#maid good luck guys main???

[eillanu]

Jika + Maid (PT 1)

[ckret2]

Chapter 82 of you can really tell the writer got a new art program this week and went apeshit with it instead of doing anything productive: the Mystery Shack is in terrible peril from the government and only one thing can save them:

Teaching Bill Cipher how to flirt with humans!!

####

The Stans explained the plan to Dipper and Mabel as briefly as possible—that Bill had to save them all by flirting with the head fed—and that was about as far as they got before Mabel started squealing. They wished her good luck with Bill, wished him good luck with Mabel, and beat a hasty retreat, with Dipper tagging along after Ford on the pretense of helping figure out how to get the flash drive out of Gompers.

"This is perfect!" Mabel slammed the door closed—and Bill had the sneaking suspicion she'd trapped him on purpose—then grabbed both his hands to drag him further into the room. "I can see it now! He'll fall in love with you, and then he'll realize that living in a small logging town is so much more emotionally fulfilling than his high-pressure fast-paced big city government job, and he'll see what a special, magical place Gravity Falls is and he won't wanna do anything that could change it, and Washington will call him like, 'Your report is late! Have you forgotten your mission?' And he'll go 'I have a new mission now: my WIFE!' And—"

"Hold on!" Bill pulled his hands back. "I think you skipped the part where you married me off to a government agent."

"No I didn't! Because he says that and everyone gasps and then he gets down on his knee in front of you and pulls out a ring and—"

"In your dreams, star girl." He dropped onto Mabel's bed and crossed his legs. "Think a little less cheesy Christmas romcom, and more noir spy movie with a double-crossing femme fatale."

Mabel measured that up against her limited spy movie knowledge, and asked dubiously, "You're gonna drop him in a tank of sharks?"

"Hey, if you have one...!" Bill laughed. "But, no. The plan is just for me to keep him distracted long enough for the nerd squad to get the flash drive, wipe any sensitive data, and leave it somewhere that'll make the agents think the goat dumped it naturally."

Mabel considered that. She inhaled deeply. "Okay," she said. "But. What if it's one of those movies where the evil girl spy has a change of heart because of the good guy's charm and you do fall in love."

"Do you remember who we're talking about?" Bill asked. "Fine! If we fall in love, you can be the ring bearer, best maid, and officiant—but don't start stapling together a white dress just yet."

Mabel completely skipped past his main point. She whispered, "You'd let me make your wedding dress?"

"I'd turn down every fashion designer in Milan, Paris, New York, and London combined."

Her eyes widened. "I've gotta start drawing wedding dresses." She rummaged around the floor for an unused piece of paper and the nearest crayon and/or marker box.

"Draw me as a triangle," Bill said automatically. "So there, you're caught up on the plan!" He slowly slid off Mabel's bed toward the door. "So if you'd let me out so I can prepare..."

"Ohh no. Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford brought you to me to learn how to flirt, and I'm going to teach you how to flirt."

He groaned, but plopped back down on Mabel's bed. "I don't need to be taught how to flirt! I'm a pro! While your universe was still gearing up for a Big Bang, I was fending off marriage proposals from lovelorn generation ships and sentient oceans."

"You're not seducing ships and oceans." Mabel had already flopped onto the floor and drawn a triangle with an eye, and was trying to figure out how to put a dress on it. "You're seducing a man."

"Which is even easier! You people barely last a century, you're desperate! Humans fling themselves at me left and right!"

"Then you'll have no trouble passing my love quiz."

Bill automatically frowned. There was a part of him that still tensed up at the word "quiz" even if he did know more about romance than the entire human race combined. "What, like the one you put the guys through on your dating show?"

"Yes, but with all new questions! So you can't just copy all of Soos's answers to get a perfect score!"

"Psh! Like I need to copy anyone's answers," said Bill, who had never taken a quiz in his life without copying someone else's answers and had been planning to do just that. "All right, hit me."

"Question one! Uh..." She tapped a crayon to her chin as she thought. "What's the best gift to give on a first date? Jewelry, chocolate, a wedding ring, or flowers?"

"Ooh, we're starting with bribery, huh?" When in doubt, the right answer was usually C; but "jewelry" and "wedding ring" seemed kinda redundant. Well—cheating had never failed him before, why stop now? "None of the above! I've got a better answer than all of them!"

Mabel lowered her crayon to give him a skeptical look. "Oh yeah? What?"

"Sneak into their dreams the night before, find out their heart's desire, and surprise 'em with that," Bill said. "That's not even a romantic move. It'll let you win over a human in any context! Birthday parties, baby showers, job interviews, criminal trials, hostage negotiations..."

"What if you don't know their heart's desire?"

"Then you're not me."

She set down her crayon, laced her hands under her chin, and said, "Okay, then. If you were trying to win me over, what's my dream birthday gift?"

"Replacing your bedroom with a bouncy castle with inflatable furniture."

"Ha! No it's n..." She trailed off. "Wait. Ohmigosh."

"Told ya."

"I've been dreaming too small," Mabel whispered. She shoved aside her first drawing and started drawing her fantasy bedroom.

Bill picked up one of Mabel's dolls—a floppy tiger—and started talking to it like he was lecturing it. Forget this whole "taking a quiz" thing; he was much more comfortable in the roll of the teacher than the student. "And if it's a blind date and I can't stalk 'em beforehand, nobody's ever disappointed by a solid gold brick," he told the doll.  "It's both practical and pretty, and it appeals to humans' natural greed without making them feel sleazy about accepting a wad of hundreds from their date."

"What's Agent Powers's heart's desire?"

Heck. He didn't actually know. He'd ducked in on the guy's life a handful of times, but he'd never needed to pay that close attention to him. What did boring people like? "A really nice leather wallet," Bill said.

"Okay, you're off to a strong start," Mabel said. "Question two: what's the ideal location for a first date?"

"What are my options?"

"Fooey to the options! I wanna hear your thoughts."

"Then that's easy: anywhere they can't escape from until they love you," Bill said. "Even better if you can serenade 'em."

Mabel nodded in approval. "Perfect answer, full points! Every Inkwell princess movie and vampire novel on the market agrees! Question three: best first date outfit?"

"Sexy."

"Okay—yeah," Mabel said, "But specifically, what does that look like?"

"Tallest hat you can find," Bill said.

Mabel waited. Bill didn't say anything else. Mabel said, "What about the rest of the outfit?"

"Bow tie. Outfit complete."

"That's just what you wear."

"And it's always sexy!" Bill insisted.

"Maybe in Flatworld, but this is earth! If you go out dressed in nothing but a hat and a bow tie, you'll be having your date in the back of a police car!"

"Fine," Bill huffed. "Fifty pairs of gloves—and the more of them you have hands to fill, the better! A dress made out of blank checks! Two snakes! A fur coat made out of live kittens!" Bill shook the stuffed doll emphatically with each point. "Good enough?!"

Mabel squinted thoughtfully at him. "The kitten coat has potential."

"Damn me with faint praise, why don't you."

"What about more traditional romantic outfits? Like... a red velvet suit with a leopard print shirt? Or short shorts that say 'too hot' on the butt?" Mabel asked. "Or a t-shirt with your date's face on it in a heart! That shows your date 'I'm here to focus on you!'"

"What if my date's face is ugly, did you think about that?" Bill asked, mainly to cover up the fact that he was chagrined he hadn't thought of the velvet suit himself. "Forget about fashion. Next question!"

"Okay, how would you prepare yourself for the perfect date? Aside from finding a tall hat and stalking your date's dreams."

"Hygiene's the most important thing," Bill said. "Humans are very attuned to pheromones. It's one of your base instincts."

A look of relief cross Mabel's face. "Yes! Good start. So we're talking a shower, or...?"

"Oh yeah, if you're going on a date in this country, you've gotta scrub that skin raw. There is no smell Americans hate more than the natural smell of other human beings." 

Mabel nodded enthusiastically. "Right!"

"And once you've gotten rid of your real scent you've got to make sure you smell appealing. And that means making sure you smell the most! Cover up any competing suitors' scents with your own!"

Mabel made an uncertain hum. "Okaaay, sooo... what would you call an appropriate fragrance for a first date?"

He wasn't sure he liked the sound of the hum. "First date? You've got to make a strong impression, and set the mood for romance," he told the doll, so he didn't have to watch Mabel pass judgment. "So, I'm thinking... decaying salmon, deer pee, and ambergris."

Mabel was silent for an uncomfortably long time. Bill glanced at her. She immediately pulled her sweater up to hide her mouth. Voice strained with suppressed laughter, she said, "You don't think, maybe... floral scents...?"

Who did she think she was laughing at! He directed his attention back to Mabel's doll. The tiger didn't judge him. The tiger thought all his ideas were brilliant. "Is this guy looking for a garden or a girlfriend? I know ninety percent of the soaps and shampoos on the market are designed to make you smell like a fruit salad on the beach, but you humans don't know the first thing about what activates your own monkey-brained reproductive urges! Trust me: decaying salmon, deer pee, and ambergris! They reek of raw sex appeal!"

"What's ambergris?"

"It's a staple fragrance in the perfume industry! Some of the most popular scents in Hollywood have ambergris base notes!"

"Okay," Mabel said, "but what is it?"

"Okay so," Bill said, "when a sperm whale gets so constipated it kills 'em, the rest of its body rots off while the turd floats to the surface, and after it's bobbed around baking in the sun for a few decades—"

Mabel lay a hand on Bill's knee and gently said, "No." 

"Hey, I'm not the one who invented ambergris, that's your species's idea!"

"Bill, I'm sorry. But you've got the best and worst romance ideas with no in between, and you don't know the difference," Mabel said. "But I promise you're in good hands! I'm the best matchmaker in Gravity Falls! I helped hook up Soos and Melody, Robbie and Tambry, Waddles and Gompers, the Hand Witch and that hunky hiker guy..."

He threw Mabel's doll down on the bed, slumped back against the wall, crossed his arms, and sulked. Then he muttered, "But I've got the best ideas?"

"Oh yeah. You're like an untrained romance prodigy! You just need a liiittle help filtering out the diamonds from the coal."

He grunted. Then he grudgingly admitted, "Getting Waddles and Gompers together is pretty impressive. They have complete opposite political opinions."

"See? I'll have you date ready in no time!"

Bill heaved a frustrated sigh. "Fine. But I'd better at least get a killer makeover out of this."

"Definitely! I'm getting an expert on the case!" She pulled out her phone to send a text. Plus, whatever you're wearing tomorrow? I'm bedazzling the crap out of it."

"Good!"

"But first," Mabel said, "Let's talk about your technique."

####

"Lesson one of Mabel's Guide to Flirting With Humans: pick-up lines! First impressions are super important!"

"Pick-up lines are easy," Bill said. "I know a million of them!"

"That's great! Then this should be easy." Mabel pointed at the picture of Creggy G in the middle of her Sev'ral Timez poster, whom she'd designated as their attractive human for Bill's flirting practice. "Try one out." 

Bill sized up Creggy calculatingly, and said, "You know, your eyeballs are so beautiful."

"Yes!" Mabel cheered. "It's romantic! I love it!"

"—and they'd look even better in my mouth."

Mabel stared at Bill.

"What?" Bill asked. "Too forward? Should I save that for the second date?"

The flirting lesson quickly switched track from teaching Bill how to use a pick-up lines, to teaching Bill what pick-up lines not to use.

And from there, the conversation drifted to a list of subjects Bill wasn't allowed to discuss with the federal agent, which necessitated relocating to the living room so Mabel could set up an easel pad and record all the banned topics. Partway through, Stan drifted in and started throwing in his two cents.

The list of banned flirtation topics included: eyeballs; cannibalism; squid kings; dragonfly mating habits; mandibles; the time and method of living people's future deaths; the cold and lonely heat death of the universe ("Why?! It's a perfect excuse to suggest cuddling for warmth!"); fun get-to-know-you questions like "would you rather kill your mother or your father" or "which conspiracy theories would you most hate to be true"; which conspiracy theories were true; the agent's embarrassing middle school secrets that Bill shouldn't have known about but did; the agent's bald spot; cancer flavors; pending global disasters...

Bill flung his hands in the air. "So what does that leave to talk about?!"

"Anything else," Stan snapped.

"The Chuquicamata open pit copper mine."

"Anything normal."

Bill gave him a look akin to that of a vegetarian who'd just been asked to discuss his favorite cuts of beef. "Have you metme?"

"Try topics that get him in the right mindset for romance," Mabel said. "Like, 'what do you want your future wife's favorite color to be?' Or 'you look like dad material!'"

Bill nodded slowly. "So we're aggressively leading him on. I can work with that. I've never been a fan of subtlety."

"And call him charming," Stan said. "Guys love hearing they're charming. Oh, and tell him his jokes are funny."

"What if he doesn't tell jokes."

"All guys tell jokes when they're flirting! If he's not telling jokes, you're doing something wrong."

"It's true," Mabel said. "Watch any high school romance!" Bill gave them both a dubious look.

Stan glanced up as Ford and Dipper walked by the doorway with Gompers. "Tell 'im, Ford."

"What?"

"All men tell jokes when we're flirting! It's probably in our DNA or something."

Dipper thought about that, and nodded. "I tell jokes when I'm flirting."

Mabel shouted, "You try to tell jokes when you're flirting! Heyooo!"

"Hey."

Ford grimaced. "Usually when I'm flirting, I forget every joke I've ever heard and start asking as many questions as I can think of."

Bill said, "That's because you only flirt with things you want to add to your bestiary!"

"The point still stands." 

Dipper had leaned into the room to read the banned topic list. "Why are conspiracy theories off-limits? He came to Gravity Falls in the first place because he was looking for a paranormal conspiracy."

"Dipper's right," Ford said, "he'd probably be interested in the topic."

Bill flung his hands in the air. "Thank you! That's what I was saying!"

Stan shook his head, "Too close to discussing politics. What if they believe in different conspiracies!"

"Plus, watch this," Mabel said. "Hey Bill, what do you think about Flat Earth theory."

Bill groaned. "I was drunk, those statements were taken out of context, and I can't be held responsible if some idiot with a boat misinterpreted me."

Mabel looked at Ford and Dipper.

Dipper grimaced. "Got it."

Ford nodded. "Conspiracy theories are off-limits."

"This is why you're all single," Bill said.

####

Stan said, "And if you're gonna lie about your job—"

"Which you always should," Bill cut in.

"Obviously! But make sure it's not something too easy to verify. Like, you can't claim to be the governor, what if your date actually voted and knows who the governor is?"

"That's a good point! Margaret was not impressed."

"You're telling me! My suit smelled like broccoli cheese soup for weeks!"

"You shoulda suggested she get the house salad."

"Yeah, I—" Stan cut off. "Wait. How do you know about Margaret? That was twenty years ago!"

Dipper and Ford were in the kitchen, looking for every ingredient they could find that might coax Gompers to release the flash drive the old-fashioned way and listening to the discussion in the living room. Gompers nibbled at a dish towel, oblivious to the fate awaiting him.

Mabel trotted in and patted him as she passed. "Hey, you! You're giving us major trouble, you rascal!"

He bleated at her.

Mabel pushed up to the open fridge next to Dipper, and when he stepped aside to make more room for her, she stepped into his personal space again and leaned into him with her shoulder. "Why are you in the way, bro, jeez!"

"You're in the way!" He leaned against her in turn. "What are you doing in here? Aren't you supposed to be training Bill?"

"Grunkle Stan's taking the lead right now," Mabel said. "My talent is helping people find true love! But his talent is suckering someone into liking you for a day. So I think he's better suited to the task at hand."

"Oh, yeah." Dipper chuckled wryly. "His advice will get you a first date, but not a second date."

Ford muttered, "His technique hasn't changed since high school, I see."

Dipper found the bottle of prune juice he'd been looking for, pulled it out, and stepped back. Mabel yelped when her counterweight disappeared and stumbled sideways into the fridge door.

As Dipper emptied the juice into a mixing bowl, he said, "I'm not sure about this plan. Even with both you and Stan helping. I know Bill's good at tricking people, but... he's so annoying. And not in a lovable way."

"Don't undersell him!" Mabel said. She'd retrieved a pitcher of Mabel Juice and was dumping a full bottle of sprinkles into it—hardcore romance training required high stamina. "He has the potential to be a dreamboat!"

Ford muttered, "He's a manipulative, murderous monster." He was searching through all the cans they'd moved to the kitchen counter for beans.

"Those don't have to be mutually exclusive," Mabel insisted. "Serial killers get girlfriends. Sometimes after they're arrested!"

"I'mmm not seeing a dreamboat," Dipper said. "More like a shipwreck. I mean, when you were trying to come up with a list of romantic date foods, he suggested blood licked off your date's teeth."

"And he was right!" Mabel said. "Vampires, bro-bro!"

"Okay, but I don't think he was talking about teeth that were still attached to his date's skull!"

"He didn't say they weren't attached," said Mabel, with flagging conviction that suggested she hadn't considered that and was realizing Dipper was probably right.

"And five minutes ago you and Stan told him he should pretend to be a princess, and he told you he'd be great at that because he started an Internet dating service that matches up lonely widows with overseas con artists pretending to be deposed princes."

"Well," Mabel said sheepishly.

"And then he tried to talk you two into investing in a pyramid scheme to fund his dating service."

"But we didn't invest!" Mabel said.

"Only because you looked it up on your phone and discovered he'd made it up!"

"I mean, until then, it sounded romantic!" Mabel flung her hands out in a wide shrug. (Something about the gesture looked strange to Ford.) "Finding a second chance at love with a mysterious foreign criminal with a glamorous false identity? That'd be great if it was real!"

"Mabel, it's a scam," Dipper said exasperatedly.

"And do scam artists not deserve love, too?!" Mabel pounded a fist on the table emphatically. "What about Grunkle Stan! He deserves love! A rich overseas widow would be perfect for him!"

"That's not— The point is, Bill's not romantic!" Dipper said. "This plan isn't going to work!"

Ford set half a dozen bean cans next to Dipper's mixing bowl. "He doesn't need to be romantic," he said. "He only needs to be charismatic. And for all his flaws, he's certainly that." Planets will orbit stars and black holes just the same—and not even realize the difference. "He doesn't have to actually win Agent Powers's heart. He only has to keep his attention for a few hours. By the time Bill stops dazzling Powers long enough for him to see the red flags, we'll have the flash drive." He nodded toward Gompers. "If we get it before the agents return with a warrant, we might not even need Bill to distract him."

Dipper sighed. "Then let's hope Gompers likes prunes."

"Come on! Show a little faith!" Mabel said.

Ford muttered, "The last time I put my faith in Bill..." Dipper gestured emphatically at Ford in agreement.

"Not in Bill! In me! Mark my words, Grunkle Ford—I'll get this Cinderella ready to meet his Prince Charming if I have to summon every mouse in Gravity Falls to help sew his ballgown!"

"Please don't summon the wildlife again," Dipper groaned. "The last time you did that, huge spiders kept appearing in our room for a week."

Mabel's pocket vibrated; she pulled out her phone and gasped. She chugged down the rest of her juice in three sickly sweet gulps and bolted from the room. "Biiill! Your personal style consultant texted back!"

"My who?"

She dragged him out of the living room by the wrist. "Come on!"

Ford watched them run up the stairs, then started searching through their cereal boxes for the high fiber one. Tentatively, he asked, "Mabel doesn't actually think we're trying to get Bill and the agent together, does she?" The Prince Charming comment was concerning.

"I don't know," Dipper sighed. "A few days ago she started talking about trying to get Bill a love life? Maybe she sees this as a practice round."

"Really? Why, did he say he wants to date people?" If he wanted to get out of the shack to emotionally prey on the locals one-on-one without supervision...

"I don't think she's even told him yet. It's part of her project to... reintegrate him into society? She probably thinks the power of love can rehabilitate him." Dipper sighed. "She's setting herself up for disappointment. He's been conning people into thinking he's a good guy for billions of years, right? If being loved could fix him, he'd be an angel by now."

"Instead, he's just gotten better at pretending to be an angel," Ford said ruefully. "I'm inclined to agree with you." He found the cereal he'd been looking for and set it on the table by Dipper. "But then... we let him live, didn't we? Because we all hope we're wrong. I suppose that doesn't make us that different from Mabel."

Dipper shook his head emphatically. "Not me." He dumped one of the cans of beans into the prune juice a little harder than necessary. "I let him live for two reasons: because of Mabel, and because of that prophecy. And he doesn't have to change to fulfill some prophecy to save us—when it comes, he might just be trying to save his own stupid butt, too."

"I suppose so." Right—of course, even if he'd agreed to spare Bill, Dipper still didn't have any real hope for him beyond his usefulness.

Over the past month, Ford hadn't seen anything more sympathetic out of Bill than Dipper had. He wondered at himself for even being willing to consider Bill might change. When had Ford changed enough to consider it? Or was he just more susceptible to Bill's same old tricks?

"You don't remember the whole prophecy yet, do you?" Ford asked. "What if this is what it was about? Saving our family from the government because he's the only person the lead agent finds attractive enough to distract him?"

Dipper pulled a face. "I hope not," he said. "After everything he put us through? He owes us a fight to the death with an interdimensional eldritch god."

"Now that's a sight I'd pay to see."

####

MABEL: Heyyy Paz, can I ask for a small favor. I have a friend that needs a MAJOR MAKEOVER!! 😿 Like the FULL PRINCESS TRANSFORMATION treatment!! Can you help him?

PACIFICA: Can't, I'm suuuper busy today. I have the lunch shift AND grooming day at the ranch.

PACIFICA: Plus, why would I help some total rando? 😒

MABEL: Because it's my friend with the beautiful golden hair.

PACIFICA: asldkfggh

PACIFICA: OK fine come by the ranch after work

PACIFICA: and send me a picture of his skin next to a white paper so I can grab some foundations to try out.

####

Bill took a piece of paper and a marker, wrote "Make me beautiful!" and dotted the I and the exclamation point with hearts, flopped the least sunburned part of his arm next to the paper for Mabel to take a picture, and leaned away to keep his face out of it.

As Mabel snapped a couple pictures, she said, "Okay, before we visit Pacifica, I have to warn you. She can be a liiittle bit mean when it comes to fashion. So don't get mad at her, okay? It's how she shows she cares!"

"No it's not," Bill said.

"No, it's not," Mabel conceded. "But it doesn't mean she doesn't care. That's just... how she relates to other people! By insulting their fashion, style, and body. And family. And finances."

"Don't worry, star girl. I can take it."

"But I mean, she might be really, really, super mean about your looks," Mabel said. "And you cannot curse her or threaten to turn her bones into flutes or do anything Bill-ish like that. Promise me."

"Hey, bone flutes! That sounds like a fun arts and crafts project, right?"

"Bill!"

"Re-lax, it'll be fine," Bill said. "She's just your garden-variety pageant girl with an overly-critical mom who tried to relive her glory years through her daughter! I can handle a teenage ex-beauty queen. I'm an expert on those types."

Skeptically, Mabel said, "Really?" She was slowly coming to realize that, in Bill's opinion, he was the expert on everything.

"Oh yeah. I spent years eyelid deep in the pageant scene."

"You did?" she said, surprised. "How come? Did you try to trick a beauty pageant into building your portal or something like that?"

Bill stared at Mabel.

####

Outside the flat hospital, it was a beautiful, peaceful morning. The air was clear, the unseen sun was shining brightly from some unknown dimension, and some 2D equivalent to a bird was chirping in some 2D equivalent to a tree.

And then the hospital doors crashed open with such force that passing shapes momentarily suspected that someone had set off a bomb.

"—don't give me that look, if you'd hustled your hypotenuse and had your birthday yesterday, we wouldn't be in such a rush! You're just lucky you came out so cute, or—" An exhausted, dull pinkish triangle charged out the doors with a very tiny, squishy yellow triangle in her trembling arm. She turned to shout behind her—"Hurry up! There's only two hours until the Best Baby Pageant and he is not going to miss it!"

—and was followed closely by a horrified blue triangle carrying a hat in one hand and a cane in the other. "But Scalene, the doctors still have to do those tests to check for—"

"They can test him later! If he's got some horrible birth defect, he'll still have it after he's won a trophy!" Without slowing, Scalene turned and held the baby out toward the other triangle. The squishy new shape gawked at him in mild befuddlement. "Look at this kid, Euclid! Most newborn brats look like cranky raisins, but he's less than an hour old and he's already bright-eyed and smooth-sided! He was born with the face of a pageant winner—"

Not looking where she was going, she ran into a tree. The bird flew off in a panic, Scalene lost her balance, and she nearly dropped the baby. Euclid caught him, caught her, and held her steady while she leaned dizzily against the tree. "Lene. You should be on bedrest right now. Maybe we should just, you know, take a moment to process..."

"Process what! We have our little angle. Am I supposed to sit in a hospital bed staring at the afterbirth?!"

While Euclid stared at her in shock, she snatched the child back, pushed him away, and wobbled back upright. "What kind of a lazy mother would I be if I was sleeping instead of making my child a winner! You want him to start off life on the right foot, don't you?"

Defeated, Euclid said, "All right. I'll take care of the... the paperwork. At least bring your cane."

"I don't need it. I'm fine."

"Fine?! You just..." He gestured at her, gestured at the brand-spanking-new baby, gestured at her again, then flung his hands up in defeat. "If you drop our baby, I'm divorcing you."

She sighed huffily. "You're so dramatic." But she snatched the cane out of his hand anyway and stormed away, declaring loudly enough that shapes on the other side of the street turned to stare: "If the mayor doesn't declare my Billy the greatest baby in the whole godforsaken world, I'm grabbing the biggest trophy in the room and bashing his eye in!"

####

Bill shrugged at Mabel. "Sure," he said. "Something like that."

####

Gompers stared down at the bowl set on the floor in front of him.

It contained black beans, broccoli, coffee grounds, fiber-enriched whole-grain cereal, oatmeal, and an avocado and half a sweet potato mashed together into an orange-green mush, all stewing in a prune juice soup.

Gompers looked up.

Dipper and Ford were crouched across from him, watching expectantly. 

Gompers bleated balefully at them.

"Go on!" Ford nudged the bowl closer. "It's good for you."

Gompers knew a lie when he heard one. He turned his nose up at the mix.

"I don't get it," Dipper said. "He eats everything. What's wrong with this stuff?"

"I haven't a clue."

"Maybe it's the broccoli?" 

Ford gave him a quizzical look. "Why broccoli?"

Dipper shrugged. "I don't like broccoli, I don't know why he would."

"Hmm." Mystified, Ford propped his chin in his hand and stared into Gompers's eyes. Gompers stared back. Gompers stared into his soul. Gompers didn't blink.

Ford was dragged from this session of nonconsensual soul-searching by the sound of footsteps and Mabel's voice drifting down the stairs: "Listen, you know I love your sense of fashion! All I'm saying is everyone loves kittens, but snakes? That's a pretty niche fashion market! You're not gonna get a lot of takers."

"No, hey, hear me out," Bill said. "I listened to your professional matchmaker advice, now you've got to listen to my professional heartbreaker advice. You'll thank me for this one day! This is my number one romance tip: if you wanna impress a date, strap cobras to your arms and call yourself 'Johnny Cobra-Arms.' It works every time. Guaranteed."

(Dipper snorted.)

"Whaaat? No way," Mabel said. "Seriously, what?"

"It's true! I workshopped this! I've experimented across parallel timelines! It works."

"Quit messing with me, Bill."

"You think I would ever mislead you? No. Picture this." As the pair turned the corner on the stairs, Bill was spreading his hands in front of himself as though gesturing to the scene he wanted Mabel to imagine. "You see a guy, maybe a year older than you, kinda cute but nothing to write home about, maybe a 6/10. Got him in your mind's eye?"

A look of intense concentration crossed Mabel's face as she engaged her Imagination. "Yeah?"

"Okay, now imagine he—" Bill reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around. "Where are my shoes." He raised his voice, "Who moved my fisshoes! I left them right— oh, there they are." He disappeared into the living room. "Imagine your 6/10 has two big snakes wrapped around his arms. And he catches your eye from across the club, comes up to you, and says..." Bill's voice dropped to a pitch that was nearly in the range of an average adult human male, "'Hey. Name's Johnny Cobra-Arms. What's yours?'"

Mabel thought about it. Her eyes slowly widened in amazement. "Oh my god, it would totally work on me."

Bill re-emerged into the entryway, fish shoes donned. "See?" 

"It made him hot! What the heck, how did that happen!"

"See?! It works every time!" He shouted toward the kitchen, "Hey, we're leaving for Alpaca's! I'm taking the car!"

"No you're not," Ford said.

Bill spread his hands in a shrug. "Worth a shot!" He grabbed his umbrella and the magic friendship bracelets from the coat rack and waited for Mabel to open the door. "See, it's the best possible first impression. It shows he's got a sense of humor, he's quirky, he's a little bit dangerous, he's got a great sense of fashion, he's a world traveler, he's good with animals..." The door swung shut behind them. 

The way Bill had shrugged stuck in Ford's mind. 

In his true form, Bill didn't have shoulders. His arms extended out of his sides like the trunks of saplings extending from the surface of flood waters, and they glided around his perimeter in a way that defied conventional physical biology. No joints. 

When he shrugged in his human body, sometimes he'd bob his shoulders up and down in a deliberate mimicry of how humans performed the gesture; and lately, as Bill got used to moving his new body, Ford had seen him sluggishly raise a shoulder when he was too exhausted to gesture more expressively. But most of the time, he shrugged like he still didn't have shoulders. He'd spread his arms, bend his elbows, usually forming a W shape but sometimes when he was particularly emphatic forming a shape like football goalposts, and if he really wanted to make his meaning clear he'd twitch his upturned palms up the way a human would twitch their shoulders.

He did it all the time. He'd done it just now. The gesture was so natural on Bill that Ford had never realized how unnaturalit was on a human—until he'd seen Mabel make the exact same gesture earlier.

She was copying Bill's body language. He wondered if she knew.

He'd have to keep an eye on that.

"Hope Agent Powers is into snakes," Dipper muttered.

Ford laughed—then wondered whether someone pulling the Johnny Cobra-Arms trick would've worked on him. If by now nothing had made him take an interest in a basic, garden-variety human being, he doubted anything could... but, admittedly, he'd at least consider hanging out with Johnny. He sounded like an intriguing character. "If that's the worst thing Bill subjects him to, he'll be getting off light."

With a twinge of guilt, Ford realized just how true that was. Ford was no stranger to having to turn down the volume on his conscience for the greater good—and there were few greater goods than protecting his family—but...

He might not know Powers, but he did know that, whether Bill succeeded in seducing him or not, the man didn't deserve what he was about to be subjected to.

####

(Now that this chapter's finally out, may there be no further delays for a good long while, ugh.

Here's your "what was changed in the wake of TBOB" update: obviously, since we got five whole pages on Bill's beliefs about romance, a lot of that got incorporated into this chapter—the first and last scenes were basically written entirely in response to TBOB.

The scene with Scalene & Euclid, obviously, got their names & descriptions from TBOB & TINAWDC (and yeah, yeah, i'm eventually gonna go back to earlier chapters and edit out Bill's mom being a line so it matches up with canon), and it's obvious what the "best baby pageant" is a reference to (so you can guess whether Bill won)—but Bill being a pageant kid due to his mom was already part of the plans long before TBOB, so I just stuck a couple canon details into the story I was already writing. We were already gonna get into Bill's childhood this chapter & next (as you'll see next week).

Beyond that, most of the chapter was already in its present form before TBOB—up to & including Bill having a list of topics he thinks are acceptable for dates that no rational human would agree with—and all TBOB added was a couple tiny details (like... "mandibles".)

The fact that the list of things that were influenced by TBOB is so much longer than usual is part of the reason this chapter's two whole weeks late lmao.

Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed, happy new year, and I'm looking forward to (finally) hearing your thoughts on the first fresh chapter of 2025!

[purple-babygirl]

my bucky?

Pairing: Mafia!Bucky Barnes x f!reader (reader is little in the very beginning)

Word count: 7,390

Summary: Bucky's angel finally sees the hidden side of him.

Warnings: details of violence, kidnapping, getting shot, physical abuse by kidnappers, slapping, too much crying, angst

A/N: to all the nonnies that came to me once and asked "what if angel saw bucky beating someone up?" "what if angel gets kidnapped?", this is for you💜 i hope you have a good time with this one, loves x💜

~

Whenever he’d think of her, he’d think of jasmines. Soft, fragrant, pure-looking, fragile, beautiful jasmines. Like jasmines, she released her sweet perfume engulfed by the darkness of his night. Only he got to bask in her aroma. And like a jasmine in autumn, he’d fallen for her evergreen soul and he’d fallen hard.

Bucky knew she saw him through a pink lens. She ate up his lies like candy and although he felt bad, he knew it was for the best. He could visibly see her running out the door whenever he’d imagine someone opening her eyes to how cruel he actually was. It was selfish, but it was easier for him and safer for her this way. Better for both of them.

Luck wasn’t exactly his best friend though.

Bucky would never forget the look in her innocent, teary eyes as she watched him literally beat the life out of a man with all his might. He knew it was fairly stupid of him to do it in the back of his own garage, right next to his house where she was peacefully getting ready to call it a night. But he just couldn’t hold back when he saw the guy’s dumb face when his men brought him in.

“Miss?” She found Roseanne by the door, looking more nervous than usual.

She was shocked, no, terrified at the scene she couldn’t take her eyes away from. How and why was she even here in the first place?

~

Daddy said he’d be back for story time but he hasn’t been back yet. What was taking him so long?

She couldn’t fall asleep if his voice wasn’t lolling her to sleep. She couldn’t fall asleep if it wasn’t in his arms. Life without him just didn’t make sense anymore.

She got out of bed, slipped in her fluffy cat slippers and went on a little quest to find him. Bucky was always happy to see her so he’d forgive her for getting out of bed where he’d expected her to wait.

“Roseanne, have you seen my Bucky?” she asked with a smile.

“I think he’s busy right now, miss. You better wait in your room where it’s warm,” Roseanne tried to tempt her, using the cold as a good reason why she shouldn’t go outside where Bucky was.

The young woman looked distressed, like she was scared of something.

“What’s wrong, Roseanne? Is daddy okay?” she questioned the poor maid, her smile leaving her face.

“Yes, miss. Don’t worry. He’s just a little busy but he’ll be here soon.”

“Is he in the office?”

“I— I don’t know, miss. I think he is,” Roseanne lied.

She tilted her head suspiciously before running to the office to check it out, leaving Roseanne’s pleads for her to get back to the bedroom behind.

