#let��s look back at what news caught our eye this past week.

[unreleasedwrites]

Caught You, Again

“You’re eyes seem to be wandering yet again, and your cheeks are redder than rubies.. You just never get tired of me, do you?

summary: You and Gun have been in the same class since the eight grade, and you developed a little crush on him that same year. Once the ninth grade started and you two had been paired as seat mates, you started to drop subtle hints here and there with the idea of your little crush on him for the past year. Gun notices this and takes it as an opportunity to constantly tease you about it jokingly— until, he was no longer joking, and made a move by asking you out which then ended with you becoming his first and last girlfriend, because he made you into his first and forever wife. Yet, he never fails to see you in the not so hidden act of admiring him, which has him calling you a “simp,” and he continues to tease you for it.

character(s) included: Park Jonggun x fem!reader

cw: fluff, teasing, playful and flirtatious gun, gun is nice, swearing, use of Y/N, mentions of physical fights gun gets into, mentions of blood/bleeding/bruises, couple nicknames, kissing, established relationship, idk much about weddings, VERY SUGGESTIVE TOWARDS THE END!! this is really long tbh 😭😭

unwrapped on: Saturday Night, December 03 2023

wrapped up on: Sunday Evening, April 28 2024

published on: Sunday Evening, April 28 2024

“Need something?” Your seat mate suddenly questioned you as he shrugged a brow at you, who was blankly staring at him, obviously lost in your thoughts.

“O-uh— No!” You quickly replied and zoned back into reality, “Sorry, I was just thinking, I didn’t notice tha-” You added before he cut you off and said,

“If you like me, you could just say so’ You wouldn’t be the first girl to confess to me this school year.”

“Wha-! Talk about confident, also it’s literally the second week of the ninth grade..” You scoffed, a little nervous considering you have liked him since the eight grade so he technically wasn’t wrong.

“That isn’t a no~” He replied with a tint of his usual smirk.

“Wel-” You tried to speak right before he interrupted you once more “Enough with the excuses already, it’s boring.”

…

“Well?” He added and you responded with, “Well.. What I was trying to sa-” Ding, Ding, Ding— You were interrupted once again, but this time, by the bell. And it was now lunch time, so you two went your separate ways.

That was one of the occasional conversations you had with Gun, it just so happens that you two have been paired as seatmates since the eight grade and therefore, had to have spoken to one another atleast a number of times by now. They were just meaningless and short interactions that was just another way to kill time for him, yet those little conversations and interactions meant the world to you.

Fast forward into the school year and currently, it’s almost the fourth month of school— all of your classmates along with the new/transfer students have gotten to know each other, and it just so happens that you and Gun have started to talk more aswell. From little “Hey, about the homework-”, “Since were the next pair who’ll discuss, how about we-”, and “Could I borrow an extra pen, if you’ve got one?” To “What did you get for this number..?”, “Let’s hang out at my place, we could also plan our discussion for english tomorrow.”, which also turned to him simply grabbing things out of your bag when he pleases.

The formal little questions he’d usually ask you were starting to turn casual and friendly, not only his words but his tone is shifting as well.

You never thought you’d be invited to his place so casually and he’d lend you his jacket whenever you two are hanging out. Although, he insists you keep all of them since he loves the way it looks on you. It was weird. It was all so weird. So many girls like him, he’s constantly got girls dreaming to be around him as much as you get to be. Now, if you think about it— you never actually see ANY girls approaching him or hanging around him at all, aside from you, that is. People are constantly telling you about how you two must be dating, well you aren’t, but he’s never actually denied it either. He continues to tease you almost everyday and it just has you falling for him even more.

“Y/N?” Gun suddenly called out to you while you were walking out of the classroom to go home.

“Hm?”

“Dinner, just you and me. This Friday at 7 o’clock, how’s that sound?”

“Wait, what?” You rose a brow at his sudden invitation, “What do you mean, by dinner with just you and me?” You briefly added.

“A dinner date, with just the two of us.”

“That was a little, out of nowhere.. Don’t you think?”

“..Yeah.” He responded, “My bad. Maybe it was a little too soon, never mind about what I sai-” He added before you cut him off, “Wai- wait! it wasn’t too soon at all! Sorry, I was just taken a back— since I really wasn’t expecting this from you.” You said, visibly happy.

“Well then..?” He nervously asked and you responded with, “Are you kidding? That’s all I’ve ever wanted!! I’d love to, Gun.” It was evident just how excited you were. Suddenly all bubbly and red in the cheeks, Gun found that to so adorable. “I wasn’t expecting such enthusiasm from you,” Gun said as he laughed, “You’re probably in love with me, aren’t you?” to which you replied, “You asked, I answered! And would you have wanted a no for an answer?” “A no from the girl who’s head over heals in love with me? I highly doubted that response.”

Gun might’ve said those words so casually and care free but he really was surprised with how quick it took for you to say yes. Throughout the course of your friendship, it did become obvious that the two of you do like each other. But it was much more evident on your side, with how much people knew you like Gun and how you spoke about him and how you were whenever you were with him, versus how you were when you were with some other boys that were rumored to like you. Of course, Gun was slightly taken aback when he learned about all this— how could someone like you, a beautiful and simple sweet heart who doesn’t even like contact with people or going out that much, like him, a guy whose name is insanely problematic and all the rumors spreading about him are mostly true and have something to do with his violent side and the things he does outside of school, a guy who people quite literally fear.

But Gun didn’t really like thinking about any of that. All that mattered to him was how you felt and the adorable reactions that come out of you whenever he teases you about apparently liking him so much.

A few months passed since your first date and the two of you started dating after a while, even more time has passed since then because you two were now in your final year of high school. Despite going further into your friendship to turn it into a relationship, nothing much has really changed.

You guys were at your place this one time and you begged him to do skin care with you. He was reluctant at first but with your puppy dog eyes and some touchy convincing, he finally agreed.

“Stay Still!!” You scolded your boyfriend who kept moving when you were trying to apply a full mask onto his face.

“How am I supposed to? It’s so wet and slimy, kinda reminds me of something..” Gun replied.

“Oh shut it, I finally finished applying it, now we have matching masks on!! Come look at the mirror!” You exclaimed, “Tada~!”

He looked at the mirror blankly and slowly turned to you, who was overflowing with joy.

“Awh, don’t you like it?”

“It’s.. something, that’s for sure..”

You looked at Gun with your usual pout, to which he caved in and finally went along with the whole thing, saying it’s not that bad.

“Hehe, my baby looks so handsome, just as he always does~” You said as you admired Gun while squeezing his cheeks.

“You’re such a simp, you know that, right? Gun said, slightly muffled as he looked down at you with his usual smirk.

“Hmph! If you don’t want my love then you could just say so!” You said as you let go off his cheeks and crossed your arms with a grouchier pout on your face.

“Baby, there’s no need to be a brat.” He then grabbed your chin to kiss your lips (you were tiptoe-ing). Gun always knew how to deal with the unpredictable pace of your mood, given how you can go from absolutely simping over him to a pouting girl who doesn’t wanna talk about it at all with him.

“Your eyes sure as hell love to wander, dont they?” Gun teased. You went all pouty again so he coated you in some more kisses to make up for the teasing about you being a complete simp.

Those were the moments that ultimately led to the situation you��re currently in. Beneath the sunset in your favorite place, dressed in an astonishing wedding dress, paired with an elegant pair of heels, just the right amount of steepness for you to walk in, given your veil and dress that was trailing on your back. Holding an extravagant boquet with all of your favorite flowers wrapped in such delicate material.

It was all so ethereal. Gun, your soon to be husband hasn’t seen you. You were queued to walk down the aisle so very soon, which had you shaking in both excitement and fear. It’s finally the day you’ve been waiting for so very long. You knew you really liked Gun the moment you two became closer, yet you’re still stuck in the point where you were admiring him from technically— not afar because he was right beside you the entire time. But still, you were just an admirer in awe. And now you have the same last name as him and do tons of things together— cooking? hell yes, shopping? without a doubt. hopping in the shower and bathtub together? you don’t even notice him coming in until you feel a strong pair of arms wrap around you and start to wander across your body.

Another thing is that Gun may seem like a “cold” or reserved person on the outside, but he really does care about people that matters to him and knows how to observe. One of the things he observed about your “infatuation” with him was how you looked at him. He really saw right through the eyes you looked at him with— they only expressed one thing. That one thing was actual love, and it was not at all short-lived as people say what infatuation is.

It truly surprised him to see how your eyes never got gloomy or even got tired of looking at him that way even when time passed.

If anything, they became brighter and loving with every moment that passed with you looking at Gun’s dark eyes, wondering why he would ever want to have anything to do with a girl who’s had a huge crush on him for so very long.

He realized just how much importance those little details hold. As they say, the eyes don’t lie. And he sure as hell was able to experience that for himself.

He may not have wanted to admit it at first, but he slowly fell for you, in the way where you fell first but he fell harder. His entire mood and demeanor would change the exact moment that you’re around him. He could be beating up people and see that you’ve come to check up on him because he specifically told you that he was just going out to get something from Goo, but ended up taking way too long— hence, why you went to find him. He changed in an instant. Leaving behind the scene and making sure you won’t have to worry your pretty little head about it. And according to Goo, the way he talks about you is just “agitating”— which pretty much translates to “amazing” in your vocabulary, given that Goo doesn’t care about these types of things.

You’ve heard from various of his friends that he really does love you, because he doesn’t prolong any of his fights due to the very fact that he wants to make sure that he can get home to you asap. Especially when it’s late at night, he knows you like to sleep but he wants to be the one to tuck you in and cuddle and place gentle kisses on you to sleep. So even though he loves fighting worthy opponents that gets him turned on, no one can top you— he just loves that matching pj’s set that you tend to wear, with the small pink lace ribbons and the silk fabric, the short and small shorts with the sleeveless top.

Gun told you all about what he does for Charles Choi when he fully trusted you and you guys were already dating, and he didn’t expect you to stay. He was scared to tell you with there being a big chance that you’d freak out and leave him, call the cops, and do other things he wouldn’t have ever wanted you of all people to do to him.

Despite all of his fears and bad expectations of what you might do when you learn of the “bad” side of his, he still has you and always will. He really cant believe that you stayed after everything and still look at him the exact same way you did when you first met him. You somehow still retained the same feelings and love you have for him despite everything— and he is insanely in love with you for that. He loves teasing you about it though.

Going back to the present situation you’re in, you were now walking down the aisle as Gun absolutely stared at you in awe. Enthralled by how amazing you looked in white and how such a gorgeous woman was walking down the aisle to meet eye to eye with him and to hold him hand in hand.

The ceremony was breathtakingly beautiful, flowers of all sorts were surrounding the venue with just the right amount of lights that have been set upon with candles and dim lighting. The details in fabrics, decorations, covers, and even the architecture of the venue was simply incredible.

All of this “extraness” as Gun would call it, was for you. Gun wasn’t the type of person to have such a big wedding despite the small number in guests, but he knew you loved all of the things he had made to be included for the special day.

And even though Gun was relatively smart with his money, he was more than willing to go all out on this short event.

After all the agreements and words that the officiator had asked the two of you, you guys finally reached the most important part of the day, the one you have been dreaming of for who knows how long.

The officiator spoke once again, “Do you, Y/N, take Park Jonggun to be your lawfully wedded husband— To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?”

You looked deeply into Gun’s eyes, “I do.”

The officiator turned over to Gun, “Park Jonggun, do you take this woman to be your wife— to live together in holy matrimony, to love her, to honor her, to comfort her, and to keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?

Gun held eye contact with you with a subtle yet sincere smile, “I do.”

He then carefully placed the beautiful ring on your finger, which was followed with you doing the same with his. Just after that was the unity ceremony which was such a bliss.

Of course, once that had passed, came the pronouncement— After more words and hundreds more that you didn’t pay much mind to, the officiator finally looked at the two of you deeply and stated, “I now pronounce you as husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!”

And so you guys did kiss, for a pretty long time— With Gun’s hands placed on your waist and one of your hands on his shoulder, and the other nestled against his face. The crowd cheered for the two of you as it all happened.

It was all so, so, so, incredibly divine.

Once the ceremony has ended and the after party was finally about to begin, you kept chatting with the guests, more particularly your closest friends who were also your bridesmaids. It genuinely made them wonder how you could be so in love with someone. The way you talked about him was absolutely adorable considering they’ve met Gun before, and think of him as the luckiest guy on earth, and you as the blindest girl.

And despite not knowing many of Gun’s friends that he invited, they were still so kind to chat with you. They told Gun when he came by that he really was one hell of a lucky guy to have someone so head over heals for him. To which he only agreed with them before he went to attend to the other guests.

“I don’t understand how you could like him so much, he’s garbage..” Goo said as the other guys were talking amongst themselves at the same table you and Goo were at.

“Maybe to you he is— but he is just the sweetest to me, and he’s hot as hell too.” You replied, obviously lost in your thoughts, imagining Gun once again.

“Woman, what the hell do you see in him for him to be considered as sweet? Do you have any idea how much people he’s arranged the organs of?” Goo questioned.

“Oh please, how much have you?”

“Hey. I don’t like getting my hands dirty as much as Gun does.”

“Rightttt..”

Goo came closer to you and whispered in your ear, “Did you know that Gun has liked you before you even attended the same school together..?”

“..What?”

“Yup. You may have been led to believe that you were the first to like him all these years, but he’s just never told you that he’s actually a creepy stalker deep down.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“Nope! And you could figure it out for yourself!” Goo exclaimed.

“Oh please! If he hasn’t told me all this time then he wont tell me now, why don’t you just tell me more about it?”

“Fine, buttt! You can’t tell Gun or even give him hints that I was the one to tell you all this, alright?”

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that,” you replied.

“Alright-y then! I’m guessing you know Gun as someone you became classmates with in the eight grade, and became friends with in the ninth. Butttt, he actually first heard of you in the seventh grade, and although he wasn’t in your school that time, he transferred the next year so that you two could be classmates. He first saw you walking out of that school and he told me all about how pretty you were and how he’d like to be friends with you,” Goo explained.

“I can’t tell if you’re telling the truth or not..”

“It doesn’t matter what you believe, just know that I am telling you the truth and it’s up to you to take it or not.” He said with a smile spread across his face.

Like all things, the wedding eventually came to an end, it may have been short-lived but it was truly memorable. Of course, what comes after the wedding is the honeymoon.

You guys went on a trip to somewhere tropical for your honeymoon, which resulted in Gun wearing almost nothing most of the time, and if he was wearing something, it’d be boxers or swim trunks, or a more formal outfit that just looked sooooo good on him.

There was this one instance where you guys were about to go to bed, and Gun would usually have on some loose pants or shorts, but this time.. He was wearing absolutely nothing, not even boxers or briefs of some sort. He casually walked over to your shared bed while you stared at him.

“Need something, babe?” Gun asked he tucked himself into the blanket you were also tucked in, but you were both still sitting up.

“Well.. No, but um…” You replied nervously, obviously pent up from the view you had right in front of you.

Gun looks at your eyes then down to his naked body (and mind you, you were wearing a cute yet small and slightly revealing matching- sleepwear set), “Hm? You’ve seen me naked countless times before, and it’s not like you’re a virgin.” He teased as he brushed some of your hair to the side.

“Yeah b-but..” You managed to utter as you were still straight up staring at his body, fresh from the shower.

“But what? Does my wife need help with her words?” Gun teased as he leaned in closer to you and slowly lifted up your top to place his hand on your chest. To which you got very tense and nervous.

I’m sure you already know what followed in the next moments..

But moving forward with a few more days that passed, Gun caught you staring— maybe even admiring one of the pictures that you took together recently, specifically zoomed in on him. You hadn’t realized or even noticed his presence so you were just looking at the picture like some teenage girl, obviously crushing on him.. As if you didn’t just get married to him to him last week.

You were cheekily smiling at the picture, even giggling to yourself at some point when you swiped through some of the other pictures of him and you. You just loved him so bad, that even though you had him right with you, you still resorted to pictures. Gun thought that was adorable. The woman he fell in love with, sat on a chair facing away from where he was sneakily stood at, was swiping away at pictures of him when you didn’t even know that you had him wrapped around your finger.

“What’s my dear wife up to this evening?” He spoke out of nowhere, suddenly startling you. This caused you to have the phone slip out of your hands, but he swiftly caught it and took a closer look at the photos you were staring at.

“What are you doing with pictures that you can’t already to with the real deal right beside you?” He asked as you got increasingly nervous by the seconds passed and you were starting to fidget.

“I was just looking at what photos I wanted to keep.. And what I didn’t want to keep, y’know what I mean..?” You replied.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, my dear oh dearest husband,” you said mockingly— “Why are you interrogating me?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know? Little miss stalker,” Gun said as he sat on the chair across from you, obviously enjoying himself.

“Stalke—? Oh wait-! That reminds me,” your husband’s brow rose at your sudden statement, “Your close friend, Jonggoo, told me a little something when him and I were talking during the after party.” You added.

“And that is..?” Gun asked, skeptical of what you might’ve learned, knowing Goo very well.

“Well,” you shuffled around as you tilted your head and finally spoke, “Is it true that you only came to the school I go to in the first place because you saw me walking out there one time and.. yeah—?”

“That bastard— But, yeah. That is true.” He said without a change in expression and emotion.

You gave him a teasing smile and a soft “hehe” as you looked at him. For some reason, finding out that was true only seemed to make you fall in love even more.

“Oh hush, I don’t understand how much a person could like someone—” He said and he stood up to lift you into his arms for teasing him.

“Hey! Why are you carrying me?” You suddenly yelped. He dropped you gently on to the bed and he climbed on top of you.

“Woman, it’s not good to start something you can’t finish.”

“Tsk! My nickname is now woman?” You pouted.

“My apologies then, my wife.” He said somewhat mockingly to which you pouted even more, so he finally said it in a more sincere manner and gave you a kiss.

“Well?” He asked you as you were still in the same position, with him on top you.

“Well what?” You clarified while your eyes shamelessly wandered through his body, flustered with the position you were in and the teasing he was doing to you.

“You’re eyes seem to be wandering yet again, and your cheeks are redder than rubies.. You just never get tired of me, do you? Gun said in a teasing tone as he leaned in closer.

This honeymoon sure as hell will be going on for a long time.

notes: I think ill prolly put out a masterlist and about me post in like a month or two who knows, also this request has been with me for so long 😭 I am so so so sorry to this anon, please forgive me 😵‍💫 Also, I really hope that this wasn’t too bad and can live up to what you were expecting and requesting, I am so sorry if it doesn’t, I really tried 😭 ANDDD I accidentally deleted the actual request because I got a little lost with trying to navigate tumblr because I accidentally clicked the Queue button and yeah.. I don’t think I really proofread this tbh

- With or without proper credits, please don't try to steal or claim any of my works as your own

I genuinely appreciate opinions, feedback, likes, and reblogs

Once again, I hope this isn't too bad for a request, and I'll be doing more characters in lookism so feel free to request!!

[0cta9on]

Unlikely Duet - 1

length: 3k+ words

Genre: Fluff

NewJeans Minji x Male OC

【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★【☆】★

“Yuno Lin! Detention! NOW!”

The sight of Principal Geier’s screaming face was nothing new to me. The bright shade of red on his furious expression combined with his shiny bald head made him look like a ripe tomato. I’d chuckle at the thought if my chest didn’t hurt every time I so much as breathe.

A crowd of students and teachers had huddled around Bryce Merten’s unconscious body. The football player’s face was all bloodied and bruised, but he was breathing, for better or for worse. I grabbed my bag I had tossed on the ground and trudged my way back into the main building of the school. 

It was the end of the school day, so some students were still hovering around their lockers, getting their stuff or talking to their friends. The echoes of my footsteps reverberated throughout the hallway, alerting others of my presence. The look of fear and confusion as they see my face full of cuts and bruises is also nothing new to me. I pay them no mind as I walk the familiar route to the detention room.

I pushed open the door, its creak announcing my entrance. Instead of the usual stern expression of Ms. Rusnak’s wrinkly face, I am suddenly face to face with Minji Kim, the golden girl of Evergreen High School. She’s the student council president and ranked #1 in the entire school, basically the poster child of perfection.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Her voice, laced with an unexpected sincerity, caught me off guard. She stood up from her desk and walked towards me, her face full of concern. I shrugged, ready for the usual judgment or disdain, and walked past her, taking a seat in the front row of desks. She sat back down at the teacher’s desk where she had been working on a pile of paperwork before my arrival and glanced at me with a worried expression, tracing my wounds with her eyes.

“What happened to you?” she asks. 

I hesitated for a moment, not used to the genuine concern in her voice. Reluctantly, I recounted the events that led to the fight, how Bryce had been tormenting a freshman for weeks, and how it ended up with him face down on the concrete.

Minji listened, her expression shifting from stern to contemplative. When I finished, she sighed, her shoulders slumping.

“Look, I get it. You just wanted to help, but you can’t be doing it like this. You could get expelled. You should have spoken to a teacher about it,” she suggested, her voice gentle yet firm.

I scoffed, bitterness seeping into my tone. “You think they would have done anything? They knew about it the entire time, but that fucker is on the football team, so they turned a blind eye to the whole thing.” I let out a deep breath, glaring at her. “He needed a good punch to the jaw. I just happened to be the one doing it.”

