something like that’s happened. Back when I was a sidekick, my agency threw a surprise birthday party for me. Before I could get outta there, someone stepped on a balloon and popped it. I broke down and cried right there, and it took them half an hour to calm me down.” She turned back to Keigo to give him a soft smile. “So, don’t feel bad about what happened at the dentist, okay? I promise, your little fit is nothing compared to that little office party fiasco.” 

“Yours didn’t end up plastered all over the news, though.” 

“Oh?” Rumi said, pulling out her cellphone as it vibrated in her pocket. She grinned, then grabbed the remote and turned the television back on. “I beg to differ, birdbrain.” 

Keigo looked owlishly at it just in time for “BREAKING NEWS!” to flash across the bottom of the screen. Rumi flipped on the volume. 

“This just in! In a sudden but well-orchestrated campaign to support pro hero Hawks in his so-called ‘moment of disgrace,’ social media is being inundated with videos of sidekicks and heroes grappling with their phobias,” the anchor reported animatedly. “The civilians have also taken up the movement, known as #FacingMyFears. Over three thousand videos have been posted, with more flooding in every minute.” 

“The initiator of this massive outcry is none other than pro hero Mirko, who is seen dutifully supporting her friend Hawks in the leaked video,” the other anchor continued. “In a scathing post criticizing the media’s tendency to ‘shame heroes for experiencing things that are only human,’ she publicly reveals her own quote ‘irrational fear’ and even included a video from her sidekick days. Let’s take a look.” 

The anchors turned to the screen behind them, which suddenly blazed to life with a clearly dated video. Rumi—barely out of her teens—stood stock-still and wide-eyed in the middle of a surprise party, with dozens of rainbow balloons bouncing all over the floor. As the agency members sang her ‘Happy Birthday,’ the person holding the camera tried to get closer and inadvertently stepped on the balloon. Instantly, Rumi clamped her hands down over her ears and sank down into a crouch with an ear-splitting shriek. As she sobbed hysterically, the agency members scrambled to comfort her and rid the office of the offending balloons. 

As the video stopped and the camera panned back to the anchors, Rumi paused the television and turned back to Keigo. 

“Well, what do you think? Now, the title of ‘biggest laughingstock in Japan’ is up for debate,” she grinned. “Guess you’ll have to be content with ‘birdbrain.’”

“I must admit, you’ve outdone yourself,” Keigo laughed, giving her a small round of applause. “Let’s also give a hand to all the P.R. agents out there who are probably crying into various bottles of alcohol right now while they watch their clients embarrass themselves on the Internet. Poor things.” 

“Bah, this’ll all die down in a week. Now, you don’t have to be the only one to bear the infamy of a ‘irrational fear,’” Rumi said with a pleased hum. “I call that a win.” She leaned over to pluck a chicken breast from the bucket and held it up to her mouth so she could tear a chunk of it away with her teeth.

“Cheers. I’ll chomp chicken to that, bro,” Keigo laughed and held up a drumstick. Grinning, Rumi poked it with the edge of her own piece of chicken, acting like they were clinking wine glasses. After eating and watching the various videos of heroes contending with their greatest fears for several minutes, Keigo piped up, “Hey… I know I owe you two now already, but can I ask another favor?” 

“What is it?” 

“I, uh… I actually have to go back to the dentist next week,” he admitted sheepishly. “I have a lot of cavities. Will you… Will you go with me?” 

“‘Course I will,” Rumi answered without hesitation. She then shot him a mischievous grin. “Because you are gonna accompany me to a helluva lot of birthday parties, birdbrain.” 

“Sounds fair to me,” Keigo smiled. “Thanks, Rumi.” 

“Don’t,” Rumi shrugged and took another piece of chicken from the bucket. “It’s just what friends do. I know you’d do the same for me in a heartbeat.” 

I sure would, Keigo thought happily as they contentedly leaned against one another on the couch. Rumi was absorbed in the videos and news commentary again, but Keigo didn’t really need to watch them to be validated. Rumi had done that already. 

I don’t have many people I can really call friends… But I’m glad you’re one of them, Rumi.  

[mycupoffanfiction]

Winning Hearts

Pietro x Reader

Summary: Pietro and the Reader both have a crush on each other, but Pietro is convinced the Reader has something special with Bucky, who in reality is just her best friend.

Warnings: Just two clueless beans and a lot of fluff.

Word count: Approx 2500

Masterlist

Pietro Week Masterlist

A/N: Hi my loves! This was requested by an anon. I hope you enjoy the fic and was what you were looking for, I set this in a party since I attempted this in a few other settings and it seemed to work better like this. Enjoy! 💕

“What are you doing?” Wanda’s voice interrupted Pietro’s glaring contest with the back of Bucky’s head, trying to get a glimpse of you in your beautiful dress you’d worn for Tony’s party. Scrambling to take a gulp of his alcoholic beverage to make it look like there was nothing going on at all, Pietro just gave her a wide eyed shrug, attempting to pass it off, but failing miserably.

