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yslkook · 4 years ago

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#customer centric (4)

#corporate masterlist summary: you arrive in tokyo and spend a few days catching up and reminiscing. jin comes as well, with a few old friends that you haven’t seen in years. Or, you wander around the city visiting familiar places and go to a club with people you haven’t called friends in years. word count: 8656 warnings: cursing, parental death, discussion of mental health, lots of alcohol a/n: this is part 1/2 of being in tokyo!! this is the top i envisioned for oc lol

You missed Tokyo, and Tokyo missed you. The city itself brings bittersweet memories to you, memories of your childhood with your dead father and grandmother passing through your mind as if you’re watching a movie.

Your dad had brought you to Tokyo every summer when you were young, until you were about seventeen or eighteen. Tokyo had become more of a second home than a vacation place for you. You haven’t been here since college, about two years before your dad passed away. But despite that, it feels like home.

You can read, write, and speak Japanese fluently, which is part of the reason why you’ve been such an integral part of the team so far. The company’s sister branch is in Tokyo, and it’s not your first time visiting the branch, or interacting with your team members based in Tokyo.

You’ve wondered often, quite bitterly, if your fluency in Japanese is the only reason you’re even still on the team. Your boss and his boss at least trust you enough to be the responsible party for your team- there’s only one other member of your team here, Sana. But she’s relatively new, so the responsibility has fallen onto you.

That’s alright. You operate well under pressure.

You’re joined by your small knit team, Sana, Namjoon and Jungkook. Namjoon had managed to finagle with the budget enough that you could arrive a day early, on Friday, and spend the weekend in Tokyo before the workshops began on Monday.

And Seokjin would be flying in on Saturday morning with some of his friends. You’re grateful that at least Jin was coming. Whenever Jin makes these spontaneous types of trips, they’re bound to be eventful.

Monday and Tuesday will be filled with workshops, proposals and pitch meetings. You made Jin promise that he’d spend time with you during the weekend, so that you could show him some of the treasures you remembered from the city. Despite your many years of friendship, you had never been to Tokyo with Jin and you want to show him some of the places Appa used to take you to.

You’re excited. Even if Jungkook, with his big, sparkling eyes and his natural curiosity is coming along. Seeing him, even though it’s been well over three months that he joined the company, sends you down a dangerous path that isn’t fair to him or to you.

You have to constantly remind yourself that it’s not his fault and you shouldn’t be mean to him. It’s not his fault that your boss and his boss are out for your blood and refuse to give you recognition. But you can’t help but feel like he’s part of the problem that has faced you for the last three years. Part of the same awful old school, conservative mindset that so many of your peers were part of as well.

The leadership at your company needed a drastic overhaul, but you would be the last person to voice those thoughts out loud. Unless it was to Jin.

You know Jungkook doesn’t deserve your unspoken rage. You can admit that, but you’re not saint enough to channel it somewhere else. You’ve mellowed out considerably from the initial few months, but you could stand to be a little warmer to him.

After all, the way his bunny smile takes up half of his face when he offers it up to someone so worthy… that means nothing to you.

You arrive in Tokyo with your team at around eleven AM, and you check into your hotel rooms about an hour later. Jungkook and Sana had planned the logistics of the trip, from the hotel to the taxi service to lunch, dinner, and the company sponsored happy hour on Monday and Tuesday.

Because you were in Tokyo for work, you fully planned on using your company card to the fullest for the next few days. This company could kiss your ass, and you would be more than willing to spend as much as you needed to as a subtle ‘fuck you’. It was your version of flipping off your boss, for when he would have to approve your expense report sheet.

Namjoon had given you Friday to yourselves, to get acquainted with the hotel room and the area itself. Sana and Jungkook had done a good job with choosing the hotel- it has a wonderful view of the city from the rooftop, and being inside the sophisticated hotel with it’s hues of black and white and pops of color and elegance. This regal building screams opulence and you’re bathing in the luxurious feel of it all.

The diamonds of the chandeliers hanging high above you glint in the dim light of the lobby, bouncing off of the sleek, black piano and adding to the romantic air. Was this a love hotel? You scoff to yourself, keeping your head down as you exit the hotel and head in the direction of your favorite park, the Happo-en Garden.

When you had told your therapist that you’d be coming to Tokyo for the first time since your father’s death, she had immediately picked up on your hesitation-

“It feels weird to be there without him. Almost like the place doesn’t exist if he doesn’t,” You scoff, wringing your hands together.

“It certainly exists without him. And you do, too,” She says kindly, “Maybe you’ll feel close to him when you go there.”

And she was right, as she usually is. You sit alone at a freshly painted red bench with a box of street snacks, including some of Appa’s favorites. The sunshine glimmers against the still lake in front of you, hues of green fading to orange and red reflecting in the murky water.

This park was a favorite of Appa’s-

“We’re still in Tokyo, but it feels like we’re so far away. Right, sweetheart?” He asks, dark eyes shining. Appa’s hand tightens around yours and you nod excitedly.

“Yeah! Like we’re close to the princess’s castle!” You gasp.

“That’s right, but the only princess I see here is you,” Appa smiles and you beam at him, all smiles and sunshine.

The memory is from when you were maybe seven or eight years old. Everytime you came to Tokyo with Appa, you always came to this park. Specifically to this area, where Appa claimed that the sun shined on the leaves and the water in a specific way that made everything feel like magic.

You had always scoffed at him, especially as you grew older and the lines around his eyes grew deeper. But you still entertained him. You never saw that magic that Appa claimed to see, but now, you wonder how you could ever not see it.

A breeze ruffles through the trees, whistling as it threads through your hair and running over the water. The clouds part for a moment, allows a burst of sunbeams to spread over the water and you gasp at the sudden golden filter over the surroundings in front of you.

Another breeze, one from your left side, presses against your shoulder and your cheek. Almost like it’s whispering to you. You whip your head to the side, only to find nothing next to you. You feel like you’re floating, with the gentle caress of the wind to keep you company.

You eat your snacks in silence, embracing the way that it feels like the wind is Appa’s caress against your skin.

By the time you return to the hotel, the sun is beginning to go down and a bittersweet sort of happiness settles in your heart. You feel closer to your dad than you have in a long time- this city was bound to feel like home with its welcoming arms curling around you warmly. You had spent the better part of the day visiting old sights and places that you had frequented to with Appa.

It was peaceful, like a walk down memory lane. You could almost see your younger self bursting at the seams with joy at all of the new places. You could almost see her so eager to learn and demanding that Appa teach you Japanese immediately.

You wonder where that girl went. She’s lost, buried beneath layers and layers and maybe someday you’ll find her again.

Stopping by one of your favorite restaurants, you order all of your favorites times three. For your colleagues to have something to feast on when you returned from your day trip. You hadn’t been on your phone for most of the day, choosing to mute the group chat with your colleagues so you could truly be alone.

Once you approach the familiar blue neon sign of the restaurant, you send them a text:

you: evening all. dont worry about dinner, Im bringing lots of food back sana: look who woke up from her coma namjoon: did you put it on your card? you: of course i did. you dont have to remind me joon ;) you: want to have dinner together? jungkook: ya where should we eat Namjoon: come to my room, it’s room 1804 you: ok, be there in about thirty min

With your heart feeling full, brimming with fondness for your teammates, you pay for the heavy bags of food and make your way back to the hotel. You can’t help but smile as you walk with a little pep in your step.

“You should have asked one of us to help you,” Jungkook says reproachfully, taking half the bags from you.

Your arms ache, not that you’ll admit your stubbornness. You only smile sheepishly, “It was only a fifteen minute walk.”

“And this is a lot of food,” Jungkook muses, peeking inside as his doe eyes sparkle in anticipation.

“It’s our first team dinner in Tokyo. We deserve it,” You shrug.

“I also bought a few bottles of wine,” Sana chirps, dangling two bottles of red in her hands, “We deserve it.”

You laugh and she winks at you. Namjoon is already setting up the many boxes of food on the mahogany wooden desk in the corner of the room. The curtains are pulled back, affording you of a breathtaking view of the city lights and the now hanging moon high in the sky.

“The boss has the best view, huh?” You tease, nudging his shoulder.

“Jungkook picked it,” Namjoon shrugs, “I just wanted to share the view with you all.”

“How sweet of you,” You say sincerely, “Dinner with a view. That’s pretty romantic. And Jungkook has good taste.”

Jungkook’s ears flush at your praise and he covers his ears for a second. Not that you notice. You sit on the floor, across from Jungkook and offer to scoop food onto everyone’s plates for them. You ignore their protests and do it anyway, quietly asking how much of each they want. Sana fills up plastic cups with wine and labels everyone’s cup with a black marker so you can all keep track of them.

“How classy of us,” Namjoon snorts but says thank you to Sana.

“Did you bring wine glasses in your luggage?” Sana shoots at Namjoon, “I didn’t think so.”

You stifle your laugh behind your hand and shake your head. “Feels like college, if only those cups were red,” You joke.

“My roommate still uses red cups sometimes, for casual purposes,” Jungkook says softly, “It drives me up the wall. Like, can you drink out of a normal cup or what? I get flashbacks to beer pong almost every morning.”

You laugh a little harder at that, and the sound is sweet in Jungkook’s ears. He wants to see if he can get you to laugh like that a little more.

“I mean, we’re grown now. I can’t believe Taehyung sometimes, having his morning orange juice in a red solo cup. It’s heinous.”

Your eyes are overflowing with mirth, the sound of your genuine happiness echoing in Jungkook’s ears and he can’t help but smile in return.

“Morning orange juice,” You mutter, “That’s adorable. Taehyung? That’s the name of your roommate?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook replies, “We did undergrad together and he’s an aspiring art gallery curator. He’s actually coming here tomorrow-”

“Wait, hang on,” You say after chewing through a mouthful of noodles, “Is this Taehyung, as in Kim Taehyung who you snuck into that bar with and he ended up getting absolutely hammered and stealing three bottles of alcohol? Before getting kicked out and Jin and I took you both home? That Taehyung?”

The fondness with which you speak of Taehyung unnerves Jungkook.

“Yeah,” Jungkook nods, “That Taehyung.”

“Sounds like a real class act,” Sana says dryly.

“Wow, I haven’t seen him in years,” You exhale, “I think Jin’s bringing some friends from college tomorrow, too.”

“Yeah, he mentioned a Jimin and a Hoseok,” Namjoon adds.

“Damn, Sana, maybe we should’ve brought our friends, too,” You murmur, teasing but honestly, you don’t really have anyone you would’ve asked to bring, “Can’t wait to see what this boys weekend brings.”

You fully anticipate that Seokjin will rope you into whatever shenanigans they have planned, and you don’t even feel bad about crashing. You make a mental note to let Sana know of whatever plans they invited you to, so that she wouldn’t feel left out.

They don’t ask where you were all day, and for that you’re grateful. The lines of professionalism are beginning to blur for you, and you don’t want to burden them with your feelings and problems. You don’t want them to think differently of you for trying to catch a glimpse of Appa in your memories.

Jin would say you were being silly, but you can’t help it. Maybe someday, but not today.

But Jungkook does wonder. Where were you all day? When the group chat was going off, you were silent. It was none of his business, but he’s curious. And he’s curious about you. You hadn’t changed out of your day clothes or taken your makeup off. He can see the nearly gone darkened stain of your gloss on your lips and the curl of your lashes. Jungkook keeps his eyes above your neck, knowing that if his eyes begin to wander he would be even more of a goner than he already was.

It’s September in Tokyo, meaning that it was warm during the day and somewhat chilly in the evenings. Your dark green long sleeved shirt is tucked into your shorts, complete with a black belt, leaving your tanned thighs on display. Jungkook thinks he catches a glimpse of a tattoo peeking from your shorts, but he thinks he imagines it.

Until your shorts ride up just a little and he sees an array of colors and the fleeting sight of a flower on your upper thigh. Jungkook swallows nervously and stuffs his face full of udon noodles without hesitation. If his mouth is stuffed with food, then nobody will look twice at him and he can keep his thoughts to himself and ogle at you in peace.

The logic makes sense in his head.

Your voice carries over to Namjoon, telling him that you’ll be picking Seokjin, Jimin and Hoseok up in the morning with the rental car.

“Hey, if Taehyung is arriving at the same time, do you want me to pick him up?” You ask, turning your gaze to Jungkook.

“Huh?” Jungkook asks. You roll your eyes.

“Taehyung. If he arrives at the same time as Jin, Jimin and Hoseok, do you want me to pick him up?”

“Er,” Jungkook says eloquently, “He’s actually been here for the last week. Thanks, though.”

You want to say that Jin would cause a scene and whine at you if you didn’t pick him up from the airport, the prince that he is. But you keep it to yourself- after all, he’s somewhat of a boss to Jungkook and Sana.

You nod in understanding and shove more noodles and meat into your mouth. You stretch your legs out in front of you and Jungkook doesn’t look away, instead allowing his eyes to rake over you shamelessly. Nevermind that Namjoon and Sana are right next to him, probably wondering why he’s staring you down so intensely.

The four of you spend the rest of the evening discussing your plans for the weekend, avoiding the topic of work altogether. It’s nice, you can almost believe that you’re all just four friends making a weekend getaway without the confines of work looming over your heads.

Namjoon offers to split the remaining food amongst the four of you and puts equal amounts of everything into each container for all of you to take back to your rooms.

And then Sana pours more wine for each of you and you feel yourself beginning to get more and more relaxed with each sip you take. You want to open your stitched together lips, tell them how it’s been so long since you’ve had alcohol with anyone who wasn’t Jin. You want to tell them that you like red wine more than white wine, but nothing beats soju-

“What’s your favorite kind of wine,” Jungkook asks. He comes to sit next to you on the floor, stretching his legs out. His shoulder brushes against yours and you feel something like electricity at the soft touch.

“Um… I like reds over white wine. But I haven’t had that many reds to say which kind is my favorite,” You muse.

“Guess we’ll have to try some more red wine, huh?” Jungkook says, his eyes sparkling and bunny smile on display.

Your heart warms and sputters at the same time.

“Yeah,” You nod breathlessly, “What about you? What do you like?”

“I’m not picky. I don’t really like cabernet,” Jungkook scrunches his nose, “Too bitter for me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” You giggle, unable to believe that such a noise is coming out of your mouth. Despite Sana and Namjoon having their own conversation on the other side of the room, it feels like it’s just you and Jungkook for a minute in your own bubble.

“I like a good chardonnay, too. Nice ‘n crisp.”

“Me too, I love that crisp taste of a good white wine,” You reply, unable to keep your eyes off of him for longer than a second. His cheeks and the tips of his ears are a pretty pink and you wonder if his cheeks are as warm as yours are.

“Thought you didn’t like white wine?” Jungkook murmurs, head tilting inquisitively.

“I prefer red, but if there’s white wine in front of me, I mean,” You shrug, “It’s not like ‘m gonna say no.”

“Oh? We’ll have to test that out, too,” Jungkook smiles, “I like soju the best. Nothin’ beats soju.”

“Yeah, peach and green grape,” You say knowingly, “The only flavors with rights.”

“Exactly. You get me,” Jungkook nods with wide eyes. He asks you about Tokyo, if you come here often. You answer him somewhat vaguely, but tell him that you grew up reading, writing and speaking Japanese. He looks impressed by that and the fondness in the lines of his lips startles you.

You chalk it up to the romance of this city making you soft and pliant to his doe eyes and the warmth of his smile. He’s so easy to get lost in- you find yourself leaning closer to him to hear what he has to say about his own travel dreams. He wants to go to New York City and Bangkok and Athens- the way his eyes light up constricts around your heart.

Every part of him radiates warmth and you want to be draped by it. He says something that makes you smile and laugh, and you swat at his shoulder reflexively. Jungkook only looks at you in that way. The way that makes you feel like you’re the only person in the world. He’s good at that.

He has hearts and stars in his eyes for you and it makes you choke.

Maybe you had imagined it all because you remember where you are. You’re in your boss’s hotel room and he’s standing right there. Jungkook sees the spark in your eyes disappear immediately and you pull away just as quickly, as if the moment had never happened.

He won’t deny the sting, but you’re so easy to get lost in. The fog in his mind clears, and while it’s only been a few minutes that you’ve been alone. It feels like much longer. But Namjoon and Sana are still deep in conversation, his dimples on display and her smile bright.

You pull away but your dark eyes are still wide and focused on him, stars swirling in your irises and Jungkook thinks he might fall into this wonderfully brown abyss held in your pretty face. Finally, you move away from him on the floor, almost immediately missing his warmth. You look back at him as you move to get some water, the same curious look on your face.

Your face is burning, and you’re surprised you’re able to keep this cool for this long. The urge to bolt from Namjoon’s hotel room and back to your own is one that you have to fight. But instead, you stay planted where you are. Jungkook confuses you, you hardly even know him and you had let him get so close to you. It’s not something you usually do, but what unnerves you is how nice it felt. The closeness of him, his eyes on you and only you. Are you bothered by it?

No, you realize. No. You quite liked it. You’re supposed to hate him- he represents everything you hate. A young kid, a boy, raising quickly through the ranks of your corporate world, while you grasp at straws.

Does he? Does he represent everything you hate? What a load of bullshit.

You swallow again. You need to leave.

“Hey, Joon,” You say softly, touching his elbow, “I’m going to head out. It’s getting late and I’ve gotta head out early tomorrow.”

Jungkook’s heart drops. He’d made you so uncomfortable that you were abruptly cutting your night short. Because of him. He needs to make this right.

“I’ll walk with you,” The words tumble out of Jungkook’s mouth before he can stop them. His heart is pounding in his ears- he needs to apologize before you hate him even more.

“Okay,” You reply with a smile, “Here are your leftovers.”

“I’ll walk with you both,” Sana says, taking her bag.

With that, you say your goodbyes and leave Namjoon’s room to the elevators. Your head feels like static, a wave of thoughts congealing into something impenetrable. The doors ding shut, all three of you standing on opposite ends of the elevator. You can’t look at Jungkook, you can’t see his doe eyes. Not right now.

Sana calls your name, “Thanks for the food.”

“No problem, Sana,” You murmur, “See you tomorrow.”

And then it’s just you and Jungkook in the elevator.

“I’m sorry,” Jungkook says immediately, “I made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry. If you don’t wanna talk to me outside of work, I get it-”

“What?” You ask, finally looking at him. You take a step forward, close enough to him that you’re in his orbit. “You didn’t… You didn’t make me uncomfortable, Jungkook. I would have told you if you did. You just… confuse me.”

The last bit comes out as a vulnerable whisper and all Jungkook can do is nod.

“Goodnight, Jungkook,” You say clearly, casting him a look over your shoulder as you exit the elevator. Your eyes are guarded once more, as if the night hadn’t happened. As if he hadn’t fallen for you even further. You wash him away from your bloodstream quickly and Jungkook feels his heart aching once more.

By the time you pick up Jin, Jimin, and Hoseok from the airport and arrive at the hotel, it’s nearly noon. The car ride back was fun, dare you say it. It amazed you how Jin still remained close in contact with people you went to college with. It felt natural, talking to Jimin and Hoseok. As if years hadn’t gone by.

They were hot, and that was your first assessment when you had met them at the airport. Jimin and Hoseok had both embraced you in tight hugs, without any regard for whether you wanted one or not. You found that you didn’t really mind.

You didn’t know how you were going to survive this weekend surrounded by these many attractive people.

“We should celebrate. For this reunion,” Hoseok says.

“Jungkook is here, too,” You reply, “A great big university reunion right here in Tokyo, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting you guys work together now,” Jimin says.

“Wait, you guys are friends still?” You ask.

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Jimin says, genuine confusion in the handsome planes of his face.

You suppose everyone else is better at making and maintaining friendships than you are. It stings a little, having so many people from university in the same place. In the city that already holds so many memories for you. But you’ll embrace it, because that’s what you’ve been working on. Embracing change.

And of course, what was a boys weekend without a night out at the club? Jin had all but demanded that you come, in true dramatic fashion- I can’t go out without you, you know. I can’t believe you’re considering leaving me like this. I’ll die there without you.

It didn’t take much from you to roll your eyes but agree and tell him that you were inviting Sana.

“Go pregame and get ready with your boys,” You had urged him, “It’s so rare you all are together like this. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Are you sure?” Jin asked with uncertainty and you had only smiled warmly at him.

“Yes, Seokjin. I’m sure. I’ll be crashing the party soon, don’t worry,” You reassured him and he left your hotel room. He promised to text you when to come and you just nodded, shooing him away.

That had been nearly two hours ago, and you’re putting the finishing touches on your makeup with Sana getting ready in the bathroom. Music is playing through your phone and once you’re done with your lip gloss, you make drinks and prepare shots for you and Sana.

“You’ve gotta tell me how you’re friends with so many hot men,” Sana says, taking a seat on the bed.

You scoff, “I’m really only friends with Jin. The rest of them come with Jin, we’re hardly friends.”

“Oh?” Sana asks with a skeptical raise of her eyebrow, “You all went to school together, right?”

“Yeah… Something like that,” You say lightly, “Jin kept in touch with all of them. I didn’t.”

You leave it at that and Sana knows not to press further.

“They’re all nice guys. I always had fun with them,” You say fondly, “You will, too.”

“Cheers to that,” Sana grins, “We look hot. Let’s take a picture.”

“Should we send it to our boss,” You roll your eyes.

“Yeah, that would send him off the deep end. He’d be here in five seconds, dragging us out by our ears,” Sana rolls her eyes as well with a laugh.

You try your best to make Sana feel as comfortable as she can with you. At least so that she’s comfortable when you go meet up with the guys later. You know it can be intimidating being around people who are so close, but they’ve always been welcoming.

It begs the question- why did you let them all go?

You don’t have time to unpack all of that. By the time Jin texts you, telling you to come to his suite on the eighteenth floor, you and Sana are three drinks and two shots in.

You’ve drank more in the last two days than you have in the last year alone. At least that’s what it feels like.

You make sure to take your hotel card, phone and wallet and ensure that Sana does as well. Giggles erupt from the both of you when you enter the elevator, and excitement thrums in your veins. The liquid courage bouncing around in your veins makes you feel relaxed and you tug Sana’s hand out of the elevator once the steel doors open.

You text Jin from outside his door, you can already hear the loud peals of laughter and the beat of music through the walls. You wonder if they’ve gotten any noise complaints yet, but probably not- his room is the only one on this side of the hotel. He probably did this on purpose.

When he doesn’t answer your text, you decide to knock obnoxiously and Sana giggles at your impatience. On your fifth knock, the door swings open and you see Jin’s tipsy face complete with reddened cheeks and his broad smile.

He hugs you like he hasn’t seen you in years, he even lifts you off of the ground a little bit. Your heart flutters with affection for him as you whine for him to put you down.

“Jin!” You shriek, “At least go inside, dummy- stop embarrassing me-”

He finally puts you down and holds you by the shoulders to take you in. His eyes are sharp and he says nothing as he assesses your outfit, apparently deeming you as acceptable as he waves you inside. He says hello to Sana, who returns his mellowed out hug graciously.

Jin hands you both full cups, and you trust Jin enough to know it’s a yummy but strong drink. You grip your cup tighter and allow Sana to go in front of you. The last thing you want is for her to feel left out, so you want the guys to be introduced to her first.

Besides, they all already knew you.

Jin does the introductions quickly, the guys all warming up to Sana and bringing her in for hugs as well. Her cheeks are flushed, and you knew she’d feel flustered. They’re intense in their friendliness and it would make anyone feel flustered and warm.

And then their eyes land on you and you wish you could melt into the floor. Six pairs of eyes stare back at you- apparently Yoongi had also decided to come as well.

College reunion indeed.

You stay close to Jin, offering them a weak wave of your fingers and a smile.

“Hello boys,” You say dramatically, “Long time no see.”

“Jin’s been hiding you all to himself, hasn’t he?” Jimin says, not bothering to hide the way he’s looking at you. And you don’t mind, not really- you know you look good.

“I just saw you this morning. When I picked your sorry ass up from the airport,” You reply and Jimin pouts at you as everyone around you laughs at his expense.

“Still so mean,” Jimin murmurs and you roll your eyes.

And with that, alcohol continues to flow as the chatter continues on.

You cast another glance to Sana, making sure she’s not by herself. You relax when you see her talking to Yoongi and Hoseok, smiling to yourself at how quickly she takes to them.

“Hey pretty,” Jimin says, seeing you near the alcohol and joining you.

“Hey you,” You parrot back and he smiles at you in that sweet, disarming way, “Want a drink?”

“You always made the best drinks,” Jimin says, handing his cup over to you. You ignore the way your chest tightens at his use of past tense.

“Maybe you just never knew how to make drinks,” You murmur, “Probably still don’t, huh?”

Jimin laughs lightly at that as a silence falls between you both. “You look good,” Jimin exhales, “You doin’ alright?”

You never know what to say to that. “Yeah. You look good, Jimin. You doin’ alright?”

“Yeah. I’m still in Seoul at the dance school. Don’t be such a stranger,” Jimin murmurs and before you can protest, he pokes your forehead affectionately.

“You’ll ruin my makeup,” You complain but give him a small smile, “Jimin. ‘M glad to see you. All of you.”

Jimin looks like he wants to say something more. But he bites his tongue. This isn’t the place to pick a petty fight, so he lets it go. Jungkook approaches you both, resting his arm on Jimin’s shoulder. Jimin groans dramatically and Jungkook only offers him a smile and a giggle.

“Cup’s empty,” Jungkook says, wiggling his cup to both of you, “Stop hoggin’ the alcohol.”

“Blame Jimin. Everything’s his fault,” You tease and Jimin rolls his eyes at you both.

“It is, isn’t it?” Jungkook grins and Jimin slips out from under Jungkook with another roll of his eyes. “Hey, you met Taehyung yet? My roommate? You ‘member him?”

His eyes are slick with alcohol, and yet they still sparkle at you like you hold all of the answers to the universe in them. He has this way of making you feel like you’re the only person in the world. It unnerves you, like many things about him do.

“No, where is he?”

Jungkook shouts for Taehyung to join him and you wince. All of a sudden his sandy haired roommate pops up from the direction of the living area and joins you at the drinks table. He looks a far cry from the boy you had driven home that night many years ago.

You knew being in the presence of so many attractive people was going to kill all of your brain cells by the end of the night.

Taehyung calls your name and nerves seize you inexplicably.

“You remember me?” The words escape your lips before your brain has a chance to stop them.

“Course I do? The pretty girl who saved Kook and I at that one bar that I’m still banned from?” Taehyung grins, his eyes sweet and sincere.

“Jin was with me too, don’t forget him,” You say dryly, “Nice to see you again after all this time. And you’re Jungkook’s roommate?”

“Unfortunately,” Jungkook chimes in, earning him a laugh from you.

Taehyung is magnetic when he speaks to you, honey dripping from his tongue as he tells you about his journey as an aspiring art museum curator. Passion lights up his dark irises, his smile matching the intensity of it and you’re certain he has this effect on everyone he speaks to. They’re both so close to you, in your bubble and the scent of their cologne wafts into your nose.

You drink more. You don’t know how to cope with all of this. So you drink.

Jungkook tells you that they’ve been roommates all through graduate school and they had recently moved into a new, bigger place. Now that they were both making a little more money. You find yourself benignly jealous of the life they live- two close friends living together and living for these kinds of nights with their other close friends. The bond they built and strengthened over the years is obvious in the way Taehyung holds Jungkook close, the way Hoseok lights up the entire room and makes everyone smile just because he’s smiling, the way Yoongi and Jimin bicker like an old married couple… Namjoon has already slotted himself within the group. Jin probably introduced him to them a while back, you realize.

Jungkook excuses himself to use the bathroom, leaving his cup next to Taehyung on the table. Taehyung’s gaze makes you nervous- the shift in his eyes is apparent as he lazily rakes his eyes over you.

“Kook told me he was workin’ with you again,” Taehyung murmurs, “What he didn’t tell me was how pretty you are.”

“What a line,” You say flatly and roll your eyes. To your surprise, he laughs, his smile making you smile as well.

“Just bein’ honest,” Taehyung shrugs, “‘Snot everyday you see our hot grad school girl after five years.”

“You’re full of it,” You roll your eyes, shoving his shoulder playfully, “‘Our?’”

“Jungkook was-” Taehyung starts but he’s interrupted by the man himself. Jungkook was what?

“You talkin’ about me?” Jungkook says, elbowing Taehyung. Taehyung only shakes his head and hands him his cup, before excusing himself. He throws you another charming smile and if you weren’t so on edge, your knees might have buckled.

“He’s…”

“A pain in the ass?” Jungkook supplies, “Yeah.”

