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nct-lian · 4 years ago

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people who have a crush on lian (outside of the group)

ERIC SOHN, THE BOYZ

duration: april 2020 — present

he actually developed a crush on her after he had watched the music video to her pre-release single, “stay tonight.” he thought she looked SO good and went on to talk about how much he loved that kind of concept on her for weeks on end.

eric obviously knew about her prior to his discovery of the song, having a member that’s been great friends with her for about a year.

he thinks that if kevin would stop hogging lian and actually let her interact with more of the members, he’d be able to “win her over” but according to kevin, she’s his best friend and his best friend only.

do fans know?: yes

fans of both the boyz and nct figured out that eric had a little bit of a crush on her after watching the english line’s episode of the k-pop daebak show with eric nam.

it was the section of which eric nam was reading out all the questions jacob, kevin and eric had sent in for each other, and one of kevin’s questions for eric was, “do you have a crush on my best friend?”

eric nam widened his eyes, “you have a best friend that he has a crush on?” he asked kevin, who was trying not to laugh hysterically at the question that had resurfaced. “he might,” kevin nodded.

“jacob, do you know who he’s talking about?” jacob nodded and suppressed his giggle by lifting the pillow he was hugging tightly to his chest and covering his face with it.

eric held a look on his face that screamed, “i’ve been personally victimized” as he shot his head back and forth between kevin and the other two older men in the room.

“i don’t have a crush on your best friend.. well- you know- like- maybe a celebrity crush.”

kevin cackled, “she’s not a celebrity-” eric nam laughed at that and shrugged his shoulders when eric turned to him for some help. “i don’t even know who’s he’s talking about, don’t look at me!”

“to you!” eric shot back at kevin, implying that he obviously wasn’t going to see her as a celebrity, given their best friend status.

jacob let him himself laugh, “eric, it’s okay, you make it so obvious sometimes.” he reassured his younger member.

eric stuttered over his words and kept shaking his head. “it’s a celebrity crush. no real feelings.” he stated.

the man across from him, again, shrugged his shoulders in confusion. “i still don’t know who we’re talking about?”

kevin apologized and clapped his hands together, “she’s actually schedules to come on this show.” he smiled and threw him a thumbs up. “is she really? oh, i think i know who it is, then.” eric nam made a face and looked at kevin and jacob, who both matched his expression.

then they all looked at eric, “why are you guys looking at me like that? okay, next question.” he smiled in attempt to change the topic. eric obeyed, feeling bad that they were sort of teasing him, while the two others just laughed.

current status: acquaintances (they met through kevin moon)

( FIRST MEETING ) lian had been waiting at the door of kevin’s dormitory for a minute too long, and no matter how many times she knocked, nobody would answer. they were supposed to be going on a walk in order to catch up before their weekly schedules.

lian pulled out her phone and called kevin through facetime, him answering almost immediately. “kevin, why aren’t you answering? i’ve been knocking nonstop.”

he rolled his eyes and told her to just come in and that he’ll be a minute because he can’t find any shoes that look good with his outfit.

she hung up on him and walked inside, greeted with the sight of the boyz’s maknae on the couch. she stopped in her tracks and watched as he scrambled to his feet in panic. “s-sunbaenim, what are you doing here?” eric scratched the back of his neck.

“huh? oh! i’m just waiting for kevin to finish getting ready.” she smiled politely and looked at everything but him, finding the interior of their dorm rather interesting at that moment.

getting uncomfortable with the awkward atmosphere her and eric had created, she yelled out for kevin to hurry up. “moon hyungseo!” she called him by his korean name, knowing that he didn’t like it.

“don’t you dare call me that, bae haneul!” he shot back at her, stumbling out of his room while trying to put on his left shoe.

she chuckled, “hah, jokes on you, i actually like my korean name.” he stuck his tongue out at her, “okay idiot, let’s just go.”

he opened the door for her so she could walk out first, “uhh, bye eric.” lian waved at him with a tight smile before exiting the dorm, kevin following after her.

eric waited for the door to close before he returned her goodbye, giggling like a little schoolboy who’d just received a lolipop.

“she knows my name.” a bright smile replaced the awkward frown on his face.

crush percentage out of 100: 60%

BANG CHAN, STRAY KIDS

duration: unknown — present

chan can remember keeping up with smrookies while he was still a trainee, and he developed some sort of jealousy towards lian. he saw her grow as a person, not just an artist.

he watched her debut first, he watched her transition from red velvet into nct, he watched her achieve his dreams before he could.

this jealousy overtime somehow turned into feelings, and he had no idea what kind of feelings they exactly were.

he hadn’t ever really experienced feelings like this before, and he was terrified to admit what he thought they were. eventually, chan opened up to someone and it was clear that he had a bit of a crush on her — and a big one.

chan began to update himself on smrookies daily, constantly wanting to know what she was up to and what her debut plans were, especially because of the sudden group change.

even now that they’re great friends, he’s always calling her to see what’s going on and if she needs help with anything.

do fans know?: definitely

no doubt do stays know about his feelings — he was bound to slip up once or twice while live streaming to them.

and that slip up just so happened to be while he was reacting to lian’s “play” music video. everything was going fine — bopping his head to the beat and humming calmly, but he couldn’t stop the blush from spreading onto his cheeks while watching her dance with another guy.

yeah, he was jealous, but that doesn’t mean stays had to know. he hysterically fanned his face, somewhat over exaggerating to play it off. “oh- woah- is the ac not working in here suddenly?” he playfully laughed at the camera facing him.

the song soon ended, and chan was back to reading all of the comments. he read some aloud, some in his head, but he accidentally let one slip through his lips.

“do you have a crush on neullie?” he nearly cursed when he realized the question he had just read to the entire live stream said what it said, allowing himself to sit back in his chair as he watched all the comments flood in.

“well, do you?” “CHAN OMFG-” “christopher bang..”

“guys, come on, of course i don’t.” the viewers definitely wanted to believe him; like, a lot, but they couldn’t.

the way he smiles whenever she was brought up in a conversation, how he looks so incredibly proud when talking about her — it would be a complete lie to believe otherwise.

current status: good friends

( FIRST MEETING ) changed out of the sparkly, sequinned dress she’d been wearing for the last couple of hours and now sitting in a pair of sweats and a zip up, lian couldn’t be happier.

finally out of the uncomfortably tall heels and being able to sit down on a cushy sofa while waiting to leave the venue, lian pulled out her phone to check notifications.

five minutes probably passed before her manager gave her the “okay” to start walking to the exit, the car already waiting for her outside.

leaving the dressing room, she saw taeyong, who decided to tag along with the driver (and taeil) so he could see her. “hey, oppa.” she greeted, grabbing onto his arm and leaning on his shoulder for support.

“did you have fun? were you able to see sunmi-sunbaenim today?” he patted her hand slowly. she nodded and made a noise in confirmation, way too tired to give an audible response.

taeyong chuckled as he made sure to keep her upright while getting closer to the exit.

meanwhile, bang chan was talking with felix a couple feet away. he felt bad watching as taeyong struggled to help lian balance herself on her, for sure, wobbly legs.

he saw how terrific she danced that night, completely dominating the stage with her powerful choreography and her clear vocals.

subtly walking in their direction, he put his hand out the minute taeyong’s arm wasn’t able to hold her up anymore. lian looked like she was sleeping at that point.

chan gracefully caught her in his arms, taeyong apologizing and taking her back into his own. “i’m so sorry-” he bowed.

“no, no, it’s okay. she must be tired- uh- would you like some help?” chan offered a helping hand, but taeyong was sure he had other duties to attend to, being the leader of his group and all.

“no! please, i got it from here. thank you for catching her, though, you have no idea what yuta would have done to me if something happened- uh, i’m getting ahead of myself. have a good night.” he noticed how he began rambling on, but chan paid no mind to it.

laughing and keeping the air light, chan nodded his head and bowed, about to walk away after wishing him a safe trip back to the dorms; but that was when lian decided to wake up from her slumber.

“huh?” she looked at taeyong cluelessly, but chan caught her eye. it was then that she noticed johnny’s grey zip up was halfway down her arms, spaghetti strapped tank top (pretty revealing) on full display.

she hastily pulled the sleeves up and looked at chan awkwardly, bowing to him and proceeding to ask taeyong if they were going home.

taeyong nodded his head and put a hand on her shoulder, “yeah, the car is waiting outside. taeil’s in the backseat with your pillow.” he smiled.

lian’s smiled back with a toothy grin, clapping her hands excitedly as she now knew she would be able to sleep on the way home. again realizing chan was watching, she looked back to him.

“it was nice meeting you!” lian waved her hand at him, grabbing onto taeyong’s arm and gently dragging him towards the door leading outside. he complied, but not without shouting yet another “thank you!” to chan, who was still standing in the same spot.

crush percentage out of 100: 90%

CHOI SOOBIN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER

duration: october 2018 — present

soobin was really able to learn more about the different variety of idols in the industry when he first joined bighit, and that surely included lian. he admired her so much; she became one of the people he looked up to most.

she was the only female member in a group that included eighteen other men, how could he not immediately think the highest of her after finding that out?

he would keep up with her scheduling and make sure to listen in on her radio show appearances so he could stay updated. he even bought all of her solo albums so he could put her photocard in the back of his phone case!

do fans know?: yes

moas aren’t even able to count on their fingers the amount of times soobin has said lian was his ideal type or his #1 crush. like, the first couple appearances he had on camera post debut, her photocard was literally still in his phone case.

“moas are asking if you still have a crush on lian-sunbaenim.” yeonjun nodded his head towards soobin, the members of txt all sitting comfortably on the floor of a practice room.

soobin lightly brushed his hair out of his face as he nodded his head, “yeah, she’s gotten even prettier lately. have you see her new music video?” beomgyu nodded excitedly.

“it’s super good! the album is amazing, as well.” he beamed at the phone that was filming them and clapped his hands.

“yah, don’t get too excited; soobinnie will get jealous~” yeonjun teased. soobin playfully hit his hyung on the shoulder and told him to be less embarrassing, a small blush now resting on his dimpled cheeks.

hueningkai and taehyun both laughed at their leader, agreeing that lian has certainly gotten prettier, if that was even possible. the topic was soon over as they began talking about something else, but moas definitely added that into their list of “soobin fanboying over lian” moments.

look forward to the fifteen million new youtube videos about it!

current status: acquaintances, idol x fan

( FIRST MEETING ) soobin almost jumped straight out of his seat when he noticed the goddess herself, lian, walk into the section him and his group were currently in. he watched her bow to the members of itzy before sitting next to them and placing a fluffy blanket onto her lap.

she had just finished performing, and he was still shaking at how perfect it was played out; the sparkly outfits, the amazing choreography, her powerful vocals yet again never disappointed.

the curfew for underage idols now being hit, soobin and yeonjun both bid goodbye to their younger members as lian, yeji and lia did the same for ryujin, chaeryeong and yuna.

the three girls sitting in front of their section soon ran out of things to talk about while waiting for bts to perform their stage, a comforting silence falling upon them. lian allowed her eyes to wonder around her surroundings and ended up unconsciously turning around and staring right at the two members of txt that were left.

yeonjun seemed to have paid no mind to her lingering gaze, but soobin on the other hand could have sworn his heart dropped out of his ass at that very moment. lian, now shaken out of her thoughts, noticed how creepy she probably looked.

bowing in apology, she quickly turned around to talk with lia once again in order to distract herself from the embarrassment that was currently enveloping her whole.

once he knew lian was too invested in her conversation to notice his quiet squeal, he excitedly began bouncing his legs up and down on the cold floor and repeatedly hit yeonjun’s arm.

“huh, what? what’s wrong?” confusion took over his face, wondering why soobin was practically having a heart attack next to him.

“hyung- she looked at me! right at my face! lianna bae looked at me!” yeonjun couldn’t help but scoff at how incredibly excited soobin seemed to be at such a little thing, but it was cute.

crush percentage out of 100: 78%

KIM TAEHYUNG, BANGTAN SONYEONDAN

duration: somewhere in 2019 — present

taehyung has seen lian here and there whenever he browsed twitter on his secret account, and he’s definitely noticed the constant shipping and dating rumours that went on between their fandoms.

the fanwars, the manips — they’ve all been seen by him at some point in time; but he has to admit that from the manips he’s been able to get a good look at, him and lian would actually make a pretty nice looking couple.

but you didn’t hear that from him tf :)

do fans know?: kind of

the calming beat of lian’s “my friend” played in the background of taehyung’s vlive, the viewers all watching him eat peacefully and answer some of their questions.

“are you a fan of lian?” taehyung slowly read out the question as he tried to slurp some of his soup up at the same time. “yes, i like her music a lot..” he trailed off, once again focusing on finishing his soup.

he ate his last spoonful shortly after, continuing his sentence, “i noticed she likes to experiment a lot.. it’s admirable.” he smiled fondly and switched to another song on his playlist after “my friend” ended.

“uh, she’s also really pretty; she fits my ideal type well.” he allowed himself to giggle, somewhat playing it off so the atmosphere on the stream stayed comfortable.

the topic of lian never reappeared that night, fortunately for him, but when he was chaotically woken up the next morning by jungkook, he saw at least five headlines about how he admitted to having a crush on lian.

current status: friends (?)

( FIRST MEETING ) venturing off and losing his members during isac was never taehyung’s intention, but he was able to see some of his friends, so it wasn’t exactly a bad thing. he met a few idols and befriended them, trading phone numbers with a couple new people before heading off to regroup with his six roommates.

on his way there, however, a girl with green sweatpants and a white long sleeved t-shirt caught his eye. he recognized her as nct’s only female member, who was currently running around with seulgi of red velvet.

if he was being completely honest with himself, he’d love to join in on the fun they looked like they were having, but he instead continued on with his journey towards bts. even after a couple minutes of searching around the large stadium he was still unable to find his members.

eventually giving up on his mission, he just decided to back to wherever he last saw some entertainment. he found himself now engaged in a conversation with johnny suh, looking back at lian every now and then to see if she’s gone anywhere.

after a little while, johnny seemed to have caught on, “why are you staring at lian?” taehyung jumped at the question, shrugging his shoulders awkwardly and turning to fully look at the older male beside him.

“uh, i can ask her to come over here if you want. i’ll be a wingman,” johnny winked playfully at the fellow idol, and went over to grab lian before taehyung was able to give a solid answer.

“hey, lian, taeyong wants to talk to you.” he grabbed her hand, and began to drag her towards the bts member, who was literally shitting his pants. seulgi on the other hand, was following the two to wherever lian needed to be, not quite ready to leave.

“noona, go away.” johnny lightly pushed seulgi away from lian, being a shot an “i’m incredibly offended, you’re dead to me” look as as she stomped away from them and over to joy and wendy.

lian silently followed johnny to where “taeyong” was but instead she was met with the face of kim taehyung. she looked back up at johnny with confusion written all over her features, but he shrugged his shoulders and walked away as well.

now, they were just standing there awkwardly looking at each other with nothing to say. “uh, hi, you’re not taeyong.” lian laughed to break the ice, taehyung following shortly after. “yeah, i don’t know what he was trying to do here.” lian nodded in agreement.

lian suddenly became aware of all the fans in the audience and the numerous amounts of fansites that probably had their cameras facing directly at her.

she was able to wrap up her conversation with taehyung pretty quickly, making a mental note in her head of the phone number he’d given her so they could talk later.

once taehyung walked away as he’d finally caught sight of yoongi, lian stomped over to the member of nct 127 and roughly pushed johnny into jungwoo, but he was far too strong to be toppled over like she wanted.

“you idiot, why would you do that? that was so awkward, i hate you and i’m not cooking for you ever again.” johnny simply laughed and ruffled her hair, turning back to hyuck, who was also laughing at her.

she huffed as she was engulfed into a hug by yuta, who almost immediately asked what the hell they were talking about over there.

crush percentage out of 100: 40%

#lian: relationships #nct addition #nct female member #nct 127 #nct #nct dream #wayv #kim taehyung #bang chan #lianna bae #choi soobin #eric sohn #nct 127 added member #nct 127 female member #nct dream added member #nct dream female member #nct 22nd member #nct 24th member

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yonymii · 4 years ago

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secret garden

a/n: shoutout to my chamaedorea plant, Debrah 🤩 (also @gigis-galaxy for telling me to write for mattsun) his characterisation is wierd but whatever,, this took wayy too long to write sjkdjkdjks i think i change tenses at the end?? I liked it tho so i kept it

Wordcount: 4.4k

pairing: matsukawa issei x gn!reader

Warnings: cursing

Matsukawa didn’t notice you the first time he saw you. Of course, he’d seen you sat leaning against the wall scribbling notes onto your hand, but he hadn’t really noticed you, not enough to be able to describe your appearance. Like every other year, he’d just sat near his friends and started talking, completely missing your voice reverberating off of the plain white classroom walls, your laugh never reaching his ears. Your friends were always sat in front of you, blocking you from his field of vision, so it was no surprise when you two had been partnered up for a history project he’d had to ask who on earth y/n l/n was.

You hadn’t noticed him either, though. Matsukawa was one of those kids who joked around in class, throwing paper balls at their friends and drawing bad pictures of the teacher on scrap pieces of paper but was too discreet to ever get caught. You’d heard his voice but never bothered to turn around and learn whose it was, never scanned the classroom to take in and memorise the faces of your classmates. In your opinion, they were irrelevant unless you needed them for something.

Unfortunately, you needed Mattsun for this grade.

You waited for him to approach you, not moving from your seat, occasionally glancing over to see whether he was coming to sit beside you (on the table your friend had begrudgingly moved from). After what felt like hours, there was shuffling in that spot and you heard the chair legs scrape across the wood flooring, then a figure slump into the plastic seat. He looked over to you but you were already sending texts to your friends on the other side of the classroom, trying not to laugh so you wouldn’t be caught by the teacher. He thought you were quite attractive; not like Oikawa, though. Like you were unaware of your appearance, as if you didn’t spend too much time staring in the mirror worrying about how you look to others.

It was silly, really. That he was thinking so deeply into it when all you two had to do was study together and then produce a poster on World War One. It wasn’t difficult, except everytime you started speaking he felt obliged to look over at your face, your expressions. Mattsun desperately needed to focus, and you weren’t helping.

“Are you free to work on this over the weekend or do you want me to finish it?” he heard you ask as he was packing his bag on the Friday before your project was due. You two had mainly worked on it during his free lunches, seeing as all your clubs were on afterschool and not at lunch break. He turned to see you stood at the doorway of your empty classroom, tapping the end of your foot on the floorboards. He nodded, zipping up his backpack and meandering over to where you stood. “Yeah, you have my number, right? Text me your address and i’ll come over at twelve tomorrow,” he started walking off but looked over his shoulder at you, “If it’s okay with you, that is?”

You just agreed politely, joining your friends on the field at the back of campus. You could hear them talking, but you weren’t listening. You had your phone out but it was hidden under your blazer in case any teachers walked past and saw you; as you sent your address to Mattsun you couldn’t help but worry about the state of your room.