Wanda sighed and looked up at her brother, unimpressed and she changed her stance, propping a hand on her hip as she arched a brow at her twin. “You were staring. Again.” She snorted. “What do you have it with Barnes? Do you like him?” Wanda teased, nudging him with her elbow and Pietro almost spat out his drink, collapsing into a coughing fit when he inhaled it instead.

“Wanda!” He shrieked, fixing her with a glare that quickly turned into a smile and a chuckle, he hadn’t expected her to come out with that. “No, I wasn’t staring at him, I had my eye on another.” He sighed longingly as he glanced over, finally getting to see you in that dress and Pietro practically turned into a puddle when he saw you. “Isn’t she beautiful?” He whispered, eyeing you with a desirous look.

Wanda was sick and tired of Pietro dancing around you without admitting any feelings when it was achingly obvious you had it bad for her brother. In fact, it was so obvious that she didn’t even feel like she might need to probe for information or use her powers to see your true intentions towards Pietro because the longing stares and heart eyes you always seemed to have around her twin was more than enough to tell Wanda you had it bad for him.

“Go and ask her to dance with you.” Wanda prodded him in the side, making Pietro flinch away and playfully wave her hands away from his sides. “Noooo.” He whined, shaking his head frantically. “Pietro, I have never seen you freeze up around a girl like this before, slather on some charm and ask her to dance.” She shoved him a little. “Nonono.” Pietro held up his hands in surrender, adamant he didn’t want to. “She’s clearly with Bucky, I mean look at them, they are always together and they look happy.” He sighed, heart aching at the thought.

It was true though, you did seem to spend an awful lot of time around Bucky. Most mornings at breakfast you spent in his presence, you drank coffee together, ran together, watched movies together, but not for the reason Pietro saw.

Wanda snorted and shook her head. “Brother, they are not together. She is so in love with you, can’t you see?” She asked. “Please, just go and ask her to dance Pietro, you won’t regret it, she’ll say yes, I know she will.” She urged.

You glanced around Bucky’s arm at the sound of Pietro wheezing and spluttering dramatically while Wanda just stared at him with an amused smirk. “What’s up with him?” Bucky asked, rolling his eyes as he turned to see the commotion. You snorted out a laugh and shook your head. “I don’t know but I feel like every time I see Pietro he ends up doing something like that.” You giggled, swivelling around to face Bucky so you didn’t cause Pietro any unnecessary embarrassment.

“That’s because you’re here, Doll. Y’know that boy gets real nervous when you’re around.” Bucky grinned like the devil and you scoffed, lazily whacking his arm. “I wish.” You rolled your eyes, shaking your head. “There’s no way Maximoff is into me, he’s got it bad for all the girls.” You sighed and Bucky winced at your comment, obviously not realising that Pietro only ever seemed to be flirty around you, but apparently in your mind that translated to him being flirty with everyone.

“Aw, c’mon Sweetheart, you don’t really believe that do ya?” Bucky asked, trying to get you to think a little more about Pietro’s actions around you. You groaned and tilted your head back. “He flirts all the time.” You sighed and Bucky was internally screaming at this point. He wanted to grab you by the shoulders and tell you how much Pietro was clearly into you and only you and fling you at the speedster so he could get you two to admit your feelings one way or another or perhaps he’d lock you both in a closet. Yeah the latter sounded like a more plausible idea, he thought.

“Besides he’s way out of my league.” You pouted, your absurd comment about yourself breaking Bucky out of his thoughts and he stared at you, mouth agape with impending disagreement. “Excuse you Ma’am, you and I both know that ain’t true, you’re absolutely, heart stoppingly gorgeous Doll.” Bucky stated as if it was fact and you grinned like an idiot, smile faltering when you noticed the presence of someone else and you looked to the side to see Pietro, staring at you both in silence. An excruciatingly long moment passed and you stuttered on the spot, seeing the hurt in Pietro’s eyes and you reached out for him, but he disappeared into a trail of silvery blue as if he was never there to begin with.

You’re absolutely heart stoppingly gorgeous Doll. God, why had Pietro thought this was even a good idea? Why did he have to listen to Wanda? He was right, you were with Bucky and he had just made himself look like an idiot in front of you. He was pining after you but it was clearly unrequited and there was no way you’d reciprocate the feelings. Pietro was better off trying to find some of Thor’s Asgardian mead and spending the rest of the party alone in his room, away from the embarrassment he’d just caused himself.

Staring at the tankard of mead in his hands, Pietro took a couple of sips and placed it on the bedside table next to his bed, debating back and forth whether he should drink the whole lot and forget about his feelings or just go to bed. He was about to take a deep drink when a frantic knock at the door interrupted him and he paused, slamming the tankard down, mead sloshing over the side slightly.

