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kinsey3furry300 · 3 years ago

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So how the heck do the Avengers pay for stuff, and how rich are they?

So, in the wake of “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” There’s a lot of debate about why Sam didn’t seem to get paid well for his work in the Avengers (at least in the MCU continuity), and this has got me thinking: we’ve got no evidence that the Avengers are, financially, anything but a hot mess. So lets break it down, Avenger by Avenger, using real-world pay scales for the ones who have jobs.

Tony: a billionaire, so clearly he’s a financial genius, right? Well….. his actions say otherwise. He’s shown to be wildly irresponsible with his money. He inherited a lot of wealth form his parents which was managed by the first Jarvis, Obadiah, and Pepper for him, he buys and then gives away not just woks of art, but entire collections by major 20th century artists on a whim, destroyed his own cars and home without concern, he tanks the value of his own company in the first Iron Man with a bad press interview, gets kicked of his own bord of directors, and ultimately, in Iron Man 2, gives control of his company to Pepper. He’s insanely rich, and insanely smart, but man, he’s not smart with his money. So all the cool stuff, his suits, the Avengers tower, the facility up-state: that’s all paid for by him, but Pepper is holding the purse-stings. So, does he pay the others? We have no evidence for most of them… but we do with Spidey. Peter Parker is in the Stark Internship Program a euphemism to hide the fact he’s training and mentoring him as a super-hero, but I find the wording interesting: he refers to Spidey, his surrogate son and chosen heir, as an intern. I.E., Unpaid. I’m guessing this is Howard’s influence over him, some sort of ‘make you own way in the world, son’ attitude, but if he’s not paying Spidey, is he paying anyone else? He certainly pays for stuff super heroes suits and things, equipment, fuel, the base, but does he pay anyone a wage? No one ever mentions it. You think it would come up.

So, if he’s not paying them a wage, where do Avengers (and thier allies) get their day-to-day money from, and are they rich? Using google and https://www.federalpay.org, lets find out.

Cap: Well, before Civil war, he’s a shield operative, and he presumably still holds his military rank: he’s a US Army captain, with (well) over 40 years service, so USD$88,142.40 per year, with $237.71 drill pay (pay per drill you have to do on weekends, on leave or outside of normal service) and $175.00 per month hazard pay (which I bet is interesting) on top of that. As a WW2 veteran, he’d be eligible for a war pension if he:

Was not discharged for dishonorable reasons; and,

Served 90 days of active military duty; and,

Served at least one day during wartime ("wartime" as determined by the VA); and,

Had countable family income below a certain yearly limit; and,

Is age 65 years or older; or

Regardless of age is permanently disabled, not due to wilful misconduct.

As he’s still receiving 90k per year, he’s ineligible for a pension as his countable yearly income is above the limit. So if shield pays him in accordance with his rank and years of service, about $90, 600 per year incuding hazard pay.

After civil war, he’s a fugitive on the run, so presumably flat broke. I’d asume he gets his pension returened to him after the snap.

He’s also just gone from the 40’s to the present day, so 70 years of inflation probably makes buying things very confusing for him: everything would seem insanely expensive at first. He’d also not know what the correct prices are for anything invented after 45. You might get used to how much more expensive food and coffee is, but how much is a smart-phone worth? $200? $2000 $20000? Who knows? I bet the others have to facepalm a lot when he either refuses to pay for what he sees as clear price-gouging, and at the same time regularly pays insane amounts of money for goods and services because he doesn’t know better. He also has no known assets other than his pay: he rents an apartment making him one of the few American males in his age-group who isn’t a home-owner

Thor: Does Asgard even have currency? It’s depicted like a “Crystal spires and toga” type utopia with no poverty: even working class Asgardian’s like Scourge seem to be pretty well-off and want for nothing, so he’s from a post-scarcity society where actual magic is a thing. His “Another” coffee cup smashing and the fact he doesn’t have a computer of phone in Ragnarök might indicate that, no, he just doesn’t have, need or understand money. Splitting a bar tab with him must be a nightmare. His breakdown post snap indicates he’s got some cash, but not a huge amount, and is probably skiving of Valkyrie and the other Asgardians.

Banner: Okay, so a PhD could make you a lot of money from patents… in pharmacology or engineering. Theoretical physics? Not so good. And if Banner did have any patents, they’ve probably been seized under eminent domain by the US military. At the start of The Hulk film, he’s working a entry-level factory job at a botteling plant in Brazil. The minimum wage in Brazil is 1069.62 Real per month, that’s 12,835.44 Real per year, or around $2437.79 US per year, before everything goes wrong for him! He then runs off to India, works for Tony for a bit and then gets shot into space. Spidey may actually make more in allowance than Banner does, and Banner is a gown ass man with bills to pay: I’d imagine he loses a lot in ripped clothing.

Natasha and Barton: Pre Civil-war, both are government spooks, so how well does that pay? The salaries of CIA Intelligence Analysts based in the US range from $25,838 to $685,701 , with a median salary of $125,340, so let’s assume that Shield pays in a similar range: $685,701 per year for Director Fury, around 125,000 for Natasha and Cliff, which explains Cliff’s nice, middle-class mid-western home. Post civil war, presumably not great: we know that Natasha spends a lot of her savings running and hiding all across the world, and Cliff takes a deal and presumably lives of his savings, pension and his wife’s income.

Rhodes: Full USAF colonel with over 10 years service? $105,562.80 per year, plus $293.23 drill pay per drill and $175 per month hazard pay, and because he’s team Stark and not Team Cap in Civil War, he’d not lose any of that. He presumably also gets an injury pay-out after his accident. After T’challa and Stark, he might be the best paid avenger.

Dr Strange: spends all his money he made as a surgeon on trying to cure his hands: spends literally his last dollars heading to Nepal to train. Wong even jokes with him about their lack of worldly money when asking for a tuna-melt. But, can use illusion to make people think he has money, and his home and clothes etc. come with the job, so in the same boat as Thor in that he has no money, but needs none AKA, he’s a bastard to try and split a restaurant bill with.

Wanda and Vision: No know source of income, just sort of live in Tony’s hose and eat his food, and on top of that Wanda goes on the run after civil war… yet they can stay in fancy hotels in Edinburgh, a relatively expensive city, and Vison apparently bought them a house to retire in, so one of them has some source of money. Maybe Tony gave Vision years of back-pay form when he was still Jarvis, or maybe the vison has a day job, which is, frankly, hilarious. Could you imagine him as a barista? I can, and it makes me very happy.

Scott Lang: I’d assumed he’d be super, super broke, but apparently the average pay for a private security consultant in the Bay area is $85,430 per year. Not bad. Pity he gets sucked into the quantum realm just as his business is taking off, so presumably, flat broke again.

Bucky: no known income, and I doubt Hydra paid him for being the Winter Soldier so he probably has no savings, but he should, technically, qualify for a military pension. As a single veteran, he’d be eligible for federal tax-free pension of up to $1732 per month, or $20,784 tax free per year. Not much for someone who lives in NYC. He may also be eligible for medical benefits over the loss of his arm. Whether or not he got to see any of that money given how confused his life has been over the past 10 years is unclear, but on paper he’s eligible.

T’challa: He is, quite possibly, richer than Stark, and as an absolute monarch pays no tax and has access to his Nation’s vast wealth in vibanium. It’s good to be the king!

Captain Marvel: USAF captain, and a test pilot; the test pilot school only accepts applicants with a service length of less than 9 years 6 months (10 years six moths of helicopters) as they don’t want older applicants. With 8 years service, $79,538.40, plus drill pay and hazard. However, no know (human) pay since 1990. Flat broke.

Guardians of the Galaxy: no data, but I’m assuming “Cowboy Bebop” levels of perpetual never-ending poverty given the way they choose to live. I’d also assume Rocket has taken all their cash into some sort of Ponzi scheme of his own creation, because just look at him, of course he has.

Spidey: he’s got about $10 of his aunts’ money at any given time, so he can buy lunch… which may in fact be more than Banner or Lang, and we know it’s more that Strange or Thor.

So, here the big one: how rich or how broke is Sam?

Sam Wilson: annoyingly, we’re not directly told what rank Sam held in any MCU film. USAF pararescue “Maroon berets” are generally NCO’s (but there’ are officer-ranked pararescue) , and he’s seen working on his wings at one point, where as officers don’t generally work on or maintain airframes. He’s shown wearing a Nation Air guard grey while jogging at one point to confuse the matter further. The general consensus on redit is he’s a former USAF tech sergeant (E-6). But how long was he in the air force? With six years service (the minimum sensible time he could have served to work in pararescue based on his age), that would be $41,464.80 per year, plus drill pay and hazard. As Anthony Mackie, the actor that plays him, was 36 as of Civil War, and assuming the character is the same age, and assuming he retired from the air force that year, and he joined the USAF at 17, the youngest you can join, he’d have served 19 years, giving him a pay of $51,566.40, the maximum pay you can get at this rank before promotion to Master Sergent, but meaning he left just before he’d qualify for the 50% final salary pension you’d qualify for after 20 years. Which seems weird. So let’s assume the character is one year older than the actor that plays him and served 20 years (ages 17-37), that means Sam has a military pension of $25,783.20 per year (20,784 of it tax-free), plus any injury benefits. He councils other veterans, but doesn’t get paid for that. He also chooses Team Cap in Civil War, so would become a wanted criminal, and so lose his income between 2016 and 2018, and then gets snapped and has no income for 5 years, which would destroy his credit rating. Like the rest of Team Cap, he presumably gets his post snap pardon, and goes to work for the US government at his former pay and rank. However, given how Captain John Walker treats him as an equal, it’s possible he’s been promoted to a captain when the hired back, giving him a pay of between $54,176.40 to $88,142.40 (with 20 years experience, depending on if they take into account his prior service or not, and how much prior service he has), but either way, he’s just starting this as a new job after being legally dead for 5 years: no savings, and no credit.

Commercial fishing vessels cost about 10% of their total value per year in maintenance alone. I can’t identify what sort of boat the Wilson’s have, but some quick googling indicates that the cheapest 15m long wooden in-shore shrimp trawler costs around $140,000, so that’s $14,000 per year in maintenance costs alone, minimum. And that’s a lower estimate, assuming the rest of the business is sound, which we know it isn’t.

So, in concussion, yes, Sam is in some serious financial trouble until he can re-build his savings and credit, but the scary bit is he’s not alone in that: he’s probably better off than Lang, Banner, Danvers, Strange, Thor, Bucky, Wanda and Parker. Only Clint (if he gets a full pardon and gets his full pension), Rhodes, Stark and T’challa aren’t in some sort of potential financial problems. That asshole bank teller was right: despite the fact it seems to pay well on paper, with a few exceptions, the Avengers financials are probibaly a mess. EDIT: Rocket is running the Ponzi scheme, if that’s not clear from context. The others know they have money somewhere, but not where it’s gone. And It’s been pointed out to me that as he’s technically a POW while he’s the Winter Soldier, Bucky is owed over 70 years back-pay, equal to over 3 million dollars, details in the notes.

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jj-babebank · 3 years ago

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Room 107 // chapter II // JJ Maybank (smut)

The story picks up where season 2 leaves us.

TW: Contains mentions of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, sex and violence.

CHAPTER ONE can be found here.

Chapter 2 - La Realidad

The lobby was surprisingly big and it matched the interior of the diner to a T. Everything was rustic and cheesy-looking, mimicking what Americans imagined people in Spain’s houses to look like. The black and white tiles from the diner went on into the foyer, covered in plants. The ceiling was very high and you could see the roof from the middle of the lobby. Four sets of sofas and tables were spread around, but all of them were vacant, much like the ones in the diner.

