#omg so sorry for when you see this in your notifications or if you're scrolling and see ALL of this akahais

[forgettable-au]

OH MY GOD

OH MY GOD OH WOW

THIS IS AMAZING WHAT

I'VE BEEN STARING AT IT ON REPEAT FOR MINUTES NOW OH MY GOD THIS IS SO GOOD

OMG THANK U SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS????THIS IS INSANE?WHAT

AND THE ANIMATION IS SOO GOOD TOO

AIAYDKWJE I LOVE THIS AND YEAH THEIR RELATIONSHIP CAN BE LIKE THAT AND AND I'M GONNA KEEP RAMBLING IN TAGS

Please everyone watch this it's sooo good‼️

UHHHHHHHHH- OKAY LET ME EXPLAIN.

First of all, Forgettable!AU amv fanart stuff for @sunsestart cause this story is fukn magical and i cant wait to see what happens :3

Second of all ((in depth explanation))

I heard this song (Wasted Summers by juju<3) and I went *gasp* its skelebros fr fr. Plus I was already in desperate need of something to draw so BOOM!! Inserted in my brain for the next 3 days

EXPLANATION FOR THE AMV! ALL THINGS STATED AS “FACT” THAT HAVENT BEEN SAID ON THE BLOG ARE JUST MY SILLY LITTLE HEADCANONS!

Blue represents Sans and Green represents Papyrus/Wingdings. As kids when they were in waterfall, shocker, TEAL WAS ALL AROUND!!! They were harmonious and it was awesome. Then :(((

(what happens when you birth a skeleton kid who has a completely incomprehensible font??? 0 SOCIAL INTERACTION!!!!!!)

The 0 social interactions besides his brother thing kinda gets to him sometimes. Mostly subconsciously, and yeah bros a little irritable. Slamming doors, worrying his brother, fun family friendly not sibling angst stuff.

Also did ya see :3 when WD turned around his eyelights went out :3 we like to have fun here.

Also in the first little bit showing them finding stuff in the garbage dump as kids, the next shot is only Sans finding the stuff. cause WD is in the lab. and the colors are so lifeless and dull compared to when they were kids ((suddenly in tears))

ALSO THAT TV BIT, WD on tv being announced as The New Royal Scientist! and him just being so uncomfortable😭 has been a visual in my head for a while, so glad i got to draw that now

OK AND LAST “ALSO”. That last part with WD working on Blueprints and saying “yes you can” is the scene where Sans is like LETS DO SOMETHING OUTSIDE and WD is like “nah… imma do my own thing”

ok I lied, last also. the “yes I can” part of the lyrics. First they’re talking about how “oh you could totally work in the lab when you grow up” and “omg no way… only if YOU also work in the lab when you grow up”

Then they’re talking about how “oh you can leave if you want. shut up lemme finish my work” and “…omg I CAN get him out of the lab”

(ww a a ah h)

OKAY THATS ALO BYYYEEE

[page-matcha]

Music to my Ears

Asmrtist!Soobin x fem!reader

Summary: Seems like Soobin is using you for content... What shall you do?

Warnings: Heavily making out, VERY suggestive, no smut!

a/n - it's finally out omg 😭 I'm sorry for making everyone wait so long!! Special thanks to @razsberrie for helping me brainstorm for this!! I'll be making a drabble series out of this as well, so please look forward to it!

[Asmrtist!Soobin master list]

Soobin's mouth is like heaven against yours, quiet moans and whispers escaping both his and your lips. Everything was perfect, except for the way Soobin looked so distracted. He kept glancing to the shelf at the corner of your room in between kisses, almost like something was there.

Why wasn't he paying any attention to you!

You guys were literally in the middle of making out and he couldn't even close his eyes and just be in the moment with you.

You wrap your arms around his neck, trying to force his gaze to meet yours again. "Baby... Why do you seem so distracted?"

Soobin's eyes widen, caught off guard by your question. "Uhm, it's nothing." He quickly stands up and walks towards said shelf from earlier, grabbing something off of it before heading to his personal office.

What was that all about....

Suspicious of his behavior, you quietly follow behind him. Why was he acting like this? You thought you guys were having a moment earlier, absolutely lost in each other's touch. Maybe... he was feeling uncomfortable with you but was too kind to say it to your face.

When you peak through the crack of his open office door though, you find it's actually the exact opposite. He's obsessed with you.

Through the small gap in the door you can see Soobin's uploading an audio to his computer, and if you're hearing things right... It's an audio of you. Did he record you guys kissing? You see him click on an icon on his computer screen. A profile picture. Just below the small circular imagine there's a username. 'page.soob'. Wait but thats.... the nsfw asmrtist you follow on youtube!

As if on cue, your phone buzzes with a notification. He's posted a new video.

This is weird. Really weird. What's even more absurd though, is that you can feel yourself growing... wet? Are you turned on right now?

You hurry back to your room and lock the door shut behind you, clicking on the video. It seems like he edited the audio somehow, your voice non-existent and only the wet sounds of your lips could be heard. Why did he do that...? Even though he removed your voice from the recording, you were still 100% sure it was you in it. He's insane for this... Posting an audio of you two, and actually getting famous out of it. The number of views, likes and comments are already piling up a crazy amount.

Would it be weird.... if you looked through the comments?

You shake your head at the thought. He was the one secretly recording you. Looking through the comments left on his video isn't strange at all.

'This gave me butterflies!'

'More! More!'

'How do your audios always end up so well?

'I'm addicted'

'I just got the chills'

'Pov: you're making out with your boyfriend? How about something new Soob. Just a make out sesh isn't going to get you anywhere with your viewers. We want MORE!!!!'

....What?

You continue to scroll through comment section.

'the making out audios were great at first.... but now I'm starting to get a bit bored...'

'oh my gosh, just fuck us already!!!!!'

'Gosh, what a tease~'

'Come one, give us what we really want!'

They want more, huh.

Shall you give the viewers what they want?

-💌

[james-is-here]

EHEM I need to rant about this and you're my favourite kpop writer so-

Imagine member reader who just CAN NOT be serious about his social media. He has 3 accounts on every platform, 1 for that's literally just him being an idol and shit, and 1 where he stalkes stays edits/posts about him and comments as if he's a fan and occasionally posts memes. One time he fucked up and sent a post that was supposed to be on meme account on idol account and fans go absolutely insane like "wtf is this??".

But on the 3rd one he's sooo troll-y. He pretends to be a fan account of himself and or the group and just randomly takes videos of himself or the group to post, again, acting like a fan. So stays are like "OMG DUDE WHERE DID YOU GET THIS STUFF FROM" and "OMG SOURCE?!?!" but people get suspicious when he's just like 🤷‍♂️. And they keep asking where these videos/photos are coming from and he's just like "just trust me bro🙌" until he gets like scolded by one of the members.

(I'm so sorry I didn't mean to rant like this I just thought it was so funny and needed to tell SOMEONE)

Omg wait that is so adorable and hilarious. Also knowing I'm your favorite makes me so giddy.

So Mn has three pages, his page he posted with the others, a private account, and a fan account.

He had just posted a slideshow of photos from an event he went to then ended up in a scrolling spiral, just watching random videos and he comes across an edit of him and Felix being sassy together and he giggles softly as he opens the comments and he's reading the comments and one said "Sass Kings" and Mn couldn't help himself and commented his reply "We slay." and then he just goes on to the next video.

A few minutes later, his notifications are going off and people are replying to his comment and that's when he realized what account he used and without giving context he just...deleted the comment.

Then people started making memes about the "Mn Comment moment" like someone created a "I was there for the Mn comment" ticket meme.

I have an idea for the third one, he posts videos of him bugging the members or sneaky videos he took when the others were cuddling with him.

His most watched video with a butt-ton of comments asking for the source is a clip of a video he recorded of him sitting sideways on the couch and back hugging Chan who was on his laptop, a blanket over both of them on Chan's lap and Mn's face isn't visible since it was resting on Chan's shoulder not facing the phone. Fans could see Chan leaning back into Mn's body and in the clip Chan turns his head and whispers something that has Mn tightening his hold around Chan. His most liked photos is a candid shot of Hyunjin looking back over his shoulder while painting, brush still hovering over the canvas.

People were commenting how cute it was but also where it came from and how this unknown user kept getting these videos and photos.

His third page (I'm gonna name SKZ Archive) made its way to a few of the boys and at first the ones who found it were confused as hell and worried until they realized and payed more attention to the photo or video that they remembered where it came from.

Mn was responsible though! He didn't post invasive photos of the others, he posted a shirtless photo of himself every now and again but thats it.

He got scolded by his dad but he was told he could keep the account since it's not all the harmless.

I have a social media maker, I could actually make this. Would y'all want media posts?

--Can I insert an idea I had with Ateez?--

Mn posting a video on his third account in his room and it starts with him struggling to prop up his phone and once it's set, he steps back and Wooyoung is attached to him on his back. Mn takes his hands off his legs to show that he was no contribution to holding the male up, it's all Wooyoung. Then Mn looks off screen with a smile but then it falls when whoever he's looking at is suddenly in frame and Mn has to catch him. Now he has Wooyoung on his back while slowly loosing grip on Seonghwa and a second later, Seonghwa is going down with Mn and Wooyoung in tow, crashing to the floor and Wooyoung lets go of Mn but the way he landed when he let go had him kneeing both Mn and Seonghwa at the same time and when he realized and heard the both of them groan he started spewing apologies between his laughter.

Mn was semi curled up on top of Seonghwa and both couldn't stop laughing, Mn eventually slowly rolled off Seonghwa and now all three of them couldn't stop laughing at the events that happened.

Fans found the whole thing hilarious and a lot speculated something happened at Mn and Seonghwa's combined groans and Wooyoung's apologies, some were more focused on the laughter and others were trying to figure out where this video came from.

[arealtrashact]

Hi! I know this message is a bit out of the blue, but I just want to say that I was very surprised to see that you followed me back! I don't know if you meant it or if it was a mistake, but either way, it doesn't matter because whenever I see you in my notifications I always go "omg, that's arealtrashact!!!" and it makes me a lil bit happy because you're one of my favourite artists here!

I've talked about how much I love your art in the tags before, but what really strikes me about your work is how you seem to have a very keen eye when it comes to your subjects, so when you translate your interpretations into illustrations they're always so meaningful and vivid; it's like they're bursting at the seams with the subject's essence. It always leaves me in awe. I've got to admit that I think a lot about your Elvis in the Army and Elvis in Las Vegas pieces. But I also adore all your other work of other musicians, Homelander and even things I'm not familiar with! I'm not an artist myself, so I feel like my vocabulary is falling short of what makes your art so great to me, but it's just *so* striking! And the way you use colour and the fluidity of your character's body and mannerisms are just superb.

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy message! All this to say that you're one of my favourite bloggers, and whether you're sharing your art or posting about the things you love, it's always a pleasure seeing you on my dashboard. You make this place brighter! Thanks, and I hope you have a wonderful day! 💕⚡️

Th........ank....y....youuuu

This is such a beautiful, sweet message. It's taken me twice as long to answer it because I keep scrolling back up to reread it. I never know how to respond to stuff like this beyond blubbering my thanks and it never ever feels like enough. It means so much to me. . . More than I can put into words.

My following you wasn't a mistake. I thought you seemed cool and clearly I was right. Thank you for taking the time to write out this lovely message. I'm treasuring it like a precious stone.

[bao4aohao]

chap 2 - go for the throat

-> slight! texting chapter

-> warnings !! - violence, swearing

you're sitting on a table with some people from your class. you don't really talk to them but you'll make small conversations if you have to, so you could say they are somewhat you're friends.

you tapped your foot impatiently while waiting for your orange haired friend.

suddenly, a notification distracted you.

you groaned as you sat with your friends who were busy engaging with their own conversations. as you play with your food, time began to pass slowly.

you start to drown in the loud atmosphere, looking left and right but no one were paying attention to you. you tried to look busy by scrolling your phone and can't help but felt a bit..sad.

you were still pissed off at your new teacher, god that stupid man!? hot but god damn annoying man?! who does he think he is? you sighed at your now mashed plate of rice which gave you another reason why you should skip today's classes.

you were about to get up but a voice from behind caught your attention the most.

" omg right! today we had a sub teacher and he's sooooo hot~ but we almost got in trouble because of a bitch who didn't paid attention UGH!

you turned behind to see a bunch of girls giggling with each other, and the one who made that comment turned to side eye you.

ignoring their gazes you pretended not to hear them. you were tired from your first class, losing anymore energy was the last thing you wanted.

the girls continued to make nasty comments about you and it was started to get to you.

you stood up, holding your tray bumping the girl's should on purpose.

" oops, sorry about that " you smiled, eyes closed.

the girls did not like it one bit.

" watch it, bitch. " she snarled back.

you laughed and turned around to out your tray back but something hit you on the back of your head.

you felt a welt sensation on your hair. you touch your hair and it was a white liquid.

" fuck it- "

you stomped your way back to their table and smack that bitch's face with the tray. hair was something you cherish and no one touches it. not even your family except for you.

" THAT WAS MY HAIR YOU BITCH-UGH LET GO OF ME " you yelled as the girl pulled your hair when you pounced on her. you then grab a chunk of her hair and pulled tightly, making her scream too.

a crowd began to form quickly around us while a few people tried to separate us.

you pinned her down and got on top on her. you didn't know why but you started to clog her but choking her.

" that's right choke on my fingers BITCH " you cackled. you felt your inner demons coming up until a voice called your name.

" Y/N! Y/N! I'M HERR-OH GOD " you heard shoyou's voice for a second. this led you to hesitate for a moment and the next thing you know, you had losing your grip and something hit your eye really hard. then, you fell back and it turned dark.

you had blacked out.