Not that it was messy. In fact, it was abnormally clean for a teenager. It was just… full. You had no idea how to tell your partner that you had no desks to work on because they were all occupied by your various houseplants your grandmother gave you? You sure as hell weren’t moving them just so that he could work.

Your room was a long rectangle, your bed positioned carefully so it fitted perfectly into the thin space by the window (which was occupied by a long pot of forget-me-nots), and you had two desks; one that was for plants all along and the other was now home to plants but was previously used for studying. You did most of your work sat in bed with a tray for stability nowadays.

“Hey y/n! The bell’s gone, we’ll see you Monday, m’kay?” your friend said as they tapped your shoulder and headed off. You just nodded, tucking your device into the inside pocket of your blazer and packing up your things ready for your next english class.

There were crescent moons of dirt underneath your fingernails and when you put the trowel down to sit back and bathe underneath the late afternoon sun you felt a presence behind you, their shadow above yours.

"Y/n?"

You pulled one of your airpods out, turning to gaze up at them. They were stood directly in the way of the sun, the skin on their arms illuminated with gold. You hummed in response, shifting onto your backside and exposing your mud and grass-stained knees. They chuckled and bent down to meet you; you shielded your eyes from the brightness of the sky.

"You're partnered with Mattsun for the history project, right?" Iwaizumi asked, his head tilting to the side. You nodded, fingertips digging into the soil beside you. There were a few younger students kneeling to weed the flowerbeds and vegetable patches beside yours, but they were silent. Iwaizumi lowered his voice, noticing the alck of noise in the area. There were crickets chirping quietly and the heat seared your skin. You wiped your forehead with the back of your wrist.

"Yeah, why?" your cousin smiled, standing back up as he noticed your eagerness to get back to work.

"He's skipping practice some lunches and won't tell anyone what he's doing. It's driving Shittykawa mad." you laughed at the nickname but still smacked his leg. "Don't call your best friend names, Hajime! And yeah. It'll be done by the weekend so don't worry, m'kay?"

The brunette nodded, turning away from you and starting to leave, waving lazily at you while still turned. You shouted goodbye as he walked off, spinning round to face the bed of flowers and positioning yourself onto your knees comfortably.

Your doorbell was broken when Matsukawa tried ringing it. He marveled at the vast number of window boxes filled with vibrant flowers (which he couldn't name), knocking three times on the wooden door. It was mid afternoon, the sun was hidden behind a few clouds and when you opened the door and invited him inside there were no lights on, only open curtains and white walls and carpets to brighten the rooms.

"Where are we going?" he asked when you led him to the back door and opened it, ushering him outside. It was a large green lawn, surrounded by tall bushes and beds of flowers. There was a small allotment behind a wooden fence and grey brick wall and he saw a tall wooden structure supporting a plethora of different vegetables, along with all different shades of sweet pea blossoms. In short, your garden was something out of a children's story book.

By the time the pair of you were sat on the blanket underneath an old looking tree, the sun had come out and was lighting the area. There was a stack of textbooks by the roots and you handed him a few which he opened to the bookmarked pages. Mattsun had been the one to keep hold of your poster so he set it down on a tray in the centre of the blanket, along with his stationary.

"What do you want to focus on for the last segment?" you broke the silence with a question which he was quick to respond to.

"Uhm, the causes? Of the war?" you nodded in agreement and opened a textbook. Mattsun cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Whose garden is this? I mean, uhh, who like, takes care of it?"

You had to hold back a laugh at his nervous tone, suppressing your grin when you explained that it was, in fact, your garden, and you lived mostly alone.

He just nodded, avoiding any eye contact.

"It was my grandmother's but i look after it now." Mattsun nodded again, ruling a line along the bottom of your poster to mark off the last section. "It's really nice," he said, looking up at you. You slipped your shoes off, tucking your feet under your legs and meeting his eyes.

"You must enjoy it."

A smile adorned your lips and you hummed in agreement, outlining the title of your poster (causes of World War One) and explaining your hobby to your partner. Honestly, you knew he probably didn't care, but he would listen, even if it wasn't particularly interesting to him.

"When i was younger i lived with my grandparents and sometimes my dad. He's away on business most of the time though. My grandmother used to bring me out and tell me about all of the plants, and after a while let me grow a few myself. When she passed i took over the garden," you giggled as soom is the sun appeared from behind the clouds and lit up your face, " It looks the same as it always did though. I haven't changed it much."

Although you'd assumed Matsukawa wasn't listening, he hadn't transferred any of your notes onto the large sheet of paper. He was laying on his back staring up at the sky through the leaves of the large oak tree and there were little dots of sunlight decorating his skin and hair. His eyelashes were fluttering against his cheeks; he was stunning in a way you'd never noticed before. You probably wouldn't have been able to see him this way if you'd have only been with him at school, volleyball practice or at games. It was different, but not in a bad way. You didn't know Matsukawa Issei, but you wanted to.

Clearing your throat to gain his attention (which you had anyway), and looked over at him once again, only to see his eyes on you, cheeks flushed a little as he gazed at your face under the shade of the tree. "We should really get this done, Matsukawa. It's been an hour and a half already."

He agreed, sitting up and resting his soft cheek on the palm of his hand, picking up a pen and copying out your notes in neat while you cut out pictures to accompany the writing.

Three sharp knocks at your front door woke you up from the light nap you’d been taking on the sofa laying next to your dad who’d come home for the weekend. You watched sleepily as he stood up to answer whoever it was, expecting a delivery or the friendly postman who was also your neighbor.

It was Matsukawa.

“Y/n!- Oh, uhm, hello, sir.” he said, looking down at his shoes and fiddling with his fingers. After the project you’d turned in the pair of you had become good friends and you now often sat with the volleyball team at lunches, visiting them after school during practice and going to watch practice matches. You’d done this every once in a while because of Iwaizumi but it had become significantly more frequent over the last few months.

“Why do you need y/n?” your dad asked Issei, crossing his arms protectively and leaning all his weight onto one leg. The boy who’d come over to see you just smiled up at him as you peeked out from behind the doorway and waved, pushing your dad to the side gently to allow him over the threshold and towards the door leading to your garden.

“He’s a friend, dad. I told you why i got all that food ready this morning, right?” The sun was setting on the horizon as you took Mattsun’s bag and ran up the stairs to your room, putting it by your desk and running back down to meet your friend on the lawn.

He sat on the tyre swing that hung on the oak tree, his legs threaded through the hole as he swung gently in the evening breeze. “You didn’t tell him i was coming over?” Mattzun said, resting his chin on the rubber.

“I did! I just didn’t give him any specifics is all.” You collapsed onto the blanket that was spread out over the green blades, your head on a large grey pillow. There was a basket by your feet full of cakes and drinks, and you had a speaker resting in the hollow of the tree trunk. The stars were starting to appear in the sky and the moon was hanging low in the orange glow near the rooftops, their silhouette bold against the slowly darkening backdrop. It was beautiful, and with the silence between you two you didn’t notice Mattsun crawling towards you to lay down on your stomach, a can of cola held loosely between both of his hands. He tapped his short nails against it as he looked up at the sky, his delicately carved face illuminated in the fiery sunset.

"You ok, Mattsun? You're being quiet, it's scaring me," you said, looking down at him as he breathed gently, chest rising and falling slowly as his lungs filled with air. You felt him nod against your stomach, hair sticking slightly to the fabric of your shirt. When he sat up to look at you, it was sticking out in weird directions; he looked like someone from a movie who'd been electrocuted. A giggle escaped your lips and he brushed a hand over the back of his locks, smoothing it down effectively.

He hummed when you pressed one fingertip to the tip of his nose and then the screen of your phone to play some music. Your dad shut off the upstairs and downstairs lights so now it was almost completely dark; the light of the full moon kissed Mattsun’s cheeks and made him glow, your heart stuttered and your breathing becoming laboured and heavy. The boy was laying down on his back on your blanket, chewing a biscuit and sitting up slightly to swallow it before laying down again. The stars blinked at your through the green leaves of the tree, and you leaned forwards to grab your cup that was filled with tea; the warmth radiating from it met your skin and sent a shiver all the way down your spine. You could hear your breathing fall into synchronization with his, your mind clearing and the only thing present in your thoughts was the boy laying beside you.

“Y/n, you never sit with us anymore. Just this lunch?” you shook your head at your friend (who you had indeed ditched for the Seijoh volleyball club a number of months ago), sighing loudly so that she heard you.

“Seriously, i don’t want to sit with you today, okay?” she just stared at you, face not showing any emotion, “I’ll sit with you guys when i feel like it. That isn’t right now.” and you ignored her pleads as you walked to the stairs where Makki was standing, one foot against the wall and his hands shoved into the pockets of his blazer. His bag was leaning against the surface and one of his shoes was sticking out of the side because the bag as too full. When he saw you he picked it up, slinging it over his shoulder and not speaking, just wandering lazily up the staircase and towards the rooftop where you assumed the rest of the third-year volleyball players would be.

The door was open; there were voices coming through the opening and you heard Mattsun’s laugh, your ears singling out the sound and blocking away everything else.

Your bag dropped to the ground next to Iwaizumi, sitting on the concrete and letting the wind brush across the bare skin of your arms, blazer discarded on your chair a few minutes away in your classroom. It was a nice day; the sun was overhead, your friend group situated in the shadow of the building. The sky was blue and there were fluffy white clouds floating past, but you payed no attention to them, instead choosing to listen to the conversation the third-years were currently having.

“So you’re skipping detention and sitting with us? For what?” Oikawa said, gazing at Mattsun lazily, the sun almost in his eyes but not quite. He shuffled to the left a bit so he could sit completely in the shade. “Won’t you just get afterschool tomorrow, Mattsun?”

The boy nodded, fluffy hair bouncing atop his head. His lips were set in a straight line and he opened his mouth to speak, bored expression sticking to his features almost comically, as if he were a doll that only had one emotion. You knew his face never reflected his feelings though.

“Yeah,” he gave no further explanation, just ripped a bit of bread from his lunch and pushed it past his lips into his mouth, chewing slowly and looking over to you. You smiled gently, taking a sip of the chocolate milk you’d picked up from the vending machine that morning but hadn’t had a chance to drink. “Why are you staring at me?” was what you decided to say to Issei after a few minutes, your eyes still locked with his. The corners of his mouth twitched up into a smirk and you sighed, cheeks puffing out.

“You’re so irritating sometimes, Mattsun. I swear Hajime’s the only responsible one here,” you looked over to your cousin, nudging his knee with yours and adding with a coy smile, “And me, of course.”

The brunette shook his head but didn’t bother to speak. “Y/n, you bring plants to school everyday.” Makki deadpanned, nodding his head towards your schoolbag. . You instinctively pulled it closer by one of the straps, crossing your legs so it was in between your thighs. “Not today, Makki. I didn’t bring anything but my work and lunch.”

Oikawa laughed, seemingly flying over to you and snatching up your bag. When he set it down there was a quiet clink, indicating there was, in fact, something inside. “Y/n seriously, you act as if they’re animals. Just leave them on your windowsill or something.” Makki stated as the captain unzipped your bag. You looked down in defeat when he pulled out a small terracotta plantpot with a tiny succulent in the middle. A burro’s tail, Mattsun thought. He recalled you showing him one when he was at yours after practice once.

The group snickered at the plant and you snatched it away, patting the soil to see if it was in need of water and pulling out your waterbottle to give it a bit. It clinked again when you set it down and Mattsun pulled your face up by the chin to see your expression just as you were about to give the plant a drink. You were pouting, he saw, and your eyebrows furrowed when he laughed at you, his lips curved into a beautiful smile as his voice escaped them.

That’s when you realised just how close his face was to yours. The volleyball team had gone quiet and were all watching you two but you didn’t think Issei had heard you, his forefinger hooked under your chin while his thumb brushed over the top. There was a lot more heat in your cheeks than before, you noticed and you’d dropped your bottle, spilling it over the pale concrete and staining it the colour of slate. Your ears picked up a snort from one of the boys and you tried to wiggle away from Mattsun’s grasp, shaking your head but he gripped your cheeks, squeezing them gently. “Stay there.” he ordered, voice low so the other’s probably couldn’t hear.

Issei leaned in closer, but to your surprise, his lips moved past your face and stopped at your ear, a snicker escaping. “You’re a dumbass, y/n.” was all he said but it surprised you and you yelped from the volume, your head banging against the wall. Your vision clouded and went dark, and when you woke up and raised your hand to the back of your head there was warm liquid over it. You didn’t know if it was blood or the water you’d spilt earlier, but when you saw all four of the third years crouched over you, you assumed it was blood. Iwaizumi pulled you up by your back and leant you against the wall, tapping your nose like he used to when you were kids.

“Mattsun, you fucking idiot! Shit like that can kill people!” you heard Makki’s voice and then saw Issei’s face above yours, worry filling his eyes. “Fuck, y/n, i didn’t mean to do that, i was trying to joke around,” he whispered, hand on your cheek. Oikawa pulled you up and wrapped your arm around his shoulder, his own slung across your back in case you were dizzy. He turned his head to face his teammates, “I’m taking them to the nurse’s office. Go to class without me,” the brunette informed them and when you stepped through the threshold of the office and collapsed onto the bed, Oikawa setting your bag down on the chair (along with your plant) the bell had rung and you saw the others pass by the office, glancing at you, Haijime waving as he passed.

You didn’t see Mattsun.

It wasn’t until the next weekend you saw Issei again. You were sat on the swing under the shade of the oak tree, swaying gently to the beat of some soft piano music after watering the dying rose bush when your dad called you out of the garden.

It took a few moments for you to recognise the boy sat on your sofa. Mattsun was holding a yellow plantpot in his hands delicately, tapping it with the edge of his too-long fingernails. He didn’t look at you when you sat down beside him but his cheeks puffed out and he set the pot down on your coffee table, your dad watching quietly from the kitchen with a cup of tea cradled in his hands.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry.” was the only thing your friend said, after a long but comfortable silence. You nodded, hand on his thigh, “I know. I’m not mad though! Are you free now? We could go sit in the garden if you wanted to,” your voice grew quiet when the brunette looked up at you. He nodded, hair bouncing as he stood up and reached out a hand to help you up. You laced your fingers with his, smiling gratefully as he led you outside. You heard the kettle boiling and mugs clinking as your dad made two drinks for the pair of you.

It was still warm in your garden when you finished your picnic. The sun had started setting and the horizon was growing amber, the silhouettes of birds on telephone lines. The skin on your arms was golden from the light and Mattsun was laying next to you, his eyes closed so that his long eyelashes fluttered gently against his cheeks, long shadows extending across his skin.

Your fingers were tangled in his hair and you didn’t want to move them in case he woke up. Really, you had nothing to worry about. Issei wasn’t asleep, but you didn’t need to know that. The breeze fanned over your bare legs and the hairs stood on end. Maybe it was getting a little cold.

Issei opened his eyes when you shifted to move one of your blankets across your legs. He sat up and pulled it over his, shuffling closer to you. His lips were curved up into a delicate arc, tinted red from biting them constantly. His cheeks were flushed pink and his eyes were gazing over at your figure lazily, hooded and tired. You reached over to your bottle, opening it with a fizz. A little of the drink got onto your nose and Mattsun patted it away with the corner of his sleeve, his smile dropped and biting his lip in concentration.

“Mattsun?” he hummed, placing his hand over yours as you fiddled with the leaves of a hydrangea bush. “You look like you want to say something. What’s up?” your voice was very quiet, but he heard it just fine. The boy shook his head, curls ruffling against your shoulder.

“It’s nothing.”

You furrowed your brows but didn’t push any further, knowing that he’d deny it and eventually just leave if you kept asking. The hand that was resting on top of yours moved to your calf that was slung languidly across his thighs, his thumb rubbing circles into your warm skin. It was quiet, without any bird chirping in the background. You heard a car go past your garden; then silence.

His eyes shone when he looked over at you, and you didn’t know if it was the light from the house or if he was really just that beautiful, but it took the air out of your lungs all the same. The usual lazy smile danced on his lips and he pulled your head down and pressed the smile to your cheek, the feeling of his lips on your skin leaving a burning sensation; it felt good. The heat rose onto your face and it felt as if your whole body was on fire, all the way from the tips of your fingers to the top of your nose.

He was already looking away, though.

For Mattsun, this was enough; he didn’t know why his heart was pouding so hard it felt like his ribcage was going to crack open or why his eyes were trying to look anywhere but at you. And as much as he was scared, he liked it this way. If not telling you what he thought was happening to him meant that you could stay with him like this, he’d do it. He’d do anything.

The only thing stopping him was the feeling of your hand on his cheek and something heavy crawling into his lap; not until your lips met did he notice it was you who was so close to him. He saw the moon out of the corner of his eye, and the stars around it but nothing at that moment shone as brightly as you did. It was almost blinding, you were almost blinding.

Mattsun had never been very good with his words but he didn’t need them with you. You thought the look in his eyes when you both pulled away was enough to explain what he was thinking.

uhhh @reiningsun 👉👈 mayhaps?? KJBDKW im so embarrassed

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amydancepants-peralta · 4 years ago

Text

The 5 times Jake & Amy tried to get some ‘alone time’ during the holidays (and the 1 time they’re successful)

Here is my entry into the @b99fandomevents Summer 2020 Challenge, for @peraltasames 💗 also available on ao3, as it is a little long ☺️

(For those of you playing at home, only part 2 is NSFW 🙊)

Part 1:

(where it all begins)

Attempt number 1: The Santiago Family Holiday House

“Thought I might find you here.”

Lifting her head up from its resting place in the crook of her arm, Amy doesn’t even try to suppress the smile that began to creep onto her face the moment she’d picked up on Jake’s voice.

She cocks her head to the side as he falters mid-step, an obvious blush creeping onto his cheeks as he lifts his hands, raising two bottles in mock surrender. “I mean, obviously I didn’t know that you’d be out here … I’ve never been here before and that’s giving off some real Creepy New Boyfriend vibes. You know what, I’m just going to reset and start again.” Digging one sneakered heel into the landing, he does a quick full body turn before Amy can give any type of reassurance; blinking quickly when their eyes meet again to indicate a Full Reset. “Hey, Ames! Your brother mentioned that you might be out here, so I thought I’d do something completely non-stalkery and bring you a drink.”

Chuckling, Amy reaches out for one of the offered bottles, riding that still new high that comes from hearing Jake Peralta refer to himself as her boyfriend. “Thanks, babe.”

It’s Jake’s turn to grin right back, clearly enjoying her use of their favourite new term for each other; a colloquial word that still seemed kinda new - given it’s only been four months since they got together - yet somehow fits so well it’s almost a little strange to remember a time when they couldn’t refer to each other as such. There’s a shared giddiness that floats between them as they clink bottles and take a sip, and her cheeks kinda hurt from smiling this much, but Amy really doesn’t care.

Gesturing at the expanse of the relatively simple deck, Jake takes in the wooden panelling of the exterior walls before turning his attention back to his girlfriend. “So … this is your little secret hideout, I hear?”

Nodding, Amy returns to her earlier position leaning against the high railing in front of her, letting out a soft yeah as her free hand runs along the timber paling.

