#purely to avoid seeing his daughter eye bang his wife from across the table

[abigaillazaar]

RHAENICENT APPRECIATION WEEK 2024 [4/7] favorite tropes (x)

[sanababes]

Golden Child (I)

= fem!reader x twiceblackvelvet

《 A/n: so this is the bnha inspired thingy, I just got some ideas from it and just created stuff from my imagination lol. Please don't expect too much I just made this series for fun :>> feel free to express your opinions about this 》

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On the prevailing modern generation, possessing a superpower or also know as a "quirk" is nothing uncommon. It was first witnessed a few centuries ago and it continued to cultivate with different combinations until it became normalized in the society. A person is also determined if he's light or dark (aura), this benefits the user whenever he uses his quirk. Acquiring a quirk comes around 5 to 8 years old of age. Fundamental hero courses were then introduced and applied in academic institutions. If a child is quirkless or so as called as a "vigilante", general studies are provided.

However, many individuals began to dwell in desire and selfishness due to the rivalry of being a powerful mortal. This made the villains emerge from their own shadows as they try to surpass the good and take over the federal civilization.

Noble families (pure-blood heroes) are assigned to ensure the safety of their municipality. This became a standard law, though it is required for them to pass from the hero course to use their quirks freely. Your father, Kang Haneul is one of the nobles too. He's an exceptional hero and always protected the people from the bad. His Ice whip (light) quirk allowed him to generate ice trendils from his arms and command it on his will.

He went on with his job until he encountered the "Mistress", her quirk was unknown but it was said to be so powerful. They both fell in love and kept their relationship secret because it was forbidden since the Mistress was a well-known evildoer.

They both got into a conflict when Haneul married another woman unbeknownst to the Mistress. He even had a daughter with his wife kept it from her too.

You were then conceived from an affair that was frowned upon by your father's household since they are nobles. After the Mistress gave birth to you, your father took you away immediately then raised you with his real wife and daughter. Even though it took time for them to accept your existence, they noticed your potential to become a hero when you attained your quirk at the age of 6.

About your quirk, it was incredibly potent, Half-cold Half-hot. As they predicted your aura was also half-light half-dark. You were a unique combination, rumors started to spread about the youngest Kang and then you earned the title of being a "Golden Child" due to your extraordinary power.

It was rare to get a dual quirk, this allowed you to generate ice and fire from your right and left body correspondingly. For your auras, you have light in your right then dark in your left.

(A/n: lol todoroki much 😂)

You were home-schooled at your father's mansion while simultaneously trained to control and use your power with accuracy. You hated unnecessary attention that's why you're contented at being isolated.

On the other hand, your (half) older sister Kang Seulgi is very enthusiastic and outgoing if she's compared to your composed and calm behavior. The two of you get along just fine, you appreciated her as a family but you couldn't withstand her persistent nagging. She would always tell you to go out and have some fun which you find it absurd. You're fine by yourself and you'll continue to mature like that.

At the age of 11, you got invited into a summer camp which is formulated to strengthen your skills in combat and to enhance your quirk as well. There were several pupils who you trained with at the time, but you got close to a particular blonde though.

"Hi! I'm Lisa, can we be friends?" You remembered her saying.

The other kids discreetly avoided you since your aura was pretty intense, but Lisa did the opposite.

"I-I'm Y/n..." You uttered merely.

"I see, so you're the shy type huh? Don't worry, I'll be your best friend from now on!" she told you, her voice filled with confidence.

Practically the two of you became close after that. She would come over every now and then since the mansion settles in the countryside neighborhood which is pretty far from Leiden (downtown area).

As time passed, you became stronger than before. Seulgi would even team up with Lisa as they challenge you into a match. Honestly, they don't work well together but they managed to win against you many times. Seulgi's quirk is permeation (light) while Lisa has whirlwind (dark).

The two of them studied at a school unlike you, sometimes you felt a little envious but it would go away eventually. Your father had told you numerous times that it was just to ensure your safety. You just understood that and concentrated on studying and increasing your ability.

----

It's been a few years now and you're currently stepping inside the most renowned Leidenschaft University in the land of Roswell. By your side, your sister Seulgi had a cocky smile on her face as you both walked along the hall. Bunch of students murmured endlessly when they recognized who you are, it was in the middle of the term so transferees are rarely accepted into this hero school. They guessed that you probably entered through recommendations since your father is a famous hero. Nonetheless, you didn't care and just continued to walk to wherever your sister is going.

"I think they're starting to like you, Y/n. You should've come with me during the first day," Seulgi chuckled while teasing you purposely.

"Whatever... Just send me to the principal's office or something."

You rolled your eyes out of annoyance, you wouldn't even be here if you didn't lose the deal that Seulgi made.

~ Flashback ~

You're just sitting peacefully behind your desk as you played with your ice, making random shapes on your hand while Seulgi sat across you. She suddenly banged the poor table and stood up with her eyes lit up playfully.

"Yah! Since you're starting high school this year, why don't you study at my university? I'll speak to dad about it," she said.

You just shrugged ignorantly, deciding to play her own game.

"And what will I get from it?"

"Hmm, okay let's settle this out. If you win against me in a fight then you don't have to go, but if you lose..." She smirked.

"Fine, let's go to the yard then," you wore your metal mask and followed your sister outside.

You're not really optimistic when it comes to fighting against Seulgi. Even though you're quite hard to beat, you know that she's a little tougher than you.

Seulgi positioned herself at the opposite of the open lawn as you went ahead and prepared your stance. You huffed through your mask while thinking about your strategy to gain a victory from the latter.

