#paris: why do I hear boss music? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

astoldbyaja · 17 days ago

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A Dangerous Attraction (Rush Hour 3)

Summary:

Odette Dubois is a performer at the Gemme Noire Club in Paris who enjoys the life she has made for herself. After having a fun one night stand with Triad Leader, Kenji Takahashi, Odette finds herself thrown into a dark world she cannot escape from, when Kenji decides fate did not bring them together for just a one night stand.

"Kenji you cannot take me from my life and just insert me into yours!" "Why not?" he asked quizzically. "Because it's MY life, you don't own my life!" I snapped. "I may not own it, but I know you're happy with me." he stated. I scoffed. "You don't know what happiness is." I stated. "Don't I make you happy?" he asked. I winced and looked away hating myself for the aching feelings that boiled inside me. "Yes." I muttered lowly. He leans in to me placing his hand over mine. "So then why are you trying to force me to send you away?" he asked softly, confusedly.

Author's Notes

This is just the sexual scene from my actual fic A Dangerous Attraction, may just add only the sex scenes we will see

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After my makeup was removed and my hair was taken down, I showered in the back locker rooms. I could still hear the music playing from outside. John Coltrane was playing. I smiled and nodded to myself. Tonight was not a bad night. My audience loved me, a newcomer definitely was smiling at me with interest after being sang to by me. I giggled to myself. God, I haven’t touched another man since my husband died.

I often think about getting back out into the dating world, but it’s become involuntarily tainted.

After I was clean, dried off, and lotioned down, I left the locker room in some black flowing slacks and a matching black halter top. I still wanted to look presentable in case I needed to network. Some performers would past me and wish me goodnight while other customers of the club would stop me briefly to tell me how good my singing was.

As I walked down the hall with my purse in hand, smiling and waving at either staff or friendly regulars, a woman rounded the closest corner and stopped me. She was shorter than me, with long wavy tan, brown hair. She was also in a black and red dress with slits down the leg. I noticed the dragon tattoo on her arm.

“Odette Dubois?” she asked with an arch of her brow. I looked her over.

“Depends on who is asking.” I replied. She gave an amused grin.

“My name is Jasmine. You gave a lovely performance. My boss would like to speak with you.” she said. I was honestly not in the mood to anymore to stop and chat. Once you’re given permission to leave early from work you take it. I gave an apologetic wince, and she shook her head. “He is a very important Japanese businessman who will be doing business with your boss. It would not be wise to deny his invitation.”

I tensed now. Jerome was always doing business with high level executives. It’s how he gained a favorable reputation which flowed into the club. I didn’t want to be the reason someone ended up frowning on him. I sighed and shrugged.

“Twist my arm.” I replied, and she smiled victoriously and nodded then turned.

“Come.” She purred before moving calm and collectively down the hall. I was familiar with the direction we were going in. It was toward the lounge which was on the other side of the club. The heavy music and laughter died down. On this side it was calming. Red booths were against the wall with a large bar in the middle. Servers in black were serving their guests. I followed Jasmine over toward a booth in the back noticing she was bringing me over to a familiar man in white. It was the man I sang to earlier.

Now my stomach was fluttering with embarrassment. I hope I did not leave too bad of an impression. The man finally looked at me, his eyes rolling over me as he saw me. Jasmine stood before the booth and bowed.

“Odette Dubois, Kenji Takahashi.” she introduced before walking away. The man moved from the booth and stood before me. His eyes were… dangerous. Something was dark in his orbs, and I couldn’t quite place the feeling that this wasn’t a regular businessman. I gave a curt bow of my head as he held his hand out to me.

“A pleasure to meet the Duchess herself.” he said. I chuckled shyly moving to take his hand. He gently brought the top of my palm to his lips and gave a light kiss.

“Nice to meet you as well Mr. Takahashi.” I replied.

“Please call my Kenji. Sit.” he replied, and I did. I sat across from him wondering what he could possibly want from me. “Can I buy you a drink?”

I really did not want to drink, but I would do what I had to do to make a first good impression.

“Sure, some white Moscato please.” I replied, and he nodded signaling for one of the waiters.

“I must say this is the first time I have ever been in this club. I have done business here for most of my adult life, and never thought to step foot in here.” he said gazing at me now. I slowly nodded.

“This place is quite magical once you have been in here for a while. I assume the future business with my boss is the only reason you stepped foot in here now.” I replied. He nodded.

“You are correct, but this place has made quite a nice first impression on me. I have you to thank for that.” he said. I looked at him stunned.

“Me?” I asked and he nodded.

“You. You are a very talented singer. How long have you worked here?” he asked. I smiled at his compliment.

“Three years.” I replied. He seemed impressed.

“Three years in a place working such late nights. I am sure your husband enjoys coming to watch you perform.” he said. My chest tightened a bit at the thought of Liam.

“My husband passed four years ago.” I replied. He gave a gentle wince.

“I am sorry if I brought up any sad memories. It was not my intent.” he said. The server brought me my, wine and I smiled my thanks at him. I shook my head.

“No, it’s alright. I have made peace with his passing. I hear you’re a businessman. I am sure your family misses you so, when you’re out on trips. Your wife?” I asked, and he shook his head drinking from his glass cup.

“No wife. No kids.” he said. “My job is very complicated. It leaves no room for such niceties.”

I nodded wondering if I should ask what he did. I noticed he was looking at my chest and soon he pointed.

“That is a lovely necklace.” he said. I looked down at my tree of life necklace and smiled warmly.

“Thank you. My father gave it to me before he passed away. The tree of life. It symbolizes so much.” I replied warmly. He winced.

“To lose the two men who are responsible for providing and protecting you is heart breaking. Did he pass in Paris?” he asked. I shook my head.

“No. Los Angeles. He was a detective and was killed in the line of duty. I moved to Paris not long after and started my life here.” I replied. He tilted his head, his eyes showing curiosity.

“Why Paris?” he asked. I grinned.

“I always wanted to visit. My father promised to take me when I was a bit older, but he never got the chance. So, my journey brought me here where I met my husband.” I replied softly drinking some of my wine.

“And now he is gone… it must be very hard for you.” he said. I nodded.

“It used to be. But I found a new family here. Now I am not so alone.” I replied. Why were we having this conversation? I did not want to be the only one seeming vulnerable. “Do you get lonely?”

He inhaled and looked down at the table.

“Very rarely. My job keeps me on my toes quite a lot. A lot of my work is here in Paris.” he said.

“What is it you do specifically?” I asked. He gave a smirk, one that did not sit well in my stomach, but yet still kept me at ease.

“Public relations.” he said. That could mean anything, and when one is being so broad, that could mean he may not be entirely innocent. I nodded.

“Sounds very exciting.” I replied drinking my wine.

“It is.” he said before motioning his head at me, meaning my back. “Your tattoos… crows?” I shook my head.

“Ravens. When my father passed, I wanted to feel… something, anything, pain that was worse than the emptiness I felt when he died.” I replied before looking away now and then back at him noticing how deeply he was gazing at me.

“Why ravens?” he asked. I grinned.

“I was into Edgar Allen Poe in high school.” I replied. He gave a gentle chuckle, and I returned it before gently shaking my head. “Why are we having this conversation Kenji?”

He nodded eyeing me with a deep gaze.

“You are a beautiful girl, Odette. Your voice captivated me tonight. One might say I am… attracted to you, very attracted you.” he said lowly. I felt my heart quicken with mild excitement. Kenji was a very handsome man, and I found myself quickly flattered by his words.

“Why thank you Kenji, you definitely stood out to me in a crowd.” I replied. He grinned.

“Is that why you chose to single me out?” he asked. I grinned finishing my drink.

“Maybe. You’re a new face. I wanted to make you feel welcome here.” I replied with a bit of a softer tone. I could tell he caught the shift in my tone by the way he tilted his head.

“I feel welcomed… if I may be so bold Odette, could I have your company tonight?” he asked. I stared at him for a moment wondering if he was serious, but his eyes definitely screamed serious. I looked up toward the exit of the lounge before looking back at him.

“How close are you?” I suddenly asked.

Our exit was calm as he paid, then he walked us from the club. He pointed to the very large hotel across the street. This guy had to have money because that hotel is very glamorous. Only the celebrities of both the upper and underworlds rented here. We entered the beautiful lobby and moved over toward the elevators.

The moment the elevator doors slid open; Kenji held his arm open letting me go in. I smiled and entered in, and he followed. Each wall was a golden mirror and, so now all we saw were reflections. We stood side by side and Kenji pushed the tenth floor. No one else was getting on, the doors were sliding closed slowly. In unison we just looked at each other, and Kenji was on me in seconds, taking my chin and smashing his lips against me hard.

I felt my entire body just ignite from both shock and excitement. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into me, our mouths opening and tongues darting out to meet the other.

Frozen by Madonna was playing through the ceiling radio above. Fuck this made everything just feel ten times better. Kenji’s lips were fighting my own for control, his calloused hands moving all over my back. Who knew I still had it in me to be spontaneous. I needed to breathe and leaned back just inches from his lips as he made a gentle chomping motion at me not wanting my lips away from him.

He smiled as he pressed his forehead to me. I smiled back giving his lips a quick lick. He growled and raised me up by my bottom and pressed me into the closest wall, his lips now kissing down my jaw and into my neck. I felt my hands roaming his back. I could feel the firmness of his back and the broadness of his shoulders.

His forest scented cologne washed over me. The elevator had stopped, but we were on floor sixth. Kenji and I froze. He looked over his shoulders and I just looked at the elderly couple who was staring at us shocked. I gasped and just held Kenji too embarrassed to move. The woman shook her head judging us, while her husband smiled and nodded giving two thumbs up as she hit the elevator buttons.

Once the doors slid shut again, we both laughed staring at each other almost happily. I don’t remember being so flushed from being caught in such a position. I leaned down to kiss Kenji, and he returned it immediately. Now the kiss was sensual, passionate... needy.

Once the elevator doors stopped on the tenth floor, Kenji set me down, took my hand, and led me down to the other end of the hall. I smiled at how much I was throwing caution to the wind. What did I have to lose? If Kenji was some psycho killer who ended up killing me, then at least I’d know who was waiting for me on the other side.

As we rounded the hall, I noticed two men in black suits were standing in front of the door we stopped at. All Kenji had to do was look at them and they bowed their heads and opened the door for him. I was not expecting a security detail, but maybe it's expected with his kind of work. I assumed Jasmine or the other men sitting with Kenji earlier at his booth were associates, but it seemed more than that. Now that excitement was slowly drifting away as I wanted to know about the two men. Once we were inside the lavished and polished room, Kenji pulled me to him and locked his arms around me, dancing a bit with me almost. I held on to his shoulders moving with him.

“Tell me Odette, do you believe in fate?” he asked. I looked down at his body at his question.

“I do. Everything happens for a reason, even if that reason doesn’t make sense to all parties involved.” I replied. He nodded looking my face over.

“I agree.” he said before leaning over to capture my lips yet again. I leaned into him letting his mouth enjoy the fullness of my lips. I could tell he liked the feel of my lips by how much he was gently biting and sucking on my bottom lip. I hummed in amusement before raising my hands to gently slide off his topcoat and then unbutton his shirt. We let our foreheads graze against one another, inhaling the other’s scent as his hands moved to pull my halter top off.

I raised my hands letting him remove my top. Odette, you don’t know this man and you’re giving him access to your body like this! Yes, because tomorrow none of this would matter. It would only be a memory.

My top slid to the ground. His jacket fell after. He looked down at my bare chest and gasped lowly.

“Beautiful.” he breathed as I continued to unbutton his shirt. I noticed he was just watching me now, gazing into my face, as if he was ensnared just like back at the club.

Once I got the shirt unbuttoned, I moved to slide his shirt off, my attention was immediately grabbed by the vast colors that suddenly burst it seemed. I looked at the fully body mirror behind us, showing Kenji’s back, painted heavily with dragon tattoos of green, black, and gold.

And the handle of his gun was very well exposed. Oh, shit he’s one of the triads… that explained the security. Fuck no, he’s a Triads leader! Now my entire body tensed as I looked up at him clearly stunned, all excitement fading from my face. Kenji stared down at me now with a half lidded gaze.

“Are you afraid?” he asked lowly. I looked his face over wondering what kind of question that was.

“Should I be?” I asked gently. He stared at me for a little while longer. I had not recoiled from him, and maybe that was reason enough to him to lean down and capture my lips yet again, before going down a path of pure bliss starting with his fingers inside me.

Every time I was trying to keep myself calm, so I could wrap my mind around who Kenji was, how dangerous he was or even if he’s taken life, his fingers would curl upward, hitting that sweet spot inside me that made my stomach curl. His lips hadn’t left my clit, and the feelings alone had my toes curling and my knees bending in the bed. I cried out, gripping the bed sheets as I felt my second orgasm coming.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god!” I cried out, feeling my right leg spasm from the intense pleasure. Kenji chuckled darkly, holding that same leg down. I let my face fall to the side as I looked at the full body mirror once more. Even bent over I could see the tattoos, and everything else. This man was definitely blessed, and I could only imagine how much of him would fit inside me.

I felt his lips now kissing their way over my Mon pubis then up to my navel, over the spot between my chest and finally up to my neck. Now he was looking over me, face to face.

“You have no idea how long I have been waiting for you.” he said sensually, caressing his face. I was a bit confused by his words.

“And what makes you believe it was me you were looking for?” I asked. He grinned.

“Fate.” he said before leaning down to capture my lips. I could taste the juices from my entrance on his tongue, and I could smell the scent of my Olay Shea Butter lotion. Obviously, this was just him trying to sweet talk me. He is caught up in the mood so I would not hinder his attempt at trying to keep the romantic mood. I spread my legs wider, so he knew I was ready. I could feel his hand move between our bodies as he took hold of himself. Our eyes locked with each other as I feel him position himself at my entrance. And just like that, he pushes in, not aggressively, but enough for us both to moan out at the feeling of each other. I gripped his forearms tight.

Fuck he stretched me good. I panted lightly trying to keep myself calm as he started a nice even pace grinding his hips into me. Slowly he pulled out, but when he pushed back in, he would go just a bit deeper. I shuddered at the feeling. My legs wrapped around his hips, and we smile lustfully at each other.

“Feels good?” he asked, and I nod.

“Very.” I replied slowly moving my hips to meet his and now it felt like the room was spinning in the most fantastic of ways. I felt completely devoured by pleasure. I haven’t felt this way since my husband. I kissed Kenji hard, biting his bottom lip and he growled moving his hips faster against my own. I moaned into him as he held me close to his body. My head fell back into my pillow, and I moaned out louder feeling his lips against my neck kissing and nipping at my skin. We held each other close as our bodies moved as one. My body was so hot. He knew how to hit those sensitive spots inside me, each thrust had purpose. This man was a natural it seemed.

I finally pushed back against him to get him on his back.

In that moment, I noticed a slight look of caution in his eyes. But when he was on his back, that look vanished, and I began to grind my hips against him. His mouth formed the perfect O as he kept a tight grip on my hips moving to keep some sort of control on my body. I cried out hard as I felt this position only made my vagina pulse uncontrollably. With gravity playing a part, I felt stretched further, and I loved it. My head fell back, and I caressed my own breasts as I moved.

Our bodies picked up speed together we were so in sync with one another. Suddenly, Kenji leaned up, locking his arms around my back, and pressing his forehead against mine. I held on to his arms as I bounced on him, our eyes both mirroring a dark lust.

“You’re very tight.” he pants.

“I’m sorry.” I teased and he shook his head.

“I love your tightness.” he said quickly before kissing me sloppily and I wrapped my arms around his neck feeling a twinge of pain in my vagina. I felt him in my stomach.

“I can feel you, in my stomach. It hurts.” I pant heavily, giving a gentle wince. His eyes bore into mine, concern washing over him.

“I will slow down.” he says huskily.

“Don’t you dare.” I threatened and he smirked, and he sped up his movements.

My body was on fire engulfed in an intoxicating pleasure. I was drunk off it. I was so touch starved, that I wanted to feel every inch of him inside me forever.

"Look at me," Kenji pants. I didn't even realize my eyes were closed as I felt one hand on my chin and cheeks. "Odette... Look at me... please."

Kenji's voice was needy and desperate. I finally open my eyes staring into him with a passionate gaze before gently caressing his cheek.

"I see you." I assured him gently. That intimating and dangerous look in his eyes were quelled as if my words were the gentle touch he needed to calm him. He continues to thrust up into me, my walls clenching hard around him.

My cries grew harder and louder and erratic as I felt him assaulting my gspot now. Now I can feel his thrusts growing sloppy and ragged as I know he is getting close.

“I’m so close.” he pants. “Is it safe for me to cum inside?”

“Do you want to cum inside me?” I breathed against him.

“Yes.” he says quickly, wincing as if in pain.

“Tell me you want to cum inside me.” I say nearing my edge.

“I want to cum inside you, Odette.” he grunts. Hearing that desperation in his voice had me at my limit. My eyes fluttered closed, and I felt Kenji’s hand grip the back of my head as we both yelled out hard our orgasms hitting us intensly.

Both our bodies spasmed against each other hard and the more we rode our orgasms against one another the more we groaned harder at the over stimulation between our bodies. My vaginal walls were ringing uncontrollably so much that it was too much. I immediately moved off him, giving a light yelp mixed with laughter. Kenji wrapped an arm around me, and we both laughed at the intense feelings that overtook us. He then leaned back against the bed, bringing me with him. Now I was just lying on his chest silently. His heart was beating so fast.

But now was not a moment to cuddle and be all romantic. I was quiet now as the lust died down, and reality came back harshly.

“I am sure you have some questions.” he said. I looked up at him now, his eyes calm just like at the club. His forehead was shiny with sweat. I looked his face over with mild worry.

“Are you really involved with the Triads?” I asked softly. He nodded once.

“Yes.” he said. I nodded.

“How deep?” I asked.

“I am a leader.” he replied nonchalantly. I nodded slowly wondering how fate could be so cruel enough to bring us together.

“Should I be worried for my safety after I leave here?” I asked. He shook his head.

“No why would you be, it isn’t a threat to me that you know who I am. It is what you do with that information that could pose a threat. So, tell me, Odette Dubois, do you plan to be a threat to me?” he asked. His eyes were dark, sensual, seductive. But I knew he couldn’t be trusted.

I shook my head.

“No. We both got what we want tonight, company. Anything else is not my business” I replied. He nodded with a mild hum. I made a move to get up and his arms did not break from around me which did make me a bit nervous.

“You don’t have to leave tonight.” he said. I felt some knots form in my stomach now as I looked away nervously.

“What if I wish to leave?” I asked lowly, glancing back up at his face. He didn’t seem upset if anything he looked content.

“Then I would not dare hold you.” he said and unraveled his arms from me. I gave a gentle nod in thanks and sat up from him. I moved to find my clothes and began to put them on. My body is still tired and throbbing and hell even sensitive. But I felt it was not wise to linger with a man so dangerous. I glanced at the mirror to see him on his side lazily watching me. I was snapping my bra on when I glanced over at him.

“So, what will happen now?” I asked as I picked up my shirt.

“What do you want to happen?” he asked. I gave a gentle scoff.

“Now I want to go to bed and prepare for work tomorrow.” I replied. Kenji sat up resting his arm over his knee that he propped up.

“You can sleep here tonight if you want. My bed is quite comfortable.” he offered again. I chuckled some.

“You are my boss’ business associate. Anyone from my job could see me and I don’t want things to be bad for him business wise.” I replied honestly.

“You care for him?” he asked eyeing my body.

“He gave me a job when I was in a dark place, and with that job, came something fun and amazing. I want everyone to be doing good at my job.” I replied moving to grab my phone off the small counter by his bed. Kenji watched me as I did this before taking my hand, looking up at me.

“I had a nice night with you Odette.” he said. I looked down at him with a gentle, yet genuine smile.

“And I had a nice night with you as well, Kenji.” I replied. He smiled and patted my head.

“I am glad. Oi!” he called out to the door. The door opened and in came one of his men. I was a bit embarrassed to look at both men while Kenji just stood up before me in all of his naked glory. He spoke to them in Chinese, and the man nodded and just stood there waiting. Kenji looked at me.

“My men will escort you safely home. Paris is not safe at this hour.” he informed. I tensed inwardly, not at the thought of dangers out at night, but the fact that a triads member would know where I live. I shook my head.

“I could not impose. I can take the bus.” I replied, and Kenji shook his head.

“I cannot allow that. Goodnight, Odette. I look forward to seeing you again.” he said firmly. I could tell from the command in his voice, that I shouldn’t try to convince him again. What did he mean see my again? Would he be making more appearances at the club? I just nodded.

“Goodnight, Kenji.” I replied and began to exit the room. The bodyguard followed me out quietly. The air was tense as the man led me down the hall, into the elevator, and back into the lobby. He said nothing but would raise his hand to direct me in a direction. Once we were out front, a black Lexus pulled up and he opened the back door for me to enter. Once inside, I just took note of the comfy leather seats. The driver was quiet as the same man reached back handing me a phone.

“Put in address.” he said. I definitely did not want to, but did anyways and against my better judgement, the car took off. Now I just leaned back in the seat, the Gemme Noire was slowly shrinking away. I had to forget about this night with Kenji. I had to remember that it was sex, and nothing more. He was a Triads leader for God’s sake. I doubt I’d be the only person he slept with when here. Well, I could cross sleeping with a dangerous gang leader of my bucket list that’s for sure. Once I was dropped off at my penthouse, I got out and hurried inside.

The doorman, James, nodded at me and I smiled back and entered. After getting cleaned up yet again, my head hit the pillow and I was out like a light, dreaming of another night of sexual pleasure with Traids Leader, Kenji Takahashi.

Taglist

@slippinninque

@the-fangirl-diaries

@acrystalrosebroken

#blackfemoc #smut #black female oc #ambw smut #ambw #blackfemaleoc #Rush Hour 3 #Kenji Rush Hour 3 #Kenji x BlackfemaleOC #hiroyuki sanada

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archivedtags · 3 months ago

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𝑬NTRY : 𝟎𝟎𝟏

February 1st, 2024.

Navy grabbed the handle of her Hermés Kelly bag, the brown leather gripped tightly in palm, an arm full of papers tucked underneath her opposite one. Huffing lowly as she tossed the papers onto the counter, she began to sort them repeatedly until the corners all matched one another, the edges perfectly pointed, or her brain insisted she started again. Her assistant Grace knocked on the entryway to alert her boss of her presence, "Showtime, plan for Paris leaves soon."

Her focus was drawn away from the task at hand, leaving her annoyed and slightly uneasy—but that was all in her head. Something she would think about for the rest of the day, why she couldn't get the papers perfectly, why she couldn't do it right the first time. In the back of her head she would hear her trainer, "Is this horse in control or are you, Navy? Because I'm starting to think you're just sitting up there to look pretty. Again." Clearing her throat to snap out of her own thoughts, she pulled the sunglasses down her face and sauntered towards her partner in crime, "Let's do this."

Navy's schedule:

6:00am : hot sculpt pilates.

7:00am : walk with willow.

9:00am : meetings at the atelier, fittings, treatments.

12:00pm : music video or photoshoot.

12:00-6pm : set.

6:00pm : early dinner with willow. (bring her to set, have a personal dinner with her, do learning activities.)

8:00pm : bedtime routine.

10:00pm : catch up on emails & read.

ADDITIONS.

fly to paris to meet with beyoncé about superbowl look and cowboy carter rollout.

google meetings with: oliver rousteing, tom ford, rolling stone.

meet with mugler's team to discuss archive.

Navy's fingers continued to tap at the open Macbook's keys while her assistant read her schedule out to her, nodding her head periodically to show some signs of life as opposed to the mindless staring she was doing. "I hear you, I can repeat everything back. Can you get Rya and Luca in here, B will be here any minute and I know she's going to want to go through every single option we have."

As they stood in the middle of the hotel room that was now turned into a full blown dressing room, Navy knelt down in front of the Mogul, pinching at the fabric and adding safety pins in where she felt adjustments needed to be made. A weak smile overcame her features as she admired her work. I'm perfect.. It's perfect.. She thought to herself, they're gonna love me, they're gonna love this outfit.

February 10th, 2024.

As she held her daughter to her chest, the sleeping child calming her nerves. The stylist' mother stood with her head tilted to the side and hip jutted out, "When was the last time you ate, or slept through the night, or—or just did nothing. You work nearly seven days a week, all day, and you're a mom to a nine-month old. You can't do it all." Her harshly spoken whispers were rhetorical, she knew the answer, Navy knew this song and dance, we would promise to be better; She would eat to pacify her, sleep to dream about what her next moves were, take on more projects. But, she would never stop. "I'm fine, I feel better than I ever have, don't you see, ma? I'm gonna be perfect. One day history books will call me the best stylist, the youngest one too. Willow will be proud of me, I can do it all." Soft bounces in tandem with her words as she rocked her child, cradling the full head of curls. "You always told me that second place was for losers, they'll never rate me second best again. I can't stop until I'm first."

Navy's mother knew all too well that her tough love would one day crack the young woman, but she didn't envision that all the shattered pieces would decorate her with a hunger for more, wanting to be better at the expense of herself. Then again, she was just overcompensating for the fact she could possibly never carry her own children. How can they focus on her flaws when she's outwardly.. perfect.

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togachipblog · 1 year ago

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Foreign Travel, Chips, and the Velvet Fog

In my previous career as a tax lawyer for a few very large multinational companies, I traveled extensively throughout the world. Two of my activities during the off hours (mostly weekends) were looking for non-US releases of music (before the day of the smartphone) and going to local grocery stores in search of unusual products (often spices). With respect to the latter, I learned from a former boss Jack Pepper, (his actual name; no pun intended) that the prices at the local grocery store was much cheaper than at tourist shops, and often the selection much more varied, and the local spices make great gifts to bring home.

After I morphed into the Toga Chip Guy, during my foreign travels, I still continue to visit local food markets, but focus my attention on chips.

I recently came across an article entitled "Why You Should Always Visit a Grocery Store When Traveling Abroad." The beginning of the article states:

Are you the type of person who arrives in a new destination, gets settled and heads straight to the grocery store? You're not alone. The grocery store is a great place to start any trip overseas vacation. Why? Read on to find out why you should always visit a grocery store when traveling abroad.

Try Local Specialties

Grocery stores are the go-to spot for foods you’ve probably never seen before back home. Do you want to try odd potato chip flavors?

You can read the entire article here: https://blog.seeqr.com/why-you-should-always-visit-a-grocery-store-when-traveling-abroad/.

See the photos of me looking at the chips on a trip to Italy.

ou never know what these trips to foreign stores may lead to. A good example, involved my browsing for music.

I had the great fortune to get to know Mel Torme, the Velvet Fog, most famous for writing the Christmas Song ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.")

I used to go to Marty's and other clubs in NYC to hear Mel perform. One time I was seated at the small table in Marty's at which he was standing while performing. His show was being recorded for an album. I got so carried away listening to Mel sing that I began to sing along with him. Mel knocked on the table and said "Kid, I work alone!"

When I traveled the globe for my former jobs, one of my hobbies was to visit record shops (they actually used to exist). While in Paris, I saw this Compact Disc ("CD") of the recording that night, "Mel Torme, Encore at Marty's." I was going to buy it, but balked when I found out it was $70, a lot of money back in the day. I figured I would wait to return home to the USA and find and buy it for much less.

When I returned home, I searched for the CD and couldn't find it. I called my friend, Stan, who was CEO of Tower Records and he told me it was not in Tower's Catalog. He suggested I call Concord Records for whom Mel was currently recording. Concord referred me to Dale Sheets, Mel's agent. Dale told me that Mel had never been paid for the album and that per the contract, all rights reverted back to Mel. Mel had never authorized its issuance in CD form. In short, Dale told me that if I could find the CD, it would be worth a lot to Mel. I told him I was going back to Paris for another business trip and would try to find it.

I found it in the same shop and bought two copies (one for me) and sent one to Mel via Dale. Shortly after, I received a call from Dale saying that Mel was most appreciative and wanted to do something to thank me. Dale told me Mel's schedule and one of the dates was at a convention in Orlando, FL that my wife Jessica was planning to attend. Dale arranged for us to watch Mel rehearse, set aside reserved seats in the very first row and invited us and Jessica's colleagues backstage after the performance to once again meet Mel. He autographed his autobiography "It Wasn't all Velvet" and gave me a copy.

A photo was taken of Mel and I. Upon returning home, I had it developed (we actually used to have to do this) and mailed two copies of it to Mel inside a thank you note. I wrote " I'm sure that a man of your stature receives many requests for your autograph, but since giving is more fun than receiving, I thought you would appreciate my autograph."

A week or so later, an envelope arrived back home from Mel. he had autographed the second copy, "To Alan, a great fan! Best Wishes Mel Torme." Sometime later my parents came for a visit and my Dad loved the photo and asked if we would make him a copy. We went to Kinkos to have it copied and my Dad took the copy home to Florida.

Years later, my Dad saw that Mel was going to do a concern at the Kravitz Center in West Palm Beach, FL and bought tickets to take my Mom. After the concert, my Dad tried to go backstage to meet Mel, but was stopped by a security detail. My Dad, who at times was prone to hyperbole, explained. "Mel and my son are best friends" and he took out the framed picture of Mel and me. One of the guards said, "Wait here!" and he took the photo backstage. The guard son returned and told my Dad and Mom to follow him where they took them backstage to meet Mel. Upon arrival, Mel asked "How is my dear friend Alan?" He obviously did not remember me but had read the inscription on the photo. Mel then took out the photo and wrote "To Alan's Dad." Mel Torme was a mensc,h which is a Yiddish word for a gentleman.

Enjoy Mel scat and sing Autumn Leaves from the very same album that I heard him record.

youtube

The Toga Chip Guy

#Youtube

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dameronology · 4 years ago

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you have my number {bucky barnes x reader}

summary: bucky barnes' memory is a little selective, thanks to all the brainwashing - but one thing he'll never forget is his love for you, even if you're a complete & utter pain in the ass. his ass. (based on deja vu by olivia rodigro)

^even tho this fic refers to bucky as having a new gf, the reader is still g.n :)

this is spoiler free! enjoyyy

- jazz xx

Your relationship with Bucky Barnes had been nothing short of a train wreck.

And frankly, that was putting it nicely.

It had been a short & passionate affair; intense and sweet and filled with so much emotion in such high concentrations that you'd both almost drowned in it. For every euphoric moment, there had been one so low that you'd scraped your knees on the ground. Climbing a ladder to heaven whilst simultaneously digging your own graves had taken its toll on you both, and eventually, you had no choice but to go your separate ways. It had been for your own sanity, really.