Samara was leaning against one of the many columns supporting the arches on which the upper parts of the walls were resting, waiting for the group. JJ smiled at her but she didn’t smile back, only turned around and motioned for them to follow her up a wide set of stairs. “Seeing as we’re almost fully booked tonight, you’ll be staying on the first floor,” she said, stopping at the first floor’s landing where a hallway of doors revealed itself, “With me.” The sound of that excited JJ a little too much for his liking. “Fully booked?” John B mumbled under his breath, “Yeah right,” he scoffed. “Don’t jump to conclusions too quickly, friend of JJ,” Samara said, obviously having heard him regardless of the fact that she was a good few feet ahead of them, “There is more than meets the eye down here in La Guardiana.” She stopped in front of a door, placing a key inside the keyhole, “Room 103,” she said, opening the door to reveal a scarcely furnished small room with hideous red wallpaper on the walls and a double bed situated between two Spanish windows, “Obviously only two can sleep here, so who’s it gonna be?” Sarah volunteered first, “Me and John B can have it,” she said, quickly adding, “If that’s okay with you, of course…” “Alright,” Samara said, turning the lights on in what JJ guessed was the bathroom, “This is your bathroom, there’s shampoo and soap in there, I’m guessing you’ll need it, enjoy.” She said, leading the others out of the room and down to the next one, 105. She unlocked the door, revealing an almost identical room to the previous one with the only difference being in the wallpaper colour - it was blue. Kiara and Cleo agreed to share this room, which left JJ with Pope. “And room 107,” said Samara, unlocking the second to last door down the hallway, “It’s right next to mine, how lucky,” she said sarcastically, handing Pope the keys. He ran into the room, laying on the bed with a look of pure bliss on his face. JJ turned to Samara, “Hey, uh, thank you so much again, I-“ “Meet me in the lobby at midnight.” She interrupted him, turning on her heel to walk away, “Don’t be late.” JJ’s pants suddenly felt awfully tight with excitement as he nodded, “Okay!” He said enthusiastically, “But… What time is it now?”

~~~~~~

The good thing about 100 degree temperature was that everything dried quickly. Whether it was hair or clothes or underwear - it dried up in no time. This was exactly why after taking what felt like the best showers of their lives, JJ and Pope washed their clothes and let them air dry on the window sills. Both boys were currently laying in bed in their towels, staring at the ceiling with only the sound of the big wall clock ticking away in the background. “She wants to meet up, you know?” JJ suddenly broke the silence. Pope snickered next to him, “You know what, JJ? I’ve gotta give it to you, man. Even smelly and dirty, you still manage to get the girl. How do you even do it?” JJ smiled proudly, “What can I say? I guess I’m just irresistible.” Pope laughed at his friend’s words. “So what time are you going to her room?” He asked. “Oh, she wants to meet me in the lobby. Probably wants to have a couple of drinks to, uh, you know, break the ice. Little does she know that JJ Maybank is more than just a pretty face and a man of few words,” JJ said cockily, “Come here, baby, I can recite you the whole dictionary” he wiggled his eyebrows. Pope was laughing hysterically at his friend’s cockiness, “What would we ever do without you, man?” “I’ll tell you one thing you wouldn’t have done without me,” he said, sitting up at gesturing towards their surroundings, “Sleep in a bed, at a hotel, for free,” Pope nodded, “Dude, I still can’t believe this is happening, this girl’s practically saving our asses,” “Yeah and you just wait ’til I get a hold of hers,” JJ wiggled his eyebrows once again. Pope scoffed, “What time are you meeting?” “Midnight,” JJ responded, looking at the clock. It was currently 8pm. The sun was still out and oddly enough, the street was beginning to sound a bit more lively. JJ and Pope peaked through one of the windows to have a look at what was happening outside. Sure enough, as the sun began to set, the streets of La Guardiana began to fill up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One positive about being a castaway - ending up in a cool new spot where a hot girl was practically giving herself to JJ.

One negative thing about being a castaway - having nothing to wear to impress said hot girl.

JJ was known to be an attractive guy and he knew it. Pulling girls never posed an issue for him back in the Outer Banks, yet here he was, standing in front of the long rectangular mirror in the hallway of his and Pope’s shared room, sighing at his reflection. He tried combing his sandy blonde hair back with his fingers, failing miserably as the soft strands just wouldn’t cooperate and stay in one spot. He looked down at his clothes, the same set of clothes he’d been wearing since that day, and rolled his eyes, throwing his head back in annoyance. “At least they’re clean…” he sighed to himself, tugging at his top. Pope was sitting on their bed, smirking at JJ’s reflection through the mirror, “Is it just me or do I sense nervousness?” JJ turned around to face him, his face expression both sad and annoyed, “This is all I’ve got, it’s not like I can do anything about it.” Pope shrugged his shoulders, “I mean, look at it this way - if she offered to help all of us after having a five minute conversation with you, then she must like you a lot.” Pope’s words made JJ’s lips curl into a small smile. Maybe he was right, why else would Samara willingly offer to house not only him, but his friends too, in her family’s hotel, for free? She must have liked him, right? Right?

The blonde boy sighed as he turned to look at the clock. In 10 minutes he would have to make his way downstairs to the pretty lady who asked him to meet her there, and to say he was excited would be an understatement. He took a seat next to Pope on the bed, keeping him company in watching some baseball game currently playing on their little TV, engulfing the room in light. JJ was tapping his foot on the ground nervously, checking the clock every few seconds, not focusing on the TV programme at all. Time seemed to be passing dreadfully slow all of a sudden. The street in front of their window was now full of people chattering and laughing, there was music playing from several different spots, one melody overlapping with the rest and smells of all kinds were filling the boys’ room, the one of marijuana particularly tickling JJ’s fancy as all he could think about was how much just one, not more, drag would help him ease his nerves before his much anticipated date. Was it even a date? He was so nervous at this point that he decided to just head downstairs without wasting any more time.

The short walk down to the lobby was filling JJ’s already nervous brain with even more nerves. What was he even nervous about? He was never like this around girls. Although, he had to admit he hadn’t really flirted with anyone in a while now, even before the day of the incident. He was so engulfed in mourning his best friend and Sarah, whom he believed to be dead, that he had completely neglected his own needs and fantasies, sex being the one he had pushed to the side the most. The past few months were hard for JJ, what with everything going on in his life - from John B to his dad, to the gold, and now the cross; almost being tossed in jail on more than one occasion, getting into numerous fights, hiding on numerous occasion and not to mention all that running that him and his friends somehow always had to partake in, being chased by anyone and everyone wherever they went. JJ had been so busy doing all of this, he had forgotten how to be a teenaged boy, how to fix his hair, how to talk to girls - hell, he was sure that if Samara took him up to her room, he’d have to have at least three of those whiskeys he drank earlier, just to know where to touch her - that’s how much he had neglected his sex life.

Making his way down to the lobby, he saw her. She was sitting on one of the couches, not yet aware of his presence there, a glass of wine resting in her delicate hands and another one sitting on the table in front of her, presumably for JJ. Her silky chocolate hair cascaded down her tanned shoulders, covering her voluptuous breasts, making JJ gulp. She was wearing an off white dress that seemed to hug her in all the right places and the contrast between her dark hair, bronze tan and the light coloured material made her appear even more alluring to the young boy, if that was even possible. Samara was truly a sight to behold and JJ couldn’t believe his luck quite yet. Somehow all of this seemed too good to be true. People never usually just gave stuff away, it wasn’t in their nature. Being from the cut, JJ was used to only receiving things that he was expected to work for. Good things never came cheap, and the girl sitting before him who had put a roof over his and his friends’ heads for the foreseeable few days, definitely didn’t look like the type who just gave things away. JJ was simply hoping that the wine she had prepared for him would be enough to soothe his nerves before what he imagined would be a night of hot, raunchy sex. He wanted to rip her clothes off and make her whimper beneath him and he was so set on that, that he had turned it into the only logical thing that she could ask for in return for the massive favour she was doing for him. It only made sense, right? She knew he had nothing - what else could he possibly offer her?

“Hello, JJ,” Samara spoke when she finally saw the boy approaching her. He sat down on the sofa next to her and picked up the glass of wine that was waiting for him on the table. “I heard about a certain gold you have,” she simply said, her plump lips twisting into a smirk and her black eyes boring into JJ’s blue ones, “How about I help you get it back and in turn,” she reached for his knee, “- you share some of it with me.”

Uh-oh.

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skellebonez · 4 years ago

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Hear me out: Spider Macaque in the Spider Monkie AU with prompts 14 and 35?

I hear you and oh this was way too much fun... I took a great deal of liberty with exactly how Mac transforms into his Spider Monkie form and who says what and the TIMELINE because I... re-wrote this into a ship fic because of you. I call it ShadowCodingShipping because someone had to name MacaqueSyntax eventually! I guess you could say this is definitely a what-if story more than anything.

Warning for body horror because Mac is slowly turning half spider and that's kinda gross and painful. Also this is hurt/comfort but heavy on the HURT. This does not have a happy ending.

Am I scaring you?/I believe I can be of some help here.

"Am I scaring you?" Macaque asked with a smirk, pain clearly barely held at bay behind it. The monkey demon was a mess, fur tussled and miscolored splotches that hadn't yet grown in properly littered his torso. His torso that had gained a good inch in the last failed attempt at... what they were trying to accomplish. "... are you going to answer me, scientist?"

Syntax did not answer. Whether it was out of fear or knowing that regardless his answer would not make the demon leave him be even he didn't know.

"Queenie calls you Syntax," Macaque continued, moving around the computer to watch him over the screen. "That can't be your name, can it? I didn't give enough of a shit to ask before now. Hey. Hey. Hey. H-"

"No, it is not my birth name," the scientist snapped eventually, watching as Macaque smirked in victory. "Only a complete fool would agree to work with someone as infamous as the Spider Queen and use their legal name as if they were sending an unencrypted message containing confidential information across basic messaging applications without a VPN. What in the world are you trying to accomplish?"

"Ooooo, wordy," Macaque chuckled out as he leaned against the monitor and made it tilt at an awkward angle. "I'm. Bored. Entertain me, scientist, you're the most interesting person in this place. believe it or not."

Syntax raised a brow at the demon, sighing as he continued to type into the computer. "Do you want this to be finished any time soon? Because the more you bother me the longer it will take. I may be able to multitask but humans have limits."

Macaque scowled for a moment before shrugging, failing at hiding a grimace of pain. It must have made the new bones in his spine ache horribly. But he moved easily past Syntax without a word, only whipping his tail against his shoulder as he left.

It didn't hurt at all... he wondered what the point of the gesture even was.

The screaming rang through the entire hideout, Syntax's ears ringing even as he covered them. They'd tried twice more in their attempts at Macaque's twisted idea, Spider Queen slowly seeming to become less and less comfortable with not only their methods but with what they were even doing. It was working, sort of, but not correctly.

The changes were supposed to be immediate, so fast that the pain receptors wouldn't register properly. Not for the comfort of the converted, but so that it would happen so quickly they wouldn't be able to fight it. Less pain, less of a change for your body to try to fight off the transformation. Syntax had insisted on mechanical changes, nano-bots or something of the sort instead of organic growth. Macaque himself had vetoed this, saying something about how it wouldn't make him feel whole again.

This made the changes slow. Too slow, so much so that the mixture was fought off by his immortal monkey biology too quickly for it to take hold the way it was supposed to, requiring Syntax to make it stronger and stronger each time in the hopes it would finally kick in.

Now Macaque laid on the ground, holding his face and screaming so much Syntax feared his vocal cords would give out. The last two treatments had lengthened his torso even more and changed his fur consistency entirely. Once soft and thick black fur was a mixture of that and the coarse purple hair of a spider, not meshing together at all and instead forming an odd pattern on his body. At some points silver had begun to peak through, though if that was supposed to happen or if it was a reaction to the sheer stress of his body undergoing a change that should not be happening he was not sure. Syntax could see the red mark on his face warping, changing into the same purple on his torso around his eyes and moving up on his face as two more eyes grew above the ones he already had. It was fascinating to be sure, and he would have said that it was almost pretty had it not seen the build up of them forming in a fashion he wished to never see in slow build up ever again.

He was a scientist. He was supposed to be impartial to his work above all else, and he had agreed to help of... mostly his own volition. But this... This made him more uncomfortable than he was ready to admit.

"Help him up," Spider Queen said after Macaque collapsed onto the floor, screaming ceased as his body fought off the mixture for the fourth time. She looked... perturbed. Discomforted. "After his last treatment... move on to your idea. We are not doing this again."

She moved out of the room quickly, to fast to even tell her if he would or not, covering the side of her face with her hand to shield her from the sight of the collapse man on the floor. Yes... discomforted indeed.

Syntax didn't have that luxury. And he would not leave Macaque to lay on the floor regardless of orders. But the way he shook and covered his new eyes and the small amount of tears leaking from his normal eyes made a pang of pity shoot through him. He was a scientist... but he was still human.

"I believe I can be of some help here," he said softly, taking off his lab coat and folding it part way before shoving it under Macaque's head and laying the unfolded part over his face. The demon let out a half whimper, clearly bit back as he didn't want to show weakness, but eased ever so slightly as he realized the coat blocked out the light of the lab just as well as his hands had. "It's not a perfect solution, but it gets the job done.

"Th-thought Queenie s-said to help me u-up," Macaque stuttered out, moving his hands to grip the coat instead of his eyes.

"Yes, but that would be a bad idea," Syntax explained, sitting on the floor next to him with a sigh. He pulled his tablet down from a nearby table, there was no point in not getting at least some work done, and began scribbling away with the attached pen. "Your eyes are far too sensitive and with the other changes you have gone through your body will likely collapse again before we could get you to a cot. It's best you remain stationary for the time being until I am able to assess your pain tolerance properly, then I will move you to your quarters."

Macaque didn't say anything, just huffed in reply and seemed to relax. Syntax wondered if he was thankful he wouldn't have to move immediately this time, and he could have sworn he heard something... rumbling.

Maybe it was the machinery behind them.

He felt Macaque's tail hit his side after a while, thumping softly against him... but he didn't push it away.

He wondered if this would change anything at all.

Syntax saw more of Macaque than usual after that. Sometimes he would wander into his lab and just... stay there. Silent as the shadows he liked to hide in. Sometimes he would just watch him work, other times he would bring him plums or mangoes. Syntax never had much of a taste for fruit, not really enjoying any form of sweets, but he would not pass up free food when his stomach rumbled in protest from his long hours. One time Macaque had brought in a book, sat on his desk, and just read it.

That was bizarre, even for him. But Syntax found he didn't exactly mind the company. It was quite... lonely in the lab. He was the only human in the Spider Queen's entourage and her other two companions weren't exactly the best company. Oh, the big guy was nice and all and Syntax even enjoyed his presence well enough. But he would grow bored of the scientist's techno babble and science talk eventually and leave with a nod and a wave goodbye. He was grateful that he seemed to listen, however, even if he wasn't interested in the specifics.

The other one, however, was a pain in his ass. Constantly one upping him, trying to belittle him for being a human, just being an all around annoyance. He tried to act cool and suave but Syntax just found him obnoxious.

Macaque... Macaque stayed, listened even if Syntax ran out of things to talk about. And it was oddly nice. He felt himself growing excited for when the part-spider part-monkey would make his presence known.

He wondered, distantly... if Macaque was starting to mean something to him. To matter, in a way.

The day of the final treatment eventually arrived and Syntax actually dreaded what might happen. This was their last shot to make this work completely, there was a greater than 0% chance that this would cause irreparable damage to the monkey demon if they had to continue farther. But it seemed his worries were unfounded. He was smart, a genius even. He had done his job properly, even if it had taken far too long and was the least beneficial way to accomplish the goal.

Macaque screamed worse than with every other treatment, and understandably do. It would have shocked him if Macaque hadn't since he was growing two new arms.

The Spider Queen had taken her leave shortly after, disgusted by the sight before her. It was Syntax's job to watch as Macaque slowly changed before him, bones and muscle and sinew growing slowly and bit by until finally... finally it was finished.

They had learned from last time, placing a cot on the ground for him to sit on while this happened, and he collapsed onto his back. Two new arms limp against the floor as he shook and twitched and cried cold tears in agony. But it was finished.

Syntax couldn't stop himself. He rushed forward, kneeling beside Macaque's head, watching his eyes and expression for recognition and any sign that he was alright. It had only been two weeks since the last treatment, the time needed for him to recuperate, but in that short time... he had grown oddly fond of the man on the cot. He did not know what he felt for him, not yet, but he knew that he did not dislike him in the slightest.

"Ma-Macaque?" He asked softly after no response for nearly 15 minutes, waiting and watching and finally Macaque's eyes turned to him. "How do you feel?"

Macaque didn't say anything to him at first. Just blinked before a weak chuckle resounded from his throat.

"Whole."

The transformation was a mistake. Syntax had never felt guilt for any of his scientific achievement before, and he did not feel guilt for helping the Spider Queen in her endeavor, bit this? This he felt guilt for.

Macaque was in pain. Constantly. Sometimes it was just a dull ache, other times he almost collapsed as something moved the way it shouldn't and he had to bite back a scream. But there was no taking it back now and Macaque reveled in "feeling whole" again.

Syntax felt a mix of awe and wonder whenever he looked at the demon. He was... handsome, the purples and blacks and silvers of his fur blending together properly now. His eyes brilliant gold and green. And when he wasn't in pain his smile was nice, soft even if he could call it that. He was unsure of how much of it was true, he knew the Six-Eared Macaque to be a trickster. But he hoped some of it was, at least when directed at him.

But when he was in pain his face twisted in a way that made Syntax sick to his stomach to see it each time the agony rang true on his face. But Macaque brushed it off, not seeming to pay it much mind. Not when he had his eyes and arms "back".

The Spider Queen agreed with him, he could tell, but probably not for the same reasons. She seemed frightened of him. Goliath and Huntsman were just scared of him too. They avoided him like he would kill them on sight.

Syntax, despite his guilt, welcomes his presence still. He was not frightened of Macaque in the least. No, he just felt guilt that he was in pain. And he would never not want to help him through that now. The spider monkie had grown attached to him, almost a constant companion at his side. And he had grown fond of him as well.

He learned that Macaque had a flair for the theater. He made shadow puppets when the Spider Queen wasn't watching, though for what purpose and what audience Syntax had not asked. He liked to watch Syntax work, and eventually as he started to rest his head on the human's shoulder he learned the rumbling from the second to last treatment was a purr. He didn't know demons could purr, let alone to speed up recovery from injuries.

But the day of the Lunar New Year was coming and Syntax could tell he had something else... someone else on his mind.

The next day was to be the day. Syntax's last chance to get the new formula and tech right. It almost felt like a repeat of the past treatments but with less screaming. He was worried.

Macaque wasn't, however. He had never been worried, assuring the Spider Queen (sometimes through growls and bared teeth) that it would be done in time. He'd been a success after all. (Syntax said nothing each time.)

They'd never been this close before, but Macaque had eventually dragged the scientist away from his computer for rest. Taken him to his room, sat on the bed with him, and just. Held him. Purring loud and deep and eventually Syntax was lulled into slumber sitting up against the soft-coarse fur of Macaque.

He realized that Macaque mattered to him more than he cared to admit.

Syntax had failed. His formula and tech hadn't worked. They only had one shot left, and there was no time for him to fix his mistakes before the end of the celebration. Macaque had been in too much pain, on the other side of the room, to tell Spider Queen off this time. It was all over...

Until she came. The young woman in white and blue. She'd done something, added an ingredient he had not been able to calculate for, and then...

"Let's give it a spin," Spider Queen had said with a smirk as she turned toward her human scientist... her human guinea pig.

"Wait, no!" Syntax backed up, knowing that it was almost pointless to attempt escape. There was nowhere to run. "I helped you! You need me! Maca-AGH!"

Before the spider monkie could rush to his side the little spider drone had jumped on Syntax, adhering itself to his face before he fell backward over some machinery. It crawled around him, situating itself on his back and digging in it's injectors and

pain agony pain pain something came out of his back pain another painpainhescreamedandscreamed ANOTHER AGONYISTHISWHATMACAQUEFELTPAIN one more

And then it was over. Syntax felt... nothing. No pain. No agony.

No... guilt.

He stood straight, facing forward before kneeling. He knew what he had to do.

"My queen."

Yes. His queen. The Spider Queen.

She was the only one who mattered to him.

He heard his name spoken from the other side of the room but paid it no mind. That voice didn't matter to him.

That wasn't the voice of his queen.

"Syntax?" Macaque called, unable to stand from his spot as his arms throbbed in ghost pain. He had tried to stand before, when the drone had lunged at him, but the pain shot through him for a split second and send him to his knees too quickly.

His screams... his screams made his ears pull back not from the pain of the volume but from fear and something else.

Then Syntax stopped screaming and stood and knelt before the Queen.

"Syntax!"

... he never responded.

Macaque wondered if this is what guilt felt like.

#oops all SAD #monkie kid #lego monkie kid #ship fic #hurt/comfort #six eared macaque #syntax #shadowcodingshipping #fun fact: Shadow Code is when devs include third-party code without approval or any safety validation #considering the way this ship came about here I THINK THAT FITS

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actuallyilya · 3 years ago

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Black-Ops Characters I believe would have cats and/or dogs. Also, these are just the Campaign characters + some Warsaw pack characters!!

Dog Only

Lazar, Lazar gives off big cuddly dude vibes™ meaning he would want a pet he could bond with better. Dogs are (usually) very playful and loving. He also CONSTANTLY attracts dogs. I also think he would adopt a Golden Retriever. Idk. Vibes™

Sims, Sims seems like the type of guy who likes being outdoors. Parks, hiking, jogging, etc. So he would 100% rather have a buddy to do those hobbies with, rather than go alone. A bit into his childhood, he had another dog he grew up with from the age of 12 and up, but once he left for school/the CIA, he felt bad, and eventually, the dog died of old age :(. But I do think that he loved that dog very much and no dog would ever come close to the memories he had with him. I think he would adopt a Border Collie.

Woods, Look this mother fucker DISPISES cats. He thinks they're gremlins and refuses to ever pet one he hasn't had a bad experience, just doesn't like them, claims that 'they're satan's little bitches'. He also would rather have a pet that you can call do cuddle, rather than hope not to get scratched. He either would have a German Shepherd or Great Dane. He wants a dog that will make him seem cool 🥶😈 but everyone knows that man is a sweetheart.

