#just told him i love him after the charity ball and i am SOBBING

[adoribullpavus]

cove holden you have completely and utterly stolen my heart

[gotnofucks]

What do you think Lee or other Seb and Chris characters would be like with a tall, slim and very uncurvy woman? Like only a couple of inches shorter than them, and she never feels feminine enough or sexy enough for them?

We'll start this by establishing that every person is pretty regardless of their body type. Tall, short, chubby or skinny, different complexion and smooth or furry.

As a short girl, this is for my tall skinny sisters who have a difficult time loving themselves:

Warning: sometimes dark themes, allusions to smut, possessiveness, body image issues, breeding kink, 18+ ONLY

+++++

Steve Rogers: The Avengers Charity ball was a big event and though Steve hated the public attention, he's excited to do this with you. You've been dating a few months and coming out in public was something Steve was looking forward to.

He had decorated your neck with marks to show the world who you belonged to. The territorial captain was itching to claim you in front of the world when you told him you'd rather not go.

"What?" He asked, "Why not?"

You bit your lip, shifting on your feet as you looked at him.

"It's nothing...just don't feel like it" You mumbled.

"Is it because we're going to fast? You don't wanna tell the world about us?" Steve asked and you frantically shook your head.

"No, Stevie." You took a deep breath. "It's just...you're Captain America. The people expect you to be with a womanly woman, someone who complements you. I am...me. Tall, not large enough boobs, my ass is skinny and -"

You would have went on had Steve not pulled you in by your waist and crushed your mouth to his. You kissed back, running your hand through his soft hair before he pulled back, panting.

"Are you kidding me? You're listing everything I love about you. I don't have to bend down to kiss you, you breasts feel perfect in my hands and that ass? Baby, that ass is so perfect if people knew the thoughts I get when I see it, they'll douse me with holy water. Captain America doesn't need a womanly woman to compliment him. You’re not my arm candy, I am yours because you’re the perfect one. You get me?"

Choked up with tears you nod, letting him tuck your head in his neck.

Bucky Barnes: He's been looking at you for weeks, just the way you've been looking at him. During training, he makes sure to stay behind you, correcting your posture by putting his hands on you.

For someone who'd lived more than a century, Bucky Barnes had no patience anymore and he promptly sat down his ass in front of you, making you stop mid-chew.

"Why haven't you asked me out on a date yet?" He asked you, the red Henley he wore stretching across his broad chest. You swallowed quickly, sputtering.

"Sargent?" You squeaked, unprepared to be accosted like this.

"I want you, you want me. We've practically been eye fucking each other for months. Why haven't you asked me out yet?" He snapped.

You bite your lip before wetting them with your tongue, unsure how to say this.

"You...you don't wanna go out with some other agent? Maybe Shally?" You asked and winced when he scowled at you. "I'm only saying this 'cause she has you know, a better body. She's...prettier?"

In this moment you realised how scared Bucky's enemies may feel on the battlefield because the expression on his face had you terrified. And turned on.

"You fucking with me doll? I don't want her. I love your body. You're almost my height, think of how easy 69-ing would be! You're perfect in every way. The way you kick those men's asses in the gym...fuck I always need a cold shower after that."

Your mouth dropped open and a small smile lit your face.

"So, you don't mind me being strong and lean and not... feminine?" You asked tentatively and Bucky smirked.

"Come into the bedroom with me and I'll show you how feminine you can be" He challenged.

Really, who were you to say no to him.

Ransom Drysdale: Heels. He got you fucking 6-inch heels. You were nearly his height, already being taunted by your friends for this. And he got you heels.

"Ransom, take them back. You know I don't do heels." You say and he scoffs, pushing them back at you.

"Like shit you don't do them. I want to see you in them, and wear that lingerie I got you." He orders and you frown.

"No Ransom, I just - I don't like them." You said and he turned away from his phone to raise an eyebrow at you.

"I've seen you eyeing that flimsy scarp of fabric for weeks in the mall. You like it, now wear it for me so I can admire it on you." He said.

You finger the delicate material of the bra and panty and wondered how amazing it would feel against your skin. But then you looked at the small size and squeezed your eyes shut. There was a reason you insisted Ransom turn off the lights when you fucked.

"I like them. Just...not on me" You whispered. A finger pulled your chin up and you met Ransom's blue eyes, his gorgeous face peering into you like you were the dumbest person he knew.

"The fuck?" He asked, a warning growl in his tone that had you rubbing your legs.

"Ransom...I'm...not made for these. These heels, I'll be taller than you. I don't have the body to make this gorgeous lingerie come to life. You...I don't want you to see me like that." You say, almost tearing up.

Ransom looked livid for a moment before he gently stood you up, shushing your protests as he one by one stripped you naked. You looked down, ashamed of yourself as he forced you into the tall heels, his head now below yours.

"Look at me" He rasped and you obeyed. His eyes went from your head to down, appreciatively over your breasts and flat stomach and then to the vee between your thighs.

"You're perfect." He said, head dipping only a little to suck a nipple in his mouth. "Perfect figure, perfect face, perfect height. You're the only perfect thing I have in my fucked up life."

You put your hands on his shoulder to stable your wobbling feet, and he held you close.

"Wear this lingerie. I want to tear it off your body with my teeth. And the lights stay on today."

Lee Bodecker: You pushed down on your skirt again, hiding your thin legs the best you could. The demure and pretty girls in the neighborhood snickered as you passed by them, their necklines supporting a beautiful cleavage.

You walked into your home and quickly got to making the dinner. While you didn't look like a normal lady, you were one. You could cook and clean and your daddy hoped that would be enough to get you married and off his hands.

You got dressed for you knew there would be guests tonight and tied your apron around your narrow waist, serving the food on the table for your father and the Sheriff. He came in his uniform, the hat set down on the table and eyes that followed you.

It was no surprise when he cornered you later after your father was drunk and passed out. His hardness dug into you, sweet breath on your face and nose rubbing against yours.

"Where you been all day sweetheart?" He asked, hands groping you like they'd done a thousand times before. You whimpered, tilting your head to allow him access to your neck.

"Shopping for the dinner. Daddy doesn't like stale food." You say and Lee bites you.

"What've I told you about calling him daddy in front of me? I'm the only daddy ya need." He scolded. You waited for his kiss, lips puckered when he stilled. His hands were on your breasts and he paused, reaching inside despite your protests to pull out the rolled up cloth inside.

"What the fuck is this?" He angrily asked and you hid your face in embarrassment. You were tired of having small breasts, tired of not being as pretty as others.

"Just..I wanted more meat on me." You said sullenly and Lee twisted his face in a scowl, pulling you forward with your hair.

"You're not doing this shit again. You want big fucking breasts then ask me to put a baby in you and I will. You want more meat on your body then I'll fuck a child in you right now. You get me?" He snarled and you nodded, clinging to him.

"I...I am sorry. I wanted to be pretty for you." You sob and Lee pulls you closer, taking your hands and pressing them in his belly.

"Sweetheart, you are fuckin' gorgeous. My pretty girl. Daddy's best girl. You don't need more meat. I already got enough for both of us. Kay?" He asked and kissed you deep.

Andy Barber: You hid your insecurities well. Andy didn't give you a reason to have many. He loved you, you knew that. But sometimes, you wondered if he'd have preferred a more bountiful booty to hold at night.

When you tried to eat a little extra than your stomach permitted and puked the next day, he sat you down and asked point blank what was wrong. It was difficult to lie to him, not only because he was a great lawyer but because Andy knew you too well to not know when you're hiding something.

"I wanted to gain some weight I suppose." You said. Andy titled his head, eyes going over your body before he frowned.

"But you're perfect" He said, as if confused. "You can't overeat baby. Talk to me, what's wrong?"

You bit your lip. Dating Andy was daunting. He was someone who had lines of woman waiting to warm his bed. You were surprised when he asked you out, you of all the other softer women. You, your flat figure of the other hourglass ones.

He was an alpha, he was the master. He would have looked so good next to a timid, tiny girl who would easily fold into his body for warmth. And yet, here he was with you.

"I have long legs" You blurted and didn't look at him. "I am taller than almost all women here, I don't have a plump ass you can bounce quarters off and definitely not a chest that is spilling out. I don't know Andy, I...I am not enough I guess."

You wanted to cry after admitting this and maybe you would have had Andy not knelt before you and cupped your face to kiss you deeply.

"Oh honey, you silly thing. You're more than enough. Absolutely stunning." He whispered. He trailed his hands up from your ankle to your thighs and you stifled a moan.

"Your legs are long, and I love them. So much length to run my tongue on" He continued. "You ass may not bounce quarters, but it bounces my balls well when I'm fucking your from behind. And your breasts better not be spilling anywhere, they are mine. The only thing they need to spill is either my seed or the milk that'll be in there after I breed you. You understand?"

Heat rose up from your chest to your neck and ears, eyes watering with love and desire. You put your long legs on Andy's shoulder and hugged him with your thighs, asking him softly to show you his praises again.

[neoaevis]

How Much I Love You/Hate you (TEASER)

Reader X Mark, Break-up!, ex-lovers!,rich!kid,arranged marriage

Warnings:Smut,Fluff,Angst,Cheating

Word Count: 911(for the teaser)

(This Will Be A Series)

:>> Heyy bbyss!! It’s my first time to ever write about a fanfic huhu I hope you enjoy this little tease and I hope it doesn’t bore you literally my first time send me a ask for some suggestions:

Plot: You were in an arrange marriage that you hate but then you fell in-love and as you were in a relationship with Mark for so long your love was endless but not until your accident that made you forget about him and how you broke up with him due to his drunken mistake.

You were 22 and Mark was 27 when you met, that day you just returned from New York because you just finished your fashion design degree in Parsons, The New School for Design. It was during a charity ball that was launched by the ever so prominent Lee family that has a lot of business strings and is especially well known for their famous law firm and your family the well-known Park family was prominent for your huge impact in the fashion industry because you family owns the most sought-after fashion brand. You were single and hated relationships,you have never been into a serious one because you promised yourself to never fall in-love after how your parents divorced because your dad slept with another woman, Mark has been in countless relationships that always broke him down and he sleeps around to forget them.

During the ball everyone was in daze to see you as you flaunt your Aadnevik French Layered Gown you were actually used to the crowd loving you and giving you praises, but you noticed there was someone that did not praise you back, you did not know who that man was but you are sure he is handsome and hot as hell, and you were curious as to why he did not even cared to talk to you as if he did not know who you were, your night was spent on drinking champagne and dancing with several men that  asked for your hand but your mind never left the man who did not even bother to notice you, as you get dizzy from too much dancing you went to the balcony for some fresh air you saw the man that never even cared to greet you maybe it was the alcohol that made you so confident as you said, “My name is y/a fn/la, I am intrigued I’ve never seen you anywhere are you perhaps a son of a small time business owner?”

Mark then scoffed as to who you were and how bold you are to tell him that and made him think of you as someone that seeks his attention,”You don’t know me, those tricks never work on me anymore” he kept a grin on his face “How bold of you to throw yourself to me”

You were shocked as to how bold that man infront of you are, both of you were fighting for dominance towards each other as you were about to answer you heard someone talking to the mic your mom “Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen I would like to thank you all for coming to today’s charity ball and as you all now we had a joint ball with the Lee family to celebrate our union in our business merge and one more exciting announcement” he paused for a while as he silently told his secretary to fetch you, “I would like to present my daughter y/a the one and only heir of delacuir and the future missus of the Lee family” you were shocked by the news, you did not want to get married to someone you barely even love”I want to present to you my son-in law Mark Lee” as he went up the stage you were shocked and now you know why he barely notice you he is someone more prominent than you and no you swear you did not want to marry him.

Mark stood at the stage and looked at you with a grin and whispered in your ear “I thought you did not know me, it turns out you actually really did want to throw yourself to me” you were shocked by his word and so you just ran away. You went to the after party instead because you were too suffocated by what just happened there you saw your best friend Yuna as she ran to you “y/a what was that news about I thought you were never going to get married, your marrying the MARK LEE the litteral guy who sleeps around fucking different women everyday” you were so angry that you snapped at her “ I FUCKING DID NOT KNOW YUNA IM SOO FUCKING MAD AT MY MOM FOR ARRANGING ME WITH SUCH A FUCKING RANDOM GUY THAT I DON’T AND WILL NEVER LOVE BULLSHIT I WILL RATHER GET BACK TO NEW YORK THAN MARRY HIM” you were crying so hard and Yuna hugged you “y/a it’s fine you have me just let it out” you kept on sobbing “Yuna I can’t I’m scared my mom knew how I stopped myself from being in-love after my dad slept around why did she do this to me” “Y/a  I don’t know either but just let everything out tonight and I promise you we will definitely figure everything out” you kept on drinking and drinking you were so drunk you did not even know what you were doing anymore. You woke up the next day naked next to a guy you don’t even know and you grabbed your phone that has a text from Yuna “hey babe I’m sorry I was not able to bring you home I blacked out too”

you suddenly hear a voice “I did not know that you would go into such lengths to seduce me haha how funny that you even slept with me” you recognized that voice oh FUCKING SHIT THAT WAS MARK LEE “ HOW THE FUCK AM I HERE HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME”

( Hey y’all sorry if it’s bad but uhm maybe suggest stuffs that you want me to add or remove, the first chapter might be released on April but huhu Im sorry kinda cliché am still getting the hang of it but promise I will make it better and I did not proofread sorry please just leave a comment😊)

(Mark is not as bad as you think they are just both broken from a lot of things)

[sunsetcurbed]

you showed me faith is not blind (miracles happen)

Pairing: Alex/Willie Words: 6,587  Rating: T Chapter Warnings: none Chapter: 10/11 read on AO3 

Chapter Summary: “Good luck tonight. I look forward to your speech.”

And that left him where he is now, completely sure that he has made a mistake in his decision.

He picks up his phone.

(15:54) lmao nvm

(*) 

Alex is not going to be Prince.

He’s not sure why he said he was going to be in the first place because clearly it’s an absolutely ludicrous idea. Alex is barely a functioning human, he can’t be a prince!

He’s pacing his room, keeping his eyes averted from the charcoal grey suit that’s laid out on his bed. He’d just taken it out of its garment bag and it has been taunting him, as if saying this is your future, you don’t belong. And he doesn’t belong, does he? The suit is like nothing he’s ever worn, not even for the dinner a few weeks ago, and if he chooses to become prince this suit would just be the first of many, and—it’s too good for him. He’s not good enough for it. He’s not good enough to be Prince.

He looks at the clock. His driver is supposed to be here to get him in six minutes, but Alex hasn’t even started to get dressed. His family has already left for the Ball, and he’s got no idea what to do.

He might not be having these thoughts if it weren’t for his surprise visitor a few minutes ago, but then again, he might have ended up here no matter what. But, really, how else was he supposed to react after Caleb Covington shows up at his door and completely runs his spirit into the ground? His decision was already standing on pretty shaky legs this morning once he’d woken up, the high from last night gone. By the time he’d taken his anxiety medications, eaten breakfast, showered, and helped his family get ready he was already starting to doubt himself. He was planning a back up speech in his mind. And then—

“Alexander,” Caleb said from the front of his porch, leaning against one of the beams. Alex’s family had just left minutes before, so he was left to face Caleb alone. “How nice to see you.”

“Yeah,” Alex said, “it must be, considering you drove out of your way to come find me. What are you doing here?”

“Such insolence. I’m just here to congratulate you on your big night. Not everyone gets to speak at the Beasigan consulate. You’ll be up there addressing hundreds of people from all around the world; quite the feat for a sixteen year old with almost no formal training.” There was a glint in Caleb’s eye, as if he had known about Alex’s anxiety, knew that Alex’s stomach was flipping as soon as ‘hundreds of people’ left Caleb’s lips. “I just wanted to stop by and ask—“

Alex shook his head. “No,” he said, willing his stomach to settle. “No—okay, I know what you’ve been doing. Chasing down Willie, stalking him to get a read on me. It’s not going to work. You can’t make me do anything.” Caleb stares him down. Alex feels himself bending, as if he’d just disrespected a superior, but he doesn’t crack, doesn’t break.

“Stalking? Please. I just wanted to get to know William,” Caleb said. “He seemed to love skating the streets of Hollywood so much it wasn’t hard to find him. I just thought, as Speaker of the House of Crane, I should be working to get to know our possible future Prince Consort. After all, he’d be around the palace a lot. What with his… duties. Counseling you and charities. He seems the just the type for that, your William.”

Alex didn’t think too much on that in the moment, just crossed his arms and sighed. “My driver is going to be here in thirty minutes. I’ve got to finish getting ready.”

“I won’t keep you. But. The Beasigan people are strong and united,” Caleb hummed, looking down at his nails, studying them as if he’d been looking for any flaws that he might have to file or buff out before the ball that night. “They can be a bit… skeptical… of outsiders. So don’t let that get to you.”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “Really? As I recall, you’re the one who wanted to prevent outsiders from having a place in our country, not the people. And you were stopped. I’ve been nothing but welcomed by everyone I’ve met.”

“And you’ve met how many people?” he asked with a flat voice. “Ten? Twenty? Thirty? Do they speak for our sixty thousand? They’re diplomats, they’re programmed to be polite, being diplomatic is quite literally in their name.” He shoved off the column and walked towards Alex. “But! I’m not here to try to intimidate you, no. I’m here to wish you all the best! Whatever you decide. Truly, Alexander. I just implore you to think.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing since my grandmother showed up in my life?” Alex shot back.

Caleb huffed a laugh. “That’s right.” He turns to leave, and then pauses. “Funny thing about ruling a country—no one really knows what it’s like until they’ve been in that position. Even I don’t know what it’s like. I have experience in Parliament—and you have experience in… Well.” He tilted his head to the side and offered Alex a smile. “But you know what it’s like living a normal life. Your band, your friends, your boyfriend, all without the stress of…” He put his fingers together. “But I suppose you’re right. You have been thinking about it since Queen Louisa entered your life. And I’m sure you’ve considered all the angles, all the benefits and especially the repercussions. You must have had plenty of time to do that, I imagine. After all, you’ve had a month and a half—why, that’s practically a lifetime to consider this. It’s not like you’ve only been given a week or two to make this decision.”

Alex tightened his arms around his chest. “Mr. Covington—“

“Caleb, please.”

“Caleb, I really must be getting ready. I will see you at the ball, all right?”

Caleb nodded. “Of course. You must excuse me, sometimes I forget myself.”

“It’s no worry,” Alex said, even though he could have been rude because no one but himself and Caleb were around. Manners were so deeply ingrained in him by that point that it just… happened.

“Good luck tonight. I look forward to your speech.”

And that left him where he is now, completely sure that he has made a mistake in his decision.

He picks up his phone.

(15:54) lmao nvm

Willie, wonderful Willie, calls within two minutes.

“Hello?” Alex answers.

“What happened?” Willie asks.

Alex sucks in a breath that gets caught in his throat. It turns into a sob. “Why did I think I could do this? I’m not—I’m not cut out for this. I wasn’t born to be a prince. I don’t know why I said I would be in the first place, that—that’s so stupid, Willie, do you realize how stupid that is?”

“No,” Willie says, and then, away from the speaker, thanks someone. Alex hears a car door slam and an engine start. “No, I don’t Alex, because I think it’s a great idea.”

“Where’s the great idea?”

Willie hums. “Hidden behind a wall of anxiety.”

“Oh, cute,” Alex scoffs. “Anxiety saves lives, you know. There are times when your body is telling you something is wrong because it is.”

“Anxiety also keeps lives from being lived. Your body isn’t telling you this is wrong, your body is telling you this is dangerous. And you believe it. You didn’t believe it last night when you weren’t anxious, Alex, and that tells me that you want to do this.”

“I want to do this?” Alex scoffs. “Willie, you don’t even know what you want to do with your life and you’ve got it so much more figured out than I do. And here I am deciding to sign my life away at sixteen to a country that I’ve never been to. A country that could choose to reject me at first sight. A country that I knew nothing about a month and a half ago.”

“A country that you love,” Willie reminds him.

“How can I love it when I’ve only known it for a month?”

“Because you’ve met its queen, and you love her heart and her hopes for the future. Because you’ve met its Prime Minister and you love his ideas and his plans for the future. Because you’ve seen its people and you love them—for all that they stand for and all that they are, and because they are good people and they deserve a good leader, and that’s what you will be.”

Alex doesn’t have anything to say to that, so he keeps his mouth shut. He does love Beasiga, but it feels impossible that he does even with all the reasons that Willie just explained. He’s never even been there. Los Angeles is all Alex has known and Beasiga is 1.5% of Los Angeles’ population and Los Angeles is nearly three and half times the size of Beasiga. And Alex likes Los Angeles because it’s easy to disappear and everyone is so busy they don’t have time to notice you. Alex has only experienced Beasiga through stories and media, but he knows it’s not like Los Angeles over there. People say hi when they pass you on the street, they help you if you’re struggling to carry something too heavy, and they don’t let you fade into the background. He—he likes that, but it also terrifies him.

The silence stretches on over the phone, occasionally interrupted by Willie’s turn signal or the honking of another car, but after a few minutes, Willie breaks it. “You’re wrong, you know. I do know what I want to do with my life.”

… That’s a new development. “Yeah? What’s that?”

“Be Prince Consort to Beasiga’s King,” he says without missing a beat. Alex’s heart skips a beat. “Spend my days helping you help make Beasiga, and the world, a better place. Continue to help move Beasiga forward.”

“Willie…” Alex sighs. He’s torn on being ecstatic and worried at hearing that. “You’re just being—“

“Don’t say I’m just being impulsive,” Willie cuts him off, “because I have been thinking about this since the night you first told me you were a prince. I’ve known I loved you for a long time, Alex, and I’ve been thinking about what this would mean for me since the beginning. I’ve done my research, I’ve thought it through, I’ve sat on it. I’m not just jumping at it first chance.”

Caleb’s words come back to him. He seems just the type for that, your William. No. No he doesn’t. Willie is an active mind, an active body, an active soul. He’s not meant to sit still next to Alex. “Don’t you think you deserve more than that? That if you choose that, you’ll wake up one day and regret it?”

“No,” Willie says, voice confident. “I was never going to make a career out of skateboarding or dance, and it’s not like I can’t still do those in Beasiga. If I’m doing a psych degree in college I’ll maybe look at being a therapist? And who knows, maybe part of helping move Beasiga forward is allowing me to have my own career path separate from my consort duties.”

