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notchesandbullets · 4 years ago

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Saving Her (Ojiro Mashirao x Wolf!Reader)

Part 14: Shinsou receives some surprising news, Eri-chan is adorable and Aizawa is 100% a proud dad. When you get back to Heights Alliance, Hagakure and Ashido have got a few tricks up their sleeves to push you and Ojiro together. Contains hints of all the ships: Kaminari x Jirou, Kirishima x Mina, Todoroki x Midoriya, Asui x Tokoyami. And a riveting game of truth or dare is finally enough for you and Ojiro to face the truth of the reason why your hearts beat so fast when you’re around each other.

Word Count: 9.9k

That night when you got back to Heights Alliance, you were exhausted but at least it wasn't even near curfew yet.

During dinner, your dad had announced that he talked to the principal and they decided to allow him to fully transfer.

Shinsou's eyes were wide in shock as Aizawa elaborated that he would start classes in the hero course starting next week and Eri clapped her hands together jubilantly, diving in his lap to hug him around his waist.

"Toshi-nii, yayyy!!!"

Shinsou awkwardly patted her on the back, still reeling at the bomb his mentor had just dropped on him. He hadn't been expecting it so soon. According to his sensei's plan, he was supposed to undergo three more weeks of training and then a series of tests that would accurately assess whether or not his physical capabilities had improved enough to let him in.

But Aizawa had made a call, one that told Nezu that the teenager was more than ready to take on the challenges that would come with the transfer. He could handle it. He was more than prepared.

You had squealed happily once the news broke and eagerly asked if anyone else knew about it, to which your dad blankly stated that Nezu had only just informed him, so no, none of your nosy classmates were aware yet.

Shinsou jolted out of his trance when you ran over to him and shook him violently, almost dislodging Eri as you asked over and over again which class he was going to pick.

He stared at you incredulously. "What the heck— Class A, now stop shaking me!!"

You immediately released him and cheered loudly, grabbing Eri to dance while Aizawa sidled over to his student.

"You okay, kid?" He asked with a touch of concern as Shinsou didn't react.

Blinking, Shinsou nodded slowly. "I just... I didn't expect it to come so soon."

Aizawa shrugged. "Well, you worked hard. You should be proud of yourself."

Shinsou looked down and swallowed hard. Was he proud? He didn't know. It all felt so sudden.

Aizawa's eyes softened as he picked up on the turmoil swirling inside of the younger and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't think about it so much. You worked hard, you earned your spot, Toshi."

After a pause, Shinsou dipped his head in hesitant agreement and Aizawa frowned, understanding why he felt he couldn't celebrate yet but almost wished that he allowed himself this accomplishment.

He had worked extra hard on his training on top of all his other schooling. If anyone deserved this, he did.

Another hour passed and after dessert, Eri could barely keep her eyes open.

Aizawa was reluctant to let you and Shinsou take a cab back to the dorms by yourselves since it was already dark out but he had to put Eri to bed and he made you both promise to text him the second you got back.

And under no circumstances were you two allowed to leave each other's sides until he confirmed it with a message that he had gotten your text.

Neither you nor Shinsou had rolled your eyes at the demanding tone he took with you like you normally would have done. This was too important.

The twenty minute ride that followed was uneventful at best but perhaps that was a good thing. It meant that nobody suspicious was lingering around and causing trouble.

"Thank you for your hard work!!" You said, bowing your head as the driver tipped his head in your direction before speeding off.

Shinsou elbowed you in the ribs, stuffing his hands in his pocket to fish around for his phone for a second before he found it. White light blinded him for a second before he got a handle on the device and adjusted the brightness so that it was no longer glaring in his face.

Sending a quick message to his mentor to let him know that you had both made it back safely, he shoved it back in his pocket, heading in the direction of Class 1-C's dorms when you latched around his arm.

"Where are you going?!" You wailed, hanging onto him with the help of your tail as he furiously tried to throw you off.

"Ack, get off of me, you little leech." Shinsou hissed, only growing more annoyed when you shook your head stubbornly and stuck your tongue out at him childishly. "Geez, you're worse than Eri."

The affronted gasp you let out was all the incentive he needed to pry you off and race towards the dorms.

"TOSHI!!!!" You shouted as you barreled after him and he laughed, so openly and freely that you forgot to be mad at him for the comment you know he didn't mean about Eri.

He loved her, he really did, and you knew that the only reason why he said that was to rile you up and get under your skin so you would let go. You hated how it worked.

Waving goodbye for now, you two parted ways.

"Welcome back, L/N-san!!" Midoriya greeted earnestly as you stepped through the doors.

You skipped over to him, giving him a hug as a greeting and he stammered, clearly affected by your presence. Giggling, you took mercy on your friend and did a quick scan of the commons.

Tokoyami, Koda and Hagakure were studying on the couches, Kirishima hanging over Koda's shoulders in an attempt to get the difficult material through his head.

Sato was in the kitchen, no surprise there, but the additional presence of Kaminari had you doing a double-take.

"Uh, are you sure he's meant to be there?" You asked skeptically, jabbing a thumb towards the electric blond who had his tongue poking out in concentration as he stirred something in a mixing bowl.

Sero barely spared a glance in the direction you pointed at, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly as he concentrated on beating Ashido in this round of Mario Cart.

"He hasn't burnt anything down or caused a power outage yet, so Iida says it's okay." He told you, cheering when he passed the finish line first.

As Ashido was left to pout, you observed Kaminari for a second longer. It was rare to see him so focused on a task, you were almost wondering what happened to him.

"Psst!!"

You leaned over as Hagakure gestured for you to come closer, envisioning the smirk the invisible girl must have had on her face as you complied.

"He's getting Sato-kun to teach him how to make chocolates for Jirou!!" She whispered to you so discreetly that none of the boys surrounding her picked up on it as they talked over the paper they had to finish by the end of this weekend.

Tonight wasn't a school night, thankfully, so everyone was a little more relaxed. Which, if you thought about it, actually made sense since less than half of the class that was downstairs was working on homework.

In the group of seven girls, it wasn't a secret that Jirou was harboring a bit of a crush on the electric blond, but what was a surprise to you was that those feelings looked like they were returned.

Your heart skipped a beat and you fought the urge to jump for joy, knowing full well that Jirou would not appreciate you spilling the beans on that secret.

It was just so cute!!

It was nowhere near Valentine's Day, so you wondered what got his heart twisted in a bunch to do this for her, but you couldn't say you were complaining. Practically the whole class was waiting for one of them to confess.

Ashido even managed to lock the two of them in a closet together but it didn't go anywhere, much to her dismay, and she spent the rest of the week dodging Jirou's earphone jack before she readily apologized and the other girl begrudgingly forgave her.

All of that going on took away from the fact that Kaminari's shoulders slumped in defeat as he trudged back to his room, locking himself away for the rest of the day. No one had noticed it except for Kirishima and Hagakure, who happened to look his way by chance.

You were glad that he was doing this though. Something told you he still intended to go after her until he worked up the courage to confess.

It was rather endearing.

Slinking stealthily to the stairwell to avoid drawing the attention of the rest of your classmates, you raced upstairs to the room of the one person you wanted to see the most since he wasn't on the common floor.

Knocking on the door, you bent over your knees and caught your breath before opening it a fraction when you heard him say you could come in.

"Hey," You said softly, bounding inside as he motioned invitingly and nuzzled the top of Ojiro's head from where he was seated at his desk, slaving away over the math problems he got assigned earlier that day.

He turned around the instant you stepped into the room, attention shifting over to you as his tail curled around you in a brief hug.

"You're back." Ojiro breathed in relief, his eyes flitting over you for a second. "Did you have fun?"

"Oh yeah," You giggled, flopping onto his bed, propping your head up with one hand. "Shinsou nearly won the last match they had."

Ojiro laughed, striding over to you and knelt down by your side. "Nearly?"

"Mmhm..." You hummed. "Dad put him in a headlock though that he couldn't get out of."

Ojiro smiled at your tease, shaking his head slightly but was ultimately glad that you were just happy. Even if it had been at the expense of Shinsou.

He was one of the only ones that knew exactly where Aizawa's flat was, that information strictly to be used in an emergency situation only.

The last thing Aizawa wanted was for them to destroy the peace and tranquility he had at home on his days off when he didn't have to deal with something being broken, set on fire, or carelessly thrown around that required funds to fix it.

No way.

The rest of his classmates were aware of how much time their teacher spent with you and Shinou outside of class but nobody minded the favoritism, all equally aware of how tough Aizawa got on you two especially during school.

With your background and Shinsou's aloofness, it was only natural for most of them to be glad that their sensei had taken to you two so well.

Most of them.

Bakugou had exploded on more than one account that he didn't care but in truth, he was just as curious to see where you and the brainwashing kid left after school. You both always came back rather late, it was odd.

Shoji had expressed his concern on more than one occasion, wondering if you really were safe enough to come back on your own after it got dark out but you waved him off, reassuring him that the phone Jirou had bought for you and taught you how to use was very effective in calling emergency services when you pressed a simple button.

You weren't worried. You felt safe.

Safer than you had in years.

You squirmed, trying to get comfortable on the bed even though nothing helped to quell the heat you felt creeping up your neck at Ojiro's closeness.

He raised an eyebrow and you swore you saw a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Y/N?"

That time, there was no mistaking the playful lilt in his voice and you fumbled, throwing the blankets up in your haste to hide under them.

Ojiro's voice was muffled when he called out to you and even though you tried desperately to block it out, nothing worked, your mortification only growing as he pinched a corner of your makeshift den, as though he was going to lift it up.

This wasn't fun. He got too much joy out of teasing you when you two were alone, it was so unfair!!

He always managed to catch you off-guard somehow, with those sweet smiles that radiated kindness and were the beacon of your hope.

It wasn't your fault!! You got flustered easily!!

Throwing off the blankets with a huff, you kept your arms pinned to your body as you pouted up at him.

"Don't tease me!!" You cried indignantly and he laughed.

"I'm not." Ojiro replied but the twinkle in his eye all but gave him away.

You pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You are!!"

Chuckling, Ojiro caught your hand when it flailed in his direction and lowered it gently. "Okay, maybe I am."

"See?!"

As he laughed again, you pushed your bottom lip out even further but when it clearly wasn't dying down, you shuffled back under the blankets until only the top of your head peeked out.

"Y/N, come on out." Ojiro tried to coax, biting his lip when your ears flopped around as you shook your head stubbornly. "I'm sorry for teasing you."

At the genuine tone, you cautiously pulled down the covers, gazing at him suspiciously. "You are?"

Ojiro nodded. "Yes."

As you sat up, satisfied with his apology, you squeaked in surprise when he accidentally leaned closer to you in the process.

Neither one of you expected that proximity. You blushed and stammered while Ojiro ducked his head down to avoid your gaze.

Nothing could be heard except your breathing and the rustle of his tail as he accidentally knocked something over, both of you wincing as the silence was broken.

You giggled slightly, feeling a bit ridiculous. "Mashirao?"

You almost fell over when you caught his eye, the sheer amount of tenderness in his gaze making your heart pound and blood rushed to your head when he hugged you carefully.

"I'm sorry, you're just... very easy to fluster." He said slowly, choosing his words carefully, wondering if you could somehow hear how hard his heart was pounding.

"Oh..." You trailed off quietly, unsure about how that made you feel. So he was teasing you. That hurt a bit more than you thought it would.

But Ojiro's arms tightened around you when you tried to wrangle free, sensing your sadness as if it was the easiest thing in the world. "Wait, I didn't word that right."

You could barely breathe, not daring to take a breath for fear that this moment would shatter. The atmosphere was heavy and it felt as though an invisible tapestry had draped over you both, only to be lifted when he got the courage to say what was weighing on his heart.

"It's... very cute." Ojiro admitted sheepishly, growing shy as you blinked at him innocently. "You're... cute."

His hesitation probably should have raised red flags but they didn't, and that was because you knew he was being completely honest with you. He was never one to waste breath on saying something he thought was unimportant.

It was odd, the giddiness that overcame you as you bumped your nose against his, a spark of joy running through your system as you heard him voice that he thought you were cute.

"Really?!"

Ojiro laughed breathlessly. "Yeah."

It was short but it was sweet. You nudged his jaw and he tilted it instinctively to let you scent him. Sighing when his comforting scent flooded over you, you snuggled into his neck, closing your eyes as he hugged you closely.

You could feel his solid body pressing against yours, it was warm and safe. It felt like home.

Ojiro's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he caressed your hair, drawing back to whisper into your ear before he lost his nerve.

"Y/N, there's one more thing I want to tell you."

You hummed, your tail wagging in lazy eagerness as the appendage answered for you and he laughed nervously, his own tail flexing anxiously as he thought about what he was finally going to confess.

What he was finally going to say after a whole month of debating about it.

His feelings went deeper than a crush. He knew that much. Every time you walked into the room, he was left wondering when you would come over to him and every time you left, he always worried about where you were going and if you were safe.

Nothing set his heart at ease other than having you in his arms after a long day of classes and rigorous training. There was nothing like inhaling your sweet scent and breathing you in until you both fell asleep in each other's arms, limbs tangled together on his bed or yours.

How a proud smile never failed to appear on his face whenever you worked your way through something that was difficult, whether it was an emotional or physical barrier that prevented you from achieving what you wanted to achieve.

You were brave. You were kind. And you were so strong.

Ojiro took a deep breath. "I lov—"

A sharp knock at the door interrupted him, effectively making the two of you spring apart and shattering the bubble you had been in.

“Downstairs in ten minutes!!!” Hagakure’s voice floated through the door as she jumped up and down excitedly outside. “And no excuses, we’re playing a game!!”

The rapid footfalls signaled that she had scampered away, presumably to rope the rest of your friends into this little game that she had schemed up on the fly.

You glanced at Ojiro, clapping a hand over your mouth when he stood up and almost tripped.

“I’m sorry—” You giggled, unable to help it at the mock insulted look on his face. “I don’t know why I’m laughing!!”

You really didn’t. You certainly didn’t think it had anything to do with how fast your heart was beating at how close he was to saying something you dearly hoped wasn’t a trick of your mind.

You guessed you would never know now.

Timidly taking his hand as he offered it to you, you bit back a smile as he grabbed your favorite plushie and handed it to you.

“We’re going down now?” You asked curiously as he led you out and closed the door behind him. “Hagakure said we don’t need to be downstairs until ten more minutes.”

Ojiro shrugged slightly, giving you a small smile. “I don’t want them to take all the good seats.”

Throwing your head back, you laughed at the cheeky reply as the two of you made your way to the vacant common floor.

The TVs had been turned off as well as all the lights and you didn’t bother turning them on as you got comfortable on one of the couches in the living area.

Five minutes passed.

You wriggled on Ojiro’s lap, trying to contain your excitement. It was almost 11 pm at night, way past Bakugou’s bedtime, and you were currently keeping yourself occupied until everyone else got down here, wondering what Hagakure had planned for tonight.

Given no other explanation, you played with your lion plushie while you waited for her to come back and explain what was going on.

“Y/N…” Ojiro said with a smile and you froze in place.

Willing your tail to calm down and stop tickling his face, you giggled as he rested his chin on top of your shoulder, your cheeks pinking.

“Sorry…” You said sheepishly but he shook his head.

“It’s okay.” He chuckled, holding back a fond smile.

You were playing with Koko to keep yourself entertained while you waited and his heart warmed when you dropped a kiss on its fuzzy head. It wasn’t as though you didn’t use the presents that your friends gave you but this was special because this was the one he had given to you.

And this was the one you held every night before you went to sleep.

Everyone else came in a slow trickle, most of the boys obviously skeptical of how Ashido managed to get them all roped up in it.

“What’s all of this about?” Kirishima asked earnestly, pulling his stubborn best friend who was violently protesting the entire way behind him that this was a waste of time and that he needed his sleep.

Somehow, he had managed to bring Bakugou along. You weren’t sure that was a win though, with how disgruntled the explosion boy looked from being woken up.

“Why do I have to be here?” Jirou grumbled, dragging her feet as Ashido tugged her along.

“Because~” The pink girl whined. “It’ll be fun!!”

“This is not my idea of fun.” She sighed but reluctantly caved in and took a seat next to Shoji, sitting cross-legged on the couch and twirled one of her jacks around a finger.

Ashido clapped her hands to garner everyone’s attention, smiling widely.

You snuggled further into Ojiro, wanting nothing more than to curl up and take a nap on him. You had thought you would be more nervous around him after what you thought he had almost said before he was interrupted but there was nothing other than the pleasant hum of your heart.

Today had been taxing with news that Shinsou’s dream was finally going to be put into motion and you really didn’t want to do anything else besides sleep in his embrace. His hand landed on top of your head and he stroked your hair evenly until you almost drifted off.

That was, until you heard what Hagakure announced next.

“Let’s play truth or dare!!!” She squealed and you nearly fell off of Ojiro in shock.

Eyes wide in horror, you could practically see the mischievous glint in her eye and your mind raced at a mile per minute.

Oh no, no, no, no, no—

“Y/N’s going first!!” Hagakure shouted.

“No way!!” You sputtered in disbelief, cheeks coloring as all eyes turned on you. “Why do I have to go first?!”

Sensing your unease, Ojiro intervened.

“Maybe we should play another game?” He suggested diplomatically.

Ashido pouted, planting her hands on her hips. “Noooooo I have a question I want to ask Kirishima really bad!!”

Kirishima blinked in shock and pointed to himself as though he couldn’t believe that out of everyone, she had something to ask him. “Me?”

Your shoulders sagged in relief as she hadn’t called you out but that didn’t make you any less wary of her or Hagakure’s intentions. They were both well known for being deceptively crafty when it came to anything romance related and you were sure you weren’t safe just because you were friends.

Todoroki had Soba in his lap and was petting him idly, largely ignoring the chaos raging around him while everyone bickered about the order to go in.

Yaoyorozu and Midoriya pitched in that there should be an impartial game of chance to determine who was going first, Iida echoing their reasoning with swift hand chops and a shout that could be heard above the clamor.

Eventually, for fairness, Ashido ended up using Aoyama’s idea of putting everyone’s name in a hat that Yaoyorozu created for random drawing.

The person selected could ask anyone a question, even if they’ve already gone and once they’re done, the selectee picks another name from the hat.

No matter if the person picked truth or dare, if the person doesn’t want to answer the question or do the dare, they’d have to prank Aizawa.

During class. In front of everyone as proof.

And no one wanted to cross their homeroom teacher. Not even you wanted to take chances with your dad. He could be extremely scary when woken up from his nap during homeroom and no one was willing to take a chance on their life just to avoid answering a question or to negate a silly dare.

Because everyone knew that their lives would be at stake if it boiled down to their furious homeroom teacher who had been disrupted by their antics.

With that, the game began.

Surprisingly, Yaoyorozu got drawn first, and being the kind person she was, she asked Uraraka if she would like to go on an all-paid-for shopping spree the next day they had off, to which Uraraka promptly burst into tears at her friend’s generosity, blubbering out an agreement of sorts.

Once she collected herself, Uraraka drew next, getting Koda and asked him if there were any pets that he would like to own. He shyly signed that he had been wanting to take care of a Mamushi, a Japanese pit viper, but was uncertain about how Kawaii-chan would deal with the snake if and when he got one.

The stunned silence that followed was not surprising since this was so far left-field, it even caught Bakugou off-guard.

Koda drew from the hat, sweating nervously when he opened it up and saw the name.

“... Bakugou…”

Bakugou’s forehead irked in annoyance.

“Dare.” He spat before Koda even got a chance to ask him.

Koda’s nervousness grew to unprecedented levels at the red aura emitting from the enraged pomeranian, stumbling over his words so much so that you felt bad for him. He could barely form his thoughts, let alone get his words out.

“I dare you to be nice to Midoriya for one day.” Koda said quietly, shaking frightfully as the aura increased to murderous and he squeaked, absolutely petrified.

Ashido slapped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing as Sero and Kaminari promptly burst into tears of hysteria, smacking their thighs as they howled in laughter.

“Bakugou, that’s enough.” Shoji instructed evenly, shielding Koda before the seething teen could jump on him, though it did nothing to stop the sparks from popping in his hand.

“Why the fuck do I have to be nice to shitty Deku?!” Bakugou exploded, whirling around at the sound of a throat clearing calmly.

“Are you saying you can’t do it?” You asked slyly without cracking an eye open and Ojiro nearly lost it.

Bakugou scowled. “Like hell I can’t!!”

“Well then!!” You clapped your hands, sitting up as you flashed him a cheeky grin. “Then this should be no problem for the number one hero, right?”

Bakugou growled at you but he knew he had landed himself in this trap. You had covered it with honey and like an idiot, he went after it.

“Fuck.” He hissed under his breath, snapping around to face a petrified Midoriya head-on. “I’m going to fucking kill you—”

“Ah, ah, ah!!” You tsked, wagging a finger at him. “Play nice, remember? 24 hours starts now.”

Bakugou raged for a good five minutes before sitting down heavily, glaring holes into the back of Midoriya’s head.

You flashed Koda a thumbs-up and he smiled at you gratefully for enforcing the dare he wouldn’t have been able to do.

The next several rounds passed by in the blink of an eye.

Bakugou dared Aoyama to go outside and yell that he loves cheese, Tokoyami got dared by Aoyama to go the entirety of next week without wearing black, and Tokodoki was dared to leave Soba in the care of Bakugou, to which he promptly responded that he’d rather pour water over Aizawa’s head.

Next week was going to be interesting.

You giggled at the horrified expression on Tokoyami’s face that he had to go without all next week without wearing his favorite color, so much so that you missed your name being called until Ashido and Hagakure screamed excitedly.

“Y/N!!!!!”

You nearly jumped ten feet into the air. “AHHH, WHAT?!?!”

Ashido grinned, rubbing her hands evilly. Todoroki had just gotten done asking her a question about what her favorite food was.

“Oh, Y/N-chan~” Ashido sang and you sweated nervously, subconsciously leaning back into Ojiro’s chest as she trained her golden irises glimmering with mischief on you.

Hagakure tugged on her sleeve, whispering something in her ear and a crafty grin spread across her lips.

“Truth or dare?!”

“T-Truth…?” You stammered out uncertainly, wary of that look in her eye.

Your heart plummeted as Ashido clapped her hands gleefully.

Oh no.

Ashido wasted no time leaning forward and peering at you with her eyes gleaming.

“Do you have a crush on anyone?” She asked cheekily, already knowing the answer thanks to your slip up the last time all you girls had gathered.

Your fingers halted from where they were playing with Ojiro’s hands and you squeaked.

Behind you, Ojiro went rigid as he tensed underneath you and his breath hitched, unconsciously waiting for your answer along with the rest of your classmates.

Playing with your tail anxiously, your ear twitched and heat warmed your face, setting it on fire the instant her question hit you.

Biting your lip, you uttered quietly a noise of confirmation that had Hagakure squealing and Ashido jumping for joy.

The majority of the boys looked shocked but Bakugou rolled his eyes, thinking everyone had to be blind not to see it.

“Who is it?!” Hagakure demanded, trying to get you to admit it and you just flashed her a smile.

“Nope, I already answered the question.” You said, grinning widely at her whine, thinking you found a loophole to this little game of cat and mouse they were playing with you.

Despite her protests and Ashido’s pouts, you drew another name from the hat, passing the torch of attention over to Sato as he was picked.

Once he picked truth, you eagerly asked Sato if he would ever open his own bakery one day and he rubbed the back of his neck bashfully as he said he always wanted to but he wasn’t sure that his creations were good enough.

You shouted incredulously, blurting out that you thought they were amazing along with the rest of the girls, Shoji even inputting that he thought that as well.

“These truths are so tame.” Kaminari complained after almost everyone had gone once. “There needs to be more dares.”

“Ooooo, then why don’t we switch it up!!” Uraraka said, her eyes shining excitedly at the prospect of a challenge. “Only dares from now on!!”

“Eh?!” You yelped. “What, why?!”

“YES, GREAT IDEA!!!!” Ashido squealed and you groaned, burying your face in your hands.

“No…” You moaned.

Aside from knowing that they had something up their sleeves planned for you, you were really not looking forward to doing whatever that was. You didn’t want to be involved in any of this or have anybody’s attention on you, all you wanted to do was watch your friends have fun.

This was going to be a disaster.

Ojiro chuckled as Kirishima threw an empty paper plate in Bakugou’s face but even he couldn’t stop his heart from palpitating and he prayed that you couldn’t feel it against your back.

You hugged Koko to your chest anxiously as the dares got more and more bold, elaborate and downright ridiculous.

Asui got dared to peck Tokoyami on the cheek, Sero got challenged to a match with Bakugou the next time they trained together and Yaoyorozu had to go without buying anything from online stores for three days.

The only reason why Sero didn’t make it involve all the stores was because he knew she’d go crazy.

And then, the dreaded time for your second turn came around.

Luckily, neither Ashido or Hagakure drew your name, it was Yaoyorozu instead.

Her eyes were sympathetic as she regarded your fidgeting form.

“Y/N-chan,” She started, loud enough for everybody to hear. “You must spend 30 minutes with Ojiro-san in the pantry.”

It was silent at first, then the uproar started.

“WHAT?!?!” You shrieked, your face bright red.

You couldn’t see it, but Ojiro was wearing an identical expression of shock and embarrassment as Jirou laughed along with Uraraka and Kaminari, Iida loudly shouting for them to have some restraint.

“Go go go!!!” Ashido and Hagakure cheered together, yanking you up to your feet while Sato hauled Ojiro up to his, subsequently pushing the two of you together until you fell inside the pantry.

You immediately fell and Ojiro toppled in after you.

The lock that clicked sealed your fate and you whimpered at the sudden darkness that encompassed the two of you.

Ojiro’s eyebrows scrunched together in the dark, concerned that you had hurt yourself. “Y/N?”

You feebly answered that you were okay, knowing that he must be worried about you, and your hands knocked into his as you scoured the tiled floor on all fours, searching for your fallen plushie in the cramped space.

“Koko…” You whined, your eyes lighting up when your fingers brushed against something soft.

You could almost hear the smile in Ojiro’s voice. “That’s my tail.”

You drew back, yelping in pain as the back of your head banged against the shelf and a lump got caught in your throat when Ojiro scrambled over you.

“Y/N!! Are you okay?!”

You mumbled out an embarrassed yes, losing your ability to say anything else as he pressed up against you. He was so close.

Too close.

There was almost no breathing room between you two and all you could feel, hear, and sense was Ojiro’s labored breathing and the soft swish that his tail made as he balanced himself over you so he wouldn’t crush you.

A pout formed on your lips and even though he couldn’t see it, you made sure that the forlorn whine in your tone carried through. “Koko…”

Ojiro fingers clumsily found yours and he breathed a sigh of relief at having found where you were. “I’m sure you just dropped her outside.”

You hummed disappointedly, ears flicking as you heard the conversation pick back up outside, indicating that the rest of your scheming friends resumed their game. At least you were in here and not out there in this predicament.

You didn’t want to know what they would say if they say you guys like this.

“Um, Mashirao?” You whispered, scooting up a little bit so that you were sitting on your bottom.

It was a bit awkward. His knees bumped into yours more than once as he figured out how to situate himself and you squeaked when he pressed against you in an attempt to find space somewhere.

Repeating his name when he had settled down, opting for slotting his legs around yours that were propped up so that he was no longer crowding you, you sighed to yourself.

“How long do you think it’s been?” You asked curiously, oblivious to the crimson staining his cheeks due to the lack of light.

Ojiro cleared his throat, forcing his tail to stop swishing nervously, lest he knock something over and clue you in on his anxiousness. Being in here with you and being this close was making his heart pound and his palms sweat.

It was too much, and at the same time, not enough.

Because he still had yet to tell you how he felt.

“Y/N—” He started quietly. “Can I ask you something?”

You were startled since you thought that he would just want to sit in silence until the time was up and you found yourself nodding instinctively before you realized he couldn't see you.

“Y-Yes, of course you can.” You stammered out, cursing yourself for your inability to form a coherent sentence without stumbling over your words when you were around him.

Once. Just once you wanted to know what it was like to speak with complete and utter self-control and clarity when it came to him.

Your massive crush on him probably wouldn’t ever let you.

Ojiro played with his tail absentmindedly, able to find a sliver of comfort in the familiar way it felt in his hands as he prepared himself for the inevitable heartbreak. “Who… Who do you like?”

You froze and you swore the temperature in the cluttered pantry dropped by several degrees.

“W-What?!” You squeaked.

“Earlier, when Ashido asked if you liked anyone… you said yes.” Ojiro reiterated, avoiding looking at you even though he knew you wouldn’t judge him.