It seemed even more suspicious now that Bucky was nowhere to be seen in his office. It didn’t feel right and she had to find Bucky and make sure he was okay. Bucky always knew how to calm all her worries. He knew what to do and what to say.

Bucky protects her and is here for her.

But wait a minute, she didn’t hear his car leave. And if the car didn’t leave then Daddy was certainly in the house, she just missed him while looking.

She roamed the whole mansion, up and down, checking every room twice and she still couldn’t find her daddy.

Her mind was getting cloudier and she was getting more scared. Did daddy leave? Where would he go without letting her know that he’d be leaving? Why didn’t he kiss her forehead goodnight before leaving?

She made her way outside the main door and took sure steps to the large garage, once again taking no regard of Roseanne’s begging, confident in her smart train of thought.

When she arrived at the garage though, the pants she heard startled her to a halt as she ducked behind the black Range Rover.

Was that really Bucky? Her Bucky? Beating up a man to the point where his features weren’t recognizable anymore? That wasn’t possible. Her daddy was a sweetheart. He was the gentlest man she’s ever met and he wouldn’t hurt anyone like that. She knew he was feared because of his work, but he couldn’t kill anyone. Could he?

She peeked around and fell silent as a rock. The sight before her made her feel cold, leaving her poor mind perplexed.

On the first look, she couldn’t fathom what she was looking at. She wanted to look away. She did. But she couldn’t will her head to turn even just a little.

“How stupid do you have to be to think I wouldn’t know you were sent here to hurt my girl?”

A stronger pang hit her little heart when she realized this was happening because of her.

No, this was no bad dream though she’d hoped with all her heart that it was.

She’d made Daddy promise that he wouldn’t hurt anybody on her behalf. He’d promised to choose forgiveness if it was an option. It didn’t make any sense.

Was she too sleepy that she was seeing things? Did her little mind fall asleep without a story anyway and she was having a nightmare?

Sam had seen her first, wide eyes tearing up at the sight of her man smashing another’s face with his fist. He’d tried to tell Bucky, but it was too late. She’d already seen it all.

Those fingers that have ever so tenderly glided across her cheeks time and time again were hidden behind brass knuckles, covered in someone’s blood. That jaw that has only ever tensed from smiling too much around her was clenched, making him look scarier than she could’ve ever imagined him to be. His eyebrows were furrowed and his breaths heavy as he repeatedly and ruthlessly punched the man on the chair.

Her fear intensified when she’d recognized the beaten up man as their newest driver. She remembered him trying to repeatedly ask her if she wanted to go get ice cream with him when Bucky wasn’t home. She also remembered saying no like she was taught. She remembered Bucky promising to choose forgiveness if it was an option again and she saw him break his promise.

“Bucky, enough!” Sam pulled him away from the tied up guy, head nodding to the black vehicle.

Her head went dizzy when she thought of all the men she’d complained to Bucky about since they’d started their relationship. Have they all faced the same fate?

Who was this heaving, bloody-fisted beast before her? Did she ever know Bucky at all? Was he ever truthful about anything he’d told her or was it all just a big lie? How could she trust him with herself ever again? Who was her daddy really?

The walls around Bucky collapsed and he almost collapsed with them when he saw her face. She was there and she’d seen everything. His angel saw it all. His angel was scared. She was scared of him.

“Angeră?”

Her legs no longer wanted to hold her up once she heard his hoarse voice. The air was out of her lungs as she took slow steps back until she pressed herself to one of the grey walls behind her. The stuffie in her hands fell to the ground and with it her heart.

She wanted to run, but her cold body wouldn’t budge. Maybe if she could go back to the house right now, listen to Roseanne, stay in bed, and pretend this never happened, Bucky would miraculously come back with a perfectly healed, clean hand and they would peacefully have a cuddling session while his loving voice told her a story.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she begged, her voice above a whisper as she cowered away from him.

Bucky carefully walked closer, visibly watching her hands tremble. He raised his clean hand to caress her cheek like he always would when she needed him to calm her down.

He wasn’t expecting her to lean into his touch like she was used to, but it still shot daggers to his heart when she flinched, closing her eyes in fear and letting out the tiniest whimper.

“Angel, I’m not gonna hurt you,” Bucky’s broken voice had her heart clenching as she saw him trying to muster up a smile.

“Stay away from me,” she said in panic when he tried to take another step towards her.

“Angeră—”

“Please, Bucky, I’m sorry.”

She didn’t call him daddy or even her Bucky. She couldn’t.

“Baby, let me—”

She shook her head, running away from a shattered Bucky, almost tripping on her own feet.

“Go, we’ll take care of him,” Sam told him, patting his shoulder.

He watched her run as if she was escaping a wild lion, terrified and fearing for her life.

Bucky slammed his fist into the concrete wall where his love once leaned before slipping the brass knuckles off his probably broken fingers and hearing them clank on the ground. He rested both palms on the wall and let his head fall down as he breathed hard.

“Dragă, nu! Te rog, (love, no please)” Bucky begged, his hands grabbing her forearms to stop her from throwing more of her things into the suitcase.

Bucky ran like a mad man on the way to their house. He had no idea what he was going to say or how he was going to justify what she’d just witnessed him do.

She called him Bucky with glossed over eyes. She was bordering on little and he just gave her the trauma of her life. He had no answers to any possible question she might rightfully throw at him. Bucky only knew that he couldn’t lose her; she was the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

He busted through the front door and ran up the stairs only to be met with her frantically packing her things, fat tears soaking her face as she hiccupped out sobs.

“Please let me leave.” Her voice trembled and more tears left her eyes. His right hand had dried blood all over it and it made her skin crawl.

“Please don’t,” Bucky pleaded again, on the verge of crying himself.

“I’m really scared. Please don’t make me stay here,” she begged Bucky, trying to slip out of his grip.

“Angel, please believe me. I will never hurt you,” Bucky swore, his eyes brimming with tears.

“Angel, of course I love you! Please just stay and listen to me, baby.” Tears rolled down Bucky’s cheeks as he took a dress out of her hands before she could pack it.

“Did you ever really love me? Would you really never hurt me? Was anything you ever told me the truth?” Her voice was way too innocent as the questions left her trembling lips.

She didn’t even sound like she was blaming Bucky, she just sounded confused. Disappointed. Hurt.

“I wanna leave. Please let me leave,” she repeated, crying harder as she tried not to let herself crumble down on the floor of their bedroom.

“Angel, please don’t say that.” Bucky shook his head, holding onto her writs for dear life, “I can’t live without you, love. I can’t.”

She looked up at him and the look she gave him let him know she wasn’t little anymore.

Bucky despised himself for making her feel and think that way, “angel—”

“Why did you ever take me? Why did you bring me here?” She asked, the reproach hurting her too, “I didn’t know what love was before you. I trusted you. I trusted you with my heart, Bucky.”

She was saying everything that came to her mind, unable to keep her thoughts inside or else it felt like they might suffocate her. She was mad at herself for letting herself trust and love when she shouldn’t have.

“Are you used to doing this to people? Do you kill people, Bucky?” Her voice broke as she asked, already fearing the answer.

“Angel, please.”

“No, answer me.” Her eyebrows furrowed in sadness, anxious of the reply she was about to receive.

Bucky closed his eyes, not wanting to see her face when he told her his truth, “yes.”

“Yes.” Bucky nodded, hot tears leaving his closed eyes.

Her breath hitched at his answer, making more tears leave his eyes.

“D-Did you do this to the other guys I complained about before, too?”

“Did you kill them?” Her tone fell with her heart.

Bucky only swallowed, going dead silent at her question.

“Oh my god.” She cried, her knees almost giving out as she tried to get her arms free from his grip.

“No, no, angel, I only drove them out of town. They’re alive.” He assured her, leaving out the details about the probable permanent disabilities some of them left town with.

“Why?” She sobbed, her shoulders hurting from squirming in his grasp with no avail.

“They were bothering you.”

“So this makes it okay to kidnap them and beat them up?!” She screamed, her tears never drying up.

“I wanted to protect you,” Bucky whispered, his heart dropping at the realization of how his angel must see him now.

“Protect me from you then and let me go.” Her words shot daggers right into the mafia boss’ chest.

“I can’t believe I loved you so much.” She whispered, mostly to herself, lamenting her foolish, trusting heart.

“Angel, I can’t. You know I can’t.” He knew she was right, but he couldn’t let her leave.

She was his whole world; his life and everything good in it.

“Loved?” Bucky could hear his heart shattering.

“Loved,” she replied despite herself, knowing too well that she was lying.

Bucky finally let her arms go after her confirmation. He knew that if he tried to hold her back now she would only end up hating him. He would rather have her leave him than hate him. He wouldn’t be able to take it.

“I’ll tell the driver to get the car ready so he could take you to your grandma’s,” Bucky told her without looking up, wiping away his tears. For now.

She didn’t reply, and only continued shoving clothes into the bag.

“I just want you to know that I’ll always be here whenever you need me. I will always be yours, angel. Even if you’re no longer mine. I love you and I will love you until the day I die.”

But all of this was nothing compared to the fear that shot up her spine when she heard gunshots making contact with the car she was inside, forcing the driver to stop abruptly.

Bucky’s last words had her sobbing even harder as she fell to her knees the moment he left her alone in the room.

She didn’t want to leave him and she never saw a day like this one coming, but she knew it was only right that she did. They were different from the beginning and she was wrong to let herself live in a daydream for too long. She had no place in Bucky’s world.

~

The drive back to her grandma’s house was torture. The pain of being fooled could only be overruled by the pain of fearing the only man she’s ever loved. She couldn’t ignore the feeling that she was leaving a piece of her behind in the mansion that the car just drove away from. She knew that piece was her heart and she knew that she was most likely never going to get it back. It will forever remain with Bucky.

Her tears kept coming as she silently wept in the backseat.

Pathetic fallacy was at its highest and the skies were sobbing with her. It was cold and the roads were muddy, thunder hitting every now and then, making trees shudder where they were rooted.

She cried more knowing Bucky would no longer be there to hold her through thunderstorms.

The man and the guard next to him got out their own guns but it was too late for them to do anything as another couple of bullets were shot, going right through their heads. The driver fell lifeless, face first on the driving wheel and she felt her heart stop with his.

“Let me go for your own good,” she said, trying to keep her tone confident and her pain veiled.

Before she could even think of a route to run in, a bag was put over her head, her screams futile as she got violently dragged to another vehicle before it all went completely dark with a hit to the back of her head.

~

“I thought we were past that shit, babygirl. Three days didn’t teach you who’s in charge yet?” Lloyd Hansen, Bucky’s biggest enemy, asked her with a provocative smile.

She was in absolute agony.

She let oud a loud, pained scream, desperately trying to pull her arm from underneath his huge shoe.

They’d untied her an hour ago after she claimed she needed the bathroom, a guard on her tail as he led her through the abandoned building.

Once inside the toilet, she managed to pick up the upper part of the toilet seat. She gained the guard’s attention with a scream, going down on his head with the heavy ceramic piece as soon as he opened the door to check on her.

She managed to run as far as the hallway of the floor she was in before a very angry Lloyd grabbed her. She surprised him with a harsh slap across the face, taking the chance to run again when he froze for a second.

Lloyd got even angrier, stretching his leg and knocking one of her feet off the ground, making her fall over. He walked over her crawling body and evilly stepped on her right wrist.

“I can’t wait to kill you,” Lloyd said, not taking his foot off before he heard a snap and a loud screech from her.

Lloyd got hold of her hair, dragging her all the way back to the room where she was previously tied up.

He tied her to the same chair again, only this time one arm got the ropes while the other was left to redden and swell.

Now she was here, on the same chair, throwing empty threats as she’s almost given up hope that Bucky might find her.

“Aww, did you hear that, boys? Little slut right here is worried for our good,” Lloyd mocked her, laughter erupting and filling the room in response.

“You’re not getting out of here, babygirl,” he spat, his voice laced with venom, “this is where you die.”

“Let me go. I won’t say it again.” Her voice almost shivered with her heart at the end of her warning.

She was scared, and in so much pain, but she couldn’t let it show. She wouldn't even cry and was sweating like crazy from the ache in her dangling wrist. She was Bucky Barnes’ girl.

“You’re making the demands now? Not even a “please” to persuade me?” Lloyd moved his face closer to hers, slowly pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear with a smirk, “or do I have to heat you a bottle to get to meet your polite side?”

She felt her face go hot as her eyes filled with tears and she couldn’t stop herself from spitting in the bastard’s face, “fuck you”.

Next thing she knew was his rough hand slapping down hard on her cheek, making her go dizzy. Blood trickled out of her nose and down to her lips right after and she couldn’t hold back her tears this time.

She was tired. Terrified. She needed Bucky.

“Your filthy mouth isn’t anything short of your boyfriend’s, but don’t worry, if you don’t know how to be respectful to your masters I have ways to teach you, and believe me, I can’t wait to start your lessons.” Hansen smirked at her wrist before spitting back at her and leaving with everyone else.

She cried harder than she has ever before, tears and blood mixing. Her body was shivering and her arms aching from being tied up in the most uncomfortable position and smashed down under Lloyd’s boot.

There was no way out for here, was there?

She knew she was done for and she didn’t have any last wishes except for getting to tell Bucky that she loved him and that she will never stop loving him one last time.

She couldn’t even pay her pain or blood any attention when all she could think about was Bucky and how he would have never let anything like that happen to her.

She remembered his soft smile that only she got to meet. The way he’d lean forward to engulf her in a hug momentarily warmed her before the iciness of the empty room made her shiver again.

She didn’t dare linger on Bucky, however.

It’s been exactly 3 days and 21 hours since his angel left him and he still couldn’t believe it.

She left him. She left and now she was here in some old factory under some asshole’s mercy. She couldn’t escape the situation she was in no matter how hard she tried. She couldn’t give her mind any kind of relief. There was none. Before she realized, her head was falling forward and she was getting a temporary break from reality.

~

“Bucky, are you o—” Sam cut himself off when his sight landed on his best friend’s face.

Bucky’s eyes were red with yet to be shed tears, again.

His car never reached her grandma’s because his men were murdered on the way. His angel was no where to be found and neither was Bucky’s will to live.

He kept telling himself that it wasn’t true, that she was at work; that she would eventually come back and sleep in his arms again.

However, she didn’t even call. Didn’t even look at his multiple texts. She really was missing and Bucky couldn’t face it. Between denial and heart wrenching pain, he buried himself 9 feet under.

He’s looked everywhere, asked everyone, but still couldn’t find her. It was as if she’s disappeared, turned to air.

Bucky has deserted their bedroom ever since she walked out of the mansion, the bed still as messy as she left it after she dragged the sheets down with her packed bag. Every time Bucky would enter the room he would see her leaving him, so he’d stopped. That couldn’t be his last memory of her. He slept on the couch in his office now, if at all.

And soon enough, the Bucky he used to be when she was around was dead and another angrier, more violent and very impatient Bucky had replaced him. He was always mad, at everyone and everything. And he was drinking every night, sitting on his bar for as long as he could, just to get himself hammered enough to fall in a deep unconsciousness where he didn’t have her scared eyes invading his dreams.

Sam was seriously worried for him, but there was nothing he could do; no advice he could offer. Nothing would bring that Bucky back as long as his angel was gone.

Bucky’s wallowing and Sam’s overthinking were interrupted when Bucky’s phone rang, vibrating on the ceramic floor. Bucky quickly crawled over to it, hardly believing his eyes when he saw her name in the place of the caller ID.

“Angeră?” he answered, his voice hoarse from staying silent for too long.

“Awww, you call her angel?” the voice on the other side mocked.

“Who the fuck is this?” Bucky asked, standing up slowly as his anger and worry forced him to sober up.

“You know too damn well who this is,” Lloyd answered, his smile evident in his tone as he knew he had Bucky by the throat.

“Where is she?” Bucky asked immediately.

“Tied up somewhere cold.”

“I swear on my life, if you touch her—”

“Relax, she can take a few scratches,” he replied, chuckling as if it was a joke.

“You son of a bitch!” Bucky shouted, losing his mind at the mere image of his angel being hurt.

“I’d watch my mouth if I were you, Barnes,” he snarled confidently.

“What do you want?” Bucky asked through his teeth, just wanting to get to his girl as quickly as possible.

“Let me hear her voice.”

“No,” Lloyd chuckled.

“I wanna destroy you.” Hansen laughed.

“Let her go. She has nothing to do with this.” Bucky tried his best not to sound desperate but it was obvious that he was begging for his girl’s safety.

“That’s where you’re wrong, B. She has everything to do with this.” Lloyd walked into the room where she was with a smug smile.

“Let her go.” please

“If you sound so distraught just because I’d hogged her for a couple of days, imagine how you’ll be when I erase her off the face of the earth,” Hansen said, laughing at the thought of hurting Bucky this bad.

Her face toughened up at the realization that it was Bucky on the phone.

“If you do as much as touch a hair on her head, I’m gonna kill you and everyone you know,” Bucky promised, his heart hammering in his chest as he hastily started moving.

“I might’ve broken a bone or two, but that’s only because she was a bad girl.”

“You’re dead, Hansen. Fucking dead!” Bucky promised, throwing the bottle he was drinking from across the room.

“We’ll be waiting with popcorn.” He hung up on Bucky, laughing.

“He’s gonna kill you.” She smiled once he hung up, making Lloyd grab her hair.

She hissed, trying not to show she was in pain.

“Not if I kill him first, angeră.” Lloyd spat, throwing her head forward before leaving the room.

She was horrified at the thought of anything bad happening to Bucky, but she willed her heart to trust in him. She had no time to ponder but she was actually proud of the fact that Bucky could so easily end this awful, evil man and she couldn’t wait for him to do just that.

Still, she waited for him. Something inside of her told her Bucky would never abandon her, not even to death. So she waited. Waited with the longing of all the lovers that ever were until longing had exhausted her.

~

It was like a slow motion dream. Doors being kicked down, guns being fired and her Bucky entering the room with a man’s body held in his left fist by the neck.

Instead, Bucky found Hansen and smacked him so hard with his metal hand that a tooth flew out. He slapped him again and his nose was bleeding. They made eye contact one more time and she noticed the difference for the first time. That wasn’t Bucky. It wasn’t her Bucky. His eyes still softened for her but the hint of revenge in them was more dominant.

He doesn’t even talk; doesn’t negotiate. He doesn’t even ask for her to be released. He doesn’t need to.

His men were getting everything done. His only mission was to look for her now. His eyes met hers but he didn’t start walking towards her like she’d expected he would.

She thought she would be afraid meeting Bucky again after what she’d witnessed him do, but she actually didn’t. Not even a tiny bit.

She was rather happy, the feeling that she was safe again warming up her body so much that she’d started sobbing.

It was like no matter how long they were away from each other, they were still together, never estranged from one another.

Bucky was on his 40th slap/punch on the man’s bloody face when he noticed her crying. He temporarily threw the man’s tired body on the ground and rushed to his girl.

He kneeled before her shaking body, wanting nothing but to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

And she was.

She looked up and could still see the coldness in his eyes despite hers being blurred by tears.

“I missed you. Is my Bucky okay?” She asked, her voice drained but not scared like Bucky had feared and expected.

“Let’s get you home, angeră,” he replied, saving his answer for now as he noticed the finger marks on her cheek.

She nodded desperately, her tied hand reaching for him despite being behind her back.

“Stop right there,” Lloyd said, crocking his gun at Bucky.

“Bucky,” she whimpered, eyes glued to her man, her anchor.

“E în regulă, angera meu, (it’s okay, my angel)" Bucky replied, getting closer to her and sticking to her side.

“No, it’s not. He’s lying to you. Just like he’s lied to you about everything else,” the man chuckled.

“Shut up,” she whispered, trying to calm down her breathing.

“Give it up, Hansen. I beat you. Again and for the last time. You’re done.” Bucky racked the slide of his gun.

“He never loved you. Do you even know who he is most of the time?” Lloyd continued, not willing to give up until Bucky was reduced to nothing before him.

“Shut up,” she repeated, wishing her hands were free so that she could cover her ears with them.

“Do you have any idea about the other side of this man you gave yourself to you poor little thin—”

“Shut up!” She shouted with all her might, “don’t speak about him like that.”

“Do you even know what you’re defending?” Hansen yelled at her with a crazy, bloody smile on his face.

“I know,” she answered calmly, “I know everything.”

Bucky looked at her in surprise, not believing what he just heard. There was no way she knew. How would she know? How would she choose to stay if she actually knew?

“Oh so you know about frosty over here?” Hansen smirked, pointing to his head.

“That’s enough, Hansen,” Bucky warned, barely controlling himself.

“I do,” she answered once more, her answer shocking Bucky yet again.

“Angel?”

“It’s okay, Bucky. I promise.” She sincerely promised, making it hard for Bucky not to tear up in the middle of the room.

“Aww, how sweet—” Hansen cooed and in a second 3 of Bucky’s bullets were in his head, neck and chest before he could say anything else.

She gasped, closing her eyes and turning her face away from the body as it collapsed on the floor with a thud.

She didn’t notice that Hansen had landed a shot at Bucky before he collapsed and Bucky didn’t even flinch as a bullet literally made it through his right shoulder. He didn’t feel the pain. He didn’t care about anything but his angel.

She was the only thing he could see and hear. Her wounds were his pain more than his own.

Bucky wordlessly kneeled down and untied her quickly. His gaze was glued to her wrists for a second before he rubbed the one that wasn’t swollen with his smoother thumb.

“What happened?” Bucky asked, referring to her other wrist.

“I'm gonna need a doctor to look at it.” Was all she gave him for an answer.

He silently opened his arms for her and she threw herself in them without an ounce of hesitation, crying more now that she was home.

She was so scared she wouldn’t get to feel like this again. She let herself let go. She then closed her eyes and finally succumbed to the cozy darkness now that she was safe.

Instead, Roseanne looked at her with a teary smile, “welcome back, miss.”

She lost all sense of consciousness that she didn’t hear Bucky shoot the man’s dead body a fourth and a fifth time with her in his arms as he took another look at her wrists.

~

When she opened her eyes again, she was back in Bucky’s bed, but Bucky wasn’t by her side.

“Roseanne, I missed you so much,” she replied, unable to stop her own tears.

“Thank goodness you’re okay,” Roseanne said, breaking the hug to let her rest her back.

She invited Roseanne for a hug with her good arm as she noticed the other was in what looked like a cast.

Lloyd had broken her wrist.

“Mr. Barnes is in his office,” she told her while adjusting the pillow behind her when she noticed her eyes roaming the spacious room.

“Is he mad?” she asked, more tears gathering in her tired eyes.

“At himself, maybe.” Roseanne shrugged politely.

“Please help me go to him, Roseanne.”

“One more thing though.” Roseanne chew on her lip.

“What’s wrong?”

He didn’t know what he would’ve done with himself if something had happened to her and he kept blaming himself as he sat there with his right arm in a sling.

“Mr. Barnes has been shot.”

~

Bucky didn’t care to look when the door to his office opened, not knowing that she was awake and too busy wiping his tears of regret.

He’s been like this since he got her home and in his bed again. His tears were unstoppable now that he saw the results of his lifestyle on the one girl he chose and held closest to his heart. In fact, he cried more every time he took a look at her angelic figure tiredly sleeping in his large bed as the doctor patched up her broken wrist.

She was so small, so pure and so so good for this world. Her face was fainter and the spark was gone and he was sure Lloyd didn’t feed her. The fading finger marks she had on her cheek, the rope burns around her wrists and ankles and the cast around her forearm slashed new wounds at his heart.

“Bucky,” she called out faintly, her head and body still aching a little, heart dropping when she saw him with his arm hanging, “are you okay?”

He stood up and helped her sit in his chair, not sure if it was okay for him to carry her and sit her on his desk like he usually would.

He hastily wiped his eyes with his hand to look at his baby.

“Hi, angel,” he tried to say with a smile but his voice cracked as another tear escaped down his red cheek.

She surprised him by using his chair as a step to get on top of his desk, pointing to the chair for him to sit back down.

Bucky was on eye level with the marks on her ankles as she settled her bare feet on his lap.

What was he going to say now that she was awake? And most importantly, what was she going to say?

“My Bucky,” she could recognize the difference between this man and the man who started her rescue right away.

Bucky was stunned to see she could see it despite everything. He didn’t want her to ever find out about that side of him and it killed him even more that she caught the difference. How on earth did she find something like this out?

“All yours, angel.” He tried to compose himself, for her.

She couldn’t bare seeing him like this. It was like she’s forgotten about everything that happened before this very moment and all she could do was sit up and hold his face to lovingly wipe his sorrows away with her left hand.

It was enough time away from Bucky.

“I’m okay, Bucky. I’m okay,” she tried to reassure him, only making him cry harder as the dam broke when she rubbed his shoulder.

“Iarta-ma, iubita mea. Te rog. Iarta-ma. (forgive me, my love. Please, forgive me)" He sobbed, moving his lips to the palms of her hands to leave wet kisses all over the reddened skin.

“I’m okay, I swear,” she repeated, not knowing what to do or say.

“I forgive you. Please don’t cry; we’re good,” she said it to him in the kindest tone like it was the easiest thing to say.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you if you give me the chance to. Please, love,” Bucky cried like a child in her lap.

No, he couldn’t even remember a time when he cried like this as a child despite all that he’d gone through. He didn’t care though. He was going to do whatever it took for his angel’s forgiveness. He disappointed her, broke her heart and risked her life. Bucky was going to beg until the end of time if he could.

Bucky shook his head, crying harder, “no, you’re good. You’re too good to me, angel. Too good. I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve you. Never did.”

It sent a knife to his heart that she still sincerely called him her Bucky after everything she’s been through just because he was in her life; because he was selfish enough to bring her into his without a care.

He was still beating himself up over it. And how could he not when everything terrible that’s ever happened to her had happened because of him? He traumatized her more than anyone ever could have and he’s gotten her hurt time and time again.

This girl who’s made him feel like he could stand against the whole world all by himself with no fear just because she called him her lover. This girl who taught him loyalty, kindness and love and was now teaching him forgiveness. This girl was sitting before him with a broken wrist and heart telling him not to worry about it.

“Don’t say that, please. I’m alive right now thanks to you, my Bucky.” Her own tears rolled down her cheeks before she could stop them.

She loved him more than anything and wished she could make him see that. Oh how she was dying to make him see how safe and loved he made her feel.

“You mean you were taken and hurt thanks to me.” Bucky casted his eyes down, too ashamed to even look at her marked face.

“Bucky—”

“I get it if you still wanna leave me. And I will let you. I would never make you do anything you don't want. I just want you to know that I never lied to you about my love for you. You’ve been and still are the realist thing in my life, angel. Everything I said and did was true. I adore you.”

“Bucky, I—”

“I know it’s selfish to choose to speak about this now, but I’m afraid you’d leave before I get to tell you how in love with you I really am,” he sniffled, wiping his eyes again in vain before looking up at her, “I would die without you. Your love owns me, heart and soul. But.. if leaving me is what you choose.. and if leaving me will make you safe, I will accept it. I just need you to know that I’ve never lied to you. Angel, you are my whole life. You’re my one and only. I belong to you. I’m yours and I will die yours.”

She was speechless, too taken aback to stop herself from crying harder. Bucky’s never opened up to her about his feelings before. Not like this.

“Bucky, I love you,” she managed to whisper before he cut her off again. Before she could tell him that she felt the same way, that she was all his and will forever be his, that only him ruled over her heart.

“You don’t have to say that, angel—”

“Let me speak,” she demanded, her palm cupping his wet cheek as she grabbed him a tissue from his desk.

He nodded, biting his lip and bracing himself for the harshest ‘but’, preparing to get his heart ripped out of his chest.

“I don’t wanna leave you,” was the first thing she could get herself to say, desperately wanting to soothe his thumping heart.

Bucky’s eyes filled with more tears because he knew he didn’t deserve her.

“I forgive you. I want to tolerate this dangerous life because it lets me have you; be with you, which is the only place I ever wanna be.” She took a deep breath, her own tears continuing to fall as she wiped his.

“Baby,” Bucky whispers, hating to see her tears yet again.

“I knew you weren’t the nicest guy to others and I knew your line of business wasn’t the safest either. I just— it freaked me out when I actually got to see you inside of it. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

Bucky lowered his head in shame again.

“In my head, especially when little, you’re incapable of hurting. In my eyes, you’re safety, Bucky. You’re home.” She brought his eyes back to hers with a hand on his cheek.

“I’m sorry, love,” Bucky was quick to apologize but she shook her head in reply.

“It might take me some time to get used to everything now that I know everything. But it didn’t affect my love for you, Bucky. Not one bit. I lied. I was so scared I would die without getting to tell you that. I still loved you more than ever even in that moment with your fist against another man’s cheek, and I guess that scared me even more. Because it was unlike the me I thought I knew. But this me, right here, is madly in love with you and she doesn’t care about anything other than being by your side for ever.”

“Angel,” Bucky sobbed, holding her hand to his lips, leaving appreciative, wet kisses on her palm, “you won’t regret it, baby, I promise. This is the last time you get hurt. I would die before I let anything like this ever happen to you again.”

“I know, and I trust you, my Bucky. If you’d give me time and if you’ll have me, I wanna be with you every moment of my life, forever.” She couldn’t not throw herself inside his arms, needing the closeness to reassure her this was real.

“I love you so much,” he whispered, holding her on his lap as tight as he possibly could.

“Lucky me,” she whispered in his shoulder.

Bucky felt himself coming alive again at the smell of jasmines in her hair and the feel of her warm body in his hold. She was a piece missing from him and now that she was back, he wasn’t going to waste a second without worshiping the steps she walked.

“I know I might need a while, but that doesn’t change anything. I still love you with my whole heart, Bucky,” she reassured, squeezing him to her even more.

“Take all the time you need, angel. I’ll be right here. I’ll wait forever if I have to.”

“Promise me something though.”

“Anything.”

“No more killing people on my behalf.”

“What if they have a gun pointed at you?”

“Okay, only in that case then because it’s self-defense.”

“I promise.” Bucky smiled, sliding her hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead.

She pressed her forehead to his with a smile, “thank you.”

“We’re injury buddies now,” she joked when they pull away making Bucky laugh out loud for the first time in days.

“Does it hurt, angel?”

"Mine doesn't hurt, you?" He kissed her covered wrist gently.

"Does it hurt?"

They both asked at the same time, making each other laugh.

“Not as much anymore,” she replies, not wanting to remember how much it hurt when she was tied up in the cold room.

“Let’s eat so you could take your pain meds.” Bucky offered her his metal hand and she took it with her good one with a content smile.

~

Everything was going to be okay again. She knew it. Her hand was back in Bucky's and there was nothing their love wouldn't be able to pass. This might not be the Bucky she got in a relationship with, but it was the Bucky she wanted and was going to continue it with.

He was still and was always going to be her bucky.

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[enriquemzn262]

At this point you could tell me anything about Jobless Reincarnate and I'd believe it if it's degenerate enough.

Oh, rudeus reenacts that scene in a Serbian Film? Sure, sounds like it him.

The funniest thing about jobless reincarnation, is that besides all the weird sex stuff, outsiders know nothing about it, as in, if you have social media and consume some kind of anime content, even if its all memes and shitposts, you can, with enough exposure, figure out the general plot beats of shows you have never watched, for example:

JJK? The main bad guy is Sukuna, who lives inside the main good guy, Itadori, for some fucking reason, and there was Gojo, the sexiest man alive, now just half a man. Oh and there was this hammer lady everyone thought would break the curse of the useless female warrior in a shonen battle manga, who just one day died.

MHA? It’s a superhero school, the main guy is tue goodiest of good guys, everyone has weird and different powers, and the bad guys are sometimes hot and also sometimes right. Also anime Dr. Doofershmitz for some reason.

Jojo? Muscular gay men fight against an immortal vampire, the Aztec gods of fitness, the vampire again, a mafia boss, the vampire’s boyfriend, the president of the united states, and a rock man who gives bad luck somehow.

RE: Zero? Isekai about a guy who goes back in time every time he dies, and he dies a lot, there’s a main love interest no one likes, a blue haired maid everyone likes, and a cat guy that makes a lot of fans question their sexuality.

I have never watched nor read any of the above, but through sheer exposure I know all that.

But jobless incarnation? Besides the fact that the main guy is a former 50-something virgin shut-in (who I keep hearing was also a pedo), now reincarnated as a boy who has the hots for his half sister(?), beats up anthropomorphic cat girls, almost killed himself over getting erectile disfunction, fucked and then married an elf, only to then cuck her with a 500-year old loli because of course, I know absolutely nothing about it: I don’t know if the guy actually has friends, I don’t know if there’s some stakes in the story, I don’t know if it’s slice of life, action adventure, battle royale, I just know absolutely nothing, everything I have learned against my will is about the one guy’s sexual exploits.

[blaxcunicorn]

Diaboli 's angelus

 Chapter 3

Length: 8k words

Content: fem!reader, NSFW warning, angst,

Authors note: Heeey, here is chapter 3. Sorry that it took long, it became longer than I expected it to be but I hope you enjoy it

Chapter 1, Chapter 2

Tag: @okaystopwhore

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

Your brother and the councilmen set out on a 5-day trip to meet with Eren in Eldia. You are all wishing your brother a safe journey, the trip made you a bit nervous as you also have a few requests for Eren. Your brother puts his hand on your head to annoy you a bit, knowing it will light up your mood a little. Although he is a king and a leader, his big-brother tendencies have never left his body. “Take care of the Kingdom while I´m away Y/n” You give him an assuring smile “Of course I will.” He enters the middle carriage and waves before leaving. “Good luck” you whisper, praying that everything will go as planned. Your brother is greeted by Armin, Erwin and the Survey Corps soldiers. “Hope you had a pleasant journey Your Highness”, Erwin is the first to bow and everyone follows after. “You must be hungry, we have a feast in store for you” Armin smiles. Your brother and his council follow the two men to the dinner large dining room, where Eren waits at the end of the large table. The dining room is huge and the table must be able to fit at least 30 guests. Eren stands up and shakes your brother´s hand “Welcome to Eldia, Your Highness. I am delighted that you took the time to visit us.” The young king smiles as he tries to put a good impression on your brother. “Let´s sit down and discuss the proposals over dinner,” the green-eyed king says. The servants came with all sorts of foods from seafood to chicken and lamb. 

