#mere HOURS after they got married and he gave up his whole career as a thief for her

[ctrl-lupin]

Yes, I would be very interested hearing your head canon (@tim-ribbert-56) (in response to this post)

I have decided for my personal entertainment that Clarisse de Cagliostro is related to Lupin III, and here's why.

-pulls out Arsène Lupin's Wikipedia page-

In the novel La Comtesse de Cagliostro, a young Arsène Lupin (at the time going by the name Raoul d'Andrésy) was courting Clarisse d'Etigues, a young lady of a well-to-do family, and trying to win her hand, despite her father's disapproval.

Throughout the course of the novel, Lupin meets and falls in love with Joséphine Balsamo, aka the Countess of Cagliostro, and abandons Clarisse in favour of her. To clarify, Joséphine is not actually countess of anything, she is (or claims to be) a descendant of Giuseppe Balsamo aka the Count of Cagliostro (who was also count of jack shit), a famous conman from the 18th century.

Shenanigans ensue, which I will not go into in details on, but oh my god I am insane about Raoul and Joséphine, I want to dissect them and study them under a microscope. It turns out Joséphine aka Cagliostro is evil as fuck, Raoul/Lupin realizes that and goes back to Clarisse (whom he had previously abandoned like an old sock, I fucking hate this guy), marries her, and a few years later has her kid.

Unfortunately Clarisse dies in childbirth, and Joséphine, who was still around and very very pissed at Lupin (and jealous as hell of Clarisse whom, may I mention, had never personally antagonized her in any way whatsoever, Joséphine is just fucking bonkers). Joséphine also kidnaps Lupin and Clarisse's son, Jean, and raises him as her own son. (I have not yet read the following novel The revenge of Cagliostro so I don't really know what Jean's deal is, I just know he's an antagonist).

The following is my headcanon, based on these events. In the universe of Lupin III, Joséphine Balsamo was actually countess of the small kingdom of Cagliostro (maybe Giuseppe was count, maybe he conned his way into becoming count, maybe he bought the land and built a fake kingdom with a fake history, who knows).

After the events of The revenge of Cagliostro, Jean settles down in the country of Cagliostro, gets married, has a child, and that child will later have a daughter of their own, who they name Clarisse, after their late grandmother. Clarisse de Cagliostro, of Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro fame, would thus be the great-grand-daughter of Arsène Lupin, making her Lupin III's cousin/niece/whatever you call this specific degree of separation.

I am choosing to make Clarisse de Cagliostro a great-granddaughter of Arsène Lupin, rather than a granddaughter, because Arsène Lupin was very young when the events I described unfolded: he is 20 years old when he meets Clarisse d'Etigues and the whole Cagliostro debacle happens, and 25 by the time Jean is born. I'm assuming he had Lupin II much later in his life. So Jean and Lupin II (half-brothers) would have a significant difference in age, and so Jean's hypothetical child (grandchild of Arsène Lupin, so of the same generation of Lupin III) would be much older than Lupin III. Clarisse de Cagliostro is younger than him, maybe around the same age if you stretch it, so she's have to be a great-grandchild.

Now I need to read The revenge of Cagliostro and study Arsène Lupin's wikipedia page in more detail to determine when exactly Lupin II was born and who his mother was. And also where Albert's family branched out, because the fact that he's called D'Andrésy should theoretically place him as a descendant of Arsène Lupin's mother but not of Arsène Lupin himself; but Jean was also going by that last name, so who fucking knows.

No I am not insane I promise, I am just a gigantic nerd.

[etheraella]

Lies Between Ties || Part I ||

(Draco Malfoy x Fem!Reader)

Summary : Y/N and Draco caught themselves in an arranged marriage by their parents, they both try and act like a happy married couple infront of their families, when in reality they made an agreement to not cross each other’s space and treat each other as ‘roommates’. What happens when one unknowingly gains feelings?

Warnings : No War/Voldemort!AU, Arranged Marriage, Slowburn, Unrequited Love (?), Angst, Arguing, slight cursing.

Your eyes widen in shock, not believing what the woman you respected all your life had just said. You scoffed in disbelief as your mother puts her welcoming hand on yours in comfort. "Very funny, Mama."

She frowned, holding back a smile. "Y/N, this is not a joke, I think it's for the best if you marry him, Narcissa-"

"I know she's your friend, Mama. But I don't even know him, we've never exchanged a conversation, and it's best if we keep it that way." You got up ready to leave the conversation. Unfortunately, your mother grabbed your wrist softly before you could do so.

"Y/N please, the Malfoys can give you the life I could never give you, and I'm getting older, sooner or later when I'm gone, somebody is going to have and help me look after you. At least with the Malfoys’ I know you'd be in good hands." She confessed with sadness in her voice, the grip on your wrist getting firmer.

"Please don't say that, ma. I would want to get married but not anytime soon. I've only just graduated Hogwarts, and who's going to take care of you?"

"Your stepfather is retiring soon, we'll just be here at home and you can come visit us after you and Draco have settled,"

You squinted the moment Draco's name left your mothers lips. Sure, the two have never said a word to each other, but he was known for his boastful and rich background. Everyone in Hogwarts would've known the Slytherin Prince. Though, that never interest you. He probably never knew who you were anyway.

"I never said I agreed to it." you finally said not meeting her gaze.

"Francis and I have already agreed to the Malfoys, dear. The wedding is to be held in 3 months, please Y/N for the sake of mine, you'll learn to accept Draco and there's no doubt the two of you will be happy together." She smiled kissing your forehead lovingly before getting up to leave.

“but with what certainty?”

the words were in a whisper that were only heard by you.

━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━

The sound of birds chirping and peaceful leaves rustling filled your ears. Memories of the conversation filled your head. Out of everyone in the whole world, why Draco Malfoy? What does he think of this ridiculous arrangement? With less than 2 months, the two of you have never met since you saw him back at Hogwarts, and tonight would be the first time the two of you would meet after the marriage conversation. Just then you heard the sound of footsteps and your mother appeared in the doorway.

"Come inside and get ready, dear."

That night, you sat opposite of Draco for dinner, you daren't lift your gaze to meet his. You knew the moment he entered your living room with a boring expression that he wasn't excited or fond on meeting you, or to even be wed to you. Well, so were you.

"Y/N, why don't you have a walk with Draco by the lake?" your mother says suddenly, smiling brightly between you and Draco.

"Yes, Mama" you say politely returning a fake smile, trying your best to hide your annoyance.

You walk with Draco in silence and you open your mouth every now and then trying to start a conversation. You didn’t realise the difference in your heights until you were side by side, Draco Malfoy was taller and much broader than you remember.

"Malfoy-"

Draco stops, meeting your eyes before averting his gaze to the lake on his left.

"I’m not sure It’s wise to use surnames considering the situation we're in.”

Taken aback, you were surprised he was even suggesting this, the Draco Malfoy in front of you seemed more mature than the Malfoy you knew of in school.

"And what situation do you take this as?"

"- A situation that shouldn't happen in the first place. If you only hadn't agreed to it."

You couldn't believe your ears at his absurd accusation. His voice calm but firm at the same time, looking at you as if you're something a cat dragged in.

"Me? You think I want to marry you?" You gave a short laugh. "Your parents sent the proposal first and you blame this on me? For Godric's sake, I don't even know you nor do I have any feelings for you. I'm only following my mother's desires, Draco Malfoy."

"I can guarantee you, the feeling’s mutual." he said through gritted teeth followed by an awkward silence as two of you continue your walk. You stared at your shoes with each step, trying to think of a sentence that will make him help you cancel the wedding. You couldn't bare marrying someone you don't love, especially someone with a big ego like Draco’s. No, never in a million years.

"Mal- Draco, I didn’t intend to ask you upon this favour, as we both know how ridiculous this arrangement is. Please convince Narcissa and Lucius to call it off. It's not too late, considering you're a man-"

"As much as I would love that, Y/N. I would never want to break my mother's heart, I don't bloody care if you call it off, it's perfectly fine with me. We'll discuss this again after the wedding." He said, rolling his eyes and walking back to the house leaving you alone.

You blink in shock, your eyes following his walking figure, his silver blond hair visible under the moonlight. That bastard! Why would he think it's any better after the wedding? Sighing in disappointment, you slumped on the bench facing the lake, the darkness of the night swallowing you.

━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━

"You are to be MARRIED to Draco?" Jane's eyes widen in shock, she stood up facing you, her pupils searching for yours trying to find mischief. To her prevail, you were dead serious and that got her sitting back on the chair slowly.

"But - I thought you wanted to be a healer-"

"I do, I can be a healer while married. I wouldn't need permission to pursue my dream career, would I?" You sighed, staring at the wand in your hand. Jane has been your best friend ever since the two of you got sorted in the same house back in Hogwarts. You wanted her to be your bridesmaid. Knowing how grand the Malfoy's are, it makes sense how big they want this wedding to be, considering Draco's the only Malfoy heir. You didn't know what to think of it, ever since you were a child, you had always dreamt of how you wanted your wedding to be, you didn't mind how the reception would look, how flowy your dress would be, as long as it's with friends and relatives, and a person you're in love with.

Jane was silent for several seconds. "Oh Y/N...but Draco Malfoy?"

"YES JANE! What other Dracos do you know of?" You roll your eyes in irritation, hating the fact of being reminded of marrying a bloke like him. Jane sighed and looked at you with sympathy,

“But, I’m afraid your mother’s right.. there’s no denying the Malfoys are rich-“

You snorted. “richly arrogant”

The silver band on your ring finger brimmed. The mere thought of you being engaged was still unbelievable, so is the oncoming wedding. Feeling frustrated, you terribly wanted to pull your hair out.

“Jane, I have an idea.. perhaps on the wedding day, you could wear a long veil and take my place instead-“ You randomly suggest.

“Y/N Y/L/N, Are you mad? We both know your absurd schemes are never going to work,” Jane smiled sadly, gripping your hand in hers.

You sighed in disappointment, praying deep down the wedding would be disastrous or a random fire would begin before the vows, yes, it was a childishly dangerous thought but you were willing to escape this arrangement without hurting your mother’s feelings.

━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━

On the wedding day, of course the unfortunate events you hoped for didn’t occur. You weren’t as devastated as you thought you would be when you woke up that morning, wrapping sheets of mattress around yourself. It could be that you were finally accepting your fate, you groaned at the thought. In 24 hours, you would be ‘Mrs. Malfoy’, how grand.

The dress that was altered for you was beautiful, you couldn’t take your eyes off it. The white material felt light and gorgeous under your fingertips. Jane had repeatedly told you how breath-taking you looked, you didn’t deny that.

Before the event began, Narcissa had come in your dressing room with an amber green leathered box. Seeing your future mother in-law made you awfully nervous, even if you weren’t whole heartedly willing to marry her son. You quickly pushed the guilt away when she cupped your hands in hers.

“Oh Merlin, you look lovely Y/N,” She said with a smile before opening the box, revealing a heavenly beautiful bracelet the Malfoy initials carved in golden. You let Narcissa gently put it on you telling you of the Malfoy heirloom’s history. The bracelet was given to wear on special occasions, the heirloom given down to each heir on the wedding day.

The piano started playing as you entered the hall, guests arise to their feet, staring at you in awe. Your mother stood at the end of the hall with Francis; happiness laced with sadness painted on her expressions, seeing her only child in white walking down the aisle. Your eyes wander along the decorations in the hall before landing on Draco. He looked undeniably handsome, his platinum blonde hair neatly combed as always, expression unreadable.

When the rings and vows were exchanged the hall erupted in an applause. You looked up to see Draco looking at you with a fake smile etched on his face, the sounds of cheering suddenly muted. It was all an act, you remind yourself.

.

.

A/N : —Luna here ! I decided to start a series ;) and..a special appreciation to Celeste for being my trusty editor !! If you enjoy this please reblog/share 👉🏼👈🏼🥺. We made a taglist form that can be found on our bio and here [x].

Taglist 🏷 : @amourtentiaa

[extremelyblackandwhite]

innocence - 30

PAIRING: bodyguard!bucky barnes x innocent actress!reader

WARNINGS: angst, panic attack

A/N: all i can say is enjoy it before it goes completely downhill xx

NEXT CHAPTER

   - Marry me, Y/N. - she looked at him in disbelief, lips slightly parted as she wondered if she had heard him correctly?

   - What? 

   - I ... hm ... would you consider being my wife at some point in the near future? 

His father had once told him the moment between the proposal and the answer is the longest moment he’d ever go through. Bucky knew long, he knew long times, he was 106 after all but this moment seemed to last three centuries. She stared at him as if she had merely imagined those words. His heart beat against his chest like a drum, as she opened her mouth. She was going to say no. Why would she even say yes? She was so sweet, so beautiful, so full of a  sweet loving innocence which just  made her endearing to anyone and everyone who met her. He is not the type of man that ends up with a girl like her. No, he’s the type of man who she dates as a mistake, the one she dates before she meets the one and Bucky was constantly waiting for the moment she realised he was a monster.

  - Yeah. - she smiled, the type of smile which easily brightened up his day. She moved from her spot in the bed, sitting on top of his lap to wrap her arms around his neck. - Yes, I will marry you. 

  - What?

  - Yes. - she leaned down to kiss him. - I will become your wife at some point in the near future. 

  - So, just to be safe, you are agreeing to marry me? Me? - he was still in shock she had said yes. Those words, that question, it was just came out of his mouth like crazy ramblings spawned out of his desire to have a family with her. He just didn’t expect her to say yes. He didn’t expect her to be sat on top of his lap, smiling at him having said yes. - Doll, I ... Fuck, I don’t have a ring. I can’t believe I just proposed to you without a ring.

   - That’s fine. I love you and you love me. I don’t need a ring. - she cupped his face, kissing the tip of his nose. - Just us. 

   - Just us. - he leaned towards to capture her chapstick covered lips into a soft kiss. - I like that, princess. Just us. 

   - Yeah. - Y/N shyly smiled, leaning against his shoulder. - You make me so happy, Buck. You don’t even know how happy you make me. 

Bucky didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say, what to reply to her so all he did was just look at her, head tucked on the shoulder, the metal shoulder with such confidence and such care. She did not believe he could hurt her and she loved him. There were little moments in his life which had made him want to cry, he had refused to cry many times, but having the woman he loved tell him she loves him, she cares for him, she’ll marry him ... the same woman telling him he makes her happy, not just any woman, the woman he loved ... gosh, it was too much. All he could do was kiss her scalp, hold her close to his naked chest which in any other time it would’ve turned sexual but now, now it was just a candid moment, a moment he wanted to hold close to him for as long as he could leave. He refused to forget the feeling of her hair strands against his shoulder, her warm hand against his chest.

The rest of the holidays were as eventful as it would be. Y/N had decided to only tell her parents about the engagement, keeping her extended family and siblings outside the news merely to keep the event away from the media. She didn’t want it publicised and neither did Bucky. Her parents were overjoyed, with her mother wanting to take photographs of them to put on the family album while her father just gave him the look he would’ve given to his sister’s husband had he been ... well, there. All good things come to an end and that end was very close as the two of them were supposed to fly back to New York for Y/N to attend the New Years’ Eve Vanity Fair gala. 

     - I wished we could stay for longer. - Y/N groaned as she stuffed more clothing into her luggage. - Last thing I need is a gala.  

     - It’ll be okay, princess. - Bucky came up from behind her, resting his chin against her shoulder. - We can return when you have another free time slot.

     - I never have free time. 

     - I’ll steal you away if they overwork you. - he bite her shoulder playfully. - What’s the sad mood really all about? Don’t tell me it’s about missing Colin calling me a 200 year old. 

      - It’s silly. - she shook her head, folding more of her clothing to put with the rest of it. 

     - I know that face. - he turned her so she was facing him. - What is it? Is it your parents? Do you miss your parents?

     - No ... I ... uhm, remember the Halloween party you and I went to?

     - Yeah, what about it?

     - I met some people from the RSC and they said if I ever was in London, I should try and audition for their West End run of Moulin Rouge. I got this e-mail yesterday, auditions are in like an hour and I don’t know ...

     -  Do you wanna do it?

     - No, I mean ... I can’t, my contract says they’ll pick the opportunities for me and it’s London and I’m in New York. Besides, we leave in two hours.

     - They don’t need to know. 

     - Bucky ... - she was about to argue with him but he interrupted her, kissing her sweetly. 

     - Do you wanna do it? - he looked into her eyes. Bucky could always tell when she was lying by looking into her eyes; she would always divert them away from the person standing in front of her, normally to the right, chin tucked into her chest, gaze up. 

     - I ... I do but ...

     - We can make it. Your agency does not need to know and it’s not like it’s a done deal. Princess, if you wanna do it then do it.

     - Buck, it’s not that simple. 

     - It is that simple, doll. I can get you wherever you want without anyone knowing and we’ll still make our flight.

     - Bucky, I’m not gonna get it. - she sat on top of her bed. She didn’t know if she was gonna get it and it wasn’t that she was afraid of failure or rejection, god she knew both too well, all she was afraid of was if they discovered. She was under a tight contract but those words, that invite to her during that party, it just pulled at her conscience. Bucky was much too familiar with her to know exactly what was going through her mind. 

      - I’m not gonna let anyone touch you. - his fingers hooked under her chin, turning her face towards him so he could lean his forehead against hers. - They won’t know.

    -  Bucky, they always know.

    - You don’t get to be called a ghost story if you’re not good at being a ghost, princess. If you don’t want to do it then it’s okay but if you’re not gonna do it because of what your agency thinks ... 

    - You’re sure no one will know?

    - Well if they do, we can always get you plastic surgery. - he lightened up the mood making her look up at him, her chin tucked in her chest as she lightly giggled, rolling her eyes at him. - You’ll be fine, princess. 

She was nervous as the taxi pulled in front of one of the theatres were the auditions were happening. Looking at her watch, exactly an hour before they had to make it to the airport, check in and get to their gates. Maybe this was a mistake, how was she supposed to feel? The agency had given her a shot at a career in the States, everyone wants a career in the States. She should be happy, she should be so happy but how happy could she feel about being back if thinking about stepping into that plane destroyed her heart into a million pieces. Looking to her right, Bucky was smiling at her, always blindly believing her even if she led him directly into the fire, but he was there. He kissed her temple as she left the car and rushed into the theatre before anyone could show. 

She had been to so many auditions before, she had felt her body shake so many times when her name was called out after signing a non disclosure agreement as it was usual for popular shows. This time it was different, this time the light seemed brighter, illuminating each of her features and almost illuminating the sweat starting to form on her forehead. She stood tall, almost like a woman in a panting with hands resting against the beginning of her skirt, one foot in front of the other. 

    - My name is Y/N Y/LN and I’m auditioning for the part of Satine. - her voice even wavered as she struggled to do something she had been so used to doing since she was young. 

    - What will you be performing, Miss Y/L/N?

    - If It is True from My Life with Albertine. - she looked over to the pianist, signalling him to start.

Her heart was beating so fast and she could feel her whole being shaking as she wondered what Miss Olson would do to her if she even suspected she was doing an audition outside of her contract. She ended up missing the first bars, looking down at her feet as she thought back to quit until she saw him sat down in the further back of the theatre. Cap on, almost covering his whole face but she could see his eyes, she could see his blue eyes just like she could see them every morning  when she woke up. 

    - If it is true, you love me. If when at night dreaming you dream of me then I am luckier than the king who rules the sea. - she decided to sing for him instead, blurring everything except for his almost blended figure in the back. Her hands touched the pearls laying against her neck as she cocked her head to the side, small smile on her lips. - And if I die a sudden death for reasons why I do not know. But if I die a sudden death to live forever in paradise, I will not be as happy, in all that time, as I have been with you. If it is true, if it is so, you love me. If it is true, and I have heard you then I am wealthier than a queen with love of you, I am wealthier than a king with love of you.

The bars ended and she returned her gaze to the board of the directorial team which gestured for her to leave and someone else to enter. She left through the backstage, meeting Bucky just at stage door, who wrapped his arms around her, twirling her before kissing her lips and nose.

    - You did so great, princess. It’s almost unfair for the other people auditioning.

    - We need to get going or we’ll miss our flight. - she avoided another one of his kisses, her watch shining brightly with the hour. - C’mon. 

    -  It’s gonna be fine, princess. We’ll make it.

Once again, he was right. How could he not be right? When it came to time management, Bucky seemed to be almost too good at it, almost too good for someone who had so much time. Nevertheless, they were inside the plane again, the time when they had left New York now so behind them as they returned to his birthplace. She leaned against him arm, not caring it was made of metal, it was him and that’s all it mattered to her. Y/N was innocent enough to believe she could do  whatever she wanted while in London, while in the airplane but she knew the moment she stepped foot on American soil she was back to being property of her agency. Back to the parties, the gowns and the constant filming. She loved her job, she really did but things pilled up so easily and she felt locked inside a cage, slowly suffocating. 

She did not want the plane to land, she did not want to be in the present of her situation but it did and during the early hours of the morning both her and Bucky were going down the stairs of the plane and onto the sleeve which lead to the baggage claim area. Bucky immediately went in bodyguard mood despite the fact the airport was very much empty but no him no amount of care was too much and until they got inside the taxi, he cut through people with precise ease, yet held her hand like any boyfriend would. The ride home was silent, neither Bucky or Y/N liked to discuss their matters in front of people they did not trust. The walk up to his apartment was equally silent, with the both of them basking in their own comfort until they reached the door. The two walked in hand and hand before throwing the bags to the side.

    - Home sweet home. - Bucky kissed the side of her forehead. - So, what’s the agenda for tomorrow?

    - Boring. - she groaned, sitting down on his couch. 

    - You get to eat for free, how boring can it be?

    - Those 40s habits sure die hard, don’t they? - she smirked. - I need to get to my apartment at 4PM to get my makeup and hair done, put the dress on ... PR shots and so on. 

    - Your apartment?

    - I know what you’re thinking, Buck. - she tilted her head slightly to the side.

    - I am not thinking anything.

    - Please. - she crossed her arms. - You’re thinking it’s not safe.

    - That’s not what I’m thinking. - he walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. - I’m thinking it’s not safe to have that many people in an unsafe apartment without me around.

    - You’re not gonna be there? - she was taken by surprise. Bucky was always around, even when they weren’t dating. 

    - Ms. Olson said I can’t be there. Might spoil something ... whatever that means ... but I’ll escort you to the venue and stay with you from then onwards.

    - You’re not gonna be far, are you?

    - I thought you knew what I was thinking, doll face. - he leaned his forehead against hers, teasing smile gracing his lips as those words left him. - You think I’d let you be alone with those people far away from me? No, princess, I’ll be around. 

    - Good. 