Not that you could, you could barely make out his shape in this darkened place.

“I-I—”

You couldn’t come up with an excuse for that one.

Ojiro’s tone morphed into curiosity. “What are they like?”

The underlying sadness went unnoticed as you frantically tried to think of a way out of this situation and you tripped over your words in your haste to get out.

“I… You… Argh!!”

Ojiro nearly jumped out of his skin as empty cans clattered down on the floor from where your tail had gone rogue and knocked them all off of the shelf. They really should get rid of those and free up some more space in the endlessly full pantry but Asui liked to use the empty ones for growing water lilies when they were nothing more than just a pink or white bud.

“... Y/N?” Ojiro prompted, hearing you go quiet.

You hesitated. You really didn’t want to say this but all your thoughts were filled with him and only him. You hardly knew at this point if it was because you were actively trying not to think about him that made things this way or if you were really just that obsessed with him.

I’m screwed, aren’t I?

“He’s kind.”

Ojiro broke out of his stupor once he realized you had actually answered him.

You smiled softly to yourself, envisioning the dumbfounded look that must be on his face, knowing that’s how he got every single time you said something about him.

“He’s sweet, not just to me, but to everyone else.” You continued quietly. “His eyes always light up when something makes him happy and he’s such a good friend…”

Ojiro felt like he was hearing all of this underwater as you continued to speak so highly of this mystery guys, his heart breaking with every word you said. And he thought he was so sure that if you didn’t return his affections, that you at least thought of him as a good friend but now he wasn’t so sure after hearing all of that.

It seemed like this guy that you were crushing on hung the stars in the sky. You spoke of him like he was your whole world.

Ojiro swallowed thickly, blinking back tears.

Maybe this guy could take better care of you than he could.

You couldn’t see it but you sensed the mood change in the air and shifting to move onto your hands and knees, you padded forward curiously, nervously wondering if he had figured it out and didn’t return your feelings.

Pushing that aside once your ears picked up on the sound of his sniffles, your brow creased in concern, worried about him.

“M-Mashirao?! Are you okay?!” You asked frantically, keeping your voice low so that you didn’t draw the attention of your friends outside. This would be the worst possible moment for them to open the door.

“I’m sorry, Y/N, I’m fine.” Ojiro managed to respond, closing his eyes briefly to gather himself. “Don’t worry, okay?”

Your being filled with apprehension as his hand skimmed the side of your face to find it in the dark before plopping on top of your head to ruffle your hair reassuringly. But you let out a slight whine when he pulled away quicker than normal.

“You don’t sound fine…” You whimpered worriedly, nudging your nose against his hand as you located it easily.

While your eyes took a longer time to adjust seeing in the dark, your senses were sharp and you detected his ragged breathing as well as how his hands drew back before fisting at his sides.

He definitely wasn’t okay.

And you thought you might be imagining it, but was that hurt in his voice that he tried to mask? Was he offended that you thought so highly of him?

Ojiro’s eyes glazed over as he heard you whimper sadly and he sucked in a breath. And even though his heart was shattered, he still wrapped his arms around you and tugged you close to him.

“Y/N, I—” His tongue felt thick in his mouth, unable to form the words he wanted to say and he sighed. “I hope you find happiness.”

You blinked up at him, tucking in your knees tight. You couldn’t relax against him, physically incapable of it since the comfort his presence usually brought you was nowhere to be found at the heavy sadness in his tone.

You stuttered, “I-I— Mashirao, I—”

“You don’t have to tell me who it is.” Ojiro said sorrowfully, hushing you quietly as his jaw clenched in jealousy. “I just hope that Shinsou’s able to protect you well enough.”

Bolting upright at the shock of his name, your jaw dropped. “Shinsou?!”

Ojiro cocked his head to the side. “Isn’t it him?”

You shook your head so fast that he felt the air whip around him from the force of your hair flying.

“Todoroki?”

Another head shake, faster than the last.

“Sato?”

No.

“Shoji?”

No.

“Kaminari?”

No.

“Bakugou?”

No!!

Ojiro was running out of options. “Then who? Is he in our grade?”

“It’s you!!” You blurted out in frustration, unable to prevent yourself from holding back any longer.

Ojiro’s entire body tensed in shock, his eyes going wide at your confession and the hands on your waist stilled as he sucked in a sharp breath.

You pounded your fists on his chest, your head falling on his shoulder, unconsciously leaning into him and seeking him out as your anxiety took over.

“You dummy.” You mumbled, shaking in fear of a rejection.

You should’ve been more prepared for this. As the time ticked by, he still failed to say anything in response and your heart was going into overdrive.

Pushing his hands away, you tried to untangle from him but that apparently disrupted whatever trance he was in because his arms tightened around you, preventing you from getting up.

“No, wait—” Ojiro protested, his mind spiraling as he tried to collect his thoughts before you could leave. “Y/N!!”

Your skin prickled with unease at hearing him call it out so panicked, like he was afraid he’d lose you. You were the one who was worried about that, why should he care so much?

“It’s fine.” You sniffled, wiping your nose furiously with the back of your hand as you attempted to backpedal again, only to be stopped by his strong arms. “Ojiro-san, let go—”

“Mashirao.” Ojiro corrected brokenly. “You… My name, call me by my given name.”

You swallowed hard, shaking your head against his shoulder as he squeezed you closely to him and you squirmed. You thought you had lost that privilege to call him by his first name, the intimacy a sour taste in your mouth as you realized that some other girl would get to call him that one day.

“Y/N.”

You stopped fighting against him but refused to meet his gaze.

Ojiro’s hand slid under your jaw, tipping your head up and this close, you could see his eyes shining with emotion.

“It’s you.” He murmured breathlessly, his eyes softening as they filled with the deepest amount of pure love. “It’s always been you, Y/N.”

Gasping, you nearly choked as he rested his forehead against yours, his warm breath puffing out over your cheeks and you giggled uncontrollably as he pulled your legs across his, tucking your head under his chin.

“You were talking about me?”

The disbelief in his voice had you wiggling out from under him.

“Yeah,” You blushed, thinking about how much you gushed about him before he actually knew that you were referring to him. You thought it was obvious that you were talking about him. “Was— I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Ojiro bumped his nose against yours reassuringly. “You didn’t.”

He could have hid it better if you were so close to him but since you were, you could feel the air around you stir as his tail thumped happily against the wall.

Though, you couldn’t blame him. Yours was just as bad, hitting his side every time and you were about to apologize when he pressed a kiss to the crown of your head.

“I love you.” Ojiro confessed softly, his heart pounding in his ears as he finally told you what he had wanted to tell you for so long.

From the very first moment he saw you, he knew he wanted to protect you. He wasn’t sure when that feeling morphed into something stronger, paired with the desire to call you his but the pang that went through his heart every single time he saw you with someone else clued him in that his feelings may have run deeper than he was willing to admit.

You tried to stop it but a wide smile still spread from ear to ear and your heart skipped a beat. “You do?”

He nodded, bending his knees slightly to bring you impossibly closer and you giggled at the action, recalling what had happened before Hagakure had accidentally interrupted you.

“Is that what you were about to say earlier?” You asked curiously.

Ojiro floundered for a second, trying to think of a half-believable excuse that you would take, but then realized he had nothing to hide now that you already knew. He chuckled slightly and nodded, albeit nervous when you started playing with his hands.

“Y/N?” He whispered, his exhales hitting the top of your head as he held you.

You smiled to yourself, unable to explain the happiness that swelled in your chest, skyrocketing the moment he said that.

“I love you too.” You replied softly.

As cheesy as it sounded, it was true.

He was your first friend, your first confidant, the first person you fell in love with and now, your first boyfriend. He was the person you trusted the most next to your dad.

You laughed slightly, your tail fluffing out in embarrassment, unsure of why you were laughing but you supposed it had something to do with the fact of the astonishment that your pining after him hadn’t been for nothing.

It was mutual.

To be honest, your head was still reeling and you weren’t sure you were going to be coming down from cloud nine anytime soon.

Ojiro smiled down at you fondly, his heart squeezing as you beamed up at him joyously.

“Princess…” He murmured softly.

Your ears perked up happily and you rubbed your nose against the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent deeply. It rolled over you in waves and a happy rumble emitted from the back of your throat.

“... I like it when you call me that…” You mumbled shyly, burrowing your face into his neck when he tried to catch a glimpse of your face.

Ojiro smiled, elated. “Princess~”

“Nooooooooo…” You whined, hitting his shoulder weakly. “Don’t tease me.”

He let out a small laugh, his eyes twinkling with humor. “Sorry, princess.”

“You don’t sound sorry at all.” You grumbled but you weren’t really upset about it.

You couldn’t wait to hear it more often, more freely and similarly, Ojiro couldn’t wait to use it all the time since it was practically second nature to him by now.

You were just so pure, so soft. Oh All Might, he loved you so much.

It was close to a year since he first met you and he couldn’t help it. He fell for you so hard but he didn’t regret a thing. And he couldn’t wait to tell Holly.

She would be jumping for joy the instant he told her, he could already see it.

Ojiro tapped your knee lightly to catch your attention as you continued to trace random patterns on his chest. “... What do you think about messing with them a bit?”

You sat up straighter, knowing exactly who he was talking about, a mischievous grin slipping onto your face as he whispered the plan into your ear.

It was payback time.

Half an hour went by rather quickly, most of Class 1-A eagerly awaiting to see what the current situation inside the pantry was.

Most were hoping that a confession of some sort had taken place, since Tokoyami was exasperated on how clueless the two of you were around each other.

Seriously.

You guys had been chasing each other for months now. Everyone was getting sick of the puppy love, memory on all of their phones stocked with snapshots of the two of you together when you were looking.

At first it was cute, but honestly, seeing you chase your own tail would be more adorable and endearing than seeing the two of you stammer around each other like it was nobody’s business.

Ashido and Uraraka hoped that you and Ojiro would be kissing when they threw open the door but that wasn’t exactly what the picture was.

Instead, an image of you on the floor across from Ojiro greeted the entirety of the class.

Kaminari nearly fell off of Kirishima’s head from where he was stacked on top of him and Jirou’s eyes widened in surprise.

Bakugou scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Took you extras damn long enough.”

There you sat. With a chip halfway to your mouth.

“Seriously?!” Hagakure shrieked incredulously.

“I was hungry!!” You cried out, it coming out more muffled than you intended as your cheeks bulged hilariously. You looked more like a chipmunk in that moment rather than the wolf that you were.

“What’s your excuse?” Tokoyami asked blankly, catching his friend snacking alongside you.

Ojiro shrugged nonchalantly, popping a wasabi snack in his awaiting mouth and smacked his lips obnoxiously. “I was following her.”

Sero snickered and Kirishima grinned at his cheeky response. There was a glimmer in his eye that wasn’t present before and they knew that no matter how comfortable the two of you looked, something had changed between you.

Something for the better.

“THEY CONFESSED!!!!!” They chorused together, dancing around while wildly waving their arms about as they did a jig.

You almost choked, cheeks going rosy. “Eh?! W-Wait—”

“FINALLY!!!!” Ashido squealed. “THAT TOOK FOREVER!!!”

Ojiro’s expression matched yours in terms of mortification and he leaned forward as you shuffled behind him to hide.

“Y/N, you alright?” He asked softly as your classmates continued to chime in with how long that took and how much things were going to change.

You both blushed when Shoji told an excited Kaminari that it also meant you guys had the ability to kiss from now on, the girls cooing and most of the guys gagging.

“Yeah, I-I’m okay…” You mumbled into his back, finishing the rest of your food and taking his hand that helped you up. “Thank you.”

Ojiro smiled at you and this time, in the light, you could see how clearly radiant he was.

“You’re welcome.” He whispered quietly, hugging you once more before you both rejoined the chaos that was your class.

It took another few minutes to actually make your way back to the common room couches where everyone else had gathered because you pouted and said you wanted to stay in his arms longer.

That, and Ojiro was weak when it came to you.

You bounced when you jumped onto the couch, Shoji steadying you when it looked like you were about to fall and you flashed him a grin in thanks.

Shoji shook his head at your antics and Ojiro, who had been grabbing you a few more snacks from the pantry, rushed over, scanning over you to make sure you weren’t hurt.

You popped a cookie in your mouth. “Wufdidwemwis?”

Jirou blinked. “What?”

Breaking off a piece, you smiled broadly and it only grew wider when Ojiro handed you the discarded lion plushie you had lost a hold on when you were yanked to your feet. Squealing happily, you hugged it tight to your chest, beaming up at him in thanks.

“What did we miss?” You repeated, smothering Koko with hugs and kisses.

Todoroki didn’t even look like he moved once from his spot, in the exact same spot that you saw him last and he didn’t spare you a glance as he held up a feather just out of Soba’s reach so that he could bat at it playfully.

“Kaminari gave Jirou the chocolates he made for her, Ashido asked Kirishima out on a date and Asui has to go with Iida to switch out Aizawa-sensei’s sleeping bag to see if he notices it.” Todoroki relayed impassively before blinking once, realizing he had left one out.

“Oh, and Midoriya kissed me.” He deadpanned and your jaw fell to the floor.

“WHATTTTTT?!?!?!” You wailed. “I missed all of that?!?!?!”

Todoroki shrugged, playing with his kitten too much to pay any attention to your outcry. “It wasn’t much.”

“WASN’T MUCH?!?!?!”

He merely nodded. “I didn’t get to kiss him back.”

Ashido’s hand punched up in the air. “Next dare is for Todoroki to kiss Midoriya!!!”

“Okay.” Todoroki agreed, brushing off his clothes before getting close to a flushed Midoriya, yanking him over to smash his lips onto his.

The whoops and hollers echoed throughout the common floor, even Bakugou smirking as the damn nerd owned up to his crush. It was fucking weak to hold out for that long.

Confrontations were for the strong and brave of heart, just like he was.

Proudly, he watched from the sidelines. They were all shitty extras but they were his circle of extras and he’d be damned if he let anyone else say shit about them.

They were fucking happy.

Nevermind the fact that Kirishima and Kaminari were blushing ten different shades of crimson, Jirou was hiding in the corner with Shoji and Yaoyorozu’s aid as she tried to dodge all the questions you flung her way the second that Ashido exposed all the ships that sailed while you and Ojiro were having a heartfelt conversation.

“Spill it!!!” You exclaimed, shaking her shoulders furiously as though that was going to get her to answer you faster. “You have to tell me what happened!!! Kaminari gave you the chocolates already?! I missed it!!!!”

“Ack, calm down!!” Jirou shouted at you, blushing violently. “It’s not that big of a deal!!”

“NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL?!?!?!” You yelled, your tail twice its size as you bounded in circles around her. “HE NEVER LIFTS A FINGER FOR ANYONE ELSE!!!”

“Hey!!” Kaminari pouted, insulted.

You grinned, planting your hands firmly on your hips. “It’s true.”

“H E Y.” He enunciated as he frowned, clearly put off and he lunged at you playfully.

You spent the rest of the night playing a deadly game of tag with the extremely flustered electric blond, having mercy on Kirishima cause the poor boy looked like he might faint at any moment.

Ojiro only got involved when you jumped over the couch and into his waiting arms to escape from the madman and he laughed when you claimed him as a safety spot.

Kaminari complained at your immunity, saying you needed it at the beginning for it to be effective but you shook your head stubbornly, looping your arms around a blushing Ojiro’s neck and sticking your tongue out at him childishly.

“Princess…” Ojiro chastised quietly but his low voice wasn’t enough to escape Jirou and Shoji’s enhanced hearing.

“Princess?” Jirou asked curiously.

The rest of your classmates’ jaws dropped in shock.

“PRINCESS?!?!?!” They all thundered unanimously.

Iida instantly shot up to his feet. “Stop it, you’re embarrassing them!!!”

Too late for that.

You giggled. Even if it was, it didn’t matter. You had them all by your side and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“So let me get this straight, Ashido asked you out on a date?” You questioned slyly, aware of you pink-haired friend’s crush on him. You just didn’t think she’d act on it so soon.

“More like demanded.” Kirishima corrected dutifully, pink dusting his cheeks.

Ashido loomed over him. “Eh?! I asked!! And you said yes!!”

“Wah!!” Kirishima shouted, waving his hands frantically once he realized he gave off the wrong impression. “That’s not a bad thing, Mina— ack, wait!!”

Their antics dislodged Koko from your hold and you immediately burst into tears.

“Wahhhhh!!!”

The plushie was instantly thrown back at you by a disgruntled Bakugou and your cries ceased.

“Thank you, Boom Boy!!” You cheered.

His forehead creased in irritation and he scowled. “Don’t fucking call me that.”

“Hey,” Ojiro cut in, his eyebrows furrowing. “Come on, don’t swear at her.”

You waved it off, not minding it in the slightest. “It’s okay, that’s just Boom Boy’s love language.”

“Hah?! Like hell it is!!” Bakugou exploded at you and you rolled your eyes.

“See?”

“SAY IT TO MY FACE, DUMBASS!!!”

And when 3 am rolled around, everyone was passed out on the couches and sprawled in different places across the floor.

Iida was sitting upright on the couch, Yaoyorozu asleep on his shoulder. They looked normal, but they were the only ones.

Kirishima and Ashido had stayed up late talking, falling asleep against each other until they lost their balance and crashed to the ground, effectively waking them both up. They moved to a spot near the coffee table after that.

Kaminari’s mouth was hanging open, a dribble of drool obeying gravity from where he was hanging upside down like a monkey, the string of saliva pooling on Tokoyami’s cloak.

He was going to be pissed when he woke up.

The rest of the girls had bunched together, making a fort at the last minute so that they could all sleep in it.

Shoji was responsible and brought down blankets for those that wanted them, even throwing a few over some that he felt needed it.

Cough, Bakugou, cough.

Bakugou had passed out second to last, determined to claim his victory over you but you flicked his nose just as he was knocked out, a cheeky grin stretching from ear to ear.

You won.

And when Aizawa arrived with Eri and Shinsou in the morning to help the latter move into his new dormitory, he raised an eyebrow at the mess that greeted him as Eri immediately bounded over to where you were, shaking you awake.

It didn’t pass unnoticed how you were tangled with Ojiro, your tail draped lazily over your own hip as his sturdy one was wrapped around your waist, tugging you impossibly close.

Aizawa heaved out a sigh, numbly pointing out where the elevators were so that Shinsou could get started before everyone else started to get up and make breakfast.

He wasn’t sure he approved of this, you two would face many challenges on your way to becoming pros, not to mention the hardships that would come with making this relationship work once you guys graduated but that all faded away the second he came closer to see you.

Ojiro’s hand was cradling your head carefully, even though he was unconscious, cushioning it in your sleep so that you were comfortable and your own hands had gone lax in fisting his shirt, probably in a sleepy attempt to draw him closer to you.

The corner of Aizawa’s mouth twitched humorously as Eri tried shaking you awake, only for you to roll further into Ojiro and snuggle into his chest, the said boy pulling you closer the instant you did with a contented sigh.

Oh well… Aizawa thought to himself as Eri drifted back to his side and softly asked if she could go upstairs and help Shinsou unpack. I suppose it could be worse.

She could’ve fallen for Bakugou instead.

30 notes · View notes

thatesqcrush · 4 years ago

Text

The Wedding

Rafael Barba x Reader. For kink bingo: voyeurism. CW: male masturbation. NSFW, obvs. WC: 2145.

“Are you sure you know where you are going?” Rafael replied, staring at the road ahead of you.

“Yes, Rafael – I know where I am going. And besides, Alexa…” You replied, with an annoyed huff. Alexa chimed in to make a turn and you shifted the turn signal on.

“We’re going to be late.” Rafael muttered. You glanced at Rafael quickly, before looking back at the road.

“We’re going to be fine.” You replied in a sing song voice, trying to not get any more irritated. “Right on time.”

“I’m the best man – I am Carisi’s best man. I am going to be late.”

“I know you’re Carisi’s best man. We are 5 miles away. Fifteen minutes tops. They’re not going to start without us.”

“That’s if you’re the bride! Or the groom!” Rafael replied exasperated. He stared out the passenger side, a mixture of yellow, gold, copper, red, burgundy, and orange leaves whirring past him. “I still need to drop off my things at the farmhouse.”

You ignored him. “It’s leaf peeping season here in New York. Did you know that? I never understood that but now, coming up here – I get it. It’s so beautiful. I would totally do this with someone…” you trailed off.

You focused on the road ahead. Internally you were swearing up and down. You didn’t mean to be running behind to Amanda and Sonny’s wedding. Originally you were planning on taking the train but then planned track work derailed – literally and figuratively – that plan. So you decided to drive – and because driving to new places gave you anxiety, you decided to give yourself an extra hour of wiggle room. That hour was shot to shit when Rafael called about his rental not showing up. And then you had made a wrong turn and traffic had built up earlier on which further set you back

Now Rafael was blathering in your ear about how you were making him late. Had this been any other person, you would have torn them a new one – you hated being barked at while driving – it made you more anxious and tense. Which was surprising considering the line of work you were in. You were a detective, second grade with Special Victims. This was your pet peeve. And because you had a crush on Rafael from the moment you started, you let this – him griping at you, slide. When you first began to work at SVU, you were instantly taken by the handsome prosecutor. He was intelligent, fashionably sensitive, and his sassy one-liners always made you chuckle. He also cared for the victims and it was his passion for both the victim and the law – taking on cases no one else dared to, made you fall for him that much more. ‘Does Rafael knew how handsome he is?’ you wondered as you waited for the traffic light to change. You snapped out of your reverie and gave Rafael a pleading look.

“Rafael – ten minutes. Just give me ten. We will be there.” You let out a deep exhale and pressed your foot on the gas pedal a little heavier.

The wedding venue – a repurposed barn in upstate New York - was unique and versatile, rustic yet chic. The ceremony took place on the manicured paddock, cocktail hour took place on the lawn and then dinner and dancing took place in the barn itself. For those guests not into dancing, they relaxed with their drinks and desserts by the fire pit.

You watched Amanda and Sonny dance with Jessie and Billie. The little family was all smiles. Earlier in the day, it had been unseasonably warm but by nightfall there was a small chill. You wrapped your shawl around your shoulders and rubbed the tops of your arms. Rafael was sitting by the fire pit, finishing off his drink. He sat forward, his shoulders slumped. You made way to the bar and nabbed two beers before making way outside.

“Hey there counselor. Enjoying yourself?”

Rafael smiled when he saw you and moved over on the bench he was sitting, to make space for you. You murmured a thanks and then handed him a beer.

“Thanks, Y/N.” Rafael replied. “Salud.”

You clinked your bottle with his. “Cheers.” You took a long drag of your beer, watching as the flames danced in front of you.

Despite the roar of the ongoing party, you could hear the sound of crickets chirping and it was soothing. The string quartet began to play “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and you looked wistfully at the dancefloor laid out on the grass.

“Do you dance Rafael?” You asked.

Rafael perked up. He stood up and put his drink down and then reached for your hand. You took another swig of your beer, neatly folded your shawl and then put your beer down before taking his hand. Rafael led you to the dance floor. You wrapped your arms around his neck while his hands gripped your hips.

“You’re quite the dancer Mr. Barba.” You complimented. The combination of his solid body against yours mixed with his cologne made you feel intoxicated and warm. Rafael hummed his appreciation and in response drew you closer to him.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was just anxious about getting here.” Rafael apologized. You pulled back and saw the sincerity in his eyes.

You shook your head and waved him off. “It’s fine – we were running late – shit happens. I was anxious too. I mean we made it, didn’t we? Yes by the skin of our teeth, but we made it.”

“No, I was out of line.” Rafael replied. “I should have just said thank you for the ride. The last thing I would want is to have you be upset with me.”

“Really? And why’s that?” You asked, curious and ever hopeful, searching his eyes.

Rafael cleared his thought, his throat suddenly dry as he racked his brain as to what to say. “Because it would make the ride back to the city super awkward.” He lied. Rafael turned his head, unable to meet your eyes. And in turn, missed the disappointed look on your face. In reality, he was completely fascinated with you. And he had been since he first met you a year and a half ago when you joined SVU. You had made your own lateral move to SVU, transferring over from white collar crimes. Rafael would watch you out of the corner of his eye, admiring your intelligence and quick wit. You showed empathy for the victims. You had a keen sense of skirting the law but were always able to maintain its integrity. A lot of the time, you drove him – and sometimes your commander – ostensibly crazy. To top it off, you were beautiful. Whenever he was in close quarters with you, he felt enchanted, like a moth to a flame. But you were also fourteen years his junior and he was certain the feeling was not mutual. ‘Why be with me, basically a viejo with commitment issues when you could be with someone younger who was more handsome and could offer you the world.’ He would bitterly think on more than one occassion.

You both continued dancing and you closed your eyes, lost in the play pretend that there was more between you and Rafael. ‘The detective and the lawyer.’ You snorted to yourself – ‘sounds like a cheesy Harlequin romance novel. You then imagined Rafael bare chested with his leg propped on a rock and you snorted again. Rafael looked over at you, his brow cocked and you felt your cheeks burn. “You look very handsome today.” You replied in an attempt to change the subject.

“Thank you. So do you.” Rafael replied. And to him, you did in your mint floral maxi dress with a lace-up crisscross bodice. He wasn’t used to seeing you so dressed up and when you came to pick him up with a full face of makeup on, he damn near came in his pants right there on the corner of 85th and Lexington Avenue. The song overlapped into the next and soon two songs became three, then four. Some picked up in beat and by the end, you were both hot, sweaty and out of breath. Your hair, which had been pinned up, had fallen. His eyes tracked a single bead of sweat as it dripped down your collarbone and down your chest, finally landing in between the swell of your breasts. He swallowed hard trying hard to ignore how his cock twitched against his pants.

“I think I am going to get another drink.” Rafael replied. “Do you want one?” You nodded in response and watched him take off. You bit your lip - ‘damn that ass looks good in a tux.’

“Are you going to make your move tonight? You should.” A voice interrupted your thoughts.

You looked over at the bride who joined you. “Do you want to die on your wedding day? I mean that’s awfully macabre.”

“I swear on my babies, that man is in love with you. And I know you have some feelings for… what did you say? Oh, that’s right! The one with the gleaming crystal eyes and the mouth that looks like it just finished eating a peach.” Amanda winked.

“I said no such – oh who I am kidding. I said that.” You sighed. “I don’t know. What if he rejects me? That ride home will be so awful.”

“If he does that, then it’s a good thing you’re at a wedding full of cops. We know how to bury bodies and get rid of the evidence.” Amanda replied. “But seriously – make the move.”

You hiked up your dress and looked all over for Rafael. He went to the bar – he should have been back by now. The venue was large and people were still milling about. You spotted Sonny, who was carrying a sleeping Billie in his arms.

“Sonny! Have you seen Rafael?” You asked.

“He went to the farmhouse to check his phone or something. Something about checking on a filing. You know how he is – work, work, work. Did you see Amanda?”

“Over that way – thanks.” You pointed behind you. You leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Congratulations again.”

“Thanks – and thanks for coming. So glad you were able to make it.” Sonny replied.

You nodded and continued walking towards the farmhouse which wasn’t that far off from the events venue. The farmhouse was quiet and almost eerie. Your heels made an obscene sound against the hardwood floor and you paused to remove them. “Rafael?” You called out. No answer.

A light from down the hall caught your eye and you made your way down. The door was open a crack and what you saw, made you pause.

Rafael was sitting on a bed, his cock jutting out of his tuxedo and he was masturbating furiously.

Rafael pumped and stroked himself rhythmically. He squeezed at the base with every downstroke of him fucking his fist. Rafael let his thumb glide across the head of straining cock, smearing pre-cum. Rafael released himself and spit into his hand before resuming his movements, now stroking faster. He let out a moan and you were stunned to hear your name escape his lips. Desire pooled in your belly and you felt a delicious ache develop in between your legs. You wanted to so badly to hike up your dress and touch yourself to relieve that sweet ache but you couldn’t. Instead you watched, utterly transfixed at Rafael masturbating. About you. You were his fantasy plaything. Your nipples strained at the confines of your dress and you reached up to cup one. You could feel your arousal grow in intensity – if you weren’t wet before, you were now – you were positively soaked.

Rafael moaned your name as his hips bucked; his balls began to feel heavy and that familiar coil in his gut began to emerge, signaling his need for release. Rafael began to stroke himself feverishly, working faster and faster. “Oh fuck Y/N, take that cock – let me fill you up with my come.” Rafael made noises of a man who had been denied for far too long. You bit down on your bottom lip to avoid gasping and you winced as the taste of blood filled your mouth. Rafael continued to stroke himself, cupping a hand in front of him, and you realized that he was about to come.

