#literally 4 bits on my left cheek. 3 on right & 1 on forehead. oh my god and i think they bit my ear are you kidding me

[tasteofyourblood]

I GOT BIT BY MOSQUITOS 8 TIMES LAST NIGHT !!!! ON MY FACE ALONE! I LOOK LIKE THIS NAO

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

I'm Your Man - Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal x OFC - Chapter 19

Masterlist | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18

AO3

Word Count: 3.5k

Tags: @mads-weasley @xxluckystrike @curaheehee @footprintsinthesxnd @dcyllom @storysimp @latibvles @love-studying58 @justheretoreadthxxs @blakelysco-pilot

A/N: I'm sooo sorry this chapter took so long!! things have been super busy lately and my motivation to write was so low it was literally in hell. But! we got there eventually - please enjoy!! <3

December 1945

Morning sunlight flooded the room, the hustle and bustle of New York sounding through open windows as Frankie pried open a new paint can with a grunt, leaving a smudge of blue in her wake as she raised a paint-stained hand to wipe across her forehead. With each brush stroke, the room grew more alive with colour as everything steadily seemed to come together.

She'd been up since before dawn. Sleep didn't come easily these days.

Hair pulled messily out of her face, Frankie dressed in a pair of Rosie's old pyjamas, the shirt only half-buttoned, left open where it became too small to reach across her swelling stomach. A bassinet remained unassembled in the hall, waiting for its spot to be ready, and the smell of coffee wafted up from downstairs, a surefire sign that Rosie had awoken too, undoubtedly readying for work.

Within a few minutes, he came to her, hovering in the doorway in his suit - the one that was tailored the best, the one that made her melt a little no matter how many times he wore it. "Morning," She called with a smile, adjusting a piece of masking tape along the window frame. The sun caught her at just the right angle, illuminating her silhouette as she straightened.

"You're beautiful," Rosie beamed, crossing the room towards her. Lifting a hand to cup her cheek, he brought his lips to hers, delivering a gentle kiss.

"Ah-ah," Frankie chided, ducking backwards as she lifted her hands in surrender. "Paint hands." He chuckled as she scampered from the room, scurrying to the bathroom to wash away the streaks of wet paint that stained her hands to preserve that excellent suit of his.

He was waiting when she returned, a pleased smile creasing his cheek as she returned the first kiss, one of his palms pressed against her stomach. As she finally pulled away, he raised a hand, stifling a chuckle as the pad of his thumb rubbed at the paint staining her face.

"Don't work yourself too hard, honey," He urged, entirely unable to meet her eye without a smile creeping across his expression.

"Oh, you know me," She teased, straightening his tie.

Scoffing, Rosie shook his head slightly. "That's the problem."

Frankie shrugged. "Eh. Bucky's coming over in a bit, might sit down for a whole ten minutes. I'll drop by the garage for a bit just to check in."

"Have him drive you," He nodded, turning to head for the door.

"I can drive!" She protested. Rosie let out a bark of laughter, swinging back on his heel.

"No, you cannot - for the safety of New York, I beg."

Frankie guffawed, batting a hand in his direction. "Get outta here!"

"Yes ma'am," Rosie grinned, tipping an imaginary cap before disappearing down the hall.

Once again alone in the nursery, she smiled to herself, chuckling as her fingers drummed against her stomach. "Your dad thinks I'm a terrible driver," She whispered as if confiding a secret to the child within her. "Although, your uncle Bucky says it too, so they might be onto something. Either way, it looks like I won't be doing the school run."

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A little over an hour later, the doorbell sounded, startling Frankie enough to make her jump, a splatter of paint falling from her brush and staining her sock as she cursed beneath her breath. Waddling slightly as she made her way downstairs, she seized a sweater from the back of a nearby chair, tugging it up over her head to cover her stomach. As she wrenched the door open, gaze settling on the figure standing on the front step, she fought the urge to grin.

"I'm sorry, do we know each other?"

"Shut up," Bucky chuckled, stepping inside as he wrapped her in a hug. "You look huge."

"You smell bad," Frankie grimaced.

"Late night."

"Oh yeah?" She raised a brow, a smirk curling her lip as he shrugged nonchalantly, a faint splash of colour tinting his cheeks. "Anything to share with the class?" Bucky frowned, side-stepping his way inside like he owned the place

"Oh come on," Frankie groaned, shutting the front door with a slam. "I haven't been out for a drink in months, I need someone to live vicariously through."

"There... may have been a girl."

"Knew it," She grinned, scurrying into the front room to take a seat in one of the armchairs. "Sit, sit, sit!"

"Jesus, you need to get out more," Bucky muttered, perching on the edge of the couch. "That baby's making you weird."

"Not the point. Start talking."

Throwing his hands up in frustration, he let out a sigh. "I don't know! I got drunk and we danced - she was pretty, I think her name was... Jo? Josephine. But other than that I got nothin', so I'll probably never see her again."

Frankie let out a long, agonised groan as she pushed herself back up out of her seat, waddling towards the kitchen. "God, what's the point of living through you if all you do is make stupid decisions?"

"Where are you going?" Bucky called after her, craning his neck to watch as she disappeared into the kitchen. It was quiet for a while until she reappeared in the doorway, a plate of shortbread in her hand, already chewing a mouthful.

"You want some?"

He snorted back a laugh, smiling sceptically. "You made those?"

"They're the only thing I'm good at. Three ingredients." She mused, licking some sugar from her fingertip as she returned, putting the plate down on the coffee table. Lowering herself back into her chair, Frankie let out a groan, the feeling of weight being taken from her practically euphoric. "So. What's the plan for tracking down this Jo?"

Bucky threw his hands up in despair. "I dunno. It's impossible."

Her eyes narrowed slowly. "I don't think I've ever heard you say those words," Frankie teased. "Do it again. Slowly."

"Shut up," He frowned, stuffing a piece of shortbread into his mouth to avoid having to speak for at least a little while.

"I just never knew you to be a coward," She shrugged. "You're setting a bad example for the baby."

Bucky scoffed, a few crumbs blowing loose from his moustache. "The baby doesn't know what's going on."

Frankie felt a stretch within her as the baby kicked out with her tiny foot. "Oh, she begs to differ."

"Oh my God."

"Hm?"

"I just realised there's actually gonna be two of you. I dunno if I can cope with that."

"Oh, don't tell me Uncle Bucky's gonna shirk his duties."

"...Uncle Bucky?"

"Mhm."

He began to grin, chuckling to himself, unable to suppress his smile as he leant back into his seat. "Well... alright. I think I can work with that."

Frankie mirrored his smile, the room falling into quiet for a long moment before she snapped her fingers.

"Ok. You're giving me a lift to work."

"Oh, am I?"

"Yep. Rosie says I'm not allowed to drive."

"Oh, yeah, no, good call actually. I'll get my coat," Bucky nodded firmly, fumbling for his keys as he rose to his feet.

"Well, I was thinking I'd go put proper clothes on first," She pointed out. He turned, taking in her appearance, the sleeves of Rosie's sweater dangling past her fingertips, paint-stained socks peeking out beneath the hem of her pyjama bottoms.

"Seems fair."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Bucky's car vanished around the corner as Frankie headed inside through the open garage door, groaning slightly as she craned backwards, stretching her back against the weight it carried. The place was alive with work, her staff bustling away as they tweaked and mended the cars in their custody, a raucous whirr filling the air and bringing her back to the countless hours spent in her father's shop as a girl.

"Mrs Rosenthal," One of the mechanics nodded to her as she waddled past, tipping an imaginary cap in her direction.

"Mornin', Ted," She paused, stepping up beside him as he peered beneath the hood of one of the cars. "How's it lookin'?"

"Think we got a problem with one of the carburettor valves - I'll take it out and have a look, but we'll probably have to order a part."

"Alright," Frankie hummed. "I'm sending out an order later anyway, if you can get it checked today I should be able to get it in fast."

"Thanks, Frank," Ted smiled, the pair exchanging nods as she headed towards the office, which sat tucked away in the far rear of the place, its windowed walls giving her a perfect view of everything that went on.

"Excuse me?" A voice echoed through the garage, barely audible over the roar of machinery, giving Frankie pause as her hand reached for the office door. A woman lingered in the entryway, clutching her purse as she glanced around hoping to be noticed. Her blonde hair was pulled back in neat curls, a pleasant smile curling red lips as she met Frankie's eye.

"Hi!" She grinned, meeting the woman in the middle of the room as they headed towards each other. "What can I do for ya?"

"I'm just here to pick up my car, I brought it in a few days ago."

"Alright, no worries," Frankie nodded, back-tracking towards the office to grab her clipboard "What's the name?"

"Josephine Pitz."

She paused, slowly looking up from her notes, her earlier conversation with Bucky replaying in her head.

"Mhm. Ok. If you could just take a seat, I'll go deal with the paperwork and you'll be good to go," Frankie urged, waddling at full speed back to her office as Josephine found a chair.

Alone in the privacy of her office, she grabbed the papers, fumbling for the phone on her desk as she forcibly dialled the familiar number. Holding the handset between her shoulder and her chin, she scribbled away, deigning not to get too precious about her terrible spelling as she waited for her friend to pick up.

"Hello?" Bucky's voice came down the line.

"I think I've found the answer to your Josephine problem."

She heard him scoff. "Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Shut up, she's just come in. Josephine Pitz - blonde hair, green eyes... great legs."

"Oh shit."

"That's what I'm saying! Get down here right now - knock on the back door."

"Alright, yeah - On it."

The line beeped as he hung up, and she couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image of Bucky scrambling to get out of the house, scurrying to his car in a frenzied hurry. Frankie pushed herself closer to the desk, the table's edge digging into her stomach as she signed off on the last paper, only half paying attention as she focused on keeping Josephine firmly in her peripheral vision.

After ten minutes of clumsy stalling, the knock of a fist against the back door came as a welcome intrustion, and Bucky was scarcely able to offer greetings before he found Frankie's lunch thrust into his hands.

"Wh-?"

"Go round the front - pretend I forgot this, and Rosie's asked you to bring it."

He looked down at the crumpled paper bag, nodding firmly. "Good plan. Great plan. Ok."

"Right, go."

Flashing her a grin of excitement, Bucky disappeared around the side of the building, appearing mere seconds later at the front entrace, her lunch held aloft as if in victory. Josephine did a double take, eyes widening slightly in recognition, whilst he seemed to be pretending he hadn't noticed her yet. It struck Frankie as an odd decision.

"Here you are," Bucky declared, holding the bag out to her with a smile as he approached. "Can't keep forgetting this. Feedin' two n' all."

"Oh! Yes, thank you," Frankie nodded. Even when unable to see her own face, she could tell her attempt at appearing surprised was not going terribly well.

"... John?" Josephine's voice intruded. He turned to face her. If Frankie's effort at feigning shock had been unsuccessful, his was worse.

"Jo? Huh! Fancy seeing you here!"

Jo's jaw hung slightly slack, gaze darting between them as the gears turned in her head. Bucky and Frankie stood frozen, waiting for her to speak.

"... Oh my god, you're married?!"

Some kind of terrible squawk escaped Frankie's throat, an awkward middle ground between a choke and a guffaw. "Oh, Jesus, no! No, no - see the Rosenthal & Co. sign outside? I'm the Rosenthal. He's Egan, completely unrelated."

Jo's frown faded slightly, brows still pinched as the shock of what she thought she'd realised slowly wore off. Briefly glancing at Bucky, he offered her an awkward thumbs-up.

"So... Who's the 'Co.'?"

"Right here," Frankie patted her stomach, which barely fit beneath the buttons of her coveralls.

"... Huh."

"We're just friends," Bucky assured. "We worked together during the war."

"This whole thing was just a set-up attempt, cuz he was at my house earlier talking about you," Frankie shrugged.

Suddenly the others were both staring at her with expressions of equal alarm. She paused, clicking her tongue awkwardly.

"I am... gonna go get your car. Just... carry on without me."

"Please go away now," Bucky uttered.

"Yep."

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5th January 1946

Christmas lights still bathed the living room in a flickering array of red and green, the tree long since wilted and thrown away, although neither of them had quite found the time to take down any of the other decorations. There always seemed to be another job that needed doing more urgently, and as the days passed, Frankie found herself more and more open to Rosie's pleas that she simply sit down, rest, and let him take care of it all.

He was lounging in one of the armchairs, newspaper unfolded in his lap, a few dry patched of paint still staining his shirt from where he'd helped her to finish painting the nursery. Padding across the room, Frankie's eyes screwed shut as she let out a yawn, only opening them as she felt his hand gently tugging at her wrist. She hadn't even had to look at him to know what he wanted, hearing the rustle of the newspaper being cast aside as she lowered herself to perch in his lap, wrapping an arm around the back of his neck as his hand rubbed circles against her spine.

"God, I'm bored of waiting for this baby," Frankie sighed. He hummed, breath warming her skin as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, a bubble of laughter escaping her throat.

"Not much longer now," He said, voice muffled against her as he held her as close as he could, the red and green lights reflecting against the polished metal of her ring.

"... You think it's time for the decorations to come down?" Rosie asked, chin resting against her shoulder as he glanced around the room.

"No," She tutted. "I like the idea of it still being Christmas when she gets here."

"You're so sure it's a girl?"

"Oh, yeah. And I'm always right."

"Of course."

A soft finger against his jaw tilted Rosie's face to look up, his eyes softening without delay the moment they landed upon her. Her hair had been messily scraped back into a ponytail, loose strands sticking out at every angle. But her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes were bright, and to him, she'd never been more beautiful. Frankie pressed a quick kiss to his lips, their foreheads resting against one another as they both let their gazes travel to her bulging stomach.

"You're gonna be such a good dad," She hummed, barely more than a whisper. He lifted his head, pressing another, longer kiss to her temple.

"She's gonna love you," He muttered against her skin. Frankie shrugged, fiddling with the cuff of her sleeve. After a beat of silence, Rosie pulled away, looking her in the face. "You okay, honey?"

"I dunno, I just," She sighed. "I don't remember my mum. I don't really remember how they're supposed to... be."

Sucking in a long, deep breath, he wrapped his arms tighter around her, a frown creasing his brow.

"You're not supposed to be anything. You're already the kindest, funniest, smartest person I know. And you've got your dad - if you're anything like him at all, our kid's gonna be just great."

Rosie chuckled as she wrapped her arms around his head, squeezing it in a vice grip. She kissed his scalp firmly before resting her cheek against his hair. "I love you."

"I love you so much," He said, muffled against her sweater. But she could hear the smile in his voice.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

10th January 1946

Frankie's face was still drenched with sweat, hair clinging to her temples as she cradled the tiny infant in her arms, unable to wipe the grin from her cheeks even for a second. Even as exhaustion willed her eyes to close, she couldn't bring herself to look away. "Oh, there you are," She whispered as a gurgle escaped the girl's throat, her hand so small it could do nothing but wrap around her mother's pinky finger.

Rosie wiped away the sweat from Frankie's brow, hand ceaselessly gentle. "You feeling okay?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," She nodded. He looked down at the baby in her arms, eyes welling with immediate tears. A tired laugh escaped Frankie's throat. "Oh, honey. You wanna hold her?"

Beaming at the prospect, he reached out to softly pry the child from her mother's grip, his hands so big against her tiny frame that it seemed almost impossible that something so small could even exist. "Hi there Maggie," He sang, sniffing loudly as he tried to blink away the tears before they could roll down his cheeks. Frankie reached out a hand, wiping them away with the pad of her thumb.

A soft knock sounded at the door, cautious and restrained as whoever stood outside waited patiently, hesitant to intrude.

"Come in!" Frankie called, voice mellow to avoid stirring the baby.

Creaking slowly open, George's head poked inside, a wide-eyed smile crumbling as she processed the scene in front of her. "God, I said I wasn't gonna cry," She tutted, wiping her eyes as she hovered in the doorway, as if hesitant to make her entrance before she'd fully composed herself.

"Oh, who cares, c'mere," Frankie laughed, holding out her arms as her best friend hurried forward. Passing the baby with barely more than a glance, she enveloped her in a fierce hug, perching on the edge of the bed beside her.

"I'm so proud of you," George choked back a sob, raising a hand to stroke Frankie's hair out of her face. "You smell terrible."

"Just like the old days, huh?" She laughed. "Although I did just have a bloody baby, do you actually want to see her?"

"Oh, shit, yeah," George sniffed, wiping her tears as she pulled out of the hug. Rosie was still standing in the corner with Maggie, a smitten smile creasing his cheeks, seemingly unaware of anything else around him.

"Rosie," Frankie prompted gently, snapping him out of his trance.

"Hm? Oh, yeah," He looked up, edging towards George so that she could get a peek at the child beneath her bundle of blankets.

"Hiya," She whispered, grinning as she leaned closer, lifting her hand so that the baby could wrap a chubby hand around her finger. "What's her name?"

"Margaret. Well, Maggie," Rosie smiled.

"Margaret Georgina Rosenthal," Frankie pointed out, George's eyes widening as she turned to look back at her.

"Shut the fuck up," She blurted, hand raised almost immediately to cover her mouth, glancing nervously back at the baby as if she somehow understood. Rosie began to laugh, the vibration of his chest making Maggie gurgle happily. "You didn't."

He shrugged. "Well, we thought that you-"

"I don't even like that name!"

Frankie snorted. "I know!"

George groaned. "Fine, well, I think she suits it better anyway." She nodded to Rosie, wordlessly asking his permission, and he gently placed Maggie into her arms. "Yeah. She's a cool baby."

"Bucky's coming to see her later," Frankie said. "He'll be mad I didn't somehow find a way to name her after him."

"He's gonna cry," "He's gonna cry," George and Rosie stated simultaneously, lifting their gazes from the baby to look at each other, snorts of laughter escaping them both.

"Alright, that's enough, give me my baby," She grunted, shifting forward on the bed and holding out her arms. Maggie let out a series of gargling sounds as George lowered her into Frankie's arms, tiny eyes staring up at her mother as she held her close. She let out a faint chuckle, stroking her thumb across her cheek.

"Yeah... She is gonna be pretty great."

[primofate]

Genshin x fem!reader [Volleyball Team AU - Inspired by Haikyuu!] He introduces S/O to the team

Before you read this, might be a good idea to read the introduction first. To give you the whole low-down of the team and their dynamicsssss.

Other works in the Volleyball Team AU Series: Click Here

Scenario: You and him have been dating for a while now. Why does the team not know and what’s their reaction in finding out/when he introduces you?

Warnings: AU if that’s not your thing then don’t read, not proofread...as usual.

#1 Zhongli (Captain/Wing Spiker/Ace)

You’ve been dating for nearly 5 months at this point. Beforehand the two of you were close friends. So the team kind of already knew you guys were close, but you’d never met the team properly.

It’s not that he was HIDING your relationship, its that he didn’t want to pressure you into meeting his team. They could really be an overwhelming bunch of high schoolers sometimes.

As it happens he walks to the gym hand in hand with you one day, his other hand on his duffel sports bag, thinking that he’d be the earliest one there as always. 

But when he slides the gym doors open his WHOLE TEAM greets him “CAPTAIN!” and then there’s an awkward silence that descends as they all catch him with his hand intertwined with yours.

KAEYA AND TARTAGLIA LOSES IT. “C-Captain, you had a girlfriend and didn’t tell us?!” “You finally made a move on her?!” “S’about time!”

Needless to say they both get knocked on the head by Zhongli’s fist. 

Zhongli sighs and turns to you apologetically but you say that you don’t mind meeting them. He perks up and claps his hands to ask his team to line up.

They do so diligently. Kaeya, Tartaglia and Thoma are giddy while looking at you. Xiao and Kazuha have their mouth slightly agape as if you’re some kind of rare species. Diluc and Albedo stare you down. 

You introduce yourself as Zhongli’s gilrfriend and as you do so Tartaglia’s eyes dart towards Zhongli who has a slightly shy expression on his face. 

“Oh, oh question time!” Thoma raises his hand “Does the captain secretly eat sweets behind our back?” You haven’t even answered when Kaeya asks “Does the captain ever glare at you (he mimics Zhongli’s face) and say 10 Push ups NOW!” Surprisingly Diluc raises his hand too “...Is the captain strict with you too?”

Zhongli gets irked the more questions are asked and he finally steps in with an ominous presence. “10 laps around the gym...NOW!” 

He apologizes to you again but you reassure him it’s totally fine and they all seem like such fun. 

#2 Diluc (Vice Captain/Wing Spiker/Defense Specialist)

The vice captain is a very secretive guy.

Not even his brother knew.

It’s not that he was ashamed of you, he just liked his privacy and you already knew that. 

But there was this one time where he forgot his textbooks under his desk and you had to go and give it to him while he was at practice.

Shyly looking into the door the first one that spots you is Albedo.

“...Do you need something?” you tense up at Albedo’s question and shakily hand him the textbooks.

“U-Uhm... D-Diluc’s...”

Albedo tilts his head and turns to shout at the team. “Someone’s looking for the vice captain,”

Everyone stops what they’re doing and snaps there head towards you.

Diluc jogs over, sweat still fresh on his forehead. Without thinking he takes the books from you, small smile on his face and thanks you.

The rest of his team freezes up all thinking: “Hold on, is he...SMILING?”

You’re oblivious to them staring and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. When Diluc turns back his team is glaring daggers at him, he stares back at them. Doesn’t say anything, and continues practice.

No one is brave enough to ask him about it.

Tartaglia whispers to Kaeya “You didn’t know about it either huh?”

#3 Kaeya (Middle Blocker)

This MF would talk about you whenever he had the chance.

Y/N this, Y/N that, Y/N is so cute. 

Frankly the team is kinda tired of it. 

But when you finally visit one of their practices the team levels their gaze at you and think “Oh shit, he wasn’t lying, she is actually cute,”

Sees his teammates expression and brags even more. “I know what y’all are thinking. You’re thinking, OH! She’s actually really cute! Hm?”

Slings an arm around you shamelessly with a grin. “Back off boys, I’ll block all your attempts,”

Diluc is the one that walks up to you and you blink at him. Kaeya blinks at him, confused as well.

Diluc suddenly bows, “I feel sorry for you but please take care of him,”

The rest of the team either bursts out laughing or snickers behind their hand.

Their vice captain is low key savage

#4 Albedo (Setter)

The team finds out about you cause when they finish practice they find you waiting outside the gym.

Kazuha asks politely while the others look on “Are you lost?”

You straighten up and stutter a little, “Ah, uh, no, I’m...” You’re at a loss for words. 

Then Albedo suddenly appears from the gym doors and sees you. “Ah, were you waiting long? Sorry,”

Thoma tilts his head in question. “Albedo...Your sister?”

Albedo at this point was standing next to you already. “...No, my girlfriend,” like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Everyone is stunned into statues.

“H-How did you get one before me?” Tartaglia looks as if his soul had been sucked out of his body.

“Next time you can just come inside and wait inside the gym, it’s dark out here,” their responsible captain suggests and you’re amazed at his kindness and bow at him with a thank you.

Albedo doesn’t see what’s the big deal and just grabs your hand and starts walking away.

#5 Tartaglia (Middle Blocker/Wing Spiker)

The team already knew since the first date. It’s because he.would.not.shut.up.about.it

That particular day at practice his spikes were a tad bit stronger than usual.

“Oi... you’re getting too excited...” Xiao mumbles at him. Tartaglia just grins and scratches the back of his head. “Aaaahhhh... I can’t help it, I’m so nervous for my date with Y/N!”

A few more dates later he starts showing off his phone wallpaper to the others. It’s a picture of you and him.

Kaeya tries to piss him off by saying, “Huh, we’ve never actually seen her in person. Maybe it’s photoshopped,” The others snicker.

Is so pissed, asks you to come immediately.

You thought it was an emergency so you come into the gym with a worried look on your face only to be hugged tight into his chest. “See? See? She’s totally real and totally cute!”

Albedo crosses his arms and blinks, then looks at Kaeya “...You totally baited him, he’s such a simpleton.”

Kaeya responds with a smirk “Right?”

#6 Kazuha (Decoy/Middle Blocker/Wing Spiker)

The most formal out of all of them and even tells them seriously that he had an announcement to make.

Next day he comes into practice with you in tow.

Properly introduces you as his girlfriend. 

Everyone is wide-eyed at how official it feels. Then you suddenly take out a big container of fruits and tell everyone it’s for them (The captain doesn’t allow sweets, he thinks it’ll fatten them up or some crap.)

EVERYONE IS BLESSED BY YOUR PRESENCE and Kazuha is just enjoying you getting along with them.

Kaeya and Tartaglia try to whisper and bribe you into making cookies for them. 

Albedo and Xiao stares at Kazuha thinking ‘If someone like you can get a girlfriend, we can get one too, right?’

You offer to come back next time with more fruits and some secret cookies.

#7 Xiao (Libero)

Tried to keep it a secret because he knows his team will make a fuss about it.

The team finds out when his phone suddenly starts ringing in the middle of practice and he asks for a timeout to pick it up.

“Mm... Yeah... I’ll pick you up when I finish,” Everyone starts nudging each other when they hear him talk to you in an unusually calm and soft tone. So different from when he plays volleyball and gets angry at them.

By this point everyone tries to keep quiet and enlarge their ears to eavesdrop.

“Idiot... I won’t be late. I promised to take you out didn’t I?” 

Hearing their tsundere libero say something so sweet makes everyone combust.

When he turns back everyone is staring at him with smirks on their faces. “Hey, why not just ask her to come here?” Kaeya sneakily suggests.

Xiao blushes “A-As if I’d let her near you bumbling fools!”

He was worried it would scare you away, actually.

#8 Tohma (Pinch Server/Middle Blocker)

Literally no one is surprised he has a girlfriend.

It would be MORE of a surprise if he DIDN’T have one.

But they find out cause he left his phone out on the bench one day and there’d been a text message while Xiao was conveniently sitting on the bench.

“...Tohma, someone me--” Xiao looks at the screen where the message ‘I love you!’ is clearly written.

Xiao is so curious but is not gunna admit it so he nudges Kaeya or Tartaglia who might be sitting next to him and secretly motions over to the phone.

They read it and ask in a real loud voice “Oi Tohma! Who’s Y/N? They said I love you!” 

Tohma laughs nervously and since it’s already out he might as well introduce you. 

“This is my princess,” he says when you enter the gym to walk home with him that afternoon. You bow and introduce yourself and everyone looks at you thinking... “Ah, they look like the perfect domestic couple,”

Low-key everyone is jealous of how you dote on him.

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[ghost-ghost-baby]

We're Just Friends! (Omega!bakugo x alpha!reader x omega!Izuku) pt. 4/5

Pt 1 // 2 // 3 // (to b linked)

Lore: Once an Alpha reaches 21 they get their first rut, they’d either already have their mates or the rut will act as a push for them to get together and bond.

Summary: Reader and Katsuki have been friends for years, and everyone expects them to get together, until reader rescues an omega that lives in their building, and things get a touch more... complicated

“I think we should move in together, as a trial ya know! See how things go?”

“There’s no way I’m moving into your shitty fucking apartment, Deku.”

The three of you were on the couch in your apartment, you were stuck in the middle, literally, with Katsuki’s head on your shoulder and Izuku’s legs thrown over your lap. It was uh… interesting! That was for sure! You’d kissed Katsuki without thinking after he’d agreed, and tripped over yourself apologising once you’d realised what you’d done. He’d told you to shut the fuck up and had then pulled you back in, and everything seemed to fall into place. Then you’d texted Izuku saying Katsuki had agreed, and told him to come over so the three of you could talk. It… could be going better, truth be told.

“Izuku, would you be open to staying here? The three of us can stay in my room, I think that’s more of a neutral ground?”

“Oh I would love to-!” Izuku grinned, leaning forward and gently grabbing your face to pull you into a kiss. You had to pull away when Katsuki growled, although it turned into a purr when you quickly pressed your lips to his. This wasn’t going to be easy, was it?

Moving Izuku’s stuff in had taken most of the afternoon, and Katsuki had insisted on moving some of his clothes and blankets into your room too. You didn’t really get it, but you were just trying to make this go as smoothly as possible. For the moment, however, it was peaceful. Katsuki was cooking dinner, he’d threatened to only do it if you were in there with him, so you were standing behind him with your arms wrapped around his waist and your head on his shoulder. Izuku was in the shower, and Katsuki was using every ounce of willpower to not completely melt under your touch, especially when you’d let your nose brush against his scent gland. You had no idea what you were doing to the omega, the content feeling that filled your being emptied your mind of anything except Katsuki’s warmth and how perfectly he fit against you and you really should have done this sooner, shouldn’t you?

“Wow Kacchan, that smells great!” Izuku entered the kitchen, and Katsuki was too calm to do anything but let out a half assed growl.

“How was your shower? Did you work out the water okay?” You tilted your head to look at him, he was wearing your shirt that fell to mid thigh, and you felt yourself blush as you reached out an arm.

“Yeah it was like a dream!” He chirped, wasting no time cuddling up to you, one arm going around you and the other resting on Katsuki’s waist. The blonde tensed for a moment, but it was still so comforting, he couldn’t bring himself to complain or tell Deku to fuck off.

