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iclaimedtobethebetterbard · 3 years

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snakes & silliness

Fandom: Sanders Sides Characters: Janus, Remus, Patton Rating: Teen & up Relationships: Intrualiceit, with a focus on Dukeceit Warnings: Language, some innuendo, both mostly courtesy of Remus. Word count: 2297

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My writing masterpost

Starlight Universe masterpost

Dukeceit Week 2021 start - previous - here - next - masterpost

Summary: The selecting of a first family pet is a very important matter. Almost as important as making Janus grin and blush in the middle of the reptile section. Luckily, Remus and Patton take both of these tasks as seriously as they should.

Notes: Day 3 of Dukeceit Week 2021! @dukeceitweek Takes place in my Starlight Universe, where each piece can be read without any context. Takes place 4 or 5 years post-college. Remus, Janus, and Patton all use he/they pronouns.

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Remus locked the car doors behind them as he, Janus, and Patton began to make their way across the parking lot towards the pet store. “What shall we name it?” he inquired, offering one hand to each of his partners.

Patton lit up. “I don’t know… Snakey!”

Remus pursed his lips. “Sure, but I was thinking, like, something cool. Like… Mouse Killer.”

“No, that’s sad!” Patton shook his head. “What about Scaley?”

Remus grinned. “Janus Jr.”

“Danger Noodle!”

“Janice, but spelled the other way.”

“Snoot Boopsie!”

“Janus, but pronounced like anus.”

“You are both terrible at naming snakes,” Janus cut in, breaking the amused silence they had maintained until now as their eyebrows rose higher and higher with each of Remus and Patton’s suggestions.

“Oh, really?” Remus rounded on them with a grin. “And what would you name it, then, if you’re so much cleverer than us?”

Janus froze, mouth open, clearly caught off-guard by the question. “…Jake,” they said weakly after a pause.

Remus snickered. “Oh, really?” He let go of Patton’s hand and moved closer to Janus, leaning into their personal space. “Is that your genius idea for Best Snake Name of All Time? You’re sure?”

Janus, being Janus, stood their ground. “Yes,” they mumbled, sounding only a little sheepish.

Remus traded a mischievous glance with Patton. “And you didn’t make it up on the spot because you were making fun of our ideas when you had none of your own?”

“Of… of course not,” Janus said, tone almost perfectly even and cheeks very red.

“Well,” Patton chirped, the picture of innocence standing there at his full height of 5’2” and dressed all in pastels, speaking in that particular syrupy sweet tone that was the surest sign that his partners were in an excellent kind of danger, “I think that’s a great name, honey!” He raised his eyebrows at Remus in a meaningful way.

Janus blinked. “…What?”

“Oh, definitely,” Remus agreed with a wide grin, catching Patton’s drift at once. Teaming up with Patton to tease Janus was, pretty much universally, an excellent idea. Remus hooked their chin over Janus’s shoulder from behind, wrapping his arm around their waist. “I mean, it really sums up the essence of what we desire in a pet snake, you know?” He held up a hand in front of them both, palm out and fingers spread, drawing a line as if to illuminate the word in the air. “Jake. Now there’s a name that really says dangerous. Intimidating. Cool.”

“I hate you,” Janus mumbled, tilting their head to press their temple against his in a fond little gesture that belied their words.

“Nah, you don’t.” Remus kissed his cheek. “Besides, sugar, if you don’t like it, all you gotta do is say so.” He drew Janus closer by the waist until they were pressed together, his tone turning to a teasing sing-song. “Just let us know you don’t like it. That you were pulling it out of your ass and that you think it’s silly. That you were wrong and you changed your mind.” He leaned closer so his breath fanned against their ear and lowered his voice to nearly a whisper. “Just say it. That’s all you gotta do.” He pulled away, putting on his best bright, innocent air. “Up to you, though! Pat and I clearly love it, so if you don’t say anything, we do have a unanimous winner.” He grinned at Janus.

“You are so mean,” Janus whined.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Remus asked innocently. “Don’t wanna admit you’re wrong?”

“I’m not,” Janus protested at once, “I just….”

“Yes?” Patton said sweetly. “You just what, honey?”

Janus let out a sigh. “You two are going to be the death of me, you know?”

“Why?” Remus inquired. “Because you like it when we make you squirm?”

Janus made a small strangled sound. “Oh, my god.”

“That definitely wasn’t a no, baby,” Remus purred.

Janus flushed pink once again. “I—you—let’s go look at the snakes.” They pulled free of Remus’s grasp and moved towards the door of the pet store.

“Damn. We really are those, like, super obnoxious people who just stand in the parking lot flirting for ten minutes,” Remus commented, putting his hands in the pockets of his green-blue-yellow colorblock jacket, as Janus disappeared into the store.

“Have we ever been anything else?” Patton pointed out in a practical tone. “Come on, now, sweetie, we’d better catch up before Jan buys out half the reptile section.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Remus retorted easily, but allowed Patton to tug him into the store by the hand in search of their other partner.

They found Janus in the reptile section, staring with wide eyes and a soft, open expression into one of the glass tanks. They had a tiny grin on their face as they watched the snake flick its tongue out, and after a second, the tip of their own tongue appeared in an answering blep to mirror the snake. Their expression was far less guarded—and far more happy—than they normally allowed it to be in public, and Remus was hit in the gut with an overpowering wave of remembering-just-how-gooshy-Jan-made-him emotions.

Patton cooed softly, phone at the ready in a flash; Remus leaned over, resting their chin on Patton’s shoulder, and adjusted the angle of the camera just slightly to one he knew Janus would like better. Patton clicked the shutter.

“I can see you, you know,” Janus commented quietly, eyes not leaving the snake.

“It’s not our fault you’re so pretty,” Remus responded, backed up by an emphatic nod from Patton. He moved over to stand at Janus’s side, sliding his hand possessively around their waist. “Is this Jake?” he inquired innocently.

“Oh my god,” Janus mumbled, rolling their eyes.

“What? I thought you liked that name,” Remus teased with his best evil grin. “You know, it being your idea, and you being so much better at coming up with names than us, and all.”

“You really aren’t going to let that one go, are you?” Janus sighed.

Remus put one finger under Janus’s chin and tilted their face towards himself. “Not unless you tell us exactly what you want, baby,” he breathed, letting his tone go dark.

Janus visibly swallowed, cheeks staining red. “I—” Their eyes flitted away from him, glancing around. “Remus, we’re in public.”

“Why, what did I do?” Remus asked sweetly, grinning.

“You know perfectly well what you did.”

Remus grinned wider. “Hell yeah I do,” they acknowledged. “C’mon, there’s no kids over here, I can be a little naughty.” However, having made their point, he did ease off the teasing, just for the moment. “Now, introduce me to our snakey pal here. Are we liking this one?”

Janus looked over Remus’s shoulder, and Patton was by their side at once. “I—I do like this one, I think,” Janus said, indicating the snake that had been engrossing them when Remus and Patton arrived. “But we can look around first, and talk about it.”

Patton dug in their pocket and produced the scrap of paper with the list of species they’d agreed upon as options, after several nights’ worth of internet research and heated discussion. They’d needed to find a pet that would do well in the apartment the three of them had just moved into—their first home together. It was one that would allow pets, which had been important to them, and choosing a snake as the inaugural pet of the family had been an easy decision for Remus and Patton after the way Janus lit up talking about it.

“Let’s take a look, shall we?” Patton said, unfolding the list.

While there were, frankly, a surprising number of snakes available for purchase—Remus counted at least ten—only two or three met the criteria that the three of them had put together.

“So?” Remus asked, looking at Janus expectantly when they had whittled down the options before them thus far. “What’s it gonna be, babe?”

Janus hesitated. “It’s going to be our snake. Not mine. We should all choose.”

“Yeah, but Pat and I have only been waiting for it for a few months. You’ve been waiting since you were eight. It’s important to all of us, but it’s most important to you.” Remus glanced at Patton. “Isn’t that right?”

Patton nodded. “I like all of the options, honey,” they told Janus. “I wanna know which one makes you most happy.”

Janus was silent, looking back and forth between two glass tanks and quietly stimming with their hands—rubbing their thumbs back and forth along all their other fingertips, a stim Remus recognized as one of their go-tos when thinking hard or overwhelmed. “I….” They bit their lip, looking beseechingly over at their partners, voice trailing off in what seemed like mild distress.

Remus put his arm around their waist again, drumming his fingers against their side. “Problem?” he asked, gently pushing Janus’s hair out of their face.

Janus hesitated. “I’m… stuck,” they said by way of explanation. They gestured vaguely towards their forehead. “Up here.”

Remus nodded and placed his free hand delicately on Janus’s chest, right over their heart, his fingertips barely pressing against the soft, clingy lace fabric of their long black dress. “How about here?” he asked.

Janus chewed on the inside of their mouth for a beat and shook his head. “Not stuck there.”

“Do you want to go home and come back later?” Patton asked.

Janus shook their head again, head bent and hair falling about their face as they stared into one of the snake tanks. “I know which one. I’m only second guessing myself.”

Remus wrapped both his hands around their slim waist. “Do you know what you need?” he said, the words coming easily to his tongue. He’d struck on that particular phrasing back in college; it helped when Janus was feeling stuck, usually due to either sensory overload or a disconnect between their feelings and rational thoughts. It was simple and, more importantly, it cut past the issue of explaining what the problem was, which could be hard for Janus to articulate.

Janus hesitated. “Not exactly.”

“Any ideas?” Remus prompted when they did not go on.

Janus rested one hand over Remus’s, still clasped about their side, and drummed their slim fingers on the back of his hand. “I… don’t know how I feel about the name ideas anymore,” they said slowly, as if trying to shape the thoughts in their head into words.

“Oh, that’s no problem, I was mostly just being silly,” Remus assured them at once, absently signing the word “silly” in ASL as he spoke—one of a handful of words he’d retained in his vocabulary since he spent a stint learning the language in middle school. He glanced over at Patton. “Right?”

Patton nodded. “Of course not, honey. We don’t need to pick a name right now. We can always work that out some other time.”

Janus let out a long breath. “Okay. That—that’s good. Yes.”

“Better?” Remus asked, feeling the way they had untensed against him.

Janus inclined their head once. “Less things in my head now.”

“That’s good,” Remus said. “Also,” he added, in a less serious tone, “can I just point out that I am being really good about how many times we are saying the word snake and how many dirty jokes I am not making, and you should both give me lots of attention about it?”

Janus let out a huff of laughter. “What exactly am I doing right now, pray tell?” he inquired, gesturing to where he and Remus were pressed together all down their side, and to Remus’s hand about their waist.

“Breathing, in that very sexy way you do,” Remus retorted at once with a grin.

Janus half smiled. “I’m flattered, darling.” They pressed their temple to Remus’s. “However, I was referring to the way we are practically cuddling in broad daylight. Is that not giving you attention?”

“True,” Remus agreed, giving Janus’s side an appreciative squeeze, “but you’re also giving some of your attention to these reptiles.” He gestured at the wall of tanks before them. “Let it be known that I am terribly jealous. And Pat is all the way over there, which is too far.” They pouted at Patton, standing all of twelve inches away from the pair of them.

“Yes, you’re being very good, sweetie,” Patton said, patting Remus on the cheek. “You get lots of kisses later.”

Remus beamed, catching Patton’s hand in their free hand. “Much better,” they said with a pleased chuckle, and looked back to Janus. “Are you ready to tell us which snake is coming home with us, baby?” He hooked his finger in one of Janus’s belt loops and ran his thumb back and forth along their side just above it.

Janus pursed their lips, clearly considering this. “Yes,” they said. “I really like this one.” He indicated a tank with a golden-brown, spotted snake inside; a corn snake, the same one they had been so interested in when Remus and Patton arrived.

Patton made an excited noise, and Janus’s face melted into a soft little grin at once. “I love that one!” Patton said. “That one is the best one.”

“Good.” Janus looked at Remus, the barest hint of nerves almost perfectly hidden in their face.

Remus leaned up and pecked their lips. “’S perfect, baby,” he said easily.

Janus relaxed the rest of the way, leaning into Remus’s touch and raising one hand to their mouth to cover the smile on their face. “Of course it is,” they said primly, reaching around Remus’s back to rest a hand on Patton’s shoulder. “It’s ours, after all.”

Taglist (ask to be added/removed!): @theimprobabledreamersworld

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dreamescapeswriting · 4 years

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The Stepmother ~ JJK [Request]

↬↬↬Word Count: 2.3K

↬↬↬Genre: Non Idol! Family man Jungkook, CEO jungkook, fluffy

↬↬↬Pairing: CEO!Jungkook x Fem!Reader

Jungkook was sitting in his home office saying goodnight to his kids, he was working late again so you were going to do the nice thing and put them to bed for him. He was always working late but thankfully he would come home from his office in the middle of Seoul to come and do his work, never wanting to be away from you and his kids for too long.

"Daddy do we have to go to sleep? We're not tired!" His daughter yelled throwing her arms up dramatically and twirling around. She was still dressed up in her ballet uniform, she'd put on a small show for you and Jungkook after dinner and insisted on wearing it for the rest of the night.

"You have school in the morning darling, your mum will be mad if we don't put you to bed." Jungkook was doing his best to make her see that going to bed was the right thing to do but she was grumbling about how she wanted him to put her to bed instead of you,

"Please Daddy we want you to put us to bed, not her." You looked down at the floor trying to ignore the feeling in the pit of your stomach, you tried not to take it to heart whenever her or her brother would say things like that. They were kids so they didn't know the meaning behind their words even if she did say ''her'' with a harsh tone.

"Come on sweetie, your dad needs to work." You whispered taking her out of the room and into the hallway of the giant home that you and Jungkook lived in - the joys of living with a CEO meant living in a huge house you would sometimes get lost in.

"You did great today, how was practice?" You were trying to make conversation with a six-year-old girl who had made it clear she didn't like you, you'd hoped over time they would grow used to you but it never really happened. You figured it was because their mum was Jungkook's ex-wife that they didn't like you for breaking up their home - which you didn't do. Jungkook and you had gotten together long after he and his ex-wife had broken up and filed for divorce but you didn't blame the kids for blaming you. You had been the same when your father remarried, you didn't like the new girl either but you would do anything to make sure the kids were happy.

"Do you guys want me to read a story?" You questioned as they walked with you towards their bedroom door. Even though the house had more bedrooms than you did shoes Jungkook allowed them to share one room for now since they were still young. Inside there was a huge set of bunk beds with bedsheets in different colours. Each of them had their own side of the room which they had decorated themselves with Jungkook one weekend - it was a long weekend full of paint fights and laughter the house had never been so loud before. Somedays the relationship you had with the kids would be better than others. If you and Jungkook had them for a week they would warm up to you eventually, only to go home to their mum and come back as totally different kids. Yelling at you or spitting abuse in your direction but Jungkook would never do anything about it - mostly because he'd never really taken notice of it before. He was a busy man. You tried not to take it to heart whenever they would come back as different kids who hated your guts but it was hard especially when you and Jungkook had been planning your future together, you didn't feel comfortable being in their future if they didn't like you.

"Can you read us the one about the princess and the ugly step-mother!?" Jungkook's son called out as he rushed into his room and over to the step ladders that got him into the top bunk, he had been the one that was nice to you first. He was a dead ringer for Jungkook as well, he had those same doe-like eyes that made you weak, honestly, the kid could get away with anything if he flashed his eyes around.

"Sure! Do you want the long or short version?" You teased knowing they would always opt for the longer one because it meant that they could stay up later than they shoulder,

"We should get the shorter one, mum is always annoyed whenever we tell her we get the longer version," You looked at his daughter who was packing her bag for school tomorrow and then climbing into her bed. She was mature for someone of her age, you smiled softly at her hoping she would smile back but she got into bed and turned away from you.

"Short one it is then," You whispered sitting down on a chair next to the bed to start telling them the story of Cinderella, you had it memorised in your brain from all of the times you'd heard it as a kid along with all the times you'd read it to both of them.

"Y/n? You won't be like the stepmother in the book will you?" You looked up at the top bunk to see Jungkook's son staring at you through the bars, you glanced at his daughter who looked quite scared as he asked that question.

"Of course not, why would you think that?" Neither of them spoke after that, they just turned around to listen to the rest of the story you were about to tell them but the question lingered in your mind.

"Do you think they'll ever like me?" Your question came out more nervous than you had intended, Jungkook was sitting in the bed with a report trying to finalise it before he went to sleep.

"They love you-" He could tell by the look on your face that you weren't about to buy into that same lie, he sighed placing down the folder and holding out his arms for you. Sighing you crawled into the bed beside him and let him wrap his arms around your shoulder,

"Y/n we've been over this. They just need time to warm up to you." Had he not realised it had almost been two years and they still didn't like you.

"Your daughter hates me Kookie," You whispered turning to face the front of the room instead of looking at him.

"She doesn't hate you she...She's stubborn like her mum." He pulled you closer to his body promising you that he would resolve all of this somehow,

"Are you still dropping them off tomorrow morning with me? I hate the way the other mums look at me." You shuddered at the thought. They all looked at you like you were a home-wrecker. They'd all been friends with Jungkook's wife for years so it wasn't hard to see why they didn't like you but you would have thought they'd be more welcoming to someone who was looking after their friend's kids.

"Yeah, I have to speak to their teachers about something so it's a good thing. Will you get some rest? I have to finish this report first." You nodded your head leaning your head back to kiss him, he left a gentle kiss on your lips before you rolled over to sleep.

Breakfast that morning had been painfully quiet, the kids were keeping their heads down and barely speaking a word to either you or Jungkook.

"Look who's here," You heard someone snigger as you got out of the black SUV that Jungkook had insisted you drove to school in for the day. The usual gaggle of mums were all standing by the gates talking to one another while having their morning coffee's, you looked away from them not wanting to stare while they spoke about you.

"Driving his car now? Does he pay you to look after his kids?!" One of the bolder mothers asked smirking until Jungkook got out of the back seat carrying his son on his hip with his daughter holding his hand. He saw the look on your face and he knew what was happening with them,

"You coming with me?" He questioned reaching you and leaving a kiss on your cheek.

"No, I-I'll stay here with the car. You should speak to the teacher alone." You whispered not having the guts to walk past the mums who would no doubt have something worse to say, they were all dressed in posh outfits while you were in workout leggings and a hoodie - you saw no reason to dress up for just dropping the kids off. It wasn't a fashion show.

"I'll be out as soon as I can." He whispered kissing you on the lips and walking with his kids further into the playground, ignoring the flirty comments he got from mums as he walked by them. It was always the same but who wouldn't want to flirt with Jungkook, he was gorgeous.

"How do you sleep at night?" A voice came out from behind you and you knew it too well turning around to see Jungkook's ex-wife standing there, her hands on her hips as she tapped her heeled foot on the ground.

"Excuse me?" You were polite every time you spoke with her not wanting to cause any unwanted fueds between you both.

"How do you sleep at night? Knowing that you ruined my happy marriage?" You had no idea where any of this was coming from, but she began crying hysterically in front of everyone and you took a step back when the same gaggle of mothers rushed to her aid.

"Sleeping with a married man was one thing but then acting like the kids are you own! It's despicable." One of the mothers spat at you, so that was why they didn't like you? She'd told them you'd been sleeping with Jungkook when they were together which was far from the reason why they broke up.

"I didn't-"

"Go on! Deny it! This is why the kids will never! Like you." She yelled the crocodile tears disappearing as she launched herself towards you screaming about how she was always going to turn the kids on you. What both of you had failed to realise was Jungkook coming back towards the car, she had no idea he'd even been in the school.

"What are you talking about?" You asked as you stared at her,

"You think those little brats want to hate you?! I remind them every day not to be nice to you, telling them to ignore you and do the opposite because I know Jungkook will NEVER marry you if the kids hate you." She had a giant smirk plastered across her face as she admitted to all of this right in front of you, she knew all too well that you would never repeat a word of it back to Jungkook. You were far too nice for that but luckily for you, you wouldn't have to.

"Did I hear that correctly?" Jungkook came out from behind the gates where he had been hiding himself to hear the full story.

"You're turning our kids against the woman I love?" She began stumbling over her words while turning the waterworks back on. The other mothers were still cradling her body as if she was someone that needed to be protected,

"If you hadn't slept with another woman maybe this wouldn't have happened!" A blonde screeched but Jungkook pushed his hands into his suit pockets laughing softly,

"Is that what she told you happened? Shall we tell them the real reason we're divorced?" Jungkook pulled one of his hands from his pocket and stretched his hand out for you to take, you gladly did falling into his side and relaxing a little now that he was by your side. The other mothers began leaning away from his ex frowning at what he was saying.

"Should we mention the money you were keeping from me? The men you were seeing behind my back or should we mention the constant need to party almost every weekend which was why I was granted almost full custody." Jungkook had finally had enough of her treating you the way she did and now that she'd brought the kids into the battle he wasn't about to let her get away with everything he'd been doing.

"No...No Jungkook I was just-"

"You were just leaving. You'll hear from the lawyer in a couple of weeks, don't think for one second I won't file for full custody," He hissed at her pulling you in the direction of the SUV and helping you inside. The gaggle of mothers all left her standing there alone as she came to terms with what the lying she'd been doing had gotten her into.

"You can't take them away from me-"

"Yes I can and I will." He told her as he got into the car and started up the engine, leaving her there in the street while he drove off with you by his side.

"You alright?" He chuckled, you'd been the one to get insulted and yet you were the one asking if he was alright,

"I'm fine. How are you?" You shrugged your shoulders, none of their comments had ever really bothered you but at least you got to the bottom of why the kids hadn't taken too kindly to you.

"I'll talk to them later, but for now I have the rest of the day off...What do you want to do?" He chuckled leaning across when he got to a red light so that he could kiss you.

Tagline:

@writingdreamsnottragedies @snowy-meowl @jooniesdarlingdimples @lynnthevirgo @lyoongx @mitzwinchester @fan-ati--c @rjsmochii @callingmyangel @kneel-begyourpardon @taestannie @innersooya

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jimlingss · 4 years

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Sugar and Coffee [21]

Chapter 20 - Chapter 21 - Chapter 21.5 OR Chapter 22

➜ Words: 4.5k

➜ Genres: 99.5% Fluff, 0.5% Angst, Pâtisserie school!AU

➜ Summary: It isn't hard to be a pâtisserie chef, but it's not a piece of cake either. It seems like for you in particular, life keeps throwing in one wrench after another. It always finds ways to make your sweets bitter. The cherry on top is Jeon Jungkook — a rival with a sensitive sweet tooth who always finds ways to complain about you.

cr.