“No, I was gonna say he’s interesting,” You laugh. A short silence settles between you both, giving you a moment to really take him in. You itch your chin nervously before pushing your lips to the rim of your cup and watching him.

You’ve always known that Jungkook was somehow handsome, sexy and cute all at the same time- wide, doe eyes, pinchable cheeks, pretty smile, and then his body… His thighs strain against the tight material of his pants and you’re certain it’s deliberate. His button up shirt is loose but still molds to his muscles in that way where it leaves you wanting more. His shirt is buttoned at the elbow, giving you a peek to the smattering of tattoos on his forearm. His dark hair is parted in the middle, all soft and shiny, and a little long. It settles over his forehead, almost in his eyes, effortlessly. Two hoops in each ear glint in your direction and you swallow nervously.

Jungkook catches you looking at his tattoos- how ironic, considering he’s doing the same of you. The satin black top you’re wearing has a plunging neckline, giving him a view of the tattoos stemming from your upper arm to your clavicle.

It also offers him a teasing hint of your bare chest where if you turn to the side just a little, he catches a glimpse of even more. It makes him swallow, just as nervous as you. The top itself is loose, only cinched a little at the waist but your pants are tight, your strappy heels adding even more dimension to your legs.

You nervously twist the layering of gold necklaces around your neck. Jungkook has always thought you were beautiful, but he’s never seen you like this. Not even when he knew you years ago.

“Your cup’s empty again,” You laugh nervously, offering to make him another drink. You don’t know what to do with your hands, wanting to keep busy.

“Oh,” Jungkook breathes, “Yeah.”

He tries to keep his eyes on your hands, really he does. But you bend forward just a little and his eyes immediately flit to your plentiful chest.

Jungkook thinks he might die, and what a way to go.

You pull away from the table, handing him his drink and he thanks you quietly. Jungkook ignores the way your eyes shine curiously at him, and he buries himself in the confusion fuzzing up his mind.

Jin, to your relief, pulls you away from Jungkook before you can do something incredibly stupid. Like let him burst through your carefully structured walls even further than he already has.

Typically, clubs are not your favorite place to be. The intense crowd, the neon lights, the smoke… It’s all over the top. Usually, you can’t even hear yourself think over the music. Though, you don’t mind the sense of anonymity in such a crowded place. Besides, you’ve heard great things about IBEX, so you’re curious about it.

It’s a huge place, easy for everyone to split up, but still small enough that you can easily find your group. You urge Sana to go have fun with the guys as you order a round of drinks for everyone. As one of the oldest of your friends, you felt that sense of responsibility for them. Even if you hadn’t called them friends in years.

You signal them over once the drinks are ready, catching Namjoon’s eye and beckoning him over. They slowly begin to surround you, shouting thank you’s over the music. Jimin slings his arm around your shoulders as if it’s nothing. As if he’s known you for all this time.

It makes you feel warm. He gazes at you with crescent eyes and a full smile. It makes your heart thump heavily in your chest.

“Cheers,” Jimin says, tearing his eyes away from you and towards the group. His toast elicits a sequence of ‘cheers’ from everyone. You scan across all of them before your eyes inevitably land on Jungkook. He’s looking at you with a smile, the kind of smile that makes you wonder if it’s a smile only for your eyes.

Your smile matches his in intensity, neither of you pulling your gazes away. Until Jin pulls you away from Jimin, exclaiming that he needs to dance with you. His best friend.

The moment passes, and you make sure Sana is okay. She’s conversing with Yoongi now, and he’s laughing at something she’s saying. It makes you feel warm. Again.

You allow the music to pump through your veins as laughter bubbles from your lips freely at Jin’s antics. You entertain him, copying his coordinated movements with his same enthusiasm. You can tell he’s drunk, from the fiery flush in his cheeks and the tips of his ears. He abruptly pulls you close to him for a tight hug and holds your face in his hands.

“Jin,” You giggle, “What you doin’?”

“I love you,” Jin giggles, “Y’r my best friend, ‘n I love you.” He always got like this when you were drunk, so affectionate. You wonder how he knows exactly what you need to hear, when you need to hear it.

“Can’t wait for you t’meet Yuna when we get home,” Jin slurs.

“I’m excited, too-”

“She’s nervous y’know,” Jin continues as if you hadn’t said anything, “Knows y’r my best friend.”

“Jin,” You exhale, “Even if she doesn’t like me, you clearly like her. I shouldn’t matter-”

“No,” Jin says sharply, “Why d’you think you don’t matter? You matter to me.”

“Jin-”

“Stop it,” He silences you and you comply with a sigh.

“She doesn’t have to be nervous around me,” You finally say.

“You can be a little scary when you want to be,” He teases.

“That’s exactly how I want to be known,” You scoff and Jin laughs, swaying with you offbeat to the music. You stand with Jin like that for a few minutes, sipping on your drink and giggling at his antics.

“Seokjin,” You murmur, voice a little shaky, “I never say it but… I-I love you. So much. You’re my best friend and my rock. I don’t know who I’d be without you-”

“You’d be you,” Jin says without missing a beat, “You’d be scary, intense, kind, genuine, petty, funny and beautiful with or without me, sweetheart.”

Jin sees wetness in your eyes and pulls you in for another hug. “None of that,” Jin murmurs, “Hey, let’s take a picture ‘n send it to Grandma. She’ll get a kick out of that.”

You stand in Jin’s arms, in the crowd of people surrounding you and not paying attention to you. Despite the throng of people around you, it feels like it’s just you and Jin, and your friends in the club.

“Let’s get back to our friends,” You say, “They probably think we’re making out-”

“You would be so lucky,” Jin scoffs, “Only Yuna gets this handsome face.” You pinch his cheeks affectionately and coo at him.

“Hey, by the way,” Jin says, “Not to be totally unprofessional here. But I’m pretty sure Jeon Jungkook has the hots for you. Kid won’t stop lookin’ at you. Not that I can blame him, I mean look at your tits.”

With that statement, Jin walks away from you, leaving you confused and curious- two words becoming increasingly common with your thoughts of Jeon Jungkook.

“Hey pretty,” comes a sweet voice to your right side. You already know it’s Jimin before you meet his sincere eyes.

“Hey you,” You reply, “Wanna dance? We used to always be in sync.”

If Jimin is surprised he doesn’t show it. He only takes your drink and finishes it, placing it on a high table near you. He walks behind you, a hand on the small of your back as you weave through the crowd easily. Bodies push back into you but you only dance along with them to move past. Jimin pulls you closer to him once he finds a spot, pulling you into his side. He turns you so that you’re facing him, the lights of the club illuminating the sheen of his lips and the shine in his eyes. You push a stray strand of his silver hair back behind his ear.

“I meant it you know,” Jimin murmurs, for your ears only, “You look good.” You lean into him at his praise, a hand on his chest. Your nails press into the soft material of his dress shirt and he tightens his grip around your waist, thumbs rubbing circles.

“You do, too,” You reply easily, “You always did.”

Jimin scoffs but you look at him earnestly. “I mean it,” You say with a smirk, mimicking his words. He says nothing, only holds you and rolls his hips into yours to the beat of the music. He watches you carefully, trying to gauge your reaction. You snake a hand to the base of his neck and lightly scratch as he presses his nose to your neck. You’re lucky he’s holding you tight- you’re certain you’re knees would buckle if it weren’t for him.

It’s been years since anyone danced with you like this. You let out a soft sound into his skin and Jimin groans, pressing his hips into yours even more slowly if possible.

“Why’d you leave,” Jimin breathes into your skin, “Missed you. Missed my friend.”

“I was a mess,” You mutter, “I’m still a mess.”

“You’re here now?” He asks, looking at you with big eyes. Jimin cups your face tenderly, and you’re not sure how many of these kind touches you can take for one night.

“Yeah,” You say faintly, “I just… couldn’t. I still can’t.”

You won’t apologize for mending your own cracks the way you needed to. And Jimin knows that. “Don’t be a stranger,” Jimin says and pulls you in for a hug.

“Jimin,” You mumble, “I missed you, too.”

Barely stifling a yawn, you look around for your group. They’re all within eyesight of you- Sana and Yoongi were still engrossed in conversation with each other, Namjoon with Jin, Hoseok and Jimin and Taehyung with Jungkook. Taehyung casts a look over to you and immediately whispers to Jungkook. It shouldn’t surprise you that they both saunter over to you, standing on either side of you. Taehyung wraps an arm around your shoulders and leans against you as if you’re old friends. At this angle, you can see the expanse of his tanned, golden skin since the top few buttons of his shirt are popped.

“See somethin’ you like?” Taehyung asks coyly with a wink.

“No, just wondering why you’re wearing tinted aviators inside,” You mutter, pointing at him, “You look like an asshole.”

Taehyung laughs, throwing his head back good-naturedly, “You clearly don’t know fashion. You must think you’re hilarious.”

Before you can retort, a yawn overtakes you. “Are we boring you?” Jungkook teases.

“No, ‘m just tired,” You blink to force yourself to stop yawning, “Hey, you guys wanna get ice cream?”

“Yes,” Jungkook says instantly.

Taehyung nearly snorts but agrees. By the time you and Jungkook say your goodbyes, and you ask for the tenth time if Sana wants to come with you (she declines, opting to stay with Yoongi), Taehyung is nowhere to be found. Jungkook rolls his eyes, his phone vibrating with a text from him-

taehyung: you’re welcome

“Tae’s not coming,” Jungkook says slowly, wondering if you might change your mind if it’s just you two getting ice cream.

You shrug, “His loss. I know a great place.”

Taking Jungkook to one of your favorite ice cream places that you used to come with Appa to feels intimate. But it feels right and you’re not bothered by it. Once you buy your respective cones (you pay for both before Jungkook can even fumble for his card), you head back outside for a short walk towards the hotel.

The ice cream place itself was close to the hotel, though you had to Uber here from the club. It’s a nice night for a walk, a little chilly but not uncomfortably so. You and Jungkook fall into an easy conversation, talking about the silliness of your shared friends.

He looks nice under the moonlight, you decide. A light breeze lifts his hair up briefly before it flawlessly settles over his forehead.

“I can’t keep up with you,” Jungkook whispers, his words carrying into the night air.

“What do you mean?” Your heart picks up immediately at the anguish in his tone. The air between both of you shifts immediately. What was easy becomes hardened, the space between suffocating you. You can physically see him pulling away from you. Months, or maybe years, of frustration seems to be coming to a head right here. Right near your favorite ice cream shop.

“One sec you hate me. The next, you’re asking me to get ice cream with you,” Jungkook says, something familiar and icy curling in his brown irises. It always looks so off-putting, the callousness in his eyes. It seems to be directed at you so often these days.

“I don’t hate you-”

“You avoided me for 2 and a half months. You’re only talking to me now because you have to!”

“That’s not true-”

“Oh, really? You telling me that you the last two and a half months was all in my head?”

You stay quiet, because he’s not wrong.

“That’s what I thought,” Jungkook says to himself, tearing his eyes from you. The cold look in his eyes has returned and it makes your heart ache. He can’t look at you like that, you can hardly bear it.

“I’m fucked up, I get it. Don’t think I don’t get it-”

“You left. Without a goodbye and now fuckin’ five years later- my dream girl’s my colleague and she hates me.”

A sudden, chilling epiphany douses you- he has no idea why you left. You know him well enough to know that he’ll feel awful once you tell him. Apparently none of his friends had told him. Maybe they thought it was your story to tell. It’s not much of a story, not really. It’s the story of a heartbroken girl with commitment issues.

Your face drops. Maybe he’s hurting you the same way you hurt him. But it changes nothing.

“You can’t even look at me now!”

“You listen to me, Jungkook,” You hiss, “I’m not your dream girl. I’m nobody’s dream girl, so let’s get that straight. I’m awful a-and terrible and mean- and…

“My dad died,” You finally whisper, “Appa died and I couldn’t handle grad school so I dropped out. Dropped off the face of the earth. Got the first job I could, for Grandma and me.

“I fuckin’ dropped out, my daddy died and I can’t look at you sometimes because it fuckin’ reminds me of when I was happy and I can’t chase that feeling because I don’t know what it feels like anymore!”

Jungkook’s eyes are wide, pretty pink lips parted in speechlessness. Fuck. You’ve ruined any chance at friendship with him, you know that. So you bury the dagger even further in whatever this is and you turn on your heel and run. Because that’s all you’re good at. Running. Your eyes are blurry with freely falling tears and the sound of your own heaving sobs are loud in your ears.

You leave your heart out on the streets of Tokyo, near your favorite ice cream shop but you don’t even hear the sound of Jungkook chasing after you.

#jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #bts x reader #bts fic

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sweetchup · 4 years ago

Text

Cute Little Princess

Anonymous said: Anything with phinks please 🥺 I love this big dumb gym rat sm

Type: Phinks x Princess Reader

Au?: None (Is in the same timeline as N.E.R.D.S)

Word Count: 3,000

Warnings: Angst

Author Note: Oof you give me my boi Phinks and say anything?! Get ready my friend cause I know the perfect thing 😤👏👏. Also I used a small reference to my one of my favorite childhood shows if anyone can catch it. It’s very small though.

So today’s a Tuesday, an average taco Tuesday for mister Phinks Magcub. Well that’s what he would like to say right now.

“So Mr Magcub, you’re a wealthy businessman from the Mimbo republic?” A women says, laughing before taking a sip from from her expensive wine.

“W-why yes I am ma’am.”

Why couldn’t the boss have picked Nobunaga or even Machi for this mission? Phinks was currently stuck in the Royal Castle of the Fushi Empire. Chrollo had wanted someone to get close to the royal family in order to collect information on where their famous Dragon Eye collection was located. And of course, Shalnark, being the ass he is who was originally chosen, had to drop out at the last minute. So, Phinks had to cover for him.

Phinks is snapped out of his thoughts as the Emperor puts down his wine glass. He wipes his stubbly chin with a cloth before looking at Phinks.

“So, Mr Magcub, you said you are interested in marrying one of my daughters, if I’m correct? Which one catches your eye?” The Emperor questions, moving his hand to point at his 3 daughters. The golden robe the emperor was wearing flows in the wind from an open window as he does so.

Phinks turns to look at the girls in front of them. They were all incredibly beautiful but one had caught his eye since he first stepped into the room. It was the youngest daughter of the Fushi Emperor, (Y/n) Fushi. No one could lie that the lady was absolutely gorgeous, with locks that look like pure silk and bright diamond like eyes. She also wore a very nice light jade green and white Hanfu that made her look like a little princess. But, as much as Phinks want to choose her, he knew that the best choice for the mission would be the eldest daughter, Himiko.

“I actually like your eldest daughter, Himiko. Her long blond locks against her pink kimono really catch my eye.” Phinks says, smiling at the princess. Himiko and the middle sister giggle like crazy and whisper to each other. He’s now actually thankful that one of the old men back at Meteor City taught him proper etiquette and how to be a gentleman. Cause if he didn’t, he probably would be hanged by now.

The king chuckles at his daughter’s antics. “Well Mr. Magcub, I’m sure my daughter would love to be your bride.”

Phinks smirks to himself. What a sucker. “Please, no need for formalities, call me Phinks.”

————💥✊🏻💥————

“So, did you finally get it?” Phinks says as he leans against the windowsill. Watching the greens of the prestigious castle garden move under the moonlight gleam.

“Yeah we got it, it was pretty easy too. The Dragon Eye collection is in fact already back at the base. Also the Boss wants you back by sometime tomorrow or the day after that. So you’ll probably want to get a move on.” Nobunaga's voice says from the phone.

“Yeah, yeah. I know, I’ll be there.”

Phinks hangs up the phone and lets out a sigh. Finally, after 2 weeks stuck here, his life will go back to normal. He could finally get out of this uncomfortable green tang suit he’s been wearing. Huh? It’s you again. Phinks looks out at the window as you begin to climb the garden wall. While he’s been here, Phinks has noticed that it’s a nightly thing you do; you climb the wall, leave for hours on end and come back tired. What are you? One of the twelve dancing princesses?

He truly wonders what you go off and do. Phinks suddenly smirks to himself. Well, it is his last night here so it wouldn’t hurt to follow. Who knows maybe you're some secret stripper or lady of the night? He whistles to himself at the thought. Man that would be awesome if that is the case. He surely hopes so.

And, in a flash, Phinks is out of his bedroom, with his small bag of stuff slinged over his shoulder. After quietly jumping through the trees, he is following you down the winding streets of the capital city. It was pretty easy too since you're not wearing a cloak, after all there’s really no need for it in the first place since no one knows what the princesses look like.

You, the youngest princess of Emperor HuinYa Fushi, was slipping past people in the crowd, wearing an old Hanfu from one of the servants. Your heart is pounding as you look past the many street lanterns and open shops for the night. No matter how many times you sneak out, it nevers gets old. Afterall, you believed this sight was much more beautiful than being back at the castle. Trapped like a bird in a cage. You, honestly, just wanted to explore the world, seeing everything it has to offer. The good and the bad.

“Miss! How about a nice refreshing Bing Tanghulu? It’s only two for 25 quien.” The salesman shouts, pointing a candied strawberry skewer right at you. The man’s silliness causes you to break out in a giggle and you reach into your pocket to grab some money. Once you have the 3 silver coins needed to buy them you go to give it to the salesman.

“Here—“ “Here. She’ll take two strawberry ones and I’ll take a grape one.” You freeze as you are cut off by a man’s deep voice and an arm slinging around your shoulder. You look up as the mystery man who holds out two of the sticks to you and gasp in shock. “Phinks?!?”

“Hiyah sweetheart.” Phinks says and smirks, taking a bite out of a candied grape. You shakily grab the two sticks from him as he leads you away. How did he know you were here? Did he follow you? You look around worriedly. Wait, is your whole family at the market tonight?

“What are you doing here?!” You whisper-shout. You were probably ghostly pale from worry, though that is probably hard to see due to how dark it is out. But still, you don’t want your father to find out you're sneaking out every night. He won’t ever leave you on your own again, if he found out.

“I should be asking you the same thing.”

“W-well…” You just sigh in defeat causing Phinks to chuckle. Oh god what a mess you got into. You better hope your father and sisters aren’t actually here. You're suddenly startled as Phinks ruffle your hair.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, It’s just me. I just wanted to see where you run off to every night. Mind showing me what you do?” You bite your lip as Phinks says that. It would be fun for someone to join you for once. But… could you trust him? He might be your sister’s fiancé but they have been only engaged for 2 weeks. He’s also acting differently right now than what he is usually like. “Come on. Lead the way?”

You look up at Phinks as he pats you on the back. You guess, it wouldn’t hurt for some company for one night. Right? You giggle and grab him by the arm, dragging him down the street. “Ok! Come on then. It’ll be fun.”

Phinks smirks as he runs with you. You even looked gorgeous running through the crowds under the blurred red and yellow lanterns. He kind of wondered what it would be like running with you hand n’ hand after some sort of robbery or heist. That would be fun but oh well, at least you’re showing him what you do for fun.

————💥✊🏻💥————

This is not what Phinks expected when you said this is what you do for fun.

“Kick his ass, girl!!”

“Come on!! I bet a lot of money on that guy.”

“Hell yeah!”

There he was standing on the sidelines in an underground small stadium, watching a princess he found cute as fuck in an illegal underground fighting match. Who knew you were an enhancer as well. Phinks is knocked out of his confusion as a rumble shakes through the arena. You had just roundhouse kicked the guy out of the rink and right through a stone wall.

“And that's match! (Y/n) wins by K.O!!” The referee announces, holding up your arm. The crowd breaks out into cheers and boos. Phinks grumbles, some of the people who bet on that guy were just sore losers.

“Phinks!” Phinks looks up to see you running and leaning on the railing of the fighting floor. Damn. Phinks felt like he was melting into the floor as you came up to him. You honestly looked like his dream girl; You looked so cute with diamond shining eyes, your fragile doll-like features and your silky hair pulled out of your face. But, with you covered in sweat, bruised up a little and covered in the blood from the other guy, you also looked so hot and now ten times better than he first met you in his opinion. “W-what did you think?”

Phinks chuckles as you look nervous, waiting for his opinion. “That was awesome. Good job! I didn’t even know you knew nen.”

“Ah-h yeah. I got initiated into it after some of the older members gave me a heads up for a championship match I was supposed to take part in. I was honestly so thankful for them.” You say, remember back to about 2 years when this had all started. Wow…it had really been that long ago. Oh, wait a minute! “Phinks!”

Phinks hums in response and raises an eyebrow. You blush in embarrassment and look down, fumble with the rope like railing. You can’t believe you're about to ask this, “D-Do you wanna do a match?”

Phinks is shocked for a minute before smirking and jumping up over the rope. You light up like a kid on Christmas as soon as you see him step into the ring. “Sure sweetheart. But, I ain’t going easy on you.”

“O-ok! Hey Ref, I have a challenger!”

Phinks smiles as he watches you run off to the ref to explain the match and your challenger. Honestly, he’s positive at this point that you're his dream girl. He suddenly frowns as he realizes something.

He has to leave tonight…. crap.

“Phinks!!” Phinks looks up as you stand on the other side of the ring. “Ready?”

Phinks smiles and nods. The match bell rings signaling the fight has begun. He’ll deal with that problem once it comes. But right now, it’s his time to have fun.

————💥✊🏻💥————

“Awww man!! I can’t believe you beat me~ I for sure thought I was going to win.” You whine as you and Phinks make your way through the now dark and practically empty streets. All the lanterns were out so the only light provided was from the big full moon dropping into the horizon, though you didn’t mind since it was such a clear night out. A perfect night to watch the stars. Well, it technically would have been but you were so distracted by the fun you were having that you didn’t realize how late it is. The sun will break over the horizon any second now and you better get back to the castle.

Though that was the least of your concerns, Phinks was acting weird. He hadn’t answered you or smiled at all since you two started walking back to the castle. The only thing he did other than walk behind you and act like a puss is he kept on weirdly checking his phone every couple of seconds. Like he was waiting for something. Did something happen while you weren’t looking?

You hear a small grumble from him as he checks his phone again. That was it. You’ve had enough of his antics. You stopped dead in your tracks and turned around to face him. “Phinks! What’s the matter with you?”

Phinks blinks a couple of times before pushing past you, grumbling something under his breath. That ass! You weren’t having any of that so you grabbed onto his arm and pulled him down onto the ground. Phinks glares at you as he lands on his ass, “What the hell was that for?!”

“That’s for not listening to me! Now, what is wrong with you? I thought we had fun tonight.”

Phinks tches and mumbles, “Well it’s not like it’s ever going to happen again.”

“W-well why not?!”

“It’s just not alright!” He shouts, brushing himself off as he stands up from the dirty ground. You glare at the man in front of you, a golden hue surrounding him since the sun has just begun to rise over the horizon.

You were just so confused as he just stalks by you again. What did he mean by you two wouldn’t do this again? Of course you two could. He’s going to be around the castle for practically 3 months before he gets married to your sister. “Of course we can do this again!! We could do this every once in a while or even every night. Your marrying my sister in 3 month—“

“I’M NOT MARRYING HER!” Phinks shouts angrily, stopping in his tracks; His back facing you. You froze in place.

“W-why not… I don’t understand…”

Phinks chuckles darkly at that and he reaches to the front of his shirt, unbuttoning the collared shirt. “Of course you don’t…well I’m going to spell it out for you, sweetheart.”

With a flick of his wrist, Phinks pulls down the top half of his green tang suit down. You gasp a little as you see it. In the golden light of the sun, you see a big spider tattoo with the number 5 on it. He is…

Your throat and lips suddenly felt very dry as you attempted to speak. “Y-you’re part of the phantom troupe... So, you were after…”

“Yeah. I was after the Dragon Eye Collection this whole time. And now that we have it, I’m leaving and never coming back.”

You stood there frozen as you watched him finally turn around and walk past you. You stare at the ground unable to look at his face as he places a warm hand on your head.

“I was going to walk you back but I doubt that’s needed. So long, (y/n).”

And like that Phinks is gone. Yet you could still feel the strange warmth that his hand provided on the top of your head. You laugh for a second before hot bubbling tears cascade down your face. How strange this is. How strange it is that a man you’ve only known for two weeks has made you this happy in one night. More happy than you’ve ever been.

You curl down into your knees as you sob. It hurts. Your heart really hurts. You’ve never felt so lonely and empty before.

————💥✊🏻💥————

Phinks walks through the bamboo shoot forest outside of the capital city. He’s lost in his thoughts when suddenly his phone finally dings. He looks at it for a second before he finally chuckles.

“Too late for that now, boss.” He mumbles to himself, looking at the text written out.

Boss: Well based on what you told me, since she can take care of herself she is fine to stay, but she also can’t interfere with troupe activities. Bring her at the meeting tomorrow so the members can meet her. I’m honestly curious as to why you picked her.

It was honestly way too late. Maybe if he hadn’t told you right then and walked you back to the castle then, maybe you two would be together right now? No, it would be inevitable at that point. He would have to leave eventually and he highly doubts you would go with him. You're a princess after all and he’s just some pathetic street rat.

Phinks sighs and brushes his fingers through his hair. Man, you really drive him crazy.

“Phinks!!”

Phinks blinks as he hears a faint voice yelling in the distance.

“Phinks!”

There it is again. Wait, he recognizes that voice.

“(Y/n)!” Phinks run off in your direction as he sees you also alone in the bamboo woods with a backpack on your back. You smile, with your tears streak cheeks stretching, as you also run over to him. Clutching onto him like your life depended on it. Phinks finally smiled for the first time that morning as he heard you mumble 5 magical words into his jacket.

“Don’t leave me behind, idiot.”

Maybe, just maybe, hope wasn’t all lost for that spider.

Bonus:

“Crap another group of guards. This is the 10th search group out to look for you today.” Phinks mutters angrily, as you two hide from them in a bush. You sigh, kind of sad that you were making Phinks go through all this trouble for you.

“I’m sorry Phinks. Maybe I really should have stay—“

“Don’t you dare say that, sweetheart. Now that you're with me you aren’t ever going back.” You blink a couple of times before giggling and holding on to him tight.

“Thank you Phinks…”

“Hey Paul. Did you hear a giggle over there just now?”

You and Phinks freeze. Crap!

#hxh #hunter x hunter #phantom troupe #phinks magcub #phinks #phinks x reader #hxh scenarios

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yamithediaperdork · 4 years ago

Text

Courtney's Visit (OC X anime)

Curt gulped softly as he made his way from his hotel room. He'd been in Domino city for all of 2 days and had already won a jackpot, winnng a million dollars. At age 21, the skinny brown haired boy was set for life, and he knew that most people his age would of been going out and partying, drinking and having a blast. Instead he'd put 3/4's of the money in the bank and was carrying the rest in a briefcase as he made his way to a certain..place of business. He knew the reputation that this house had, how so many men had gone in so prideful or certain they were smarter then the ladies who worked there and how many had come out penniless. he was sure that with the 1/4 of a million he had with him the ladies wouldn't leave him broke and summoning up his courage, he walked into crinkles, house of sissfy.