So there he was, tucked away in a neat little box in your brain, labelled don't touch, ever. Even when you were completely wasted, surrounded by your friends and their respective lovers, you never dared to venture back down that particular memory lane. Forgetting all the bad parts and selectively remembering the good parts was easy enough to do, but you had the common sense to remember why you'd broken up in the first place. Because Bucky Barnes, despite being easy on the eyes and having a charming sense of humour, was a pain in your fucking ass. He managed to press every one of your buttons without even trying and his ability to bring out the best in you was completely and entirely wiped out by his tendency to bring out the worst. That wasn't even getting started on his emotional hold-ups; a can of worms neither of you had dared to open until it became the very reason for your demise.

Six months had passed, and you'd managed to expertly avoid him. You worked different missions and Sam Wilson, god bless his sweet soul, went the extra mile to ensure your paths never crossed in a professional sense. On a personal level, however? That was a little more difficult. New York City felt a lot smaller after your break up. You found yourself occasionally ducking under your hood when you saw him on the F-train, or rushing to cross the road when you saw him coming towards you on the street.

That was when you had the whole city to lose yourself in; streets and shops and little food carts to distract yourself with should you need to. Being confined to the same room for a work party was a different story entirely, and one you didn't want to read. Yet, thanks to some insistence from your boss and a little grovelling from your colleagues, you found yourself rocking up to the former Avengers tower on a Friday night.

"So you do exist outside of your work uniform?" Sam Wilson greeted you with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah - nice to see you too, Wilson."

Despite your initial attempts to elbow him in the rips, he wrestled you off of him and pulled you into a tight hug. Sam was one of your favourite colleagues and oldest friends - he'd witnessed the rise and fall of your relationship with Bucky, and been there for you both during the break-up. That had been an exhausting few days, running between your respective apartments in an attempt to offer emotional support to you both.

"D'you want some champagne?" He asked.

"I'm good, but thank-"

You froze, eyes widening at the sight of James Barnes across the room. He looked quintessentially the same, bar for the fact his hair was a little longer and he had a fresh, pink scar under his left eye. Having ditched his usual attire for a black blazer, he looked good. Annoyingly so, in fact. It made you secretly grateful that you'd chosen to dress up a little more than usual too.

"- on second thoughts." You took the flute of champagne from Sam, also grabbing a shot of vodka from the same trey. It was gone in seconds.

"Need I ask?" Sam gave you a playful frown. His brown eyes followed your gaze over his shoulder, landing on the man you'd been staring at. "Ah. I need not."

"Sorry." You murmured. "We haven't actually spoken since, y'know."

"Since you had a break-up that made Ross and Rachel look good?"

"I don't think Bucky has ever seen Friends." You quipped.

"His loss." Sam shrugged. "You should talk to him."

"Nope." You snorted. "Absolutely not. I don't even know if he's moved on."

"Judging by the pretty blonde on his arm, I think he has," Sam replied. "Would you look at that! They're headed right for us."

That was a lot of information to process at once. You would have needed a week alone for your poor, tired brain to deal with the fact that Bucky had someone else on his arm, and a further three days to big yourself up enough to talk to him. Alas, that was not the case tonight. Instead, you had about five seconds between Sam finishing his sentence and your ex-boyfriend reaching you. It was just as well you found the energy within that timeframe to down your champagne.

You could see the woman on his arm clearer now. To give credit where credit was due, she stunning. She looked like the sort of girl who smelt of strawberries and Chanel, and grew her own vegetables on the fire escape. The kind of person you swore to be with every New Year that came, but quickly ditched after a week, returning to drinking coffee from the Starbucks under your apartment rather than going to the organic, vegan place a few blocks over. There was an ethereal glow about her and fuck. You were mad.

"Sam!" Bucky called out to his friend - for a minute, you thought he was ignoring you, before you realised he genuinely didn't recognise you. Your name rolled off his tongue with a tone of uncertainty, as though he was learning a new language and still learning how to pronounce things. "Wow. You look...different."

"So do you." You shot back. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Katie." He awkwardly smiled. "My...my girlfriend."

"It's nice to meet you." You forced an equally pained grin, taking her hand in a shake.

"How do you and Bucky know each other?" She asked.

"Work." Bucky quickly said. You thinned your eyes at him, almost in disbelief.

"So you're an Avenger like these two?" Katie asked, clearly not picking up on the tension. "That's so cool."

"Not in an official capacity." You replied. "But they'd be fucked without me."

The night only got longer from there, really.

There wasn't enough champagne in the world to help the void in your soul. It was a gaping wound that Bucky Barnes had both filled and widened - and tonight, he was doing the latter. It sounded as though him and Katie were having a grand ol' time of it. From the parts of the conversation that you'd actually bothered to listen to, you'd gathered that she'd arrived in New York from London just over three months ago. That meant she had a fucking accent. Of course she did. It made everything she said a thousand times more interesting.

"We were in Paris, in this little cafe. What was it called, babe? Maison de vie?"

"Maison de l'amour, doll." Bucky corrected her. It had only sounded right when he was calling you that.

Your eyes shot up from your drink, immediately staring daggers at them both. The slimy bastard. You had been the one to show him that place. You'd been in Paris for a mission, and after realising it was your four-month anniversary, you'd taken him there for pancakes. It had been a slow morning, filled with hazy eyes and pink skies, and it had ended with him dropping the L-bomb for the first time. The photo you'd taken of Bucky, sat beside a pile of pancakes the same size of him and with whipped cream on his chin, had been your phone background until the day you broke up.

"I've been there." You didn't break away from his gaze, holding cold blue eyes in a trance that he found to be almost suffocating.

"Oh, nice!" Katie beamed. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Yeah." You sniffed. "The company was shit, though."

"Oh, man." She replied. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's not your fault." You gave her a sweet smile - to Bucky, it was a look of venom. "So, tell me more about your trip to Paris."

He quickly cleared his throat. "We didn't do much. Just a weekend getaway-"

"- are you forgetting that we saw Billy Joel?" Katie cut him off with a laugh. "The Billy Joel!"

"Right." It looked as though his mouth had gone completely dry.

"He told me he loved me for the first time to Uptown Girl-"

"-excuse me for a moment." You shoved your glass in her hand, before backing away from your little huddle.

Your brain was focused on getting away and only on getting away. The room suddenly felt a thousand times hotter, and a thousand times smaller too, as though the walls were closing in on you. Maybe that wouldn't have been so bad if they'd just collapsed around you and swallowed you fucking whole. Anything to get away from this situation.

Making a beeline for the balcony doors, you elbowed them open and stepped outside. The cold air of the rooftop gardens was a welcome contrast to the stuffy indoors, biting, night air hitting your face like an icy hug. The sounds of the city rung below you - sirens and yells and tourists - and tangled into the faint sound of the music, all parts of a world that your brain was working overtime to block out.

You focused on the city instead, using the bright lights of the surrounding buildings to anchor you to reality. None of it really even made sense - you were over Bucky. Had been for a long time. It was just the thought of him doing all the things that he'd done with you, with someone else. It made you feel a little bad for Katie, too.

"I was going to tell you about Billy Joel."

You glanced over your shoulder, giving a derivative snort. "Piss off, Bucky."

"I'm serious." He ignored your demand, cautiously approaching you.

"I brought you those tickets!" You turned around to face him. "We were meant to go together. Billy Joel was our thing."

"We broke up!' He reminded you. "Like I said, I was going to tell you that we went together-"

"- I don't care." You cut him off. "I genuinely don't care."

"That was a lot of storming off for someone who doesn't care."

"Okay, maybe I care a little bit." You huffed, taking a seat on a bench. "It's not even that you're with someone else, it's that you're doing all the things we did. The nicknames, the pancake place, the concert."

"I..." Bucky took a seat beside you, pondering for a moment.

"And declaring your love for someone to Uptown Girl is fucking weird." You muttered.

"Do you have a better suggestion?"

"Vienna, obviously."

"You're such a pain in the ass." Bucky replied. "But for what it's worth, I wasn't thinking of Katie in that moment."

You glanced up at him, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"D'you remember that morning when we were in New Orleans?" He asked. "And we had a few hours to kill before our flight, so you started dancing around the hotel room to Uptown Girl?"

"I remember." You softly smiled.

"That was when I realised I loved you." He admitted. "I was replaying that in my head at the concert, and it just kinda came out, and Katie heard."

"Damn." You muttered. "Sucks to be her, huh?"

"I like Katie." He said. "Truth be told, doll, I'm still stuck in the past a little bit. With you, and with what we had."

"We fucking hated each other by the end, Buck."

"I know, but I mean all the stuff before that." He explained. "You were the first person who saw me for who I am and not what I've done. The first person that actually made me feel loved and worthy."

"I do try."

He lightly elbowed you "I'm serious. I think I'm just projecting my longing for what we had onto my current relationship."

"You're being painfully honest tonight." You observed. "It's fucking weird."

"Who taught me to be painfully honest?"

"Right." You rolled your eyes. "So this is how Frankenstein felt when he created his monster."

"You're the worst," Bucky muttered. "I genuinely am sorry, though. I shouldn't be recycling our memories. I should make new ones.'

Dusting off your trousers, you stood up. "You're right."

"Thank you, though."

"For what?"

"For finding me first," He replied, "and for teaching me what love is."

"Well, if you ever need to be reminded? You have my number."

#why am i low key in love with katie?#i want a tall woman who smells of strawberries :(#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes angst #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes x gn!reader #bucky barnes x y/n #avengers x reader #avengers x you #avengers fluff #avengers angst #avengers imagines #avengers imagine #marvel imagines #marvel imagine

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ohctranscripts · 2 years ago

Text

Naughty Till New Years: Seventhly, the Gift

Narrator: This is the sound of a janitor’s life at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

[Silence]

Here it is again.

[Silence]

Don’t worry, your device is not broken. There isn’t any. Sound. Not to speak of.

Julian: You know in movies when somebody says, “it’s quiet… it’s too quiet”? Yeah…

Narrator: At night, in these heavens, there isn’t so much as a harp. Perhaps this is why the janitor spends so much time eavesdropping. On Coco’s music, when he plays it in the ticket booth, and sometimes… on his conversations. Here’s one the janitor overheard just yesterday. Coco was chatting with the ticket booth clerk who was getting off duty as the tower closed for the night.

Coco: It gets uncomfortable.

Clerk: That does sound really hard. Well, thank you so much, Mr. Laurie, it really means a lot to me.

Coco: My pleasure.

Narrator: The janitor had never heard Coco talk to the ticket booth clerk before, but there was something about the ticket booth clerk’s voice that the janitor felt was nice to listen to. Unfortunately, Coco had told the ticket booth clerk about their recent run-in, and how he’s always afraid of upsetting the janitor by saying or doing the wrong thing. And this was not very nice to listen to.

Julian: First thing I said to him for real, it was “leave me alone”.

Narrator: The janitor pulls the blankets over his head. He’s in his janitor’s closet, in his cot. The janitor’s doing a lot of sleeping these days. Maybe there’s a world record he could go for!

Julian: I’m not sleeping, I’m thinking.

Narrator: Of working, perhaps?

Julian: I think there’s something I have to do.

Narrator: Yes! Clean!

[Knocking]

It’s Mr. Chouinard.

Julian: Shh.

Narrator: The janitor tries not to move… or breathe. Mr. Chouinard goes away. This isn’t the first time he’s been by.

Julian: Ah… it’s getting cold.

Narrator: The janitor takes a guilty glance at the wood-burning stove in his closet.

[Music starts]

Mr. Chouinard had put it there for him, an act of generosity from some time ago that, perhaps, the janitor’s forgotten?

Chouinard: I am putting this in right here. It will heat up zis room like an oven. You will never be cold again. It is two hundred years old, but it is ze best stove. Is beautiful. Look at it, Julian. Look. Regard, regard, Julian, regard ze stove. Ze stove is beautiful.

Julian: Yeah.

Chouinard: Julian. Give me the ‘ammer.

Julian: Here.

Chouinard: Julian, that’s not the ‘ammer.

Narrator: Yes, it was very kind of Mr. Chouinard to put the stove in, as it was to attempt to teach the janitor how to use it, and as it was for Coco to also attempt to teach him how to use it. And if any of you would like to attempt to teach him how to use it, he can be found at the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, near the top. He’ll be the one hiding under the covers, not doing any work.

Julian: I wouldn’t be a help. Everything I’ve tried to clean in my entire life has ended up dirtier. I’m not kidding.

Narrator: But you can… learn.

[Ringing]

Saved by the bell. Outside, the janitor can hear the Eiffel Tower payphone ringing. This is a very rare occurrence. Mr. Chouinard’s answering. It’s his boss on the telephone! The janitor strains to listen. We’ll go closer, as your ears are probably not as good as the janitor’s.

[High-pitched mumbling]

Chouinard: No, ze janitor exists! Really, you should see him! He is a sight for sore eyes. He is beautiful. I’ll invite you all over for dinner one night with ze family, how’s zat? And get him to clean something like… your glasses! That will show you, okay?

[Mumbling]

Of course I have ‘ired someone!

[Mumbling]

No one’s ever seen him? Uh, Coco has seen him! No, Coco is not senile.

Narrator: Maybe he shouldn’t have brought up Coco.

Chouinard: Okay, okay, no, no, no, no, I may—I may have fibbed a little about his age, heh. Just a couple of decades.

[Frantic mumbling]

No, no, no, no, ‘e will not fall, ‘e will not fall! ‘E was a tightrope walker when he was young, mm-hm! Yes, I—I know I said he was a jazz guitarist. It was in ‘alle, ‘e played ze jazz guitar on ze tightrope, ha-ha! Vaudeville in zose days, you had to do multiple things. Oh, wait, but there’s more, yeah! He used to do ze bow and arrow, and ‘e eat ze bulls-eye, very professional! Ze—zey wanted him to be a clean beret assassin, but he say no, I want to play guitar with all ze greats. But then he would—no, no, his sight, his eyesight, ze best eyesight in ze world! He can see for kilometers, better than a bunny rabbit, or, or a lemming, mm-hm.

[Mumbling]

Oui. Oui. Oui, madam. Mm-hm. Ze holiday is coming. Yes, of course, I know is—is almost Wind’s Daughter, I have children, you know, I have a calendar. Ze tower will be ready, I promise you, I promise you a million billion times! I—hello?

Narrator: Back in the janitor’s closet.

Julian: Is it really holiday time already? Oh, my god.

Narrator: This is themost important time of year for the janitor and the Eiffel Tower. Le fille du vent, or, in layman’s terms, Wind’s Daughter, is the French holiday commemorating love, comparable to our Valentine’s Day, but, being French, it’s much more complex. An occasion for all we, and goes on for six weeks. It also commemorates all kinds of love, in addition to the romantic.

[Knocking]

There is a knock at the janitor’s door. And it reminds him of another knock from long, long ago.

[Music starts, knocking]

We go to the janitor’s childhood. It’s Wind’s Daughter. He has just become aware of and begun to idolize his great-grandfather. Something large is being left at the door of the house.

[Thud]

There’s no one else home, only him.

[Door opens]

Normally, he isn’t allowed to touch packages when they come. But this…

Young Julian: It’s for me! Oh my god.

Narrator: The box is enormous. He can barely move it!

[Light grunting]

He pulls it inside, drags it through the whole of the hallway, into the living room. He hasn’t much time. If his parents come home, they won’t let him have it! He formulates a plan. He must open it now, hide its contents, and throw the box away quickly. He runs into the kitchen and grabs a knife to open the box.

[Drawer opening, silverware clinking, box being opened, Julian breathing]

Young Julian: Wow.

Narrator: The janitor is frantic. He’s got to hide it while there’s still time. The box’s contents are in pieces that require assembly. He hasn’t a moment to see what they really are. He must think quickly. He runs downstairs. He has an intimate knowledge of all the boxes in the basement that haven’t been opened in years. He opens them up now, hides their contents in various places, and replaces them with the contents of his gift! He hears a car pulling up—could it be his stepfather coming home already?

Young Julian: Where’s the tape? Where did I put the tape?

Narrator: He finds it! Frantically taping the boxes back up, he puts them back in their places! He made it! That’s his stepfather, coming through the front door now.

Young Julian: Calm down, Julian.

Narrator: It isn’t until the next day that he is able to assemble the gift and see what his great-grandfather has sent. He begins to unpack it.

It is a Wind’s Daughter tradition that the eldest member of the family gives the youngest a present, when the eldest judges the youngest old enough to understand the present they wish to give. The present represents something the eldest has found to love about the world, and it is a sort of game. The present is a hint, or a clue. And the youngest must guess from it what it is the eldest has found to love. And if the youngest guesses correctly, the eldest must provide the youngest some version of that thing.

The janitor has put the gift together, and steps back.

Young Julian: Oh my god.

Narrator: It is a tin model of the entire city of Paris, with a giant amusement park at its center. And overlooking all of this is the Eiffel Tower. He plugs it in. All of the lights in the windows and on the street lamps light up. He finds a place to pour in water to fill the Seine. And there are boats to float upon it. This becomes the janitor’s treasure.

He assembles it every day when he gets home from school, looking at it for a little while, then taking it apart before his parents get home.

It is part of the tradition that the youngest shows their gift to a friend, who may help them find the clues hidden within it. Being the janitor, he chose the only person he really knew: His bully.

And, strangely enough, he came.

Alaurie: You know how weird this is, right? Like, you inviting me here?

Narrator: The janitor doesn’t answer. He never answers. But he unpacks the tin Paris and assembles it, and Alaurie looks somewhat interested, but much more so when the janitor explains that should they hear his stepfather’s car, they must take it apart and hide it as quickly as possible.

Young Julian: [whispers] If my stepfather comes, we have to hide it, and we have to hide.

Alaurie: We have to hide? What’s he gonna do?

Narrator: The janitor explained what his stepfather usually did, and Alaurie listened with even greater interest. And then said something that would change the janitor’s life forever.

Alaurie: You should definitely run away.

Narrator: And then, they heard a car pull up.

Young Julian: No…

Alaurie: Take that part.

Narrator: Alaurie takes command.

Alaurie: Take this. Go!

Narrator: Expertly leading the janitor.

Alaurie: Okay, come on! Come on, over here!

Julian: Calm down.

Alaurie: Breathe.

Julian: Okay.

Alaurie: Alright, good. Put it behind here, behind here!

Narrator: And then, Alaurie opens the small basement window and begins crawling through it.

Alaurie: Go, go, come on!

Narrator: But Julian stands frozen on the spot and does not follow!

Alaurie: Come through here! What’s wrong with you?

Narrator: Once through, Alaurie turns and reaches back into the window and, grabbing the janitor by the shoulders, begins pulling him through it!

Alaurie: Come on, come on!

Narrator: But once the janitor is through, he freezes again! The janitor’s stepfather is coming around from the front of the house!

Alaurie: You’re gonna let Mutant Man catch you? Come on!

Narrator: Alaurie pulls at Julian!

Alaurie: He’s coming!

Julian: He’s seen me, he’ll kill me.

Alaurie: You’re such a wuss!

Narrator: And the janitor watches Alaurie run off.

Turning the corner, the janitor’s stepfather’s tripped…

[Falling noise, coughing, groaning]

…injuring his back and finding himself in the hospital. He did not return for two days. We will return in just a moment.

[Music]

[Christy Gressman break]

[Music]

Narrator: We return to find the janitor in his cot where he is startled out of his reverie by the knocking that caused it.

[Knocking]

Mr. Chouinard is outside his door.

Chouinard: Julian. Julian, please. I beg you. Okay, I’ve cleaned up a bit around ze tower, um, but I don’t have time. I have got to go ‘ome. Julian, ze schoolchildren, zey make up ze decorations for Wind’s Daughter, for ze Eiffel Tower, every year. Is very important. Zey are downstairs in ze giant crane, Julian, if you can hear me, can you please, can you hang zem up for me, Julian, please? And ze holiday is coming soon, and we’ve got to get them up, okay, Julian? Okay, please, Julian, please, really. Okay.

[Footsteps]

Narrator: Mr. Chouinard goes off.

The janitor’s… rising! He’s—he’s getting out of bed!

Julian: Oh, come on. I do want to help.

Narrator: He’s gone to the closet door. He’s waiting until he’s sure that Mr. Chouinard is gone. He—he goes out! Twenty minutes later, we find him on the upper observation deck with his arms full of strings of white paper decorations. So… are you going to put them on the observation deck first?

Julian: I’m gonna put them up there.

Narrator: But you can’t scale the tower with your arms full of decorations!

Julian: Think about how beautiful it’ll look. Come on.

Narrator: The janitor steps over the railing and begins climbing out and up towards the top of the tower!

[Echoing footsteps]

Once up, he works diligently, climbing from girder to girder, stringing them up until, slowly, it begins to take form.

[Jullian sighs]

Julian: It looks beautiful.

Narrator: It does look beautiful.

[Thunderclap]

Suddenly, there’s a clap of thunder much too close!

[Louder thunderclap, rain]

Out of nowhere, icy cold rain pours out of the sky!

[Julian groans]

The decorations in his hands are getting tangled up! He slips! He’s lost his footing! He’s hanging on by the string of decorations!

[Thunder, continuous now]

He’s regained his footing. He tries to untangle the decorations, but he can’t do it! It’s too dangerous. He’s got to climb down!

[Echoing footsteps]

He’s getting around… he’s made the observation deck. He jumps down, runs to his closet, and slams the door behind him!

[Rain suddenly stops]

The janitor’s shoes are soaked, his pants, his socks, everything. He’s never been so cold in his entire life. He can’t stop shivering. The janitor peels off his wet clothing and, covering himself with what dry things he has, climbs into his cot and makes it wet, too.

It’s just so cold. He shoots a pathetic look at his stove.

Julian: I have no idea how to do it.

Narrator: He has to try. Wrapping himself in his covers and shivering as he climbs off his bed, down to his knees, he opens the stove door. The janitor’s shivering too hard, he can’t breathe. You’re having a panic attack. Calm down, calm down. Mr. Chouinard left you supplies. Look. There are some matches.

[Match strikes]

He lights a bit of newspaper, places it in, and moves the coals around. And as he does so, the coals striking the metal side [ding] make a beautiful sound that captures his attention. He stirs the coal some more, purposefully banging them against the side of the stove, trying to make that sound again.

[Ding, twice]

And he does! This time, two chords sound. Forgetting all about the fire, the janitor stirs the coals more.

[Multiple chords, dinging]

And more. Until…

[Music]

The janitor stares into the mouth of the stove from which the music comes. And the music keeps going without him. Because the music is real. And the janitor takes a nice, deep breath. You see, it was… it was so exactly like something he’d imagined, at first he was sure he was imagining it. And then, he falls back and he seeks no explanation. He can imagine none other than what he was experiencing was a miracle.

[Music stops, rain pattering]

And as the music suddenly stopped dead, he listened to the silence it left behind it. He felt as if his whole little room had grown warm. And indeed it had. The stove was lit.

He closes his eyes.

[Chord, rain pattering]

And now, he is asleep.

[Music starts up again]

In his dream, he sees stagehands Jacques and Francois with crew carpenter Margot hanging decorations in the lobby of the Broadcast Ballroom, hurrying to finish before the crowd lets out.

Margot: Up there?

Francois: That’s lovely.

Jacques: You know, that looks nice, I’m sure, I’ve gotta say I’m proud of us.

Margot: It’s comin’ together faster than I thought it would.

Jacques: But, uh…

Francois: What’s that thing in the corner?

Margot: Well, we can take that down, if it doesn’t work.

Francois: No, I—it kinda, it kinda looks nice. Uh-oh. Sounds like the crowd’s gonna be clearin’ out soon.

Margot: Well, I’ll have to do—

Francois: Hey, Jacques, what are you doin’ over there by the popcorn?

Jacques: What, they’re gonna throw it out! It’s fine.

Francois: Come on.

Jacques: Oh my god, it’s so good though. Oh. Mmm.

Francois: Really?

Margot: Come on, I can’t move it by myself.

Jacques: Oh my god.

[Jacques and Francois eating popcorn, happy, all overlapping now]

Margot: Just get over here, it’ll only take a minute, I haven’t got time! What are you on about?

Jacques: What is the deal? Oh my god! Oh. Who made this?

Margot: That’s marvelous.

[Eating popcorn]

Francois: Oh, hallelujah.

Jacques: It’s so good.

Francois: Why is it so good?

Pierre: Uh, guys, guys what are you doing? They’re gonna come in here.

Francois: Nothin’. Just, just come over here, you gotta try this.

Margot: It’s wonderful.

Francois: Just try one kernel. Change your life.

Pierre: Oh my god.

Margot: I can’t put my finger on it, but…

Pierre: Oh my god.

Francois: It’s magical.

Lily: Hey, what y’all doin’?

Pierre: Incredible!

Lily: People gettin’ ready to come out.

Francois: Just have a little bit of popcorn.

Margot: It’s like—

Jacques: It’s amazing.

Lily: This is serious.

Laeticia: Hey, what are you doing?

Francois: Nothin’.

Laeticia: There’s a ladder. There’s a ladder here, you’re eating popcorn! We have two minutes, ze crowd comes, uh?

Francois: Two minutes!

[Overlapping voices]

Laeticia: What is that? Oh, my, it smells so good.

Francois: Just try it, Laeticia.

Laeticia: It does smell good.

Pierre: Yeah, try it.

[Eating popcorn]

Laeticia: Zat is ze best popcorn I have ever had!

Lily: That’s what I’m sayin’.

Pierre: Uh-huh.

Jacques: What is goin’ on?

Laeticia: It is so—

Pierre: It feels like dreams in my mouth!

Laeticia: [Mouth full] Yeah, is like a dream in my mouth. Okay, okay, you know what?

Francois: I think they—

Laeticia: We’re going to take this for us. We’re going to take it for us.

Pierre: …butter…

Laeticia: Put it in your satchel, uh?

Pierre: Why?

Laeticia: Put it in your—because we’re going to eat it, we’re going to take it.

Francois: We take it with us?

Laeticia: We can’t eat in front of ze audience.

Jacques: I’m takin’ it. Put it in here.

Laeticia: Carry it.

[Apprehensive noises]

Laeticia: No, no, quiet, quiet!

[Shushing]

Francois: Let’s make a break for it.

Laeticia: Grab ze ladder!

[Ding]

#tohc #ohc #tohcota #ohcota #transcript

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jaedore · 4 years ago

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BINDING BONDS | 9

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parings: jung jaehyun x reader

genre: ceo!au, arranged marriage!au, angst, consumption of alcohol, asshole/player Jaehyun, swearing, smut

[ ☽ smut (unprotected sex-always use protection!!, oral (giving) | ◇ angst (from Jaehyun’s father- verbal abuse, belittling, hostile, swearing) | ☼ fluff ]

note: BB deals with themes of mental and physical abuse, which can be upsetting for some readers. If you feel uncomfortable reading these types of plots, you are advised to not continue. MINORS, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK, but I advise you to skip the sexual parts.

[ 12 k words ]

The sun is setting and calm music reverberates throughout your office as you turn on the music. It’s time to go home so your mother bids you a farewell for the night, the clicking of her heels fade away until you’re alone in the silent abyss. You’ve been unable to think throughout the entire day since your mind was occupied solely on Jaehyun, even the 4 meetings you attended today, you couldn’t even remember what they were about.

Just as you’re about to collect yourself for the night, a knock at the door echoes through your office leaving you to wonder who could possibly be here at this time when you’re about to leave. All you wanted to do was to go home and be with Jaehyun.

“Come in,” you sigh, your voice a little impatient as you continue to pack your belongings.

Loud steps reverberated from the sounds of their shoes, ringing throughout the hollow room, “I would’ve barged in if you kept me waiting any longer,” the voice sang.

You look at the owner of the voice and can’t help but gleam, the corners of your lips instantly uplifting, “Why didn’t you?”

“Because that’d be rude, especially if you were speaking to someone,” Jaehyun chuckles.

“Well I wasn’t, so the room is yours, Mr. Jung,” you bring your arms around his neck as he strides to your side.

“Oh?” he furrows his brow as he pokes his tongue inside his mouth, “are you trying to imply something suggestive, Miss y/l/n?” Jaehyun wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to his body.

“Of course not, I’m being completely professional,” you tease. You bring your fingers to loosen his tie and you slightly chuckle because you just wanted to have a little fun, “but is it working?” you playfully whisper.

Jaehyun grins, a small breath of mint air releasing from his lips, “If I were to be honest…” he comes closer to you until his lips are just grazing the surface of yours, “it is.” he smirks.

You pull him in for a kiss and it’s sensual, slow, just how you like it. It’s only been 8 hours since you’ve seen him but how come it felt like months? It’s true that you two couldn’t get enough of each other, any moment you had, you were wrapped with his limbs or your lips would be harmonizing.

The well-known shape of his lips that sculpted perfectly with yours brought you warmth, your cheeks heating up like it was your first time kissing him, like being sent to Cloud 9. With Jaehyun’s hands on your waist, he briskly lifts you up until you’re sitting on his desk and lifts your legs until they’re wrapped around his torso. Before your kiss could become heavier, another knock at your door rang through the heavy breaths. You ignore it thinking that you’re just hearing things, but when the sound comes again you exhale tense breath.

“Who’s there?” You push yourself from his body, but his lips are occupied as it pecks your neck, nuzzling his lips where it meets your shoulder.

“It’s me,” it’s a quiet voice, but it’s immediately recognizable, freezing you both.

“Is that-” Jaehyun’s voice rises in question and you nod, quietly jumping from your desk and buttoning your blouse you didn’t realize was unbutton, until the cold air hit your chest.

Jaehyun pulls himself together, tightening his tie and straightening his button-front shirt. He watches your back as you open the door and welcome the person in.

“Oh, Jaehyun. You’re here,” Chaeyoung’s eyes widened in distress, clearly not expecting him, but you could tell at the same time she felt ashamed.

Jaehyun adverts his gaze somewhere else, afraid that if he looked at her, she’d be disturbed from his intimidating, bitter glare, “Yeah,” he clears his throat, “I’m here to pick y/n up.”

“I-I can come back tomorrow.” Chaeyoung turns to you, her hands clasping together tightly.

“No, it’s okay,” you slightly smile and turn your head to Jaehyun. As you walk to him, you mouth, “wait for me out at the door,” hopefully, he’d understand that this is a private conversation just between you and her.

Jaehyun inhales a sharp breath, holding his composure as best as he could and nods. He squeezes your hand before sneaking off to the front of the door, patiently waiting for you. You give your attention to Chaeyoung as you sit in your seat while she sets herself in the chair across it. You already know what this conversation is about, you just weren’t expecting it to hear it so soon.

“I’m sorry,” she began, “I really didn’t intend on going to Jaehyun’s office to try and win him back.” Chaeyoung looked at you as if she was asking permission if it was okay to presume. “My emotions just took over and I don’t know what came over me, but I just miss him so much.”

“So you kissed him?” your eyes narrowed but immediately relaxed, you weren’t trying to act threatening or superior, even if you were her boss. You were just intrigued and a little agitated at her actions.