-

' ughh ' you groaned, opening your eyes slowly to find yourself in an unfamiliar room. you peeked to your right and you saw the last person you wanted to see. Tsukshima fucking kei.

you felt a swell in your left eyelids and you felt a slight bump. you then recalled what had happened an the fight you had gotten into before you blacked out.

' great. first a black eye and now I have to see this shitty teacher ' you rolled your eyes as you tried to sit up. tsukishima was standing and looking out of the window before hearing the shuffling noises behind him.

he turned around and saw you groaning due to the pain while trying to get up from the bed. he immediately went to grab your arms and tried to help you up, but that made you felt even weirder.

" I-I can get up myself! I don't need your help since you gave me enough about the essay " you looked at him in the eyes, clearly pissed at his presence.

he stared at you for a moment and chuckled for a few seconds before smirking at you. ' what the fuck..why's he smirking at me like that..' you thought, confused.

he replied, " don't worry y/n, you don't need to write the essay since you're..injured.. " he eyes you up and down before tossing the stack of notes on your lap.

" here, I don't need them anymore. neat notes by the way, although under the uniform circular motion on page 15, you missed out that the velocity vector is always tangent to the path of the object. " he proudly said.

then, he swiftly left the room leaving you in the empty and quiet sick bay with the sound of the fan vibrating on the top corner of the room.

the door suddenly opened, his head popped out.

" but you will repay back in a different way, I'll let you know "

then he closed the door back. It irked you as he seemed to think punishing you was funny to him. you felt like punching his face the next time you see him again.

you didn't waste time and slowly stand up to compose yourself. you tried looking for your phone and bag but they were no where to be found.

you panicked and speed walked out of the room only to see shoyou carrying your bag with one arm and on the other holding some food. you didn't know why but you ran up to him and gave him the fattest hug you have ever given to anyone.

" thanks for bringing me here " you said, grateful for his help. you let go to see him red as always.

" i-it was nothing, I swear! all it matters you're okay now..HERE! this your favourite matcha latte right?? yachi told me you liked matcha soooo I gottem hehe " he beamed as he passed you your drink.

you thanked him and chugged it like there's no tomorrow. you didn't know how thirsty you have gotten and you didn't bother about the brain freeze that hit you almost instantly.

you just felt a sense of comfort. beating up that bitch was definitely something you did NOT regret. it was like a small burden off your shoulder.

just then, when you two were about to leave, shoyou spoke up.

" uhh y/n..the person that carried you here actually wasn't me...well I did told the nurse about your injury but.. " he awkwardly dragged the words.

" who was it then? I need to thank them hais.. " you sighed, knowing you made a stranger carried you was kind of embarassing.

" it was our new teacher, Mr tsukishima. " he said.

you looked at him and his face shows he was telling the truth.

" deadass? " you asked, he nodded back.

' this is so weird, why would he do that? doesn't he hate me or something? ' you questioned yourself and wanted to kill youself right there.

Not only did he punished you in front of the all class, he ALSO carried you to the sick bay and stayed until you woke up. guilt started to build up in you.

sure he scolded and humiliated you in front of t he whole class but THIS? you felt as if now you owe him a favor and you know it's going to be something bad seeing his personality.

all you could do is pray for the best and continue to focus on your studies as exams were coming up.

prev | next | main pg

NOTES

I tried making y/n a real one here, the intrusive thoughts ykwim.

something uploaded the fight on twitter, a certain someone was abit too excited about it

© all works are done by @ bao4aohao do not copy/rewrite/steal thank you.

[howlingday]

Weiss: By the way, here. (Tosses something)

Jaune: Huh? (Catches) A scroll? Wait! Is this my scroll?! I thought I lost this when I fell into the Ever After!

Weiss: You're not the only one with something to give a friend. Now that we're out, why not give your team a call? It's probably been a while for them.

Jaune: I... I don't know.

Weiss: Do or don't. I can't control you. But if I were you, I'd talk to them as soon as I could. (Leaves)

Jaune: ...

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

Jaune: (Thinking) "Talk to them as soon as I could." How am I supposed to do that?! After the way I left, they probably think I abandoned them. How will everyone treat me now that they know I'm alive?.

Jaune: (Pling!) Huh? A notifica- (PLING! PLING! PLING! PLIPLIPLI-) FIVE HUNDRED NOTIFICATIONS?! Should... Should I even open one?.

You abandoned us! Bastard! I hate you! Just like Cinder... Should have been Pyrrha...

Jaune: I... I can't! I'm too scared!

Jaune: (RIIIIING!) ARGH! R-Ren?! Okay, okay... Just answer it. Three... Two... One... (Blick!) See? Easy as- I HUNG UP! ARGH! NOW THINGS ARE EVEN MORE AWKWARD!

Jaune: (RIIIIIING!) Now Nora's calling me?! Mm... (Gulps) Okay... (Plip!) H-Hey, Nora! Long time no-

Ren: (Via scroll) So you'll answer for Nora but completely ignore me?.

Jaune: Wait! Nononono! It wasn't like that! I just, uh-

Ren: Putting that aside, I would like to say...

Ren: YOU FUCKING IDIOT! What the hell were you thinking, dropping off the face of Remnant while we had to fight our way through a sandstorm and Grimm to reach Shade Academy! Even if you did have a reason to lose contact with us, you could have still found someone else's scroll and called us! Did you even try?!

Jaune: (Wincing)

Ren: Do you have any idea...

Jaune: (Looks at scroll)

Ren: (Crying) ...how much we were worried about you?

Jaune: Sorry, I was... I was going through a lot and... No, that's not right. To be perfectly honest, I was scared. Scared that you guys thought I was abandoning you as your leader and your friend. I thought you guys would be pissed off at me knowing that I'm alive and I left you guys alone.

Ren: That's-

Nora: Damn right, we are! Of course we're mad at you! I mean, do you have any idea what happened after we made it out?! And we didn't have you to lead us! So yeah, we were mad... but that doesn't mean we hate you.

Nora: And actually, now that I say that, I'm even more pissed that you think we'd hate you! Oh, when you get over here, I am so gonna-

Ren: (Takes scroll) And just so you know, it's not just us who feel this way. It's all of us, and that includes all of our friends waiting for you here.

Jaune: ...

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

Weiss: Hey, Jaune? Are you done yet? It's time for lunch, and Ruby wants us to be proud of her for it.

Jaune: ...

Weiss: Ja-

Jaune: They called me an idiot, Weiss. And they're right...

Emerald: Hey, u ok? Oscar: Please be safe Saphron: What happened?! Are you okay?! Ren: Come back soon Nora: OMG LOOK AT THESE CATS!

Jaune: (Turns, Sobbing) I'm such an idiot!

Weiss: (Smirks) Well, I already knew that.

Jaune: You think I'm an idiot, too?

Weiss: Nevermind that! Hurry up so we can all eat!

[ruishusband]

᧔ ˖ ࣪ 💋 ࣪ ⤹kiss the homies

⤷Rui Kamishiro and amab!reader are zesty AF. Just a silly thing sleep deprived me wrote!! NOT PROOF READ

Being Rui's best friend was amazing at first, but over time it became harder to just be friends.. you two would constantly flirt, trying to make the other blush. 'Its just a homie thing, guys flirt with other guys all the time as a joke' you swore, you SWORE you wouldn't get attached, that you wouldn't yearn for something so unattainable, but you did... the worst part? You didn't even regret it. Deep down you enjoyed imagining yourself holding his soft hands, kissing his face aggressively, resting your head against his chest as if it was a pillow... your thoughts consumed you, haunted you no matter what you tried to do to stop your feelings. But yet again, you didn't regret it.. you regret not regretting it, foolish you, using your heart rather than your brain...

You felt your chest burning up, it's so cold and yet you're so warm.. it was embarrassing you were overheating because of a crush. A faint notification sound, followed by more notifications, each getting louder and more aggressive. Your hand is slightly shaky and sweaty, but you presist to look at the multiple texts Rui spammed you. A faint giggle manages to escape your lips, a slight distraction from your previously overwhelming thoughts.

purple guy (theater kid edition): hi just finished practice lol, wanna meet up at the nearby cafe? lmk

Oh, that's right... he had practice. You felt bad for not coming to watch, even though Rui would always assure you that you didn't need to pressure yourself to go to every single practice. You replied quick, not wanting to make him wait any longer.

rizzmeister69: oh? my-my, THE Rui Kamishiro is asking me out? It's a date 😘 be there in 15 minutes

purple guy (theater kid edition): take your time my prince, no need to rush! I'll wait for you ;)

You chuckled, the voices in your head having a conflict of their own. 'God y/n pull yourself together you idiot! Stop getting so flustered over a text' 'OMGOMG OMG HE CALLED ME HIS PRINCE :3!!1!1!1'

You put on a somewhat lazy outfit, but you made sure to look at least somewhat presentable. You took your wallet, heading to the little cafe at the end of the street. You looked for Rui, and he wasn't there, which is ti be expected as the cafe was closer to your house than his. You took a seat, waiting a few minutes. You scrolled on your phone, mindlessly looking at tiktoks untill.. "My sincerest apologies, I didn't keep you waiting for too long, now did I darling~?" he took a seat beside you, slyly putting his hand on top of yours, rubbing circles in it. You had felt slightly sleepy these past few days, so his comforting touch made you yawn slightly. "Nah I've only been waiting for five minutes" you mumbled, slightly tired. "You should really be getting some more sleep, you know?" "Pfft, ironic considering thats coming from you" you tease, he faked being offended, playfully scoffing. You talked a lot, your feelings just became stronger.. fuck.. you were deeply in love with him.. "You okay? You zoned out, are you sure you want to talk, maybe you should sleep instead, it's fine honestly I don't mind-" you snapped out your thoughts as Ruis words hit you like a brick: "Hm? Oh- oh no! I, I'm sorry I just.. got lost in my thoughts I guess" he was about to speak, but the waitress came and took your orders, so he forgot what he was going to reply. You two kept glancing at eachother, awkwardly laughing when you both looked at eachother at the same time.

"Thanks for the date, pretty boy, I'll see you later" Rui winked at you, you forgot you joked about this being a date, so you just stood there dumbfounded.. he giggled, giving you a kiss on your nose. He left, but you stood there, shocked.. 'kissing your homies is normal, right?'

[themeraldee]

Not really an ask but just wanted to say how much I love your work! And sorry for the possible notification spam of liking a lot of your writing!

Especially your Homelander pieces, you just write him so perfectly! Even down to describing those tiny twitches and how he clenches his jaw. You do it all so well and to keep me from repeating myself lol this is mostly me praising your work and writing style, it's amazing and you're amazing! I'm very excited to see what else you come up/out with 💖💖

OMG 😭😭😭😭😭 this is SO SWEET of you thank you so much 🩷🩷🩷 you do not need to apologize for "spam liking." I love to see people go on a little journey and scroll through my blog, it's like you're browsing through a library or a gallery leaving a little note each time!

I don't even have words for how much asks like these warm my heart 🥹 I'm beyond grateful that you took the time of your day to share this with me!!

And you have no idea how excited it makes me that you like the way I write Homelander! He's such a fun character to put in situations and figure out and I'm always worried that he doesn't come across as himself so when people like the way I write him it's like the highest praise!!

There's SO much I want to write and I can't wait to share more stories with you all.

[marinerainbow]

Me: sees your ask button is open again

🌈RAINBOWS!🌈

Sorry, got a little too excited 😄

Anyways, just wanted to say hi 👋! Hope you're doing OK! If you are, then I'm about to help you feel even better!

You know how Shiny would call Greasy a green bean or jellybean? I call Stupid a sweet potato 🥔 pretty much all the time (because he IS a potato 🥔 😊), then I started imagining the other three weasels as fruits.

Smartass: strawberry 🍓

Psycho: pineapple 🍍

Wheezy: Blue Java banana 🍌 💙

Yes, blue bananas exist. And so do purple, red, pink and black bananas.

Just thought I'd make you smile 😁

My POV when I saw this ask 👆

When i told you my inbox was open again, i swear I thought I had opened them up! I was scrolling through my blog and I looked at my inbox "Huh, it's closed... SHY-NIGHTMARE!"

(I'm serious, I got worried because I remembered you said you wanted to send me stuff or something, and I got worried you thought I was mad at you or tricking you 😣😣😣 I'm sorry if you felt that way!)

I hope you're doing OK too! ^^ me? Ah... The real world really knows how to suck. Let's just leave it at that 😅

Awwww 🥹🥹🥹🥹 omg now I'm picturing you or Shiny calling Greasy Green Bean, and then Stupid pipes up all confused like "Nooo we're not food!" // "It's just a nickname, Stu." // "Oh... What food am I though?" And that's what led to everyone in the house getting a produce nickname XD ^^ I vote Shiny's nickname be Cherry 🍒 and Poppy's nickname is Peach 🍑 Shiny and Cherries are both classic, and Poppy and Peaches are both small and fuzzy sweet things XD what about your OC's? ^^

And... I gotta be honest, I thought you were joking about the bananas. One quick Google search, and oh my lord O_O I wanna make a banana salad with all the bananas there are in the world.