Sitting behind the front desk of the lobby (the place was a former hotel with each of the girls having their own room and then other rooms having been converted into different styles of nurseries) sat the digimon queen herself, Rika and just the smirk she gave him as he walked in made Curt's knees wobble. "Oh good, anther BIG baby~ Hi there loser, Do you need a diapie change before we get you signed in?" she asked in a voice dripping with fake kindness and venom. "I..I..I.." Curt stammered and was glad he'd worn black jeans here, as a small trickle of pee escaped into the crotch of them. "t-t-today loser!" Rika mocked and gestured to a chair in front of her desk. "C-Can't we uh..go somewhere private to t-talk?" he asked, looking around the lobby where some girls, not working were hanging out, having drinks and snickered. "Why? you really think anyone who see's you in here thinks your anything but a diaper wearing loser?" Rika asked bluntly. "You DID see the big old sign on the front of the building right? if anyone was going to snicker and call you out on it that didn't know what you are, it would of been someone on the street. now come sit down." Curt practically dashed over as Anzu nudged Rukia and whispered something in her ear, the action distracting him and he tripped and fell onto all fours. Rika just laughed and stood up, looking down at him. "Awww, did baby fall and go boom?" she mocked. "I better make a note that your a crawler." she added, taping away on the computer in front of her. Curt whimpered and got into the chair. "A-Actually I'm not so big on cra-" he started to say, but he was cut off "Fuck you. I say your a crawler, your a fucking crawler." She snapped. "Now what's your name loser? I just need a first one, none of your dip shits ever give a real last name anyways." "I..it's Curt." "ok then Curt..do you have a stupid little diaper baby name you'll want you're mommy or mommies to call you?" she asked, typing away. "I uh..Courtney." Curt said, cheek's burning red. "Ohhh a little SISSY BABY~" Rika said with delight, raising her voice and getting chuckles from around the room. "Are you diapered already little missy?" She asked. "N-No Ma'am." "bad girl, I'll put in a note to have you spanked. Little sissies like you should NEVER go without thick puffy diapers on letting everyone know what you are." "but I do-" "I'm sorry, did I word that in a way that made you THINK it was your choice?" She asked, daring him to defy her. "That's what i thought. now of course your a diaper filling and pissing sissy baby right Courtney?' She asked. "Y-yesh Ma'am." Curt said, his voice taking on the lisp and softer tone it always did when his clitty got all stuff. "wow, like sandblasting a soup cracker. I bet your a pay piggy too aren't you? Oink for me if you are." "I..uh..Oink." Curt said. "Knew i smelled bacon when you came in. Well Missy, just a few more questions. How frilly and stupid do you want your outfit to be?" "S-Super girly and frilly pwease." Courtney said, not even able to think of himself as Curt anymore. "and of course you wanna be sent home when this is done in your sissy baby outfit for public humiliation. " she said, typing again. "One mommy or two loser?" "I..um..Two pwease." Courtney said. "so, let's recap. you're going to be a crawling thickly diapered pay piggy loser, who's gonna be spanked and fill your diapers to the brim, then get kicked the fuck out of here with your keys and wallet or what not in a cute little purse and your boy clothes destroyed. Is that correct sir?" she asked, smirking. Courtney whimpered and squirmed, anther spurt of pee coming out in his pants and he nodded his head. "That'll be $130,000 please then, Paid in advance. with a extra 20,000 fee for every time you cum, and 50,000 for a diaper change. Of course if you wanna pay for a cummie up front you're more then welcome too." She laughed. Courtney gulped, he knew this place was stupid expensive but he hadn't thought it was gonna be this bad. but the cruel attuide of Rika and the way the other girls snickered, he did something very very stupid in his horny haze. "I..I have $ 250,000 in here..can..can i just give this to you and go meet my mommies pwease Miss Rika?" he asked. whistles were heard in the lobby and Rika snickered. "of course you can~ I already sent them your work form." she said taking the briefcase from him and putting it in a safe. "Follow me sissykins and remember, crawl or auntie spanks!" Courtney whimpered, eyes watering up but he slid down to the floor and crawled behind Rika who he was now thinking of as auntie, and to her total delight, he started to oink softly.

May was dressed in a pair of grey sweat pants and white socks, a baggy dark pink t-shirt reading 'queen bitch' in white text covering her top with her bandanna on, while Kari was wearing a baggy pair of shorts, black, with no socks on and a white t-shirt that was just plain. Both girls looked up and smirked as Courtney was lead into the pink nursery and chuckled. "so this is the bigggg spender~ I'm almost sorry i have to spank someone who's gonna be spoiling his mommies so well." she giggled, getting up and coming over, bending down and pinching Courtney's cheek. "I'm not. If he wanted to get out of a spanking he should of brought HALF a million. clearly the fucking loser can afford it." Kari said, coming over and scowling. "Don't think I don't know who you are, I watch the news." Courtney gulped at that, he'd been hoping neither of them would know who he was. "anyways, I'll leave you ladies too it. oh, and before i leave, while we were coming up here Little Courtney BEGGED me to stress he wants orgasm denial." Rika lied, then left before the poor sissy could argue. "wow, quarter of a mil and you don't even wanna cum? my kinda loser~" May laughed. "Well loser, since your spending soo much we'll let you choose, which one of us do you want to spank you? me, or May." Kari said, smirking with a evil gleam in her eye. "I..I want Mommy May to spank me." Courtney said, since so far May had been the sweeter of the two. "Awww ok sweetie, though you reallly should of picked Kari. She just half asses her spanking. I believe in giving the customer everything they paid for!" May chuckled and went over to a spanking stool, picking up a wooden hair brush. "heh yeah,., she's brutal. anyways. lose the boy clothes pig." Kari ordered. Courtney whimpered but did as he ordered,with the two mommies laughing had as they saw his piss stained hello kitty panties, and laughing harder still as they saw his hairless 1 inch wonder. "Awww, not fully hard yet because your scared?" may giggled, wiping a tear from her eye. "I..I'm actually..rock hard." the sissy admitted, looking down. a fresh wave of laughter filled the room and his clitty twitched and throbbed as they did so.

laying across May's lap, Courtney was shaking a little even as she rubbed his back. "shhh it's gonna be ok." she said and giggled. "actually that's a bold face lie, this is going to hurt like a mother fucker, but you know, I figured you'd wanna hear some sappy shit like that first." before the sissy could say anything the hair brush came down hard and he cried out in pain, a little trickle of piss escaping from his baby dick and going between may's spread legs into a dog dish they had set down. "even if you don't drink it, you wouldn't believe what some perverts online will pay to drink 'our' piss, when we just sell them sissy pee!" Kari snickered. Courtney barley heard her as the brush came down over and over again, redding then bruising his buns but despite the pain and the humiliation (or maybe BECAUSE of the the humiliation) he was still rock hard! "wow, you must REALLY love getting your ass beat!" Kari said, a hand down the front of her shorts. watching little loser like this always got her so fucking wet. "Don't think it's gonna earn you any brownie points though, I already tossed your shit out in the hall and it's gonna be burned." Sliding her hand out of her pants she took his wallet and went over to a desk where a note pad was, and looking though his wallet started to take some notes. "If you want her to stop go ahead and ask, but that'll add anther five minutes to your silly Lil spanking." may said. "or I can stop now and while Kari writes down all the information she can about you, we'll get you in a nice thick fluffy diaper and some plastic panties." "I..I want my diapies!"Courtney said, unable to handle the spanking anymore and the girl's just laughed. "Good girl~"

Flat on his back Courtney was powder and then taped into a thick massive pink diaper. the girls giggled and teased him about how NORMALLY they had to shave a man but either Courtney was SUCH a sissy he never got his pubes or he just shaved them himself. a fat cockfier was stuffed in his mouth, the dick shaped nipple reducing any protests to whimper and the mouth guard was in a nice shade of dull pink with white text saying it was widdle Courtney's mute button as they oiled him up Courtney whimpered as may then Kari then back and forth slipped their fingers deep in him, though unknown to the sissy they weren't just fingering his sissy pussy. nice and slick they powered the big baby then pulled a custom ordered diaper that was equal to at like 16-18 diaper of a no name brand's thickness (while being so massive and hot pink, with stenciled in words like sissy, loser, faggot, cocksucker and the like covering the surface) as the diaper was taped closed Courtney did the only thing he could with two cruel, mean mommies looking down at him he started to rock his hips and make baby love to his massive diaper as they laughed "awww, somebody wuv him's diapies, yes he does!" May coo'ed and pressed her foot down on the front of Courtney's diapers. the little sissy humped like crazy and was SO close to making baby milk when Kari shoved her off. "Hey! no cummies remember? sheesh! you';re gonna get us BOTH fired when he whines we let him cum hard in his diapers!" Kari said and then winked at Courtney. the big baby whined loudly even with his mouth stuffed and May snickered. "oh i can tell, I'm guessing that's him whimpering about how I almost let him go cum cums~" Courtney toyed with shaking his head no, to tell them he wanted to spurt in his sissy diapers while they called him every name in the book, but just couldn't bring himself to spit out the fat cock shaped nipple from his mouth. "Come on loser, time to sit up so we can get your pretty widdle dress on." Kari teased, holding out a SHORT pink party style little girl dress, with puffy shoulders and white lace trim on the hem and sleeves. "What do you think Lil lady? is it girly enough for you?" May giggled. Sitting up on his thick pampered diaper butt, Sissy Courtney sucked hard and fast and rocked back and forth on his diapered butt, trying to rub his nub as he reached out for the dress with his hands. Naturally both girls responded the only way they could. with hysterical laughter. "Bwhahahaha! Oh my god!" May laughed, taking out her phone and record his pathetic display. "Don't you have ANY fucking pride as a man?" Kari asked sneer, and took out what Courtney realized was HIS phone and was taking pictures! Still he couldn't get himself to stop right till Kari put her left foot on his face, mashing it against his nose lightly, till she kicked and knocked him on his back. "enough you little loser! now sit the fuck up and be good or we'll toss you out early, and I'll send those picture I just took to ALL your contracts." The idea of his family and friends seeing him like this made Courtney wet his diapers a little and as he sat up, though it was hard, he managed to control himself as they tugged the dress on him. naturally it didn't even come close to covering up his massive diapers and his 'mommies' helped him stand up and made him strike pose after pose in his shameful outfit. It was of course Kari who had the next evil idea, and she took Courtney's photo id card and tapped it to the back of his diapers so when he was crawling everyone would be able to see who he really was. May, not wanting to be outdone brain stormed then smirked. "Ok loser, time for you to get a whiff of one of your mommies, lay back down so I can sit on your stupid face and smother it with my bubble butt. And you better stay still or I'll have to unleash my 'poison gas' attack." She chuckled. "Ugh, listen loser, if you make me have to smell her farts your in for it!" Kari warned. "oh come on Kari, we both know with the kinda total loser Courtney here is.. He'll sniff and huff up all my ass gas." may snickered and then with the loser on his back, she plopped down.

Courtney found himself in total darkness as the bubble butt of May covered his face, but she wiggled around and made sure that his nose was lodged between her cheeks. She had also made it so he couldn't spit out his paci, and so the only air he could get was tainted by the smell of her crack. 'ugh! does this bitch even wipe?!?' Courtney thought and squirmed a little under the bubble butt. He only squirmed for maybe all of 2.5 seconds but true to her word, May unlessed a fart right up poor Courtney's nose, making the sissies eyes water. that however wasn't even the worse of it as his diapered crotch took a kick from Kari, not hard enough to really hurt but clearly a warning. he could of sworn she was saying something but with his whole world experience now being the bubble butt of a trainer he'd had a crush on for ages, he couldn't make it out. Trying to appease May and there for Kari before things got too out of control he wiggled his face a little differently, giving May's ass a Eskimo kiss. "oh my god! he's making out with my rotten ass!" Squealed may in delight, laughing. "..really? guess he really DOES love huffing farts. so no fucking excuses! huff better!" Kari growled and lightly tapped Courtney's balls with her foot again as a warning. A series of poots later and Courtney huffing as hard as he could lead to the sissy blacking out.

Courtney came to a little while later, but he was locked in a high chair and was being force feed some sort of awful bland paste. with his arms pinned under the tray and his wrists shackled anyways, all he could do was whine and whimper and swallow the muck as he looked over to where Kari and May were browsing Facebook..what a second, HIS Facebook! "Oh wow, who'd of thought a sissy baby dweeb like him could HAVE so many friends." Kari said. "eh, he likely just friended every hot girl and guy he could find so when he worked himself all up they could all see what a baby he is. Oh, he went to high school with that one." Mat said, then jabbed at the screen and happened to look over her shoulder. "Oh hey stinkerella! About time you rejoined the party. me and Kari kept ourselfs busy and made sure not to turn off the clock so you could pay for nothing for a whoooole half hour~" Courtney tried to protest though his feeding gag, and nodded at the computer. of course he couldn't get any words out as his tummy filled up and started to crap. "Hmm? Oh! well we both know you wanna fill your diapers to the brim and waddle home sobbing in shame and semi broke...buttt since we're not letting you spurt your gross sissy milk me and Kari figured you deserved a little bonus. We know a guy or two who are computer wizards and with your personal information it wasn't all that hard to find your Facebook and hack into it." May said bright and chipper. Kari turned around and smirked. "So we talked about it and decided while outing you to five of your friends online is normally a very costly thing, we'll toss it in for free for you JUST because we think SO much of you." Both girls laughed at that while a red faced Courtney shook his head no even as his dicklet throbbed yes in his soggy diaper. "Awww, do you not want out gift?" May asked looking hurt. "how rude! here we are being kind and it's not enough for you?!?" Kari huffed, looking pissed off but playing a role and noticing how the high fiber paste was almost all in the sissy now. "Some sissies are just SO greedy!" May complained, also hamming it up. "but fine, if just five of your friends finding out about what a diaper shitting sissy baby LOSER you are isn't enough for you..we can always do a public post. buttt that's gonna cost you the rest of the session." Kari said. Courtney's eyes went wide as saucers and he shook his head no over and over again even as the last of the paste went in, only pausing as May came over. she unhooked the feeding gag and wiped Courtney's mouth and smiled. "Now, tell the truth little one. do you really not wanna be OUTED to everyone you know, seen as the loser sissy baby you are?" She asked, leaning down and talking into his ear and patting the front of his diapers. Courtney went toi answer no but it came out a whimpering moan as his soggy diapers were mushed and played with, his 'dinner' already wanting to come out the back and fill his diapies. "Hmm? I dunno Kari, did that sound like a 'don't post me!~' to you, or a 'I'm a stupid loser, ruin me!'?"May asked. "I'd say a little bit of both." Kari said, and was hooking up her camera to the computer, and started to make the post, making sure to use pictures of Courtney they had taken THAT date, with a date stamp in case Courtney tried to claim later they were old pictures. "I'll tell you what Princess..I don't really trust a dumb sissy baby who's about to shit himself to tell the truth.. so we'll go by what your cock says. If you can keep from going goo goo gaga till you crap your huggies, we'll call off your Facebook outing. but if you go cum cums before then..Cliccccck~ your famous!" May said and giggled ever so sweetly and Courtney whined and squirmed, just having May this close and everything else had him at the bursting point! "D-Deal!" he squeaked out. "Not like you had a choice, but good to know your on board." May snickered.

Moving the high chair over took some effort, but it was a labor of love so it was worth it. Of course that love was of money and ruining boys, but it was still love so May was sure it counted. Maybe. Truthfully May wasn't sure if Courtney would actually make it. Normally she'd of bet on his cock head going off first but the boys guts were stuffed and this was the extra powerful stuff that Poison ivy had cooked up in her lab. May had had a tea spoon of the stuff once and hadn't been able to stop shitting for a hour! If she was a betting woman (and of course she was) May bet that the only thing keeping the sissy from messing was the tight confines of the high chair, but even that wouldn't help for too much longer. Courtney was mostly ignoring her to stare and whimper as Kari arranged the photos and made sure it was only ever Courtney in the shots, before starting to type out a heart felt message 'from' Courtney to his FB friends.

'Just so everyone knows, I'm not now, nor have I ever been a man, let along a boy. Nor am I a women or a girl. i'm not transgender, I'm just a little whimpering sissy loser humiliation junkie who gets off pooping and peeing in thick massive diapers while dressed like a baby girl. I've decided to take the ultimate plunge and hope that all of you, no matter HOW much I beg and whine, refuse to let this go away. Hugs and kisses Little sissy baby Courtney (formerly stupid stinky Curt)'

Reading the message over, Courtney was jerking back and forth in his high chair, Moaning and whimpering though whether he was trying to cum or trying to crap himself, that was a question May doubted even Courtney knew the answer to. "N-No..Please..Ugh..Don't..don't.." The sissy whined, bubbly farts escaping and May gagging and pulling away, holding her nose. "whew! I am SO glad we're not gonna have to change him." May said. "tell me about it..not even Tai is that toxic and he licks toilets for a living." Kari groaned, getting two clothes pins and handing one to May. "P-Please.." Courtney whined, clearly one mess or anther was about to happen. "Look here loser. you got till the count of three to make one or the other, Or you're getting posted anyways." Kari said rolling her eyes. "W-what?!" the sissy cried out. "oh, we should try and keep him from cumming then if he's gonna be posted anyhow." May commented. "I don't think we can, once he's posted he's gonna blow his load regardless. they ALL do." Kari said, basically ignoring Courtney now. "That's true..eh, fuck the countdown then." May said and took the mouse from Kari and clicked post.

Courtney's eyes were wide again, and filled with tears as he saw himself in all his shameful glory posted on line. the sight and seeing everyone who was online was too much and his cock head twitched like crazy and he grinded his diaper as much as he could as he blew load after load in his huggies, with his rear opening up unable to hold back. as the front was painted with sissy milk, the back was filled with mush that filled the room with a nasty stink. the girls were saying something, and he was dimly away they were letting him out of the chair as he kept filling but the world was like in slow motion to him. it wasn't until he was tossed outside and landed with a gross splat on his diapered behind his mind snapped back and he caught a purse as Rika tossed it to him. "Thank you for trying our services. we know you'll be back baby gurl. you got nothing else now.Change your diaper first though and bring more money. Courtney hiccuped and whimpered, aware of the scene he was making and everyone looking at him, at how he smelled.. and did the only thing he could. He nodded and bowed. "Yesh aunt Rika." he lisped and started to walk back to his hotel room. "Hey! what did I tell you? your a fucking crawler!" She called. Courtney, having nothing left, just nodded and got on his hands and knees, where a stinky pay pig sissy baby like him belonged.

the end

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akimmito · 4 years ago

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Heroes are made by the path they choose

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Master List

Chapter 13

Being married to Lila Rossi, now Agreste, for six years has been... an experience. The woman goes through life following her own path and coaxing people left and right, while he cannot say or do anything without the sole control over his mother's life being lost. Why would a man like Gabriel Agreste who claims to love his wife so much do such a vile thing? The worst thing is that he managed to sustain him legally and catch him with the last woman in the world he would have thought of marrying.

He must remain married to Lila as long as his mother remains in a coma or the hospital will be forced to kill her. Adrien has no other words for what would happen if he divorces her, but it's so sad to be married to a woman he doesn't love and he's the only one who must fulfill the damn contract, because if they discover an infidelity is the same as divorcing.

His mother deserved more, if she had followed that childhood love instead of his father, she woulded be happy...

Chloe and Marinette have been looking for ways to free him from torture, even Felix decided to help in order to free him from his sad fate. At least, it stopped being Chat Noir or that could have played against him, with how easy Lila manipulates people. He get migraines just from imagining making a mistake.

"Adrien, I'm going out to eat with Alya." Lila appears in his field of vision in her usual expensive way, always looking like he's attending a fashion event (which means expense and that translates directly to him working as a slave in different contracts. She makes her money, sure, but her expenses exceed those gains.) She barely looks at him as she checks her phone, probably talking to Alya or one of her lovers, not that he really cares.

"Sure, say hi on my behalf." She turns to leave, but Adrien stops her. "Remember that today we will have dinner with Michel Laforet for next month's charity event. "

"I wouldn't forget it."

They say goodbye barely looking at each other. Adrien is busy reviewing the job proposals, Marinette sent him a couple of locations to investigate a few weeks ago, due to a group of drug traffickers who settled in Paris and need to know their links, he of course must follow their leads and possible connections to find a way to disrupt it. He's now free to continue his work, especially since the MT is busy dealing with Akuma.

He was very surprised when he saw his first Akuma in seven years, he is also quite fearful of what this new villain intends. The way he has attacked, his champions are very different and, consistent with his cousin, he seems to be trying to measure the heroes. For that reason, he approves of Marinette's approach of keeping Luka in a safe place so that no one notices the use of the second chance, that way the villain will never know if his plans could have been altered in any way.

Wait this time it doesn't last for several years.

Now if he could understand why they want him to model in a banana suit for a soup ad, maybe he could consider it.

-----

The Anibiotic: How are bananas and soup related?

Wild goat: If it's another one of your jokes, I swear by Satan that I'll burn your house down

Silent Hill: I approve the plan

Plasticine: Your jokes are really bad, bro

Dragon Tamer: I think this is a serious question

The Antibiotic: It's a modeling proposal

Needle: They offer you the weirdest roles

Plasticine: Like the sardines!

Three balls: that was good

Not in hell: Maybe it's a way to get attention by putting two discordant elements together

Not in hell: You guys are that strange

Almost pretty: Pleasant

Wild goat: We are great, you know, there is no other creation as stylish as us

Not in hell: I would keep my comments, but I completely disagree

Dragon Tamer: If you start a discussion about this, I'm going to ban you from the chat

Wild goat: Tyranny! I will arm a revolution

Plasticine: Maybe it's banana soup. You don't understand art!

Three balls: Neither do you

Perfect Crime: You’re a disappointment

------

John Constantine was not planning to spend his morning avoiding being stabbed by a ten-year-old boy, nor avoiding being eaten by two German shepherds. But there he's, avoiding the edge of a Swiss knife as he tries to shake off two huge dogs without hurting them, because he's sure the boy's murderous intentions would triple if he hears a single screech from one of his pets.

He may not have met Damian in person, but he know enough about him from the chats and from what Marinette shared with him.

"Look, kid, stop, okay? Damn, I haven't drink enough for this... "

"Why?"

"I don't read minds, kido, you'll have to explain yourself." Damian frowns and presses the knife against the blonde's neck, if it wasn't for the dogs he couldn't have him subdued. The Kwami hesitate about what to do, they are talking... only in a very violent way.

"Why are you do with my mother?"

"Did they give you the talk yet? Because it would be very uncomfortable for you to receive it from me. ”John looks at the boy, who doesn't flinch at anything and seems ready to stab him. It would be better to collaborate, he doesn't want to harm the child, he can only imagine the adorable woman's anger if her son is hurt in some interaction between them. "Sure... Sexual attraction, simple like that. I don't pretend to be your father or to be a stable romantic couple, she deserves something much better than me. I'm just content to enjoy our time together, happy?

"Don't you want to be my father?"

"No, I'm the worst candidate for that position. What made you think that, kid? "Now it's his turn to frown. Much love can be had (he will not deny it), but both are aware that they would be the ruin of the other, he doesn't want to condemn her to a life as dark as his and expose her to all the demons that follow him, she truly deserves something better than misery fllow him.

He also knows that, despite all his complaints, Plagg has told him that he's its true owner and that his soul is balanced with that of Marinette, that's why they gravitate around each other and could trust as if they were born together. That doesn't mean they are romantically good to each other. Sexually? Magical, but the romance in their lives has been tragic and putting that together, well, it could be a problem for everyone.

"You've been with her for four years."

"We are mainly friends, confidants. Do we have sex? Yes, do we want to get married and have more children? No... We would just be miserable. Those stories that soulmates are happy together? Son, these are lies, romantic shit from movies and junk books.

Damian recoils, shocked by the information, all of it. Her mother had hinted at a casual relationship, but the look in her eyes told him otherwise. Soulmates? That doesn't exist, but the Kwami didn't exist for him either until his mother introduced them to him. Wretched? He need to analyze what he have learned.

"Why do you say that?"

"Experience, son. Do you want to sit down or go for a walk? The second seems to excite your friends more."

Damian snaps his fingers and the hounds stand beside him, freeing Constantine. Her kind gaze is very dark, long-suffering and ironic.

Just when he's about to answer, the alarm on his phone goes off and he knows what it means.

Akuma attack.

"Go away, I won't say anything."

Damian nods and Kaalki opens the portal, just look at the man's tired posture for a moment before breaking through the portal back to the MT. Agatha and Edgar just behind, have a job to do.

-------

Chloe B. @BourgeoisQueen

What a wonderful day for an Akuma attack. Somebody take the stick out of the villain's ass because the beast is horrible, nor Hawkmoth dared so much

Dick Grayson @TheFlyingGrayson

WHAT HAPPENS WITH PARIS? IS IT A VIOLET DOLPHIN WITH BAT WINGS?

The Last Hours @Toogoodtodie

@TheFlyingGrayson Paris would appreciate if you blocked any information on the city from external sources in the country, if you do not know how, you can contact the @MaxKan_Tech offices to receive information

Dick Grayson @TheFlyingGrayson

@Toogoodtodie ok?

Max K. @MaxKan_Tech

@TheFlyingGrayson @Toogoodtodie Subtle, Anthony. Please, Mr. Grayson, contact my office and we'll make your stay in Paris much more pleasant. You can also contact the prosecution to find out the legal procedures for staying in Paris and the security regarding the Akuma

Marc @MarcAC_twt

Does our villain use drugs?

#ml x dc #maribat #dickinette #mominette

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nanasarea · 5 years ago

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CEO I iii

Prompt: Ceo!reader spoils sugar baby!haechan in Italy

Genre: mostly fluff, a bit of smut

Pairing: sugar baby!haechan x ceo!reader (gender-neutral)

Word count: 1648

A/N: All “facts” stated about Italy are from either my own personal experience or what I have heard so feel free to fact-check me. NOT PROOFREAD, Sequel to CEO and dedicated to the ceo of sm: @hotlinehyuck

“Who said I want to be CEO?” He asked, smirking while making eye contact with you, causing you to almost choke on the drink in your hands.

“What?” You asked, trying to seem calm.

“Well, if you’re CEO, then you can keep on spoiling me, if I’m the CEO, you wouldn’t need to spoil me.” He replied.

“Oh.” You said, letting out a sad sigh.

“And in reality, I also may or may not want to marry you.” He added, a small smile appearing on his face.

“Lee Donghyuck, you’re gonna be the death of me.” You sighed before dragging him into your apartment building across the street.

“You’ve....made....me...worry...that.....you....don’t....like...me....back...and...for.....what?” You asked in between the kisses you shared in the empty elevator.

You heard the doors open and you quickly dragged him out of the elevator and into your apartment, closing the door before pushing him against it.

“I was nervous and at first, I thought, oh god, that feels so good.” He replied, your lips on his neck making him grow weaker by the second.

“I thought I just liked the gifts, but then, please continue.” His whines made your eagerness grow as your lips made their way down his collarbone.

“Then I realized I like you, not the gifts.” He moaned.

“I mean, the gifts are great, I love them, but my main foc-oh shit.” The smirk on your face grew as you ran your hand over his clothed crotch.

“The main reason why I stuck around is because I love you.” He finally finished his explanation, causing you to back away slightly before smiling.

“I love you too, babe. Now, as much as I love you in that outfit, I’m gonna have to ask you to remove it.” You said, grabbing his tie and pulling him closer to you, but not close enough for you to kiss.

“As you wish, babe.” He let out a moaning response before attacking your lips.

Time jump

“I can’t believe I’m finally going to Italy.” His energetic attitude at such an early hour was still so shocking to you, even after seeing him like this for 2 months now, you still couldn’t believe anyone can have this much energy at this hour.

“My gratitude will be shown immensely, glucose guardian.” He said, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you in for a kiss.

“Can you stop calling me that?” You laughed into the kiss as he just shook his head no.

“It’s fun to say.” He simply replied before giving you another kiss.

“Come on, the sooner we get on the plane, the sooner we’re there, remember?” You asked, taking his hand and leading him to the jet.

He’s been on your private jet multiple times, but now, that you two were official, it felt different. The first time you took him to Bangkok with this jet, he almost had a heart attack.

He knew private jets were fancy, but he didn’t know it was to this extend. The massage chairs, the collection of expensive champagnes and liquors, the big TV, all of it seemed so surreal for him.

What was even more surreal was Johnny’s reaction to hearing that Haechan is now a part of the Mile High Club.

He sat down on his favorite seat, yes, he had a favorite seat, as he looked over at the snack bar.

“If you want a snack, why not just have me?” You asked, placing your bag on a nearby chair before taking a seat on his lap.

“You really are perfect, aren’t you?” He asked before putting his hand on the back of your neck to pull you in for a kiss.

Time jump

Italy. The land of pasta.

You loved exploring it, taking a ride on the iconic gondolas in Venice after paying 15 euros for an espresso, hiking the Dolomites, exploring Varenna, strolling through the town of Verona at evening, sipping wine in Tuscany, making sure to stop at the Trevi fountain to throw a coin in and visiting Dora Sarchese for some free red wine.

All of it was amazing, but this time round, it was even better, because you could do all of that with Haechan this time.

Sure, you only had 2 days, so you couldn’t do everything on your list, but on the first day, you took him to the most famous places, Pompeii, the Colosseum, so on.

You did promise him a ride in the gondola in Venice on the second day, so you had to incorporate that into the schedule no matter what.

The first day went great, you got to eat pizza in the country it was born in and watch as Haechan got to experience it all for the first time.

You wanted to warn him about the erotic wall paintings in Pompeii, but the look on his face was worth so much more when he saw it without expecting it.

“So....they had porn menus?” Haechan asked you, causing you to lightly slap his arm “Ouch. You know I’m right!” He said, jokingly acting like his arm was going to fall off, as you hit it too hard.

Technically, he was right. When you told him the story of men visiting these rooms to hook up with prostitutes and choosing the desired position from the examples given on the walls, his eyes widened before the cheeky smirk appeared on his face.

“So, can I get a porn menu?” He asked jokingly.