Minji frowned, her eyes searching mine. “I know it’s frustrating, but taking matters into your own hands isn’t the solution. You could get expelled for this, and then what? You won’t be able to help anyone.”

I avoid meeting her eyes, my gaze fixed on the scuffed surface of the desk. “I had to do it,” I muttered. “No one else would.”

She sighed, realizing the impasse between us. “Just… be careful. I’m sure your friends wouldn’t want to see you hurt,” she remarked as she turned back to continue her paperwork with a sigh.

Her words stuck in my head as I continued to stare at the desk. She was right. Of course she was right. If the teachers actually did their job and reprimanded the bullies the first time, then I would have never had to fight. Hell, I never enjoyed fighting in the first place. But I had to do it. Someone had to knock some sense into these sons of bitches and that responsibility was unfortunately bestowed upon me for whatever reason. And… Did she say “friends”? What friends? Everyone was too afraid to even look at me. Surely she knew that… right?

The minutes ticked along, our conversation lingering in the air. Eventually, a bell sounded on the PA system, signaling the end of detention. Without a word, I gather my bag and start to leave, but something stops me. I glance out the window and notice the darkness settling over the school grounds. It would be easy for me to just leave and move on with my life, but a voice inside at the back of my head was urging me to do the right thing. Despite my better judgment, I turned back around.

“I’ll walk you home,” I said, the words leaving my mouth before I have the time to process them.

She looked up at me, a look of surprise in her eyes. “O-oh, you don’t have t-”

“It’s dark outside,” I interrupted, my tone leaving no room for argument. “It’ll be too dangerous if you walk home alone.”

Minji offered a small smile, appreciating the sentiment. “Thank you for the offer, but I can manage. I don’t live that far anyways.”

“Let me walk you home then,” I insisted, my voice surprisingly unwavering. “If you don’t live far, then I’ll be out of your hair in no time. Just let me make sure you get home okay.”

She studied me for a moment, uncertainty flickering on her face. Finally, she relented with a small nod. “Fine. But just this once.”

I merely grunted in response as I held the door open for her. We walk through the dimly lit hallways and exit the main building into the cold, gray night. A heavy silence hung between us as we left the campus, greeted only by the faint glow from a couple street lights casting long shadows on the pavement.

We walked side by side, the echoes of our footsteps reverberating through the empty streets. Minji seemed lost in her thoughts, her gaze fixed on the path ahead. I maintained a distance from her, not wanting to make her uncomfortable as we approached the street that led to her house.

As we near her house, the first droplets of rain pattered onto the pavement, foreshadowing the impending downpour. 

Minji glanced up and snapped out of her trance, her expression shifting from contemplation to annoyance. “That’s just great. We’re gonna get soaked.” Without exchanging words, we quickened our pace, hoping to reach her house as soon as possible. 

Our slight jog turned into a sprint as the rain intensified. The glow of her porch lights beckoned to us like a lighthouse guiding us toward its welcoming shine. Reaching the shelter of her porch, we stood there and watched the rain get heavier and heavier, transforming the world around us into a blurry, mesmerizing dance of droplets.

Deciding it was time to leave, I shifted my weight, preparing myself to step back into the heavy downpour. But before I could move, I felt Minji’s hand gently touch my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

“Wait,” she said, her voice barely audible over the sound of the rain hitting her roof. “Stay here.”

I glanced at her, my eyes wide in confusion. “What?”

Her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink as she shakes her head. “I-I mean until the rain lets up.”

“I'll be fine. It’s just a little rain,” I say. As if on cue, the sound of thunder booms in the distance.

Before I could protest anymore, Minji opened her front door and gestured for me to come inside. “You’ll catch a cold if you go out like this. And it’s the least I can do to repay you for walking me home.” 

I glance back at the unrelenting rain one last time and sigh. “Okay. I’ll leave once the rain lets up.”

Minji smiled at me, leading the way inside. The warmth of her home enveloped me, a welcome contrast to the cold rain outside. I stood awkwardly near the entrance, the sound of the rain becoming mere background noise as Minji shuts the door behind us.

“Wait here, let me get you something dry to wear,” Minji says as she kicks off her shoes and disappears up the stairs. Curiously, I peer into her living room while I wait for her, being careful not to drip any water onto the carpet. A comfy-looking brown coach faces a large flat-screen TV, one that I’ve only seen in the electronics aisle at Walmart. Various pictures line the shelves around the TV, including family photos, a wedding photo of what could be her parents, and a graduation photo of an older boy I haven’t seen before.

The sound of Minji’s footsteps breaks me out of my thoughts. She appears in front of me with a blue sweater and black sweatpants neatly folded in her hands. “Here. It’s my older brother’s. He’s away for college right now, so I’m sure he won’t mind if you borrow them.” She hands them to me, a small smile on her face.

I took them from her, scanning her outfit. She had changed into a simple graphic T-shirt and black cotton shirts, a far cry from the usual school uniform that I see her wearing. Then, a sudden realization hit me - by some odd twist of fate, I was standing inside Minji Kim’s house. The atmosphere shifted and I brought my guard up in this unfamiliar setting.

“Thanks, Minji,” I muttered, unsure of what else to say.

“No problem, uhh…” Minji’s voice faltered as she suddenly brought her hands up to her face, the light pink hues of blush peeking through the cracks of her fingers. “Oh my god… I never asked for your name…”

I raised an eyebrow, surprised by the oversight. “Yuno. Yuno Lin.”

She uncovered her face as her embarrassment transformed into a sheepish smile. “Right, Yuno. I’m so sorry, it’s been a long day with the rain and all this work I had to do.” She walked past me, into the living room area, avoiding my gaze. “There’s a bathroom right around this corner that you can change in. I’ll make us some tea in the meantime,” she said with an apologetic look on her face. I simply nod and kick off my shoes before following her deeper into her house.

I enter the bathroom while she disappears into the kitchen, presumably to make the tea. I strip off my uniform shirt, completely drenched from the rain, and examine my upper body in the mirror. A fist-sized blob of bluish-purple and red adorned my chest like a shitty tattoo, alongside another bruise on my arm and a couple more cuts on my cheek and lips. I shrugged. Not the worst thing that’s happened to me.

I quickly remove the rest of my wet clothes and change into the clothes Minji gave me, leaving my soaked school uniform in a messy pile on the bathroom counter. The warm fabric felt foreign, but welcoming. As I stepped out of the bathroom, the comforting scent of black tea hit my nose, leading me to the kitchen where Minji was steeping two cups of the stuff.

She turns to me, a warm smile on her face. “The tea is almost ready.” I watch as she reaches into a drawer and pulls out a first aid kit.  “Let me help you with the cuts.”

I shake my head, “I’m fine.”

Minji frowns at me and gently pushes me back into a chair. Before I can protest, she’s already cleaning the cuts on my face with antiseptic, her touch surprisingly gentle. I feel an odd sensation in my chest as I steal a glance at her, her face almost uncomfortably close to mine as she focuses on her task. 

“There,” she says, finishing up with a small bandage on my cheek. “You’re good to go.”

I grunt in response, still feeling a little flustered. Minji hands me a cup of warm tea, our fingers brushing briefly. I take a sip, the warmth of the liquid heating me up from the inside.

“Thanks,” I muttered, avoiding her gaze as I stared down at the contents of the mug in my hands. 

Minji, seemingly oblivious to the hint of awkwardness that I feel, takes a seat on the kitchen counter across from me. “No problem. It’s the least I can do.”

I take another sip of tea, unsure of how to navigate this foreign scenario. I try to rack my brain, searching for something to say, but nothing comes out. Thankfully, Ms. student council president manages to save the day.

“Soo…” she starts, her eyes peering into her cup. “What do you usually do when you’re not getting into fights?”

I glanced up at her, surprised by the sudden question. “Um… I don’t know. Nap, I guess.”

Minji giggles softly, trying to lighten the mood. “Really? That’s quite… unique.” She flashes a bright smile at me.

I shrug, feeling a little embarrassed by her reaction. “What about you?” I ask after a pause. 

Minji chuckled, a smile lingering on her face. “Well, when I’m not studying or dealing with student council stuff, I like to sing.”

I look up at her, genuinely curious. “Really? I would’ve never guessed that.”

“Yeah, I haven’t really told anyone this aside from a few close friends. Sometimes I would tell my parents that I’m studying at the library, but in reality, I’m at the karaoke place with them.” She giggles to herself before her expression suddenly darkens and her gaze drops to the floor. Minji lets out a sigh before saying, “My parents would never approve. They want me to go to a good college and probably become a doctor or something.”

The room fell into a thoughtful silence, aside from the thunder and rain that continued to pour outside. I saw a side of Minji that was kept hidden behind the cheerful facade she usually wore. Despite the two of us being strangers before today, I couldn’t help but feel sympathetic towards her. I racked my mind, thinking of something to say that could offer her comfort.

“I-I’m sorry,” is all I managed to stutter out. I mentally facepalmed myself for not being able to help her more.

Minji looked up, her eyes meeting mine, and for a brief moment, I could see a deep sadness within them. She managed a small smile before looking back down at her mug. “It’s okay, Yuno. It’s just a silly hobby anyways.”

She steps off of the kitchen counter and downs the remainder of her tea before placing her mug in the sink. I watch as she peers over at the clock hanging on the wall, the arms pointing to 9:00. “It’s getting late, but…” Her gaze turns to the window above the sink, a sigh escaping her lips. “The rain isn’t letting up.”

I stand up from my chair, mentally preparing myself for the treacherous walk home. “It’s okay Minji, I ca-”

“You can spend the night here.”

My eyes grow wide in shock, staring at the back of her head as she continues to face the window. “H-huh?”

A million thoughts run through my head as her unexpected offer hangs through the air. Spending the night? At Minji’s place? It felt like I had suddenly woke up in an alternate reality and didn’t notice until now. 

Minji slowly turned to look at me, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush as she met my bewildered gaze with a sheepish smile. “Yeah… Look, it’s pouring outside and you could get sick. My parents are both gone for a business trip, so they won’t be back until this weekend.”

I hesitated, completely baffled at the situation I was faced with. No words come out as I continue to stare at Minji in shock. “I-I uhh… w-what?”

Minji briskly walks past me without another thought. “You can crash on the couch. I’ll get you some blankets.” 

I suddenly find myself alone in Minji’s kitchen. Me. In Minji’s house. Alone. With Minji. I don’t know how long I stood there in silence. I was like a deer caught in headlights, completely still despite the feeling of impending doom heading my way. My mind was running at a thousand miles a minute.

“Yuno!”

My head snaps towards the source of the sound. Minji’s head pokes out behind the wall leading to the living room. “Are you okay?”

I scratch my head, feeling a bit awkward. “Y-yeah, I’m good.” I come to my senses and walk towards the living room, where Minji placed a couple of pillows and two neatly folded blankets on the couch.

“Make yourself comfortable. Oh, I went ahead and put your uniform in the wash. It should be all nice and dry in the morning.” She says, flashing me a reassuring smile. I notice a twinge of anxiety deep within her eyes.

“T-thanks,” I reply sheepishly.

“If you need me, I’ll be upstairs in my room. Just knock.” Minji begins to walk away but stops at the foot of the stairs. “Um… Good night, Yuno.” She gives me a small smile before disappearing up the stairs.

I plop myself onto the couch and stare at the ceiling, unsure of what to make of this day. I replay the events in my head - The monotonous school day, followed by me kicking Bryce Merten’s ass. Meeting Minji in the detention room. The rain. And now I’m in Minji Kim’s house, drinking Minji Kim’s tea, and sitting on Minji Kim’s couch. What the fuck.

I lay down on the couch, the exhaustion of everything catching up to me. The plush cushions carry me gently, enveloping my body in comfort. My eyelids begin to get heavier and heavier until my vision eventually goes black. 

______________________________________________________________

Minji’s POV

“Hanni!! What should I do?!” I whisper-screamed into the phone.

“Girl, you’re gonna have to explain all that again, I could barely understand you,” I hear my friend reply in a snarky tone.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves before I relay the events again. “Okay, so I was just doing paperwork in the detention room because Ms. Rusnak was out and all of a sudden this guy named Yuno walks in with his face all bloody because he got into a fight somehow, and then I was gonna leave after detention ended, but he offered to walk me home, which was nice I guess, but then it started raining so I invited him to wait inside until the rain calmed down because I didn’t want him to get sick, but for some reason, the rain NEVER calmed down, so now he’s sleeping on my couch.” I stop to catch my breath at the end of my rambling, waiting for Hanni’s response.

“Wait, Yuno? As in Yuno Lin? The guy who knocked out Bryce Mertens?” she asked.

“Y-yeah… I think so.” I hesitantly admitted.

“I mean, I didn’t know you were into bad boys, but whatever floats your boat,” Hanni teases.

I groan in annoyance. “Hanni now is not the time for jokes! My parents will kill me if they find out I have a boy staying over!!”

I hear Hanni chuckle at her own joke. “Relax, Minj. Your parents won’t be back for three more days, you’ll be fine.”

I collapse face first into my bed, feeling defeated. “I guess so…” My muffled voice says into the mattress. I let out a long sigh, turning onto my back and staring at the ceiling.

“Sooo, what’s he like?” Hanni asks. “I always see him alone all the time, so I assumed he was just some creepy weirdo or something.”

I pause, contemplating my answer. “He’s… different from what I thought he would be. He’s not a creepy weirdo at all. He’s quiet and a little awkward, but he means well and seems nice enough.”

Hanni’s curiosity peaks. “Oooh, mysterious bad boy with a soft heart sleeping with the student council president. Sounds like a plot to a K-drama.”

I quickly sit up, my cheeks burning red with embarrassment. “Hanni!! It’s not like that at all!!” Hanni’s laugh can be heard from the speaker of my phone. I hang up and collapse back on the bed, too tired to deal with her for tonight. I let out a sigh and tightly shut my eyes, hoping that I’d wake up and find out all of this was just some weird dream.

[ya-zz]

please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please, i need a fic version of the ana req. please please please please it was perfect, she's so sweet i want to love her please. (ㅅ •᷄ ₃•᷅ )

Ana x GN!Reader

Word count: 1448

No specific gender specified, does contain both young and old Ana Mild NSFW, nothing too explicit Also combined two drabbles for this because someone wouldn't leave me alone until it was done

Ana Amari, one of the founding members of Overwatch. A skilled sniper, one of the worlds deadliest. Years of training in arms and battle have made her who she is, but the torment of her past would always catch up to her. The omnic crisis was still ongoing, the fighting still tearing up the streets, but Overwatch needs a plan.

And Amari was running. 

Until she met you. 

“We have a new recruit joining us.” The commander speaks up. 

Amari perks up, finally snapped out of her daze. “A new member is joining us? With where Overwatch is headed, don’t you think that’s a bad move?”

“We need all the help we can get.”

“Meet our new recruit.” The commander gestures towards the door and thus enters you. Dressed in a blue suit, matching the Overwatch colours, you stand before the small group, meeting eyes with all of them, a shy smile on your face. 

“Hi.” 

A few of the members nod as you speak your name, telling the group about your specialties, the skills that you acquired from a young age to today. What you did manage to catch between sentences was the look that one member was giving you. Her cheeks were mildly flushed, a small twinkle in her eyes from the projector. 

Something warm flutters in your chest. She’s younger, but certainly older than you. You’re still growing into your boots, but the desire that is pulling you towards her is strong and she can feel it too. 

Once the meeting is over, she stays back, wanting to get to know you more. 

“So, you’re joining us, huh? Hope you’re ready, soldier.” She leans against the table as she speaks to you. 

“Yes, ma’am, I am.” You look at her, a small smirk of your own plastered on your face.

“You have quite a skillset, too.” 

“Thank you, ma’am.” 

Amari chuckles. “Enough of the formalities, you’re one of us now.” She places a hand on your arm before standing straight. “Come, I will show you to your room.” 

From that point on, Amari was your superior, not officially, but she might as well have been with how often she was around you and checking up on you. She was always by your side, even in battle. 

Days and weeks went by with no end in sight with the ongoing war. Tension between nations were rising, tension between you and Ana were rising.

You were recovering, wandering the halls of the temporary base before being pulled into an empty meeting room. The door locks and Amari pushes you against the table. 

Her hands trail up your torso, trailing over scars and blemishes that you hated. Her smile never wavers before her lips come down onto your neck. 

"You are very sensitive here," she coos, slowly making her way to your collar. 

"If we get caught-" 

She hushes you instantly. "The commander won't be around for another ten minutes. We have time." 

"Amari-" 

"Hush now. Don't make me put you to sleep because that will hurt." She chuckles, pressing her lips to yours. She tastes sweet tea. 

There was a small bustle heard outside of the door which causes your body to freeze, but Ana doesn't let up. Her fingers tickle your sides before toying with the waistband of your pants.

The meeting room was cold, the table just as colder. Your body was shaking and not from the chill, but from the nerves that were on fire. If you get caught, it's going to be embarrassing - you might just quit your job at Overwatch. 

Ana notices your hesitancy, her grin never fading as she drops to her knees. "Let me help you calm down."

The belt buckle comes undone, zipper following a second later. She wastes no time in getting to work, her mouth pressed against you and there was no holding back. Your moans echo into the empty room, knuckles turning white as you grip the table.

She can’t help but smile into your skin, relishing in your noises. She could feel your body heating up, the slight tremble as she teases your sweetspots. 

“A-Ana…” You move your hand to your lips, biting against the skin to stifle the moans and whimpers.

The coil was tightening, threatening to snap as he mouth worked against you, pulling out the most intense orgasm you had ever felt. Nobody else could’ve done what she did, pulled the same feeling out as she did, not even by your own hands. 

She was soft and gentle as you came down from the high and when she stood, thigh pressing against your sex she presses her lips to yours. She tastes of a mixture of sweet tea and you. 

From that point on, quickies in meeting rooms were frequent. There was the occasional time you two nearly got caught, but that didn’t stop you from fucking each other in whichever meeting room or storage room was empty and free. Comments were passed through the private radio during battles, a missed shot here and there from you in reaction, but things happen, don’t they?

As time went by, chatter started between the other members, including comments from other organisations. You and Amari were under fire for a completely different reason. While Overwatch weren’t too picky about you two hooking up, so long as you were… professional about it. 

However, the comments wouldn’t stop and the anxiety about your job and livelihood were beginning to creep up. You had one option and that was to leave. 

Perhaps it was the wrong decision to make, but your papers were put in and you had left without a trace. Not even a goodbye to the one woman who had your back through it all. 

She never hated you for leaving. She understood. 

Several long years had passed before the two of you had met again. She looked young for her age, perhaps it was the ongoing development in anti-aging products that has kept her looking so well, but you knew as well as anybody else that she wouldn’t touch those products.

When she spotted you doing a delivery for the new Overwatch team, she couldn’t quite believe it. You had turned your life away from the frontlines to be a delivery person for the one agency you had devoted years of your time to. 

It makes her chuckle as she approaches. 

“Hey, soldier.” She speaks up, catching you off guard. You turn around and your heart almost stops in your chest. 

“Well, I’ll be damned. If it isn’t Captain Amari.” You smirk, tipping your cap to her. “You look good.” 

“I could say the same to you.” She leans against the van. “And please-”

“No formalities.” The smile never fades as you place a box onto the trolley. “So, Ana. You’re still here.” 

“I took a break but yes, I came back.” 

You laugh. “Seems like this job needs someone like you.” 

“You haven’t lost your charm, have you?” She chuckles, forcing herself off of the van.

“Awh, did you miss me?” 

“And if I did?” There was that same sparkle in her eye, the same one from when the two of your first met. 

You scoff, shaking your head as her hands grasp yours, pulling you towards her.

Her hand holds your own, soft skin touching, her thumb rubbing soothing motions on the back of your hand, brushing over your knuckles. 

"Are you sure?" You ask her, a slight shake in your voice. 

It had been a long time since she held someone close, since she had fallen in love. Many long and sleepless nights thinking about you and your safety. Her mind was solely focussed on you all this time. 

"Yes, I am certain." She responds, free hand coming up to caress your cheek. "You are quite a lot younger than me." Amari chuckles, a warmth spreading through her cheeks. 

"That doesn't matter. Love is love." Your heart was pounding in your chest and you were certain she could feel it too. 

Not wasting anymore time, you lean in close, pressing your lips to hers. It was gentle and soft and to your surprise, she leans in further, hand trailing up your arm. 

It seemed like an eternity had passed by the time you both broke free from the kiss and the sparkle in her eyes was all the confirmation you needed that she still loved you.

“If you’re free later, I would love to catch up with you over some coffee.” 

You shake your head. “I don’t drink coffee anymore, too many sleepless night.” 

Ana tilts her head as she looks up at you. 

“I’ve developed a more… sweet tea kinda taste.” 

[perpetual-fandom-brainrot]

Temporary Relocation Ch. 3

Read the previous chapter here MASTERLIST Basic premise: You've been on TF141's base during recovery from an experimental surgery, and you've made friends with Gaz and Soap since arriving. You have some concerns that you bring to Price.

In the past few weeks, you'd learned firsthand why it was so important for you to stay on a military base. Sitting down, laying down, leaning against walls, even just hopping over small obstacles you would totally pick up later caused small jolts of pain to shoot up your spine. Lately you'd been trying to expand your range of movement to get your new appendages used to existing. If this was hell, you didn't want to know what actual training would feel like. So most of your free time was spent wandering the base.