Hudson, He is most definitely a dog person, He does not care about the dogs are better than cats argument. 'It's an idiotic argument, Besides, we all know dogs are better'. His dog is a family dog, she's very friendly to anyone who comes by Woods, Mason, etc and she loves his kids. At first, Hudson hated the idea of having a dog, it would be a liability, but he was the first person who genuinely fell in love with the dog. He would have a German Shepard, who is military trained because he wants to protect his family.

Knight, Look, with the very little of the information we know about him, I GENUINELY think this man would have a dog. We know he's a little on the bad side, but still, he needs some friends. Even if the friend is a dog. He would probably adopt a Kangel Shepard. Also, he loves to play with his dog very often and is super protective of the dog.

Okay, now to the people who would have cats!

Park, Look, Park is like those people who sit in front of a window with a computer/notes in front of her while her cat calmly sits in front of her sleeping or sunbathing. Okay? I love her to pieces and I know damn well she would get along better with cats than dogs. She has actually argued with Woods about it a lot. She would also have a Chartreux

"Suck it Park! Dogs are the best pets, they won't kill ya in your sleep!"

"Woods, Cats' cleanliness makes up for more than a few scratches here and there, unlike dogs who like to sit in their own filth."

Mason enjoys silence, dogs do not give silence, they are loud and he prefers cats overall, He has had his cat for a while, a few years before David joined the military, his home felt empty, He knew he had always been rough on Mason but the cat gave them a small bonding experience, Although he loved the cat, it caused an argument between him and woods (It wasn't an end-the-friendship argument but when they're drunk they definitely argue) He would have a Birman, he also heavily enjoys cuddling with a cat.

Wraith, She strikes me as those people who genuinely love working with cats or at shelters, maybe she had a cat growing up, maybe she worked at a shelter before she went all Warsaw pact. But regardless, knowing she can't stay in one place forever, she still tries to still somewhat work at shelters, she isn't open about it because it caused an agreement between her and Knight. However, he always had a friend tag along with her while going to the shelters. She wouldn't own any pets, but her favorite breed would be Burmese cats "their fur is a black as my soul"

Stitch, This guy just loves cats, As a young kid, he didn't really have many friends, he usually kept to himself, as a result, he would wander areas a lot, during one of his walks, he found an injured cat, He nursed the cat back to health and kind-of kept this side of himself a secret as his father was very 'men do the work while women stay at home' luckily it never rubbed off on him. However, Just like Wraith, he tagged along to the shelters, he didn't wear the gas mask, but a lot of his scars showed, but he found out the cats/kittens were less scared of him if he just showed his face. Although he has an edgy feel, he loves Maine coons, they are very gentle, friendly, and very intelligent (As you can see, you can tell who is my favorite Warsaw pact operator)

Who would have BOTH cats and dogs.

Adler, look this motherfucker does not want to admit that he loves both cats or dogs. He easily gets attached to animals, cats, dogs, the whole sha-bang. So either/or, He loves dogs because he enjoys working with them, such as training, jogging, etc. (Sims stopped going running with him after Sims adopted his dog, but Adler knew he couldn't be responsible for a dog knowing he's always out on missions). But he also loves cats, he loves how majestic they are, when they purr, kneed, etc. He loves it. He occasionally invites himself to Park's house to spend time with her cat, not even with her. Park doesn't mind as she knows she now has a free cat-sitter. If Adler could, He would have a Great Dane and for a cat, he would have a Bengal Cat

Naga, Over the course of his life, Naga has worked with tons of dogs. He had always appreciated them helping him in his line of work. Whether they helped him weed out a rat amongst his men, or helped make sure no one was stealing profit, I think he heavily enjoys their company. Naga has always been a little intimidating, But with a cat by his side, even more, on his lap, on his desk, such a tiny animal had so much subtle power. If the cat had a problem with you, he had a problem with you, He even decided he enjoyed having a dog so much, he adopted a dog, luckily, after a few months of trying, they both got along and peacefully sit in his office. He would defiantly adopt a Donskoy Sphynx, and for a dog, he would adopt a Cane Corso, mostly for weather reasons.

Perseus, owns both a cat and a dog, rarely going out for rough missions, he can have two pets in his life and properly take care of them, His current dog, a Siberian Huskey (perfect for the current climate) he's had for five years, his cat, a Korat, he's had for three years. He occasionally takes them both into his office as to not have lonely days, on the days he has to either a) leave fast such as for safety, Stitch, Wraith, and Knight were made responsible as they are his trustable people.

Finally, Bell. Bell loves both of them and never really owned any animals, while working for the CIA, they had a knack for attracting animals while going for walks, they usually arrived with one or two animals, even birds! Mostly kittens and puppies, but even the impossible is possible for them. Woods and Mason found this hilarious and tried not to fall in love with the animals (even if they were there for a short amount of time) Adler or Park always had to be the one to take the animal out of their hands because he knew no work would get done and a rule had to be implemented so it wouldn't happen again (news flash, it did happen, very often)

Solovetsky Ending: let's just say Adler didn't shoot Bell, Adler would take Bell to shelters and would even go with them to save stray (injured) animals. The two actually grew very close and it sort of became a hobby. Adler got his taste of animals and Bell go to feel happy for a few hours, they both learned a lot. After one night of dinner, they found a stray kitten with no family around, they waited an hour to try and see if the mom would come back since It didn't, They took in the kitten, it was an off-day for the workers, so they nursed the kitten for like four days before having to give it up to the shelter.

Duga Ending: After Perseus took Bell in, let's just say the same thing happened, they weren't allowed to be on the field because they weren't mentally able to handle war and risk of being kidnapped so they kind of stuck around the area, although it was rare, abandoned animals did sometimes appear. The first time it happened. Bell was wearing a large coat and returned freezing with only a t-shirt on. Perseus was at the front gate, waiting for some of the operators to come back, but instead, they returned, freezing, a small fluff ball was in their hands while they were slowly developing hypothermia.

"Bell?! What the hell are you doing without a coat?!"

"I-I know, B-But I-I saved a dog."

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escapewithbts · 4 years ago

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Secrets in a Foreign Language (Part Three) - Jungkook

<<previous _ next>>

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

This same thing happened the next three weeks. You would come to Jungkook’s house to clean at exactly 2pm on Tuesday and he would be there. Again, there wouldn’t even be much to clean, you would finish in record time and then he would ask to hang out, whether it be playing video games again, watching movies, or even just sitting in his kitchen and talking. Were you still confused? Absolutely. Why were you still coming to clean when there wasn’t anything to do? Was he that lonely? Certainly not, right? He had his 6 other band members to hang out with if he wanted to, and, of course, his “girlfriend” Cho-hee. Although the two of you hadn’t even come close to talking about the topic of relationships, you could still sense he wasn’t happy with the arrangement in place for the two of them. However, their relationship continued to make headlines of all of Korea’s tabloids, the same kind of pictures where they looked closer than ever. You couldn’t help but wonder why he agreed to this if he didn’t seem happy. What was he getting out of it? Maybe it was just a part of his world that you would never understand.

The following week you couldn’t help but feel giddy as you slipped the key into the front door of Jungkook’s apartment. Whether it was frowned upon to have any kind of relationship with a client outside of your working business hours you weren’t sure, but regardless you were extremely thankful to have found someone who you may be able to soon consider a friend. Jungkook was shy, but funny, and just so kind. He definitely had a sort of “cool guy” façade, especially in the videos you watched of him on stage (yes, you had been looking him up again), but you quickly learned from hanging out with him that in reality he was actually a huge dork. He was goofy, and dare you say, surprisingly… normal? You understood each other’s references to movies and shows from when you were kids (despite living in different areas of the world you grew up with many of the same things) and you helped him when he struggled with speaking English to you, and vice versa with you and Korean. You just got along incredibly well, sharing the same kind of humor and competitive spirit. In fact, Tuesdays were now what you looked forward to more than anything.

But on this particular day, when you entered the home, Jungkook wasn’t at his usual spot on the couch. You stood still for a moment, trying to listen for any sort of indication he was somewhere else in the house, but you were just met with the muted sounds of cars driving on the busy roads out below. You couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Even though this is how it was supposed to be, you had actually gotten used to his company every week. But he was literally in the world’s biggest boy band at the moment, I guess you couldn’t expect him to be here every time, right?

Nevertheless, you put on your gloves, inserted your wireless headphones, and got to work.

When you reached the guestroom part of your cleaning this time, all you had left to do was take out the trash. However, when you went to remove the bag from the can, something you saw made you stop dead in your tracks. There, on top of the small pile of garbage, was a large clump of dust, like what would be emptied out of a vacuum cleaner. Ah ha! So, your suspicions were correct! Someone was cleaning the place before you got there. But you still had no idea why.

Just then, you heard the front door slam shut, startling you out of your thoughts. Jungkook was home? A huge smile spread across your face, the giddiness returning. You hadn’t expected to see him today and suddenly your heart felt full. But maybe, after this discovery, it was time to ask him if and why someone else was cleaning the house before you. Just to put your mind at ease.

You put down your duster and strolled into the hallway, immediately finding Jungkook at the other end. He smiled widely at you.

“(y/n)! Hey! I was just coming to see if you were here.”

You nodded and returned the smile.

“Yep, it is Tuesday afternoon after all.”

He motioned with his hand for you to follow him.

“Come on, I have too much food for one person.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. When you entered the kitchen there were takeout containers of all different kinds of Korean foods sprawled out on the island.

Jungkook grabbed two plates from the cupboard.

“Where did you get all this?” you asked, your eyes wide and mouthwatering at the sight.

He handed you one of the plates and a pair of chopsticks.

“It was leftover from our shoot this morning… the other members took some back to the dorm so there was even more than this.”

You shook your head in disbelief.

“Wow… And you’re sure… I can have some?”

He raised an eyebrow at you and scoffed.

“Yes. I cannot eat this alone you… uhh… English for pabo?”

Your mouth fell open.

“Jungkook! Are you calling me an idiot?!”

Jungkook’s cheeks turned red.

“Idiot? What! No, no! I didn’t mean it like that! No, I meant- aiissshhh how do I say it- “

You interrupted him by bursting out laughing, earning a confused grin from the man in front of you.

“I’m just joking with you… I think the word you’re looking for maybe is... goofball? Unless you were trying to say I’m in idiot then that’s okay, too.”

He looked away embarrassingly but laughed with you.

“Ah no, no, goofball… goofball, yes? That’s how you say it? Goofball sounds better, I think.” He paused and stared into space, repeating the word a couple times to himself. You giggled at his repetition of the word.

Then he confidently nodded his head and gave you a thumbs up.

“Yah! Okay okay! I will remember!”

You smiled at him.

He’s so cute, a blush forming on your cheeks at the thought.

The two of you scooped food onto your plates and then went into the living room to sit on the couch and eat.

“Want to watch Netflix?” he asked, picking up the remote, “there’s this Korean movie you should see.”

You nodded, half chewed kimbap in your mouth.

“Okay, sure.”

Then you remembered you had planned to ask him about the vacuum remnants in the trash. You figured now was as better as a time than ever.

You swallowed as he scrolled through the app on the tv. Why did it make you so nervous?

“Hey, Jungkook?” you started, “Can I ask you something?”

He stopped scrolling and turned to look at you, his cheeks puffy like a chipmunk from being stuffed with food.

He nodded in response, his big brown eyes wide waiting for what you were going to say.

You looked down at your food.

“I noticed, um, today when I was cleaning the guestroom… in the trash there was… like what looked like dust and dirt from a vacuum? And the past few times, it’s seemed like someone had cleaned before me? And it’s okay, it’s not that big of a deal,” at this point you were rambling, thinking maybe bringing up something so miniscule was silly, “I just was curious if I should know if something is going on or if I’m just imagining it? I don’t want to get in your business or anything, I don’t know, I’m probably just dumb…”

When you looked back up at Jungkook he had a panicked look on his face. He swallowed hard, his face turning red as a beet again, from the tips of his ears all the way down to his neck.

There was an awkward silence as he just stared at the floor, appearing deep in thought. Finally, he shut his eyes tightly and balled his hand up in a fist, placing it to his forehead in exacerbation.

“Aiiisshhh, you’re not dumb, it’s me. It’s me, I am the one cleaning before you get here.”

You cocked your head and furrowed your eyebrows. Okay, now you were really REALLY confused.

“But… why?”

He took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, but he still did not look at you. He just shook his head and moved some food around on his plate with his chopsticks. Then he mumbled something so quietly it was almost incoherent,

“Because… I thought if you did not have as much to do, it would make more time for you… to hang out with me.”

Oh.

Well, that was not at all what you were expecting.

You felt your heart skip a beat, and butterflies in your stomach.

He finally looked up at you, a worried look on his face, his bottom lip between his teeth, a blush on your face now, too.

But you couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

It was Jungkook’s turn to cock his head, a slight smile appearing on his face.

“Why-why do you laugh?”

“I don’t know, I guess because… because no matter how much I had to clean I still would have hung out with you afterwards,” you replied with a shrug.

A huge smile spread across his face, making wrinkles form around his eyes.

“Really?” he wondered.

You nodded.

“Well yes, of course,” then you pointed a chopstick at him, “Hey, who’s the pabo now??”

He shook his head, his long hair bouncing against his face. You suddenly got the urge to run your hand through it.

“Both me and you?” he suggested.

You rolled your eyes and laughed.

“Okay, okay, fine.”

There was a pause and you looked back down at your plate before softly saying, “Honestly though, Jungkook, I really do… enjoy spending time with you.”

Then you shoveled a heap of noodles in your mouth before you could embarrass yourself even more.

But there really was no need to feel embarrassed because Jungkook didn’t take his eyes off you, and the big smile never left his face as he said,

“I really do, too (y/n).”

next>>

Masterlist

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apocalypticwafflekitten · 4 years ago

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Bells Will Be Ringin’

Darth Maul x Reader, but this time it’s Christmas (Life Day) A/N: Hey! I’m back with another story for Maul! I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get another story out! I have a couple requests that I’m working on, but since it’s Christmas Break for me, I should be able to get them out pretty quickly! Requests are open by the way! Feel free to send them in!

Also, I may come back in and do some editing on this piece in the next few days. I want to get it out now so I have time to work on other requests during break!

Original Idea/Summary Thingy: Christmas Blues^TM, but there’s a happy ending, so it’s okay!

Warnings: None unless you count a sad and mildly bitter Maul.

Word Count: 3356

(P.S. I listened to “Please Come Home For Christmas” covered by The Eagles while writing this, so feel free to feel that vibe if you wish. I also absolutely stole the title from the first lyrics and then found a way to work it into the story.)

The snow fell in fleets of faint flakes. And he felt his heart fall with them.

It wasn’t that the snow wasn’t beautiful. Rather, it was what lay beyond the flurry that made his heart sore. He felt the icy breath of loneliness drop beneath his collar as he rested his chin on his hand and peered out the window.

You were there. Just beyond the pane of glass. He had to swallow his heart at the sight. You looked beautiful, reaching up to catch a flake on your fingertips. He couldn’t keep his gaze from lingering on your lips. Your bright smile warmed his chest, and he wished for nothing more than to be out there with you.

But something gold caught his eyes. And his heart clenched. His brother walked beside you, and you smiled even brighter when he showed you the flake that had landed on his fingertip. A sorrowful sigh slipped from Maul’s lips as he watched you walk with his brother.

Savage had been the one to meet you. You had bumped into him while chasing after your rouge scarf that the wind had carried away, and Savage had kindly snatched it out of the air for you. He’d see you in passing afterwards and invite you into the palace for tea. That’s how Maul met you. You were having tea with Savage, and he had walked in on the two of you.

From the moment he saw you, he was enamoured; enraptured.

Savage properly introduced the two of you and you started spending a great deal of your time with them.

And Maul fell hard.

Everytime Maul hung out with you and Savage, he could feel himself growing weaker and weaker for you.

Eventually you would get invitations to the palace from Maul himself. It was usually on weeks where Savage was off dealing with the syndicate, but there were occasions when you would come to see him on your own regardless of whether Savage was gone or not.

You’d talk about everything with him, and more often than not, he’d open up about himself in return. But rather than focusing on his plans or other bigger things in life, you learned that he loved a sweet chamomile tea, or a rich mulled wine in the cooler months. He had grown an interest in Mandalore’s classic literature, and there was something inexplicable about the city’s architecture that put a glint in his eyes. It was wonderful to see him talk about the things he liked. It seemed like he didn’t get to do that often, and the way he lit up when he got going about his passions made you smile big and bright.

Upon the cool stone of his throne, Maul drowned himself in memories of you. The bit of bitterness that sprouted when his brother wrapped a hand around your shoulder melted away when he thought of the times you would laugh at something he had said and use his shoulder to keep yourself up.

Your touch always left a soft tingle on his skin, even when you only touched his shirt. Your hand was soft and the way you held this hand when you comforted him had such a gentle strength to it. Your fingers were featherlight on his skin, but he had never felt as though stronger hands had held him. Not that he had had much experience in the area. Still, your touch was enough to send his heart reeling for hours.

“If only her lips could grace my skin.”

“She’d never do that and you know it. Besides, she loves another doesn’t she?”

Your ringing laughter sent a jolt through Maul’s heart as you entered the palace, “Savage! Put me down!” You giggled as Savage passed through the glass doors.

“But Miss (Y/L/N), You’re tired! You said so yourself! A tired lady shouldn’t have to walk herself home!” Savage laughed along with you.

“Yes, but a Lady also shouldn’t be slung onto your back and carried around like a rag doll!”

You both burst into fits of laughter and Maul only watched and silently yearned from his seat. He wanted that; to cause you happiness in that way. But he was left to the seat of Mandalore’s throne; governing and making deals while you enjoyed the snow flurrying outside.

“Maker how I wish I could leave for a day. Just to be with her. No deadlines, no time limit. Just her, a warm fire, and the snow outside. Is that so much to ask? Savage is gone next week, perhaps-” “Hey Maul!” you greeted with cheer, once again jolting him back into reality.

“Hello Miss (Y/L/N),” Maul returned, “It’s lovely to see you today. Enjoying the snow?”

“Yes! It’s beautiful outside! Albeit a little cold, but Savage and I are going to sit by the fireplace in the south sitting room to warm up if you’d like to join us.” You offered.

“I’d love to, but I’m afraid I can’t today. I still have some meetings to attend, and there’s some paperwork that I have to get through after that.” He answered with remorse, and a look that seemed to say ‘I’m sorry’.

“Oh,” For a second Maul thought your face fell and a pang of guilt shot right through his heart, but you began to speak again with an optimistic lilt to your voice, “Well, if you happen to have the free time, you’re welcome to join us!” Your lips meet in a smile, and Maul’s chest floods with reassuring warmth. Gosh was he thankful for the dark hue of his skin.

“I just may if I can.” Maul smiled back and waved as you walked off with Savage, once again laughing at something he said.

“And now begins the fun part.” Maul muttered to himself sarcastically as he stood to leave for his next meeting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as his last meeting was over, Maul whisked himself down the hall, headed for the one place he wanted to be: The south sitting room.

“The paperwork can wait. She’s more important.”

His hearts thrummed in his chest at the mere thought of cozying up with you next to a fire; getting to feel your warmed skin against his. It was a dream he couldn’t hope for more.

“A little to the left.”

“Oh. Yep....right......there” You breathed out as Savage worked a knot out of your shoulder.

Maul’s hearts dropped.

He heard your voice from behind the door to the sitting room. You sounded so happy, so pleased. He would have been happy to hear you this way were it his crimson hands soothing the stiff muscles beneath your skin.

But the hands kneading your back weren’t crimson, nor were the tattoos the same. They were gold, and soft, and gentle; so very much unlike his own.

Maul cursed himself at the sight of you sitting on the floor between Savage’s legs, reveling in the released tension and relaxation f a nice massage.

“That feel good?” Savage asked sweetly, “Not too hard?”

“Absolutely not. It feels amazing.” You close your eyes and lose yourself in the warm feeling of his hands working a little below the base of your neck.

“Good” Was Savage’s rumbled reply.

Maul took a step back before leaning against the opposite wall.

“That’s right. She’s someone else’s. Maker, how could I have been so foolish? Of course she loves Savage over me, I mean, who wouldn’t? Why would she ever-”

No. He had to stop for his own sake.

So Maul stood straight and turned towards his office. At least he had paperwork to do. That could keep his mind occupied instead of wallowing in regret for the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The paperwork did nothing to quell his thoughts of you. He couldn’t stop thinking of how happy you sounded in Savage’s hands. How pleased you had to have felt. Why couldn’t he do that? Why couldn’t you love him?

“Would you like some tea?”

Maul looked up from the hundreds of pages of contracts and negotiations on his desk to see you standing in the doorway to his office with two mugs of steaming hot tea.

“I’d love little else more right now.” He replied, letting out a long sigh, and stretching his aching back.

You handed him a mug, and sat across from him, looking out at the snow behind the glass of the large window beside you.

“How’s the paperwork going?” You glanced over to the thousands of sheets of paper littering his desk, feeling sorry that he had to go through all of that.

“It’s uneventful. For the most part, it’s to do with the syndicate and their insatiable requests. It’s very repetitive.” He paused for a moment before quietly speaking up, “It’s nice to have your company.”

You gave him a warm smile while a blush creeped it’s way up your cheeks.

“I’m happy to hear that. I like spending time with you.” You admitted, looking to your mug in the slightly tense silence.

There was a long moment of silence following where Maul’s pen scribbled against the paper, and you looked from the place where the pen and paper met, to his hand, to the curve of his cheek and the red of his skin. Your eyes dared to look at and linger on his lips. He muttered something through a sigh and you couldn’t help the way your heart clenched.

But then he moved. He looked up and you darted your eyes to a random building on the skyline and the snow that was starting to spill over the edge of the roof.

“Look at her.”

“Even when she’s not trying she’s beautiful.”

Maul watched as you looked out the window. He could sense a tenseness in your muscles, but he was distracted by the way the silver light glinting off the snow lined your face, and the way you gently lifted your mug of tea to your lips, letting the steam billow to the ceiling as you sipped the drink.

“Hell, she’s just looking at the snow and I can’t look away.”

“Maker, those lips....”

“If only...”

“I’m so excited for Savage to see what I got him for Life Day.” You smiled out the window, trying to play off your nerves, hoping he hadn’t noticed you staring.

“What?” He asked, quickly looking back to his paper as you leaned on his desk.

“I said that I was excited for Savage to see what I got him. I worked pretty hard on it, and I want to know if he likes it.”

That snapped Maul from his state of admiration. A sprout of something bitter burned in his chest. He remembered what he had seen through the doorway this afternoon, and clenched his fist with a quiet growl.

“I’m sure he’ll like it. Your lover is appreciative of anything you would make for him.” Maul barely tried to hide the bitter envy in his tone, and yet, you didn’t seem offended.

But you did look up at him with a quirked brow.

“My lover? Maul, what do you mean?”