“Consider it an early-birthday present.” You joked back.

When you took him to Vatican City, he insisted on joining the exorcism courses before dramatically gasping and saying “wait, no, can’t do that, the demon in me and I are really close, I don’t want him gone.”.

You explored as much as you could in one day before checking into the hotel, where you ordered wine from room service and got ready for bed.

“It’s nice sleeping in the same bed, now that you didn’t have to accidentally reserve only one room.” Haechan commented, watching as you undress.

“Maybe it’s the wine talking, but you’re literally the most beautiful human being I’ve ever seen, well, besides the one I see in the mirror. That man is handsome as hell.” Haechan added before taking a sip of the wine.

“Hyuck, you’ve had two glasses.” You teased before taking the glass from his hand and putting it on the table.

“Now, I’m sure you have enough energy after running around all day to make your glucose guardian feel good.” You said, winking as you straddled him “I thought you didn’t like it.” He chuckled.

“It’s growing on me.” You replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I’m glad, and slightly offended that you have to doubt my willingness to please you, even one bit.” He said, his hands travelling to your ass as he kissed you.

Time jump

The ride to Venice was short, you stared at the water as your surprisingly sleepy boyfriend rested his head on your shoulder.

When you got there, you made sure to first get the infamous Venice coffee, which gets more expensive the longer you’re in the cafe for some reaspn, to wake your boyfriend up before you made your way to St. Mark’s Square.

“So, first the gondola?” You asked as he nodded excitedly. The ride was just as romantic as you’d imagine. He insisted on holding you in his arms the whole ride, but whined half way into the ride, as he wanted to be held.

Such a whine baby.

After the ride, you quickly got some fast food pasta to go before exploring the place.

“I know it sounds weird, but one of my favorite things to do in Venice is just getting lost in it. It’s so beautiful, especially when you get to eat pasta on the go, which you can get so quickly!” You explained as you walked around.

“What?” You asked as you noticed him looking at you with heart eyes.

“I love hearing you talk about it. You seem to know so much about everywhere we’ve been and not just the lame, this was built then and then, but the interesting parts that you don’t hear often like that the fork was popularized in Italy. How do you even obtain such knowledge?” He went on as you quietly ate your fusilli as you tried to hide the fact that you were blushing.

“So, basically what I’m hearing is “y/n, you’re so smart, you’re so pretty, I love you so much, thank you for enlightening my life with your presence” or?” You asked, teasing him as he ate his own pasta before nodding his head.

You stopped him in the middle of the bridge you were currently one and grabbed him by his belt to pull him closer.

“Hello there.” He flirted, making you laugh before kissing him.

You enjoyed Italy with Haechan, so much that you vowed to yourself to take him here often, or maybe, next you’ll go to Vienna to visit the Schönbrunn Palace and take a million photos in the gardens, or maybe you’ll visit Petite-France in Strasbourg together.

All you knew was that you were ready to spoil your new boyfriend with trips to everywhere and anywhere his heart desired.

“y/n, thank you so much for taking me here. I had such a fun time. I really hope my schedule will allow more trips like this with you.” He said as he rested his head on your shoulder on the boat ride back.

“I’m literally your CEO, of course I’m gonna make sure your schedule allows it.” You reminded him, laughing “I know.” He said with a smirk on his face, looking up at you and winking.

“You will really be the death of me one day.” You said before leaning down to kiss him.

“I love you too, y/n.” He said before you pressed your lips together.

A/N: Ok that is all my brain could do for this part, I know it’s not extra fluffy or smutty or angsty, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! Thank you so much for reading!

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fortunatelylori · 6 years ago

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GOT: The exhausting march towards the dramatic TWIST

I think I’m going to shock people with this statement but ... out of all the season 8 episodes we’ve seen so far, episode 4 is by far my favorite.

Now don’t get too excited by the seemingly warm tone ... what I mean by favorite is that I hated it less than episode 1 through 3, which is about as high a praise as I’m likely going to have for this debacle that is season 8.

General impressions:

There are two reasons why I felt this episode was better than the last 3:

1. It was more focused, with 3 clear storylines: D*ny’s war for the crown (story A), Jon’s and his family continuing to be dead inside (story B), Jaime’s return to his sister-lover (story C). This kind of focus and definite structure should be a given. However GOT decided to go all yolo on our asses this season and as we’ve already covered in my other reviews, it’s gotten to the point where I’m genuinely shocked to see an episode that doesn’t jump from plot point to plot point like an enraged orangutan on ecstasy.

2. It was centered around this woman:

Look at that face... Holy Shit! She’s going to give me nightmares!

Now, normally an episodes focused on D*ny would be bad news for me because I don’t particularly care for her, as half of my list of metas can conclusively prove.

However, since she’s the only character whose POV isn’t hidden and her scenes aren’t cut short or drained of any and all possibility of actual human emotion, she’s become the only character that I can watch without feeling frustrated, confused or on the verge of an anxiety attack. I actually like to know what the hell is happening on screen and what the character wants in any given scene. Call it a pet peeve of mine.

Although even D*ny, as well rounded a character as she is, suffers from the Ds oscillating trend this season. Last episode, D*ny stood her ground against the NK, committed herself and her armies to the defense of the realm and saved Jon’s life. This episode, she’s back in full Mad King’s daughter mode, with a pinch of Viserys on the side.

But that’s a quibble, honestly and you can always argue that Jorah’s death really pushed D*ny into a dark place in which the crown of Westeros and her war against Cersei becomes more important than her own humanity.

However, what isn’t a quibble is that death seems to have become a shorthand device the Ds employ to signal D*ny’s eventual rise as Queen of the Ashes. She loses Jorah in episode 3 and by the end of episode 4, she loses both Rhaegal and Missandei as well, leaving her in a seeming cliffhanger over whether or not to put the Red Keep to the torch as revenge.

The problem is that D*ny had been chopping at the bit to burn down King’s Landing since season 7 when she had to be talked out of doing just that TWICE. This episode Tyrion once again has to put the breaks on D*ny’s fiery fantasies.

youtube

This scene right here is a treasure trove of Mad D*ny clues. But let’s focus on two of them. Firstly, the impetuous to burn KL is stil there:

D*ny: We will hit her hard. We will rip her out root and stem.

Tyrion: The objective here is to remove Cersei without destroying King’s Landing.

That is not a happy face ...

As D*ny put’s it, they need the capital because otherwise Cersei can continue calling herself the queen of the 7 kingdoms.

That’s D*ny’s priority, folks: the acquiring of that stupid title.

And if she has to march her weakened army, her sick dragon/child for thousands of miles and burn thousands of innocent people to get that title, she’ll do it.

Considering this set-up, why exactly did we need Missandei and Rahegal to die? One day into Tyrion’s proposed blockade and D*ny would be roasting giant marshmallows in the Red Keep gardens.

In my opinion, the reasons for killing Rhaegal and Missandei are not tied to the dark!dany arc at all. Instead, Rhaegal gets killed because they want to make the D*ny/Cersei conflict as even as possible so they’re eliminating one of D*ny’s weapons of mass destruction.

And Missandei ... poor Missandei gets killed in order to shock the audience. There is absolutely no reason to kill her in this way ... If she was to die, the time for that would have been in episode 3. They have to actually push the suspension of disbelief in order to convince the audience that somehow Euron got a hold of this girl from an armada of wrecked ships, instantly knew how important she was, dragged her back to the Red Keep and then brought her up on that wall expecting .... what??!

Euron and Cersei are far too smart to believe D*ny will give up her war for Missandei so why kill her so publicly? To intimidate D*ny? They didn’t need Missandei for that. They could have just as well beheaded all of the hostages they took from the ships.

They kill Missandei because that’s the easiest way for the Ds to surprise the audience and for them to garner some sort of sympathy for D*ny when she eventually does end up going all Pablo Escobar on a city filled with a million people.

The other glaring Mad D*ny moment in the scene and one that plays straight into political Jon, is this:

Sansa: The men we have left are exhausted. Many of them are wounded. They will fight better if they have time to rest and recuperate.

D*ny: How long do you suggest?

Sansa: Can’t say for certain. Not without talking to the officers.

D*ny: I came North to fight alongside you. At great cost to my armies and myself. And now that the time has come to reciprocate, you want to postpone?

Jon: The Northern forces will honor their promises and their allegiance to the queen of the 7 kingdoms. What you command, we will obey.

I’ve seen a lot of people being angry at Jon for “taking D*ny’s side” in this conflict but in order to understand how this plays into political Jon, there are 2 things you need to keep in mind:

The first is exactly when Sansa intervenes in the conversation. She steps in directly after both Tyrion and Jon manage to convince D*ny not to burn down King’s Landing. D*ny reluctantly agrees to the blockade because that would mean having to wait to take the crown and as she puts it:

D*ny: The longer I leave my enemies alone, the stronger they become.

Now Sansa wants to delay her even further. This is not acceptable to D*ny.

In addition to that, I don’t think Sansa appreciates just how dangerous and volatile D*ny is. She doesn’t know about the men being fed to dragons, or the 163 crucified masters or how close she was to jumping on a dragon and burning down KL in the past.

Jon, however, does understand D*ny quite well by this point. I don’t buy his speech as him agreeing with D*ny at all in this scene and considering this is the face he puts on to silence Sansa:

I’d say this is a guy desperately trying to keep a bomb from exploding directly in the face of someone he cares very deeply about.

Narratively, I believe this is supported by the Sansa/Tyrion scene later on when Sansa is surprised to realize that Tyrion is actually afraid of D*ny. She simply hadn’t considered that people are scared of what D*ny might do.

As interesting as D*ny’s descent into madness is (despite Missandei’s useless death), it’s counterbalanced by the shit show that continues to be Jon Snow.

Watching Jon’s arc this season, and by extension all the Starks, is like banging your head against a concrete wall over and over again, without making a dent. It’s pointless, exhausting and painful.

At this point I don’t care if he’s in love with D*ny or Sansa, if he’s pol!Jon or idiot!Jon, if he wants to be king or fuck off beyond the wall. I genuinely don’t care anymore. What I do care about is being given access to Jon’s story enough to figure out what the hell he wants and what he’s doing.

It’s one thing to keep a character’s POV hidden for an episode but we’re going on almost 2 seasons now. And Jon isn’t a secondary character like Littlefinger where you can get away with hiding the POV because he’s not as big a part of the plot as a main character is.

But Jon is a main character and this effort to keep him enigmatic and mysterious isn’t only wreaking havoc on his arc but it’s also affecting the rest of the Stark family. Case and point:

youtube

In case anyone is keeping score, this is actually the first and only scene all the Starks have together in 4 episodes, amounting to 5 hours of footage.

And just look where they decide to end this scene! Right when we’re going to see Arya and Sansa react to the parentage reveal and see what they and Jon discuss next. They gave us the mere bones of this scene and left us without the meat.

The important part of the scene, the emotional underbelly, the opportunity to see these people come together and support and embrace Jon as the Stark they still think he is, is taken away from us. Because that would chip away at the mystery surrounding Jon’s arc this season.

I’d argue depriving Jon and the Starks of the emotional bond they share is way too steep a price to pay for what is essentially a cheap thirll that becomes cheaper and cheaper by the minute considering they’re delaying whatever reveal they’re planning on making past the point of me giving a shit!

This episode did, however, give me the perfect visual way of describing Jon’s storyline right now. Jon is basically stuck between:

and

and he chooses neither.

He sends Ghost away (without patting him because having KH and the wolf in the same frame would be too costly for the overly expensive GOT) and refuses to ride Rhaegal because ... reasons.

So instead of seeing him choose between being a direwolf and a dragon, we’re seeing him do nothing, while looking overly enigmatically blank for 5 hours straight. I just .... I’m sooooo tired of this. Can this be over now?

PS: I’d discuss Jaime’s storyline this episode but I don’t want to say: I told you so ... Well ... ok, if you insist:

a little sour milk dribble on Tormund’s beard and a silly giant story isn’t going to make me forget that Jaime has arrived in Winterfell on the coat tails of a 20+ year toxic relationship with a woman who is not only his twin sister but is also currently pregnant with his baby.

Also:

Jaime: She (Cersei) has always been good at using the truth to tell lies. Don’t be too hard on yourself. She’s fooled me more than anybody.

Tyrion: She never fooled you. You always knew exactly what she was. And you loved her anyway.

Yeah … Imagine entering a relationship with a guy exiting THAT. Dealing with sour milk beard is mild by comparison.

(source)

Favorite scenes

The “If you love me, you’ll erase yourself” scene:

youtube

There is something so deeply disturbing about this scene that I can’t help but be fascinated by it. The J0nereys relationship has always been toxic and this scene right here encapsulates just why:

In order to be with D*ny, Jon needs to give up everything that makes him who he is. In season 7, he was forced to bend the knee and suffer the ire of the entire North for it. Now D*ny is asking him not only to give up his claim but also lie about who he is and separate himself from his family in order to make sure that D*ny gets to be queen.

No one, not one person in this world, no matter how beautiful, rich, good in bed or seemingly in love with you, is worth you giving up who you are and removing yourself from your family (provided said family is not toxic, of course). And anyone that would ask you to do that, should be dumped on their asses pronto.

Jon can’t do that, unfortunately. Because he’s brought D*ny here to fight “his war” and pretended to be in love with her. And also because D*ny simply isn’t rational anymore. So he’s stuck apologizing for people liking him (just think about that!) and having to put up with her saying things like:

D*ny: It doesn’t matter what you want! You didn’t want to be king in the North! What happens when they demand you press your claim and TAKE WHAT IS MINE?

Except the crown isn’t D*ny’s. It never was. Logistically speaking, the crown belongs to Cersei right now. Legitimately, the crown is Jon’s. It’s D*ny that is actually taking what is his, not the other way around. Imagine making someone apologize for you doing that to them. That’s all kinds of messed up.

Speaking of which:

Jon: You are my queen! I don’t know what else I can say!

D*ny: You can say nothing! To anyone! Ever! Never tell them who you really are. Swear your brother and Samwell Tarly to secrecy and tell no one else!

You know what she sounds like? Like Tangled’s Mother Gothel convincing Rapunzel that she’s better off being her prisoner.

Yikes! She’s genuinely terrifying!

Also:

D*ny: Sansa will want to see me gone and you on the Iron Throne.

Jon: She won’t.

D*ny: She’s not the girl you grew up with. Not after what she’s seen. Not after what they’ve done to her.

2 things:

1. I hope every D*ny stan in the universe either denounces D*ny for victim blaming or closes their mouths about feminism, misogyny and pitting women against women for the rest of time. If you support this woman and consider her a positive role model, you are not allowed to discuss these subjects in public ever again.

2. Can you really blame Jon for taking D*ny’s side against Sansa in the council meeting? He already knows just what D*ny thinks of Sansa and what she’d like to do to her if she is given the opportunity. Hurting Sansa’s feelings is preferable to her losing her life.

The “This better not be unrequited love, Ds!” scene:

youtube

This face right here ... this face:

It’s heartbreaking. And what really angers me about this scene is that it could have been all the more meaningful had the parentage reveal been played in full. Actually seeing Sansa reacting, hearing Jon’s fears or his anguish, would make her fighting for his crown when he refuses to do so even more powerful and romantically charged.

Still, this scene comes in direct contrast to the Jon/D*ny scene. While D*ny wants to force Jon to live a lie for the rest of his life, to humble himself and make himself small so she can have all the power and the love of the people, Sansa not only shoots down the possibility of her being the only one in charge of the North and holding steadfast to the idea that Jon will stay in Winterfell. She goes as far as tell Tyrion Jon is the rightful heir when she realizes that despite his supposed loyalty to D*ny, Tyrion is actually afraid of her.

She sees an opening to ensure Jon’s freedom and she takes it without hesitation.

If, at the end of all of this, Jon ends up going beyond the wall instead of staying with a woman who loves and values him this much, then Westeros truly is a cruel and horrible place and I’ll be sorry I invested so many years of my life to it.

Episode MVPs

Euron “Best General in fucking Westeros” Greyjoy:

Euron gets to be MVP this episode because in one fell swoop he destroyed D*ny’s fleet and brought down one of her dragons. What can I say ... Competency really turns me on.

Too bad Cersei doesn’t love him. If these two actually cared about each other, they could be the McBeths of Westeros. Nothing could stand in their way!

Lord “What an Icon!” Varys:

What can one say about this glorious man? He is MVP for the second time in 4 reviews and somehow I think he’s not done yet.

Varys and Tyrion got down to some realpolitick this episode. But Varys had some truly outstanding lines, like:

Varys: How many others know?

Tyrion: Including us? Eight.

Varys: Well, then it’s not a secret anymore. It’s information. If a handful of people know now, hundreds will know soon.

It’s so rare to find a man that understands gossip so well!

Varys: I’ve served tyrants all my life. They all talk about destiny.

As a person born under a communist regime, I concur, Varys.

And my personal favorite:

Varys: You know where my loyalty stands. You know I will never betray the realm.

Tyrion: What is the realm? A vast continent, home to millions of people, most of whom don’t care who sits on the Iron Throne.

Varys: Millions of people, many of whom will die if the wrong person sits on that throne. We don’t know their names but they’re just as real as you and I. They deserve to live. They deserve food for their children. I will act in their interests, no matter the personal cost.

If this show doesn’t end with a 7 foot, cockless statue of Varys presiding over the whole of Westeros as the ICON that he is, what was even the point?!?!?

#got8 #got8 spoilers #got 8x04 #got8 review #sansa stark #jon snow #dark!dany #lord varys #jonsa #euron greyjoy #braime

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katedrakeohd · 5 years ago

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Personal Shopper

A Choices : Save the Date Fanfiction

Pairing: MC Stella Jennings and Martin Mercado (Justin)

Rated: PG for language.

Word count: approx. 2800

Context: Martin calls Stella and asks for a favor.

Author's note: Stella's personal thoughts appear in italics

Tagging:

@dailydoseofchoices @sanvivrma @samihatuli @gardeningourmet @lovealexhunt @princess-geek @loveofafangirl @storyofmychoices @msjpuddleduck @perriewinklenerdie @thepotatobleh @shrinkthisviolet @griselda1121 @iamnotjesha @desiree-0816

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

I'm standing in the bridal boutique with Lindsay finalizing our plans to attend the Wedding convention in Niagara Falls, when my phone starts ringing. Without looking at the caller ID I answer, “Hello, Jennings Wedding Planners. We make weddings spectacular, how may I help you?”

After the words leave my lips there's a pause, giving me just enough time to feel awkward about using the word ‘spectacular' .

“Stella, Hi. It's Martin.”

It's been a while since we've spoken, and I can't help but feel a tingle of excitement at hearing his voice. When I don't say anything he continues,

“Nora's wedding is coming up soon, and I was wondering if I could ask a favor?”

Oh so now he needs me for something. Is this a test?

“What kind of favor?”, I ask.

“Well as wedding planner I value your opinion on what to wear, and as Best Man I need a tuxedo. Could you help me pick one out?”

Well I've already overseen the picking out of wedding dresses. And this would give me another chance to show Martin that I can be professional and take my job seriously. So why not?

“Ok Martin, are we picking something out of your closet or are we going shopping?”

I can hear the smile in his voice when he answers, “I want something fresh and new for Nora's wedding, so let's go shopping. Are you free this evening?”

When he's not mad at me for something his voice does carry a certain charm. I wish it didn't affect me so much.

“I'm free, where are we going?”

“I'll text you the address. Meet me there at 7?”

I can't help but smile, “It’s a date.”

I hear him laugh on the other end, “Don't be late.”

As I look out the window of my taxi I can't help but shake my head. Given that the address Martin gave me borders on the south end of Central Park, it couldn't have said more “fancy rich guy” if it tried. When the taxi stops outside of the Ritz-Carlton hotel, I see Martin standing talking to the doorman. When the doorman steps over to get my door, Martin waves him off and opens it for me.

“Wow, aren't we being a gentleman?” I tease as I climb out of the taxi.

“Well you're here to do me a favor, so it's only right.”

Martin knocks on the passenger window and the driver rolls it down to accept his credit card.

I stand on the sidewalk and wait. The Ritz-Carlton doorman tips his hat to me in greeting and I blush. As the taxi drives away Martin comes back over to me.

“So this is a hotel. I thought we were going shopping?” I ask, eyeing Martin warily.

Martin's usual stern facade shifts and he smiles, “Oh we are, the store isn't far from here. So I figured we could walk.”

I shrug, falling in step beside him as we join the flow of pedestrians. “Don't tell me you're taking me to shop on 5th Avenue.” I joke.

Martin glances at me all serious, “Well yes, I always shop on 5th Avenue.

Of course you do.

As we walk by the other hotels on the street the crowd on the sidewalk gets more dense, and it's tough not to bump into people. A group of people come at us from the other direction and I have to step closer to Martin to avoid being trampled. Without warning I feel him take my hand, he leans in close to whisper. “Don't worry, I've got you.”

I give his hand a grateful squeeze, “Thanks, remind me again why walking is better than taking a taxi?”

As he guides me around a woman pushing a stroller, he smiles. “I like walking with you Stella. Remember how I walked you home after Nora's bridal shower?”

“I remember wanting to learn more about the real Martin that hides behind the façade of CEO event planner guy.”

We navigate the maze of cross walks and find ourselves on 5th Avenue.

“Well consider this as an another insight into who I am. I love this city, I live this city. The excitement, the people, the living breathing organism that is the exchange of commerce and business. I feel so energized to be a part of it.”

As I look down at his expensive shoes and the designer clothes he's wearing it reminds me of the divide between our economic classes. We might live on the same island, but he's all high-rise Penthouse and I'm Hell's Kitchen. I don’t belong in his social scene at all, yet here I am planning his sister's wedding and holding his hand. It's terrifying and exciting at the same time, like I'm on a carousel ride and if I dare let go it will all disappear and be just a dream.

He holds the door open for me as we enter the men's wear store at Bergdorf Goodman and as we step inside he looks like he's right at home. I feel like an ugly duckling in my basic cotton dress and sandals. He leads the way to the escalator and we go up to the second floor formal wear department.

The mannequins are all sharply dressed in suits of various colors and designer brands. As the only feminine thing in the whole room it feels very intense, almost erotic to be surrounded by such powerful masculinity.

The way that Martin just casually walks by the expensive price tags on display is mindboggling. But then this is his world, and money is no object. As we approach the clerk behind the counter the man smiles at us and greets Martin like an old friend.

“Martin! Back so soon! And with a pretty girl on your arm. How can I help you two today?”

Martin smiles back, “Good evening, Eric. My sister's getting married next month and I need a tux.”

Eric eyes me appraisingly as if I'm Martin's date. He seems to approve, but I don't know for sure because he quickly averts his attention back to Martin.

“Nora, right? Well tell her congrats for me. So for this extra special occasion are we going for something equally as special? Perhaps a tail coat this time?”

Martin shrugs and then looks at me, “That's not quite what I had in mind as Best Man, but let's ask the wedding planner. What do you think Stella?”

I hold my hand up, needing to clarify something first, “Hang on, I'm still trying to get over the fact that the staff know you by name. Just how many suits have you bought here?”

Martin grins at Eric, “Well this will be the fifth. There was Prom, two award shows, and of course Sam and Ali's wedding. I like shopping here because they carry the styles and brands that I like. Plus they have my size and measurements on file which helps.”

Eric laughs and smacks Martin on the arm, “Besides Martin and I go way back because we used to work here together.”

“So you weren't always part of your Dad's event planning business?” I ask, trying to imagine Martin working behind the counter at a clothing store.

“I was in highschool and Eric was in college. We worked in the backroom more so than directly with customers. It was my first taste of the business world at the ground level.”

Eric smiles, “One of the best, most down-to-earth guys I’ve ever worked with.”

Wait, what? Bossy pants, rich guy Martin is actually a nice guy under all of that expensive cologne? I knew it.

“Stop it Eric, you’re going to ruin the hard ass millionaire persona I’ve been trying so hard to uphold,” Martin jokes.

The air between us gets a little more awkward as Martin looks at me and smiles. What game are you playing Mister? You like me, then hate me, then you look at me like that and my knees go weak. Stop teasing me.

Eric claps his hands to dispell the moment and bring me back to reality, “Ok then, enough reminiscing, let’s get you a tux.”

He leads us to the racks and starts pulling things. “Let’s try this, and…this, oh and this one.”

Eric’s confidence as he chooses designer looks just at a glance is so different to Lindsay’s timid nature at the bridal boutique. He knows his niche market so well and obviously excels at it. I wish I could get the two of them in the same room, and just maybe some of his confident optimism would rub off on her.

He hands Martin a bunch of hangers as he leads us to a changing room, “I’m sure you two will be just fine with these, I’ll check back on you later.”

I feel a sudden panic take over at the idea of being left alone with Martin in a changing room. “Wait, you’re not going to help advise him about fit and stuff like that?”

Eric smiles, “I think in this matter that Martin would value your opinion more than mine. I’ll give you some privacy.”

Did he just wink at Martin before he left?

I suddenly feel hot all over when Martin hands me the hangers and then starts to unbutton his shirt, This is so not in my job description. What is going on?

I feel myself blush and look away, “Um, Martin should I wait outside?”

As he unbuttons the cuffs on his sleeves he looks down briefly as he slips off his shoes. “Only if you really want to Stella, I’m not too shy to ask for your help if I need you.”

If he needs me? What if I want to help now?

My eyes are drawn to the open neck of his shirt and the little bit of chest he’s revealed. I hang up the suits I’m holding and step toward him. “Let me help you with that.”

Martin doesn’t argue as I gently lay my hands on his chest, smoothing the fabric under my palms and running my thumb up over the buttons. His hands hang at his sides as he watches mine work to undo the buttons. I can feel his warm breath on my neck, and I boldly let my thumb graze against his skin as I reach the bottom button. Biting my lip I tug the shirt up out of his waistband. As I undo the last button I look up and meet the dark intensity of his eyes with my own. Our lips are only inches apart and I see him gasp as I run my hands up his bare chest and slide the shirt off of his shoulders and then it drops to the floor.

“Stella,” he whispers, catching my hands in his. “That's enough, thanks for the help.”

I step back and let my eyes wander down his toned and muscled arms and chest, ending at his abs, trying not to focus on anything below the belt. He clears his throat and then I look back up at his eyes.

“Are you sure you don't need help with anything else?” I ask, bending down to pick up his shirt. It's still warm and smells like him.

He pushes his shoes off to the side, and undoes his belt. I can't help but watch his hands.

“Yes Stella, I think I can manage the rest from here. I'm quite capable of dressing and undressing myself.”

I feel warm all over as I back out of the changing room, “I..I understand. I'll be outside if you need me.”

I lean against the wall and try to catch my breath. My mind, nerves and sexual desire are buzzing in overdrive.

Holy hell what the heck was that? He had no reservations about taking his shirt off in front of me. What the fuck is this twisted game he's playing? Was he just testing me to see if the attraction is mutual? Because it definitely is.

My eyes are closed, when I hear the door open.

“Okay, what do you think?”

My head snaps round to the sound of his voice. Damn he looks good in black. The crisp white of his shirt pops against the caramel color of his skin, and the bowtie draws attention to his handsome face and brilliant smile.

“Wow, Martin. Just wow.” I can't hide my smile of admiration.

“I know right? Eric really knows what looks good on me.”

He certainly does.

“You bet I do!” Eric says, grinning from ear to ear with pride.

After a quick visual assessment Eric nods. “And it's a perfect fit.”

Martin catches me staring and makes a show of adjusting his shirt cuffs and smoothing the lapels of his jacket. I can feel myself blush when he lays a smoldering look on me. He knows he looks good and that I'm checking him out. He undoes the button on the jacket and casually stuffs his hands in the pockets of the trousers as if he already owns them.

“Great then. I'll get changed and then you can ring me up.”

Eric smirks at me when Martin disappears to go change, “You like him don't you? You know you're just his type. Please tell me that you two are a thing.”

I'm caught off guard by his observation, but I can't help but tell him the truth.

“Not yet, but I'm working on it.”

Eric laughs, “I knew it! The two of you have been setting off serious sparks ever since you walked in.”

Well whatever is going on it's seriously something volatile.

“You're his friend, any advice for me?” I ask nervously.

I can't believe I'm really asking someone how to pursue a relationship with Martin.

“Be patient, he knows what he's got going on, but under it all he has a good heart and a good head.”

“And a good face.”

He grins and points at me, “You, Stella. I like you. Got spunk for days.”

Martin comes back out, “What are you two grinning about?”

“Oh nothing. Stella and I were just talking about cute boys that's all.”

He laughs, “I bet your husband wouldn't like that.”