“I’m so sorry,” her voice broke as her hands fell on her lap, “I truly am. As I said, my emotions just took over me and I just- I just kissed him. It was a mistake and I regret it. I regret all of it. He loves you, he genuinely does and I can see that. I don’t want to take that away from both of you. Especially him.”

You hesitate before responding. If you were to forgive her, would that just give her another opportunity to manipulate you? Maybe not everyone’s trying to manipulate you. You think to yourself. “I forgive you,” you authentically meant it, you understand her feelings and where she was coming from. You just hoped that it’d never happen again.

Chaeyoung looks at you wide-eyed, not expecting you to forgive her right away. All your life, you’ve had trouble trusting people and accepting their apologies, but her apology sounded genuine like it was coming from the bottom of her heart.

“Does this mean I’m not fired?”

You laugh at her question, shaking your head, “this is personal business and has nothing to do with work. You’re an excellent designer, there’s no way I’m going to let you go.”

She immediately stands up and bows eagerly at you repeating to you how thankful she is as she quickly backs away, “have a wonderful night, Miss, y/l/n!”

“You too,” you call out to her, following her to the door and watching her figure close through the elevator doors. She’s always so eager after talking to you but always rushes to leave your office, you don’t know how to comprehend her personality.

“What was that?” Jaehyun asked.

“She apologized to me about the other day when she came into your office.”

Jaehyun glanced at you and then back at her, worrying if everything was genuine and true coming from Chaeyoung, “she did?”

You nodded and grabbed his hand to drag him to the car. You were restless to head home and strip into your pj's to sleep, work had overdone you no matter how much your mind was occupied with Jaehyun.

“Long day at work today?” He held your hand as you two entered the elevator.

“Yeah, we just got approval to promote our new collection internationally,” you replied, “so now, I’ll probably be busy with interviews and traveling back and forth.”

“Oh,” you could sense that Jaehyun was probably upset that there’s a possibility of you being gone, but you turned towards him and locked your arms around his neck.

“Wanna come with?”

“Sounds tempting,” Jaehyun chuckles as his hands sit on your waist, “but where?”

“You could come with me when I go to Paris next month...or the month after that,” you smile, hoping that it was convincing enough.

“Paris? Why Paris? And twice?” Jaehyun’s brows furrowed, his head slightly angling back to glance at you.

“Yeah, I have to go and prepare for Paris Fashion Week that takes place in the fall.” You pull away from him as the elevator doors open and you two step out into the parking garage.

“Yeah, I’ll ask off now then, so I can go both times.”

“Yay! Perfect!” You beam, clutching his arm. You were ecstatic to explore one of the most romantic cities in the world with the man you love. To spend time with him, see the Eiffel Tower, go to the cafe shops, and to shop in the capital of fashion. It’s your favorite time in the year despite how busy you were.

Throughout the week, Jaehyun and you planned out exactly what you were going to do with your old room since you were moving into the master bedroom with him. You two went out to try to buy a whole new mattress that both of you liked, but you were a little too picky.

“How about this one?” Jaehyun sat on one of the mattresses in front of you, tiredness weighing his eyes.

You sat down next to him, slightly jumping just to feel the softness. You loved your soft bed, it gave you a lot of comfort that you just got used to over a few years. You always had a hard time sleeping in hotels, so you always avoided overnight trips, “hmmm,” you purse your lips to the side, “no this one is too hard,” you whisper as you stand up, fixated on other mattresses.

“We’ve been in here for an hour. There’s one you must like,” Jaehyun dragged his feet to catch up with you.

“Let’s go check out another store, hm?” you suggested, clutching onto his arm.

“Okay okay, this is the last one for today though.”

“Okay. I’m sorry,” you pouted, “I just need to find the perfect one. I need to be able to sleep at night.”

“What about my bed? Why can’t we just keep my mattress?”

You hesitantly shook your head, “Promise you won’t make fun of me?”

“I would never,” Jaehyun replied, forehead creasing.

“It has too much history. I want this to symbolize something new to start for our memories.” You shifted your gaze between the ground and his shoes, anxious swallowing your breath. There was a pause between you two and you were afraid that maybe you were just being too cheesy, that he isn’t as romantic as he seemed.

“I agree,” Jaehyun lifted your chin with his hand, “come on,” he grabbed your hand as you two made your way to his car. “But wait-”

“What?” You looked at him, suddenly a little alarmed that you said something that threw him off.

“You didn’t complain all those times when you slept with me though,” Jaehyun teased, a grin stretching his lips, “especially after se-”

You gently shoved him away from you, “Oh shut up,” you scoffed as you ran to the car.

“Hey!”

You both plop onto the bed, completely breathless. It took you two an entire 30 minutes to get the mattress up to your new shared bedroom. You were horrible at navigating it, but Jaehyun was patient enough even if he had the heavier end of it.

“How about we just take a nap?” Jaehyun proposed, bringing an arm across your waist to cling closer to you.

“What about the bedsheets?” you laugh. You’re about to remove his arm but he whines in your chest and shakes your body from preventing you from moving.

“You worked hard today, baby. You deserve a nap after packing, unpacking your things, and getting our room ready.” Jaehyun pecks your neck.

“Maybe I do,” you softly whisper as he nuzzles his face in your neck, giving it a deeper kiss.

You two stayed like that for a while, with Jaehyun’s lips on your neck, kissing it, marking it while your lids got heavier from the weight of his limbs and hypnotic kisses.

You were on the brink of falling asleep when you hear Jaehyun murmuring, “I love you y/n.”

When you wake up, Jaehyun isn’t by your side and you jerk up until you’re off the bed, head darting back and forth, looking for your phone in case he texted you. Nothing. You blink, observing the area around you and it’s like how you left it before you fell asleep. Opened and unopened boxes sat on the ground, bedsheets were still in their packaging, and all the windows were shut, with only the sun setting.

“Jaehyun?” You called for him but received no answer and you call him again and again as you search the house. Silence. You pull out your phone to only be automatically sent to voicemail. That’s weird, he usually picks up my calls...but you shrug it off, knowing he’ll return home. For the next hour, you distract yourself by putting on the covers of the bed, setting it up for tonight, and unpacking your clothes to fit into the closet.

After an hour, you plopped on the bed satisfied with what you got done today, almost everything of yours was unpacked. The only thing left to do was to just figure out what side you wanted. Just as you were about to lay down, you hear the click of the door to your apartment and you peak out of the master bedroom to see if Jaehyun was finally home.

The man himself prances in with a plastic bag in one hand with the other holding onto a box of fried chicken. You suspect the plastic bag is filled with bottles of soju from hearing the clanking of the bottles against each other and seeing the faded green color of the bottles behind the plastic.

“Jaehyun!” you’re giddy as you open the door to reveal yourself and walk up to help him.

“You’re awake! I thought you’d still be asleep, I wanted to wake you up.” Jaehyun handed you the fried chicken as you both made your way to the living room coffee table.

It sat warm in your hands so you were quick to set it on the transparent surface, watching it steam and create a fog on the glass, “what’s all this?” you asked as he sat next to you, taking out the soju bottles.

“Well, I figured that we deserved a treat. A normal treat, without all the champagne and expensive dinner bills,” a chuckle rose from his chest, “it’s fried chicken and soju!” you could tell he was hungry from the excitement of pointing between the two items.

You both chomp into the fried chicken as you pair it with soju. The night is exchanged with laughs and tears of joy, especially when Jaehyun decides to turn on the music and have a tiny party with just the two of you. He pretends it’s the first time you’re meeting him and it’s love at first sight. It’s badly cheesy and would usually make you cringe, but as he acts over the top, you couldn’t help but hold onto your stomach as you fall on your butt.

For a sliver of a moment, the scenario almost drives you into tears because your first meeting was far from this, exchange curses, spilled drinks, and forced marriage, nothing was like the fantasy your minds illustrated. You didn’t want to be emotional and ruin the moment, so you stuffed it down your mind, plus you were happy. Truly happy.

“That was so much fun,” Jaehyun lets out a dragged out laugh as he sits next to you, who’s also laughing at his funny dance moves at his impression of trying to impress you.

“That was hilarious,” you reply, coming down from the high. “Hey,”

Jaehyun turns his attention to you, his eyes solely on you, and his ears tuned to your voice, he hums and listens to you but everything that comes out of your mouth is neglected. He’s so entranced in you at this moment, the crinkle in your smile, the uplifting corners of your lips when you smile as you speak, the sparkle in your eye whenever you dart them everywhere, and the sound of your voice has Jaehyun completely intoxicated. Jaehyun only realizes that you finished your sentence when he sees that your lips stopped moving and you’re giving him an interesting look.

“Hm? What’d you say?”

“Silly goose, I said ‘thank you for this. I love you.’” You reply. Maybe it was the soju or maybe you were just tired, but you just yearned for his touch, his warmth. You leaned your head against Jaehyun’s shoulder when he returned those adoring three words.

“Come on, let’s get to bed,” he scoops you into his arms and carries you to your new shared bed.

Almost everything was set, except for a few decorations you were gonna add, but Jaehyun felt content. It was like you were settling a new life with him and he couldn’t help but giggle to himself. You poke his dimples and ask him what he finds funny, but he just kisses your forehead as he carefully sets you down, telling you not to worry about it.

The two of you quickly fell asleep, the alcohol fading out and the physical tiredness settling into the muscles. You sneakily opened an eye to check on Jaehyun, it was easy to spot out his face through the darkness. You ran your hand through his features, starting at the cute point of his nose, up to his bold yet innocent eyebrows, trailing them down to the hills of his cheekbones, the puffiness of his cheeks, and down to those lips of his. The lips that felt like they were created for yours every time you two kissed. Before sleep lulled you away, you reached for his lips, giving him the softest kiss but as you were about to pull away, Jaehyun wrapped his arms around you and continued kissing you until the midnight hours reached both of your eyes.

The next few weeks came closer than you thought and soon you were on the plane to Paris. Jaehyun was knocked out beside you and it’s only been 5 hours into the flight...7 more to go, you sigh to yourself as you attempt to get some hours in. Your sleep schedule was definitely messed up because of the different time zones, but you hoped the darkness that pooled the sky was enough to fool your body to fall asleep.

“Y/n, y/n,”

You woke up to the feeling of your body shaking from a hand on your shoulder. Before opening your eyes, you wacked Jaehyun away, not wanting to open your eyes. You murmured him to stop but he didn’t because he began to start pecking kisses at your face.

“We’re here in Paris, baby,” he whispered, smoothing your neck.

You sighed because it was definitely suggestive, “Jaehyun stop, must you always find time to have sex?”

“I can’t help it, especially when we’re in the city of love,” Jaehyun sang, you knew he was smiling like a fool against your neck, “wake up and look.”

You rubbed your eyes awake and saw the peak of the Eiffel Tower poking through the clouds. A smile grew on your face, finally being back in your favorite city brought back nostalgia. And now that Jaehyun was here with you, it made you feel all happy and giddy.

“Shall we go explore the city? It’s only noon here,” Jaehyun checked his watch.

“I’m a little tired, can we just go to the hotel and sleep for a bit? I didn’t sleep well on the way here.”

“Of course, anything for you.” Jaehyun smiles as you two step out of the airport hand in hand, “we’ve got a whole week here.”

You two easily spotted your driver and headed to the hotel, “Four Seasons Hotel George V, please,” you call to the diver.

As soon as you and Jaehyun got to your room, both of you stripped down into nothing and climbed into bed together. It wasn’t usual for you two to sleep naked together, especially if you weren’t being intimate before it, but you desperately just needed to get out of the clothes that you sat in for 12 hours. Plus, you didn't want to dig into your suitcase to find your pajamas.

You’re not sure how long you two have been asleep but when you woke up, the moon shined its light through the curtains of your windows. You turned to Jaehyun whose arms were still wrapped around you and legs tangled with yours. He’s so beautiful. You stroke your hand through his soft hair, eliciting a soft sigh from him. To this day, it hurts your heart how dark of a past he had, how scarred he must’ve been as a child growing up. Jaehyun must’ve felt you shifting around making him open his eyes from his short slumber.

“Hey,” you greeted him with soft eyes.

“Hi,” he smiled, bringing you closer to his body.

“Did you still want to go explore? It’s dark out, but there’s a lot we can still do,” you suggest.

“I don’t care,” Jaehyun sighs, “as long as I’m with you.” he pecks the top of your head.

You glance up at him, but he’s already looking down at you with adoration in his eyes. You chuckle at his flirty comment and push yourself to get dressed. Meanwhile, Jaehyun watches you from the bed, obviously enjoying the view with his hands behind his head. You watch him watching you, holding eye contact as you slip on every single clothing slowly. The tempo driving Jaehyun insane, but he didn’t mind indulging in the view in front of him.

“If you keep that up, we won’t be able to go anywhere at this rate.” Jaehyun sucks in his bottom lip, preventing himself from becoming hard.

“What if that’s exactly what I’m trying to do?” you reply, slowly crawling up to him.

“Then it’s working,” Jaehyun breathes, but you’re quick to pull away teasingly and walk into the bathroom, slowly shutting the bathroom door behind you.

“Get ready loverboy!” You call from the sink as you shake your head. Oh boy, this is gonna be an adventurous trip.

The moonlight shines perfectly on your face as your hair comfortably flows behind your face. You hold a glass of wine against the tips of your fingers as your body leans against the edge of the wall with Jaehyun standing next to you as you stop to admire the view in front of you. The Seine River reflects the light of the city back to you, the tuned out conversations of others walking by, and the cool breeze of the Paris wind makes the moment perfect for Jaehyun. He thinks you look absolutely charming, like the view of when someone finds their true love.

“Look at the river, it’s so beautiful,” you giggle, you knew he was watching you, but the river in front of him was much better. How could you not be in the moment and view such scenery like this?

“But I think you’re more beautiful,” Jaehyun smiles, his eyes crinkling at his own compliment.

“Oh stop it! I hate it when you do that,” you scoff. Truth be told, you didn’t actually hate it. You absolutely love it when he compliments and teases you, you just don’t know how to take it.

“It’s true,” Jaehyun takes a sip of his wine and continues glancing at you every once in a while. This is going to be a fun trip, he laughs to himself.

“Shall we get back? We have to be at the studio pretty early tomorrow,” you finish the remaining red liquid in your glass.

Jaehyun laughs at your tolerance to carelessly down the drink but nods as he does the same before following you back to the hotel. You aren’t in a rush to get back though, you take your time walking through the streets of Paris, it’s not like you were here every month. The City of Love and the City of Fashion, what a moment to cherish with your love by your side.

“I love you,” you say to Jaehyun. You weren’t usually the one to say it, but when you do, you do it at the best moments where you feel content.

Jaehyun returns the words like music to your ears and kisses your temple, bringing his hands around your hip to bring you closer to him. The street lights bring a gold color to your faces as the music of the streets streams into your ears. You couldn’t be happier.

The next day in the studio, Jaehyun follows you around like a lost puppy. He’s very well known in the fashion industry because of his suave looks and dapper style, but he does not know the underlying industry of it. So, whenever inspiration strikes in your head, you’re quick to run to Jaehyun to try it on him.

You’re given a quick layout of the runway, making sure the length of it will give the audience enough time to admire Audace’s work and a tour of the studio where work will be done. After, you’re given the models profiles that will be walking the show and designate them to the appropriate outfit you see fit.

“Can I help?” Jaehyun chirps beside you. To be honest, you completely forgot that Jaehyun was next to you, you were so immersed in your work.

“Of course, just pair some of the models with the outfits you think will match them,” you nod the pile of pictures to him then go back to your work.

Jaehyun does as you say, subtly glancing at you to make sure he was doing this right. You would occasionally let out huffs here and there to express your frustration, every model looked the same. Blond hair, skinny, and tall. You abruptly stood up, earning looks from other designers, collecting some pictures from your piles and Jaehyun’s, and rushed to the person in charge of hiring them.

Jaehyun sat in his seat, giving the fellow people nods of apologies and followed after you. He stopped when he heard your firm voice from the door.

“These models all look the same,” you threw the file of remaining pictures to the man in front of you, crossing your arms instantly after.

“So?” The inconsiderate man cocked up an eyebrow, not bothering to greet you.

“I’m pretty sure that my company along with others, has pillars of diversity. This doesn’t show the world what we strive upon. Every single model looks the same.”

With a thick accent, retorted, “Well here, in Paris,-” he emphasized, “-we are the ones that hire the models. If you don’t like it, you’re more than welcome to drop your collection from the show.” the man crossed his arms.

You tilted your head back, scoffing at his foolish offer. Clearly, he didn’t know who you were. The founders of Paris Fashion week were calling, emailing, begging you to present your collection in their show and this man thinks that you can just drop out?

“I have no idea who you are, so your collection must not be that important,” the rude man grabbed his glasses to clean it on his shirt, clearly to signify that this conversation meant nothing to him.

Before you could speak up, Jaehyun snuck behind you and grabbed your arm, but you yanked it away. You were heated that this man thinks that you didn’t work your blood and sweat to get where you were and then to be beaten down because the hiring manager failed to uphold one of the most important aspects of not only your company but millions in the fashion industry. Several others that were going to present their collection, either have diversity in their company or strive for it. How come it was so hard for a show to reach that?

“Y/n, please. You’ve been working hard for this,” Jaehyun whispered in your ear, grabbing hold onto your arm again.

You were stubborn and you stood your ground with your chin held up high. You weren’t trying to be cocky, just trying to give this ignorant man a piece of your mind. But even your mind was battling between dropping out or continuing this because Jaehyun’s right. You have been working so hard for this moment, although this bends your values.

“Fine. Once you do find out who I am, just know that you won’t be in the same position next year,” you sigh, letting Jaehyun drag you away from the man’s office. You figured you’d talk to the members of the head founder anyways.

“Let go of me,” you pulled yourself from Jaehyun’s grasp, he looked at you surprised at your change in demeanor.

“I’m sorry if you’re mad, but you’ve been working day to night to get ready for this. Don’t let the looks of a model bring it down.” Jaehyun rubbed your arm.

You walked away from him, setting yourself propped up on your elbows on the table, “you don’t get it Jaehyun.”

“Then tell me so I understand.”

“These models all look the same,” you pointed to the remaining pictures you forgot to include into the file, “there’s no...flavor. Look,” you grabbed a few, “they all have blond hair, blue or brown eyes, same body structure. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all so beautiful in their own way. But Audace is different from all the other brands, I strive for a variety.”

“Y/n, this is a fashion show. You’re here to present the clothes that you made. Who cares if the models look the same? They probably chose them because they wanted the clothes to stand out. Your collection is so rare that you don’t even need models,” Jaehyun comforted you, bringing his hand to your cheek.

His touch wondrously calmed you down, making you inhale a deep breath before speaking, “I know, I just wish there were more diverse people in this show. You know, like, curly hair, brown hair, black hair, models with bigger hips, shorter legs. Just something that’s not like this-it’s been like this the past few years. I just want to make a difference.” You leaned into his touch.

“I know. But with that little spiel back there, I’m sure you sparked something new that’ll start,” he smiled at you, pressing a reassuring kiss to your forehead.

“I don’t know about that,” you sighed, turning your attention back to pairing the models with your outfits.

The first week in Paris was always the busiest, it’s the first week where you have to build the foundation of the show, as in establishing the order of outfits, pairing who with what, and navigating the work process of the show. It’s like you could never catch a break, but now with Jaehyun at your side, he always made sure you were taking breaks, eating, and staying hydrated. He’d usually be with you, but sometimes he’d go out and explore the city.

You were a little frustrated because you didn’t have that much time, so throughout the week, you made sure to show him your favorite monuments. Right after you come back from the studio, Jaehyun would always be excited to see you walk into the hotel room. He’d occupy himself with coffee or watching tv, but usually, you’d find him sitting out on the balcony, admiring the view of Paris. You two had the luxury of having one of the best views of the Eiffel Tower sitting right out your window.

At the beginning of the week, you took Jaehyun to the Arc De Triomphe and to the Palais de Louvre at night, making sure to get plenty of pictures. Then on Wednesday, you took him to try some wine at your favorite winery in the hills of the countryside, which of course resulted in you two to become a little tipsy and a little suggestive with each other. You got some wholesome pictures of Jaehyun too, some you’d use to make fun of him for. You also made sure to take him to the Luxembourg Palace, seeing how well he’d fit with royalty. Which he fit perfectly with.

The week was filled with pizza, pasta, wine, and pastries, and now here you were, sitting in the studio on a Friday evening, a little upset that you were heading home on Sunday. Jaehyun was quick to startle you, making you jump a bit when you were double-checking the mannequin and you jokingly slap his arm for distracting you from your work. You were almost done and all you wanted to do was to bask in the Paris air.

“Y/n?” A middle-aged slicked-back blond hair woman with a tablet walked up to you.

“Yes?”

“Someone would like to speak to you,” she replied, fixing her glasses.

“Who, may I ask?” You raised a brow.

She cleared her throat before speaking like it was a secret, “The president of the French Fashion Federation.”

“Oh,” your eyes widened and you quickly felt nervous settling into your blood, what did they want to talk about? Was it because of what I said to the hiring manager at the beginning of the week? Probably.

“Don’t worry, it’s probably something that’s not bad,” Jaehyun reassured you, but that didn’t change the fact that you were still nervous in talking to the founder of Paris Fashion Week.

You nodded back to Jaehyun as you followed the woman. Just as he was about to wave, he received a call from his father. With his mind reminding him to be patient, Jaehyun accepted his father’s call, anxious to know what this call is about.

“Hello?”

“Where are you? Where have you been? I need to back this instant!” His father shouts from the other line and Jaehyun pries his phone from his ears, the loudness ringing through them.

Until he knows his father isn’t yelling again, Jaehyun calmly responds, “I’m in Paris with y/n father.”

“How come it wasn’t brought to my attention that you were going to be gone for a week?” his father booms, clearly frustrated from the miscommunication.

“I asked off about a month ago, you know that. It’s been on the calendar. I’ve also told you and mother about this several times.”

“So in the time that we need to seal a deal, you’re off having fun and fucking around in Paris?” His father retorts.

“No, you know that she’s here to prepare for Paris Fashion Week in the fall, father.”

“I don’t give a living shit about her. You shouldn’t either.” his father begins, “Because you’re only married to her for business, you think this is all happy and fairytale-like? That everything’s all lovey-dovey just because you’re married upon a contract? No, I bet she doesn’t love you, she probably hates you because of you who are. A dirty, scathing, slug who only clings to the Jung name. Get your head out of your ass and get back home by Sunday,” he spats.

Jaehyun doesn’t give his father an answer or bids him goodbye. He felt sick to his stomach, a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time since he was a child, and knew that he needed to go back to the hotel room before he hurled his lunch out.

The lady leads you to a luxurious office that overlooks the city of Paris. Like your office, the windows reached from the floor to the ceiling. A woman around the same age as the lady that led you to the office sat in the office chair facing the window behind her, she swiftly turned around once she heard your footsteps.

“Hello,” you bowed to her.

“Good afternoon, come sit.” She greeted you with a smile.

You did as you said and sat in one of the available chairs in front of her desk, you crossed your legs and waited for her to begin, but she didn’t. The woman remained in her seat, staring at you as you bounced your leg, immediately stopping to show any signs of nervousness.

“Is there a reason why you called for me?” You carefully asked.

“There has been a lot of word about your little banter with our hiring manager,” she tilted her head, a tiny smile growing on her face.

“Oh yes, about that, I deeply apolog-”

“Don’t worry about it. You were right,” she removed her glasses, gently tossing them off to the side, “we are failing the fashion industry by not providing more diversity. I see how upset you were and I’m glad you brought it up, even if it was to the hiring manager, who is a man, so I’m not surprised he didn’t notice or even cared. We’re always finding ways to improve our shows and I wanted to let you know we are in the process of hiring more diverse models to walk the show.”

You sat in your seat completely shocked. Not only were you speaking with someone you always wanted to meet, but you also made a difference in the show. Finally, someone listened to me.

“Is everything alright?”

“Y-Yes! I-thank you! I don’t know what to say, I wasn’t expecting anyone to listen to me.” You timidly laugh.

“Well, even though I heard about it first and planned to do something, you should be thanking someone else. I’m not sure what his name is, but a handsome young man managed to walk into my office, past all my security and secretary and told me what we were doing wrong. Jung Jaehyun I believe was his name? Anyways, he’s a very good convincer. Let me know if you know him, I want to hire him as a model.” she laughed.

You laughed along with her, of course, the famous Jung Jaehyun just had to do something about it. You reminded yourself to let him know about it when you get back, but now you wanted to focus on the topic of hiring a diverse set of models. “He’s actually my fiance.”

“Oh perfect! That’s even better. I wish my husband would go to lengths like that. Well congratulations, when is the wedding?” She asked and all of a sudden you felt the nervousness dissolve into a comforting feeling, almost like you’ve personally known this woman.

“We haven’t officiated a date yet, but it’ll be this summer.”

“I remember my wedding, such a magical day. Let me know if you want a dress, I’d be happy to provide you with some of the best designers I know.” She kindly offered.

You two talked for what seemed like an hour, but when you looked outside, the sun was already setting, painting the room orange and red.

“Thank you for an amazing conversation, but I’m afraid I must get going. Jaehyun’s probably waiting for me,” you say, standing up.

“Of course, you have my business card, so let me know if you need anything. Thank you for helping us to be better,” she gave you a sincere smile and you bowed, shutting the office to her door.

When you walked back into the studio, you couldn’t spot Jaehyun anywhere so you pulled out your phone in attempts to reach him, but it looks like he beat you to it.

[ Loverboy: Sorry I didn’t tell you I left. But meet me back at the hotel! ]

You quickly picked up your things and left to go back to the waiting man. You called the driver to take you and sat in the back of the car excited to see Jaehyun. Since you were off tomorrow and were leaving Sunday, you had a day's worth of time to spend with him in Paris before you two left.

When you entered your hotel room, it surprised you to see Jaehyun already sleeping soundly on the bed. His naked torso showed in the cool night with limbs strapped in the sheets. Jaehyun looked so adorable and at peace whenever he wasn’t throwing flirtatious remarks at you or trying to be suggestive. It was like he was the cutest kitten you’ve ever laid your eyes on, you just wanted to tuck him right in your little pocket. After you finished gushing over him, you quietly bent down to give him a goodnight kiss before hopping in the shower to clean yourself for the night.

Letting the hot water flow through your body, you felt reflected on the conversation with the president of the founding company of Paris Fashion week. You were still beyond shocked that words got to her with the help of Jaehyun. Usually, no one listened to you because you weren’t at the CEO position yet, therefore you weren’t taken seriously.

You stepped out, drying your hair to see Jaehyun sitting up and rubbing his eyes, “I’m sorry, was I too loud?” you felt bad if you were the reason for his waking.

“No, no I was waiting up for you then I guess I just fell asleep. I wanted to see you come back safely,” he opened his arms for you and you quickly came to him, burying yourself in the covers.

You gave him a cheeky smile and pressed kisses all over his naked chest, you were so happy. So overjoyed and grateful for the handsome man that held you close to his chest.

“What’s this? You’re usually never this affectionate,” Jaehyun pulled you away, “what have you done with my y/n?” he teased, gazing into your eyes to see if you were really you.

“Stop it,” you grumble, pulling yourself back into his chest, “I know I don’t say it often but I mean it when I say that I love you, okay? I’m thankful for you and I’m happy when I’m with you.”

“I know,” Jaehyun hums, his head leaning down on top of yours after kissing the top of it, “I love you too, you know that.”

You two stayed in that position for a bit until Jaehyun felt your body slump in his arms. He peered down at you to see you asleep after a long day of work. Jaehyun lowered himself with you in his arms slowly onto the bed and turned off the lamp, kissing your lips goodnight, telling you one more time that he loves you.

When you woke up the next morning, Jaehyun was already awake, watching you from his propped up elbow. His head covered the light of the sun, making him look like he was lighting up your entire world.

“You always do that,” you groggily said, referring to the fact that whenever he’s the first one awake, he’ll always watch you sleep until you are.

“And I’d do it forever,” Jaehyun brushed away the hair that stuck to your face from sleeping on it for so long, “you know you move a lot when you sleep?”

“No, I don’t,” you turn so your back faces him.

“I didn’t say that I didn’t like it,” you could sense the mischief in his voice as he slowly creeps to you, slithering his arms around your waist before applying pressure to it.

“Jaehyun stop!” You laugh loudly, begging him to stop tickling you as you thrash your limbs everywhere.

He didn’t stop until you had tears brimming at your face, perhaps he was a little too rough, “oh, I’m sorry baby,” he clings on to you like he was afraid you’d leave.

“I’m not mad Jaehyun, you just made me laugh too much,” you try to pry his hands from your body, but he doesn’t budge or say anything, “let’s go get breakfast, hm?”

Jaehyun nods, loosening his hold on you and sitting back up to see if you were actually okay, “I’m sorry, I won’t be so rough again.”

“Jae, I’m fine. Stop being such a worrywart,” you reassured him, combing your fingers through his hair, “come on, I know a place. Let’s go before all the pastries are all gone!” you flip the sheets and run to the bathroom with Jaehyun right behind you.

You two walk the streets of Paris, looking forward to the bakery you always come to whenever you’re in the city. They had the best chocolate croissants, it was flakey, buttery, soft, yet sweet, igniting every taste bud.

“Oh, oh, it’s this one!” You point excitedly and run in, with Jaehyun quickly trailing behind you.

You grab a basket and start going at it in the bakery, while Jaehyun just laughs, watching you because you reminded him of a cartoon character running like a headless chicken, kind of like that moment at the grocery store when you two went out to buy ingredients to make homemade pasta.

“She knows what she’s doing. She loves your pastries” he says to an employee who stands next to him astonished that someone could run that fast back and forth and know what they want.

When you get everything that you wanted to share with Jaehyun, you pay for everything and drag him out of the store. You both ate from the bag as you made your way to your destination, the Hall of Mirrors. Since it was a Saturday, several people were out for tours and sightseeing and Jaehyun made sure to hold you close to him, afraid that he’d lose you in the sea of people.

“I just don’t want to lose you,” he murmurs in your ear when you feel his familiar warmth on your waist for the hundredth time. You giggle, finding it cute that he says it as an excuse. The group of people was across the room and it was only you two who were freely walking around without a tour guide, you weren’t even close to people.

You stepped into a room full of color and painted walls, the ceiling being the highlighted piece. Paris was the city of love and fashion, but you also admire the artwork and history of the underlying city. The Hall of Mirrors held art that depicted the victory of three powers: political, economic, and artistic success of France.

“357 mirrors??” Jaehyun pulled away from you, shocked at the number of mirrors, “how do you know?”

“I counted them,” you reply, a proud smile painting your face.

“Funny,” Jaehyun scoffs and leaves you behind for the next room.