Today in particular while you were walking around, you noticed Gaz was missing from the base. You decided you'd ask Soap about it the next time you saw him, which was in the gym, that he knew you weren't supposed to be in.

"Ay, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting." He crossed his arms as he stood in your path, blocking your way to the equipment. "Those new instincts of yours won't do us much good if ya aren't properly healed up."

"Actually, I was looking for you," you hoped it wasn't obvious how nervous you were getting caught by Soap, since he was the type to report this if he felt actual concern, "I've been walking around all day and I can't find Gaz."

"He was instructed to join the Captain; they're looking for assets that are supposed to be ours. Can't tell you any more, sorry kit."

"Kit?" You echoed.

"Y'know, like a Kit-ty Cat? Because of the ears and tail?" MacTavish had a playful tone, and as he spoke he made flicking noises at his own head, where cat ears would be if HE had them instead. The combination had you laughing.

"You look ridiculous doing that," you commented. "And, that nickname had better not stick. Find something a little... pun-nier?" You gave a cheeky smile and slipped into the hallway as Soap gave a snort at your joke. And bumped right into Ghost.

You weren't sure what was up with that guy, but you could tell he hated you the most out of everyone on base. His eyes boring through your gaze and what you could swear was into your soul made it glaringly obvious.

"Sorry," you finally got the courage to mumble, the lieutenant simultaneously shoving past you. It almost hurt, in some roundabout way, that someone who is supposed to protect your life on the battlefield had so little approval towards you. It wasn't a feeling you found relevant, but you knew it would fester into anxiety without some form of comfort.

So your mind drifted to Soap, who, despite having to say goodbye for a mission at one point for a few days, you had grown to be nearly best friends with. You knew Soap cared enough to protect you, and you knew you cared enough to protect him. Hell, even if Ghost needed saving, he was still your teammate. You'd help him too, even though you thought it'd just piss him off.

With a sigh, you redirected your path to the debriefing room, which was kept completely empty when no one was using it. You didn't have to worry about bumping into angry lieutenants or avoiding hearing information above your paygrade in there. The quiet was welcome, sun barely streaming in through the blackout blinds, and you found a seat against the wall between some filing cabinets. No one would even see you if they were to come in here. It was nice. For the first time in weeks, something was nice.

You leaned your head back against the wall, closing your eyes, and let a small smile grace you. This is so nice... you thought.

The next thing you knew, you woke up when the lights turned on and boots thumped in. At first, you thought you would have to find a way out, then voices spoke. Soap's and Ghost's.

"L.t, what the hell's been goin on?" Soap asked with a tone of irritation unfamiliar to you.

"I have no idea what you mean, Soap. We're in the middle of a fucking recovery mission we can't identify the start to, our primary target is in a country no one thinks he'll be in, and now terrorists and the cartel have decided to sit in a circle making friendship bracelets. Who do you think they'll send to handle that, Soap?" Ghost's words reminded you of something he would have yelled, but instead there was a waver underneath the barking tone. It seemed you weren't the only one who noticed it, either.

"Simon, they'll send us because we can handle it." The sergeant said firmly. "Now, let's go, Laswell will probably be back with more information soon." You weren't sure how or why, but even with as little as John was saying, it was enough to convince Ghost. Their footfalls started and faded just as suddenly as they'd come in here. You waited a moment, and when you figured you were safe, treaded in the opposite direction from them.

You had no idea Ghost was actually that worried about all of this. You knew he was somewhat worried, anyone would be, but that was the most you'd ever heard it. You figured Soap was his direct second-in-command on the field a lot of the time, so Soap would need to know what is lieutenant might be liable to respond like under active fire.

Later that day, Soap met up with you to let you know Laswell had given him more information that meant he would most likely be scheduled for departure soon. He mentioned that the whole force was having dinner together tonight, the first opportunity they would have in awhile now that Price and Gaz were apparently returning soon, and invited you to join them as their official new member- even though you couldn't be on the field yet. You happily accepted, momentarily forgetting about Ghost's utter hatred for you.

It was when you sat down at the dinner table in the canteen when you finally remembered. Ghost's glare thoroughly reminded you of it, though you'd only noticed out of your peripheral. When you actually took a glance around the table, he was already visually focusing on something else.

Everyone else was engaged in what sounded like riveting, but separate, conversation. Ghost and Price were discussing something quietly, Soap and Gaz were engaged in a conversation about which species of cat was the cutest, and a blond boy you had never seen before was just... sitting there. You made eye contact with him for a solid two seconds, felt awkward, and looked away when you couldn't seem to find words.

"So, y/n, it's been a little bit yeah? How are you getting used to your new ears?" Gaz piped up when conversation between the rest of the group dulled. All eyes turned to you. You smiled nervously, but kindly.

"Pretty well! The ears don't hurt as much anymore, it's my tail that's really bothering me. Since it's supposed to help me enhance my center of gravity they connected the nerves to my spine. Everything my tail feels, it travels upwards and gets more intense. I'm still getting used to standing up and sitting down."

"Can you move it yet?" Soap asked. You shook your head.

"No, the doctors did tell me that one might take awhile, but they said as long as I heal and train properly my tail should be able to help me naturally when it comes to balance." To excuse yourself from having to talk more, you took a large bite of food. The conversation took another pivot.

"So, how did y'all come to..." the blond started, gesturing to you, "this, anyway?" He looked around as he finished his question. You met Price's gaze and nodded, signaling he could tell... whoever this was, about your situation.

"Well, Graves, Y/n here is a soldier who was selected to participate in some medical research testing that's going to help our soldiers on the battlefield. They're going to temporarily be on the task force with us while they heal and train. We're going to spend that time gathering data, and if we determine the results good enough, test out their abilities on actual missions." Price finished, and Graves looked back at you. You had, unfortunately, swallowed your bite of food already.

"Seems like we'll get to fight on the battlefield, kitten." Graves winked at you. It was very unpleasant.

"Please don't call me kitten," you stated before continuing to eat. The rest of the table seemed to find it as a good point to change topics again. Everyone split back into their own conversations until the end of dinner. Once all plates were cleared and returned to the canteen, the leftover food was stored, and everyone returned to their quarters- except you. You made your way to Price's office and gingerly knocked on the door.

"Come in." Price said simply. You did. "Ah, l/n, what do you need?"

"I was, kind of worried? About the force's interest in me," you admitted. "I find it so nice that they aren't assuming anything about me based on my cat features, but... they're not going to stop wanting to talk to me, or anything, after the curiosity wears off, will they?" You asked. Price chuckled softly at the nervousness in your tone.

"Y/n, the last thing any of my boys do is lose interest in a teammate. They'll warm up to you beyond your medical adventures, and you'll be one of them before you know it." You nodded, bidding Price good night.

"Good luck," you called on the way out. "I hear there might be another mission soon." You added when Price looked confused. "Soap told me you have to hunt something of yours down, said he couldn't say more," you continued. A look of recognition crossed his face before he smiled softly.

"Of course, y/n, thank you."

Surely enough, the next morning you found out that there was a departure scheduled in a few days. This one was just going to be Price and Gaz, you didn't know much, but you knew they had to meet Laswell somewhere. You hoped nothing got too nasty, but in your heart you remembered this was still special ops. They could handle it, you convinced yourself, as you anxiously awaited their departure.

[tea-stained-notes]

Steve Rogers x OFC - Waiting On a Miracle, Chapter 4

After catching an infamous serial killer in the act, Julie Castillo is in line for the witness protection program. She is sent to a temporary safe house with U.S. Marshal Steve Rogers to protect her. Both of them scarred by trauma and tragedy, they find solace in each other. But how far will they dare to go?

It's been ages, I'm sorry. At least I've been procrastinating this so long that it's once more cosy cabin fic season lol

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in the future!

CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3

Series warnings: violence, death, angst, trauma, smut

Chapter warnings: anxiety, light trauma

Chapter word count: 2350

Song(s) referenced: Waiting In the Wings (Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure)

As the days passed it became increasingly impossible not to get to know each other. After all, we were all we had. Natasha had dropped by with new groceries and stayed to chat for a bit, but while Steve and I were in our own little world, she had a hundred things other than my safety on her plate. Staying in my small room all day wasn’t an inviting prospect and leaving the cabin proved too great a risk with only Steve there to protect me. What I hadn’t expected was that he would care for me in a way that must have been above his pay grade. When the nightmares finally caught up to me, forcing me awake with a scream and sending me to the door to escape the terrors seemingly living under my bed, he was already waiting in the hallway. Calmly talking me down from my panic and gently guiding me to the kitchen for some tea. And during the day his sheer presence kept my anxiety at bay with almost miraculous ease.

As the endless hours passed we grew more and more familiar with each other. We talked about anything and everything from our views on female reproductive rights (which were luckily the same) to our favourite Disney movies, mine being Moana and Steve’s Beauty and the Beast. “Really?” “Yeah, I prefer the old hand-animated movies. Plus, the songs? They’re timeless.” I nodded reluctantly while biting into one of the brownies Steve had just baked. “And like any sane person I’m obviously a sucker for that library scene,” he said with a smile so disarming I almost choked on my bite. “You do live up to that admission,” I croaked out. Steve had blazed through a whole stack of books over the past week. The shelves housed a pretty great collection and for the first few days I had been glad to have some time to read as well. But I found myself more and more distracted — by being cooped up inside while the surrounding nature looked so inviting through the windows, by the restlessness from the unfamiliar inactivity and wondering about the people I had left behind, and embarrassingly by Steve. His warmth and genuine interest in everything that went on inside my head still caught me off guard. “Great, now I wanna watch Disney movies.” I cast a disappointed look at the old TV that only offered a measly handful of channels. “How about we ask Natasha to get us some DVDs and a player up here?” I jumped up immediately, on the hunt for pen and paper. “Let’s make a list!” My enthusiasm earned a soft chuckle from Steve. “Honestly, how come we don’t have that here anyway? No Smart TV I understand but DVDs?” I made my way back to the couch, sinking into the cushions a few feet away from him. He shrugged. “This place is meant for short stays. We rehouse people if they have to go into long-term protection.” “Fine, but such little entertainment? What if you can’t stand the other person and don’t wanna talk to them?” “Well, luckily you and I don’t have that problem.” Steve’s gentle smile made my heart flutter. I quickly glued my eyes to the notepad in my lap and brandished the pencil. “Hit me then. Besides Belle shitting on the entire townsfolk, explaining the plot of her book to some random sheep, and not eating a single bite throughout a whole song about food.” He ignored my comment. “Hercules.” “God, that one’s a hot mess but you gotta love it.” “Baboom. Name is Hades, lord of the dead. Hi, howya doin'?” I stared at him in disbelief for a second, then broke out into laughter. “Okay, that was a seriously good impression.” “Don’t sound so surprised,” he retorted with mock offence, “Like I said, I did do theatre at school.” “I know, but…” “What?” I studied him. Lounging on the couch in jeans and a knitted sweater, relaxed and comfortable. “When I met you at the station… You seemed like a very different person.” “So did you.” He gave me a crooked grin. “Maybe we’re just very different people when we’re in the city.” “Maybe first impressions are just stupid.” “Also that.”

We worked on the list for a while, moving from animation to mini series, dramas and comedies. I wondered how many of these we would actually make it through until this surreal bubble would finally burst. When I would lose this strangely wonderful companionship. Something pulled in my chest at the mere thought. I set the notepad down and let my eyes wander through the room until they landed on the piano. “You do that a lot,” Steve said quietly. “What?” “Look at the piano.” I swallowed hard, feeling his intent gaze on me. “I wouldn’t mind you playing. Whatever you want.” “No, thank you.” Silence fell over us for a while. Not the easy silence I had grown used to with him, this one was suffocating. When he spoke again his voice was even more tender. “That song you were singing the other day. About… waiting in the wings?” My throat went dry. “Was that from the show you’re working on?” “No. Uh, it’s from a spin-off TV show about Rapunzel, you know, from Tangled.” “Huh.” Steve raised his eyebrows. “I had no idea they write such good songs for cartoons.” “Well, they brought back Alan Menken and Glenn Slater for the show, those two don’t fuck around. And Eden Espinosa sings this one, she’s pretty famous for playing Elphaba in Wicked, so you know what she brings to the table. Jeremy Jordan sang a few songs for the show as well, you don’t tend to hire him for some shitty run-of-the-mill pop tunes.” He stared at me for a moment. “That was… a lot of names.” “Never mind,” I smiled. The tension had almost left my body when his next question brought it back in full force. “It means a lot to you though, right? That song?” I swallowed thickly, the paper crumpling in my clammy hands. “Let’s just say, it hits a little too close to home.” “Hmm.” Steve nodded. “I mean, it’s not actually about theatre of course,” I fumbled, “it’s just a metaphor.” “But it’s about theatre for you.” Another endless pause stretched between us. “I’m sorry,” he eventually murmured. “You don’t have to tell me.” “I think I want to.” My admission took us both by surprise. I had been keeping up my walls for so long, with Finn being the only one who actually knew my entire story. But now I was almost craving to tear them down for this man before me. He settled back into the cushions, giving me an encouraging smile. I cleared my throat a few times, my stomach and fingers in knots.

“My mom was from Mexico. She moved to New York all by herself at nineteen. She’d been obsessed with the stage all her life, starring in every school production and constantly putting on shows for her family at home. She put herself through AMDA on a scholarship—“ I stopped myself. “Sorry, that’s the American—“ “Musical and Dramatic Academy.” Steve smiled gently. “Some theatre kids from my high school applied.” “Right. She was gifted and relentless. Even when the industry kept putting spokes in her wheel, denying her roles with bullshit excuses and, well, very thinly-veiled racism. I wish I could say things are nothing like that today but… Anyway, she eventually got her foot in the door with some minor parts and then one day broke out as Diana Morales in A Chorus Line. And she was incredible. I mean, I only ever got to see some grainy footage from the time but… God, you should’ve seen her.” His eyes shone with light warmth. “Was she even better than you?” “Definitely.” It came out sounding more bitter than I had intended. “One day she met my dad through a school music program. He was teaching high school back then. And when I came along I didn’t really have a choice but to be into music. Something was always playing, either from the stereo or my parents’ instruments. I was into the guitar but my mom insisted I learn the piano as well. She always said, ‘I don’t care what else you learn to play, as soon as you’re decent at the piano. It’s the best basis.’” “Was she right?” “Unfortunately yes,” I smirked. “And I learned to love the piano. But my real love was musical theatre. She never forced that, I simply fell for it, just like she had as a child. So both my parents taught me at home and I signed up for lessons in singing, acting, dancing. It was basically a full-time job outside of school.” “That sounds intense.” “It was. But I couldn’t get enough, I loved nothing more than learning new techniques and routines, running lines, hanging out with other theatre kids. For years it was heaven.” Steve’s smile faded. “What happened then?” “In my last year of high school I started auditioning for drama schools.” I took a deep breath. “And I choked. Every single time.” “Why?” The word came out as soft as the rain pattering against the windows. For a moment I could hardly breathe with the urge to fall into Steve, to bury my face in his chest and never come up for air. I roughly cleared my throat. “Pressure, I guess. I had been in countless productions, but as long as I’d been a kid, it had always been a game somehow. Now I was facing the big leagues, my entire future depended on those few minutes in front of the committee and—“ I sank my teeth into my bottom lip. “And they all knew my mother.” “So, they expected you to be perfect.” “Of course they did.” A strangled laugh escaped me. “She always bragged about how much promise I showed. And she wasn’t wrong. I was good for my age. The stage had been home all my life. But suddenly it became hell.” Steve’s hand found mine and my heart jumped at the gentle contact. I stared at his thumb as it caressed along my knuckles. Back and forth, just like the tug between panic and comfort in my chest. “That must have been incredibly difficult,” he finally murmured. I nodded, still choked up. “My dad was pretty relaxed about it. He kept saying I could just focus on something else for a while and return to theatre when I felt ready. But Mom… She tried so hard to hide it but her disappointment broke me. I can’t imagine how it felt for her. All those countless hours teaching me, watching me learn and perform, encouraging me, supporting me. She’d always believed that I would be a star. Had made me believe I would be.” Steve didn’t say a word, just looked at me with endless sympathy, his hand a warm tether to the world.

“After a while I couldn’t even try anymore. I had panic attacks on the way to auditions, I barely slept, I almost failed my finals. So, I gave up. I worked some odd jobs for a while, trying to flush that dream out of my system, to find something else I could be good at. But as much as it hurt, I couldn’t stay away. I trained as a deputy stage manager and in some ironic way made it to Broadway after all.” “And what about your mom?” I shrugged. “She tried to be happy for me. But I think she could never really see past the waste of my education.” “Julie—“ “And then she died.” The room feel silent. I could feel Steve’s eyes on my as I tried to blink away the tears in mine. “Heart attack. Everyone said it was just stress, she had been extremely busy with work while doing all sorts of charity work and giving lessons. But I wondered… I just couldn’t help but think that my failure—“ “Julie, no.” Steve took my hand in both of his, his grip as urgent as his tone. “Don’t you dare believe something like that.” I inhaled deeply, wiping at the tears that had spilled over at last. “Sometimes I wonder whether I should just leave New York behind. Whether the joy the theatre still brings me sometimes is worth the constant reminders that I'm not really part of that world. Not in the way I want to be. The way she wanted me to be. Most of the time it all just hurts.” “I get that part,” Steven said quietly, half-lost in his own thoughts. I studied him for a moment. “You left Chicago for a good reason, huh?” He swallowed, then nodded almost imperceptibly. “The thing is: The pain leaves with you. You just keep carrying it everywhere.” Once more, silence fell upon us. I was caught somewhere between the relief of finally having opened up and the wondering about Steve’s past which was still mostly a mystery to me. “Have you ever auditioned again?”, he suddenly asked. “I’ve tried a couple more times. But I never made it to the actual stage. I probably never will.” “Is it even possible to fully give up on something that feels like your life’s purpose?” He seemed to direct the question at the room more than me. We both stared out the window for a while, following the raindrops’ paths down the pane. Eventually he withdrew his hand from mine to stand up and an instant chill ran through my body. I had grown dangerously used to his touch. “I’m gonna make coffee. Would you like some more tea with those brownies?” “That would be great,” I said, still slightly off kilter. On his way to the kitchen he turned to face me once more. “Julie?” I looked up at him expectantly. “Thank you for trusting me with your story.” He said it as if I’d ever really had a choice.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

CHAPTER 5

MASTERLIST

[looneyleyle]

sweetcheeks ~ s. macher

synopsis: stu macher ended things with you exactly one year ago. so why oh why did you end up in front of his house tonight?

warnings: angstyish, lots of anger, scream-typical violence and gore

words: 1916

morgan pov

"so that's it? done? just like that?" the man in front of me just shrugged, as if he wasn't standing there in a couples costume that he made us wear, as if we didn't just have a beautiful night of partying with our friends, as if we haven't been doing things together for the past seven months.

"like it was fun and all but it wasn't that serious y'know?" he told me, slumped against the wall, staring at the door out of my room. i couldn't believe him. my mind was going a thousand miles a minute. bullshit. absolute bullshit. and out of nowhere? i didn't know what to say. in response to my silence, he started walking towards the door, planting a kiss on my head as he walked by. as he reached the doorframe, i screamed at him.

"fuck you stu macher!" he held up for just one second, turning around.

"fuck you? i already have sweetcheeks." and with that, he walked down the hall and out of my house, and out of my life.

it's been almost exactly a year since then. he dated around, the most notable being casey becker and tatum riley. he started fooling around with casey merely two weeks after our breakup, solidifying the fact that i would never ever ever in a million years go back to that backstabbing little bitch.

"hey, morgan, did you hear the news?!" my friend, matthew, panted, having just ran to catch up with me.

"what news? did principal himbry finally get caught touching a kid?" i asked sarcastically. matthew grabbed me by my shoulders, stopping me from going any further.

"matthew, we have to get to class-"

"casey becker and steve orth were murdered last night." my eyes widened in shock.

"casey? and steve? what the hell?" i questioned, not able to process the information. looking around me, everyone else seemed to have the same shocked or worried faces. news vans were starting to pull up, interviewing students.

"do they know what happened?" i asked. matthew shook his head.

"found both of them with their guts pulled out of their bodies, casey hanging from a tree." he mumbled, resuming our walk to class.

"jesus" i gasped. he continued.

"they have no clue who it was, no suspects. everyone is spooked, pointing fingers at each other."

and that was indeed the case. anyone who had ever even looked at casey or steve was interviewed that day. i didn't know casey that well, but i had a few classes with steve over the years. naturally, i was interviewed, and when they realized that i had no motivation whatsoever to kill them and a solid alibi, they let me go back to english.

"that was so intense! they were all 'where were you between 9 and 11 pm last night'! i've never been questioned by the police before!!" matthew gushed.

"check yourself buddy, you sound like you're happy about all of this." i warned him as we passed by a few reporters.

"right, right, sorry." we kept walking, passing bitch face and his crew at the water fountain, his new girl all over him. in all honesty, i had no problems with tatum, she was nice enough, but she was associated with stu, which meant i hated her. i scoffed quietly as we approached them.

"you're not seriously still hung up on him, are you?" matthew asked quietly. matthew was never a fan of stu, claiming something was off about him.