“No, the right side has always been my side, you can sleep on the fucking left!” Katsuki hissed, trying not to wake you up. The three of you had watched a movie after dinner, (getting into a position on the couch everyone was happy with had been a struggle) and you’d fallen asleep halfway through, so Katsuki had carried you to the room, managing to not wake you up, although his attempts were futile as you stirred in his arms.

“Guys- m’tired can we just… sort it out tomorrow? Please?” You were still half asleep, too tired to even open your eyes when you spoke.

“There you go, Deku, you get to sleep on the left.” Katsuki was far too smug, and Izuku had to push down a growl. You needed to sleep, and what kind of a mate would he be if he got in the way of that.

“Fine… but Y/n goes in the middle.”

“Obviously! Like I would want your clingy ass all over me while I tried to sleep.” Katsuki snapped back, although the it lacked any real venom as he was pulling back the covers and gently setting you in the middle. You shuffled around a bit to get comfortable, letting out a purr when your mates got into bed and turning to the right on instinct. Katsuki smirked at Izuku, you were facing him! But Izuku only rolled his eyes, pressing his entire body up against yours and tangling your legs together before he threw an arm over your waist. Then it was his turn to smirk when you moved your hand down to meet his, sleepily doing your best to intertwine your fingers , and Katsuki could only huff. Still, he snuggled close to your front, gently lifting your head so his arm could go underneath it and then putting his head as close to your scent gland as he could get. Then he threw his leg over yours, and Deku’s -who was already out like a light-, and closed his eyes, feeling far more comfortable than he’d expected.

“Thank you, Katsuki, I know this isn’t easy for you.” He barely made out what you mumbled, to be honest he wasn’t even sure if you’d remember, but it had him blushing nonetheless.

You woke up to rather insistent nipping at your scent gland, so much to the point that it was slightly swollen, and Izuku was so drenched in your scent you couldn’t even tell that he was an omega.

“’Zuku what’re you… ‘s sensitive…” you couldn’t bring yourself to push him off, it felt… good- but with one last kiss Izuku was pulling away and you couldn’t help but pout.

“C’mon Y/n! We’ve got class, I don’t wanna find out what Mr. Aizawa is like when he’s mad!” How was Izuku this awake in the morning?

“Five more minutes- please…” You whined, burying your face in Katsuki’s shoulder to try and block out the light.

“Nope, we gotta get breakfast on the way, and I need to scent you before we go, plus you need to get dressed!” God he was persistent, and you were surprised how easily the omega hauled you out of bed, seriously- he has to work out, right?

“Alpha, c’mon, please!” That had you wide awake, and judging from the way Izuku grinned at you the omega knew exactly what he was doing.

“Fine, but you owe me.” You groaned, although you went over to your closet to pick out an outfit even as you grumbled, glancing back at Katsuki occasionally. How the fuck was he still fast asleep? You’d have to leave him a note.

“Okay, you ready to go?” You zipped up your backpack, hefting it over your shoulder before you turned to Izuku.

“Almost, I want to scent you before we go, so people know we’re together.” He mumbled, eyes fixed on the ground and you almost dropped your backpack as a flush spread over your face. You didn’t think you’d be hearing that today, and it wasn’t a question, the way he stated it made a shiver run through you. It made sense, though, you were still unmarked, and your scent drenched him so heavily he smelled like an alpha, it was only fair you let him repay the favour.

“O-okay- do you want me to sit on the couch-“

“Yes please.” Izuku finally had the courage to meet your eyes, he was so scared you were going to say no, but you just nodded, placing your bag on the table before you took a seat on the couch. He almost fainted when you bared your neck, although your eyes were fixed on the ground he couldn’t help the power he felt, you already trusted him enough to submit like this? He was on cloud nine.

“Thank you.” He sat right on your lap and you squeaked, your face on fire as the omega only giggled.

“That’s my good alpha, don’t worry, I’ll make it quick so we can still grab something to eat.” Izuku grabbed your wrists, and you had to bite the inside of your cheek to stay pliable for him, especially when he brought your wrists up to his neck, humming quietly as he rubbed them over his scent glands. Soon your scent was completely mingled with his, but that wasn’t enough, and Izuku leaned forward, pressing a kiss to your scent gland before he rubbed his scent gland directly over yours. Your vision blacked out for a second, and you couldn’t hold back a whimper as he pulled back, finally satisfied and pressing a kiss to your lips before he got up, offering a hand to you.

“There! Now everyone will know who you belong to!”

“Congratulations bro! Bakugo told us everything that happened!”

“So when’re you gonna like- you know- your birthday is less than a week away!”

“Oi! I told you to shut the fuck up with that bullshit!" Your friends bombarded you with questions the second they saw you, and Katsuki was already fed up with their enthusiasm, especially after they’d grilled him about it all through class.

“Oh hey guys! What happened to asking how I’m going before you bombard me and my mates with questions?” You clicked your tongue at your friends, who didn’t even look guilty, truth be told.

“Did you find the note I left?” That was directed at Katsuki, who only nodded as you pulled him into a hug, his nose wrinkling when all he could smell was Deku. Izuku was making conversation with Kiri, the only one of the group not asking inappropriate questions, and Katsuki grumbled to himself as he pulled you closer to rub his scent gland against yours, letting out a low growl when Mina and Denki cooed.

“Wake me up so I can scent you too next time, okay dumbass?” Katsuki snarled when he was finally satisfied and sure you smelt more like him than Deku.

“You’re impossible to wake up, but I’ll try!” You beamed at your mate, pressing a kiss to his forehead before you turned to your friends.

“They wanna throw us a party.” Izuku slid under your arm, his hands resting on your waist like you’d been together for years.

“No. Absolutely not.” Katsuki shook his head, and Denki let out a disappointed whine at the refusal, turning his puppy eyes to you instead, with Mina joining him.

“C’mon man, this has been in the making for years, please let us throw you guys a mating party! Please!”

“Never leave the house without me scenting you, okay? Or people are gonna think you’re just with him.” Katsuki wasn’t one for PDA, so he rushed you and Izuku home as soon as he could, pushing you down on the couch and yelling for Izuku to close and lock the door behind him.

“I want you to promise, promise me, Alpha?” Katsuki never cooed, or used your title like that, he must’ve been more upset then you thought.

“I promise, I’ll wake you up next time.” You nodded, brain completely short circuiting when Katsuki sat himself on your lap and went right to kissing your neck. Your head tilted back and your eyes fluttered closed of their own accord, your hands resting on the omegas hips and squeezing when he nipped a bit too hard.

“What about me, Kacchan?” Izuku piped up from beside you, when had he gotten there? Katsuki let out a growl at him, but ultimately just clenched his jaw and rested his head on your shoulder, taking deep breath’s until he was calm enough to talk.

“Fine, shitty deku, I’ll scent you too-“

Taglist:

@pasteldaze @hopeless-ro-simptic @ntngann @somerandominternetgirl-blog @ianem005 @lalaluvzen @antisocial-minnie @rogueofbullshit @hakunamatatayqueen @so-uncute @therealwalmartjesus @unlightedfool @all-the-kings-reblogs @cth-l

[deerestapologies]

5 times you called him by a pet name + one time he called you by a pet name

(Diluc + Zhongli x GN!Reader)

Diluc

1. "Oh, hey hon." You greet mildly.

The candles have begun burning a bit low, the long shadows making his pout even more obvious.

"I apologize, I was held up for longer than anticipated."

He produces a small bouquet from his coat, a cluster of wildflowers, and approaches like he's about to give an offering instead of a gift. He kneels by your chair, face stoic as usual, but you can see the worry and shame in his eyes.

You twirl the stems to absorb their delicate scent, and then carefully drop them in your water glass. You cup his face in your hands, and press a kiss to his brow.

"It's okay." You kiss his brow again, "I am not mad." You kiss his nose. "I am hungry though."

You laugh lightly at his rush to sit across from you. An evening eating cold roast was worth being able to spend it with him.

-

2. "I understand your frustration, but perhaps we had best move on." You place a hand on his crossed arms.

"Their behavior was unacceptable, especially for those who would call themselves knights."

The stubborn clench of his jaw tells you just how angry he is. The idiots were lucky to have only gotten the verbal bludgeoning earlier instead of the literal one he wanted to dish out.

"Yes, but you've already made them apologize, and they do seem repentant," the fool knights in training nod frantically, "so why not leave this mess for Kaeya, darling?"

He sighs, but loosens his posture to wrap a protective arm around you. The hell the Knights were going to catch for this was still to come, but at least no one lost any limbs. Yet.

-

3. Tucked into your pile of pillows, book in hand, you waited as you do most nights. Diluc had a late meeting scheduled after dinner, but he promised it was truly to do with the winery and not of the vigilante variety.

So you bide your time, until you hear his heavy boots come up the stairs.

"I'm home." He calls softly.

"Welcome back." You say just as softly.

He goes through the motions of undressing, refreshing himself, and redressing without missing a beat, but his posture seems wilted. You mark your page, and turn over the blanket for him.

"How did it go?"

He heaves a deep sigh, and crawls over to you. Pulling you close, he lays his head on your chest but doesn't say another word.

"Oh, sweetness." You embrace him, one hand holding his face and the other in his hair. "It's okay. I've got you."

-

4. You lengthen your steps, but the increased pace doesn't seem to deter the boy following you. He isn't dangerous per se, but his persistence is damned annoying.

"But, if you'll just listen," he jogs back up to your side, "I just need your help for a little while!"

"I am neither a Knight nor an Adventurer," you cut him off with a sharp wave of your hand, "And you have nothing I want. Now leave me be."

He sputters, "M-master Diluc said-"

As if he's had his tongue plucked out, he suddenly stops talking.

You turn around only to find Diluc himself, a stifling hand on the kid's shoulder. His face is a stoic mask as always, but his energy is thunderous.

"I agreed to help you out of deference to your mother, but you," You see the boy wince as the hand tightens, "failed to listen to a word I said. Harassing my staff and my partner has only earned you banishment from all of my properties. Now go, before I report you to the Knights as well."

You both stand stock still as the boy sprints from the winery back to Mondstadt proper.

"Your going to report him anyways, right?" You mumble, after he is just a speck on the horizon.

"Of course," He finally relaxes his stance to look at you, "Though I doubt Jean will be happy about it."

Your chuckle, already imagining her face when the letter reaches her desk. Heaving a sigh, just grateful for the problem to have moved on, you grab Diluc's hand.

"Thank you," You pull him into a tight hug, "for protecting me as always, angel."

-

5. You gently rap on the door frame to his office. He looks up from his work just long enough to give you a soft smile.

"I was wondering," You lean against the frame, avoiding actually entering lest you get sucked in as well, "If my dear husband was going to come to bed tonight?"

The bright lamp on his desk means you see his blush even from across the room. He huffs an embarrassed laugh, but starts shuffling paperwork into orderly piles.

"I hadn't realized the time, my apologies."

You hum, "It is understandable. But I cannot rest if you are not in bed with me."

You watch as he tucks away his tools, pulls his gloves off, and undoes the tie in his hair, all with a much to pleased smirk on his face.

He pulls you into a delicate, lingering kiss with a hand on your neck. The warmth of his skin makes you shiver. You lean into him, letting him wrap you in his arms.

He chuckles, "Well, I would hate to neglect my husbandly duties."

+

1. The lingering warmth from your bath and the softness of the sheets has you dozing in minutes. You toss a hand onto Diluc's side of the bed, wanting to be present when he comes to bed as well but the ache of a long day is catching up to you.

After several moments you feel a calloused hand grasp your own. You are too tired to properly see, but feel the dip as he climbs into bed.

Still holding your hand in a delicate grip, he presses a kiss to your palm, and then your cheek.

"Sleep, my love, I am here."

Zhongli

1. Zhongli re-enters the house not even ten minutes after leaving. He is patting down his jacket and looking about the entryway in wonder, and you can't help but chuckle.

"Forget something?"

"Yes," he plants his hands on his hips, "I can't seem to find my wallet. I could have sworn I remembered it this time."

You get up from where you were leisurely awaiting his return, and snag the 'disappearing' wallet from where he left it on the table.

"Not quite, old man." You wave it, teasing.

"Ah, of course."

Tucking it into the pocket of his jacket, you tug him closer to plant a kiss on his flushed cheek.

"My apologies, it seems I was a bit distracted this morning."

He tucks a piece of hair away from your face, gaze so blatantly loving you can't help but crash your lips against his. Damn whatever appointment he may have, he shouldn't be so handsome in your direction.

-

2. It is not every day you wake up before him, so you try to make the most of it. You prepare his clothes for the day, just so you can pick out your favorite of his shirts. You start a light breakfast, and brew an energizing blend of tea for both of your sake.

You spend some time simply waiting at the table, content to sip your tea and watch the morning birds.

When the soft shuffle of feet brings Zhongli into the kitchen, you stand up. He is mostly dressed, minus his tie and shoes, jacket loose around his shoulders.

You steer him to the table, and press a kiss to his cheek when seated.

He hums contentedly, still a bit sleepy, "Good morning."

You pour him a cup of tea as well, and his smile grows a bit wider. He tilts his head up, "Thank you."

You meet him half way, pressing a firm kiss to his mouth, "Of course dearest. Do you have anything pressing today?"

A hand comes to rest on your hip, preventing you from moving back to your seat.

"No, nothing more important than this."

-

3. Squished between the mattress and the press of his body, you couldn't imagine being more content. The warmth, the scent, the feel of his breath ghosting across your skin.

You run a reverent hand through his hair, spread loose over his back. It seems impossible for you to be this happy, like you would only read about in unrealistic fantasies.

Amber eyes are already watching you, when you open yours. His gaze is soft, unbearably so, so you look at the ceiling.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He answers it so easily, as if it is among the many universal truths that exist in his head.

"You must understand," You wet your nervous mouth, "I mean it. Truly, I love you."

You feel his head tilt in confusion, but power on, emotions spilling.

"You are my starlight. My life would be unimaginably dark without you. I am scared constantly by the sway you have over me, but I cannot stand the idea of living without you. I want be here with you, forever, no matter the cost."

You squeeze your eyes shut against the flood of tears that threaten to spill, waiting for his polite retreat. His body lifts off yours and you pull a shuddering breath in, unused to laying yourself bare in this way. He could end you now, destroy you by just walking away.

But you feel tremoring hands grasp your face, almost too tightly. He doesn't say a word, can't, but presses his forehead to yours.

-

4. "Zhongli?" You call into the empty hum of the parlor, hoping it will carry to his office. It's not far, but he gets absorbed in his work easily.

You lean out the door a bit, and try to project your voice more, "Hey, honey?"

The door to his office clicks open, and his head pokes out. "Do you need assistance?"

"Yes, please," you adjust the pile of books in your arms, "Would you mind grabbing this other pile? A client requested reference material from just about every era, and I don't think I have the wing span to carry all of it."

He presses a quick kiss to your head, and scoops up the remaining books with no problem.

"Of course, would you like me to relieve you of those as well?"

"Not a chance, show off, you're gonna have to deal with the doors."

As if to prove your point, he balances the stack in one hand to hold the front door open for you, smile only slightly smug.

-

5. Given how busy your lives were, and his propensity for letting time fly, you figured he would forget again. It would not be the first anniversary he forgot, and you imagine it wouldn't be the last.

It's not like you could hold it against him, especially not when he was so earnest and loving all year round.

So your surprise was genuine when he led you, dressed in his best, to a private booth at Liuli Pavilion.

The food was made by the head chef, as a show of gratitude for Zhongli's long patronage (you send a quiet thank you to Childe), and the service superb. The evening is relatively quiet, you converse as normal but with the additional soppiness that comes from acknowledging romance.

You are especially glad for the privacy when you cannot help but practically ravish the man over the table, his face being too handsome to bear just looking at.

Shortly after, he looks at you with burning eyes, and finally says, "I am quite full. Perhaps we should head home."

"That sounds perfect."

You continue to stare, sappy and sated, as he blindly pats at his pockets, equally unwilling to look away.

After several moments, it dawns on you, and then immediately on him.

You can't help it. You laugh. Hysterically, because no matter what Zhongli is Zhongli.

He's standing now, flustered like you've never seen, pacing the room as if his wallet would be anywhere but the table at home.

"This was not my intent." He huffs, "I had planned the evening meticulously."

"And it was lovely," You choke back another laugh, "But, sugar, you are not living this down for the rest of our lives!"

You are laughing as you pull out your own wallet, giggling uncontrollably as you hand over all the money on your person, and can barely walk you're so light headed when he leads you out the door.

He doesn't once let you go, from the pavilion's steps to your front door. Indulgent to the end, your man.

+

1. It is always a pleasant surprise when your errands overlap. Working nearly in conjunction makes it happen quite often, but still, it makes your day brighter.

You have just finishing bartering your lunch into existence when you spot Zhongli headed your way. Quickly, you slip the chef a few more mora to add another dish.

He is at your side in an instant, bringing your hand to his lips in that coquettish way he has.

"There you are," he lowers your hand but does not drop it, "I've been looking for you, treasure."

You twine your fingers together, relishing the warmth. You snug up to his side, taking the liberty of placing his hand on your hip just to see him blush.

"Have you now?"

"Always."

[fruitcoops]

Hi!! So I was listening to paper rings by Taylor Swift today and the lyric 'I like shiny things but I'd marry you with paper rings' made me think of coops and o'knutzy. Could you write a prompt about this?! <3

This song is so perfect for Coops and it’s the best way to start of the long-awaited wedding series! Yay! Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove!

Combined with:

1. Domestic Coops

2. Remus making fun of Sirius’ initials

3. Sirius trying to make Remus moan while he’s on the phone with his folks

4. From @colored-rain: Taking Hattie to the vet

TW for mild smutty content, taking a pet to the vet, and the inherent stress of wedding planning

I: Six Weeks Before the Wedding

“Where are we even going to do this?” Sirius asked, running a hand through his hair.

Remus shook his head silently, pressing his forehead into the wooden edge of the table. “What if we elope?”

“Celeste would skin us both.”

“True. Oh, god, my dad would cry if we did that.” Remus slid down in his seat and stared up with sad eyes. “Can’t we just be married already?”

“I could get tinfoil from the kitchen and just…” Sirius mimed wrapping it around his ring finger and Remus snorted.

“Baby, I would marry you with paper rings, but I think we want them to last.”

“You like shiny things!”

“I do, that doesn’t mean I want tinfoil on my hand for the rest of my life,” Remus laughed, pulling him in for a quick kiss. “Alright, let’s go through our list again. We agreed on small, right?”

“Just the team and families. We still want it to be outside?”

“Yep.” Remus checked off two boxes on the piece of paper they had been grappling with for the past four days. “Rings have already been ordered?”

“I’m doing that this afternoon. What kind of cake do we want?”

“Uhhh…an edible one?” Remus shrugged. “I don’t have a huge preference. Chocolate is really good but all the ones from the store are spongy.”

“Wow, an edible cake, so original,” Sirius teased. “We can ask Celeste what she thinks.”

“Good plan.” He paused for a moment. “Where outside will we do it? We need an actual venue. I think people would be upset if we just had a wedding in a public park.”

“The media would be all over it, too.” Sirius scrunched his nose up in thought just as their timer went off and both sighed as they headed for the door. “It’s going to be hard to focus on practice when we know next to nothing about the wedding we’ve been planning for over six months.”

“We’re disasters.”

II: Four Weeks Before the Wedding

“We’re not putting that on the cards.”

“Why not?” Sirius frowned and looked down at the mock-up invitation. “It’s our initials. It’s cute.”

Remus blinked at him. “Sirius. Your initials.”

“Do you not want my initials on our joint wedding invitation?”

“I would love to have your initials on our joint wedding invitation, except for the part where it’s the same acronym as ‘son of a bitch’.”

Sirius paused, then groaned and put his hands over his face. “Fuck, I forgot about that.”

“You forgot your own initials?”

“I forgot the son of a bitch thing!”

“Okay, I clearly don’t tease you enough for that,” Remus snickered, wrapping an arm around his waist to kiss his cheek. “Alright, attempt number eight is a bust.”

III: Three Weeks Before the Wedding

Sirius ran his fingers gently through Remus’ hair, feeling him shift in the darkness. “What’s on your mind, mon amour?”

“Are we changing our last names?”

“Did we…not discuss that?” Sirius wracked his brain, but it was so exhausted from wedding topics that he came up empty.

“I don’t think so.” Remus scooted around so he was on his side, facing Sirius. “Both our names are super connected to our jobs. Plus, Lupin-Black might be a little long for jerseys.”

“I’d rather not go through the whole name-change process.” There was a beat of quiet. “Though I do like the sound of Sirius Lupin.”

Remus’ breath audibly caught and he leaned closer to Sirius, nuzzling against his shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

IV: Eighteen Days Before the Wedding

Remus’ back hit the mattress with a soft bounce that was quickly stilled by Sirius’ weight pressing him down by the hips, his mouth skimming along all the right places on Remus’ neck. “Yes,” he hissed as Sirius ground down, their bare chests bumping together. He dipped his hands beneath the waistband of Sirius’ sweats and he shivered, nipping the hinge of his jaw.

“Wait,” Sirius gasped, pulling back to straddle Remus’ waist.

“What? Is this a flamingo moment?” Remus panted, still buzzing with arousal.

“Did we invite your parents to the wedding?”

Remus stared at him in disbelief. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

“I don’t think we did.”

“Sirius, you are literally about to—holy fuck, did we invite my parents?”

“I don’t know!”

Remus groaned and let his head fall back against the pillows before tapping Sirius’ hip and swinging his legs over the edge of the mattress. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and dialed his mother’s number, taking a few deep breaths to collect himself as it rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey, mom, how’s it going?”

“Oh, it’s going fine out here. How’s wedding planning?” Hope asked. Remus could hear her smiling.

“That’s what I’m calling about, actually. Did you—” He bit his lip as Sirius’ fingertips trailed up his thigh. “Uh, did you get an invitation?”

Hope was silent for a moment, save for a few rustling sounds. “Now that you mention it, I don’t think so. Lyall! Honey, did Re send us a wedding invitation?” There was a low humming noise as his father responded. “He says we didn’t get one.”

Remus winced. “Sorry about that. I can text you the details, if you want.”

“Will you mail one as well? I want to put it in our memory box.”

Sirius’ hand slid further along Remus’ leg, growing closer to his inner thigh by the second and doing nothing to quell his frayed nerves. “Yeah—yeah, mom, we totally can.”

“Are you alright? You sound a bit out of breath.”

“Hattie was running around and being a little crazy.” Remus covered the speaker with his hand and turned to glare at Sirius, who grinned and kissed his cheekbone.

“Okay,” Hope sounded skeptical. “So you’re not getting sick or anything?”

“Nope. Healthy as a horse.” The last word came out a little breathless as Sirius licked a stripe up his neck and bit down on the junction to his shoulder, making Remus’ eyes flutter closed. He smacked Sirius’ hand halfheartedly and felt him grin.

“How’s Sirius doing?”

“Fine, he’s fine. We’re a little stressed with the wedding planning and everything, but things are good here.” Really good, he thought as the heel of Sirius’ hand pressed down just next to his dick. He swallowed down a moan and squeezed his eyes shut. “Alright, I’ll text the details to you this afternoon love you mom bye.”

“Love you t—”

A millisecond after the call ended, Remus slammed his phone into the nightstand and pushed Sirius into the sheets, bracketing his face with his elbows. “What the fuck was that?”

“I’m just keeping things interesting.” Sirius tugged his lower lip between his teeth and smirked, which really left Remus with only one option: kissing him senseless until he couldn’t even remember his own name.

V: Three Days Before the Wedding

Sirius’ leg bounced up and down nervously and he gripped Remus’ hand as they waited in the lobby of the vet’s office. “She’ll be okay.” His voice was noticeably higher than usual and he cleared his throat. “She’ll be fine. It’s just a cough.” A cough that’s been going on for four and a half days.

Remus hummed his agreement, though he hadn’t stopped twisting Hattie’s leash in his hands since they arrived. “Just a cough. Probably a cold, or—or something like that.”

The doors ahead opened and both of them stood as Hattie trotted out next to the vet tech, who looked rather amused. “What’s wrong with her?” Sirius asked, scanning her for any signs of illness. “Is she alright?”

“She is a very talented actress,” the vet said, rubbing Hattie behind the ears. She whined pitifully and cuddled into Sirius’ side. “Have you two been busy lately?”

“We’re planning for our wedding.” Remus looked as confused as Sirius felt. “Why?”

“Because Miss Hattie here is one of the healthiest, snuggliest dogs I’ve ever seen.”

“But she was coughing.”

“She was faking.” The vet knelt next to her and petted down her back, raising an eyebrow. “Weren’t you, munchkin?”

“Hattie!” Sirius exclaimed, torn between relief and shock. “You little monster!”

Remus frowned and tapped her forehead lightly as he slid her leash on over her head. “We were so worried about you! Why would you do that?”

“She’s probably been sulking because you’re busy with wedding stuff,” the vet said with a smile. “Quite the drama queen you’ve got there.”

“Tell me about it,” Sirius huffed as he kissed her head. “Don’t ever do that again, young lady. You’re in big trouble when we get home.”

“Thank you for your help,” Remus said, shaking the vet’s hand. “We really appreciate it and we’re so sorry for wasting your time.”

“Are you kidding? She was the best part of my day,” he laughed. “All the other techs can’t stop talking about Hattie cuddles now. Have a good one, you three.”

+1: The Lions, the Media, and the Locker Room

Word spread like wildfire in media circles, and the rumor mill had never worked harder once news of the Black-Lupin wedding came out.

Naturally, the Lions decided to have a little fun with it.

“Pots! Pots, what can you tell us about Black and Lupin’s wedding?” Four different microphones were shoved into his personal space, but James put on his best confused face.

“What wedding?”

A wave of murmuring spread through the reporters. “So you weren’t invited to Sirius Black and Remus Lupin’s wedding?”

“There’s a wedding?”

Across the room, two other interviewers mobbed Thomas Walker in his stall. “Talker, do you know anything about Black and Lupin’s wedding?”

“Who?” he asked with a perfect act of innocence.

“Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.”

He bit his lip. “I don’t think I know them, sorry. Are they fans?”

“Talkie!” Remus tossed him a towel from the adjacent stall, and he caught it with a grin.

“Heads up, Loops!” Talker threw it right back and headed toward the ice baths with a wink to the cameras. “Good chat, guys.”

One of the interviewers muttered under their breath and hurried over to Pascal, who was still unlacing his skates. “Dumo, when is the wedding between Sirius Black and Remus Lupin?”

Dumo frowned. “Quoi?”

“The wedding. You were invited, yes?”

“Desole, je ne parle pas l’anglais,” he said regretfully. “C’est un…wedding?”

“Yes, the wedding between your teammates.”

“These words, I don’t know them.” His French accent was almost comically thick as he shook his head. “Desole.”

Out of view of the cameras, Sirius gave him a thumbs-up and reached over to high-five Pots.

[poguesrforlife]

Young and Beautiful | Rudy Pankow

So after you lovely people were so kind to my previous fics and I gained a 1000 followers !!!! (still not believing it tbh) I wanted to give you a little something something. This idea has been in my head for a week now but it’s gonna be looooong so prepare yourself for a series! I love you all and thank you so much xoxo

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Trigger warning: A little bit smutty but just really intense passion!!

Word count: 1,226 words

Y/N just got the role of her lifetime, starring beside the cast of Outer Banks in the second season as JJ’s love interest. It’s a dream come true and gets even dreamier when she meets Rudy Pankow her alleged love interest. Lines start to blur between reality and film and Y/N is left wondering if taking a leap of faith is worth risking her career. 

Your whole body felt like it was on fire and drowning in ice-cold water like-wise. You couldn’t remember the last time somebody made you feel like that. The thought that this wasn’t actually real was pressed to the very corners of your mind as you stared into Rudy’s eyes, his shirtless form hovering above you. God, he was gorgeous. When he looked at you like that and touched your bare skin with his slightly calloused warm hands, it was too easy to forget all the cameras and people around you. But all this was just in your head and you were playing your part just as he did. How you wished in that moment it would be true.

When you got the call that you got the role for JJ’s love interest in the second season of Outer Banks you were ecstatic. You had watched the first season in a couple of days and already fell in love in it and when your agent had mentioned that you might be considered for a part in the next season you couldn’t contain your joy. A couple weeks later you were on set and met the rest of the cast. They were all lovely and welcoming to you but you couldn’t help but feel like a bit of an outsider since they had already grown close to a real family in the first season. But you made the best of the situation and couldn’t be happier to be surrounded by all these amazing human beings. You shared an apartment with the Maddies in Charleston and you girls had the most of fun after shooting was over. The boys were just as lovely and sweet and you couldn’t believe how you got so lucky.

And then there was Rudy. Already during your chemistry read, the tension could be grasped all through the room. It was clear to all the casting directors that you would be a perfect fit. Rudy and you hadn’t spend a lot of time together outside of shooting except when the others were around too. You got along great though, a bit too great. 

Every time the two of you ended up alone you couldn’t help but feel nervous and your heart was beating three times as fast. You told yourself that it was just a crush, seeing that he was ridiculously handsome. You both were professionals after all. 