“I’m serious!” You call as you try to chase him down, but you’re too slow with your shorter legs and you lose him as you open the door and see no one. “Uhh, Jaehyun? Jae-?” you called and called for him but he never answered, you searched each hallway to only find yourself lost within the walls of art and mirrors.

You whip out your phone to call him, but he refuses to answer your calls and you grow more frustrated at the fact that one, you’re lost and two, he just left you. You inhale a sharp breath and try your best to find the exit, but only fail when you see that you’ve only been going in circles.

As you turn a corner, you knock into something particularly hard, “oof,” you palmed your forehead to only realize you’re face to face with a security guard. He had the longest legs you’ve seen, sharp facial features, and beautiful blue eyes, you stepped back to bring space between you two and gaped at his beautiful face. This man could literally be on the cover of Vogue.

“Can you help me?” you manage to blurt out.

“Sure, are you okay?” he kindly asked.

“I’m lost, can you show me the exit please?”

“Of course, follow me,” he flashed you a smile before leading you through the twists and turns of the monument. Soon, you were able to see the door that you came through initially with Jaehyun, but now it was only you, or so you thought. Just as you thanked the kind security guard and turned around, you’re met with the man himself.

Jaehyun gives you an innocent look that makes you huff and walk past him, but he’s quick to gently grab your wrist.

“You left me there, no lunch for you,” you stated, not bothering to turn back.

“I’m sorry I was just playing and I thought you’d be right behind me.”

You turn to face him, “how do you expect me to catch up with you when you prance around with those long legs?” you point at them and turn again, walking away from him.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you,” he suggests.

You nod, letting him continue.

“Dinner at the Eiffel Tower, tonight at 6.”

“Nope,” you cross your arms and pretend that you’re unsatisfied, which is far from the truth. You’d absolutely love to have dinner with him there, you just wanted to see how far you could go with pretending to be mad.

All of a sudden, Jaehyun brings your body close to his, almost too close in a public setting. With a low whisper, he says, “that wasn’t a question, angel,” and then lets you go, showing that innocent face of his again.

You scoff at the switch of personalities, “you think you’re all that, huh?”

Jaehyun laughs, breaking that facade of his, “I do, but it worked didn’t it?”

“Yes,” you walk away from him back to the car, “and I hate to admit it.”

For lunch, you let Jaehyun choose the restaurant and it turned out to be the best decision. You had your pasta, while Jaehyun had his, occasionally trading plates because it was normal for you two to do that and share. You two shared a comfortable conversation before heading back to the hotel. The walking, eating, and sightseeing both got to your bodies, so it was decided that a nap would be the best idea before dinner.

Except when you woke up, Jaehyun wasn’t by your side anymore. You felt the coldness of where his arms usually would be and you woke up a little disoriented. You grabbed your phone that sat on the bedside drawer and saw a text he sent a couple of minutes ago.

[ Loverboy: I’m sorry if I alarmed you if I wasn’t there when you woke up. There’s something special for you in the closet <3 ]

Ouu is it a gift?? You excitedly jumped from the bed and opened the closet to see a Monique Lhiullie Two-Toned Velvet and Satin Gown on a hanger with a post-it note stuck to it.

[ I’ll meet you at the Eiffel Tower, take your time in getting ready. ]

And so you do as the note says, you make yourself look nice and presentable while curling your hair for volume. You slip on the simple outfit, the flow of the satin half of the gown flowed down your legs, allowing a high slit on the side, while the velvet top elongated your neck and covered your chest, it was a humble and modern look. Looks like Jaehyun knew what you liked. You pair it with dark blue heels and some dainty earrings before grabbing your small clutch in your hand, making way to the car.

Without a word, you sit in the car and look at the view of Paris pass by. You couldn’t wait to see Jaehyun since he bought you a dress you figured that he’d be dressed nicely also. It’s been a bit since you’ve seen him in a suit because he’s been able to work at home, it gives you butterflies whenever he does. Seeing him all dominant and powerful.

“Miss, we’re here.” the driver drove up to the entrance of the monument where a waitress was waiting for you.

You thanked the driver and stepped out of the car, walking towards her, she was dressed in her nice uniformed outfit as she held a genuine smile to you. You followed her where she led you to level two of the dining area. Le Jules Verne. No matter how many times you came to Paris, you never got to try their food, but you heard great things about it.

As you stepped off the elevator you couldn’t help but feel your breath being taken away as the view stands strongly in front of you. The view of you standing over the city of Paris, in the most famous monument, about to have dinner with your love, brought you so much gratification and contentment. Speaking of him, your eyes searched for him in the crowd of seated people, but he was nowhere spotted.

“Looking for me, love?” a voice behind you, making the butterflies fly to your mind. You snap around and see Jaehyun dressed nicely in a suit with his hair gently gelled back, leaving some loose hairs to brush his forehead.

You gave him a bright smile as he reached for your hand, only for you to immediately take it and lock it with his, “well look at you. Don’t you look dashing?”

“I would say so,” Jaehyun comes close to your ear, “but I’d say you’re rather ravishing,” he drags the last part and it sends chills down your spine.

Instead of shoving him away like you usually do, you bring him closer to press a kiss to his lips. It’s desperate and hard, but it’s short enough to leave him grasping for more.

You two sit yourselves at the table and Jaehyun takes his hand in yours, “but no, I mean it y/n. You look gorgeous today,” he caresses your hand, the loving touch calming down your nerves as the heat rises in your cheeks.

“Hello, welcome to Le Jules Verne, are we interested in some wine?” The waiter came up to you and kindly asked with a bottle in his hand.

“Yes please,” your eyes widen at the desirous bottle. How could you miss an opportunity from the hills of the countryside in Europe?

He poured the smooth, red liquid in both of your glasses and took your orders. Before walking off, Jaehyun persuaded him to leave the bottle for the both of you because he was convinced you two were going to finish it.

Throughout dinner, Jaehyun and you couldn’t stop exchanging stories about your own childhood. He had a darker one, but he steered away from that, afraid that you still don’t like that side of him. Instead, he’d tell you about his summers at youth basketball camp, his summer vacations to Hawaii and the Bahamas oversees, and his job.

“Jaehyun,” you spoke up, catching his attention from his gaze on his food, “do you truly love what you do?” you ask him. He was born into the position, so it was inevitable it’d be given to him whether he liked it or not. You thought that if he had the opportunity, would he have taken on a different role? Because you were born into this position too, but you knew that you’d choose to go into fashion either way or do you know?

Jaehyun hesitated, taking a little more time than you thought, “I do like it-” he nodded, “-really. I know I was basically born for this position, but even if I wasn’t, I feel like I’d still be interested in international trading. I mean I always wonder where I would be if I wasn’t born to be Jung Jaehyun. I don’t know, maybe I could’ve been a model.” he chuckles.

“That’s believable,” you say, “when I was called to go speak to the president of the founder of Paris Fashion Week, she told me you were so handsome that she’d hire you to be a model.” you laugh.

“I’d take that chance if that means that you get to dress me,” his brows take turns raising up and down and you scoff at his suggestive comment.

“But I heard what you did,” you began, your fingers holding the red wine and swirling it in your hand.

“And what did I do?” his forehead creased.

“I heard that you stormed into the president’s office demanding some change about the models.”

“Oh,” Jaehyun’s lips form into an ‘o’ as he shyly looks away.

You take his hand in yours and caress it, “Thank you,” you smile at him to receive the same genuine smile, “I mean it.”

“Well, of course, it’s something you value. You stand up for what is right and it shows how big your heart is.” Jaehyun shrugs like it’s nothing but it means the entire world to you to hear that from him. The way his eyes glisten against the light of the restaurant, those deep sets of dimples settling in, it makes your heart swell. “I’d do anything for you.”

“And same for you,” you strum, pursing your lips to the glass.

By the end of dinner, you two go to the rooftop and admire the city below your feet with wine glasses hanging by your fingertips. The lights that reflected from the city bounced back on Jaehyun, painting his face the slightest color of gold. His floppy hair danced with the spring air as it flew by and you couldn’t help but lay a kiss on his cheek. Surprisingly, you weren’t intoxicated at all, but you were definitely drunk on the sight of him in the night sky of Paris.

“What was that for?” He asks, giggling.

“Nothing, you just look so handsome,” you respond, your eyes turn into crescents when Jaehyun’s do too when you reach to caress his cheek.

He wraps your arm around your waist to pull you to his chest, your lips are close enough that you get a waft of the red wine “let’s go make love, hm?” he whispers to you, lips grazing against yours.

You tilt your head back, laughter in your chest from his approach, “I’d love to,” you hum, pulling away to tug on his arm to take you back to the hotel.

The elevator door hasn’t even closed yet and Jaehyun’s hands were already all over you, feeling each inch of your skin.

“You have no idea how much I want to rip this dress off of you.”

“Don’t.” You mumble against his lips, “This cost you almost $4,000,” you whisper against his lips.

Ding!

“I don’t care,” he grumbles, dragging you to your door as the elevator doors open.

With jumbled fingers, Jaehyun struggles to take the room card out from his wallet with some of his own falling out. You chuckle at his hasty state and hold his hand, your touch reminding him that you have all the time in the world. Jaehyun inhales a deep breath before taking out the correct card and sliding it through the door, allowing access to the door.

Like the switch of the sun and moon, Jaehyun’s persona did too. As soon as the door shut behind you, his strong body collided with yours along with his lips, wringing out a grunt from the impact. The kiss was heavy, fast, yet felt with an abundance of pleasure while Jaehyun’s hands roamed your body, feeling the dip in your waist and hips, the hills of your chest, and the rise of your cheeks. Eagerness settled into your bones when he nipped your bottom lip.

With strong hands, Jaehyun leads you to the bed as he searches for the zipper of your dress as you make yourself busy by throwing his suit to the floor and fumbling with the buttons of his button-front. Before Jaehyun could pull the dress off of you, he wanted to cherish you at this moment. Your last night in Paris with him, with the lights turned off and the only source of light is the Eiffel Tower and the city. He was slow to pull down the sleeves from your dress, letting it fall from your shoulders on its own to reveal your alluring self, so naked, so vulnerable. All for him. With gentle hands, you stripped him from his button-front and lowered yourself to his knees, his dark eyes following you as you unbuckled the lock to his pants. Jaehyun kicked them behind him as they fell at your knees.

With grasping hands, you held him by the hips to press a kiss to his hard bulge, as usual as it strained against the cotton material. He was quiet enough to let out a grunt, frantic to feel your mouth on his cock. You took your time to pull the last piece of clothing down, Jaehyun stepping out of it and throwing it somewhere in the room, you kissed up his hard member, as the tip glistened with precum at the bottom of his stomach. He mumbled something you couldn’t understand as you glanced up at him, but you knew he was dazed, crazy for your mouth.

Slowly, you lead the cock into your mouth, wrapping your pretty lips around him as you take him farther into your mouth. Jaehyun’s hands found their place in your hair, quickly tying it up into a ponytail since he knew how much of a mess he could be.

You began to pick up the pace, leading him in and out of your mouth faster than before, but making sure he wasn’t hitting the back of your throat just yet. With his hands settled in your hair, he had to refrain himself from taking the reins, afraid that he’d take it too far and hurt you. Although you two were intimate several times or had quickies, here and there, Jaehyun was just afraid of not being able to control himself whenever he’s around you because you’re just so hypnotizing to him. It was like every time your lips were on his, the only thing he wanted was to shut his mind off and feel you.

As soon as you felt his hips began stuttering and his breath hitching, you knew he was close. So with care, you pushed yourself until you met the base of his cock, your nose hitting his lower stomach with his tip hitting your throat. You were careful to swallow and let out a low, long, moan to send shivers down Jaehyun’s body. And like cause and effect, he releases as a pleasing groan.

From his head falling forward to gaze at you, he caresses your cheek and massages your head, “you look so-” he grunts, “-breathtaking sucking...my cock.”

You pull away from him, sucking his cock until you reach the tip then come forward to only have him hit your throat again and again. You continue to do so, abusing your throat until he’s quickly coming apart in your mouth, his stuttered moans, breakable gasps, have you wet too. You’re quiet in your sounds as you run your fingers into your panties, feeling the slickness of your sex and spreading them to your clit to arouse some stimulation. Due to your lack of control, a moan breaks out, sending vibrations to Jaehyun’s shaking body, and soon the warm and thick liquid shoots into your mouth. You use your best abilities to swallow as much as you could while catching your breath. Jaehyun is gentle in pulling himself from your mouth with an adoring gaze glued to the string on his cum dripping from your lips, wiping the corner as your breathing returns.

Among swift arms, Jaehyun lifts you and gently sets you on the bed, the sheets and mattress attempt to swallow you as Jaehyun’s gaze does the same. He takes his time indulging himself in the naked sight of you, the only thing on you are your white panties, already soaked and only for him. His rough fingertips press your clit, making you instantly arch up, but Jaehyun’s quick to hold you down, his free hand pushing down your abdomen. As a smirk lifts a corner of his lips, he drags your panties down your legs, revealing your dripping sex for him.

“All for me,” Jaehyun whispers, admiring the way fingers are coated with your wetness as he shares it with his mouth and the lips of your sex.

You shudder when he inserts the same finger, along with another, that was in his mouth into you. He’s not gentle in his movements, for his fingers quickly in and out of you, the patience in him fraying.

“Come on baby, you gonna come?” He looks at your writhing self when he puts his thumb on your clit, tracing circles on the small bud.

Words fail to escape as your mind is only concentrated on climaxing on his long digits. You’re so close you can see the light, but Jaehyun slows his speed and you shoot him a dissatisfied glare as he backs away from you. You prop yourself on your elbows as his naked figure walks to the window, admiring the night view of Paris instead of you. The light of the Eiffel Tower and the city brings the room to aglow.

You frustratedly sigh, as he doesn’t give you any of the attention you craved. You were so close to climaxing, you could almost reach it so you figured that you’d just do it yourself. You surreptitiously brought your hand to your clit, beginning to stimulate it again.

“Don’t you dare.” Jaehyun sees your misbehaving hands reaching for your sex in the reflection of the window. He immediately walks to you who raised your eyebrows as he grabbed your arm, dragging you to the window.

You grunt with the tight grip he has on your arm as he presses you up against the window. Jaehyun doesn’t give you any warning as he instantaneously thrusts into you, hands now around your hips to give him control. You grip one of his hands that clutches your hips as he rams into you repeatedly, gasps, and moans filling the room. You pray that no one next door hears you and halts this moment because you want it to never end. And while you pray, Jaehyun worships your body, the way you look so tiny in front him, whining and moaning all from his cock.

“So beautiful. Show all of Paris who makes you feel this good,” Jaehyun groans in your ear. “Only I can make you feel like this.”

You nod in agreement with only a whimper coming out to respond to Jaehyun. You’re overwhelmed with his hard member entering you over and over again, his tip hitting the right spot. There’s a growing warmth in the pit of your stomach telling you that you’re about to climax. You beg for him to keep going, to not ever stop at the pace he’s going at and he easily grants your wishes.

Your naked body is pressed against the window, flattened against the transparent glass to give everyone in Paris a show. The specks of dots below you are the last thing you’re worried about, for you’re way too high to suspect anyone’s glance up your window.

With your neck tilting back, Jaehyun kisses your shoulder to give you tenderness, later trailing it up to your neck as his hands caress your waist. “That’s it, baby, you’re doing so well,” he whispers in your ear, eliciting a whimper from your lips due to your ability to make up any words.

You’re completely dazed, the feeling of Jaehyun thrusting in and out of you washes over your mind and body. A cry rips from your throat and your head falls forward, forehead resting on the glass window, your breath creating a fog on it.

“I’m...close,” you clamp your hold on Jaehyun’s hand whose hand sits on your waist, continuing to control the pace. You know he’s quickening it, you can feel it when he tightens his grasp.

“Cum with me angel. Wanna feel you cum all over my cock,” he pants, his breath tickling your neck.

The pace sends you to the stars, gasps are dragged from your throat and tears are streaming down your face. You hold onto nothing but your fist that’s tightly clasped together against the window as you get out a clamorous moan, squeezing your eyes shut as your sex violently clenches against his cock and your legs go numb.

Jaehyun wraps his arms from behind, clutching onto you as he comes undone too. He slowly rides you while kissing your shoulder, telling you how beautiful you are and how great you did. You hum at the responses, wanting to speak, but drained to think of a sentence. Your legs become weak when he pulls out, quickly catching you with his embrace around you, and carries you to the bathroom, setting you on the tub to draw water.

With soft touches like the Spring wind, he plants kisses on your face and this time he’s gentle in his touch. He strokes your hair and caresses your cheek as he lets your hair down, your hair brushing through his fingers.

“You’re so beautiful,” he smiles down at you as you lean into his comforting touch, tired from before. But maybe you weren’t tired, maybe you were still dazed.

Jaehyun waits until the water is drawn up until he gently sets you in the marble tub, the water bouncing from your impact. He’s great in persuading you that he just wanted to take care of you after the hard lovemaking, but you’re quick to realize that this is all just a trap as you feel his strong hands wander to your sex, the other leading to your breast. You turn around to see a mischievous smile on Jaehyun’s face and that’s when you knew you fell into it.

Jaehyun’s quick with his fingers once again, failing to bring any mercy to your pussy as the other pinches your nipple reluctantly. Your head falls back onto his shoulder as you suppress a moan when he dips two fingers into you, pumping at a fast pace.

“Please,” you whimper. He kisses your temple, wanting to be all soft, but you just wanted him to ruin you. You know he wanted to also because of his hardened cock poking your back.

You remove his arm from your body and turn around until you’re straddling him, the water swaying from your movements. You don’t say a word, don’t give him a warning, and you ease yourself on his member, having him completely in you.

An elongated moan is released from both of you as you begin riding him, the base of his cock rubbing your clit to stimulate more friction. Jaehyun begins to become more vocal, his grunts are becoming louder and his breath hitches as you ease in and out at a faster pace. You know he’s quickly coming soon and so are you. He holds onto your breasts as you bounce on him, throwing your head back from the pleasure only to receive harsh kisses on your neck.

His lips. You grow a sudden craving for his lips and tilt your head down until you’re met with him. These lips are red, plump, and swollen from biting them, so of course, you went in to satisfy your hunger.

The kiss is slow and loving. The creation of your lips against his, confirms you that you were made for each other. That you were always fated to for him. You tilt your head to deepen the kiss, letting Jaehyun’s tongue into you. The thrashing of your tongues mixes with the lewd sounds of your bodies hitting against each other and the water pooling to the floor from the constant movements.

The growing knot tightens in your stomach and the grasp of Jaehyun’s hands on your body stiffens on your skin and you know he’s there.

“Together?” You pant against his lips.

“Always,” he responds.

Jaehyun then takes control of the pace, he knows what makes you both come undone together and sooner or later, a groan rips his throat while you scream his name, unbeknownst to you, crying as you come down from another long-awaited climax.

Holding you in his arms with your head on his shoulder, Jaehyun strokes your head while riding out your high until he knows it’s the right time to stop. In the meanwhile, he murmurs words of love to you, whispering sweet nothings like a lullaby sending you to your dreams.

In the midst of everything, he’s haunted of his conversation with his father. He didn’t mean to doubt your love for him, but after he treated you like shit in the beginning, was this too good to be true? Was having you in his arms too selfish?

#jaehyun imagines #jaehyun angst #jaehyun smut #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun series #jaehyun au #jaehyun #nct 127 imagines #jaehyun scenarios #nct jaehyun #jung jaehyun #nct au #nct imagines

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consumeconstantly · 4 years ago

Text

Not a Saint or a Hero

Summary: To civilians, Ladybug is a hero. In the eyes of the law, Ladybug is a vigilante at best, and a villain at worst.

______________________________________________________

Conquering the Parisian underworld is child’s play for Ladybug and her partner, Chat Noir. The ex-boss of the Parisian underworld, code name Hawkmoth, may have been good at pushing drugs and ruining people’s lives, but he was woefully incompetent at... basically everything else. Which meant that other than Hawkmoth and his direct underlings, there really wasn’t much of a structure at all that Ladybug had to be worried about. No cohesive unit, fighting as one, just easy pickings and an even easier way to convince the drug dealers, homeless, illegal fight rings, and various other under the radar activities to band together to topple Hawkmoth’s empire.

Ladybug, after all, had experience with overthrowing established mafiosos. She did it once in Wenzhou at her mother’s side, another time in Beijing because somebody made the mistake of trying to push her into prostitution, and twice in Italy with her grandmother, code name Befana.

“Do you really have to leave, m’lady?”

Ladybug shrugs. “I trust you and the team to keep things up and running. We had a good run, but there’s a good structure in place now and Befana wants me to go with her to another country.”

Nobody says no to Befana, not unless they’re bullet proof. Ladybug may have high quality Kevlar sewn into every outfit she wears, but even she isn’t the biggest fan of the impact of a bullet. Depending on the gun, broken ribs are a kindness.

“I know you don’t get along with Queen Bee, and almost everyone else is out of the country, but you’re not going to say goodbye to Rena or Carapace?”

“It’s not like I’m going to be gone forever. Just a few months. A year at most.”

“Promise me you’ll come back, m’lady?”

Ladybug puts a hand on her partner's shoulder. “You know I can’t make promises like that.”

Chat pauses, dull thud of the rave music filling in their silence.

He swirls the whiskey in his glass. “Stay safe, Bug. Play it smart.”

“I always do.”

It comes as no surprise that Befana dumps her in the middle of one of the most crime infested cities world wide without a backwards glance. Her granddaughter is grown up now, after all.

“Have fun, darling. Black Mask is particularly nasty, make sure to watch out for his assistant, she’s very sharp.” Befana pulls away from the nonexistent curb— nonexistent because there’s no sidewalks in the slums of Gotham, at least, not many of them in good enough conditions to have curbs or whole piece of cement to walk on— and leaves Marinette all on her lonesome with a backpack, a key to a cheap apartment.

Marinette eyes the broken bottles leading to the entryway of her new building and the boarded up windows. Across the street, there’s two women smoking and conversing in hushed tones.

“Well,” Marinette mutters underneath her breath, shifting the straps of her only worldly possessions. “It’s definitely quieter than I expected.”

“Hey, new girl,” one of the women in the group calls out to her. “What’re you in for?”

“School. This is the cheapest apartment I could find.”

The woman exchanges a glance with one of her friends.

“You’re better off finding a more expensive apartment elsewhere. This isn’t a place for someone like you.”

An excellent line for Marinette to begin to fish for information. “What do you mean by that?”

“This is disputed territory, now. If you can’t afford to stay somewhere else, you better stay with whoever just dropped you off.”

Marinette fidgets. Gina is long gone. Grandmother or not, even though Gina is undoubtedly loyal and will never hurt her, she believes that the best way to inspire growth is through adversity. Like now. The only information she got out of Befana was that she had to figure out a way to keep Gotham in line… whatever that meant. “She’s not going to come back. I guess I’ll just have to try my luck.”

“You really got nowhere else to go?”

“No. I’m from abroad.”

“That explains the accent,” says the one holding a beer bottle. “Then listen up, girlie. If you wanna survive, there’s three rules you’ve gotta learn. One. Don’t cross the Black Mask. Two. Don’t cross Red Hood. Three. Don’t sell to children.”

“Sell to children?”

“Well, I don’t suppose you’d be doing it anyways, given the whole,” she motions to Marinette’s body with a cigarette, “but Hood goes after anyone who sells drugs to kids real bad. Worse than if you fuck him over with anything the Black Mask’s doing, anyways.”

“Red Hood doesn’t sound like that bad of a guy, then.” Maybe she’ll look into a collaboration with him.

The woman with the beer bottle laughed. “Oh honey, you’re a saint. Don’t go fostering any dreams. You just stay away, hear?”

“I hear you,” Marinette says.

But they got something wrong.

Marinette isn’t a saint, and never has been.

The walls of her crappy one bedroom apartment are thin enough to hear the baby upstairs scream at ungodly hours. If it’s not the baby waking her up, her neighbors in the apartment to her right are fucking very, very loudly. The apartment below her blasts rock music at all hours, the apartment to her right is likely selling drugs, given that she sees at least fifteen different people come in and out each day, and they always have a vaguely dazed look in their eye. She hasn’t heard anything from the apartment across, but she’s sure they’ll start up some noisy activity that Marinette doesn’t particularly want to hear soon enough.

She really got pampered in Paris, didn’t she?

Marinette lived a life of relative luxury whenever she stayed with her parents, instead of Gina. While in Beijing and Chongqing with Tom and Sabine, Maman did all of the heavy lifting for her. Well, Beijing had ended rather disastrously, and they had to make a quick getaway, but at least in Chongqing, Sabine managed to get rid of the prostitution ring.

Back in Wenzhou, Catania, and Bologna, Gina took the reins, and it always turned out to be a sink or swim sort of situation. First off was her mother’s birth place, which had an astonishingly high crime rate and definitely explained why Sabine Cheng was so adept at self defense, and once they were there, of course they had to reform the fight rings. In Catania and Bologna, Gina practically threw her at two of the lowest rank mafia groups and told her to use them to bring order to the warring mafias. During those years, Gina didn’t make a front like Sabine and Tom did, purchasing a bakery and running a business to aid their more behind the scenes work. No, with Gina, it was either war of peace, and there was nowhere in between.

Which, of course, meant that Marinette rarely got to stay in nice rooms or pursue hobbies like sewing or drawing or anything, really.

Now that she is of age, Marinette could potentially try to wrest herself out of Befana’s influence, but that’s almost a laughable thought. Befana has eyes and ears everywhere. If she wants to escape the rat race of reformation, Marinette needs to gather power.

The best thing she can do for now is try to figure out the situation in Gotham. If it’s not particularly bad, maybe she’ll have an easy time of it, and figure out how to disappear herself. She’s not totally opposed to the whole making-criminals-act-within-the-bounds-of-morality thing, but it’s gotten pretty tiring. Not repetitive, necessarily, but after experiencing an almost normal life in Paris, Marinette does want to have the privilege of not having to worry about her life every hour. Maybe she can even start up a little boutique.

Marinette dumps most of the contents out of her bag, only leaving her wallet, a knife, and her trademark yo-yos.

“Maybe I can go back to Paris, eventually.” She has become very fond of the city; the first place where she took fate into her own hands, where her mother and grandmother didn’t push her to reform the underworld. The first place where she chose to change the world around her. The first place where she saw things through from start to finish. The first place she formed her own team.

The power of change is both incredibly addicting and terrifying. She sort of gets why Befana roams the world, looking for the next place she wants to shake things up in. But Marinette can’t get addicted. This is going to be her last city, then she’s going to return to Paris and settle down. She’ll leave city beautification to the so-called vigilantes that almost every city has acquired, save Paris.

Oh wait, she supposes that Ladybug and Chat Noir were-- and Chat still is-- a type of vigilante back home. But as it stands now, it will be more correct to refer to them as heads of the Parisian underworld; they definitely don’t work on the side of the law, but she and Chat made sure that drug deals were more… regulated. That deaths and the induction of children into such a dark world were curbed. That if people really wanted to get out, they could.

All of that doesn’t matter. Not in the eyes of the law at least. Parisian citizens love the duo for helping keep crimes off the streets and for banning the particularly strong strain of drug that Gabriel called AKUMA off the market, but the Parisian police? She and Chat both have targets on their head. Their whole team does.

She eyes the apartment across from her. There’s blood on the door handle. It’s a good thing that Sabine and Tom never tried to instill those odd customs of ‘house warming’ and ‘getting to know her neighbors’ that most other people teach their children. In good neighborhoods, it’s important to have a cordial relationship with whoever’s living next door. In neighborhoods like these? It’s even more important.

But rule number one of pissing people off?

Coming over uninvited.

Marinette doesn’t bother locking the door behind her.

“New to the neighborhood?”

Apparently, it really is bizarre for her to have moved into this apartment complex. She’s come across a grand total of five people during her week here, and every single one of them stopped whatever they were doing in order to take a closer look.

Marinette knows that this is a disputed area. She looked into the two women’s words the day she arrived. But, for a disputed area, everything is remarkably quiet. No fights, nobody on the streets, most people keep indoors, unless they’re out for a smoke, to throw out the trash, or are going to or coming back from various activities outside of the block.

What’s even more odd is that all of her neighbors seem to know each other intimately. Or at least, intimately enough to know that she doesn’t belong there.

“Yeah,” Marinette says, ready to leave this conversation behind. She doesn’t bother getting information out of the people who are in her apartment complex or on this block. To be more accurate, she tried with one of the first people she came across, but it was apparent that someone encouraged them to be tight lipped with information.

Given the current information she has, she thinks it’s more likely that the one who gave that order is Red Hood, rather than Black Mask.

“Been here a week.” The guy lights his joint and breathes out. “Not so new anymore.”

Over the years, she’s gotten used to the smell of marijuana, though she can’t say she likes the scent. She’ll take cigarettes over weed any day.

“You could say that.”

“Don’t suppose anybody’s laid out the rules for you yet, have they?”

Maybe this will make things easier for her. Mostly, she’s just settled into her apartment over the past seven days. There's no need for her to immediately get to work, and she does enjoy comfort. Taking down criminals is hard work. She wants to come back to an apartment that doesn’t look awful and lets her relax. So what if she spent most of her money on an expensive mattress and a coffee machine? She’s an adult now. Nobody can tell her what to do. (Except for Befana.) “No, not really.”

“Tina and Audrey give you a crash course?”

“Mostly just warned me not to sell to children.”

The man barks, smoke spitting into the stale air. “Some of the best advice around. Let me tell you, Black Mask might have more manpower, but Red Hood has rage. Cross Black Mask by gypping him, he’ll send a lackey after you. Fuck with children, Red Hood himself will come for you.”

He pauses, evaluating her appearance.

“Though you look like a child yourself. Mighty pretty too. lucky girl. Hood will protect you if you stay around these parts, but if you go south on the diagonal, you’ll be in bad territory. Plenty of prostitution rings around there.”

“Thought this was disputed territory.”

“Not really. Anywhere Hood has claimed is said to be disputed because Mask hates his guts and keeps sending goons to these areas. But anyone who’s dealing under Mask aint gonna take the risk of their lives just to branch out to these spots.”

“Sounds like Red Hood is pretty well liked around these parts, then.”

Perhaps she’ll look into working with him. From what she’s heard of the guy and what she’s found trawling the dark web, his morals seem to align with her own. A little bit more temperamental than she’d like, a little too quick to kill, rather than apprehend, but Gotham prisons seem to have jailbreaks every other week, so she can understand why it may be easier just to make every encounter a one and done.

“Liked?” Blunt finished, he flicks the stub into the dirt, crushing the embers under foot. He wipes his mouth with the scarf around his neck. “Like isn't the question in Gotham, Frenchie.”

Marinette inwardly cringes. She’s tried to minimize her accent because it makes natives distrust her, or think they can take her for a loop. Most people she’s come across accept her as one of their own, but apparently she hasn’t been doing as well as she thought she was. Maybe this is why people seemed a little more reluctant with any information.