"i'm not 'hung up on him', i'm mad that i ever let a jackass like him make me feel so shitty" i corrected him, glaring at stu. he looked at me, his face going completely blank. i just looked away, not letting him get to me. it's been almost a year, well, kind of. i had a few... relapses, lapses in judgement that i would never let anyone know about, especially not matthew. i had stopped it completely a few months ago, hating the way i'd feel afterwards. and of course, a couple nights after i stopped letting myself go back to him, he started dating tatum. it was all deja vu, it made me nauseous.

speaking of nauseous, that was exactly how i felt when i was invited to a party at stu's the following day.

"how idiotic can he be? throwing a party when there's a killer on the loose? i mean, hello, he may be stupid, but he's never been that stupid!" i ranted. matthew just sat there, burning a cd at my kitchen table.

"starting to sound like you care about him" he mumbled. i hit him lightly on the head, earning a yelp back. he finished up with the cd before packing everything up.

"look, i gotta get back home, curfew and all. whatever you do, don't go to that party. i know you, you're too nosy for your own good. sit on your couch and watch some tv until your parents get home, alright?" he lectured, heading to the door.

"yes dad" i replied, plopping down on the couch.

naturally, i left for the party about an hour later. i don't know why i did it, i wasn't friends with billy or sid or tatum or even randy after stu cut whatever we had short. i didn't know anyone that was going to be there besides the asshole of a host. i just couldn't get my mind off of it. plus, safety in numbers, right? no killer is gonna walk into a room of thirty teenagers and say, yeah, this is a good idea.

so, i drove over to stu's place. it was like muscle memory, and those weren't the only memories activated. every other second another memory flooded over me, from us blasting music to stargazing on the side of the road to some not-so-pg activities in the back of his car. i hadn't been up his road in exactly a year now, when i went to his house to get ready with our matching costumes. i swallowed the heavy lump in my throat, already seeing the line of cars leading towards the house. i parked and got out quickly, a bit paranoid with the killer. obviously he wouldn't come out and start slicing throats in a room of thirty people, but a girl walking alone on the side of the road? sounds like fair game to me. so, i picked up the pace until i was safely through the door of the macher residence. it was the same as it was a year ago, just now swarmed with a bunch of drunk teenagers. i went over to the living room to see randy and a group of people watching halloween. i stood behind the couch watching until i was forcibly yanked into the kitchen. i opened my mouth to scream, but a hand quickly clamped over it. i looked to see the angry eyes of stu macher.

"what the hell are you doing here sweetcheeks?" he asked, his voice strained, not trying to cause a commotion. the two girls talking in the kitchen, sensing the tension in the air, left us alone. i tried to wiggle out of his grip, but it only made him grip onto me harder.

"it's called free will dipshit."

"it's called you shouldn't be here." he continued, looking around frantically.

"what's the big deal? afraid tatum is gonna walk in on this?" i remarked, rolling my eyes.

"i don't give a shit about what she thinks." he said offhandedly, looking at the clock.

"shouldn't you care about what your girlfriend thinks." i spat. he stayed silent at that, looking back at me.

"you need to go. now. i didn't go through all of this trouble just for you to fuck it up." i nearly headbutted him. me? fuck something up? after all he did?

"you listen here, stu macher-"

"no, you listen here, morgan, i have done everything for the past year to make sure you would be safe. go to your car and speed home and don't look back. i'll explain everything tomorrow-"

"'to make sure i would be safe' what the hell are you going on about? what the fuck is going on?"

"i can't tell you."

"yes you can."

"sweetcheeks, you don't understand, i can't tell you."

"stop calling me that. tell me what's going on."

"if he tells you, he'll have to kill you" a voice chimed in from the doorway. we both looked over to see billy loomis, an amused smirk on his face.

"billy, not now." stu demanded. i was a bit taken aback, stu was never this serious, especially not to billy.

"no stu, go on, tell her what's about to happen? she'll know soon enough."

"shut up billy, she doesn't need to know." he growled. billy's smirk didn't fade, waltzing right up to me, stu moving to stand in between us.

"you wanna know why loverboy called it quits?"

"billy-"

"wanna know why he broke your heart out of nowhere and moved on just like that?"

"billy stop"

"he really did love you, even i was surprised when he told me it was over. makes sense now, he was just trying to protect you."

"billy shut the fuck up!" he yelled. my head was spinning, too much was going on.

"now that she's here, she can't escape her fate. you might as well just tell her. i'll be waiting outside." billy told stu, but it sounded more like a threat. when stu turned to look at me, he looked lost, like he was broken.

"stu, what's going on?" i asked softly, reaching out to grab his arm. tears brimmed his eyes, and he screamed "dammit!" as he hit the fridge. i rubbed my hand up and down his arm, something that would comfort him while we were seeing each other.

"i loved you. i love you. last year, billy had this crazy idea, and i just ran with it. but i didn't want you to get involved, i didn't want you to know about that part of my life. i knew that if this continued, he would try to loop you in somehow, i needed to make sure you were safe. so i broke it off between us, but it didn't even matter in the end, did it? he's just gonna kill you anyways." he spiraled, tears streaming down his face. my heart dropped.

"stu, what do you mean kill me?" i asked, already knowing my answer. he gave me a weak smile, tear stains streaked down his face, and the most terrifying words left his pretty lips.

"sweetcheeks, we're the killers. killed sid's mom last year, killed casey and steve, killed himbry, tonight was the finale. if you had just stayed away for one more day, i could've came back, i could've made it all up to you. we could have moved on like nothing ever happened, just you and me." i shook as i processed the information, stu wrapping me up in a hug.

"i won't let him do this to you." he cried into my hair, i hugged him back, my own tears starting to fall. and then, all of a sudden, the worst pain i had ever experienced dug into my back. i felt something slide out of my back, and when i looked up, stu was there, sobbing, holding a kitchen knife covered in my blood.

"i'm so sorry sweetcheeks." he whispered before stabbing me in the stomach.

[casspurrjoybell-27]

Our Hearts Collide - Chapter 38 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Vince

Sam didn't strike me as someone who would listen to 80's classics but I guess I should've guessed that his taste in music would match Cindy's diner, he practically lived there.

With many miscellaneous supplies and boxes in my lap, it wasn't like I could reach over and change the channel either if I wanted.

The music didn't bother me, as it helped fill the silence once we had sat in the car and driven off the pack's premises.

Normally, silent car rides were fine, I preferred it over chaotic car rides with Xavier but being alone with Sam was still awkward.

Whether Sam thought the same, he didn't give any indication.

Before I could try and fill the silence during a break in one of the songs, Sam said cool-like...

"I'm surprised you're taking the news well."

I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes before fixating on the road.

"Truthfully, I was wondering what was taking so long. I may be oblivious sometimes but even I could see something between you two."

He laughed.

"Yeah, well, Xavier's been stressed lately with pack business and I thought it was best he figures things out for himself at his own pace. Didn't want to overwhelm him and suggest we become official when he's got so many things on his plate."

"If I'm being honest, I think he likes keeping busy. Working under pressure is what got him to make all these changes within our pack so far."

Sam nodded as we reached a red light.

"True, though I am quite surprised that Xavier brought it up first."

"About being official?"

With Sam's cheeky smile, I scoffed.

There was no way.

"He brought it up first?"

"Caught me off guard," Sam admitted as his eyes focused back on the road.

"Wasn't that long ago, either."

"When was this? There's no way Xavier would've been able to keep this a secret for long."

"Right after he met with the pack Alpha from the South."

I blinked, my mind drifting back to my conversation with Xavier over the phone.

"He actually took my advice?"

"Does he not usually?"

Sam pulled into the clinic's parking lot.

"I didn't think he'd listen right after."

If I was being honest, I thought it'd take at least six months for Xavier even to consider my advice about telling Sam his feelings.

The fact it took him maybe six minutes?

Damn, it felt nice.

Sam must've noticed by the grin on my face that it was rare for Xavier to take my advice or at least not this type of advice.

He nudged my shoulder.

"Come on, let's get the supplies in."

Struggling with the seatbelt with all the boxes on my lap, Sam walked around to grab a few boxes, setting them on the hood of his truck.

One of Sam's front desk workers stepped out to help with the other supplies.

"There's not a whole lot of storage, we've got a whole bunch of patients this past week, so we've had to set up some temporary kennels and cages in our normal storage areas," one of his staff said.

"I'll show you where."

It wasn't long until we squeezed the boxes into a corner, finding other spots in the small clinic to put the bigger pieces of equipment.

"Thanks again," Sam said as we leaned against one of the tables, curious patients watching us through the kennels.

"One of our patients just delivered the other night," Sam said, gesturing to the kennel at the bottom.

"Five pups, all healthy and happy. Care to meet them?"

"Might as well."

The mother, a mixed breed that looked to have husky in her, poked her head up.

Nestled against her were her weaning pups, one draped across her shoulder.

Sam sat cross-legged on the floor, popping the lock on the kennel to pet Mocha, as the info card stated.

Surprisingly the mother wasn't growling or showing signs of protectiveness, letting Sam check the pups.

I sat down beside him.

Sam gingerly lifted one, an all-black fur with white socks, handing the pup over to me.

Instinctively, I cupped my hands, letting the warm pup settle.

My heart raced from holding a small living creature, especially in front of their mother and yet, Mocha hadn't growled, barely even batting her eyes toward me as Sam scooped another, placing one that pulled more husky colors onto his lap.

"It's why I do what I do," Sam said.

"Why I prefer the clinic here. Leaving this place would mean I wouldn't get to help the regular patients I see, those who can't afford the clinics in neighboring cities."

"Despite the commute to the pack?"

He nodded.

"As much as I'd love to live closer to Xavier and everyone else, I don't think I could pick up and move when I have all of these animals to care for. Besides, you know well that rogues aren't always inclined to be treated by packs, either. Some prefer how low-key and private our location is."

Knowing that Simon had stayed here to recover from his hip surgery, it made sense why Sam enjoyed this line of work.

Before Xavier had expanded and made our Rogue Center more accessible, the pack's treatment and setup weren't helpful at all to long-term recovery, nor did it seem as inviting as before.

With its high chain-link fences and high-ranking guards, it made sense why people sought small clinics like Sam's.

Especially for patients like Mocha, I couldn't imagine a pregnant rogue would want to have sought refuge at our pack back then.

With the pup in the palm of my hand, mewling cute sounds, a distant memory resurfaced.

"When I was younger, I asked for a puppy one year for my birthday."

Sam looked up, his dorky smile appearing.

"Really?"

I nodded, laughing at the sheer irony and how ridiculous it sounded.

"I think I was like five. Of course, that didn't happen but at five years old, I didn't understand why a werewolf couldn't have a puppy."

"I can imagine," Sam said.

"You were probably devastated."

"It wasn't so bad, Xavier was born just after that, so my wishes sort of came true."

Sam just shook his head, most likely in disbelief or amusement.

"That's actually adorable."

"Funnily enough, Xavier had also asked for a puppy when he was younger," I mused.

"Well, anything really. He'd open up one of those kid's books with all the animals and tell my mom he wanted one. Pretty sure he asked for a giraffe at one point. Hence if you snoop in his closet, you'll probably find his obscene amount of stuffed animals my mom would buy to placate him until he says he wants another."

Sam huffed.

"Now that I can see. I imagine the same way he looks at the menu at Cindy's and points to the pictures instead of saying what he'd like."

"I thought he'd grow out of that by now."

"Nope."

"Good luck," I told him.

"You'll need it."

[robynmizore]

Redemption Chapter Seventeen:

Sanctuary In The Woods

“We’re here!” Takumi announced as he opened the cabin door. 

It had snowed lightly the night before, the cabin dusted white. Robyn stifled a giggle as some of the flakes fell into the prince’s hair, giving it a silvery white sheen. 

“What’s so funny?” he asked as the door closed softly behind him. 

“Nothing. You just got some snow in your hair. It looks cute, that’s all.”

”Oh.. is that so?”

Cheeks dusted light pink, he grinned as he opened the door a crack and took a pinch of snow and promptly sprinkled it onto the Summoner’s hair. 

“There! Now we match!”

”Baka.”

Takumi’s soft laugh filled the cabin as the couple explored their surroundings. It was spacious and decorated with forest themes, and already Robyn could picture the pair snuggled on the rocking chair by the roaring fireplace, reading books with tea and mochi.

”I can’t believe this place is ours for two whole weeks!” the prince remarked. 

Robyn hummed in agreement, then her eyes stole to the window with a gasp. 

“Look, Takumi! There’s a balcony! And it’s snowing. Let’s go look!”

Bursting with childlike wonder, she grabbed her husband’s hand, pulling him eagerly towards the door. 

“H-hey now, it’s not going anywhere!” Takumi chuckled. 

The air was crisp and refreshingly cold as they stepped outside. 

“Whoa.. you can see the whole forest almost!” he exclaimed as Robyn let go so she could lean both elbows on the rail overlooking the trees. 

“If it keeps snowing like this, the trees will look really pretty” she murmured. 

“Yeah..”

Soft arms encircled her waist, silver hair brushing her cheek as he rested his chin on top of her head. 

“Two whole weeks, huh? Well what shall we do?”

”Read!” the Summoner answered automatically. 

“Heh, we do that all the time!”

”It does bring back good memories..” she murmured, recalling the many nights spent by her room’s fireplace. 

“I know we also need to practice using our powers.. but I don’t even know where to start.” Takumi admitted. “This is all so new to me. It’ll be weird not needing things like sleep or food, or not aging or falling sick.”

Suddenly, his eyes widened, seeming to look past her. 

“What is it?”

Robyn turned to see the spirit standing behind her, and at once Takumi drew her close, although he seemed less wary this time. 

“..So you’ve wedded.” she observed.

”Yes.. what about it?” Takumi inquired tensely. 

“But you do not understand your new powers yet, yes?”

Robyn exchanged a puzzled look with Takumi, who shrugged. 

“Enjoy your New Years and celebrate your love. For the morning after, I shall appear to you again and your training shall begin.”

With that, she vanished once more, leaving the pair bewildered. 

“I don’t know how I feel about being trained by that spirit.” the prince muttered, eyeing the place where she’d vanished with a distrustful frown. “Still.. I’ll do it if it means we can get some answers.”

Robyn nodded, feeling a bit uneasy herself. 

We won’t be the same after this trip. I hope.. we can have more of an understanding of ourselves after this.

”Hey uh.. Robyn?”

”Hm?” 

She looked up to see the prince avoiding eye contact, one hand behind his head awkwardly, looking adorably shy. 

“Uh well.. tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and well.. it’s kind of a big deal in Hoshido. I’m.. still very grateful for what you did for me at the fall festival so..”

The blush on his face increased, only making Robyn feel even more curious, but she forced herself to wait patiently for the flustered prince to speak, until he finally blurted out. 

“There’s a New Year’s festival with Hoshidan style traditions in the nearby village. W-we can go.. I mean.. if you want.”

”That sounds amazing!” Robyn exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. 

The prince caught her quickly with a grin, spinning her around in a circle. 

“Don’t ever stop being who you are, Robyn. Because you’re the best!”

When Robyn glanced out the window, she saw it was snowing harder now, encasing everything in white. 

“The snow’s getting pretty high. Hopefully we don’t get snowed in.” Takumi remarked, and Robyn felt her eyes light up as she grabbed both the prince’s hands excitedly, earning a startled blush. “Wh-what is it?”

”Let’s build a snowman!”

”A snowman? Isn’t that for kids?”

”So? Remember how fun sliding down the railings was? Besides..” 

Her violet eyes narrowed in mischief. 

“I saw the look in your eyes. You’re excited too aren’t you? We’re going to be more confident, remember? So just be you!”

Takumi broke eye contact with an embarrassed blush, gazing out the window with longing. 

“You’re right.” he confessed sheepishly with a small smile. “I do want to build a snowman. Let’s go!”

Robyn’s laughter rang out like a song through the frigid air as Takumi pulled her outside. His expert eyes swept their surroundings to pick out the perfect spot. 

“There!” he declared with a passion.

Robyn stifled a giggle as they made their way to a snow covered tree, Takumi grinning in satisfaction as he rattled the branches to knock the snow off of them, forming a pile under the tree. 

“See? It’s genius! If we work here the branches will gather the snow for us, which means less work.”

He’s just like a little kid.. Robyn thought warmly as they started to roll the pile into the first ball. 

Takumi seemed so carefree now that he’d finally let his guard down. 

He deserves as much. These months spent with him have been wonderful, but not without tragedy.

”You know I actually used to hate snow.” Takumi remarked as they worked. “It always numbed my fingers and made it hard to grip my bow. Although growing up, I really liked making igloos.”

Robyn listened to the story with a quiet chuckle as she pictured a little Takumi peering out of an igloo with round eyes.

”But then one day, my igloo collapsed on me! I thought I was going to die! And to add to the humiliation, I could have sworn I heard someone laughing at me!”

Robyn laughed softly as they formed the bottom of the snowman, causing the prince to blush even more. 

“D-don’t laugh at me!”

”Sorry!” she giggled. “I just couldn’t get the image of a tiny you stuck in an igloo out of my head!”

”I guess it is a bit funny..” he admitted, face still red. 

They continued building the snow man in an amicable silence, their hands brushing occasionally. Each time they did, they’d stop to gaze blushingly at each other, Takumi giving her hand a quick squeeze before resuming work. Robyn found it cute that while comfortable, Takumi still got shy around her. 

“And done!” Robyn declared, fixing the scarf into place. 

They’d found some in the cabin, and feeling a bit indecisive as to which one to use, Takumi had indulged her and brought them all outside. 

“That’s the one?” the prince teased. “What was the point in bringing the others out here?”

A sly smile made its way to Robyn’s lips as she rose to her feet, picking up one of the scarfs. 

“You know, it wasn’t all pointless. There’s other uses for these.”

”Oh?” Takumi titled his head in confusion. “We can’t get cold anymore, remember?”

”Oh I didn’t mean that.” 

In one quick motion, she used one of the scarfs to pull Takumi close, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. The scarf fell to the snow beside them as Takumi’s arms wrapped around her, drawing her closer to him as he pressed her gently against the tree trunk, deepening the kiss. At last, he drew back, leaving them both breathless, his eyes full of longing. 

“Shall we go inside?” Takumi breathed, his lips inches from her’s. 

Robyn returned the look and nodded quickly, Takumi’s gathering their snowman making materials, and they hurried inside. It would seem neither of them were able to keep their hands to themselves for long, but Robyn liked this new stage of their relationship, and the special closeness it brought. And she could tell Takumi did too. 

“You really do look like a Hoshidan princess.” Takumi remarked in admiration as he adjusted the obe belt of her kimono. The prince donned one of his own, and was also carrying a box of mochi they’d made the evening before. 

Never know when you might get attacked! Worst comes to worst, I’ll just throw it at the enemy! Takumi had joked. 

I might have to attack you for looking so handsome. Robyn had teased back, lunging playfully. 

The prince had retaliated by playfully hurling one of the mochi balls at her while shouting “HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!”

The evening ended with a lighthearted snow ball fight outside, and neither had been able to get a sentence in edgewise amid fits of laughter. 

“In all seriousness, it’s weird being able to summon and unsummon my bow.” Takumi remarked, gazing at his hand thoughtfully, jolting her out of her pleasant daydream. “Ready to go?”

Robyn nodded excitedly, accepting the outstretched hand. She wasn’t sure what excited her more, the prospect of celebrating New Year’s Hoshidan style at a festival, or riding the wind currents again to get to said festival. 

“I feel so free!” Takumi exclaimed as they soared through the skies. “I’ll never get bored of this feeling!”

”Neither will I!” Robyn responded, breathless with exhilaration, resting her chin on his shoulder. 

They were smart to land a safe distance from the festival as to not risk exposing their secret. 

“I’ll be taking the lead this time.” Takumi asserted, guiding her by the hand, and Robyn was more than happy to comply, wondering what he had in mind. 

She couldn’t help but blush at the admiring glances he kept sending her way. 

“You know.. I’m really glad you ditched the hood.” he confessed. “I understand why you did it, but it’s nice to see you so.. free.”

”I’m not used to the attention.” Robyn admitted. “But.. I’m happy too. It’s nice feeling the breeze in my hair.”

Takumi hummed in agreement, rubbing her hand gently with his thumb as they walked, that single, but simple motion sending butterflies erupting in her stomach. 

“Where to first?”

”We’re going to design our hagoita paddles for the hanetsuki game!” Takumi declared with a note of pride in his voice, earning a gasp. 

“I love hanetsuki!”

”Back home, Azura never lost a match when she played.” Takumi explained as they selected two plain wooden paddles from a nearby stand, then selected a table to work. “This is my chance to finally win a match! You’ll be my partner.. right?”

”For life.” Robyn vowed, earning a blushing smile, then she looked down at her paddle. “Say.. Takumi? What’s one of your favorite things about Hoshido?”

”One of them, huh?”

That distant, dreamy look appeared in his eyes again. 

“I.. I like the way the sakura petals look in the breeze, feeling them around me as I practiced archery at Castle Shiragasi. Or the way the trees moved in the wind..” 

“That’s a beautiful memory..” Robyn murmured fondly. “Why don’t we recreate it?”

”Thats a great idea!” Takumi agreed enthusiastically. “I’ll make the trees, you can make a sky full of petals!”