“What if that doesn’t work? If you’re stuck being a consort without your own career?”

“Being a therapist is just an idea right now,” Willie reminds him. Alex can hear the casual tone of his voice, and it tells Alex that it really is just an idea, that it isn’t something Willie has his heart set on. Still, Alex wants that for him. “I have no idea if I actually want to pursue it or not. But if I do and it ends up not working out, then I’ll still have skateboarding. I’ll still have dance. I’ll still have the ability to make an impact in the world, make differences in peoples days and lives, work with charities, leave my mark. It’s not like I’ll be sitting bored every day. Consorts may have less to do but they don’t have nothing to do. And I can make up my own things to do. Move Beasiga forward. And… I’ll still have you.”

“… And you’re willing to do that for me?”

“I mean, it’s not just for you, it’d be for me, and even in part for Beasiga too, but… yeah.” It’s so simple for Willie to admit that. To say that he’d move to another country, adapt to a different culture, and learn the ins and outs of the country so he could properly advise Alex on how to properly rule that country. Willie’s always made comments—‘I told you, I’d do anything for you’—but Alex had never realized how literal he was being. But, well. If Alex is being honest, he’ll do almost anything for Willie, too. He knows there are things that both he and Willie would draw the line at, but neither he nor Willie would ever dream of asking the other of those things. Like Willie asking Alex to quit the band or Alex asking Willie to give up skateboarding. But Willie moving to Beasiga and serving as Prince Consort along side Alex? Is apparently something Willie will readily do. “If it’ll make you feel better, after you accept your place as Prince we can start talking to Louisa about changing the consort’s duties, so when the time comes, if I want to pursue a career, I’ll have that choice.”

“That… would actually make me feel better,” Alex admits.

“Then tomorrow, after your speech today accepting your place as Prince, we’ll discuss it with Louisa and see what she thinks. Good?”

“Good,” Alex says. Then—“hey. Wait. I still don’t—I still can’t—who said I was going to accept being prince?”

“All right, hit me,” Willie says, and then Alex does—words spilling out of him so quickly that he loses track of what he’s saying. Willie doesn’t though. He listens to Alex patiently and talks him through all of his fears, all of his anxieties. He reminds him of the reasons that, just yesterday, he decided he wanted to be Beasiga’s Prince. Willie listens as Alex questions those exact reasons, and then answers them himself without any input from Willie until it’s entirely a one-sided conversation and Willie is just along for the ride. When Alex comes to the conclusion he still wants to be Prince, Willie asks him how he feels about that, and listens to Alex stammer through half-finished sentences that don’t make sense. And when Alex calms down again, Willie is there to ask Alex if he’s okay, ask him how he can help, ask him if there’s anything he needs.

“No,” Alex shakes his head. “No, I… I’m okay. I think I really, actually am.”

“Okay,” Willie says, accepting his word easily. “All right, I’m turning on your street, come let me inside.”

“You—you’re here?”

“Where else did you think I was going?” Willie demands sounding slightly offended. “Of course I am. I’m gonna get rid of your driver and then we’ll drive to the Ball together, all right? Come unlock the door and start getting ready. I’ll be in in a minute. Where’s your room?”

“Take the stairs, go down the hall and it’s the one on the right.”

“All right. See you in a few.”

Alex does as he’s told and by the time he’s in his dress pants and slipping his button up over his arms, Willie steps into his room. Alex watches as Willie turns and shuts the door even though they’re home alone, and then walks over to him. He takes his place in front of Alex who is straightening his shirt on his shoulders and starting to button it up. They stare at each other, silent. Willie nods, murmurs, “you’re okay.”

Alex buttons up the last button of his shirt and tucks it into his pants. “Yeah,” he says. He reaches to his bed for his vest and slides it over his shoulders. He starts to button it up but Willie’s hands knock his away and take over. Alex watches him with careful eyes. “I’m sorry if I freaked you out.”

“You didn’t freak me out,” he says. He does up one, two, three buttons then smooths his hand down from Alex’s chest to his stomach. “I’m just… I’m kind of pissed at myself that I didn’t think of this. I should have expected this. I know you. It took you so long to decide; you didn’t have enough time to be sure of your decision. I should have known you were going to doubt yourself. You just… you were so sure of yourself last night. I didn’t think—”

“Hey,” Alex frowns, dipping his head down to look in Willie’s eyes. He doesn’t want to tell him about Caleb, not right now, not before the ball. He’ll tell him tomorrow, but right now, he needs Willie, and Willie would be livid if he learned about Caleb. “It’s not like this is on you. Even if you had thought if it, there isn’t anything you could have done—“

“I could have been here,” Willie argues, gripping the suit vest and pulling Alex closer. “I wouldn’t have had to talk you through it from my car. You wouldn’t have had to be alone.”

Alex sighs and reaches a hand up to Willie’s jaw so he can bring Willie’s face up to his. He presses their lips together and feels Willie melt against his front. Alex pulls away and lets Willie fall into him. “You were there when I needed you and that’s all that I needed. I mean, you’re going off to college next year anyway; I’m going to need to learn to survive without you at some point. I can’t depend on you for everything, and I really can’t depend on you to predict when something is going to go wrong and wait for you to fix it for me.”

“But if I can—“

“Willie,” Alex says, and then kisses him again. “You’re the reason I’m in this suit right now ready to go tell a whole ass group of people that I’ve decided I’m going to rule a whole other ass group of people in a few years. You’ve done absolutely everything you can.” Then he pulls away from Willie’s hold, eyes widening. “Shit. Shit. My speech.” He looks at the clock on his bedside table. 5:13 “I’m supposed to be giving a speech in seventeen minutes, fuck!”

“I texted Julie when I got here. She’s finding someone so she can tell Louisa what’s going on,” Willie tells him in a calm voice. “She might have already, okay? Get your jacket and tie on, get your shoes on, and I’ll go call her for an update.”

“Okay,” Alex breathes, and does exactly as Willie says.

When he emerges from his room three minutes later, Willie is standing by his front door with his hands in his pockets. He looks up, takes a hand from his pocket, and holds up a thumb and pinky at Alex telling him right away to relax. “We’re good, dude. Speech is at 6:30 now. It’s still a drive though, and we’ve gotta take Melrose to avoid 10 so we don’t hit rush hour on the highway, but it’s still gonna be shitty so we’ve gotta go now.”

What should be a twenty-minute drive ends up taking nearly an hour, so they spend the time devising a plan to talk to his grandmother about Willie’s hypothetical consort duties the next day. Willie starts telling Alex that they can wait, but Alex tells him no. If Willie is committing to Alex to this degree, then Alex wants to make sure that there won’t be any doors shut in Willie’s future. If Willie wants to be a therapist, he’s going to be a fucking therapist. Alex is sure his grandma will help them make it happen. She’s asked Willie what his plans for college are; yet she’s also made implications that he would be the one standing by Alex’s side if Alex were to be King. Why would she do that if she thought Willie would just be a piece at Alex’s side?

When they get to the consulate, Willie pulls them around back and down a driveway that Alex has never taken note of before. When Willie notices his confusion he says, “the press and guests are all… mingling in the halls.”

Alex snorts. “Did you just say mingling?”

“Yeah,” Willie grins. “It’s what Alden said on the phone. Now it’s all I can think of.”

They enter through the caterer’s entrance into a hall that Alex has never been down and Alden is there waiting for them. He greets them both and then leads the way through the hall, down another, and then another, until Alex can see his grandmother, John, and a few other people waiting at the end of the hall they turn into. He feels relief wash through him and, when his grandmother turns to look at him, he can see that same relief run through her as well.

“Oh, thank goodness,” she breathes out when they reach them. She steps forward and collects Alex into a hug, and then Willie, too. “Thank you, Willie, for sending Julie to inform me of what was going on.”

“No problem,” he shrugs. “I’m just glad it all worked out.”

“What on earth happened?” she demands, looking to Alex.

“Uh, minor crisis. Just… clearing my head, you know.” Next to him, Willie snorts.

“Clearing your head?” she asks.

“Uh… yes?”

She rolls her eyes and tosses her hands up in exasperation. “Well I hope your head clearing worked, because we go on in five minutes. Did you make a decision?”

His eyes flick to Willie. “Yeah. I did.”

“… do I get to know this decision?”

“You know? I waited sixteen years to find out I was a prince. You can wait five more minutes to find out whether I’m staying a prince.”

“Harsh,” Willie murmurs, but reaches forward to hook his pinky with Alex’s.

His grandmother looks down at their hands. She looks back up at Alex and shakes her head with a frown, but the effect is ruined a moment later when she breaks into laughter. “I suppose I can’t blame you for that one.”

They fall into casual conversation after that, his grandmother talking about Tasha and how she’d been asking about Willie today and admitted that he had beautiful hair that she wanted to mess around with. Alex laughs at that and Willie does too, but he notices his boyfriend’s face is several shades darker that it had been moments ago. John talks about how they had to remove two reporters for getting in a physical altercation, and seems gleeful while discussing it. Alden is all too interested in listening to the story, and is crestfallen when, in the middle of it, someone comes to retrieve them for the speech. They’re led down the hallway and as they go, the murmurings of voices grow. Alex can feel himself grow more and more tense realizing that he’s going to be under their gazes soon. Willie uses his pinky to drag Alex’s hand up, and then twists their hands in midair until their fingers are twined together.

“You’ll be fine,” he whispers.

His voice catches the attention of Alex’s grandmother who turns around and sees the look on Alex’s face. She relaxes her shoulders and reaches out, tapping her hands gently to his cheeks. “My dear, you will do wonderfully. I will be right up there with you, all right?” He nods. “Good. Now, I must go introduce you. You have a few minutes to prepare.” She turns to Willie. “Remind him how spectacular he is, will you?”

“On it.”

And then she’s gone.

“Hey,” Willie says, and Alex looks at him with wide eyes. “Hey. You with me?” He nods. “Good. Okay, so—you’re anxious right now because you’re about to give a speech and you think they’re going to be judging you for your speech, right? But those people out there are just out there to hear you step into your role as Prince. Alex, this is a good thing. Those people out there will be excited. They’re here to listen to you speak, not to judge you.”

“What if my speech sucks so bad they can’t help but judge me?” Alex asks.

“It won’t.”

“But what if.”

“Then fuck it—you had a bad speech. Everyone has bad performances. You’ve messed beats up during performances with the band and you don’t let those get to you, you brush them off and are ready to play the next gig. You remember when I was in tenth grade and kicked my shoe off into the audience during a performance and then kept slipping on the stage on my sock? It happened, it couldn’t be helped, we moved on. I moved on. If—and that’s a big if—you suck today, you’ll move on too, I promise, okay? I promise. And I’ll help you move on.” Willie leans up on his toes and kisses Alex. “You can do this, Alex. You know you can do this.”

Alex looks down at Willie and sees sincere, brown eyes staring up at him. He drags Willie in for a hug and just… just holds him. Willie returns the hug and pushes his face into Alex’s shoulder and they simply exist together surrounded by each other in a little bubble. He uses Willie’s breathing, working to match his own to it so he doesn’t start to get worked up again. Willie’s fingers are curled into his upper back and the pressure is just enough to ground him, just enough to keep him here and not somewhere far away in his mind where it really is just the two of them.

The bubble is popped a few minutes later when Alden returns to escort Alex to the makeshift stage. He’s reluctant as he pulls away from Willie, and Willie and Alden both know it, but the important thing is that he manages it. He nods at Alden and they start towards the stage, Willie at his side, right up until they reach the entrance to the hall. “I love you,” he whispers, and then stops in his tracks, leaving Alex to twirl around in surprise. He laughs, shooing Alex towards the stage. “Go.” Alex turns, casts a look back at Willie, and then walks forward.

As Alex steps out from the back hall and feels the weight of a room full of eyes fall on him, a fire roars to life in his gut, flaring up through his throat and leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Spots dance in his vision during his walk to his grandmother, but he takes a moment to think about his breathing, takes a moment to draw in a deep, full breath, filling his lungs with air, and the spots recede little by little. When he reaches his grandmother, they’re all but gone. She smiles at him and extends an arm out, sweeping her hand out to motion to the crowd, and Alex looks out. The fire burns hotter and he looks back to his grandmother. “You have the floor,” she says, and then retreats back several feet away. He wants to reach out, bring her back, cling on to her for support, but he can’t. He steps up behind the podium and looks back to the hallway he’d just come from and meets Willie���s eyes. Willie smiles at him and gives him and encouraging nod. Alex turns back to the crowd, where every eye is focused on him. He thinks: everyone is looking at him because he’s here to speak, not to judge him. He swallows, glances back at Willie once more, and quells the flame to the best of his ability.

“Hi, uh, I’m Alex. You… probably… all know that since my grandma just introduced me. Sorry. I—uh, kinda wish I had my drums, heh,” Alex laughs, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m, uh, no good with being in the spotlight, or, uh, attention in general, um, not unless I’m behind my drums. Or… uh… it’s really more me being with my band…” He looks out at the crowd and is pleasantly surprised when he finds Julie, Luke, and Reggie’s eyes right in the front, and Flynn standing next to them. They’re all wearing radiant smiles and directing them towards Alex, and the flame recedes further down his throat on its own, and he feels himself relax back into his shoes. “Which, thankfully for me, they’re the best band ever and they’re here with me today, so, uh, no fainting or vomiting for me today. Oh—I didn’t need to add that, did I? O… kay. Uh. Anyways. Uh, I’m sure most of you know me, or at least of me, if you’re here. I’m Queen Louisa’s grandson, and Prince Frederick’s son. If you didn’t know this, yeah, neither did I a month and a half ago. Heh. I was shocked too. But, yeah, I’ve gotten used to it. Hopefully you will too.

“Uh, so. Beasiga is celebrating its three hundred and sixth formation day today. For one of the first times, the reigning monarch is not in the country to celebrate with the citizens. Instead, she is here, in the Beasiga consulate in Los Angeles, California, United States of America, with all of us. And she is here because of me.” He looks over to where his grandmother is standing off to the side, her hands folded over her midriff and her shoulders set tall and proud. The fire subsides further. She smiles at him, a motion for him to continue. “Um, my grandmother came at the end of October to meet me and begin teaching me the ins and outs of Beasiga and what it meant to be a prince and what it would later mean to be a king. She dedicated her time here to me not for me, but for Beasiga. Uh, and she did it in hopes that I would become the person she envisioned me to be, in hopes that I would step up, accept my claim to the throne, and rule Beasiga justly and fairly, exactly as she has been teaching me to do.

“What she didn’t expect to come across when she got here was a sixteen year old kid with anxiety who immediately ran away from the idea of being a prince. And I do mean that literally. I, uh. I ran out of the consulate after she told me I would be Prince and had to have my friend come pick me up.” The crowd laughs, some with humor, some unsure, and Alex smiles. Alex turns to look back at the hallway where Willie is still tucked away. He smiles at him and Willie smiles back. It’s only embers left in his gut, now. “Hm. Anyway. Yeah, so, uh, she didn’t expect that, but it’s what she got, and she helped turn that kid with anxiety into the kid who… still very much has anxiety, but can stand up here speaking with all of you. Yes, it’s still terrifying, but it’s not debilitating anymore. And she also gave me a choice. To use everything she gave me to rule Beasiga, or to use it in some other facet of life.” He draws in a deep breath. “I chose to use it elsewhere. I was never cut out to be a prince. I never in a million years dreamed that I could.

“But—could. Could is a word that is used to indicate possibility. Thanks for the vocab help, Google. So… Would it even be possible for me to rule Beasiga? I don’t know. I didn’t know. Even if I wanted to, I didn’t know if it was possible, or if I was able. Able. Be able to. The question became can I? I doubted myself, and I started asking myself that question a lot more often. And then I started asking other people. Their answers varied. Most were encouraging which wasn’t helpful because it’s not like someone’s going to tell you that you’re going to suck at ruling a country, right? Yeah, no. I surround myself with kind people, but sometimes, kind people don’t tell you what you need to hear. But then—there’s one person. I asked him, I went, ‘do you think I can?’ And he said, ‘man, I don’t know. I just care about whether or not you’re willing.’” Alex says, pausing for a long moment. “So, it became a matter of whether I was willing, which was a much, much easier question to answer. Because, well, yeah. I am willing.

“I’m willing to study Beasigan history, politics, government, culture, and anything and everything else there is to know about Beasiga to know the country as best I can. I’m willing to grow myself as a person and conquer fears that once held me hostage to know myself as best I can. I’m willing to put aside my fears and confront uncertainty to find a place for myself in this world. But I’m also willing to dedicate myself to Beasiga through the good times and the bad. I’m also willing to work at finding ways of moving Beasiga forward, at leading Beasiga into even better times than it is already in, which of course will be a challenge, as my grandmother is quite the Queen. And most importantly, I’m also willing to choose the people of Beasiga over myself.

“I prematurely chose to use the skills my grandma gave me in a different walk of life. But today and every day moving forward I will choose to use them for the country and people of Beasiga.” There’s a whoop out in the crowd that Alex can identify as Reggie’s and he can’t stop himself from grinning at his friend. However, the cheer from Reggie starts the rest of the crowd, and now the rest of them are cheering and clapping as well. Alex watches, waiting for them to quiet down. When they do, he looks over to his grandmother and smiles. It’s easier than he could have ever imagined to say, “Moving forward, I will be Alexander Charles Taylor Mercer, Prince of Beasiga.”

Once more, cheers rise from the crowd in front of him. His grandmother walks up beside him and he steps out from behind the podium to meet her. She surprises him when she pulls him in to a hug in front of all these people, but he returns it without any hesitance.

When she pulls away, there’s a man waiting beside them, a royal purple and white mantle held in his arms. His grandmother takes it from the man and turns to Alex. He leans down so she can drape it over his shoulders. It weighs heavy on his shoulders and while he’s leaning down next to her he mutters, “do I have to wear this thing often?”

“Just for the next few minutes. Then you won’t see it again until your coronation.”

“Oh, thank god.”

His grandmother laughs and he stands back up, standing beside her with his shoulders tall and proud. The audience is still cheering—he can pick out Luke, Reggie, Julie, and Flynn’s voices in particular—and there are cameras flashing as news reporters get photographs for their articles. There’s a loud whooping from off to the side, separate from the crowd, and Alex looks over to see Willie cupping his hands around his mouth, cheering. He laughs, beaming at his boyfriend who returns the expression right back, and Alex feels on top of the world.

Dinner is served in the ballroom after that, which sends a wave of guilt through Alex as he knows the kitchens plan meals down to the minute, and his delay must have thrown them off horribly. Even so, the food is wonderful and Alex gets to sit with Willie, his band, and Flynn—or, sorry, his “honored guests.” His grandmother is sat at the table next to him with John, Alden, another commercial attaché, and Jeffry and Daniel. She sends him looks every few minutes, especially when Luke or Reggie get too loud, but they’re never bad, merely amused.

After dinner he’s passed from reporter to reporter while the tables and chairs are cleared out of the ballroom and the floor is swept. Alex imagines that it’s going to take forever, but to his surprise it only takes about fifteen minutes between all the staff working. So he only gets to talk to about five reporters, each for about three minutes, and then he’s being taken back to the hall so he can enter with his grandmother separately.

The music playing is an even tempo, one that Alex has become accustomed to dancing to over the past month and a half. When he and his grandmother enter together, right away his eyes begin searching for Willie. He can’t find him even by the time they reach the center of the room, so he releases her hand and leaves her to go off dancing with whoever has approached her and begins walking circles. He has a flash of anxiety that Willie might have left—maybe Willie didn’t want to be seen with Alex as a couple in front of so many cameras? Or even he knew Alex’s dad was here, maybe he didn’t want to upset the man? Or maybe he realized—

The crowd parts to the left of Alex and Willie steps out. Alex’s heart flutters in his chest and he feels the smile take over his face, sees Willie match it.

They approach each other slowly, not hesitantly, just taking their time to look at each other, which Alex feels like he hasn’t done yet. Willie is in a maroon suit with grey accents and a white under shirt. It’s not fitted to him—not the way that Alex’s is, the way Alex’s almost hugs him. Willie’s is a bit big, a bit baggy, but still fits him well enough that you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t staring. His hair is down, falling over his shoulders and coming to rest right above where his ribs begin, and Alex reaches out to grab a piece of the end of his hair, twirling it on his finger. “You look good,” he says.

“Just noticing?”

“Do you forget I was having my crisis earlier?”

Willie grins. “Right, the minor one.”

“Very minor, it all turned out okay in the end.”

“Good to hear.”

Alex drops the strand of hair he’s holding and steps back, bowing deliberately. Willie smiles and copies him. They straighten up and step into each other’s arms, relaxing into their holds.

“They’re taking pictures of us,” Willie murmurs and Alex can hear the clicking of the cameras too. “Everyone is going to know by tomorrow.”

“I’m glad. I don’t want anyone to feel like I was hiding this from them,” he says. “And I certainly don’t want to hide you.” He presses his lips against Willie’s forehead and sighs. He tips his head forward so his nose is pressed against Willie’s hairline. “Just think,” he whispers, and his voice is barely audible to even the two of them over the music. “Tomorrow plenty of people all over the world are going to see these pictures and realize how fucking in love with you I am.”

Willie pulls away from Alex and stares up at him with bright eyes full of… full of so much. Full of trust, full of care, full of respect, full of warmth, full of acceptance, full of want. “I’m gone on you,” Willie says, reaching up and dragging Alex’s head down for a kiss. Alex goes, and they keep it chaste and appropriate for the venue, but. It was needed.

When they pull apart, Alex pulls Willie closer to him again and Willie buries his face in Alex’s shoulder as they abandon all pretenses of the traditional ballroom dance and decide to simply sway together. Alex holds Willie and looks up, looking around the room to find nearly every eye on them. The eyes of his friends, his family, the press, diplomatic leaders from around the world, and his new country’s government leaders are all on him and Willie. They just saw them kiss. He laughs and thinks, with a sense of déjà vu, yeah, he’d stare at whoever was kissing Willie too.

No fire burns in his gut, no panic wells in his veins.

[dakotacrisis]

Transferred (15)

In this house we love and appreciate Marinette Dupain-Cheng!

This the end of the official story but there is a bonus spin-off chapter I’m gonna be posting later that is pure Kagaminette (or is it Marigami?)

---

“Kagami!” Marinette was shoved into the limo. “What do you mean? I can’t go! Look at what I’m wearing!” Marinette gestured to her overalls, Chat Noir t-shirt, and converse. “This is a fancy fashion fundraiser!”