When you started filming romantic scenes however the feelings got worse, way more intense. You were sure he felt it just as much as you did. After every screamed ‘cut’ you couldn’t even look at each other because the tension was running too high.

You knew he was just playing JJ and you were playing Y/C/N but it all felt way too real when he stared deep into your eyes with his baby blues. 

You kept it friendly and platonic all through shooting but today would be yet another challenge. Today would be the first kiss scene that would quickly lead to a more intimate scene in the bedroom. You tried to not let it bother you too much but your nerves were running high nonetheless.

“Okay Y/N, Rudy! You just had an emotional fight, your feelings are simmering right underneath the surface, you’re screaming at each other and then…” Valerie Weiss made a dramatic pause, “JJ kisses Y/C/N passionately!” She grinned at the both of you.

You took a deep breath and gave Rudy a hesitant smile when the two of you got into position.

“You okay?” He inquired kindly and squeezed one of your hands softly.

“Yeah…” You sighed and smiled genuinely, “We’ll rock this, right?” 

“Oh absolutely,” He grinned and winked at you playfully. This didn’t really help the butterflies erupting in your stomach.

You nodded and waited for the ‘action’ and acted out your scene flawlessly.

“I’m just trying to understand, JJ! Why do you always push me away?” You screamed at Rudy, or JJ in this case, and tried to convey as much desperation as you could. 

“It is none of your business Y/C/N, that’s why. You can’t fix everybody, you know? Especially not me!” Rudy screamed right back at you, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes and you had to admire his acting skills.

“I don’t want to fix anything. When are you gonna get it into your thick stubborn head that I care about you?” You were moving close to him, hands fisted in his shirt as you tried to get him to look at you. One hand went up to his cheek, “JJ, look at me,” You whispered softly and could feel your own tears rolling down your cheeks.

Rudy’s eyes met yours, the colour of the ocean looking back at you with such intensity that your breath caught. It felt like time stood still as you stared into each others eyes, like you were the only two people in the universe. Damned be all the cameras around you and people on set. 

He nodded once, as if preparing himself for what came next. Faster than you could process his hands were on your cheeks and he pulled you close to him.

Lips crashed on lips and you could feel the sparks literally igniting between the two of you. Your mouths moved desperately, always trying to get closer and closer. Your hands wandered around his neck, into his hair and pulled slightly. His mouth opened and his tongue slipped out to caress your bottom lip to silently demand entrance which you granted. 

Kissing Rudy was like feeling fireworks in the place where your heart should be. He tasted of sweet lemonade and mint gum that the both of you had chewed before the scene, joking about it. But this, this was no joking matter anymore. This was a feeling you had longed for all your life and you couldn’t believe you had finally found it. Kissing Rudy was pure ecstasy.

“Guys! Guys, I said cut!” The director’s voice roped you back into reality and the two of you finally broke apart, catching your breath.

You were still entangled in each other, hands everywhere they should not be in this second, and breathed heavily as your foreheads rested against each other, eyes locked.

Rudy’s pupils were blown, darkening his usually so bright eyes into dark dangerous hues, and his cheeks were flushed a beautiful rosy red. You were certain you must’ve looked quite similar.

“Well, if that wasn’t a kiss!” You heard Chase celebrating from the side and the both of you finally broke apart. 

Too late you realised that you hadn’t even heard Valerie when she screamed ‘cut’ the first time. The embarrassment of the situation slowly crept up on you. But this time you didn’t look away from Rudy, quite the opposite. And he was staring right back at you, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. 

“That was sheer perfection! I think we actually already got it!” Jonas stated after a discussion on the scene.

You weren’t sure if you were happy about nailing it on the first try or sad because that meant no more kisses for now. All you knew was that you craved Rudy’s hands back on you and his lips locked to yours. By now you realised that you were entering dangerous waters.

[noona-clock]

The Dog Walker

Genre: Dog Walker!AU

Pairing: Hanbin x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: None

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | Words: 2,022

You gasped softly when you glanced at your watch and saw what time it was.

If you had waited even a few seconds longer, you would have missed it.

But, as it was, you still had some time. So, you leaped out of your chair and dashed to the window in the front room of your townhouse, using two fingers to widen the slot between the blinds as inconspicuously as you could.

Your gaze shifted as far down the sidewalk as your window would allow, and when you saw the small, brown dog rounding the corner, your stomach flipped over itself.

Because the small, brown dog meant that he would follow.

And, sure enough, barely a second after you saw the dog -- whom you had named Teddy in your mind since he looked like a little teddy bear -- there he was.

You had no idea who he was. You didn’t know a name, an age, a location, a personality -- nothing. The only things you knew about this guy were that he was a dog walker, he took the same route every day, and he was somehow incredibly cute and incredibly handsome at the same time.

His dark hair that fell over his forehead just right. His slightly rounded cheeks that were just so pinchable. His square jawline and chin that added the perfect touch of sexiness to his face. His full lips that screamed to be kissed (not that you would kiss him because you didn’t know him, but boy did you imagine it). His straight nose that fit perfectly amongst his features.

And his eyes.

Oh my lord, those eyes.

They were never focused directly on you, of course, but you had caught enough glimpses of them to know that if they ever were... you would most likely faint on the spot.

But it wasn’t just his face that made him so captivating and alluring. The way he dressed was so effortless but so cool. And the way he walked kind of made it seem like he was a bumbling idiot but also like he knew exactly what he was doing.

Plus, as he’d passed your window one day, you’d heard him talking to the dog he was walking and it had almost made your heart beat right out of your chest.

It had sounded like he’d been having a full-on conversation with Teddy, and his tone of voice had been just about the cutest thing you’d ever heard.

If you ever did meet this guy in real life, you weren’t sure you would survive. And if you did, you certainly would never see or talk to him again because you would undoubtedly act like such a fool that he would stay as far away from you as he possibly could.

So... best to never even meet him. Or go outside to get your mail as he walked past.

You pressed your lips together, holding your breath as the guy and Teddy approached your window. Some days, it seemed like they were both walking in slow motion and you had all the time in the world to admire your dream man. Other days, it seemed like someone had pushed the fast forward button and the whole thing was over in the blink of an eye.

Today, blessedly, was a slow motion day.

Your forehead wrinkled as he loped down the sidewalk, his stride casual but purposeful. You bit back a squeal when you saw his mouth moving, murmuring some unknown words to Teddy (or whatever the dog’s actual name was).

And your eyes followed him like your life depended on it. As if you would actually cease to exist if you stopped watching him for even a millisecond.

And then, a few moments later, just the same as every other day... he was gone. He turned the corner at the other end of your block and vanished.

It was the highlight of your day, and yes, this was all incredibly concerning and upsetting. You were fawning over a guy you had literally never met. Literally never spoken one single word to. Literally did not even know you existed! And yet your heart began to hammer when you knew he was coming, and it sank when he was no longer visible from your window.

It was kind of like he was a celebrity you fangirled over... except he was just a normal guy. A dog walker. One who presumably lived in the same town. 

But he was definitely as handsome as a celebrity!

...Still, though. You knew if you ever told anyone about this daily routine of yours -- about your secret crush on a guy whose name you didn’t even know -- they would judge you. Harshly. And for a long time. Probably until you stopped spying on him as he went about his work.

So... you never told anyone. You didn’t even talk about it out loud to yourself. You didn’t write anything in your journal, either! This whole situation was something you would take to your grave.

With a soft sigh of disappointment, you let go of your blinds, turned on your heel, and shuffled back to your computer. It was right smack-dab in the middle of your work day, after all, and now that you’d had your daily fix of Cute Dog Walker Guy... it was time to come back to reality.

You know how some people get into a very specific routine but they can’t even remember how that routine came about? Like, it just sort of happened one day and then it stuck and now it seems like it’s just always been a part of their life.

That’s not how it was with your routine.

You remembered exactly how it had first happened -- every little detail. Partly because you had the memory of an elephant and were extremely observant, but also because... I mean, how could you forget the first time you saw...

Was it too dramatic to say ‘the man of your dreams’?

Maybe?

Okay, fine, I’ll just say this: How could you forget the first time you saw Cute Dog Walker Guy?

Close enough.

It had all gone down about two months ago, on a Wednesday. You had just finished a particularly long, particularly stressful project at work, and you had stepped away from your home desk for a limb stretch and a brain break. And probably a snack. 

The sun had been streaming in through the blinds, and you’d had a thought to go and open them, wanting to soak up a bit of vitamin D after being cooped up inside the entire morning.

And then you’d heard the barking.

If anything could put a smile on your otherwise grouchy face, it was a cute dog. And since you were the type of person to think just about any dog was cute, you scurried over to your window and, rather than pulling on the cord to lift the blinds up, you simply peeked through two of them to see if you could spot this yippy friend.

And, sure enough, you caught him trotting around the corner just in time.

You’d thought seeing this adorably fluffy brown dog would be the highlight of your day... but then the person walking him had come into view.

Basically, you’d known instantly that you were a goner.

The day after, you’d kept an ear and an eye out for both the dog and the dog walker, and much to your surprise and gratitude, you’d been rewarded. 

And again the next day, and the day after, and the day after.

At first, you’d thought the fluffy brown dog belonged to him, but there were some days when he was joined by a scruffy tan dog and other days when he was joined by a smooth gray dog -- both of them so cute you thought your heart might burst. So, you had eventually come to the conclusion that he was a dog walker.

Many times, you had been tempted to try and look him up by searching for dog walking services in your area. But, somehow, you’d resisted.

First of all, you kind of enjoyed the mystery. Second of all, you didn’t have a dog, so there was really nothing you could do with any information you found on him besides stalk him on social media.

You already spied on the guy every single day. Wasn’t that enough?

Your plan was really just to continue waiting and watching as he walked by your townhouse for as long as he chose to walk by your townhouse. If he ever decided to take a different route, then... you would just move on, I guess? Maybe try to actually meet someone you might be interested in dating?

That sounded like a pretty solid plan.

But, as we all know, life very rarely ever goes according to plan. I mean, the instant any one of us thinks we’ve come up with a pretty solid plan, The Universe simply shakes its head and laughs.

Instead of watching Cute Dog Walker Guy go past your window every day, admiring him from afar and daydreaming about your life together, wondering how much time you had left to watch and admire and daydream...

Well, I might as well just stop trying to explain and actually tell you what happened.

It was Monday. You were slightly depressed because the weekend had been far too short, and honestly, who decided that a workweek should be five days long, anyway? You’d barely caught up on your sleep over the past two days, and now you were expected to work again? For five days straight? It wasn’t at all fair, and along with being slightly depressed, you were incredibly distracted.

Really, you were sitting at your desk waiting for Cute Dog Walker Guy time rather than actually even trying to work.

But such is life!

And when the time finally arrived, you were ready. You pushed your chair away from your desk, stood up, and tiptoed over to your window with a hopeful smile tugging at your lips.

Almost immediately after you peeked through your blinds, though, you knew something was different.

Instead of hearing the jingling tags of Teddy’s collar, you heard... yelling?

“No, no, no, stop!”

...That didn’t sound good.

Your eyes darted around, trying to see what could be causing Cute Dog Walker Guy (at least, you assumed it was him) to call out like this. And when your gaze finally landed on a squirrel scampering around on the sidewalk and climbing up up a stop sign, you couldn’t help but let out an amused giggle.

Finally, Teddy turned the corner, and he was joined by a brand new dog you’d never seen before -- a dark brown brindle dog who was tugging at his leash and hunting the squirrel as if his life depended on it.

Cute Dog Walker Guy stumbled behind, his brow furrowed deeply as he continued to call out after the dog, desperately attempting to get things under control.

Attempting... and failing.

The squirrel hunter had, apparently, tuned out everything in the world around him so he could focus on his prey and was now jumping up the stop sign pole and barking.

“No, please, be quiet!” Cute Dog Walker Guy pleaded.

The squirrel then jumped from the stop sign onto the trash can at the corner, and Squirrel Hunter leaped after him.

Cute Dog Walker Guy yelped as the dog yanked him forward, both leashes getting tangled up in the stop sign and the trash can.

And then Cute Dog Walker Guy fell to the ground.

Your eyes widened and your mouth fell open slightly, a soft but strangled yelp of concern emerging from your lips.

Oh, god.

What should you do?

I mean, obviously, your instinct was to run outside and help him! He was now sprawled on the ground, trying to keep hold of the two leashes while one dog was still wildly jumping and whining toward the squirrel.

But... wouldn’t that be weird?! If you just immediately showed up to help him?! He would know you’d been watching!

Although, maybe he wouldn’t care? I mean, it really looked like he needed help.

But what if --

“Owwww -- stop! Stop it!”

At hearing Cute Dog Walker Guy’s moan of pain, you fled from your window and skidded to the front door.

Part 2

[dizzydancingdreamer]

Men who I think would be soft for their baby for no other reasons than because I want them to be, in no particular order but still numbered ten to one because I like countdowns...

——————————————————————————

Part two —> part one here

——————————————————————————

This one’s for you @activist-af​, no Finn and Kol erasure here Lottie

——————————————————————————

10. Raleigh Becket

A really good man who is a little too impulsive at times and has pretty much no sense of self preservation and always seems to get himself into worsening situations

Is so fucking soft for his baby that it’s insanity

His baby is in no way the same kind of super soldier he is, she’s literally the softest baby in the world, and he’s just so careful with her

Like he follows her around the compound and just makes sure she’s okay

Eats every meal with her, shares a room with her, literally does pretty much everything with her just in awe

So many cuddles before and after a mission, lots of reassurance, kisses her entire face everywhere at least twice and has to get practically dragged away

Endures so much teasing from his partner

I don’t care if his character is suited for a dominant female you can’t change my mind on this one this man is soft as fuck

——————————————————————————

9. Ambrose Spellman

A reformed radical warlock who has been locked in one house for a hundred years and is itching to go on a self-destructive bender after cleaning up his family’s messes for years

In absolutely no position to be in a committed relationship but I don’t give a single fuck

He would follow his baby around like a damn puppy when finally free of the Spellman residence 

Oh she wants to go to witch school? He’s tagging along

She wants to go travel? Lead the way

The park, carnival, movie theatre, cafe, literally endless places he would follow her

Would read to her as she falls asleep and tell her all his little bits of knowledge on things that he collected during his time stuck in the house

A soft man that is final

——————————————————————————

8. Richard O’Connell

Cannot survive a normal, mundane life because it’s “too boring” for a man like him and would risk it all for a mummy invasion even if it means that he dies in the process

But by god he is so fucking soft I just know it

Keeps her safe at all costs even when she pouts at him and makes him take her with him when he travels

Refuses to leave her side when they go abroad because his track record with ancient curses is not great and there’s no way he’s letting some gross ass mummy hurt her

*dramatic gasp* HE ACTUALLY REFUSES SOME DANGEROUS MISSIONS FOR HER??? 

Does the thing where he leans into her hand when she touches his face and like kisses her palm

Definitely sleeps curled around his baby and wakes up at the slightest noise ready to hurt any intruders

I would literally do anything for this level of soft

——————————————————————————

7. Finn Mikaelson

A one thousand year+ original vampire who has absolutely zero sense of self preservation and actively seeks death because of how much he hates himself and would gladly bring his family down with him because mommy said so

Doesn’t quite fit the full dominant image but I don’t care he fits the soft part 1000%

Would bring her with him when he goes to see his family and is always wrapped around her the whole time

Endures all the teasing that would come with that for her because she’s?? Just?? So?? Cute and perfect???

Literally a thousand years old and would still absolutely crumple for his baby in SECONDS

If she cried it would literally be game over

There would be two people crying 

He would be crying MORE than her

Epic date night planner, meticulously detailed, would pay so much attention to the things she likes and picks up on even the smallest clues

God he’s so soft I want one

——————————————————————————

6. Clint Barton

Largely pushed aside Avenger who has been evil in the past and appears at times to miss the evil a little too much

This one doesn’t even need an explanation, I’m literally right and this one has proved himself countless times

This man is the love of my life so yes: I am biased

Badass, sarcastic, cold archer Avenger by day; soft, caring, gentle man by night 

Goes home, soaked with blood and sweat, and pulls his baby into the shower and just sags into her arms 

Lives for her fingers in his hair after a long day

And bubble baths with her 

Has gotten in trouble countless times for skipping important meetings but does not give a single fuck about it 

Teaches her archery and doesn’t yell once (which is a feat pointing to his softness because once he tried to teach Nat and they yelled at each other the entire time)

HE IS SOFT, CASE CLOSED

——————————————————————————

5. Bellamy Blake

Incited a radical uprising in a highly dangerous and sensitive situation for really no reason at all other than the fact that he wanted to be the de facto leader of something

As per usual, I don’t care about canon characteristics this is my world I can do whatever I want

Every bone in this man’s body is a protective one 

Yes, every single one (No, I’m not sorry about this)

Does not take shit from anyone about her, has definitely shut an entire group of people up for talking about her badly

Gets so nervous when she does anything even remotely dangerous and when she does he’s stuck to her side like glue

He’s so touchy and talks so quietly to her, not because he doesn’t want anyone to hear him call her his baby but because he just literally can’t bring himself to raise his voice he’s that soft for her

Does everything in his power to make sure she’s comfortable which is by no means easy in the slightest

So many forehead kisses that it’s almost barf worthy but he doesn’t care because she loves it and that’s all that matters

The radical leader is a fucking puddle of softness for his baby and that’s final

——————————————————————————

4. Loki

A trickster god who always teeters precariously on the edge of good and evil and no one ever knows which side he’ll favour at any given moment

Except when it comes to his baby then he’s good duh

Tiptoes around her because he would definitely be the type to go for a baby who jumps easily and he’s loud and kind of clunky so he’s always just slow and gentle 

So much gentle teasing and giggling like oh god it’s tooth rotting sweetness

He takes her hands and just puts them on him, like his chest and cheeks and jaw and arms

Anywhere he just wants her touching him all the time 

He rests his chin on her shoulder or head and reads whatever she’s reading or watches her go about her hobbies, kissing her cheek in between 

This girl would never work a day in her life she would be ridiculously well taken care of

Would burn down a city for her with little provoking 

As soft as butter for his baby

——————————————————————————

3. Kai Parker

Bringing back the “needs a therapist, not a girl” but sprinkle in a touch of volatile daddy issues that has created a man so hyper reactive to every negative situation whose only solution is to lash out because he figures no one loves him anyway 

But sweep all that aside because fuck it, I don’t like it 

He would worship his baby 110%

Is the type of man to let her do his nails and put as many face masks as she wants on him

Can’t sleep without her literally on top of him 

He so clingy and touchy, loves when she grabs his hand, internally screams whenever it happens

Has for sure killed for her that isn’t even a question it’s just a fact 

“He didn’t do anything” “he looked at you” “but Kai” “but baby” 

Would do it again

I DON’T CARE: HE’S SOFT FOR HIS BABY

——————————————————————————

2. Jasper Hale

A literal once upon a time confederate soldier who made child soldiers for his dom-vamp girlfriend because he was “in love”

This man has ripped so many heads off so many bodies but I don’t give a single fuck I know he goes home to his baby and just picks her up and does not put her down 

Face it, his family is rich, he doesn’t have to do anything, naps are definitely a big part of his routine and he’s always just snoozing with her on the couch, pulling her onto his lap and pulling a blanket off the back and they’re just asleep

Goes out for dinner with her, makes it through maybe twenty minutes, the entire time he’s waiting for it and then boom, the puppy eyes, game over, they’re home in minutes

Has skipped so many family functions 

Will make any excuse to just go the fuck home 

Sometimes he doesn’t even make an excuse he just fucking leaves

He’s touchy too I just know it look at that face the man lives for contact

The verdict is in-- 100/10 SOFT

——————————————————————————

1. Kol Mikaelson

Perhaps the angriest, most volatile, I-hate-the-world-and-everyone-in-it, thousand year old+ original vampire who has been stomped on so much and died so many times that he has no true sense of the world, trust, and love left

Oh GOD this man, this FUCKING MAN 

THE SOFTEST MAN HOLY SHIT

I don’t even care what y’all think about this one Kol is so damn soft

This man is the inventor of cuddling 

And he doesn’t give one single fuck about where and when I just know it

Family dinner? The witch market? CHURCH?? 

It doesn’t matter, he’s pressed against her 

Oh god this man is protective 

Maybe a little possessive too

I don’t care

His family calls him unpredictable so hey he may as well live up to it and burn down a bar or two or twenty for his baby

Shows her all of his witch things and rambles about them all

Is always pulling one of his shirts or hoodies over her head 

AGAIN BUBBLE BATHS I JUST KNOW IT 

He likes washing her back and just getting to be alone with her 

He likes it even more when she washes his hair like he just sinks to his knees and closes his eyes and gives into it

GOD MY HEART IS BEATING SO FAST FOR HOW SOFT KOL IS

——————————————————————————

[george-fabian-weasley]

Fred Weasley — Helplessly Part 3

Summary: After the Battle of Hogwarts, Fred was rushed to he muggle hospital for better treatment of his injuries. While in a coma, his soul stayed with you for a couple of months. He watches as you went through the stages. And he watches when you start to write a song, just for him.

Words: 2, 681 words

Warnings ⚠ : I don’t think this fic will have anything BUT sadness and constant pain and heartbreaks sdhsjd im sORRY

Disclaimer: This one... hurts a lot

TAGLIST FOR HELPLESSLY: HERE

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 (COMING SOON!)

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CHAPTER 3: I'll Follow You

He woke up alone. 

Fred Weasley woke up with no idea where he was. ‘This… This isn’t Hogwarts?’ he thought. The fluorescent light above him was a bit bright, yet he didn’t feel like he needed to adjust his eyes. Fred blinked, wasn’t he in the middle of a war? The last thing he remembered was saying words to Percy before-

Before the walls.

He tried to move, and was surprised that he can, with complete ease. ‘Wow, and here I thought getting crashed by walls would hurt a lot.’ He thought, scoffing a smile. How the bloody hell did he feel no pain? Absolute brilliant! He sat up from the bed, looking around, looked like a hospital ward.  

Strange, he’s in a hospital but he didn’t feel any pain. Was he visiting someone? That’s not likely, innit?

And then Fred heard the constant beeping. He looked to his right, there’s a peculiar machine showing a line going up and down. Then his eyes darted to a wire connected to it, and then followed his eyes until the very end.

A hand.

Fred tilted his head, slightly confused. He blinked a few times. He just woke up in a hospital… And he saw a beeping muggle tech machine… and now there’s a hand…. Whose hand is it?

He looked to the hand, that hand looked awfully familiar, looking like George’s. But George’s hand is less calloused than this one. So naturally, Fred sees the owner of the hand when he turned around.

It’s… It’s him.

Fred felt the blood draining from his face, his heart felt like it did a somersault and a fucking split to the ground.  He instantly jumped out of the bed in shock, his eyes were the size of two golf balls. Even with bandages, he knew that was him.

It… It could be George, though. But that thought was quickly thrown out the window. He’s lived with the man all his life; he knew they were both very different physically. Fred was, rightfully to be frank, terrified.

Why was he there? In bandages? If that’s him, then what the hell is he doing standing here?! Fred walked closer to ‘himself’, thinking to himself that this might be some prank George pulled on him, Polyjuice potion and all. Upon thinking that, Fred relaxed; actually convinced his brother was pranking him.

“Ha, ha. Funny.” Fred muttered; a relieved smile painted upon his lips. For one second there, he really thought he had gone crazy. He looked around, “Oh, Georgie? Where are you, you little git?” He sang playfully, chuckling to himself. This prank was a great one though, he had to admit.

Fred’s eyes darted back to the man on the bed. He smirked to himself, wondering who did George had successfully coaxed to drink that nasty Polyjuice to turn into him. His mind instantly thought of you, and his smirk widened.

“Oh, goodness. Why is there another me here? I wonder?” Fred faked a shocked voice while simultaneously walking closer to the man, whom he had convinced himself was you under the Polyjuice potion. When ‘you’ didn’t react, he chuckled a little bit more, “I know it’s you, darling. C’mon now, trying to prank Fred Weasley? The prankster himself? Really, love?” 

He reached his hand to touch ‘yours’, only to realize his hand literally went through it. Fred frowned, he reached again. His hand went through the other hand, again. At first, Fred thought this was some sort of magic going on, a hologram at some sort, but the one who looked like a hologram was him.

“Bloody hell-“ Fred inched away fast; his feet stepped back a few steps in newfound fear. He looked around hastily, “This isn’t funny anymore, George. Knock it off!” He shouted across the room, yet nothing happened. He looked back to ‘you’, “Y/N, you can wake up now. This isn’t funny.” When ‘you’ didn’t react, Fred gulped. “Y/N!” He called again.

“Fred!!!”

Fred snapped his head upwards, his heart dropped at the sound of your wail. “Y/N…?” He whispered in horror, eyes darting back to the man on the bed, “Who the bloody hell are you…?”

Fred heard your scream again, and quickly without any thinking ran out of the ward, looking left and right at the unfamiliar surroundings. Suddenly, he saw Bill. He was with Fleur, looking distraught and anxious to the group of nurses at the counter, who instantly got to their feet, some calling the doctors while some followed Bill and Fleur.

He instantly followed them, “Bill!” He kept calling his older brother, but Bill didn’t seem to notice. Fred was far back, yet he kept calling for him. “William Arthur Weasley, you deaf git!” He muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth. He grew more anxious when he heard your screams getting louder, “Fred!!!! Let go of me!!!”

“Y/N?! Y/N!!!” He shouted back, he had lost Bill among the people, yet he kept following until he reached a ward. “Freddie!!!!” You were screaming, with tears non-stop scrolling down your cheeks, a strand of saliva was visible at your mouth, showing how many times you had called for him.  

A group of doctors had pinned you down, and quickly injected you with something, making Fred furrowed his eyes in anger, “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?!” He shouted. He looked at the surroundings of the room, everyone was there. 

Why was Molly crying hugging Hermione? And why was George just standing there? 

“George! What are they doing to Y/N? Why aren’t you doing anything?!” He shouted, yet George seemed to ignore him. His heart tore apart every time you screamed his name, you were looking very distraught, and scared, and anxious.

He literally ran to be beside you, kneeling to the ground, “Y/N, love, I’m here.”

Yet you kept crying, until it slowed down, “Please, I need to see Freddie… He almost died in my arms, please…” was your last whimper before you passed out. Fred frowned, “Y/N, darling, I’m here! I’m not dead, I’m here-“

His hands that were to cup your face went through you.

Feeling fear right about now is the understatement of the century. Fred had never felt so horrified, in his life. Not even when he was fighting the Death Eaters a while ago, not even when the walls shattered him. This… This is terrifying.

He turned his head to the group of people who were now lifting unconscious you back to bed. He stood up slowly, gulping as he took in your state. You had heavy eye-bags, your skin was pale, and you looked exhausted. Yet you never failed to make his heart flutter at the very sight of you.  

As if adding oil to the fire, Harry who was beside him just stood up and bloody walked through him. Not walk past him, through him. As if he’s just a ghost.

Fred froze. Is that what he is now? A ghost? Like Peeves and Moaning Myrtle? He quickly looked down at his body, checking himself. No, he isn’t glowy blue, nor is he see-through. Fred was confused and terrified, and that two feelings together were never a good mix.

“I told you it’s a bad idea to tell Y/N so soon, George.” Fred turned to Ron who was looking to George who looked distressed. “Now’s not the right time for you to pick up a fight with me, Ron,” George growled; his eyes were dark. Fred realized George’s state was similar to yours. In fact, everyone looked exhausted. His heart broke at the sight of the quietly crying Molly who was still in Hermione’s arms.

“You could’ve told it later.” Ron, ignoring his brother’s warning earlier, continued with silent rage. “Ronald,” Hermione warned, glaring at him. “Then what am I supposed to do, you bastard? Is it your twin who’s in a bloody coma and your best friend hyperventilating, losing their mind? Am I supposed to carry this burden alone, huh you git? You’re fucking 18, Ron, use your bloody brain for once.” George snapped and walked out of the ward, seemingly wanted to cool off.

Hang on. What did he just say?

Fred gripped the bed railings to balance himself, his head suddenly went dizzy. “Coma? Me?” He whispered, not believing his ears. So the man earlier, that was really him? Not you under the Polyjuice potion? So, him standing in your ward right now, what was he? A ghost? A million thoughts swarmed Fred, he felt his chest tightened and he almost couldn’t breathe.   

“Why did you have to do that, Ron?” Hermione sighed out, Molly had just calmed down and excused herself to the bathroom. Ron didn’t answer her, and just walked out after looking solemnly in your direction.  

Harry sighed, “I’ll go get him.” He said, glancing at sleeping you, and left the ward. Slowly, the ward became empty, and the only ones there were Fred and you. His grip on the bed become tighter at the sight of you.

“F… Freddie…” Suddenly you mumbled out, and a tear rolled down to your sides. Fred was beyond devastated, heartbroken even. You looked so miserable, and Fred wanted nothing more than to hug you, caress your hair, and just whisper sweet nothings to you.

“I’m… I’m here, love.” His voice quivering, his hands trembled severely. He wanted to kiss your forehead, but the fear of his lips not touching your skin scared him more than ever. He wanted to wipe your tears away, so bad. Without warning, his own tears scrolled down his cheeks. But the tears never drop to the floor, they just vanished into thin air the moment they left his face.  