With childlike excitement, the Hoshidan prince and princess set to work, crafting hagoita that would capture the beauty of the sakura petals of Hoshido. 

“Mother would have loved these.” Takumi remarked, holding his paddle up the lanterns in satisfaction. 

“She’s probably watching right now.” Robyn asserted, placing the last finishing touches on her’s. “So let’s make her proud!”

They made their way to a small clearing where people were being divided into pairs to face off against another pair. Robyn felt her eyes light up when she saw who they’d be facing off against. 

“Gaius and Caledori!” 

“Hey there.” her friend greeted while Gaius nodded a greeting. “I was supposed to face you with Ricken, but he bailed after Henry accidentally hit him in the head with the hane.

”Poor thing.. is he alright?” Robyn asked in concern. 

“Don’t worry!” Gaius replied casually. “I think Tinkerspell’s pride is more bruised than his head.”

Takumi’s eyes gleamed competitively. 

“More of a challenge for me then!”

”Alright!” Caledori clapped her hands together as they took their respective places standing on opposite sides of the clearing facing each other. “We need to keep the hane aloft as long as possible. For each time it touches the ground on our side, you score a point, and vice versa! Whoever scored five points first is the winner! Any questions?”

Heads shook, and Caledori smiled brightly. 

“Ready.. set.. go!”

”What in the blazes?! How are you so fast?!” Gaius yelped as the Takumi-Robyn tag team managed to score yet another point. 

While Robyn knew Takumi wasn’t using his wind powers, as that would be cheating, the prince was still a force to be reckoned with as he shot across the clearing, striking with precision. Robyn was doing pretty well herself, but she was a little more than distracted by the sway of Takumi’s hair as it flowed under the lanterns, the fabric of his kimono, the playful glint in his hazel eyes. The way his lips curled into that competitive smirk, the way his muscles moved as he flicked the hane back into their opponent’s side, scoring the winning point…

“Aw, we lost!” Gaius puffed. “Geez Pineapple Longshot.. you’re kinda a menace to go up against.”

“I’ve never been beaten that quickly!” Caledori chimed in as they accepted their drawn on Xs of defeat. “Even with Robyn admiring you the whole time, you still mopped the floor with us!” 

“S-she was?” Takumi glanced over at Robyn, who nodded in confirmation with a shy blush. 

“I.. I see.” 

While his face turned scarlet, there was a faint smile on his lips as well, and she knew the revelation had flattered the prince. 

Pleased with their victory, they saw the pair off and headed to the snapshot tome booth, or more like-

“A boat ride on the river?! The Order of Heroes must have really pitched in this year!”

”Shall we go?” Robyn asked dreamily, unable to take her eyes off of the lantern lit stream, Hoshidan decorations lining the sides. 

They got in line, and looking ahead, they could see Commander Anna manning the snapshot tome, a stand behind her selling tapestry. 

“Ah.. so that’s how they’re funding this.” Takumi remarked as the line progressed slowly. “You can pay extra to have the snapshot tome turn your photo into a giant tapestry!”

Robyn gazed at the stand with increased longing, unable to stop thinking about how nice it would be to have a tapestry of her and Takumi hanging from her wall. The prince followed her gaze with a soft sigh. 

“I could um.. get us each one. If.. if you want.” he said, tucking his hand behind his head awkwardly. 

“Would you?” Robyn gasped, unable to contain her excitement as the prince gave her a sheepish nod, chuckling as Robyn embraced him tightly. 

“Takumi.. you’re the best! I love you!”

”I love you too..” he murmured, tracing her cheek with his fingertip. “That reminds me.. when we return to the castle.. I imagine we’ll be staying in the same room. Should.. I move my stuff to your room then?”

Robyn hesitated, memories flitting through her mind, especially the current memories of late. As silly as it was, she was attached to them. 

“Would.. it be strange if I wanted to keep them both? We could switch off between rooms..”

”I’m not against it.. but why?”

A sheepish blush crept across the Summoner’s cheeks, only making him look even more perplexed. 

“W-well we have so many good memories in both rooms so..”

”That’s why you want to keep them? I.. I had no idea. I’m a little touched actually.”

The line moved forward, and the couple was up next. Takumi’s eyes seened to glow under the lanterns as he gave her a soft look, then they stepped onto the boat. Takumi’s whisper in her ear gave her goosebumps. 

“We can keep both rooms then.”

They sat down across from each other, and once they were settled, the boat began to move on its own, earning a gasp of delight from Robyn. Even Takumi was surprised.. in a good way. 

“Whoa! They must have magically enhanced the boats. They really did think of everything!”

Glowing lotus lanterns rested on the peaceful waters as Robyn reached up to brush her fingertips gently against the overhanging trees. The sound of violins, an instrument common in Nohr played until Robyn felt her heart itself was singing. 

“I never imagined our honeymoon would be like this..” she breathed, soaking it all in as Takumi reached over to place his hand over her’s. 

“Yeah..” he murmured. 

The trees parted slightly in the ethereal grove, and Robyn caught sight of princess Elise dancing about, violin in hand. Takumi chuckled softly, a smile on his lips. 

“Look, Takumi!” 

Around them floated bright yellow lanterns with various golden designs. 

“I wonder if we can catch one?” Robyn wondered out loud, and a competitive grin tugged at the prince’s mouth. 

“Let’s find out!” 

Carefully, the Hoshidan prince stood up, Robyn following suit. Balancing carefully, he reached up and caught one, passing it to Robyn. 

“This one’s yours.” he said gently, then managed to snag his own. “We should make a wish with them, then release them!” 

“A wish? Hm..”

Robyn thought for a moment, then smiled. 

“I want to make centuries of memories like this with you.”

”Is that so? I was going to wish for the same thing. Ready?”

She nodded, and together they cast off the lanterns, watching until they were high in the sky, glowing like falling stars. The snapshot tome was nearing, but before either of them could get into position, the boat lurched, sending her stumbling forward, but before she could hit the ground, a pair of strong arms caught her. 

“Got you!” Takumi steadied her with a soft smile. “Careful there. Don’t fall in the water. You okay?”

”Y-yes I’m..”

She trailed off as she lifted her head, almost nose to nose with the prince. Unable to resist, she leaned in to press her lips against his. Takumi responded instantly, drawing her closer. The snapshot tome flashed, but neither of them cared. Takumi played with a lock of her hair as they sat back down, snuggled together. The romantic ride ended much too soon, Robyn’s mind in a happy daze as they got off the boat. Commander Anna smiled as they approached the stand, holding two tapestries. 

“Well well well.. if it isn’t the newlyweds.” she chuckled as Takumi placed some gold on the counter. “I can certainly tell you’re both having fun.”

”That we are.” the prince replied with a happy flush, accepting the rolled tapestries. 

The couple quickly retreated to a nearby table to investigate their photos, sharing a gasp. 

“We look..” Takumi began, sounding lost for words. 

“..Angelic?” Robyn suggested. 

“Yeah!”

”It’s perfect..” she murmured. “Just like the one we took at the fall festival..”

”Perfect” seemed indescribable for such a fine piece. Without even planning it, they’d managed to capture a romantic scene perfectly. The floating lanterns danced around them, illuminating the matching serenity of both of them as they kissed, Takumi’s arms encircling her lovingly. It looked like a scene inspired from one of Caledori’s romance novels. 

“We could hang yours over the fireplace.” he suggested, and the Summoner nodded earnestly. 

“And yours over your bed?”

”Sounds good! Now what?”

A sly smile made its way to Robyn’s lips as she grabbed his hand. 

“This way!”

They made their way to a food stand, but unlike the other stands, this one sold ingredients, mainly soba noodles, miso paste, vegetables, and most importantly: plain mochi. 

“We’re making homemade ozoni.” she elaborated at her husband’s perplexed expression, selecting their ingredients. 

“I.. wanted to do something nice for you. You talked so much about it, so I figured we could make some.”

Takumi’s eyes lit up at this, and when he reached for his gold pouch, she gently stopped him. 

“My turn. I.. want to be able to take care of you too.”

His mouth opened and closed a couple times, then his eyes misted over and he murmured a quiet “thank you.” She bought some toshikoshi soba, in which Takumi informed her it was also a New Year’s tradition in Hoshido as well, sitting down at a nearby table to enjoy as they waited for midnight. 

“The clock bell should be going off any minute now.” Robyn observed as the rest of the heroes and villagers gathered around, chatting excitedly. 

“This festival is awesome!” Ricken exclaimed, hurrying over. 

While he donned a traditional Hoshidan style kimono, the mage still hadn’t ditched his hat. Suddenly, his gaze shifted past her and his eyes widened. 

“Look!” he hissed, and Robyn and Takumi turned. 

“Why are we whispering?” the prince inquired, sounding perplexed. 

“Because Gaius and Caledori are holding hands!”

”Really?” Robyn gasped, following his line of sight to confirm.

”Why do you care so much?” Takumi chuckled. 

“So we can interrogate them later about their rooomaaaance!”  the mage responded with a snicker, causing the Hoshidan to shake his head in amusement, but before he could comment, the bell chimed loudly. 

Cheers erupted from the crowd as fireworks filled the sky, followed by shouts of “HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!”

Ricken politely averted his eyes, but Robyn didn’t care of others were watching, and neither did Takumi as he kissed her confidently in front of the others. 

“Happy New Years Takumi..” she breathed, her nose brushing lightly against his.

”A new year.. with you by my side.” he whispered back. 

Celebrations ended shortly after, the couple heading back to their lovely cabin, where they took advantage  of not needing to sleep in favor of decorating the cabin for New Year’s, including making Kagami mochi and ozoni for the morning, then enjoyed it on the balcony as they watched the sun rise, also known as Hatsuhinode. 

“This is the life..” Takumi remarked, sipping the warm broth with a contented sigh. 

“Indeed..” Robyn murmured quietly in agreement. 

The sun was peeking over the trees, casting a warm glow over the snow dusted ground. 

“Ready?” Takumi asked, and she nodded. 

Another one of their crafts that evening had been to make a mini shrine, Hoshidan style of course, for New Year’s wishes. Warmth filled her as they knelt down beside it and folded their hands to pray. 

“Please give us strength to protect the realms, and our loved ones from harm.” she prayed. 

“Let us work as a united front to end this war against Embla.” Takumi put in. “For Askr.. and for ourselves.”

”Did you want to sleep for a bit?” she asked gently as they headed back, hand in hand. “Perhaps your Mother will visit you.”

”I’d rather not.. for now.” Takumi murmured. “I always have bad dreams.. but they’re always worse around the New Year.”

”If you change your mind.. I’ll do what I can to protect you from the nightmares.” she vowed quietly, giving his hand a sympathetic squeeze. 

Takumi shot her a grateful look, then asked. 

“What shall we do for the New Year, my Robyn?”

Robyn blushed a bit in embarrassment, then mumbled

”..Promise you won’t laugh?”

”..What is it?”

”Can.. can we.. spend it reading by the fire?”

Seeming unable to help himself, the prince laughed softly to himself, earning a pout from his wife. 

“You said you wouldn’t laugh!”

”Sorry, sorry!” Takumi held up his hands in surrender, then his reddish hazel eyes softened. “Actually.. that sounds perfect.”

Robyn traced Takumi’s cheek affectionately as he slept. 

He looks so peaceful.. perhaps he’s dreaming of Mikoto?

Several days has passed since the New Year, and when they weren’t in the bedroom or curled up by the fire, they were training with the spirit, who had gifted them with a strange virtual-like spell called a logbook. By dragging two fingers down, they could summon a magical inventory where they could store things such as maps of areas, information on enemies, healing items, extra weapons, and armor, and information on learned skills. Per the spirit’s advice, Robyn had been working on strengthening her singing skill while Takumi was working on his agility skills. Robyn couldn’t help but chuckle softly at the memory of their first day of training where Takumi had been trying to ride the wind currents and fire arrows at the same time, resulting in a humiliating tree crash. 

“Are you okay?!” Robyn had gasped, rushing to his side as Takumi stood up with a groan, face flushed in embarrassment. 

“Tell anyone about that and I’ll deny it..”

Per the spirit’s instructions, Robyn called upon her song to heal him. Now Takumi glided through the skies effortlessly, firing arrows. 

You have done well. the spirit had praised them both yesterday. There is still much for you to learn. But now you are ready for your next adventure. 

Robyn gazed lovingly at Takumi’s sleeping face. While she hated having to leave the cabin behind, she couldn’t help but feel excited for what was to come. 

“I love you, Takumi..” she murmured, embracing him gently as she rested her cheek on his chest. “Let’s protect the worlds together forever, okay?”

A soft hand caressing her hair startled her, and she looked up to see Takumi gazing warmly at her. He kissed her softly, then rested his forehead against her’s.

”Yes.. let’s.” he agreed. 

“I’m going to miss this place.” Robyn sighed. 

She and Takumi stood outside the cabin, soaking in the details. She knew she would treasure these memories even centuries from now. 

“Ready to go?” Robyn asked, but Takumi hesitated. 

“There’s.. one last gift I wish to give you.” he admitted softly. “C-close your eyes..” 

“Okay..” Robyn complied. 

There was a rush of air, then a floating sensation. What was he doing?

“Okay.. you can open them now.”

An expanse of clouds and skies greeted Robyn when she opened her eyes. Takumi drew her closer so her arms were around his neck as her rested his forehead against her’s and murmured 

“Do.. do you like it? I wanted to dance with you in the skies too..”

”Breathtaking..” Robyn whispered as Takumi spun them, slowly, gently, the breeze playing with their hair.  

“Robyn..” Takumi gazed intently into her eyes. “No matter where our journey takes us in this eternal life, I want us to have moments like these as much as we can. I.. I want us to have the same happiness we strive so hard to give to others. Can you promise me that?”

”I promise.” Robyn vowed, and so their joyous sky dance continued.

Book Four content starts next chapter so stay tuned… ;3

[chorusfm]

Liner Notes (January 13th, 2024)

Ringing in 2024 with a new newsletter. We have some thoughts on music out this week and some early thoughts on music coming in the first part of the year. Can it live up to 2023? We’re about to find out. If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here. A Few Things * And we’re back! At the end of every year, I always find myself struggling with what to write about on a week-to-week basis. When the entire music industry goes into hibernation, and no new music is being released, I also tend to hunker down. I spend a lot of time reviewing albums I listened to during the year to prepare for building my favorite albums of the year list, and I like to look for things I��ve missed or spent less time with throughout the year. Oh, and listen to a lot of holiday music. And when I don’t have a lot of new things to write about, it’s more challenging to carve out the space to sit down and write knowing I don’t have a lot of content to mine from. So, it was nice to take a little break. November and December are two of my favorite months of the year, and this year was no exception. Now we’re into January, and I’m feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the new year. * We published our annual favorite albums of the year list this week. My personal list of albums, movies, TV shows, and other stuff can be found here. I listened to more music in 2023 than in any previous year, and the difficulty I had in choosing my favorite albums of the year showed the year’s strength. So many bands that I loved for years came out with albums that I feel sit proudly in their storied discographies. And so many new artists I discovered that I’ll be following for years to come. * A few quick hits to get caught up on things from the past few months: I’m exploring how I want to move this newsletter from Substack. I originally started using the platform for the backend because it was easy to set up quickly and would let me take my audience with me if I wanted to. And now I want to. Idiots run the company, and the latest Nazi defending is the final straw. No one subscribed will need to do anything; it will be a seamless transition. Once I move the newsletter backend over, I’ll start linking directly to the website’s archive for these posts, and that will be the place where new subscribers can sign up. And that’s a better way to do this anyway: keep everything in-house. I’ll have to build a new email template, so it’ll probably be a few weeks until I’m ready to move fully, but it is happening. (If you use the Substack RSS feed, please replace it with the official one.) * Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve (finally) been going through the archive of the Chris Demakes a Podcast to check out episodes from some of my favorite bands/songs. It’s quite good. I love how they break down songs, and I’ve heard stories from Blink-182, Sum 41, Simple Plan, Yellowcard, MxPx, and New Found Glory that I’d never heard told before about the making of some of their most iconic songs. It’s become my default “while making/eating lunch” podcast. * I finally moved from Deliveries to Parcel as my package tracking app of choice. The built-in Amazon integration is nice, and it actually works with all the major shipping platforms. It gets my recommendation. In Case You Missed It * Chorus. fm’s Top 30 Albums of 2023 * Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2023 * Yellowcard Announce New Collaboration Album * Third Eye Blind and Yellowcard Announce Tour * Craig Manning’s Top Albums of 2023 * Adam Grundy’s Top Albums of 2023 * SCP Merchandising Closes Down * Garrett Lemons’ Top Albums of 2023 * Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties Announces New Album * Albums in Stores – Jan 12th, 2024 Music Thoughts * A lot of my music listening through December was holiday music. Of course all the staples, and all the pop-punk staples, but also just throwing on instrumental or piano versions of classic songs to have on in the… https://chorus.fm/features/articles/liner-notes-january-13th-2024/

[chartingconstellationsbywriting]

Tales Of Eudhoria: The “What We Left Behind” Chapter

A short stroy

"We had some good times, didn't we? We had some good tricks up our sleeves"

Walking In The Wind, One Direction

Summary:

A story of a former student returning to the halls of his old school as a teacher reminiscing the memories that he had made with his best friends.

Laughters, rumours,shadows of the past returned to me as I walked through these halls. I’ve never noticed how much I would miss this place, Institute Of Eudhoria until now. Walking in the halls of the place that I basically grew up in. No longer as a student but a teacher.

How I wish I could turn back the clock to the time where Daniel and I ran out of Mrs Roosevelt’s classroom because we set a tarantula on the loose. Laughing out loud not having a single care in the world. Or when Daniel and George were frantically cramming all of the subjects that they should have started revising weeks before exams started the night before while I watched them struggling, refusing to help them as I said “I told you so,” teasingly at them.

Every step I take, sparks up memories I have locked out of my mind long ago not wanting to remember what had happened to my friends. Though, I could not help but let a melancholic smile appear on my face as I reminisced.

I remember it ever so clearly like it had just happened yesterday. I was reading my favourite book for the fifth time while Daniel and George were busy conspiring up yet another plan to trick the new professor we had for history. I paid no mind to them as I have had enough detention for the term but of course I do input my ideas to them from time to time but warning them that i they were to get caught, I had nothing to do with this and the euphoric smile on their faces were apparent when their little plan had perfectly fall into place.

As much as I hate to admit it, the trick they had done on Mr Osterfield was rather amusing. Least to say he deserved it especially when he had criticised my favourite book. The smile of mischievousness and accomplishment never once left their faces as they were lectured in front of the whole class by Mr Osterfield. When our professor asked them if anyone else was involved, they said no as their eyes were gleaming towards me with a wink and I rolled my eyes at them with a small smile. However their pride was demolished as soon as Mr Osterfield said that their punishment was to clean the most disgusting toilet at the very back of our enormous school that students and teachers as such would say that as if a troll that had diarrhea and sinus at the same time had used the toilet. The expressions on their faces were priceless.

We loved our time in school. Well, mostly the memories that we had made together rather than the education part of it. However, as time flew by, our time at school shortened. It was then nearing our final examination. Daniel, George and I had been revising together courtesy of me forcing them to do so. But of course, if the three of us were to be sat together we would talk more than study and unfortunately for me, the two of them had decided that it would have been fun to tease me.

According to them, I had taken a liking towards a girl in our class. Her name was Scarlett Carter but she was called Daisy by us as most of her belongings would have something that is related to the flower. I found it adorable. No matter how much I denied it, they would insist otherwise. Their reasoning was that everytime she entered the class my mannerisms would change and I would look more brightened up or how I would sometimes stare at her “not so subtly” if that even made any sense. It all started a few days after I was partnered up with her for a project. Of course they were right about my feelings, but I was not going to admit it to them. Who knows what they would do if they knew. They would have probably went up to Daisy and proposed to her right there and then for me.

I chuckled sorrowfully at the memory. To think that the girl my friends thought I liked is now wedded to me without either of them attending the wedding.

The boys who were like my brothers. The ones who were my stars of guidance in the dark. Who would make me laugh when I am upset. Have not been with me for four years. I could not help but blame myself. If I had not asked them to join the school camping trip during our last year of school, perhaps they would still be alive. Perhaps the tents would not have been set on fire. If I had known my friend had already entered their tents as I was out in the woods collecting firewood they wouldn’t have died. If I had forced them to accompany me, It would all have been different. The question “what if” will always haunt me as I think back towards that horrifying night.

“Excuse me, are you the new professor replacing Mr Osterfield?” A voice rang out.

I looked up and noticed my surroundings. I had walked towards my classroom unknowingly as if my body still remembered the way around this school of sacred memories. Pushing away my sorrow as I recollected my self, I feigned a smile and replied,

“As a matter of fact I am. Let me introduce myself and I’d like all of you to introduce yourself one by one with a fact about yourself. For example, my name is Isaac Ashford but I would prefer to be called Mr Ashford and I used to learn in this very school.”

As I introduce myself, the faces of some of my students brighten up. And one boy spoke.

“You mean Isaac Ashford as in, Isaac, George and Daniel? Mr Osterfield wasn’t really fond of you but Mrs Roosevelt would always use the three of you as examples during our early morning programmes as either good or bad influence, it depends on the topic really. I’m a fan of your work” The kid said with gleaming eyes. I laughed and said “Maybe” with a wink and asked him to be the first to introduce himself.