Baking is a mastery. It’s an ability that needs to be practiced and refined. It requires discipline and patience, especially when things go wrong. It’s problem solving and creative with never one right answer. It’s practically magic in a silver bowl, a whisk, and an oven. And Jungkook is the best wizard in this kitchen. He preheats the oven to three hundred and seventy five degrees fahrenheit. Then he cuts parchment paper to line a baking sheet and moves to brush the ramekins with melted butter. Jungkook adds the tablespoon of white sugar and rotates the ramekins until the surfaces are coated in it. Five ounces of seventy percent dark chocolate is put into a bowl with two ounces of semisweet chocolate and he melts it over a saucepan with hot water on low heat. Afterwards, he adds the egg yolks until the mixture stiffens. Jungkook wipes his sweat before he mixes in the tablespoon of flour and butter, reducing the heat to low and adding in some cold milk. It’s thickened after three minutes and he adds salt, a pinch of cayenne pepper as a secret ingredient, and mixes. The bowl is left over hot water while he whips egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar, adding sugar after a bit to create glossy, soft peaks. Jungkook transfers the egg whites into the soufflé base, folding it in gently one third at a time and then he divides the mixture to bake for a full fifteen minutes. What he’s left with at the end is the best chocolate soufflé on the planet. “What do you think?” “It’s really good.” Aeri politely smiles and you roll your eyes. “You don’t need to feed his ego. He’s been raving about it for days now.” “And you’ve eaten at least ten of them.” Jungkook grins and you mutter incoherently, unable to really protest against the claim that’s all too true. The soufflé is puffed and crusty on top, but still gooey and jiggly in the center. It’s risen to its maximum height without collapsing whatsoever, uniform all around. And the texture is cloud-like, soft with the chocolate taste melting on the palate. It took two weeks to perfect — but the outcome made the effort all worth it. “I call it the ultimate soufflé.” Your brows raise. “The ultimate? Not Jungkook’s ultimate?” “Nope. The ultimate.” He smirks and leans into you. “Want another one?” You hope he doesn’t know that it takes a lot of strength for you to reject. Jungkook’s good at baking. That much is clear. You’re not sure if he’s as good as you are of course, but anything that has to do with chocolate practically has his name on it. His chocolate soufflé is no exception. It’s fucking delicious. Enough that even Yoongi asks for seconds and Taehyung almost starts to cry. But you don’t want to admit just how good it is since his ego’s been boundless these past few days. “How does it feel to be in a relationship with the best chocolatier on Earth?” he pipes up suddenly when you haven’t even said a single word for the past five minutes. And when you tell Jungkook he’s not a chocolatier yet, he laughs and tells you he will be soon while condescendingly patting your head like you’re his pet. As if that wasn’t enough, he interrupts snuggling time by rolling over with a pompous look on his face. “I’m just so happy right now.” “Why?” You’re expecting a corny answer along the lines of — ‘because you’re here’. But instead Jungkook sighs dreamily and says, “I really nailed that soufflé, didn’t I?” It’s annoying. You’re just trying to live your life peacefully but in every shape, way, or form, no matter the context, he just has to bring up that goddamn soufflé like it’s his child he’s so proud of. It’s not like you aren’t happy for your boyfriend — frankly, you wouldn’t mind if he bragged or boasted about it to others. But he’s been constantly chirping about it in your ear. And any complaints from you would just warrant his grins and questions of if you’re jealous of his skills. “I don’t know what to add to my portfolio,” you mention passingly one afternoon after much contemplation. Your boyfriend hums. “You need something with chocolate, right?” “Yeah.” “Well, you could make my soufflé. I’m sure it would help with your grade a lot, but—,” Jungkook draws out the syllable with another sly smirk, “my recipe’s a secret. Sorry, babe. Wish I could help.” In spite of your inner exhaustion and vexation, for the sake of being a good girlfriend, you simply nod and let him have his moment. Even if Jeon Jungkook was being unbearably arrogant and reminding you of why you hated him about a year ago, he was clearly happy with the recipe he worked so hard on and you didn’t want to step on that. He deserves some personal limelight, so you let him have it. But luckily, you don’t have to bear the weight of his smug ass by yourself for long. “Yuna!” Your arm waves over your head. The high schooler smiles, rolling her luggage behind her and meeting with you halfway. Immediately, you engulf her in your arms even when she grumbles and resists. “How was the trip here? You’re not hungry, are you?” “God, you’re like my mom,” she huffs. “It was fine. Hey, Jungkook.” Yuna shifts and smiles warmly at your boyfriend who nods, greeting her as well. “Hey.” “So this is the school you go to?” You grin. “Sure is!” The last time you were with Yuna, she expressed interest in the professional baking and pastry arts program. You didn’t expect that she would actually come visit during the week-long break for a tour but it was a surprise you welcomed. You hope you can take her interest and curiosity and inspire her. “Namjoon and Sejeong packed some cookies for you. They told me to say...thanks….for showing me around when you’re busy and stuff.” “It’s not a problem. I’m happy to.” You smile. “Tell them I said thanks too.” “Taehyung’s joining us,” Jungkook reads off his phone and then pockets it. “Apparently, he’s bored.” You shrug. “Fine by me.” “Who’s Taehyung?” Yuna asks. “Just a friend of ours,” you say to ease her obvious worries of the stranger. The three of you wait a few minutes, getting caught up with one another as Yuna talks about what her last classes were about. But soon after, the tall brunette is strolling over with his hands buried in his white hoodie pockets. His hair is disheveled like he just rolled out of bed and you don’t think that’s too far from the truth. “Jimin ditched me to go on some date with the chick from his classic desserts class,” he whines when he gets in ear-shot distance. “I thought I was going to die of boredom.” “Tough life,” you scoff and don’t notice Yuna who’s frozen next to you. Her eyes are wide on the stranger, gaze sweeping up and down at him. She swallows hard before stepping forward and making herself known. “H-Hi. My name is Kim Yuna.” “Oh yeah.” Taehyung grins easily. “They told me about you.” “Did they? I’m glad.” She giggles and tucks her hair behind her ear. You exchange expressions with Jungkook. This was an awfully familiar situation. “I’m Namjoon’s niece, their boss during their internship.” “I’m Kim Taehyung.” They shake hands and Yuna goes in for the kill without hesitation— “Does your girlfriend know you’re here?” Taehyung is flustered, taken aback by the blunt question. “I….don’t have a girlfriend.” “Great.” Yuna answers swiftly with a big smile. You have to admit, she’s bold. The girl has some guts even you don’t have. And you’ve never witnessed Taehyung this perplexed either. It’s hard to catch someone as spontaneous as him off guard. “How old are you?” Taehyung frowns, an apprehensive expression etched on his features like you’re telling him to touch a gooey substance in the corner of some dirty bathroom stall. “I turned eighteen in May,” she declares bluntly. But Taehyung looks unconvinced despite his slow nod. “That’s barely legal,” he mutters and only you and Jungkook catch it. It’s hard to hold back laughter, but you try your best and interrupt— “Should we start the tour?” You show her around campus, walking through the corridors, directing her where the lecture halls are and what classes are where. You tell her what it was like for first years and you show her the dormitories, the lockers, the dining hall, and the kitchen area. All in the meanwhile, Taehyung sticks to Jungkook’s side like gum. It’s obvious that he’s intimidated by the petite high schooler and it’s an amusing sight. But Yuna is a go-getter and somehow manages to get Taehyung beside her to answer her numerous questions. You and Jungkook fall back, no longer showing her the way and you’re reduced to watching their backsides. “You know what I want to eat right now?” Jungkook turns to you, mumbling, “My soufflé.” Here we go again…. You internally sigh, but maintain a stiff smile. “Uh-huh.” “I should make it for Yuna. She’d be blown away.” “What?” The younger girl twirls around at the mention of her name. Jungkook grins at her. “You like soufflé? I make the best chocolate soufflé here.” Yuna blinks, too innocent to know better. “Really?” “Your soufflé isn’t even that good.” It’s a lie. “I bet I could do it better.” That’s an even bigger lie, but you can’t stop it once it’s spewed out of your mouth. It goes silent. Jungkook stops walking. Taehyung turns around. “You think you can make a better chocolate soufflé than me?” Your boyfriend’s eyes narrow, taking personal offence. You shrug — it’s too late to back down now. “Why not? Can’t be that hard.” Jungkook scoffs with a stupidly smug expression, calling your bluff. “You can barely temper chocolate.” “You underestimate me, Jeon,” you bite back and his lips curl. “Fine. Let’s see then.” // It was a mistake — something said on impulse, after days of irritation bubbling in the pit of your stomach. It came tumbling out before you could know better, before you could think twice about the consequences, but now you’re standing in the kitchen at an impromptu competition. “Welcome to the annual Jeon and L/N competition, everyone!” “This isn’t annual,” you mutter at Taehyung’s unnecessary extravagance. He corrects himself— “Welcome to the first annual Jeon and L/N competition, everyone!” The word spread like wildfire, but luckily kept only in the group chat. The last thing you needed were acquaintances, classmates, and teachers coming to watch. The guys were noisy enough. And it’s a testament proven with Yoongi coming over, Hoseok sprinting to get here, and Jimin calling to tell everyone to wait for his date to be over. All of it was enough pressure you could handle at the moment. But even Aeri had caught wind of what was going on and decided to come by. It’s clear that there’s still tension between her and Hoseok. You don’t miss the strained expressions they exchange with one another before taking seats on the opposite ends, but you’re glad that they can at least be in the same room as one another. It’s an improvement. A sign of moving on. Yet you don’t dwell on them — not when you have bigger fish to fry at the moment. “Over here we have Y/N who believes she can make a better chocolate soufflé than Jungkook, an aspiring chocolatier who literally took weeks and weeks to perfect this recipe of his to make it the ultimate soufflé—” “Alright, that’s enough,” you cut off Taehyung, the self-designated commentator, before you start actually sweating. Jungkook is competitive. Everyone and their mother knows that. And that fact alone makes you nervous. He might just throw you entirely under the bus and burn your relationship to the ground for the sake of winning. You’re worried — but you don’t show it. You can’t. If he knows you’re fearful, he’ll have the upper hand. So you feign indifference. After all, if there was one similarity between you and Jungkook, it was that you weren’t going to back down without a fight either. You were born a winner and it was going to stay that way. “And to make it more fair and maximize the amount of desserts we get to eat, over here we have Jeon Jungkook who will be making éclair. A pastry made with choux dough filled with cream and topped with chocolate icing. It is a specialty perfected by Y/N, an aspiring pâtisserie chef who dreams of running her own wedding cake catering services someday.” “Two very different dishes that the opposing member has a speciality in.” Taehyung continues to narrate and nods his head, inadvertently making Yuna giggle, “Who can make it better? You’ll be the judge of that.” It’s ridiculous, but you’re not going to cave in or surrender. Not when Jungkook’s ego was insurmountable and you’d never hear the end of it if you gave up. An hour and a half is put on the clock. Your counters parallel to one another while your friends are gathered at the other, ready to watch, eat their snacks and hang around. You momentarily wonder why you never have the privilege of relaxing like them. But you don’t think about it for too long. The moment Taehyung starts the time, you begin. You preheat the oven and begin buttering the ramekins. “How do you feel, Y/N?” Suddenly a whisk is thrusted in your face, almost puncturing your cheek. It’s a makeshift microphone that you push aside. “Fine.” “What are you doing now?” “What does it look like?” You push Taehyung aside, grabbing sugar to coat the dish. “Well alright then.” He laughs and slinks over to Jungkook’s side who’s humming underneath his breath. He’s much too casual as he finishes greasing a cookie sheet and moves to combine butter and water in a saucepan. “How about you, Jungkook?” “Never been better.” The side of his lip is curled. Jungkook’s black long sleeve is pushed up to his elbows to reveal his forearms, and one peek at him is enough to feel your blood boil. It’s obvious that he doesn’t see you as a threat whatsoever. “You think you’re going to win?” “Unfortunately, I do.” Jungkook plays along with Taehyung’s antics, head so far up in the clouds. “Why unfortunately?” “Well, it’s not everyday I want to crush my girlfriend, but sometimes I just have to.” Jungkook twists to you. “Sorry, babe.” You ignore him, too busy glancing at the label and dumping the chocolate into a small bowl with butter. In the meanwhile, Yoongi chews on his chips and scrutinizes. “Are you sure that’s the right kind?” “Fuck off, Yoongi.” It’s not like you haven’t done this before — you’re just not sure if yours can ever beat Jungkook’s. You whisk in the six egg yolks and add a pinch of sea salt until the melted mixture thickens. At the same time, Jungkook is singing under his breath, forming his pastry dough and piping it out onto his baking sheet. You don’t know how he works so fast, but you concentrate harder, ignoring Jimin asking Yuna if she likes the place so far, disregarding Yoongi’s snarky comments and Hoseok’s music that he turns on as background noise. Once you place egg whites and half a teaspoon of cream of tartar in the electric mixer to beat, you’re finally able to take a moment of relief. Jungkook is also at his mixer beating his heavy cream for the filing. “Nervous, babe?” You scoff at him. “As if.” “Alright then.” Jungkook smirks, almost as if he finds your snobbery endearing. You hate how he can see right through you, but you still maintain the facade anyhow. At this moment, he was your rival first and your boyfriend second. “It smells so good.” Yuna inhales. Aeri smiles at her. “That would be Jungkook's choux pastry in the oven.” “Who do you think is going to win?” Taehyung suddenly asks the high schooler, thrusting the whisk in front of her. She smiles gingerly. “I don’t know. Who do you think will win?” Taehyung hums and ignores the protest of his friend when he says— “I’ll put my money on Y/N.” “Want to bet on it then?” Yuna asks, lashes batting back and forth. “Loser takes the other person to dinner.” “What about you, Chim?” Taehyung immediately diverts his vision, pretending that he doesn’t hear her deal. He even disregards Aeri and Hoseok’s stunned expressions of Yuna’s forwardness. “Who do you think?” You add the sugar carefully, one tablespoon at a time until the egg whites hold glossy, stiff peaks. Then you’re gently folding the egg whites into your soufflé base until it’s a light and fluffy mixture ready to be put into the ramekins. But you know it’s too basic. It would never beat Jungkook’s. So in the midst of your inner hysteria, you sprinkle in a teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg. Yoongi, the only person who’s actually watching, quirks his brow but doesn’t say anything. The soufflés are popped into the oven and by then, Jungkook is still working. He’s letting his pastries cool on a rack, his filling already in a piping bag, and he’s busy making the icing. “How do you feel now, Y/N?” “The same.” You shrug. “I know I’m going to win, so…” Your boyfriend lifts his chin, a small smirk gracing his lips. “We’ll see about that.” “You aren’t intimidated whatsoever?” Taehyung asks. “I mean Jungkook’s soufflé was fucking deli—cious. It was like gooey on the inside and so soft, but really crispy on the outside and very, very chocolatey. It felt like an explosion of flavour—” “Alright.” You shut him up and move over to steal Yoongi’s bag of chips, much to his dismay. In the few minutes that you finally get to sit down and rest, you observe Jungkook. In spite of his arrogance, he’s working quite hard. You’re impressed he agreed to make éclairs in just an hour and a half since it usually takes two. But Jungkook works quickly, efficiently, and your eyes can’t help lingering on his exposed forearms, the furrow of his brows, the tip of his tongue peeking out of his pink lips. God. As competitive as you are, a part of you doesn’t even care who wins — you already feel like a winner. The beeping of your oven breaks you out of your daydream. “You should wipe off your saliva,” Yoongi mutters out of the corner of his mouth, knowing full well that you were ogling Jungkook in silence. You glare at the dark-haired man, a silent threat not to say anything lest it becomes clear you have other priorities other than winning. You take your soufflés out of the oven, breathing a sigh of relief when you see them. They all rose. A few with them have cracks and they’re not uniform whatsoever, but it’s more than you hoped for. The aroma of chocolate fills the room, making Yuna antsy in her seat. You begin dusting the top with powdered sugar. “Two minutes left, chefs,” Hoseok warns with a grin, peeking over at Taehyung’s timer. Jungkook is long finished piping his éclairs, already drizzled the chocolate icing over top of it and allowing them to set in the fridge. You step back from your counter as well. “I’m done.” “Same here.” “Finally!” Yuna is cheering. “Can we taste them now?” You’re the first to go since the soufflés are still piping hot. It’s six servings with Yuna receiving the first one since she’s the guest of honour. Then the rest are passed to Taehyung, Yoongi, Jimin, Hoseok, Aeri. They dig in without hesitation and you watch with your breath hitched. “It’s really good,” Hoseok says, chewing in his cheek. “I like it a lot.” Aeri smiles. “You did a good job, Y/N.” “Thanks.” Even if you don’t win, you feel great at your attempt. Yuna hisses when it burns her tongue and she hums after letting it cool. There doesn’t seem to be any complaints from anyone. “The top can be crustier. It’s baked well through though,” Yoongi notes pompously after sniffing his spoonful for the past minute to take in the scent. “Not half bad.” “But is it better than Jungkook’s?” Taehyung asks. It’s silent. No one can give a blatant answer. Jungkook is appalled that they even need to think about it. “Give me that.” He grabs Jimin’s and takes a spoonful. Jungkook bites, chews, and his brows furrow. “What...is that? There's something in there that’s weird. Like the aftertaste is off.” In hindsight, cinnamon and nutmeg probably wasn’t the best idea. But you don’t say anything and you plop your hand on Yoongi’s shoulder as an implicit warning not to speak about it. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” It’s your turn to take a taste and the moment it hits your tongue, you know the outcome. It’s miles and miles away from Jungkook’s standards. Your soufflé is good, but not crying-worthy. It doesn’t bring tears to your eyes and make you remember your mother’s home cooking, how you gathered around the table for dessert during warm holidays. The situation only gets shittier when you take a taste of Jungkook’s éclair. The custard is tangy and smooth, pastry crispy and buttery, chocolate icing sweet at all the right places. And all you can think is — what. the. fuck. This guy had to have a cheat code for life. There’s no way he can be so good at everything he does. It’s impossible. It’s unbelievable. It’s unfair. “What do you think?” Jungkook stares at you in particular, trying to gauge your reaction. You swallow hard, managing a half-hearted shrug. “It’s decent.” It’s clear with his smile he can see you’re trying to hide your true feelings. “Want me to save you seconds?” “I’m fine.” You wave your hand at him, despite your heart saying otherwise. It causes Jungkook to chuckle, but he doesn’t push to spare your pride. It’s hard to tell if his éclair is better than yours — but the mere fact that Jungkook hadn’t even had time to perfect his recipe or practice yet made it this good has your knees weak. You’re glad you don’t have him as your competition on a daily basis anymore. “This is pretty good,” Yuna admits, licking off her fingers. Yoongi seems to be enjoying it as well, eating quietly as he studies it. Hoseok is making noises at the back of his throat and Taehyung nods in approval. “Have you only made this once before?” Jimin asks. “Once or twice. Can’t remember.” Jungkook grins and that’s even more impressive. You’re conflicted of being proud of having such a talented boyfriend and being spiteful of him as a rival. Eventually, Taehyung dismisses the two of you for the rest of them to ‘deliberate’ and judge. You step out into the hallway and Jungkook throws his arm over your shoulder, pulling you close. “Don’t be too sad when you lose, babe. I’ll comfort you with my golden trophy.” “There is no trophy.” “Hmmm, how about a kiss then?” His nose bumps against you, smiling wide. You feign a pout. “I’ll think about it.” “Alright, love birds.” Taehyung pokes his head out of the door in less than two minutes. “We’ve made our decision.” You gather back together again. All of them are pretending to be very experienced pâtisserie chefs with decades of experience. It’s both an amusing and lame sight — but you don’t comment in case they decide to deduct your points and Jimin grins, reading off the paper he has in front of him. “Y/N, your chocolate soufflé was very moist and delectable. It had the perfect amount of sweetness. We found your techniques to be very competent and proficient. The presentation was great. The texture was very soft and the flavour was very deep. The aftertaste, on the other hand, was unique and different. It caused many to continue tasting to pinpoint what it was. You obviously accomplished what you set out to do and you made a very tasty dessert.” Jimin clears his throat. “And Jungkook, your éclair was alright.” “Y/N wins,” Yuna announces with giddy laughter, arms in the air. “Wait.” Jungkook frowns. “What?” “Me?” You point to yourself, starting to laugh. “I won!” “It was a consensus,” Taehyung spits in the midst of giggles. “This is obviously rigged!” Jungkook protests loudly. “Don’t be a sore loser.” Hoseok shouts and the rest ignore his outcry. Yoongi nods in approval. “Congratulations, Y/N.” You put your hand over your heart. “Thank you.” You didn’t plan this — maybe they were sick of Jungkook’s ego too or maybe they just thought it would be hilarious to see his reaction, but whatever the case may be, you’re glad that they have your back. You lean over to your boyfriend, giving a brief peck on his pouting lips. “This is so rigged,” he mutters, less upset after your kiss. You smile at him and quirk your head to the side. “Life’s rigged, sweetheart. But tell me, how does it feel to be in a relationship with the best chocolatier on Earth?” Jungkook scoffs, a grin spreads into his face. // Informal baking competitions are all fun and games, but it’s not so much at the end when there’s a mountain of dishes to wash in the sink and a whole kitchen to clean. The others have long left after satisfying their sweet tooths, so you and Jungkook have been hard at work yet again. But in the midst of wiping down the counters, your eyes stray to Jungkook’s pastries. He’s stepped out for a moment, so you take the opportunity swiftly by its throat. You lurch across the floor and grab an éclair to eat. But as you’re stuffing your face as fast as you can while relishing in the deliciousness, you don’t notice the man creeping up on you. “Having those seconds, huh?” You’re scared shitless, jolting, and you whirl around to see Jungkook with his shit eating grin that just screams ‘I knew it’. You’ve been caught in the act. There’s no denying it now. All you can do is swallow your mouthful. “So you liked it that much? You should’ve just admitted it from the start, Y/N. You know I can read you like an open book—” You grab Jungkook by the back of his neck and pull him in for a smothering kiss, just to shut him up. It’s a slow kiss, one where he cleans the cream off your lips and tastes the sugar on your tongue. It’s ambiguous who the real winner is. When you pull apart, you know you both feel like it. “Happy?” Jungkook laughs, nose scrunched and eyes crinkled. “Very.”

#bts fanfic #bts scenario #jungkook fanfic #jungkook scenario #jungkook fluff #jungkook series #MORE FLUFF INCOMING

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yuta-nakamots · 4 years

Text

santa tell me - l.yy

Pairing - Yangyang x Reader

Genre - Fluff, Angst

Warnings - None

Summary - Growing up, your wishes to Santa were always things like a doll set, a pretty outfit, or a Nintendo gaming system. You didn’t know if he would answer to a wish that was not tangible, like wishing for a person, but it didn’t hurt to try.

Word Count - 4.2k

Taglist - @danishmiilk @dearyongs

A/N - bolded phrases are song lyrics taken from the songs listed in the prompts. special appearance by @orange-nimon-cross.

Written for the Walking In A Winter Wonderland Collab hosted by @suh-insane and @neocitybynight.

Prompts:

“Come and kiss me baby, we don’t need no mistletoe” - Ariana Grande (Wit it This Christmas)

“Santa tell me if you’re really there. Don’t make me fall in love again if he won’t be here next year.” - Ariana Grande (Santa Tell Me)

When you had first started off in university, one of your biggest worries was not being able to make new friends and fit in with them. Granted, you chose to stay home and go to one of your local schools meaning that some of your high school friends would still be with you but you also wanted to meet new people so you’re not stuck with the same idiots for the rest of your life.

Such idiots being Na Jaemin and Lee Jeno who had stuck with you all through high school. Both of them had told you that they too would be staying at home and would be going to school with you, which you were secretly extremely thankful for, though you knew they too were probably itching to make new friends.

Luckily, you three were all majoring in the STEM field so many of your classes coincided with each other. You stuck with Jaemin as biology majors on the pre-med track while Jeno majored in engineering. Somehow, Jeno, one of the most quiet and intimidating people at first glance, had managed to connect with the other freshmen, introducing you to Yangyang and Renjun, both of whom he met in his calculus class.

Yangyang was majoring in bioengineering, a quite daunting major to say the least, while Renjun was going into computer science. Much to your surprise, Yangyang was actually local. It's just that he had gone to one of your rival high schools which was why you hadn’t yet met him unlike Renjun who actually flew in from a different city.

Like this, your little friend group was complete for your first year of college. With all of you being in the STEM fields, group study sessions were a must, especially for Renjun who felt the need to be over prepared for every quiz or exam though he claimed that the rest of you were just ‘underprepared’.

“So who can tell me what the values of N(0) and N(9) are?” Renjun asked, standing in front of the whiteboard in the study room you all booked to prepare for your calculus exam the next day.

Everyone was silent as they analyzed the problem. “Oh, N(0) is 41 and N(9) is 325, right?” Yangyang answered.

“Correct, they’re simply the values given to us in the problem,” Renjun explained as he wrote the numbers on the board, “and so from here, what do we do if we want to find the unknown relative growth rate?”

“Is that the equation with all the letters and stuff?” Jaemin chimed in. “You know, the one with all the P and the t and the-”

“The exponential growth equation.” Jeno interrupted, playfully rolling his eyes at Jaemin who proceeded to throw his eraser at the former.

“Hey, we’re here to study, not for us to babysit you two,” Renjun scolded, “anyway, which values will we be plugging in?”

“9 for the t, 325 for the P(9), and 41 for P(0),” you stated, pretty much unphased by the antics of your friends, “then you divide the 325 by 41 and multiply both sides by the natural log to get rid of the e.”

“Very good-”

“Wait slow down-”

“I don’t get it-”

Renjun, Jeno, and Jaemin all spoke at the same time, shooting each other looks as they fought to decide who should speak though Yangyang beat them all to it. “We’re trying to find the growth rate which is why we divide the final value by the starting value, it’s like finding the rate of change, you know?”

“God, at least I know three of us won’t fail the test,” Renjun muttered.

“Hey,” Jeno complained, “I understand it, I just need more time to write it all down, don’t be so mean.”

“Yeah okay, whatever, let’s just finish up this problem already because I’m hungry and I swear, if we don’t end before the cafeteria closes-”

“Multiply both sides by 1 over 9 to isolate the k constant and from there plug it into a calculator and solve to get the unknown relative growth rate,” you commented, your own stomach growling the tiniest bit at the mention of food.

“Oh my baby is so smart! I’m so proud of you,” Jaemin exclaimed as he reached over to try to squish your cheeks though you were quickly pulled out of his reach as someone moved your chair, “hey! Don’t take my baby away from me.”

“She’s not a baby, she’s already 18,” Yangyang reasoned.

A loud sigh came from the front of the room, effectively interrupting all conversation. “Jaemin, can you at least try to put in some effort?” Renjun whined.

“I did! Look, the k constant is equal to 0.23003 and I have everything written down here,” Jaemin defended, sliding his paper closer to Renjun who was struggling to see it from a distance.

Renjun made a noise of both content and confusion, “then why did you say that you didn’t get it?”

Jaemin shook his head, “oh no no no, I didn’t say that I didn’t get it, I was going to say that I don’t get how our y/n is so smart already. She’s going to be such a good doctor!”

“That’s your goal bro, not her’s.” Yangyang interjected.

There was a loud sound of a book shutting and everyone looked over at Jeno who was packing up his stuff. “What?” He questioned, when he noticed everyone's eyes on him. “Aren’t we going to get dinner?”

The rest of you started following suit after doing one last check that everyone was good on all of the material for the test tomorrow. “What score do you think you’ll get on the exam?” Yangyang asked as the group of you headed over to the cafeteria.

You let out a hum as you thought to yourself. “Maybe like an 85 or something around there.”

“Nah, I’m pretty sure you’ll hit at least a 90, or even a 90 exactly,” he responded with a cheeky giggle.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Because I’m the 10 that you need.”

Sure enough, you scored 90 points on the exam, prompting Yangyang to excitedly treat you for lunch that following weekend. One small date became two and eventually three which was when he asked you to be his girlfriend.

When you told the rest of the guys that the two of you were together, Jaemin let out a whoop before turning to the others, “you both owe me twenty.”

You raised an eyebrow at them, asking for an explanation. “We made a bet on when Yangyang would finally get the guts to ask you out. Turns out it was a lot faster than we thought,” Renjun explained dryly as he opened his wallet to hand Jaemin the bill.

The rest of your first year in college went by in the blink of an eye jumping from spending Christmas with Yangyang, Jeno, and Jaemin, to submitting your registrations for the next school year, then to finals to wrap up the term.

If there was one thing about freshman year that you’d keep dear to your heart, it would be the little Christmas party the four of you had at Jeno’s house. You had each brought a gift as each other’s Secret Santa, yours was a cute pair of pink socks with strawberries on them for Jaemin who you knew hated strawberries though he’d wear them anyways because they’re from you.

Supporting your predictions, Jaemin changed his socks right then and there with a smile on his face because “they’re so cute, just like my baby” causing your boyfriend, who was in fact your Secret Santa, to jokingly make a gagging sound at Jaemin’s affection towards you.

The gift Yangyang gave you was a thin bracelet with a single little sheep charm dangling off of it. “In Korean, yang means sheep so I thought it would be cute to give you something that could be a reminder of me when I’m not with you.” Now it was Jaemin and Jeno’s turns to make the sounds of disgust as you kissed Yangyang’s cheek to thank him.

So I think you should give your love to me. Baby, let me know

Sophomore year was when things started to change starting with Yangyang leaving to continue his studies in China where he was accepted into one of his dream universities. He had told you about his plans beforehand and you celebrated every milestone with him like when he first submitted his application, when he got his acceptance letter, and then a scholarship. Here you were finally, sending your boyfriend off at the airport before the beginning of fall semester.

“I love you so much, stay safe and don’t get sick,” you told him as you held him in a tight hug, not wanting to say goodbye just yet.

Yangyang laughed as he felt you trying to nuzzle into his chest. “I’ll be back sooner than you know it. Just four months and I’ll be back for the holidays.”

Even as your tears began to fall, you still smiled, not wanting his last moments with you to be sad ones. “Promise?”

“I promise.” He locked pinkies with you, sealing the deal.

It was difficult to be in a long distance relationship, especially when it seems like the time zones are working against you. When you’re awake and going about your day, Yangyang is winding down and finishing up his work, about the head to sleep. There was never a good time for you to call each other, especially as the semester progressed and your workloads only increased.

“I really miss you, you know. I miss getting to hold you in my arms and mess up your hair only to have you hit me all the time.” You paused the voice recording he had sent you a few days ago, wanting so badly for time to go by faster and for Yangyang to return home sooner.

You sent him a voice recording back. “I passed that test I was talking about last week! I didn’t really do too well but it’s okay because apparently Jeno and Jaemin didn’t do all that great either. I miss having you here to help me study and tell me that I’m doing well. How did your ochem lab go? I’m sure you aced it.”

Sending each other voice recordings was the next best thing after calling because you could still hear each other’s voice while also still doing it at a time that was comfortable for you. It was like texting but with your voice instead of typing out words. Though sometimes it left you anxious because it wasn’t like a call where the other person is responding in real time. Yangyang would often leave you on read and would take a few days to respond so you inadvertently began doing the same thing.

It wasn’t until one weekend when both of you had free time that Yangyang finally snapped during a call. “It’s like you don’t want me anymore.”

“What? No, what do you mean?” You questioned.

“You don’t respond all the time and it’s like I’m not a top priority anymore,” he rambled.

“To be fair,” you began, “you don’t respond to me all the time either-”

“Yeah because I’m busy.” Yangyang interrupted.

You let out a sigh. “I’m busy too. We’re both college students majoring in some of the hardest fields, we know how hard we have to work for our education.”

“I know but like, you can still text me back. You don’t have to send voice recordings so often if you’re really that busy-”

“No, don’t make it sound like I’m exaggerating how busy I am. You are a top priority, but you’re not my number one and that should be common sense.” You tell him, feeling your own temper starting to go.

You could practically see Yangyang rolling his eyes at you. “I’m not trying to downplay your work at all. I’m just saying that it’s not that hard to put effort into our relationship.”

“Then how about you give me something to go off of first instead of making me change for you. You barely respond to me either so I can say just the same thing for you,” you argued.

“Look, I think we need some time away from each other to clear our heads and figure this out when we aren’t being weighed down by all our other problems,” he reasoned.

You let out a laugh. “You say that as if we haven’t already been separated from each other for two months already but okay.”

“Goodnight, y/n.” You heard the line go dead. He didn’t even end with an ‘I love you’ or anything like that though you chose not to think too hard about it because he was probably just as tense as you.

When Yangyang came home in December it felt like everything was right once again. He got to be reunited with the original group along with meeting the two newest additions, Haechan and Shotaro who were both business majors and were roped in by Jeno who had a shared class with both of them.

Yangyang had gotten you a second charm, the number 10 to go on the bracelet he had bought you the year before which you still wore almost constantly. “Ten because I’m the ten you need, remember?” You nodded as you smiled up at him, glad to finally have him back in your arms.

He had to go back to school sooner than the rest of you so your time with him was short-lived and things went back to the way they used to be, except even more distant this time around. Normally Yangyang would be sure to call you back if he ever missed a call from you, but he didn’t. He’d go days without responding to you, opening your messages but never sending anything back.

But it’s hard to tell if this is just a fling or if it’s true love that he thinks of

That semester, the two of you decided to break things off after yet another fight in hopes to preserve the friendship that you had before things got any worse. It was like a breath of fresh air for a moment, getting to finally focus your energy on your work and not worry about having to respond to messages from a boyfriend who didn’t really seem like one. Only when you slowed down did things really start to hit you.

When Yangyang came back during summer, your group was torn on how to handle the situation, wanting to hang out with both of you but not wanting to make things uncomfortable knowing how rocky things were between the two of you. You ended up pulling yourself back and encouraging them to go out with Yangyang since they could see you during the school year whereas he was in a different country and it only seemed fair.

That was really the last you saw or heard of him as you chose to bury yourself in work for the next year, not wanting to let yourself fall behind in school because of your emotions. It was, by far, one of your most productive years. Not only did you take some of your grad school tests and applied for many scholarships, you also earned yourself a spot on the Dean’s list and took part in a notable marine biology study done on the effects of pollution on the local animals.

Between balancing all of your current works and goals along with things to prepare you for your potential future careers, the mere existence of Liu Yangyang slipped your mind for just that short time. It was only a year later, during the summer before your senior year, did you hear from Jaemin that Yangyang was planning to come back.

“Yeah he was asking Jeno what we’re planning on doing for housing next year and if he could join us.” Jaemin informed you as the two of you were running an experiment and working on tracking the carbon output of the little plants in front of you.

“So what did you say to him?” You asked as you placed the oxygen gauge inside the chamber of the first plant.

Jaemin paused to see if the gauge was sending data to the computer. “I told him that the six of us were looking into getting one of the campus apartments in the fall so we might not be able to accommodate him.”

“Wait, six? Aren’t there five of us?” You started listing the names of your friends in your head.

“Haechan is going off-campus and Jeno’s girlfriend is joining us,” Jaemin corrects, “so next semester it’s us, Jeno and Yunha, Renjun, and Shotaro. Six. We probably won’t have space for him unless someone backs out.” You stared at the rising and falling of the line on the computer graph, not really sure if you were happy or sad at this. “Would you have liked it if he were to join us?” He questioned after seeing your silence.

“I don’t know, it’s not that I’m ‘uncomfortable’ around him…” your voice trailed off as the computer finished collecting data and indicated for you to reset and move on to the next plant, “it’s just that we didn’t really have a clean end to our relationship, if you know what I mean.”

Jaemin nodded in understanding as you moved the gauge to the second plant. “Would you like to get back together with him if given the opportunity?”

“Well, yeah but not if we’re both as busy as we are right now.” You explained, looking over at the screen to see if the oxygen was tracking.

“Try inserting it a little further,” Jaemin instructed when you both saw that the line was running a bit low, “but anyway, you guys are both going into the medical field, there’s no escaping being busy.”

“Yeah that’s exactly wh-”

“No, listen. What I’m saying is that you don’t have to both see each other all the time. Think about it. There’s tons of people out there who don’t even understand their partner’s job but they still make it work-” He rambled

“And who’s to say you can group me in with a majority?” You interject.

Jaemin looks away from the screen to roll his eyes at you. “That’s not the point. I’m just saying that maybe you should think about giving him another chance whether he lives with us or not.”

“I mean, I’ll think about it. That doesn’t mean I will.” You decide, wanting to get back to the experiment.

Santa tell me if you’re really there. Don’t make me fall in love again if he won’t be here next year

Truthfully, you hadn’t really gotten over Yangyang, you had merely forgotten about him for a while with all the stuff you were doing, which was what you had planned to do. A part of you wanted to see if things could still work out again but the other part of you didn’t want to put yourself in that same situation again, especially now that both you and him would probably be even more busy than before.

You didn’t know if he’d be coming back for good or if he’d be leaving again to go somewhere else and you didn’t want to take the chance of falling for him only to lose him shortly after. Thankfully the other guys didn’t ask too much about it seeing as how the housing situation was already settled.

It was just your luck and misfortune that you went in to work on a research assignment on the day you did. As you walked down the hallways of the lab building, you heard that one familiar voice ringing throughout the halls from an open door. You paused in your tracks, diverting from your course through the building to see if your suspicions were true as you peeked into one of the labs.

As you looked in, you saw his back towards you while he talked animatedly with one of your colleagues about how different it was to go to a university in China. You quickly ducked away when your colleague waved in your direction, not wanting to be seen by Yangyang.