Y/N did not enjoy the parties she had to attend as a member of her agency. Everything was highly planed, too planed even and so was this day. She entered her old apartment and a swat team of people were already waiting for her, she smiled at them, grabbing the letters which had started to pile up on the floor ever since she left to stay with Bucky, until Ms. Olson grabbed her arm and pulled her into her bedroom where the hairstylist and makeup artist were waiting for her. Her assistant’s hands pushed onto her shoulders to sit her down in the chair. Y/N started to go through her letters, most were Christmas postcards, bills, letters from several companies and none mattered much except for one in a brown envelope. She furrowed her eyebrows at the lack of sender name or even her own name or address in the envelope. As the hairstylist started to style her hair, she opened the envelope, a few photos of her falling on her lap. A breathe got stuck in her throat as she saw her own eyes scratched out with crosses over them. 

   - What is that? - Ms Olson took the photos off her hands. - Why is this still happening? Last thing we need is crazy stalker PR.

   - I .. I don’t know. - she shrugged, not knowing why she felt so guilty. It wasn’t her fault. Right?

   - Right, I’m sending this to Mr. Hawthorne, he has a friend in the government, and you ... you better not get into any trouble tonight, Y/N. Are we clear?

   - Yes, Ms Olson.

   - Good and try to smile a bit more for the photos. 

Her ears filled with a static buzz and although she could see herself in the mirror and her surroundings, she felt she was laying on the floor of a dark room with dead eyes. Motionless, she remained motionless staring at herself in the mirror yet not understanding the image she could see. She wondered if she had fallen too deep into the industry to be rescued and suddenly that black dark room was filling with water and she just let it happen. Y/N just laid on that metaphorical dark ground, floating in the dark water which kept entering her lungs until she couldn’t bring anymore.

   - You’re ready. - she had been so lost in her own mind she did not realise she was fully dressed, hair ready and makeup done. It was pretty subtle, she thought, small black dress falling pretty much looser with tussled hair and skin toned makeup. It was something she’d pick for herself ... maybe the agency did knew her better than she did. 

They did the same thing they always did, some shots some not candid candid moments for social media and the good old fake champagne shot. She never really enjoyed champagne, she found it quite bitter even sour but it was prestigious. She guessed somehow it correlated with how she lived now, or how she was portrayed. She was ushered into the limo to Bucky, her Bucky yet she couldn’t really say anything until it was just her, Bucky and the driver. Once they were at least 10 minutes, it felt like the air she was holding in finally came crashing and she was pushed back into her own reality.

   - Y/N. - Bucky only spoke her name, not touching not do anything. - I am here, you are safe.

   - What? - she looked his way before smiling. She was an actress after all, but he was a former spy assassin. 

   - You are safe. - her features relaxed and she didn’t say a thing, instead marinating in her own thoughts. - I am here, you are safe.

   - I don’t wanna go. - she let it out, her face coming to the realisation of what exactly this meant. She knocked on the partition. - Stop the car.

   - What? - the driver was as confused as Bucky was. 

  - STOP THE CAR! - she yelled out and the car came to an abrupt end. She opened the door and like a mad woman she walked out into the first alley she saw, leaning against the wall with her hand pressed against her chest. Bucky went after her, stopping after he saw her leaning against the brick wall, hand over her mouth. Bucky knew panic attacks when he saw one and this was one of them. 

  - Princess ... - he walked up to her, trying to hold her but she stopped him.

  - I’m not going.

  - Okay, we’re not going. - he took off his gloves, raising his hands in the air. - Look at me princess, it’s me okay. It’s me, just me. Just us. 

   - I can’t do this anymore. 

   - Can you breathe in for me? - Bucky managed to finally hold her once her defences were down. - Count to ten in your head and then breathe out. 

Y/N breathed in, her head going immediately to count sheep, specifically 10 sheep. It was childish and she knew it was childish but she always did that whenever she needed to recover from feeling anxious. She let the air out before repeating again for what felt like a hundred times and things seem to calm down. However, peace and quiet wasn’t in the cards for her.

   - Just what in the heck do you think you’re doing. - Ms. Olson’s high pitched voice made her flinch. - You are not important enough to win the privilege to be late. 

   - Keep it. - Bucky warned, giving her the look no one wanted to receive. A look that was more Winter Soldier than Bucky Barnes.

   - You stay in your lane. - she pointed her pen at him. - Get in the car right now, Y/N. I do not have the time to deal with whatever childish diva tendencies you’re developing.

    - Not now, let her be.

    - Y/N. - she tried to grab Y/N’s arm but Bucky got to her before she did, twisting her wrist with his metal arm before he could even realise what he was doing. He let go of her wrist, but still looked at her as if he was ready to kill her. Instincts die hard. - You are going to regret this, Barnes. And you, Y/N, get in that car now.

   - No. - she meekly perked up.

   - Excuse me?

   - No. - she spoke out a little bit more strongly, forcefully grabbing her purse. - I am not going. 

   - You don’t get to ...

   - Yes, I do. - she interrupted him. - I did not sign a contract which specifically mentioned what events I need to attend, just how many. As such, I am not going and if you try to stop me or try to touch me without my permission ever I will sue you for harassment and I don’t think having an affair with Mr. Hawthorne pays for the legal fees you’d have to pay.

   -  You will sue me? - she almost scoffed at the not so meek actress. 

   - My dad is a barrister and my siblings are all lawyers. I have more knowledge of law and suing than you ever did and ever will. 

   - You wanna call the shots now, tots? - she rolled her eyes before stepping back. - Okay. 

Y/N remained behind suspicious of why it had been so easy to get rid of her but decided not to dwell on it. Bucky too was unsuspicious but was more worried about Y/N. She wrapped her hand against his, kissing his shoulder as the two watched Ms. Olson’s car leave along with her car. Typical. Of course she took her car. 

 - It’ll be fine, right? - she questioned looking up.

 - If everything goes to hell, we’ll move to a private dessert island and start there.

 - Let’s just go home. - she breathed out. - Let’s just forget new year’s eve.

 - It’s a lousy date anyway.

 - Yeah. Why are we celebrating the sun rotating a full turn around Earth? It’s ridiculous. 

Bucky was always happy to spend alone time with her and while part of him wanted to ask what had triggered her panic attack, he let her have her space. The two of them just sat on the couch, his head on her lap as she played with his hair, some old movie he liked to watch back in the 40s. The year went by and a new one began. At the beginning of the year, he wouldn’t have believe he’d end up here, with her, with the woman he loved, engaged. It was almost too good to be truth and sometimes Bucky wondered if he had been knocked unconscious during a mission and this was all his mind giving him what he always wanted. She had fallen asleep, having laid down next to him. 

The morning peeked into his apartment and as per usual he was the first one up, tidying the place up and even putting some flowers up for when she woke up. Y/N loved flowers and so he had made it his mission to ensure she always woke up to new ones. “This is going to make you broke” she would tell him, but he didn’t care. If he had to spend his last days buying fresh roses every morning for the woman he loved then he was going to do it. He leaned against the fridge, drinking his coffee as he did each morning until his phone rang. He clumsily tried to answer it before it could wake up Y/N. Damned IPhone and damned Sam Wilson who made him switch from his razor phone.

    - Barnes. - he answered.

    - Mr. Barnes, it’s Agent Cox. We have an assignment for you.

taglist: @disasterbii​ @lookiamtrying​ @buckysteveloki-me​ @americasass81​ @jamesbarnesappreciationclub​ @lostinthebeans​ @mariahthelioness29​ @bbabysbaby​ @peaches-roses-sins​ @theadorasabditory​ @sipsteacasually​ @saiyanprincessswanie​ @booktease21​ @noiralei​ @learisa​ @everythingisoverratedbutgreat​ @uglipotata72829​ @naturalthrone22​ @husherstan​ @mandiiblanche​​ @vicmc624​ @newyorkgoddess​ @itsallyscorner​ @chipilerendi​ @emzd34 @writerwrites​​ @bluevxnus​​ @that-girl-named-alex​​ @captnrogers​​ @nsfwsebbie​​ @sarge-barnes-sir​​

[jalapeno-princess]

10:34 A.M.

The sunlight was warm against your cheeks as it shone in through the windows; yet, it wasn’t the harsh rays that woke you from your comfortable slumber.

You could feel a tender gaze directed right at you along with a pair of strong arms, your favorite pair of arms to be exact—wrapped protectively around your waist.

Gentle fingers glided softly along your face; almost featherlight to the point where you wouldn’t have even noticed that he was touching you if it weren’t for the callousness of his digits connecting the dots of your scattered freckles and the cool metal on his fourth finger.

You had yet to open your eyes, but you were confident in the idea that your husband was staring at you and you didn’t want to make it known that you were awake just yet.

Honestly, it felt as though you were still in dreamland—everything was just too good to be true. Memories of the most perfect day of your entire life soon came rushing back to your mind and you couldn’t help the small smirk that was now encompassing your face—giving away the fact that you were no longer asleep.

“Good morning Mrs.Tuan.”

Hearing the excitement yet raspiness in his voice along with his last name that was also yours now sent so many emotions to your chest. You were over the moon to say the least. He let out a giggle when you hid your face against his bare chest and placed a sweet kiss on your forehead.

“Good morning Mr.Tuan.”

“Ah, I’m never going to get tired of calling you Mrs.Tuan. I still can’t believe you’re my wife. God, it’s like a dream come true—“

“Took you long enough. I’ve been waiting for over five years for you to propose to me—“

Mark let out a guttural groan at the sound of your playful complaint; dropping his head in between the valley of your breasts and earning himself a shove to his shoulder. A blush was now adorning your cheeks; only then as you felt his warm breath against your nipples did you come to the realization that you were naked. It didn’t bother you though, not like it did when you and Mark first became intimate back in the third week of your relationship.

He was your husband now and the two of you made love to each other numerous times in the duration of your five year relationship that you were no longer shy whenever you’d find yourself naked around him. Actually, Mark was very vocal about how insanely beautiful you were—and devastatingly sexy which led you to lose your timidity and gain a newfound confidence. One that you never knew existed and you owed entirely to your husband.

“Hey, we went over this on multiple occasions baby. I wanted to propose to you only months after we started dating—I knew I was in love with you after only the third date. Trust me, it was extremely difficult for me having to introduce you as my girlfriend and not my wife for these last few years. I don’t know why—I mean sure, getting to call you my girlfriend and getting to be called your boyfriend was all that mattered to me. You’re my soulmate y/n. My person—but something about the titles “wife” and “husband” is more permanent. It solidifies a relationship. But I wanted us to be finished with school and settled in to our actual careers before taking things any further. It worked out though didn’t it? Look at us. We’re both redeemingly successful with our positions at the companies we work at and we share a two story house in our mid twenties. Not that it matters, but we can live comfortably as a married couple unlike a lot of people our age. We’re a whole now. You’re stuck with me and my penis for the rest of your life—“

“Oh God. Just when it was getting so romantic, you just had to throw your dick in there. Well, you’re stuck with me and my pussy—“

“I don’t consider myself stuck at all. Your pussy is so magical—fuck, we’ve had sex at least three hundred times, maybe even more than that and every single time, you never failed to blow my mind—and my dick. But shit, last night had to be the best night of my entire life. Yesterday, was the most incredible day in my twenty-seven years of existence. You are the most beautiful person in the entire world and I’m not just saying that because you’re my wife, it’s true. Not only on the outside; which, honestly, you are a sight for sore eyes. I can never take my eyes off of you and I never want to. I’d stare at you in awe of your beauty all day if time permitted me to. But you have the most kindest and generous hearts and you are just the sweetest soul. I can’t wait to remind you every single day for the rest of our lives just how perfect you are to me.”

He brought his thumb up to the brim of your eyelids and wiped away a tear that you didn’t even know fell. God, this man was really the love of your life. You’d never be able to comprehend exactly what you did to deserve being the lucky girl who loved Mark and got to be loved by him, but you would never take your position in his life as his bride for granted.

Before you could continue to let any more tears fall at his endearing words, he was quick to continue his not so innocent speech about the many naughty thoughts taking up all the space his mind.

“I don’t know if it’s because we’re newlyweds or because you never cease to amaze me each and every time we stumble in to bed together but the sex we had just hours ago in my opinion was the best sex we’ve ever had. I know I complimented you almost the entire day yesterday on how gorgeous you looked in that wedding dress and I’m sure my never ending tears that flowed down my cheeks as you walked down the aisle and my wedding vows that were almost twenty minutes long are enough to prove my undying love for you. But God, seeing you in that dress—that dress was made for you. You looked so fucking ethereal and damn, it looked so much better on the floor once I got you alone. You know, my mind is still a little hazy from sleeping—maybe you could remind me just how amazing it was—if I knew you were this abusive, I would have made you work harder for that ring you’re wearing.”

Both his and your laughter filled the room and you couldn’t stop yourself from rolling your eyes and pinching his cute little butt. Your wedding day was everything you could have ever dreamt of and more. There were countless times in your relationship where you would day dream about what your wedding would be like. It didn’t take you too long to realize that Mark was the person you wanted to settle down and start a family with. Everything within you; your heart, your mind, your body and your soul was his. You were set on Mark Tuan; for life. Since he took his time with asking you to marry him, you developed some insecurities about whether or not he saw himself marrying you. Sure, he may have talked about your future together every now and then, but not once did he ever bring up marriage so you just assumed he had no plans on getting married at all.

It made your engagement all the more special when he did finally get around to proposing to you less than a year ago while the two of you were in vacation in Hawaii. You tried to convince yourself that you would be happy even if Mark were to confess he had no plans on tying the knot. As long as Mark was in your life, you were content with whatever title you held in his. But on that magical night when he got down on one knee and went in to detail about his undying love for you as the two of you watched the sunset go down, you felt wholeheartedly that his proposal was one dreams were made of.

“What are you thinking about?” You looked at him in curiosity and it was in that moment; looking at his blank stare did you realize you were probably mirroring his exact facial expression.

“Nothing. Just that I’m really happy. Really, really happy. You mean everything to me Mark. I don’t know what I would do without you and I dont even want to think about my life before you were in it. It was colorless and dull. Now all I see is so many beautiful colors. Just the mere thought of you along pulls on my heartstrings in such a miraculous way. I love the way you make me feel and I love the effect you’ve had on me. I’m so in love with you and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us.”

Your husband gave you his signature gummy smile before smashing his mouth roughly against yours. He licked on your bottom lip and took it in between his sharp teeth, nibbling all but gently while dragging his cold fingertips along your smooth skin.

“You’re my happily ever after y/n. I kind of regret not getting around to marrying you sooner. I just really wanted to give you the ring and the wedding that you’ve always wanted. You deserved the entire universe and more y/n. Truly, there’s so much I want to give you. You are genuinely out of this world; you’re practically a goddess—an otherworldly being and honestly, you deserve so much more than what this world has to offer you. I’m not stupid my love, I’ve picked up on the many wedding magazines you’d scatter throughout the house, I’ve noticed you’ve been watching a couple of episodes from that one Disney weddings show and I overheard you talking to your mom about not knowing how I felt about marriage. I’m sorry that you had to question my feelings for you, but I thought that my constant love confessions and the way I could never stop holding you, kissing you and needing to be around you was enough to prove the fact that you are my home. You own my heart y/n. You always have and you always will forever. The feeling is mutual baby. I don’t care what ends up happening to me. I don’t care where we end up living—if we ever decide to move houses, cities, states or even countries. I don’t care what my job title is, how much money I’ll end up making or what anyone other than you has to think or say about me. Life—life can be rough and there are days that I just want to scream, cry and run away. But then I look at you and I see my purpose—I look at you and see the reason for my existence. You’re the reason why I breathe. You’re the reason why my heartbeat increases—the reason why I wake up with the biggest grin on my face. You are my reason to be happy and I could never thank you enough for all you’ve done for me in the last five years. Now, I can’t wait to continue to relish in our love for many more decades to come.”

[swga]

freefall | oneshot

pairing: yoongi x reader

word count: 1.8k

themes and genres: angst, a smidge of fluff, idol!yoongi, slice of life

synopsis: in which you are only human

Loving Yoongi is easier said than done.

 It's waking up with a hollowness to your chest on the right side of a half-made bed, the softness of this lips on your temple long gone. It's the cold bite of the counter on your back while you wait for your coffee, ears deaf from the loud silence that envelops you. It's the sparce texts that come and go, the bare minimum of affection that fails to uplift your spirit as the day wears on. It's the way you hope for some semblance of normalcy, even if you know you'll never have it in this lifetime. At least, not with him.

 Yoongi is married to his job. You know that. You accept it, celebrate it. You fell in love with him because of it. You love how his eyes light up when inspiration strikes, how he gets lost in the music he can only hear in his mind, how he's most himself when he's seated in front of his soundboard and mixing console. He lives in a world of his own, one he shares with you when he can, and it works.

 It works until you realize that he's committed to finishing a song more than he is to coming home on time for dinner. It works until you realize that you haven't seen him in a week because his creativity is on overdrive, and he can't step on the breaks, lest he crashes and burns.

 It works until you realize that loving Yoongi is like walking on a tightrope so high that you can't see the ground.

 A tightrope—that's exactly what this is. Every day that passes is another foot forward, and it takes all of your energy to keep the pole in your hands balanced. The rope sways with every step, and your stomach drops at the mere thought of falling, but you continue on even if you're scared for your life.

 The crowd below is ruthless; their pointed stares anticipate your demise. You try to drown them out because the walk itself is perilous. You don't need the extra weight on your shoulders. You just need to get to the other side.

 Today is another step taken, and you're tired. It's been a week since you last saw him, and you crave his presence in every way possible. And so, you slip on his white FG shirt and let it drape over your shoulder until your bare thighs. You prepare enough dinner for two—everything he likes—and let yourself get lost in the motion of chewing and swallowing.

 It takes every ounce of energy to keep yourself distracted. You don't want to get lost in the ugly feeling brewing in your chest. It's an unwanted weight that will throw you off balance, and you're teetering as it is.You feel the wetness pool in the corners of your eyes, and you will yourself to hold on tighter.

 But you're tired. So utterly, painfully tired.

 One cry bubbles up your throat. And then another. And then another, until you find that you can't stop.

 "I'm so tired," you sniff. The chopsticks fall to the floor as you attempt to wipe the tears rolling down your cheeks.

 It's overwhelming. He's everywhere and nowhere all at once, and it's painful that he isn't here at all. You miss him, but you don't want to demand his time because the rest of the world already expects so much of him. You want him to come to you on his own, but your arms are tired of waiting. You support him with every fiber of your being, but your strength has withered away.

 It hits you all at once.

 You're exhausted, and you want to succumb to the freefall.

  Yoongi takes pride in many things.

 First and foremost, he takes pride that he has grit. The path he had chosen long ago was, and still is, a long and uphill one. Things were never handed on a silver platter. He had to endure endless hours of training while maintaning his studies and working part time to earn what little amount he could. Even when he finally debuted with BTS, things didn't get any easier. If anything, it made his life harder. He had to deal with sasaengs and scandals as he was thrust into a world where he had nowhere to hide. When things became too much, he had his members to fall on, but he knew that if he didn't have any semblance of grit, he wouldn't be where he is today.

 He also takes pride in their fans. They, who understand and resonate with his work. They, who support his love for music in ways he never thought was possible. They, who taught him how to love himself when he didn't know how to. He would thank every single one of their fans if he could. That's how much they meant to him.

 Most of all, he takes pride in being your partner. You, who doesn't need him to feel whole because you love yourself plenty enough. You, who pushes him to be better when he wants to give up halfway. You, who supports his career endlessly simply because you love all of him, even if it meant sacrificing time together.

 He doesn't like that last thought too much, because even if you supported him tiredlessly, he missed spending time with you in the paradise you had created together at home.

 It has been a tiring week for Yoongi. He worked track after track after track, barely taking care of himself in the process. Every meal he had came in small bites too far in between, and any ounce of sleep he got withered away the moment he woke up. He supposed that even if he did eat well and slept properly, he would still be tired because he terribly misses you. And so, he put all of his effort into finishing this last song so he could come back to you as quick as he could.

 The moment Yoongi opens the door to your apartment, his senses are bombarded. The delicious aroma of bulgogi wafts up his nose. It makes his stomach growl, and only then does he realize that it had been too long since his last proper meal. The sight of your shoes by the door brings a smile to his face because you're home, and he could finally hold you in his arms under warm sheets.

 Soft sniffs and strangled cries pull him from his reverie and into the kitchen. There, he finds your head in your hands, shoulders shaking from the sobs that wreck your curled frame.

 He doesn't need to ask why you're crying. His shirt on your body and the food long forgotten lets him know it all.

 The thought is a knife to his heart. How could he let it come this far? How did he manage to break the one thing he promised not to? Yoongi feels his heart break, twist, and crumble like never before; he almost wants to rip it out of his chest and give it to you instead, to make up for the hurt he hates he caused the best thing he has. Instead, he wraps his arms around you in a feeble attempt to calm you down.

 Like second nature, your body twists to face the man you love unconditionally, your head buried in the warmth of his chest. "Y-Yoongi," your muffled voice breaks his heart all over again, and he berates himself even more. "I'm so t-tired, I-I ca-can't–"

 He cuts you off before you could make him hate himself even more. "(Y/N), I'm so sorry. I-I fucked up, shit." Words escape Yoongi, because how could he earn your forgiveness? He doesn't deserve it. He knows he doesn't deserve the love you give him if this is what he gave you in return. You deserve someone who could give you their time, who would be there when you wake up and fall asleep. You deserve someone who could eat dinner with you every night, who could share mundane moments with you.

 No, Yoongi definitely doesn't deserve you, but he needs you to stay.

 "F-fuck, (Y/N), please don't leave," he whispers into your hair as tears well in the corner of his eyes. "I swear I'll do better, I'll do so much better, baby. Just, please don't leave." He is ready to grovel on his knees, but you cling tightly to his shirt as you shake your head.

 "I-I won't, Yoongi, I'm just so, so tired."

 Your weak voice makes him fall on his knees. He immediately wraps his arms around your waist and buries his head in your navel, his eyes searching for yours through his tears. He had never heard you so broken like this, never seen you so worn out like this, and it suffocates him to accept that he has done this to you. You, the stronger half of him. You, the better half of him. He would give up the world to hush your cries, even if it isn't for him to give. But now, under the gaze of your empty, dull eyes, he isn't sure anymore. How could he give you the world when he couldn't even give you himself? Yoongi's jaw clench. He can't let you go like this. He won't let you go like this, even if it kills him.

 Your hands comb through his hair like moth to a flame. It was black now, you realize. It looks good on him, just like every color he had worn before. It's also a reminder of how you live in different worlds, orbits never meeting despite existing in the same galaxy.

