#like i need to know the exact time he was born so i can calculate what it would be when you factor in timezones

[analogboii]

the way woozi became my ult bias is literally so funny bc it started out as 'homeboy and i locked in bc we born two days apart' bc i was JUST getting into svt and saw how close we were in age. it started off as a silly thing. it wasn't supposed to get this serious

[numinousmysteries]

@leiascully mentioned airports. JessM wrote the quintessential airport fic and this lives in that universe. I owe them everything, and they owe me nothing.

This has not been beta'd, edited, or put through any quality control whatsoever. Read at your own risk.

@today-in-fic @xffictober24

Paved Paradise

It's Bill Scully's turn to host Christmas. There is some sort of algorithm within the extended Scully clan that determines this. It factors in variables such as who's stationed abroad, who's too pregnant to travel, and who's just being so goddamn stubborn (Scully's words) this year. It's a complex calculation that starts as early as July if Scully's sighs and eye rolls during her phone calls with her mother are any indication. And despite all the time and care that allegedly goes into these deliberations, it seems that more often than not–in Mulder's mind at least—they end up flying to San Diego on the busiest travel day of the year.

Maggie headed out a week earlier to spend more time with Bill's kids, so it's just the three of them hunkered down at O'Hare for an extended layover. One that's becoming more and more extended as the snow piles up.

William has been characteristically well-behaved on the journey so far but even the most mature six-year-old's patience would be worn thin by now. Fuck, Mulder thinks, even this not-so-mature 46-year-old is getting antsy.

"I'm so bored!" He calls out, squirming in the vinyl seat at the gate. "Can I go walk around?"

"No," Scully says. She's not even looking up from her book. Mulder doesn't know how she can maintain her stoic calm in the boisterous chaos of an airport on Christmas Eve. "They could call us to board any minute now. And besides, it's too crowded, I'm worried you'll get lost."

Mulder doesn't want to remind her that they could have been called to board any minute in the past three hours now. "I'll go with him," he says, jolting up out of his seat. "We won't go far. And I'll have my phone on me, so just send a bat signal if we need to come back."

She looks up from her book to consider it. The two of them must look desperate because she just shakes her head and sighs. "Sure. Stay close."

Mulder grins down at William who smiles back conspiratorially.

"Yes! Thanks mom!" Full of pent-up energy, the kid grabs Mulder's hand and pulls him into the mire of human mass in the terminal. Will's red hair makes it easy to keep track of him in the crowd although, to Mulder's dismay, it's been getting darker recently. He'll always have Scully's bright blue eyes, though.

"Where to, kid?"

"I'm hungry," he says, excitedly. "And maybe they have a book store. I finished my book on the first flight and then I read the whole thing again. And look—there's a Pizza Hut. Can we get Pizza Hut?"

Mulder stops in his tracks in front of the restaurant. Still in motion in front of him, William stumbles a bit at the abrupt stop. He's been here before. In this exact spot in this terminal seven years ago. But there wasn't a Pizza Hut Express there before. It used to be a Chili's To Go. A very special Chili's To Go.

"What is this crap?" He gasps.

"Dad!" William glares up at him in surprised disapproval. A look that could come from his mother. "You can't say that."

"This didn't used to be a Pizza Hut, Will."

"Huh?" His son asks, confused.

"There was a Chili's here once. Before you were born. Your mom and I went there after a case once."

William is still staring at him skeptically. "Didn't you go to like a million airports?"

"Yeah," Mulder says, gazing in shock at the new restaurant as if its predecessor will suddenly appear before his eyes. "But this one was...memorable."

"Why? Was the food good?"

"I don't remember any food."

"You're so weird, dad," Will shakes his head. "Can we get pizza?"

"Um, sure," Mulder says. He's sadder than he should be by the replacement of one chain restaurant in an airport by another. But god, what had happened at that Chili's. It was the first time she let him touch her. The first time they fucked. In a red vinyl booth, no less. It was where their partnership finally became something more. William wasn't conceived there—and for that, he is thankful—but it set in motion the shift in their relationship that would ultimately lead to William's conception. That would ultimately lead them here. To this airport. On this holiday. As a family. And the Chili's wasn't even there to witness them.

Mulder goes through the motion of paying for William's personal pan pizza, bottled water, and a large diet Pepsi for him and William to share. He eyes the corner of the restaurant where there used to be a booth behind a retaining wall. The wall and the booth are gone. Probably ditched in a dumpster somewhere, trash compacted, or sold at auction. They should have been given a proper sendoff. A 21-gun salute. A hero's farewell at Arlington.

Eager to eat his pizza, Will skips his way back to the gate, his dazed father following a half-step behind.

As Will sinks back into his chair, Mulder turns to Scully any says, "It's official. They've paved paradise and put up a Pizza Hut."

"Blow on that, honey, it's hot," Scully says to William, not missing a beat. "What are you talking about, Mulder?"

"The Chili's that was in this terminal. Our Chili's? It's gone. They replaced it with a Pizza Hut Express. Can you believe that shit?"

"Language, Mulder," she whispers, nodding toward William who's too absorbed in his cheese pizza to notice.

Mulder can tell she knows what he's talking about though. She's starting to blush. A light rouge rising to her cheek not unlike the fuzzy pink of the sweater she'd been wearing that day. One that, now that he thinks about, he'd never seen her wear before or since.

"Are you sure it was even this terminal? These all look the same," she says.

"How could I forget?" It comes out louder than he wanted, even startling William briefly before he turns back to his meal.

"It could have been this terminal. Or it could have been any of the other identical ones though."

He slaps his hands on his thighs in frustration. "No, Scully, you're wrong. It was this one. I know it was. And I know you know, too."

"Oh, Mulder." She shakes her head and turns back to her book.

Finally, their flight is called for boarding. They gather up their bags and herd William onto the jet bridge. Once they're settled into their row, William in between them distracted with a new book, Scully leans over him to whisper in Mulder's ear.

"We'll always have Chili's." She winks.

Her low purr makes his groin twitch and he makes a note that he'll have to do something about that later, even in Bill Scully's house. It'll be more comfortable than a booth at Chili's To Go at least.

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

You're in Denial: Arthur X Celestine

Lady Celestine is one of the four heroes of Yore and just happens to be the love of Arthur's life. She's a very integral character... kickstarting serval events in the story. I hinted at their dynamic in the past: it's the classic enemies-to-lovers troupe (my favorite- blame Bridgerton: They're Kate & Anthony )

Their relationship is an integral part of the story: hopefully, I can get you all on board this ship (it's okay if you don't, it's part of the prelude). She kicks off several plot points in the story. She's the oracle & blacksmith of the GSA and is responsible for creating Triple Star, Exabliur, and Galaxia (unfinished - completed by another). But her main job was to look after the Fountain of Dreams that was in the temple of the ancients.

Which is where this lovely scene takes place. (And they're lotus flowers, not lilies...)

This happens before Meta and Gala, so this is a young Arthur (the before times).

Sir Uther had three apprentices...

The pecking order was: Arthur, Morgan, and Nonsurat. Which created a wall between Arthur and the other two. It also didn't help that Arthur wasn't the nicest guy either.

Before, Arthur was known as Sir Uther's "golden boy"... Cold and calculating, ready and willing to do Uther's bidding without question. An unfeeling war machine by Uther's design. He was Sir Uther's top soldier: a position Morgan envied & despised Arthur for it...

He was at the top, but it was a lonely spot. As a result, Arthur had closed his heart off from the world: never being his own person. Causing him to wear an apathetic and arrogant personality. He was his master's tool, nothing more. This was his lot in life, and he had accepted all of it.

On Celestine's end, she was a caged bird all her life...

Celestine can't predict the exact future... only show potential paths. But with her powers can guide people to the outcome they want. Which is why she's given the title of Navigator of the Constellations. Nightmare knew of her ability and desperately wanted her power. Only appearing with if alongside the other heroes of Yore when needed (which was only Uther & Icarus at the time).

However, there was a sinister reason behind it... the ancients wanted to monopolize her power. And was confined to the temple most of her life as a result.

Because of her powers, she knew what the ancients really were; a bunch of self-serving hypocrites. So she played the "naive, sweet little priestess": but hid the heart of a dragon. She had a few followers that served under her court; her position kept them within arms reach. In reality, she was alone...

She's the Merlin of the story and Celestine... did not take kindly to Arthur. When she found out that Arthur would be the one to end Uther's reign... "there has to be another Arthur because this one's an arrogant little prick!" She met him a few times: shadowing Uther, and saw him as his dirty henchman.

Arthur did not have a high opinion either of Celestine due to Uther's influence. As the chief blacksmith, Celestine would hire based on talent. She did not care if a person was a high-born or low-born... which Uther did not like. Uther saw her as a foolish little girl who did not know how the world worked. As a result, Arthur saw her as a sheltered, naive, delusional dreamer... however, this would all change.

After the temple was attacked by Nightmare: he was assigned as Celestine's bodyguard. Arthur was not ready for the bucket of sass that was Celestine. Sharp, witty, and vicious (with a few other surprises), she was not one to be messed with.

Arthur was at her mercy since she was technically above him. Though much to his surprise: she insisted on being treated as his equal. Unlike his master: who demanded respect... she was nothing like him. Celestine infuriated & fascinated him all at the same time.

For Celestine, she took this as a chance to reform him... which translated to: "For the sake of the galaxy, I need to take this man down a peg!" But... was pleasantly surprised that her original notions of him were wrong (half of them he was still a little prick ). And teased him every chance she got to reprogram him from his "unfeelingness,"... much to Arthur's annoyance and her delight. But she came to care for the man more than the prophecy.

In time they both realized they suffered the same loneliness. And found comfort in each company... and valued their time together. Arthur, he did not need to be"Sir Uther's golden boy": just Arthur... the feeling was mutual on Celestine's end. She never needed to pretend with Arthur and felt safe being herself with him.

They loved each other but didn't know the words. Both were too inexperienced and young to realize this. And if they did say it... their positions wouldn't allow it... What became of Lady Celestine?

Hmm... oh, I wonder what happened to her?

Keep reading to hear a bit about Morgan... (the runner up in the poll)

Morgan herself was also supposed to be one of the heroes of Yore and complete the set (of four)... But it just didn't fit well. I wanted her to have more emotional weight. Making her one of Uther's apprentices and a rivalry with Arthur seemed more fitting.

There was more of a personal connection to them. Giving her more reason to want to take over the GSA. Always desiring Uther's praise and recognition but never receiving it.

If Morgan won the poll, it (the comic) would've been about her and Norsurant. While they may have been the spares; Norsurant & Morgan always had each other (in a sibling sense).

But after Arthur fell from grace by taking in MK: Morgan became obsessed with taking his (Arthur's) spot. And ended up leaving Norsurant behind to pursue the empty spot. However, this incident also changed his relationship with Arthur.

Like Morgan: Nonsurat believed that Arthur was the golden child that could do no wrong. But after this incident: made realize that he had Arthur figured out all wrong.

[braveclementine]

The Beach

Warnings: 18+readersonly, slight master kink, oral, threesome, m x m smut, sub!Steve Rogers, pet names

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OCs, which consist of Penny Fury, Elizabeth Nelson, Elijah Chan, Katya Venice, Violetta Moscow, Lan Le, Josh, Trang Tien, Ahni Jallow, Mai Ito, and Ghaida Kashual as well as other OCs that will come up throughout the story.

The colours are pretty much perfect, although I would've liked just a little bit more blue. And the kind've reddish colour should be more purply but altogether, the green is the exact shade I thought it would be. Wish the jaw line was more curved though since it's Iron Woman, but it was more of an Iron Man design. 

🍄🐚 𝕊𝕋ᵒŕ𝐲 🍙🤾‍♀️

Tony took everyone to the beach about one and a half months after Chamber was born. He had a private island with a huge mansion built on it with plenty to do there. And so, they went. And that's where they were now.

Penny was on her stomach, laying down next to Violetta who was also sunbathing, looking at her phone. She was wearing a maroon coloured two- piece bathing suit and looked lovely in it. Penny was wearing sky blue.

Elijah was sitting up, far away from the waves, asleep with his arms behind his head.

Elizabeth was walking along the edge of the beach with Clint and Rhodey. She wasn't wearing a bathing suit, but a white dress instead, looking like a Disney princess or something.

Wanda, Natasha, and most of the other male Avengers were out in the ocean, laughing and playing with each other except Stephen. The Sorcerer was sitting up on the sand, under an umbrella with Katya in his arms.

Katya always had to be in either Stephen or Loki's arms nearly twenty-four seven because of the child in her stomach as he grew bigger. They were calculating what the soonest possible time could be to getting him out safely for both the child and the mother. But Katya continued to insist that she could do it.

Katya was wearing a white shirt over her two piece black bathing suit. Trang and Ghaida were sitting near them, Trang wearing a vibrant red colour. Meanwhile, Ghaida wore some sort of traditional outfit so that her skin didn't show.

Laughter spread out across the beach as Elizabeth sprinted away from Clint and Tony splashed Natasha in the face with ocean water.

"You want to join them?" Violetta asked sleepily.

"Nah." Penny mumbled, looking over at her Italian love. "I'd rather lay here with you. It's calmer. Quieter too."

Vi laughed, "Ah I see. Because my throat hurts to much to talk."

"Oh?" Penny giggled, "Why does your throat hurt hmm?"

Vi blushed, "No reason. At all. Has nothing to do with Bruce or last nights flight from Florida to here."

"Plane sex." Penny muttered. "I should put that on my bucket list."

Violetta laughed louder at that. "I'll help you out with that task."

"I'll take you up on that." Penny said, turning over and closing her eyes against the sun.

"So can you tan?" Violetta teased.

"Nope. I always burn." Penny sighed, pointing at the pink umbrella that was only a few feet away. "I'll need to get under that very soon unless I want to be in pain the rest of the vacation."

"This is nice." Violetta hummed after a moment. "This vacation. I don't remember the last time I did something like this."

"Really?" Penny asked softly.

Violetta rolled over on her side, propping herself up on her elbow, "I don't know. Katya sometimes took me on family vacations when I was younger. They were rich enough to afford it and it wasn't like I had family to go with or stay with instead. And once we grew up they weren't really like this. And honestly, any vacations we tried going on usually ended up in some sort of fight."

"Oh." Penny said, unsure what else to say.

"Yep." Vi sighed, closing her eyes again. "It doesn't matter that much though. We have this now, so why bitch about not having it before? Besides, I prefer it like this. Vacation is supposed to be with people you love and I'm glad we're all. . . " Vi cut off and quickly fixed her words, "I'm glad we're together."

Penny got up, moving the umbrella in further so that she would be in the shade now, before laying back down next to Violetta. She watched a shadow walk closer and heard Rhodey ask, "Can I join you ladies?"

"Of course." Penny smiled up at him, heart flipping in her chest. It was so ridiculous, this crush on him. It made no sense whatsoever.

"You're warm." Rhodey commented, a hand placed gently on her hip. "Did you put sunscreen on?"

"Shhh." Violetta said playfully and said in a fake whisper, "Don't let Elizabeth overhear you talking about poison lotion going into your skin."

Rhodey rolled his eyes, but Penny was storing these nuggets away for later. Remembering how Ghaida had avoided Steve's question had put her on high alert towards anything pharmaceutically made. Not to mention. . . it wasn't like Big Pharma was exactly trusted by the African American population. Not after the Tuskegee experiment.

"Oh knock it off." Rhodey muttered, closing his eyes as well as he laid behind Penny. "There's nothing wrong with sunscreen."

Penny smiled. "Oh but you never know. . . have you ever read the ingredients in a bottle of sunscreen?"

Violetta groaned, "No! Not you too! Penny don't go over to the dark side!"

Penny giggled at that and Rhodey chuckled.

Violetta slowly fell asleep and Penny got up so she could angle the umbrella and its' shade over Vi as well. Then, as she laid back down, she faced Rhodey.

"Hey sweet mama." Rhodey said, smiling slightly at her. "You know if you get to hot, we can go back inside?"

Penny smiled and nodded a little. "Yeah, I know. It's just. . . such a beautiful day isn't it?"

Rhodey smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her into his chest. She wondered why her heart was beating so fast. She just smiled into his shoulder then, closing her eyes.

"Hey, do you want to try something different?" Rhodey asked awkwardly. She opened her eyes to see he looked a little hesitant.

"What kind of different?" Penny asked, heart definitely speeding up in her chest now, doing unpleasant flips.

He thought about it and then asked, "Well like Stephen, Tony, and Loki are trying to move. . . I guess like further with Trang? Like planning dates and taking their relationship further than just, you know, sex. I was just wondering if that was something that you might be interested in doing with me?"

Penny's whole face burned and she ducked her head in happiness, "I would love that James."

She could feel Rhodey's body relax besides hers and even heard his sigh of relief. She smiled gently at him, "Worried?"

"Well," Rhodey said, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I know around the tower and stuff it's mostly sex or cuddling or affection. . . but nothing. . . well I suppose what I consider as 'serious'. And I've kind've missed that. And I mean, I wasn't sure how much you like me, but um, I like you. . . like a lot. So I figured I might as well take the risk."

Penny leaned up to gently kiss him on the lips, drawing back and saying, "Well, it'll be my first date, so high expectations." She winked.

"First?" He asked in shocked. "You never had a date before you met us? None of those idiots ever took you on a date?" He pointed behind her at where most of her soulmates were dancing in water, a boombox was on at the moment.

"Well, before I met my soulmates, my dad wasn't really the kind of father to really let me go out with anyone. Any experience I had before you guys was usually just. . . sex. Because if he was gone, I was at a safe house with, well, usually er- Rumlow." She winced.

Rhodey nodded as as Penny hesitated, thinking about how much she hated herself for being with Rumlow, he cupped her face, "Hey. It's not like you knew. You thought he was just like any other guy."

"I know." Penny whispered. "But, um, yeah and well we're not really supposed to be leaving the tower. Steve said he wanted to take me on a date, but he also wanted to take me on a real one, outside. So I mean, you know. . . it's not that they don't want to. It's just. . ."

"Life isn't working out right now." Rhodey smiled.

"Exactly." Penny said and smiled at him. "I would love to go on a date with you. And just because it's my first date doesn't mean you have to go all out James. I'll love anything you plan, even if you just want to go on a walk in the park. The location, the activities, it doesn't matter. As long as I'm with you."

Rhodey was silent as he pulled her closer to him and the two of them laid there, before Penny fell asleep in his arms.

🪨🛸 Ƥ𝓸𝕧 ᑕнᗩ𝐍Ğ𝔢 🍚🌾

Tony listened and watched as Trang, Ghaida, and Elizabeth sat on the living room floor of the beach house. Elizabeth was arranging all of her shells in colour order, and was listening to Trang as she talked.

"Mollusks produce calcium carbonate, laying down layers over the years. And this forms seashells." Trang explained. "The difference in color comes from the water it lives in, and what the animal eats. Since we're in the Caribbean, the seashell colours are much brighter than you might find in say Connecticut or Maine."

"I like this one." Elizabeth said, holding up a brown and turquoise coloured seashell.

"What kind is it?" Trang asked Ghaida.

"Tulip shell." Elizabeth answered instead. "I think I want to find more of this colour tomorrow."

All of the girls had changed out of their bathing suits and into summer dresses. Both Ghaida and Trang were wearing bright yellow and Tony thought they both looked amazing in the bright colour. Ghaida had also cut her long black hair so that it was more curly and shoulder length.

Elizabeth was wearing a white dress, with a lei around her neck. She had also pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them, her arms wrapped around them. She looked tired as well.

Penny came in at that moment, looking drop dead gorgeous in a peach coloured dress. She smiled when she saw Tony, coming over to sit down next to him and he put an arm around her shoulder.

"So what's going on?" Penny asked.

"We're looking at all of the shells Elizabeth found." Trang said, relaxing back on the floor. She'd taken her glasses off and Tony admired how she looked without them. "She's found some really pretty ones."

"Don't you look pretty." Violetta's voice said, winking at Penny as she walked in with Katya and Stephen. Stephen sat down on Tony's other side, letting Katya rest in his arms. Tony was a bit surprised to find that Katya looked like some ethereal sort of goddess in her beautiful white dress.

Violetta wasn't wearing a dress, having settled for a white crop top and black shorts, sitting down next to Penny.

"Where is everyone else?" Trang asked as they helped put Elizabeth's shells in her bucket.

"They're grabbing fishing rods to catch dinner." Katya said, shifting slightly uncomfortably in Stephen's arms.

Elizabeth looked up at that, "They're going to eat the fishies?" She asked in a small voice.

Trang looked at her for a second, then turned to Katya. "Uh, where are they?"

"Heading up the southend of the island." Violetta answered, rolling her eyes. "And you don't have to stop them form eating fish just because of her. We always used to eat fish. And Elizabeth, you'll literally eat Lobster tails if we give you enough butter so."

Elizabeth nodded, accepting that whatever Violetta said was true, lowering her head back to her knees.

Tony looked sideways at Penny. "You want to do something fun?"

"Oh so hanging out with us isn't fun Stark?" Trang teased.

"Not at all Tien." Tony shot back. "After all, intellectual crowd is so b-b-boring." He pretended to yawn. Trang and Penny both laughed.

Elizabeth picked up her bucket of seashells and made her way out of the room.

"Is she okay?" Penny asked.

"The heat is probably just getting to her." Violetta said. "The sun will suck her powers out since ice is part of it. If she gets to dehydrated she can get sick."

Tony could feel Stephen next to him as he turned to look at Violetta, "And does she know this about herself?"

"Oh. Right." Violetta sighed. "Forgot about that bit."

"I'll go to her." Penny said, standing up.

💐🚁 ⓟσⓥ ¢𝐡ⒶŇ𝔤ᗴ ❕🧻

Elijah roared with laughter as he watched Pietro slip on one of the rocks and tumble off the cliff ending to splash into the water below all of them. Wanda chuckled, standing there in a nice orange sundress, using her powers to lift him back onto the rocks.

"I thought you were sure footed." Clint said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Shouldn't you have seen that coming?"

"Ha ha." Pietro said, getting to his feet, shaking himself like he was a dog. "Funny. You're all comedians."

Then Clint was suddenly flying into the water as Pietro pushed him in. As Clint's head broke over the water waves, Pietro called down, "What? Didn't see that coming?"