“Who was that?” He asked, his voice getting fainter as you sped away from the room. You heard your name mentioned followed by an “oh” but that was about it as you got into the elevator to head to the archives.

And I’m trying to play it cool but it’s hard to focus when I see him walking around the room

Senior year progressed just like any other year, though you were glad that you got to live with your closest friends and at least see them for meals when you were all too busy to actually hang out. If anything, it was just the slightest bit more calm since there was no longer stress about passing general classes now that you were in more specialized biology courses that were actually enjoyable.

The annual Christmas party came up much faster than you expected but now that the six of you shared an apartment, it was only that much more convenient and because it would be your last year all together, Jaemin insisted that it be an actual get-together for your friends.

He invited Haechan and some of the guys he was now living with, though they were all older too. Renjun brought over some of the other computer science grad students that he had gotten close to recently, similar to Jeno in the engineering field.

As more people showed up and you worked on keeping all of your guests entertained, you hadn’t managed to keep track of everyone who set foot into the door, trusting Renjun to not let anyone in who had no business with you guys. It wasn’t until dinner started that you saw a face you hadn’t seen in a while.

“Hey,” Yangyang began as he almost ran into you exiting the kitchen with a plate full of food in his hands.

“Hey,” you said back, startled and unsure of how to actually react.

After you had gotten your food and returned to the living room, you say that he had taken up a seat next to Jeno and Jaemin as some Christmas movie started playing and you opted to sit on the sofa next to Jeno’s girlfriend Yunha, who gladly scooted over to make room for you. “Who’s that?” She asked, nodding over to where her boyfriend was.

“That’s, uh, Yangyang. He was one of our close friends during our freshmen year but he left to study at a school in China,” you inform her, glad that she accepted the simple explanation.

You successfully avoided him for almost the rest of the night, not because you didn’t like him but because you were scared of talking to him after so long. It was nearing the end of the night when Renjun had yelled for everyone to “sit your asses down in a circle” with the present they brought for the white elephant game gift exchange game.

The apartment was filled with laughter and cheers as the game progressed and people opened the gifts they chose, finding things outrageous as a whisk or backscratcher or even a bag of clothespins. The best one was the gift Jeno, a cat lover opened, pulling out a box of dog treats.

“Aw, our big samoyed!” Jaemin cooed. “Do some tricks for us!” Jeno shot him a glare before allowing the game to continue on.

The gift you decided on keeping was a small red envelope sealed with a shiny golden sticker. When you opened it, you pulled out a postcard from Shanghai and you felt a wave of emotion hit you. You held it up to show the people around you what it was before quickly slipping it back into the envelope and placing it on the ground beneath your crossed legs.

Once everyone had opened their gifts and a few people were starting to leave, you decided to get a head start on cleaning up in the kitchen as your roommates bid everyone farewell and wished them a safe drive home.

“I think it’s kind of funny how you got my gift,” a voice said from behind as you transferred the leftover dumplings from the plate they were on into a tupperware container.

You shrugged your shoulders. “The minimum price requirement was $5 and I’m sure you couldn’t have spent more than $2 on that.”

“The envelope and the sticker made up for the other $3,” he stated, his playful attitude ever so present, “so how have you been lately?”

“Pretty good, I guess. Got accepted into grad school, finishing up my remaining courses, just normal college stuff, how about you?” You finally make eye contact with him as you have to nudge him out of the way for you to open the refrigerator. He looks nearly exactly the same as when he first left but somehow more handsome and less boyish.

“Oh, I’ve been doing just about the same I could say. I decided to stay home for this school year, though I suppose you already knew that seeing as how you were spying on me at the beginning of the semester.” He shot you a wink as you returned back to the counter to start working on another dish.

You let out a gasp, “I was not spying on you.”

“Then why did you just peek into the lab and leave before I got to see you?” He inquired.

“Because I had other things to do,” you respond quickly.

“Well what if I told you that I actually wanted to see you and was disappointed that you ran away?” He took a step closer to you.

You secured the lid on a container of fried rice. “Then I guess you’re not the only one.”

“Hm, so you really did miss me then,” Yangyang chuckles.

“Will the two of you stop talking and just kiss already?” Jaemin shouts from the hallway.

Yangyang lets out a laugh. “You heard the guy. Come here.”

You gave in to your heart as you closed the refrigerator again, turning to face him and taking only two steps until you were in his arms once again as his lips met yours.

Come and kiss me baby, we don’t need no mistletoe

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vibrant-leaf · 3 years

Text

A Miraculous Second Chance

🧡 ~KiriBaku Drabble~ ❤️

Summary: An accident happens and Bakugou has a bad head injury that affects his relationship with Kirishima.

Warnings: cursing

So I realize that this drabble has a lot of holes and things wrong with it but I won’t ever actually write this because it’d be a lot to tackle, especially with basically rewriting Bakugou’s much needed character development buuuuut I thought of this and needed to share it. This was just a series of messages in a discord so, it’s choppy, there’s grammar mistakes, I go back and forth between Kiri and Kirishima, but I still love it. So I hope you enjoy it for the mess that it is 😊

Bakugou and Kirishima are dating, it’s their third year at AU, Bakugou is out on a work study mission, fighting villains ya know the norm, but something goes wrong and he hits his head somehow, gets knocked out, and has to go to the hospital. Once Kiri gets word that he’s hurt he rushes to the hospital and by the time he gets there Bakugou has only been awake for about 5-10 minutes and the doctor is talking to him and his parents are outside of his door. Kiri runs for his room and Mitsuki sees him and tries to speak to him, “wait Kirishima we need to talk to you real quick” but..

“I need to see him! Just let me him first please!”

Mitsuki tries to stop him but he barges through anyway.

“Katsuki!! Oh my god thank god you’re okay!” He walks over to Bakugou and hugs him but Bakugou is freaked out and pushes him off.

“Don’t fucking touch me who do you think you are?!”

Eijirou backs away from him to give him some space. “What- katsuki it’s okay it’s me, it’s Eijirou.”

“I don’t know who the fuck you are- and stop using my given name!”

And Eijirou is just stunned. Eyes wide, mouth slightly parted, eye brows scrunched up.

Mitsuki speaks up again, “Kirishima, honey. A word?”

Bakugou is just glaring at him and he can’t take it so he walks out of the room and next to Bakugou’s mom.

Kirishima is gutted. Understandably. With Bakugou being Bakugou he’s not gonna continue a relationship with some random stranger. (I’ll be continuing with bulletpoints)

Last thing Bakugou remembers is him finding out he got accepted into UA

Kiri had to explain the situation to rest of the BakuSquad and they now understand that Bakugou will be okay he just needs some space from everyone so he doesn’t get overwhelmed so they can’t bombard him with their usual nonsense.

But then BakuSquad asks about their relationship and Kiri just shakes his head and says “but I don’t blame him” and he’s been trying to hold back his tears. Of course he cried the night he saw Bakugou in the hospital but since then he’s been trying to suck it up because itd be selfish of him to cry over their relationship when Bakugou is going through something worse, right? So he should just be thankful that he’s alive and okay. But the bottle that’s been filling up with his emotions for the past couple days inevitably explodes and he starts to sob in front of his friends.

Bakugou is back to keeping his distance from everybody.

At first he’s given a little time to adjust to his “new” life before he asks about everything that’s happened to him but he definitely wants to know everything.

Kiri is trying to be friendly towards him. says hi to him every morning, tries to ask him questions about what he last remembers.

He gets a stern answer, “that I got accepted into UA.”

He hates the answer because that means Bakugou knows literally nothing about Kirishima, and what him and his class went through, or things they’ve done together.

Kirishima is hurting but he thinks he’ll be okay because at least he still gets to see Bakugou everyday.

He once accidentally called him Katsuki and apologized profusely. But what Kiri doesn’t know (thanks to Bakugou’s glare) is that Bakugou maybe, sort of, kind of liked the way his name sounded coming from Kiri’s mouth JUST A LITTLE THOUGH OKAY?

They soon become sort of friends again and Kiri is ecstatic by the minuscule amount of progress.

There’s a test coming up and Kiri asks Bakugou if he can help him study.

“Why the fuck would I wanna do that, Shitty-hair?”

“oh.. right.. sorry. Um, I’ll just ask Yaoyorozu then.” Kiri at least tries to think about the silver lining that is Bakugou calling him “shitty-hair” for the first time since the incident, but he’s still sad.

The sad look on Kiri’s face is foreign and horrible and why the fuck can’t Bakugou stand to look at it?! “Shut up. If you need help you might as well get it from the best in the class. I’ll help you. But don’t even think about mentioning it to the others” - there that’s better. That bright smile is back on Kiri’s face. Bakugou has to bite his cheek to keep him from smiling even the slightest bit.

CUE THE FIRST NIGHTMARE.

Bakugou is surrounded by people he’s never seen before, everything around him is just rubble, and these people are trying to capture him, but he’s dodging and fighting back.

He wakes up to loud knocking on his door and realizes he’s sweating and breathing super heavy.

He lets Kiri in his room.

Kiri is asking if he’s okay and if he had a nightmare.

Bakugou gives short and simple answers as he tried to calm his breathing down.

He’s finally calm and he tells him what his dream was about.

Kiri is shocked tries his best to calmly break it to Bakugou that that actually happened.

They decide to tell Aizawa and Recovery Girl tomorrow but for now Bakugou wants to try and go back to sleep.

Cut Kiri some slack here, he’s half awake and his brain is in Comfort-Bakugou Mode, so when he tries to slide under the covers of Bakugou’s bed he’s all the sudden getting yelled at.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Shit shit! Shit! We would- or I would- um uh.. well we used to sleep together sometimes and especially if you had a nightmare.. but it’s okay I’ll just leave! Goodnight Ka- Bakugou!” And Kiri runs out of his room feeling absolutely mortified.

Bakugou is just sitting in his bed stunned. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was fucking KIDNAPPED once.. but he was also thinking about how that was the first time Kirishima said anything about when they were together. He tries not to think about what their relationship could’ve been like because it’s doing something weird to him like holy shit they slept in the same bed??? That guy?? With the stupid red hair?? Hair that honestly looked better down if Bakugou was concerned but he shouldn’t be, so he isn’t…

As Bakugou is falling asleep he thinks about how he finally wants to know about everything that happened to him in the last two and a half years.

So Bakugou talks to aizawa and recovery girl the next day and he gets a brain scan to see if maybe that one part of his brain that was damaged was healing at all.

The result: nothing much has changed with his brain.

He’s starting to get frustrated because he wants to remember but it looks like there was no hope of that happening anytime soon so he has to settle for stories from other people.

Sure he wants to know everything but good God a lot of shit has happened so he decides vague details for now are best.

Kiri just pretends that he didn’t try to sleep with Bakugou the night before and tries his best to act normal around him and it helps that Bakugou doesn’t bring it up.

Kiri really wants to tell him about their relationship though.. maybe one day. But as soon as he thought he was feeling better, he’s back to excusing himself from the lunch table because he can’t stop thinking about how much he loves Bakugou and wants him back and fuck he just really needs to have a cry right now. Luckily there isn’t anyone in the bathroom so he’s able to cry in peace.

Over the next week Bakugou has a couple more nightmares and Kirishima simply goes over to his room to check on him and it kills him that that’s all he can do for him now.

But on one night, it’s Bakugou’s turn to be pounding on Kirishima’s door.

Kiri quickly gets out of bed to open his door “Bakugou? You alright?”

“Why didn’t you tell me…”

“Tell you.. what?”

Bakugou just stares into his soul, takes him in, his pretty hair that barely reaches his shoulders, his eyes, the scar above his right eye, his whole face, his lips- okay that’s enough...

“Bakugou, I’ll tell you anything you want-”

“Why didn’t you tell that you were the one who.. who was there.. who called out to me.. whose hand I grabbed to escape those villains..”

Kirishima just stands there dumbfounded and says nothing because he didn’t really have a good answer to his question. Why didn’t he tell him? Because it was too much about them? Yeah maybe but looking at Bakugou’s face right now makes him feel real stupid for telling him nothing about that.

“I.. I really don’t know.. I’m sorry Bakugou.”

“Do you not have feelings for me anymore?”

Kiri could fucking laugh right now because that was the furthest thing from the truth, but of course he refrains.

“No! That’s not it at all.. I mean.. sorry I just.. I didn’t think you would want to know about us? Our relationship? I don’t know.. I feel dumb now for not telling you that at least.”

Bakugou keeps staring at him and Kirishima has no clue what to say or do with himself right now.

But Bakugou is annoyed. Annoyed that Kirishima wouldn’t tell him about that. Annoyed at how he’s been feeling towards Kirishima recently. Annoyed at how he wants to know everything about them, their relationship, what they did together, what sleeping next to him was like. He’s annoyed and he’s gonna do something about it.

So Bakugou takes a giant leap of faith, grabs Kirishima’s shoulders, and crashes his lips onto his. He really hopes that they’ve kissed before, otherwise this would probably be pretty fucking weird to do.

Kiri doesn’t kiss back right away because his brain needs to process what the hell is actually happening right now. But once he realizes that he isn’t in fact dreaming he puts his hands on Bakugou’s face and kissed him back.

When they pull apart they’re both breathless and blushing.

Bakugou’s stomach is doing flips and Kirishima is putting on the biggest smile he’s ever seen on him. And he’s almost mad at himself for not being able to remember what Kirishima looks like after kissing him like that. But he burns it in his memory this time and he silently swears to himself and to Kirishima that he’ll never forget again.

“I want to know everything about us.”

Kirishima can’t help it... he starts crying. But he’s crying because he’s so fucking happy and relieved and oh my god Bakugou kissed him again. “Okay, yeah. I’ll tell you everything.”

Bakugou lets a small smile form on his face. “It’s Eijirou, right?”

Kirishima nods frantically and wraps his arms around Bakugou’s neck and continues let the tears of joy fall down his face.

~Fin.

#mha #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction #anime #bakugou katsuki #kirishima eijirou #kiribaku #bakushima #drabble #imagine #memory loss #happy ending #love

23 notes · View notes

infinitebells · 4 years

Note

Could you please write about William and his s/o starting in the worst possible way? they hate each other's guts and spend all the time bickering and arguing about everything and anything (even about freaking math theorems), until Will says something awful that actually hurts her and he might be a bastard but not that much of a bastard so he tries his best to apologize and they slowly grow closer and closer until they realise they are in love

enemies to lovers is my favorite thing ever

✧ you two cannot be in the same room for more than five minutes without being at each others throats

✧ albert and moran have actually had to pull the two of you out of the room and away from each other because you two just rile each other up to the max

✧ louis literally sighs when you guys start arguing about math because what the fuck it’s the same literally everywhere and he has had to leave the room before because he gets so annoyed

✧ the reason you’re even in the group in the first place is because you and moran grew up together, and he knows you can hold your own in a fight and are a good diversion tactic for nobles

✧ now because you’re the only female in the group, that automatically means if a mission requires having to flirt with a noble, you are the one to do that

✧ you’re quite honestly ashamed you have to do it in the first place, and when moran can see how uncomfortable you get during one of these missions, he’ll make an effort to pull you out fast so that you don’t have a panic attack

✧ william starts to notice this, and it isn’t an issue until moran pulls you out too fast, which infuses the noble with suspicion

✧ luckily the other boys were quick to dispose of him, and the cab ride back to the manor is deathly silent

✧ once you’re in the house, william goes absolutely ballistic on you, screaming louder than he ever has before

✧ albert is trying to calm him down while moran has to drag you out of the room, but before he can get you to move an inch william loses it

✧ “maybe if you weren’t such a whore for the colonel, the fucking mission wouldn’t have almost failed! but i’m glad to know your only priority includes getting fucked to the point where you’re brain-dead stupid by the only man in the house who would even be willing to put his dick anywhere near you,”

✧ the room goes obscenely silent

✧ albert is staring at you as your face completely drops, any angry emotion once painted across your features is replaced by an almost empty look

✧ fred has stopped watering the plants because he can’t believe the words that just left william’s mouth

✧ louis is five seconds away from dropping his cup of tea that’s shaking in his hand now

✧ moran’s eyes are wide with shock, too stunned to even begin to be angry at william

✧ you gently pull your arm out of moran’s hand before walking quietly out of the room and into your own room, closing the door with a silent click

✧ william’s shocked because usually you always have a comeback, a sarcastic remark or an insult ready to hurl back at him, so why didn’t you do that now?

✧ everyone breaks out of the trance as soon as the door shuts, and albert, louis, and fred have to hold moran back from completely pummeling william

✧ moran and you had never had that kind of relationship, if anything he was your best friend

✧ after the boys get moran to calm down, william is still standing still in his spot

✧ albert suggests going to apologize to you, and louis walks william out of the room and to your room

✧ when you don’t answer his knocks, he slowly cracks the door open, and upon hearing no response, opens it all the way to see an empty room and your window open

✧ the house erupts into chaos once again

✧ moran storms out, determined to find you, while albert goes after him because god knows what will happen

✧ louis offers to stay here in case you come back, and fred goes out on his own to look for you

✧ william has yet to say a word since yelling at you, and all he can think about was how wrong he felt after shouting like that at you

✧ fred’s the one who finds you, sitting alone in a bar all the way across town

✧ dried tear tracks decorate your face, and your hand shakes around your glass of whiskey

✧ neither of you say anything for a few minutes, until fred finally speaks up

✧ “sebastian and albert are out looking for you,”

✧ you’re quiet for another moment before responding

✧ “tell them to not bother. if i’m such a whore then clearly i’m not needed on the team,”

✧ your voice cracks at the team, and fred see how white your knuckles are for gripping your glass so damn tightly

✧ when he coaxes the glass out of your hand, he manages to convince you to come back to the manor with him, promising to keep william away from you

✧ he’ll lead you through the house, silently nodding to louis in a way of telling him you were okay, and they could talk more once you weren’t a flight risk

✧ louis goes out to bring moran and albert back, while fred gets you into bed and sits on a chair next to you to make sure you don’t leave again

✧ you haven’t said anything since the bar, so when the bedroom door opens and in walks william, you don’t speak up

✧ fred leaves to give you two some space, making sure to stand right outside of the door in case something happens

✧ william pulls the chair up next to your bed, staring at your curled up form and the way your eyes stay open and unmoving, focused on some invisible spot on the wall

✧ william’s quiet for a minute as he gathers his thoughts before finally speaking

✧ “i’m sorry for my words. i know you and colonel moran are close friends and nothing more, and i should have seen how uncomfortable the noble was making you. you aren’t a whore, and you certainly are a wonderful addition to the team. i hope you can forgive me for my rude and brash words, but for right now i’ll leave you alone,”

✧ he gets up, moving the chair back, and going to leave the room until your small hand wraps around his wrist, holding him in place

✧ he turns back to see you still staring at the floor, but fresh tears have replaced your old ones

✧ “thank you for the apology,”

✧ your voice is quiet, so quiet it can barely pass as a whisper, but he hears it all the same

✧ he nods before walking out, refusing to make eye contact with moran, who returned home and was standing just outside of your room

✧ once william’s gone, he’ll storm in and sit down on the chair next to your bed, rubbing your hand comfortingly

✧ you’re eternally appreciative of how kind he is after everything that happened, and he knows you are from the slight squeeze you give his hand

✧ he stays the entire night, making sure you won’t up and leave again

✧ the next few days, you’re much quieter than normal, and everyone can tell

✧ the air is tense, but no one says a word about what occured

✧ after the first week, william offers you a book he had in his library that he knew you liked, and it’s the one action that finally starts to set things back into place

✧ albert feels like he can finally relax after constantly watching you and william

✧ louis is relived because he can breathe again without feeling like someone was going to go ape shit again

✧ moran is his usual, laidback and snarky self

✧ the only thing that has changed is your and william’s relationship

✧ after the first week of tenseness, things only go up

✧ you both can stay in rooms with each other without constantly fighting, instead talking about a book you both have read or discussing next week’s mission plans

✧ you even manage to crack a smile around him, and vice versa

✧ everyone in the mansion is happy to see how you two start to get along, including moran because he hated how much you two fought

✧ after a month of being friendly with each other, you start to appreciate how beautiful he really was

✧ his soft blonde hair, ruby red eyes, and his smile that had you weak in the knees

✧ you both spent extended periods of time alone together, and he was starting to enjoy it too

✧ it was about a month and a half after the incident, the two of you were alone in his study standing next to each other and going over the plans for your next mission

✧ tonight you decided to tease him about how if he puts all of his time and effort into killing nobles, he’ll never get a girlfriend

✧ cue him looking up from the papers to meet your eyes, and you’re both aware of how your faces are inches away from each other

✧ neither of you can tear away from looking into each others eyes, and it’s quiet until william finally speaks

✧ “well i’d hope any girl i court would have extensive knowledge of these plans and how passionate i am about them. it helps if they’re even a part of it, say as a beautiful distraction,”

✧ both of you know he’s talking about you, and your breath hitches in your chest

✧ he’s slowly leaning down, and you know how terribly fucked you are when you meet him halfway, your lips just barely meeting for a kiss

✧ he pushes against you harder, one hand coming to rest on your waist to keep you close to him

✧ and when he pulls away blushing lightly, you both realize just how in love you actually are

✧ “i know we’ve had our fair share of cruel words, me especially, but i can’t stop myself from loving you,”

✧ his voice is soft, silently pleading for reciprocated feelings

✧ “then don’t, i’d hate for my love to go wasted,”

✧ and then he’s kissing you again, and again, and again, until neither of you can think of anything else besides loving each other

#yuukoku no moriarty #yuukoku no moriarty x reader #moriarty the patriot #moriarty the patriot x reader #william james moriarty #bells responds

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youreacowgirllikeme · 3 years

Note

Hi love! 💓 💓 can you pls write a fic of Chris and y/n meeting in at Yale (where they don’t like each other at all) she being too sensitive and him being too cocky but he secretly liked her the whole time. Never got along or anything. Then they meet again years later in the city, and become friends and fall in love. But with smutty included. Love your lawyer fics ❤️😩😩 so pls make this happen 🙏🏻

Time Will Tell: Part One

note: Hiii, I decided to split this request (which I love btw) into two parts, the second one will drop either Sunday or Monday :) this part is more background story/buildup, hope you enjoy!

words: 3k

warnings: swearing, a bit of angst (??)

“That’s the final one.” Your father grunted as he put down the last huge box on the floor of your dorm room.

“Thank you so much, dad, you’re my hero.” you said, hugging both of your parents tight.

“We’re really proud of you, Y/N. You are going to do so amazing.” You mother whispered, her voice heavy with emotion.

“Thank you so much, guys. I love you. Please give me a call when you get home.” You replied before embracing them one last time, and off they were.

You sighed happily, looking around the room that was going to be your home for the next four years. You were finally a pre-law student at Yale, a dream come true. You gazed out of the window overlooking the campus, beyond exited about all the things to come.

+++

“Alright, settle down.” The voice of your professor sounded over the chatter of your fellow classmates.

You quickly stopped talking with your newfound friend next to you and shifted your attention to the front of the class. It was your very first lecture, and you were almost giddy with excitement about the prospect of learning so much new stuff.

The professor had already started talking, reading out the book list for this semester when suddenly, the door slammed open, and a young man burst into the classroom. He was clearly out of breath, but still grinned at the professor.

“My apologies, Sir.”

His voice was cocky, and you felt an instant burst of dislike at the way he carried himself. He was handsome, tall and broad shouldered with a head full of curls and a winning smile. But it was obvious that he knew just how good he looked, everything about him gave you the impression of another rich, arrogant brat. Yale campus was full of them.

“Just see that it won’t happen again, Mr-?” The professor murmured, clearly displeased.

“It’s Cuomo, Sir.” The guy replied, still grinning, before slumping into the seat next to you.

Cuomo. That rang a bell. You would eat your hat if he hadn’t something to do with the New York Governor, he certainly looked like a politician’s son. You knew you were being slightly prejudiced, but your intuition about those kinds of guys had never betrayed you so far.

As if he could read your mind, the guy in question turned his head to look at you.

"Hi Sweetheart, what’s up? I’m Chris. “

Without even looking up from your notes, you replied.

"If that’s your way of flirting, it sucks. I’m Y/N and not your sweetheart, by the way. How about you pay attention to the lecture now before you get into even more trouble.” It maybe came out more vicious than intended, but you didn’t want this guy to think you would swoon over him just because he had a pretty face.

He just chuckled but turned back to the board.

You were fascinated by the topic of the lecture, eagerly listening and taking notes, the irritating young man next to you long forgotten. When your professor announced that you had to do a group assignment until next week, you promptly turned around to your friend, silently signaling that you wanted to form a pair.

But when the professor started to read out a list of names, your plans were crushed.

"And next we have Ms. Y/L/N and Mr. Cuomo.“

"Oh, you can’t be serious.” you murmured under your breath, when someone poked your arm. You turned around and stared right into Cuomos smug face.

“Looks like you and I are having a date after all, sweetheart.”

Well Fuck.

+++

“Ok, we’re going to do it your way, but just because you’re annoying the hell out of me, and I want this to be over as quick as possible.” You groaned, scribbling something onto the paper in front of you.

Not that you would ever admit to it, but working with Chris went better than expected. Yes, he was cocky and arrogant to no ends, but apparently, he wasn’t only in Yale because of his family name. You bickered about almost every decision, but his ideas for the project were actually pretty good and once you got over his stupid jokes and constant unpunctuality, his company was bearable.

“I’m so glad you’re finally acknowledging my genius. My next suggestion is, once we’re finished here, how about you and I grab dinner somewhere together. You look like you’re in serious need of some fun.” He said, winking at you.

The nerve of the guy.

“You think my idea of a good time is going out with you? Wow, you‘re really full of yourself, Cuomo.”

A weird expression flashed over his face, but before you could name it, he was back to his usual smug grin.

“Your loss, sweetheart.”

+++

You got a good grade on your assignment, but we’re still relieved when the professor paired you up with someone else for the next one.

Outside of class, you rarely saw Chris, mainly because you were parts of different crowds. He had joined a fraternity and the football team, and you often spotted him hanging around with the other frat boys on campus.

To you, they were all cut from the same cloth, spoiled, rich boys who’s only concerns were the next party or if they could graduate in time to take over their daddy’s firm. Those were the kind of people you were trying to stay away from.

+++

It was the final party of freshmen year at the frat house, and you had a blast. There was good music and a lot of alcohol, you were glad your friends had managed to drag you along. The frat boys were there as well, obviously, but you paid them no attention while you danced and enjoyed yourself.

After the third round of shots, you were starting to feel slightly dizzy. Apologizing to your friends, you went outside to get some fresh air. In the garden behind the frat house, the dizziness got even worse, and you had to lean against a wall to steady yourself.

“Everything alright?” someone asked from behind you. It was Chris.

“Sure, Cuomo.” You replied, your voice already slurred. “Just had one or two shots to much.”

“You certainly had more than that.” he spoke, getting closer with a slightly worried look on his face.

“Jesus, you look smashed, Y/L/N. Maybe it’s better to go home?”

“Yeah, I probably should get going.” You agreed, feeling incredibly fuzzy by now, and as you tried to walk, you almost fell over your own feet.

“No way you’ll make it to your dorm on your own. I’ll take you.”

You were too drunk to argue with him, so you just murmured something in agreement and leaned a bit against Chris’s huge frame.

“You have so many muscles.” you whispered, but he still heard you and laughed.

“Oh my god, you’re totally wasted, you’re gonna regret this so much tomorrow. Come on, let’s get you home.”

Luckily, the way to your hall wasn’t that long. Chris steadied you with and arm around your shoulder, almost dragging you up the stairs when you finally arrived.

You fumbled with the keys to your room, so he just took them from you to unlock the door.

“Here we are.” Chris announced, softly sitting you down on the edge of your bed. “Sleep, I’ll tell your friends that you’re home safe.”

With a groan, you sunk back into the pillows, closing your eyes.

Chris was still standing in front of your bed, as if he was unsure if he could leave you alone like that.

“You know,” he quietly spoke. “When I was asking you out, at the beginning of the year, I was kind of serious about that, I-…Y/N?”

But you had already fallen asleep, slightly snoring into your pillow.

Sighting, Chris ran his hand through his hair and gave you one last confused look before he left, softly closing the door behind him.

+++

Lucky for you, the next day was the first day of summer break. You were mortified about acting like an idiot in front of Chris Cuomo, but at least you didn’t have to face him for several weeks.

When the new semester started, the two of you saw each other in classes again, but he never brought the incident up. Instead, he went right back to being his insufferable, arrogant self, taunting you at every chance he got.

Your current class mainly consisted of discussions about the latest political and judicial affairs, and Chris and you ripped each other apart at every chance you got.

“You’re living in a dreamland, Y/L/N.” Chris drawled. “Face the facts, those tax increases for the top five percent or whatever it is you are suggesting, they won’t work. It would actually just hurt our economy, not that you understand anything about that. Also, your poker face is terrible” He pointed right at you, and a few of your classmates chuckled.

You almost lost your last drop of patience there and then.

“I am not sure what’s worse, Cuomo, the bullshit coming out of your mouth or your stupid-“

The professor interrupted you, ending the discussion before things could get really ugly.

+++

“I hate his guts.” You growled, taking an aggressive bite of your bagel. You were having lunch with two of your friends between lessons, and Chris Cuomo was a frequently brought up topic in your conversations.

“You certainly talk about him often enough to really make me doubt that.” One of your friends snickered, and the other one added. “You know that he watches you sometimes, right?”

“Bullshit, he hates me.”

“Yes, Y/N, I’m sure he looks at you with those big, blue, dreamy eyes because he despises you so much.”

“You have to admit, he is stupidly hot.” You friend sighted, “He’s so tall, and that face.”

You rolled your eyes at them. “Sure, he’s not exactly ugly, but his personality is. I’m praying we won’t have any more classes together next year or I might really punch him in the face one day.”

+++

Much to your chagrin, fate wasn’t on your side. Junior year rolled along, and again you had several classes with Chris. And as if that wasn’t enough, he started dating a girl you sometimes hung out with and became a regular guest at parties you and your friends were going to.