 "I don't want to be overbearing, because I support what you do, but I barely see you anymore, Yoongi. And I try to be understanding, but I'm just so tired." A fresh wave of tears gather in your eyes, so you bite your lip and try to keep them at bay. It's pointess though, because sobs continue to escape through gritted teeth and tight lips.

 He lets you grieve until you couldn't, because he knows this is what you need. He grieves on his own too, but he does so in hushed whispers and vice-like grips.

 When his tears run out and his heart is squeezed dry, he gingerly carries you to bed. "It's been a long night, baby. Let's talk about this tomorrow." His promise lingers in the air like his lips on your hair.

 "I don't want to wake up alone, Yoongi."

 His heart aches once more. He couldn't imagine how hard it must be to love someone like him, someone who brings mornings filled with half-made beds and lonely spaces. He hates it. He hates it in his skin, in his bones, and in his veins, because you deserve more than what he gives. But he knows even the darkest days will come to pass, so he anoints you with his kiss and promises the world to you even if it isn't for him to give. "I'll be here when you wake up."

[wistfulkitten]

i dream you'd love me again (2) || jk

sadness, guilt, regret. all things jeongguk felt after reading her letter.

genre: angst and fluff? childhood friends, cheating, sisters boyfriend au

pairing: jeongguk x reader

word count: 2.3k

posted: 200518

warnings: longing, infidelity, profanity (kinda), mentions of sex, probably inconsistent punctuation 

a/n: theres probably gonna be minor grammar issues because grammarly is shit and im tired. n e way i tried making this longer, it took me like four hours believe it or not. funni how i can make time for writing but not for my hw. silly me. i tried explained why he did what he did and im sorry if it was crappy. thank u to yall who read the first one. if you guys have any requests or ideas feel free to send me something in my inbox or message me. tyty:))

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

sadness. sadness is what jeongguk felt at the end of ___’s letter. sad that he hurt her enough to the point that she thought of herself as anything but perfect. sad that she doubted his feelings for her. sad that despite everything he put her through, she still loved him and still wished him the best. he always knew she had a big heart. it's one of the many reasons he was drawn to her in the beginning, but it was also one of her biggest weaknesses. her heart was too big for her own good and it scared him. ___ was always too quick to forgive and forget and most of the time it came back to bite her in the ass.

 he saw it time after time when her dad had left. he had had an affair and left his wife and two kids for a younger woman and yet she never got mad or ever blamed her father in contrary to yoona. while yoona never gave her father the time of day after the separation, ___ always made sure to set time aside for him even when he never put in enough effort to interacting with his daughters. he was a pretty crappy father, content with his new life. and though it made her sad that her family was no longer whole and her mother was practically always crying herself to sleep, it made her happy that her dad was happy. she was just about twelve then and still, she never gave into childish grudges. thirteen year old jeongguk found her slightly stupid for this trait but as they grew up, he found it quite endearing. 

guilt. after the sadness had settled in, a great wave of guilt washed over his being. while he was here, newly married with a whole life ahead of him, you were somewhere out there living the life you always wanted sad and lonely. too heartbroken to even enjoy it properly. he didn't deserve it, the comfort and security his new marriage gave him, he didn't deserve it. 

 jeongguk was merely seventeen when he fell in love with a sixteen year old ___ all the while he dated yoona, her older sister. he’d known them practically his whole life and it was such a small town that it was simply impossible for you not to know anyone and everyone. everyone went to the same schools and hardly anyone moved out of the godforsaken town. he and yoona started dating in the sixth grade. much too young to be dating but their families were long time friends and saw it appropriate for the two to start early. so that one day the two families would unite. jeongguk hadn’t minded at first. he was eleven at the time but yoona had always been a good friend. they played together all the time so nothing really changed except for the frequent hugs and occasional kiss on the cheek.

 as they grew older they graduated into more mature ways of affection but it never bothered him too much. though he was friends with yoona, he was always closer to ___. sure at first, he had trouble expressing but afterward never once did they ever feel reserved towards one another, only ever honest with every bit of their being.  while yoona was more reserved and occasionally bratty, ___ was outspoken and adventurous. always willing to try something new even if it wasn't exactly encouraged. she never shied away from speaking her mind and that was something jeongguk always aspired to be. she was everything he wasn’t.  she expressed herself in every possible way. hair color was constantly changing since the start of high school. she pulled off any type of style you could think of. you could pick her out of any crowd in an instant. she painted, wrote poems and songs, sang, played various instruments, even took up photography. she turned any type of art form into a way for people to understand her, every single part of her. she was good at so many things and jeongukk, jeongukk was good at one thing. basketball. yet she never made him feel bad about it, instead she went to every game. cheering him on. she was mesmerizing in every single way. 

 while they had their good moments, yoona had a knack of patronizing him for every fault and imperfection. when they started high school she had tried so hard to be looked at as the perfect couple. she made it a point to show that they ‘never fought’ and were always ‘happy’. he never spent too much time with his friends because ‘every boyfriend had to put his girlfriend first’. this is the exact reason jimin never liked her and why jin always referred to her as a pain in the ass. it was safe to say his friends weren't exactly fond of her either. she was so different from ___ which was good or bad, depending on who you were asking. 

yoona was pretty, though jeongguk would say ___ was prettier. soft features, soft personality, light colors were a constant, skirt never too short, hair never too long. she was a straight line kind of girl like the majority of girls in town. grades never faltering. she always believed in the whole study hard, get a good job, have kids plan everyone stuck to and it was always so suffocating. 

he wanted more out of life, he wanted to explore places, explore himself. he wanted to get to know himself in more ways than one because he had yet to know all of it. all of him. but by the time he was sixteen, jeongguk already had a career to work towards and a girl everyone was so sure would be his wife. it was like his life was a book and everyone but him was the author. he had no control and he started to dread the future. he was running and he knew what would be at the finish line, so he slowed down. while yoona was running full speed, he was jogging at most. he started faking a persona in front of his family and yoona because they simply didn’t get it and they never would. 

when he couldn’t exactly talk to his own girlfriend about his feelings and problems ___ was always there to listen. she was good at that. listening. she never judged, instead always reassuring him that when the time came he’ll know what to do. she had an easygoing way of living and he longed to live like that too. though her mother didn't agree and favored yoona more, she simply took it as it was and cherished what she had for the time being. her love for her mother and sister never faltered even if their love never measured up. ___ had a way of looking at the world that could get her far, far away from here and jeongguk envied that. she said all his feelings were valid and no one should be mad at him for simply feeling. once he had slowed down enough for the once blurry images to become clear, he’d realized that running with yoona was far too tiring and that walking with ___ was far more fulfilling.

 jeongguk was merely seventeen when he fell in love with a sixteen year old ___ and it was the most exhilarating feeling ever. it had started out as just a friend being there for a friend, but one day it turned into something more. they had been out on one for their many infamous nightly drives when they had stopped at a cliff, a pretty view of their small town in sight. pretty lights below and above. the stars were out that night just like them, watching the rest of the world sleep. she’d looked into his eyes, simultaneously looking into his soul. with anyone else, he would’ve felt naked and exposed but with her, he wanted her to see everything and to understand everything. he realized he only ever wanted one person to do that and he wanted to express it in the best way possible. he kissed her. really kissed her and she didn't shy away. he knew it was wrong, they both did, but it felt so good. so good that it felt right. right there, in the back of jeongguk’s first car, clothes disappeared one by one and they wrote love poems into the bareness of their skin. so passionate, so raw that it was impossible to stop afterward. they did it again and again behind closed doors, behind the curtain they drew in the depths of night. it was nothing they ever felt before. when they weren’t tangled within each other they explored as much as the city would let them. talking about anything and everything. no boundaries. 

___ planned on leaving once she graduated, didn’t know where to but the farther the better. she hated it here and so did he. it made jeongguk sick to even think about a life without her in it. he was selfish, he knows. he had them both and it was very clear which of them he loved more yet it saddened him that the one he favored more would ever leave him here. alone. that was until she asked him to come with. she asked him to run away with her. he swears if he wasn't deeply in love with her then, he was now. of course he said yes. running away and seeing the world with his favorite girl was a dream. a dream he truly wanted to become reality. 

they planned it out. jeongguk and yoona graduated and while ___ finished her final year in high school and yoona stared college, jeongguk took a gap year waiting for ___. waiting for their dream while working jobs here and there, financially preparing. he also took a business internship so that his family would get off his back for working instead of college. it was full proof, even the boys knew. though they thought it was risky, they supported them both. they had grown fond of ___.  they’d both work jobs to add onto their savings and the day after ___ graduated they’d leave and never come back. that was the plan, the dream. and yet they never made it.  

regret. he regretted it so much. the faithful day came but jeongguk didn’t. she waited and waited but he couldn’t do it. he watched from afar, luggage in hand. watch her wait. watched her cry when she realized. he cried with her. he was just so damn scared. a coward is what he was. he was scared of the unknown, something he craved so much and yet he was scared of it. and that's exactly how he felt for ___ at that moment. he craved her so much, loved her so much, and yet he was scared of her. scared that her spontaneous ways would one day be the end of them. he thought of yoona, at least with yoona he knew what he was getting. knew exactly where they’d end up. he wanted certainty and that's why he watched her leave. but to his surprise, she didn't leave, not yet. she stayed and waited, waited long enough for everyone else to find out. she was then branded as a little slut that wanted a taste of the forbidden fruit, the one he didn't choose. it was far from the truth but its what everyone believed. and so she left far far away and he didn't chase after her. god did he regret it. every day since that day he’s felt nothing but regret. he was back to putting the mask on trying to appease everyone. surprisingly no one reprimanded him and for that he felt anger, anger he’d only felt towards himself.

___ was the love of his life so it hurt. it hurt to see that she didn’t think of herself like he did. he wasn't aware she felt that way. like she was in yoona’s shadow. to him, it had never been like that because she’d been the one he sought to look at first in every room. it hurt to see she thought so low of herself but you could say he wasn't any better. he was newly married and yet he was miserable. it had only been a few months since he and yoona got married and people were already asking when they were having a baby. straight out of college and things were moving so fast. he was nauseated and lived life in such a lethargic manner. he needed her. 

she said she still loved him. maybe it wasn’t too late. maybe he could turn things around and fulfill the dream they never reached. so he picks up the phone and dialed the number he used to call every night. it was so familiar that he didn’t need to think twice about it.

it rang once, twice, and finally, on the third ring, she answered.

“gukk?”

he cried at the sound of her voice. he missed her so much. after a while, he could hear soft sniffling from the other line.

“can i come home?” he asked, voice so hoarse it hurt.

“you are home… aren’t you?” voice strained, sounding confused.

“no no, you’re my home ___. i need to come home. “

with that jeongguk couldn’t help but cry harder.

“shhh shhh gukk, it's ok. everything will be ok.” she cooed familiar words he hadn’t heard in a while. “ok, come home. come to me baby.”

he booked the first flight he could as soon as she said where she was and packed up as much as he could. he was gonna stop living this lie and start living for himself. something he should have done four years ago. and in a few hours, that’s exactly what he was gonna do. live the life he dreamed of with her, no holding back. he needed to stop being afraid. he was on his way, without a care in the world. jeongguk loved ___ and ___ loved him. that's all that mattered.

he’d send the divorce papers over tomorrow.

[laceymorganwrites]

Adulting

Word Count: 2,030

Pairing: Keishin x reader

Warnings: swearing

Summary: Keishin and (Y/N) are both busy in their Jobs but get set up on a blind date nonetheless

Keishin was used to questions regarding his love life, when he´d finally get married, if he was still single, how he felt about that at his age and so on. After all those years it still annoyed him, what was so wrong about a man just wanting to enjoy his Jump and live an easy life? Okay, his life wasn´t exactly easy, coaching the Karasuno boys took quite a toll on his nerves.

Maybe that was why he agreed to go on this blind date, to get just a small break from them. Not that they were that bad, but he told himself he deserved some time off. Besides, if even Takeda told him to go, he could only imagine how tired he must look.

Honestly he didn´t mind the idea of dating or having someone by his side, what annoyed him though were the expectations everyone held. When you were dating someone you immediately had to marry and start a family. That thought scared him, he didn´t achieve anything in his life and now he had to marry? How on earth should he make someone fall in love with him?

His neighbor told him not to worry about, she was also the one who set up the date, stating her daughter knew you.

Keishin had to admit he was curious to meet you, to see what kind of person you were. He expected the worst, expected you to pity him and leave right away.

But you didn´t.

His neighbor told him to just wait outside of his store for you.

You were quite out of breath when you arrived, only having moved here a while ago you still got lost sometimes. You really hated the idea of dating, you didn´t have time for this. And yet everyone pressured you, it was none of their business. You only gave in because it got too much to handle.

But honestly, once you arrived, you didn´t regret a thing. Well, maybe you regretted not putting much effort into your appearance, but what were you supposed to do? You didn´t have time to change after work, you were lucky to have even made it.

“I´m so sorry I´m late! I got lost a bit and had to call one of my students to explain the way” you announced when you finally could breathe again.

Being the coach of a cheerleader team you had quite a bit of stamina, but even that ended when you were running around town like a mad woman trying to find that one particular convenience store.

“Don´t worry about it. I´m Keishin, you must be (Y/N) then?” he was at a loss for words, you were absolutely stunning. He had to thank his neighbor later.

“Yup, that´s me! Nice to meet you” you chirped, shaking his hand. He noticed how firm your grip was and had to smile to himself.

“So...um...there´s this restaurant near by where me and my team go quite often” he stated, realizing that there indeed was a reason he was single and it was his inability to properly speak whenever there was a beautiful woman nearby.

“That sounds lovely, lead the way?” you smiled brightly and you two started walking.

“Eh...you´re new around here, aren´t you?” he awkwardly asked, not being able to think of anything better.

“Yeah, I just moved here, so my orientation is still a bit bad, but I´m glad that I have people like who help me out with that” you said.

“No problem, I´m always glad to help” he answered, holding the door open for you when you arrived at the restaurant.

“Ooh, Keishin-san, to see you with a beautiful woman by your side, I never thought the day would come” the owner laughed, making him blush.

“Oh shut up” he mumbled.

The interior was very nice, so was the food.

“You mentioned earlier that you come here often with your team, can you tell me more about that?” you asked.

“Sure! I´m the coach of the Karasuno boys´ volleyball club, only recently though. My grandpa used to coach them but he´s getting too old so the teacher reached out to me. I didn´t want to coach them at first because I didn´t think I could do it, but I´m glad I gave it a shot, it´s really fun” he smiled.

Your eyes went wide, you loved watching their games in the past, back when you were in high school they were really good and you did your best to attend every game you could. You didn´t care if they weren´t as good anymore, you still wanted to support them.

“No way! That´s so amazing, I´m a big fan of your team. Well, of the club...I have yet to see your team in particular” you told him excitedly.

“I´m glad to hear it, even though you´re definitely in the minority these days. But that will change. This year´s team is great, we have outstanding players and quite a few surprises. If you don´t mind we could exchange numbers and I could tell you when the next game is” he explained and boldly asked.

“That´d be nice!” you two exchanged numbers and continued your conversation.

“So are you a teacher? You said something about your students earlier” he asked you.

“Yeah, I got a job offer from (Y/S/N) and now I´m teaching there. But I also teach cheerleading outside of school” you told him and you talked a bit about your jobs.

Everything was going great, you even joked about all sorts of things.

Needless to say this was just your first date of many. Finding a time where both of you were free was quite difficult with your busy schedules but it was definitely worth the effort.

You looked forward to seeing Keishin every time, even if you weren´t doing something spectacular, just spending time with him was more than enough for you. You had to admit in the time you knew him you found yourself very attracted to him and he felt the same.

Every time you were with him, you were laughing wholeheartedly, but not only that, he somehow managed to make you laugh and blush at the same time. You missed the warm feeling in your chest when he was gone and you couldn´t stop thinking about him no matter where you were and what you did.

Even your students noticed you were out of it.

As if it wasn´t already embarrassing enough that you, a grown up woman, could´t confess to your crush, your students had to tease you about it too.

“You know, it wouldn´t even go anywhere, I mean we´re both busy and he´s gone quite a bit with his team, I mean so are we… but bottom line is: it wouldn´t work out” you told them.

It wasn´t like back in high school where you had to worry about your crush not liking you back, you were adults now and very aware of your feelings for each other, the problem was just that a relationship didn´t always work out because of time and jobs, that was just the sad truth of being and adult.

That was the reason why you didn´t want to date in the first place, because it wasn´t worth it and you didn´t want to break the heart of someone who could possibly fall for you.

You hated that you had to choose between love and career, it was unfair that you couldn´t combine those two things, well, not the way you wanted it.

But who said that? Were you really someone who obliged to the rules of society? Who bent her back just to please and fulfill expectations? Your students were right, you were never like that. You were a fighter, when you found out your school didn´t have a cheerleader team, you founded your own one. You didn´t know the word stop in that regard.

So why should you let yourself be unhappy and say no to Keishin? To a possible future with him, the mere thought of that made you weak in the knees.

After your students encouraged you to confess to him, you determinedly walked to his shop, hoping he´d be there. But he had to be, at this time the training would already be over. If it wasn´t, it´d be incredibly awkward for you, but you could think about that later.

When you arrived, he luckily was there, looking at you in surprise but then he flashed you a smile.

“(Y/N), what are you doing here? I didn´t expect you” he stood up to greet you.

“Well, it´s a surprise visit! Are you hungry? I have some leftover cake, one of my students celebrated her birthday today and I sneaked you some cake, cause I thought you haven´t eaten yet” you pulled out the bento box from your bag and handed it to him.

You watched his eyes go wide and his grin as he pulled you in for a hug suddenly, making you giggle and hug him back. Honestly, you wouldn´t mind if you stayed like this forever, he was so tall and warm and hugging him just felt right.

You sighed contently as he let you go. “Sorry, I interrupted you. Something on your mind? I guess you wouldn´t just come here to bring me cake, even though I really appreciate it” he smiled at you, making your heart flutter.

“Oh yeah, I realized something and wanted to share it with you, actually. So, um, you know how I told you that I didn´t date because of my job? And that having a relationship would be pretty stressful and impossible? Well, I kind of changed my mind ever since we started going out. I don´t want to let you go because of my job, I want to make this work, I want to be with you. And it´d be amazing if you´d be willing to give it a try too, but you don´t have to, of course...I know you barely have time as it is...so. But I just wanted to tell you! That I like you, I mean” you rambled a bit towards the end, but you couldn´t help it when Keishin was maintaining eye contact the whole time, this man made you so weak in the knees…

“We´ll figure something out, we´ll definitely make it work! I like you too, (Y/N), a lot and I won´t let out jobs get in between that.” he confessed and it felt like a weight has been lifted off your body.

You couldn´t contain your smile and basically jumped onto him to hug him, making him laugh.

He held you by the waist, cradling your back.

When Keishin pulled away, he rested his hand on your cheek to stroke it before slowly leaning in and closing the distance between you in a deep kiss.

It´s been a month since you officially were together and you two worked hard on the combination of your jobs, which after hours and hours of calls finally worked. Thanks to your team and his.

Now your team were the cheerleaders for Karasuno´s boys´ volleyball team and you could see each other more often, you were so happy that everything worked out and today was the day you would finally meet his team for the first time.

Your students led you to the gymnasium since you wanted to be on time and you entered it to see absolute chaos going on.

It reminded you of your own students who you looked at knowingly, they at least had the decency to look away embarrassed.

“Guys, they´re here! At least pretend like you know how to behave” Keishin called them out and came over to you to kiss your cheek, making your students groan.

You shot them a glance to shut them up.

“Same goes for you, you little troublemakers” you warned them.

“I´m glad you could make it, honey” he said and showed you around a bit. All of you sat down and got to know each other.

From now on you would train together, or at least in the same time to have everything ready for their next game, it was exciting.

[ballerinaroy]

it wasn’t love (but this might be)

How Angelina and George reconnected after the war. 

On Ao3

If it were just for flying Angelina would like her job a whole hell of a lot more. But the start of a new season promised very little time on her broom in favor of clothing too tight to throw a quaffle in while talking to reporters about everything other than the sport she professionally played.

She grinned and beard the spectacle of it all, knowing it was her team's best chance at landing ad revenue and a favorable schedule, enjoying the few moments she could catch up with other players she knew from Hogwarts or had met on the road.

“I’m going to quit,” she said through a false smile as she at last escaped the company of the young new executive for Quality Quidditch Supplies

“Take me with you,” replied a voice that clearly understood her exhaustion.

Angelina turned, ready to apologize for her lack of enthusiasm and found Ginny Weasley, lurking behind a chair with a comically high back, looking equally worn out.

“Ginny!” she said happily, “I’m so pleased to see you.”

“You’ve no idea,” Ginny sighed, “Is it always like this? I feel like I can’t breathe without someone asking me a stupid question.”

Angelina laughed, “Would you like a lie?”

A grin split Ginny’s face and she shook her head.

“I’d heard you’ve been offered a spot with the Harpies,” Angelina went on, “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” said Ginny, rightfully looking proud. “How are you? Sticking with the Tornados?”

Angelina nodded. “Yes, yes. Extended my contract another two years. I’ve been good, my brother just got married so it’s been quite a year but I’m more than ready to get back to flying and not all this political nonsense.”

“You’re telling me,” Ginny agreed with a sigh. “Since tryouts, it feels like I haven’t been on my broom at all.”

“It’ll get better,” Angelina promised her. “How is everyone? How’s George?”

The question had been burning at her ever since she had spotted Ginny, though she hadn’t meant it so come so quickly.

Ginny’s smile dipped and her voice lowered. “He’s, er, he’s doing the best he can.”

“Right,” Angelina nodded, wanting to spare the girl from having to answer such an intrusive question. “I’ve been meaning to reach our, I just didn’t know…”

Ginny gave a practiced nod and Angelina felt like kicking herself for doing what she could only suspect so many others had done.

“Right,” Angelina said again, feeling her cheeks flush in embarrassment. “Well, tell him I said hey, would you?”

“Course,” Ginny nodded, looking a little upset.

There was an uncomfortable pause and Angelina wished to fade back into the crowd she was so embarrassed.

“Come round for dinner,” Ginny said suddenly.

“What?”

“At my parents,” Ginny clarified. And to the horrified look on her face, “It’s not like that, George is still living at home and everyone comes round on Sundays, Harry, Ron, Hermione. He’s not been up to leaving the house, but I’m sure he’d like to see you. And at the least, you could catch up with the rest of us.”

“Alright,” Angelina answered, surprising herself. “Should I bring anything?”