Built by her grandfather as a home away from the city several decades ago, the Santiago Lake House has long been considered a place of refuge for the family. With six of her brothers, two uncles and her father Victor on the force, common holidays were rarely guaranteed off; and so this year they had elected a non-particular weekend in June as their opportunity for all to come together. Save for a last-minute issue at Victor’s precinct pulling him away from the festivities, all eight Santiago siblings (and their mother Camila) had arrived earlier today for a well overdue holiday.

While the majority of her family often preferred to gather around the oversized back deck, from a young age Amy had gravitated towards the more intimate side balcony that overlooked the water. Stretching out from the family room situated on the second floor, the surrounding tree tops lent a sense of privacy the back deck couldn’t completely offer; and on the evenings when things began to feel a little too loud, Amy would often come up here to decompress, watching the night slip by as the moon silvered the lake before her.

Taking a sip of his beer, Jake moves to stand next to Amy, resting his weight against the banister as he drinks in the view. “I really like it.” A small army of goosebumps appear on Amy’s skin, despite the dusk’s only slightly fading heat, as his arm brushes against her skin. “Perfectly compact, with a great view.” She can sense him grin, shoulder nudging against hers. “Feels like you.”

Amy feels her cheeks heat up as a blush washes over her, grateful that the relative darkness of the almost night sky would be able to hide her reaction. Jake was the very first boyfriend she’d ever brought to the lake house - a fact that Manny had announced very loudly in the middle of the private tour she had been giving earlier - and the look of elation and pride that had taken over Jake’s features at the discovery has remained fresh in her mind for the past few hours.

(It had never been an overly deliberate action, to keep previous boyfriends away from the lake house, but the thought of Jake joining in, within a minute of the date being set, had been so automatic that Amy is only now realising that the concept of being here without him had seemed completely illogical.)

A melody played from Luis’ acoustic guitar is carried up to the two of them by a sudden breeze, cutting through the tops of the surrounding pine, and Amy lets out a small shiver: forever and always susceptible to the cold, regardless of the lingering summer heat. Without missing a beat; Jake moves to stand behind her - covering her back with his front with the instinct of not only a gentleman, but a man who is very quickly taking complete hold of her heart.

His arms come to rest besides hers along the edge of the bannister, and quietly Amy hopes that he cannot feel the rapid pounding of her heart through her jacket. It felt a little ridiculous to act this way, like some kind of lovesick teenager drawing hearts all over her notebook, but dating Jake for the past four months doesn’t seem to have taken the edge off the way his presence made her feel.

“So …. Tell me about David.”

As hard as she tries to avoid it, Amy feels her shoulders tense up - the urge to let out an exaggerated UGH almost too strong to resist. She’d only touched on David’s presence briefly on the drive up to the lake house, and despite her own personal reservations, she supposed it was sort of fair that Jake might have a few questions. Letting out a calming breath, Amy gives herself a quick reminder to keep her responding tone light. “What would you like to know?”

“Uhh … well, look - the way his photo is displayed on that mantel in the formal lounge, and the clear adoration in your mother’s voice whenever his name came up made me wonder if he was on some super secret mission to Mars or something.” Shaking his head, Jake knocks the lip of the beer bottle against his forehead. “I honestly spent the first twenty minutes of polite chatter frantically rewinding all of our conversations over the last few years in my head, trying to remember you ever bringing up something like that. Thank god he walked in when he did, or I’m sure I would’ve ended up saying something really stupid.”

Knowing that Jake can’t necessarily see her (okay, perhaps childish) reaction, Amy rolls her eyes at the mention of Camila’s unfiltered reverence when it comes to David. “Yeah, he’s basically the ‘Do No Wrong’ guy … The Golden Child, as Julian and I like to call him. It’s kinda always been like that, ever since he came home from first grade with a report card filled with gold star stickers and praise from literally every teacher he’d ever been in contact with.”

Swallowing his last swig of beer, Jake scoffs into the night sky. “Gold stars are cool, I guess. But any fool knows that the scratch-n-sniff stickers are where it’s really at.”

“Obviously. Strawberry, the clear winner.”

His free hand landing on her forearm, Jake squeezes gently. “I’d always been partial to grape, but strawberry just reminds me of that chapstick you use before bed now, and I am a big fan of those strawberry kisses to start my morning.”

Craning her head to the side slightly, Amy flashes Jake a grin before meeting him halfway for a soft kiss. She, too, had become a big fan of morning kisses … and afternoon kisses, night kisses … basically any time she got to feel the pressure of Jake’s lips against her own was a winner in her book - and she knows she’s being a little ridiculous but she also really, really likes him. Remembering their previous conversation as she pulls away, Amy shakes her head slightly before looking out onto the lake again.

“It’s worse at home, if I’m being honest - it’s basically the same shrine on the mantel, only at home we have a piano in the living room as well. So … how well you’re doing at school or work or whatever, determines your position either on the piano or the wall of shame above the staircase.”

“I mean … I’m sure it’s not meant to feel like a wall of shame, babe.”

Amy nods, letting out a quick I want to believe you laugh. “Tell that to Tony. One semester, he wasn’t focusing as much as normal, and his grade dropped by a whole level. Two days after he came home with the results, Mama conveniently decided to do a redesign of the living room - one that just so happened to include the shuffling of Tony’s school portrait from next to mine on the piano, to sitting at the bottom of the staircase.”

Taking a long sip of Cristal, Amy pauses to take stock of the conversation. It felt slightly traitorous to be talking to Jake about the hierarchy that - prior to this evening - she’d only ever discussed with her brothers (minus one). There’s never been a question over whether their mother loved them dearly - an abundance of love was palpable between the walls of both their family home and the holiday house - but it was also impossible to deny that the shadow of David’s successes, paired with Camila’s obvious praise, had loomed over Amy’s shoulders during her many late night study sessions.

This wasn’t the first time talking to Jake had led to Amy admitting more than she would to most - he had that (at times, irritating) ability to sneak past her guard long before they’d been anything more than colleagues. But one of her most favourite details of their new relationship, aside from the why-did-we-wait-so-long-for-this sex, was the amount of nights they would stay up just … talking. They’d learnt more about each other in the past four months than the last two years combined, and still she craves more. Shaking her now empty bottle, Amy stoops to place it on the ground beside her before straightening, sighing in contentment as Jake’s shoulders rest against hers once again.

“Eventually, Tony’s photo found its way back to the piano .. but the message was pretty clear.” Letting out a rueful laugh, she shakes her head slightly. “It’s no secret that I love a bit of friendly competition. But … it’d be kinda nice if the rungs of the ladder weren’t always so far away from each other.”

At the feeling of Jake’s lips pressing into her hair Amy lets out one last sigh, surprising herself with just how lighter her shoulders seem to feel. A silence stretches between them as Jake drains the last of his beer, and just when she’s about to change the subject completely, he speaks.

“So. There’s a little known fact about me, that you should probably be made aware of now that we’re all smooshing booties offical stylez and whatever.”

Her lips curl up at the term. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yup. Obviously you’re already aware of my titles as Greatest Detective Ever, Badass MC, Amazing Lover, Fierce Defender of Good from Evil ..”

“Oh god, is this list ever going to end?”

“… Master dunker at B-ball, unofficially official taste tester of any and all sour candies … but! What you might not know is that I am also a crazy good Hype Man. Like .. the best. All the others can just go home coz I kick the most butt at hyping things up and that’s just the facts.”

Turning her head slightly towards Jake, Amy glances up at her boyfriend from the corner of her eyes. “I feel like there was a point you were making, here?”

Depositing his empty bottle along the far edge of the banister, Jake’s hands return to weave their fingers through both of Amy’s, staying close as she watches him take a heavy swallow. Sensing that something important was about to be said, and that Jake may not be at the Locked Eyes Grand Gesture stage just yet, she trains her gaze towards the lake and waits.

“What I’m saying, Ames, is that I am officially signing up to be your hype man. I will literally have zero hesitation in pointing out your awesomeness to anybody that doesn’t immediately see it, and I just ..” Pausing for a moment, he shuffles closer to her back, squeezing their gripped fingers tightly, and she takes no hesitation in squeezing right back. “You need to know that … no matter what happens. I’m always going to be there, cheering you on.”

The unspoken definition of the no matter what happens hangs between them, the mere mention of anything but the two of them staying together sounding both unwelcome and impossible, and Amy nods against his chest.

“I just …. They could rewire the stars with your accolades, Ames. The fact that it goes over anybody’s head baffles me, let alone somewhere like here.”

She nods again, temporarily unable to speak as unexpected tears begin to threaten their escape. There were an abundance of reports and awards that spoke of her achievements, and logically she knew that any task that she set her mind to could be mastered with relative ease.

But to know that Jake not only noticed her triumphs, but wanted to actually (and, perhaps literally) shout them from the rooftops, meant more to Amy than she could have anticipated.

He presses another kiss to her hair, and she holds onto him tightly. There’s so much familiarity surrounding her right now - from the scratch of the logwood bannisters; the filtered laughter of her brothers and their extended families, to the slightly acrid smell of burnt marshmallows as Luis once again fails to make a decent s’more.

Jake’s cologne with it’s spicy notes, and the overall sense of warmth he exudes, should feel foreign amongst it all … but standing here on the balcony with his arms stretched out comfortably on top of her own, Amy cannot deny that it feels less like an intrusion, and more like the final piece of life’s puzzle locking into place.

Her voice cuts through the night, tone soft as she rests her head briefly against Jake’s shoulder. “I’m really glad you’re here, Jake.”

The bridge of Jake’s nose brushes her temple as he dips his head lower, pressing a kiss against her cheekbone, and her heart skips at the simple intimacy of it all. “Me too, Ames.”

His fingers, still interlaced with hers, tighten as he pulls their arms closer to her middle; holding the two of them in a tight embrace as his continues a trail of kisses, letting out a quiet sigh as he follows her jawline. It’s as his teeth begin to graze the outside edge of her earlobe - a guaranteed winning choice - that he begins to whisper, the warmth of his breath sending shivers down her spine. “So if I’m officially the first boyfriend you’ve brought here … does that mean there’s a bed somewhere that needs breaking in?”

Grinning, Amy turns in his embrace, releasing her grip on his hands so that she can throw her arms around her boyfriend’s neck and nod. He gives her a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows, absorbing her laughter with a slightly longer kiss as his arms wrap around her lower body, and it only takes a moment when he pulls away and looks down at her - but in a moment, she knows.

It’s a combination of things - a curated list of all of her favourite details about him coming together on a hazy June evening: the softness of his touch every time he was near; the warmth of his breath when it ghosted over her skin, the way he made her feel like she was the only person in the world that he could ever want to kiss. She knows that it’s still technically early days, but as his fingers tip gently underneath her chin and draw her closer for the kind of kiss one doesn’t forget easily, Amy knows for sure that she is most definitely falling in love with Jake Peralta.

It’s the kind of thought - the kind of kiss - that distracts even the most focused of people, and for that reason alone Amy doesn’t hear the heavy thud of Manny’s boots bounding up the staircase until it’s accompanied by his loud Busted! tone.

“Okay amantes - time to come and at least pretend to be sociable with the family, yah?”

Amy’s lips pull away from Jake’s with a smack, swivelling her head towards her brother as she fixes him with a glare. “We’re here for an entire weekend, Manny. Plenty of time for family stuff.”

That frustratingly mischievous glint appears in her brother’s eyes - a sure sign of danger ahead - and Amy pulls away slightly from Jake. “Ah-huh. No biggie, Ma’s just been asking about your new boyfriend Jake, and is wondering where you’d gotten to … I’ll just tell her you’re both up here exploring the backs of each other’s throats, if that’s cool?”

Grabbing her wrist quickly, Jake yelps out a quick “Nope!”, gently pulling Amy towards the staircase. “We were actually just talking about how we should go down and join the crowd, weren’t we Ames?”

Manny makes little to no effort to conceal his laughter as Amy’s response is a continuation of her glare, and he half-turns towards Jake as all three begin their descent towards the back deck. “FYI, my bedroom is right next to yours, and I sleep real light … wouldn’t want to have to tell Mama about the things that go bump in the night, hey hermana?”

“You’ll get yours, manito.” Amy mumbles, linking hands with Jake as they move further away from their private oasis.

There was a very good chance that this was Manny’s version of revenge (she may or may not have stumbled on her brother & his boyfriend last year, something she still swears to have been an accident) but now she’s both turned on and frustrated; knowing that as long as Manny has anything to do with it, there will be No Sex for her and Jake at the lake house.

Truly, she couldn’t think of a worse way to begin a holiday.

(… is that a red light blinking?)

Attempt number 2: Santa Barbara

Jake’s eyebrows lift in surprise as the strength of Amy’s shove forces him into the couch cushions below, body barely settling against the base before she begins scrambling onto his lap.

Responding to his shock with a satisfied grin, Amy rests her hands on either side of his face to pull him in for a kiss, catching his soft moans and joining them with her own as it deepens.

It isn’t until she’s begun to graze her teeth against the base of his neck that she catches her breath, whispering as her body begins to grind down against his - “I’m totally blaming you for this, by the way.”

“I’m not sure what I’m taking the blame for, but as long as you keep kissing me like that I’m pretty much going to admit to anything.”

She laughs, sinking her teeth gently into his shoulder and leaving a kiss in their wake. “You and your hands, stroking up and down my back all night while I was trying to be the attentive and supportive sister. It was driving me crazy, you don’t know how close I came to dragging you into the coat closet.”

The two of them had flown to Santa Barbara for a long weekend to show their support for Amy’s closest (aka: secretly favourite) brother, Miguel. As the only Santiago child not to join the NYPD, Miguel had instead chosen to become a specialist in the medical field, relocating to follow a promotion in California. This evening he was receiving an award from his peers at a gala uptown, and both Jake and Amy had jumped at the chance to attend - if for no other reason than a chance to get away, after months of double shifts and leads that had taken them absolutely nowhere.

Amy had chosen a new dress for the occasion - black material that shimmered in just the right way, with a low-scoop back to avoid the unbearable summer heat. Paired with her signature studs and heels high enough to do some serious damage if provoked, she’d felt like a million dollars walking into the gala on Jake’s arm - and had smiled ever so proudly as Miguel received his award.

The rest of the night, however, has become a vague memory … because all she can remember feeling - all she can remember even thinking about - was the way Jake’s fingers felt as they feathered against her exposed skin. With his arm draped over her chair he’d been given the perfect amount of leeway throughout the ceremony, and the non-sensical patterns of unconscious action on her boyfriend’s end had sent a parade of tingles all over her body with every lap.

Safe to say, once all the awards have been presented and they’d had the chance to congratulate Miguel once again, Amy had slammed down her fourth drink and found a convenient reason for her and Jake to leave. Immediately.

“To be fair Ames, you do look amazing tonight,” Jake mumbled in-between kisses, running his hand over the expanse of her back to demonstrate his appreciation. “Honestly, I’m blaming the dress for making my already hot girlfriend Super Mega Hot.”

She rewards his sweet declaration with a heated kiss, hands making quick work of his tie - loosening the knot with practised ease (she does, after all, fasten and loosen his work tie most days) and casting the fabric aside as she begins to tackle his buttons.

A beachside mansion, owned by a friend of Roger’s, had been offered to be their accommodation for the weekend - an olive branch of sorts towards Jake that he’d begrudgingly accepted (the notion of his parents dating each other, something he was slowly coming to terms with). Their delayed flight this afternoon had meant that Jake and Amy barely had time to dump their bags before getting changed and leaving again, but the floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive layout she’d picked up on their way out the door already suggested a very comfortable few days ahead.

It is, in fact, only as Jake drops a quick kiss to her lips, suggesting they move things into the bedroom, that Amy stands and actually takes stock of her surroundings (a combination of four drinks and an irresistible partner can clearly only lead to a distracted mind).

Tugging onto her boyfriend’s hand as he continues leading her towards the hallway, Amy lets out a quiet wait a minute - and it’s just enough to pique Jake’s interest, turning to see what it is that’s caught Amy’s attention.

“Ames?”

Raising her finger in a curious point, Amy surveys the room. “Cameras.” At Jake’s silence, she points them out as she slowly circumnavigates the room. “One, two .. I count four altogether. Four cameras, three of them video. Trained to face the furniture, and not the beach.”

Hands on hips, Jake moves further into the centre of the room, frowning. “Yeah, that is a little weird.”

Her eyebrows knit together as she walks towards the bookshelf next to the tv unit, inspecting a container that managed to catch her eye. “Jake, there are like five different handcuffs in here. All of them furry.” Turning her head, she begins to read a few of the labels attached on a row of VHS tapes. Genna and Nicolai … Matt and Lennon … “Cockpit Larry and the Mile High Stewardi?” Swivelling quickly, Amy turns to gasp at Jake. “Babe … what sort of place has your father organised for us?”

Running his hand along the back of his neck, Jake shakes his head quickly. “Let’s not panic just yet, Ames. This could all just be a series of coincidences that when put together seem really weird, but actually aren’t. It .. looks like a normal house - except for all the cameras that seem to be directed towards the couch we were definitely just making out on, maybe a few sex tapes and what, in hindsight, might definitely be release papers waiting for us on the kitchen bench.”

“There’s what, where?”

“In fact, I bet if I lift the lid off of this bowl thing, we’ll find some delicious candy or potpourri or something … and it’s lube. Many, many bottles of lube. Hey, we’ve got the same flavour!”

Amy’s eyes widen, her face paling significantly as she feels her stomach drop to her feet. “Oh god, this is a sex dungeon isn’t it?”

“If not, it’s the background of at least a few porn videos.” Gripping the base of his hair in frustration, Jake lifts his head to curse at the ceiling. “I should’ve known Roger wouldn’t know anybody with a normal house!”

Sensing the panic build up inside of her, Amy scours the room for her purse and heels, both of which had been discarded near the entryway mid-makeout. The arousal that had been coursing through her mere minutes ago has all but disappeared, replaced by the overwhelming urge to take a shower. She was all for porn, just as long as she wasn’t the star of it (one simply doesn’t find NYPD’s youngest female captain on RedTube) - and this house was the kind of place that, under a black light, would resemble a Jackson Pollock. “Jake, we need to leave. We almost had sex in here!”

“Almost being the keyword, Ames. Unless … ”

“Jake!”

“Coming, my love! Title of the sex tape that we definitely didn’t make here!”

(i’m sensing a pattern here …)

Attempt Number 3: The Beach House

“Jake! Jake’s girlfriend! I just pulled Charles’s ear away from your bedroom door, thought you might wanna know!”

Startled, Jake lifts his head up so quickly it hurts his neck a little, both confused and irritated that his earlier activity of planting a series of kisses along Amy’s bare torso has been so rudely interrupted. “Wait, was that …?”

Raising her head off of the pillow, Amy meets his startled gaze with her own. “Did she just - ”

Their suspicions (and, in all honesty - their worst fears) were confirmed a mere second later as another voice booms through their (thankfully, locked) bedroom door.

“I’ve had a very stressful week, Gina! What better way to lull myself into a restful sleep than by listening to the sweet lovemaking of America’s Dream Couple?”