Fred felt a painful tug in his heart, he was beyond devastated. You were right there, and he could see you, but you couldn’t see him.

No one could.

The thought of being invisible made Fred’s crying worsened. He started to scream within his cries, begging anyone to just listen to him or actually notice he’s there. Fred wailed, screamed, shouted, with tears running profusely, the saliva in his mouth kept coming out as a result of his excessive breakdown.  

He was screaming his heart out, yet no one was listening.

Fred had to crouch down beside your bed as his knees turned weak, his head facing the ground, silently begging to see if one of his many tears would plop to the ground, and actually wet them. But the moment they jumped from the edge of his face; his tears vanished.

Fred calmed down a few minutes later, he was growing exhausted from the mental breakdown he just had.  He stood up trembling, his mind still distraught and disheveled, and his eyes softly darted to you.

He weakly smiled, “At least I got to see you, love.”

A week passed and Fred had accepted the fact that he was indeed in a coma, and his soul was out of his body, resulting in him to be like… this. 

But it wasn’t easy for him. 

He had to watch Molly and George take turns to look after him and Y/N, and they seemingly took turns crying for both of you. Fred was sobbing in the corner of his ward when Molly was crying while wiping his body, the view of his mother crying over him was absolutely heart-breaking. Molly was the first woman in his life, and he dreaded the fact that he couldn’t hug her, nor even touch her. 

He also discovered that his body would also cry whenever he’s crying, resulting in Molly crying even harder as she realized her unconscious son was also crying silently. His heartbeat would also match his body’s heartbeat. When he was having a breakdown at Y/N’s ward a while ago, his heartbeat was very fast, causing the beeping machine to enhance its pace. 

So Fred had jumped to the conclusion that somehow, he and his body are still connected. And with that being said, he’s not a ghost. Only a lost soul.

Fred would always visit your ward. He couldn’t sleep, but he would close his eyes at night so that his heartbeat won’t increase rapidly, in order not to worry his family. He would smile whenever you smile, just silently watching you communicating with Hermione. But as soon as he realized that you had nightmares at night, he couldn’t sleep after that.

So he would sit at the empty chair beside your bed whenever it’s empty, and just watch you sleep. When it’s time that you woke up crying, Fred was grateful that Hermione was there to calm you down, he couldn’t even describe the pain in his heart when he sees you so distraught.

And it broke his heart, even more, when he found out the nightmare involved him.

You were… suffering because of him, and Fred had never felt guiltier. He had also discovered that he could touch objects, he just couldn’t touch humans, which explained why he woke up laying on a bed, instead of sinking. He didn’t do anything to you though, he was afraid it would worsen your condition.  

That night came along. For the nth time, Fred felt his heart breaking at the sight of you sobbing on Hermione’s arm, once again attacked by the same reoccurring nightmare. When you begged Hermione to go see him, he had expected Hermione to say no, that’s what she’s been saying for the past week.

It’s a pleasant surprise when Hermione agreed.

You didn’t know, but Fred walked beside you and Hermione, watching your every step so you wouldn’t trip. He knew how weak your legs were, he was there when the doctors explained your condition to Molly. If it wasn’t for him being invisible, it would look like Fred was worrying for you at every step you took. He quietly smiled to himself, knowing it would annoy the hell out of you whenever he does that.

“Hello, Freddie.” Your quiet voice made a slight tug on his heart. You were holding his hand, and it was killing Fred that he couldn’t feel your touch. Or your warmth. He had to control his tears when you begin to sob on his body, his cold hand became the resting place for your forehead as you leaned forward. 

He had never wanted to touch you so badly, and it’s torturing him to control his tears because he knew the body would cry as well, and he didn’t want to sadden you any further. No words could describe the pain in his heart, and how fast his heartbeat is becoming. You didn’t notice, seemingly had filtered out the beeping sound from your mind to focus on your lover.

“I missed you, darling. I’ve missed you so much…” He heard you whisper while caressing his face. Fred was right in front of you, the only thing between you two was his static body on the bed. 

Fred forced out a chuckle, faking the laugh so his tears won’t come out instead, “You have no idea how much I missed you as well, my love. No idea…” When you left, after kissing his knuckles, that’s when Fred broke down. He had never cried loudly before, courtesy of sharing a house with several people for years, but when he does, it was refreshing.

But he had never felt so alone. 

So he understood your feeling when he saw you leaning against your bedroom door, crying in the dark at your apartment once you’ve been discharged. He decided to follow you home because he couldn’t bear staying at that cold, lonely hospital any longer.

 His home was you; you were his home and you still are.

And his heart bleeds; because he knew he was your home as well. And while he’s right there in front of you, sitting across you with tears in his eyes, begging you to see him so you won’t cry out of agony again, you didn’t know. 

You would never know.

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PART 4: READ

TAGLIST:

@paigeyisme @britishspidey @hargreevesgrace @jasminweasley @neutralgoodval @kaidenceweasley @igotabadfeelingabouteverything @123happyllama @nicole-prz @phuvioqhile @ionlycamehereforfanfics @martalol @mccloudchloe @hufflepuffzutara @weasleysangel

[taehyungs-perm]

strawberry girl pt 4

taehyung x reader; college au; childhood best friends to lovers au; jock!fratboy taehyung

genre: fluff; major angst lol

word count: 11k

summary: i can pretend i don’t miss you. i can pretend i dont care. all i want to do is kiss you. what a shame you’re not here.

Part 1 here ; Part 2 here; part 3 here; part 5

playlist vibes

i like me better | lauv 

get you | daniel caesar 

japanese denim | daniel caesar 

lovers | anna of the north

comfort crowd | conan gray

idontwannabeyouanymore | billie eilish 

It was probably not ideal to start your morning by sobbing in the lap of your best friend, but it be like that sometimes.

Hana was softly combing the little strands of hair out of your face, “_________, it’s okay. Why are you so upset about this?”

You rolled over so you could see Hana, brushing the hair out of your face, “Because Hana, I told you what happened last time. I fell for him and it hurt me so much. I was trying so hard to avoid this.”

She looked at you with a serious look in her eyes, “__________ you can't choose what feelings you feel. But you can choose how you act. You have to tell people how you feel when you feel it. You missed that chance two years ago but you have it again now. This is a good thing. Tell Taehyung how you feel.”

You sat upright, looking at her seriously, “Hana, it’s not that simple. He probably doesn’t like me back. And if I confess and he says he doesn’t like me like that, then what? I’ve ruined our friendship over something that doesn’t even matter.”

“It does matter! Your feelings do matter. And that won’t happen. I’ve seen the way he looks at you when you aren’t paying attention. He definitely likes you. Stop over thinking.”

“I’m not overthinking. If anything, I’m not thinking enough. I just should keep my mouth shut and hope this goes away.”

Hana shook her head, “What the fuck will that do? You’ll just sadly pine over him from a distance while he continues to fuck the rest of campus. Will that make you happy? Seeing him do that?”

“Hana, if Taehyung and I were meant to be, we would have been by now. But we aren’t. We are two different people and he just doesn’t see me like that.”

“And I’m telling you that he does! Even Jungkook has noticed the way Taehyung acts around you. It’s obvious to everyone but you.”

“It was just like this last time too, Hana. I thought he was so into me, but he wasn’t. He was into some other girl the whole time. It made me feel like a piece of shit. Like I was worthless and that I created this romance all in my head. I’m sick of waiting for love and I realized my life isn't anything special.”

She put her hands on your shoulders, “You have to start romanticizing your life. You have to start taking risks and do things for yourself. If you keep being afraid of what could happen, life will continue to pass you by and all the little things that make it so beautiful will continue to go unnoticed. You can’t keep wallowing in self pity. You need to do something about your life and for once not let it fuck you over. This isn’t just about Taehyung. This about how you live your life. I know you better than you think __________.You have to start thinking of yourself as the main character. You need to change your mentality of thinking you’re worthless and not enough.” 

You sighed deeply, knowing everything she’s saying is so true, “I know it okay. I know it’s the fucking capitalist misogynistic society that cultivates these ideas of insecurity and women and profits off of it to create an endless cycle of ‘I don’t feel enough’. And I want to get to that point where I can feel like I’m enough on my own. But it’s hard.”

Hana pulled you into a hug, “________ I know it’s hard. I just don’t want all of your fears and insecurities to stop you from achieving your dreams and going after things you want.”

You pulled away from her, “Do you really think I should tell him?”

She nodded excitedly, “I really, really do. Tonight is the perfect chance.”

You let out a deep sigh, releasing all the pent up tension in your body, ���Okay. Tonight.”

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You and Hana made your way through the somehow already crowded lodge.

“God, Jungkook is such an idiot. I told him not to invite too many people because he only has one house, but guess what?” Hana said huffing as she firmly gripped her duffle.

“What?” You were following closely behind her so as to not get stuck in the crowd. 

“He somehow got permission to use his neighbor’s lodge too. As long as everything is exactly how it was. Which there’s no fucking way that’ll happen.”

You nodded in agreement. There were already too many fucking people here. But to be fair, you and Hana did arrive late. Most people arrived in the early afternoon to go skiing and tubing. You and Hana decided to catch up on homework and studying and arrived in the early evening instead. Hana ensured that both of you dressed in cute outfits because she really wanted to take photos for her Instagram. 

Hana was wearing an emerald green satin tank top with black skinny jeans with black strappy heels.

You rarely wore dresses because the lack of practicality with no pockets infuriated you but Hana somehow convinced you to buy the maxi length black floral dress you were wearing. It had thin straps so you paired the dress with a black long sleeve shirt and white sneakers.

She dragged you upstairs. “Jungkook gave us this room,” Hana said, taking you down the hall. 

“Us?” You asked snarkily. 

“Okay, in theory I’m supposed to stay in this room with you.” 

“But?”

“But...I’ll stay with Jungkook and Jungkook’s roommate will stay here.”

You already knew where this was going and you felt your anxiety growing. You rubbed your temples, “Don’t tell me..”

“Taehyung said he’s perfectly okay with it so...”, she said through a large grin.

“Hana, I told you. I just-”

“And I told you! He likes you too! This is your chance. Your opportunity!! You two are so cute together. You just need to talk to him about your feelings,” she said pushing you into the room. Thankfully, there were two beds. You felt like you couldn’t handle another night next to Taehyung. You might literally have a heart attack, feeling his body that close to yours again. 

“I don’t know Hana. I don’t know if tonight is the right time,” you said, setting your duffle bag on your bed. 

You were about to continue before you heard a knock on the door. At the doorway was Taehyung and Jungkook, the causes of your incoming migraine.

Jungkook walked over to Hana and enveloped her in a big hug. “I missed you, love,” he said as he kissed her forehead.

“Miss you too,” Hana mumbled from his embrace.

Your heart yearned with longing at this interaction. How you so badly you wanted someone to love you. How so badly you wanted Taehyung to love you back. You then remembered that he was in fact standing right in front of you.

You smiled awkwardly at him. His fluffy curly hair was covering his eyes a bit. He was dressed in a somewhat sheer black floral shirt tucked into black skinny jeans. He looked like a model. He waved recognizing that you were a bit uncomfortable.

Jungkook, still with Hana in his embrace, left the room, saying something about how she needed to see the beer pong table in the basement.

“Hey,” Taehyung said casually, leaning against the door entrance.

You felt your heart beating fast. God, did he always make you this uneasy?

“Hi,” you squeaked. Oh my god. Why are you acting like this? Can't you just be chill?

He laughed, “Are you okay?”

Be chill. Act normal. “I’m fine. Just tired. I was at the library since you left this morning.” You were trying to distract yourself as you started unpacking some things from your duffle. He walked over and sat on your bed next to your duffle.

“Hmm. Seems like we’ll be spending another night together,” he said, grinning wickedly. 

Your cheeks reddened at his words. You cleared your throat, ”Well, you’ll be sleeping in your own bed. So not really.” You continued to take out items from your bag, so you didn’t have to make eye contact with him. 

He angled his face in front of your bag so you had to look at his doe eyes, “Oh really. It’s just that after last night, I don’t know if I can sleep without you next to me again. By the way, I usually sleep shirtless.”

You immediately felt your face flush and the textbook that you were holding (you brought it just in case you got bored) slipped from your hands, thudding loudly on the wooden floor. 

He gave you an infuriating smile as he leaned down and picked up your textbook. 

“Sure everything is fine?” He said handing you the book.

“I’m perfectly fine! We should go downstairs,” you said hastily as you set the book on the bed.

“Okay, let’s go,” he said standing up.

“Wait lemme fix my hair,” you said glancing in a mirror. It looked like you just woke up. Which to be fair, you kinda did sleep the entire way to the lodge.

You undid your braid and pulled it into a ponytail. You turned to him and he frowned. 

“What?” You said, feeling self conscious.

He walked over to you and pulled the hair tie out of your hair, “I like it when your hair is down.” He secured your dark pink scrunchie around his wrist. 

Your heart fluttered. Wait, did that mean he didn’t like when your hair was styled in other ways?

He pulled your hand and gave you that contagious smile, “I know what you’re thinking. I do think you look good in different hair styles. I like it when you wear braids or ponytails. But you rarely wear your hair down. I want you to know that I like that too.”

You looked down at the wooden flooring, trying to hide your smile, “Fuck off. I could care less what you think.”

“Ayy, there’s my girl. Now c’mon you look pretty let’s go!” Taehyung said, leading you down the stairs.

It seemed like time had no concept here as everyone was drinking and dancing as if it were midnight. Taehyung led you to the basement where there were somehow even more people. The colored lights were flashing and the music was blaring.

You found your friends sitting on the couches towards the back. Hana was sitting on Jungkook's lap next to Yoongi and Hobi. Even though you technically came with him, Taehyung’s presence was making you overly jittery so you opted to sit in the free seat next to Jimin. He gave you a cheerful smile and you tried not to look at Taehyung as he sat opposite of you two. Hana glared at you in frustration when she saw your seat choice. You responded by flipping her off and turned to talk to Jimin.

Your conversation with Jimin was cut off by Jungkook exclaiming, “Okay, let’s play truth or dare.”

Hana scoffed, “Are you kidding Jungkook? That game is for children.”

“Not the way we play it,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

You immediately shook your head, “I’ll sit this out.”

Jimin whined at you, “Cmon ________ you have to play.”

You shook your head, laughing, “In your fucking dreams.”

Jimin stroked his chin with his hand, thinking hard, “You have to play otherwise...”

Hana chimed in, “Otherwise I’ll hide your textbooks.”

You narrowed your eyes at her, “You wouldn’t dare.”  

“Try me bitch” Hana said with a smirk. 

You sighed, giving up because you knew she actually would do it, “Fine but if it starts getting fucking weird I’m leaving.”

The dares got weird pretty fast. 

Jin was dared to lick whipped cream off of Yoongi's leg. Hobi and Namjoon were dared to go skinny dipping in the pool. Taehyung had to sit on Namjoon’s lap for the rest of the round. Jungkook revealed almost too many truths about himself, talking about his fantasy threesomes and his kinks. Hana was dared to do body shots off of Jungkook (she seemed a little too excited for that). Jimin was dared to remove his shirt for the rest of the game.

Luckily you had only been asked two times and chosen truth both times. Namjoon and Hobi were nice enough to ask questions that weren’t too exposing. However, things started going downhill once it was Hana’s turn again. You swore you saw her eyes glitter with mischievousness. 

“_________, You already used up your two truths, right?”

Fuck, you forgot about the two truths only rule. 

Jimin piped up, “Yep! She did.”

God, fuck Park Jimin for being such a boy scout. You nodded weakly. Your heart started to pound. You knew she was going to say something stupid. You uneasily glanced over at Taehyung. He had been suspiciously quiet to you all night, but you also were actively avoiding him. 

Hana cleared her throat, making sure to get everyone’s attention, “Okay so _________ I dare you,” she smiled widely and you knew you were fucked, “I dare you to make out with Taehyung.”

Your mouth gaped open. She didn’t. You looked at Taehyung and his face was almost as shocked as yours. 

You chuckled nervously, side eyeing Taehyung, “No, no.” 

Taehyung spoke softly, “Nah she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to.”

Jungkook laughed loudly, clearly having a great time at the expense of your misery, “It’s the rules. She has to. Other people had to do way worse tonight.”

You felt your face heating up and your heart was beating faster with anxiety. 

Jimin was trying to help the situation, “How about they go in the guest room so it won’t be as awkward.”

Hana pondered this for a moment, “You have to send a picture then. We need evidence that you guys actually kissed.”

You tried protesting but Jimin physically pulled you off the couch while Hobi did the same to Taehyung.

“Guys, guys, how about you give me another dare? I promise I’ll do that one. Just give me a pass,” you pleaded as Jimin dragged you to the guest room.

Your pleas went unheard as Jimin and Hobi pushed you and Taehyung into the guest room with the rest of your friends following behind. Once Jungkook slammed the door close, you tried pressing against the door but it wouldn’t budge. You sighed and dropped to the ground. 

“C'mon guys just let us out,” Ttaehyung tried to say in a serious voice, leaning against the door. 

“Kiss and then we will let you out,” Jungkook shouted through the door. 

Taehyung ran his hands through his hair and sat next to you, “We can just wait it out. They’ll let us out eventually.”

You nodded and buried your face in your hands. Then you heard chanting outside the room “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” 

Oh my god, I’m going to literally murder Hana. I am not going to do this right now.

He leaned next to you and whispered quietly, “I know you don’t wanna do this so let’s just sit here and wait. It’s okay, don’t let what they are saying get to you.”

You looked at him and felt your heart swell. God, you were so in love with him. 

The best you could hope for was that they get tired and give up. However, It had been like 10 minutes and the chants were still going strong 

You looked at him, desperate, “What the fuck do we do?”

He chuckled nervously, “Um...we could kiss?”

You looked at him. You could but this isn’t what you wanted. You wanted him to want you because he liked you, not because of some game.

You felt your anxiety come to a point where it was overwhelming and you weren’t thinking properly so you said rather forcefully, “No!”

His puppy dog eyes lost its spark. He dropped his head, “Oh.. ok. I know you think I’m really annoying or whatever but I didn’t think you hated me.” He sounded hurt. 

You groaned, shutting your eyes in frustration, “Ugh it’s not like that.” God, he was totally misinterpreting the whole situation.

Taehyung looked at you, clearly confused, “Then what is it like? Cause it seems like you’re so repulsed by the idea of kissing me.”

Then without thinking, you frustratingly yelled, “Oh my god, I just don’t want it to happen like this!”

Your eyes widened in realization of what you said. 

You began to stumble out your words, “I mean like I just think it’s weird because we are so platonic and like it’s weird and I think we can forget everything I just said.” 

Your words were becoming a train wreck and you couldn’t watch the disastrous scene unfolding in front of you.

He stared at you, wide eyed. He leaned his head against the wall, completely silent.

Oh my god, I need to fucking get out. You looked around the room and saw a small window at the top of the opposite wall, next to the bed. Bingo.

You glanced over at Taehyung. He was on his phone, texting. He probably thinks I’m a fucking psycho. 

You tightened the laces on your shoes and walked over to the dresser next to the bed. You climbed on top of the dresser and then you pushed on the window hard. It creaked open 

You heard Taehyung's voice behind you, “_________, what the fuck are you doing?” 

“I just need some fresh air you know. I just need to do this really fast.” You pushed the window fully open and you felt the cool air of the night press against your face

You were able to reach your arms through the window and once you got a good grip on the grass, you began to hoist yourself up.

“_________! What are you doing?” You couldn’t look back at Taehyung, but he sounded very confused and shocked.

“Um I just really need to go. I'm feeling so claustrophobic,” you struggled the words out as you pushed yourself through the window. Once one of your legs made it through, you began crawling out the window, “Ow! Why are there so many fucking rocks?”

You hadn’t realized that while you were struggling to crawl out the window, Taehyung had shouted to your friends on the other side of the door about your antics. 

You heard voices fill up the room and Hana’s voice yell, “_________ get the fuck down here! You could get hurt! What are you doing?”

Great, this is exactly how I wanted the night to go. But it was too late, you were already more than halfway out.

“It’s fine.” You shouted back, “I’m okay!” 

You exclaimed a cheer of victory once you were able to make it through the fucking window. You stood up and looked down at your clothes. Your dress was caked in mud. This is so great. Your life was a fucking mess. 

You looked around and realized you were by the pool. You desperately hoped none of your friends would come up looking for you. You dusted off the dirt from your dress and walked around the pool. You walked into the kitchen and breathed out a sigh of relief when you didn’t recognize anyone there. Then you heard Taehyung’s familiar voice and immediately ducked behind the kitchen island.

You glanced up and sighed when you saw him with Jennie. She was smiling and had her arm wrapped around his neck. He was keeping his distance with him trying to pull her arm away from her. You didn’t wanna stick around any longer because you were worried you would see something that would upset you. You made your way back to your room upstairs. 

Obviously seeing Taehyung with Jennie hurt you, but what could you do? They had history, real history and you were simply Taehyung's friend. How could someone like you ever complete with someone like Jennie? You loved Taehyung but how could that even compare what Jennie could offer him. He said to you that he wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, just sex and Jennie was giving him exactly that. It was so fucking stupid of you to think you could confess to him.

Once you got to your room, you changed into black sweatpants and a simple gray tee shirt. You grabbed a towel and headed to the empty hot tub in the back of the house. 

Finally a spot where there’s no one and where no one will find me.

You rolled up your pants and soaked your legs in the hot water. You pulled out your phone and started reading the new book you started this week, Malcom X’s autobiography.

It felt really relaxing and peaceful to simply be by yourself for a while. Being social situations always drained you out a lot. You became so absorbed in your reading that you didn’t notice Taehyung walking up to the hot tub. 

“Hey strawberry girl,” he said right into your ear.

You got startled by his closeness, almost dropping your phone, “Oh my god, you’re so annoying.”

“So...what happened? Why the fuck did you crawl out of a window?” He asked, concerned 

The million fucking dollar question. Time to play it off chill. “I dunno. It just got kinda overwhelming. I told you I was getting claustrophobic.”

You obviously couldn’t tell him you were so fucking afraid of your feelings toward him and how you couldn’t possibly kiss him (game or not) because he most likely doesn’t like you back.

Luckily, he didn’t press further “Yea, it’s actually really nice and quiet out here. Can I sit with you here?”

You nodded and he sat next to you, not dipping his feet in the water.

“I’m so fucking sore from all the practices and games this week,” Taehyung said, stretching his shoulder.

“You should get in the hot tub. It'll relax and soothe your muscles,” you said still reading on your phone, not looking up at him.

He stood up, “That’s a good idea.” 

You assumed he would agree and then go and grab his swim trunks. Except Taehyung didn’t do that.

You heard a light clanking noise and looked up at him. He was taking off his belt and unzipping his pants right in front of you. You felt your entire face redden, mortified at what he was doing, “Taehyung. what are you doing?” You said averting your gaze.

“I’m getting in the hot tub?”

“Go and get your swim shorts!”

“Nah, fuck that. Don’t worry _________, I’m not going in nude.”

Thank god. You don’t know what you would’ve done if he decided to do that.

You peeked at him from the corner of your eyes. He was wearing blue boxers and he was unbuttoning his floral shirt. He luckily was wearing a black short sleeve shirt underneath. He had really nice calves, tanned and well defined. 

Taehyung stepped into the hot tub and let out a deep moan. Your face reddened at the sound. 

Then, your eyes met. Then, all while giving you a deep stare, Taehyung reached behind his neck to pull his shirt off. You felt your face flush even further. He has to know what he’s doing to me. He has to know that he’s riling me up with all of these moves. 

You gulped at the sight of his prominent collar bones and honey colored skin. You tore your eyes away from him and tried to concentrate on your book. 

It didn’t work because Taehyung's suspiciously quiet presence unnerved you. 

You set your phone done and raised your eyebrows at him, “What?”

“What? I haven’t said anything”

“Exactly. You’re being quiet. Which is weird.”

“You said you liked how peaceful it was out here. So I wanted to let you enjoy it.”

“Whatever. It’s weird when you're quiet,” you sloshed your legs in the water.

“_________?” Taehyung wasn’t looking at you anymore, he was staring at the water. 

“Yea,”

“Why haven’t you had a boyfriend?”

Ouch. 

“Why are you asking me that?” you said a bit hurt.

“I didn’t mean it to come off as mean. I’m just curious. Because, I don’t know, you say you want love. But did you go after it?”

“Why are you thinking of that?”

“Well, cause I dunno. I never thought about love. Or getting a girlfriend. But on the way here Namjoon hyung and Jungkook were just talking about how great it is. Being in love and having someone to love. And someone loving you back. And Jin hyung said he has met someone as well but he’s keeping it lowkey. And then you talked about how you want love too. That’s why you’ve waited. I know you've had crushes. But I don’t know why you haven’t gone for it yet. Or why you haven’t had a boyfriend yet.”

You stared at your feet in the water. He wasn’t trying to be mean. He just wanted to know about your life. You felt like you should be more honest with taehyung. He was always so genuine with you.

“I don’t know Taehyung. There’s so many reasons.”

“What are they?”

You gave a cold laugh, “No one has ever liked me like that. So there’s that. Then I’m scared. I’m scared of opening up to someone and they leave me. I talk a lot of shit I guess for someone who has never been in a relationship. I want love but I guess I realized love doesn’t come without heartbreak. So that’s what scares me. But I guess it’s fun to romanticize something that’ll never happen for me.”

“What are you talking about? Are you saying you’ll never fall in love?”

“I’m saying no one will ever love me like that. So I can say whatever I want about wanting love and a boyfriend. Because that won’t happen.”

He looked at you, astonished, “________ what the fuck? Are you being for real?”

You exhaled deeply. You knew he wouldn’t get it. Taehyung has never been in your situation. He’s always been wanted, adored, loved. You’ve never experienced anything like that.

“Yes Tae. I’m being serious. I’m not really looking for sympathy or anything because I’ve accepted it but I know guys don’t really like me. I know why, but I’m not going to change myself for a guy. It’s just the facts are there, Taehyung. I’m almost twenty and no guy has ever been interested in me. So it’s just whatever now. It’s kinda blessing though. I can just focus on school and not get distracted or sidetracked by any guy.”

He scooched over time where your legs were dangling. He held your hand that was planted firmly against the concrete. 

“________ please don’t think like that. You deserve love. Stop saying that you don’t. And you will find it. I promise you. I don’t know why you think guys don’t like you but I swear, you are literally perfect the way you are and I’m so glad you didn’t change for anyone. Your strawberry boy is out there. And he’s probably the most perfect guy to exist.”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes. Your strawberry boy did exist. And he was the one holding your hand. You didn’t want anyone else. You wanted him. You wanted Kim Taehyung.

You reflexively made a joke, just to move away from the fact that you were about to cry over his words, “I guess. You’ll have to beat his ass if he doesn’t like strawberries tho”

Taehyung laughed, “Don’t worry. I’m always here to beat anyone’s ass for you.” 

He rested his back against the edge and looked up into the night sky. 

“So... are you into Jennie? Is that why you’re thinking about love and girlfriends?” you asked cautiously. You honestly had no idea why you asked this question. You didn’t even want to know the answer. 

“Haha no. It’s just...I dunno I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I’ve always said I didn’t want a girlfriend but I don’t even know why I’ve had that mentality. But now.. I think I want that.”

“Want what?”

“That closeness, that dependability, that love”

“Then what’s stopping you?”

“The right girl I guess.” 

You winced at those words. Were you not the right girl? 

Trying to distract yourself, you pressed further, “I mean you dated Yeji did that not count?”

“No, it counted. But our relationship was definitely highschool. It wasn’t....deep I guess. The way Jungkook talks about Hana...I know I never felt that in my relationship with Yeji.”

“I’m sure you can find a girl who makes you feel like that.” You hadn’t meant for that to come out as sneakily as it did.

He chuckled, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well...you’re literally the most adored boy on campus. And Jennie really wants to date you. So it’s not like you don’t have options,” you said truthfully.

“Yea, but none of that matters,” he said, sighing. 

You gave him a quizzical look.

He continued, “If I’m going to date a girl, I want to be friends with her first. I want to fall for her. And then I want to date her. I don’t want to be unsure of my feelings for her.”

Friends first? We’re friends. Could this...no. Taehyung and I have been friends for so long. If he had caught feelings, he would’ve said so by now.

You kicked your legs in the water, sad because it just seemed this talk with Taehyung just showed you to your face that he didn’t like you. 

You spoke softly, “That’s a good idea. No point in wasting anyone’s time.”

“Exactly.” He stretched his arms out, “Aren’t you going to get in the water?”

You shook your head no

“C’mon, get in. It feels so good.”

You continued to shake your head, “I didn’t bring swim clothes.”

“I’m not in wwim clothes,” he said, looking down at himself.

“If you think that I’m going to go in the hot tub in my underwear, you’re fucking insane,” you said cackling. There was actually no fucking way in hell you would ever do that even if it was your own hot tub, much less with Kim Taehyung right in front of you.

“Okay, just come in with your clothes on.”