Clint gave Pietro the finger.

Natasha chuckled, having gotten it all on video.

"You'll send that to me later, right?" Elijah asked the Russian spy with a grin.

Nat raised her eyebrows at him. "Maybe. . . if you подари мне мою летящую птицу." [Submit to me my flying bird]

"Oh?" Elijah asked teasingly. "Is this blackmail I'm hearing my Huálì de húlí?" [Gorgeous fox]

"Flattery gets you nowhere in this life." Natasha continued the banter.

"On the contrary," Elijah said, sliding up to her, to wrap an arm around her waist and she smirked at him. He ghosted her lips with his, "It gets me everything." and he plucked the phone from her hand, twirling around and airdropping the video to his own phone.

Natasha tackled him into the sand, "You are more of a fox than me you little trickster."

Elijah chuckled, rolling over to pin her down lightly, slipping her phone back into the pocket of her sundress. "Just teasing." He kissed her on the lips and then sat up.

"We have fish." Clint celebrated, holding up a huge Mahi Mahi in his hands. Bruce held a second one.

"Well, clearly, we're set." Sam laughed, waving his hand at the size of them.

"Eh, maybe six more just for these three." Wanda poked Thor and Steve in the arms.

"Yes!" Thor exclaimed, already fishing for more, "I could eat a whole one and still have room for more!"

"Yes, yes, you glutton." Loki grumbled, lounging in the shade, looking like the heat was affecting him.

Heat was affecting him. . .

"Shit." Elijah cursed aloud, grabbing his phone, getting back to his feet.

"What?" Half of them asked.

"Penny?" Elijah asked in confusion as the girl answered his wifes' phone, "Where's Elizabeth?"

"Oh." Penny's voice sounded worried, "I don't know. She seems a little sick Elijah. She says she has a really bad headache. I don't know. Violetta said it was the heat-"

"Okay. Thanks." Elijah sighed, closing his eyes, hating himself. He should have remembered this. He was such a fucking idiot. And he couldn't do anything about it because he was literally made of heat.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, the others looking at him.

Elijah gestured to Loki, "Seeing you being affected by the heat. I remembered how Elizabeth gets affected by the heat. And I forgot to tell her about the heat and-" He gritted his teeth, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes, "Fuck I'm an idiot!"

"Elijah." Wanda put a hand on his arm. "Is she okay?"

"I forgot. This is my fault." He replied dully. "Since her body is made up of ice, the heat will drain it. And it'll make her sick. And I can't do anything about it because I'll just make it worse." He looked at Bucky and Loki apologetically. "I'm sorry. If one of you two-"

"I'll do it." Bucky and Loki said at the same time, Bucky putting down the fishing rod. Bucky put a hand on Elijah's shoulder. "We're family. We'll help her. And don't' blame yourself. We all forget things every once in a while and fun. . . well it always takes the serious thoughts away."

"Just, make sure to bring her food too." Elijah said quickly, trying to remember everything now. "Ice cream or milkshakes, watermelon, something cold and has liquid in it-"

"Calm down." Loki said. "We've got it."

And he watched the two of them hurry back to the house. Elijah turned and walked away from the group. Wanda quickly caught up with him. "Elijah, why are you blaming yourself?" She grabbed his elbow and he looked down at the red-headed girl. "It's not your fault, you know?"

He sighed, "Because it is. Because she doesn't remember, doesn't know. So it's on me to remind her, to tell her. But I forgot and now she's sick and in pain and its my fault."

Wanda sighed, "It's not and you know that. Elijah, how are you supposed to remember every single thing in the world? Even for your soulmate? God, sometimes even I forget she lost her memory, because she acts so normally with us. We all do. And we're having fun, Elijah. Bucky is right. You're living in the moment so don't. . . don't ruin your fun, okay? Come back, be with us."

"But what if it's worse this time?" Elijah worried.

"And what if it's nothing at all?" Wanda countered. "What if it's just a headache? Besides, like you said, you can't do anything now. Bucky and Loki will take her food and they'll keep her cold again. You know you can trust them with her. They'll take good care of her."

Wanda held out her hand and Elijah smiled. He slipped his hand into hers. "You're right. Let's go. I'll teach you this handy trick we learned in Hong Kong to fish."

"I'd love that." Wanda said.

🤌🤾‍♂️ ţн丨𝐑Ｄ ς𝕙𝓪ℕg𝓲ⓝ𝑔 Ƥσⓥ 🌷🍘

Elizabeth's head was splitting open. Her head was pounding so badly, it felt like it was taking up not only the front of her head, but it was aching in the back. It felt like it was behind both eyes and in her nose and behind her right ear. She clutched her hands to her head, her eyes closed, trying to get it to go away.

Penny explained that Violetta had said it was the heat. Which, Elizabeth supposed, made sense. But it wasn't like it helped her get her headache away. And her stomach was aching, turning, weird feeling.

There was a knock at the door and she wanted to whimper at the loudness of it. Penny didn't answer verbally, opening the door.

She felt the bed dip and very gently, someone's cold hands pulled her into them. She saw it was James and she closed her eyes again.

"Doll?" James barely asked in a whisper. "How are you feeling? What hurts?"

She didn't want to speak, because she felt even talking increased the pain. "Head. Stomach."

Loki sat down on the either side of her, holding a tub of ice-cream. "Pet. Sit up for me and eat this."

She didn't move, closing her eyes again. Sleepily, she grabbed James' metal hand, putting it against her forehead and sighed in pleasure.

"It's your favorite flavor." Loki sang. "I mixed cookies n' cream with cookie dough."

Very slowly, still holding James' hand to her forehead, she sat up. She looked at James, then let go of his hand. He kept his hand there for her and she took the bowl. She pouted at Loki, "Bribery."

"Well, you need to eat." Loki said, placing his hands on her stomach and leg. She'd striped down to nothing to hopefully cool herself off and now she relished the coldness of their hands. She took the ice cream and was glad that was cold too. And she loved the way the ice-cream went down her throat.

"Just so you know," James said softly. "Elijah wanted to be here, but he doesn't want to make it worse for you. When you're feeling better, even if that's later tomorrow, give him a call. He's worried."

Elizabeth nodded. "Can. . . just text. . . I'm okay?"

"Of course doll." James said, reaching over to grab her phone. "Password?"

"108158." She mumbled, before shoving more ice-cream into her mouth. "Good. Thanks, Loki."

"You're welcome princess." Loki whispered softly.

After a moment, she set the ice-cream aside, and then snuggled into Loki's body, grabbing James' hand to put it back on her forehead.

She fell asleep easily and Bucky sighed, "She actually is hot."

"I've always thought that." Loki said slyly and Bucky shook his head in amusement.

It was quiet and peaceful for about twenty minutes or so, when Elizabeth whimpered suddenly.

"Well she wasn't sleeping long." Loki muttered as she stirred.

Elizabeth struggled out of their arms, rushing to the bathroom.

"Doll." Bucky yelped, hurrying behind her and gathering her hair up as she started to throw up into the toilet.

They waited patiently as she continued to throw up everything in her stomach, before retching several times as her stomach was empty, her entire body shuddering in his arms. Finally, she just collapsed in Bucky's arms.

"Don't feel good." She muttered.

"Yeah, I can see that doll." Bucky whispered softly, gently picking her up in his arms. He hesitated, knowing that she couldn't have medicine because it didn't react well with her body. He set her back down on the bed and looked at Loki, "Do we have crackers?"

"I'll go look." Loki slipped off the bed and said, "Get her water," Before walking out the door.

"Drink this doll." He said, propping her up and giving her the water. She drank a little, continuing to try and put the glass down, but he wouldn't let her until she drained the entire thing. "Good girl."

She only hummed, her eyes closed and she turned into him a little.

Loki came back with some crackers, which she ate, before falling asleep again. He put a pan down by the bedside table. "Let's just keep an eye on her fluids for now. The sugar in the ice-cream probably didn't help her stomach. I don't really know what Midgardians do for sickness other than soup, which being hot, won't help her."

Bucky nodded. "She probably just got some sort of small flu. Plus, it's the first time she's ever been somewhere extremely hot. She's just getting used to it."

"Exactly." Loki said softly, laying down. Bucky smiled as Loki snuggled into both of them and he wrapped his flesh arm around Loki, keeping his metal arm on Elizabeth's forehead and watched both of them drift off to sleep.

❓🪷 𝕡๏𝓥 Ｃ𝓗𝓪𝓃ǤẸ 🍥❔

"That was amazing." Clint moaned, pushing back on his chair as everyone finished off the fish that Elijah and Trang had cooked together.

"Indeed!" Thor said, kicked back with a beer.

"We saved some for Bucky and Loki right?" Penny asked in concern.

"Of course." Steve nodded.

"Nah." Violetta said, smirking. "You snooze you lose and that was amazing fish."

Steve rolled his eyes and pointed to the pan that still contained plenty of fish for Bucky and Loki.

The only other people missing from the dinner table besides Loki, Bucky, and Elizabeth were Stephen and Katya.

"Do we have dessert?" Clint asked excitedly.

Natasha and Trang laughed at him while Ghaida nodded, getting up from her seat. "I made something a little different tonight, um, from my home country. It's called Rasgulla. It's basically a ball of Indian cottage cheese and cooked in sugar syrup. I also made Thekua, which is a kind of cookie. And of course, for the cowardly people, I made chocolate chip cookies."

"Yep, well I'm a coward then." Rhodey chuckled, picking up one of the chocolate chip cookies without any shame.

Ghaida giggled, "More for me then."

Penny took one of the Thekua cookies and also a chocolate chip one. She liked the taste of the Thekua cookie. It seemed like it might have coconut in it and some sort of small seed for flavor. Chocolate chip of course, would also remain her favorite however.

"You're going to have to make me more of these." Bruce told Ghaida as he ate the Rasgulla. He blushed then and said, "O-or just teach me how to make my own, of course."

Tony snickered, clapping Bruce on the back, "Let her make them for you. Then you won't burn the kitchen down."

Ghaida laughed, "Of course Bruce, I would love to teach you how to make them. Besides, they're simple so it's not that hard to make them every day if you wanted. Besides, what else would I do?"

"I- um thanks." Bruce blushed again.

"Okay, um, can I talk to you guys about something serious?" Clint asked, suddenly sounding worried.

"Sure." Tony frowned.

Clint bit his bottom lip and then said, "I'm worried about Katya. I mean, the kid inside of her doesn't really know animals, right? And right now, it's been birds and chipmunks and squirrels. That's scary enough but what if. . . I mean is it possible for the kid to transform into an elephant or something? I mean-" Clint looked at Steve apologetically. "I would never want her to have an abortion under normal circumstances but we're talking about Katya's life here. . ."

Steve hesitated and then nodded, "I understand. And it's. . . with Sharon she was my kid. And yes, of course I would view Katya's kid as my own as well, but it is just a little different." Steve glanced at Ghaida, "Is there danger?"

"No." Ghaida shook her head, not looking worried. "The baby inside of her has a unique connection. He can actually feel the space around him and know that one, he is in something living and to become to big would hurt whatever he is in, and two, can tell that he is in someone he already loves. At the same time, he can't stop changing, it's part of him. But he can limit it. Katya will be in no danger at any time of her pregnancy. The only thing is this slight pain she is having from him transforming so much, but being with Stephen and Loki so much has definitely helped her immensely."

Clint relaxed in the chair, covering his face with his hands, "Thank God. I've been so worried. I didn't want to ask because I didn't want to know the answer. I was so scared."

Natasha wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey man, it's okay." Sam said softly.

Clint let out a shuddering breath and sat back up a little. "Sorry."

"You're all good man." Rhodey said.

Clint laughed then in relief as well and nodded, "Good food Ghaida."

She laughed then and the entire atmosphere relaxed.

"Bleh." Elijah suddenly wrinkled his nose, looking disgusted by something.

"You better not be making that face because of my food Elijah." Ghaida warned him, picking up a wooden spoon.

Elijah shook his head, glancing up at the ceiling. "No, she just um, threw up." Elijah shrugged, though he looked worried.

Loki came down only a few seconds later. "We have crackers, right?"

"Yeah." Pietro handed him a box of crackers he went and got from the pantry. "Is Princessa okay?"

"It's just a killer headache and some stomach pains." Loki said. "Nothing major." He made a faux sad face, "She prefers Bucky over me though. That damn metal hand."

Tony and Steve both laughed at that.

"You'll win her over darling." Tony winked.

"Get your own metal hand." Sam chortled.

"Hmm." Loki said thoughtfully. "Perhaps. Ooh, Thekua, don't mind if I do." He scooped up the rest of the cookies and ran with them.

"Oi!" Clint shouted after him but he was gone.

Tony chuckled again. "Well, what do you guys say we head off to the movie theater?"

"You have a movie theater here?" Violetta laughed. "Why am I not surprised."

Tony feigned being hurt, "What's wrong with a movie theater?"

"Oh you know." Vi continued to smirk, "Just a gorgeous island to explore and you put a movie theater in the house."

"Rainy days." Tony argued.

Violetta paused and then said, "Well, fair point."

"What do you guys want to watch?" Rhodey asked, standing up from the table while Steve and Bruce started to stack the plates together and Wanda filled up the sink with soapy water.

"Blazing saddles!" Sam shouted immediately. "I want to watch Blazing saddles."

Tony stared at him, "Umm. . . you do?"

Penny looked at Tony, "What's wrong with Blazing saddles?"

"What is Blazing saddles?" Steve asked, looking confused.

Tony pointed his finger between Sam and Penny, apparently unable to say anything. Rhodey crossed his arms, starting to grin, "Yeah Tony. What's wrong with Blazing saddles?"

"I- um- Blazing saddles it is!" Tony yelped, getting out of his chair, his arm around Trang's waist.

Penny giggled, grabbing Sam and Rhodey's arms. "You guys like Blazing saddles?"

"Favorite movie." Sam said and then shouted upwards so Tony would hear him, "Some people need to stop being so sensitive. Especially when they ain't black!"

Penny giggled and Rhodey chuckled at that. Tony flipped Sam the bird, but didn't turn around.

Penny curled up with Bruce and Wanda as she watched the movie. She loved as almost every minute into the movie, Steve continued to show a horrified expression on his face. Sam was consistently teasing Steve as well, whispering stuff in his ear that made Steve blush deeper.

"Best movie!" Sam crowed after it was over.

"How is that movie legal?" Violetta muttered.

"You know I only hear white people complaining." Rhodey chuckled, "The black people in the room love it."

"You're weird." Tony shook his head, kissing Rhodey on the cheek. "But that's okay."

"I just love it because you all get awkward." Sam snickered.

"You know I think Elizabeth actually likes the movie too, now that I think about it." Trang said, getting up and stretching.

"That's why she's my favorite." Sam and Rhodey said together before laughing and high-fiving each other.

"And my best friend." Penny giggled.

Natasha and Violetta both pouted at Penny while Wanda giggled as well.

"So it's decided, I'm going to bed with those two." Sam chuckled, pointing at Penny and Rhodey.

"Mmm." Steve said, before picking Sam up at the knees, putting him over his shoulder, carrying him off, "Penny you can follow!" Steve called over his shoulder.

Penny giggled, kissing Wanda and Bruce, then Nat, Vi, and Rhodey, blowing kisses to the others, running to catch up.

"Steve." Sam whined, playfully beating his fists lightly on Steve's back. "This is abuse!"

Steve chuckled, tossing open the door that led to his bedroom, plopping Sam down on the bed. He beckoned to Penny, who quickly joined them on the bed.

"Strip." Steve ordered.

"Yes. . . Master." Sam teased, slowly lifting his shirt over his head while Steve flushed terribly, freezing a little.

"I- wait-" Steve stuttered. "I didn't-"

"Aww." Penny pouted. "Sammy you broke him."

Sam pressed kisses to Steve's neck. "Stevie, come back to me."

"Sorry." Steve blushed, "I. . . isn't. . . you can't call me master Sam."

Sam pouted. Penny gently cupped Steve's face. "Sorry Steve. We were just playing around. We didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Steve kissed her palm and said, "It's okay cookie. I thought. . . I thought we can't make jokes like that."

"You can't make jokes like that with sensitive people." Sam corrected, cupping Steve's other cheek. "But Stevie, we don't care. We make jokes about ourselves. You want to play around, we're game. You don't, we won't make you uncomfortable. We'll just keep that attitude with Rhodey. Promise."

Steve nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

Penny kissed his forehead. "You still in a fuckable mood?"

Steve's eyes darkened, "Oh Cookie. . . "

"Let us take care of you." Sam whispered in his ear and Penny went ahead, caressing Steves' thick thighs so that she could pull his boxers down, getting his erection in hand so she could start to tease his tip.

"But-"

"Let us take care of you tonight." Sam whispered softly, pushing Steve all the way back onto the bed. He started to kiss down Steve's chest, scraping his teeth against his skin while Penny deepthroated his cock.

Steve moaned, panting as the two of them worked him up. Penny dipped her hand down, rubbing her own clit as she worked him so that she would be ready to plop herself down on him as he got ready to blow.

Sam pulled Steve's nipples between his teeth and Steve was panting now, almost writhing underneath them.

"Oh- ngh- Pen- going-" Steve stuttered out. Penny pulled off of him with her mouth and felt a little bad as he whimpered in loss. She quickly straddled him, sinking down on his cock easily and loved his ecstatic moan.

Penny leaned over as she rocked on Steve's cock, taking Sams' into her mouth. Sam breathed in deeply, his breath stuttering in his throat.

"Oh fuck." Steve whimpered, "Fuck Penny, please, I'm so close."

"Cum Sugar." Sam murmured, nibbling at Steve's earlobe, gently bucking his hips so that his dick touched the back of Penny's throat. She quickly took more of him down her throat, mewling in pleasure as Steve's hands held her down completely on him, him spurting up into her. His eyes looked so dazed, but his fingers still came down to tease her clit until she came with him, Sam spilling into her mouth.

Penny went to the bathroom this time, grabbing the washcloth for the first time to clean Steve up.

"My job cookie." Steve murmured, pushing himself up to rest his back against the headboard, gently taking the washcloth from her.

"Not tonight." Sam took the washcloth from Steve, gently cleaning the three of them up before tossing the cloth back into the bathroom. "We love you Steve."

"Yep." Penny agreed as the two of them snuggled next to him on either side of him.

Steve smiled a little, wrapping his arms around each of them, closing his eyes, "What did I do to deserve you guys?"

Sam chuckled. "We're the lucky ones."

"I agree." Penny said softly, stroking Steve's cheek. "I love you dreamboat."

"I love you too cookie." Steve said, blinking back tears and the three of them fell asleep. 

[helloescapist]

For my request, can you write a oneshot featuring Rock Lock, his wife and a reader practicing bondage and chastity please? In the fic, the wife suggests that they try a bondage session to spice up their love life with RL reluctantly accepting. They'd be introduced to the reader who's a bondage instructor and teaches the wife how to tie up and gag Rock Lock. You can decide on how RL would be tied along with the intimate scenes between them (and the reader). But I'd like Rock to have a large cloth gag to cover his mouth and his cock locked in chastity. What do you think?

Ah, I still think this is an adorable ask, and a great opportunity to spice up married life--- but I went rogue. I don't know why I'm like this. I hope this ask meets all of your expectations, and you're not disappointed. 🖤

To Reconnect | Rock Lock

Word Count: 2500

Setting: Rock Lock x wife x gn!reader (reader is a sex therapist)

Content Warning(s): smut, sex therapist, shibari knots, cloth gag, male chastity, teasing foreplay, voyeurism, threesome, oral (wife receiving), I think this is all--- sorry if I missed anything!

Summary: the Takagis need some assistance with reconnecting-- married life, a new baby, and a world full of villians. Will Rock Lock be able to let go, and just enjoy an intimate moment with his wife?

A/N: Well, Mrs. Takagi has never been given a name as far as I know, so we have just given her the name Saki for the s ake of this fic (forgive me!). Also, guys, just to be clear, this is fiction. If you see a sexual therapist's guidance, know that they will NOT be snogging. They are strickly professionals, and their job title is not consent.

The soft flutter of your hands that floated above his head, the graze of your fingers as they worked effortlessly on the knot before you. The slip of red cord fresh from its packaging caught between well practiced hands.  The praise of soft, plush lips as they divulged instructions, your guidance soft and informative as his wife attempted the same motion. Saki’s own fingers a little shaken, and unpracticed to the motion, the exact opposite of your own. Well-practiced in a way that left Takagi perplexed. A nervous knot of anxiety and excitement that blossomed into his throat at the unfamiliar territory, soothed into his bones at the gentle way your voice met his ears. Offered reassurance of his state, a chilled condition of exposed. Umber tones of mocha revealed the chill of goosebumps that nipped at his flesh. Muscles that strained, stripped of his clothing, bound his arms and legs, leaving little to the imagination nor room to hide beneath your understanding gaze, one that had caught him exposed so many times before.

                Those times had been different. Pen pressed between the lining of a soft notebook. Gentle music that offered to calm his agitation as his eyes flittered across the room. Well intended plants placed at calculated images, plush carpets and welcoming furniture in an office that alluded intimate lighting. Dulled his senses, and attempted to sooth the fray end of his nerves. The lean of his wife against his arm, shy in the way she refused to meet your eyes. Saki had been the one to suggest this, though it had not changed the small stutter when she answered your questions. The small smile of understanding that blossomed at your lips as you met her gaze, reassuring. Welcomed Saki to divulged secrets of his marital bedroom, of dynamics that had shifted when their little one had been born, and the affects it had had on their sex life. Unreactive to the line of his work, the stress of his career as a pro-hero, how Rock Lock had impacted his own mental status. Your accepting smile untouched session after session in which confidential had been spilled, slipped frustrations of control, and anxiety. A stress that had bundled into his existence, anxieties of what was to come, of the world he had chosen to raise a child in, how desperately he craved the sanctity of his marriage though he shuttered from her touch.