Eric laughs, “Nah he'd just be jealous about missing out on the details.”

I blush and look down at my shoes, praying for the floor to open me up and swallow me whole. “Um, can we go now?”

Eric winks and collects the tuxedo and accessories from Martin, “But of course Madame et Monsieur, right this way.”

Standing next to Martin at the counter I try not to peek at the price of everything as Eric rings them up. Martin hands over his black Visa card. “So I'm assuming the hemming of the trousers to the proper inseam is included. And that everything will be delivered to my address?”

Eric smiles and nods as he makes a note on the receipt. “Yes Mr. Mercado, and as always it's been a pleasure doing business with you.”

“Thanks Eric, we'll be back.”

We? What's this we all of a sudden?

“Nice to meet you Stella.” Eric says as we turn to go.

I smile and wave and then Martin leads me back out of the store. Out on the street I turn on him.

“Ok Martin, out with it. Why did you really invite me out to go shopping with you?”

Martin runs his hand over the side of his face, and looks down at his shoes with a sigh. “Honestly?”

I fold my arms across my chest, “I'd like the truth, yes.”

Martin looks up and the expression on his face is open and sincere. “The truth is…that..that I like you Stella. I was looking for an excuse to see you again.”

Well holy shit. I don't know what to say.

“Stella?” he says, as he catches me staring at him again. “Say something.”

I blink and then look down and reach for his hand. When I look back up at him again he's smiling. “I think I'd like that Mr. Mercado.”

He steps closer, “And what exactly would you like Stella?”

“For you to find more excuses to see me. Because I like spending time with you too.”

He brings his hand up to brush the hair back from my face, his thumb grazes my cheek and sends a thrilling sensation traveling down my neck. He leans in close and my eyes drop down to focus on his lips, now just a breath away from touching mine. I suck in a breath in anticipation and then he draws himself back.

With a sigh he steps back from me. “Can I call you sometime?”

I feel like all the air has been squeezed out of my lungs so I just nod.

“Yes, anytime.” I manage to whisper.

"Okay good, but for now let me call you a cab."

#long post #save the date #justin mercado

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tatyneedshalp · 6 years ago

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Get to know me tag

answer these questions then tag people you would like to get to know better! I was tagged by @snakuchan cuhz she is my eternal solmate yoongi can move to the side bcuz im the big kahuna here.

Nickname- Taty by all my friends along wit puta or monga and the occasional dumbass other than that im also known as Tina cuhz i game a lot and i hate using my real name or nickname it weird.

Height- 5,3 its in my medical documents so suck on dat peasants.

Time- 8:42 p.m i spent my day playing animal crossing and listening to video game theme music with rain backgrounds cuhz it was a rainy day today so aesthetic.and i was reading Taehyung fanfics cuhz dats the bae.

Fave Bands/Artists - Shit. uhhh. They aint in any specific order so. Bts, Monsta x, Red Velvet, Twice, Got7, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Mendes, Astro, Imagine Dragons, Coldplay, Joji, and Childish Gambino to name a few.

Song stuck in my head - The wii shop channel music someone fukn HELP ME.

Last movie I saw - Uh...crap uh i think it was The Dark Knight. Christian Bale is a noice actor and the joker is a masterpiece.

Other Blogs- Nah i just got me *smiles emptily*

Do I get asks - @snakuchan From dat angel. Love her plz she deserves it.

Why I chose this username - OH GOD PLZ NO Uh well this used to be a tumblr i made to check otome game updates back in 2012 or sm and my name was the name of one of em. Now its just me, memes and kpop.... *cries*

Following - 318 *sips tea* idk why i only care for like 20 or so

What I’m wearing - A normal black romper i needa change into my pjs but i do dat before i go to bed.

Dream job - BEING TAEHYUNG’S BOOTY CALL I actually have no idea I know I like fashion but the circumstances to go to school for that is rather bad so I just gotta see what Ima do now or wait it out and see what happens I’m only 18 anyway. I TURN 19 AUGUST FUK YE IM A LEO.

Favorite food- *shrugs* anything is fine as long as there is chicken or meat involved. I’m weird.

Play any Instruments - I uh played recorder in elementary. and in high school I learned to play the piano I did two years of piano and at the start it was just fun and joking around cuhz @snakuchan was there and teacher was busy with her musical career so it was just fun and in 2nd year it was advanced and she was still rather busy so I uh I played modern music on the piano by myself and a lot of studio ghibli soundtracks.

Hair Color - Listen up ok? Natural hair color is literally ash brown like woah. but I dye it a lot of browns so shes like a dark hazelnut color at the moment

Languages - ENGRISH and ESPANOL et un peu de francais ;) not rlly i know a few words and sentences in french but i aint a pro. I do know spanish after all cuban descendant right here.

Most iconic song - *stares emptily at screen* I'm the type of girl that look you dead in the eye, eye I'm real as they come, if you don't know why - I'm fly-why-why I seen you try to switch it up, but girl you ain't got those I'm the wonderwoman. Let me go get my rope I'm a supermodel and mommy, si mommy Amnesty International got bankrupt. I'm on top, on lock Love my ass and my abs and the video called Promiscuous My style is ridi-di-diculous-ulous-ulous.

I chose this cuhz its wat im listening to but i aint got a top song i love too many to choose. Thats give it to me from Timbland, nelly furtado, and justin timberlake.

Random Fact - i see spirits and sense bad things when they are near and I alrdy can predict what will happen in near future this aint a gift this a curse. Its hauntingly helpful tho.

Describe yourself as Aesthetic things- Lips dripped in gold, the vast clear skies, the feeling of the cool breeze passing thru ya hair, handfuls of expensive jewels and gems, cat eyes with smokey eyeshadow, rainy days with nostalgic piano music playing, the view of a sparkling city from a rooftop, the feeling you get thinking of your future soulmate, Small affection from ur friends, Pastel bathbombs, and the feeling of finally accomplishing goals you set for urself. TAEHYUNG BREAKING ME

I tag @bmwginger i always had massive respect for this gal even if we barely talk but i c u bb reblogging my taehyung n v fotos and the ocassional monsta x. *throws support and hearts at u* Ur quiet supporter spoketh.

#get to know me #me #*sighs*#this needa b on my resume

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stillthewordgirl · 7 years ago

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LOT/CC fic: Chances Are (Ch. 4)

What if Leonard had been stuck in the 1950s with Sara, Ray, and Kendra in season 1? And how the hell did they survive, anyway?

Long chapter! And a warning that it gets a little more adult toward the end.

Many thanks to @larielromeniel for the beta. And to @pir8grl for following along as well!

Can be read here at AO3 and here at FF.net. Recommended because of length.

In the middle of the night, for the first time in many years, Sara Lance wakes up as the little spoon.

They'd fallen asleep close, but not like this. Len's warm breath—slow and steady; he's still out like a light-- is hitting her ear, and his left arm is thrown over her, the other one curled and pillowing his head. Their legs are tangled together, and it's the most...intimate...way they've slept yet, even though they're both still fully clothed.

Sara lies awake for a while, listening to him breathe, all that restless, fidgety Snart energy tamed, for once, in sleep. She's not entirely sure how they've gotten themselves into this position—literally and figuratively, she thinks with amusement—but she feels...

It's not safe, not precisely, or at least not because of him. She trusts Leonard; he's earned that, but she's the only one she truly relies on for her own safety. Content? Not quite that, either. Their situation is still precarious, and she vehemently doesn’t want to stay in this time, no matter how much they scrape out some measure of satisfaction and peace from time to time. And she's still worried about the others, Martin and Jax and Rip and even Gideon.

She doesn't know what she's feeling. In more ways than one.

She's attracted to Leonard. She can own that. He's a good-looking man, with just the right level of muscle without being brawny, and his eyes are amazing. Their personalities mesh well, too, even though they might, together, be a little too prone to snark. She enjoys his company, their card games and conversations. Even before this, she could say that she'd grown to consider him a friend. (And frankly, the competence and leadership he's shown since this debacle started is damned sexy.)

But is she starting to fall for him?

Lying there, warm and comfortable in the arms of a crook, knowing that they're going to get up tomorrow and keep working like the team they've become, trusting and relying on each other for backup and companionship and hope, she thinks...

Maybe.

The next morning isn't awkward—not quite. Still, there's a touch of...something...in Leonard's eyes when he returns with coffee for them both the next day (having vanished before she'd gotten out of bed again). Something a touch distant, and Sara can't help being a little disappointed by that.

She knows him well enough, though, that it doesn't take long to realize the distance is coming from distraction. He's pouring over something in the paper he'd gotten at the honor box last night, focused in a way she's come to recognize is Snart plotting mode.

She doesn't ask. He'll tell her when he has a plan. Instead, she takes a healthy swig of coffee, clears her throat, and raises her eyebrows in a different question when he glances at her. He reads it correctly.

"We need to hit the road as soon as possible today," he tells her, getting to his feet and stuffing the folded-up paper in his coat pocket. "Need to get to River City."

Sara snickers, grabbing her coat. "Going to go bang on Ray and Kendra's door?"

That gets a smirk. "What do you think?"

Leonard's not sure whether to be pleased or slightly disappointed that Raymond opens the door very nearly ready to go, just a little annoyed at the imperious hammering. Both he and Kendra do look rather tired, though, and Len resists the urge to make a crack at their expense.

So does Sara, who's being careful about such things around Kendra for some reason. She snags shotgun this time as he drives, and the lovebirds sit together in the backseat, where they're almost certainly likely to fall asleep with the hour.

He'd slept well. Extremely well, actually. Of course, he'd also woken up in a...situation...that now has him wondering why Sara hadn't slipped a knife between his ribs for his unconscious temerity.

But she hadn't. And he'd woken up like that...then spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to disentangle himself without waking her and making it clear where his mind had been...and how certain portions of anatomy had been all in for the idea.

On second thought, maybe his ribs weren't where she'd have put that knife.

For quite a while, the car is silent, a contrast to the actual camaraderie of last night. Raymond and Kendra do indeed fall asleep, and a soft snore now and again is the only sound from the backseat. Sara seems lost in thought and Leonard, frankly, has a lot on his mind, too, so he's content to watch the road and go over the checklist in his head as the miles pass.

Eventually, though, he feels Sara’s eyes on him and glances at her briefly, lifting an eyebrow to indicate he’s aware of her gaze.

“So,” she says after a moment, “why the urgency to get to River City?”

Of course she’d noticed that. Leonard considers denying it, but he’s pretty sure she wouldn’t buy it anyway.

So he prevaricates. “Sooner we get there, sooner we can figure something out, move on.”

“Hmm.” No, she’s not buying it, but he can more or less see her deciding whether to pursue the subject. To his relief, she chooses the latter. “How’s the car handling? Kendra said it should be fine, but she couldn’t guarantee how long.”

“Seems OK. Might have Raymond get it looked at in the city.” He darts her an apologetic look. “Not that I wouldn’t rather you or Kendra do that…”

She finishes the thought for him. “…but we’re women and we’d probably get laughed at or someone would attempt to scam us. And then we’d be obliged to kick his ass. Although that’d be its own reward.”

Leonard snorts in laughter despite himself. “True. Probably not effective, though.”

“Probably not.” Sara sighs. “As much as I hate to admit it, we sort of need to do something else unpleasant and necessary too. Laundry.”

“Ehhhh…” Leonard gives her an apologetic look. “Can you and Kendra handle that? This time, anyway.”

Her expression is resigned, but Sara nods. “Yeah, I figured. We’re getting an iron and you guys are ironing your own shirts, though.”

“Wouldn’t dare to dream otherwise.”

“And what are you going to be doing?”

So they’re back there again. Leonard keeps his eyes on the road. “Research.”

He’s not looking at her. And, OK, granted, he’s driving, but it’s a very pointed sort of not looking at her. And Sara knows Leonard Snart well enough by now to know that lack of eye contact is the most notable tell for discomfort he has.

There’s something he doesn’t want her to know. Or something he doesn’t want to tell her, or both.

Her earlier unease, that he’d have enough of this whole thing and just vanish one day, leaving them to struggle on, flickers back to life. She shoves it away viciously. If he hasn’t done it yet, why now? Especially since they’d just talked about looking out for each other, and the others.

But… “If you’re going to do something, just promise me you’ll tell me first.”

That gets a glance, an odd flicker in his eyes. “Pardon?”

“You heard me.”

He hesitates, long enough that the unease, paired with anger, starts to resurge. Then: “Promise.”

And she’ll have to be satisfied with that, for now.

They make pretty good time to River City, and Leonard (missing online maps more than ever), with the others helping keep an eye out, eventually manages to find a decent-looking mechanic’s shop just a few doors down from a coin-operated laundromat.

This leads to a group conference, as they pool their money and calculate expenses for the near future. Leonard, counting, shakes his head. They can manage…for now. This isn’t sustainable.

Well, part of the reason they’re here is so they can take steps to start changing that.

So he can.

Unfortunately, perhaps, the others haven’t forgotten that.

They’ve settled on a rough plan that involves Raymond taking the car to the mechanic for a once-over (“Do not agree to anything without consulting Kendra first, Raymond”) while Kendra and Sara do a few loads of laundry, something they’re not precisely thrilled by but agree is necessary.

Leonard merely says that he’ll back soon.

Three sets of eyes regard him with nearly identical expressions.

“So,” Raymond says after a moment “are you here to make a��score?”

How can the man make that sound so cheesy? But there’s no point in denying it. “Leave that to me.” After a moment, he qualifies it. “Not now. But I need to do some…reconnaissance.”

Sara makes a noise of irritation, then, and gets out of the car, grabbing a few of their bags and heading toward the laundromat. Leonard can’t help glancing regretfully after her. But he doesn’t want the rest of them in on this, damnit, and he has his reasons.

Raymond shakes his head. “OK,” he says with a sigh. “I get it. You don’t want us tagging along. But, Snart, we’re all in this together. We’re trusting you. You should trust us, too.”

And then he gets out of the car, grabbing the other bags to carry them in for Sara and Kendra.

Leonard waits, but Kendra, in the backseat, doesn’t move. Instead, she regards him steadily in the rear-view mirror, for so long that he eventually turns around to meet her gaze directly.

“I get it,” she says finally, echoing Raymond’s words, holding up a hand at his expression. “No, really. They might not, but I do. Ray is brilliant, but…well. He’s Ray.” Her lips curve. “I love him, but I’m not blind to his faults, Snart. And Sara…I think you know how stubborn she is.” He snorts at that, and her smiles grows. “And she hates being protected. She went through a lot so she could protect herself.”

“I know that.” He winces at the defensiveness in his voice. “Hell, she could kick my ass. With a hand tied behind her back. But this isn’t the sort a thing where Sara’s MO of being, well, a blunt instrument is going to help. And…”

“And what you’re trying to protect her from isn’t quite what she thinks you’re trying to protect her from.”

Leonard frowns, both at the knowing words and the undercurrent therein. Kendra’s eyes are direct, and a little sad.

“I wasn’t always a barista,” she says quietly. “And sometimes I remember. Running into Savage, back in Harmony Falls…it brought some things back that I’d really rather not have recalled. And while 1950s women’s prisons aren’t as bad as some punishments throughout time—and I’m thinking you and I both know that Sara’s been through worse—that doesn’t mean they don’t have the capacity to break people. Especially if a person’s lost all hope of going…home.”

The words cut to the quick, knowing what he’s done to Mick. And she needs to understand that it’s not that he usually plans on himself, or his people, being caught. “If I had more time…”

But Kendra holds her hand up against his explanation again, and he’s bemused enough at her authoritative attitude that he does quiet, listening to what she has to say.

“I get it,” she says again. “Just…I know we need the money, but don’t think we’d leave you behind either, OK? If something goes wrong? You’ve kept us alive this long; you’re part of this team.”

Leonard’s still digesting that, dealing with an odd and not-wholly-unpleasant feeling of…acceptance, he supposes …when Kendra sighs and leans forward, putting her hand on his shoulder.

“Snart…Leonard,” she says after a moment. “I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but…take care, would you? Please don’t make Ray try to organize a prison break, because you know he would.”

That gets an actual laugh out of him, for the mental image it creates. Leonard tilts his head in acknowledgment, smirking.

“And Sara?” he asks. But while he’d meant for a rather sardonic tone, the question comes out vaguely…plaintive, really.

“Sara?” Kendra smile grows, and suddenly, with a rush of insight, he knows exactly why Sara’s been so careful around her the past day or so.

Oh, crap.

But Kendra doesn’t give him even a fraction of the shit she could. Instead, her smile becomes almost fond.

“Sara…” she muses. “I think Sara would tear down this city, this time, until she got you back. Do you know that?”

Yeah, because I’d do the same for her. But he doesn’t answer, just looks at her steadily.

It’s enough. Kendra nods, once, pulling her hand back.

“Then do what you have to do,” she says. “And thank you. But remember. We need you. Sara needs you.”

Doing laundry while Leonard is off doing god only knowing what is, well, irritating. Sara scowls at the laundry spinning in a washer while Ray, back from the mechanic, is chattering away and Kendra is very patiently (in Sara’s opinion) asking him questions about what the man said.

She’s so lost in thought that she doesn’t notice, at first, that Kendra’s also talking to her.

“What?”

Kendra raises an eyebrow. “You OK?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

The other woman gives her one of those patented looks. “Because you’d rather be out there skulking around with Snart and you’re stuck here instead? Because you’re pissed at him for not talking to you about it?”

Sara refuses to dignify the questions with an answer. Kendra just rolls her eyes and goes back to talking to Ray.

The plan was to stay at the laundromat until a pre-agreed-upon time, then, if Leonard wasn’t back yet, to head down the road to a motel they’d checked out earlier. He’s not, and they do. Ray emerges from the office and hands Sara her own set of keys without comment.

She takes them without comment as well, even though she’d told him to go ahead and get one room. Well, she supposes that he and Kendra want their own space…and even though she’s pissed at Len, she’d still rather curl up with him…

After she tells him off, anyway.

They head next door to a little restaurant to get some food—Ray had scouted it out earlier and reported that it seemed to be safe. But even as they’re being seated, their missing crook strolls in the door, taking off his hat and joining their party without comment, just a charming smile for the young waitress. (Who seems, indeed, to be charmed, considering the way she bats her eyelashes at him.)

Sara gives him a level, unimpressed look. (Which he ignores. Aggressively.) After they’ve ordered and the flirting waitress has delivered their drinks and gone to check on other tables, Ray leans forward across the table and whispers, “So?”

Leonard leans back and takes a sip of his water. “So what, Raymond?”

“So…” Ray casts a slightly confused glance at Sara and Kendra and then looks back at the other man. “Your…reconn...um. What you were doing. How did it go?”

“Went fine.”

“Are you done?”

That just gets him an unimpressed look. (Which Kendra notices is the mirror of Sara’s earlier look, although she doesn’t point it out at the time.) “No. What was the verdict on the car?”

That successfully distracts Ray, mainly because he can extoll Kendra’s virtues in the field of auto repair. Kendra, correcting him and adding information, ignores the elephant in the restaurant too. Sara, who thinks she’s probably being childish but just can’t help it, continues to stare down into her drink and think annoyed thoughts.

After a while, the waitress—Mary, her nametag says--returns with their meals, sliding them across the table with smiles for them all, but especially Leonard.

“You seen all the fancy types in town for the gala?” she asks with barely concealed excitement. “I mean, we get all types here, for Slot Row. But my friend, who works down at the Goldeneye Hotel, she says they been pouring in the past few days, even though it’s not ‘til tonight. And, boy, do they like to tip!”

For a heartbeat, three of the people at the table try very hard not to look at the fourth person at the table.

“We’re just passing through,” Sara says, putting a sincere (she hopes) smile on her face and learning toward the woman, “on the way to Opal City. A gala? That sounds like fun!”

Mary grins back at her. “Doesn’t it? But it’s bigwigs only. Some political thing.”

Kendra, joining in, laughs. “Eww,” she says, wrinkling her nose. “Yeah, not our type of party. But, yeah, I bet the tips are great! I remember…”

She continues, spinning a story that Sara is pretty sure is a 1950s-appropriate adaption of a true incident from her CC Jitters days. Soon, they’re bonding over shared food-service experience, and Sara’s decided to…tone down and tweak…a few stories from Verdant and share those too. Ray and Len share glances, the former grinning and the latter inscrutable, and chime in a few observations here and there.

All in all, Sara thinks, she’s pretty sure they’ve successfully kept Mary from connecting the friendly strangers who’d left the nice tip with any…problems…that might occur at the fancy political event down on Slot Row.

She hopes.

"You're going to rob the gala.”

Sara’s voice is matter of fact and absolutely certain. She’s standing in their room, arms folded, watching him with an odd expression—something that’s somehow determined and uncertain at the same time.

There will be no equivocation here. Leonard pauses in studying the two double beds with some regret. (Raymond had told him there were no kings available, sotto voce, on the way back here, obviously looking for a reaction he didn’t get.) He studies Sara instead, at a loss for how to handle this, at a loss to explain why he cares.

“If all goes well,” he confirms eventually, dropping his coat onto a chair, “I'm going to...divert...the proceeds from the event, yes.”

Sara snorts at the euphemism, but he also thinks her shoulders relax, just a little, when he admits it.

“OK,” she says then, “what’s the plan?”

He draws in a breath, then goes for bluntness. And tries to channel the chill he doesn’t usually use, with her. “Nothing you need to know. Better you don’t.”

Sara’s eyes narrow, and there’s steel in them…and a little bit of hurt. “Bullshit,” she hisses. “You need backup. I’m not letting you do this alone.”

“You don’t get a say,” he snaps back, losing the chill, spurred to urgency with the need to keep her out of it. “This is my plan. I say what I need.”

Of course—and he should have expected this—his brusqueness just cements the anger and insistence in her eyes. “Seriously? After all…after all we’ve been through on the ship and here, you’re just going to…to freeze me out? I know you get the need for backup; you lit into Rip…”

“This is different.”

Sara takes a step toward him, eyes blazing. “Bullshit,” she repeats. “I’m going with you.”

She can’t. She can’t, and the panic that elicits in him startles him and pulls truth from him, makes him step forward and lower his voice, trying to show her his sincerity, his…fuck..feelings.

“No,” he says again, voice low and intense as Sara stares up at him with furious eyes. “No. I haven't had time, and I don't have the information, to plan this like I usually would. It’s too…sketchy, too sloppy to drag anyone else in, to risk anyone else.”

Sara looks a little startled by the sincerity he’s trying to convey, but she’s too very…Sara…to back down. “I’m not just anyone.”

“No, you’re not.” Too much, too much truth, but he can’t back down. “You’re…I am not leaving someone else behind.”

To Sara, at least, it’s undeniably clear who and what he’s talking about. She blinks up at him, and he can see her mouth the name, but she doesn’t say it, not out loud. For Leonard’s part, he’s startled to realize that he’s nearly shaking with the need to make her understand. Abandoning Mick, that last-ditch shot to save his partner…his friend’s…life had been the worst of plans, thrown together on the spur of the moment when it became clear a nuclear option was necessary.

He’d had no clear idea how he would manage to convince Hunter to go back for Mick after a cool-down period, whether he’d be able to steal the jump ship again, if the team would even tolerate having either one of them back after that. If Mick would ever forgive him.

And now it’s worse. So much worse.

This plan isn’t much better. Sure, he’d been planning as he went today. He has the framework, the bones, of a decent heist. But it’s hasty and so many things could go wrong--no, could go catastrophically wrong. And Leonard knows it. He’s planned too many heists—and suffered through too many poorly planned Lewis heists—not to.

Sara’s still quiet, watching him, and he’s not ready to say all that out loud, whether or not she knows it anyway. So he tries to throw more logic at it.

“Raymond is the most likely person to be able to figure out how to signal the Waverider,” he tells her, taking another step closer. “We can't risk him getting locked up. Kendra...no way in hell I'm going to risk what could happen to her if she was arrested. And the same with you.”

Sara’s chin goes up. “You do realize I've been through worse than prison,” she tells him in return, voice just as low and intense as his.

Leonard takes a breath. “Yes,” he says quietly—thinking about both quiet conversations over cards and the file on Sara he’d looked up on the ship's computer. “I do. I know about the Amazo, and I know it was hell.” He meets her eyes. “Not again.”

There’s surprise there, and her tone softens, a little. “I don't need you to protect me, Leonard.”

That draws a snort from him. “You think I don’t know that?

“I know you do.” She shakes her head. “Damnit, you stupid crook, I’m trying to protect you.”

The words rattle him, a little, more than he shows, more than he thought they would. He’s not used to this.

Lisa had tried, back when she became old enough to realize that he so often took the punishments and blows meant for her. He’d done his best to train her out of that impulse—and for years, wondered if he’d damaged her in a way he’d barely considered at the time. But it’d been necessary.

(And then Lewis had reappeared and tried to hurt her again, to hurt him--and goddamn Barry Allen and his silly team had stepped in. That’s a completely different set of mixed feelings.)

Mick had protected him, way back in juvie, of course. And he won’t think about Mick.

“And I appreciate that,” he tells her instead, trying to show it in his voice. “But you...you three...need me to keep doing my thing so we can survive this. Living out of hotels, ripping people off and moving on...it's not sustainable.” He shakes his head. “I plotted this heist out for one person. And I’m going to do it. You…if the worst happens, keep the other two moving. Give Raymond a chance to figure out how to signal the ship. Then…break me out.”

They both know that’s not the worst that could happen. Sara shakes her head too, as if in denial, but they know he’s right.

“When?” she asks simply.

Leonard glances at the clock. “Maybe…an hour. It’s early yet, but I still have some things to put into place. And I need to be sure that I don’t…can’t…lead them back here.”

Sara draws in a deep breath, holds it a moment, then lets it out. “Then…sit down.” She pulls the deck of cards out of her coat pocket. “Talk to me. Tell me if there’s anything I need to know.” She shakes her head again as he eyes her. “I promise I won’t interfere. But maybe I can help with logistics, anything you’re still working out.”

After a minute, Leonard nods.

“Well,” he says, taking a seat on the edge of one of the beds and watching as Sara shuffles the cards, “whenever someone’s transporting a great deal of money, there’s always a weak point…”

Sara never thought she'd miss the constant access to news so familiar to her native time, but this...this is torture.

She crosses the room again, restless, unable to sleep, although she knows she should on the chance they'll need to move quickly—whether it's all four of them or only three of them. If all goes well, though, they’ll just stay put until the next day; running, as Leonard had noted, is always bound to attract more attention than just looking confused and asking the nice police officer what all the excitement is about.

Sara, who had, after all, spent years as a thief of a sort herself—albeit a thief of lives—understood.

That didn’t mean she had to like it.

Leonard’s been gone for hours now. Which was to be expected, since he’d plotted a very circuitous route to and from Slot Row, along with multiple changes of clothing and personas. This is his business, and he’s very good at it, despite his unease at the lack of time and his usual meticulous level of planning.

She knows that.

But…damn it. Sara sits back down on one of the beds, putting her head in her hands and trying to breathe. To center herself.

She can’t do this without him.

It’s just past 3 a.m. when there’s finally a nearly imperceptible noise at the door. A glance through the peephole and she has it open before he can pop the lock, pulling him into the room and closing the door behind him.

“Are you OK?” she demands, taking in the weariness in his eyes, the empty hands, the same navy suit he’d left in. “Leonard. Are you all right? Do we need to leave?”

He holds up a hand, and she takes a breath, steps back, stops the flood of things she wants, needs, to ask. He seems to be in one piece, unharmed at any rate, but there’s a shadow there, something behind his eyes, and she’s not sure what it is.

"I got the entire take,” Leonard says quietly after a moment. “It’s stowed safely; we can get it tomorrow. Should be more than enough for what we need." He shrugs out of the suit coat. “And they got…someone else…for it. So I think we’re clean.”

Sara sighs, letting herself relax a little bit. But he’s standing there in the middle of the room staring down at his jacket like he’s not sure what to do with it, and something’s certainly gone wrong, in some way.

“Good,” she says finally, not entirely sure how to handle a Snart in this mood, but relieved that he’s back safe. “Then…want to help me here? We could push the beds together; I’m pretty sure a double alone wouldn’t be that comfortable for you…”

But there’s a flash in his eyes, then, something complicated and unhappy, and she sees the cold persona settle over his features like a mask, an uncanny transformation right before her eyes. He drops the jacket on to a chair and shrugs, chilly gaze meeting hers for only a moment before sliding away.

“I think I can live without...snuggling...for a night.” And there it is, the harsh, dismissive edge that's been missing from his voice since they've been stuck here, since he's been distracted by the task of keeping them all alive and moving.