“Tae I literally didn’t bring clothes for this. These are the only pajamas I have.”

He pulled your arm and your legs slipped into the water, your pants getting soaked.

“Taehyung!” You exclaimed, shocked at what he just did.

“I have clothes here, you can wear mine. Now please, relax for a goddamn second” he said, laughing.

You narrowed your eyes at him and flipped him off, “I can’t believe you did that.”

He was still laughing and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

You eased your back against the wall of the hot tub, your shoulder touching Taehyung. You didn’t know if your body was heating up because of the water or because of how close Taehyung was.

He perked up, his eyes dancing with excitement, “Guess what?”

“What?” You couldn’t help but feel endeared at his cuteness.

“I finished the second season of Avatar!”

“For real? Oh my god. Wasn’t the ending insane?”

“Bro it was fucking insane. I can’t believe Zuko sided with Azula. And I can’t believe she shot lightning at Aang! That was crazy,” He ranted ecstatically.

You and Taehyung had given each other anime recommendations since you both were looking for new ones to watch.

He rambled on, “I don’t get why you’re in love with Zuko. Like he literally betrayed his uncle, the one dude who was on his side. Maybe for a minute when they were in Ba Sing Se when he was a cute tea shop boy, I understood, but now?”

“Patience Taehyung. You’ll understand soon enough. He’s just lost and confused okay? He just needs someone on his team.”

“Ugh whatever I guess. I’m still not convinced.”

You shook your head, he would understand once he finished the show.

Then you remembered his recommendation, “I’m almost done with the first season of My Hero Academia.”

“Bet. Isn’t it good? Who’s your favorite character?”

“It is good. I like seeing Class 1A interact with each other. They are all so angsty teens, it’s so funny. Umm it would be a tie between Todoroki and Bakugou.”

He looked shocked, “Bakugou? You like him?”

“Yes okay! I believe in him. He just is confused. I'm rooting for him. I think he’s a sweet boy.”

Taehyung shook his head disappointed, “Do you just like all the broken boy characters?”

You opened your mouth to retort something back but couldn’t come up with anything. He was right, you really did love the broken boy arc. It was just the fact that you desperately wanted to help them and show them the love they deserved. Your eyes caught Taehyung and you couldn’t help but feel the same way. You wanted to be the girl that gave him those feelings of real love, to be a real girlfriend to him.

You and Taehyung continued to talk for a while until you realized you two were probably in the hot tub for way too long. 

Wrapped in your towels, you and Taehyung trudged upstairs, shivering from the cold.

Taehyung dropped you off to your room and mentioned that he would be back with clothes. You sat on your bed, buzzing with a warm feeling. Even though the voice at the back of your head was doubting every moment, telling you that Taehyung doesn’t like you like that, you couldn’t help but hold a feeling of hopefulness. He was here, with you right? Didn’t that count for something? 

He came back, dressed in shorts and a black t-shirt, clutching clothes for you. 

You took it from his hand and went to the bathroom to change. You smiled when you saw he brought your favorite sweater of his, the soft gray one, for you to wear. His pants were obviously way too large but you managed to fold up the pant legs so you weren’t drowning in his clothing.

Taehyung was laying on your bed, stretched out scrolling through his phone. He sat up when he heard the bathroom door open and grinned, “You look so cute wearing my clothes.” 

“Shut up,” you said trying to hide your smile.

You walked around the room and noticed the glass double doors between the beds opened. You pushed open the doors and the coldness of the night sent shivers up your spine. You walked over to the edge and rested your elbows on the railing.

The back of your mind was still spinning with Hana’s voice, “Just tell him how you feel!” But you couldn’t do that. There was just too much you were risking: your friendship with Taehyung, your heart.

You tried to calm your waves of nausea and anxiety by taking deep breaths. Was this even worth it? You looked up at the night sky and saw the moon above your head. You sighed, your gaze fixating on a dim star by the bright moon. It actually was quite a beautiful night. It was quiet, a comfortable temperature warm with a light breeze, and the stars amplified the moon's beauty. 

You heard Taehyung's voice behind you, “Damn jungkook really gave us the best room.”

You turned your head and saw Taehyung's boxy smile leaning against the railing right next to you. Your heart skipped a beat when you saw him. You immediately turned your head back to the star.

“Maybe he felt bad for making Hana ditch me,” you smirked.

He gave you a teasing smile, “C’mon ________ you didn’t want another night with the most handsome guy on campus?”

“And you wonder why I don’t shower you in compliments like everyone else on this fucking planet,” you said shaking your head.

“It’s ok. I don’t need the verbal confirmation from you. I know what you think of me.”

You glanced over at him, “And what’s that?”

“Even though you find me annoying, you also undeniably find me endearing. And you also think I’m hot.”

Your jaw dropped in shock at his words, “You’re so fucking full of it.”

He leaned in and brushed away the strand of hair covering your eyes, “Deny all you want but I know it. I can see it in your eyes.”

“My eyes?” you said, scoffing at his ridiculousness.

“Yep, your eyes give away everything.”

“Oh really? What else do they give away?” You said playing along with his game.

“They give away that you definitely don’t know how beautiful you look right now.”

You rolled your eyes. He exclaimed, “See! Right there. You don’t know that. I got that fr-“

You interrupted, chuckling lightly, “From my eyes, right? You’re so full of shit. I bet you use that line on all of the other girls.” 

“What other girls?” he said innocently.

Taehyung was definitely something, creating his own understanding of you, pinpointing things you didn’t even notice about yourself. He looked at you, his big puppy dog eyes glittering in the moonlight, his fluffy curly hair ruffled by the soft breeze of the night. Everything about him made your heart ache with want. 

He cleared his throat, grabbing your attention, “_________ why did you climb out the window? You weren’t getting claustrophobic in a bedroom.”

Oh, so he didn’t believe your answer. You tried to answer as calmly as possible, trying to not let your nerves show, “Um..I just didn’t wanna play the game anymore.”

“What did you mean by when you said ‘I don’t want it to happen like this?’ ”

Oh fuck he didn’t forget you said that. You dropped your head, desperately not wanting to make eye contact with him, “Huh? I don’t remember saying that.”

“Well, when I asked why you didn’t want to kiss me you said that.”

“I think you misheard. I said ‘nope not this’ ”

He said in complete disbelief, “I misheard? With you standing right in front of me?”

“Yep. It’s okay. You should go see a doctor about it though.” You quickly tried to divert his attention, “The stars are really beautiful tonight.”

Luckily, he seemed to understand that you were obviously not answering his questions.

“Guess which star is my favorite?” his head tilting in the direction of the night sky. 

You laughed, “I don’t know. There’s so many out there.”

“Just guess. I have one that’s my favorite.”

“I don’t know. I guess that one” you said pointing to the brightest star in the sky. It was quite far from the moon. 

“Nope. Try again”

“Taehyung, I’m never going to guess it. I give up, just tell me.” 

“That one.” He said pointing in an area near the moon. 

You tried pointing it out with your own finger, “That one?”

He leaned over and placed his hand over yours and guided it in the right direction. He looked at the star for a second and then looked at you “That one.”

You were fixated on the star and when he pulled your hand in the right direction, you realized he was talking about the star you had been staring at the whole night. You turned your head to exclaim to him the coincidence and you found his head only inches away from yours. 

The words got stuck in your throat. His jet black eyes were staring into your soul. 

“That star is my favorite because it’s the most beautiful. It might not be the flashiest star out there and it’s trying to be hidden in the brightness of the moonlight but I see it. And I think it’s the most beautiful star in the entire night sky. “

You realized you had been staring into his eyes for too long. He took both your hands that you hadn’t realized were trembling and enveloped them in his. 

You were panicking. Your heart was beating insanely fast . Your palms felt sweaty. You tried to back away from Taehyung, pulling your hands away. You took a couple small steps back.

He doesn’t like me. He doesn’t want me. Why would he ever kiss me? I’m not even half as pretty as Jennie. You needed to get yourself out of this situation before you get your hopes up and it fucked you over completely.

Your thoughts were interrupted by your arm being tugged back in his direction. You spun into Taehyung's arms and he caught you in his embrace.

His hands were placed firmly on your waist and your arms were wrapped around his neck. You never realized how tall he was. You were on your tippy toes and you still had to crane your neck slightly to clearly see his face. Tilting downwards, his face was centimeters from yours. His eyes were sparkling with a mischievous glint and he was smiling.

It felt like your whole heart was going to explode. 

What the fuck? Why did he do that?  Is he not completely revolted by me? 

You were attempting to speak the thoughts running through your mind but your brain had completely stopped functioning the second you got a whiff of his cologne. Your mouth was just slightly open trying to breathe because you truly were so confused as to what was happening. 

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered. 

The only thing you could manage was a small, shy nod. 

Then his soft lips molded against yours. You closed your eyes as you felt your brain short circuit. The way his lips pressed against yours for the first time didn’t feel like electricity struck you. Instead, it felt comforting. It felt like home: his embrace, his lips, his hands on you. Like this was always meant to be. He tasted like strawberry chapstick and spearmint His right hand crept up to the side of your face

and cupped your cheek. Your breath hitched. Taehyung tilted his head at an angle to open your mouth further.

You took this opportunity to push away for a second and breathe. “Taehyung,” you breathed out.

“Shut the fuck up,” he pulled you back into a needy kiss. His plushy lips sucked on your bottom lip and you moaned for a second. Your cheeks reddened at the sound you made. 

“That was so fucking hot,” he said in a shaky whisper. Your hands shift from his neck into his curls, balancing on your toes. You tugged on his curls, pulling his head closer to yours, something you’ve daydreamed about.  He cupped your face and brought you even closer to him. the kisses became deeper, more fervent. As if he couldn’t get enough of you. 

Your mouth opened in response. He took this opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth. His tongue gilded against yours.  It was better than you ever imagined, better than you hoped, the feel of him; it was making you lose your fucking mind. 

One of Taehyung's hands remained at your waist and the other moved to the small of your back, pushing the front of your chest onto his. 

It seemed like time had stopped. Once you realized you were completely breathless, you pulled away. You were breathing very hard, your heart hammering, and your mind completely numb. He placed two more soft, sweet kisses on your lips. His pupils were completely blown out and his hair was a fluffy mess.

He breathed out, shakily “This is what you meant right?”

Before you could say anything, you heard a knock on the glass door.

“Hey, Taehyung, we need you downstairs.” Jungkook’s head poked out the door. 

Tae’s eyes looked apologetic when he looked at you. 

“I’ll be there in a sec,” he called to Jungkook

You were still kinda breathless. His hands were pressing into your hips as if he didn’t want to let go.

He leaned in and kissed your cheek softly. He whispered in your ear, and you felt a shiver trace down your spine, “I’ll see you soon.”

You nodded and he nuzzled your neck for a second, his lips barely grazing the mole on your neck. 

He slowly let go of your hips, his hands skimming your elbows and then your hands.

You watched him leave as your legs wobbled beneath you. You stood there, in complete shock as to what happened. Your whole body was buzzing, your arms covered in goosebumps, chills from what just happened. 

A cold burst of wind finally snapped you out of whatever trance Taehyung put you in. You softly closed the glass doors behind you as you re-entered your room. You laid down in your bed with a stupid grin that you couldn’t get rid of. You curled up into a ball and relaxed against the pillows. For the first time in a long time, you fell asleep with no thoughts of insecurity or worry plaguing your mind.  

You slowly opened your eyes and felt a familiar weight on you. You carefully looked behind you and saw once again Taehyung completely enveloping you in his embrace. His body heat felt so inviting and comfortable. Your face heated up when you saw he was indeed true to his word and was in fact sleeping shirtless with you. You grabbed your phone and saw a text from Hana.

Hana: leave by 10:30?

You: yep

It was almost 10:30 so you shifted in the bed to get up. Almost immediately, Taehyung pulled you back and whined sleepily, “Where are you going? Sleep with me.”

You giggled at his cuteness, “I have to go. Hana is waiting for me. And I have to get shit done today.”

He nuzzled himself in the crook of your neck, “Okayy. My smarty pants girl has to study.”

My girl? Does that mean...? No, he used to say stuff like that before. God, you and Taehyung really did need to talk about whatever this was. But for once in your life, you didn’t feel insecure. He must like you somewhat, right? He kissed you. That has to have meant something. You slid your hands against his broad chest, tracing his well defined muscles, “Yea, I do. But you can text me once you get back to campus. You should sleep in for now.”

He nodded and lifted his head from your shoulder. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on your cheek. You couldn’t hide the smile that was blooming on your face from him.

You packed up your stuff, got ready, headed downstairs after saying bye to Taehyung. 

You texted Hana to let her know that you were ready to go. You sat on the empty couch in the living room, patiently waiting for her to join you. You were scrolling through Instagram when you heard a petite “ahem” in front of you. You looked up and saw an overly cheerful Jennie in front of you.

“Hi _________!” She said planting herself in the seat next to you.

“Hey Jennie,” Why the fuck is she talking to me?

“So, Taehyung was with you last night?”

“Uh ya,”

“So how was it?”

You wrinkled your eyes in confusion, not understanding her question, “How was what?”

She squealed, “The sex silly! How was it? It was your first time right? That’s such a big deal. Can’t believe you let taehyung be your first! You know he doesn’t get feelings for the girls he fucks right?”

You opened your mouth to say something but she kept going, not stopping once to take a breath, “Oh my god, wasn’t it so good though? I mean actually it might not have been that good since it was your first time but Taehyung is so caring, especially when it comes to sex. And oh my god, isn’t his dick so big? I know I shouldn’t really talk about that but since you guys hooked up I can talk to you about it. But his dick is so huge like you don’t even know since you haven’t been with other people. I’m honestly so surprised you guys fucked though. Like Taehyung usually likes girls with experience. And I guess girls who are...more into the party scene. Like it’s totally cool that you are into school but you're just like not really his type. But it’s okay because you guys fucked so his type might have changed, but I seriously doubt it. Anyways, I’m rambling. So tell me how it was!”` 

You blinked a couple times to fully process every word she said. Every single feeling of insecurity that you thought had disappeared came rushing back into your mind. 

What the fuck. What the fuck was I thinking. I never even told him I liked him. And he never told me. Taehyung is a fuckboi; he doesn’t catch feelings. He could have just kissed me because he was bored or some shit. Why would he trade a relationship with an average looking girl like me for fucking hot girls every weekend. I’m so stupid, what was I thinking!

You took a deep breathe and gave her a smile, “We didn’t fuck. We aren’t together. “

“Oh. Well. Then like girl to girl, I just wanted to let you know that Taehyung and I will probably be together officially very soon.”

You raised your eyebrows at this comment, trying to stifle a laugh, “Does he know this?”

Jennie looked offended but before she could ramble on again Hana texted you that she was outside. You immediately got up and headed to her car.

She squealed, “Soo what happened last night?”

You tried to act nonchalant, “uh, nothing much. We kissed.”

She almost crashed the car when you said that. 

Hana berated you with questions and you gave her the sparknotes of what happened, including Jennie’s weird little monologue in the living room. Hana was almost in tears when you recapped the embarrassing moment of you crawling out a window so you didn’t have to kiss Taehyung. She apologized for her stupidity in suggesting that dare but she insisted you needed the push.

You told Hana how you were feeling, especially how unsure and insecure you felt about the situation with Taehyung. She agreed that it was definitely unclear because neither one of you actually said the words “I like you” to each other. 

You and Hana came up with the plan thay the next time you were to hang out with Taehyung alone, you were going to confess. 

You only piped up the courage to do so because Hana made the convincing argument that Taehyung must like you back. 

However, once you returned to campus, the entire week, you were absorbed with finals and studying. Because of this, you and Taehyung were unable to find time to peacefully spend with each other. Also, your finals were finished a day earlier than Taehyung’s, so you went home early. 

This proved to be working against you as with all the free time at home was only more time for you to worry and overthink about Taehyung. Then, once again you were back to avoiding Taehyung and his messages because you were too scared to actually tell him how you felt.

Tae: hey. just got home last night. wanna hang out? 

Tae: ??? 

Tae: ur so annoying u don’t even have school what could u be doing 

Tae: im literally going to come over i live in ur neighborhood in case u forgot 

You didn’t think he would actually follow through but Taehyung did indeed ring your doorbell that evening. You pressed your ear against your bedroom door to hear the conversation between Taehyung and your mom.

You heard his deep voice, “Hello Mrs._________. How are you doing?”

You rolled your eyes at your mother's overly cheery voice, “I’m doing good, Taehyung. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. You’ve grown up so much!”

“Yes it has been awhile. I’m glad that _________ and I are good friends again. Speaking of __________, is she home? I tried texting her but she didn’t respond. Is she alright?”

“Oh, you’re so sweet! She is feeling a bit under the weather. She’s barely left her room since she’s come home. I’ll let her know that you stopped by.”

“That would be great. It was nice seeing you again Mrs. _________.”

“You too Taehyung. You should come over more often! I know _________ missed you a lot.”

Ugh god, your mom was embarrassing you. 

“Of course I’ll try to stop by once _________ gets back to me. Bye!”

You heard the door close and you groaned. You had to face Taehyung soon. 

Your mom ended up coming to your room and went on and on about how Taehyung was such a nice boy. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. That’s what he needs, more praise.

You laid on your bed, trying to fall asleep but of course it didn’t come easily. As you were trying to focus on the white noise, you realized you kept on getting distracted by a loud pitter patter sound. You got up and heard the sound coming from your window. You walked over and peered out your window.

“You have got to be fucking with me right now” you said, rubbing your temples. 

There was Taehyung, standing outside, throwing pebbles at your window. 

You opened your window, the cool air immediately giving you goosebumps. 

You yelled in a hushed tone, “What are you fucking doing?”

His body smile immediately lit up, “Hey strawberry girl.”

“Taehyung, are you stupid? What are you doing here?”

“Uh, I’m here to see why the fuck you’re ignoring me.”

“I’m uh sick,” you gave two fake coughs, hoping he would be convinced. He was not.

“Cmon _________ I know when you’re lying.”

You heard some clatter coming from downstairs. Fuck. Your parents would be pissed if they saw taehyung outside your window. They obviously thought he was a good guy but your parents had a strict no guys rule. Taehyung was the only exception since you two grew up together but even he wasn’t allowed to come up to your room. 

“Taehyung, I have to go. My parents will see you and we will both get in trouble. We can talk later.” You were about to shut the window but he called your name again. 

“__________! That’s such bullshit. You keep avoiding me. Can’t we talk now?”

“Tae, I can’t keep shouting from my window. I’ll call you. Just go home.”

He stood firmly planted out your window, “Nope. You won’t do that. I’ll stand here all night throwing pebbles at your window. I don’t care if I get in trouble with your parents.”

Fuck. fuck. What should I do? Then you remembered. You went to your closet and found it stored on the highest shelf. Taehyung had actually bought you a rope ladder a long time ago for this very reason of sneaking you out. But you never ended up using it because you were always afraid of getting caught. You threw down the ladder and climbed out of your window quietly. 

Once you landed on the ground, you walked over to Taehyung, arms crossed, pissed that he made you do this. Before you could start yelling at him for being so fucking annoying, he pulled you into a giant hug.

“Missed you. Don’t ever ignore me again,” he whispered into your ear.

And with that hug, you realized how much you missed Taehyung. His warmth, his embrace, his cute smile, his fluffy hair. 

You mumbled, “Missed you too,” softly, hoping he would hear.

You pushed away from him and tried to hide your smile, “My parents are literally going to kill me. I hope you know that.”

“__________ you’re in college. You’re legally an adult. You don’t need to be afraid of getting in trouble with your parents.” Taehyung said, chuckling. He shoved his hands in his hoodie and pulled up his hood, shivering in the cold.

“Okay but you know my parents. They don’t give a shit.”

“Actually, that is very much true. I don’t think they like me very much.” He tugged your arm, leading you down a familiar dirt path. 

“Nah, they like you. For some reason they think you’re like a good kid.”

His mouth opened in shock, “What do you mean for some reason? I’m a great influence on you.”

“Oh really? Like sneaking me out or taking me to frat parties or..” you were trying to think of more dumb shit Taehyung had fully encouraged you to do.

“Or sleeping with you?” He said with a wink.

“Shut up. But for real. They can never know. They would bury us both alive.” 

“Man, we’ve known each other since forever and they still don’t trust me around you.” 

“Don’t take it personally. You’re a guy. They are just strict about boys in general.” You began to recognize whereTaehyung was leading you to.

“Is that another reason why you haven’t dated anyone?”

“Yea I guess. My parents think dating is a distraction. Unless it’s for the intent of marriage then what’s the point. Which I understand. “

Taehyung gripped your hand as he led you down a rocky path, “That sounds lonely.”

“It is. But like I said, it’s not really something I chose. It just kinda happened to me and it’s whatever.”

“I guess I understand in my own way. Dating does take up a lot of time. And I guess I’m afraid it’ll end the same.”

“Same as what?” 

“Same as Yeji. We broke up and I was so upset over it. It hurt a lot because we realized we had no future together. It was just sad that we made all those memories together and now we barely speak.”

“Fuck, that sucks.” 

He nodded, fully agreeing.

Suddenly the path opened up to a clearing, a grassy field with a large tree planted by a shimmering lake. 

He still held onto your hand as you made your way to the tree. You sat down, leaning your back against the tree and Taehyung laid his head on your lap. You started to ruffle his curly hair, playing with the strands.

“Remember how we used to come here?” Taehyung said, softly smiling.

You nodded, recalling how you and taehyung would come here on the weekends, having picnics, reading stories, playing cards. This tree by the lake was filled with precious memories for you and Taehyung. You kept coming even when Taehyung and you weren’t friends.

“Why were you ignoring me _________?” He asked looking up at you with his big brown eyes filled with worry.

“We were both so busy with finals I just wanted us to focus on our studies,” You said, only being partially honest.

“Sure, it’s not cause of anything else right?”

“What else could it be?”

“Maybe the fact that I kissed you and we haven’t spoken about it all.”

You closed your eyes, regretting opening your mouth. Fuck, you really didn’t want to talk about your feelings. You felt the familiar anxious feeling creep up into your heart. You took a deep breath and tried to remember Hana’s words, “___________, this boy likes you.  A lot. He kissed you. He spends time with you. He texts you.. He cares about you. He treats you like a girlfriend and he wants to do boyfriend things with you. He likes you, there is no doubt about it.”

You snapped back to reality, “Yeah that has to do with it.”

“Okay so let’s talk,” He said sitting upright, leaning again against the tree, his shoulder brushing yours.

“Um. Why don’t you go first?” You said as you felt your heart race in your chest. You were going to do it. You were going to finally tell him how you felt.

He gave you a cute little smile, “Well it was a really nice kiss. How did you like it? It was your first kiss.”

“Um uh yea it was really nice. Really sweet,” You babbled out.

“Okay cool. Well then that’s that. We don’t need to be awkward around each other right?”

You nodded. It was now or never. He seemed to have such a chill response to the kiss. He didn’t freak out so he must have enjoyed it. So that means he likes me, right?

Your voice got quiet, “Taehyung.”

His eyes met yours. You whispered out, heart pounding, “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” He asked, earnestly.

“I um...” you were racking your brain trying to find the right words to say. You were fiddling with your hands, hoping it would calm you down.

Taehyung looked at you, wide eyed, and took your hands into his.

He leaned in close, his breath tickling your ears, “Hey. You can tell me anything. I'm listening.”

Your brain shut off the second He held your hands. “It's you. It’s fucking you. I like you. I like you a whole fucking lot Kim Taehyung. I think I might love you at this point. And I just really needed to tell you.” 

It went dead silent. All you could hear was Taehyung's soft breathing, the rustle of the wind, and the quiet ripples from the lake. 

Then he smiled and let out a light laugh.

Your heart immediately lifted. He’s smiling. That’s a good sign. He’s going to tell you that he likes you too and then you could be a couple. You were freaking out over nothing. 

“Are you being for real?” He said shakily.

You narrowed your eyes brows, confused at his response.

He laughed nervously. Your confidence was going down rapidly. 

“__________ you aren’t being serious right?”

“What do you mean? Of course I’m being serious. I meant what I said.”

“Cmon ________ why would you do this to me?”

Your heart dropped. Oh my god. It was slowly becoming clear to you. He doesn’t like me. He’s mad that I told him how I felt. This was literally your biggest fear. He doesn’t want you. He never did. 

You couldn’t look at Taehyung anymore. You tore your gaze away from him, “What are you saying? You don’t have feelings for me?”

“__________ I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. But you literally do know that I’m not interested in dating anyone. I’ve told you this.”

Your voice was faltering as you tried to maintain a calm demeanor, “But...you said that...you were thinking about it.”

“Yea I was thinking about it. That doesn’t mean I want to involve myself with someone right away. I’m honestly not ready for a relationship again.” He sighed, clearly frustrated, running his hand through his curly hair. You were frozen, you felt hot tears well up in your eyes but you were determined to not let him see you cry.

He continued, sounding somewhat angry, “I just told you how much my break up with Yeji hurt me.” 

You closed your eyes, letting yourself absorb all of his hurt words. It was too late now. You couldn’t take it back. You let it all out, all your thoughts and feelings and it turned out to be exactly how you feared. You were an idiot. You let your guard down again and you let him in again. And he broke your heart. Again. 

You voiced another nagging thought, “But you kissed me...”

His words were sharp and cold, “It was just a kiss __________. It’s not that deep or that big of a deal.”

This is exactly what you were afraid of. Losing these meaningful moments with someone who not only doesn’t care about you but also someone who finds them unimportant. The kiss meant everything to you and absolutely nothing to him. 

Taehyung's voice softened, “I’m sorry ________ but I don’t know how I feel okay? I’m confused. I do like you but I’m just not sure if it’s the way you want me to.” 

You felt his hand cup your cheek and he tiled your face towards him, finally making eye contact. He saw your teary, red eyes that you tried so hard to hide. “I’m sorry,” he whispered out. The way your heart was thudding against your chest made you realize no matter what he did, no matter how he hurt you, no matter how many times he would take your heart and crush it into tiny bits, you would still love him. God you were so fucked.

You whispered back hoarsely, staring deep into his dark eyes, feeling brave enough to speak your mind to him one more time, “Don’t be. I just...always had this hope in my head, I guess. Maybe that with time...you could love me the way I wanted you to. But if we were meant to be, we would have been by now. Someone like me doesn’t end up with someone like you.”

You couldn’t take it anymore. You got up abruptly and left. You heard him distantly calling your name but you couldn’t turn back. Every muscle in your body wanted you to turn around and just say “forget it” to Taehyung and have things return back to normal. But for once, you listened to your head, it was over, you told him how you felt and he didn’t give a shit. 

You walked home, alone, feeling comforted by the coldness of the night. You climbed back in your room and threw the ladder deep into your closet, knowing you would never need it again. You laid in your bed, processing what just happened. You believed in something that wasn’t even real. You glanced at your tear stained face in the standing mirror across from your bed. You couldn’t help but wonder what it was about you that wasn’t enough for him. The truth was you couldn’t be mad at Taehyung. You didn’t even love yourself. And that’s how you understood why Taehyung didn’t either. You closed your eyes, finally letting the exhaustion set in and breathing slowly, as if all of the pressure of stress and anxiety were dissipating from your body. 

The reality settled in your brain and your heart: being lonely fits you. 

author’s note: part 5 will definitely be the last part. i was writing this and i realized it was getting very lengthy and there are some plot parts im still working out lol. anyways i was very inspired by some tv shows and movies i rewatched recently for this part (new girl, princess diaries 2, & ofc to all the boys). lmk what you think and if you would like to be added to the taglist!

tags: @fleurmoon @tangledsparkles @chocolatebelievercrusade @brokenobserver @ncitydreamies @soulstaes @bonnyskies @thelilbutifulthings @busansgloss @imluckybitches @xlectrahearts @embrace-themagic @bts-dreamybaby @belshka @trinbin039 @xxlostinseoul @sheislikearock @madjammil @guksflavor @yn-the-reader @kingjvngins @ggukkieland @waves-and-woods @aa-ronpa

[fruitcoops]

Remus gets injured in a game. I have literally read everything you have written but i'm not sure if you have wrote one like this. If you have, ANOTHER PLZZ

Hello anon! I wove this together with a couple different prompts, listed below:

1. Coops argument

2. Prompt 21: “You need to eat something”

3. Remus gets in a fight with Snape

4. Protective Sirius

5. Coops going home grumpy after losing a game (see link)

Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove! TW for fights, blood, bruises, arguments, and someone getting called a wh*re

Snape’s cheek gave easily beneath Remus’ fist, which was a tad bit surprising. He wrapped his other hand in the neckline of his jersey, yanking him back in to land another punch to the side of his head—that would leave a nasty bruise in the morning. Stars sparkled in his vision as Snape got a lucky shot in and he doubled down, ignoring the thin line of pain that trickled down his chin.

“Break it up, boys, that’s enough!” The referee’s whistle blew as he and another pried Remus’ hands off Snape’s jersey; someone took him by the shoulders and pushed him away from the fight. Pots.

“Say it again!” Remus shouted at Snape as the refs and their teammates continued pulling them apart. “Say it again and I’ll knock your fucking teeth in!”