You take a step back and the floor creaked and you silently curse. You peeked through again and you met Rafael’s eyes from where he is sitting. He looked completely aghast at having been caught.

You smirked, and opened the door wider, taking a step in. You turned to shut the door behind you and you made certain to lock it. Turning towards Rafael, you begin to slip off your dress.

“How about you give me a ride as a thanks for earlier?”

FIN.

[Tag list] @madpanda75 @mgarner1227 @beardedmccoy @tropes-and-tales @youreverycolor @neely1177 @the-baby-bookworm @mrsrafaelbarba @skittle479 @ottosuricato @delia26 @sass-and-suspenders @mommakat32 @dreila03 @beccabarba @garturbo @lovebennycolon @imjustreallynosy @sweetsummertime99 @whyissvuruiningmylovelife @annabelleb49 @scarletsoldierrr @cesarofangirl78 @redlipstickandplaid @redlipstickandblacktea @zoeykaytesmom @differentshadesofgray @misssirenlove @esparza-army @bananas-pajamas @mishaissocoolike @thefanficfaerie @theenchantedgalleryofstories @catnip987 @choppedgalaxynerd @pieceofshittytitty @ktiz90 @evee87 @itsjustmyfantasyroom @blk0912 @detective-giggles @rampantmuses @jazzyjoi @caked-crusader @rachelxwayne @prurientpuddlejumper @dianilaws @permanentlydizzy

#thatesqcrush kink bingo #rafael barba smut #rafael barba x reader #rafael barba and reader

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readyourimgaines · 4 years ago

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Age Doesn’t Mean Much

Summary: Five times the BAU remembered Reid’s younger than them plus one time they were violently reminded he’s not a child.

Spoiler/Trigger Warning: The entire ending of the second season’s 15th episode: Revelations.

Dr. Spencer Reid was merely 21 when SSA Jason Gideon convinced him to join the BAU. With the exception of Aaron Hotchner (who had also read the young doctor’s file) the team wasn’t sure how to feel about the inexperienced man.

Other than giving a pointer or two to a professor lecturing on a cold case, Reid had no experience working in the field. The others figured that was why the poor kid pushed himself so hard: to prove himself.

Right after the first case, Elle stopped talking down to him. Half way through the same case, Morgan decided he’d taken the doctor under his wing. JJ was the first of Hotch’s subordinates to warm up to Reid. Their friendship was an awkward one for a couple of days. To an outsider, it looked as though a childhood friend was trying to help the other through a bout of amnesia.

Though the team never again questioned Reid’s ability on the field, there were times when they were suddenly reminded of Reid’s age.

1: Trying to Balance on a Curb While Walking

Hotch lost count of how many times Jack would walk on the curb, one foot in the front of the other, both arms outstretched for extra balance. Almost always, one of Jack’s hands would be firmly holding one of his father’s. SSA Hotchner almost laughed at himself when he nearly held Reid’s hand on instinct.

Reid and Hotch were walking alone to get lunch for the unit while between cases back home. They’d been walking side-by-side while Reid babbled happily about the last book he finished. Hotch contently listened, his mind occasionally wondering.

Hotch’s mind was pulled back to reality from one of its wonderings when his hand had brushed against Reid’s. The doctor’s hand quickly formed into a fist as he concentrated on his balance, his lips pressed tightly together. While Jack had his arms stretched straight out, Reid held his at more of a slant.

One thing Hotch quickly noticed, and was surprised the scientifically minded doctor missed, was that Reid’s ever present satchel was throwing him off balance.

“Reid.”

“Hm?”

“Let me hold onto your bag.” Hotch held his hand out to take the leather bag.

“Why?” Reid’s foot touched down on the road as he lost balance now that he was doing more with his brain than focussing on his footing.

“It's a hypothesis.” Hotch smirked but Reid missed it, not taking his eyes off his sneakers.

Carefully, as not to fall, Reid removed his satchel and held it out, blindly, for Hotch to take. The older agent held it by the shorted of the two handles as he continued to walk alongside Reid.

Hotch chuckled to himself upon seeing the look on Reid’s face. The young doctor was looking at his feet, almost in awe. He hadn’t needed to touch down since Hotch took the bag half a block back.

Once he walked two blocks on the curb- without losing balance- Reid was content and took his bag back, putting it back over his shoulder so the pouch of it bounced against the opposite hip.

“Did you know the position of an object’s center of gravity affects its stability? The higher the center of gravity is, the easier it is for the object to fall. That’s why a small boat- like a kayak or canoe- is less likely to tip if the occupants are seated lower in the boat.

“Textbooks usually demonstrate this with either a bus and or two cars of different heights and lengths…”

2: Mismatched Socks

One of the first things Emily Prentiss noticed about Reid were his mismatched socks. Of course, the other BAU members noticed it too, but they never questioned it. It’s just part of who Reid was. Curiosity got the better of SSA Prentiss.

“Reid?”

The doctor looked up from his case file. “Yeah?”

“Why do you never wear matched socks?” She looked down at Reid’s ankles and he followed her gaze. One lavender sock, one pink with blue stripes.

“My uh- When I was a kid, my mom would tell me it was bad luck to wear matching socks.” Reid pulled the lavender sock back up to where it should be.

“That doesn’t sound like something that could be scientifically verified.” A slight smirk spread across Emily’s face.

Reid huffed slightly. “The night I was taken by Tobias… It was the first time I wore matching socks in five years. Burgundy with orange stripes.” Reid blinked heavily, clenching his eyes shut. “I don’t wear socks if they match.” He paused again. “Besides, matching socks are boring. Some people say socks should be a shade darker than their pants or a shade lighter than the shoes- Hotch does the former.

“Also, 82% of men in my age bracket wear mismatched socks at least once a week because we keep losing one of a pair. And a family of four- on average- loses 60 socks a year.”

3: Playing With Jell-O

Reid loved Jell-O. No-one was really sure why, but didn’t ask, either. Everyone had their favorite dessert, so maybe Jell-O was just his? He liked cake, sure, but he didn’t eat it nearly as often as he ate Jell-O.

On jet rides back home, no-one ever knew what conversations were bound to come up. This week’s was what the team was going to do with a three day weekend and morphed into best desserts.

“What about you, Reid?” Prentiss drew Reid from his train of thought.

“Hm?”

“You like Jell-O, don’t you, Pretty Boy?” Morgan checked.

“Yeah.”

“Not even Henry likes Jell-O,” JJ smiled at the thought of her young son.

“It doesn’t have much of a taste,” Rossi added.

“I think that’s part of why I like it, actually.” Reid fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

“Because it tastes like watered down Kool-Aid?” Rossi frowned.

“Yeah. All the other foods are so strong and Jell-O’s not. It’s cool, but not cold, and it’s fun to play with.”

A ghost of a smile danced across Hotch’s face. “Jack likes playing with it. He gets sad when I don’t buy finger Jell-O on accident.”

“That’s the only kind I buy.” Reid nodded. “The red is my least favorite- It takes like Red 40.”

“What is your favorite kind, then?” Rossi couldn’t help but ask.

“Pineapple. Minimal amounts of dyes and you can see through it.”

“No numbers about Jell-O?” Prentiss challenged with a grin.

JJ, Hotch, and Morgan all smiled while Rossi teasily groaned. The groan got a smile from Reid too.

“Actually, in the US, the Jell-O brand is recognized- by name and product- by 99% of the populous.” Spencer chortled. “That means that if you got a group of 100 people together, only one person would have no idea what Jell-O is.”

4: Doodles on Everything

Dr. Spencer Reid didn’t always carry his leather satchel with him. Hotch more or less ordered him to get a notebook he could keep in a pocket. The unit chief didn’t care if Reid drew on his arms. The unit chief cared when Reid jotted down notions or points for the running case.

Garcia loved Reid’s little doodles and had a decently sized collection. She referred to him as a “chronic doodler”. The analysis tech found it almost funny that someone as brilliant and talented as Reid had so little artistic skill outside of his geographic profiling maps.

Reid knew full well that Garcia collected his doodles. After a particularly stressful case- which always resulted in more doodles, Reid would sign and dare the flip book page before tearing it out and leaving it in Garcia’s bunker.

There were times when Reid would doodle on his arm rather than the flip book simple because it was more convenient. That didn’t mean Garcia didn’t see those ones. No, no, no. These ones, Reid would take pictures of and send to Garcia when a case was getting to her.

Morgan talked to Garcia more than anyone else on a case. Whether or not Penelope voiced her unease, Morgan- ever the profiler- could tell. He’d have Reid a certain look and the younger man would send Garcia texts of his doodles- evenly spaced- throughout the case. If he did the math and found he didn’t have enough, nothing stopped him from drawing a couple more.

Hotch and Gideon thought of the times their sons would draw a picture or make them a card when they had a bad day at work. Morgan was reminded of the beaded bracelets his sisters used to make him when he was injured in football or his team lost a game.

The one hitch with their theory? Garcia was the one person who got to keep the drawings. Not even Reid kept them. She knew this fact and gloated about it to the team whenever she got a new one. All of her computer screens in her bunker had a different doodle as the screen saver.

5: Dependent on the Team

For the most part, the BAU stuck to themselves after hours if they weren’t going out for drinks. Reid was the one exception and the rest of the team found they didn’t mind.

JJ was the first one he texted. The message was a simple worded question: How can you tell the difference between romantic feelings and transference? The gentle blonde took it upon herself to explain to the doctor that he’d know when he was in love because how being near the person or even just thinking about them made him feel.

The media liaison assumed she’d never really see the person Reid texted her about that Sunday evening. She was a little less than shocked to see the light in the young doctor’s eyes shift when Morgan wandered into the bullpen Monday morning.

A month passed before JJ got a message along the lines of the one she was expecting: Reid asking for advice on how to ask someone out. How to better the wording, how to keep from straying off the point.

The next day, he texted Elle about flowers: I have a date next weekend. Are flowers too forward?

Elle smiled down at her phone, at Reid’s innocence. She told him that flowers were a nice and caring gesture, but that he’d want to be careful with what flowers he got because different flowers sent different messages.

This was the first of this Reid was hearing. He thanked Elle and thought more. Hotch was married. He must know a decent amount about flowers and such romantic ideas, right? So he texted Hotch: Do you know anything about flower symbolism? Elle says flowers have different messages to them.

Hotch chuckled, getting Haley’s attention.

“What’s so funny?”

“Do you remember Dr. Spencer Reid?” Hotch looked at the blonde.

“He’s the shy, Autistic boy, right?” Haley glanced up from feeding Jack.

“Yeah. He’s nervous about an upcoming date and texted to see if I know anything about flowers.” Hotch’s thumb was dancing across the flip-phone’s buttons.

“What are you telling him?”

“That roses have the highest chance of getting him in his date’s bed. Pink camellias and carnations are signs of love and longing; ivy means friendship.” Hotch typed this by naming the flowers, placing an equal sign, and the meaning.

“Do you know who his date is?”

“Not as far as Reid and his date are concerned.”

So yes, he did.

Friday morning- the morning before his date- Reid sat by himself on the jet ride home, trying to read a book he brought. He couldn’t focus on it for the life of him. He’d been staring at the same page for then minutes. He jumped a little when Gideon sat down across from him.

“What has you so nervous?”

“Noth-” Reid stopped short. That wasn’t the right word; the date meant everything to him. “I uh… I have a date tomorrow evening and I’m worried, I guess. I’ve never actually been on a date, but I really like this person.”

“Okay. So what about it has you worked up?” Gideon’s eyes were gentle and fatherly.

Reid thought about how to answer the question. “We’ve been friends for a while and I don’t- I don’t want to mess up so badly that he doesn’t want to be friends-” Reid froze, his eyes wide. “G-Gideon, I-”

“There’s nothing wrong.” The older man squeezed the younger’s shoulder. “If your friend know you as well as you know him, I think it’s safe to say he’s not too worried about the friendship failing. Sometimes, Reid, you have to take a leap of faith.”

+One: “I choose...Aaron Hotchner.”

“Choose, and prove you’ll do God’s will.”

“No.”

Click. “Choose.”

“I won’t do it.”

Click. “Choose.”

“I...I choose...Aaron Hotchner. He’s a classic narcissist. He thinks he’s better than everyone else on the team. Genesis 23:4, “Let him not deceive himself and trust in emptiness, vanity, falseness, and futility, for these shall be his recompense.”

Bang. Raphael took a bullet from Tobais’ pocket and held it up, showing it to Reid. “For God’s will.”

Morgan’s heart shattered at seeing his boyfriend crouched over the body of his captor and tormentor. The side of Reid’s head was coated in dry blood, he was avoiding putting weight on his sock-less foot.

Reid limped his way over to Hotch and hesitantly put a hand on his superior’s arm as though he wasn’t sure the man was there. The young man quickly and tightly hugged Hotch.

“I knew you’d understand.”

JJ was the next to hug Reid, the doctor losing his balance slightly and the liaison easily caught him.

“I am so sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

The second JJ let go of Reid, Morgan stepped forward and pulled Reid into as tight of a hug as he dared. He needed to feel his boyfriend in his arms but he’d seen the same video as everyone else and didn’t want to hurt him more.

Prentiss was shocked and looked at JJ with wide eyes when Morgan kissed Reid and the doctor eagerly reciprocated. The blonde just smiled.

*****

@stxrryspencer @chaoticgremlinwholikescheese @the-need-for-reid-speed

#read your imagines #combefere's journal #emily prentiss #aaron hotchner #david rossi #elle greenaway #jennifer jj jareau #jason gideon #derek morgan #spencer reid #spencer reid imagine #moreid #moreid imagine

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consumeconstantly · 4 years ago

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Small Buff Girl Sightings ch. 3

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ao3

Marinette wonders when she got used to the crushing weight of expectations that had been imposed upon her by the Powers That Be. She also wonders when she got used to being lonely. These are two separate events, she’s fairly sure, but it isn’t like she keeps a diary anymore. She has long since fallen out of that habit, because she doesn’t want another Sabrina incident. With the class the way it is now, she can’t even fathom how much damage her diary could bring to her classmates, and likely, the whole of Paris. Because for some reason, Hawkmoth has some sort of a vendetta against her class.

Which is the whole reason why she didn’t transfer out of Mademoiselle Bustier’s class in the first place. Sure, she tried for the first few months to expose Lila and get things back to the status quo, but Marinette can only try and fail so many times before getting tired of her classmate’s willful ignorance. Then, she stayed in class for Adrien. Such a sweet, misguided boy. Marinette wonders how he would have turned out if his father was less of an asshole, or if his mother were still around. No use crying over spilled milk; she still feels bad for him, but she’s no longer staying in class for him. Her crush on Adrien is a thing of the past.

As it is currently, Mlle. Bustier’s class simply provides the most excellent cover for all of her escapades and an excellent vantage point to see what the next akuma might be.

After all, their class encompasses both the people who are most often akumatized-- minus Monsieur Ramier and Augustine-- and the people who are most likely to cause somebody’s akumatization. These are the usual suspects:

Chloe, who has admittedly improved her attitude after reconciling with her mother, but still doesn’t know how to deal with people like an ordinary person would.

Lila, whose lies and half truths have ended more than one person’s dreams (as well as her own penchant to get akumatized willingly, but that hasn’t happened often after the first year, and Marinette doesn’t really want to go into that).

Adrien, who never intends to get anybody akumatized, but ends up doing so when the media catches him doing anything. Because everything he does gets covered by the media heavily. So when he goes out with friends and is mistaken for having a lover, there are a lot of angry fangirls who get akumatized.

Oh, and then there’s Marinette herself. She’s honestly not sure how or why so many people around her end up getting akumatized-- maybe she takes other people’s luck in exchange for having an abundance of her own-- but there’s certainly quite a number.

And if she’s talking about family relations, this class takes the cake too. Adrien’s father lashes out at his employees so often that Marinette is surprised that all his workers haven’t quit yet. Gabriel’s attitude has also convinced Marinette that she never wants to work at the man’s self-named brand. Mayor Bourgois and Audrey Bourgeois are both… frightening in their own ways. Both can end careers easily, but Audrey definitely goes about ending careers in a more harmful way. Juleka’s mom pisses off anybody who tries to come down the Seine; numerous akumas have appeared in response to her loud music blasting at all times of the day. And Ivan’s parents? Sweethearts, but both are so sensitive that their family is a prime target for Hawkmoth.

She wonders when the new boy, Damian, will get akumatized. She doesn’t think-- hopes-- that he won’t, but with the track rate of their classmates, it was highly unlikely that he wouldn’t. So far, Marinette and Adrien have been the only ones in the class who haven’t been, including the series of brief transfers to their classes last year. Maybe he’ll be another to add to their number. And Marinette and Adrien both moonlight as superheroes. There’s probably some Miraculous magic involved, but Marinette’s not entirely sure. Master Fu doesn’t have answers for many of the questions that Marinette asks.

Damian seems like a decent person with a good head on his shoulders. Marinette hopes that he transfers away from this class soon, because she would feel awful if he does end up getting caught up with her classmate’s delusional version of reality. Because even though Lila has calmed down a lot and no longer tells such outlandish tales as she did in her first year at Francois Dupont, everyone else still follows her so mindlessly that it isn’t a healthy relationship for anyone involved. Marinette is almost certain that there are multiple people in the class that must know Lila was lying but now perpetuate this twisted version of reality because they’re afraid. Ninth and tenth year were important; if Lila really did lie about all of her connections, that means they messed their own futures up and need to work on themselves to fix it--something that is difficult to admit and commit to matter what age a person is. To admit that they did something wrong and take steps to fix it-- Marinette doesn’t think any of her classmates have that kind of mindset. After all, if anyone else had guts, there’s no way that Chloe would have been class president for as long as she was.

Lunch comes around quickly, and Damian manages to catch her on her way out, grabbing and holding her forearm. Marinette is cautious, making sure that none of Lila’s lackeys are around. Despite her agreement with Lila, her classmates tend to make everything a much bigger deal than it should be, and they always tell Lila whenever Marinette steps so much as a foot out of line. Lila doesn’t always act on her classmates' words, but when there are too many voices that say that Marinette is doing something wrong, Lila has to act; if she doesn’t, she’s at risk of losing her position of power. Once Marinette is sure there is no one from Mlle. Bustier’s class watching, she pulls Damian with her to an alleyway a short ways away from her family’s bakery.

“I’m telling you again. You really don’t want to be seen with me.”

“If you think I care about Lila, you’re mistaken. I will be seen with who I want to be seen with.”

Marinette’s hand is warm and calloused. Her fingertips are extra soft, like she takes care to moisturize them more than the rest of her hand.

The alleyway is surprisingly nice. Much nicer than any alleyway that Damian would find in Gotham, that’s for certain. It doesn’t have any blood stains and there are no crazy psychos hiding in the shadows. Instead, sunlight is let through the shorter of the two buildings, only five stories. Sure, the place smells slightly of urine and trash and there’s broken bottles everywhere, but that is par for the course for any major city.

Marinette’s not sure why Damian seems to be going out of his way to talk to her. She’s seen him interact with the other students, and he was positively stoic with them. His words are still clipped when he’s talking to her, but at least he speaks full sentences.

“It’ll be bad for your social health if you keep trying to talk to me.”

He raises an eyebrow. “I don’t believe I ever asked for you to look after my social health, and I certainly don’t want to talk to the idiots in that class.”

“I don’t think you understand, Damian. You might not mind being alone, but being lonely is different. It feels bad, and Hawkmoth will take advantage of you.” Marinette knows what being lonely is like, because despite her loving parents and all of her friends that she’s made outside of school in the past two years, before that, her world was limited. Sometimes, she wishes that some magical being came with Miraculous. Someone that she can actually talk to about all of her problems, both hero-related and those in her everyday life. As it is, Marinette never talks about what she does as Ladybug, unless she’s referring to herself in the third person and is forced to. Marinette doesn’t need people trying to figure out she is Ladybug, and despite Master Fu’s assurances that people without a Miraculous will never, ever catch on, she prefers to err on the side of caution. And as Ladybug, she only ever talks to Chat Noir, never deigning to talk about her personal life because it will be way too easy for Adrien to make the jump between her everyday problems and Marinette, because Adrien is a Miraculous user, and the Identity Concealment magic supposedly is less effective between Miraculous users.

“I don’t believe we’ve interacted enough for you to judge my mental fortitude. Besides, you might have told me to avoid you, but I never agreed.”

The former part of Damian’s statement isn’t true, but Damian doesn’t know that. As a superhero, Marinette needs to know how to judge people quickly and effectively. She’s read plenty of books on psychology and body language, clocked endless hours of videos on the subject. There’s also the matter of her bountiful personal experience, what with figuring out the issues of the ever increasing number of akumas that pop up around the city. Still, it isn’t like Marinette can actively refute his statement.

For a while, the two of them stand in contemplative silence.

“Fine, then, I’ll tell you why you need to avoid me. We might as well get out of this alleyway, though.” Marinette eyes the dumpster that stands a few meters away from them.

“And here I thought you were fond of alleyways,” Damian says, in reference to the first time they met.

She laughs, and it feels good. Marinette hasn't laughed in quite some time. Lately, her parents are always busy. They want to expand their patissiere by opening a second branch. That means they don’t have much family time, and when they do, it’s typically spent talking shop. Manon has continued in her bratty toddler stage, and the rest of the kids that she babysits are in a similar state. Uncle Jagged and Aunt Penny are still touring, bringing Luka around for the ride, Kagami’s currently in intensive training for the World Cup, and she simply hasn’t had enough time to see any of her other friends.

“I’d like to think that I'm more fond of my parents' macarons, than I am of alleyways.” Marinette leads him through the other end of the alleyway and through a few streets to get to the back entrance that leads directly to their house instead of the bakery. At least since Maman and Papa are so busy with business, she never needs to talk about her friends in school, or lack thereof.

“Let me get this straight,” Damian says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You had four transfers last year and each of them ended up as akumas multiple times because of her lies, students who don’t believe her get expelled, suspended, or bullied, and the teacher and school refuse to do anything about it?”

“Well, Principal Damocles refuses to do anything; Mlle. Bustier believes her.” Marinette sips the cup of hot cocoa she prepared and lounges on her chaise. She doesn’t bother saying that all the transfers occurred in a six month period, after which Lila let up on her tyranny and turned into an average albeit still incredibly charismatic teen. Neither does she bother mentioning that Lila doesn’t lie anymore-- at least, not any big ones-- and has stopped getting herself willingly akumatized. She’s trying to get Damian to transfer out, after all.

“That’s even worse. They’re useless.”

“It depends on your point of view. They’re very useful if you’re Lila or the rest of the class.”

Damian swivels the chair so he’s facing Marinette in her entirety. “How have you managed three years with that orange demon? Better question, why have you not transferred?”

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” It’s not like Marinette can tell him the real reason why she’s staying in the class. That’s why she hasn’t told her parents about all of this. If they knew, they would definitely make her transfer classes, if not schools.

“That is no good reason for me to continue to stay with her group. I hate lying manipulators.” Damian’s mother is a good example.

“You might hate them, but if you can’t beat them and you can’t leave, you have to join them, or at least make a truce. And there’s no way Lila is going to give you up.”

“I really should just transfer.”

“I agree whole-heartedly. Please do.”

“But I can’t. My father won’t arrange a transfer for me. He wants me in that class.” More accurately-- Damian knows how many akumas came out of that class, and there is no way that he’s going to transfer away from it. It’s easier to figure out a game plan if he’s able to watch the action.

“I could arrange a transfer for you, if you want.”

“No, that’s too much trouble.”

“It’s no trouble, and if it helps one person by preventing them from getting akumatized, that’s great.”

“Why can’t you just expose her?” Damian counters.

“Tried that two years ago. Failed. Miserably. I almost got expelled.” She tactfully leaves out the fact that Lila also got her back in school. After years of making up excuses for where she’s been when an akuma attack calls her away, she’s gotten very skillful at lies by omission. Besides, if they’re to help someone, that’s okay, right?

“If you can’t expose her then how are you going to get me transferred out?”

“Those are two separate issues. I might not be able to persuade a classroom that’s very interdependent on their relations with each other, but I was class president for two years, so I know people.”

Damian decides to revise his tactics. “I don’t back down from a challenge. Besides, I want to see her empire crumble.”

The last part isn’t true. He cares little for the Italian girl, even less for their other classmates. People like Lila are alarmingly common when you run in the circles of the rich and powerful, and there are certainly people whose charisma is infinitely more dangerous. Lex Luthor, for instance. He shakes off thoughts of the dangerous business man. Damian needs to stay in this class because it’s the best lead that he’s got right now. He’s trying to be as covert as possible, under League request. Apparently, the Justice League of America isn’t supposed to interfere with what’s going on in Europe unless they call in for help. Damian thinks that’s a stupid rule-- in the end, they’re all just trying to protect the world-- but he agreed to secrecy and keeping his head down when accepting the mission. That means he’s not suddenly going to start asking his classmates about akumas unless they’re brought up in conversation. Unnecessary suspicion is a bad thing in this instance.

He takes another bite of the pastry that Marinette brought up for him. It’s much better than a lot of the other vegan options he’s found in Paris-- not that there are many to begin with. Everything in this damn city is made with butter or cheese. There is a lull in the conversation, and then, “She has no reason to hold on to me. I’ll just stay with you, in the back of the class.”

Marinette laughs at this.

“Lila isn’t going to let you go.”

“What do you mean by that? She let you go.” Damian almost feels like he should be affronted at some of the statements that Marinette has made. He feels like she doesn’t appreciate or know how capable he is. It feels weird to have somebody not hold him to the impossibly high pedestal of a genius billionaire’s son. Now that he’s with Marinette, he’s glad that the Justice League sent him under a different last name. He can only imagine the chaos that it would have caused when he arrived.

Marinette rolls her eyes. “She didn’t willingly let me go. She only did because I was constantly undermining her, though unsuccessfully. And besides, there’s a very big difference between the two of us.”

“I’m very capable at undermining people.”

“I have no doubt about that,” Marinette snorts. Damian Grayson is quite the character. They’ve met in the oddest of situations each time. At first, she thought he might be a stalker, but after getting to know Damian a little better, Marinette believes that it’s coincidence-- there’s no way that someone with as much pride as Damian would go out of his way to follow a mere girl. If he wanted to go out with someone, he’d simply demand it. “But the key difference is our gender. Lila Rossi may be bisexual, but her desired gender of arm candy is male. I’m sure you’ve seen her with Adrien. The blonde one?”

At Damian's nod, Marinette continues. “Don’t get your ego even more inflated, but you are good looking. You’re Lila’s type. Tall, muscular, green eyed. You’re the perfect balance to Adrien’s sunshine demeanor. Besides, she can’t have a girl with self-confidence within her circle, so there was no way that we could have peacefully coexisted in the same group to begin with.”

Marinette’s comment about his appearance makes him feel an unexpected shock of pleasure. He knows he’s good looking. All of the Wayne kids are. He’s gotten enough compliments on his appearance to last him ten lifetimes. But knowing that Marinette finds him attractive feels different. She doesn't seem to be the type to exaggerate, and has a good objective eye for beauty.

“Yes, she already has Adrien. She doesn’t need me as well.”

“Greed never stops.” Marinette finishes her cup of hot cocoa and now stares at her ceiling, then at the wall opposite her, covered in fabric and design sketches. It seems like it was only yesterday when the walls of her bedroom were filled with the countless modelling endeavors of one Adrien Agreste. Now, there are very few pictures of him at all. She wishes that she got to hang out with him more, civilian to civilian.

When she figured out that Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir were the same, it was a day for the record books. She had so much emotional whiplash that day that it still gives her nausea just thinking about it. Marinette figures that it is a good thing she found out when she did, otherwise she might have continued with her crush on him and would have ended up pointlessly heartbroken. She still loves him, just not the way lovers do. Marinette also suspects that Adrien himself is not looking for a relationship of any sort besides friendship. He’s been more tense in recent months, and Chat Noir confessed that people touching him made him uncomfortable.

Marinette wants nothing more but to rip Adrien from Asshole Gabriel’s hands. But she can’t, because Marinette doesn’t have the trust of Adrien Agreste. Not in the capacity that she needs him to. Not in the capacity that will allow her to unseat Gabriel as she so desperately wishes to. If Ladybug entrusted Marinette to help Adrien out, there is no doubt that Adrien would figure out her alter ego, and that is dangerous knowledge. Especially since he is so tense with everything else going on in his life. It’s a recipe for a powerful akuma and the horrifying possibility of Hawkmoth learning her civilian identity. Ever since retiring the other heroes, Marinette knows that she can’t afford to have Chat Noir or Adrien akumatized. She’s certain that she can beat him in either form, but on the off chance that Hawkmoth decides on a mass akumatization, she can’t beat them all. She’s just not strong enough, no matter how many hours she trains and no matter how many times she takes down baddies in her civilian form.