“I know. We have something for you to wear at the venue which is why we’re getting there early. Calm down, we got an entire outfit and we’re gonna do you up with hair and make-up. You’re gonna be the belle of the ball.” Kagami was trying to calm down a frantic Marinette.

“You were supposed to be--”

“Shush.” Kagami chuckled, “It’s fine. It’s gonna be great.”

“You’re killing me.” They pulled up to the back of the hotel. The girls rushed inside and were met with Aurore waiting for them. She was wearing a lilac dress with ivory flower embellishments around the bust.

“Hello girls,” Aurore was beaming, “Kagami, you look great! Marinette, you are going to look fantastic. Come with me.”

“Treat her well!” Kagami called to them as Aurore dragged her away. “I’ll see you in there, Marinette!”

“Aurore, please tell me what is going on.” Marinette begged as she was pulled along and into the elevator. Aurore didn’t let anything go as they sailed up and up and up. They finally stopped and Aurore dragged her up to a door. She knocked on it and the door was opened by Sabrina. She was in a simple turquoise tea length dress and had her hair curled and pinned.

“She’s here!” Sabrina pulled Marinette and Aurore inside what Marinette realized was Chloe’s room.

“About time.” Chloe stood in the center of her room in a long high neck black and white dress with twin high slits. Her hair was loose from its usual ponytail but pinned back away from her face with a little golden hair comb.

“Chloe, what is--” Marinette was cut off as the trio pushed her into the bedroom part of the room. Hanging up was the outfit Kagami had mentioned.

“I don’t know how you got that but don’t you think it’s a little much?” Marinette said.

“Not for what you’re gonna be doing.” Aurore was hopping from one foot to the other.

“But what are we doing?”

“Stop wasting time, Dupain-Cheng. We got an event to get to.” Chloe and the other two were practically pulling her out of her clothes before Marinette kicked them out to get dressed herself. After she was dressed Aurore pulled her away to do her makeup while Chloe tackled her hair.

“And she is perfect,” Aurore held up a mirror, “What do you think?”

“I look nice but I would love to know why I’m here in the first place.” Marinette was getting impatient.

“Recognition, Dupain-Cheng.” Chloe smirked, “This is the most covered charity event of the year and you are a walking centerpiece in this dress. So go down there, head held high, and let everyone know who you are. Got it?”

“Got it.” Marinette wasn’t gonna argue with Chloe about this.

Together the girls rode back to the ground floor. Chloe explained what Marinette would be doing and left her in the hands of the butler while the three others went out to a limo to take them around to the front of the building. Marinette waited behind the little stage that was set up in the hotel ballroom, occasionally she would peek out to look at all the guests. She spotted the table where Kagami and Adrien were sitting. Chloe, Sabrina and Aurore were also at the table. The parents: Mrs. Tsurugi, Mr. Agreste, Mr. and Mrs. Bourgeois, and even Marinette’s parents were sitting together at a table right next to the teenagers.

What were her parents doing here? They didn’t mention any of this! They were gonna get an earful when they get home.

After everyone was seated and comfortable, Mr. and Mrs. Bourgeois got up and came onto the stage. Marinette stepped back into the shadows as they welcomed the guests and talked about their hopes for tonights fundraiser.

“Now, this program is not just to fund the arts but to bring prominent artists and designers of the next generation into the light. Around the venue you will find many pieces that our young creators have been meticulously working on and will be able to continue to create thanks to your generosity this evening.” Mayor Bourgeois said. “Every year we choose one of these young upstarts to highlight as our next big name in the industry. Many high profile names today I would say, owe their jumpstart to success to this award. Clara Nightingale being last years winner and even our own Gabriel Agreste having received this honor back in the day.”

“To announce this years next big name of the arts is Gabriel’s son, Adrien Agreste.” Mrs. Bourgeois said. Everyone applauded as Marinette assumed Adrien stepped onto the stage.

Was this…

“Thank you everyone for being here tonight.” Marinette recognized Adrien’s voice speaking over the microphone now. “As Mayor Bourgeois already explained, this honor is more than just a title. It is a starting point to a road paved with opportunities. One that with hard work, an open mind, and eyes full of creativity will lead to a successful career.”

“That is why it is my very great honor to introduce our choice for this year’s Next Big Thing, Paris’ own Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

“I--I--”

“Go, Marinette!” Tikki chided her.

Marinette regained her wits and walked onto the stage. The entire room was applauding her.

Adrien stood at the microphone with a proud smile and a hand extended out to her. Nervously she took it and he pulled her closer towards him. “Did we surprise you?”

“Yes, I think it’s safe to say you did.” Marinette didn’t know whether to blush or cry. “Why though?”

“Cause you deserve it. More than anyone I know.” His smile softened into something sweeter that made Marinette’s insides melt.

Adrien turned back to the microphone. “Marinette is wearing a ballgown that she designed and constructed herself. Just one of many creations that she’s made. But her talents don’t end there. I could go on and on about how she is Jagged Stone’s preferred designer for accessories, posters, and album covers. How she created the stage outfits for the up and coming band, Kitty Section. Heck, it would take me all night to list how kind and creative this girl next to me is.”

Marinette was definitely gonna start crying.

“Marinette, things between us may have gotten off to a rocky start but I am glad that we are such great friends today. You are always putting yourself out there for your friends, your family, for justice, for creativity, even for strangers. Life can be tough but you push forward and soldier on with a smile on your face and a can-do attitude. In this day and age, when evils like Hawkmoth and corrupt politicians and everyday jerks have dragged the morale of the population down, having someone like you that chooses to see the beauty in the world is something we need now more than ever. There are many kind and creative people in the world but there is only one Marinette Dupain-Cheng and she will never be able to be recreated.”

And the tears were falling. No stopping it now.

The crowd erupted once more into applause while Adrien handed her a tissue. “Kagami told me to bring this up with me. Good thing she thought ahead.”

“Yeah,” Marinette let out a bark of laughter between her happy sobs. “This is--that was--I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, ladies and gentlemen.” Adrien gave her one final moment to soak in the undivided adoration before escorting her back to his table. She stopped by to hug her parents and thank the adults for choosing her before settling in with her peers.

“Surprise,” Kagami smirked.

“I can’t believe you guys,” Marinette was still trying to calm down, “How did you even do this?”

“Lots of careful planning.”

“And my dress?” Marinette gestured to her ballgown, the one Lila had gotten her miscredited from in the newspaper, “I put it in storage after the Lila incident.”

“We explained the situation to your parents and they gave it to us with the promise that we would treat it with the utmost respect.”

That would explain why she seemed to have more space in her closet.

A small dinner was served and then a couple more people came up to speak about the night. More young artists were highlighted before everyone was encouraged to go and take a look at the pieces around the room. There seemed to be art of all kinds there. Paintings, sketches, sculptures, clothing, short movies, music samplings. There was a table lined with story excerpts people could read from young authors. Journalism articles hung on the walls like pieces in a museum. There was even a part of the room dedicated to carpenters and the amazing furniture, instruments, and wooden toys they made.

Several people during the night came up to Marinette inquiring about her dress and possible other designs she had created. Kagami was quick to show off her own dress and brag about Marinette’s skill in making it.

Many of the people at the event were critics and renowned fashion designers that handed Marinette business cards with promises to make her their protege. Things got a bit heated when two designers started trying to outdo the other with their offers forcing Adrien to swoop in and politely extract Marinette.

Eventually the party started to wind down and people were making there way home. Mostly the older adults that couldn’t quite keep up with the number of young people in the room.

“Hey, Marinette,.” Adrien approached her. At some point in the night he had ditched the jacket and tie and was walking around with his vest open and top button of his shirt undone. “I saw your parents head out. You didn’t join them?”

“Not yet. I wanted to enjoy the party a little longer.” Marinette looked around the room, “What about you? I don’t think I’ve seen your father around.”

“He had one wine glass too many and headed home. I figured he wouldn’t notice if I showed up a little later than when I was supposed to.” he grinned in a not so innocently Adrien way. “That being said, are you doing anything after this?”

“Seeing as how my original plans for tonight was to veg out in my room binging old romantic comedies I’m gonna say no. Why?”

“Well, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go to that bowling alley we went to before. It’s open till two AM all week so I thought that you and I could go for some late night, over-dressed, bowling catastrophe fun.”

“That sounds great--”

“Sorry Adrikins, but we already have plans tonight.” Chloe cut between Adrien and Marinette.

“We do?” Marinette stared at her.

“The sleepover.”

“Sleepover?”

“What are you, a parrot?” Chloe scoffed, “We’re having a girls night in my suite. No boys allowed.”

“But--what--when was this?” Marinette sputtered as she was pulled away from Adrien by Chloe.

“Oh. Bye, Marinette!” Adrien waved to her, “Have fun! I’ll text you later!”

“Bye!” Marinette squeaked out as she was whisked out of the ballroom.

They went back to the elevator and up to Chloe’s room. “Are there any more surprises that you have in store for me tonight or is this the last one?” She asked.

“You love it.” Chloe smirked. Kagami, Sabrina, and Aurore were also in the elevator. Sabrina and Aurore weren’t a surprise but Marinette hadn’t expected Kagami to be with them.

They entered the suite and the girls started to dress down removing their heels and accessories. “Makeup wipes in the bathroom and pajamas on the bed.” Chloe said, “I got foot massagers by the couch and room service on speed dial.”

Marinette went to the bed and saw that there were matching silk pajamas for each girl in their favorite color and monogrammed with their initials. Red for Kagami, teal for Sabrina, sky blue for Aurore and honeycomb yellow for Chloe. Marinette’s was a nice powder pink with the initials MDC stitched across the pocket in cream threading.

Marinette waited her turn to change into her new cozy pajamas and joined the rest of the girls around the couch. Kagami and Aurore were deciding what movie to watch while Chloe had Sabrina make a list of what they wanted room service to bring up.

“Hey,” Marinette approached Chloe. “Can we talk?”

“Sabrina, you know what I like. Finish ordering. Also, make sure those two pick a decent movie.” Chloe told Sabrina before standing to talk to Marinette. “Yes?”

“I know we’ve rarely seen eye to eye and I would be one of the furthest things from a friend in your opinion but I wanted to take a moment and say thank you. Not just for the fundraiser and this deluxe sleepover but for going above and beyond with your takedown of Lila. It was incredible and to think you did that for me--”

“And an amazing grade.”

“And an amazing grade.” Marinette agreed, “It means so much. I don’t know what all of this makes us, not friends exactly, but maybe not enemies? Playful adversaries?”

Chloe’s holier-than-thou smile softened. Her walls dropping just for a moment. “We’re allies. Not always but I wasn’t just going to let one of the few people I respected be disgraced by a knockoff mean girl with dead anime mom hair.”

“What hair?”

“Nothing. Something Adrien told me. It doesn’t matter.” Chloe huffed. Her walls going up again. “I may not have my miraculous but that doesn’t make me any less the superheroine I am.”

“I know it doesn’t.” 

Chloe smiled.

Marinette wished she could give Chloe her miraculous more often. With her identity being outed it was just too dangerous. But maybe she deserved a new miraculous. Nothing would fit her as perfectly as Queen Bee but Marinette had hope that she would do well with a new power. So long as she didn’t advertise her identity to all of Paris again.

A knock at the door drew their attention. “Room service!” A voice called from outside.

“I’ll get that. You go make sure Tsurugi and Weather-Girl chose a good movie.” Chloe flipped her hair and sashayed over to the door.

Marinette hopped the couch and sat down. The buffett of luxury junk food was laid out before them. They all got comfy in their seats and pressed play on the movie. Kagami leaned against Marinette as the movie played and ended up falling asleep halfway through. Marinette didn’t have the heart to move her so stayed put. Not that Hawkmoth himself could get her to move from that spot. Who knew Kagami was a cuddler?

As excited as everyone had been earlier once the movie started playing everyone started dropping like flies. Marinette had nodded off as well at some point and only woke up again when she felt something being draped over her. She squinted her eyes open and saw Chloe walking around putting blankets over the other girls.

She could pretend all she wanted but there was a good person inside Chloe. She rarely came out and even then most of the time it was to help make herself look better. But there were times, behind closed doors, with no witnesses around, that Chloe was kind just because she wanted to be. Maybe it was those moments that Adrien always got to see that helped the friendship he held with her. Maybe Chloe would become even nicer. Maybe she would continue on her little tirade of pompous superiority. It was anyone’s guess.

Marinette was glad that the chance for Chloe to become someone even better than she is was still an option. A year ago she would have thought it impossible. Of course a year ago there wasn’t a butterfly terrorist and people getting turned into monsters every other day. So it seems a lot can change.

Chloe was nice, Lila was gone, Marinette had loving friends, and Kagami was softly snoring on Marinette’s sternum. It was about as perfect as she could hope.

Tomorrow may be uncertain but it wasn’t for her to worry about. Not when she had people she loved to stand beside her…or sleep on her. Marinette readjusted the blanket and stretched herself into a more comfortable position without waking Kagami and went back to sleep.

---

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14)

---

@northernbluetongue @ladylb @immatureidiot101 @lady-flora-of-slytherin @zazzlejazzle @shamefullove @heredemaquam @kristycocopops @schrodingers25 @sublimemagazinestarlight @crazylittlemunchkin @daydream-wannabewriter @trainflavor @never-neverland @mochinek0 @persephonebutkore

[lilhemmo]

So I am absolutely in love with your writing and I was wondering if I could request a sweet pea/reader fic where reader takes care of her younger sibling(s) after her parents dip out on them and sweet pea is there to help her the whole way and they just become this cute little family

you’re so kind! I hope you enjoy what i’ve written :) feel free to request more!

ask box | wattpad | ao3 | mobile masterlist

“They’re gone,” you whimper, tucking your arms into your body as you allow yourself to crumble for the first time in a few months. Your jaw shakes as you try not to crack and cry. You’re unsuccessful, tears leaking down your cheeks and dripping on the hardwood floor underneath your feet.

You can’t be too loud, your three year-old sister and ten year-old brother are in the bedroom just a few feet away. You don’t want to wake them, it’s hard enough for them to sleep already.

The house is quiet, too quiet, but you refuse to make a peep because it might break the silent glass bubble surrounding your barely-there family.

You know that the Serpents know, they have to know. They had to see your parents driving away in one of the two cars sitting on your lot. They had to hear as the car started up and spun out of your driveway. They had to hear your sister’s screams and your brother’s cries. They had to know.

The Serpents’ main selling point is that they’re a family. But, they can’t be what you won’t let them.

Even so, you don’t send back the food that appears on your doorstep each night and you don’t tell the guards lingering around your home to go back to their posts. You do not actively seek their help, but you don’t turn them away either.

It’s strange, though, when a certain Serpent is lingering by your truck after school one Friday afternoon.

“Sweet Pea, I already told Jughead that I don’t need people following me around to make sure I don’t get stabbed.” You try to laugh it off but your words are thick in your throat. You wave your hand and swallow before hesitating to look him in the eyes.

He’s quiet, like he always is, but he opens the passenger side door to your truck and nods, “Get in.”

“I have to go pick up Jamie,” you shake your head, “I don’t have time for this.”

“He’s already with Toni, and so is Sam. She’s taking them to the zoo this afternoon and going to breakfast at Pop’s tomorrow.”

You take a step back and your eyes grow hot with the threat of tears, “N-No, they’re not her responsibility, they’re mine. I-I need to go and get them. I-”

“Get in,” he repeats, reaching out to barely touch your elbow, but enough of a warmth to break you from your anxious bout.

If you’re honest, Sweet Pea doesn’t scare you. You’d grab him by his ear and throw him to the ground if you really wanted to. But, you don’t think you want to. In fact, deep down, you’re grateful.

Yet, you can’t tell him that, and so you stomp your way to the truck and climb in, crossing your arms and glaring out the truck window. He takes the keys from your bag and revs the engine before pulling out of the Riverdale High School parking lot and heading towards the Southside.

You’re surprised when he pulls up to his own trailer, parking your truck behind the building. He takes your bags and walks close to you as he takes the steps to unlock the door.

Quiet has fallen on the both of you and he doesn’t break the barrier as he walks around the tiny kitchen, preparing something from a casserole dish. You settle into the couch, curling in on yourself like you do in the dark late at night when you’re the only one left awake and the burdens of this life settle heavy against your shoulders.

You pick a spot on the wall to stare at and focus on it, counting the specks on the wallpaper until a jolt against your shoulder breaks you from your trance. You suck a sharp breath in between your teeth, your body shaking as you look at the perpetrator.

“Just me,” Sweet Pea says gently, placing two plates of lasagna on the coffee table before turning to look you in the eyes. “I didn’t mean to startle you, I’m sorry.”

You shake your head and wipe furiously at your face, “No, it’s my fault. I went out of it for a minute, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Sweet Pea flashes you a quick smile, but it’s sad you think. He looks away from you and the two of you eat in silence until your plates have been cleaned.

He turns to speak again, but you blurt: “I’m tired.”

Immediately, he reaches out to touch your elbow and move closer to support you however you might need it. He rubs his thumb over your forearm, “That’s why I had Topaz take the kids. You need some rest. I made up the bed -”

“I’m so tired,” you whimper, feeling like the same scared kid from the night your parents fled. Your fingertips shake and your eyes water, but you still try to hold yourself together in the presence of another person.

“I know,” you’re surprised to hear him whisper. He’s close to you and you feel the warmth of his arms slip around your shoulders. Sweet Pea whispers against the shell of your ear as you try to keep yourself stiff against him, “It’s okay, I know.”

You’re not sure why, but you allow yourself to wilt into his arms and let out a grotesque sob, your whole body quivering under the stress you’ve been under for the past few months.

You cry loudly, your voice shaking as you talk, “I love them and there’s nothing I can do, you know? It’s not my fault that my parents left us, is it? Did I do something wrong? I-I can’t-”

“Stop,” Sweet Pea speaks sternly. His hold on you tightens, “You can’t do that to yourself. Everyone has choices - they made theirs.”

“How am I going to do this, Sweet Pea? I barely got custody, thank God I was eighteen and working two jobs when they up and left us.” You sniffle, tucking your head further into his neck. Your hands find purchase in his body, anywhere, just so you can make contact and know that there’s someone else here with you. “I can’t raise two more people, I can barely raise myself!”

Sweet Pea tucks his knuckle under your chin and he tilts your head back so you look him in the eyes, “Serpents take care of one another. Let me help, whatever you need.”

And oh boy, he’s not kidding.

Sweet Pea starts taking your little sister, Samantha, to daycare and eventually to kindergarten. He makes sure to spend time with Jamie, throwing a football and a baseball and teaching him tips and tricks in the auto shop he bought from Veronica Lodge. They spend afternoons in the Wyrm, waiting behind the bar for you to get home from your second job working at the bookstore owned by Betty Cooper.

You are constantly reminding him that you don’t need charity and you can get by on your own, but when Jamie is asking why Sweet Pea has to work so late and Sam wonders why you’re taking her to school instead of SP, you stop asking questions and just accept the good deed.

The rumors start a couple of months in - that you’re shacking up together, that you’re sleeping together, that you’re secretly dating, that you’re pregnant with his baby.

You’re always running from something, it seems. And so, this time, you run away from your feelings.

You don’t want to be considered somebody’s object, but when you see Sweet Pea cradling Samantha in the backyard hammock one October afternoon, you try to wonder how awful it might be if he just stuck around at night.

You will not be reduced to a love interest, not with how hard you’ve worked to put your siblings through school and provide them with a good home-life. And yet, when Sweet Pea encourages Jamie to go to baseball tryouts and he makes the team and you buy all of the new team garb and make it to every game, you think that having him accompany you to these events for the rest of your life might not be the worst thing.

It’s Spring Break and somehow Sweet Pea has talked your boss into allowing you a whole paid week off of work so you can all take a “family field trip”, as your siblings so affectionately refer to it.

“You don’t have to do this,” you tell him as he packs the suitcases into the back of the truck. You reach up to touch his shoulder, “Seriously, Pea, I don’t expect you to cart us around and call it a ‘family vacation’. It’s just-”

He ravels you up in a hug and rests his chin on the crown of your head, “Stop being such a bum, okay? We’re going on this vacation and it’s going to be the best vacation you’ve ever been on. Now stop whining and help me get the kids loaded up.”

It’s so weird having him call them ‘the kids’, as if they’re your children you’re looking after. He says it all the time, but when people inquire about your siblings, he talks about them as if they were his own. The only reason anybody local knows that they’re not his children is because the Southside knows what happened to your parents, and they quietly correct anybody who has the mind to think differently.

Sam and Jamie are sound asleep in the back, the night sky twinkling in the distance as you ride with the windows down. It’s hot, but not miserable, and on the highway there is enough wind to keep you from sweating.

“Thank you,” you speak up after a couple of rock songs you’re too familiar with play on the radio. You look across the dash at this man who has so quickly become your best friend and confidant, “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you thank you before.”

Sweet Pea shrugs, “Thank you isn’t always so straightforward.”

You tilt your head and cock a brow, “And how is that?”

“Well,” his cheeks go pink, “in the same way that you don’t always directly say ‘I love you’ to someone, I don’t think you have to actually say ‘thank you’ to mean it.”

You’re chewing on your lip and he takes your silence as a prod to keep going, “You say thank you to me when you bring me coffee in the mornings and when you let us watch the Fast and Furious series on repeat even though I know you don’t care for the first few movies. You say it when you smile at me when I pick up Sam and take Jamie to ball practice. You’re even saying it now when you’re looking at me like that.”

“Looking at you like what?” you ask defensively, pressing your fingertips to your lips. You’re worried the colors of your irises have spewed your deepest secrets.

Sweet Pea smirks, “Like I hung the moon. It’s nice, when you look at me like that. Nobody’s ever looked at me like that, like I did anything good.”

You can’t help it when you reach across the dash and take the hand tapping on his thigh in your own fingers. You look at him even though he can’t stare back at you because he has to keep his eyes on the road.

“You’re the one good thing other than those kids in the back seat that’s ever happened to me,” you tell him, squeezing his palm for emphasis. You feel tears well up in your eyes but you don’t care because he’s seen them too many times. “I know my parents stepping out on us was wrong and I should hate them for it, but I can’t. We’re better off without them. With you.”