                No, the times in which you had offered reassurance had been different. Cool lighting exchanged for warm glows of lighting that hung overhead. Soft ambience of candles, of a bed wrapped in silk bedding. Pillows that were sot and inviting, tones of wood, and small plants, and mirrors that reflected his exposure. The position of a love seat placed before the bed in which you had guided Saki to dig her knees into. The kiss of ivory skin, blossomed pink buds that gave to the nervous plush of her shoulders revealing the shyness of her gaze. Waves of ocean that flickered deep longing, as evident as the blush on her cheeks. The tug of his large lips appraised by the sight of his wife; adoring how her blush captivated her cheeks, trailed down her neck and blossomed at her breast. The jingle of a key pressed between her breast, proof she alone contained the means of his arousal. The shy roll of her shoulders pressed into her cheek, squeezing her breast in nervousness as her finger twirled the curls that caught at her exposed clavicle. Tenderly peeking at him, as your hands found her back, gently urging her forward. Reassuring and firm, ensuring Saki reminded that this had been everything Ken asked for. The strain of his placid cock caught in the chastity. The soft silicone pressed against the tip of his penis only whispering how Saki had bit her lips at the small ticking it had produced when she had followed your guidance, captured his length, and secured between her soft fingers. Delicate and affectionate, warmed by the tender words you had guided her with, while also reminding Saki to offer praise for his vulnerability. The press of the toy already betraying his desires, unwavering in its duty.

                How you leaned over her, your hand fitting the small of her back as you tucked a soft white fabric into Saki’s hands. Guided her to his side, Saki’s shaking fingers pressed to his face, the warm of his deep hickory eyes caught against her own. As rough of the mountains that met the sea, crashed into waves that longed to touch, to accept the terrain and give life to one another, breathed in desperation as the cloth pressed to his mouth. Gauged and enduring warm whispers of praise that you provided. Saki once again taking place at the foot of the bed, your hand caught at the small of her back as you pressed the young woman onto all fours. Completing her form, fingers that traced along his wife, your eyes caught onto his own, as you pressed her forward. The tease of his lover caught at his feet. The overwhelming pull of sensations he would so often ignore at the height of his erection now teased every sense. Her hands warm as your own. Your fingers that traced the inner working of his calves, encouraged Saki to follow the same motion. Traced over muscles, caught on old scars he had earned from villains. Cooed affections, rubbed at the height of his thighs as Saki placed kiss after kiss against the height of his thighs. Near horrified by the way his gasps caught against the silk cloth. Unable to deny the small wiggle that his extremities provided against the red shibari knots that secured him in place. The desire that spread from the gaze of the younger blonde woman.  How lovingly she traced his muscles, poured her fingers into each motion as she grazed the touch of his hips. Drew cutesy little hearts into the taunt of his flesh, his own moans stifled at the caught of a cloth, the warm gaze you caught him in. Shuffled between praises of his wife, and the noticeable rock of your own hips whispering deeply buried desires. The strain of your clothes despite how exposed the marital couple before you had been in your instruction. Leaned forward, as your nail caught a sensitive ending on his hip bone, drawing Saki’s attention to the neglected area. “A small bite, right here,” you purred. Quickly answered as Saki’s teeth grazed against him, the murmur of Takagi’s shattered nerves succumbed to the doting you guided the couple through. The quiver of his arms, unable to do nothing more than subject himself to Saki’s will under your instruction. The sweet torture of watching your hands fitted to Saki’s hips straddled against his core. Denied by the chastity that confined him, as you gently attended to her position. Securing her exposed heat to the toy that captivated him, steered her hips in a rocking motion that budded her clit against the shaft of his placid dick. Warmed by her heat, and cooed in ways that revealed the drip of her cunt against him. Excited, and overwhelmed at the kisses that rolled onto his clavicle caught at his neck, and your hands forcing her to remain in place rocked against his neglected manhood that left Rock Lock humming desperations. The shy moans of his wife long gone as she cried for his touch, begged to feel the distinct knick of his notched fingers. Soothed only by the delicate press of your weight onto the bed. Your fingers quick to ease her frustrations as the flitted to her clit. Teasing circles that reassured Saki that denial of his state would pay off for the both of them, she need only be patient. Tended to by the warm flick of your gaze that caught on the buds of Saki’s breast heaved in ecstasy. The ache of his senses savoring the flow of her your fingers pressed against his wife’s clitoris. Rubbed raw and stimulated against the catch of the toy that bound him. The knots rubbed into him with each of her teasing grind, one hand caught on her hip. Desperately seeking release, cooed affections to the broad of his chest, grazed her teeth against his neck. Your gentle gaze warm and enjoying the pull of Saki between your fingers as she worshiped her husband. Takagi’s groans becoming more audible, and no longer contained by the cloth at the kiss of Saki’s lips against his temple.

                “K-Ken,” she purred in his ear, the small yank of his hand. Denied by the binds that had him. Desperate to tuck her hair behind her ear. The imploring begging look as the blue eyes peeked over her shoulder at you. Permission, struggling to accept she alone contained the key to his release. A knowing smile that caught at the curls that fell against her back, allowing a quiet nod. Eager and fumbling for key between her breast, playful, and unable to deny the way your hands found her erect nipples, toying with them, challenging her desires before allowing one hand to find the warmth of her clit, the strain of Rock Lock’s hip revealing his own desperation. Eager to reconnect after so long, the smile you allowed yourself to relinquish your hold on the eager young bride, chided yourself for allowing your fingers to wander on a client. Y-you had only intervened when they needed assistance, swallowing the lump of need and the heat of your own desires as you crawled off the bed. To reconnect as husband and wife.

                Oblivious to the knots that had come loose in your distracting thoughts. Unaware of the shift of the bed, the weight below you leaned far more than expected. The press of a hand against your back, pinioning you to the bed with a simple touch. The flurry of your heart as the voice met your ears. Warm and enticing as it met your neck. Hissed teasing desires, revealing your own. The delicate touch of a woman that fitted against your hips, as Ken’s words drew you into his lap. “Do you really want to leave?” Aware of the code, and the contract everyone had signed before engaging. The heat of your face against his hold, Saki’s finger’s grazing across your own as the tenderness of her touch grazed across your cheek, traced your jawline as you had demonstrated on her husband. The lump at the base of your throat, offering only a nod. Tempted to remind them of your position—your occupation was to merely guide—“your body disagrees.” Strummed at the flick of finger against your core. The horror of your state, of your duties dismissed so quickly. Tickled and warmed, as you cooed against their touch.

                Saki had learned so well under your instruction, as she had proven. Eager to practice her new skills as her husband bound you to the firm press of his body. His hold as effective as any shibari knot, gentle as the graze of his callous, notched fingers. Warm as the breath that huffed against your neck. The growth of his reaction growing more, evident pressed into your back as his eyes followed the eager gaze of his wife. Her form crawled against you. Kisses that trained along your thighs, nipped lightly at the height of your thighs. Toyed with the dip of your hips, and trailed up to warm breaths that hung on the collar of your shirt. Mrs. Takagi’s eyes momentarily pausing to appraise that of your state, and meet with the consent of her husband. The smile of her desire as she made quick of your clothes, affirmed of how desperately you longed for her touch. The press of Rock Lock’s erection warmed at the tip of your back. Practically weeping at the sight before him. The slip of your façade discarded with your work attire, revealed to the married couple. Teased at the touch of their guide, a loss of control between the two of them. Ken quick to guide you to you into Saki’s breast. Her coos warmed against the touch of her nipples, toyed with her breast. Hummed pleasure, and caught Ken’s groan. The strain of his erection, freed from any restraint. The girth that warmed the press of your ass as he guided you forward. Cushioned on your knees, your face buried into the press of Saki. The slick of her heat warm and sweet scent that met with your face at her eager buck. The slight tint of salt warm against your tongue as though the ocean itself were calling your name, and welcoming you to its waves. The lap of your tongue, and her fingers that grazed through your hair. The buck of her hips eager as they met at your tongue. Quivered her shoulders, a sight you could not delight in, far too distracted at the callous knotches that met at your hips. Spread your legs gently with minimal prompting, far too quick to give in to his demands. The scent of mountains that met the forest in his movements that met as his fingers delicately tempted your hole. The groan of your pleasure touched, eliciting a purr that vibrated Saki’s clit. Hummed her joy, and pleasure. Rock Lock making quick work of the press of your hole, taunt and pulsing. Offering only a moment for you to adjust to his girth before sliding his length languidly in a stroke that captivated your senses. The rack of his thrust into your greedy heat, pressed against the buck of Mrs. Takagi’s hips that cried out for your tongue. Shoved the tip of your nose against her clit, tongued circles toying, and desperate. Your form caught between the mountains and the sea, desperately riding the rock of the waves, and the touch of the shore. The stroke of his length, rammed your hole against the length of his shaft. The purr of Saki’s pleasure, the lap of your tongue, met at the bob of his dick deep inside of you. Filled to the brim, bursting at the hilt of his shaft. A desperate cry, muffled against Mrs. Takagi’s cunt. Warm and leaking, taunt muscles that quivered with each thrust. Moans that rattled breasts, and heaved the final heave of ecstasy between the Takagis. Leaving you breathless, and curled into their breast.

 A dazed state in which you could only offer reminders of the importance of aftercare on their marriage as you struggled to regain your composure, rushed to secure the buttons of your collar. Horrified at how you had allowed yourself to be swept away by clients, shamed by the state of your quivering muscles. Escape in touch, the feel of the secure doorknob between your fingers, before the couple dared to book the next session far sooner than expected.

                Or how your greed betrayed the press of your knees, “I look forward to it.”

[vsagis]

While game theory itself is often misidentified or mistaken with similarly named game studies, the term the prisoner's dilemma does make a lightbulb go off in many's heads. The only more recognizable thought experiment would be the trolley problem, but that's mixing mathematics with psychology.

Not that these aren't connected, as everyone is about to be reminded.

It seems the villain's mind is already engaged with an idea borne seconds into the future. "Anywhere's fine," the man says as he waves his hand towards nothing in particular, his feet carrying him to the side, where an empty chair stands. Assuming that he's planning to do something with it would be correct, because soon Izuku's pushing it to the middle of the room and, once that's done, steps aside as if offering the captive a seat. What a kind host you are, Usagi, a more outspoken man could say to that.

Izuku doesn't mind the ones that bite, and he would laugh. It's much more interesting this way. Maybe some other day.

Once this toothless dog is pushed onto the chair, Izuku approaches again and squats in front of the other man with a glimmer in his eye that has never spelled fortune. "All right," he hums, arms close to his body in a spurious promise of nonviolence. "I'm gonna level with you here, pal. You fucked up." Nothing new so far, but it does sound out of character for somebody like him, falling back on words interwoven by not a single threat.

As it turns out, stating a fact too carries just enough weight. The hero's eyes widen when he connects the dots and everything hidden in between, and his mouth parts, ready to promise everything and anything that could grant him safety. It's Izuku's finger raised that makes the other man shut his mouth; it comes paired with a firm but quiet "Not yet."

"Don't get too sad on me now," the villain coos as a smile creeps up onto his lips, "We didn't kill everyone."

If Izuku's calculated everything right, which he usually does, the scout-hero should be coming to. Not the best way to wake up, tightly bound and gagged with a glove, but there's definitely room for worse.

"I'm about to give you an offer, and then I'm going to tell your invisible friend the exact same thing. A pretty annoying guy, by the way," he throws in. "Anyway. There's two options for you here: you either talk or not. There's two outcomes too: you either leave or not." And now for that magical amalgamate of sciences... "You know where I'm going with this?"

Most of the time this is all it takes. No need to paint out the whole picture. And still...

"I'll tell you anyway. Equal opportunity, right?" Izuku pauses, head tilting to the side in a birdlike manner as he observes the hero. "If neither of you talks, nobody gets to leave. If you talk and your friend doesn't, you get to leave, and he doesn't. If both of you talk, however, you might leave, but probably not unaided." And this is how the thing works: each agent gets a higher reward for betraying the other. If Dumb Suit keeps his mouth shut, Invisible Guy should talk. If Dumb Suit talks, so should Invisible Guy, because bruises and broken bones are better than death, and the same reasoning goes the other way around.

What neither may realize is that Izuku's never said he's, too, going to play by these rules.

"So what do you say?"

"Please," (Wrong answer), the hero shakes his head. "We don't have to do this. I could keep you safe," he keeps talking, spitting out words like a machine gun, afraid that if he stops, he will never be allowed to speak again. "Just let us go, and I promise I'll make sure Usagi doesn't retaliate. I can—" But the man's promises are met with a laugh and a shake of the villain's head.

"Nah, I don't think so. Hard to exact revenge on myself," Izuku then says and turns to look at Seph over his shoulder. "What do you think? Should we give him a moment and talk to the other one now?"

PERSEPHONE IS SILENT as they follow behind midoriya with the hero slung over her shoulder. if there's one good thing about having a six-foot-four bodyguard hanging around, it's that they can carry a lot of shit for you — bodies included. this particular situation is not out of the ordinary for seph; it's a role she takes on for fletch often, though usually, hector is the one who extracts information for them.

"extracting information" usually means torture.

she can't imagine what else might be happening here, though who knows? midoriya's a pretty smooth talker — perhaps he'll just interrogate them and kill them nicely. all things considered, he could have treated her much worse than yanking her to the floor by her hair for talking back to him. perhaps he'll surprise her. perhaps he won't.

just six months; that's all they've got to survive here. six months until they can fall back into their comfortable, terrible, numb life. hey — maybe she'll get lucky and adeo will come back in that timeframe, give her the opportunity to go out in flames before they even have to finish the stupid contract.

it's not long before seph is ghosting past izuku into whatever he calls an interrogation room and hefting the wriggling body into her arms. in the end, true to pattern, they picked the soft-looking one to keep alive. the guy looks like he could have gone to UA. his eyes are wide, doelike in their fear, and his costume is incredibly stupid. he's in over his head, but they don't get the sense that he's ready to give up his life for hero secrets. he'll talk.

❝ where should i put this clown? ❞ they ask over the sound of muffled protests. when he wriggles a bit too hard, tries to kick his fastened legs, a look of irritation flashes across her face and she fixes him with a glare that could cut glass.

that's all he needs to settle down.

[chateautae]

maybe i do | kth. I

➵ summary :  maybe you love each other, maybe you don’t. when a deal between your fathers leaves you forcefully wedding kim taehyung, arguably seoul’s most powerful CEO, you’re prepared for a loveless marriage of eternal regret and unhappiness. but maybe, it doesn’t turn out that way after all.

↳  part of the high-class series!

➵ pairing : taehyung x reader

➵ genre :  arranged marriage!au, ceo!tae, s2l!au, eventual smut, fluff, angst 

➵ rating : 18+

➵ word count : 11k

➵ warnings : swearing, alcohol consumption, anxiety, lots of feels about marriage, a stupid ex (reader’s), mentions of bad sexual experiences with ex (there’s consent, just bad sex that makes the reader feel shitty), does ceo tae count as a warning? 

➵ a/n: hello my first fic of my favourite trope arranged marriage, AND with kim taehyung?? yes pls !! this will be a series and I’ll be actively working on it so you don’t have to wait too long for chapters, i hope you can follow this series with me <33

chapter one : “my forever’s falling down”  

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“Another one, Father? I thought I told you my secretary would be handling marriage profiles from now on. Stop concerning yourself with who I marry.” 

“But I do, son. Trust me, I know this girl, she’s the daughter of a trusted friend and I think she’s a good match.” 

“Father, everyone you choose for me I dislike and it’s distracting me from my work. I don’t need this right now.” 

“She’s different, Taehyung. I personally know her and I’m certain you won’t say no.” 

“And why is that?” 

“There’s something about her you won’t refuse, son, you’ll notice it when you meet her.” 

“I don’t want to meet her, Father. Like I said, I need to work.” 

“I just knew you’d act this way. Want to know something, son? I’ve made her part of a business deal, you can’t back out of this.”

“What? You made her part of a business deal?! Why would you-”

“Because you wouldn’t have given her a chance otherwise, you haven’t been giving anyone a chance since I’ve been setting up potential partners for you and I’m sick of it. You said you were open to an arranged marriage, where’s that attitude now?”

“Because, Father, I have a company to run and that’s-”

“No. I will not allow you to reduce your life to just this company. There are far more enjoyable things in life than a business.”

“But Father-”

“No, Taehyung. One thing you need to learn is balance. If you don’t give anyone or anything a chance you will live a lonely life behind your desk. Even in this cutthroat world of business where you can lose money or be betrayed by anyone at any moment, the most painful thing to suffer is loneliness, and I won’t let you live in this world alone.”

“Dad-”

“You will meet this girl, Taehyung, end of discussion.” 

“Dad! I told you I want nothing to do with your company, how could you let me get dragged into this?!” 

“Y/N-ie, I know you value the life you have without any of my help, but let me help just this once, especially with finding a husband. I’m being offered the deal of a lifetime and I can’t refuse, he just happens to be part of it. I need this for the company, please.”

“But Dad, I don’t even know him. And if he’s the CEO of some rich company he’s probably an asshole, I’m not doing this.” 

“Y/N-ie, trust me, I know his son. He’s a sincere, hard-working man, I promise.”

“Yeah, right. Even if that’s the case, I still don’t know him, let alone love him, Dad. How can you make me marry someone I don’t love?”

“Because you can learn to love him. There are no rules concerning the way two people should fall in love, love doesn’t always need to come first.”

“But Dad-”

“My daughter, I have not asked you for many things in my life, but this is one thing I must ask of you. Please, just meet him, don’t say no without even trying.”

“Dad, I don’t know-”

“Please, Y.N, do it for me. If not for the company or money, please do it for me.”

And here you were, fidgeting with the tips of your nails, tuning in and out of the present world and overthinking every aspect of your life that somehow lead you to this moment. Sitting on a Leather Italia couch in what was described to be Mr. Kim’s study; listening to your father’s incessant, albeit wholesome chatter next to you with your future in-laws across. 

And next to them was their suave, unreadable son sitting in a relaxed manner, flipping his attention between your fathers’ conversation and anything else in the room.

You on the other hand, were utterly high strung due to the fact that your father failed to mention your future fiancé’s identity until 30 minutes before arriving here, having done a quick search in the car to unveil who he exactly was.

And that’s when it hit you. You weren’t marrying just anyone, you were getting married to Kim Taehyung. The infamous CEO of Kim Enterprises—Korea’s largest software development and manufacturing company, rivaling to be one of the largest in the world. He was part of Seoul’s most prestigious circle of businessmen, having made multiple Forbes international lists of Most Successful, Youngest, Richest, and is even one of Korea’s most eligible bachelors, not just Seoul.

If this wasn’t already taking you out, then it was definitely the fact that his photos through a measly Google search did him absolutely, utterly and completely no justice. They simply could never capture the truth of just how handsome Kim Taehyung was in real life. You couldn’t deny it, he wasn’t just good-looking, he was stunning, gorgeous, seemed as though God had created the universe, heaven and hell in 6 days and left the 7th just to create him. 

He was like a work of art, worthy of being placed in the finest of museums and left untouched, unsodden by the ugliness of humanity. It made you feel extremely inferior to him in an instant. It was sickening, he was sickening, intoxicating, and quite frankly, intimidating.

It was his look, his undivided stare when he eventually settled his sight on you. It didn’t matter his dark hair that landed and perfectly curled above his eyes, the way he occasionally licked his plush lips or how his long, tall legs spread out before him, it was his look that made you want to turn tail and run.  

It seemed to reach into your soul, peer straight through whatever façade, walls or defense mechanisms you could spend years building only to have his simple look tear it down in minutes. He was alluring, captivating, left you wanting to cower into whatever hole you could dig yourself into or discover all the secrets he hid behind those enchanting eyes.

Kim Taehyung was many things you couldn’t quite wrap your head around, though you assessed your priorities and decided they didn’t just include him, but mainly the significance of the current meeting taking place right now. 

It wasn’t a mere one-time business deal to discuss a project, it was a meeting that entailed the partnership of both your family companies and would define the next however many years of your life. More specifically, spending it with the exact same man that looked at you without a single readable expression on his face. 

You distracted yourself by trying to observe as many useless things as you could, flitting around the room many times before suddenly glancing at Taehyung’s index finger coming up to rest against his lips.

You zeroed your vision in more. 

Is that a cut on his finger?

“Jae-in, of course! This is just as important to me as it is to you, your son is a remarkable CEO, and I’m sure he’ll make an amazing husband.” 

“Aish, Namhyun, you flatter me too much. My son may be handsome, though your daughter is even more beautiful. I’m very sure she will make a wonderful wife.”

“Yes, Namhyun, your daughter is absolutely gorgeous! Just as gorgeous as her mother. I know she wasn’t able to make it, though may I ask where your wife is tonight?” 

“Ah, unfortunately, she’s out of the country. Though I was hoping my presence would be enough to fill in for her, am I doing a bad job?” 

Laughter erupted from the parents in the room, meanwhile, Taehyung couldn’t help but notice the way you immediately winced at the mention of your mother. Something he definitely wouldn’t miss with the way he found himself examining your every move. 

It was habitual to him, something born out of his roots in business, only for the purpose of calculating and reading people like an open book. 

He knew you’d also become victim to that habit, though oddly enough, he found himself quite interested in observing you. He had already figured you out; you hated business, there was a clear disconnection between yourself and your father’s company and you reeked of a sense of independence that funnily contradicted the antsy way you bounced your leg. 

Your way of speech, however, mannerisms, gestures, your look; it was all professional enough you clearly have some sort of background in business. You seemed like an heiress to Taehyung, which you were, though you oddly had no interest in business?   

All these details piqued his interest, curious of just who you exactly were, but he was mainly intrigued by the mysterious claim his father made upon mentioning you for the first time. 

‘There’s something about her you won’t refuse.’

That had raked Taehyung’s brain consistently for the past hour now, crossing his legs loosely and his arms folded over his chest, contemplating over and over again as he looked at you, what’s so damn special about her? 

‘You’ll notice it when you meet her,’ the words rang in his ears.

That was the driving force behind his calculation, observation, near inability to take his eyes off of you as he learned new things nearly every minute and led him closer to understanding his father.  

He could tell you were an anxious person, though hid it behind a persona of false confidence. You had a tendency to stick close to your father despite observing you don’t rely on him for much of anything, even less your mother. The softness behind your every movement despite being from a business background where you should be harsh, rigid, rough around the edges, and yet you seemed entirely different.