They start eating and after a while, the silence is broken by Senior Councilman Wilfred “Do you mind if we state our requests, Your Highness?” Eren shallows the wine “No, not at all. That is the main purpose of your visit isn't it?” The men in short agree that Capri will provide Eldia with resources such as metal, herbs and wood and in return, Eldia will lend them military power if the kingdom were to be attacked. 

“Now that we have come to an agreement, I wish to speak with King Jeager alone” your brother finishes. Levi looks at Eren, if the King looks unpleased he is ready to jump into his defence. “It´s fine Levi, you guys can just wait outside.” All the other men stand up and leave, Armin touches Eren´s shoulder to give him some support. The two kings are now alone on each side of the long table. “I guess you wish to talk about Y/n” he assumes. “Correct, what made you wish to marry my sister? I heard from a little fly in my palace that you only spoke to her during the ball.” Your brother gives Eren a suspicious look, as Eldia could have made a deal like this with other wealthy nations. “What can I say, your sister captured my eyes, like a pearl. She has the qualities I´m looking for in a companion to rule Eldia with.” Your brother nods “She is a pearl indeed, Capri´s pearl. As her husband, I expect you to take care of her or else the consequences might be big as the people that love her dearly maybe even more than I do.” Eren nods “O-of course, I would never harm her.”  The Eldian King is more powerful than your brother, yet he finds himself intimidated by his threat. “Also, my sister had come requests.” Eren lifts one eyebrow in curiosity. He brings out the paper where all your requests are written down.  “Firstly, which we both agreed upon is that she shall have a say in political decisions Eldia make. She will be allowed to your meetings and have some power there.” Eren nods “I can sort that out” Your brother almost chuckles at trying to explain your second requirement “She wishes to bring one of her maids from Capri, to help her with her hair.” Eren closes his eyes and smiles “That's granted”. Your brother folds the paper and looks directly at Eren. “Lastly, she requests honesty and love in this marriage. Even if it´s not romantically, platonic love is enough for her. If you cannot give her that either, at least pretend you do.” The green eyes stare at the Caprian in shock, he did not expect her to request that. “I will uphold that until death, you have my word on that”. 

“Good, because she is going to give the last request to the Eldian ceremonial leader before your wedding.” In Eldian tradition, you give the requests and wishes you have for your spouse to the ceremonial leader, which are then turned into vows. If the spouse cannot uphold the vows, the marriage is invalid in the eyes of the Gods. Your brother stands up and walks towards his future brother-in-law, Eren also stands up and they shake hands. “When in spring do you typically hold weddings?” Your brother asks “Mid-spring, because that is when the camellia starts blooming.” Your brother had to think for a second “So, in about a month and a half.” Eren nods “You are right, we are already preparing for her arrival.” 

The maids in the Eldian palace are all excited about the arrival of the new Queen. Mikasa walks past a couple of maids on their way to the late Queen Carla´s old chamber. She notices them and jogs to stop them from entering the room. “Where do you guys think you are going? No one is allowed in there” Mikasa is suspicious as to why they would enter the chamber, do they wish to steal? “We have been ordered by His Majesty to clean and prepare the chamber for the new Queen as the negotiations with the Caprians were successful.” One answers, Mikasa´s eyes widen “I see” she answers short, making way for the maids to do their job.

 They enter the room and the second the door closes tears begin to fill up in her eyes. Knowing royal Eldian tradition he is marrying her around mid-spring which is in a month or so. How come no one told her? Eren and Armin are supposed to be the closest to her, yet they both kept it from her. She should have clocked it though, she hasn´t been in Eren´s chambers since that meeting Armin called him for. Mikasa feels dizzy and nauseous, she starts running out of the castle. She doesn't know where but she needs to be alone for a while to think. She runs past a field top and is spotted by the Survey Corps soldiers that are training. Jean wants to end the training to be there for Mikasa as she probably must have heard the news. He starts moving towards where is going but is stopped by their short Captain. “Continue the training”, he says holding a hand up to stop him. “But Captain-” he tries to protest, “I said continue your training.” Mikasa keeps running until she reaches the woods a couple of meters from the training ground. She leans to support herself on a tree with her hand as she bends over to vomit. Tears are running down her face non-stop and all she can think about is how cruel the world is to take Eren away from her. If they weren´t born with their status maybe they could have met and been together. They could have moved into a small cabin together and she could have baked him his favourite pastries every morning. No status or obligations, just the two of them, together in a home filled with love. Knowing she will never experience that in this lifetime breaks her even more and she wishes to rot and disappear from the surface of this earth.

The Ackerman girl straightens up and sits on a large tree stump trying to regain some oxygen. The tears are still running and her eyes and nose are red and swollen, she puts her feet up and lean her head on her knees. She looks up as she is met with a hand with a white handkerchief. She takes it “Thanks” she whispers while sniffing her nose. “I guess you found out the news,” Levi says, he has previously warned her plenty of times about her strong attachment to the King. “Yes,” she mutters “Listen brat, you knew that this was bound to happen. As a King, he is obligated to marry some princess or high-ranked noblewoman to maintain power and protect the Kingdom. Us Ackermans also got our roles, the men are trained in protecting Eldia´s King and the women´s jobs are to protect the Queen as her ladies in waiting. When the new queen arrives your job will be to serve and protect her.” Mikasa nods “I know the role of the Ackerman women. However, thought that it might be different with Eren as we love each other.” The short Captain is looking at her in disbelief, she is delusional he thinks for himself. “Are you sure that the brat loves you back?” He must have struck a nerve since she started to raise her voice “Why does everyone keep asking me that question? Yes, he loves me back! What the two of us got is special. He is just holding back because duties of being a young king and the trauma he suffered at 16.” Levi is shocked and concerned about his cousin´s well-being “Well, what about you two “start” loving each other platonic? As he is a married man soon and might need his friends' support in his new chapter.” Levi tries to convince her to give up her dreams of having a romantic relationship with Eren as it will never happen. “You are right” Her tears start building up again. A bird drops a single pink carnation on her lap which makes her jump a bit. “Weird” Levi mutters looking up at the bird dropping it. “Indeed” she responds, playing with the flower. 

Your maids are helping you take off your ponytail as it has been days since the proposal. “You have been in a good mood since King Jeager´s proposal, your Highness,” Avery says brushing the tip of your curls, you look down in embarrassment.  “I´m curious to know how this King has you so mesmerized” Darcy smiles. Darcy is the youngest of the maids nearest your age, she is like a big sister to you as she is only two years older. You lean towards your dressing table and open the top drawer which has the envelope from Eren on the top. The maids are all stunned, did he write you a letter? You give the envelope to Catherine who opens it impatiently, all the maids squeeze Charlotte to get a glimpse of what the letter said. They all giggle and blush, “Oh Y/n who would have known that this young man would be such a charmer” Catherine giggles. “Do not refer to the King of Eldia as a young man Catherine” Avery says strictly. “Wouldn't have believed it either if you told me that before the ball. I just pray that the meeting goes as planned. ” You smile for the thousand times today, “Our princess is in looove” Charlotte coos which makes everyone laugh. Well not everyone, Charlotte´s face remains cold. The two of you haven´t discussed her reaction to the news of Eren when you first told her about it. She then leaves without saying a word, everyone in the room is stunned. “What is going on with her?” you look around and see that none of the maids wishes to look you in the eyes. All of you get distracted by the noises coming from the window, you hear soldiers running and horses galloping your brother must be home. “We must hurry up then, they are most likely going to have a meeting soon.” Avery rushes you and the other maids to your bathroom. 

 “As you know, we went to Eldia to meet up with King Jeager,” your brother says. You couldn´t read him, did the meeting go well? “Y-yes” You play with the ring Eren gave you and notice how clammy your hands are. “Well, the meeting went well and King Jeager was surprisingly willing to meet our demands. Everything is now set and the wedding will take place in a month and a half.” You felt your body relax and your breathing isn´t as sharp. You nod while looking down to try and hide your smile, however, that smile quickly fades as you start to think of Charlotte. “Well, that´s all I had to say” your brother finishes, you curtsy and leave immediately to find Charlotte. 

You meet a Johan that is training in the garden “Johan, can you please help me find Charlotte and send her to my chambers?” The knight dries off his sweat with a towel and puts on his shirt. You blush at Johan´s well-trained body, why haven´t you noticed it before? You have seen his fit arms but the rest of his upper body had you in awe. Focus Y/n you are an engaged woman, you tell yourself. “Sure, give me 10 minutes” you mutter a small thank you before walking away. “You called your Highness” Charlotte curtsy. “Yes, please sit down” You pat the bed and the maid slowly sits down on your bed. “Please tell me what´s going on, why don´t you approve of Er- I mean King Jeager?” Charlotte plays with her dress while thinking about how to explain it in the best possible way. “You have seen the large map in the meeting room?” You give her a confused look “What about it?” She takes a deep breath “Have you seen a Kingdom called Marley on it?” You have to think for a second, “Marley does ring a bell but I cannot remember it being on the map” Charlotte stands up “Exactly, because it is now a part of Eldia, as soon as King Eren got crowned he declared war on Marley. He brought my dear fatherland to its knees, conquered the nation and publicly beheaded our royal family. My father…” The woman needs a minute to breathe, she is shaking. You grab her hand as she falls to her knees. “My father got killed in that war, I still do not understand why he chose to attack Marley when his father and the Marleyan King had a great relationship.” You were shocked, is Eren this cruel? Maybe you were delusional or maybe he was tricking you? “T-this is why I do not wish for you to marry that devil of a man. I don´t want him to harm you.” she hulks on your lap, and you feel her cold tears as they stain your dress. Your throat is burning and so are your eyes. You are speechless but you try to comfort her by stroking her hair. “I have no other choice Charlotte and you know that. However, maybe I can convince him not to attack other nations as I get some political influence there.” You say trying to bring some hope to her. She picks herself up and drys her tears “Maybe having an angel there will counter the devil ruling.”

The month flew by quickly you think for yourself studying the full-bloomed flowers in the garden. You are currently sitting in the carriage with your brother and his wife on your way to Eldia for your wedding. Trying not to ruin your makeup has been your biggest concern so far as the memories of Avery and the others crying after finishing you up for your big day. It was hard saying goodbye to the women that helped shape you into the Queen you are about to become. “I cannot believe that this is our last time preparing you for an event.” Avery sobbed putting the tiara on you with a white veil covering your full body. The dress was also laced starting from your shoulders and down, covering your arms. Charlotte closed her eyes to try and stop the tears from running to stay strong on your behalf. You remember hearing her sniff while finishing your goddess braids. Darcy is the only one coming as she voluntarily wanted to be one of your ladies-in-waiting, but even she was crying. “I-I´m going to miss you guys so much” you managed to squeeze out. All the women gave you hugs and wished you good luck. “You have no idea how proud we are of you,” Avery said drying your tears with her thumbs.

 Someone knocked on the door and Charlotte ran to see who it is. “It´s the Queen” she whispers, you dried your tears while your ladies straightened their dresses and lined up as Charlotte opened the door. You stood up and curtsy at the arrival of your sister-in-law, “you look beautiful Y/n” It seemed like she was tearing up at the view of you in your wedding dress. “T-thank you” You looked at her, she was stunning as always. “I wish to speak to Y/n alone if you don´t mind” The maids curtsied and left. You lied down on your bed and looked up to the ceiling and she did the same. “How are you feeling?” she turned her head to you. “I was excited about the proposal but I´m terrified about the marriage. I´m leaving behind everything I´ve known to marry a man I hardly know. They call him the devil, which also terrifies me.” You almost whispered a tear fell down your eye. She grabbed your hand and you turn to face her.  “I´m fully aware of King Jeager´s reputation. However, you might find happiness in this marriage the way I did with your brother.” You nod as you remembered that their marriage was also arranged. However, you couldn't tell by the happiness they brought each other. She hugged you before taking your hand to lead you to your carriage.

 You woke up from your daydream by the sound of horns, you must be in Eldia already. Johan opens the door and bows to the three of you, your brother exits first and holds out a hand to help his wife. You haven´t moved an inch since you entered Eldia, you are left alone as it seems like you need a moment to reflect. You breathe in and out several times and try to empty your mind of worries. It will be alright, you keep telling yourself. I might find happiness as my brother did, you try to convince yourself. Your brother knocks on the door and holds his hand out, you link your arms as you exit the carriage. In front of you is the Eldian ritual building, they say that here is where the Eldians of status have their marriage rituals and their funerals. It looked like an old castle made out of grey bricks. You hold your brother tightly on the elbow and he responds by laying his other hand on yours gently as comfort. “It will be over soon, just imagine it´s just the two of you in the room.” Your brother smiles, that smile brought a familiar warmness to your chest, he always knows how to comfort you. The guards blow the horns and the door opens and the two of you walk in. The people seated on the wooden benches turned their heads to look at the bride. The building is huge, it was made of briks with a red carpet starting from where you are walking all the way to Eren and the Eldian ceremonial leader who were on the alter. 

Eren is seated on his knees in front of the Eldian ceremonial leader, your brother lets go of you and sits down next to his wife. You felt your heart speed in miles per second as you slowly walked up to sit next to your husband-to-be. Eren gently takes your hand to help you sit down. “Blessings and merry meet. Gentle Kings and Queens, lords and ladies, their bans having been published, we are here today to join the fair Princess Y/n L/n of Capri and the Noble King Eren Jeager together. Lord, art thou here this day in pledged troth of thy own free will and choice?” Eren and you take a quick look at each other “Aye, Father” you both say. 

“In as much as this Noble King and Fair Princess have pledged their troth to be married this day, we call upon Heaven to bless this union. Therefore if anyone can show just cause, why they may not be joined together, by God’s Law, or the Laws of the Realm; let them now speak, or else hereafter keep silent for all time.” You close your eyes, and all you can think about is poor Charlotte. Your heart aches for a bit but then you feel his pinky finger wrapping itself around yours. You open your eyes and are met with the most beautiful smile you have ever seen. “There being no objection to this marriage let us continue.” the ceremonial holder said. “Swear you now, on this sacred blade, that there is no reason known to you that this union should not proceed.”I do so swear.” Eren said still holding your pinky finger. “Is there any reason known to you why this partnership should not be made?” He then looks at you “There is none” you respond low. 

“Father of the gods, creator of all things both in heaven and Earth, we humbly ask thee to bless this union, may these thy servants seek goodness all the days of their lives, may they be strong in defence of what is right, may they be united as one even as thou art with the Gods.” You close your eyes to take in the prayer and the blessings, hoping that the Gods will protect you.  “Do you King Eren Jeager  take unto thyself as husband the fair princess Y/n L/n and pledge unto him/her before God and these witnesses to be her protector, defender and sure resort, to honour and sustain her, in sickness and in health, in fair and in foul, with all thy worldly powers, to cherish and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?” Eren turns his head to yours “I will” he grins. “Do you Princess Y/n L/n  take unto thyself the Noble King Eren Jeager to be thy rightful husband and pledge unto him before God and these witnesses to honour and cherish him, to cleave unto him, in sickness and in health, in fair and in foul, be his one true and lasting counsellor and solace, and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?” You squeeze his finger “I will.” A well-dressed servant comes up to the ceremonial leader carrying a purple pillow with two rings on them, he knees in front of the two of you. “Heavenly Father of the gods, bless these rings which Noble King Eren Jeager and Fair Princess Y/n L/n have set apart to be visible signs of the inward and spiritual bond which unites their hearts. As they give and receive these rings, may they testify to the world of the covenant made between them.” 

Eren is the first to go, he takes a ring from the pillow and says “Receive and wear this ring as a symbol of my trust, my respect and my love for you.” He then places the ring on your left ring finger. The ring was beautiful, it is plain and made of gold. You grab Eren´s matching ring and breath in for a second. “Receive and wear this ring as a symbol of my trust, my respect and my love for you.” You place the ring on Eren´s left ring finger. You quickly turn your head to your brother who gives you a nod of approval. “This circle will now seal the vows of this marriage and will symbolize the purity and endlessness of their love.” The ceremonial leader announces you have now made a vow to Eren to be by his side until death rips you apart. That´s insane to think about as you didn´t know who he was three months ago. 

The servant stood up and was replaced with another one that carried a burgundy pillow with white and black ribbons on. “We will now do the ancient Eldian ribbon ritual” was announced. You remember being quickly taught about it by your tutor lady Johnson last week, nervousness took over your body as you you really didn´t wish to mess it up in front of all these important people and especially Eren. You take the black ribbon and tie it around Eren´s right wrist. “You may now announce your demands for your spouse-to-be.” You look at the ceremonial leader and then at Eren, you take a very deep breath and meet his green eyes “As my brother may have told you, are my demands quite simple in my opinion. My requests are honesty and love in this marriage. Even if it´s not romantically, platonic love is enough. If you cannot give me that either, at least pretend that you do even if it´s all a lie.” Eren nods “I will provide you that until death tears us apart” He smiles. He then proceeds by grabbing the white ribbon. You look down in nervousness and intimidation, what kind of demands does he expect from you? Are you capable of meeting his requirements? All these thoughts make you anxious and shaky.  Eren traps your pointy finger between his pointy finger and thumb to stop you from shaking and gives you a small smile which gives you goosebumps, however, it calms you down.  “You may now announce your demands from your spouse-to-be.” The ceremonial leader tells him. “My request is also quite simple, I demand that you make me and Eldia a part of you and that you cherish us like you´d cherish yourself until death.” His demand made your cheeks burn. “I-I will give you that until death tears us apart.”

The Eldian ceremonial leader ties a burgundy ribbon around both hands cord to symbolize romance, partnership and happiness, the Ivory cord which stands for peace, sincerity and devotion. Lastly, the gold cord represents unity, prosperity and longevity. “As this knot is tied, so are your lives now bound. Woven into this cord, imbued into its very fibers, are all the hopes of thy friends and family, and of thyselves, for a new life together. With the fashioning of this knot you tie all the desires, dreams, love, and happiness wished here in this place to your lives for as long as love shall last. In the joining of hands and the fashioning of a knot, so are your lives now bound, one to another. By these ribbons you are thus now and forevermore bound to your vow. May these knots remain tied for as long as love shall last. May these ribbons draw your hands together in love, never to be used in anger.

May the vows you have spoken never grow bitter in your mouths. As any child discovers when they are learning to tie their own shoes, the first move is to cross the ends. The cross creates the (X), which is the symbol of partnership and union. As your hands are bound by this cord, so is your partnership held by the symbol of this knot. Two entwined in love, bound by commitment and fear, sadness and joy, by hardship and victory, anger and reconciliation, all of which brings strength to this union. Hold tight to one another through both good times and bad, and watch as your strength grows. I shall now remove the cords.” The ceremonial leader then removes all the ribbons including the ones you and Eren tied on each other. 

He proceeds by holding both your heads and makes a prayer in the old Eldian language wishing for your union to be blessed by the Gods. “Before I proclaim you joined thou must kiss three times on cue. Once for luck, twice for Love and thrice for Long life.” You are stunned and nervousness took over, Eren cups one cheek “Remember that it´s only the two of us, like in the ball” he whispers. You close your eyes and imagine it is only the two of you on the ballroom´s terrace. You try to remember the breeze and your desire for him. He still smells the same and his hands are still as rough. He leans in for the first kiss, his lips are soft and you felt giddy. You have always wondered what it must feel like to kiss him and Gods it was better than what you imagined. Then comes the second kiss from Eren, which feels better than the first one. You want no you need more of him, you were almost turning into an addict craving their drugs. Lastly, comes the third kiss which is longer. It is like he doesn´t wish for it to end so soon either. Maybe he is also as addicted as you are or potentially even more. “By the Power Vested in me by the Realm. I now pronounce you King Eren Jeager and Queen Y/n Jeager, Husband and Wife.” From that second, you are now Y/n Jeager, Queen of Eldia. Everyone applauds and shakes hands with each other in celebration of the unity of their Kingdoms and the new allyship born. Eren takes your hand and gives you a cheeky smile while helping you walk down to the other guests. He kisses your cheek “I´ll see you later, love. I´m just going to discuss some things with the council.” You are stunned by his actions and all you can respond with his eager nods. He gives you a warm smile before disappearing to talk to Sir Erwin and Sir Levi.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty” Armin bows and behind him, you see four women curtsy. “Your Majesty, these lovely ladies will be your ladies in waiting. This is Hitch, Historia, Sasha and Mikasa. Mikasa will be your main lady and your right hand so if there shall be anything you can confine in her.” You smile at the black-haired woman and nervously look down. Maybe she is shy? You thought. “I-if there is anything, just tell us and we´ll do our best to help out.” She curtsies. “If you´ll have us excused Your Majesty we have some preparation to do for the wedding dinner.” Armin bows before leaving with the four ladies. 

Your brother and his wife walk up to you and you realize there and then that you are not going home with them to Capri. Your brother mentioned that they couldn´t stay until dinner due to work that awaits in Capri. “Remember what I told you in your bedroom.” Your sister-in-law whispers in your ears as she hugs you goodbye. Your heart breaks and tears start wheeling up “I-I remember” you sob. “Y/n, you are a strong girl. Home is what you make it to be no matter where you are.” She wipes your tears away with her thumbs.” You nod while sobbing and the one hugging you now is your brother “Come and see us when you can. Also, invite my wife over for tea and vice versa as I know she´ll take your departure worse than me.” You wipe your tears and manage to hulk a yes. “You should also say goodbye to Johan, he is in the hallway waiting.” He says kissing your head. Your eyes widen as your brother releases you, you hug them both goodbye before running to find your knight. 

You find him sitting on the window frame looking out. “J-Johan?” you stutter out not trying to cry again. The knight jumps a bit and  turns his head “Oh hi there, Mrs Jaeger.” He says playful, forcing a smile. “I came to say goodbye” you sniff. It felt like you have a fever, your temperature is high, your nose is clogged and your throat is in pain. He stands up and curtsies a professional goodbye and turns around as his heart could not handle looking at you. You grab his cape “I-I´m going to miss you so much” you sob, your heart shattered even more than before. Johan sniffs and tries to hold back his tears, the knight pulls you in for a hug. None of you say a word, you could only hear your sobbing and Johan´s sniffing. It has always been the two of you against the world, you had always believed that the two of you would be by each other's side until death. However, at this very moment what you thought never could happen was happening. The two of you are separating “If anything happens, even if you change your mind. Don´t hesitate coming back to me Y/n, promise me that.” You look up and meet his eyes “I promise” you say sniffing your tears. “Then I´ll wish you goodbye for now” he whispers kissing your cheek, knowing that it wasn´t appropriate as you were now married to someone else. You on the other hand are so caught in the moment that you don´t think much of his gesture. He releases you from his warm embrace and holds your hand before bidding goodbye one last time. However, the two of you don’t notice the murderous glare of two green eyes, watching your interaction. 

Tears are running as you watch the carriages leave the palace. “Are you in need of anything Your Majesty?” Mikasa says standing behind you. You turn around and she sees the tears running, out of instinct she hugs you “I can show you, your chamber if you want?” you nod as the two of you are walking. Mikasa is stunned to notice that you held her hand but she smiles at how adorable that is, like a child holding its mother. 

“This is your chamber, Your Majesty” You are in awe it is large, it has paintings of the Gods on the roof, a large canopy bed with burgundy curtains and furniture made of gold. Gods, Eldia must be very wealthy you think for yourself. Mikasa got concerned with your silence “W-what do you think?” You came back to earth “Oh..ehm, it´s larger than my room home” you whisper the last part as you start thinking about the others that left. Mikasa gives you another hug to ease your aching heart. You suck in the warmth from Mikasa not knowing that her heart arches as bad as yours as she lost her home with Eren. You both jump to the sound of knocking, Mikasa lets go of you and opens the door. Coming in are Sasha, Historia, Hitch and Darcy, they all curtsy. “Apologies Your Majesty, we are here to prepare you for the dinner,” Historia says looking up. They don´t do too much, they redo your makeup and change you into a velvet green dress. “It´s going to match his eyes” Hitch giggles, your cheeks burn. Historia puts a hand on Mikasa´s shoulder as she couldn´t help but notice her sad eyes. Mikasa couldn´t help but grow a bit of resentment for you, after all, you are married to the love of her life. Lastly, Darcy gives them a small tutorial on oiling and styling your hair. You look at yourself in the mirror “Thank you for taking care of me.” you say curtsy in gratitude, making the women blush. “N-no need to thank us, we are just doing our job.” Sasha blurs out in embarrassment. She is kind and humble, it would have been easier to hate her if she were some bratty princess, Mikasa thinks to herself. 

When you arrive at the dining hall, everyone is seated. The room like all the other rooms in the palace is huge, almost everything there was made out of gold and had golden chandeliers hanging on the roof. All the nobles and the council members were seated horizontally while Eren was at the other end. All the seats were taken beside Eren which left you a bit confused until you saw the empty seat opposite Eren. Why do you have to sit so far away from your newlywed husband you think to yourself? “The King and Queen typically sit opposite each other,” a newly dressed Mikasa says. You sit down and a servant pushes you closer to the table “Thank you” you say smiling at the servant causing him to blush. However, the blush vanishes the minute he met the angry eyes of his King. You on the other hand are distracted by how the short man and Mikasa looked alike. That must be Sir Levi Ackerman, Sasha told you a bit about Eldia´s strongest soldier while doing your makeup. You also couldn´t help but notice how Armin blushes at something a beautiful blonde girl whispered in his ear. That must be Lady Annie Leonhart you thought to yourself. You look for meat on the table as you promised Sasha to bring her some with potatoes later. You spot a lot in the middle “Could you please bring some meat and potatoes to my chambers from the kitchen?” you ask the blushing servant kindly. “O-of course Your Majesty” he stutters before running off to the kitchen. This time you are the one meeting Eren´s eyes which look a bit dangerous before they became soft again. 

Eren stands up “Thank you all for being here, I just wanted to make a toast for the new Queen of Eldia.” Everyone stands up except you and your heart drops in nervousness. “To the new Queen of Eldia,” they all chant. Eren sits down not breaking eye contact with his chin leaning on his wrist. You feel embarrassed but cannot help to stare at Eren who gives you a seductive look, you feel nervous knowing that you´ll soon start your wedding night. You have had the “talk” with Avery, and with the “talk” you mean, her nervously explaining that the penis enters your vagina. Your tutor Lady Johnson told you the same but that a proper lady lies on her back like a fish letting her husband do “what´s needed”. She also said that you must pray to the Gods that you´ll be fertile enough to carry your husband's sons and that you need to take berries to make you even more fertile. Your thoughts got disturbed by the door opening and a blonde man walking in wobbling. Everyone in the room becomes quiet and you notice the murderous glance from Sir Levi. “Well, well, a royal dinner without a royal member!” He shouts walking up. Eren massages his temples out of embarrassment for his brother. He approaches you “Oi, oi Eren what a catch! She is way out of your league” He laughs, as if he couldn´t embarrass the King more. “You should visit my chambers when you are done with Eren to show you how a real man does it.”  You could smell booze out of his mouth, what made him drink so much? The table started shaking and an outraged Eren is standing “Zeke!” He shouts. You jump and he meets your frightened eyes which makes him calm down. He takes a deep breath he calls the guards “Escort Zeke out of here and do not let him near my wife.” They escort Zeke out of the hall, which left an awkward silence. 

You are then reminded of the wedding night you have to prepare for. “If it´s alright, I´ll go to my chambers” You stand up curtsy to Eren and leave. Mikasa also curtsies and follows you to your chamber. In the room you meet Darcy, Historia and Hitch giggling, it warms your heart to see that Darcy is befriending your other ladies-in-waiting. You look down and see Sasha eating the meat and potato like a demon. They all stop what they are doing and stand up and curtsy “Welcome back, Your Majesty and thank you for the meat” Sasha muffles with food stuffed in her mouth. “We need to get her ready for the wedding night,” Mikasa says low looking down. “Of course!” Hitch says rushing you to the bathroom to get you cleaned up. Hitch and Sasha clean you while the others wait in the main bedroom. “D-do Eldians practice the bedding ceremony?” You ask anxious, the thought of people seeing you and Eren being intimate terrifies you. “No, it´s quite outdated from our perspective. It was banned by King Eren´s grandfather.” Hitch laughs. It makes you relax a bit “It´s said that his grandfather wasn´t able to get ehm… erected because of everyone starring” Sasha blurs out, which makes you all laugh. When you were done, they put your hair up and re-did your makeup. Historia presents you with your sleeping garment which was a simple white dress with straps. They all curtsy once again and leave but you hold Catherine and beg her to stay. “Gods, I don´t think I can do this, I´m terrified” you whisper to her. You both turn to the door as you hear knocking, you gulp knowing that it has to be Eren. Darcy opens the door to see her new King standing there. “Your Majesty” she curtsy “Am I interrupting something?” Eren asks “N-no I was about to leave” Your heart started racing, and your eyes met Darcy´s and she could read don´t leave me on them, she mutters a small apology before leaving. 

It´s only now the two of you in the chamber “You look beautiful” he says walking towards you. It feels like your heart is going to hammer itself out of your ribcage, but then he hugs you. “I´m sorry for Zeke, he acts like a fool too often,” he says low in your ears, which gives you goosebumps. Your heart calms down in his embrace and you melt into his warmth. “I-it´s fine, it wasn´t a big deal,” you say low, “No, it was. You are a big deal to me,” he responds kissing your forehead. Your eyes widen in shock at his gesture and you turn around in shyness. You look at the mirror in front of you and see Eren hugging you from behind, which causes you to shake a bit in the beginning. After what felt like seconds, you stop shaking and melt into his body. As you seemed more comfortable with his touches he kisses your shoulder softly. He then proceeds to kiss you upwards to your neck which causes small moans out of you. Eren slides down your dress leaving you completely naked. The cold air gives you goosebumps and makes your nipples hard. Eren while still kissing your neck slides one hand to your boob, nibbling and playing with your nipples. You felt a needy heat growing in your stomach which causes you to rub your legs together. Eren of course sees this causing him to smile for a second before continuing to kiss your neck. He then takes his other hand and slides it between your legs drawing circles on your clit. He could feel how wet you are on his two fingers “mmph” you moan. To experiment a little, he removes his fingers from your clit “Mmph… Eren don´t stop” You then take his hand and place it back on your clit and he continues to rub it. “See, there is nothing to be afraid of” he whispers in your ears before he lays you on the bed.

 He crawls over you and sucks on your right nipple while massaging your left one. You arch your back to make him suck more and he in response sucks harder causing you to moan higher. Eren releases your nipple with a pop and lowers down to kiss you. The kiss was sloppy and needy, your hands reach up to his cheeks to cup them as he licks your lower lip causing you to open your mouth and lets his tongue in filling both your mouths with a mixture of soft moans, salvia and a hint of red wine.  He then slowly removes himself from your lips causing your to suck his tongue by accident, which riles him up even more. He pecks your lips before kissing you softly on your cleavage, then right above your belly button. His head vanishes between your legs and his face is buried against your cunt. He licks a strip up, parting your lips with his tongue. You buck your hips, moaning at the strange feeling that makes a knot form in your lower stomach. You hear him groan and then, his mouth was all over your cunt, lapping up all your juices. His teeth grace your bundle of nerves, nipping gently but hard enough to make you cry out. You cover your mouth with your hand causing Eren to stop for a second, your moaning made you feel like a whore. You have never heard about something like this, a King between his wife's legs. Eren´s eyes cast upwards to look at you, stare at your face as he slowly grabs your hand and says “Don´t hide, be free” before taking your hand and pushing it into his hair. His tongue then proceeds to lick over your clit before sucking it into his mouth. You clench your fist shut around his locks, which turns him on. His mouth got even more eager.  “Eren” you gasped, you felt yourself getting closer to something unfamiliar but you desperately want to get there. “Keep calling for me” Eren demands. He adds his fingers, pumping them slowly in and out while his tongue laps at your clit and slides through your lips. He pulls out, places a kiss on your cunt and steps back. He watches you panting for a moment, your chest rising and falling.

You hear the rustling of clothes, and pants falling to the ground with a loud thud freeing his arching cock. He's between your legs again, running the head through your soaking folds before lining up with your entrance. The burn as he sank down was pleasurable with just the right amount of pain. However, it still causes you to hiss. Eren groaned, losing himself in the feeling of your tight walls. He leans downwards to lay his forehead on yours. In that moment, the two of you were one. At that moment, both of you felt whole. “Are you ready?” He asks breathlessly. You nod and he kisses you passionately as he thrusts inside with slow but passionate movements. He sets a faster pace, cock buried inside to the hilt every time he pushes back in. "I can't wait to see your belly swell with my child."  His voice is hoarse, grunting the words out with every snap of his hips. You had never heard anything hotter before, his words turning you on and increasing the pleasure you already felt. You cross your legs behind his back, pulling him in as deep as possible while his cock twitches inside you, filling you with his seed. 

 He pulls out, falling exhausted onto the bed next to you. You get up to pee immediately. While cleaning your hands you look at yourself in the mirror, you were glowing and the bun Darcy helped put up is losing up. You take a cloth and run hot water on it before heading out to see Eren lying almost passed out in bed. Your eyes meet as you take the cloth to clean his penis, you were taught that it is as important for you as it is for him to clean his penis after sex. You put the cloth back in the bathroom and are met by an Eren lifting you in bride style back to bed. He wraps you around his arms causing you to giggle a bit. He kisses your shoulder “I will try my best to make you happy here in Eldia, in return there is one rule you need to follow. Besides that one, you are free to do as you please.” You turn around to meet his face “Which is?”  He cups your left cheek “You are not allowed to leave the walls of the palace.”

[kousagi7hikari]

Been thinking about Oh My Goddess again recently and just… how much WEIRD stuff is in it.

So I made a list.

Bugs (of the computer variety) that look like rabbits with spider legs and are invisible

A ghost of a motorcycle that looks like a maid

A robot that looks like rolly-polly-ollie

A robot that looks like a human girl that was given sentience and hates the roly-poly robot (even though he loves her)

Spirits that look like Tolkien dwarves that make combustion engines work

An assortment of machine spirits

Temporal space whales

An Extra earth spirit who lives in a rat

A demon king gets put into a floppy disk

An assortment of goddesses named after Norse mythology who are all weirdos in one way or another

The Gate of Heaven is a little girl

A demon who is basically a lone Team Rocket

And is allergic to good luck charms

One of the characters gets drunk on cola and grants the wishes of everyone in town, including turning one of the side characters into a giant

A demon gets turned into a cat and curses himself to be female to retain his intelligence

All the motorcycles. Everyone in this town is obsessed with motorcycles

Goddesses have angels (fine) and they get them by swallowing a tiny “Angel egg” (about the size of a Cadbury mini egg)

Some of the ways the goddesses travel include: mirrors, (fine) hot water, (okay) TVs, (??) and camera lenses (???)