“When it comes down to it, liking means nothing. It’s who you trust to watch your back.” He fumbles in his pockets, pulling out another blunt. Marinette notices that his fingers are fairly heavily bandaged and that the man is shaking slightly. Medicinal marijuana, maybe. “Wouldn’t trust that Mask farther than I can throw him. And he used to be a wrestler, so he’s a fat bastard. At least you can trust Hood not to cross you as long as you don’t cross him first.”

Lighting the tip, his eyes sharpen. “You seem like the trustworthy sort. Active, too. I’ll leave you with one more piece of advice. If you ever run into Hood? Don’t mention two things: the Joker, and Batman.”

“I doubt I’ll ever run into him,” Marinette lies.

The man laughs. “I’m a Gotham native, Frenchie. I can tell what kind of person you are. You’ll be meeting him soon, I know. Hood needs someone to watch his back, and you? You need someone to keep your head above water.”

He flicks the ash off the blunt and turns his back on her, and Marinette can’t tell whether he’s showing her respect or belittling her.

Two weeks into her stay in Gotham and Marinette has finally collected enough information about her surroundings to feel confident about going out as Ladybug.

Guns are infinitely more available here in America than they were back in France, which means she needed more than one costume, and an upgrade to her current one. High quality kevlar is good and all, but it’s heavy, and not everyone in Gotham is high off their minds using AKUMA. Replacing kevlar with polythene, now that it’s available to her, is only a natural decision. She has to be more careful here in Gotham. Not only does she have no support network, she’s also highly inexperienced with the terrain. She’s at a disadvantage here.

With a combo polythene and kevlar bodysuit, a crop top with her signature ladybug embroidery on the backside, an all black domino mask, and a utility belt with two yo-yos , knife, and emergency medical supplies, she’s as ready as she ever will be to witness the nightlife first hand.

And just like in Paris, Wenzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Catania and Bologna, she doesn’t have to go far to find the trouble.

Befana has told her multiple times that Marinette is like a lucky charm for problems. Judging by the amount of time she’s gotten herself into sticky situations unintentionally, she’s inclined to agree, though she’d call herself more of an unlucky charm.

She doesn’t bother speaking, instead hurling one yo-yo at the guy who’s trying to tie up a girl half her age and the other yo-yo at the wheels of his car, to make sure he can’t make a quick getaway.

Ladybug may not use guns, but she never said that her weaponry wasn’t tricked out; yo-yo knocks the guy up the head, sending him down for the count, and yo-yo two slashes through the rubber tire. The man waiting in the car rolls down the window to shoot. Ladybug rolls her eyes. Dumb and dumber. She’s not sure whether he’s trying to preserve his windows or doesn’t realize that rolling down his window leaves him open for her own attacks.

Reeling back in yo-yo one. She hurtles it through the window, presses a button, then ducks. The head of the yo-yo detached and shocks the driver.

“Need help getting home?” Ladybug asks the girl who’s currently edging away from her.

“Who are you? Why did you help me?”

Ladybug shrugs. She’s never been particularly good at explaining herself; Chat took care of most of the conversions within Hawkmoths retinue. She’s good at making the occasionally public statement and making sure people she’s close to don’t stray, but strangers? Most people back in Paris just trusted her blindly, and she never had to think about how to present her reasoning.

She takes two sets of zip ties out of her pack, then restrains her first victim. After she slaps a patch on the tire-- if she is going to take this girl home, she certainly doesn’t want to walk her back in this neighborhood, and judging by the size of the van, there are probably a few people in the back she’ll need to free as well. Ladybug moves on to tie up the guy in the car, back towards the girl. “If you don’t want my help, that’s fine too.”

As soon as she turns, there’s a sharp intake of breath. “You’re with Hood, then.”

Not yet. “M not, actually. Never met the guy. What makes you say that?”

A bout of nervous, high pitched laughter. “The red, maybe. Or, I don’t know, the fact that he’s here and not knocking you out?”

Ladybug whirls, trying to see where the infamous vigilante is. True to the girls word, he is just a little ways down the alleyway they’re currently in, looking, for all intents and purposes, not about to kill her. How pleasant. Better than she was expecting; his temper precedes him, and she was expecting to have to fight with the guy before even dreaming about having a civil discussion with him.

He doesn’t have his hands on his guns, which she takes as a good sign. Taking a good look at him she’s almost surprised that he’s calming himself the Red Hood instead of the Red Helmet, but she supposes the former sounds better.

“Let me finish tying that one up,” Ladybug says.

Red Hood grunts in response.

“So you are working together,” the girl concludes.

Ladybug shrugs again, tapping another button to reattach the head of her yo-yo and grabbing the keys and phone from the driver’s pocket. She pops the back of the van. There are three girls tied up in the back.

Her knife makes quick work of the bonds that restrain them. The girls take the duct tape off their mouths themselves; she feels a deep disgust of the men that are currently knocked unconscious. Not only are they traffickers, but they’re new traffickers. Inexperienced. Duct tape isn’t used most times because it damages the goods. Either that, or they’re organ dealers, because people don’t need the bodies to look pretty when they just want the innards. Judging by the fact that all of the people in the back are girls, she’ll put money on the first one.

“You going to let me drive these girls back before we have our talk?”

“Fine,” Red Hood bites out, moving to sit shotgun. “You move one finger out of line, and I’ll shoot.”

Ladybug tosses the unconscious body out of the driver’s seat.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

@jasonette-july-2k20

#lowkey wanna write the precursor to this where lb and cn take down hm but im lazy #jasonette july #jasonette #jason todd #marinette dupain cheng #villain au #miraculous ladybug #dcu #bamf marinette #original content #maribat #someone save me im drowning in aus #don't know why writing anything after ch 1 seems so hard #i need someone to keep me on track

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fortheloveoffanfic · 4 years ago

Text

Behind Closed Doors

Keanu Reeves x OFC (Emma Mathers)

Masterlist Behind Closed Doors Masterlist

Warnings- NSFW/SMUT, infidelity, oral sex (female receiving)

Just Friends?

With his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants, Keanu paced in front of her bedroom door, the words going over in his mind, playing on a constant loop. Ever since their kiss, or rather, series of kisses, in Paris on his birthday, things had been stiff with Emma. She was actively avoiding him, which was hard considering they were in the same suite, then the same plane, and obviously because she was taking care of his children. That didn’t stop her from trying though, avoiding sitting near him when they were at restaurants, taking her breakfast and dinner back to her bedroom when they dined in the suite and keeping the kids between them whenever they ventured out. Even after returning to L.A, she’d been cold, avoiding small talk, eye contact and the slightest of touches. No brushing hands on the rare event of having to pass each other something, no bumping into her in the hallway and definitely no spending more than five minutes in the same room together.

Truthfully, Keanu had missed her, and it had barely been two weeks. He’d surprised himself by holding up for that long, but wasn’t willing to bet that he could last any longer with the awkward tension between them. He’d missed her smile, her laugh, the ease that was usually shared between them, just everything. And that was why he was going to apologize; say he was sorry for letting things get out of hand when they were in France, ask if they could go back to the way things were and promise to do his best to keep things friendly on his end. Even if being her friend had started to grow increasingly difficult.

Taking a deep breath, Keanu stopped directly in front of the door, squeezing his fist tightly. There was no better time to apologize than that night; his mother had been dying to take the kids for the weekend and Miranda was still out of town. It was perfect, just the two of them, being nothing more than perfectly friendly.

“Just do it,” he urged himself, practically forcing himself to lift his fist to the door, though, just when he was finally about to knock, right before his knuckle made contact with the dark oak door, she pulled it open. Stunned Keanu just stood there, hand still raised in the air, eyes widening at her attire; a plain white, silk nightshirt, the top three buttons undone and the black lace of her bralette peeking out. The garment hung off one of her shoulders, and in her hand, Emma held a wine glass, a draining of red liquid left. In the background, indie rock played softly, definitely not audible with the door closed. “Em,” he cleared his throat, still surprised.

“Keanu,” she huffed breathily, using the had with the glass to nudge some of her freed tresses of of her face, “I thought you were out still,” obviously caught off guard herself, Emma turned away for a moment, “I didn’t hear you come back from dropping the kids off.”

“I’ve been here for a while actually,” he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He’d been mostly fine before laying eyes on her, but then, face to face with Emma was throwing Keanu off balance. It may have had something to do with how she was dressed, legs out and skin on show, but it was mostly because she was the woman he sometimes dreamed about, in ways that he shouldn’t have. “I wanted to talk to you,” trying to sound firm, Keanu straightened his back, “But if you were gonna do something-”

“I was just gonna get more wine,” she smiled sheepishly, dropping her hand to her side, still gripping the door handle with the other, “What’d you want to talk about?” Pursing her lips, Emma tilted her head to the side, slightly leaning against the open door and crooking one of her legs.

It was hard to focus when she was looking at him like that. Her eyes felt like they were seeing right into his soul and her plump, wine stained lips were deliciously inviting. “I want to apologize,” averting his gaze, Keanu cleared his throat, trying to chase away the fog in his brain, “For what happened back at the hotel.”

Before he could get any further, Emma knitted her brows, interrupting, “Keanu, you don’t have to apologize, I think I may have overstepped. You know?” She sighed deeply, “We were talking….and, things got out of hand.” There wasn’t really any logical way to explain what they'd or why they'd done it without exploring their feelings, and Emma seemed to know that just as well as Keanu, instead choosing to stumble around the topic to save them the trouble.

Nodding, Keanu returned his hands to his pockets, not knowing what else to do with them, “Maybe we both had a part to play,” he attempted to smile, but it faltered and Keanu knew that if he was being honest, he didn’t want to have to toe around his feelings for Emma, apologize for a kiss that had translated mutual longing. But he didn’t want to be the kind of man that would hurt two women in one go either. Miranda was the woman he’d chosen to spend the rest of his life with, and he couldn’t just back out on a promise like that. “You’re right though, things kind of just spun out of control. And,” he fumbled again, not even knowing if he was saying the right thing, while something in the back of his mind told him that he wasn’t really saying anything at all. “And…..it was inappropriate. I’m your boss.”

“And I’m your employee,” Emma seemed hesitant too, and there was a pained twinge in her tone that Keanu wished he hadn’t caused, “We should just…..”

“Go back to being friends?” He raised his head, and simultaneously, Emma shifted to face Keanu again, their eyes locking unexpectedly.

Her lips fell slightly ajar and she glanced at his mouth before meeting his eyes again. Emma’s tongue darted out to moisten her lips, and her voice was a wavering whisper when she agreed, “Yeah, we should do that. Friends?”

Keanu stared at her for a solid minute before managing, “Friends.” Friends. Neither of them budged, an invisible string keeping their dilated stares steadfast. They were further apart than they had been on that faithless night. The night he'd guarded from his unsuspecting fiancée, and the same one they’d just barely addressed. But still, the space couldn’t have been far enough to vanquish the unscrupulous effects that they had on each other.

Keanu knew that their conversation should have been over, but they were both just standing there, unspeaking with Emma looking so astonishingly beautiful that one would have to be blind to deny the fact. She was giving him this look too, the kind where her eyes said so much that it was hard to pretend that there wasn’t something between them. Keanu liked that something, even if it was immoral and wrong, even if it would all just crumble to nothingness one day, he wanted it. And he wanted it to turn into more. “Fuck it,” Keanu mumbled, stepping forward and taking Emma’s face in his hands, crashing his lips to hers, tasting the red wine still lingering on her tongue. As if she’d been thinking it too, Emma draped an arm around his neck, clumsily setting her glass down on top of the dresser nearby before clutching a fistful of his t shirt.

Never breaking their feverish, passionate kiss, they stumbled back into the room. Gracelessly, with hurried movements, Keanu undid the rest of the buttons holding Emma’s shirt closed, letting it billow to the floor afterwards. The back of her knees hit the edge of her bed and, just after pulling off Keanu’s navy t-shirt, she let herself fall back onto the unmade sheets, crawling backwards towards the pillows. When he came to hover over her, Emma gazed up at him, almost in disbelief, one hand caressing his face while lithe fingers of the other trailed down his body, grazing the vertical scar dominating his stomach.

Keanu shuddered when she touched it, suddenly a little self conscious. It was from a time in his life where he was careless, reckless, and hadn’t yet cemented that actions had consequences. One stupid ride had left him with a permanent reminder that he wasn’t invincible, that one more wrong move and he might not have been where he was then. “Maybe we should turn the lights down,” he whispered, slowing down for a minute.

“Why?” Emma’s hand inched over his ear, tangling in his mane, while the other found the elastic band of his sweats. Having her beneath him was surreal, and the way she looked so underdressed in just a lace and silk bralette with matching high waisted panties while her hair created a sea of black on the pale yellow pillow, Emma looked ethereal, in the most sinful of ways. “I want to see you,” she whispered huskily, “All of you.” Shifting beneath him, she started pushing his pants down, bucking her hips up towards this hard on.

His touch skimmed her side, ghosting the contour of her full breasts, the slender dip at her waist and her sensuous curves, before his fingers hooked to her panties. “You have no idea how long I’ve dreamt of his,” he divulged, lips descending on the heat of her neck. Licking up the delicate column, he only stopped to suck a bruise into the hidden spot just behind her ear lobe, listening intently to the way she reacted; a hissed inhale, followed by a hollow whine. “Have you ever thought of me?” Keanu probed, goosebumps raising on his skin when he felt her shove his pants down, the sides of her bare heels rubbing against his legs.

“Yes,” Emma admitted, pressing his face to her neck, feeling moisture gather in her panties, ruining the strip of cotton that served as the crotch, “Every time I fuck myself,” her moans were music to Keanu’s ears, “Every time we’re together,” still ravaging Emma’s neck, Keanu sneakily pushed her panties down, “I wish you were mine.”

“Good,” Keanu kissed his way lower, pausing only so they could finally finish undressing themselves. Taking one of her pebbled nipples into his mouth, Emma’s breath hitched and her eyes slipped shut at the feeling of his teeth grazing her skin, between intervals of his tongue swirling around the tip. Favoring her other boob with his large hand, he erotically squeezed and massaged, leaving Emma to dig into his forearm. “Sometimes all I can think of is you,” hastily, he mumbled between more open mouthed kisses travelling down her body, each one slow and lingering as he reached her hallowed stomach.

Upon reaching the top of her sex, Keanu grabbed Emma’s knees, pushing them upwards so her feet were planted flat on the bed and spreading her legs wide. “You’re so wet for me,” he mumbled, flattening his tongue and lapping up a strip of heated arousal, “And you taste so fucking good.” Emma’s head lolled to the side and her hand urgently searched for the top of Keanu’s head, her nails grazing his scalp as she held onto a fistful of his hair.

His tongue flicked her clit just seconds before Keanu took the throbbing, swollen bundle of nerves between his lips. A pleading whine was cast out, and Emma bucked her hips, only for them to be restrained by Keanu resting his heavy palm on her stomach. “Fuck…..Ke….” she couldn’t even manage his name, and the pressure in the pit of her stomach built. His mouth worked her well, his tongue, versed beyond compare, fucking her perfectly as he introduced two rough digits to her nub, rubbing vigorously. “God,” her moans reverberated, complimenting the music that had already been playing.

Her little, pleasured sounds were incomparably intoxicating and the hardness of Keanu’s crotch was becoming almost too much to bear. “What do you want?” He raised his head a bit, proceeding to pepper kisses along the inside of her thighs as he awaited her answer. His fingers stayed on her cunt, sliding downwards to slip into her dripping entrance, while Keanu’s beard bruised her satiny skin.

Her throat burned and Emma could barely think straight, though, she knew what she wanted. She’d known for a while, “I want to feel you Keanu…..” her sultry words were slipping out without her full consciousness, using up the last bits of sensibility before she completely gave into her senses, “I want to feel you inside me.”

Tearing his mouth away, Keanu smirked when Emma emitted a frustrated sound as his fingers deserted her too. With his hands planted on either side of her petite frame, Keanu crawled up her body, once more taking a minute to admire her wanton state before capturing her lips, letting her taste herself. Arching upwards, Emma threw both her arms around him, her legs winding around his waist and trying to press him to her. “Please……” Emma begged huskily, “I’ve waited for so long…..”

“So have I,” Keanu pressed his forehead to Emma’s, slipping one of his large hands between them so he could line himself up with her sex, his tip teasing her folds. Pushing into her slowly, he swallowed up her lewd moan, trying not to lose himself in the way her tight walls cocooned him. Giving her a minute to adjust to his size, briefly pulling away to observe how her eyes had widened as her jaw hung slack. She felt so good, took him so well, like her body had been shaped to his.

He started by pulling out almost completely, the throbbing veins running along his shaft creating an unmatched, addictive friction, and then sliding back in, his pace steady and controlled. The slick sound of their bodies moving together joined the sinful symphony, though the sound of blood rushing in their ears was enough to drown it. Her nails raked up his back, the sensation painful and each time Keanu filled her the pleasurable burning between her was intensified. No one had ever stretched her so wide and no one had ever taken him so very well.

"Faster," Emma promoted, the tips of her glossy, polished nails sunk into his shoulder blades, “Go faster.” And as she pleaded, Keanu quickened his pace, one of his hands lowering to hold her hip in place, while the other stayed sunken on the soft pillow near her head. His balls slapped her core and the air swirling around the room started to feel warm, their passion heating it up.

His gruff, strained sounds were caught in his throat, his praises broken. Below him, with her head tossed to the side, the purplish bruises barely covered by her messy hair, the image of Emma was almost enough to get him off, though he could already feel her legs stiffening. Her breaths were ragged and Emma’s eyes were screwed shut, “Cum for me,” he gnarred, struggling to hold himself together, “I want to feel you, I want to feel everything.”

Still clawing at his back, surly leaving her own marks on his body, Emma whined quietly. Her toes curled as her high reached its crescendo and the heat brought with it a barely visible flush to her skin. Exertion dampened their bodies and loud, languid gasps ricocheted as her walls clenched around him. Keanu’s movements stiffened, restricted by her cunt squeezing his sheathed cock, though he still bucked his hip, rigidly, seeking his own release as Emma came around him, a gush of slick moisture coating their thighs and dripping onto the wrinkled sheets. “Keanu….” she sounded hoarse and out of breath, barely keeping up as he continued to ride out her high.

Just as her legs started slackening, going limp and lifeless around his waist, Keanu grunted, the pads of his fingers digging into her skin, simultaneously squeezing a handful of the pillow in his fist, as his climax creeped up on them. Faltering thrusts made his movements uncoordinated as ribbons of cum were spilt deep inside her. By then, Emma’s noise had softened, no match for the satisfied groan that reverberated Keanu’s chest, just before he collapsed on top of her.

“You just….we just….” Panting, Emma could barely manage a sated smile, threading her fingers through his sweaty hair, the guilt not yet catching up even as Keanu buried his face in the side of her hair.

A slight nod had his rough beard scratching her rosy cheek, and his hand skimmed her side, almost as if he were checking to see if she were real. “We did,” he huffed, swallowing thickly to quell the dryness in his throat. His mind was too fogged, his heart to contented to realize the gravity of what they’d done. But regardless, they were both sure of one thing; they’d certainly crossed a line that night.

So much for being just friends.

*****

Tagging- @harrisongslimited @magnificentclodpiebanana @keandrews @greenmanalishi @rdjloverxxx @danceoftwowolves @planetkt @wheretheriversrunintothesea @nonsensicalobsessions

#keanu reeves #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves fanfic #fanfic #nanny au #behind closed doors #fanfiction

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sassyduckqueen · 3 years ago

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Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 62

Ok I was gonna do Kwami Buster next but decided to go with Gamer 2.0 instead. I'm happy with how it came out but I'll try and write up Kwami Buster as the next chapter :D Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. It took some time to write but it came out nicely :D

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Chapter Sixty-Two: Gamer 2.0

Luka sighed as he leaned on the fencing of Marinette's balcony and glanced over at the city. He had been here on many occasions as Anatis but been here as Luka was surreal. He let out a sigh and glanced over to the Eiffel tower. He was suppose to be having another sleepover with Marinette. She had insisted he stayed over and they had a movie night. They had enjoyed watching their movie and they had fallen asleep on each other. However, it didn't last long for him. He had been wrote up by a nightmare. It had shaken him up and caused him to panic as he looked around. A small amount of relief had flooded into his mind when he saw Marinette curled up asleep next to him. He had moved and placed a blanket around her as she curled up on her Chaise lounge before he had climbed up to the balcony to look out to the city as he didn't want to go back to sleep. Not after that nightmare. He had been having the same one recently but it just seemed to be getting worse after his chat with Master Fu. He was no longer just seeing the event from third person but actually experiencing it in first person. He didn't what had happened in the dream to make it that way but in his dream, he is stood near the Eiffel tower and there are huge waves crashing towards him. Lady Noir is knelt down in front of him, crying and for some reason she looks different but he can't quite see why. All he can see are the waves as he stands there. They are crashing and destroying everything in their path and he wants to run. He wants to pick up Lady Noir and swing away from the deadly water but for some reason, he can't. He can't move. He can't scream or blink or even twitch. He is completely paralysed and then the waves hit, washing over him and Lady Noir. Somehow she survives and she is trying to reach towards him as he sees the waves washing her away and god... he wants to reach for her hand but he can't. He just can't and he doesn't know why. He sees cars floating and buildings been destroyed as the tidal waves hit Paris and Lady Noir tries to her hardest to swim towards him. She even gets close enough to place her hands on his cheek. What freaks him out is he can't feel it. He can't feel her touch, even though she has them on his face. The water calms and remains still as Lady Noir holds his face. She even presses her lips to his yet he still can't feel it and he still doesn't know why she's different but he's glad she hasn't drown. It then dawns on him that he should have. He isn't in his aqua form and there's no way he had a chance to hold his breath so he should have drowned yet he didn't. Somehow he was still alive. He is trapped under the water, unable to move and escape yet somehow alive and able to see everything from his place in the water. He hears a splash and hears an echo like something breaking. Apparently Lady Noir does as well because she looks in the direction it came from and she looks terrified. He watches in sorrow as she pulls away from him and swims away. He wants to swim after her and call out her name but he just can't. He can't scream or swim. He's just stuck in that place as still as a statue and trapped deep under the water. As if that wasn't bad enough, a huge monster then swims by. It looks like some sort of sea serpent and the feelings he gets from it makes him want to scream and run but he can't. He thinks that this creature is why Lady Noir looked so afraid and had swam off. He didn't blame her. It scared him too. Just before he wakes up, he swears he can hear it laugh at him as if it finds it funny that he is trapped. He took a deep breath as he tried to shake that feeling off. It was just a dream. That's what he had been telling himself but he knew it wasn't true. It was too real to be a dream and he knew it felt... bad and strong. And he knew something was wrong with Lady Noir. He couldn't see what it was but she was different in his dream. He knew it but he didn't know how. He covered his mouth as he tried to stop the sob coming from him. When had he started crying? Was it because he thought about the Lady Noir in his dream? Or because he still felt paralysed and unable to stop that flood?

"Luka?" Marinette's voice made him freeze. He didn't want her to see him crying again. He was meant to be strong and she had seen him crying too much recently. He heard her footprints on the flood and the music in her heart. He felt bad. It was singing a song of worry and fear. "Luka?"

She stopped in front of him as he tried to wipe his tears away.

"I'm... alright..." He whispered but the frown on her face said she didn't believe him. She gently took his hand and made him face her, frowning even more as she saw his clearly bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks.

"Lu, you're crying..." She gasped, moving her hand to his cheek and using her thumb to wipe away his tears. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I'm... I'm just..." He wanted to lie and say he was ok but he wasn't ok. He hadn't been ok since Mob Boss and Miracle Queen hadn't helped. "I'm.. not hurt... not physically..."

"Then what's wrong?" She asked, worry in her bluebell eyes. It made him feel guilty.

"I keep on having real bad nightmares..." He replied, making her frown. It wasn't a lie. He was having bad nightmares. If it wasn't his recent one, it was ones of him been controlled by Miracle Queen and murdering Lady Noir or even worst Marinette herself. He had that one a few times where Miracle Queen had forced him to murder Marinette. She always looked so scared in them. Then there was the Mob Boss/Issac dreams. Luckily they didn't involve him murdering his girls but it did involve his family and friends attacking him and tying him to a stake. They screamed at him and called him freak, witch or monster and as if that wasn't bad enough, Mob Boss turned up and then sets his pyre on fire to burn him like the witches of old. He begged and screamed for help but no one helped him. Every time, he wakes from it just as the flames consume him. Marinette's hand on his cheek makes him flinch back to reality. A frown still danced on her lips. "S-Sorry,"

"Don't be," She whispered before wrapping her arms around him. Instantly, he buried his head in her shoulder and hugged her back as she rubbed his back. "Why don't we go back inside? It's pretty cold out here,"

He didn't say anything and just nodded, causing her to lead him downstairs. He noticed Tikki giving him a worried look from her hiding place and he made a mental note to let her know that he was ok. He was expecting Marinette to let him to the room he was suppose to be staying in but to his surprise, she pulled him over to her bed and made him lie down next to her. She wrapped her arms around him again, causing him to rest his head on her collarbone and wrap his arms around her waist. Even though he was surprised, he was glad. He didn't want to be alone. He closed his eyes as she began to run her free hand through his hair.

"Have you told Dr Lang about them?" She asked as he hummed a little.

"I mentioned them in my last appointment but they've gotten worse since then,"

"When's your next appointment?" She asked, making him glance up at her. "Am I been too nosy?"

"No," He replied, smiling a little. "It's this monday coming for the appointment..."

"Two days away..." She muttered as he closed his eyes again. "Promise me you'll talk to her about it?"

"I promise," He muttered quiet. For a few moments, they remained in a comfortable silence before Luka sighed. "I'm sorry, Melody..."

"For what?" She asked, looking at him as he looked up at her. A light blush came across his face as he saw her eyes looking at him with a soft and loving look. He wanted to shake his head and say he was imagining it because he had to be. Marinette was his best friend and didn't love him like the way he loved her but then his mind flashed back to how she had been on the trip to NY and their little dance together in the moonlight. She had been so happy to dance with him and he had been happy too. "Lu?"

"F-For breaking down on you again..." He muttered tiredly before yawning. "You must think I'm pathetic,"

"No, I don't," She replied, making him look up at her again. "You've been through a lot recently, Luka and bottling it up isn't natural. I know it's been a few weeks since Mob Boss but something like that doesn't just go away. He hurt you and you're allowed to feel that. And if any akumas come to try and get you... I squash them before they can,"

"Thanks, Marinette," Luka chuckled a little, making her smile. Marinette returned the smile as she ran her fingers through his hair, causing him to calm down. Slowly, he started to hum a little, causing her to smile a little.

"Are you feeling a bit better?" She asked, causing him to nod. "That's good. Want to try and sleep?"

"Can I stay with you?" He asked, blushing a little. Marinette nodded and carefully moved, pulling her blanket over them. Luka curled up next to her again and closed his eyes, trying to not to be afraid off been asleep and making a mental promise to talk to Tikki and to mention his dreams to Dr Lang. Well... at least the Mob Boss ones. He yawned a little as he laid next to Marinette. Her song wasn't as worried as it had been before but it was still playing with a bit of fear. However, he also found it comforting in an odd way. Sure, he didn't want Marinette to be worried or afraid for him but it was nice to know she cared so much. Taking a deep breathe, he relaxed and tried to go back to sleep.

~Dr Lang's Office, Monday~

Mila ran her fingers through her hair as she checked on the news website to see the latest on Anatis. He had still been avoiding her and she had talked to Master Fu about it. Fu had explained that Anatis had talked to him about and had seemed upset about her lack of action. He had advised her to keep in contact with him but leave Anatis alone. When he was ready, he would find her. As much as it annoyed her as she wanted to keep an eye on him, she decided to keep her distance and let him approach her. That way it would be on his terms and it would help him trust her. She closed the tabs as her phone vibrated, letting her know her first patient had come into the office. She looked at it and sent a reply, telling her secretary to let him in. A few minutes later, a knock was heard on the door.

"Come in," She stated, taking out her notes. The door opened and Luka walked in, making her look up at him. "Feel free to take a seat, Luka,"

"Thanks," He mumbled, sitting down on the sofa as she stood up and walked over with her notes on him. Luka was one of her more concerning cases. He wasn't psychotic or anything like that but he had anxiety and he had a habit of carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. She picked up on that from their first session together but she discovered it was something he did frequently and in a bit of unhealthy way. He was constantly trying to fix and save anyone he could. Be it his sister, his best friend or a random stranger on the street. If Luka saw someone who needed help, he would go and help them. However, he seemed to fixate on saving others to the point where he forgets to check on himself. Talking to him about it, she had realized it stemmed from a need to be far from the men who have influenced his life. In particular, his stepfather Issac. Luka had beat it into his head to be nothing like Issac and then acted in a way he thought would define him from that man. Mila understood why. She had been horrified at what that man had done to Luka when he told her some of it but her job was to help Luka learn how to cope with his anxiety and to help him get in a healthy mindset. "How have you been since our last session?"

She looked up at him as she asked the question and frowned as she finally looked at him. He looked more tired and afraid then she had seen him.

"I... I've been better..." He admitted, making her frown even more.

"Care to explain?" She asked, tapping her pen. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"The nightmares are getting worst..." He replied, frowning.

"The ones about Issac?" She asked, making him frown. "It's natural to experience-"

"It's not just that one," He stated, making her frown. "I've been dreaming a new nightmare. One where I'm drowning..."

"Well, dreams about drowning usually hint at feelings of been overwhelmed at home, at work or at school," She explained, making him frown. "Maybe there's too much going on at school?"

"What if it isn't that?" He asked, making her frown.

"What do you mean?"

"What if it's real?" He asked, making her blink before he realized what he said and shook his head. "N-Nevermind... it's impossible. No one can see the future.."

"What makes you think it's the future?"

"I don't!" He snapped, surprising her before he shook his head. "It just... it feels real... Like really real and it's terrifying.."

"Well, I would imagine it would be but sometimes dreams feel very real," She explained, making him frown. Of course, she didn't understand. How could she? She was just a normal human. "But if you feel it's more then a psychological thing, why don't you look for advice from someone who might understand it?"

"I don't know anyone like that," He stated, making her frown. "It doesn't matter anyway. They're just dreams..."

"As I mentioned earlier, dreams of drowning offer represents that we are feeling overwhelmed and overworked in our waking lives," She stated, making him look at her. "So tell me when was the last time you did something relaxing?"

"I mediated this morning..."

"Ok but when was the last time you did something like a normal teenager?" She asked, making him blink. "When was the last time you went to the movies or played a video game with your friends?"

"I.. The last time I saw a film was... I think it was when Syren attacked actually? And It's been a couple of months since I played a game," He admitted, frowning. "But I went ice skating on my birthday... but that was before I got... taken... so I guess I can't count it?"