James’ hold on him faltered for a second as another person skated over and tried to join the melee. “Cap, no!”

“Move, Pots.”

“Loops won the fight, it’s done. Let’s just keep playing.” James shoved both their chests hard enough to send them back a few inches, but Remus’ blood boiled as he ground his mouthguard between his teeth. He glanced up at the clock—3:16 left in the third, Snakes up by two. Their win was almost guaranteed and Snape was still pulling this bullshit.

He skated quickly over to the bench and mumbled his thanks to Hestia as she pressed some gauze to his lip and ice to his cheek. “Lupin, you’re in for the rest of the game,” Coach Weasley said, tapping him on the arm with his playboard. “Anything broken?”

“No, Coach.”

“Then get your ass back out on the ice and score some points. We need some speed.”

He could feel the fury rolling off Sirius as they wove through the Snakes’ defense, shooting again and again to no avail. Frustration built up in every nerve—he was worried about the win, of course, but mostly he was pissed. Pissed at Snape, pissed at James for pushing him, and pissed at Sirius for butting into the fight.

Remus scored a final goal just as the buzzer sounded. Hissing filled the stadium, even though it was a home game. Snape smirked at him as he skated past and the only thing keeping him from dragging him right back in by his greasy hair was the possible suspension.

The shower was cold, because of course the fucking shower was cold. Remus shoved his stuff in his duffel and waited outside the locker room, silently fist bumping the guys as they left. God, he hated losing games. It was inevitable, but it always felt shitty.

“How’s the lip?” Sirius asked when he finally came out, bag slung over his shoulder.

“Fine. What the fuck was that?”

“What was what?”

“You butted into my fight. Nobody asked you to.”

Sirius’ eyebrows rose. “Re, he called you—”

“Yeah, I know what he called me,” Remus snapped, practically slamming the door to the parking lot closed. “I was there.”

The only reason you’re on this team is because you’re the captain’s whore, Snape had sneered. He bit the inside of his cheek as his anger flared at the memory. “I was just trying to help,” Sirius grumbled.

“Well, you didn’t. You proved his fucking point.”

“I didn’t prove shit!” Sirius scoffed as they got in the car. Immediately, Remus felt claustrophobic.

“I had it handled, Sirius!”

“You’re still bleeding!”

Remus ran his tongue along his lip—sure enough, the salty tang of blood filled his mouth. He swore under his breath and held his sleeve to his lip; his cheekbone throbbed and he knew it would be swollen in mere hours.

“Here.”

“I don’t need that.”

“You’d rather stain your sleeve than accept a tissue from me?”

“It’s a black sweatshirt, it’s fine.” Sirius muttered something. “Care to share with the class?”

Sirius sighed as he turned off the freeway. “I said it was your idea to keep these here in the first place. I don’t know why you’re being all pissy with me. We’ve lost games before.”

“I’m pissed because you don’t think I can handle myself in a fight.”

Sirius took his eyes off the road for a half second in shock. “Excuse me? Why do you think that?”

“I just told you!” Remus said, exasperated. “Snape was being a dick, so I punched him. I didn’t need your hero complex to swoop in and save the day.”

“Re, I didn’t even get a hand on him. Pots—”

“Oh, I’m pissed at him as well,” Remus snorted, staring out the passenger window at the blurry lights against the dark. “If someone calls me a whore, I’d rather get the message across that they can’t do it again.”

“Would you rather have gotten a penalty?”

“Yes.”

“That is unbelievably selfish.”

Remus laughed without humor. “Y’know, it’s really funny that you’ve never had this conversation with Logan, the king of the penalty box. Is it because he’s not a delicate flower like me?”

“Wh—” Sirius clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Remus. I have never seen you as a—a delicate flower. For your information, I have chewed Logan out on multiple occasions.”

Remus gritted his teeth and trained his gaze firmly out the window. He heard Sirius sigh next to him and it took every ounce of willpower to keep his composure. The next ten minutes were dead silent and deeply uncomfortable, which was a rarity with them; even after losses, they would talk through the errors or try to lighten the mood.

Both of them closed their doors a little harder than necessary when they got to the house and Hattie trotted over hesitantly when they came inside. “Hey, Hatters,” Remus murmured, crouching down to her level and holding a hand out. She licked his cheek and let him bury his face in her thick fur—Sirius scratched her ears as he walked past. “Did you have a good time while we were out? Huh, baby girl?” He looked up and saw the tail end of Sirius’ eye roll. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Sirius, it doesn’t work. I’m giving the dog a hug because I’m still pissed at you.”

“There is literally no good reason for you to be pissed at me!” Sirius finally said, tossing his keys into the bowl by the door. “Holy shit, Re, I don’t even think you’re mad at me!”

“Oh, yeah? Then who am I mad at, oh great and wise captain?” Remus practically spat, shouldering past him into the kitchen and wrenching a cabinet open. “Please enlighten me.”

“I wish I knew!”

Remus slammed the bread down on the counter and glared at him. “Then maybe you should shut the fuck up if you don’t have anything to support your claim.”

“Acting like this is a goddamn debate club isn’t helping. Your lip is bleeding again.”

“Fuck.” Remus ripped a paper towel off the roll and dampened it, holding it to his lip with a wince. Sirius opened the freezer and dug around for a moment with another paper towel. “I don’t remember you getting hit.”

“This is for you, you stubborn fucker,” Sirius said as he walked over and pressed it gently to the side of Remus’ face. “Better?”

“…a bit.”

The tension on Sirius’ face began to fade; he just looked concerned as he pulled the ice away and checked the bruise. “Your eye might swell.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you actually want to talk now, or should we yell a little more?”

Remus sighed and felt his anger abate. He was beyond exhausted, and still upset, but having Sirius nearby was like balm on a burn. “I don’t know.”

“I’m going to make some sandwiches. Hold this.” Sirius tapped the ice towel and moved to the abandoned loaf, grabbing some peanut butter and jelly as he went.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You need to eat something.”

“I’m fine.”

Sirius glanced over his shoulder and gave him a look. “I know you, Re. You’re not going to feel better unless you get some food, and neither will I.”

“I hate it when you’re reasonable.”

“No, you don’t.”

Remus’ lack of response was enough of an answer. The pain stretched to his forehead and he grimaced, prodding his lip cautiously. Sirius whistled for Hattie and spread the leftover peanut butter from the knife onto a clean spoon, holding it down for her to lick. A smile tugged the corner of Remus’ mouth. “Cute.”

“I can be cute on occasion.”

“You’re always cute.” There was a beat of quiet. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re forgiven. I’m sorry for yelling.”

“Not for interrupting the fight?”

“Nope.”

“That’s fair.” Something tickled at the back of Remus’ throat. “I fucking hate Snape.”

“Me, too.”

“Surprisingly enough, it feels pretty shitty to be called a whore. Who would’ve thought?”

Sirius turned and faced him, sleeves rolled to his elbows. His eyes were soft. “You know that’s not true, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Remus. What he said wasn’t true. You have nothing to prove to anyone on the team, least of all to me. You earned that spot on the roster fair and square, and Snape’s just freaked out because there’s another player who could grind him into the dust without breaking a sweat.” He stepped closer and leaned on the counter next to Remus, leaving a few inches between them. “I don’t think you’re a whore, if that means anything.”

Remus laughed softly. “Of all the people out there, I think you’re the only one who could reliably make that assumption.”

Sirius didn’t smile. “You’re my best friend and also my fiancé. The sex is a great bonus, but my favorite part of being with you is just being with you.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Remus muttered, though the sharp edges began to smooth in his gut. He closed the distance between them and laid his head on Sirius’ shoulder. “Love you.”

“I love you, too. Can I take a look at your lip?”

“Sure.” Remus peeled the towel away and Sirius bent slightly, poking the area around it. “Ouch.”

“That’ll probably take a week or so to heal. He got you good.”

Remus pouted. “No kisses for a week?”

Sirius did laugh that time, bright and sunny enough that Remus nearly made his lip bleed again with the answering smile. “I said nothing about no kisses.” Warm lips trailed from his unbruised cheekbone to the edge of his mouth, leaving tiny tingles in their wake.

“I really am sorry about what I said. You were right, I wasn’t angry with you, and I had no right to go off like that.”

Sirius shrugged. “It happens.”

“It shouldn’t.”

“Then let’s agree to talk first, bite heads off later, okay?” He held his pinky out and Remus linked it with his own, kissing it quickly.

“Deal. Are the sandwiches done? I’m starving.”

Wordlessly, Sirius handed him a sandwich and hopped up to sit on the counter, scooting over to make room for Remus to join him. They ate quietly, swinging their legs as the calmness of the kitchen crept back in once more.

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

Four Times Nathan Proposed and One Time He Meant it

Hi! This is my humble contribution to @nolypats and @hockeyboysiguess campaign for Nathan MacKinnon for Hockey Boy of the Month. Please see their blogs for more info, also just because they’re amazing writers. This is my first time trying a 4+1, I thought it would be nice to put something out before the next chapter of Flatbush & Atlantic. It was genuinely so much fun writing this, so please let me know what you think!

Wine pairing: Rotari rosé. @hockeyboysiguess and I have started to pair all of our writings with their own wine, bearing in mind that neither of us knows anything about wine. It’s all about the VIBES. 

4 times Nathan proposed and 1 time he meant it

The first time (February)

Jordan knocked on the door, a glass dish balanced precariously on her hip. She and Nathan tried to have a standing date night every week, something that wasn’t grabbing lunch when they were both free or meeting for coffee before she had to head to work and he went to practice. That was, unless there was a game. Or a roadie. Or a team event. So needless to say, the two had been a little strapped for “couple time” recently, and they were both feeling it. She had an article due the next day, a co-write about the use of illegal dark money in a recently-elected congressman’s campaign. Nathan had a long practice that morning and wasn’t feeling too up to anything that would require him to move too far from his couch. 

He opened the door, giving her a quick kiss. “I pulled up a few movies I thought you might be into, but didn’t want to pick anything until you got here.”

“You’re so considerate, I think I’m going to swoon,” Jordan said.

Nathan shrugged. “I’ll catch you if you fall.” Deep down, he really was a romantic, though the boys would chirp him endlessly if they knew. 

Jordan padded into the kitchen, setting the dish onto the counter and opening up the cabinet right above the toaster oven, grabbing two plates. Even apart from date night, it wasn’t uncommon for them to eat in; partly due to the fact that there were few things in this world Nathan loved more than being able to fly under the radar, something that was a little bit difficult to do when you wore the A for the Colorado Avalanche, but partly because in his own way, it was letting Jordan into his life. “What movies were you looking at?”

“Depends what you’re feeling,” Nathan replied. “We’ve got...Star Wars, Captain Marvel, and 10 Things I Hate About You.”

Her ears perked up. “The one with Heath Ledger?”

“That’s the one. Sound good to you?” 

Jordan had always had a penchant for movies of the late-90s and early 2000s, especially if they were romcoms, and especially if said romcoms starred Julia Stiles. As a little girl, there was definitely more than once where she had herself entirely convinced that her life would turn out exactly like The Prince and Me. Minus, of course, the fact that the beginning of Paige and Edvard’s entire relationship was built on lies. Mainly, she was just really into crowns and big poofy dresses as a little girl. “Sounds good to me!” She said brightly. “You want a brownie?”

Nate craned his neck to look at her in the kitchen, looking expectantly at him with one hand holding a spatula. “You made brownies?”

Jordan giggled. “I did. I take it that’s a yes?”

“That’s a definitely, please, my God give me one right this second or I might combust.” She slid the plate onto the side table a minute later, grabbing two napkins. “Are these normal brownies?” Nathan asked, picking one up and inspecting it with a semi-confused look on his face. 

“They’re triple-layer, it’s an old recipe for slutty brownies from when I was in college. Bottom’s cookie dough, then Oreos, then fudge brownie on top of that.”

Nate raised an eyebrow. “Slutty brownies?”

Jordan swatted at his shoulder. “I know it’s a weird name, just give them a chance. I know you’ve been feeling a little down with the losing streak, and thought you could use a pick-me-up. They were my go-to for breakups, always seemed to help the girls feel better, so I thought it might work for you too.”

He wouldn’t admit it, but Nathan’s heart skipped a beat with Jordan’s words. “Guess I’ll have to see,” he said, taking a bite out the corner. His face melted. “This is...literally the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Seriously, it’s so good. So good. Oh my God, marry me.”

Jordan flushed, turning to take a sip of water so he wouldn’t see. “I’m glad you like them.”

The second time (May)

It was 11:38 on a Friday night, and Jordan and Nathan were at a bar. To be precise, Jordan, Nathan, and pretty much the whole team were at a bar, plus what seemed like the entire population of Denver. Springtime meant playoff season for the NHL, and winning a series meant going out. Jordan normally had to pass whenever the team decided to hit up a bar or club after a win; as much as she would have liked to go, she was a journalist who kept a 9-5 job, which meant that she had to at least get some modicum of sleep if she was going to be able to function in the newsroom without an injection of caffeine straight into her veins. But it was the weekend, and she’d be damned if she was going to miss out on this. 

For the most part, the fans weren’t making a fuss; there was the occasional picture taken or pat on the back for winning the conference semifinals for the first time in twenty years, but nothing out of hand. Sipping her Dark & Stormy, she looked fondly over at Nate, who was having what looked to be a very animated conversation with Burky. Already two and a half drinks in, Nathan was starting to act a little tipsy; while he was normally more reserved about public displays of affection, he kissed Jordan more than one as the night went on. Not like she was complaining. Picking up a refill from the bar, she scooted back into the booth next to Nate. He planted a messy kiss on her cheek. “Where’d you go, Jo?”

Jordan rolled her eyes. “Unlike some of us, I can’t just snap my fingers and have alcohol appear at will. I had to actually go to the bar for another drink,” she teased. 

Nathan threw his head back laughing. “‘S’pose you’ve got a point there, babe.” He slung one arm over her shoulders. Jordan unconsciously leaned into his touch. “What’d you think of the game?” She wasn’t able to make it to every game, but was lucky that she could get down to the Pepsi Center more often than not. The Avalanche had beaten the Flames in 6, after dropping the first two games in Calgary and being pegged as another likely sweep, they had come back to win the next four and the series. 

“Just trying to stroke your own ego, eh, MacKinnon?”

“Picking up some Canadian slang, eh, Murphy?”

She tilted her head. “Maybe, maybe not. But the game was amazing. You know that. You did amazing, Nate.” In the 3-1 win, Nathan had scored two points, an assist and an absolute beauty of a power-play goal that just barely squeaked into the top left corner above Rittich’s shoulder. 

“Sure, maybe I do know,” Nathan admitted, “but it’s one thing hearing it from fans and the media and even my teammates. It’s another hearing it from you.” Jordan loved Nathan, but he wasn’t always the best at expressing his feelings out loud. She was the first one to say “I love you, to introduce him to her parents, to take just about any step forward in their relationship. It was something he was getting better at, slowly but surely, and it meant the world to Jordan that he was trying so hard. Maybe it was the liquor, or the atmosphere, or the excitement of the night, but it meant just as much to her to hear it as it probably did for him to say it. 

Half an hour and several drinks later, the last few people left were trickling out. Most had carpooled to the bar, leaving their cars back at the arena to get the next day. Jordan would have ordered Nate an Uber and then just hitched a ride with someone else back towards her apartment west of downtown, but Nate was pretty far gone. And he was a cute drunk, all things considered, but she was on her way to sobering up and felt an obligation to at least get him in bed safe. Their car pulled up, Nathan clumsily ducking in ahead of her as she shut the door behind him, buckling first his seat belt then her own. They walked through his front door fifteen minutes later, Jordan dropping him off in his bedroom to get undressed before grabbing a glass of water and a bottle of Advil. Nathan was in his boxers when she walked in, struggling to pull a t-shirt over his head. Jordan laughed, walking to his side of the bed before gently tugging it, handing him the water and two Advil. “If you take it now, it’ll help with the hangover later.” Kissing his forehead gently, she turned to leave.

“Where are you going, Jo?”

She stopped at the door. “Home?”

“I want you to stay.” 

She sighed gently, smiling at him. “Okay, I’ll spend the night.” 

“No,” Nathan interrupted, grabbing her wrist lightly as she turned to grab one of his old World Cup shirts to sleep in. “Forever. I want you to stay forever.”

The third time (August)

It was the middle of August, and Jordan and Nathan were in Canada. He had invited her earlier in the summer to visit for a few weeks, and as soon as she got the time off approved, she booked her flight. Getting to Springhill wasn’t the easiest — she flew to Toronto, had a layover, flew to Halifax, then got picked up by Nate for the two hour drive to his hometown. He had flown out in June, about a month after the Avs lost to the Kings in the conference finals, so the couple hadn’t seen each other in nearly two months. Jordan wasn’t about to complain about a few more hours. His parents had been so generous letting her stay for two weeks, and hadn’t batted an eye when Nathan had moved her into his old room. “Just don’t wake us up,” his mom had said, causing Nathan’s cheeks to turn scarlet. 

Jordan had met them a few times before; they had flown out for the All-Star game the previous January and had gotten together during the team Moms’ and Dads’ trips. And if she was around when Nathan was FaceTiming them, she always popped in for a few minutes to say hi. But she still hadn’t quite expected the ceaseless hospitality she had been offered over the past week. Maybe Canadians really were just that nice. 

Halfway through Jordan’s trip, they decided to throw a barbeque. And by they, that meant it was Nate’s idea and he roped them all into helping. Jordan had already been introduced to a few of his old friends, they had gone out for drinks to the one bar in town on her second night, but she was excited to meet everyone else. His dad Graham was keeping an eye on the grill, Nathan had filled the cooler with drinks, and Jordan was helping his mom carry out the fruit bowl and salad to the backyard. Nathan ran up to his room to change right as people started trickling in, and came back to a yard full of family and friends. He craned his neck, trying to figure out where Jordan had wandered off too, before his sister pointed to where she sat with a few of his cousins. 

Nathan opened his mouth, about to ask her something, when Jordan quietly brought a finger up to her lips. “She’s sleeping,” she whispered, gesturing to her arms, where a tiny baby was nestled, eyes firmly shut. 

He remembered that his cousin Rachel had had a baby not too long ago, but didn’t realize she’d be old enough to travel yet. “Is this Natalie?” he asked quietly, sitting in the chair next to Jordan. Rachel nodded. For a few moments, Nathan was lost in the scene, lost in how damn perfect Jordan looked with a baby in her arms. They had spoken about those sorts of things — future things — enough to know that marriage and kids were something they both wanted, but this was the first time it had hit him, like really hit him, that that could be them down the line. Over by the fire pit, his mom watched, a soft smile on her face.

Nathan stood in the kitchen with his mom a few hours later, drying off dishes from the party. Handing a plate to him, Kathy shot a curious glance at her son, as if a thought had just popped into her mind that hadn’t been there before. Nate looked back at her, confused. “What is it, mom?

Kathy nodded out the window, where Jordan was laughing at a joke his dad had just made, balancing the last round of dirty plates to bring in on her arm. “When are you going to put a ring on it, Nathan?

Nathan wasn’t particularly prone to blushing, but he had been doing a lot of it lately. “I—uh—” His mom rested a hand on his shoulder with a knowing smile. “Okay, I’ll admit that I’ve been thinking about it.”

Kathy was beaming. “I knew it. When?”

“When am I going to propose?” She nodded. He shrugged. “I don’t know when it’s going to happen, Mom, but it’s going to. I’m going to marry that girl.”

The fourth time (November)

Jordan grimaced, breathing in sharply as she braced her elbows on her desk. Elisa, her friend who worked in the cubicle beside her, looked over, a concerned expression on her face. “You good, hun?” 

Jordan nodded mechanically, opening a drawer and pulling out a bottle of ibuprofen, swallowing three with a gulp of water. “Yeah, I should be fine. I should be starting my period in the next day or two, so I’m pretty sure it’s just cramps.”

“Are they usually this bad though?” Elisa had always been a worrier.

She shook her head. “No, not since I went on birth control a few years ago, but who knows. The ibuprofen will help, and it’s probably normal anyways. I’m sure it’ll go away.”

It didn’t go away. Two hours later, when Elisa was finishing up the last paragraph of her analysis of the Broncos’ new coaching hire, Jordan suddenly shot up from her desk, running at breakneck speed towards the women’s bathroom with a queasy look on her face. Elisa followed, bursting through the door to the unmistakable sharpness of vomit. She knelt down next to Jordan, pulling her hair back with the spare scrunchie she kept on her wrist. “Jordan? Are you okay?”

Jordan shook her head. “I feel awful, El.”

Eliss touched the back of her hand to Jordan’s forehead. “You’re warm. Have the cramps gotten better.”

“Worse,” Jordan admitted, wiping at the beads of sweat that had started to accumulate on her forehead. 

Elisa pulled out her phone from her back pocket. “I’m calling an ambulance. I don’t think this is cramps, Jo.” 

Jordan didn’t have the strength to argue, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to anyways. The ambulance arrived ten minutes later, carting Jordan off to Denver Health Medical Center. “Any chance you could be pregnant?” one EMT asked. 

“I could be, but I shouldn’t. I’m on birth control and my boyfriend always uses protection,” Jordan said weakly. The EMT made a scribble on her paper. She barely registered pulling into the hospital, nurses pulling her into the ER, or a doctor wheeling in an ultrasound machine. She was conscious enough to recite her name, date of birth, and insurance number before being taken into the operating room, and then a mask was placed over her nose and her world went dark.

The first thing Jordan did when she woke up was check the clock in her room. It was 3; from what little she remembered, she had been taken to the hospital sometime a little after noon. “Oh, thank God,” she heard from her left side. She recognized that voice. It was Nathan’s voice. He grabbed her hand — the one that didn’t have an IV drip in it — and kissed it quickly, smoothing back the pieces of her hair that had come out of the hair tie. “Elisa called during practice, and she told me what happened, but she didn’t even know what happened, and then I left and drove over here, but then—”

Jordan laughed softly, feeling a dull pain in her lower abdomen. “It’s fine, Nate, I’m fine. What happened, anyways? I don’t remember anything after I went into surgery, I have no idea what it was even for.”

“You had appendicitis, your appendix was about two seconds away from bursting.”

Jordan let out a low whistle. “Glad that didn’t happen. Hey,” she added as an afterthought, “I thought visiting hours here didn’t start until 4?” Jordan had visited a college friend of hers who had had a baby a few weeks prior, and could have sworn that she wasn’t let in until later. 

Nate smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, they do. I couldn’t even figure out what room you were in at first. They wouldn’t tell me anything, so I told them I was your fiancé.”

“Oh, did you now?”

Nathan rubbed his thumb over her finger. Her ring finger. “I mean, it’s pretty much true. All I’ve got left to do now is ask you.”

“And get the ring,” Jordan added. 

“Nope.”

+1 (January) 

Family skates had quickly grown to be one of Jordan’s favorite parts of the season. She had loved the first one, but had felt just a tiny bit out of place; her and Nathan had only been dating for a little over six months, and it seemed like almost everyone else had known each other for years. But she’d forged some amazing friendships with other WAGs over the past year, trading babysitting duties for pies and meeting to watch the game while the boys were on a road trip, sharing new Spotify playlists and learning how to support each other along the way. The team had become her second family, even though her parents only lived an hour and a half away. 

Jordan had been a competitive figure skater throughout high school and into college, so she was no stranger to the ice. She obviously couldn’t get out nearly as often as she had before, but her skates still fit and she could still land a triple salchow after warming up. She and Nate had been skating around for an hour or so, taking a break after some “friendly competition” where Josty had made the mistake of challenging Jordan to a race around the rink. She beat him by two seconds. 

Jordan unscrewed the top of her water bottle, taking a few grateful sips before putting it back in her bag. “Babe!” Nate called from a few rows away, where some of the younger kids were gathered next to what looked like pastels. “Want to face paint?” 

She smiled, raising her eyes playfully as she popped on her blade guards and walked over towards the bench. “You sure about that one, MacKinnon? I’m not much of an artist.”

He nodded enthusiastically. “It’s okay, I bet you’ll be great!” He was so sweet for believing in her. 

“Alright,” Jordan said, straddling the bench and picking up the box. “What would his highness like for the design? Bear in mind you’re working with a beginner here.”

“Butterfly!” He chirped excitedly. “There’s been a whole bird and insect theme going on here,” he pointed at the kids’ cheeks, covered in bees, ladybugs, and one demonic-looking...crow? Was it a crow? Did they even get crows at this time of year? “and I wouldn’t want to break the trend.”

“We couldn’t have that,” Jordan agreed. Ten minutes later Nathan had a very blue, barely-acceptable-looking butterfly on his right cheek, but he was beaming like the sun as soon as he pulled up his camera to look at it. “I love it, Jo. Thank you,” Nate said, giving her a quick kiss. 

Activities wrapped up not too long after, and Jordan and Nathan walked out of the rink hand-in-hand towards his car. They had moved in together two months earlier, and Jordan had been more than happy to move out of her tiny studio into Nate’s giant apartment, where you could see the Rockies from the rooftop on clear days. Plus, his building allowed dogs. As Nathan drove home, one hand on the steering wheel and the other tangled with hers by the center console, Jordan looked over at him, with the little blue butterfly on his cheek, and she suddenly felt so unbelievably happy. So unbelievably full. It went without saying that she loved Nate. She loved him like she had never loved anyone before, and never would again. 

At the same time, Nate’s heart was beating faster than it ever had in his life. He wasn’t scared, he wasn’t surprised, but he had just realized something. He already knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jordan. Nathan had realized that months ago. And he hadn’t been lying at the hospital, he had already bought the ring. But Nathan wanted everything to be perfect when he proposed; it couldn’t be rainy outside, because what if she wanted pictures? It couldn’t be too soon after her older brother’s wedding, because then she might think that was the reason why. It couldn’t be in the summer, because then he’d go back to Nova Scotia for the summer and his mom might scalp him for leaving his fiancée in another country. But, Nathan realized as they pulled into the underground lot, there never was going to be a perfect time. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wanted to be Jordan’s husband. There shouldn’t be anything stopping him. There wasn’t anything stopping him. 

“I’m going to run to the bathroom,” Nate said as Jordan slipped off her shoes. She nodded. Nathan went up the stairs, but past the bathroom. He walked into their bedroom, into his closet, to the shoebox that had his old atom league medals. He grabbed the velvet box, opening it and taking one last look before taking a deep breath and putting it in his pocket. 

“You want to watch SVU reruns?” Jordan asked as he ambled back into the living room. 

His mouth opened and closed like a fish. “Uh—can I say something?”

Jordan looked over. “Yeah, go ahead? We can totally watch something else if you’re not feeling Law & Order, I think I saw Chopped on the Food Network, or Jurassic Park is halfway through…” She trailed off. 

Nathan shoved his hands in his pockets, turning the ring box over and over. He bit his lip. “You know how much you mean to me, right?” Jordan nodded slowly. “When I met you, I wasn’t looking for anything. I had just had my heart broken by someone who I thought would be my forever, but then you came into my life and suddenly...suddenly, it all made sense. I thought I knew love, I thought I knew what it was to be in love, but I didn’t, really. Not until you. You bring me down to earth, Jordan, when I’m too far in my head. I know you’re on my team even when we’re losing, even when it seems like nothing in my life is going right I know you’ll always be there to pick me up when I fall. And I don’t ever want to take that for granted. You challenge me in the best way, you always push me to be a better partner, a better teammate, and a better man. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for you.” Jordan was tearing up, starting to figure out where his whole speech was going and hoping beyond hope that she was right.

“I know I’m not always physically here, but I promise to always be there for you, Jordan. I’ll hold you when you’re crying, I’ll buy your favorite chips when we’re out, I’ll pay the utility bills because I know you’re terrible with remembering dates. It was eight months in when I realized you were the one.” Nathan bent down on one knee. One of Jordan’s hands was over her mouth, the remote having long since been abandoned on the couch. “I can’t wait to see where we go, Jordan. I can’t wait to get a nice house with a big backyard, go down to the animal shelter saying we’re only going to adopt one dog but come back with three. I can’t wait for the day you tell me you’re pregnant, and we get to hold our child for the first time and I get to see you be a mother. I can’t wait for us to start our lives together. I can’t wait for you to be Jordan MacKinnon.” He opened up the ring box. “Will you marry me?”

Jordan fell on her knees, hands on both sides of Nathan’s face. “Yes.”

[kiribaku-queen]

Secret Hero [4/10]

Pairing: Bakugou x reader

Angst, Drama, AU

Word Count: 3.1K

TRIGGER WARNING: body shaming, negative body image

A/N: Thank you guys so much for your support! And thank you to everyone who sent in a request! I’ll be sure to work on those ASAP and should be coming out next week. I’ll open requests up until the end of this week, so if you still want to send in a request, go on ahead! I’ll be reminding everyone again soon. These requests look sooo fun and I literally can’t wait to get started on them! I hope you enjoy this week’s chapter and let me know if you want to be tagged!