People constantly want the two main characters to bone and will go to great lengths to attempt to get them to do so.

A character his his libido Turned Off I can’t elaborate without spoilers

Main boys parents won’t tell anyone how they met unless they beat the father in a race

After an arc where one of the characters is split into good and evil halves (run of the mill) there is a skin of the evil half left behind.

The roly-poly robot then puts on the skin and goes around town doing good deeds

A “scientist” kidnaps the two robots to take apart and study because they can walk.

The robots do not obey the three laws of robotics, btw

A demon gives a character a castle and an “obedience barrier” so they can be better than the main goddess

The goddesses lose most of their power and our guy needs to make Moon rocks to give them a temporary patch

One of the goddesses can slap words (mostly insults) onto people’s faces as an attack

There’s a pair of angels named Cool Mint and Spear Mint

[thekatebridgerton]

Have you ever thought about a Kanthony (and others) re-incarnation au. I'm thinking a Housefull 4 style bridgerton fic starring Kanthony, Benophie and maybe Polin. Housefull 4 is a bollywood comedy gold. Surprisingly it's without any angst that u expect of reincarnation tropes. But maybe we can have some angst if someone decides to make a fic out of it 🤞. Anyway if someone does decide to make one I will recommend watching the movie first or look at the plot on wiki for the main gist of the story. U know I got this idea because of the spider scene (equivalent to the bee sting according to me) in the movie so like we can have Kanthony as Madhu n Bala (eldests), Benophie as Meena n Dharmputra, n Polin as Mala n Bangdu.

Thank you for listening to my mumbling 😊.

i've said it before and I'll say it again: people in Tumblr have good taste. So guys, if you haven't seen Housefull 4. Go watch it, it's an awesome movie and it deserves a shoutout. And the funny thing is that I did see the movie a long time ago. But I thought that it would be a great twist if the girls were the ones having the big problem making the guys remember their past lives. So anon, I know this take on the movie isn't what you asked for but bear with me.

So in 1813 you have Queen Violet ever despairing on marrying off her three rakish sons. And then there's Kate, Sophie and Penelope. Who for one reason or another love these three idiots. first there is Kate, Minor indian royalty, princess Kate was vanished from her father's court because of a tiny disobedience (staging a coup to put Edwina on the throne is not a tiny disobedience Kathani Sharma) so she is kind of scheming to marry Anthony and become the future Queen. So she can return home with something to show for it.

Anthony's second brother, Benedict, is desperately inlove with his sister's ladies maid/bodyguard, Sophie. Who has saved his life more times than he can count. And finally, Colin, ever the young prankster. Is inlove with the court lead gossip maker. Miss Penelope aka notorious scandal mongrel Lady Whistledown.

Kate and Anthony fell inlove, and together they also worked very hard to unite Benedict and Sophie against those who opposed their class difference, and defended Colin and Penelope's choice to be together despite Lady Whistledown's reputation. BUT on the day the three of them were going to get married. Someone bombed the cathedral. And the three couples died.

Back in the present Kate Sharma is a down on her luck photographer working too many jobs who accidentally gets in trouble with the Indian Mob and has to pay back a sum that seems astronomical, or work for the mob for life. Well, never let it be said that Kate doesn't know how to scheme her way into the lives of the rich and famous. Her boss Lady Danbury sets her and her two best friends up with the sons of a super rich business' woman, who need convenient wives that don't mess on their style ( in exchange for a few favors after the girls are officially Bridgertons. ) Penelope and Sophie have agreed to help Kate pay back the money to the mob and well, at least the guys are handsome.

Everything is going swimmingly, the three couples are getting along well, at least until Kate visits the Bridgerton family cemetery with her new fiancée and starts getting flashbacks of her past life...

Here's the thing... In this life, she is sort of going to marry the wrong brother!! oh no, Kate needs to help her friends remember their past lives too. She doesn't want to get married to Colin, or let Sophie marry Anthony, also she's pretty sure that if Penelope knew she's getting hitched to the same Benedict who was head over heels for Sophie in their past life, she would die of embarrassment.

Now all Kate has to do is help her friends and their husbands remember their past life. Reconnect with her husband who doesn't know she's his wife because he thinks she's the gold digger who is putting the moves on Colin. Somehow figure out why they all reincarnated AND find out who bombed the cathedral in 1813.

Easy peasy right?

[boyishmess]

Kick in the Teeth

Maids were too much hassle. It wasn't really an excuse, and it definitely wasn't because he was lonely, but the ad in the paper was all he really needed to be convinced it was a good idea. Besides, a mail order bride wasn't that expensive, and it would be giving a needy woman a house and a job. Kind of.

Adrian had sent the check a week ago, and the bride was supposed to arrive today. There was a marriage document for them to sign, and apparently that’s all they needed for it to be official. He supposed that there would be two people dropping her off so one could be a witness and the other could officiate, but what did he really know? Maybe this wasn't official at all and it was just a big scam. 

If that were the case, he’d just kill the guys dropping her off and keep the girl. Simple as that.

The knock on the door was sharp and loud. He got to his feet and brushed off his shirt, for some reason wanting to look presentable. Maybe this girl would be a disappointment. Maybe she was mean, or bad at cleaning, or—even worse, boring. He sighed to himself, praying for the best God had to offer.

Two cheerful men greeted him at the door, brandishing wide, yellow smiles. Their suits were polished and nice, though their boots were dusty and old.

“Hello, Mister Devoe!” the one on the left greeted. “Pleasure to meet you! I am Melvin, and this is my brother Philip! We are here to officiate your mail order bride purchase!”

Adrian cringed. He had forgotten that the people who sold mail order brides looked at it like slave trading. Being dark-skinned himself, it didn't sit well with him.

“May we come in?” 

“Sure,” Adrian said, stepping aside. “Uh, where’s the, uh...bride?”

“We will introduce her to you as soon as you sign these papers saying you won't sue us!” Philip beamed.

Adrian frowned. “Uh, okay.” He picked up the quill and dipped it in the ink, signing his name on the line.

“And here.”

Adrian signed again.

“And here.”

Adrian signed again.

“Brilliant!” Melvin scooped up the papers and whistled. “Come on in, bride!”

“I have a name!” a lovely voice came from outside.

Melvin sighed. “Come on in, Sacaro!”

“That’s not my fucking—” she sighed, “fine.”

The girl walked in, and Adrian took a few moments to take her in. She was definitely beautiful, sporting dark brown hair, curling and coiling over her shoulders, dark, smooth freckled skin, and these mystifying midnight-black eyes, half-lidded and annoyed. She wore a simple wedding gown, but Adrian could see as she walked in that she was wearing boots underneath.

“Now we can begin the ceremony! This will not take long,” Philip said. “Sacaro! Get over here!”

“Are you going to at least spell my name right on the marriage certificate?” she muttered, walking over to stand beside Adrian. She was a couple inches shorter than him, but with her attitude she felt taller.

“You’ll have to spell it for me again,” Philip said. 

“Socorro,” she said. “Spelled just the way it sounds. Two r’s, three o’s.”

“Three o’s on the end?”

Socorro sighed. “S-O-C-O-R-R-O. Do you need me to spell my last name, too?”

“Yes, please.”

She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “A-Z-L-I-N. Azlin.”

Philip nodded. “Great. Melvin, will you sign as a witness?”

Melvin grabbed the quill and quickly signed. 

“Now, Mister Devoe? You and your bride must sign!”

Adrian signed the paper, handing the quill to Socorro, who also signed.

Philip nodded. “Brilliant! We are all done! Good luck you two, and congratulations!”

As soon as they had come, they were gone, leaving the marriage document on the table.

Adrian looked at Socorro. “So, uh...welcome.”

Socorro didn't look impressed. “I assume you married me for a good reason, and not just so I can clean this dump of a house.”

Adrian frowned. “W-well, that was...the main reason.”

She rolled her eyes. “Alright. D’you have any extra clothes? I mean no respect to this dress, but it’s not exactly fun to clean in a wedding dress.”

Adrian hadn't really thought of that. He didn't even have an extra toothbrush. “Uh, you can borrow some of mine for the time being. We can go shopping...later.”

“Just give me something to wear and we can go now,” Socorro said. “Might as well get it out of the way—I doubt you want me wearing your clothes.”

“Well—”

“Shut it,” she sighed. “Anything’ll do. Get to it.”

Adrian walked away in wonder. Of course he’d been brainwashed with the idea that women were supposed to be submissive to their husbands, but it looked like Socorro wasn't going to let that happen. Adrian found he was kind of okay with that.

He walked out of his room with some clothes he thought might fit only to drop them all at the sight of an almost-completely naked Socorro. She looked at him up and down and stood to scoop the clothes off the floor. 

“You okay? You look like you're about to pass out.”

Adrian just nodded. 

Socorro scoffed, a playful smirk on her face. “What, never seen a woman in her underwear before, mi rey?”

“I h-have,” Adrian said. It was all he could say—especially when Socorro’s angelic laugh filled the house.

“Well, I’ll go change, and we can get going. Sound good, mi rey?”

Adrian just nodded, watching Socorro locked herself in his room. Yeah, he could enjoy having the roles reversed.

Socorro walked by his side, glancing around the town as she took in her new surroundings. “Not a bad place,” she said. “What’s it called again?”

“Reverie,” Adrian answered. “It’s kind of small, but it’s not the worst town out there. I heard Blackbird was dreadful.”

Socorro scoffed a laugh. “You have no idea. I think that boutique is open.”

Adrian looked at where she was pointing and felt dread fill his stomach. “Uh, th-there’s probably other ones around her somewhere? I heard that one’s...uh...”

Socorro rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm to drag him into the shop. Adrian cringed as the bell above the door rang, alerting the shop owner.

“Welcome! Be there in just a second!” a cheerful voice came from the back.

“I really think we should try out some other places fir—” Adrian whispered, but Socorro held her finger to his lips. 

“Hush! I like this one. It’s cute. Besides, it sounds like you know the owner, mi rey,” she smirked. “I wanna see her reaction to this little...arrangement.”

Amazed at her ability to see through him, he couldn't look away, even when Cherry bounced into the room.

“Adrian! It’s so good to see you!” Cherry beamed. She paused expectantly for a second. “Adrian?”

Socorro tried to hide her snicker as Adrian looked over at Cherry with a dazed expression. “Huh? Oh, hello, Cherry. How are you?”

Cherry’s eyes flicked between them, trying to put the pieces together. “Is this...your sister?”

“We look nothing alike,” Socorro said. 

“Well...” Cherry muttered. 

“That’s racist,” Adrian said. “No, she’s my wife.”

“Your WHAT?” Cherry practically screamed. “Since when? I’ve only ever seen you with prostitutes!”

Adrian forced a laugh, glancing at Socorro. “Very funny, Cherry. It’s, uh...it’s kind of complicated.”

Socorro seemed to be laying back, watching disaster strike, because she didn't say anything about the real situation. Adrian kept glancing at her for help when Cherry continued asking questions, but she just shrugged, her pretty lips curled into a satisfied smile.

Finally, after Cherry’s sixteenth question, she decided to step in. “We’re actually here for clothes. All of mine were burned in a fire.”

Cherry blinked. “A fire?”

“Yes,” Socorro said. “I’ve never been in a boutique before, how do we even start?”

Cherry seemed to light up at the question, and Adrian breathed a sigh of relief. “First, we’ve got to get your measurements! Follow me, dear! And I suppose Adrian can come too. He is your husband after all. How long have you guys known each other again?”

“Ten years,” Adrian blurted, just as Socorro said, “An hour.”

Luckily, Cherry took it as a joke and laughed, leading them away to the room in the back.

“You’ve got to work with me a little,” Adrian hissed, lacing the back of the corset Socorro was trying on. His face had been in a permanent shade of red after helping her into several outfits because of Cherry’s insistence to have them “bond.” Adrian had a feeling she was actually well aware of the real situation, despite how usually very unaware she was.

“You’ve got to step up your game,” Socorro deflected. “What, are you rusty? Haven't charmed a prostitute in a while, mi rey?”

Adrian scowled. “I’m plenty husbandly to you. You owe me the same.”

“Owe you?” Socorro scoffed. “And what have you done for me?”

“Made you my wife instead of letting you rot in that factory,” Adrian growled.

Socorro’s shoulders tensed a bit, and Adrian couldn't see the scarlet blush covering her freckled cheeks. She forced a weak laugh. “W-well, you could also try a bit harder to make it seem like you like me. Love me, even, if we’re trying to play it up for your friend. Why don't you just tell her the truth? That you were too lazy to clean your own house and a maid was too inconvenient? Speaking of which, how in the fuck is getting married more convenient then a maid? What planet are you from?”

Adrian huffed. “She...she’s always bugging me about settling down. She was lucky—she found a man when she was eighteen. I’m twenty-four and have only got a handful of exes to show for it. Figured it might as well check a box in the game of life. Didn't really care who it was.”

Socorro was quiet for a moment. “So you’d marry anyone just to be married?”

Adrian shrugged. “It’s hard to find love nowadays. Figured I’d skip the romancing parts and make it easier for myself. I’d make someone proud in the meantime, which isn't worth nothing. And...” he faltered, “I-I don't know. Company would be nice.”

Socorro’s silence stretched as she got lost in her head, processing his words and finding a strange feeling of understanding in her chest. His reasons were the same reasons she applied to be a mail order bride in the first place. She was already past the age of “ripeness,” and suitors were not as drawn to her as they used to be when she was young and overly protective of herself. Now, she figured she didn't have a lot of options. Being married was better than dying alone. 

She looked into the mirror in front of her, watching Adrian tie the rest of the corset behind her, a storm brewing in his eyes. So it wasn't about the house at all, she thought. You're lonely, aren't you?

Adrian looked up, as if to answer her question with the monsoon over his sea green eyes. Yes, they responded. But you are, too. Maybe we can be lonely together.

She smiled at him. I’d like that.

A very small smile curled his scarred lips, and he looked back down to continue tying the corset.

“You look good in jeans, mi reina,” Adrian said as Socorro tried to decide between a dress or jeans. She had a few of each, but was torn between a very nice dress and some very nice denim. She couldn't decide which.

Socorro smirked at him. “Is that your final answer, mi rey?”

“Is there a correct answer?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Socorro just shrugged. “I’ll take the dress. Maybe I could wear it to a fancy party or something. Save it in the back of the closet.”

“Hope it doesn't stay there,” Adrian murmured. “That thing is expensive.”

Socorro laughed. “Says the man who bought a wife.”

Cherry paraded into the room with the rest of Socorro’s outfits in large, gaudy bags. “Alright, loves! I’ve got all your clothing folded and packed away, how about we pay and get you going?”

“She wants this one,” Adrian said. 

Socorro laughed at his tone. “So husbandly of you to be irritated by your wife shopping.”

“I’m not irritated by my wife shopping,” Adrian defended. “I’m irritated by the price.”

Cherry pouted. “I have to make a living somehow, Adrian!”

Adrian looked genuinely guilty, and it made Socorro feel bad, too. “Don't worry, dear,” she said. “He’s joking. He wouldn't have taken me to your lovely boutique in the first place if he couldn't afford a few outfits. Mine burned in a fire after all, and the reimbursement we got for that was hefty.”

Cherry brightened, taking the dress from Socorro and hurrying into the back to fold and bag it.

Adrian hummed. “You're awfully good at playing to people’s egos.”

Socorro shrugged. “People are easy. I suppose I’ve gotten used to it. Keeps me safer.”

“Safe from what?” he asked.

“Being hurt,” she said quietly. “People are as fragile as they are dangerous. Some have no remorse if they ruin your life.”

Adrian was quiet for a moment. He glanced down at her hand, which was curled into a tight fist. He gazed back up at her, but she wasn't looking at him. Swallowing his nerves, he gently took her wrist, and carefully pried open her fingers so he could lace his between hers. He could feel her tense at the action, but once their palms were firmly pressed together, he felt it melt away. 

When Cherry returned with their bags, Adrian paid, gathered them in his free hand, and tugged Socorro out of the boutique, a thank you and goodbye tossed over his shoulder at his friend. 

Their hands stayed connected the whole way home.

[hintofelation99]

The Justice League Hangs out with Duke

Bruce: Duke, it's time we had the talk.

Duke: Uh... nope. No thank you. I'm not getting the sex talk from Batman.

Bruce: What? No! The Robin talk.

Duke: But, I'm- I'm the Signal now? Isn't it a bit late for a Robin talk?

Bruce: Son, it's never too late, not for this.

Duke: Um. Ok.

Bruce: When Dick, Jason, and Tim first started as Robins they created a tradition. A tradition that continued with Stephanie, Damian, and now you.

Duke: And that tradition is?

Bruce: Taking down the Justice League. By being annoying and slightly terrifying.

Duke: OHHHHHH. Is that why no one from the Justice League talks to me?

Bruce: Yes, yes it is. But don't worry. I made an arrangement that will allow you time alone with league members to continue the tradition. You have a week to prepare.

——————

Duke: Cass, what do I do?

Cass raises an eyebrow at Duke.

Duke: For the Robin tradition thing. I have to take down the entire Justice League in a night using creative, outlandish, and original methods. But it's already been done by Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, and Steph. So what do I do? How can I be better than all of them.

Cass smirks: Take them down too.

Duke looking at Cass like she's crazy: What?

Cass: Take. Them. Down.

Duke: Holy shit, you are terrifying.

Cass just smiles and leaves.

-> One Week Later <-

Wonder Woman, Superman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, and Steph gather in the Watchtower.

Duke: Hey guys, Batman just wanted to go through some training exercises with everyone. He'll be a little late. Harley and Ivy escaped Arkham and are trying to grow penis shaped shrubs in all the public parks. But, don't worry he asked me to go ahead and start with out him.

Green Lantern: Why are you leading this meeting?

Duke: Batman is running late and he wants me to practice leading meetings.

Green Lantern, glaring suspiciously at Duke: Are you about to do that stupid Robin tradition where you torture all of us?

Duke: What Robin tradition? Also, I'm not even a Robin? I'm the Signal.

Green Lantern continues to glare at him.

Superman: Calm down Green Lantern, the Robins never do this in front of each other.

Every League member seems to relax at this.

Duke acting confused: Uhhh, yeah. Ok, we have a few housekeeping things to do according to the list Batman left. So, I'll have everyone pair up for sparring while I handle these individually.

------

Everyone is in the training room working out or sparring. Duke approaches Tim.

Duke: Hey Tim, Bruce wanted you to look in to that Bludhaven case. Is that ok with you?

Tim: Yeah, why wouldn't it be?

Duke: Oh, I just thought it might be difficult considering what Dick did.

Tim: ...What did he do?

Duke: Wait, you haven't noticed? Oh no, I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything.

Tim: Duke. Tell me what he did.

Duke: Well, Jason said that he replaced all your coffee with decaf.

Tim: THAT BASTARD. No wonder I've been feeling so tired! I'm going to kill him!

Duke: Wait, just stop! I heard that he hid all of it in Green Lantern's room.

Tim: Wait, why there?

Duke: Something about you being afraid of him.

Tim: WHAT?! I'm not afraid of the Green Nightlight! I'm gonna find that coffee then make Dick pay.

Duke: Oh, well cool, good luck!

------

Green Lantern: Um, what are you doing in my room?

Tim: Where is it?

Green Lantern: Where's what?

Tim: You know what I want. Give up now or face the consequences.

Green Lantern: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Tim: Fine. Consequences.

------

Steph, sparring with Duke: So, what's it like being the first meta bat?

Duke: Not too bad, but I could do with out the whole 'predict the future' thing.

Steph, laughing: What? You can not see the future.

Duke: I bet you $50 I can

Steph: Your on.

Duke, makes everything around him light up and uses a weird voice: In the next thirty minutes Green Lantern will flee the Watchtower in fear. Soon after Dick will be attacked by Tim.

Steph, snorts in obvious disbelief.

Steph: That was so fake-

Green Lantern runs out of the tower looking terrified.

Steph: No way.

Tim tackles Dick and they start fighting like three year old's on the floor.

Steph, handing Duke $50: Holy shit Magic Man.

Duke makes things light up and does the voice again: Oh my god.

Steph, looking excited: What?!

Duke: The- the sushi. The sushi you brought today, it's made from-

Duke pretends to choke back a sob.

Duke: It's made from the fish who was the maid of honor at Aquaman's wedding.

Steph: HOLY SHIT.

------

Steph and Aquaman sit beside each other for lunch, she pulls out her sushi and looks at Aquaman sadly.

Steph: I am so, so sorry for your loss. But just know that her sacrifice is not in vain.

Aquaman, looks confused for a second then sees the sushi: NOPE. Not this again! I'm leaving.

Steph: Wait! I'm sorry!

Aquaman leaves as Steph tries to chase him down.

------

Jason is laughing and filming as Dick and Tim fight.

Duke, whistles: Man, imagine if that video went on YouTube.

Jason, looking confused: What?

Duke: I'm just saying if the video of Red Robin and Nightwing fighting like kids ever got on YouTube, it'd go viral. Oh and they would be so pissed!

Jason, laughs: Too bad B would kill me if I uploaded this.

Duke: Yeah, I guess so. And you can't upload it here because then Superman would get in trouble.

Jason: Why would the boy scout get in trouble?

Duke: Cause he always uses his YouTube account on the Justice League computer. So it'd look like he uploaded it and B would find out that Superman watches cat videos while he's on monitor duty.

Jason, smirking: Huh, so you're saying if I upload this on the League computer I'd piss off Bruce, Tim, and Dick and get Supes in trouble?

Duke, acting innocent: Huh, I guess so.

-> A Few Minutes Later <-

A call from Bruce comes up on the main computer.

Superman: Hey Batman, what can I do for you?

Bruce: You, Red Hood, cave now.

Jason: What? Why me?

Bruce: Because I saw that little home video you uploaded of your brothers.

Jason: What, that wasn't me!

Bruce: I could hear you laughing while you filmed.

Jason: Dammit.

Jason and Clark leave for the cave pouting like kids.

------

Duke: Hey, Black Canary?

Black Canary: Yes Duke?

Duke: I'm sorry to do this on such short notice, but I'm very worried about Dick and Tim.

Black Canary: Why?

Duke: Well, Tim keeps claiming that Dick is out to get him. Something about Dick messing with his coffee? And Dick feels like he's just being attacked for no reason and is worried about Tim's health. Is there anyway you could intervene?

Black Canary, looking sighing and looking exhausted: Usually I have three days of preparation before dealing with bats.

Duke: I know it's just-

Duke gestures to Tim and Dick rolling on the floor fighting.

Duke: They really need help.

Black Canary: Alright, I'll see what I can do.

Black Canary attempts to intervene only to get pulled into the fight. Now the three of them are tangled in a huge, confusing fight, that's filled with yelling and hair pulling.

------

Duke: Damian! Quick!

Damian: What is it Thomas.

Duke: I think somethings wrong with Dick and Tim and maybe even Black Canary. They're all fighting and won't stop! Can you help me contain them so that we can figure out what's going on?

Damian: Fine. I shall help.

Duke: Ok, just try to herd them into this containment cell.

Damian joins the fight managing to get everyone, including himself, into the containment cell. As Damian is trying to leave Duke closes the cell. Damian angrily yells and bangs on the sound proof walls.

Duke: What? Sorry, can't hear you! My hand slipped!

------

Wonder Woman: Very well done Signal.

Duke, acting innocent: Hm?

Wonder Woman: You tricked Red Robin into scaring Green Lantern away, then into fighting Nightwing. Once that fight broke out you tricked Red Hood into uploading a video to the internet using the Superman's credentials. By uploading that video he caused both himself and Superman to face Batman's wrath. You also used the fight to trick Stephanie into annoying Aquaman to the point of leaving. Then you involved Black Canary in the fight, which was her downfall. And, as a final touch, you managed to get Robin into the fight and trapped all in a containment cell. You successfully eliminated 9 foes with one trick.

Duke: You mean 11.

Wonder Woman: What?

Duke: 11. You see, I didn't trick Red Robin, I tricked Nightwing. I had a week to prepare. In that week I convinced Dick that Tim needed to cut back on the caffeine and that Dick should help by switching all of Tim's coffee with decaf. I also convinced him to hide that coffee in the watchtower, in Green Lantern's room. So that was all true.

Wonder Woman: But, that still does not make 11?

Duke: It does. Because This morning I moved the coffee. I replaced the Flashes decaf with Tim's ultra caffeinated coffee. You see Tim has it specially manufactured to increase the caffeine levels. And, while Flash doesn't usually drink his coffee in the morning, he's always running late and forgets, he does drink coffee during training breaks. Which is now. So in about five minutes we will have an incredibly caffeinated speedster in the Watchtower. And since you're the only one around right now with a chance of catching him, that's your problem.

Right as Duke finishes Flash runs by, majorly hyped up on caffeine.

Duke: Checkmate.

------

Martian Manhunter: It appears that I am the last remaining League member.

Duke: Yeah, I don't really understand this tradition but apparently every Robin ends it by picking a favorite league member.

Martian Manhunter: Out of all the League members, why have you chosen me?

Duke: Your smart and have a lot of cool powers. Also, I dunno, I hear you sometimes feel like an outsider with the league. Cause, the whole martian thing. And I know it's not the same but, sometimes I feel like an outsider with the bats, being the only meta and all.

Martian Manhunter: You have chosen me so that we may bond over our lack of connections?

Duke: Uhhhh, yeah?

Martian Manhunter: Hm. Very well, I assume that this is your “Robin Weakness”. Apparently every Robin has one.

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

<- Previous |

[asterjennifer]

© @khaizusan on Tumblr

Mystictober 2022 | Day 14 - Vanderwood

Summary: Just a little look into the depths of the work as an agent.

─────◇◇◇★◇◇◇─────

“Left hall's clean. Be quick.”

They're not new to this; the tension suffocating the air as the time on the clock mockingly moved forward in slow motion. Times like these happened in heaps, which didn't expand their amount of calm; on the contrary. The more they do it the more it felt like they're getting caught.

At least it's that way for Vanderwood, he couldn't tell for his partner. The redhead sneaked around the corner as adviced and wore an rather unusual expression of seriousness on his young face. The older agent narrowed his eyes at the screen after hacking into the security cameras.

Why was he set up with this guy again? How's he a breathing nuance outside of missions who couldn't keep his place clean for longer than a few hours? Yet he's one of the best ranked agents in the entire agency? It's almost like a curse, Vanderwood thought in between all the research.

It's not easy keeping up with the position of every person who attended the Gala in the first place. However, knowing that the security room's only a couple feet away from the main hall's entry surely had nothing of a relaxing effect on the one wearing a fake costume.

“Where now?” Saeoyung asked, whispering into the mic attached to his ear. Vanderwood turned to the left in order to type other camera views into the keyboard. “Left side, third entrance.”

A nod to witness on the display before Saeyoung moved again to finally leave that place. With the work done, all they needed to do's finding an exit without getting caught in the process. Sounded so much easier than it truly was. Vanderwood put both hands onto the wooden surface then.

Although it's not the most dangerous task they've ever taken on, the fact the people could wander wherever they desired made it a unbelievable pain in the ass. He grabbed the phone that's vibrating, the charger no more plugged into the computer. The information collected must've been enough satisfaction for their boss.

Hopefully. “Vanderwood, where next?” Saeoyung demanded through their only way of communication. The older agent checked the other corners and noticed a couple coming down the right side of the corridor.

It made him gasp in silence. “Run up now and get to the left asap. There should be the exit!” He hissed unintentionally; yet Saeyoung took it as a warning and set his feet into motion.

Vanderwood watched the redhead sprint down the hall, almost getting in the view of the woman and man who just came around the corner of the wall. Luckily it's in time for them; he made another X in the calendar. Another day where the other gets to live.

“What about you? You good?” Saeyoung wondered while passing through the door, successfully out of that enormous building.

The other agent smiled to himself when rolling his eyes by the concern. “Worry about yourself first, idiot.” He muttered, pushing the phone back into his pocket. “I'll catch up in three minutes.”

And with that, he cut off the communication. Vanderwood pressed his ear to the door; hearing nothing but the fainted sound of music playing. Awful Classic Melodies. The sight he looked out for and pretty much luck as it's always the case.

Using his shoulder to push the door, he wasted no time taking the opposite way Saeyoung went. Given the positions had changed again; Vanderwood had no choice but plan out his own escape route.

Only plagued by minimum changes of course; he arrived at the back door soon afterwards. Still in one piece and already welcomed by the redhead who threw his fist into the air while the older one in the small team's gasping for air after running too much for his own taste.

“Woho~ We won once again, Miss Vanderwood! High five!” Saeoyung held out both hands, but the other agent growled annoyed before slapping them away. “Don't celebrate until we're back at the base, will you??“

“Ahh, alright. If that makes my maid happy!”

[yemilnisu]

HAIKYUU BOYS AS YOUR ROOMMATE

characters are arranged alphabetically

contains some manga spoilers⚠️

AKAASHI is the librarian roommate. the amount of book and manga he owns is astronomical, it occupies almost his entire room and even half of the living room. but you ain’t complaining since he let’s you read whatever manga or book you want.

ASAHI is the passive-aggressive roommate. he’ll leave notes at the fridge to tell you what’s bothering him, he’s just to shy to confront you face-to-face about them. then he’ll feel extra guilty for doing that but you assures him that if he’s more comfortable with confronting you that way then it’s completely fine.

ATSUMU is the outgoing roommate. he likes to party and always have his teammates over, they’ll either have a small party or as simple as having a sleepover. luckily, his teammates are hot so you don’t really mind having them over.

BOKUTO is the food thief roommate. he tends to forget that he is not the only one living in the apartment and always assumes that all the food in the fridge was his. but he makes up for it when you asked what happened to the ramen you bought by always ordering or cooking you some food.

DAICHI is the strict roommate. not in a intimidating or bossy way but in a good way. you’re glad that he suggested to make some rules and regulations around the apartment because you don’t want to accidentally invade his privacy or offend him in anyway and same goes for him.

HINATA is the ghost roommate. like the only time you had a long conversation with this sunshine was the day he moved and after that he was basically gone. he’s either out practicing volleyball or at his teammate’s place.

IWAIZUMI is the gym junkie roommate. you see him more often in the gym than in the apartment and even have some weights inside his room, well you can’t blame him being an athletic trainer he also need to take care of his body. one time you saw him topless and let me say, the amount of time he spends at the gym paid off.

KAGEYAMA is the sporty roommate. one of the corner of his room is full of stuff related to volleyball, it will either be medals, trophies or simply the ball itself. you already know that he’s still awake when you hear someone tossing or playing with a ball late at night.

KENMA is the hybrid roommate. he is a combination of a quiet and a noisy roommate. he himself is quiet, you were always the first one to start the conversation and break the awkward atmosphere. but when he starts his stream, the sound of his game and him yelling and cursing at the person he was playing with was unbearable.

KITA is the perfect roommate. he’s respectful and understands boundaries. when you were just planning on washing the dishes, he was already there washing them for you.

KONOHA is the messy roommate. you can count on him with doing the chores and other things in the apartment but when it comes to himself and his room, it’s just pure chaos. if you hadn’t mentioned how chaotic his room was he wouldn’t have thought it was messy.

KUROO is the tutor roommate. if you ever need someone to help you study or need someone to explain the lecture, the guy you live with is the answer. he’ll help you with studying and even let you borrow his textbooks with a little bit of teasing from time-to-time of course.

LEV is the cat-obsessed roommate. he have cat stuffed toys on his bed and some cat pictures hung on the wall. even though it was prohibited, he would always try to sneak a cat inside the apartment. previously, the landlord caught him red-handed and threatened to kick him out if she catches him again.

NISHINOYA is the noisy roommate. he maybe small but the amount of noise he makes make up for the lack of his height. like every midnight you can hear constant rumble and shifting in his room then followed by him yelling, “rolling thunder!”

OIKAWA is the bossy roommate. the two of you shares the rent but for some reason he treats you like you’re he’s maid. he thinks that he’s the supreme ruler just because he was the first one there and of course you wouldn’t let anyone treat you like that so you frankly confronted him about it, to your luck he stopped ordering you around.

OSAMU is the foodie roommate. you will never see the refrigerator empty, it’s always full of food. not because he was addicted to them, okay maybe that’s a small factor but the main reason was because he owns a restaurant.

SAKUSA is the clean freak roommate. i mean seriously it’s sakusa, what did you expect? he wants every corner of the room shiny, clean. he’ll have a general cleaning at least once a week. not one time did you ran out of lysol. you’re always in charge of taking out the trash because he will never do it.

SUGAWARA is the mom roommate. he’s always checking up on you and when you were sick he’s the first one to step in and took care of you. will shower you with compliments and help you pick out an outfit.

SUNA is the recluse roommate. he never ever leave his room. one time, you knocked at his door because he’s been inside for three whole days and you were worried, you thought he was dead or something bad happened.

TANAKA is the taken roommate. nothing can make you feel more single and alone than him and kiyoko snuggling next to each other while watching a movie. like seriously can’t they buy their own apartment? not everyone have a love life you know?

TENDOU is the borrower roommate. you’ll always hear him knocking on your door and borrowing something you own. honestly, you’re not sure if he owns anything because everything he use belongs to you.

TERUSHIMA is the nudist roommate. he’s hot and he knows it. the first time it happened was a complete accident but now he is purposely doing it. he’ll walk out of the bathroom topless saying he forgot his clothes in his room or some other lame excuse. what can he say? the sight of you getting flustered and nervous around him was amusing.

TSUKISHIMA is the intimidating roommate. whenever he sees that you didn’t do your chores, he’ll give ‘the look’ until you feel uncomfortable and do them. he established a lot of ground rules and it’s basically telling you to say away from him as far as possible. he always have his door closed because he doesn’t want you to see his dino collection.

USHIJIMA is the quiet roommate. you will most likely to have a heart attack because of this guy. when you turn around to walk to the living room he’ll be there standing behind you, waiting for you to finish using the sink, all tall and scary.

YAKU is the easy-going roommate. he’ll go with the flow on whatever you want to do or if you invited him to watch a movie with you, he’ll do so. whether you want your friends over he’s fine with it.

YAMAGUCHI is the shy roommate. even after months of being his roommate, he’s still very timid around you. he won’t watch the tv because you were already there and he thinks that he’ll just bother you and make you uncomfortable. but he’ll slowly warm up to you just give him time.