"Siwon-ah can you infer whoever falls to the ground first?" You asked your servant who's standing below a tree to get some shade.

"Will do, young master." he bowed politely.

"I'll strike first!"

Seulgi instantly went under the ground and suddenly appeared from behind. You dodged her kick then filled your right arm with glaciers as you tried to jab her abdomen. Unfortunately, your hand went through the girl, she took advantage of it and quickly punched your face which made you trip a bit.

"Fuck..." You cussed mentally.

She scoffed at your situation, Seulgi clearly wants you to wield your fire ability.

"Come on, use your left side. It's not really a big deal."

You blasted multiple ice balls towards her direction, whilst thinking about using your flames.

"You can't defeat me with ice Y/n, I'm sure you already know that," she added.

You activated your dark aura instead which made Seulgi feel the chills. It made her suffer from your dominant ambiance since she's a light, the girl went pass through you again when she aimed to make you slip. You were caught off guard from her speed as she swiftly locked your left ankle.

"Ouch!" She yelped.

You knew she was very naive to start on. You secretly activated your flames into its minimal energy, maybe a little surprised too that Seulgi didn't saw you emitting some fumes on your left body.

"Oops! My bad."

Your sister looked at you unbelievably, like she saw something scarcely credible. You chuckled at her reaction as you immediately attacked by shooting your flames to her direction. Seulgi hissed from the heat that you granted, she absolutely want to end the fight soon.

"You smart-ass! You're going to regret that Kang Y/n," she whacked your guts out harshly that made you groan and fall on your knees.

"Yah! You didn't have to overdo it so much!" You whined lowly.

Seulgi's pissed off face turned into a smile when she realized that she had beaten you.

"It's been decided. You're going to my school young lady."

You let out tons of complaints before deciding to remove your metal mask. The steam of vapor came out from your mouth as you breathed heavily. Your sister walked towards you and fixed your disheveled hair. (u can have da same hair like todoroki’s 😉)

“Aigoo, stop sulking already. I promise it's going to be fun studying there.”

On the other hand, Siwon just shook his head in disbelief as he knew you were alright. The three of you then entered the mansion once again as you dwell upon your loss.

"Tsk, be thankful that I didn't go all out this time..." You said.

Seulgi just laughed at your childishness while planning to discuss your application form with Mr. Kang.

~ flashback ends ~

So that happened which is why you are inside this massive academic establishment.

You and Seulgi were about to enter the principal's office when a familiar voice called for your attention.

"Y/n!"

Lisa jogged towards you as she left her group of friends confused.

"You didn't have to shout like that..." You utter awkwardly.

The blonde did not seem to care and hugged you instead.

"I'm sorry I just didn't expect to see you here, why did you keep this from me? I thought you're going to be home-schooled again," Lisa whined while tugging on the blazer of your uniform.

"I wanted to see your reaction, but I think it wasn't a good idea. Now all the students are looking at me because of you."

What you said was certainly true, your tall appearance is really eye-catching if your asking. (I also want you to know that your left eye is blue-)

"Fine, I hope we'll be classmates then. Now go get your schedule and see you later boy."

Lisa finally left as you both entered the office. A man in his 40s greeted you with excitement, you glanced down at his table and saw a name in the metal placard which said 'Mr. Park Jinyoung.'

"Good morning, Seulgi-ah. I see, so is this your sister?"

"Yes sir. She will be staying with us from now on," she answered.

"That's great! Hi Y/n, I'm JYP and this is your schedule. I'm happy to have you here in Leidenschaft University," he said.

"Thank you sir, I'll do my best."

You and Seulgi bowed politely and left the office. She showed you around the school then told you about some specific areas and such.

When you both arrived in front of your assigned homeroom, Seulgi knocked on the door which had 'Class 1-A' engraved on it.

The door opened as a teacher came out with a gentle smile on his face.

"Oh? Seulgi, what are you doing here?"

"Ahh Mr. Ok, I'm just here to drop off my sister. Please take care of her for me," Seulgi said.

You learned that your adviser's name is Ok Taecyeon which is presumably the man in front of you. Your sister gave you a warm pat on the back then went to her own class since she's a 2nd year.

Mr. Ok guided you inside the room that is filled with other students. Their eyes are also fixated on you which made you feel a little anxious.

'Is she really the golden child?'

'Damn, I didn't know she was that hot'

'I heard she's Seulgi sunbaenim's sister'

'Ugh she's pretty and handsome at the same time'

'I think I'm whipped'

You heard some chatters from your dear classmates, you just let them be and found yourself sighing at relief when you saw Lisa sitting at the back as she waved her hand discreetly.

"Uhh hi, I'm Kang Y/n. Please take care of me," they acknowledged your presence.

Mr. Ok then told you to sit beside someone named Sana, you glanced through the students when you saw an orange-haired girl raising her hand cutely. You assumed that it was her so you walked towards the girl and sat on the vacant seat by her side.

"Hi I'm-"

"Minatozaki Sana" you finished her statement.

The girl looked astonished but then realized that their uniforms had name tags on them.

"A-Ahh yes that's right, you're cute ya know that?" She flirted with ease.

You gave Sana a tiny smile and looked away from her intense stare. You felt someone looking from the side, then you sensed a familiar aura coming from that person.

"Dahyun unnie?"