So not only were you almost killing each other every day in class, you bickered with him in the evenings as well, about every topic from beer brands to foreign policy. And still, when he ended your conversations to get back to his girlfriend, you always got a small sting of something that felt a lot like jealousy.

Since your friends had revealed to you that he was watching you from time to time, you had started to feel a bit restless around him. Somehow, he was able to get under your skin like no one else did, irritating you to a point where some days all you could think about was his stupid face.

Even if it was just to argue and fight, for some reason, you always gravitated to each other.

+++

“That’s it, I’m not listening to any more of your shit.” you shouted. Your latest argument had continued even after class has finished, and by now, you were walking through the hallways almost yelling at each other. People were already staring, and you had enough.

“The truth is hard to swallow, isn’t it?”Chris replied, his usually cool demeanor had dropped and by now he was just as angry as you were.

“The truth is, I’m sick of this and I’m sick of you. We’ve been at each other’s throats for years now. You won’t convince me of anything and vice versa. I have better things to do than fight with you every day. Just leave me alone from now on, please.”your voice has gotten quieter with each sentence, and before you could display too much emotion, you turned around and left Chris standing in the middle of the hallway, a perplexed expression on his face.

This was the right decision, you thought. This guy meant nothing but trouble, and your infuriating relationship had to stop, you had your finals to focus on.

+++

The end of year parties always were a huge thing on campus, but this one was different for you. This was it, Senior year was over, there would be no coming back to Yale in the fall. Nostalgia and relief about the finished finals made you and your friends celebrate like it was your last night ever and beer and liquor were flowing.

You had received your acceptance letter from Georgetown Law some days before, and the opportunity to continue your education in Washington DC was another reason for you to party.

At some point though, the amount of drunk people was starting to become a bit too much for you, and you decided to retreat to the garden for a moment of quiet. As you walked around a couple of trees, you spotted a lonely figure sitting on a bench in the dark.

“Cuomo?” you asked, a bit staggered. Usually, the guy was the life of every party. What was he doing out here all alone?

As if he had read your thoughts, he spoke up. “I was just trying to get some last moments out here, were leaving campus in two days and this always was my favorite spot.”

Who was this guy, and what had he done to the menace you attended class with?

You hadn’t seen that much of him the past months, not after your last argument, but the memories of your numerous encounters were still very present in your head. You had thought about him more often than you’d care to admit.

“I wouldn’t have taken you for a nature guy, Cuomo.” you replied “Unless you’d count the lawn on the football field.”

“That’s because you don’t know me, Y/N.” his voice was oddly cold as he looked at you, his eyes almost appearing black in the dark. You tried to ignore how handsome he looked and focused on your dislike for him instead.

“Oh, I know enough. You have shown me everything I need to know about you over the course of the last four years.” You snapped, the alcohol in your system was making your emotions run high.

Chris got up from the bench to plant himself right in front of you. He towered over you and you had to crane your neck to look up at him.

The air between you was bristling with tension, he stood so close to you that your bodies were almost touching.

“Why, because I actually challenged you, delivered some real arguments against you? Until you chickened out?” He shot back, his voice growing louder, his fists clenched at his sides. “Don’t you want to become a lawyer? Better learn to deal with that if you want to survive in court, that’s not a place for soft, overly sensitive people like you.”

“Are you kidding me, you condescending asshole? You don’t have the slightest clue about the life of ordinary people! You’re living in your little Chris Cuomo bubble where everything is perfect and there’s nothing daddy can’t take care of and call me sensitive? I’m thrilled to see how you will be able to handle yourself out in the real world.”you were yelling as well by now, just lashing out to hurt him the way he had hurt you with what he said.

“Don’t act like you fucking know anything about me.“ He shouted, his face clenched in a mask of fury. He opened his mouth to continue, but you spoke first, your voice flat now.

“You’re right. I don’t know you at all.” With that, you turned around and left the garden, running back to your dorm before anyone could see your tears. He would always be the same asshole, and you were mad at yourself for ever believing anything else.

+++

“Christopher Charles Cuomo.”

The crowd around you cheered, whistles and shouts erupting all over the place. Chris climbed the stage, looking unusually serious in his black robe and cap. He took his diploma, shook hands with the dean, and then turned around with the most brilliant smile on his face. He looked carefree, and happy, and when he raised his hand to wave at the crowd, your whole class hollered for him.

“He is so incredibly hot.” Some girl swooned behind you, and you just rolled your eyes, trying to suppress the little stab of sadness you still felt about how you parted ways with him two nights ago.

But when you looked up to the stage again, he was gone, and in that moment you realized that it was very unlikely that you would see Chris Cuomo ever again.

#Chris Cuomo #chris cuomo imagine #chris cuomo fanfiction #chris cuomo fic #chris cuomo x reader #cnn #cnn anchors #fanfiction #request

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mrsalwayswrite · 4 years

Text

Say You’ll Stay- Chapter 1

Fury/ Band of Brothers Crossover Fic

Summary: Don "Wardaddy" Collier just wanted his crew to make it through the war. He carried no expectations for himself. But as each day passed, he worried he would be unable to keep his promise. When fate (or more accurately- Boyd Swan) places a woman in his path with a soft touch and softer heart...perhaps he has more of a motivation to see the end of the war after all.

Hey so I’m back with this series! I posted the first chapter awhile ago and then realized I did not have my plot and characters as “polished” as I wanted. So if you read the first chapter already, I would recommend rereading it.

The first chapter is shorter compared to the others so to make up for it, I will also be posting the next chapter! Two in one!

Our beloved Easy Company will come into play in a couple chapters. Patience, my friends. I have a plan...

Warnings: Swearing, some mentions of wounds/blood

Tag List: @happyveday @evelynshelby @god-of-dramatic-death-scenes @alwaysindecemberfeels

Series Masterlist // Next Chapter

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

Sweat dripped down the back of his neck. Dirt and grime covered his skin and clothing. The sound of the Sherman's tracks rolling over the muddy ground encompassed them. Patches of ice and snow still lined the feeble road. He stared ahead blindly, trusting Gordo to get them to the camp safely. The looks on those around him mirrored his own feelings. Everyone was exhausted. Everyone wanted real food. Everyone was tired of watching allies killed by fucking Tigers.

Everyone was sick of this shit.

They approached the camp. The cesspool that it looked like from far away became even more evident the closer they got. Half-demolished buildings with a dusting of snow were the only standing structures left of what used to be a quaint little town. Soldiers in grubby gear, rifle over their shoulders, ran around. From far away the sounds of artillery fire echoed. Don wondered who was dying now.

"Boyd." He looked over at his gunner. "When we get parked, you go find an aid station. Get that hand looked at."

"Yes, sir." The gunner held his injured hand against his chest, wrapped in a makeshift bandage.

After getting directions from a lieutenant, they found the tank squad on the other side of the town. Seeing the three other tanks gave the staff sergeant some hope.

"Boyd, medic. Gordo, fill 'er up. Grady, check that suspension. I don't like the way it sounds. Norman, find us some ammunition and where the hot chow is." Don barked out orders as everyone jumped off the tank. Replies of "yes, sir" made him nod, silently proud of his crew, before stalking towards where he assumed HQ was.

Soon enough he found the building, soldiers scurrying in and out, making the place look like an overturned ant hill. The glass on the store-front was still intact surprisingly, but the door was busted down leaving a gaping hole to walk through. Sliding past a private who looked barely eighteen coming out, he entered the HQ to see a table set out in the middle with maps laid out, paper weights and bullets strewn about.

"Who you?"

The gravelly voice made him turn to his right, eyeing up the man sitting on a wingback chair. "Staff Sergeant Don Collier, commander of Fury, 66th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Division."

The man exhaled, smoke slipping between his thin lips, cigarette hanging precariously. "Ah, Wardaddy, eh? Right, come on." He stood up and waved Don over to the table. "Captain Evans. What's your status?"

Don eyed the man, he seemed far too relaxed for being in a war zone. Then again, his greying hair and beard and those sharp eyes made him briefly wonder if this Captain Evans had been in the Great War. Maybe this was easier compared to trenches? Either way, it was nice to see someone in charge for once that looked like they were actually old enough to shave. Fuck knew too many kids were running around with rifles now, having just gotten out of bootcamp. Don wanted nothing to do with them.

"We secured the town here," he pointed at the map, "left 86th Infantry to hold. Then my guys and two other tanks were sent here."

Captain Evans stared at the maps, mind clearly seeing how best to utilize them. "You and two tanks, eh?"

"Yeah. Ran into a tiger though. Now it's just my guys."

His bushy eyebrows shot up, even those around the table quieted down with the news. "Just you?" At Don's nod, the Captain tapped his fist on the table. "Damn those tigers. Alright, good to have you here, Don. We're waiting on some intel before sending you out. You and your guys get some chow and rest. Come back and see me in the morning."

"Yes, sir." Don nodded and walked out of the building, relieved they were not being sent out right away.

As he walked down the filthy, cobbled street, he could feel the shakes beginning in his hands. Quickly, he stepped onto a side street, hoping no one would notice him. Leaning back against the brick wall of the building, he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets before anyone could see them shaking. Memories of the fight from yesterday replayed in his mind without permission. The tiger easily destroyed the rest of his platoon. In a matter of minutes, him and his crew were alone. Ten men. They had lost ten men. Good men...well mostly good. There was that one asshole in Edward's squad no one would miss.

War took the best and worst; death it’s equally possessive lover.

Hands slightly fumbling, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The lighter took a few clicks before catching. With the inhale, the nicotine and smoke settled in his lungs beautifully. He closed his eyes, letting the cigarette help calm his nerves and try to erase the memories of his platoon. They were dead now. It did no good to dwell on it.

After several minutes his hands finally stilled. Running a hand through his hair, he pushed off the building and headed out to find his crew. He glanced around wondering the likelihood of finding a roof and real beds for his guys tonight. They deserved it. Especially after all this shit. His own back cried out for a reprieve from sleeping on the hard ground.

Yeah, he would figure out something. Even if he had to toss some goddamn young Privates out into the stained snow.

*****

"Nurse Cooper! You can handle this!"

She pushed the flyaway strands of auburn hair out of her face as she walked past the injured, following the voice of Doctor Erickson. The cries, screams and whimpers of the injured and dying no longer affected her. Or at least that was what she told herself. At least this field hospital had separate areas based on severity and a roof over the top.

She had worked in far worse conditions before.

She nodded to the tall, blond doctor who barely gave her a passing glance as he shoved past her, away from injuries he deemed lesser than what he should be focusing his attention on.

A man sat on the edge of a cot, cradling his hand in his lap, which was wrapped up like a mummy. He was not screaming or swearing, so she took that as a good sign. His eyes were closed, lips moving silently like he was praying, a thick mustache twitching with every movement. He looked like he could only be a couple years older than her own twenty-three years.

"What's your name, soldier?" She stood in front of him, wiping her hands on the stained apron she wore over her equally stained dress. Once they had both been white; now, the apron and dress were a patchwork of stains from blood, dirt and other questionable fluids she chose not to think of.

He looked up, his brown eyes meeting her blue in surprise. "Boyd Swan, ma'am. Those in my crew call me Bible though. "

"Well, Boyd, mind if I take a look at your hand?" She perched on a stool as he offered up his hand. Quickly, she unwrapped it to see the damage with a gentle but methodical touch. A long laceration bled across the palm and past the wrist, thankfully not deep. Honestly, looking it over, it was kind of a miracle it was not worse.

"Well, you're lucky, Boyd. Any deeper and you might have lost use of your hand. You might have some nerve damage; I do not think immobility is a concern at this point. I think we can get away without stitches if you can promise me you'll keep your hand bandaged and try not to use it."

"It's not luck, He's looking out for me and my crew." He pointed a finger on his other hand skyward.

"Yes, He certainly was. Let me grab some new bandages." She grabbed some cleaning solution and bandages for the man. The sooner she finished with him, the less likely there would be concern for infection. If she guessed, it would appear the injury happened at the earliest maybe yesterday. More than enough time for it to become infected. Though her training had taught her to ask and determine when the injury occurred, lately she found herself hating that question. It always led into a story and hearing even more of the horrors these men faced. Her mind had enough memories of blood and guts to fuel nightmares for a hundred years. If she could refrain from hearing others’ memories, she found herself choosing too.

The other reason she wanted to finish with him soon was to open up the bed he currently sat on, in case a worse injury came in. Luckily there had not been a large-scale fight in a week so they only had trickles of men coming in instead of waves of dying men.

"You a religious woman?"

She looked up from cleaning his hand to meet his earnest eyes. "I guess. I don't pray like I used to."

He hummed. "I can respect that. I suspect you've seen plenty of death."

Not wanting to remember all the faces of young men she had slaved over, only for them to die under her care, she changed the subject. "Why do they call you Bible?"

"I'm always reading the Bible... I reckon that's where it started. I stopped trying to convert those heathens in my tank. I pray for their souls though. Always will." His voice trailed off quietly, but the fondness in it was unmistakable.

"You're a good man, Boyd."

He nervously chuckled, looking away for a moment with the sound of his foot tapping repeatedly on the ground. "No, I'm just doing the Lord's work. That's all."

"Well, I'm done." Smiling at him, she pushed back slightly. It was nice to have a patient not screaming at her or leering. There were too many of those men as of late. "Do you know your orders yet?"

"No, ma'am. We just rolled in an hour ago."

"Alright, if you're still here tomorrow I'd like to take a look at your hand again in the morning."

"I can do that."

"Good. Go rest up now, find some food. You earned it." She stood up, holding the soiled cloths, ready to move on to the next patient or task.

"I will.” He rose along with her, clearly understanding the dismissal. "Oh ma'am, what's your name?"

For a moment she hesitated to share her name. Normally she preferred the men to call her Nurse Cooper. From past experience, if she told them her name, they seemed to think she was interested in them. Yet with this man, she found herself wanting to share her name. He was kind and respectful. There were no gut feelings scaring her away from him. "Anna. I'm Anna Cooper."

"Pleasure to meet you, Anna Cooper. You need anything, you let me know, right?"

She was unsure how he could help her. Depending on his orders she might never see him again, but she nodded to humor him. "Sure. It was lovely to meet you too, Boyd."

With a parting smile from both, she hurried to the back of the building where they kept the large tub for boiling cloths. She grimaced when she noticed how low the water was. That meant she would have to go to the river soon. A shiver shot through her at the anticipated cold awaiting her outside. Thankfully most of the snow had melted already but winter’s chill still clung possessively to the air. Plus, it did not help how easily cold sunk into her bones. Back home her family would tease her about that fact. Here, on the edge of the front lines, it only made her life more difficult.

Before Doctor Erickson found a reason to yell at her, she headed back out to assist in whatever way possible. Her conversing with Boyd was her first positive interaction in a few days besides with the few others nurses stationed at the field hospital. She hoped he was not sent away too soon.

#Fury movie #fury 2014 #fury fanfic #band of brothers #Band of Brothers fandom #band of brothers fanfic #band of brothers imagine #Don Collier #Don Wardaddy Collier #don collier x OFC #boyd bible swan #boyd swan #mzwrites

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skullrock · 4 years

Text

the campers, chapter two - Steve x Reader

gif by @harringtown

chapter two: the trainee

series summary:Steve gets a job as a camp counselor at Camp Know Where, intending on using the summer to discover himself. When things start to go wrong at camp, the only people that can help him are the Party, Hopper, and his mortal enemy - you. [Enemies to lovers, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort]

chapter summary: Steve gets in the swing of things quickly, much to your dismay.

warnings: swearing!

word count: 2.7k

a/n: you can catch up on the series here! hope you enjoy this chapter!

===

Dustin and Steve are luckily paired into the same cabin, but they have different rooms. Steve’s roommate isn’t in when he goes to drop off his things, but Dustin assures that the man, Nico, is a cool dude.

“Not as cool as you though, Steve,” Dustin says, giving him a firm pat on the back. Steve smiles slightly and nods, appreciating the sentiment. Especially after being blasted by you.

“Are you going to tell me what’s up with you and Y/N?”

“No,” Steve says curtly, shutting and locking his room.

Dustin waits a few moments to see if Steve will fess up, but he doesn’t. Actually, Steve sets his jaw tightly, making Dustin even more curious. “I guess you guys don’t like each other, huh?”

“No,” Steve says again. He runs a hand through his hair. “Well - she doesn’t like me.”

“She knew you as Asshole Steve?”

Steve sighs heavily. “Yeah. She knew me as Asshole Steve.”

Dustin shrugs as they start to make their way to their orientations. “You’ll just have to show her how you changed, that’s all.”

Steve scoffs and shakes his head. “It doesn’t even matter.”

Dustin knows he doesn’t mean that, but he stops prodding for answers.

They continue their walk down from the cabins to the activity center, filled with classrooms, the cafeteria, and research labs. Steve enjoys the area already, happy to see the sun glistening off of the lake and the large hemlocks and oaks. The wind smells like pine and juniper, even in the summer, relaxing Steve’s mind. The woods do scare him now, there’s no denying that. But these aren’t the sinister woods behind his house in Hawkins. These woods are welcoming and cheery, bright and charming. Steve loves the open fields for archery and tag, the courts for basketball and tennis. He decides he’d really like to help out with the intramurals, giving up on the science aspect before even getting the chance to explore it.

Steve’s train of thought is derailed when he hears a sweet voice call out, “Dusty-bun?”

Dustin turns on his heel, a smile spreading widely across his face. He runs to meet her halfway, picking her up and twirling her. The girl laughs happily, and they kiss for a moment before Steve clears his throat. “Is this Suzie?”

“It’s Suzie,” Dustin says, sighly happily. “Suzie, this is Steve.”

She extends her hand and Steve takes it, surprised by how firm her grip is. She’s alright, Steve thinks. She’s got this Mormon vibe going on, but her smile is bright and her personality is welcoming. Steve’s happy to find out that Suzie is an actual person, and while she has no Phoebe Cates in her at all, she’s a perfect match for Dustin.

Steve third wheels as they continue to walk towards the activity center, again being pulled back to his thoughts. His mind falls on what you’d said earlier.

It feels like a rock sits in his gut when he thinks about camp when he was younger. He knows he was an asshole, he can feel it in his bones. He knows he hung out with Tommy H. and some other dickheads, and he has glimpses of memories of tripping, pushing, and pranking. But he really doesn’t remember a lot. He’s not sure if he’s from the concussions or because he willed those thoughts out of his memory - but they aren’t there. Only insignificant ones remain. Like how his bedsheets in his cabin were blue and red plaid; how he would wake up at 7:15 to take a walk before Tommy would wake up; he even remembers the bitter taste of the orange juice hitting his tongue at breakfast. It’s like his mind zeroed in on the insignificant things so that the hurtful memories stay in the back of his mind, sitting like a cobra, waiting to strike.

The trio arrives at the activity center.

“I’ll see you tonight, Steve,” Dustin says. “Don’t worry - you’ll do great.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Steve mumbles, anxiety twisting in his gut. “Nice to meet you, Suzie.”

She smiles brightly and starts off, but Dustin stays behind. “Hotter than Phoebe Cates, right?”

Steve forces a smile and nods, giving him a thumbs up. “You really did it, man.”

Dustin winks and walks away, leaving Steve alone and sweating bullets. He hates being alone - he can’t stand being by himself anymore. Especially now that he knows you’re on the loose here, probably plotting some sick pranks. But he forces himself to move his feet up to the orientation check in.

“Name?” a man with the nametag Josh asks.

“Uh, It’s Steve. Harrington.”

He gets his bundle - a nametag, a hat just like Dustin’s, a few lime green and yellow Camp Know Where shirts (reading LEADER on the back), a drawstring bag, some pens, and a notebook. Steve forces himself to not make a face at the shirt - it’s disgusting and it will certainly ruin his chances with the ladies. He’ll wear it - he’s just not happy about it. And, besides, the first girl he interacted with at camp nearly bit his head off, so maybe he shouldn’t be so worried about his chances. Maybe he should be worried about not fucking up this time.

He takes a seat in one of the large lecture halls, sitting as far away from everyone as possible. Nearly everyone who walks in waves at him and sits close, making Steve clench his fists and bounce his legs. He literally does not remember how to be social - it’s like a second language that he forgot. It pains him that he can’t strike up conversations like he used to, but those around him help.

“Hi, I’m Kara,” a girl his age says, sitting down right next to him. “Who are you?”

Steve blinks. “Oh - I’m Steve.”

She reaches out and shakes his hand, smiling. “You’re new, right?”

“Is it that easy to tell?”

Kara laughs. “Don’t worry, Steve - you’ll get the hang of the flow soon enough.”

Okay, maybe he does have a chance with some ladies.

You come into the room, eyes searching for Steve. You see your buddy Kara talking to him and you curse under your breath. She’s not supposed to be friends with him - she’s probably going to try to bone him in the next week, too, and you don’t want that either. You march up to Josh, the leader of leaders, and pull him down to your level. “You cannot - you will not - pair me with Steve Harrington.”

Josh’s brows furrow and he looks up at Steve, remembering him from earlier. “What, you scared of that dork?”

You groan and roll your eyes. “He was such an asshole to me - we used to go to camp together. He made my summers hell, Josh. I can’t be around him.”

Josh pauses and shrugs. “Okay, no problem, I’ll pair him with someone else.”

You sigh in relief and take a seat at the front, where a panel of veteran counselors sit. You try to be social, but the bile keeps rising from your stomach to your throat. You feel sick. You feel like this summer is going to be an absolute nightmare. And while you’re so far beyond who you used to be - that kid who couldn’t even look people in the eye - you’re scared that his presence will revert you back into that little girl. And it’s the last thing you want.

Josh claps his hands a while later, signalling the start of orientation. Steve shifts in his seat and pulls out his notebook and a pen. He doesn’t know shit about note taking, but he reckons he should try. You grab your notebook too, excited to learn and meet with the new folks.

“Welcome to Camp Know Where!” Josh says.

The room erupts in cheers and Steve can feel his old self creeping back in, the insult of dorks running through his head - as if he isn’t clearly one himself. But he composes himself, clapping lightly along with everyone else.

“Here at Camp Know Where, we want to create a welcoming, safe environment for our kids to explore the world through science, math, engineering, and technology.” Steve writes it down quickly, forming the acronym “SMET”, and giggling to himself.

“It’s our job as counselors to facilitate learning in a fun, positive, and energetic way. Through orientation, you’re going to meet your fellow counselors, learn some things, and find a designation at camp. We work with you! If you think you’d be better at doing science, we’ll help you find your place in the classroom. But if you’d like to work with intramurals, we can place you out in nature. However, we still want to make sure everyone has a good grasp at all activities, so you’ll be cycled through everything we have to offer at Camp Know Where.”

Steve writes down “science - intramurals - whatever - know it all.”

“Today, though, we’ll be doing some icebreakers, and then some brainstorming.”

The room erupts in groans, Steve’s perhaps being the loudest.

“Relax, they’re fun.” Josh beams and holds up a clipboard. “I’m going to split everyone off with a partner now. This will be your partner all through camp. You’ll do something with everyone, but your partner is like your mentor. The newer folks will be paired with someone who’s been here a while to help you get in the swing of things.”

You shift in your seat. Maybe you’ll make a new friend - maybe you’ll get along famously - it was an exciting concept.

Or, it is, until Josh calls out, “Y/N and Steve.”

The shit eating grin on his face is unimaginable. He looks down at you, smiling, eyes shining, as if to say, get over it. If you had a bat, you would have hit him with it. Your stomach sinks, it rolls, it twists. Your palms sweat, your head races, but it stays forward, eyes trained on the podium in front of you.

Steve feels the exact same, except his legs are telling him to get the hell out of there. He knows his protests will fall on deaf ears, and who would accommodate him, anyway? He rests his head in his hands as Josh continues to read off names.

“Alright, get with your partner. We’re going to play two truths and a lie!”

Phenomenal, you think. The worst icebreaker of all time, and it’s with Steve Harrington.

You push yourself up out of your seat and force your legs to move towards him, sitting down next to him but a chair away, keeping a distance. Steve’s okay with it - it actually helps him breathe.

The rest of the room fills with laughs and chatter, but you both stare in silence for a long while. Finally, Steve says, “So -”

“We aren’t friends,” you interrupt. “We aren’t friends now, we weren’t friends then, and in the future, we won’t be friends. Got it?”

Steve swallows hard and nods. Despite the dryness in his throat, he tries to apologize. “Look, I know I wasn’t nice when he were kids -”

You scoff. He continues. “But I swear to God, or whatever, I’ve changed. I’m not like that anymore. I - I don’t even hang out with Tommy. I just hang out with Dustin and this girl called Robin, you don’t know her - she’s pretty cool -”

“Save it,” you say harshly. “We can talk since it’s our job, but I don’t care about your life now, and I know you don’t care about mine.”

No icebreakers are played between you - the only thing played is an intense staring contest, which makes you angry and Steve horrified. Finally, Josh claps again, and then the real orientation begins. Josh hands out papers with scenarios on them, the goal being to brainstorm ways to demonstrate good leadership. Things like, a camper is obviously intoxicated - what do you do? and what’s the best way to improve a camper who isn’t doing well?

“Wait,” Steve says as Josh places the paper down. “Are we sw- switching partners?”

“Nope!” Josh says, popping the ‘p’. “Not yet.”

Steve wants to die.

To your surprise, Steve has some pretty phenomenal ideas for how to be a good leader. He even delves into how he would bond with the campers - he’d play sports with them, facilitate idea generating, become someone they can come to and confide in. He wouldn’t shut down their ideas, but rather help them expand on them. You think that he actually has some really good concepts.

“I just want them to trust me, you know?” he says quietly. “I want them to feel like they have a chance and that they can come to me for anything.”

You furrow your brows. “How’d you get these good ideas?”

“Dustin,” he admits, a bit sheepishly. “And some of his friends, too. They’ve helped me understand how to be better at listening and helping and understanding.”

You nod stiffly, not wanting to become too impressed with him. “Well, you have some solid ideas.”

Steve’s eyes widen and brighten. “You think?”

You shrug. “They’re not bad.”

And just like that, Steve feels like he has a purpose.

The room forms back together to go over their responses, and for the first time in his life, Steve offers his perspective in a public setting without being condescending or rude. The feeling of raising his hand was awkward and unknown, but he kept doing it, in love with the nods of support from the other counselors. Someone said he must have a knack for being a leader, and Steve beamed brighter than he had in months.

You, of course, hated it, but you had no authority to tell him to shut up. To you, it seemed fake and, frankly, out of nowhere. But you couldn’t help to agree with some of his points and ideas. You hated it.

You all break for the day at five. You practically run out of the room, gasping in the fresh air outside quickly. Josh walks past you and slaps your back, turning around to smile at you. “Have fun?”

“I will kill you.”

“Can’t wait!”

You’d lost your appetite after the hours spent with Steve, so you stay outside, sitting on a picnic bench and contemplating. You wonder if Steve is right when he says he’s changed. Past Steve would never say such things, would never even bother to put in an effort. But he was giving more of an effort than most people in that room, and it genuinely shocked you. Maybe Dustin had something to do with it - but that seemed improbable, too. The whole thing was so bizarre that it made your head spin and your knees weak.

You see Dustin heading inside and call out for him, beckoning him over. His brows furrow tightly but he walks over, sitting down across from you. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“What’s Steve’s deal?”

“Look, I hated him too,” Dustin says. “I mean, I really hated him. Like, I wanted to punch him -”

“I get it.”

“Right. But he’s changed. He got sober really fast a few years back and he hasn’t been the same since.” Dustin pauses, choosing his words carefully. “A lot of stuff has happened to him… and I think it’s changed him for the better. He’s been through a lot. He’s just trying to find himself now. That’s why he’s here.”

You sigh heavily. “You think he’s better?”

“I know he’s better.” Dustin smiles. “And that’s why I think you should give him a chance.”

“No way,” you scoff. “He never gave me a chance.”

“Shouldn’t stoop to past Steve’s level.” Dustin’s smile widens. “You’ll hurt your back.”

You roll your eyes. You don’t want this kid to be right, but you know he is.

“Just - give him a chance, please? He really deserves one. He’s my best friend… he deserves a shot.”

You sigh again. “Fine.”

===

taglist (join here!): @troop-scoop @therealestdookie @jasontoddisfantastical @mybestfriendthedingus @anonymousonion23 @darth-el @unknownherelm @random-thoughts-003 @metuel18 @dark-academics-and-florals @magicstrengthandcourage @mathchampagne @magnitude101999 @yall-wildin-like-siriusly @sunshine-and-riverwater @dark-academics-and-florals @scooprtroopr @heart-eye-harrington @sourapplebaby @comedy-witch

#steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fic #steve harrington au #stranger things x reader #stranger things fic #stranger things au #my fics #the campers

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crystalwillow · 4 years

Text

Exiled Problems - Chapter Seven

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x Casey Valentine (F!MC)

Features: Bryce Lahela

Word Count: 1.2K

Warning: This AU features themes of; Angst, Swearing, Alcohol Use, Violence, NSFW Material (Mature Themes, 18+)

Taglist: @sophxwithers @otakudreamer @an-jell-o @curiousconch @mm2305

===========================

Before they knew it, Casey and Bryce's wedding was just 2 weeks away and she was busy preparing for another event to celebrate their engagement one final time. As she placed her powder brush back on the desk she looked at Ethan's contact for the billionth time since she left his apartment and tears welled in her eyes. She knew that she shouldn't but her fingers flew over the keyboard typing out a message.

Once she typed it, she locked her phone and shoved it in her top drawer ignoring it as her heart raced. She wasn’t expecting an answer and nor did she get one; but just the possibility that she may see him tonight set her soul ablaze as she finished getting ready and sat practising her smile in the mirror.

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

All too soon Casey was in the grand hall of Bryce’s estate pacing nervously in the corner as she waited for him to arrive. She watched the minutes tick by on her phone, dread flooding her veins more intensely the closer 7pm drew.

6:47pm.

6:48pm.

6:49pm.