Taehyung then realized how inherently dissimilar you were to many of the other women he met. They were all relatively of the same cut and look. Cold, sharp, cunning. All women of pure business; daughters, granddaughters or straight CEOs of wealthy companies, simply interested in marriage as a deal or an advantage rather than a commitment. 

And there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. Taehyung was a man of business himself, married to his work, his home behind a desk and the company the only thought occupying his mind 24/7.

But with you, you were interesting, unlike the others and it made him curious.

Taehyung also couldn’t help but notice you were...pretty. You weren’t too overly sexy nor too innocent, you were pretty. There was an elegance to your looks, features like your hair and eyes complementing you as a whole, and he couldn’t miss that you felt oddly...warm.

Taehyung found himself beginning to understand his father’s original viewpoint, considering the possibility he could’ve been correct. 

You just seemed different. 

“Ah, that seems to be everything. Exact details about the wedding have already been put in place by us.”

“Yes! We’ve been waiting for our TaeTae to get married for so long. We’ve had plans for months now and we can finally move forward with them! You and Y/N don’t need to worry about anything!” 

“Mom, did you really just call me that in front of my future fiancé?” 

“Oh, let it go, son. It won't be long before she calls you that, too!” 

Taehyung could only playfully roll his eyes at his overly excited mother, you scrunching your nose at the embarrassment.

“That’s incredibly generous of you, Mr. and Mrs. Kim, though my conscience is not one to let such things go. My family should contribute to the wedding in some way. Y/N and I would be happy to do so.”

“Why don’t we discuss that outside? I believe we should give the future couple some time alone, shall we?” 

You and Taehyung exchanged a quick look before standing up and respectively addressing either’s parents, Taehyung shutting the door behind them once they exited and having turned to look at you, an awkward silence piercing the air. 

There it was again, his look. It was irrefutably the one reason you avoided eye contact with him, you felt he would swallow you up if you shared even 5 seconds between each other.

“So...” Taehyung suddenly broke the ice, eyeing you.

“So...” 

“Marriage, huh?” 

“Yeah, marriage. Never done that one before.” If there wasn’t a time you vehemently hated yourself, then it was undoubtedly now. You internally facepalmed at your dumb comment, adding a laugh at the end in embarrassment only to look away. 

“Uh..yeah.” Taehyung laughed awkwardly. “Me neither, if you didn’t already know.” He tucked his hands into his pockets and looked away, you fidgeting by the couches everyone previously occupied. 

A beat of silence passed as you both exchanged looks between objects in the room and each other, either of you pursing your lips or blowing light raspberries to cut the awkwardness. 

“I wanted to ask you something.” 

“Hm?” You turned towards him, lips just a pout as your doe-eyes awaited him. 

Taehyung didn’t miss that at all. 

“Um, your mother. I apologize if this is intrusive of me, though I couldn’t help but notice I’ve never actually met her. May I ask where she is?” 

You let out a dry chuckle before answering, another detail that didn’t slip Taehyung’s attention. “Trust me, Taehyung, one thing you’ll never have to worry about during this entire ordeal is my mother. She should be the last thing on your mind.” You assured him with what he could tell was your fakest smile, distracting him from the realization you’d said his name for the first time.

“Are you sure? I’ll be meeting her at the wedding so-”

“You won’t. I don’t think you will. Even if she does make it, it takes very little to impress her, just be yourself and she’ll love you.” You stated with a sense of finality, as though the topic should be dropped. 

“Be myself? I’m one of the best businessmen in Korea. It’s my job to get people to like me, easy stuff.” He casually gloated. 

“You don’t only have to be a businessman to do that,” you paused and looked at him, “you can just be Kim Taehyung, too.” You spoke nonchalantly, eyes lingering with his for longer than 5 seconds and he, in fact, had not swallowed you yet. 

Taehyung instantly furrowed his eyebrows, taken aback as if your suggestion was something outlandish, absurd, maybe even offending.

Nobody has ever said such a thing to him, not throughout the entirety of his life. 

Taehyung tried his best to recover, searching for another topic of conversation before he was cut off by your rather soft voice, he noticed. 

“Oh, I wanted to give you this.” You stepped towards him, reaching into your purse and retrieving something Taehyung couldn’t quite see. You strided over and extended your hand, Taehyung finding himself even more confused.

“A bandage?” 

“Mhm. For the cut on your finger. You should probably clean it and apply something before putting this on.” You stated nonchalantly once again, offering him a small smile whilst holding out the bandage. 

“Uh...” Taehyung started but couldn’t complete his sentence, lost on how you even observed something as small as his cut and spoke of treating it like it was an actual injury.  

After his struggle to form a sentence, you grew bold enough to gently remove his hand from his pocket and place the bandage in his palm, looking back up at him. You shared a momentary look with his chocolate eyes, instantly scrambling after realizing your hand was still in his.

He has really big hands. 

“We should um...probably go.” You avoided his eyes, stepping aside quickly to pull the door open.

Taehyung’s mind felt displaced, eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the fact that someone had actually left him with nothing to say, an extremely rare occurrence in his book.

He was even more displaced looking at the measly wrapper in his hand, then at the cut on the side of his finger, playing through the last 5 minutes of what just happened.

He scoffed to himself.

‘There’s something about her you won’t refuse.’

It had been 3 weeks since that meeting, not having seen Taehyung once as you wasted your time enjoying single life luxuries before you prepared for one of marriage.

It still felt odd to say such a thing, marriage, because it didn’t even feel like one, or a real one at that. It was forced, fake, a pressured one out of convenience. It felt more like a deal, something Taehyung and yourself had to settle for in order to keep your parents’ minds at ease.

That thought racked your brain all those 3 weeks; Taehyung had to settle for you, he didn’t choose you, just as much as you settled for him and didn’t choose him either. You both had ultimately agreed to the marriage only in an effort to optimize your parents’ happiness, not your own.

You had no clue how he felt, a mystery as much as the Bermuda Triangle, knowing he most certainly had a grand pick of women to choose from and you were most definitely his worst option.

You knew you were suddenly dumped on him, leaving him no choice in the matter as you learned your marriage entailed a beneficial business deal between your fathers’ companies, and Taehyung couldn’t really refuse you with so much on the line.

You had already felt inferior to Taehyung since the moment you met him, though your insecurities seeped further into the crevices of your doubtful mind the more you thought over that sad fact, contemplating a married life with him. In your opinion you were pretty much undesirable to him, Taehyung probably kicking himself knowing he had to unwillingly call you his wife for the rest of his life. 

You just knew you weren’t good enough for him, you would never measure up no matter how hard you’d try and that utterly terrified you. You were confident and independent when it came to yourself, though wedding a near perfect being regarded as one of Seoul’s finest in terms of a CEO and a man? 

Confidence be damned, this dude was intimidating. 

These were the feelings that swarmed your head as you sulked at your over-the-top engagement party, set up in a prestigious buildings’ gorgeous 37th floor riddled with baroque styling and embellishments, classical music gracing some of Seoul’s wealthiest patrons as their flutes clinked and snobby chatter filled the hall. 

It was all extremely high-status, reeking of upper class supremacy and quite frankly, it made you want to throw up.

You distracted yourself by bringing any and all types of alcohol to your lips, trying to focus on anything but your daunting thoughts.

The entire night you hadn’t talked to Taehyung, both of you having been too occupied with the numerous amounts of people meeting and congratulating you. This became a genuine nuisance as you’d mentioned before, this marriage was of convenience, one that brought families and companies together merrily and constituted hundreds of people attending your engagement party you didn’t really know.

Your friends were excited, over-the-moon you bagged a man like Taehyung and chastised you for not having told them about your engagement to him earlier. Your relatives similarly scolded you, pinching your cheeks and praising Taehyung like he was a God while they scrunched their noses at you for concealing him.

How could I tell you when I didn’t even know myself?, you thought.

It was funny they praised your ‘choice’ of a fiancé, positive nobody was saying the same to Taehyung without at least lying. The public only knew of you as your father’s daughter, never having seen you due to your vehement absence from anything remotely related to his company, and much of the business world in general. 

You weren’t part of that world, a world of greed and money-driven lunatics. It just wasn't you. It never suited you, left you with a bad taste in your mouth you constantly grimaced at and thought maybe you were the insane one for not understanding its flavour. As you grew older, however, you came to realize it simply wasn’t the path meant for you, someone who valued the independence and achievement of earning something for yourself, by yourself.

Ever since the inception of that principal, your young teenage self resolved you didn’t want to rely on your father’s wealth, especially not his influence or power to achieve your own place in life.

Your father had worked determinedly hard for years in order to stand as high he does now, warranting your acute admiration for your role model of a father, his now successful architecture business landing him a few buildings part of the Seoul skyline.

And after finally achieving his dream, it suddenly morphed into your own aspiration. His hard work drove you to want your own design part of Seoul’s breathtaking scenery as well, by means of your own effort, your own hard work. You didn’t want your father’s help. It felt wrong, like you were cheating if you used him to gain your place and so you condemned your life to one that separated yours and his. 

So you lived, worked and earned money without any of his influence.

You worked for an average architecture company where you felt comfortable, happy that you were away from the suffocating high-status business of your family. And although your detachment left your identity a mystery to many, your situation on the other hand was an extremely infamous one.

‘The-runaway-heiress’, was your staple trademark. The judgmental comments about your choice of life and the insults it warranted were never-ending, subjected to that criticism all your life.

There was no doubt Taehyung was hearing all of that, people probably warning him to step out of the marriage before it was too late. You weren’t like Taehyung, who was perfect, desirable, someone everyone either wanted or wanted to be. It left you glad and quite frankly, proud to be wedding a man of such caliber and incredibility, though left you wondering why in God’s name he would ever agree to marry someone like you; average, average and well, average.

“That’s your 5th shot, Y/N, slow the fuck down.” Your best friend Hana’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts, snatching the shot glass from your grasp. “It wouldn’t be cool if you were trashed at your own party, dummy.” 

Her sudden appearance brought a smile to your face. “I know, I just don’t feel well.” You sighed by the counter of the bar, seated atop a stool as you circled an empty shot glass mindlessly. 

“I get you, there’s like, hundreds of people here and you’re probably hearing a lot of different shit.” Hana appealed to you, having read your emotions like an open book. “Speaking of people, I wanted to ask, what’s up with Taehyung and his stare?”

You stifled a snort, looking at Hana’s incredulous face. “It’s just a habit of his. He stares at everyone.”

“Okay... sure, but I didn’t mean everyone, I meant you.” Hana emphasized, comically pointing.

You furrowed your eyebrows at her, arm leaning against the bar’s counter as you questioned, “What do you mean?”

“He doesn’t really stop staring at you, which is kinda weird. Unless you like that, I don’t judge people’s kinks.” Hana mockingly held her hands up in surrender, gauging a reaction out of you. 

You instantly grimaced, “It’s not a kink, Hana. Nice joke by the way, wanna sign up for SNL with that one?”

“I’m serious! I’ve been catching him just looking at you and I don’t know if it’s weird or hot.” Hana informed as you became more puzzled, her becoming oddly excited, “Awh, maybe he’s concerned with how much you keep drinking! That’s so romantic.” She chimed, looking off into the distance dreamily.

“Shut the fuck up, he wouldn’t do that.” You smacked her arm, snatching your shot glass back from her. “Besides, you’re one of the rare people who knows this marriage is fake, you know he doesn’t care.”

“Jheez, way to kill romance?” Hana rolled her eyes, smacking your arm in rebuttal before continuing. “I’m serious, though. This may be fake but he really does keep looking at you, and I don’t know what it means.” Hana speculated, contorting her lips as if in thought.

“It means nothing, Hana. You’re just seeing things.”

“Then why has he been staring at you depressed by the bar for the last half an hour?”

You nearly spit out your drink, “What?”

“Are you clueless or just dumb? He’s been talking to someone for 30 minutes but most of the time he’s been looking at you, and he still is, how haven’t you noticed?”

You creased your eyebrows in surprise as you slowly lowered your shot glass. You turned away from Hana to scan the small crowds of people mingling, eating, drinking in the hall.

You searched the room, drink still in hand until your eyes caught tall, dark and handsome in his finely pressed suit, casually standing with a drink in his hand by a table speaking to someone. You nearly jumped when your eyes locked with Taehyung’s, every cell in your body caught off guard.

What made your heart specifically race was the way he didn’t even look away from you. He held your gaze, casually conversing with the person in front of him, eyeing you until he finally cracked a small smirk before turning back to his companion.

Your eyebrows practically shot up to the sky.

“See, weird or hot? Am I even allowed to say hot?” Hana blurted as she reveled in your reaction. “And you really thought I was joking. You don’t believe anything I say, I could tell you the world’s ending and you wouldn’t believe me. I could tell you aliens finally invaded the planet and you wouldn’t believe me until the green motherfuckers knocked on your door themselves and-”

“Hana, shut the fuck up.” You cut her off abruptly and made a face at her. “Why did you even come here?”

“Grumpy, aren’t we?” She flashed you a sarcastic look before sighing. “Your dad wanted me to find you. You and Taehyung have to meet someone important, so you should stop drinking like an alcoholic, dumbass.” Hana informed hastily as she grabbed the shot glass from you and downed it herself.

“Your dad’s by the entrance, go before he gets mad!” She shooed you away, pushing you up until you whisper-yelled and smacked at her to let you go. 

You began stepping towards the entrance, smoothing over your dress and this was the moment you realized you may have drank a little too much. You were quick to reprimand yourself, cursing your unprofessional behavior as your inner equilibrium became slightly woozy, senses drowning out a bit, every sound hazed over with a buzz in your veins.

You sucked in a breath to pull yourself together, knowing your dad valued this person enough you and Taehyung had to meet them together. 

Taehyung.

You decided to glance in his direction, lips pursing seeing he wasn’t in his previous spot. You chose to ignore it, walking along until you felt a looming presence behind you, almost having time to acknowledge it before a hand suddenly touched the small of your back. 

“Looking for me?”

You nearly squealed, jumping with a hand ready to punish before calming down at the sight of Taehyung, sighing with relief. “Jheez, could you use my name? I thought you were a stranger.” 

“Well, hello to you too.” Taehyung quipped sarcastically. “And why would a stranger touch your back? Of course it’d be the only man in this room marrying you.” Taehyung narrowly eyed you, scrutinizing your reaction with his hand still pressed to you.

“People do a lot of whatever the hell they want, Taehyung.” You responded turning away from him, heels clacking as you continued to pace towards where your father stood. “W-why’d you do that, anyway?” 

Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows. “Because we’re engaged?”

“It’s not real, though.”

“It’s as real as it gets.” Taehyung finalized, making it a statement to smile at everyone you passed, to which you realized just how many pairs of eyes glued themselves to you. “This may not feel like a real marriage to us, but to the rest of the world it is.” 

He then suddenly leaned himself down to your height and lowered his tone, breath just ghosting your ear. “Y/N, we have to make this seem real, it’s the only way we’ll survive.” Taehyung was the closest he’s ever been to you, and the deep baritone of his voice as he called your name did absolutely nothing but manifest butterflies in your chest. 

Why was his voice so deep?

You shook the thought out of your head, ultimately choosing not to say anything because he was in fact, correct. You grinned widely continuing to mask the truth of your arrangements, leaning into him more as you settled for his hand on your back.

You’d noticed it before, but his hand felt particularly large against you now that he was so close. You glanced at his other hand resting by his side, impressed by how masculine they appeared; long fingers with running veins and a roughness to them, sculpted so well you were sure they deserved to be referred to as art. It tickled your giddy side for a second when they seemed to perfectly contrast your more feminine and smaller hands. 

It was kinda cute. 

You neglected your thoughts once you neared your father, warm-heartedly conversing with a well-dressed man you just about recognized. 

“Ah, there you both are!” Your father cheered, reaching out his arm so he could envelop you in a side-hug, returning Taehyung’s bow and addressment.  

“Dad, I heard you wanted us to meet someone?” You perked up in a superficial tone, at least attempting to act as though everything was fine and dandy in your life; maybe owing it to the alcohol to endure all the falsehoods.

“Yes, Y/N-ie, I wanted you to meet Mr. Won. Chang-in, my lovely daughter and whom I guess you already know, her fiancé and CEO of Kim Enterprises, Kim Taehyung.” Your father proudly presented you both.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Won, Kim Taehyung.” Taehyung was the first to address the man, extending his hand and bowing as he greeted him. You were almost taken aback by how polite he could be, the way his charming smile graced his features and attractively displayed his perfect teeth. His manner of speech and etiquette were all refined with a high degree of professionalism as well, internally gawking at his duality.  

Wasn’t he acting all entitled with you just now? 

“Nice to meet you as well!” You collected yourself and cheered, a little baffled as to why Taehyung still rested his hand against your back. “I’m hoping my father has only said good things.” You earned a laugh from the group, Mr. Won responding by receiving your hand with a firm shake. 

“Ah, Namhyun, you forgot to mention how beautiful your daughter has grown, and your future son-in-law has me jealous! What a handsome and accomplished young man, the perfect match, the two of them.” Mr. Won praised you both kindly.

You and Taehyung both smiled and thanked him humbly, feeling some heat collect in your cheeks upon Mr. Won’s words. You two? The perfect match? Unless he believes a rock and a Greek statue belong together, then he’s absolutely correct. 

Other than that, you chest swarms with butterflies thinking you’re now referred to as ‘two’. 

Taehyung for some odd reason encircles the curve of your waist suddenly, pulling you closer to him. You last minute sputter at the intimate action before leaning into him, one arm nervously encasing his torso as the other rests against his chest. 

You feel him tense underneath you. 

“Aish, you’re such a flatterer. Y/N-ie, do you remember Mr. Won? My friend from university? You haven’t seen him in a while.” Your father rested a hand on your shoulder, trying to jog your memory. 

“Oh, you mean Mr. Won from SNU?” You suddenly remembered, looking to your father for confirmation. 

“Yes, so you do remember!” 

“Of course I do, how could I forget!” You smiled brightly and returned your gaze to the familiar man. “Mr. Won used to sneak me ice cream when you wouldn’t let me have any, Dad.” You scolded him with a playful jab to his arm, inviting more laughter. “I apologize for not recognizing you right away, it’s been a long time, Mr. Won, forgive me.” You solemnly apologized, Mr. Won giving you a look of understanding. 

“Ah, forget it, Y/N. Don’t worry about it, although since it’s been a long time I hope you remember my son? He should be here somewhere..” Mr. Won trailed as his eyes fished over the grand hall, scanning around. 

“Your son..” You repeated to yourself, realizing there was a familiar connection itching at your mind, he was your age actually-

Wait. 

Oh God, not him. 

Anything but him. 

You felt raw panic seep into the spaces between your ribs, your chest filling with a constricting feeling of anxiety you couldn't shake off. Your heart picked up speed and the alcohol coursing through your veins didn’t help your judgement or memory at all, mind fogged over with the poison we dare call alcohol.  

You felt stupid, so utterly stupid. How could you forget Mr. Won and who his Godforsaken son was? 

You felt an anxiety attack riddling you, shifting your weight on your feet as you tried to bite back your uneven breathing. You just couldn’t see this man, especially in a situation where you were standing next to your husband-to-be. 

Taehyung wasn’t so invested in the conversation before him, mindlessly nodding along before he felt you physically freeze next to him, his glance to the side confirming your pale look, watching as your panicked eyes faltered to the floor and revealed... fear? 

He registered your odd shifting and your failed attempts at plastering a smile, confused if you knew this guy and if you did, why were you freaking out so much?

Were you in love with him or something? 

The thought minutely bugged him until he watched you turn straight up uncomfortable, horrified when Mr. Won called out his son’s name. 

“Kiseok-ah! Come here!” 

You stopped breathing when you heard the name, eyes going wide as you avoided eye contact with anyone in the group, but caught Taehyung’s undivided attention. He grew curious when Kiseok sauntered over to the group, your hand on his chest suddenly squeezing his suit as the mysterious man greeted everyone respectfully.

Taehyung watched as his intrigued eyes locked on you, eyebrows perking up amusedly as his lips curved into a smile Taehyung honestly couldn’t admit to liking. 

“Y/N? Wow, long time no see. It’s been what, a year?” The man Kiseok called out happily, like there was absolutely no problem occurring here but as Taehyung felt your hand clutch onto his suit, lips just about quivering before you forced a smile, he knew there was most certainly a problem. 

“Yeah.” Your voice was weak, small, and Taehyung found himself wondering how a courageous person like you was all of a sudden cowering. 

He’d heard it all night, all the accounts of your other life away from the business world. He wasn’t going to lie, he heard a multitude of opinions concerning you, many of which including either looking down on you or telling Taehyung there’s many other, more powerful women in business he could’ve been marrying instead. 

But Taehyung didn’t care for their opinions, he found you the most powerful woman he could ever marry, and agreed to do so because of that very prospect. Sure, you were estranged from the business scene and practically abandoned any role you’d play in your father’s company in order to pursue your own personal aspirations, but if anything, Taehyung found it highly commendable. 

Taehyung knew it took guts to do what you did, a bold and daring act that no other heir or future heir of a wealthy company could ever think of doing, including himself. 

What he found to appreciate most was your unwillingness to give in, where you had to have heard all the back-handed and snobby comments, yet you still held your head up high, remained rooted and adamant in keeping your current way of life. It instantly signaled to him you were courageous, fearless, unable to be stopped in your tracks.

So when he watched you become smaller and smaller the more you stood in the vicinity of this Kiseok, he knew something was sincerely wrong. 

“Ah yes, it’s been quite some time. Why don’t we step away from you three? You could do some catching up.” Your father urged as he motioned Mr. Won to step away with him. You lightly addressed them only to have your hands neglect Taehyung entirely and start fidgeting, attempting to calm your nerves as the alcohol inebriated your system and magnified your anxiety by tenfold. 

“Ah, yes, Kim Taehyung, CEO of Kim Enterprises. I’ve been meaning to meet you.” Kiseok extended his hand as his voice irked you with every syllable, trying your best to seem like absolutely nothing was wrong. 

Taehyung reached out his hand in response uneagerly, giving a small shake while wondering why you let him go. “That’s news to me, nice to meet you.” Taehyung responded, already feeling an intense aura of discomfort and tension between you both, sensing he was missing out on something that seemed 6 ft deep. 

“Likewise. Y/N..” Kiseok suddenly turned towards you, making you wince. You painted on your smile as you lifted your vision. “Kiseok.” 