-

-

-

~ to be continued ~

(a/n: just corrected some grammatical errors that bothered me after re-reading this story again 😂 i'll probably update this soon when i have time ;)

[lilyvandersteen]

Out of the Blue: Chapter 7

Cover art: @redheadgleek​

Beta extraordinaire: @hkvoyage​

Links: AO3, FF.net

Author’s Note:

Yep, exactly what it says on the tin. Someone's got it out for Kurt and Blaine...

Chapter 7: Sabotage

“When I consider,” she added, in a yet more agitated voice, ‘that I might have prevented it! – I who knew what he was.”

(An excerpt from Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The morning of the shoot, Blaine was up even earlier than usual, and arrived at the location even before his brother. A good thing, too, seeing as it was pure chaos, and he needed to solve quite a few problems and tell everyone where to set up their stuff and how the décor was supposed to look.

By the time Cooper arrived, the set looked as it should, and Coop nodded approvingly.

“Are Kurt and the others here yet?”

Blaine shook his head. “Still early.”

“Then go make yourself pretty now. Reena’s just arrived. She can do your hair and make-up first.”

When Reena had worked her magic, Blaine wriggled into the tight jeans he’d be wearing for the commercial and then walked around the warehouse helping out where needed while he was waiting for Kurt.

Kurt was supposed to be there at eight, but stepped into the warehouse at a quarter to, gaping at the hustle and bustle and seeming very much out of his depth.

Blaine hastened towards him, and tugged him along to Kyle and Reena, feeling in the best of spirits, especially when he saw Kurt give him a thorough once-over, with a glint in his eye that proved he liked what he saw.

His mood plummeted when Kurt, once again, made it all about Cooper. Ugh.

Kurt seemed to realise he’d said something wrong, but his bumbling apology made matters worse rather than better, and Blaine gritted his teeth and told himself not to lose his temper.

Cooper came to smooth things over, at usual, but Blaine wasn’t in the mood to humour him, and left Kurt in Kyle’s capable hands as soon as he’d told him what Kurt’s look was supposed to be.

He turned back, though, when Kurt hesitantly asked if there were changing rooms, and there was a loud scoff.

Chandler! Oh, I might have known the little weasel would make trouble… He had better not mess with Kurt!

Chandler was a new hire, fresh from Parsons. He helped Kyle, mostly, but also assisted Reena if she had too much on her plate.

When he’d first started working for the Anderson firm, in June, he’d followed Cooper around like a yapping dog, forever gushing. Two days later, he’d asked Cooper out, and had seemed miffed when he was let down gently.

After that, Chandler had zeroed in on Blaine as the next best thing, and had started his spiel with him. Blaine wasn’t any more interested than Cooper had been, so he tried as hard as he could to avoid Chandler, and if he couldn’t, he pretended not to hear or not to understand his innuendoes and invitations.

Chandler proved persistent, though, and never gave up, so in the end, Blaine had to tell him plainly that he was wasting his time.

Ever since, Chandler had walked around the sets with a face like thunder, doing as little as he could get away with and slyly instigating fights between models or giving them wrong clothes on purpose. Blaine had started documenting every misstep Chandler made. He wanted the guy out, but Coop refused to fire him without solid proof of misbehavior. “We can’t afford to lose an employee! We’re run off our feet as it is! Also, he’s the kind of guy who’d sue us for firing him, you just know it.”

So Blaine bided his time and built his case bit by bit, without Chandler being the wiser.

Now, the guy seemed to have zeroed in on Kurt. Maybe because Blaine had greeted him with so much enthusiasm?

Whatever the reason, Blaine would watch him like a hawk. No-one would harm Kurt. Not while Blaine was around.

Absently, he stopped Kurt from falling when he tripped over the pants he was putting on, and then sent him to Reena while he helped Kyle unbox the hats. Chandler was supposed to do that, but had disappeared.

It wasn’t until Blaine was introducing Kurt to Mandy and the other handlers that he saw Chandler again, skulking around the horses with a smirk on his face.

Blaine sent him back to Kyle at once, and hoped that the misgivings he felt would prove to be an overreaction.

When he saw the saddle slide off Kurt’s horse when he tried to mount it, he knew that his hunch had been correct. Chandler was targeting him. Sabotaging him.

Blaine maneuvered his own horse closer to Kurt’s, and sighed in relief when the next half hour, nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Just as he was lulled into complacency, though, he saw Chandler pop up again in his line of vision, and he was holding… Was that a sparkler? The guy was mad!!

Blaine rode in Chandler’s direction, hoping to wrestle the sparkler from him before it went off.

Too late! Chandler threw it in front of Kurt, and it exploded with a flash and a bang, spooking the horses, especially Kurt’s.

Thankfully, Kurt was a good enough rider to keep the animal under control and to stop it from trampling anything or anyone.

Blaine was livid, though. He signaled to Jason from Security to follow him, and chased Chandler, who was now running away.

Blaine blocked Chandler from leaving the warehouse and had Jason take him into custody until Cooper would deal with him.

Then he had to go back and smile and sing and pretend to have a nice evening out with friends. With the rage that simmered inside of him, it was hard pretending everything was fine, and Blaine found himself slipping towards the end, glaring at Puck when he belittled Kurt.

As soon as Kurt and his friends were gone, Blaine confronted his brother, showing them the footage of Chandler throwing the sparkler. It had all been caught on camera, and was all the proof they needed to get rid of this psychopath.

“Don’t you dare put your head in the sand again! This guy is dangerous, and we need to get rid of him!”

Cooper nodded, his mouth a thin line. “You’re right. Kurt could have been hurt or killed. My future brother-in-law!”

Blaine quirked an eyebrow at his brother, but he seemed completely serious.