“So what, I should just let her put her hands all over me?”

That… admittedly sounds unpleasant. Marinette isn’t sure what Adrien and Lila have going on, but Marinette knows that they’re not actually in a relationship. She’s fairly sure that Adrien and Lila have stuck some sort of deal on their own, but she’s not close enough to ask Adrien, and she’s definitely not going to ask Lila. Still, when Marinette addressed her concerns with Lila’s touchy tendencies, Adrien gave her a weak smile and said that that was just part of Lila’s nature. He implied that he dealt with worse, which made Marinette worried to hell and back, but ultimately Adrien convinced Marinette that touching him was not done with ill intent by Lila and that her touch warded off other people’s interest. He promised that he was fine, and that he would tell Marinette if he was really uncomfortable. So Marinette let sleeping dogs lie, because despite her initial animosity towards Lila, she was good at manipulating attention away from Adrien whenever he was having a particularly bad day.

“I told you, I can get you transferred out.”

“And I told you that I never back down from a challenge.”

“Then it seems like we’re at an impasse.”

“I suppose we are.”

Marinette’s phone alarm goes off, and she jumps from her chaise. “We’ve got to get back to school. Class starts in five. You go first, I’ll clean up.”

“I am not a rude houseguest.”

“Well, I don’t want to be seen with you in school, so leave.” Marinette’s sudden burst of rudeness is unlike her, but she chalks it down to her deep-rooted desire for Damian not to end up like the four transfers last year. She keeps in contact with some of them still, and not all of them are doing all too well. Marinette really doesn’t want Damian to end up like that.

Damian’s mouth sets itself into a thin line. “Fine then, have it your way. Give me your phone number.”

A shrug. “If that’s what it’ll take for you to leave me alone during school.”

And then, Damian is off.

4:50PM | Unknown number: I’m testifying next Thursday.

4:55PM | Marinette: Damian?

Damian: Yes.

Marinette: oh

Marinette: me too

Marinette: i’m going to visit renee tomorrow

4:58PM | Damian: I’ll come with you. I’ll meet you at your parent’s bakery after school.

6:42PM | Marinette: uh

Marinette: how about that alleyway instead

Damian: If I must.

Marinette doesn’t really know what to make of Damian. The first time she meets him, she almost thinks he is another stalker. Almost, but not quite; he looks far too reluctant to be following her and looks too unfamiliar with the streets that they were going down to have done this before. Still, she doesn’t want to take any chances, so she makes quick work of her first stalker and immediately gets on the phone with the police, leaving her stalker in the alley despite her normal protocol to stay with the criminal until the police get there. She makes an exception for this, because even from a distance, the second person following her looks much more dangerous than the first, and she doesn’t want to fight with someone who’s bigger than her in a place that’s hard to run away in.

When he appears near the alleyway he seems annoyed, then relieved and surprised when he sees the body in the alleyway. Like it was something he didn’t want to deal with.

When she brushes past him, there isn’t a hint of recognition in his eyes. Nothing except for surprise, and maybe a little bit of admiration. A raised eyebrow, saying, really? This short little girl just beat a man twice her size up?

She ends up in violent altercations as a civilian on an almost regular basis. According to one of her stalkers, she was just so friendly. Clearly she wanted to go out with him. It’s her fault for coming onto him. When she isn’t fending off creepy men whose profiles were nearly all the same-- five to ten years older than her, with some sort of fetish for asian women (she shudders at the thought of being called exotic)-- she does her duty as a plain-clothes hero. Because her conscience will never let her get away with walking away from an instance that might end up harming someone else. Marinette feels an overwhelming sense of responsibility. She won’t forgive herself for not protecting the weak.

The next time she meets him, she’s surprised that he actually approaches her and asks if she needs help. He clearly doesn’t actually want her to take him up on the offer, so she immediately turns him down. Marinette isn’t sure why he feels so compelled to offer his help when he clearly didn’t want to but-- oh merde. The class is going to leave her behind again if she doesn’t run and try to catch the bus now. She can take the metro, but she is short on the amount she needs to get all the way home. Marinette is also unwilling to turn into Ladybug, because Ladybug only ever shows up on night patrols and when there’s an akuma, and she doesn’t want to send Parisians into a mass panic.

Despite his obvious unwillingness, she reneges on her words and asks him to watch over the thief. He seems more at ease with it than she expected. Maybe he really had meant his offer. Weird. She is usually pretty good at reading people. Why can’t she get a good read on this guy?

His posture, too, is more at ease than she would expect of any civilian. Usually, if she ever asks somebody to watch over somebody she’s detained, they’re nervous and a little jumpy. Their hands are glued to their phone, ready to make a call if the slightest thing goes wrong. But this guy is relaxed and confident. Just the way he’s standing screams of years of training, in fighting and possibly in etiquette. Maybe he comes from some high class family.

She doesn’t have time to contemplate why and where and how. She just leaves him.

Then he comes in like a ghost, when she’s helping poor Nicolette. Somehow, Marinette knows this voice, this step pattern. She only needs a single glance up to confirm her beliefs. It’s the guy she keeps seeing around town.

Despite her initial impression that he wasn’t dangerous, she still takes the proper measures to protect herself, just in case. She can never be too sure in situations like these, and although he has been nothing but helpful, she doesn’t particularly want to be on the receiving end of one of his punches. He looks like an athlete. Long, lean muscle. Dangerous too, if his eyes are anything to go by.

They’re dark green and calculating. He’s gone through Things. Marinette can almost guarantee that the guy has encountered at least a few life-threatening situations.

She wonders how it is that he only ever seems to appear once she’s done with whatever issue she’s dealing with. Is he stalking her to see the extent of her abilities? Is he trying to make her let her guard down? Something about him makes Marinette anxious. He looks like he wants to tear her apart to see her inner workings. To figure her out. He makes Marinette feel like he’s always on the verge of finding out her biggest secret, and she hates it.

Still, he makes for a pretty reliable cleanup partner. She doesn’t think that she would trust a regular civilian to keep watch over any person she thought was dangerous. Fraser is just a little too dangerous for Marinette to consider leaving alone in the street. She certainly would not have passed his care to any regular stranger.

But Nicolette is clearly in need of comfort, and Damian looks like he can take care of himself and any trouble that comes his way. Which makes Marinette even more wary of him. Would she be able to beat him in her civilian form? She is certain that she could if he is just some common street thug-- she’s taken down people bigger than him-- but she gets the foreboding feelings that he is more than that.

It’s almost comforting to see Damian’s reaction to Ladybug and the akuma. He looks equal parts confused and awe struck. There is a touch of cynicism in there, for sure, a little bit of disbelief, but somehow, it lets Marinette breathe a temporary sigh of relief.

He doesn’t know what is going on in Paris. He doesn’t know her-- either side of her. And it is going to stay that way.

Of course it doesn’t stay that way. Marinette uses up all of her luck during her time as Ladybug, so the person who is currently at the top of her Avoid list shows up to her school as the American transfer. Of course he decides to sit next to her. She bemoans the loss of her blessedly empty desk. Damian is taller and larger than most boys their age, but he sits far enough away from her.

That’s a good sign. He’s not going out of his way to touch her or make contact with her. Maybe this whole thing is just a coincidence. Please, let this whole thing be just a coincidence

Then he starts talking to her, and of course he notices the whole thing with Lila, how can he not? She didn’t make a wrong judgement on his level of perceptiveness. Great. That is one thing she would have gladly lost a bet on. Now, she has to deal with possible ramifications of Damian, six foot Adonis, not wanting to get along with Lila. Lila will not like this. Marinette knows exactly what she wants in her little circle: attractive boys and girls that are less pretty or less confident than her. People who are easily controlled by promises and tall tales. And although Damian only fits one of those categories, he will undoubtedly be on her shopping list.

After their awful first year together, Lila proposed a truce of sorts. They could either try being friends or they could stay out of each other’s ways. Lila wouldn’t actively bully Marinette, and Marinette wouldn’t actively try to expose her.

She can feel Lila’s eyes on her. Green. It seems like everybody and anybody who brought her trouble nowadays had green eyes. Tonight, she’ll throw out all the green items that she owns. Marinette doesn’t need any more bad luck around her.

They return from lunch, and Marinette prays to every God whose name she knows that he is no longer sitting in the back seat. That Lila successfully swept him up.

Of course she hasn’t. Damian’s too smart for his own damn good. Which means that she needs to start preparing for the consequences of the inevitable fallout. She really doesn’t want Damian to turn into an akuma. She’s pretty good at telling which people will be more powerful (devastating? devastating.) in their akumatized forms than others, and she’s pretty sure that Damian would round out her top five, alongside Adrien, her Maman, her cousin, Bridgette, and herself. People who have more control over themselves are that much scarier when they fall apart.

This time, Damian shows up before things are completely settled, and she’s thankful for it.

If she wants to build a case against this woman, she does not need accusations of her own violence levelled against her. Thus, Marinette had been almost entirely ready and willing to feel the woman’s slap, maybe even her nails cutting through her skin. None of that matters, though. Not in comparison to Renee’s future.

In Renee, Marinette can see a lot of Adrien. He is blonde, is soft spoken from what little she’s seen of him, and lives firmly under a rich and manipulative parent’s thumb. Even though he’s scared of getting hit by his mom, Marinette can feel, instinctively, that if she hits the woman back, not only will she be in trouble with the case, she will also have scared Renee.

Damian steps in at exactly the right time, and leaves her free to call the police.

Though he’s quiet throughout the ride to the station, she does see him look at the little boy in concern. Other than that, he seems curious. A little child-like, even. His eyes are darting around the inside of the cruiser. It’s almost comical. Maybe he’s scared of being in the back of the police car, but she can’t find it in her to bring out a laugh. Not when Renee is on her lap. Not when she can feel his tears through her shirt and his soft little hiccups. Marinette hates that woman. Hates her so much. Hates Gabriel, too.

Marinette is focusing more on Renee and the woman more than Damian, but when she does spare him a glance, he seems unsure. Discomfited. Maybe he wants to reassure Renee that it will be alright.

She has been preparing for a situation in which she can take Gabriel to court for almost an entire year now. Despite this, Marinette still pulls out her phone and checks a few websites to make sure that all of the information she has is correct. Damian pulls out his phone too, though he’s just fiddling with it so his hands have something to do.

By the time Marinette breaks past the woman’s painfully bad facade of being a good parent, Marinette feels her blood boiling. She knows that she is not immune to being akumatized, and is very glad that it’s highly unlikely Hawkmoth sends out another akuma today.

It hurt a little when she first discovered that she could be akumatized. She was thirteen, Ladybug, and invincible. Then, she was thirteen, Marinette, and scared. Despite the situation at the time, Marinette could never bring herself to fully hate Lila. In part, because she believed--and still believes-- that Adrien is at least partially right. She sees it, periodically. How lonely Lila is behind her lies and friendships. Marinette doesn’t know what the girl is missing, and she doesn’t particularly care to know, but Lila is young and immature and has time to shift her course. And after their truce, Lila backed down a lot. Her lies are soft, now. Quiet. Most times nonexistent. She doesn’t need to do much to manipulate the class into loving her because she laid down all the groundwork during that first, horrible year.

But Marinette feels entitled to be angry at these parents who treat their children like they are nothing more than tools. Like they are subhuman. Maybe some parents can’t love their children-- she understands that to some extent-- and maybe they can’t be with them all the time. However, if love isn’t possible, they should still treat their child with the basic courtesy of human decency. And there is a point where neglect turns into abuse. Marinette knows that-- sees that with Adrien and Gabriel-- all too well.

Marinette is glad that all of her previous encounters with criminals taught her to record from the moment she interferes. She is glad that she sprung for a phone with extra amounts of storage. Her palms are hot and trembly, but her head is cold. She feels a twisted sense of accomplishment wrenched from her gut as she watches Renee’s mother flee from the room.

It is in this cold daze that she finds herself outside with Damian. Alone together, again. And he asks her about Lila, and she doesn’t want to deal with whatever dangers Damian brings with him. She’s had to fight off an akuma, deal with an absolute horror of a woman, and when she goes home, she will have to finish a commission and study for a test tomorrow. Damian is an unnecessary complication.

Somehow, her life has become a never ending cycle. At least she will sleep better at night knowing that Renee is in better hands.

#miraculous ladybug #dc #mlbxdc #daminette #sbgs #original content #adrien agreste #lila rossi #marinette dupain cheng #damian wayne

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drariellevalentine · 4 years ago

Text

Medically Inevitable

Chapter 4- Radical Revelations

Characters:- Arielle Valentine, Sienna Trinh, Bryce Lahela, Landry Olsen, Elijah Greene, Jackie Varma, Rafael Aveiro, Ethan Ramsey, Harper Emery

Pairing:- Arielle Valentine x Ethan Ramsey

Warnings:- None

Arielle’s PoV:-

Completely exhausted from the day’s events, you head into the locker room and take a nice but quick hot shower. Drying off, you quickly change into a cute pearl silk tied top with a comfy pair of ripped jeans. Taking out the bun in your hair, you decide to let your hair down, parting deep to the left, caressing your revealed shoulders.

You enter Donahue’s to find it completely packed. You try to squeeze inside apologising every now and then and look around to spot your friends.

You finally find them sitting in a table at the furthest corner of the bar.

"Long day?" Si asks as soon as I slump into the seat next to her.

“You have no idea, according an 18 year old, I look younger than him, so apparently I not eligible to be a doctor cause I look too cute!," I sigh dramatically and she giggles.

"Careful please," Bryce says before placing a tray of shots in our table.

Jackie scoffs, " Why are you even buying us drinks, meathead?"

"He's being nice, Jackie.”, Sienna smiles.

"Yeah, and also you think you could afford to buy that tonight?" I add.

"Sure," she rolls her eyes, "Thank youu," she says sarcastically.

Bryce laughs. "Think of it as a good luck drink guys. You are going to need a lot of luck to get into the diagnostics team."

"Wrong meathead. What we need is brains and hard work. Duh!"

"And luck," Bryce adds smirking, ‘lots of luck’. He emphasizes on the word "luck".

After minutes of bickering in between Bryce and Jackie, Bryce leaves to join his fellow surgeons. But my friends are still talking over the fellowship.

"I can't still believe they'll be taking an intern in the team!" I hear Landry say, his voice filled with excitement. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think that they'll even consider giving an intern a spot in the team let alone train them."

"Cheers on that," Jackie says forwarding a glass.

"Let's have a toast guys," Elijah forwards his glass. "To having a marvelous fellowship."

As we all toast to it I say, "Honestly guys, good luck. I won't be joining the fellowship but I wish the best of luck to you all." I smile. Everyone stares at me like I just refused a million dollars.

"You won't be joining the competition?!" Jackie asks shocked. "But why?"

"Not everyone wants to join the diagnostics team, Jackie," Landry states.

"Maybe not everyone, but Arielle does. The diagnostics team is the very thing that made Arielle apply here, in Edenbrook. That's one of the many things she said to me the day we met." Jackie turns to me then giving me a look that says "I want an answer".

"I know. The diagnostics team is what made me apply here on the first place, but I changed my mind. I got through my first week because of you guys. I don't think I could have done it if you guys were not there to support me," Sienna places a hand on my shoulder, giving me an understanding look.

"I don't want to ruin our friendship by competing with you guys. I need you guys by my side not against me."

"Idiotic choice but your call," Jackie rolls her eyes. And I smile as Sienna hugs me. A while later, you all head home for the day.

General PoV:-

Harsh sunlight streams through the open curtains of Arielle’s magazine cover worthy bedroom. Arielle turns around in her bed to grab her phone from her nightstand. The alarm clock catches her eye ‘9:15 a.m.’ She bolts right up in bed, rushing to her closet while ranting a ton of expletives. Hearing the commotion, Elijah and Sienna rush inside to see Arielle on the floor half-naked tangled in a bunch of clothes. Sienna stares at her in confusion while Elijah understands what’s going on and bursts out laughing.

“What’s so funny?”, Arielle asks.

“You forgot today’s our day off, didn’t you?”, Elijah asks knowingly.

“It is? Oh shit! I completely forgot!”

They help Arielle out of the tangle of clothes. “Anyways, we were thinking of going to a baseball game so...I bought everyone matching t-shirts but they only come in two sizes you’ll have to adjust yours. Only then Arielle notices their shirts. Sienna hands her an red oversized t-shirt. “We’re leaving in an hour, get ready!”

Arielle’s PoV:-

You shower and slip on a robe after drying yourself off. “There’s no way in hell I’m wearing this!”, you exclaim holding up the red,baggy, oversized shirt. If there’s one thing you care about, it’s your style. You grab a pair of fabric shears and crop the oversized shirt folding the hem to create a neat finish using fabric glue, then cinch the extra fabric on the slides and secure it in place with a few stitches. You hold up the newly altered shirt and look to your mirror. “Much better!” Pairing it with a pair of studded white jeggings, white heel sandals and a couple of accessories, you sit down on your vanity’s stool. You take out your braid from last night, leaving thick curls in its place. You carefully clip your hair out of place and decide to brush on a little extra makeup. After finishing with your usual moisturiser, concealer and primer, you accentuate your almond eyes with a jet black eyeliner and brush out your brows. Knowing that you won’t need any help in the blush department, you move on to your lips. You decide on your favourite red transfer-proof lipstick ‘Bold Beauty’. You grab a crossbody purse and place your wallet, keys, phone and other essentials and head to the living room.

“What do you think? Is it too much?”, you ask uncertainly.

“Hot damn!”, says Jackie.

“You look gorgeous.”, Sienna says.

“Woah! You look good!”, says Landry.

“Someone call the fire department cause it’s getting hot in here!”, exclaims Elijah.

You blush furiously. “Thanks guys, I’ll drive us there.

You pile in the car as Elijah rides shotgun and gives you directions. You reach there at 10:30. “Ok, 10 minutes till game starts. Everyone split up and stand in a different line and get one of everything. I’ll get the drinks.” Sienna tells everyone where the seats are and everyone splits up. You get a drink tray full of sodas, beers and a lemonade for you, everything packed with ice, and head down to the first row where you find everyone holding snacks.

“Great seats Elijah!”, says Sienna.

“Have to be close to fully appreciate the bloodbath, these teams loathe each other.”

Landry and Elijah start geeking out as you, Jackie and Sienna are talking.

“So...I may or may have not seen you get into Dr. Ramsey’s car yesterday.”, Sienna slyly says.

“Crap!”, you think.

“Tell us everything!”, says Sienna.

“Seriously?”, Jackie asks.

You slowly confide in them about yesterday’s events and what you confessed about your personal life.

“Oh my god, Ari! I’m so sorry!” Sienna pulls you into a hug.

“It’s okay, I’m fine now.”

“Now I feel really bad for judging you, also very surprised and impressed that you managed to get away with sleeping on Dr. Terminator’s shoulder.”, says Jackie.

“It isn’t that big of a deal!”, you counter. Both of them give you a look. “Ok, fine, it is. He was actually really sweet, he even tried to console me.”, you confess. Sienna smiles wide at the mention of this.

“Anyways, you both have to promise not to say a word about this.”, you give them a pleading pout. Jackie’s about to ask about something else when you realise some kind of commotion is going on.

"Oh no, did he faint?" Si says and I look forward to see Jake Sandburg, one of the players lying on the floor.

The other players rush to his side trying to wake him up.

"Uh, coach, he's in real bad shape," another player says leaning down beside him.

Their team manager hurries out," Damn our team physician quit on us just before the game."

"Is there any doctor here?" The manager asks and on instinct all of our hands goes up.

The manager looks clearly shocked to see five doctors in a front row but doesn't express it as we move towards the field asking the other players to help us move Jake inside.

We follow the other Nighthawker players into their locker as they carry Jake on a stretcher.

"Have you called 911?" I ask their manager.

"Yeah, the paramedics are on their way," the manager sighs, " Poor kid."

"Lay him here," I hear Jackie instruct them as they follow.

"He's got a pulse, but his breathing is shallow," Sienna says in a low and shaky voice. This sudden situation is clearly affecting her.

Landry pulls a stethoscope from his bag and places it against his chest.

"Sounds like fluid build up. We have to solve it fast or else he could be in trouble," Landry announces.

As the others take his vitals, Elijah and I go to ask his teammates some questions, which we think might help us to crack the case.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" One of the player asks as we approach them.

"You can help us by answering some questions. Has this ever happened before?"

"Not as far as we know," he looks at his other teammates. " Also he had to pass a physical test just recently."

"He was called up from the minor league just a few weeks ago," the manager adds.

"Did he complain about any pain recently?" Elijah asks.

"No, he was pretty quite, kept to himself. I think he was worried," the player says. "About what?"

The player shares a look with his manager as soon as I ask that.

"Look, he's been struggling in the majors. I was in discussions with ownership to send him back down to the minors," the manager answers, a pained expression plastered across his face.

"Did he know about it?" Elijah asks in between.

" You know, the guys talk. Rumors."

"He was kinda freaking out about it, he kept sweating, hyperventilating," the manager adds and I make a mental note of it.

"Hyperventilating... How often?"

"I only saw it a couple of times," the managers states.

"Well, it could've been panic attacks," I conclude thoughtfully.

"He always seemed tired too. Yawing in the meetings, like he didn't get any sleep at all," the player from before says.

"Have you seen any changes in his behavior recently?" Elijah asks.

"Uh, I guess he's been hitting the ice bath a lot recently. Probably because of feeling sore," the guys answers. "But he'd do it even in the days when he wasn't playing," the guys adds after a moment.

"Thanks you for the help. Was he on any medications?" I ask before moving towards the table

"No. The team doctor left all the prescriptions and Sandburg wasn't prescribed anything," the manager says going through the charts.

"Thank you that'll be it," I say and look forward to find a player from the opposite team sneaking in.

"Hey! You aren’t allowed here," I motion the others towards him as the player who was helping us moves towards him. But then to my surprise he hugs him and the other one whispers words of encouragement in his ears.

"Wait, weren't you two fighting in the field?" I ask shocked.

" Yeah, but that's only on the field. Ray and I grew up playing together in the streets of Miami. We are basically family," The Nighthawker player concludes.

“It’s that easy?”, you ask.

“When we’re in a game, our minds are focused on the game. But the minute it’s over, we’re brothers again. Iron sharpening iron, you know.”, he says but your mind is somewhere else.

“Iron sharpening iron. Competing makes them stronger...” You run back towards the patient.

I think it's a drug interaction. His medicines are amplifying each other out," I announce reaching them. "Two medications perfectly fine on their own, cauting each other to have an outsized affect."

"Oh, that could be it!" Sienna says, a sudden excitement hinting in her voice.

" But the team manager said that their previous doctor didn't prescribe him anything," Elijah says confused.

"Sandburg was already worried about being cut. If the team knew he had a medical condition, they'd be oven less likely to keep him around," I reply.

"So you think he kept him situation quiet to keep his job? Wouldn't be the first time someone's done that," Jackie shrugs .

"What do you think he was taking?" Landry asks.

"Well, maybe something for his panic attacks. Let's say fluoxetine," I reply to him

" That could be it. Getting a prescription for that isn't really hard..."

"Okay, maybe you are right. But what was reacting with it. What else was he taking?" Jackie cuts in between.

"Something for his soreness. His team members said he'd be sore even the days he was not pitching," I answer remembering what the player said.

"It could have been arthritic inflammation," Sienna states.

"Right? He's male in his twenties..." I try to think what it could be.

"Ankylosing Spondylitis!" Landry says.

"He could've been taking N.S.A.I.D for it, like - celecoxib," I say while checking his locker, " Here they are." I say taking out the medicines proving what we said is right.

" It could be doing irreparable damage to his kidneys! We gotta take him to the hospital as soon as possible," Elijah says.

The sound of helicopter blades cut through the commotion in the locker.

" The paramedics are here!" Sienna exclaims happily.

Soon the paramedics enter and you see Rafael running towards you. We explain him about the situation.

"Would you like to have a ride on the choper? My shift will end in five minutes. So after dropping Jake to the hospital we could maybe roam around the city," Raf says nervously once we are out of the locker. The other paramedics get Jake in the chopper.

"I would love that," I give him an assuring smile which he returns.

"Great!" He says making his way towards the chopper after asking me to follow him.

"Any certain place you have in mind where you'd like to go?" He asks smiling broadly getting back to the choper after we've successfully admitted Jake.

"Not really," I give him a silly smile.

"We'll have a tour over the whole city then, more fun," he winks and I giggle.

I am really enjoying the birds eye view. The city looks more beautiful from up here. Capturing the breathtaking city from above, I put it on my Instagram story.

The next picture I take is ours, I smile towards the front and Raf's is a candid, he's looking forward flying the chopper but smiling.

I post it on my Instagram feed, tagging Raf and captioning it "Soaring high with @raveirotheemt.”

You notice you have over 250 likes already. Perks of being famous.

"What do you see?" Raf asks and I look down.

"Edenbrook!" I squeak happily. " The first day in there, the hospital looked so enormous but now it looks so tiny!"

"Everything comes into perspective up here. It's one of the reasons I like it so much."

" How'd you learn to fly?"

"My uncle was a pilot in the Marines. He started teaching me to fly when I was still in high school."

"That was so young!"

"I just saw it as a fun thing to do on the weekends, you know. It was a great way to spend time with a great man," he smiles recalling the memories.

"Are you guys still close?" I ask

"He... He died two years ago."

"I'm so sorry Raf."

"He was really active in our community. When he wasn't flying, he'd organize food drives and buses for anyone struggling," he smiles sadly remembering those days," He's the one who inspired me to be an paramedic. I wanted to help people the way he did."

I nod at him understanding.

"Buckle up. We're ready to land," he tries to say it as normally as possible, smiling. But I know it is just an effort to not let people show his broken side.

“Hey, Jake and many other lives have had a chance to live because of you.”, I assure him.

He relaxes. “You too, Arielle.”

“You both land on Edenbrook’s helicopter pad as staff takes Jake away. You inform them of his condition.

“So... are you ready for the tour?

At first I thought that Beacon Hills were the most beautiful thing I saw today. But when we were taking a turn over Cape Cod Bay, my opinion changed. Nothing can be more beautiful than this. The breathtaking view of the glimmering ways merging with the bright golden sun creating a golden hue in the clear ocean water. The scenery is just breathtaking.

"It is beautiful," I say softly, still looking at the ocean.

"It's the best thing you can see in the city," Raf smiles.

"Can't disagree with that."

"And as much as I would hate for this to end," he smiles sadly, "But I need to return the chopper to the hospital now."

"It's cool Raf, we've been out here on it for a while," I smile.

Within minutes, he manages to fly back to the stadium and drops me off.

You return to your friends and show them the wonderful pics and views that you took.

“Of course!” After some time, you and Si head to the food court for a refill on food and drinks.

Ethan’s PoV:-

You’re stuck closing off an important deal with Banner Health alone, as Harper was called in for an emergency. You’re walking towards the bar in need of a stiff drink when a familiar waft of vanilla and cinnamon hits you. There she is, her beautiful jet black curled tresses falling below her waist, standing near you ordering something. She doesn’t seem to notice you. You turn your head the other way and ask for a club sandwich. A few minutes later, you receive a tray full of cheeseburgers. Somebody calls you.

“Excuse me sir, but it seems our orders got mixed up.” You turn around to find none other than Arielle. Her violet eyes widen in realisation.

“Dr. Ramsey! Hi, guess the world really is small!”, she responds enthusiastically.

“Some would say too small.” A petite intern who often you see beside her comes and doesn’t notice me.

“Hey Ari! I’ll take these down. You coming? In a minute, Sienna.” The intern leaves.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you for a baseball type of guy.”

“And you pegged me just right. I’m here to close a deal with Banner reps. They have me in the box suite, trying to butter me up with lobster and wine.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad...”

“I know it might surprise you, but I’m not one for schmoozing.”

“Nooooo... I don’t believe it. The great Ethan Ramsey doesn’t like it when someone butters him up!”, she feigns shock.

“Would you like to join me?, the words slip out before you can react.

Arielle’s PoV:-

You’re surprised. You’d never thought that your medical hero would need your help. He notices your expression and starts explaining, more like rambling.

“You know I’m not much good at speaking to other people, much less idiots but this is a very important deal for Edenbrook. Harper was taking the reins but she was called in for an emergency. One of your traits is that you’re quite persuasive, I was hoping that would help.”, he says.

“Of course.” You follow him to the private entrance which is blocked by a guard.

“Ah, Dr. Ramsey. The Banner Health execs are waiting.” He gestures for you to follow. The guard stops you.