Thank you for sending me this ask! I'm slowly but surely making my way through my inbox and notifications 😅😅😅

[heystephen]

oh my goodness I was scrolling your blog when you changed your url and my app glitched and the page went away and I thought you'd deleted! was genuinely very sad, I love seeing you on my dash and have you on notif 💜 hope you're having a good day!!!

omg im so sorry for the scare i gave u. i prommy if i ever plan to delete i will like.. make it known so its not a random thing. it warms my heart to know that anyone out there likes having me on their dash, ily!! <33

[vegancas]

omg sorry for probably spamming your notifications, i was like oh the vibes on the dash are phenomenal today!! but it was all your blog 😂 anyway, will probably continue to scroll, love you, keep being amazing!! (also sidenote: i am going to FINALLY see simple plan live this year for the first time ever and i am so excited!!! i haven't listened to them for quite some time but their first three albums had a very strong impact on my teenagr life. i see you're a fan and thought i'd let you know🧡)

hehe that's okay, I'll take it as a compliment :3 I'm enjoying reading all your tags!! 💖💖 and omg that's so exciting!!! they are so much fun live, I'm sure you'll have a great time! they don't usually play much from their self titled album but they do lots from their first two. you should definitely try to listen to their newer albums too so you can enjoy the full show! I'm sure you'll enjoy it either way, the energy is always so good! let me know when you go!! I'd love to hear about it!!!

[callsignspark]

first of all omg I was scrolling through my notifications and realized I hadn't responded to this yet!!! soooo sorry!! but I loved your words and the unhinged emoji use. it was *chef's kiss* perfect! this chapter truly did have it all!

I can just imagine how disgruntled he looks staring at her from across the room. Like holding that glass a little toooo tight. Trying (and failing) not to glare. - he's literally so grumpy about it, two seconds from shattering his beer bottle lmao. and he thinks he's hiding it well (spoiler alert: he's not)

pls this man is a drama queen, the audacity of the 20something to be twirling HIS GIRL (who could have been his girl if he hadn’t been so quick to shut her down, but oh, he was just trying to protect himself 🥺). But that boy isn’t having much fun when he only wants to flirt with one girl… - BIGGEST DRAMA QUEEN IN SAN DIEGO. which is impressive when you remember his uncle is Pete "Navy's Biggest Drama Queen" Mitchell. (and you're so right, that could have been his girl if only he wasn't so hasty, even if he was trying to protect himself. poor baby 🥺)

SWEET BOB! ANGEL GEM LOOKING OUT FOR HIS FRIEND - Bob is the best bro

that vein in Bradley’s neck is POPPING as he watches Harvard test the waters I just know it!! Buying her drink, pulling out her chair, all with a cute matching pink bracelet?? POPPING I TELL YOU - it's about to burst and everyone at the table is just worriedly staring at it like "it's gonna blow at anytime be careful" and is Harvard flirting? or is his just a good friend? a respectful himbo? (Bradley doesn't care he just wants him to back off!)

sweet, beautiful idiot. Of course she did, she likes youuu. She’s probably been keeping tabs on you all night too! Probably didn’t know how to feel about that white bracelet 👀 - she very much is paying attention to him the entire time!! she was surprised and sad but also slightly relieved to see the white bracelet?? like "oh thank god he's not flirting with anyone but also he doesn't want to flirt with anyone."

in the immortal words of Shakira: hips don’t lie. And good for miss ma’am going for the jugular, he’s been thinking about those hips and thighs! GET IT GIRL - one shot of tequila and she's like 💃Bradley come dance with me💃 as if he needs convincing

i love a protective Bradley, but a protective Bradley going after a misogynistic asshole who doesn’t respect boundaries is my EVERYTHING. - HE'S HOT. HE'S PROTECTIVE. HE MAY HAVE GONE TO FAR WITH THE PUNCH. (even if she did appreciate the backup)

oooh that PALPABLE rage. And the way she tells everyone what’s going to happen, with no room for questions, so cut and dry. Bob and Nat were def making eye contact with each other like 👀 - everyone's asshole was clenched because she's kinda scary when she's mad lmao and Bob is standing there avoiding Nat's eyes because she'll realize he knows something and try to drag it out of him. he holds up during the post-drinking gossip session with Nat and Callie though, he a good friend.

YESSSSSS CALL HIM OUT FOR IT THOSE BIG COW EYES HAVE BEEN MOONING OVER HER ALL NIGHT - YOU'RE NOT SUBTLE BRADLEY!! EVERYONE SAW IT. INCLUDING HER. WHO'S OBLIVIOUS WHEN IT COMES TO YOU.

oh he wants her SO FUCKING BAD 🥺 and I bet that scares him because for as much as he wants her, he’s so used to losing the people he loves 😭 - yeah! he's also lost so many important people in his life so it's scary but he likes her so much he wants to try! wants to take the risk!

WE ARE ALL THINKING IT AND BIG DICK BOB IS THE ONLY ONE SAYING IT. Icon. - BIG. DICK. BOB. he is the moment. and the only one with a functioning brain cell at the moment.

this still makes me 😮‍💨😵‍💫 it’s so simple, but what’s got him in a tizzy is HER. THE BRADLEY POV OF THEM ON THE COUCH IS SENDING ME // SCREAMINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN (what hopefully will be again soon because idk how much longer I have to live if you’re set ON ENDING ME) - when I realized I could add his POV of that night I was like !!!!!!!!!!! because his horny monkey brain was definitely in charge then. only a few chapters now until they officially get together!!

poor Mary and her self conscious spiral. But this beautiful idiot is like DID YOU NOT FEEL HOW HARD MY COCK WAS?! Which like fair (also I would like to know as well for scientific purposes) - Bradley: "I was about to rip my shorts was that not a hint?" (I would also like to know *Debby Ryan hair tuck*)

oh I love how tender he is with her. And like the physical things have been some of the trigger points, and bless him for wanting to comfort her and put her at ease, but also wanting to be respectful of those boundaries - he's so soft with her. knows how sensitive she is and just wants her to be happy and safe above everything else.

oh he LOVESSSSS HERRRRRRRRRR AND NOW SHE KNOWS JUST HOW SERIOUS HE IS ABOUT HER 😭 AND HE USED THAT FULL GIVEN NAME THATS LEGALLY BINDING SERIOUS THAT DATE ON SUNDAY IS SET - HE IS IN LOVE AND HE'S BREAKING OUT THE GOVERNMENT NAMES OVER IT. their dinner is going to be so cute, hopefully nothing messes it up!

and those friends were her final words because neither of them are going to make it out alive 😂 NOT WITH THAT SEXUAL TENSION - famous last words "we can handle it" like.. sure Jan

a beautiful IDIOT BLESS HIM BUT DONT THINK ABOUT GETTING IN BED WITH THOSE JEANS - Mary watching him about to climb fully clothed into her clean bed "maybe I don't like him as much as I thought" jk girl you are in loovvveee with him

A SLUT! A WHORE! AND WE LOVE HIM FOR IT! ITS ALL FOR THE FEMALE GAZE! A FEMINIST! - just picture him undoing his jeans with one hand, shirtless with his muscles flexing from the movement. oh god I need a cold shower.

OH I LOVE THEM THIS SLOW BURN IS EVERYTHING AND ITS KILLING ME AND I LOVE IT - I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS!!!

Mar[r]y Me - part six

pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mariella “M&M” Vertucci (fem!OC)

summary: A love story told through friendship, laughter, and food.

series warnings: 18+ minors DNI, discussion of insecurities, difficult family relationships, discussions of food and alcohol use, discussions of body image, one (1) drunk asshole, conversations on what it’s like to be a fat woman trying to date in today’s society, warnings to be added as needed

word count: 5.9k

previous part | series masterlist | main masterlist

note: happy Friday!! it's August here in the real world but it's Valentine's Day in the Mar[r]y Me universe, so what will these two do surrounded by love and pink hearts? can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts!

part six - pancakes

God, I made a mistake.

Bradley has suffered through five days of the same thought on a constant loop. His brain started up the second he walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Only getting short reprieves when he had to fly. Even being asleep wasn’t safe; Mary had been consuming his nights, wonderful dreams of being with her intermixed with bad dreams of having to watch her with another man.

He felt like he was living one of those nightmares for the last three songs, watching Mary dance and giggle with some guy in his twenties.

I should be the one making her laugh. My hands should be on her hips, not his.

He cursed Natasha for dragging them to this stupid Valentine’s Day speed-dating event. Except, the speed dating isn’t actually speed dating; it’s some sort of convoluted speed dancing.

As announced by the host, there are only two rules:

Every person must wear the wristband they received upon entry; the wristbands correspond to your relationship status, so respect the color code system.

If you’re dancing, you have to dance with a new person for each song.

“Unless you’re really hitting it off with your dance partner.” DJ Socket had added with a wink before starting the night off with a horrible remixed version of My Funny Valentine.

Natasha, Callie, and Mary had laughed at the bad song choice before throwing back a shot of tequila and shimmying their way to the dance floor, pink wristbands glowing under the disco ball.

According to the event flyer that had been spammed in the group chat for the last two weeks, a pink wristband meant single and ready to mingle.

Bradley watches as the infant with a bad haircut tries to hit on Mary to what he thinks is a Justin Bieber song, absentmindedly playing with his own wristband. White. Here for fun, not to flirt.

He’s having a terrible time.

“Rooster. Rooster? Bradley!”

The use of his real name snaps him out of his thoughts. “Sorry, Bob, what was that?”

“I asked if you were okay. You don’t look great.”

He feels his heart clench a little bit. He’s always had a soft spot for the bespectacled man, Bob paying attention to small things that others rarely caught. Though even a blind person could see the way Bradley is staring at Mary, the pining radiating beyond the two high-top tables the Daggers had claimed as theirs.

“Yeah, just tired. It’s been a long week.”

Bob raises an eyebrow and opens his mouth, but Harvard interrupts him before he can investigate further.

“It’s weird seeing the girls in dresses instead of their coveralls.”

“I’m just wondering how they convinced Callie to wear heels. Omaha practically had to bribe her to wear something other than her Vans to our wedding.” Fritz says, his red wristband - taken and in love - flashing when he takes a sip of his bright pink drink. “God, these drink specials are awful! This is the last time Phoenix gets to choose where we go.”

The boys laugh as his face twists in disgust. Natasha is great at many things, choosing a good bar is not one of them.

“We should have let Jake plan; he found that complex with the mini golf and everything. That was so much fun!” Aaron adds before turning to Javy. “Where is Jake? I thought he was coming.”

Javy shrugs. “He was supposed to be here, but he texted me and said he wasn’t going to make it. Something came up, apparently. He said everything was fine, so I’ll check on him tomorrow. Make sure he’s all good.”

“Mary looks really good.”

Bradley stiffens, his mood dropping from happy back down to pissed off as steam pours out of his ears. She doesn’t just look good. She looks amazing. The light green, satiny material of her dress is hugging her figure just right, showing off her curves in the most delicious way. The slit up her leg showing off the thighs he dreams about getting his hands on again.

She looks gorgeous.

But Harvard doesn’t get to say that about his girl.

She’s not your girl. You fucked up.

“There she is! Can I get you a drink, ma’am?” Harvard stands up, holding his bar stool steady while Mary climbs on, scooting it in when she’s settled.

“If you’re going up, I’ll take a water, please.” She smiles at him, cheeks flushed from dancing.

“You want anything stronger to go with that water?”

“Vodka sprite, if it’s not too much of a bother.”

“You got it, sweetheart; anything for my new backseater!” Harvard flashes his toothpaste commercial-ready smile at her before making his way through the crowd to the bar. Him and his pink wristband quickly getting lost in the masses.

“I missed something. Backseater?” Javy asks.

Bradley watches her laugh and lean on the table, grabbing a chip after Aaron pushes the basket toward her. “He’s just trying to be funny. We’re both headed up to Lemoore next week - I’m helping out on some repairs, and he’s doing some sort of mentor program? I don’t know exactly. Anyway, Cyclone suggested we drive together since we’re staying at the same hotel. I told Brigham he’s driving since he insisted on getting this godawful 30-foot pickup truck, which makes me his temporary backseater.”

“Make sure you don’t eat anything before riding with him, or you’ll paint the windshield.” Omaha jokes.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Please. If I didn’t hurl after a greenhorn took me up and executed one very poor barrel roll before getting himself grounded, I think I can handle Harvard’s driving.”

“You’ve flown?”

“Was it an FA-18?”

“How do you fuck up a barrel roll?”

“Did you like it?”

Questions are hurled at her from every direction, all the boys interested in the fact that their favorite mechanic had been airborne in the backseat of a fighter jet before they knew her.

“I did like it!”

Bradley’s heart warms a bit when she answers his question first.

“It was an FA-18, and I think we technically hit Mach-1, but my brain has burned the trauma of that hop from my memory. It was fun until that bad maneuver because when I say greenhorn, I mean green. Like as fresh as you can possibly be.” She shutters, only partially joking. “But I didn’t throw up, and that’s a major point of pride for me.”

“It’s only because you hadn’t eaten yet that day.”

The warmth disappears, again, when she smacks Brigham’s arm after he puts her drinks down. “I told you that in confidence! And I think it still counts because I’m a civilian and have done none of the training you guys do.”

“How did you even get permission to fly?” Javy questions, stealing a sip of her water, grinning at her when she glares.

“When I was in Florida, I got close with some of the higher-ups, and one of them arranged for me to go on a simple flight so I could see what it’s like. It was really sweet of him!”

“Who did you sweet talk into getting in a jet?”

“He sweet-talked me! Actually, it was more like he manipulated me. It came up that I’d never been on a flight - which is totally normal for an engineer, by the way - and he egged me on until I agreed to go up.”

“Oh my god, you got suckered into a ride with a flight school newbie? Who managed that?”

“I don’t know if you guys know him. I don’t think he was in Pensacola when you were going through flight school, but it was Admiral-”

“Hey, baby, wanna dance?”

Her face changes immediately, annoyance spreading quickly. “No. I’ve already told you I don’t. Leave me alone.”

“Oh, c’mon, you know you want this-”

“The lady told you no. I suggest you listen to her before we make you listen.” Omaha threatens from his position across the table. Bradley is happy that Neil spoke up before him because he wouldn’t have been so nice about it.

The pushy asshole looks around the table and decides not to press his luck after seeing eight men puffed up, ready to defend their friend.