“How’ve you been?” 

“Better than ever. You?” 

“Marvelous, just wondering what your life’s looked like since I haven’t been in it.”

“I believe I said better than ever, didn’t I?”

Kiseok scoffed unamused, “So a year, huh? In all that time you suddenly found yourself a fiancé, and Kim Taehyung at that?” Kiseok seemed to be making light-hearted conversation to anyone outside of your group, though you knew deep down the hostility behind his words.

“Yeah, I did. It just happened.” You shrugged, gaining the confidence to counter him. “And you? Plan on putting a ring on any of your girls? Maybe the 5th or 7th one you liked?” You sarcastically questioned, furrowing your brows in mock contemplation. 

“No, you know I’ve always had my eye on one girl when it came to marriage.” Kiseok eyed you knowingly, purposefully, like he was trying to make it obvious.

You snorted and glared at him, “If I remember correctly, your attitude said otherwise.” hatred began boiling under your skin. You felt yourself growing angrier by the second, memories between you two coming back in flashes. You didn’t even realize you were shaking until Taehyung’s hand suddenly entangled with yours, pulling you towards him almost defensively. 

You were surprised, looking at your connected hands and back up at Taehyung. He returned your look, peering down at you as he smiled warmly, affectionately. 

“I’m sorry, Kisook? Was it? My future wife and I have plans for tonight. May you excuse us?” Taehyung didn’t even let Kiseok respond before he was pulling you away, in complete shock at his first lack of manners you’d ever seen. You were only left to watch Taehyung as he lead you along, gaining the timely opportunity to realize he was taller than Kiseok, and in fact significantly taller than you. 

Taehyung was a large man in general, you noticed. His shoulders looked broad from behind, accentuated by the fit of his suit which also emphasized the expanse of his chest, tastefully exposing his sculpted neck. His legs were long, proportioned perfectly in accordance with the rest of his model-like figure, which was ideally fit and contained just the right amount of muscle. 

Dear God, you took your time with this one. 

You didn’t even realize Taehyung had pulled you into a secluded hallway or that you were ogling him when he suddenly stopped, turning in your direction and snapping you out of a near fever dream. 

Yeah, alcohol was not a good idea tonight. 

“Who the fuck was that?” 

“What?”

“That douche, who was that?” Taehyung inquired slightly pissed, in need of the asshole’s identity after watching whatever shitshow he didn’t pay for. 

“Nobody, Taehyung, he shouldn’t concern you.” You looked away from him, pouting in a way that made Taehyung momentarily notice the plush of your lips. 

Again?, was all he could think, first, your mother, and now this guy? Just how many people did you have bad connections with and he needed to ignore? 

Why were there so many intricate pieces to you? 

“Are you kidding me? He concerns me now, your mother I can understand but this guy? Nothing to me. I could step on him.” Taehyung proclaimed confidently and stood up broader, conviction written all over his face.

You couldn’t help but giggle at his remark, resembling the thought you had earlier. “I was just thinking, you’re a lot taller than him.” 

Taehyung couldn’t help but bite back a smile, watching you giggle like a shy high schooler and his ears gladly welcomed the soft sound. “Damn straight I am.” He adjusted the jacket of his suit suavely. It was then he remembered what his other hand was doing; still holding yours. 

His eyes suddenly gleamed with mischief. 

He squeezed your hand a little tighter and yanked you towards him, bodies just centimeters apart as you crashed into him, all up in each other’s personal space.

Your eyes widened in complete surprise. 

 “So you were thinking about me, huh?” Taehyung teased with a stupidly lowered tone, a smug grin decorating his face. 

You ignored the electricity shooting through you, rolling your eyes and playfully sneering at him. “Shut up, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see you’re taller.” You forced space between you two and tried snatching your hand from him, but his grip transformed into an iron lock. 

“Says the one who was thinking about me.” 

“Taehyung, shut-” You almost huffed out but as soon as you stepped away, your copious consumption of alcohol suddenly attacked you all at once, vertigo making you lose your balance until Taehyung reached out to steady you. 

“Jheez, did you have to drink tonight?” Taehyung chastised you as you fell into him, head spinning with disorientation and growing flimsier by the second. “You’re probably a lightweight at your size.”

“I am not a lightweight. You don’t even know how much I drank, it was a lot.” You bit back in rebuttal, hooking onto his taut forearms as he supported you. 

“But I did see.” He voiced barely above a whisper, causing you to snap your vision up at him incredulously. “What?” 

“Nothing, it shouldn’t concern you.” Taehyung mocked, though still tried to fix you onto your own footing.  

You didn’t even get to scrutinize him further when you felt another round of dizziness plague you, balance faltering again. Taehyung huffed out and finally flanked you on his side, arm encasing your shoulders as he adjusted you. “Okay Miss I’m-Not-A-Lightweight, you should eat something.” He fit you beside him, beginning to walk you towards the main hall. 

Taehyung in this moment didn’t understand what he was doing, utterly clueless as to what was fueling his actions. He was uncertain why he found himself.. caring? He didn’t even know you, yet he couldn’t help but become a little concerned when he watched you down drinks like it was New Year’s Eve. 

How can all that alcohol fit into one tiny person?

What was he even thinking when he dragged you away from that Kisuk guy? Why did he feel like protecting you all of a sudden? A near sense of possessiveness? He wasn’t even your real husband. 

It started giving Taehyung a headache. This was all strange, a foreign concept he wasn’t familiar with and he didn’t know if it was the result of his considerate personality or only manifested solely because of you.

The same way Taehyung dealt with his inner turmoil, you dealt with yours; you were always so adamant on independence though ironically found yourself leaning on Taehyung.

Oddly, you let him carefully guide you back into the hall with no protests. 

It was the day of the wedding. 

You wish you could recall your emotions throughout the day, certain there would be at least a sliver of a positive one. Though as you remained unmoving, nearly catatonic, unresponsive to your surroundings, you knew there wouldn’t be a single happy memory in the tsunami of sorrow that attacked you today. 

Emotions of grief plagued consistently as you realized the loss of everything you valued most in your life. Your happiness, your freedom, your ability to choose. The stripping of all those bundled into an stifling wad in your chest that left you in a perpetual state of wanting to cry.

The sting in your heart when you realized your mother didn’t bother to come, the excruciating smile you forced onto your features when Taehyung’s mother delicately placed the veil atop your head, the secret tears you shed after adorning your body with a wedding dress you didn’t even choose; it all left you internalizing feelings of utter agony. 

And none of it was your real choice. 

Even the flowers at the wedding weren’t your favourite. 

This day was horrifying. You couldn’t believe you prided yourself on your independence, refusing to give in despite numerous challenges and never taking a word of what anyone said to you. Even when someone begged you to change or come back to your old life, you always chose for yourself. You never allowed someone to push you around, seldom coerced into anything solely based on the wishes of another. 

Yet here you were, standing just before the grand doors of a wedding you never asked for, having easily followed every word of your father’s and sacrificed your deepest principles in order to make him happy, to appease and live up to his expectations that weren’t your own. 

It was utterly frightening, appalling. As if you had lost the one true commendable feature of the intricate character you were, suddenly lost the acclamation of others even if they didn’t know the true nature of your marriage. 

But what disgusted you the most was truly, that you had lost respect for yourself. 

These grim thoughts were the ones that attached themselves to you as you hesitantly hooked your arm with your father’s. You used every ounce of strength to not flee, to remain here, to still walk down that isle with your head held high like you always have despite abandoning every foundation of the character you’d spent years working on.  

You didn’t care that your eyes watered, masking them with the facade of happy tears from the blushing bride. You didn’t care when your father looked incredibly concerned and wondered what was so wrong, you didn’t care how sorrowful you may have appeared to anyone at this ironically glamorous event. 

Though what you did care for was that you couldn’t hold your head up as you walked down the isle, vision fixated on the ground as your tears betrayed you, spilling out at the traumatizing feeling of not being able to stand tall like you always did, something stripping you of your self-reassurance, your strength, your confidence.  

It all spelled the requiem of your soul as you reached the end, dwelling in the impossibility this was happening to you until you felt the touch of Taehyung’s fingertips, guiding you up the stairs. It was then confirmed to you this was in fact real, part of your new reality you had no choice but to accept. 

You suddenly felt eternal gratitude for the veil that now covered your face, hiding the tears you cried at mourning the loss of everything you worked for.

While the priest’s words were read, you didn’t exchange a single look with Taehyung, knowing you’d only want to evaporate into the air, to run away at light speed or have someone in a turn-of-events suddenly take your life, just so you didn't have to face the humility of giving up the life you’d spent blood, sweat and tears building if you looked him in the eye. 

You felt the weight of your unknown future crushing you, pushing you towards the precipice as you gripped Taehyung’s hands harder to ground yourself. 

You were to rely on Taehyung, to share a bond with him you had never spent time cultivating, expected to live a life next to him while never being able to truly understand him, know him, love him. The natural process of falling in love now tainted with the coercion of a pressurized marriage, losing the opportunity to achieve any true sense of love. You’d never experience finding the one anymore, your soulmate, the other end of your red string of fate. 

That realization made your tears spill harder, disconnecting your hand from Taehyung’s to prevent your choked sobs becoming audible, holding your palm against your quivering lips. 

To anyone beyond you and Taehyung, it would look as though you were crying tears of happiness, joyously weeping at your matrimony with the love of your life, though as Taehyung felt the shaking of your hands, your refusal to meet his gaze as you reluctantly walked down the isle, the agonizing pain he could see through the sheer of your veil, he knew you were far from happy. 

He couldn’t help but purse his lips together tightly, knowing you were probably swallowing insurmountable torment down your throat because of this marriage, and tears pricked at his own eyes finding himself able to relate. 

He wasn’t just upset for you or himself, it was the entire situation, quite frankly the fucking world. The fact that the universe planned this as your destiny, his destiny, that the happiness of your parents and two companies came at the expense of both yours and his.

He knew you didn’t hate him, that he wasn’t the reason just as much as you weren’t the reason either, it was the arbitrary nature of the arrangement. That whatever version of true love and happily ever after you and Taehyung had separately dreamed of, it could never come to life. 

Even if the company meant everything to Taehyung, his CEO position more important than whatever position he’d play as some husband, seldom having time to consider love and relationships, he still harboured the same wants and desires any human would. A partner, a companion he truly loved with whom he’d start a family eventually, create a life for them and himself defined by love and comfort.

Though Taehyung only knew now you would both die with your decision-making capabilities robbed of you, bound to each other forcibly without the ardor of real love. 

Taehyung’s every thought was proven correct when the two of you exchanged your vows in near strangled chokes and shaky tones, appearing as happy emotions to the guests of the wedding though only you two knowledgeable of each other’s suffering. 

Your vision finally met Taehyung’s once you heard the rawness in his voice, your miserable emotions doubling when you registered he was just in the same pain as you. It was in that moment the priest’s words became audible and rang loud in both your ears, suddenly grounding you two to earth and reminding you of your reality. 

“You may kiss the bride.”

Both of your eyes grievously locked for a moment of horrified realization; that you were seconds away from going through with this, throwing each other’s lives away for the utilitarian benefit, abandoning any sense of choice in whom you both would spend a lifetime with.

Taehyung swallowed thickly as he removed your veil, feeling his eyes fill with tears again when he laid them upon your utterly devastated, tear-stained face. You were using every nerve in your body to stop yourself from sobbing and caving into the ominous thought of fleeing the ceremony.  

Taehyung’s sight wondered to your lips as they still quivered, nearly swollen red at the intensity in which you bit them, awaiting the kiss you were certain would be filled with frustration and hatred, hatred for the mud you were dragging him through, hatred for pressuring him into suddenly valuing something more than his work and his company, to suddenly become a husband to you. 

Though as he watched the terror flashing through your eyes, tears watering your lash line, he knew he could never feel anything so ardently negative towards you, remembering exactly what he was stripping you of. 

The life you built on your own, defying any and everyone’s expectations of yourself, cursing your heir status to hell, your strength, your independence. Now? Your life was bound to his, bound to one where you were obliged to sacrifice yourself for your father’s company and the upper class cesspool you’d spent so long trying to run away from. 

So as Taehyung began closing the gap between you two, nearing your shaking figure, he resolved he wouldn’t make this hard. He would try, try to accept that his life now entailed you, would try to work towards the balance his father insisted he needed, try to understand that you were now part of his priorities and could never simply ignore you.  

He glided his thumbs against the back of your hands that held his pacifyingly, leaning down until he was just inches from your lips as you squeezed your eyes shut. He unexpectedly spoke quietly, meaningfully, seconds away from sealing the deal of an uncertain future, though, remained certain of this one thing. 

“I’ll take care of you, Y/N, I promise.” And he kissed you in a single breath, no haste, no pressure, only the gentle touch of his lips as they met yours, soft and light. 

Maybe Taehyung didn’t know the exact feelings behind his promise, but he knew the meaning; that no matter the arrangement, the non-existent feelings, the loss of choice, he would at least take care of you like any husband would, a good husband.  

He at least owed you that.  

You were left shocked at the nature of his kiss, Taehyung’s warm lips connecting with yours tenderly. You were convinced the tears you saw in his eyes were enough to assert he hated this, frustrated he had to sell his soul, wishing to only rush the kiss so he could call it a day and ignore you for the rest of his life. 

Though what you never expected was the promise he made, or the way he kissed you with such intimacy you found yourself melting into his touch, reciprocating. He kissed you like you were fragile, locking your lips in a way that solidified his promise, as if out of all the empty vows you spoke today, this was the one, true vow he would keep. His lips felt plush against yours, catching his mouth just a little more before the bittersweet disconnection. 

You and Taehyung exchanged a poignant look, small smiles decorating both your faces with a mutual understanding swimming in your eyes as you gripped each other’s hands. You let his promise permeate the air between you two, finding solace in his words as the applause of everyone attending the ceremony filled the hall.   

Maybe it was the warm way Taehyung always pressed his hand to the small of your back when you spoke to others the whole night, maybe the way he veered you away from excessive amounts of alcohol with a light-hearted scolding considering that last time you drank, or maybe even the way he gently held you during your first dance..

Maybe it was all these considerate, kinds act that made you view Taehyung in a less negative light and rather a favourable one, that maybe he wouldn’t be the asshole CEO you’d first accused him of being.  

You would also be an idiot to not mention how completely and utterly handsome he was, looks carved by the Greeks themselves, quite possibly the hottest, most attractive man you’ve ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. 

And maybe all that accumulated into your assured opinion that when it came to consummating your marriage with Taehyung, you’d have no qualms or worries whatsoever. You would be absolutely willing, ready to take the night on and maybe even have some fun for yourself with whom you could tell was a really, really nice guy.

Though as Taehyung walked calmly in front of you towards your hotel suite, reaching into his suit pocket for the card key he’d retrieved at the front desk to swipe against the lock, your chest clogged with a crushing feeling of anxiety you couldn’t subdue. 

These weren’t the same nerves of maybe being not pretty enough, body insecurities or fear of what to expect from Taehyung, no, these nerves came from the utter panic of having to experience sex with another man.

Especially since your last partner. 

It always started with your permission, that wasn’t the issue, Though what left you afraid, so utterly frightened with the thought of spending a night with a man like this came from the treatment you received from that partner. 

Safe to say, you weren’t treated kindly. Far from that, actually, you were treated as though you had no needs or were a means of simple use. Your last partner was the opposite of giving, he was selfish, self-absorbed and only concerned himself with his own pleasure, going on and on only until he was satisfied and neglected you in every sense of the word, sometimes even refusing to listen to you if you protested. 

To make matters worse, he wasn’t faithful. 

You knew he slept around, a lot, it was the number one reason you never agreed to actually date him, never make things official. 

But the reason you would end up sleeping with him was because of the most perfectly imperfect concept among the human race; love. You believed every time with him was a new chance to make that love real, that it was the genuine manifestation of your feelings for one another, thinking maybe he wasn’t the asshole he always portrayed himself as and could man up enough to love you unconditionally. 

And he completely reeled you in, made you fall in love too quickly and made you believe he was capable of love. This grew exponentially when you were often described as ‘the different one’, the one he always came back to, that you were special. You clung onto those words as much as you could, convinced each time you were in fact the one for him, that maybe one day, he’d wake up and abandon his fuckboy lifestyle and mature.

But everyday that went by, every promise that was never fulfilled, every word that wasn’t met with an action, and especially after every hook up that resulted in nothing new, you began to understand you were everyone’s favourite role in a Shakespearean play. 

The fool. 

You were a joke to believe anything he said, the most naive person on earth to think you were any different from the others, when every night simply ended in rough fucks, virtually no orgasm and miniscule aftercare.

It left you essentially scarred, traumatized that every man in the world was built like this. It didn’t help that whenever you look back, many of your ex partners were of the same cut, the same trope of assholes that don’t seem as bad but end up being exactly so. 

It was what made you swallow thickly as Taehyung opened the door to the suite, holding it open as he moved aside to let you enter first. You walked forward and unintentionally brushed against him, realizing how much smaller you were in comparison to him all over again. 

He towered over you, and it made you more nervous. 

You looked up at him momentarily and quietly thanked him as you stepped inside, setting your sights on the large, king sized bed situated on one side of the room, a lounging area with couches to the other side which lead to a bathroom. Seoul’s breathtaking skyline was visible in the dark of the night through wall-to-ceiling windows opposite to you, covered by flowy, sheer curtains. 

You took a deep breath, trying to remind yourself Taehyung was not the same. Not all men are the same, you can’t inflict the mistakes and wrongdoings of one man onto another, categorize them into one kind. You wanted to think this way, and you knew it was the humane way to think. 

But as the memories of those heart-aching nights filled your head, the empty words, the lack of care or concern, the neglect, the feelings of pure abandonment and use only caused your heart to beat profusely in your chest, clutching onto the neckline of your dress to breathe. 

What if Taehyung really was no different?

It then suddenly hit you you didn’t know him. All you knew of Taehyung was that he was a fiercely successful business man, sitting atop Seoul’s most prestigious with Godly looks and a stare that could kill a man. You remembered your initial feelings about him; his stare in fact intimidated you, quite frankly all of him intimidated you, he was the epitome of perfection and you were far from that very notion. It left you thinking you didn’t measure up, and that he could view you in a dissimilar light than you viewed him; an unfavorable one. 

He could simply not want you, but is forced to.  

You’d observed his kind behavior and actions over the odd two days you met him, though that was exactly the inculpatory factor; you had only met him twice. You didn’t know what he would be like alone, when it was just the two of you, when there weren’t eyes scrutinizing him and cameras snapping shots of his every move. 

You didn’t know how he would be like in the bedroom, either. 

Your mind raced as you conflicted with yourself, trying to understand that Taehyung could be different, though apprehensive with the miniscule knowledge you actually had of him. 

You discerned after that last asshole of a partner you needed the love and care of a real partner, someone who would tend to your needs, adore you in the midst of their actions, be a giver and not just a receiver.  

And you didn’t know if Taehyung would be that partner. 

“Y/N...” Taehyung called out to you rather softly as he removed his suit jacket, the rustling of the cloth signaling he had indeed done so. His footsteps were hard to miss, the soles of his shoes sounding against the hardwood floor as he neared your lonesome figure standing in the middle of the room. 

Your breathing quickened with nearly every step he took, attempting to resolve the civil war you were battling within. You were trying to convince yourself Taehyung would be a nice man, a nice husband; though couldn’t help but feel deflated by the fact it was all mainly coerced out of him.

Your thoughts overwhelmed you as Taehyung finally stood behind you, mere inches from your back as he watched you from behind, unbeknownst of any feelings or thoughts currently riddling you.

He hesitated, though gently placed his hand against your bare arm, the sudden warmth of his hand against your skin causing you to flinch. He peered down at your smaller self squarely focusing in front of you, anticipating your response. He grew slightly soft when you tentatively looked over your shoulders, clearly teary-eyed. 

Taehyung couldn’t miss how scared you seemed, and he his heart inexplicably stung at the thought you were afraid of him. 

“We don’t have to do this.” Taehyung’s voice was low and resembled warm honey, reverberating in a way that made you ease up. 

You worked towards a stable voice. “W-we don’t?” 

“No, we don’t” His voice held no disappointment, only the intention of seemingly wanting to assure you, firm and oddly comforting. 

“I’m sorry, Taehyung. I’m really sorry.” It was hard to keep your tone leveled, clutching your hand over your mouth as you swallowed your emotions. 

“Don’t be sorry, there’s nothing for you to apologize for.” 

You strangely felt the desire to hold his hand that rested against you, though you ignored the urge and simply stepped out of his touch, clutching your chest tightly in an effort to cower away from him. But it was here you suddenly remembered that he kissed you, and the way he did so. 

It made your cheeks fill with a rosy blush. 

“Do you mean that?” You’d finally turned to meet his eyes, his face only visible by the moonlight illuminating the room. He seemed to have retracted his hand and stood with both tucked in his pockets, relaxed. 

This became the first time you noticed just how ravishing he looked tonight. 

His dark hair was slicked back loosely and left enough pieces to fall as a comma, graciously exposing his forehead, his Tom Ford suit attractively hugged his model-like body, watch and accessories accentuating his expensive look. 

His features were casted over by soft lighting, somehow adding to his beauty as the glow made him appear... less intimidating, dare you say warm or inviting. 

His expression was funnily enough, one that you could actually read. He held no contempt, no impatience or anger, only a hint of consideration as his calm eyes looked at you. His face may have been predominantly blank, void of a smile, though certainty held a form of reassurance.  

“Of course I do, why would I do anything with an unwilling person?”

You scoffed lightly, “Not a lot of people would say that.” Your eyes faltered from Taehyung’s and clutched yourself tighter, expression completely telling of trauma.

Taehyung instantly picked up on it, eyebrows slightly furrowing at your words though softening once registering their weight. He felt an overwhelming sense of apology take him, thinking of his next sentence before his mind oddly flashed back to the night of the engagement party.

“Y/N, did Kiseok..?” Taehyung trailed hesitantly. 

You winced at his line of thinking, “No, no...not what you’re thinking,” you immediately denied. “Just, shitty experiences.”

“Shitty, as in...?”

“As in only seeking self-satisfaction, neglect, lies, infidelity. Can we go to sleep?” You deflected with a heavy sigh and a hand at your temple, the day’s events catching up to you.