“Oh my god, BOYLE!”

Jake’s knees slide against the sheets as he sits up, lending a hand to Amy as she follows suit. He lets out a defeated sigh as she pushes the hem of her shirt downwards again, leaning forward to grip his arm as he calls through the door - “Boundaries, Charles! … Thank you, Gina!”

“It’s a virtual feast for the ears, you guys! Very soothing, to bear audio witness to the actualisation of love beyond a doorway. It’s only weird if we make it weird.”

“It’s weird and creepy and not okay, Boyle!” Squeezing his eyes shut, Jake cringes at the sheer notion of it. Using his best nope voice, he continues. “Good night!”

From their position on the bed, Jake and Amy hear the faint sound of Gina muttering come on, you weirdo; and they wait in careful silence, sharing flustered looks.

The entire squad had all met up at Boyle’s ex-wife’s beach house this weekend, eager to continue the yearly tradition now that Holt and Jake had finally returned from Florida a month prior. After a day of fun and frivolity (the two of them perhaps being a little unsubtle as they openly checked each other out in their swimwear); the happily reunited couple had snuck away as the evening’s drinks began to die down for a little … alone time.

It had been Jake’s version of paradise, with Amy’s skin still feeling warm and sun kissed as his hands roamed her gorgeous body, and with a schedule of Absolutely Nothing planned for the following day, he intended to keep things going well into the early hours.

That is, of course, until Charles (and Gina, but … mainly Charles) had put a total stop to it.

Amy’s hand squeezes Jake’s bicep, casting a wary glance towards the door before softly speaking. “Wow, that was close.”

“Yeah. I never thought I would say this in relation to sex, but … thank god for Gina.”

“I don’t even want to imagine the alternative.”

Shaking his head, Jake swears under his breath. “You know what this is, right?”

“Charles forgetting basic social normalities, and grossly overstepping the line?”

“No. I mean, yes - that, too. But I think the main culprit here is the curse.”

“The curse?”

“The No Nookie Curse. Tell me you’ve noticed it Ames, it can’t just be me.”

Cocking her head to the side, Amy tests out the term. “The No Nookie Curse?”

Scooting closer to his girlfriend, Jake rests his palms against Amy’s thighs with the practiced comfort of someone who knows her body better than his own. “Every single time we tried to initiate sexy times when we’re on holiday, something happens to interrupt us. I’m telling you, we’re cursed.” He grimaces, rolling his eyes. “Which is probably because I didn’t forward that email on to seven of my closest friends back in 2013, but I was busy that day and - ”

“Jake. There’s no way we’re cursed. We had sex on our last holiday … didn’t we?”

“Do you mean that weekend at Dave’s cool beachfront mansion, that was also definitely used for porn films?”

“Oh right, the sex den. Okay, but that’s a one-off. We’ve been on plenty of holidays prior to that.”

“Like the lake house, where we were both so paranoid that Mama Santiago would find out what we were doing that we barely moved each evening?”

“Yeah, when you add it up like that it really doesn’t sound great.”

“I mean … there was lots of sex on the cruise once Doug Judy disappeared. Good sex, too - not that we ever have bad sex. But that was really good, life-affirming, post-declarations-of-love sex, that I’m completely certain we were able to have because we were in international waters, and therefore outside the curses’s jurisdiction.”

Covering Jake’s hands with her own, Amy squeezes gently at the mention of their cruise holiday and leans in for a chaste kiss. “I’m pretty sure curse’s don’t have jurisdictions, babe.”

“How can you be so sure, Ames? All I know is, whenever we’re on holiday and we try to get the good kind of naked, something always comes along and stops us. And it really is a travesty, because you always get this crazy sexy vacation glow about you that just makes me want to cover your body in kisses, and yet somehow it just never seems to happen.”

“Wow, you’ve really thought a lot about this, huh?”

“Lets just say it’s been eating away at me for a while now.”

A lewd joke dies on Amy’s lips as she looks over at her boyfriend, taking in the obvious frustration in his face and realising how seriously he was taking the issue. “Babe, I promise. There is no such thing as a curse.” Planting her hand on the other side of the bed, she lifts herself up, straddling his lap as he moves quickly to tent his legs behind her. “And I am going to prove it to you - right here, right now.”

His hands land on Amy’s waist, holding her steady as she scrapes the edge of her teeth against his curve of his neck, carding her fingers through his shorter hair while her body slowly gyrates on his lap. “God I love you, Ames.”

“Mmm.” Amy takes in a deep breath, relishing the scent of the man she’d missed for so long, sighing when his hands reach down to squeeze her butt. “I love you too, Jake.”

The curse, the previous interruption … pretty much any kind of detail other than his name was disappearing from Jake’s mind with every press of Amy's warm lips against his skin, and he lets out a soft moan, gripping her body tighter as his hands begin to wander to her front.

THUD.

“OW! Rosa!”

“What the hell, Boyle! I know Gina just pulled you away from here!”

Their kissing coming to an abrupt stop, Amy groans, tucking her head into the juncture of Jake’s neck and shoulder. “Oh my god, again?!”

Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, Jake falls back onto the mattress, taking Amy with him and curling both arms around her protectively. They listen as Charles and Rosa squabble in the hallway outside, choosing not to acknowledge the horror of it all this time around. With a defeated grumble, Amy reaches for the comforter, covering them both up before returning to her safe place (i.e., Jake’s shoulder).

“What was that you were saying, about curses not existing?”

(okay, now the universe is just messing with us)

Attempt Number 4: Team Building in Deer River

It’s Jake’s absent-minded humming of his current favourite song that puts a tranquil smile on Amy’s face on their return to the campsite, keeping her grip around his waist tight as the leaves crunch loudly beneath their feet.

Together with the squad, they had spent the day attending a team building event in Deer River - a state forest just far enough from the city that camping overnight had been the safest option.

After a full day of trust falls, puzzle solving and a group scavenger hunt, the couple had strategically erected their tent further away from the rest of their team, hoping to afford a little bit of privacy (and perhaps, a safe enough distance from Charles). Following Jake’s exoneration, and the brand new addition of a shiny ring on Amy’s finger, a night away underneath the stars was exactly what they needed; and once everything was set up the two of them had wandered off into the woods for some time to themselves.

(Aka: totally disappearing into the surrounding trees and starting a makeout session that lasted longer than either had anticipated.)

(So much so, that the sun had almost completely set by the time they pulled away from each other, hastily returning each of their clothing to a suitable state before heading back.)

Intent on proving that the No Nookie Curse was only an amalgamation of Jake’s paranoid thoughts, Amy was determined to get back to the campsite and settle themselves into bed before anyone or anything could interrupt them. Her plan involved waiting out the rest of the squad’s bedtime routines, before demonstrating to the love of her life that vacation sex was not only a) possible, it was also b) definitely happening.

Whistling the last few bars of his song, Jake tightens his arm around Amy’s shoulder as a strong wind runs through the surrounding greenery - the fifth gust since they started walking back, all of them gaining in strength - already regretting not grabbing her scarf from their luggage earlier.

“Just throwing it out there, babe? Still on Team Outdoor Sex. Sex in the woods sounds hella cool. Daytime sex, though. Now that the sun has clocked out, and the wind has clocked in, it’s actually kinda really cold.”

“Daytime outdoor sex does sound cool, if you disregard the bugs that will crawl all over you, the ticks that will suck on your blood and potentially give you Lyme disease … the bears that could come along at any second and attack us …”

“Really ramping up on the sexy talk there, Ames.”

Rolling her eyes, Amy squeezes Jake’s hand, linking their fingers together. “All of these are things that would interrupt us, and while I’m still not saying that curses exist, I do think we should try to avoid any temptation for things to go wrong.”

“You’ve put a binder together about this, haven’t you?”

“Not a binder per se, but I’ve definitely done a decent amount of research.” Stopping just shy of the clearing, Amy turns to face her fiancé, wrapping her arms around his waist. “After all, this is the first time we’ve been able to get away since getting engaged. A night away is just what we need, and I’m not letting a thing stop us from taking full advantage of this opportunity.”

Pushing herself up onto her tippy-toes, Amy pecks a quick kiss onto Jake’s lips, satisfyingly noticing their still swollen state from earlier activities. “Besides, if the wind stays like this, I’m going to need something to help keep me warm, Peralta.”

“I’m sure I could think of something,” he mumbles in reply, leaning in for another chaste kiss and groaning when Amy pulls away, grabbing his hand and leading him back towards the camping ground.

Quickly reverting back to their previous positioning - hand over shoulder, arm wrapped around waist - Amy is giggling at something that Jake has just whispered in her ear when Holt comes into sight, raising her free hand in a silent wave as they near him.

“Peralta. Santiago. I’m thankful to have ended up on the same path as the two of you, as it was exactly your presence that I was seeking.”

Pushing a stray lock of hair out of her eye line, Amy nods. “Jake and I went for a walk and must have lost track of the time, sir.” From beside her, Jake subtly nudges his hip into her own, and she resists the urge to elbow him in the ribs. “What did you need us for? Do you need a hand with your tent?”

Wincing, Holt shakes his head slowly. “Ahh, no. Unfortunately, it would appear that your tent was not as securely fastened to the camping ground as previously suggested.”

Amy feels Jake’s hand slide down her back as it falls away - much like their hopes for the rest of the evening would soon do - and she looks over at her superior, confused. “Captain?”

Turning, Holt points through the clearing towards the river, where in the fading light Amy and Jake can faintly make out the tip of their tent as it floats further away from solid ground.

Oh.

“The trouble with openings such as this, is that the prevailing weather meets very little resistance - and so as the wind has grown stronger we have all had to readjust our footings in regards to our own domiciles. Regrettably, such distractions meant that the rapidly loosening fixtures on your tent went unnoticed by the squad. Your lodging managed to catch the wind and set itself adrift on the water before anybody had a chance to attempt recovery.”

Running a hand down his face, Jake lets out a frustrated groan. “Looks like we’re roughing it in the dirt tonight, babe.”

“Weren’t our sleeping bags in the tent as well?” Amy responds, her face falling as Jake nods slowly.

Holt raises his hand, clearly intending to stop the couple from spiralling into total hopelessness. “Fortunately, Kevin and I recently purchased a two room tent that has the ability to sleep ten people, which provides plenty of room for the two of us and Cheddar. Provided you have an adequate amount of your allergy medication with you, Santiago, we can relocate him to our side of the canvas and offer you shelter for the evening. Perhaps in the morning, we will be able to organise a retrieval of your now absent tent.”

Resting his hand on the small of Amy’s back, Jake nods once again. “There’s a spare packet in our bags, which thankfully are still in the common area.”

“Very well. Follow me, then. Kevin has already begun making provisions for your stay, and I’m sure your earlier activities have left you eager for rest.”

Thankful, but also more than a little bit crushed that their plans had fallen apart so swiftly, Jake and Amy follow their captain through the campsite with fallen shoulders.

Jake waits until Holt has passed through the mesh lining into their other ‘room’ before muttering low enough for only Amy’s ears to pick up - “The No Nookie Curse strikes again.”

And truthfully, Amy cannot come up with a single rebuttal - choosing instead to cup her fiancé’s face, and offer a soft kiss in commiseration. Perhaps curses were real, after all.

(seriously, how do those guys do it?)

Attempt Number 5: Romance on the beach

“I’m telling you, Ames. There has to be a secret propellor or something under there. There just has to be. I literally cannot think of any other way.”

Her shoulders shaking from all the laughter, Amy reaches out to rest her arms on either side of her husband’s neck and breaks her chuckle for a kiss. “I know, babe. You’re totally right.”

“I just … how else do they do it?”

Shaking her head, Amy breaks out into another round of laughter, keeping her grip tight so that Jake knows it isn’t directed at him (but rather, the situation at hand).

The Hamptons was their address for the next three days, the location of choice for Tony and his partner Luella’s upcoming wedding. In true Peraltiago Vacation style, emergency renovations to the widespread home that all Santiago siblings were staying in had meant that they were short one room, and Jake and Amy had been the lucky couple to be allocated the sofa bed in the living room as their place of rest.

(A fact that, once broken to them, had led to Jake coughing the word Cursed! under his breath, and in all honesty - this time Amy knew he was absolutely right.)

Fresh from their honeymoon (which, once their captain had left them in peace, had involved a lot of sex … amazingly mind-blowing, sometimes costumed sex - which only served to prove that the international waters clause of the curse still held strong), both of them had entered holiday mode with a renewed vigour to finally set things straight.

Having a sunken living room, with a wraparound balcony looking down at them from above for a bedroom, led to Jake thinking creatively - pulling Amy towards the beach on the first evening, lifting her into his arms and running both of them straight into the ocean.

It was the stuff of fantasies: floating in the water with the one you heart adored, holding onto each other tightly as you make love, the waves lapping around you and the world disappearing for just a little while. The kind of scene that every person has seen in a movie, or read in a book, and one that the newlyweds had actually intended to try on their honeymoon before realising that the beaches surrounding their hotel were rarely secluded enough for such activities.

The reality, however, was vastly different - with the two quickly realising that the art of treading water, while clinging to each other and trying desperately not to drown, did not a sexy tryst make.

It was mid-kiss that Jake finally broke away, sputtering out “Are the guys in all the movies secretly dolphins or something?”, all the while pushing frantic strokes through the water in an effort to stay afloat; causing Amy to burst into laughter - tears streaking down your face, ribs sore from all the shaking kind of laughter - clinging to her husband like a koala as he slowly walked them back towards the shore.

Joining Amy in her mirth, Jake leads her over to the towels that he’d dumped on the sand earlier, spreading them out haphazardly and pulling his wife down to meet him. “Okay, so now we know. Sex in the water = not as easy as it looks.”

Thankful to have chosen a dress for their intended walk on the beach, Amy lifts the wet fabric from her thigh, squeezing out a small fountain of water as she gives Jake a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, babe. It was definitely worth a shot - and bonus points for spontaneity. Very hot.”

Jake’s hand comes to rest on her bared thigh, stroking her skin gently before leaning in for a kiss. “It’s easy to find reasons for spontaneous sex, when you have a wife as hot as I do.”

“Mmm,” Amy moans into his mouth, abandoning the skirt and letting it fall back down with a splat. The sand beneath the towel shifts as she digs her knees in; scrambling closer to Jake to deepen the kiss, knowing all too well that her horniness level was still sitting low on simmer.

She breaks the kiss to nibble on Jake’s earlobe as his hand slides further up the dress, fingertips sliding over her butt, and Amy climbs onto his lap, lifting her hips slightly in silent invitation. Her underwear slides down a moment later, lifting her knees and then her ankles until they’re being tucked into Jake’s pocket, and she takes advantage of the freedom by grinding down on his growing erection.

Despite the cool sea water still dripping down her skin, Jake’s hands feel warm as he moves to caress her once more, palm digging into her derriere as he pulls her in for a heavy kiss, and suddenly Amy thinks she’s beginning to understand all the reasons why ‘sex on the beach’ is such a popular term.

Jake’s fingers caress her folds shortly after, dipping one finger in before following with another, and it's everything Amy has been craving for, her husband’s lips leaving a trail of kisses along her jawline while she writhes on his lap.

It’s only as his hand pulls away, and her hips continue to sway closer to Jake’s body, that a whole other sensation begins to form. Yanking her mouth away from the hickey she’d been creating on Jake’s neck, Amy presses a hand to his chest and whispers - “Jake! The sand.”

“Mmm, yeah. All soft and warm, it’s kinda hot.”

Shaking her head, Amy rears back further, only to let out a sharp cry. “No, Jake! I think the sand has gotten into … places.”

He blinks, shaking himself out of his makeout stupor. “Wait. Ames, are you okay?”

“My vagina is on fire, babe.”

Scrambling upwards, Jake reaches out to help Amy stand, wincing at her obvious discomfort. “Do you want to go back into the water?”

Amy shakes her head quickly. “I need a shower, pronto. Oh god, I can feel all the little grains scraping.”

“Oh no, it would have been on my hands, and then I … I’m so sorry, Ames.” Turning, Jake presents his back to her, bending lower. “Here, jump up and I’ll carry you back to the house and straight into the shower. I’m so sorry, babe."

His hands dig into her lower thigh as Amy rests her upper body against her husband’s back, pressing her forehead into his shoulder blade and letting out a groan. “Okay universe, we get it! The No Nookie curse is real!”

“It’s real and it sucks!” Jake’s voice comes out in a huff as he rushes through the sand, grateful that they hadn’t strayed too far from the house.

“Ugh, why have people named a drink after this?!”

Part 2:

(and the 1 time they’re successful)

(I'm definitely seeing stars)

Jake’s grip on his wife’s hand holds strong as he leads her up to the highest point of the house, pausing at the base of the final set of stairs and gesturing for her to take the lead. Amy gives him a curious look as she passes him, clearly intrigued, and he whispers a compliment directed at her butt (always a favourite) as they both begin their ascent.

Holt and Kevin’s vow renewal ceremony was (finally!) taking place this coming weekend, and the squad - plus partners and children alike - had all convened earlier today at their allocated accommodation in the Berkshires.

The house - like many in the surrounding neighbourhood - was larger than the precinct and all of their homes combined; stretching out into various wings and drawing the eye upward with it’s high ceilings and exposed stonework. This time, Jake and Amy had gone to great lengths to ensure they were allocated their own room towards the opposite end of the home, large enough to accommodate a now eight months old Mac while also ensuring a modicum of privacy - a concept dearly treasured, after so many disastrous attempts.

Exhausted after a full day of sticking to a rigid schedule of rehearsals and preparations alike, Jake had waited until they’d been able to lull their son to sleep in his travel cot before luring Amy into the hallway with the promise of a surprise; and he’s not entirely sure if it his proposal to her several years ago that finally got Amy on board with his surprises, or if it was just indicative of the trust he’d been able to earn - but either way, she follows eagerly with an excited grin.

He hears the excited gasp that escapes her mouth as the door at the top swings open, the full extent of his plan coming to fruition as Amy moves further into the landing and turns to him with eyes that sparkled. “Jake … this is amazing!”

Tucking both hands into his pockets, Jake puts on his best humble brag face as he joins his wife in the centre of the alcove. “So I did a little research on this place before we got here, and as it turns out the owner/builder was a massive fan of stargazing.” Nodding towards the low set walls that wrapped around the base, he turns to Amy with a proud grin. “They’d built this landing solely for that purpose. And tonight, it is our little hideaway.”

Amy’s eyes soften as she takes in the surrounding tea light candles, the blow-up mattress covered in blankets and pillows in the middle of it all, and the bottle of wine still chilling in a bucket of ice to the side. “Wow, babe. You really pulled out all the stops on this one.”

“One could say .. a whole binders worth of preparation.”

Her head swivels towards him, and he grins triumphantly. “You made a binder for this?”

“You haven’t even heard the best part. The door we just went through is the only way in or out, and I have the key right here in my pocket. Rosa has stepped in to keep an eye on Mac, and has promised that she will only call if it’s an emergency. She also seems to have figured out what we are doing up here, and appears to be equal parts impressed and disgusted.”