Pietro let out a string of swear words in Sokovian and from what you could pick up from the muffled outburst in his mother tongue, you heard him tell his sister to piss off and leave him alone. “Piet, it’s me.” You called through, hoping that would convince him to at least calm down and as soon as he heard your voice he went silent.  “Piet, please open the door, I just want to talk.” You spoke softly, leaning yourself against the door.

“Not now Prinţesă, enjoy the party with Barnes.” He called through the door, trying not to sound upset and utterly heart broken, but you could hear the hurt in his voice and the dismissive tone it took. That’s when it hit you like an absolute tonne of bricks. He thought you were with Bucky, that certainly explained his quick escape from the party and you sighed at yourself for being so blind.

He’d obviously overheard you and Bucky and must have thought you were together and now you really felt like an idiot. You sighed and bumped your head against the door, scolding yourself a bit before picking up the courage to speak again.

“Piet, Bucky and I aren’t a- a thing.” You tried to explain awkwardly through the door. “Nice try, Prinţesă, I heard what Barnes said to you.” He called back and you thought it so ironic that he thought Bucky was hitting on you when it was you who had needed the encouragement for feeling out of Pietro’s league.

“Oh, Piet- he said that because I’m an idiot.” You sighed, unsure how to put it into words and Pietro narrowed his eyes, giving a questioning look to the door. That made absolutely no sense at all and Pietro finally gave in and got up from sitting on the edge of the bed to let you in, perhaps explaining would be easier if there wasn’t a large division between you both.

When the door opened, you stumbled into the room, having not expected him to actually let you in and you’d still been leaning against it. Pietro quickly caught you, a chuckle escaping his lips as he held you in his arms. Clearing his throat, Pietro got you standing upright and took a step back, awkwardly shoving his hands into his suit trouser pockets.

“I fail to see how Barnes telling you that you are gorgeous is because you are an idiot, whi-which you’re not. Not an idiot, I mean, you are very beautiful.” Pietro stumbled over his words, shaking his head at himself as he dug himself even deeper into the hole you’d both created. Getting flustered at his comment, you smiled, but reminded yourself why you were here in the first place. You sighed and closed your eyes, realising you’d have to unravel the entire thing and start again and hope Pietro liked you and you could work through the strange misunderstanding.

“We aren’t together, Piet. Bucky was trying to encourage me about someone at the party I like and I felt like I was out of his league.” You skipped around admitting anything and Pietro eyed you with a perplexed look. “He was right Prinţesă. You are beautiful, you look wonderful in that dress and if you think for a second that you are out of anyone’s league, you are wrong.” Pietro hadn’t even realised quite what he’d said until he saw your reaction and your eyes widened. “You really think that?” You asked, voice softening as you shyly looked up to meet his eyes and Pietro nodded with a sweet smile.

“Yes and I think you should go and tell whoever it was at the party how you feel.” He tried to dismiss you but you stayed still in the doorway, fumbling with your words for a second before you mustered up the courage. “I can’t, he left.” You blurted out and Pietro shot you questioning look as if trying to work out if you were in fact talking about him or someone else.

“Who left, Prinţesă?” Pietro asked softly, slowly starting to catch on since you refused to move and he took a step towards you, his hand coming to rest on your bare arm with a feather light touch, so you had room and time to back out if you wanted.

Your breathing hitched under his soft touch and you struggled to meet his eyes, suddenly even more nervous and shy than you were before and you shakily lifted a hand to run your fingers up the lapels of his suit jacket. “You did, Piet.” You replied, voice barely above a whisper and Pietro’s soft expression quickly morphed into a lopsided smile.

Pietro slowly closed the gap between you, his hand running up your arm to gently brush his fingers against your cheek, thumb tracing your cheekbone as his other hand moved to rest on your waist. “Is this okay, Prinţesă mea?” Pietro whispered, his breath against your skin, his warmth soothing some of the adrenaline that rushed through you, though your heart still beat fast and you still struggled to look up into his eyes.

“Tell me if it’s okay, I will stop if you tell me to.” He assured you, fingers tilting your chin, making you look up to meet his soft blue gaze and you opened your mouth to respond, only to end up just giving him a nod when you realised you couldn’t muster the simple yes or no Pietro was asking for.

He smiled, seeing the effect he had on you and his glance flicked between your eyes and your lips, watching as you instinctively ran your tongue over them and parted them slightly, his urge to kiss you even greater than before. With one more look into your eyes, Pietro leaned down, closing the gap even further as the hand on your waist tugged you against him and his lips brushed softly against yours, meeting so subtly for a second before he dipped down fully and captured you in a sweet kiss.

His lips pressed against yours and caressed you at a lovingly slow pace. You gained the confidence to move your lips against his, searching for more of him and all of your worry and shyness seemed to melt away as you pulled yourself closer, hands meeting at the back of his neck and threading between his hair. Pietro rewarded you with a low groan that rumbled through his chest against yours and his grip on your waist tightened slightly.