Summary:  After becoming the number 2 hero, Bakugou accomplished everything he ever wanted. He beat Deku in a few matches, even if he wasn’t the number 1 hero. He got all the fame, beat countless villains, was acknowledged by all his friends and family. But he wasn’t satisfied. He wasn’t happy. Bakugou realized that this wasn’t the life he wanted. So he left the life of a hero and decided to hide to live the rest of his life as a normal person.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

You watched as Bakugou opened the car door to let Momo in. As soon as they both entered the car, the driver sped off. You turned your back so that just in case, they couldn’t see you. Was it a little out of the blue? Yes. But did were you really surprised? No. You clicked your tongue. It was bound to happen anyway. After that time at lunch, you knew it was bound to happen. Maybe that’s why he rejected you. Because now he has eyes on Momo. Maybe if you got him first, then he wouldn’t be attracted to her. But it would have hurt a lot more if Bakugou left you for Momo.

You shook your head, getting all those negative thoughts out. No, it wasn’t confirmed yet. You shouldn’t make all these assumptions. You were going to ask her yourself. Maybe he was just accompanying her shopping? But that literally doesn’t make any sense to you.

“Don’t assume,” you whisper to yourself. But something was weighing heavy in your heart and you knew it was going to be hard to get rid of.

You made your way back to your apartment, shoulders and head drooping. So much for spoiling yourself and having a great day. Your eyes were on the ground below you. You weren’t pay much attention to where you were walking or who was in front of you. People can move out of the way for you. Or so that’s what you thought. Your heads was so in the clouds that it took you a moment to realize that someone had nudged you, almost knocking you down but you caught yourself. Anger and annoyance waved over you.

“Hey!” you called out to the stranger that bumped into you. He turned around, giving you the most expressionless look. Like he couldn’t care less that he just ran into someone without saying sorry. You gave him a quick up and down. You’ve never seen him around before. Another newcomer? That doesn’t matter. You frowned at his very stoic face. He looked like he was on a run. You could only assume from the white and purple track suit he was wearing. His olive brown hair was sticking to his forehead due to the amount of sweat he was producing. Now that you were observing his face, he was actually pretty handsome. Tall. Very tall. Taller than you were expecting that it was kind of intimidating. But you weren’t one to back down just because they scared you a bit. “You just ran into someone and you’re not going to say sorry?” you stood your ground, putting your hands on your hips. He doesn’t respond. That made you puff out your cheek. “Hello? Aren’t you going to say something? At least acknowledge that what you did was wrong. I mean, I also wasn’t looking where I was going, but you could have at least seen me and moved out of the way. Like this sidewalk is so wide! How could you have possibly run into me?!” you started to rant. The olive brown haired man took out his earbud that was hiding behind his hair.

“Sorry, did you say something?” his deep, husky voice asked. Your jaw dropped. You mean… you were ranting and yelling at him only for him to not even hear you?! Your face flushed red with anger. That audacity! You were so upset that you couldn’t say another word to him. With a puff, you turned around and stormed in the other direction.

“God, the nerve of some people!” you said to yourself, but definitely loud enough for him to hear. Because that was 100% directed towards him. The man smirked and put his earbud back in to continue his exercise. Little did you know, nothing was playing through his earbuds. He heard you the entire time.

 The weekend rolled by, which means another visit to your parents. And that also means lunch with the entire family. Which also means that Momo was going to be there. You were mentally preparing yourself outside the house. You were going to finally ask her about it. The idea of her and Bakugou together was eating you out alive. You wanted clarity but you knew that if it was true that they were seeing each other or even talking to each other, that was absolutely crush you. Taking a deep breath, you entered your parents’ house.

“(y/n), my darling!” you immediately heard your mother scream. In due time, she was embracing you in a hug before you could even close the door.

“Mother! How many times do I have to tell you? I saw you last weekend,” you told her.

“But I still miss my only child! It’s so lonely without you here. Why don’t you move back in?” she urged you.

“Mother, I like being away from the city! And I love my job. I just can’t abandon the kids,” you tell her. But your mother pouted. “Is lunch ready?” you ask, trying to change the subject before she could go on and on about you not being at home.

“We are still prepping! Why don’t you help us?” your mother suggested. You obliged, since there was nothing to do at the moment. Both of you made your way to the large kitchen. Sitting around the island were some of your aunts already making food.

“Ah, (y/n)! You made it! Come help!” one of your aunts exclaimed, handing you some wrappers so you can help wrap eggrolls. You sat down in one of the chairs and started helping. It was tradition for the younger adults to help with the cooking. You never wanted to but you and your other cousins were always forced to help. According to the elders, once they were gone, the younger ones have to continue the tradition. As time passed, you actually enjoyed helping them cook. This gave you the opportunity to learn the family recipes and perfecting the techniques so you can do it at home.

Although there were some downsides to helping. Since you were the only younger adult there, you didn’t have anyone to talk to. Of course, your aunts would ask you questions about your life but then the conversation would steer towards their lives. So you would just listen in on the drama or whatever they want to talk about. But then there are times when they would criticize you and your life. And that’s what was happening now.

“(y/n), have you thought about dieting? You seem to have put on some weight,” your aunt directs the conversation at you and hits you right where it hurts. You momentarily freeze your actions.

“Actually, I’ve lost a few pounds since you last saw me, Auntie,” you say, not tearing your gaze away from the food in your hands.

“Really? Your cheeks are so chubby still. You know, Momo has been on this new diet and she’s never looked better! She looks thin while still having her curves. And her skin is amazing!” your aunt bragged about your cousin. Ah, there is it. Again, comparing you to Momo. It wouldn’t be a family reunion without this comparison talk.

“I’ll have to give you Momo’s skin care routine. You look like you’re breaking out a bit,” she continues, observing your face. You thought your face was fine. It was clear and smooth. That’s a blessing in itself. Maybe your lips were a little dry, but that was it.

“Oh, honey. Don’t put too much filling in! Fold it like this. Momo can do this so beautifully. When she gets her, I’ll have her teach you.” Momo this, Momo that. When was it ever going to stop?

“Speaking of Momo,” you said a little loud, getting tired of this conversation. “Where is she?” you asked, trying not to show the annoyance in your face.

“She should be here soon. She’s bringing a boy over!” your aunt said with pure excitement. That made your stomach drop. As soon as you heard that statement, your heart raced and your palms started to sweat. You hope to god that it was not the person you were thinking. But with your luck, it was going to prove to be false.

“He better be a catch,” you heard your other aunt say.

“He better. I was already planning on having her meet this over handsome gentleman,” your aunt said, now gossiping.

“I’m here!” you heard that familiar, preppy voice coming from the front door. Speak of the devil. You heard your relatives greeting her and her company. You didn’t want to turn around. You couldn’t. Facing reality means that you lost to her.

“Momo!” your aunt left the island to go greet her daughter. “I heard you brought a boy, where is he?” she questioned, looking around.

“My boyfriend is still being bombarded by father,” Momo explained, emphasizing the word boyfriend. You didn’t know if that was a stab at you or what, but at that point you knew. You could never compete against her. She won. She could have had anything she wanted from you. You just didn’t want it to be him.

“Bring him over! I want to meet him!” yeah, you don’t though.

“Father! Stop harassing him!” you heard Momo shout at her father in a joking matter.

“I’m just welcoming him to the family!” Momo’s father defended himself. Momo shook her head and grabbed the guy she brought by the arm.

“Mother,” Momo started. Shit, don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look. “This is Bakugou.” At hearing his name, you looked up. And sure enough, Bakugou was standing there, handsome as ever. He was shaking hands with Momo’s mom while she is basking over him. He’s smiling at her shyly and when he looks up, he locks eyes with you. But not for long because you cut it short and continue folding the filling into the wrappers.

“(y/n) darling, do you have a man in your life?” your mother asks you, turning her attention away from Momo and Bakugou.

“No, mother,” you said dejectedly. No matter how many times she asks, the answer is always going to be the same. Well, it probably would have changed if Momo didn’t get in the way. Who knows, Bakugou could have been yours by now but life never goes your way.

“Do you remember that boy I talked about last time? Well I came into contact with him and he says he wants to meet you,” your mom leaned in closer, almost in a whisper. It’s like she didn’t want anyone else to hear. But knowing that you didn’t want to marry yet and she still talked to him?

“Mom,” you complained, frowning at her. “I told you that I didn’t to.”

“I was setting it up just in case!” she tried to defend herself, but that was getting her nowhere because you were even more annoyed than when you got there.

“An arranged marriage? Really? That’s a little bit too cliché for this time period, don’t you think?”

“Cliché as it seems but see it as climbing up in life. You’ll never get a better offer,” your mother looks sternly at you. You roll your eyes. You didn’t like the idea but it got you thinking.

“Momo, come help (y/n) fold these. You do a must nicer job,” your aunt brings Momo over to the island to help with prepping the food.

“(y/n),” Momo greeted you, already sensing the tension in the air.

“Hi Momo,” you greeted back. Silence.

It’s never usually like this. Usually, family lunch is where laughter and talk is happening all over. Especially between you two since you grew up together and were so close. And arguments never happened to you, only when you guys were children. But right now, it was quiet besides the gossiping from the adults. Bakugou played with the little cousins behind you guys while his girlfriend was occupied with a job.

“So (y/n), what do you think of Momo’s new boyfriend?” one of your aunts suddenly asked. You almost choked on your spit because you were not expecting that question at all.

“He’s nice,” you quickly say. What could you say? Oh, you have a fat crush on him and thought you were going to date because you had a make out session the night before he rejected you? Not likely. In your head, you were begging for someone to change the subject. Better yet, you wished lunch would be served soon so you can get the heck out of there.

“Honey, I keep telling ya. If you lost a few pounds, I’m sure you will be just as desirable,” there she goes again.

“Mother!” Momo scolded her, clearly upset that she was commenting on your body. Your relationship with Momo was definitely a weird one. Many times, it feels as though you were both competing against each other. But on many occasions, she would be sticking up for you and boost your confidence. It’s just unfortunate that you both like the same person.

“What? I was just trying to give her advice!” again, your aunt was trying to defend herself.

“Anyway,” Momo changed the subject so your surprise. She turns to you, giving you her full attention. “How’s the new job? You never caught me up on that.”

“Oh I love it. I mean, it’s kind of exhausting because I’m with kids all day but so rewarding,” you tell her. For a moment, you forgot why you were so upset with her. Talking with her just felt like normal, like you could tell her anything.

“Momo, darling. Go on and tell us about your new position,” your aunt butted in to brag about her daughter. Momo became shy and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Well, my company just got a new boss so I got promoted to his secretary,” she beamed and all the ladies in the kitchen were cheering and congratulating her. You didn’t get that kind of response.

“You should have studied in business, (y/n). Look how successful Momo is now. I mean, teaching is fine and everything but it’s kind of boring and useless. Looks bad on the family,” your aunt whispered that last part to your other aunt. But you heard it.

“Okay, lunch! Is served!” the men of the family walked in with trays full of food that you women prepared. You sighed in relief. That got every single person distracted. Now you didn’t have to hear the negative comments being thrown at you. You, too, walk towards the food and as soon as you were about to pick up a freshly fried eggroll, you paused. You thought back to what they said about you earlier. You gained weight. You’d look better if you lost weight. You’d find a man if you lost weight.

You backed away from the food and headed towards the bathroom. After locking the door behind you, you got a good look at yourself in the mirror. They were right. The way you saw yourself in the mirror shifted into a person who was full of flaws. Your cheeks were chubby which resulted in a double chin showing even if you were looking straight ahead. You wore a sleeveless shirt that day so you lifted your arms to the side. The fat on your arm was dangling and it made your arms look bigger than they actually were. You don’t even want to start on your stomach. You sucked in your tummy but that didn’t do anything. You could still see the little pooch sticking out. No matter how hard you sucked in, it wasn’t going away. Then you pushed your stomach in and looked at yourself from the side.

I should lose weight, you thought to yourself. You would look much better. And your hips. They were so wide. You didn’t look good from the front view. You never noticed how much flaws you had on your body. It was so frustrating that you want to cry. But you would do that as soon as you left. Their comments never hit you so hard before, but now this was too much. The realization hit you that you can’t get a boyfriend looking like this. Maybe taking up on your mom’s offer wasn’t such a bad idea after all. You sigh and open the door to leave the bathroom. When you step out, you happen to almost run into somebody. You looked up to see Bakugou looking down at you, with what? Concerned eyes? No, you were probably just seeing things. You gave him a weak smile, moved to the side and walked passed him without saying another word.

While the older women in the house were ridiculing you and putting you down over Momo, Bakugou was behind you guys, overhearing the whole thing. It may look like he was playing with your younger cousins but his whole attention was on the conversation going on behind him. Every insult they threw at you made him more upset.

Fat? Where? You looked fit and healthy. Perfectly normal from his eyes and honestly, you looked better than good.

Undesirable? When he came into town, you were the only person that caught his attention and the only girl that occupied his mind for weeks. If you wanted you, you could have any guy you wanted.

Unsuccessful? Just because you weren’t making as much money doesn’t mean that you are not successful. You looked happy at your job. Every time you talked about your job or the kids, you were beaming with pride and joy.

Everything they were saying was false. And he was itching to say something and retort back but he had to bite his tongue. He couldn’t make a scene, especially not with Momo present. When he saw you leave the bathroom with the most hurt expression on your face, he wanted to say something so bad. But you ignored him and walked passed him like he was some stranger. Only then did something tug on his heartstrings.

Your mother was talking to your relatives but you needed to talk to her privately. So you waited until she went up to get more food to approach her.

“Oh, (y/n) love. Grab some more food, it’s absolutely delicious!” your mother was ogling the food, her mouth watering.

“Yeah, I’ll grab some later. Uhm, mom? Can we talk?”

“About what sweetie?” your mother answered while still looking at the food in front of her. You bit your lip, now second guessing your decision. But what did you have to lose?

“About what you said earlier… I’ll do it. I’ll take you up on your offer.”

A/N: Can you guess who the surprise Haikyuu character is? I gave you plenty of hints :D And to anyone reading, you are beautiful the way you are! If anyone wants to talk, slide in the DMs or send me an anon and I will hype you up like no other <3

Tagged: @superblyspeedydragon @simpforeveryone @bakasbitch18 @sam-i-am-1025

[operationcavill]

Untangled - Part 4

Her looks again, catching the culprit in the act, “It’s that fucking weird guy,” Henry swings open her door, “what’s your problem, huh? Leave her alone. It’s the middle of the night!” He slams the door and grazes his thumb on her cheek quickly, not wanting to be too forward.

Inspired by: Butterflies // Kacey Musgraves

Y/N - Your name

S/N - Sisters name

B/I/L - Brother-in-Law

B/N - Brothers Name

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

⭐️This chapter contains sexual content. Please do not read if you are not a fan of explicit material. Please excuse any mistakes 🖤

“Do you always pout at compliments?” He enjoys that she cocks her said to the side, gearing up to return the banter.

“No, In fact-,” A knock at the door cuts her off.

He shares confused glance, “I take it you’re not expecting anyone?”

Y/N gets up but stops to grab his forearm, “Come with me.”

He doesn’t hesitate to grab a candle and guide her, but her hands are so cold he can’t help but clasp his hand over hers, “Your fingers are freezing!”

Y/N is too worried to appreciate the sweet gesture, “Shut up and see who it is!”

“It’s your apartment!” He guffaws and rolls his eyes.

“Henry! Just look through the thingie.” The way she’s said his name could leave him melting right in the narrow hallway.

“Fine.... I don’t see anyone?” He tries not to show his concern in order to save her from worrying even more.

She squeezes his arm, “What?

“No one is-,” Another knock comes from the hall.

Y/N’s eyes go wide and her grips tightens even more, “I’m gonna freak out.”

Her looks again, catching the culprit in the act, “It’s that fucking weird guy,” Henry swings open her door, “what’s your problem, huh? Leave her alone. It’s the middle of the night!” He slams the door and grazes his thumb on her cheek quickly, not wanting to be too forward.

She notices this time but the twinge of anxiety grows, “I’m— I’m...still probably gonna freak out.”

He walks her to what the couch, “It’s ok. If he comes back, I’ll handle it.” He grabs another candle and sits down with her, “I’ll make us more tea. Warm up your hands.” He leaves a candle for her in hopes it comforts her. Y/N is skeptical of his kindness but is glad that someone is here. She wishes she could text her sister or best friend and have a secret confessional with them about the literal savior in her apartment.

When he arrives with the mugs, he does so with a sincere smile, “Got the tea. This might be the coziest, weirdest date I’ve ever had.”

“Oh, we’re on a date?”

“I’m calling it a date.”

“I don’t know if I consider being trapped in my apartment a date.”

“I wanna be trapped here.”

“Oh,” He’s giving her the eyes again.

Her foot accidentally brushes against a sliver of left exposed by his shirt riding up and he breaks eye contact, “My lord, why are your feet so cold?”

He pushes they away, and relief washes over her that he didn’t tickle them. She hates tickling, well, kind of, “Don’t touch my feet.”

He scoffs, “Your toes were on me, even with socks on they’re like ice cubes!”

He pokes at the top of her foot, “Leave my toes alone!”

He gently pushes the mug in her hands closer to her face, “Drink your tea!”

She pouts, “You’re lucky you’re good looking.”

“I’m lucky to be here.”

She sing songs, “Corn-y.”

“I think you like it.”

“And who wouldn’t? You’re like, offensively charming.”

“Oh yeah? Well, so are you,” She laughs, cackles almost, but he genuinely doesn’t understand, “What?”

Y/N isn’t exactly insecure but she’s no dummy, she knows she can be a bit awkward at times, “No, I’m not. I mean, I don’t know. I’ve never been called charming.”

Henry moves close to her, picking a small piece of fuzz from her sweater out of her hair, “You’re sweet and funny, and I like you.”

Y/N sips her tea before responding, “You don’t know me yet.”

She tries not to moan at his fingers running up and down her exposed ankle, “I’ve been here a bit now and I like you so far.” She can feel every single butterfly flutter inside her.

She mocks his movements from before, “Drink your tea.

“You like me.” He knows she does.

“Maybe.”

Liar. “Just maybe?”

If he could read her mind, should would absolutely have to cease to exist, “I’m warming up to you.”

“If I hadn’t been in that lift, do you think I’d see you again?”

“Honestly?”

“Honestly,” he’s still mindlessly touching her ankle, it’s sweet but sensual, and she likes it.

“No.”

He almost whines, “Why?”

“Well, do you?” Henry takes her mug from her, stealing sip before sitting it down.

He raises that god forsaken eyebrow, “Honestly?”

She rolls her eyes, but with a smile, “Honestly.”

He shifts his weight on the couch, making sure he can see all of her, “I’m leaning towards yes.” He taps on the glass of the window behind the couch, possibly trying to distract her from his answer, “I was fully prepared to go back to that bar and hope you’d be there again, and I’m determined to see you after tonight,” Henry looks back to her, adoring her hands wrapped around the silly mug.

“You’re very sure of yourself, you know that?”

He snatches the blanket from her lap, throwing it over himself, ”I know.”

“God, you’re terrible.” She smirks at his failed wink, ”Did you also know that you can’t wink?

“I can wink.”

Y/N’s stifles a laugh, “You’re just blinking.”

“Then I’m blinking with intent.”

“And what’s your intent?” Henry discards her mug to the small coffee table.

There’s a comfortable silence before he speaks up again, “I intend to make you laugh.”

She tries to grab the blanket back but fails, “Well, you’re making me cold instead!”

He grabs her legs and lays between her thighs as he lays his head on her chest, “Make yourself at home.” Her heart is pounding and she hopes to God that he can’t hear it.

He snuggles in further, “Let me keep you warm.”

“I didn’t peg you for the cuddle type.” She was wishing he was, though.

Henry hums then takes her by surprise, “I don’t think I’d like to be pegged at all, actually.” He feels her belly underneath him move as she lets out a big laugh. “Maybe if you buy me dinner first.” He succeeded in making her laugh harder, and it’s as good as he hoped.

“You have a lot of nerve calling me cheeky when you’re the one making jokes about pegging.” He rests his head on her chest again, delighted that she hasn’t told him to fuck off. “You’re not as serious as I thought you’d be.”

He sighs, “You’re as cozy as I thought you’d be.”

Y/N responds sarcastically, “I’m so glad you're comfortable.”

“Oh, I am. You’re extremely comfortable,” He feels her tense a little bit but is relieved when she relaxes, “I don’t usually ease into something like this, this stuff anyway.”

“A little hound dog, are we?” Henry pinches her side and she squeals, “I’m kidding!” He laughs against her, she finds it soothing, “If you must know, you’re quite comfy yourself. I’m sure you’ve figured out I don’t ease into this either.”

He moves upward and the butterflies return when their foreheads touch, “We’re you gonna let me kiss you earlier?”

“Yes.”

Yes. “Really, now?”

“What do you mean ‘Really?’” They can feel each others warm breath, and why doesn’t just kiss her already?

“You said you were shy sometimes.” She tries to calm her breathing but struggles when his noses rests on hers , “Gonna let me kiss you now?”

All she can muster up is a hushed, “Yeah.”

“Good,” He kisses her softly at first but he begins get into it when her hands roam in his hair, and slide down to the sides of his face. Y/N lets out a little moan and that does it for him. He grabs her hip and rolls into her, breaking the kiss to see that her eyes are still closed, “Come here,” Henry pulls her into his lap, hands still firm on her, “You’re fun to kiss.” She places her hands, now warm, on his chest. He wants to know what she’s thinking, if they have the same thing on their mind.

She runs one finger across his mouth, almost as if he wasn’t real. The way he’s looking at her is unexplainable but she likes it. You could even say she loves it. He smiles at her and giggles. How dare this man giggle in such a cute way when he looks like that? “What’s so funny?”

“I have an adorable creature sitting on top of me, kissing me in the dark and her hands are all over me.” Her hands put more pressure on his chest without even realizing it, “I didn’t think this is how my evening would up.” She smiles, but this time she doesn’t hide it. “Well, I had hoped it would but-”

“Mmm, scoundrel,” She continues to kiss him but harder this time, allowing things to get heated. She nips at his lip before kissing his neck.

“Did I mention how fun it is to kiss you?” He lifts her while aimlessly walking.

“Mhmm,” She kisses his cheek and giggles, “lost?”

“Which door’s the bedroom?”

“That one,” He kicks the door open, drops her on the bed, but leaves. What?

He returns with two candles, which allow her to see him much better, “Too dark.” He gently lays on top of her and kisses her while he tugs on her sweater. He notices she gets shy, “Don’t be shy,” he kisses her again before pulling off her sweater, smiling through the kisses he leaves on neck and chest. Y/N’s hands rake through his hair, “I like that.” She lets out one of those god forsaken giggles, “I like that, too.” He sucks on her nipple and feels the grip on his hair tighten. Henry moves back to her lips, “I really like that.”

She licks her lips, “Take your shirt off.”

“Oh, not so shy anymore.”

Y/N takes her turn at kissing his neck, "Take it off.” He obliges and she kisses the center of his chest.

Her leggings are next. He can feel the small bumps rise on her skin. He delicately kisses her calf, then her thigh, "Are you cold?” Another kiss.

“A little bit,” Her voice is soft, quiet. She’s drinking every moment in.

He plants a kiss on her other thigh, “You need a blanket?” She shakes her head and a nibble at her thigh causes her to gasp, “You sure?” He moves closer to what’s waiting for him, kissing her skin between every single word, “It’s-been-a-very-cold-rainy-night.”

Y/N can barely compose herself with his kind of teasing, “God.”

“What?” He grins wickedly.

“Stop that.”

He taunts, “Stop what?”

“You’re being a tease!”

“I am?” Henry hooks his fingers in the hem of her underwear but kisses the front before pulling them down.

She sits up on her elbows and practically hisses, “You know you are.”

He kisses this time, harder, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

She rakes her fingers through his hair, “You’re awful.”

“That’s not nice, “ He licks the fabric, "what happened to that playful, sweet girl on the couch?”

“You’re not being nice.”

“I think I’m being perfectly kind, Darling,” He finally pulls the underwear down her legs and give her one broad lick. Y/N drops her elbows and rolls her hips into his face. He wants to makes sure she’s feeling good but not that good, not good enough to bring her close. He kisses her legs, belly, being all too gentle. Thunder claps and she jumps right into his mouth, taking advantage and giving her full pressure.

He pulls away, wiping his mouth as he comes back up to her face, “You still have your pants on.”

She undoes his belt, button and zipper, and then pushes them down with feet, “How’d you do that?”

She shrugs and grins innocently, “Hidden talent.”

“Any other talents?”

“Maybe you’re not the only one who good at being a tease,” Y/N bats her lashes to add to her facade.

“Oh yeah?”

“Mhmm,”

"Give it your best shot,” The pair begin to kiss softly in-between their words.

“What makes you think you deserve my best?” She has a hint excitement in her voice.

They share a tempestuous kiss this time, “Give it to me.” She can’t help but think, ‘What a greedy boy’.

Y/N pushes him off, leaving him surprised. She sits on his stomach, hands on his chest, “Give you what?” He tries to kiss her only to be pushed down again, “Give you what?” He’s pleasantly shocked and can’t find his words. All he can do is grip her thigh, “Give you what, Henry?”

“You.” Charming.

“Me?“ Y/N fakes confusion, lightly grazing his crotch before moving off to the side. She swings a leg around his waist, running a finger along waistband of his underwear. “What do you want from me?”

A hand moves to touch her face but she softly grabs it, sticking middle & ring finger in her mouth, guiding them down her belly, “Christ, you are a tease.”

He feels a nibble at his ear and a finger trailing down his own stomach, “How hard can you get before you can’t take it?” Y/N is not so shy anymore, and it’s better than he imagined. “How long do I get to torture you before you fuck my brains out?” He honestly doesn’t know how to answer, “I bet you feel so good it hurts.” Good God. He’s surprised in the best way when she finally but barely touches the head of his dick, “I want—,” Y/N’s wrist is pulled away and held behind her back with his left hand, leaving his right to wreak havoc.

“How wet can you get,” He slowly puts one finger inside her, withdrawing quickly, “huh?” He takes control by taking a fistful of her hair and pulling her neck to the side, allowing him to give her a bite, “Talk to me. Now,” Henry could play this game all night. She couldn’t wiggle out of his grip even if she wanted to, “I said talk to me.”

Her voice is shaky, desperate, “Condoms, top drawer.”

He catches her off guard by grabbing her throat, “Is that any way to ask?” He loves it when they just melt like that, they crumble the second he grasps their neck, “Ask me.”

Her eyes close in complete bliss, “Please.”

He squeezes her throat, “Please what, Sweetheart?”

Y/N wines, “Fuck me.”

He smiles while reaching for the drawer, “Get on your back.” He can’t get his boxers off fast enough. He puts the condom on and kisses her as he slides into her, “Christ.”

He has a serious look on his face, making her giggle, “So serious for something that’s supposed to be fun.” Her legs wiggle and squeeze around his waist.

He raises an eyebrow while grinning. He rolls her on top and eagerly grasps her hips, “How am I supposed to act?” His smile widens while she grinds her body into his. He can’t help but smack her behind, causing her to pause and moan loudly.  “Who’s the serious one now?”

She rolls her hips a few more times, “Harder.”

It was pure heaven to his ears, “What was that?”

She laughs and her nails dig into his velvety chest, “Harder!”

Henry more than happily obliges, “With pleasure.”

She yelps with pleasure, both laughing and groaning loudly, kissing and moaning. His hair rubs against her sensitive clit. He feels her twitching and knows he doesn’t have much time left. He pulls her close, bringing their chests are together, his hips thrusting upward while he whispers, “Come on. Come for me. I can feel it. Come for me.” He becomes more aggressive, hips slapping into each other and listening to the wet sounds it creates.

“On top,” She’s on her back again, grabbing his hair and kissing him desperately while she grows closer and closer to her orgasm. She can feel those blissful tremors running throughout her body. Y/N can’t stop matching his rhythm even though she’s tired.

“Feel so good.” He goes even harder and he feels that twitch inside her. “Get back on me, right now.” She sinks down on him, allowing him to feel even more surrounded by her, “Fuck,” she places a hand on his throat, the other pulling his hair, “Y/N.”

He smacks her ass as a little reward, “Oh!”

“Gonna wake the whole building,” He kisses around her neck until he can do nothing but hiss and groan. Her trying to catch her breath is what really does it for him. He can hear it in her voice. She there, she’s right there, “Come for me, baby.” He bucks into her and she unravels. The trembling moans and shaking lead him where he needs to be.

“Henry,” She sounds so exhausted but that small whimper of his name was instant gratification. As soon as it left her lips, he became a pathetic mess underneath her.

Her head falls to his chest, finding comfort in the rise and fall. It’s quiet for a few minutes until he kisses the top of her head, “Don’t move yet.” She’s so tired that the warmth of his body could put her to sleep in seconds.

He wraps his arm around her back, “Ok.”

Y/N hums, “You’re warm.”

“Your pussy’s warm,” He laughs before she can even react.

“Oh my god!” She buries her face into his chest.

“I’m literally inside of you, how can you be embarrassed now?” She rolls off of him, wrapping a sheet around herself and she heads to the bathroom. She returns moments later, still wrapped in the sheet.

He pulls her into him, kissing her repeatedly with over exaggerate smacking sounds, “Go clean up before I kick you out,” She would never.