What we left behind in this school may not be something valuable to all but it is certainly something I would remember to keep in my heart.

[stillsaltyaboutmcr]

I will always be here for you- Jake Seresin

PART 3!!!! WOOOO

this is a series, so I will link parts one and two below. I wanna write more parts for this than 3 so we aren’t to the birth yet. This is just lots of angst and fluff and Rooster throwing a tantrum (per usual). Hangman becomes more domestic and protective, aka the good stuff. 

part one l part two

Part 3: A Jake Seresin x f!reader where the Dagger Squad finally finds out you’re pregnant. It’s also time for the uranium mission.

Warnings: cursing, Rooster being a dick, mentions of blood and gore from an injury, Phoenix being the bestest friend

It’s been a week since the situation at the beach happened. You’ve been staying at Hangman’s place for the time being, his excuse being he can take better care of you. He’s cooked for you, ran baths for you, let you use his hottub; with restrictions of course. Jake’s been amazing ever since you told him about the baby. He’s always making sure you’re comfortable and healthy. You get to sleep in his spare room, equipped with a queen size bed and it’s own bathroom. To say you were living comfortably was an understatement. 

Everything was going great until today. Your doctor told you not to fly this mission, so you had to meet with Maverick today. 

Maverick beat you to it though. “C/s, I need to see you in my office, time now.” You were so anxious, although you already knew what he wanted to meet over. The uranium mission was tomorrow which meant today was for packing and last minute training. Upon entering his office, he sat down and offered you a cup of coffee, which you declined politely. 

“How’s everything going? I’ve noticed you’ve been grounded lately.” Yup, you knew it. He knows, and Bradley’s the one who most likely told him. 

“Mav, Bradley told you didn’t he?” Maverick’s face turned pale as you cut to the chase. He swallowed hard before clearing his throat to talk. 

“Yes. I don’t know all the details, just that you’re pregnant. May I ask who the father is? You know our rules on fraternization.” You could tell he was trying to tread carefully on the matter as to not upset you. 

“Bradley is, but he wanted nothing to do with the baby, so Jake stepped in. He’s been taking care of me and acting as the father since then.” You fiddled with your hands nervously. 

“Okay. Bradley told me Jake was the father, that’s why I ask. Bradley wanted nothing to do with it?” 

You sighed at the new information. Of course Bradley would lie. He doesn’t want to be caught up in a misdemeanor. “Yeah. He and I started being more than friends way back when we were first here at Top Gun, it’s been on and off since then. Just a month ago, right before training we met up again and here I am. When I confronted him about it, he told me he’d pay half for an abortion and that he wanted nothing to do with the child.” Maverick’s face tensed up at that, knowing that he couldn’t do anything about Bradley, not without breaking your trust in him. 

“You said Hangman stepped in?”

“Yeah,” you caught his puzzled look. Anyone who knows Hangman would give the same reaction to what he was willingly doing for you. “He came over after training that day I confronted Bradley. He comforted me and told me no kid should go without a father, even if he wasn’t biologically the dad. He’s done so much for me this past couple of weeks. He’s doing more than Bradley would’ve ever done.” You let go a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. 

“Okay, you’re doing well? Everything look on track?” You nodded before he continued. “Unfortunately, you will not be able to fly this mission, but I don’t see why we can’t stick you in range control.” He smiled at you before giving you orders to see Hondo. 

Walking out, you immediately bump into Phoenix, who immediately bends down to say hello to her future niece or nephew. As she reaches eye level again she smiles at you, as if silently asking how you’re holding up. “I’m in range control from now on. At least I don’t have to deal with Rooster though.” You let out a small chuckle before she speaks up. 

“At least I know someone is in there who has my back.” She smiled and you both laugh before going your separate ways. 

-----

You hadn’t seen Jake all day, not since you both arrived this morning. Since you were staying with him, you both rode to and from work together in his truck. 

You were getting ready to head out and meet him before an emergency meeting was called. 

It turns out, you’re all shipping out in an hour. 

Everyone hurried to the locker rooms to shower and change back into their flight suits, and some ran to their cars to grab bags they left in there. You ran out to Jake’s truck with your spare key and grabbed your bag, his already missing from the backseat. 

You were worried at the sudden ship out, you all weren’t supposed to leave until the early morning, but plans change. 

You all were in the front of the building, bags and uniforms ready. You noticed Jake across the tarmac from you where you all were waiting. When you made eye contact, he quickly grabbed his things to come be by you. “I thought you were grounded, how are you still coming with?” It wasn’t meant with malice, but pure curiosity. 

“Mav put me with Hondo, I’m in range control. My voice will be telling y’all what’s in the sky with you.” You smiled and saw his shoulders release the tension they were holding. Now that you were out of the running, you knew Hangman would be flying the mission, or at least be a spare. 

----

From boarding the ship until now, everything was going smoothly. Rooster was a wingman and Hangman was put on spare. You were halfway glad Hangman would stay on the ship unless called out, but you knew he was disappointed that he didn’t get picked. He was first up if anyone called for backup, with Coyote right behind him if requested. You were sitting in range with everyone else, a GPS locator in front of you. You could see the four planes, instructing them to dip below radar. Once they disappeared from your sight, you switched modes, being able to still locate them. 

You did your job, and listened as they landed both missiles, the mission successful thus far. You listened as they communicated through coffin corner. 

You even heard Maverick go down. You heard Hangman request for take off, and get denied. Everything went numb in you, even when Rooster turned around and both of them were presumed dead. 

That was until you yelled for Admiral Simpson, because something had lit up on your radar. “We have an F-14 entering the airspace.” 

“An F-14? How could- Maverick.” You watched the realization come onto his face as he told you to release Dagger Spare, which was Jake. You had to give orders to send out the one person you prayed stayed grounded. 

“Dagger Spare? Do you copy?” 

“To you? Always darlin’.”

“You have permission to take off, request of Admiral Simpson. We have an F-14 in our airspace we believe to be carrying Maverick and Rooster. We need you to find them and bring them home.” 

“You got it. I’ll see you soon, I promise.” As if Hangman knew your secret worry, he reassured you he’d be back. 

You watched on the radar as he shot down an enemy aircraft and both planes approached the carrier. You heard his cocky banter with Rooster. As soon as they both got into range of the carrier, you all double checked to make sure nothing was following and headed out to the tarmac to witness Jake land safely and Maverick do his infamous fly by. 

As soon as everyone got out of their planes, you rushed over to Jake who swooped you in his arms. “Good job, you did great.” He said, his arms still around you. 

“Me? You just landed another air to air kill! Look at you!” He smiled before you both fell silent. He slowly leaned in, a hand coming up to hold your face as he placed his lips on yours. You reciprocated the gesture and wrapped your arms around his neck. Soon, he pulled away looking at you.

“I’ve wanted to do that for awhile now.” He smiled, a blush coming to decorate his cheeks. 

“Well, you can always do it again.” He quickly swooped you up and kissed you feverishly, this moment was amazing and you hoped to stay in it forever, until you heard your names. 

“Are you kidding me? We just come back from a dangerous mission where I saved Maverick and risked my life and all you two can do is make out? In front of everyone?” Rooster walked over to where to two of you were still by Jake’s plane. 

“Congratulations, really. You were great out there but what you did was reckless and could’ve gotten you both killed. I’m celebrating the fact that Jake came back safe. That the mission was a success and we didn’t lose anyone. I can celebrate the way I want to. You have no right coming over here and judging me for that.” You beat Jake to it, he mouth was still open, but nothing was coming out. “I really wish you’d grow up a little and move past this all. Jake stepped in when you didn’t and became the father figure I wanted for my child. You lost the privilege to be in my life and my baby’s life when you told me to get rid of it. It’s my body that makes the child, not yours. I wanted you in the kid’s life. Please leave us alone. Come back when you’ve matured and don’t throw a tantrum every time you-” You quickly look down, cutting yourself off when you noticed Rooster’s flight suit. 

“What? Cat got your tongue?” Rooster stepped forward and puffed out his chest. 

“No, Bradley...you’re bleeding.” His eyes go wide and Jake quickly follows your gaze. Your eyes were stuck on Bradley’s side, where blood was quickly soaking his uniform. Bradley quickly reaches his hand down and touches the spot, wincing and revealing a red-soaked hand in return. “Come on, let’s get you to the med bay.” You turn to Jake and he nods, telling you to go. You smile apologetically in return before helping Rooster to the nearest medic, who takes you both to the med bay and quickly starts cutting off Rooster’s flight suit to reveal an open wound on his side of his body by his ribcage. He must’ve gotten caught on something during his ejection when saving Maverick. You sat there and watched as the medic cleaned and stitched up the wound. 

“I’m sorry for the way I treat you. It just pisses me off when I see you and Jake having the life I’ve always wanted with you. Let alone, with the baby I helped create.” 

You sighed, looking down at Bradley. “Honestly, that’s a bullshit apology. You shoved me off the moment I told you about my pregnancy. You wanted nothing to do with me, wouldn’t even look at me. Don’t start feeling guilty now and telling me you’ve always wanted this because you lost that chance.”Just then your phone buzzed, it was Jake. “I have to go.”

Before he could say anything else, you walked out to find Jake. He was still out by his plane talking with Phoenix, apparently filling her in on everything that just happened. “Hey girl, how ya feeling?” She hugged you, giving you a small smile. 

“Rooster just tried to apologize. I walked out on him.” They both look at you with wide eyes. 

You told them both what he had said and Phoenix sighs before taking off. “Where are you going?” You shout. 

She turns around and looks at you before shouting back, “To give him a piece of my mind!!” She was gone in a blink and you couldn’t help but laugh. Jake snaked his arm around you and gazed into your eyes. 

“I’m so lucky to have you.” He said it with such admiration in his voice, it took you by surprise. “Do you want to move in with me?” Your mouth fell open in shock as the question left his lips. 

“Really? Are you sure?” 

“As sure as I’ve been in awhile. If we’re raising this kid together, then we should be a little more official don’t you think?” 

All you could do for an answer was kiss him. “I’m gonna take that as a yes.” He laughed a little before you looked at him fully. 

“I’m so lucky to have you.” You returned his statement from earlier, basking in the setting sun and living in this moment as long as you could. 

[ynparker]

Waiting for Spiderman - (Part 3) Peter Parker x (Y/N)

Peter Parker x fem!stark!avenger!reader

Summary: Peter Parker is new to the Avengers, but that doesn't stop him from falling for Tony Stark's daughter.

Warnings: Flash being an absolute jerk

A/N: Hey guys! This fanfic is inspired by the song 'Waiting for Superman' by Daughtry (I changed it to Spiderman for obvious reasons). Also, Pietro never died. Let me know if you want to be tagged. Enjoy ;)

(Y/N)'s eyes shot past Peter, surprised as she heard his name being called. A boy ans girl their age were hurrying towards him. Peter was smiling and waving at them.

"Hey," the boy said as he caught up with them. "You forgot to text me last night, I thought we were going to build my new Lego death star?"

(Y/N) raised her eyebrows and a smile crossed her face. The girl laughed and patted Peter on the shoulder. "You're busted, Parker," she said. "Looks like she just found out how much of a nerd you are."

Before Peter could stammer out an answer, the girl spoke again. "I'm MJ by the way," she introduced herself. "And that's Ned. For the record, I'm not even sure why I'm friends with these dorks.

Peter looked scandalized, but (Y/N) was grinning. She was beginning to like his friends more and more. "Nice to meet you guys," she smiled at them. "I'm (Y/N), (Y/N) Stark."

Ned's eyes widened slowly. "Whoah," he gasped. "You're actually Tony Stark's daughter?"

"That's me," she said, giving a confident shrug. She always played it cool when people mentioned her dad. Provided they didn't overdo it, of course.

"And you're hanging out with us?" Ned asked. The other three laughed at this. "Well, Peter's Spiderman and he hangs out with you," she countered reasonably. In a trice, Peter had his hand over her mouth. "Ssh!!" he hissed, looking around. "Someone might hear you! We're only like a block away from Midtown!"

"Wow," MJ remarked in an unimpressed voice. "You are really into her." Immediately, Peter pulled away and (Y/N) felt her face growing bright red.

Thankfully, Ned changed the subject. "So, (Y/N), did you transfer to Midtown or do you go to another school?"

"No, my dad transferred me two weeks ago," she replied. Ned frowned. "Weird, I'm surprised Flash hasn't asked you out by now," he said. "I try to keep a low profile," the girl replied. "And who is Flash?"

"The scum of Midtown, the ant in our sock, the mosquito bite under our toe, you get the idea," MJ explained. "He's really rich, but he's also a total bully," Ned informed her. "Yeah, he's been bullying especially me for years," Peter said. "There's a lot of kids that hang out with him, though," he added, worry creeping into his voice as if being scared (Y/N) would hang out with him too.

(Y/N) put a comforting arm around him. "For what it's worth, he sounds like an idiotic jerk," she told him. Peter smiled. "Thanks, (Y/N)," he said, and then looked ahead. They had reached Midtown High, the large building towering over the swarm of students entering the school or hanging out and talking.

The four walked up to the steps of the school. Right as they were about to enter, something wet hit the small of (Y/N)'s back.

"What the-" she turned around in outrage, just in time to see a smug smile on the face of a boy who had just ridden a car into a huge puddle right behind her.

"Good morning, Pen!s Parker!" the boy called out gleefully. "Hope you don't mind, you looked a little tired so I decided to wake you up."

"That is Flash," MJ muttered under her breath to you. "Pen!s Parker?" (Y/N) muttered back. "It is taking everything in me not to blast him into a wall right now."

"Come on, Peter, he's not worth it," Ned said, pulling Peter into the building. Peter looked positively mortified at (Y/N) having to see him get bullied by Flash like that, but when he looked at her, she was busy peeling off her wet coat.

"I'm sorry about that," he told her, eyeing it. "Oh, it's all good" she smiled, waving it aside. "Watch this." She stepped into an empty doorway and held out her coat. The others watched her curiously. (Y/N) waved her hand over the coat, smiling as she saw the wet spot grow smaller and smaller until the fabric was dry.

"I could do it with my hands glowing but that could be a little conspicuous in a crowded corridor," the girl said nonchalantly as the three others looked at her, transfixed.

Peter's eyes were wide as he hurriedly looked around to see if anyone else had witnessed that. "How did you do that? That was so cool!" he exclaimed, the excitement in his face making (Y/N) laugh. "I'm serious!" the boy insisted. "You have the coolest power out of like all of the Avengers!"

"Better not let my dad hear you say that," (Y/N) laughed and turned him around so he was standing with his back to her.

He became suddenly aware of the fact that Flash's little stunt had made the back of his jacket wet as well, and smiled as he felt it dry slowly. He looked at (Y/N) with admiration as she dried off MJ and Ned as well.

"Miss Stark?"

A voice behind them made all four whip around as they realized the new guidance counselor, Mrs. Dankworth, standing behind them. (Y/N) immediately brushed the hair out of her face and gave a winning smile. It reminded Peter very much of Mr. Stark's expression when he was winning someone over.

"Mrs. Dankworth, good morning!" (Y/N) smiled. "Is everything ok?" The lady smoothed her cardigan and eyed the girl over her horn-rimmed glasses. "Well, I just wanted to let you know you've been transferred to second period P.E. on Wednesdays and Fridays, there's been a slight mix-up in the schedules so we've been changing them for some of the students."

Peter and Ned exchanged excited glances. This would mean (Y/N) would be taking P.E. with them, meaning they would have one class with her.

"That's fine," (Y/N) was saying. "Thank you so much for letting me know, Mrs. Dankworth." The woman gave a small smile. When (Y/N) turned, MJ was looking at her with an impressed look in her eye.

"Oh, you're good," she said. (Y/N) laughed. "I get the flattery from my father."

"Yeah, Mr. Stark does know how to please a crowd," Peter agreed. "Are you calling me a crowd pleaser, Parker?" (Y/N) asked, quirking her brow at him. Peter immediately went red. "N-no, no, what I meant was..."

"Relax, I was just messing with you," (Y/N) said, holding her hand up. "I have to go or I'll be late for first period science."

"I have first period science too," MJ said. "I'll walk with you." (Y/N) smiled and nodded, waving goodbye to the other two.

"Dude," Ned said when the girls were well out of earshot. "You like her." Peter looked at his best friend, hoping he looked convincing. "What? No, no, she's just a friend."

"Are you listening to yourself? You're literally living with (Y/N) Stark, who is cute, hot and totally into you, and you're telling me she's just a friend?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "I like her as a friend," he insisted. Ned scoffed. "And Flash is my new best friend."

"Shut up."

---

(Y/N) made her way to the gym with mixed feelings. She and MJ had spent the whole lesson either pretending to pay attention or being resigned to pay attention when they were caught talking. Somehow, MJ seemed convinced that (Y/N) was crazy about Peter, despite the fact that the two had only met yesterday.

She pushed the door to the girl's changing rooms open, flinching when she heard a high-pitched laugh echo in her ears. "I cannot believe you would pass out on an opportunity to marry Thor!"

(Y/N)'s eyes widened as she realized they were talking about her uncle. "Nah," another girl's voice replied. 'I'd prefer a one night stand with him. I mean, have you seen the muscles on that guy?" (Y/N) clapped a hand over her mouth as she tried to stifle her laughter, making a mental note to ask Thor what he thought of girls wanting to hook up with him.

"Ok, and what about... Iron Man?"

Oh, this should be good.

"Iron Man? I'd probably want to marry him."

"Yeah, same. I feel like he's the kind of guy who would protect you no matter what."

Well, they got that right.

"And he's hot enough, isn't he?"

The giggle was out of (Y/N)'s mouth before she could stop it. She could practically hear the girls look up. "Hello?" one of them called. "Is anyone there?"

(Y/N) squeezed her eyes shut and stepped out from behind the lockers. A blonde and a brunette were sitting together on the benches and were looking at her with identical puzzled looks.

"Were you listening to us?" the blonde asked. "Not intentionally," (Y/N) replied, hoping she didn't sound too awkward. "So what do you think?" the brunette. "Kiss marry kill - Thor, Iron Man, and Spiderman."

(Y/N) gave a small smile. "I don't think I'd do any of those things with Iron Man. But... I might kiss Spiderman if circumstances allowed." The blonde shook her head. "Fine, but I stand by my choice. Thor is the hottest Avenger. I'm Betty, by the way," she added. "This is my friend Liz."

"Hi," (Y/N) said with a classic Stark smile. "Ok, I'm going to change."

"Meet us out front, ok?" Liz smiled. With that, the two left, leaving (Y/N) to finally let go of her suppressed laughter.

When the girl finally exited the changing rooms, she was pleased to see both Peter and Ned sitting on the bleachers. She hurried to meet them, an inviting smile gracing her face.

"Oh-h, boy," Peter whispered as he saw her arrive. "This is your chance!" Ned hissed. "Tell her you have a crush on her!"

"I'm not going to tell her I have a crush on her-"

"So it's true?" Ned gasped, his eyes widening. "You do have a crush on her!"

"Ned, seriously, shut u- hey, (Y/N)!" he broke off suddenly as he saw the girl approaching them. "Hey, guys. So, I just met these girls who were playing kiss marry kill with Thor, my dad, of all people, and you, Peter. Well, Spiderman, really, but you know."

Ned smirked. "Oh, really? That's - that's an interesting question, (Y/N). So, who would you kiss? Spiderman or Thor?" (Y/N) went red, but before she had a chance to answer, someone behind her wolf-whistled.

She turned, her eyes narrowed, not surprised at all by who she saw. Flash Thompson with the stupidest smirk on his smug face. "So, you're the new girl?"

"If you can call someone who's been here for two weeks new," (Y/N) replied, a calculating look on her face as she stood to face the boy. She caught the slight confused frown on Flash's face. She smirked. He wasn't used to girls saying things like that to him. He was making himself way too obvious.

"What's your name, beautiful?" Flash asked, the smug look returning to his face. Okay. "Number one, do not call me beautiful, even though I'd like to think I am, thank you very much. Number two, you'll know my name soon enough. And number three, I would like you to apologize to me and my friends for that stunt you pulled this morning."

Nobody had been expecting that. Those nearby who had heard what the girl had said were listening, open-mouthed. Flash's jaw had dropped.

"Um..." he said, seemingly unable to form a single thought. Not that he seemed capable of doing so on a regular basis.

At that point, there came a shout. "Stark! You got the schedule change?" She looked past Flash's paling face to Coach Wilson, who was just entering the gym. "Yes, thank you, Coach Wilson!" she called, making sure everyone could hear her. She looked at Flash again and said, "Yeah, I'm (Y/N) Stark. Tony Stark's daughter and heir of Stark Industries. Glad to make your acquaintance."

She was about to turn away, when Flash grabbed her arm. "So what happened to your mom, (Y/N) Stark?" he asked.

The girl felt her face pale.

(Ahh Part 4 is finally out now!

[genevievemd]

A Call to Arms

Book: Open Heart: Second Year (Post 2.7) Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Genevieve McClure) Word Count: 1693 Rating: G Category: Angst Trope(s): and they were in the office, and there’s some good ol’ pining

Summary: After Ethan’s reset continues to fall short, Genevieve gives him an ultimatum. 