“I’m afraid I’ll need to see some ID, Miss. Alcoholic beverages are being served.” Dr. Ramsey gets irritated.

“I can assure you she’s older than 21.”, he says. The guard insists. Sighing, you pull out your ID. His eyes flash with recognisation.

“I’m extremely sorry miss, but I have to follow protocol.”

“It’s quite alright.” Dr. Ramsey leads you into the private box, where you see a crowd of ‘business’ dressed people lounging on the posh sofas. He picks up two glasses of Malbec and hands one to you.

“Thank you. To deals, negotiations and whatnot!” He rolls his eyes. “To negotiations.”, he toasts.

“This is quite nice.”

“It is, don’t get used to it. I knew many great doctors, all who swore never to make it about the money but did. Don’t let it become about the money.”

“Ha! If only he knew I had millions of dollars in my name and still live like this.”, you think.

“You’re right. It never should become about the money.”, you say truthfully. Two reps saunter up and start sucking up to him. You roll your eyes internally.

“I’m sure there are many opportunities. By the way, let me introduce you to Dr. Arielle Valentine, one of Edenbrook’s newest interns, and one who shows much promise.”, he says.

Your lawyer/advocate instincts kick into action, which includes an amazing first impression.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Valentine but no formalities between us. I have already been impressed upon the very invaluable and precious bond of Banner Health and Edenbrook and hope today will also add on to that. I’m looking forward to the other ways that you have suggested for this partnership, all to help our patients.”, you say.

“Oh my, if this is who Edenbrook is recruiting these days, our partnership is very sure to exceed high expectations.”, they say. Dr. Ramsey nods in approval. They all start negotiating deals, which end in their favour and not-so-good for Edenbrook. Dr. Ramsey looks to you for help.

“Okay, time to pull out all the stops!”, you mentally prepare yourself. You launch into a very persuasive but subtle argument slowly shifting the deal in Edenbrook’s favour. By the time you’re done, the execs have given their consent and you just got them to add a lot of benefits starting from loans to better rates on different services including neurological and cardiac.

“Thank you, Ethan and Arielle for the pleasure. Perhaps we could meet for a round of golf next week to hammer out the fine points.

“Oh hell no!”, you think.

“Oh! Dr. Ramsey is busy next week but how about later tonight?”, you say. They’re about to agree when you drop the bombshell. “Dr. Ramsey and I have an appointment later this week at the shooting range and self-defence center downtown. Don’t worry, I have quite a few guns to be spared, but be warned, I’m quite experienced.”, you say trying not to burst out laughing seeing their shocked faces. You catch Dr. Ramsey which a not-so-well hidden smirk on his face.

“That’s quite alright, we both have made many commitments later this week.”, say frantically say.

“That’s alright, another time then.” A few minutes later, they both leave claiming they had to go. As soon as they leave, you burst out laughing.

“That was quite an act you put on there.”

“Who said it was an act?” He gives you an incredulous look.

“Anyways, it was quite impressive how you shifted the deal in favour to Edenbrook.”, he says questioningly.

You sigh. “Pretty much everyone in my family are lawyers, different areas though. I picked up a lot of skills when watching their hearings.”

“You’re quite good at it. May I ask why you didn’t follow their path.”

“...My godfather was also a doctor. He would tell me stories of how he was able to save lives, make a difference, experience all the love, pain, loss, heartbreak. And I fell in love with it over time. My father wasn’t supportive of it though. I don’t know what went wrong. When I was a child, we had an unbreakable bond. Over time, he buried himself in his cases, that bond slowly evaporating. My brother always knew that I would work in the medical field and was very supportive. When I announced that I had gotten into Johns Hopkins for med school, my father was angry and didn’t support me. He claimed that I had led his hopes up and shattered them, when all along I always was hinting about my dream to become a doctor. We both said hurtful things that a father nor daughter should ever say, that night. After that, I cut off all contact with him.”, you carefully say making sure not to give any clues that Dr. Banerji is your godfather.

Ethan’s PoV:-

You’re shocked. Utterly shocked. You’d never guess that this bright, cheerful, kind intern had such a rough childhood. Especially when your’s made you turn out like this.

“I believe you made the right choice.”, you assure her.

“That means a lot to me.(more than you could ever know)”, she says and whispers.

You both relax and lounge on the comfy sofa, watching the game.

You notice the sun setting as the game ends. “It’s quite late, how will you get home?”

“My friends and I came here by my car, but I told them to take my car when they said they were leaving early. I spent all my money on food so I’ll take a train or something.”

“I’ll drive you home, it’s the least I can do.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”

“It’s alright. Let’s go.” You lead Arielle to your car, at the same time kicking yourself. “Dear god Ramsey, what the hell is wrong with you? Offering a ride!” You convince yourself that it’s just a thank you but you know it’s because you want to make sure that she gets home safe.

Both of you are exiting the stadium and stop when you see Harper.

“Ethan! Thank god you’re still here. I just received the terms of agreement of our deal with Banner. What did you do?” She notices Arielle.

“Dr. Valentine, what are you doing here?”

“She was here with her friends when I saw and asked for help with negotiating. She was the one who turned the deal into our favour.”, I quickly reply.

“Very impressive Dr. Valentine, but do know that this doesn’t make a difference in the fellowship rankings.”, Harper says.

“I know Chief Emery, anyways I haven’t entered the competition. But thank you though.”, she replies. You’re surprised. You thought she had entered, but you never checked the list of participants. You tell her to wait at the car.

“You’re dropping her off?”, she asks.

“She literally just scored us a very big deal. I’m just thanking her.

“Hmm... Well I’ll see you later. Goodbye, Ethan.” You nod and get in your car. Turning on the engine, you drive.

“Where do you live?”, you ask.

She pulls up a location 20 minutes from here on her phone.

“Why didn’t you enter the fellowship?”

“Did you want me to?”, she asks. You don’t answer.

“My first week was hard enough, with a competition that would jeopardise our friendship, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Especially when they were the ones who got me through the first week.”

“I understand. A lot of friendships of mine were severed during my residency due to the competitiveness.” You both talk about leisure topics until you reach a tall apartment complex.

“This is me. Thanks for the ride, Dr. Ramsey.”, with that, she swiftly exits out of the car. You reverse the car and drive to your apartment.

Arielle’s PoV:-

You walk up to the entrance of your building, taking the elevator to your floor. You pull out your keys when Jackie opens the door and lets you in.

“I was wondering when you’d be back.” You smile, taking off your shoes and head into the living room.”

“Hey Ari! Join us for a drink!”, says Elijah.

“Nah, I don’t want a drink. But yes for the company.”

“You all better kiss that fellowship goodbye, cause I just solved that case in record time.”, Landry says.

“You do realise that Arielle was the one who did most of it and we all helped.”, Jackie says.

“Exactly, I looked at the clues and diagnosed the problem!”

You laugh with your friends as they playfully egg each other on. You’re going over today’s events, thinking about all the crazy events, when you realise that you haven’t been true to yourself. “Competing makes them stronger.”, you remember saying. You’ve given advice to other people but you aren’t following your own. You bolt up from the sofa, grabbing your purse and keys and head towards the door.

“What are you doing, Ari?”, Sienna asks.

“You smile replying, “Something I should have done way before.” Your roommates give you a knowing smile as you head towards Edenbrook.

You park your car, rushing through the atrium and up the stairs towards Dr. Ramsey’s office. You a minute to compose yourself and knock.

“Come in.”, his professional but baritone voice replies.

You enter his office to see a minimally decorated desk, covered with papers and patient files. He files them away neatly as you enter. “Rookie. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I want in.”

“I made it clear that the cutoff was midnight.” Your eyes follow his gaze to the wall clock. ‘12:02’

“What makes you think that you’re an exception?”

You steady yourself. “I know I can be a good doctor. I know that I can make a difference in people’s lives, like you do. It just took me a little longer to realise it.” You gulp, wondering if you’ve blown your chance.

He smirks and pull out a long list of names, adding yours at the bottom. “You had me worried there. What changed your mind?”

“I always advised other people to follow their dreams, never give up, to take a leap of faith. I realised I needed to take my own advice.” He nods with approval.

“Good Night, Dr. Valentine.”

“Good Morning, Dr. Ramsey.”, you say, pointing at the same clock ‘12:08’. He shakes his head with amusement.

You head out to your car, the cool autumn breeze in your hair, and drive into the night.

“Bring it on.”

33 notes · View notes

nayutai · 5 years ago

Text

Baby Don’t Move

⇢ Pairing Yunho x Female OC | Office Worker AU

⇢ Word Count 6.010

⇢ Warnings Yunho has a filthy mouth and a huge dick, oral sex (female receiving), rough sex, cursing (in general), aaaand I think that’s it

⇢ Summary Naima Yancey is ambitious and determined so her promotion at DevTech comes as no surprise to anyone. What should be a joyous moment for her is tainted. The promotion comes with a real office, more money, and a higher status, but it also comes with close proximity to the office golden boy Yunho. He gets under her skin in a way no one ever has, but she’s determined not to let this oversized menace ruin this opportunity for her. Turns out, Yunho would rather ruin her instead.

The muted ding of the elevator sounds much too joyful to Naima. Her transfer to the accounts receivable department should be marked by the sound of a death rattle or a dying elephant. A twinkling little ding only makes her even more pissed off. She glances down at the contents of the box nestled in her arms to see the brand new name plate she’d been given for her new office.

Naima Yancey

Receivables Supervisor

The youngest supervisor in DevTech history according to HR. She guesses that anyone else in her position would be excited about the transfer she’s mentally griping about. It’s not every day that someone like her gets unexpectedly promoted to a supervisory position. Naima has only been with the company for three years and apparently she’d made the most of that time. She pauses next to a sea of cubicles to scan the numbers above the offices on either side of the employees rapidly typing away at their stations. Only a few of them even bother to give her a second glance and for that Naima is incredibly grateful. She finally spots her destination, hiking the cardboard box she’s unloaded her desk into a little higher on her hip. She takes half of a step and immediately regrets every life choice that led her to this point.

“Well look who we have here. Are you lost, Ravioli?” Naima grits her teeth at that god awful nickname, swallowing the scathing retort that’s burning her throat. The deep baritone voice sounding off somewhere over her left shoulder is the cause of every ounce of the work stress she carries in her shoulders like a boulder.

Yunho Jeong. Beholder of an unfair amount of undeserved beauty and the victim in Naima’s most murderous dreams.

“You were in the staff meeting when they announced my promotion, Yunho.” She deadpans. Her skin is starting to itch from the prolonged exposure to the man in front of her. The smirk that is practically permanently etched on his face does nothing but piss her even more. She wants to smack him until it disappears.

“I’m just messing with you, Ravioli. You know that. Welcome to Receivables.” He shoves his hands into the front pockets of his jeans as he starts backing away. “Try not to fuck it up!” Naima can feel the thick cardboard of her box bending to the forceful clench of her fists. The weight of of nearly fifty pairs of eyes keeps the scathing remark she wants to make from bubbling up.

Fucking Yunho. Naima hasn’t even been in Receivables for an hour and she’s already doubting if the extra money is worth the headache. Okay, who is she kidding? The extra money is definitely worth it. Getting ahead of her bills had felt like the pipe dream of a wistful millennial before it had become an unexpected reality just last week. No way she lets some oversized preteen bully ruin this for her.

Naima is almost done putting her things into her new desk when the sound of an office door loudly closing disturbs her concentration. She looks up to see the source of the noise is none other than Yunho himself. All of the offices on this floor conveniently have floor to ceiling windows next to the door which allows people directly across from each other to see into the other person’s office. Naima is absolutely horrified at the implications of this as Yunho stares her down with a satisfied smirk. It’s obvious now that he slammed his door on purpose to get her attention.

“This is the worst day of my life.” Naima mumbles to herself as she does her best to ignore Yunho’s gaze burning into her forehead.

IT arrives a few tense minutes later to set up her docking station and get her started on the training modules for her new job duties. She’s taking notes on how to perform certain functions in the billing system when she receives a chat notification from her work husband Knox Rivers back in her old department.

KR: Hey wifey how’s the swanky new digs?

NY: My office is DIRECTLY across from Yunho’s office

NY: I can literally see every move he makes and he can see mine

KR: Dreamville? My treat

Naima immediately perks up at the mention of the bar down the street that has become a favorite amongst their group of friends. It’s going to take a lot to make her feel good about working in such close proximity with Satan’s hardest working demon, but a free round of drinks is a great start.

NY: I’ll meet you downstairs at 5:30

Naima nearly bursts into tears when she steps off of the elevator and spots Knox leaning seated in the lobby playing a game on his phone. She’s always thought that he looked like Thor with his long hair and athletic build and right now a superhero is exactly what she needs. A giggle bubbles up from Naima’s throat at the red stain that creeps down Knox’s throat when she sneaks up on him to kiss his cheek.

“Come on, big guy. There’s a Blue Magic with my name on it and I intend to collect my due.” Naimah declares, clapping Knox on his broad shoulders.

“Lead the way, my lady.” He holds the door open like the gentleman he is with a dramatic flourish. Naima’s heart twinges a little. She misses the days when talking to him in person required her to lean back in her chair as opposed to taking an elevator ride.

A few other people from the office are already at Dreamville when Naima and Knox arrive. They’re quickly swept up in familiar gossip and more drinks than anyone has a right to consume on a Tuesday evening. She’s engaged in a dangerous game of darts with a new employee named Xavier when a horribly familiar voice rings out above all the noise in the bar. Her head whips in the direction the voice came from, but the dart flies from her fingers anyway nearly taking some poor girl’s eye out. She yells out an apology but apparently her almost victim has had a little too much to drink herself and simply waves her off.

“Nice aim, Ravioli. An inch to the left and you would’ve scored a perfect murder.” Yunho taunts. Naima crosses her arms across her chest in indignation. Her eyes watch him intently and therefore don’t miss the way his gaze drops to get a look at her cleavage. His jaw ticks and she wants nothing more than to comment on that but Xavier interrupts by extending his hand in Yunho’s direction as he introduces himself.

“Naima, you ready to leave? I was about to call an Uber.” Knox materializes out of nowhere, phone in hand and Naima’s eyes nearly pop out of her head when she sees that it’s nearing eleven. She hadn’t realized that they’d been there for so long.

“See you tomorrow, Ravioli. Later, Knox.” She’d almost forgotten that Yunho was still here. He winks at her before he turns to walk away and, despite the fact that he can no longer see her, Naima flips him off.

Naima is still fuming nineteen minutes later when the Uber arrives. She successfully dodges Knox’s first few questions about why she’s so mad, but he eventually wears her down. She’d forgotten that Knox becomes a wannabe psychologist that likes to talk about people’s feelings after he’s had a few drinks.

“What do you have against him? You’re probably the only person at the whole company that doesn’t get along with him.” Naima rolls her eyes skyward. Yunho the golden boy is apparently loved by everyone and it makes her seethe even more. She wracks her brain for someone at the company that she can add to her side and thankfully comes up with a name.

“Fake news! Saia in purchasing called him a douche nozzle last week and I am inclined to agree.” Naima is quite pleased with herself as she settles back into the plush seating of the SUV. Her satisfaction is short lived.

“Saia doesn’t count.” Knox counters quickly. “Yunho dated her younger sister and it ended badly so that just leaves you.”

“The night before my first day at DevTech, my friends from back home came to town to celebrate and we went to this super fancy restaurant.” The red light at the intersection bathes them both in its glow which is ironic in Naima’s opinion.

She regales Knox with the store of how her friend Keyanna had bought her a ravioli entree to go so that she could have her favorite food on her first day. Yunho had snuck up on her when she was in the break room, startling her to the point that she ended up dropping a ravioli on her white button up. Of course the evil bastard had laughed about it till he could barely stand. She’d had to walk around for the rest of the day with the sauce stain on her shirt and Yunho has called her Ravioli every day since then.

“That…” Knox pauses to piece his thoughts together. “okay, yeah, I can’t say I’d be too fond of him either after that.” He admits.

“See? He’s an asshole and I hope he steps on a lego every day for the rest of his miserable life.” Their Uber driver, who had remained silent aside from the quick hello when they’d gotten in her car, snorts at the curse Naima speaks into Yunho’s life.

“You know he teases you because he probably wants to fuck you right? Men aren’t as evolved as people would like to believe.” Knox points out. Naima withdraws from him as if he just told her to go fuck herself.

“If he thinks that being an asshole will grant him access to my pearly gates then he’s a bigger idiot than I thought he was.” She and the driver exchange a high five when she chimes in with her agreement. Naima makes a mental note to make sure that Knox tips her good for being an intellectual.

A wave of exhaustion washes over Naima when their apartment complex comes into view. Thoughts of a hot shower and her fluffy pillows makes the time required to drive to their part of the complex feel like an eternity. She bids the friendly Uber driver a safe and prosperous night before all but running towards her building with a wave to Knox tossed carelessly over her shoulder as he makes his way to the building directly across from hers.

“Morning, Killer.” Yunho is way too chipper this morning especially since Naima has already had to suffer through elevator chatter about how he won a drinking contest last night. It doesn’t help that now he’s bringing up her almost homicide.

“Don’t you have something else to do? Like your job?” Yunho pretends to recoil from her remark as he follows Naima to her office. She wishes she could just haul off and smack him but that wouldn’t bode well for her professional career.

He props himself up against the wall next to her office and it’s as she unlocking her door that she registers just how close he is to her. A small shift of her weight to her right foot would push her up against his chest. Her mind drifts back to what Knox had said last night. She side eyes him cautiously before turning fully to face him head on. If anyone were to ask, Naima would blame what she does next on residual alcohol still inhibiting her rational thought.

“Do you want to have sex with me?” Yunho blinks several times in shock but he recovers quickly. He flips around to take stock of the people still filtering into the office to see if anyone is within ear shot and is seemingly satisfied by the lack of people around them.

“I never pegged you to have an exhibition kink, Ravioli.” She curses herself at the way the low timbre of his voice resonates deep in her gut. The greasy smile on his face however, makes her want to puke.

“My kinks are none of your business. I’m just trying to prove a point. Now answer the question.”

“I can only imagine what that point is, but yes, I would absolutely love to ravish you.” He leans in even closer so that she can smell the minty scent of his toothpaste when he whispers in her ear. His closeness doesn’t make her recoil in the way that she thought it would and the reasoning behind that is definitely not something she’s willing to explore.

The second she gets her laptop booted up she’s tapping out a message to Knox.

NY: Lunch on me today. We need to talk.

KR: I’m all yours at 12:30

Naima is still pondering her conversation with Knox when she steps off of the elevator to go back to her office after lunch. He seems to think that the best way to get Yunho off her back is to fuck him. According to Knox and his personal knowledge of “guy logic”, that will get her out of Yunho’s system and his annoying behavior will cease. Naima isn’t so sure about that. She’s so far inside her own head that she doesn’t even hear someone calling her name until they tap her on her shoulder. Of course, it’s Yunho. Luck is just not on her side today.

“Ravioli, you should consider getting your ears checked. I called you four times.”

“And you should consider that maybe I just don’t want to talk to you.” She replies. He makes himself comfortable in her office as she drops her purse into one of the desk drawers to jump back into her work.

“Oh, don’t be that way, Ravioli. I thought we were past this animosity thing since you practically propositioned me in the hallway.” He looks so smug as he recalls her blunder from earlier. God he’s so infuriating. Naima adds this to her running list of why men should be removed from Earth. She says nothing, choosing to simply point towards her office door. Thankfully, he’s not too dense that he can’t take a hint and returns to his own office space.

She’s settled into a steady pace with her work when her computer pings with a message. The prospect of clearing out her dashboard and possibly being able to leave early is too sweet to break her stride. Two more subsequent pings from effectively breaks her concentration.

YJ: hey

YJ: you look so cute when you’re concentrating

YJ: don’t ignore me I’m sensitive 😭

She looks through the glass into Yunho’s office to see him already staring directly at her. His head being propped up on his hands suggests that he’s been doing it for a while. He blows a kiss in her which she returns with a middle finger. She raises her computer monitors so that he’s no longer able to see her face.

Next order of business: buying blinds

Naima groans out loud when her computer pings with yet another message. At this rate she’s going to have to stay late to get everything done. She halfway expects the new message to be another annoying attempt at conversation from Yunho but thankfully this one is from someone that she actually doesn’t mind talking to.

KR: hey did you hear that Yaya bought a new house?

NY: yeah she just texted me that she’s having a bbq this weekend to celebrate the closing

KR: you going? 👀

NY: don’t ask me a stupid question like that of course I’m going

KR: lmao okay so we can split an uber then

KR: wanna leave at like 3?

NY: yeah that’s fine with me!

Naima is so happy for Saturday to finally roll around that she could cry. Yaya had told her a few things on the menu on Wednesday and her mouth has been watering ever since. Her husband is a chef at some fancy restaurant so she knows that this will be the best food she’s had in a while.

Knox and Naima are both slack-jawed at the absolute grandeur of Yaya’s house as their Uber driver comes to a stop in the center of the horseshoe shaped driveway. She’d neglected to mention that her new house is actually a castle. Naima frowns when she spots Yunho’s flashy Mercedes amongst the cars already parked in the driveway, but she’s determined to have a good time despite his presence. They follow the sound of music and splashing to the backyard to see a majority of the DevTech staff in the backyard. They’re quick to strip down to their bathing suits to join in on the chicken fight in the pool.

Naima has just sent Alexis from marketing flying off of Xavier’s shoulders when Yaya announces that it’s time to eat. It’s a race to get out of the pool as everyone is hustling for a good spot in line. Naima is cursing the god awful heaviness that plagues her every time she steps out of a pool when she hears a low whistle from behind her. It’s Yunho and his eyes are trained directly on her ass. Big surprise there.

“Yellow is definitely your color, Ravioli.” He produces a large, fluffy towel seemingly out of nowhere, offering it to her. She’s hesitant to accept it but a quick glance towards the now empty table that had once held an assload of towels changes her mind.

“I think I would look just as good on you.” Yunho smiles as if he’s just hit her with the best pick up line known to man. He’s gotten quite brazen with his flirtatious attempts ever since he’d exposed his sexual intentions on Monday.

“You talk a big game but everyone knows that overly confident men are just…” Naimah trails off with a pointed look at the front of Yunho’s jeans as she takes a sip of her lemonade. “overcompensating.”

Yunho pokes at the inside of his cheek with his tongue as he considers the woman in front of him with amusement. He revels in the way she swallows nervously when he closes the gap between them. Every breath she takes causes her barely covered chest to graze against his but, to her credit, she doesn’t back away. Maybe it’s the alcohol, but being this close to Yunho is making her blood run hot. She chooses to blame it on her primitive instincts and not actual attraction, but even she knows that’s a lie.

“Didn’t your parents teach you not to speak on things you know nothing about, Ravioli?” She can’t decide what she’s more mad at, the nickname or the insinuation that this asshole just said she’s wrong. She’s not.

“Didn’t your parents teach you not to lie?” She bristles. Yunho’s sarcastic little grin only grows in response to her anger. It’s like he gets off on making her want to wring his neck.

“Admit it, Ravioli. You want this just as much as I do.” Naima gasps when Yunho suddenly wraps an arm around her wait, jerking her to him. He leans down so that he’s speaking directly into her ear and in that moment, Naima knows she’s a goner. All these months of resisting him and he’s about to break her by whispering in her ear. She wants to scream bloody murder. “All you have to do is say the word and I’ll take you higher than you’ve ever been.”

“Prove it.” Naima feels like she’s put the final nail in her own coffin. Yunho has successfully worn her down. She can’t see his face, but she doesn’t have to to know that he’s smiling like he’s just won the lottery.

“Let’s go, Ravioli.” Naima expects Knox to be disappointed to see her leaving with Yunho when she waves at him to say bye, but instead he wiggles his eyebrows at her suggestively. She makes a mental note to yell at him for that later.

The ride to Yunho’s apartment is entirely too short. Naima’s shoulders are wrought with tension as she follows him up the stairs. Part of her wants to turn and run, but a much larger part is telling her to stay to see this through. Yunho has spoken quite highly of his sexual prowess and she’s more curious than not on just how much of it is true.

Yunho is on her the second she toes off her shoes by the door. One of his large hands firmly holds her jaw in place while he ravages her mouth with his own. Naima clings to his shirt to both hold him to her and ground herself in the moment. She feels lightheaded but it’s not from lack of oxygen. He uses his grip on her jaw to pry her mouth open, furthering his claim on her. The hand not covering her jaw skims across the skin above her shorts before deftly undoing the button. Her lips chase his when Yunho pulls away but he avoids her advances.

“Your lips taste so sweet. I want to taste all of you.” Naima shivers at the roughness of his voice. His normal baritone is a lot to deal with but this is downright sinful. He roughly hauls her off her feet into his arms, causing a fresh wave of arousal to flood her panties.

She busies herself with leaving marks along the column of his neck, loving the way she can feel his gruff moans vibrating against her lips. The smack of Yunho’s hand hitting the wall to steady himself when she grinds her hips against his startles her into.

“Jesus fuck, you’re killing me, baby girl.” Naima smiles mischievously, letting her lips linger on his skin. Something about the pet name he called her makes the heat simmering in her belly grow even hotter. He tosses her on his oversized bed once he collects himself enough to finally make it to his bedroom. She watches him curiously as he turns to dig around in his nightstand. His hand reappears with several foil packets in his grip which he promptly drops onto the mattress for later use.

Clothes fly haphazardly as Yunho hastily strips them down till nothing but his boxers remain in place. He smirks when he notices Naima’s playful grin drop when she takes in the size of the bulge he’s sporting. His large hands grip her hips, flipping her onto her stomach and rustling her around to a more favorable position. Finally satisfied with the way her face is pressed into the expensive Egyptian cotton of his bed sheets, Yunho buries his face in her dripping cunt from behind. He groans at his first taste of her and her answering whine is nothing but appreciative at the way it vibrates against her.

Naima yelps when Yunho’s large palms suddenly land on her ass with a resounding smack. He soothes the sting with tender caresses against her flesh. His tongue never leaves her entrance as he continues to coax a seemingly endless stream of arousal from her. She has the sheets in a death grip, moving her hips as if to separate herself from Yunho’s lethal tongue but wherever she goes his face simply follows. The slurping sounds of him feasting on her are absolutely obscene but she’s way too far gone to be embarrassed. She doubts that she would be able to form a coherent sentence of protest even if she wasn’t.

“You’re so fucking wet. I could drown in this pretty pussy.” Naima keens at his filthy words, squirming restlessly as the pleasure builds and builds within her.

It’s no surprise when she tumbles over the edge with a strangled shout, but she’d expected for him to release her once he’d made her come. Much to her surprise, Yunho doesn’t seem to have any plans of stopping. He tongues her through her orgasm, sucking gently on her clit as he thrusts two fingers into her still spasming entrance. Her knees buckle immediately from the sharp pang of oversensitivity. Yunho pulls his fingers from her long enough to land another harsh smack to her ass while his other holds her hips in place. The discomfort bleeds into pleasure until she’s racing headfirst into a second orgasm.

“That’s it, baby. Let go. Give it all to me.” Naima swears she’s on the verge of blacking out when Yunho finally releases her. She collapses against the mattress when he relinquishes his grip on her, trembling from head to toe. His chest is warm against the sweat-slicked skin of her back when he covers his body with his own. He leaves chaste kisses along her shoulder as he loops an arm around her torso.

“Don’t tap out on me now, love. There’s still more fun to be had.” Yunho grinds his cock against her ass, smiling against her skin when he feels her shudder in his hold.

He pulls himself up on his knees, dragging Naima’s tired frame with him. He makes quick work of removing his boxers and rolling on one of the condoms he’d grabbed earlier. She jerks when the head of his latex covered cock bumps against her sensitive clit as he covers himself in the slick still leaking from her cunt. Yunho watches the back of her head like a hawk as he slowly presses himself against her entrance. He swears quite creatively at the way her muscles lock down on him.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Yunho!” Naima drops her head to rest on her arms, doing her best to relax. He reaches underneath her to rub circles into her clits and succeeds in pushing forwards a few more inches.

His breath catches in his throat when she pulls her hips before pushing back against him to sink down a little further on his thick length. They work together until he’s finally seated balls deep inside her. Yunho’s eyes roll back in his head at the tight squeeze of her perfect cunt. He’s been inside quite a few women in his day, but this feels almost like uncharted territory. He hisses when she flexes around him involuntarily, tightening even further though he didn’t think that was even possible.

“I’m going to wreck this pussy, baby.” He punctuates his statement by withdrawing till only the tip remains, pushing back in with a purposeful thrust of his hips. Naima nearly chokes on the pitiful whine that claws its way out of her throat. “You’re gonna feel me in here for days.”