Amy nods, moving closer and resting her hands on either side of Jake’s neck.

“Holt and Kevin are off with Laverne, Charles and Genevieve have taken Nikolaj camping half an hour away, and Terry and Sharon are exhausted from chasing after their kids all day. Hitchcock and Scully had both an apple pie and a cake after dinner, so I can only assume that they’ve slipped into some sort of post-sugar high coma.” Leaning in to press a soft kiss at the edge of Amy’s lips, Jake pulls away with a grin. “What I’m saying, my darling, is that there is almost no chance of us getting interrupted.”

Moving closer still, Amy wraps both arms around Jake’s neck, carding her fingers through his slightly overgrown curls as she draws him in for a heart-pounding kiss. “Looks like we’re kicking a certain curse’s butt tonight.”

Nodding, Jake initiates another kiss, waiting until he feels Amy melt completely in his arms before grazing his lips along the edge of her cheek, peppering tiny kisses in their wake. “While I am definitely looking forward to breaking the curse, this is mainly just me wanting you to feel good, babe.”

“Mmm. I’d say you’re on the right track.”

His teeth scrape lightly against her earlobe as he lets out a soft laugh, pulling their bodies closer together. “You work so hard, Ames .. and you do so much for Mac and I. You deserve to have a holiday, and really relax.” Continuing the path paved earlier, Jake reaches the juncture of her neck and swipes his tongue against her warm skin. “Let me make you feel good, babe.”

Amy lets out a moan, Jake’s hands wandering down the front of her jeans, cupping her centre through the fabric and rubbing with a slow rhythm; and he pulls away with a sly grin.

“There is one tiny detail that we need to take into consideration, actually.” Raising one hand, Jake gestures towards the open design of the landing. “Out here it’s just you, me and the stars … and sound travels like crazy.” He drops a tender kiss to her lips, leaving the intimation of both his and hers tendency to get a little loud during sex unspoken. “In fact, you could even say it’s - ” leaning in, he flips into his Best Sexy Tone - “omnidirectional.”

“Oh, mama …”

“We’re going to have to try really hard to stay quiet, babe.” Tightening his grip around her waist, Jake lowers his body slightly and Amy picks up on the queue, wrapping her legs around her husband as he moves them towards the blankets. He lowers her carefully, shaking his head in wonder as she gazes back up at him: looking like some kind of heavenly creation amongst the mixture of candlelight and stars. “I’m so in love with you, Amy Santiago.”

A soft blush creeps onto her cheeks, and Amy crooks her finger in a silent request for her husband’s presence, sinking her teeth into her lower lip as he covers her body with his own. “I love you too, Jake.”

Her hips tilt marginally upwards, rubbing her body against the fabric of Jake’s own jeans as she reaches for his fly, making quick work of the barriers as her hand slides inside to grip his rapidly growing erection. Quick to follow suit, Jake pulls away from their embrace only to tug both his and Amy’s jeans off completely, casting both of their tops and underwear aside haphazardly and mentally congratulating his earlier decision to use battery-powered candles over real ones. Setting fire to the highest point of a house is a great way to kill a mood - and ruin a wedding - and there wasn’t a single way that he was going to let the two of them be interrupted tonight.

His erection rubs against Amy’s naked thigh as he covers her body once again, sweeping his hand over her curves as his hand heads directly to her centre. He covers her mouth with his own while his fingers begin to explore, taking in the moisture they find and gently massaging just the way Amy loves. Her hips sway beneath Jake’s torso, working with his deft touch as her hand moves to circle his cock, squeezing and pumping slowly … a familiar move that only made Jake last a full two minutes the last time she tried it.

The two of them are straight-up moaning by now, rotating between messy kisses and heated breaths against shoulders and necks as they both work each other up with expert precision. Contorting his back, Jake moves to sink his teeth into the edge of Amy’s right breast, desperate for a taste of her arousal but knowing all too well that if he moves too far away from her mouth, his wife will begin to really cry out, and the risk of exposure was just too great.

Instead, he slides back up to press his lips against hers, the desire obvious as his bare crotch ruts against her own. Amy’s responding moan is stuttered, her attempts to keep everything quiet obvious, and he grins.

“You’re doing so well at staying quiet, Ames … god you’re so sexy.” Tongue sweeping against hers, absorbing the moans that were gaining in intensity, Jake’s thumb rubs persistently at her clit, matching the tempo of her rotating wrist as they push each other closer and closer to the edge.

“Oh god Jake … fuck me. Fuck me now, fuck me hard.”

Looping his elbow under one of her knees, Jake moves into position and enters Amy in a single thrust, feeling momentarily breathless as the warmth of her surrounds him completely. Her other leg swings around to rest on his butt, holding him close as he pulls out and slams back in again, and truly, this has to be the closest thing to heaven.

Pressing one hand into the base of the landing, Jake pushes down for leverage as he returns his right hand to Amy’s clit - resuming the circled patterns he’d initiated earlier - and Amy sinks her teeth into Jake’s shoulder as she comes with a muffled shout. The feeling of her walls pulsing around his cock makes him descend into a state of almost madness, increasing the intensity of his thrusts until it’s all just pure instinct, chasing the euphoric high but nowhere near ready for any of this to end.

Slipping her other leg from his grip, Amy digs her fingers into Jake’s shoulders as she rolls him onto his back, keeping their hips joined as much as possible to avoid any chance of disruption. Her body is slick with sweat as she rises above him, planting her hands on his chest and looking down at her husband with a flushed and satisfied grin, rising and falling as she takes over Jake’s steady pace.

“This is the best idea you’ve ever had,” she whispers, leaning down to circle her tongue over his nipples, sucking a love bite into his pec as she goes. “Fuck, this feels so good.” Rising again, Amy leans back until her hair is trailing down her spine, and the sight in front of him nearly pushes Jake over the edge completely.

She looked so incredible like this, bare and open and clearly just letting her body take over as she swivels her hips into his thrusts, his cock glistening with her arousal as she slides up and down. Jake has known, for a long time now, that there is nobody in the world that could ever be as beautiful as Amy Santiago, and tonight only serves to solidify his belief.

There’s a bit more of a curve to her skin now, a soft swell to her belly that stands as proof of the their amazing son; and he knows that at times she feels self-conscious of the changes she cannot control, but he fell in love with Amy for a million reasons, and her body was only one of them. His body has changed as well, after all; and probably will again over the course of the next fifty years, and there is nothing that will ever change the way they feel about each other.

He tents his legs to a low degree behind her, offering support as his hands begin to cover every expanse of her body, thumbing the inverted arch of her breasts with reverence as they bounce against their joint movements. Jake's not sure if he’ll ever win the lottery, but it’s clear that he’s already reached the jackpot right here in this moment, watching Amy hurtle ever closer to another orgasm.

It’s the faltered breaths and the occasional stilling of her hips that tells Jake that his wife is nearly there, and with gentle coaxing she falls forward again, mashing her lips against his as their chests press together. Knowing that this is an angle that both of them enjoy, Jake digs his fingers into Amy’s butt as he lifts his hips off the ground, hammering into Amy as the steady motion presses her clit against his pelvis, whispering her name over and over as her fingers grip his hair by the roots. Her body begins to shake, followed by a whisper of babe I’m close, and Jake pushes his body a degree or two higher.

There’s a sharp sting against his skin as Amy comes, her mouth clamped over the edge of his shoulder as the need to scream is just too powerful, the vibrations of her moans reverberating into his intoxicated mind. The sheer mixture of pleasure and pain is all Jake needs to let go completely, pouring himself inside his wife as calls out her name without suppression, and Amy’s hand clamps quickly over his mouth before the sound of his climax can travel too far.

It takes a long while for either Jake or Amy to be able to speak, their bodies a jumble mess as they struggle to catch their breath, the silence only broken as Amy cranes her neck back towards the sky and gasps - “Wow, you really can see so many stars from here!”

From beside her Jake nods, still partially in a state of seeing stars of his own as his heart begins to return to a normal pace. He lets out a gradual sigh as Amy shifts closer to him, curling her arm around his waist and tucking her head into his shoulder.

Wrapping his left arm around her naked body (he’s not sure there’ll ever be a time when he will ever have enough of it), Jake raises his right hand for a high five. “We did it, Ames. We broke the curse.”

Amy’s responding laugh is loud, and probably carried over the grounds, but Jake doesn’t care at all anymore, and she meets his hand with a triumphant slap. “Yeah we did! Suck it, universe!”

His grip grows tighter, seizing the blanket with the tips of his fingers and sliding it over their skin before his wife has a chance to feel the coolness of the night’s sky. He knows that they should probably head downstairs soon, sneak back into their bedroom and relieve Aunty Roro of her babysitting duties, but the afterglow of this moment feels too sweet to give away - Mac has been sleeping through the night for a solid two months now, and he knows that if anything had gone wrong they’d have known well before now.

Amy’s lips ghost against his bicep as she lets her eyelids flutter close for a moment (a post-sex power nap often needed, rarely lasting longer than thirty minutes), and Jake smiles at the sight, letting her nestle in to his embrace as he gazes through the glass ceiling above them to watch the stars.

He already knows that he won’t be able to find anything brighter than their future up there in the darkness, but for now, he’s content to watch the world pass them by for just a little bit longer.

#I hope you like this!#best of both worlds with the smut and fluff again #b99fandomevents #b99 summer 2020 fic exchange #my writing #Peraltiago smut #Peraltiago fluff #b99fic #b99 fic

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milstrim · 4 years ago

Text

Rise From the Ashes; Just to See You Again

Chapter 5: Penny Parker

"Miss Parker."

Penny looked up sharply at her teacher's reprimanding voice, snapping her computer shut, almost flinching at how suspicious that was. She hadn't been looking at anything weird, just...herself. Well, theories about Spider-Woman (though the media called her Spider-Girl, much to her annoyance).

"Mmhm?" she hummed, her lips pursed as she tried to appear as though she had been paying attention. It worked about half the time.

"You still with us?" Mrs. Warren asked.

"Uhh, yeah. Yeah, yeah," she looked at the equation on the board, hoping it had been what she'd been talking about, "Um, mass cancels out, so it's just gravity times sin."

"Right," she praised, turning around and walking back to the front of the classroom, "See, Flash, being fast isn't the same as being right."

Oh my, God, Penny thought, about to bang her head on the table. Flash? Why did Mrs. Warren think that was a good idea?? As if he read her thoughts, Flash turned around in his chair and mouthed, "You're dead."

Great.

She didn't let it get to her though, Flash couldn't hurt her, not really. Still, she was just a little uneasy the rest of the day.

Once the final bell rung she rushed out the doors, reaching the gate before anyone else even stepped outside and leaping over it with ease. The teen ran to her usual spot, grabbing a sandwich from Mr. Delmar's on her way, and changed into her suit. Electricity seemed to flow through her as she pulled her mask on and began to swing through the city. As she landed on an especially tall building, static crackled in her ear.

"Ned Solo to Spider-Girl. I repeat, Ned Solo to Spider-Girl," said her best friend, his voice as clear as if he were standing right next to him. The earpieces they had made were really holding up.

She snorted at his words, cracking a smile and trying to contain a laugh.

"Spider-Woman, Ned. Is it really that hard to remember?"

"Ned Solo, " he replied, putting on a fancy accent, "Sorry, though. Anyway, how is the earpiece holding up?"

"Sounds like we're right next to each other," she answered, "How's the camera?" She had installed a small camera of her own creation into her lenses, and Ned had linked it to his computer so he could watch and alert her of crimes after tapping into the police scanner.

"Sweet. I finally get to experience being a superhero first hand!!"

"It's really not that exciting," Penny told him, leaping off of the building and shooting a web, "For me anyway. The most exciting thing we'll see is someone robbing an ATM machine."

She was right. Spider-Woman patrolled the streets of New York for nearly five hours, and a lot of it was spent goofing around. Don't get her wrong, there was plenty of crime in Queens, but it generally wasn't enough to keep her busy for a whole afternoon. Ned somehow managed to stay on the whole time, though he did start doing his homework halfway through. Penny did have fun taking pictures though, getting some nice angles for The Daily Bugle.

Despite the afternoon being boring, things had gotten a little more intense recently. She'd been encountering a lot of alien weapons, though she'd never actually managed to get one from someone, or a name. They always either hit her or something else, making her have to stop instead of grabbing the people and the guns. She was looking around for leads, but had none at the moment, she wasn't exactly a detective. She figured that if she continued patrolling she'd be likely to find more of the weapons.

It was dark by the time she climbed into her room, ripping off her mask and throwing it on the floor. Thankfully, she had remembered to actually close her door before she left for school that morning.

Penny could hear May bustling around in the kitchen, she could smell it too, though she wished she couldn't. Hopefully they'd go to that new Mexican place a few blocks over, it had really good enchiladas. She quickly changed into some shorts and a sweatshirt and headed in the main room, grabbing her backpack so she could do her homework on the couch.

"Hey, May!" Penny greeted cheerily, "Can we get Mexican tonight?"

"I made lasagna!" her aunt protested, waving a rag at the burnt lasagna as if it would help. Penny raised an eyebrow, a small smile gracing her lips. May furrowed her brows in response, but it was playful.

They did end up getting Mexican, and a guy from another table ended up hitting on May, who never quite got the hint. It was kinda funny to be honest.

"So, your birthday's next week," May commented after dinner as they walked down the street, making their way to the apartment.

"Yeah, I know," Penny sassed playfully, which made May swat at her.

"Fifteen's a big deal!" she insisted, suddenly going serious, "I know things have been tough lately, what with...but I still want you to have a good birthday."

"I'm fine, May, really. I don't want anything big."

"What do you want?"

"I..." Penny hesitated, "I wanna go to the Stark Expo."

May paused, clearly hesitating.

"The Penelope Stark Expo? That thing Stark does every year?"

"Yeah, it's like a fundraiser, for people who would be around his daughter's age or whatever. They do science exhibitions and stuff. It's free to go to, I just wanted to walk around," Penny rushed. May wasn't a huge fan of Tony Stark, and after what they had seen on the news about the Expo in 2010, she hadn't been too keen about Penny going.

"I don't know, Penny, the Avengers will be there an--"

"Exactly! The Avengers! It'll be safe as long as they're there, I mean, that's their whole job," Penny interrupted, wondering if one day that would be her job.

"Trouble follows the Avengers. I honestly don't think it will be safe, and I get that it's a good opportunity for you, but I'm just not comfortable with it."

"Please, May," Penny whined, "I really want to go! I promise it's all I'll ask for, and I only want to go one night, it's not like I want to go every day of the week."

"No, Penny."

"But, May--"

"I said 'no,' Penny, you can't go!" May said, her voice firm and frustrated.

Penny shut up then, and the two walked in silence up to their apartment. She didn't want to make May upset. Her aunt had been so fragile since Ben died (and if was being honest with herself, she had too), so she'd been doing everything right to the best of her ability. She cleaned, she kept her grades up, she stayed in Academic Decathlon, and she even got a job at the Daily Bugle to help make ends meet, which was like the easiest job ever since all she really had to do was take selfies. Except for Spider-Woman, she had done everything right, and her aunt didn't even know about Spider-Woman.

So she kept quiet as they walked into the apartment, finishing her homework and going to bed. She fell asleep immediately, though her dreams were plagued with screams, an echoing gunshot, blood that filled the streets and stained her hands and arms, and the feeling of being ripped away from strong, comforting arms.

When Penny woke up, gasping, it was 3 AM and she felt hot and itchy all over. She tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail.

Penny climbed out of bed, her mattress creaking as she swung her legs over the side. The teen walked over to the window, sticking her hands on it and opening it slowly, not wanting to wake up May. She then climbed out and onto the wall, the chilly night air biting her skin and washing over her with relief. With surprising energy for the time of night, she jumped from her fire escape to the roof, escaping the pressing confines of her room.

There was no moon that night, and being in New York City, there weren't any stars either. Still, she could make out plenty from the lights of the city skyline. The cool night air washed over her, blowing her curly hair, which she'd cut to her chin recently, as she stared at the cloudy sky, wondering if she would ever be able to make the difference she was hoping for.

He shot up in bed, grasping the ghost of his arc reactor on his chest as he let out a pained gasp. It had been a nightmare, just another nightmare tormenting him when he couldn't protect himself. He sucked in a stunted breath, managing to take in a little air as he wiped at his clammy and sweaty face, blinking away tears that streamed down his face and found their way into his mouth as it hung open in the attempt to breathe, to feel his chest loosen.

It took several minutes, in which he stumbled out of his bed, managing to not wake Pepper, and shuffled to sit in the chair facing the New York skyline. The man stifled his gasps and continued to wipe uselessly at his wet face, his hands too sweaty to make any difference. When, after several minutes of suppressed panicking, he finally calmed down he managed to actually think.

The dream had started off so nice, well, not nice, but normal, nonthreatening. But it quickly devolved into the same pain he'd been feeling since he'd lost Penny, the constant cloud of rage and grief that hung over him day and night, no matter how he tried to escape it.

The nightmare had been more of a feeling that anything; the way she'd been ripped from his arms, the creeping of the gas as it wrapped around his throat and tied him down. But then it had changed, turning into a faceless woman falling whom he failed to catch, her fingers slipping through his, and though he didn't recognize the woman, and though she had been dead since she was four, it had been Penny.

It had been like Pepper, too much like Pepper, like he was unable to catch his family, to protect them.

"Tony?" Speak of the devil, "It's late. Are you okay?"

"Fine," he replied, but his voice was taut and he knew she wasn't fooled. She never was.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly, entering his view and sitting on the footrest in front of him. He just leaned forward in response, taking her hands and pressing his lips to them gently. He didn't speak for a moment, and Pepper didn't make him, just waited patiently, her blue eyes sad.

"It was about Penny," he admitted, "I couldn't...I didn't catch her. She just...fell, and I didn't catch her, I couldn't even hold her."

Pepper placed her hand on his cheek soothingly, and he leaned into it, placing his hand on top of hers.

"Oh, Tony," her voice was so soft and so heartbreakingly sad, "It wasn't your fault, you know it wasn't."

"I was her dad, Pep," he croaked, "I was supposed to protect her, that was my job. What happened to her was my fault."

The woman only sighed, knowing it was a losing battle. It had been an ongoing fight since his daughter's kidnapping, and no amount of therapy she'd made him take or time he'd had had made him believe anything else.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the two of them staring out the floor-to-ceiling window companionably until Pepper got up. He didn't make any moves to follow her, or to even watch her, just staring out over the city blankly. His fiancée returned, though he didn't know how long she'd been gone, sitting in the chair with him this time and spreading a large book over their laps. It was a dark blue--Penny's favorite color--with large and elegant lettering on the front, simply titled Penny.

Pepper had given it to him on the first anniversary of the worst day of his life, and though he wasn't much of a crier, he'd shed more than a few tears when he'd opened it.

Tony opened it now, flipping through every page reverently, pausing to look at the photos of Penny, to admire every drawing she'd ever given him, from ones of unicorns and dragons to ones of the two of them, usually including Platty. His chest hung heavy as he and Pepper flicked through the memories of the best years of his life, to the years now permanently stained by grief.