There are no more words that pass between the two of you until you’re telling the kids that you’ve arrived at the lake house you’ll be staying at for the next couple of days. You help him to unload the bags and get your siblings settled into their respective rooms.

Immediately they both want to jump in the lake, so you help them to get sunscreen and swimsuits on as quickly as possible. Sweet Pea lays out a blanket near the lakeshore and the two of you find your way to it with a pitcher of lemonade and a couple of peanut butter sandwiches.

You’re sitting far too close to be just friends, but you don’t care because his body is warm thanks to the shirt that’s missing from his torso, and so you lean into him with grace. Sweet Pea rests his arm behind your back, your legs pressed against one another as you watch Jamie and Sam splashing around in the lake.

It’s unexpected but not unwarranted when he presses a chaste, gentle kiss to your temple. You swear it’s just the sun beating down on your face, but your cheeks turn red and you feel heat wash over your body in waves.

“Can we do this forever?” he asks you, nudging his nose against your hairline.

Your throat goes to sandpaper as you stare up into his eyes, panic swimming in your irises but his gaze never wavers.

“Um, well, I-” Your breath leaves your body as he gets closer to you, the tip of his nose nudging against yours. You touch his cheek with your fingertips and even though they’re shaking, he doesn’t care as he leans into your caress.

“I love you,” he blurts in the most graceful of ways. His hand is hot against your skin as he cups your cheek. “I’ve loved you for a while now but I didn’t want to tell you in case you didn’t feel the same, but Topaz swears that you-”

You cut him off with a kiss.

Your lips meld together, hot in the spring sun. Your hands are all over each other as you try your hardest to get closer even though it’s difficult with the way you’re sitting and the company surrounding you, splashing just a few yards away in the lake.

“I love you too,” you breathe, allowing your palm to slide down from his face to his bare pectorals. He tilts your head with a gentle knuckle under your chin, a laugh bubbling on his lips.

“So, forever, huh?” you ask him, a smirk baited on your lips to match the lilt of teasing in your voice.

Sweet Pea hugs you tightly anyway, kisses peppered into your hairline as you both laugh in the sweetness of the afternoon. You turn your head to gaze out at the water, watching as Sam and Jamie swim about in the lake, and you know that this is the family you’ve worked so hard to have. This is the family that makes every day worth your while.

This is the family you deserve.

a/n: i actually really loved how this turned out!! sorry it’s such a slow burn, even for a short drabble! request more if you liked it!

tagging: @thesweetestsweetpea @sweetpeasbabydoll @the-gargoyle-queen @sweetpeasjelloshot @princesweetpea @southsidewrites @southsidearchive @wayward-river @brittanyvengeance @jinxfanfics @theangriestpea @cactiem @serpentcentral @griffins-and-gargoyles

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

The Other Diplomat Kid

Summary: Sam Williams goes to Paris when their dad temporarily takes over the title of diplomat to get away from their grandfather. They end up meeting a girl everyone in the diplomat circle knows is a liar.

Notes: Sam Williams is from a book I am writing where Sam discovers their identity and ends up rebelling against their grandfather. Their dad ISN’T a diplomat but like given this idea bit me... here.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

 Sam Williams walked into the school carrying their camera and bag, feeling nervous. Getting out of Canada and away from their grandfather was great. Even if it was just for a few months. But France was… different. Didn’t help they spoke Quebec French rather than French-French.

 “Oh, hello.” A pretty girl with dark hair in pigtails smiled at her. “Are you new?”

 “Uh yeah. I’m Sam? I’m just here for a few months… I’m in… Mlle. Bustier’s class?” Sam said.

 “Oh! I’m in her class to. C’mon I’ll show you the way.” Sam grinned. That was good. They followed the girl to the classroom, feeling relieved they had found someone who was in their class. “I’m Marinette.” 

 “Nice to meet you. Oh umm… I use they/them so you know.” Sam said awkwardly. Marinette nodded her understanding and Sam felt relief as Marinette directed them to the class. Once there the teacher smiled.

 “Oh, you must be… Samantha?”

 “Sam.” Sam corrected. The teacher nodded as she thanked Marinette as Sam turned to face the class only to frown. “Liar Rossi?” 

 “Sam!” The teacher said in shock while everyone gasped.

 “Did Marinette tell you that?” Demanded Lila Rossi. Sam stared for a long moment.

 “... you really don’t recognize me? My dad used to be the diplomat from Canada? You are literally called Liar Rossi by every single child in the diplomatic circle? Cause you are one?” 

 “... Samantha Williams?” Lila gasped.

 “It’s Sam. And yeah- if she’s been saying anything there’s like a ninety percent chance it’s a lie. She’s well known for it. Her mom doesn’t believe it but I think her dad does. Isn’t he in like the USA now? I thought he yanked you out of public school after you bullied that girl and was caught on tape pushing her down the stairs.” Sam took out their phone and waved it. “One Google search and we can find it.”

 “That was another diplomats daughter! I was framed!” Lila sobbed.

 “Yeah well, I don’t believe you.” Sam snorted and shook their head. “I’m Sam by the way. I’m nonbinary, I like photography and I refuse to sit next to Liar Rossi.” 

 “Sam please-“ the teacher began but Sam refused to sit near the girl. Marinette looked secretly pleased which made Sam like her. She seemed to have a good head on her shoulders.

 At lunch, a girl with ombré hair confronted her with some of the class.

 “Lila said you were the one to-“

 “Frame her? Yeah. Okay- it was in England when I was still in Canada but sure I did it.” Sam said sarcastically. “Did you look it up at all?” 

 “I did and-“

 “It wasn’t Sam.” A voice said. A black kid with glasses had spoken. “I double-checked. Paul Williams was not in England at the time. He wasn’t even a diplomat then. He had… sort of retired from my understanding?”

 “My grandfather had a heart attack and dad had to come home,” Sam replied. “I’m here with my dad cause he’s filling in while John- the other diplomat- is back in Canada while his father is dying of cancer. Mostly to get away from my homophobic grandfather so yeah.” Sam shrugged. The girl in front of them looked uncomfortable.

 “Well, what’s your proof she’s lying?”

 “Other than experience? What is she claiming?”

 “She knows Prince Ali.” The girl replied. “She helped him with his pollution charity and stayed st his palace a month or so back with him. She also said she met him at a ball.”

 “Lie. Prince Ali is focusing on orphans and children homes right now. Also, he hasn’t been in his home country in a year. Plus we don’t do balls. We do stupid dinners. I went to one where Prince Ali was at but I didn’t get within fifteen feet of him.” Sam shook their head. “Look it up. I’ll wait.” A small blonde girl did along with a goth girl. She gasped.

 “She’s right.” The blonde choked. 

 “Next lie… whoever you are. None of you gave me your names.”

 “Alya.” The ombré girl said. “She knows Jagged Stone! She got tinnitus from saving his cat from a runway!”

 “... I’ll admit I’m not that into celebrity gossip… but…” Sam pulled out their phone. They typed it in and then pulled up an article. “Hmm… ah. Jagged Stone has gone on record saying he hates cats ever since he was six and his grandmother's cat scratched his wrist and nearly killed him… wait…” Sam clicked another article then blinked. Alya looked eager but Sam gave her a look. “That Marinette girl made his glasses and CD case and was on a TV show with him? This legit says he thinks of her as a niece? I assume form a comment earlier she’s said Liar Rossi is a liar? And you believed Rossi? What kind of friends are you?” Alya went pink while others slowly took out their phones.

 “She knows producers and rockstars?”

 “Bullshit. How? As the kid of a diplomat the chances of her running into them are better than most yes but who exactly does she claim to know?” Listening to the list Sam shook their head. “None of them are politically active or have been to any diplomatic dinners or meetings. Look it up.” 

 They did. All except Alya. The little blonde was looking so upset while the goth looked somewhat murderous. The black boy looked upset and a little shocked, while a tall Asian kid looked mad. A short girl looked even madder while a big guy with a skull on his shirt, a small girl with a bandana and a redhead all looked exhausted and sad. The boy next to Alya, one with a cap, looked nervous.

 “She knows Ladybug.” Alya hissed.

 “... who?” Sam asked, confused. Alya stared. “What? Some local celebrity? I’m from Canada.”

 “No!!! She’s a superhero!” Alya said. Sam stared. Then pulled out their phone, only to find a text from their dad. Apparently, superheroes were real, Akumas targeted negative emotions oh and the mayor was bribing people.

 “Ah. Apparently, the mayor was squashing that.” Sam said. Then they turned to the class.“Question- when did Ladybug first appear or where anyway?”

 “Here in Paris- about a year or so ago.” Answered the small blonde. “I’m Rose by the way.”

 “Thank you Rose. Nice to meet you. Now… when did Lila show up?”

 “Four months ago?” Sam nodded slowly at that answer.

 “So… how the hell could she know her if she was in Italy before that?” That froze Alya.

 “... she uhh…”

 “You don’t have an answer,” Sam replies, looking up Ladybug and… oh. “Wow. You posted it to your blog without even thinking about that? Nice tabloid reporting there Lois Lane.”

“Hey!” The cap boy said. “Not cool!”

 “What? I’m calling her out? Look better it’s me than an actual like boss or someone suing her cause she doesn’t fact check. None of you do. Now if you excuse me. I’m going to go and take photos. I told my friends I would.” Sam left the class, the Alya girl clinging to her beliefs.

 They’d always secretly believed in magic thanks to Rossi. After all- the bullshit she said that made people believe her had to be magical. 

 “Williams.” Sneered a voice. Same sighed as they took out their camera.

 “Liar.” They said calmly as they snapped some photos of the courtyard. 

 “Stop calling me that.”

 “Stop lying. I already told the class to look things up. Good luck convincing them now.” Rossi scowled darkly then smirked. Sam ignored her, pulling out their phone to pretend to text but really putting on their recording app.

 “You think you’re so clever Samantha.” Rossi sneered. “You flounce in here, pretending to be this nonbinary and-“

 “Okay whoa no. Fuck you very much.” Sam said. “I am nonbinary.” Rossi scoffed.

 “Sure.” She sneered. “You come in here and think you can get my little pack of fools to believe you? Please. I just tell them what they want to hear and they listen. Won’t take long to say you’re the liar who hacked the websites.”

 “Mhmm. And Marinette? Who knows Jagged Stone? I mean I had to remind them but there are pictures of her with him and Adrien.” Rossi flushed, eyes widening. “Wow, you didn’t know?”

 “Shut up Williams. Most people would brag. One messed up lie won’t hurt.” Snapped Rossi.

 “Admitting you’re a liar, Liar Rossi?”

 “It’s LILA Rossi.” Snarled the girl. “And I don’t see anything wrong with a few stories. These idiots will believe anything.”

 “I could see that. All of your stories are so stupid I just wanted to sigh. I mean- That Marinette girl actually knows Jagged Stone. How the hell did they not think to ask her?”

 “She’s ridiculous. Pretending to be so humble and shy and oh she couldn’t brag about it.” Lila sneered. Sam hummed, taking more photos. “Pay attention to me!”

 “Why? Are you going to threaten me? How will you? With my reputation? I’m only here for a few months. Something outside of school? I have email trails, multiple character witnesses of your bullshit, and my dad to back me up. With school itself? Try to get me expelled and my dad comes in again and the same thing happens all over again. You have no power over me. You’re just a pathetic child who gets joy out of bullying and manipulating others.” Sam told Lila. An ugly look crossed her face.

 “I have connections now. Like a certain… villain.” Sam deadpanned.

 “Are you legit telling me you’re working with Hawkmoth? That’s like the worst lie in the world.” Lila scowled.

 “It’s not a lie. I have connections to him. He’s asked for my help a few times and I’m sure he’d love to help mess with your life.” Lila sneered. “My mother also has connections to the mayor.”

 “Oh, she’s accepting the bribes?” Sam asked. Lila blinked.

 “How did you know about that…”

 “Well, mostly it’s cause my dad was also bribed? Or the guy tried. I’m fairly certain my dad is going to… Interpol? Or whatever it is in France. Higher than the police force cause who knows who is in his pocket.” Sam grinned at Lila. “Guess your mom will be answering for that! And your lies crashing down! Enjoy your last few weeks here!” Sam left as Lila stared, open mouth after them. They headed to the cafeteria to grab a cheese bun, noticing a blonde kid they thought…

 “Huh.” Sam blinked, kind of recognizing him. “Cool.” 

 “... you don’t know me?”

 “I know you’re a model but like I don’t know your name and I don’t care,” Sam said. “... are you going to confront me about Liar to?”

 “I’m Adrien and… well, it’s not going to make her a better person if you do it.” He pointed out.

 “You’re assuming she wants to be,” Sam told him. He looked confused. “Look- Adrien- there’s a difference between someone not knowing better and someone who does but does it anyway. Lila knows better. She knows what she’s doing. She knows exactly what she’s doing and she doesn’t care about the harm she causes.”

 “What harm?” Adrien asked in confusion. Sam raised an eyebrow.

 “What harm? You’re not that dumb, are you? Lila lying to people hurts them because either a- She promises things she can’t do which could hurt their chances. Like… I heard about this from the son of the Greek diplomat but like she told this girl she could get her an in with a music producer. This girl kept passing up opportunities for her cause she trusted Lila. When it all came out the girl was so hurt… that’s harm.” Sam told him. “Also- She bullies people who don’t believe her lies and tries to call them out. There’s been so much evidence that bullying leaves mental scarring and it’s not just something you can brush under the rug. It can cause long term effects. Lila isn’t a good person. And she either never will or she needs to be punished to change. People don’t change just because someone was nice- or at least not people like Lila. They change when they are shown their lives will suck so much if they don’t.” 

 “... but that’s not how it happens…” Adrien looked confused and Sam stopped. They were reminded of their friend Marcus’ little sister before the real world got her. She’d been homeschooled by Marcus’ stepmother because Kyoko had wanted her daughter to be bilingual and their hometown didn’t have any place for her to speak solely in Japanese often. She had been very naive…

 “If you’re talking about anime or TV it’s because people have an idealistic view of the world. Or they want to pretend it’s like that. Sure being nice and kind can change people. But the fact is that it’s not a hundred percent likely all the time.” Sam told him. “I know a kid who hated the people who stood by and did nothing when their bullies hurt them more than anything. Because it was them saying I believe you deserve it. I believe them over you. Standing up is the only way to deal with bullies.”

 “... but…” the boy hesitated. “Tabloids…”

 “Ah.” Sam nodded. “That’s different... what’s your last name?” Upon receiving it they pulled up news articles. “Alright, latest lie was that your dad was forcing models to sleep with him.” Adrien choked as Sam flicked through the articles. “Disproven but they did have to launch an investigation into his business due to the allegations.” Adrien blinked, looking shocked. “Oh and one about you sleeping with a girl and getting her pregnant.”

 “WhAt?” Adrien said, his voice cracking in the middle. Sam laughed.

 “Yeah. That one was ignored and when the baby was born your dad went and had a paternity test done. You’re good.” Sam showed him the article and Adrien looked stressed. “Look, I get that you feel like not reacting is best but with people like Lila is it better to step in. She won’t stop. Look at something similar that happened to you with Jagged Stone- I don’t pay attention to gossip and I heard about it. Some fan kept claiming that it was his child she had and she refused to take no and kept lying and lying until she was sued for millions. Some people don’t stop.”

 “...I want to give people second chances.” Adrien said, looking like he was about to put his back up.

 “When did I say you couldn’t? Sure, give them a second chance. But as soon as they ignore it or go back to their normal way of being that chance is done. All it’s doing is being an enabler. Or even a bully yourself if you let a bully get away with things.” Adrien looked pensive at that, and Sam left him to his thoughts to go and photograph more of the school before it was time for class. Lila was glaring at Sam who ignored her as they looked at the photos they had taken. A few of the classmates entered the room with Marinette who looked happy and relaxed. Lila stood up to go to them but they all glared, except Alya who was on her phone. Sam idly pulled out their phone only to snort.

 Oops, they’d continued recording. Turning it off, they typed out a message to their dad before sending it and the recording to him. Sam watched as Lila checked her phone and then began dramatically crying.

 “You and your dad are trying to get my mom in trouble for no reason!” she sobbed, pointing at Sam who snorted as their own message came.

 “Uhuh, sure. By the way thanks to confessing you know your mom takes bribes while I was recording our conversation. My dad says that it’ll be the best thing to give to the investigation.”

 “YOU WERE RECORDING US?!” Lila shouted in horror. Alya, who had been comforting her froze.

 “Yep!” Sam smiled and then went back to fiddling with their phone.

 “YOU BITCH!” Lila screamed, running up to jump at Sam who dove away. “I AM GOING TO RUIN YOU!”

 “You ruined yourself! Thanks for confessing to lying and mentioning you work willingly with a supervillain! Pretty sure that was a lie but thanks! You’re finished!” Sam snapped back, feeling incredibly annoyed. Lila growled in anger and then her gaze snapped to the window where a butterfly was. Sam suddenly knew what this was from their research. They grabbed a ruler from a desk and jumped, glad for their height as they managed to get the butterfly before Lila did. “You don’t get the satisfaction of beating the crap out of me.” snarled Sam.

 Hmm… you managed to fight her off. But… Sam ignored Hawkmoth, reaching deep inside themself to pull on their feelings of anger and exhaustion at being considered a she, at their grandfather for trying to control their life, at people for not understanding… Well then, Milewalk, will you help me?

 “Sure.” Sam grinned. Maybe this would be a little fun.

 And they’d get to smack Lila around so win-win.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Random thought: Lila’s mom has to know the truth about Ladybug and Chat Noir cause I doubt her coworkers keep their mouths shut. But that’s not the point.

Anyway, so yeah. Sam becomes Milewalk in which they stomp around Paris and have people ‘walk a mile in their shoes’ by making people feel every scrap of fear and hurt or the feeling of being hated for no reason. Basically if you’re an asshole you feel what it would be like to be your victim. If you harass someone you feel like you’re being harassed.

 Milewalk does get Chat Noir and a few others which changes a LOT in this world but like I was: How do you write fights? How do I write Akuma? So here.

 Also the big about bribes is mostly me going: Does the rest of the world no? Why is no one else from outside Paris knowing? So yeah bribery probably. And that’s done. Oops.

Hope you guys enjoyed. If you can please donate to my ko-fi!

[ephemeral-writings]

Omgggg your Jongdae scenario was *chef’s kiss*!!!!!!!! Can u do a continuation pretty please? Maybe with 6 or 13!!!

😅...is it too late to complete this request?? sorry for the long wait, life happened oof

---

Jongdae + 6. “ Why didn’t you tell me? “ & 13 “ Shhh. I know. “

word count: 1.5k

Jongdae has made futile attempts to talk to you during his stay at the hotel.

You didn’t have it in you to wake up and have the same dance with him again, so last night, after Jongdae had fully succumbed to sleep, you wriggled out of his warm embrace to go home to your cold, empty bed that Jongdae once inhabited. Did you regretted it? Maybe. 

Finally, a few days later, the charity event was due and you had no time to contemplate getting back together with Jongdae. While you weren’t the event planner, you still had responsibilities in partaking the event as the venue’s manager. Like taking the hits of any mishaps that arises which, with this event planner-- a snooty woman who finds no fault in her character, doesn’t hold herself accountable, and blames you for not having enough lights installed or not “providing competent workers”. 

“Please give me permission to strangle this woman,” your assistant mutters under her breath besides you. 

“Not if I do it first,” you retort back as you marked another task off your list. 

The charity event is nothing if not just another opportunity for the richest of the rich to flaunt their wealth and make pretentious remarks about other’s personal business that was frankly, was none of their business. It was another glamorous night for the wives of some 40, 50, 60 year old men to gossip and spread groundless rumor around and their husbands to blatantly ogle the more “fresh meat”, whether for their sons and daughters to potentially marry for business gains or because men were gross and gazed at women as if it were a sport.

You laugh at the back of the room with your fellow workers as CEOs after CEOs and benefactors alike went on stage to give their speeches, spouting bull like how this charity helps people in need(which it does to some extent, you don’t argue that) and that pledgers should applaud themselves for being so benevolent(this, however, you scoff). 

“I seriously doubt any of these people have a real benevolent bone in their body,” Yumi whispers to your small group, causing everyone to erupt into stifled snickers except for you. 

If it wasn’t for the man sitting at one of those tables, you would’ve agreed wholeheartedly. You couldn’t when the man you love and showed you love was part of it.

You’ve tried with great effort to not find Jongdae in the mass of power and money hungry individuals but it wasn’t hard when he shined in your eyes. He’s dressed it an immaculate suit that he’s probably wearing for the first and last time. His raven hair styled to perfection, his posture stiff as a rock as he listened to one of the leading competitors of technology in medicine explain how pitiful sick individuals were and how much they need this group of millionaires to support them. You could look past the snobby character of these people, but the words they spouted was certainly something you’ll never let by-- something you never got used to while dating Jongdae especially. You watch the light in Jongdae’s eyes dimming as he glares vacantly into the air, and he stays like that for a few seconds, until he turns and meets your eyes. From where you stood in the shadows, you’re caught off guard that he catches your eyes so easily-- too easily. 

He finally breaks it off when the audience starts applauding, for what, you don’t know, but him turning away finally pulls you out of your trance and you’re faced with the same reality that you were so viciously struck with when you first came to the realization: you and Jongdae can’t work. 

Your heart feels heavy, constricting as it presses against your lungs and causing knots in your stomach to form. You feel utterly sick to your stomach as memories rushed through your head-- the condescending look, the animosity in his eyes as he told you to stay away if you knew what was good for you. 

Before you know it, you had escaped and found yourself on the patio. There’s not a single soul around you, and making sure of that, you finally let yourself break ever so slightly. You curl into a squat, balling your arms around your knees, at the far corner in case someone does end up walking in. Breathing in for 4 seconds, releasing with 8, and repeating until you feel your racing heart begin to slow.

Suddenly, you feel a hand on your head, resting its weight enough to let you notice its presence. Had it not been for the all too familiar scent of Jongdae, you would’ve looked up and swat the person’s hand away. Now, you freeze in place, unable to look up because you knew it was him. 

“Baby, look at me.” 

You can’t. 

Jongdae gently tugs off your hair tie, letting your hair fall from it’s ponytail, and as he threads his fingers through, you feel him massaging your scalp in a caressing manner. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“There was nothing to tell,” you answered vehemently, finally looking up at the man. God, he looked absolutely breathtaking. Intimidated by his stature hovering over you, you move to stand up while he follows. You continue speaking, “Your father was, is right. We don’t belong together. You’re you and I’m me, and that’ll never change, Jongdae.” You shrug your defeated shoulders. “Some things we just can’t change.”