Warnings: none

A/N: This is part 1 of the lead up to Ethan going to try and have a ONS (one night stand) and then realizing he’s pretty much a goner for G and then decides to kiss her after the softball game. This is literally like the night before the game. 

Thank you to @jerzwriter​ and @liaromancewriter​ for their prompts, I hope you enjoy the pain you caused. (Prompts are in bold) 

The diagnostics office is quiet for the first time that day. No longer filled with a group of doctors scrambling to find funding after losing a potential research grant. Now, as the sun began to set, it housed only two members of the team: Dr. Ethan Ramsey and Dr. Genevieve McClure. Both quietly packing up their things, avoiding eye contact. As if to look was to cause pain. 

Which it would, at least for her. 

In the months since Ethan declared a reset, a total recall on their feelings for each other, he’s had her trapped on a ride. A rollercoaster with too many turns and flips to keep her head straight. 

One minute he wants to see other people, keep true to his word of a reset. Then the next he’s looking at her like he wants her, talking to her and treating her like more than his friend. It’s exhausting and whether Ethan is aware or not, he’s being cruel. Confusing her, hurting her day in and day out. 

Giving her hope and then taking it away. 

She had the opportunity to turn her friendship with Bryce into something more. Accepting his kiss at the music festival a few weeks back, thinking it would finally open the door to something new and close the one that Ethan was standing behind. 

But it hadn’t. All it did was make her heart ache for him. Miss the touch and taste of Ethan’s kiss. The way his arms felt around her. Make her long for him even more. 

She was hopelessly infatuated with Ethan Ramsey, and Gen knew the only way to cure her was for him to stop with the back and forth. 

If he didn’t want her, like he claimed, he needed to act that way. Stop treating her like his desire one day and all but hating her the next. He needed to do what he vowed and put his foot down. 

Close the door, and throw away the key. 

She could no longer be dangled like a carrot, waiting for him to decide if he truly wanted her or not. 

Against her better judgement, Genevieve looks over at him. The exhaustion of the day heavy on his broad shoulders, his face dark and clouded with worry and regret. 

As if he could sense her eyes on him, Ethan looks up. Longing blue meeting broken green. 

“You did good this week, G.” 

“Yeah,” She scoffs, swallowing down her wayward feelings the best she can. “Losing our research grant because I opened my big mouth was good work.” 

“Hey,” He drops his briefcase onto the desk, walking over to her. 

He towers over her – and while his height is intimidating to many, it’s comforting to her. She feels protected when he’s standing this close, like nothing could ever get near her because Ethan is there to push away any enemy that comes her way. 

Expect when he, himself, is the unknowing adversary. 

“You put the patient first, and that is what we’re supposed to do. Whether that means we lose or not. Furthermore, you didn’t let that loss stop you from moving forward towards another solution to our problem. So, as I previously stated, G, you did good.” 

“Yeah, maybe.” 

Genevieve wonders briefly if he can hear how fast her heart is beating. If he caught the way her eyes flickered down to his lips, or saw the twitch her in fingers as she fought the urge to touch him. 

“Is there something else that’s bothering you?” Ethan tilts his head, looking down at her with concern. 

“Just tired, and hungry.” 

“Would you,” He pauses, looking past her to the door. No doubt to make sure whoever was walking past didn’t enter the office. 

She hates that, having to be so careful around each other. Always be aware of who was potentially watching them. 

June already has her suspicions and Gen was waiting for the moment Ethan found out, and uses that as an excuse to push her away again. Act as though she is nothing to him once more. 

Another twist and turn on the endless ride. 

“Would you like to join me for dinner? After the last few days, you deserve a nice meal. My treat.” He smiles at her like a man who didn’t declare their relationship doomed. 

A nonstarter. 

It’s another glimmer of hope that Genevieve can no longer take. 

“I have plans. With Bryce.” She quickly lies, before her heart has the chance to answer for her. 

“Right. Of course.” Ethan nods, turning his back to her and walking over to his desk, regret washing over him. 

She knows he knows about the kiss. That he’d overheard her in the hallway with Sienna the day after it happened. Gen hates that it hurt him, but it was no more pain than it caused her to know he’d gone on a date with someone else. 

“I hate this.” She says it more to herself than to him, her longing heart finally making itself known. Taking over what her rational mind was trying to control. 

“Hate what?” 

“This.” Gen gestures between them, the empty space dividing them seeming to get larger. She leans against the chair at her side, taking a deep breath. “Myself. I hate myself.” 

“Yourself?” 

“Yes!” Her voice, loud and dangerous, echoes against the glass walls, no doubt turning the heads of people passing by. “I hate myself for not hating you. For not being able to just move on and forget about the way you make me feel.” 

“You…” It’s Ethan’s turn to take a deep breath, once neutral eyes now filled with the same pain she feels.

It’s as if her words are a double edged sword. One end penetrating her own heart and the other his. Causing them even more agony. 

It shouldn't be this hard. Love, or whatever it was she was beginning to feel for him, shouldn’t be this way. 

“You honestly feel that way?” His voice trembles with every word, sinking backwards to lean against his desk. One hand gripping the edge so tightly she watches his knuckles turn white. 

“Yes, no. I don’t know.” 

Gen watches him nod again, the hand not holding the desk’s edge running down his face. 

“All I know, Ethan, is that I can’t keep doing this. I can’t.” She swallows back tears, forcing them down to the pit of her stomach. “You said you wanted a reset, you go on a date with someone else but still act like you want me. You hate texting but you text me all the time, you get an extra coffee from Derrys for me everyday — I mean, you have all of my freakin orders memorized!

“You hold my hand whenever you get the chance and make me feel like you never want to let go. But then the next day you act like you hate me, like I really am nothing to you at all. Nevermind that stupid Influencer’s Ball when you looked at me like I was the worst person on Earth and the thing you wanted most. Can’t you understand why that hurts me? Why I wish I could hate you?” 

“I do, but it’s not any easier for me.” 

“You wanted this!” She yells again, throwing her arms up in defeat. 

She was so tired of his excuses, his reasons. Tired of feeling like a pair of gloves he keeps stashed away in a drawer, only being taken out when he needs her. He was being unfair to her and she could no longer stand it. 

 “You wanted to let go of what we were becoming, so I don’t really care if it’s not easy for you.” 

“What do you want from me, Genevieve? Honestly?” Ethan stands, arms now crossed in defiance. 

She can see his walls going back up, the fortress he’s built over years of disappointment and heartbreak. It wasn’t something she ever wanted to see, but perhaps the best outcome. If it granted them peace from the carnage they caused. 

He caused. 

She has been steadfast in her decision, never hiding the truth. No matter how painful it had been, Gen was far from shy about where she stood with Ethan and what she wanted. 

And now, whether he liked it or not, it was Ethan’s turn to be truthful. 

“I want you to decide what you want, for real.” Gen stands as tall as she can, staring into his eyes with determination. “If it’s me, then we find a way to be together and stop this stupid reset. If it’s not…” 

Against her will, a single tear escapes, running slowly down her cheek. His eyes tracking its movement, 

Furiously, Gen wipes it away, taking a deep breath to try and settle her rattled brain. “If you really want a reset and you, honestly, don’t want me like I want you, then I need you to close the door. Stop giving me these little glimmers of hope, because I can’t move on, like you said you wanted me to, until you let me go.” 

Silence falls on them once more, her words prickling in the air like tiny bolts of electricity. Ethan keeps his eyes on her, breathing slowly. 

“What if I don’t know what I want?” His voice can barely be heard, the ticking clock on the far wall almost drowning him out. 

He looks like a lost boy, scared and defeated. 

“Figure it out.” 

Genevieve turns away to collect her things, swallowing back more tears as she hears him sigh. 

If they were in a fairytale, this would be the moment he declares his everlasting love for her. He’d vow to never let her go. But they aren’t in a fairytale, and Gen has come to learn in the last ten years that the fantastical kind of love she’s always dreamed of doesn’t exist. No matter how much she believes Ethan Ramsey to be her soulmate, her white knight, this was the real world. 

And fairytales don’t exist here. Here she must learn to cope with the loss of him. Because come morning, he’ll most certainly let her go.

A/N: Just keep remembering that they’re married now!! It’ll all be fine. Especially because I’m writing the “Part 2″ which is Ethan trying to hook up with someone else so... 

Love you, mean it! 

(Tagging separately)

[vainvenus]

⌲;꒰ But, we need it! ꒱

Pairing(s): Chrissy Cunningham x Gn!Reader

12 Days Of Christmas Prompt: Decorating!

Summary: Going shopping with Chrissy after Halloween means dealing with her buying a bunch of decorations and having to help her out.

Includings: College!Au, roommate!chrissy, can be read as platonic or romantic, no spoilers/normal au, fluff!

An: This has more Christmas shopping than actual decorating but eh and the ending sucks

@nzlikestea @go-on-and-live-life @thelorewitch

You and Chrissy decided that it was time to go on your usual once every three or four weeks shopping trip especially since the two of you both got paid and the fridge was a little on her empty side.

You pushed the cart into the cereal aisle and stopped to look and see what kind you and Chrissy need, deciding on cinnamon toast crunch and captain crunch, tossing them into the cart.

You turned around and were met with your more than chipper roommate holding a Christmas wreath and you had furrowed your brows in confusion.

"What do you need that for? November literally just started."

Chrissy only smiled, putting the wreath into the cart. "I know, but it's really pretty and it would look cute on the door!" She said and you had only shrugged.

You thought that since it was only one wreath it wouldn't be that big of a deal, plus Chrissy did have a point. It was pretty and would look cute on the door so you continued on.

As you strolled down the frozen food aisle, picking up bags of almost every food imaginable like chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, tv dinners just anything that would last you guys a little.

You had your back turned to the cart once more as you were choosing between a TV dinner with one of those little snacks or extra fries when you had noticed that the cart had some extra things in it.

You looked in the cart and saw three packages of Christmas lights, those shiny , a box of red, white and green bows, fake snow, a box of ornaments and multiple mini light up snow men.

Before you could even register the amount of Christmas decorations Chrissy had managed to sneak in she was coming around the corner with some more.

She dumped some more decorations in the cart and you had looked back up at the strawberry blonde. "Chrissy, we don't even need stockings. There's only us two."

"I know but look at how cute! I could even stitch our names on them." She said and you had sighed, shaking your head.

You told Chrissy that you were fine with all the decorations even though it was a little bit silly at how early she was and how excited she already was about getting ready for the holiday.

But you told her that what was in the cart was it. That you had everything that you could possibly need to decorate the dorm and that you weren't wasting anymore money on it.

But then you guys had passed the Candy canes and she pointed at them like a child pointing at a new toy.

"Please! Please! Please, [Y/n]! Candy Canes aren't even just Christmas related but we can eat them as snacks and look-" She had pointed at the price tag over and over. "And they're only a dollar per box! It's so cheap!"

You had inhaled softly and exhaled once more. Since they were so cheap you had a sweet tooth for the ones that were multiple colors you let it slide letting her put about six of them on the cart.

But it wasn't long before she saw something else that caught her eyes.

She held up a white, red and green colored mat that spelled 'Merry Christmas!' in cursive letters and she was basically pleading with the look in her eyes.

"[Y/n]...I know you said no more but this is literally it. I swear on the ghost of Christmas past that I won't put anything else in the cart."

You stared at her with a blank look as you were holding a candle, not even able to enjoy the scent of it and you had sighed for what felt like the 100th time that day.

"Okay...but that's it. I'm serious Chrissy we're not getting anything else Christmas related."

"I swear on it!"

You kneeled down, squinting as you were trying to decide if you wanted apple cider or eggnog when you heard someone grunting like they were struggling.

Your eyes had almost fell out of your head when you saw your roommate struggling to drag one of those long rectangular boxes with a Christmas tree in it.

"Chrissy, absolutely not."

"[Y/n]...just hear me out..."

You shook your head, placing both drinks into the cart and then gesturing back to the rectangular box. "There's not even any room in the cart for that thing. And where are we gonna put in the dorm?"

Chrissy pouted shrugging her shoulders "There's some space in the corner by the Tv! And we already have tree decorations in the cart, sooo.."

You shook your head. You were not going to buy a Christmas tree this early into November and knowing Chrissy, you were gonna end up being the one putting it all together.

"No, Chrissy. We'll buy it at the end of the month."

"But [Y/n]!" She had whined "This one changes colors and it might not be here at the end of the month!"

You let out a long sigh, rubbing your hand over you face as you glanced back at Chrissy who was holding the box with a pleading look on her face.

"No. My final answer is no."

♡

"What color should I put it on?" Chrissy asked, flipping past colors as you were busy untangling the red, white, and green shiny tensile.

The tree came with every single color imaginable and even had a setting where the colors would fade from the next like a rainbow effect which Chrissy showed a bias to.

You placed the white tensile aside now untangling the red and green. You were still baffled at how you let her talk you into buying all this stuff "How about we keep it off before I go blind."

"Oh c'mon, [Y/n]. Don't be a Grinch"

"I'm not a Grinch" You said, now throwing the untangled tensiles to the girl. She caught them as she started to wrap it around he tree.

"I just don't like being broke because my roommate is Christmas obsessed." You replied, taking out more of the decorations you and Chrissy had splurged on.

"But think about how cute the dorm is gonna look and we'll even be able to enter the whole dorm decorating contest!"

Her excitement had made the annoyed expression on your face falter as you had shrugged.

"Mm...I guess...but did you have to get this creepy...thing?" You asked, holding up the elf that looked like it was staring directly into your soul.

Chrissy nodded eagerly, taking it from you and resting it right next to the TV and even then it still felt like it's shiny plastic ball eyes were following you.

"It's so cute!"

"It's gonna haunt my nightmares."

[johnkrrasinski]

started from a call

full masterlist

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x female!reader

Word count: 3,610

Warning: angst with a happy ending! that's all.

Summary: written for @wkemeup's 9k writing challenge with the prompt "character a leaves an embarrassing, drunk message on character b’s voicemail and spends the rest of the night trying to discreetly delete it from [b]’s phone." inspired by a bit of ross and rachel from friends too. you found out from steve that bucky was in love with you in high school but after he returns home with a girl in his arm, you cancelled your plans to tell him how you feel. will you and bucky have your happy ending?

a/n: please like, reblog and leave a feedback. :) enjoy!

"Alright, I'll see you tonight. Bye." He leaned against the kitchen counter and hung up the phone with a grin on his face. "You hear that, Sam? We're going on our third date tonight." He threw his phone up into the air and caught it so casually without spilling a drop of his coffee sitting on his right hand. "Looks like I'm getting that 300 bucks soon."

"Hey, easy. You ain't going to that date yet, who knows? She could bail on you. It doesn't count if the date doesn't end well."

"Oh, but it will. I just gotta turn on my charm and next thing you know, we're already meeting the parents stage."

"Meeting the parents? That's a big step from you, Buck."

"Hey, I'm a man of my words. If I said that I'm going to change this year then I'm gonna stick to it."

"So Leah isn't just a one-time thing to get 300 bucks?"

"Maybe yes, maybe no. We'll see how tonight goes. But one thing's for sure is that I'm getting that 300 bucks."

Sam and Bucky made a bet as their New Year's resolution that Bucky would never go on a second date with any girl or remember to call her in the morning after a wild night. His commitment issues had given him a reputation as the player in the gang. It wasn't a new thing anymore to anyone that when they visited Bucky's place in the morning, they would see a girl with a dopey smile and slightly ruffled hair walking out of his apartment, giddy that Bucky just made a promise to call her later.

You, Natasha, Wanda, Sam and Steve were hanging out at Nat's place. The six of you had been friends since college. You, Nat, Bucky and Steve had known each other since high school and the four of you kept in touch despite going to separate universities. You met Wanda when you went to NYU and Steve met Sam while he was in Harvard. Long story short, after the four of you graduated, you and Wanda lived together as roommates and even started your own bakery business. Steve and Bucky lived in the same building as you and Natasha and Sam lived nearly alone. They were too independent for roommates. Don't even start on Natasha and how much she valued her personal space. That's how the six of you ended up here, gathered at your place on a Saturday afternoon.

"Are you gonna pick her up tonight?"

"Of course. Gonna clean up well, bring her some flowers and knock on her door at 7 pm precisely. Which girl isn't gonna fall for that?" Bucky walked over to the couch you and Nat were sitting on and leaned on the headrest, his arms caging both you and Natasha.

You didn't say anything nor did Natasha because she knew about your feelings for Bucky. Despite never feeling that way about Bucky in high school, your feelings changed a week ago after learning that Bucky used to be in love with you but never had the courage to tell you. That's why he never had a girlfriend during his high school years and he wanted to take you to prom and confess his feelings to you but he was too late. Another guy had already snooped in first.

You were his first love but it wasn't reciprocated until now. That's why in college, he learned how to get over you and slept with as many women as possible because he felt like he lost four years of his life of finding the one. He never intended to be a player and feed girls empty promises, it just kind of became his way of dating. He was too afraid that no one could live up to you yet he enjoyed being with women. Hence, the bet.

The day you found out from Steve about Bucky's past feelings for you while playing truth or dare, you immediately wanted to call him up but Bucky was out of town for a few days and as soon as he was back home, he had Leah in his arm. Your heart was crushed. Wanda told you that it would probably last for a few days and that he'd eventually be single again but you totally did not expect this thing to turn into something serious. You loved Sam with every fibre of your being, he was like the big brother you never had, but you wanted to curse him for making that bet.

So you just rolled your eyes and stayed silent throughout this entire conversation, even though your heart felt like it was being stabbed over and over again. "Alright, I gotta go. Got a big date tonight. I'll see you guys in a few hours." Just like that, Bucky walked out of the room without knowing the pain his words caused you.

The next day you were sitting in your bed watching The Notebook in your pyjamas because you were too heartbroken to do anything productive. It was Sunday so you could just have a whole day to yourself and do absolutely nothing but cry. Wanda knocked on your door bringing a plate of cookies and she had a pitiful look on her face. "y/n? Sweetie? I made you these cookies, they might make you feel better." Sometimes you thank the stars for bringing her into your life.

"Thank you, Wanda. You're so nice to me." You know you probably sound like a hormonal whiny kid but everything made you cry at the moment.

"Do you need anything else? I know how it feels to get your heartbroken, trust me. When me and Vision had a fight and we didn't talk for days all I wanted was to curl up and never leave my bed, so in case you need anything, I'm here." She offered you that warm smile of hers.

"No, all I want right now is to just eat these cookies and go back to my film, thanks Wan."

"Okay, I'll be outside." Your pity party was interrupted when Nat arrived in her leather jacket and burst into your room.

"Get up, you are taking a shower and you're getting that face beat."

"Natasha, what the hell? Leave me alone."

"Y/N, listen to me. I got a date for you. His name is Scott and he's a real nice guy, he's funny, he's a good friend of mine and he is really smart. He is so much better than Bucky, I promise you. Now c'mon, I already told him that you are meeting him tonight at Stark's restaurant at 7."

You whined, doing anything you can to get her to leave you alone with your tears and your cookies but you knew that once Natasha set her mind on something, there's no talking her way out of it. Damn that woman with her determination.

"Y/N, c'mon! Wallowing all day isn't you. I know you and what's good for you. That's why I found you a great guy who will charm you so good that you will forget Barnes even existed. You can't let him win, y/n. If he's going to be happy with someone else, then you better show him that you can be much happier with other people."

You stared at her, trying to absorb her words. There's some wisdom in that. You're not the type to cry over a guy, not even for even Bucky Barnes. So you let Natasha drag you to the shower and asked Wanda to do your hair when she does your makeup. She chose an outfit for you, a dress that was not too sexy but chic enough to leave a good first impression.

Scott was early to the restaurant and he looked elated to see you. He was wearing a grey suit with no tie and he had a really exuberant smile on his face, the type that drew people easily. You could see why Natasha called him a nice guy.

"Wow, sorry, I just- didn't expect you to be this beautiful."

"Ah, thank you, Scott. Have you been waiting long?"

"No, not at all. I just arrived here like five minutes ago."

The night went on and Scott did most of the asking and talking, you answered each question curtly with forced enthusiasm in your face and body language. You weren't even listening to half of the things he said because your mind kept playing images of Bucky with Leah and how you heard from Sam that the date went well so he lost 300 bucks. You kept thinking about Bucky and Leah and how they would probably get married and have kids and live in the suburbs with a golden retriever while you'd still be single and you'd compare every man you meet to Bucky. Maybe it was your karma for not reciprocating his feelings in high school.

Five glasses of wine and you spent more time nodding than talking. Honestly, all you wanted to do was to just go home and go back to The Notebook because their love story was much better than your love life. Scott woke you out of your daze, "Natasha told you that I was cuter than this, did she?" after you gulped your sixth glass of wine.

"Oh Scott, I'm so sorry. It's not you, it's me. I know it sounds cliche but it's just... I'm not in a place where I'm looking for a boyfriend. You are a really likeable guy and I swear, if we had met at another time, maybe I would be a better date but right now, I just- I have someone else in my mind." You sighed, it felt like a relief to get that off your chest.

"Is this guy... an ex-boyfriend?"

You chuckled, "no... He wishes."

Scott nodded, "look, I don't know what your situation is but I've been through a divorce and it's never easy. But eventually, you'll be fine. You can't see it now because you haven't had closure." Then it was as if the bulb above your head was turned on.