“What a dick! He had a red wristband on, and he still tried to hit on you!”

“Welcome to being a woman, Mickey. Doesn’t matter if you’ve told them no or if they have a partner. Men will be gross and overbearing if they think it’ll benefit them.”

She sinks back in her chair, sipping her drink and sending a small smile to the boys in thanks. The group disburses a bit, most joining Nat and Callie on the dance floor, leaving Mary sitting with Fritz, Bradley, and Bob.

“Hey, speaking of gross and overbearing, did you hear the rumor that Admiral Cain is coming to the program review next week?”

It perks her back up; she excitedly leans forward, happy to talk about something else.

“Oh! That’s not a rumor, Fritz. That’s 100% true. He’ll be presenting his case for increasing unmanned drone research. But he’s going first on Tuesday, and then he’s back in Washington that same afternoon, so thankfully, we’ll only have to deal with him for a few hours.”

“Thank god, I had to deal with him for a little bit when I was at Norfolk, and he was worst. I know drones are getting more popular for high-risk missions, but they’ll never be able to fully replace pilots.” Billy clinks his bottle against Mary’s glass when she holds it up, swallowing the last of his beer. “You’ll have to excuse me; it looks like my husband wants me to dance with him.”

Bradley watches Mary stare longingly at the dance floor, her eyes following the happy couple dance in perfect sync with each other.

If you hadn’t messed up, that could be the two of you out there.

“So, what parts of program review do you have to sit in on?”

Mary turns, a soft smile on her face - Bradley knows her soft spot for Bob matches his own. Both of them protective over the younger man who cares so much, yet so quietly.

“I have to be there for almost all of it. I’m presenting a few sections, plus I have to do a shop tour and demo, which will be uber fun.” She rolls her eyes, knowing how some admirals like to knit-pick at how a shop is run and organized. “All my free time this week will be finishing my slides and polishing my presentation.”

“Wow, on top of helping with Lemoore’s repairs? You’re gonna be busy these next two weeks.”

“Very busy, but we’ve already done the repairs I’m helping with down here, so theirs should go much smoother! But I'm genuinely excited for program review because I’ll get to see some people I worked with in Florida! I think I’m going to try and poach a few of them that I really miss.”

“You’re gonna steal your friends to work for you?” Bradley regrets the question when he sees her face falter for a split second, realizing his tone wasn’t as joking as intended.

“Yeah, I’m thinking about it. They’re really smart and talented, plus it’d be nice to work with them again.”

The relief that breezes through his chest at her grin and kind tone quickly disappears when Harvard pops up and pulls her toward the dance floor.

“Hang- hang on!” She giggles, turning to Bob. “Would you mind keeping an eye on my purse while Brigham steps on my toes to bad 90s love songs?”

Bob’s, “No problem.” overpowers Harvard’s protests of, “I’m not gonna step on your foot again!”

She pecks his cheek, leaving a faint pink stain behind as she follows the Ohio man onto the dance floor. And for several songs, Bradley's stomach twists as he watches his two friends dance pressed close together.

“Why don’t you go dance with her?”

“She doesn’t want to dance with me.”

Bob scoffs. “You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Bradley, what happened with you two?”

He doesn’t answer; just keeps fiddling with the label on his beer and watching the dance floor. The two sit in uncomfortable silence for the first time in their friendship.

“I fucked up.” He confesses everything to Bob. The night on her couch, their interruption, the tiff just a few days ago. He doesn’t spare any detail, no feelings. “I still don’t know why I didn’t just let her explain! Even if I was mad that she was ignoring me, she had her reasons - she wouldn’t do something like that for no reason!”

Bob is stunned. He doesn’t know what to say to comfort his friend. None of the group’s theories had even been close to the reality of what happened.

“You can’t tell anyone what I just told you, not even Natasha!” Bradley is borderline frantic. “You’re the second person I’ve told, and I don’t know if Mary has told anyone, but I don’t want everyone knowing. I don’t want what happened to be the talk of the group.”

“I won’t tell anyone, Bradley. Not even Nat. But I do get bragging rights when the two of you finally get together.”

“That’s not gonna happen. I messed up too much, man.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

He looks where Bob is pointing, watching as Harvard twirls away with a pretty redhead, leaving Mary dancing by herself. They make eye contact, and he can see the gears in her brain working. She turns around, hips swinging hypnotically, and he loses his breath when she peeks over her shoulder at him. Bradley’s heart soars when she wiggles a finger at him.

She’s calling me over. Maybe I didn’t totally fuck this up.

His joy is short-lived. The same red wristband asshole as before getting in her space, trying to grab her ass as she pushes him away. Bradley practically falls out of his chair to get to her.

“Get away from me!” Mary pushes the stranger’s hands off and stumbles back from the force, colliding with Bradley’s chest as he comes to help.

He steps forward, angling his body to shield her as she tucks herself into his side. “She’s told you to leave her alone at least twice now. Walk away before we have a problem.”

The sleazy man rolls his eyes, “Whatever, man.”

“No, not “whatever,” man.” Bradley steps forward, disregarding Mary tugging on his arm. Her pleas for him to stop falling on deaf ears. “You’re going to apologize to her.”

“For what? The fat bitch probably liked it. She’s practically begging for it in that dress.”

Bradley doesn’t even think. He lunges, ignoring Mary’s yell for him to stop and taking the asshole down with one punch. He doesn’t get a second one, security interfering and escorting all three out.

The rest of the Daggers make their way outside, everyone awkwardly huddled together as Mary assures the bouncers that she is safe to leave with Bradley, that he’s her friend who was just protecting her from the other man’s unwanted advances.

She’s mad when she joins them. A quiet anger that's palpable, making them all stay quiet instead of joking around like usual.

“Thanks for planning this, Nat. It was really fun until about five minutes ago. I’ll text you about dinner.” She says to the girls, giving Bob a small smile when he hands over her clutch. “Bradley is going to drive me home, but you guys should keep having fun. Brigham, let me know when you want to leave tomorrow, and I’ll see the rest of you when I get back from Lemoore.”

Her clipped tone and her heels furiously clicking on the sidewalk are the only physical indicators of her anger. The group watches her go, stunned. In the year since they were introduced to Mary, it’s the only time they’ve seen her get close to losing her cool.

They had seen her defend herself against misogynistic pilots, making them feel foolish without even raising her voice. They watched her bite her tongue when admirals talked down to her because of her age, letting Mav or Cyclone handle it. In the past eleven months, they had witnessed her ability to handle difficult situations with poise and grace.

But tonight was too much.

After having to deal with yet another demeaning asshole and Bradley’s rash, unwanted heroics, the rage simmering below the surface of her skin was threatening to finally break through.

Bradley follows at a slower pace, keeping an eye on her but giving her space to breathe. He startles at someone grabbing his shoulder, turning with wide eyes to find Bob with a determined look on his face.

“Take her home and apologize; let her explain before you explain your side, okay?” Bradley nods, giving a small smile to his friend. “It’s all gonna be fine; you are made for each other. You can tell me all about how right I am tomorrow morning.”

He makes his way to the car, unlocking and opening the door for Mary, the tiny bit of hope from Bob’s pep talk disappearing when he realizes that she’s giving him the silent treatment. Climbing into the front seat and ignoring the hand he offers, closing the door herself and choosing to stare out the passenger window when Bradley sides into the Bronco.

The drive to her house is quiet; the only sound is the oldies station Bradley turns on in hopes of getting Mary to talk to him. The closer they get to their destination, the more he goes from sad to annoyed.

I was just trying to help. She doesn’t need to ignore me.

They’re both fuming by the time he pulls into the driveway. She slips out of the car, hoping he’ll just go home, but he’s following behind her to the house. One step over the threshold, and he can’t take it anymore.

“Are you gonna stop ignoring me, or should I just go home?”

He watches her shoulders stiffen and feels his stomach drop her eerily calm expression. “I don’t know. Are you actually going to listen to me? Or are you just going to tell me that we should just forget this happened, too?”

“Don’t put that on all on me! This isn’t all my fault! You ignored me for an entire month!”

“Yes! Yes, I did!” She slams her hand on her kitchen island. “And then, when I tried to explain, you didn’t let me say anything! You just said we should forget everything that happened and move on! So I tried to forget! I tried to respect your wishes! But tonight, all you could do was watch me dance with other men!”

His mouth drops open; he didn’t realize she had noticed.

“Yeah! I noticed - you pilots have all the subtly of an elephant in a firework shop with its tail on fire! It’s one or the other, Bradley! We either forget what happened and we see other people, or we talk about what happened and go from there! There’s no in-between option where you get to be upset whenever I flirt with a man that’s not you! So what’s it gonna be? Are we moving on, or are we having a conversation?”

He can’t get words to come out. He knows what he wants, but he can’t speak.

“Well, Bradley?”

Say something, dumbass! She’s not going to wait forever.

She scoffs, rubbing her hands over her face. “I’m going to shower. If you’re still here when I’m done, we’ll talk. If you’re gone, well, then I have my answer.”

He’s frozen in her dining room, wincing back to reality at her bedroom door slamming shut. His phone is ringing before he realizes what he’s doing.

“Rooster? Everything okay?”

“I think I fucked up.” He runs a hand through his hair, messing it up even further. “We fought, man. She noticed I was watching her tonight and yelled at me for not letting her talk last week.”

“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

“I’m in her living room.”

“You’re still there? She didn’t kick you out?”

“She said if I’m still here when she’s done showering, we’ll talk about everything.”

“You’re a fucking idiot, Bradley.” Bob’s eye-roll is audible on the other end. “Sit down and wait for her to finish showering so you can talk. If she wanted you to leave, she would have no problem sending you packing.”

“You think?”

“She was two seconds from throwing a wrench at my head last week, and I’m her favorite.”

“Well, I don’t know about favor-”

“I am. Now, sit down, shut up, and wait for her.”

The line clicks, and he decides to listen to the advice, depositing his wallet and keys on her entryway table before sitting on her couch. Sinking into the middle cushion, he thinks about the last time he’d been on this piece of furniture.

“You’re so hard.” He’s not sure why she’s surprised. She has to know she’s had him on the verge of an erection since she opened her door this morning.

“You’ve been pressed against me for two hours in these tiny little shorts with no bra on, and you smell good.” He shrugs, feeling sheepish as he explains what got him going.

“Bradley..” The way she says his name borders on a moan, and he can’t help the noise he makes when she pulls his hair.

If she does that again, I’m going to cum.

He grabs her ass and pulls her as close as he can, brushing his other hand up her thigh and boldly dipping into the leg of her pajama shorts, enjoying the scalloped edge of her panties. Their lips brush, and he’s about to move his hand to the gusset of her underwear - he needs to know how wet she is for him - when they’re interrupted.

Between reliving that moment and crafting his apology, he doesn’t hear the shower turn off or her footsteps coming down the hall, only noticing her when she sits in the chair furthest from him.

“I’m sorry-” They start to apologize at the same time.

“I’d like to go first if you don’t mind?” She requests, taking a deep breath when he nods in agreement. “I want to start by apologizing for the last month. It was wrong of me to kick you out that night and then ignore you for a month, and I wish I hadn’t done it.”

“Why did you?”

“Because I got scared. That night… I never do things like that. I never make the first move or act that bold. So the fact that I just climbed on your lap like that - without thinking about it or second-guessing myself - freaked me out. By the time I got Annie back to sleep, I had completely psyched myself out, and I was convinced you didn’t actually want me.”

“That’s- I- did I give any indication that I didn’t want you?” He sputters the question, unsure how she could think that.

“It’s nothing you did, Bradley. It’s all on me, my insecurities. Men rarely - if ever - have had the same… enthusiasm that you did. You were great; this is a me problem.”

“I don’t understand.” He leans forward, wanting to get closer without crossing the boundary she set with her seat choice. “If everything was so great, what went wrong?”

“I’m fat, Bradley.”

He sits up straight, shocked at her words. What does that have to do with anything?

“I’m sorry, I still don’t get what the problem is.”

“I know you don’t understand what it’s like to be a woman, but please believe me when I tell you it’s hard. People are constantly policing and judging your body. Men will just tell you what they think of your body, what they think is wrong with it - unprovoked. And it’s even worse when you’re fat.” She leans back, hugging a pillow to her chest. “I know you didn’t do any of that. But I’ve been fat since I was a kid, so I’ve heard it all for years. And not just men, but from family too. It’s hard to shake those experiences, to ignore the insecurities and just enjoy the moment.”

They sit in silence for a minute, Mary refusing to make eye contact while Bradley tries to figure out his next move.

“Can I come over there?”

The question surprises her, but she nods. His choice to kneel in front of her is another surprise; he can tell from her eyebrows reaching her hairline.

“I’m gonna take this, okay?” He gently tugs the pillow from her hands, tossing it on the couch so there’s nothing between them. When Bradley sees her shirt, his breath hitches in his throat.

She’s wearing his sweatshirt.

“Sorry,” she says shyly, noticing his stare. “I’ve been wearing it to bed; I promise I’ll wash it.”

And as much as he wants to linger in the revelation that she’s been sleeping in his clothes, he pushes through.

“Mary, I’m going to be very honest with you because I need you to understand how much I wanted you that night. Sitting there with you in my lap? That’s the hardest I’ve ever been; I think about it all the time. How warm and soft you were.” He slips his hands into hers. “And I know what you look like. I like the way you look. I like everything about you. Everything. Even the things you don’t like about yourself. You’re so gorgeous.”

He wipes her cheek, brushing a tear away.

“This past month hasn’t changed how I feel about you. I still want you. I’ve never not wanted you. I’ve had a crush on you since the moment Danielle dragged you through the front door of the Hard Deck.”