His expression hardens when he hears your words. “Oh, you mean like my love for you?” He bites back.

“Stop. Stop it, Jongdae,” you stammered, backing up when you feel him leaning in. 

“Well, you said it yourself, Y/N! Some things we can’t change. I still love you, and don’t try to bullshit me and tell me you don’t feel the same way. I know you do, too. I can’t change my father, but who the hell is he to change our love? You really think I care that we come from two different worlds? Fuck, Y/N, I was ready to get on my knees and propose to you! And then-- and then you go and tear my whole world apart and let me think that you really didn’t love me anymore. Do you know how much that broke me?”

Of course you knew. Jongdae, busy man or not, had spent the first week after you had broken up, begging you to reconsider, demanding to know what had gotten into you to cut him off out of the blue. You couldn’t bring yourself to tell him that it was his father who had infiltrated all these negative thoughts about your relationship with Jongdae. He made you doubt your ability to “survive” in the corporate world, to love Jongdae the way he deserved, and that’s where it truly affected you. Jongdae may be able to shower you with love and anything in the world he could buy, but what could you give him in return if not love? Sometimes, love isn’t enough. 

“If you think it was easy for me,” you whispered, shaking your head which caused the tears that were brewing in your eyes to fall. “You weren’t the only one who was hurt. Do you even understand the shit I felt when I had to listen to your father as he told me how worthless I am to you? How easily you could replace me because I’m nothing-- a nobody? How me being with you was getting your name tarnished because you were supposed to marry one of his business partner’s daughter?” 

Jongdae’s face contorted as he listened to the spiteful words that came from his own father. “I’ve told you before, Y/N, that I never promised him my hand to any one. It’s my fucking life, too.” 

“And it’s not a life you would want to be spending with someone like me, Jongdae.” Your face cracked a smile, if nothing else, it’d hurt too much trying to fathom a life without Jongdae. More tears fell and before you could react, Jongdae was a breath away from you, thumbing the fallen ones from your cheeks. 

“There is nothing in my life than you that I am sure of. You are my life,” Jongdae whispered on your skin before sealing it with a kiss on your forehead. And you really did believed him. Jongdae was the light of your life as much as you were his. He never once failed to make you feel loved, to make you feel more than enough for someone like him. In fact, he never pointed out that your lives were so different. He came into your life with full intent on loving you despite all else because you meant something to him. You meant the world to him.

“I,” you started but choked on a sob. Trying again, you mustered everything you had in you to let him know exactly how you felt. “I love you.” It felt like a weight had been taken off your heart; it soared with immense love-- love for this man in front of you who crushed you in a backbreaking embrace.

“Shhh. I know,” Jongdae hushes your sobs as he showered you with kisses on your head, ear, cheek, until he reached your lips. “I love you, too.” 

[drarryruinedme7]

prompt: drarry for "you're not in love with me." angst with happy ending if possible. thanks

Hi @okaypottah I am sorry this took me so long, but RL stuck in the middle. Anyway, here we are and I hope you’ll like this! Thanks to precious @inevitabledrarry and @random-realist for helping me with ideas and beta work!! ❤️

Rating: MatureWarnings: explicit sexual content, angsty, but it’s sweet I promise, bottom!Harry Word count: 2.2k

Drarry + “You’re not in love with me.” (angst with happy ending)

“THEN ASK ME TO STAY!” Malfoy was yelling, his nostrils flared, face red, eyes shining.

Harry was sick of everything and he spat angrily, “STAY!”

A lonely tear rolled down Malfoy’s cheek. “You don’t mean it.” A shrieking noise, a pop, and he was gone.

*****

Harry was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, a mug of warm tea forgotten on the table.He glanced at the wooden clock on the wall, above the fridge: 8 p.m. He should’ve arrived already. Harry approached the window and moved the curtain apart, to see if Malfoy was arriving. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw him, walking with a pair of black sunglasses and a v-neck shirt. Harry was waiting for him, but he still didn’t know if he’d really show up until he saw Malfoy about to ring the doorbell of his house.

Harry reached the door and before opening it, took a deep breath and closed his eyes, repeating in his mind that he could do this; that if he had faced Voldemort, surely he’d get through this thing with Malfoy. He gripped the handle of the door and opened it, revealing a too gorgeous Malfoy perched on the wall, sunglasses pulled over his head.He smirked and held out a hand, “Potter.”Harry’s heart was dancing in his belly, making him feel dizzy, but he couldn’t show that to Malfoy. It wasn’t a courtesy call.He nodded and replied, “Malfoy” gripping his slender hand.

Harry moved slightly to his right and gestured Malfoy to come in. He entered the house slowly, looking around and slightly brushing his hand on the railings of the stairs. “Ah, it’s good to be here again.”

Harry closed the door with that little bit more strength than really necessary.It’s good to be here again?He clenched his fists and went straight for the kitchen, hoping Malfoy would take the hint.A second after, Malfoy entered the kitchen and sat on a chair, looking Harry in the eyes.“C’mon, Potter, stop this silent treatment.”Harry’s eyebrows furrowed and a thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but all he said was, “Malfoy, I’ve accepted for one reason and one only. Because you threatened me, Head Auror, to divulge your memories of us fucking if I rejected. So, go on and explain to me how this would work.”Harry was proud of himself; He managed to say that without stumbling on the word fucking as he always did when he rehearsed the speech alone, in front of the mirror. They didn’t fuck, or, at least, Harry didn’t fuck with Malfoy. He made love to him. He had been hopelessly in love with Malfoy for too long now, but Malfoy had shown more than once that it wasn’t the same for him.

After the first time they had sex, Malfoy came back to pinch and prod Harry, mock him, behaving as nothing had happened. Harry tried to talk with him, but Malfoy always slipped out of the conversation, making a joke, clapping Harry’s shoulder and saying something about being drunk and young, and they never talked about it again.But then the episodes succeeded one another: they would have sex or blowjobs or hand jobs at Ministry meetings, gay pubs, Hogwarts reunions, birthday parties. Every time it was the same: they’d tried to avoid each other until one of them would be too tipsy and approached the other. They would always go to Harry’s apartment and Malfoy would always disappear after their intercourse. Until once Harry was sick of the situation and told him that things had to change. He half expected Malfoy to ask him to date, but he didn’t. He got angry and told Harry that all he had to do was ask him to stay, but when Harry did, Malfoy just Disapparated.  

After two years of silence, here Malfoy was, asking Harry for help. And obviously, Harry said yes; the threat wasn’t even necessary, but Malfoy didn’t need to know that.He adjusted the table cloth so that it was perfectly aligned with the table and looked at Harry, starting to explain.“Now now Potter, I didn’t threaten you. I merely suggested it could be favorable for you to agree with my request. You know that next week there’s a charity ball for the house elves liberation and I’ll need to be there. A lot of important people will attend it and it will be the right occasion for me to show them I’ve changed, and am a good party for cooperation. What I need is a partner for the ball. So, yes, what I’m asking you is to be my fake date.”

Harry listened to all his rambling without blinking. He didn’t want to miss the smallest change in Malfoy’s tone, behavior, the color of his face or movement of his eyes. Unluckily, Malfoy was specialized in hiding his emotions and putting a blank mask.Harry was thrilled at the idea of dancing with Malfoy and he knew it was wrong, that this was all fake, but he couldn’t help it. Hoping it would calm him down, he took a sip of his – now cold – tea, and told his mug.“Malfoy, I understand why you would need to attend this ball. What I don’t completely understand is why you asked me to be your date. Erm, I mean, fake date. You’ve plenty of blokes that would like to date you.”Harry felt his face tinting red and he blew into his mug, in an attempt to make steam come out of it and partially cover his face. It didn’t work. When he flicked his eyes up, it was to see Malfoy smiling smugly.“I did forget that you’re a total moron, Potter. Yes, a lot of blokes would like to date me but to show up with you, of all people, at my side? That’d be perfect.”

Harry was fed up at this point. “Malfoy, we had something, and you disappeared. We never talked about it. And now you use that against me, to have me at your side at a charity ball and I, I… Merlin, you know I’d say yes anyway, for fuck’s sake!”

Malfoy did wince at that, the smirk disappearing from his face. He was torturing a cuticle on his finger and cleared his throat. “Listen, I’ll pick you up next Tuesday at 7.30. Remember to wear a suit.”

Harry stayed there, staring at his mug and thinking about all the possible scenarios of the charity ball until a splitting headache started torturing him. He decided to go to sleep without having dinner, dreading next week’s arrival.

******

Fake smiles, fake caresses, fake kisses, fake words.It was proving to be a horrible night for Harry, who was washing his face in the bathroom. He probably overestimated his acting abilities, because it was becoming more and more hard to stay at Malfoy’s side and kiss him, or slightly brush their fingers, their hands or arms, to dance together, to stare into his eyes and smile to him. It came naturally, their bodies clinging together and searching each other of their own accord; Their movements attuned, their words linked. Whenever Harry would start saying something, Malfoy would finish the sentence in just the right way, with the right words, laughing softly, stroking Harry’s back or neck. It was driving Harry crazy.

Malfoy entered the bathroom shortly after; Harry was bent over the sink, water dripping from his face. He turned to look at him, no words necessary: Malfoy strode towards him, pulled him up by his collar, pushed him inside a cubicle and kissed him hard, shoving his tongue into his throat, touching everywhere, panting, moaning. In a second, Harry was grinding against Malfoy’s thigh, desperate, hot, mouth going to lick his throat, hands sliding under their shirts.

They fucked hard and fast, Harry smashed on the door, Draco behind him, pounding into him with increasing force, whispering into Harry’s ear, “So good, so, so, good, Potter, I missed this, fuck yes.”Harry was an incoherent mass of whines, gasps, grunts, and “more” and “faster” until he spilled hot cum in Malfoy’s hand, right in time with Malfoy releasing his orgasm into him. Merlin, it felt right.They pulled apart, Malfoy tucked his cock in his trousers, slicked back his hair again, planted a kiss on Harry’s lips and exited the cubicle.Just like that. Harry took a moment to adjust his suit and made his way back to the ballroom, but Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. He apologized with the other hosts and ended up back home with an empty bed.

He saw Malfoy again a week after, soaked in rain, outside the door of his house. Harry was walking back home from work, to clear his mind, with an umbrella charm on himself to avoid the rain.He slowly reached the stairs that led to his door and climbed them, until he was face to face with Malfoy. Not only rain was streaming down his face.In a rush, Harry hugged him tight, afraid of losing him again. Malfoy hunched his head into Harry’s neck and started sobbing, uncontrollably, until Harry dragged him inside.

He used a drying charm over Malfoy and put on the kettle to make a hot tea. Malfoy was still sobbing, and Harry felt his own eyes stinging. He cleared his throat to take a hold of himself.“Malfoy, what happened?”

Malfoy sniffled and wiped his nose on his sweater sleeve. Harry had never seen him this wrecked. He looked up at Harry with puffy red eyes and started tripping on words.“I c-can’t do t-this, Potter. I j-just can’t.”Harry waited a few seconds for him to continue, but when he remained silent, Harry encouraged him.“What can’t you do?”

Malfoy opened his mouth to talk again but no sound came out; He gaped at Harry in a silent cry and Harry hurried to take him into his arms, rubbing a soothing hand on his back and lulling him slightly back and forth. Harry kissed his temple and whispered into his ear, to calm him down.“Mal – Draco, breathe. You’re worrying me. I can’t understand you if you don’t talk to me. Close your eyes and breathe, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”Harry felt Draco’s breath ghosting on his neck, making gooseflesh raise long his back. After some deep breaths, Draco pulled away and looked at their clasped hands. With a firmer voice, he managed to talk to Harry:“I know I’ve been shitty with you. That I’d show up, ask you something, be the usual git with you, kiss you, hug you, fuck you…and then, I’d just disappear like a true arsehole. But, b-but…” he stopped, looking somewhere behind Harry.Harry tried to supply him, “You don’t have to explain anything, Draco. You’re not in love with me. It’s okay, but you could have – ”

Harry didn’t manage to finish the sentence: Draco placed a finger on his mouth, caressing his bottom lip and he resumed.“Merlin, Harry, you’re so fucking blind. That’s not what – ugh. Listen, I’ve had some difficulties these past years. After the war, I couldn’t feel anything anymore. I wasn’t happy or sad or angry or troubled just… nothing, nothing at all. Do you know how that feels? I thought I was dead inside, I thought I couldn’t recover from it. And then you happened, and I started feeling something? I was… worried when you appeared in the papers, worried I’d see you with someone else. Happy when you looked at me, stupidly delighted when you kissed me or touched me and it – it scared me. Harry. It scared me because I slowly understood that I – I. I love you. And how can it be a good thing? You deserve so much better than the mess I am, and I have no idea how love works… I just don’t think I can live life like a normal person. Every time we were together you would look at me, and in your eyes, in your breathtaking emerald eyes, I would see promises of happiness, a family, love, children, a house, breakfast in bed, kisses, cuddles, and I’m not - I’m not ready for that, I’m not the right person for that. You deserve someone else, someone who didn’t make the stupid choices I did, and this, this awareness scares me so much because there’s nothing more in life I want than being with you.”

Malfoy’s hands were trembling towards the end of his speech; Harry stood there, trying to process what he’d heard, and recover from it.Draco had just admitted to loving him and to wanting Harry more than everything else in life.Harry’s heart was doing somersaults; He took Draco’s face between his hands, kissed his nose. Then his eyes, his forehead, his cheeks, his chin, his ears. Light brushes of lips against skin. He kissed Draco’s tears away.

“We’ll work on everything you need together, Draco. The important thing is that we are together. I don’t mind as long as I can be yours. Just promise me something. From now on, we’ll be honest with each other.”

Draco squeezed Harry’s hands and smiled softly, whispering, “Ask me to stay.”

Harry’s eyes brightened. He asked, voice shaking with emotion, “Stay.”

And Draco stayed. Forever.

[fightyspidey]

I asked for some irondad prompts and I don't think I say one I got until recently? So...

Do not read if you have not seen Avengers: Endgame unless you don't care about spoilers! Big spoilers here!

Yo! I have decided that I don't like this fic due to a reason of why on earth would Tony be so chill about it? Howard, knock it off.

So, I might rewrite this. I tried to follow Endgame, but... Ehhh, no. Let's have Tony Go Off™, shall we?

But keep reading this old one if you want.

Thanks, @naiariddle for the prompt! Sorry it didn't turn out the way I want now.

"Howard and María Stark coming back to life because of the stones and seeing Tony [being] an Amazing dad".

Tagging @justallydavis because they wanted a link to something like that, and now I wrote it.

I know that Peter is not in it, but... He's spending quality time with his aunt. He's still a part of the family.

Oh... And this is a fix-it fic for Endgame...

Trigger Warnings: Abuse, anger, resurrection, childhood abuse, child abuse. The first and last not outright stated, but it seems pretty clear to me, but you can see it how you want. Howard's "pushing", as it is referred to. Also, homelessness, hunger, lack of clothing, no comfort... Touch starved? Yeah. Rust? That might be a trigger to someone, so, might as well. I just don't want anyone to have any issues.

Here we go!

The Stones are... Well, they're not normal rocks.

They have minds of their own, and it doesn't take a lot to get those wheels turning.

When they saw Thanos, you bet that they wanted to kill him, but the Time Stone told the others not to.

Wait. The Futurist is coming. He heard us.

So, when the Futurist came and almost died and lost his child and then gained him back and then, when the Stones were crying in relief because they knew that Thanos wouldn't be able to use their power again, they took the opportunity.

They had to wait.

It took a year, but the second that Tony Stark had been dead for a year, they brought them back.

Not just him.

A redhead whose ledger has been wiped away, because the Stones don't care what the Red Skull has to say; he worked to protect the power, not harness it or wield it.

She was dropped off on a farm, right where she needed to be.

A woman who loved her charity balls more than she loved to spend time with her own son--she couldn't not see her husband in those eyes (because of the genetics, not the behavior).

And the man who never said that he loved his son, especially to his face.

Stark men are made of iron, the Stones remind him when they bring them back, speaking to the husband and wife. Look at the Man of Iron now.

Howard sees a man climb a porch, one arm held stiffly, as if it hurts but only in a memory.

The cabin is well-maintained. Not old or crumbling, but rustic and... like a home.

The man knocks on the door, but something about his posture is screaming that he's afraid of what lies beyond that door.

But it opens.

A woman--strawberry blonde hair, bleached in the sunlight--covers her mouth with one hand, reaching her other to touch his face, shaking until it comes into contact with his skin.

"Tony," she lets out, and then they're both crying, hugging and her sobbing as Tony--Tony, Howard's mind realizes with a jolt--clings onto her as if he can't let go or it'll all disappear.

And then a squeal of delight as something launches at them from behind the woman, and Tony--one hand clinging to the woman--pulls the child close, tears streaming down his cheeks as he rocks them back and forth, still clinging on.

Stark men are made of iron, the Stones remind Howard.

They're thrown into a garage, where Tony is slouched over a helmet-mask thing, its large eyes flittering open and closed, like it's glitching.

A door opens, and in walks the woman, coming to his side, laying a hand on his back.

"Hey."

"Hey, Pep, five minutes and she'll be done."

"Are you sure you want to give her this?"

"Of course, Pep. She's going to have the best costume out of all of them."

"It's Halloween, not a contest."

"Pepper," he says, putting the screwdriver down. "She's gonna love it."

"Yeah, but remember last time?"

"Relax. No real webshooters this time. Promise."

"Mhm," she hums, and then they give each other a kiss right before they fade into another scene.

People, like an ocean in the arena, pushing and pulling as if there is a storm.

Howard and Maria stare at the words written on a large red and gold banner.

The Iron Mansion

Welcome Home

The crowd applauds as Tony steps up to the podium at the front, smiling--a real smile, not a fake.

"Thank you," he says into the microphone. "First off, I want to talk about... my dad. Howard Stark was not the most patient man in the world. My mom was usually busy, and my dad was almost always working, but I know that he thought he was doing what was right. I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now, but I am thankful that he tried. Don't get me wrong, I'm still-"

He cuts himself off, glancing at the little girl standing next to the woman from before--Pepper?

"I'm still upset about a lot, but I'm okay. I had more than others, and the least I can do now is give some back, some of what I wished I had. The Iron Mansion is a start to give to those who need a roof, food, clothing, and comfort. No matter what age, come here and we can try to do something to help. I was never very good at running Stark Industries. I liked to be hands on with something, not doing paperwork or sitting in meetings. I like to see and hear people. So, surprise. This is the first of hopefully many meetups. I want to say something to each and every one of you..."

He takes a deep breath.

"My dad would always say Stark men are made of iron, but I say that we all are. Iron can rust, and so can we. It's up to us--not just you, not just me--whether or not we're going to move away from that water that's causing it."

The scene fades, and then they're standing in front of the cabin again.

The little girl is staring at them, eyes wide.

"Daddy!" She yells, holding onto a large metal helmet in one hand.

"Coming, Morguna," Tony hollers back playfully, at least until he comes out and sees the pair. "Morgan, go get Mommy for me, okay?"

"He looks like Grandpa," she says, but Tony gently leads her to the door, keeping his eyes on the pair.

"I know. Go get Mommy, okay? Tell her that my dream came true, okay?"

Morgan leaves, looking back as she does, leaving the three alone.

"Tony," Howard says. "You're not 'studying abroad' anymore, I see."

Tony doesn't say anything.

Just stares.

"Not going to poke me? Nothing?"

Howard knows what happened. He remembers.

"Oh, I'll get a DNA test, but... I had a dream about this. I saw this- you. Both of you. Right there."

"About that... Uh..." Howard lets out a chuckle. "Some rocks gave me two messages."

Tony frowns.

"What are they?"

"They're done. No more messages after this, no more dreams... Everything's gonna be okay. 'Course, I don't trust a bunch of rocks. Science is my ideal resource for-"

"Howard," Maria says.

Oh, she sounds angry.

She remembers.

Sounds like she's done with his... foolishness.

"Right," Howard says, clearing his throat.

"What's the other message?" Tony asks.

"Stark men are made of iron," Howard says proudly, then almost deflates. "And iron rusts. But some things can dissolve rust, and this is it."

What is it? Family time? Bonding?

Tony can't help but smile when Pepper comes out, Morgan behind her.

As cheesy as it sounds, he knows what it is.

It's love.

Contrary to semi-popular belief, Tony Stark does have a heart.

Time to see if Howard has one.

"Come in for some coffee?" Tony asks, sounding casual, but he's gripping Morgan's hand because though he's grateful for some of the, let's say pushing, that Howard gave him, he's keeping his Morguna right where she is.

He won't push away his family.

He won't rust again.

[the-i-don-t-know-what-i-m-doing]

Fresh ___________

The Royal Romance AU

Liam x MC (Charlotte)

Words: 1689

Warnings: N/A

Summary:  Tariq was found two months too late.  Two months after Liam married Madeleine.  Charlotte Rose stayed in Cordonia, and took the opportunity to be the duchess of Valtoria.  Her relationship with Liam became nothing more than a professional relationship between a Duchess and the King.   Five years later, Liam has given up hope of ending his marriage to Madeleine, and the two of them are on the brink of meeting the country’s demands of an heir.  What is Liam willing to do for a fresh start?

_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1:  Done

“I’m not doing this anymore,”

The queen blinked.  “What?”  

King Liam of Cordonia sighed and removed the crown from his head, realizing that it probably wasn’t helping the overwhelming ache in his head.  He placed the headpiece on a nearby table and turned back to his queen. She stood there in her ballgown, her blonde hair still pinned back and tucked into her tiara.  She looked beautiful, every ounce like the perfect queen for the country.  The two of them had just returned to his study after a long evening at a charity ball. They were supposed to be sitting down to debrief and discuss what funding had been brought in by the event, much like they always did.  “I’m done.” He whispered.  

“What are you talking about, your majesty?”  She spoke through gritted teeth.  “Can you please just tell me what it is you that you are finished with?  Hurry up, I’m exhausted, we have a lot to discuss, and I need to get out of this dress because I can’t breathe.”  

Liam looked at the woman in front of him and the crown that sat on his desk before he sighed deeply again. He didn’t know how to tell her this. She was a good queen, truly made for this role.  She was organized, decisive, poised, and charismatic.  She provided exactly the type of support he had needed as a young monarch.  As much as he hated to admit it, the two of them worked well together.    