"Not really," She replied, making him sigh. "Ok I want you to do a normal activity for a teenager this week. Go see a film, get an orange juice with a friend or play a game with one of them,"

"I have a lot to do though,"

"You're overworking yourself," She stated, making him frown. "If you want to be the best version of yourself, you need to let yourself have down time,"

"I..." He went to argue but sighed as he knew she was right. "A-Alright... I'll try... will the nightmares go away if I do?"

"I don't know," She answered, making him frown. "But it might help you cope with them,"

~Later that Day~

Luka sighed to himself as he took a seat in the art room before opening his bag and taking out his notebook. He technically was free for the rest of the day as he always was after his therapy sessions. The school had arranged for him to have the rest of the day off in order to process. However, Juleka wasn't able to come and meet him today due to an important test so he came back to the school and arranged to meet her in the art room after she had finished her class. He took out his earphones and put them in before listening to Jagged's latest album. It was technically not released yet but Jagged wanted his opinion on it. He tapped his pen to the beat as he listened before slowly zoning out the music as he began to write. He jumped when he felt Tikki poke his leg, making him look around before he checked the time. He frowned as forty-five minutes had passed before he looked at his notepad. He frowned deeply as he looked at it. For some reason, he had repeated wrote only one sentence over and over again in different sizes and handwriting. All it said was 'it's coming' but it creeped him out. He quickly tore the page out and screwed it up as the door opened, making him look up. Marc waved at him before he sat down and began to work on his writing. A few minutes later, Nathaniel came in and waved at Luka too before joining Marc to work on their comic. Luka smiled a little as they began to discuss storylines and drawing styles before the door opened and Max came in. He walked straight over to Marc and Nathaniel, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"Hello Nathaniel, Hello Marc," He smiled, making them look up from their work. "Could I interest you in playing a game with me? I made it myself and require assistant to ensure that it works. I've included more than fifty characters based on the formerly akumatized and you can loot from their equipment. What do you guys say want to give it a go?"

"A fighting game that former akumatized people?" Nathaniel gasped, clearly excited about it before he turned to Marc. "What do you say?"

"As interesting as it sounds, we still have a number of pages to do and the meeting with the editor is next week," Marc replied, glancing up from his note pad. "Sorry, Max but maybe we can play on a later date,"

"I understand," Max replied, nodding before he turned to leave before he spotted Luka. He smiled and walked over. "Ah, Luka. Would you care to try out my new game? You can battle as any former akumatized person, loot the equipment and possibly taken on Anatis or Lady Noir as the final oppentant. What do you say?"

"As cool as that sounds, I'm not much of a gamer," Luka muttered, making Max frown. "And I'm waiting for Juleka and Marinette. We have a custom fitting for some t-shirts for Kitty Section,"

"Oh, I could ask Marinette!" He grinned, tapping his chin. "Maybe after the fitting, she'll be able to play,"

"I'm not sure," Luka mumbled, making Max frown. "She's been working on some new commissions for some other people not just Kitty Section,"

"Hmm, I see," Max replied, nodding as Juleka, Rose and Marinette walked in. "Ah, Marinette, would you-"

"No!" She gasped, making him blink before she shook her head. "I know what you're about to ask and honestly, it sounds so amazing but I am too busy at the moment to play. I'm sorry. I have to sew a poster for Kitty. I mean I have to make a jagged t-shirt. Urg!"

"Oh no... it's ok," Max replied, nodding. Marinette looked saddened but nodded as well.

"Hi, everyone!" Lila's voice suddenly echoed, making almost everyone groan in reply but Max pushed up his glasses.

"Lila, would you like to play-"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Max but Prince Ali promised me an afternoon on his yacht this afternoon," She stated, making him frown. "If I was free, I would totally play it instead of making up a terrible fake excuse. What is a Jagged Kitty shirt anyway?"

"It's not a fake excuse, Lila," Marinette stated, crossing her arms. "Unlike yours,"

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to insult you," Lila smirked, making Marinette grit her teeth but Luka stood up and gently placed his hand on her shoulder before looking at Lila coldly.

"Lila, you need to leave," He pointed out, making her frown.

"I'm allowed to be wherever I want-"

"The restraining order said you have to be either in a different class room as me during learning periods or 10 meters away from me inside the school," He pointed out, making her frown before she stepped out. Marinette took a deep breath and turned back to Max.

"I swear I'm not making-"

"It's ok, Marinette," He smiled, making her nod. "I know you're not. It's just Lila making trouble as usual and don't worry, I'll find someone to play with me,"

With that, he waved to them and left. Marinette turned to Luka and gave him a smile.

"That restraining order against Lila is useful," She mumbled, pushing her hair back. "How did you get it?"

"Penny helped me," He admitted. "Since we're suing her for sexual harassment and she's proven to not take no for an answer, the judge also granted one against her. I'm surprised she still has her job at Gabriel's but it's not like it's public knowledge. Her family's lawyer is trying to convince us to settle instead and they've been keeping it underwraps. He suggested we lift the restraining order and give me a sum of money,"

"You said no,"

"Damn right, I did," He stated, making her smile a little. "I know Lila will attach herself to me like a leech the moment I lift that order and it's about time someone made sure she is punished for her actions. Anyway, let's drop the subject for now. Talking about that leech makes me feel sick,"

Marinette giggled a little before nodding as Juleka gently knocked her arm against his.

"Should we get going then?" She asked, getting a nod of Luka and Marinette before they got up and headed out of the art room with Rose, waving to Nathaniel and Marc as they did.

~At Marinette's home~

"These are perfect!" Rose gasped, holding up one of the shirts. Luka smiled as he sat on the chaise longue. Marinette couldn't help but grin as Rose tried it on and Mylene praised her attention to detail. Ivan and Juleka were quiet as usual but the smiles on their faces said more then words ever could. It was peaceful and made Luka feel calmer then he had done for days.

"Are you sure they're good enough?" Marinette asked, making the band chuckle as they nodded.

"They're perfect, Melody," Luka smiled but before anyone could answer they disappeared in a bright light, making him jump up in alarm. The TV turned on making him look over at it as Gamer appeared on it.

"What do you do when no one wants to play with you?!" He asked, making Luka frown. "You give them no choice!!"

"Max?" Luka gasped as he looked at the screen as Tikki flew out his pocket.

"It looks like he couldn't find anyone to play after all," She stated, frowning as Gamer continued to talk.

"Anatis, Lady Noir! All of these people were once akumatized then either saved by you or by the other two. Well, if you want another chance at freeing them then you're gonna have to come and play with me," He sang as Luka and Tikki stared at the screen before he turned to her.

"It looks like we have to beat Gamer at his own game," He muttered, swiping his earrings. "Tikki! Spots On!!"

He transformed and climbed out of the skylight before swinging across to the big pyramid. He landed on the building opposite it and frowned as he glanced around. No Lady Noir yet. That was odd. He took out his yoyo and dialled her baton, placing it to his ear. He frowned as it went straight to her voicemail, meaning she wasn't transformed. He hung up as two floating pyramids came towards him. They turned on their sides and opened up, revealing a video of Gamer. He blinked in surprise.

"Huh?! Where's Lady Noir?!" He gasped, causing Anatis to shrug. "But she has to be here! It's a two player game!!"

"Well, she's not so why don't you surrender your akuma and we can call it a day?" Anatis stated, making Gamer frown. "I have better things then to play a game,"

"If you don't play then I won't free the people trapped in it!!"

"Urg fine but since Lady Noir is unavailable, I'll have to find a player two," Anatis stated, narrowing his eyes. Gamer looked at him for a second before nodding.

"Very well, you have half an hour to find a suitable player," He declared, causing Anatis to nod before he swung off. He had no idea who he get as a second player and he was concerned as to why Lady Noir hasn't turned up but maybe Plagg would be at Master Fu's. Though he wasn't sure if Plagg would make a good player two. He landed in the alleyway and detransformed before rushing up into Master Fu's apartment, making the old man look up.

"Master, Gamer has returned and has captured a bunch of people in Paris to force them to play with him," He explained, glancing around for Plagg. "He's challenged me to a game but I need a second player as Lady Noir hasn't turned up. Isn't Plagg here?"

"No, he isn't," Master Fu frowned as he got up and took out the miracle box. "Lady Noir should have turned up by now,"

"I know. It's not like her to not turn up for a fight which means she physically can't," Luka frowned as Master Fu opened the box.

"Luka Couffaine, choose an ally to fight or in this case play alongside of you for this mission," He declared as Luka glanced over the miraculous. "Choose wisely. Such powers are meant for the greater good. Once the mission is complete, you will return the miraculous to me. Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Most of my allies have been akumatized at least once meaning they're trapped in the game," He muttered as he glanced over before his eyes landed on the snake. His mind drifted back to the first time Gamer attacked. Adrien had been part of the gaming team as well. He picked it up and held it. "But I know one of them who wasn't,"

"Aspik?" Master Fu asked as Luka got up and put the bracelet in one of the smaller boxes. "If I recall, he's quite the gamer too. A good choice,"

"Exactly," Luka replied before frowning a little. "I just hope Lady Noir is ok and not hurt..."

"I'm sure she'll be fine but for now, focus on defeating the akuma,"

"Right," Luka nodded, putting the box in his pocket. "Thank you, Master,"

He rushed out and transformed into Anatis before swinging across to the school, landing on the school roof. Luckily, Adrien was there, trying to help Mrs Mendeleiev and the art teacher stop the remaining students, who hadn't been akumatized, from panicking. Anatis frowned as he looked down. Mireille, Aurore's best friend, was crying as both Aurora and Jean would have disappeared into the game since there were both akumatized. Anatis frowned a little more as Adrien tried to calm her down before taking out his yoyo and pulling up Adrien's number. He sent him a text, causing him to look at his phone before he looked up and turned to Mrs Mendeleiev. He told her something, causing her to nod before he rushed off. A few minutes later, he rushed out onto the roof.

"Anatis," He gasped, holding his knees. "A number of students and teachers have disappeared including everyone else in my class-"

"I know," He stated, turning to him. "Gamer has returned and challenged me to a game. I win and he frees his victims. He wins-"

"And he gets your miraculous," Adrien replied, nodding. "But why aren't you playing?"

"It's a two player game," Anatis replied, frowning. Adrien went to ask about Lady Noir but Anatis shook his head. "Lady Noir... is currently unavailable. I'm not sure why but it must be something to do with her civilian life..."

He had a suspicion as to why she didn't turn. He knew the only reason was if she couldn't but there was only one reason why she wouldn't be able to. She must be stuck in the game, meaning she had been akumatized in her civilian form. His mind briefly flashed back to his nightmare, making him frown. She wasn't akumatized as Lady Noir so why didn't his mind go to that? He shook the thought from his head as he didn't want to dwell on it. He would ask her later but right now, he needed to win the game, free the victims and her. He opened his yoyo and took out the box, holding it out to Adrien.

"I need Aspik," He stated, making Adrien nod and open the box. He put on the bracelet as Sass manifested.

"Hello again, Adrien," The snake smiled as he floated before he turned to Anatis. "Master Anatis, it's good to see you too,"

"Likewise," Anatis smiled as Adrien grinned.

"Hey, Sass. I'm glad to see you again," He smiled, making the snake grin before he held up his arms. "Sass, scales slither!"

He transformed into Aspik before the two heroes headed back to Gamer's pyramid. Aspik frowned a little as he saw the pyrapods before the video feed of Gamer appeared in them.

"Ah back and with ten minutes to spare," He smirked before he looked over at Aspik. "Aspik? An interesting partner choice but I'm afraid it lowers your chance at winning by 10%,"

"Let's just get on with the game, Gamer," Anatis declared, narrowing his eyes.

"Very well. Please step into the Pyrapods if you ready," He stated, causing Aspik to turn to Anatis.

"Anatis, what if this is a trap?" He asked, concerned. Anatis frowned before shaking his head. It didn't feel like a trap.

"I don't think it is," He replied, taking out his yoyo and pressing the middle spot, causing it to raise up. "Gamer just wants to play so let's keep in touch,"

Aspik nodded and took out an earpiece from his lyre as Anatis placed his in his ear before the two of them stepped into the Pyrapods. The pods closed and jolted as they flew over to the pyramid before the screen changed and showed the area. Anatis frowned a little as they came to a stop before a rubix shape appeared in front of him.

"Take your pyrapad," Gamer ordered, causing Anatis to put his hands into it. A green light appeared, causing him to try and pull back but his hands were stuck.

"Anatis, I can't move my hands from the controls," Aspik stated in his ear.

"I think it's to make sure we don't try to get away from gaming," He replied as a small square appeared on the screen, showing Gamer.

"Welcome to Miraculous All Star Brawl," He stated, grinning. "If you win, I'll set you and all of the characters free,"

"They're real people, Max," Anatis growled as the screen showed the different akumas but Gamer ignored him.

"If I win, you surrender your miraculous and give me Lady Noir's location," He declared, causing Anatis to frown before he picked a character. He chose The Mime, causing Gamer to chose Riposte.

"The Mime! Riposte! Ready?!" A deep voice stated. "Fight!"

Riposte charged at the mime, talking with Gamer's voice. Anatis mimed a wall, causing her to push him back towards the edge.

"Shouldn't you mind an Aspik to try and help you?" Aspik suggested, making Anatis groan.

"I know what I'm doing!" He declared, causing the wall to disappear. He mentally cursed himself.

"Careful!" Aspik gasped as he mimed a block to block her attack. "If you talk, the mime will stop working,"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Anatis replied before tripping Riposte up and miming his yoyo before using it to throw her off the edge, winning the round. Her ring appeared in his inventory. "There I won! Now let everyone go!!"

"A game in just one round?!" He replied, making Anatis frown. "Where's the fun in that, Anatis? It doesn't end up til you've battled all of the characters,"

"Seriously?! That will take forever!" Anatis groaned as Gamer laughed. He did not have time to game. He wanted to finish hanging out with Marinette and Kitty section then go home and try to sleep.

"That's the best part about it!!" Gamer gasped, clearly happy to be playing. "The longer the better!!"

"My turn!! My turn!!" Aspik gasped, making Anatis groan again as he flicked through the characters. "Frightingale! Stormy Weather! Awesome!! But a little too awesome for a first battle. Oh! Lady Copycat!! Or maybe your Copy cat! Well... Actis! I've always wanted to be you!!"

"Just hurry up and pick Actis!!" Anatis gasped, clearly annoyed.

"Fine, if we need to hurry this up," Aspik replied but he moved the controls and picked Mr Pigeon instead.

"You have gotta to be kidding me!" Anatis gasped, groaning as Gamer laughed.

"What? I've always wanted to train Pigeons," Aspik admitted as Mr Pigeon. Dark Cupid appeared in the area as Anatis groaned.

"There ain't even any pigeons in this stadium!" He declared in Gamer's voice again as Mr Pigeon took out his whistle and blew it. A few seconds later, one pigeon flew over and landed on his outstretched arm.

"There's one and I'm gonna call him...." Mr Pigeon made a thinking face. "Fiery Phoenix!"

He dabbed, causing the pigeon to the same as Anatis groaned again. Dark Cupid flew up and began to fire at him, causing him to run away.

"More like Megaflop phoenix," He declared, laughing. "It's gonna be the first victory ever!"

He looked up as Fiery Phoenix flew towards him in flames and hit him in the chest, knocking him down before he repeatedly attacked him, causing Gamer to scream.

"Ah! Go away, you flying rat!!" He shouted as Mr Pigeon ran over to him and grabbed his ankle.

"Double Ankle grab and Smash!" Aspik declared, pulling him down and throwing him into the ground before he jumped high into the air and jumped down towards Dark Cupid. "Somersault wrap tap!"

He landed in the middle of his chest, causing Dark Cupid to cry out as he lifted his arm.

"Feathered face wash!!" He declared, causing Fiery Phoenix to land on Dark Cupid's face and brush his tail feathers on him. He grabbed his pin and threw it away from him before jumping towards it. "The volatile's elbow!"

He landed his elbow on it, crushing it.

"Mr Pigeon wins!" The deep voice declared as he held up his arms. Fiery Phoenix flew over and landed on him, causing him to hold up his fist.

"Pound it, Fiery Phoenix," He grinned, causing the bird to tap his fist with it's head. Dark Cupid disappeared and the loot went to Aspik.

"Impossible!" Gamer declared.

"There we both won!" Anatis groaned. "Can we do now?!"

"Not yet!" He declared, making him groan. "We have some many characters to go through first and then the final boss,"

"Great," Anatis stated in a dull voice, picking Befana. Gamer picked Dark Owl before the two started to fight. Anatis fired at him but Gamer used Owl Mist then knocked him off the bike before kicking him into the ground, causing Anatis to lose before he dabbed and said something about been the dark owl, complete with a dab. Anatis rolled his eyes. "Lucky shot,"

"My turn!!" Aspik declared, choosing Reflekta. Anatis resisted having a go at him. "Ohh this brings back memories,"

Reflekta appeared in the arena as Gamer chose Rogercop. The deep voice announced the fight but the two stood there, staring each other down. They twitched their fingers, causing Anatis to groan again as they were taking their time. Reflekta lifted her hand, causing Roger to fire at her but she hit him first as he missed, turning him into her clone. He stumbled around as she walked over.

"They see me Catwalking," Aspik declared as Gamer stumbled over to the edge before he pushed him off it, winning the round. "They hating,"

"Urg! Stop boasting!" He groaned, picking Actis next. Gamer picked Puppeteer. "Anti-Charm!"

He summoned a sword and charged at her but she took out a puppet of him.

"Actis! Come to Life!" Gamer declared, taking control and making him stab himself. Anatis growled and picked another character, ignoring Aspik's protest. He picked Gorzilla, causing Gamer to pick Stoneheart. He rushed over and punched him, making him grow in size and dropped him off the edge. Anatis stared at the screen before lowering his head in shame. He should have remembered Stoneheart grown in size. He shouldn't have rushed in. He was stupid. Aspik stated something and played as some character but he didn't pay attention. He was so tired and drained it was unreal. He felt his eyes water as he tried to hold back his emotions and not cry. He was tired of crying. He wanted to know why he was plagued by nightmares and why he seemed cursed.

"Anatis?" Aspik's voice echoed, making him sniff as he blinked away tears. "Are... are you ok?"

"No," He replied, honestly. "I'm so tired of everything! I haven't slept in days and I can't even play these games anyway! I'm not good at them at all! Lady Noir is the gamer not me and I have no idea where she is!! I don't know how to play!"

"Ok, don't worry, my bug friend," Aspik tried to reassure. "I got this!"

He picked Lady Wifi and Gamer chose Time Breaker. He paused her instantly.

"Anatis, the best way to win isn't knowing how to play or been a gamer. That's not the point of games," Aspik stated, making Anatis. "Sure, I'm a hardcore gamer but that's just me. Not everyone is like that but doesn't mean you can't enjoy them. You're smart and games like this need that. You need to think about your moves and come up with a plan. Just like your lucky charm. And I get you haven't slept but maybe this game can help you relax. Maybe the reason why you can't sleep is because you're stressed out. A game like this can really help with that. I love playing a brawl game when my day's been too much or my dad's ignored me again. I pretend it's him or that I'm someone else,"

He pushed Time breaker of the edge, winning the round before choose Zombiezou.

"It's not about winning. It's all about loving to play and having fun," He stated, skipping around and defeating Horrificator. "Playing is the best way to do something you'd never do in real life. You can be anyone you want in games. That's why I love them. There's no expectations or impossible standards to meet! It's time to let yourself have some fun. Do that, Anatis and Gamer won't stand a chance,"

"... Playing is the best way to do something that you wouldn't normally do in real life..." Anatis repeated, looking up as he looked at Volpina, Mob Boss and a few other characters including the Collector and Blackout. "You know there's a few things I've always wanted to do,"

He selected Evillustrator as a counter to Volpina and drew a massive boxing glove, punching her off the edge. He couldn't help but grin as he always wanted to do that. With Blackout, he used Verity Queen to capturing him and force him off the edge. Aspik took out Pixalator with Desparada and used Troublemaker against Darkblade. Anatis used Princess Fragrance against Prime Queen and took out the Collector with Malediktator. They used Style Queen against Vanisher and Ikari Gozen against Loveater. Using Frozer, Anatis took on Mob Boss, freezing him in place and pushing him off the edge. That was really satisfying. He picked out Princess Justice and used her against the Bubbler. They continued to battle until they came to the last three triangles, declaring how much they loved the game as they did.

"Might I remind you this isn't just a game!" Gamer declared, making Anatis smirk.

"You're the one who wanted us to have fun!" He retorted back. "I think we're ready for the final boss. Right, Aspik?"

"Damn right!" He replied, smirking. "Stop hiding behind your toys and get in the ring, Gamer!"

"I am the final boss," He admitted, showing himself at the top of the diamond. "But how are we gonna figure out who should fight me?"

"What?" Anatis gasped before he suddenly appeared in the actual arena, opposite Aspik, who looked just as surprise.

"Admittedly, I would have liked to have seen you vs Lady Noir but I'll set for a fight between you and Aspik, Anatis since two against one would be really unfair," Gamer declared as they stared at each other.

"Anatis! Aspik! Ready! Fight!" The deep voice declared as they stared at each other.

"What are you waiting for?! Start fighting!" Gamer declared, making Anatis narrow his eyes. "If you don't, everyone will be imprisoned forever,"

"I'm sorry, Aspik but I can't let that happen," Anatis replied, unhooking his yoyo. "I don't want to fight you but..."

"I get it, Anatis," He smiled understandingly. "We have to save them but there's no way I could ever fight against you, Boss,"

He began to walk backwards, surprising Anatis.

"We both know you have to fight Gamer. You're the only one who can fix everything..." He stated, stopping the edge.

"You could use my power!" Anatis gasped but Aspik frowned and shook his head.

"We don't know if the cure would work though," He replied, making Anatis frown. He had a point. "For all we know, Gamer has rigged it to ensure I can't use the cure or there could be a bug in that wouldn't allow it! I'd just end up in a constant loop, reliving my failures over and over again. At least this way, we know for certain you can fix everything. So let me do what the snake does best and give you time..."

He closed his eyes and held out his arms.

"Save them," He whispered before letting himself drop. Anatis rushed to the edge and looked over as Aspik fell, causing him to look at him. "I trust you to bring me back, Anatis..."

"Anatis wins!" The voice declared as he hit the ground and disappeared.

"You're the one who wanted to get it over with," Gamer declared, making Anatis grit his teeth before a screen appeared in front of him. "Now since this is the final round, you can pick four other powers, along with your own superpower,"

Anatis narrowed his eyes and went to pick out Evillustrator's pen, Aspik's Bracelet, Style Queen's Rose and Gigtitian's bracelet as Gamer went on about how it didn't matter as he would win anyway. However, he stopped and thought about it before shaking his head and removing the items. He needed to work out a good plan and one that worked with his lucky charm. He threw his yoyo up into the air.

"Lucky charm!" He declared, summoning a small bag of flour and catching it, making Gamer laugh.

"You intend to beat me, the creator of the gamer, with a bag of flour?!" He asked as Anatis looked the screen, smirking as certain items lit up. He picked Lady Copycat's ring, Troublemaker's Pen, Sandboy's Pillow and Volpina's Necklace, turning them into their items. "Give what you have chose in peicely 1 minutes and 36 seconds, you will lose,"

"Will I?" Anatis smirked as he put Lady Copycat's ring, tucked the pen into his belt and placed the flute onto his back. He grabbed the pillow and looked up at Gamer as he appeared in the arena, switching between characters as the voice announced their fight. "Ready to lose, gamer?"

"You'll be the one who's losing," He declared. "Though I wish it could have last longer but my statics are never wrong,"

"Really?" Anatis asked, smirking. "Did they predict this? Cataclysm!"

He slammed his hand onto the ground, cracking it and jumped onto Sandboy's pillow as Gamer fell and laughed.

"I'm the game master!" He declared, changing into Banfana and flying up. "I can play any character. Now be a nice fairy and give me your miraculous,"

He fired at him but Anatis clicked Troublemaker's pen, making intangible. Nothing Gamer did touched him, making him cry out in frustration.

"You're ruining it!" He declared, making Anatis smirk a little.

"Too bad," He replied, looking at him as he tried to attack him. "You missed.... by the way in Chess, this is known as a pat. A can't win, can't lose situation. What was it you said? The longer the better?"

"Why you!" He growled but Anatis's earrings beeped. "Oh you thought you're so clever?! Well, checkmate Anatis! I just have to wait this for you to transform back,"

"Hmm... well, this is was just step one of my plan," He replied, making Gamer glare at him as he clicked the pen. "Time for step two,"

He stabbed the flour bag, causing a smoke screen of flour to appear. He quickly pulled out the flute and played a tune on it.

"Mirage!" He declared, throwing the ball before playing a second tune. This time it made him invisible as the first illusion made a bunch of clones to distract Gamer and fly around as well. He flew behind part of the stage before taking out the flute and whispering. "Mirage,"

A ball of light appeared, allowing him to create a third illusion of himself flying around and dodging Gamer's attack. He allowed this version to fly upside down and fall of it's pillow, landing on the ground.

"I've won! You're out, Anatis!" Gamer declared, smirking but Anatis didn't disappear, making him gasp as he turned into Reverser. "What?! There's no way!!"

"I don't believe it!" Anatis declared as he whispered into the ball of light before he laughed. "Your game has a bug in it, Gamer!"

"No!! That's impossible!" He declared, flying over.

"Even the best designed games has bugs in it," Anatis replied as Gamer leaned over and carefully touched the ground, causing him to turn back into himself.

"Ring out!" The announcer declared. "Anatis wins!"

Gamer gasped and touched the illusion, causing it to disappear as the real Anatis flew out.

"But sometimes they don't," He replied as Gamer looked at him in surprise.

"Well played, Anatis," He replied, smiling. "Good Game,"

He disappeared, leaving his glasses. Anatis grabbed them and snapped them in half before capturing the butterfly and re-releasing it once it was purified before he took out the bag of flour and threw it up into the air, releasing the cure. Aspik reappeared with Gamer as the pyramid disappeared, causing Anatis to walk over to them.

"Thank you for your help today, Aspik," He smiled, making the hero nod before he turned to Gamer, who had turned back to Max. "Your game looks amazing and I'm sure you'll find someone to play it,"

"Thank you, Anatis," He smiled as the two heroes left. They made a way to an alleyway and Aspik turned back into Adrien.

"You know if you need someone to talk to, you can reach out to me," He declared, making Anatis nod. "And maybe try some herbal tea. It might help with your sleep. Father has me drink for my sleep pattern,"

"Thanks, Adrien. I'll give it a go,"

~Later That Night~

Anatis hummed as he waited for Lady Noir. He felt someone land next to him but he knew it wasn't her. Instead, Koro sat next to him.

"You handled the situation well today,"

"I almost didn't," He replied, frowning before looking at her. "What do you want?"

"To see how you are," She replied, looking back. "Your partner didn't turn up,"

"She had her reasons,"

"You trust her?"

"She's never let me down,"

"And you think I have?" She asked, making him frown as he thought about it before he nodded. "I see,"

For a moment, they were silence.

"It's funny actually," He stated, making her look at him. "I feel like I can trust you but you didn't do anything about Hawkmoth and then just turned up out of nowhere. I could have used help on Heroes day or during Princess Justice but you didn't turn up then so I find it hard to trust you, despite what my gut says. Why didn't you turn up?"

"Honestly... because I'm a coward," She stated, frowning. "I ran from the order and abandoned their ways. When Hawkmoth turned up, I moved here to look into it but I was too afraid to reveal myself or bring out my box. It got worse when Aspik and Ryuko turned up. I was afraid to reveal myself to the guardian because I thought it might have been Su Han or his followers. I would have killed them. I still want to. Revenge has been my life for centuries but I knew if I killed them, Hawkmoth might win so I stayed away until Toutai warned me about Miracle Queen. I don't know why he did. He must be so ashamed of me,"

"He isn't," Anatis stated quickly, making her look at him. "I know he isn't... but I think you need to let go of that anger. I know it's hard to but it will do you no favors and only make you bitter,"

"You've lost someone yourself?" She asked, making him frown and shake his head.

"No... it's just... a feeling I have," He replied, looking down. It wasn't just a feeling. It came from Feng. It was his emotions. "Look, I'm sorry I had a go at you..."

"No, I get it," She replied, nodding. "You have every right to be angry,"

"Right... but I don't want to be," He replied, looking at her. "I have my team and Fu but we need allies so... let's try again. I don't trust you 100 percent yet but how can I learn to if we don't interact?"

"That is a good point," She replied as Lady Noir landed on the roof and walked over. She stood and bowed. "I'll take my leave... you're wise beyond your years, Anatis,"

"Right," He nodded as she jumped away. As soon as she was gone, Lady Noir turned to him as he stood up. She played with her hands and looked down.

"I am-" She started but he cut her off by engulfing her in a hug. She blinked and hugged back, standing there for a few seconds before he pulled away.

"You're safe," He smiled gently, making her eyes fill with tears. "I'm glad,"

"I'm so sorry I couldn't turn up," She gasped, blinking away her tears. "I was..."

"Trapped in the game," He stated, making her blink. "I know... you've been akumatized before you were Lady Noir. I'm guessing it was before I was Anatis..."

"Y-Yeah," She replied. It wasn't a lie. She had become Princess Justice before he appeared. "I'm sorry... I should have told you but I was embarrassed and afraid you'd hate me,"

"I could never hate you," He replied, hugging her again. "And I'm sorry you got akumatized and felt like you couldn't tell me. I won't ask who you were as I'm sure it might reveal the girl under the mask and I'm sure you don't want me to know... but you're still amazing and my best friend, Lady Noir. I don't think of you any less,"

"Anatis..." She whispered, hugging him back. "Thank you for been so understanding,"

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

Next Chapter: Coming Soon

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secretlittlerandezvous · 4 years ago

Text

Été - Pierre-Luc Dubois

Summary: Pierre takes his love to France where they have the time of their lives.

Words: 1802

“In this space right here that we have made for each other, you can say anything, and I will not abandon you. Unwrap the worst things you have done. Watch me hold them up to the light and not even flinch.” - tristamateer on Tumblr

Pierre-Luc Dubois was without a doubt the most romantic and sweetest guy she ever met in her whole life. It was overwhelming at times. The amount of attention he gave her, romantic surprises from dinners to weekend getaways to simply but most importantly being her best friend. He appeared in her life just when she was losing hope there could exist a man who could love her the way she wanted and needed. She knew she could count on him and trust him with everything and no matter how many issues life threw in their way they almost made it out stronger and more in love. What more could she ask for?