Where was he? Of course he had a habit of being late or cutting it close, but this was too close. Even for him. Finally the main door of the hall were opened and Bryce was still nowhere to be seen. Casey looked at the time. 7:00pm. She’d have to start this thing alone and cover for the man who everyone thought of as her fiance.

She stood to greet some guests as they entered, giving bryce the excuse of fussing over his hair and waiting on his suit to come back from the dry cleaners because of an incident with ketchup and wine at lunch. Luckily, the guests seemed to buy it and the event got underway. Casey made the rounds as the hostess saying hello and making polite small talk, when about an hour in she spotted him there in the corner. She honestly thought that he wouldn’t come. That maybe he’d stay at work and bury himself in it the way she had been to deal with the pain and maybe for a moment, even if it was brief, forget about her… forget about them and be happy.

Subconsciously her legs carried her over to where he stood, stopping mere inches from him.

“Ethan…” she sighed with a shaky smile.

“Casey.” he responded as he downed his scotch.

“I… didn’t think you’d-”

“There you are babe!”

Bryce exclaimed as he approaches her, lipstick smudged on his lip and his suit slightly disheveled. Casey’s stomach turned as he placed an arm around her waist.

“Ramsey.” Bryce nods.

Ethan grunts in response watching Casey closely out the corner of his eye.

“I um. Need to use the bathroom, you should make the rounds and say hello.” Casey nods before making a brief exit.

Bryce shrugs and leaves to greet some guests and Ethan slips out of the hall in search of Casey. He searches everywhere he can think she would be in a place so large before he makes his way outside. Once he steps outside it isn’t long before he hears some familiar sobs coming from the shadows. He follows them carefully, his heart breaking when he sees the redness in Casey’s eyes.

“Casey…”

“You need to leave.” she says as she wipes her tears away

“What? But you invited me here… I.. I don’t under-”

“You’re drunk. I invited you because I wanted to see you again. But you’re drunk, Ethan. You reek of scotch. How the hell have you been doing your job?!”

“I… I haven’t been showing up…”

“What? Are you kidding me?!”

“Well, what was I supposed to do, Casey?! Huh! Why don’t you tell me that one.”

“You were supposed to go to work, act as normal as possible as you processed your pain and over time get over me.”

“Get over you? Have you gone insane?”

“No. I’ve gone numb. Which is why if you know what’s good for you. For both of us, you’ll leave, you’ll put down the drink, sober up, go back to work, forget I ever existed, and get over me.”

“There is no getting over you Casey! I can;’t get over you. No matter how much I try, I will never ever get over you.”

At the sound of his raised tone Casey flinches and turns away hugging herself. Just then Bryce joins them.

“I think you need to step away from the lady and leave as she’s requested.”

“Oh, shut up you dickhead.” Ethan spits over his shoulder. “You were late to your own engagement even because you were with someone else!”

Behind them gasps sound and flashes illuminate the night sky as paparazzi snap pictures and record sound bites of the conversation.

“I don’t know what you-”

“Save it, Bryce. All 3 of us here know that you and I aren’t actually engaged. And even if we were, I saw the lipstick stain on your mouth and the way your suit was messed up. So you would have just cheated on me for the 87th time since our engagement news.”

“Come on now my sweetheart. Don’t-”

“Don’t what? Bryce. Don’t let you know how I really feel. Don’t let you know that I hate your guts and have despised every single time you’ve had to touch me or hold my hand. Don’t give those who are taking pictures a recording this permission to publish a story on how much of a fuckboy you are and ruin both of our families by calling this engagement off?! Because I am done with being someone else's contract. Or… or someone else’s assignment. I am a human with feelings and was ripped from the start of a relationship with a man I love for the sake of keeping our images and the images of our families pretty! Well I am done!” Casey yells as tears stream down her cheeks and she twists the ring off her finger, throwing it at Bryce with a frustrated sob before running back inside.

The two men scowl at one another before Bryce heads back inside, Ethan leaving just as Casey requested.

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

The next morning Casey rushed to the bank and withdrew all of her money before her parents can catch wind of the drama from the night before and places a deposit on an apartment in New York that afternoon. She doesn’t care that there are losses because she can easily buy new outfits and furniture.

About a month passes as Casey settles into her new apartment and new life in New York. She quit the family business two days after moving and is now estranged from both of her parents.

3 weeks passed before she received a phone call from Ethan and they spoke at length and are still in contact. Ethan is supposed to fly to her in a month so they can go on their first official date in a while. Casey is still hurt from the rough time she went through and her parents actions play on her mind constantly and she will always love them. But this is what’s best for everyone.

Since moving Casey has started her own dance and self defense classes which are in high command as Christmas season approaches. She hasn’t had any contact with Bryce since that night she called off the fake engagement, and she is honestly relieved about that.

They may not have gone through with the engagement and Bryce may be getting hell from his family but she’s just happy that for her, he is now only one of many exiled problems.

#choices stories you play #playchoices #pixelberry studios #lahamseiroshoe writes #au’s by lahamseiroshoe #ethan ramsey #bryce lahela #open heart #choices fanfiction #ethan ramsey fanfiction #casey valentine

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aescapisms · 4 years

Text

everything is blue [b.barnes]

pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader word count: 6k ??? warnings: violence, death, the usual prompt: Gang leader White Wolf had his shipments stolen from him, and you were the prime suspect. You did steal something, yes that’s true, but it definitely wasn’t the shipments.

happy birthday hoe @bluerorjhan

“Bullshit Barton.” Bucky’s voice echoed around the room, papers were flying everywhere. He was pissed and nothing was safe from his anger. Clint let out an exasperated sigh, he had explained it to him five times now and Bucky still hasn’t accepted it. “How the fuck does our shipment just fucking disappear like that? Do you know how much we have riding on this?”

Clint wanted to answer him that he knows, how could he not when Bucky had already told him about it six times in the last 30 minutes. Clint knew better though, he knew not to further agitate the boss.

“Bring in Parker.” Bucky said to Barton after a few minutes of silence. This cannot be happening right now. How could Barton be fucking careless? Bucky already told them how important this shipment was and how people would be gunning for it but they still messed up the security. There aren’t enough papers to throw across the room that would appease his anger. He needed to punch someone, he’ll probably do that later but right now he needs to handle the missing shipments.

“Mr. White Wolf, Sir?” The kid, Parker, quietly said as he entered the room. “Y-You called for me?” Bucky nodded and asked him to sit down. Peter Parker, the young hacker was recruited in the gang at the age 15 after Rogers found him beaten up in an alleyway somewhere in his neighborhood. “I need you to pull up all of the CCTV footage from the night three days ago.”

“Is this because of the robbery, Mr. White Wolf sir?” Bucky nodded, “I want all of the CCTV footage from the moment the truck left the building until it reached T’Challa’s place. That truck left here full of guns and ammos and arrived in the warehouse empty. Figure out what happened in between.” Parker nodded and left to work on his new found assignment.

This is the first time that this has happened. He founded this gang nine years ago and began the business of supplying people weapons, ammunition and services. Everything can be taken care of for a price. They were the best in the business, that was until this. And in this world, one mishap can cause you your credibility. Luckily, T’Challa has always been a friend and was willing to keep the issue quiet on the condition that it had to be resolved by the end of the week.

“Hey, you want some beer?” Rogers asked as he handed Bucky a can then sat down on the couch. “Parker is already working on it, we’ll find out what happened and resolve this matter quickly.” His words of encouragement didn’t really do Bucky any good. He still felt miserable and hopeless and angry. Bucky grabbed the beer and sat on the chair opposite Steve. Silence enveloped the room until Sam appeared holding four more beers and a shit-eating grin.

The three of them sat there in silence drinking until Sam finally asked, “Do you have any idea who took the shipment?”

“A lot came to mind.” Bucky replied, crushing the now empty beer on his left arm before grabbing a new one. “But I have a feeling that it was the other gang. Hers.” That last word escaped Bucky’s mouth with such poison that it sent shivers up Sam and Steve’s spines.

“If it was any other gang, they wouldn’t be able to one up Barton like that. But if it’s her. It may be possible.”

No one inside or outside of the gang has ever heard Bucky call you by your name. He always referred to you as ‘her’ or ‘that person’. No one ever really figured out why.

Your gang, or as other people unofficially call it ‘Shadows’ was only established three years ago but you have swept every other gang on the map. Winning fights, races, gambling, and even escaping the police were just child’s play to you. You quickly earned your place as the gang to be feared and not be messed with.

Bucky had met you twice, first was in a fight two years ago. A subordinate of yours stepped into Bucky’s territory and caused trouble for quite a few of his people. Every gang has a different territory. And crossing territories is an offense in your world, causing trouble while you’re at it is worse. Loki did both.

Loki was sort of unhinged yes, but he was a valuable asset to you and so you personally came to collect him from Bucky.

“I heard you have one of my people.” were the first words you ever said to him. “I’m here to take him back.”

Bucky heard a few things about you. People called you names, one prominent one was that you were an insufferable bastard. “So you’re the one causing trouble back there huh.” You smiled at him and bowed “I’m surprised that the infamous Wolf is keeping tabs on me. Consider me flattered.” There was something wrong with your voice, you were smiling at him but your voice was completely cold and monotonous. Lifeless.

“Your subordinate crossed my territory. What should we do about that?” Bucky asked, dismissing your previous statement. You looked at Loki who was bound on a pillar with ropes. “I would like to offer my sincere apologies, he still hasn’t learned the customs of this world and he is also, frankly, very stupid. I will pay for the damages and teach him a lesson myself.” You sent Loki a glare which got him to stop making faces at Steve.

“Why should I accept your apology?”

You smiled “Isn’t it customary for gang leaders to give each other a gift?” Bucky raised his eyebrow “Yeah, if you’re the gang leader of your territory which I believe that you are not.”

“Yet.”

“Huh?” Bucky asked.

“Not yet. Give us six months, and once we become the gang leader we’ll consider you letting this matter go as your gift to us.”

Bucky hated arrogance, but he hated hollow arrogance even more. “You’re nothing but a small gang and you really think you can take over that place? Don’t make me laugh.”

“I’m not trying to make you laugh. If I was I would’ve brought you to the fucking circus.” Ah there it was, Bucky thought. That’s why they called you a cold heartless insufferable bastard. “If you believe that we can’t do it’s fine. It’s your right to be wrong. But if we do become the gang leader, it would be very awkward for you.”

Bucky has had enough and pulled a gun on you. “What’s stopping me from putting a bullet into your brain?”

“Nothing really,” you smiled as if taunting him to pull the trigger “but I can just hear the whispers now. Oh you know that Wolf? Yeah, he killed Y/N because he was afraid of what she’s capable of. What a fucking pussy really.”

Bucky’s finger slowly moved away from the trigger, and you smirked. “C’mon Loki. Let’s go. I know you’ve already released yourself from those ropes hours ago.”

Everyone looked at Loki who smiled as he let the ropes fall to the ground. Before the two of you left, you looked at Bucky who still had his gun pointed towards you and gave him one last smile and before disappearing into the night.

The next time he saw you was at the gang leaders’ meeting. He was surprised to see you there, although to be fair, everyone was. A clan meeting was held every six months. He wasn’t expecting you here. You said you would take over the territory in six months, but you managed to do it in three.

Bucky noticed the change in you though, you were quieter and if it was even possible, even colder than you were before. He wondered what were the things that you went through in those three months for you to change drastically. How was it possible for your little gang to take out Erik Killmonger, a notorious killer with a thirst for blood and wipe his gang clean.

“Do you really think that it’s her?” Sam asked pulling Bucky back to reality. Bucky shrugged, he had a gut feeling but that was all there was. A gut feeling. Movies and TV shows portrayed gangs as chaotic with no regard for the law but they’re wrong. Gangs are lawful, only they follow their own. And one thing that you cannot do is accuse someone without any evidence. You do that, and you will die before you can even say the words I’m sorry.

Bucky stood up and went to where Parker was to try and see what he had dug up so far. “What do you have?”

“Nothing yet Mr White Wolf Sir. All the CCTV footage was deleted and I’m still trying to get the files back but it’s going to take a while. But I feel like I know this work…”

“Evidence?”

“Well, you know how hackers like to leave their own tag?”

“Yeah,” Bucky answered, “To let people know that it’s them. It’s common in gangs and in hacking. You found something?”

“Yes Mr. White Wolf, Sir. I found this.” Peter Parker blew up the screen with a single word. Death. “Now, I checked if there are gangs out there called Death or even a gang member with that codename but I came up empty. That;s when I realized that this wasn’t a part of the code. It’s an image, so I checked it in photoshop and brightened the image and there it is.”

Bucky’s suspicions were confirmed, because the image showed a shadow behind the word Death. You did this, and you were going to pay.

“Rogers, gather up everyone. We leave in 5 minutes.” Bucky was pissed. He never thought that you would do such a thing. Was this payback? Maybe, he just hasn’t figured out what for. Or maybe it wasn’t payback. Maybe you just really like fucking with people.

“Should I inform them that we would be coming?”

“No. We’ll pay them a surprise visit.”

It was a Thursday night, which meant it was a gang game night, and gang game nights are easily the highlight of your week.

“No we are not playing that magic trick game again, Scott. You always win.” Wanda complained as she pushed Scott from his chair.

“That’s why I always suggest that we do it.” Everyone grabbed their empty beer cans and chucked them all at Scott. “Oh come on, just because you all don’t know how to do magic doesn’t mean it’s not fun for me!” Scott took a five second pause to understand the words that just came out of his mouth. “Oh shit that really sounded bad”

Everyone laughed, “It really sounded bad you dumbass. Everyone get up and go to the firing range. We’ll do archery, since you guys suck at archery. Lowest score becomes the designated driver for two months.”

Everyone rushed to the firing range and grabbed a bow and arrow. “Are you not going to join?” Scott asked, and you just laughed. “Please note that I said, ‘you guys’ suck at archery.” Which wasn’t true. You might have an advantage, but you still very much suck at archery.

Once you said go, arrows started flying out and they mostly hit the target, if the target was the wall. God they are hopeless, you thought. They were on their 7th arrow when the door suddenly opened wide and all you guys saw were guns pointing at you. It was Bucky Barnes and he looked like hell.

Questions started forming inside your head. Why was he here? Why is he handsome as hell? What does he want? And more importantly, why are your friends pointing arrows at them as if those arrows will go right at their intended target?

This is the third time that Bucky met you. “Everyone put your arrows down. It’s not like you’ll be able to hit them accurately, you’ll just ruin the walls.” Your voice was playful, but commanding. Bucky saw everyone lower their bow but grabbed on to the arrow to just chunk them at people.

You walked towards him with your arms wide and welcoming. “You know, if I had a dollar for all the times that you pointed a gun at me I would have 2 dollars. Which isn’t a lot but it’s really weird that it happened twice.” You grabbed the barrel of the gun and put it down.

“I highly advise that you guys put your guns down. It’s very rude.” Everyone almost instantaneously put their guns down just by the sound of your voice. They all looked at Bucky and he just nodded. “Take a seat, and speak. You’re interrupting our game night. Everyone get out. Mr. Wolf, you stay.”

“But--” Loki wanted to speak but you just interrupted him. “I know. We’ll continue game night after I talk to him. Just go prepare for the beer pong.”

“I will be civil about this--”

“Civil? Mr. Wolf, there was nothing civil about you crossing our territories without informing me. And then just showing up and pointing guns on our faces. Plus you interrupted our game night.”

“Game night? Why do you even have game nights?” Bucky asked, a question he’s been meaning to ask since he walked inside the building.

“Well, someone’s jealous.” Bucky rolled his eyes “Anyways, tell me. Barnes why should I not put a bullet between your eyes right now.”

Bucky felt something that he hasn’t felt in a long time. Excitement. No one has openly refused and dared to talk down on him before. Or even had the courage to use his real name on him. He wasn’t at all confused as to how you knew his name. He knew that you had the means to get all the information about him.

“I have been informed that my shipment from three days ago came upon its destination empty.”

You just looked at him, uninterested “Rip to your shipments but what does that have to do with me? Why does my game night have to suffer just because you guys were careless in handling your packages?” And then it dawned on you, “Unless you think I did that?”

“I know you did.” Bucky said confidently, “Your hacker is careless, and arrogant. He left a signature when he deleted the security tapes and we were able to track it down to Shadows. You should really get rid of your hacker, he’s useless.”

“You’re wrong.” You answered and leaned back on the couch.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re wrong. We didn’t do that. Our hacker didn’t do that. We don’t give a shit about your fucking shipments. So unless you have a solid proof that really ties this incident to us. Leave my building because you’re totally bumming out my mood. Unless you want to join a virtual Cards against Humanity with us later.” “I just handed you the evidence. Your guy slipped up and was too arrogant---”

“I’m the only hacker in Shadows and I won’t be that fucking dumb to leave a fucking signature that could be traced to me.Do you even use your fucking head? Jesus christ, you’re lucky you’re handsome.”

That did it for Bucky, he quickly stood up from the couch and leaped towards you grabbing your shirt and pulling you close to him. “Don’t fucking mess with me. Give me back my shipments or I will burn your place to the fucking ground.”

“Not gonna lie,” you said as you looked up at his blue eyes “this is kinda hot.”

“Give me back my shipments.”

“I’m sure that you have already searched through my place.Did you see any shipments, dumbfuck? Just because you messed up doesn’t mean you can use me as your fucking scapegoat.” This was the first time that Bucky saw you get mad. You grabbed his hand that was still holding your shirt and then pushed him away, “Now, I didn’t do anything when you barged in my territory without telling me. Didn’t do anything when you pointed your guns at my people. And didn’t do anything when you accused me of this bullshit without any hard evidence.”

You were right. All three of those warrants an instant death, it doesn’t matter if you’re the gang leader or not. Tarnishing the reputation of someone else for the sake of doing so warrants death. Because that indicates that you don’t respect them. Respect is important in keeping the harmony between the gangs, and Bucky just violated that.

“I suggest that you leave now, before I lose all respect for you. You have disrespected my gang, my family. You’ve been in this business far longer than I have, and I know the rules better than you. Get out of my sight, because I will not be merciful the next time.”

“Okay so game night still back on?” Loki asked as soon as he entered the room.

You smiled “Yes, new game though. It’s called find the culprit. It’s anyone’s game and whoever wins will get to choose the next job.” Everyone immediately went to work, after explaining to them what happened everyone just got fired up and did every†hing humanly possible to track down the bastard that wants to implicate you.

You lied when you said that you were the only hacker in the gang. Everyone in here has a background in hacking but no one would be that stupid as to steal from Bucky Barnes. Not when they know that he's the person you're hopelessly in love with.

"Boss! Something just arrived, it's a box and it has a drawing of a wolf on it" Sam announced as he entered the room, clutching the said box. “Don’t worry, we already scanned it for bombs, it has nothing. We just didn’t want to open it because we thought that it was addressed to you.” And Bucky Barnes hates when people touch the things that are his.

Bucky grabbed the knife that he carried with him at all times, and opened the box. Inside the box there was a note, with a single drop of blood. “Take this to the lab. Check whose DNA it is. We’ll go to the address, just message me if you figure out who it is.”

In the car, Steve finally asked “Do you know who sent the note?”

He knew of course. It was the same writing as the one on the blackboard from the building that they went to three days ago. The building that they rudely barged in, and interrupted the game night, and spoiled the mood for everyone.

The address brought them to a warehouse on the far side of the town. And when they got in, his missing shipments were there along with tied up people from the gang from this town. And on top of his shipments there was another person there, one he recognized. “Rumlow, you betrayed me?”

So that’s why it was so easy for this gang to be able to intercept their shipment and how they were able to delete all the records. They had a man inside. Bucky told them to take the shipments straight to T’challa and took Rumlow back with them.

Rumlow already looked like he was beaten the shit out of. Blood splattered across his shirt and he just smiled. “Wondering why I did it?” He asked Bucky.

Bucky didn’t really care, he always knew that Rumlow was up to something and he was also at fault for being too careless. “Don’t try to act high and mighty, Rumlow. You’re already done for. Blood is splattered across your face and your face. You don’t have the upper hand.”

“This isn’t my blood.” Rumlow replied, “It was from that fool who thought that she could take me down by herself.” There was a deafening silence that enveloped the room. “You know, that girl that you like? Yeah, this is her blood.”

Bucky took out his gun and in an instant, Rumlow was lying dead in the middle of the room.

“Clean this up. I have to go.”

Rumlow got you good and you know it. That fucking bitch didn’t play fair, and even dared to use a knife on you. You were surprised to figure out that there was an actual rat inside Wolf’s gang, and you couldn’t help but think about your own people. Your family. It was obvious that Bucky treated his subordinates well, but if he could treat his subordinates like that and still have those people turn against him. You began to wonder what that could possibly mean for you. It’s not that you won’t be able to take them down, it’s just going to be hard to punish the person you considered your family for the past few years.

“Look at you.” A voice suddenly spoke behind you, “You’re wounded.”

It was him, and suddenly you felt calm. Too calm.

You fainted in Bucky’s arms.

It was a good thing that he was able to find you when he did because you would’ve been devoured by the people lurking in the dark. Everyone who was lurking knew who you were, and every gang leader has a price on their heads. Yours was the highest, but Bucky had an inkling that if you found out how much you were worth you would be furious and demand that you’re worth more than that.

And in a way you were. Maybe that’s why Bucky has always been different when it came to you. Maybe that’s why he always made sure to keep tabs on the things that you were doing so that if something were to happen, which thankfully it didn’t, he could lend a hand and help.

He didn’t know how to form friendships. All he ever had was the gang and being the leader all that they gave him was the respect as a leader. Yeah, Sam and Steve were there and they try their best to make it seem like they’re friends and they are but there’s still that wall separating them and Bucky.

Everyone treated him differently. Except you, you quickly made an impression on him as someone who doesn’t give a shit about other people than her own. You made the other gangs mad, but you made Bucky curious. Curious if you had any idea what this world is truly made of. This world is full of monsters and demons and your idealism and unorthodox ways would not be tolerated here. He was curious about what this world is going to do to you.

“Go get a doctor, quickly.” Bucky ordered as soon as the car stopped in front of the warehouse. He carried you up and took you straight to his room. “Your wound isn’t that deep, but you bled a lot.” There was still no response from you.

“I know you’re awake. You can stop pretending.” Then he hears it, your laugh. It was something that he wasn’t expecting to hear but he was glad that he did.

“You were carrying and cuddling me from the car to this room. How could I not take advantage? It’s not everyday you get to be wrapped up around the arms of the White Wolf himself.” You said and tried to sit up and leaned against the headboard. “Is this your room? Kinda plain isn’t it?” You said and looked around. Bucky was about to say something along the lines of ‘Can you just worry about your wound first.’ Until he realized that you were trying to distract yourself from the pain stemming from the wound on your side.

“Why? What’s wrong with my room?” Bucky asked, indulging your statement. Might as well help you forget about the pain, even if it's just for a little while.

“I think it lacks soul. It’s lonely.”

“Rooms don't need to have souls. They just need to have a bed to sleep in.”

“Ah, it really is true what they say. Someone’s room can tell so much about the person sleeping in it.”

Bucky was about to ask what kind of room you had but a frightened doctor came into the door. “S-Sir?” Bucky pointed at you and he got the hint.

“Who is this guy?”

“Sorry sir, Thor is currently dealing with a surgery and he can’t come. So we had to take the nearest doctor that we could find.”

“Sam, what did I say about kidnapping people.” Bucky asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He just looked at him and shrugged “That it’s okay if it’s for love?”

That moment Steve knew better and just dragged Sam out of the room without giving Bucky the time to punch him in the face.

The doctor cleaned up your wound and bandaged it up, then left after prescribing some antibiotics and some medication for the pain.

“I’ll get someone to get you some of these meds.” Bucky said as he grabbed the note that the doctor left on his bedside table.

“What you’re in a gang related business and you don’t have any pain medication. What kind of sorcery is this?” You asked laughing, Bucky just rolled his eyes. “Are you going to leave me? Can you not leave me. I may not look like it but I’m actually really afraid of being alone.”

Bucky’s heart did something, but he didn’t know what. So he just shouted for one of his subordinates and asked them to buy the medication as he stayed inside your room. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Take it as an apology. I was wrong for accusing you like that, and for ruining your game night.” He confessed, which was another first thing for him.

“Aww, can’t believe that you’re a big softie, like a teddy bear. Yuck. Disgusting, get out of my room. I want to rest.”

“This is my room.” Bucky reminded you, “And you said that you hated being alone.”

“And you’re the dummy who fell for it. Just leave, send a message to Shadows tell them no need to panic and that I’m going to be sleeping over.”

“If you’re going to sleep here, where am I supposed to sleep?”

“Aww, does the big softie want to sleep beside me? Maybe get some cuddles as well?” Bucky just smiled and walked towards the door. “Didn’t think so. Such a shame, I’m a very good cuddler. Good night boobear.”

Something inside Bucky snapped, he shouldn’t do it but he did. He looked the door and climbed on the bed which prompted you to shout “What the fuck are you doing?”

“You were right. I wanted some cuddles.”

Never in your life did you imagine that Bucky, the White Wolf, the most feared gang leader in your area, would say something as corny and as cheesy as that. To be fair, Bucky didn’t think it would be possible as well but here you guys were.

Bucky only wanted to tease you, that was all. But the moment you wrapped your arms around him he felt so giddy and so happy that he felt as if he would burst.

That was the first night that Bucky slept peacefully.

And the night that he fell in love with you without him knowing it.

Something changed between the two gangs after that night.

There was an unspoken rule that people from your gang aren’t to be messed with and would be given priority access each time you cross. The gang community quickly took notice and followed. Few weeks later they realized that they couldn’t afford to offend either one of you.

The Wolves made a good example to one gang that decided to cross Shadows. It wasn’t the fact that Shadows couldn’t handle it, it was more on showing them that they had their backs. That Bucky has your back.

It was almost as if the Shadows and Wolves decided to merge into a bigger gang. And that would be the most terrifying thing to ever happen on the goddamn planet.

“So you’re telling me, you’re not going to attend game night?” You asked Bucky who is currently on the phone with you.

“Yeah, I have some things to take care of.”

“Okay, but you’re missing game night. Game. Night.” Bucky rolled his eyes. And gestured for Sam to drag the guy away from his sight.

“I know. Sorry.”

“You can shove that sorry up your ass. Don’t talk to me. We’re cancelling the pizza we ordered for you guys. Bye.”

“I told you---”

But you ended the call before Bucky could say anything.

“Lover’s quarrel?” Steve asked, “You can go. We can take care of this motherfucker.”

“You really think that, that would solve it? Game night means you all should be there as well, she’s going to kill me if I just show up there alone.”

Bucky had planned to go. How could he not? At first he thought that game nights were useless but seeing the look on your face and the laughter that echoed around the room. It felt like home. It didn’t feel like they were in the world full of guns and blood, but instead it felt like they were normal people just enjoying each other’s company.

Bucky laughed at the thought of you. You were probably cursing him right now, wondering why you ever invited him to join your game nights if he was just going to ruin it.

But this was something that he needed to take care of. Because this man, Pierce, was the one behind Rumlow’s betrayal. The reason why you were hurt.

And Bucky couldn’t forgive him for that.

You ignored Bucky after that. Didn’t bother returning his phone calls, so instead he just leaves you a voice message every night without fail.

It made you happy of course. Made you think that perhaps it wasn’t a one-sided love affair after all. That maybe there could be a love story between the two of you despite your past, despite the present and despite the future that the two of you have so little of.

You were worried about the meeting today because Bucky would be there. You wonder if you would still be able to keep this act up and continue to pretend to ignore him when he’s standing right beside you looking like a god sent by the heavens.

“Pierce was found dead.”

“WHAT?” You shout in disbelief, “What the fuck? Who did this? Pierce--”

“I did it.” Bucky confessed after you calmed down, which prompted you to shout again. “Pierce was the one behind Rumlow and he was scheming against every single one of us. Including you. When I found out I had to take him out. In this folder, you can see all of the evidence that I have gathered the past few months. I’ll see myself out.” Bucky stood up and tossed the folder that he was clutching so tightly that you wanted to ask him earlier what that folder did wrong.

Turns out the answer was a lot. After skimming through the contents it all made sense.

While Pierce was indeed a scheming son of a bitch, it still didn’t change the fact that he was the one who helped you, and treated you like his own daughter.

“I guess i just didn’t want to believe that he would do that to me.” Your sad eyes made Bucky’s heart hurt. Betrayal isn’t something that you were used to. “Did you ever figure out how he was able to control Rumlow?”

Bucky knew, he had the matter investigated a week after they knew about Rumlow’s betrayal. “There was a girl.” Bucky didn’t need to say any more. You figured it out. How pathetic, how could you almost forget the situation that you are in?

You’re not some teenager who’s free to love whoever they want. You were a gang leader who had duties and responsibilities. What this incident taught you was a cruel lesson, but one that you should be taught early on.

“Love really is a disadvantage huh.” You muttered, “I never want to be in that kind of place.”

“At a disadvantage?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah. Love is cruel and messy. And it would ruin everything that I have worked for.”

“So, you don’t want to fall in love?”

Bucky asked, and he waited for an answer that never came. Oh well, maybe that was an answer too.

A visible strain in your relationship intrigued everyone but they decided to stay quiet and not meddle in your affairs. After all, the two of you were the highest ranking members and should not be messed with. But one particular afternoon things got heated after a job that the two gangs took. “I just don’t fucking get it. I had the shot.” You huffed as you threw your jacket on the couch. “Yeah. A shot to his leg, he has a clear shot of your head. You were going to die.”

Bucky decided to jump at you earlier, effectively throwing the both of you on the ground and wasting a precious bullet meant for someone else.

“It’s none of your fucking business. I could do it.”

“You would’ve died.”

“What is it to you?!”

Ah, there it was. The question that Bucky hoped you never would ask. To be honest you didn’t think that it was a question that would escape your lips as well. But you were just so pissed off that you lost all of your rational thoughts and were left with these stupid ones. You never wanted to ask that because you were afraid of what his answer would be.