Taehyung nodded in agreement, “Yeah, sleep. We both need that.” His eyes then landed on the bed, registering even if it were large enough you two could sleep apart, he still opted for caution. 

“Um.. you can take the bed, by the way. I’ll sleep on the couch-”

“No, don’t do that.” You replied quickly. “I can’t sleep on a king-sized bed all by myself, it’s huge.” You side-eyed the massive mattress and laughed a little, lightening the heavy aura casted over the room. 

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to be uncomf-”

“Don’t worry, Taehyung. You don’t make me feel uncomfortable.” You smiled at him lightly and received a small one from him, both your eyes mirroring the same sense of understanding you exchanged at the altar. 

“I’ll let you wash up first, your overnight bag should be in the bathroom closet.” Taehyung informed, pointing towards the direction of your things. 

“Thank you.” You voiced with an amount of warmth that made Taehyung want to genuinely smile, though crushed the weird urge and nodded agreeably instead.

You began walking away from him until a nuisance suddenly occurred to you, cursing yourself as you came to a full stop. “Um, Taehyung.. I forgot but could you..?” You angled your back towards him to call out to the ribbons tying the back of your dress, knowing you would’ve taken 20 years just to untie your bodice yourself. 

The fact that you weren’t looking directly at Taehyung made him feel relieved, glad he wouldn’t embarrass himself with the his eyes slightly widened. He was quick to reprimand himself, it’s just a woman’s dress, why the hell are you shocked? 

Taehyung swallowed dryly before replying, “Uh, yeah I’ll--I’ll do that.” He walked towards you sparingly and positioned himself behind you.

He’d noticed it before, but you were relatively small compared to him in size and it continued to poke at his brain, maybe even momentarily think it was cute. 

Cute? When have I ever found a girl cute?

Taehyung exhaled before his hands carefully made for the silk ribbons, his tentative fingers fiddling with the ties until he eventually began loosening each one. He started unlooping your bodice, breathing out considerably when each loop began exposing your back inch by inch.  

Taehyung’s sweet, hot breath fanned your skin, tensing each time as your every nerve went haywire feeling just how close he was. His slender fingers brushed against your bare skin here and there, making heat collect in your face.

You grew even hotter when your kiss with him suddenly crept back into your mind, unknowing of the reason why excitement and electricity shot throughout your body because of it. The way his soft, full lips met yours, mouthed at you tastefully repeated in your head, making you extremely nervous at how much a measly kiss from him was occupying your mind; it was just a kiss. 

Taehyung found himself tensing by the intimacy of the moment, remembering the way he so boldly kissed you. He found that he liked the plush of your lips, the way he had to bend down to your smaller height to lock lips; and it made him feel strange. 

How the hell was he taking interest in something other than his work? No, this isn’t interest, Taehyung thought, and would spend however long denying it. 

He’d finished the task throughout all his thinking, unrealizing of how proximal he was to you. He oddly hated that the moment was over, coming back down to Earth.

“There you go.” He cleared his voice and stepped away from you. 

You held your bodice up against your chest, realizing Taehyung had a full-access view of your back and you grew 10x hotter. You gulped at the thought before hastily turning around to thank him, quickly disappearing into the bathroom for a moment of reprieve. 

You shut the door and instantly breathed out a breath you didn’t remember holding, looking at your hot mess of a face in the mirror trying to cool down, reliving the last 10 minutes of what just happened. 

You took a deep breath. 

Maybe Taehyung is different after all. 

prev. ↞ || ↠ next  || masterlist

[goddessofroyalty]

For Work/Life Balance, could we have Viktor just having some birth anxiety and getting so nervous that he eventually needs some comfort from Jayce? Go as mild or graphic as you’d like; I just think Viktor also deserves some hugs and kisses since he seems to be doing so much for Jayce and the baby :(

There are so many parts of this that got rewritten because I went the wrong direction the first time and had to back-step like 20 lines. Hopefully I found the right route to go.

Also immediately after this I’m going to write the baby being born not via C-section and not a breach-birth because someone prompted it and honestly this verse is more a… collection of stories based around the same premise where the exact details sometimes contradict.

Warnings: Omegaverse, mpreg, mentions of pregnancy complications/risks

------------------

Viktor sits up in bed waiting for the next contraction, his hand idly rubbing along his now huge stomach. There isn’t much movement inside, which just means their child hadn’t been woken by the first one.

He knows there is nothing to be done until the contractions are regular or within 10 minutes of each other or his waters break and that it has been over 20 minutes from the one that woke him up. But he still finds himself watching the clock as the minutes tick by. Running the calculations in his head of how quickly they can get to the hospital if they left now. Of what a 36 week delivery would mean for their child.

25 minutes pass with still no follow up contraction.

He’s likely not in labor. What he felt just a false contraction. Common and normal at this late stage of pregnancy and nothing to be concerned about, even considering the fact he must make sure if he does go into an early labor that it doesn’t progress past the point of a caesarean being an option.

He should get his rest while he still can. Once the baby is here sleep is likely going to be even hard to find. A newborn needing feeding every two hours.

Viktor startles when a hand slides up onto his stomach to rest over his own, so focused on the clock he hadn’t noticed that he had apparently woken Jayce from his sleep as well.

“How long as you been awake for?” Viktor asks, looking down at where Jayce is still lying in the bed watching him.

“Long enough,” Jayce says, sitting up as well, using his other hand to support himself so the one holding Viktor’s doesn’t move. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?”

“You’re timing them,” Jayce says with a nod over to the clock Viktor had been staring at. “How close?”

“27 minutes and counting,” Viktor says with a sigh.

“Okay,” Jayce says, an edge of relief in his tone.

“They are likely not coming anytime soon,” Viktor says because he knows Jayce is anxious as well. They are going to have a baby soon. A tiny human completely dependent on them both for care and love.

“So we can go back to sleep?” Jayce asks, nuzzling against Viktor’s hair.

“You can,” Viktor says, “I’m going to stay up a little longer. I have some theories I want to run through.”

It’s not a complete lie. There is work Viktor might as well do now that he is awake but it is more because he knows he isn’t going to be going back to sleep easily and would rather not waste the hours doing nothing.

“Viktor,” Jayce says, wrapping his arms around Viktor to prevent him from getting up.  “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong Jayce.” What is happening right now at least is normal and expected at this stage of pregnancy.

“Viktor,” Jayce says, wrapping his arms around Viktor to prevent him from getting up. His head a comforting weight resting against Viktor’s back. “Talk to me.”

Viktor wants to brush him off. Jayce is already stressed enough as he madly tries to get everything they will need for their child ready in time on top of all the other responsibilities of their work that Viktor is now unable to help with. The least Viktor can to do to help is not push his concerns onto the alpha.

Viktor has known Jayce long enough to know the alpha is not easily deterred one he sets his mind to something. And it is his child as well.

“I’m afraid,” Viktor admits as Jayce presses kisses along his shoulders. “Is that what you want to hear? That I am afraid that they are going to come too early. Or that they are going to get hurt during the delivery? Or that I’m going to die giving birth to them?”

He knows the list of possible complications and statistical likelihood of each one. Knows that with how the baby is positioned the chances of a lot of them are even higher.

Human babies aren’t meant to come out feet first.

Jayce is quiet. His head still against Viktor as his grip tightens as if he’s afraid to let go.

“I’m sorry,” Viktor says because he doesn’t want to make Jayce’s own concerns worse. Because he knows Jayce is worried as well. Jayce had just as much buried himself into researching pregnancy when he first found out as Viktor had and he isn’t a dumb man like some people assume even if he can be painfully naïve at times.

“Don’t,” Jayce says, his voice rough. “Don’t apologies. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say to make it better. I don’t know what to do. Gods Viktor you are growing a whole human and I know it hasn’t been easy on you and I’m making it all about myself again aren’t I?”

“A little,” Viktor says, turning to face Jayce. He knows the habit comes from Jayce’s own feelings of excitement and nervousness. It easy for him to get swept up in his impending parenthood especially when people kept asking him how he felt about it while ignoring Viktor. Not that it made it any less frustrating when it did happen.

“I’m sorry,” Jayce says again, taking hold of one of Viktor’s hands to press kisses along his knuckles. Closing his eyes as if to take in Viktor’s scent. “Is there anything I can do right now to help?”

“Just hold me.” Viktor feels safe in Jayce’s arms as silly and sentimental as that is. He can only explain it as the warmth and familiar scent of the alpha causing the part of Viktor’s brain that is purely omegan instinct to calm. The fact that the feelings have only gotten stronger since he fell pregnant with Jayce’s child more evidence towards his theory.

“Yeah, sure, I can do that,” Jayce says despite the fact he already practically is. There only needing to be slight adjusting before Viktor can lean up against him, the alphas arms wrapped around him once more.

“I am impatient to meet them,” Viktor says after a minute. He will admit that he has thought about what they will achieve since the moment he found out about them. The child of two brilliant minds given all the resources Piltover has to offer. “I am ready for this pregnancy to be over and my body to be my own again. But I want them to be born healthy and safe.”

“They will be,” Jayce assures with a kiss to Viktor’s forehead. His words are ultimately meaningless, he cannot assure that any more than Viktor can but the conviction he has in them somehow helps calm Viktor’s nerves. “And then you can hold them instead of having them kick at your ribs and we can see who they take after more.”

“I hope so,” Viktor says. They just need to get through the next couple of weeks okay and then things should be easier.  

[thegardenchronicles]

Astrology in Harry Potter

Decoding Harry's Birth Chart

Harry Potter made my childhood, so I thought it would be interesting to combine my love of astrology with it. Obviously, Divination in Harry Potter seems a bit 'wooly' as Hermione puts it. Though, there are several instances where it actually seems accurate.

One of those seems like our favorite main character's birth chart. In my opinion, it makes a lot of sense. So let's get into it!

First, we need to calculate Harry's Birth Chart. Of course, we do not know his exact birth time or his birth location, but we can take a guess.

The Harry Potter Fandom page says:

"Harry James Potter was born on 31 July 1980, at Godric's Hollow in the West Country, England, only hours after his classmate-to-be Neville Longbottom."

For his present-day birth location, The Harry Potter Lexicon states:

"Godric’s Hollow is located in the West Country of southwestern England (DH16), putting it in the heart of perhaps the most wizarding-friendly region in Britain. Ottery St. Catchpole is in this area, as are Cornwall, Devon, several Quidditch teams, and a number of known Quidditch stadiums built on the abundant local moors. We have a couple of more specific clues that could lead us to its location as well:

Godric Gryffindor is described as being from “wild moor” (GF12), suggesting again the rural nature of the town.

Hagrid’s flight from Godric’s Hollow to Surrey after picking up Harry takes him over Bristol (PS1), suggesting that the town is located in the northern region of the West Country, near Exmoor and not far from the Bristol Channel. There is some question as to where Hagrid was actually flying from, however – see Steve Vander Ark’s essay Is Godric’s Hollow in Wales? for more."

For the purposes of making his birth chart, let's assume that he was born in or near Exmoor in West Country, UK.

Because I am a nerd, here is a Google Map of a plausible route Hagrid may have taken to deliver Harry to the Dursley's.

So we have the Birth Date and the Birth Location, though we still do not have the Birth Time. However, in the Goblet of Fire Chapter 14, as Alice Sparkly Kat states, Harry gives us a clue to what his rising could be:

"......'Why don't you get stabbed in the back by someone you thought was a friend?'

'Yeah....cool....' said Harry, scribbling it down, 'because.... Venus is in the twelfth house.' "

Here, Harry and Ron are making their astrological predictions for the month of October in 1994 as their Divination homework. Looking at the Venus transits for that year, we see that Venus is in Scorpio. Since Venus is in his 12th house as he states, we can come to the conclusion that Harry is a late Scorpio rising or early Sagittarius rising.

Sure, Harry is spontaneous and rash in his decision making, but he is also always thrust to the center of attention against his will, which he does not enjoy most of the time. He is also quite observant and has great intuition. He is a shy, quiet kid and likes nothing more than his peace, no matter how much he does not get it, and can be quite a judgemental character. Therefore, I like thinking of Harry as a late Scorpio rising. I put in his birth time at 1600, thus giving him this chart:

(Exmoor seems like too small of a town to be on the Location list, so I put in Somerset, which is the county Exmoor falls under.)

So now we know Harry's big 3 :

Leo Sun in the 8th house

Aries Moon in the 4th house

Late Scorpio or early Sagittarius Rising

(I'm not taking the degrees into consideration since we don't have his exact birth time.)

Sun in Leo ~ 8th House

I think we all know that Harry is the sterotypical Leo Sun. He is always attracting attention, good or bad, whether he likes it or not. I mean, the boy's famous for love's sake. It being in the 8th house brings with it the matters of the occult and death, which is a huge part of Harry's life. He likes his secrecy, always taking out the invisibility cloak, especially in the 4th book, when he goes to Hogsmeade wearing it, so that he can stay away from the criticism he received after his name came out of the goblet.

That isn't to say of course, that Harry didn't like some attention. There were times when he pictured himself winning the Quidditch cup or something, but that was just plain Leo behavior. Besides, most of the time, he wanted to impress some girl, whether is was Cho or Ginny, which could partly be the result of his Gemini Venus in the 7th.

One a more serious note, I noticed that he has his Sun squaring his Chiron. Pain is part of Harry's life, unfortunately he has to deal with it, and it takes him a lot of healing throughout the series, to accept completely what his destiny is.

Moon in Aries ~ 4th House

Harry's Aries moon sits all alone at the bottom of his chart. It feels lonely, just like Harry does, all misunderstood, because no one has to go through what he does, no one understands him. Everything that he has to face, he thinks he has to do it alone. His moon in the 4th as well as his 8th house influence in his chart only further enhances this secrecy. Moreover, Harry is also quite hot-headed, he is quick to anger, just like the sterotypical Aries.

Coming to the aspects, what stands out to me is that his Moon is in opposition to his Saturn. This confirms Harry's daddy issues, as well as his trouble with authority figures. (But more on that later.) His Moon is also in opposition to his Midheaven, signifying again, how Harry values his privacy and would love to stay out of the public eye.

Ascendant in Scorpio

Harry's Uranus is conjunct his Ascendant, which reminds me greatly of the varying opinions people in general have of Harry. For the majority, Harry, being as famous as he is, is always regarded as some great, renowned individual and people mostly have a respected opinion of him, except maybe Snape and Malfoy of course. But this opinion is never really constant, as we know from quite a few examples from the books.

In the Chamber of Secrets, children start to be afraid of Harry since they think he has been killing Muggle-Borns. But once it has been confirmed that he has in fact, not been killing anyone, they return to the pleasant opinion they have of him.

Once again, in the Goblet of Fire, after Harry's name comes out of the goblet, people take offence, thinking that Harry just wants some more attention to himself. He has to endure taunts and insults from all the houses for weeks, until they quiet down by the end of the first task.

In the Order of the Phoenix, Harry has to go through the entire year looking like some unstable child who just wants to cause trouble mostly by the Ministry, but when they realise he was saying the truth all along, they are on his side again.

A thing to note is that Uranus being in his 12th house, (and Uranus being an outer planet anyway) gives this external but unwanted influence to Harry's ascendant. None of the opinions formed arise from Harry's direct actions, but rather from some external force that twist and distort their perception of him repeatedly.

10th House Stellium

Harry has Saturn, Mars and Pluto in the 10th house. These are extremely intense and powerful planets to be situated at the top of his chart, but it resonates completely.

The Mars-Pluto conjunction makes for a determined, strong and passionate individual who is capable of many great things. Being in Libra, he is a fair person, who strongly believes in good over evil.

Pluto in Libra signifies fairness and justice. Libra is the sign of the scales, balance and two sides. So it seems relevant that the entire premise of Harry Potter is the fight between the good and the bad.

Under The Influence of Saturn

In the Goblet of Fire, during Divination, Professor Trelawney tells Harry:

"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn,' said Professor Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on her words.

'Born under – what, sorry?' said Harry.

'Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!' said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn't riveted by this news.

'I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth ... your dark hair ... your mean stature ... tragic losses so young in life ... I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in mid-winter?'

'No,' said Harry, 'I was born in July.'

Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough."

Trelawney, knowing what she does about Harry and his life comes to the conclusion that Saturn plays a significant role in his life, however, unfortunately, resorts to Sun Signs, obviously thinking that Harry is a Capricorn.

Saturn as a planet is about lessons and challenges, as well as authority figures and fathers, and we know Harry's relationship with these all too well.

Harry longs to have a father figure, and so, whenever a certain male figure comes into his life, he gets too attached, blinded by his love or admiration for them, without seeing them in their true form. We see this in his attachment with Lupin, Sirius, Dumbledore and even his idea of his father James, which he is adamant about even after Snape continually talks about James as though he were a, should we say "swine"?

Speaking of Snape, it's quite interesting that Snape is a Capricorn as well as an authority figure (hello Saturn) who Harry probably has the most trouble with, after Voldemort.

Voldemort himself is a Capricorn and again, that Saturn influence playing a big role in Harry's life.

We also talked about the Moon-Saturn opposition, once again displaying the effect Saturn has in his life, and if Harry were a Sagittarius Rising, it would be safe to say that the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction would only add to that influence.

Another thing to note, Saturn is conjunct his Midheaven, bringing him the challenges that he has to face early on in his life, which the vast majority is aware of.

And sure, I suppose Saturn can give a lean, thin and dark stature, as far as physical appearance goes.

Therefore, Trelawney was right in thinking that Saturn influenced a lot of Harry's life, however, blinded by her need to please people by giving them a more concrete understanding of astrology, she resorted to giving a very surface level answer. (Alice Sparkly Kat explains this beautifully here.)

This is in no way a complete chart analysis, it's just what I found interesting.

What do you think of Harry's chart? Any placements that stand out to you?

Would you like to see some charts of other Harry Potter characters? Maybe i'll turn it into a series! Let me know!

pictures: 1 2 3

[shinidamachu]

I need some Inuyasha as a great father (more like DILF, amirite?) headcanons, can you help me out?

I'm here to serve!

• It isn’t until they’re happily married for at least one or two years that the possibility of children are brought up.

• At first, they took that time to relearn each other, enjoy their company and make the honeymoon phase last a little long. They did spend three years apart, after all. There’s so much time to make up for, so many catching up to do before they’d even think to throw a kid into the mix. Plus, being a modern woman, Kagome would know how to avoid pregnancy the best her new circumstances allowed and how important that time alone is for a newly-married couple.

• They never actually had the child talk because Kagome just assumed that’s where their relationship would naturally lead to, given her motherly tendencies and Inuyasha’s history of ultimately giving her everything she wants. For his part, Inuyasha knew she wanted to be a mother someday and he'd be lying if he said he never indulged the fantasy of fathering her children. However, he has serious trouble wrapping his mind around the idea that, in reality, Kagome would still be up for it if he were to be the father. He could never dare to ask of her more than she has already given him. Be that as it may, it was not a big deal because it was not a dealbreaker. Nothing was.

• But with time, Kagome would have noticed how good Inuyasha is with Hisui and the Mirsan twins. How his relationship with Shippo had developed from a sibling banter to a makeshift paternal relationship. How people like Shiori and Bunza would look up to him like he was some kind of movie hero. How every kid in the village seemed to adore him despite his grumpy demeanor.

• And Inuyasha would have noticed the way Kagome would look at him whenever he so much as interacted with a child, the way her smell would spike significantly.

• She, of course, was the one to make the first move, jumping him one night, after they had spend the whole day stuck with babysitting the Mirsan children and popping the question.

• Inuyasha was relutant. There was a part of him that was adamant on making her happy and even believed having babies would make him happy too. On the other hand, he was terrified. Terrified of how her body would react to childbirth, of if her spiritual powers would accept his demonic energy. But mostly, about what would happen once the baby was born. The last thing he wanted was for Kagome to go through everything his mother had to go through. Or for another kid to face the same prejudice he did. Besides, he grew up with no father figure whose steps he could follow. He didn’t know how to be a father.

• Kagome assures him that they won’t have a baby until they’re both ready and on the same page, that they have time and that Inuyasha will be a great father.

• Inuyasha believes her.

• Then it is him felling some type of way whenever he sees Kagome around kids. And something deep inside desperately wishes to find out what would their children look like, what would it be like to hold and take care of someone born from their love.

• Finally, he caves.

• Inuyasha wants a big family, considering how lonely his childhood was. Kagome finds it pivotal for their first-born to have a sibling, since she had Sota and their relationship was one of the most important things in her life. That’s why they’d have two children minimum, preferably a boy and a girl. However, giving how dangerous and uncomfortable childbirth can be, especially without the perks the modern era provides, I don’t think they’d have more than three.

• Naturally, Inuyasha relies on Miroku for advice and the latter is more helpful than not. Except for the times Inuyasha asks or says something that makes it way too easy for Miroku to mess with him. Like the time he told Inuyasha that if he doesn’t get Kagome whatever food she craves while pregnant, the baby will be born looking exactly like that food. And Inuyasha believed him.

• And if you thought Inuyasha was protective of Kagome before... oh boy! He’d be almost overbearing, but Kagome would see it as endearing. Most of the time. Sometimes, though, a woman has got to have her privacy. He also becomes more attentive, more gentle, sweeter.

• After their first child is born, Inuyasha gets a makeover of sorts. He’s always borrowing the Fire Rat to Kagome and the baby anyway, so he figured it’d be more practical to just pass the clothes on to them already and get something new for himself.

• It’s white.

• Inuyasha becomes taller, stronger. And often lets Kagome experiment with his hair with braids, top nots... and ponytails.

• Old Myoga is the first one to notice the resemblance. And it’s true. He’s the spitting image of Toga. Former enemies and allies often mistaken him for Toga and Kagome thinks the look on their (and Inuyasha’s) face is hilarious.

• Sesshoumaru does not care for it (I stole this one from @heavenin--hell).

• Inuyasha hates his human nights even more because now his vulnerability also means he might not be able to protect his family as he usually would (Together Changed by @goshinote and @lostinfantasyworlds inspired this one). Plus, the black hair and lack of dog ears confuses the baby, who cries and fusses for a good while until realizing it is, in fact, Inuyasha holding them (this one I saw in an adorable fanart I can’t find).