“Bradley…”

“Not done, still my turn.” He leans up, getting closer to her to get his point across. “I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to fix this sooner. I was trying to give you the space you wanted, but that was a mistake. After the first week, I should have told you how I was feeling, what I wanted.”

“What do you want now?” Her voice is tiny, and his heart breaks at how uncertain she sounds.

“Still you, honey. I know I said we should forget what happened, but I don’t want to forget. I want to do that again without getting interrupted this time. I want to take you out on a date. I want you. If you’ll have me.”

He watches Mary wrestle with her thoughts, her mouth opening and closing, not sure how to say what she’s thinking. “Just tell me, Mary, whatever it is. I want you to be honest with me.”

“I want that too. I want you. But I’m not sure if I’m ready for it right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“How long have you been flirting with me?” She nudges him back, scooting forward in her chair so her knees brush his chest.

He doesn’t understand the question but answers anyway, wrapping his hands around her legs, stroking his thumbs over her soft skin. “Since that night we met, I didn’t do too good of a job since you spent the evening playing darts with Jake, but that’s how long.”

“That was last January. You’ve been flirting with me for an entire calendar year. And I’m so oblivious that I didn’t even realize you were interested until you were grabbing my ass and moaning against my mouth.” She rubs her face. “So I just need some time to process this because I never thought this - us -could be an option.”

“Okay, how much time are you thinking? How do you want to do this?”

“I don’t know… there’s no free time. I’m gone this week, and next week is program review and prepping you guys for deployment. Then you’re in the middle of the ocean for two months.”

“Doesn’t really leave a lot of time for us, does it?” He jokes, squeezing her calves. “We’ll be back the first week of May. There’ll be a few days of debriefing, but then I’m on leave. Why don’t we grab dinner that Sunday? It can be as friends or as something more, whatever you want - whatever you’re ready for at that point. How does that sound?”

“You’re okay with waiting that long?”

“Mariella, it’s been a year, and nothing has changed since I saw you in that red dress. A few extra weeks where we’re just friends? That’s nothing if it means you’re comfortable.”

“I’m sorry I’m so bad at this.”

“Stop it. This isn’t all on you; I haven’t been the best either.” Bradley’s voice is firm, making sure she’s not placing the entire blame on herself. “We’ll work on it. We’re smart people; we can figure it out.”

“Thank you for being so understanding. I really am sorry about how I acted.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

Feeling lighter than they have in weeks, they look at each other and laugh when Mary yawns, her face scrunching up.

“Okay, honey, I think it’s time to get you to bed.” He stands, pulling her into a hug. “I’ll call you when you’re at Lemoore, okay? We’ll talk about our days, and you can complain about Harvard.”

“Why would I complain about Brigham?” She blinks up at him, her eyebrows creasing after a second. “Wait! Are you saying goodbye? You can’t drive home right now; it’s too late!”

He tries to argue but is cut off by her finger pointing at the clock, the two hands telling him it’s almost three in the morning. “Shit, I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“C’mon.” She pulls on his hand, leading him down the hall.

“What are we doing?”

“Going to bed?” She squeaks when he abruptly stops, tugging her off balance.

“Mary, I’m sleeping on the couch.”

Her face is baffled. “Bradley, you’re too tall; it won’t be comfortable. We can share my bed; we’re adults. We can handle it.”

His heart thumps. He wants nothing more than to crawl into bed with her, but he’s afraid of how his body might react to being next to her all night.

“Mary, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You won’t. I also want you to be comfortable, so if you don’t want to share, I’ll take the couch, and you take my bed.”

“But-”

“This is the whole communication thing we just talked about. Believe me when I say that sharing my king-sized bed with you for one night won’t make me uncomfortable.”

Bradley stares into her eyes, searching for any hint of hesitation. “Okay, lead the way then, Vertucci.”

It’s awkward for a moment in her bedroom, the two of them trying to navigate this new situation together. But after some blushing and a few stuttered words, they figure it out. He’s just finished brushing his teeth when they discover that Bradley’s preferred side of the bed matches hers.

“Two peas in a pod.” He jokes as he starts to climb into bed, heart fluttering at the bashful smile on her face.

“What are you doing?”

He freezes, covers pulled back with his knee raised. “Uhhh… getting into bed?”

“Not like that, you’re not.” His wide eyes must give away his confusion and panic because she continues. “Bradley, you are not climbing into my bed, which has nice fresh sheets, with those clothes you wore to the club. God knows what’s on those chairs we sat on.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“You are wearing underwear, right?” He nods, feeling baffled by how this night has progressed. “Then strip, you’re sleeping in your undies.”

Bradley stands there, looking at her snuggled under her quilt, bathed in the soft light of her nightstand lamp, and still wearing his name on her arm. Based on how serious she looks, he’s pretty sure she’s unaware of how flirty her words sound. If she was any other woman, he would make an effort to flirt back, try his best to be sexy as he undresses. Turn it into a striptease.

But it’s Mary, and they just got back to a good place.

So he undresses how he does when he’s alone. Unbuttoning his black shirt methodically, taking note of how her breath hitches when he pulls the tight material off, but not doing anything about it. If he has any control over their situation, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future to make her lose her breath.

He does allow himself to make eye contact while he undoes his jeans, unable to pass up the chance to watch her watch him. He sees her scan his body, can see the hunger in her eyes, can hear the small gulp when she sees the waistband of his underwear appear. He stays steady, folding the pants and draping them over his shirt before slipping under the covers, keeping a respectful distance between them.

“Gonna turn the light out?”

She blinks at him as she processes the question, her eyes hazy from the late hour, and he thinks about how he would love to have this view every night for the rest of his life. He watches as she rolls over, eyes slipping down to the skin that’s exposed when she leans to turn the lamp off. She ends up closer when she rolls back towards him; he can feel the heat of her body radiating towards him.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Mary’s voice is soft, like being too loud will ruin the small bubble they’ve created for themselves. “Do you like pancakes?”

The question makes him think of his mom, how she used to make pancakes on special occasions and sometimes just because it was Tuesday. He never makes them for himself.

“They’re my favorite. Do you make good pancakes?”

“I make the best pancakes.” He can’t see her face, but he can hear her smile. “Night, Bradley.”

He mummers good night back, enjoying the way the mattress moves as she gets comfortable. The scent of her shampoo drifts over him, resurrecting the question that he’d been asking himself for a month.

“Mary? Can I ask you a question?” His voice is quiet, scared to ruin things but needing to know the answer.

She hums, “What’s up?”

“That night. If we hadn’t gotten interrupted, what do you think would have happened?” It’s quiet. He can hear her hands playing with the edge of the sheet, fingers nervously folding and unfolding the cotton. “I’m sorry, you don’t have-”

“No, it’s okay, Bradley.” A hand brushes his chest, warm fingers ghosting over his skin in search of his hand. She continues once their fingers are intertwined. “If we hadn’t been interrupted, we would have had sex. We would’ve made out for a while, and then I would have ridden you right there on the chaise.”

“Fuck…”

She makes a small noise of agreement. “I don’t know about after, though, if we would have had a better go of things that we have. It might have been worse, I’m not sure.”

“Can’t change the past. I’m just glad we’re fixing things now.”

“Me too.” Mary presses a small kiss to the tip of his fingers, squeezing his hand before rolling over. “Good night, Bradley; sleep well.”

“Night, Mary.”

I think I’m falling in love with you.

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fic tag | credit for dividers here

[modelbus]

Imagine this with Tommy in the background of a group stream

OMG OMG OMG YES!! This is too good not to write for, but I kept it short and sweet.

Pairing: CC!Tommy x Fem!Reader

Beguiled In The Background

"What are you even looking at?" Tommy asks quietly, staring at you. His thumb rubs idle circles on your shoulder while you two lay there, almost in your own little bubble.

"Just Insta. I've discovered the highland cow tag."

"Cute." He murmurs, but he isn't looking at your phone. He's still looking at you.

You tilt your head downwards to meet his gaze, your hair falling like a curtain around you two. Now you really are in your own bubble, hidden from anyone else.

"You weren't even looking at my phone."

"Nope." His cocky grin paired with the tone of his voice makes you laugh.

Leaning down, you connect your lips in a brief kiss before tucking your hair behind your ears and resuming your Instagram scrolling.

"Hey!" He complains sharply.

"What?"

"Oh, fuck you."

"What?" You repeat, grin growing.

"You know what!"

"Do I?"

"Fuck. You."

"So you don't want another kiss?"

"Now now, let's not jump to things!"

You're moving to kiss him again when your phone buzzes in your hand. Looking up at your phone to see the notification, you open it. He groans, a vibration you can feel due to your position.

"That's just fucking rude."

"I got a notification!" You defend. "It's-"

You cut yourself off when you realize what you're seeing. An Instagram post by a fan account that's tagged both you and Tommy. More importantly than that, it's a photo of you two. No, a screenshot.

"...Us?" You finish.

"Us?" He echoes.

"Yeah, look!"

Moving your phone so he can see, you show him the post. For a second he just stares at it.

"At least it's a cute photo." You laugh, saving it to your camera roll. "And we're trending on Twitter."

Tommy turns his head, looking off to the right. "You fuckers have ruined our moment." He loudly announces.

You laugh, turning to see the stream he just interrupted. Three people meet your gaze, knowing smiles on each of their faces. Well, a knowing smile is on Aimsey's. Ranboo and Billzo's just look evil.

"Maybe don't be cute on our stream next time." Ranboo says.

"Yeah, get over here and actually stream!" Aimsey adds.

"Guys, guys, we have to give the straight couple some respect." Billzo jokes, nudging them all.

"No, this is my stream. I can disrespect them all I want. Get over here." Ranboo responds.

"Fuck off!" Tommy yells, raising his hand to flip them off.

"They are right." You sigh, getting out of bed. "Chat, sorry not sorry."

"Never even got my fucking kiss."

[sungbeam]

𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠

nonidol!kim mingyu x fem!reader

3.1k words, mingyu is convinced that he is forever stuck with unrequited love when it comes to you, cursing, pining, angst, fluff, it's literally SO cheesy at the end im sorry T_T

a/n: omg @ethereal-engene i did it skxnsoxo tbh not exactly what i had envisioned but 🤧

"I am going insane!"

Minghao and Seokmin watched as Kim Mingyu buried his face in his hands, dark hair a mess from the hundred or so times he had yanked at the strands. He sat across his fellow 97s, the name of the group that the three of them, plus you, made up. Except, you were missing, and probably for the best. 

Mingyu grumbled, "I don't see what I'm doing wrong." 

A waiter came by and set down servings of takoyaki and edamame, both of which cost too much to really just be appetizers. Minghao had nearly cringed—no, actually, he did cringe (right in front of the waiter)—at the prices. What was the point of coming to Vegas? To spend money, apparently. Just not on the floor of a casino, but in the booth of a four-dollar sign Japanese restaurant on the top floor of the Cosmopolitan. 

"You're not doing anything wrong," Seokmin assured him with a small wince as Mingyu pouted so deeply at the table, he swore the table was about to apologize for being an inanimate object. Seokmin delicately plucked a pod of edamame from the porcelain bowl with his chopsticks, bringing it to his lips to take a small bite. 

Mingyu, however, went straight for a ball of fried squid and shoved the entire thing into his mouth. Minghao froze in concern and surprise, his chopsticks stopped midair. Okay, so maybe this was getting a little out of hand. 

The issue was you. Well, you were not necessarily the issue, per se. It was your total lack of response and your obliviousness to Mingyu's attempted advancements. It was your closeness to Minghao and Seokmin, but not to Mingyu. It was Mingyu posting a thirst trap about half an hour ago and getting nothing but a like from you. 

He was very choked up about it, if one could not tell. He had forced Minghao to fill his camera roll with pictures of Mingyu seated in a dark, fitted button up, while subtly flexing his triceps (because he remembered that once you had commented about sculpted arms being really hot). He had actually been satisfied with the output, too. 

Until he opened the notification from Instagram that said that you only liked the post. No comment whatsoever. 

"Listen… buddy." Minghao placed his hand over Mingyu's when he reached for another piece of takoyaki. Both of his cheeks were stuffed with fried squid and distress. "Chill, okay? She likes all of our stuff. Doesn't mean she doesn't like you."

Mingyu swallowed his food. "That's where you're wrong," he stated with a matter-of-fact tone and complimentary finger raised. "See, she actually comments on your guys' posts." He took out his phone now, scrolling through Instagram to find pieces of evidence to back up his claim. 

(Minghao and Seokmin traded nervous glances. This man was really about to pull out the whole conspiracy board to "prove" that you had something against him and he would be stuck with unrequited love for the rest of his life.)

"You really don't—"

"Au contraire." Mingyu began going through both Minghao and Seokmin's individual Instagram accounts to point out your comments on their posts. From the stupid, memeable moments to the Thirst Traps™, you could always be found in the comments. Seokmin even had some of your comments pinned. Y'know, just to make it so much more obvious. 

Okay, so perhaps it was reasonable to see why Mingyu might have thought you hated him. 

"Maybe you just make her speechless," Seokmin suggested with a small shrug of his shoulders. 

"But not even an emoji? A keyboard smash? Anything?"

Minghao's light blue tinted glasses slipped down the slope of his nose so he peered over them at his friend. "You don't comment on her things either."

"T-that's because she doesn't!" Mingyu stammered. "I used to—you know I used to!"

Seokmin added, "He still gives a little keyboard smash and heart-eyed emoji every once in a while."

Mingyu gestured to Seokmin, eyes wide in gratitude. "See?"

Minghao sighed. If only they'd seen yours and his private messages. Mingyu wouldn't be complaining about emojis and keyboard smashes then. You had practically combusted over text when you'd seen Mingyu's most recent post. The only reason why it hadn't been over FaceTime like every other time was because Minghao was currently with Mingyu, and even Minghao felt bad about exposing you. (You were just that embarrassing.)