To his credit, he tries to keep his pace even and not too fast. He really does. His fingers are probably bruising her skin from how tightly he’s gripping her hips but it’s the only thing keeping him grounded and sane at this point.

“You call this wrecking me? I could’ve done this at home with my Rabbit.” Naima can admit that Yunho’s dick was a hard pill to swallow at first, but she’s thoroughly adjusted and in need of more. Judging by the way his hips still she’s about to get just what she was aiming for. She gasps when he grabs a fistful of her hair, yanking her upright so that he can whisper in her ear.

“Didn’t I tell you to watch that pretty little mouth of yours?” He practically growls in her ear as he grinds against her cervix. The pain mixes with the pleasure in a way that’s starting to make her lightheaded.

“No, you didn’t.” She responds breathily. Her fingernails dig into his thighs painfully but Yunho doesn’t care even a little bit.

“Well, I should’ve.” He shoves her back towards the mattress not giving her even a few seconds to get her bearings before he’s rearing back to slam back into her tight heat.

She shouts his name, squirming in his iron grip but he shows her no mercy. The time for that has past. Yunho’s hips piston in out of her at a furious pace. His gaze is fixated on the way her pussy creams on his dick with every thrust. His chest rumbles in protest when manages to pull away from him enough for his cock to fall out of her.

“Don’t run from me, Naima. You wanted this dick and now you got it.” She keens at the sound of her real name coming out of his mouth. The way his husky tone wraps around the syllables should be illegal. He fists the sheets next to her head with one hand as he uses the other to reposition her hips to allow him to slide back inside. His legs straddle both of hers, giving him the leverage he needs to fuck her into the mattress.

Naima’s fingernails are leaving crescent shaped marks in Yunho’s wrists as she holds on for dear life. She’s never been so thoroughly fucked in all her life. He’s reaching spots inside her that she didn’t even know existed until now. She’s on the verge of tears when he slows his frantic pace. He lowers himself so that his larger frame dwarfs hers once more. His arms looped under hers to hold her close to him. Yunho resumes his movements, opting for a much more relaxed cadence. The purposeful grind of his hips is just as overwhelming if not more so after the intensity from before.

“This is my pussy now.” Yunho grunts into her ear. He sucks marks into every inch of skin that his lips can reach. “No one will ever fuck you this good. Never fuck you this deep. You’re all mine.”

Naima bites down hard on a pillow that she must have grabbed at some point as she clenches around him hard. It dawns on her vaguely that Yunho hasn’t touched her clit once. She’s about to come from penetration alone. A feat she’s never been able to accomplish. The very Earth feels like it’s opened up beneath her when the orgasm that had been flirting with her senses finally washes over her. She feels him grow impossibly harder inside her as he reaches his own end. Black spots dance across her vision when the throbbing sensation of him filling the condom triggers a smaller, biting orgasm.

She’s surprised that she manages to stay conscious if only barely. Her surprise only grows when she feels a warm towel gently wiping between her legs. Her shock reaches a fever pitch when Yunho’s fingers start working into her calf muscles. She chooses to stay silent out of fear that he might stop if caught being nice.

“You done pretending to be asleep? Or did I actually fuck you stupid?” She can practically hear the smile in his voice as his fingers climb higher to her thighs. So much for peacefully enjoying this massage.

“I like you better when you don’t speak.” His amused laughter brings a smile to her own face despite her attempts to tamp it down. She shivers when he places a chaste kiss on the swell of her ass before going back to his ministrations on her legs. Knox is never going to let her hear the end of this once he finds out.

She’s about to go insane. Naima’s stomach has growled twelve times in as many minutes and if she doesn’t eat something soon there will be fatal consequences. She checks her phone once more to check Knox’s location and nearly cries when it says that he’s arrived at DevTech. Just a few minutes stands between her and hot bacon, egg, and cheese croissant and an extra large caramel macchiato.

The sight of Knox navigating the sea of cubicles with her breakfast in hand may as well be the second coming of Christ. She throws her arms around her neck the second he steps into her office. He pretends to be disgusted when she pecks him on his cheek repeatedly. Knox takes a seat in one of the leather chairs in front of her desk to talk before he goes back downstairs to work. Their conversation when Yunho suddenly burst through the door.

“What the hell are you doing?” Naima is appalled at the way he’s just invited himself into her office without even having the decency to knock first.

“I should be asking you that. I asked you for the Murchison report fifteen minutes ago but I guess you were too busy with your little boy toy here to actually do your fucking job.” Knox stands, mouth fixed to defend her, but she holds up her hand to stop him.

“Knox, can you excuse us please?” Naima says sweetly. Her tone is sweet and even, but there’s a hard edge to it that tells Knox she’ll be able to handle Yunho’s temper tantrum just fine.

Naima wraps her sandwich up as she motions for Yunho to have a seat in the chair Knox has just vacated. She shrugs her shoulders when he refuses, crossing her modest office to lock the door and close the blinds she’d installed.

“What the actual fuck is wrong with you, Jeong? Did you fall and hit your head? How dare you come to my office and insinuate that I’m not doing my job?.” He can tell that she’s working hard to keep from yelling at him but her words feel like a slap in the face either way.

“Look, I just need the Murchison report so that I can finish some paper-” Naima doesn’t even let him finish his sentence. She has no patience for him and his bullshit.

“Cut the bullshit, Yunho. The Murchison report wouldn’t be useful for anything other than end of year reporting which we are eight months away from so what the fuck do you actually want from me?” She’s seething. DevTech has a super relaxed company culture but HR still wouldn’t take too kindly to her punching another employee in the throat.

“Why didn’t you text me back yesterday?” Naima is taken aback. She remembers receiving a few texts from him on Sunday — how he got her number she doesn’t know — but it wasn’t anything that she felt warranted a response.

“Why would you want me to?”

The more they talk, the more Naima realizes that they went into that bedroom with very different ideas of what was going to happen afterwards. She’d intended for it to be a one time thing for him to try and prove her wrong which he’d succeeded in doing. Nothing more, nothing less. Obviously, Yunho had other ideas that went far beyond the four walls of his bedroom.

“This is new territory for me. I’ve never been jealous over women because I can get a new one in five minutes. I’ve never had a problem in that category.”

“Get to the point, Yunho.” She’s quickly growing bored of this conversation and she’s ready for it to be over.

“The point is that I want to see where this goes. Are you down for that?”

“No, you’re an asshole.”

“I mean, yeah, that’s true, but I’m cute and I’ll eat you out till you cry so what’s it gonna be?” He looks so hopeful that part of Naima wants to reject him again just to mess with him, but she’s not totally heartless. She decides to make him a deal.

“I’ll give you one week and then we’ll go from there now about this eating out business…” She trails off, looking at him suggestively.

“Come home with me after work and I’ll give you what you want and more.” The mischievous grin on his face promises another day of limping around and Naima is excited to say the least.

“You’ve got a deal. Now get out of my office.” She deadpans as she starts to unwrap the breakfast sandwich she hadn’t been able to finish earlier. He catches her off guard when he swoops in to steal a kiss from her lips as his “parting gift”.

“Later, Ravioli.”

She touches her fingers to her lips as she watches him walk back to his own office through her open door. It’s going to be an interesting week.

#ksmutclub #yunho smut #ateez smut #yunho x black oc #ateez x black oc #this is borderline pwp #plot where?#ateez fanfic #yunho fanfic #ateez yunho

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slippinmickeys · 5 years ago

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Of the Eight Winds, Part 7

This is part seven in who knows how many from the prompt from @sunflowerseedsandscience : “Mulder is unhappily married when Scully is partnered with him, and while he doesn’t cheat (because sorry that’s not romantic), he falls for her so hard that he finally gets the courage to end the marriage and start fresh.”

Links to parts one, two, three, four, five and six.

When he repeated the words “I, Fox, take you, Dana” he made a face, and she couldn’t help but laugh. It was half nerves and half him and bubbled up from inside her. The officiant smiled at her indulgently, and Mulder repeated himself and again made a face, and again she laughed. This time she looked over her shoulder at her mother who was standing witness, giving her an “ honestly , Dana” look while simultaneously trying to hold a one-year-old Lily who did not want to be contained. Mulder repeated the vows one more time.

“I, Mulder, take you, Scully,” he said, changing the words to better suit them, and there was no funny face, and no laugh. There was only a rightness to it, which washed gently over her and settled her nerves.

When the officiant told Mulder he could kiss the bride, he leaned into her slowly, and then wrapped his arms around her tightly, lifting her feet up off the floor. There were whoops and hollers from the small congress of witnesses, one of which she knew for sure was Charlie, and another she suspected might actually be Skinner.

When they darted out to the car after the ceremony, they were pelted with sunflower seeds which Scully didn’t realize until Mulder picked one gently out of her hair and popped it into his mouth.

They didn’t have a reception, just a small dinner at an Alexandria restaurant.

Scully watched the way Doggett and Reyes sat, heads bent together at the other end of the table and nudged Mulder.

He put his arm around the back of her chair whispered in her ear.

“There’s just something about that office, Scully.”

They had both left the X-Files once Scully was pregnant enough not to be out in the field anymore. Scully transferred to her old teaching position at Quantico, and Mulder “retired,” opting to write books for a few years while he finished his PhD, later opening his own practice.

They consulted often with their replacements and Mulder felt like he spent just as much time at various FBI facilities as he did at home working.

When the Lone Gunmen were killed and buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Mulder stepped away, eventually deciding that his consulting days were over.

A couple of years later, after William was born, they received an “It’s a Boy!” congratulations card postmarked from Arlington, Virginia. It was blank, but for a monogram as a signature, which read simply “TLG.”

As a one-year wedding anniversary gift, Melissa Scully offered to take Lily off of their hands for a week if they promised to go somewhere warm and tropical. Mulder figured Scully had probably put her sister up to it -- or at the very least had her add the tropical addendum to her gift, but either way it was nice to get away from it all. He hadn’t slept in one day since becoming a father.

Melissa came to their door with a small suitcase and a giddy smile, eyes only for her niece. She was rewarded with a big, sticky hug.

Mulder already had their luggage loaded in the car, but Scully lingered in the doorway, she was having trouble saying goodbye.

“Scully, our flight is in exactly two hours and I know you like to get to the airport early,” he said. He would not go back inside himself or he’d have trouble leaving, too.

Finally, Scully gave Lily one last hug and said to her sister, “the terrible twos are a real thing, Missy. Call us if you need us.”

“We’ll be fine,” Melissa said, and ushered Scully outside, Lily perched on her hip. Then she called “I’m not offering when she’s a threenager!”

On their flight home, Mulder reached for Scully’s hand.

“I’m not spending that much money on a tropical vacation again, if we’re never going to leave the room.”

Scully wiped a finger down one side of her mouth and gave his lap a meaningful look.

“Worth it,” she said.

Mulder defended and received his PhD with little fanfare.

Scully made him a celebratory pie (sweet potato), and they sat down on their back porch to eat it with a bottle each of Shiner Bock once they had both kids down.

It was a beautiful spring night, a warm breeze wafting through the woods behind their house. Mulder could almost swear he could smell the cherry blossoms from the district.

He leaned back after finishing his slice in record time and let his fork clatter to his plate. He lifted the beer to his lips.

When he set the beer back down on the table, there was a small brown box wrapped in white ribbon sitting next to his empty plate. Scully smiled at him as she took a sip of her own.

When he opened it, he found the antique brass compass that had passed between them several times.

“Regifting, Scully?” he said to her, mirroring words she’d once said to him.

“Turn it over,” she lobbed back.

Above the old To finding our way... inscription, it now read “ To Dr. M.” He leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss.

When he sat back down and picked up his beer, she reached over with her own and clinked the necks of the bottles together.

“Doctor,” she said to him on a nod.

“Doctor,” he nodded back.

With their second child, Scully went into labor a month early. He’d been speaking at a conference in New York when an organizer pulled him aside as he was exiting the stage from his last panel and told him he had a phone call. It was Mrs. Scully, who sounded concerned but was trying to hide it. In the background he could hear a muffled TV and then a worried three-year-old “ Where’s daddy ?”

The train ride back to DC was torture. He was anxious, could barely sit still. He kept calling Mrs. Scully who said she didn’t know much -- they’d had to take Dana into a Labor & Delivery room and Lily was really bothered by the whole situation so she’d taken her home to her house. Melissa, who had planned to be Scully’s doula, was in San Diego with Bill.

Later, when he was holding the baby for the first time, Scully’s doctor came into the room. There had been some complications with the labor, but Scully hadn’t elaborated, and Mulder had been too elated to by the birth of his son to give it much thought.

The OB informed them that she didn’t think it was possible for Dana to have any more children.

While the doctor was going through the finer points of it, Scully reached out and squeezed his hand so hard it hurt. He could only hear the roaring of blood in his ears.

Scully thought “Crusher” was a ridiculous name for a cat. However, family tradition mandated that every pet be named after a female doctor and Will got naming rights on this one. He had recently gotten really into Star Trek .

The cat sat on the coffee table, as black and fluffy as her predecessor, but with a slightly more quarrelsome personality. Scully thought it was probably fitting being that their first born was about to be a freshly minted teenager.

Mulder came into the living room carrying an enormous bowl of popcorn with Lily on his heels, sulky as she plopped into an easy chair. Good grades had earned Will the Saturday evening activity of his choice and he’d opted for a family viewing of the first Lord of the Rings movie. No family member’s presence was optional and Lily loathed sci-fi/fantasy, much to Mulder’s dismay.

He set down the bowl, which Crusher nosed thoughtfully, and cut his eyes to his wife.

“Will’s in charge of the ice cream,” he said, his eyes widening with a look of slightly anxious amusement.

“Is that wise?” Scully asked.

“No,” said Lily quickly with no small amount of sass, earning her a sharp look from her mother.

Will came in then balancing four tubs of Ben & Jerry’s and several spoons. He paused when he reached the coffee table and gave Mulder a significant look.

“They come in pints,” he said with a British accent, which launched Mulder into an uncharacteristic fit of hysterics. Lily rolled her eyes. Scully wondered what was so funny.

Scully had had one of the longest days on record, and if she walked into a messy house one more time, she swore she would walk directly up to her bathroom, climb into a hot bathtub and not get out until morning.

When she got to their front door, she could barely open it for the load of hockey equipment in front it.

“That’s it,” she said to herself.

She would have followed her oath to the letter if she hadn’t tripped on a cat toy halfway through the kitchen. Mulder and the kids were all parked in various spots around the room.

“You okay?” Mulder asked her, barely looking up.

Her silence spoke volumes and eventually the three Mulders in the house were looking at her with a kind of low grade fear.

“Why,” she said, struggling to keep her voice steady, “am I the only person in this house who cleans it?”

Will opened his mouth to say something, but Mulder put a hand on the boy’s arm.

“The mop has a handle, not an access code,” she said, giving them each a cold glare before heading up the stairs. “I will be in the tub,” were her parting words.

When she came down a couple hours later, wrapped in a silk bathrobe and a significantly better attitude, she found the house spic and span, a rumpled looking Mulder sitting quietly at the kitchen counter nursing a Coke.

“The house looks great,” she said, and he smiled at her.

“We’ve implemented a few extra columns on the chore chart,” he said, “and I have a row now, too.”

She reached for the Coke and he handed it over.

“Got you something,” he said, and nodded at a lone parcel sitting on the countertop.

When she unwrapped it she found a hastily made homemade sign, made from what she could tell was scrap lumber that had been sitting around the garage. Painted on it were three words in three different handwriting styles. It read “Bless This Mess.” They had all signed it.

She felt her eyes start to tear.

“It’s hideous,” she said, and Mulder laughed. “You can hang it over there,” she sniffed.

It would hang in their kitchen for the rest of their days.

Lily was 17 and was just getting over the nightmarish huffy know-it-all stage of the early teens. Mulder and William—who had just hit the gawky, all arms and legs stage of adolescence—were sitting at the dining room table, taking apart Mulder’s old VCR. It had stopped rewinding and they had a plan to watch Plan 9 From Outer Space that night. Mulder swore the movie was better on video, so William swore it too.

“We’re missing a screw,” Mulder said to his son, who was in charge of keeping the various component parts together on the table.

“We’re not, I handed them all to you,” Will said.

Lily came skidding into the kitchen, grabbing the edge of the doorway to keep her balance.

“Dad,” she said, her voice tremulous and shaky. Mulder was on his feet before she finished saying his name. “There’s something wrong with mom.”

Mulder tore up the steps, the thundering steps of his children right behind him and skidded to a halt in the door of the master bath. Scully was on the floor--he couldn’t tell whether or not she was conscious.

“I heard a thump and I came in here and she was like this,” said Lily, nearly in tears.

“It’s okay, Lil,” he said distractedly, reaching forward to feel for a pulse on Scully’s neck.

When his fingers met her flesh, she inhaled deeply, and tried to sit up.

“Mulder?” she said, her eyes flickering open “what… what happened?”

“Honey, you passed out,” he said, giving her a hand to sit up.

She looked pale, but glanced over his shoulder at the worried faces of their two kids and said, “I’m okay guys.”

She did a self-assessment and convinced a not-really-convinced Mulder that she was fine, with the caveat that she go to the doctor first thing the next morning, and when she walked into the house after her appointment, she looked shocked and was shaking.

Mulder walked over to her and tipped up her chin to connect eyes.

“Don’t make me guess,” he said quietly.

Her eyes shone and she gave him a tentative smile.

“I’m pregnant,” she said.

#the X-files #fanfic #msr #au #of the eight winds #my fic

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ktheist · 4 years ago

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— WIPS TAG

tagged by the lovely @koochiekoo !!

rules: post the first line of a wip, as well as the last line you’ve written so far (but i’ve added pairings and title for extra info!)

note: this wip game seems fun at first but the more i add to the list, the more i realize i have too many things pending to be written and some may not even see the light of the day lmaoo anyway, i thought i should honor my time and effort and let the community know that they exist!

titled: -

pairings: jungkook x reader

first line: you should have known that in the absence of two of your best friends, nothing ever goes right when you decide to hang out

last line: at first, excuses like ‘sorry we’re late, we were getting mcdonald’s’ or some other poor fast food restaurants’ name that became the patsy, but they started dwindling to ‘oh hey, sorry, we didn’t notice the time’ and eventually a ‘hey, jimin’s got a meeting with a professor and he’s my ride so you guys go first’.

titled: the un-love potion dealer

pairings: wizard criminal!jimin x wizard cop!reader

first line: the better half of your career, after being transferred to the department of magical misuses, has been spent chasing after park jimin - not because he’s the other half of your soul but because he was the most outstanding student produced by ilvermorny yet also the most notorious for his secret concoction of reverse love potions.

last line: those blue eyes always looking at you with a knowledge of a life lived for a hundred years

titled: pirate’s life darling

pairings: pirate!taehyung x mermaid! reader

first line: “grandfather, you can’t - not with seokjin.” desperation claws within your eyes, if you would, you’d gouge them out and present it to the expressionless merman sitting on the throne, “i’d rather die than marry a human!”

last line: perhaps those were what made your heart clench with a sort of longing - even though they were everything your people would sneer and scoff at.

titled: a feast for beasts

pairings: hybrid!jungkook x human!reader

first line: “kim namjoon.” your voice is leveled. perhaps too leveled for someone who’s about to eat a man alive. and namjoon knows it too from the spark of sheer unadulterated fear in his eyes and the bob of his adam’s apple.

last line: it is a few hours later, at exactly 8:13 in the morning, do you belatedly realize that these men weren’t ordinary men and yoongi was quite literally, a snake.

titled: run the game in high heels

pairings: ceo!jungkook x heiress!reader

first line: “that’s him? your new play thing?” chungha’s long lashes brushes the top of her blushed cheeks. the brown and deep red eye makeup making her stare all the more ravenous as though she’s sizing up the clueless deer somewhere amidst the woods.

last line: when you finally arrive in front of your apartment complex and the click of the door unlocking drums in your ears, you’re surprised the door didn’t fall off its hinges as you leap out, not sparing a glance as you walk around the front of the car to get to the entrance where the receptionist greets you with a nod, knowing full well jungkook’s eyes are on you until you disappear around the corner where you punch the button of the elevator a bit too forcefully.

titled: zero to the power of zero

pairings: ability type!jungkook x ability type! reader

first line: it’s just business or so jungkook tells himself every time he watches as the light fade out from his target’s eyes.

last line: and you need him to train you to use your ability so you could reverse the affect and save yoongi. easy-peasy.

titled: -

pairings: heir!jungkook x heir!reader

first line: Jungkook’s mother isn’t that old. Or so he’s always thought but when you spend your whole childhood up till adulthood with the same person, they tend to stay young in your mind, you know?

last line: “You honestly think I’d intentionally get left behind with her?” Jungkook says from the passenger seat of his S60 Hybrid.

#wips #bts scenarios #tag game #tagged

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conversationswithcole · 4 years ago

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I Drank the Kool-Aid

Alright folks, so I have been wanting to document my newest fitness journey for a little while now, but I didn’t want to jump the gun considering I am still VERY new.

For those of you who don’t know, I drank the damn kool-aid. I joined a Crossfit gym. Crossfit has always been something that I have deeply desired to try but was too nervous to step out of my comfort zone on my own to do it. Last year my rugby team started winter training at local Crossfit gym and unfortunately due to my work schedule I was unable to participate. I was super bummed because I thought that was my perfect opportunity to try it out without all the awkwardness and anxiety that would follow. In the meantime I joined your regular Blink fitness and continued to lift as I had been for the past few years. Fast forward to the pandemic when gyms closed and I partially trained for a half marathon until I gave up. At the time I wasn’t really doing any exercising for about three months besides an occasional run here and there.

I vividly remember going to Maine with Vincent at the end of July and how horribly uncomfortable I was feeling with my body. I was so insecure, anxious and irritable and it was hard for it not to effect my trip. After recently going out for dinner and drinks with some teammates, who were all signed up at the same Crossfit gym, I had decided it was finally time for me to give it a shot. I remember telling Sam that I wanted to take my first class and how nervous I was to show up. I got there early, which is very unlike me because if you know me you know that I am literally always late to everything because of who I am as a person. I sat in my car in full panic mode until Sam and Chelsea arrived and I wouldn’t walk in without them. I met my coach and he was super friendly which made things a bit easier but then he proceeded to literally torture me in the form of exercise. I couldn’t even perform the entire workout, I took ten thousands breaks and actually felt like I was dying. I will NEVER forget my first class. It was the biggest ego check I have ever had in my entire life. I signed up for a part time monthly membership right after.

It took me a few weeks to get comfortable with going to classes that my teammates weren’t in. Crossfit is intimidating as hell. You should see the babes at my gym. They’re so fucking bad-ass it’s hard not to be intimidated by their strength. It was about three weeks after my first class that I decided I wanted to sign up for an unlimited membership.

I instantly fell in love with the entire sport. In our current world rugby is non-existent and that’s a huge piece of my life that’s missing. There are so many similarities between the two that make me understand why people who love Crossfit, love Crossfit.

One of the most special pieces of rugby is the weaving of competition and sportsmanship. In Crossfit, the athletes perform with that same mindset. Everyone wants to be the fastest, strongest, finishes with the most reps in the AMRAP WOD athlete at the gym when it comes time for class. But the second they finish their last rep, before they can even catch their breath, they become your personal cheering squad. They won’t stop until you’re finished and they push you to get it done even when you don’t want too. They’re always there to encourage you, pat you on the back even when you fail and to offer their share of advice and knowledge. It’s an incredible feeling to be surrounded by so many supportive and uplifting individuals in an environment that is so challenging both mentally and physically.

I have always grappled with the unhealthy habit of comparing my performance to the performance of someone better than me. And even though between the coaches and athletes at my gym there are always people rooting for me, it’s hard not to look around and feel inadequate sometimes. Similar to most feats in life, in Crossfit what goes on in your mind determines how you perform physically. There are days where the last thing I wanted to do was show up to class and by the end of the workout I was riding this post WOD high that made me feel invincible. Then in contrast to that there are other days where I can’t wait to step foot into my little box and I struggle to get through the workout. At times I lack the ability to get my mind to come to grips with the fact that success is not and never will be linear. I don’t give myself enough credit and forget to acknowledge the fact that I am literally brand spankin’ new to this sport and four months is NOTHING. My brain thrives on constant reassurance, ask my coach Mike he can attest to that. I am so obsessive with executing each movement perfectly that I ask ten thousand questions even if I know what the answer is and I get anxious when I start to doubt my performance. I even get so nervous about staying after class to do extra skill work that I can only do it when Shannon is around to take me under her wing. It’s incredibly frustrating and even though I am able to recognize these that these obsessive, lack of self confidence thoughts are inside my head, it’s sometimes too difficult to rid myself of them.

Despite all of this, if we were to look back on my first month to now, I have made some serious progress. Each day brings a new challenge, a new goal and a new lesson. Like rugby, there is always room to learn and improve. One of the main reasons I love Crossfit is because it pushes me to do things I would have normally deemed impossible for myself. There was a time in my life where rugby was considered impossible in my life, and now here I am ten years later a co-founder of Long Island Women’s Rugby. On my best days at the gym I feel that same sense of empowerment, confidence and straight up bad bitch vibes that I get from being a female rugby player.

Another huge piece of rugby is the community that you become a part of after joining. I have seen many marriages, families, and life long friendships form between members of the rugby community. My life and who I am as a woman today is because of the people I met through rugby. I see that same sense of camaraderie at my gym. It’s funny because my 63 year old mother doesn’t really understand what I mean when I say I’m going to the gym. I’ll be gone for three hours and she thinks I’m at your average LA Fitness with a bunch of strangers lifting weights. One day she literally called me to see if everything was okay because I was there for so long. I have met so many people in such a short amount of time that I consider my friends. I genuinely enjoy their company and the more time that goes on and the more I get to know everyone the more I want to continue to come back. It is so important to surround yourself with people who make you feel good. You can do Crossfit anywhere, but part of the reason why I love it so much is because of my gym and the people in it.

It’s funny because as I reflect on my Crossfit journey I am reminded of my freshman year of rugby. When my roommate at the time, (now currently my best friend of 10 years), wanted us to join rugby I was too damn scared to get out of the car when we pulled up to practice. I made her lead the way and do all the talking while I stood there in silence. Who I was when I joined was completely different than the girl I was when I graduated. Freshman year of college was hard for me. I was homesick and I wasn’t sure being so far away from my family was what I wanted. I actually applied to schools on Long Island and was ready to transfer back home but there was something holding me back. Sure I could go home and play rugby for another school with a brand new team but something about that just didn’t feel right to me. I get that same feeling when I think about moving away from Black Bear.

2020 has been one hell of a freakin’ year, and as I sit here writing this I am in quarantine for the second time this month after my third exposure to the virus. December is really kicking my ass. Between the holidays, and losing my job and starting a new one and all this exposure to Covid I’ve barely been to the gym this month and it’s crazy to see how much that has affected me in my everyday life. If there is one thing I am most thankful for this past year, it is Black Bear.

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periwinkledoodle · 5 years ago

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Chapter 1: Bo the Funkster and His Shady Owl

Honey Lee

How do you pack for a boarding school for the magically gifted? No seriously, I’m asking. The question had so paralyzed me for weeks that there I was at 5 am on a Sunday staring at an empty suitcase.

My parents had enrolled me, their ‘gifted’ child into Ilvermorney’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after I’d accidentally transfigured my Algebra teacher’s toupee into a small chihuahua. I mean the resemblance was uncanny but my feeble explanations weren’t fooling anyone. My letter addressed to Ms. Hun Mi Beatrice Lee arrived shortly after.

“Hey Honeycomb, do you wanna eat breakfast before we go or take it on the way to the airport?” It was my Dad calling from down the hall in our Familie’s tiny San Francisco Apartment. He was probably packing snacks and making a Spotify playlist for the drive to the Airport. He knows exactly how to prepare for this. I grumbled to myself. It was a knack of his to anticipate and prepare, not just for himself but for our little family of three. When I went to my first sleep-away camp he made sure to tuck Mr. Pinky into my duffle even though I insisted I was too old for stuffed animals. When Mom lost her job he was prepared with taped re-runs of Gilmore Girls, a steaming pan of bulgogi and extra savings from a rainy day account he’d meant to surprise us with.

“I’ll eat on the way” I shouted back after a pregnant pause. Maybe it’s not too late to ask him to pack for me. I jumped at the knock on my door.

“Uuuuh-” I responded dumbly, unable to come up with a believable excuse to shoo away the intruder. The door creaked open and my Mom stood there sleepy-eyed with an extra cup of coffee in her hands.