He comes back and finds her under the covers, looking insanely at ease, “Any room for me?"

Y/N waves him over and scoots as close as she can to him, “Are you always so warm?”

“I don’t know but I’m glad it’s cold in here.”

“Is it mean if I say this is weird?”

“If what’s weird?” He tries not to sound nervous.

“I’m entirely too comfortable with you.”

“What do you mean?” His genuine curiosity could make her stomach rumble if she wasn’t so tired.

“I don’t typically bring people back to my apartment when I first meet them. I just like the privacy, but I felt comfortable with you right away.”

“If you’re worried about this being a one time thing, don’t. I intend to go on an actual date. I wanted ask you at the bar.”

“Why didn’t you?”

He shakes his head, “Your sister kinda scares me.”

She laughs loudly, “You should be scared of her.”

“Can I say something weird?”

“Mhmm.”

“I’m not usually this intrigued. I’m usually... more controlled.” Don’t scare her off, Cavill.

She gently pulls a chest hair, “Is that a sex joke?”

“Excuse me, that hurts,” He playfully winces, “and no, I’m just afraid I’ll make myself sound like a dick.”

She rolls her eyes,“Just say it.”

“Well, I don’t go home with women, I never do. It’s a rule, I bring them back to where I’m staying, like an agreement.”

“Why would that make you a dick?”

“It kind of makes me sound like I don’t care,” he licks his lips, “like i’m using people for sex.”

“You said it was an agreement, and so what if you only wanted sex? You’re a grown ass man.” He’s relieved but it’s still something he’s insecure about. When you have so many eyes on you, things can get misconstrued, “If you don’t want to stay and talk, you don’t have to, you know?”

He whispers, “Y/N,” His intention wasn’t to make her think he wanted to leave, “I didn’t say that as an excuse to go.” Her face falls, she didn’t realize it was a sensitive topic. “What I’m trying to say is, is that maybe I’m too comfortable with you, too. You’re so  lovely.” Her lips fight a smile.

“I’m so sorry, “ she snorts, “but you’re so sweet and corny.” He rolls his eyes and pinches her butt. She squeals and pulls more chest hair in retaliation.

Henry yells a bit too loudly, making Y/N shush him, “I wanna stay.”

She kisses his cheek, “You can stay.”

“Good, this bed is obscenely comfortable. Why is everything about you just so nice?”

She lets out one of those classic Y/N giggles, “I don’t know.”

“This blanket is so soft. These pillows,” He squeezes and tickles her, ”this girl!”

She quiets him by covering his mouth, “It’s too late for that!”

He checks his watch gets out a muffled, “It’s about 4:30.”

“Really?” She removes her hand.

“Mhmm.”

She snuggled into him, using his chest as a pillow, “What are you doing tomorrow, or today, I guess?”

“Nothing until Monday.”

“You wanna sleep in with me?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“You know, it hasn’t thundered in a long time, that rain sounds so good.” She hums in response but doesn’t offer an other words, “Are you falling asleep?”

“No.” Soft.

“Yes, you are.”

She nuzzles into his shoulder, “Nuh uh.”

He places a kiss into her hair, “Let’s just listen, shall we?” Henry knows she’ll fall asleep soon and he doesn’t mind. He zones out on her breathing and the rain tapping on the window. He can’t remember the last time he felt so peaceful while working on a project. He closes his eyes and before he knows it, he dozes off.

[Tagged: If you’d like to be tagged, just shoot me a message or ask!]

@igotkatiepowers  @xxxkatxo  @lunedelorient  @heartfelt-pen​ @omgkatinka​ @viking-raider​

[sondepoch]

Chapter 2

Written in the Stars (Lucifer x Angel!Reader)

Four thousand years is a long time. In the absence of your most cherished friend, it feels even longer. But when a certain student exchange program in the Devildom reunites you and Lucifer, things aren't the same. Because four thousand years of separation is a long time. And the love you once felt for Lucifer has changed into something different—something forbidden. But that might not even be your biggest problem, because with each passing day, your holy wings are turning blacker and blacker.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | ✔

MASTERLIST

Simeon knows everything about you.

Ever since Lucifer left, he became the angel in charge of taking care of you—and just like Lucifer, the role he took on wasn't that of a guardian, but one of a nurturer. He didn't isolate you from the world, or lock you up like the High Seraphs, but merely guided you as you continued to learn new things.

Simeon's only rule is that you never keep secrets from him: a rule you've taken to heart.

It was bad enough back in the Celestial Realm, when you would come home to your shared little residence in the clouds, endlessly talking on and on about whatever new things you'd discovered that day. But now? It's like the words can't stop coming, even if you want to stop.

"And Satan!" You rest your head on your hands, elbows propped up as you stare dreamily into the distance while Simeon continues making dinner. "He's such a character! He and Lucifer are so funny, they're always bickering! It's quite funny, actually, but it's endearing, too. I expected us to be more similar since we were both raised by Lucifer from birth, but he's really grown into his own. We only met today, but he already treats me like his little sister, and all the other brothers are just as kind and loving as when we knew them in the Celestial Realm."

Simeon gives an interested hum, a quiet indicator for you to continue.

"They've still changed a bit, though. Asmo wears makeup now, and it suits him so well! If I'm truthful, he may have grown even more beautiful after his fall. And would you believe that Belphie still carries around the pillow I gave him for his birthday? Oh, and Beel! Apparently, he's now the Avatar of Gluttony, and when he hugged me, I could feel his stomach grumble!"

Simeon pauses in his movements, chuckling lightly. "Beelzebub has always had quite the appetite."

"We should invite them over for dinner sometime!" You exclaim, eyes lighting up. The brothers had wanted you to stay with them for your first meal in the Devildom, but you couldn't leave Simeon and Luke alone, so you'd returned to Purgatory Hall. But the prospect of dining with your old friends is too tempting.

"I'll send a text to Lucifer," Simeon says, gesturing over to his D.D.D. "...As soon as I can figure out how to work this wretched device."

"Struggling?" You ask, laughing lightly. Even in the Celestial Realm, Simeon's always left the more advanced technologies to you. "I'll mention it to him tomorrow, don't worry about it."

"You're meeting Lucifer tomorrow?" Simeon asks, walking the various dishes he prepared over to the dining room. The dining table is enormous, large enough for a feast, but only you, Luke, and Simeon will be eating tonight. And the human, too, when they arrive tomorrow.

"Yeah. There's a lot that we skipped during the tour, so he wants to show me the way to all my classes in the morning." You plop yourself in a seat in the center of the table. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason, little lamb." Simeon wears a cryptic smile as he says the words, his expression so masked that you almost forget to scowl at the nickname.

"Come on, Simeon. Can't you call me something different, at least when we're down in the Devildom?" You cross your arms in a huff, still wondering why he insists on such a docile nickname for the holiest angel ever born.

"I haven't stopped calling you that in over four thousand years, why would I stop now?" Simeon ruffles your hair affectionately, ignoring your mock glare in lieu of calling Luke down for dinner. When the younger angel finally arrives, the three of you begin your meal: the very first since your arrival in the Devildom.

Once more, you open your mouth, an endless spew of word soup coming forth as you inform them of every last detail to your visit in the House of Lamentation: from the way Levi's hair has grown to the strange family dynamic between Mammon and Lucifer.

Even when dinner is over, and you're quietly going over a map of the Devildom, your thoughts are far away. Your eyes scan over the map Lucifer gave you, silently wondering which spots are his favorite. Does he like to go to Ristorante Six? Perhaps he favors Majolish? Or does Lucifer spend his nights close to home, watching over his brothers, like he did when you all lived in the Celestial Realm?

A dreamy smile crosses your lips, edged on by the thought of getting to spend a whole year with Lucifer.

You shouldn't be this happy, you know. One year is nothing. When thinking about the fact that you've spent four thousand without Lucifer, how does a single cycle of three hundred sixty-five days do any justice?

But the grin that blooms on your face at the thought of exploring the Devildom with your best friend can't be quelled by the knowledge that this isn't permanent. It doesn't matter that you'll have to leave soon. That these days will turn into wistful memories and that after this, you're saying goodbye to Lucifer for real. For eternity. None of that matters. Not when you have your best friend by your side, here and now.

Though is Lucifer really just your best friend?

You swallow, the thoughts you've been trying to push away suddenly surfacing in your mind. You recall everything from today: the kisses he laid across your forehead, the way he wrapped you up in such tight hugs, the quick and comfortable squeezes he gave your shoulder. As the demon did them today, they no longer felt as innocent. While you once would have considered actions brotherly, you can only think about what a gentleman Lucifer was being when he offered you his jacket.

Against your will, you feel your cheeks grow warmer at the thought.

His coat had smelled like him, not his cologne but actually him: the same subtle yet undeniable aroma of light that only the Morningstar, fallen or no, could carry.

You close your eyes, recalling how the jacket had still been warm when you'd worn it. It was almost as pleasant as the sensation of being wrapped up in one of his hugs. And, in truth, even the man's hugs felt somehow different: they weren't the hugs of a brother, but of a man.

You swallow nervously, grateful that a knock breaks you from your thoughts.

"Coming," You call, throwing the map onto your bed as you walk over to open the door. For a moment, you glance at your reflection in the mirror—you're in your angel form. But there's only one person who would knock on your door this late, right? And he won't mind seeing you like this. You pull the doorknob, a smile blooming on your face. "Already conducting a night check, Simeon?"

"Oh, hush." The angel laughs, entering the room after you gesture for him to do so. But whatever he calls this—"casual visits that just happen to be late at night," as he once told you—you know that they're the very same night checks that Lucifer used to conduct when he was taking care of you. Simeon is just a bit more subtle about it.

"I actually wanted to talk to you, you know? You seemed like you had a lot on your mind, even after talking nonstop at dinner."

You laugh. "Simeon, you and I both know that if you give me the chance, I'll talk for hours."

Simeon lets out another light chuckle, nodding his head as you flop onto your bed. He walks to the center of the room, where you'd discarded your Celestial silk cape, and lifts it up to fold it. "You told me everything about the brothers. About the pretty things you saw on your tour. About how much you think you're going to love it here." Simeon pauses. "But you still haven't told me the most important thing."

You stiffen, instantly knowing what the angel is talking about.

Simeon glances at you, eyes soft. "How did your reunion with Lucifer go?"

"It was..." You trail off, uncertain. Instinctively, you remember the one thing Simeon had made you promise when he became your guardian: no secrets. He had assured you that, in turn, there would be nothing he kept from you—but can you truly tell him about how your heart now beats faster around Lucifer? About how you had to avert your eyes from the proud demon's gaze, so that he wouldn't see the blush on your cheeks? About how these feelings in your heart are literal blasphemy, and you don't even feel guilty about it?

No.

You can't tell him that.

But you can't lie to him, either, so you settle for a half-truth.

"It was the most wonderful thing in the world, Simeon." You close your eyes, remembering how Lucifer had hugged you and how blissful it felt: like you could be wrapped up in his arms for the rest of your life and you wouldn't even mind. "It was like four thousand years hadn't passed at all. We hugged, and he showed me his demon form, and..." You remember how he had given you his jacket, how he had held your hand as he opened the doors to the House of Lamentation, how he had smiled at you differently when dropping you back off at Purgatory Hall. You're not imagining it, your friendship with the man really has changed. But you can't tell Simeon that. "And that's it."

"That's it?" The angel asks, voice amused. He approaches your bed, carefully sitting on the edge of it. "Heavens be falling, I've never heard you give such a brief explanation in my entire life!"

The way Simeon laughs is almost enough for you to stop thinking about Lucifer: about all the little moments, the lingering touches, the prolonged stares. But not enough. You force your gaze away from Simeon's, praying that the heat of your cheeks isn't visible, and maybe it isn't, because when you're finally looking at him again, his expression is only puzzled.

"MC?" He asks, eyebrows furrowed together in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," You respond instantly, praying that Simeon doesn't press the subject. You can only avoid the truth with him; you'll never be able to lie if he asks you an outright question.

For a moment, his gaze lingers on you, the sapphire eyes flickering as a storm of sadness, frustration, and disappointment rages on within until they're crystal blue once more with the clarity of resignation.

It's almost as if he knows.

But then, whatever look in his eyes passes and he's smiling once more, teasing you as he ruffles your hair and murmurs, "Whatever you say, little lamb."

Sensing your light awkwardness, he moves on from the subject, though you're certain he wants to press it further. "Hm, it seems that you missed a spot on your wings."

"Huh?" You ask, arching your back as you lean backward to see what the man is talking about. "Where?"

Simeon taps on the center of your back, fingers drumming against the innermost feathers of your wings. "Right here: this patch is a little gray."

You groan, wondering how you missed the spot when you just bathed. "I'll get it in the morning when I shower," You mumble, flopping onto your pillow. "The Devildom is so hot, I'll probably have to shower two to three times each day, anyway."

"True," Simeon nods, sighing. "I'll leave you to sleep, then. Make sure you have breakfast before you go see Lucifer, alright?" He smiles at you before turning the lights off, the two of you exchanging quiet pleasantries of goodnight until your room is dark once more.

If you'd looked closer, you might have noticed the flash of distress that crosses Simeon's eyes right before he closes your door, biting his lip as his eyes skirt over your figure lying so peacefully in bed. You'd never be able to read his mind, to tell that he's worried over this blossoming relationship with Lucifer, and how it'll affect you when the time comes to leave; but perhaps it's for the best that you're unaware of his concern.

You roll over on the bed, staring up at the moonlight that floats into your room: the very same moon that watches over the human world, the Celestial Realm, and most importantly, Lucifer's own quarters.

Staring into the delicate light, you can't help but wonder whether he's also getting ready for bed, preparing to drift off. And as much as you want to force your thoughts away, onto a topic that won't go against everything you promised the High Seraphs, you can't.

You dream about the demon all night.

And when morning comes, and you're in the shower trying to look for the spot of grey on your wings that Simeon was talking about—for the love of God, you can't seem to find it though you know you saw it last night—you still can't pull your thoughts away from the ebony-haired demon. Even when you grumpily force a piece of Devildom toast down your mouth, all you can think about is Lucifer, Lucifer, Lucifer.

You huff.

Texting the very man who's taken the spotlight of your thoughts, you wait for him to respond, telling him that you're already outside Purgatory Hall. It takes all but two minutes for him to fly over to you, and when he does, you almost flinch at the raw frustration radiating off of him.

"MC!" He shouts, angrily glancing around to see if there are any other demons in the vicinity. There aren't, but he still drops his voice to a whisper. "What are you doing, walking around dressed like that?"

"This is the exact same thing I wore yesterday, Lucifer." You glance downward, wondering why the demon is being so dramatic. And then it dawns on you.

The Celestial cape.

"Yesterday, you were wearing a holy cloak." Lucifer closes his eye and pinches the furrowed spot between his eyebrows as you smile sheepishly in apology. You'd tried to wear the cloak, but it had been too heavy for you to properly clasp onto your outfit. Though, now that you think about how your skintight shirt borders on backless, and how the greater portion of your legs is exposed, it's understandable that Lucifer is irate. "Goodness, MC. You haven't changed a bit."

"Hey!" You protest, but the demon ignores you.

"You're no longer surrounded by angels. When demons see you dressed like this, they'll get thoughts and..and..." Lucifer gestures vaguely at your outfit, muttering something under his breath about desire and coveting, before regaining his composure. He swiftly removes his jacket. "Here, wear this for the time being."

You have to hide your blush as Lucifer stands behind you, holding the coat while you slip your arms inside. A true gentleman, you can't help but think as you bury your hands into the pockets. The familiar scent of light fills your nostrils, and you can't even complain that Lucifer is making you wear a jacket in this heat.

"Alright," You murmur, flashing a smile up at him once you're comfortable. The way Lucifer's ears pinken at the edges goes unnoticed by you, utterly unaware of how mesmerized he as he possessively takes in the sight of you, dressed in his clothing once more. "Shall we go?"

The demon nods stiffly, pulling out a copy of your schedule, already prepared to show you the direction to your first class. "Let's."

The day goes by smoothly like that: Lucifer shows you to all your classes, makes you show him the route you'll be taking to get to them, and then the two of you are exploring the rest of the facilities at the R.A.D.

"This is the southern water balloon fortress," Lucifer says with a sigh, showing you a literal fortress, reinforced with stone walls with built-in cannons and artillery.

"You have water balloon fortresses?" You ask, mouth agape. You twist a knob at the side, watching as it causes a corresponding hose to trickle out some water.

"Only two. They're for the annual water wars, which Levi somehow managed to establish. I still don't know how he managed to persuade Diavolo to agree to such a ridiculous idea, but he succeeded, and here we are."

You can't help but laugh at that.

You soon learn that the water balloon fortresses are only the beginning of the strange buildings that are part of the R.A.D. campus: there's a whole section of the forest dedicated to Capture the Flag, an indoor obstacle course (which looks more like a death trap than a mere obstacle, but you'll just avoid this place), at least eight different sports fields, and Lucifer still hasn't even covered half the map.

You groan, your feet tired from walking, tugging on Lucifer's sleeve. "Luciii," You murmur, using the nickname he resents to get his attention as you drag him to a bench. "Let's take a break."

"I thought you wanted to see our miniature amusement park?"

"Later," You mumble, all but flopping onto the bench. By now, it's well into the afternoon, and you're hot. How the rest of these students are managing to go by calmly while wearing such suffocating uniforms is something you do not know, but you either need to stop walking or take this jacket off. And Lucifer has made it clear that he doesn't want the jacket to come off. "It's too hot."

Lucifer sighs, running a hand through your hair as he sits on the bench next to you, ignoring the stares of passing students. "I'll text Simeon to bring your cloak, alright? It might be heavy, but it's still more breathable than this jacket."

You silently nod, comfortably leaning your body against Lucifer's while savoring the sensation of a cool wind. Slowly, the two of you start up a conversation once more, rising and dying with the breeze, until the topic of the human comes up.

"Why only is there only one human?" You ask. "There are three of us angels!"

"Yes," Lucifer sighs. "But angels are already conscious of the Devildom's existence. We had to select a human that was not only aware of the three realms, but one who was willing to come for the exchange program. What, did you think that I would simply pick an unsuspecting human at will and whisk them into the Devildom, not telling them anything and forcing them to remain here for a year while abandoning their human companions?"

"That sounds exactly like something you would do, Lucifer." You can't hide the smile from your words. Before he can return your quip, though, Simeon's voice interrupts the two of you.

"Little lamb, Lucifer!" Your eyes dart up instantly, meeting the smiling angel eyes you've grown so used to.

"Simeon," Lucifer greets, a pleasant smile on his face. "When was the last time we met? Three thousand years ago? Three thousand five hundred?"

"I'm afraid I don't remember," Simeon shakes his head. "But it's been too long."

You smile as you watch the two men reunite, briefly chuckling over old jokes as a pang hits your heart at the memory of how the High Seraphs had trusted Simeon, but never you, to visit Lucifer in the Devildom.

The feeling is short-lived, though, because in a moment, both men have turned their attention back onto you.

"I can't believe she actually left the house looking like this," Simeon chuckles, shifting the thick Celestial silk in his arms. Even he has to flex his muscles to hold its full weight in his arms, though he makes the action look effortless enough.

"Shush," You mumble, taking Lucifer's jacket off as you stand up. "I tried to wear the cloak on my own. It's not my fault."

The moment you're standing, Simeon has darted behind you, his body shielding your exposed back from onlooking demons while Lucifer hides your front. His fingers work quickly, clasping the familiar weight around your shoulders in mere seconds, and once your body is covered, you can feel the tension dissipate from both men's bodies.

"She's special," They say to each other in unison, before bursting into chuckles as they smile down at you. You're unsure whether the words are an insult or a compliment. You look up at them in confusion, watching as a look of understanding passes between your two guardians: past and present. You can sense the conversation in their eyes, the quiet thank you Lucifer gives Simeon, for looking over you in his absence and the returning no need for thanks from the angel as he insists that it's been no trouble.

"I trust I can take you to take care of her?" Simeon murmurs, patting your shoulder. "Luke and I are planning on baking a cake to welcome the new human to Purgatory Hall, and I have to fetch some ingredients."

Lucifer nods, lifting his jacket from the bench and wearing it. "Of course. I was planning on bringing her to the House of Lamentation soon after this, actually. There are just a few places left for me to show."

"All right," Simeon says, politely nodding his head as he takes his leave. "Enjoy your day!"

You and Lucifer smile as he waves you both goodbye, turning to each other once he's gone. "Hey Lucifer?" You try to activate your puppy dog eyes, praying that the demon is as susceptible to them now as he was four thousand years ago.

"What?" He mutters, tone flat. He can already sense the request looming on the tip of your tongue.

"Can we skip the rest of the tour and go straight to the House of Lamentation?" You see his face begin to fall, a refusal already rolling off his lips, when you grasp his hands before he can say anything. You give them a squeeze. "Please?"

The demon sighs, pinching the space between his eyebrows once more as he groans the familiar groan of defeat. Without even saying a word, your spirits are soaring, and you're readily pulling him off in the direction of his home.

The time passes quickly, from that moment and onward. Clocks seem to speed up when you're in the presence of the seven demon brothers, and you spend all afternoon laughing and messing around with them: you break up into teams to play hide-and-seek, you pile onto Belphie's bed in the attic, you play Mario Kart: Succubus Style, and you've nearly forgotten about returning to Purgatory Hall altogether until Luke finally sends you a text message. You groan at the sight of your lit-up D.D.D., knowing that it means your time with the brothers has come to a close, but you say your goodbyes regardless and promise to visit again tomorrow.

Just like yesterday, Lucifer walks you back to your dorm. The demon is stubbornly protective, a habit that's gone unbroken by these past four thousand years, and he refuses to leave your side even for the brief ten-minute walk. Still, Simeon thanks him for it.

"Ah, Lucifer!" The angel exclaims, just before the demon turns to leave. "Would you and your brothers like to come over for dinner sometime?"

The angel flashes a smile at you, recalling your request from the previous night.

"My brothers would definitely enjoy that." The edges of Lucifer's lips curl into a smile. "I hope you'll allow us to return the favor, once the deed is done?"

"With pleasure!" Simeon exclaims, laughing a little. "I'm sure Lord Diavolo will be pleased to hear of our realms getting along."

"I look forward to it," Lucifer says, nodding as he bids you both farewell.

Your smile remains bright for the rest of the night, your happiness only elevating as you're introduced to the human exchange student, Solomon. The human is apparently a sorcerer, and beyond his pretense of secrecy you can sense his immense magical power, indicative of a being who's lived much longer than however old the mage looks.

But you don't push it, simply introducing yourself while the four of you bond over dinner: the first of many. And then you all have the cake Luke made, which is so delicious that you can't help but hope, again, that this is also just the beginning of many more to come.

It's only when you're finally up in your room, stomach stuffed from dinner and dessert, angel form manifested once more in the privacy of locked doors, that the smile fades from your face.

"What in the heavens..." You mumble, eyes wide with shock, which morphs into horror fairly quickly.

Have you gone blind? Have you contracted a Devildom sickness which is causing you to hallucinate? A sick feeling settles in your stomach as you recall how Simeon had vaguely mentioned a "patch of gray" on your wings that you'd failed to get out.

But this is so much more than just a patch of grey.

You stare at the mirror in disbelief, flapping your wings once to test your vision.

This can't be happening. Right? Your eyesight must be deceiving you.

You rub your eyes, swallowing hard, desperately hoping that your vision will clear and that the sight in front of you will change, or that you'll suddenly wake up and realize that this is just a bad nightmare.

But as you blink in the mirror, wings now curling around your body in fear, you realize this is reality.

You swallow, staring at the feathers. They're no longer white and fluffy and soft.

They're blacker than the night sky.

With a quivering lip, you turn around to get a better view of the feathers, noting how the ones closest to your back are dark as ebony, the ones at the edges still retaining their ivory gleam, and the feathers in between forming a disgusting gradient from white to black; pure to tainted; holy to unholy.

Instinctively, your eyes dart up to your head to check if you have horns developing, but the top of your head looks flat. For now, your mind can't help but ominously add.

And that thought is too much for you, and the tears you've been fighting to hold back begin to fall as you stare holes into the mirror, into the wretched sight of you. You choke back a sob, forcing away thoughts as you try to wonder what monster of a creature you're becoming, with wings turning black, until you turn into your human form to hide from none other than yourself.

Twisted, isn't it?

With tears now pouring freely down your cheeks, you yank your door open. Your mind is shouting at you to stay put, go to bed, and try to forget about this. But there's only one person your heart wants to see, and when you're this disoriented, you don't have the mental capacity to hold back.

"MC?" Simeon asks as you storm past him in the hall. He catches your wrist, pulling you close and trying to comfort you like any guardian should, but it's not him you want right now. Curiosity and concern flash in his eyes as he gets a better look at your face. "MC! You're crying! For heaven's sake, what's the matter?"

But all you can manage to do is pull away with some pathetic excuse about having left something at the House of Lamentation, giving Simeon no chance to ask his questions as you sprint out of the doors.

You don't notice Simeon's sharp gaze as he watches you from a window, making sure you get to your destination safely. You don't see him sigh as he realizes, perhaps even before you do, that you've already fallen to temptation with Lucifer. You don't see his sad smile as he understands the blasphemy you've committed and all the further blasphemy you'll be willing to commit once you realize the extent of your feelings, but the angel knows.

And as your guardian, he will do everything in his power to ensure that your romance finds a happy ending, impossible as it sounds.

Though even he can't know just how complicated things are.

Like, for example, the fact that your wings have begun to turn black.

***

The House of Lamentation has never been livelier.

Not just today and yesterday, but ever since Satan's brothers learned that MC was one of the angels coming down from the Celestial Realm for Diavolo's student exchange program, everyone's been abuzz. Even Belphie relinquished his frustrations over the program at the prospect of seeing the angel who never fell with them.

But for Satan, he's never quite shared in their excitement.

According to Lucifer, when their Father had realized that Lucifer's wrath was great enough to give birth to Satan, he had immediately locked MC away, unwilling to let the firstborn or any of his siblings have the chance to taint her.

When Satan himself had analyzed the situation, he had suspected that their Father was trying to use MC as a bargaining chip, in hopes that Lucifer would blindly fall in line as long as it meant that he could be with the girl he had practically adopted as a sister, but communications had fallen through, and Lucifer hadn't even learned that MC was locked up by the High Seraphs until well into the rebellion.

And as such, Satan never had the pleasure of meeting the angel his siblings were always talking about.

But now?

A soft smile crosses Satan's lips as he recalls the memories of the day. You and he had teamed up to kick Mammon and Asmo's butts in Mario Kart: Succubus Style, and during the game of hide-and-seek, the two of you had hidden together on top of the chandelier. And though he's only had small chances like these, little instances to talk to you one-on-one, they've already been more than enough to make him understand why his brothers dote on you so.

The blonde stands and gazes at one of the artworks on the wall, a tall oil painting Lucifer had personally done of Lilith. Again, Satan had barely known the girl, a mere toddler by the time she died, but as he looks upon her now, her face seems to morph into yours: into a bright smile, with shining (e/c) eyes and flowing (h/c) hair.

Satan chuckles as Lucifer's face instantly pops up next to it, an instinctive visualization that he can't help. After all, the firstborn's affections for you are beyond obvious, though his halfwit brothers are too dense or self-absorbed to pick up on it. Much like how they've still failed to notice the lingering looks you cast Lucifer's way.

It's been quite amusing, actually, for Satan to watch while the two of you glance at each and frown to see the other absorbed in something else, never realizing that you both spend every spare moment either gazing at the other or pretending not to have been doing so.

The blonde chuckles.

He would tease Lucifer about it, if he weren't in such a good mood.

Satan continues walking, almost about to rise up the stairs that lead to his room, when a sudden banging at the front doors pulls him from his thoughts. A frown immediately spreads across his face, the blonde cursing to himself as he walks forward to open the mahogany entrance, ready to insult whatever madman is banging so furiously when the insult freezes on his tongue.

"M-MC?" He asks, somehow managing to catch you as you stumble forward into his arms. "Shit," He mumbles, realizing that you're crying. Not just that, but you're hysterical.

"I—I need—" Your words come out in chokes, your body too deprived of breath from sprinting here and then your subsequent sobbing to be able to speak properly.

"Shh," Satan mumbles, stroking your hair. "Speak slowly. What do you need?" Satan has never heard his voice sound as gentle and soft as it sounds now, but he can't even bring himself to care.

"Lu-Lucifer," You choke out, your body still shaking in his arms, and he can't help but wonder what has gotten you so frantic.

But he won't ask, and the moment he hears your request, he's pulling you down the hall into the firstborn demon's study.

Only a single cry can be heard in the house as Satan kicks open the door, his own expression frantic with concern:

"Lucifer!"

MASTERLIST

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | ✔  

Word count: 5.5k

Notes: this week has been rOuGh >.> on a separate note, though, im hella hyped for the next chapter because we get to hear the tea about mc and lucifer's past :D ngl, i spent more time thinking about the history for this fic than anything else and im eXcItED

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Next Update: 5/26/20

I do not own the rights to Obey Me! or any of the characters within it.