Angelina had only ever seen Mr. And Mrs. Weasley on the platform along with a vague memory of them being at her Uncle Micheal’s funeral, but when she walked through the door they greeted her as if she’d been coming round for years.

“And how’s your father?” Mr. Weasley asked after they’d greeted one another. “I haven’t seen him since Perkin’s retirement party.”

“Good, good, my older brother got married this summer, been busy with the wedding.”

“Oh, how wonderful,” Mrs. Weasley beamed. “You give them our best.”

“Of course,” Angelina said just as the door to the other room opened and in filed Ginny, Harry right on her heels followed shortly by Hermione, Ron, and bringing up the rear, George.

Angelina hadn’t seen him since the funeral and at that moment she felt like she was looking at a ghost. His hair was long and hung limp on his face, the color absent from his cheeks. His clothes seemed to hang off of him and it was hard not to stare at him in pity.

“Oh, good, you made it,” Ginny interrupted her staring and she turned to greet them all.

It was hard to open a paper these days without one of them making the front page, but seeing them in person was so different. Gone was the haunted look from Harry’s eye that she’d seen at the Battle of Hogwarts and instead filled with joy at the sight of her. And how they’d all grown. Ron had already been a head over her when they’d played together at Hogwarts but now he positively towered over them all, even George though perhaps it was because he hung back, trying not to draw any attention to himself.

But there wasn’t time to be awkward with one another. Already everyone was sitting down after hugging her and whether it was by design or accident, Angelina found herself and George sitting beside one another at the middle of the large dining table.

Dinner was pleasant, Mrs. Weasley a wonderful cook and so long as she didn’t stare at George too long there was nothing uncomfortable about being there. It rather reminded her of school on the days the team would all eat together, before a match or when practice ran late.

Everyone else had migrated to the other room by the time she came back from the wash and she found George sitting alone in the darkened kitchen. He offered her a weak smile and she sat down in the chair next to his.

“Hey,” she said to him, smiling.

“Hey,” he echoed, giving her a smile as well.

The question of how he’d been died on her lips and they stared at one another in the relative darkness.

“Listen,” she said, feeling ashamed. “I’m sorry I didn’t write.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” he said stiffly. “I didn’t write either.”

“Yes, but-“ she broke off, knowing that the rest of her sentence didn’t need to be said. In the other room, there was a burst of laughter and George tensed at the sound. “I should have written.”

“You’ve been busy. Big quidditch star and-“

George broke off mid-sentence and she waited for him to finish, but his face merely turned to stone.

“That happens a lot,” he admitted, staring at the empty chair beside him.

She waited, patiently for him to go on, ignoring the itch to brush the moment away.

“It’s like someone took away half my brain,” George said finally. Another long pause and her desire to make the moment lighter. “The stupider half, mind.”

And so ridiculous, so painful, she couldn’t help but laugh. The kind of delirious caught she’d heard her mother emit the day her Aunt had died.

“It wasn’t that funny,” George said weakly, finally averting his eyes. His voice trembled with the effort of holding back his own tears.

“No,” she agreed, trying and failing to compose her face. “I know you can do better than that.”

To her utter surprise, he snorted and grinned at her. “Ah, fair enough.”

She continued to laugh with tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I just-“

“I know,” he said kindly. “I know.”

They put on pained smiles and Angelina dabbed the corners of her eyes with the sleeves of her jumper.

“You should come out,” she said impulsively,“for drinks.”

“Angie-“ he protested, looking uncomfortable.

“It’s just Katie and Wood and Alicia on the days she thinks she can survive five minutes without her boyfriend.” She went on as if he hadn’t interrupted. “We miss you,” she said, her voice breaking a little. “I miss you. And it’s just drinks and Quidditch. So, you should come.”

He declined her first owl. And her second. But on her fourth, she got the bright idea to send the message via Ginny and finally received a short reply.

Don't give up easy do you? See you tonight. -George

A quarter of an hour passed and then another and still, Angelina found herself staring at the door every time it opened, barely listening to the rambling story that Oliver was telling. But then, just when she’d given up hope, another cool bit of air hit her face and she looked up to find George standing just over the threshold, looking deeply uncomfortable.

The whole table turned and stared as he approached and Angelina, unable to sit still, jumped up to greet him.

“You came,” she said in surprise, meeting him halfway across the room.

“Since you’ve put in so much effort to get me here, I can presume you’re buying?” he said in a quiet voice and she grinned at him.

“What are you doing this Saturday?” she asked one Thursday evening as they waited together at the bar for their drinks.

He’d become a regular at their little club. Cut his hair though it was still long enough to hide where his ear was missing. Looked more like himself even though he spoke slower and didn’t laugh as loud.

“Nothing,” he answered, looking down at her in surprise. “But don’t you have a match?”

“Yes, well, I was wondering if you’d like to come?” she asked. “I could get you a couple of tickets.”

“That’d be brilliant,” he answered with a smile. “But I’d only need the one. I’m not seeing anyone.”

“Well, that’s good because I’m not seeing anyone either,” she said boldly and he looked impressed by her courage. “But seriously, you should bring someone. It’s bound to get boring.”

“I won’t be bored,” George replied, looking stunned at the idea. “I’ll be watching you.”

He began putting his arm around her chair as they listened to their friends talk, so casually she wasn’t even really sure he was aware he was doing it. But every time she would smile to herself, and when they stood talking to others she lean a little closer, brush her hand against his.

She’d dated since school, and her career certainly provided a plethora of opportunities to meet interesting people, but she couldn’t remember ever having so much fun with someone, even if they weren’t technically dating. They were friends, she kept telling herself. Friends who hung out with others at pubs and stayed up late talking to one another, sitting side by side on the floor of her bedroom.

The fact that he’d started coming to all of her matches, didn’t really mean anything. Nor did it mean anything that she now attended dinner at the Weasley’s each week so long as she didn’t have to work. Weeks passed with them slowly relaxing around one another, spending so much time with one another that she actually missed him on the odd nights he wasn’t free.

We’re just friends. She told herself. He’s still grieving and doesn’t need any pressure.

But then one November evening, came the night with the tea. They’d been bullied out of her room by her flatmates and (after a rather copious pre-party) had been drug out to a club her teammates like to frequent. She could tell that George hadn’t wanted to come, but had been a good sport about it. Angelina had never been too fond of the place either and had been coming less and less in the months since they’d started seeing one another.

“It’s rather loud in here,” she said, leaning up to shout in his ear.

He nodded, though she wasn’t positive he’d heard her.

“Would you mind taking me home?”

George nodded gratefully, guiding her through the crowd and summoning their jackets from the table. His hand stayed on her shoulders till they were at the door and helped her into her coat as the bitter chill hit them.

“Thanks,” he muttered to her as they stepped away from the entrance and towards the alleyway they could leave from.

“No, thank you,” she said, putting her arm through his. “I’m all for going out, but what’s the point if you’re just screaming at one another?”

“What was that?” he asked mockingly, miming clearing out his ear. She laughed, stumbling around the side of the building still arm in arm.

Seconds later the bitter chill had left them and was replaced with the stale smell of the hallway just outside her door. George held her gloves as she fumbled for her keys and she unlocked the door, thankful to be home. She looked back to find him hesitating at the threshold, looking torn on whether to follow.

“Care for a drink?” she asked, hoping to draw him in. “If there’s anything left that is.”

George stepped through the door as she passed through to the kitchen, littered with half-empty bottles from the pre-party, and not smelling much better than the club they’d left.

“I wouldn’t mind some tea,” he called.

“Excellent,” she said gratefully.

He’d removed his coat and stood in the archway between the rooms, looking out of place.

To say she didn’t know what her plan was would be to admit that she wanted to have a plan. She had just wanted to get out of the bar, to get him out of it, but now that they were alone it was hard not to want to be closer to him.

“Mind handing me the mugs?” she asked, pointing at the drainboard, perfectly within her reach.

But of course, George obliged at once, stepping into the small space and passing them to her. Their hands met on the handles and lingered for a moment before she gave thanks and set them on the counter. George didn’t step away and she could feel him behind her as she put the tea bags in slowly before turning to face him. She had to tilt her head back to stare at him for how close he was standing and she leaned against the counter to stare up at him.

He was looking at her in a way that she’d only ever witnessed from the corner of her eye, but now he was unbashful in his looking at her.

“What?” she asked breathlessly just as he swooped down, hands on either side of her face and their lips crashed together.

Instantly she reached for him, and just as it was getting good, her lips beginning to tingle and racing brain surrendering to her heart he pulled away rather unexpectedly.

Angelina’s eyes flew open in surprise and found that he’d taken a step away and was looking at her, horrified.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“No,” she assured him, trying to close the space between them again but respecting him when he flinched away from her. “George that was-“

But she didn’t have the chance to finish her sentence. George gave one last terrified look and disappeared with a loud crack just as the kettle began to whistle.

“Er, is George home?” she asked, feeling like she was in primary school and asking her friend's parents permission to play.

“Oh, yes, come in, please.” Mrs. Weasley said, ushering her into the kitchen. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, er, he just left his coat,” Angelina explained, holding up the garment that had laid, untouched in her room for several days. “I thought I’d bring it over and make sure that everything was alright.”

“Oh,” she said, “Well, thank you, I’ll go see if he’s up. Would you care for something to drink? Tea?”

“No, really, that’s alright,” Angelina said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

But Mrs. Weasley merely smiled and headed off towards the stairs. She peered around the room as she waited, trying to distract her anxious mind. Across the room, she spotted a clock hanging on the wall, hands pointing in all different directions. Curious she took a step towards the clock on the wall and found it to contain nine hands, most of which pointed not at numbers but at work or home. The hands bore inscriptions and when she leaned in she noticed the names of the Weasleys and automatically she sought Fred and George’s names-

“Hey.”

George looked worse for the wear, his hair flattened on the side of his head as if he’d just been woken up.

“Hey,” she said back a little too brightly.

He stared at her expectantly and she held up the jacket in her hands. “You left this.”

“Oh,” he replied, blinking at it in surprise. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” she answered. “I would have stopped by earlier, but we’ve had training the last two days and-“

“You could have sent it by owl,” he interrupted.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” She replied, feeling a little hurt.

“I’m fine,” he said in a practiced but unconvinced way. They stared at one another. “Listen, I should apologize.”

“For what?” she asked, surprised.

“For kissing you,” he said in an ashamed voice. “I wasn’t thinking and-“

“I wanted you to.”

“You don’t have to say that to make you feel better.”

“And I wouldn’t say it just to make you feel better,” she said, a little snappier than she’d intended. “You’ve been putting your arm around my chair for weeks, we’ve spent almost every night this past month sitting side by side on my bed. If anything you did made me uncomfortable, don’t you think that I would have said something?”

He looked at her like he’d never considered it and she braved stepping closer to him.

“I fancy you, George,” she admitted boldly. “I have for some time, but I wanted to give you space and respect that you might not be in the same place that I am. I will be there for you, even if it is just as friends, but please don’t apologize for kissing me because I’ve been thinking about it for ages and my feelings really would be hurt if you tell me now that you didn’t mean it.”

His face suddenly looked like his own and he grinned at her. “For ages?”

“Shut up,” she replied, blushing. “You think that it’s some accident that I always sit next to you whenever we go out? It’s not just because most men over-do their aftershave.”

He reached up to feel his own unshaven face. “Most men?” he asked self consciously.

“I rather think yours smells nice.”

George straightened, dropping his face from his hand and looked pleased with himself. They grinned, somewhat shyly at one another.

“I’m not asking you for a relationship or anything,” she told him. “I do want to be your friend, but I’d also like to think that perhaps one day we could be something more. But only if you feel the same way.”

“I do,” he said quietly.

Angelina felt her heart flutter in her chest and was unable to stop the open mouth smile from splitting her face. George was smiling back almost as widely. The stood smiling at one another for what felt like several blissful minutes.

“Er-are you doing anything tonight?” George asked.

Angelina shook her head. “Nothing.”

“I should probably shower, but, er, could I take you to dinner?” he asked. “So long as I don’t overdo the aftershave?”

She giggled and nodded. “It’s a date.”

“Did you love him?” George asked.

Angelina was grateful that she had her head against his chest to avoid having to meet his eyes. She thought about ignoring the question, faking sleep in hopes that he’d lack the confidence to ask it again. But it didn’t feel fair to leave the question unanswered.

“It wasn’t love.” She braved finally, her own heart pounding in her chest. “Truth be told I had a crush on the both of you which was ruddy confusing and felt a bit dehumanizing.”

“How so?” he asked, sounding surprised.

“You were both your own person, I didn’t think you were just one, but a lot of the traits I was attracted to I found in the both of you.”

“Like what?” he pressed.

Forcing herself to raise her head she placed a hand on his chest to rest her chin on and stared into his eyes.

“Like how funny you were,” she said, beginning with the obvious trait. “You always knew how to make me laugh even when I was in the worst mood.”

“Yeah, you did have a bit of a grumpy streak,” he teased and she grinned at him.

“I was a teenager, I was allowed to be moody,” she answered. He shook his head, brushing the hair from her face.

“What else?”

She pretended to think on it. “How protective you were. I’d always pretend to be cross when you wouldn’t let me go off on my own before matches against the Slytherins, but I was grateful that you never let Flint or any of his friends bother me.”

“Had to protect our star player,” he said in a low voice, looking pleased with himself.

“And when I was made captain, you never let anyone talk shit about me, even when I was a bit overbearing.”

“A bit?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

“Shut up,” she said playfully, swatting at him. “And then, even after that bitch kicked you from the team, you’d still sneak onto the pitch to watch our practices.”

George smiled fondly at the memory.

“I knew you were just there because you were bored, or perhaps to watch Ginny or Ron, but sometimes…” her breath caught as she was on the verge of spilling a secret she’d never said aloud. “Sometimes, I’d pretend you were there just to watch me.”

And seemingly without thinking, George replied. “Sometimes we were.”

And Angelina watched, delighted, as the tips of his ears turned red. There was a tension between them that had never been there before despite the experimental kissing that they’d participated in. His breathing was the loudest thing in the room aside from her thumping heart.

“I loved him,” she stammered, unable to keep quiet. “Loved F-Fred, like I loved you.” It was her first time saying his name since, and she hated that it caused George to take a sharp intake of air, his whole chest spamming beneath her hands. She forced herself to go on. “You two were among my best friends while we were in school. I hated when you left school and every time you wrote me I’d read the letters over and over, searching for a deeper meaning.”

George chuckled, “We weren’t that suave.”

“A girl can dream,” she whispered.

There was nothing forced about his smile and she was positive he could hear her heart for how loud it was thumping. “I really like you, George. Being with you, it’s like—“ but words failed her. “Magic. I just like you.”

“Thought you loved me,” he teased and she found herself hiding her face. When she looked back up he bent his head to kiss her. “I’m really glad you came over that first day,” he told her once she was breathless. “I missed you.”

[lovemychoices]

The Lost Prince - TRR AU [Liam x MC] Mini Series Chapter 3

After being married for three years and unable to produce an heir, Liam and Riley are about to give up when Liam gets an unexpected news that changes his life forever.

Genre : Romance, Drama

*THIS SERIES PRACTICALLY THROWS CANON OUT THE WINDOW* YEET!YEET!

Characters except my OCs belong to Pixelberry, I am just borrowing them

Word count : 3038

Chapter Summary: Eventually the truth comes out one way or another.

A/N : Sorry I’m posting via mobile plus I don’t have a laptop with me at the moment so the read more options isn’t available. Grammatical errors everywhere, I’m one of those people who only checks their work once and post.

Warning : I’m rating this PG18 cause there will probably be PG18 stuff that’s going to happen in future chapters. So if you read this series you acknowledge that you are 18 and above.

Catch up with the series HERE

Liam called Leo up the day after arriving in LA, sparing him the details about Theon, he just gave Leo the address where they should meet.

Leo had moved to Malibu with his wife Amara, who he met shortly after he signed on for his motocross career. She was his manager and PR rep, after a year of working together they started dating, eventually got married and had twins not long after. The ride from his place to where Liam wanted to meet was merely an hour and a half away.

He stops his motorbike in front of the victorian style house and slowly removes his helmet raising an eyebrow. “Curiouser?” He murmurs to himself. As he hops off his bike, Liam opens the front door ready to meet him. “Leo!” Liam greets with a smile pulling his brother into a bear hug as he steps onto the front porch. “It’s good to see you too little brother.” A few seconds later they pull apart. “So Liam, what’s all this?” He gestures at the surrounding of the house giving a questioning look. “You and Riley aren’t thinking of leaving the courtly life and moving into this suburban home are you?”

Liam snorts and shakes his head. “No it’s nothing like that. I…There’s something you should know.” His face quickly turns serious. “Maybe we should go inside.” Leo nods wondering what is going on, why is Liam acting all ominous, he steps inside the house and follows him towards the living area. “Wait here.” Liam said returning a few minutes later holding Theon’s hand.

Leo's eyes go wide open when he sees the little boy, he steps closer towards him and crouched down so he can meet him eye to eye. One look at the boy and he knew what was going on. “Leo, I’d like to meet Theon. He is my son.”

“Hello Theon, I’m Leo. It’s very nice to meet you.” He puts on his best smiles offering an outstretched hand. Theon looks up at Liam as if waiting for his approval, when Liam nods he turns back to Leo and shakes his hand giving a soft smile. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Liam clears his throat. “Theon maybe you’d like to show Leah the new castle we finished building yesterday.” Theon gives a nod and brings Leah to accompany him to his room, as soon as they are an earshot away Leo turns to Liam. “Care to explain what’s going on brother?” He gives a pointed look. “I'm assuming since Riley isn’t here she doesn’t know about Theon?”

Liam shakes his head regretfully. “Maybe I should offer you a drink first. “Scotch on the rocks?” After handing Leo his drink, he then explains the whole situation about what happened the night in LA and who Theon’s mother was, also why he didn’t tell Riley about it yet. “She’s been through so much lately, I just couldn’t. But I’ll come clean about everything once I have the DNA test done and get the results.”

“You mean you haven’t had the test done?”

“No… That is why I need your help brother. I don’t want to risk the paparazzi spotting me here in LA.”

“And you’re sure that he is your son?”

“Without a doubt, I can feel it Leo. You saw him with your own eyes, he looks exactly like me when I was younger. Will you help me brother?”

Leo gives a rueful nod. As much as he didn’t agree with Liam’s decision to keep the truth about Theon from Riley, he also knew it wasn’t his secret to tell. He just hoped this secret won’t come back and bite his brother in the ass.

************************************************

It has been more than a week since Liam left for the states, what was supposed to be a few days trip turned longer than expected.

Riley waited on the other line for Liam to answer her facetime call. The first time she called he didn’t answer, which was unlikely because he usually answer after a few rings and it was around 11pm where Liam was so he shouldn’t be in any meetings. After a few more tries he finally answers.

“Hey you.. you almost gave me a scare there. I’ve been calling for half an hour.”

“Sorry love, I was in the bath and left my phone in the bedroom.”

“A bath huh? But isn’t it almost midnight over there?”

“I’ve had a long day. Apologies love, I’ve been going on about my day I forgot to ask about yours. Is everything okay in Cordonia?”

“Well.. Maxwell hasn’t accidentally blown anything up yet so I guess everything is still fine.” She jokingly said but it was as if Liam was paying attention. “Liam? Are you okay?” He shakes his head giving Riley a weak smile. “Yes, everything is fine. I just had a lot to think about lately.”

“You know you can tell me anything right? We’re in this together.” Liam nodded without replying, there was this moment of awkward silence between them. Riley clears her throat. “So I can’t wait till you get back tomorrow, Madeleine already scheduled an appointment to interview the potential surrogates.”

“Oh I… I completely forgot about that. I’m sorry Riley but it seems I have to extend my stay in the states for a few more days.” He lied, the truth was that he had gotten the result for Theon’s DNA test and he was indeed his son. The news brought him such joy when he found out but was quickly overcome by the guilt of lying to his wife.

“Liam it’s been more than a week what possible reason could there be? You know how important this interview was to us..”

“I know.. I know.. And I promise to make it up to you. Have Madeleine reschedule the interview for next week I promise I’ll be back by then. I’m really sorry but I’m going to have to cut our conversation short, I have an early morning tomorrow. Goodnight Riley, I love you.” He said and hang up before she got a chance to respond.

After Liam hangs up, Riley had a gut feeling like something was wrong. Ever since Liam got to the states he has been acting differently, they usually talk for hours when he is finished with his day but for the past week he would sometimes find an excuse to leave or just text her and say he can’t talk.

************************************************

Drake and Maxwell were at the parlor having some drinks after a day attending meetings with the rest of the council when Riley suddenly barges in.

“I think Liam is cheating on me!” She belts in an exaggerated manner as she enters the room then plops down on one of the couches.

Both Drake and Maxwell gives each other a questionable look before turning back to her with their eyebrows raised.

“Good afternoon to you too.”

“Riley the last thing Liam would do is cheat on you. Now what’s this all about?”

Riley explains everything that has happened over the past week about Liam’s behavior after he left for the states and that she told him she wanted them to have a child via surrogacy.

“What if that’s the reason he is cheating on me? I’m already failing him as a wife and queen by not being able to get pregnant?”

Drake and Maxwell takes a seat next to her, Drake placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “He is not cheating on you, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him. I’m sure he’s just had a lot to deal with those diplomats don’t make it easy for him.”

“Drake’s right, don’t you worry little blossom.” Maxwell reassures her then wipes a tear from her cheeks. “Hey I know why don’t you go to New York and surprise him instead? I’m sure he’ll be thrilled!”

Riley stifles a cry. “I wish I could but I have tons of upcoming meetings that require my attention.”

“Then give us your schedule and well take it from here. No but’s…” Drake said firmly.

Riley hesitates at first but she knew there was no going against the two when they joined forces. She smiles and gives both Drake and Maxwell a grateful hug. “Thank you.”

After that the three headed to Liam’s office where his assistant Nicholas was sitting in the front desk just outside. When Riley ask about Liam schedule for the rest of the week he gives her a puzzled look. He explained that there was a meeting in New York but it ended a few days ago and Liam didn’t attend but Hakim did instead.

“HE WHAT?!” She snaps, now she definitely thinks he is cheating on her. How could he do this?

“Mam, I’m sure there’s an explanation.”

“Oh there’s gonna be an explanation alright!” She turns on her heels and stomps out, Drake and Maxwell follows after her all the way to her office where she paces back and forth, frustration written all over her face.

“Riley wait!” She shushes them with her finger while she dials a number on her phone. “Hey, I need your help.”