"That's it.  Closure, yeah. That's all I need. Okay, give me a minute. I'm gonna call him now and I'm going to get my closure."

Scott sat there watching you comically trying to find your phone in your purse and tapped on Bucky's contact number. The normal you would be sweating with every ring but intoxicated you had no worries in the world... For now.

"This is Bucky. Can't pick up right now, leave a message." Beep.

"Hello, yes, Bucky! Or James, should I call you James? I always thought Bucky was a weird name. Anyways, I'm just calling to tell you that I am fine and I am on a date with Scott. And speaking of dates, I just gotta tell you that I'm happy to hear that your date went well. And that, my friend, means that I am over you. That's right, I'm over you. Tell Leah I say hi." You said sarcastically.

You hung up the phone and threw your phone back into your purse. You felt like you just won a chess game.

The next morning you decided to sleep in because your heart was pounding and you could barely sit up without feeling like you might fall. You were supposed to be working at the bakery but since you owned the bakery, Wanda let you sleep it off until you recover. You couldn't remember anything from last night, how you got back to your apartment was a mystery. You tried to put the pictures together, from being forced to go on a date, meeting a guy named Sean? Simon? Sebastian? Scott! Yes, Scott. You ordered your meals and then... Nothing, it was all blurry. You weren't even sure if anything happened at all after eating your meals.

The apartment was empty because Wanda was working at the bakery and it was just you with your hangover pills. Bucky came to your apartment without knocking because Wanda told him on the phone that you were home. He greeted you with a smile and asked about your date.

"Uh, let's see. I think there was a restaurant, I know there was wine. And there's a guy, Scott and pretty much that's all I can recall."

Bucky made a yikes face. Seeing the state you were in, he could do the math (of the wine you had). You probably enjoyed the alcohol more than the guy. What a doofus, he thought. If he was the one going on a date with you, you'd definitely remember every detail from last night.

"Leah's downstairs and I'm taking her back to her place but I left my keys here last night. Have you seen it?"

"No, check the drawers. Maybe Wanda put 'em there."

"Ah, okay." He opened the drawers and found the keys to his bike.

"Did we... Speak on the phone last night?"

"Nope, my phone was dead and I didn't charge it all night so I haven't really checked it. Why?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just... Never mind. My memories are a bit hazy right now. You should go, say hi to Leah for me."

Bucky nodded as you walked back to your room to go lie down. Your question reminded him that he should probably check his phone now because there could be work-related messages but the first thing he heard was a voicemail from you. "Oh, y/n. I got your message!"

That instantly stopped you in your tracks. Your eyes went wide and you froze. You immediately turned around and ran to grab his phone away from him. Bucky had a confused look on his face, "who's Scott?"

"Oh my God, no, Bucky, give me the phone. Give me the phone!" But it was already too late, he was already halfway through your voicemail and by the time you successfully snatched his phone out of his grasp, he had already heard every word.

Bucky stood there dumbfounded, he needed time to process everything you just said to him. "What do you- what do you mean you're over me?"

"Oh, God... Alright, um- lately, I've um- sort of, have... Feelings for you." You never had to chase a guy or confess your crush first so this felt new and my God, it was nerve-racking.

"You have feelings for me..." He said it as if he was convincing himself that his ears got it right. Bucky couldn't believe the words that just escaped through your lips, for years he had dreamed of this moment. Though never did he ever want you to make the first move but adolescent him wanted to hear you say what he'd been wanting to say to you too.

He didn't say anything for what felt like minutes and you couldn't decipher his thoughts from the look on his face. "I need to sit down," he pulled one of the dining chairs and leaned on his side in a defeated posture.

"Bucky... Please say something." You alerted him in a hushed tone, not wanting to startle him than you already did. But he didn't. He was lost at words. What the hell was he supposed to tell her?

"Look Bucky, I'm sorry for telling you this way but I had to. I just- I've been wanting to talk to you about it since you came back to New York, well- actually, since Steve told me but-"

"Whoa, Steve told you?!" He interrupted.

"Yeah, it just accidentally slipped when we were playing truth or dare..."

"Okay well," he stood up from his seat, yet he still couldn't look you in the eye. "I can't do this right now, Leah's waiting for me downstairs and I gotta go." He basically ran out of the room and slammed the door behind him, leaving you alone.

Once your hangover had begun dissipating, you decided to help Wanda at the bakery and took the night shift. She must've been exhausted from managing the bakery alone while also helping the employees in the kitchen so you told her to go home and leave it to you. The bakery's usually slower at night.

When it was nearing closing time and your employees had gone home, you decided to clean up and turned off the lights and checked everything one last time before locking the door. The bell above the door dinged and you were slightly annoyed because who the hell comes to the bakery at this hour?

"I'm sorry we're clo...sed." It was Bucky. He stood there in a black coat, with an expression you still couldn't figure out. "Bucky, what are you-"

"You have no right to tell me that you've got feelings for me." His tone was harsh, he never spoke that way to you or anyone... Ever.

"What?"

He walked closer to you, maintaining his gaze, "You can not tell me that you've got feelings for me now when I'm doing well with my life and Leah..."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I was in love with you for years! Years, y/n! And you never said and did anything and now when everything's going well you're ruining it!"

"I am ruining it?" You repeated the question because you couldn't believe what you just heard. How dare he said those hurtful things to you.

"Yes! I was doing fine with Leah and now I don't know what's going to happen with me and her anymore..."

"Yeah, well, I was doing fine before I found out that YOU were in love with me and never had the balls to tell me!" You did everything you could to not cry, you hated crying in the middle of an argument.

"Hey, it's not like I didn't try. There were your ex-boyfriends and your dates and I had to move on. I couldn't wait forever! And now, now you're too late."

"Oh, so what? You're just gonna walk away and pretend that this never happened?"

"Yes, I'm going to do exactly that and I'm going to go see Leah." He turned around like he did earlier in your apartment and left you alone once again with your heartbreak.

"Fine! Go ahead and see Leah because I don't give a fuck about cowards like you or whoever you sleep with." You slammed the door and tried everything you could to not have a breakdown here because you really hated letting an argument hurt you. You sat on one of the chairs where the customers would sit and you hid your face with your hands and cried.

Not because you just lost an argument but because of what Bucky said and it felt like you had lost Bucky before you even had him. Now there was no hope left for you and Bucky, things were too complicated.

You didn't know how long you had cried there, alone, in the dimmed lighting of your shop but after you felt like the tears had dried, you wiped the traces of your tears from your cheeks with the back of your thumb. You stood from your seat and was ready to go home. You couldn't wait to eat some leftover pizzas, take a warm shower and cry into your pillows until you fall asleep.

But when you were about to leave, you saw Bucky standing on the other side of the door, watching you through the windows with a softer expression on his face. You opened the door and Bucky instantly grabbed your waist and kissed you as if his life depended on it.

You gave in to his kiss, letting him pour every desire and yearning into your lips for as long as he wanted. You grabbed his face because you wanted him impossibly closer and you shut your eyes, letting your guard down. Because it was Bucky, and you'd known him for as long as you could remember and you both deserved this moment.

Bucky eventually pulled away until both of you were running out of air. You were breathless from his kiss, you never knew he was such a good kisser. (It's Bucky and he's had a lot of women on his bed, of course, he was excellent at it. Who were you kidding?) But now that you've had your own front-row experience, you felt a tad of possessiveness at the thought of sharing those lips or any part of him with anyone else.

"I couldn't go back to her knowing you are here alone and I had thrown away what I've wanted for as long as I could remember."

"I'm glad you came back." You pressed your foreheads and you rested your hands on his chest. You could get used to this.

"I hope it's not too late to say this but, y/n y/l/n, will you let me take you to dinner and see a movie after maybe?"

"I wasn't the one who said it's too late," you halfheartedly teased him.

"Shut up, so is that a yes or a no?"

You bit your lip and nodded, "yes. Definitely a yes." You stared into his ocean blue eyes, so deep and beautiful, you could easily get lost in it.

"y/n y/ln, I'm going to put all of your ex-boyfriends to shame."

"Hm, we'll see about that." You put your arms around his neck. Then a thought crossed your mind and your smile faded away, "what are you gonna do about Leah though?"

"I'll talk to her in the morning. Let's take you home now, yeah? It's getting late."

You bit your lip and nodded, "okay."

Ninth grade you dreamed of popular jocks and athletic seniors, but little did you know that, sometimes, the one who sincerely loved you was the book nerd who loved The Hobbit a little too much.

[cosmicgoddesswrites]

Your Boogieman - Chapter 1

TASM!Spider-Man x Venom!Reader

Summary:  “I want to fight an alien!” Peter Parker remembers saying it vividly. It was a six-word statement whined almost playfully to his two counterparts/brothers just weeks ago. He never thought anything could possibly come of it. It seemed the cosmos had other plans.

Series Warnings: Mentions of v!0l3nce, mentions of bl00d, mentions of tr@uma and p+sd, angst, some fluff, happy ending (I promise lmao)

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of d34th, some v!0l3nce, smoking

Word Count: 2498

Note: PLEASE PUT ALL TAGLIST REQUESTS IN MY ASKBOX. Thanks

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The bags under her eyes were the first thing Peter noticed about (Y/n). Her (e/c) eyes were striking, beautiful. But the dark circles stuck out like a sore thumb on her otherwise perfect face. He almost thought she had forgotten to clean up last night’s eye makeup.

The next thing he noticed was that she was soaking wet.

“Parker! Are you listening to me?”

Peter blinked a couple times, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Not only had this stranger definitely caught him staring, but so did his boss.

“Yeah- Yes, Mr. Jameson, I’m sorry!” He stumbled over his apology.

Jameson quirked an eyebrow at him. “Really? What’d I say?”

Peter froze up. “Ahh… ‘Parker, this is (Y/n) and… my mustache looks very nice today’?”

(Y/n)’s lips twitched into a smile that she quickly hid behind her hand. Jameson, however, didn’t look as amused.

“Flattery will get you nowhere in this office, Parker.” the old man huffed, “This is (F/n) (L/n), she's our new freelance photographer. Show her the ropes and get her acclimated. Maybe we’ll finally get some photos that’ll show Spider-Man for the hack he really is!”

Peter glanced from (Y/n) to Jameson, “Yes sir- I mean- yes to the showing her around part not to the Spider-Man hack part-”

“Are you still here? I got an editorial meeting in 5! Clear out!” he barked.

“We’re gone like the wind-” Peter quickly motioned for (Y/n) to follow him out before hustling out of the office. He heard her boots clunking behind him in a rush all the way to the elevators. They stood side by side in awkward silence, waiting for the elevator to get to their floor.

“So…” he drawled, “How you know Mr. Jameson?”

(Y/n) turned her attention from the damp strands of hair she was fiddling with to him, “What makes you think I know know him?”

Peter shrugged, pursing his lips, “He hardly ever brings on people like this. And when he does he doesn’t have people ‘shoe em around’ he just kinda pushes you outta the nest and hopes you know how to fly.”

(Y/n) snorted and brushed her hair behind her ear. “He’s an old friend of my dad’s… he heard I just moved to town and called me up.”

Peter raised his eyebrows at that, trying to mask his expression quickly.

“Didn’t think Jameson had friends, huh?” she smiled teasingly.

He couldn’t help but laugh at that before rubbing at the back of his neck nervously, “yeah yeah, no I didn’t.”

The elevator dinged and the metal doors slid open, signaling them to step inside. “He’s not so bad when you don’t have to work with him. Although the Spidey talk gets real old real fast.” She mused, leaning against the wall of the elevator as it began its descent.

Peter sighed, “Any reason why he’s so against him? I mean- he’s a hero! He’s just trying to help people.”

“I dunno,” (Y/n)’s gaze shifted from him to her fingernails that she began to nervously pick at, “he didn’t seem like much of a hero when he was beating the snot outta carjackers and bank robbers these past couple years.”

His features fell as he tried to mask his sadness. “Sometimes people lose their way… He hasn’t been as bad recently.”

“You know him?” (Y/n) asked. The movement from Peter’s head whipping in her direction had her finally looking up from her nails.

“No no! I just take his pictures is all,” he blurted.

(Y/n)’s lips twitched up into a smile, “It would explain how you get such good pictures of the guy when he’s flying through the city. Like he lets you know his commute or something.” She looked back down at her boots before stuffing her hands in her pockets. “It would also totally be cheating to use your personal relationship to get pictures, but I’m not a snitch.”

Peter shifted his weight from one foot to the other nervously, swinging his umbrella lightly “You’re uh.. Real perceptive, huh?”

“Gotta be.” She chirped before stepping out of the elevator. “You don’t really have to ‘show me the ropes’ or anything like that. I haven’t been to the city for a while but I’ll get myself acquainted with the streets. I don’t wanna waste your time.”

“It’s not a waste at all, but I also totally don’t wanna mansplain the city to you or the job if you got this…” Peter chuckled awkwardly.

(Y/n) raised her eyebrows at that, “Do youuu mansplain things often?”

“No but I’ve been told I talk a lot and over-explain stuff… Wait- is that technically mansplaining?”

“Hmm, don’t think so.” (Y/n) hummed before raising her hand in a small wave, “I’ll see ya around.”

Peter looked her over as she turned on her heel to leave, but found himself lightly taking her hand. He quickly apologized when she swiped her hand away, “Sorry sorry- you don’t have an umbrella and it’s pouring out there. How about I walk with you till the storm lets up? There's a nice coffee shop nearby-”

“Thatcher’s?” She asked, tilting her head at him. “Haven’t been there in a while.”

“Then why don’t I show you the ropes of their new pastry menu? Their chocolate croissants should be illegal.” He smiled before motioning to the door with his umbrella. “What do you say?”

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“What’d I say? Great, huh?”

“Are you kidding?” (Y/n) asked through a mouthful of croissant. She quickly covered her mouth when she noticed Peter watching her, “I’m gonna grab like 4 more of these before we go.”

“I’m with ya there,” he chuckled before biting into his own croissant. Peter sipped at his coffee to wash it down then cleared his throat. “You mentioned you haven’t been to New York for a while, what brings you back?”

(Y/n)’s chewing slowed to a stop before she took a sip of her hot chocolate. “My uh- my parents passed away…” she paused, stealing a quick glance at Peter before sipping the sweet drink again, “I wanted a change of scenery but still needed to be somewhere familiar.”

Peter’s lips tilted into a frown, he felt the need to reach forward and hold her hand comfortingly, but with the way she reacted to his touch earlier, he thought it best not to. “I’m really sorry to hear that… I lost my parents when I was real young, so I kinda know what you’re going through.”

A weak smile found its way on (Y/n)’s lips, “Thanks… I’ll be fine, just gotta take it day by day. Keep chugging along, it’s what they’d want.”

Peter nodded at that, “I'm guessing that’s why Jameson reached out to you?”

“He and my dad were close, I’ve known him since I could walk…” she trailed off before going back to eating her croissant. “How long have you known Jameson?”

“Ahh,” Peter bit his lip in thought, “10 years? Since I graduated high school.”

(Y/n) whistled at that, “You must have a loooot of patience.”

“He’s a nice guy!” Peter laughed, “He can just be… a lot.”

“That’s one way to put it,” (Y/n) giggled. She finished off her croissant and stood up, just as some thunder rolled overhead. “I’m gonna use the bathroom but when I come back I’m buying us more of those. They’re insane.”

Peter smiled and watched her walk off. He turned his attention to his phone and began searching for any updates on his police scanning app. The lights flickered for a moment before suddenly shutting off. Peter and the other patrons brushed it off, this old shop never fared well against storms like this.

No, what made everyone occupying the coffee shop jump was the frightened shriek that echoed from the women’s bathroom.

Peter leapt onto his feet and charged at the door, feeling his heart jump into his throat when he heard another scream ring through the shop. He burst into the bathroom and frantically looked around before catching sight of (Y/n).

She was sitting in the corner of the bathroom, arms shielding her face as she screamed once more.

“(Y/n) what’s going on?!” Peter exclaimed, dropping to his knees in front of her and trying to pry her arms away from her head.

Her foot collided with his chest. Any kick from any normal person wouldn’t have made Peter so much as flinch. And yet, he practically flew across the room and hit the tiled wall hard.

He blinked in shock before the pain settled in, causing him to groan and hunch over.

The lights buzzed back to life, and the screams immediately died in (Y/n)’s throat. She uncovered her face and looked around with wild eyes, breathing labored as she tried calming herself.

Her eyes grew impossibly wider when she saw Peter hunched against the wall. “I’m sorry…” she exhaled shakily. Before Peter could respond, (Y/n) got to her feet and sprinted out of the bathroom past the crowd that had assembled at the door.

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Peter saw (Y/n) just hours later while on patrol. She had set up a folding chair on the roof of what had to be her apartment building. She was wrapped tightly in a blanket, camera in her lap and a thermos in her hand. 

He swung gracefully onto the rooftop, just a couple feet away from (Y/n) silently. “Waiting for someone special?”

Her head whipped in his direction at the sound of his voice and a gasp got caught in her throat. “You, actually…”

Peter sauntered in her direction, “You could always wait for me not on a rooftop when it’s freezing cold.”

(Y/n) quirked an eyebrow at him before capping her thermos and setting it aside, “Is that how Peter Parker gets such good pictures of you? Staying where it’s warm and cozy?”

“I have noooo idea who that is,” he chuckled awkwardly.

“He’s the one with all the great pictures of you that show up in The Daily Bugle…” (Y/n) pursed her lips, “You don’t have to play dumb, Spider-Man. I know you know him.”

Peter choked at that, “What makes you say that?”

“How else would he get such good pictures of you?” She reached under her blanket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “I doubt he’s climbing out onto flag poles for those shots, yall probably have some kinda deal with each other.”

(Y/n) could feel Spider-Man staring at her through his mask as she lit a cigarette and took a deep puff. “You wanna bum a smoke?”

He quickly shook his head, “I don’t need to pick up a bad habit like that…”

She scoffed, “Well that was passive aggressive,” she paused for another puff. “But fair. I don’t like it either, it just steadies my hands.”

“Are you usually this shaky, or are you just excited to see me?” Peter half-joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Don’t take this the wrong way buuut this is kind of my constant state of being…” She breathed a chuckle. “Jittery and exhausted. That’s me.”

Peter took a second to study her closely, his gaze immediately drawn to the dark circles under her eyes. He could tell she was struggling to fight off sleep, her eyelids were drooping even lower than they were earlier that day. “You don’t sleep much, do you…?”

(Y/n) side-eyed him while taking a particularly long drag from her cigarette. “You’re real perceptive, huh?”

“Gotta be,” he shrugged.

(Y/n) went silent and studied him from the corner of her eye. This tension caused Peter to clear his throat and turn away from her.

“Any particular reason why?” He probed.

(Y/n) shook her head in response, “I just can’t… Figured the city that never sleeps would be the best place for me. It’s loud here…”

Almost on cue, police sirens began to echo into the night, pulling a light chuckle from (Y/n)’s parted lips. “I rest my case.”

“I uh- obviously I gotta go.” Peter said almost sheepishly. “If you were gonna get your photos, now would be the time.”

A tired smile tugged at the corner of (Y/n)’s lips as she finished off her cigarette, throwing the dimmed butt to the ground and crushing it underfoot. “Let’s try to make it not look too staged, I have a reputation to build, yknow.”

“I’ll try my best, boss.” Peter chuckled. He shot a web at the nearby building and made a running start for the edge. “I’ll be seeing ya!” With that, he jumped off the roof, hearing several shutter clicks as he swung away.

(Y/n) looked through the photos she had just taken, smiling with satisfaction before turning off her camera and relaxing back into her chair. She cracked open her thermos and sipped at the bitter coffee. It did little to wake her up, in fact the warmth from the beverage actually began to soothe her worn out body.

Unfortunately, she was at the point where no matter how much coffee she drank, she still found herself struggling to stay conscious. (Y/n) began fiddling with a loose thread on her blanket while watching the people down below.

Her eyelids grew heavier. Her breathing went steady. Her mind didn’t even think to protest the warm embrace of slumber, it only conjured up comforting images of home, and her family.

“All gone, (Y/n)... you have me, now…”

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The first thing (Y/n) noticed was the feeling of her comforter swaddling her body. She felt great. Better than she had in weeks.

She then realized she had no recollection of climbing into bed, for it would mean she was finally submitting to sleep. Submitting to him.

Before any anxious thoughts could cloud her head, a PING directed her attention to her cellphone on the nearby nightstand.

8 missed calls from Jameson. 2 missed calls from Peter. 12 texts from Peter.

The most recent text read ‘Where are you? Jameson wants to talk about the new villain that popped up last night. Please get here ASAP’

‘New villain… no no no no.’

(Y/n) opened the news app on her phone and her worst fears were instantly confirmed.

Photos of Spider-Man fighting a large, muscular black figure flooded her news-feed. Bile rose further and further up her esophagus the more she scrolled through her phone.

“Venom…” she gasped, “what did you do?”

Warm, sticky, black goo draped itself over her shoulder. A tendril of the black substance extended itself from her body before forming itself into the shape of a head. Two white eyes stared her down, a serpent like tongue flicked over rows of white, ground sharp teeth.

A deep, raspy chuckle rumbled from his maw as he spoke. “We met the itsy bitsy spider… we want to taste him!”

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