And for the smallest second, in the teeniest of amounts, a little pang of hope surged through Maul, but he took it with an air of caution.

“I mean my brother. He’s your lover is he not?” He dared to ask, hearts beginning to race, beating against his chest.

There was a moment of silence before you burst into giggles that grew to full blown laughter.

No matter what Maul could have expected, he was not prepared for you to laugh at him. Still, as confused as he was, he was silently hopeful of your response.

“Oh of course not!” You couldn’t breathe you were laughing so hard, “I mean, sure, he’s handsome, but he’s just a close friend,” You paused for a beat, looking to Maul before looking down to your mug, “Besides, I’ve got my heart set on someone else.”

Maul’s eyes flew up to your face. His heart was in his throat and his grip on his pen tightened.

“So, you’re...you’re not in love with my brother?” Maul swallowed thickly. He needed to know if he heard you right.

“No, I uh..I-”

This was his chance.

“I love you.” Maul rushed out without a second thought, “I love you so much. I know you probably don’t feel the same, and whoever you hold affections for is the luckiest man in the galaxy, but I can’t hide it any longer. Maker, I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you, and-”

He cut off when he saw the huge smile on your face.

Before he could move or try to explain himself, you rushed around his desk and threw yourself around him, hugging him tighter than you ever had before.

He stood stalk straight for a minute, tensing at the feeling of your arms around his neck.

“Did I just....? I just told her? Like that?.....And now she’s.....she’s....”

He felt your arms squeeze him tighter, and as if on instinct, his arms wrapped around your waist and held you pressed against him, his nose burying into your shoulder.

“I love you too.” You whispered into his ear, hugging him even tighter, and pressing your cheek to his.

You felt Maul pull away from you, and he looked deep into your eyes. He took a moment to watch the wide-eyed, curious look on your face. He could see the billions of questions racing through your mind, and he felt his heart beating just as fast. And then his eyes looked to your lips. He couldn’t help it. You were so beautiful, and your lips were so tempting. He felt a dragging pull in the Force, and he could barely hold himself back.

“Please let me kiss you.” Maul all but begged.

You smiled up at him, a surge of happiness flooding your signature, as your eyes brightened, and a blush warmed your cheeks.

“I’ve never wanted anything more.”

Maul’s face fell, brows scrunched in confusion.

“I....I said that out loud?”

Your smile grew even larger if possible as you snorted a laugh from behind your hand.

Peeking up at him once you’d composed yourself for the most part, you let our a little chuckle with your response.

“You did.”

Your wide smile and, admittedly adorable, laughter only fueled his embarrassed panic.

“Oh, I-I-I’m so-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to...I’ll just...”

Your gaze softened as you reached out and took Maul’s hand in yours. You held it there in front of you for a moment, gaging his response before lifting it further. He silenced as he watched you lift his hand slowly to your lips. His breath hitched at the first sting. Your lips kissed the tip of each finger, sending ticklish tingles shooting up through his hand into his wrist. You were slow and caring, and that gentleness he had come to love about you, it was there too.

His chest heaved with labored breath, but when you looked up at him he swore his hearts stopped. Your wide, bright eyes looking at him like that...a shiver darted down his spine, and he had to swallow his heart for the second time that day.

“Please kiss me Maul.” You whispered to him, voice full of want.

Before he had time to think, or rationalize, he slammed his lips to yours, reveling in the soft, plush feeling of your lips on his. He held you close to him, pressing your body to his as your lips moved together.

He was on fire. His body was warm and every new kiss was the smallest sting to your lips. Even his fingertips burned a little. But it felt good.

When you pulled away, his lungs jolted for breath, begging for him to breathe for even a second despite how breathtaking your soft, gentle lips where.

He looked to you with wide eyes and you did the same.

You stood there for a few seconds, looking at his eyes at first, then looking to his lips.

They were so soft. So...fiery.

“Maul...” Your voice cracked out of a whisper, eyes still trained on his lips.

“Y-yes dear?” His voice was breathy and curious.

You broke fro your daze and looked away from him.

“I...I know I said that I love you too, but I want you to know that I...I fell for you the first time I met you. You were so handsome and beautiful. I..I don’t know what it was but I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.” You huffed a laugh, looking down to where you held his hands, “I used to worry that you would find me creepy because I stared so much. But you were so beautiful. And I remember the first time I heard your voice. It was so soothing, and I swear I melted right then and there.”

You paused for a moment, remembering back to those days. You smiled and looked anywhere but his face, eventually landing on the fire crackling in the fireplace across the office and the warm orange glow that lit up the room now that the sun was set.

“And then I got to know you. It took some time, but I loved getting to know the little things about you. Even the smallest idiosyncrasies, like the the way you crack your knuckles before you get to work, or the way you purr quietly when you drink a good cup of tea. It all added up to a person who was more than their scary reputation. You weren’t the ruler of Mandalore to me. You weren’t a feared Sith Lord. You were just like another person. You were my friend, and in time, I wanted more than that. I fell in love with you, and I...I just feel...right when I’m with you. I want to be with you.”

You huffed a nervous laugh and looked back to his hands. You took a moment to admire the crimson hue of his skin and the black tattoos that adorned them as you tried to hide the burning blush that was growing across your cheeks.

Maul was hesitant, but he hooked one of his fingers under your chin to lift your face to his.

You were met with wide, teary eyes, and a huge smile.

Maul didn’t have any words to describe how his hearts ached with astonishment. To think that someone loved him that way; that you saw him that way, without fear or worry. You wanted him. You really wanted him. After all this time. It was him. Not another Mandalorian, not his brother. Him. He couldn’t help the toothy grin that spread across his face, and the pure love that bloomed in his chest. He wanted you to know what that meant to him, but he didn’t know how to say it, so instead he pressed his lips to yours once again, hoping that you would feel the strength of his adoration and love for you.

You held the sides of his face as your lips locked together once more. In that moment, when his soft, fiery lips took yours again, everything in the galaxy seemed to shift, and you felt at peace with his arms wrapped tight around your waist.

You pulled away from him to rest your forehead against his.

“I know you know, but I love you. To the stars and back.”

“I love you too my dear. To the stars and back.”

The two of you sat in this embrace for minutes which grew to feel like hours.

But amidst the firelit darkness and your sweet embrace, silver chimes rung through the city. Beautiful bells sang out the twelfth hour, announcing the beginning of a new day to all who were awake to hear.

Maul looked down to you with a content smile.

“Happy Life Day my darling.”

You smiled joyously into his neck. “Happy Life Day Maul.”

And with one more kiss, the two of you started the happiest holiday of your lives.

Tags!

@justalittlecloud

@fanficsforheartandsoul

Let me know if you would like to be tagged in any of my future stories! My ask box and DM’s are always open!

#darth maul #darth maul x reader #darth maul imagine #Yay! Holiday Stories!#I really like this one #let Maul be happy #I just think he's neat

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gailynovelry · 4 years ago

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WIP List Tag

Thanks to @albatris for the tag!

Rules: Share a list of the stories you’re currently working on, regardless of whether or not you have introduced them to writeblr before. I’m going to apologize to you beforehand because all of these are going to long. They are also queer. I do not apologize for that.

Heralds of Rhimn: A YA Dark Fantasy and my oldest project. The first book in the series is Shadow Herald;

“Few gods remain on the world of Rhimn, and the ones that do use special servants known as Heralds as pawns in the conflict between themselves. And not every Herald is happy with their role…

As Navaeli the Shadow Herald comes clashing with the dual threats of the Irongardhe knights and her own vengeful goddess, she finds romance in a handsome hooligan girl and friendship in a young feyrie thief — and with them, the courage to fight back against the injustices of her world.

But can Navaeli break free from the chains of her duty, or will she be the first casualty in the oncoming war between the gods?“

In essence, Navaeli is a dark messiah lesbian who Does Not Want To Be A Protagonist Please, Crislie is a love interest who decides to put her brawling problem to work protecting Navaeli, and Meparik is baby, but baby with many issues. In the time you’ve taken to read these character descriptions, he has probably already stolen your wallet.

The series as a whole involves some good wlw rapid-yearning-to-mutually-protective-girlfriends, REVOLUTION, a new take on fairies and a big ol’ middle-fingered subversion to the Oppressed Mage trope, and eventually some good ol’ fashioned god-killing.

The first book is going to come out May 20th this year! I have made a pretty cover for it, and also for the sequel! I am very proud of this!

Mindhive: A NA dystopia and the first project I’ve written where my characters are explicitly allowed to say “fuck.” They very much need to use this word, given the world I’ve built for them to inhabit.

“Dead-broke and dead-set on paying off his student loans before he’s forty, Nathaniel Emersin signed up as a paid test subject for ReGene, a genetics company with a mysterious new invention that they promise will change the world; the Worker Bee Implant.

But Nathaniel has one little secret that didn’t make it onto paper…

He’s also been hired by ReGene’s rival company, Future Body, to sabotage the trial and steal the mysterious new technology that ReGene’s been working on.”

Complications arise due to the presence of a very amicable security AI and the fact that Nathaniel gets attached to the two other lab rats he gets assigned to for the trial. And by “attached” I mean “develops mutual deep crushes on both Lucine and Avery, has a few cover-compromising panic attacks over it, and eventually reveals to them that he’s being hired to be a secret agent guy doing secret agent things.”

So he sort of decides to run away with his new girlfriend and datemate to an activist group who could a) remove the implant possibly and b) sue ReGene?

Needless to say, ReGene nor Future Body are happy with this turn of events, and decide that they should probably stop him before they experience consequences for the human experimentation and corporate sabotage.

Also, they take the AI with them. His name is Vertigo and he would like for someone to explain to him what a Vocaloid is.

Galactic Empress: This story is me indulging in my very specific need to write a royalty space opera political thriller. It is very high up on the Maslow’s chart of needs for me. It showed up one day and did not leave my brain.

“After the unresolved assassination of her mother, sweet but politically-savvy Princess Glissandrah Ayamarak — known better as Gliss — ascends to Galactic Empress earlier than she’d ever wanted to.

With her mother’s murderer still at large, Glissandrah turns to outsiders to protect her while she figures out just what game is being played in the Galactic Quorum. And it turns out that turning three hardened mercenaries into loyal royal bodyguards is harder than she first thought… but when anyone inside the Quorum could be after the crown, what other choice does she have?”

The hot and slightly controversial bodyguard team in question consists of Li-ah-li, a polite and slightly tired space furry, Yuukmi, a plantperson gunslinger with a space blaster in each of xer four hands, and Jennifer, a gruff human mercenary with a protective streak for her two alien comrades. This story is also polyamorous!

The Ghosts of Grimmigkeit Manor: I literally started working on this one again yesterday; it’s a reworking of a VERY old fully-OC pokemon fanfiction I wrote when I was fourteen, which has been subsequently lost to time. The genre is uhhhhhh paranormal shenanigans with semi-mystery vibes and a strong dose of snark. Probably NA.

The story follows three protagonists. Firstly is Eustace, a coroner who is doing a terrible job of divorcing himself from his family’s slightly goth business and reputation. Secondly is his triplet sister Alison, who is currently being The Responsible One running the family business of selling funeral caskets and who maybe should stop breaking the maids’ hearts in her free time. Thirdly is Dirk, the other triplet, who looks up to Eustace quite a bit and would really like it if his siblings got along more and maybe relaxed enough to let him leave the manor to go to college?

Anyway, during Eustace’s yearly Christmas visit to the family manor, it turns out that Eustace and Dirk can both see ghosts! This phases Eustace significantly more than Dirk, since Dirk has schizophrenia and didn’t realize at first that the ghosts were separate from his usual hallucinations.

The story at large involves family secrets, intimidating and quirky relatives, a murder that happened a quarter of a century ago, and this one really terrible ghost who needs to STOP MAKING THE WALLS BLEED BLOOD and who maybe is the triplets’ father. They have to figure out how to yeet him into the afterlife so that he stops causing problems.

Also, a different and more chill ghost owes Uncle Freddie money.

Misc: I have a dozen other ideas that I float around but Deliberately Wait To Work On because my stories are stews and they need some time to simmer in the crock pot that is my brain. Among these are a mermaid/selkie wlw romance, a mlm post-apoc ??? story, and various wlw Eragon ripoffs where there’s dragons being ridden and cool things happening.

#writeblr #tag games #WIP summary #lgbtq fiction #trying to clear these out #i've been busy whoops #Heralds of Rhimn #Galactic Empress #Mindhive #Ghosts of Grimmigkeit #this is good practice for summarizing!#i need more work on that

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mushroom-cartel--writing · 4 years ago

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to be [a]sundered

Summary: Kugisaki Nobara is blessed. She will never know.

Relationship(s): Kugisaki Nobara & Reader, Kugisaki Nobara/Reader

Note(s):

Here’s the link to read this on AO3! (You know the drill, extra tags, different notes, the format I intended, etc. Oh. And the comment section.)

There’s manga spoilers in this fic alongside headcanon.

So far, out of my menial amount of JJK fics, this one has probably been the most enjoyable to write. With Nobara’s background I can play around because it’s just there.

|||

“I’m going to Tokyo,” she says. Come with me.

“No.” Can’t, sorry.

Mahito touches her soul.

Kugisaki Nobara is blessed.

She will never know.

The first time she introduces you to her friends, Saori nearly gouges your eye out with a sugar spoon and Fumi spills the contents of her cup across the table.

“I have cake,” you say, offering a cutesy box to Saori who’s still got the sugar spoon trained on you. “It’s baumkuchen. An old acquaintance gave it to me for free but I figured it’d be too much for just one person.”

Nobara, giggling, just offers you a seat and asks for more tea.

On the outskirts of the village there is a shrine.

They say it houses a god that blessed their lands long ago and watches over them to this very day; they hold a celebration in its honour every year, a small share of the harvest season’s best crop is offered up to appease the god.

Her grandparents say it houses a malevolent wonder-terror who feasts on the soul of its worshippers once the sun goes down; her grandparents say the aforementioned god and malevolent wonder-terror are one and the same, born from a wish made by humans.

You laugh when she tells you the crap people have come up about your home. (You appreciate the free food, though.)

You are not a god or something malevolent. You’re you.

Not quite divine but too powerful to sniff at.

Humans cannot see or sense you. Not even those who can bottle their negative energy, the ones you occasionally see passing through the village. Usually, you have to will yourself into existence. But she can regardless.

Spirits, the weak and strong, good nor bad, fear you. Your presence sets their survival instincts off, running immediately when you try to approach them. She has to give chase and incapacitate them for you when the hunger becomes agony.

You taught her well, it seems.

Too well.

Mahito touches her soul and it burns, burns, burns.

Kugisaki Nobara was barely old enough to be out on her own, but her grandparents trusted her to stay safe. The village was small, everyone knew each other, word spread fast, so if something happened to her on her small excursion… Well, no one would come looking for her, would they?

It was a lie when she said she was just going out to play with friends at the park.

Nobara didn’t have friends.

All the other kids were boring. She didn’t like their company. Whenever there was a big gathering, she’d try her best to avoid them and hide from the adults in bushes.

Despite knowing this, her grandmother let her go.

She hated being cooped inside with nothing to do and today was perfect! The humid air made her clothes stick to her skin but at least the wide-brimmed straw sunhat she snatched from her grandfather’s shed protected her from the sun’s wrath. It meant her peers would be over at the river halfway across the village; people wouldn’t go back to working on their fields until it cooled down a bit later in the day; they wouldn’t see her; and she’d be on her lonesome.

She wanted to laugh to herself. Everything was coming together.

Finally, she could check out that place she’s been meaning to visit ever since she first heard of it: the derelict shrine.

Her grandmother warned her to stay away from it, lest she give her name away by accident to the being living there and have her life stolen, but Nobara, inwardly, thought it was a load of cow dung. She’d die? Hah?! It was all superstition! (She would never admit it did spook her a bit.) Besides, things like vampires and witches and ghosts didn't exist in the first place. She’d be fine.

Humming with a skip in her step, Nobara made it to the shrine in due time.

“Hello?”

“Why hello there!”

She took everything back.

You had to be a ghost with the way you snuck up on her soundlessly. You kept insisting you weren’t. You glided along the floor.

You had to be a ghost. And now you were serving her snacks and tea. Inside the shrine. Inside what was, supposedly, your home.

“Why don’t I believe you?” she voiced aloud.

You stared at her, face deadpan, and poured hot water over your hand. She watched your skin scald. “Does this answer your question?”

Kugisaki Nobara at five years old was a bit of a skeptic, contrary to her personal beliefs.

“No. Not really.”

11:25 PM →

You emerge from the gaping hole where her left eye was blown out alongside a good chunk of her head, something writhing and fierce and oh-so familiar.

Ah. Right. This feeling; this foreign dread dawning upon him, piercing Mahito innermost; your dull but irritated eyes trained on the cursed spirit akin to a lizard eyeing up a cockroach. You’re like him, possessing a soul that absolutely cannot and should not be touched.

Shit—that means she too—

Hahahahaha.

You don’t even need to spare him another glance. You know what he’s thinking. You know what he’s done.

You won’t be as lenient with him as Sukuna was.

But here’s the thing. Although a student may surpass their teacher one day, the teacher might not relay all that they know to the next generation to ensure the safety of their student and those around them. However, Mahito is nothing to you. Itadori Yuuji, on the other hand, is important, so you grab him and throw the boy behind you.

“Reverberate,” you intone, bearing the exact same wounds as her.

His senses are heightened a thousandfold, but not nearly are they even close to yours.

You shove a nail of hers into yourself, saying, “Plunge.”

It hurts. It hurts, it hurts, ithurtsithurtsithurts, hurtshurtshurtshurtshurTshURtsHURTS.

“Quietus.”

“We’re soulmates, you and me.”

She bursts out laughing. “Like from those cheesy dramas?” Nobara asks. Because. She needs to know. Whenever she’s around you, everything feels… right. It’s hard to articulate. Her heart doesn’t rush when you graze her skin but the particular spot where contact was made always tingles with a reassuring warmth; you’re real, not a fabrication of her imagination. She doesn’t fantasise about you like the way her peers do with the object of their affections. Your very presence makes her comfortable. “Are you having second thoughts?” she jeers, poking you hard in the ribs. (She’s still bitter about your decision.)

The intended jab has no effect.

“No,” is your reply. “What I mean is that your soul and mine are the same. If something happens to you, I’ll know.”

“What? You think I’m gonna be some part of a demonic summoning ritual where I’ll be a human sacrifice?”

“Time and distance makes no difference.”

“So if I just say the word…?”

“That… that’s not what I…” You sigh and scrub the gunk from your eyes.

How are you supposed to explain the whole situation to her?

Oh, yeah, about a couple aeons ago there was a being who tore themself in two—one part immortal, the other mortal—in order to understand their reason for existing. Their immortal self would be stagnant and observe their mortal self who would continuously live, die and reincarnate, until the latter, under their own volition, sought the former out and then a conclusion would be made between the two on whether or not they would remain as separate entities or rejoin together as one again.

Your original self (you and her; her and you) wasn’t great at planning ahead, that is plain to see. They didn’t think about the consequences, they just wanted an out. And fast.

Well look at you now. Distorted beyond reason. You’re an exercise in self-destruction. You stopped considering it being a miracle that you could wake up every morning by yourself and do what you wanted: the novelty was short-lived. You want to die but you’re at the point where it’s easier to convince yourself you do not than to focus on how you will off yourself somewhere that no one (and nothing) can find your undecayed corpse because the company you keep will become worried if you let the happy facade slip.

“Never mind,” you mutter.

She was ten when she first saw the skull.

It tumbled from your billowing sleeve as you rummaged around your pockets, rolling to a stop at her feet.

She lifted it up. “Whose is this?”

It was a weird skull, not like those she’d seen in her textbooks. She thought of asking Fumi about the skull later, when school started back up, but the idea was literally snatched from her mind when you saw exactly what she was holding.

In your hands, the skull seemed smaller. Inconsequential. Another another weird quirk of yours: carrying around random things. Maybe it was a model? You told her to forget about it and stowed the skull away—back into your sleeve—and dragged her along the beaten path you insisted on walking.

The next time, she was thirteen and helping you clear up your home. Fumi was there too.

They’d been going through a closet stuffed full of old junk and out the skull tumbled, right into Fumi’s lap. Rightfully so, her friend screamed. It took you several minutes to calm the poor girl down, her view of you now askew. Nobara was on your side when Fumi tried convincing you whomever the skull belonged to deserved a proper burial out in the forest and you refused.

No matter how hard she tried, you would not budge.

And that was that.

(From then on, whenever you made yourself visible to Fumi, she regarded you warily before seeing the way you looked at Nobara like she hung the stars and the moon.)

The last time the skull made an appearance in her life, Nobara had just turned fifteen.

A strange pair of men were at her door at the crack of dawn, rousing her grandparents, which prompted them to drag Nobara out of bed at such a god-awful time of the day. They all sat at a table soberly, discussing her future while Nobara found her attention gravitating to you.

You were playing with a stray cat in the garden, its stomach presented to you eagerly so soon after it deemed you safe, and making the most disgusting cooing noises she had ever heard to it with a dopey grin.

It was only at the call of her name that her head snapped back forward.

Yaga Masamichi was a strange one, tinkering so openly with a corpse in front of her deeply superstitious grandparents, but, strangely enough, it was his companion, a shock of white hair and bandage, that caught her eye. The young man was looking your way.

Not at the cat pawing up at thin air. Oh no. The blindfolded stranger’s gaze was dead set on you; she saw his brow raise minutely as Yaga and her grandparents continued talking, her tools of trade that was cobbled together from old sheds and the local hardware store bared flat on the table; she watched him watch you rub the cat’s belly before you lifted it high into the air like a parent would to their child. It was obvious what the situation playing out was: you had caught on to the stranger’s sighting of you long before she did. To emphasise the fact, you even babbled to the cat, “Higher, higher! Oopsie-daisy!!” before letting it back down and nuzzling it against your face, affectionate and close.

Yaga only noticed the change in atmosphere when the cat’s meows suddenly went quiet. But the other one (white hair, bandages, feels wrong, rotting flesh and fresh) grinned, slapping an enrollment form on the table.

“You. Leave that thing behind when you come to our school,” said Gojou Satoru, his introduction earlier all pomp and a wellspring of positive energy memes a stark comparison to now as he continued watching you, all but ignoring her grandmother shouting up at him to stop spouting nonsense.

(“What drivel! My granddaughter surely won’t—”)

She went back to spacing out in your direction.

Without hesitation, you dropped the cat into your gaping maw and swallowed it whole in one gulp. The first cursed spirit you managed to catch by yourself. Your ability at masking your aura was improving. That was good.

The skull peeked out of your hoodie’s pocket, the many orbits winking at her.

Screw the rules, you were coming with her whether the bureaucracy liked it or not.

At this rate, she’s going to die for sure.

You know what to do.

You’re one and the same. If Mahito touched one half of your original self and corrupted it, reason dictates that giving her body (the container) yours will fix her. But there’s a problem.