“Consider him gone, squirt. I’ll fire him and sue him for damage.”

“What damage? Nothing was destroyed. Kurt is an excellent horseman.”

“We know that. But Chandler doesn’t, and neither will his counsel. We’ll give the money to Kurt, as grievance compensation.”

K&B

It took nine months until they heard from Kurt again.

Blaine had done his utmost to get rid of the crush that would never go anywhere, seeing as Kurt preferred Cooper.

Still, when Coop waved a wedding invitation at him and sing-songed, “Look what your Kurt sent us!”, Blaine felt his heart skip a beat, and he snatched the card out of Cooper’s hands.

“My, my, someone’s eager!”

Blaine paid no attention to his brother’s teasing and focused on the wedding information.

The people getting married this time were Mercedes and Sam. That last name rang a bell. That was the blond cowboy from the jeans commercial, and probably also the Jaws guy that proposed at the Halloween party.

The venue was a church in Ohio.

“Ohio?”

Cooper grinned. “Yep, they’re originally from Ohio, like us. Lima. That’s about two hours from Westerville.”

“You’re going all the way to Ohio to attend a wedding? Of two people you don’t know?”

Coop looked offended. “Hey! I do know them! Just because you’re unsociable and taciturn doesn’t mean I am! They were at Brittany and Santana’s wedding, and then at the Halloween party too. I danced with Mercedes and talked about modelling with Sam. Booked him for several ads, and talked to him at the shoot each time. So there.”

Blaine shrugged. “Okay. Yeah, I’ve talked to Sam too. We’ve done quite a few ad campaigns together by now. He’s into Star Wars, like me. Gave me some great recs for FinnPoe fanfic. He’s nice, I guess. A very laid-back guy. Never makes a fuss about anything.”

“So put it in your Outlook calendar. We’re going to Ohio next month!”

“Yay.”

“You could sound a little more enthusiastic, you know.”

Blaine rolled his eyes, and then jumped up with his arms in the air. “Yaaay!!”

Cooper beamed. “That’s more like it. Any suggestions as to what I should buy them? It’s a pretty boring wedding registry list this time around.”

K&B

Blaine suppressed a sigh and pretended to sip his wine. As soon as the Anderson brothers had arrived home for the weekend, their mother had arranged for the whole family to go out to dinner, and surprise, surprise, when they entered the restaurant, a business partner of their father just happened to be there with his wife and daughters, and invited the Andersons to come sit with them.

Clearly, Pam Anderson hadn’t given up on matchmaking. Not that it would ever work. Cooper was charming, but slithered out of any attempt the girl made to score his phone number or a date. And Blaine, well, he was gay, no matter how deep in denial his parents seemed to be about that. So the girl sitting across from him was out of luck. He did try to be friendly and sociable, though. After all, his mother’s scheming wasn’t the girl’s fault.

His father became more boisterous and talkative after a few glasses of wine. The endless stream of words that came out of his mouth made Blaine despair of ever getting out of there. He’d been working long hours all week, and was exhausted and cranky. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep.

Cooper had bags under his eyes too, but he smiled and talked as if he was having the time of his life. Sometimes, Blaine envied Cooper’s easy manners.

The more exuberant their father got, the more he gesticulated, until at one point, he knocked Blaine’s glass over. It was still full, and the wine soaked and stained Blaine’s shirt and pants.

Blaine grimaced and excused himself from the table. When he turned around the corner, he bumped into someone, and started apologizing until he noticed exactly who it was. Chandler!

“What are you doing here?” he hissed.

“Is anything the matter?” a cool voice said.

Blaine looked at the newcomer, and froze when he saw it was Kurt. Chandler smiled at Kurt and slid his arm through the crook of his elbow. What? Were they dating?

“Nothing’s the matter, sweetie,” Chandler purred, patting Kurt’s arm and smirking at Blaine.

Kurt quirked an eyebrow, and then took in the stains on Blaine’s clothes. “Oh dear, you need to get those stains out stat before they dry in and become even harder to get out. Pour some really hot water on the stains and they should disappear. I hope the restrooms here have hot water on tap.”

Blaine hated that Kurt had to see him like this, and hurried away with a quick “Bye!” thrown over his shoulder.

The restroom, of course, only had cold water, so he had to go back to his table with the stains still there, shivering because his shirt and crotch were so cold and wet.

Cooper took one look at him, got up and announced that he would drive Blaine home, waving off their parents’ protests and glibly excusing himself to their father’s business partner and family.

“Thanks for giving me an out!” Coop said when they were in his rental car. “I was getting bored.”

“Same. Hey, you know who I ran into while going to the bathroom?”

“Kurt, right? I saw him a few tables over, with Sam and Mercedes and their family. Probably the rehearsal dinner.”

Blaine scowled. “Not just him. He was with Chandler, of all people.”

“Chandler? As in the guy I fired and sued?”

“Yep. They seemed pretty cosy.”

“Wait. What? You think they’re dating?”

“Looks like it. Do you think Chandler’s plotting something else? To get back at the lot of us? Should I warn Kurt?”

Cooper whistled long and slow. “It’s possible. But I don’t think Kurt will believe you. It’s your word against Chandler’s, and you’ve been too rash with your accusations before.”

Blaine clenched his jaw. Yes, that was true. But he was scared for Kurt, and anyone else Chandler might target. “Do we still have that private investigator following Chandler around and documenting his every move?”

“Yep. You said to keep tabs on him for at least a year. Because you thought he’d try and retaliate.”