“Madeleine…”  There was a knock on the study door.  Bastian’s head appeared.  

“Duchess Olivia is here, your majesty.”  He announced.

“Thank you.”  Liam quietly spoke. Madeleine watched as the red headed duchess walked into the study, an annoyed look on her face.  “Thank you for coming, your grace.  I hadn’t expected you so soon.”

“Liam, it is 1:30 in the morning.  I was told that you needed to speak with me urgently.  Of course I came quickly.  What on Earth do you need me for?”  Olivia’s voice had its usual bite to it, but she looked exhausted.  

Madeleine’s eyes darted back and forth between Liam and Olivia.  She couldn’t tell what was happening.  She had never been good at reading Liam.  He was stoic as always, and had not given her an ounce of emotion to go off of since she’d entered the study. So many things were spinning through her mind as she stared at the man in front of her, trying to understand what he wanted to say. Why was Olivia here?  Why was Liam surprised she had come so quickly?  

“Liam were you finally able to divorce me?”  Madeleine asked before thinking.

She knew he didn’t love her. He had only married her because of the crown, and after six months of marriage he had tried everything in his power to end their marriage.  The counsel had told him that it couldn’t be done unless one of them had been unfaithful. Liam had stopped trying to fight it after that, and the two of them had fallen into a routine.  They were never romantic.  He didn’t ever try to woo her.  They lived in separate apartments within the palace, and she had never even seen his bedroom.  They had been married for five years and the counsel was pushing for them to produce an heir to the throne, so they had begun the process of IVF because sex was not an option.  

But maybe he had found a way, maybe the counsel had agreed to let them go their separate ways.  Had he decided to marry Olivia?  Madeleine looked at the red headed duchess, knowing that was probably not the case.  Liam had only ever had eyes for one woman, and she was not in the room.  So, what did Olivia’s presence mean?

“Duchess Olivia, Queen Madeleine…”  Liam began to speak, and Madeleine felt her heartrate quicken.  “Thank you both for being here.”  

“Save the formalities, Liam.”  Olivia sneered, rolling her eyes.  “You had me brought to your study after midnight.  This is not the time.  Get this done.”  

“Very well,” Liam nodded. “Shall we sit?”  The ladies nodded, and Liam sat down behind his desk. Madeleine and Olivia sat in front of him.  The king took in the scene in front of him and the finality of what he was about to do began to hit him. What he was about to say would change all three of their lives forever, not to mention the lives of every citizen in Cordonia. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I’ve decided that I must make a change.”  He began speaking, and part of him thought he might change his mind in that moment.  He watched as Madeleine began wringing her hands and Olivia rolled her eyes.  He felt his heartrate quicken as adrenaline began pulsing through his body.  

“And what change would that be, your majesty?”  Olivia glared, feeling irritated with how long the king was taking to make his point.  What could possibly be so important that he’d had to put her and Madeleine in the same room so late at night?

“I’ve decided to abdicate the throne.”  Liam’s voice was calm, his face looked peaceful.  All the nerves he’d been feeling, all the anxious tension that had been building up in his body faded.  The two women in the room had very different reactions.  Liam watched as Olivia’s face turned as red as her hair, while Madeleine’s went completely pale.  

“You’ve decided to do what?”

“I’m going to be sick.”

“I am abdicating,” Liam said again.  “I am giving up the Crown.  I don’t want it anymore.”  

“You...don’t…want…it…any…more?”  Olivia spoke slowly through gritted teeth, her eyes were narrowed and Liam suddenly felt a small amount of fear.  

“Excuse me.” Madeleine ran out of the room, hand over her mouth.  Olivia and Liam sat in silence, Olivia glaring at Liam as they listened uncomfortably to Madeleine retching right outside the study door.  

“Are you insane?” Olivia hissed.  Liam shook his head, a solemn look covering his face.  Olivia let out an irritated laugh.  “Well then you must be dying.”  

“No.  I am simply taking advantage of my right to advocate.  I can’t do this anymore, Olivia.”  Liam shrugged.  He was trying not to show the relief that was filling him after finally telling someone about his plan.  This had been building up for years, and it was finally happening.  He was finally going to be free from this prison of a life.

“But, what about the Rys dynasty?”  Olivia raised an eyebrow, and Liam simply shrugged.

“It ends tonight.”  He shook his head.  “There is no one left in the family to take keep it going.”  

Olivia blinked at his heedlessness “And you don’t care?  Liam, your bloodline has been on the throne since the very beginning of our nation.  The people trust you, they need a leader.”  

Liam took a deep breath, unsure if Olivia knew why she was in the room.  “Do you know why I called you here tonight, Olivia?”  Before Olivia could answer, Madeleine burst into the room. Her coloring looked better, but her face still showed anxiety.  

“I’m sorry,” She said quietly.  Liam nodded, offering her a bottle of water.  She took it with a small smile.  Her eyes went to Olivia.  “Did you talk him out of it?”  

Oliva let out an exasperated sigh before covering her face with her hands.  “Liam, this is ridiculous.  You can’t just abandon your country and leave them with no leader…what is going on?”  

Madeleine’s eyes widened like she had an idea, but quickly narrowed again. This time anger filling them.  “If this is about that duchess…”  

“Madeleine, I can assure this has nothing to do with any duchess.  This is strictly my decision.  I am no longer happy with my role as king, and therefore I am stepping down. I have called an emergency council meeting at 7:00 tomorrow morning to make it official.  I’d suggest you begin packing your chambers.  We will have to leave the palace after I make my statement, which will be brief.  I will be asking for our marriage to be dissolved in the morning as well.  You will be free to live your own life.  I will expect your presence in the morning.”  Liam watched as a tear fell down Madeleine’s cheek.  

She stood up and nodded. “Yes, your majesty. I will be there.” She whispered as she walked toward the door.  

Liam watched her leave, and as soon as the door was shut he turned back to Olivia.  “What does Drake think about this?  

Liam shook his head.  “I haven’t told him,”  He responded quietly.  

“You haven’t told Drake that you’re abdicating?”  Olivia shook her head and smirked.  “That man is going to throw you a whisky party.”  The moment of humor was brief as Olivia suddenly realized that something wasn’t right.  “Wait, why did you tell me before you told Drake?”  

“Olivia,”  Liam braced himself for what was about to come.  

“Don’t you dare say what I think you’re about to say, Liam.  Don’t you do this to me.  You of all people cannot possibly do this to someone.”  Olivia’s eyes pleaded with him, but he would not relent.  He had prepared himself for this, knowing that it would be the hardest part.  Knowing exactly what was about to happen to Olivia.  

“Surely you already knew, Olivia.”  His voice did not waver.  He felt bad for what he was doing to her, because she was right.  He did know exactly what she would feel as soon as he stepped down in the morning.  “I know that you were well aware of what is to happen when there are no more members of the Rhys family to take the throne.”  

Olivia’s eyes filled with tears, and she choked out a sob.  Liam hadn’t seen her cry since she was a little girl missing her parents.  He watched the normally emotionless duchess process what was happening, her tears falling freely.  He reached for a box of tissues to give her, but she threw them back at him before quickly regaining her composure.  “I’m going to smack you.”  She sneered.  

“It’s no longer treason.” Liam grinned at his lifelong friend. “Plus, you have diplomatic immunity now…your majesty.”  

[nikolairas]

self para: lucy.

characters: lucy rasmussen (pov), nikolai rasmussen, magnus rasmussen, ingrid rasmussen

word count: 2,432. 

summary: the development of lucy rasmussen over time and the story of her husband’s disappearance. nikolai’s secret is revealed here.

tw: abuse, death, violence, blood

lucy met magnus when she was only fifteen. when lucy was fifteen, she was bright and bubbly, with wide eyes and large curls, bright pink lips with laughter always on the tip of her tongue. "he's the boy you're going to marry," her mother had said. "i don't know him," lucy said. "yes," her mother had said, "but the rasmussen name is powerful. and they need our money. you can help each other. " 

lucy had always been an easygoing and bright girl, but by the time she turned eighteen, there was no fighting it. she was the youngest in her family and the only girl. this was how her parents saw that she could be useful. she didn't know magnus well, but he was handsome. she thought that maybe she could love him.

but lucy never learned to love magnus. it was six days after they returned from their honeymoon when he hit her for the first time. she'd been on the phone with an old boyfriend, one that still loved her and one she thought she might have loved too. magnus had ripped the phone out of her hands, smashing it on the floor, wires and buttons spanning out over the tile. "you will never disrespect me like this again," he'd said, "i am the man in your life now." he was six years older than her and much stronger. there was not much that could be done. 

darkness filled her days as she put on a smile for every gala, every charity ball, every luncheon. the rasmussen bank account only grew – magnus has a mind for money, a keen eye for what would be a good investment, a good property. as lucy got better at predicting his moves, the beatings became less frequent. but in doing this, she was losing her light. she was losing everything that made her lucy. it was not until she gave birth to their son, nikolai, that she finally began to hope again. she understood her purpose, and it was to raise this boy to be gentle and good, despite his father's temper and anger. it was to protect him.

she devoted herself to this purpose, to teaching him piano and reading him stories every night. she fostered his imagination as best she could. all that lucy rasmussen wanted to was to raise a good, kind, and smart boy that would counteract all the evil and violence that his father put into the world. when magnus got angry, she was able to retreat into nikolai's room and read him a story. he would fall asleep with his head on her chest, curled up in her arms. she knew that she would move mountains and fight armies for her son, her boy, her light. she is supposed to be taking care of him, but most nights, nikolai is the one who takes care of her. when there is broken glass and black eyes, nikolai stays up late and tells his mother stories.

after ingrid is born, she joins them for story time every night, even if she is too little to understand. magnus is angered by their closeness and their traditions. after an outburst, it is decided – there will be no more stories.

it isn't until nikolai is twelve that lucy finally loses a battle she has been fighting since his birth. nikolai brings home bad grades from school and she stuffs them in her drawer, hoping to god that she can hide them. but when the teacher calls, magnus answers, and he lashes out at the boy for not living up to the set expectations. late at night, he lashes out at lucy. "how could you hide this from me?" he says, "this is my house. he is my son. you continue to fail him – if i don't teach him how the world works, he will never survive."

lucy begins to notice change in her boy after that. he acts out more at school, comes home with scrapes and bruises. he leaves home with fresh ones too. every day, he becomes harder and more closed off and lucy feels like she has failed him and herself. she misses her nikolai, the one who would stay up late to tell her stories and play the piano. one afternoon, she comes back from a luncheon and she can hear the echoes of clair de lune around the house. she peers into the piano room and sees nikolai playing, fingers fiercely flying over the keys. ingrid's laughter fills the room as she dances, spinning and jumping off of things.

lucy walks back to the den, sinks into a chair by the fireplace, and sobs.

routine continues. the men fight, they make up. magnus begs for forgiveness, nikolai doesn't respond. the two men fight in the kitchen, they fight in the living room. they break the coffee table, they break the lamp. they break lucy rasmussens heart, over and over again.

if nikolai has become magnus, then ingrid has become lucy. ingrid is girly and bright, full of laughter and wide-eyed smiles. boys love her, teachers are delighted by her. her future seems bright. she is clearly nikolai's world and he will do anything to protect her. lucy is proud of this – she has raised a boy who cares about his sister, who looks after his family. lucy fears the day that magnus might hurt ingrid, but he doesn't touch her until she is nineteen.

ingrid always had many admirers, but one night, one of these boys is caught in her room. it's 11:30pm. she should be in bed and it is certainly against magnus' rules for her to have a boy in her room. magnus barely has the door open before the boy is running out, clutching his khakis and fearing for his life. it is not the boy that magnus intends to punish. "how dare you disobey me? and bring a man into this home – " he pauses, "i never raised a daughter to be this disrespectful towards me, towards her family."

lucy watches, petrified, "magnus, don't –" she whispers.

"you didn't raise me at all," ingrid hisses, "you've never done anything for this family but hurt us, close us in, and trap us. you're not my father and i will never be your daughter."

the screaming brings nikolai rushing in from the other room, hair messy and shirt half-buttoned. he's red-faced and out of breath. he arrives just in time to see magnus reprimand ingrid for her insolence with this fist. she spins backward and falls against her bedside table and on to the carpet. she jumps up, but nikolai has already raced forward and is at magnus' throat.

"don't you fucking touch her," he says, "don't you ever fucking touch her." lucy's worst fears are realized when fists begin flying. nikolai hits first, swiping his father across the face. magnus hits back, pushing him against the window and punching him back, hard. the two hold nothing back as they throw each other around ingrid's room, into bedposts and shattering bedframes. ingrid screams, trying to step between the two, and in the crossfire, niko accidentally swipes her across the face. lucy pulls her daughter back, holding her close. "just stay out of it," lucy whispers, "it will all be over soon."

ingrid continues to shout, crying, but lucy stays calm. she steadies her breath and holds her daughter close as nikolai gains the upper hand, pinning his father to the floor. lucy watches as nikolai swings, over and over again. she can see in his eyes that he's lost, that he's really not the little boy she once knew. his shirt is bloodstained, his hair is disheveled, and in his face she can see the darkness and emptiness that she recognizes only in the face of one other man.

magnus has been beat long past breathing. nikolai stops, falling backward on his knees. "oh my god," he whispers, bringing his hands to his face. he leaves bloody fingerprints on his own cheeks. "what..." lucy lets go of ingrid and she rushes forward, checking her father's pulse. his face is beyond recognizable, bloody and disfigured. it is strange to see him laying like that – the man that once controlled her every move, commanded her every step. now he lay powerless and empty, a shell on the ground. she would be moved, but she looks at her children and knows that she has no time for that. she has to act fast.

"what have i done?" tears begin to stream down her son's face as he shakes, coughing. he starts to stand up but doesn't make it, vomiting the contents of his stomach all over the floor beside his father’s body. he collapses, shaking and crying. ingrid goes to him and he holds up his hand, "don't touch me – just...just call the police. call someone. maybe we can...maybe if we're fast enough...they can help..."

the stench is unbearable, blood, death, and vomit – but lucy doesn't register it. she doesn't even wrinkle her nose. lucy brushes her skirt off and finally speaks. "no," she says, "do not call the police. they will take you away forever, is that what you want? to leave me and your sister alone, spending every cent on a lawyer, rendering us penniless pariahs after we battle this scandal tooth and nail? and you, in jail – or worse, unable to see us ever again, your future ripped from you because of the things he did?"

lucy shakes her head, "no. it has always been the three of us and it will continue to be. we need each other now more than ever. ingrid, help your brother to the shower while i clean up this mess."

so, lucy does what she has to do. she calls in a few favors and replaces the carpet. she ensures that the body will be sunk deep into the hudson river, never to be found. she does what she has to in order to take care of her children, to ensure the future of their safety, because that's what she's always done. as she watches his body sink, deeper and deeper, she does not feel sadness or regret – she feels a sort of satisfaction. unfortunately, this will not come without a price. she knows that more arrangements will have to be made and more lies will have to be told in order to keep them all safe. but lucy also knows that she will and can do whatever it takes. because even this will be better than the life they endured with magnus lording over them.

so, she goes home. she finds ingrid sleeping on the couch in the den and makes a mental note to get all her things moved into the guest room tomorrow. ingrid sleeps restlessly, tossing and turning. lucy pulls the blanket up over her daughter and kisses her forhead. they have hard days ahead, lucy knows, but she is so proud of her and the woman she has become.

lucy walks into magnus' study, opening the safe. she immediately starts going through papers, sorting through accounts. her glasses rest on the bridge of her nose as she leafs through everything, knowing that this will be a long and sleepless night. she's only made it through a few files when nikolai walks in.  he's in a daze, still in shock. his eyes seem glazed over. lucy drops the papers on the floor and runs toward him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "i'm so sorry," she whispers, "i wish...i had done more. i wish i had said more when i could have, then this...oh, nikolai, i'm so sorry."

he shakes his head. "no, this is all my fault...you should turn me in – you could say you didn't know...that it was all me, i..."

"you know i can't do that," she says, "and i won't. i need you here with me, i always have. you know what the consequences would be."

nikolai pauses for a long time before he finally nods. "i'm scared," he whispers, "i swear, i don't know what happened to me. i started and i just couldn't stop myself, it was like i was blind – it felt like blacking out, and i looked down and he was just..." his eyes fill with tears, his lip quivering. "i couldn't stop myself. what if it happens again? what if i lose control and it's...it's you, or ingrid?" a tear rolls down his cheek and he steps back from his mother, shaking his head, "i can't do that. i can't be here, it's too dangerous. i'm too dangerous."

lucy steps forward towards her son. "no, it's not. we'll be okay. ingrid and i will look after you and you'll look after us. from now on, you're going to keep your cool. you're going to stay calm and stop getting into fights. and you're going to run this company." lucy walks back to grab one of the files and presses it into his hand. "you have to do that – you owe it to us now. we need you."

nikolai looks at his mother, eyes resolute. he looks down at the file, leafing through the pages in his hands. she can see his posture harden in front of her as he realizes what he must do. he won't lose control again because he can't. it's that simple. his mother needs him, his sister needs him. so, in spite of the tragedy, he will soldier on.

but every night, lucy can hear screaming from down the hall. she knows that he's having night terrors. her son has always had a monster inside of him and now it is free. 

nikolai wakes up in the morning and puts on a suit and drinks black coffee at the kitchen counter. sometimes, lucy walks into the kitchen and her heart races. for a moment, sometimes she can swear it's him, pulled up from the bottom of the hudson river. then, nikolai turns around, brightens his eyes and smiles at her and she can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

with magnus gone, she hopes to god that the worst of it is over. she hopes to god.

the girl that lucy rasmussen once was when she was fifteen is long gone. her hair is straight and thin, eyes dark and tired. she walks with purpose and intent, heels clicking down every hallway with a haunting rhythm. dark red lips with a snide remark always on the tip of her tongue. she will do what she has to in order to keep her children safe. just as she has always done.

[humansacrificialadvisor]

You had a fight?

For the @mystradepromptchallenge

Wait what he said?

In autumn

a family member

fight

Sherlock finds his brother under a pile of leaves, drunk after an argument with Greg.

“Brother mine.” Sherlock sighed.

“Leave me be.” he mumbled pushing his hands away.

“Please get up now…it is cold.”

“No, this is comfy.” he snuggled under the pile of colourful leaves.

“It is really cold and wet, please you’ll get sick…you always get sick so easily.” he pulled him up. “Please My.” Sherlock grunted and fall back next to his brother. He couldn’t possibly carry his eighteen years old drunk brother; no matter how close the front door was. “I get Lestrade, you stay put.”

“No.” Mycroft sat up. “Not him.”

“Why?”

“Let’s get home.” he mumbled and got up, Sherlock jumped up to catch him.

“There.” he wrapped his arms around him.

“Don’t call that idiot…do not call that excuse of a man…”

“I will not Mycroft.”

“He is an idiot! I hate him so much.” he sobbed. “I hate him.” he sunk back to the ground.

“What did he do now?” Sherlock sighed hoping he’ll get up again.

“Mummy will kill me.” he mumbled poking his finger through the tears of his trousers.

“They already left…so you can hide it.”

“Good…because I’m drunk and smoked and drunk more.”

“I can smell that. You had a fight?”

“Yes.”

“What about?” Sherlock nudged him to get up.

“About something.” they finally made it to the hall.

“Tell me.” Sherlock gave him tissues.

“He….” he whined wiping his tears. “He said; he said and then he…I heard him say that! He said that he…he said that!”

“Wait what he said?” he sighed.

“That he is single.” he whined.

“Oh…”

“I came out, everyone knows it, everyone bullied me for it and he just hides…all those years I put up with it. He always said that we won’t hide it once I finish high school…and now this! And I should consider his situation, ‘I’m a policeman My, I can’t advertise it…’ ‘You always said you understand…’  ‘Why is it always about you…’ I have to put up with everything, and I can not be mad because of it……I think I’m going to be sick.” he crawled up the stairs.

“Take a shower once you threw up.” Sherlock followed him.

“How nice of you.” he mumbled before disappearing.

“Mycroft? Are you okay?” Sherlock knocked on the door after a while. “My!” he went in to find Mycroft in the tub under the cold shower.

“You could have taken your shoes off at least.” he sighed. “Mum will kill you for it.”

“Hmmm?” he opened his eyes.

“Get out of the tub!” he crossed his arms in front of his chest trying to sound harsh and demanding.

“Okay.”

“Towel, pj.” he gave them to him.

“Thank you Sherlock, sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s okay. I won’t tell mum, but…”

“I know, I owe you one, big one.” he sniffled.

“Once you are dressed…bed! I’ll leave water out for you, drink it!”

“Thank you so much Sherlock, really.”

“Get on with it, you’ll catch a cold.” he left him. Mycroft got changed and hanged out his wet clothes.

“Hi.” he stepped back when Greg spoke. “Sherlock called me, he told me you were laying drunk under the leaves.”

“Why do you care? I’m nobody to you.”

“You are my boyfriend My.”

“Am I?” he snorted and walked past him. “I heard you clearly.”

“And remember what I told you?”

“I do…you are ashamed of me. Ashamed of loving ME!” he yelled. “We are done, you don’t have to lie anymore.”

“Mycroft…”

“I love you, gave you everything, helped you with everything, I agreed to hide our relationship, I agreed to everything, but…but…” he tried to catch his breath and not start sobbing. “But you saying that you are single and agreeing to go out with the girls…”

“I’m working!” he rubbed his eyes. “Okay, I’m working…I have to find their dealer, that contaminated shit killed three already. I’m not supposed to talk about it, I signed the form saying not even my mother or my partner can know what I do. No one can know about it so my cover won’t get blown. I’m not lying.” Mycroft stared at him with confusion. “We will talk once you sleep it off.”  Greg took his arm and helped him to bed. “I come and see you tomorrow, promise…tonight is the party, hopefully can close the case. Drink this.” he gave him a bottle. “Just water love.”

“I…I’m so sorry.” he whined tears running down his cheeks. “So sorry, I should have, I should have seen it.”

“It’s okay…sorry that I had to lie to you. I’m not ashamed of you, not at all. I love you…I just couldn’t tell it to you out in the stairway…anyone could overheard us…I tried to get you back in, so I could explain, but…”

“I ran off.”

“Yeah.” Greg tucked him in. “What have you drunk?”