No, you weren’t afraid that he would say that you didn’t mean anything to him. That would be a relief. You were scared that he would say that you meant a great deal to him and you don’t know if you can handle that. Love is a dangerous disadvantage. And you would not hesitate to move the mountains and part the seas if Bucky asked you to do so.

You were scared because you loved him so much.

And Bucky just sat there wanting to tell you the truth. To tell you how much you meant to him. How much he loves you and how far he is willing to go for you. How he could kill anyone who looks at you wrongly with his bare hands.

And instead of being honest to each other, the two of you sat there. The truth stayed inside of your hearts, desperately trying to claw their way out.

But the truth will prevail. One way or another. And if the two of you knew that this is what’s going to happen. You would’ve confessed when you had the chance.

You wouldn't have cared. Because right now, Bucky is bleeding in your arms and you couldn’t stop the tears from falling down your face. “Bucky, stay with me. Okay? Stay with me. Please.”

There had been an attack in the warehouse that you owned and Bucky went to help, but no matter how strong you guys were you were still outnumbered. It wasn’t like how it was in the movies where everyone just miraculously survives no matter how many opponents they were faced with. And so Bucky was shot trying to protect you.

“You fucking idiot. Don’t fucking close your eyes.” Bucky smiled because despite all of the curses that you were saying, your voice still sounded sweet. It was a good thing that the sense of hearing is the last to go before a person dies.

‘This is alright,’ Bucky thought, ‘I was never meant for a long life anyway. And what better place to die than in the arms of your loved one.’

Bucky tried to open his eyes, to remain conscious. But his strength is leaving him, he tried to lift his arm up to wipe the tears from your eyes but he couldn’t. He could only listen to your sobs, until he couldn’t hear anything at all.

There were so many things that you weren’t able to say to Bucky.

So many things that you wanted to tell him, so many things that you wanted to do with him. But you weren’t able to do so because you were scared. “Bucky, please wake up.” You cried as you grabbed his hand. He still hasn’t woken up ever since his surgery and Thor said to not get your hopes up but you can’t just give up on him without him knowing how you truly feel. “Please don’t leave me alone. I promise you I won’t let you go. So come back to me okay?”

Twelve days have since passed, and there were still no signs of him waking up. Thor was already talking about preparing for the worst, and so you punched him in the face.

You grabbed some blankets from the other room and went back to your room where Bucky was, “You were right. You can tell alot from a person by their room.”

You dropped the blankets that you were holding and just ran up to hug him. “I was so scared that you were dead.”

“I’m sorry. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Bucky I--” But he just smiled and said ‘I know.’

He knows.

But that wasn’t enough for you. You had to let him know. You had to let him hear it. And there was only one way to convey these feelings properly.

“James Buchannan Barnes. Marry me.”

#holy fuck this was long #im sorry #bye #bucky barnes x reader

130 notes · View notes

dc41896 · 4 years

Text

Light

Pairing: Andy BarberxBlack Reader

⚠️: Small bit of angst, mention of divorce, slight sexual content(its very quick), fluff throughout!

This wasn’t exactly how you planned your night out going. What started out as you arriving at a quiet lounge looking to unwind from a stressful week turned into you joining a new handsome acquaintance back at his apartment stumbling through the door as you both fumbled with the others clothes.

“Sorry,” you’d each lightly chuckle after getting stuck on a button or trying to pull down stubborn jeans.

“This um isn’t really something I normally do,” you admit shyly as your back touches the mattress, heart pounding in your chest.

“Honestly I don’t either, so trust me I get it,” Andy smiles out of breath, bare chest hovering a mere inches above your body. “We can stop though if you want.”

“No, I want to! I mean like I want to continue not to stop if that wasn’t clear. Also sorry that came out really eager. I’m excited but not like this is my first ever time you know and now I’m rambling and killing the mood I’m sorry.”

Chuckling, his thumb traces over your red tinted lips making you smile. “Don’t apologize, your rambling is cute.” Your hand caressing the back of his neck slowly brings your soft yet hungry lips together as your bodies follow close behind becoming tangled in each other as well as the sheets below.

Now here you were, sore yet comfortable being woken up by your vibrating phone across the room. Squinting your eyes trying to adjust to the foreign space around you, the bed feels more spacious than before as you turn to find Andy gone and his side of the bed neatly made.

“Right, I should probably get going,” you thought as your feet touched the carpet below carrying you to each garment you were previously wearing before reaching your phone with missed calls and texts.

Carla: Hey boss man needs you to come in asap

Carla: And it’s looking like you might want to come in uniform...

Y/N: Ugh, alright give me a couple hours

“Morning,” a deep voice speaks slightly startling you. “I uh wasn’t sure if you might want coffee or tea so I made both.”

“Oh, thank you.” Small smile spread on your lips, you carefully take the coffee from his hand enjoying its freshly brewed smell and warmth. There’s a hint of awkwardness between the both of you as you slowly rock back and forth on the balls of your feet, while Andy peers down in his mug tapping his thumb against the rim.

Maybe that’s why you both never did this before. To avoid situations like this wondering how the other was feeling and what was the right next move.

“This um tastes really good.”

“Thanks, it was actually a gift from a friend. I’m getting low so I should probably ask where she got it from,” he chuckles to himself.

And so returned the awkward silence as you both stood sipping from your cups with cars speeding by outside.

“Cmon Y/N this doesn’t have to be difficult. You’re both adults who are highly capable of talking about their feelings,” you thought setting down your coffee on the dresser next to you. “Just spit it out and get it over with.”

“So-,” you both speak at the same time giving you two a much needed laugh.

“You go ahead.”

“No no you go. Mine can wait,” you smile waving your hand for him to continue.

“I was just gonna say that I’m...I’m leaving soon so um if you need a ride anywhere I can drive you so, you know, you don’t have to pay for one.”

Luckily you had a good poker face to hide your embarrassment and the sinking feeling in your gut from his words. Of course you’d be the one wanting for it to grow into more and break what’s possibly known as the cardinal rule of one night stands. Arms crossed over your chest, you busy yourself trying to find your shoes avoiding his eyes.

“Um yea! Thank you, I was actually gonna ask the same thing so it’s um funny you said that.”

“Oh, looks like we were on the same page then,” you both chuckle.

“Ehh I’m not so sure about that,” you thought as he bent down before handing you your other shoe. Lips slightly parted, it seemed as if he had more to say when you finally met his bright, blue eyes. You hated to admit it, but you honestly hoped he had more to say; specifically about your situation.

However, yet again you were disappointed watching him clear his throat nervously scratching the back of his neck as he picked up your nearly empty mug. “We can leave after I take care of these.”

“I can do that if you want?”

“No no I got it. Don’t worry,” he smiles walking towards his kitchen leaving you to gather the last of your things.

“Trust me, that’s the last thing on my mind,” you quietly speak to yourself before joining him in the center of the apartment.

———

Sneakers squeaking against the shiny hospital floors, you hurriedly make your way to your next patient’s room hoping they were much more pleasant than your last. Long story short, they weren’t a fan of having a new physical therapist.

You weren’t entirely mad though, you understood how frustrating it could be to get used to one person then have to change to someone entirely new. Heck you felt a bit overwhelmed yourself once you learned you’d been given a new schedule and entirely new set of people you’d have to care for.

Lightly knocking on the thick glass shielded by a curtain you quietly enter the bright room once hearing a soft “come in.”

“Hi, I’m Y/N and I’ll be Jacob’s physical therapist while he’s here,” you warmly greet extending your hand to the woman in front of you. Long dark hair framing her slender face, you could see the pain through the brave image she upheld.

“Hi I’m Laurie, Jacob’s mother. Me saying this is nothing against you, but I was expecting his usual therapist, Zoe.”

“It’s okay I understand. Zoe had to have a change of schedule due to personal reasons so I’m taking over for her patients.” Lightly nodding her head, the door sliding open steals both of your attention as the last person you’d expect to see entered the room.

Clearly he felt the same way stopping in his tracks once meeting your familiar brown eyes.

“Um hi...”

“Hi Mr. Barber I’m Y/N, Jacob’s new physical therapist,” you smile once again holding out your hand. Were you currently wishing you could run away, crawl in a hole, and scream to your hearts content? Yes, but at the end of the day you still had a job to do and you wouldn’t let an awkward interaction get in the way of that.

“Nice to meet you,” he smiles back similarly maintaining his professionalism while shaking your hand. “And you can call me Andy.”

“It’s nice to meet you too Andy.”

Feeling his lingering touch as your hands part instantly bring you back to last night making you flustered and what seemed like a wave of heat run across your body. Clearing your throat, you mentally collect yourself before standing next to the beeping machines monitoring Jacob’s vitals.

“So just like Zoe was doing, I’ll basically come to make sure his arms and legs get movement and try to limit any further muscle deterioration.”

“And will this only be once a day like before?,” Laurie asks from the other side of the bed smoothing Jacob’s hair down.

“That’s what he was scheduled for, but I can make a note for it to be increased to twice if you’d like? And before I leave for the day I can try to come back to work with him.”

“Thank you. If you’re too busy though you don’t have to-,”

“No it’s fine! If I can’t get to him, I’ll try to send someone to see him.”

Putting on your gloves, you begin gently extending and flexing his arm before eventually moving to his hand and fingers as you continue your conversation with Laurie. At times Andy would join in asking his own questions about his son’s recovery, but mostly just stood by the window gazing out at the rest of the city. He’d try to steal glances here and there taking note of little things like how the lone strand of hair that didn’t make it in your bun dangled ever so perfectly down your soft cheek.

Then there was your plump lips. How you’d innocently bite them when intently listening to Laurie go on about a new study she read about coma patients and treatments. How he could still feel them against his own from last night and how warm they were. How part of him wished you’d come back so he could feel them again.

Being so wrapped in his thoughts, he didn’t realize how his admiring caught your attention making you quickly glance in his direction before returning your attention to Laurie.

Once finished with his other leg, you removed your gloves making notes on the paper attached to your clipboard.

“How is he?,” Andy asks arms crossed over his chest.

“He’s good. No sign of muscle stiffness or rigidity. He actually still has a bit of strength intact, which will definitely be good for starting the more rigorous therapy if he wakes up.”

“Oh ok good,” he nods. “Thank you.”

“It’s part of my job, I feel like you don’t really need to thank me.”

“Nonsense. You’re taking time out to help our son which we greatly appreciate,” Laurie adds with a soft smile from the leather recliner next to the hospital bed.

“Well you’re welcome,” you smile collecting your things to leave. “I’ll try to come back after my last patient to work on him again. It was nice meeting you both.” Giving a small wave as you leave the room, Andy sits at the edge of the bed looking at his sleeping son.

“She was nice.”

“Hm? Oh yea, she was,” Andy quietly speaks grazing a thumb over the back of Jacob’s hand.

“Cute too.”

At this Andy just shakes his head lowly chuckling to himself before turning to look at his amused ex wife.

“So where’d you guys meet?”

“What makes you think I know her?”

“A bit of woman’s intuition. Also the fact that you looked like you saw a ghost when you walked in helped further prove that point,” she laughs.

“It was last night at the lounge downtown. We were both at the bar alone so we started talking.”

“Must’ve been some conversation. I haven’t seen that look in your eyes in a while.”

“Y-Yea, you could say that,” he shyly admits nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

“Did you ask her out?”

“Laurie...”

“If you don’t want to talk about it I understand and won’t pry, but Andy if you’re holding back because of me, the divorce, or Jacob don’t. We had our time and it was great, now don’t be afraid to create more great times with someone else. Plus I know Jake would want to see you happy.”

Looking down at his hands with a sigh, he knew Laurie was right. He really did want to get to know you more, but what if you didn’t feel the same? Especially now knowing a portion of the baggage he was carrying.

“I don’t know...I mean I want to but it’s not just me she’d be adding to her life you know.”

“I get it, but you won’t know how she feels about that until you ask her,” she replies carefully standing up from her seat. “I’m going to the cafeteria, want me to get anything for you?”

“No I’m fine. You want me to go instead? You really need to rest your leg.”

“My leg is fine Andy, plus I still need to walk on it to help it heal. Oh, you can do me one favor though,” she adds stopping in front of the door.

“What’s that?”

“If Y/N happens to come back while I’m gone, talk with her.”

Closing the door behind her, Andy was left with his racing thoughts on what he’d say the next time he saw you.

Or better yet all the possible ways you could say no. Wait, was this even allowed? Given, he wasn’t your direct patient, but still he didn’t want you to get in trouble or possibly lose your job. “This is probably a bad idea,” he spoke to himself with hands covering his face.

The sound of someone clearing their throat makes him quickly sit up to see your nervous smile as you close the door behind you. “I uh just finished with another patient down the hall when the nurse asked me to bring these extra washcloths while she finishes up. She should be here in the next few minutes to clean him up.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“No problem.” Placing the white cloths on the nearby table, you turn to leave with hand gripping the cold, metal handle before being stopped by Andy calling your name. He looked flustered as his hands rested on his hips and his eyes shifted from you to the floor below.

“...We need to talk.”

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#andy barber #defending jacob #andy x reader #andyxwoc #andyxblackreader #chrisxwoc #chrisxblackreader #chrisxreader #chris evans

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kyber-crystal · 4 years

Text

united we stand || s.r

summary: in which you, sam, steve, and natasha are forced to go on the run after civil war. unfortunately, being a fugitive with government officials out for his blood doesn’t seem to stop the great captain america from falling even more in love with you.

words: ~2.5k

warnings: slight angst, sam and natasha being matchmakers, fluff

a/n: OMG IM SORRY THIS ONE WAS SO POORLY WRITTEN ADLFJDSF

It doesn't have to come down to this, Tony. Look what you're doing. You're tearing the Avengers apart."

"You did that when you sided with Cap, Y/N."

"What do we do now?"

"We fight."

"He's my friend."

"So was I."

"He killed our parents, Y/N. And you're still willing to take his side? I thought I could trust you. But I guess I can't even rely on my own judgement anymore to make decisions, can I?"

Your heart hammered against your ribcage as you jumped from rooftop to rooftop, a dull ache forming at the edges of your skull due to all the thoughts rushing around in your brain and narrowly escaping a flurry of over two dozen of General Ross's men.

Guilt settled in the pit of your stomach, making your insides churn. You turned against the last family you had left, and now you were paying the price.

You're one hundred percent sure that Tony hates your guts at this point. Leaving your brother for someone else; what had you become?

"What now?" Sam asked, looking around and sending Redwing out to survey your surroundings for any other agents that could be approaching. "What's our next step?"

"We gotta catch a train. Belfast's no longer safe for us," Steve panted as he slid his shield over his back, trying to catch his breath. "Our safety's already compromised as it is."

"Nat's gonna go get the tickets, I'll buy us some disguises. We're less likely to be recognized because you guys are all suited up with your wings and shield," you explained. "Wait here."

A few minutes later you were all dressed inconspicuously in your new disguises, looking like the other civilians that were walking around. You didn't have enough time to check the sizes of the clothing, so Steve ended up wearing some jeans and a light grey T-shirt that was about a size too small for him, outlining every inch of his toned torso.

You quickly tore your gaze away before anyone noticed you staring. Sam caught this, however, and sent you a little wink. You glared at him in response.

"The next train to Glasgow leaves in nine. We gotta hurry," Natasha said as she handed you your tickets. "Come on."

Luckily you weren't recognized as the ticket holder came around, though you tried to keep your heads down low when she passed by.

"It's a 14 hour ride. You fellas might wanna relax, take a nap or something," she said, reclining her seat back and closing her eyes. "We won't be arriving until early tomorrow morning."

You relaxed in your seat, the tension in your muscles loosening a bit. But Steve saw the distressed look in your eyes and placed a gentle hand on top of yours.

"You alright?"

"Could be better, I mean, it's not like I chose to be a fugitive on the run from the entire world," you joked, but the smirk on your face quickly fell. "No. I'm not."

"It's going to be okay, you know. Things'll work out in the end."

"I sure hope so."

You fell into an awkward silence after that, resting your chin on your hand as you stared out ahead, watching the rolling hills whiz by in a blur, the vibrant green a sharp contrast to the powdery blue sky. Ireland was a beautiful country, really. You wished you could stay longer purely for the sake of admiring all the lovely scenery.

"You know, if you just want to talk about anything, we can do that. 14 hours is a pretty long train ride," he finally spoke up about an hour later. Sam was fast asleep at this point, mouth opened slightly as his head rested on Natasha's shoulder, who was sleeping as well.

"Yeah, it is. But we've had worse days, right?"

"We have," Steve agreed.

So you just talked, about whatever came to your minds. Your childhood, your past before joining the Avengers Initiative where you'd previously served as one of SHIELD's top agents for several years, Steve's life back in the 40's before becoming a super-soldier, how much things changed over the years. About past missions.

Soon enough you felt your eyelids droop heavily from fatigue. He noticed your tiredness and reached out his right arm, gently wrapping it around you and pulling you towards his side, encircling you completely in his warm embrace. Slowly but steadily, your muscles began to release the tension in them and you leaned into his touch.

"Why don't you get some shut-eye. We have plenty of time to talk when we arrive."

"Mhm," you mumbled sleepily. He smiled, brushing a few stray hairs away from your face as you drifted off.

...

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, this is our final stop. We have arrived at Glasgow Central Station," the conductor's voice announced over the intercom as the train began slowing down. "The weather is currently 59 degrees, and it is 5:27 a.m."

"Wake up, lovebirds," Natasha clapped as you stirred slightly, looking confused as you raised your head from where it rested against Steve's chest. "Time to get going."

You yawned and stood up, stepping off onto the platform into the station, surprisingly busy at the crack of dawn. You really just wanted to curl back up into a ball and sleep. Talking for four hours straight with Steve had knocked you out completely.

After getting new SIM cards, Sam quickly created an account to get you checked into a hotel.

"It's a half hour walk. We should probably limit public transportation as much as we can," he stated as he slid his phone into his jacket pocket. "Managed to snag a 40% off deal including a free night, so we're good for the next few weeks until we get an actual apartment."

"You know," Natasha commented, adjusting her baseball cap and aviators as you made your way outside down the bustling street, "if we weren't currently trying to flee from the government's grasp, I'd say I'd wanna come back here for a vacation. And that's on nice architecture."

"With us?" you raised an eyebrow.

"Why not? You're pretty good company. I wouldn't wanna hang out with anyone else."

"Well, what can I say?" Sam puffed up his chest. "I'm smooth with the ladies."

You simply laughed. "Yeah, sure you are."

Glasgow was a breathtaking city. With sprawling Victorian style buildings and cobblestone roads, brightly labeled bars and restaurants, it appeared as if it was pulled straight from a rustic 19th-century painting.

You checked into your hotel after grabbing some food from the nearby bakery. For a cheap price, your room was surprisingly simple but large: a king bed in one room, a pullout couch, and a small balcony so you could stand outside and take in the view of the city.

Despite having no time zone difference between Ireland and Scotland, you were still extremely jet-lagged, most likely due to the flight you'd taken over to Berlin not long ago. After binge-watching reruns of some sitcom for the rest of the day, you fell asleep, clutching your pillow tightly.

Natasha and Sam had good eyes, and could clearly see something was going on between you and Steve.

The truth was, you wanted something to happen but both of you were too chicken to make a move, thinking being in relationship while on the run was inconvenient and unnecessary.

The first few days passed by relatively quickly. You only really went out to buy groceries, and even then you went two at a time to avoid drawing unwanted attention to yourselves. Once, you treated yourselves to a night out at a nice restaurant, enjoying each others' company. It was a way to forget about your currently unfortunate situation.

...

But then the nightmares began.

You swung your legs over the edge of the bed after waking up in a cold sweat, heading over to the bathroom. Everyone had already gone to sleep long ago, and you envied people like Sam as he could knock out cold almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Staring at your ghostly reflection in the mirror, you squeezed your eyes shut, releasing tears that cascaded down your flushed cheeks in a hot flood. You ran trembling fingers through your messy hair in an attempt to tame it, taking a brief look at your disheveled appearance. The heavy dark circles underneath your bloodshot eyes that were a result of hardly sleeping over the past week were clear, as well as your sunken cheekbones and deathly pale complexion.

You studied the woman that looked back at you, with the same unnerving and hollowed out gaze that she'd worn for years; a façade she learned to develop so that nobody could see when she felt weak; helpless.

Ten days.

Only ten days had passed since you arrived in Scotland, yet it seemed as if you aged ten years during that short amount of time. Small creases in between your brows indicated stress and anxiety from leaving everything you knew behind, for a future you could barely see ahead of. For a life that held an endless amount of consequences if you took one misstep, one wrong move.

Your body felt heavy, weighed down as if you carried the weight of a thousand men upon your aching shoulders. You didn't know what to do; what to think anymore.

You didn't look thirty-two anymore, you looked older. Almost as old as Tony. And there was a 10+ year age gap between you and him.

God, Tony.

You betrayed him. The last living member of your family on earth, and you betrayed him.

Turned your back on him, because you didn't believe in the same ideas. Was it really worth turning your back on your own blood just because of a disagreement?

I thought I could trust you.

I thought I could, too. But I guess things don't always work out as planned, do they?

They don't. I don't even know what I can say to you anymore. Hell, I can't look at you without seeing a traitor. You turned your back on all of us, and that's unforgivable.

The Accords, you know I couldn't sign them. It isn't right. I'm fighting for what I believe in.

No, you're fighting for Steve, not yourself. Always running over to precious Cap even if it costs you your safety, if it costs you everything and everyone you ever loved. Because you think that you can rely on him and him alone, to get through this. You won't get very far by keeping this act up, you know.

News flash; the world doesn't revolve around you, Tony. Just because someone doesn't agree with what you believe, doesn't mean you have to tear their team, their family, apart for it.

You're blaming me?

Maybe I am.

"What are you doing up this late?"

Steve's voice jolted you from your train of thought, and you looked up to see him leaning against the doorframe dressed in sweats and another tight-fitting T-shirt, his blue eyes scanning over you worriedly.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm fine, if that's what you're wondering. I'm just a bit jet-lagged," you muttered, hastily wiping away another stray tear that escaped. He pushed himself off the wall and caught your wrist as you were bringing your hand down, tugging you towards him slightly.

"Tell me what's going on."

"I'm fine!"

"No, you're not. What's wrong, Y/N?"

"I..." your voice faltered. You didn’t even realize you’d started crying until you felt your face grow wet from the salty tears that rolled silently into your cracked lips. "I don't know. Everything's wrong."

"Everything?"

"I made a mistake."

"What do you mean, mistake?"

"I turned my back against Tony. My family. I betrayed my own family, Steve." Your voice cracked. "And now I can't even guarantee that I'll ever see him again."

"You did what you had to do," he said softly, placing a hand on your shoulder. You felt your skin burning up under his touch. "You were just trying to do what you felt was right."

"Yeah, by teaming up with the side of the man who killed my parents. I can't imagine what he even thinks of me right now."

A look of hurt briefly passed over Steve's face at the mention of Bucky.

"...But I know their deaths were out of his control, so I don't blame him," you continued. "Still..I hurt him. And now, I have to live with knowing that fact." "Look, I'm sorry."

"What?"

You looked up and met his gaze, feeling his bright blue eyes boring into yours. He didn't seem upset or angry at all; there was an eerie softness and calming feeling about the way he looked at you that made you relax a bit.

"I shouldn't have dragged you into this mess. I never wanted you to have this kind of life; where you're always living in uncertainty. You deserve better than that."

"It's not your fault at all," you swallowed hard. Talking and breathing grew increasingly difficult with the sob that was building up in the back of your throat, that you tried desperately to conceal for so long, "it's mine. I made that decision to side with you, not only because I couldn't stand the idea of signing the Accords. So it's...it's on me. God, I don't know what to do anymore, I can't—"

A wave of grief suddenly hit you from all sides, causing you to keel over, sliding down against the cold wall with a hand clutching your stomach as an agonized scream tear itself through your body and out of your throat. And you were drowning; suffocated by your own tears as you struggled to breathe. You tried desperately to stop them but nothing could seem to hold back the heavy sobs that wracked your body, clawing at your lungs and heart.

Steve crouched down in front of you and pulled you against him, arms tightening around your body with each cry that escaped your lips. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to take all your sadness and frustration and grief and put it upon himself, to carry the weight on his shoulders so he wouldn't have to watch you endure the pain. He'd much rather have to suffer himself than watch you try and bear the burden and fall to pieces in the process.

Seeing you breaking down before him with your gut-wrenching cries that echoed across the small space, more vulnerable than you'd ever been in front of him before, made it feel as if someone was directly ripping his heart right out of his chest and tearing it into a thousand pieces with their bare hands.

"Hey, it's okay," he whispered soothingly as he pressed his lips to the side of your temple, "it's okay. I've got you. You're gonna be okay."

Despite how you felt as if your heart was twisting itself into knots, there was something comforting about the way he held you ever so gently in his arms, the way his warm breath fell against his neck as one arm was firmly hooked around your waist, running his free hand through your hair.

So for a moment, you allowed yourself to believe that there was no one else in the world except for just you and him, holding you close, and that everything was fine, even if the feeling only lasted for a second.

#steve rogers x reader #avengers x reader #captain america imagine #marvel fic #avengers fanfiction #steve rogers one shot #captain america one shot #captain america fanfiction #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x you #captain america x reader

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marvelslut16 · 4 years

Text

Your usual?

Pairing: Jack Castello x reader

Synopsis: (Y/N) is a waitress at a diner down the street from Ace studios. Many aspiring actors and actresses end up there each day after being rejected. But she becomes friends with one of her regulars, Jack Castello. She falls in love with him over many cups of coffee, but will he love her back, especially since she’s only a waitress?

Word count: 2,232

Warnings: (Y/N)’s parents and best friend are assholes. Like one swear word I think. A slight sexual innuendo.

A/n: I didn’t expect so many of you guys to like my last Jack fic! Thank you guys so much for the support, it means the world to me. Truthfully, I have a love hate with this fic, but I hope you guys like it more than I do lmao. Obviously this spoils the plot of the show.

You worked in a little diner down the street from Ace studios, it was made from the body of an old metro dining car. Respectively named crossroads diner, you had to wonder if there was a double meaning. Alex, the owner, swears that it's named after railroad crossings; but it made you think about the whispers about men and women selling their souls to make it big here in Hollywoodland. You didn’t dwell on the name too much, it paid good money and you got good tips. So every day you wake up and put on your uniform: a blue collared dress, sensible black heels, and a little white apron.

You get a rush of customers right after noon everyday, dejected men and women in their late twenties and early thirties fill the diner. You had lots of regulars, aspiring actors and actresses coming to eat their sorrows away and drown in bottomless coffee when they don’t get picked to be a walk on. But by far, your favorite regular was Jack Castello. He always ordered a cup of coffee- black, and a cheeseburger with a side of fries.

Jack Castello the owner of the biggest most beautiful blue eyes to ever exist. He’s so bright eyed and bushy tailed that you envy him, the joy the smallest things in this town can spark. Even though you aren’t supposed to, it's bad for business and your tips, you always find time to steal away and talk to him when he stops in. If he flashed you those blue puppy dog eyes, you swear you’d do whatever the man asked you to.

It had been months since Jack had last come in, every day you would watch the door and hope he would enter. But he never did, you wondered how he was, what he was up to these days. So when the bell jingled alerting you that another customer had entered the diner, you didn’t even bother to hope. Your coworker's infant was sick so you picked up her shift for her, so you had been on your feet for close to twelve hours now, you just wanted every customer to leave. But then you looked up and saw those bright blue eyes, and could quite literally feel your spirits rise as you smiled at Jack.

“Well look who finally came back to visit me,” you grin, leaning on the counter that stood between you two. He had brought a friend with him tonight, who was smiling at the interaction between you and Jack. They took seats at the bar top, Jack didn’t bother to pick up one of the menus.

“It’s been a while,” he gave you a soft smile, as you grabbed the fresh pot of coffee from behind you to pour him a cup. He just grins at you for a minute before his friend clears his throat, causing Jack to turn and smile at the man. “This is my buddy, Archie.”

“Pleasure to meet you sweetheart,” you smile politely as you shake the man's hand. “What can I get you tonight?” you lean across the counter pulling out your notepad for his order.

“I’ll have a coffee too,” he glances at Jack who is already halfway done with his cup. You laugh, grabbing another cup for Archie before topping Jack’s off. “But other than that I’m not sure, Whatcha’ getting Jack?”

“Probably his usual, an american sizzler with a side of hot chips?” he grins and nods at you, those big blue eyes practically glowing in excitement that you remembered what he likes.

“It’s a cheeseburger and fries,” Jack clarifies, even though Archie had already known. You hide a smile of amusement behind your own cup of coffee as Archie gives you a look that screams are you kidding me.

“I’ll take the same,” he says before smiling at you.

“Great, that should be up shortly,” you grin at both men. You quickly take the note to the chef, before filling other patrons drinks.

You don't get back over to Archie and Jack until their food is done, much to your disappointment. Luckily, most of the other customers had left so you could stay and chat with them. Jack explains, between large bites, that he became a contract player at Ace studios and that’s why he hadn’t come in in weeks.

“Wow sugar!” you grin so wide that it hurts your face, ignoring the fact that he left a few months out of his explanation. “That’s fantastic! Something tells me you’re gonna make it big!”

“Archie sold a script and I’m auditioning for the lead!” he practically bounces in his seat, and one glance at the silver ring on his finger reminds you that you have to ignore the way your heart flutters.

“That's amazing! Both of you!” you turn to look at Archie now. “So what’s the script?”

“It’s about Peg Entwistle,” his face lights up as he talks, making it obvious that he truly loves writing. “The British woman who jumped off the hollywoodland sign after she got cut from the movie she was in.”

“Oh wow, that sounds interesting,” you give Archie a sad smile. “Sad, but interesting. About being an outsider,” it comes out as more of a statement than a question.

“Yeah,” Archie nods. “So tell me, (Y/N), what brought you to Hollywoodland?”

“Well, I was doing community theater with my friend back home when a talent scout approached us,” you admit for the first time, lifting a weight you didn’t know you had, off your shoulders. “He wanted the two of us to come out here, audition for pictures together. He said we had great chemistry, and liked our banter.”