Pietro pulled you slowly to the side and nudged the door to his room shut to give you some privacy from anyone who might happen the wander through the hallway. Pushing you down slowly, Pietro cradled the back of your head as he lowered you onto his bed, tongue carefully parting your lips and meeting yours in a slow and gentle caress. Butterflies blossomed in your stomach as you allowed Pietro to deepen the kiss, letting out a soft hum at the feeling of him against you, his skin on yours was intoxicating, the smell of his cologne was comforting and yet so alluring and you found yourself wanting to breathe in more of the spiced, warm chocolate scent that clung to his neck and jawline.

Slowly, he parted from you, eyes hooded with adoration and desire as he took in your slightly breathless form, laid out so delicately on his bed with a flustered look on your features, lips still parted from the kiss you had shared.

“So beautiful, Prinţesă .” He whispered, looking down at you in awe as he admired your features, eyes exploring every little detail. “So beautiful.” Pietro repeated, speaking so smoothly as he reached to hold your hands, pulling you into a sitting position so you could talk at the same level. “Will you be my Prinţesă?” He posed the question, looking deep into your soft eyes, waiting for your response.

You paused, drawing in a breath as you mulled over the wording of his question, his voice was so soft and sweet, a quality you’d only seen him share with you and Bucky’s earlier discussion with you quickly came to mind, realising Pietro really had only been flirting with you the entire time.

“I’d love to be yours, Piet.” You nodded, sharing a look of adoration and deep appreciation for one another.

Grinning at your response, Pietro took your hand and gently held it in his. “I want to enjoy tonight with you, Prinţesă mea, how about a dance on the balcony, so I can keep you all to myself and we can still enjoy the music?” He gave you a smirk, melting you with his eyes and you nodded approvingly. “That sounds perfect.” You responded with a bright smile, receiving a winning grin from Pietro.

“Come, we still have all night to have a good time.” Piet winked at you, pulling you up with him and helping you out onto the balcony before he immediately fell into step with the music you could hear from the party deck upstairs. You moved with him and giggled, delighted and relieved you were finally with Pietro. He twirled you around before pulling you back to rest against his chest.

You’d give Bucky and Wanda their satisfaction of knowing they were both right another time, but for now you were very content in the loving embrace Pietro held you in.

Pietro Taglist (OPEN):

@valkyriesryde @bisexual---mermaid @sherlocked-bitch @virtualmemmecollector @megantje123 @sebbbystaaan @unknown-and-invisible @scarlett-berserker @yougottakeeponkeepinon @chiefwobblerauthorrebel @kitkatd7 @herwaywardskies @saltywintersoldat @potterssuperhero @mushyjellybeans @southernbell91 @book-dragon-13 @marvelgirl7​

[queensdivas]

Wildest Notes Chapter 4

So there’s about three reasons why this chapter took a little long to come out! But they’re good reasons of course because I like to make sure things are somewhat perfect! 

First! Mostly because I’ve been busy with Grigor and trying to work on such a historical fic and y’all know I throw myself into my fics. 

Second. I got in touch with a certain bad ass artist by the name of @punky-peach​ who drew that beautiful picture below for Cora and Gard. Oh yes. It’s absolutely beautiful and I might have cried when I received it ten minutes ago. It’s so fantastic that I just can’t stop looking at it and I know y’all can’t either! Especially after this chapter.  

Third. I got distracted. And I got into bioshock for a while (I’m still binge playing it over and over. But fear not! I’m back and 

Okay here we go! 

Y’all ready!!

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter. 

Masterlist 

My fingers softly began rubbing my eyes as we finished the last set of the night. Sometimes I forget that playing the piano day after day would hurt my eyes. I hate that sometimes I forget that I’m near sighted. Should probably take a day off because I’ve been doing this nonstop since I moved here. Luckily I’m not clumsy with them and have never broken a pair in my life! Which is saying something about myself. 

Closing the lid to the piano as the club was beginning to clear out of everyone excluding the waitresses, bar tenders, and us musicians. I began gathering all my music sheets together as I watched everyone go into their own little social pods. Not that I don’t wanna become social with any other them. But a first impression of them flocking towards me in all directions to screw me wasn’t exactly a warm welcome. 

Once my music was all put together. I knocked off my heels to switch over to my Jesus slippers so I could walk home comfortable. Do you think I walk from my house to the city in heels? I don’t even like being in some sort of heels in the first place. My preference is my Jesus slippers or my bare feet. I mostly garden in my bare feet so it’s safe to say that I really hate shoes. 

Kobi the bassest and Chandler who played first chair trombone approached me as I placed my feet into my Jesus sandals. Kobi was rubbing the back of his neck as I waited for them to speak to me because obviously he was going to say something. 