“Coffee?” She smiled sweetly, handing me my favorite ceramic travel mug. The one with the San Francisco skyline. The one not from Starbucks. She took a sip of her own before eyeing my room. I could see her face change as her eyes drifted to the empty suitcase at the end of my bed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and another sip of coffee. When she opened her eyes again she took the coffee mug out of my hands and pointed down the hall to the bathroom.

“Toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, razor, lotion. Go!”

All I could do was nod and scurry to my task as Mom called down the hall “Ed! Put the pancake batter in the fridge and come help me!”

Twenty minutes later my parents were high-fiving each other as we merged onto the freeway to the Airport with my entire wardrobe and most of my essentials stuffed into two bags in the trunk.

“We’re only a few minutes behind schedule, which is fine because I set aside at least ten minutes of buffer time for getting your mom out the door so really we’re ahead of things- Ow!” Dad rubbed the spot where mom’s elbow met his ribs. Mom turned around in her seat to hand me back my coffee.

“Ready?” She asked

I nodded. How are you supposed to tell your parents you’re woefully unprepared to be a witch when they’re making big sacrifices to make the best of the situation? Ilvermorney was not cheap I knew that much.

“The real question is-”

I groaned as dad reached for his iphone

“Are you guys ready for this fire mixtape?”

“Dad it’s called a playlist and please never call something ‘fire’ ever again” I shouted over the speakers blasting Magic by Pilot.

My family has never been one for emotional goodbyes so forty minutes later at the departures curb my Dad handed me my bags and my itinerary with sticky notes marking extra instructions for my transfer from JFK to the School’s rail shuttle. Mom handed me some extra cash for breakfast and they were off. Not two minutes later my phone buzzed with a text from Mom.

We’re so proud of you. X.

I’ll admit my eyes did sweat a little as I took a deep breath and headed to the bag drop line.

Having a whole 7-hour flight to ease my social anxiety nerves did not prepare me for the three-hour train ride with no assigned seating from New York to Mt. Greylock. After wandering the full length of the train trying to act like I knew where I was going I finally settled into an empty compartment towards the front of the ‘student rail shuttle’ or at least that’s what was plastered on each train car. After a full five minutes of peace and quiet, what I can only describe as a Crayola box on heelies rolled into my compartment, stuck out his hand and said “Hi, I’m Bo the Funkster” before dropping his bags and a tiny bug-eyed owl in the corner.

“Hi,” I said weakly, shaking his hand. From head to toe, the guy was a loud assortment of patterns right down to his banana socks and checkered vans. I was still confused as to how they had wheels.

“You got a name?” he asked cheerily

“Honey”

“Babe” He quipped without skipping a beat. Fluttering his eyelashes teasingly.

I huffed uncomfortably “N-no that’s my name. Well, actually my name is Hun Mi but my sister couldn’t pronounce it when I was born so she called me Honey and now it’s the only name I ever remember being called.”

“That’s cute” He smiled sincerely

“Yeah, she was cute like that. My parents miss her a lot.” I said more to myself than anyone else until I saw his smile drop. Oh boy, major overshare. I mentally slapped myself. Recover! Recover!

“I mean, she died from cancer a long time ago so it’s fine”

His eyebrows knit together and mouth agape no doubt looking for a socially acceptable response to ‘Hi my name is Honey, my sister died of leukemia what’s your childhood trauma?’

Way to put oil on the fire Honey.

But to my surprise Bo the Funkster pat a hand on my knee. “Dude, that sucks. I’m sorry” He leaned back in his seat and studied me for a minute. “So your first semester at Ilvermorney?”

“Can you tell?”

“Uh, yeah. But you’re good don’t sweat it. I’ll help you out. Hit me with your questions.”

“Questions?”

“Yeah about wizarding, Ilvermorney, whatever. There’s no shame in being new to the wizarding community but you probably want to know a few things am I right?”

I nodded

“Well then, young padawan-” he gestured “proceed.”

Two and a half hours later we had exhausted our Q&A and had resorted to swapping opinions on the best movies of the summer. The train turned a sharp corner into bright forested hills and the glow of the late afternoon light made me feel like we had entered another world altogether.

Bo caught me staring “Yeah, it’s pretty” he admitted crawling his lanky limbs over his seat towards the window, he wedged the rusted thing open to let the summer breeze in.

“C’ mere” He motioned

I scooted over to the window and followed suit as he stuck his head out the window and inhaled deeply.

“Aahh, the last breath of summer,” he remarked before grinning at me wildly and cupping his hands to let loose a piercing howl that echoed over the hillside. I blinked. He abruptly put his hand up and shushed.

“I didn’t-”

“SHHH!” he wagged his shushing finger more forcibly.

I rolled my eyes to the sky but without missing a beat several eerie howls drifted back over the hills to us. I could feel my eyes grow wide.

“werewolves” Bo the funkster declared waving his arm out the window in proud presentation before sitting back in his assigned seat looking very pleased with himself.

“But it’s daytime, don’t they only change with the full moon?”

“Woohoo, look who knows her stuff!” He cheered. Then leaning forward with an unsettlingly fascinated look in his eye “It is a full moon!” Without looking he jabbed a finger at the sky. I almost didn’t look half expecting him to just be messing with me, but there it was hanging proudly in what was left of blue in the sky.

“The nighttime part isn’t necessary and werewolves can howl in their human form too. Piece of trivia for your DA course.” He clicked some finger guns at me and winked before stepping out of the compartment without explanation.

What a weirdo. I smiled in spite of myself.

“Buckle up!” He called from down the car

Buckle up?

The train lurched and took off the tracks and I white-knuckled the armrest searching furiously with my other arm for a nonexistent seatbelt. The shifty Owl who I’d almost forgotten about perched atop the now falling luggage let out a grumbly and distinctly human-like “Who” that would haunt my dreams for weeks.

I gaped at it in absolute horror.

Once I regained my balance, and a piece of my sanity, I dared to steal a glance out the window, rather than engage the bird in a staring contest I was likely to lose. The sight that met my eyes made both my stomach and my heart leap. Unsure of whether it was nausea or nerves, I took a deep breath and leaned out the window again for a closer look. As the train gracefully ascended around the mountain it passed through a flock of what I can only describe as grey eagle-like Pegasus. Pegasuses? Pegasi? There were so many things I still didn’t know.

Now is not the time to dwell on self-doubt. I lectured.

Looking again, I saw emerging from the trees at the top of the mountain piercing spires and castle windows glittering in the setting sun.

Maybe this place can be home. I hoped. The thought of finding a place to belong made me loosen my grip on the seat cushioning until another unsettling “who” came from the beady-eyed monster in the corner.

“BO!?” I called out nervously

No response.

I swear to God-

“FUNKSTER!?”

#creative writing #hp #harry potter #ilvermony school of witchcraft and wizardry #ilvermorny #fanfic #harrypotterfanfic #harry potter fanfiction #create #witch #wizard #wampus #horned serpent #thunderbird #pukwudgie #for laughs #under quarantine #writers

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spirit-of-the-void · 6 years ago

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Ebony and Ivory (V x Reader Fanfic) Chapter 3

Authors Notes: I’m gonna cry, you all are so nice ;-; Thank you so much for your kind words and comments! I’m gonna try to keep it at one chapter a day for a while yall.

Chapter 3

Chaos burst forth in the next instant. Shadow attacking the demons in a flurry of spikes and claws, teeth sinking into a demon’s throat with a spurt of blood. Griffon cackled gleefully, flying to the nearest demon to level his own attacks. You found adrenaline pumping through your veins, tendrils whipping out to attach to the nearest demon and impale it through the chest. Several of the creatures started for you and V, who calmly strolled to the side with his eyes fixed on the spectacle. He pulled out his poetry book, hair blowing in the breeze as he dodged an attack from a distant demon, pointing his cane at the creature with an expression of cold glee. Shadow was on it in an instant, ripping at it with its attacks and bringing the demon to its knees.

“Pin him to the wall,” V growled, darting over and quickly slamming the sharp end of his cane into the creature’s head, killing it instantly and causing it to disintegrate. You used a nearby building to swing around behind him, planting your heels in the face of a demon creeping up to attack the poet while he was distracted. It screamed in pain, swiping at your legs with a clawed hand. V’s cane whipped around in the next instant, impaling the creature’s hand and stabbing into its neck. A rush of air left your lungs as you stumbled back, skidding on your heels as the tendrils stabilized you. Holy shit. The demons were definitely fast, but there were moments where V was faster.

He took a few steps toward you, eyes tilted down to his book as he moved in a slow turn around his fighting companions, murmuring Poetry from his book as they attacked a third demon, “To see the world in a grain of sand, and Heaven in a Wild Flower. Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, And Eternity in an Hour.”

Energy seemed to crackle ever so subtly in the air around him as he spoke, voice clear and smooth. He closed the book with one hand, dark green gaze passing over you as he teleported over to the third fallen demon, stabbing it right between the eyes before yanking his cane out with a twirl of his body. You found yourself fixed to the spot, both awed and amused as you witnessed how V fought. So different than Nero, but with a very similar dramatic flair. Both had a taste for being incredibly extra it would seem. V’s was just on a whole different spectrum.

You thought you saw him smirk at you as he turned, pointing his cane at the two remaining demons with a command of, “Slice them.”

Shadow and Griffon descended upon the creatures in seconds, breaking them down to nothing but crumpled husks. V had to land the killing blow on them as well—in fact it seemed his companions wouldn’t kill a single one. V had to end each one, finishing them off with a leap in the air and landing in a pirouette. You grinned a little at that, retracting your tendrils back and letting the energy calm down a bit. As soon as the final enemy was killed, whatever was blocking your paths disappeared, the breeze clear and your Foresight quiet once again. You looked around, watching the bodies slowly dissipate into the air as Griffon and Shadow settled down. V seemed pretty fucking capable on his own, if you were completely honest. Sure he looked a bit skinny, but from what you could tell he and his companions didn’t really need your power.

Or so you thought. As you looked at V, you noticed him lean heavier on his cane. It was a subtle change; one you were sure you wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t been looking for it. He griped the top of the cane until his knuckles were white, Hair shielding his face so you couldn’t see his expression. He straightened up a little bit a second later, turning with that same half smile he wore before and his dark green eyes meeting yours. You tried not to display your worry, finding yourself pretty concerned for his well-being. You didn’t know the nature of what was wrong, but you wanted to help people—it was in your nature. You were also hoping to become friends with the trio you had met so far, you wanted to be useful.

“You have quite the interesting power,” V commented, snapping your racing thoughts back to the present. You focused on him again, face heating a little when you realized you had probably been standing there staring like an idiot while you zoned out, “Your ability makes you fairly fast...I noticed tendrils appearing out of your person as well.”

You nodded, lifting a hand to summon some of the blue, feathery wisps of power to show him.

“This is essentially what my abilities look like. They’re almost like super strong threads, they're pretty versatile,” He came closer as you spoke, lifting his free hand to hover them over the tendrils. They gently wrapped around his fingers, so you took the opportunity to try and aid him a bit. Focusing your energy, you continued, “They can attach to anything, make things for me. They’re how I transfer energy too.”

He seemed mesmerized by them, curling his fingers as he enjoyed their gentle glow. You knew they felt soft to the touch, but they were razor sharp and hard as steel when needed. Born of the Void’s nothingness, its energy into physicality. The first time you used them, you remembered it burning you for days. You would vomit whale oil when you tried to extend—it took months of training to get used to it, and even longer to cultivate your own style and learn your limits.

But you couldn’t tell V that. Not now.

Instead, you let out a slow breath, focusing on the sharing of your power as you murmured, “From the Void into you.”

You felt the energy leave your body, traveling into V’s fingertips. He stared in a mixture of surprise and intrigue, watching as your energy traveled through his arm and disappeared into his body. He let out a slow breath when it did, flexing his fingertips and staring at them with his lips parted with intrigue. You hoped whatever was ailing him was at least lifted somewhat, retracting the tendrils and letting the energy inside simmer down. Adrenaline was your friend at that moment—All that time in the Void left you aching for a little excitement, it would seem. You felt practically bubbling with energy, ready to expend it on whatever necessary.

A moment paused between you and the taller male, him still looking at his fingers with an expression of curiosity. If you weren’t mistaken, his complexion had improved a bit too.

“How fascinating...” He breathed, meeting your gaze with a light smirk, “An interesting sensation to say the least.”

You rocked back on your heels, running a hand through your hair as you asked, “Feel any better?”

He paused again, glancing at you from underneath his lashes.

“...I do,” He replied, inclining his head to you in a grateful nod, “Thank you, Y/N.”

Ohhh dear. Something about hearing him say your name like that made your stomach do flips. You nodded back at him and turned away with a small smile, looking down the alleyway and trying to will your heartbeat into slowing down. That was definitely the adrenaline, it wasn’t fading any time soon. You heard Griffon let out a strange trill, wings flapping as he swooped by you again, sending your hair waving in his residual air. He landed on your shoulders as before, gentler this time as you reached back to hold his feet steady. You heard him snicker in your ear, beak closer to that side of your head.

“Ohhh someone was lookin’ starry eyed back there,” He breathed quietly at you, sounding heavily amused, “You okay girlie? Need some breathing room? A cold shower?”

You rolled your eyes at him, tapping a finger on the side of his head as you replied, “Behave, Birdie.”

He snickered again, shaking out his feathers a bit as you turned back to look at V. He was putting his book back into his vest, back to his usual demeanor of eyes focused and that wry smile on his face. Shadow shook out it pelt, letting out a low growl as it slid past you and V, sitting down nearby to lick its paw. You sighed, hating that the big cat was so standoffish to you, even after your food bribe. V was right, despite his gruff bullshit Griffon was a lot easier to win over. One piece of meat later and the bird was riding on your shoulder cawing in your ear. Mind you, that wasn’t a complaint. You were incredibly pleased to not have to fight with Griffon all the time.

“So,” You asked as you started to follow V forward again, still firmly grasping the bird by its talons as you walked, “This Dante guy, who is he?”

V turned into another alleyway, and as he did so you watched Shadow disintegrate as his feet, absorbing into V’s tattooed body. You stared in startled shock, worried for a second until you realized V's tattoos got darker with the action. So he could take his little companions and have them inside his body? That was certainly interesting, but in retrospect it made sense considering you saw the panther pop out earlier when V summoned it. Still, it was jarring to watch for the first time up close. Not to mention your heavy disappointment when you realized there wouldn’t be a chance of you petting it while it was on its master’s body.

Griffon, however, seemed perfectly content from his spot on your shoulders. You absentmindedly made another small scrap of meat, tossing it up to him to catch in his beak. He chirped eagerly when you did, the chomping sound pretty gnarly if you were being honest.

V smirked again, hopping up over a piece of debris in your way as he replied, “Dante is a demon hunter, one that is a friend and acquaintance of Nero. I hired him to help...take care of Urizen.”

Huh. You hopped over the rubble as well, surprised when Griffon helped you a bit. Though you were sure he was supposed to help his master with things like this.

“Everyone seems pretty worried about him,” You commented, conjuring up a granola bar in your other hand. It occurred to you in that moment that you and V had been walking for about two hours and maybe eating something would be a good idea. You summoned another, tapping his shoulder once to get his attention and hand it to him, "Here, you should eat something."

He stared at the bar, eyebrow raised as he gently took it from you. By the expression on his face, you swore the thought of food had never occurred to him. He seemed pretty much human and humans had to eat. Unless he had a health condition of sort? But even then, he had to find nutrients somewhere, from something. There was a lot you didn’t understand about V, but you knew for energy and such food was a good way to go.

“I...” He said, hesitating a bit. You had never seen him hesitate before, “I don’t think this is necessary.”

You shrugged, taking a bite of your own and swallowing before replying, “I disagree. Food translates into energy V, and...well...no offense... You look like you can use something to eat.” It was bothering you, his state of being. He walked and fought fine, but your foresight was just...tingling in your stomach where he was concerned. You felt like you had to worry, because no one else would.

Griffon chuckled heavily at your words, eyeing his master as he sneered, “That’s French for ‘you look like shit, V’.”

You sighed, “No that is not what I meant. At all.”

“That so?” Griffon’s tone held very heavy implications, “You got some sort of feeding fetish?”

You couldn’t help yourself. You laughed.

It must have been pent up from you containing yourself, because as soon as Griffon’s taunt registered with you, laughter burst forth from you, shocking you and probably V as well. You let go of Griffon’s talons, resting your hands on your knees as you came to a stop for a few seconds. Griffon was having a good snicker from it himself, landing on your back as you caught your breath again. You found yourself oddly embarrassed for laughing, not wanting V to see your face as you calmed down a bit. Something about the joke he made was oddly familiar to you—You couldn’t place why. Probably another lost memory from your original life.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Griffon caroled with glee, wings flapping as you straightened, “A definite yes.”

“That’s a firm no,” You snickered, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand, “I’m sorry for laughing—It's been a long time since something got me like that.” It had been a long time since you had a true, full bodied laugh.

You finally looked at V. He was watching you with an expression you couldn’t quite place—he was smiling, but the look in his eyes was curious and searching. You found your heart beating again, and this time you were pretty sure that wasn’t adrenaline.

“Please, don’t apologize,” He smirked, and much to your delight he took a bite of the food you gave him. He seemed to chew for a long moment, like he hadn’t eaten food in his entire god damn life, before finally swallowing, “Though I must admit. I am seeing quite the pattern with food and you.”

You huffed at that, crossing your arms over your chest as you replied, “I don’t have a feeding fetish,” You shrugged, adding in a playful tone, “I more so have a hand fetish over anything.”

V rose a single brow at that, “Do you?”

“No!” You laughed again, offering him a cheerful grin, “I swear. No kinks from me.” Yet.

He chuckled lightly, griping his cane and turning away again. You quickly followed along, eating the rest of your food before putting your hands out to grasp Griffon’s talons again. You kept your gaze half forward, half on V to make sure he ate the remainder of his own. It took some time, but he did eventually finish the bar. He held a thoughtful expression the whole time, chewing slowly and purposely. Externally, he seemed pretty pleased. You were certain that if he wasn’t supposed to eat it, he would have declined and explained at the start. Determination filled you now—you wanted to learn more about the people you traveled with, their mannerisms and who they were. V was a mystery waiting for you to discover, and in a way that was...exciting.

Your group continued on for another few hours, walking through the city. You only stopped a couple more times to fight demons, taking down whatever stood in your path. You enjoyed being able to stretch your muscles and energy again—the time spent resting left your body itching for activity. As you fought, your stiffness disappeared, blood pumping with every kill and Void energy burning in your hands, your lungs, your stomach. With each battle you witnessed more and more of V’s personality shining through in battles. His taunts were...interesting to say the least. He was an absolute dork, you realized that. He almost seemed like he was having fun during battle, carrying a confidence and amusement into every encounter.

You learned where to act where he would not. Support, nothing else. Like his summons, you filled in the gaps where V lacked. You watched his back whenever necessary, helping pull him out of the way of incoming attacks with your tendrils. It shocked him the first time, but after the fourth or fifth fight he came to accept when it would happen. He was a bit reckless—his taunting and confidence would have definitely got him hurt had you not stepped in. But learning to fight with a group was...fun. V was like a maestro for you, Shadow, and Griffin. For every step he took, you and the others reacted. It was interesting to see Griffon lifting his master up occasionally to get him to safety, or how Shadow fought at V’s command. They were a well-oiled machine, and your foresight told you that was a good thing. You were on the right track.

Occasionally while traveling you would see Nero in his own fights in the distance. You exchanged a wave with him a couple times while V destroyed some Qliphoth roots, you sitting on the edge of some metal steps as you watched Nero zip around in the distance. He taunted just as frequently, if not more, than V. His taunts were equally as silly, but on a whole other level. Where V had a low level extra, Nero was loud and boisterous extra. V was the goth theater kid who just couldn’t help himself, and Nero was young, dumb, and full of...well, you know.

Once V finished destroying the roots in your way, you stood again, stretching your arms above your head until your joints popped. Glancing at the sky, you calculated it was about six o'clock, soon to be seven. The sun was starting to set in the sky, casting a pink and orange hue on the land. You scanned the horizon line, seeing the occasional, small demon fly off in the distance. Not worth any time or effort. Besides, getting that far out was pretty much out of your way.

Sighing, you rested your arms on the metal railing, thoughts drifting off again as you kept looking at the sky. You were sure it would have been beautiful if not for that ugly ass tree. It seemed so monumental, so impossible. You knew that wasn’t the case, otherwise the Deity wouldn’t have sent you. There was a solution, one within reach—all that mattered was getting to it.

V walked up beside you, his gaze scanning you from your right side as he wiped the remnants of the roots off his cane.

“As unfortunate as it may be, we should stop there for the night,” He pointed his cane to the left as he spoke in his silken tone, referencing what looked to be an abandoned warehouse past some shipping containers and a bridge, “Traveling at night is neither safe nor wise.”

You nodded, offering him an encouraging smile, “I’ve slept in worse places.”

A lot of your missions lead to you resting in whatever ways you could whenever you could. And considering a lot of those missions included people who didn’t really give a damn about you...There were several cases of you sleeping in less than savory locations. Not your favorite missions to be sure, the warehouse was a welcome change

He let out a low hum in response, tapping his cane on the ground as he started moving again. You were pleased to see Shadow staying out this time, walking behind its master with a mighty yawn. Griffon soared on ahead, circling those of you down below as you neared the ledge leading to the shipping containers. You found yourself taking up the back again, contenting yourself with watching pretty boy’s hair drift in the breeze. You had already surveyed the area—there were Qlipoth roots up ahead to destroy, coiled around the bridge and budding in the center. You were wary of those. The bridge looked on the verge of collapse; a stray wind could have toppled it.

Regardless, that was the way to go. You crouched down, preparing to jump down from the shipping containers to the railroad tracks below. But your foresight stopped you, flaring up in your chest and lungs. You rubbed your chest, hissing lightly in pain and immediately sensing something was up even before you jumped down. You put your arm out to grab V, but he was already ahead, hopping down with zero hesitation. Pretty much throwing caution to the wind.

Sure enough, as soon as his feet touched the ground, demons began to appear, one by one. You winced, hating their bulbous heads and spikey bodies as they all turned to shriek at V.

You immediately hopped down behind him, steeling yourself to fight when Griffon swooped by, cawing up a storm as he circled the two of you.

“Hey Shakespeare!” He quipped, sending clouds of dust up with each flap of his wings, “You haven’t even shown the girl Nightmare yet!”

Nightmare? What did he mean by that? You heard V let out a light noise of agreement, tilting his head back to give you a light smirk.

“How rude of me,” He replied, turning back and snapping his fingers sharply. Energy crackled off of his body in the next instant, and much to your shock the black evaporated from his hair, leaving it a dazzling white.

A portal appeared above the fight, and from it a new creature burst forth. Made of swirling black energy, huge and lunky. It fell from the portal and landed right on the demons, swinging a mighty club of an arm around at the creatures and sending them flying. You let out an impressed sound, already guessing this was another companion—already dubbed “Nightmare”. V walked around the battle again, cane in one hand and book in the other as he commanded at the creature to attack. You realized right away he was showing off—Nightmare was the definition of overkill. A laser shot out from his eye, leaving a trail of exploding destruction over the group of demons. One went flying past you, a quick side step to the left dodging its broken body. V was on it in the next instant, his body brushing past you as he darted to finish it off. You saw his face in that moment, finding yourself awed again as time seemed to slow.

White hair waving about his face, an elated grin tilting his lips. His eyes were open wide, reflecting the light of the dying sun so his gaze was like glittering Jade. He looked...elated, like he was heavily enjoying himself. Like a little boy discovering play for the first time, he darted past you, sinking his cane into the chest of the creature, ripping the object up and slashing it from crotch to torso. He paused in place, hand on his face as he began to slowly laugh, the sound starting low and rising in tempo. You blinked at the display, feeling entranced as he tilted his head up, still laughing as the creature disintegrated. You were pretty sure these actions should have disturbed or unnerved you but...you found they didn’t. Instead you found yourself even more intrigued, letting out a quiet, exasperated sigh at yourself.

Your foresight suddenly flared again, breaking you out of your musings. Your gaze jerked up, seeing three demons about to jump down and attack V while he was taunting. Your power was activated on the next instant, shooting along the ground to grab the idiotic goth and yank him away, simultaneously shooting up and impale the demons in several locations. V let out a light “oof” as you swung him around; you winced when you realized you might have snatched him too fast. He rolled a little when you released him, coming to a graceful slide on his knees a few feet away. Nightmare disappeared in the next instant, the remaining demons on that side already at death's door—V's hair returned to black, so you figured out pretty fast that was where nightmare had been hiding. Was V naturally white haired then?

You shook your head. You had to focus on the battle. You knew V could handle the dying demons on that side, so you addressed the creatures still impaled by your tendrils, summoning the energy of the Void and holding out your hands to them. They really were ugly creatures, spitting maliciously at you, claws swiping at open air and teeth snapping. Akin to bugs, with spiny bulbous bodies. Unable to be reasoned with, unable to compromise.

“From being, into Nothingness,” You felt your hair rise slightly with this incantation, one of your stronger spells. If you were being honest, you were showing off a little bit yourself. The energy of the Void wrapped around the creatures, making them scream and squirm as it ate them away, sucking away their life force until husks remained—they crumbled then, disintegrating into nothingness as your tendrils retracted back into your body. You heard the final creature scream as V cut into it, turning in just enough time to see him spin, a trail of blood following his cane as he finished the creature off. Shadow and Griffon settled themselves, the bird flying over to you as the battle ended just as quickly as it had started.

“Hey girlie, wasn’t that neat?” He squawked as he landed on your shoulders, flapping wildly, “Nightmare fucking destroyed those bastards!”

You smiled, walking forward as he contented himself with making you his perch again, “He was very cool, I’m just sad I didn’t get to say hello.”

V approached you, wiping off his cane as he did so. He was lightly smirking again, dark eyes down on his task as he said, “There will be more chances,” he pointed the silver cane at the bridge, tone light and breath slowing from the excitement of the battle as he said, “That is our last task for the night. Let us make haste.”

You opened your mouth to reply and agree, but it occurred to you that he sounded pretty out of breath. You observed him again, noticing easily how winded he was. He was back to leaning on the cane, and you thought you saw him sweat a little. Maybe taking out Nightmare cost him a lot of energy? You frowned, looking up at Griffon with a searching expression. You were starting to realize V was not the kind of person who would say if he was hurting, uncomfortable, or tired. He wouldn’t ask for help, so you had to decide to give it without being prompted. Griffon inclined his head, eyes darting to his master with a light nod as V started forward again.

You walked up behind, summoning your tendrils to lightly wrap around him again. His steps faltered a little at the sensation, gaze darting to you with a startled expression as you summoned your energy and sent it into him with a light murmur of, “From the Void into You.”

You gave him a higher dose of energy, hearing him release a heavy breath as it fused with his being. Shadow sat at his feet as V’s eyes closed, breathing going even as you tried to ease his discomfort. At least...you hoped you were. If this wasn’t helping, you hoped V would say something at the very least. It didn’t hurt to try and do everything you could. After a few seconds you retracted the tendrils, letting the energy settle back inside as you flexed your fingers a bit. You weren’t reaching your limit per se, but the months in the Void left you able to take less of the strain. Like going months without stretching and working out, then jumping back into those activities.

“Better?” You asked him with a smile, rocking back on your heels a bit as he opened his eyes again.

He paused, mouth half open in a thoughtful expression as he turned to look at you. Almost like he was thinking about the question. He rolled his shoulders a little, flexing his hand that wasn’t holding the cane. He held it up in the light, a curious look on his face as he stared at his fingers. You noticed he wore a ring there, silver and glinting in the sun.

“Yes," He breathed, turning to look at you again with that wry smile you had grown used to, “You could tell I was fatigued.”

It wasn’t a question, but you still answered it, “Yeah. I’ve gotten good at reading people over the years,” You smiled playfully, taking a few steps past him as you replied, “Someone has to look out for you. You’re pretty reckless, you know that?”

He paused again, something about your words making his expression shift a bit. You stopped in place, blinking as you saw a couple different emotions drift on his face. Confusion was one of them, but the others...you weren’t sure. He settled on a faraway look for a second, jade eyes reflecting the sun as he looked to the side.

Had you said something wrong? Worried, you took a step toward him again and said, “V? Are you okay?” You hated the idea of saying anything upsetting to him.

His gaze snapped back to you, and you saw him smile again. Only this time the smile looked...relieved. And a little...vulnerable?

“Thank you, Y/N,” He murmured, green eyes meeting yours, “You are very kind, and the help is welcome and...needed.”