“You never told me this,” there's sadness in Jack’s eyes and you can’t figure out why, it’s not something you go around telling people.

“You two are the first people I’ve told,” you try to reassure him. “Anyway, my parents didn’t want me coming out here, they said that I would never make it. I had saved up enough money to buy a one way ticket, and had enough left over for my friend and I to split rent for a few months. My parents parting words to me were not to crawl back to them when I got rejected.”

“What happened?” Jack is leaning forward, completely invested in your story. You blink back tears at the horrid memories of the fight with your parents, and then your friend abandoning you.

“My parents were right. I wasn’t good enough for this town, sugar. My friend is a contract player now, she’s getting pretty famous too. The moment she knew she was good, the moment people started to treat her differently because she became this larger than life character the studio made her out to be, was the moment she started treating me like shit and left me. So now I’m a lonely struggling waitress, that’s the reality of this town.”

“I’m so sorry,” Archie’s voice drips with sympathy and empathy.

“Thanks,” you smile, but it comes out as more of a grimace.

“You should audition for Peg!” Jack practically shouts.

“Oh no, my acting days are way behind me,” he seems to deflate at your words. “Anyway, slice of apple pie?” you gesture behind you to the last two pieces of pie left on the serving platter.

“You know me so well,” Jack beams at you, blue eyes round and happy again. Making your heart flutter yet again.

“Well I have to, gotta keep my favorite customer coming back,” your smile and tone are borderline flirtatious, and so is the way you lean across the bar top to get closer to him.

Jack gulps as his eyes flick down to your lips, acutely aware of how close to two of you actually are. Archie smirks into his almost empty coffee mug, trying not to laugh at Jack’s reaction to you. Before Jack can lean forward and close the distance between you, something he was talking himself into doing, you pull away and grab the last two slices of pie for the men.

You run to the kitchen to grab the bowl of homemade whipped cream, just because they put it in cans now didn’t mean the diner used them. There was no way they would taste as good. You put a giant dollop on Jack’s slice, knowing how much he loves the rich topping. You offer Archie some, giving him a dollop about the same size as his friends. There was a spoonful left in the bowl, quickly checking to make sure your boss and the cook weren’t around, you devour it. You look Jack directly in the eyes as you slowly lick the fluffy cream from the spoon. He chokes on his pie and goes red in the face as he watches you. This time Archie can’t hold back his laugh.

“You okay sugar?” you feign innocence.

It had been months since that night in the diner. Jack hasn't come in since. You read in the paper that he was cast as the love interest in the movie, now entitled Meg and following an African American woman. “Good for him,” you murmur to yourself, happy that someone with so much talent and passion got the role. That Jack got it.

“Good afternoon (Y/N),” Archie’s grabs your attention from the counter you had been cleaning.

“Hey sweetheart,” your heart falls a little when you see that the tall dark haired man next to him isn’t Jack. This man is larger, has broader shoulders, seems like he’s all brawn. “Who’s this?”

“This is Rock,” you watch the way Archie’s hand caresses Rock’s shoulder after he gave it a pat during the introduction. “He’s an actor.”

“Nice to meet ya,” you smile at how flustered the larger man gets when you lean in close to him. “What can I get you both?”

“Two of Jack’s usual,” Archie answers, Rock just sits there, still flustered.

“Comin’ right up,” you pour them coffee and head off with their order.

“He’s getting a divorce,” Archie tells you as you set their food down.

“Huh?” you ask, trying to get the hope bubbling in your gut to simmer down.

“Jack and his wife, she was cheating on him,” you gasp at the news.

“Is he okay?” your brow creases in concern.

“Yeah, he’s hurting, but he’ll be okay,” Archie sounds so sure of himself. “He wasn’t in love with her anymore, don’t think he ever was.”

“Give him my best,” you smile sadly. “And I hope your romantic endeavors fare better than Jacks,” you give Archie a knowing look, winking at the writer.

More months pass without Jack or Archie stopping in. You read in the papers that there's a romance blossoming between Jack and up and comer Claire Woods. You held back tears, you never would have worked anyway. You were just a waitress, Jack was always going to end up with someone better, someone as talented as him.

Bing Crosby’s silky smooth voice plays from the jukebox in the back corner, filling the entire diner with his words. It was early yet, the rush from the studio hasn’t come in yet. The bell jingles, you go to welcome the customer when your eyes meet familiar blue ones.

“Jack?” you ask softly, shocked that he’s there. You quickly pour a cup of coffee for him, it’s sitting on the counter before he gets to his seat. “Your usual?”

“Not today,” you look up from your pad, shocked by his words. “I’m here for a date.”

“When will she get here?” you put on a fake smile, hopefully masking your hurt.

“I don’t have a date, I need one,” he says confidently. “For Meg’s premiere.”

“What about someone from the movie?” you ask, wondering why he came to talk to you about this.

“No, no one from Meg,” nervousness swims in those deep pools of blue. “So will you go with me?”

“Me?” you ask, accidentally dropping your pad of paper.

“Yeah you,” he gives you a dopey smile. “I really like you (Y/N), and I want you to be my date.”

“But-” your mouth opens and closes like a fish. “I-I thought you were with Claire, that’s what the paper said.”

“Claire is my friend,” Jack hops onto the counter and slides over to the inside, so he’s standing directly in front of you. His hand comes up to caress your cheek, you can’t help but lean into his large warm palm. “I only have eyes for you.”

“I like you too, Jack,” he leans down, finally capturing your lips with his. The rest of the world fades away, all you can focus on is how soft and plump his lips are. After months and months of pining, you finally got to kiss him!

“So you’ll go with me?” he asks between more kisses.

“Of course!” you pull him back to you by the collar of his shirt.

“You have to audition for my next picture,” Jack's blue eyes are loving and sincere.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Now that I have my date,” the pad of his thumb soft and soothing as it slides over your cheekbone. “I’m kinda hungry.”

“I’ll get you your usual, sugar,” you peck his lips one last time before shooing him back to the other side of the counter.

forever tags: @crimson-knuckled-queen @rexorangecouny

people who were interested in me writing for Jack: @elleclairez @antoouu @dianaothemyscira @senethmamandi @daughterofthesunanditsangels @writeroutoftime

#jack castello x reader #jack castello #hollywood #hollywood netflix #david corenswet #jack castello x you #jack castello imagine #jack castello one shot #hollywood imagine #hollywood one shot

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sassyduckqueen · 4 years

Text

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 37

Holy crap. I finished this one quickly but I'm really happy with it. I also fixed it! I love that Viperion made his debut in Desperada and I love Desperada herself. She is one of my favorite akuma designs and I really want to cosplay her but I hate Aspik! Firstly, I feel that Adrien was extremely selfish in the episode and Aspik's design is frankly awful. Also I hate the reset where he tells Ladybug that he is Cat Noir. While I can see why people might think of it as romantic, I think it was awful. The betrayal in her eyes is clear and god, Adrien, why? Why would you abandon our favorite kitty, Plagg? Now having said that, Marinette isn't free of blame either. She shouldn't have chosen Adrien over Luka in both parts of the episode or let her heart be in charge in this case. I'm all for following your heart but sometimes you need to listen to your head and this was one of those times. Anyway, I hope you guys like my version of Desperada. Oh! And a shout out to my friend, Naruwitch who suggested having Desperada and Ikari Gozen set before Heroes Day and also for suggesting Anatis telling Adrien off.

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Chapter Thirty-Seven: Desperada Returns

"Girl, can you believe I missed it?!" Alya gasped as they walked towards the Seine with Alix and Chloe. Marinette giggled a little at Alya's drawn out reaction. She had been gutted that she had missed Abeille's debut due to been controlled by Malediktator a week ago. Alix sniggered as she groaned again, causing Chloe to roll her eyes.

"Alya, I already said you can use my selfies with her for the Lady-blog," She gasped, shaking her head. "Honestly, you're been ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

"Aww, come on, Chloe. It was her debut and I missed it!!" Alya gasped dramatically, making the other girls laugh before she gently nudged Chloe's arm. "But seriously, thanks for letting me use them,"

"Uh you're welcome," She mumbled, looking a bit embarrassed but Marinette got it. Part of Chloe was still getting use to have friends but she was slowly getting us to it and as it turned out, she was pretty cool and nice. She had her moments where she slipped up but unlike before, she would actually correct herself and apologize. It actually made Marinette very proud to call Chloe a friend. "So where are we going anyway?"

"We're going to the liberty," Marinette answered, happily.

"So Marinette can spend some more time with Luka!" Alya teased in a sing song voice, making Marinette blush. "She is totally into him,"

"Really? I thought you had a thing for Adrikins," Chloe asked, surprised as Marinette turned a bright shade of red.

"I do like Adrien..." Marinette gasped, blushing. "I just also like Luka,"

"Well, it's not like I blame you," Chloe stated. "Luka's pretty cute after all,"

"Yeah, he is, isn't he?" Marinette answered dreamily before shaking her head. "I mean I haven't noticed... uh..."

"You have it so bad," Alix grinned, making Marinette gasp. "You should just ask him out already. It's not like he would say no,"

"What? No, Luka doesn't like me in that way," She gasped, looking a little sad. "We're just really close friends,"

"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloe gasped as they came to the boat. They walked across to the gangplank before heading down into the ship. Chloe looked around in amazement as it was different to the hotel. Alya grinned and grabbed a seat next to Mylene who was happily watching the rest of them set up. Rose and Juleka were talking while Ivan set up his drums. Finally, Luka was setting up his guitar. Marinette smiled and walked over, causing him to look up.

"Hey, Melody," He smiled. "I'm glad you were able to make it,"

"Oh, like I would miss it," She giggled, making him grin. "You know I love seeing you guys play. Hey, you want a drink?"

"Sure," He smiled, causing her to skip over to the kitchen as he started to play as Ivan drummed. Marinette smiled as she glanced over before getting the rest of the band some drinks as well. She didn't want to look like she just cared about Luka. She placed them on a tray and walked over to Rose and Juleka. They happily took a glass each before she moved over to Ivan as he stopped playing drums. He thanked as he took one and downed it. She smiled and walked over to Luka, who was still playing with his eyes closed. She took a moment to watch him, amazed by the tune he was playing.

"Wow, you're so talented, Luka," She smiled, causing him to open his eyes and stop playing. "You know I never asked how long you've been playing for? I know you mentioned you played as a kid but you never said how long,"

"Hmm... well, pretty much as soon as I could up the guitar," He smiled before playing a little tune on the guitar, making the two of them laughed before he gestured to the guitar as the rest of the girls talked. "Want a go?"

"Really?" She gasped, causing him to nod. "Are you sure? I mean you know how clumsy I can be. I don't want to break it,"

"I trust you," He smiled, making her smile back. She put down the tray of drinks as he took his guitar off and gently put it over her. He smiled at her and gently moved behind her before he placed a pick in her hand and moved it towards the strings. "Just strum the strings and I'll play the notes,"

She smiled and strummed the strings like he suggested as he moved his fingers across the fretboard. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder as he moved his fingers, making her smile a little as they continued. She looked up at him and smiled as she continued to strum. Meanwhile, the girls were watching their little interaction happily. Even Chloe was grinning.

"They're so cute together," Mylene sighed, causing Chloe to nod in agreement.

"So true," Alix piped in as Adrien and Kagami walked into the living area and walked over to the girls.

"So are," Alya sighed happily.

"You think?" Adrien asked, making them jump before Chloe grinned, waving to him and Kagami as she glanced towards them. Marinette was happily smiling as her full attention was on Luka and his guitar.

"I agree," She smiled, turning to Adrien. "Luka and Marinette seem to get along very well,"

"Adrien?! Kagami?!" Alya gasped, holding her heart. "God, you two are sneaky!"

"With parents like ours, you learn to be. You see we're officially at fencing practice right now," Adrien grinned before turning to Kagami and pretending to be worried. "But oh no, Kagami, isn't this the wrong address?"

"Oh dear!" She gasped, holding her face before she took his hands. "I think you're right,"

The two of them burst into laughter, causing Marinette and Luka to look in the direction. Adrien smiled and waved at them, causing them both to wave back. Marinette looked back at the strings, causing Luka to frown a little.

"Marinette?" He asked, making her glance at him. He had a concerned look on his face as he looked at her before he looked over at Adrien and Kagami, who were laughing and smiling. "It's nice to see him get out of the house more,"

"Y-Yeah, it is," She mumbled, looking at them with a sad expression before she shook her head and smiled. Luka gently took the guitar off her and placed it on his back before gently placing his hand on her shoulder.

"You ok?" He asked in a quiet but concerned voice. She tried her best to smile at him but as usual he could see through it.

"Are you ok if I go say hello to them?" She mumbled, looking down.

"Of course," He replied, gently patting her head. "Don't forget that they're your friends and you don't have to ask me permission to talk to them,"

She smiled and gently leaned up to kiss his cheek. He blushed as she did before she pulled away.

"Thank you, Luka," She replied before moving over to Adrien and Kagami. "Hey, it's good to see you two here! I'm so glad you were able to make it together!"

"It's good to see you too, Marinette," Kagami smiled, amused by Marinette's nervous energy. "Are you here to watch the rehearsal as well?"

"Oh yeah! Of course, I love watching Luka- I mean Kitty Section play," Marinette gasped, blushing. Adrien chuckled a little, making her frown a little.

"They are really good, aren't they?" He smiled, glancing at Luka who was sipping his drink.

"You seem to enjoy Luka's company a lot," Kagami pointed out, making Marinette go bright red. "Is there something between you two?"

"W-What?" She gasped, going a bright shade of red. "N-no... Luka and I are just friends... really good, close friends... yeah... totally just that!"

"Kagami, you shouldn't tease Marinette like that," Adrien scolded, causing Kagami to smile a little as Luka walked over.

"So how did you two escape your jailers?" He asked in an amused tone but the look he gave Marinette was a reassuring one, telling her he was changing the subject on purpose. She gave him a thankful glance.

"Oh, our parents think we're at a fencing lesson," Adrien shrugged, smirking but before they could continue their conversation, they heard the captain shouting.

"I will not be your second chance!" She shouted, making Luka frown deeply before he rushed up the stairs, followed by everyone else. Anarka was stood at the edge of the boat, glaring at none other then Jagged Stone. Marinette frowned as she saw the color drain from Luka's face. She frowned as she followed his line of sight and saw he was looking directly at Jagged with an almost fearful expression. Luckily, Jagged didn't seem to notice and was playing his piano on top of his tour bus.

"You've always been my muse!" He declared, glancing over at her. "You know perfectly well you were my first choice. You are the only one, Nanarky!"

"Nanarky?" Juleka questioned but Luka was silent, worrying Marinette even more. She gently nudged his arm, causing him to glance at her and mouthed are you ok. He bit his lip but looked back without answering.

"You can't fool me, Pirate!" She shouted, making the kids glance at her as she pointed at Jagged, causing them to all wonder how she knew Jagged. "I bet you threw your guitarist overboard! Again!"

"No, I swear I didn't!" He gasped, making Luka frown a little. "She sailed away from me! She left me in a lurch!"

He moved his hand across his forehead dramatically before glancing over at her. Seeing it wasn't working, he pulled out one of his vinyls and held it up. It showed him in a sci-fi like mask and outfit with a woman next to him in a similar design. Marinette rose an eyebrow as she watched.

"Look how perfect we were together," He stated, making her frown deeply. "Come back and play with me, Nanarky. I even got rid of Bob Roth,"

"Not good enough!" She shouted, glaring at him. "We are not co-captains anymore! I sail alone!"

With that, she turned around and walked off, causing Jagged to play with his piano sadly and the rest of the group to stare in confusion. Juleka looked at Luka, who was frowning deeply. She gently tapped his arm, causing him to look at her.

"Jagged and our mom?" She asked, causing him to frown even. "Luka?"

"I... I don't know, Jules," He mumbled, causing her to give him a concerned look but before he could do anything else, Jagged spotted Marinette.

"Marinette! You're here!" He gasped, grinning happily. Even the song he was playing changed to a happier tune but the simple action shook Luka to the core and caused him to take a step back. Jagged grinned at her as he pulled down his shades. "The awesome designer of these rock'n'roll shades of mine! I'm sure you can help me! I need a guitarist like yesterday!! Hey, do you play guitar?"

"M-Me? G-Guitar?" She gasped, pointing to herself before holding up her hands and chuckling nervously. "Oh, I don't play guitar! I mean I can play a few notes on the flute but I can't play guitar,"

Jagged frowned and began to play sadly, causing Marinette to frown. Alya gently grabbed her arm and gestured towards where Adrien and Luka were stood, making Marinette smile as she got what she meant. Luka was the perfect choice for this. She grinned but then she saw how Luka looked. He was pale and nervous which seemed completely out of character for him. Honestly, he looked really uncomfortable like he wanted to get away from there but if he did, it would draw attention to him. She frowned as she glanced back at Jagged.

"Wait! I know the perfect musician for you, Jagged," She stated, causing Alya to give her a thumb up and Luka to look even more worried. She gave him a reassuring smile as if to say she wasn't going to put him in the spot light before walking over to Adrien and Luka, who gave her an expression that was basically asking her to not to suggest him. It confused her a little.

"Really? You rock, Marinette," Jagged grinned as she smiled.

"I'm sure you know Adrien Agreste," She grinned, gesturing to him instead of Luka. Alya gasped in shock and faced palmed but Marinette didn't care. She didn't miss the look of relief on Luka's face as she drew Jagged's attention to Adrien. He smiled nervously as he waved at Jagged. "He's a wonderful musician and would be perfect as your guitarist,"

"Well, I know a few chords but I'm more of a pianist to be honest," Adrien admitted nervously, making Marinette frown as Alya shook her head in disbelief, along with everyone else. Even Jagged looked unsure.

"Uh? You sure?" He asked, making Marinette frown. "What about Anarka's lad? Don't you think he's better equipped for the job?"

Marinette glanced over at Luka, who was back to look like he was worried. He looked back at her with eyes asking her not to agree with Jagged. While she didn't understand the sudden discomfort towards his normally favorite musician, she wasn't going to force him into a situation which he clearly wanted to avoid. She did her best to give him a reassuring smile before turning back to Jagged.

"Of course! You're right, Jagged," She smiled, making Alya sigh with relief and Luka freeze up with fear. She would definitely have to ask him why he was acting this way later but right now, she had to convince Jagged that he wasn't the right choice. She moved over to him, causing him to frown a little as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Luka can let Adrien borrow his guitar! Can't you, Luka?"

Relief and gratefulness filled his eyes as he smiled a little before he took off his guitar.

"If you like, Marinette," He replied, causing Alya to face palm as the girl squad sighed. He walked over to Adrien and handed him his guitar, shocking Adrien a little as he took it. "Put it to good use,"

"Uh... I'll try my best... Thanks," Adrien smiled brightly as Marinette grinned, proud of herself. The girl squad might think her crush got in the way of Luka been able to play with Jagged but she didn't care what they thought. She couldn't just let Luka be that uncomfortable and the fact that no one else saddened her a little but she had his back. He was her friend. There was no way she was just gonna stay back and leave him to the sharks so to speak.

"Jagged Stone!" An angry voice suddenly shouted, getting everyone's attention. Marinette gasped as she looked at the woman it belonged too. She was dressed like a classic Mexican musician but her outfit also seemed to be themed to Día de los Muertos as her face resembled a skull and her jacket had yellow bones on the collar and the hem. Her eyes were purple and yellow and she had music notes on her mouth and for eyebrows. Honestly, she was one of Hawkmoth's more creative akumas but she was also one of his more dangerous ones. Both her and Luka narrowed their eyes as they took her in. Desperada. She narrowed her eyes as she glared at them before she looked over at Jagged. "So you fire me and now you want to replace me with a school kid?!"

"Vivica?" Jagged questioned as she glared at Adrien. Kagami instantly moved her arm in front of him as Luka frowned. Marinette frowned as well as she needed to escape and turn into Lady Noir. "Is that you?"

"There ain't no more Vivica!" She declared, grinning. "There's only Desperada now!"

She held up her guitar-case and clicked it open, revealing that it was glowing on the inside. She reached inside and took out a trombone that resembled a sniper rifle before grinning evilly at Jagged Stone.

"If I can't be your guitarist anymore, I'm gonna make sure no one can!" She declared before kneeling down and pointing her weapon at Adrien, who gasped but before anyone could do anything, Anarka stormed back over.

"Aha! You ship rat!" She gasped, pointing at Jagged.

"Mum!" Luka hissed with a worried expression as everyone else just look bewildered. However, she ignored him and glared at Jagged.

"I knew you were lying!" She gasped before pointing to Desperada. "Vivica didn't leave you! You dropped her, just like you dropped me before!"

"What?!" Desperada growled as Jagged looked away, covering his face. "You were placing to replace me with her?!"

"Hey! I'm a much better guitarist then you!" Anarka growled, causing Luka to rush to her.

"Mum, just leave it," He gasped, trying to pull her away but she yanked free from him and pointed up at Desperada as she glared at her.

"And I was his first choice!" She declared, yanking away from Luka as he tried to get her to calm down but before he could, Vivica jumped down and shot her with her gun, causing her to disappear in yellow smoke. A sticker resembling Anarka appeared on her guitar case as she pointed her gun at Luka, smirking.

"I never miss a musical note," She grinned as Luka glanced around to find a way out of it. "I always hit my targets,"

She went to pull the trigger but Adrien knocked him down, causing her to miss. She went to fire at them both but Kagami grabbed the mic stand and charged at her. Desperada shot her, turning her into a sticker before she fired at Rose and Juleka as Adrien pulled Luka to his feet. The two of them ran off as Marinette rushed into the boat. Adrien ran towards the boat's control room but Luka grabbed his arm and shook his head.

"If we hide there, we'll be sitting ducks," He replied, making the boy frown before he nodded. The two of them rushed over to the gangplank but Desperada jumped down and landed in front of them, pointing her gun at Adrien.

"Where you running to, Wannabe?!" She grinned at him.

"Stop it, Vivica!" Jagged shouted, making her look at him. "You're giving Rock'n'roll a bad name-"

She growled and shot him with her gun, causing Penny to come out of the tour bus. Desperada shot her too before turning back to Luka and Adrien. She spun her gun and went to shoot them but a baton flew at her and knocked her into the tour bus, causing her to drop her gun that disappeared when it landed on the ground. The baton flew back over to Lady Noir who caught it and grinned as she spun it.

"I might not play the guitar but I have a lovely singing voice," She grinned as Desperada got up and reached into her bag. "Care for a duet?"

"Solo!" She declared, taking out a literal guitar axe before charging at Lady Noir, who smirked and ran at her. She dodged Deseperada's axe and hit her with her baton. Seeing a chance to get away from the scene, Luka grabbed Adrien's hand and pulled him over to one of the brick walls, hiding behind it with him. He frowned to himself because he couldn't ditch Adrien, even if he did need to transform. Adrien would find it weird and out of character so he would have to wait until an opportunity came up. He turned to him and gave him a reassuring smile.

"We'll be safe here," He stated, making Adrien sigh in relief.

"Thank you, Luka," Adrien mumbled as the two of them glanced over to where Lady Noir and Desperada was fighting. Desperada dived at her with her axe but luckily, Lady Noir moved out of the way. Luka frowned as Desperada stalked towards her as she tried to move away. Desperada was clearly giving her a run for her money. She said something to Hawkmoth before running towards Lady Noir and slicing at her. Once again, she was able to move, causing Desperada to cut a car in half before she spun round and tried to hit her again. Luka frowned deeply as Lady Noir jumped and dodged her attacks. "Where's Anatis?"

"I don't think he's going to get here in time," Luka mumbled, making Adrien frown before his luck vision lit up his guitar. "We have to help Lady Noir... May I?"

He gestured to his guitar that Adrien was holding before the blonde nodded and handed it to him. Luka put it on and stepped out, playing the guitar. It distracted Desperada, causing her to growl in annoyance.

"Another new guitarist?!" She shouted, taking out duel wielding bicycle horns and began to shooting at them. One of them almost hit Luka but Adrien dived on him, knocking him out of the way again as Lady Noir dodged them. She jumped at Desperada and grabbed her around the waist before throwing her on the bridge and diving at her.

"Cataclysm!" She shouted, slamming her hand on the bridge and causing it to collapse on Desperada. Lady Noir jumped back over to the boys and grinned. "Thanks for the assist, boys but we need to get you two somewhere safe,"

"Over there," Luka pointed to a manhole as his luck vision pointed it up.

"Good thinking," Lady Noir grinned as the three of them ran towards it. She opened it, allowing them to climb down into the sewers. She closed it behind her then they ran farther into it until they felt they were safe. Once they stopped, she turned to Luka. "You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like that, Luka. You could have been captured,"

He frowned a little as she generally looked worried before she glanced to the side and smiled shyly.

"But thank you," She smiled, pushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Luka smiled softly as Adrien looked between the two of them.

"You can always count on us whenever you need help," Luka mumbled, causing her to blush as he strummed his guitar, causing both Adrien and Lady Noir to look at him in amazement.

"I appreciate it," She smiled before sighing. "But when dealing with a super villain, it's best to have a partner with superpowers. Speaking of which-"

She took out her baton and dialed Anatis' yoyo, sighing as it went to voicemail.

"I hope he's ok," She mumbled, closing it but jumping as her ring beeped. "Oh no. I need to charge my kwami... but I can't leave you too..."

"Maybe there's a place in here we can hide while you charge up your kwami," Luka suggested, making her nod. "That way, we're safe but your identity isn't compromised,"

"Good thinking, Luka," She smiled, taking out her baton again and checking the blueprints of the sewer. "Ah ha! There's an old locker room that we can hide in. Come on!"

The three of them ran as fast as they could to the room as they heard Desperada playing her guitar up on the street as she looked for them. The good news is she had no idea they were down in the sewers but Luka still needed to get away from Lady Noir and Adrien. He began to slow down, causing Lady Noir to stop and look at him.

"Luka?" She asked, concerned. It was going to be hard to get away from her but he had an idea. He gave her a smile before jogging towards her as her ring beeped again.

"Sorry, got distracted," He smiled as they came to the door. He opened it and glanced around at the room. There were several lockers. Lady Noir rushed over to her as her ring beeped rapidly and slipped inside, closing the door. A bright green light flashed from inside literally seconds before, causing her to let out a sigh of relief. Adrien frowned and opened one as Luka glanced around before taking out his phone and going on the akuma app. Naturally, he had no service. "Damn it,"

"What's wrong?" Lady Noir asked from her locker.

"I was going to activate the akuma alert in case Anatis doesn't know there is one but there's no signal," He grumbled as Adrien took out his phone.

"Yeah, I've got no signal either," He sighed before looking up. "We'd need to be out of the sewer to do it,"

"I'll go," Luka stated, making him look at him as Lady Noir protested. "If Adrien goes, it will alert her since she's after him,"

"Well, wait until I've transformed and I'll come with you," Lady Noir stated. Luka frowned and shook his head, even though she couldn't see it.

"No, there's still a chance she might come down into the sewers. If you're with me, that leaves Adrien a sitting duck," He replied, causing her to sigh.

"Luka has a point, Lady Noir,"

"Alright... just please be careful,"

"I will, Ki- uh- Lady Noir," He coughed, mentally scolding himself for almost calling her kitten before he took off his guitar and handed it to Adrien, who gave him a confused look. "Having my guitar with me will just draw more attention so look after it for me?"

"Sure, Luka," Adrien smiled, getting a nod of Luka before he exited the room and ran through the sewers. He stopped a good distance away and glanced behind him, making sure they weren't following him. Seeing he was alone, he opened his jacket, allowing Tikki to fly out.

"That was some clever thinking, Luka," She grinned, making him smile.

"Yeah but now is the time for Anatis to appear," He replied, swiping his earring. "Tikki! Spots on!"

He transformed into Anatis and took out his yoyo, checking to seeing if he had a signal and if Lady Noir's baton was active. Luckily he had a signal but Lady Noir's baton wasn't online, meaning she hadn't transformed back yet. He frowned but ran towards the locker room. He jumped a little as his yoyo buzzed, giving him a notification that Lady Noir's baton was back online. He closed it and ran towards the locker room he had left them in before knocking on the door, causing it to open. Lady Noir let out a sigh of relief and hugged him.

"Oh, thank kwami, you're here," Lady Noir gasped. "I thought you had been captured but how did you get here so quickly? Did Luka activate the akuma app? Is he ok?"

"Luka's safe," He replied, taking out his yoyo and showing her the map and the GPS signal. "I was on my way to find you but it disappeared, just as I got in here. Luckily, I ran into Luka and he told me where you were. I suggested that he should go hide in another part of the sewer,"

"Good idea," Lady Noir nodded. "She isn't really after him anyway so he should be safe,"

"Yeah," He nodded, glancing at Adrien. "Are you ok, Adrien?"

"I'm fine but I was thinking I could help you two," He replied, making both of them look at him in surprise. "Me and Ryuko fought Desperada before so I might be able to help,"

Both of them looked at each other with unsure expressions, causing Adrien to step forward.

"Look, I know you don't trust me and I get it but I really regret giving up my miraculous and this is my chance to prove that I am a useful ally so please, I'm begging you," He gasped, getting on his knees and putting his hands together. "Please, let me help Anatis,"

"I... uh..." He gasped, unsure before glancing to Lady Noir, who gestured to an area away from Adrien. Anatis walked over to her and folded his arms. "What do you think?"

"Well, he does have experience with Desperada and using the snake would be effective," She replied, making him nod.

"I could always use it though,"

"Hmm... well, as much I want to see your Red Mamba look and have no doubt that you could do it, this could be a chance for Adrien to make up for his mistake. I do think he regrets it," She replied, making him pull a thinking face. "Plus this way, you can focus on how to defeat her without having to be distracted. The snake needs someone to observe the battle and while I don't doubt you could do it while trying to defeat Desperada, it isn't like Style Queen. I'm here this time and we have someone who is able to use the snake miraculous,"

"True..." He mumbled, thinking back to the after mass of Style Queen. It had tired him out for a few hours which was part the reason why he was so snappy when he lost the bee miraculous. "And it is draining..."