“Chandler and I were wanting to apologize for what happened when you first arrived here. Kind of got us all excited for a new member and we acted like wild dogs. I’m sorry.” Wait what? An apology? Kobi smacked Chandler's chest as he shot up from the ground. 

“Yes Cora. We’re sorry..” 

“It’s quite alright. Thank you for the apology.” 

“Listen why not have a drink with us?” Chandler offered as I took a step off the stage with all my belongings. 

“I don’t drink.”

“Then water. C’mon you have to socialize with us eventually and running off back to your house isn’t an option.” Kobi mentioned that both of them walked over to the bar along with the workers and other musicians. I mean a sprite does sound delicious and I could use the energy walking home. 

I sat down on the bar stool as the tender was mixing all sorts of drinks for everyone. He stood in front of me and waited for me to give him some sort of answer. I get the feeling their eyes are shooting bullets at me for not drinking liquor. Look I know being a jazz musician you’re supposed to smoke and have a thing of Jack Daniels by your stand in order to fit the profile. But I’d rather have a really bubbly sprite and some grapes and we’re sitting. 

“Just a sprite please.” I told him as he filled a tiny little glass of sprite for me. 

“You work at a nightclub and you drink a sprite?” Chandler commented as I took a sip. 

“I told you two I don’t drink.” It’s like talking to a brick wall. Like I said I will not socialize with these people and just come to work. 

“Heys guys great news!” Theo jumped down from the stage and sashed himself over towards us. 

“We got ourselves a new lead female singer by the name of Kyia Mair. Just graduated from Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. She said she was looking for a full time gig and bam! We got one!” HE clapped as he sat down on one of the stools. 

“A round for everyone! Make it an Irish car bomb for everyone!” Theo pulled out his cash as everyone cheered as for free alcohol...for me I was slowly sipping sprite from my glass. I should’ve mentioned that I could’ve also sang..though it’s not excellent like Gaga or even Billie Holiday. But it’s decent. 

The bartender placed the shot in front of me as my sipping through the straw began to go faster as I was trying to avoid the car bomb or whatever it was called in front of me. No..no I don’t drink. Drinking leads to drugs...drugs lead..lead...

“A shot isn’t going to kill you Cora. You gotta live a little.” Theo moved the shot in front of me as I kept sucking up more and more sprite till the glass was empty. My throat closed as I looked away from the shot. Time for me to head home and read some sort of book. Digging into my purse then my wallet to find some sort of cash. 

“Tell ya what. Here’s twenty dollars on me for whatever you want and you guys never speak to me again that isn’t business related. Now if you’ll excuse me I’d like to go home. Goodnight everyone.” Telling them as they slapped the money on the bar and began my walk home. 

Wrapping my arms around myself to place my binger down onto the ground to feel the warmth of the night rest on top of me. Taking in a deep breath as I dove into the inner layers of my confused train wreck of a mind. It felt like I was pushing the door shut of my past self trying to keep those memories shut. 

Think of something nice Cora c’mon! 

“I’m..I’m sorry. I.. I generally don’t hang out with civilians this much.” Civilians? DO I look like I’m in the army? Do I need to salute him or something? 

Why is it that this tightly wound mailman by the name of Gardner is prancing around in my mind? Is this what a crush feels like? Heck I’ve never had my first kiss in my life with anyone! I’ve lived quite the solitude life for obvious reasons..and no one has ever had that kind of talk with me. 

Stopping along the river as my upper body leaned over the railing. Surprisingly a warm gust of wind entwined itself around me as I just stared down into the dark water. The lights from the city began dancing upon the top of the river. 

Mama Seymour wasn’t into the relationships because she was always busy with myself and my brothers and sisters. Mr. Lister..er Dad..may he rest in peace. He was just there for me in the end and never got around to this conversation. So I’ve got no idea what on earth I’m doing. Normally my ass would be running from this situation and just diving into a different situation. But..

I..I wanna dive..

This whack uptight mailman…

“Gard? What are you going?”

“I’m sorry. I heard you playing and I wanted to stay till the end.” 

Someone tell me how the heck this is supposed to work? No mailman would just casually stay and let himself come inside the house. Not to mention he let me dry his socks after walking around in the rain. It’s not love...it’s just my heart rapidly beating out of my ribbed cages and spewing out all over the sidewalk!  My right hand rested over my heart as I stood up standing tall.

Just keep calm..if you see him tomorrow just be nice and not do anything.. 

Walking back to the house to see that Angus was sitting in front of the front door sleeping soundly as I stood in front of the gate. Opening the gate woke him up and trot his way over to me. Sniffing my feet, licking my palm, and then walking back towards the door. For some unknown reason Angus loves to sit outside or sleep when I’m gone for work. 

Sitting down on the porch steps as Angus sat up next to me then began licking my face, yet stopping when he had some of my makeup in his mouth. My nails softly scratched the top of his head as he laid back down next to me with his head resting on my thigh. Time to let my hair down, literally. Pulling apart the large black bow I had in my hair that was keeping at least some of it up to let my grande cluster mess known as my hair. 