It’s like a kick in the stomach, given how much they’ve…given how much she’d thought they’d grown together over the past few days, but Sara’s suddenly too tired herself, body and soul, to call him on it.

“Suit yourself,” she says simply, turning away, exhausted. “Suit yourself.”

She’s tired enough to sleep, although it’s a fitful sleep, a discontented one. Leonard’s changed and stretched out on the other bed, facing away from her without so much as a “goodnight.” Sara, staring at the ceiling during one of her periods of wakefulness, decides that maybe the Leonard she’d seen over the past few days had been the façade.

Now that there’s money, he’ll be gone as soon as possible, shedding the rest of them like an ill-fitting cover story, she thinks. He’ll slip away into the night, into the criminal underbelly of one of the bigger cities, and she’ll be left behind trying to hold them together, to hold on to hope, to…find somewhere she belongs.

There is somewhere, even in 1958. She’s been trying not to think about it. But Nanda Parbat is, at least, a place to go, somewhere she could fit in again.

“No…”

The mutter from the other bed breaks into her unhappy thoughts, and Sara blinks, rolling over to peer through the darkness at the tossing, turning shape across the room.

The next noise is inarticulate, but clearly pained, and she sits up. Maybe she’s still pissed at him, pissed and hurt, but for now, he’s still a member of her team.

“Leonard?” she whispers. “Are you OK?”

“Don’…don’t do it…”

A dream. Rather, a nightmare. Sara’s had too many of those herself to feel anything other than sympathy. She starts to climb to her feet, but before she can do more than that, he makes another one of those wordless noises of pain, louder this time, and starts to thrash around, lashing out at something he’s seeing only in dreams.

“No…!” His next panicked blow sends the lamp crashing from the table, and he flinches at the crash, but doesn’t seem to wake.

They’re not next to Ray and Kendra this time, and if someone calls the cops… Sara hurries over, jumping back as he lashes out again, then climbing onto the too-small bed next to him.

“Stupid, stupid, stubborn crook,” she chants under her breath as she tries to figure out how to help without getting an unintentional blow or freaking him out more. “You should have talked to me. Should’ve helped me push the beds together. We’re…better together, you idiot. Damn it, Leonard. Come back!”

At that point, she just catches his right hand in hers, blocking his blow at an unseen assailant, leaning forward to put her other hand on his shoulder, moving it up after a second to gently cup his jaw. Because whatever he’s seeing in dreams, it’s not gentle, not at all.

And that, against the odds, works. Blue eyes fly open, staring blindly at her, but he stops the thrashing instantly. Instead, he struggles to sit up a little more, shaking his head with agitation before trying to focus on her again.

“Sara,” he says, his voice rough and perplexed.

“Yes.”

“Sara.”

“Yes,” she repeats, keeping her voice as gentle as possible. “I think you were having a nightmare. You were getting really loud and…and a little violent, and I didn’t want anyone to call the cops. You OK?”

But her words draw an immediate recoil from him. “Violent?”

“Yes. No…not to me,” she adds, leaning forward again and catching his shoulder again. “You were just thrashing around and…I was worried.”

Leonard closes his eyes again and takes a deep breath, then another, some of that terrible tension running out of his shoulders. Sara, very gently, very tentatively, starts to knead the muscles on which her hand is resting, moving to sit next to him.

“Sorry,” he mutters again after a minute. “I…”

He's staring off into space again, but Sara isn't about to let it go this time.

“What happened out there?” she asks quietly. “Tell me.”

He doesn’t want to talk about it. But it’s eating at him, and he’s pretty sure that Sara, this time, isn’t going to let him pull his usual bullshit of retreating into the ice.

He glances at her. Yeah. Definitely not.

“It was going according to plan,” he says finally, closing his eyes. “I had my mask on; I was waiting at the point where there should have only been two guards, right before they got to the armored car and the others. But...

“There was this pair of dumb-ass kids. Eh, maybe about 20 years old. I heard them before I saw them, and they didn’t see me. Reminded me a bit of me and...me back in the day, but I was never that stupid.” He opens his eyes, staring into the dark, into memory. “You can tell a plan isn't a good one when two idiots like that come up with the same one. Well, a similar one.

“Except their plan wasn’t much more then ‘go in with guns blazing.’ ” Leonard shakes his head. “It would have been a bloodbath.”

Sara’s pulled both her legs up onto the bed, moving a little so she can work on both his shoulders. The touch feels really good, actually. “So what did you do?”

She’s simply assumed he wouldn’t let it stand. Well. She’s not wrong.

“The two guards carried the take out in a bag,” he said after a minute. “Right on schedule. The idiots moved in, guns drawn. So I… shot them.”

Sara’s hands still. “The...idiots?”

“Yes.” His right hand moves up to rub at his left bicep, but he barely realizes it. “Just winged them both, in the upper arm.” He glances back at her. “I know basic anatomy. I kept it as safe as I could, stayed away from arteries, or so I presume.

“Well, they went down, dropped their guns like the rookies they were. The guards pulled their weapons, and dropped the bag—they weren’t the brightest, either--focusing on them, there was a lot of yelling, it was dark…” He shakes his head. “In the chaos, I got the bag. Got out of there, stowed it, changed, and circled back around to see what the buzz was. The press was already out in force and I blended in with them. Even had a notebook in my pocket.”

He snorts. “The story is already that those two just had an accomplice who turned on them. That’s where the investigation is focusing: on another idiot kid. No one saw me clearly, and there were no cameras. So I guess I should be pleased."

Sara’s started rubbing his shoulders again, her fingers brushing the bare skin of his neck and he’s trying not to lean into the touch. “So,” she says quietly, “you probably actually saved lives tonight. Probably more than one guard, maybe even the would-be robbers.”

Leonard hasn’t really thought about it that way. “But…”

“But you know I’m right.” There’s a faint hint of amusement in her voice, and he can’t help smirking a little in return, especially since he thinks that, just maybe, his earlier reflexive coldness has been forgiven.

But she needs to understand.

He pulls away, just a little, then, swallowing, abruptly drags his shirt up and over his head, dropping it onto the bed next to them. Sara watches with a little surprise in her eyes, but doesn’t say anything, even he turns to better show her his bare left bicep…and the deep scar that still cuts across it.

“When I was about that same damned age,” he tells her, “my father shot me. Same spot, more or less, though I’m pretty sure his motives weren’t good. I was a distraction, so he could get away during a heist gone wrong.” He holds himself still, trying not to flinch as she cautiously reaches out to run a fingertip over it, a sensation that raises the hairs on the back of his neck. “The damned thing still gives me problems. Still hurts at night, or when the weather changes.”

He shakes his head. “And I did the same thing to those two stupid kids.”

Sara has mixed feelings, at this moment. She wants to go find the two boneheads that nearly ruined Leonard’s heist, make sure they’re OK (for his sake), and then yell at them until they rethink their life choices.

She wants to go back in time and find Lewis Snart so she can kill him again.

And she wants…

She wants.

She runs her fingers across the vicious scar again, surreptitiously (or not so surreptitiously, really) running her eyes over the half-clothed man sitting in front of her. But this probably isn’t a good time to act on the attraction, not when he’s caught up in guilt and memory, and the last thing she wants to do is scare him off.

“You said it yourself,” she says instead. “It could have been a bloodbath.”

Leonard doesn’t answer, although he does shrug. And he doesn’t argue, either, and she’ll take that, as long as he keeps thinking about what she’s said.

She should go back to her bed. She should…

"C'mere, Len," she sighs instead. "I...I sleep better with you here. And I don't think either one of us should be alone right now."

Leonard regards her steadily. Then he nods, moving to stretch out, catching her wrist to pull her gently down with him

The bed is small, much smaller than they’re used to now, but it doesn’t matter much, because they’re definitely well and truly in each other’s space. Leonard hasn’t bothered putting his shirt back on, and the warmth is radiating off him, striking in a man who usually gloried in such a chilly image, and Sara, lying next to him, only inches apart, glories in it.

Without even thinking about it, she reaches out with the arm that isn't curled up under her head and runs her hand down his back and then up again, palm smoothing over warm skin, callouses catching on the scars she’d just gotten her first look at.

He freezes, at first, and she does too, suddenly wide awake, cursing the drowsy impulse. But then…he slowly moves his own free hand around to rest on her hip, then up under her top, fingers drifting up her back, too, skin on skin, tracing her spine. The spark of electricity this causes makes her shudder, sensation prickling along every nerve, and she stifles a gasp of reaction, arching her back just a little.

Oh.

Oh, this could be dangerous. Or wonderful. Or dangerously wonderful. All three?

Is she ready to go there? Is he?

Well. He's no expert, but from the way Sara's reacting, his touch certainly doesn't seem to be unwelcome. Far from it. Her eyes are closed, and her lips are slightly parted, and she's breathing far more heavily than he'd think a simple caress could account for.

So is he. And his breath catches again as she moves her hand around, trailing her fingers lightly down his bare chest slowly and steadily, bringing her hand to rest right on the waistband of his pajama pants, hooking her fingertips just inside.

And, holy shit, if he hadn’t been hard before (and he’d definitely been on the way there), he sure as hell is now.

Sara follows up on that move by edging a little closer, and he follows suit, until they’re touching just about everywhere, more contact than he’s experienced in a good long time. Leonard, cognizant of his own ragged breathing, makes himself take a deep breath, then another, running his hand down her back again, sensitive fingertips tracing her spine, right down to the base, an area that seems to be particularly…sensitive.

She arches her back, gasping again, bringing her front into even closer contact with his chest and making a noise that seems to mix amusement, desire and frustration.

The first kiss isn't quite a real kiss. More...that their mouths sort of touch as they lie there, arms around each other, as she looks up at him and he tilts his head down to look to her. Her top lip brushes his bottom lip, lingering just a little, and they both hesitate, then move to readjust the angle.

The second kiss is still awkward in its own way, slow and unpracticed, as if they’re still trying to pretend this isn’t what it is. Lips brush, lingering and hesitant, but the angle is still off, and Sara hums to herself, then moves a little, adjusting it again, and darts her tongue between his lips.

Damn.

She tastes like something sweet, something he can’t name, and he just enjoys it for a moment before upping the aggression just a little on his part, snaking his other hand around to cradle the back of her head, pulling her closer. And all of a sudden, just that quickly, there’s nothing hesitant about it; they’re devouring each other, making out like they’re never going to have this moment again, an air of desperation about the whole thing.

Somehow, through a combination of his efforts and hers, Sara’s top has become completely unbuttoned, and she pulls back for just a moment to strip it off and fling it elsewhere before surging back to kiss him again, skin pressing to skin. They’re both half-naked now, and her still-silk-clad thigh is moving between his legs, and he’s moved his other hand to curve around her ass, and if those two layers of fabric weren’t there…

It would be the easiest thing in the world to let go and do this.

But. The corner of his mind that hasn’t yet ceded control to other portions of anatomy points out. But.

Leonard is an overthinker. Always has been, always will be. It makes him an excellent planner, an exceptional crook, one who anticipates almost all contingencies (except, one time, a damned speedster) and prepares for them.

It makes him lousy at relationships.

They’re stuck here. They might never get to go home. The realist in him knows it even as he’s been trying to soldier on preparing for the best possible chance of making it there. And beyond all the planning, the pragmatic slog toward Nickel City and a situation where they can safely go to ground for a while, there’s only one bright point in this whole damned mess.

Sara’s here too.

Sara, who gets him on a level he’s not sure anyone else ever has, not even Mick. Sara, who has her darkness too, but understands what it’s like to wonder if you can still reach the light. Sara, who’s every element of brilliant and bad-ass he’s ever been attracted to.

If this goes south, and they fall apart, he’ll be alone here.

Sure, this whole roll in the sheets could just be a friends-with-benefits thing. Maybe it is to her. But deep down, Leonard Snart acknowledges that he’s well and truly falling for Sara Lance, the way he’s only fallen for two other people in his life.

Neither of those times went well.

And the notion that he could ruin her presence in his life, drive her away, by pursuing this terrifies him.

Leonard breaks the kiss, pulling away with a gasp, putting a little space between them and trying to clear his head. Sara, whose fingers had been drifting south, stops her exploration immediately, reaching her right hand up to cup his jaw, eyes concerned.

“Are you OK?” she whispers after a moment. “Talk to me.”

“It’s OK. It’s OK. It’s just…need to slow down…I…” I’m a little more fucked up than I’ve ever told you. “It’s not you. All right? It’s not you.”

She studies him a moment, then nods, pulling back a little herself. But he reaches for her when she makes a move to get up and she subsides back down to his side, reaching out to grab both their discarded shirts and pressing his into his hand.

Leonard takes it but doesn’t move yet to put it on. Sara pillows her head on an arm and watches him steadily in return. There’s no judgement, no anger or even irritation in her eyes, and that make it easier to say what he does next.

“Just…don’t leave,” he says quietly. “Give me time?”

He’s never asked for such a thing in his life.

And on some level, he’s stunned when she whispers “Of course.”

#chances are #captain canary #sara lance #leonard snart #legends of tomorrow

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misadventuresofthatoregongirl · 4 years ago

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A little background... I am 27 years old. I have a 9 year old. I have been with his father since I was 12 years old, I have never “dated” anyone else. I have seen others, but never been in a relationship with anyone else. in January 2019 my little brother (we were 4 years apart and very lose) was left for dead by police after he got in a car wreck and had a head injury. He had a pulse for 30 minutes yet was never taken to the hospital, that was 10 minutes away. A week later some rich yuppie blew their entire head off with a shotgun, 80 miles away from the hospital, had no pulse, but was air lifted to the hospital. I strongly feel my brother was left for dead due to the fact he had unpaid fines. Mostly due to no car insurance or “driving while suspended” over no car insurance. But I know only blacks matter in this country, not some mutt who is half native american half white. That has been made ABUNDUNTLY CLEAR.

If you are one of those stupid cunts with the “driving is a privilege” bullshit mindset, (driving to work should not be a privilege should be a basic human right and “ride the bus” only big cities have busses and many people have to commute to larger cities in Oregon) when basic liability insurance is about $300 a month for people who are never on mommy and daddys insurance, please kindly fuck off. Housing in Oregon is insane, already, most people have half or more of their money going to rent if they can manage to get somewhere to rent to them at all, they should not have to have another 1/4th or more of their income going to basic liability insurance when they have never even had a ticket. I went through the same shit. Eventually police would just wait in the parking lot for me to leave work and just ticket me over and over, I was denied a hardship permit that is also such a scam. Pay a bunch of money for something you aren’t even guaranteed to get. I drove 1000 miles a week just to get to work, because I could not find work in the rural area I live in not could I afford the $1500 a month rent in the city that has jobs (that’s basically how much I made a month) it is what is is. I had no choice.

Paying for car insurance crippled me financially. I was actually split up with his father at that time but had to come crawling back begging for money due to my $300 basic liability insurance. The tickets are not even on my record anymore, for driving with no insurance and driving while suspended but its still $260 a month. Absolutely sickening. I don’t have a fucking dime left over after i pay bills, and my boyfriend works and we STILL have no fucking money. Ever. We don’t get to go on vacations, we live in the shittiest neighborhood in the entire county, in a shit trailer, drive shitty cars, I assure you we have nothing nice. Nicest thing he had is probably his work boots which were paid for by his boss, working your ass off in Oregon does not pay off. “Get a better job” no shit sherlock, did it ever occur to you its difficult to not get fired from your job you are currently working, and still go to interviews? Employers be like “I know you have a job currently but can you drop everything and come in an hour?” Oh yeah, totally. And if you try and schedule it for a time maybe you won’t get fired its usually “Nevermind.” And the interview process is a begging a groveling process like you’re a god damn peasant. Why do I want this job? MONEY! Why else! Why does anyone want any job? I worked at a staffing agency for 4 years and I can not tell you how many people did well at those stupid cookie cutter questions but were shit workers. I wish places would just let you work a day or two and see.

Then I got laid off as soon as stupid corona hit in March, they already fired my office manager and a sales person “over discounted bill rates”. Kinda like how the Dollar Tree stays in business because its cheap but more volume is sold (worked there before too that was horrible) so they have just as much profit if not more, as say Walgreens or something. With corporate clowns coming down and saying to clients basically pay the full rate or we are taking you to court, to 3/4 of the clients, sales tanked. They tried to blame corona but the sales were complete shit before that as soon as they fired the two people who had most of the sales, with discounted bill rates. I am still friends with someone who managed to not get fired. They said in a conference call this week they announced they would be lowering bill rates. *Face palm* now that you fired hundreds of people, you are lowering bill rates. How many lives did you ruin before coming to your senses? Companies here are just so fucking awful!

A few years ago I decided I wanted to move out of the country. However if you have a child, both parents have to sign a passport form unless you don’t have the father listed on the birth certificate. Norway in particular I like, its beautiful, free healthcare, minimum wage twice that of Oregon with cheaper rent and free healthcare, they also help with childcare. They claim they do in Oregon but your “copay” is usually so high you might as well just pay out of pocket and not deal with all the states controlling bullshit you have to deal with when you get state assistance. People like to say “Norway has higher taxes” please shut up and go look at Oregon’s income tax rate. One of the highest in the country. Expensive gas, INSANE housing, its just not possible to have a decent life here in Oregon. I love the ocean also. Norway is beautiful and comes in the top countries for quality of life every year, meanwhile USA is at the very bottom.

Everyone called me paranoid all those years, I just had a bad feeling that something bad was going to happen also and I needed to get out while I still could. Next remark “how can you afford to get there if you are so broke?” Simple don’t pay my outrageous rent and insurance for 1 month problem solved. My child’s father finally agreed to sign the passport form now that its too late and Americans are banned from basically every country in the world, once the racism and virus bullshit started. Super awesome. He will never hear the end of that from me. Its been months and I still do not even have the passport. Even if I did I AM TRAPPED HERE!!!!!!!!!! I can not even go to fucking Canada!

I decided ok, I will try and move to Montana/Idaho/North Dakota or something. Give up my ocean in attempts to get the hell away from all this mask and the non existent “racism” bullshit. Go somewhere with a lower cost of living, more jobs with higher wages. I absolutely can not stand wearing the face masks. There is no evidence they work, just go look at Sweden. Or the states I just named which have no mask laws. Also a lot of rural areas in Oregon do not wear them seems like the entire populations would have been sick or dead. I am not looking to argue with scared little sheep over this. Before you say “I hope your grandparents die” because I don’t wear them, something that I have seen many people say to myself and anyone else without a mask, my grandparents have said many times they would rather be dead than be completely isolated over some bullshit virus with a higher survival rate than the flu. Plus the media has lied so much, how can you believe a word they say? Seriously? They are all left winged biased. I am not even a conservative and I can see it. But people just eat the shit up. That 26 year old who they claimed died in Oregon from coronavirus, turns out did not even have the virus the CDC medical examiner said. So you choose for yourself what to believe.

I did get a job in Montana very easily. In six fucking months in Oregon I had maybe 5 phone calls for a job, all minimum wage no benefit shit jobs. I did 2 years of business and law classes, 4 years of heavy payroll and accounting for work so its not like I have absolutely no experience in anything worth a fuck. Plus 8 years total of customer service or more I have been working since I was 18 with gaps here and there between jobs. But with my boyfriend and son back in Oregon, 900 miles away, it was really difficult. I had never been alone like that or even stayed a night away from my child. Never in 9 years. First of all staying in some shitty hotel... I hate hotels in general I like my little nest, as shitty as my house may be, even at a nice hotel I would rather sleep in my own shitty bed. I lasted 2 weeks, only having $100 week leftover for food and other bills spending $400 a week at the cheapest motel I could find, before I gave up. I could not save money for a deposit or loan and my boyfriend has absolutely no credit so he could not get approved for a loan or rental either. He also had absolutely no one to watch our child back in Oregon with everything being closed so he could not work during that time and almost lost the job he had. Done landscaping for 11 years and still only makes $2 above minimum wage because companies treat employees like such shit in Oregon. I was so close, had a decent pay (way more than I ever made in Oregon even though Montana has a lower minimum wage) with benefits, but it was impossible to move into a rental. My credit is good enough for a loan, but I could not save money for a down payment staying in a hotel. Plus I was so lonely and miserable. Now winter is coming and we will not be able to go back and forth in that snow in little cars anyways.

If we would have succeeded, I would have gotten us into a rental and then quit as soon as he got a job because we never have anyone to watch our child and the cost of living is so much lower we would not HAVE to both work like we do here in Oregon. Especially now. Seriously, what the fuck do they expect people with kids to do? Schools are closed and even if they weren’t there is no way in hell I would send my kid wearing a mask all day. SO bad for you! They have to wear them all day “except at lunch” ok so might as well just take the damn things off the entire day. These rules don’t even make sense how do people not see that? Or in a restaurant you have to wear them if you walk to the bathroom but not at the table what logic is that? How do people not see through this bullshit? And children are gross they touch everything masks are going to do shit at schools. Notice the schools that did open, masks or no masks still had a shitload of cases. Single parents are especially screwed in particular. I guess if you could somehow both find employers willing to work with your schedule (good luck with that) you could constantly work opposite shifts as your partner/spouse and never seen them and work.

Anyways, jobs for him paid more up there too, rent is fucking half of what it is in Oregon. Their average rent is the price of “low income housing” in Oregon. But we just could not do it. I tried. I tried so hard. I even learned Norwegian jeg snakker norsk und ich spreche auch Deutsch because Austria was another country I was interested in. You can try and try and try here, but unless you get lucky, or your parents help you, I do not know how people do it. All the old people I know here don’t have enough money to live off either after working 50 years. Its so sad.

I am no perfect person either. I am pretty bitchy, I have horrible anxiety I quit public school at age 12 and finished online, yes I have a high school diploma. I actually did all my high school schooling in 2 years after skipping 3 years of school with no problem. I never even really went to middle school and still managed. I am not stupid. I just have a hard time doing things I am absolutely miserable doing.

I will go into more detail, year by year on what a shitshow it is to live in the USA but in particular Oregon. The entire west Coast really. I hate it here and I just want out but I have tried everything.

0 notes

rosyredlipstick · 7 years ago

Text

something borrowed

- a solangelo wedding planner AU -

In the Solace Wedding Planner agenda, on the fifth page into their summer schedule, there are carefully scrawled out notes reading this: Bride and Groom - Hazel Levesque & Frank Zhang Best Man & Maid of Honor - Percy Jackson & Piper McLean Wedding Court - Annabeth Chase & Jason Grace Mellie & Gleeson Hedge Reyna Ramírez-Arellano & Leo Valdez Ring-bearer - Chuck Hedge Flower-boy - Nico di Angelo - Will plans wedding and now, apparently, Nico stars in one. Except...sometimes there's a bit more confusion on that last part. AKA the AU where Will plans weddings and thinks Hazel and Frank are going to have to cutest, gap-toothed ten year throwing flowers down the aisle, all while wondering why this 'Neeks' guy is always hanging around, and what business he has looking that good.

Notes: this entire fic was based on the throwaway line in BOO about nico being the flowerboy in hazel and frank's wedding i couldnt help it sorry not sorry there's also a lot of time jumps in this (wedding planning takes a long ass time ok) just a warning

something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

Truthfully, Will hadn’t meant to become a full-fledged professional wedding planner when he grew up. It was an accident, honest. An accident involving his younger sister’s marriage proposal, a mess of organization the months leading up, and, mostly, his insatiable need for control.

At least he admitted it, alright? And after weeks of stress-eating salt and vinegar chips, and several nights of midnight phonecalls with his sister’s fiancée, it did turn out...okay.

Okay in the terms in which the cake was slightly too-dry, the sprinklers went off ten minutes before the outdoor ceremony was to start, and the best man disappeared with one of the other groomsmen for a solid hour in the middle of the reception.

But it was also okay in which Sage looked stunning in her flowing gown, and how his sister had cried when she saw her future wife at the end of the aisle, and the food was great and the wine was rich.

It was okay. But it could have been better.

And Will was nothing if not a perfectionist.

So here he was, several bank loans and a business degree later, meeting his second couple of the day, a pleasant grin on his face.

“So, Frank and Hazel.” He smiled, sliding the lamented papers across the table. “First, I just want to thank for you for choosing Solace Weddings, where we strive to make your wedding day as sunny as possible. For our first meeting I just want to go over some general stuff, alright? Wedding court, any ideas about what you want, general stuff. Okay?”

They nodded, both looking a bit sheepish. He grinned his best sunny smile, the Solace (™) charm dialing up, and began talking them through the paperwork. This was just the initial consultation, the first face-to-face meet up of many.

“With Solace Weddings, you’ll get the assistance of myself - Will Solace - along with my partner, Lou Ellen. You’ll have three full personal sessions with both of us, and the rest of the time you’ll meet up one-on-one with one of us, I can start scheduling those meetings today, if you’d like.” He slid another paper down the table, giving them both a gentle look. From their wide eyes, this was overwhelming for both of them. “My partner, Lou, will handle the ceremony part of your wedding, along with any bridal events or concerns, and I will be handling the reception and groom concerns.”

They nodded together, taking in the information. Will pulled their file closer to himself, his pen at the ready.

“When were we thinking for the date?” He asked, keeping his posture open and welcoming.

Hazel spoke up first, “June 24th. We uh, we were thinking of an outdoor wedding?”

She ended her sentence in a question, like she was waiting for Will’s approval.

He nodded encouragingly. “That sounds great. Outdoor weddings do come with their own set of challenges, but they do turn out so beautiful.” He made a note in their file, “And we’ll have plenty of time to check out some places for the ceremony. June, that’s what - a year and a half away?”

Hazel bit her lip, her hand tightening in her fiances. Frank had been quiet so far. “Is that too soon? Some friends said that we were cutting it a bit close, with everything we have to book.”

“It’s fine.” He tried to reassure her. “June is a pretty popular month, but Lou and I have pretty good connections. We’ll make it work.” He turned back to his open file, “Do we have any idea for the wedding court yet?”

Hazel nodded, “They’ve all agreed already.” She listed off a handful of names, Frank even speaking up to softly remind her of a few. Will wrote them all as neatly as possible - he could get their phone numbers from Hazel later, just in case.

He took a breath, looking over the list. Four couples in total, good. An even number always balanced out the photos well.

“Alright, so we’ve got most of the wedding court already figured out.” Will moved onto the next category in his pre-printed file, “How about the ring bearer?”

“We’re going to have Chuck Hedge, the son of Gleeson and Mellie, do that.” Frank chimed in, looking a fraction bit more relaxed.

“From the wedding party?” Will clarified, already making that quick note.

They both nodded, still clenching hands.

Will hummed, continuing his notes. “And the flower girl?”

“Oh!” Hazel sat up, perking up for the first time. “Actually, we were thinking we could have a flower boy instead.”

Will’s pen froze in place. “Oh, okay.” He blinked in surprise a few times, backtracking to cross over his notes. Ugh, he hated when they looked messy. He’ll have to rewrite the page later before he lamented it. “And how is he related to both of you?”

“My brother.” Hazel answered for him, “he’s younger than I am.” She smiled a sort of secret blink-and-you’ll-miss-it grin. “He’s very excited.”

Will briefly imagined a younger, shorter version of Hazel, in a tiny tux with wild curls. He matched her small smile. “Sounds cute. Name?”

“Nico di Angelo.” She and Frank shared an amused smile as Will scrawled the name down on the wedding party list. Must be an adorable kid.

That was it for the wedding party, Will also getting down their parent’s names. They went over a few more things - venue, theme, food ideas mostly - before the hour was up, and they were standing to grab their things.

Will was compiling a folder of papers to send home with them, making photocopies of his own notes, when Hazel caught his eye, smiling nervously.

He finished putting together the folder, passing it over to Frank’s outstretched hand, and cocked his head in question to the girl.

“We’re having a dinner party with the whole wedding court,” Haze explained, fishing out a thick sheet of stationery from her purse. “Our parents will be there too, we’re gonna start assembling the Save the Dates, settle some details for the court. We’d love if you and Lou could come, we -” She broke off, giving him a small helpless smile. “We don’t really know what we’re doing here.”

Will gave her a warm smile, accepting the invitation. “I’ll check if we’re available.” He promised, “I’ll let you know, okay?”

She gave him a relieved smile, thanking him before leading Frank out.

He examined the invitation - classy and elegant, but wealth clear in every aspect. Neat, minimalist print, with golden trim. He wondered which to their taste it catered to most, neither of them seeming that drawn towards the ostentatious element it obviously conveyed.

They did seem nice, albeit shaken with nerves. And he and Lou were free that day, he noticed as he looked over to their shared google calendar.

He glanced down at the invitation. In small print, towards the bottom, words announced an open bar and food provided note.