The implosion practically ruined her chances of survival, reducing it to null.

Not even a high grade sorcerer could hope to reverse the damage. Bone is a special material. Bone takes time to be cultivated or to grow. For a jujutsu user, especially, a substitute of different material won’t cut it. Bone, like the soul, contains an essence of sorts, it’s one of the few natural conductors of negative energy humans can have.

Your point: bone is not easily replaced.

Kneeling over Nobara, you grab from the air the object you were entrusted with over a millennium ago for safekeeping.

“Oi, oi, oi, you. You. Freak-god-thing.” You regard Itadori Yuuji with disdain. Or rather, the lone eye and accompanying mouth that’s on his cheek. “Is that what I think it is.”

“What? Are you objecting? Or worse—obstructing?”

“I don’t know about you or the brat, but you’re gonna fuck up the girl if you do that.”

“And since when did the King of Curses grow a heart?”

“I fucking didn’t, you prick.” The eye manages to scowl without a brow. “I’m just saying… You are sending her to condemnation.”

“Says the finger shagger,” you retort. The mouth disappears; Itadori Yuuji has an indescribable expression on his face but you know he won’t try and stop your hare-brained idea, he wants what you want.

You know what you’re doing.

You’ve had to do this a few times before.

It will work.

“Hello?”

A child? Who in their right mind would—

You freeze in your tracks. It’s them, your mind exclaims. It’s them. Them. Them. Them.

… Her.

You walk up behind her, beaming.

“Why hello there!” you chime, so, so happy.

#jujutsu kaisen x reader #kugisaki nobara x reader #nobara x reader #gn!reader #gender-neutral reader #reader insert #one-shot #originally posted on ao3 #jujutsu kaisen

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cfdiamonds · 4 years ago

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[ ARON PIPER, CIS GENDERED MAN, HE/HIM ] shh ! LEOCADIO SYNDER, the TWENTY-TWO year old SECOND year ECONOMICS major from MADRID, SPAIN, is known as a DIAMOND around here. HE was invited to join because OF HIS PERSISTENCE AND HIS FATHER WAS IN THE SOCIETY, and now, they’re here to stay. HE reminds me of A LEGION OF STAFF CONSTANTLY AT YOUR SERVICE, A WARDROBE FILLED WITH THE FINEST MATERIAL, + EXPENSIVE RINGS ON EACH OF HIS FINGERS.

helloooo!! it’s been a long time coming but i’m finally excited to be here and join in on this super cool story the admins and all of you have created! i’m lia, i’m 23 and i go by she/her and they/them pronouns, so feel free to use either of them. i was going to make a graphic and a google doc but i’ve got plans with my family to watch a movie tonight, so until i can make the time i hope his app is enough!

a past and character reflection.

you were born into success and luxury, the only child of two glencore billionaires — a diversified natural resource company. the synders are responsible for the marketing of lead and make a little over a billion dollars each year. all they’ve ever known was their jobs and their money, leaving little room for anything more than that, especially the addition of a child. the nannies changed your diapers and the maid picked up your toys, while the butler handled the broken glass splayed across the marble flooring from one of your daily tantrums. they bit their tongues because you were raised to view yourself as extraordinary living in a world of the ordinary. despite this, these people meant more to you than the ones who brought you into the world. you had a mother that asked you how your day went and then immediately turned her attention back to her phone or laptop, checking off that mental to-do-list that made her believe the question was enough effort. you had a father that saw you as weak and continuously pushed you past your limits, focusing on every little flaw you had and giving you no choice but to be better. you became so conflicted between your drive to be the best and your need for love, that anger became your method of coping. even the lightest of offenses were met with your spite and you glorified material things as if it were the only thing that mattered in the world. even at the tender age of ten, power was the one thing that kept you driven.

growing up, you never had any real or close friendships. the people that you called your friends were just more people that you could benefit from — the children from rich and influential families that spanned the globe. regardless of your rude and cold exterior, they still found reason to look up to you like you were their leader, be it an inheritance from your father’s charisma or your mother’s sophistication — because everything you had, you had to thank them for right? you knew exactly how to draw people in and use them until you didn’t need them anymore, kicking them to the curb the second their time ran out. the kids that excelled in school got you the highest grade, the kids that excelled in sports helped you become captain of their teams, and the kids that assisted you in breaking the rules always took the fall. and yet, no matter how hard you proved yourself as this apex predator, your parents saw you as inferior. they always told you to work smarter not harder, but when you did, it still wasn’t enough. what more could you take from the world? it had nothing left to give you.

the next chapter in your life became your second chance to prove yourself, but this time with a different method to your persistence. just as your parents did, you’d build yourself from the ground up, not taking whatever you wanted but fighting to obtain it. you already had the determination to do what had to be done to reach your goals, now all you needed to do was make it yourself. you enter your first year at strathmore university and you never take what you need to succeed, you push yourself until you earn it. every time the fates fight against you and you feel hopeless in meeting these high expectations you and your parents have made for you, you grasp onto the anguish of that ten year old boy yearning for approval and press forward with your strength. you still hold onto that cunning aspect of your character but this time, it’s something you keep hidden beneath the surface — away from prying eyes. you slip up once or twice, but it’s never enough to allow others to see you for who you truly are. you join several clubs even though you barely have the time, slipping your name into the minds of those spanning the entirety of the campus. you maintain one of the highest grades in your classes through dedication and hard work, scoffing at the students that request your assistance … they don’t deserve your help. not now anyway. not while you fight to be noticed in a place filled to the brim with excellent minds. not while you await your invitation to the society, the first step at proving that you can be great just like them. just like your parents.

on the society

upon arriving at strathmore university, leo became obsessive in his studies and joined many clubs to assist in his quest of standing out amongst the other first years. unbeknownst to many though, he also did this in hopes of earning a spot in the secret society. this is because his father had been in the society when he was young and in order to prove his potential, this was an organization he knew he had to be involved in. despite not knowing what the society was like or what they were about, he knew that they existed because of his father but that’s the extent of his knowledge on it.

when he was finally given his chance thanks to the diamond opal, leo became passionate about his spot and willing to do whatever means necessary to keep his spot. he takes advice willingly ( but goes against it if he believes they’re wrong ) and pushes to lead in some situations, not letting anyone or anything stand in the way of his goals. although he mainly does everything for his parents, whether they will ever notice or not, it is also for himself and his desire to be something great ( something he outwardly believes he already is but has struggled with internally for a long time ). leo wants to be the best prodigy and opal that the society has ever seen, and visualizes himself as the diadem when he builds himself up to that point.

when it comes to poppy nighmore, leo is more intrigued than he is worried about the reason for her disappearance. if those within the society that knew poppy are upset about her disappearance, leo is willing to take initiative in trying to solve the mystery. he will take risks and push limits in order to find information, but does so for selfish gain than anything else. he believes that he may prove himself as a worthy and necessary addition to the opal society if he continues researching and physically proving he cares. it also gives him a chance to show the others that he is capable of big things.

wanted connections.

as i read about your characters i’ll be able to generate a bit more ideas when directly plotting with each of you! these are just the ideas i have coming into the group, so if you do not see your character fitting them, worry not! we can brainstorm<3

his soft spot — the person that leo can’t seem to say no to no matter how hard he tries. his entire life he has felt little to no remorse in his conquest for power, no matter who he trampled along the way but suddenly, out of nowhere, the world presented him with this person and every time they’re around, every ounce of him becomes vulnerable. when they tell him to do something or to behave a certain way, he seldom disobeys. if they happen to be in the room when he’s behaving as he normally does, he avoids their eyes in fear of backing down. in a way, this person in his anchor that protects him from himself.

his adversary — the person that gives leo a run for his money, testing him and pushing him every step of the way. they bear too many similarities to get along and compete over even the littlest of things. when one says yes, the other says no. the steve rogers to his tony stark. the thor to his loki.

fellow rich kids — those he knew by association prior to strathmore university or the society. they all understand each other because they grew up in similar conditions, where material things were the forms of love they received as children. they understand the lifestyle and flock together, regardless of whether or not they actually like each other. they board a private jet and escape real life for a weekend, only to return like nothing had happened come monday morning.

his best friend — leo doesn’t know it yet, perhaps neither of them do, but this person is his best friend. close relationships of any kind are foreign concepts to leo because he had, in his opinion, more important things to focus on as he grew up. love doesn’t exist in his world. so by his words, he trusts this person the most and is constantly inviting them around with him. he would never call it as it is in fear of cutting them loose and never feeling an ounce of remorse, but he’s acknowledged it in his head once or twice. this person is like the sibling he’s never had.

his mistake — in leo’s first year, he befriended this person and the pair eventually started to see each other romantically. however, leo wronged them somehow and now that he’s in the society with them, he realizes how big of a mistake he made hurting them. perhaps he fell back into old habits and made their acquaintance with the intention of gaining something, maybe in a class or by their personal influence in the world / at school, and they eventually found out about it. just an angsty exes plot.

his mentor — the diamond that took him as their prodigy. leo takes the dynamic between them incredibly serious and is willing and ready to do whatever they ask of him in order to prove they made the right choice taking him under their wing. he understands that his place in the society must not be taken for granted and so he treats it as a passion, rather than just another club around campus. he rarely does something society related without first receiving the opinion of the opal, but he also would ignore their opinion if he feels they are the one that’s wrong. this is business as usual and leo is their prodigy knowing that if all goes as planned, he will have their seat in the future.

#𝓁𝑒𝑜𝒸𝒶𝒹𝒾𝑜 𝓈𝓎𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇 〳 ⑉ introduction.#opalsintro #i sweat i'll have a stats / more in depth bio / wanted connection list soon okay #and by sweat i mean swear #sweating too though because all of you are so cool ? catch my leg on fire more like catch my heart on fire #nobody read these tags

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iamtrebleclefstories · 4 years ago

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The Little Bit of Hope I Cling To - Part 4

Izzie goes to Grey Sloan in hopes of seeing Bailey, Meredith, or Alex. She meets Dr. Karev instead.

the end of the road

Part 4

——————

The months following were smooth sailing, until they weren’t. Jo was about seven months in her pregnancy when it seemed like everything had gone to shit. Izzie got sick again and was back in a hospital bed undergoing multiple treatments and would be undergoing a resection for new mets that appeared along her small intestine.

Everything had been going so well. Izzie had been hired by Alex as a full time neurosurgeon at Grey Sloan, Geo was thriving in his school and enjoying have “cousins” to play with, even Piper—the damn dog—was happy.

That’s why Jo was so pissed. For months, she’d been working tirelessly on her fellowship research to find a breakthrough that could maybe save Izzie’s life and stop the spread of her cancer. Finding out that the cancer was back was like a punch in the gut for all the time Jo had spent trying to come up with a solution. It was made increasingly difficult by the fact that Jo had become friends of sorts with her husband’s ex-wife. They had forged a friendship from the most unexpected of circumstances and it was one that Jo was grateful for.

Jo’s impending motherhood didn’t help the situation either. She knew that she’d be going on maternity leave in a few months, but what would that mean for Izzie? Jo couldn’t just stop now. Not when Izzie needed her the most.

She’d been sitting in the attending’s lounge with her head in her hands when she heard someone shuffle through the door.

“Hey.”

Jo looked up to find Link standing in the doorway. She gave him a small smile, “Hey.”

“You okay?”

“Nope,” Jo laughed dryly. “I’m stressed and tired and my feet hurt and I just need to figure out this medical breakthrough so that a woman that I’ve grown to care about doesn’t die.”

“So... just another Thursday, right?” Link quipped sarcastically. He sat down next to Jo and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Look, I know you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, but it’s not all on just you. Whether you figure it out or not, it doesn’t make you any less of a good doctor. It doesn’t mean that you didn’t try your hardest. You are going to run yourself to the ground if you keep going at the rate you’re going, and I know that can’t be good for the baby.”

Jo let a tear slide down her cheek, “I know... I just wish there was something more I could do. I’m running out of options. She’s my patient and it’s my job to help her, but she’s also become the most unlikely friend. I just... I don’t want her to die.”

“No one wants her to die. But if she does, it won’t be your fault. It won’t be because you didn’t try hard enough. It’ll be because she had cancer and try as we might, sometimes the cancer wins. Regardless of who wins, you have given her time. Time she wouldn’t have had if she never would came to this hospital looking for old friends and instead stumbling upon you. She gets time and a chance to fight because of you. Don’t forget that,” Link pulled Jo in for a sideways hug. “Now, dry up those tears and go to her room and tell her what’s next in your plan to try to save her life.”

Jo chuckled softly, “Thank you.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Link shrugged. “Seriously though, you’re gonna wanna wipe your face. You’ve got some mascara running down your face.”

“Shut up,” Jo rolled her eyes and stood to look in the mirror. Yikes. She did look pretty wrecked. She grabbed a tissue from the box on the coffee table and began to blot her face.

Satisfied with her appearance, Jo said goodbye to Link and made her way down to Izzie’s hospital room. As she approached, she saw Alex with Geo on his lap and Meredith talking to Izzie as she knitted a scarf. Smiling, Jo knocked on the door as she walked in, “Hey. I see you have some company.”

“Jo! We were just talking about you—oh my goodness... your belly looks absolutely precious today,” Izzie beamed brightly.

“Thank you,” Jo nodded gratefully and looked over at Alex who was staring at her with love in his eyes.

“Oh! You see, that’s the look. The one we were talking about,” Meredith pointed at Alex.

“What look?” Jo scrunched her face.

“The lovey-dovey look Alex gets on his face anytime you walk into the room. It’s like he worships the ground you walk on,” Izzie teased, a wide grin on her face.

“Yup,” Meredith nodded. “The look of complete and utter adoration.”

Geo looked in between Jo and Alex briefly before agreeing, “Uncle Alex looks at you like you’re the most pwetty thing ever to exist!”

“That’s because she is,” Alex ruffled Geo’s hair, causing the young boy to erupt into a fit of giggles. He looked up at Jo again, “How are you feeling?”

“Good... a bit tired and Link may have just witnessed me have a hormonal break down in the lounge, but mostly good,” Jo ran a hand over her swollen stomach. “Baby is kicking a lot today.”

“Can I feel?” Geo asked excitedly, jumping up from his spot on Alex’s lap. “Pwetty please?”

“Sure,” Jo smiled at the boy and guided his little hand up to where the baby’s feet were. “You feel that thump? That’s the baby.”

“Woah,” Geo’s eyes widened in wonder. “This is so cool!”

“It is pretty cool isn’t it?” Jo winked at him. “What’s even cooler is that in a couple months, the baby will be here and we’ll get to hold and cuddle him or her all day long.”

“I can’t wait to have a baby cousin,” Geo looked over at Izzie. “It’s something happy and we need all the happy so mommy can get better.”

“You are so right, Geo. A big part of your mommy’s recovery is going to depend on her being very strong. Happiness gives us something to hope for and it makes us oh so very strong,” Jo replied.

The three other adults watched the scene unfold with smiles on their faces. Izzie turned to Jo, “You are going to be a wonderful mother. I can tell.”

“Thank you,” Jo reached over and squeezed one of Izzie’s hands. “I wanted to come in and tell you that I’m actively making plans for what to do next. Right now, surgery is still our best option, but I’m doing everything in my power to figure out something else. Until then, you’ll continue with the IL-2 treatments to shrinks those mets down as much as possible. I want to do the resection in a week from today.”

“Sounds good,” Izzie nodded. “Enough about me, someone tell me something happy or funny to help me distract myself from the fact that I’m stuck here while everyone else is performing surgery. Ooh! Like have you guys figured out a name yet?”

“Not yet,” Alex shook his head. “We haven’t really had a chance to sit down and talk about names. Hell, we don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl.”

That was true. Originally, Jo and Alex were going to find out the sex of the baby, but at the last minute chose to wait and be surprised. It was exciting and made it even more fun when people tried to place their bets on the sex of the baby.

“You better hope for your sake it’s a boy, because if you have a little girl who looks like Jo, that’s it. You’re a goner,” Meredith smirked

“Oh I can see it now,” Izzie laughed. “Alex freaking out because she’s going out on date when she sixteen.”

Alex scowled, “Shut up. We’re no where close to that so we’re not even going to think about it.”

“You see? He’s going to have a complete meltdown if that baby is a girl,” Meredith pointed at Jo’s bump. “What do you think it is Jo?”

“Honestly, I haves to clue. It’s changes every day. Today I’m feeling boy, but I’m a couple hours from now I might think it’s a girl.”

“Well, if you guys decide to go with the theme of naming your babies after a loved one, just remember that no one has named a baby after me yet,” Meredith grinned slyly.

“Shut up,” Alex threw a paper cup in Meredith’s direction, causing the three women to laugh.

***

“Helen, I swear I’m fine,” Jo insisted as she walked into the hospital, her mother in law trailing behind her.

“No you are not,” Helen frowned. “I know that I’m not entirely mentally stable, but Jo, I gave birth to three children. I know what labor looks like. You are having contractions.”

“They’re Braxton Hicks,” Jo tried to explain. “Besides, I am only thirty five weeks. I have a whole month before the baby is supposed to be born. I haven’t even gone on maternity leave yet.”

“Now I see why Alex called me,” Helen muttered under her breath. “Okay, fine. Maybe you aren’t in labor but you need to slow down.”

“Trust me, Helen, I would love to, but I can’t. I have patients to take care of and my research. I can’t afford to stop now. Not when I’m on the brink of something that could save many lives. Not when Izzie Stevens is finally getting discharged again today,” Jo said as Helen followed her into the attendings lounge.

Truthfully, Jo was in pain. She’d been having contractions ever since four in the morning, but did her best to ignore it. She was tough. She could handle a little pain and discomfort. It wasn’t time yet.

“Wait, is this the ex-wife Izzie Stevens?” Helen made a face at the information, while Jo changed into her scrubs. “Alex mentioned that his ex-wife was here getting treatment. You’re her doctor?”

“Yes,” Jo nodded as she pulled on the scrub top and fluffed her hair out.

“You are a saint,” Helen shook her head.

“She’s really not that bad,” Jo turned to Helen. “I’m going to round on her right now if you want to join me.”

“Might as well,” Helen shrugged. “I promised Alex I’d stay with you today.”

“Alex needs to calm down. Worrying like that is just going to give him more gray hair than what he already has. I am fine. The baby is fine,” Jo walked out the lounge and into the hallway in the direction of Izzie’s room.

Just as they were about to walk into Izzie’s room, Jo was hit by a powerful contraction. She took a deep breath and grabbed onto the doorway, exhaling in pain. She shook her head and proceeded into the room.

“Hey Izzie,” Jo greeted and smiled when she saw Geo. “Hello to you, too Geo. Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

“Yes he is, but mommy decided to let him skip because she’s leaving the hospital today,” Izzie grinned.

“That’s right! I checked all of your levels and your most recent scans, and I feel very good about discharging you today,” Jo shared the good news. She turned and motioned for Helen to walk in, ignoring another contraction. “Iz! This is Alex’s mom, Helen Karev.”

“Hi,” Helen gave Izzie a wary smile.

“Oh! Hi, Mrs. Karev, it’s so nice to meet you,” Izzie shook Helen’s hand. She looked over at Jo. “I didn’t know that he introduced you to his mom.”

“Yeah, we met just a couple weeks before the wedding. Went out to Iowa to visit,” Jo recounted. “Alex called her and flew her out here to be the pregnancy police.”

“He did not ask me to be the pregnancy police,” Helen rolled her eyes. He’d mentioned that your due date was approaching soon and I told him that I wanted to be here to see you before you gave birth, so he came to Iowa and flew out here with me. He said he’d do the same once the baby was born. But it looks to me like he won’t have to make the second trip because you are having contractions every three minutes.”

Jo’s eyes widened as she realized that her mother-in-law had been measuring the time between her contractions, “They’re three minutes apart? They’re coming steady?”

“Yes, honey. Like I said ever since we left the house, you are in labor,” Helen reiterated and placed a hand on Jo’s shoulder. “You need to cancel the rest of your day.”

“No, no, no. I am not having this baby right now,” Jo shook her head stubbornly. “It’s two early. He or she has still got to cook for five more weeks. Their lungs still need a few more weeks to develop, they don’t have enough body fat to regulate temperature yet, and they won’t be strong enough to breastfeed. So, this baby is staying inside.”

“Um... Jo,” Izzie called out. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m what?” Jo looked down to see a dark streak running down the leg of her scrub pants. She clutched her stomach in pain again. “Oh, crap. Call Alex and Meredith.”

“Geo, run to the nurses station and tell them that we need a wheel chair for Dr. Jo and that they need to page Uncle Alex right away. It’s an emergency,” Izzie instructed her son, who nodded and ran out into the hall. She carefully stood up from her bed and walked over to where Jo was leaning against the wall. “Okay, you’re going to be fine. Jo, how about you let me feel your belly?”

Izzie felt around for a minute before scrunching her eyes in concern, “Alright, keep in mind that I am a neurosurgeon and I’m not exactly sure that this is what’s going on, but I think your placenta ruptured. There shouldn’t be this much blood.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Helen asked worriedly.

“Just hold her up while I find Geo with the wheelchair,” Izzie rushed out of the room and found her son walking next to a nurse strolling a wheelchair. “Did you page Alex Karev?”

“Yes,” the nurse nodded.

“Okay, you also need to page OB and Meredith Grey. I think Jo’s experiencing placental abruption and she may need to undergo a crash C-section.”

“I’m on it.”

***

The following minutes were a frenzy of activity as Alex—who’d been elbow deep in a kid’s body cavity—was notified of his wife going into preterm labor. He got tagged out by Bailey and ran out to find Meredith standing outside the OR board, trying to figure out which OR they’d taken Jo to.

When they got to OR 2, both Meredith and Alex were happy to find that Jo was not alone. Standing there holding her hand was Izzie, who was muttering soothing words to her, “Everything is going great so far. You are doing good, the baby is okay, and Alex is on his way.”

“I’m here!” Alex announced as he came up beside Jo and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Hey, I’m here.”

“Oh thank God,” Jo breathed out a sigh of relief. “This wasn’t the plan. God, Alex this wasn’t the plan.”

“When the hell have our lives ever gone to plan?” Alex chuckled light. “It’s okay, because we caught in time and in a few minutes we’re going to have a beautiful baby.”

“Where’s Meredith?” Jo called out.

“I’m right here Jo,” Meredith walked up to where Izzie had been sitting my Jo’s head. “We got this, thank you.”

“Oh. Yeah... no problem,” suddenly, Izzie felt very out of place. For the first time in the months since she’d returned to Seattle, she felt like an outsider looking in. “Okay. I’m going to go sit with your mom, Alex. Keep her some company.”

“Thank you.”

***

A little over an hour had passed when Meredith finally came out to the waiting room on the Labor & Delivery floor. She wore a bright smile on her face, “Mom and baby are just fine. There was some bleeding but we got that under control and Alex stood over the peds fellow’s shoulder making sure that the baby was fine.”

“Oh thank God,” Izzie let out a sigh of relief. “They’re both okay?”

“Yes,” Meredith nodded. “The baby’s lungs are fully developed. She might have to stay in an incubator a couple nights to regulate her body temperature, but she’s healthy.”