Blaine raked a hand through his curls, and winced when his fingers were instantly coated in hair gel. “I have a really bad feeling about this. I’m going to get in touch with the P.I. to see what Chandler’s been up to lately.”

Coop shrugged. “Go ahead, squirt.”

The phone call to the PI, and the pictures and videos the man e-mailed to him, made Blaine even more uneasy. 

Chandler had moved to Ohio after he’d been fired, and was now living with his parents again. He’d found a job in a wedding dress store, and had done nothing interesting until the day Kurt and his friend had turned up at the store. The PI told Blaine that they’d come out of the store without the woman trying on any dresses, and the video he’d taken showed Kurt looking displeased, and telling his friend that Chandler didn’t have a clue what would look good on her. The rest of the conversation was even more enlightening. Apparently, Kurt had briefly dated Chandler in high school. Was that why Chandler bore him a grudge? Because things hadn’t worked out then? If so, why were they dating again now?

After Kurt and his friend had left the store, Chandler had quit his job, just like that, and had started stalking Kurt, following him around whenever Kurt was in Ohio to help his friends prepare their wedding. Chandler had also orchestrated “chance meetings” with Kurt at all the important places: the bakery for the wedding cake, the flower shop for the church decoration, the venue for the reception and dinner. Not at the church, but the PI had spotted him there, too.

“He’s forever snooping around without making it seem so,” said the PI. “If he weren’t such a fucker, I’d employ him. He’d be good at this job.”

Blaine shuddered at the thought of Chandler as a PI. That would lead to blackmail, for sure.

“He’s been back at the bakery, the flower shop and the restaurant several times. Under several pretexts, and dressed up differently, so as not to be recognized.”

So far, Chandler hadn’t done anything harmful, though. That was the PI’s conclusion.

“I’m sure he’s planning something,” Blaine told him. “And it won’t be pretty. The wedding is tomorrow, so I need you to hang on to Chandler like a barnacle. Maybe contact a colleague so that you can shadow him around the clock. I wouldn’t put it past him to try something tonight.”

“Around the clock? That’ll cost you!”

“I can afford it, trust me.”

“All right, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Call me the minute he steps out of line, understood?”

“Will do.”

[alchemistc]

sure as the sun will rise

an: blame this entirely on @weezly14. she encouraged me. she MADE me do it. (or, alternately, i sent her a message, and i’m paraphrasing here, but the gist was basically ‘i need them to fuck’. So. After all that talk about how pure my experience watching the movie was, here is where I ended up.

Beauty and the Beast post-movie fic

It’s the summons from the King that does it.

Everything is going fine - swimmingly, really, up until the moment Lumiere drops the card in Adam’s lap and scurries away at the annoyed look on the other man’s face, so very familiar to Belle that she has to cover her mouth with the book on her lap to hide her amusement.

Over the edge of the book, she can see him reading through the letter, his brow furrowing, his lips thinning, his expression turning mutinous. She half expects him to tear the letter into pieces and fling it into the air, his flair for the dramatic being what it is.

Instead, she watches him carefully curl his fist around it, stand slowly, and take careful, measured steps across the length of the library to the hearth.

He tosses it into the flames and turns back to his chair and his book.

Well.

That won’t do.

“Is there...something wrong?”

When he glances up, his smile is half manic. “Of course not.”

Slowly, she sets her book back down in her lap and settles him with a questioning look.

“It’s a quite complicated matter, which you -.”

She raises a warning eyebrow.

She wants to ask more questions, but the matter is apparently closed, by which she means he is going to thoroughly ignore it by burying himself in his book. Greek, she notes, so he’d been lying about that, and by midday she’s managed to drive herself into a tizzy over the letter and his reticence. 

Her father laughs, when she barges into the study he’s taken on as his own, and settles her with a fond smile. “Come now, perhaps you’re overreacting.”

She’s not.

The second letter he drops in a goblet of wine, his eyes narrowing while he worries his jaw and grinds his teeth.

The third he feeds to the dog without bothering to open it.

By the time the fourth comes along, she and Adam have had themselves a glorious row out in the gardens for everyone to hear, and he’s locked himself up in the west wing. If she didn’t find him so infuriating, she might laugh at him.

And since he’s not there to receive it, Belle gives Lumiere a reassuring smile and assures the man she’ll deliver it directly to its recipient. She needn’t have bothered trying to be charming, he hands it off with a nod and a grateful smile, and she’s already finished with the letter by the time Cogsworth comes sprinting - attempting it, at the very least - into the hall.

------

Mrs. Potts is often the first to tell anyone how romantic their story is, but if Belle had to choose a single word, it would be loud.

No one is surprised to hear the doors to his rooms echoing as she pushes them in and they bang against the walls, no one is surprised to hear them arguing in the west wing - no one is surprised when Adam attempts to avoid her by fleeing, the sound of their voices carrying across the halls and corridors as she follows.

“You can’t run away from every problem that arises, Adam!”

“I’m not running! I’m walking. Swiftly!”

“You have to answer him!”

“Until last week he’d forgotten this entire castle and the village beyond existed! I don’t have to answer anything!”

The voices fade as they disappear into the library together, and no one follows. They’ll sort things out for themselves. 

------

“There’s nothing for it. We’ll have to marry now, before he can attempt to get one of his wretched daughters here to sink their hooks in me.”

“...no.”

Adam rounds on her, more confusion on his face than anything else, and Belle moves forward to ease her fingers over the furrow of his brow. He swallows, painfully, it seems, as he searches her gaze. “No?”

“Well, I’m sorry, but that was an even worse proposal than the last I received.”