• But since he needs way less sleeping than humans and he spends the New Moons up anyway, Inuyasha gets a lot of quality time with their infant at night, which allows Kagome to actually get a good night sleep unless the baby is hungry.

• The Beads of Subjugation get dooled and chewed on. A lot.

• A little contest takes place between Kagome and Inuyasha about what the first word of their first child would be, with Kagome going for “dada” and Inuyasha going for “mama.”

• Kagome wins.

• Inuyasha’s fighting style changes. He still says some snarky remarks, but now it’s more to push his opponent‘s buttons down so they would get sloppy than anything else. After all, he has a child to think about and provide for now. He doesn’t have the luxury of gambling with his life anymore. He has a home to come back to and therefore won’t be taking any chances (credit to @born-for-eachother for this one).

• And so he becomes more lethal on the battle field. Pragmatic. Objective. Calculating. Decisive. Cold blooded. Much like... Sesshomaru.

• He had never been more offended on his life than the day Sango pointed this out to him.

• When the kids grow up a bit, Inuyasha and Kagome start to tell them bedtime stories, with the PG version of the story about how the met and defeated Naraku being their favorite.

• Kagome tries to be a reliable and calm narrator while Inuyasha exaggerates the events and the voices, almost always breaking objects of their house in the process.

• After hearing one too many times about the Beads of Subjugation, their child tries to “sit” Inuyasha. Of course it doesn’t work, but he still makes a big deal out of throwing himself on the ground every time they say the word just to hear them laugh.

• The first actual toy Inuyasha buys them is a ball, just like the one he had as a kid, at the same time accomplishing a childhood wish through them and ensuring that they would always have someone to play with.

• Kagome is more protective of their physical state while Inuyasha is more protective of their emotional one (see Fist Fight by @omgitscharlie)

• Inuyasha goes to Totosai and asks him to make a weapon out of one of his fangs to each of their children once they get old enough for it. Not necessarily a sword, just something of their choice and that better fits their personality.

• He would be a just father, doing his best to show no favoritism, treat his children equally and make sure no one felt overlooked or unloved.

• But truth be told, if one of their babies turn out to be a daughter, he would definitelly let her get away with almost anything, no matter how much of a gremlin she is. Daddy’s little girl would have him wrapped around her tiny fingers.

• Life never treated Inuyasha kindly. From a very young age, it was kill or be killed. It wouldn't be too far off for him to think the exact same thing could happen with his kids, therefore he tries to prepare them, to tough them up so they can take it.

• And I believe this sentiment would be significantly amplified with a son, because it would involve the whole “suck it up”, “men don’t cry” and “man of the house” aspect of it. The “it is your duty to protect your mother and sister when I’m gone” too, especially because he couldn’t protect Izayoi himself.

• It’s “tough love”, but it’s love nonetheless. And in the right dose, which I believe Inuyasha manages to nail, it can be very important for one’s development and growth.

• But it’s hard to imagine him being as tough with a daughter. Probably because he sees so much of Kagome on her that the mere idea of seeing her cry simply breaks him.

• Kagome would actually have to step in when it comes to disciplining and saying “no”, because he simply wouldn’t have it in him to do so.

There’s actually a really nice post by @keichanz I reblogged a while ago discussing precisely that, but I can’t find it to save my life (should I start to properly tag my reblogs? No, it’s a lot of work and I’m right not to).

Anyway, that’s all I got for now.

Peace out.

[apimpnamedlo]

That’s just my Baby Daddy (headcanons)

warnings: fluff, a little angst, mentions of pregnancy

A/N: These are just little headcanons I thought up with @shisoaya 🥰 Thank you bby for keeping my head straight when it comes to these men.

Enjoy!

Eren

For starters, your first bundle of joy was conceived in the last year of your college careers.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t convince Eren that just because you were on the pill DID NOT mean that he could “shoot up the club” 😐

He probably got the message loud and clear when you passed him a positive pregnancy test.

He was probably really upset that you two didn’t have anything together, but you wanted to keep the baby and he respected your decision. Thankfully, this man had a reason to buckle down and start taking his studies seriously. By the time you graduated, he graduated with marks thats showed his effort. Please be proud of him 🥺 he did it for you and the baby!

Gets all of his teachings from Carla and unfortunately, has her and his dad on speed dial whenever you mention the slightest of things.

Mumbles to your stomach in the sweetest broken German, getting a head start on bonding with his baby. He’s really just so sweet 🥺

Wants to know the gender IMMEDIATELY. He’s at every appointment with high hopes.

Probably tears up at the little shoes he comes across, and will walk around the store with a matching pair for the three of you until you reluctantly agree to let him buy them.

You two have a perfectly healthy baby girl, and from that point on Eren has TWO apples of his eye.

Later on in life, Eren took time to make sure the both of you had another one just so that your oldest wasn’t lonely. Your second was a boy. Even then when your home wasn’t rowdy enough? The two of you sat down and discussed adoption. A few years after going through the process, you brought home your second sweet little boy.

He’s so proud to have completed such a loving family with you.

And all it took was him wanting a nut LOL-

LEVI

This man didn’t think about kids when the two of you got married. Honestly, he was probably waiting on you to take the first move when you were comfortable.

But when you asked him to start trying, who was he to say no?

It took time and preparation. Levi wasn’t producing a high enough cell count, and a baby seemed so far away. It seemed over time, the two of you tried everything.

When the light of having one looked a little too dim?

You called him at work with the big news. Finally you two were blessed with a baby.

You think your nesting was bad? Levi was horrible when it came to having the house spotless in the duration of your pregnancy.

Doesn’t want to know the gender until the baby is born. This man is more than excited to be surprised.

The both of you are all too familiar with the house smelling as sterile as a hospital.

Once, Hange came over just to hang out with him and before they could even sneeze? Levi was spraying the air with disinfectant 💀 and them-

Bright side? He’s going to spend so much time with your bump as possible, making sure the baby knew he loved him and that he’d be there for them always.

He’s a master at making soothing teas for your stomach or anything else that’s bothering you. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took up giving you rub downs whenever you asked just to make sure you’re always happy. 

And don’t mention the fridge full of whatever you were craving or things to make meals you asked for any time of the night.

Surprisingly enough, yours and Levi’s son was born on Christmas Day, the same as their father. Smooth, evenly scheduled process on his part, he really got things done aside from labor. It really was a miracle that day because out of the pictures you do have with the often stoic man, his smile of pride and joy made everything worth it.

ZEKE

Ever heard of the term one and done?

Zeke has. He wants a kid, but he’s just so busy.

He really makes sure to make sure to work on the two of you first, the first few years of marriage being blissful and full of nothing but communication.

Zeke probably would worry about making the same mistakes as his divorced parents, and that’s why he steadily worked through himself to prepare to give your child nothing but love and support.

Don’t worry. He’s building his fortune in the duration of his residency, and honestly all that’s left is to be able to swipe a card without checking his balance. After that?

He’s on you like white on rice.

Planned sex is definitely a thing with you two, carefully calculated to your fertile windows. This man is skipping work to make sure you two conceive, leaving meetings or family/friend outings without so much as a bye 👋🏾 You two have a baby to make

Before you got pregnant, he definitely tries his best to stop smoking cigarettes 🥺

He’d like to be surprised. Probably will invite your close friends and family to a gender reveal.

When you conceived, he probably already knew. This man studies the hell out of you. The slightest thing will bring his attention to you, and just like that he’s gonna know.

Knows how heavy the baby would get so definitely picks up your belly when you look like you need the relief 🥺 He’s such an observant daddy-

Like Eren, speaks German to your baby but his is much better and thicker in accent. Zeke will speak to your baby and compliment you while he’s at it. He can’t wait to teach them 🥰

“Your mother has to be a warrior to carry you.”

“Calm down, little one.”

BASEBALL. ONSIES. ALL OVER. This man is READY to play catch with his kid, no matter what.

Will argue with the doctors at your appointments. He just will. If he can’t attend, bet your ass he’s gonna chew someone out over FaceTime for even the slightest mistakes.

When your son is born, Zeke is definitely scared after all of his preparations. Would he be good enough? Could he keep his family together? Could he really be the doting father that his son needs?

When he looks into his eyes that are an exact copy of yours?

He’s sure he can.

JEAN

I don’t think you two were trying, but the pregnancy was surely a welcomed surprise.

He’s a mama’s boy, so be prepared to be catered to every second of the day.

Still is gonna complain tho, with the stupidest smile on his face.

Wants another and THIS ONE ISNT DONE BAKING YET-

Honestly, I think Jean would want to know the gender immediately because he’s a little too excited for a baby. And he’s so happy to be having a little girl 🥺

The two of you are probably going to butt heads on names a lot. The two of you have a list of names that are stubbornly crossed out, and you only get two options until one is left standing you agree on.

Is probably plotting out the cutest little outfits with his mom, who’s making sure her son is taking GOOD care of you.

You definitely are going to eat probably the best with him during the pregnancy.

I don’t make the rules, this man’s daughter has him wrapped around his finger when she’s born.

The both of you are neck and neck when it comes to checking her 24/7 the first year of her life. Cant be too careful, right?

ARMIN

Definitely wants kids.

Would be another planned pregnancy, but the surprise came in the form of two sets of feet.

That’s right 🥺 He’d be the proud father of ✨identical ✨twins.

Armin is so gentle through the entire pregnancy. He’s always studying how to best care for them, quietly prepping your home while you rest to house your growing family.

He’s the one to remind you to take your vitamins daily.

You’d be so cherished 🥺 The bby is becoming a father, and he’s gonna be emotional about it. Not out of fear, but the pride and joy just well up sometimes, ya know?

Wants the gender to be a surprise for a gender reveal he planned 🥺🥺🥺🥺 I wanna have a baby for him too-

Has an app on his phone telling him how big your baby is, what they’re the size of, etc.

Slow dancing in the delivery room? I’ve got to say, Armin wouldn’t be scared to get in there and help you through the entire process. He’s probably the most hands on.

When the twins are born, Armin takes sweet time in learning his sons and the littlest things about them. He knows them by how they sneeze, the look of their little toes and the thick mess of hair that looked like a mixture between the two of you

10000/10 would make this man a daddy.

[shadowed-dancer]

MHA: Todoroki ages, Touya’s “death” date, and more

With the release of Chapter 302, we have been given some very interesting information that has allowed me to calculate...

Touya and Fuyumi’s age gap

The month Touya's incident occurred

A general time range for that flashback with the ball

Dabi’s current age

Time range for Shoto getting his scar and Rei being taken away

There will be spoilers under the cut.

UPDATE: A recent twitter post revealed an error in this chapter, so I’ve adjusted my theory accordingly.

So before we start, we have to look at the age gaps we knew from before. In order to have a constant understanding, we need to calculate the age gaps between siblings after they have all celebrated their birthdays for the year. Fuyumi’s birthday is last, falling on December 6. We will use the ages they would have been during the time our story takes place

Touya - ? Age Gap ? Fuyumi - 23 Age Gap 4 Natsuo - 19 Age Gap 4 Shoto - 15

Now, using the ages revealed in chapter 302, we can figure out when the ball flashback is taking place (approximately).

Touya - 13 Age Gap 1 Fuyumi - 12 Age Gap 4 Natsuo - 8 Age Gap 3 Shoto - 5

The age gap between Shoto and Natsuo is lower, meaning Shoto’s birthday has already passed, but Natsuo's hasn’t. If it had, the gap between Natsuo and Shoto would have been 4, and the Natsuo-Fuyumi gap would have been 3. This means this flashback is taking place somewhere between January and June (Natsuo’s birthday is July 1)

Judging by the clothes the kids are wearing, it seems safe to guess that this is probably Spring or Summer. Sure, they all have bodies that are accustom to the cold, but adult Natsuo and Fuyumi still wear coats, meaning they have some sense of seasonal fashion.

Ok so question 1 answered: This flashback takes place in the Spring or Summer, any time before July!

Since we now know that this is taking place before Natsuo’s birthday, it also means it is taking place before Fuyumi’s. This mean that Fuyumi would turn 13 this year, and shortly afterward Touya would turn 14.

This means that Fuyumi and Touya would be born in the same year, and there would be the slightest overlap in December and early January when they are technically the same age.

Another way of looking at this is that Fuyumi will turn whatever age Touya already was.

Question 2 answered: Fuyumi and Touya were born in the same year, with an age gap of about 11 months

Now, using this information, it allows us to know Dabi’s age. Fuyumi was 22 when we met her in the series, and then turned 23. This means Touya was already 23 when we met him, and has now turned 24

Question 3 answered: Dabi is 24, and was 23 when we met him

Finally, let’s look at Touya’s incident. Chapter 302 gives us a little time jump with this transitional text...

We have now jumped to Winter, but Touya is still 13, which means we have not passed his birthday yet (January 18).

However, a quick google search tells me that Japan considered “Winter” to be December-February, which means Touya’s incident had to have happened either in December, or early January (before his birthday). Not an exact date, but still a pretty small range!

Question 4 answered: Touya’s accident happened in December or early January

Unfortunately for us, we don’t know how long after this it took before Rei’s incident, but this chapter confirms that she left after Touya.

EDIT: Twitter has revealed that this line was actually a mistake, and Fuyumi’s comment in Chapter 250 where Rei left before Touya is the actually true one. Check out this post for more details. I have adjusted my calculations accordingly.

We actually know a little about when she was put in the hospital. Just before the Billboard Charts, Deku mentions that this was happening “as November neared it’s end”. Then, Natsuo mentioned that “it’s been nearly 10 years since [Rei was hospitalized]”.

Assuming this was at the end of November, knowing that they have not reached the official 10-year-mark, and adding the fact that Touya died before his birthday in January, it means Rei was probably taken away in December or early January, and then Touya left for training shortly after that.

This “nearly 10 years” hint also matches up with the current timeline. Shoto would have still been 5 (since it’s before his and Touya’s birthdays), and 10 years later means he’s 15 (his current age at that point in the series).

Question 5 answered: Rei scarred Shoto when he was 5, just about to turn 6, and it was probably in late December or early January.

For my final point, I’d like to do a finalized list of ages at all these times, just incase some fic writer needs a reference.

Current Ages (as of March) Touya - 24 Fuyumi - 23 Natsuo - 19 Shoto - 16

Ages when Touya “died” Touya - 13 Fuyumi - 13 Natsuo - 9 Shoto - 5

Ages when Rei was taken away Touya - 13 Fuyumi - 13 Natsuo - 9 Shoto - 5

Voila! Hope that was educational.

[amor-immortalem]

Everything Undesired chapter 4

Chapter 3

Warning: mention of torture? Light victim blaming, Lucifer, Satan, and Beel commit murder.

“I see,” Diavolo had a contemplative look on his face. The demon lord, often seen with a jovial, bright smile plastered upon his face, now had replaced it with a more serious look as Lucifer explained just what had happened to his brother. “And you’re positive this is what happened to Mammon?”

“Asmo is certain enough that he would stake his title as Avatar of Lust on it.” Satan spoke up.

“I see, if that’s the case then I will permit you up to the human world to pay these women a visit. Make sure they suffer, all three of you.” The warmth in his voice, his eyes, now replaced with a cold tone and a wrathful look, absolutely enraged that a demon not just under his rule, but in his cabinet no less had been assaulted in this manner. He may have failed in protecting the Avatar of Greed from this but he would see to it that a crime this grave never happened again to one of his subjects. “I’d would go in your stead to deal with them myself, but I will stay behind and work to pass legislation to ban the making of pacts freely. This will not happen again; I swear it on my life and my throne.”

And with Diavolo’s permission the three Avatars were off, out for blood for the travesty that befell their brother. Once they were gone, Diavolo turned to his butler.

“Barbatos, did you foresee this at all? Was there not anything we could have done differently to prevent this?” For as angry as he is, the demon lord feels a certain sense of guilt for what happened to the white-haired demon. What kind of ruler cannot protect one of his subjects from something so heinous?

“In another reality, yes.” He nodded, “But never in this one specifically, my Lord.”

“What happens next?”

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The three Avatars stand outside the residence of the witches. Lucifer is the first to step forward, demon form manifesting from the wrath coursing through his being. The aura he emits is suffocating to all around him. A knock on the door is all the courtesy he plans to give them tonight.

When the door opens, there is a collective gasp.

“L-Lord Lucifer,” One of the sisters steps back as the three demons barge their way inside the building. “To what do we owe the honor of this visit from not only you, but your younger brothers as well?”

“Do not. DO NOT ACT AS IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO OUR BROTHER!” Satan roars, his demon for making its appearance. He’s ready to go on the attack however it’s Lucifer that stops him with a simple wave of the hand.

“We know everything you’ve done.” The eldest’s voice is cold, gaze calculated. “You’ve not only laid a hand on one of my brothers, but my favorite one at that. That in and of itself is enough to warrant your deaths, but to cause him such suffering will ensure they are not quick.

With another wave of his hand, the Avatar of Pride bound the three women before letting his brothers have a go at the other two. The eldest was his.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asmo took a step into his brother’s room and was devastated to see the look on his brother’s face. He looked so broken; his cheeks soaked with tears as Asmo heard Arella speaking.

“You don’t have to do it if you’re not strong enough for it. I’m sure there are alternatives we could find if you can’t. Just remember, you’re not alone in this. We all will help you if you decide to go through with this.”

The demon’s curiosity was piqued. Just what we’re they talking about?

“’Rella, I can’t ask that of any of you. This is my punishment for bein’ so powerless.”

Asmodeus cleared his throat to gain her their attention.

“What are you two talking about? Did something else happen?”

Arella only picked up the phone and handed it to him. What he saw was enough to pull a gasp from the demon. It made him sick.

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As soon as it had begun, the torture was over. None of the three brothers had even broken a sweat at this point. The witches hadn’t even lasted that long. Blood and viscera coat the floor, bones stick out from odd places, one has pieces missing from her body here and there- bite marks and missing flesh, even a missing arm- all courtesy of the Avatar of Gluttony.

“Beel, are you hungry or has anger tided your hunger?”

“I'm famished,” The Avatar of Gluttony confirmed.

“Go ahead and dispose of their bodies then. Make sure no trace of them remains.” The Avatar of Pride nods to his younger brother.

It was then that they heard it- the screaming cry of a frightened baby. The sound was easy to miss over the shrieking and wailing- the pleas for mercy that would never come. One by one, their heads turned to the sound just upstairs as they all came to terms with the fact that a child had been born from this travesty.

Satan was the first to move as he climbed the stairs. Just off to the right was a tiny nursery and lying in the crib, he found the child. All of his instincts were screaming at him to do away with the infant. He almost did had it not been for Lucifer’s hand placed on his shoulder. They were soon joined by Beel as all three of them peered down at the tiny child below them.

“What do we do?” Beel asked.

“Do we take them with us? Or do we leave them to the proverbial wolves?”

Both brothers looked to the eldest, demanding an answer. For the first time, the Avatar of Pride doesn’t have the answer. Does he take the life of an innocent child or does he subject his brother to a lifetime of suffering? It's an impossible decision to make where either party ultimately loses in the end.

Lucifer reaches down and takes the infant into his arms, a pained look on his face as he scrutinizes the infant’s appearance. Suddenly, he’s flashing back to his time as an angel, back to the first time he ever held Mammon in his arms. The child is an exact carbon copy of their father, no apparent features from his mother or her sisters, this was the best case scenario, but the little one looks sickly- likely due to the lack of demonic influence that would have been received from their father had he been present during the pregnancy.

Finally, after remaining silent for what felt like eternity Lucifer spoke up. “The child doesn’t look long from this world. We’ll wait for morning. If they survive the night, we’ll take them with us- let Mammon decide what to do with them.”

The other two nodded as Beel went back downstairs to finish the meal he had started.

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“You don’t have to take him, Mammon.” Asmo kept staring at the photo on his brother’s D.D.D. as he spoke.

“He has no one else, Asmo,” The white-haired demon frowns. “I can’t just leave him to die and it’s not like I can just give ‘im away either. As much as I hate it, he’s the heir to everything I am- the next Avatar of Greed, the next ruler of the fourth layer. It’ll be hard at first, but I’ll force myself to look past what happened to me. This isn’t his fault, so why punish him for the crimes of his mother and her sisters? He’s innocent in all this.”

“Even now,” the Avatar of Lust chuckled sadly, “after all these years, you still have the heart of an angel, don’t you? You aren’t thinking about what this will do to you, are you? He’ll be a constant reminder of your trauma. Is that really fair to you?”

“It isn't, but when has life ever been fair? If life was fair, we wouldn’t ’ve lost Lilith- wouldn't ‘ve fallen from the Celestial Realm.” He wiped at his eyes.

“No. It’s not, but I still think this is a bad idea for you. None of us will stop you if this is what you want to do but you shouldn’t do it just out a sense of obligation.” Asmo placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “You should only keep him if you want to.”

At the look of resignation on Mammon’s face, Arella placed a hand on his back. “We’re here if you need us. If it gets to be too much, I can help care for him, okay?” She echoes the words she had said previously.

“Babe, you don’t-”

“I know I don’t, but I want to.” She smiled softly. “We’re in this together. All of us.” She looked to the strawberry blonde demon as he nodded in agreement.

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Satan sat in the rocking chair next to the crib while Lucifer was on the phone notifying Diavolo of the situation as well as speaking to Arella in regards to the baby. He studied his nephew, wondering just what might happen to the little boy. Over the hours since finding him here, the tiny half-demon seemed to be getting stronger- likely from just being in the presence of his brothers and him. It was apparent that the child would be coming with them. He wondered what his brother’s reaction would be to the infant. Demons were known to kill unwanted offspring out of panic.

It was the circle of life, the blonde supposed. Not what the child deserved, but if it led to that, there was really nothing anyone could do. He was drawn from his thoughts as quiet chirps sounded from the boy. He watched as the infant brought his little hand to his mouth and he started squirming in the mass of blankets he was swaddled in.

The Avatar of Wrath looked around for a bottle or really anything that could be a source of nourishment. Of course, the newborn would get hungry eventually- that's essentially all babies at this age, eat and sleep. The demon finally finds a mini fridge on the wall opposite the crib, right next to the changing table. He had never fed a baby before but he would be willing to try as long as it kept the boy satisfied and kept him from crying. A trial by fire as they say.