He was already texting Lou.

“We’re so happy you guys could make it.” Hazel’s grin was one of relief as she ushered them in that next weekend.

“Thanks for having us.” Lou smiled, bouncing the bottle of wine back and fourth in her hands. It wasn’t as expensive as they were probably used to - Will could only guess from the expensiveness the manor threw out - but it was polite, he and Lou knew. In his own hands, the binder for their wedding, containing all the decisions they’d made so far - not many, so early in the planning - but also all of his and Lou’s notes carefully lamented, with a few brochures stapled in for places the couple might like. Each couple’s binder was basically the bible of their wedding planning, each page looked over and memorized front and back before the day-of.

Hazel spoke up again. “Frank can show you guys to the bar, and the food is open buffet style in the dining room.” She offered, the nervous smile making a comeback, “You guys are totally welcome to any of it!”

Lou, instantly, was whisked away to the promise of the open bar, following Frank down the hall, the bottle still in her capable hands. He turned to Hazel to give her a pleasant smile.

“You have a gorgeous home.” He smiled warmly, sliding off his loose jacket.

“It’s my parents home, actually. I still live with them and they offered and -” She cut herself off with a shrug. “Nearly everyone from the wedding party should be here already, although I think…” she trailed off, checking her phone. “A groomsman and the flower boy are the only ones still missing, they’re on their way.”

“Where’s the flower boy?” He asked. He was kind of looking forward to seeing how cute the kid was. Hazel took his jacket, hanging in the closet as she continued to speak. He kept the binder at his side.

“Oh, Nico doesn’t live with us anymore.” She waved her hand through the air, “I mean, I only still live with Hades because it’s so close to my school. He lives with a few of our friends in the city. He should be here soon, Jason offered to pick him up.”

Will blinked. A kid, living away from home so young? He thought. That’s kinda weird.

He dismissed the thought. He’d dealt with much, much weirder family situations. After that family situation with the McCalls, he could handle anything.

“Oh!” Hazel jumped up, her hand coming up to wrist Will’s arm as she turned to face the parlor area. “There’s my father. He’s very...excited about the wedding.”

“Is he?” Will was just beginning to ask, just before her father caught sight of the both of them.

The older man lit up at the sight of his daughter, running over to gather her in his arms. Hazel giggled, waiting a few moments before she pulled away.

“Hades,” She gestured towards Will, “This is one of our wedding planners, Will. He’s Lou’s partner, the girl you spoke to on the phone?”

Hades beamed, shaking Will’s hand enthusiastically. “So you two are in charge of making my girl’s day perfect, right?”

Ah, Will was familiar with this kind of talk.

“Of course.” He agreed, “That’s exactly what I’m here for!”

Hades was still holding Will’s hand, pulling it to his chest. “I believe we’re going to have a lot to speak about.” Hades was still beaming.

Will pulled back his hand with some effort. Hades didn’t seem to notice, already going on about how his daughter was going to have the wedding of the century and how his brothers were going to shake with envy and Will met Hazel’s eyes with a bit of wariness.

Hazel began pulling Will away from her father, “We’ll talk later, Dad.” She reassured him, “I’m gonna introduce Will to some others.”

Hades nodded, becoming quickly distracted with passing guest.

“He’s a bit much,” Hazel informed him as she pulled him away, like Will hadn’t already guessed that. “He’s the best, but he always does get too excited when it comes to Nico and I.”

Even from a few seconds with the older man, that was obvious. He made mental note of that - it looked like Hades would be the one to please for this entire event. The parents usually were.

Hazel brought him around, introducing him to a few of their guests, a few of the wedding court.

He lost track of Lou soon into the party - with all the people Hazel was striding him up to, his hand already extended - it was a bit hard to keep track of himself.

About an hour - maybe two? Sigh - into this, Will was answering some questions about what Hazel was thinking for the bridesmaid’s dresses when Hazel - who had been at his side all night, nearly - suddenly broke off and rushed towards the doorway.

Politely, Will excused them both and turned, a bit curious.

“Neeks!” Hazel jumped forward to envelope the newcomer in a fierce hug. Beside him, a tall blond man that Will hadn’t had the chance to meet yet, grinning down at them both.

Will took the moment to give them a second alone, dipping out into the separate room. Empty, thankfully, everyone else drawn into the main parlor and open bar.

Ah. A moment of privacy.

He took a seat at the table, glancing around at the full surface.

The Save the Dates supplies were neatly laid out on the table, carefully sectioned away in small piles. He sat down and put his binder to the side, peering down at the few cardstock envelopes already completed. Seemed easy enough.

He glanced towards the doorway, where conversation and laughter was drifting through. Lou was good enough on her own at events like this. She didn’t mind it, and Will needed a break from his glued on smile and frantic remembering of names.

He began putting them together, a simple layout. Two papers, overlapping and evenly pasted together, with a ribbon and then stuffed in an envelope. Simple enough.

He had managed to get a small pile assembled - not anything nearing a significant amount, Will knew, from the high numbered guest list Hazel had provided, when he was interrupted by a shadow in the doorway.

He blinked in surprise, having to keep himself from jumping. He cleared his throat, the smile back in place. “Hello,” He greeted, his voice thinner than he would have liked. “Do you need a break from a party too?”

The shadow - a man, stepping into the room now, ignored his question. He asked his own, instead. “What are you doing in here?”

“I’m not that good at parties, especially with strangers.” Will shrugged, returning to his work now that his heartrate was returning back to normal. “And Hazel mentioned needing to get this done anyways.”

The guy leaned forward, peeking down at the table. “What are you even doing?”

“I’m assembling save the dates.” Will told him, his eyes flicking over the other boy. After a moment of hesitation, with both boys staring at the other, he asked, “Do you want to help?”

The boy shrugged, glancing over his shoulder. “Nothing better to do,” He finally decided.

“Neeks, right?” Will asked, referring to the name Hazel had called out to him when he arrived.

He gave Will an odd look, but nodded. “Yeah, sure.” He shrugged again, “Everyone calls me that anyways.”

Will hummed, accepting that. “I’m the wedding planner.” He told the other boy, stuffing yet another envelope. “Well, one half. I’m Will, Lou’s my partner in all this.”

“Partner?”

“Business partner,” He clarified. That term did always cause a bit of confusion.

Neeks nodded, taking a short sip of his drink.

“Are you married?” He asked curiously, his eyes flicking down to Will’s bare fingers. “In a relationship?”

Will gave him a small smile, “I’m single. And I know - I’ve heard all the jokes about the single wedding planner. Trust me.”

Neeks hummed in agreement, strolling a bit further in the room. To the side, there was a table set up with iced drinks and snack, and his hand paused over the table. “Want a beer?”

Will considered. Lou had already volunteered to call them an uber later that night, and there wasn’t much more of the details they needed to work out that he needed a clear head for. And just thinking about the day he had ahead of them tomorrow, with last-minute things to work through for their upcoming wedding that weekend....

“Sure.” He finally agreed, leaning back into his chair, stacking up all the papers to slide them back into a file.

Neeks passed him over a bottle, the cap already twisted off. Will nodded his thanks, taking a short sip of the bubbly substance. It was, like the entire theme of this wedding it seemed, obviously expensive.

Neeks jumped up to sit on the table, letting his long legs hang off. He gave Will a considering look. “So, how goes a single guy like yourself even get into wedding planning?”

“The glamorous lifestyle, mostly.” He joked, picking at the peeling label of the bottle. It was good, he hadn’t had this kind of beer in a while - apple, it tasted like. He set down the drink, turning back to the papers before him.

Neeks snorted in response, “Do you like, love weddings or something?”

“Or something,” Will agreed, passing over a stack of papers so Neeks could follow his example in assembling them. Neeks followed without question, setting his own beer to the side, which Will appreciated. There was a stretch of silence, only the shuffling of paper and pasting of glue, in which they worked. Will wondered what he was doing away from the party anyways, when he seemed such good friends with Hazel. Maybe he didn’t know much of the rest of the wedding court.

Neeks broke the silence after a few minutes, interrupting Will’s thoughts.

“Being a wedding planner, you must have your own dream wedding planned to the dot, right?”

He shrugged, “Not really. Haven’t thought about it much, honestly.”

“Do you want to get married?” Neeks took a long drink of his beer, his eyes considering. Will wondered why he was so curious.

Will hummed, applying another layer of paste. “I think so. Maybe not like this though.”

“Like this?”

“Like,” Will waved his paintbrush around, careful not to get any flecks of glue anywhere. “Big. Extravagant. I’d want something small, I think. More personal.”

Neeks nodded, his eyes flickering away. “I’d like something like that too. Probably so would Hazel, had Hades not insisted on the extravagance.”

Will filed that bit of information away. That made sense, considering the little knowledge he had about the girl.

“What about you?” Will asked, not even sure why he was doing so. He convinced himself it was to be polite. “Dating, in a relationship, etc?”

Neeks gave him a small smile. “Nah. I had a boyfriend for awhile but we ended things a few weeks ago.” He shrugged, “No spark, you know?”

Will bit his lip, glancing away. There was a not-so-subtle emphasis on boyfriend that was anything but unintentional.

Neeks was waiting for a response. Will looked up, through his eyelashes, and tried to keep his voice from going soft as he breathed out a, “Yeah.”

Will blinked a few times, keeping his eyes away from the other boy’s figure.

He....was not attracted to this boy.

Will cleared his throat and tried again. “Yeah, I mean, I’ve had boyfriends that haven’t worked out. I get that.”

Why did he say that.

Why did he make it known that he was gay as a goddamn rainbow.

Will knew why.

Neeks shot a knowing grin over at him. Will felt his cheeks flush up.

“Will, I’ve been looking for you -”

Hazel paused in the room, her voice breaking off as her gaze slid from Neeks to him. Strangely, despite the several feet of space between them, and the paper and glue surrounding them, Will felt like they’d be caught at something.

She only gave them both a gentle smile, her eyes resting on Will’s as she spoke. “Will, I was wondering if you could come talk to Persephone? She has some questions about venue options

Will stood, grabbing his binder. “Course!” He shot a look towards Neeks, “I’ll be right back.”

And that, unknowingly, turned out to be a huge lie. Because as soon as he strolled up to Hazel’s step-mother, small grin in place, binder at his side, it was like the wedding planning floodgates burst open. Hades and Persephone - Will would learn - were very enthusiastic about this wedding.

After around, maybe, a hundred and twenty thousand questions later - all about Will’s opinions, what other weddings he’s planned, about the color scheme and food, seating and decor, Will was finally prying himself away from the questioning couple, and Neeks was gone, nearly all the Save the Dates complete and left out to dry. Will smiled, just slightly.

The party was nearly over anyways, so he found Lou and they began their goodbyes, Will feeling a bit relieved to be leaving.

“Aw,” Will realized a bit later as he and Lou fell into the cab, relaying their address to the driver. “I didn’t get to see the flower boy.”

“Really?” Lou gave him a surprised look, “I thought I saw you guys talking.”

Will shook his head, wondering how he could have missed him. Damn, Will loved kids. After all, he had spent a good portion of the night melting in the face of Chuck Hedge’s small laugh.

“He was cute.” Lou decided, giving him a significant look, “Remember our rule.”

“I did!” He protested. He had only had one drink the entire night. That was their rule at client events - one drink hard stuff maximum, or two drinks of wine or beer. Actually, he had stayed under the rule. Lou should be proud of him instead.

“Good.” She told him, turning to tuck her head under his chin. “Now let’s go home.”

Will couldn’t agree more.

Nearly two months later, Will was slamming the phone down on the retriever, his eyes fluttered shut, his blood pressure high. He took a deep breath, his hands cupping up to rub at his eyes.

Fuck this. He was going home.

He turned, not bothering to clean up, only shutting his laptop and flipping the lights off.

One set of stairs later, he was home.

Will fell back in the bed, stripped down to his underwear, and let out a long, deep breath. Surrounded by the soft, plush blankets, there was a beat of silence.

“Long day, sweetheart?”

Will shifted over to his side, eyeing Lou with a sleepy focus. “The longest. Almost lost the Katsuki couple because of a mix-up with the caterers, I got in an argument with the florist that the Kirks are insisting on, and my email has been non-stop going off for the past five hours.”

Lou hummed. “Bad day here too. Is tonight one of those nights?”

“Gods, yes.” Will shoved his face into his pillow, feeling Lou shift beside him. There was a crinkle and pop, then warm glass was being pressed against his arm.

“Bed champagne.” Will gave her a lazy smile, pushing himself into a sitting position against the headboard. Lou, in her sports bra and pajamas shorts, took a long drink from the warm bottle.

She burped, passing over the bottle in the same movement.

Lou groaned as Will took his first drink of warm champagne, the bottle stashed away for the worst of their days. It would be Will’s turn to replace it next, under his side of the bed. “I had to deal with Pinterest bride today. She brought a binder of print outs.”

“Does she want to DIY everything?”

“Of course. She wants to make my life hell, so of course.”

There was a long, long moment of silence in which they passed the bottle back in forth. Will groaned out. “Why do we do this to ourselves.”

“Because the sight of a bride on her wedding day makes up for it all.” Lou’s voice was heavily, heavily coated with a thick layer of sarcasm. “Also, our mountain of student loans is depending on us to actually, you know, have jobs. To pay them.”

“Don’t remind me.” He threw an arm over his eyes, “You know, I met a nice girl the other day at the coffeeshop but then she said her name was Sally May, and I swear Lou, I’ve never had to consciously not hate a person before.”

She snorted at that. “Least I’ll never run into anyone named ‘Wells Fargo Student Loan Brand.’”

“Don’t jinx yourself.” He warned, a joke in his voice. There was a beat of silence, them both taking another drink.

Lou sighed, shifting her weight as she passed back the bottle. “I should probably go downstairs.” There was a certain sadness element in her voice, “I have to finish working out the seating plan, the venue wants the layout this weekend.”

Will sighed with her. That was one of the major downfalls of living directly above their office space - their work never really was over.

If he was being honest with himself, he probably should still be working as well. He thought his rage quit of the night would be worth it, but now he was only exhausted and slightly antsy about the mess he had left behind, and all the work he still had scheduled for tonight. He had a meeting in a few days with the Levesque-Zhang couple after all, and even though their wedding was still a good year away, they had to book the venue soon if they wanted to get it, which meant he should have the food options available for them to look through.

He sighed into his pillow, resigned. “I’ll come with you.”

Lou’s hand was sympathetic but firm as she patted his back, “That’da boy.”

“We need to plan the coolest bachelor party in the world.”

Will met the eyes of the best man, and they were serious as sin. He gave him a chipper smile, “That’s what I’m here for.”

He and Lou offered the service on the side, something a few couples typically took them up on. And it wasn’t typically much work, and the extra cash on the side more than made up for it. And it put Lou’s tourism degree - she had been in the market to be a travel agent before Will offered her the partnership - to good use. Frank had quietly approached him about the service around a month ago, which was good. There was still around seven or six months until the wedding, a good cushion of time to plan a good event.

It was just the best man and groom for this part, though, as they went over the main details.

“We were thinking about taking a trip.” Frank hesitantly explained, “I know Hazel and the girls are planning on New Orleans.”

“And Vegas is way too cliche.” Percy - the best man - added on. “We’re thinking a three to four day trip.”

Will nodded, taking notes. “And what kind of experience? Do you guys want a more traditional ‘night on the town’ kind of experience or something?”

Frank swallowed, “Actually, I was thinking of maybe a camping trip, or something in the nature?” He shot a look towards Percy, hesitant, and Will wondered if they had gone over the details together before.

Apparently not, but Percy was nodded enthusiastically. “Dude!” The best man was nearly vibrating with excitement now, “I haven’t been camping in years! That sounds so cool!”

Frank gave him a hesitant smile. “Yeah?”

“Totally!” Percy agreed, “We can take to the woods and like, get in touch with our animalistic side or whatever! We’ll live off the nature and blow shit up!”

Will had to stifle a laugh under his breath, taking down notes. He pulled his laptop towards him. “I’m not sure about living off the nature -” He grinned at them both, “But I do know the Grand Canyon offers some pretty cool camping programs there, if you’re interested.”

“Hedge is gonna love this.” Percy told them both, “And you know Leo’s dying for a chance to light stuff on fire.”

“They also offer rafting and horseback riding.” Will pointed out, already loading up the website up on his laptop. He turned the screen toward them.

Percy sighed, happy. “I love horses.”

Frank was laughing now, looking a bit relieved that his best man was so supportive. “The Grand Canyon actually sounds kind of cool.”

Will nodded in satisfaction. He’d pull up a few more options later anyways and sent them over, just to give them options, but it was nice they were both so agreeable. He picked his pen back up, the ballpoint hovering over the paper.

“And how many people are you taking in total?”

“We want to take all the groomsmen.” Frank explained, “And Nico and Chuck.” He thought for a second. “That’ll be safe, right?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem.” Will reassured him, making that note. “But I’ll check it over, make sure everything’s safe for kids. So seven people?”

Frank and Percy both nodded, looking pleased.

“Good,” Will nodded, jumping back into the finer aspects. “Now, dates?”

Both boys lit up as Will spoke more of their trip, getting more into the details of the trip.

He smiled slightly. Even though the wedding was still far off, Will had to admit this was one of his more liked couples he worked with.

If his thoughts briefly snapped to a certain long haired gentlemen in the process, well, it’s not like Will was going to tell anyone.

There were fewer things that Will enjoyed more than a good cake taste testing.

The actually day of the wedding, when everything was winding down and almost, finally, done? Sure, that was great. And the few final dress fittings he’d been along to, those weren’t bad either.

Buuuut -

Free cake.

They weren’t always invited to this portion of the wedding planning process, usually only telling the couple a time, place, and price, but Hazel had insisted. She seemed very persistent on this fact, claiming they she and Frank had no idea what to do, even though it was, literally, a piece of cake. But Will didn’t fight it past the initial counter, because, well, cake.

Lou hadn’t been able to make it, busy with a bridesmaid meeting, so Will arrived at the bakery on his own, binder in hand. The bakery had come on recommendation to the couple, owned by a few family friends. There was only five months until the day, a bit late to book the bakery for Will’s taste, but the couple weren’t very sure on many facts but this one. So Will, of course, went along with it.

They were coming in after hours so the shop was nearly deserted, except for a young, frizzy haired woman grinning at Hazel and Frank, and Percy and Piper as the best man and maid of honor were there, and -

Will took a breath,

- Neeks.

Which....Hazel hadn’t mentioned.

Will would have taken the bridesmaids appointment. Even if they were demons like Lou swore they were. Will would have taken them.

Everyone in the shop looked over as the small bell above the door rang out, Will frozen in the doorway. Neeks, standing to the left of Hazel, grinned.

“Oh, good!” Hazel clasped her hands together, turning towards the girl. “This is one of our wedding planners, Will. Will, this is Katie Gardner, she owns the shop.”

Will unfroze from his awkward position, stepping forward with a grin on his face. They got the introductions over with quickly - Will already knowing most of them - before Hazel was turning on the ground with a critical eye.

“We should break into groups of two.” Hazel decided, “So we won’t be biased or anything.”

Will shot her a questioning look but didn’t argue. That was a bit strange.

He had another second of blissful ignorance before it hit him.

Hazel and Frank would pair up, of course, and the maid of honor and best man were already laughing among themselves, so that left him and -

Neeks strolled up to him, his hands deep in his pockets in a casual posture.

He stuck his thumb over his shoulder, “Wanna grab a table?”

Will didn’t really have a choice, as he choked out a, “Sure.”

They were trying five different flavors today - double chocolate, lemon vanilla, hazelnut almond, pink champagne, and red velvet.

Katie, along an assistant she announced to be her little sister - brought out the small plates of cake to each table.

Five pastel colored plates laid out in front of them, ones that Will kept his eyes glued to as a the tasting began.

He was here for the cake. He needed the cake at this point.

The chose the nearest plate - one that Katie had told was the hazelnut almond. He took a small bite of it, keeping the plate between them both.

He was kind of a pro at wedding cake at this point, and he could clearly tell Katie knew what she was doing. Very well.

It was mostly a hazelnut cake, the almond being there only in the chopped up pieces covering the thick frosting.

Neeks was taking a bite of the red velvet, wrinkling his nose as he did so.

Will laughed, his hand coming up to cover his mouth. “Not a fan?”

Neeks swallowed the bite, looking cute as he cringed. Fuck. “Too rich.” He finally got out, reaching for his water.

Will hummed, pushing the hazelnut towards him. “Try this one. It’s a bit more subtle.”

He did, and the small noise of surprise he let out at it shouldn’t have pleased Will as much as it did.

Neeks leaned back, “I like that one.”

Will gave him a knowing look, “Thought so.”

Neeks gave him a teasing look of annoyance. “You don’t know everything, Solace.”

Will clicked his tongue, looking back to their plates of cake. Around them, the other two groups were trying the food and complimenting Katie’s work.

He raised an eyebrow, “You’re not gonna like the chocolate.”

Neeks gave him a look, “And why not? I like chocolate.”

He shrugged, “You thought the red velvet was too rich. The double chocolate is nearly as if, if not more, rich. You won’t like it.”

Neeks gave him a suspicious look, pulling the small plate towards him with a certain vengeance in his eyes. He cuts off a large bite and shoved it into his mouth, staring at Will the entire time.

Neeks freezes half a second later, the bite only half-chewed. Will smiles and Neeks, with effort, continues to chew. He swallows.

He cleared his throat, reaching for his water. After a long, long sip, he meets Will’s eyes.

“I loved it.” Neeks takes another sip, his voice thin. “Delicious.”

Will snorts, “You fucking liar.”

Neeks finally puts his glass back down. “What are you talking about, I loved it.”

“Oh?” Will gave him an amused look, “Well, you can have the rest. I’ve had chocolate wedding cake a hundred times over.” He swept out his hand, “All yours, Neeks.”

Neeks stared down at the large cut of cake in front of them, his fork poised above it. He sighs, his hand dropping to the table.

“I can’t.”

Will makes a noise of victory, “Knew it.”

Finally, Neeks makes the face of disgust he was holding back. “That was…”

“Rich?” Will guessed, now taking a small bite of the chocolate cake. Not bad.

“Way too much.” Neeks shook his head, moving onto the next plate. Will’s eyes remain on the other boy as he leans forward to grab the furthest plate, his shirt hiking up just a bit.

Neeks’s eyes slide back to Will’s, just in time to catch him in the act.

Will forces his eyes back to his plate. Fuck. Fuck.

Neeks settles back into his seat, his gaze considering. He sets the plate - the lemon vanilla - between them both.

Will’s gaze is still trained on the plates when Neeks cuts into the next piece, unspeaking.

He takes a large bite of the vanilla - always a bit too boring for Will’s taste - and leans in towards Will. Will gives him a surprised look, not really understanding.

Neeks holds out his fork, a challenging look in his eyes, “Want a taste?”

Oh Gods yes.

And Lord, did Will not meant the cake.

There was a cocky spark in Neeks’s eyes, dancing. Neeks didn’t think he would do it.

And fuck, Will always was too competitive for his own good.

With that, Will leaned forward, his eyes on Neeks’s own, and took the fork into his mouth in a slow, lingering movement.

He pulled back, “Too subtle,” he finally decided, chewing it thoughtfully, his words a forced casualness. “Not a fan of lemon, anyways.”

Neeks’s mouth had parted open, and Will was really, really trying not to pay any attention to that fact. His eyes - damn, those dark eyes - were wide and blown open as he stared at Will.

...And the maid of honor was staring at them, a wide, delighted grin in place.

Will’s face immediately flushed with a dark color, his eyes snapping back to Neeks’s with surprise.

Neeks glanced over to what had made Will’s cheeks fill with color, probably a bit curious, and met the maid of honor’s gaze. He smirked, waving.

“That’s just Piper being Piper,” Neeks waved off, turning back to his cake like the past few moments had never happened.

Will blinked, turning back to the plate in front of him.

Neeks made a choking noise, and Will looked up in alarm.

“You have some -” Neeks gestured, his face red. “Frosting. On your lip.”

“Oh,” Will blinked, thumbing off the bit. Great. Now he was a creep, and he ate like a toddler. Nice. They might as well sit him at the table with Chuck and Nico at the wedding.

He licked the bit of frosting off, not really seeing any napkins around, and glanced back to the other boy.

Neeks was bright red, now training his gaze at the silverware spread out on the table.

Will cursed under his breath.

Little did he know, Neeks was doing the same.

Later, after Will had fumbled his way through the end of the meeting and Katie was sending him home with a take-out box for Lou, and after they had all agreed on the light and springy pink champagne slices of cake, Will very, very firmly was smacking his face repeatedly into the surface of his steering wheel.

He took a deep breath. It was fine. It was okay. Things couldn’t get worse from here, honestly.

This was a mess.

This was an absolute horrible mess.

This was an absolutely horrible completely mind-numbing mess.

This was the worst mess he’d gotten himself into in...a while actually.

He shoved another handful of chips into his mouth. He ignored how his hand was shaking as he did so, and pressed the F5 bottom yet again on his laptop. The same traitorous screen.

Lou was meeting with one of their newer couples - still in the process of picking out colors and the court - and he was all alone in the office to deal with the mess.

Wait, correction, was all alone.

Their office door bell rang out, a bit odd for how late it was. Probably one of the couples to drop something off. Will took a desperate breath. He could appear calm for a few moments. No problem. He could totally act like he wasn’t currently having a major horrible problem of the year.

Totally.

But before he could call out a just a minute, as most of their guests chose to pause in the waiting area, a few moments that would have given Will precious seconds to compose and frantically brush himself off, the guest just walked straight into the office. He clenched at the pen in his hand.

And - of course.

Of course it was him.

Neeks observed him for a long, long moment. He had a folder in his hands, and he was wearing a jacket that looked to be ridiculously expensive. His hair was immaculately pulled back. Will hadn’t seen him since the cake tasting when Will had ruined it with his horrible cake eating. But even then, at least Will was put together. Not like now.

Right now, Will could still feel the potato chip crumbs sticking to his face.

Neeks stared at him.

Will stared back at him.

“So you’re having a breakdown.” Neeks stated obviously, the folder in his hand slowly coming down.

Will’s head fell helplessly into his hands. He let out a long groan. “Everything’s a mess.” He lamented, dropping the pen from his hand for the first time in a few hours. He flexed his fingers, rubbing out the pressure from his fingertips.

Unknowingly, Neeks was following the motion with a heavy gaze. But Will didn’t notice that, continuing to speak instead.

“Nothing’s ready,.” Will told him mournfully, gesturing to the empty bags of chips scattered around him. “And I can’t stop stress eating.”

Neeks wrinkled his nose. “Salt and vinegar chips? Gross.”

Will could only nod in agreement. “They are.”

“Then why are you eating them by the bagful?” Neeks raised an eyebrow overflowing with judgement.

“I - why are you here?” Will could only counter, having no answer. Thank god the awkwardness was fading away.

Neeks held up a stack of papers. “I was in the area, and Hazel near begged me to drop off the guest list. Something about your wifi going down?”

Will sighed, frustration and annoyance and anger bleeding into tension building up in his shoulders. “It’s been out since yesterday morning which - isn’t great for a wedding planner. I’ve already used up all my data for the month, and I haven’t been able to check out any websites or calendars since then, and in an hour I have a skype meeting with one of my couple’s visiting Europe and -” Will cut himself off, his heart seizing with stress. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. The cable company said they can’t fix it until Monday afternoon. The Starbucks across the street has already kicked me out for loitering twice, and the library isn’t open on Sundays.”

He was a pitiful sight, he knew. He had crumbs trailing down his shirt, messy, greasy hair hanging in his face, and the bags smeared under his eyes were as dark as bruises. If Will had any energy at all, he’d probably be horrified at being caught like this.

Neeks glanced down at the papers spread across the table. “Let me call in a few favors.” He finally decided, disappearing before Will could question him. Favors? About what?

Just then, his phone rang for the umpteenth time, probably the DeLeon couple wondering about their venue booking. Gods.

He kept his voice light and cheery and just on the right edge of reassuring as he spoke. Yes of course the flowers are perfect and Yes of course the caterer received your specific instructions on how the vegan dishes were to be handled and yes of course, yes of course, yes of course a million other things.

Will turned back to this papers, talking in his most upbeat, soothing voice as he ruffled through the stacks, looking for that one paper he knew they’d want.

Will was still on the phone when Neeks returned a while later, a stranger in tow as they spoke softly to each other in the doorway. Will nodded at them, finishing up the call that the soon-to-be groom absolutely did not want to end.

He hung up, briefly missing the days of snap phones. That would make everything just a bit more worth it.