YAMAMOTO is the prankster roommate. you’re always so cautious with every step you take because you never know when it’ll happen. once, he put plastic wrappers at the hallway and you not wearing your contacts, stumble to them, spilling the newly brewed coffee all over you and your pajama.

[m00nchild-02]

Miss Mafia | jhs (m)

pairing: Hoseok x reader, Taehyung x reader (He's just a childhood friend, no love interest)

rating: 18+

word count: 15.5k sorry not sorry :)

genre: mafia au, strangers to lovers, secret agent, you are a mafia boss

summary: It's not easy to be the boss of one of the biggest mafias in South-Korea. And surely not as a woman. When a secret agent got discovered by one of your people and brought to you, you would've never dared to guess he would turn your world upside down in multiple ways.

warnings: praising, big d*ck Hoseok, oral (m receiving), hard sex, dom Hoseok, sub reader, v penetration, no protection (reader has an implant so she can't get pregnant. Make always sure you use protection guys!), also a bit of fluff at the end

music recommendations: - Lacrimosa - Mozart - Symphony no 9 - Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven - more songs on this playlist (youtube)

- https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1yXNkU806Y7EZruvrbl4g9?si=76931ed2ebae4c2c (spotify)

a/n: Again back with a story! I'm sorry for any grammar errors. It is such a big one shot. I'll probably proof read it later so I'm again sorry for any grammar mistakes in this ff! Just ignore it please :')

I was originally thinking of making this a jungkook ff but I eventually ended up making it a J-Hope ff instead. I think he would do a great job as main character here ;) Give it a lot of support and

enjoy reading!

masterlist

Lacrimosa from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Such a pleasant song to listen to with a good glass of wine. You take a sip of the dark red liquid as you softly move your head to the music playing through your boxes. This is how you liked to spend your time alone. A good glass of wine in one hand and the remote of your boxes in your other hand putting on some of your favourite classical music. Like Lacrimosa from Mozart or Beethoven's 9th symphony. All great composers with excellent music. You smiled as you felt your body relax after the long stressful day you had today. Your placed your red tinted lips on the glass for another sip of your wine you would never get to taste.

"Miss!"

You let out a deep sigh as you turned around in your chair towards the front of your desk. One of the maids walked inside and bowing at you. You gave her an unpleasant look. "Didn't I told the staff clearly not to come into my study for the rest of the day?" You asked the woman in front of you who kept looking down, probably not daring to look you in the eyes right now. Everyone knew you could be a real furry when you got angry or irritated. You can ask the last butler you had, after dropping a glass of whine on you by accident. It costed him a finger because you accidentally dropped a knife on his hand.

You softened the volume of the music before speaking again. "Tell me what's going on. It better be good if you don't wanna lose your job." You said coldly, don't sparing her a glance as you emptied the bottle into your glass. "I-It's about the issue from last week mam." She said. A bit of fear could be heard in her voice.

"Go on" You said. "They caught him miss." She said. You looked at the girl in front of you and suddenly began to laugh. The girl looked up for the first time, confusion all written over her little face. You turned towards the painting of your father on the right wall of the study and smiled, raising your glass. "See dad? The company is in great hands. I told you I would get him." You turned back towards the girl, that smile/smirk still on your face.

"Tell them to bring him to la grande salle. I'll be there in a minute." You told her. The maid bowed and then left the room closing the door on her way out. " You chuckled as you licked your lips. "Turns out this day is gonna be better than I expected..." You said, turning up the volume of the boxes and taking another sip of your glass of wine.

A few minutes later and your men walked in dragging a guy with them. His hands and feet tied together, his clothes covered in bloodstains and his hair a complete mess. You leaned forward in you chair as they dropped the man right at your feed. You were currently in your grand salle, how you like to call it, where you handled business of all kinds. From having meetings, recruiting new members till having a talk with bastards like the guy in front of you right now.

"Well, well, well... What do we have here." You said, letting out a small laugh. "Jung Hoseok, isn't it? Secret agent at the National Intelligence Service. They say you're one of the best in your profession. Sad that reputation will end today." You said, leaning back in your chair, snapping your fingers as a sign for the maids to leave the room. Leaving only you, Hoseok and two of your bodyguards. You threw the papers that were in your hand onto the table next to you, the pages falling open on some pictures of Hoseok and his meetings with the NIS.

"I must admit Mister Jung, I'm quite impressed. You have been undercover in my companies for five years. My father always knew there was a spy between us but he never had the chance to catch you." You looked away, staring into the distance as you said your next sentence. "Caught a bullet right through the head. Very tragic." You looked back at the man in front of you. He was still looking down, not saying a word or sparing you a small glance. Was he even still alive? Anyways, you still went on with your little speech. "But times change. After my father's death I took over and look! It's been less than a year and I already caught you."

Suddenly Hoseok started to laugh. You looked at him confused as he slowly tilted his head so you could look at his face for the first time today. His cheeks and upper lip were bruised and a dried stream of blood could be seen under his nose. He looked you right in the eyes. "Took you long enough to figure out it was me." He said. "But congrats. I'm happy you can finally make daddy proud." He mocked, spitting some blood on the white marble floor. His words and actions made your head boil. How dare he speak so lowly about your father. The bodyguards stood read to walk over and beat the shit out of him but you raised your hand stopping them.

You took a deep breath, trying to keep your cool. "Listen here," You said, getting off of your chair, slowly walking around the men on the ground before making a halt behind him and squatting down. You pulled out a blade out of your pocket and held it against his neck as you pulled his head backwards. He let out a painful groan making you smirk. You leaned in closer towards his ear before saying the following words, "You can say anything you want Mister Jung but know the more shit comes out of your mouth the less pleasant your stay at my villa will be before I release your soul from your body, understood?" You said, your mouth dangerously close to his ear.

The man didn't seemed intimidated as he scoffed. "Bring it on Missy. Good luck with keeping me locked here." He said.

You stood back up, a bit overwhelmed by his bold words. You walked towards his front, wanting to see his face. "You got a big mouth for a guy who just has been beaten the hell out of." You said. "Maybe I should just kill you here right now. Makes it a lot easier for the both of us." You said as one of the bodyguards handed you a gun. You loaded it and pointed it towards his head.

He looked you right in the eye as you held the trigger ready to shoot. What surprised you the most was that he was smiling. Why was he smiling? This guy made you so confused. "Not the brag princess but-"

"Don't call me that!" You yelled at him with gritted teeth.

"Ok my lady." He said teasingly. "What I wanted to say is you can't kill me." He looked quite relaxed when he said that.

You scoffed. "What are you talking about? I can kill you wherever I want, whenever I want! Just watch me."

He shook his head. "Sorry to burst that bubble of yours but you can't. You see... I've been undercover for 5 whole years. I know a lot about your company and you." He said, smirking, never looking away from your eyes. "I have been in every building, every city and every warehouse of yours."

"And what's your point?" You asked, getting annoyed of his talking. "To make it short, I have placed bombs and dynamite all over the place. If you kill me you'll never get to know the password and won't be able to deactivate them. So say good bye to your drugs, weapons and men... my lady. Bye, bye money." He said before laughing again.

"And why should I believe you?" You asked. "Busan, the warehouse at Ilgon street, number 45 (a/n: I made the street name up. For people who are wondering.). Look under the floor in the janitor's closet." He said.

You heart raised and your breathing became more rapid as you looked at one of the guards. "Go check if it's true what he's saying." You told him. This couldn't be true. If that bomb was really there then he probably said the truth and there would be more. That would also mean the end of your little mafia life and your source of income. That could never happen, not in a million years. Your family has worked so had for all this and now you're finally almost at the top, yes almost, he would barge in and ruin everything. You couldn't let that happen.

You looked at the guard as he finished the call. "They just found two boxes full of dynamite in the basement under the janitor's closet." The guard confirmed what Hoseok just said. "They say there are timers placed on them. They can only be removed by password, cutting a wire would mean the end." He said.

You brought your hand to your mouth and started to bite at your nails as you paced back and forth. "How much time do we have?" You asked. "7 days, mam." The guard answered.

7 days... You had 7 days to figure out that damn password and get rid of these bombs. But would you really be able to dismantle them on time? "Get Taehyung and put him to work." You told the guard before he disappeared to go get your hacker to fix the job. "You," You said, pointing towards the other guard. Lock Mister Jung up in the basement and make sure he doesn't escape." You said. "You can just call me Hoseok my lady. No need for the formalities." He said, giving you a wink. "Oh, shut up you. You're in no position to talk right now."

He laughed. "Right now I'm in a much better position than you would think love." The man came over to Hoseok and picked him up brutally from the ground. "Good luck with finding the password!" He said, before the doors closed, leaving you all alone in the room. You hoped Taehyung would be able to find it because you weren't in the mood of talking to that asshole again.

"Have you already found something?"

It had been 3 days since your encounter with Hoseok and him telling you about the bombs. 3 days of your hacker Taehyung trying to find a possible password to deactivate them. "I'm sorry y/n. Still nothing." Taehyung was one of the few people that could call you by your real name. You practically grew up with the boy so of course you got some kind of bound with each other.

Taehyung was typing all sorts of things on his computer while something was loading. "Whoever placed these bombs knows damn well how to use them. I can't crack into the system, nor can I track them or dismantle them without the password." He said. "Who did your father mess with?" He asked, his eyes never leaving the screen. "The secret agents agency of South-Korea." You said softly while biting on your nails again. It was a bad habit you did whenever you got stress.

Taehyung pulled at your hand so you couldn't bite on them anymore. "You should really learn how to stop doing that." He told you, looking at you for the first time after you entered the room.

You sighed. Taehyung was not successful in finding the password, the troops you sent hadn't found a single bomb yet except for the one Hoseok told you about and tracing was also out of the question. You were really losing hope. "Just keep looking." You told Taehyung before leaving him behind in his little room.

You were getting tired of all of this and decided to distract your mind a bit. And what is better then visiting your favourite casino when you are bored and stressed? So you went to your room and dressed up for a night out.

Little did you knew a surprise was waiting for you the other day...

"Mam! Mam!"

The door of your bedroom opened, a maid running inside out of breath as she stood at your bed, bowing first before waiting for your permission for her to speak again.

You groaned as you heard the woman storming in your room. Your head pounding because of the amount you drank the evening before at the casino. You slowly opened your eyes, hand on your head, holding it because of the pain. You gave the woman an angry look. "Speak" You snapped at her.

"M-Mam, T-The prisoner! He- He-"

"He what?!" You yelled, tired of the stuttering and hesitation in her speech.

She swallowed before talking again. "He escaped..." She said softly but clear enough for you to hear.

"WHAT??!!"

You made your way down the halls of your mansion while you wrapped your bathrobe around your body. While you made your way downstairs a few of your men were running upstairs but halted once they saw you. They stared at you with wide eyes while you stood there furious looking down on them. "I'll ask you once..." You said as you slowly walked down until you were face to face with the head of the guards. "What happened?"

"We were guarding him like you asked and suddenly someone of the kitchen came to bring us food. They said it was a treat for our hard work. After we ate it... We blacked out. When we woke up again the door was open and he was gone." The man said, looking down.

You clenched your teeth and slapped him right in the face. "YOU IDIOTS! How could you let him escape! I asked one thing of you and you couldn't even do that!!" You yelled at all of them. They all looked down like puppies that were being scolded at. "You're all useless!" You said as you made your way further down the stairs. They all bowed at you one by one as you made your way down.

You took a few corners before ending up in front of Taehyung's bedroom. You knocked, not waiting for an answer, and walked in. "Taehyung I need you to check the CCTV footage of last night. That fucking agent escaped." You said pacing around in Taehyung's room while the boy sat up, sleepily rubbing his eyes. "How late is it?" He asked groggily as he looked at you with puffed cheeks, bad hair and small eyes. "It's 8 am." You told him.

He sighed. "Give me a few minutes to wake up and then I'll go check ok?" You nodded. "Ok, I'll give you 15 min. Not more." You said and you walked out.

Like promised, in 15 minutes Taehyung was already sitting behind his desk returning back to the footage of yesterday evening. You saw the images of you walking out of the house, ready to go to the casino. "You can skip past that." You told him. He skipped a bit forward until you told him to stop. "Stop! right there." You said pointing at the screen. A man with a hood and a mask on walked in the shadows towards the back of the house. Taehyung checked one of the camera's at the back and you saw the men slipping in through the back door where the kitchen is. "He must be the one who drugged the food of the guards."

"They were drugged?" He asked and you nodded. "These morons thought they got food because of their hard work." You answered him. "Now go to the footage of the basement." Taehyung did as you said and showed the images of the sleeping men and the hooded man breaking the chain, letting Hoseok out. "He must have informed someone somehow where he was." Taehyung said.

You sighed. "I need that password. I can't dismantle these bombs without him. I don't like to admit it but... I need him. I need Hoseok." Taehyung turned towards you in his seat. So what are you going to do now?

You thought for a second. Indeed, what were you going to do? You knew everyone would fall for Hoseok's tricks all over again. Except for you. You would never fall for his charms, right? "I'll go after him." You then suddenly decided. Taehyung looked at you in shock. "Are you sure?" He asked. "You got men to do the dirty work for you." He stated.

You nodded. "I know but I can't trust them anymore. Those idiots already let him escape once, I can't let them do it a second time." You told him. "Check the CCTV's of the streets and every nearby city. I need to know where he is."

"Sure will." Taehyung said before going to work again.

While Taehyung worked on tracing Hoseok's location you went towards the dining room to grab some breakfast. Because of all this drama this morning you haven't even had the time to get some food into your system. Your stomach was already growling as you sat down at the filled table, set for two. Two? You may ask. Yes two. Today was the day your second hand would come back from his yearly vacation. He was one of the most trusted men into your house.

His name was Marcus and besides being your second hand he was also your dad's best friend. He has always been by his side and helped him in any way possible. After he died Marcus swore loyal to you and said he would do anything in his might to protect you. So the least you could do for him was to treat him as one of your own show him your gratitude.

While you were peacefully enjoying your meal the doors suddenly opened, revealing a man in suit. You smiled at the man immediately recognising him. "Marcus! Welcome back." You welcomed the man as he walked over towards you. He bowed at you before sitting down at the table where you were already seated. "It feels good to be back mam." He said, smiling before taking a look at the breakfast in front of him. "Well this is sure a great come back." He told you Smith amused eyes. "Please, enjoy yourself." You said. "Take whatever you want." You told him. "I'll sure will." He answered before digging in.

"So how was your trip?" You asked him. "Pretty good. Got some time to relax." He said. "How were things going here while I was gone?" He asked you.

You sighed. "It has been an entire rollercoaster. Oh Marcus," You said dramatically. "How happy I am you're back. I have so much to tell you." After you told him everything Marcus looked at you in shock. "You finally caught him?!" He asked surprised and you nodded. "Kind of, but he escaped yesterday evening while I was gone. These idiots can't do anything right around here anymore..."

"Only if I had been here to stop all this, huh?" He said teasingly and you nodded. "You know you're the best." You told him.

You ate and talked for a good hour before Marcus decided to go see his colleges and try to lessen the damage that had already been caused by Hoseok's escape. You really hoped he could do something about all this.

That evening you also went to go see Taehyung again to check on the situation. "You already found his whereabouts?" You asked the man in front of you. He turned his chair around and smiled at you. "Even better." He said licking his lips and clicking on one single button on his keyboard a whole screen popping up full of information. "I know which city he is in, which district and even in which building!" He told you, all proud of himself.

You walked over and stared at the screen with big eyes. "Really?! You are the best Tae!" You said, wrapping your arms around him in a big hug. The man laughed. "Alright, alright! You're welcome Y/n-ie" He said as you let go again.

"God, I could kiss you right now! You bring me so good news right now!" You yelled at him and he laughed. "You're welcome and about the kiss... no thanks." He said, showing off his boxy smile afterwards. "Go find me a plain ticket for the first flight tomorrow and tell Marcus he has the leadership until I'm back. This girl is going to Busan for some business..."

"Yes mam!"

And so the next day you flew all from Seoul to Busan. You took a taxi from the airport to your hotel while checking the info about Hoseok's whereabouts on your tablet. You mailed Taehyung, telling him you had a safe flight and to thank him again for his good work. He would definitely get a raise once you got back. You smiled as you closed your tablet and looked outside as you drove past the chore. "How long until we reach the hotel sir?" You asked the driver. "We're almost there miss! Just a few more minutes." He said. "Good" You answered, opening your window a bit and closing your eyes, enjoying the fresh sea air filling the car.

After a few more minutes you finally arrived at your destination. A five star hotel Taehyung booked for you. You got out of the taxi, payed the driver and walked inside the building as some staff took your bags out of the cab. You walked towards the counter and asked for your room. Of course it was the penthouse. You knew you could trust Taehyung. He always knew what you wanted. Once you got the key you went towards the elevator and went upstairs. You already felt completely drained from the trip towards where you were now.

As you arrived you walked towards the end off the hall and opened the door with your key card. A big smile as you entered the room. "Finally some rest." You said as you stretched your neck and walked towards the bed. But as soon as you walked through the door two men grabbed you by the arms. You tried to scream and break free from their grasp but it was no use. One of them held a cloth against your mouth and nose with some chloroform on it making you stop struggling after a while and falling into a deep slumber.

While you were unconscious the men dragged you outside the room, making sure no one saw you. They took you inside the elevator where someone was already waiting for your arrival. It was the lady from the counter that gave you your room earlier. "Let's move fast. Once you get out of the elevator go immediately towards the right. Go through the last door and that should lead you towards the back of the hotel. The van is waiting there." She said. Once they got you in the van they drove off to who knows where.

A few hours later you woke up with an incredible headache, as a side effect of the chloroform. You groaned as you opened your eyes, white light shining all around you. Once your eyes got adjusted to the light that came from big windows all around you you could also make out some silhouettes. "Our little princess is finally awake." You heard a voice. The voice sounded awfully familiar. But you couldn't put a name on it just yet.

You tried to move your hands but quickly figured out they were bounded behind your back. Same went for your legs. Tied against the legs of a chair. You looked back in front of you and the silhouette stood up from his place and walked closer until it was close enough. It squatted down in front of you and now you were able to identify the person clearly. "Hoseok..?" You said with unbelief.

He smirked at you. "Good morning princess." He said smiling. "Hope you slept well." Then you noticed the pain in your neck, shoulders and lower back. How long had you been tied to this chair for? You asked yourself. "You've been out for a pretty long time." Hoseok answered before you could even ask. "I hope my men weren't too rough on you." He said letting out a chuckle and standing back up to walk back towards his chair. He picked up an envelope from next to him and gave it to the man on his left. "Here, split it between you and the other guy. You did a great job." He told the man before he left the room, leaving only you and Hoseok.

"W-Where am I?" You asked. Your voice still a bit husk. "Is this xxx street? Your hide out here in Busan after you escaped?" You asked making Hoseok only laugh.

"Oh you wish sweetheart. Busan was just a distraction to get that tech guy of yours and your men off of my tail. We're in Ulsan right now." He told you. "I must admit... Your men are good at finding me but remember, I'm always a step ahead." He said. You looked at him and scoffed. "Asshole..." You muttered under your breath. "I heard that." Hoseok answered.

"Good, glad you know." You told him. He sighed and shoved his chair a bit closer before leaning forward, his arms resting on his thighs. "Tss, even bounded to a chair you still are a furry." He said. "Do you know why I brought you here Miss y/n?" You stayed quiet, clenching your teeth. "I brought you here because I got a proposition for you."

You scoffed. "And what may that be? You're gonna turn yourself in to me and let me torture you?" You asked nonchalantly.

He shook his head and hissed. "Aish, such a beautiful face but such a dirty mouth." He said, leaning back again. "You know the Choi clan right?" He asked. You scoffed. "Of course I know the Choi clan. Who doesn't? They're the biggest mafia out here in South-Korea. My father's mafia's greatest enemy."

Hoseok nodded. "Indeed. We've been already trying for years to stop them but without success."

"And what does all this got to do with me?" You asked him, not impressed by his little talk about the Choi's.

"I need your help." He said, a serious gaze on his face. "I need you to tell us everything you know about the Choi clan and help us arrest them. There is no better view over a mafia as the view of a mafia boss itself." You looked aside, out of the window. Now only noticing you were at a house right next to some low cliffs ending at the sea. You laughed. "And what's in that for me? I can help you but you're probably gonna arrest me afterwards anyways. So why should I bother?" You looked back at him.

He nodded, following your path of thinking. "I knew you would say that. Here's the deal. You help us destroy the Choi clan and I guarantee you won't go to prison. It's that simple." He said, standing up and walking around your chair. You wanted to say something but Hoseok was first. "And I know you're gonna refuse but think for a second... You have no where to run y/n." He stood now right behind you. He leaned in closer towards your right ear. "I got bombs all over your places." Then he switched to your left ear. "And I got you, tied to chair here right now. So either you're going to help or I turn you in right now and then you can say bye bye to your little mafia life." He said.

You scoffed. You wanted to protest but you knew he was right. He had you completely in the palm of his hand. There was no escape from him. "I give you three days starting today to decide whether you're in our out. In that time," He said, cutting the rope that was holding your hands together. "You are free to stand and walk wherever you want but," He said, turing towards your front and also cutting through the ropes at your feet. "You don't go off this domain. You'll stay at the house or at least in its presence. I have guards all over this place so don't you dare escape. Cuz things won't end well if you do" He spoke lowly, standing up while you pulled your hands to your chest, rubbing your sour wrists. The skin a deep red colour from where the rope had been a while ago.

You watched as he walked towards the door at the back of the room. "I'll stay here too. Come see me whenever you made your decision. I hope you enjoy your stay here." He turned his head towards you one last time, giving you a big grin before turning back around and walking out of the room leaving you all alone.

Already one day and one night had past and you still hadn't made your decision. You know going in on Hoseok's decision was your only option so far but you couldn't stop thinking if there maybe was another way. If your men maybe could get you out of here without Hoseok's deal involving. Should you go accept Hoseok's deal? Maybe. Where you stubborn? ... Hell yes. You don't like to lose and give in to others. So this time you also didn't want to just give into him. You couldn't. You were the boss of a big mafia! You shouldn't bow for just anyone.

That day you didn't talk to Hoseok at all. You did see each other sometimes and ate meals together but that would always be in complete silence. You expected Hoseok to annoy you but surprisingly he didn't. After lunch Hoseok left the house for the first time since you were here leaving you all alone. (The bodyguards are still there so dw, you can't escape that easy ;)).

That night when Hoseok came back he was so frustrated. You could see it at his behaviour as you were both eating dinner together at a rather late hour, you must admit. "What's wrong?" You asked. If you had to stay here for a few days you could at least make it a bit less awkward between the two of you.

Hoseok looked up at you. Surprised that you actually started a conversation with him after ignoring his existence in this house for at least 24 hours. "So you haven't lost your voice yet? That's a relief." He joked.

You sighed. "I'm serious Hoseok. What's wrong?" You tried again, trying to be as friendly as possible es hard as it was. He looked at you confused as for why you would care for him. "It's nothing you should concern about." He stated before starting to eat again.

You sighed. "Look, I know we're enemies and We both know we can't stand each other for one bit but... If I need to stay here for the few days ahead I want to make it at least a bit more comfortable for both of us. So..." You swallowed your proud and stubbornness as you said the following lines. "So, if something is wrong then please don't hesitate to come talk to me. I'm here for you ok?" You cringed at stating your own words but this was something you needed to do. Not only to make it more comfortable but also to earn Hoseok's trust. Maybe it could come in handy later on. You never know.

Hoseok nodded at your request. "I will princess." You wanted to snap at him giving you that nickname again but you quickly figured out you better shouldn't. Hoseok knew you were holding yourself in for not going all furry on him and he loved it. He loved making you all worked up and angry. Besides that fact that you were a dangerous mafia boss you were also a very pretty woman. No denying that. And seeing you all worked up and going all furry on him made him feel some kind of things.

"I'm a bit tired." Hoseok stated after a while. "I'll go get some sleep. You should do the same." He said, shoving his chair backwards and getting up from his seat. "And don't forget to think about my proposition Y/n. It's a very good and reasonable deal if you think about it throughly. I hope you can state me your decision tomorrow. But for now, goodnight." He said and then left towards his room.

After you were done eating you also left towards your room to get some good night rest. You sat onto your bed after putting on some sleep wear. You sighed as you thought about your situation. You really felt stuck. You couldn't contact anyone since you didn't have your phone. Hoseok must have hidden it when you were unconscious. your men also haven't been looking for you yet either... Did they even knew in what kind of situation you were right now? Did Tae knew? Would he be worried right now since you haven't texted him yet in these 2 days you've already gone missing?

You let out a deep sigh as questions kept filling your mind. It made you crazy! But suddenly all worries were blown away, out of your mind, as you felt two arms wrap around your frame from behind and two lips placing a delicate kiss onto your neck. Your eyes widened in shock. You quickly looked at your side only to lock eyes with someone you didn't expect.

Hoseok.

He softly smiled at you. "Hey princess." He said, smiling softly. "W-What are you doing here?!" You asked while getting out of the man's grip and standing up from the bed. Why was he here? Why did he touched you like that? Why did he acted so... sweet?

Hoseok tilted his head to the side and looked you up and down, smirking and biting his lip. "Couldn't sleep." He said.

You looked confused at him. He couldn't sleep? So why did he came here then? Out of all places why here? In your room? "So?" You said.

He let out a small chuckle and stood up from the bed, making slow steps forwards, closer to you, making you taking steps backwards until your body hit the wall. No where to run now.

Hoseok placed his hands at both sides of your head, against the wall. "Listen up my lady, I can't sleep and it seems like you can't sleep either, so what do you say about having some fun together hm?" He asked, his eyes scanning your face for some kind of reaction before resting on your perfect shaped lips. God, it drove him wild. Those delicious luscious lips...

You looked at him in shock. Was he really asking what you thought he was asking?! Was he referring to sex? "You tried to slap him in the face but he caught your hand on time and pinned it against the wall making you gasp. You must admit it was kinda hot, seeing his fast reflexes.

He pushed closer against you, one of his legs pushed between yours, his knee against your princess parts, his chest pressed against yours. You swallowed as you looked into his deep brown eyes. You could see they were filled with lust. Completely the opposite of how you both would look at each other a day ago.

God, it made you feel things... That lust filled gaze of him. And his knee, pressed against your core didn't made it any easier. "What will it be love? I don't have all night. I know we're supposed to be enemies but I remember a certain person saying we should get more comfortable around each other and that I was always welcome. Do you still remember that princess?" He asked you and you nodded. You didn't knew what was wrong with you but Hoseok's sudden dominant behaviour got the best of you.

He leaned even more closer towards you, your noses brushing against each other, his lips so close to yours and yet they didn't touch. "What do you want princess? Tell me..." He said, and with those final last words you lost it.

"You" You answered him almost immediately. Without hesitation Hoseok started to kiss you and you surrendered completely to him. You kissed him back and Hoseok let go of your hand that was still pinned against the wall. Your arms fell onto his shoulders. You pulled him closer, deepening the kiss some more, your fingers playing with the locks at the back of his hair. Hoseok bite and sucked at your bottom lip until you finally opened your mouth allowing him inside. Hoseok slipped his tongue inside and started to play with yours. You both moaned into the kiss as it got really steamy and messy. "Fuck Y/n- I didn't knew you could kiss that well." Hoseok stated, breathing heavily between kisses. You smirked. "Had lots of practise in the past i guess." You answered before he guided your leg around his hips, his mouth smashing against yours again in a hot kiss. He slapped your thigh two times, asking you to jump which you gladly did. You wrapped both of your legs around Hoseok's waist, not breaking the kiss as he takes you with him towards the bed.

When he hit the bed frame with his feet he slowly sat down, making you sit on top of his lap. You grinned against him, never breaking the kiss. Soft moans and groans coming out of both of your mouths. Hoseok let go of your lips only to wrap them around your jaw and throat. You moaned, grinding harder against him as he found your sweet spot. "Fuck Hobi-" Without you realising a cute nickname slipped out for the man under you. Hoseok stopped kissing for a while looking up at you. "What- What did you just say?" He asked, already half out of breath from your make-out session.

You blushed as you bite your lip, looking away in embarrassment. Hoseok took a hold of your chin and made you look at him again. "Hey, Look at me while I'm talking. Now answer me princess." He said. "What did you just call me." It sounded more like an order now then a question.

"H-Hobi..." You said quietly. It was quiet for a second. Hoseok just stared at you as he took in your words. Then he suddenly grinned, a soft chuckle leaving his lips. "Cute..." You could hear him whisper under his breath before he pecked your lips. Then he went down again, kissing and napping at your sweet spot. You were sure it was going to leave a bruise later on but right now you didn't mind. Your brain was a haze, your body felt hot and you were so wet down there.

His hands kept roaming your body. From caressing your back to gripping your hips, to grind you more and harder against him, grouping your ass and so on. His hands found their way under you shirt and he pushed it up to get it off of you. You helped him getting it off making him stare at your red laced bra afterwards holding onto your breasts.

He grouped them into his hands, squeezing them softly while you just watched. You knew you shouldn't love all this right now and you knew you surely shouldn't do it with him but you couldn't resist it. And besides, it had been so long since you've had dick. And from what you could feel in his pants right now he got one on the larger size.

You bite your lip as you looked at him getting one breast out of your bra, his thumb caressing over the little but making you whimper. He looked at you, giving you a lazy smirk before he attached his mouth to your breast. He let his tongue roll over your nipple, now and then sucking on it, making them go even harder. His other hand still working on your other breast before he switched sides. Now your left nipple in his mouth and his fingers playing and pinching the other one. While he was busy sucking your tits he unbuckled your bra, making it fall onto your lap. You slept your arms out of the straps and threw it aside.

When you turned your head back towards him his lips met yours again in a quick but deep kiss. "Now love... It has been so long since I've had a woman so close to me. So what would you say of making me feel your mouth, huh? Would you do that for me princess?" He said, his thumb tracing over your bottom lip before slipping onto your mouth. You wrapped your lips around it and started to suck on his finger. It may look strange but it kinda comforted you, making you feel smaller and wanting to submit more to him. Letting him take full control.

You nodded as an answer and smiled, getting his thumb out of your mouth. "Now," he said. "Get on your knees love."

He pulled down his pants and boxers as you sat down on the floor, his dick springing free standing tall and red. He was so ready for you. You licked your lips before kissing his length. Starting at the bottom and making your way towards his already leaking top. When you got at the top you started to take him inside of you, making him groan as you suck on his tip, your tongue rolling over the little slit. "Fuck-, that feels so good princess. Keep going." He said, closing his eyes and putting his hand behind him leaning on his strong arms as he felt his body melt under your touch. After teasing the tip for a while you tried to slowly bob your head up and down, every time when you're going down taking an inch more into your mouth until you couldn't anymore. The part that didn't fit into your mouth you stimulated with your hand, moving it up and down in a steady motion with your head.

Hoseok grasped onto your hair out of pleasure, pulling it softly and getting it out of your face. He wanted to see your face while you pleasured him so well. You were such a good girl for him. So good... He never expected for you to go in on his proposal of having a one night stand for tonight but he loved how turned on you got from him and how submissive you got after you acted like such a brat earlier. He liked to get you worked up and make you go all furry to him but having you now submit to him did something to him. He had been watching you for already so long and now he had you for him alone he couldn't drop the chance and just rushed to your room.

Hoseok felt himself getting close as you went bit faster, your droll already rolling over his dick and towards his balls, your eyes getting teary but you didn't cry. "I'm close baby." He told you. "I'ma cum in your warm little mouth and you're gonna swallow it all. You're my good girl after all, isn't it?" He asked and you nodded.

You loved to be a brat but for some reason hearing Hoseok call you a good girl made you want to please him in all kind of ways. You wanted to be his good girl and his only. You loved his small praises, the cute nicknames he gave you and that irresistible smirk of him whenever you did something he loved or when he had a little plan up in that head of his. In other words he made you go crazy for him.

A few more thrusts and he finally came, tinting the walls of your mouth white. And just like he asked you, you swallowed it all, showing him afterwards. "Good girl. Did so well princess." He praised you again and you smiled up at him as he held your chin, pulling you back up.

He sat you back on his lap and kissed your lips, tasting himself before flipping you over onto your back, on top of the soft mattress. You gasp as he does so.

He grins and hovers over you, ghosting his lips over yours for a while making you hungry for more until he finally kissed you again. He kissed over your jaw and behind your ear. "Princess, I want you to turn around for me." He whispered before biting your ear playfully and getting up so you could turn around for him. You did as he said and turned around now laying on your stomach. He slowly looked you up and down, his hand gliding over your half naked body until he stops at your ass. He helps you out of your pants and panties, throwing them aside. After that he also gets off his remaining clothes before hovering over you again, leaving soft kisses on your shoulders. You whimpered as you felt his hard dick poking your asscheeks. You had been so wet this whole time. Your pussy was craving for some attention.

Hoseok chuckled deeply as he felt you grind against him. "Such a slut for me princess. Your body is just begging me to get touched." He said making you whimper a second time.

But luckily you didn't have to wait long or his full length was already inside you. You moaned as he filled you up so well. "Fuck-" Hoseok breathed out. Because you were already so wet for him he slipped right in and he didn't expected that. But it wasn't like you were to loose. You still felt so tight. It was like your little cunt was just made for him.

He pulled it out before pushing it back in, making you both moan simultaneously this time. You both felt so good. No words to describe it.

When Hoseok started to move for real this time he didn't hold back. He didn't really wait for you to adjust to him (not that you needed to) and started to thrust at an already rapid pace. Moans and groans filled the room as Hoseok was ramming into your pussy like crazy. Right now you felt like you were on cloud nine and on Hoseok's side it was just the same. You both had no thoughts at that moment, the only thing on your minds is how good the other's body felt against your own.

After a short while you felt that familiar knot in your stomach. Meaning you were close. Hoseok could feel it at how tight your pussy became. Sometimes pulsating, driving him crazy. "I-I'm c-close-" You said to him between moans and heavy breaths.

As you told him that he suddenly seemed to stop making your groan and whimper. "Hoseooookkkk-" You were whining, not liking his warm flesh leaving you wet and aching hole. But before anything else he flipped you around and pushed back in. You moaned.

"Want to see your face." He said. "Wanna see how good I make you feel." He stated before slowly starting to trust again, his eyes never leaving your face, taking in every detail, every new expression that took place on that oh so beautiful face. He speed up a bit, seeing your expression change again and hearing your moans getting louder. Like before you ached around him, getting tighter and tighter as that wave of pleasure came back, bringing you close to pure ecstasy. "Cum for me sweetheart." Hoseok said as he felt himself getting close as well.