“Did you say she?” Helen asked.

“I did. It’s a girl.”

Izzie laughed, “Oh my God. I knew it! Please tell me she looks exactly like Jo.”

“She’s a carbon copy,” Meredith joined Izzie’s laughter. “I would’ve thought Jo’s cloned herself if it weren’t for obvious mop of hair on her head that definitely came from Alex.”

“Can we go see them?” Geo pulled on Meredith’s scrubs. “Pleaseeeeee!”

“Yes, you can go see them. That’s why I came out to get you,” Meredith extended her hand out to the little boy. “Come on, follow me.”

They walked down the halls of L&D until they finally found themselves outside a room. Somewhere along the way, Amelia, Link, and Bailey had joined them. Meredith knocked on the door before walking in, “I brought some visitors.”

Jo and Alex looked up from the tiny pink bundle in their arms to see their friends—their family walk into the room. Alex grinned widely as he held his daughter in his arms and stood up to greet everyone. He was jittering with excitement, “Dude, I’m a dad!”

The room erupted into laughter. Amelia chuckled, “Yeah we know.”

There was a shuffling by the doorway as someone pushed their way through, “I’m here! I was in surgery. Did I miss it?”

Maggie burst through the door eyes wide, struggling to catch her breath, “Oh my God. It’s a girl!”

“Yes, it’s a girl,” Jo sighed dreamily, very clearly in love with the child in her husband’s arms.

“She’s absolutely beautiful,” Helen fawned over the small child. “I have a granddaughter!”

“Well? Are you going to tell us her name?” Bailey asked expectantly.

Alex and Jo exchanged a look before answering simultaneously, “Taylor Joy Karev.”

“TJ for short,” Jo added.

Izzie watched as everyone—her son included—took their turns meeting and holding the precious little newborn. It was a sweet moment, one that she thought she’d never get to see. It was... odd, seeing her ex-husband and his wife welcome their child into the world. It was odd being a part of the process. It was odd that they let her in after the history between her and Alex.

Jo must’ve noticed Izzie’s detached expression because soon, Izzie was being pulled out of her reverie by Jo’s concerned voice, “Izzie, are you okay?”

“I should be the one asking you that,” Izzie winked. “You scared me a little there. But of course Taylor had to have a dramatic entrance into the world, she’s a Karev after all. Already like her father in that way.”

“She’s been in this world for two hours and she already has him wrapped around her little finger,” Jo mused quietly, looking at her husband helping the Geo and the other kids—who’d been brought over from school—hold their newest cousin. “I don’t blame him, though... I didn’t think I could love anyone this much. I didn’t think I’d ever love anyone more than I love Alex, but this little girl... she’s everything. Absolutely everything.”

“I know exactly how you feel,” Izzie sat down on the edge of Jo’s bed. “When I saw Geo for the first time, my heart cracked wide open. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t given birth to him. I knew he was mine and I was his. Not a day goes by where I’m not grateful for every second I get to spend with him. Especially, since my cancer returned.”

Izzie paused and thought carefully about her next words, “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. I wouldn’t alive right now. But I also, wouldn’t be here in this room, surrounded by friends watching my ex-husband hold his newborn daughter if it weren’t for you. You have helped me mend broken relationships and have given me a community again. And that’s all because of you. God knows they wouldn’t be as welcoming to me if it weren’t for your genuine care and compassion. So thank you, for giving me life back.”

About halfway through Izzie’s short speech, Jo felt a couple tears slip her eyes. She tried to wave it off as the hormones, “You’re welcome. Thank you for staying with me until TJ was born.”

“It was my pleasure and honor,” Izzie squeezed Jo’s hand lightly, marveling at the shift in roles. For the first time, Jo was in the hospital bed and Izzie was standing about it. “It’s weird seeing you in a hospital gown instead for scrubs.”

“It’s weird being in a hospital gown,” Jo answered. She observed Izzie for a minute. “Are you okay? You got discharged today and instead ended up getting me to an OR in time so that I didn’t lose too much blood.”

“I’m good. Honestly, I feel really good,” Izzie assured. “I know I’m not better yet and I know that I’ve still got to fight, but things like these... things like these remind me that I have so much to fight for. I want this. I want to be here and watch TJ grow. I want to see Zola, Bailey, and Ellis grow. I want to see my son grow and I want to have another kid. I want to marry someone that looks at me the way Alex looks at you, or Ben Warren looks at Bailey. So as long as I have left, I’m gonna keep fighting for those things.”

Alex—who’d heard the tail end of the conversation between the two women—walked up with baby Taylor resting comfortably in his embrace, “And we’re going to help you do that.”

Jo nodded in confirmation, “Anything you need, we’re here.”

“Thanks,” Izzie smiled and finally turned her attention to the small child. “Okay, it’s Auntie Izzie’s turn to hold this little one. Everyone else got a turn except for me.”

Alex handed the baby over and Izzie grinned widely when she finally got a good look at the little girl, “Oh, Alex. You are in so much trouble.”

“Why?” Alex scrunched his face in question.

“Because she’s gorgeous and looks exactly like her mother. And with the parents she has—ha, I cannot wait to see what kind of trouble she gets herself into,” Izzie laughed. “Let’s just pray she doesn’t take after you and your... wild side.”

“Oh God, no. Nope,” Alex shook his head. “She’s not allowed to even look at a boy until she’s thirty.”

“Okay,” Jo snorted in amusement. “You’re just terrified because now you finally realized that you ten years ago, was every father’s worst nightmare.”

“God, I’m gonna pay for that, aren’t I? This right here, this little girl is karma for all of the terrible things I did throughout the years,” Alex’s eyes were wide in terror.

“Yup,” Izzie hummed and cradled the little one closer. “I’m happy for you guys. Truly.”

“Thank you,” Alex’s face curved up into a crooked smile. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“You’re going to stick around right? You’re not leaving Seattle or anything?” Jo asked.

“I’m sticking around,” Izzie took a deep breath. “Years ago, I told Mer that this was just a place I worked, but I was wrong. This is home. This is family."

***

Five Years Later

“TJ! Get your butt in here right now!” Jo yelled as she tripped on a pile of toys in the living room. She waited until she heard the pitter-patter of feet signaling her daughter’s appearance. “What have I said about leaving these on the floor. Someone can get hurt.”

“Sorry mommy!” TJ’s little eyes widened in apology.

“It’s okay baby, just pick them up when we get home later. Right now we have to go. We’re going to be late,” Jo reached out her hand and led her daughter out the house.

When they reached the car, she saw Alex fiddling around in the backseat. Jo smirked, “Having some trouble there?”

“I can’t get this stupid seat belt over her dress,” Alex grumbled. “Was this really necessary?”

“You know how Izzie is. Everything has to be perfect. Here let me do it,” Jo chuckled as she pushed Alex aside to look at the three year old girl that Alex was struggling to strap in. “Hi, Bella Mae. You look so beautiful. Mommy is going to help you get all strapped in because Daddy is having some issues.”

“Daddy habbin’ issues,” Bella giggled quietly. “I wike my dwess.”

“I like your dress too,” Jo complimented the little girl. Jo smoothed down her daughter’s dress as she buckled her into the car seat. Bella was her goofy, energetic kid. Rather than being a carbon copy of her mother like Taylor was, Bella took after the Karev side. Alex constantly talked about how Bella reminded him of his sister, Amber when she was a little girl. Bella and Alex had the same big brownish-greenish eyes and crooked grins. “Alright, Bells. You are all set.”

“Tank you, mommy!”

“You’re welcome,” Jo kissed the little girl’s forehead.

Finally, Jo turned over to the little man that was sitting in between his two sisters. Wyatt Alexander Karev was a cubby two year old that was the perfect blend of both Jo and Alex. It was hard to determine where features of one parent ended and the other began.

Wyatt gave Jo a cheesy smile, “Mama!”

“Hi munchkin! You look so handsome,” Jo ruffled his little curls.

“Tanks mama!”

“You ready?” Alex asked as he rounded the car.

“Yeah. Let’s go,” Jo nodded and thanked Alex as he opened the door for her and helped her inside the car.

When they arrived to the venue, Alex and Jo hurried to take the kids out of the car and walk in the direction they had been told. Standing outside the room, Jo knocked on the door.

“Come in!”

The family of five walked in to see Izzie standing in an ivory gown with a giant smile on her face, “Oh thank God you’re here. I was worried you’d be late.”

“I can’t be late, I’m the maid of honor,” Jo pulled Izzie into a hug. “You look amazing. Decker isn’t going to know what hit him when he sees you.”

“Jo’s right. You look hot, Iz,” Alex grinned widely. “You’ve still got it.”

Izzie rolled her eyes, “Thank you.” She let out a shaky breath. “I’m kind of nervous.”

“Do you want to make a run for it?” Alex asked. “I’ll tell Mer to gear up the getaway car. We’ll leave the kids with Maggie and Amelia and the the four of us will be out of here before anyone notices.”

“No I don’t want to make a run for it. Can’t a girl be nervous? Weren’t you nervous to get married?” Izzie made a face.

“Nope,” Alex shook his head.

“Seriously? You didn’t get nervous? Not even when you married me?” Izzie’s face was painted with disbelief.

“When I married you, it was so last minute, I didn’t have time to be nervous. And when I married Jo, I’d never been more sure of anything in my life. Also, our wedding day was a mess and we had sex in a shed next to corpse and practically missed the entire thing,” Alex answered simply.

“Fair enough.”

“Just take a deep breath. You’ll be fine,” Jo placed a comforting hand on Izzie’s shoulder. “You two love each other and Decker adores Geo and Gabe.”

“Speak of the little devils,” Izzie chuckled as her sons barged into the bridal suite.

Geo had grown a lot in the past five years. At eleven years old, the boy was almost as tall as Izzie. His brown hair darkened a bit and started to curl slightly. He looked more and more grown up everyday.

Gabe had been adopted about four years ago at the age of three. Like Zola, Gabe had come to Grey Sloan for a surgical procedure as a toddler through the African exchange program that Alex had spearheaded. Gabe had needed surgery for a cardiac defect that Maggie had operated on. When Izzie heard that one of the little boys from the program was an orphan, she went to go meet him for herself and fell in love. The now seven year old was a boundless spring of energy that brought so much light and laughter into their lives.

“Mom!” The two boys gasped when they saw their mom standing in her dress. “You look so pretty!”

“She does, doesn’t she?” Jo smiled. “It’s almost time to start so you guys need to go find Decker and get ready, okay?”

The young boys gave their mom a hug and another compliment before making their way out the room. With a couple minutes left before the ceremony started, Izzie took another deep breath.

Meredith walked into the suite, “Okay. Our flower girls, Ellis, TJ, and Bella are ready. The ring bearers are with Decker and the groomsmen. The guests are all here. The priest is just waiting on you.”

“Let’s get you married,” Jo grinned excitedly and followed Meredith as she led the flower girls to the aisle.

Finally, it was just Izzie and Alex left, waiting outside the double doors for their turn to enter. Izzie bit her lip nervously, “Are you sure this isn’t weird? You walking me down the aisle? I mean you’ve seen me naked.”

“You know how many people I’ve seen naked?” Alex huffed a laugh. He extended his arm for Izzie to take. “No. It’s not weird. The past few years have been some of the best of my life. And not just because I married Jo and had three kids. Having you back has been great. You’ve become family. I’m so excited for you to get married and I feel honored that I get to be the one who walks you down the aisle. So, just shut up and start walking before I have to kick you down the aisle.”

And with that, Izzie realized that it had finally come full circle. Five years ago, she’d returned to Seattle with very little hope to cling to. Today, she had a family, a support system that was celebrating her as she finally got her happy ending. It might seem strange or unconventional to others, but she wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

The end.

——————————————————————————

Hi guys! I hope you enjoyed the final part of this series. I loved writing this story. I'll confess, Izzie Stevens has never been one of my favorite characters, but writing this redemption arc and beautiful ending for her character, while preserving jolex is something that I wish we would've seen in canon. Let me know what you thought of this and don't hesitate to follow me on Tumblr @iamtrebleclefstories for more content!

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iliveiloveiwrite · 4 years ago

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Journey to Hogwarts - Chapter Six// Malfoy Manor and St. Mungo’s.

A/N: CHAPTER SIX! I’ve had a fun experience writing this with @kalimagik @obsessedwithrandomthings @heloisedaphnebrightmore and @firewhisky-kisses. This has so much of my love for Draco in it, I hope you all like! Chapter 7 will be out in a couple of days and I hope you're ready for drama!

Warnings: swearing, mentions of injuries.

Word count: 4.9k

MASTERLIST

Mel groaned, covering her eyes as the bright light of the sun peeked its way through the window. She pulled the duvet cover over head; the inevitable headache as a result

Memories flooded through her mind, chasing her from her bed sooner that she would have liked. She dressed slowly, pulling her arms through a dark green cardigan, pausing every so often to fight the wave of nausea that washed over her.

The curved staircase that led to the lower floor had Mel’s stomach turning once more as she descended into the dining room where Ellie was already sat, sipping at a cup of tea.

Mel dropped into a seat; cursing firewhisky and her status as a lightweight.

Ellie chuckled at the sight of her friend looking as hungover as one could be after multiple shots of firewhisky followed by bottle after bottle of butterbeer.

“I suppose you don’t want any tea,” Ellie offered; laughing again at Mel’s scrunched up face.

“You’re awfully chipper this morning? And you drank more than me.” Mel accused; an eyebrow raised as her Canadian friend.

Ellie beamed, shrugging her shoulders, “Blaise gave me a potion to help with hangovers the night we went out to the pub. I had some left.”

Mel dropped her head to the table; letting the coolness of the table work its wonders on her head. “I should have hooked up with a Potioneer; my life would have been so much easier as of right now,” She groaned.

Ellie laughed, “Healer is pretty close to Potioneer the last I heard.”

Mel groaned again, “I don’t even want to know what happened last night. I just know I made a fool out of myself.”

Ellie doesn’t get the chance to reply. The girls are joined at the table by the Malfoy family; all three glided gracefully into the room. Lucius sits at his expected seat at the head of the table; joined by Narcissa on his right and Draco to his left.

“I’m waiting for an explanation for the state that you returned home last night.” Lucius declared, folding his hands in front of him.

“All things considered; I don’t think we were very loud.” Mel muttered, bringing a hand up to rub her forehead.

“Regardless of that, you should have more decorum when conducting yourselves in public.”

Mel glared at the elder gentleman, “You’re kidding aren’t you? This isn’t the nineteenth century! I’m not walking around here in petticoats pretending to be seen and not heard.”

Lucius returned Mel’s glare with just as much venom, “We have a reputation to uphold. The Malfoy name is revered through wizarding society.”

“It was,” Mel muttered, rolling her eyes.

“Pardon?”

“It was. You’re not doing too hot right now, are you Lucius?”

Ellie stared at her friend; hangovers were not Mel’s friend and the pain lancing through her head was making her mouthy.

Lucius gaped at the young brunette. Mel rolled her eyes, “Your fall from grace was well documented, Lucius. And another thing – no, don’t interrupt me, I’ve got my gander up now - this is very much the twentieth century; women have rights nowadays. And I can swear, drink, fight and argue just as much as I’d like.”

Lucius remained silent at Mel’s words. Narcissa watched her with something akin to pride glittering in her eyes. Draco’s repressed the urge to laugh at Mel’s words.

Ellie raised her cup; meeting her friends gaze, “Here here!”

Mel grinned at her friend, pushing herself back from the table. “If I may be excused,” she started, glaring at the patriarch, “I want to go sit in a quiet room and let this headache pass.”

“Of course, dear. I’ll send someone to check in on you soon,” Narcissa promised with a kind smile.

Mel left the dining room; adrenaline coursing through her veins. Draco and Narcissa had been the epitome of kindness through their time in the wizarding world; it was time for Lucius to remove the stick up his arse so he could finally see the damage he had caused and start hunting for a solution before he was left alone in this big, cold manor house.

Mel trapped herself in a small room just off the main living room. her headache was showing no signs of lessening, but she supposed it was karma for the way she acted last night. She groaned, rubbing her forehead – she knows she shouldn’t drink; her hangovers were always worse than the drinking was worth.

She sighed, standing from the table by the window. She had sat down upon entering, needing to stave off the dizziness and nausea. Now though, she hunted for a candle.

Her education in what she now supposed was muggle society to her had involved the research into history and lore of witchcraft. It had been a personal choice of hers to follow the stories of those executed in Pendle and West Yorkshire in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Through her research, Mel had read supposed grimoires, translating the old English to modern. Mel rooted through the draws in the room, yelping happily when she finds a candle for her to try with. The girls had mastered spell after spell; potion after potion. Passed their exams with exceptional grades, but Mel had researched this in her old life, and she wanted to know whether she could master the basic wordless spell of lighting a candle with a single breath of air.

An hour into her staring match, someone knocked on the door. Mel didn’t turn her gaze from the candle as she granted permission to whoever was outside.

“What has that candle done to offend you so badly?”

Mel jumped in her seat at the sound of Draco’s voice, “It’s nothing – don’t worry about it.”

Draco sat across from the brunette, “It isn’t though, is it?”

Mel flipped her hair over one shoulder, “Did Narcissa send you in here to check on me?”

“I volunteered for the job actually. Now, don’t change the subject – what’s wrong?”

Mel slumped in her chair, “I have been given the richest education I could ever receive. I have researched witchcraft since I was eighteen years old and I find out I have magic and I can wield it to make potions, cast charms and to grow magical plants – yet, I can’t light a single candle.”

Draco held his hand out for the candle; Mel passing it to him without question. They both pointedly ignored the spark of electricity that passed between them when their finger brushed against each other. Draco placed the candle back in the centre of the table. He blew on the candle; the wick caught and burned aflame.

“Show off,” Mel muttered, crossing her arms.

“Practice.”

“I have been!” She cried, “I work on everything from Hogwarts; going over the charms I have been taught. Magic and spell work are the same thing, Draco; they take power from the elements, yet I can’t harness fire. I bet the others aren’t having this much trouble with their magic.”

“Mel, breathe for a minute a listen. You’ve had magic for a few weeks; I’ve had magic all my life. It’s all down to practice.” Draco blew out the candle, “Now, take another deep breath and clear your mind, save for the action you want to complete.”

Mel leant forward, mind emptied, resting her head on her arms with her eyes closed as she loosened a breath from her lungs, sending it towards the candle.

“Mel, look.” Draco whispered.

Mel opened her eyes to see the wick of the candle aflame. Joy sparked through her at the sight of it, but something deeper caught aflame within her as she caught Draco’s eyes on her; something akin to pride and happened reflected in the bright blue of his eyes.

---------

Mel found that the longer she spent at the Manor, the more she enjoyed being in the company of Narcissa Malfoy. She had truly repented for her actions in the war; had donated a large amount of money to wizarding orphanages for children who had lost their parents in the war to make amends for the damage she followed blindly from youth had caused.

Every afternoon, Mel would join Narcissa in the gardens, walking among her prize-winning roses. Narcissa was very proud of them, and very knowledgeable on the meanings of flowers.

“Herbology was my favourite subject alongside Potions,” She had told Mel as they stood together by the yellow roses. “Yellow roses, for example, used to stand for jealousy – they’d be sent by jilted mistresses to the wives of their lovers. Now though, they represent friendship and joy,” Narcissa explained.

Mel reached out to touch the petals, her voice laced with sentimentality as she murmured, “We used to have yellow roses in the garden at home.”

Narcissa looked at her sympathetically, “Do you miss it?”

Mel nodded, “I do, but I’m enjoying my time here too.”

Narcissa smiled at the young woman, “I’m glad. Though I am sorry Lucius gave you a hard time the other morning, but I liked that you stood up to him. So few do.”

Mel frowned, “I understand what you’ve been through, or at least, I do to an extent. I won’t ever understand your motivations, but it isn’t for me to understand. I’d like to help though; you’re all healing from the events of the war but there are deeper scars, and I think Lucius is having trouble adjusting to the aftermath.”

Narcissa stared at Mel for a moment, “How would you help?”

Mel shrugged, “I’ve been told I’m a naturally warm person, I want to crack his cold exterior.”

Narcissa chuckled, “Well, I wish you the best of luck.”

Mel held her arm out for the matriarch of the family who had so graciously taken her and Ellie in, in their time of need. Narcissa took the offered arm, and the two picked up their walk around the garden where they left off.

--------

Mel rubbed at her eyes as she descended the now familiar curved staircase. She wasn’t sure what had awoken her; all she knew that was one minute she was dreaming of the eyes of a certain wizard and then she was wide awake.

Her stomach had grumbled until she pulled the covers from her body. A hot chocolate would work just fine at this time of night, so Mel made her way to the kitchen.

“Draco?” Mel asked; stepping closer to the slumped figure at the kitchen table.

Draco jumped up; eyes blinking rapidly. He yawned, “Mel? What are you doing up?”

Mel walked towards the fridge, pulling out the glass bottle of milk nestled between some juice. “I couldn’t sleep,” she shrugged, reaching for a pan and placing it on the stove, “Do you have any hot chocolate powder lying around here?”

Draco pulled himself up from his seat wearily. He opened a cupboard, grabbing the famous purple tub of Cadbury’s drinking chocolate. He handed it to the brunette before taking a seat back at the table.

Mel added the sweet powder to the now warming, stirring slightly before reaching for two mugs. She turned to tired man behind her, “Would you like one? I’ve made more than enough for two.”

Draco nodded; his words cut off by another yawn.

In a matter of minutes, Mel had poured the hot chocolate into the two mugs and had handed one to Draco. He sipped at it gently, watching the woman across from him.

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” He asked.

“I’m not sure. One minute I was fast asleep, and then I was awake. I thought hot chocolate would help.”

“You did?”

Mel nodded, “My grandmother made it when I couldn’t sleep. When I was small, I couldn’t pronounce ‘chocolate’ so I’d ask for ‘choc choc’.” She chuckled at the memory of her grandmother stirring the pan filled with the sweet concoction that had her eyes drooping within minutes.

“That’s adorable,” Draco uttered; eyes on the brunette.

Mel ducked her eyes, blushing. A change in topic was needed, she thought to herself, “How come you’re up?”

Draco ran a hand down his face, “I just finished work.”

“How long were you on?”

“Twelve hour days this week, it’s not so bad.”

“How was your shift?”

“You are inquisitive, aren’t you?”

“Oh hush, and answer the question, Draco.”

“It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Draco replied. Shaking his head, he sighed, “We lost two patients who had been there for a while. I’d formed a bond, you know?”

Mel nodded understandingly, “I’m still sorry, Draco.”

“So am I,” Draco stated; his blue eyes bright with unshed tears.

Mel stood from her seat. She wrapped her arms Draco tightly; letting him cry into her shoulder. He sobbed and sobbed for the patient he had lost but also for those he lost back in the war; the grief overtaking him.

They’re clutched at the other.

Time passed and Draco’s sobs quietened to sniffles. Mel attempted to step away, but Draco kept a tight hold on her arm, keeping her close to him. In the early hours of the morning, Mel stands over Draco as if she could protect him from feeling too much all at once.

In the early hours of the morning, the pair become aware that their relationship was set for a different course that once originally thought.

--------

Mel had raided the library on her third day living at the manor; collecting book after book on wizarding lore and history and smuggling them away in her room. She might not have been in the muggle world with her laptop and highlighters, but she was going to benefit as much as she could from this experience. And this was by learning their histories.

Draco noticed that as the weeks and months progress, more and more gaps appeared in the library shelves. He chuckled as he realised who the culprit could be, climbing the stairs to her room to prove his theory correct.

“You know, the purpose of having a library is to give the books back so others can read them.” Draco drawled, gesturing to the pile of books on her bedside table.

Mel grinned at the blonde-haired man, an eyebrow raised, “Thank you for your definition, I’ll be sure to return them once I’m done.”

Draco sauntered into her room, taking a seat on the edge of her bed, “What are you reading?”

Mel marked her page with a bookmark and held the book up for Draco to see the title. He laughed at the words on the cover, “The Tales of Beedle the Bard? I didn’t take you for a fairy tale fan.”

“I’m worried to know what you do take me for then,” She flirted, a smile aimed in the direction of the Malfoy heir.