Thirty-three minutes of call-time, his phone told him. Ugh. He never wanted to look at his phone ever again.

Neeks nodded to the stranger. “This is Leo. He’s one of Frank’s groomsmen, he’s good with this kind of stuff.” He explained to Will. Leo - one of the guys for the bachelor party stuff, Will remembered. He hadn’t had the chance to meet him then,

Leo took on a mocking look of offense at Nico’s words. “This stuff, muchacho, requires several years of technical school and mechanic shadowing. I’d watch it if I was you, or I won’t come running every time one of your cute boys has a wifi problem.”

Neeks didn’t look like he disagreed with the sentence. Will filed that away, instead turning his desperate eyes back on their newest visitor.

Neeks shrugged, looking nonchalant, and Leo turned to Will with an expectant air. “So, cute boy? Where’s the wifi set-up?”

Will gestured vaguely to the wires and cords mess Lou had quickly plugged in when they moved into the office. “I....have no idea what happened.” There was an apology in his voice, edged with desperation. “But please, I’ll do anything at this point just to have it up by the morning.”

Leo tsked a dismissal. “By morning? Please, who do you think I am? I’ll have this fixed in an hour, tops.”

Will released the bubble of stress that had been filling his chest since he was first faced with that damn no connection screen.

“Thank you.” He breathed out, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Leo waved off his words, focusing on the bundle of wires in front of him, cooing hurt sounds.

“Don’t worry babies,” Leo was beginning to untangle the cords with gentle fingers, that soft note still lifting his voice. “Papa’s here, I’ll take care of you.”

Neeks rolled his eyes, cutting his gaze back to Will. “Leo’s weird. But smart. He’ll fix it.”

“Thank you.” He repeated, his gratitude nearly overflowing. “I….thank you.”

Neeks shrugged, looking nonchalant. “No problem.” His eyes slid over to the several stacks of papers currently taking over Will’s desk. “Anything I can help with while Leo’s at work?”

Will sighed, overwhelmed up the mess. He stood, beginning to pile everything neatly. “Not much to do, without the internet.” His voice was apologetic with a hint of frustration. “I’ve already checked over several check-lists for the next three weddings, and it’s too late to make any client calls.”

He pressed his palms into his eyes, rubbing at his greasy eyes. There was nothing he wanted more right now then half a bottle of bed champagne and to be in a pair of his ripped pajama pants with Lou half-curled into his side.

“Why don’t you go freshen up?” Neeks glanced towards the ceiling, “You live upstairs, right?”

Will cocked his head to the side. “How did you know that?”

“Lou mentioned it.” Neeks shrugged, “You’ll feel better if you go splash some water on your face. Leo’ll take a bit before it’s back up.”

That....didn’t sound like the worst thing in the world.

Will stood from his desk, his knee and back popping at the action. “I’ll be quick,” he promised, “if it comes back up while I’m gone can you yell up for me?”

Neeks saluted in agreement, pulling out his sleek phone as he took up comfortable residence in one of Will’s office chairs.

He rushed up the stairs, getting the work done quick.

He washed his face, wincing at the few greasy crumbs he found still sticking to his face, and brushed his teeth and changed his clothes. That, in addition to tying his hair out of his face and applying a layer of Lou’s lotion to his dry skin, he felt like a new, although still-exhausted, man. A cleaner man, nonetheless.

Neeks was still lounged in place when he returned back downstairs, Leo still hunched in their corner of wires and plugs. His noises of sympathy had trailed off, although he still spoke softly and sweetly to the bundle of mess.

Will fell into his office chair, sighing in relief. Neeks barely glanced up from his screen at his entrance.

He closed his eyes. His frantic mind was in no state for rest, but the act felt nice nonetheless. He loved this chair, truly. Just the right amount of plush leather, with arm rests. And it had wheels. He’d marry this chair.

A giggle bubbled out of his chest as that, his eyes fluttering open. Neeks gave him a curious look.

Will waved him off, not wanting to explain his imaged marriage to a piece of furniture. “Just sleep deprived.” He explained.

Neeks accepted that. He was good like that.

He was about to start up some other conversations - the gods knew he needed something to keep his eyes from sliding shut again - when Leo finally spoke up.

“Should be up. Try it.” He stood, wiping the dust from his hands. Will hit refresh and - after a long beat of holding his breath - the page loaded.

“I could kiss you right now.” He breathed out, his screen now proudly proclaiming a secure wifi connection.

Leo hummed, tucking the wires back into place. “I’ll let you lay that on death boy over there.”

Neeks scoffed at the nickname, but Will was too thankful to spare a blush. He pulled up his email, wincing at the truly frightening number of emails that had begun to pile up over the last day and a half.

Neeks spoke a few more sentences to Leo and by the time Will glanced up from his email frenzy, the other boy was gone and Neeks was busying flipping through a binder. Will didn’t get to thank him - he’d have to remember to when he saw him again.

Neeks was frowning, looking a bit surprised at the contents spilled out before him. “I...didn’t know this much work went into planning a wedding.”

Will’s sigh was slightly regretful. He leaned back in his chair, cracking his neck. “Yeah, most people don't. Most just expect to demand a slightly-impossible theme, a candy table, a dinner list and voilà wedding.”

Neeks flipped the binder shut with slightly-wide eyes. “Sounds...complicated.”

Will nodded, glancing back to his computer screen. The glow of it was beginning to make his eyes ache. Even with his break of freshening up, he could feel the exhaustion deep in his bones. “I should…”

Neeks gave him a considering look. “How much more work do you have to do tonight?”

It hurt Will’s head to consider the amount.

“A lot.” He only said, deflating a bit. “Really, thank you so much for helping me out, Neeks. I wouldn’t be able to do it without you, honest.” He gave Neeks a regretful look. The soft yellow light was usually too dim for Will’s taste, but it really made Neeks look remarkable. Like seeing him here, so late at night, under the warm lightbulbs, was a rare sight. Very vaguely, from a place Will didn’t yet pay any attention, Will hoped it wouldn’t be.

“You should go.” Will’s words betrayed him, “I’m...not gonna be any fun, working through this. And I probably won’t leave here for a few more hours.”

Neeks hummed, observing him for another moment. “Did you answer your emails? The important ones.”

Will nodded, “Yeah, thanks to you.” He dipped his head, “I don’t think I can say thank you enough.”

Neeks hummed, “You’ve been at it for hours, right?”

“So many hours. I’m dead, truly.”

There was a beat of silence as Neeks stared at him, clicking through his laptop, before he spoke again.

“You need a break.” Neeks declared, shutting Will’s laptop. He gave Will a critical look, “Come back to my place. We can hang out while you unwind or something.”

“I…” Will glanced to the stack of papers lining the table. “I don’t know. There’s so much work to do still.”

Neeks gave him a doubtful look. “There’ll always be more work to do. And honestly, I feel like if I leave you here you actually might explode.” He held out a hand and Will stared at it with wide, surprised eyes. “Anyways, even if I dump you off in your place upstairs I know you’ll be back at in a few hours.”

Will was helpless against his logic. “True.” He admitted, his hands hovering over his laptop. “But I really shouldn’t…”

“C’mon. We’ll…” Neeks’ eyes flickered away, an amused look taking place on his face. “We’ll blow off some steam. Get you to relax.” Neeks laughed, a bit cocky as he ran a hand through his own hair. “You look like you could use some time in a bed, after all.”

Will’s mouth went dry. Neeks’ eyes settled back on Will’s figure, his eyes much darker than they had been moments before.

It was...obvious to what Neeks was referring to. The thing that had been building up since...since the moment they met, really.

And Will didn’t know what he wanted to say.

I mean, Will was pretty sure he looked like a dumpster goblin at that point. And probably smelt like one too. He hadn’t showered in two days.

He was busy, okay?

But there also another fact, and it was this:

Will didn’t get involved with client’s family.

It was a rule, one he and Lou followed to the letter. There were a few close-calls with both of them, usually tipsy situations, but they’d managed to keep it that way. It was a rule. If you messed with a client’s family there was always the very-likely possibility of the encounter going sour, leaving unhappy and angry brides and grooms, and they were professionals anyways, and it just wasn’t worth it.

Neeks’ hand was still held out, inviting. Steady, even as Will stared at it with too-wide eyes. Neeks was patient, at least, which Will couldn’t help but appreciate.

But...Neeks wasn’t apart of the family, was he? Just a close family friend? Right?

Right?

Right.

After a moment, Will swallowed and took his hand.

Waking up tangled in a stranger’s sheets wasn’t something Will had done in awhile.

After being slammed against Neeks’ doorway, both of their mouth pressed close, Will’s hands held in place over his head, things had gotten....busy.

“What time is it?” Will muttered into the sheets, shifting the pillow closer to his face. He didn’t know much about linens that weren’t tablecloths and napkins, but he could tell these were nice. Much, much nicer than the Target brand sheets he and Lou had bought for their shared queen.

Neeks answered, his voice still a bit rough with sleep, his mouth still a bit too close to Will’s skin., as he mumbled out a jumble of numbers.

Will hummed, a simple moment of silence as he processed this. His eyes flew open.

He nearly fell out of bed, the sheets still tangled around his legs, and stood, wide-eyed. “It’s noon?”

Neeks hummed, cracking an eyelid open to clear admiring the view. Will refused to blush. He jumped into action, babbling as he did so.

“I’ve - I’ve got to go! I have a meeting with the baker at 12:30, and oh gods that means I’ve already missed the consultation with the florist, and the caterer wants me to come in and sample the hors d'oeuvres for the pre-reception and -” He paused, his clothes in a messy pile in his arms. He cast Neeks a sincerely regretful look. “I’ve really, really got to go.”

He shoved on his clothes, messy and wrinkled and thank the gods he kept an extra shirt in his trunk for emergencies. He left the buttons open, just needing to rush down to his car, and shoved on his loafers.

He paused at the bedside as he grabbed his phone - already a mess of missed notifications, crap - and spared a few words, his voice hopeful. “I’ll see you at the wedding?”

Neeks, still lounged in bed with the sheets only hardly preserving his modesty, grinned up at him. “Hope so.” There was humor in his voice as he sat up, reaching to pull down Will one last time. He gave Will the dirtiest, messy kiss he’d ever received - making last night looking like a goddamn high school blush - and pulled away, resting his forehead against Will’s.

“See you at the wedding.” Neeks grinned against Will’s skin, pressing his lips into the hollow of Will’s neck.

Will swallowed, a curse tightening his hands and lips. “I...have to go.”

“You keep saying that.” Neeks mouthed his way down Will’s throat. “And yet...here you are.”

Will leaned his weight down on the mattress, allowing himself ten more seconds. “Here I am.” He gasped out, his eyes fluttered shut. His hand come up to Neeks’ hair, pulling away. “And I really have to go.”

Will detangled himself from Neeks’s wandering hands, never hating himself for such a movement before.

“See you at the wedding!” Will called over his shoulder, barely remembering to grab his crumbled tie from the ground.

Neeks smirked and saluted, looking comfortable and lazy in his rumpled sheets and comforter.

Will shook the regret out of his shoulders as he fumbled for his keys. He would…

He would see Neeks at the wedding.

It only took five days for Will to completely remember why he didn’t do this.

He clenched at his pen as he wrote out his notes. Hazel, alone this time, sat across his desk with the biggest shit-eating grin he’d ever seen, one that had been in place since she had arrived for her last appointment before the wedding.

Neeks had told her, no question about it. Which was fine, it was Neeks’s decision to do so, and she and him did seem close, but it only - it only made things awkward. For him, at least.

Hazel was still giving him a pleased look as she looked over the last minute change to the centerpieces. Apparently, Hades was a fan of the dinnerplate dahlias.

She nodded in approval - not that Will was worried, she seemed okay with mostly going along with the flow of her father’s wants - and Will already began mentally tallying up the total for the last-minute change fee. Again, not like anyone would care with this family - Hazel already had to talk her father out of ordering diamond-encrusted silverware.

Hazel stood to begin her leave, gathering her papers, when she paused. Will had to work to not do the same, only to casually glance up from where he was already typing up an email to the florist.

She lingered in front of his desk, still smiling that damn all-knowing grin.

“So Neeks and I got coffee a few days ago.”

And there it was.

Will took a breath. He slapped his best I’m a professional maybe grin on and turned towards her.

“And? How was that?”

“Good. I’m a sucker for an afternoon frappacino, and we went over some wedding stuff.” She gave him an amused grin. “He mentioned you. A few times.”

Will was struggling. “Oh?”

“He just said that when he stopped by last week you guys ended up talking for a few hours.” Her grin was small, but pleased. “That he helped with your wifi?”

Will’s shoulders nearly dropped in relief. So she didn’t know about...everything else. Good.

“He likes you.” She simply continued, her voice clear of any emotion. Will’s mouth went dry. “You’re both adults, and I’m not going to lecture you guys or anything just…” She shrugged, “Neeks get’s attached. He pretends he doesn’t but…” She peeked through her eyelashes. “Be careful. Don’t hurt him.”

“You guys are close.” He noted, needing to say something other then wait what Neeks likes me how do you know what did he say *exactly* word-for-word.

Will could promise he wasn’t a middle schooler. He could. But that wouldn’t stop his instincts from wanting to immediately act like one.

She smiled at that, “We are. We met when we were teengers, but despite that we’ve been as close as if we grew up together.”

Will nodded, finally returning a small smile of his own. “I have a few friends like that.”

Hazel nodded with satisfaction, tucking the remainder of her papers away. She stood in front of his desk. “So this is our last meeting.”

Ah. This was familiar territory. He gave her a small, reassuring smile, “Nervous?”

She was already shaking her head. “Not with Frank. I’ve been ready to marry that boy for years practically. Just...it’s happening.”

“It’s happening.” He agreed, “This weekend.”

She nodded, letting that info sink in. “This time next week, I’ll be married.” She announced, looking pleased with the sentence. That was good.

Will had married off his fair share of couples, and was sometimes obvious that the couple wasn’t going to last. Not that it was his place to say so, not ever, but it was always worth noting to Lou, usually in preparation of the drama they were to expect the day-of. It wasn’t always obvious, though.

Hazel and Frank seemed good. There seemed to be love there, as they moon-eyed at each other from across rooms and spoke of the other with honey in their voice. There weren’t a lot of couples out there that had that for each other. Will hoped the best for them, truly.

“I’ll see you Saturday, Will.” She beamed, and there was that trademark bride-to-be excitement.

Will smiled slightly. “See you on Saturday, Hazel.”

Truly, the best.

Saturday came as quick as Will always expected a wedding of this side to do.

It was Saturday and Will was dressed in his favorite go-to suit, darkened colors to compliment the wedding party but not so much be blended in with them. Always an important thing to note.

He took a breath.

Today was the Levesque-Zhang wedding, and Will was completely composed.

Sure, this was a fact that Will would insist on even if the world was coming to a literal, screeching halt and he was to blame, but honestly. Everything, at least twelve hours into the wedding day, had been going smoothly.

Minor problems, smoothly. One of the bridesmaid’s had ripped her dress, according to Lou over text as they updated each other on wedding day happenings. It was fine - they had each learned to sew very quickly in their profession.

Will had had to deal with a few guests who turned up early, apparently already celebrating the occasion with how their breath had stunk of stale alcohol. One of the ushers was twenty minutes late, easily resolved by having one of the bored groomsmen step in in the meantime. The chairs had been set up backwards - facing the park itself instead of the actual gazebo, but fine. After a few moments of shuffling and calling the groomsmen to help, it was resolved, the few arrived guests were seated correctly, and the wedding, as well as the Wedding Planner, were completely composed.

He was just beginning to mark off all the names of the wedding court - his clipboard reading off each name in neat typed font - when the guests truly began arriving in crowds.

The groomsmen and ushers were already gathered in the park, the bridesmaids and Hazel tucked away in the Bridal Suite that the park had generously offered. He checked off another name - Jason Grace - as the blond head bobbed into view, helping one of the older guests to her chair.

Will waved at Neeks very briefly, already turning away from the bundle of people. Gleeson, with Chuck in his arms, rushed by, and he added a few more checks to his paper.

He glanced down at his list, only one more name reading back at him. In the distance, Lou was waving him over. Ten minutes until the ceremony was scheduled to start.

“Where’s the flower boy? Nico?” Will questioned frantically, his clipboard clenched in his hands. The little boy was the only one of the bridal court that Will hadn’t accounted for himself, the rest all checked or marked off.

“He’s here, I just saw him with some of the bridal party.” Lou reassured him, shoving a stack of programs in his hands. “Take these upfront, the ushers are running low. I’ll handle the background stuff, go handle the guests, okay?”

Will didn’t have time to voice his agreement, simply nodding and turning, the paper pressing against his clipboard as he rushed to hand the papers off to the ushers. They still had to speak with the minister - a family friend, apparently, who had a question about the marriage license that only one of them could answer.

Will settled the issue with barely time to spare as Lou gestured to him from the end of the aisle. A soundless two-clap as she met his eyes, their signal. The ceremony was about to start.

He nodded, taking his seat. She would handle the backstage stuff, and if anything were to happen up here, it would be on him to take care of.

It was a system that was tried and true. It was good to separately cover the area, have someone in each section. After the Godan-Calton incident - where both of them lingered in the back and therefore neither were there to help when the Bride’s dress ripped in half mid-ceremony - they’d wisely taken to a splitting up approach.

The music, previously low and playing some distant beat, rose in volume slowly. Will, with the rest of the guests, looked to the wedding court as they began walking down the small stone path leading up to the gazebo.

Familiar faces passed - Leo, a happy glint in his eyes, and Annabeth, who he’d met at the dinner party and seemed much, much too interested in his organizational habits. Jason, the blond guy who was so familiar with Neeks, was arm-in-arm with Reyna, her braid long and waterfall down her back. Mellie and Hedge were next, arm in arm. The best man and maid of honor were last down the aisle, of course. Percy, arm in arm with tall brunette girl with a fancy up-do - Piper, Will remembered, from the cake tasting - grinned at him as they passed. The ring-bearer, Chuck, in his small tux and even smaller pillow clutched in his toddler hands, bounced down the aisle next, grinning widely at his parents at the end of the aisle.

Everything was going perfectly, so far. The piano was right on time for the flower boy to enter, with a thirteen second section to descend down the aisle, and then the music would pause and switch over and Hazel would emerge and they’d all stand and -

Will’s mind crushed to a halt.

This was the moment the flower boy was suppose to emerge, the small basket of gold petals in his small hands, but instead….

Instead there was a full grown man.

Instead there was Neeks.

Will glanced around frantically, looking to catch another face of panic no doubt close to his own.

There were none. Frank was, strangely, grinning widely at the end of the aisle. Like he knew, and was expecting this.

Something clicked in his head - two loose facts coming together to form a single undeniable truth.

The flower boy was Neeks.

Neeks was Nico.

Hazel’s brother. Hazel’s younger brother.

He glanced down to his clipboard with wide-eyes like the paper had betrayed him.

This didn’t make sense.

Wait.

Actually -

This made perfect sense.

How Neeks was always hanging around the wedding party, yet had no, as far as Will had thought, part in the wedding. His familiarity with Hazel, and the rest of them. How no one had been the slightest bit worried about never seeing the flower boy around because, well, he had been there all along.

Nico was scowling, but it looked more for show as it didn’t reach his eyes. The flower petals fell from his hands easily as he threw them across the ground. Low laughter fell over the crowd and Frank - standing in the front with the rest of the court - let out a loud bark of a laugh.

Apparently Will was an idiot.

And, also apparently, Will had fucked the flower boy.

Lou was going to lose her shit.

Will blinked. He couldn’t think about that right now. He had a wedding to run smoothly, and he couldn’t be distracted for it. Not even when Neeks - Nico - caught his eye as met the end of the aisle and winked as he joined to stand with the bridal party. Will took a breath, hugged his clipboard to his chest, and ignored the skip in his pulse.

Damn, Nico looked good in his fitted tux.

Will just managed to turn his attention back to the wedding when it really began.

The piano paused and there was beat of silence before the wedding theme began, the organ heavy and smooth in the air.

Frank’s father, a large, burly biker type macho-man, only scowled at the front of the aisle. No one dared to mention the few tears creeping down his cheeks.

The double doors swung open, and this was always Will’s favorite part.

Hazel’s gown was vintage themed, and he could already see the careful hand Lou had lended in outfitting the other girl - the thick layer of frosting diamonds draped over her neckline, the elbow length cream satin gloves she wore. She had chosen gold accents to match the color of her bridesmaid’s dresses, and she truly looked beautiful.

She floated down the aisle, and Will was already beginning to pass around small packets of tissues. It was needed.

Hades, walking her down the aisle, seemed to be successfully holding back his emotion so far. The rest of them - Persephone, at Will’s side, as well as most of the wedding court - were nowhere near his control. There was the giving away of the bride, Hazel leaning in to give her father a quick hug, and turned towards Frank, who didn’t bother to hide his tearful beam. They both looked so happy.

Hades fell to Persephone’s side in the front aisle almost immediately after Hazel’s hand left his. Quietly, Will pressed the tissues into their hands as they sobbed against each other.

The minister - Chiron, an older man Hazel and Frank were both good friends with - smiled softly as the couple beamed at each other. The service began.

The ceremony was beautiful and teary and was nearly perfect.

Small issues - the bugs that came with an outdoor wedding were always annoying, and Hazel’s train had gotten caught on one of the chairs as they went to leave - but nothing major. Lou had outdone herself, truly.

There was hardly any time for Will to linger on his new revelation - only very briefly, for a few odd seconds, as Nico tossed him a wink as he walked back down the aisle. Will’s cheeks, the traitors that they were, colored horribly.

He shook those thoughts out of his head. He had a job today, to make sure Hazel and Frank had a perfect wedding, and he was not going to be distracted for it.

Will went ahead to the elaborate venue Hades had insisted on, setting some of the finer details into stone while the wedding party was off taking photos. Lou had gone along with them, making sure the photographer got everything that the couple had requested but, in the excitement, might have forgotten.

He did his rounds at the hall, checking in with the waitstaff and bar, making sure the band was ready and the tasteful decor was just so.

The photobooth was in place and working well from the few waitresses on break giggling around it. That was always a favorite of his at a wedding, he thought.

He checked with the head chef, checking in on the food. Everything was good, she was eager to reassure him, pushing out small toast with tomato and basil towards him. He took it, half-knowing that it was probably going to be the last thing he’d eat tonight before he and Lou stopped at the 24-hour McDonalds on their way home, too dead-tired and desperate to care about the calories.

The guests began arriving after that, Will helping guide some of them to their tables, helping the staff coordinate the champagne table Hades had requested.

He handled the wedding court entrance, half an hour into the reception, mostly just making sure the music was correct and loaded up. Lou shot him a thumbs up from the front of the hall, putting the couples in the correct order and announcing as they came in.

Will held his breath as Nico emerged first, Chuck balanced on his hip, and Lou grinned at them both. The familiar laughter from the ceremony was back, teasing Nico as he accepted his title.

The beginning sequence went well, no hiccups, only applause and faint coos when the happy couple made their grand entrance.

Next, the speeches - right before the food was served. Will kept a careful eye on the time, the itinerary of the day damn near memorized at this point. They were on schedule. Good.

Nico was at the head table, laughing at something Jason was proclaiming, the blond man’s arm outstretched towards the happy couple. Will ignored the bloom of warmth in his chest.

Percy’s speech was heartwarming, something about third-wheeling the road-trip where Hazel and Frank had finally gotten together, and Piper’s was hilarious, remarking on several occasions that made both parts of the happy couple turn red and hide their face.

The food was good, the open bar better, and the guests seemed happy. Hazel and Frank seemed happy too, giggling and beaming and blushing every time one of the guests began to clink their glass and cheer.

It was just when the cake was being served, and Hazel and Frank were grinning around a matching mess of frosting smeared across both of their faces, when Will was finally able to sit down for the first time since the ceremony.

He sank down in an empty chair, a sigh of breath rushing out of him. Next to him, Lou was already calling a waitress over.

“Have your drink,” Lou half-demanded, her own champagne glass nearly empty, as she pushed the new glass in his hand. He didn’t fight it. “We’re almost done, and it was nearly perfect.” A frown crossed her face. “Damn trains.”

Will grinned into his sleeve at her grumble.

It wasn’t like Will loved being a perfectionist or anything but he did enjoy that he wasn't alone in it. The mistake had been bothering Lou too, probably since the ceremony when it happened.

They shared a tired grin. “Next time,” Will promised, like he always did.

“Next time it’ll be perfect,” She agreed, clinking their glasses. She took the last of her drink and stood. “I’m gonna go start up the round of the traditions. Take a few minutes before you start micro-managing the hell out of everything, kay?”

Will held up his glass in silent agreement. He was perfectly a-okay with taking a few minutes to just observe and let his feet rest.

He watched as Lou began a few of the traditions - the mother and groom dance, where Frank gently slow-swayed with his grandmother to a soft tune that nearly had everyone in tears, as well as the father and daughter dance shortly after, where Hazel patted Hades on the back with an amused grin as he sobbed into her neck.

He was just standing and brushing off his suit jacket when Lou began the garter toss, both Hazel and Frank blushing harshly through the entire thing. Over the dancefloor, he could just barely see the head of kitchen gesturing for him, probably having some question about the coffee and cake the waitstaff was due to serve out on the table any moment now, and Will crossed the floor quickly, keeping his head low around the crowd gathered, trying to avoid being in the way when -

- when something headed straight towards him.

Instinctively, Will opened his hands, catching the object before it could fall smack into his face.

He blinked. He was holding flowers.

...Hazel’s flowers.

There was a short burst of laughter and applause where Will’s cheeks turned to rouge. Of...course.

Lou was burying her laughter in her hand.

Of course.

There was a quick tap - one, two, three - on his shoulder.

Will, still clenching onto the banquet of flowers, turned to face his other side. His cheeks were still bright red.

He blinked, his hands tightening on the bound stems. “Hey.”

Nico di Angelo grinned at him, looking much, much too good under the low lighting, gold silken confetti reflecting in his dark hair. He didn’t bother a greeting, jumping straight in. “Wanna get a drink sometime?”

Will could only hug the flowers close to his chest as he stuttered through his response. At this point, he was sure he was going to die with his cheeks bright red. “I - I mean, yeah, sure.” He swallowed, the sharp fragrance of the flowers starting to drift up to his face. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Yeah, I mean, definitely.”

“Cool.” Nico tipped back on his heels. “I’ll get your number from Hazel.” He turned to leave, a grin over his shoulder, before he paused. “Nice flowers.”

“Thanks.” He choked out, still clenching that goddamn bouquet.

In one beat to the next, Lou was at his side, her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. He willed his flush to temper down.

Her face cleared up in an instant, her eyes flickering over to where Nico was disappearing. She shook her head as Will slowly died of mortification - how did she always just know? - and plucked two glasses off a passing tray.

“So, you fucked the flower boy and caught the bouquet.” She announced, tipping another champagne flute in his direction, perspiration beaded along the surface of the chilled glass. Looks like they were breaking their ‘one drink an event’ rule. They both needed it. “Will Solace, know this - I’ll die before I plan your wedding.”

Will took a breath, the flowers probably pressing pollen and petals into the dark fabric of his suit. He couldn’t find it in himself to care. “I think we’ll probably elope.” He finally breathed out softly, his eyes turning to trace the other boy unconsciously. “Maybe Vegas.”

“Thank the gods,” Lou tipped back her glass, “And I deserve another glass of cold champagne for that.”

Will released the air building up in his chest, sighing. “Yeah...I agree.”

From across the room, Nico caught his eye. He threw the other boy a wink, and Will damn near swooned.

Lou let out a noise of disgust as Will hugged the bouquet even tighter to his chest.

Forbes Magazine lists the job Event Coordinator, with a mentioning of Wedding Planners, as the sixth most stressful job and Will typically wholeheartedly agreed with that fact but sometimes, as Will met a pair of dark eyes across the room, laughter and music filling the air between both of them, sometimes it was worth it.

Notes:

this sprang from the fact that i just finished helping plan my aunts wedding and im dy ing this fic killed me if you enjoyed let me know! thanks dolls this was suppose to be to celebrate getting 500 followers on tumblr but i wanted too long that im almost at 600 now soooo happy early celebration for that!! i never want to look at another wedding website ever again there's a lot of references in this fic to other fictional couples, props if you get them all i needed a lot of different last names ok

#solangelo #Nico di Angelo #will solace #something borrowed #the wedding planner au #Percy Jackon and the Olympians #Heroes of Olympus #trials of apollo #rosy writes #happy 500 followers #also im dead

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