As like his words were the magic spell your body was waiting to hear you both came undone, Hoseok's mouth devouring yours again, muffling your moans as you came. You both stayed in that position for a while, your lips still attached against each other as Hoseok spilled his load inside of you until his dick softened down again and slipped out. You whimpered at the loss.

Hoseok gave you a last peck on the lips before getting off of you and laying on his back beside you, staring up at the ceiling. "That... Was amazing." He said out of breath. You laughed and nodded. "That was indeed." You answered him. "It has been so long since I had such good sex." You admitted. "Me too, princess. Me too..."

"You're on the pill, right?" Hoseok suddenly asked, turning his head towards you. "Why you asking?" "Well, we didn't use a condom. I hope you don't mind." Hoseok said, blushing a bit and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. How was this the man the one that ever took control over you a while ago?

"I don't take the pill but I got a spiral implanted. So no need to worry about getting me pregnant." You told him. He nodded and then stared back at the ceiling. He suddenly laughed. "What?" You asked turning towards him. He shook his head. "Was just thinking of something.." "Tell me." He played on his side and looked at you. "You know what they say about keep your friends close and your enemies closer?" He asked, a playful smile on his face. "Well I think this way we're definitely keeping our enemies closer." He winked at you and you scoffed, a little smile creeping through.

And that's how you both ended up talked a bit that night until you felt your body getting tired and just fell asleep.

Opening your eyes the next morning it seems you were the first one awake. You tossed around and laid on your other side facing the still fast asleep man next to you. You smiled as he looked so soft while sleeping. So... harmless. You smiled as you looked at him, admiring his cute, puffy face he made while sleeping. How could anyone want to hurt this man?

You shook your head. Did- Did I just think that?! You asked yourself. Get him out of your head Y/n! He's supposed to be your enemy! You told yourself. But yesterday night was just so... You bite your lip as you thought back about yesterday night. Maybe... Just maybe you could trust this man for once. Maybe it was ok to let go for just a little while.

You thought back about his proposition. You didn't knew if yesterday night was one of his plans to get you to follow him into his idea or not but this morning you finally made your decision. You were gonna take Hoseok's offer. It's not like you had any other plans, right?

Before you knew it the men next to you woke up and when he saw you were awake he smiled, closing his eyes and yawning, stretching his muscular arms. "Morning.." He said softly in his deep morning voice. God, you were such a simp for that voice from now on. "Morning." You answered him. You got a bit shocked as the boy leaned in and softly pecked your lips.

Hoseok looked at your shocked face and let out a small giggle before turning onto his back and looking up at the ceiling taking a deep breath. "Last night was... amazing." He said. You nodded but of course he couldn't see it so you answered him afterwards. "Yeah.." You said softly. "Hoseok?" You asked and he turned his face sideways so he could see you, a soft smile plastered onto his face. "Please call me Hobi." He said. You blushed as you remembered you accidentally calling him that last night.

You gave him a small awkward smile and a soft nod. "H-Hobi?" You tried again. "What is it angel?" He asked. Angel... Well that was a new nickname to add to the list. He hadn't called you angel before. You kinda liked it... Stop it! Stop thinking about it Y/n! You internally sighed. Why did he made you feel like this??

"Y/n?" Hoseok called out your name as he saw you were caught in thoughts all of a sudden. "Huh?" You said as you heard his voice. "Oh.." You looked at him and bite your lip before deciding to be bold and sit a bit up. One hand holding you up and one softly wrapped around Hoseok's naked chest under the blanket. You softly let your fingers glide over the warm skin. "I just wanna say... I'm in." You told him, not really wanna admit it but your heart said it was the only right thing to do and your brain said it was the only option to do.

Hoseok looked at you a bit confused before understanding it. "You're for real?" He asked shocked and you nodded. "I will help you catch the Choi's. I already kinda know how too I think..." You said. You looked up at him and Hoseok was smiling at you. He softly started to pet your head. "You made the right decision. I'm glad you decided to cooperate." You don't know why but hearing Hoseok saying you did well made you feel all giddily and good around him. And on top of that the pats he was giving you... You felt like you were in heaven. You may look and sometimes act like a real bitch, well- actually most of the time-, but somewhere inside there you were just a soft girl.

Hoseok let out a deep breath getting you both out of your silent trance you both seemed to be in. "We should go get some clothes on and then we can discuss further details." He said and you nodded, unwrapping your arm from around him and laying back down so he could get up.

Once you both showered and were fully dressed again you sat together at the table to discuss your plan. "So, you said you had something in mind right?" Hoseok asked and you nodded. "Tell me."

"Well," You started off. "You probably already know Mr Choi has two daughters" Hoseok nodded. "but did you knew he also had a son?" You asked and Hoseok looked at you confused. "We've been through those files multiple times. He had a son. He died 10 years ago." Hoseok said, grabbing the file and showing you.

You smirked and shook your head. "That's the part he made you guys see. The rumour goes that he's still alive." You said and Hoseok looked at you in shock. "How is that possible?"

You grinned. "I don't know either but apparently he is. About this... there is good and bad news. What you wanna hear first?" You asked Hoseok. "Good first." He answered.

"Very well then. The good news is, they guy should be in Korea. Multiple people keep saying he's still here and have seen him. It has also been confirmed with pictures. Now the bad news... We have no idea how he looks like. We have witnesses but no descriptions or clear pics of his face."

"So he could be anyone..." Hoseok said and you nodded. "Exactly." "And what has this son to do with getting the Choi's?" Hoseok suddenly asked.

"Well, get the son and you get to the father! People say they still see each other once a year. You said you couldn't get your hands onto Mr Choi? Well he's your chance." You said.

Hoseok seemed lost in thoughts as he looked at the documents in front of him. "But how are we going to find him?" He asked. "There live thousands of people here in Korea." He stated.

You smirked. "I got the perfect solution for that."

A few hours of convincing Hoseok and taking a plain back to Seoul and you were standing again at your own house. More specifically, Taehyung's workspace. "So you are sure this guy can find Choi's son?" Hoseok asked you for the already umpteenth time. You sighed. "For the last time Hope, Taehyung is the best. This guy here gets everything done." You said earning a grin from Taehyung himself who was seated at his usual place, behind his computers. "Well, thanks for the compliment Y/n." He said. "And Hoseok, don't worry. I'll find this guy. It's not because you failed that I will." He gave Hoseok a quick wink making him scoff.

How does he even has the audacity. Hoseok thought. "Good luck man." Hoseok said before walking out of the room with you, leaving Taehyung alone to do his job.

"So what do we do in the meanwhile?" Hoseok asked you. "We just relax a bit. There's not much we can do anyways." You told him. And before you knew it you had let him to your bedroom. (Not for what you think you pervs out there.😏 It's not always about sex.)

You sat down on your bed as Hoseok admired your room, standing still at some pictures. "Is that you?" He asked, holding up one in particular. You smiled and nodded, thinking back about old good memories. "That's me and my mom." You said as you thought back about her. Her soft hands, her warm smile. You missed her a lot. "What happened to her?" Hoseok asked; like he could read you expression. "Cancer..." You answered. "Dad was so broken after she died." You looked up from the picture at Hoseok again, giving him a sad smile. "It's not because we are feared mafia's that we don't know what true love is. What mom and dad had... Was something special. They really loved each other." You said.

Hoseok put the picture back down and walked over to you, sitting down next to you and holding your fragile frame. "I wish she was still here. She was a wonderful woman." You said as Hoseok softly caressed your head. "She told me I should always follow my heart."

Hoseok pulled back from the embrace and gave you a small reassuring smile. You don't know why but your body seemed to react on it and you started to smile back at him. You didn't knew how you became from being enemies only a few days ago to feeling so close to him now but it felt good and you kinda didn't want to let go of that feeling.

Hoseok put a strand of hair behind your face before speaking. "Y/n, what would you think of getting out of this... mafia live of yours? Just start a new life, a better one. Maybe even go start a family." He said.

You laughed ad shook your head. "I can't do that... I maybe had a choice as a kid but after my father died and I took over... I can't just leave like that. And besides... Some people here are like family to me. I can't just leave them." You told him.

"What if you could?"

Before you could answer him, the door to your bedroom opened. "Boss! I didn't knew you were already back and oh- You found him?! Do I need to get the guards?" Marcus asked after storming in.

You smiled and turned towards Marcus. "No need Marcus. It's alright. I made a deal with Mr Jung here so from now on he won't be our prisoner anymore. He will be our guest. And besides, I already told you to just call me by your name. You're not just anyone Marcus. You were my father's friend. So please be comfortable and just see me as a friend too." You said, earning a smile back from him. "Sure Y/n. Do you guys need anything?" He asked and you shook your head. "Not really but thank you Marcus. I'll see you later downstairs." You told him and with that he left your room again.

"Marcus?" Hoseok asked and you turned back to him. You nodded. "My father saved him a few years ago when I was still a kid. Since then he had been my father's most trusted man and also his friend. After he died he swore to protect his family no matter what. So that's how he became my wing man now." You told him and Hoseok nodded. "I see.."

You sighed and stood up. "Well... I should go downstairs now. Marcus is probably waiting for me. You can stay here until I come back our just room around a bit in the house. Whatever you like." You told him and he nodded. "see you later Hobi!" You said with a smile as you walked towards the door. Hoseok smiled back, even happier as he heard you used the little nickname again. "See you later." He said before you finally walked out of the door.

"Ok... explain to me Y/n why that guy is just randomly relaxing in your room?" Marcus asked you once you were both sitting downstairs on the sofa. "Well Marcus, Like I told you, I made a deal with Mr. Jung." "Are you crazy?!" Marcus yelled. "That's like making a deal with the devil!"

"Calm down!" You yelled back at him, making him shut his mouth and sit back down. "Now let me explain." You d-said, fixing your hair. "When I was in Busan I bumped into Hoseok like planned. We... had a little encounter afterwards." You said, thinking back about how he kidnapped you but afterwards how he could pleasure you so well. You swallowed, stopping your thoughts and licking your dry lips. "Then Hoseok came with a proposition. His agency is after the Choi's. Even more then after us. He promised if we helped he would leave us alone afterwards." You explained to the man in front of you.

"And what makes you think he's speaking the truth?" Marcus asked you. You stared into the distance, a small smile forming onto your mouth. "I believe Hobi." You said.

Marcus looked at you with questionable eyes. "H-hobi?" He asked. You swallowed, eyes in shock. Did you just said that out loud?! You looked at Marcus. "I-" How were you going to explain this? "What happened back in Busan?" Marcus asked. "Nothing just-... I was tired of him giving me those little nicknames so I gave him one to annoy him too! Yeah! That's it." You said, a nervous giggle afterwards. You hoped he didn't suspected anything.

Marcus nodded. "Alright then.." He said, dropping the topic. "And besides, Imagine. For so long the Choi's have been at the top of Korea's mafia. Once they're down we're the new number one. We'll finally stand at the top Marcus! How wonderful is that!" You told him enthusiastic. Marcus nodded. "That's... Indeed great!" You frowned your eyebrows. You expected Marcus to be the most enthusiastic out of the two of you. "Is everything alright?" You asked him.

He cleared his throat. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. I was just worried about you. What if something happens to you. I still can't trust that Hoseok guy." He said. You gave him a soft smile, placing your hand on top of his. "Don't worry Marcus. I got this." And with that you stood up and walked out. "By the way Marcus," You said, turning around one last time. "Can you go check how Taehyung's work is going and give me an update on it? It's quite important and I only trust you with it." You told him. He nodded. "Of course. I'll go check right away boss!"

When you came back to your room you were surprised that Hoseok was still there. It was like he never left. "I thought you would've already went off to go explore the place." You said as you walked in. Hoseok looked up at you. "Neah, not really. I rather stay here. It's quiet here." He said, laying back onto the bed.

You went to sit at the edge of the bed and looked outside the big window in your room. Suddenly you felt Hoseok's hand grabbing yours and to Hoseok's surprise you laced your fingers with his. He smiled, looking at your face as it looked beautiful to him with the current lighting coming from your windows. You hair already got a bit messy from walking around all over the place all day. You may have been a target for him at first but right now, the only thing he could think about calling you was his angel. That's how you looked in Hoseok's eyes like an angel still trapped into the claws of the devil... The mafia. If he only could get you out of this life and give you a better one. "Leave this place with me tonight."

You turned your head towards Hoseok as these words came out of his mouth. "What?" "You heard me." Hoseok said, sitting back up and sitting a bit closer towards you. "Leave this place with me. Y/n, I can see this is no life for you... I promise I can give you a better one." Hoseok said, looking deep into your eyes. You suddenly felt all naked, like Hoseok could look right through you and into your soul. It's not like you loved the mafia but it also wasn't like you hated it.

"How...?" You quietly asked. "I already told you it's not that easy..." You said, looking down at your still intertwined hands. "Let's just leave this place tonight. No one will know. And we'll see what happens afterwards." Hoseok pushed your chin back up with his free hand. "Look at me Y/n. Do you trust me?" Hoseok asked.

You thought for a second, nervously chewing on your lip. Eventually you nodded your head. You knew you couldn't deny anymore what was happening between you and Hoseok. You knew it all went quick but there was just this sparkle between you and from today on you couldn't unseen it anymore.

Hoseok smiled at your response. "Good. So please Y/n, please come with me." He said, leaning in closer and delicately kissing your lips. You nodded. "A-alright. Let's get out of here tonight. But... I can't leave Taehyung here behind. I need him to go with us. He's my best friend Hope... We grew up together."

Hoseok looked you into the eyes while playing with your hand. "You're sure you can trust him enough to let him come with us?" He asked and you nodded. "I'm a hundred percent sure of it." Hoseok nodded. "Ok then. Go tell him. We'll leave at 3am. Everyone should be asleep by then."

And so as planned you went to speak to Taehyung. You told him the plan and of course he supported you in your decision. He was glad you asked him to go with you. He joked around saying' if Hoseok didn't take you away from here I would'. You laughed at him but then he started to question you about Hoseok and then the blushing and stuttering came. Of course, as the good friends you are, you told him about how you felt something towards the boy but wasn't quiet sure jet but it just felt right. As last you also talked about who the son of the Choi's could be but Taehyung only said it was difficult and he didn't knew yet.

After your little chat with Taehyung and bumping into Marcus inside the hall you were finally back in your room, making everything ready together with Hoseok. "Go get some rest Y/n." Hoseok said, packing the last of your things. You didn't intended to take much with you but no matter what Hoseok insisted he would help you pack. With the small bag finally packed you lay down onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. You heard Hoseok close the zipper of the back before feeling the mantras getting heavy next to you. "I am surprised I'm doing this... A few days ago I wouldn't even have thought of escaping this life. I was so focused on making my parents proud..." You said before scooping a bit closer towards Hoseok, resting your head on his shoulder while he wrapped his arms around you. "No matter what you do, I think your parents will always be proud of you Y/n. Now go sleep. You got a few hours." He said, kissing the top of your head.

"Goodnight Hope."

"Goodnight Y/n."

While you slept Hoseok didn't close an eye. He stayed awake all night, staring at you and also keeping the guard. He knew it may be foolish of him but there was someone in this house Hoseok didn't trust. And that was Marcus. Marcus had always been a strange figure in Hoseok's eyes and today it only got worse.

Hoseok lied to you when you asked him if he stayed in your room the whole time you were gone. In fact, Hoseok went to look for Taehyung. He had something in mind and the only one that could confirm it was him.

"Taehyung, can you look into someone for me?" Hoseok asked as he walked into Taehyung's office. "Who do you need me to look for?" The guy asked, looking at him from behind his desk. "I want you to get some research done on that Marcus guy."

Taehyung looked at him in shock. "Marcus? Why?" He asked, genuinely confused. "I don't trust him at all and I need to confirm something..." Hoseok said, standing behind Taehyung, looking at the screens.

"Marcus has been friends with Y/n's father for so long. Why wouldn't you trust him?" Taehyung said. "You don't think that-" Taehyung broke his own sentence into a silence as he finally understood what Hoseok was looking for. Hoseok nodded. "I think he's our man."

And just like he had thought Taehyung confirmed it that evening. Marcus was indeed the person you guys had been looking for. He was the son of the one and only Mr. Choi. But what would the son of a filthy rich mafia boss do in their enemies house? Hoseok could only think of one thing...

Then a bullet shot through the window and got caught by the opposite wall. Hoseok shook you awake. "Y/n wake up! Plans have changed, we need to go now!" You immediately woke up and you both stood up from the bed, only to hear another two gunshots. You both quickly laid flat on the ground. "W-what is that?" You asked, still halve asleep and confused. "They're here to kill you Y/n."

"What?!" You asked confused. "Who would possibly want to kill me?!" Again shots and Hoseok pulled you with him inside your closet. No windows there so the shutters don't know where to shoot anymore. Then a door opened giving you the answer to your question. "Well, hello hello!"

You looked at Hoseok in shock recognising the voice. Was that Marcus?! Hoseok put his finger in front of his lips telling you to not make any noise.

"Where are you little princess? I know you're somewhere in here~" Marcus said as you heard him walk around the room. "I know your lover boy is with you too." He said.

"You know... I wished things would've gone other ways but you just leave me no choice Y/n. You're just like your father." He said before shooting at the ceiling, making you jump a bit.

But what did he mean, just like your father? "You know the day your father died... It was my doing. He tried to escape too and just like you now, he left me no choice but to kill him right there and then."

You placed your hand over your mouth in shock. Your body was trembling while tears were threatening to leave your eyes. Marcus killed your father? But why would he ever do that? They were like best friends. Hoseok took your trembling body in his arms, shushing you quietly while he was eagerly looking for a way out of here.

Marcus started to speak again. "I know you're probably wondering... 'Oh why did you kill my daddy Marcus? Weren't you like best friends?' " Marcus said, trying to imitate your voice. "Well dear, It may look like we were friends but I am his worst nightmare. Your worst nightmare!" You heard him push a closet on the ground, making a hella loud noice. "You know who I am Y/n? Why doesn't Hoseok tell you, huh?" You looked at Hoseok confused. What would he know you didn't? "I am Marcus Choi. The son of the biggest, most feared mafia boss." Then a maniac laughter could be heard from him. "Wasn't it a great idea from me to infiltrate your little mafia and bring it down? After the accident happened everyone thought I died but I didn't, what caused me to be in the most ideal position. I thought when your father died I finally made an end to the Lee's but then you showed up from your house in the US and took over!" This time a vase could be heard shattering onto the ground. "Of course daddy's little girl had to take over business! Now where are you Y/n! Cut the crab and come out already!" Marcus yelled.

Hoseok slammed the door open as on clue and run with you towards the door as Marcus tried to shoot at the both of you. Luckly no bullet caught you. Or so you thought... "Hoseok! Your shoulder!" You said while you were running through the halls. "I'm alright. We need to get to Taehyung first to warn him and then get the hell out of here." He said. You looked at his shoulder and let go of his hand. "You'll need your hand to put pressure on that wound." You said.

"WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BITCH!!"

You quickly opened the door and ran into Taehyung's room as you heard Marcus yell from upstairs. "Taehyung!" You yelled as you run towards him and hugged him. He hugged you back. "I heard gunshots, what's happening?" He asked, letting go of you. Then he looked at Hoseok and his arm that was covered in blood. "Fuck that looks bad..." He said. "Is it Marcus?!" He asked and Hoseok nodded. "He somehow must have heard us talking about escaping. We need to go now."

"COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!"

Marcus voice could be heard closer and closer. "He's getting near." You said. The panic could be seen in your eyes as you looked at the two boys. "You two need to get out of here as fast as possible." Taehyung said. "And what about you?!" You asked and he gave you a soft smile. "We can't escape with all of us. Marcus knows this place too well. He'll catch onto us in no time. You go and I'll distract him."

"But what if he hurts you like he did to Hoseok?!" You asked concerned. "Don't worry about me Y/n. I'll be alright. I always am in the end. Just trust me ok?" Leave the house and I'll make sure you escape safely." He said.

"He's right Y/n. We got to go now." Hoseok said as he pulled at your arm. You gave Taehyung one last glance. He smiled and nodded, like he was saying 'it's alright. It's all gonna be fine.' And so you trusted him on that and left with Hoseok through the front door.

"THERE YOU ARE!" Marcus yelled from the top of the stairs aiming his gun towards you but shot into the door because Hoseok could close it on time. A tear left your eye as you thought of Taehyung being inside there with that maniac. You were so scared of what Marcus could do to Taehyung. Then you saw the house go into lockdown. You knew this was Taehyung's doing and it was also a sign for you and Hoseok to leave.

"Where are your cars Y/n?" Hoseok asked. "Right there, behind that corner." you told him as you both ran towards the garages. You opened one and got inside the car as fast as possible, Hoseok behind the steering wheel. "Buckle up!" He said and then started the engine. But before you could ride away a shot was heard. You both looked at the side, it was Marcus. Somehow he managed to escape the house and he just shot one of your tiers. This was no good. "You both looked at him in shock as he aimed the gun towards you two again. Fear in both of your eyes this time as you had no where to run to now. You were so scared knowing this could be your last moment.

You still had so many things you wanted to do. You want to stop this mafia shit, make more times to spend with friends and family and most important of all, start a new better life with the one you loved... Hoseok. As you were so concentrated you didn't saw Taehyung stumble out of the house all beaten up by the hooligan in front of you.

You closed your eyes in fear of what would come and then it finally came. Two gunshots could be heard.

...But strangely they never reached you nor Hoseok. You opened your eyes again and saw Marcus coughing up blood before falling down onto the floor. Someone had shot him. Then from everywhere around the building and bushes men with guns appeared. Hoseok rushed out of the car and towards the men. You looked at your saviours in shock as Hoseok talked to them about something. Two persons went to check on the corps while Hoseok looked back and forth between you and then one he was taking to.

You decided to get out of the car as well and with small steps you walked towards Hoseok. He gave you a soft smile and then took you into a tight hug. "It's alright. It's all over now." He shushed you while caressing your hair as you cried into his chest from the chock and all the stress you had been going through tonight.

"Who is this Seok?" The man that was standing with Hoseok earlier asked. "This is Y/n. She was one of the people captured here by Marcus." Hoseok said. "I see... Can you both come testify one by one in a while?" The man asked. "Sheff, can we do it together? I don't think she's in a state to handle this on her own now." Hoseok stated and the guy nodded. "I give you 15min to calm down a bit. Come inside afterwards.

Once the guy left Hoseok let go off you and took a step back to look at you. "It's alright. Just take some deep breaths." You did as Hoseok said and it calmed you down a bit. "Now, I want you to let me speak when we get inside for the interrogation. If they know you're the boss of this whole mafia you hang." "They will put me in prison?!" You asked in shock and Hoseok shock his head. "No, no, no. I won't let that ever happen princess. Just let me do the talking and everything will be alright, ok?" He said and you nodded. "Ok.." "Good."

"Now... How did all these men come here?" You asked, confused on how Hoseok's men suddenly found your house. "I called them in. When you were talking to Marcus I went to Taehyung to search a bit more information about the man."

"You already knew... You didn't trusted him from the start." You said and Hoseok nodded. "I didn't trusted him indeed but I didn't knew. Well... I wasn't sure yet. So that's why I needed proof. Thanks to Taehyung's help I got it. I contacted my boss afterwards. I told them my location and everything they needed to know. My plan was to get you out first so they could storm in and clear this mess without you having to worry about it. I didn't knew he would come and try to kill you first..." Hoseok said, looking down. "I wanted to capture him to get to the Choi's as originally planned but then the shots and he tried to murder you and-"

"ssh," You said, placing your hands on both of Hoseok's cheeks. He looked up at you and you placed your forehead carefully against his. He calmed down a bit, taking a deep breath. "I'm here Hope. I'm right here. I'm still alive thanks to you. You did good by calling your troops here. Thank you for saving me." You said, smiling at him and he smiled back.

You took a deep breath yourself before both going inside for your interrogation. Like you discussed earlier outside Hoseok did the talking. He had to lie a bit for that but it was necessary to not get you in prison. He told them Marcus killed your dad and captured you afterwards. He told them Marcus took over and then caught him too. When you tried to escape today Marcus tried to kill you both and then the troops came in. That's the story Hoseok told the police. "Can you confirm this Ms. Lee?" The agent interrogating you asked. You nodded. "Yes it is. I have been captured by that battered for years until Hoseok finally came and saved me." You said, Hoseok squeezing your hand under the table as if wanting to tell you 'good job'.

After all that happened that day you still had to find a good story for Taehyung. After that was all done and Taehyung was completely healed again you and Hoseok decided to live together. Taehyung was so happy for the both of you. The only thing he ever wanted was to see his best friend happy and now he knew you finally were.

"Guess who?"

You laughed as you knew who these hands and voice belonged too. "Hoseok, we're the only one in the house right now. Of course it's you." You said giggling. It had been a year since what happened with Marcus and right now you were living happily with Hoseok in a villa at the beautiful coast of Italy.

Hoseok took his hands from around your eyes and went to sit next to your legs onto the sunbed you were currently on. You put off your sunglasses and looked at the man in front of you as he leaned in closer for a kiss. For the ones asking, yes you and Hoseok were a pair. A month after everything that happened and after recovering from the chock for a while Hoseok finally asked you to be his and without hesitating you said yes. And so you now both lived happily in each other's presence.

"I got a surprise for you." Hoseok said, pulling back from the kiss and smiling at you. He then pulled an envelope from behind his back. "What is that?" You asked. "Open it." He said, giving you the envelope. You opened it and pulled out two tickets for... "The opera? Is this real?!" Hoseok smiled and nodded. You wrapped your arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you so so so muchhhh!!" You said while hugging him happily. In that year of living together Hoseok slowly dithered out your love for opera and classical music so one day when he sat behind his computer he decided to get you a little present. "See it as an early birthday gift." Hoseok said as you let go of him and kissed him full on the lips. He laughed as he kissed you back, loving to see you so happy.

"It's tonight so I suggest you go pick a nice dress to wear because I know if I don't tell you now you'll take ages." You playfully hit his chest while he laughed. "It's true tho! Now go get ready, we leave at 6." He said. You stood up and got a smack onto your ass. "Yah-" You turned around and looked at him. He smiled and just put on his sunglasses laying down onto the sunned you payed on earlier, smirk on his face. "Go get ready! The longer you take the later it will get."

Once you and Hoseok were ready it was indeed almost time. "Told you, you always take a long time in the bathroom." Hoseok said, kissing your naked shoulder as he wrapped his arms around your waist. He checked you out through the mirror in front of you. "You look beautiful in that red off shoulder dress." He said and you smiled at him, kissing his cheek. "Thanks love. You don't look that bad yourself in that black suit with red tie." You turned around and playfully pulled on his tie, pulling him closer so you could kiss his lips. He kissed back, pushing you a bit backwards against the sink of your bathroom. "We should stop now or we won't even make it to the opera." Hoseok said, pulling away from you.

He did a step backwards and reached his arm towards you. "My lady," He said playfully. You laughed and wrapped your arm around his as you both walked out of the house and towards the car.

Once in the opera house Hoseok saw that sparkle in your eyes and it filled him with love and admiration for you. You looked so happy and it made him happy too. "Look how beautiful and classy it looks here! Wah." You said as you walked towards the giant stairs. "Did you knew that 'common people' always needed to sit at the low levels and that the rich sat at their private balcony? Until now it are still the most expansive places in the house." You told him, already walking towards the door that lead you towards the lower levels assuming your seats were there.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hoseok asked, pulling you back. "I'm going towards our seats?" You said questionable. "What else?"

Hoseok pulled you with him and onto the stairs. "Hoseok-" You said, looking at him in disbelieve while he pulled you with him up the stairs. "My princess only deserves the best." He said, kissing the top of your head before walking further through the hall on the second floor.

He opened a door with Hoseok's name written on and just like in every opera house there was your private balcony. "You really paid for all of this?!" You asked surprised while walking onto the small balcony, looking down at the podium a bit further. Hoseok went to stand behind you and held you as he admired the opera house with you.

You really were surprised at how he managed to pay for this. After leaving the mafia you of course also had to leave all the money behind. Mafia wasn't really legal so the money went towards the government who would do it's thing with it. You were already shocked at him Hoseok managed to buy the villa in Italy you were currently living in and now these expensive opera tickets?

"My job pays quite well Y/n. I think you sometimes underestimate my job as a secret agent love." He said, kissing your nape before letting go of you and sitting down in one of the chairs. "Come sit with me love." You went to sit down and as if on clue the lights dimmed and the show started.

"This was so good Hoseok! I loved it so much!" You said enthusiastically. The whole car it back home you couldn't stop talking about everything that evening. From the beautiful building to the lovely voice of the sopranos. He felt like he just took a little girl towards Disneyland, mesmerised by the many fairytales around her. That's how it felt with you right now. "Cute..." He mumbled as he opened the door for you.

Once you walked inside you saw something you didn't expected. The floor was covered with rose petals and on every closet or chair were cadges lighting the way towards the living room. You turned around towards Hoseok in shock. "Did- Did you do all this?" You asked him and he gave you a bright smile nodding. "I hope you like it." He said and you nodded. "Are you kidding?! I love it! Hope... You're so sweet." You said, a tear leaving your eyes.

Hoseok wrapped you in your arms letting out a soft chuckle. "Oh baby, don't cry now." He wipes the tear away that fell out of your eye. "This is supposed to be a happy day." He told you. You smiled through your tears. "It's just that- You're just so sweet Hobi, you're amazing and so kind and caring towards me. I can't help it." You said.

Hoseok softly kissed your lips. "It's alright love. I like doing cute and sweet stuff for you. Seeing you happy makes me happy. You know that. The only thing I want is for you to feel loved." He said. He turned you around, holding your hand. "Now go walk a bit further. I got another surprise for you." You gave him a questionable look before walking further.

"T-Taehyung?!" You run towards him and unfolded him into a tight hug. "You're here. You're really here!" When you left Korea Taehyung didn't. He decided to stay, going back to his family and live there for a while, while he would try finding a new job. You thought you would never see him again and here he was, right in your arms.

"Did you set this all up?!" You asked, pulling away from your arms. The boy laughed and nodded. "How did you manage to do all this?" You asked, looking around the room. There were red, pink and white balloons hanging at the ceiling, small red paper hearts were covering the curtains and of course the many candles and rose petals all over the place. "Thank you so much for this. Both of you. This is so cute." You said, your hands on your chest as you looked at the two boys and the work they pulled off.

"Oh, where are my manners." You said, fanning your head. "Sit down Tae! It's been so long. I wanna talk and know everything that happen with you while I was gone. You want something to drink?"

Taehyung laughed and stopped you. "It's alright Y/n. You don't need to do all this." He gave you a sweet smile. "Besides, this evening is supposed to be only you and Hoseok. I stay here for two weeks so enough time to talk later. You go and enjoy your night with your manz." Taehyung said, raising his eyebrows and taking his jacket off of the couch. "I'll leave you alone now. Have a great night guys!" He said, winking and smirking at you as he passed by. "See you tomorrow!"

You laughed as he left the place. "Aish that little-" You said as you watched him leave. Hoseok stood behind you again to hug you. He loved giving back hug's a lot lately. Even while you were sleeping he would always spoon you. "Baby?" Hoseok called out your name while he placed his head on your shoulder. "Let's do what Taehyung said and make this night ours." Hoseok said. "And how are you planning to do that Mister Jung?" You asked your boyfriend teasingly.

He took a deep breath. "I don't know yet Misses Jung." You turned around and looked at him in shock. In the past year he had never used his last name to address you until now. "Misses Jung?" He nodded and smiled taking a step backwards and suddenly going down on one knee. Your hands went to cover your mouth in chock. Was this real? Was he really just... proposing to you?

Hoseok pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it. "Y/n Lee, what would you think of becoming Misses Jung? Will you marry me?" He asked sweetly. He was smiling but you knew inside he was very nervous. So you didn't made him wait long and started nodding your head. "Yes, a thousand times yes. I would love to become your wife Hope." You said and Hoseok's smile widened even more as he stood up again and held you close, his lips meeting yours into a soft but passionate kiss. "You have no idea how happy you make me right now." He said, kissing you over and over again.

You were expected to get the ring around your finger but Hoseok just tossed the box onto the couch and picked you up bridle style. You gasped as he swept you from your feet quite literally. "Let's go celebrate this upstairs, shell we?" He asked and you giggled, caressing his cheek and nodding, kissing his lips as he carried you both upstairs towards your room.

"I love you Hope."

"I love you too, Y/n. My miss mafia."

[writingtoforgetreality]

Faking To Pretend (Steve Rogers x Reader)

Request: cathy cathy cathy here i am with another request *sigh* i cant help myself your writing is just too good

i was wondering if i might request a steve rogers x reader fic where maybe reader and steve are paired up for a mission and have to pretend to be married (undercover) and some thing happen to kind of force them to admit their feelings for each other (maybe one of them gets injured? or kidnapped idk you do what you want to 😂) anyways LOVE YOU SO MUCH ❤️❤️ (by @msmarvelsmain), [Marvel-Masterlist]

Summary: Fake engagements, wedding plans & an undercover mission that jeopardized your well-being in the blink of an eye. Throughout it all, you somehow had to hide the fact that your feelings for Steve were just friendly, nothing more.

Words: 8,610

Warnings: language, angst, fluff, humor, argument, brief mentions of drugs, undercover mission (engagement & wedding plans), female pronouns used, that's pretty much it

[Mimi…this happens when our ideas get mixed up. LOVE YOU TOO!]

If you like my work & wanna support me: a coffee would be highly appreciated ❤

The familiar sound of a notification emanated from your phone. You deposited the book you had been immersed in onto the mattress & replaced it with the device. It confused you for a second when you noticed Tony being the one to message you. After all, you were literally in the same building.

Stark: meeting in 5.

(Y/N): you do know that you could tell me in person, right? just knock or something.

Stark: you’re too far away.

(Y/N): two doors, stark. TWO!

Stark: meeting in 4.

(Y/N): i hate you.

A loud sigh escaped through your lips. Typical Tony. Two could play that game. You planned on arriving right in time, not earlier. Maybe a few seconds too late. Anything to mess with him. At least he could get a taste of his own medicine that way.

“You’re a minute late.” Tony commented when he watched you walk inside the room. Your arms crossed over your chest as you leaned your shoulder against the door frame.