"It'll be okay, Tony. It'll be okay."

No it won't.

"I know."

#Iron Man #spiderman #irondad #spiderson #spiderdaughter #spiderwoman #penny parker #female peter parker #tony stark #fanfic #irondad fanfiction

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3000isthenewinfinitynow · 6 years ago

Text

The song Tony sings to Morgan every night

You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum

Pumpy-umpy-umpkin,

You're my Sweetie Pie

You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop

Snoogums-Boogums,

You're the Apple of my Eye

And I love you so

and I want you to know

That I'll always be right here

And I love to sing sweet songs to you

Because you are so dear

Tony thought the world looked a little different at night.

Calm,almost inviting... like he could just drawn all his sorrow there,calm down his brain for once.

He doesn't like staying at home when the moon is bleeding red.

Morgan loved the night too. Liked to peer through the window of her treehouse at the endless sky,at the reflection of the stars in the lake. The smell of lily heavy in the air.

She had the whole night ritual thing memorized since.... forever? From the beginning to the end.

First they will share their secrets of the day.

And one common aspect is those secrets can never be told to mom. Like that time daddy took her to their "secret treehouse" in the middle of the night cause it was full moon.

They successfully came back without getting caught by mom.

But then...she really, really wanted to have some juice pops before going to bed and that's how mommy caught them in red,no, juice- stained hands.

Today's secret was a big,big one though.

But daddy didn't reveal it till the very end.

After tucking her in to bed dad simply started singing "their song"

Morgan loved his singing voice.So,she didn't interrupted him.

"You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum"

She didn't know if it was just her or if his voice really seemed catchier than other days.

"I love you so and I want you to know"

Or judging by how small his voice is

may be they should have icy juice pops in the middle of the night less often.

"That I'll always be right here"

Okay, change of plan. May be not in the midnight. Never in the midnight.Because he sounds like he's about to cry...And Morgan hates to see him cry.

And no body knows,not even daddy,that she has seen him cry more times than they both would like to admit.

He cries in his sleep. About someone hitting him in his chest.Hard. Sometimes he will clunth his chest painfully. Other days his stomach. Sometimes he dreams he is falling, like there's not enough air.

She knows he'll never admit. And she doesn't make him.She gently lays down with him.Hugs him as tight as she can.

He always reaches towards her by blind instincts.He knew her touch,the sound of her footfall. He even knew her breathing patterns.

Though she had no words, she murmured lovingly and he understood her gentle murmuring better than all speech.She would throw her arms round his neck; she would rub her cheek against her father's.

And it would always calm him down.

She thought may be she needs to do the same thing this time.

She hopes it will work.

"And I love to sing sweet songs to you"

She threw herself in his arms and finished the last line together.

"Because you are so,so dear"

He hugged her tight and didn't show any indication of letting go anytime soon.She was more than happy to oblige.

She doesn't know how long they stayed like that.Then daddy cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

Which was another part of their night ritual. She almost forgot. Well, almost.

Then he surprised her and kissed her forehead. Again.

Okay,that was definitely special. But not abnormal. He tends to do that.

On those days, when she stays specially a good little girl.Every year on her birthdays.Everytime she achieves something new.

Or,when he has one of those bad days.

And sometimes just because...she thinks this kiss falls into none other than the "just because" category.

But then something astonishing happened.

He kissed.Again.

Whoa. That's crazy.

Her eyes go big like the saucer and she shoots those big brown eyes to another identical pair.

As soon as their eyes met it was as though she could guess his anguish of spirit from his quiet look of sadness. Coming closer to him, she rubbed her cheeks softly against his arms, and in dumb, puzzled fashion tried to comfort him.

Finally couldn't being able to hold it anymore she cupped his face in the same way he does whenever she wakes up from a nightmare,then looked straight into his eyes and said,"what's the big secret daddy? what's wrong?"

He looked shocked at the surreal amount of maturity in her voice and for the first time in his life,tony stark was...speechless.

"Uhh, what are you talking about, little miss?You are with me,see?what can be wrong?"

But if anything,it just bluntly declared to her that something was indeed very wrong.

"Daddy,what is it? I promise I won't tell mom."

He looked at her as a stricken doe looks in the hunter's face, whispering in silent agony,"umm,bussiness trip... there's this business trip daddy needs to attend..."

"But I thought that boring stuff was for mommy..."

"Well,you know what, Morgan? For someone so little you really captured the meaning of life..."

"Just send mommy to do it, she is bored anyway...yesterday I found her glaring at a cat,she claimed she was practicing 'the eyebrows' "

"God,I feel bad for those employees..."

"How did you do it,dad?"

"Huh, don't ask me.Nightmare,pure nightmare...Sit stotic all day.Look professional. All mannerism.No you can't touch that. That is mehegony. Make any shenanigans,and poof...you are dead....how about you just let me live and i don't know may be climb a tree or build a tree house and all that..."

Morgan chuckled and Tony willed himself to capture that sound deep,deep inside his memory.

"Give yourself some credit,dad.I wish to be as genius as you"

"Twelve percent?"

"Geez,no,aim higher"

"Okay,on a scale of 1 to 3000 because three thousand is the new infinity now how much credit should I give myself?"

"How about three thousand square?"

"For so long, I thought that's going to be my life.And now I think, ‘Oh, my God, me and the missus will be here until the grandkids attend our funerals. We’ll always be here. We’ll never move from here. Crazy."

And that's when the reality of what Tony just said sinks into him.

It's true. He doesn't wanna move.He doesn't wanna...live. After all of these...he...he... just...

He doesn't want to think about tomorrow.

For a moment, just for a moment,he let his emotions run wild because...

just because it feels so good.

Too good to be real.

He wants to live in this moment.

For and ever.

He just blurted out his wildest dreams even though it was about to get ruined.

Just like everything else in his life.

All his life he has been thriving for a place,a place where he can go,a place where he belongs,a place where he is...loved.

And now that he finally has it...no,he can't think like that.Not now.

He takes one look at his daughter,

who was trying to suppress a smile as soon as it emerges but the hopes were sipping through her eyes.

And he...he wanted to feel it.

One more time.

"So you are not going then?we,ahh, --we can finish the Lego set tomorrow. And pizza, movie nights...And mom,she can practice her glare on them,those are for moms,my dad is--"

"A mechanic?or better yet the dishwasher-man? But I have to tell you,for the record, these dishwashing stuffs are really underrated, Morgan,where are you--"

Tony watched as she went to the closet sprinting leaving him to anticipate what crazy idea came to her head this time, God,she really was a lively thing,handful sometimes,and,boy,did he love her?

"Ironman," Morgan,or should he say ironman,emerged from the closet,with the mask and repulsor gloves ,"my dad is ironman,earth's best defender, the strongest avenger...", she said moving her hands anematically.

She pointed one of her gloves at him and giggled ,"Boom!"

Tony pretended to drop dead.

She tiptoed near him, touched his face,her hands were bare now,the repulsor gloves were abandoned on the floor.

"Dad?" less than a whisper,so small.

Tony decided to play a little hard. Didn't move, didn't budge.

And everything went quite for a while,Tony wondered what she was up to this time.

Next thing he knew it was raining down on him.Little raindrops fell down on his face.But was it raindrop though?

Cause last he checked it was summer and even if it rained he was inside his house.

Little did he know there was a little cloud hanging in his house. Yes, his sunshine has turned into a cloud. All because he was an idiot.

"Hey,shh,hey,hey,hey, I thought we were playing?"

A nod. Too engrossed in crying to manage a reply.

"I'm so sorry. Did I scare you?"

Affirmative."itw'sl'k---"

"Okay,breathe,take a breath,kiddo..."

"It was like---"

He didn't push her to say anything.

"One of m-mm...you,ahh,"she stuttered over her words, growing frustrated, finally growled," my nightmares, it's like new York,w'rmhole,y..'ou,...,'nd ,and that man telling to shu...tttt, shut it,the portal" a hiccup, "and then...youuuu,you fell,eyes closed...I..."

Tony didn't want to hear anymore.He too had nightmares about it,still raw as ever,still real,but Morgan?she shouldn't...why would she have nightmares? she's just a little girl,his little girl,she should dream about nice things... unicorns and rainbows and all that...

And,and may be about candies too...

not that he ever knew what childhood dreams feel like,never experienced them firsthand,cause his childhood was...yeah,less than ideal,but why would anything like that touch her ever?

"Okay,fetch up,who was it?Who told you?"

"Miss Amenda...our history teacher"

He didn't need to hear anymore. Of course,it was part of history. Of course, Morgan is shown live footages, it's was a pretty big deal,alien invasion and all...

He was going to ask why she never told him anything about it but she spoke first.

"Daddy?"

"Yes,dear?"

"Please don't ... go?"

And he knew she was not just talking about the ,uhh, which he decided to call "Bussiness trip" ; but it was beyond that...

"Sure," a fake smile. A pair of teary eyes.

When we express our thought in words, the medium is not found easily. There must be a process of translation, which is often inexact, and then we fall into error.

But brown eyes need no translating; the mind itself throws a shadow upon them. In them thought opens or shuts, shines forth or goes out in darkness, hangs steadfast like the setting moon or like the swift and restless lightning illumines all quarters of the sky.

And in that moment, Morgan knew he's leaving. But his eyes screamed that he didn't want to,she could feel it in her bones.They why?For a genius,she was an idiot.

"Ahh, Morgan... actually,I ...truth is..."

"Is that why the bland looking grandpa came?to take you away with them?The one who looks like a bird just flew away with his sandwich?"

"Yeah,yeah,if you ever feel dumb,not that you ever will,you are the brightest girl,most genius girl I know..."

"Daddy's girl..."

"Ah,yes, let me finish it...in case you ever feel blue just remember that crap-tain american-a once tried to choke a robot"

That made Morgan go pikachu and Tony misinterpreted that as wonder.

Morgan came closer to him. If that was even possible. She came near his ear,her voice barely a whispered,"Is that cap...is he," a pause, "the one?....Is he the one? who hurt you?with that sheild?"

And for the second time in that night, Anthony Edward Stark's throat was full of cotton.

After several attempts he gave up trying to talk and just focused on breathing. Yeah, breathe, that's important, that's priority,but...

"Morgu-u-u-na, H- o-w?" It seemed like he was learning those three words for the first time in his life,"You might want to stop doing that. I am just a man with heart condition and all. And I didn't know until now that I was raising a little Sherlock Holmes all along"

Morgan looks instantly taken aback, like she wanna take back her words..."Did I make you sad,,, I am sorry... I'm..."

"No, look, no...you didn't...if anything you, Morgan? look at me,yeah, look at me,"

He pointed his fingers at her and said those next words one by one, "YOU.DID.NOT.MAKE.ME.SAD....ok?OKAY?

But daddy needs to know, Morgan? How did you know?"

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9-kit-qx · 7 years ago

Text

My name is Jeon Jungkook.

I’m currently listening in on my next door neighbor’s late night jam session through the thin walls of our adjacent dorms.

“mianhae mianhae hajimaa~ naega chorahaeji janha~” I can hear the slightly muffled humming through the walls.

Hahh. He’s really cute.

I’m pretty sure his shower is located right next to my bed (where i’m currently laying as of this moment).

I set my phone down and put my head on my hands. Content to listening to my neighbors’ surprisingly good voice.

“ppalgan yeppeun ipsullo eoseo nareul jugigo ga~ naneun gwaenchanhaa~” I snicker to myself.

Man. How cute can this guy be.

*bzzzrrr*

Ah. Hyung replied really quickly. What time is it there anyways?

SNAPCHAT from Monie Hyung 🎤🎧

Namjoon hyung is the only person I really got close with here in school.

He’s a cool and respectable upperclassman that I really look up to. I actually got into music because of him.

I saw him performing in the entrance talent exams and I was so awed at how amazing he was and how much passion he delivered through his rap that I immediately signed up for Music as a double major.

He found out about me when I was paired up with him to get my tour around the Music Department. (All the upperclassmen were required to take at least one underclassman.)

He found out about how he inspired me, and immediately proclaimed that he then needed to take responsibility and nurture the blooming bud that I was.

Whatever that means.

Come to find out, I actually had a natural affinity for music.

He took it upon himself to teach me everything he knew. He’s really knowledgeable on everything music related. Really. He’s very admirable because of it. He’s a genius.

I really look up to him.

… But he’s a bit of an awkward nerd. And a total klutz to boot.

I sigh and stretch my arms up above my head. Rolling my neck to release the kink I had settling there.

Hyung never remembers anything I tell him, I swear. I’m pretty sure I just told him about the blanket fiasco like two days ago.

*bzzzrrt* *bzzzrrt*

Yes hyung, i’m sure.

I suppress a snicker. Sometimes hyung can be really cute.

“neoui nun! ko! ib nal manjideon ne song! il!” came the muffled singing.

At this point I’m starting to hum along with him.

“jageun sontopkkaji daaa~” I can even hear his faint giggling to himself.

Ah. So freaking cute.

*KA-CHAK*

The door to Jimin’s balcony opens and out comes the object of our conversation. Flushed and looking content.

He really is so pretty..

I can hear him humming softly, but this time I can hear it clearer since he’s out on the balcony.

Rubbing the towel on his head a little faster, he tilts his head back and inhaled deeply. “Waaah, it really is beautiful out here at night~”

No, you’re beautiful.

*bzzrrt*

..Maybe I should.

Gathering up my courage (which I didn’t know I needed) I make my way to my balcony door.

*Sshak*

Sliding my balcony door shut behind me I wait till he notices my stare.

He slides a glance in my direction and double takes.

“Y-you!” he stumbles backwards, dropping the towel on his head. “Wh-what’re you..H-how..??!” he manages to sputter.

Looking adorably confused all the while.

“I live here?” I respond with an amused smirk.

He gasps audibly and his hand drifts to his neck.

He’s all riled up again, how cute.

“We just happen to live next door to each other.” I shrug. “Jimin right?”

“Erm..yeah..And you’re ..Jungkook?” he replies with a hand on his neck, fiddling with his moon necklace.

Not a second sooner, his hand flutters away and rests on the hem of his flannel pajama shirt. I think he might’ve felt my stare.

“Thank you!” he blurts out. I look up. “The blanket..it’s really warm. So..Thanks for ..that.” he mutters as he looks to the side, clearly embarrassed.

“You really didn’t have to..you know..do that.” He mutters as he looks down.

Suddenly he gasps and looks in my direction. He puffs up a cheek and narrows his eyes at me. “Which reminds me! You did not have to make that comment!” He exclaimed, looking upset and bothered.

Well that was a 180.

“Hm?” I hum, feigning innocence. “What ever are you talking about?” I walk closer to the rail that separated the two balconies and rest my head on my hand, staring at him in amusement.

He visibly rears back from the close proximity and steps away from me, blushing all the while. He scoffs and sputters “My plump lips?? My parents follow me you know! They think you’re a weirdo pervert out to get me!”

Ouch.

“Oh do they now?” I lean closer forward, smirking. “But do they know their son is out on the balcony with the ‘weirdo pervert’ in nothing but a long shirt?” I give his exposed legs an appreciative glance and smirk even wider.

His eyes grow wide and he makes a strangled noise. “Y-y-you ARE a pervert!!” he yells out.

He reaches over the railing (which I was leaning significantly over) and pushes my chest, causing me to stumble backwards. I chuckle, unable to contain myself.

“You’re not funny!” He huffs and whirls around, in attempt to walk away from me, causing the hem of his shirt to lift slightly earning me a glimpse of his yellow boxers underneath.

“I’m only joking~ I just think you look cute when you’re all riled up!” I grab onto his hand chuckling, “I’m sorry ahaha you’re just really fun to tease.” I smile at him, shrugging.

He stops his retreat and looks at me dubiously through his lashes.

I smile at him genuinely and give his hand a reassuring caress, “I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to come off that way.”

I let go of his hand and reach for the back of my neck, “I just didn’t really know how to approach you.” I shrug as I answer in honest.

The doubt slowly clears from his eyes and he takes a cautious step towards me.

“Don’t..You don’t have to say sorry.” he replies, looking off to the side. “You just..shocked me is all.” he muttered as he catches my stare, biting his bottom lip.

“Meow.”

My phone buzzes loudly in my sweatpants pocket the same time the devil cat makes an appearance on the balcony.

“Oh! Miri! Stay inside!” he yelps, clearly alarmed I saw his pet. His eyes shifts to my direction as he picks up his cat.

“You..you didn’t see anything!” He hides his cat away from my sight with his whole body, eyes darting back towards me anxiously.

I raise my eyebrows. “What do you mean? I only see you and I here out on the balcony on this lovely night~” I smile charmingly.

He visibly relaxes and lets out a relieved sigh. “..Thanks.. I..I know about the rule, it’s just..I couldn’t leave him at home.” He murmured stroking his cat’s chin.

The cat stares at me and wiggles out of Jimin’s grasp. “Miri!” he yells.

The cat jumps straight towards my side of the balcony and into my folded arms on the railing.

*prrrr*

“Uhh..” I still, not knowing how to react.

The tinkling laughter coming from in front of me caught my attention.

Jimin was giggling, eyes crinkling in delight as he held his hand out towards his cat. “Aww Miri likes you!” he giggles, eyes glistening.

“I..I don’t really know why..?” I reply, shifting my arms to better hold the cat. “I’m not really a cat person..” I mutter softly to myself.

“Aww she really likes you! That’s so weird! She hates strangers.” He chuckles, tilting his head to the side in a charming way.

He reaches out towards me and grabs the feline out of my awkwardly positioned arms and kisses the cat’s nose as he pulls it towards his body.

“Well I think that’s enough of Jungkook for you missy~ You shouldn’t be out and about on the balcony in plain sight you know!” He babbled, admonishing the feline.

*Meow*

“Shh, it’s bedtime Miri~ Go inside ok?” He mutters adorably as he drops the cat off by the door.

He turns around and looks shyly up at me through his lashes. “And..I think that’s enough of Jungkook for me too..” he flushes and looks away.

“So..goodnight!” he chirps and turns around, flannel shirt fluttering behind him.

“Jimin!” I call out, he turns and tilts his head. “Yellow really suits you.” I smirk, “Sweet dreams~” I wink and turn around heading for my door.

And in 3..2..1..

“J..Jeon Jungkook!!”

— the previous and the next —

#🎡

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signs-of-the-moon · 4 years ago

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Moon Rise: Chapter 33

Howls of victory echoed around the camp as warriors streamed through the bramble tunnel. A surge of energy seemed to ripple through ever cat as the patrol settled in to heal and discuss the battle.

“That was awesome!” Tulippaw caterwauled, running a couple laps around Swiftcloud. Swiftcloud limped with head held high, a smile gracing her features. She’d faced off against Treeclan’s deputy almost by herself, and won. Perhaps she should give herself more credit for her fighting abilities, just as Mistypaw said. Then again, perhaps Thornberry was having an off day.

“You did great today, Tulippaw.”