“Fine. Belle, will you please do me the honor of -.”

“No,” she tells him, more firmly this time, and he huffs.

“What on earth are you on about, woman?”

She explains it to him, her words stilted, trying to make him understand. It’s not that she doesn’t want to be here, with him. It’s not that she doesn’t want to spend her life with him, it’s just...

“I won’t be your little wife, traipsing around like a bauble on your arm before the court.” Before she’s said the words she knows they’re cruel. He wouldn’t dream of her in such a way. “That’s not - I don’t...”

Understanding dawns, his eyes softening as he takes her hands in his own.

“I suppose you’ve been forced into a great number of things without a choice of your own,” he says, looking wryly at her. “Although I had hoped...someday...” He carefully cups both of her hands in one of his own so that he can brush a lock of hair behind her ear, and there is something serious and warm in his gaze, something that makes her blush to the tips of her toes. She can feel his wandering eyes admiring the blush along her neck.

Belle clears her throat, something clenching in her gut. They’ve shared more than a few kisses by now, some of which she’d left wild-eyed and shaking, terrified more of the fire in her blood than the responding flame in his eyes, his fingers making a mess of her hair and the laces of his shirt half undone. This is the same feeling, but there is a promise, there, too, of something more.

“Adam, I spent half a year in this castle with only the furniture for chaperones. I’ve been thoroughly ruined in every way except the one you seem so concerned about, at the moment.”

It is his turn to cough, his cheeks rising with color. “I didn’t mean...”

Belle presses closer to him, taking the lapels of his jacket in her hands, grinning up at him as she steps into the space between his boots. He gulps.

Her breath brushes across the hollow of his throat moments before she presses her lips to the pulse point on the side of his neck, and one of his hands slides across the small of her back, a groan rumbling from deep in his chest. 

“Whenever you’re ready to mean it, please inform me,” she whispers, and spins away with a coquettish grin, catching sight of his dazed look a moment before he disappears from her view as she rounds a corner.

------

The next day, she helps him compose a letter to the King, and is surprised to find him much more diplomatic than she. 

“We can’t tell him that,” Adam says, his fingers toying with a lock of her hair as he leans over her shoulder, his breath hot on her neck. 

It’s altogether quite distracting, and she balls up the piece of parchment to start over when she realizes she’s let the ink drift halfway across the page.

“Well, it’s true. Your father may have promised him support, even offered him an alliance, but it’s still your kingdom, and he can’t order you around.”

He grins against her cheek and plucks the quill from her hand. “I do enjoy you in a mood.”

She plucks it right back. “And a good thing, since you drive me to irritation on a daily basis.”

“Perhaps I do it on purpose.” Any sense of propriety he might have had, she seemed to have dashed the day before, as evidenced by the way his gaze drops pointedly to the lace of her gown. 

“The letter, first,” she demands, and he presses his lips to her hair in acquiescence. 

Together they manage something resembling diplomatic, and she’s barely blotted the wax with his seal before he’s spun her and hauled her up on the table, sidling between her open legs as his hands make a disaster of the hair she hadn’t bothered to pull up this morning. 

“We’ll -.” She sighs when his lips find a spot beneath her jaw he’d discovered a few weeks before, her fingers working into the collar of his shirt. “We’ll send the letter in the morning.”

“If you wish it,” he tells her, fingertips trailing along her shoulder, now, his thumb catching on the line of her collarbone.

“Adam,” she attempts to admonish, but his other hand is curling around her waist, tugging her closer to him, so she can feel the press of his hard length against her thigh. 

“Belle,” he teases, and she forgets to worry about the king for a few moments, her own hands beginning their own wandering. His jaw is covered in a few weeks worth of hair, but she’d found, to her quiet dismay, that it took him ages to grow a beard, and it’s still a fine stubble, rasping against her fingertips.

She makes a high, keening noise, low in her throat, when his palm passes by the side of her breast on it’s journey to meet it’s fellow at her waist, and he pauses, pulling back to glance at her face. 

“Don’t you dare get chivalrous on me now.”

His laugh is clear and rumbling, and it’s sets her aflame, makes her tug more ferociously at the laces of his shirt, desperate to feel the downy soft dusting of hair on his chest. He catches her lips in his own, his laughter swallowed by her tongue in a moment.

It is, of course, that same moment that they hear her father’s voice echoing along the corridor outside, and Chip’s excited one too, and he makes a noise of frustration that leaves her feeling both overwhelmingly satisfied and quite miffed at the interruption. 

Her father rounds the corner to the wing they are in just as Belle is straightening her skirts, and the three of them all pause, staring at each other while Chip rattles on at her father’s hip.

“Papa,” Belle says, immediately regretting it when her voice comes out much higher than she would like.

“Belle.” He shifts his gaze. “Adam.”

“Beautiful day, Maurice,” Adam responds with a desperate wave of his hand, just as Belle notices how badly she’s mussed his hair.

“Yes. Quite beautiful. Perhaps we should all...take a turn about the gardens. Get some fresh air.”

“Yes!” Belle cries, while at the same time Adam says, “Splendid idea!”

------

Weeks. They are rounding on a full month now, with someone new to stumble upon them at every turn, and Belle has gotten no further in her plans than reaching for the laces of Adam’s trousers. She’d have been happy to just follow him to his rooms one night and force him to ease the ache he’s become so proficient in causing in her, but in recent weeks the castle has been inundated by Lords and Ladies, intent on catching the favor of the newly crowned king, and Adam had been worried how it might look. Honestly.  