But at this rate, both of you were going to end up hurting each other if he didn't step in. 

"Well," Hao said, "we're gonna go pick her up from the airport tomorrow, so why don't you confront her about it then, hm?" Tch, like that was going to happen. 

Seokmin piped up, "Oh yeah! And there's that benefit gala tomorrow night! You should get her to dance with you or something." Ha, like that would happen either.

Mingyu pursed his lips, slumping against the booth. "I don't know, guys. We'll just see."

Minghao and Seokmin looked at each other. Tomorrow was going to be rough if they didn't do something. 

It was a disgusting eight in the morning when your plane touched down in the Las Vegas airport. The three 97s stood in the main terminal, where baggage claim was, waiting for you. Minghao looked close enough to dropping dead, a pair of dark shades covering the purple bags beneath his eyes and a big bucket hat over his nest of hair. Seokmin, as per usual, was quite alive, having inhaled a cup of coffee with two shots of espresso. And then there was Mingyu, anxiously awaiting your arrival while his foot tapped against the linoleum like Thumper. 

You would arrive on that escalator in less than five minutes, according to your text to the group chat. Mingyu stared laser beams at the twin escalators, until he watched you roll up to the top with your dark blue carry-on suitcase. 

Oh, good god. 

If Mingyu could direct a movie, he would do it just like how you looked now. Your hair hung slightly frazzled from the flight, your body fitted in a simple T-shirt and shorts to accommodate Vegas's warm weather. You also wore a black crossbody bag, and to his utter delight, the cute puppy plush keychain he got you five months ago hung from the zipper. With a graceful flourish, you brushed the hair from your eyes—

"Oh my god, he looks straight out of a cartoon." Seokmin's eyes glittered in teasing as he nudged Mingyu with his elbow. 

Minghao lifted a hand in lazy greeting, a small smirk coming to his lips. "Hey Yn."

You had landed at the foot of the escalator, and you grinned, racing toward the three of them with your suitcase dragging behind you. "Hi!" 

You crashed into Seokmin first, ditching your suitcase and letting it roll where it may. The two of you bursted into a fit of giggles, Seokmin holding you tight and spinning you around. "I can't believe you're finally here!" Seokmin exclaimed with barely concealed excitement. 

"Me too," you said once he set you down. "I thought the flight was gonna be late, but it all worked out." You spotted Minghao, turning your attention to him. "Hey, Hao."

"Hey," he said once more, bringing you close in a side hug. 

Mingyu had grabbed your suitcase while Seokmin was hugging you. His heart thundered in his ears, unable to fully meet your eyes or bring himself to greet you like Seokmin had, even if he wanted to. "Hi, Ynie."

"Hi Gyu," you smiled. "Oh, you don't have to get my suitcase—"

"No, no!" He said quickly. "It's okay; I got it." The two of you smiled at each other, bashfully really, in the only form of communication both of you could manage to produce when it came to the other. 

Minghao bumped his head against Seokmin's shoulder. "Lord, save me."

Seokmin chuckled, patting his head. He swept you away with an arm around your shoulder. "Come on, Ynie! We got you a Ferrari to escort you to the hotel!"

"A Ferrari—!?"

Mingyu exhaled, staring after you with an ill concealed pout. Minghao sighed—shook his head. "Well, come on now. I don't think you want to be stuck in the backseat again."

There would always be things that you were scared of. One of those things just happened to be the massive charity gala beginning downstairs in one of the big ass conference rooms at the Bellagio. It was named Monet 1 or something... or 2. You couldn't really remember; maybe you'd text Minghao and ask. 

The boys—your big group of friends (there was a healthy thirteen of them)—had invited you to suffer at this gala with them. To entice you, they had offered to fly you out and put you up in a luxury suite at the Bellagio, one of the most recognizable resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. Obviously, you couldn't resist. 

Really, you couldn't. You'd been meaning to find an excuse to take a break from work. (And to see your best friends, of course.)

You stared at yourself—critiqued yourself, really—in front of the full-length mirror in the bedroom. You had chosen to bring along a simple, black satin dress with a slit up your right leg and a cowl neckline. It was going to be super plain compared to the others at the gala, but you liked it. At least, you thought you liked it. 

There came a rapping at the door, and you hiked up the hem of the dress so you could scurry to the door. You opened it at the sight of Seokmin on the other side of it. "Hey," you said, letting him in. 

Seokmin wore a dark blue suit, his hair swept back nice and neat. His eyes glimmered in delight as he stepped into your room. "You look nice."

"Oh, thanks. You too." You shuffled back into your room, while Seokmin collapsed onto the couch with a breathy exhale. 

"You're nervous, aren't you?" He sang with a teasing tone. "Why're you nervous, Ynie?"

You frowned at yourself in the bathroom mirror, pulling a comb through your curls to loosen up the tight ringlets. "Rich people," was all you said. Once satisfied, you fitted your earlobes with a pair of white gold and diamond hoop earrings, along with a slim silver watch. You slipped on one, two sterling silver rings, one topped with a small garnet stone and another tied in a knot. 

"Doki, should I wear a necklace?" You called to him. 

"Yeah, sure! Wear that red swarovski crystal one!"

You furrowed your brows as you searched through the small jewelry box you had brought with you. "The one, uh, Mingyu got me two years ago?"

A beat of silence. "How do you just remember that off the top of your head?"

Your cheeks colored in the mirror and you fished the scarlet red teardrop necklace from the box. "Dunno." You remembered because, well, how could you forget?

The necklace shimmered in the bathroom lights as the gemstone tested against your chest. It was simple, but classy. You tried a smile in the mirror, shifting your hair, fixing your posture… it would have to do. You were already late as it was. 

With a sigh, you hurried out of the bathroom and picked up your purse, dumping things that you needed into it. "Okay, I'm ready!" You exclaimed as you strode into the living room, purse and shoes in hand. 

Seokmin twisted around on the couch, a low whistle falling from his lips. He grinned. "Aw, you clean up so nice, Ynie. You look good."

You smiled, a small one, but a smile nonetheless. "Thank you," you said. You really meant it; you really needed it. 

He stood up and helped you into your shoes, then the two of you walked arm in arm out the door. 

"Oh, actually, Hao wanted the 97s to meet at the rooftop before we all went to the gala together. Something about pictures," Seokmin said flippantly with a flick of his wrist. The two of you stopped at the elevator together and he jammed the up button. 

That's a good idea, you thought to yourself. And very Minghao of him. 

But when you had walked into the elevator carriage, Seokmin suddenly slammed his hand on the top floor button and slipped out of the elevator. 

You gaped at him through the closing doors. "Wait! Dokyeom?"

He beamed, lifting his right hand up in salute. "Sorry, forgot my phone in my room!"

Your eyes spotted the phone in his left hand just as the elevator doors closed shut and sent you all the way up to the top floor. What the hell? You cocked your head to the side in thought. Weird. Why did Seokmin need to stay back if he clearly had his phone with him?

It would be fine. You'd meet him up on the roof then. 

The doors of the elevator slowly slid open, revealing to you the gorgeous skyline of the Strip at night. Lights from the surrounding hotels and establishments glowed rainbow in your eyes and the Bellagio fountain laid dormant for the time being. The show would erupt at the top of the hour. 

You shivered, rubbing your hands over your arms as you stepped out onto the rooftop and made your way to the edge. People milled about below you like little ants, all of whom came from different places around the world, brought together by this city. 

"Yn?"

You lifted your head up in surprise and watched Mingyu walk toward you from around one of the domed roofs. His eyes were wide as they trailed down your figure, stopping at the necklace seated on your sternum and gulping. 

And you? Well, you couldn't stop staring either. Mingyu was fitted in a crisp, black suit, tailored perfectly to his broad form. The dim lighting cast a shadow over the hard, sculpted planes of his face, like one of those marble statues in Greece. He just looked so… there were no words to describe how beautiful this man was to you. And that beauty was intimidating sometimes. 

Because who could ever be worthy enough for him? Certainly not you, right?

He licked his lips, coming closer. "So, uh, I'm guessing Seokmin sent you up?"

You nodded. Boom, boom, boom. Was that your heart beat or some club nearby? "Yup. Hao?"

He bobbed his head with a tight smile. "Yeah."

You reached up and fiddled with the necklace. "I don't think they're coming."

"Yeah, I don't think so either."

The two of you turned to the view, your hands bracing against the marble railing. It was thick enough where you didn't think you could just fall, but it was still a long way down. 

You could feel the warmth radiating from Mingyu's body, could predict the tension in his shoulders, because you were just as tense. Why were you even up here? What were they trying to make the both of you do?

(You know, Yn. You know so damn well.)

"Can I ask you something?" You asked, voice small.

Mingyu nodded, gesturing for you to go on. "Of course."

You swallowed. "Are you ever afraid of falling?" You asked, eyes flickering from the drop to Mingyu. 

He shrugged his shoulders, gesturing to the railing. "Like, off this building? Yeah, sure—"

"No, I mean…" you shook your head, laughing at the ridiculousness of your thoughts. "This is gonna sound stupid."

"It's not stupid," Mingyu refuted, but you could see the sincerity in his expression. "You're never stupid, Yn."

You were going to either Hail Mary it off this roof or dive headfirst into those dark irises of his. You sucked in a breath, "Okay uhm, are you ever… afraid of falling in love?"

You didn't expect him to reply so quickly.

"Not when it's you."

Wait. "What?"

Mingyu raked a hand through his hair, mouth pursed. He poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue, trying to scramble for the right words while you stood there, eyes wide and waiting. He'd been waiting so long for this chance, this moment—rehearsing and imagining possible scenarios and what speeches he would say. But here went absolutely nothing.

"I'm scared of falling, but not when it's you, Yn." 

Thundering heartbeat, dilated eyes—god, you could not fall any faster and harder for this man. "Mingyu—"

"I understand if you don't feel the same," he cut in, eyes flitting away, but then returning back to you. Always back to you. "I just had to tell you, after all this time, that I'm in love with you."

You shook your head, and Mingyu could feel the world falling out from under his feet. Of course. Of course you didn't feel the same. Oh my god, he was an idiot—

"You didn't let me finish," you said, fingers dancing on the marble like the pattern of your heart rate. "Mingyu, I'm in love with you, too."

The weight of the confession lifted from your shoulders and from your chest. You finally said it.

A beat passed. Both you and Mingyu broke out into breathless laughter, tinted in nervous, jittery energy; yet it was relieving and refreshing like the night air. 

"Oh god, thank god," Mingyu grinned, biting his lip. "You—you have no idea how that makes me feel. Oh my god." He held out his hand to you, and like second nature, you gave your hand to him. 

He looked at you in the eyes, slowly raising your hand to his lips, his fingers then running delicately over your knuckles. He placed the palm of your hand firmly over his chest, where his heart beat ran marathons beneath your fingertips. "You're beautiful. Did you know that? Because if you didn't, I'll remind you of it every day."

Mingyu cleared his throat. "If you'd let me."

You nodded, turning your hand so you could lace your fingers with his. You liked the feel of it, the weight of it. It felt right. "I'd love that, but only if you'd let me do the same for you."

And you watched his cheekbones color pink in the night, yellow and white light illuminating that blush just enough. He chuckled, ducking his head bashfully. "That sounds really nice."

You stepped into his embrace then, feeling his warmth around you and wondering how you had gotten to this moment. (Yeah, you knew it was Seokmin and Minghao's doing, but you weren't about to admit that just yet.) Falling was terrifying—tumbling into the unknown, fearing the moment you reached the bottom—but with the wind rushing through your hair as you fell, the only thing that made you tuck your arms in and pull yourself faster was the knowledge that someone would be at the bottom to catch you. 

Had you known that Mingyu would always be there, then perhaps you wouldn't have had such a fear of falling. 

svt m.list

permanent taglist: @tayunji @im-a-big-mess @staysstrays @y3jiishot @crazywittysassy @seomisaho @stopeatread @enhacolor @yedammi @rnjfy @jaehunny1428 @mythicalamphitrite @ana-is-losing-her-mind @super-btstrash-posts @otchae @luv4vernon @ashxxkook @thesunsfullmoon

[ajkesiah]

Ben Hargreeves x fem! reader

Ben is alive in this story and is 1-2 years older than reader (or the same age), reader is 19-20 in this story. (Or you can choose whatever age you want) and this is not edited so there will be lots of mistakes.

Y/n's pov:

I plopped down on my bed as I sighed heavily. My mom just yelled at me and started an argument and now I'm grounded, she took my phone and ugh I just hate this. I grabbed my laptop and sat up against the wall side of my bed. I logged in my account and went on my messages. Since I can't use my phone I'm using my laptop to talk to Ben, my best friend.

"hey ben, got grounded again 🙄. I'm using my laptop to talk to you rn but can we hang out? like maybe go to Griddys?" I typed and sent the message.

A few minutes later I got a notification

"hey y/n! Sorry, I was talking to klaus but of course, I can pick you up in 10 minutes?" Ben replied

"okay, see you 😋" I closed my laptop and changed into some sweatpants and a t-shirt/hoodie. (or wtv you wanna wear)

I tried my hair and checked the time and went outside to see Ben in the driveway, waving. I walked up to the car and opened the door to the passengers seat.

"hey y/n, what's up?" Ben asked at he pulled out of the driveway and drove to Griddys.

"nothing, just stressed really," I put both of my legs up so my knees up to my head and I crossed my arms over them as I leaned closer to the window.

"oh okay" he replied.

I closed my eyes and took a quick minute nap until the silence got interrupted by ben, "we're here" ben told me. "mk" I mumbled and got out of the car as Ben did. Ben opened the door for me as I walked in before him.