“Me? What about you? You should have seen yourself fighting off that stinky Treeclan cat. He was like ‘I’m going to defeat you!’ And you were all like ‘No way I’m backing down from a fight; especially against a sticky sap sipper like you.’ And then you tackled him! And he was like ‘grr’ and you were all 'hiss, get off our territory’ and sent that tom running.” Tulippaw leaped around dramatically as she reenacted the scuffle, changing the pitch in her tone humorously to mimic the voices of Swiftcloud and Thornberry. Swiftcloud let out a mrrow of laughter, playfully knocking her apprentice over with the swipe of a paw.

“Ok ok, I did great today too. What say we get some fresh-kill and go tell Cricketsong about everything that happened, hm?”

Tulippaw nodded enthusiastically, crouching and bunching her haunches. “Race you!” She challenged, springing forward and pelting to the fresh-kill pile. Swiftcloud chuckled, hobbling over more slowly. She didn’t mind letting Tulippaw win this time. Besides, her shoulder was hurting again. The wound didn’t seem to be reopened, but Swiftcloud would make sure to have it checked out later. Her forepaw was still oozing blood though. That wound needed more urgent care. Swiftcloud made a mental note to have it patched up after eating. By the time Swiftcloud made it to the pile, Tulippaw was already standing there, three mice placed in fron of her.

“Come on, turtle-foot, let’s go to the nursery.”

“Lead the way,” Swiftcloud mewed, padding a tail-length behind the apprentice. Cloverpetal and Quailbelly were standing near the nursery’s entrance when they approached, their bodies blocking the way inside. It seemed like the pair were reinforcing the den. Cloverpetal stood on the younger she-cat’s back, twisting thick branches, ferns, and wool in between gaps in the bush. Meanwhile, Quailbelly passed up materials, all while keeping a firm stance on the ground. The honeysuckle bush was looking more thin as the season of Leafbare drew nearer. It’s leaves were beginning to die off, browning and shriveled just as the flowers were. Swiftcloud worried if the den would be insulated enough to keep the queens and kits warm. But she reassured herself quietly; the Den Keepers knew how to thicken the walls enough to keep the cold out.

“Excuse us,” Swiftcloud meowed.

Cloverpetal looked down towards the visitors, her tail raising. “Oh, hello! We’re not in the way, are we?”

“Just a little bit. Could we get inside, please?”

“Oh yes of course. I think this part of the den is built up enough anyhow. We shouldn’t be in your way anymore. Come on, Quailbelly, lets work on the back.” With an elegant leap, Cloverpetal was on the ground, speaking to her companion before shortly leading her away. Swiftcloud purred a thank you in their direction, ducking into the nursery right after Tulippaw. But something was going on. The brown and white apprentice hesitated by the nursery’s threshold, ears lowering slightly. She placed her two mice by her paws, looking back at Swiftcloud.

“Uhh, maybe..we should come back another time.”

Swiftcloud tilted her head, utterly confused. “Why?”

“Just…because. And I don’t really think I’m that hungry. Actually, I think I might go take a nap. Is that ok?”

Swiftcloud blinked, wiggling her tail. “Um. Sure I guess? If that’s what you want to do.” Tulippaw nodded, picking up her share of prey to redeposit on the pile before padding over and into the apprentice’s den. Swiftcloud watched her the whole time before turning and picking up the leftover mouse to give to Cricketsong. As she made her way into the nursery, Swiftcloud was surprised to find other cats visiting the queens. Pollenpaw, Nectarpaw, and Lilacpaw were gathered around their mother, chatting with her and Jaybird as they all shared a meal together. Had this been why Tulippaw did not want to come inside? Without thinking Swiftcloud turned out of the nursery, scurrying across camp and into the apprentice’s den. The den was almost completely empty, Tulippaw being the only occupant. She lay curled in her nest, nose tucked beneath her brown and white tipped tail.

“Tulippaw?” No answer. Swiftcloud padded over to her apprentice, placing one of the mice in front of her nest, and the other in front of herself. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” Again there was no reply. Swiftcloud let out a hum. “Does it have to do with your sisters?” At this question, Tulippaw raised her head to look at her mentor. Swiftcloud nodded, taking a seat. “Thought so. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on between you four.”

“…Nectarpaw and Lilacpaw don’t like spending time with me anymore. They say I’m still too much like a kit, and they don’t hang out with kits. They always run away if I come near, or call me names if they can’t get away. Pollenpaw is still nice to me though, but only when the others aren’t around.”

Swiftcloud let out a knowledgeable hum. “I understand. I was the oddball of my litter too.”

“You were?” Tulippaw seemed surprised, and Swiftcloud had to suppress the giggle she wanted to give in reaction.

“Mhm. I was born into a family of show cats. They’re special kittypets who are bred by Twolegs to be the most perfect of their kind and to be shown off to other Twolegs. But as much as I wanted to be good, I wasn’t cut out for that kind of life. My siblings would make fun of me because I was more interested in playing and getting dirty than staying clean and being a good show cat. And I wasn’t as proper as they were. I wanted to learn to hunt and fight while they wanted to learn how to earn rewards and praise. So they’d tease me about it. Call me kit-brained and no better than a stray. They’d get me in trouble with our parents a lot, too.” Swiftcloud sighed through her nose, glancing away. She lifted her injured forepaw, giving it a few vigorous licks to clear away the blood and to calm her nerves. “It hurt, knowing my brothers and sister didn’t like me. But I knew what they thought of me didn’t matter. I’ve still made something of myself. Maybe I’m not a show cat, but I’d say I’m a pretty good warrior.”

“You’re the best warrior,” Tulippaw piped with a meek smile.

“Thanks for thinking so.” Swiftpaw smiled, putting her paw down gingerly. “Anyways, my point is maybe you’re not what they think you should be. Just be the best you that you can be. Don’t let your sisters keep you down. But if they continue teasing you, tell me. I’ll talk to them. Or I’ll have Chicorynose talk to them.”

Tulippaw nodded. “Thanks, Swiftcloud.”

“No problem. Now, are you suuure you aren’t hungry?”