************************************************

After finding out that Liam had lied about what he was doing in the states Riley had Olivia help track his cell for his whereabouts, she knew that Bastien wouldn’t help her because he was obviously helping Liam. It took a few hours but they finally managed to track his cell all the way to LA.

“Isn’t Leo living in LA? Maybe he is there visiting Leo?” Drake said trying to convince Riley not to jump to any conclusion until there is proof.

“Then why would he feel the need to hide it from me?” No!” She waves her hand dismissively. “Something is not right.” Riley knew what she had to do she would have to go to LA, find her husband and get the truth once and for all.

*************************************************

Riley asked another favor from Olivia to borrow her private jet instead of using the Royal jet, thinking if she did Bastien would find out and tell Liam and she didn’t want him to know what she had coming for him.

She made Drake and Maxwell to swear and keep their mouth shut.

“I’m going to LA to find Liam and I’ll be flying with The Nevrakis jet to avoid suspicion from Bastien. No one must know of this and if they ask you will tell the staff and the royal guard that the queen is away with duchess Olivia on a short spa trip and does not wish to be disturbed. I’m leaving the two of you to keep things in check while I’m away and I need the two of you to swear not to breathe a word of this to Liam are we clear?” She said in a stern voice pointing at both the men who gave each other a look then nods. “Say you swear it on your balls so much as if you break your promise you’ll lose them.”

“What? Riley I’m not gonna swear on my…”

“Swear it Drake!”

“Geez! ok fine! I swear to lose my balls if I so much so say even one word about this to Liam and anybody” Riley smiled trying to hide a giggle then turns to Maxwell pointedly with her hands on her hips. “You too agent breakdance.”

Maxwell chuckles “Hey, you don’t have to tell me twice. I like my balls where they currently are, attached to me and fully functional.”

“Good then I’ll see the two of you in a day or two.” She closes her suitcase and turns on her heels towards the door, looking over her shoulder before she leaves. “Try not to burn anything while I’m away.”

“Heard that Drake, she was talking about you.”

Drake gives Maxwell a sarcastic eye roll. “Sure she was.”

*************************************************

Riley stepped on to the front porch of the Victorian home where one of Olivia’s spies managed to track Liam down, she could feel her hands tremble feeling a bit hesitant to give the doorbell ring. What if she didn’t like what was behind those doors? Why was her husband her in a house she didn’t know existed until now? Better yet why did he feel the need to lie about where he really was? She sucks in a deep breath and exhaling calmly before finally having the courage to press that golden plated button.

She felt like she was holding her breath forever when the door opens up and a petite young woman with dark hair and tanned skin stood in front of her. “I’m sorry miss are you looking for someone?” The woman asked with a confused look on her face.

“I uh…” I must have the wrong address? She thought but just then a familiar face steps behind the woman. “Leah, is something wrong?” Liam asked when he sees Riley standing at the threshold,his eyes go wide open. Her nostrils flare and her eyes narrowing at him while her fist curl into a ball of fury. “Riley love, I can explain it’s not what it seems.” He sputters and takes a step back holding his hands up defensively.

“After everything we’ve been through, how could you?!” She barges in with her voice raised, she pushes Liam so hard he almost stumbles back. “I gave you everything and you go behind my back and cheat on me with some other woman!”

“Cheat? Riley no I would never! Leah is just a friend there’s more to this I swear if you just listen…” SMACK! Riley’s hands immediately connects to Liam’s cheeks before he could finish his sentence.

“Daddy what’s going on?” Theon walks into the foyer after hearing the commotion, he looks frightened and confused. “Daddy who is this?”

Daddy? Riley glances at the boy, who looks exactly like a younger version of her husband. Suddenly she could feel her heart beating rapidly and her head spinning. It was like she way losing the oxygen in her lungs and couldn’t breathe soon after she falls to the floor and everything turns pitch black.

*************************************************

Riley’s eyes slowly fluttered open with a ringing pain in her head. Was it all a dream? A terrible nightmare that she just woke up from? She presses her hand on her forehead and let out a soft groan, she turns to her right a sees a blurry shape of her husbands figure in front of her. “Liam?”

“Riley, love. How had a slight fall and hit your head on the floor.”

“Liam, I had this bad dream. I caught you cheating then we fought and there was this little boy who looked just like you.” She stops when she notices the expression on her husbands face, then it made her realize. “It wasn’t a dream was it?” Her voice starts cracking. “My love, please let me explain.” He pleads reaching for her hand but she swipes it away looking the other way. She couldn’t stand to see him, not if he cheated not if he was going to lie to her again.

“Riley, I didn’t cheat on you. But I have been keeping a secret from you and I’ll explain everything if you’d just look at me and listen.” He said in a tired voice. Riley finally meets his eye looking at him pointedly with her arms crossed. “Then explain and tell me the truth, is that boy your son?”

“Yes he is. Leo had the DNA test done and we had the result yesterday.”

“Leo knew? Who else? Bastien?”

“No. Just Leo.” Liam finally tell Riley the truth about everything that’s been going on, about how he met Theon’s mother a few years before he met her. How she kept Theon a secret from him all those years and that he only found out about him when she passed. He told her why he had to keep the secret from her until he was truly sure what to do with the situation. Riley quietly listen not saying anything after, her expression unreadable. “Love, please say something. I understand if your mad and I don’t expect you to forgive me but I had no choice.”

Riley closes her eyes trying to gather her thoughts before she finally opens them and speaks. “I’m not mad that you had a one night stand all those years ago before we met or that you have a son because of that night. I’m just disappointed and hurt that you couldn’t trust me enough to tell me all of this from the beginning. Did you really think that if I knew about your son that I would ask you to abandon him? Do you really think that low me?”

“Off course not, I think is would never think that of you.” He answers taking her hand in his. “I was just worried about how you would feel, you’ve already been through enough with the press and the whole thing about being unable to produce an heir. I just didn’t want to add to the stress.”

“I’m a grown woman Liam, I can take care of myself and I certainly can handle any truth you throw at me. Yes this information is a lot to process considering how I found out about it.” Never in a million years did she ever think the two of them would be in this position. “But no matter what we’ll get through this together like we always do. Just promise next time no more secrets.”

Liam leans in and kisses Riley on the forehead a slight feeling of relief. “I promise, so where do we go from here?”

“We go back to Cordonia and bring Theon with us.” She answers with a soft smile and Liam’s expression is somewhere between surprised and relieved at the same time. “Are you sure?”

Rileys gives him an assuring nod taking his hand in hers. “Theon deserves to be with his father, he deserves to be with family. With us.”

“Have I ever told you that you are the best wife ever?” He smiles.

Rileys chuckles. “You have but it never gets old. Now, I believe it’s time you introduce me to someone?

*************************************************

Incase anyone wants to be added or removed let me know.

@charliejane-blog @dcbbw @hopefulmoonobject @cmestrella @pixieferry @lodberg @traeumerinwitzhelden @romanticatheart-posts @gnatbrain @the-soot-sprite @texaskitten30 @ao719 @emceesynonymroll @jessiembruno @desiree---1986 @zaffrenotes @kinkykingliam @jlpplays1 @indiacater @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @queenjilian @annekebbphotography @thecordoniandiaries @rainbowsinthestorm @cordonianroyalty @lauradowning29 @msjr0119 @janezillow @heauxplesslydevoted @innerpostmentality @kingliam2019

[aion-rsa]

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 17 Review: Uncut Femmes

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This The Simpsons review contains spoilers.

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 17

The Simpsons Season 32, episode 17, ” Uncut Femmes,” is a caper comedy, and criminals Sarah Wiggum (Megan Mullally) and Fat Tony (Joe Mantegna) steal every scene they are in. Over the course of the jewel heist parody at the center of the installment, we learn Chief Wiggum’s wife has a shady past, and the neighborhood mob boss has a paternal presence. They don’t have any scenes together, but they make crime pay off, and prove two or so wrongs can make a right.

“Oh, my hallway-walking God,” the episode opens, as a workplace atrocity leads to a nondisclosure agreement which results in two front-row seats at a Bob Seger concert. The rock star plays himself, but goes against the wind. Yes, this is the Silver edition of his Bullet Band, but when he learns both Homer and Chief Wiggum dumped an overnight field trip with the kids on their wives to make the show, he feels obliged to remind them: a wife, like rock and roll, never forgets. Who knew a Detroit belter like Seger could throw such guilt?

The trip is to a World War II battleship, retrofitted to look like it did back in May 1943. That was the last time it was scrubbed, and the kids and wives get keelhauled into breaking up everything but the barnacles. They swab the decks and are told they’re killing Oxees, which sounds enough like Nazis for Springfield Elementary. Nick Offerman voices Captain Bowditch, who Sarah Wiggum calls Captain Dingdong before robbing his liquor cabinet and sharing a bottle with Marge.  

The police chief’s wife also shares some unexpectedly relatable problems, like the pressures of being married to “a man with a dangerous job he’s just not good at” But her best comic line is about her husband’s health, and how every slice of cheese could be his last. The bonding scene is very effective, warm and witty. Both women give up so much because they are mothers.

Sarah Wiggum gave up a glitzy and glamorous life of crime, like the Ocean’s 8 masterminds. She was the getaway driver on the famed “Hourglass Diamond” heist. Her story is broken down in a flashback sequence with subtitles like “The Grab,” “The Camaraderie,” and “The Double Cross.” To give historical perspective, one of the items which the young thieves steal, while listening to Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl,” are MP3 players which held over 300 songs. 

In the segment entitled “The Honey Pot,” Sarah explains her own role in the robbery. “The Chump” denotes when she met Clancy Wiggum, then a mere security guard, working his way through one of his many attempts at passing the police academy. “I love a man in a rented uniform,” she says. 

Marge had to miss the one event she gets to share with her sisters’ friends, which includes the crumbs of the crème de la crème of Springfield’s LGBTQ community: Watching the annual Gen Gala on TV and making scathing remarks. Marge is jonesing for snark. She’s got an itch to throw good shade. This would be a blast to hear from Marge, who is “still working up the courage to call a man the B word.” This year’s Gala is themed, “The Audacity.” The prior year was called “The Nerve.  Marge breaks her usual reserve to tell Rihanna she listens “to the clean versions of all your songs.”

Marge is so consistently Marge-like, so clearly defined within the vantage point the series has set up for her. Marge’s first words, when trying to start a conversation with Sarah, are “the top 10 ways of starting a conversation.” When she is kidnapped, she observes whoever had the bag over their face before her was a smoker. Julie Kavner also pulls off amazing physical comedy in this episode, even though it’s vocal acrobatics. When Marge is bound by Sarah’s old gang, she hops away – chair, pole and all – to allow them to scheme. She points to their scheme-board with her high mound of hair, which she later uses to blur surveillance cameras. Kavner’s inquisitive or insistent moans fuel every blue follicle.

To distract the mark, Lindsey Naegle, Marge makes small talk about common household chores the VIP would never do herself, like paying attention to whether you switch delicates to extra warm when you’re doing laundry. “You’re not famous, so you don’t exist,” Lindsey, who pocketed the diamond for herself to buy a celebrity lifestyle, snorts at Marge. Her husband, Springfield’s beloved Rainier Luftwaffe Wolfcastle, takes this gag to an absurd conclusion. Wolfcastle has no idea what the two were talking about when he enters the scene, but he is more blinded by his celebrity. He asks his wife why she’s talking to an empty chair. It’s all a punchline which lands on “somebody stop those nobodies,” a masterful twist of social restraint.

Ultimately, one of the snarkiest lines turns out to be a comment on Marge, when she makes a very surprising appearance at the Gala. But only because “she looks like dirt” walking a red carpet designed for 20 plus-size gladiators to carry Beyoncé. The snide aside comes across as exactly what Marge would’ve wanted.

The episode has plenty of successful throwaway sight gags. Homer closes shop at his post at the nuclear plant with the same kind of cage storefronts lock up with after hours. We’re not sure if this means the workers on the other side are locked in the workspace without emergency supervision for the whole weekend, though.

The kidnapping is first reported by Chief Wiggum’s son, Ralph, who was watch commander on deck. Fat Tony will come to be simpatico with Ralph in hysterically edgy ways later in the episode. They both “know nothing about nothing.” Until he met Ralph, Fat Tony thought putting crumbled Oreos on ice cream would be redundant, but now finds it transcendent. It is like a grooming process; the police chief’s son even begins wearing a matching fur coat. And when a kid behind an ice cream counter tells Ralph not to grab at the Gummy Bears, Fat Tony says “if the boy wants this the boy wants to smooch, the boy will spook smooch.” He could be telling The Bronx Tale. Ralph’s rejoinder, “I love you, scary daddy,” is so in keeping with his character of cluelessly deranged innocence.

When Homer and Wiggum first learn their wives are missing, the police chief immediately blames Fat Tony. The reputed, reported, alleged and convicted crime boss is plainly being honest when he says he would never even consider such a crime. First of all, how would he finish the sentence “it would be a shame if something were to happen to?” 

Wiggum is very important to crime in the town. This episode points out how it flourishes under his lazy watchful eye. Fat Tony loves “Chief Bungles” because he’s a horrible cop. Even Sarah admits her husband is “better at planting evidence than finding it.” But, more importantly to Fat Tony, the chief loves the top cop because he is a selfish man. He’s on the take from Burns, Fat Tony, and we know from past episodes he’s in on schemes with Mayor Quimby. But some things, even a cartoon mob boss cannot forget.

Fat Tony is surprisingly woke in his off hours. It’s the espresso. His men only yell respectful innuendoes at attractive women. The boss not only tutors Homer and Clancy on ways to respect their wives, but takes care of Ralphie while he lets the men fix their marriages. The male gaze is all over this episode, and it gets poked in the eye repeatedly. From WWII books to gender-trading action movie remakes. The real Silver bullet is the truth. Seger’s concert T-shirt is actually a list of things he has to get done to keep his marriage happy, including getting a C-PAP for his snoring.

For Homer, this change is as sweet as a donut, the ordeal makes him notice what Marge looks like when she’s happy. Clancy realizes, for the first time in his long career, that there is a museum in town. At their heart, Homer and the Chief are really only paying attention to their wives for themselves. Oh, and for Bob Seger, they did promise him that. The lesson they learn when confronted with their selfish ways is: “it’s all about us.”

The final part of the scheme earns its subtitle as the exact kind of surprise double revenge twist we have come to expect from this genre. The only difference is what kind of spin the parody will take. Things have a special way of falling on The Simpsons. In a classic early episode, Homer took a memorable tumble down the rocky edges of a cliff in a failed daredevil stunt. So, he knows to get out of the way when Lindsey comes tumbling down the stairs at the Gala. She tumbles long enough for Wolfcastle to find a newer, younger, more trophy of a wife. In real life the fall would have killed her, and Marge would feel terrible. Thank god for animation. Kids, don’t try this at home.

“This isn’t about the cash, it’s about righting a wrong and looking damn good doing it,” Sarah convincingly explains when she lays out the premise of the heist. By the end, Marge declares it “best field trip of my freaking life,” which is what the episode seems to be going for. It’s fun, more fun than most school trips, and it teaches a lesson.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

“Uncut Femmes” is a fun and playful movie satire. It captures the suspense, romance, glamour and pace of a heist film, but puts The Simpsons touch on it. Marge shines in the unexpected, manages to clean house at the same time, and brings Homer into an understanding. The crooks get away with it, and nothing will change. Like so many crimes in Springfield, it’s got Chief Wiggum on the case, and that’s like having no one at all.

The post The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 17 Review: Uncut Femmes appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[fluffyunicornofdanger]

Stability

A/N: My dudes, I’m so sorry that I have been kinda MIA. I finally got the Steven Tyler fic out that I had been working on for ages. Well, I’ve been working on this one for a lot longer and it’s finally finished. I hope to get all my current requests done soon. Let’s hope in a timely manner. I just need to get my butt in gear and sit down and write this shit. I also hope to have the second part to songs for any occasion done soon. But, time flies when you’re doing just about anything, so we’ll see. Requests are open and I hope you enjoy. Love you guys!!!

*~~*~~*

Masterlist

Slash x Reader

Summary: Y/n’s parents are like every uptight Christian parents of the 80s. So, thinking Footloose would be the right direction. They want nothing to do with rock music and want to keep their daughter far from it. That is until she starts dating a man in a rock band. Now, Y/n’s afraid that they may never see him the same way she does.

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: None??? (Slash is referred to by his actual name because Y/n’s parents definitely wouldn’t approve if they had to call him Slash).

Y/n sighed, bored with the conversation that had been going on for what felt like hours even though it had been mere minutes. It wasn’t like it was the first time she’d had to have the conversation - it seemed that every time she’d mention or alluded to rock this conversation would start.

“I’m not saying you can’t date him, Y/n,” her father told her while he flipped through a stack of bills. “All I’m saying is that he isn’t good enough for you. Will he be able to support you once his music career fails? Will he even want to marry you or just discard you once he gets bored?”

Y/n rolled her eyes, leaning against the kitchen counter, wishing nuclear fall out were an option.

Her mother nodded from her place in front of the stove. “Your father has a point, dear. Stability is key to a happy life and he may not be able to offer you that,” she told her daughter while she stirred the pot in front of her. “So, why waste your time with him if you may never get married?”

Like always, she just shrugged. There was no use in arguing as her parents weren’t going to listen to reason. They were those good Christians that the 80s were known for. And like good Christians of the time, rock music was what the devil listened to and Ronald Reagan was the ideal president. Why not? Y/n didn’t care much for politics, so she never cared to understand what was so great about the president. Rock, on the other hand, was something she cared about but her parents never wanted to hear about.

They had been sucked in on the propaganda about the musical genre that had spread around the neighborhood. Anything of the genre was outlawed in her house, which was alright with her. She was limited when around them and anyone else her parents associated with, but she still had freedom outside of the house. As much as her parents wanted to create a safe enviorment like the pastor in Footloose, it wasn’t going to happen. Whether they liked it or not, she listened to the Devil’s music more than she listened to God’s words. 

But what really hurt wasn’t that she couldn’t enjoy herself at home and do as she pleased, it was that anything remotely related to that dreadful music wasn’t good enough for her parents. Y/n didn’t care if they liked the same music she did or called her favorite artists and bands Satanist, what she cared about was that they wouldn’t even given the man she loved a chance.

Y/n groaned, sucking in a deep breath. “Who said I want to get married? And that’s not even close to what I was talking about.”

“Than what were you talking about, dear?” her father asked, hiding behind a newspaper. 

“I just wanted to know if Saul could come over for dinner or something like that. You know, so I don’t have to hear any more about how he’s not good enough for me from the two of you when you haven’t even met him.”

“I’ll think about.”

She rolled her eyes, pushing herself off the counter. “You do that, dad, you do that.”

*~~*~~*

Saul rocked on his heels nervously, waiting for the door to open. He had been excited to meet Y/n’s parents, after all, his parents were head over heels in love with her. They wanted to be around her more than him, which stung a little. But, damn, it was better than them hating her. After a few seconds, the door opened, exposing an older woman that Saul assumed to be Y/n’s mother.

Opening the door all the way, the woman smiled, “You must be Saul.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Do come it.” She moved out of the way to let him in. “Y/n will be out in a minute. Why don’t we take a seat in the living room.”

It was odd how formal the woman was, but at least she was kind. Her smile didn’t meet her eyes, but how many smiles really did? Y/n didn’t talk about her parents often, but when she did nothing good was said. From what he’d gathered, they were people pleasers and one with the crowd. But, some people were like that, society bred people that way and it took too much strength for some to break away from the crowd. 

Stepping into the living, the guitarist glanced over the photos and paintings that dawned the wall. Pictures of Y/n as a small child among her family on vacations, Christmas, and school events. Even if she complained, at least her parents were present. Saul let out a small sigh as he made his way over to the couch, pillows and a blanket strategically placed. He could hear what he thought sounded like a knife hitting a cutting board and feet hitting stairs. Not even a few seconds pasted before Y/n walked into the living room, a huge smile upon her face.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said with a smile, embracing him before looking over his apparel. “And I’m so glad you finally figured out how to dress nicely.”

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “My mother happened to teach me how to do that, I’ll have you know.”

Y/n glanced behind her to see her mom walk off to the kitchen. Turning to her boyfriend, she let her shoulders relax. Around Saul, she didn’t have to be the good girl her parents wanted her to be. Around him, it seemed that anything and everything was possible. There were no cookie cutters or boxes that she couldn’t think outside of. The world was her’s to conquer with him by her side and she hoped, she prayed to god, that her parents would see that he was more than just some drugged-up rock star.

“She didn’t give you a hard time, did she?”

Saul shook his head, giving her a small smile. “She was actually really polite. You made her out to sound like she tears heads off of children.”

Y/n laughed, shaking her head. Her mother, tear of heads, not a chance. “She would never do such a thing, not with god watching. And I don’t know why I expected less from her. She’s a saint, I’ll have you know.”

“Then I’m sure my mother will love her. They can discuss saintly things over tea,” he joked, running a hand through his hair, which he through into a neat ponytail. 

“My mom doesn’t like tea.”

“Coffee then.”

Before any more could be discussed on what the potential meeting of their mothers, Y/n’s mom poked her head into the room, her presence silencing their conversation. 

“Dinner’s ready if you two will head to the table.”

*~~*~~*

With food piled on their plates, everyone was silent. Y/n munched on her green beans, trying to pretend she couldn’t feel the tension that filled the air. Saul seemed unfazed, but Y/n knew better than to believe that. He played cool whether he was internally or not. That was how he went through life. He’s acting skills were amazing whether he knew he possed them or not.

“Y/n tells me your a musician,” her father stated, picking through his salad.

“Yeah, I am,” he confirmed.

Her father shook his head, disappointment written all over it. She knew he was hoping for a different answer. “I hear there isn’t much money in that. Have you considered any other career options?”

Y/n let out a sigh, wishing the world would just swallow her whole. It was no surprise to her that this conversation would come up, but she wished it didn’t matter. The average blue-collar job isn’t for everyone, her father should have known that. Her grandfather was a member of the circus for years. Of course, no one talked about it because it wasn’t an acceptable job in their minds, it still paid the bills.  

Placing his silverware on the table, Saul thought for a moment before looking the man in the eye. “Well, I have thought of other career options but I have no passion for them. I know, without a doubt, that music will never be boring to me. Plumbing or accounting or anything else, sure I may make more money doing that, but how long until I get bored? And to be honest, sir, money means nothing to me. It may buy you fancy things, but it really can’t buy happiness, that’s found in the heart.”

Y/n’s father was speechless, but not angry like Y/n and her mother thought he would be. His eyes seemed to light up right before his lips tugged into a smile. “That is a better answer than I gave your father,” he turned to his wife, shaking his head. If only he was smart enough to think of an answer like that.