“C’mon Angus. Time for bed.” Kissing his forehead as we both got off the ground to walk inside and get ready for bed.  

*Gards P.O.V.*

Wasn’t supposed to be 90 degrees today. Stupid weather! Looking up to place the mail in the box I noticed that I was right around the corner from Cora. I imagine she’s out in her garden planting or digging until it gets too hot. 

Turning the corner then down the hill as I kept my eyes on what I could see but sadly trees we’re covering my view. Just keep going..wait. What should I say to her? Hey? Is it hot outside or what? Too cheesy? I’ll just be quiet, drop off her mail then moving on. 

Is..is that Margaritaville? I don’t know much about music but I know Margaritaville whenever I hear it. I remember Dad and I would be on the boat washing it down and whenever this song would turn on, he would just go berserk. Cause ya know, it’s a Dad song.  

“Wastin' away again in Margaritaville..Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt..Some people claim that there's a woman to blame..Now I think, hell, it could be my fault..” I could hear her singing as I got closer to the gate. 

When I made it to her white gate. My head looked up. I saw that she was sitting in the front yard sitting in a beach chair. Her feet were in a kids plastic pool as Angus came around the corner to then step into the kids pool and watch me. 

“GARD!” Cora cheered as she stood up to then stand in her pool. Opening the gate as I approached her as she kept herself in the pool. 

“Want a drink? It’s kool aid.” She held out her glass as I shook my head. 

“How’s the route on this stupidly hot day?” I shrugged as she offered me her seat. I sat down as she went around back to probably grab another chair. Placing my mail bag next to my chair as I watched Angus in the pool. He’s literally just laying down in the water with only his head laying on the rim.  Coming back as she had one of those really colorful beach chairs. Opening it up then sticking her feet back into the pool as Angus was laying down in it. 

“Gard relax for a little bit. It’s 90 degrees and there’s no way you’re not boiling alive.” Fair enough. 

“While you get comfy. I think I got some sunglasses for ya.” Getting up again to go into her house. I took off my shoes then socks to stick my feet into the ice cold pool. I let out a very large sigh as my entire body relaxed. I should get a kids pool for Calvin and I because this is so relaxing. 

She came back out with a glass of water and a pair of sunglasses. Smiling as I took them from her hands as she climbed back down into her seat then laying out in the sun. 

“Thank you.” Telling her as I placed the sunglasses on my face then taking a sip of the cold water. 

“No problemo Gard.” She smiled as she bent forward to splash some water on Angus who tried to eat the water she splashed him with. She looked so beautiful with the sun shining down on top of her. Coras skin was shining and her smile..it feels so genuine and contagious. Like if you’re not smiling you’re out of place. Not to mention she’s just so bubbly that..it’s a good feeling when I’m around her. 

Blinking a few times as Angus got up from the pool to then shake himself as all the water splashed over Cora and I! If a dog could smirk I think Angus would. We both watched as he opened the screen door to then walk inside. What a dog. 

“Sorry that my dog just gave you a shower.” She took off her glasses to whip off the water. 

“I’m assuming that you taught him how to do that?” Asking her as she nodded. She put her glasses back on her face to look at me. 

“Spoiled loveable child.” She shook her head as she went down to take a sip of her kool aid. I reached down for water to start drinking it. 

“Glad you’re finally relaxing. Though it would never happen to Gard. You 're more wounded than a screw itself.” I’ve always had my own way of doing things and enjoyed my very..tight.. Schedule..But here Cora comes to basically destroy that schedule..and I’m kind of okay with it...

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that of course. I mean it’s great that you have such a tight schedule and you like to do things your way. But sometimes you just gotta take a step back and breath a little. Also have your feet chillin 'in a kiddie pool while you get a sun tan and take a break from the job.” I will say though we look a little silly sitting in her front yard. But I imagine her backyard is covered head to toe in veggies and flowers. 

“If you keep working and not taking a second, you’re gonna watch your life go by without ya. Sorry..didn’t mean to sound so preachy there holy crap.” She laughed at herself as I couldn’t stop looking at her. Why does she care so much? I know that about 90% of the people I deliver mail to don’t even know me. Trudy is the only one I talk to..and then she comes into play...and..

I..I want her to see the boat. I mean. She’s shown me her entire home and she’s yet to see mine. Wouldn’t you think she’d like to see mine? I know she’s asked but..I didn’t know what she would do if I told her I lived in a boat. 

What do I say to her? Hey why don’t you come see my boat? Wanna see my boat? How do I make myself sound extremely creepy towards her? Her beautiful copper hair that was just all over the place shined beautifully. Cora’s smile kept making my heart skip a few beats as her fingers were messing with the book. I want her to come on my route so I can show her the boat. Don’t most women love boats? 

“Wanna see my home?” Blurting out as she turned towards me then rose up in her chair. 