Ben and I sat down at the chairs in the front. I sighed as I put my arm out and rested my head on my palm. Agnes walked up to us, "the usual?" She asked since Ben and I come here alot. "Yep" Ben replied while we both nodded our heads. Agnes walked away to get us our donuts and a drink.

"So, what exactly happened?" Ben asked me as I sighed and turned my head towards him and put it down in my arms.

"My mom started yelling at me because I'm lazy, always on my phone, laptop etc, and then she started this whole argument and I 'talked back' when I didn't even talk back! And then she took my phone away again!" I rolled my eyes and paused as I sat up and faced him. "Oh! And I even responded in a nice tone, I didn't even raise my voice! Ughhh" I groaned as I ran my hands through my hair.

Agnes put our food in front of us and we thanked her.

"Damn y/n, you need to move out or something, you're an adult now, you can choose whatever you want." Ben mentioned to me.

"hm whatever" I said while chewing my donut.

(JELLY POWDERED DONUTS OMG 😍)

(Time skip)

After talking and eating, Ben and I were walking out of Griddy's to his car.

"can I move in with you guys?" I asked while looking at Ben.

"Of course, I'm sure the others will love for you to move in." Ben told me.

"okay" I chuckled as we both got in the car. (IDK TO LAUGH OR NOT IDK JUST SAY YOUR SENTENCES HOWEVER YOU WANT, IM AWKWARD)

I crossed my legs in my seat and and closed my eyes. "Can we go to my house really quick to pack my bags?" I opened my eyes and looked at Ben. "So soon? Sure, I'll text the others" Ben told me. "okay" I pulled out my phone and scrolled through tiktok. We arrived at my house and I took out my keys and opened the door. My mom was at work and my sister was at school so no one was home.

(sorry if you don't have a sister or siblings)

We went to my room and I plopped down on my bed, "did you ask the others yet?" I asked Ben, "yeah, they said you can move in" "yay!" I jumped off my bed and pulled out my suitcases and backpacks and played some music. Ben went through my drawers and put some clothes in a suitcase while I put my other clothes hanging up and other stuff in there.

I didn't need to tell my mom I'm moving out because I told her countless times that I'd move out one day and possibly stay with a friend or the hargreeves, until I could get enough money for my own house, maybe.

After we talked, danced, sang, and packed my stuff I took the back packs down as Ben held the suitcases. We put some of the stuff in the car and had to go back in for other stuff. I sighed as I dropped down on the ground as I panted heavily.

"that was so much work, I'm sweating so bad," I drank my water and put an ice pack behind my neck. "Eh not so much, you're just weak," he laughed. "hey! I am not weak!" I remarked. "Yeah whatever, get inside, we need to get back cuz it's getting late." Ben spoke. "Is it hot in the car?" I asked while looking at him, "no, it's cool, come on!" He responded. I sat up and sighed as I opened the door and sat in the car. "Oh my goodness! It's so nice in here," I said as I rested my head back on the headrest.

Ben stopped outside the academy and we got out of the car and we took some stuff in. I opened the gates for Ben and we got inside the house.

"Hey guys! We need some help here!" I yelled

Luther came down the stairs as he looked at us, "what's going on?" Luther asked us. "Y/n's moving in, you heard right?" Ben explained. "Ohh right, gotcha" Luther responded, "anyway, we got a bunch of stuff in the car, could you get it please?" I asked Luther.

Right after Luther went out of the Academy, the others soon came down.

"oh hey y/n!" Allison exclaimed and hugged me. "hey allison," I said. We pulled away and I whispered "I'm moving in!!" "Yay!!" We jumped.

I said hello to the others and they all helped getting the stuff from the car and helped me settle into my new room. We got all the stuff in there.

"Wow, I'm dead" Ben sighed.

(get it? OKAY SORRY)

"yeah, this was tiring" I lay down on my bed. "it's like 12 o'clock" Diego mentioned, leaning on the door frame. "12?" Vanya said, "mhm," Allison responded. "wow, well thanks you guys for helping me move in here," I told them all.

"no problem y/n" Diego said

"mhm, well I'm going, bye" five spoke as he teleported away.

After saying good night Ben stayed last. "Hey ben, can u set up my bed please, my pillows and blankets are in that thing," I asked pointed at the bag with my sleeping stuff in it.

"yeah" Ben took the stuff out as I rolled down to the floor and just lay there.

"there," Ben told me. "Thanks, I'm so tired omg" I sighed as I immediately fell down to my bed and got under the covers. I was that tired that I immediately started snoring in a deep sleep.

"well, goodnight night y/n" Ben whispered as he walked up to my sleeping form and moved my hair out of my face to kiss my forehead.

(I AM SO TIRED SO I JUST DECIDED TO FINISH IT HERE, I CAN TRY TI MAKE MORE PARTS LATER, BUT I HOPED YOU ALL LIKED ITTT <33)

[the-witches-you-couldnt-burn]

It started with a whisper

I originally wrote ‘Like I did with you’ as a one-shot but people wanted a sequel. This turned out to be waaaaay longer than expected (4.7k word count). Inspired by Everybody Talks by Neon Trees. I hope you lot enjoy!

Ao3

(Also this is Mari’s new outfit, all credits go to the original artist)

————

Two teens stood upon the balcony of a large banquet hall, exposed to the midsummer night air. The sky was a lilac blanket that hung over the Parisian buildings, speckled with glowing stars. The moon, with it’s crescent smile, beamed down of the young couple.

Hey, baby, won't you look my way?

Marinette’s eyes were closed as she rested her head upon his shoulder, relaxing after the night’s rapid escalation. Tonight she had arrived at the ball with the intent to be there for her friends, but somehow she found herself within the arms of Gotham’s (and probably Paris’) Ice Prince. She had overheard his nickname from the Gotham students, one of which being Jon, who was in the middle of mocking the young Wayne. She had never considered that nickname as suitable; sure he was temperamental & had a tendency to snap, but icey to the core? No.

I can be your new addiction

Damian was calm. For the first time in his life he felt like he could take a breath. His exhale was carried off by a small gust of wind, the bush over hanging the stone railing rustled. With his inhale, the scent of Marinette’s perfume became present once more. Mixed with the crisp night’s air, her usual scent of pastries was mixed with what could only be described as ambrosia. His phone vibrated within his pocket, it was never on volume due to the potential risk it caused during his heroic activities.

“Shit.” Notifications covered his screen, multiple tweets, Instagrams and Tiktoks in which he had been tagged in. But the alert came from his family’s private messaging chat. The whole thread was a shit storm, Grayson and Todd’s messages were completely capitalised (he learnt years ago this meant ‘to yell’ in writing form) and both had multiple ‘keyboard spasms’. Drake, like the thorough detective he is, had combed through the images and videos, investigating their validity. His honorary sisters had replied with ‘awwwww’(s) and ‘Omg we MUST meet this girl! I need to know how she tamed the demon!’. He could practically hear Brown’s shrill voice from across the ocean.

Hey, baby, what you gotta say?

No reply from his father or Alfred. The two of them were the only semblance of ‘normal’ paternal figures he had within his life, after the sham of a relationship he had previously held with his grandfather. Their silence unnerved him.

Marinette had noticed his attention had shifted to his phone, her own mobile was buzzing away within her baby pink purse. Messages, notifications of account tagging and comments galore. A sigh left her lips when she saw her parents seemed to be none the wiser. Good, she didn’t need to deal with future adoration for ‘The boy who swept our daughter off of her feet’ (or something along those lines).

Her cheeks regained some of the warmth they held before as she thought of her parent’s reaction. Scrolling through her Twitter she saw her friends had posted multiple images of the night’s events, majority being her shared dance.

Chloé Bourgeois @TheBestBourgeois

what kind of Disney shit is this? (Insert video of two teens dancing around an mostly empty dance floor.)

Alix Kubdel @Sk8trGirl

Replying to @TheBestBourgeois

I KNOW RIGHT?! THEY WERE FUCKING FLOATING!!!

All you're giving me is fiction

She was thankful that they hadn’t tagged her but she hadn’t been spared by others in attendance. Her post thread had blown up, thousands had commented and even more had viewed the evidence. There was no way she would come out of this unscathed.

“Has anyone been on Twitter today?” The blonde of the family asked as she walked into the dining room. Her eyes focused on her scrolling screen, brows furrowed in confusion. “Actually has anyone seen what’s happening on any of our socials?”

It was early in the afternoon and the family had recently returned home after a straining stakeout. The Joker had broken out of Arkham and the Batfam had to deal with his minions. Dick’s arm was in a sling (sprained from a grapple gone wrong), Jason was icing his hand, Alfred was stitching Bruce’s chest wounds while Tim and the girls escaped without severe injuries. All were still recuperating and finally able to recharge.

Alfred always enforced a strict ‘no devices at the dinner table’ rule; no matter how urgent it was, it could wait until after sustenance was consumed. Tim strongly opposed this, but there was no arguing with Agent A. This all surmises that probably no one had seen the crap storm on social media.

I'm a sorry sucker and this happens all the time

Bruce sighed, bringing his free arm up to rub his eyes. Tilting his head back to look at Steph, “Who was it this time?” Barbara quickly took out her phone to see what Stephanie was talking about, all the while glancing accusingly at Dick and Jason. Both of whom held up their arms (or in Dick’s case arm), declaring their innocence.

“It wasn’t fucking me!”

“Jason! Language!” Dick shot a glare at Jason and was met with one in return. “It wasn’t me either.”

“Then who-“ Bruce started before being cut off by his most rambunctious daughter.

I found out that everybody talks

Stephanie with a squeal, exclaimed that it was Damian. Visions of what the Wayne brat could have done flashed through the heads of everyone in the room. He had been sent overseas before the quarantines and lockdowns hit. During Damian’s first month in France he had been forced into online schooling and then finally when he got to go to in-person classes he hated it. Described the class as a kindergarten with petty and vindictive toddlers.

Had he broken someone’s arm? Was that person of such importance that it had spread over multiple social media platforms? France’s government had announced on June 15th, that teens were now being inoculated so him having COVID-19 was doubtful. Had he insulted the wrong person? Had he taken over the government? He certainly had the potential.

Everybody talks, everybody talks

What they saw stunned them, even Steph as she watched it for the 7th time. Damian Wayne was dancing. But not only that, he was dancing with a girl.

It started with a whisper

“What is this shit?”

No one verbally objected to Jason’s outburst but he was sent a harsh glare from Alfred, Dick and Bruce. Their focus soon returned to the images and videos before them. Babs’ and Steph’s phones were returned to them as the others ran to grab their own devices. They all met back at the table, comparing the posts and comparing their notes.

I can hear the chitchat

“There’s no way this can be real.”

“Jesus Tim,” Barbara rolls her eyes, “have you seen the amount of posts there are? You’d be an idiot to think otherwise.”

Take me to your love shack

“I’m with Tim, how do we know this isn’t some skit. I mean, Demon Spawn almost looks normal. That’s a matter of concern.” He almost dry heaved when he agreed with Tim. Damian couldn’t be capable of naturally exuding that amount of humanity unless there was something in it for him.

Mamas always gotta backtrack

“I was just saying Babs, that we should check the credibility of these images. For all we know they could be gorilla glued together and trying to get unstuck.” Tim cringed at his own reasoning, he really needed to either sleep (probably not going to happen anytime soon) or find his favourite coffee brand (which had been one of the first to vanish after the covid hoarders appeared).

When everybody talks back

Dick was too busy freaking out and spam messaging the youngest Wayne, to defend Damian’s humanity. The family saw this and followed suit, wanting to get information from the source.

Chat name: Alfred supremacy

BigBird: AHHHHHH DAMIAN!

BigBird: YOU LOOK SO CUTE!!!

BigBird: HAIFJDNDNFI

LittleWing: WTF HAPPENED DEMON SPAWN YOU LOOK ALMOST HUMAN

Babs: who knew the city of love would influence the brat

Blondie: they are so cuteeeeeee!

Blondie: We HAVE to meet her!

Silent-but-deadly: agreed.

Timbo: YO DEMON

Timbo: Apparently the videos are legit

Timbo: are you being blackmailed?

And it just devolved into more chaos from there, fueled by the fact that they saw Damian’s ‘Blood Son’ account appear online before vanishing once more. Dick shrieked, “I FOUND HER ACCOUNT!”

The family gathered around the eldest son, peering over his shoulder to view his iPhone 12max screen. They saw a young girl’s Instagram account. It was locked but they could see her profile pic, the girl had black hair and looked to be if Asian decent. They compared it to the videos but it was hard to see due to the hall’s lighting and the minimised facial features of the pfp. Alfred suggested that they search up her username and see who has tagged her, some might have other photos of her.

After research for awhile, the family began to get frustrated with lack of results.

Hey honey you could be my drug

You could be my new prescription

“Come on!” Jason complained, “What kind of teenage girl doesn’t post her life online?” He ignored the girls glares and went back to researching. How had the account by the name of ‘mariiiiinette’ to managed to prevent the entire Wayne clan from accessing it? Damn Instagram privacy settings. He groaned, dragging a hand down his face, “We are fucking stupid. Why don’t we just use the Bat-computer? It would be so much fucking easier.”

“It shouldn’t be used for civilian issues-“

Too much could be an overdose

“The girl could be a meta for all we know! We aren’t safe until we know who she is.” Jason points a finger at Tim, his paranoia flared up and even though he would never admit it, Jason would do anything to protect each member of his family (although Bruce is still debatable).

All this trash talk make me itching

Barbara and Tim took their usual positions as Oracle and Red Robin (who had been banned from patrol due to lack of sleep). The rest of the Batfam stood behind them either with arms crossed or still failing at researching.