The King sends a missive back quickly to voice his displeasure at Adam’s letter, but he hadn’t given any demands, and Belle had half dragged her prince into a shadowy alcove to celebrate, her fingers tugging the shirt tails out of his waistband to slide her palms over the skin of his abdomen, Adam pressing her into the wall and whispering absolutely filthy things in her ear while he tugged at her bodice, fingers dancing nimbly along every inch of skin he could bare. It was pure luck they’d been in the only wing of the castle guests weren’t allowed.

It had been Cogsworth, this time, humming to himself as he tottered down the hall, shrieking the moment he noticed them, and Belle had knocked her head against the wall behind her while Adam made an attempt to shield her from view, her hand trapped between them. She had a moment to wonder what he’d do if she just...shifted her hand, just so, when Plumette rounded the opposite corner, and the shriek of frustration this time had been Belle’s.

Later, much later, as they sat across from each other, the entire length of the table in the dining hall between them in an attempt to keep some space between them, he chanced a glance up at her.

“...if we married...”

He didn’t continue at the sight of her glare.

“I doubt that would stop us from attacking each other like dogs in heat. Besides, I have a better idea.”

------

“...Travelling.”

“Yes.” Papa raises an eyebrow, his gaze flitting over Belle’s shoulder to Adam. 

“Alone.”

“Yes,” she intones, resisting the urge, only barely, to stamp her feet. “Papa, you know I’ve always wanted to see the world.”

“Well, yes, that is true.”

“I assure you, monsieur, that you could not leave her in more capable hands.”

Belle closes her eyes, but when she opens them back up, it is to see her father staring at Adam with amusement twinkling in his gaze. “Yes. That is what I was afraid you’d say.”

“Papa, I’ve already packed. We leave on the morrow.”

“So soon?” He’s teasing her. Her dear father is teasing her, and though it must be an amusing sort of way to torture Adam, he hasn’t raised any concern other than how quickly they’d made the decision.

“We can...delay it...for a few days...” Adam tries, and Papa’s grin turns up on one side. Belle shoots him a warning look in reply.

“Nonsense. You’ve already made a plan. Though how you’ll find two rooms at every inn you stop at, this time of the year...”

He trails off, still grinning, and Belle can hear Adam swallow behind her.

“Papa,” she warns, and he winks over her shoulder.

“Oh, alright, I’ve had my fun. Would you like a drink, Adam? At least one of the wines over there isn’t poisoned.”

------

They take the enchantresses book with them, stopping at an inn a days ride from the castle. It’s a blessing, really, that it’s been so long since anyone has seen Adam outside his castle - he goes unrecognized once they’re beyond Villeneuve.

No one bats an eye when they take a room for the night, not with the both of them dressed down, and looking like nothing more than a weary couple travelling the countryside.

And they are tired, an unfortunate side effect of travelling such a distance over horseback, one which Belle feels ridiculously annoyed with as they stumble up the stairs, yawning all the way, shoulders jostling as they attempt valiantly to remain upright.

There is only one bed, which had been the entire point, but as they stare at it, all that overcomes them is a desperate desire to slumber.

“We should have used the book,” she mutters to him, and he smiles, soft and warm, and curls an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him, pressing his lips to her hair. 

“In the morning. In the morning we’ll use the book.”

------

She wakes in a tangle of limbs, her fingers locked in his where his hand rests between her breasts, a thigh tucked firmly between her own, Adam hard against her back. 

She hasn’t felt so well rested in ages, and she smiles, pressing back into his warmth.

Adam hums, low in his throat, his fingers squeezing at her own. “Shall we get some food, first, or would you like to choose our destination?”

Belle blinks, unsure for a moment why the words have irritated her so, and finally curls her fingers around his own in annoyance. 

“You’re teasing me.”

“It’s quite possible,” he mutters, his voice rumbling against her neck, amusement in his voice. “Though now we’re alone, I must admit I’m beginning to wonder if the charm of having you was being unable to.”

Belle knocks her elbow into his ribs in retaliation, using the opportunity of him dropping her hand with a muffled groan to duck under his arm. She rolls to face him, and in nearly the same breath throws a leg across his hips in an effort to straddle him, pleased to note that whatever he might say, he still rolls to the side to match her.

Some of her ire leaves her as she stares down at him, with his mussy bed head and still sleepy eyes, staring up at her in something she might call reverence, if she were to name it.

“Belle, I...”

“No more talking,” she tells him, her hips slotting just right, and he groans, a hand darting out from the coverlet to reach for her, fingers sifting through the hair at the back of her neck, pulling her towards him.

He seems in agreement, his lips rising to meet hers. In the force of the movement she nearly bites his lip, but that only seems to spur him on, a noise she might characterize as keening leaping from his throat as he finally, finally, catches her lips in his own.

It’s not enough. Though they’d stripped wearily to their smallclothes the night before, there are still at least two layers of clothing between them, and Belle’s hands slide down as he curls his tongue against hers, nimble fingers catching at the hem of his shift and tugging them past the weight of her thighs. 

He lets out a huff of breath against her cheek when she drags her nails across his sides, but she holds herself back from letting her palms slide up and over, wanting to see him, see the way gooseflesh pebbles across his skin when her fingers catch in the hair on his chest, the way he looks when he pulls in a deep breath. 

Impatient, she drags the hem up to his armpits, swaying back, ready to yank the damn thing over his head, but he chases her lips, following her until they’re both sitting up.

The change in angles causes Belle to sway her hips into his, again, and the delicious wave of electricity that rolls over her skin makes her tilt her head back.