“Romances, classics. All the muggle authors that fancied themselves experts on love and the gothic.”

Mel flushed; she held the book of fairy tales to her chest, “I do like those books, but I had a hard time finding them in your library.”

Draco’s eyes twinkled, “That’s because you weren’t looking in the right places,” He held out a hand to her, “I’ll show you where to look.”

-----

Draco led Mel through the maze of shelves; he stopped only to point out how the room was organised.

Mel continued to be amazed at the room. Books were very much a life source for her; they had been there for every part of her life. For when she felt upset or vulnerable, she had a book that she could read for comfort. For when she needed to pass time, a book was always her first choice.

Draco turned right at an aisle; pulling Mel with him. He hasn’t let go of her hand since they entered the library, she was trying her best to quash the emotions blooming at the feel of his touch. He’s showing you the way, what is wrong with you?, her mind admonished her.

Draco stopped at the end of an aisle and knelt down to the final shelf, “Here they are, we only have the classic I’m afraid – Dickens, Bronte, Wilde, Carroll.”

“Carroll?”

“Lewis Carroll,” Draco clarified, “As in Alice in Wonderland.”

“I know who he is,” Mel chuntered, “I just didn’t think you did.”

“I’m full of surprises, clearly,” Draco laughed, the copy already in his hands.

Mel took the book from him, flipping through to the first few pages, her mind eager to meet the familiar characters once again. She crossed her legs on the floor and leant back against the sturdy shelves, happy to remain there with the small collection of muggle works.

Draco tapped her knee, “Come on, you can’t sit on the floor and read, we have comfier couches at the front.”

-----------

The pair sat in the library for well over an hour; sitting together on the couch where every now and then they would show the other a quote they loved from their respective book.

They shared secret smiles over the bindings of their books. Mel’s heart raced from the attention the blonde-haired boy was giving her. Her mind raced into overdrive at what everything he did could mean – the lingering touches, the late night conversations, how he helped her with her magic. He went above and beyond for her, and Mel was terrified of her feelings for the Malfoy heir in case she was reading too much into them as she had often done in the past.

A crashed resounded through the Manor. It pulled Mel from her worrying and Draco from his reading. The pair rushed out of the library to find Ellie crumpled at the bottom of the stairs.

“Ellie!” Mel shouted, running over to her. Draco followed close behind.

Ellie groaned as she sat up, her hand stretched out towards her ankle that had already started to turn multiple shades of purple, “I think I hurt my ankle.”

Draco’s fingers nimble examined Ellie’s ankle. He apologised at her wince of pain but soon frowned, “It sounds like a sprain. I don’t have what I need here to heal it. We’re going to have to take to you to St. Mungo’s.”

Mel folded her hand into Draco’s and in a single, nauseating moment, they landed in the emergency room of St. Mungo’s.

----------

Blaise entered the emergency room with a harried look on his face; eyes searching for Ellie and Ellie alone. His face calmed as he reached her bedside, but his eyes can’t hide the panic he felt at seeing her hurt. Blaise’s hands hover over her as if terrified she’ll break if he touched her even once.

“B,” Ellie murmured, “I’m okay.”

Blaise wasn’t entirely convinced by Ellie’s promise. She caught Draco’s eye; a silent plea passed between them.

Draco wandered over to Blaise, a hand placed on his shoulder, “Ellie’s fine, Blaise. She fell down the stairs but managed to only sprain her ankle. We had it healed in no time.”

Ellie smiled, “Draco had me healed in expert time. I’m not in any pain now.”

“Do you need anything else?” Draco asked.

Ellie shook her head, “I’m all good. Thank you, Draco.”

Draco nodded at the both of them; happy to leave them to continue their conversation. Draco had always hoped that Blaise would find someone like Ellie to share his life with; Blaise was reserved, had walls built around him and he never socialised much through his time at Hogwarts. Draco treasured their friendship; Blaise having been the voice of reason more times that Draco could count on both hands. It made him happy to see that Blaise had fallen in love with a woman as determined and kind like Ellie.

Draco watched his friend take the arm of the woman he loves. Blaise holds Ellie’s hand tight as he manoeuvred her from the bed. Ellie tested her ankle for second before she deemed it healed enough to walk on with her full weight. Ellie beamed up at Blaise, her arm wrapped around his as he led her from the emergency room for a tour of the counterpart of the muggle medicine Ellie has studied for most of her life.

Draco shook his head fondly as he walked back over to where Mel waited by the admit desk. “Ellie is going to be okay, isn’t she?” She asked worried.

“Ellie will be just fine; she has Blaise after all,” Draco stated, leaning against the admit desk.

Mel nodded, “That’s good. That she has Blaise; they’re perfect for each other.”

“They are,” Draco agreed easily, “You’ve been here a while now, has no-one caught your eye?”

Mel smiled up at the blonde-haired man, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Draco chuckled; eyes shining with mirth. “Come on you, I’ll take you on a tour.”

Mel grinned widely; eyes crinkled at the corner with happiness, “I knew I kept you around for a reason.”

Draco held Mel’s hand in his as he pulled her to the next floor, pausing outside the door. “This is where we keep the more serious cases, similar to your ICU floors.”

Mel nodded in understanding; remaining silent as she watched families interact with their loved ones. Her mind flashed back to her last visit to a hospital; saying goodbye to her grandfather. She didn’t know how Draco did it; how he surrounded himself with death and sadness day in and day out. She had seen how the hard days affected him, but he made it look like he was doing fine. Mel saw through the façade. She had sat with him as he let a few tears fall in memory for the patient’s he couldn’t save.

They bonded over that time together; Draco seeking Mel out after a long shift. Mel searching for Draco before the exams at Hogwarts. They bounced off each other; becoming closer as Mel’s time in the wizarding world continued.

Draco continued his tour of St Mungo’s. Mel followed behind him; her hand still held tightly in his. Mel watched the blonde-haired man in front of her; attempting to pinpoint the exact moment she had fallen in love with him – was it the candle? Or was it earlier today in the library? Or had she always been in love with some aspect of him? Draco was he favourite character in the series; it made sense to her at least, that she would fall in love with the real thing.

Draco dragged Mel into an empty exam room, grinning wickedly as the sound of her yelp. “You’ve been distracted this entire tour; did you hear a word I said?”

“Of course I did. We started at the ICU where the permanent residents reside before moving down a level to the floor where you treat potions and plant poisoning. We were heading down another level, but you’ve dragged me into an empty room. Why?”

“I kept looking back at you, you didn’t seem like you were paying attention.”

“So you dragged me into an empty room?”

Drag shrugged, “I want to know what’s on your mind.”

Mel chuckled, “Nothing overly interesting, I promise you that.”

Draco stepped closer to the brunette; Mel took a step backward, her back now pressed against the cool white wall. “You see,” Draco began, “I think it is interesting. I normally get a good read on people, but I can’t get a read on you.”

Mel thanked her lucky stars. Draco leaned in closer to Mel; his hands made their way onto her waist. She bit her lip at the feeling of his hands on her.

Then Draco did the inevitable; he ducked his head to press his lips to hers.

Mel pulled away from Draco, breathless, “Draco… we’re in a hospital.”

He hummed, nosing her cheek, “So we are.”

“And it’s your place of work,” Mel reminded as Draco’s hands grip her waist tighter.

“So it is.”

“We can’t do this here,” Mel whispered, a hand on his chest.

“Who says we can’t?”

And with those words, Draco pressed his lips to Mel’s. He kissed her gently, but the kiss soon shifted into something more; something deeper. She gasped against his mouth; Draco took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. Her hands made their way into his hair. A low groan sounded in the back of Draco’s throat and he pulled Mel against him; arms circling around her.

Mel lost herself in him; he invaded her senses. All she felt was him; all she smelled was him, and all she tasted, was him.

One kiss and she was a goner; entirely addicted to him.

It could have been minutes, it could have been hours, but they both had to come up for air. Draco pulled away first, but he pecked Mel’s lips one more time before he did. Their chests heaved; Draco’s arms remained tightly wrapped around her waist.

“What does this mean, Draco?” Mel asked, savouring the feel of his arms.

Draco pressed kiss after kiss to her face, starting with her nose. “It means that I want to be with you, Mel.”

“Even though I prefer fairy tales and gothics?”

Draco laughed, throwing his head back. He grinned down at the woman who had stolen his heart in such a short amount of time, “Even though you prefer fairy tales and gothics, yes.”

Mel beamed at Draco; taking the opportunity to fist her hands in his shirt, dragging him in for one more kiss before they needed to return back to reality.

-------

They returned to the Manor even more wrapped up in each other than they were before they left. Draco pulled Mel back to the library, though he paused multiple times on the way to drag her into a kiss.

She laughed at the man she had fallen for in the short time she had been in the wizarding world. Mel hadn’t ever given much thought to her love life in the muggle world; she had had crushes and been on dates but none of them ever really meaning anything. She watched Draco from her place a step behind him; his long legs no match for her short ones. She watched him push open the doors to the library, thinking to herself that she hadn’t ever met a man like Draco, and she wasn’t bothered by the timeline; she’d fallen in love with Draco Malfoy.

Draco turned to face Mel; their books from earlier in his hands. He sauntered over to her, “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Mel placed a hand on her heart, laughing, “As mad as the March Hare, Draco?”

“Only for you, my dear,” Draco gasped dramatically; embracing Mel.

----------

The dinner party was Draco’s idea. He sent the invitation to Blaise before letting Mel know their plans for the evening.

Mel threw a cushion at Draco’s face which he caught with a laugh.

“Want to tell why I deserve a cushion to face?” He asked.

“I have to find an outfit for a dinner party!” She cried, throwing her arms up in the air at the impossibility of it all – she knew she was being overdramatic, but she felt underprepared for something such as a dinner party.

Draco hushed her worries; pulling her into his arms. He rocked them both side to side, “It’s Blaise and Ellie, love. They won’t care what you wear.”

“I suppose not,” Mel chuntered into Draco’s chest.

He chuckled at the brunette, kissing the top of her head, “Whatever you wear will be fine; don’t overthink this – let’s just enjoy the evening.”

----------

The atmosphere in the room was light and joyful as the couples ate and drank their way through the late afternoon into the early evening. Blaise’s hand remained a staple on Ellie’s thigh through the meal as Draco’s arm remained seated on the back of Mel’s chair.

The girls shared a knowing glance; both their men oddly territorial but utter sweethearts when in private.

The dinner was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door. Narcissa entered the room with an apologetic aimed at the two couples, “I’m sorry, love, but this just arrived for Draco. It must be urgent coming this late.”

“Thank you, mother,” Draco answered, taking the envelope from his mother’s hand. Narcissa departed with a smile; leaving the four of you alone once again.

Blaise and Ellie are wrapped in their own cocoon of happiness as Draco reads over the letter. Blaise tucked a piece of Ellie’s hair behind her ear, and she smiled up at him, face full with happiness and love.

Mel kept her eyes on Draco as he read the letter, watching as his body grew more tense with every word written on the piece of parchment.

“Draco, what is it? What does the note say?” Mel asked.

Draco cleared his throat before answering, “It’s a note from Ron.”

“What’s happened? Has something happened to Ana?” Ellie asked, already stood up, grabbing Blaise’s hand ready to apparate to the Burrow.

The note is handed to Blaise, “Ron’s asked us to come to the Burrow. Arthur overheard something at work, and he wants to tell us in person.”

The girls looked at each other in worry; anxiety already having settled deep within their guts. If Arthur had overheard something at the Ministry regarding them, then what they had to hear could not be positive.

Draco held his hand out for Mel. She doesn’t argue as she takes hold of his hand; she doesn’t say anything. She started into his eyes, committing the blue to her memory.

In a single second, both couples have apparated to The Burrow.

**********

Journey to Hogwarts taglist: @jenniweaslee @just-an-outstanding-auror @the-hufflefluffwriter @ravenclaw-member

#draco malfoy x oc #draco x oc #draco malfoy fanfiction #Draco Malfoy #journey to hogwarts #narcissa malfoy #lucius malfoy #blaise zabini x oc #blaise zabini #blaise x oc #post hogwarts #the lightning era #fluff #draco malfoy fanfic #draco malfoy fluff #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter fanfic

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holeinotomemind · 4 years ago

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MLQC Fanfic: Hearts of Storm - Ch 7 - Birthday Dinner

WARNING: NSFW/18+ fic. No smut this chapter. Birthday angst. Prev chapter dub/non-con, eventual 3P, spoilers, long dragged out fic and angst. Not morally correct. Turn away if this is not your thing. Pairing: Shaw x MC, Gavin x MC, Shaw x MC x Gavin AO3 Link: [here]

Notes: [See full notes on AO3] Big thanks to Lutz and sushikitty (aka Aelyxandra) for betaing this chapter again!I swear I didn't write and post this chapter because it was Gavin's birthday a couple of days ago! It just kinda worked out that way...

Steam rose from the three dishes placed beside a beautiful cake, carefully laid out in front of the two placemats. The pleasant aroma filled the room.

“Happy Birthday, Gavin.” Yui whispered as she looked across the dining table towards the empty seat.

Yui managed to pull herself back together after the bombing incident several months ago. Although she felt unsure if she’d ever be the same without Gavin, at the very least, she was no longer allowing herself to drown in her sorrows anymore.

Today, however, she allowed herself to regress.

Spring came and went, but the beautiful Summer never arrived. Loveland City was still covered in snow even though it was late July, reminding her of the harsh reality.

But today, staying in this room, she wanted to escape. Even if only temporarily.

Here, she could imagine that Gavin was still with her and that nothing had changed.

She woke up early today to bake his birthday cake and spent the afternoon carefully decorating it. Gavin’s eating habits had improved since they became an item, but he still relied heavily upon take-out food. So she rolled up her sleeves and cooked up some of his favorite dishes, making sure that they were not only tasty but also nutritious. Once preparations were done, she set the table for both of them, making sure she put extra rice in his bowl.

She wasn’t delusional. She wasn’t expecting Gavin to miraculously show up, but she had promised to celebrate his every birthday. Regardless of what she had done, regardless of whether there would be a chance for them to celebrate this day together again in the future, she didn’t want to break this promise.

Staring at the dishes in a daze, she remembered the first time she cooked for Gavin at his place. Yui could clearly remember the day when she showed up at his apartment, ready to prepare a home-cooked meal for him only to find that he had absolutely nothing in his pantry. As time went on, little by little, the counter and the cupboards of his kitchen filled up with condiments and herbs that she would bring every time she went over to his place to cook.

Then once in a while, she would find brand new items that she didn’t buy for him but were necessary ingredients for her cooking. When she asked Gavin, he would scratch his head and tell her that he saw it in a store and thought she might want to use it the next time she cooked.

Yui knew she wasn’t the best cook, but Gavin never complained. He always enjoyed the food as if it was the best thing he had ever eaten. Her heart always warmed just by watching him devour her cooking.

Her chest tightened and she could feel a lump in her throat as she looked at the empty seat across from her. She bit down on her lower lip as she released a long, deliberate breath.

Today was Gavin’s birthday, there should be no tears. Leaning her head on the back of the chair, she stared at the ceiling, her hand idly caressing her ginkgo bracelet.

She didn’t know how long she stayed in that position, but by the time the ache in her heartfelt more manageable and she picked up her chopsticks to put a piece of the food in her mouth, it had already cooled.

She swallowed the bite of food without tasting anything. Sighing, she slowly put down her chopsticks. She didn’t feel like eating, didn’t feel hungry at all despite not having a proper meal since she woke up this morning.

Giving up on the food, she got up to put things away, but only got the cake back in the fridge when she heard the lock on the door turn. Yui turned around just in time to see Shaw walking in.

“I smell food,” he yawned as he propped his bass guitar against the wall.

Yui had been staying at his workshop since they announced that the bombs had done some structural damage to the apartment buildings in the area, including her own. Construction companies had been working hard to repair the damage, but all residents were required to vacate the building until further notice.

Since then, she had gotten used to him dropping by unannounced. After all, the place was only a quick walk from Live House and Shaw seemed to have no sense of privacy. At least when it came to her privacy.

“You cooked this?” Before she could stop him, Shaw already planted his butt on the chair across from her and shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth. Immediately, he frowned. “Damn! How much chilli did you put in this thing?”

“Then don’t eat it. It’s not for you anyway.” She reached her hand to grab his wrist in an attempt to stop him, but with a quick twist of his wrist, he dodged her and smacked her fingers with his chopsticks.

“Don’t be so stingy,” he tsked as he picked some more meat to put in the bowl of rice that he decided to claim as his. “I’m starving.”

It was undoubtedly annoying that Shaw showed up out of the blue and started eating the food she prepared for Gavin, but as she sat and watched him eat, she thought that perhaps it was for the best. At least, this way, the food wouldn’t have to go to waste, and she wouldn’t have to eat the leftovers for the next several days.

“Don’t be picky. Eat the vegetables too.” She couldn’t resist putting some broccoli in his bowl when she realized that he was only picking out the meat in the dishes.

He tutted again but didn’t argue.

She watched as he demolished the food and when he held out his empty bowl and asked for more rice, for a moment, she thought she had Gavin back in front of her again, smiling at her with those amber eyes.

“Hey, you got more rice?” Seeing that she was simply staring at him in a daze, Shaw waved his bowl in front of her and repeated.

She snapped back to reality.

What was she thinking? She shook her head before quickly taking his bowl and walking over to the rice cooker.

She must have gone crazy to see Gavin in him again.

“Grab me a can of coke too.”

“Did you break your arm or something? Go grab it yourself.” She snapped back. Sometimes, Yui wondered how everyone else could stand this brat.

“Awww, come on. You’re right by the fridge.”

She rolled her eyes but obliged. “You just like bossing me around.”

“Well, there’s that too,” he replied shamelessly.

By the time Yui returned, she found her bowl overflowing with food. Her eyebrows shot up as she stared at the disproportionately high vegetable-to-meat ratio.

“Don’t be picky. Eat the vegetables too.” He threw her words back at her with a crooked smile.

“Brat,” she muttered under her breath, but couldn’t stop a smile from forming on her face. She was about to tell him she wasn’t hungry when her stomach growled. Embarrassed, she shoved a piece of food in her mouth without thinking and immediately regretted it.

Her face turned red as she forcefully swallowed the food down her throat. Sticking out her tongue, she fanned it with her hand. Reaching over the table, she grabbed Shaw's coke and downed it in a few large gulps.

“You’re hilarious!” Shaw burst out laughing. “Hey, don’t glare at me, I didn’t do anything.”

“Gah, I couldn’t feel my tongue anymore.” Grabbing a tissue, she wiped off the sweat on her forehead.

“Why’d you make it so spicy if you can’t take the heat?” He put another piece of meat in his mouth as if it wasn’t spicy at all.

“It was because…” she stopped short. She wanted to say it was because Gavin liked spicy food and she was cooking to his taste, but she thought better of it. Shaw was likely to make fun of her if she told him the truth. So instead she said, “It’s none of your business.”

“Next time do hot pot instead. And, remember to put less chili pepper. I can’t taste anything except for the spice.” He criticized but didn’t stop polishing off the food.

“Hot pot,” she rolled her eyes. “All you think about is hot pot.”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind fried chicken or barbecue either,” he shrugged.

“I’m not cooking for you,” she stuck out her tongue at him.

As much as what he said was infuriating, she couldn’t help but smile again watching him eat. Ever since she came to this dimension, she hadn’t had the opportunity to cook for anyone. It had been so long that she almost forgot how good it felt to have someone enjoy her home-cooked food.

Bringing the emptied dishes to the sink after he was finished, Yui was surprised to see him follow her to the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” She asked when he pulled out a knife from the drawer.

He reached into the fridge and pulled out the birthday cake she baked for Gavin instead of answering her.

“How did you…”

“I told you,” he leaned towards her with a smirk. “I’m not as dumb as you.”

“Have you been spying on me?” Yui frowned.

It was his turn to roll his eyes. “You think I’ve got nothing better to do?”

“But…” Yui opened her mouth to argue.

“You think too much,” he shoved a fork full of cake in her mouth.

She glared at him as she tried to swallow and saw him stabbing the same fork into his slice of cake again. This time putting a good-sized bite into his own mouth.

“Ew, it’s sweet,” he frowned as he complained.

“Of course, it’s sweet, it’s a cake.” Sometimes Yui wondered if conversing with him would make her roll her eyes so much that they would permanently get stuck to the back of her head. “What else do you expect? A hot pot flavored one?”

“Or a pizza-flavored one,” he smirked.

“The only person who would want a pizza-flavored cake is you.” It was obvious that he was jerking her chain, but she just couldn’t seem to stop herself from responding to his trolling.

“Yah yah, it wasn’t for me… blah blah blah…” he mocked.

Yui’s face fell at his words. How could she have forgotten? She had made this elaborate dinner for Gavin and it was Gavin’s birthday cake being devoured right now.

With all the bickering with Shaw, for a brief moment, she had forgotten the misery of not having Gavin by her side.

She was grateful for the distraction, yet deep inside her, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of guilt.

“I’m stuffed,” he said out of the blue as he stood up to stretch.

“Of course, you ate two people’s worth of food and half a cake.” She half expected him to explode the way that he finished everything.

“Go put a coat on.”

“Why? Are we going somewhere?” Yui asked, confused at the sudden change in the direction of their conversation.

“You really haven’t learned a thing, have you? Stop asking questions. Let’s go!”

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thollandthot · 5 years ago

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three’s company ; tom holland x harrison osterfield

A/N: ta daaa !! here is my long awaited threesome one shot !! this is probably the longest one shot i have ever written so i hope you enjoy it !! WORD COUNT: ~5.5K lol PAIRING: college au frat boy!tom holland x frat boy!harrison osterfield x female reader. WARNINGS: possibly the most nsfw thing imaginable. threesome/polyamory, oral sex (male and female receiving), unprotected sex, underaged drinking kinda.

CLICK HERE TO READ PART ONE. CLICK HERE TO READ PART TWO. CLICK HERE TO READ PART THREE. CLICK HERE TO READ PART THREE AND A HALF. CLICK HERE TO READ PART FOUR.

three’s company

Quite a bit of your college experience had, for a lack of a better term, sucked. You took classes you didn’t care about that were taught by professors who didn’t care about you, and gave homework you never understood. You tried to remain a good student, but it was becoming increasingly difficult as the semester progressed.

However, there was one class you were always excited to attend. Your 11:15 Philosophy course. It was your last class of the day, and always put a smile on your face. Not because you enjoyed what you were being taught, nor the professor who taught it, but because of the two incredibly attractive British exchange students that sat in front of you.

You’d been fortunate enough to get paired with the two of them for a project at the beginning of the semester. You had to do a presentation about Socrates together, which wasn’t extremely difficult, but once you looked around the lecture hall and noticed many of your classmates practically drooling over the two boys who were assisting you on your project, you knew you weren’t the only one competing for their affections.

Luckily for you, you had a slight advantage over everyone else in your lecture. You had developed a friendship with both of them. Meeting with them twice a week for almost a month to work on a project did have its perks, but that did nothing to lessen the crush you had on the two. They were genuinely nice guys. They kept their room clean, they were funny, they were polite, and the more you saw them interact with each other, the more you began to like them.

But you knew you had to shove those feelings down. You knew both of them were incredibly out of your league, and although they both said they didn’t have girlfriends, you could tell that they both had a pretty high body count. But that didn’t deter you. Hell, if you looked like either of them, you would have a high body count, too.