You nodded, smiling again but still finding yourself confused by his reaction, “You know you can always ask for help, right?” You griped Griffon’s talons, realizing he was actually being polite and keeping quiet during this conversation, “If you ever feel like you need my assistance, that’s what I’m here for.”

V let out a low hum, gave his cane a light spin as he brushed past you. He gave your shoulder a light squeeze, mouth tilted up in that half smile as he met your gaze.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

You wanted to call him a liar, but you knew that would be very rude.

Luckily, Griffon did it for you.

“Liar!” He accused in his grating voice, flapping his wings a could times as his master removed his hand and continued to walk, “You’re way to stubborn to ask for shit!”

V smirked a bit at that, but kept walking. You and Griffon exchanged another look, both of you sighing lightly. You smiled exasperatedly, summoning another piece of red meat to toss up to him to eat. Then another, to toss to shadow, who rose to follow its master. Instead of ignoring it like you expected, the cat snatched it out of the air, turning as it chewed. Well, there was another little victory, right? You giggled quietly, jogging forward to catch up with the other two as they stepped onto the bridge, heading for the Qliphoth root with intent to destroy.

You tapped Griffon’s talons, gesturing for him to join his master as you stood off to the side, looking the root up and down. They were spiky and gnarled, writhing slightly as V spun his cane, approaching the bulbous bundle of red that you knew was its weak spot. You looked over the bridge, still pretty worried about its integrity, but knowing damn well you couldn’t just leave the root to grow and fester where it was. You quietly made your way to the side as V began to destroy the root, activating you power and prepared to act if something happened.

“Hey, V?” You warned as Shadow and Griffon smacked the bulb, “This bridge is pretty shaky—”

A loud rumble broke out as soon as the root was destroyed, disintegrating into nothingness. The bridge, as expected, began to shift and collapse underneath you and the others. Well, that root was the only thing that seemed to be holding the bridge up. You saw V slide a bit, griping onto his cane as the cart on the bridge began to slide.

“V!” You wrapped your tendrils around him as he began to run, keeping pace with him as you both ran up the tilting bridge and leapt. Much to your shock, before you could activate your energy, you felt V’s hand grab your wrist as he jumped. Griffon appeared above him in the nest instant, grabbing V and lifting him and you up and above the debris as it crumbled into the water. You let out a shocked gasp as you were suddenly suspended in air, dangling by your wrist as V grunted and griped tighter. Too much weight, you could tell that right away. You hovered there for a few moments, Griffon huffing with the strain.

“God damn it!” He squawked as he started to descend, but you were still too high and not close enough to land, “Too heavy I can’t hold onto both of you!”

As he said so, his talons slipped off of V’s shoulders, Griffon releasing an alarmed shriek as you and V suddenly plummeted toward the ground, “Son of a bitch!”

You weren’t afraid—you knew you could handle it.

Summoning your power, you coursed the energy through yourself and the tendrils, pulling V closer as you closed your eyes. The tendrils shot out on all sides, connecting with the ground before you and V, creating a slide for you to land on and slip down. You felt one of his arms wrap around your waist, turning you both so he would take the first impact—luckily for him there would be no impact to feel. You let out a hiss, whispering out “Feather fall!” right before he hit the slide. The ability wouldn’t slow the descent, but it would mitigate any impact, pain, or damage the fall would cause.

V hit the slide, you tucked against his side. You felt him press your head to his chest as you rolled a couple times, eventually skidding across the concrete to an ungraceful halt. You let out slow, relieved sigh, feeling V’s even breath on you as you deactivated the power of the Void. That was almost pretty bad—Though you came to a realization right away as you and V sat up, him griping one of your arms still as you shook off the shock of the fall.

You were...very touch starved.

The seconds of being held were nice, so nice that you mourned the contact the instant it was gone. Living the life you did allowed for very little affection, if any. There were several missions were you were told to assist then ignored by all those involved...like a puppet to be used, then abandoned.

But you couldn’t think about that, not right now.

Instead you let out a light laugh, meeting V’s gaze as you both caught your breath.

“V,” You said in a low voice, “Let’s both agree to plan before we do stuff like that again.” You could have easily saved yourself while Griffon saved him. Hell, you could have saved them both easy. But you didn’t want to be rude.

He let out a low hum, sitting back on his arms as he looked up at Griffon, who was descending and still cursing at both of you, “Agreed.”

You laughed again, earning a grin from the goth as Griffon came screeching down at both of you.

“I cant believe I fucking dropped you!” He shrieked as he landed in front of you both, “Fuck! I thought I was going to have a heart attack! V you know I can only handle your weight, not saying Y/N is heavy or ‘nothin’ but FUCK that was the WORST!”

You let out another light chuckle, giving Griffon a pat on the head as you replied, “You’re doing great, sweetie. Just everyone remember next time I can definitely handle a free fall.”

V let out a low chuckle, finally releasing you as he slowly rose to his feet. Shadow appeared from him once more, nervously circling your group and sniffing the ground. You looked V over, deciding he was no worse for wear and not hurt by the fall. It worked out pretty well, all things considered. V held out a hand to you as soon as you began to rise, one you grateful accepted as he helped put you to your feet. His hand was...warm. His skin felt soft, overly soft. He lingered for a moment before releasing you, turning away to look at the warehouse. You realized a second later...V didn’t have hair on his arms. The more you thought about it, he was pretty smooth all around.

Strange, but not the strangest thing you had learned about him. You shrugged it off.

“Let’s not waste any more time,” He said, nodding toward the warehouse and giving you a kind smile, “It’s getting dark.”

You opened your mouth to reply, but were cut off by a wave of dizziness that suddenly hit you. That was certainly not good. You swayed a bit, tilting to the side as you heard the rush of wings and felt talons suddenly gripping your shoulders. Griffon caught you, holding you up before you hit the ground.

“Whoa whoa there, girlie!” He squawked as you put a hand to your face, “You feelin’ alright?”

You didn’t look up, but heard V stop and turn, approaching you in the next instant.

“Y/N?” His tone was still low, but worried now. You heard him set his cane to the side, gripping your shoulders again, “Are you alright?”

His concern made you feel good; you’d admit that through the haze. You needed to re-calibrate your limits--you must have been asleep in the Void for a long time. You had over extended a little bit--in all the excitement you hadn’t realized how close to your limits you actually were. Your stomach was rolling, nausea rising ever so slightly in you. Well, this might as well happen. You lifted your gaze, seeing V’s concerned expression as he tilted up your chin.

“You’re as pale as me,” he commented, smiling a little bit, “You said you had limits. I am going to assume you reached them."

You let out a weak laugh, surprised when Shadow weaved between the two of you, sitting on your feet and watching your face.

“I overestimated myself a bit,” You admitted, “It’s been a while since I had so much excitement. I’ll have to practice more to reach what I could before.”

V let out a low hum of understanding, “In time. For now, can you walk?”

You nodded, shaking off some of the lightheadedness as you replied, “Yeah, I can make it.”

He nodded, looking up at Griffon and commanding, “Make sure she doesn’t fall.”

“You’ve got it, boss.”

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18136193/chapters/42882194#workskin

Tagged: @silentwhispofhope @just-call-me-no-name @nightshadow4713 @slightlylunatic @efiicitia

#devil may cry v #devil may cry #dmc v #dmc5 #dmcv #V #V dmc #V x reader #vxreader #self instert #fanfic #chapter 3 #ebony and ivory #ebony and ivory chapter 3

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kanaships · 5 years ago

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Student council president! Tokiya x Rule breaker! Kanade

"Using this triangle sin(35°) = OppositeHypotenuse = 2.84.9 = 0.57..." The sound of his voice was soothing. It was such a beautiful mellow tone that I didn't bother listening to the words he was saying. I stared blankly at his pen as he pointed to figures in the book. My eyelids started to feel heavy as my mind faded in and out of consciousness. "....llo?" A faint voice asked. "Miyamoto-san, I would appreciate if you would keep yourself from sleeping while I'm trying to tutor you in detention." The sudden harshness in his voice woke me up completely. His icy blue eyes stared into mine for a second until I realized just how close he actually was. I quickly backed away, maybe overreacting a bit as I stood up and let my chair fall behind me. It didn't matter either way. We were the only people in the room. Just the student council president and the somewhat delinquent in detention. I wasn't a complete delinquent of course, but I happen to break a lot of the minor rules of our strict school. Things like having my hair down, having earrings, altering my uniform, minor crimes. At first it was more of an accident but ever since I ran into him I would do it more and more often. Truly the prince of the school. He was smart, decently athletic and easy on the eyes. The teachers loved him for being an iron fisted ruler of the school, only second to the principal who depended on him to take care of the school instead of interjecting himself in student affairs. Tokiya was a third year, transfering in as a second year. I was invisible during my first year, following all the rules in fear of getting in trouble but now it was all I did. It was when he started reprimanding me himself that I started to do it more often. I hated to admit it but I really liked him and this was the only way I could see myself being able to get closer to him. He even took the time to tutor me and watch over me himself to make sure that I was using my time wisely in the 2 hours I had to stay after.

"Come on Tokki, we've been over this a million times! I'm getting bored of it!" And his soothing voice wasn't helping the boring lecture either. He frowned and stood up, him being a couple feet taller them me.

"I have told you to refer to me properly." I stuck my tongue out at him uttering some curses. He took me into his arms, one hand around my waist and the other tilting my face up to look at a sadistic smirk. "Come on, let me hear you call me Ichinose-senpai~" I couldn't help my face from becoming red at his patronizing tone. That and the fact that his nose was practically touching my own. His arm was wrapped firmly around my waist, so wiggling out of his grasp wasn't an option. Why did I want to escape either way? I liked him. I wanted to be close to him but it was too much and too embarrassing for me to handle. My whole body could only stare back at him with pure embarrassment painted on my face. His hand that was formerly resting on my chin slid up, framing my face for a bit, before holding up the strands of hair covering my face. "You really should tie your hair up more. Not only is it school regulation..." he paused as he brought the hair up to his lips and kissed it. "...but it also covers up your lovely face."

"I-...Ichinose-senpai..." His smirk became a satisfied one. Finally he let go of me, sat back down and started lecturing me again as if nothing happened. I was aghast. Yes I would sometimes flirt with him as a joke and as a cover up for my own feelings, and yes sometimes he would respond back, most of the time unamused, but nothing ever like this. Eventually my time in detention was over and I quickly grabbed my stuff.

"Let me walk you home. Because of special circumstances, everyone has gone home already." I looked out the window to see the sun starting to set as well. I didn't live too far but I knew it was far enough that it would be dark when I got home. A part of me wanted to flat out reject him, not wanting to let him see my homelife or path towards so. Yet the other half of me wanted to let him since I was kinds scared of what might happen in the dark on my own. I didn't answer him and just left the classroom, rushed to put my shoes on and left the campus. To little surprise he was right beside me the entire time. We got to the station and sat next to eachother as the train was slightly empty and allowed us to do so, even if we were squished together. His hand landed on my hand held it tightly as he looked beside me and into the crowd standing on the train. I didn't look back but just looked at him in surprise. "Don't let go." The tone of his voice was completely different from the smile he was quite forcibly wearing. I just looked down at my feet and let him do as he pleased. It wasn't hurting and it fed my fantasies, so really what was the harm? One long train ride and 3 stops later, I finally stood up and got off, Tokiya still holding my hand and sticking closely beside me. We walked out of the station, still holding hands. At this point my face was starting to burn. I kept walking to my house, getting some looks from strangers to what they probably assumed was my hot boyfriend. As much as I didn't want them to be wrong, they were, but the embarrassment just kept rising. Finally we got to my house, or well, we got to my apartment.

"You can go now. This is were I live. Now you know." I started to take my keys out of my bag, having to let go of his hand. It felt wrong to do so, holding onto it for such a long time. My hand felt cold and empty but I continued to open my door.

"Are your parents home? Since we're here I might as well speak to them about your behavior at school." I paused for a minute.

"My parents... are abroad... I live by myself." My voice wavered a bit since it wasn't exactly the truth. The night sky and the twinkling stars in the background made him shine even more as I looked at him from my door.

"...I...See..." I turned to my apartment, then turned back to at least thank him for bringing me all the way to my home, even though I don't understand why he did so. As I turned and started to look up at him, I was enveloped with a warm feeling. I wasn't staring at him but rather some of the side of his face and directly at the night sky. The warm feeling stemmed from my lips and I finally realized there was something soft and warm against them. He pulled away with a smile at my shocked face. "Please come to school properly tomorrow. Good night." I watched as he starred to walk away. My mind was both empty and flooded with thoughts. I found myself absentmindedly throwing my chapstick at him in angry embarrassment.

"YA DON'T JUST KISS SOMEONE WITHOUT TELLING 'EM WHY Y'KNOW!" He only smiled and grabbed the chapstick I had thrown at him, looking at it closely.

"I knew I recognized the flavor. Strawberry. It's nice." He smiled and put it in his pocket, walking away.

"Hey Hey! Kana-chan!" My group of friends ran up to me the next day, eagerness in their voices.

"Is it true that the President walked you home yesterday?! Someone said they saw you on the train together!"

"Plus, you're not dressed like usual. You're actually wearing your uniform correctly and aren't wearing anything extra."

"Is it because of the president?!"

"Kana-chan!! Tell us! Tell us!!" My face started to burn remembering the events of last night.

"I-I mean... yes he walked me home... B-BUT NOT BECAUSE I WANTED HIM TO!" My friends quickly got a confused look. "H-He just followed me home! Okay?!"

"And it's a good thing I did." The same smooth voice I was so used to hearing suddenly came from behind me and made me jump. He smiled at me and at all of my friends, greeting them all. "I see you've dressed properly this morning. I'm glad that I won't have to add on more detentions to the ones you already have." He smirked as he came closer towards me. "Although I don't mind being in a room alone with you that much. I think I displayed that very well last night." As my face got red, my friends truly went silent for a second. Tokiya left, obviously proud of the small chaos he left behind.

"KANA-CHAN, ARE YOU AND THE PRESIDENT DATING?!" The whole school apparently heard that one question and I was suddenly the president's girlfriend. Even though I wasn't quite against people thinking so I would have rather had him ask me himself then to cause such a commotion.

"The chemical formula is C8H11NO2+C10H12N2O+C43H66N12O12S2 dopamine, seratonin, oxytocin..." once again his voice started to fade out as he continued to explain things I had already learned in class. "Kanade, please pay attention."

"I am paying attention Tokkiー" the realization hit late. "DID YOU JUST CALL ME BY MY FIRST NAME WITHOUT HONORIFICS?!" He looked genuinely and almost innocently confused.

"You're my girlfriend. Typically couples refer to each other by first name." I couldn't say a word back. My fantasies were becoming reality and I was dating the student council president. I was lost in my thoughts when a sudden quick peck on my lips brought me back to focus on his face. "I'll give you a kiss for each answer you get right so pay attention alright?" His lips tasted like strawberries.

#utapri au #utapri #Ichinose Tokiya

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irpnow · 5 years ago

Text

Tay’rethsh

Beneath an ornate hood, inky black eyes with depths of a million colored stars stare out at the town of Sandpoint. Seeing unnaturally well in the darkness, the creature channels all within her teifling being to seek out if this will be the location of her undoing. She knows she is being chased, and the one who seeks to find her is both a formidable foe and one fueled by a rage she knows well. Her own act of requital sparked theirs. By her own moral code, her actions were justified, her only failure a miscalculation of her opponent.

Her memories begin as a small child, screaming as her arms were branded by the mark of her slave trainer, the rage and fiery contempt she knew well enough to have called them her friends screaming alongside her. If only her companions would allow her to channel their power, she would have destroyed all around her then, even if it meant her own life as the price. They laughed at her screams, the slave trainer and the men holding her down, even the woman with the searing hot branding iron - all immune to the smells of burning flesh or the screams of the creatures they deemed as less than human. She does not have an age or a name, she has always lived here, purchased or stolen or bred to be a slave to profit her owners. “Freak” they tease her, telling her of the many hopeless paths her life will take, “Better learn to obey or we’ll chain you to a wall and sell you to the highest bidder every hour, and your beastly bastard babies will take your place here in our care.” “Creature, maybe you’ll get lucky and some lord will let you scrub his latrines and take the beatings for his heirs.” Always with laughs of delight at her anger, usually with whips just for the sake of watching her helplessness to escape them. She was not the only child, but there was no camaraderie in this place for it’s property, the only interactions they had were to compete or train each other. For such a cruel place, a great amount of care and staff were in place to assure none of it’s stock was ever in a situation to kill themselves, escape, and that all received enough to survive or compete with each other but not any more, and that they knew well their purpose to only ever be used by their future masters however pleased the purchaser.

She is seven, by her own determination, when she is thrown into the wagon to be taken from town to town with many other wares. She can remember how weak she was - four days without being fed and the same since an especially wicked whipping that despite her best efforts to hide their effectiveness, caused her to scream in pain as they threw her against the sturdy iron bars of the merchandise cart. The familiar faces flashed with satisfaction and joy at her agony one last time before returning to the dismal and dark warehouse - the only place she’d ever known. It was bright to her eyes, and the world seemed too big and open. The sky seemed to go on forever, She would later learn it was just early dawn, the sky continuing to brighten as the day waned on until she thought it would simply destroy them all - the first peaceful thought she recalled ever having. She was by far the youngest creature in the cart. Huge male half beasts with broken spirits and dead eyes, subdued and accepting of their fate sat around her. Females at various ages of puberty and every race and mix she could imagine, clearly being brought along for one fate alone, in a range of apathy to sobbing dread clung to the bars or crouched where they could. With a chill, Tay realized that she fit much closer with the second group than

the first, and suppressed the terror that threatened to rise up, refusing to give it space within her.

They traveled for more than a week, given enough terrible quality water and food to survive, filthy and covered in filth. They were cleaned and redressed like the cattle they were - cheaply but sanitarily enough to present goods deserving of a price. The females were brought out for display, her small child self with them, supplemented by extra hired guards to keep them from having thoughts of escape. She can remember vividly the men leering at each of them so openly she willed herself to either burst into flame or die. Her wish did not come true. She was presented third, and as she scanned the crowd she had been relieved at most seemed to be taking the moment to busy themselves, her childish frame or repulsive blue tiefling skin and horns unappealing to the buyers. Her hopes of delaying her fate were brief, however, as she saw a huge dark human man scrutinizing her with definite intent and assessment in his eyes. When she flicked her eyes away from him, she saw another man - possibly a Dhampir, if the imaginations of her childhood were true, with hungry eyes and nauseating aura. A half orc looked both terrifying and filthy, showed a high level of interest. Panic and hopelessness were pointless exercises Tay rarely indulged herself in, but this had been one exception. She does not remember how the bidding went, and even in the moment was so lost to her emotions she did not know which fate awaited her as the guards dragged her away to be paid for and transferred to her new owner.

The towering man was a blacksmith. She spent many of her first weeks at his shop hoping his huge bristling black beard would catch fire and then she would escarpe. The forge was oddly comforting, it’s great heat felt appropriate to the child of anger and rage. He talked as he worked, telling her of himself or what had happened in town. She crouched behind his large wagon, or large hammers and iron pots, trying to guess what doom this large man had for her. Tay knew better than to trust anyone, her training had included many lessons on what happens when you let your guard down and believed in kindness. She had scars both physical and emotional to prove it. So she waited, eating the food he set for her at his table when it was hours old and his back was turned, or drinking the water after he had consumed half of the pitcher himself. She slept as little as possible and watched him work. Eventually, her curiosity drew her closer to his work, prepared for new burns as her reward. They never came, and she began to learn his craft as the years went by, never letting him in and always awaiting the coming doom. He called her Tayr’eshth, and she accepted the name - she knew it was the right of every master to name his property. She became as skilled as her owner, taking over the fine craftsmanship of the more ornate or delicate pieces as he grew older. He often left her at the shop alone as he travelled to sell his wares, and frequently went to the mountain village two days’ ride away to bring items to a Wizard for their crafted wares. Tay’s long awaited reckoning came when she was twenty eight, twenty one years after her master had purchased her. He had gone to deliver one of their most intricate orders to the wizard the day before, and as evening fell she found one of the abyssal bloodiron throwing knives, perfectly balanced and forged with intricate ornate designs. The wizard had ordered five of them, as well as metal clips shaped like dragon’s claws. Tay set out as the sun set on a “borrowed” horse from a neighbor’s

stable, at top speed and determined to reach the owner she had begrudgingly grown fond of before the man could arrive without his full order. She reached him just as the distant city came into view, and explained her presence. “Tay” he said, “You should not have come. You must head back.” Tay’s rage seethed silently, and she smacked the stolen horse on his flank, sending the creature galloping toward the home he had come from. As she stared her master in the eyes, she watched a myriad of things flash through them. He was proud, and frightened, and angry, and sad, and somehow far away. He secured his own horse near a stream, and the two began on foot toward the city. As they walked, he told her a story, and after twenty one years together, it was a surprise for her to hear a new one. The old man told her of his mother, a woman whom he bore no resemblance to but whom had raised him alone. “Tay - she was a teifling. My mother had beautiful, glowing gold eyes and skin that was just red enough to not fool any human into accepting her as their own. I was twelve when they killed her. Her name...was Tayr’ethsh.” Tay walked silently, digesting the shift in her paradigm. He had given her his mother’s name. His mother was a freak like her. He had chosen her. Not as a slave, but as someone to care for and honor with his own mother’s name. Even as she was digesting it, they reached the city, the sky dark and the moon high above them. “Pull your hood forward” he whispered hastily, and she did, her cheeks flushing in shame at her beastly appearance.

She might’ve known that’s why he told her to leave. The inn lies at the entrance of town, and he knocks. After a few moments, the door opened to an unhappy face. “Kept us up waiting hours past when we were expectin’ ya. And who be this?” A voice that made Tay cringe and sink back further into her hood abrasively demanded. “My daughter” came the reply, startling and awaking unfamiliar emotions within her. “Come in then, and be quick with ya. Some of us like to sleep.” As they stepped into the light, Tay shrank into the hood and struggled to walk amongst the swimming of her mind and heart. They went up a staircase and found a small but tidy room behind a simple door, two beds that seemed clean and sufficient for a night’s sleep. “Tay, you must stay out of sight until we can leave. This town is not welcoming for any they do not understand.” Still reeling from the events of the evening, Tay took in his words as well as the peculiar art of strange dieties on walls, and simply said “I understand.” They slept, and when she awoke he had already left to meet the wizard. A note quickly scrawled explained as much, saying he would return for the full set of knives after delivering the clips and collecting payment. Tayr’ethsh hummed an old tune the man had hummed over the years, sorting out the words she would have for him when he returned. She heard a familiar laugh outside, and stole a peek out the curtains - he stood there, laughing at something a tall man beside him had said on the street below. The man’s eyes flicked up and his face quickly was overtaken with rage as he caught sight of her before she could disappear behind the fabric again. Yelling began, first the tall man and then her owner. No, her father. She had decided to call him that, allowing herself to see that had been his hope from the beginning. More voices joined the uproar, all raised and angry, and she struggled with what to do. The choice came to her quickly, and she grabbed the sheathed throwing knives and her hood, stepped into her boots and sprinted out the door and down the stairs. She pushed through the growing crowd and came up behind him, softly speaking his name as she reached him. “Resh’ta.” She was oblivious to the hush that the mob had taken as she approached him, her hood having been pulled down as she rushed to him, the townspeople taking on an angry silence. “Demon blooded freak” someone spat, and

Tay was five again and her scarred skin braced for fresh splitting. Resh’ta grabbed her by the upper arm firmly, pulling her out of her flashback and toward the edge of town. “We leave you and will not return!” He yelled, and tossed the bag of his freshly collected coin over the group on the far side of the townspeople. They turned, many rushing for the rather large smattering of coins that escape the bag on it’s impact, and Resh’ta pulled Tay into a run away from the town and toward his horse and their home. As they ran, Tay heard the sound of the air breaking at what seemed like the same moment it hit him. She turned, in horror, to see him fall on his face. A single arrow protruded from his back. Her relief was palpable - one arrow, it might be bad but he could be saved. “Resh’ta get up!” she commanded. He didn’t respond, and she went to him and tried to help him. “Resh’ta. Father! Get up, we have to keep moving.” As she lifted his mass, he did not respond. His skin was quickly taking on an awful color and he felt unnaturally cold. Tay continued to try and lift and drag him, scanning the road they’d come from for the attacker, but none of the townspeople were visible anymore. She could not lift him. In desperation she looked at the arrow, tearing away the clothing around it only to see a spreading blackness from the arrow across the skin. Her old friends rage and anger swelled within her as she felt for his pulse. He was dead. She grieved for three days in the woods, singing over his body and feeding her hunger for revenge.

She danced with her lifelong friends, rage and flaming anger, and they used his horse to bring him to the center of town, and then burned the town to the ground as they slept, watching to assure there were no escapees as the flames danced in her eyes. His glorious burial was the only gift she could give to him, even her opening her heart to him happening too late for him to know. After the ashes had cooled, she walked through the ashes, cursing the ground and the parted souls of her father’s murderers. A shocked gasp echoed across the rubble, and her eyes caught a teenage boy - quickly followed by the blade of her throwing knife. She rushed to her victim, who was dying much more slowly than her father had. “Why are you here?” she’d demanded. “The wizard needed some of his scrolls.” the boy said, clear voiced despite his clear pain. As she looked him over and weighed the full impact of his words. The wizard was alive. The whole damned reason her father came to this wretched and hateful place. Her eyes caught familiar metalwork on the boy’s belt. “Your belt - my father made those clips.” Her black pool eyes flashed, as he paled. “Where is the wizard?” she asked him, determined to hunt down the final piece to complete the sacrifice Resh’ta’s death demanded. The boy showed shocking strength and determination, grabbing the knife that impaled him and pushing it further in, finalizing his fate. Tay let out an angry cry, ripping the belt off the boy and mounting her father’s horse, urging him into a gallop in the direction the boy had come from.

She searched for a year before any progress was made, wearing the belt and the last knives her father and she had created before his death. She did not find the wizard in the next city, or any of her travels. She learned to disguise herself - true, her horns, nigh-sky eyes, and blue skin set her firmly as a teifling, but she still managed to portray separate identities, to melt into shadows and become so unnoticable that she may as well have been invisible. She learned of the wizard, well known and employed for their crafting abilities throughout the region. It

seemed the harder she searched for the survivor, the less was known of them. She discovered that they had trained in teleportation, but that the escape had been coincidental more than magical. The wizard, following the exile of Tay and her father from town, had gone to finish crafting the very belt she now wore, obtaining the leather and then using some sort of crafting magic on it. She was in a large city, acting as a beggar when she overheard the reason for her difficulty in locating the wizard. She had assumed, wrongly, that she had been seeking a man, when in fact the wizard was a woman. The diners at the table near where she was “begging” were discussing the wizard, and her new quest - to find the teifling who had murdered her apprentice. Tay lingered, hoping they would reveal more about the wizard’s location or identity, but the conversation shifted away and never returned. In the following months, Tay discovered small pieces here and there, the only truly useful information being that she had left her knife in her victim, and that the wizard now carried it in hopes of using it to locate Tay.

For the first time, Tay found herself identifying with someone. Her enemy was also the only being she had understood in as long as she could remember. The moral code that she carried weighed those she had killed a fair tribute for what she had lost, and now she was being hunted to repay such a debt. And so Tay shifted her methods, and decided to await being found. She joined The Circum de Tenebris (Circus of Darkness) to give the game more interest. The constantly moving group introduced new skills to her repertoire as she prepared for the battle that would determine her end or her new beginning. Until then, she amused herself in learning acrobatics, and experimenting with new weapons, finding that any manner of whip seemed to respond to her well but still preferring throwing knives and stars. The travel fascinated her, having spent her entire life in very small worlds. The circus hosted many races and skills, all of which she studied with much interest - with the exception of the ancient teifling oracle. Whether that was because she was worried the seer would see the past she knew or deeper into her unknown beginnings even she didn’t know. She made up new stories for each inquiry into her life before the circus, and generally nobody cared. There were a large number of teiflings involved in the group, and she enjoyed adding the illusion that there were more by practicing her disguise skills and presenting as different people.

The girl with nothing to live for awaits her fate as the circus settles into the outskirts of Sandpoint, oblivious to the Oracle seeing her lost beginnings; an infant, hours old rushed in secrecy to the icy shore by her mother - filled with disgust and rage. A chance meeting by a slave trader along the way, making a more lucrative offer. A past the teifling will never know.

#pathfinder #teifling #bard #new player #dungeons and dragons #character #rise of the runelords #ftgio #girlparty #irpnow #critical role #fan

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