“Something cheap and terrible.” he curled up. “Do you have a little time?”

“Yes, it starts at nine.” he settled next to him stroking his hair.

“I’m so sorry, so sorry Gregory.” he whispered shakily.

“I know love.”

“Do you…can you forgive me? I was so nasty and…”

“I already forgot about it…you should too. Only thing is to remember, that I love you, truly love you…and promise that I’ll take you to the annual charity ball. I’ll show you off, my gorgeous, clever boyfriend.” he kissed him. Mycroft chuckled which turned to a sob. “It’s okay…it’s okay love.” he mumbled till Mycroft calmed down and finally drifted off.

[ehkw1989]

Letting Go - The Royal Romance Imagine featuring Drake x MC (Evelyn Carter)

Letting Go – The Royal Romance Imagine featuring Drake x MC (Evelyn Carter)

Pairings: Drake x MC (Evelyn Carter); Liam x Olivia

Warnings: Character Death, Angst

Ratings: PG-13

Masterlist: Can be found here

Author’s Note: So late for Halloween. Sorry about that.  I just got back from vacation and I’m still recovering from a stomach flu.  If you like this imagine, please feel free to go and check out my masterlist and please review, reblog and like.  Hugs and kisses - Edith

October 31, 2018 6:30PM

“Daddy, are you sure you will be fine?” Astoria asks as she puts on her Christian Louboutin high heels.  “I can stay if you want; I don’t really enjoy the balls anymore.  They got boring when I turned 18 and I had to start adulting.”

“And you’re 23, so please continue to adult.  I’ll be fine, go enjoy the spooky festivities.” Drake smiles at his daughter.  “You can adult for the whole Walker family and distract everyone from my absence.”

“They just want you to be happy.  And maybe show up to a public event once in a while to show that Duke Walker is still alive.” She retorts as she glances at Drake in the mirror while admiring her reflection.  “What do you think?”

“Definitely look like a witch.  A witch with expensive taste.” Drake teases.

“They were a gift from Aunt Hana.  She’s the one with expensive tastes.” Astoria grins.  “I’m going to head off.  I’ll drink all the whiskey for you!” She blows him a kiss as she begins to walk out the door.  “Love you!”

“Love you too, munchkin.  Be back by midnight.” Drake calls to his daughter.  With a sigh, he pulls on his hiking shoes and begins to walk towards the door.

“Your Grace?” Came a voice from an adjourning room.  Drake turns around to see Gladys holding a basket.

“Just heading out to the cottage for some peace and quiet.   Will everyone be able to handle the Halloween party for the children?”

“Yes, we’re just finishing the decorations for the children’s events. I just thought you might want some food and drink for tonight?” Gladys gestured to the basket on her arm.

“Thanks,” Drake takes the basket from her and lifts the cover.  “You’ve got my favourite!”  He exclaims as he lifts a bottle of Dalmore Single Highland Malt Scotch.  He digs around and pulls out a container of cronuts.  “And Evie’s as well; she’ll be happy about that.”  He waves goodbye as he walk through the doors.  “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.  I hope everything goes well tonight with the celebration; please call me on my cell if you require anything.”

As Drake walks through the door, Gladys turns towards a maid and whispers to her, her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Did you hear his Grace say that Duchess Evelyn will be happy?”

Sinking down into his comfortable armchair at the cottage in the woods, Drake takes a sip of his single malt scotch and sighs in contentment.  The fire was roaring nicely in the fireplace, casting shadows throughout the room.

“Finally, some peace and quiet, eh Padfoot?”  He scratches the dog’s ears as Padfoot barks in response.  “Someone coming, boy?  I wonder who that can be.  Is it your mistress?  It can’t be a trick or treater so far in the woods.” His eyes lit up at the thought of Evelyn coming.  He hears the keys jingling at the door as the door unlocks.  “Evie?”

“Hi love!” Evie greets him as he runs towards her as Padfoot follows him.  “Hi Padfoot! Who’s a good boy?” She rubs his head only for the dog to whine and run away.  “What’s wrong with Padfoot?  Did you give him beef jerky again?”

“Hey!  Never mind, Padfoot’s having a rough night.” He grins as he wraps her in an embrace and kisses her. “I’ve missed you so much; I can’t believe you made it.  You’re so cold; come and have a seat by the fire.  I can’t believe you are here with me.”

“I’m not some delicate duchess that can’t handle a short hike.”  She shots back as she shivers.  “Although I don’t think I’m dressed appropriately.” She gestures to her costume.

“Are you supposed to be a barmaid?” He looks up and down, noting her puffed sleeves, apron and short skirt.

“Yes, and I bought you whiskey from Scotland. Just like a real barmaid. Let me just go back to the manor to get it.”

“It’s fine, Evie; there’s no need to go anywhere tonight.  Just stay with me, I have some single malt here.” He gestures to the whiskey bottle.  “Gladys packed a picnic basket for us with some goodies.  I believe there’s some cronuts in there for you.” He pulls her towards the fire.  “Have a seat, you’re still so cold.  I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I promised you that I will be here every Halloween with you.” She smiles, “There, I think I’m getting warmer already.”  She reaches for his cheek only to see Drake shiver at the contact.  “Or maybe not.”

“No it’s fine,” Drake draws Evie into his embrace, “Here, let me hold you; I can warm you up real quick.” He smirks at her.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had some time alone.” Evie mumbles, “It’s nice; I miss it when it’s just the both of us.  I’m so glad Liam and Olivia agreed to take Astoria for tonight.  I think I might just doze off.”

“Try to stay awake a little while longer.” He kisses her on the forehead.  “I’ve missed you so much.  I have so much to tell you.”

“I’ll try,” She smiles sleepily, “But with Astoria just learning to sleep by herself, I haven’t had much sleep.  I keep waking up to sooth her when she cries.”

“You mean, we both keep waking up,” Drake smiles at her, “I have bags under my-“ A notification from his phone interrupted him.

“Who’s that?” Evie looks annoyed as she grabs the phone to see who it is. “I thought we agreed that there would be no interruptions tonight. It’s Liam.  He’s asking if you want company tonight.  Why would he ask that?  Liam and Olivia offered to take Astoria tonight.  They wanted us to have some alone time.”

Drake swallows as he answers, “He-he probably made a mistake.  You know Liam, their son is probably keeping them up as well.  He’s probably very tired and extremely overworked.”

“No, Eddie’s a darling.  Olivia tells me that he sleeps through the night now.  You should text him back; ask him if they need us to take Astoria back?”  Evie replies as she gets up.  “I’m going to get some plates for these cronuts.”

“I can get them.” Drake kisses her as he gets up from the couch and takes his phone with him.  “Be right back; don’t go anywhere.”

“Where am I going to go?” She shots back.  “Please call Liam.  I can’t find my phone anywhere.” She looks annoyed and she looks around for her phone. She looks down to see Padfoot looking at her.  “Hey boy, come to Mommy!  What’s wrong darling?” She asks as Padfoot run away from her towards the bedroom, whining the whole way as if he didn’t recognize her.  “Come here, Padfoot!”  She runs after the dog and into their bedroom.

She looks around the dark room to see where Padfoot is.  “Silly boy, it’s me, your mommy.”  She looks under the bed only to see a box filled with magazines and newspapers.  “What’s this?  Drake doesn’t usually collect stuff like this.”  She looks through the box and flips through a magazine, a paragraph catching her eye.  “The 20th anniversary of Duchess Evelyn’s death.  Go to page 3 for an exclusive memorial piece written by Duchess Astoria” She drops the magazine in confusion.  “I can’t be dead.  I’m alive, I just talked to Drake and hugged him and why am I so cold?” She murmurs and hugs herself in an effort to warm up.

“Evie!  Where are you?” Drake calls out and stops as he sees her.  “I thought I lost-never mind, I thought I told you to stay by the fire to try to get warm.” He hugs her tightly.

“Drake, why does the magazine say I’m dead?” She reaches down to pick up the magazine and gestures to towards the paragraph.  “And Astoria can’t write yet, she’s only 3 years old!” Evie exclaims.  “What’s going on?  Oh, I’m so cold, darling.” She shivers.

“Evie, it’s alright.  Take a deep breath.  You’re going to be alright; you just need to calm down and stay here with me.  You’ll be fine.” Drake hugs her tightly as if afraid to let go.

“I can’t stay here with you forever; I have a meeting with Liam tomorrow to review some policies and then there’s a charity funct-“ Evie gasps.  “Oh Drake, I’m dead, aren’t I?”

“No, love, you’re not.  You’re not dead.” Drake chokes back a sob.  “You’re here with me and that’s all that matters. We’re together and we will be fine.”

“So how come Padfoot can’t recognize me? And the magazine?  What’s going on?” Evie fires her questions rapidly at him.  “You never said I was alive. I am dead.” She came to the conclusion and flops down on the bed, looking rather defeated.

Sighing, Drake admits defeat as well and stated in a flat voice.  “You died 20 years ago.  You were driving to get something for the children’s party because I had forgotten it.  It was raining and I shouldn’t have let you go by yourself.  You were so tired because of Astoria but you insisted and I didn’t stop you.  I failed you.”

“Oh darling, you didn’t fail me.” Evie grabs his hands.  “I remember everything now.  I’ve been coming back every year, haven’t I?” She recalls the past times that she was here.  “Every year.” She murmurs in wonder.

“Yes, every year.  This is the 20th time that you’ve come back.” He whispered.  “And every November 1st, I wake up and you’re gone.”

“Oh Drake,” She whispered and hugs him.  “Darling, I come back every Halloween?”

“Every Halloween.” Drake confirms.  “And every year, I come and wait for you at the cottage.  I didn’t know how anyone else would react to seeing you.  The first time you showed up was in our bedroom and Astoria was asleep.  I started going to the cottage afterwards; I didn’t know how everyone else would react if Astoria said she saw you.  Liam and Olivia booked me an appointment with a therapist after I told them  I saw you in the bedroom.”

Evie slaps him on the arm playfully.  “They’re just watching out for you!  We’re so lucky to have friends like that.” She smiles with tears in her eyes.  “How’s everyone else?”

“Good, Astoria’s actually engaged to Eddie.” He smiles.  “We’re actually going to be a family of in-laws.”

“That’s wonderful, I love Eddie so much.  They’re prefect for each other.”  Evelyn continues to ask about their friends and family until she runs out of questions.  “Drake?”

“Uh-huh?”

“Why do you think I come back every Halloween?”

“It’s said that on All Hallow’s Eve that the veil between the world of the living and dead are at its thinnest and the dead can walk among the living.”  Drake murmurs into her sleepily while holding her close to his chest.

“That’s a very scholarly explanation.” She teases.  “But really, why do I come back?”

“I don’t know.” He kisses her forehead.  “But I’m glad you do.”

“Do you think-“ She pauses before she continues, “Do you think it’s because you can’t let go?”

He stares at her as he mulls over his thoughts before deciding on a statement, “I won’t let go.” He states firmly.

“But I want you to let go,” She smiles sadly at him.  “I don’t think it’s healthy, love.”

“I won’t and that’s the end of that.” He holds her tightly.  “Don’t let go of me.”

“I can’t; you’re squeezing me so tightly.” She jokes as she squirms in his embrace.  “Think about what I said.” She kisses him on the cheek.

“I won’t let go.” He murmurs into her ear as he dozed off into sleep.  “Ever.”

October 31, 2029 8PM

Drake stretches his legs out in his armchair, his gray hair glistening in the fire’s light.  “Rufus, I’m getting old eh, boy?”  He reaches down to pat the dog on its head; stopping when he hears the keys jingly in the knob.  “I think your mistress is here.”