Y/n couldn’t help but smile with him as she realized that Saul was at least acceptable in her father’s eyes. Her mother, well… she would eventually see the same thing Y/n did. But at least there was no fear of them not approving of him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[huntertales]

Preview: The Smallest Coffins Are The Heaviest. (I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here S09E01)

Episode Summary: The Winchesters are left in a frantic state after the reader collapses, setting off a chain reaction of events with deadly consequences. Out of desperation, Dean sends out a prayer and meets an angel named Ezekiel, both of them make a unorthodox benefiting both parties while the reader fights for her life. Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader Episode Warning: Heavy angst, mentions of childbirth, stillbirth aftermath, character death(s), hints of depression. Word Count: 2,395.

Previous Part | Supernatural Rewrite Masterlist

They were calling it a meteor shower. You scrolled through an endless feed of news articles and social media buzz about the phenomenon that was happening all over the world. Pictures upon pictures being posted on every platform, short videos uploaded by people who captured streaks of white light illuminating the night sky. During your search through the unexpected natural event, you couldn't find anything about reports of bodies crashing to the ground at hundreds of miles per hour. Maybe even thousands? Plummeting to Earth after getting thrown out of their heavenly home, their wings ripped from their bodies. You didn’t know the consequences just yet about what this meant for Cas and the other angels. Your gut told you it wasn’t going to be the slightest bit pretty. It never was when it came to these kind of things. 

You placed your phone with the screen down on the leather seat for a moment and back around at your familiar, comforting surroundings; the Impala driving in the darkness of the night, Dean behind the wheel and Sam sitting in the passenger seat beside his brother. The three of you knew the truth about what happened all over the world not that long ago. It wasn't a meteor shower, it was angels falling from heaven. You let out a heavy sigh from the situation that fell into your lap. Hell was your number one problem not that long ago, but now that you had to drop that, heaven quickly took the empty slot. No rest for the wicked. They wouldn't let you even catch your breath before throwing you another swing.

"This makes no sense. I mean, how many angels fell—hundreds, thousands even? And nobody sees anything. This is...Look at this." You leaned forward in your seat and stretched your arm out to show Sam the article you were reading, along with a video attached at the end showing the sight seen all around the world. "They're calling it a meteor shower. Seriously?" Dean merely glanced over at the screen for a moment, not wanting to risk the chance of taking his eyes off the road for too long. Sam nodded his head after taking one look before returning his back onto the road. You noticed both of them weren't listening to what you were saying, occupied with their own personal thoughts. "What's going on, guys? You okay?"

"Us? Yes. We're fine." Dean answered for himself and his brother. You retracted your arm and dropped it back down to your lap after you returned back to your seat. You could see right through their flimsy response. "It's just—"

“It’s just we got a major freakin’ crap fest on our hands. Yeah, tell me about it.” You finished the presumption Dean was having about this whole situation, shifting around slightly in your seat to get more comfortable. “Thousands of superpowered dicks touching down, and we got no idea where to start.”

“Angels aren’t our problem right now, Y/N.” Sam said. The tone of his voice was solemn. It seemed as if he was trying to break some bad news to you, trying to figure out the right way. Something he was afraid to say. You wondered what was so important at a time like this. “Or demons, or Metatron, or whatever the hell happened to Cas.”

“Why? Because we hugged it out in that church like some big family and now we’re gonna go to Disneyland?” You asked them in a sarcastic tone. You shook your head slightly from how they were being. Nothing was as important as what you witnessed outside of the church. “Dean, you said it yourself—we’re not gonna sleep till this is done.”

“I know.” Dean muttered. He regretted the words you were throwing back in his face. It wasn’t like him to lose focus in the little details of the aftermath of abandoning the demon trials than the bigger problem you had in front of you. Angels falling from the sky was more important than anything lingering in the older Winchester’s mind right now. You didn’t realize it was more grave, more personal. Maybe you just didn’t want to realize the truth yourself. 

“So, what’s the problem?” You asked the both of them. 

The boys exchanged a glance between one another, suddenly reluctant to tell you the truth you were pressuring them for. There wasn’t much time to tell you the truth. They thought if anyone was to break the news it was them. The two people who you trusted out of anyone in the world. It was the reason why they were here in the first place. Why you were traveling down some back road in the Impala. Because all of this was a comfort. Some kind of way for your mind to cushion the blow. But nothing could prepare you for the truth. The consequences of your own actions you refused to believe were possible.

“You.” Sam’s answer made you look at him a bit funny, not sure what he meant. He wasn’t laughing. The boys were stone, cold serious. “Look, there’s no easy way to say this, okay? But something happened back there in the church. And I don’t know what. I don’t know why—“

"You're dying, Y/N." Dean cut off his brother, tired of beating around the bush. He was always the one who liked to rip off the band aid instead of softening the blow. Tell you straight out how it was going to be. But even speaking those two words was the hardest thing he had to say. 

You found yourself responding with silence, and for a few seconds you couldn't do much, other than stare at the two men sitting in front of you. Hearing those words hit something inside of you. Almost as if they were forcing you to realize something you were trying not to believe. A piece of truth a part of your brain was trying to bury. Suddenly you felt...empty. Like something was missing. 

You looked down at your body to see that you were still wearing the same clothes you had on back at the church. Nothing was missing. But something still felt off. You pressed a hand against your stomach. For some reason you were expecting it to stick out, feel more rounder. But it felt like it always had your entire life. The sensation sent a rush of panic through your body. “You’re lying” was all you managed to respond with to the older WInchester’s haunting words.

+ + + 

A person can prepare themselves for just about anything. They can try and put on a face like they're ready for the worst life throws at them. Raise their child with the lessons they had to learn the hard way. Put them through hell to toughen them up, make them grow a thick skin so when the worst does eventually happen it's not as bad as they thought it was going to be. Soften the blow. Dean thought he was ready. He thought he was prepared for the worst. Dean's entire life felt like it was rock bottom, he stumbled and fell to the point where he felt like there was no end in sight. Sometimes he got little breaks. Other times he wondered if he would keep falling dowards for the rest of his life, never quite making the impact his entire life was bracing him for. And while he was ready for the other shoe to drop, the rug pulled out from underneath his feet, the idiot kept up the smallest bit of hope. 

Dean thought in the back of his mind that things might work out in the end. If he worked hard enough, kept a watchful eye on you and stopped you before you could push yourself past the point of no return that maybe things would be okay. And that's what kills a person's spirit. That little bit of hope in a time when you need it the most. A little faith. The wish that maybe things will be okay in the end. Maybe all of this was bad dream and Dean was going to wake up in bed, wrapped up in his arms on the morning you were ready to finish what you had set on accomplishing all these months. Maybe, just maybe, he could have stopped this from happening. 

The beeping of the heart monitor and the body lying in the hospital bed sobered him up from his personal thoughts. It reminded him of the harsh reality that had unfolded over the past day and a half was a nightmare come true. 

Everything happened so fast, decisions were made without even much of a thought. He couldn't stand it anymore. Being told they did everything they could. Being asked questions about what he wanted them to do. Dean nodded his head at the first suggestion they gave him. Whatever. He didn’t care. He didn’t want to think about it. While the logical part of his brain worked just enough to remind him that he might regret rushing through the process when he started thinking with a clear head, he didn’t care. He felt too numb to think of the future. Part of him felt like there was no point in having one if he was going to leave the hospital without you.

Dean grew up thinking about the kinds of things people got to have—getting married, settling down and having children, a career, even owning  house—those things were for normies. Those who didn't devout their life to hunting the supernatural, the monsters. Every part of Dean thought he wasn't cut out for even the slightest bit of that good stuff. Nobody was going to love him for who he was, and he tried to have a family that was beside him and his brother. A little slice of normalcy, a bit of his own happiness. It never worked out. Until you came into his life. 

You always broke his standards on what life should give him. You loved him for who he was, and even then some. You were willing to go to hell if it meant he would live. You'd give him the world on a string. Because you knew he would do the same. You wanted to give him a relationship than making him forget about the things he was raised to hint. You gave him a reason to look for the light at the end of the tunnel. For a little while life didn't seem that bad. You were going to close the gates of hell and lock away all those monsters that ruined your life. You and him were going to have a child, maybe even get married. Live a life you always talked about. You were going to accomplish that....You were. Past tense. Something that couldn’t be changed. A memory stuck in his mind forever. 

What remained of that dream turned into a living nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. 

Dean felt empty. And yet at the same time flooded with emotions that made it feel like he was drowning in his sorrows. All of this was his fault. He kept wondering what he could've done to change this outcome to something different. He sat in the hospital chair staring at the one person he would do anything for. He would switch places with you in a heartbeat if it meant you were alive. If you just let him do the trials all of this could have been avoided. 

Perhaps the gates of hell could have been shut for good. Or maybe you would’ve stopped him at the last second and it would be you sitting  in this chair staring at him in a comatose state, trying to figure out how to fix this. Or even finding the courage to say your goodbyes. Because you would still have a part of him to hold on to, and his brother to take care of you. Dean didn't even have that. All he was left with was guilt. The blood was on his hands. The death of his child was his fault. He forced himself to repeat the thought over and over again to stop himself thinking about other things. Things that were worse than the funeral arrangements. 

Something like how he felt the grip around his hand loosen when you were using every ounce of energy you had left to deliver a baby you were only going to be able to do so much with. Say your goodbyes and plan a proper burial. He wanted you to have that closure, to hear the words that none of this was your fault. No one had a clue this was how it was going to end. Dean begged for you to hold on a little longer. He couldn't go through losing two people in the span of minutes. It was hard enough to make funeral arrangements of your own newborn. He couldn't do the same for the woman he loved. Not again. Not for the second time. 

It was stupid to think that Dean was cut out to be a father. Every child he had or tried to take care of met the same fate. Why did he think this was going to turn out any different? Your child was doomed from the very beginning. In a twisted, self loathing sort of way, Dean said his goodbyes. To his child, to the chances of having something like this again. Because it was never going to work out. Life taught him another lesson. He made arrangements to have your child buried in the same cemetery his mother and your parents were. Mary Winchester's casket would be kept company by a small one. Maybe the baby was up in heaven, being taken care of by their grandparents. Hopefully someone was watching over the kid. Someone better than him. 

Dean knew there was more grave matters that required his attention. The sky was falling, he had no idea where the hell Cas was and if he was okay. He didn't even take into consideration how Sam was handling this situation. All Dean kept wondering was what he needed to do to fix this situation. He knew for a fact that him and his brother weren't leaving the hospital without you. Dean would do anything to get you back...anything.

[Next Part]

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[prettywordsyouleft]

Your Neighbour

Prompt: #18 for @lazypostfandomer – “You can’t just sit there all day.”

lazypostfandomer said:

18, Jaebum Hopefully angst with a fluffy ending? Your wish. Thanks in advance

Pairing: Im Jaebum x reader

Genre: angst / fluff / neighbours to lovers au

Warnings: none

Word count: 2335

You couldn’t tell what day it was or how long you had been seated on this sofa for. The curtains were closed and you had no recognition of what day or night meant anymore. Those who had come to check on you in beginning dwindled off and you didn’t know when you last ate. You felt pathetic even though it was too overwhelming to consider life without him now.

You had always thought you and Jackson would last forever. You had been high school sweethearts and everyone had joked you would be the first ones to get married. When you went onto college, you had scheduled your different degrees to match up so you could still see each other every day. You studied and worked out together, and you even moved into an apartment together in your second year. You had thought that life couldn’t get any better than this.  

You hadn’t anticipated that to change.

“I’ve been offered a job in Hong Kong,” he mentioned quietly, his gaze not meeting yours. You blinked a few times and then smiled.

“Well, isn’t that great? For how long? Six weeks? It’s just an internship, right?”

“The contract is for two years.”

You faltered for a moment, trying to calculate how you could make this work. Jackson had been working too hard for you to get needy and hold him back from any career advancements. You tried to smile. “I mean, I could fly to you during breaks.”

“You’d do that?” he asked, looking up at you with eyes full of emotion. “You’d let me go there?”

“Don’t you want to go?”

“Of course, I do.”

You smiled more genuinely. “We can make it work then.”

In the first six months, everything went smoothly. You spoke to Jackson as often as you could thanks to the advances in technology and you had visited him over your last vacation. He was working really hard and you were so proud of him. But when he landed a promotion, he slowly shut off from you.

“I’m busy, they need me to stay back later,” he’d message you when he missed your calls, and some weeks you didn’t even hear from him. You started to worry he was going to become married to his job and not you.

The distance between you physically only created further distance as a couple too. Jackson had a new group of friends who you saw he spent a lot of time with through his social media account and you couldn’t help but grow jealous. Your conversations often turned hostile and one night he called you in the middle of the night, incredibly drunk.

“Y/N,” he said, panting heavily from the exertion of his intoxication. “This isn’t working anymore, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Us. We’re not working.”

“We can improve on things, I will visit more and when you come back home. I-”

“I’m not coming back, Y/N.” It was painful to hear that from the man you had put some of your life on hold for over the past eighteen months. Jackson groaned, and you realised he was drunk because he needed the liquid courage to tell you how he truly felt. “I like it here, I’m not coming back.”

“Well, what about me?” you asked, hoping he would beg you to come to him. Although you had your own plans for your future that didn’t include living overseas, you would do it if Jackson wanted you there.

He didn’t say anything though. The tears began to fall then and you sobbed on the phone together for an hour before he clicked off.

And just like that, everything crashed down.

Had you not been so naïve, you would have seen this coming. As you spent your days on this sofa, you considered every part of the past year and a half. Where you could have tried harder, where you had done too much. How you had become paranoid, you realised your relationship with Jackson hadn’t been healthy for months.

It didn’t make you hurt any less though.

“You can’t just sit there all day.”

You glanced up at your neighbour, Jaebum sighing heavily from finding you still in the same place he had left you two days before. He knew you were suffering but he also decided letting you sit here any longer was the worst thing you could continue doing. He had grown concerned when you hadn’t come to collect the mail that had piled up a couple of weeks ago and had started appearing now and then. You needed to get up and face the world again. It hadn’t stopped whilst you had and you couldn’t waste your youth away in this apartment either.

You soon moved your focus away from him, staring at the wall ahead of you. Jaebum groaned and moved into your view again. “Y/N.”

“Why are you here?” He bit back his concern at how hollow you sounded. He knew you didn’t need him to coddle you. “Everyone else has stopped bothering me.”

“Am I bothering you?” he asked and you managed a small nod. “Good. It’s time to get up and into the shower now. In case you lost your sense of smell, you kind of stink.”

He could tell it was the first time someone had been this blunt with you. Your gaze shifted to his and he moved to your side to gently pry you from the sofa cushion. Directing you over to your bathroom, he smiled brightly. “Whilst you shower, I’ll prepare you some food.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I don’t care.”

You glared at him for a moment, and even he wondered why he was putting in so much effort. He merely ignored your gaze and gave you another gentle prod. You reluctantly turned to go into the bathroom and he heard the sound of the shower turn on a moment later. Jaebum sighed in relief; it was the start of something.

It took several weeks and Jaebum’s constant nagging, but you were finally feeling more like a human again. You decided to return to your final year of schooling, and somehow despite your prolonged absence, you had an internship lined up to move right into. Being busy was actually more helpful than wallowing in your pain. You found the more productive you were, the further you felt fulfilled. You started meeting with your friends again and picked up a couple of new hobbies. You became hopeful for your future, one where you didn’t just assume to be the married partner of someone else. You had begun to think of what you needed, and what you hoped to have in ten years.

You had a new lease on life.

But there was one thing you couldn’t stop doing no matter how much you tried. You relied on Jaebum more than you expected to. At nights, when you were your loneliest, he would somehow feel it through the wall that separated your apartments and appear on your doorstep with snacks and a movie under his arm. On the weekends, he would take you out on day trips or to different places around the city. When you were happy he was the first person you told your good news to. And when you were struggling it was his shoulder you cried onto.

A small part of you was embarrassed that someone who had been a mere neighbour to you was now the person you used as a crutch. You often had nightmares of him leaving you and the fear would send you out of your bed and to his front door, knocking on it until he blearily opened it up and you could see him with your own eyes. You knew it was unhealthy and yet you craved him like no other.

Jaebum was honest at all times. He told you when you were strong enough to do things on your own. He ensured you had help when you needed it. And he had become your closest friend. It was a different relationship than what you had with Jackson; with him, it had always been light and full of romance. Even though you hadn’t expressed any romantic notions towards Jaebum, somehow it was him who you imagined when you wanted to snuggle into someone in bed at night. You imagined what it would be like to wake up each morning beside him. You had even gone as far as to fantasise about him telling you he loved you. Of course, you never told him any of this, and Jaebum never made any moves on you.

As much as you needed him, it hurt that he didn’t seem to need you back.

You decided you would try to break free from your dependency. You were doing better than you had been four months ago, and you couldn’t expect Jaebum to be there forever. Eventually, he would move on and you would need to accept this fate.

“I’ve decided to move out,” you told him over dinner, your gaze unable to lift from your plate.

“I guess you need to close the chapter on your relationship,” he said simply and you nodded distantly, wondering why it hurt so much that he answered so easily. You cursed your romantic notions that had hoped for a bigger reaction than that.

“I haven’t found a place but I’ll let you know when I do.”

“It will be good for you, Y/N,” Jaebum encouraged and you picked at your meal. “I’m proud of you.”

You didn’t feel anything but sadness.

You went ahead and started searching. You found a few places that didn’t look so bad online but in person weren’t suitable and for a couple of weeks, you were unsuccessful. And then you found one, finding yourself somewhat annoyed that you couldn’t refute it. You tried to be happy as you made arrangements with the agent to sign the lease papers in two days time. You sent Jaebum a message about your success and carried on with your day.

By the evening, you hadn’t heard from Jaebum and you wondered if you should visit him to make sure he got your message earlier. The read flag had appeared by your message so it confused you as to why he hadn’t responded yet. You left it down to him being busy and decided not to bother him. After all, your whole point to moving out stemmed from a need to shake off your growing feelings for the man who had healed your heart. You chanted this repeatedly as you packed up some of your belongings and then as you washed up before bed. The last thing you remembered before falling asleep was your constant affirmation.

And then you woke up with a jolt, hearing banging on the front door. You blearily pulled yourself out of bed and padded to the front door, frowning when you saw Jaebum outside through the monitor.

You opened the door. “You have the code, why didn’t you just come in?”

Jaebum ran a hand through his hair agitatedly, his eyes barely landing on yours before he stepped inside, pacing in your living space a little. He glanced to your half-packed boxes and groaned.

“Jaebum?”

“Are you really moving?” he asked, as if the boxes weren’t enough proof. You watched him silently, trying to understand his current state. He didn’t smell of liquor and apart from his distressed expression, he seemed completely sober.

You nodded slowly. “I messaged you, didn’t you see?”

“Ah, right.”

“Are you okay?”

“No.” He seemed shocked by his admission, swallowing before scratching at his hair awkwardly. It surprised you to see him like this. You wondered if you had once looked this wired up. Jaebum cleared his throat noisily. “I uh… never mind.”

He moved to go pass you for the door again but you stopped him, grabbing onto his forearm. He turned to look at you and you noticed several emotions cross his face. You furrowed your brows together as you stepped closer. “What’s wrong?”

“Honestly?” he asked and you nodded. “I don’t want you to go.”

“But you told me-”

“I panicked because I didn’t want to seem pathetic for how I felt. You see me as the guy who saved you. I mean, I’m glad you do, but, but…”

You blinked several times before you smiled. “I like you.”

“What?” Jaebum stared at you in disbelief. “What did you just say?”

“I did see you like that but then I started to develop feelings and I worried I was being unhealthy towards you because I started to like you. So I decided I would move away so I could solve my dependency and hopefully remove my crush too.”

“You like me?” he repeated and your smile grew. You didn’t feel anxious at all with your admission. It was a relief to finally speak it out into existence. Jaebum soon smiled, pulling you closer. “Really?”

“Just do something about it already or I will,” you teased and Jaebum sighed, cupping your face before he kissed you hesitantly. You smiled as you melted into the embrace, confirming every daydream you had had about his lips. They were as kissable as you imagined.

When he shifted back, he brushed your hair away from your face. “Do you still need to move?”

You winced lightly. “My lease here is up and I told the landlord already.”

“I uh, have a spare room.”

“From neighbours to roommates?” you asked, and Jaebum chuckled. “Are you sure?”

“I couldn’t imagine you moving away from me for good.”

“What if you end up not liking me, I’ll be living with you,” you asked and Jaebum shook his head immediately.

“I’ve seen you at your worst, there’s no way I couldn’t like you.”

You gaped at him, even though you were used to his honesty. You laughed it off and shook your head. “Okay, so we’re definitely going to be roommates?”

“And lovers,” Jaebum confirmed, kissing you again.

__________________

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[bangchanshehe]

The Trespasser pt. 3 (M)

You were on top of the world with the new title of leader of your family’s clan. You were the strongest clan in all of the orient and you were proud. But your family feels that there are threats still lurking around making you a target. When they introduce you to a potential man for a business and marriage merger will it help your clan or make matters worse?

Word count: 5k

Wonho x Reader, Shownu x Reader, Jooheon x Reader

The next day you were up early, going into your office to do research on Hoseok and his family. You didn’t care if your mom or dad recommended them, the whole thing was fishy and you didn’t want to rely on anyone’s instinct instead of your own. You turned on your computer and opened up a document to take notes, and dug around for any rumors or private posts that can be tracked down. But after an hour and a half of finding nothing you decided to give up and make a cup of coffee.

You went into the kitchen and turned on the Keurig listening to the sounds of the water heating up as you pulled out a mug, creamer and sugar. Today you didn’t have a strict schedule to adhere to so you decided to train a little and catch up on some things to do around the house. You made a mental note of all things that you wanted to accomplish today as you added to your coffee, making it taste just the way you like it.

First things first, I need to stop by the warehouse to take inventory. Secondly, I need to check on the progress of the new mules and shops. While they sounded like easy tasks it could easily end up being a task that took all day long. But since you now have a potential new addition to the clan you wanted to make sure that things were extra tight. You didn’t want to leave room for any mistakes or blind spots.

You were stirring the contents in your mug when you were joined by Shownu. He strolled in with his messy bed hair and nothing but sweat pants on. you turned towards him and without saying anything he walked towards you and stopped so the two of you would be face to face. He bent over and gave you a small peck on your lips before reaching over your shoulder and setting up the Keurig to make himself a cup as well.

“what are your plans for today?” he asked through a yawn

You took a sip of your coffee and let your eyes scan down shownu’s ripped chest. you observed his sweat pants and didn’t see any boxer lines. You reached out for the hem of his sweats and pulled them towards you to peek inside his sweats.