“Sure. Let me get my keys.” She looked so adorable. A big Hawaiian shirt that had a tank top underneath, a cute pair of white shorts then her sandals. She walked inside her house as I finished chugging the water for the walk home. 

“How long have you been a mailman?” She asked as she was walking backwards in front of me with her hair flapping with each step. 

“Since I was eighteen. I was even a designated note passer for these two kids in school, kind of appropriate.” She looked so..pretty. Her hair shined, she walked with such a lovely step. As if she was almost skipping. How does someone be this happy all the time?

I found out that she’d been playing the piano since she was a kid. Umm she can make a mean lamb roast, and sells vegetables at farmers markets and even tries to get a stand at county and or State Fairs. I had no idea she was so resourceful. Is it weird that I kind of want her to make dinner for me so I can try this great lamb roast. 

“It has a crap ton of garlic but don’t worry it works extremely well together.” She was so passionate about her cooking and bubbly. Most women I know who are my age who can’t even cook spaghetti. 

“What side dish?” 

“Marinated white beans. You’ll have to come over for dinner sometime and you’ll be leaving ten pounds heavier!” She laughed as we turned down my street. Oh boy. How is she going to react that I live in my boat instead of inside with Calvin. 

“Here we are.” Telling her as she began walking in the driveway. 

“Umm Cora.” I stopped right next to the ladder that led me inside my home. She took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes then back at me. I began walking towards the ladder to climb in. 

“The nameless grace.” She pointed out as I halted. 

“Huh.” Turning around as she had her arms crossed. 

“You do know boats are meant to have names right? There was this one boat that was always docked and it’s name was Floppy Wenis!” I mean I’ve heard of some weird one in my books when I’m trying to sleep. I think there was one called Buoyoncé and another called The Cod Mile. 

I climbed up into the sailboat as she followed right behind me. Glad I got the place cleaned up before going to bed last night. Not that it was dirty or had underwear all over the place. Crouching down into the sailboat to stand straight up as she poked her head in. 

“Cute. I love what you’ve done with the place.” Cora giggled as she held out her hand so she wouldn’t fall flat on her face. Helping her inside as she kept a hold of my hand. They were a little cold but extremely soft to the touch. Wait..I’m still holding them! 

“I’m sorry!” Walking over to the radio as I turned it on for some soft acoustic song to start playing. 

“I sit there. You can sit anywhere else.” Telling her as I tossed my bag on the other side of the booth table. I placed the sunglasses she’d given me on the table right where I usually sit. 

“Gard this is so homey. Really love what you’ve done with the sailboat. Also the ferns that hang off the railings.” She commented as it made me smile. Cora looked around to then sit down across from me on the bench. 

“Thank you.” Molding my fingers together as I made my thumbs started going in small circles.

“So do you have a thing for not sleeping in houses? Ready for some sort of flash flood coming here and all of us vanishing overnight?” Very funny. 

“I’ve liked boats. SO why not live in one.” Shrugging as she raised her eyebrow right at me. Yeah figured she wouldn’t accept that excuse.  

“Why not live with Calvin then? I mean I love my sunflowers but you don’t see me sleeping in the middle of my garden.” Fair point. She put her legs up close to her chest waiting for some kind of response from me. 

“I came from school one day and my parents were gone. The house was empty. The only thing they left behind was this boat. So I moved it to Calvins driveway. His parents took me in.” I somehow get this feeling she can sort of relate. I’m not sad about it anymore and have moved on. But...sometimes I keep thinking they’ll come back for the boat even after all these years just to say hi. A pipe dream and realistically impossible. But wouldn’t it be nice. Her face that was once filled with bubbles just turned into concern and somewhat saddened. I didn’t mean to make her feel sad..just wanted to be honest. 

“Any luck trying to find them?” Her voice cracked a little as she stared directly at me. 

“What would I say?” 

“Something I would Gard. Why? Why have me if you wanted to run?” Shaking her head at her own comment as she looked at the wall then back at me. 

“If we’re being open with one another. I sadly don’t remember my mother at all. Either she died of childbirth or just left right after I was born. Father was a..an extreme druggie who ended up..ah doesn’t matter. Oh what do we have here.” She grabbed one of my binders of my stamp collections to start going through them. I noticed on her ankle looked like some kind of old scar around the ankle. Probably none of my business. 

“I love this one so far. Ya know I wasn’t going to make the assumption that you collected stamps due to the fact you were a mailman. But I gotta ask. Why stamps?” Nothing is more cliche than a mailman collection stamp. Cora’s eyes looked so passionate while she skimmed through all my stamps.

“It’s just this endless potential that sits within these little tiny squares. Kind of wonder where they could’ve gone sometimes when I look at them. Always wondered what people would’ve said in these letters, though no one writes letters anymore. But if they did, they need one of those.” I’ve...I’ve never had the chance to fully tell someone about my stamps before. I mean besides Calvin and my friends down at the office when we have our meetings. But she seems so interested in them and letting me vent about them. 