“Good afternoon, ladies.” You snickered as you plopped into your unassigned assigned seat behind the two Brits a few minutes before your lecture began. The two swiveled around in their chairs to face you upon hearing your voice.

“Y/N.” The blonde greeted with a nod and a playful grin. That one was Harrison. He was taller than his roommate, and a little bit paler. He frequently wore a confident smile, which definitely factored into the crush you had on him. He had piercing blue eyes that always helped him get what he wanted out of you, whether it be answers to homework, a story about a boy, sex, you’d give it to him if he gave you one look. It was a problem.

“You free Friday night?” His brunet companion raised a brow at you. That one was Tom. Although he was shorter than Harrison, he was definitely leaner. You often found yourself staring at the way his t-shirts would strain around his shoulders and biceps, and when he’d move his arms up to stretch on occasion you found it difficult not to salivate. You also noticed that he often messed around with his chocolate brown curls during class, and it never failed to make you think about what it might feel like if you were the one running your fingers through that gorgeous head of hair. His brown eyes were soft, but his smirks were teasing, giving you the impression that he would never do anything to hurt you, but that he also wouldn’t hesitate to fuck you into oblivion.

You were too caught up in your own thoughts to realize Tom had asked you a question, and it took you a bit longer than it should have to respond. “Come on, Tom, you know Friday is bingo night. I’m trying to win big at the nursing home.” You joked, causing Harrison to stifle a laugh as his friend glared at him.

“You should blow that off and come hang out with us instead. PIKE is having a party.” Tom continued. PIKE, as in the fraternity. Of course they were in a fraternity. And it wasn’t just any fraternity. It was the fraternity that was rumored to host the wildest parties on campus. You heard tales since your freshman year about girls leaving without their shirts after the cops were called, a kiddie pool filled with jungle juice, the list went on. You never had the pleasure of going to a PIKE party, because they were always very exclusive.

You mulled over the invitation, tapping your chin as if you were deep in thought. “Huh, Idunno, boys. I might have to check my calendar.” Of course, you already had an answer. You would have been stupid to pass up an opportunity to hang out with two of the most attractive men you had ever laid eyes on and experience a wild frat party for the first time. It wasn’t as if you had anything better to do, anyway. Regardless, you played it cool. “Will there be alcohol involved?”

Your question caused Harrison to laugh, which was followed up by a playful smirk. “A little bit, yeah.” And as if you weren’t already sold on going to this party, that really sealed the deal. You knew you could use a break from all your studying, and a good drink would definitely help you loosen up.

“Can I bring a friend?” That was your next question. You were far too introverted to go to a party alone, even if you knew two of the fraternity brothers. Not to mention, your roommate would probably kill you if she knew you went to a PIKE party without her.

Tom glanced at Harrison, as if silently asking for his approval. The blond kept that playful grin on his lips, making it difficult for you to not melt into a puddle. “Yeah. Just make sure it’s not a guy, yeah? We want you to ourselves.”

You weren’t too sure what to make of that last bit, actually. You couldn’t decipher whether or not Harrison was just partaking in playful banter or genuinely flirting with you. Regardless, the words made your cheeks heat up. “Then perhaps I’ll stop by.” You gave the two of them a wink, and as if on cue, your professor entered the lecture hall, which caused the pair in front of you to face forward in their seats, ready to start today’s lesson.

——

Friday came upon you quickly. So quickly, in fact, that it was almost 10 p.m. and you were frantically searching for what to wear to see the two boys. They never gave you a dress code, so you were going in completely blind. You figured, because it was a frat party, you’d wear something a bit more suited for the occasion than your normal t-shirts and skinny jeans. Which was why you enlisted the help of your roommate to select the outfit you had decided on; a maroon velvet camisole that was tight around your chest, your trusty pair of distressed black skinny jeans, and a pair of black wedge heels. You wouldn’t be caught dead wearing stilettos to a frat party, but you couldn’t deny how the wedges your roommate suggested made your legs look longer and accentuated your ass in your skin tight jeans.

After your brief walk across campus, the faint sound of a pounding bassline grew nearer, the beat of some dance remix to a popular song ringing in your ears. You and your roommate immediately went your separate ways upon entering the frat house, reminding each other to text or call if or when you left. You were ready to attempt to find the kitchen in hopes to get a drink until you heard your name being called.

“Y/N!” It was in a British accent you knew could only belong to one of two people. Turning in the direction of the voice, you were soon face to face with the two boys from your Philosophy class.

Tom was the first to greet you, looking more relaxed as he gave you a hug with his free arm. His change in demeanor was almost definitely due in part to the half empty solo cup of beer in his other hand. Harrison gave you a squeeze next, wrapping both arms around you before pulling away and giving you a quick once over. He let out a low whistle and then a chuckle.

“Damn, who knew you were hiding a body like this under all those band t-shirts.” His comment caused you to flush, but it probably wasn’t noticeable under the dim lighting. Harrison took your hand in his before lifting your arm up, giving you an expectant look. “Give is a spin, yeah?”

You rolled your eyes, but obliged, nevertheless, allowing Harrison to turn you around and let the two best friends see your outfit from every angle. Harrison whistled once more. “She looks good,” his attention went from you to his best friend for a moment, raising his brows at Tom and asking for his approval. “Doesn’t she, mate?”

It wasn’t until then that you noticed just how close the three of you were. Your fingers were still laced with Harrison’s and you heard Tom hum in agreement, even over the loud house music, before he proceeded to rest his free hand on the small of your back. He leaned in even closer to whisper in your ear, “You look sensational, darling.”

That made your heart skip a beat. Even the smallest of touches from Tom sent a shiver down your spine, and the pet name he called you made a surge of want course through your veins. It was suddenly incredibly hot, and you leaned forward to speak to both of them, hoping to dissolve the tension between the three of you.

“So are you two just gonna stare at me all night, or are you gonna come with me to get a drink?”

They didn’t argue, and for most of the night, the three of you sat on a couch in the living room, you nursing the same vodka soda the entire time. You were sat between the two roommates, Harrison’s arm resting across the back of the couch behind you, Tom’s hand on your thigh as his thumb absentmindedly drew circles on your skin through your jeans. You talked about a lot of things, but mostly classes and homework. You attempted to avoid talking about your shared Philosophy course, not wanting to kill the mood.

The three of you weren’t drunk, but you had enough to drink for your body to feel warm and for your judgement to be slightly clouded. Which was why you didn’t think twice before you asked, “So can i see your room?”

The two roommates looked at each other, a gleam in their eyes that you couldn’t quite recognize, before each of them took one of your hands, helping to pull you up off the couch and leading you upstairs. The three of you maneuvered through the bodies of drunken and sweaty college students, Tom and Harrison clearly having done so more than you ever had. They led you down the corridor, less people occupying it the further down the hall you went. You didn’t fail to notice how Harrison kept his hand in yours and Tom rested a hand on the small of your back as they guided you, but you weren’t going to comment on it. Not then, at least. Pushing through a door towards the end of the hallway, you were met with a relatively quiet room, the noise of the party becoming quieter once the door shut behind you. You took a moment to take in your surroundings; the two beds on opposite ends of the room, the UK flag on one of the bare walls, and a simple rug covering the expanse of the tiled floor. There were things tucked underneath their beds, and a few photos on their respective desks, but for the most part, there wasn’t much to be seen.

You cautiously took a seat on one of their beds and you patted both spaces next to you, suggesting they join you in the same position they had on the couch downstairs. Of course, the two were happy to oblige, seemingly identical cheeky grins spread across their faces. They easily fell back into the same dynamic, with Tom’s hand resting on your thigh and Harrison’s arm draped around you. The air felt a lot thicker now, with an emotion you couldn’t quite place. There was a deafening silence as you looked between the two Brits, trying to read their expressions that darted between you and each other. You couldn’t read either of them, and it was driving you crazy.

You couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you guys, like, fighting over me or something?” It was probably stupid to ask, knowing they only thought of you as a friend, but the alcohol in your system really helped to get rid of the worry that the two of them would reject you. And in light of that, you decided to dig your grave a little bit deeper. “Because I’m gonna be honest, I’m super attracted to both of you.”

That seemed to pique their interest. It caused Harrison to smirk and Tom to chuckle, squeezing your thigh. “We’ve been best friends for years. We don’t fight over girls, love.”

Your head dropped, mentally slapping yourself. You should’ve known Tom and Harrison were out of your league. In fact, you did know it, but you assumed that when they spent all their time with you tonight, you thought that because of their body language, maybe you had a chance. You clearly had misinterpreted all of it, and you wanted to curl yourself into a ball and never come out.

It was then that Harrison cleared his throat, causing you to look up. “What this div meant to say was that -- we both are attracted to you.” The blond clarified, causing you to snap your head to the right to look at his brunet friend, hoping he’d confirm the sentiment was true. Tom nodded in reply.

“Extremely.” He admitted, hand that was on your thigh now stroking back and forth. And you suddenly realized that the looks they were giving each other, both in class the other day and throughout the night, were looks of knowing. And maybe even lust.

You weren’t exactly sure of what to say, your mouth hung there as if words were going to come out but they didn’t. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you’d have a chance with even one of the attractive foreign exchange students from your Philosophy class, and now here you had a chance with either of them. With both of them.

“We’ve gotten, em, quite good at sharing.” Tom prompted after there was no reply other than a long pause and an slacked jaw from you. The sentence caused your brows to furrow, now slightly confused. Originally, you thought you were just supposed to pick one of them, which was an extremely difficult choice, by the way. Those words made you think differently.

Attempting to process what Tom had just said, you blinked a few times, gaze fixed in your lap, before speaking again. “You mean, like, you have threesomes together?”

Alright, that probably wasn’t the best way you could’ve phrased it, but that was what he had meant right? What else could sharing possibly mean? Clearly, neither of the boys expected you to say that word so bluntly, them both shifting slightly in their spots on the bed before Harrison finally spoke.

“It’s not something we’ve done before, but something we’ve talked about.” Harrison gave you that serious gaze with those gorgeous ocean blue eyes that would’ve gotten you to do anything. Perhaps even have a threesome with him and his best friend. “We thought that you’d be a good candidate.”

The words made your heart stop in your chest, your gaze flickering between the two boys beside you. The two most attractive boys you had ever seen in your life wanted to have a threesome with you. Who were you to pass on that opportunity? “I’ve, uh, never done anything like that before.” You muttered, embarrassed beyond belief.

And admittedly, Tom and Harrison had never done anything like that before, either. But they weren’t sure if you were saying yes or no, and there was an unspoken pact between them in that moment that they’d try to make you feel as comfortable as possible, if you chose to partake.

So they didn’t say anything. Instead, the two opted to make things the least awkward they could possibly be. “We don’t have to, love.” Tom squeezed your knee gently, and the action combined with the pet name caused you to inhale sharply.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to.” The declaration was quiet, but caused both boys to look at you intently, as if you were going to say something else. Maybe a ‘but I can’t’, or something along those lines. But you did want to. Oh god, did you want to. “I just wanted to give you the heads up.” Your gaze rose from your lap to glance between the two of them, and the three of you waited with bated breath for someone to make the first move.

That someone ended up being Harrison, bringing your chin closer to his face with his thumb and index finger, his lips meeting yours tenderly. You weren’t too sure of what to do about Tom, but your thoughts subsided when he started kissing your neck, which caused you to gasp into Harrison’s mouth.

After coming to terms with the fact that this was actually happening, you unlaced your fingers, giving each of them attention with one of your hands in order to palm them both through their jeans. You ran your fingers up and down their thighs until you found exactly what you were looking for, and the two both groaned against your skin in sync when you felt their hardening length beneath your touch.

The bed was small, especially since it was a twin sized mattress, courtesy of your university, but perhaps it was better this way. Having both Tom and Harrison impossibly close to you certainly wasn’t something you minded, and that was only proven as Tom shifted off the bed for a moment, allowing his roommate to lay you down across the sheets. You were quick to sit up for a moment, only giving yourself enough time to pull your shirt up and over your head and toss it somewhere on the floor. That gave the two initiative to keep going further, and cued Tom to remove his own shirt as well before leaning on his side and capturing your lips in a kiss.

You took the time to memorize the details about how different they were when it came to kissing. Tom was definitely more handsy, his one arm tugging you closer to his body by your bare waist, but Harrison had fuller lips. You were so caught up in your mental comparison between the two that you hadn’t noticed that Tom’s hand roaming lower until he gave your ass a squeeze, which caused you to gasp into his mouth. He smirked against your lips, the same hand now moving forward to rub you through the seam of your jeans.

“You can take them off.” You pulled away from Tom to mumble the words, chest heaving even though the three of you hadn’t gone further than second base yet. But you’d be lying through your teeth if you said you hadn’t wanted this. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t thought about this, too. Which was one of the many reasons why you were so anxious to get this show on the road. “Please…” you pleaded, and although it sounded pathetic to you, it was music to their ears, and it made the brunet turn to his blond friend with a wink.

“Well, you heard her.” Tom grinned at Harrison, and Haz was quick to unbutton and unzip your skinny jeans, helping you slip them off your legs as Tom’s lips went back to yours. A whimper left your mouth as Harrison rubbed you through your panties, and he shimmied to the end of the bed so he could see the wet spot forming on the fabric.

Harrison tutted softly. “She’s fucking soaking, mate.” He grunted, words directed at Tom as if you weren’t even in the room. And it was hot. You found yourself thinking about if they talked about you when they were alone. Whether it was like this or platonically, you didn’t really care at the moment, but something told you it would’ve been the former.

“Really?” Tom grinned, turning his head to watch his roommate’s expression. It was then that Harrison pushed your panties to the side with his index finger, his middle and ring fingers slipping languidly through your wet folds a few times before raising his hand for Tom to see.

Harrison nodded, showing his now glistening fingers to his friend as evidence. You were, indeed, incredibly wet. “See for yourself.” Harrison’s words caused Tom to shift on the bed, propping himself up with one elbow to get a better look at Harrison’s digits in the dimly lit room. But you could still see the juices he’d managed to collect on them, and it made Tom let out a low groan.

Tom went back to your lips in an instant, this time much more hungrily than he had before. “You’re so fucking sexy.” His voice was lower than usual and dripping in lust, which forced a shiver to rack through your body. Tom went back to running his hands up and down your side while Harrison worked on pulling your panties down your legs before tossing them on the floor somewhere in the room. The blond admired your pussy for a few moments before licking one long, thick stripe up your folds, causing your back to arch forward, pushing yourself closer into Tom’s toned chest. Your hands curiously roamed his torso, fingertips brushing every dip and crevice of his abs. It was an action you only dreamed you’d ever be able to do, but here you were. Two gorgeous British boys, one on your lips and one between your thighs. You were convinced you were the luckiest girl on the planet.

It was only then that you realized you were almost completely unclothed, whereas Tom was the only one with his shirt off. You sat up on your forearms, causing the two to halt their movements as they waited for you to speak. “Can I, um --” you cleared your throat and didn’t fail to feel the heat rising in your cheeks. “Let me suck you guys off.”

The command made their cocks twitch as Tom helped you down off the bed as Harrison hopped down himself, and the two stripped themselves of the rest of their clothes. Your eyes weren’t too sure where to focus as they raked over their naked forms. Of course, Tom was as fit as you had imagined him to be, but Harrison was more muscular than he let on. The blond boy’s cock was lengthier than his roommate’s but Tom made up for that in girth. You had trouble not salivating as you dropped to your knees, one attractive Brit on either side of you, with their hard, swollen cocks now at your eye level.

Admittedly, you weren’t entirely sure where to start, much less who to start with. You rationalized that since Harrison was just giving you head, it was only fair that you returned the favor. With that in mind, you wrapped one hand around each of them before licking a tantalizing slow stripe up the underside of their cocks. You took Harrison’s tip in your mouth slowly, stroking Tom in time with each bob of your head. After a few minutes, you switched, giving more attention to Tom’s dick, and you kept that pattern going for a while. Every time you’d pivot on your knees to suck one of them, they’d buck their hips gently into your mouth, a groan passing their already parted lips.

Eventually, Tom took a step backwards, and once Harrison saw the action, he did, as well. Tom offered you his hand to help you on your feet, a sinister glint in his eyes. “Why don’t you get back up on the bed, huh, love? On all fours.”

You felt a surge of arousal course through your veins at his words, but you nodded eagerly as you stood, getting on your hands and knees on the bed like Tom instructed. In an instant, Harrison was behind you, rubbing a calming hand over your back as Tom positioned himself on his knees at the front of the bed, his cock once again at your eye level. You were quick to take him back into your mouth as Harrison gently pushed your legs further apart, rubbing his length slowly up and down your slick folds, which made you moan around Tom’s dick.

“Ready for me, love?” Harrison cooed, placing one hand on your hip, the other still massaging your back as he lined himself up with your entrance. You hummed your reply, which was all the approval the blond needed to push himself inside of you, grunting at the feeling of your walls around him. “God, even tighter than I thought you’d be.”

The words made your walls contract around Harrison’s cock. Knowing that Harrison -- and most likely Tom, as well -- had thought about fucking you was the hottest thing ever and a dream come true. For the last few months, you thought the two British exchange students from your Philosophy class were incredibly out of your league, and now here you were. One in your mouth and the other inside your cunt. It was the type of story Pornhub viewers would eat up. You were sure of it.

Once Harrison began thrusting inside of you, it took a lot less effort to suck Tom’s cock. Each thrust jolted you forward, forcing you to take more of Tom’s length, and soon, the two were working in sync. Tom was rutting his hips to meet your mouth while Harrison was jutting his hips to get deeper inside of you. You didn’t think it was possible to feel this completely and utterly fucked, and the sensation made your walls clench around Harrison’s cock once more.

“Fucking hell, look so fucking hot. Taking my cock so good.” Harrison groaned, pulling you back by your hips. Your eyes fluttered shut for a moment upon hearing the praise, making Tom raise his brows curiously.

He decided to test the waters, bringing one hand down to your chin. Your eyes opened once more, now making eye contact with the attractive brunet above you. Tom grinned, “Doesn’t look too bad from here either, mate.” Tom replied to Harrison, giving you a wink. The words made you moan around Tom’s cock, eliciting a low groan from him in response. “Well, well, well.” Tom smirked, his gaze moving to his friend for a moment. “Looks like Y/N’s got a praise kink.”

You wanted him to shut up, and in an attempt to make him do so, you opened your mouth wider to take Tom’s length into the back of your throat, which only made him lace his fingers in your hair. It was too late, anyway. The secret was out. “Really?” Harrison mused, shifting slightly to change the angle of his thrusts, quickening his pace. “You like being told you’re a good girl, don’t you, love?” You nodded as much as you could with Tom’s dick in your throat, batting your lashes up at the brunet. Tom rubbed his thumb gently over your cheek in response.

“You wanna be a good girl and cum for us, darling?” Tom cooed, thrusting himself deeper into your mouth, making you gag. The words made your walls clench around Harrison’s cock once more, eliciting a groan from the blond. You moaned around Tom’s length, and that was all the confirmation he needed. “Come on, then. Cum for us, love.” And the permission was all you needed, your eyes squeezing shut as your orgasm worked through you.

It was like a domino effect from there. Your moans of ecstasy around Tom’s cock caused his hips to stutter as he released into your throat, and the pulsing of your cunt sent Harrison over the edge, as well. After a few moments, you sat up on your knees, pulling your mouth away from Tom’s softening cock as Harrison simultaneously pulled out of you.

There was a silence between the three of you for a moment as you attempted to redress yourself, ready to head back to your dorm room. The two friends looked between each other before Tom nodded. “Hey, uh, Y/N. You don’t have to head back yet.”

The words took you a bit by surprise. You assumed this was much like other college hookups. You were supposed to head out as quickly as possible. But apparently, that was not the case. You halted your movements, only blinking and flicking your gaze between the two. Tom continued, “I mean, it’s getting late. We can let you borrow some clothes and you can, uh, spend the night.” You could almost see a blush tinge Tom’s cheeks from the dimly lit room as he spoke, rubbing the back of his neck. “Don’t want you walking back to your dorm alone or anything, you know?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” You replied awkwardly. It was a nice gesture, and if you were being honest with yourself, you didn’t want this night with the two of them to end just yet. The two gave you identical grins upon hearing your answer, and Tom was quick to grab you a t-shirt and a pair of boxers for you to change into, which you graciously accepted.

The soft music you could still hear died down as the three of you changed, getting ready for bed. You weren’t sure how long you had been up in their bedroom with them, but it must’ve been a while considering the party had now run its course. There were no windows in their room, so you couldn’t judge based on the night -- or perhaps the morning -- sky what time it was. Nevertheless, you got ready to head to bed, shifting slightly on the balls of your feet, unsure of what your sleeping situation would be.

“Looks like you’re bunking with me.” Tom murmured into your ear, as if on cue, as he wrapped his arms around your waist. You giggled, spinning around in his arms. “Haz over there is a spreader. Sometimes he even falls off the damn bed.” The brunet chuckled, causing his roommate to thump him over the back of the head.

“I would’ve offered, but I do --” Harrison spread his arms and legs wide, as if demonstrating his sleeping position, “-- starfish.” You nodded knowingly, a giggle leaving your lips as you padded over to the other side of the room where Tom’s bed resided.

It was a tight squeeze for the two of you to lay on the same bed, not that you minded. You were pressed impossibly close to Tom’s bare chest, his arms wrapped around your middle as they had been a few moments prior. “Sorry I didn’t get to eat you out.” Tom whispered into your hair. The words made you turn to face him, one hand reaching up to push a few stray strands of hair out of his face. So this was what it was like to run your hands through his hair. It felt good. Almost too good.

“It’s okay.” you replied softly, still feeling incredibly sated in that moment, regardless. “Sorry you didn’t get to fuck me. Next time, I promise.” You tensed upon hearing the words leave your mouth. Next time. Admittedly, you didn’t know if there was going to be a next time. You weren’t sure whether you were just helping the two friends check an experience off their bucket list, or whether they would be willing to do something like this again. If that was the case, you just made a complete and utter fool out of yourself.

Nevertheless, Tom grinned at you, easing your nerves when he spoke, “Yeah. Next time.”

-----

@tom-hollands-eyelash / @ophcelia / @tiny-parker / @jackiehollanderr / @starlightfound / @thirsttrapholland / @marvelsinbin

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