That’s exactly what Pierre wanted to know once the hockey season ended for him and summer was around the corner. He knew how much she had to sacrifice and deal with many things that she didn’t like for the sake of his playing career and he wanted to show her how much he appreciated her patience and support. He asked her countless time if there was anything she wanted to do in summer, anything he could buy her, or make come true but she never said a single thing except for “having you is enough”. It was of course a nice thing to know and to hear but it wasn’t helpful at all. Then thankfully an answer came, quite randomly when they were cooking dinner together and she opened a bottle of her favorite French wine and mumbled the words “oh to be in a winery in France!” And that’s exactly where he was going to take her.

He planned the whole trip for almost two weeks to make sure everything would go smoothly and that everything would be perfect. He rented a villa on a hilltop surround by land and in a small private winery. The villa was near to historic cities of southwest France, and completely private which was something he craved - privacy. To be alone with his love, away from his teammates and the team’s staff, away from media and fans. Just him and her for once.

“Are you kidding?” Y/n asked when she opened the little envelope with the details of their vacation in France. “I can’t go to France for 3 weeks Pierre! I have to work.”

“No, no you don’t,” Pierre laughed and rolled his eyes at her. She could never enjoy a surprise without thinking of a reason why she couldn’t enjoy it.

“What do you mean? Of course, I do!”

“You don’t. I talked to your boss already and she doesn’t have a problem with it,” he explained with a soft smile.

“You’re the best!” She said loudly and jump on him with excitement. “I love you.”

Southwest France

When the couple arrived to their rented villa a selection of wines made in the winery they would call home for the next three weeks greeted them in the kitchen and naturally, they opened a bottle or two immediately as a way to start the vacation.

“Wine tastes better in France,” Y/n announced after she poured herself another glass. “Don’t you think?”

“I think it would taste even better if we had some food,” Pierre laughed. “Seriously, I’m starving. Let’s go out.”

“Give me a minute,” Y/n ran to their bedroom, put on a beige silk dress that went below her knees, styled it with a pair of black flats and sunglasses and she was ready to go.

Pierre waited for her outside in their rented car, a black cabriolet Chevrolet Corvette, the perfect car to discover the city in and for road trips he planned for them.

A few minutes later they were sitting in possibly the most romantic restaurant they have ever been to. A man was playing the piano somewhere in the garden creating a perfect atmosphere for their first date in France, oil paintings on the walls, flowers decorating all the tables, and the view on a courtyard full of flowers. Could it be more magical? People around them chatted with each other, the beautiful French language almost seemed to be in the rhythm of the piano. And yet as fancy as it was it still felt cozy and homey. Y/n was in complete shock and it took a lot of self-control to stay calm and not to start obsesses over everything and to keep her phone in her bag since she and Pierre agreed not to use their phones and enjoy the privacy but she regretted the promise a little because she really wanted to a take a picture of that place. Pierre liked the setting as well but what made him happier was Y/n’s smile and excitement. Her smile was wider than usual, and her eyes lit up every time she spotted something, she found adorable.

The sun was slowly setting down while they enjoyed their dinner, the best food they ever had in their whole lives. They’ve been to so many restaurants in so many cities, yet no food tasted as good as the food in France. Needless to mention that the beautiful atmosphere simply made everything better. Pierre although he was a romantic guy, he never truly understood the world’s obsession with Paris and France in general but now that he was there, he finally understood what the world was talking about. Y/n always dreamt of going to France and having a movie-like summer with the love of her life. And as she looked at Pierre sitting in front of her, looking right back at her with so much love she knew with absolute certainty that he was the love of her life, the person she waited for for so long. The only person she could imagine spending the rest of her life with and growing old with him didn’t scare her at all. She knew it was going to be okay.

The following morning, they both woke up in an exceptionally good mood. Maybe it was the sunshine and warmth, maybe it was the fresh air, the privacy, and maybe the fact that everything was perfect, and nothing could ruin their mood. After a delicious breakfast, they moved to their garden to chill by the pool.

Pierre was on the sunbed watching Y/n swim in the pool happily. He kept smiling at her although she hardly ever looked at him. She looked happier than ever before and Pierre was proud of himself for planning this and doing this for her because it served its purpose; it made her smile, happy and relaxed.

When she got out of the water she stood still in the grass, surrounded by the never-ending grapevine, the sun made her skin appear golden and she was glowing, looking like an actual goddess. “What?” She giggled when she noticed Pierre staring at her.

“Nothing,” he answered. “Just adoring my girl.”

Y/n then lay down on the sunbed next to Pierre, enjoyed the warmth, and listened to Pierre reading her favorite book for her. The birds sang in the trees, the sun was pleasingly warm and they sipped wine and enjoyed each other’s company.

All shades of orange and pink created a beautiful sky that made everything look warmer and cozier, the last rays of sunshine sneaked into the villa most specifically to the kitchen where was Y/n currently making dinner while Pierre tries his best to help but not move around too much because his clumsiness in the kitchen was no joke. A warm breeze brushed against their skin and the scent of freshly chopped herbs filled the whole area. Soft jazz was playing in the living room and both Y/n and Pierre moved in the rhythm of the quiet music without realizing it. It was simply a beautiful and romantic evening in France.

“I have no idea what we’re cooking,” Pierre said as he added the chopped herbs and garlic he cut with such care after to the meat that was now covered in red wine and beef stock. “But it already smells delicious.”

“It’s boeuf bourguignon,” she answered with a French accent making herself and Pierre giggle. “And now we wait for an hour.” She said when she put the meat into the oven.

“This is nice,” Pierre whispered into Y/n’s ear when he wrapped his hands around her body, kissed her cheek softly and they slowly moved together with the music and watched the sunset from their terrace. “It’s nice having you all to myself for a while.”

“I should be the one who’s saying this,” Y/n said quietly. “I’m the one sharing you with all the fans, and teammates. Even the press people see you more often than I do.” She chuckled.

“I know,” he answered sadly, realizing once again how hard it must be for her to watch him spend time with everyone but her. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Y/n turned around with a smile to face him, wrapped her hands around his neck and hid her face in his chest. She knew how much Pierre hated being away from her but she understood everything perfectly and although it was never easy she accepted it.

Pierre leaned down a little which gave her a signal to lift her head up and his lips gently and slowly pressed to hers. She ran her fingers through his hair while his hands were securely around her waist as if he was worried someone would take her away from him at any moment. “I think I’m gonna make it up to you right now.” He announced and carried her to their bedroom.

And so that’s how the rest of the vacation went; they enjoyed the silence and fresh air, went for walks around the town, cooked food together, and made love whenever they wanted. Most importantly their relationship was even better than it was before, and they realized how much they loved each other.

“Thank you for this vacation, my love,” Y/n said one evening as they walked around the vineyard. “I can’t describe how grateful I am for this. For you.”

Pierre stood still for a while unable to find the words to say. He would do anything for her just as she would for him and they both knew it. They had no doubts about their feelings for each other and everything that he could say was already said. And so he just took her into his arms and hugged her tighter than ever before, kissed her and they stayed like that until the sun was replaced by the moon.

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infinitegalahad · 4 years ago

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WASHING MACHINE HEART (SNEAK PEAK!)

Prompts: “i’m not jealous!” “you’re clearly jealous.”

Gif Credit: @andrewhaldane

Summary: Nothing ever lasts forever, everybody wants to rule the world. You are pretty much the only person who could change the way Lewis operates, and that's exactly what you do-change him.

Notes: Gender neutral reader. It's not explicitly stated, so I'm leaving it up for interaction. This is for a prompt request that I have decided to take totally out of proportion once again! I blame Lana Del Rey for making me think about sugar daddy Lewis Nixon. Also, Lewis Nixon needs lots of therapy. I mean trigger warning for both characters being unstable and needing help? This is a friends with benefits where one person wants more, and the other does too; but they don't know how to communicate it. Feels ahead! Also if you know the meaning of Washing Machine Heart, then you KNOW what this is going to be. Anything that I write that has Mitski's music is bound to be two things; long and painful. Enjoy this snippet! :D

Taglist: @tvserie-s-world @now-im-a-belieber @50svibes @ricksmorty @pennyllanne @capsparkyspeirs @ask-you-what-sir

“You want me to be you’re what?”

Nearly spitting out drinks, Vat 69 mixed with vodka (A Nixon classic). It was quite a bizarre offer. Maybe Lewis had drunk too much, which was a common habit. But you made eye contact with him and he had a shit eating grin on your face. You let out an awkward laugh, and he followed suit.

You had been Lewis’s assistant operations officer since Caretan, there with him through a demotion, a divorice, and all of the other wonderful things that happened in his life. Not only was he your boss, but someone you confided in. He would confine in you, you would confide in him with stolen alcohol-it was a perfect example of mutualism. It’s as if you were his therapist at first, then a friend, and then a friend with benefits. Everything was kept under wraps, of course, for both of you to honor your diginites. Besides, you wouldn't wanna tarnish Lewis’s relationship with your father-considering that he was his boss, a Major general for the 101rst Airborne Division.

“A confidante. Companion. Confrère.” Nixon explained as he poured more vodka into your empty cup, which was not a good sign, “Miss Nixon won’t leave her baby boy alone. If I show her I have someone on my arm, she’ll shut up.”

“So let me get this straight. I go back home with you to New York, attend a party with you, be your arm candy, and you pay me?” You summarized his point, swimming the drink in your hands.

“Money, gifts, whatever you want, I can give you,” Lewis promised. He leaned against the railing as you looked at him. Your elbows grazed against each other. Resting your chin on your palm, you went deep into this arrangement.

The war had ended in The Pacific, so you could finally go home. As much as you were excited to leave and finally get back home, you’d miss Nixon. Sure, you’d be in Bronxville and he’d be Manhattan, only a train ride apart. Yes, he was a total asshole, but he was your asshole. The two of you had been together through thick and thin. Your parents would never approve of an alcoholic divorcee, but there was something inside of him that made you fill up with nervous excitement.

You could hear your mother’s voice, scolding you about the type of man Lewis was. Maybe he was a little too old, a little too broken, and a little too much for you, but that’s what attracted you to him. Over time, you learned that you and Nixon had much more in common. Both of you wanted to get away from your families. Hell, Nixon was paying for your college tuition at Sarah Lawenrece and when he had a weekend pass into Paris, you would come. For “work purposes”, but in all honesty it was for fine dining in Paris, shopping for the finest things in Champs-Élysées with Nixon, arm in arm wrapped under your finley manicured finger, and learning more about Miss Nixon’s best boy.

It was hard to let go of that. Everything he had done for you, and yet you were just friends with benefits. Still, after all you have gone through. It frustrated you. But after his divorce, you wanted to support him. He had lost everything, and without Dick, he was probably more lonely and hurt than ever. You wanted to be his comfort besides Vat 69. This arrangement could be an opportunity for the both of you. Maybe it would be more than an arrangement, but something bigger than that.

Lewis nudged your elbow as he raised a thick eyebrow, “Well, whatta’ say?”

“I say, why the hell not?” You accepted the offer, and the two of you clinked your drinks together. “So would we call this an arrangement? Be the pretty thing on your shoulder and you give me pretty things? Just like in Paris?”

“Just like Paris.” He reassured you, patting your shoulder. Sitting on a bench, he patted the spot next to you with his arm stretched out. “Sit with me?”

“Why I’d be honored too, good sir!” You dramatically stated for a comedic effect, which earned a smile from Lewis as you sat down right next to him. Moving close, both of your thighs caressed with each other. He adjusted and moved his free arm around you, bringing you close to him. You responded by laying your head on his chest, along with one of your hands.

Lewis didn’t say much besides drinking more from his cup, which kept getting refilled and gouged in seconds. There was a cold silence that filled the air. You kept adjusting in his hold, craving for that attention that wasn’t crude jokes or touch, but it always flew over his head. As he got lost in what the hell he was going to when he was home and the alcohol that poured in his system, you laid on his chest, waiting for that kiss, even though you knew that it wasn’t happening.

You closed your eyes as you laid there, pretending that Lewis was more than an arrangement for you.

The thing was, Lewis wasn’t dumb. He knew that too, but he didn’t know how to put it in words, so he used what he knew who to use best-money and gifts. Just as you always did.

#lewis nixon #lewis nixon x reader #lewis nixon imagine #band of brothers #band of brothers x reader #band of brothers imagine #hbo war #carrie's wips

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thr-333 · 4 years ago

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Mismatch- Part 25

In my defence I didn’t forget about updating here, I just didn’t want to.

First < Previous

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

“How do I look?” Marion asks as people fuss around him, not least of all Marinette herself.

“I hoped that would be obvious seeing as I designed this look,” She smirks at him eyes sparkling he can tell since the whites of the Domino mask are removed.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re the greatest and all that,” He waves her off as a stylist tries to tame his hair to fit the messy look she wanted.

“Well it is true isn’t it?” She teases, someone also trying to follow her with a brush and comb as she flies around the room in a whirl of designing.

"Perhaps," Marion hums, gaze drifting over to the door where he notices a familiar figure, Marinette follows his smile.

“Luka!” Marinette exclaims, wrapping her friend in a hug, “When did you arrive?”

“Last night," Luka smiles, she was glad she got the chance to become his friend again as MDC, not that he knew their secret identity, "This city is so majestic,”

“Gotham at night?” Marion scoffs, turning in his seat, only to get scolded by the stylist, “Are we talking about the same place?”

“CD maybe you just haven't taken the time to really hear the city’s song,” Luka strums a few cords to demonstrate, “You should its melody compliments your own,”

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Marion shrugs, sitting forward again, “Do you think you can use it to reach out to the Gotham audience? I really want to connect with them,”

“Will do boss,” Marion sticks his tongue at him, Luka only ever called him that in jest.

Luka gives a playful wave leaving to go sort out the music. He had his own responsibilities as the opening act. Marinette feels someone watching them and dismisses the stylist, congratulating her on a great job. She looks a tad peeved as Marion's hair is largely the same as when she entered, but many employees are used to the twins randomly leaving anyway. The door to their dressing room clicks closed and the presence makes itself known.

“What can we do for you, Batman?” Marinette asks, offering him a seat, although she knows he won’t accept it.

“MDC,” he inclines his head, not showing if he was taken aback by her catching him out, “We have reason to believe the concert will be attacked tonight,”

“Yeah, we thought that might happen,” Marion gets up, stretching, “Just try to keep whoever away from the crowd and we can handle the rest,”

“You don’t seem to understand, after the last attack-”

“Sorry to cut you off,” Wow it was weird acing professional around the same guy they had been tormenting the past few weeks, “But that was an impromptu event this one has been planned out for years,"

Officially not but they had designed the building to help them catch akuma in Paris while keeping an event going, they just applied that design to Gotham.

"If you would like to call in the rest of your coworkers we can show you the defenses we have in place so you can work with them,”

Batman seems surprised. What did he think they were just air-headed celebrities? Well, that wasn’t going to be the only surprise of the day then. Sure enough, he calls everyone in and Marinette’s a little hurt to see he invited everyone but Sparrow and Songbird to join in the fun. She hides this fact leading the ragtag group through the backstage area. Spotting their manager she walks over.

“Could you please clear our schedule we want to give them a personal tour of our security measures,” She asks Kate, to her credit only looking mildly surprised to see the whole Batfam trailing after them.

“I thought you might, I’ve already worked it into your schedule, just make sure you're there in time for the costume checks,” Kate looks down tapping away at her tablet, “Also call your uncle arrived in town last night he’ll want to wish you good luck so watch out for him,”

“We couldn’t do it without you,” Marinette beams, letting her go to attend her other duties.

They must make an odd sight, two superstars guiding a pack of vigilantes like ducklings through the backstage. They go over all the security protocols. Safe rooms that the staff was instructed to go to under certain circumstances. There were carefully lain traps that only a few people could trigger to set off. On the stage itself was a secret compartment Marion could make a quick getaway to get change in, a tunnel leading backstage. The entire backstage was a maze in itself all the staff specially trained to navigate it.

To protect the audience they hadn't packed it nearly as much as they could have so it meant it easier for them to reach the exits. Indeed there were hidden emergency exits that people could escape through if villains blocked the obvious ones, they were set to reveal themselves if that was the case. There were also hidden trapdoors in rows of seats that would glow if people were forced to duck behind the seats. It leads to underground tunnels that would lead them safely away. There were even tunnels connecting to the staff safe rooms so they could come and direct the audience as needed. Marinette had made sure to make the tunnels look inviting ad pleasant so no one would panic at being underground.

Then there were the special (comfy) perches that they showed to the Batfamily, each situated to look over everything and be hidden by the lights. There were wires leading to the stage and audience in case they needed to get down quickly and quietly. They also made a web above that they could run along and run any interference with ariel attacks. They also gave them each a blueprint of the stadium so they could see all the secret tunnels that were perfect for a surprise attack. There were ones leading into the entrance subtle enough someone could be pulled in while walking into the building, for the purposes of catching criminals before they even entered. There was also a trap door that could open underneath, she gave them each a remote control to these, warning them to use them wisely. Each hidden door leads to a room suited for fighting, carefully crafted to give the bats and edge.

It had taken a long time and a lot of money but they had invested, making a safe place they could rent out to other performers so there could be more shows in Gotham conducted safely. She could tell that by the end of the tour even Batman was impressed as they headed back to the stage through the empty audience seating.

“Hey! Superstars!” Jagged's voice booms across the arena, waving from the entrance of the place.

“Uncle Jagged!” Marion jumps over seats to reach him, Marinette a step behind him as they both tackle him into a hug.

“Good to see you too,” Jagged ruffles their hair, Marinette sends a silent apology to the stylist, “This place looks Rockin!”

“You bet just wait till I take the stage,” Marion grins, as they both hug Penny and Fang as well.

“Why wait! Show me what you got,” Jagged sends Marion off, who runs to the technicians asking if they can do an early mic check, everyone scrambles to make it happen.

“So how’re you finding Gotham?” Jagged asks her, walking with a side hug back towards the Batfamily.

“Oh, you know… busy,”

“I’d say the news with Marion? That was wicked!”

“Yes… wicked,” Penny pales at just the memory, and yeah fair enough.

“Yo Batman great to meet you!” Jagged boisterous nature meets Batman’s stoic one but the poor guy barely has a chance to adjust before Jagged’s moving on.

“Yo Red Hood right?” Hood looks a little shocked as Jagged claps a hand on his shoulder, “You saved my nephew, I really owe you one!”

“Oh-that's not- I just,” Marinette shares a smirk with Jagged which would have surely had Marion screaming.

“Yeah, he really looks up to you!” Jagged has him spluttering more, she would show him mercy but they only have so much time before Marion catches on.

“Oh Uncle Jagged I wouldn’t phrase it like that,” Marinette says in a suggestive tone, the stage is still empty of Marion.

“Of course, no I’d say it more that...” Marinette could actually laugh as Red Hood practically vibrates from anticipation, “He likes you,”

I think we just killed him, Marinette notes as Red Hood internally combusts. Well now wasn't the time to show mercy.

“I’d say that's putting it rather lightly,” Marinette smirks as Red Hood is sent into another spluttering mess, and oh how she wishes he wasn't wearing that helmet.

“Right it’s more like-”

“Stop it both of you,” Penny’s reprimand has them both doubling over with laughter. The Batfamily looking absolutely bewildered. Minus of course, Red Hood who they may have to call an ambulance for soon if he doesn't start breathing.

“What are you two laughing at?” Marion walks to the edge of the stage, someone fusses with a microphone not too far away.

“Nooothhinggggg,” They chime simultaneously, with matching grins.

“Penny?” Marion all but whines, fidgeting nervously.

“They haven’t said anything bad,” She assures him, Marion foolishly relaxes.

“Hey is this the guy that saved your hide?” Jagged asks, having the guts to swing his arm around Red Hood’s shoulders.

“Uncle Jagged,” He hisses at the same time Penny hisses ‘Jagged’.

“You should thank him... sing endless!” Jagged exclaims, and Marinette couldn’t be sure he hasn't been planning this from the start, “You wrote it for him didn’t you?”

“Not for him its not-” Marion makes a bunch of vague gestures, “You know?”

“Not at all,” Jagged grins, dragging Red Hood closer to center stage seats, he plops down Red Hood right in the middle of the stadium. The rest of the Batfam take seats around them. “Sing Endless!”

Marion is scowling but doesn't have much other choice as a stagehand tell him he’s all set. He takes the microphone. Marinette mimes at him to breathe, he rolls his eyes but does anyway. The music starts Marion hitting his cue and with just the first few words she could see the tension drain away.

“And the world starts slowly caving it~”

It was such a gentle song. So many people had told him and still told him that it didn’t fit the violent vigilante. The producers had argued they should just fit it to someone else, someone people liked more. In the end, they had caved to Marion's arguments probably because it wasn't made to be an upbeat pop song so they weren't too attached to the money making aspect. That didn't stop the audience from arguing about it afterwards. Some claimed they just randomly selected the song, or that they shouldn't have done one for him at all.

Marion pointedly told them they were all wrong. And looking at Red Hood now, completely enthralled with Marion's singing she could tell that, yeah it had fit him perfectly all along.

"All the words you said were they true? or just selfish li-es~"

Marinette broke her gaze away from Marion to look at the rest of the Batfamily. Suffice to say they were all enthralled, hopefully they wouldn't be this distracted at the concert tonight. Although she supposed it was a good thing they were doing the mic check now so they could watch now and focus later. Then again she doubted Red Hood would be much use regardless, he was leaning forward in his seat the rest of the world dead to him. To fair Marion wasn't much better. In a crowd he would look around or at least pick a random stop to sing to no one. This time however? this time he was locked on to Red Hood sinign directly to him and he probably didn't even realise.

"Gave all I ever had try to make you laugh try to please you~"

Batman looked uncomfortable at the line. Judjing by the times she had seen them spend together there was a tension between them a past she didn't know. How Marion managed to pick up on that long before they came to Gotham she doesn't know. It was almost like he could see into his soul, a connection there despite never having met, like the pull of a miraculous.

"All I know is gone, now I'm all alone~"

Marion wasn’t testing out the mics. That much was obvious. He was straight up performing. And no he hadn’t written the song for Red Hood persay. But she had watched him every night and day agonize over the right words to use, the tune, the feeling behind it. Scraping up every bit of information he could it was probably more thorough than any police investigation done on Red Hood. It was then she realized, their room covered top to bottom in pictures of him covering the ones she had of Adrien, that Marion had completely and utterly fallen for the guy. No, it wasn't a song for him, it was a love letter for him, to him, about him. It was a picture that painted exactly how Marion saw him.

And she was willing to bet that the only people that didn’t realize it were them, both completely captivated by each other as Marion finished.

“What is it~” He holds the next note until the music fades out into nothingness, “Inside~”

The music stops, Marion opening his eyes, almost seeming startled that there were other people sitting before him. It’s only then he seemed to realize that there was more than just one other person in the arena and spirited off to check with the sound. It was as he turned to walk away Marinette could tell Hood had seen it, the robins newly stitched up the back of his jacket.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug fic #miraculous ladybug #ml fic #ML #bio! dadbrucewaynemonth2020 #bio dad bruce wayne #Mismatch #marinette is mdc #twins au #vigilante AU #Popstar AU #MLB #salt #Slight salt #lila #lila lies #class trip au #maribat

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extremelyblackandwhite · 4 years ago

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handmaid - 09

PAIRING: mob!sebastian stan x ingenue!reader

WARNINGS: age gap, mentions of violence

A/N: hope you enjoy this chapter xxx

NEXT CHAPTER

- It’s about Mr. Williams.

Sebastian’s face creased up, the lines that were rather faint in his skin becoming more prominent as his cerulean eyes lowered to look at the Y/N who was starting to curl up like a silkworm. That was the least of names he wanted to hear, specially the least of names he wanted to hear coming from her lips. The name itself seemed to taint her lips and it didn’t take long for Y/N to realise the atmosphere had shifted into uncharted territory. Sebastian wouldn’t hurt her, right? He had never given her any excuses for her to believe he would hurt her, however the dislike for Mr. Williams was certainly present.

- What about Mr. Williams, Y/N? - he spoke in a low tenor, menacing enough to make her feel short.

- I was just speaking with Gwen ... - Y/N was lying through her teeth, hoping Sebastian wouldn’t ask a lot of questions if she added the heiress’ name to the narrative. He, however, didn’t seem to lower down his defence stance. - You’re not gonna dispose of him, are you?

- I don’t think I owe you any explanation about my business. Know your place, Y/N. - the words made her heart clench as the once rather warm and comfortable environment seemed to freeze, and Y/N was no longer comfortable. Why would she ask him about his business? Yet, on the other hand why shouldn’t she? She was one of his employees too.

Y/N’s glance migrated away from him to look at her own hands which were gripping the railings of the balcony. It hadn’t been hard for her notice that he didn’t really like people messing into his business, however, she wasn’t expecting to having been shot down this quickly. It wasn’t like Y/N was a big fan of Thompson Williams, she was just paying him a favour, after all everyone is worth a second shot and he looked scared enough and worried to deserve one. With a shaky breathe, she returned to look at him, observing that the tenseness had not left his face, however it looked like a facade, almost like a mask and she wondered what he hid behind it.

Without speaking another word, frightful for more hurtful words coming from him, she turned around, feet moving to point towards the door which she walked to, opening it and leaving Sebastian’s suite. So much for the favour mentioned by the sleazy man. Why would he hold any favour towards her when she was a bright reminder that he was fated towards a marriage he didn’t pick?

Almost like snapped of a daze, Sebastian blinked quite a few times, lingering on the place she had been on before he took off to the hall expecting her not to be fast enough to have already returned to her bedroom. Much to his dismay, the halls of the hotel were empty with only sounds of soft snoring coming from the other bedrooms.

- Fuck. - he sighed, kicking one of the wall heaters in frustration.

- Sir. - one of the bodyguards made himself known. - Is everything alright, sir?

- Yes, Elias. - Sebastian had made particularly important to have trusted bodyguards following Y/N and Gwen around, however, Elias was specially responsible by keeping an eye on Y/N. - Make sure Miss Y/N is alright.

The morning came quickly and like a wound, his words were rather sore on her mind and running wild as she sat down on the hotel’s restaurant to have a lavish restaurant with Gwen. Despite the beautiful refined pastries, cakes, and teas being constantly put in front of her, she was much too lost in her thoughts and regrets over even mentioning Williams’ name in front of Sebastian.

Another employee set a basket of bread in front of the two girls along with endless glasses of various brightly coloured juices which smelled like they were freshly squeezed fruit juice. The breakfast however went by in seconds, maybe due to Y/N’s relentlessness to overthink every single little thing she had done wrong or maybe due to the fact that regarding the nice climate, Gwen was interested in rushing through breakfast and head out to the pool. In all honesty, a nice day by the pool did sound nice, as long as she were able to read whatever she wanted with no one bothering her.

It wasn’t like Gwen was gonna go do sight seeing which meant Y/N had to do with what she was given and a peaceful day by the pool sounded well enough. They were taken by the bodyguards to the pool and set off shop in the white and bamboo lounge with a VIP sign glued to. Y/N took place in the shadiest place, opening her book, set it on top of her legs and put her earbuds in, getting lost in instrumental soundtracks and beautifully written novels.

Sebastian woke up much later than the two women, picking his phone to check if there were any business news and much to his dismay, there were several things he’d had to go over. Before returning to his work, he decided to go check on Gwen, mostly because he was certain Y/N was most likely by his fianceé’s side. And by her side she was, as he stepped onto the pool courtyard he found the very innocent and naíve Y/N scantily clad in a bright red swimsuit in Baywatch fashion. Suddenly, his pants felt tighter and his mind was screaming at him not to look at the handmaid when his future wife was even more scantily dressed than her.

Y/N noticed his presence, pushing her red rimmed sunglasses down a bit to the bridge of her nose to look at him before pushing them back up and raising her book her. She was definitely upset at him and he couldn’t apologise for his behaviour in front of Gwen.

Sebastian grabbed his phone from his back pocket, dialling a very familiar number before turning his back on the two girls.

- I’m gonna need a favour. - he mumbled as he walked away to return to his business.

- Y/N! - Gwen poked her handmaid’s arm, making her take her earbuds off and eventually ending her peaceful moment. - Look at those guys, they’re are totally checking us out.

Y/N rolled her eyes, rotating her head ever to slightly look at the men on the other side on the pool. They looked exactly like the same type of guys she had gone to university with and none of them held a candle to Sebastian. Wait. Why was she comparing them to Sebastian? Of course they looked nothing like the mob boss, they weren’t being apparently closed off about their flirting, were significantly younger and ... well ... they did not look like him. But he was engaged and it was clear he was probably still mad at her. Despite that, Y/N was still not in the mood to play wing woman to Gwen.

- They are definitely staring at you, Gwen.

- Aw, what’s that? Are you saving yourself for someone else or something?

- I’m just not in the mood. - she sighed. - Besides, they’re just looking for a passing fancy.

- A forever romantic, aren’t you? C’mon, is there someone I should know about?

- I don’t think anyone is interested in me like that, Gwen.

- C’mon! Don’t you have someone whose touch lingers a little bit after they’ve done so? - yes. God yes, but that someone whose touch lingered around every time they happened. - If you don’t then there’s some guys clearly interested in talking to us.

- You can go, Gweny. You clearly want to go. - Sebastian had left a long time ago, hence why Y/N was rallying her up to do so. Yet, mostly so she could leave her alone which after a while she did, walking up in heels to the group of boys who fanned over her like if she were the impersonation of Venus. After a while of being in the shade reading Dangerous Liasons, Y/N decided to return to her room knowing Gwen was about to retire from the pool herself with one of the boys.

Tired, she put a light and soft white coat on and grabbed her bag before heading to the stairs and onto the lift with Elias constantly on her tail. It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to security but ever since Sebastian assigned her own bodyguard to follow her around, it just felt odd. However, thankfully, she only had one compared to the crowd of six that followed Gwen around.

The lift ride seemed endless when you’re tired but in less than two minutes she was back on her floor and on her bedroom. Throwing her bag onto the bed, she removed the coat and sat down on her duvet, eyes scanning her bedroom until she noticed a black velvety box standing in her dresser.

- Elias?- she called out and immediately the man had his head popped into the slight opening of her door. - What is that box?

- It was left there by the staff. - he shrugged and returned to his position of waiting outside her door.

Curiously, Y/N paced to her dresser, looking at the box as if it were an explosive device before her hands brushed against the velvety material of the box. She didn’t know what it was but whatever it was, it was well packaged in a very expensive looking box. Suspiciously, she opened the box where a note in beige coloured paper was standing on top of a velvet bag. She took the paper in her hands, turning it around to see a rushed yet somehow pleasing handwriting. I’m sorry. S.S. x

Sebastian. Her tummy filled with butterflies as she felt the heat creep onto her cheeks. Placing the card on the table, she grabbed the velvet bag which was slightly heavier than expected and once she opened it to check the contents of it, she couldn’t help but smile at what she saw. It was exactly the same as she remembered, in the same beautiful pure white colour with golden accents. She opened the top of the music box and out came the melody she knew too well accompanied with the crystal ballerina and the Paris landscape.