No boxers, hm?

You looked up at him to give him a sideways grin and then let the hem go so it snapped back against his skin. Shownu looked down at his sweatpants and then back up to you with a cocky grin. You smiled to yourself and took a sip of your coffee as if nothing had happened before you answered him.

“I want to train a little and go check on the warehouse and the new recruits.”

Shownu scoffed at you for not addressing your curiosity as to what was in his pants and closed the distance between your bodies.

“Like what you see, hm?” he whispered to you so only you could hear

You only hummed and gave him a small grin “what are you doing today?” you asked back

He looked up as he thought “hmm… not much, I don’t think that Jooheon has anything planned for us today.” You nodded your head “should I spend the day with you?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile on his face ready for you to say ‘yes’ to him.

You smiled and nodded your head “but only if you put some real clothes on…. I don’t want you to distract me while I’m at work” you said half sarcastically

“yes ma’am!” he replied with a cocky and proud grin

He pulled away with a cocky grin and took a large sip from his mug, maintaining eye contact with you the whole time. You took one final sip of your coffee and then put your mug down in the sink. If you were going to have someone tagging along with you then you wanted to go ahead and get started on your day. Training could come later… plus training with the boys could be good for you too. Especially since you were going to be around someone who was obviously very skilled at his trade and came from a background that you knew so little about.

“I’m going to go get ready. Meet you be back down in 30?” you asked him for confirmation

“see you in 30” shownu accepted

You rushed up stairs and immediately got ready for the day. You knew that it was going to be a long one and that you were going to want to make things as easy as possible. You threw on some jeans and a blouse to make yourself look a little more open and friendly since you would be seeing new members of your team, but also wanted to make a good impression. You slipped on some heels and brushed through your hair. You walked into your bathroom and applied some red lip stain and mascara, making your appearance at least somewhat presentable. You were the leader after all.

You were finishing up when shownu walked in in jeans and a hoodie. You eyed him through the mirror and looked up and down his amazing form. He was so tall and handsome in anything that he wore and you knew the affects that it had on not only women but men as well. You had always questioned him and tried to see if he could potentially become a baiter, but he always shook it off.  

He said that it was too “personal” and he didn’t have the ability to attach himself to people and then let them go at a whim. But you felt that deep down it was an excuse because he didn’t want to see anyone other than yourself. Because you knew that shownu really had feelings for you despite him never pushing to take things farther than what they were. Just casual fucking. In fact, the mention of  marriage was the only thing that he had mentioned that was other than your previous arrangement with him and Jooheon. But if you were being completely honest with yourself you could marry Shownu without any contest to your parents if they would let you marry him instead.

“you ready?” you turned and asked him

He nodded his head and gave you a small smile. You checked the mirror one last time before leaving your bedroom and shutting of the lights. You grabbed your purse on the way out and sent a text to the group chat so that everyone knew where you and shownu would be today.

   The car ride was a slow one and you were thankful for the time to mentally prepare yourself and get into boss mode. If you were going to face the new members then you wanted to make sure that the knew that they were meeting the most important person to them in this career, and that they should take you seriously.

Shownu pulled up to the warehouse and you eyed the building first checking to see how secure it looked. There was no one standing blatantly outside, making it obvious that there were people and things that weren’t mean to be seen by anyone. But you knew that there were cameras and eyes everywhere and your presence would be immediately known. Shownu parked the car behind the warehouse, so it wouldn’t be seen and you immediately jumped out not waiting for anyone to come outside or for shownu to join your side.

You walked towards the back door and when you were merely five feet away it automatically slid open for you and shownu to walk inside. “boss!” one of the men said and bowed slightly. You nodded your head to him in acknowledgement and quickly moved past.

Shownu put his hand on the small of your back and used his other free hand to gesture to a hidden room where you could find the new trainees. Having been there many times himself he easily guided you through the hallways and hidden doors to take you to were you needed access. He stopped in front of a door and then slid it open for you revealing a room that was lit up compared to the rest of the place. There were mats on the floor, weapons on the walls and training gear everywhere. Compared to the run down look of the place outside the inside was completely modernized for comfort and the best training.

When the boys inside turned to see who had came in one immediately bowed and two looked at you in confusion.

“boys this is your boss, Miss. Y/n” the trainer said to the two

Their eyes went wide and they immediately bowed down respectfully and greeted you.

“I didn’t think that we would ever meet you since we are just at the bottom!” one of them said with a bewildered look in his eyes. He bowed again slightly and offered a hand to shake “my name is changkyun, but everyone calls me I.M.” he said with a smile.

You raised and eyebrow as you shook his hand looking at him up and down. He was young, pretty and had a good personality. He wasn’t afraid to make himself be known and show his charms, which intrigued you. You wanted to see how well he fought and see what other charms he had. He could potentially work alongside Hyungwon and become a baiter.

“its nice to meet you I.M” you said with a smile and turned to the other

He boy held his breath and awkwardly bowed to you with a  nervous smile on his face “hello, my name is kihyun”. He raised his head and looked at you in the eyes for a split second before nervously looking away and failing to make eye contact any more.

“Likewise.” You said with a small smile “don’t let me bother you, I’m just here to observe and fetch a few things” you mentioned and the boys nodded their heads

You looked over your shoulder and tilted your head towards the door letting shownu know that you were going to leave and attend to other business. He began to follow you as you turned but you put up a hand telling him to stay with the new boys.

You walked out of the room and went to the opposite side of the warehouse where you knew the operations rooms were. You sat down at a desk where the monitors were displayed, showning the training rooms and watched in silence how the boys trained together and alone. After a minute of watching and nothing happening that piqued your attention you pulled out your phone and sent a text to shownu.

You: I’m watching from ops room. Get I.M to talk about himself and push kihyun harder than the trainer is.

You watched the monitor and smiled when you noticed shownu pulled out his phone and smiled seeing your name. he checked the message and quickly responded back to you

Shownu: yes ma’am.

Shownu: try not to watch me too much

You chuckled when you read the messages and shook your head at the monitor. Smart ass.

You put your phone away and watched the boys as they interacted with each other. Shownu partnered up with kihyun and chit chat with changkyun about where he was from and how he came here at the same time trying to pry information from him and work at the same time.

“so how did you two end up here?” he asked them both as to not seem rude only asking the one

“well, I was poor and living on the streets. Stealing food and working part time jobs was barely enough to survive and someone from one of the jobs recommended that I come interview here” kihyun said with a small shrug of his shoulders

“oh, where were you working before?” shonwu pried

“just around town for small businesses repairing electronics and doing IT work. Really anywhere that would hire me” he said

Shownu nodded his head and turned to I.M “and you?” he asked

“I’ve got a friend who already works here actually” he said with a cocky grin “he said that I should come work for you guys. His name is bang chan”

His confession piqued your interest and you immediately pulled out your phone to open your email and check on this said friend. You scrolled through your files for employees and immediately pulled up a file with the boys name.

He looked clean, no history of problems for the clan, and had several accomplishments to his name for the group so far. A hacker, hm? You thought to yourself. You closed down his information and opened up I.M’s looking over any notes already made from the trainer. He worked hard, was pretty damn strong and seemed like he would be a good weapons or baiter. You smiled seeing the trainers notes and nodded your head. Great minds think alike after all.

You backed out of his file and returned to your inbox and frowned seeing an email from Hoseok. You quickly tapped on it and read through the message, staring at it like it was a thorn in your side that you couldn’t wait to get rid of.

 That sounds perfectly fine to me. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow night.

Shin Hoseok

 You didn’t bother responding to him and locked your phone, tired of looking at the small screen. You looked up to the monitor once more and sighed seeing the boys still talking and doing their own thing. You grew anxious and decided to distract yourself with something else while you waited for the boys to finish up. So you used the next hour to come up with the perfect plan for tomorrow.

  When you arrived back at the house you didn’t bother looking for the boys, but went straight to your room to change into work out clothes. As you were changing you looked at the clock and sighed to yourself. It was already 1pm and you still hand plenty that needed to be done. You ran to your office and made a quick call to some of the other warehouses that you wanted to check in on and then called Minhyuk into your office.

“ready for a progress report?” he asked with a smile on his face, which meant that he found something good for you

“what did you get?” you asked with a slight grin

“well…. Not too much, but what I did find is pretty good!” he said “being that he’s a son of the Shin’s you could already imagine that his info was locked up tight. But what I found is actually from some pissed off ex-jobs of his, who’ve put a lot of info up on the internet.”

You looked at him with wide eyes and nodded your head, eager for him to continue.

“apparently, lover boy is pretty skilled and can handle up to three or… maybe even more girls at one time. And ive got the profiles of three that he dated simultaneously.” He handed you the women’s portfolio’s “he was intimate with all of them, shared real information with all of them, but he had very different personalities with all of them. which means-“

“which means he’s a though son of a bitch with multiple faces” you cut Minhyuk off

He nodded at you with a sigh. He pointed down towards the papers he handed you “melanie was the son of an arms dealer. He treated her pretty rough mostly earned her trust through her 2 year daddy and little girl kink. Jessica is a Russian mafia boss’s niece, he had a 5 month vanilla relationship with her until their clans went to war and her father died. Minah… minah was a 6 month project. She worked as a stripper but had a lot of pimps who ran some sex trafficking circles. He took her in, gave her food and shelter, slapped his dick around…. You get it” Minhyuk explained

“and what did he want from these relationships?” you asked intrigued. None of the girls had anything in common other than petty connections

“it seems from the looks of it just info on drugs, prostitution and clan secrets”

You raised your eyebrows. Someone was telling him that information after only 5 or 6 months of dating? Sheesh people were fucking stupid.

“I meet with him tomorrow night” you said looking up at Minhyuk “I wonder which one of him I will meet…”

Minhyuk nodded his head and gave you an empathetic look “just be careful and make sure that you don’t say too much” he pleaded “and take one of the boys with you… it would make me more comfortable”

You gave him a look of ‘bitch really?’ and shook your head. Minhyuk pouted at your negative approach to his worry about you and turned to leave your office. When he was finally gone you stared down at the images of the girls in front of you. All of them were beautiful and all of them were vastly different from you. Were you supposed to be a big fish for him?

You let out a long sigh and stood up from the chair, making your way out of your office and down the hall to the home gym. You heard some music playing from a far and wondered which of the boys were inside training. When you made it to the door you cracked the door open and peeked inside.

Shownu was by himself, covered in sweat and red in the face. You could tell that he pushed himself today since it was only him by himself. You quietly tip-toed in the room and shut the door behind you. He was sitting the corner of the room and doing arm curls, with his poor back facing you. You snuck up behind him and stuck your hands in his shirt, through the tank tops arm cut outs, groping his firm pecks. You bent over and lightly licked at his neck, humming at the taste of his salty sweat on your tongue.

Shownu jumped and nearly dropped the weight that he was using, but quickly regained his composure and chuckled at your childishness. You giggled in return and sat next to him on the bench and gave him a wicked smile

“almost done?” you asked him

He put down his weight and wiped your saliva off of his neck, grimacing up at you. “yeah, I’m all done”

“good you can help me” you said with a wicked smile.

You stood up and you grabbed a bar from the weight rack. You stood feet shoulder width apart and held the bar by the grips. “come spot me” you said nonchalantly, but planning more torture for him.

He eagerly came and stood behind you. You took a small step back and then bent down with the bar, making sure that your ass would rub up against his groin. He held his breath and chuckled at your attempt to trick him again.

“you’d better train right otherwise you’ll hurt yourself” he said in a sarcastic tone

You stood upright and looked over your shoulder innocently “of course… daddy” you said in a small voice, making Shownu stare at you with dominance at the sound of his pet name rolling off of your lips.

You took a step forward and did a few more sets of deadlifts, smiling to yourself when you felt his hands slowly snake up your legs and hold you by your waist. You could feel him begin to press himself into your back, and you felt his erection poking your firmly in your ass. You chuckled and bent down once more to place the bar on the floor. You stepped away quickly as soon as it was out of your hands and moved towards the benches to work on your bench press. Shownu grunted and fixed himself in his pants so he wouldn’t be sporting an obviously painful erection and followed behind you.

You laid back against the seat and put your hands on the bar that was elevated just above you. Shownu looked down at you cheekily as he walked over you and straddled your body as he stood above you to spot you from dropping the bar. You put a poker face on and let your hands drop as you looked up at him with wide innocent eyes.

“how many reps should I do?” do you asked him

He smiled down at you and responded darkly “you should do it until you can’t anymore”

You bit the side of your lip and nodded your head as if you agreed with his recommendation. He stared down at you while you picked up the bar and did about 15 reps on your own. He had enough time in between your last little tease that he thought that you were being serious now so you put the weight back up on the rack above you and stretched your arms out, playing innocent as if your arms were becoming tight. Side to side and up over your head you pulled and stretched your limbs and while he watched you with a certain amount of unease.

“do your arms hurt after only 15?” he asked with concern

You looked up at him and nodded your head. He bent over and began to squeeze on your arms to give them more blood flow and you grinned to yourself as you had now better access to his still partially raised cock.

“I should make you train with me more often? Since when did you become so weak?” he asked concentrated

While his arms were both focused on your left arm, massaging and squeezing them your right arm groped his member through his sweats. He abruptly stopped with his ministrations and let out a gasp of air.  He shuttered above you and gave you a firm look.

“princess, you’d better stop teasing me if you don’t want me to fuck you on this bench” he demanded

To his heavy and demanding words you gave him a wide scared look in your eyes as you sat up in front of him. But as soon as you were sitting in front of the tent in his sweats you smirked and reached for the hem of his sweats and boxers, yanking them down quickly.

Shownu hissed and gave you a look of pure lust at the feeling of his nakedness. You licked your lips and quickly grabbed his cock, pumping it a few times to get him nice and firm. You held him by his base and then quickly wrapped his head with your lips. You sucked on him with firm pressure and used your tongue as much as you could, meanwhile simultaneously pumping the base of his cock.

Shownu’s face screwed up tight and he let out strings of curse words and lewd remarks that made you blush. “fuck yes, baby girl” he grunted out as he tried to pump his cock in and out of your mouth quicker “just like that…. Just like that”

You pulled your mouth away from his head and pumped his cock quickly with your free hand. You pulled his cock up and bent down to lick and suck on his balls. The moment your mouth closed around them he groaned a pitiful and helpless noise making you chuckle.

You let go of them and looked up at him with a triumphant look and Shownu looked down at you with a look of pain. You could tell that he was really close to coming, but you didn’t want to give it to him just yet. So you slowly alleviated the pressure that you had around him and began to pump him slower and slower.

When he realized what you were doing he quickly pulled you up by your shoulders making you stand up and backed out of the way. When he was out of the way of the bench he firmly pushed your shoulders down, making you quickly reach your hands out for the bench to stop you from falling into it at your chest. he held you down with a firm grip and then straddled the back end of the bench, giving himself exposure to your ass. He cupped your ass firmly and sighed as he quickly removed them to pull down the waist of your pants.

You gasped from the air contact and shrieked as you felt him quickly fill you up in one thrust.

“oh my god… you’re so wet” he groaned as your walls clenched around him

He slowly pulled out and you mewled at the feeling of his veiny long cock rubbing against your walls. And just as slowly as he pulled out he pushed back in. you grunted in frustration with how slowly he was moving and tried to push your hips against his. But, shownu’s firm grasp had your body in his complete control.

“not so much fun being teased now is it princess?” he asked you with a devilish grin

“fucking shownu! Please move” you begged him through gritted teeth, high on the contact but aching for an orgasm

“what did you call me?” he asked in his authoritative voice and completely haulting all movements

Your eyes went wide at the lost contact and you whined “daddy!” you chocked on sobs “daddy please fuck me!”

“and how do you want me to fuck you baby girl?” he asked teasing you even more

“like your whore, daddy!” you yelled, giving into temptation, desperate for more.

Shownu smiled down at you now that the roles had reversed and snapped his cock into your tight snatch at a speed that sent you face first down into the bench. You clung onto it for dear life and screamed out as he repeatedly filled you to the hilt, stretching you out around his cock.

You could feel how desperate and spiteful he was while he fucked you. Each thrust had your face in the side of the bench and your breast beat wildly against your body. The only thing that had you focused and in consciousness was the sound of skin slapping against skin and the whines and grunts that shownu let out.

And although from the outside looking in, it seemed unnormal and almost abusive and manipulative for someone to treat you as roughly as this was. But in reality nothing made you more wet than Shownu pushing you around and being incredibly rough. And you didn’t care that you had to be vulnerable and weak to illicit this behavior from him.

Shownu put his leg up on the bench while he was thrusting in you, moving his positions. Forcing you to loose some of your balance but the new position forced  his cock to repeatedly hit your g-spot.

Your mouth widened and you squeezed your eyes shut, but no noise came from you. Your orgasm was paralyzing you and leaving you a shaky mess. As soon as it completely overwhelmed you your legs began to give out and shownu had to quickly catch you so you wouldn’t fall over.

“Shit” he said through a laugh as he watched your orgasm rock through your body, making your limbs and stomach convulse.

He picked you up and laid you down on the floor, face up, and he quickly joined you so he could get himself off without having to worry about your safety. He quickly put his cock back inside of you and snapped his hips into yours at a pace that had you quickly seeing stars again. You were still sensitive from your first orgasm  and each time that shownu pushed himself inside of you completely it had you unwinding more and more.

You gripped onto his arms for dear life and looked up at him with wide eyes. Shownu looked down at where your two bodies met and snapped his head up to look at you. Seeing your fucked out state he gripped your hips even harder and squeezed his eyes shut. He bit onto his lip and pumped himself in you one last time before he quickly pulled out of you and freed his cum on your stomach.

He growled and groaned as he tugged on his cock, making sure that every last drop was out before he let himself go and crashed on the ground next to you. You both lay there for a moment while you caught your breath. You were about to pull up your clothes and readjust yourself when Minhyuk walked into the gym. He had a determined look on his face, but as soon as his eyes found you and shownu’s disheveled bodies they went wide and he immediately ran out of the room.

You pulled your clothes up and looked down at your shirt which was now spoiled with shonwu’s seed and you sighed as you pulled it over your head. You’d just run to your room in your sports bra. Shownu also got up after seeing Minhyuk and quickly tucked himself back into his sweats.

When you notices that you both were presentable again. You quickly left the gym only to find Minhyuk crouched next to the gym door with his head in between his knees.

“sorry you had to see that” you quickly mumbled and then ran away in embarrassment

“YOU’D BETTER GET BACK HERE AND CLEAN THAT GYM! I’LL NEVER STEP ANOTHER FOOT INTO IT UNTIL IT IS!” he yelled from his spot

Shownu stepped out of the gym as Minhyuk was yelling and froze in place by the door. Minhyuk noticed his presence and locked eyes with him

“I know that you two can’t apparently seem to keep your hands from off of each other, but please don’t fuck in public places like this!” he begged

Shownu bowed with a smirk that he failed to keep to himself and then chased after you with a proud smile.

[fistsoflightning]

guilty or innocent // zaya & tehra’ir

tagged by: @windupnamazu​!!!! carmela thank you very much for the pirate squad tag now featuring tehra’ir who could have been a literal pirate were it not for the calamity

tagging: open tag my friends!!! go wild!

warning; this post got long because of these two fools tossing banter!

With a promise of a zonureskin treasure map and Syhrwyda’s best cooking, you’ve managed to lure Zaya and Tehra’ir to stay in one place! Now’s the best chance to ask some questions for the Crystarium’s new magazine, The Crystal Echo!

Asked someone to marry you?

Awkward silence. What an odd question to start on, their expressions say.

“I… I believe… Dewah is guilty of this in his drunkest hour? I do not believe I could be considered to even be ‘dating’ Thancred… yet.”

“A’dewah with who? An’ seconded on the datin’ bit.”

“Who else, Tehra’ir.”

Both of them slowly turn to a table three sets behind them, where Thancred, Ryne, G’raha, and Y’shtola are having lunch at Syhrwyda’s behest; more of a sampling session, if one would ask. G’raha in particular stuffs a large amount of cake into his mouth as he meets Ryne’s widening eyes, the rolanberry delicately placed on a separate plate near Ryne where the rolanberries stack into a small mountain.

“But, Lun—well, I suppose Raha’s got two fambles to share, and a whole library of devotion.”

“What do you mean, two hands? Is that something Alisaie said?”

They never really answer about themselves, but any news about the newly revealed Exarch is better than none at all.

Kissed one of your friends?

“Why must these be so vague…” Zaya holds their head in their hands as they stare holes into the ground. “I… have not kissed Thancred, if he were to count— but, uhm.”

Zaya flushes red, but Tehra’ir is shameless as always. “Guilty! Whiddled I’d try my fams at surprisin’ tactics, and Zaya was the poor cove I set my glazes on first!”

 “And I proceeded to push you into a wall of wine bottles that you made me pay for…”

Tehra’ir laughs heartily, and Zaya merely mumble-sighs at the memory of a wine-drenched, overly enthusiastic Tehra’ir being happy about retaining the element of surprise.

Danced on a table in a bar / tavern?

“Momodi would have my legs if I ever tried to dance on her bar, but I have danced for work in Limsa’s Drowning Wench before.”

“Ye don’t want t’ see me dance. Bein’ a rogue doesn’t cover dance floor etiquette, no matter how much it looks like I’m dancin’ when I fight.”

Ever told a lie?

“I wish I could say absolutely not, but I have. Three counts.” Zaya seems reluctant to elaborate on what they are.

“My career is built on lies. Shockin’ that Zaya still tried to be friends with me.”

“You do not lie to your friends, and hardly to your enemies. The only lie I’ve heard you spin was when you ate Y’shtola’s last tangerine tart before she could grab it and then saying it was Alphinaud.”

Tehra’ir squawks in fear as Y’shtola, three tables back, gives the duo an innocent glance. 

Had feelings for someone you can’t have?

Zaya raises an eyebrow in confusion as Tehra’ir taps his head a few times.

“ ‘Can’t have?’ As in forbidden, or as in restraint, or...” Zaya’s hands trail off, clearly caught up in the confusion of loving someone you shouldn’t.

“Maybe a flight o’ fancy fer some o’ the nicer Garlean citizens... Nothin’ else comes to mind.”

Ever kissed someone of the same sex?

“My sisters, and on the cheek, but that is not what you are asking, yes? A girl back home, who wished to see if it was different than her boyfriend.”

“Innocent until we get home.”

Zaya whistles, a taunting expression crossing their face. “Ah, so that is what the letter from two suns ago was for.”

“Ye heard nothin’ o’ the sort.” Tehra’ir gives a steely yet joking glare as Zaya dons what could only be described as a shite-eating grin.