Rocking the infant carefully, he slowly got up and retrieved a bottle from the fridge. It was a lot smaller than he thought an infant should take but it was good enough for the time being. Thankfully there was a bottle warmer placed on a nightstand near the crib. He placed it inside, setting the temperature at that of a human’s normal body temperature. When the milk was sufficiently heated, he gave it to the child who then suckled it down rather quickly,

“Hey now, there’s no need to suck it down so fast. You'll choke if you’re not careful.”

Lucifer had rejoined at him at this point. The scene of his brother trying so hard to feed the baby almost made him chuckle. “I can take him, if you’d like, Satan.”

“Please, I really don’t know how to do this.” He pulled the bottle away so he could transfer the child to his older brother.

“It won’t be long until the dawn. Gather up some of his things as we’ll be taking him with us. I just got off the phone with Arella. She told me Mammon plans on keeping the him.” Lucifer only sighed, wondering if the Avatar of Greed was only doing this out of a sense of obligation and responsibility.

Green to yellow gradient eyes widen in surprise at the statement. “He’s planning on keeping him? I figured he wouldn’t want anything to do with the baby.”

“As did I but, for all of our brother’s flaws, he’s still genuinely a good person. I don’t think he can really leave behind someone who needs him- especially an innocent child.” Lucifer looks down at the child who has now finished the bottle. “Hand me a rag.”

“Why?”

“Well, I would prefer not to be spat up on and now that he’s finished eating, he needs to be burped.” The eldest moved the infant to rest against his shoulder as Satan handed him the nearest rag he could find. “Babies aren’t capable of burping on their own. Now, go gather his things. I’ll tend to him for the time being."

Next

Masterlist 2

[tainbocuailnge]

zepia’s last name is oberon. back in melty blood this was probably a symbolic writing choice regarding the night of wallachia manifesting rumors for a single summer night much like the fairy king oberon does in a midsummer night’s dream, but many years later casefiles material points out that zepia chose the name oberon himself and it is incredibly conspicuous about how this is important. “In the world of magecraft, where a resemblance of names holds such a deep meaning, the relationship between him and the fairy king Oberon of a Midsummer Night’s Dream is a story only he knows.“

as a dead apostle, zepia’s exact lifespan is hard to determine. what we know for certain is in fate he became director of atlas (exchanging the name oberon for atlasia) around 1400 AD and was likely already a dead apostle by then, and in tsukihime he made his contract with altrouge and became the night of wallachia around 1500 AD.

this means zepia’s name was oberon centuries before shakespeare was even alive to write a midsummer night’s dream, so zepia choosing this name predates the invention of the character of the fairy king oberon.

that being said, a character called oberon does exist in the 13th century story of huon de bordeaux, where oberon is the elven son of morgan le fay and julius caesar. this story is referenced in caesar’s profile, although it’s not sure how true it is within fate when caesar lived some five centuries before morgan.

fairies are beings that are normally imperceptible to humans unless they have certain mystic eyes, but there do exist fairies that wear human imagination as a perceivable shell. fairies that can be fully perceived by and interact with humans without such a shell are of the elemental class, of which arcueid is an example given in material books (yu mei-ren would be another example).

the night of wallachia is a phenomenon that cannot be said to exist, but it its able to manifest physically by cloaking itself in malicious rumors.

zepia became the night of wallachia through a contract with altrouge, arcueid’s sister.

in casefiles volume 6, zepia is staying at the blackmore cemetery because it possesses one of the seven atlas contracts that allow one to demand the cooperation of atlas even if it goes against their rules of never letting anything leave the institute. 

chaldea also has such a contract, which is how they were able to obtain trismegistus and the paper moon made by sion. zepia was in charge of making trismegistus until the responsibility was pushed to sion instead.

the cemetery is in gray’s hometown, home to a cult that intends to revive king arthur and which has safekept the mystic code containing rhongomyniad for centuries. said mystic code is add, which was turned into a seal for rhongomyniad and given its current form by morgan le fay. its original, true form is that of the logos react replica, which is a copy of one of the seven superweapons of atlas.

the village’s ritual to revive king arthur was also created by morgan le fay, and they are using the atlas contract to have zepia help in performing it.

zepia is able to control the logos react with ease, and can almost singlehandedly contain it after it goes out of control, which is outrageous even for atlas alchemist standards.

another copy of the logos react is the cause of the gudaguda final honnouji event. sion explains that the nature of logos react is creating an “observational space” for the sake of running thought experiments, but these simulations can easily go on to become singularities. this copy of it was a birthday gift to her from zepia.

in fate timelines zepia did not become the night of wallachia, but in casefiles he does mention having once calculated the possibility of him becoming a “comrade” of gransurg blackmore (his fellow dead apostle ancestor in tsukihime), although that possibility was cut off around 300 AD before he was born. this means zepia is aware of the night of wallachia even if it is impossible for him to become it in fate.

zepia is also connected to doctor heartless, who had his heart stolen by fairies (though I can’t be sure of the exact connection until casefiles vol.6 is translated lol)

lostbelt number six is called “avalon le fay” and is described as a world of fairies instead of humanity. its fantasy tree is dead, and instead it is being maintained by rhongomyniad.

the atlas institute has become dislodged from time in the wake of the incineration of humanity and was subsequently able to appear in the sixth singularity in its present state.

having listed the facts as far as I can find them, here are some things that can be extrapolated from them.

morgan le fay has to have worked together with atlas in the past in order to get her hands on the logos react replica so that she could turn it into add. it is not unlikely that she is also the one who procured the atlas contract for the blackmore cemetery that now allows them to have zepia aid in the ritual, as she would have needed it in order to obtain the replica from them in the first place.

zepia is strongly connected to the fairies through his name and ties with doctor heartless, perhaps even being possible to classify as fairy himself as the night of wallachia, which he became with a fairy’s help, and he is aware of this possible outcome for himself even in worlds where it is impossible. since he predates the writing of a midsummer night’s dream he might have gotten his name from the oberon in huon de bordeaux, or considering the material book does specifically mention a midsummer night’s dream maybe zepia himself was the inspiration for shakespeare’s oberon. 

if zepia indeed took his name from huon de bordeaux’ oberon, it gives him a more direct connection with morgan le fay than simply “director of the institute she worked with long before his time,” as she is the mother of this oberon. 

going by the title lostbelt 6 is all but guaranteed to heavily feature morgan, who as said above has to have connections with atlas, which is currently dislodged from time and has previously appeared in a round table related story chapter. the lostbelt is maintained by rhongomyniad, and zepia has masterful control over a device that can completely seal rhongomyniad, a lesser copy of which is known to be in sion’s possession.

chaldea has an atlas contract, which allows it to demand the unconditional aid of atlas’ alchemists, and it has already previously worked with zepia during the development of trismegistus - although this was unknown to the current chaldea staff before meeting sion in the wandering sea.

believe in lostbelt zepia.

[quennie93]

How they ruined Inuyasha/Yashahime pt. 2

☆Turning a badass Character like Sango in just....Miroku' Wife

☆Kagome still being Useless? She showed up to battle with Moroha with no bow and arrows... like why Kagome.

☆ Kagome still being referred as Kikyo Reincarnation

☆the Terrible Fight scenes that last what? 2 minutes max?

☆the Space Yokai... ion get it lmao They built.it up like it was so strong... and Inuyasha and Sesshomaru took it out with 2 moves....

☆Towa being OP for nooooo damn reason! Towa has no prior training yet she defeating demons left and right. Yet they made sure to show Kagome lack of training very evident.

☆Inconsistencies. More so amongst the fandom.. " Its the feudal Era. It was normal back then. Because people died early" 🥲🥲😪😪 God help me on this one...

ALSO INUYASHA: Has a bunch of old people running around in the show. Kaede seemingly being the oldest

1) It wasn't as common as you think.

2) Inuyasha is so far from accurate. There's literal demons in this show and magical swords and Weapons...

3)If its so common, then why hasn't Sango already been married off by the time she was introduced. Or why don't Kohaku have a wife yet. Or Hisui.. Or Sangos Daughters( this may be true or not. It hasn't been shown)

4) Of you do a little research like people tell me. You'll know why it wasn't common and why it happened when it did

☆Had the audacity to make an episode showing the "horror" of Tamano situations. Amd the hoard of men coming after her at 13.

The next episode revealed Rin as the Mother....I 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️ and Based on what I calculated Shes about 15/16.

☆Also Neither of Sango's daughters are demon slayers?

☆Don't get me started on the Animations cause the amount of terrible scenes is ridiculous considering they suppose to be a professional company

☆Miroku being the only one that ages...

☆REUSING OLD CHARACTER DESIGNS and PLOTS

☆Story having so many plot holes and not making any sense!

☆They didn't even Age Rin up she literally has the exact same face at 8 plus an extra Eyelash.

☆Also Rin laying there in plank formation as if she can't move her arms! She wasn't even holding her babies! Wtf! And even when sesshomaru came and Took them.... she didn't do anything just moved her head. Everyone else said something Except the mother!!

☆Inuyasha facing the tree in The promo Poster??? Why?! Rin is in there....

☆Also Rin being in the tree makes no sense. She has no link to this damn tree!

☆Jaken saying he'll take care of the twins in Rin's place

1) Jaken HATED watching Rin now he's just happy to watch her twins as well too?

2) Contradicted himself later saying He'll bring Rin through the barrier.

☆ Towa not having her human night until she was in the Feudal Era.

☆ There's no development in the characters they've been the same since Ep. 1... no new moves nothing...

☆Everyone being so damn clueless!

☆People using a chart saying Rin was 17 but also want me to believe Hisui suppose to be between 5-7 but he can barely walk. Ummm no!

☆The so-called clues and mystery and "shock" about who the mother is. It was nonexistent. O was more intrigued the theories Antis came up with! But I should've know Sunrise or whoever wasn't clever enough to do all that lmao

☆Kagome supposedly suppose to be pregnant. When Rin gave birth? B*tch where?!

☆Sango and Miroku twins... the design of one of the twins is literally just same kid head on a woman body... I just lmao ugh! I'm sorry but she look so stupid with her hair cut. Cause she look like she a grown woman that don't wanna grow up

☆Inconsistencies of Hair colors... Setsuna hair was black then brown then back to black. Towas hair turns black during the new moon... but Rins hair is Brown...

☆Once again the FUCKING RED STREAK?!! WHY!?!?! Towa didn't loose it during the new moon. So it's not demonic but it's also not from Rin. Soo whyyyyyyy?!?!!

☆Sesshomaru walking and taking the twins without a word to Rin. Pissed me off.

☆MF had the audacity to use a Sesskagu moment in the beginning of the Opening. ( Moment when Sesshomaru says " i get to decide whether she died in vain...")

☆ Inuyasha series made it adamant that for Sesshomaru to grow he he needed to be great on his own and become separate from his father.. then Yashahime comes around and Makes him almost exactly as his father....

☆Sesshomaru Denouncing his title...why

☆Sesshomaru going with Kirinmaru to fight Inuyasha and Kagome then suddenly seals them in a pearl... it makes no sense

☆Hisui not liking his father then suddenly okay with him at the end of the episode

☆Miroku being such a coward and running??

☆Zero saying she heard a rumor that Sesshomaru had half demon twins but they had just been born......

☆Hisui suppose to be pushing 5 when The twins were born but he look 2/3 and can barely walk lmao

JUST TERRIBLE. ILL Add more. When I think of it lmao

Part of me wanna keep watching cause I know they'll mess up even more

[thesquidkid]

I was the match and you were the rock

This was supposed to be a very different fic, but Things We Lost In The Fire by Bastille came on, and this was born (also I listened to the song on repeat, so there may be some lyrics scattered around 😂)

It is also quite sad (at least I have tears in my eyes writing it), so I guess sorry? Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it! 😂 (Also on ao3)

Oh and there might be spoilers for the finale? With everything happening with the airstream.

Michael was sitting on the ground, back against his truck, in the middle of the junkyard, looking at his trailer go up in flames. All the people he cared about were besides him, Alex sitting on his right, rubbing his thigh. He had his arm around the other man, the two of them mourning the airstream and all the moments shared.

But more than just memories with Alex, the trailer held Michael’s life for over a decade. He knew the others were sad, but overall they all shared the same sense of joy - Jones was no more a threat. And as much as Michael wanted to celebrate, he also mentally counted how much everything would cost to replace, if he could live with Alex until he found a solution, how many other vehicles had been touched, how deep in debt Sanders Auto would be in.

“Out.” Sanders said, not leaving any place for discussion. He was standing, leaning against Michael’s truck, his leg touching Michael’s shoulder, a comforting presence.

When Michael had fallen to the ground seeing the flames, Sanders had kept standing, head high. But deep down, he was in a similar state to Michael - teary eye(s) and wet cheek(s), calculating the loss of money, the loss of small sentimental value. Because even if there wasn’t much in the airstream, it was all Michael’s, and Sanders had grown used to it being there, was even attached to the poor thing.

This is why he was asking everyone to leave. They didn’t belong in this place, and didn't understand what was truly happening. They wanted to celebrate the win against Jones - as they should - but they didn’t feel the same loss that Michael did.

Michael didn’t even register Sanders’ word, didn’t even hear the cars leaving, his ears still ringing from the explosion. He had gone into the airstream, to try to save anything, but it was too late, most of the inside had burnt down already, the outside shell starting to melt.

I will burn down everything you care about, Jones had said when they defeated him. At first, Michael didn’t understand. Alex was standing next to him, seemingly not on fire, Isobel and Max in a similar state. He even checked in with Sanders, called the old man to make sure he was okay, when the explosion happened. Michael had driven as fast as he could, rushing to the airstream, Alex shouting after him.

He didn’t see Alex running after him, forgetting for a moment that Michael was fireproof. It was only when Alex grabbed Michael’s hand inside the airstream, that Michael registered the dangerousity of Alex being here. Using his powers, he had pushed Alex out of there, but that didn’t stop both of them to still be coughing and Alex’s prosthetic needing to be replaced.

But neither of those things were at the front of Alex’s mind in that instant. Sitting on the ground, his leg in front of him, still hot from the fire, coughing once in a while, his only focus was Michael. Michael was okay, physically. The flames hadn’t burned him, and the coughing had stopped after a while. Emotionally, on the other hand, he knew that Michael was not okay. Even if he couldn’t fully understand how much the airstream meant to Michael, he knew that he was hurting, and wanted nothing more than to be there to comfort his boyfriend.

And so he stayed. When Sanders told the others to go, he looked up to the older man, who was only looking at the flames. He wondered if he should leave the two to be alone, to mourn, to check the damage, but he also knew that he was not going to leave Michael’s side for a few days, especially not after what happened with Jones.

The firefighters came, eventually. By then, nothing could be saved. Luckily, Michael had used his powers to push the remaining cars and various other inflammable objects present in the junkyard to the side.

When the firefighters left, having checked Alex, Michael and Sanders and advising them to go get checked out at the hospital, the three men were alone, the airstream’s creaking cutting through the night.

“You should head home,” Michael whispered to Alex, his eyes never leaving the airstream, “you need to rest your leg, I’ll join you in a bit.” He turned his head to meet Alex, who could see all the desperation, the sadness and the anger present in those golden eyes.

“You’re sure?” Alex asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Michael nodded, turning back to the airstream with a sniff. “We need to check for what can be covered by insurance, and what we’ll lose,” Sanders said with a gruff, turning his back to the airstream for the first time since the explosion.

Michael wiped his cheeks and turned around, facing Alex properly, who was sitting on the bed of the truck. From where he stood, Michael could see the airstream from the corner of his eye, could smell the burnt metal, could hear the cracks. He took Alex’s hands in his, “I’ll be home in a bit,” he said, his voice breaking, “I just need -” he went on in a sobb, dropping his head into Alex’s shoulder, who put his hand to Michael’s hair, in a comforting gesture.

It broke Alex’s heart to see this, to see Michael be so desperate, so lost, in such pain. “You need to make a list of what burned down,” Alex finished, knowing that this was important to Michael, both financially, and sentimentally. Who knew if Sanders Auto would even recover from such havoc. Alex just knew that he would do everything he could so that Michael wasn’t alone.

Michael sniffed into Alex’s shoulder, breaking Alex’s heart a little more, before standing up. He wiped his face with his hand, and breathed deeply, his hands still holding onto Alex’s.

Alex drove back home, putting his leg through one last painful challenge, before taking it off as soon as he sat on his couch, before texting Michael to let him know he had made it safe and sound.

Examining the prosthetic under a proper light, he could see that it was crooked, parts of it having melted in the heat. His stump was bright red and swollen, he made his way to the bathroom and warmed himself a bath, setting an alarm clock to get out of the water.

When the alarm rang, he dried himself and got dressed for bed, each step made with a wince. After taking two painkillers, he made his way to his bed, falling asleep as soon as he was under the covers.

He woke up when he felt a warm body slide next to him under the covers. When he opened his eyes, he saw Michael, curls still wet from the shower he had just taken, eyes still puffy. Alex scooted closer to Michael, wrapping him in his arms. They could talk in the morning, about Jones, about the airstream and the junkyard, but right now, both needed the rest and the comfort of each other.

In the morning, when Michael woke up, he found himself in an empty bed. He got out with a smile, eyes still puffy from the night before, but not crying anymore (not that he had any tears left in the first place), and walked to Alex’s living room, where he could hear some noise.

Getting closer, he could hear Alex on the phone, finishing up a conversation, “Yeah okay, I will, thanks.” He was sitting on the couch, his leg propped up on top of a pillow, the prosthetic off. On the table were laying a jar of cometquiles spread and some flying sauce-cakes, making Michael chuckle, remembering the last time those were on that exact table.

“Arthuro called and asked what you wanted, he heard about -” Alex said, going off at the end, not wanting to say it, but knowing that they needed to talk about it, the explosion.

“How’s your knee?” Michael asked instead, taking a cake and sitting next to Alex, worry clear on his face. The airstream was gone, the damage already caused at the junkyard, he and Sanders had already talked about their next possible moves, right now the only thing he could act on was Alex. Whether it was a massage, fixing the prosthetic, anything Alex needed, wanted.

“It has known better days,” Alex answered, leaning his head on Michael’s shoulder while he ate. They were silent for a few minutes, Michael enjoying breakfast, Alex texting Kyle about his leg. Once Michael finished eating, he spoke up.

“So, uh, we made a list?” Michael started, hesitantly. “Of all the things we lost in the fire. A few cars were touched, so that’s gonna cost a lot with the clients. Hopefully we can get insurance, but I don’t think that’ll be enough. There’s also a lot of old junk that burnt, which sucks since we wanted to sort through it and melt the metal parts together. Now it’s just a bunch of useless shit, so we’ll have to throw that out. We’ll also need to replace the heavy tools, a lot of them are melted or burnt. So all in all, the bill is high.”

He sighed, “Too high,” he added at the end, a whisper, as if saying the words at louf would make them more real. After the pandemic, the junkyard was slowly building itself back up monetarily, but they still weren’t out of the red. And the explosion only made things harder.

Alex rubbed his hand up and down Michael’s back, listening in silence, being a comforting presence. One Michael finished speaking, Alex talked, voice low, testing the waters if Michael wasn’t ready to talk about it now.

“Did you make a list for the airstream?” he asked, full of concern.

Michael nodded, and suddenly it was as if the dam had broken. When last night Michael was mostly in shock, he was fully sobbing, turning to Alex, who held him tight in the embrace.

“I lost -” Michael sobbed, “I lost everything, Alex.”

Alex held him, tried to make him feel calmer. Except, this was all new territory, seeing Michael brake like that, Alex had never witnessed it. Like everyone else, anger was mostly the emotion he had attributed to Michael in the past. And that anger was still there, now, sobbing into Alex’s chest. Except it was controlled, and surrounded by sadness and pain, that Alex didn’t need to be psychic to feel.

Before, Alex might have taken Michael’s comment personally, told him that he didn’t lose everything, that Alex was still there. But this was past Alex, present Alex knew that Michael had built his life in that airstream, it was his first real home, the first safe place that was his and his only. Because where the truck was technically speaking the first thing Michael owned, the trailer was the first object he built from the ground up.

So yes, Michael had lost everything. Everything he owned, everything he built, the countless drawings and projects that scattered the walls of the airstream and the entire bunker, the photographs he kept hidden in a box.

Where people would see a piece of trash, some place that was unsanitary and dirty, some place that wouldn’t be comfortable to live in, Michael had seen a home for many years. And as much as Alex was Michael’s home, nothing could replace the airstream.

“I know,” Alex whispered into Michael’s hair, “I’m sorry”.

The two stayed in that position for a while, until Alex’s phone rang. Michael stood straight, wiped his eyes and his nose, and grabbed another cake, while Alex talked to Eduardo, giving a fast review of what happened with the Lockhart machine, but keeping it vague enough to not out Dallas.

“Seriously,” Alex laughed out after hanging up, “the Valenti’s need to stop calling me.” At Michael’s confused raised eyebrow, he continued, “I was talking to Kyle earlier, he was worried about my leg, telling me not to put it under pressure. As if I couldn’t make that decision myself. And now, Eduardo is giving me a week off, to, I quote, ‘rest’. I am a grown ass man, I can do that myself!”

Michael giggled at that, turning into a laugh. “What?” Alex asked with a smile, not understanding what was funny.

“Babe,” Michael said, leaning close, “you do need people to tell you to rest.” He kissed Alex’s cheek as the other man chuckled, “That’s fair,” Alex replied, turning to look at Michael.

He was not yet in a good state, his eyes were still puffy and red, his cheeks beard the path of dried tears, his curls were all over the place, and his eyes were still heartbreaking. The sadness and the pain were clear in them.

But when Alex looked deep into Michael’s eyes, he could see that it was going to be okay. That Michael would hurt, for a long time even, and it would be hard to recover financially, but Michael’s eyes had something in them that he had desperately tried to get rid of. Hope.

And that was enough for Alex to believe that they were going to be okay. That Michael was going to be okay. The fight wasn’t over. The other’s may not be fighting Jones anymore, but Michael and Alex weren't done. In more ways than once.

They still had to deal with the damages in the junkyard. Help Sanders with his auto shop. And deal with their personal fears, Michael’s fears about his father.

The fire had destroyed Michael’s home, but from the ashes, a new one was being built.