Oh my my shit

“The account is owned by a girl called Marinette Dupian-Cheng. She is French-Chinese and her parents own a popular bakery. Also if it wasn’t already obvious, she goes to Collège Françoise Dupont, aka Damian’s French school.” Tim begun informing his nosy family, “But this account has been inactive for the past 6 months, which is strange due to her frequent posting schedule before hand. It seems she probably has a second account and this is her old one.”

Everybody talks, everybody talks

“Not only that,” Barbara interrupted. “There are unopened messages from other accounts that accuse her of being a bully. There is a whole Facebook page about this girl and how she has been hurting her old friends, but neither side seems reliable. The so called victims seem to be twisting the truth but there is barely any information about Marinette so we can’t disprove it either.”

“Read out some of the messages.” Bruce took a cup of coffee from Alfred and sipped it.

The main screen of the bat computer displayed a Facebook group with the banner picture being a photo of Marinette. “They are mostly complaints expected of teen girls when there is a girl they don’t like; ‘Marinette is such a know-it-all’, ‘She is constantly insulting Lila’s intelligence’. They go on to talk about how Marinette was briefly expelled from the Collège before being reinstated by the principle for a reason unknown to them.”

Everybody talks too much

“Her school reports up until this year were good. The newest one states, ‘While Marinette is a wonderful and bright student, I encourage her to settle her disagreements outside of class. This seems to only be a recent occurrence and I implore her to go to the guidance council if she is in need of help.’” A beat of silence echoes through the cave, Tim sighed. “Jason’s meta theory could be correct. She could have just recently started exhibiting her abilities and using them to get what she wants.”

“Bruce what do you want to do?”

“We’re going to Paris.”

She opened her eyes to the blaring morning light that streamed through the blinds. Her lashes still painted with mascara that refused to leave. She felt a pang of sorrow when she was removing her makeup and dress last night, she never wanted the night to end. She shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen, covering her mouth when she yawned. She greeted her mother as she entered the kitchen to get breakfast.

She glanced at her phone and there was the chaos that was started hours ago and it was still occurring. It was the weekend, she wouldn’t need to deal with her classmates until Monday. But she would still have to survive her parent’s interrogation. Out of the corner of her eye she caught her mother smirking at her.

Everybody talks

“Nadja told me some interesting news about last night.” Marinette held her breath, glaring at the toaster, willing it to hurry up so she could escape. “Well,” Sabine patted her shoulder before rubbing Mari’s back. “I know you didn’t want to go but I hope you had fun.”

With that she exited the kitchen, probably going to help her father in the bakery. The ravenette stared after her, eye widened in shock, jumping when the toaster went off. Buttering her toast she went over the conversation, her brows furrowed in confusion. She had expected a ‘When do I get to meet the oh so famous prince?’ or ‘Should I be expecting a new guest sometime in the near future?’ or at least a ‘Who was that young man, Bǎozàng (宝藏 it means treasure)?’ But she said nothing.

A small smile was plastered upon her face as she changed and went down to help her parents in the bakery. Her father didn’t say anything either, he gave her a knowing smile before continuing to kneed the dough. She sat at the the store front as the cashier whilst her parents were busy making ‘Paris’s Finest Pastries’.

Her musings slowly faded as she was brought back to reality by badly hushed whispers. Two young preteens were by the bread roll casing near the door. She had seen them come in before with their parents, the girls went to the prestigious international school over in the 16th arrondissement. The one with purple hair kept whispering to the brunette, both ‘subtly’ glancing towards her. Using her enhanced hearing she listened in on their conversation.

“That’s her, I swear that’s her in the video.”

The blonde’s face soured likes she sucked on a lemon. “No, it wasn’t good lighting there is no way he would dance with someone like her.”

Everybody talks

Marinette had tough skin but their words had an impact, only a small one due to her defence mechanism of repressing emotions. She stopped listening and went back to drawing in her sketchpad, she was in desperate need of a new school outfit.

The two girls eventually came up to the counter, goods in hand. Marinette rung up and bagged their items (paper because save the turtles sksksk) in a tired daze. A phone was shoved into her face, her eyes barely adjusted to view the screen before the blonde spoke.

“Is this your instagram?” She asked in a tone so snobbish that it should be illegal from a person her age. Marinette finally was able to view the screen that was barely an inch from her face. Her old Instagram ‘mariiiiinette’ was displayed on screen, she hesitantly nodded, gaze flicking back to the two in front of her.

The blonde’s nose scrunched up and the purple goth girl squealed in delight. They soon after left the store, their conversation had devolved into ‘See! I told you’ and ‘Yeah, yeah. You were right.’

Walking to school on Monday, she had finally come down from cloud nine. She still rode the tail end of her high as she rushed along her path to her campus, she wasn’t going to be late but she sure wasn’t going to be early. She had spent the better part of the weekend designing and sewing a brand new outfit. Her new look was composed of a black cropped singlet (L'amour gagne hemmed into it and it’s straps), paired matching peach plaid cropped overshirt and a-line miniskirt. Her hair was down, ballet flats were worn and her makeup was the usual with the added edition of a rose gold eyeshadow.

Even though her face was covered in a black and gold mask, she looked hot.

She reached the campus and the whispers started again, people were still buzzing from Friday night. Her classmates, the majority of her grade and the younger years seemed to gossiping before class about the formal’s events. She couldn’t spot any of her friends or the two Gotham transfers, so she was stuck listening the the chitchat. Why couldn’t she have been late like usual?

Damian had a fowl disposition and it showed in multiple icey glares (and that was before he even reached the collège). His family had made their appearance known in Paris at 1am Sunday morning. He could have used his dorm to escape but his family didn’t have the word ‘privacy’ within their vocabulary. He didn’t want to have to pay for a lock replacement due to his brothers’ (most likely Todd with Drake & Grayson laughing at him) lock picking habit.

The Ice Prince was back with full force. He had just been... influenced by all the other couples. Yes he did respect Dupain-Cheng and he appreciated her company & pleasant conversations. He would struggle to hide a small smile at the memory of the dance, even if he denied himself the happiness of normality, he felt content when reminiscing.

“Ooo the Ice Prince is here, did he have a fight with his princess or something?” The voice seemed to mock him.

“The Disney Magic is gone. The demon is back.”

Everybody talks

At the second jeer he shot a glare at the perpetrator. Jon held his hands up in an ‘I surrender manner’, laughing as he joined Damian at his side. The two entered the school’s large foyer and looked to see if any of the classes were open yet. Sadly they weren’t, before he was wrong and the his class was plain torture but this was truely hell.

He saw Dupain-Cheng sitting alone on the stairs, drawing within her sketchpad. He wondered how a girl like her, who always seemed to be involved in other’s lives (for the better) was ignoring all of the comments about her. She felt his focus centre on her, eyes flicking up to meet his, she provided him with a small wave before continuing to draw.

Jon nudged him with an elbow to his ribs and dragged him off to the side, into the boy’s locker rooms. Jon scowled at the door, “It’s a mad house out there. You’ve heard what some people are saying right?”

“Why would I care about these imbeciles?”

Jon jabbed Damian in the chest, causing the demon to stumble. Green eyes darted from blue eyes to the tan finger. “You care when lies hurt people you care about.”

The day began to rapidly decline once the two dance partners took their seats, next to each other. They had both been placed up the back of the class and them sitting together hadn’t been a problem until now apparently. She wasn’t even safe when the teacher started their lecture, whispers and glances were cast towards them. Once the two got to biology it was better, Ms Mendeleiev was a strict teacher and was able to control the class.

Everybody talks

But the recess came. When the bell rang she slowly started packing up her equipment, Alix and Max (who she shared biology with) waited for her; she watched as the Ice Prince left through the door. She knew she didn’t need to be concerned about her friends joining in with the gossiping, if anything they would dispel people and tell them to ‘Mind their own fucking business’ because this whole situations is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.

She did receive some slight teasing from Alix about being a Disney princess, but Marinette quipped back about the skater’s fairytale story being ‘Pinknette, the Geek and the Beast’. The three met up with the other two of their group, they had just come from geography. Kim was complaining that Argentina was a state in America.

“That’s Arkansas you idiot!” Chloe shrieked, lightly hitting his arm with her white handbag. Max held his head in his hand as he approached, how had his tutoring sessions failed so badly?

Chloe turned to Marinette, a smile forming from her glare. The blonde examined the designer’s clothing, nodding. “You look like you are about to have a hot girl summer.”

Marinette’s face burned, the tips of her ears coated in red. Alix chuckled and nudged her shoulder.

Everybody talks

“Look at her, she is so desperate for his attention that she probably copied those designs.”

“Why do you think he danced with her anyways? Maybe she has something on him? I mean, she forces him to sit next to her in class, who knows what else she has done.”

What. The. Fuck.

Chloe glowered towards Lila’s posy. “We have a fucking seating plan, those cretins-“ She made a motion to storm over but was caught by the ravenette, looking back to Mari, her rage decreased from a boil to a simmer.

“No Chlo. It’s fine, it’s not worth it.”

Everybody talks... back

The group walked out to the school’s front steps, it was a mad house... a mad courtyard? Students sitting on the stairs, on the grass and standing around mingling, all of them now were staring at her. She held her backpack close to her chest (she had swapped her signature coin-bag purse for the pastel pink bag), pretending its a shield. Her friends circled around her becoming an obstacle to prevent their stares. If people were afraid of a scowling Kim then they don’t know the scorn of Chloe or Alix’s bite. And Max, sweet quiet Max.... you better hope he doesn’t have blackmail on you (he probably does), he can dismantle your life with a single anonymous post.

Rushed footsteps approached them. The group was broken apart by a rude Wayne boy, he swept Mari away from the school and the gossip crowds within. Her four friends shouted at him and he kept walking, shooting a glare at them in response. He kept pushing Marinette forward with a hand placed on the small of her back, her backpack was now swung over his other shoulder.

They ended up in her favourite alcove. She had brought him here with the other Gotham transfers for a native’s tour of Paris. It had always been her safe place to be creative.

It started with a whisper (everybody talks, everybody talks)

“My apologises for our rushed departure but you seemed to want to get out of their anyhow.” His gruff tone danced through the silence, his head still peaking around the corner; watching for any unwelcome guests.

“Thank you.” She whispered, her voice almost being carried off by the gentle wind. A genuine smile illustrated upon her face.

“We weren’t able to converse after the events of the other night. I would like to formally apologise once more for my actions causing this adverse reaction. If I had kn-“

“You don’t need to apologise!” She squeaked, hiding her eyes behind her fisted hand. Her shoulders curled inwards as she tried to make herself seem as small as possible, a side effect of her common use of her secondary miraculous form: Multimouse.

“I chose to dance with you, you don’t need to apologise for my own actions.” He stared at her with confusion. He had taken the blame so she wouldn’t need to do so herself; but she had taken it anyways. He had given her an out. Why does she always take the blame, even for things out of her control?

“But if I hadn’t danced with you then you wouldn’t have been the focus of the entire school.”

Marinette stepped forward, her eyes hardened and blazing. “Damian Friday night I went there out of obligation to my friends, I didn’t want to be there. But dancing with you? That was the highlight of my week, probably my month too. I enjoyed our time together.” Her face softened, lips twitched downwards ever so slightly. “I don’t regret anything about that night, but do you?”

He was bad at comfort. Everyone in his family avoided him when they were in need, he plainly didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t visibly upset but he sensed that she is disappointed that he apparently didn’t share the same opinion of the night. The only thing he regretted about that night was letting Jon call him a coward, but then again if he didn’t he never would have danced with Dupa- Marinette.

He picked up her clenched hand, the tension in her body alleviated at his embrace. He remembered how Grayson would apologise to Kor’i or how his father interacted with Ms Kyle. He brought their hands up and placed a kiss upon her knuckles.

And that was when I kissed her (everybody talks, everybody talks)

“I do not regret anything either—“ he cleared his throat, “In fact, I’d appreciate if we would be able to interact more, especially outside of that cesspit.”

Was he...?

It didn’t matter.

She smiled the same dazzling smile she gave him at the dance. She nodded while laughing, “I’d love that.”

Everybody talks

The two stay talking, hidden within their secret alcove for the rest of the day. She texted her parents to say she was with a friend and would be back later that night. Damian didn’t bother texting his family, Marinette knew he had to be back soon due to his dorm’s curfew.

The sun was setting at they walked back together, he did the gentlemanly thing and dropped her off at her bakery door. She could see her mother behind the register inconspicuously looking over at the two of them. Damian’s lips quirked upwards, she was satisfied with his kinda-smile.

He walked back, hands in pockets and a neutral expression upon his face instead of a scowl. He reached his door and took his keys, he found that it was already open. Damn.

His family was splayed out within his two roomed dorm. Todd and Drake were fighting over a place to sit on his bed, whilst his father sat at his desk, watching the commotion. The three of them turned to him as he enter the room, they were the only family members able to attend on short notice; Cain had a ballet audition, Gordon & Brown had concert tickets for tomorrow, Grayson had to take care of Mar’i while Kor’i was on Tamaran and Alfred stayed to ensure no one died during their night time activities.

“We need to talk Damian.” His father stood, leaning onto the desk chair. “The school called and said you had an unexcused absence for half the day. Where were you Damian?”

Damian stared into his father’s eyes. He was fifteen, almost an adult, but was treated like he was ten again.

“I was with a friend.”

“Probably the girl from the dance. Marinette, right?” Todd mocked him. Damian snapped his head in the direction of his bed, glaring at both his brothers.

“That’s what I want to talk about with you Damian. Now I don’t know her personally but from what we’ve discovered through our investigation we have some concerns. What’s happened Damian?”

The youngest Wayne’s glare shifted off of his brothers to the floor, and then finally to his father; his family sitting in wait for his answer. Straightening his posture, his shoulders clicked as he rolled then back. His statement’s tone was sure and steady, “Everybody talks father.”

Everybody talks... back