He shucks the shirt over his head and halfway across the room in her distraction, already angling his head to press his lips to her neck, to bite and suckle at a spot below her ear, his hands already scrambling desperately for the edge of her shift. 

How he manages to get the thing off is beyond her - distracted as she is by the trail of his lips along her collarbone, down towards the freckles dotting her chest, she is grateful for the broad expanse of his palm across the skin of her back, keeping her anchored to him as he murmurs something against her breast before capturing a pebbled nipple against his tongue.

She whines, fingers scrabbling at his back for purchase, knowing she’s leaving angry red marks and not caring a wit about it.

When he tilts his head back up to capture her lips, the hand at her back slides up and into her hair, and the other slips, slow and meandering, over the neglected breast, his thumb rolling and kneading for a moment before heading lower. Belle tilts her hips in response, or retribution, she’s not entirely sure which, smiling against his lips at the rumble in his chest that follows.

He drives her backward, and she lands on her back with barely an inch to spare at the edge of the bed, but it’s hardly her biggest concern at the moment, because he is staring at her, seemingly unable to choose one place to look for long, and his expression is mildly overwhelmed. 

In a haze, she reaches out a hand to his face, curling her fingers against his jaw, her thumb sliding along the corner of his lip. 

He presses a kiss into her palm, some inkling of a decision crossing his face, and bends low to kiss her once, twice, the quick, dry press of his lips leaving her wanting, and then he blazes a path downward, his teeth scraping at her neck, his tongue dipping into the hollow of her throat. He catches a nipple in his mouth again, drawing a strangled moan from her as one hand curls against her waist, and then the heat of him is drawing away.

“What are -?” she chances a glance in the general direction he’d been heading, only for him to press his lips to her navel, and lower, lower, until he detours, frustratingly, to the small of her knee, her legs bent up on either side of him. 

“Darling, you all but demanded I grow this beard. At least let me use it to my advantage.”

She blinks, wonderingly, as he slides his jaw over the sensitive skin of her thigh, dropping featherlight kisses as he moves closer to his goal. “Oh,” she says, and her voice is rough and low. “As you were.”

He grins against the junction of her thighs, catching her gaze for a breath of a moment, raising his brow as she watches him curiously. 

“What is it now?” she asks, desperate for him, desperate for something, and he tilts his head up, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom like.

“My dear, you’re soaking wet already.” Were she not already flushed from the activities of the last few minutes, her color would surely have risen at the comment - not from embarrassment, but from the realization that Adam knew just how very much she enjoyed it when he spoke so.

“Oh, just get on with it!”

He doesn’t need to be told twice, and Belle forgets to think, for a while, as his tongue swirls against her, one of his hands splayed out against her thigh while the other settles between her legs. 

He slides a wet kiss along her slit, two fingers pressing along the edges of her sex, and the wet, lapping noises he’s making are obscene, but so are the ones dragging out of her throat. Her skin is hot in the cool air, a slight breeze drifting in from the window, and her hips jump when his tongue slides up and catches on the nub there, her fingers curling into the coverlet, and she lets out a low, hoarse moan.

He chuckles against her, his beard rasping against her thigh, the rumble of it vibrating against her skin, and one hand unfurls to grip his hair, half in retaliation, half to spur him on. 

He huffs out a breath, the air blowing hot over her, and then slides a finger over her while he focuses his mouth on the bundle of nerves.

Belle lets out a breath, her nails sliding along his scalp as he circles his fingers around her and slows his pace, ever so slightly - hardly noticeable, but enough to make her cant her hips towards him in annoyance.

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit greedy?” he asks, and Belle would scream in frustration if the tilt of his head upwards hadn’t slid the rasp of his beard over her.

“I think,” she began, while curling a handful of his hair into her fist, “that you should finish what you started.”

He gives her a careful, concentrated look, similar to the one he’d had in the moment before he’d knocked her flat on her back in the snow, all those months ago.

“Unless you’re not sure you can.”

“I know what you’re doing,” he tells her. “Fortunately for you, it’s working.”

She hums, pleased, and lets him return to his ministrations, working her into a frenzy of muffled curses and cries, the sensations overriding any thought of the thin walls of the inn and the open window facing the street. Her entire body feels coiled and tight, and the hand not currently in Adam’s hair slides over his shoulder, gripping at his arm.

It builds, and builds, while he swirls and presses, slipping a finger in and out of her wet heat while he catalogs each new noise she makes, the way she cants her hips, and finally he curls two fingers into her, catching on something that makes her toss her head back, blinking away stars, so close to the precipice of something new and wonderful.

Her fingers cling so tight to his shoulder that she’d be surprised if she hadn’t drawn blood, and his tongue slides over her just as he catches that spot inside of her. Belle feels the tension coil so tight as to be unbearable, and then it breaks, washing over her in heat and light, blinding in it’s intensity, until she feels limp and boneless, barely able to lift her head when she finally opens her eyes.

He’s watching her, his jaw tucked carefully against her, the scrape of his beard sliding across her stomach, a soft smile on his face as he takes her in, and Belle pulls the hand clenched in his hair forward, curling her fingers around to cup his cheek. He nuzzles into the touch, watching her.

“That was...”

He hums, pleased with himself, but the soft smile doesn’t leave his eyes. “I’ve already eaten, but you look famished, my love.”

Now that her skin has begun to cool, she can feel the rise of color in her cheeks, but she leans up to face him more fully. “But...what about you?”

“It’ll keep,” he tells her, grinning, rubbing small circles into her side. “We have plenty of time.”