Without much of a thought, she rushed out of her door and to the front of Sebastian’s suite door, knocking on it rather forcefully.

- Miss Y/N, Mr. Stan isn’t taking any visits right now. - one of his bodyguards rather rudely spoke down to her.

- I’m sorry, I just really need to speak with him. - she held the music box close to her chest. - Please.

- I’m afraid you didn’t hear me correctly. - his hand wrapped around her wrist, pushing her away from the door and into the middle of the hall. - No visits now.

- Could you please let him know that I want to speak with him. Please.

- Listen, Miss Y/N, I see you’re used to experience the same type of privilege as Miss Forrest but you’re an employee and as an employee you schedule appointments and behave like an employee. Are we understood?

- Yes. - she looked down, shifting her weight from side to side.

- Unhand Miss Y/N this second. - the colour from his face drained as his hand lost its grip on her wrist. She looked up to see a very unhappy Sebastian with his arms crossed across his chest and, like a shy child, tip toed over behind him as he condemned the bodyguard. - You are not to touch Miss Y/N without her permission or I’ll cut your fucking hands off. Do you hear me?

- Yes, sir. - Y/N was fascinated by how he didn’t need to scream and how he just kept a grip over power unseen to her. Before she could even process what had just happened, Sebastian placed his hand on the small of her back to lead her back to his suite before closing the door behind them.

- You should’ve called out for me when you knocked. - his gaze lowered to the music box in her hands. - I see you’ve got my gift. I’m so sorry for the way I treated you last night.

- This is the most thoughtful thing someone has ever done for me. I can’t believe you remembered. - her fingers traced the pattern on the music box, smiling mindlessly. - Thank you so much, Sebastian. I don’t know ... I don’t even know how to repay the favour.

- It’s a gift, angel. You really should stop trying to repay gifts. - his hand grazed over her forearm. The lingering touch, there is was, and she couldn’t help but stare into his cerulean eyes. - I wasn’t in my best behaviour last night and I wanted to apologise.

Y/N softly smiled, all the worries from last night fading away as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug which took him by surprise. She had put her music box by the side and Sebastian stood there not entirely sure what to do with himself, all he knew is that it felt good to have her in his arms in a way like nothing else ever felt. The hug seemed too short as both of them pulled away, staring into each other’s eyes until the magnetism just became too much for any of them to handle and as if she were bewitched she leaned forward, connecting her lips to his in what felt like the blooming of various emotions she was yet to experience.

It’s really something.

tag list: @lilya-petrichor @xoxohannahlee @irespostthingsiwanttoseelater @nikkipea @madisonpillstrom @cevans98 @thelostallycat @sideeffectsofyou @anxiousdreamersworld

#sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan/reader #sebastian stan x you #sebastian stan/you #sebastian stan x y/n #sebastian stan/y/n #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan drabble #sebastian stan fanfic #mob!sebastian stan x reader #mob!sebastian stan #mob boss! sebastian stan

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bluesylveon2 · 4 years ago

Text

My My, I Could Never Let You Go

Summary: Sasha Zoe just wants her dad to walk her down the aisle. There is only one problem: she doesn't know who her dad is! Sasha invites 3 men in hopes of finding out which one is her father. What could possibly go wrong?

Pairings: Levi x Hange, Sasha x Niccolo, and other background relationships

Disclaimer: This is a Levihan Mamma Mia au. This fanfic is inspired by Mamma Mia which is directed by Phyllida Loyd, written by Catherine Johnson, and uses music from the pop group ABBA. Attack on Titan is a manga/anime series written by Hajime Isayama and published by Kondasha

A/N: I’m alive! I would insert a sob story, but I’ll spare you the details. I RECOMMEND looking up Mamma Mia Dancing Queen by Movieclips on Youtube to get a feel of the end (look for the ******). Enjoy!

Need to catch up? Catch up here!

Ch 5: Dancing Queen

Rico and Nanaba were out drinking again at a nearby bar while Hange was away. Hange mentioned how she had to grab some things from her goat house, so Rico and Nanaba took it upon themselves to drink some more and talk to the locals.

Rico looked up at the bartender in front of her. She recognized him as one of the men who had helped her and Nanaba earlier. This man was way taller than her, and definitely over 6 feet. He had long, light ash-brown hair styled in a mullet, and he had small, intense golden-brown eyes. It almost gave him a vicious look. This time the man was shirtless and only wore swim trunks. It's a good thing wearing swimwear on/underneath clothing was considered normal on the island.

“Here you go, one cocktail for a beautiful woman like you.” he slides the drink over to Rico and gives her a wink. Rico grabbed the drink and gave the man a flirty smile. Definitely not vicious. He seemed like a nice and flirty guy to her.

Maybe husband number 4? Rico smirks as she drinks her cocktail. Don’t get Rico wrong now. She knows what is out of line when it comes to choosing her future husband. However, a little bit of flirting won’t hurt.

“Thank you…” Rico trailed off. Shoot. She never got the guy’s name.

Jean grabs a wet rag and starts cleaning off the bar “Jean. I’m also one of Sasha’s friends.”

“Ah, I heard of you!” Nanaba yells out suddenly. She looks at Jean with excitement. Nanaba loves learning about the bits and pieces of Sasha’s life. After all, it’s been years since she has last seen her. “Sasha has talked a lot about you! You’re Niccolo’s best man, right? Have you been on the island this whole time?”

Jean nodded “Yes and no. Yes, I am Niccolo’s best man. No, I haven’t stayed on the island the whole time. I actually came back a few months ago to prepare for the wedding. I’ve been busy with college studying for art before coming back. I'm currently staying at the old house that I share with my friend, Marco.”

Jean is a Fine Arts major at the Paris College of Art. He agreed to study in France because of his mom. You see, Jean originally lived in France before moving to Kalokairi to be more independent. He was from Strasbourg, which is about 500 km away from Paris. It’s a long drive, but it is worth it for him to see his mom’s smile every time he visits. Jean also works part-time in the bar in Kalokairi to help pay for his expenses. Jean is lucky his old boss let him work again, or else he would be doomed.

Jean reminisced when he first came back to Kalokairi. He was excited to see Sasha again and for the wedding. Jean views Sasha as a sister he wishes he had, and he was genuinely happy to be a part of her wedding.

Jean smiled at the memory. He was strolling through the island, greeting the locals and familiar faces. In fact, Jean was too busy reminiscing to even hear the sound of running footsteps heading towards him from behind. It was then when Jean’s peace was ruined by Hanami jumping on his back. She loudly proclaims her excitement for them working together for Sasha’s wedding (she is Maid of Honor, and he is the Best Man).

Jean sighed as he finished wiping off the bar. That woman is gonna be the death of him one day.

Nanaba looked up to find Rico studying Jean, who was lost in thought. Oh no. Here comes Husband number 4 already.

She rolls her eyes and looks at Rico's drink. It had a peachy color, decorated with an orange wedge on the rim and a mini umbrella. It looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t put a name to it. The orange slice meant it’s definitely fruity. Ironically enough, Nanaba is not a big fan of fruity drinks. She likes a fruity smell in her perfume though. Nanaba prefers drinking beer or hard alcohol like whiskey.

Nanaba grabs Rico's attention. “Hey Rico, what kind of drink did you get?” She proceeds to drink her beer.

“Sex on the beach,” Rico replies nonchalantly. This causes Nanaba to almost choke on her drink. She began to have a coughing fit.

Rico repeatedly slaps Nanaba’s back until she stops coughing. “Did I say something wrong, Nana? Why did you start coughing?” Rico raised an eyebrow.

Jean, noticing Nanaba’s coughing fit, stops making drinks for other customers, to give Nanaba a napkin. She thanks him, and Jean nods and returns back to his job.

Nanaba wipes her mouth and turns to Rico. “Are you trying to imply something by ordering that specific drink with him? You're staring is not exactly subtle, you know." She quickly darts her eyes to Jean, who was busy doing his job and not eavesdropping on their conversation.

Rico laughs and takes a sip of her drink. “Take your mind out of the gutter, Nana.” Rico smirks “I just wanted to order a drink. That’s all. Unless...maybe I am?" She winks at Nanaba and laughs.

Nanaba rolls her eyes and smiles at Rico. She wasn’t surprised that Rico took the opportunity to mess with her. Nanaba looks over to Jean to make sure he is busy. She places a hand on Rico’s shoulder and looks at her with a serious face.

“Don’t mess with the poor boy, Rico. You’re old enough to be his grandmother,” she says with the most serious tone she could come up with. She takes her hand away and takes another sip of her beer. Rico lightly slaps Nanaba’s shoulder in fake offense and laughs again. Of course, Nanaba would point that out. Rico was ready to make a comeback but stopped as she heard running heading in her direction.

Both women turn around from their seats to see an exhausted and frightened Hange run up to them. Hange’s hair was messier than normal, and her glasses were slightly crooked. One of the straps of Hange’s overalls came loose too. She looked as if she ran a marathon or was practicing for the Olympics.

“Where’s Sasha?” Hange asks as if her life depended on it.

Jean, who noticed Hange's appearance, answers for Rico and Nanaba. “I think she’s at the beach with the other girls.” He goes back to his job but doesn't question Hange’s looks. He doesn't want to die before the wedding.

“What’s up?” Nanaba asks tenderly and reaches up to fix Hange’s glasses. Now that Hange was up close, she noticed how red her eyes were and the tears that were ready to spill.

Hange was overwhelmed with emotions. She has to juggle running the hotel, Sasha’s wedding, and now deal with her past lovers! This was not how she wanted Sasha’s wedding to go. She couldn’t bear the idea of having both sides meet. What would the men think? Heck, what would Sasha think? Hange has been vague about Sasha’s father for years now. Would Sasha hate her for keeping them a secret? She doesn’t even know who Sasha’s actual father is!

Hange felt her dam begin to burst and some snot running down her nose. Hange ignored Nanaba’s question and ran off to the nearest bathroom. She ignores Nanaba and Rico calling out to her. Hange ran into the nearest open stall, closed the door and the toilet seat, and sat down to cry. She didn’t want the whole island to see her at the moment, so crying in the bathroom was the best thing to do. Hange grabs a part of her overalls to blow her nose.

Meanwhile, Nanaba and Rico (who brought her purse and her drink) followed Hange to the bathroom and called out her name. Sadly, there was no reply. She only heard the soft cries coming from the nearest stall. Nanaba runs to the front of the door. Rico closes the bathroom door and sets her stuff down before joining her.

Nanaba knocks on the door and turns to Rico with a worried look on her face. There was no response again except for Hange blowing her nose.

“Talk to her,” Rico whispers to Nanaba. Nanaba nods her head and turns back to the door. She leans towards it and takes a deep breath.

“Hans.'' She starts with Hange’s nickname from college. Nanaba spoke to Hange with a tender and caring tone. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Nanaba places her ear against the door and waits to hear anything from Hange. She only hears soft whimpers instead. This caused Nanaba to frown. She turns to Rico and moves her hand in a hurry-up motion. She already put some effort into this. Now it's Rico’s turn.

“Oh, right! Uhh…” Rico was unsure about what to do. She hasn’t seen Hange cry like that in years. The last time Rico heard Hange cry like that was after Levi left, and it was over the phone too! She glances at Nanaba who kept encouraging her to go.

Rico was unsure about what to say. She’s not the best at comforting people, but she will at least try. For Hange. “I’ve never seen you with so much sorrow, Hans."

Nanaba turns to Rico in realization and grabs her shoulders "and the wedding is tomorrow!"

"We have to see Hange!" She whispers to Rico.

Rico nods in agreement and takes Nanaba’s hands off of her. "Good plan. You go on all fours on the floor, and I'll stand on your back. You look from the bottom, and I'll look from the top."

Nanaba looked at Rico with disbelief "Are you crazy? It's logical for me to be on the top. I'm the tallest!"

Rico pinched the bridge of her nose, causing her glasses to move up slightly. She sighed while Hange’s crying continued in the background.

"Now is not the time to be comparing heights, Nanaba. Hange is not emotionally stable right now, and she needs us to help. Besides, it's logical for you to be on the bottom. You're heavier than me."

Nanaba wanted to punch Rico for playing the weight card, but she did have a point. She also knows about Rico’s cleaning standards (which aren’t as high as Levi’s, but only Hange knows that), so she won’t go down on the floor unless she has to.

Nanaba sighed. Now was the time for arguing. They needed to focus on Hange and can deal with Rico later.

"Fine." Nanaba moved to go on all fours on the floor. She tilted her head towards her back "Hop on."

Meanwhile, Hange continued to cry into her palms. She was too depressed to even hear what was going on the other side of the door. The memories with all three men kept replaying in her mind nonstop. Hange can recall cuddling on the beach with Erwin. She can picture dancing with Mike underneath the night sky on his yacht. She also remembers the time when Levi kissed her forehead when she pretended she was sleeping one day. Hange continued to cry but stops when she hears a thump on the door.

Hange looks up to find Rico staring down at her and holding on to the door. Now Hange was confused. Rico is too short to look over from the top. Unless…

She let her eyes fall downward to find Nanaba looking at her from the bottom. Both she and Rico had a concerned look on their faces.

"I hate to see you like-” Rico gestures to Hange “-this."

Hange looks up at Rico as she continues on. Hange felt ridiculous. Here she was crying over 3 men on the toilet. She knew she looked like a mess. She needs to get up from the toilet first in case her friends suddenly burst into song.

Nanaba adds onto Rico’s statement, "Hans, you can't deny that you're sad. It's just...We haven't seen you this sad since- ahh!" She and Rico scream as Hange suddenly opens the door.

Hange runs out to the bathroom door and to the nearest sink. Nanaba and Rico quickly stood up and went to either one of Hange’s sides. Rico and Nanaba patted Hange's back to comfort her. They didn't want to force Hange to talk. She can talk when she is ready.

Hange looks at herself in the mirror. She looks and feels like shit. Ironically, it made her think about Levi. What was that nickname Levi would call her besides Four Eyes? Shitty Glasses. Hange looked at herself in the mirror. Now her whole face played the part too. It almost made Hange laugh. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she could see some snot dripping down her nose. Hange wipes it off with a tissue Rico put out in front of her. Hange’s clothes looked disheveled too. She couldn't recognize herself in the mirror.

Nanaba leaned her head on Hange’s shoulder. Hange smiled and put her right hand on Nanaba’s cheek as thanks. Rico leaned on Hange’s other shoulder, and Hange placed her head on top of Rico's.

"You're our best friend, Hange," Nanaba says softly. She uses Hange’s actual name instead of her nickname. That's how Hange knew Nanaba was being serious.

"You can rely on us" Rico replies next with a soft tone as well.

Hange begins to cry again. What did she do to deserve friends like them? They saw Hange rise and fall in life, yet they stayed by her side no matter what.

Nanaba and Rico, who noticed Hange’s waterworks appearing again, turns Hange away from the mirror. They push her up to sit on the sink. Nanaba and Rico sat down on the sink next to Hange after she was situated.

Rico speaks up first after a moment of silence "You’re usually so sure of yourself Hange. Now, look at you. You look so broken." She looks at Hange with concern. "Just know that it's ok to cry. You’ll be up and dancing again once your pain ends" She rubs Hange’s arm and Hange smiles at the gesture.

Nanaba leans towards Hange to fix her overalls, and Hange turns to look at her. "I hope we can patch up whatever is going on, Hange. We just want to see you happy again." Hange smiles at Nanaba’s words.

"That's it!" Rico suddenly says "you just need a little pick me up. That would help cheer you up!" Rico turns to Nanaba. "Help me out her Nanaba."

Both women jump down from the sink. Rico goes to her purse, which was nearby. Nanaba takes off Hange’s glasses and stands ready for whatever Rico has in store.

First, Rico hands Nanaba some tissues to wipe Hange’s tears and snot. Nanaba wipes Hange’s nose until Rico starts throwing one too many tissues at Hange.

Second, Rico grabs a breath spray freshener. Nanaba opens her mouth for Hange to mimic as she takes off the cap. Nanaba sprays it one time, but Hange starts coughing from the spray entering her throat.

Third, Rico grabs some perfume and hands it to Nanaba. Hange was expecting a few sprits of perfume not bathing in the whole bottle! Hange sneezes because of the perfume. Maybe she would smell good enough to be up to Levi’s standards? Hange rolls her eyes at the thought.

Finally, Rico grabs her cocktail for Hange to drink. Nanaba works to redo Hange’s ponytail. Hange reaches over to grab the drink, but Rico moves it out of her reach. Rico places the drink on Hange’s lips and tilts the glass up to a point Hange might as well chug the whole thing. Hange moves her hands up and takes the drink away from her mouth.

"OK! I appreciate the help, you guys!" Hange cries out. She sniffs and wipes her nose with her arm. She might as well confess and get straight to the point

"It's her dad," Hange confesses.

Nanaba and Rico were confused. "Who's dad?" Rico asks.

Hange looks at Rico with a serious face. "Sasha’s dad" she clarifies

Hange stares at her friend’s faces but was met with silence. She decided to continue with her story.

"Remember how I told you it's Levi, the supposed mystery guy who is actually a millionaire? The man who left to get married."

Nanaba and Rico nodded to show they are following Hange’s story.

"Well, there were two other guys. Around the same time. You already met one of them before."

Hange looks up at Nanaba. Although Nanaba was looking at the floor, Hange could see the gears turning in her head and the puzzle pieces fitting together. Nanaba realized who she was talking about and how he and Hange did more than just ‘go on nightly boat rides.’

"The man who accidentally ran into you that day...the boat rides...” She looks up to meet Hange’s eyes. “One of them is Mike. Isn't it?"

Hange nods and looks away in shame. She didn't want to see Nanaba’s reaction. Hange suspected Nanaba had a crush on the guy, but she noticed it too late. Hange’s mind was clouded by her summer romance to even notice Nanaba’s longing stares at Mike. Hange still feels guilty and selfish about it to this day.

Rico placed her hand on Hange’s cheek so she can face her. "Why didn't you tell us?"

“Well, I never knew I would ever have to really! I don't even know who Sasha’s actual father is!” Hange confesses.

Nanaba placed her hand on Hange’s shoulders for support. Hange didn't see any hatred in Nanaba’s eyes after confessing about sleeping with Mike. Bless Nanaba’s heart. “Well, we already know Levi and Mike. Who’s the third guy?”

Hange takes a sip of her drink before responding, “A man named Erwin Smith. I don’t think any of you know him. He left Kalokairi before you guys arrived.”

Nanaba takes her hand off of Hange’s shoulder and shakes her head “The name does not ring any bells.”

Hange looks at Rico expecting the same reaction as Nanaba. What she did not expect was Rico’s mouth wide open in shock.

“Erwin Smith. Tall, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a face that looks like he starred in a movie? That Erwin Smith?” Rico asks as if she was in a trance

Hange looked at Rico with surprise. “Yes?”

Suddenly, Rico broke out of her trance and jumped with excitement. Hange and Nanaba looked at her confused.

“I’ll take that you know Erwin Smith?” Nanaba asks after Rico calmed down a bit

“Of course! Who doesn’t know who he is?” Rico said

“Apparently me,” Nanaba mumbles to herself, but Rico hears her anyway.

Rico sighs after calming down a bit. She takes out her phone and googles Erwin’s name. She pulls up the first image of him and shoves her phone to her friend’s face.

“Of course you wouldn’t, Nanaba. Erwin was on the cover of People’s: Sexiest Men Alive a few years ago and was in the Top 10 of the Most Handsome Faces in TC Chandler!”

Rico looks at Hange and Nanaba’s faces. She was expecting an exciting reaction but was met with her best friends just staring at her.

Rico continues instead “His dad was a successful university professor and is known for his contributions in research and activism. Erwin is similar to him, except he is a lawyer. Overall, Erwin is a very influential person in New York, and he has a good looking face”

Rico turns off her phone and pockets it away, and turns to Hange. “Hange, you’re a lucky gal to have slept with him. I gotta say that I’m impressed. You gotta introduce me to him sometime.”

Nanaba rolled her eyes. Hange couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I knew he was a lawyer, but not all of that!” she waves her hands around to emphasize it. She ignored Rico’s suggestion for now.

Rico gave Hange a sympathized smile “Well, you’ve been so focused and dedicated to your hotel and Sasha. I’m not surprised you don’t pay much attention to everything outside of Kalokairi or even Greece.”

Meanwhile, in Nanaba’s head, she was trying to fit all of the puzzle pieces together. She didn’t see any of the men when she and Rico first arrived on the island, nor did she see them while heading to the hotel.

So that means they arrived after us, Nanaba thought. The question is, where are they now?

“Hange” Nanaba interrupts Rico and Hange’s conversation. Rico had asked Hange who she thought was the best out of the three she slept with. Nanaba could tell who she picked based on Hange’s small yet goofy and Rico’s 'are you serious?' face. “Where are the men now?” she asks carefully.

Hange’s face became horrified. She last saw them in the old goat house, but what if Sasha came back from the beach? How would she react?

“The old goat house,” Hange says. She looks at both of her friend’s faces “We can’t let them meet Sasha!”

Nanaba and Rico quickly grab their things as Hange puts the drink down and jumps off the sink. The three ran off towards the goat house, but not too fast to avoid any suspicion from any onlookers.

Meanwhile, Sasha and her friends peeked up from their hiding spots to find Rico and Nanaba entering the barn. They went back into hiding as soon as Hange entered.

“Don’t let them hear you!” Hange whispers as Rico and Nanaba climb up the steps to the attic.

Nanaba opened the hatch and looks inside first. Rico and Hange followed after only to find nothing.

“There’s no one here,” Nanaba says in shock.

Rico turns to Hange. “Are you sure?” she asks questioningly.

Hange rolls her eyes. “Of course, I'm sure! Do you think I would forget my daughter’s dads?”

She sighs. “They were all here. Levi Ackerman, Erwin Smith, and Mike Zacharias.”

Sasha takes a quick peek from her hiding spot with Mikasa to find her mom walking down the steps from the attic. Nanaba and Rico followed behind her.

“They must have gone on Mike’s boat,” Hange says as she walks out of the barn. “I hope they hit aground and drown.”

Hange enters the hotel and goes up the stairs to go to her bedroom. “What are they even doing here? It’s like fate just hates me today,” she says and throws her hands up in the air.

“Do they know about Sasha?” Nanaba asks as she runs up the steps.

“What are they, psychic?. Of course not! I never told a soul.” Hange turns to face Nanaba before heading into her room.

“Not even Pieck?” Nanaba asks and puts her purse down.

“I never told her too,” Hange says as she paces around near her bed.

“Oh Hange, you kept this to yourself all these years,” Rico says sympathetically and puts her stuff down.

Hange stops pacing and heads to her balcony door. “It doesn’t matter to me.” She closes the door. “The only thing that matters is that Sasha does not find out.”

Rico puts her hands on her hips and watches Hange walk around the room. “Maybe she might be cool with it?” she suggests.

Hange walks up to her bedroom door and closes it. “Cool with it,” she repeats. When would Sasha ever be cool with something like that? She might react the same way Hange reacted to Eren and Connie accidentally breaking her vase from Ms. Alexandra. It was not a pretty sight.

Hange chuckles nervously and walks over to her friends. “You don’t know Sasha as I do. This would be like a bombshell.

“But Hange, they’re gone!” Nanaba argues

“I don’t know that! They could be anywhere for all I know!” Hange runs her hands through her ponytail and moves to sit in front of her vanity.

She looks at herself in the mirror “I did this all to myself because I was stupid and reckless little slut.” she says and glares at her reflection.

Rico and Nanaba both gasped. “A slut?” Rico questioned. “You sound like your mother, right Nanaba?” Nanaba nods and laughs

Hange quickly turns around “I do not!” she says offensively.

“Yes, you do,” Nanaba says as Rico laughs this time.

Rico walks over to Hange’s stuff and grabs a feather boa and a ridiculous-looking hat. She then turns to Nanaba and gives her a familiar look that only Nanaba could understand. Nanaba caught on to Rico’s message and took her phone out of her pocket.

“Whatever happened to our Hange? The life and soul of the party.” Rico says dramatically. She puts the hat on top of Hange’s head and the boa around her neck.

“Yeah, the one who would talk your ears off about her research but can convince you to do a random musical number in the middle of campus? I’m astonished by how many men agreed to join." Nanaba adds as she was scrolling through her phone.

"Exactly, Nanaba! I remember how our Hange would attract so many guys with that back in New College." Rico laughs at the memories of different men walking up to Hange as she studied. Hange was too engrossed in her research to give most of them the time of day!

******

Hange could tell what Rico was trying to do. "Well, I grew up." She says as she recalls how much she has changed since.

Nanaba nudges Rico and steps away from her to give them some space. Rico smiles. "Well, you need to grow back down again Hange."

Rico jumps in her spot to face Nanaba and points to her. "Hit it, Nanaba!"

Nanaba presses play on her music app and pocket her phone away to where Hange could still hear the music. The familiar tune of “Dancing Queen” fills the room.

Hange watches her friends as they move their arms in a goofy manner, shook their hips, and sang their hearts out to the song. At one point, Nanaba and Rico faced one another and they sang to each other before directing their attention to Hange so she could sing along.

Hange squealed when her friends poked her sides. She ran to her bed and laid face down to avoid them. She moved her head up slightly to peek at her friends from her spot behind her blanket. Instead, she found her room empty, but the music continued to play.

Hange watched Rico and Nanaba rise up from the floor, go back down, and repeat the process a few times as they sang. The two eventually moved around Hange’s room and used multiple objects as props for their performance. In Hange’s opinion, Nanaba and Rico’s singing and dancing looked pretty ridiculous, but she knew they meant well. "Dancing Queen" is one of Hange’s favorite songs, and people at New College witness Hange dancing at parties. She was known as the Dancing Queen back in her college days. She wasn’t the best dancer, but anyone could tell she was having fun with one glance.

Hange started tapping her foot to the beat as she continued laying on the bed. She started reminiscing about her college days when she would go out and have fun, all while learning about biology. She remembered how she and her friends would let loose and just live life to the fullest. Hange wanted to explore and discover new parts of the world. It was one reason why she left for Kalokairi on her own all those years ago.

Hange sat up and pulled the blanket towards her. She watched as her friends go through her drawers to grab random articles of clothing to put on. Rico put on a puffy dress over her clothes, and Nanaba grabbed a random shirt and tied it around her head. Hange felt her mood change, and now she wanted to join in on the fun.

She sets the blanket aside and jumps during the song’s refrain. Hange felt as if she was the star of the show, her bed was the stage, and her friends were her audience. Hange felt alive! She felt like she was 22 again performing onstage with her friends. Hange even did a split in the air! Hange continued dancing on her bed before she had an idea. She grabbed her forgotten boa and ran out of her room.

“Where are you going?” Rico calls out while laughing.

Hange was running down the steps of the hotel, stops, and turns around to Rico. “I feel like singing today. Might as well do a musical number just like old times.” She winks and laughs as she continues running down the stairs.

Rico and Nanaba look at each other with glee before following Hange. They got their Hange back!

Hange, Nanaba, and Rico jumped around in sync as they passed the courtyard. The locals who watched nearby laughed. It looks like the trio was back at it again.

You see, before Hange had met Mike, Hange and her friends did a few performances in Kalokairi to help Hange deal with her heartbreak. Occasionally, Hange would invite the locals to perform with her, and the island would break out into a big musical (which never happened until Hange and her friends came along). The island was quiet after Hange had met Mike and her best friends left. Ever since Sasha’s birth, the locals would often find Hange singing those old songs to herself as she strolled around with her daughter. It was a sign to them that the Hange they met was still there, just dormant for now.

Hange stopped dancing once she reached a group of locals sitting around a table playing a board game. She places her boa behind one of the elderly men and lets the boa slide across his shoulders, much to his shock. The Hange he usually saw was too busy with her hotel to start dancing around for fun. Hange then places the boa across her back and on her elbows as she sang.

Meanwhile, Nanaba and Rico were out recruiting some locals to join them. It’s a good thing they were familiar with Hange and her group, or else the whole interaction would have been really awkward.

The group marched across the hotel grounds as the music continued to play good Nanaba’s phone. Hange skipped past the entrance with everyone following her. Nanaba and Rico would occasionally leave to gather more people to join as she led the group through town. Other locals were drawn to Hange’s group after seeing her singing and dancing again. Everyone singing along helped amplify the song, and everyone was in sync.

Hange was having so much fun and was having the time of her life. She skipped and sang as leads the group through different parts of the island. It felt like old times when she used to perform with her friends. Now here she was singing "Dancing Queen" with practically the whole island!

Hange started heading towards one of the piers. At this point, the group had doubled in size. A local piano player and an electric guitar player accompanied the song from their boats. The group stopped moving on the pier and continued dancing and singing to the beat. Everyone followed Hange, Nanaba, and Rico’s lead.

As the final parts of the song started to end, everyone who joined started to face Hange. They wanted her to end the song with a bang. Hange took her hair tie out of her hair and let her hair loose. She whipped her hair back and forth a bit and laughed cheerfully.

Hange came up with a good idea to end her little musical number. She looked to her left as everyone sang the final note to see Rico, who was the closest to her. Hange suddenly ran up to Rico and pushed her into the water. She then turned to Nanaba with mischievous eyes.

"Oh no, you don't!" Nanaba laughs as she attempts to run away from Hange. Nanaba didn't get far before Hange pushed her into the water too. Hange jumped in after her. Thank goodness for the invention of water-resistant cell phones. Everyone else jumped into the water after Hange.

Hange felt much better now than an hour ago. As she trod on the water, she couldn't help but think of her memories with the three men. She has happy memories with Erwin and Mike. She wishes she could say the same for Levi though. Hange felt pain thinking about him although she spent the most time with him. He was the one who broke her heart the most. Yet, swimming in the water reminded her of one time when she took off Levi’s clothes and pushed him off a pier and into the water. Hange's plan backfired when Levi grabbed her wrist to drag her with him. The goofy smile returned for just a slight moment, but it was long enough for Nanaba and Rico to catch.

Nanaba and Rico glanced at each other while treading on the water. Their plan worked for the most part. However, Hange Zoe still had some lingering feelings for Levi Ackerman.

Author’s Note:

The “Dancing Queen” scene was the hardest to write for me. I hope you like it and understand what is going on.

I apologize if any character is OOC and I know I portray Greece inaccurately.

I changed the character’s ages based on the school year in Greece (Sept 11 - June 15). Everyone is 20-21 and Armin is the oldest. Sasha’s bday changed to May.

I appreciate ANY feedback (especially after this chapter). I hope you have a good day, and everyone affected by today’s earthquake is safe.

#levihan #levi x hange #levihan fanfiction #nicosasha #erwin x hange #mike x hange #mikenana #aruani #hitch x marlow #marco x mina #pokkopikku #snk #aot

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