“You’re lucky I came in the first place.” you remarked. “Besides, I’m the first one here. Mission alone?” you questioned, raising your eyebrows while expectantly waiting for his answer. It was not usual for you to go alone. Except if the mission concerned grabbing pizza from the place down the block. You hoped for him that he did not pull that card, though.

“No but I wanted to discuss it with you before the others- oh, never mind.” Tony stopped talking when three more figures entered the room, brushing past your frame without paying too much attention to you. Sam. Bucky. Steve. What a damn combination. That was your team? Well, good luck. Everyone got seated on the chairs circling the big table but you stood your ground in the doorway. Steve patted the free chair next to his side, eyes flickering up to yours. A silent invitation you politely declined by shaking your head but you made sure that he could detect your small smile. Tony did not seem to mind & went straight ahead into explaining the mission you four had to perform. Most of the time, you zoned off though you really did try your hardest to stay focused. But when you glanced between the men in the room, you already knew the chaos that would come with them.

Basically, the team came across a signal emitting from the back of a small shop. From what you knew so far, it was some sort of a database that saved a whole lot of criminals. Some of them who you had fought in the past & some of them who you had never heard of but they sounded incredibly dangerous nevertheless.

“Question.” one of your hands raised & you waited for them to look at you.

“Go for it.” Tony pointed over to you, letting out a low breath because you were behaving as if you were in class & needed permission before speaking up.

“Why do Steve & I have to be the ones engaged?” normally, you would not care about undercover missions. But when said mission had you teamed up & fake-engaged to Steve? Well, you had a hard time separating work from personal feelings. Not that anything was going on between you guys but you would not lie if you said that you wanted to change it.

“What, do you want Sam & Bucky to be the couple in question?” Stark, in return, asked another question & you rolled your eyes.

“No, of course not.” that earned you disagreements from both, Sam & Bucky. Steve simply sat by, chuckling quietly while observing your conversation quietly.

“And Steve & you are close. It’ll be easier for you guys to pretend.” Tony casually stated & you had to fight the urge to avert your gaze. If you did, they sure as hell would realize something being wrong with you. And you were not about to be embarrassed in front of them. Maybe you already were but at least they did not know about it. After all, you were a fucking great actor.

“Uh-huh.” so you played it cool. As cool as the situation allowed you to be. “But why do we need Laurel & Hardy with us then?”

“Because I said so.” Tony used your most hated phrase & he damn well knew it. After a short pause, he turned a bit more serious again. “They’ll be Steve’s best men.”

“Wait.” your hand raised & you closed your eyes for a second. “Steve has two best men & I’m not allowed a maid of honor?” now everyone inside the meeting room was chuckling. Everyone but you.

“Pretty much, yeah.” Stark shrugged, brushing it off as nothing though he was aware that you were annoyed by his plan already.

“How is that fair?” you could not stop asking questions, somehow hoping that if you continued, you could get out of this successfully. Deep down, it was clear that the mission had been planned & you could not do anything to change it. Not even a single thing.

“It isn’t.” Tony admitted with a brief nod of his head. “But you’ll need Sam & Bucky on this one. So stop bitching around.”

“These are gonna be some long ass days…” you mumbled, putting your face in your hands in frustration.

“Enjoy!” & with that, Tony dismissed you, leaving you behind dumbfounded.

Sam & Bucky exited the room soon after. Steve & you were the only ones left.

“(Y/N)?” Steve’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts. Immediately, the frown was replaced by a genuine grin. You found yourself in this state whenever he looked at you like that. Whenever he talked to you, actually. “Everything okay?” his eyes showed concern. They usually did when he noticed you zoning off.

“Huh?” you asked before the words had processed. “Oh, yeah. Of course.”

“I’m sorry about.” his hands gestured wildly, searching for the most suitable words. “The mission being uncomfortable for you.”

“No, it’s not uncomfortable.” you tried to explain yourself. “Just, sometimes I feel like Stark just wants to mess with me.”

“Well, if it helps cheering you up…I’ll behave.” he winked at you playfully & you hated how your body reacted to such simple movements.

“I’m sure you will.” you snickered. “My true worries are your best men.” a sly smirk spread onto your face & Steve could not hold back a chuckle.

“Yeah, I can’t control them.” he agreed with you. “I’ll see you around.” he walked past you, turning around one last time. You simply nodded at him, not trusting your own voice. While you handled the situation as best as you could, you wanted to avoid an awkward goodbye. Besides, you would set out first thing in the morning. You needed some alone time before shit started going down. Not that you expected this mission to fail. The exact opposite, actually. The four of you worked incredibly well together. Compensating other’s mistakes & improvising fast if needed. Mostly, though, you ended up straying from the actual plan & that was what had you worried. Because if you did not stick to it, things could turn real uncomfortable real quick.

As if the mission itself was not demanding enough, the car ride to even arrive at your destination was ten times worse. Steve was behind the wheel & you were lucky that you occupied the passenger’s seat & did not have to sit in the back with either Sam or Bucky. They were children, really. Right now, it felt like Steve & you were the parents of two incredibly challenging kids who could not shut their mouths. Not even for a second. Steve succeeded with ignoring them & he was concentrating on the road so that gave him another thing to do. You, on the other hand, were stuck without any distractions except for the bickering that was currently going on in the backseat. But you knew better than to interrupt them because if you did, it would only turn worse. So you took a few deep breaths & settled further into your seat, closing your eyes to maybe rest a bit before your arrival. What you did not notice was Steve glancing over to your figure, a smile playing at the corners of his lips as he recognized you attempting to sleep during the stress inside the car.

At least the hotel Tony checked you in was worth it. Fake-engagements had their perks. Especially if a luxurious suite was a part of it. Sam & Bucky were somewhere in another room but Steve & you, the two of you pretty much occupied an entire floor. That was how huge your room was. You did not even have to carry your own suitcases. There was an employee who helped you with that. What a nice way of living that was. If only you were not pretending. But why were you even thinking that way? You had a mission to perform & more importantly, you could not fail. And you would not if you solely focused on your task. It could not be that hard, right? You had done something similar multiple times before. It should be an easy one for you. But it was not. And the main reason was Steve. It was wrong of you to put the blame on him but how could you not if you literally had to pretend to be his fiancée? It felt like a secret wish you did not dare to voice. And yet he was here right in front of you, in the same room. A place you were supposed to share for the next few days. And you somehow had to play it cool. There was only one outcome. Burying your feelings deep down in order to not jeopardize the mission or your team. No matter how much your heart protested.

“(Y/N)?” you heard Steve’s voice as you were stepping out of the shower. Only a towel was covering your still wet body but you feared that, if you did not open the door right away, you were in danger somehow. That was your mind’s conclusion. Which really did not make any sense if you gave it a second thought. You opened the door a crack, risking a glance outside & eased when you only saw Steve on the other end. It was a natural reaction for you to push the door open wider. But you kind of forgot that you were not wearing any clothes except for that poor excuse of a hotel towel which was way too small for your liking. Steve’s eyes widened & he could not stop from letting them flicker up & down your body. You squirmed under his stare, arms coming to cross over your chest in order to keep the fabric in place. A few moments of awkward silence ticked by & you wanted it to end. So you coughed & gained his attention once more. His eyes were locking with yours & while you usually lost yourself in them, you were way more comfortable than having him eyeing your every part in great detail.

“You needed anything?” you stuttered out, hoping your voice did not sound all too weak but even to yourself, you were aware that you were failing.

“Um, yeah…” his cheeks turned rosy. One of his hands came up to scratch the back of his neck. “But I probably should’ve waited a couple minutes longer.” he should have but it was too late now anyway.

“If it’s nothing too important then I’ll go get dressed real quick, alright? I’ll take like two minutes.” you attempted an honest smile but it was underlined with a hint of embarrassment that was definitely detectable. Steve simply nodded, stepping back a bit so you could close the door once more. Your back rested against the wooden surface & you quietly sighed out with closed eyes. That was not what you expected. Fingers crossed nothing between you two would turn awkward from now on. But then again, he was your best friend & it was not like you were completely naked. Just barely dressed but covered enough so he did not see anything. You would be just fine.

With a decent outfit & regained confidence, you exited the bathroom & found Steve sitting at the edge of the bed, looking down at his hands where he shifted a small package between his fingers. His head snapped up when he heard your footsteps. You two exchanged a smile & it was then when you knew that your shamefaced encounter would not change the bond you shared. It was as if everything was the same old. And it was probably for the better.

“Was that why you needed something from me?” you gestured to the little box & Steve was brought back to reality. Right, there was a reason why he wanted to talk to you in the first place.

“Tony gave it to me right before we left.” he stood up & approached you with long steps. “Said it’d be more believable if you wore one.” Steve stretched out his hand so you could take the black package from him. With curious eyes & delicate fingers, you took it from him. Your eyebrows raised as your eyes met his but he only shrugged at you without giving you an actual explanation. Carefully, you uncapped the box & were shocked when you noticed the small, sparkling ring inside. The colors of the rainbow reflected in the diamond adorning the silver jewelry. It looked way too expensive for it to be a fake one.

“Tony wants me to wear an engagement ring?” you asked even though it was more than obvious. Maybe you just needed reassurance.

“Makes it more believable.” Steve repeated.

“It probably cost more than what I’ll earn in a lifetime.” you chuckled & closed the lid again.

“So you’re not gonna wear it?” he questioned cautiously. For a flicker, he turned insecure because maybe the reason why you refused to wear it was because you did not want people to believe he was your fiancé.

“Of course I’m gonna wear it! It’s stunning. Just…” you paused briefly & bit your bottom lip to contemplate your next words. “It’s expensive. I can’t risk losing it. I’ll put it on whenever we’re outta this room, though. I won’t be the one blowing our cover.” you assured & laughed because you were indirectly blaming Sam or Bucky to mess up. Steve silently agreed with you but did not say anything else as you situated the ring on the nightstand right next to the large bed. It was late, the moon already doing its job with providing a pleasant light that shone through the blinds & illuminated the gloomy suite. For tomorrow’s mission, you needed to be well-rested to fully function.

Steve insisted that you should occupy the bed on your own. He would be perfectly fine on the couch. The cushions of it were incredibly soft, Tony had paid a fortune after all, you still felt poorly for sleeping in the bed alone. Tomorrow would most likely bring him back pain. He was not the youngest soul, after all. Not that you would ever tell him. It was not meant as offending, though. If you were the one on the couch, your back would kill you as well. But you were too much of a coward to suggest that there was enough space for two people. That & you were scared that he did not even want to share in the first place. That could be an intelligible possibility. Your overthinking consumed quite a bit of time because when you heard Steve’s soft & even breaths, you knew that you were too late already. Maybe tomorrow? Maybe you could gain enough courage to ask him tomorrow. Why were you even so eager to have him beside you? What kind of question was that? You were very well aware why. The conversation you held with yourself in your mind came to an abrupt stop as exhaustion overcame & lulled you into a dreamless night.

Constant knocking stirred you awake. You groaned into your pillow because you were still tired but someone decided to shorten your rest. Assuming Steve was already up, you peeked over the blankets covering your body. You were right, he was opening the door. Appearing like he had not just got out of bed. Or off of the couch, in his case. Steve tried to be as quiet as possible, thinking that you were still passed out on the bed.

“G’morning.” you mumbled out & wiped your eyes with the back of your hands. Steve smiled at you. Right now, you looked cute. Pissed off because it was too early but that did not matter when you were all wrapped up in the blankets.

“Coffee?” he suggested & you immediately got into a sitting position at the mention of it. He had his answer then.

“Wait. What is this?” you gestured to the serving trolley Steve was pushing over to the bed. It was obvious what it was but you were bewildered because you did not expect him to order breakfast.

“Tony took our undercover mission very serious.” he shrugged, leaving the food next to you & wanting to grab a few things to eat by the table.

“No.” you shook your head & halted his movements. “I mean, come on. When was the last time you had breakfast in bed?” you patted the spot next to you. Steve paused for a second but after a short while of contemplation, he agreed & got seated on the mattress. Breakfast in bed. That itself would have been amazing but with Steve? It was almost as if a dream of yours got fulfilled. You needed to stop thinking that way. Undercover missions meant faking, pretending. Why were you struggling so much this time?

“I look like a bitch.” you commented once you got into your undercover outfit. Sam & Bucky were already in your suite & they complained about what a poor excuse their room was compared to yours.

“So what’s different?” Sam joked & earned a slap from you.

“First of all, if we don’t wear what Tony prepared for us, people will notice. And (Y/N)? You don’t look like a bitch, you’re good.” Steve commented & even though his words were not necessarily cute, they still did things to you.

“Woah, Steve. Nice ring you picked out there, pal.” Bucky spotted the diamond on your finger & could not help himself but tease you two about it.

“Could we all just focus on the mission?” funny thing that you were the one saying that. Considering that you probably struggled the most out of the four of you.

“Okay, got it. (Y/N) doesn’t look like a bitch but she acts like one.” Sam smirked & started sprinting through the suite when you took off to catch him. Steve & Bucky shook their heads & chuckled at your childish behavior. None of this was new, though. Things usually went that way when you were sent on a mission together.

“The signal comes from the back of this shop.” Steve whispered, all of you trying to stay undetected for the time being so you could discuss the plan further.

“It’s a pastry shop?” you pointed out & suddenly, three men were rolling their eyes at you. “What?”

“You expected something that sold knives?” Sam teased.

“Maybe, I don’t know.” you whisper-yelled.

“Sam, Bucky. You two enter the back while (Y/N) & I distract the guy.” Steve described your plan once more & you all nodded, each understanding their task. While you did not exactly know what you would do to grab the clerk’s attention, you were certain that you could think of something. Improvising was something you were skilled at, you simply hoped that Steve would not stand in the way.

“Welcome! What can I help y’all with?” the almost sweet voice of the man behind the counter was not what you would expect when you looked him up & down. At the same time, he really appeared out of place in a shop like that.

“Yes!” your enthusiasm, well fake-enthusiasm, was more than obvious & you wrapped your arms around Steve’s torso to get into character. “My fiancé & I are looking for some pies for our upcoming wedding.” Steve let you do the talking, his only response being a nod, underlined with a genuine smile.

“Ah, young love.” the guy clicked his tongue & shook his head slightly. “We have a variety of our best wedding cakes right here.” he pointed to a selection behind a class cabinet.

“No, no, no.” you contradicted. “We’d love to have pie at our wedding. I saw you have some delicious looking options over there.” you gestured to the other side of the shop.

“Pie at a wedding? Isn’t that a little unconventional?” the seller raised his eyebrows, seemingly suspicious & it looked like Steve noticed that as well.

“I think we’ll do fine with cak-“ but before he had the chance to finish, you nudged him with your elbow & shot him a look. “I’m sure your cake is great but pie reflects us better.” Steve corrected himself quickly once he realized what you were planning to do.

“Alrighty, then please follow me over there.” the place behind the counter was now free so Sam & Bucky had a clear path to enter. “Any preferences?”

“Anything, really.” you encouraged the man who opened the showcase. He was so busy with his task, Sam & Bucky had it easy to break in. The corners of your eyes spotted their figures. Now they just needed more time to successfully get the information you all needed.

“Can I ask y’all something?” the clerk spoke up after handing you yet another sample of pie. Truthfully, it was a dream come true. Spending time with Steve while eating pie after pie? If only you did not have to pretend. Did you pretend? Or did you fake to pretend? Your brain did not make sense anymore.

“Go for it.” Steve encouraged.

“You’re the first couple to ask for pie samples. What’s up with that?” the man asked curiously, no longer looking at you like you were suspicious but genuinely interested.

“Well.” Steve chuckled & you could not help but let your gaze flicker up to his face. “We are a very unusual couple. Pie at a wedding is unusual. It’s perfect.” while he spoke those last words, his eyes locked with yours & you could have sworn that time halted right then & there. But you had to snap out of it. For the sake of this mission. A look over the shop owner’s shoulder confirmed that you did not have to pretend too much longer. Sam & Bucky were already on their way out again, turning their heads in your direction to silently confirm that they were done. Successful? That you could not tell just yet.

A few minutes & another pie later, you looked at your watch on your wrist & gasped exaggeratingly.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Steve asked & you almost gasped again, though this time, it would have been for an entirely different reason.

“Um, it’s late, we need to head to the thing.” you were doing so well & now, at the end, you managed to slip.

“The thing?” Steve inquired & by the look on your face he could tell that you were overwhelmed & could not think of a proper excuse. “Oh, the fitting.” he quickly added, hoping nobody would ask which kind of fitting. Seemed like you two were lucky today.

“In that case…I’ll let y’all go. Do you want me to put the rest of the samples in a box for you to take home? That way you have more time to figure out which one to choose.” he reasoned & Steve & you nodded gratefully. Behind the counter, he worked quickly & handed you a paper bag in no time.

“Thanks, man. We’ll get back to you.” Steve waved, putting an arm over your shoulder as you exited the shop. The moment you were out, you could finally breathe again. Missions made you extremely nervous. Undercover missions such as this one, actually. During the others you were perfectly fine.

“Thanks for helping me out back in there.” you chuckled once you were out of sight.

“Pie? Really? Wouldn’t have surprised me if he just saw through us right away.” Steve said with a smile on his face. Good, so he was not mad at you.

“In my defense…The pies were at the other end of the shop so I helped Sam & Bucky.” you finished your sentence but it sounded as if you wanted to add something.

“And you love pie?” Steve did not even have to ask, he knew you well enough.

“And I love pie.” you repeated & laughed. Steve still had not let go of you, hugging you to the side of his body. You did not seem to mind so he kept continuing to hold you close.

Steve placed the paper bag on the small table right in the entrance area. Immediately, you went to the bathroom to rid yourself of that stupid outfit you had to wear & threw on something more comfortable. Once you exited, Sam was already in your suite. The four of you decided to have the meeting in your room because it was bigger & the others kind of wanted to move in with you.

“What’s in there?” Sam asked, pointing to the brown paper bag.

“Pie.” you simply answered without much thought. Sam hummed but did not say anything else. Steve & you were in the living room area, waiting for Bucky to show up so you could start discussing more about this mission. Specifically what they found out during their inspection. The creak of the door gained your attention & you looked up only to find Bucky entering. Your gaze then flickered to Sam who was hiding behind the door, pie in one hand, his free hand came to his mouth, telling you to be quiet. It all happened too fast, Bucky was in Sam’s sight & in an instant, there was a pie right in the super soldier’s face. Steve came right in time to watch the scene, his previous intention to greet his best friend completely forgotten now.

“Sam.” Bucky growled, way too quiet for your liking. But you could not focus on his warning right now. You glanced over your shoulder & noticed Steve’s almost sad expression. The only one who could not control his laughter was Sam. He was practically on the floor because he was laughing so hard. The only emotion running through you was anger.

“I. WANTED. TO. EAT. THAT.” you were seething & all three men turned their heads at your tone.

“Sorry?” Sam tried but you were having none of it.

“NO YOU’RE NOT!” you pretty much yelled.

“I’m gonna kill you.” Bucky whispered & Sam took that as his cue to run away, through that labyrinth of your suite. Bucky sprinted after him, leaving Steve to shake his head at their childish behavior.

“(Y/N)?” Steve’s voice was soft & yet it did nothing to calm you down. You really did love pie & you had been excited to eat the rest of it in bed tonight ever since you left that shop.

“WHAT?” you snapped back, only now realizing that it was not Steve’s fault. “I’m sorry.” you added almost inaudible.

“It’s fine.” he raised his eyebrows & opened his arms. You were not sure why but Steve wanted to hug you & you never declined one of his hugs. So you fell into his embrace, both of you silently knowing that this action was not because of a stupid pie. Though you had to admit that you were mad at Sam that you could not eat the rest anymore. This hug held a deeper meaning & for a few seconds, you let yourself enjoy it. Until a loud screech from the other room snapped you back into the present. Steve & you parted unwillingly. You had to, before Sam & Bucky ended up killing each other.

The four of you sat around the coffee table, you occupying the floor while the others each took a seat on the oversized couch. A pout was still very much present on your face. Yes, you were mad at Sam but you had other things, more important things, to deal with right now. Revenge could come later.

“So?” Steve was the one to speak up after nobody else made a move to do so.

“Sam & I managed to break in.” Bucky casually said as if you did not see that to begin with. That was the plan after all.

“But?” your tone was still harsh but you tried your hardest to push that aside.

“We couldn’t hack the system.” Sam finished. “That’s your specialty.”

“Okay, wait.” you closed your eyes briefly. “You wanna tell me that it took you what felt like an eternity to check out the back room only to sit here now & tell us that you couldn’t get the information?” you concluded with a loud sigh.

“In our defense…We know that we’re definitely looking at the right place.” Bucky commented, careful to not anger you any further.

“So what do you suggest?” Steve asked the two men.

“We’ll go there again tonight. All of us. (Y/N) here hacks the system & we’ll see what we can do after that.” Sam established the new plan & you nodded in understanding.

“I still hate you for wasting the pie on Bucky.” you crossed your arms over your chest.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you.” Sam chuckled though you knew he was not planning on keeping his promise.

“Alright, please go back to your room before I do something I might regret later.” you motioned for Sam & Bucky to leave & they did after arranging a time to meet again.

Since you had the brains in this group, it was an easy one for you to deactivate the security cameras without being seen. After that, you went on to the alarm system & turned it off as well. Which meant that you were free to go. It was the dead of the night, nobody was around. You could enter without a single soul watching you. Steve pushed his body weight against the back door. Once, twice. Until it opened.

“You do know that I could’ve picked the lock, right?” your voice made him spin around. It looked like he only now thought of that but he brushed it off, pretending that this was his plan & it worked out the way he wanted to. The room appeared rather normal. Nothing that caught your eye, nothing that was out of place. An office like you had seen multiple times. The computer was turned off so you changed that real quick, waiting for the screens to light up.

“Earlier today, it wasn’t protected by a password.” Sam furrowed his eyebrows.

“Yeah, dumbass. Because the computer was on already. Give me a second.” you opened various drawers to look for a sign as to what the password could possibly be. The others let you do your work, not daring to speak up to interrupt you. “There we go.” you found a small paper in between some notebooks. Not necessarily the safest place to keep secret things but you would not judge. The home screen showed up. Again, nothing special. Simply a picture of flowers. Weird for the guy who worked here but that was none of your concerns.

“And?” Steve broke the silence.

“There are some decrypted files…” you mumbled, sitting down on the office chair. This would take a bit longer, you assumed.

“Can you get access?” another question from Steve. At least the children were quiet for now.

“Of course I can.” you smiled triumphantly. “Give me a few minutes, though.” you were so focused on the screen, you did not see the others nodding. It was tough, you were not going to lie, but it was you who hacked into the system. You never failed with that.

“Huh.” you breathed out. Truthfully, you were overwhelmed with all the information you were receiving with one look only. Steve, Sam & Bucky each took a place behind you, staring at the screen curiously. “Guys? That’s…scary.” you chuckled uncomfortably.

“What is this?” Bucky mumbled quietly but since it was so silent in this room, everyone heard. This was way bigger than you initially thought. Once you made it back to your hotel, you needed to call Tony.

“(Y/N).” Steve shoved you away gently, taking the mouse in his hand to enlarge what caught his attention. You had to gulp at what you saw. What the hell were you doing on there? Steve’s muscles tensed, you could tell by one single look at him. It took a few deep breaths from your side until you started the process of transferring the information on your little flash drive. ”(Y/N).” Steve tried again, this time a bit louder.

“Yeah, I know.” you answered, ignoring your fast beating heart as much as it was possible. “I got everything, let’s head back.” it was clear that you wanted to leave this place behind & you were the first who made it out into the cool night air. Breathing worked easier out here.

“Hey, Tony.” by now, you were back in your hotel room, picking up your phone to call Tony once Steve went into the bathroom.

“(Y/N)! Successful?” he asked, already thinking that you finished this mission & started heading home.

“Not yet. Seems like this is bigger than we thought…” you trailed off at the end, not really wanting to explain what you found out.

“Bigger how? (Y/L/N), come on.” Tony urged & heard you sigh over the phone.

“It was at the back of the shop, that was correct. I hacked into the system & …it looks like it’s some sort of website where people can pay beforehand, assigning criminals for certain acts. It’s huge, Tony. Tons of people have an account & there are so many new assignments every minute…I’ll send you the data in a second, okay? We’ll check out the coordinates we found tomorrow. We think it could lead us to a very important member of this website. And maybe the guy from the shop has something to do with it, though I’m not sure which part he plays in all of that.” you left out a very significant detail & hoped he would not ask more questions.

“There’s something else.” he stated, knowing you better even though he could not read your body language like he usually did.

“That’s all. I promise we’ll finish this missi-“ your phone was taken from you but before you could complain about it, Steve continued the call with Tony.

“Someone instructed to eliminate (Y/N) because, & I quote, “She’s too pretty to be part of the Avengers”. That assignment was where we got the coordinates from. Means the guy from the shop probably manages all of that but he isn’t the one we’re looking for.” silence enveloped you two & you figured that Tony was talking on the other end. “Yeah, sure. That’s the top priority. We’ll work on that & you start looking into the website.” Steve ended the call & threw your phone on the mattress next to where you were sitting.

“What the hell, Steve?” you were furious because he acted differently. And not in a good way. The only response from him was a cold look. He then moved out to the balcony that was attached to your suite. It was unusual for him to be so distanced, especially when it came to you. And you were hesitant to follow him. Considering his body language, he was mad at you. Why? You had no idea. Did you do anything to piss him off? Your gaze fell to your hands in your lap. The diamond on your ring finger sparkled beautifully. You recalled how it felt to be next to Steve, in that small pastry shop where you ate pie after pie to pick the perfect one for your wedding. This was something that could never be. It was all pretending but why did it feel so real to you? Steve probably was not struggling as much as you were & you hated yourself for it.

A hand on his shoulder startled him. Steve eased when he found you standing next to him. The sun would begin rising soon but the both of you were not tired at all. Though the reasons were different. Steve’s mind was still occupied with the information that there was someone out there who paid an awful lot of money to have you eliminated. You, on the other hand, struggled with keeping your feelings buried. Your hands held onto the railing. The movement made Steve look down where the engagement ring was still adorning your hand. You had not taken it off yet. In fact, he only realized that now, you even wore it during your mission of breaking into the shop. Sam & Bucky did not comment on it & to Steve, it was almost…normal. But you did say you would not keep it on you unless you were outside, pretending to be engaged to him.

“What did I do?” your voice interrupted his racing thoughts.

“What?” Steve was confused that you believed you did something wrong.

“Ever since we got outta that shop, you’ve been distant & cold. Was it something I did?” you kept looking straight forward, not wanting to hold eye contact because you feared the worst. That you managed to mess up somehow & Steve was angry at you.

“You didn’t do anything.” his body faced yours & you could practically feel his eyes on you. His intense stare made your breath hitch up.

“You sure about that?” finally, you turned around. Your bodies were almost touching, you underestimated the distance between you two.

“You act as if you don’t care.” his statement had you furrow your eyebrows. He rolled his eyes but continued anyway. “Someone paid a huge amount of money. To have you killed. And here you are, pretending that it doesn’t matter. It’s something you’re really good at, huh? Pretending.”

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” your voice raised slightly but you still wanted to keep it down, you were outside, everyone could hear your conversation.

“See? You’re doing it again.” Steve called you out. “We found that piece of information by accident.”

“I’m aware.” you arms went to hug yourself. A distraction that barely did its job.

“So your life means nothing to you.” his words were harsh. And if you were honest, they hurt. A lot.

“I never said that.” you hated how your voice wavered. How you could not appear to be the strong woman right now.

“You act like it, though.” with each word he said, your heart broke a little more. If only he knew. “I understand. This whole pretending thing is something you’re good at. This mission showed that much. But this is real, (Y/N). So, for a second, stop pretending & act like you care!”

“STOP!” you yelled out of breath. Instinctively, Steve took a step back, eyes wide by your sudden outburst. “Just stop.” this time, you spoke it much softer. Your gaze flickered to the ground, head hanging low.

“I’m sorr-“ Steve was interrupted.

“I said stop.” you repeated. “Steve, we’re on a mission. We’re supposed to put a stop to this shit. None of this has anything to do with me pretending to be your fiancée or me pretending that I don’t give a damn about my life.”

“Are you sure about that?” he emphasized. One hand went to the diamond on your finger & slipped it off. You made a fist around it, though it was not with a lot of pressure. You did not intend to damage the ring.

“I might be good at pretending but I’m no professional.” you admitted. Steve grew more & more confused. He did not know you were talking about the fact that you were not pretending to be engaged to him. To you, it felt natural, it felt good. Right now, though, you did pretend that none of this faced you. But Steve could not tell the difference.

“Can I be honest with you?” he waited until your eyes met his.

“Go ahead.” you waved your hand for him to continue.

“I was cold towards you because once we found out about that, you didn’t say anything about it. And I can’t believe that you just don’t care about it. About your life. I can’t. You don’t have to pretend when you’re with me, you know that. We’re not engaged right now. No undercover mission. You & me. So please be honest with me.” he took your hands into his & you did not flinch back. The touch grounded you but it was no lie that you were having a hard time to be completely honest with him.

“Why do you care so much?” maybe not the smartest thing to ask. Steve’s reaction was proof enough. He let go of your hands, turned his back towards you & let out a breathless laugh. His hands raised to his hair, messing it up in the slightest. Seconds ticked by but it felt like hours until he spun around once more.

“BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!” it seemed like that confession made the both of you stop dead in your tracks. It was not the first time Steve said those words but his tone differed from the previous ones. Still, chances were high he addressed your friendship with that. Because you were friends. Simple friends. “Say something.” he grew desperate when you did not reply.

“I-I don’t know what you want me to say. That I love you, too? You know that, Steve.” your words were steady, calculated. It was too soon to get your hopes up.

“How far do I have to go for you to realize that I want you?” he approached you, hesitancy in his steps. “Didn’t it feel natural to you when we acted like a couple? Because, I can’t keep that up anymore, I can’t. Tell me you don’t feel the same & I’ll back off. We can forget this right now, we don’t have to talk about it anymore. But if you-“ his speech was cute but you had to be close to him now that he finally confessed that there was more between you two. You cupped his cheeks & pulled him in to kiss him. Steve was shocked at first but it did not take him too long until his hands rested on your waist, tightening his grip on you. After parting, Steve kept his forehead against yours. Both of you had your eyes closed, breathing the same air. You imagined this exact moment more than once. But never before had it played out like that. Not that you were complaining, your feelings were finally out there.

“You were wrong, you know?” as much as you enjoyed the silence, there was still something you wanted him to know.

“Wrong about what?” he opened his eyes to look at every feature of you. Because it was no longer forbidden, he was allowed to do that now.

“I didn’t pretend while we were in the shop pie tasting.” you admitted, a small smile playing at the corner of your lips. “I faked pretending, if that makes sense…But, after I saw the bounty on my head, I started pretending.” he nodded at you, squeezing your waist once to encourage you to keep talking. “Steve? I’m scared.”

“It’s okay.” Steve’s arms went around your shoulders, pulling you close once again. His chin on your head. If only that could dispose of all of your worries. The only thing he could do was letting you hold onto him.

Steve did not sleep on the couch that night. Not because he did not want to but because you insisted to have him close. It was not the first time you two shared a bed. Sometimes, when missions did not allow you anything else, you ended up next to each other. Tonight felt different, better. Because there was no longer a weight on your heart. Were you two in a relationship already? Maybe you had been for some time but the two of you were too oblivious to notice. There was enough time to label whatever this was as soon as this mission was over. Your focus should solely be on this mission. Tons of lives depended on it. Yours included.

“You’re stubborn. Do you know that?” the next morning came sooner than you would have liked. No time for cuddling in bed, no time for breakfast. Two hours of sleep was all you got. But you had never felt this rested in your entire life. The reason was a certain super soldier. Not that you would ever admit that.

“Would I have chickened out if I didn’t know they were after me? No. I can handle myself.” Steve suggested for you to stay behind because they were looking for you. It could bring on unnecessary danger & he obviously needed you to be safe.

“But we know now.” Steve tried reasoning but it was useless, you already made your decision.

“Right. So it’s time to put a stop to it. Come on, Sam & Bucky are waiting for us.” you were out of the door before Steve found enough time to argue with you.

The drive to the coordinates was tense. Not even the kids in the back were joking around. Possibly because this mission turned into something way more hazardous. The situation between Steve & you was the same. Hence why nobody commented on it. After all, you pretty much confessed before there was an actual confession. Therefore, it was the same old. The only difference was your gut feeling that did not give you a hard time anymore. That was not entirely true. You had a bad gut feeling but for another reason.

“That’s the house?” you gestured to the building after the car came to a stop.

“This is it.” Steve confirmed.

“I don’t know why I expected some sort of villa.” Bucky commented while glancing out of the window.

“Maybe that would be too obvious. I mean, we do know that they receive the money beforehand, right? And I’m sure that the order to eliminate me wasn’t his first one.” you spotted Steve tensing up when you talked about that assignment. Your hand squeezed his shoulder & you hoped that your smile was convincing enough. You were alright & you would be after this mission. With Steve, Sam & Bucky on your side, you had nothing to fear. If push came to shove, they would go out of their ways to keep you safe.

“Steve?” Sam spoke up. “You know we need him alive, right?”

“Of course.” Steve nodded though his mind was contemplating going further than that. Unfortunately, you still had to figure out who was the one to assign this to the criminal. Tony was onto that, checking if there was more to find out about that anonymous account who paid the money. “A few punches won’t kill him.”

It was the break of dawn & the neighborhood was completely empty. The silence inside the car was interrupted by Steve’s sign to make a move. All of you stayed close together, you were not about to make the same mistake people did in horror movies. Besides, you felt safer with them around. A noise made you spin around. It was coming from down the hallway. Steve took the lead, you right behind him. Sam & Bucky trailing behind after you. A gun was clutched in your hand but you were not intending to use it today. Hopefully there was no need to. Steve shot you a look over his shoulder, silently telling you to be prepared. When he pushed the door open with his body weight this time, you did not tease him about it like you did when you broke into the back of the pastry shop the other night. The sight you were met with was…unexpected. There was a man sitting behind his computer. The room smelled like drugs. A mixture of multiple things you could not identify & did not even want to.

“Woah, you’re the Avengers.” he slurred his words. So he was drunk as well. “Hey, I’m supposed to kill you.” he pointed at your figure & instinctively, Steve stepped in front of you. Shielding your body with his.