“I’m going to assume you’ve got a favorite?” My eyes drifted over to The Duke as I motioned her to come over and look. She got off the bench to squat a few inches next to me. So close I could see deep into those sparkling dark blue pools. 

“So why is the shirtless man so special?” 

“That my dear friend is The Duke, King of the Longboard. You have your Elvis china and I have my stamps, sort of the Elvis of my collection.”

“Why? What’s so special about Mr. Duke?” 

“It’s a misprint.” 

“Wait what?” She giggled to take another look at the stamp. 

“It’s a misprint. It’s the only one in the world. His longboard is upside. See?” She nodded as our heads were almost butting into each other. 

“Well..son of a biscuit. What a misprint.” My throat unexpectedly dried up quicker than I expected as we just kept smiling at each other. 

Slowly moving towards each other as our lips finally made contact. Her beautiful lips sent shivers up and down my body. I’m too afraid to touch her or even do anything..last girl I kissed was a bet in High School..I could feel my face turning dark red as I cupped her face in my hands. 

Cora abruptly backed away from against the wall with her finger types on her lips. Gulping as her eyes were widened. She was going to say something but kept falling short of words. 

“I’m..I’m sorry..I..” Spinning around to dash out of the boat and almost tripping trying to get out. 

“Wait Cora!” I was about to sprint out towards her but she must’ve knocked over the sunglasses because they made a loud cracking sound in my feet. 

No...no..I didn’t ruin it did I!? Looking at the time as I realized that it was already after four...I’ll keep my bag for the night then when I do my route tomorrow I’ll just deliver whatever else I didn’t get the chance to deliver. 

Should probably go inside and try to act normal. Although I imagine Calvin will be having a field day because today is his day off. Climbing out of the boat then down the ladder as I tried to keep myself panicking in front of Calvin. He’s going to go on and on about approaching her and how to get her into bed. Not exactly what I’m going for. 

I made it through the front door then into the kitchen where Calvin already had dinner ready. And now I just realized that I’m extremely late for dinner. This should be absolutely fun to deal with. 

“Sorry I’m late Cal.” Sitting down at the dining room table but he didn’t turn around to say anything to me. But only letting out a big sigh. 

“Cal!” He smacked the eggplant on the plate as he was about to say something. 

“My eggplant parmesan is congealing.” I’m not quite sure if I’m even in the mood for eggplant. Vietnamese or Greek just sounds better than eggplant. 

“I had to work late.” 

“Am I living in a house of lies! You come through that door everyday at 5:29 pm on the dot for the past six years, and who was that guy with the 80s hair band running from your boat?” She’s not in a hair band? I mean obviously I knew he would catch me but she’s not even a man, Cora just has beautiful humongous hair. Which I imagine is super soft. 

“It was a woman.” Never thought I would have to say that. 

“My man! She smokes your hogan?” 

“I don’t think so and what does that even mean?” What does smoking your hogan your mean? Like..a..I don’t even wanna think about it. 

“Where did you meet her?” 

“Work.” 

“Is she a mailman?” She’s far too beautiful to be a carrier. 

“Carrier and no she’s a customer. Her name is Cora.” 

“Whoa whoa whoa. Is she an old lady?” 

“No.” 

“Lady of the night?” 

“No!” 

“Housewife?” 

“Single and no. She lives by herself.” 

“Single, her own home and on the route nice! So okay theres lots of ingredients here for a very erotic role-play situation.”

“You gonna see her again?” 

“Probably tomorrow.” 

“You nervous?” Shaking my head as Cal saw right through it.  

“You must not like her if you’re not nervous.” 

“I’m a little nervous.” More like shaking in my own shoes from the fact that I don’t wanna mess this up. 

“All right okay lets get a good solid plan together. This is you and this is her.” He was messing with the table mats. 

“No no I don’t wanna plan this.” Last time Cal had one of his plans he ended up spilling the nacho cheese all over the girls jeans. Yeah never letting him plan anything dealing with my love life. 

“Well you’re gonna need a plan or you’re just gonna get passed over like celery at the salad bar.” 

“I just wanna let it happen.” 

“Alright if that’s your play.” He began reading through his magazine of Martha Stewart recipes and home diy. 

I really don’t wanna mess this up..she’s absolutely fantastic..just the thought of her..oh boy what have I gotten myself into now. 

Taglist

@bonafiderocketqueen​ @filmslutt​ @johndeaconshands​ @amethyst-serenade​ @soy-guey​ @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​ @queen-turtle-boiii​ @mercury-wife​ @deck-heart​ @deakydeacs @mirkwoodshewolf​ @supersonicfreddie​ @yourlocalmusicalprostitute​ @dancingcoolcat​ @bitchyleek​ @belladonichaaze​ @mrsmazzello​