"Maybe we could see what the lucky charm said," She suggested, making him nod at the idea. After all, if they really needed the extra miraculous, the lucky charm would tell them.

"Good thinking as usual, Kitten," He smiled before throwing his yoyo in the air. "Lucky charm!"

He frowned in slight confusion as he caught a gong. He glanced at it before nodding.

"Looks like Tikki agrees that we need the extra help. Are you ok if I go?" He replied, causing Lady Noir nod before fixing it onto his belt and walking over to Adrien as Lady Noir followed. "Can I borrow that?"

He pointed to the guitar, making Adrien frown.

"It's Luka's..." He mumbled, holding it. "He asked me to take good care of it,"

"I'll look after it," He reassured, causing Adrien to sigh and hand it over to him. He put it around his torso. "Lady Noir will stay with you while I go and grab the snake miraculous. Do not leave here until I return,"

"I won't," He gasped, nodding. Anatis nodded back and ran out of the door. He found his way to the surface and smirked as his luck vision lit up a statue of a horse and some pigeons. He moved over and placed the guitar around the horse state, gently touching it.

"I'm sorry but this has to be done," He whispered to it before walking over to Mr Ramier, who looked up at him in surprise. "Could I borrow that bread?"

"S-Sure," He replied, handing it to him. Anatis went back over to the guitar and fixed the bread in it, causing the pigeons to fly over to it before he jumped up to the roofs and ran to Master Fu's. The pigeons would help distract Desperada while he got the snake miraculous. He jumped down into an allyway and dropped his transformation before heading into Master Fu's shop.

"Master Fu?" He called out as he walked in.

"Ah, Luka, did the lucky charm bring you here?" Master Fu asked as he looked up from his drink. Luka nodded and knelt down as Tikki floated near him. He gave her a macaron as Master Fu walked over to the phonograph and took out the miracle box. He carried it over to Luka and opened it, causing the compartments to pop out. "Luka Couffaine, you must pick an ally to fight along side you in this mission but choose carefully. Such powers are meant to serve the greater good and once the mission is over, you must return the miraculous to me,"

"Desperada is fast and clever. With her, there is no second chance," Luka mumbled before grabbing the snake miraculous. "So we need to make one,"

"Are you certain?" Master Fu asked, causing Luka to nod as he got up and grabbed a smaller box. "You know how dangerous merging Miraculous is,"

"That's why I'm not going to be wearing it, Master," He replied, making Master Fu raise an eyebrow as he placed it in the box. "This isn't like Style Queen. Lady Noir isn't compromised and I need to have my full attention on Desperada. I can't do that as Red Mamba this time so it's time to bring Aspik out of retirement,"

"Are you sure?" Master Fu asked, shocked as Luka nodded. "But he gave up the snake miraculous before and-"

"He knows how to use it," He pointed out, making Master Fu listen. "Look, I know he gave it up and I know why but he has more experience with Desperada then I do. Sure, I'll deal with her as part of Princess Justice's attack but I was more focused on Princess Justice that time and I had other akumas which I was about to use to trap her. This time I don't,"

"Well... I trust your choice," Master Fu smiled. "You've chose good people as allies and if you think Aspik is capable of been a good ally then that's good enough for me but make sure he doesn't betray your trust,"

"Oh, don't worry, Master Fu," He smiled. "I may be giving him a second chance but I won't hesitate to tie him up again if I have to,"

~Meanwhile in the Sewers~

"So... are you and Anatis a couple?" Adrien asked, causing Lady Noir to blush a little but she shook her head. "Really? But you two would make a great couple,"

"He's in love with someone else," She replied, looking down a little as he frowned before she looked up and smiled. "But that's ok cause I just want him to be happy,"

"That's very sweet of you," He smiled dreamily before giving her a cheeky grin. "But I still totally ship you too,"

"T-that's nice," She blushed, pressing her fingers together. "What about you? You got a special someone?"

"Yeah, I do," He smiled shyly.

"Oh, what's she like then?" She grinned, giving him a playful wink. He laughed and glanced upwards.

"She's really special and really pretty," He sighed, dreamily. "She had dark silky hair and dark mysterious eyes. She's really intelligent and creative too,"

"Oh wow, she sounds awesome," Lady Noir smiled but she couldn't help but notice he basically described her. Well, Marinette. Though she wasn't sure about the mysterious eyes. However, creative, intelligence, dark silky hair. That definitely matched her. "Do-Do I know her?"

"Actually, yeah," He smiled, playing with his finger on his fingers. "It's Kagami,"

"Kagami?" She gasped, frowning. So it wasn't her but he didn't seem to notice her expression as he nodded. "Cool,"

"Can you keep a secret?" He asked, making her give him a look and gestured to herself. He laughed a little. "Of course, you can. You have a secret identity..."

"Exactly," She grinned. "So what's the secret?"

"Me and Kagami are actually dating," He smiled happily. She felt her heart break a little but to her surprise, it didn't hurt as badly as she thought it would. "We've been keeping it a secret but honestly, I'm just so happy to be with her that I had to tell someone. My father actually approves of her and she's honestly great. I hope you don't mind that I told you,"

"N-No, not at all," She smiled, holding up her hands. "It's great that you feel that way about her,"

"That's one of the reasons why I need to help you defeat Desperada," He mumbled, frowning. "She took Kagami,"

"And we'll get her back... I promise," She smiled, placing her hand on his shoulder. "But you know if you love been with her so much, why keep it a secret?"

"Well, it was to see if we felt comfortable in each other's company. You know like testing the water plus there's the fact that I'm famous. I guess we want a bit of peace before the fan girls freak out," He replied as the door opened and Anatis came back in, closing the door behind him. He glanced over at Lady Noir as he walked over to them, who gave him her best smile.

"You ok?" He asked, making her nod.

"I'm fine," She smiled. "We were just talking about people who are special to us,"

"Oh?" He asked, slightly worried as she smiled.

"Don't worry, Annie," She grinned. "I only told him about you,"

"Oh so you have someone else who is special to you then?" He teased, knowing full well she did. She giggled.

"Maybe," She replied, popping the e at the end as he shook his head.

"Let's focus, kitten," He replied before taking out the small box. Adrien gasped as he looked at it but Anatis didn't make to give it to him yet. Instead, he had a very serious expression on his face. "Before I give this to you, Adrien, I want to make something clear. This is not a permanent thing and you will return it to me once we have defeated Desperada. You will also follow our lead and listen to us. Me and Lady Noir are equals and therefore you will show her the same respect as you are to show me. If you don't then I will tie you up like I did with Kung Food. Is that understood?"

"Y-Yes," Adrien gulped, causing Anatis to smirk and nod.

"Good," He replied before holding out to the box to him. "Adrien Agreste, this is the miraculous of snake which grants the power of second chance. You will use it for the greater good,"

"Right," Adrien smiled before taking it and looking at it.

"Once we defeat the super villain, you will return the miraculous to me," Anatis declared as Lady Noir leaned against him. "Can we trust you to help us with this mission?"

"Yes! Anatis, Lady Noir... I will do my best," He smiled, opening the box. A green ball of light appeared and turned into Sass, causing Adrien to smile. "Sass... it's been too long.."

"Greetings, Adrien. It is nice to see you," Sass replied before glancing over at Anatis and Lady Noir. "Hello, Lady Noir. It's nice to meet you in person. I am glad to see you are well today,"

"Aww, thank you, Sass," She grinned happily before he floated over to Anatis, who held out his hand.

"Master Anatis, are you sure that this is a good idea?" He asked, sitting on his hand. "While me and Adrien have reached an understanding, he still made his choice,"

"I'm sure that this is the right path, Sass," He smiled, causing Adrien to smile. "I'm willing to give him a second chance but I have already given him a warning,"

"Very well, Master Anatis, I trust your judgement," He smiled before floating over to Adrien as he slipped on the bracelet. "Well, what are you waiting for, Adrien? You know the magic words,"

"Sass, Scales Slither!" He declared, transforming into Aspik before looking at them. "So shall we go?"

"Yes," Anatis nodded before the three of them ran out of the locker room and towards an exit. Anatis stopped them before summoning his lucky charm. He caught the saddle and glanced at it before turning to Adrien. "Aspik, it might be best to set your second chance now,"

"Ok," He replied, pulling the snake's head back. "Second chance,"

"Alright, we now have five minutes," Anatis nodded before the three of them climbed up and glanced but saw nothing. Lady Noir frowned and looked around as Anatis tried to figure out what to do with the horse saddle. However, he suddenly disappeared in yellow smoke, causing Aspik to jump back and rest just as Lady Noir disappeared. They climbed back up, only this time he pulled Lady Noir away and glanced to the Eiffel Tower, getting a nod of Anatis. He led them in a different direction but Desperada hit Anatis with her axe while he tried to work out how to use the saddle. Aspik reset again as Lady Noir got captured. The next time, she fired at both of them when they hit behind a bus. He rolled under it and reset then she attacked them when they came out of an ally. He reset again. This time, she attacked them before he could even climb out of the sewer. He reset again. They tried to block her attacks but she caught them off guard. Aspik frowned as he constantly reset over and over again but nothing he did changed the outcome. It was always the same. Anatis and Lady Noir were captured no matter what he did. He reset again for the twenty-thousand time, bringing Lady Noir and Anatis back in front of him. "Alright, we now have five minutes,"

"Sass, scales rest!" He declared, dropping his transformation and causing both heroes to look at him in shock.

"Adrien?" Anatis asked, making him frown.

"I'm sorry, Anatis but I can't do this," He stated, looking down as Anatis frowned. He sighed and took off the bracelet, handing it to Anatis. "Every time, you and Lady Noir are captured and no matter what I do, I can't stop it. You need to pick a different snake,"

"Adrien..." Lady Noir sighed as Anatis looked at the bracelet.

"How many times did you reset?"

"About twenty thousand I think. I don't know exactly. I lost count," He admitted, making both heroes frown. "I've been trying for months and each time I fail,"

"So you're just going to quit?" Anatis asked, making Adrien look at him.

"You can find someone else,"

"No, we can't! There isn't anyone else!" Anatis shouted, making him jump a little. "Judging by the fact that you have had to reset each time we have gone up there, she is waiting for us, meaning if I go up there now to find a new snake, I'll be captured again and this time you won't be able to reset it!"

"What do you want me to do, Anatis?!" He shouted back. "I've tried everything,"

"Oh, really?! Did you... I don't know... try to tell us what went wrong in the first place?!" Anatis shouted back, making Adrien blink at him in surprise. The idea had generally not occurred to him. Anatis tutted and shook his head. "Of course, you didn't,"

"Well, I didn't think-"

"Why am I not surprise?!" Anatis growled, shaking his head. "I've seen how you fought with Ryuko and how you barely did a thing!"

"Excuse me but what am I suppose to do?!"

"Oh, I don't know! How about use the power of the snake as it was intended to be used? You know to observe and learn from your mistakes!" Anatis shouted back, making him blink. "That is what the snake is for! It isn't just a time loop! It is a chance to observe the different outcomes of the battle, something you clearly missed!"

"Oh, what would you know about the snake?! It's not like you've used it," Adrien growled, making Lady Noir frown.

"Actually, I have!" Anatis shot back, surprising Adrien. "How did you think I defeated Style Queen?!"

"You... you used the snake?" He gasped, surprise. "Well, if you know how to wield it, why don't you do it again?!"

"Because it's too dangerous!" Anatis shouted back before pinching his nose. "I merged it with the Ladybug miraculous, Adrien and I did it because I had no back up. Lady Noir was in trouble, you were a frigging gold statue as was everyone else so I did what I had to beat the villain and it took plenty of tries but I did it!"

"Then do that again!"

"He can't," Lady Noir gasped, stepping in. "When Annie became Red Mamba, it drained him of his energy. It could have killed him or driven him insane. Adrien, that's why we need you to wield the snake. Annie can't do this time and neither can I,"

"But I failed, ok?!" He gasped, looking up. "I failed!"

"So what?!" Anatis gasped, making him look at him. "People fail all the time but they kept trying!"

"Well, that's easy for you to say!" Adrien pointed out, frowning. "You're a hero!"

"So were you!" Anatis counted, making Adrien blink. "But you know what I don't get is why you became a hero in the first place, giving how easily you gave up your miraculous and how you're about to quit? I just don't get it,"

"I became a hero because I got freedom from my family and home life ok?!" He gasped, making Anatis to frown and shake his head. "Oh, don't judge me, Mr High and mighty! My father is a horrible person and neglects me ok? Not that you would know anything about that!"

".... I know more about abusive family members then you realize," Anatis stated in a surprising calm manner that surprised both Adrien and Lady Noir. "But that isn't why I became a hero,"

"Then why did you huh?!" Adrien shouted, clearly annoyed. However, Anatis didn't answer straight. "Well?!"

"Because my family were in danger!" Anatis shouted back, shocking Adrien. "And I would do anything to protect them... look, I get why you wanted freedom for been a hero but if that's your only reason then go home!"

"Why?!" Adrien shouted, making both heroes frown. "You said it yourself. There is no other snake and you can't use it so why should I go home, just because I use it get freedom?"

"Because that's not a good enough reason to be a hero!" Anatis declared before shaking his head. "Adrien, you use the miraculous as a way of freedom is using it for personal and selfish gain which the miraculous aren't meant to be used for. They are meant to be used for the greater good,"

"How is want to be free selfish?!"

"The want to be free isn't," Anatis replied. "But using the miraculous for personal gain is. You weren't been a hero because you wanted to save people. You were been a hero because it was fun and served you and you alone. That is what I mean and I get why you want to be free. Believe me, I understand that better then you think but using the miraculous for your own gain is not how you do it,"

"Yeah, well it doesn't matter anyway," He sighed, shrugging even though he knew Anatis had a point and that he was right. "Like I said I failed,"

"So try again," Anatis gasped, making him look at him. "Adrien, you can do this but you have try and actually help us work out a solution. You need to tell us what goes wrong in the resets so we can avoid it. You can be a hero but you need to work with us... not for us or against us,"

"Annie is right," Lady Noir added in. "We are equals including you so help us and we can help you,"

"I... I don't think we should set the second chance here," He stated, getting a look of both of them. "And she's using the Eiffel tower as a vantage point. She can see us every time we climb out,"

"So we need to take her vantage point away from her," Anatis muttered before taking out his yoyo and checking something. "Alright, I have a plan but Adrien, we need the snake to make it work. Are you ready to try again?"

"Yes and this time, I'll be better," He smiled, taking the bracelet and re-transforming but to everyone's surprise, his costume had changed. Gone was the frankly awful hooded cowl and in it's place was a mask that went over his eyes. It was mostly green and snake like but had a yellow diamond in the middle and two yellow triangles attached to the bottom of it. His hair was actually on show but it was more wild then his usual style and had acid green highlights through it. His suit was different too. It did resemble his previous suit but seemed to be closer to a snake in design then his previous one. This one had a section of the suit that resembled the underbelly of a snake, that was light teal green in color. The section also have three yellow diamonds down the middle. Each of them had a dark teal boarder. His arms and legs were covered with a dark teal material and he had a yellow diamond on each of his elbows, knees and the back of his hands. His gloves and boots were a dark green and he had matching shoulder pads. On his back was his lyre. He had a confused expression as he examined his suit. "Um... my suit changed?"

"Maybe you got bored of the old one," Lady Noir shrugged.

"Actually, I think it's changed because you understand it now," Anatis pointed out. "Alright, let's go this way!"

The three of them ran through the sewers for quite a bit before Anatis came to a stop, causing Aspik to raise an eyebrow as he checked something.

"Desperada is using the Eiffel tower to her advantage so let's take that from her," Anatis grinned before gesturing to the wall. Lady Noir grinned and summoned her cataclysm, destroying the wall and in turn the foundation of the Eiffel tower. The three of them escaped from the sewers before hiding behind a tour bus. Desperada tried to glance around as she held out her duel wielding horns but she couldn't see them in the dust created from the foundations been destroyed. Anatis observed her as she looked around. He smiled a little as his luck vision highlighted the guitar case and her weapons. "Her weapons come from her case. We need to stop her from using them and then destroy the case,"

"So how do we do that?" Lady Noir asked, looking over.

"Not hundred percent sure yet," Anatis admitted, glancing over at Adrien. "Think now would be a good time to set a second chance?"

"Yeah," Aspik nodded before flicking the bracelet. "Second chance!"

The three of them charged at her and began to fight her but she managed to capture Anatis and Lady Noir. Aspik flicked the head of the snake back, resetting time. Anatis went to attack her but this time, Aspik grabbed his arm and stopped him, explaining what went wrong. This time, they knocked her guns out of her hand while Lady Noir jumped at her but she axed her. Literally. Aspik frowned and reset, once again explaining what went wrong. They tried to restraint her hands this time but she created a smoke screech and took out Anatis. Aspik reset and explained what went wrong again, making Anatis frown.

"Then we don't take the direct approach," He mumbled, thinking about what they knew about Desperada. She had a thing against musicians. That much was obvious but she had been distracted by his guitar when he played it as Luka. If they could replica that, they might be able to to defeat her. He looked around in his luck vision. To his surprise, Aspik's lyre lit up, followed by Lady Noir and the saddle, causing a plan to form in his mind. "Of course... why didn't I think of that before?"

"You have an idea?" Aspik asked, causing Anatis to grin.

"Yep," He grinned. "Here's what we're gonna do. Aspik, I need you to play the lyre then help me restraint her while Lady Noir uses the horse saddle and gets her bag. It might take a few tries but I'm sure it will work,"

"Alright," Aspik nodded before jumping up on the Eiffel tower and playing the lyre. To his surprise, it worked, causing her to look around for the source. She went to fire at him but Anatis knocked her weapons out of her hands. She went to grab a new one but Anatis grabbed her arm with his yoyo and restrained her as Lady Noir ran towards her with the horse saddle. Aspik jumped down and used his lyre to restrain her other arm, allowing Lady Noir to slide under her legs and force her onto the horse saddle. She grabbed the case and slammed it onto the floor, releasing the akuma. Anatis and Aspik released Desperada, allowing Anatis to capture the akuma and purify it. He then grabbed the saddle and threw up in the air, declaring the magic words to release the cute. Aspik smiled as he watched the magic swarm swirl around and fix everything, freeing everyone who had been captured by Desperada, who had turned back into Vivica. "So cool,"

"Aspik, time to go," Anatis called out as their miraculous beeped. Aspik nodded and followed the two heroes across the rooftops and into an alley. His transformation dropped and he took off the bracelet after saying goodbye to Sass. Anatis held out his hand, causing Adrien to look at him and place the bracelet in his hand. "Thank you, Adrien,"

"No, thank you, Anatis. You gave me a second chance when I didn't give you a chance at all," He sighed, shaking his head before looking up at the slightly older hero. "Look, I'm really sorry for the way I acted. Both today and before. I got jealous when you got the Ladybug miraculous and I didn't even think about you as a person and I'm sorry for almost giving up today and for shouting at you. I should-"

"Adrien, we all make mistakes but that isn't what defines us," Anatis stated, placing his hand on his shoulder. "What defines us is how we fix them and today, you took a step towards repairing your mistake and building trust with me but you will still have to work at it as I will have to do the same,"

"Yes! Of course!" He gasped, smiling before nodding. "Thank you!"

"We better go," Lady Noir stated as their miraculous beeped. Anatis nodded and jumped up onto the roof with her. He smiled and waved at Adrien as she saluted him before the two heroes ran off. Once they were out of Adrien's sight, they stopped and Lady Noir turned to Anatis, who was fiddling with the box. "I'm proud of you today,"

"Why? All I did was shout at him," He sighed, looking to the side. "You were the one who got through to him,"

"But you could have been stubborn and refuse to give him a chance," She pointed out, making him think. "You also gave him some home truths plus I think you did get through to him. You might not realize it but I think Adrien admires you a lot and he listened to you,"

"Maybe... I don't know..." He mumbled as his earrings beeped. "I should get this back to Master Fu,"

"Of course," She nodded before gently kissing his cheek and smiling as his face went red. "See ya, bug a boo!"

With that, she jumped off the building and ran off. She saw Anatis jump away as her transformation dropped, causing Plagg to manifest.

"Man, I am hungry!" He gasped, making her giggle and take out a block of cheese. "Aww! You're the best, Doll face!"

"Of course," She grinned as he swallowed it whole. "Come on, let's get back to the liberty,"

"Aye, aye!" Plagg grinned before flying into her purse as she held it open. She smiled at him and closed it before running off. Luckily, she wasn't too far from the Seine. She broke into a run as she saw the Liberty near by and waved when Alya called her. She was stood with the rest of the girl squad on the boat. It looked like everyone had been returned.

"Girl! I'm glad you're ok," Alya grinned, hugging her. Marinette smiled and hugged back.

"Same here," She smiled as Adrien and Kagami chatted. She looked around and frowned a little. Everyone was back, expect for Luka but he might still be down in the sewers. Not that she should know that. She frowned as she took out her phone and dropped him a text as Alya pulled her over to the rest of the girl squad. "Is everyone ok then?"

"We're fine but Luka hasn't returned," Rose gasped before looking at Juleka.

"Well, if he was captured by Desperada, he should be here so maybe he didn't get caught and is on his way back," Mylene pointed out, getting nods of everyone else but Juleka mumbled something. "What was that?"

"I was said he might be taking his time because he's upset," She mumbled, looking at her hands before glancing at Marinette. "Cause of... you know..."

"Me picking Adrien isn't of him," Marinette sighed, making everyone nod.

"I mean I know you have a huge crush on Adrien, girl but Luka was clearly the better choice to be Jagged's guitarist," Alya explained, making Marinette frown. Had she misread his expression? Maybe it had been one of excitement instead of uncertainty but then why did he look so relieved when she suggested Adrien? "Hey! Since Jagged is still here, you can tell him you made a mistake and get Luka to be his guitarist,"

"I'm not sure Luka wanted that," Marinette mumbled, making them all look at her. "I don't know if you guys noticed but he seemed so tense when Jagged turned up,"

"Yeah because Jagged is his favorite musician!" Rose gasped, making Marinette frown. She went to say something but her phone vibrated, causing her to look at it and see Luka was calling. She held up her hand and answered it.

"Luka? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was hiding in the sewers but I'm on my way back to the Liberty now but can I ask you something?" He sounded nervous, making her frown.

"Sure,"

"Is Jagged still there?" He asked, making her frown and look over at Jagged, who was apologizing to Vivica and talking to Anarka. That's when she noticed Anarka's body language. She was nervous and it was unsettling to see. She grabbed Jagged's arm and told him something, making him frown and nod before the two of them went down into the living room of the liberty. "Marinette?"

"Yeah, he is," She replied, making him sigh. "Luka, is everything ok? You're acting odd and so is your mum,"

"She is? What's happened?" He gasped, worried.

"She just pulled Jagged aside and went down into the Liberty's living area with him," She replied, frowning but Luka didn't answer. "Luka?"

"I'm nearly there," He replied before hanging up. She blinked and frowned as Penny talked with Vivica. A few minutes later, Luka walked onto the Liberty with his guitar on his back but before he could do anything, Rose rushed over to him.

"Marinette's gonna tell Jagged that she made the wrong choice so you can play with him, isn't that great?" She gasped happily, causing Luka to frown and look up at Marinette. She frowned as she saw fear and uncertainty in his eyes again.

"Rose, I didn't say that," She gasped, making him let a sigh of relief.

"But Luka is perfect for-"

"Rose, I appreciate it but it's fine," He smiled, putting his guitar down. "It's not like it matters anyway. I'm sure Vivica has her job back,"

"But you've wanted to play with Jagged forever," Juleka mumbled, making everyone frown. "And I'm sure if Marinette-"

"I've changed my mind, Juleka," He sighed, shaking his head as he walked off to the back of the boat. Juleka frowned as Rose and the others looked confused. Marinette frowned and walked over to Luka as he played his guitar. He stopped and looked up at her. "Let me guess... everyone is confused as to why I suddenly don't want to play with Jagged?"

"Yeah," She replied, sitting next to him as he sighed again. "Are you ok?"

"Been better if I'm honest," He replied, making her frown. "I'm glad you chose Adrien even if it was because you like him,"

"Well... actually, I was going to suggest you but then I saw how uncomfortable you looked..." She admitted, making him look at her in surprise. "I figured it was more then just nerves of been in front a rockstar. You never came across as easily star stucked and honestly, you looked like you want the earth to open up and swallow you there and then,"

"Marinette...." He whispered before let out a sigh of relief. "That's pretty accurate to be honest... how did you know?"

"I'm very familiar with the feeling," She smiled before glancing at him. "So you want to talk about it? I mean when we first met you told me Jagged was your favorite musician so I would have thought you'd jump at the chance but today... do you hate him now?"

"No, of course, I don't... it just..." He sighed, looking down. "He's still my favorite musician..."

"Ok so what changed?" She asked, making him look at her.

"What makes you think something changed?"

"Something must of happened to make you react like this," She replied in a matter of a fact sort of way. He sighed and looked ahead. "You can tell me if you want,"

"I... I found out something about him and I'm not sure how to deal with it..." He stated, causing her to frown. He sighed as Anarka came over with Jagged. Marinette frowned and looked between them before clearing her throat. Anarka had a serious face and Jagged looked guilty, which didn't make much sense. However, they both looked like they needed to talk to Luka so Marinette got up.

"Um I should... go?" She stated but to her surprise, Luka gently took her hand, causing her to look at him. He looked uncertain and worried, making her frown.

"Stay... please..." He muttered before glancing to the side. Marinette sat back down, getting a nod of Anarka as Jagged rubbed his neck nervous. Luka looked up at Anarka but kept his hand in Marinette's. "Does... does he know?"

"Yes, we just talked about it," Anarka nodded, causing Luka to nod and look over at Jagged, who looked nervous.

"I am so sorry, Luka. I had no idea until Nanarky told me. If I had known, I would have done things differently," He gasped, confusing Marinette but she didn't say anything. Luka frowned and sighed as Jagged sat down next to him. "Look I totally get it if you decide you want nothing to do with me and I'll totally respect your choice but I want to get to know you and be in your life if you want me to be,"

"I..." Luka started before looking up at Anarka.

"It's your choice, Lad," She smiled reassuringly. "But I'm gonna be here to support you whatever you choose,"

Luka nodded before glancing back at Jagged.

"I would like to get to know you but can we start small? It's a lot to take in,"

"Of course!" Jagged gasped, suddenly hugging him before he pulled away. "Sorry! That was too much, wasn't it? I'm just so happy you want to give me a chance but don't worry, Luka! I'll be the best dad ever!"

"Dad?" Marinette asked as Luka went red. Her eyes widen as she looked at Jagged then back to Luka. It made a lot of sense now. Jagged was Luka's dad. "Oh, wow... so that's what changed,"

"Y-Yeah," Luka mumbled, looking away shyly. However, Jagged grinned as he looked at them.

"Looks like you might become my daughter in law," He smirked, causing Marinette to go bright red and Anarka to shout at him. He laughed and ran off, causing her to chase after him as Luka went quiet. He was also bright red.

"Um..." He coughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sure you have questions,"

"Of course, I do," She replied before gently moving his hair. "But my main one is are you ok?"

"I'm still kind of shocked about it," He admitted, glancing down. "I only found out because of Sandboy,"

"Of course, that makes sense," She nodded, thinking back to that. He had been upset about finding out the truth about his step-father but his mother must of told him that Jagged was his father then. He leaned against her shoulder, causing her to look at him and gently smile, patting his hair.

"Sorry," He mumbled, making her frown.

"Hey, you don't need to be sorry ok? I'd be just as shook if I was in your shoes," She admitted, making him smile.

"Thank you, Marinette," He smiled, looking up at her. She smiled back and leaned against him a little. They stayed like that for a little while as she asked him some questions and he answered them as best as he could. It turned out that Luka's step father was Juleka's real dad and that the reason why Jagged didn't know wasn't just because Anarka didn't tell him but because she was told by Bob Roth that he wanted nothing to do with her or their child. However, Bob Roth had lied to both Anarka and Jagged. Anarka thought that his step-father would be a better role model for Luka as well but as it turned out, he was violent and abusive, especially towards Luka.

"I'm so sorry, Luka," She whispered, making him look at her. "This must be so hard for you,"

"It's getting easier but it is a shock," He admitted, sighing. "Luckily, I haven't been akumatized from it yet,"

"Which just proves how strong you are," She smiled, causing him to smile back. "Should we rejoin everyone?"

"Yeah," He nodded, getting up with her. The two of them walked over and joined them. Chloe was sat talking to Alix as Adrien and Kagami laughed and smiled with each other, causing Marinette to frown a little. Now that she was aware that they were in fact dating, she could see how obvious it was. Adrien was glancing at Kagami with loving eyes as she shyly smiled. Luka gently nudged her arm, causing her to look at him. "You ok?"

"Oh, yeah I'm fine," She smiled before glancing back to Adrien and Kagami, who waved at her. She waved back as Luka began to set up his guitar to play with the rest of kitty section. Marinette took a seat next to Alya who leaned over.

"So now would be a good chance to talk to Adrien?" She asked, making Marinette sigh and glance over at him and Kagami, who just got up to grab a drink. "Go on. While the ice queen is gone,"

"I don't think I will," She replied, shaking her head and causing Alya to frown a little. "He seems happy with Kagami,"

"What? Girl, this is your chance,"

"There'll be other chances, Alya," Marinette answered, despite knowing that there wouldn't be. Adrien was with Kagami and that actually made her happy. Sure, her heart ached a little but it didn't break like she thought it would. Instead, she glanced over at Luka, who gave her a soft smile and it fluttered a little. "Besides, I came here to watch Luka, not try and flirt with Adrien,"

"Girl, you are something else," Alya gasped, shaking her head as Kitty Section started to play.

"But you love me for it," Marinette grinned back before laughing with Alya.

"Yeah, girl... don't ever change,"

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Next Chapter: https://ultra-sassyduck.tumblr.com/post/637053279237455872/miraculous-rise-of-anatis-38

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