“You sure that’s our guy?” Sam leaned closer to you & whispered. Your shoulders shrugged & you pointed over to the desk where a name tag was proudly displayed. Seemed like he was not the smartest guy if he used the same name for his account on that website. Your heartrate slowed down because you knew you were not in danger. Not right now. Steve approached the man, coming to a halt mere inches away from him. His hand balled into a fist & after one punch in the guy’s face, he was on the floor, unconscious.

“Huh.” you breathed out. “That was almost too easy.”

“Yeah, if we forget about the website where thousands of people assign offenders every single day.” Bucky was right, of course. You stumbled across something way bigger. Hopefully Tony had good news once you returned.

The police was called. They inspected the room & that guy really was everything but intelligent. He horded a file full of his assignments. He would not see the sunlight again, that much was sure. Steve & you waited outside, leaning on the hood of the car. Sam & Bucky were busy talking to the officers.

“Hey.” you started & nudged Steve with your elbow. “Is it appropriate to thank that asshole?”

“What for? For wanting to kill you?” he answered with furrowed eyebrows.

“No.” you chuckled. “But…if it were not for him, we wouldn’t have confessed.”

“There was a possibility that he was dangerous. Maybe we just caught him at a bad time.” Steve mumbled the last part.

“Let’s not worry about that, alright? I’m fine. See?” you gestured to your body, a big smile adorning your features.

“I know.” he nodded but it was obvious that he was still careful about this entire situation.

“I love you.” that seemed to do the job. His eyes met yours, his expression less tense & softer.

“I know that, too.” he smirked when you playfully slapped his chest.

“Steve, you ruined a very roman-“ his lips were on yours before you could finish your complaint. Steve was aware what he was doing, because he smiled into the kiss which caused you to giggle.

“I love you, too.” his lips still ghosted over yours. You could feel as his words left them. “Romantic enough?”

“I’m sure you can do better.” you pulled away & winked at him, moving away to join Sam & Bucky. Steve’s eyes followed your body & he shook his head at you. Yes, he did love you. A lot. And he was already planning how to make his next move even more romantic.

Published (05/18/2021) by Cathy

✨MY Ko-fi PAGE✨

Tags: @zestyemby, @captainxholmes, @met4no1a, @bibliophilewednesday, @weareironmanbitches, @n3ssm0nique, @2bornot2b, @iaalien, @bibliophilewednesday (thanks for your support <3)

[neerons]

Masquerade Kiss 💋

Facts About the Characters

Main characters

Kazuomi Shido

33 yo

Born on August 10 (Leo)

Is a theater geek, and loves burlesque shows

Loves unfussy food

Is a “meat” guy and used to eat steaks in his college days

Just like MC, he is obsessed with Lady Borden (an ice cream brand in the game)

Was once homeless in the past, when he was a child/young teenager

Is extra and charming af (this is a very valid fact)

Slept with multiple girls on Yuzuru’s favorite couch, in the three S’ hideout in his college days

Drinks vodka like it’s water because of Zack

Building resorts was his childhood dream, he used to imagine and draw pictures of happy clients enjoying themselves at his future resort(s)

Can’t speak Spanish even though he was raised by Zack in Mexico, until he had to go to England for college

Knows how it feels like to be left with nothing. It was shown that he helped a homeless man by giving him some coins, and helped Leila, who grew up on the streets, become a burlesque dancer and future actress

Always wins in a game, and doesn’t cheat (except once with MC)

Has a long-standing relationship with a jeweler in Sicily. Kazuomi can request him anything, even if it’s ridiculous, and he’ll provide what Kazuomi wants

When he was in college, he painted a forgery and he, Kei, (and probably Yuzu too) switched it in a museum with the real one. No one noticed anything and people who saw the forgery were impressed, and thought it was the real thing

The restaurant ‘Masquerade’ located on the grounds of Kazuomi’s hotel started as a joint investment between the 3S’. They take turns booking the live acts

Is a genius when it comes to reading people

Kazuomi’s hotels always have rooms made specially for Yuzuru and Kei, and one room where the three of them can gather

In his route, he loves it when MC calls his name lovingly in bed. It turns him on immediately

He never worked under anyone before

According to the MC, Kazuomi has soft palms (compared to Yuzuru)

Although Kazuomi is fond of the Lady Borden ice cream brand, he has times where he is obsessed with Pino. This specific ice cream reminds him of his happy past before he lost everything, and this obsession stops once he finds a star-shaped Pino. There’s a belief that star-shaped Pinos bring good luck to the few who gets them. Kazuomi happened to get one when he was little, and got lucky after it.

In his route, Kazuomi gives the MC a yacht named “Lady (MC’s name)”

Kei Soejima

35 yo

Born on June 18 (Gemini)

His full legal name is Kei Raphael Romley Soejima

Was adopted by the Romleys, a family of Earls. His adoptive parents are Emma and Cyrus, who have 5 biological children of their own. Kei has 1 older brother, 2 older sisters, and 2 younger brothers. His adoptive grandparents are Chad and Anne Romley

In the Romley family, there's a head maid called Phoebe, who was like a nanny to Kei

MC often mentions that Kei’s scent reminds her of church

Owns a winery, and goes there to make his own wine every year. According to Yuzu, Kei has a sophisticated palate, and makes his own wine to match his personal taste

Also makes his tea himself, just like how his adopted grandma Anne Romley has taught him

His full legal name is Kei Raphael Romley Soejima

Was a nude model for a life drawing class in university

There was a rumor about Kei having a chronically ill fiancee during his college days, and as it was convenient for him, he never denied it

Can speak Russian (maybe even fluently)

Has a twin brother called Kai, who was lived with their biological father

According to MC, Kei gets theatrical when he is emotional

Drives like a madman and has gotten more than 50 traffic tickets

Keeps at least one day of a busy week free to relax/unwind

Loves ramune candy

Used to be in a polo club when he was young

As a student, he would always eat peanut butter sandwiches

He once tied a woman up to a ceiling in an old building. The ceiling ended up collapsing…

MC often says that his body is cold, especially his hands

When he had no parents and lived with other orphans at the Church, it was hinted he was abused multiple times (along with the other children) by noblemen who provided money to the Church. These moments explain why he doesn’t like being touched. His BDSM tendencies seem to have developed due to these horrible events. To him, love became domination

When he was at church, he once played hide-and-seek and hid in a casket. He then got scolded by a sister

Kei was often beat up by older kids at church. A kid named Nathaniel Bennett, who was 2 years older than Kei, often bullied him

According to Yuzu, Kei is the one who owns the property they share in England, and he’s the one who manages it too

Kei loves England and knows London like it’s his backyard. He is very loyal to his duty as a diplomat and his country and wouldn’t let anyone harm England

He can order around Scotland Yard due to his influence as a diplomat. He has a lot of authority, especially in England

It was shown that the Queen of England calls Kei on his phone herself

Kei reads a lot and owns The Complete Works of Shakespeare. He said that he had to read it all for school, and didn’t like it

When he smiles too perfectly, it means he’s in a bad mood

He has a favorite childhood toy, which was an antique puppet of a soldier given to him by Chad Romley, his grandfather

He fled the church at 8 yo after starting a fire there. His left arm is now marred by burn marks because of it. As an adult, Luke from KBTBB, who is Kei's friend, often takes care of Kei's burns to erase them little by little and help him

He graduated from two different universities before Oxford because he had a lot of interests (such as drama) and studied them

Aside from being a diplomat, Kei became an MI6 agent to become more similar to MC's ideal man

He doesn’t like to run, or exercise at all. However, to be a MI6 agent, Kei had to surpass himself and became very strong

He can play the violin. In his Best vs First story, he was shown to be playing the music “Paganini’s 24 Caprices”.

Yuzuru Shiba

32 yo

Born on February 24 (Pisces)

Has a little brother, Takumi, who is 5 years younger than him. They were separated after Yuzuru was adopted by Jun Kurose Cassano when he was 9 and his brother was 4

Lived in a poor family as a child, but was very happy

Eats healthily

Can speak Italian

Cooks very well, and healthily of course, as he was the one to do the cooking when he lived with Jun in Italy

Keeps his busy schedule open for one afternoon per week to work out, every Wednesday, in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle

Loves cars, especially Bugattis

Is into craftsmanship due to his father’s job, he loves fixing MC’s watch when something doesn’t work anymore

Avoids people who smoke because he’s scared of being unhealthy

His wardrobe is full of turtlenecks

Appears to be very cold and stoic, but once he talks about something he loves he becomes very passionate and talkative. MC and his friends also mention that he actually is a deeply emotional person

Yuzuru had a favorite couch in their hideout in England. He had to replace it along with another couch because of Kazuomi’s and Kei’s sexual activities. Kazuomi did it with multiple girls on Yuzu’s favorite couch while Kei tied a girl up all night long to another couch

Has a high IQ

Has been knighted by an Italian royal family

Owns a carbonated water maker at home

Tom Cruise appeared in a few of SHIBA’s ad campaigns

Has graduated from high school a year early

His parents passed away when he was 9. The photo album he has with his family doesn’t have any photos after his ninth birthday

Is interested in antique watches

Is very focused and can’t be disturbed when he’s fixing/creating something. He has a room dedicated to his hobby

He started off his career as an engineer

Has hacked into the UK government’s databases, and since they didn’t notice anything, he kept doing it

According to Kei, Yuzuru says that he doesn’t want to waste mental energy on banal tasks

Yuzu’s got the strongest sex drive, out of the 3S’. When he lacks sleep, he apparently also gets excited more quickly than usual

His body temperature is higher when he lacks sleep

His father, whose name is Masaru Shiba, was the owner of a small factory on the backstreets of Arakawa. Even though it was a small factory, it was very well-regarded locally for its sophisticated craftsmanship and precision. However, after an economic crisis, the big clients stopped working with the small factory because they put profit before quality. The factory went bankrupt, and this is what would have led to Yuzuru’s parents’ suicide. They were overwhelmed by an insurmountable dept, and hung themselves under the Arakawa bridge, and then, Yuzuru’s little brother went missing after they were separated

A photo of a young Yuzuru running up to his dad in front of his factory was taken more than 20 years ago. There were other photos, and they were all kept by an elderly man living in the Arakawa area

Yuzuru doesn’t seem to be very fond of alcohol/drinks that are too sweet

His father created a handmade picture book for Yuzuru, with his notebook. He drew pictures of robots and told a story for his son, to teach him about what is important to him. The message in the story, delivered by a robot, is: “It’s not good enough to just be smart. Our systems are very delicate. You need to have refined skills. You’ve got to value both smarts and craftsmanship. That’s the formula for success.”. A post-it, written by Yuzuru this time, can be found beside that robot’s line, it reads: “Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory.” Yuzuru created the AI Victoria thanks to his memories of his father. His father’s name, Masaru, also means “victory”, which is why his AI is named Victoria too

Victoria was Yuzuru’s way of bringing his deceased parents back to life. Yuzuru worked on giving Victoria a consciousness to make her act like his parents because he misses them and wanted to see if it was possible for an AI to evolve and develop a personality, one that belonged to a dead person

He and Akira Maeda used to do AI research together in college. Akira even worked with him in the beginning when Yuzu was starting his company

According to Kei, Yuzuru likes Chinese food

According to the MC, Yuzuru has rough hands (probably due to his manual work)

At SHIBA, there are glass walls that are able to fog when you touch them so that no one from the outside can see what is happening from in the inside

Victoria has been shown to write drafts of replies to Yuzuru's emails so that his job can be quicker. He looks the drafts over and then sends them if he's satisfied

Mutual memories : The three S’ in their college days

All of them were adopted by someone, and then met at Oxford when they went to college

They all shared a property, which is their hideaway. They spent a lot of time there. They still share it now but don’t use it as much as before

They have a “no-women” rule that applies when they’re in their hideaway since the time Kei and Kazuomi had sex with girls on the couches. Yuzu saw them both, ended up scarred for life, and they decided to make up that rule

Kei once asked a female student to seduce a professor he didn’t like to get him fired. His vicious plan worked

They skipped classes when they thought they were too boring for their taste. They threw parties instead

Kazuomi used to eat steaks, Kei ate noodles, and Yuzuru ate healthy stuff at the cafeteria

They all once ate flavorless pasta at the cafeteria to try it out, and it really had no taste

Kazuomi and Kei would ask Yuzuru to cook for them often because he’s a great cook

It was implied that they would sit in the front row for class, since they sat there in Yuzuru’s route like it was natural and the other students left the space empty for them

Kei was a favorite of the head of his college, so he participated in all of the student life. Kazuomi was the type to dodge it, he thought it was a nuisance

When Yuzuru was working as a barista, Kei and Kazuomi would come often to see him and ask him for drink recommendations. They had asked Yuzu to make them coffee like he would make it for himself. The other customers (who were attracted to the coffee because of Kei and Kazuomi) decided to request the same drink. This led to a new drink being added to the menu of the coffee shop: the "Yuzu Blend"

Kei was always attractive to others, but he once was stalked by a male student, who went as far as going into Kei’s dormitory room to steal some personal belongings, and slept in his bed. He also wrote him love letters that were hinted to keep getting creepier, as described by Kei

Kazuomi was once tricked during a business deal, and had lost a lot of money. To fix his mistake, he asked Kei and Yuzuru’s help to find the ones who tricked him, and win back the money he had lost by challenging his opponents to a poker game. Yuzuru found the men, and Kei had lent Kazuomi some money so he could play poker against them

Seiichi Setoyanagi | The Boss

37 yo

Can speak Russian

Has a croton garden plant. He thinks of it as a friend/comrade. The croton once saved his life when he was about to be shot by someone. He takes great care of his plant and it’s one of the few things he takes with him whenever he moves to another apartment

The apartments he stays at always feel “empty”, they don’t have any character and look like no one lives in them because he has nothing too personal except his plant

Loves typical Japanese food, and even has a soy sauce obsession. He loves tamagoyaki, especially when MC makes the rolled omelettes for him

Loves drinking beer to relax, and also coffee. He changes the types of beans sometimes

Knows MC has/had a crush on him since the beginning of every route. He used her crush to his advantage sometimes

Prefers to stay at home rather than going out

Has lost a friend during a mission (a female agent) because of their mutual partner called Z. How deep his friendship with the woman was wasn’t mentioned (yet?), but he wanted to find the person who betrayed her

In his own route, after he starts dating MC, he always makes sure his fridge is fully stocked with Lady Borden for her. Even though he doesn’t like sweet things all that much, he buys her favorite ice cream to please her and make sure she has fun and is comfortable when she comes to see him

Always is poking his nose into MC’s personal life in every route (i.e. when he asks her if she finishes her missions early because of someone, aka her boyfriend)

Gifts MC earrings and perfume, to congratulate her for a good work after a mission even when they’re not involved in a romantic relationship

When he was a young boy and was living with his family, he used to feel more at home on the deck of the house than he did in his own room

Nothing about his past was revealed yet, but it’s hinted that he didn’t have a peaceful life, especially since Kazuomi mentioned it himself, and Kazuomi reads people very well

Said himself that he knows MC as well as he knows himself, her personality, her real self, the way she thinks when she has to act during a mission, etc... He is the one who trained her when she was a newbie, so she followed his example and advice, always. He knows what she’d do because he’s the one who taught her all of this, so he can anticipate her movements most of the time. However, MC is also unpredictable at times, and in his own route he admits that he still has a lot of things to learn about her

He thinks Hugo is extremely good at his job but that it takes a lot of energy to talk to him since Hugo is very energetic

Has grown up with his grandparents on an island. He lived among animals and nature, which is why he doesn’t like crowded places. He appreciates staying indoors and taking care of his plant

His love for tamagoyaki, soy sauce, and Japanese traditional food in general comes from his grandmother’s cooking. She used to make tamagoyaki a lot for him as he grew up. He said that at that time, he used to eat eggs so much he was tired of eating them. He craves them more now that his lifestyle changed, and MC’s cooking skills remind him of his grandmother’s

Has a sister who is 10 years older than him. Her name is Reika Setoyanagi. According to her, when Seiichi was younger, he kept following her around. Seiichi mentioned that due to their age gap, their relationship was more like a parent and her child than siblings. They don’t seem to have been getting along even as children as she just wanted to leave the island. After his sister left the house they grew up in with their grandparents, she never came back nor stayed in contact with her family

The MC

27 yo

Has two younger siblings, a brother and a sister

Is very close to her dad

Her parents, but especially her mother, want her to marry and have children since she’s “at the right age for it”, and because her mother wants to be a grandmother. However, MC doesn’t have time for this because of her work, and she isn’t certain she can be anyone’s wife with her hectic lifestyle

Has natural good instincts/intuitions that make her an excellent agent

Has a crush on the boss at the beginning of every route, but she always keeps it to herself. She developed that crush since she joined the agency and was trained by the boss

Obsessed with Tom Cruise and the Mission Impossible movies because of her mother, and also with Lady Borden, a brand of ice cream (like Kazuomi)

Her real self is pretty “normal”, as in she likes simple things, and can be seen as an ordinary person. She likes sightseeing in the most touristic areas of a country and she gets excited over a celebrity she loves

She often feels sad about the fact that she has to lie to her friends and family about her actual occupation. It also put a distance between her and one of her friends when she couldn’t go to her wedding because of her work, but they made up

It is said in her character description that she is admired by other women and is the "older sister" type. However she also makes some women jealous because she takes the attention of the guys (i.e. first time she meets Kazuomi) and/or because of her beauty (i.e. when she was temporarily in prison in Kei’s S3 and the females were annoyed by her looks)

She had some trouble keeping her natural self out of her work when she was still a newbie at the agency, she told her boss she didn’t know how to split her private and professional life and act as a whole different person, which is why she puts perfume on now before her missions. It’s a method to become her agent self. Later on, she was shown to be using different methods to become her new alias, but it depends on the route

The perfume she normally uses to get into her agent self is a gift from her boss, which is called “Femme Fatale” in French. It means “fatal/lethal/deadly woman”, however “femme fatale” is normally used to describe a beautiful woman. The meaning behind it is that a femme fatale is strong, beautiful and it gives you the feeling that she somehow can’t be reached and will bring disaster to the man who gets involved with her, which is perfect for MC

Has issues trusting others. Her ex-boyfriends never felt needed by her, which is often what led to their break up

Her policy at work is that she doesn’t use sex for her missions. She doesn’t give access to her body. It’s also thanks to that policy that she can separate her private and professional lives, and act as a different person more easily

Back in college, she was an exchange student in America, and was saved by the boss from a drug deal that happened in a nightclub she was at with her friends. He made her avoid a strange man, offered her a drink and put her to sleep. Then, he booked a hotel room for her and put her on the bed, and left her a note that reads “Learn the rules if you’re going to play, kid” (there is a different version of that phrase mentioned later in which the boss is more polite towards MC and doesn't call her a kid)

Her family thinks she works at a big company in Tokyo, and they were very happy for her when she told them about this after graduating college. However, it is a lie since she cannot reveal that she is a spy to them

Admires the Boss, and her goal is to be half the agent he is

She has a favorite watch, which she inherited from her mom when she got her first job out of college. It’s an antique watch, and her mother initially fell in love with it at a little watch store in Milan years ago, while she was on her honeymoon. MC has worn it every day since it was given to her, so since she had her first assignment at the EAC. In Yuzuru’s route, after fixing MC’s watch, he adds that the watch was made by a talented watchmaker

Whenever she can relax, she watches Netflix/movies and eats ice cream (Lady Borden)

She wears her watch on her opposite wrist and signs papers with her non-dominant hand during her missions

When she heard a pianist playing a romantic song in Yuzuru’s route, she said to herself that she loved songs like this one

She hates to lose

She’s usually intimidated to talk to the boss, but stays composed. She even says that he’s scary

She works out a lot, and even has a workout routine. She said that she needs to be strong enough to take down a full-grown man. She even has some scars on her body due to her missions. In Kazuomi’s route, Kei mentions that MC is “pretty buff”. In Yuzuru’s route, it’s also mentioned that she does work out routines that are meant for men, and she does them easily

During her missions, she gives her earpiece two taps to ask her boss if there’s something he wants to tell her. It’s their way of communicating quietly

In Kei’s route, Kei describes MC’s scent as citrusy

She has a good sense of smell

Someone named “Dr. Cutter” was her GP in her early days as an EAC agent. She said she owes him a great deal because he saved her after she got seriously injured during a mission

She mentioned that she used to like the melon flavor a lot as a child when it came to ice cream

She sometimes can crave jakoten, a local food from where she came from (Uwajima). It is her favorite food aside from Lady Borden

She likes her tea to be strong and with lots of milk in Kei’s route

According to her, her type of man has usually been a straightforward man with sex appeal

Her first boyfriend is called Naoki Takashina. She went out with him from high school through college, and he was her first time

She was the captain of the basketball team in high school

In Kei's route, Theo, MC's ex-EAC partner, mentions that MC's favorite activity at work is when she gets to demolish an enemy from inside their hideout

Side Characters [Characters linked to the EAC]

Hugo

EAC stylist

MC’s friend

Beautiful French man

Is very sassy

Cares a lot about the MC. They often meet even when they don’t work, and shop together

He and the MC gift chocolate to each other on Valentine’s Day. It’s an annual custom for them

Is extremely talented at his job, and can transform any woman into a beauty

Whenever MC moves while he’s doing her hair or makeup, he scolds her to make her stay still

Also scolds her whenever she shows up with bad skin because she ate too much ice cream, or didn’t do skin care properly. If one thing about her appearance looks “off”, he’ll act theatrical because he is a perfectionist

He is homosexual, and was shown to be blushing when he saw Yuzuru in person for the first time

In Boss’ route, Hugo (who doesn’t know MC’s boyfriend is Boss) tells MC that if her boyfriend doesn’t want to sleep with her, it probably means he’s impotent since he’s close to being 40 yo. He then gave her a “magic pill”, which made both MC and Boss exasperated

He wears nail polish

According to MC, Hugo doesn’t go in for empty flattery. He means what he says when he compliments someone

When he isn’t being clear about something, it’s because something is on his mind

MC says Hugo understands everyone, man or woman

He and MC usually kiss each other on the cheek as a greeting, or to say good bye, which fits very well with his French culture

Has a cousin named Luca, who looks a lot like him

Old Man Shige

EAC’s head mechanic

His actual name is Daijiro Shigematsu

Owns a little old watch shop on the backstreets of Ginza. The shop is just a front for his real job. There’s a hidden door in that shop, to escape if needed

Calls the MC his “favorite fledgling agent”

MC describes him as stubborn, hardheaded, with an uncooperative nature, but she adds that his skills are unparalleled

He specializes in intelligence gathering tools

Thinks of watches as living things, especially old ones. He refused to sell the watch Yuzuru was interested in because it was dear to him, but after Yuzuru gave him a satisfactory answer about what the passage of time means to him, he gave it to him

Isn’t someone who’s influenced by money

Due to his reaction after MC’s comment about how similar he and Hugo are, and MC’s own comment about the two men’s relationship, it appears that Shige and Hugo fought in the past and are related

Theo Maria Bertolucci

One of the top EAC agents

He and MC were known as the EAC’s dynamic duo, they worked together on previous missions and were considered the best

He’s the youngest child of an Italian-American mafia family and joined the EAC to run away from that. Theo mentioned that he has enemies all over the world, including family members for some of them

He and MC were constant companions in both their professional and personal lives. They went undercover as a couple for 1 month for a mission and almost became an actual couple, but it didn’t happen

Is a handsy guy. Touching people in a friendly or flirty manner is natural for him

Theo is one of the most capable spies in the world, and he's incredibly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He underwent special forces training and has real combat experience

He’s a wild driver, and he added that it means he’s good in a car chase

It’s heavily hinted that he might still have feelings or an interest for MC now

In Kei's route, Theo and Yuzuru are shown speaking Italian together when they are alone

[Kazuomi's Side Characters]

Zack Thompson

(more to come...)

Leila Watson

(more to come...)

[Yuzuru's Side Characters]

Jun Kurose Cassano

(more to come...)

Takumi Shiba

(more to come...)

[Kei's Side Characters]

Anne & Chad Romley

(more to come...)

Joshua Cillian White

(more to come...)

Kai Soejima

(more to come...)

[Seiichi's Side Characters]

Reika Setoyanagi

(more to come...)

[takahero]

some descriptions of Basta in Inkheart if you’re interested!! spoiler warning just to be on the safe side, in case u haven’t read it. and my unsolicited commentary here and there

“‘Naturally I recognised them at once. Capricorn had sent his best men. Even Basta was with them.’” — pg.99

“Rasping cat’s-tongue voice” pg.125

“(Basta’s face) was thin, sharply angular, with close-set eyes…Basta was not a tall man, and his shoulders were almost as narrow as a boy’s, but Meggie held her breath when he took a step towards her…He had an aura of fury about him, or something keen and biting—” pg.126

“Only Basta wore a snow-white shirt, just as Dustfinger had said, with a red flower in the buttonhole of his jacket, a red flower like a warning.” pg.131

“He caught her eye, and with a twisted smile kissed the blade of his knife.” — pg.173 (I JUST HAD TO ADD THIS)

“‘Oh, Basta can’t write,’ replied Capricorn calmly. ‘None of my men can either read or write. I’ve forbidden them to learn.’” — pg.176 (literacy rights for Basta 2k21)

“She could see the trepidation even on Basta’s face, although he was doing his best to hide it by assuming a particularly bored expression.” — pg.185

“‘Abduction!’ Basta savoured the word. ‘Sounds good to me. Really good.’” — pg.192 (ok but if u read it a certain way. unofficial evidence that basta would enjoy reading if he could LMAO)

“‘Where’s our luggage?’ she asked.

“Dustfinger looked at her with amusement. ‘I expect Basta’s divided it out among Capricorn’s maids. He likes to ingratiate himself with them.’” — pg.213 LMAOOOOOOO OH MY GOD

“Basta was still standing in the road. His face was sharply outlined when he lit a cigarette with a lighter.” — pg.215

“And he bent down to cut through the leather thong that Basta wore around his neck. It had a little bag tied with a red drawstring hanging from it.” — pg. 231

“‘Ah, Basta!’ Fenoglio smiled. Each of his separate wrinkles expressed self-satisfaction. ‘One of the best villains I ever thought up. A rabid dog, but not half as bad as my other dark hero, Capricorn. Basta would let his heart be torn out for Capricorn, but his master is a stranger to such loyalty.’” — pg.264

“‘You know, if you were to ask me which of those two I was prouder of, Basta or Capricorn, I couldn’t tell you! Even though some critics said they were just too nasty!’” — pg.265

“Basta emphasised the word, putting his foxy face so close to Meggie’s she could see herself reflected in his eyes.” — pg.301

“‘You’ll do no such thing!’ he spat at Flatnose, as the grey cat disappeared under the wardrobe. ‘Killing cats is unlucky. How often do I have to tell you?’” — pg.303 (friendly reminder that the last time he appeared, he kicked a dog in the ribs 😐)

“Basta was walking just behind her, and she heard him quietly cursing the rain.” — pg.304 (irrelevant but i kind of hc basta to like the rain, since it would dampen dustfinger’s showbiz LMAO)

“Basta’s eyes always narrowed when he smiled.” — pg.305

“‘You wear long sleeves,’ Fenoglio continued very slowly, as if giving Basta time to take in every single word, ‘because your master likes playing with fire. You burned both arms right up to the shoulders when you obeyed his orders and set fire to the house of a man who had dared to refuse his daughter to Capricorn. Ever since then, someone else has laid the fire, and you confine yourself to playing games with knives.’” — pg.308

“‘Oh, I know all about you, Basta,’ he said. ‘I know you’d give your life for Capricorn any day, and you’re always hungry for his praise. I know you were younger than Meggie when his men picked you up, and ever since you’ve loved him like a father. But shall I tell you something? Capricorn thinks you’re stupid, and despises you for it. He despises you all, his devoted black-clad sons, although it’s his own doing that you’re still so ignorant. And he wouldn’t hesitate to set the police on to any one of you if it was to his advantage. Are you quite clear about that?’” — pg.308 (FENOGLIO…..RUTHLESS)

“Basta winked at Meggie.” — pg.310 (wink 1)

“Every cruel deed with which he had ever credited Basta was probably going through his head. Basta relished the fear on his face for a few delicious minutes.” — pg.312

“Basta’s car had not been in the car park at all since they’d come here. It was unusual for it to be gone so long, because Basta didn’t like to be away from the village for any length of time.” — pg.318 basta is a homebody guys

“‘Save your tongue for later, scribbler!” Basta interrupted. ‘I don’t like whispering.’” — pg.324

“Almost all the women in the village kept away from Basta, but he didn’t keep away from them.” — pg.337

“‘Take him, for instance,’ he said, pointing to Basta. ‘I always knew he was a very unhappy boy before you picked him up. As it says in another very fine book, it’s terribly easy to persuade children that they are worthless. Basta was convinced of it. Not that you taught him any better, oh no! Why would you? But suddenly here was someone to whom he could devote himself, someone who told him what to do — he’d found a god, Capricorn, and if you treated him badly, well, who says that all gods are kindly? Most of them are stern and cruel, wouldn’t you agree? I didn’t write all this in the book. I knew it, that was enough.’” — pg.345 (this is really the part that made my stance toward basta change. like PHEW. that’s a lot to unpack)

“Basta was notorious for his silent tread.” — pg.363

“Basta’s breath smelled of mint, fresh and sharp. Apparently a girl he’d once wanted to kiss had told him he had bad breath. The girl had regretted it, but ever since then Basta chewed peppermint leaves from morning to night.” — pg.364

“He whistled softly through his teeth, then held the book close to Meggie’s face.”— pg.374 (i was rendered speechless)

“Basta’s lips quivered with annoyance, but he bit back his reply and, without a word, put his hand under the black cloth.” — pg.377 (ugh I loved this. like we know he worships capricorn like a dog, but earlier fenoglio flat out told him capricorn couldn’t care less about what happened to him. more than that, capricorn asked basta to bring meggie and fenoglio — prisoners — into his home. later dustfinger says that basta would’ve slept on the threshold of capricorn’s room if he could but none of the men sleep there. so with all of this fresh in his mind, you can imagine him feeling quite hurt and betrayed. UGH I wish he had a greater arc surrounding capricorn…like even if we saw a few hints that his loyalty was starting to show cracks…idk what his arc is in inkspell so maybe I’ll sit tight for that)

“He was in a hurry to get back to the light of day, away from the dead and their ghosts. His hand shook as he hung his lantern on a book and opened the grating over the first cell.” — pg.409

“Dustfinger was always surprised to find how easily you could scare the man with a few words.” — pg.409 LMAOOOOO

“‘That notion of burning us isn’t a very new idea, Basta, but then you were never fond of new ideas.’” — pg.422

“His teeth were almost as white as his shirt.” — pg.442

“Meggie saw from his face that everything in him felt revulsion, but he came closer and took the creature. He held the scaly body well away from him as it wound and twisted in the air.

“‘As you see, Basta doesn’t care for my snakes!’ said the Magpie, with a smile. ‘He never did, not that that means much. As far as I know Basta doesn’t like anything but his knife. He also believed that snakes bring bad luck, which of course is pure nonsense.’ Mortola handed Basta the second snake. Meggie saw the viper’s tiny poison fangs when it opened its mouth. For a moment, she almost felt sorry for Basta.” — pg.446

“‘Basta likes to use snakes to scare women who reject his advances. It didn’t work with Resa. How did it go exactly — didn’t she finally put the snake outside your door, Basta?’” — pg.446 (10/10 resa & snake well-deserved)

“Basta did not want neighbours. Indeed, he wanted no other company but Capricorn’s. Dustfinger knew Basta would have slept on the threshold of Capricorn’s room if he had been allowed to, but none of the men lived in the main house.” — pg.478

“Basta was probably the only man in Capricorn’s village who locked his front door.” — pg.480

“They said in the village that whenever Capricorn had a house set on fire Basta took away a brick or stone, even though he feared fire at other times, and clearly that story was true.” — pg.480

“(Everything in Basta’s house was scrubbed clean, as spotless as his snow-white shirt.)” — pg.481

“Once or twice, footsteps approached, but each time they passed by the house. What a good thing Basta had no friends.” — pg.482

“Basta was not in a good way. Whenever they looked at him they saw his hands clinging to the bars, knuckles white under his sun-tanned skin.” — pg.503 (BASTA’S SUNTANNED?!?!)

“Basta in particular was the object of enough scorn and derision for ten men, and from his failure to react at all one could only guess at the depths of his despair.” — pg.503

“For the fraction of a second life came back into Basta as his former lord and master stopped by the bars; he raised his head, his eyes pleading silently, like a dog begging for forgiveness…Basta only bowed his head and stared at the floor. Elinor thought he looked like an oyster with the flesh and life sucked out of it.” — pg.504 (i honestly still can’t wrap my head around his behaviour in this chap. i mean yes, the gladiator-style death sentence looming over his head can’t be understated. but i think for me it was how rapidly his spirits deteriorated from screaming for help in the cell to becoming a husk of a man before he even saw capricorn again? how?? was it all because of dustfinger spooking him so bad in the crypt?? 🤔🤔)

[2030kamenriders]

Moving on to the next dopant: Money.

Let's be brutally honest, I'm assigning this guy as just plain evil; he literally destroys people's lives via debt, and makes money off of it. He reminds me of annoying billionaires in a way.

If there's any moment for Akiko to be given the Kamen Rider Joker powers, now would probably be it. Mr. Narumi probably still has a bit of healing to do after T-Rex and Magma get their upgrade. And back in the OG timeline, this is one of the first and main times we see that Akiko is the type to walk into dangerous situations if it's to solve a case.

That being said: Money Dopant still has a bunch of people trapped as coins inside him. The Narumis are gonna need to retrieve those before defeating Money, or else those trapped people are gonna die. So unless someone in the agency is really good at Old Maid, there's gonna be a problem. Potential outcomes:

Shroud or Mr. Narumi turn out to be secretly an expert on card games. Maybe it's a hardboiled thing. (Possible, but kinda feels like a narrative cop-out.)

Money Dopant still exists for a longer period of time, until the detectives find a way to free the trapped civilians. (Allows for Money Dopant to be in future mini-cases, to potentially help other dopants)

The detectives steal the coins. (Not sure if that's possible, but it would be fun to think of ways to make it happen.)

Combination of the last 2 points: the detectives befriend another person (potentially a dopant?) who steals the coins. (Perhaps some sort of thief or ghost dopant? Or a magnet dopant? Or a good-luck dopant?)