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

DOTW 43 - start

Eren made it through Anna's christening and his birthday in one piece. His post heat blues still lingering, leaving him a sobbing mess as he proudly held his Goddaughter. Erwin was named her second Godfather, but Eren didn't care. He got to cuddle her as much as he liked and she adored the attention. Levi was very attentive to his needs as well. His frayed nerves, coming out of heat, meant this his lover had called Mike to come help him at the apartment, rather than forcing him to go to hospital. Mike had been sympathetic, letting Levi set him up with the saline bag he'd brought with him, and more or less watching over Levi as he gave him a check-up. Given iron supplements to help with the anemia from the nose bleeds, he was warned that if he had another bad nosebleed, Mike wanted him to come in. Thankfully, he hadn't. Because his birthday was during his post heat, Anna's christening was the only thing they had planned. He'd already talked to Hanji about it, and had been made to promise he'd come spend a little time with her again, once his mood had lifted. Levi had surprised him with tickets to the Charity Ball, and a promise of day out once his post heat had passed. From what Eren could remember, it was the same Ball Petra had forced on Levi last year. It wasn't Levi's scene, but his alpha had promised he'd love it, and to dance with him. So it was acting as a kind of light at the end of the tunnel. He just had to hold out a little longer. * Levi had had a shit day at work. He couldn't take time off to be there the whole time Eren went through his post heat depression, which left him bitter enough as it was. What he fucking hated though, was being called out on a fucking prank. It was a waste of fucking time and resources, and maybe because he'd rejected Petra's invitation to this years Charity Ball, she bounced the call through to them like she took some joy in sending them on a nearly hour long trip to nowhere. It was the fucking boons. Erwin was in high spirits, teasing him about leaving Titan behind to rush home to Eren, though that had faded into annoyance rivalling his own when they arrived to find absolutely nothing. No stabbing victim. No fighting. No one even home at the residence... which looked like it'd been abandoned for some time. Levi let Erwin call it through to Petra, the address would be flagged and marked in case of future calls. Irritated, he grabbed his phone off the dash. Erwin raising an eyebrow "Calling Eren?" "After this fuck around, I need to let him know I'll be home late" "How's he doing?" Levi rolled his eyes "You saw him at Anna's christening" "He was post heat" "He still is. It should be gone tomorrow, or the day after" "Mike said his heat had been rough" "Since when do you and Mike talk about my omega?" "Since you leave a stinking blanket in my spare room" "Fuck. You could have washed it and returned it. Its Eren's second favourite" Erwin laughed "Who would have thought you'd care about favourite and second favourite blankets?" "I have no idea about blankets. That's Eren's Department. I just know that the green furry thing is his second favourite" "The word you want it "Mink". It's a mink blanket" "Oh, fuck off. It's furry, but not as furry as the blue one. He's lucky I know how to get stains out" Erwin snorted, making Levi roll his eyes again "Get your head out of the gutter. He over heated during his heat and got blood all over it. Killed both the pillows too" "Damn" "Yeah. Eren doesn't do blood at the best of times. He's not one to run away, but I could see why he was freaking out. Anyway, shut up" Eren was sleeping when he called, his boyfriend mumbling something he thought was intelligible, and even if Levi couldn't work out what he was saying, he was sure it was adorable. A sleepy Eren was adorable. Explaining carefully he'd be late home, his boyfriend gave a heavy sigh, before mumbling he understood and hanging up. He was probably in this shit but there wasn't anything he could do about it. People were wankers. Over the next couple of days, they were called out to another three pranks, while Eld and Gunther also had the same issue. They couldn't ignore the calls, not on the off chance that someone actually needed help. By the time the Charity Ball rolled around, he was done. He didn't want to go. Even though he'd promised Eren. Taking Eren out shopping for something to wear, he'd upset his omega by not paying attention when Eren wanted to know. His boyfriend simply enquiring what was and wasn't ok to do, and what was and wasn't ok wear. The cherry on top being when he'd snapped. Eren throwing his three dress selections at him, before storming out the store. He didn't even notice they'd changed stores, or that Eren had suggested wearing a dress... he didn't mean to bring his work home with him... and heading out after his shift was a shit idea. He was just so done... awkwardly paying for Eren's three selections, he trailed out of the store, looking for his love. Eren was sitting on a bench a little way away from the store. He needed to explain things. Wandering down to where Eren was sitting, Eren turned away from him as he sat. Yep. He was in the shit "Eren. Look. I'm sorry, ok" "No" "We've been prank calls at work, and I guess we're all feeling annoyed over it. I didn't mean to bring my shit day home with me" "Levi. You don't even want to go. What are we even doing here?" "I..." "You what? I don't know any of these people and the ones who do know me, think I'm either a whore for being a stripper, or a basket case for being there while my brother died" "No one thinks that" "You don't need to fucking lie. I'm nervous and I asked you what I should do, and you couldn't even give me a reply. If you don't want to go. Then there's no point going" "I want to go, because I know you'll enjoy it" "How am I supposed to enjoy it? Not when you don't want to be there" "Eren, the whole point of going is to drink some expensive alcohol and dance. I don't usually dance, and I'm usually avoiding Petra, because she somehow can't get it through her head that I'm gay. But I bought those tickets because I wanted to go with you. I want to show off my boyfriend" Eren sighed, an angry pout on his lips as he turned to him "You're not allowed to leave me alone. I cannot fend for myself against your friends. And no Petra. Or Olou" "I won't let Petra and Olou near you" "Do you promise?" "I promise I'll try my hardest not to let you get trapped by them" "And don't leave me with Erwin either, or his friends" "Eren, do you just hate all our work friends?" "I don't hate them. I just don't know them. I'm fucking terrified of fucking this up and embarrassing you. Or saying the wrong thing. I'm a freak as it is. That's why I need you to tell me the do's and don't's of this. Fuck. Just take me home" "You're not a freak and you're not going to fuck up. Eld and Gunther don't mind you, neither does Mike, he'll be there. You've met Marcel, he and his mate will probably be there. So will Erwin, he might even dance with you, though he will step on your feet. You've met Rico and Nanaba before, even if you don't remember them" Eren still looked angry "I'm sorry. Ok. So please, let me take you out for a night of drinks we don't have to pay for, and bad dancing" "And I want a new blanket. My green one is missing" "It's at Erwin's. I took it for my rut" Eren sighed "What? Is something wrong with that?" "No. I just really liked that blanket" "And you'll get it back. Let's just go home. I'll let you use my credit card to buy whatever blanket you want" "It won't be the same" "What does that mean?" "It means that I really liked that blanket" He didn't get the blanket issue. Erwin would wash and return it. Then it could go back into the small colony blankets they'd collected... maybe he could just slip it back in, and all would be forgiven? It wasn't like Eren didn't change his mind about his favourites with no consultation... Omegas... he feared he would never understand them. * Eren didn't want to wear a dress. He'd just dragged Levi into the store because it felt like he was supposed to. He didn't know any of Levi's friends that were male omegas, and was certain that outside him and Marco, there weren't any in Levi's life. That's why he felt dressing like a girl would probably go over better. He'd been trying to ask him all about this, only for Levi to either hum, or reply with "yeah". He didn't understand why Levi didn't understand why this was such a big thing for him. He took up all his alpha's time. Levi never went out for drinks with his friends, other than Erwin. He felt selfish. And what was worse, Levi wore his mark and hadn't said anything about marking him back... Levi was even calling him his mate. But how could he be his mate, without the mark he so desperately wanted? Why had Levi let him mark him? He didn't understand, and each time his boyfriend called him his mate... really fucking hurt. Tonight was just going to make it worse. He didn't want to be near Levi's friends, because Levi's friends would see he wasn't marked back. That he... that his alpha didn't love him as much he loved him. Feeling like an idiot, Eren did his hair and makeup, a shimmering dark green eyeshadow, with black wingtips. His dress just as deep, green in a certain light, and black in another. It hugged the lines of his hips and thighs, while the top ruffled hid his lack of cleavage. Pairing it with silver accessories, he hoped he didn't look too stupid... and that his dress wasn't too short. He could bend over and not show his boxer briefs... which meant it had to be acceptable? This would have been easier if Levi just told him what the fuck to wear, and not fobbed him off with "Just wear what you want to, you'll look beautiful either way". Well looking beautiful didn't just fucking happen. It took tucking, plucking, shaving and styling. Levi had dressed in a plain black suit, with a white shirt and a dark green tie. See. His alpha looked good. Fuck. He should have just worn a suit. Was it too late to head back in? He could change... he should change. Stepping back into the bathroom, Levi caught him before he could flee "Where are you going?" "I'm changing" "You just spent two hours in there. We need to go" "I look stupid!" "I'm sure you look fine" He didn't want to look fine. Fine was a nice pair of jeans and a shirt. He wanted to look good "I look stupid" "Then you'll look as good as I do. Get out here" "I look stupid because you didn't tell me what to wear" "Eren, we're going to be late" "Let me just..." "Get out here. At least let me see" Walking out, he knew he looked stupid. He felt stupid. Climbing to his feet, Levi looked him up and down "I knew it. I look fucking stupid" Levi cleared his throat "What? No. No. Just the opposite. Look perfect" "I think I look stupid" "You definitely don't. I don't know if I want to let you out, looking like that" "I... I'll change" "Eren, you look amazing" "I'm a guy in a dress" "And? So? Is there something wrong with that?" "People don't usually approve" "They're wrong. You look great, and we need to leave. We'll be late otherwise" "I feel stupid" "You're not stupid. You don't look stupid. Every single person there is going to wish they looked as good as you do" Yeah. Well. As long as "Marcel" wasn't there with his boyfriend, he might be able to salvage the night. Levi didn't seem to be in such a shit mood anymore "Fine. The dress stays on" "For now" Eren huffed. He didn't feel sexy or comfortable... he didn't know why Levi would want him out of it... He would never understand alphas. Having called a taxi, so they could both drink, Eren managed to make it out the back of it without flashing anyone. He'd though the Ball would be at some kind of club building or something. Not in a huge grand scale glass building that seemed to soar all the way up to heaven "Impressive, isn't it?" "Not what I was expecting" "It was delayed this year, purely because the place was still under construction. Erwin's already inside, he's saved our seats" "There's seats?" "It's a charity ball, but there's also a silent auction and guest speaker thing. Don't worry, you can drink through the whole thing" "Are you encouraging me to drink?" "I'm encouraging you, as we didn't do anything for your twenty first" "Which was like a whole week ago. I'm fine. We survived it. I didn't want anything, and I got to see Anna" "Anna or not, you barely touched your birthday cake" Levi had made him more of a birthday muffin, because smells had been making him sick. Both of them were paranoid about setting his nose of again, especially before the christening. His nose had bled that night, but only for a few minutes... still, it'd been enough to scare him. He didn't care they didn't do anything, like going clubbing. It was safer inside. He got to cuddle with Levi and cuddle with Anna, and he was legally Anna's Godfather now "Levi. It's fine. Seriously. I'm still not used to having good birthdays, it would have been too much. Can we head inside now? My butt's freezing" "Sure. Let me help you up the stairs" Taking his hand, Levi lead him around like he was a fancy lady from a movie. He didn't just hold his hand, instead he glowed with a confidence, as he really was showing him off. Presenting their two tickets, Levi lead him into the main fiction room. Eren's eyes widened, it was amazing. There was so much glass and rose gold, that he didn't know where to look. It was incredible. For someone coming from a dirty strip club, he'd never thought he'd step foot in somewhere like here "Holy fuck" "Our table is 32. Don't worry about the smells, they use scent cancellers to keep everyone calm" "Levi. You didn't tell me there were going to be this many people!" "It's a Charity Ball slash Gala. It's not my fault people want to come to these things. Here, let's find our seats?" "I think I'm going to fucking face plant" "If you do, I promise to step over and you walk away like I don't know you" "What? No" "There are probably 60 plus medically trained personal here. Not including specialists. You'll be fighting them off" "Don't you dare leave my side, or let me fall" "Relax, you know I won't" Led through to their table, Erwin was already there. As were Petra, Olou, Mike, Eld and Gunther. It looked like they had a full table, which was a relief. Sitting the back "corner", Levi crossed his arms, while Eren took the seat next to him. Accidentally meeting eyes with Petra, he swallowed hard. She was already pouting. It wasn't his fault that Levi chose him, and the didn't have the parts to get him excited "Eren, you look lovely" "Thanks, Erwin. I don't know I feel lovely. There's way too many people" Erwin laughed a little too politely "I know those feelings. Levi's already taken up his usual position. He always hides himself" "That's because I don't want to have to talk anymore than I absolutely have to" See. He knew Levi wouldn't want to be here... "Eld, Gunther. You both remember Eren don't you? He's Levi's mate" Gunther reached across the table to shake his hand "We do, but Erwin always insists of introducing everyone to everyone else like it's his job" Awkwardly shaking Eld's as well, he was happy Olou and Petra didn't try playing nice "We've heard a lot about the omega that marked Levi. He's not this grumpy at home, is he?" "No. Not always. He said he was up for dancing tonight" Eld and Gunther both laughed "Eren's my mate. Of course I don't mind dancing with him" "Eren's your mate? I don't see a mark" Petra somehow always knew where to strike "You should see it. Eren gave Levi quite the impressive mark" Coming past their table, Erwin called a waiter over. Ordering drinks for them all, Erwin assured him that once the formalities were done there was an open bar. Thank fuck for that "Levi was the one who wanted the bonding mark. I should have covered it with concealer" "It's my mark, I don't care who sees. It's not like I don't plan to marry Eren" Petra paled. The look of horrified realisation setting in. She was never going to win Levi's affections and now she would have to sit across from them all night. If only Petra had taken "no" as an answer from the beginning, she could have found her own happiness sooner. Sitting through speech after speech, Eren politely clapped when everyone else did. He had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, and Levi was too busy ignoring their surround to tell him. It was kind of amazing people paid for the opportunity to come to this. Once the speeches were over, it was like a wind had blown through the whole place. The mood changing in an instant. Leaning forward in his seat, Levi nudged his elbow with his "Want to go take a look around?" "You sure? You look pretty bored" "Speeches are boring as shit" "Ok. I supposed I need another drink" His drink had disappeared all too fast, even though he'd only slowly slipped at it "I never thought I'd see the day Levi actually enjoyed one of these things. Make sure you to stay out of trouble" Levi ignored Erwin, taking Eren's hand and "helping" him stand. They did a wide loop of the function room. The art on display was part of the charity auction. A small box under each, with a fancy looking notebook thing for people to write their names, numbers and bid. Eren wondered if there was something wrong with him, because he found none of this appealing. Levi thought the same. Picking up on his thoughts, his boyfriend started picking each apart. It was so much more fun doing that, than trying to interrupt it. Stopping by the bar, they ran into a few people Levi knew. Eren's stomach rolling and clenching at the way Levi kept introducing him as his mate. Their eyes kept going to his neck, only to find no bonding mark. It seemed like Levi knew half the people at bar, all wanting to talk to him. It was probably close to an hour before they continued on, starting to pick apart the art on the other side. By the time they reached their table again, Eren shoes were pinching, blisters forming on his feet... just like those idiots at the New Year's party. He'd tried wearing bandaids, but they'd been rolled down by the backs of his shoes. Sitting down in the closest seat, his hand immediately went down to fiddle with the straps "Everything alright?" "Yeah. It's fine. I just need to use the bathroom" "You should have said. I would have taken you" Leaning back, Eren kissed Levi's cheek. His alpha moving his chair forward enough to slide his hand to rest on Eren's side "It's fine. I need to adjust the straps on my shoes. I've already got bandaids on, and don't feel like showing the world my underwear" "I don't mind..." "Levi, seriously. It's ok" He hadn't seen Reiner or Bertholdt, which he hoped meant the pair wasn't here. They'd done a lap of the room, he would have seen them "If you're that worried, I would love another drink" Levi huffed, as if annoyed. Though Eren knew he wasn't. Besides, if Levi headed back to the bar, he might run into more people that he knew and had been neglecting "Fine. Just make sure you take your phone" "I will. It's just a quick trip to redo the straps" Eren got lost in the labyrinth of white walls and art. At least he knew he was in an art gallery or museum of some sort, now. Not just a huge and pointless building. The art and sculptures outside of the function room, were so much more than interesting. Respectfully keeping on the right side of the corded barriers, he finally found the bathrooms. They were just as incredible as the function room, even though the taps were truly hideous. Matte black with rose gold accents. Yeah.... they were definitely wrong for the space. Or any space. Whoever designed them should be smacked over the head with a frypan, or locked in a room with his hideous creation. Rushing into the first available stall, he collapsed down and started wrestling with his straps. Moaning as his feet were freed. Placing both of them together and stretching his toes to point at the door, he snapped a photo of his feet. Sending it through to his boyfriend so Levi knew he made it to the bathroom and would be back soon. Hopefully when he returned, other people would be dancing and Levi would whisk him away to dance... maybe his alpha would even let dance barefoot. He wasn't particularly attached to the heals he was wearing, and his boyfriend really hated people dancing in stupid shoes. With his feet redbandaided, Eren slipped his shoes back on. Opening the bathroom door, he reeled back in panic. Reiner and Bertholdt were both standing there. Smirks playing on their lips as he Eren nearly fell into the toilet backwards "Eren. We really need to stop meeting this way" His heart was racing. Facing Bertholdt had been bad enough, but now Reiner was right there next to him "W-what do you want?" "We want to know why you did it..." "What? Did what?" "Why you talked. Thanks to you, a certain dog of the police has been making trouble for us" "I didn't tell the police anything" "Maybe not. But you told that alpha of yours" "Wha... Levi doesn't know anything" "So you didn't tell him about the knife or Zeke's shirt?" "N-no" "You know, when you lie, you're only making things worse for yourself" "Levi doesn't know anything" Reiner chuckled, shaking his head while Bertholdt stood taller "We know Levi gave the knife and shirt to Floch... what we can't figure out, is why you suddenly mean so little to him. After all, you begged us to save Levi... instead of saving your poor brother" Eren was thrown further off kilter by Bertholdt's words. He didn't know what the alpha was talking about "You're the one who killed Zeke! You're the ones who stabbed him to death!" "No, Eren. You're the one who killed Zeke. Oh! Ho! I don't think he remembers" "How can you not remember killing your own brother?" "He was high... man, the way he screamed for Levi... I think he loved the drugs as much as the sex" "I don't know what you're talking about! Please. Levi doesn't know anything. The police don't know anything!" "You don't remember? The blade at Zeke's throat? We gave you a choice. Zeke or Levi... and you chose Levi. You let Zeke die" "No! No, I didn't! You promised if I let them touch me... you promised they all be safe" Bertholdt let out a laugh that hurt his ears "Eren, do you really think you have that kind of value? Any kind of value? Why do you think Levi let you mark him? You're just convenient" "Levi's different! Levi loves me!" "No one could ever love you. Not with that bastard's blood in your veins" Eren's heart felt like it would burst from his chest. His thoughts just as messed up as his emotions. What Bertholdt was saying, it made no sense "Even Zeke saw you had no value. No value outside of paying his debts and lining his pockets. Why do you think he kept you around? Floch wasn't wrong when he told you it was for the money" "No..." "He groomed you. Made you rely only on him. Treated you like a joke, because you are one. If only they'd killed you that night. That night they killed your mother... but it's too late to change that now" "Fuck! What do you want from me?! What the fuck did I ever do to you?! Nothing! I didn't do anything!" "Your family did. Your father is the cause of all this, but he was too valuable to just kill. No. We needed him. What we didn't need was that wife of his, or his bastard sons!" "Mum died because of him! I was kept like an animal! I was fed from a fucking dog bowl! I've paid for being his son!" "And until you pay with your life, you'll keep paying. That favours coming Eren. Coming sooner than you think, and when you see what it's going to cost you... you might just wish you'd died next to Zeke" This conversation had to have taken a while. Levi would come looking for him. He'd come looking for him if he didn't return soon... he needed to buy time. He needed to figure out what to do. What... no. Levi had handed the shirt over... that's what they'd said... the shirt and the knife... the police had his confession... no... shit... fuck. Fuck. He had to believe Levi wouldn't betray him like that. It was like the phone. They were messing with his head "You can't hurt me. If I disappear, the police will find out everything" "From who? Who's going to care you're gone? The alpha who lied to you? Who wouldn't give you his mark? Who takes you to bed to fuck you, then runs to the police the first chance he gets? Or how about those sweet childhood friends of yours. Armin and Mikasa. You know, Armin is way too trusting. All we had to do was let slip how we were great friends of yours... people always believe what they want to believe, even when the truth is right in front of them. The truth is, you're going to pay for what you've done, and you're going to die. Then Levi's going to die. After that, well, I guess we'll just pick them all off one by one" With a feral snarl, Eren rushed Bertholdt. He was completely out of his league and was savagely slammed down against the hard bathroom floor. Grabbing him by the throat, Bertholdt pulled him up slammed his head down again. Snarling and hissing like a feral cat, Eren fucking fought. But that didn't mean he didn't try. He couldn't get a grip on Bertholdt's suit, but he did manage a impressive kick to the alpha's shin, causing Bertholdt to snarl. Fucking high heels had to hurt. If he was lucky, he would have torn the skin open "You won't hurt my alpha! I won't let you hurt Levi! I'm going to fucking kill you!" When Bertholdt raised him again, Eren through modesty to the wind. Booting him in the stomach and feeling his heels catching as he did... the satisfaction only lasted for a mere fraction of a second, as Reiner booted him hard in the back. Kicked out of Bertholdt's hold, he skidded on the bathroom floor until he hit the toilet cubicle divider. Driving his shoe into Eren's stomach, the omega screamed, trying to escape, but Reiner was an alpha who'd just seen his partner hurt. He couldn't stand up to that kind of raw fury. The last kick smashed into his nose "You have two fucking days, then we're coming for you. If you weren't so fucking useless, someone might actually want you alive. But don't worry, we'll make it nice and slow, just like he wants" Left bloodied and beaten in the bathroom, Eren couldn't even more to curl in on himself. His feet slipped again the tiles flooring, while his nose was bleeding like crazy. His stomach hurt so fucking bad, that was on par with his heat. Angrily he slammed his hands down onto the tiles, over and over as he screamed. Two days. Two fucking days. Then what? Levi left and never came home? He couldn't live without Levi. He didn't know how to do anything without him. The adrenaline seeped from his body, as the coldness of the tiles started to ebb away at his warmth. He loved Levi. They'd spent time together during his heat. He'd actually wanted his alpha. He wanted him there. It might not have been a full heat, but the fact remained that when he needed him, Levi had come home and looked after him... even if by some chance, he'd conceived during his heat, he'd been beaten so badly... Reiner and Bertholdt some how knew his father. Zeke had known his father. The foster home had known his father... his father was the cause of all of this. When would he finally be free of it all? Maybe he if he closed his eyes, he'd die right now? He'd probably be damned straight to hell, but his soul would be carried on the wind, and that was enough.

[cinnamonsugarsheith-blog]

Prompt: AU where Shiro and Keith meet at Allurance’s wedding. Rating: Teen, there’s a singluar line that could maybe be classified as M. Pairing: Sheith, what else. BG Allurance

Side note: I HC human!Allura as being Indian. Briefly mentioned here.

Keith did not understand the hype around weddings. They were expensive and you had to invite everyone you or your family had ever met and if Lance didn't Shut The Fuck up about ecru he was going to kill himself.

And what was even the point of a rehearsal dinner? That just seemed like a really good way to waste a whole lot more money. Especia-fucking-lly if the maid of honor he was supposed to be escorting down the aisle didn't show up. If it wouldn't absolutely destroy Lance he wished the woman fell in the ridiculously high heels that he (and Allura! Lance would insist, but more likely it was Coran...) had the girls wearing. At least Hunk was cool. When he wasn't sobbing about oh my god my best friend is getting married or committing for nerves. And Pidge, who Lance was technically borrowing from Allura's friend group, and her brother Matt apparently loved to pester Lance, making them his new favorite people. Her cousin Lotor was creepy as shit. He'd met him before at some art thing Lance had dragged him to when he and Allura had first started talking. He basically told both of them they weren't good  enough to being his and Allura air and that she would be done with her little charity case in hanging out with then soon enough. Then he'd had the gall to ask Keith to dance. Fucking creep. Keith was just glad he didn't have to walk with him. And so glad all of this would finally be over tomorrow. And then he'd send Lance's crazy and Allura's patient asses on a plane to the Bahamas and be on with his life again. He was at the church at 8am, sitting in chairs that had been shoved against a wall in a room that he was sure was much smaller than the one Allura and her party was in. He and Pidge were both nursing coffee's, understanding that they were not on speaking terms until the whole pot on the cart by the door was gone. Lance was pacing around the room talking about he needed to put on his suit but then he couldn't put it on too early because it would get wrinkled. Hunk was blissfully unaware of all of this in the kitchen. He could not wait to get this shit over with.

At 10am, he was helping Pidge zip up her dress while Lance babbled nervously as he tried to button his pale blue dress shirt. "Lance." He and Pidge scolded together, for at least the tenth time. Keith stepped over and swatted Lance's hands out of the way, unbuttoning and rebuttoning the shirt with ease. "Pidge, tie." He flicked Lance's collar up and stepped out of the way. "On it." She looped the fabric around his neck and knotted it easily. Keith stepped back over with Lance's jacket as Pidge smoothed his shirt collar back down. He helped Lance into it and clapped him maybe a little too hard on the shoulder. "Shut up, Lance. You are going to get out there and do fine. Allura loves the fuck out of you and she is not going to leave you at the altar. And if she does Hunk and I will..." He trailed off, not wanting to threaten to beat up his best friends almost wife. "I'll beat her up for you." Pidge snickered and shoved them towards the door, purple dress bouncing when she walked. Hunk met them at the foyer and helped them pin flowers into their lapels, or in Pidge's case into her hair. He smelled like chiles and curry. Well there was that to look forward to at least. Eventually music started to fill the halls and this brought Lotor, followed by Matt, and then the most attractive man Keith had literally ever seen. Allura had a Man of Honor? "Hi!" The man said a little breathlessly. "You must be Keith! Sorry I missed rehearsal last night. I've heard a lot about you..." "Yeah I'm Keith." Ugh that jawline and the broad shoulders and his smile and well there went Keith's entire intention of leading down the aisle. He couldn't lead this guy anywhere if he wanted to. He was solid. "I'm Shiro." Then the music started playing and Pidge and Matt shoved Lance through the doors so he wouldn't see Allura, before retaking their places at the tail end of the group. Shiro offered his arm and he had no choice but to take it with the doors now open and the crowd watching. Hunk and Lotor were behind them, and the siblings were in the back. He tried to focus on his steps and breathing the short walk to the altar because this gorgeous man next to him was holding his arm easily, and their arms were touching... (Lance would remind him he needed to get laid if arm touches did it for him. Ugh.) A large hand on the small of his back guiding him to Lance's side of the altar when they parted was the last nail in the coffin.

He didn't interact with Shiro again until they were in the massive banquet hall where the reception was. That's right, they were expected to dance. Shit. Shiro took his hand with a warm smile and no questions, setting the other on Keith's waist as the DJ said some corny stuff about the new Mr and Mrs VonAltea-McClain. Keith settled his a little nervously on Shiro's shoulder. He didn't go to prom, but if he had, he imagined it would have been like a more tackily decorated version of this. "So you're Lance's best friend, brother, cousin, coworker...?" Shiro started after a moment of smiling at him in silence. "Foster brother." Keith swallowed and glanced away knowing what would follow that comment. "Cool. I hear your abuela is an amazing cook!" Well that was not the standard reaction. "Uh yeah... How do you know Allura?" "She um... My ex actually. Our fathers set up an arranged marriage when her family immigrated from India." Keith must have been looking at him like he was crazy because Shiro laughed. "I'll understand if you want to stop dancing with me, but I'm gay. It wasn't going to work for anyone." "Oh." Keith said simply. "Oh?" "Nothing, I'm just not used to gay men who look like they could snap me in half." Shiro laughed again. "I'll take that. You uh... Don't mind though? The dancing and all the other crap we have to do together tonight? Me and Matt can partner up and you have Pidge. Or vice versa. I've known them for years so..." "No, it's cool. I'm not straight either, so you're safe with me." He tried to give him the smile that Allura called "roguish" once. "Besides watching Matt and Pidge bicker was the highlight of the rehearsal dinner. I'm not missing them ramp it up tonight."

"What are you? If you don't mind me asking?" Shiro leaned in close, probably with Keith's privacy in mind. Fuck he even smelled good. Keith shrugged in response to the question. "It sounds stupid as shit, but I never really thought about it? Just like who I like." And right now he'd happen to like to do the dumb cliche thing where he fucked a bridesmaid on the wedding night. Bridesman? Fuck it. Whatever. Shiro raised an eyebrow. "How old are you? Am I dancing with a teenager?" "No you ass, I'm twenty two." Shiro nodded sagely. "Not a teenager. Still a child." "Oh fuck you." "Anything you want, Baby." Shiro winked and Keith was done for.

He spent the rest of the night in Shiro's periphery. And then, as previously planned, he went home. Drove Lance and Allura to the airport in the morning. Had basically forgot about the other man until Lance and Allura threw a cookout. And if Shiro looked good in a charcoal grey suit, Keith must have been in heaven seeing him in a tank top and swim trunks. He definitely gave an audible "oh fuck." Before getting hit squarely in the face with a volleyball. "Hey! Keith, right? I'm Shiro we--" "I remember you." Keith pinched his nose in hopes of stopping his watering eyes and shoved the volleyball back at Shiro. "Are you okay? Let me see..." Shiro pulled his hand away from his face and cupped his chin. He tilted Keith's face side to side slowly, looking at the red mark. He looked into Keith's eyes with just the barest hint of a smirk. "Looks good to me." Keith's cheeks turned as red as his forehead. "Shiro are you gonna bring the ball back or what?! Allura and I aren't finished kicking your asses yet!" Pidge yelled from the net.

"Sorry, Baby. Duty calls." Keith blinked as Shiro jogged off and tossed the ball to Matt to serve. Keith headed over to where it looked like Lance or Hunk had put together pitchers of mixed drinks. "Coran which one of these is the strongest?" He said over his shoulder. "Nunvil. The purple one." The man slurred from under the straw hat he'd pulled over his face. He gulped down half a cup before starting to look for Lance. "Hey man!" Lance was manning the grill under Hunks watchful eye. "Hey. Didn't realize you were having reception part two." "Haha, but nah. Lotor isn't here." He and Lance cheersed to that. "You bring trunks? I need a chicken partner for later against this guy --" he clapped Hunks shoulder "-- and Pidge." Keith snorted. If he remembered that correctly Allura had expressly forbids both herself AND Lance from playing chicken after they both ended up with matching broken arms for four months.

"Sure, man. How is married life?" "It's great. A few more months and we think we are gonna start trying for Lancey Lance Jr." "That's great!" Hunk lit up. "Yep, you and Keith gotta arm wrestle for god dad."

"What about me and Matt?" A playfully sulky voice came from right behind Keith. "Ehhhh. Matt's out. Pidge's god mom anyways." "It should probably be Hunk." Keith sidestepped to let Shiro into the circle. "Awwe Keith doesn't like my unborn child!!!!" Lance hung himself around Keith's neck dramatically. "Get off, weirdo!" Lance grinned. "You love it, dude." "Yeah yeah, Hunks about to give away your grill privileges. You're burning the mushrooms." "Oh shit!"

Shiro plopped into the grass beside Keith's lawn chair with his plate a short while later. "Hey." His shoulder was pressed against Keith's knee warmly. "Hey..." "So can I take you out sometime?" "That was forward." "You seem like a guy who doesn't like too much beating around the bush... And I've called you 'baby' and had my hands on you quite a bit with dancing and wedding photos and playing nurse... Seemed like you were into it." Keith shrugged. As if anyone wouldn't be into it. "So... Can I take you out sometime?" "Sure." "Okay, what are you doing after this?" "Uh... Lance bought fireworks, so I'm pretty sure going to bed?" "Mmmm come with me instead?" "To bed?" Keith raised his eyebrows. Knowing that was NOT what Shiro meant, but wanting to throw him off his game. Shiro blushed. "Not unless you want to, but I was thinking I could take you on a night drive? I rode my bike over."

He sat close to Shiro on the bike, letting the wind whip through his hair and tug at his thin shirt. He was thankful to have the bulk of Shiro in front of him as a shield. Shiro eventually pulled onto a dirt road and they ended up spread out in a field not too long after on a blanket Shiro pulled out of his saddle bag. He pointed out constellations to Keith and Keith watched him talk excitedly more than he paid mind to the stars. Keith hummed and shrugged his shoulder to nudge Shiro. "Hey..." "Yeah?" "Can I take you up on that offer?" "What?" "Sleeping." "Well that was forward." Shiro mimicked his earlier sentiment. "No. Not that. I just meant I'm tired, but I don't..." He could feel his cheeks darken. "Want this to end?" Shiro rolled to his side and boxed Keith in with a hand above his shoulder. "Yeah..." "Doesn't have to, Baby..." Shiro leaned down and Keith forgot all about being tired and cold and the lumpy ground under his  back when Shiro kissed him.