“Payback.”

Kissed a picture?

“Hells no! Have ye seen how dusty an’ dirty paintin’s an’ pictures get?” Tehra’ir’s face scrunches up in twisted disgust at the thought of kissing a painting. “I’ve seen how dirty Lumelle’s daddles get after a paintin’ session, and I am not about t’ put my gob to that!”

“That seems like something one of Ul’dah’s lords would do, to be honest.”

Slept until 5pm?

Zaya’s eyes shoot wide open as if to contemplate some poor decisions as Tehra’ir laughs it off.

“Actually, all eight o’ us Warriors just did so yesterday. Millin’ primals in Eden to runnin’ ‘round the Copied Factory takes it out o’ ye, right?”

“I was planning on doing the same thing tomorrow, truth be told… still recovering from the whole Light ordeal.”

Worked at a fast food chain / restaurant?

 “Ye should really only trust Syhrwyda with cookin’...”

“We… may have set off the fire alarm in the Pendants when we attempted to make buuz a few suns ago…”

Both Warriors look almost ashamed at their ineptitude with cooking. Perhaps you should back off...

Stolen something?

“Secret plans fer a Garlean gun, the Silver Ravens, Jacke’s heart, money from some rich arsehole who stepped on the singers in the Beehive. It’d be easier to name somethin’ I haven’t stolen.”

Zaya gives Tehra’ir a blank stare as he continues to ramble off various items that he’s stolen, mostly from Garlean soldiers or noblemen.

“Stole once to keep Elwin alive, but… did Tehra’ir really say Jacke’s heart as if he hasn’t lost his to Jacke?”

Been fired from a job?

“Can one be fired from a chore? Otherwise, I work for Ul’dah’s guilds on a contract, so no.”

“Got fired from bartendin’ in a neutral tavern after they found me stabbers under the crates... although it wasn’t meant to last either way.”

Done something you regret?

“Holding back on my feelings, for one. Not aggressively ragging on Thancred during our first time in Il Mheg and Rak’tika comes to mind.” Zaya taps their chin lightly as Tehra’ir continues to think. “Performing a Tornado Kick on that poor robot in the Copied Factory gave me this giant bruise, so that too.”

“Remember the drinkin’ contest we had after millin’ Nidhogg?”

“Of all the stupid things you’ve done, you regret that the most? What about the backflip off of Kugane Tower that landed you tail-first on the lamppost?”

“...I thought we’d agreed never to mention that stunt ever again. Valdis dared me to do it!”

“Does not erase the fact that you agreed, jumped the full way up the Tower’s side, and leaped off without sabotons.”

Laughed until something you were drinking came out of your nose?

Zaya reaches for their nose at that, eyes sharpening in confusion. “That happens to people? Would that not burn?”

“Happens a lot, actually. Made a few coves do so t’ cloy their belongin’s once. Was a little disgustin’, but it worked.” Tehra’ir shrugs. 

Caught a snowflake on your tongue?

“When the four o’ us got to Coerthas the first time, all four o’ us did the silly thing of openin’ our mouths to get snowflakes...”

“None of us had seen that much snow before; Syhrwyda and I grew up in places where it never snowed, while A’dewah and Tehra’ir had never had the chance to. Alphinaud reprimanded us for being so foolish despite being a teenager then.”

Sat on a roof top?

 “We clambered up the crystal roof over the aetheryte plaza ‘fore we came here, actually! Zaya wanted to take a picture fer Ryne of the Crystal Tower with this tomestone we found.”

“Ryne really loved the colors when I showed her. I believe she’s even taking art lessons with Elwin and Lumelle now so she can paint the scenery of Norvrandt as a pasttime.”

Kissed someone you shouldn’t have?

“I’ve kissed a few poor saps before, but none o’ the ruffmans or someone taken... I hope. Comes with the line o’ work; seducin’ is on the table fer a lot o’ information.”

“Would it surprise you to say I have never kissed someone...? I was more interested in roaming than seeking out love like Mama had.”

Sang in the shower?

“Zaya might be the only one that has a singin’ voice, an’ they don’t quite use whids, so is it still singin’?”

“I hum in the bath, most days. Never have I truly sung before, but for choral purposes, I would likely make good accompaniment.”

Been pushed into a body of water with all your clothes on?

“Recently, and by Urianger, of all people. He and Y’shtola wanted to test if the Fuath in Dohn Mheg would still dare to bother them before Alisaie held her swimming lesson with Ryne there, and decided I was the best candidate to get soaked.”

“Watched ye get seaweed in yer boots for ten minutes!”

“Do not make me push you into the lake below the Crystarium, Tehra’ir.”

Shaved your head?

“Never shaved all of it, but I did have an undercut for a short while after the banquet in Ul’dah. My hair could not have grown out in time to meet Lord Edmont, so Tataru helped cut it short.”

“Never... think I’ve always had it down to my glazes at least, if I think about it. Seems itchy.” Tehra’ir’s ears flick as if to protest against such a bold haircut.

Made a boyfriend / girlfriend cry?

“Zaya’s not the datin’ sort —not yet, at least—an’ I tend to shy away from anythin’ that looks to last fer a while. Thankfully it saves me from makin’ the wrong choice that might make a cove cry.”

“I have made other couples cry, however, from sheer terror on Valentione’s Day when they inquire as to why I refrain from ‘finding that special someone’. Never wanted to seek them out, really. Kind of just... ended up attached to Thancred...” 

Shot a gun?

“That would be best left to Elwin, unless you want me to hurt someone. I have only ever trained in bows and throwing chakrams, not aiming down the side of a barrel.”

“Limsa’s known fer muskets and rifles, but they never really interested me. My fambles are better ‘round stabbers than a trigger.”

Still loved someone you shouldn’t?

“Shouldn’t have loved Jacke, really; he’s technically the boss man o’ the Rogue’s Guild, but the dimber dambers back home don’t mind too much as long as I don’t use me charm to coerce Jacke into givin’ them shite assignments.”

“I... perhaps? I could not place the feeling at the time, but seeing an old friend fighting at the Naadam the last time we went and later finding them attached at the hip to their long time rival brought something up in my chest.”

Tehra’ir snorts. “Ye couldn’t tell if ye were happy or scared that one time! Not surprisin’ that yer emotions are indiscernable to ye.”

Zaya gives a small glare to their good friend-rival, but continues to smile softly.

Have / had a tattoo? 

Zaya immediately backs away from Tehra’ir, who gets a large glint in his eyes. 

”Ye know, Zaya, ye’ve never shown anyone but me that tattoo yer covering the scar on yer right arm with...”

“There is a reason, Tehra’ir, and I told you it already!”

Tehra’ir sigh, backing off, but as Zaya lowers their arm back down to the table, he grabs it and shoves the orange and gold band up slightly to reveal a small yet intricate depiction of storms making a ring around Zaya’s arm. A small name in swirly letters is peeking from the bottom, but Tehra’ir holds his hand over it charmingly.

“There it is!”

Zaya sighs aggressively, but relents and keeps the tattoo in sight for a few more moments before putting the armband back in place.

“A... fan, of sorts, saw lightning sparking around me once, and offered me a design for a scar I had earned protecting someone. A gentle gesture to soothe the hurts of the Calamity, in all likeliness.”

Liked someone, but will never tell who?

Zaya makes a soft ‘oh’ of surprise, which is alarming since they haven’t spoke a single word. Tehra’ir huffs out small chuckles as he watches Zaya attempt to regain composure.

“Hanami has told me I looked like a fool when I was around Thancred for a good portion of our time here, save for perhaps when Ryne was involved…” Zaya looks to their feet sheepishly, toeing the lines in the wood platform. “Both Hanami and Lunya figured my feelings out that way, but I was never good at lying.”

“An’ accordin’ to several hours o’ interrogatin’ by Zaya’s mum, there’s no one else! It’s been that charmin’ doofus from the start!”

“TEHRA’IR PLEASE. MY REMAINING DIGNITY.”

Been too honest? Ruined a surprise?

“I often come off as rude when speaking to new people, especially since I do not respond verbally to anyone. I did have Thancred tell some odd recruiters that their robes were filthy, though. They ended up in jail for assault...”

“Never,” Tehra’ir gives a mysterious smile. “I have a penchant fer secrets and skulkin’, an’ I know when to tell the truth and when to stubble it.”

Been told that you’re beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said?

“Innoce—”

“I’m pretty sure Thancred’s flirtin’ from Ul’dah counts, mate. An’ the flirtin’ he did last night after Y’shtola got ‘im tipsy.”

Zaya flushes a bright red before signing. “...Guilty, then. Tehra’ir, what about Jacke’s letter?”

“WHAT LETTER COULD YE BE TALKIN’ ‘BOUT, WHAT A RUMMY TALE YER SPINNIN’—” 

“I can read his handwriting on the paper on the table. ‘The moon shimmered off o’ the sea like diamonds in the darkmans, and it reminded me o’ yer hair—’”

Tehra’ir spins on his stool to slap a hand harshly over the well-penned letter. “STUBBLE IT ZAYA ‘FORE I DO IT FOR YE.”

Stalked someone?

“Only for work, although that sits better in Tehra’ir’s rogue circle.”

“Once stalked a man fer takin’ my bandana, as a wee kid. He regretted it.”

Thought about murder?

”In the job description, mate. Have to, when lendin’ one’s daddles to the safety of yer continent.”

“I think I speak for all of us when I say we do not think about it much outside of Warrior business, save for perhaps when sitting in on our third official meeting of the day.”

Tehra’ir groans loudly at that, head falling into his hands.

“Now I don’t want to go back jus’ to ignore those swivin’ meetings fer longer.”

How about mass murder?

“Fer toads, maybe. Never felt like stabbin’ more coves than I need to.”

Zaya chuckles at that, slowly pulling a stuffed toad out of their bag as Tehra’ir turns away. The toad finds its way next to Tehra’ir’s foot before Zaya signs again.

“Once, and of Garleans when they were invading the Steppe a long time ago. I seriously contemplated bringing Ochir to the skies above Doma Castle and letting him swoop down at their archers.”

Tehra’ir screeches, stomping on the stuffed toad when he sees it. The brown toad doll makes a small squeaking sound, as if it were a dog toy.

“Zaya, must you do this every time I mention the toad problem?!”

Cheated on someone?

“I feel like we’d answered this already by sayin’ we’d barely consider ourselves t’ be datin’ our interests. Cheatin’ isn’t among our list o’ priorities if we’re still stuck on lovin’.”

Zaya shrugs, and that’s that.

Gotten so angry that you cried?

Tehra’ir starts to shake his head before he notices Zaya’s clenching fist, eyes tipping into a concerned look rather than a teasing one.

“Alisaie an’ the snow kids?”

Zaya nods, before adding onto his graceful interjection. “Was put off duty at Ghimlyt for a sennight to make sure I would not do anything rash. My anger resulted in several nights spent hunting for Clan Centurio.”

Tehra’ir pushes no harder, and smiles softly before looking to you to continue.

Tried to stay away from someone for their own good?

“Well, with our line of work…”

Zaya starts to fiddle with a pendant necklace hanging next to their Crystal of Light, shimmering a light blue in the sun. 

“Comes with the territory, mate. Jacke certainly didn’t let that stop ‘im from stickin’ with me.”

“Before Ifrit, we all tried to keep away from being friendly in case one of us died in our primal conflicts. Not exactly what you meant, but it holds.”

Thoughts about suicide?

A stifling air comes about the table as both of them fall silent as the forest night.

“No thoughts fer it ourselves,” Tehra’ir starts, fiddling with a small fork next to his plate of seafood pasta. “But fer our mutual friend and spots where one might whiddle would be a good place t’ die in the darkmans.”

“That night was easily scarier than Titan was.”

They fall silent again until Tehra’ir picks up, a beaming smile back on his face.

“Moving on!”

Had a girlfriend / boyfriend?

“Is it jus’ me or are ye really interested in us havin’ a relationship?”

Zaya and Tehra’ir both squint curiously at you, but relent after a few moments.

“Like we said, not really. The whole love business is... complicated.”

Gotten totally drunk during a holiday?

“Not fair! Zaya’s impossible to get drunk!”

“If I can recall, Tehra’ir got his hands on a cartload of ale three days before Heavensturn, and proceeded to try and drink me under the table.”

“That was ‘fore I knew about Zaya’s swivin’ Echo benefits!”

“He threw up on Lyse’s new shoes in the middle of the large Heavensturn celebration in Rhalgr’s Reach and then fell into the waterfall below the Destroyer. What a mess he was then...”

As soon as Zaya finishes the last sign, Tehra’ir butts in with a different, wholly unrelated quip.

“At least I didn’t set the Pendants aglimmer this mornin’ tryin’ to bake cookies!”

Zaya gives a deadly glare at the already running rogue, giving a short wave and slamming back their hot cocoa before chasing their fellow Warrior of Darkness, pink petals and a blue flower forming around them as they lean into a full on sprint. Their Scion friends stare momentarily from their table as they watch the duo run off to who knows where, returning to their own table of desserts quickly.

Unless you can chase them, perhaps the interview would be best ended here.

[ultimavolatusrpg]

ACCEPTED // OAKLEY PEMBROOKE

41 years old, 72nd Hunger Games, FC: Emily Blunt

Captivating, Dynamic, Ingenious, Loyal, Resilient

tw: death

THE ARENA

The arena of the 72nd Hunger Games launched at the edge of a massive canyon.  The cornucopia was right at the edge with a mile long drop. In front of them was canyon.  Overhead blues skies and fluffy clouds painted the picture of a beautiful warm day. The breeze was warm and it would have been beautiful if not for the dark reason the tributes were there.  Paths made in the side of the canyon allowed the tributes to descend into the depths of the true arena. Those who turned away from the canyon and ran when the countdown ended, soon bounced off a forcefield.  They had two options, stay on top with the cornucopia or descent into the heart of the canyon. Those who were able to reach the bottom were rewarded with an abundance of fresh water as the river cut through the canyon.  The water was too dangerous to swim, making it near impossible for tributes to reach the other side.

When the bloodbath began, tributes fought over weapons while others ran into the canyon, braving the winding rocky paths while seeking safety and a chance to regroup before facing the other tributes.  Tributes paired off into ally groups and the Gamemakers unleashed the mutts. Vultures circled overhead as a continual reminder of the death all but one would face before the Games concluded. Lizards, spiders, scorpions, and snakes were a constant risk for the tribute.  One sting or bite and it could all be over. Baking heat during the day brought forth cool nights and the howling of coyote mutts, eager to rip tributes to shreds or chase them until they fell to their deaths from the numerous pathways along the canyon walls.

After the mutts had done their work, there were limited tributes remaining.  In the end, Oakley was left to fight it out with the boy from District Nine on a crumbling path near the base of the canyon.  It felt like it lasted hours, but soon the final two were falling. They hit the ground with a sickening crack as the vultures circled above them, waiting as the minutes ticked by for the final cannon to sound, a slow death ending the boy from Nine in one of the most anticlimactic finales of recent memory.

BIOGRAPHY

Life for Oakley had always been average.  Save for the story of her mother escaping District Eleven as a teenager, leaving her world behind in the hopes of finding a better future.  Pepper Monroe did find that better future when she stumbled into District Eight after weeks in the wilds. So when Pepper found love with a factory worker named Bobbin, everything was looking up.  Oakley was born, a name chosen to honor both her mother’s native district.

However, it was the story of her mother’s harrowing escape through the wilds, those weeks she spent trying to survive, that had ignited a spark of adventure inside Oakley.  She was curious, always looking to have an adventure or tell another exciting story. Her parents encouraged it, and that was the world Oakley grew up in. She had her parents, and eventually she had her baby sister.  Her father worked hard in the factories and her mother worked as a midwife and nurse. Oakley learned a lot from her mother watching her work, but her parents were busy and much of the responsibility fell to young Oakley’s shoulders.  She didn’t mind it though. Oakley knew it was preparing her for life.

School was something Oakley enjoyed.  She liked learning and it gave her a chance to have fun with her friends.  Her friends were a chance to have some fun beyond the expectations and responsibilities she had at home.  She could just be a kid, if only for a short period of time. One of those friends was named Taylor. When they were fourteen they started dating and at sixteen Taylor was reaped for the Hunger Games.  

While the Hunger Games was always something that had been on her radar, Oakley never paid much attention to it.  She always assumed the Capitol’s reach wouldn’t touch her. Oakley cried hard as she hugged her boyfriend after the reaping.  Even if Taylor stood a chance, the odds weren’t in his favor. By the time the train pulled out of the station, Oakley knew she would lose her first love to the Capitol.

She was right.  Taylor died in the bloodbath.

Things couldn’t possibly get worse.

Until they did.

Oakley’s name came out of that bowl the very next year.  She was seventeen and terrified. She wasn’t strong enough.  Sure, she knew how to use a knife and knew some basic medicine, but the careers would get her.  Oakley thought all she could do was bide her time. Even thought she wanted to go home, it seemed impossible.

When the Games began and Oakley found herself at the edge of a massive canyon, she did the only logical thing.  She ran. Escaping the bloodbath was the smart choice, and in the aftermath of that first day, she found the young boy from District Six.  The pair became allies, though she was sure people back home questioned why she decided to ally with a twelve year old.

They stuck together until the Gamemaker’s coyote mutts chased them into a career boy. He was strong, lethal, and Oakley knew in that moment she had to stand her ground.  If she tried to run, he’d kill her. So, the pair fought while the boy ran off in the chaos. Eventually the career’s long sword sliced open her arm during the fight and Oakley lost a lot of blood, but she tripped him and got the sword away before she drove it into his abdomen. Oakley took the sword as her prize and stumbled away.  She sat while blood poured from her arm, ripping off a piece of her shirt to try and stop the bleeding before a second gift arrived. It was enough to bandage the wound and at least stop the bleeding.

She saw her young ally’s face in the sky some time later and cried again.

The rest of the Games moved quickly until Oakley realized it was only her and the boy from District Nine left in the arena.  He cornered Oakley on one of the rocky pathways along the side of the canyon near the bottom. The sound of rushing water had been too tempting for Oakley to ignore.  Her sunburnt skin and dehydrated body had been called by the sound of the river. Luckily, both tributes lost their weapons early in the struggle, so Oakley and the injured boy scuffled on the edge of the cliff.  Pushing and shoving, kicking and punching. It felt like hours but really was only a few minutes. The boy grabbed her and Oakley thought she would die, but she struggled just enough that he stumbled backwards.  

Suddenly they were both falling.

They both hit the ground hard.  While her life flashed before her eyes as she fell, she didn’t see the light.  Her breathing was shallow and she couldn’t move. The boy didn’t either. Oakley didn’t hear a cannon.  Was she dead? Wouldn’t it be nicer if she was? Ever so slowly, the pair laid there broken at the bottom staring up at the high canyon walls and the vultures circling overhead, desperate to claim the final victim.  Minutes ticked by and everyone watched with bated breath. Who would die first?

What felt like hours for Oakley was less than five minutes before the boy’s cannon sounded.  Almost immediately the hovercraft appeared just as Oakley lost consciousness. The Capitol couldn’t allow them both to die.  What would the Games be without a victor? And live Oakley did. When she woke up she was told her back was badly damaged. Surgery to stabilize her spine had been performed, but it did little to stop her pain or the numbness in her legs that made the mere act of walking difficult some days.  

After her Games Oakley was forced to come to terms with her newfound disability. While many victors turned to morphling for the high it brings them, Oakley was forced to use it to manage her pain.  On good days, Oakley can walk. On good days, her pain is manageable. On good days, she can do the things she wants to do. On bad days she can barely get out of bed. On bad days she can’t leave her wheelchair.  In some ways, Oakley’s life has become dependent on her family to help her. She can’t simply do things like she used to be able to. A warm bath to soothe her back on a bad day is a two person project. It’s the unfortunate reality she’s forced to face.  The once independent and responsible girl, curious about the next adventure, had her wings clipped far too soon.

But eventually her wings grew back.  Upon moving to the victor’s village, Oakley became friendly with one of the other victors: Birch Pembrooke.  He was from District Eleven and had one a few years before she did. He was nice. It was nice to have someone to talk to about everything she felt.  After all, her parents didn’t understand what she went through. Birch did. And eventually, the pair started dating.

Oakley hadn’t thought anyone would want someone like her, broken as she was, but Birch did.  He saw her as a whole person and made her feel special. It was love she never experienced with Taylor.  Birch was her home. For the first time since her name left that Reaping Bowl, Oakley wondered if it happened for a reason.  Maybe everything was fated to happen this way, so they could find their way to each other.

When Birch proposed, Oakley was over the moon.  They were happy. She was loved. Everything seemed right for the first time in her life.  And the day they got married was the happiest she had ever been. At least until the birth of their first child.

There were concerns about pregnancy and Oakley’s disability.  How would pregnancy exacerbate her chronic back injury? Would it be fine?  Would it paralyze her? It was something they had to consider. But Oakley’s first pregnancy went incredibly smoothly.  Oliver Pembrooke was born screaming and Oakley couldn’t believe how much love she had for such a tiny person.

Three years later, after another smooth pregnancy, Paisley Pembrooke joined the family.  Again, Oakley never thought it possible to love someone so much upon first meeting them until she held her newborn children in her arms.

They’d always wanted a big family.  It was something they discussed even before Oliver was born.  Birch had one and Oakley always wanted one. The house should have been filled with the laughter of children, so when Paisley was three they started trying again.

This time, the pregnancy wasn’t smooth sailing.  It was hard and painful, a struggle for Oakley compared to the first two.  She knew before the halfway mark that this would be the last one. If pregnancy would be like this now, instead of as easy as it was with Ollie and Paisley, then she couldn’t put herself through it.  It was too hard on her damaged body.

But that didn’t mean Oakley felt less overwhelming love when Clementine was born.

For a while their family felt complete, but eventually both Birch and Oakley decided they needed to expand their family.  The couple decided to adopt a little boy from District Eleven, which meant Birch would be alone in deciding which child to bring home to their family.  When he came back with a little girl named Summer that stole his heart, Oakley wasn’t the least bit upset. She was thrilled to have another daughter to care for and dote on.  Clem was especially pleased to have a new sister around her age. Things were good. They were lucky.

Now Oakley is happy.  It’s been a few years since Summer joined their family and things are good.  Oakley and Birch have been married for nearly twenty years. She couldn’t have been happier, but she’s always worried.  Whispers of rebellion have Oakley concerned about what will happen to their children, especially since the houses were vandalized in the village.  The sense of unease she feels is not easily handled, but she wants to make sure that no matter what, her family is safe. Things are good now. Why would she rock the boat?

PENNED BY: MADI