Tulippaw smiled, bending down to dig into the mouse Swiftcloud had brought.

~~~

Night cast itself upon the clearing, illuminated by the light of the half moon. Swiftcloud sat outside the warrior’s den staring up at the sky. Silverpelt glittered above her head, winking down at her from the starry hunting grounds above. It was a peaceful evening, and an important one too. Mistypaw was being made a full medicine cat tonight. All the Land’s Star’s medicine cats would be in attendance. Swiftcloud couldn’t help but feel envious; she wanted to be there to see Mistypaw named too. Alas, she would have to wait until the healers returned.

“Are you coming?” Shadowfang called as he popped out of the warrior’s den. He’d come to collect his mate, hobbling up to sit by her side. “What are you up to?”

“Stargazing,” Swiftcloud deadpanned, not turning her muzzle from the sky. A heavy gust of wind blew through their fur.

“Aren’t you cold?” Shadowfang moved over to press his flank into hers. A sigh of relief escaped Swiftcloud, one she hadn’t known she’d been holding.

“Yeah, a little,” she confessed. Shadowfang rubbed his muzzle against hers.

“C'mon, let’s get some sleep. We’ve had a busy day.” Swiftcloud nodded, fatigue greeting her as if it’d been waiting to be acknowledged first. Shadowfang stood, flicking his tail to prompt his mate to come along. Swiftcloud rose as well, following him into the den. The couple curled up together in their shared nest, allowing sleep to take them.

A while passed. Swiftcloud suddenly jumped to her paws right from her slumber. The patched molly whipped her head around as she tried to gain back full consciousness. A loud yowl pierced through the night air, causing her to bristle. At first, Swiftcloud had thought the noise had come from her dream. But after a heartbeat she realized the sound was real. Shadowfang had jolted awake by this point as well, looking from the den’s entrance to Swiftcloud and back.

“Intruders!” A guard caterwauled from outside, startling the rest of Grassclan’s sleeping warriors awake. The smell of sap and bark flooded Swiftcloud’s nostrils making her growl. It was a Treeclan raid.

“Everyone, get up!” She commanded. When she turned to move, her shoulder instantly started to burn, as if it had been set on fire. Her paw was no better as she put pressure on it through her stance. Swiftcloud winced, biting back a hiss as she forced herself to lead the charge out of the den. No amount of pain would stop her from defending the clan. Shadowfang was right on her heels, as well as Ladybugbite, Cowpatch, and the rest of the warriors. Swiftcloud threw herself into the fray immediately, catching a passing black and grey tabby. She swiped at the other she-cat, lunging to sink her teeth into an outstretched thigh. The grey tabby turned on her, gaping her jaws in an attempt to bite back. Swiftcloud was smaller than this cat, having an easy time twisting and maneuvering to avoid her sharp fangs. Shadowfang grabbed hold of the enemy’s back while she was distracted, clawing at her until the warrior was wailing for mercy. He used his strength to push her to the ground, forcing her into surrender. After a hiss of warning from the both of them, Swiftcloud and her partner threw the cat away, sending her pelting towards the bramble barrier. There was a brief moment where Swiftcloud could breathe and take in the scene going on around her. Tornface and Meadowcall had emerged from the elders den, teaming up to fight against a large black spotted tom. The old white warrior was standing on his hind legs, swinging his front paws down to claw at the young warrior’s face. Meadowcall then tackled the spotted warrior to the ground, pummeling his exposed underbelly. A short distance away the queens had come to fight, too. Cricketsong, Chicorynose, and Jaybird were up against Robinspots and Foxstrike, whom Swiftcloud recognized from earlier that day. The three mollies passed the enemies around like prey, each taking a turn to strike at them. At the nursery’s entrance stood Ashwhisker tall and proud, a yowl escaping him like a roar from a Lionclan leader. It was easy to hear his declaration even from across the camp.

“You will not come anywhere near these kits, you fox-hearts!” This startled the cats who dared to approach him, but did not stop them in their pursuits. Ashwhisker hurled himself onto Fogbreath, taking the much larger tom down onto his side in a single hit. Rosebloom was there to provide backup, taking the Den Mother’s place in front of the honeysuckle bush. Then closer to Swiftcloud there was Tulippaw, slipping beneath Batwing in an attempt to reach her mentor.

“Swiftcloud!”

“Let’s help!” Shadowfang decided, springing forward to aid the apprentice. Swiftcloud followed along, reaching for Tulippaw as the black tom wrestled Batwing to the ground.

“Are you ok?” Swiftcloud checked, sniffing Tulippaw over for any wounds. Tulippaw shook out her ruffled pelt.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Why is Treeclan invading our camp?”

“It must be revenge for us claiming some of the Forest Patch earlier. C'mon, there’s no time to chat now. Find another apprentice to pair up with. Like…oh! Look, Pansypaw’s alone. Hey Pansypaw!” Pansypaw whipped around at the sound of her name, rushing over to the two she-cats from a fox-length away.

“Hello, Swiftcloud,” she greeted, sounding a bit breathless. Swiftcloud twitched her whiskers in acknowledgement.

“Work with Tulippaw. Don’t leave each other’s sides, alright?” The apprentices nodded. Swiftcloud nudged each on the shoulder sending them on their way before turning back to Shadowfang. Shadowfang nodded his head towards the crowd, prompting the partners to rejoin the fight. A ginger and white tom stuck out, all alone, trying to go towards the Tall Stone. Swiftcloud came around and stopped him in his tracks, leaping onto his shoulders while his back was turned. It took the pressure of all her weight to bring the cat down onto the ground, but it didn’t take very long for it to happen. The tom let out a yowl of surprise, struggling beneath her. Swiftcloud scored her claws along his shoulders and back as he slowly slipped away. When he stood, Shadowfang was there to greet him, smacking the warrior across the muzzle with his claws.

“Sunflower!” A caterwaul of worry came from across the way. Tigerlily came barreling over, her pelt fluffed to make her appear twice her size. She was enormous. At the sight of her Swiftcloud couldn’t help but be reminded of the fox from several moons ago. And it seemed Shadowfang shared the same thought. He suddenly flew into a blind rage, attacking the tabby and white molly the same way that he had with the giant ginger creature from before. Only this time it was he who was injured and in need of rescuing. Swiftcloud sprang to her paws, standing by Shadowfang’s side as he swiped at Tigerlily’s face. Swiftcloud ducked down, taking one of the enemy’s legs between her jaws and biting hard. Tigerlily pulled back instantly, taking a few paces backwards. Blood dripped from a few gashes on her forehead, an eye shut to keep it from oozing into the sensitive area. Sunflower had returned now, but only briefly enough to retrieve his friend. Together the two warriors made their retreat, disappearing from sight through the brambles.

“Are you hurt?” Shadowfang asked through a pant, looking at Swiftcloud.

“Yes, but the wounds I have are from this morning. I’ll be alright. What about you? How are your old wounds doing?”

“They sting like nettles,” he confessed, gritting his teeth, “but I’ll live.”

“Go put yourself away in the medicine den, you’ll get healed up again in there.”

“No way. I’m not sitting around while Treeclan’s here invading our camp. Especially not with you in the mix. I’m not in so much pain that I can’t stand and fight. I’m staying with you.” Shadowfang raised his head, standing taller in an attempt to seem stronger. But Swiftcloud could see the exhaustion in his eyes. He wasn’t in the best condition to fight. But she knew there’d be no way to get him to back down right now.

“Fine. Let’s go help Tigerfang defend his den,” she suggested, heading forward. Shadowfang came right along with her, matching her pace until they came to stop by his old mentor. Tigerfang was taking a moment to stick his head into Tall Stone’s crack, checking on his kits who hid inside.

“How are Lightkit and Thornkit?” Asked Swiftcloud, concerned.

“They’re fine now,” answered the tabby pulling his head back out of the den. “A warrior tried to fight Thornkit. Probably thought he was an apprentice. The little furball would have gladly tried fighting her too if I hadn’t been here to warn her off. Neither of the kits are hurt though, thank Starclan.”

“Good. If I get to speak to Whitestar I’ll let her know,” Swiftcloud offered.

“Look out, we’ve got company,” was the warning Shadowfang gave as Nightshade, Pepperpatch, and Greytuft approached. The she cats’ hackles were raised and teeth were bared; they looked ready to shred the Grassclan warriors to pieces.

“So we meet again.” Nightshade grinned, eyes icy and cold. Swiftcloud lowered her ears. “I’m going to take great pleasure in clawing you up.”

“Who says I’ll be the one getting clawed?” Swiftcloud prompted, raising her head. This only served to make Nightshade grin more. A dark chuckle escaped the black molly, her claws unsheathing as she took a few more paces forward.

“Confident aren’t we, kittypet? Let’s see how bold you are when I tear off the rest of that little stump you call a tail.” At once, Nightshade threw herself at Swiftcloud, bowling her over. Tigerfang and Shadowfang jumped out of the way, scurrying off to face the other opposing mollies. Swiftcloud yowled furiously as Nightshade grabbed the patched she-cat’s scruff, shaking her like a piece of moss. Swiftcloud flailed her paws, landing a lucky scratch or two on Nightshade’s eye. The black she-cat yelped, pulling back to save her face from further injury. Free, Swiftcloud jumped back onto her paws. In retaliation, Nightshade smacked Swiftcloud’s muzzle. Tiny beads of blood swelled out from the cuts the enemy warrior had made. Swiftcloud growled, headbutting her foe. Both mollies fell to the floor again, tussling, clawing at one another. Fur and blood was flying all over the place, painting the grass and earth beneath them. The pair were evenly matched. But there had to be only one winner. With all the strength she could muster, Swiftcloud pressed down on Nightshade, who now lay beneath her. Swiftcloud dug her front claws into each of the other cat’s shoulders, hind claws pressing dangerously into her fragile underbelly. Nightshade looked up at the other she-cat, pure malice glowing in her blue eyes. Swiftcloud held her gaze, drawing her lips back into a fearsome snarl. A tense heartbeat past, then another. Yet Nightshade did not budge. It seemed as if the black she cat had accepted her defeat. “You’ve lost, Nightshade. Go home,” Swiftcloud demanded, stepping off of her enemy without taking her eyes off of her. Nightshade rose onto her paws with a tremble. She panted, a smirk forming on her muzzle.

“You really think you’ve beaten me?” She chuckled darkly, confusing Swiftcloud. Before the patched she-cat could even register what was going on, she felt jaws grasp her scruff from behind. Swiftcloud could only catch a glimpse of her captor from the corner of her eye. Thornberry had joined in this battle, taking her by surprise. His face was dirty, eyes dull but fiery with hate. Despite not looking his best, the tom sure was powerful. Swiftcloud struggled in the smokey tom’s grip, her efforts pointless as she barely budged. Thornberry lifted her from the ground, throwing her in the direction of the medicine den. The last sight Swiftcloud saw was the grooves of the treebark before everything fell dark.

#warrior cats #wcs #warrior cats ocs #Signs of the Moon: Moon Rise #Moon Rise #chapter 33

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fuzzbuttsquawksalot · 7 years ago

Text

Filling in the blanks - Mystic Messenger Reader Insert

Major spoiler alert for ‘Mystic messenger - another story’

The story takes place in the two missing years of the ‘good end’

Tags: a lot of fluff, sexual tension, and a sprinkle of jealousy

Since I was a bit disappointed with the good end (srsly guys you should try to get the normal one) I rewrote the ending and filled in the blanks ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Pairings: MC/V, MC/Zen

It had been rough for you the past few weeks. You moved to a new city due to a job offer, but before you could even start your first official day there, you’d been kidnapped by a religious sect called Mint Eye. At their headquarters, you met ‘Ray’ and the sect leader Rika. Both very troubled personalities. Luckily you’ve been saved by a group of ‘AIs’, who you chatted with and turned out to be real persons. Quickly you got involved in their affairs, the ‘RFA’ and especially the toxic relationship between Rika and a modest turquoise-haired man, without any trace of self-love called V. You’d helped him as he was poisoned by Ray, stopped him every time as he delusional as he was tried to sacrifice himself and go back to his crazy EX Rika and even rushed with him to the hospital as she stabbed him.

You couldn’t quite understand why V wouldn’t report anything to the police, but nevertheless, you were there for him, visited him every day at the hospital, calmed him down and encouraged him to find and follow his own dreams. It was natural for you to continue doing so when he had a long needed eye surgery after he was stable enough again. While you spend most of your time next to his hospital bed you had the honor of getting to know the remaining RFA members, Jaehee, Yoosung, 707, Jumin and Zen better. They were an odd group of people, but you simply had to like each and every one of them.

The others were worried, but it didn’t surprise you when V told you that he wanted to travel around the world in order to find himself and to be a bit selfish for once. It was a path he had to take alone. Only those, who know to love themselves can truly love and respect others. You had a small party with the RFA members organized by C&R employees, meaning mostly Jaehee, to see V off and to officially announce you as new member of the fundraising association. It was a heart throbbing event. You said your goodbyes to everyone, hugged V before letting him go for god knows how long.

Even though you had promised to take a taxi back home, you decided against it, preferring the cool night air to clear your thoughts. Besides, it would be much cheaper to walk the distance. Money doesn’t grow on trees, particularly with your current job situation. Being a no-show for nearly two months and having no real explanation, at least none you were allowed to tell, wouldn’t sit right with any employer.

The harsh reality dawned on you. You were jobless, on the brink of losing your apartment, had no boyfriend, your old friends hundreds of miles away and you hadn't spoken for years with your parents. If you would contact them now, you would feel like a beggar and confirm the little faith they had in you. Maybe, just maybe after fixing someone else's life you should make working on your own life the top priority. Not sure if this realization or the champagne from the party made you tipsy, you leaned your back against a cold brickstone wall. The rough surface felt pleasant, you turned your head upwards admiring the night sky and sighed. A warm hand on your shoulder woke you up from this short peaceful moment. Startled you jumped a little before you recognized the person next to you. The moonlight reflected in his white hair, without being too cheesy you thought to yourself that he looked like an angel. His crimson eyes filled with concern for you.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you ok?”

You couldn’t find the right words so you didn’t try to answer and lowered your look.

“It’s not safe for a beautiful lady like you at this hour. I thought you said you would take a taxi? Should I call one for you?”

You shook your head and looked back at the night sky. Usually, you didn’t like to show weakness in front of someone, but it’s a lot harder to keep everything bottled up when someone showers you in empathy. Somehow you suppressed the forming tears. “The moon is beautiful today,” you whispered.

Zen also looked up “Hmm, you’re right.” He fumbled in his jacket and offered you a cigarette.

“You look like you could use one,” he said before lighting one up for himself.

Like an automatism, you said ”Oh, I don’t smoke...,” but as he started to withdraw the package you went on ”at least I haven’t for years. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. I’d like one please.”

The young actor examined your face closely as he lit your cigarette on. “Which way is your home?” You gestured left while you took a deep breath. “Good, mine is also this way. I’ll accompany you.”

You both set in motion. Amused you giggled: ”Even if your apartment would be in the opposite direction, you would still accompany me. Oh Zen the Knight, please lead the way!”

He blushed from your comment but offered his arm nevertheless: ”As the princess wishes. Bad men with bad intentions roam in the midst of the night. It’s my sworn duty to bring you back to the safety of your chambers my lady.”

“Pffft Zen, I’m not a princess nor a lady.”

“So the beautiful creature next to me is a witch in disguise?”

“Hah, yeah that would be extremely helpful. With magic powers, I could hex all my problems away…,” without noticing you strengthen your grip.

A bit awkward Zen said: ”It must be hard on you. I mean with V leaving us all. First of all you! You cared so much for him. And he doesn’t even know when he will be back.” His voice sounded angered at the last part. You snipped your cigarette away, pulling Zen towards a pojangmacha. “Mind if we take a little break? I don’t want to go home just yet. You’re free tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“Uhh, yeah I am.” Surprised he followed you under the foil of the tent. Warm steam from the tteokbokki and dakkochi the ajumma (older lady) was cooking welcomed you both. Only two other men were inside the tent, they were heavily drunk and didn’t take any notice of you.

“Two bottles of soju and two maekju please!” you yell at the ajumma.

In disbelief, Zen raised one of his brows. ”I thought you’d like expensive stuff like champagne or wine more.”

You took a seat at a small table and paid the ajumma as she brought your order. With a loud crack, you opened one of the beer cans and soundly savored the first sip. “Nah, nothing’s better than the sweet and bitter taste of a cold beer.”

Zen clicked glasses with you. “That’s a statement I totally and utterly agree with.” He flashed you a broad smile, but then silence fell between you. You could see him rummage through his head what kind of topic he should bring up to avoid making you sad.

He’s a gentle beast, you noted to yourself and willingly broke the silence. “I’m not sad because of V. I may sound like a hypocrite, but I don’t know how I feel about him. I mean, for the last two months I sacrificed all my time and strength for him. He was broken, probably still is. Poor soul. He was in desperate need for a friend, who would pull him out of his darkness and show him the right way. Jumin may be his best friend, but he has his own repressed feelings and didn’t realize the darkness and self-pity within V. He was like a lost puppy, I simply had to help him. Furthermore, he and 707 ‘rescued’ me from the Mint Eye.”

You opened a soju bottle and filled Zen’s glass, while he did the same. You chugged the shot down and wondered about what happened the hacker ‘Ray’ or however his real name was. You refused to believe that he died in the explosion. Hopefully, he got out somehow, but where was he now? He was another broken soul that needed help in your opinion.

“I felt indebted, if you know what I mean,” you rambled “and I’m seriously glad that V is taking this journey to find himself. I don’t know who he really is. I don’t know if I’ll like the person he becomes. To be true, I hate people who are born with a silver spoon and behave accordingly.”

Zen watched you closely, not interrupting your rant in the slightest bit. Was it too much, the way you were speaking about his friends? Nervously you searched for his eyes, but you could only see understanding in his crimson eyes behind his beautiful lashes. Hence you took another big swallow of beer and went on.

“Sure, I’m a very sympathetic person. But this is bullshit! What kind of sick relationship did Rika and V have? Yes, they both had a troubled childhood. But who hasn’t? I mean, I also ran away from my parents with eighteen and I haven’t contacted them ever since. You probably have a few problems with your family too. But we don’t try to physically hurt the people we love or let them hurt us!”

You took the next big gulp, this time Zen’s eyes appeared sad and sympathetic at the same time. His gaze never left you. Then, you stunned him and even the drunkards on the other table as you slammed your fists on the table.

“Auuuuu, this makes me so angry. Under normal circumstances, I would have slapped this Rika bitch so hard! I’m sorry, she was your friend and all, but I can’t accept it when people willingly hurt other people for their own amusement!”

With gestures Zen apologized for your little outbreak, a small laugh escaped him. Your personality was like a box full of wonders. Never in thousand years, he would have expected that you would behave like you did at this moment. Assumingly your stoic wall had collapsed in front of him and he was more than glad he was the one, who could see you like this.

“And if you ask me, V still lies to us all. Probably to avoid hurting us, but lying is lying and I hate it!” You refill Zen’s glass. “This hacker, who lured me to Mint Eye obviously knew not only V but also 707! But I guess it’s not my secret to tell. I should worry more about my own future. First I need to get a job!”

The drunkards in the back grunt in agreement. You empty your beer and a shot glass Zen had filled for you. “I should take Jumin up on his offer to work for C&R. But when I see how he treats Jaehee I’m not so sure about it!”

For the first time since a while, Zens opens his mouth and snorts: ”Really? The trust fund kid offered you a job? He’ll work you to the bones!”

You laughed and quaffed the next shot down. Slowly your body began to feel hot, you pulled off your jacket and your cardigan, showing your bare shoulders. Zen blushed and tried with a few fails to strictly look you into the eyes. “Hah, trust fund kid is a good name. But I guess any job is better than none. But I hope he could stop talking about his cat. Cats aren’t as cute as people say they are. One moment they act all nice and fluffy and the next moment they bite or scratch you! I strongly hope that Jumin doesn’t bring Elizabeth to work. I’m allergic, you know? I can’t stop sneezing and there’s snod just everywhere and if it gets worse I feel like I’m suffocating!”

Zen’s eyes widened. The more you told him, the more you reminded him of himself. To calm his whirlpool of new and weird feelings a bit down he lit a cigarette.

“You should stop that! Smoking is reaaaaaally bad for your skin. And you look so damn fine!”

Your statement caught him by surprise and therefore you were able to snatch his cigarette and put it out in the ashtray. “In addition, it was really hard giving up smoking and it allures me to want one too!”

“Sorry my princess, I’ll keep it in mind not to smoke in front of you. But to come back to the last part, you think I and I quote: look so damn fine?”

“I told you, I’m not a princess! And don’t fish for compliments! I’m not blind, of course, you’re fucking hot! And the worst part is that you’re kind, hardworking and earnest! Who wouldn’t lo…,” shocked by what you were about to say you stopped. The embarrassment was spreading over your face and your ears. Was it always this hot in here? You exchanged a long look with him. As you saw how his cheeks were also glowing you felt a lump in your throat. Must be the alcohol, you thought.

“What should I call you then?” he growled with his deep voice.

“You can call me by my name, or you call me something you haven’t called anyone before…”

He rolled your name on his tongue, the sound seemed to please him. This was the first time he called you by your name. Slowly he leaned forward and whispered: ”Then you’ve to call me by my name too. I’m Hyun.”

“Hyun,” you murmured. You didn’t know why but calling him by his real name felt rather intimate.

You put your clothes back on. “I guess, I guess we should get going. We still have a bit of a walk ahead.”

“Right. After you honey,” he held the foil open for you.

“Honey?” you looked questioning at him “Well, apart from my name I could get used to this nickname,” and linked your arm with Zen’s again.

Coming from such a warm and damp place the air outside felt colder than before. You shuddered. As soon as the actors realized this he stopped to give you his coat. You tried to refuse it, but he insisted on it. Otherwise, than being too big, you liked the slick feeling of the white leather. The coat smelled like tobacco, vanilla and a slight hint of wood. This was how Zen smelled. You liked it. His smell had a class to it but wasn’t overpowering. You inhaled it deeply and snuggled yourself deeper into the comfort of his coat.

Worried Zen might freeze your pace quickened. The downside was that you reached your home too fast for your liking. You didn’t want to be alone yet.

“This is where I live,” you said and stopped in front of the entrance of the apartment building.

“Oh, you don’t live that far apart from me! I live six blocks further down!”

“Hm, yeah the rent here is relatively cheap,” you chuckled and returned the coat to him.

“Right, normal people like us have to watch their money,” he grinned “So this means goodbye and goodnight,” he shifted on his feet and was about to turn on his heels. Before he could you grabbed his arm again.

“Uhm, I don’t want to be alone just yet. Would you mind coming in? For maybe a coffee or based on the time maybe a tea?” you asked out of the blue. You had no ulterior motives you told yourself. You simply didn’t want to be alone.

Zen’s pupils widened, he needed some time to respond. He looked like he was fighting with himself on the inside. “O-Ok,” he stuttered after a while.

You opened the door and led him inside. Giving the fact you only recently moved here and had spent the most time at the hospital to watch over V there wasn't much there. A small kitchen near the entrance, a desk with a laptop and a few books on it, a small grey couch, a coffee table, a sad looking plant that urgently needed watering, two cupboards and behind a folding screen your bed.

“Excuse the intrusion,” Zen mumbled while pulling off his boots. He placed his coat over an empty chair in the kitchen and then seated himself on your couch. Your small one-room apartment wasn’t much different to his own. But you had bigger windows since his was on the basement and yours on the first floor. He wondered if it was safe for you to live on the first floor. This neighborhood wasn’t the nicest and for robbers it was easier to get into apartments on the ground level. He would keep a close watch over you, he promised himself.

You stood in the kitchen and made some tea. Nervously you said: ”It’s a bit cold in here, I couldn’t pay the heater yet. But I certainly will, before the winter comes. I can get you a blanket.”

“Thanks,” he said and remembered his first years after running away from home. Hot water and a heater were a luxury he couldn’t afford back then. He would never judge you for something like this. His life know wasn’t much better. As a musical actor you life from job to job. And if you don’t get one after a small break things can get difficult.

You returned from behind the folding screen with the promised blanket and then served the tea to both of you. A bit shy you too snuggled under the blanket but left enough space between Zen and you. You felt cold, the previous alcohol and the warm tea anyhow failed to warm you up.

Trying his best not to let his inner beast win and to pin you down on the couch while showering you with hot and sloppy kisses, god what was he thinking, Zen sighed. Did you always look so good? Smell so good? How would you look underneath your clothes? No, no, no he shouldn’t be thinking that. He ogled you intensely. Was it wrong to think of you in such a way? Only a few hours before, he wouldn’t have dared to think of you in this way. Because you had taken care of V, he somehow had assumed you would be V’s girlfriend or something close. But V was gone and you didn’t really mind that he was. V was a fool, he couldn’t possibly expect a woman like yourself to sit still and wait for him. Not someone as precious as you. You knew him for weeks and should wait for years? If someone would treat you like this, he wasn’t worthy enough to be on your side. Zen’s beast convinced him it would be more than ok to make you his. His self-consciousness also told him it was ok indeed, but not under these circumstances. You were both drunk and lonely. You deserved better.

“I have to admit, I let you into my home with ulterior motives,” you said cheekily and skidded closer under the blanket until he could feel your weight on his side and your head on his shoulder. Zen’s breath faltered. What were you saying? Was it his imagination playing tricks with him?

“Just as I thought, you’re better as a hot-water bottle. Thank you for warming me up,” you yawned and nestled up to Zen even more.

On the inside, he laughed and cried at the same time. Seriously what was he thinking? His hormones raged. With all the vocal training, dance lessons and rehearsals it had been long, seemingly too long since he had come this close to a woman. And you were special. Painfully he noticed how you didn’t only have an effect on his body but also on his heart. His breath quickened. He was falling too deep too quick. But there was no way stopping it now.

“You know you shouldn’t tease a man like this. I’m merely holding back thanks to my inhuman inner strength. All men are beasts,” he muttered. But there came no response from you. You rhythmically breathed against his skin. You had fallen asleep. Cautiously he tried to free himself from you and leave but you wouldn't let him. Your grip strengthened and you mumbled something like: ”Don’t.”

Defeated he gave up and also fell asleep. But not for long, suddenly he felt you shaking him.

“No, no, no, this won’t do. We have to wash our faces first! It’s not good if our pores become clogged!” Forcefully you pulled him up and with you into the bathroom. Half asleep Zen laughed and whispered probably not for you to hear: ”Honey, you’re a keeper.” As you heard it nevertheless, those words gave you a little pinch to the heart. Carefully you both washed your faces, applied some toner and light sleeping cream. Zen had to admit that your assortment of beauty products wasn’t half bad. Some of them he used himself.

Afterwards, you lent him a new toothbrush and you brushed your teeth. Outside dawn had begun but as tired as you were you let the window shades down, quickly exchanged your usual dotted white skirt with hot pants, gathered the blanket up and brought it back to your bed. Much too tired himself, Zen forgot to complain and any hindering moral when you said: ”Pull your pants off and come to bed.” As alluring as this situation was, even beasts have to sleep at some point, he thought before climbing into bed and spooning you.

You knew this situation should be weird for you, but it felt too natural. For now, you enjoyed Zen’s body heat and the new found attraction towards him could be explored at a different time.

____________________________________________________________________________

Two years later: Finally you were able to hold the long-promised fundraising party. Guests from all over the world came to attend it. You, Jaehee and Jumin, who was now your boss, had prepared an astonishing location. Working for the C&R group wasn’t easy, but in comparison to Jaehee, you still had time for a private life. You were a team member of the law department and had only little contact to ‘Mr. Han’. You thought it was funny how all the other people would call him that, while you never bothered to call him anything but Jumin.

In the meantime, you had a little fall out with Jaehee as she learned you were in a relationship with her idol Zen. But after some time everything was forgiven as she realized there was no bad press about him and that he lived an even healthier and more laid back lifestyle because of you.

He stopped smoking. Riding his motorcycle was only allowed when you accompanied him, therefore he became an extremely careful driver. And together Zen and you had enough money to be able to rent a bigger apartment in a better neighborhood. All his fan mail was now sent to his company. Without his address known to the public, there weren’t any crazy stalkers accidents. Seeing Jumin as a slight thread for his sweet time with you, he often came by your workplace and surprisingly those two got closer. You didn’t know how much payment or other offers were involved but somehow Zen agreed to model for the C&R’s new cat food commercials. Which appeared to be a huge boost to Zen’s fame. From time to time he would now play some guest roles in tv dramas. He was offered to do more, but his heart remained in the musical theater.

Yoosung, who started to attend the university was still taking care of Rika. She wasn’t able to leave the mental institution yet and frankly, the most of you had no interest in meeting her after all that had happened. Luciel went under the radar for a few months; had you all worried. At one point you went so far to contact Mr. Vanderwood and Jumin offered his money to help hire him to bring 707 back. When Luciel returned he brought his twin brother with him. Who was to your surprise and relief the man you got to know under the name Ray. After rehab Saeran overcame his split personality and was now part of the RFA family.

Seemingly V was traveling around the whole world. Always sending you and the others self-made postcards with nothing written on them but beautiful landscapes he must have photographed himself. Twice he had called you on Christmas. Even though Zen acted a bit jealous (who are you kidding, more like A LOT jealous) you didn’t tell V about your relationship in those short calls. You thought it was the best not to distract him from his journey. You wished him the best and told him how you all were missing him, which was the truth. After all, he was the co-founder and most important member of the RFA. Undoubtedly the current party wouldn’t be such a huge success without his donated photographs.

You nearly dropped your glass at the party as you heard a familiar voice behind you.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

“Pardon?” you say and turn around. To your surprise you see V. He looks much healthier now, his hair is shorter as when you got to know him and he looks like he had just come back from a beach vacation. Looking over his shoulder you don’t miss the glare Zen is shooting at you both. You glare back in order to signalize him that you can and will handle the situation.

“Congratulations to the successful party!” he says and broadly smiles at you.

“V!?...,” you say still a bit baffled by his sudden appearance.

“It’s Jihyun Kim now,” he declares. “Long time no see. You look surprised, puzzled, I actually missed that look too. Did I keep you waiting for too long?”

You are a bit lost for words, what does he mean with ‘did I keep you waiting for too long’?

Like he had sensed your trouble, Zen suddenly appeared at your side, emitting some sort of alpha male aura, you only had experienced in a few seldom situations, when other men tried to get too close for his taste to you.

“V! What a surprise, we haven’t seen you in ages! You should have called more often! I feel a bit sad about the fact that you only called Jumin and this wonderful person here. There are so many interesting things I would have told you,” Zen says and sounds as casual as possible. You think to yourself how great of an actor he really is but know quite well, that he’s on the edge to go berserk.

V, on the other hand, gives Zen a brotherly hug and is a bit confused why he’s ruining this moment with you. ”She certainly is a wonderful person,” he says and smiles at you. To calm Zen a bit down and to defuse the situation you wrap your right arm around him. Instantly he does the same with you.

“Babe, would you mind grabbing me something to drink? I think Jihyun and I have some catching up to do,” you say audible enough for V to hear and as you notice Zen still glaring, you give him a short kiss and pat his buttocks to send him on his way to the buffet.

V’s eyes widen ”So you and Zen, huh?” “Yeah,” you answer without the slightest regret in your voice. “ You seem happy,” you add.

“Yes, I can finally say I am. I’m back in the midst of my friends,” he smiles at you. After a short pause, he looks at you sincerely, ”I’m happy for you both. I think you make a great couple. I mean it,” and kisses your hand. “Now I only need to find my own princess.”

Perfectly timed Zen comes back and hands a glass of champagne to V and you. “Oh, this one isn’t a princess,” he winks at you, “we’re both knights, helping those in need,” and places a kiss on your head.

Notes: This isn’t edited. If you have the time, please contact me, when you find any sentence and grammar errors.

and on the side note: yay, I’m alive and it felt good to write again. Even though, it’s 3. a.m. and I should sleep. Also, fill my inbox if you want a smutty middle part ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) I left out on purpose.

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